Father
Harry Smyth, 83, dies on Christmas Eve
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer
A cherished Christmas photograph in Father Harry Smyth’s family
shows him, as a young priest, walking up his sister’s snowy driveway,
carrying a bag brimming with presents and pulling a red wagon filled with
additional gifts.
The photograph comforted his family this past Christmas. Father Henry
J. Smyth, pastor emeritus of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Horsham
and a former pastor of St. Barbara and Sacred Heart of Jesus parishes
in Philadelphia, died of cancer Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006 at Villa St. Joseph,
Darby. He was 83 years old.
“He was an absolutely outstanding uncle,” said Father Smyth’s
niece, Nancy Flynn of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Philadelphia.
Another childhood Christmas memory Flynn has of her priest uncle is of
the time he bought her sisters and her Timex watches. “He made us
feel very grown up — very important,” she said. “He
was like Santa Claus at Christmas.”
So Flynn said she found it fitting that Father Smyth died on Christmas
Eve: “That season was important to him. We felt he was being reunited
with his mother, whom he never really got to know, on Christmas.”
His mother died when he was 2 years old.
The first of three children of the late George C. and Jennie (Clarke)
Smyth was born March 28, 1923. He attended Transfiguration of Our Lord
Parochial School, St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and West Philadelphia
Catholic High School for Boys before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
Father Smyth was devoted to his family, his niece said. “He promoted
Catholic education within the family,” and pitched in to help pay
for Catholic school tuition for his nieces and nephews.
As a younger man, he crafted leather wallets and purses for relatives,
and treated family members to trips to Ireland to visit kin.
Father Smyth had “a corny sense of humor,” his niece added.
His favorite pastimes included golf and cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles
and Phillies. Even as his days were drawing to a close, he was glued to
the Eagles’ televised games. “We’re going to miss him
terribly,” Flynn said.
Father Smyth was ordained May 27, 1950 at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and
Paul by Auxiliary Bishop J. Carroll McCormick.
Assignments included: parochial vicar, Holy Family, New Philadelphia;
St. Vincent De Paul, Minersville; St. Patrick, Pottsville; St. Agnes,
West Chester; St. Aloysius, Pottstown; St. Matthew, and St. Francis de
Sales, Philadelphia, and St. Charles Borromeo, Drexel Hill and associate
director of the Southwest Philadelphia CYO.
Father Smyth served as pastor of St. Barbara Parish, Philadelphia, from
1973 to 1977 and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, also in Philadelphia, from
1977 to 1990.
While he was stationed at St. Barbara, Father Smyth was robbed and shot
in the neck at the church. The bullet ricocheted, became lodged behind
his shoulder blade and could never be removed. In the incident, he also
sustained a punctured lung.
After the shooting, he leaned on his dog, Bogey, who dragged him into
the rectory, where he called for help.
In 1990, he was appointed pastor of St. Catherine of Siena in Horsham,
and was named pastor emeritus there in 1998.
“I’m really sad at his passing — I will miss him very
much,” said Norma Hauser, who served as Father Smyth’s secretary
at St. Catherine of Siena. Hauser, now a secretary in the Chancery of
the Philadelphia Archdiocese, described Father Smyth as a kind and caring
boss, a priest who had a good sense of humor, and a spiritual individual.
She said Father Smyth always carried his rosary and prayer book.
He was also a good administrator, and made a priority of visiting the
hospitalized, homebound and dying, his secretary said. Father Smyth loved
his parishioners and they responded to him, Hauser added: “He cared
deeply about them, and about the finances of the parish. He tried to be
very careful with money, and was good with maintenance.”
His interests were varied. In addition to being an advocate of athletics,
he also liked to bring into the parish office African violets or roses
that he grew. “He was well-balanced,” Hauser said. “He
was just a good person.”
Father Smyth also loved to share stories with his staff about his childhood
and early years in the priesthood. The rectory office, Hauser said, “was
just an enjoyable place to be.”
Cardinal Justin Rigali celebrated Father Smyth’s funeral Mass Thursday,
Dec. 28 at St. Catherine of Siena Church.
