John G. Ryan, the first deacon in the century-old history of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, has retired. Almost.

Although he officially submitted his letter of resignation to the Stockton Catholic Diocese in June, he continues to serve where and when needed in Tracy’s Catholic parish, with an expanding membership of more than 6,000 families.

“As required worldwide Catholic policy, deacons must resign when they have reached the mandatory retirement age of 75,” Ryan explained. “I reached that in June, and while mostly retired, I’m available to help out when there is a need.”

Ryan, called Deacon Ryan by many parishioners and “Jack” by friends throughout the community, was ordained as one of nine original deacons in the Stockton Diocese in 1981.

That ordination has allowed him to perform many of the functions of a priest, but without the ability to say Mass on his own, hear confessions or perform anointing of the sick and dying.

He and two other deacons in the local Catholic parish assist in the Mass, including Communion; perform baptisms, non-Mass funerals and marriages without a Mass; and take part in premarriage counseling, religious educational programs and other tasks as assigned.

“I feel we, as deacons, have served as a bridge between the laity and clergy of the church,” Ryan said.

When he became a deacon in 1981, Ryan wasn’t exactly a stranger to St. Bernard’s. The native of Brookline, Mass., a suburb of Boston, had been a member of the parish since moving to Tracy in 1958 to be a counselor at Deuel Vocational Institution.

Ryan, whose voice and strong allegiance to the Boston Red Sox carry traces of his Massachusetts heritage, attended Catholic schools in Brookline and earned a scholarship to Boston College, where he was a social science major with an eye to becoming a social worker. After graduating in 1955, he entered the U.S. Army and was assigned as a counselor to the military prison at Lompoc, in Santa Barbara County.

“I had wanted to come to California, and I believe the hand of God was involved in getting me out here,” he said. “I counseled Army and Air Force personnel convicted by general courts marshal.”

In 1958, Ryan joined the staff of DVI, which then housed mostly young offenders, whom he counseled in group and individual sessions with the goal of adjusting to lives “outside” after their release.

“We had an extensive counseling program

that worked with the academic and vocational training programs that were major elements of the rehabilitation program at DVI during those years,” he said. “Unfortunately, budget cuts and changes in policies have decimated all of those efforts.”

It was while he worked at DVI that Ryan learned about the new emphasis placed on deacons by the Catholic Church following the Vatican II reforms. A member of the DVI counseling staff urged him to consider it. Ryan did.

In the meantime, he had become active in the Young Christian Workers at St. Bernard’s. It was through that involvement he met his wife, Jennie Gonzalez.

The couple, married in 1960, became involved in the “Cursillo” program, in which they shared study and discussions of the Catholic faith. Most of the sessions met on weekends and were conducted mostly by laymen.

“The Cursillo experience deepened our Catholic faith,” Ryan said. “Jennie and I talked it over in depth, and when we considered the deacon program, she was very supportive, even though she knew it would be a lot of work,” Ryan said.

Ryan was still working at DVI in 1977 when he became a member of the deacon’s training program, which included candidates from the Stockton and Sacramento dioceses.

“The training program was really quite rigorous, with study in theology, scripture, church doctrine and history, rituals and communicating,” Ryan said. “I had been raised a Catholic, but I learned so much.”

The training continued 3½ years, until Ryan and eight others in the Stockton Diocese were ordained in 1981. Ryan was assigned to St. Bernard’s.

At the outset, Monsignor Eugene Shea, pastor of St. Bernard’s, was very supportive of the deacon program and asked Ryan to be the first president of the new parish council, Ryan said.

“Members of the parish also were supportive, although there had never been a deacon in the parish,” Ryan said. “Just a few people, mostly old-timers, hesitated when I first offered Communion, but they became accepting as time passed.”

Ryan, working with his wife, conducted a number of premarriage counseling sessions for couples who wanted to be married in the church. He and his wife also became a team in leading Marriage Encounter sessions for married couples.

“Over the years, deacons have become such a vital part of the Catholic ministry,” Ryan said. “Monsignor Ivo Rocha has increased our involvement over the years as the parish has grown.”

With Ryan now mostly retired, two other deacons — Ray Whitlock and Pete Ryza — continue to serve full-time.

In addition to serving as a deacon at St. Bernard’s, Ryan is one of the founders and long-term supporters of Tracy Interfaith Ministries.

He served as first chairman of the board in 1988, when what had been a food closet at the First Presbyterian Church was expanded into an interdenominational program involving eight churches. There are now 21 churches involved in the effort.

Ryan said he is proud of successfully pushing for acceptance of Federal Emergency Management Administration funding to help finance the assistance program.

As the program expanded, raising funds and planning and constructing the new 10,000-square-foot Interfaith Ministries building on city property at Grant Line Road and Parker Avenue has been a major effort of Ryan and other board members.

Ryan, who was chairman of the building committee, now serves as vice chairman of the board and acts as interim chairman, with the illness of Lamar Stephenson, board chairman.

“Interfaith Ministries has become one of the most effective programs in this region in providing emergency food and clothing,” he said. “The volunteers, especially directors Jean Shipman and Darlene Quinn, have made it possible.”

Now that he is not working full time as a deacon, Ryan, who visits hospital patients on a regular basis, plans to spend more time with his family. He and Jennie have five children, 16 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. A trip to Ireland could also be in the offing.

When asked what he thought about Catholic priests marrying, especially with his experience serving as a deacon with his own family, Ryan replied that it could become a reality, “but probably not in my lifetime.”

“Marriage should be an option,” he said. “A number of priests would no doubt choose to remain celibate and continue the tradition of considering themselves married to the church; others may not, as they have in the Eastern Rite Catholic Church for centuries.”

He doesn’t see women becoming priests in the Catholic Church — the tradition and doctrine against that are too strong.

But, he added, “I believe women could become deacons in future years.”