Appendix I
[This section contains brief biographies of all the members of the Province who have died since the Eleventh Provincial Chapter in 1981.]
| ETEROVICH, Francis Hyacinth | October 29, 1981 |
| GAINES, John Stanley | November 28, 1981 |
| FISHER, John Cyril | January 6, 1982 |
| MURPHY, William Bonaventure | May 2, 1982 |
| HUNT, Paschal Francis | June 8, 1983 |
| CONWAY, George Gerard | January 19, 1984 |
| EULBERG, John Joseph Thomas a'Kempis | March 29, 1984 |
| WALKER, James Edward Bernard | July 5, 1984 |
| CORCORAN, Charles John Dominic | September 19, 1984 |
| CALLAHAN, John Leonard | October 22, 1984 |
| FELTROP, Victor Anthony Sylvester | December 15, 1984 |
| WEISHEIPL, James Patrick Athanasius | December 30, 1984 |
| ALBERTSON, Walter Anthony Hubert | March 11, 1985 |
FRANCIS HYACINTH ETEROVICH
Father Francis Hyacinth Eterovich, a member of the Province of Croatia assigned to
the Province of St. Albert the Great for thirty years, was found dead of apparent heart
failure on the morning of October 29, 1981. Following funeral services at Angel
Guardian Church in Chicago, he was buried in the Dominican plot, All Saints
Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois, on November 2.
Born in Pusisce, on the island Brac, in Croatia, on October 4, 1913, Francis Eterovich attended the public grade school in his home town and pursued secondary studies at the Dominican and Franciscan Classical Schools in Dubrovnik before entering the Dominican Order there on September 30, 1930. Following first profession in 1931, he continued with studies in philosophy and theology at Dubrovnik until 1937 when he was sent to the Dominican House of Studies in Louvain, Belgium, where he was ordained a priest on July 24, 1938, and completed the requirements for the Lectorate degree the following year. Additional graduate studies at the University of Zagreb in Yugoslavia led to a Master's degree in classical languages in 1944 and at the University of Olomouc in Czechoslovakia to a Licentiate in Theology and Social Studies in 1947. In 1948, he was granted the doctorate in Sacred Theology from Le Saulchoir, near Paris, France.
After serving in Zagreb as an instructor in classical languages and philosophy, Father Eterovich moved to Spain where he taught philosophy at the Dominican House of studies in Alicante. In 1951, he came to the United States and was assigned to teach philosophy and sociology at the College of St. Joseph (now the University of Albuquerque) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1957, he was sent to teach philosophy and theology at the College of St. Theresa in Winona, Minnesota. In 1962, he was appointed to the Department of Philosophy at De Paul University in Chicago, a position he maintained until retirement from the University faculty in 1978, when he was honored with De Paul's Distinguished Service Award, the University's highest recognition of meritorious professorial achievement.
Throughout his priestly life, Father Eterovich produced many learned articles and books in both English and Croatian that won the acclaim of academic professionals and learned societies. After he retired from regular teaching duties, he concentrated all his efforts on caring for the spiritual and cultural needs of the growing Croatian community on Chicago's north side and on continuing his devoted work as editor and contributor to a new encyclopedia entitled Croatia -- Land, Culture, People, a project he described as "a gift to enslaved Croatia were authors cannot tell the truth and to America where one million Croatians have labored to build this country both by manual and intellectual vocations."
JOHN STANLEY GAINES
Father John Stanley Gaines died of pneumonia on November 28, 1981, at the
Zambarano Memorial Hospital in Pascoag, Rhode Island, where he had been a patient
since September, 1978. Following services at St. Charles Borromeo Church, his home
parish in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, he was buried in the parish cemetery on
December 1.
Stanislaus Thomas Gaines was born on March 28, 1911, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He attended St. Charles Grade School and Woonsocket High School before enrolling at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1928. On August 15, 1930, he began his novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Kentucky, where he was assigned John Mary as a religious name and made his first profession in 1931. Philosophical studies followed at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, and theological courses at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood at Saint Dominic's Church in Washington on June 11, 1937.
