Stay Connected
A Fitting Tribute
By Paul E. Kandarian
When John Figge '59 and his wife, Pat, traveled with Robert H. McCooey '52 and his wife, Mary, a church was always part of the journey.
"Whenever we'd stop, Bob would say, 'I wonder if there's a church around,'" says Figge of his best friend and brother-in-law who died last year.
Daily Mass wasn't always a part of Figge's life, he admits, "but because of Bob, it became part of my life."
So deep was the friendship between the men that the Figges decided to memorialize Bob McCooey by donating $2 million to renovate the College's Mary Chapel, located in the basement of St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. One of the smaller interior chapels will be named the McCooey Chapel, Figge says, in a fitting a tribute to a very religious man.
"When we committed to this gift, they said to think of what I'd like to memorialize," Figge says. "It could have been 'Figge this' or 'Figge that,' but that didn't sit well with me. Then Bob died, and I thought, 'Here's a gift that's perfect for him.' It's a perfect way to honor Bob and his Catholic faith."
The Holy Cross tradition runs deeply in both the Figge and McCooey families. Mary McCooey and Patricia Figge are sisters, part of the extensive Joyce clan. Two of their brothers are graduates of the College—Thomas '59 and Timothy '69—and two of their sisters, Bonnie and Cathleen, married Holy Cross graduates. Four of John and Pat Figge's children—and four of Bob and Mary McCooey's children—attended the College. Three of the Figge children married Holy Cross alumni, as did the McCooeys' eldest child. On the Joyce side of the family, there are no fewer than 15 more Holy Cross alumni.
Beyond the gift of memorializing a true friend, Figge says he also made the donation "because of the wonderful experience I and my family had at Holy Cross."
"There was no doubt Holy Cross truly formed my father," says Robert McCooey Jr. '87. "His moral being was already formed, but it was strengthened at Holy Cross."
McCooey Sr.'s mantra was "I choose to follow Jesus," his son says, adding that it is on his tombstone. "He truly loved Holy Cross and appreciated not only the kind of education he received, but more importantly the development of the Christian man that was produced there."
While the Holy Cross tradition in the family is vast, for the McCooey children it was their decision to make as to what school they would attend, says Mark McCooey '89.
"Dad encouraged us but did not force us to attend - he let us make our own choices," McCooey says of his siblings; four of six of them opted for Holy Cross. "We really felt a great attachment to Holy Cross. It was a very easy decision to make."
Bob McCooey Jr. and his dad co-founded The Griswold Company in New York City in 1988, a brokerage firm where Bob is chief executive officer and president and Mark is managing director—a company that has become one of the largest independent brokerage firms on the New York Stock Exchange. The elder McCooey himself was a NYSE member for 46 years, starting his career on Wall Street as an independent broker and later working as a specialist for Henderson Brothers.
As to the gift that his Uncle John made to Holy Cross to renovate the lower level of the chapel, Bob says, "That's most fitting, since the chapel is where Dad felt most comfortable. He spent a good portion of his life (at Holy Cross) there, sometimes going to Mass a couple of times a day.
"Having a place that would always be there as a reminder to family and alumni and future generations of someone truly dedicated to the Lord, that was the perfect gift," he says. "Someone sitting in an endowed chair didn't do it for John or the family as much as having that kind of facility."
The lower level of St. Joseph Memorial Chapel has served Holy Cross in a variety of ways since the chapel was built in 1924. It was first used as an auditorium and in the 1940s as space for the Naval ROTC, complete with monumental cannons in side alcoves that later housed altars.
In 1955, Holy Cross President Rev. William Donaghy, S.J., had the lower level converted to a second student chapel because the upper space could not accommodate the student body at required daily Masses. The Mary Chapel was furnished with seating for 800, an altar and lectern of Italian marble, 20 side altars, four confessionals, and a choir area.
"The current configuration of the Mary Chapel reflects the needs of students and the liturgy of the Catholic Church 50 years ago," says Paul Covino, Holy Cross associate chaplain and director of liturgy. "Today, the Church's liturgy has gone through a process of reform and requires a different kind of space. Students' spiritual activities have changed as well."
Renovation will bring new life to many areas of the lower chapel that haven't seen activity in years. Liturgies of various sizes will be accommodated in a mid-sized chapel that will be created in much of the area currently occupied by pews and in a smaller chapel that will replace the current sanctuary. The side alcoves will be re-opened, restoring the original arched walkway around the perimeter. The statue of Our Lady of Montserrat will be relocated to a more prominent location, and all spaces will be made handicapped accessible. Much needed storage space will be created, and additional restrooms will augment the two that currently serve the entire chapel.
"The result will be a well integrated and aesthetically pleasing variety of spaces that will have a major impact on religious life on campus," Covino says. "We have a treasure of underused square footage that feels very much like a basement now, but the renovation will give Holy Cross beautiful space that will be well used."
As of this writing, no timetable as to completion of the renovation to Mary Chapel has been established.