Untimely Death: March 30, 1949
Primary Sources Regarding Cheray's Death
The Following is a Letter from Father Langlois (Cheray's associate pastor in Whitton, England who eventually took his place) to Father Nicolle (Edmundite Superior General at the time)
March 3, 1943:
Very Reverend Father,
"I have been waiting for further developments in Father Cheray's condition before writing to you. He told me he had written several letters to you to keep you informed, but I feel I must put in my bit too.
He has been in bed now for the past three weeks or so. He has followed the Doctor's instruction far better than I thought he would. This is partly due to the fact, I believe, that he had the wind up when he found he had something with which one can't fool about. It is easy to understand that he is getting bored stiff with remaining inactive. Lying in bed, with nothing to do is not one of his favourite occupations. (He's not like me in this respect.)
Yesterday the Doctor came again. He's been coming twice a week so far. When he got through with Father, I had a chat with him and told him that I would have to report to my Superiors if he thought there was any danger in Father's condition. He's a good Catholic Doctor and well acquainted with a priest's duties etc. His exact words were: "You can write to your Superiors and tell them it is the opinion of the doctors I've consulted, and my own opinion, that Father Cheray's days as an active priest, are over. He will never be able to do any work requiring any amount of vigour or causing the least strain on the heart." I don't know if I told you Father had seen a heart specialist in London and had had radiocardiographs taken of his pulsations. The report was that the pictures were good and that they were able to see that not enough blood got through the main artery of the heart to sustain regular pulsation. What the doctor told me as above gave me a bit of a start, although from various hints he had given m before I had almost expected to hear what I did hear. Father Cheray himself knows nothing of my conversation with the Doctor, and expects to be up and about again by Ash Wednesday, which is next week. To tell him outright would be a serious blow to him, to tell him nothing or half-truths seems hardly fair to himself and to me: To himself dangerous: to me because I feel the responsibility of looking out for him during the air-raids especially, and therefore he should preserve as much strength as he can by remaining as inactive as possible. One has to experience heavy air-raids to know what they are, written or spoken descriptions of them are altogether off the mark. Father Cheray and I have gone through a few tests in the past three years, his were stiffer because he had the responsibility. That is how things stand at the moment. I have been able to manage with a Sunday supply until now. I have one of the White Fathers coming to help me on Sundays."
Father Langlois
March 3, 1943:
Very Reverend Father,
"I have been waiting for further developments in Father Cheray's condition before writing to you. He told me he had written several letters to you to keep you informed, but I feel I must put in my bit too.
He has been in bed now for the past three weeks or so. He has followed the Doctor's instruction far better than I thought he would. This is partly due to the fact, I believe, that he had the wind up when he found he had something with which one can't fool about. It is easy to understand that he is getting bored stiff with remaining inactive. Lying in bed, with nothing to do is not one of his favourite occupations. (He's not like me in this respect.)
Yesterday the Doctor came again. He's been coming twice a week so far. When he got through with Father, I had a chat with him and told him that I would have to report to my Superiors if he thought there was any danger in Father's condition. He's a good Catholic Doctor and well acquainted with a priest's duties etc. His exact words were: "You can write to your Superiors and tell them it is the opinion of the doctors I've consulted, and my own opinion, that Father Cheray's days as an active priest, are over. He will never be able to do any work requiring any amount of vigour or causing the least strain on the heart." I don't know if I told you Father had seen a heart specialist in London and had had radiocardiographs taken of his pulsations. The report was that the pictures were good and that they were able to see that not enough blood got through the main artery of the heart to sustain regular pulsation. What the doctor told me as above gave me a bit of a start, although from various hints he had given m before I had almost expected to hear what I did hear. Father Cheray himself knows nothing of my conversation with the Doctor, and expects to be up and about again by Ash Wednesday, which is next week. To tell him outright would be a serious blow to him, to tell him nothing or half-truths seems hardly fair to himself and to me: To himself dangerous: to me because I feel the responsibility of looking out for him during the air-raids especially, and therefore he should preserve as much strength as he can by remaining as inactive as possible. One has to experience heavy air-raids to know what they are, written or spoken descriptions of them are altogether off the mark. Father Cheray and I have gone through a few tests in the past three years, his were stiffer because he had the responsibility. That is how things stand at the moment. I have been able to manage with a Sunday supply until now. I have one of the White Fathers coming to help me on Sundays."
Father Langlois
Undated/Unsigned - Letter to Sister in France
You probably received the telegram that announced the death of Brother Louis M. Cheray. This letter will give you some details about his lasting illness. He had a malignant tumor in his mouth.The operations he had slowed down the tumors growth, but didn't stop it. The
sickness threatened to come back at any moment, the last efforts of the doctors
declared they were unable to continue the operations, treatments that Father
Cheray found very painful. But seemed to make him temporarily better, but he
was losing strength day by day and could barely watch, complained of
[arthrital] pains especially in his legs, difficulty sleeping at night. Couldn't fall asleep without the help of injections but he could have lived a bit longer
but he contracted pneumonia which couldn't be controlled especially because of
his state of weakness that his illness put him in. He died ten days later. His
death was peaceful and edifying like the rest of his life. We’re all praying
for him and his memory will live on for a long time for those who knew him. Our
deepest sympathies and we’re praying for you.
The Following is a newspaper article that was released to press just days after Father Cheray's death. The article was undated, with no inclination as to what paper it came from, but it was assumed that it was an American publication, 1949.