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By Rev. William O’Halloran, S.J.  On
Saturday, Dec. 14, in St. John’s Church—founded by Father
Fitton a century and a half ago—family, friends, alumni, priests,
faculty and parishioners joined Bishop Daniel P. Reilly to pray
and remember Joseph H. Maguire at his funeral Mass. The mourners
filled every available pew in tribute and in gratitude for the
life and good works of a truly remarkable son of Holy Cross.
A Worcester boy, graduate of Xavierian Brothers’ high school
and the College of the Holy Cross, Class of 1958, Joe spent nearly
50 years on Mount Saint James—student, teacher, department
chairman, academic advisor, assistant dean and dormitory resident.
The number of years and the catalogue of roles are themselves astonishing
and impressive. But they don’t tell the whole story. The story
of Joe Maguire is all about deep personal concern for others, demanding,
but compassionate academic leadership and a profound faith and
purpose.
Nine-to-five meant nothing to him. A five-day week was equally
foreign. His office on Fenwick II and his small suite in Mulledy
drew the good and the bad, those in clover and those on the edge
of ruin, the scholars and the saints, some with a future and some
struggling desperately to find one. Why did they come, year after
year, generation on generation? They came because he welcomed them.
He listened, he was wise, and he cared. He told the truth and gave
the advice that only sometimes was what one wanted to hear. You
could trust him, put your trust in him. If he was away from his
phone when you called and left a message, he called you back. And
the greeting cards! He sent them by the thousands—birthdays,
Christmas, congratulations and condolences, each one personally
addressed and signed. All in purple ink, of course. Conception
Abbey Press will miss him.
Following his graduation and after taking a master’s degree
at the University of Notre Dame, Joe joined the faculty at Holy
Cross and soon was appointed the chairman of the education department,
an office he held until his retirement in 2001. His 40-year stay
as chairman, surely a record, says a great deal about his successful
management and the esteem in which he was held by the academic
administration of the College. His 32 years as assistant dean say
the same thing.
Many of his students were prepared for high school teaching through
his Teacher Certification Program, one of the best in the commonwealth
of Massachusetts. Joe was the best of teachers: demanding, experienced,
well-prepared and inspiring. The kindly listener was no easy mark.
His semester reading lists, impressive, serious and long, drove
many to select their courses elsewhere. Bob Brennan ’81, who,
together with Ed Ludwig ’73 initiated the drive to endow in
Joe’s honor, a professorship in education, says of him: “Joe
has an ability to create in his students a desire to question and
keep questioning; to continue always to learn and engage the world:
to develop a sense of beliefs consistent with the morality and
ethics of Catholic thought.”
Joe Maguire was a profoundly religious and deeply committed Catholic.
He was a man of faith. Academic administration, teaching and counseling
were for him a vocation, not just a job. His preaching was powerful
because it was not in words but in example that he spoke. He loved
the Church, its sacraments, its priests, its history, its architecture,
warts and all. I visited often with him. Our friendship spanned
nearly 50 years. We talked a lot about life and meaning. In the
months prior to his amputation, when he was down as low as one
could get, I would call to arrange a visit and ask if I might bring
him something. I can hear his voice now: “Humm, yes, you can
bring me Holy Communion.” After communion, we would spend
some time in quiet thanksgiving. On one of these occasions, he
told me that of all the things he ever wanted, he wanted most of
all to be a priest. But it was not to be. He never told me why.
I never asked.
But, in fact, his life was priestly. His counseling was spiritual
direction. His ambition for his students was the full development
of all their talents. They came from God. He encouraged the reading
of serious books of lasting value and inspiration and gave them
away as gifts. He assisted at the weddings of his students and
the baptisms of their children. He was present in times of need,
times of sickness and mourning. He became an active member of the
worshiping community at St. John’s Church, contributing generously
and distributing weekly a religious commentary on the scripture
readings for the Sunday Mass.
Joe Maguire’s life was Holy Cross. He was special … a
Mr. Blue, a Mr. Chips, a Fr. Hart. It will be hard to find his
equal, perhaps even impossible. At the end, when the Bishop intoned
the ancient plea of the Church, “May his soul and the souls
of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in
peace,” with one voice and for Joe, everyone said, “Amen.”
Joseph Maguire is survived by two sisters; and close friends,
George and Paulette LaBarre.
Donations may be made to: Joseph H. Maguire Education Chair,
College of the Holy Cross, One College St., Worcester, MA 01610
Fr. O’Halloran, S.J., special assistant to the president,
was the principal concelebrant of Joe Maguire’s funeral
Mass.
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