He's described as "probably the most well-known of Holy Cross Brothers in the South Bend area," and for years many motorists along Indiana 933 returned the wave of Brother Edward Vincent Courtney as he greeted traffic from his lawn chair near Holy Cross College.

Now, Courtney's familiar face — and the flags he displayed from 1989 until 2006 — will be missed. Courtney died Monday at age 90 in the Dujarie House at Notre Dame. His death comes after a long illness, according to the Midwest Province Brothers of Holy Cross.

He was born in Portland, Oregon, on May 2, 1918, one of seven children of James and Mabel Mary (Meier) Courtney. After high school, he worked with the Southern Pacific Railroad for a year, and played semi-pro baseball and umpired in the Portland area. In 1941 he joined the U.S. Army and served in five campaigns in North Africa and Europe until his discharge in 1945.

Since he was a WWII Veteran, Courtney believed the American flag symbolizes the freedoms Americans enjoy. Brother Charles McBride, C.S.C., said Courtney's intention as he kept daily vigil with his flags by the highway was to pay tribute to the servicemen and women who died for their country — and to see a 28th amendment to the Constitution protecting the flag from any desecration.

After the war, Courtney began his religious training at St. Joseph Novitiate in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, on August 15, 1946, and made his first vows as a Brother of Holy Cross on August 16, 1947. He pronounced his final vows at Sacred Heart Basilica at the University of Notre Dame on August 16, 1950.

His assignments included two years of maintenance work at the Community House at Notre Dame, and nine years at LeMans Academy in Rolling Prairie. But his longest assignment was to sell subscriptions to the weekly Ave Maria magazine, visiting parishes across the Midwest for 20 years.

Later, after a year of study in Kansas City, Courtney served on the staff of Columba Hall until 2003, working as the mailman and commissioner for the community houses in the Notre Dame area. He then became a resident at Schubert Villa, and moved to Dujarie House in 2005 until his death.

The City of South Bend honored his dedication to the American flag and his service by naming him as the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2006.

A funeral Mass for Courtney is this Saturday at the St. Joseph Chapel.