Our Pastor, Father Ed Dover, was born in Northern Santa Barbara County, in the city of Lompoc.  His father’s family came to Santa Barbara with the founding of the Presidio in the late 1700’s.  Lompoc is the home of beautiful La Purisima Mission, one of the original 21 California missions.  The mission became an inspiration to Fr. Dover from his earliest years.  Memories of wandering through this historical “playground” as a child strengthened his sense of vocation.  The mission call to “catechize and baptize all nations” imbued the very soil on which he walked.  This, along with the practical Christianity live by his Protestant Mother and Catholic Father, were the roots of his vocation.

Attending Public schools and Jr. College prior to his admission to St. John’s Seminary College; Fr. Dover had been considering a career in Social Psychology.  He was ordained by Cardinal Timothy Manning for service to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1985.  His assignments have included, Our Lady of Grace in Encino, St. Paschal Baylon in Thousand Oaks, St. Cyprian in Long Beach, St. Margaret Mary in Lomita and as Pastor of St Thomas Aquinas in Monterey Park and St. Anthony of Padua in Gardena. In July of 2007 he was named Pastor of both St. James the Less in La Crescenta and Holy Redeemer Church in Montrose.

Fr. Dover has chosen as his motto: “Serve the Lord with Gladness!”  It is derived from the joy he has found in living out his priestly vocation, in obedience to the Lord’s call.  Fr. Dover believes that real joy will only be found when we have discovered that unique role for which we were created, when we allow God to nourish us for that role with the power of the Sacraments and when we publicly praise God for all the good He has done for us!  Gladness and joy should always be visible in the Christian heart.

Holy Redeemer was blessed by having Monsignor John K. Foley, now Pastor Emeritus, as Pastor from 1992 to 2007. Better known to his parishioners as the lovable and upbeat Monsignor Jack, he was born in the farming community of Tipperary, Ireland, on March 5th, 1935, in a family of six. Monsignor Jack attended local schools and St. Joseph's College in Ireland. Ordained for the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1959, Monsignor Jack has also served St. James, La Crescenta; St. Genevieve, Panorama City; St. Lawrence, Redondo Beach; St. Cyprian, Lakewood; and Immaculate Conception, Monrovia.
He continues to be in residence at Holy Redeemer and available to parishioners to share and enjoy his wit and wisdom.

After an interesting if not unique journey, Fr. Jim Tiu (pronounced Choo) has arrived here at Holy Redeemer as the Associate Pastor to Fr. Ed Dover.

Fr. Jim grew up in the Philippines and showed a dedication to Catholicism at an early age. Later, Fr. Jim traveled to Guam where he taught the Catholic Faith to middle school students.

In the Philippines, he took up his studies in philosophy and pre-theology at Maryhill School of Theology—a school established by the Belgian Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  He graduated with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University. He also earned a Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology from Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Taiwan. He prepared for the priesthood in the USA attending the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
 
Fr. Jim was ordained in 2000 for the Diocese of Fargo, ND. His last assignment prior to Holy Redeemer was Associate Pastor and RCIA instructor at Holy Family Church in Grand Forks, ND. He carries on with his faith journey and comforts himself with the quote from Deuteronomy 1:31b:  “The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his child, all along your journey until you arrived at this place.”

Parish Business Manager since 2000, Doug is a member of the Parish Planning Committee, Finance Council, and Advisory Board. He is retired from IBM Corporation where he worked for 31 years. Doug and his wife Shelila have been parishioners at Holy Redeemer since 1982, and have three grown children.

A member of the parish staff since 1995, Claire's Christian Service office serves as a Communication link for the parish and for the various ministries and organizations. Her office is located across from the church's courtyard and adjacent to the priest's parking area.

Born in Torrance, California, Claire received her degree in Performing Arts at USC. Married to Gerard, they have one daughter. Formerly employed at ICM, Columbia Pictures and Landmark Entertainment Group, she held senior management positions in human resources, administration and corporate communications.

Claire has volunteered for hospice organizations, outreach programs to homeless children and teens in Hollywood, and to individuals suffering from HIV and AIDS. You can normally find Claire singing with the choir at 10:00am Sunday mass as part of her contribution to the Music Ministry. She also serves as contact representative for Bereavement, Christophers, Respect Life & Shut-In Ministries.

Born in a small coastal village of Oaxaca, Mexico in 1940, Judy is the first child of Vulfrano & Angelica Silva. She attended boarding school near Mexico City of Puebla.

Judy moved to the Montrose area to be with her parents in 1961, the same year she joined Holy Redeemer Parish. After studying at Glendale College, she works for a group of surgeons at USC Medical Center.

Judy currently is active with the Continuious Capital Campaign Project Committee, regular Sunday Mass lector and cooks part-time for the priests at Holy Redeemer.

Parish Accountant since 2004, Deirdre received a degree in Business Administration, emphasis in Accounting, and a minor in Economics from California State University. She worked in the corporate world as an accountant for several years before returning to her high school almamater, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, in the Development office to raise funds for the new Student Activities Center. Deirdre has been married since 1990 to John, and have two boys that attend Holy Redeemer School

Trish Swords has been a member of Holy Redeemer parish for the past seven years since moving to the Montrose area. Trish is a former Catechist having taught grades 6-7-8 and has participated in our Toddler Ministry. Newly appointed to the position of Director of Religious Education and Youth Ministry Coordinator, Trish now oversees the Religious Education program for grades K-8 as well as the Junior High and High School Youth Ministries. Trish is certified by the Archdiocese in Basic Faith Formation with specializations in Catechism and Youth Ministry. Trish lives in Glendale with her son, Ethan.

Stacy Toyon is a recent addition to the Holy Redeemer staff.  She has two boys that currently attend Holy Redeemer School and a girl that will join them in a year or two.  They are second generation attendees as their father, Richard Toyon, attended HRS when he was a child.  Stacy went to Richmond College in London the summer of 1981 for a Theatre Program, and then spent a semester at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark in 1982.  She graduated from Whittier College with a BA in Theatre Arts in 1985.  She worked as an Actress and as an Art Department Coordinator on various films and television shows.  Since 1995, she has been a full-time parent and homemaker until joining the staff here at Holy Redeemer Church.

I’ve been a parishioner since 1968 when Marie and I were married at Holy Redeemer.  We have two sons, Michael and Patrick, who went through Holy Redeemer, Loyola High School and UCLA.  They each gave us a beautiful granddaughter, Elle and Ryan. 

I am a semi-retired Lighting Director in the motion picture industry and am now enjoying time at the YMCA and my new granddaughters.

Bill and Collette Peters were both born, grew up & married in San Diego, then moved to Pasadena in 1963. They have been members of Holy Redeemer since 1969. They have three grown children, Matthew, Anne Marie, and Gregory, all whom went to Holy Redeemer School, with the boys graduating from St Francis and Annie from Crescenta Valley.

Bill is a Past Grand Knight of Glendale K of C Council 1920, and is retired from 35 years with JPL. He is currently doing updates to Holy Redeemer’s church web site. During the spring he is involved with Crescenta Valley Little League and during the fall he is involved with the CV high school football team, getting the football program together for the start of the season. 

In June of 2006, Susan Fite will have finished her tenth year as principal of Holy Redeemer School, and her 23rd year with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. After earning a B.S. Degree in Social Science and a teaching credential from Cal Poly, Pomona, she received a Masters in Education from the University of San Francisco.

“I am thrilled to be a grandmother to one boy and hope for more from my only son, Thomas", Susan jubilantly expressed with her gleaming smile and twinkling eyes.