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2004
Fr. George A. Prickril, SJ, 12/27/2004
Fr. William Everett, SJ, 10/13/2004
Fr. John N. Felten, SJ, 10/10/2004
Fr. J. Paul O'Brien, SJ, 9/13/2004
Fr. James E. Hoff, SJ, 7/23/2004
Fr. Robert G. Humbert, SJ, 6/25/2004
Fr. Lester A. Linz, SJ, 6/21/2004
Fr. Charles E. Ronan, SJ, 4/8/2004
Fr. William A. Dehler, SJ, 4/9/2004
Fr. Eugene L. Watrin, SJ, 2/29/2004

Br. George A. Prickril, SJ 80 December 27, 2004 Colombiere Center, Clarkston, MI View and sign Br. Prickril’s guest book at legacy.com.

Br. George A. Prickril, SJ, Jesuit brother who “made thousands of beds in his lifetime” and served for more than 50 years, died on December 27, 2004 at Colombiere Jesuit Community in Clarkston, MI. He was 80 years old.

Born in Park Falls, WI, in 1924, George Prickril attended grammar school at St. Anthony’s before graduating from Lincoln High School in 1942. He then joined the United States Air Force and served for two and a half years. He was stationed in Italy for much of the Second World War but was not called upon for combat duty. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of corporal. He studied for one year at St. John’s University (MN) before entering the Jesuit Novitiate at Milford, OH, in 1951.

Br. Prickril spent his entire career as a Jesuit working quietly and faithfully in a variety of well-known Jesuit ministries. From 1953 to 1959, after he completed the Jesuit novitiate, Br. Prickril served at Milford Retreat House preparing rooms for the thousands of retreatants who passed through the house in those years. In 1960 he was assigned to serve as refectorian for the Jesuit community at Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, a job he kept until 1975. From 1975 to 1981, he was assigned to St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where he worked in the kitchen and doubled as a custodian. In 1981 he was assigned to Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL, where he served until August, 1999, when he retired to Colombiere Center in Clarkston, MI. “He made thousands and thousands of beds and cleaned thousands of sinks in his lifetime,” said Br. James E. Small, SJ, a close friend of Br. Prickril’s who’s currently assigned to Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL.

In his first year in the Jesuit novitiate, Br. Prickril met Br. William Haas, SJ. They’ve been friends for more than fifty years and worked together at both St. Xavier High School and Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House. “George was a good Jesuit,” Br. Haas recalls matter-of-factly. “He worked hard. He was regular with his spiritual exercises. He liked people and cared about them. He was a good traveling companion. Those are the high things about him.” For 25 years Br. Haas, Br. Prickril, and two other Jesuits from the Chicago Province made an annual two-week summer road trip. Over the years they visited just about every region in the country. They never flew and they didn’t stay in fancy hotels. “That’s the kind of vacation we liked,” says Br. Haas.

Br. Prickril was also an avid sports fan, who was particularly devoted to the Green Bay Packers. “He was asking about football scores until just a few days before he died,” Br. Small recalls. Before entering the Jesuits, Br. Prickril worked as a part-time baseball umpire in Wisconsin. After entering, he continued to officiate games between teams of Jesuit scholastics. It was a typical of him, working to make other people’s pursuits possible.

During his years at Colombiere, Br. Prickril remained active, continuing to serve as long as he was physically able. He helped distribute the mail at the sprawling facility and also helped prepare meals. He was a soft spoken man whose work often went unnoticed. This didn’t bother him at all. He knew he was doing his part.

Br. Prickril is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Frances Martwick of Phillips, WI, and Mrs. Mary (Phillip) Martwick of Northridge, CA, and one brother, Mr. Louis Prickril of Warsaw, WI.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. William Everett, SJ October 13, 2004 Loyola House, Nerima-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

Fr. William Everett, SJ, who volunteered for the Jesuit Mission in Japan and eventually took the name Nobuo Koyama, died October 13, 2004. Fr. Everett, who was born in Parkersburg, WV, in 1921, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Milford, OH, in 1940 after studying for two years at Xavier University.

