L’Arche Noah Sealth of Seattle is one of 17 communities in the United States that provide homes and workplaces where people with and without intellectual disabilities live, work and play together as peers,
create inclusive communities of faith and friendship,
and transform society through relationships that cross social boundaries.
create inclusive communities of faith and friendship,
and transform society through relationships that cross social boundaries.
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NOVEMBER 5th, 2016Join us for our
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L'Arche International's "As I Am" SeriesOur most recent newsletter:
Jean Vanier’s comfort and joy:
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Remembering Paul Tosaya
March 6, 1926 -- February 25, 2016
Paul Tosaya, first and foremost, was a man of the Beatitudes. He had a deep desire for God and a deep concern and an active passion for helping the poor. He believed in living simply, in service to others all the while being a person who had lived through immense trauma during his own life.
In 1942, when Paul was still a teenager, President Roosevelt authorized the deportation and incarceration act with Executive Order 9066. Sent to an internment camps in California, Paul’s family had to leave everything that they owned and all that was familiar. His father lost the family business, a noodle factory in the international district. Life in the camp was very difficult. The interred received army rations and lived in make shift buildings that were very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It all took such a huge toil on families and marked people for life. After the war, many had to stay in California, having to work in the area in order to earn enough to return home. When Paul’s family returned to Seattle they became involved in the hospitality business. Paul spent a brief period with the Jesuits after which he got a Masters in Social Work at Gonzaga University and subsequently in the early 1970’s became a member of the prayer group at St. Patrick’s Church here in Seattle that eventually opened a L’Arche home for children on Capitol Hill in 1975. Paul faithfully served our community for 40 years, doing all the maintenance and yard work on all three homes. Paul was laser focused in following and serving the Lord. He was faithful to daily mass and spent hours at prayer each day in our chapel. In the beginning, Paul was very private and used to keep to himself but when Jen became director she cajoled Paul into attending Team Meetings, being part of the “check-ins” and becoming more a member of the community. During those times he surprised us with revelations about growing up, his parents’ noodle factory and being a house-boy in Spokane on order to earn tuition money to attend university. Then during a Fiesta time at a Community Retreat one year, Paul shocked us all by doing handstands and back flips – and not just because he was over 65 at the time but because this was our shy and retiring Paul! Paul’s life of ministry was not confined to serving people with an intellectual disability. Although he never told us, he was known for helping others and had a slew of “shut ins”, people that were sick and needed help that he would visit and support in various ways. Long before it became fashionable to be “green”, Paul’s extremely frugal nature meant he was wholly invested in recycling. In Paul’s mind, everything had a second life. Nothing ever got thrown away – which is one of the reasons we brought over a ton and a half of wood, broken electrical appliances, old paint, wood and machine parts to the dump when we needed to clean out the Noah garage. Not only did things not get thrown out with Paul, they got reclaimed from the garbage. Not many of us are, or will be, known as dumpster divers, period … but in our 80’s? Paul, being so much older than most assistants that came to L’Arche was remarkably accepting and welcoming of younger people … many of whom would be taken on extensive hikes and return exhausted, fooled into thinking that Paul’s age would limit his pace and stamina. Then it took assistants a while to understand that his “WOOO ah!” wasn't really an expression of fervent support but actually his way of saying: “Holy smokes you've no idea how way off what you’re saying / doing is right now – but the Lord loves you, so I will leave it at that.” Paul worked right up until when he left us last August. Despite the advance of Parkinson’s disease, he would faithfully sweep the sidewalk outside of Noah House, clearing it of leaves and then the neighbors' homes. Paul’s fall and disorientation in August had us bring him to Harborview Hospital. He was assessed as needing a wheelchair and and more intense care than we could provide for him. We will miss so many things that Paul bore witnessed to, his steely faith and committed prayer life, his love of core members, especially Carol Howard, his generosity, his ability to forgive, his candor, his stories, his interest in world events, his upbeat, good humor, his ability to see the good in people, and his playful impishness. Yet what is so remarkable about Paul is not so much his freedom and lightheartedness when recounting some incredibly painful incidents in his life – he never complained – but rather, his experience of suffering leading to his resolute and inspirational commitment to following the Lord in such generous and faithful service to others. May you rest in Peace, Paul. Archive newsletter:
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