Concelebrants included Msgr. Alexander J. Palmieri and Fathers William
J. Cox, Henry C. Graf, George G. Hagenbach, J. Jerome Wild and Joseph
J. Kelley, who was also the homilist.
“On Dec. 24, a good and faithful soldier, Father Harry Smyth, left
the tabernacle of his body,” Father Kelley said in his homily. “We
gather together this morning in the sure and certain hope that this soldier
will go up in triumph to heaven.”
Father Smyth was pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish when Father Kelley
began his first assignment as a parochial vicar there after his 1987 ordination.
Father Kelley recalled Father Smyth as a gentleman, and a priest who was
true to his breviary. “When a priest prays his breviary, he becomes
the book,” Father Kelley said. Shortly before his death, Father
Smyth confided to his niece that he was having a difficult time reconciling
the fact that he could no longer read his breviary.
“Father Smyth’s greatest witness to Christ was in his faithful
daily celebration of holy Mass,” Father Kelley added. “It
was the hallmark of his day, and as long as his health allowed, he was
at God’s altar at the start of his every day.”
In addition to his niece Nancy Flynn, Father Smyth is survived by two
sisters, Maureen Mooney and Jeanne Helms, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.
Compiled
by
Joe Novetsky
Bridget T. Breslin
Bridget T. Breslin died Dec. 5, 2006 in South Philadelphia. She served
as an air raid warden in London during World War II, and for 28 years
was the housekeeper at St. Rita’s rectory in South Philadelphia,
where she was also part of the senior citizens group. She was a life member
of the Third Order of St. Augustine. The funeral Mass was celebrated Dec.
12 at St. Rita Church. Burial was at SS. Peter and Paul cemetery. She
was predeceased by her parents, Patrick and Maryann Shovlin Breslin; brothers
Hugh and John, and sisters Rose Campbell and Mary Allen. She is survived
by nieces and nephews in the Delaware Valley, England and Ireland.
Gerald P. “Moose” Carey
Gerald P. Carey, 66, beloved husband of Patricia (born Wizda), died Dec.
24, 2006. The funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 29 at St. Barnabas Church,
Philadelphia. Burial was at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery. He is survived
by his children, Colleen (Bob) Paolucci, Father Gerald P., and Karen (Tim)
Kerns; two sisters, Sara Rosbach and Elizabeth Sloss; and five grandchildren.
He was predeceased by a brother, Anthony, “Jack.”
Sister Mildred Francis Conway
Sister Mildred Francis Conway, O.S.F., died Dec. 30, 2006. She was 95.
Born in Philadelphia, she was a graduate of Hallahan High School and earned
a bachelor’s degree at Villanova University. She entered the Sisters
of St. Francis in 1937. She ministered for 49 years in the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia as a teacher, principal and librarian. She also served
for 16 years in the diocese of Allentown. The funeral Mass was celebrated
Jan. 4, 2007 at Assisi House. Burial was at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery
in Aston. Surviving are a a sister, Mary Koob, several nieces and members
of her Franciscan family.
Sister Edward Marie Dougherty
Sister Edward Marie Dougherty, I.H.M., born Ann Dougherty, died Nov. 15
at Camilla Hall in Immaculata. She was 69. Born in Philadelphia, she served
in elementary and secondary education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Her last assignment was at Cardinal O’Hara High School. She also
taught in the dioceses of Harrisburg, Arlington, Richmond, and Metuchen.
She served six years as regional superior of the Sisters, Servants of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The funeral Mass was celebrated by her cousin,
Father Joseph Lacey, S.J., on Nov. 20, 2006 at Camilla Hall. Burial was
at Immaculata. She was predeceased by a sister, Betty Nolan, and brothers
James and Edward Dougherty and James Gillan. She is survived by one brother,
Joseph Gillan, nieces, nephews, grandnephews, grandnieces, and members
of her congregation.
Sister M. Lillian Jurkiewicz
Sister M. Lillian Jurkiewicz, O.S.F., died Dec. 27, 2006 in Farmington,
Mich. She was 92, and was in her 76th year as a Bernardine Franciscan
Sister. Sister Lillian was born in Conshohocken, and ministered in education
as a principal, teacher, librarian and superior, in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Michigan, New Jersey and Texas. The funeral Mass was held Jan. 2, 2007
at Sacred Heart Convent in Reading. She was predeceased by six siblings.