Soon after the Second World War ended, the Allied Occupation encouraged Christian missionaries to come to Japan. In 1947, Fr. Everett, at the time still a Jesuit scholastic, volunteered to go to Japan in response to a call for volunteers by the Jesuit superior general. He was one of five Jesuits from the Chicago Province who became part of a unique international mission serving the Japanese people. He completed two years of language studies in Japan during which Fr. Francis Mathy, SJ, says his “Xavier-like zeal to lead souls to Christ was already apparent in mastering the difficult Japanese language.” He spent the regency stage of his formation teaching at Eiko High School. After three years of theology studies, he was ordained in Australia. He spent another year there, during which he completed his tertianship. His first assignment was as a teacher of English at Rokko High School, where he served from 1955 to 1958.

In 1958, he was assigned to Sophia University —a Jesuit school founded at the request of the Pope in 1913—where, for 28 years, he taught English and ethics, as well as introductory courses to Christianity and the Bible. He became a Japanese citizen and adopted the name Nobuo Koyama. His course “The Philosophy of Love” was one of the most popular at Sophia and the book he wrote to supplement the course, also titled Philosophy of Love, was reprinted 41 times and sold well over 200,000 copies. The book draws heavily on scripture and the work of philosophers and scholars. Fr. Mathy says he was impressed by the fact that Fr. Everett included the work of many contemporary Japanese scholars and philosophers and didn’t limit himself to the ancient Greeks. Fr. Everett went on to write a number of other books, including a sequel to Philosophy of Love, all of which sold quite well. In 1979, during a sabbatical year, Fr. Everett requested to be assigned to China. He cited a number of reasons for wanting to go, including vocation promotion, a love of the Orient, and ecumenical experience. But what he really wanted to do was save souls. He wanted to share Christ with the Chinese. Ultimately, the Chinese government denied his request.

In 1986, after his long tenure at Sophia, Fr. Everett was assigned to teach English at Seibo Joshi Gakuin in Kyoto. At the age of 80, he considered leaving Japan to teach English as part of a new Jesuit initiative in Myanmar, but doctors warned that his physical condition might not be up to the demanding task. In 1998, after retiring from teaching, he became an assistant pastor at St. Ignatius Church.

Fr. Hideyuki Koyama, SJ, a former student of Fr. Everett, offered the homily at his funeral Mass and said “He had a truly pioneer spirit, a spirit informed by the Jesuit ideal of the magis.”

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. John N. Felten, SJ 86 Sunday October 10, 2004 Colombiere Center, Clarkston, MI View and sign Fr. Felten’s guestbook at Legacy.com

Jesuit Priest, Chicago native, and long-time professor, dean, and originator of the honors program at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Fr. John N. Felten, SJ, died Sunday October 10, 2004, at Colombiere Center in Clarkston, MI.

Born in Chicago in 1918, Fr. Felten attended grade school at St. Jerome’s and high school at Loyola Academy. Following his high school graduation in 1936, he enrolled at Loyola University Chicago, where he completed an AB in Latin and Greek. During his studies to become a priest, Fr. Felten earned an MA in Latin and Greek from St. Louis University as well as a Ph.L. (licentiate in philosophy) and S.T.L. (licentiate in sacred theology) from West Baden College. He was ordained for priestly ministry on June 18, 1952, at West Baden College.

Fr. Felten, who had spent eight years studying in Jesuit schools before entering the Society, spent much of his career serving in Jesuit schools. From 1946 to 1949, he taught at University of Detroit High School. In 1957, after ordination and three years of special studies, at Oxford University, which culminated in an additional BA and MA, he was assigned to Xavier University to teach classics. Over the next 30 years he served as instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and finally full professor of classics at Xavier. “John did a great deal for Xavier and for the study of classics at Xavier over the years,” said Fr. J. Leo Klein, SJ, professor of theology and vice-president for mission and ministry, who was a member of Xavier’s faculty with Fr. Felten. “He was a mainstay here in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. He was a jovial, interested, bright, articulate person, and very much of a raconteur.”

“His biggest contribution to Xavier was building the honors program,” said Fr. William F. King, SJ, a retired theology professor who now serves in the University’s alumni office. According to Fr. King, the Honor’s Program had been established a year earlier by Fr. William P. Hetherington, SJ, but Fr. Felten “saw the possibility of creating a men’s honors residence in Marion Hall. He assembled some very talented teachers. He taught in the program. He even spent part of each fall traveling to Jesuit high schools to recruit capable students for the program.”

