About Br. Rabisa

Br. Stephen Rabisa, FSC was born Clifford Anthony Rabisa in Oakland, California on October 7, 1930 to parents Alfred Rabisa and Theresa Olive Pasinotti. He finished high school at Fremont High School in 1948, attended St. Mary's College in Moraga, California and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. In 1949 he joined the order of the De La Salle Christian Brothers and served in several countries.

In 1963 he was assigned to the newly-opened De La Salle Lipa, where he taught high school Religion, Literature and History. He served as a spiritual coach and overall adviser to the first (official) De La Salle Lipa high school graduating class of 1964.

During his tenure, he made community catechism part of the Religion curriculum by having Class 64 students teach Catechism in Lipa public schools. In addition, he expanded his students' drama skills in English literature by organizing and directing a school play entitled "The Bat", which was staged in the Fernando Air Base Theatre. His utmost dedication and care for his students' academic and spiritual well-being left a lasting legacy of his being a faithful and loving mentor to the Class of 1964.

After a few years, Bro. Stephen was reassigned to La Salle Bacolod until 1969, when he obtained a dispensation from his vows. Clifford "Steve" Rabisa returned to San Francisco, California, in 1970 where he actively lobbied for community social service programs and became a union leader while working for the California State Employees Association. He died in San Francisco, California on December 29, 1999, at the age of 69.