After completing his post-ordination studies, Father Gaines remained assigned to the House of Studies in Washington to serve as assistant procurator and a secretary to the newly established publication, The Thomist. In the summer of 1941, his transfiliation to St. Albert the Great Province was completed, and he was assigned directly to St. Pius V community in Chicago as a member of the parish staff and as assistant business manager for the Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus. From July, 1943, to July, 1946, he served as a chaplain in the United States Army Air Corps at bases in the States, Guam, and the Marianna Islands. After leaving the Service, he returned to St. Pius V Parish in Chicago with additional duties as director of the Third Order (now Dominican Laity) Chapters in Chicago until 1950, when he was assigned to teach religious at Siena Heights College and at St. Joseph Academy in Adrian, Michigan.
In September, 1952, Father Gaines was appointed managing editor of Cross and Crown (now Spirituality Today), a position he retained until poor health forced him to resign in 1976. During this time, he resided at the Dominican House of Studies and at St. Vincent Ferrer Priory in River Forest; Blackfriars (the Provincial Publications House) in Chicago; St. Pius V Priory in Chicago; St. Dominic Priory in Oak Park; and, finally, at the Priory of St. Dominic and St. Thomas in River Forest. In 1961, he was named president of the Commission on Journals, Academic and Professional. Along with his special apostolate in the field of religious publications, he continued to serve as director of local Third Order Chapters and as Assistant Provincial Promoter for the Third Order. He was also spiritual advisor to the Secular Institute of St. Catherine of Siena and to the Chicago Chapter of the Naim Conference for widowed people.
In the fall of 1977, Father Gaines' health began to decline rapidly, and the debilitating effects of chronic encephalitis required that he move from St. Dominic-St. Thomas Priory to special nursing facilities, first in the Chicago area, and finally, near his family home in Rhode Island, where he resided until the time of his death.
JOHN CYRIL FISHER
John Regis Fisher was born on October 13, 1908, in Salem, Ohio, and received his
elementary education at St. Paul School in Salem. His secondary education was taken
at Duquesne University High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at Aquinas
College High School in Columbus, Ohio. Following two years of study at Providence
College, Providence, Rhode Island, he entered the novitiate at St. Rose Priory in
Springfield, Kentucky, in 1929 and made his first profession there on August 16, 1940,
taking the name of Brother Cyril Mary. Philosophical studies were completed at the
Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, and theological studies both at
St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and at the House of Studies in Washington, D.C.
He was ordained a priest at Saint Dominic's Church in Washington on June 10, 1936.
After ordination, Father Fisher began a program of studies in chemistry at the Catholic University of America in preparation for doctoral work at Yale University and eventual assignment to the faculty at Providence College. This study plan was interrupted in the fall of 1937 when he received a temporary assignment to teach mathematics at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. General science courses were soon added to his schedule; later chemistry became his specialty. At the same time, he completed graduate studies at Loyola University in Chicago for a master's degree in mathematics in 1943 and then continued with additional research in mathematics until he had finished all the requirements for a doctorate except the residency requirement which he was never able to gain permission to fulfill.
Father Fisher's "temporary" assignment ended when serious heart trouble forced him to leave the classroom and laboratory at the end of the 1980-1981 academic year. During his long teaching career, he also served his local community as subprior three times and his province by volunteering each summer to replace the brethren working in parishes and hospital chaplaincies. Three booklets on laboratory technique and basic laboratory mathematics are also on his list of accomplishments.
During the fall of 1981, Father Fisher's cardiac condition grew worse. Hospitalization first at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park and then at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago led to surgery to restore his damaged heart valves. The post-surgical prognosis seemed promising, and he was able to return to community life at St. Dominic-St. Thomas Priory. However, early in the evening of January 6, 1982, he was found in his room dead of apparent heart failure. Following funeral services at the Priory, he was buried in the Dominican plot in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois, on January 9.
In early 1978, Oak Leaves, Oak Park's community newspaper, published an interview with Father Fisher to mark his forty years of teaching at Fenwick. When asked about why he stayed so long at Fenwick, Father Fisher replied, "What happened is that I was
assigned to a basement classroom and got lost down there, and I think they forgot about me. I tried to escape three times, but to tell the truth, I'm glad I stayed on." So, too, were generations of Fenwick students who profited from the intellectual demands of what he often described simply as "kitchen kemistry."
