Bro. Eric Beardsley, O.SS.T. died on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at Relais Bonne Eau Hospice Home in Edwardsville, Ill., after a brief struggle with myeloma.

Frank Grenville Beardsley was born on Sept. 26, 1932 in East St. Louis, Ill., to the late Theodore S. and Margaret A. (née Kienzle) Beardsley. After graduating from Haverford High School in Havertown, Pa., he served as a corporal in the United States Army.

He entered the Novitiate of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity (the Trinitarians) on Dec. 22, 1957 at Sacred Heart Monastery in Pikesville, Md. He was given the name Bro. Eric of the Transfiguration. On Jan. 4, 1959, he professed temporary vows as a religious Bro.. He made Solemn Vows on July 1, 1962. At the time of his death, Bro. Eric was four days from celebrating 50 years as a Solemn Professed Trinitarian.

Bro. Eric studied at Temple University, the University of South Dakota, and the Catholic University of America. He received a bachelor of science in business administration and a master of arts in library science from Southern Illinois University.

During his religious life, Bro. Eric served the Church in various capacities, including teaching and working as librarian at DeMatha Catholic High School, Hyattsville, Md., teaching at St. Paul’s School in Johnston City, Ill., and serving as a librarian at the Trinitarian Generalate in Rome, Italy; Trinitarian College in Pikesville, Md., and in Trenton, N.J. and Memphis, Tenn.

Since 2008, he had been a resident of the Apartment Community of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Ill.

Bro. Eric was known for his deep faith, great devotion to prayer, and love of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He had a great appreciation for opera, musical theater, and classical literature. Bro. Eric will long be remembered for his sharp wit and ability to recall obscure quotes related to a variety of subjects. He was multilingual and an accomplished writer, using his talents to pen a history of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and to assist in the ongoing translation work of the Trinitarians. His magnum opus, “Between the Fire and the Light,” a compilation and translation of the life and writings of St. Michael of the Saints, was in final editing at the time of his death and will be published posthumously.

Bro. Eric is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Jane Beardsley of Charlotte Harbor, Fla.; nephews Theodore S. (Angela) Beardsley III of Bakersfield, Calif., and Mark A. (Kathleen) Beardsley of Allen, Texas; niece Mary Elizabeth (Christopher) Beardsley-Land of Abbeyville, S.C.; special cousins Helen Clark of Belleville, Ill., Jeanne Kaltenbronn of Hecker, Ill., Louis (Kathy) Delatine of Millstadt, Ill., and Jane (Roy) Reeb of New Baden, Ill., along with many beloved cousins and the priests and Bro.s of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity.

Services: The body will be received at Holy Trinity Monastery, 8400 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, Md., at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 1. A vigil of silent prayer will be kept with the body in the Chapel. The Trinitarian community will pray Vespers for the Dead at 7 p.m. Those wishing to pay their respects are welcome from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday and from 1 p.m. to the Funeral Mass at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 2. Burial will follow immediately in the Holy Trinity Monastery Cemetery. A luncheon will follow in the monastery refectory.