‘The head of the family is gone’
Father Joseph Denny, pastor of St. Bartholomew, dies
of cancer at 74
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
“I’m going to be a priest and I’m going to have a dog
on the altar.”
That’s what 6-year-old Joe Denny told his mother more than 60 years
ago.
Little Joe Denny did grow up to be both a priest and a dog owner. And
he named three of his dogs after three Philadelphia parishes he served
as pastor: a whippet, Chris, for Corpus Christi; a rottweiler, Vicki,
for Our Lady of Victory and a golden retriever, Bart, for St. Bartholomew.
Father Joseph P. Denny, pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish, died of cancer
Sunday, March 2, 2008 at St. Bartholomew Rectory. He was 74.
He had also served as pastor of Assumption B.V.M. in Philadelphia.
Father Denny was born Nov. 9, 1933 in Philadelphia, the fourth of five
children of the late Thomas and Rose (Boylan) Denny.
According to his brother, Thomas, 84, Father Denny was an “excellent”
and “conscientious” brother and priest.
“He doted on all of us,” added Terri Tadley, 50, Father Denny’s
niece and goddaughter. “He was just so kindhearted. He was always
there for us.”
He attended St. Stephen School and Northeast Catholic High School for
Boys, both in Philadelphia, and served in the U.S. Army before entering
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.
Father Denny was ordained May 20, 1967 at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and
Paul in Philadelphia by then-Archbishop John Krol.
Msgr. James J. Foley, a Seminary classmate who is pastor of SS. Peter
and Paul Parish in East Goshen, was a friend since their days at St. Charles.
“I believe he embraced his cancer as a gift, as his Gethsemane,”
Msgr. Foley said.
Father Denny’s assignments included: parochial vicar, St. Anthony
of Padua, Ambler; Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia; St. Eugene,
Primos; St. Clement, Philadelphia, and St. Francis of Assisi, Norristown.
He served on the faculty of Roman Catholic High School for Boys from 1969
to 1974. There, he taught religion and was the athletic director and later
became president of the Philadelphia Catholic League Athletic Directors.
Father Denny was pastor of Corpus Christi from 1984 to 1987; Assumption
B.V.M. from July 1987 to September 1987, and Our Lady of Victory from
1987 to 1991.
He was named pastor of St. Bartholomew in 1991.
He loved his parishioners, and they loved him.
Mary Anne Hand, a rectory cook and parishioner, appreciated how Father
Denny acknowledged birthdays by giving money equaling the celebrant’s
age. “He was a dear man and I’ll miss him very much,”
she said.
Mary Galdo, a baker at the rectory, said, “We were a family —
he wasn’t ‘the boss’ and we weren’t ‘the
workers.’ And now, the head of the family is gone.”
Father Denny celebrated all holidays in style. He was also a tennis player
and devout Notre Dame football fan, and enjoyed travels to Notre Dame,
Ireland, St. Croix and the Jersey shore. The day before Father Denny died,
Msgr. Foley prayed the prayers for the commendation of the dying. “When
I finished, Father Joe opened his eyes real wide and clearly said, ‘What
about our Lady of Notre Dame?’”
His niece said her uncle, whose middle name was Patrick, “looked
like a little leprechaun” and so loved to laugh that her husband
once said, “He has the map of Ireland written on his face.”
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph P. McFadden celebrated Father Denny’s funeral
Mass Thursday, March 6 at St. Bartholomew Church. Msgr. Foley was the
homilist.
“Father Joe gave me specific instructions concerning this homily:
‘Don’t make me out to be a saint.’”
In addition to his brother Thomas and niece Terri Tadley, Father Denny
is survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his three sisters:
Margaret Corcoran, Rita Cripps and Sister Mary Patricia Denny, M. M.
Interment was at Our Lady of Grace Cemetery, Penndel.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215) 587-2468
or cchicoin@adphila.org.
William F. Maginnis Jr.
William F. Maginnis Jr., formerly of Lansdale, died March 6 at age 81.
He is survived by his wife Margaret Ann (nee Smith), children William,
David, James, Lori Connelly, Kenneth and Pamela Moyer and 20 grandchildren.
He was the brother of two sisters, Joan Heinsinger and the late Jessica
Woodard, and a brother, Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Maginnis, who celebrated
the funeral Mass at St. Stanislaus Church in Lansdale.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Regina Nursing Center,
550 East Fornance Street, Norristown, PA 19401. Expressions of sympathy
should be sent to: Mrs. William F. Maginnis Jr. (Ann), 14 Pin Oak Road,
Quakertown, PA 18951.