05/26/2026
Remembering the Sons of St. Joseph
Yesterday was Memorial Day, and our parish community continues to hold our veterans, our pioneer families, and those who lost loved ones in our prayers.
The Old St. Joseph Cemetery off Walden Street holds the remains of Shasta County’s first pioneer immigrant families. When you visit, you pass through the iron gates welded by the Franchetti family.
Inside the cemetery are markers for parish sons who never returned from war. We recognize men like Victor Franchetti, whose brother crafted those gates. We also remember the Carr brothers, Paul and Kenneth, who grew up near the church at 2005 Court Street. In a single week in April 1945, both were killed in service.
• Ensign Kenneth J. Carr (Age 23) died on April 9, 1945, when his Navy fighter plane crashed during training maneuvers off the Southern California coast.
• Lieutenant Paul B. Carr (Age 29) was killed in action six days later on April 15, 1945, while leading his 10th Mountain Division infantry platoon through a minefield under heavy mortar fire in Cereglio, Italy. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star.
The loss was felt deeply across the state; on May 10, 1945, the California State Senate officially adjourned its session for the day out of respect for the brothers.
Because their remains never returned home, they are memorialized on the Gold Star Shield at the back of our church on Gold Street, alongside our other parish sons.
We know this is a sensitive time for many in our parish who have deep family connections to the cemetery. Please join us in continuing to remember our Gold Star families, the service members who rest far from home, and the pioneer families of St. Joseph.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
