Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey has blessed Identitywa’s boardroom named after the late Tom Tranter on 27 September.
The event was a celebration of long-lived support for the acceptance of children with disability into the sacramental life of the Church.
“It is appropriate that we should be celebrating the commitment of Tom Tranter today (on) the feast day of Saint Vincent de Paul, who pioneered service to vulnerable people,” Emeritus Archbishop Hickey said.
At a special gathering with Tom’s family, Identitywa Board members and staff, Emeritus Archbishop Hickey together with Mr Tranter’s wife, Fay Tranter, unveiled a framed history and photo display, featuring the story of the couple’s work in establishing Identitywa, which was formerly known as Catholic Care.
It also includes photos of the couple and their daughter, Genevieve Tranter, who lives in an Identitywa shared home.
Emeritus Archbishop Hickey spoke about his relationship with Mr Tranter and the discussion about how people with disability should be included in the Church in the 1970s.
“It was Archbishop Goody, Fr Jim O’Brien and Bishop Healy who believed that it was no longer valid to be cautious and together they led a new understanding of including people with disability into parish life and the sacraments,” he said.
Board Chair Graeme Mander shared the significant contribution Mr and Mrs Tranter had made in founding services for children with disability, and their active participation in the Catholic community in Western Australia.
“Our community was very saddened by the news of his passing in late 2017,” Mr Mander said.
“I found him to be a gentle person with an unrelenting passion for the causes he believed in.
“Always with a smile on his face and a wonderful sense of humour, Tom was such a good company and could always be relied upon to attend Identitywa events.”
Mr Mander also said that it was satisfying to have a unanimous decision by the Board earlier this year to name their boardroom after Mr Tranter.
“We are truly grateful for the opportunity to remember Tom, and to continue to honour, his significant legacy through The Tom Tranter Boardroom,” he said.
“Identitywa is forever appreciative of both Tom and Fay’s commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities and their support of Identitywa.
“We look forward to many more years of Fay’s friendship and supporting Genevieve to live a happy and fulfilled life.”
Mr Tranter’s son, Matthew Tranter, spoke on behalf of the family and thanked Identitywa for the recognition of his father.
“We are very pleased that dad’s efforts in bringing happiness to people with intellectual disabilities through integration with the Church have been acknowledged by Identitywa,” he said.
“Dad spent a lot of time over the years in boardrooms so it seems very appropriate to have one named after him.”
Identitywa Chief Executive Marina Re thanked everyone for coming to the blessing.
“We are very grateful that Archbishop Hickey was able to do the blessing today as he shares in the history of Tom and Fay’s work,” Ms Marina Re said.
“We will ensure that we uphold Tom’s values in the meetings we hold in this room.”