Maggie Skinner

His grandparents were French and lived in Wisconsin. Lewis Francis Goodman was born on May 29, 1915 at U.C. Hospital in San Francisco. He was baptized at Mission Dolores. His father ranched in Santa Rosa for two years, then moved the family to Wisconsin where he became a cheese maker. His family lived with paternal grandparents. There was a Catholic church nearby that both families attended. Lewis Francis remembers traveling by ox cart to attend church. He was an only child until he was six years old.

His next home was Milwaukee where his father worked for an automobile and tractor company. The family lived in a hotel. The family moved shortly afterwards to Racine, Wisconsin where they bought a home, but the father was unable to find work. They sold the house and moved back to California to Redwood City. Lewis' father started a business manufacturing batteries, but the business failed. Eventually they settled in Los Angeles.

Lewis Francis first thought about a Christian vocation when he was in third grade. He attended Catholic schools and served as an altar boy. He attended Cathedral High School, a Christian Brothers high school in Los Angeles, for one year; then transferred to St. Mary's High School in Martinez where he was a Junior Novice for three years. He spent much of his time training at the Novitiate School at Mont La Salle in Napa.

In 1932 he entered Saint Mary's College in Moraga where he double majored in philosophy and history. He also took classes at U.C. Berkeley and received his Masters Degree at the University of Washington, D.C. in Library Science.

Brother Dennis taught high school for seven years. His first assignment was St. Mary's High School in Berkeley where he taught history and was in charge of the library. He then was transferred to San Francisco Catholic High School where he taught History and English. He also served as director of the school cafeteria. His third high school assignment was at Cathedral High School (his alma mater), where he taught Latin, Spanish, History and English. He was also librarian and moderator of the yearbook.

In 1953, Brother Dennis became an Assistant Professor at Saint Mary's College in Moraga. He taught in the Geology Department and was moderator of the Gael Yearbook. He became Assistant Librarian in 1960 and served as Head Librarian from 1972­ 1981. He concluded his career at SMC serving as Archivist of the college from 1982-1992.

Brother Dennis' lifelong hobby was horticulture. He planted conifers on the Saint Mary's campus, at the Hacienda de las Flores and at Mt. La Salle. In honor of his 88th birthday, Stan and I planted a special Monterey pine tree in the Cambria Preserve. This disease resistant tree might save our forest from pitch canker disease.

He was interested in the history of Moraga since his early days as a student at SMC. He hiked much of the Rancho area before the growth of the area started. He also spoke to many of the early residents before they were gone. Much of our early oral histories are his doing, as well as early photographs.

In 1965 Brother Dennis joined Sonia Levitin, Dorothy Mutnick and Gladys Shally in founding the Moraga Historical Society. He got permission to use the old music room on the third floor of the SMC Library, and thus the MHS Archives was born. He collected and saved documents, newspapers, photographs, court case files, county census records (which Louis Stein had saved from the county records trash can), and anything else he could preserve for an archive. He worked closely with Dorothey Mutnick and Gladys Shally, who lived in Canyon.

In 1992, Brother Dennis retired and moved to Mont La Salle retirement home where he continued working by phone, fax and mail with the Archives staff and continued his Moraga family tree research.

Brother Dennis was my mentor, my critic and my friend. He was also very close to my husband and two sons Steve an p Ron. They always attended birthday parties and visited often with him. Stan and I visited him at the rest home shortly before he died. He was very glad to see us. I was pleased when I heard that he was able to go back to Mont La Salle for an ice cream social on the day before he died. He was tired, but he had a great time!

I will really miss him.

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