Photo by Veronica Novotny
Veronica Novotny
Editor-in-Chief
Christ the King Chapel was packed Saturday, Sept. 25 for the 11 a.m. Mass celebrated for a recently deceased residence director.
Matt Hair, 32, passed away Sept. 3 from complications due to COVID-19. Hair graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in theology and catechetics and served as the residence director of Francis Hall from 2017 to 2020.
Hair was a member of Lions of Judah household while a student at the university.
The Rev. Jonathan St. Andre, TOR, celebrated the memorial Mass, which was concelebrated by the Rev. Nathan Malavolti, TOR; the Rev. David Tickerhoof, TOR; and the Rev. Gregory Plow, TOR.
“Life is not about ourselves,” St. Andre said. “It’s about who we are in Jesus Christ and how we bring him glory. And I was speaking to one of Matt’s friends here the other day, and he said, ‘You look at a life lived for the Lord, and Matt did that.’
“He sought to be open to the Lord. He sought to live for the Lord. And I believe that he died in the Lord, and in his grace and in his life,” St. Andre said.
“One of the things that many of us knew about Matt is that he loved to cook, and he loved food,” St. Andre said. “I think he loved food so much because he loved gathering people. Very Franciscan … and Matt was Franciscan to the core.”
According to his obituary, Hair is survived by his mother, Laureen, and sister, Bethany, another graduate of the university. Just five days after Hair’s death, his father Randy Hair passed away Sept. 8, also due to complications from COVID.
In support of Hair’s remaining family, the Rev. Shawn Roberson, TOR, university chaplain, traveled to North Carolina Sept. 22 for Hair’s and his father’s funeral.