WILLIAM BONAVENTURE MURPHY
Nearly six months after he was found to be suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer,
Father William Bonaventure Murphy died peacefully in his room at St. Pius V Priory
in Chicago, Illinois, early in the evening of Sunday, May 2, 1982, in the company of
members of the community and his brother, Father Richard T.A. Murphy, of the
Southern Dominican Province of St. Martin de Porres. Following services at St. Pius V
Church in Chicago and at Holy Rosary Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was buried
in the community plot at St. Mary's Cemetery, Minneapolis on May 5.
William Bernard Joseph Murphy was born June 26, 1905, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended Holy Rosary Grade School in Minneapolis and St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, before enrolling at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island, in the fall of 1922. On August 15, 1924, he entered the Dominican novitiate at St. Joseph's Priory, Somerset, Ohio, was given Bonaventure as his religious name and made his first profession the following year. Philosophical studies followed at the new House of Philosophy in River Forest, Illinois, and theological courses at the House of Theology in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a Dominican priest on June 15, 1931, at St. Dominic's Church in Washington.
In 1932, after completing the requirements for the Lectorate in Theology and additional special courses in biology and bacteriology at Catholic University of America, Father Murphy was named assistant student master and then student master and professor of liturgy at the House of Studies in Washington. His next assignment in 1935 took him back to his home parish at Holy Rosary in Minneapolis as an associate pastor. He was also subprior at Holy Rosary Priory from 1943 to 1949 and served as chaplain and professor of philosophy and theology at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1944 to 1956.
From 1956 to 1964, Father Murphy worked as chaplain and professor of theology at Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, while living first at the House of Studies and then at St. Vincent Ferrer Priory in River Forest. In 1964, he moved to Dominican College in Racine, Wisconsin, as professor of theology and chaplain to the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Catherine in Racine.
By the end of the 1969-1970 scholastic year, Father Murphy found teaching increasingly difficult because of serious problems with his eyesight and the constant pain of a chronic arthritic condition. Nevertheless, he moved to St. Albert the Great Provincial House on Bennett Avenue in Chicago where he took on the responsibilities of local superior and house manager until August of 1974, when he moved to St. Pius V Priory in Chicago. Although often hampered by the painful limitations of his physical condition, Father Murphy continued to serve his religious community to the best of his ability and with cheerful dedication until severely weakened during the last few days of his life by the effects of his final illness.
PASCHAL FRANCIS HUNT
Francis Eugene Hunt was born November 30, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York. He
received his primary education at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Woodhaven,
Queens, New York, and then attended St. Francis Preparatory School and College in
Brooklyn. On September 14, 1949, he entered the novitiate for the Eastern Dominican
Province at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, where he was assigned Paschal as a
religious name and made his first profession a year later. Philosophical studies
followed at St. Rose Priory and at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio.
Shortly before solemn profession, Paschal requested and was granted permission to become a cooperator brother in the Central Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great. On October 28, 1953, he began his second novitiate at St. Thomas Priory in River Forest, Illinois.
Soon after his first profession as a cooperator brother on October 29, 1954, Brother Paschal was sent to work with the parish staff at Blessed Sacrament Priory in Madison, Wisconsin. Subsequent assignments took him to St. Dominic Priory in Oak Park,
Illinois, from 1955 to 1957; St. Peter Martyr Priory in Winona, Minnesota, from 1957 to 1961; and to St. Dominic Priory and Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1961 to 1973.
After leaving New Orleans in February, 1973, Brother Paschal spent six months gaining experience in campus ministry at the Catholic Campus Parish in Brookings, South Dakota. In July of 1973, he moved to St. Rose Priory in Dubuque, Iowa, to work in Aquinas Institute's Business and Plant Management Office. In September, 1979, he went to the Aquinas Newman Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to serve as Business Manager.