From 1958 to 1967, Fr. Felten directed the Honor’s Program. In 1967, he was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Xavier, but he insisted on continuing to teach. He was, according to Fr. King, a “forceful” teacher. ”He knew the classics well, very well, and he was confident in his talents. He was forceful in his diction and, as a result, easily imitated by students. But the students respected his learning. He had wonderful relationships with them.”

In 1987 Fr. Felten became a professor emeritus at Xavier. The change, however, didn’t signal the end of active ministry for him. He was determined to continue to serve other people. In the summer of 1987 he participated in a clinical pastoral education program at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati and that the fall completed a 4-month internship in the Spiritual Exercises and spiritual direction. He was also assigned to work as a fundraiser for the Chicago Province in Cincinnati. In 1990, he became an associate pastor at Old St. Mary’s in Over the Rhine and also served as a volunteer laundryman at Mary Magdalen House and a volunteer chaplain at University of Cincinnati Hospital. Fr. Felten was just as content cleaning the laundry of Cincinnati’s homeless as he was standing before a class of gifted students at Xavier. In fact, says Fr. Don O’Shaughnessy, minister at Faber House where Fr. Felten lived before moving to Colombiere, his later years exposed a different side of his personality. “He had a very tender heart. A soft side. You could see it in his desire to serve in hospitals.” Fr. O’Shaughnessy also recounted a story about Fr. Felten adopting a half-breed dog from Mary Magdalene House and caring for it until it was put to sleep. In 1997, Fr. Felten began volunteering as an archivist at Xavier, a job he continued until he moved to Colombiere Center in 2002.

Fr. Felten had a gift for language. He read Greek, Latin, German, and French and spoke all but Greek. He served on Xavier’s Board of Trustees from 1961 to 1973.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. J. Paul O'Brien, SJ 67 Sunday September 12, 2004 Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Indianapolis, IN Viewand sign Fr. O'Brien's guest book at Lifestorynet.com.

Fr. J. Paul O’Brien, SJ, well-known Jesuit priest who spent nearly his entire priestly career serving as teacher, dean, and alumni director at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory dies suddenly.

On Saturday September 11, 2004, the day before he suffered an apparent heart attack at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, IN, Fr. J. Paul O’Brien, SJ, had spent the day with student leaders of the upcoming Kairos retreat. Linda Hegeman, director of public relations at Brebeuf, former Brebeuf parent, and long-time friend of Fr. O’Brien’s, was also on the team leading the retreat. She recounted a story Fr. O’Brien told the students on Saturday. When Fr. O’Brien was a freshman at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Fr. William J. Schmidt, SJ, who later founded Brebeuf, was president there. During his first year, a simple gesture from Fr. Schmidt changed Fr. O’Brien’s life. Fr. Schmidt walked past him in the hall, nodded his head, and said “Hello, Paul.” Last Saturday, Paul O’Brien, SJ, told the student and adult retreat leaders, “I knew right then that was the sort of man I wanted to be.” Several in the group replied, you are.

Fr. O’Brien was born January 21, 1937 in Cincinnati, OH, where he attended grammar school at St. Teresa’s and high school at St. Xavier. After graduating from X. High in 1955, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Milford, OH. During studies to become a Jesuit priest, Fr. O’Brien completed a BA in Latin and English (1960) and an MA in Latin and Greek at Loyola University Chicago (1964). He earned a Ph.L (Licentiate in Philosophy) from West Baden College in 1962 and an S.T.L. (Licentiate in Sacred Theology) at St. Georgen in Frankfurt, Germany, where he was ordained for priestly ministry in 1968. Fr. O’Brien spoke German, Spanish, and French, and was able to read those languages as well as Latin, Greek, and Portuguese.

