George Plathottam sdb
GUWAHATI, JUNE 9, 2008: Salesian priest Laarhuis Herman passed away in Shillong on June 6. He was 94. His mortal remains were laid to rest on June 8, after a requiem Mass presided over by Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shilliong, at the Divine Saviour Parish. Born in 1913 in Netherlands, Fr. Herman joined the Salesian Society in 1938. He had to move from place to place and country to country and face innumerable hardships to complete his philosophical studies due to World War II. After completing his theological studies in Luvein, he was ordained a priest in 1947, and as a young priest, Fr. Herman came to India in 1948. The six decades of his dedicated life spent in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya endeared him to the people. He served as pastor in Mawkyndeng, one of the remotest areas of the state. For twelve years he was Administrator and Rector of Don Bosco Technical School, Shillong, one of the premier institutions that have educated hundreds of youth from all the states of the region.Thousands of people participated in the requiem Mass and the funeral. “A funeral like no other” remarked one of the veterans who has seen the passing away of several missionaries. Salesian Provincial Fr. Joseph Almeida, during his funeral oration, described Fr. Herman as a missionary who gave his very best and endeared himself to all people during his long and dedicated years of priestly and religious life.