Spiritual Rite for Catholic Notables : O.C. Developer Takes Vows to Join Knights of Malta Philanthropic Organization

It was one of those rare parties, a gathering so elegant it would have been enough to just stroll by and catch a glimpse.

But the sight of it all--brocade sofas, balconies with views of the Golden Gate, floral bouquets that perfectly matched the china--might have misled a casual observer. This was no gilt-splashed bash paying homage to materialism. This was a low-key celebration honoring a spiritual rite of passage taken by some of Orange County’s most ardent philanthropists--investiture into the Knights of Malta.

The Roman Catholic order, which serves the poor and infirm, is the world’s oldest order of chivalry and one of its most exclusive charitable organizations. Local members include Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley; hamburger moguls Carl and Don Karcher; developers Art Birtcher, Jim Baldwin and Al Baldwin; Orco Block Chairman Peter Muth, and Orange County Republican Chairman Thomas Fuentes. Famous Knights include New York financier J. Peter Grace and former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig.

Last Thursday, in the 15th-floor Spanish Suite of the Four Seasons Clift Hotel in San Francisco, Riley and his wife, Emma Jane, along with Gary Hunt, Irvine Co. senior vice president, and his wife, Joanne, welcomed about 40 guests to the party for local developer Timothy Strader, who took his vows the next day at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.

Joining Strader for the happy occasion were his wife, Susan; his sons, Tim and Patrick, and his daughter, Megan (daughter Stephanie was on tour in Europe). Fellow dinner guests included Dolores Galea, consul general of the Republic of Malta; Msgr. Joseph Sharpe of the Diocese of Orange, and Fullerton valve manufacturer Robert Bond, a Knight of Malta, and his wife, Betty.

After a cocktail reception, guests feasted on cream of asparagus soup, swordfish, chocolate mousse and lively speeches from Hunt and Riley. “I want to welcome you on behalf of myself and my wife Joanne,” said Hunt, right arm to Irvine Co. Chairman Donald L. Bren. “Our friend is going to be inducted into a very special order. It is an honor for us to be here.”

And then, with a huge smile: “The Straders are our very good friends, and I have to say, were it not for his charming, wonderful wife, Tim would never have made it (into the Knights of Malta). They’re a great couple, a great team. A great family!”

Riley, who sponsored Strader’s entrance into the order, told guests the Hunts had recently converted to Catholicism (the regal Joanne, dressed in white, paired her string of pearls with a cross on a gold chain). “And it was the Straders who helped them over the rough spots,” he said. Referring to the large amount of time the Rileys have come to spend on charitable organizations, Riley joked: “ I want to win the lottery so I can get a maid for our dog!”

Strader told guests he was honored to have been “selected by Tom and Emma Jane.”

“In your life you are touched by many people,” he said. “It is an honor to be with my best friends. . . . I just feel like this is a dream come true.”

A dream that can be intimidating, Riley said later. “When I was invited to become a Knight of Malta, I wasn’t certain I had all the qualifications and the desire to take on the responsibility. But I’m glad I did. It focuses your attention on a better Christian life, a commitment to people who are not as fortunate.”

That commitment includes annual dues of $3,000--distributed by the order to its charities around the world--and at least one pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, to help the terminally ill take its miraculous waters (Emma Jane Riley, a Dame of Malta, and Art and Gaye Birtcher--also a Dame of Malta--visited Lourdes in May).

Local charities assisted by the Knights of Malta include the Orange County Food Distribution Center, one of Thomas Fuentes’ favorite charities, and the South County Community Clinic, supported by the Birtchers.

Strader likes the fact that the Knights have an opportunity to bring their special charity to the order. “I think that is a very enlightened approach to philanthropy,” he said.

To be recommended for investiture, a man must have demonstrated a commitment to his church and philanthropic causes, Riley said. “Generally, the Knights all have been successful in the financial world. They are leaders who are in a position to help others.”

Strader demonstrated his willingness to help when he became a founder of Santa Margarita High School with a $100,000 donation. He has also pledged money to his church, Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport Beach, for the expansion of its school and parish hall.

As a member of Legatus, a business and family ethics awareness group founded by Domino’s Pizza President Tom Monaghan, Strader had an opportunity last year to learn even more about sharing. During a Legatus lecture in Assisi, Italy, given by a Franciscan priest, Strader was told he shouldn’t feel guilty about being successful. To hear that from the homilist to Pope John Paul II eased some of the developer’s uneasy feelings. “He told us success means you have an obligation to share with the less fortunate,” he said.

On Friday at noon, the Strader family congregated at Stars, the hot San Francisco bistro owned by Jeremiah Tower, to celebrate before the 3:30 p.m. ceremony. Joining Susan and Timothy were Susan’s mother, Connie Wright, and Susan’s sister June Smith with her husband, Jim. The Smiths own Roudon-Smith vineyards in Santa Cruz.

Wright raised a toast to Strader, who blushed slightly. “This is wonderful,” he told his family. During the meal--Timothy opted for veal shanks, Susan chose rock shrimp--Tower greeted Strader and told him that one of his ancestors had been the first governor of Malta. “Small world!” Susan said.

Before Strader left for the cathedral he told his family: “Next time you see me, I’ll be in a gown!”

He was in a gown all right, a regal, flowing black cape embellished with the famous Maltese cross in white embroidery. Strader, along with Jim Reed, an insurance broker from Orange County who was also becoming a Knight of Malta, marched down the aisle of the huge cathedral along with hundreds of other knights and dames--the Rileys, Mary and Peter Muth, and Don Karcher among them.

That night the couples attended a gala celebration in the ballroom of the Westin St. Francis Hotel. There they dined on lamb chops and watched Knight of Malta Janos A. de Lupkovics, a guest at the Riley-Hunt party the night before, receive special recognition for his selfless work on behalf of the poor and infirm of Hungary.