During the summer of 1981, Brother Paschal took advantage of the opportunities for renewal offered by the Paraclete Community's Holistic Development Program at the Villa Pius XII in Albuquerque. After successfully completing this program in January, 1982, he was invited to serve as Administrative Assistant for the special Paraclete programs conducted in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. While working at the Villa Louis Martin in Jemez Springs, Paschal became interested in care for the elderly, and he hoped to pursue professional training in that field so that he could offer such service to the aging and infirm members of the Central Province.
On May 23, 1983, Brother Paschal experienced severe shortness of breath; a subsequent physical examination revealed that he had suffered a "silent" heart attack, and he was placed in the Cardiac Care Unit of Lovelace-Bataan Hospital in Albuquerque. He was released from the hospital in early June and returned to the Villa Louis Martin in Jemez Springs for post-coronary care prior to more extensive medical diagnostic tests. He died suddenly during the early hours of June 8. Following liturgical services in Jemez Springs on June 9, his body was sent to Chicago for funeral rites at St. Dominic-St. Thomas Priory, River Forest, Illinois, and burial in the Dominican plot at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois, on June 11.
GEORGE GERARD CONWAY
George James Conway was born on August 3, 1902, in Sioux City, Iowa. He was the
last of the five children of James and Marcella (Beacom) Conway. Following the
relocation of the Conway Family in Duluth, Minnesota, the young George Conway
completed his elementary and secondary education at the Cathedral schools there.
The Bishop of Duluth from 1918 to 1924 was the Most Reverend John T. McNicholas, O.P. It was through his example that the future Father Conway became interested in the Dominican Order. He completed the two years of college required for entrance into the Order at Providence College in Rhode Island, then petitioned Father Raymond Meagher, O.P., the Provincial of St. Joseph Province, for admission to the Dominican Novitiate. In his application, he wrote that he wished to be a Dominican because of the diversity of ministries of the Dominicans and their dedication to preaching.
George Conway began his novitiate at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, on September 25, 1924, at which time he was given his name in religion, Gerard. His first profession followed in 1925 at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Kentucky, and then he began his philosophical studies at the newly established Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas in River Forest, Illinois.
Solemnly professed in 1928, he was transferred to the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., for his theological preparation. He was ordained a priest at St. Dominic's Church in Washington on June 15, 1931.
The goals Father George Conway set for himself were to be fulfilled only in part. He wanted to be a preacher. The talent he possessed was manifested in the work he performed at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. Beginning in 1932, and throughout his thirty-six years at that same school, Father Conway led the debate team to numerous national championships. In his professional and priestly life he was known for sacred eloquence.
Although the diversity of ministry may have occasioned his vocation, Father Conway was known throughout the four decades of teaching at Fenwick as the Master of the mathematical sciences. Countless numbers of young men, electing to choose the scientific track, encountered Father Conway in such subjects as advanced algebra, solid geometry, and trigonometry. He was a task-master in his science and in his methodology. The tribute paid to him came from the numerous graduates of Fenwick High School who went on in their respective careers in the mathematically related
fields and who even today remember the discipline and practical short cuts that enabled them to advance on the university level far beyond their peers who had not experienced Father George Conway in the classroom.
Following his long tenure at Fenwick, Father Goerge turned to the pastoral ministry that had initially inspired his entrance into the Dominican Order. For a number of years, he served as an Associate Chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
Finally, the weight of his years began to take their toll. He relinquished his service as hospital chaplain and continued on limited service at the Dominican Priory of River Forest until his final illness brought him to the day of his death, January 19, 1984, at the age of eighty-one.
Following a funeral Mass with the Most Reverend Timothy Lyne, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, as chief concelebrant, and attended by many of his Fenwick colleagues and the entire student body of Fenwick High School, he was buried in the Dominican plot at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois, on January 23.
JOHN JOSEPH THOMAS a'KEMPIS EULBERG
Father John (Thomas a'Kempis) Eulberg died of kidney failure in a nursing home in
Hammond, Louisiana, on March 29, 1984, following several weeks of hospitalization
and nursing home care. A Mass of Resurrection was celebrated at the parish of his
pastorate, St. Helena's, in Amite, Louisiana, on April 2. Father Damian C. Fandal,
Provincial of St. Albert the Great Province, was the main celebrant and preached the
homily. Bishop Stanley J. Ott of Baton Rouge was in attendance. Burial followed in
the Dominican plot in Rosaryville (Ponchatoula), Louisiana.
