Here's to you, Father Tom

April 29, 6:32 AMSonoma County ExaminerLaura McHale Holland

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This is going a bit far afield, but I suspect I'm not the only former San Francisco Catholic turned Sonoma lapsed Catholic. If you ever had the pleasure of knowing Rev. Thomas Seagrave, who grew up in Noe Valley's St. Paul's parish and has been a priest for more than 40 years, you might want to pray for him today, or if you don't pray, send kind thoughts his way. He's having his larynx removed as part of treatment for cancer.

I met him a bit over 20 years ago when I carried my then toddler daughter in to St. Paul's where Father Tom was an associate pastor at the time. I was lighting candles quietly and explaining what I was doing to my daughter when he approached us to say hello. I can't explain what it is about him, but Father Tom has that angelic ability to radiate love and acceptance to all upon whom he fixes his lovely blue eyes. My daughter took to him immediately, as did I.

He never questioned why we didn't attend mass all that much and then left the church entirely. He just loved us for who we were and wherever we were with our faith or lack thereof at the time our paths crossed, whether at a wedding, quinceneros or on 24th Street doing errands. And judging from the standing room only crowds this past weekend for his last three masses, not only in St. John of God church on Fifth Ave. in San Francisco itself, but also in the auditorium and outside as well, ours are not the only lives he has touched oh so gracefully.

Most recently Father Tom has been pastor at St. John of God. The phone number there is 415-566-5610 if you want to find out how his treatment is going, where he'll be convalescing and what his plans will be going forward. St. John's Web Web site is http://sjog.net/index.html.