Most of Fr. O’Brien’s assignments as a Jesuit have been to Brebeuf. In 1962, the year Brebeuf opened its doors, Fr. O’Brien, then a Jesuit regent or ‘scholastic’, was assigned to teach Latin and English there. In 1969, after his ordination, he returned as a teacher and alumni moderator, became assistant principal in 1970, and in 1978 became the dean of students. Throughout these different jobs, he continued to teach and serve as alumni moderator. He had a great rapport with students. “He was conscientious in the classroom,” said Fr. James P. Gschwend, SJ, Brebeuf’s president from 1979-1982. “Students liked him because they picked up on his interest and concern for them.”

In 1982, with Brebeuf’s alumni in Indianapolis and around the country swelling, Fr. Gschwend asked Fr. O’Brien to become the school’s alumni director. “He dug into that full force and has been doing it ever since,” said Fr. Gschwend. “To a lot of people, he’s ‘Fr. Brebeuf.’ He went to dances; he went to the kid’s games. He knew everybody. The school was pretty much his life whenever he was there and even when he wasn’t.” From 1986 to 1992, Fr. O’Brien also served as rector of Brebeuf’s Jesuit community.

In 1992, he was assigned to Holy Family Parish in Chicago, where he served for two years as co-administrator and superior of the Jesuit community. From 1995 to 1999, he served as a religion teacher and faith coordinator for faculty and staff at his alma mater, St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, OH. But in 1999, he returned to Brebeuf, where he served until his death as alumni chaplain.

“This is a great loss for Brebeuf,” said Fr. M. Joseph Casey, SJ, who served at Brebeuf from 1968 to 1987 and as president from 1982 to 1987. “He was the liaison between present and past. He knew everybody.” Fr. Casey described Fr. O’Brien as “a fine teacher… and a very dedicated man who was always personable and warm.” Fr. Casey estimates that Fr. O’Brien has done more than 200 weddings for Brebeuf alumni.

Fr. Casey also pointed out that Fr. O’Brien was deeply committed to social justice throughout the world. “He’d studied in Germany and had an international perspective. He spent time in Peru and Nicaragua. He was active in promoting social justice issues. He traveled to the School of the Americas protest every year with students. He organized memorial masses and memorial rites for Jesuits killed in El Salvador. This wasn’t just an idea for him. He worked on these issues.”

Fr. O’Brien is survived by two brothers John (Christine) O’Brien of Ft. Collins, CO, and William (Karen) O’Brien of Silver Spring, MD.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. James E. Hoff, SJ 72 Thursday, July 23, 2004 Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH Visit Xavier University’s extensive tribute page which has a collection of materials related to Fr. Hoff’s life and service to Xavier: an extended biography, photo galleries, and comments from his term as president. View/sign Fr. Hoff’s guestbook at legacy.com

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. Robert G. Humbert, SJ 82 Friday June 25, 2004 Colombiere Center, Clarkston, MI View and sign Fr. Humbert’s guestbook at legacy.com

Fr. Robert G. Humbert, SJ, beloved Jesuit priest and administrator at Loyola Academy in Wilmette for more than 35 years, died as a result of renal failure on June 25, 2004, at Colombiere Center in Clarkston, MI. He was 82.

Born on May 7, 1922 in Cincinnati, OH, Fr. Humbert attended St. Thomas Aquinas grammar school and St. Xavier High School there. On August 31, 1940, soon after his graduation, he entered the Society of Jesus at the novitiate in Milford, OH. Fr. Humbert earned an AB in Latin and English from Loyola University Chicago in 1945 and an M.Ed in Guidance and Statistics from there in 1957. He also earned a licentiate in philosophy (Ph.L) from West Baden College, where he was ordained a priest on June 17, 1953. In 1954, he received the licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L) from West Baden.

Fr. Humbert’s principal assignments as a Jesuit saw him as assistant principal at Loyola Academy in Chicago from 1955-1956, and then at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati from 1957-1961. He was appointed principal at St. X in 1961, a position he held until 1963, when he was asked to serve as Socius to the Provincial in Oak Park, IL. In 1968, he returned to Loyola Academy as headmaster, but in 1971, was asked to become director of alumni affairs, a position he held until 1988, when he was named Senior Alumni and Development Officer. In his role as director of alumni affairs, Fr. Humbert routinely traveled across the United States for various alumni gatherings. His affable nature and generous spirit served as an example of the Ignatian ideal to Loyola Academy graduates around the country and encouraged them to remain involved with the school.