John Joseph Eulberg was born on May 11, 1905, in Portage, Wisconsin. Following his primary and secondary education in Portage, John Eulberg completed his undergraduate degree in English and History at Loras College (then Columbia) in Dubuque, Iowa. He entered the Dominican Novitiate in Springfield, Kentucky, on September 27, 1932, receiving the name Thomas a'Kempis in religion. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 17, 1939, at St. Joseph's Priory in Somerset, Ohio.
From 1940 until he retired to limited service in 1970, John Eulberg was an Associate Pastor in several parishes of the Central Province: Blessed Sacrament in Madison (1940-1943), St. Dominic's in Denver (1947-1948), St. Albert's in Minneapolis (1948-1949), St. Vincent Ferrer's in River Forest (1952-1954), St. Dominic's in Denver (1954-1960), Holy Rosary in Houston (1960-1961), and St. Helena's in Amite (1961-1967). He also served as Chaplain to the Dominican Sisters in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin (1946-1947) and Racine, Wisconsin (1949-1952). He completed his priestly ministry as Pastor of St. Helena's in Amite in 1970 after serving four years in that office.
The most memorable period of John Eulberg's service was as Chaplain to the Navy Sea-Bees during World War II, from 1943 to 1946. His impact on the servicemen of those days was exceptional. For years afterwards, not only the men themselves but their families maintained contact with him. Having served in the South Pacific, he retired as a Lieutenant Commander and returned to parish ministry.
JAMES EDWARD BERNARD WALKER
Father James Bernard Walker died peacefully in Oak Park Hospital in Oak Park,
Illinois, on July 5, 1984, after several years of declining health. Following funeral
services at St. Dominic-St. Thomas Priory in River Forest, Illinois, he was buried in the
Dominican plot in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois, on July 7.
James Edward Walker was born on March 18, 1896, in Somerset, Ohio. He completed his primary and three years of secondary education at Holy Trinity School in Somerset, Ohio. From June, 1918, to July, 1919, he served as an Army field clerk stationed at the Port of Embarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. After his honorable discharge from the Army, he completed his secondary education at Aquinas High School in Columbus, Ohio, and then studied at St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, from 1921 to 1922.
He entered the Dominican Order on August 24, 1922, at St. Joseph's Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and was given Bernard as his religious name. His ordination to the priesthood took place on June 17, 1929, in the Crypt of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. After ordination he was sent for graduate studies in history at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he was awarded the doctorate in 1933.
Upon completion of his graduate studies, Father Walker was appointed Assistant Archivist of the Province of St. Joseph and in 1934, Co-Archivist. From 1932 to 1937, he was also the Librarian at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. In 1937, he was elected Prior there, and after completing his term in 1940, served as chaplain and professor of ethics and psychology at Barry College in Miami, Florida, during the following academic year.
Having joined the "new" Province of St. Albert the Great in 1939, his next assignment was to the Dominican House of Stuides in River Forest, Illinois. He was appointed Provincial Archivist for the Province of St. Albert the Great in September, 1941, a position which he held until a short time before his death. From 1941 to 1943, he served as Provincial Secretary and from 1943 to 1956 as Master of Students. During this time, he also taught courses in Church history, liturgy, and methodology at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest.
In 1956, Father Walker was assigned as Chaplain to the Dominican Motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, where he also taught religion at St. Clara Academy and courses in Church history and ecclesiastical bibliography at Aquinas Institute in Dubuque, Iowa, as well as methodology at Mount St. Bernard Seminary in Dubuque.
