Alice E. Secor congratulates her son, Msgr. Gary Secor, at his investiture as a monsignor in 2017. (Courtesy photo / HCH file photo)
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Alice E. (Baptiste) Secor’s many decades of generosity and selfless service began when she was still in high school at Sacred Hearts Academy.
Equipped with a station wagon, the Kailua resident provided rides from the Windward side to Kaimuki for both her Academy peers and for students attending Saint Louis College (now School) down the road.
Later, as a wife and mother to four children, she continued to be an integral part of the Windward Oahu Catholic community — serving as secretary at several parishes, as a choir member at St. John Vianney Church in Kailua, in the Catholic Women’s Guild and more.
Alice E. Secor, the mother of Msgr. Gary Secor, vicar general of the Diocese of Honolulu, died peacefully Aug. 10 at home in Kailua’s Lanikai neighborhood. She was 94 years old.
In an interview with the Hawaii Catholic Herald, Msgr. Secor added that his mom also took care of her own mother and was “always helping people.”
One of the highlights of her time with the St. John Vianney choir was the group’s annual trip to Kalaupapa to perform for residents and help with maintenance and other tasks around the settlement.
“She really loved going to Kalaupapa,” Msgr. Secor said, noting she made the trip 10 or 12 times.
Alice E. Secor, standing next to her husband Donald, holds their son Gary on his baptism day outside St. Augustine Church in Oakland, California. (Courtesy photo / HCH file photo)
Living and serving on the Windward side
Alice E. Baptiste was born Oct. 3, 1930, in Honolulu to Manuel Baptiste and Millicent (Stroup) Baptiste. Her father was very involved in the church and was also a successful businessman.
Manuel Baptiste, fearing for his family’s safety in Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, moved them briefly to Walla Walla, Washington, according to Msgr. Secor.
The family made their way back to Honolulu a couple years later, then moved to a home in Lanikai after the war. Alice Baptiste enrolled at Sacred Hearts Academy, graduating in 1949.
She moved to Berkeley, California, to attend Armstrong Business School, where she met her future husband, Donald Secor.
They wed at St. Anthony of Padua Church in San Francisco, and son Gary arrived in 1951.
Later that year, the young Secor ohana traveled back to Hawaii at Manuel Baptiste’s invitation. According to Msgr. Secor, Baptiste billed the trip as a vacation — but the Secors never returned to California.
“I think my mom’s dad wanted my mom back here (in Hawaii) and kind of wanted me here too,” Msgr. Secor said.
In Hawaii, the family welcomed three more children — daughters Cheryl, Wendy and Donna.
The Secors initially lived in Honolulu but soon relocated to a cottage across the street from the Baptistes in Lanikai (another move, Msgr. Secor noted, orchestrated by his grandfather). They became parishioners at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua; young Gary attended school there and was also an altar server.
When the Enchanted Lake neighborhood — not far from Lanikai — opened up in the early 1960s, Msgr. Secor said, his family moved there. A new church, St. John Vianney, was founded in 1962, and the Secors were part of the community from the very start.
Gary became an altar server at St. John Vianney, and Alice Secor worked there as the parish secretary for a number of years.
Msgr. Secor said his mother was “always pretty supportive of me wanting to be a priest,” a drive that he traced to his early days at St. John Vianney.
Alice Secor eventually moved on from her secretary position at St. John Vianney to work as the parish secretary at St. George Church in Waimanalo, according to Msgr. Secor; in addition to her work there, she would also help out a couple times a week at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Waikane.
She also took care of her mother, who moved in with the Secors in her later years.
Eventually it was Donald and Alice who needed additional care. Msgr. Secor moved back to the family home in Lanikai, becoming their primary caregiver in addition to his duties with the Diocese of Honolulu. Donald Secor died in 2020.
Before Alice Secor’s dementia worsened, Msgr. Secor said, “I would love (to hear) my mom talking about her relatives, talking story, that kind of thing. … She would always have great stories about the family.
“My mom was a pretty strong woman; she was no slouch,” Msgr. Secor said. “She didn’t let people run over her.”
“I was particularly blessed to be able to be with her these last few years.”
Alice E. Secor is survived by her son Msgr. Secor; daughters Cheryl Nollenberger, Wendy Nava and Donna Pagaduan; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will take place Sept. 23 at St. John Vianney Church, starting with visitation at 9 a.m. Mass will start at 10 a.m., followed by a reception, and her burial will be at Hawaiian Memorial Park at 1 p.m.
Msgr. Secor noted that he and his sisters chose their mother’s funeral date in part because it would have been their parents’ 75th wedding anniversary.