James Gallagher, a 1938 graduate of Loyola Academy and former CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher and Company, recounts a story Fr. Humbert, who was a standout baseball player at St. Xavier High School, once told him. "He said there was a time in his life when he flipped a coin. If it came up heads, he was going to the major leagues. If it came up tails, he was going to the Jesuits. And it came up tails." Gallagher went on to add that Fr. Humbert was "a real man, a strong, good, leader, and an incredible people person. He knew everybody, was loved by everybody, and loved everybody. He had that in his heart. He was a warm, out reaching, outgoing human being. He was very very good at dealing with people, and getting people support. That’s why he was so good at doing what he did."

Fr. Daniel L. Flaherty, SJ, Provincial of the Chicago Province from 1973-1979, said "Fr. Humbert created an alumni association at the Academy that was the envy of other Jesuit schools, because it was a classic example of what such an association should be. It wasn’t just about reunions and fund-raising; it was about ‘cura-personalis,’ keeping in touch, being present to Academy graduates in both the joys and sorrows of their family lives and careers. He never forgot them, and they never hesitated to call upon him for help with weddings and baptisms, or with funerals or visiting the sick."

Fr. Larry Reuter, SJ, who served as president of Loyola Academy from 1975 to 1991 said "Fr. Bob Humbert was a committed and passionate man; passionate about his ministry as a Jesuit priest; committed to secondary ed and the unique difference Jesuit education meant in the lives of high school students; passionate about Loyola Academy and its alumni; committed to his pastoral service of so many alumni and friends of Loyola Academy; passionate about the Cincinnati Reds. The love and light he shared so generously continue to burn brightly in our hearts."

In 2002, health problems forced Fr. Humbert’s retirement to Colombiere Center. Throughout his life, Fr. Humbert served 3 times on the faculty for CASE-NAIS national meetings and workshops, and twice on the faculty of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA).

Fr. Humbert is survived by sisters Mary (Charles) Maloney, and Margaret (Thomas) O’Meara.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. Lester A. Linz, SJ 93 Monday June 21, 2004 Colombiere Center, Clarkston, MI View and sign Fr. Linz's guestbook at legacy.com

Fr. Lester A. Linz, SJ, Jesuit teacher and long-time Cincinnati parish priest, died June 21, 2004, at Colombiere Center in Clarkston, MI, of heart failure. He was 93 and had just celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination last week. A native of Bellevue, KY, Fr. Linz attended St. Anthony Elementary in Bellevue and St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati before entering the Jesuit Novitiate at Milford, OH in 1930. In 1935 he earned a BA from Loyola University Chicago and in 1938 an MA in English from St. Louis University. Fr. Linz was ordained a priest on June 14, 1944.

Fr. Linz’s principal appointments as a Jesuit included teaching at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland from 1938 to 1941 prior to his ordination, and then in 1946, after he was ordained, an appointment to Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, where for seven years he taught theology and moderated the Father’s Club. In 1953 he was assigned to St. Xaiver High School to teach English and Religion and became instrumental in a campaign to raise money for the school’s new campus in Finneytown. In 1957 Fr. Linz was "loaned" to America magazine in New York to direct a public relations campaign in conjunction with America’s 50th anniversary, after which he then returned to Xavier to teach English.

In 1961, he began an eight-year stint in Chicago teaching at Saint Ignatius College Prep and raising funds for Jesuit International Missions, before returning to Cincinnati to begin a 30-year ministry as a parish priest. He served at the following parishes: St. Agnes in Covington (1969-1975), St. Teresa of Avila in Cincinnati (1975-1976), St. Elizabeth in Norwood (1976-1982), Sts. Peter & Paul in Norwood (1982-1983), St. Linus in Oaklawn, IL (1983-1984), St. Teresa of Avila in Cincinnati, OH (1984-1986), and St. Vivian’s (1986-2000).

