A Long Beach native, Father Byrne was a former pastor of St. Cyprian and Holy Innocents parishes in his hometown, where he served the majority of his life during his 61 years of priestly ministry.He received his grammar and high school education at St. Anthony’s in Long Beach, completing his secondary schooling at Los Angeles College (junior seminary). He attended St. John’s Seminary, was ordained in 1950 and was first assigned to All Souls Church, Alhambra.Other parish appointments were St. Genevieve, Panorama City; Holy Angels, Arcadia; Christ the King, Los Angeles; Nativity, El Monte; and St. Mary, Fullerton. In 1971, he was appointed administrator --- and a year later, pastor --- of Holy Innocents, Long Beach, where his parents had been founding members. He was named pastor of St. Cyprian in 1989 and served there until his retirement in 1995, when he moved to Nazareth House.Fr. James ToalFuneral Mass was held July 7 at St. Charles Borromeo, North Hollywood, for Father James Toal, 78, a retired priest of the archdiocese who died June 28. A longtime chaplain at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Father Toal served the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for 56 years.Born in Scotshouse, Co. Monaghan, Ireland, Father Toal attended Mungret College, Limerick, before coming to St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. He was ordained in 1958 and served his first assignment at St. Ambrose Church in West Hollywood. Father Toal also served as an associate pastor at Mission San Juan Capistrano; St. Joseph, Pomona; and St. Timothy, Los Angeles. From 1974 to 2002, he ministered as a chaplain at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Burial was at San Fernando Mission Cemetery.Fr. Bruce Ward, STFuneral services were held June 12 and 16 in Huitzila and Cuernavaca, Mexico, for Missionary Servant Father Bruce Ward, 77, who died June 11 following a short illness. He was a former pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church in Compton, serving from 1980-85. Born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, he began his studies for the priesthood in 1947 as a high school freshman in Holy Trinity, Alabama. He professed his first religious vows in 1954 and went on to finish college and study theology in the seminary of the Missionary Servants.He was ordained to the priesthood in Sacred Heart Church, Winchester, Virginia, in 1960. Attaining fluency in Spanish shortly after ordination, Father Ward’s missionary assignments were mainly with Hispanic communities in California, Puerto Rico and Ohio. He also served in the United States and Vietnam as a U.S. Army Chaplain.Following 25 years of missionary parish work in the United States, including his time locally as pastor at Our Lady of Victory Church, he became the first Missionary Servant pastor of two poor parishes on the outskirts of Mexico City. His remains were returned to the U.S. and buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Fort Mitchell, Alabama, close to where he began his seminary studies 64 years earlier.Fr. Ralph Murphy, SDBFuneral Mass was held July 20 at St. Mary Church, Los Angeles, for Salesian Father Ralph Murphy, 84, who died July 14. He was a former principal of Bishop Mora Salesian High School for ten years in the late 1970s and early ’80s.Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he entered St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower after his family moved to southern California. He later joined the Salesians of St. John Bosco and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956.From 1960 to 1984, Father Murphy’s ministry centered on Bishop Mora Salesian High School on Soto St. and Salesian Boys Club, Wabash Ave., in East Los Angeles. He served as principal of Bishop Mora Salesian High School for a total of ten years. Graduates of the high school fondly remember him as their priest, friend, teacher and guide.After 1984, he received various assignments in other Salesian works in California and continued to serve in less strenuous assignments in the province following major surgery in 1994. He entered Nazareth House in Los Angeles in mid-February, 2011, where he was lovingly cared for by the Sisters and staff until his death. Memorial donations may be directed to the Salesian Provincial, 1100 Franklin St., San Francisco, CA 94109.Sr. Rosemary Kluesner, SPFuneral Mass was held July 11 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, for Sister of Providence Rosemary (Norbert Ann) Kluesner, 82, who died July 3. She had been a Sister of Providence for 65 years.Born in Jasper, Indiana, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence in 1946 and ministered in education for 37 years in schools in Indiana, Illinois and California. Locally, Sister Kluesner taught at St. Joseph in Hawthorne (1953-57). After leaving teaching in the mid-1980s, she ministered at Catholic Charities in the Midwest.Sr. Florence Marie Maxwell, SPFuneral Mass was held July 9 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, for Sister of Providence Florence Marie Maxwell, 83, who died June 30. She had been a member of her religious congregation for 64 years.Born in Joliet, Illinois, she entered the Congregation in 1946 and professed final vows in 1954. Sister Maxwell ministered as a teacher for 48 years in schools in Indiana, Illinois and California. From 1959-60, she taught at St. Therese School in Los Angeles. Burial was at the motherhouse cemetery of the Sisters of Providence.