During his assignment at Sinsinawa, the Postulator General asked Father Walker to study the relations of Samuel Mazzuchelli with the Province of St. Joseph. Before those studies were completed, the Diocesan Historical Commission for the Cause of Mazzuchelli was established (in the centenary year of his death, 1964) and Father Walker was appointed chairman. Following the submission of the Commission's report in June, 1966, a Diocesan Tribunal was set up, and the informative process was concluded in November, 1967. Father Walker continued his research and promotion of the cause of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli throughout his life in his role of Assistant Promoter of Causes for the Province of St. Albert.
In September, 1969, Father Walker was assigned to St. Pius V Priory in Chicago, Illinois, where, despite his failing eyesight, he continued his duties as Archivist. In June, 1972, he moved to the Priory of St. Dominic and St. Thomas in River Forest, Illinois, where he spent the remaining years of his life in limited service.
CHARLES JOHN DOMINIC CORCORAN
Charles John Dominic Corcoran died unexpectedly at the Priory of St. Dominic and St.
Thomas in River Forest, Illinois, on September 19, 1984, of an apparent heart attack.
Following funeral services at the Priory, he was buried in All Saints Cemetery, Des
Plaines, Illnois, on September 21.
Born in Philadelphia on October 17, 1918, the second of six sons of Patrick and Mary Corcoran, he was baptized Charles Thomas Aquinas. The family had close ties to the Dominicans of St. Joseph's Province in the person of an uncle, Brother Joseph Corcoran.
After completing his primary and secondary education in Philadelphia, he enrolled at Providence College in 1935. Following graduation, summa cum laude, he entered the Dominican Novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Kentucky, in 1939 and received the religious name of John Dominic. He was a member of the last novitiate class before the creation of the new Province of St. Albert the Great. Along with six other members of his class, he joined the new Province and began his philosophical and theological studies at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois.
Father Corcoran was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1946. He completed the Lectorate in Theology in 1947 and began studies at Catholic University of America for a doctorate in psychology. His intended dissertation was entitled "The Influence of the Heterogeneity for Sampling upon Factorial Patterns." Because of the immense difficulties of collection and analyzing the statistical portion of his thesis as well as the departure of his director from the faculty, Father Corcoran asked the Provincial to assign him to the Studium Generale in River Forest even though he had not completed the doctorate.
From 1952 to 1965, he was Professor of Psychology in the Studium of the Province. In addition, he jonied the faculty of the Spiritual Institute at River Forest as Professor of Spiritual Theology. This association with the summer program of the Institute continued for more than thirty years.
In 1965, Father Corcoran taught at De Paul University. In 1966, he moved to St. Rose Priory in Dubuque, Iowa, as Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Aquinas Institute.
In 1969, the Diffinitorium of St. Albert's Province assigned him as a member of the Theological and Spiritual Renewal Consultants in Chicago. At this time, he took up his long and fruitful association with Catholic Family Life as a respected authority and speaker in the area of family and morality. A year before his death, he had been proposed by Dr. Herbert Ratner to the Holy See for appointment as a member of the Pontifical Commission on the Family.
JOHN LEONARD CALLAHAN
After a prolonged illness, Father John Leonard Callahan died quietly in his sleep on the
morning of October 22, 1984, at the Priory of St. Vincent Ferrer in River Forest,
Illinois. Following the funeral Mass, he was buried at All Saints Cemetery in Des
Plaines, Illinois.
John Francis Callahan was born in Tauton, Massachusetts, on February 10, 1900. His primary education was completed in the schools of Tauton and Attleboro, followed by four years at La Salle Academy in Providence Rhode Island. After one year at Aquinas College in Columbus, Ohio, John Callahan entered the Dominican Novitiate in Somerset, Ohio, in October of 1918, at which time he received the name of Leonard in religion.
He was ordained to the priesthood on June 25, 1925, in Washington, D.C. Having completed the degree of Lectorate in Sacred Theology in 1925, he immediately began doctoral studies in philosophy at the Catholic University of America and was awarded the Ph.D. in 1927. In recognition of the many years of dedication to the intellectual life and of his service as professor of philosophy in the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, he was granted the degree Master of Sacred Theology by the Dominican Order in 1950.