At the age of 74, Fr. Linz moved into the Jesuit community at St. Xavier High School. Despite debilitating arthritis in his hips, shoulders, and back, he continued to serve at local parishes. Fr. Edward Pigott, SJ, who was superior of the X High Jesuit Community, remembers him visiting the doctor regularly. "He didn’t want to stop working, and he was doing everything he could to remain mobile. It was clear that he was in great pain. Saying Mass wasn’t easy for him, but I can’t remember him ever complaining about it." For more than 10 years, Fr. Linz continued to say Mass three times a week for a large group of elderly people at St. Vivian’s Parish, near the St. X campus. Fr. Joe Brennan, SJ, who was superior there in 1986, says Fr. Linz "given his limited energies, could easily have said, ‘I’m tired and hurting. I don’t want to do anything.’ But he didn’t. He stayed after that parish work no matter what. His diligence and perseverance were of a superior order."

Fr. Fran Daly, SJ, Fr. Linz’s final superior at St. X, says "he was motivated to keep working by his great love of the Eucharist." Fr. Daly also recalls his commitment to liturgy and to the scriptures. "He was devoted to the Mass. He took great time and care preparing his homilies. He always wanted to help people come to a deeper understanding of what the scripture meant." In January, 2000, Fr. Linz’s arthritis simply became too much and he retired to Colombiere Center, a Jesuit health care facility in MI. Fr. Daly recalls Fr. Linz accepted his retirement with equanimity and grace. Fr. Steven Meder, SJ, who entered the Jesuits on the same day as Fr. Linz in 1938 and was with him again at Colombiere Center, says Fr. Linz continued to celebrate Mass on a daily basis and also managed to continue his long-standing letter-writing tradition. Nearly every Christmas and Easter he sent out some 400 to 500 letters to the friends he’d made in his various ministries. He was very often inundated with responses.

Fr. Linz is survived by his two sisters, Mrs. Grace Moore and Mrs. Mary Ellen Rowekamp.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. Charles E. Ronan, SJ 4/8/2004 88 St. Joseph’s Hospital View and sign Fr. Ronan's guestbook at legacy.com

Fr. Charles E. Ronan, SJ, Chicago native, Jesuit priest, author, and longtime Loyola University history professor died April 8, 2004 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago.

Born in Chicago in 1914, Fr. Ronan attended grade school at St. Mel’s in Chicago before moving west with his family to Villa Angela in St. Charles, IL. He graduated from Fox Valley Catholic High School in Aurora, IL, in 1931 and entered the Jesuit novitiate at Milford, OH, less than a year later.

During his studies to become a priest, Fr. Ronan completed his AB from Loyola University Chicago and his S.T.L. from West Baden College in West Baden, IN, in 1941. He was ordained to priestly ministry on June 13, 1945. In 1953 he earned an MA in history and Latin from Loyola University Chicago, and in 1958 he earned a Ph.D. in history and education from the University of Texas.

Fr. Ronan was a teacher to the core. Every one of his principal appointments involved teaching at a Jesuit high school or university. The first of these was as a teacher of English and Latin at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL from 1941-1942. He returned there in 1949 to teach Spanish. In successive years he completed similarly brief assignments as a teacher of religion at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, and as a teacher of history at University of Detroit High School. History proved to be Fr. Ronan’s calling.

Following Doctoral Studies in history at the University of Texas, he was assigned to Loyola University Chicago, where he served as a professor of history until 1960, when he took an identical post at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. In 1963 he returned to teaching history at Loyola University and served in that capacity until he retired from full-time teaching in 1984. In 1967 and again in 1976 Fr. Ronan taught history at Loyola University’s Rome Center.

During his more than 30 years of teaching, Fr. Ronan also served the Jesuits’ intellectual apostolate through his work as a writer and editor. He authored numerous articles, continuing to publish through his 89th year. He also published Francisco Javier Clavigero, Figure of the Mexican Enlightenment: His Life and Works (Loyola Press, 1978), and Juan Ignacio Molina: The World's Window on Chile (American University Studies. Series IX, History, Vol 198) (Peter Lang Publishing, 2002). Fr. Ronan also edited East Meets West: Jesuits in China (1582-1773) (Loyola Press, March 1998), and Epistolario de Juan Ignacio Molina (Santiago Chile, Editorial Universitari, 1979), the letters of Juan Ignacio Molina.

