After helping Shalom Center get started and maintain its fine services for priests and religious, Hugh Rafferty offered his retirement recently as his getting to meetings has become more difficult.
Although none of us knows his age for sure, suffice it to be said that Mr. Rafferty has spent the vast majority of a century in serving Shalom Center, the Sisters of the Incarnate Word, and other Catholic organizations in the Houston area.
“You’d be surprised how many people come to our offices, see the picture of Mr. Rafferty, and say ‘Oh, I know him. He helped us out when our (parish, school, community agency) was just getting started,’ said Dan Kidd, Executive Director. “He is well known in nearly every Catholic circle in Houston. I hope others will take his example and continue the energy he has brought to Shalom Center.
It was Hugh Rafferty who jumped at the report that we needed more rooms at Shalom Center due to increased occupancy and moved the Board of Directors to start immediately on the project of building two new cottages. The Board approved the plans in August of 2012, and the new buildings were completed in February of 2013, thanks to Mr. Rafferty’s commitment to the project. He was often on site figuring out solutions to challenges in the building process.
“He wasted no time in getting going with the new project because it meant we could be helping more priests and sisters sooner,” Kidd remarked. “His love for those special people who serve the Catholic communities is as great as anybody’s that I have ever seen.”
Mr. Rafferty was a true legend at Shalom Center. And, even though retired from the Board, he remains interested. “He called me during the flooding in August to see how we were doing at Shalom,” Kidd reported. “What a truly caring gentleman!”