06/16/2026
Today the Order remembers Carter (Bernard) Van Waes, OHC, who died on June 14, 2008:
Carter Van Waes (Fr. Bernard) was born Henry Anton Bernhard Gaedke on January 26, 1921, in Flint, Michigan, to Maria Bachmann, a young German immigrant who in 1901 came with her parents to the United States, and to Edward Gaedke, a traveling salesman. His father disappeared and his mother left Henry to be raised by her parents, an immigrant couple who ran a bakery in Chicago. Though themselves desperately poor, they offered Henry a home and instilled in him two great values: a Teutonic love of order and an appreciation for education. After high school, Henry worked twelve hours a day, six days a week in the family bakery and in a bookbindery. Sunday after church was spent in museums, art galleries and musical events, because he was desperate for education. He haunted the campus of the University of Chicago and wanted to be an Egyptologist. But instead he enlisted in the Navy in August 1941, under the name Anton Henry Carter and served for six years in the Pacific Theater, receiving the right to wear countless battle ribbons, and became a Chief Signalman.
On January 6, 1945, a Kamikaze pilot crashed into Anton’s ship, The USS New Mexico. Anton lived, but over a hundred of his mates died. These included Anton’s best friend, a Marine named Bill. The loss was overwhelming to him. Anton’s grandparents both died within six months of his enlistment into the Navy. But after the war Robert Van Waes, a fellow seaman and dear friend from Illinois, took Anton home and introduced him to his family. They became Carter’s surrogate family, a reality Anton acknowledged by legally changing his name to Carter Van Waes.
Carter moved to Boston and attended Boston University, but was recalled to active service in the Navy during the Korean conflict. After the war Carter returned to Boston to complete his bachelor’s degree. During this time he came to know the Episcopal Church and felt called to the ordained ministry. He graduated from CDSP, held a pastoral position in Alaska, was ordained there, and then had parish ministries in the Bay Area. He had a falling out with Bishop Pike, moved to Texas, and found further pastoral work in the parish in Odessa and at a nearby military base. He earned a Masters degree in Literature and History from the University of Texas and found work in Texas as a teacher, leaving the active ordained ministry.
He decided to join OHC when he saw the Holy Cross magazine issue for the summer of 1973, with a picture of Roy Parker quietly pondering his Hebrew studies. Carter joined OHC in 1976, taking the name Bernard, and was Life Professed on July 10, 1981. He was initially stationed in Santa Barbara and then in Berkeley where he entered a long period of ill health. He died in Santa Barbara on June 14, 2008.
Bernard was fascinated with and had a deep appreciation for Thomas Merton. He pursued significant studies in Merton for many years. His love of art emerged in watercolors, sketches, and breathtakingly beautiful Japanese style flower arrangements, which appeared as if by magic in the chapel long before the dawn service. For years he made gingerbread houses and exotic cookies at Christmas.
His sense of humor was wonderfully wry, and he gave pointed nicknames to many of the brethren. In some ways his gruff exterior character was summarized by his favorite needlepoint pillow that said, “Bah, humbug.” But his interior life was deep and rich and profoundly shaped by his love of the monastic life.
