Date of death: 6/28/2025
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1979
Brother Thomas J. Haerle, CMF, died on Saturday, June 28, 2025, while in the care of St. John of God Retirement and Care Center in Los Angeles, CA. Brother Tom was born on February 08, 1953, in Tell City, Indiana. One of four children (he had two brothers and a sister), he is the son of the late Anthony and Mary Agnes (nee DuPont) Haerle.
Brother Tom first attended St. Mary’s minor seminary in Kentucky for three years but returned to finish his prep education at Tell City High School, graduating in 1971. He then entered Saint Meinrad College, in Saint Meinrad, Indiana, where he graduated in 1976 with a BA in Biology. From 1976-78, he continued his studies at Saint Meinrad School of Theology, where he received ministries of Lector and Acolyte in preparation for the priesthood. He took a brief leave of absence to work with Catholic Charities in Terre Haute, Indiana, as well as at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. During that time, he recalled, “I was involved in providing emergency shelter for homeless people, and I also worked with Cuban refugees, helping them in such matters as finding a job.”
Brother Tom joined the Claretians in 1983 after he felt “God was calling me back to the religious life, to become a brother rather than a priest.” From 1983-86 he studied at Catholic Theological Union, where he earned a Master of Divinity. He made his religious profession as a Claretian Missionary on August 20, 1985, and his perpetual profession on August 05, 1990, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. His first assignment was as Director of Religious Education and Pastoral Minister at Sacred Heart from 1986-90.
After that and for the next eleven years, 1990-2001, Br. Tom made vital contributions to the campus ministry program at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, as Campus Minister. “I enjoyed my time in the campus ministry very much,” he said. “It gave me opportunity to work with young people, to encourage them to be more involved with the work of the Church and to help develop them into responsible members of society.”
Following his assignment in Springfield, which also included time spent counseling students at nearby Drury University and Ozarks Technical Community College, Br. Tom was assigned to the Claretian foreign mission in Kingston, Jamaica. From 2001-06 he served as Pastoral Minister at St. John the Baptist Church, working with young people, and at Our Lady of the Angels Church, teaching grade school. He was also instrumental in setting up senior citizen clubs in both parishes and picking up and delivering food to the poor families in the area.
In 2006, Br. Tom returned stateside, assigned in-residence at Barbastro House (Claretian Candidate House) in Chicago, Illinois, until 2007 when he moved to Casa Claret, where he worked with Hispanic college-aged students who were considering a religious vocation with the Claretians until 2010.
From 2010-12, Br. Tom was then assigned to the Claretian parish of Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary in Chicago, IL, as Pastoral Minister. From there, he was assigned to the Claretian community at Dominguez Seminary in Rancho Dominguez, CA. From 2012-2023, where he worked taking care of the community but especially Senior community members, taking them to/from medical appointments, out on day field trips, etc., until his own medical needs began to slow him down and he retired there.
Eventually in 2023, Br. Tom was moved to St. John of God Retirement Center where his medical needs could be better cared for. He died peacefully there late in the evening of Saturday, June 28th. BroTee, as he was affectionately called by many, will always be remembered for his calm and friendly demeanor, always greeting with a smile and a kind word.