Fr. Jack O’Callaghan, SJ, rector of the Loyola University Jesuit residence, where Fr. Ronan lived until his death, said, "He was a distinguished historian, publishing right up until his 89th year. He was even more distinguished for his gentleness, openness, and universal kindness."

While a student at Loyola Academy, Fr. Robert J. Bireley, SJ, now a professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, met Fr. Ronan, who mentored and counseled him as he decided to enter the Jesuits. "He always had time for me when I was a student and later for me and many other Jesuits, as is clear from his long time popularity as a chaplain at Loyola University's Campion Hall. His graciousness and his quiet sense of humor never failed him. He was also for many years a congenial and productive colleague in Loyola's History Department, and he continued to be intellectually active and to publish into his eighties. I will miss him as a dear friend, but I am confident that he is with the Lord."

Fr. Ronan is survived by his sisters Mrs. Mary Essig of St. Charles, IL, and Mrs. Elizabeth Webb of Plymouth, WI, and his brother Mr. Edward Ronan of St. Charles, IL.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. William A. Dehler, SJ 92 4/9/2004 Colombiere Jesuit Community Clarkston, MI View and sign Fr. Dehler's guestbook at legacy.com.

Fr. William A. Dehler, SJ, Jesuit priest, long-time Loyola University Chicago professor of philosophy, died April 8, 2004, at Colombiere Center in Clarkston, Michigan. He was 92, and would have celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this June.

A native of Terre Haute, IN, Fr. Dehler attended Wiley High School before his family moved to Kansas, where he graduated from St. Mary’s High School. He attended the University of Notre Dame, but completed only a year before entering the Society of Jesus at Milford, OH, in 1931.

In 1935 he obtained his B.A. from Xavier University, and in 1940 earned an M.A. in history with a minor in philosophy from Loyola University, Chicago. During his studies to become a priest he also earned a Ph.L (licentiate in philosophy) and an S.T.L. (licentiate in theology) from West Baden College in Indiana. He was ordained a priest on June 14, 1944, in West Baden, IN. He completed a B.L.S. in library science at University of Chicago in 1948.

Fr. Dehler’s career as a Jesuit was spent entirely in Jesuit education. He taught history at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati from 1938 to 1941, and at John Carroll University during the 1945-46 school year. After completing his library science degree, Fr. Dehler served as librarian at University of Detroit until 1953, and the Milford Novitiate from 1953-1955. From 1955 to 1957, he taught and served as librarian at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. In 1957 he began teaching philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, a position he kept for 20 years until his retirement in 1977. During his retirement, Fr. Dehler served at St. Peter Damian Parish in Bartlett, IL, where he was much loved by the parishioners according to his friend Fr. James P. Gschwend, SJ.

Fr. Gschwend also recalls Fr. Dehler, possessed of a sharp intellect and a great love of books, even in retirement, visiting the Harold Washington Library every Saturday. "He would spend hours there," Fr Gschwend recalls, "and you never knew what, for sure, he was reading about. But he could talk about anything: current affairs, history, philosophy. He was a brilliant conversationalist and he loved a good argument."

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit Partnership or the Jesuit International Missions by writing or calling:

To make an online donation, click here.

Fr. Eugene L. Watrin, SJ 83 2/29/04 B & B Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal View and sign Fr. Watrin's guestbook at legacy.com.

Fr. Eugene L. Watrin, SJ, 83, Jesuit missionary to Nepal, pioneer in educational and social work there, founder of a Jesuit college, celebrated athlete, friend of the late King Birendra, and beloved "bicycle priest", died February 29, 2004 at B & B Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.

"He was wonderful," said Fr. Watrin's younger sister, Helen Klohe. "God must have loved the Nepalese people so much to have sent Gene to work there for 48 years to make their lives better." A funeral Mass was held in Kathmandu on March 1, at 1:00 PM. Over 1,000 people attended, many of them Nepalese dignitaries, many of them poverty-stricken village people. It was, according to Mrs. Klohe, "a fitting tribute to his life's work."

Born in Dayton, OH, in 1920, Fr. Watrin attended Chaminade High School where he was an honor student, member of the track team, and an actor in the school’s dramatic productions, once taking the role of a priest in the "Bells of Shannon." After graduation in 1938 he started at Xavier University, where he competed on the freshman boxing team and the University’s debate team. In 1939 Fr. Watrin entered the Jesuit novitiate at Milford, OH.