Father Callahan's talents for leadership were recognized early by his Dominican brothers. He was elected Prior of the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest in 1932. Even before completing his term of office, he was then appointed Provincial of the Holy Name Province in 1934. He served the Western Province as Provincial from 1934 to 1940 at which time he re-assumed his teaching role in River Forest.
Perhaps what Father Callahan will be best remembered for is his inauguration of a periodical devoted to spirituality. At the suggestion of the Master of the Order, Cross and Crown began publication in 1948. With the assistance of Father John J. McDonald, who later succeeded Father Callahan as Editor in 1960, the journal enjoyed great success. Today, the Dominicans of St. Albert the Great Province continue to publish the periodical under the title of Spirituality Today.
John Callahan's last years were spent at the Priory of St. Vincent Ferrer to which he was assigned in 1957. He assisted the Dominican parish and community until crippled by strokes and failing eyesight. With the dedicated care of a nurse, he was able to maintain his residence among his brothers until the time of his death.
VICTOR ANTHONY SYLVESTER FELTROP
Victor Anthony Feltrop was born on February 15, 1899, in Breese, Illinois, the third of
the eight children in the family of Herman and Margaret Feltrop. His primary
education took place in St. Dominic's School in Breese, and his secondary education at
Benedictine High School in Conception, Missouri.
Following two years of college education at Conception, Missouri, and at Columbus, Ohio, he entered the Dominican Novitiate at Somerset, Ohio, at which time he was given the name Sylvester in religion. Professed on August 17, 1921, he began his philosophical and theological studies in Springfield, Kentucky, and completed them in Washington, D.C.
Father Feltrop was ordained to the priesthood on June 9, 1927, in Washington, D.C. During the academic year of 1928-1929, he studied at Manhattan College in New York City and was awarded the Master of Arts in languages.
What Victor Feltrop will be most remembered for is his service and dedication to Fenwick High School and the young men who studied there from the time it opened in September of 1929. Along with the other Dominican men on that first faculty, he began a distinguished career as Professor of Languages and of Religion. From 1929, until he left the classroom in 1951 to serve full-time as Prior of the Dominican community, Father Feltrop was known for his teaching of Latin and of German. He will also be thought of by Fenwick graduates as a priest at the altar and in the pulpit, especially at the Church of St. Paul of the Cross in Park Ridge, Illinois, and as a willing tutor in sports after class hours at Fenwick.
At the conclusion of his term as Prior of St. Dominic's Priory in Oak Park, he continued teaching in Jackson, Mississippi, at St. Joseph's High School, from 1953 to 1956. He remained for two years as Diocesan Director of the Holy Name Society in Jack son until his re-assignment to the Dominican Novitiate in Winona, Minnesota, from 1959 to 1961. He served also as Associate Pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Minneapolis from 1961 to 1964. In 1964, he resumed teaching languages, this time at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas.
Declining health began to take its toll and Father Feltrop was able to assume only limited service in his remaining years. From 1970 until 1981, he resided in St. Anthony of Padua Priory in New Orleans, and thereafter at St. Pius V Priory in Chicago. In need of intermediate health care, he moved to the facility conducted by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Chicago. Under their attentive care, he was able to continue until the crippling effects of a stroke brought him to a peaceful death at St. Joseph Hospital on December 15, 1984.
The Mass of Resurrection was celebrated by the Provincial at the Priory of St. Dominic and St. Thomas, River Forest, Illinois, on December 18, 1984, with Father Thomas C. Donlan, one of Father Feltrop's former students, as homilist. He was buried in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.
JAMES PATRICK ATHANASIUS WEISHEIPL
On December 30, 1984, James Athanasius Weisheipl died unexpectedly while visiting
with friends and colleagues at St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
Canada. Afflicted with emphysema, he had contracted pneumonia which overtaxed his
weakened lungs and hastened his untimely death at the age of sixty-one. The Mass of
Resurrection was celebrated on January 3, 1985, at the Priory of St. Dominic and St.
Thomas, River Forest, Illinois, with burial at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.
