ANNOUNCING THE 2022 RECIPIENT of
The Legacy Award
The Durso Foundation
The Legacy Award is given to an individual or family whose dedication to service
is truly a family affair. This award honors an entire family’s gift of service.
“I just assumed he was on staff here,” recounts OLMC Mission Development Director Elliot Guerra. “When I first arrived at OLMC, I figured anyone staying this long and dedicated to the building as much as Chris must be getting paid for it,” he remembers thinking. Chris Durso and the Durso Foundation’s dedication to service and to the mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel started with Chris and his siblings’ beloved parents Ralph and Laura Durso, faithful Catholics raising their family in nearby Englewood Cliffs. “My grandmother, mother, aunts, they all instilled the faith in me, by example,” Chris recalls. Chris and his siblings wanted to make sure they honored that commitment to the faith.
Founded in 2000, the Durso Foundation was an opportunity to guarantee a legacy for their parents. When in 2010 their beloved mother Laura passed away, they committed to making OLMC a central hub of their giving, a parish that always hosted Chris and his mother in the first few rows of every Saturday 5 P.M. Mass. There seemed to be no aspect of Mount Carmel community life that wasn’t affected by the Foundation’s generosity. When the children in the Academy needed a place to play safely, there was the Foundation with a matching gift, everything from side door replacements to bench renovations, it seemed there was no limit to the Durso Foundation’s giving. When OLMC wanted to make a commitment to a major renovation to better assist in the ministries of Mass, funerals, weddings and other liturgies, there was the Foundation with brand new sacristies, an altar serving changing room and confessional as well as a new narthex.
The perfect reminder of their giving are the beautiful bouquets of flowers that adorn our altar nearly every Sunday of the year – gifts from the Durso Foundation.
For nearly forty years, Chris Durso has been arriving at OLMC every Saturday before dawn to clean, pray, and prepare for weddings and funerals. There are many memories of young couples, grieving loved ones and countless celebrations that took place under his careful eye. Out of his love for OLMC, Chris is always sure to make the place spotless.
Along with his wife Barbara, his beloved children Rachel and Nicholas, and his devoted siblings, it is Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s turn to serve Chris and the Durso Foundation and to say thank you for making OLMC feel like home.
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL SIXTH HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY
Saturday, November 19, 2022
7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Knickerbocker Country Club
188 Knickerbocker Road, Tenafly
Cocktails — Buffet — Revelry
Get ready for a blessed and fun evening full of community support and a few surprises!
−Limited Capacity−
ANNOUNCING THE 2022 HONORARY INDUCTEES
The Legacy Award
The Durso Foundation
The Service Award
Karin Erdtmann and Bobby Thompson
The Carmelite Star Award
Fr. Dan O’Neill, O.Carm.
The Lumen Christi Award
Deacon Michael Giuliano and Mary Beth Giuliano
The “Little Flower” Award
Dahlia Cousineau
$135 per ticket
Checks are payable to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. All proceeds go directly to OLMC Church.
Limited capacity seating.