I don’t think I have ever been as proud of my community as I was on April 23, the day that Grass Valley’s national hero, Lou Conter, was laid to rest at St. Patrick’s Cemetery.
Much has been written about Lou Conter since his passing on April 1, both locally and nationally, as he was the last living survivor of Japan’s attack on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which killed 1177 of his shipmates.
But the outpouring of honor, love, and respect that I witnessed in Grass Valley on the day of his funeral mass and burial deserves special recognition. Our community united to honor this great American hero, cooperating and working together in a way that we seldom see, and we should all take great pride in that accomplishment.
The moment I drove into Grass Valley on my way to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and saw the streets lined with American flags, I knew this was going to be a very special day. Several streets around the church were already closed to thru traffic in preparation for the arrival of the funeral procession, and every branch of law enforcement, as well as local fire departments were represented in astoundingly large numbers. Two ladder trucks supporting a large American flag, underneath which the funeral procession would pass, were in place in front of the church.
Residents and school children lined Church Street, patiently awaiting the arrival of the funeral procession and family members. Extra chairs were set up outside of the church to accommodate the overflowing congregants who had all come to pay their final respects to a local legend. Boy Scouts, Veterans’ groups, Knights of Columbus, Naval personnel – all were present. Members of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, Grass Valley Mayor Jan Arbuckle, Sheriff Shannon Moon, Police Chief Alex Gammelgard, former Sheriff Keith Royal, and so many other city, county and district dignitaries were in attendance, along with our US Congressman Kevin Kiley. All came to honor and celebrate the life of Lou Conter.
As I sat in the church prior to the beginning of the mass, I couldn’t stop myself from continuously glancing at the spot in the pews where Lou Conter regularly sat at 9:00 AM on Sunday mornings, and where I could always count on being greeted by his broad and inviting smile. First and foremost, Lou Conter was a gentleman in every sense of the word.
Those present at the funeral mass were also blessed with the beautiful mezzo-soprano voice of Grass Valley’s homegrown Sarah Saturnino resonating from the choir loft. A life-long member of St. Patrick’s parish, Sarah studied music at UCLA and earned a Masters in Music from Yale University. Among other professional opera companies, this talented young woman has performed with the San Antonio Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera, where she is currently performing in La Traviata. She flew home to Grass Valley for less than 36 hours to honor Lou Conter by elevating this meaningful ceremony to an even higher level with her rich and expressive voice, ending the service with a breathtaking rendition of the Navy Hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save”.
After the funeral mass almost all of those in attendance continued on to nearby St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Lou Conter’s final resting place. Upon my arrival at the cemetery, I was met with a street lined with fire trucks with their lights on and firefighters in uniform standing at respectful attention. Just past the fire trucks were dozens of veterans lining the entrance to the cemetery, many with American flags displayed. The teachers and children from Mt. Saint Mary’s Academy, in their school uniforms, had walked together from the school to the cemetery to line the gravesite with tremendous respect (and perfect behavior, I might add). Boy Scouts, Knights of Columbus, law enforcement personnel, and a vast number of military service members, active and retired, stood in respect as Father Estrella, Pastor of St. Patrick’s, recited the last prayers and words of farewell to a great man.
Full military honors were provided, which included a presentation of the folded flag to Lou Conter’s daughter, an impressive 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps by a bugler who had traveled from San Francisco for this occasion. Just on time, military aircraft performed an impressive fly-over before Lou’s remains were lowered into the ground next to his beloved wife.
At the same time that Grass Valley was honoring our hometown hero, a group of US Navy officers and other military dignitaries were celebrating his life at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The National Park Service conducted a special ceremony honoring Lou Conter “in tribute of the passing of the last of the over 1,500 service members that served aboard the USS Arizona and have left a legacy of service and sacrifice,” according to David Kilton, of the National Park Service.
“Lou Conter was an incredible Navy serviceman, and his death now reflects on the fact that we have no further survivors of the battleship Arizona from the attack on Pearl Harbor,” said Vice Admiral Blake Converse, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Converse called for the release of a single white dove during the ceremony, saying “the dove reflects on I think what Lou would tell you was his goal, and that is global peace and security and the hope that we can continue that.”
The outpouring of respect and honor I witnessed on this day gave me great hope that, in this divisive time in our country, we, as a community can mend our differences and find ourselves at peace.
Farewell Lieutenant Commander Conter – May you rest in peace.
