Father
James V. Leary dies at 78
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
“He always greeted you with a smile, and when you left him, you
always had a smile. He was a very fine priest.”
That’s how the late Father James V. Leary will be remembered by
Joe Berenato, 81, a member of St. Matthias Parish in Bala Cynwyd, where
Father Leary served from 1979 to 1994.
Father James V. Leary, a retired priest and resident of St. Francis Country
House, Darby, died Jan. 9, 2008. He was 78.
According to Berenato, Father Leary was also an exemplary homilist. Although
the tone of his homilies was “sometimes fire and brimstone, you
always remembered what he said,” Berenato added. “He had good
inflection in his voice.”
Father Leary was a punctual person — and a man of routine.
“He had to have his meals at a certain time every day,” Berenato
recalled. “If the rectory didn’t provide the meal [at a certain
time] he’d go out and get it someplace else.”
Father Leary liked visiting people who were ill, as well as those who
were imprisoned. “He did everything a priest is supposed to do,”
Berenato added. “He was just a good priest — and we hated
to see him go.”
Father Leary was born May 21, 1929, in Bridgeport. He was the youngest
of three children of the late Vincent J. and Alice (Shuttleworth) Leary.
“We were very close,” said his sister, Constance Richey. “When
we were youngsters, people used to take us for twins.”
Making mud pies with her little brother is one of Richey’s most
cherished childhood memories. “Jimmy and I played together all the
time,” she said.
Richey remembered her brother as both funny and friendly. “He always
had a burr cut. They used to refer to him as George Gobel,” the
famous comedian. “They did resemble each other.”
As a boy, Father Leary served as an altar boy, and he made it known when
he was in first grade that he planned to be a priest, his sister said.
He attended St. Augustine Parochial School in Bridgeport, and St. Patrick
High School in Norristown before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
in Wynnewood.
“He was a good friend to everybody in the class,” said Msgr.
James P. McBride, pastor emeritus of St. Katherine of Siena Parish in
Philadelphia and a seminary classmate of Father Leary. “He was a
good student.”
Although Father Leary had a reserved demeanor, “he was always ready
to laugh or crack a joke,” said Msgr. McBride, who delivered the
homily at Father Leary’s funeral Mass.
Father Leary was ordained May 10, 1956 at Immaculate Conception Church
in the Germantown section of the city by Archbishop John F. O’Hara.
Assignments included faculty member of St. Pius X High School, Pottstown;
parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Girardville; St. Joseph, Reading;
Our Lady Help of Christians, Allentown; St. Michael the Archangel, Levittown;
St. Kevin, Springfield; St. Joseph, Collingdale; St. Callistus, Philadelphia;
Presentation B.V.M., Wynnewood; St. Matthias, Bala Cynwyd and St. John
Bosco, Hatboro.
Father Leary retired from active ministry in 1996. In retirement, he assisted
with Masses at various churches, including Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity
parishes in Phoenixville, and Holy Trinity Parish in Pottstown.
Early in his retirement, he lived at the rectory of Sacred Heart Parish,
Phoenixville, where Msgr. John M. Galyo — a close friend from his
seminary days — was pastor.
Msgr. Galyo — now pastor emeritus of Sacred Heart — held Father
Leary in high esteem, and their friendship spanned 61 years. According
to Msgr. Galyo, one precious memory of their seminary days was the way
his friend would “piously pray before our Lady’s altar in
St. Martin’s Chapel.”
Cardinal Justin Rigali celebrated Father Leary’s funeral Mass on
Saturday, Jan. 12 at St. Francis Country House.
In addition to his sister, Father Leary is survived by a brother, John,
and numerous nieces and nephews.
Interment was at St. Augustine Cemetery, Bridgeport.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.
Compiled
by
ADAM DICKERSON
John J. Delaney Sr.
John J. Delaney Sr., formerly of Drexel Hill, died Jan. 6, 2008 at Life
Care Hospital of Chester County. He was 81. Born in Philadelphia to the
late John H. and Theresa Delaney, he graduated from West Catholic High
School and Temple University. He also served in the U.S. Army and worked
as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Havertown. A funeral
Mass was celebrated Jan. 10 at SS. Philip and James Church, Exton. Interment
was at St. Agnes Cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Rita E. Delaney;
daughters Holly Heying, Debra Cardell, Theresa Delaney and Maureen Kobika;
a son, John J. Delaney Jr.; and nine grandchildren.
Frances Armandi
Frances Armandi, formerly Durante, of Newtown Square died on Jan. 7, 2008.
Formerly of Havertown, she was the wife of the late Primo, and mother
of Nicholas J., Richard J., Anna Barei, Elaine Armandi and the late Agostino
“Skip” Armandi. She was the sister of Mary Baldini and the
late Pasquale Durante. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Sacred Heart Church,
Manoa, on Jan. 12. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery. She is survived
by 19 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Suzanne H. Uebele
Suzanne H. Uebele of Drexel Hill died Jan. 8, 2008 at Vitas Hospice at
Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. She was 64. Born in Philadelphia to the late
Charles L. Uebele and Helen Tarbay Uebele, She attended Transfiguration
and St. Bernadette grade schools, and graduated from Archbishop Prendergast
High School and Immaculata College. She was a vocational counselor for
the state of Pennsylvania, including Emeryville State Hospital and Haverford
State Hospital. Before going to work for the state she was a member of
the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and taught in various
schools in the Archdiocese. A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 12 at St.
Bernadette Church, Drexel Hill. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery. She
is survived by her brother, Charles L. Uebele Jr., and her nephew, Charles
Uebele.