Subiaco brother was a father, grandfather

Brother Eric Loran died Feb. 25 after suffering from dementia

Published: March 18, 2016

Brother Eric Loran, OSB, the first monk named prior of Subiaco in 1991, died Feb. 25 after suffering from dementia. He was 78.

Born Vincent Loran on Oct. 9, 1937 in Rhineland, Texas, he was the youngest of 11 children. After graduating high school, Brother Eric joined the U.S. Air Force, serving stateside and abroad in places like Spain and Morocco. In 1961, he was honorably discharged. He later attended the Aviation Academy of the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City, earning a pilot weather briefing certificate, a weather observer license for the U.S. Weather Bureau and his diploma as a federal air traffic control specialist. He served in several civil service positions with his aviation training, including as an air traffic controller at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

He married in 1962 and the couple had two children. They divorced in 1971. Brother Eric said he was “influenced about Subiaco and religious life by my family, and having three sisters in the Benedictine monastery of women in Fort Smith.” He professed his final vows as a Benedictine monk on Aug. 15, 1976, taking the name Eric. Brother Eric contributed in various ways to the abbey and academy throughout the years, including being a skilled groundskeeper, assistant dean of men, assistant formation director, soccer coach and head of the maintenance department. For seven years, he served as the abbey prior. In 2015, Brother Eric moved into the Abbey Health Center because of early stages of dementia and remained an active member of the abbey until he suffered from a fracture.

He is survived by one son, Gary Kirkland of Phuket, Thailand; one daughter, Renee Tielkemeier of Grapevine, Texas; one sister, Sister Andrea Loran, OSB, of Fort Smith; and several grandchildren.

A Christian Wake service was Feb. 28 and a funeral Mass was Feb. 29 at St. Benedict Church at Subiaco, with burial at the abbey cemetery.