Brother Jeffrey Gros, 75, died in Chicago, IL on August 12, 2013. A De La Salle Christian Brother for 58 years, he was born John Jefferson in Memphis, TN, the son of Jeff and Faye (Dickinson) Gros. He graduated from Price College in Amarillo, TX, entered the novitiate of the Brothers in Glencoe, MO, in 1955, and professed his final vows in 1963. He received a BA and a MEd from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Brother Jeffrey earned an MA in Theology from Marquette University and a PhD in Theology from Fordham University. During his years as an educator, he taught in Evanston and Romeoville, IL, Glencoe and St. Louis, MO, and Memphis, TN. He was well known in the ecumenical movement for broadening its scope, published widely in theological journals and periodicals, edited numerous books on ecumenism, and spoke to various religious and educational groups throughout the world.
Brother Jeffrey served ten years as Director of Faith and Order for the National Council of Churches and also for fourteen years as Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. More recently, he was the Distinguished Professor of Ecumenical and Historical Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary.
In the fall of 2011 Brother Jeffrey returned to Lewis University in Romeoville, IL, as the Catholic Studies Scholar in Residence. He was president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, consultant to the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Chicago, adjunct professor at Catholic Theological Union, and Dean of the Institute for Catholic Ecumenical Leadership.
Survivors include his sister, Sister Joye Gros, OP, of St. Louis, and the De La Salle Christian Brothers. Visitation will be on Saturday, August 17, 2013 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Sancta Alberta Chapel on the campus of Lewis University in Romeoville, IL, followed immediately by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am. Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville on Monday, August 19, at 9:30 am. Memorials may be made to the De La Salle Christian Brothers Retirement Fund, 7650 S. County Line Rd., Burr Ridge, IL 60527.
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