by Marc and Julie Anderson
mjanderson@theleaven.org
TOPEKA — He had one true love: the church.
And if there was one place you could find him, it was at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Topeka.
Fellow parishioners referred to him as a pillar of the community, saying there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the parish. Whether it was volunteering in the kitchen, serving enchiladas during the parish’s weeklong Fiesta Mexicana every summer or preparing the vessels used for Mass while serving as sacristan, he was there.
At the end of the 5 p.m. Mass Nov. 16, a standing-room crowd learned he had left one last gift to his beloved parish.
The parish’s loan to build its activity center, announced pastor Father Daniel Coronado, had finally been paid in full, thanks to a gift from Louis Torrez, a man known to nearly everyone as “Uncle Louie.”
The Mass also served as the official kickoff for the parish’s yearlong celebration of its 110th anniversary. Celebrated by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and concelebrated by Father Coronado along with former pastors and other priests who have provided some form of priestly ministry there, including Father Jerry Arano-Ponce, pastor of Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Bucyrus-Wea, and Father Joe Chontos, chaplain to the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex in Topeka. Father Anthony Saiki, rector of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas, served as master of ceremonies.
Father Coronado also expressed his personal gratitude to parishioners, fiesta volunteers, benefactors, parish staff, the finance council and countless others who helped to make the Marlo Cuevas-Balandran Activity Center a reality in 2006. As he made public the debt’s retirement, applause broke out in the church not once but twice as he read the following announcement to the congregation in English and Spanish.
“It has been a long while — several years — since we have been paying our loan to the archdiocese. And I am thrilled today to share with all of you wonderful news: We have fully paid off our loan to the archdiocese.”
Profile in faith
As part of his remarks, Father Coronado called Torrez’s great-niece Lisa Hubbard to the front of the church to receive a plaque, saying, “I would like to recognize ‘Uncle Louis’ and thank Lisa. Even though he has passed we can still experience today the fruits of his faith. Uncle Louis’ house was sold, and we received a $100,000 donation for the loan purpose.”
That donation, Hubbard said, inspires the entire Torrez family.
When Uncle Louie died in 2020, he left his home to the parish. Meant as a guest house for visiting priests, missionaries and guest speakers, the home had been used infrequently for that purpose. So, when Hubbard was approached about selling it, she quickly agreed.
“Uncle Louis loved his church,” Hubbard said. “He couldn’t leave his estate to his family. We have such a large family, and it wouldn’t have been fair to anybody. He gave it to his one love.”
Hubbard’s cousin Ignacio Torrez agreed.
When his great-uncle retired in 1980, Torrez said that at first Uncle Louie, who was single his entire life, didn’t have anything to do and just laid in bed.
“‘I don’t got nothing to do. I’m retired. So, what should I do?’ Torrez recalls his Uncle Louie saying. Then, the church bells rang.
“He got up. He got dressed. And from then on, he knew his job was to serve the church,” said Torrez. “And that’s what he did. . . . He had so much honor for Jesus Christ, Mother Mary and Our Father in heaven.”
Hubbard agreed.
“I feel like I accepted [the plaque] on behalf of the Torrez family,” she said. “We are large, and many of us work day in, day out, to help where we can. To see Uncle Louie’s example of faith and charity means the world. I’m glad I was able to carry out his wishes.”
While Uncle Louie’s gift might have been the one that officially retired the debt on the $2.3 million project, perhaps no one in attendance was more emotional than Art Balandran, whose son Thomas was married to Marlo Cuevas. Both killed in 1996 in the crash of Value Jet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades, the couple’s memory lives on through the generosity of their families, who provided some of the initial funds.
“When I heard Father say it was finally paid for,” Balandran said, his eyes filling up with tears, “it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I just couldn’t believe it. I’m glad.
“When I say my prayers tonight, I’m going to pray for Tommy and tell him it’s finally paid for.”