James Patrick Weisheipl was born on July 3, 1923, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the only son of John and Mary Weisheipl, both of whom were deaf-mutes. He completed his elementary schooling at Sacred Heart School and his secondary education at St. Peter's High School in Oshkosh. At his own admission, he decided to become a Dominican after reading Chesterton's Saint Thomas Aquinas as a junior in high school. As a freshman in the State College in Oshkosh, he was already reading St. Thomas in Latin and amassing the philosophy manuals available at that time. His vocation was furthered by the monthly lectures given in Oshkosh by the Dominicans from River Forest, Illinois, under the auspices of the Thomist Association.
James Weisheipl entered the Dominican Novitiate in 1942, and received the name Athanasius in religion. His philosophical and theological training were taken at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest. His ordaination to the priesthood took place on June 7, 1949.
Following the completion of his basic studies in 1950, Father Weisheipl began a long and distinguished career as a scholar, professor, and author in the fields of mediaeval philosophy and history. His first doctorate was granted to him in philosophy from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome (the "Angelicum"). He then continued post-graduate research at the University of Oxford, England, where he was awarded his second doctorate in the history of mediaeval science in 1957.
In 1957, he returned to the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illiniois, and served as professor of mediaeval philosophy until 1965. At this time, the Dominican Order revived the Leonine Commission for the critical edition of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. Father Weisheipl was appointed the first Director of the American Section in 1965, a post which he held until 1968.
Father Weisheipl then began a long and most productive period of his career as professor in the history of mediaeval science at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Until his death, he was assiduously engaged in the research and publication of numerous articles and books, in the teaching and direction of doctoral dissertations, and in the priestly care and concern shown to his many students and friends. His is best remembered for his work on St. Thomas Aquinas, entitled Friar Thomas d'Aquino: His Life, Thought, and Works, published in 1974, and in a commemorative work on Saint Albert the Great, Albertus Magnus and the Sciences, published in 1980.
His academic career was further recognized by the members of his own Province and by the Order in the bestowal of the degree of Master of Sacred Theology which was presented to him by the Provincial, Father Damian Fandal, at a ceremony in Toronto on September 12, 1978.
WALTER ANTHONY HUBERT ALBERTSON
Walter Anthony Albertson was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 4, 1904, the
first of five children. His primary eduation was taken at Holy Innocents School on
Chicago's North Side. He completed his secondary education at Weber High School in
1923. After a year of college at the Central Y.M.C.A. College in Chicago, he
interrupted his studies until 1929 when he enrolled at Providence College in Rhode
Island.
Walter entered the Dominican Order at St. Rose Priroy in Springfield, Kentucky, on August 15, 1931, at which time he was given the name Hubert in religion. Following his first profession in 1932, he undertook philosophical studies at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, and theological studies, first at St. Joseph's Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and later at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.
On June 16, 1938, he was ordained to the priesthood. After his final year of theology, Father Albertson began a long service to the Dominican Order and to the Church in pastoral positions in the new Province of St. Albert the Great. He served as associate pastor at Holy Rosary Church in Minneapolis (1939-1941),
St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Orleans (1941-1949), Holy Rosary Church in Houston (1949-1952), and St. Dominic's Church in Denver (1952-1957).
His pastoral duties were set aside in 1957 when he was appointed Director of the Holy Name Society for the Diocese of Amarillo. He later served as a counsellor at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, from 1958 to 1960. At the request of the Provincial, he resumed his pastoral service in 1960 as Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Mangum, Oklahoma. In 1963, he returned to the Chicago area as an associate pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in River Forest, Illinois, a position he held until 1970. His final years were spent at the Priory of St. Dominic and St. Thomas in River Forest in limited service. He will also be remembered for his dedication in service to the Knights of Columbus as their chaplain.
Father Albertson manifested throughout his priestly life an abiding interest in study. While stationed in Houston, he attended the University of Houston for classes in education and sociology. Whenever possible, he spent time during the summers studying the Spanish language.
He died unexpectedly on March 11, 1985, three months after his eightieth birthday. The funeral Mass was celebrated at the Priory of St. Dominic and St. Thomas in River Forest by the Most Reverend Nevin Hayes, O.Carm., Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago. The homily was preached by the Reverend Joseph Della Penta, O.P. Interment took place at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois, on March 14, 1985.