She is survived by two nieces.
Frances J. Keough
Frances J. Keough (born Jastrebsky) died Dec. 19, 2006 at Thomas Jefferson
University in Philadelphia. She was 75. She was born in Dunham, Ky., and
worked for the Seaboard Railroad in Portsmouth, Va. In 1960, she married
Winfred F. “Bud” Keough, Jr., and moved to Ardmore, and later,
North Wales, Pa. She was an active parishioner of St. Rose of Lima Church
in North Wales, and one of the founders of “LIMAS,” a women’s
group in the parish. The funeral Mass was held Dec. 27 at St. Rose of
Lima Church in North Wales. She is survived by her husband, her children,
Mary Frances Karr, W.F. “Buzzy” Keough III (Jennifer), Catherine
“Kitty” Lane (Jon), Patricia Butera (Dave); her sister, Pauline
Jackson; brother; William Jastrebsky (Ann), an uncle, and 10 grandchildren.
Alfred E. S. O’Neill, Sr.
Alfred E. S. O’Neill, Sr., of Philadelphia, died Dec. 20. He was
78. One of 8 children, he was born to Irish immigrant parents and lived
a full life, which in many ways mirrored the times. He enlisted in the
U.S. Army and was part of one of the first contingents to go to Nagasaki,
Japan, to rebuild it after the atomic bomb was dropped. After his war
service, he became a highly successful insurance salesman and entrepreneur.
He is survived by four siblings, Robert (Joan), Buddy, Helen Morris (Frank)
and Rita Stahley; a daughter, Kate O’Neill (Joe Zajacskowski); a
son, Alfred O’Neill, Jr, and by four grandchildren.
Mary Romanowski
Mary Romanowski (born Kwilman), 91, wife of the late Francis “Frank,”
died Nov. 25 at Northeastern Hospital. She was an active member of St.
Adalbert Parish in Philadelphia. She belonged to the sodality of the Our
Lady of Fatima, rosary society, St. Adalbert senior citizens, and the
Union of Polish women, group 2. The funeral Mass was celebrated Nov. 30,
2006 at St. Adalbert Church. Burial was at the National Shrine of Our
Lady of Czestochowa cemetery in Doylestown. She is survived by a daughter
Theresa B.; nephews Father Mirek Kosek and Father Oprawa in Poland, and
nieces and nephews in Poland.
Sister Grace Scordo
Sister Grace Scordo, M.P.F., died Nov. 22, 2006 at St. Joseph Hall Infirmary
at Villa Walsh, Morristown, N.J. She was 81. A native of Watertown, N.Y.,
she entered the Religious Teachers Filippini in 1940. She had a bachelor’s
degree in elementary education from Seton Hall University. She taught
middle and upper grades at schools in New York, Connecticut, Maryland,
New Jersey, Colorado, and at two Pennsylvania schools, St. Nicholas of
Tolentine in Philadelphia and Purification School in Ellwood City. A funeral
Mass was celebrated Nov. 24, 2006 at St. Lucy Chapel at Villa Walsh. She
was predeceased by her parents, Vincenzo James and Marianna; two sisters,
Frances and Mary, and a brother, Sebastian (Gus). She is survived by three
brothers, Fortunato (Ben), Joseph and Jack, and four sisters, Katherine
Benedetto, Antoinette, Carmeline and Lucia.
Father
Richard J. Wojnicki
Father Richard J. Wojnicki, O.S.F.S., 52, died Dec. 31 at De Sales Centre
in Childs, Md. He was born in Philadelphia, graduated from Northeast Catholic
High School and received a bachelor’s degree from LaSalle University.
He entered the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in 1977, and received a
master’s of divinity from the De Sales School of Theology in Washington,
D.C. He was ordained a priest in 1985 at Our Lady of Ransom Church in
Philadelphia. He served as chaplain at universities in Pennsylvania and
Florida, and at the Salesianum School in Delaware. The funeral Mass was
celebrated Jan. 5, 2007 at Our Mother of Consolation Church in Philadelphia.
Burial was at the Oblate cemetery adjacent to Our Lady of Light Chapel
in Md. Father Wojnicki is survived by his sister, Sister Barbara Jean
Wojnicki, C.S.S.N., and his brother, Joseph.