BROTHER
JOHN PATRICK MCPARTLAND
1932-2002
Brother
William A. Stevens
Fifty
one years ago my mother said to me, “Oh, Johnny, my brave warrior, I’m going
to send you to the Christian Brothers and they’ll fix you.” (I
guess I was somewhat mischievous.) Well, in September, 1946, I went to
Above were the opening words of John’s Golden Jubilee address. And then he continued:
All
of us will sooner or later tell our story as Christian Brothers. Mine began in
Daily
mass and prayers and meditation and first Friday retreats and classes and study
and recreation and manual work and swimming in the Hudson and back to study and
refectory and dish washing and the short and long circle walks near the poet
Burrough’s cabin and ice skating and shoveling snow at Cabrini’s pond and
Black Creek near Broglio’s and walks to Googan Bara and skating there and
big cookouts in the woods and more classes and study and study and lights out
and on and on and that was the order of our days.
I
received my first table place in the refectory and on the wall facing me was a
large picture of Patrick Joachim Ryan who died in February of that year.
I never met him but I read his life and he was one of the giants, a kind
and saintly brother. He looked so
much like my dad, with white hair and chiseled features.
God is good, I thought. I
always smiled when I saw that picture. There
in the dining room we heard read to us the lives of so many Brothers.
We were all swept into this noble band of men who, as William Butler
Yates says, “walked proud, open-eyed and laughing to the tomb.” God I was so
proud and so young.
The
last time I felt like this was when I was standing next to my dad in the fields
of
Many
brothers from
After
the Juniorate we formed the illustrious group of 1950 in
There
are other grand and noble people to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude, who
have formed me by their goodness. People
like my aunts and uncles. My dear
aunt Anna Commisky, the Briodys, the Kelleys and Newmans, McDonalds and
McPartlands on the west side and Coughlins and the Buckleys, and Bennetts and
Sullivans and Glassons and Atchinsons and Boyles and Hobbins and Horans and
Martins and Gilmartins. You were always so good and loving to me. “You are the
music while the music lasts.” For 50 years I have been honored by the company
of so many good and noble men and loving relatives and friends who have worn for
me the many masks of God and I am haunted by the poet’s question, “How can
you tell the dancer from the dance?” I am proud and honored to stand here
today with you and celebrate my Golden Jubilee.”
John’s father, Kieran, was born in Carrickbane, Finea, Co. Cavan,
Ireland on May 6, 1899 and arrived in New York City on March 17, 1919 and
witnessed his first St. Patrick’s Day parade.
He married Anna Hall on
His sister, Anna, shared her early memories:
John
attended our Lady of Mercy School in the Fordham section of the
During
the summer months, he especially loved bringing lunch to his father who was a
conductor on the trolley car that ran close to our home.
He would ride to the end of the line with his dad.
While his father was having lunch he would turn all the seats to the
opposite direction for the return ride. They
shared a special bond even then, and this bond continued until his father passed
away at the age of 96.
John
also had a deep love for his mother who was a typical mother of the day.
While she did her chores, she was frequently singing old Irish tunes and
was satisfied with her home life and her children.
She often said “A mother’s pearls are her boys and girls and their
only treasure was she.” John could
not speak too highly of her – of her loving care and deep faith.
She instilled in him a value to study and get a good education which she
was deprived of in her youth. She
was the head of the family and respect for her was instilled by our father.
There was no complaining about her to him.
A childhood friend, Catherine Gilmartin, shared these early
remembrances:
My
parents moved to the
Once
when I was about 7 years old, my mom bought me a pair of Red Devil Roller
Skates. The first afternoon that I
was out enjoying myself on the new skates, I met Johnny who had a pair of skates
that were worn down so badly that the wheels had holes in them.
Being the charismatic salesman that he was, he told me that his skates
were faster than mine and we exchanged. Needless
to say when my mother heard my story, she wasted no time in retrieving my
skates. He taught me how to “shoot
hoops” and how to spit through my teeth and how to play “wall ball”.
Always the patient teacher. He
often gave me a double ride on the pony at the
Initially,
I was surprised when I heard he was going away to join the brothers, but I
remember something else that was special about Johnny.
On his dresser in the room he shared with Tommy, he showed me something
one day. He had made it and it was
very special. It was a small wooden
cheese box about 12 inches long. He
had made a most beautiful altar all by himself.
It had a little tabernacle, a pair of altar candelabras and an altar
cloth, he had fashioned, wrapped around it.
Kevin
Molloy traveled to
On
John
was a very good religious. He was
most attentive to his obligations, his prayer life and his projection of himself
as a true son of Edmund Ignatius Rice. His
conduct in the community and classroom was exemplary.
There was a little sense of insecurity in John which was obvious in his
extra attention to detail. Everything
had to be perfect. Hence he prepared
his classes very well, kept a very neat and clean classroom and everything was
most orderly.
In
community John enjoyed whatever was on the go be it a gaudeamus or the regular
evening’s recreation. He sincerely
enjoyed the fun and comradery. He
was an athletic individual and a great contender.
Even though hockey and soccer were not part of his NY background, he
participated and certainly was credible in his prowess in these sports and
others. Here he was so much
appreciated by his students as they participated with him in the athletic events
at school.
Andrew
Rose shared reminiscences of those early years:
My
association with John was in formation in the early 50’s and in Holy Cross in
At
Holy Cross John taught Grade 4 and I taught Grade 1.
He prepared well and was creative in his own way.
I recall that he had his classes learn ‘The Brook’ to the tune of
Yankee Doodle Dandy. With the
limited training we had, and dealing with sixty pupils, this method was
innovative, certainly painless, and maybe even fun – purists to the contrary.
Over
the years we crossed paths only a few times but I always had an affinity to John
– we had many good times and pleasant memories in the midst of the rigor that
was the conventional wisdom of those times.
On
hearing of John’s death, two blood brothers who were taught by John in
Brother
John was one of the most positive people in my early life.
I can’t tell you how much I thought of him when I was a student at St.
Bons’s. He taught me in grades 7
and 8. I found him to be extremely
kind, fair and a teacher who cared for his students very much.
He gave me a vision of life in a way that is still with me.
He did things as a teacher in the classroom that made me aware of the
importance of what it really is to be a child of God.
Perhaps he never used this type of language but by his example I think he
spoke volumes. If I had the time and
the money I would try to attend his funeral.
That is how much I thought of him.
Gerard Devine wrote a letter to John’s brother:
I
learned of John’s passing from the Edmundians.
He was a former teacher of mine in
In 1958 Brother John returned to
Brother
John and I were transferred in September of 1958 to
John’s
next assignment was at Catholic Memorial in
John
came into my life in the summer of 1975. He
had been at
Over
the years, we became friends through our love of the ‘new’ theology.
Every summer he would pack off to
Then in 1977 John was assigned to
He
was especially happy when he was assigned to Bergin Catholic, after his previous
distant assignments. This afforded
him more time to spend with his family and to enjoy the many joyful occasions
– weddings, births, and his parents 50th and 60th
wedding anniversaries. In his parents later years, he was always a constant and
positive presence to them, always lending a helping hand.
He was at their bedside with all of us at the time of their passing into
eternal life.
Again
Brother Al Killelea joins up with John and writes of this time:
I
didn’t have much contact with John after 1964 until I was appointed principal
of
Brother Ray Vercruysse lived with John during the 1980-81 year and
shared these thoughts:
We
both taught sophomore religion and our classes were across the hall from each
other. John was very helpful to the
‘new kid’ on the block – this
was my second assignment. He offered
lesson plans and work sheets that he had used the previous year.
He was so welcoming to the new members of the community.
That
year I had written for permission to take final vows and he was the only brother
who came along with his letter to share it with me before sending it to
He
strove to have a good community life and was always looking for fair treatment
for himself and others. He did not
believe in a two tier system. That
often would upset him. He put much
serious effort into his personal prayer life and often encouraged others to do
the same.
A former student, Joseph Haemmerle, and present faculty member at Bergin
Catholic wrote:
I
very much enjoyed taking religion classes at Bergin Catholic in my sophomore
year because Brother John was my teacher. “JJ”
would teach us about Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement almost every
day. He had a great admiration for
that movement. He was a very
contemplative person who enjoyed reading the scripture.
Brother
would “burn” students – give them jug.
He would laugh with us. I
remember us truly enjoying him as God’s servant.
There was no hidden agenda. He
was quite genuine and good. He was a
loving man who could be tough when he needed to be.
He often challenged Dennis McPartland as one of those Scotch McPartland
horse thieves (not an Irishman). He
was good for Bergen Catholic and left an indelible mark on the students who took
his sophomore year New Testament class.
I
would especially like to thank Bergen Catholic, especially Brother McPartland
for the lessons I received in Catholic activism, justice and equality.
Please let him know that I like to think that I have taken his lessons
with me.
Two
students, James Nono and Cono Spinelli wrote an article in the school newspaper
on the occasion of John’s Golden Jubilee.
They ended their article with these words:
Brother
McPartland is well liked at Bergen Catholic.
His good humor and friendliness towards the students make him a favorite
with many. One of his favorite
sayings, “the joy is in the journey” seems to sum up exactly the kind of
person Brother McPartland really is. We
should consider ourselves fortunate that Brother McPartland’s teaching journey
[which spans 41 years in five different schools] has brought him to us at Bergen
Catholic.
Brother Ben Walsh lived in community with John during his last years and
he shares these thoughts with us:
John’s
heroes were essentially people who made a difference in the lives of the poor.
A few who particularly influenced him were Dorothy Day, Ghandi, and
Philip and Dan Berrigan. He explained to his students about The Catholic Worker
movement and some of them visited the site in
John
had a great knowledge of scripture as he had studied with some of the finest
teachers at
For
years John was in charge of the cafeteria. One day a student on a dare from
other students walked up to the microphone and dedicated a song to John.
“This one’s for you, JJ” and started to sing. The students gave the
singer a roaring ovation. Although
the singer was well liked by John, he gave the singer a detention.
Later that day he told me he was sorry he had done that. John really
liked the students and the feeling was mutual.
Brother
Paul Hennessy, a group member and former Provincial of the
I
very much admired John’s dedication to his teaching of Religious Education.
It wasn’t enough just to go into class.
He was always interested in new methods.
Summer after summer he went to workshops and took courses long after his
contemporaries. While many of us had
diverse ministries throughout life, he was really a “classroom teacher” with
all the admirable dedication that entailed.
He had a hearty laugh. At
times he could be very concerned and worried about a variety of things, but he
never lost his sense of humor.
John
McGowan, a former teacher at Bergen Catholic and an Associate of Blessed Edmund
Rice, wrote:
John
was a member of my family. My son and daughter called him “Uncle” John.
He was with us at every major event and holiday or post holiday at my
home. When I called to become an Associate of Blessed Edmund Rice, Brother
McCarthy suggested that we find a Brother whom we admired and whose spirituality
attracted us. I went to John.
During this time I learned of his deep concern for the poor and
marginalized.
He
was dearly loved by my family. Let me share a true story.
My daughter, Resa was a very shy child. She didn’t hug or kiss people
easily. The first time John came to
our house, she was five or six years old. When
he sat down, a conversation began and Resa walked over to John and climbed up on
his lap. Both my wife, Carol, and
I damn near fell over – “Bring the little children unto me…” There is
such honesty and genuineness in a child. Resa
knew that John was holy and safe, and loving.
What
I saw him go through at the end of his teaching career would have upset Mother
Teresa. John handled it without
rancor or bitterness. If I can steal
poetic lines – “It made me not love mankind the less, but John the more.”
To
this day Resa who is now 12 asks Carol why God took Uncle John and Grandma away.
She pairs them together and loved them equally.
John is up in heaven now, waiting for the rest of us.
A man is measured by how he handles the most difficult moments in his life. John was tested and came up big. The decision to retire from teaching in the Spring of the 1998 school year was a very painful one for him. And the circumstances surrounding this decision would have crushed most people. But John knew where he needed to draw his line in the sand. He listened to his heart and knew it was time to let go.
James Tieng, a student from his honors class, wrote him:
Teachers,
like yourself, who work around problems and drink from the “cup of
suffering” find a way to teach their students.
Without these past two years, students, like myself, may still find
ourselves reading the Bible as a fundamentalist.
But with your insight into the Biblical readings …
we can now look beyond simple typeset words and find a deeper
understanding. People have
criticized your teaching style, implying that the text book is a near holy
object. You have showed us that this is a fallacy.
Every worksheet you gave us, every Hebrew word you explained, and every
movie you showed has proved that you can and should teach.
I
speak for the greater majority in this matter when we ask you to reconsider your
“retirement”. I have gathered
the names of numerous students who share the same sentiments as I do.
If it is within your power we ask that you as least continue as our
teacher to the end of the school year. If
this is not possible, we extend our most heartfelt gratitude for the life
lessons you have bestowed to us and we wish you the best in the future.
Hopefully this will not be farewell.
John turned this painful decision to good.
He immediately shifted gears and poured all his energies into becoming a
pastoral minister at
Sister Lois Jablonski, SSJ, who was Director of Pastoral Care at
All
of us at
His sister writes of this time:
Unfortunately,
John’s new love, pastoral care ministry, was put on hold in August 2000, when
he was diagnosed with multiple-myeloma cancer and a plasma cytoma in the
stomach. He underwent chemotherapy
until October, 2000 but the treatment had no effect on the shrinking of the
tumor. He had stomach surgery to
remove the cytoma tumor on
He
continued with chemotherapy until January, 2001.
In February he had autologous stem cell replacement therapy which was the
new miracle treatment for cancer. He
recovered from this at
In
the Fall, his strength had returned and he resumed his pastoral care ministry
and this time focused on the oncology patients.
In early January, 2002 his energy seemed to decline and a tiredness
appeared again. On January 16th
he was advised that the cancer had returned.
This was a terrible blow to him, as he had a firm belief in his
treatments and had had a cancer free
period. As the weeks passed he
seemed to have an inner peace and had accepted God’s will for him.
He always said he would like to grow old like his dad, but that was not
to be.
During
all his life and especially during his treatments for cancer, John was
surrounded by his loving family, nieces and nephews who spent hours with him.
His illness afforded us this special time.
He also had a special bond with Brothers Ben Walsh and Tom Kelly and
loved his years living with them. They
were always caring and supportive during his illness and visited him often when
he was at
John
entered
In December of 2,000 Br. Richard Glatz came from
I
came to
I
told him about my troubles with the effects of stress and he told me about the
writings of a Buddhist monk who had developed breathing exercises to help people
maintain their serenity throughout life’s daily tribulations. He loaned me one
of the books and, later, when I was recovering at my sister’s house, he mailed
me an advertising pamphlet that listed this monk’s other works.
I
was extremely impressed at how much interest and care he showed me, when he
himself was in such critical health. May
God bless his soul.
Dave
Villeco, an Edmundian, writes:
I
last saw John at
John
was born into eternal life in Edmund Residence on
“He
was just good to be around.”
“He
was down to earth.”
“He
radiated an inner peace.”
“He
had a wonderful sense of humor. He
greeted me with ‘Shalom, Baby’!”
“He
is still my teacher, I will never forget him.”
Another
student with tears in his eyes said, “ His death has taught me to connect with
people you love before it is too late.”
The
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on February 14th at
As
one gets older it is nice to have someone to share memories with; to share
one’s transition to the winter season of life; to tear away some of the walls
one has built up over the years to protect oneself and share things that are
meaningful. If we are lucky we might
find one person in our life to walk this path with – to find someone as
authentic as John is rare.
We
sat and looked over the lake, walked the beach, and of course went shopping for
all sorts of crazy things for his friends – Tye Dye shirts, beads and the
like. But you know this because you
received them.
Two
of the most life giving things for John were his 10 summers with the DeLaSalle
Brothers in
Anna
knows best the courage it took him to face his illness and especially the
treatments that followed. John often
said, “Anna is my strength, she is my rock of Gibralter, she is always there
for me.”
He
has been our teacher to the end.
He
has taught us much.
Thank
you, John, for your kindness, for your gentle spirit, for your self-less
generosity, and for truly being brother to all those you met and especially for
being brother to me.
The
family received many letters and notes of condolence.
Two Brothers from the DeLaSalle Community in
John
was very much loved by the Ocean Rest summer community and the many Brothers who
visited on week-ends. We enjoyed his presence with us.
He added much to the life and vitality of the community.
Over the summers he and I had many a good chat about the books he was
always reading and underlining. One
of those books is with me now.
I
was very happy to spend some days with him his last summer here.
He looked so well, following his February ordeal with the stem cell
replacement treatment. He was in
good spirits and cherished each day with his beach time, time in the chapel,
dinner conversation, and evenings sitting around with groups of Brothers sharing
and telling stories.
Your
Brother was a good man, who enriched many lives, including the Brothers of our
province. We are blest to know him
and share a small part of his journey to the Lord.
Brother
Allen Flood wrote:
I
knew Brother John during four summers at Ocean Rest.
During my last summer with him, he was very sick with stomach problems
and returned home about half way through the summer. He has encouraged me to go
into hospital ministry after I retire from teaching.
I certainly admire him for being a religion specialist in the 70/s,
80’s and 90’s. And to take on
three prefecting periods of the cafeteria is outstanding. I count it as a
blessing to have known him those few short summers.
I now have another advocate in heaven.
Jeanne
Harpster was a close friend of John’s as well as
his dental hygienist. She attended several lectures with him and he
shared many of his books with her. She
wrote:
It
was my privilege to call John my friend. His
good humor, his faith in the goodness of mankind, and the mercy and love of God
kept me inspired. My heart goes out
to all those who loved him. I believe he smiles on all of us.
And
a cousin, Mary Agnes DelPino, who grew up next door to John wrote:
I
have so many fond memories of Johnny when we were kids in the
Internment
followed in the
Kevin
Molloy wrote:
At
the end of Rosary Walk at Santa Maria-on-the-Hudson is found the graveyard for
the brothers. How often on our
walking back and forth reciting the rosary did we ever think that someday we
would rest there. And now John
joined so many others of the group of ’50 and others who helped make the
So
John has returned to
John
became one of the giants he had so admired.
John
wrote a long descriptive letter of his illness to his family and friends after
his last treatment and when he had gone into temporary remission.
He ended his letter with these remarks:
Everything
takes time and things look good now. I
hope the doctors got rid of the cancer from my hip and spine.
It’s all in God’s hands. Thank
you for all your prayers and best wishes and support.
This is part of my journey and story and I feel God’s arm around me
holding me firmly and lovingly.
John
ended his Golden Jubilee remarks with these words:
May
God dance in you.
May
the fire never go out in your ashes.
May
you always run after your dreams.
~~~~~~~~~~
When
you die to what you thought was true
Everything
in your life catches fire
You
are the instrument not the music
If
you think you are the music
You
will stop at the final bar
If
you become the instrument for the music
You
will go on playing
No
matter where you are
Or
who’s conducting
The
gig is never over
The
heart is always singing yes
The
mind is always shouting no
Between
the two
We
come and go
Safe
on the solid shore of maybe
[John Squadrea]