Date : 21 May 2013
Location : St. Joseph's Cemetery of the Brothers, Notre Dame, IN
Brother Alfred William Salz, C.S.C., age 90, died on Thursday, May 15th at Dujarie House in Notre Dame, Indiana. He was born in Waterloo, Iowa, on December 7, 1922, the son of John Peter and Amelia (Weist) Salz. He was baptized at St. Mary's Church in Waterloo on December 10, 1922. He attended elementary and high school at St. Mary's graduating in June of 1941.
After high school he worked in the office of his father's heating and plumbing business. He joined the U.S. Army and served from 1943-1946 in Europe and the South Pacific as a Technician 5th Grade and earned a Good Conduct Medal and Ribbon with one Bronze Star.
After receiving an Honorable Discharge from the Army in March 1946, he returned home to Iowa. He began his college studies at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and received his Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences in 1950. He studied one summer at Loras College in Dubuque and began graduate studies at the University of Northern Colorado in Greely, earning a Master's Degree in American History. He later pursued graduate studies at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles and Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
In December of 1951 he decided to join the religious life and went to Watertown, Wisconsin to become a postulant for the Brothers of Holy Cross. Alfred entered St. Joseph Novitiate in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, on February 1, 1952. He made his first profession there on February 2, 1953 and eventually his perpetual profession of vows at Notre Dame, Indiana on October 16, 1956.
He devoted his life (for 36 years) to teaching. His first assignment was to teach history and government at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, California from 1953 to 1955. He then joined the faculty of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California to teach for 4 years. In 1959 he was assigned to teach history at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio for a year and then returned to California in 1960 to teach again for 3 years at St. Anthony High in Long Beach. In 1963 he again joined the faculty at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks to teach for 6 years. In 1969, he returned to St. Anthony High in Long Beach for the third time and taught his favorite history courses for 3 years. In 1972 he moved to northern California to join the faculty and teach at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California for the next 17 years. He retired from teaching in 1989 and continued to reside at St. Francis High to serve the faculty as a substitute teacher and counsel students as well as being a mentor and servant for the needs of the community.
He devoted his life to teaching and was always a scholar of history. Nearly every summer he attended workshops at universities to supplement his knowledge in the courses he taught. He spent many summers at the University of Portland taking nearly every course in the catalog. Brother Alfred was also a lover of music. He would go to symphonies when he could and played the organ and piano.
Brother Alfred was called a "demanding teacher" by his students but was also greatly admired and respected. He never asked of his students what he was unwilling to demand of himself. In the local communities where he lived, the ambience and décor of the Brothers' home was important. It was amazing how he was able to change a room through the addition of flowers and plants.
In 2010, Brother Albert moved to Austin, Texas to the retirement residence at Brother Vincent Pieau Center. Despite his failing physical condition, he tried to take part in the life of St. Edward's University. In the fall of 2012, his health began to deteriorate and he moved to Dujarie House at Notre Dame, Indiana where he passed away on May 15, 2013.
Brother Alfred will be remembered by many as a religious of Holy Cross, a man of "middle America" who was proud of his Iowa roots, a scholar of history and government and a highly respected teacher.
The viewing will be at Our Lady of Holy Cross Chapel at Dujarie House, Notre Dame, IN from 9:00a.m. until 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 followed by a Mass at 11:00 a.m. His burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery, Notre Dame, IN. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, Indiana is in charge of arrangements.
www.kaniewski.com
