Services Set For St. Gerald Pastor, Fr. Lawrence Malcolm

OAK LAWN, IL -- St. Gerald parishioners returned home from Fourth of July fireworks and barbecues only to learn that their beloved pastor, the Rev. Lawrence J. Malcolm, had died suddenly that morning. Fr. Malcolm was 74.

Father Malcolm was the pastor of St. Gerald Catholic Church in Oak Lawn since July 1, 2008. His assignment at St. Gerald’s had recently been extended to 2020, which also would have been the 50th anniversary of his ordination into the priesthood. Prior to coming to St. Gerald, he served as the long-time pastor of St. Daniel the Prophet Church in Chicago. He also served as an associate pastor at St. Bonaventure Church in Chicago, St. Theresa Church in Palatine, and St. Bede the Venerable Church in Chicago, according to his published obituary on the Thompson-Kuenster Funeral Home website.

Father Malcolm was born in Chicago. He was the beloved oldest son of the late Sally (Honan) and the Norman J. Malcolm. He attended Quigley Preparatory and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.

In a 2010 interview with Chicago Catholic, Fr. Malcolm talked about growing up as the oldest of six children on Chicago’s Northwest Side, where he had been an altar boy for Immaculate Conception Parish. His father was a bricklayer, as was his grandfather and great-grandfather.

“My father used to come home with his trowel and say ‘If any of my sons take this up …. I’m not working for you guys to be bricklayers,’” he told Chicago Catholic.

Fr. Malcolm continued to wear the traditional cassock around the parish, even when many of his contemporaries had switched to the more modern black suit with inverted collar.

“This is what we were given at the altar [at ordination],” he said in his interview with Chicago Catholiuc. “We weren’t given a suit. My big thing is I don’t mind new things coming if they work, but I hate to see the traditions go. Why give them up without a reason?”

He remarked that the best pastors he knew were the ones who focused more on the needs of the parish than administrative work. Fr. Malcolm was known around St. Gerald’s as a hard working pastor devoted to his flock. When he arrived at St. Gerald’s in 2008, he had already built a gym at St. Daniel the Prophet. He often joked that he “must have inherited mortar in his veins from his bricklayer father.”

Known for his good humor, Fr. Malcolm was a familiar figure in the classrooms at St. Gerald School where he taught religion five days a week in the parish grammar school. Fr. Malcolm was committed to St. Gerald where he worked the Friday night bingo games selling pull tabs or volunteering long hours at St. Gerald’s annual summer carnival.

Fr. Malcolm picked up baking in seminary, turning out bread, pizza bread, coffee cakes and other baked goods for parish bake sales and soup nights. His “famous bread” was often the first to sell out at the St. Gerald. He was also a skilled gardener, which he grew to love while the associate pastor at St. Theresa Church in Palatine.

He loved to travel and joked that he was a “Roamin’ Catholic.” He took all 17 of his nieces and nephews to Europe, his obituary said.

Lifelong parishioner and Oak Lawn Tr. Alex Olejniczak said Fr. Malcolm gave tremendous guidance to the families of St. Gerald, recalling a time when the priest administered the last rites to a parishioner in hospice between services during a busy Holy Week.

“He was truly a blessing to anyone he touched,” Olejniczak said. “The strength and unity he brought to our church was truly powerful. You could tell he lived the spirituality he preached from the pulpit.”

Mayor Sandra Bury said she was shocked and saddened to learn of Fr. Malcolm’s sudden passing on Thursday, calling him a “gifted leader.”

“Fr. Malcolm touched so many lives in Oak Lawn for so many years that it’s hard to imagine continuing without his stead and kind leadership,” the mayor said. “The Village of Oak Lawn lost one of our most iconic leaders.”

Fr. Malcolm is survived by his five brothers and sisters: Patricia (Robert) Avants, Nancy (Ray) Heitner, Norm (Mary Ellen) Malcolm, John (Lili) Malcolm, & Dan (Eileen) Malcolm. He was a kind and loving uncle of 17 and great uncle of 15, with three grandnieces on the way.

Visitation for Fr. Malcolm is set for Tuesday, July 9, from 2 to 9 p.m. at St. Gerald Catholic Church, 9320 S 55th Court, Oak Lawn. A funeral Mass will follow at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 10. Interment will be at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines.