During 25 years as pastor of Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral, the Rev. Joseph Hirsch fought to preserve the fading Globeville neighborhood as he ministered to a widespread flock and helped the less fortunate, those who knew him said.
Hirsch, 65, died last week after a short illness.
“He was the backbone of our organization. He will be missed,” said Margaret Escamilla, vice president of the Globeville Civic Association and a longtime neighborhood resident.
Hirsch grew up in Kansas City, Mo., and was ordained an Episcopal priest before conversion to the Orthodox Church, said his wife, Paulette Hirsch, 65.
“I think he felt that the Episcopal Church was changing, and that the Orthodox maintained the tradition that was handed down at the time of the apostles. I think he would probably tell you that the truth doesn’t change,” she said.
Hirsch founded St. Theodore of Tarsus Orthodox Church in Kansas City before being named rector of Holy Transfiguration in July 1984.
At the time, Globeville was a neighborhood in crisis. Once a working class enclave where Eastern European immigrants raised families, the area had fallen into disrepair.
Many of Holy Transfiguration’s parishioners had moved elsewhere in the metro area and commuted to the church for services.
The city had rezoned pieces of the neighborhood from residential to commercial, and vacant city property became overgrown.
At one point, Denver officials considered demolishing the neighborhood and building an industrial park. There was talk of moving the church to the western or southern suburbs, according to Holy Transfiguration’s website.
But Hirsch refused to accept his transfer to the parish “unless the people were willing to make a commitment to stay and Bloom where God planted them,” according to a history of the church on the Holy Transfiguration website.
In Globeville, he and his wife plunged into the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood’s civic life, helping to author a neighborhood revitalization plan and working with the city to have alleys paved.
He measured streets that needed repaving, his wife said.
“When we first came here, the park was a place where people would drink and than sleep off that drunk,” Paulette Hirsch said.
“He said if you just got some basketball goals in the park, the kids will be playing basketball and people won’t want to sleep there because they will be hit by a ball. Now this park is a real blessing,” she said.
When hungry people came to his door, Hirsch would be sure they received a meal.
“He would have the kids get something from the refrigerator. If they came on Christmas, they got what we were having,” Paulette Hirsch said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