During his studies to become a priest Fr. Watrin earned his AB in English literature at Xavier University in 1943, and earned his MA in English literature from Loyola University in 1947, the same year he left the United States for the Patna Jesuit mission in northern India. After completing special Hindi language studies, he began a three-year teaching stint at St. Xavier’s School in Jaipur, India. He was ordained a priest on November 21, 1952 at St. Mary’s College in Kurseong, India, where he did his theology studies.

Following his ordination Fr. Watrin was assigned to the St. Xavier’s School in Patna, India, where he served as a teacher and vice-principal until 1955. That year he was selected to join a group of Jesuit missionaries who’d been invited by Nepal’s Royal Family to open and run schools in the mountain kingdom. Fr. Watrin began his long career in Nepal as a teacher at the Godavari School (which eventually became St. Xavier’s Godavari). He remained a teacher for the rest of his life, but also took on a number of additional responsibilities. He was soon appointed principal, and in 1969 he began directing the Godavari Alumni Association (GAA), which has since become one of the largest and most active Jesuit alumni associations in the world. "Gene built the GAA into a very positive force for change in Nepal," says Fr. Gerald C. Drinane, SJ, a fellow American missionary in Nepal. "Besides the many facilities and activities he created at the downtown Kathmandu center, Gene helped the alumni and alumnae to reach out to the villages through education and house-building. He was a gracious host to any and all who came to the center, and took many out to the villages to see the social work being done for the poor. He started some cottage industries for the unemployed and women. He was always cheerful and very positive in his approach to the poor and needy. It is hard to imagine Gene without a smile on his face." In 1972, he earned a M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from Loyola University Chicago, a degree he hoped would help him more effectively serve the poor.

In 1988, back in Nepal, Fr. Watrin founded St. Xavier’s College, Nepal’s first Catholic college. Initially the college classes were held in the building at St. Xavier’s High School in the evenings to keep costs down. Fr. Watrin successfully spearheaded efforts to raise funding for the school’s two state-of-the-art classroom buildings. Last year 200 of the 209 students at the college, which offers a variety of courses as well as bachelor’s degree programs in sciences and social work, passed exams required to graduate and the number of applications was 10 times the number of open spots in the college. In 1999 he himself became a student at the college he founded when he began work on a BA in social work.

Fr. Watrin was invited to serve on advisory boards of numerous charitable organizations such as Ryder-Cheshire Home for the disabled and the Mahoguti Women’s Weaving Center. He was appointed to the kingdom’s first bi-national Fulbright Education Committee. He also helped start a Nepali chapter of Habitat for Humanity and in 1996 was named National Chairman of the organization. In 2001, he was selected by Nepal’s prime minister to receive the kingdom’s annual Social Service Award, and in 2003 the King presented him with the "Tri Shakhti Patta" (Thrice Powerful Medal).

Fr. Watrin achieved near legendary status in the Jesuit region in Nepal, where, even at the age of 82, he traveled almost exclusively by bicycle. An accomplished athlete, he used to compete in field hockey, softball, and basketball with his students. He continued to swim and play tennis until he became ill and was recently recognized as one of Nepal’s outstanding sportsmen, just one of many accolades he’s earned for his multifaceted work. He regularly traveled undercover to sensitive areas in the Middle East, where he ministered to Christians, many of them expatriates, who were discouraged from openly practicing their religion. He was a close friend of Nepal’s late King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya. Many of his former students are among Nepal’s elite: such as Prajwalla Rana, commander in chief of Nepal’s army, and Samrat Upadhyaya, chief editor of Rising Nepal and author of Arresting God in Kathmandu.

Early in 2003, Fr. Watrin returned to the United States to undergo extensive chemotherapy. In October, 2003, he returned to Nepal. "Doctors told him the chemotherapy might only prolong his life for a few months," says Fr. Drinane, "but he opted to undergo this treatment, in the hope of doing more work for the people whom he loved in Nepal. He surprised the doctors, living longer than expected; but he didn't surprise those of us who knew him." Fr. Watrin will be buried in Nepal.

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