In Memory

January/February 2002

Return to Table of Contents
Print Article

FR. JOHN JOSEPH O'CONNOR, SFM, passed away on November 7, 2001, of congestive heart and kidney failure. Fr. John was born on May 29, 1927, in Toronto, Ontario. He entered St. Francis Xavier Seminary in 1945 and was ordained for Scarboro Missions on December 22, 1951. He would have celebrated 50 years of priesthood in the month following his death.

In September 1952 Fr. John arrived in the Dominican Republic and for the next nine years served in El Seibo, Hato Mayor, Azua, and finally in Padre Las Casas where he was appointed pastor in November 1959.

These were difficult years during the dictatorship of Leonidas Trujillo. "Many Scarboro priests witnessed Trujillo's egocentric and harsh dictatorship," Fr. John wrote of that time, "and the consequent personal and social abuses. Scarboro missionaries were appalled. For them, social justice was very meaningful, but the perplexing question of what to do was a subject of debate, diverse opinions and at times controversy."

Fr. John spoke to his bishop and asked to be removed as pastor in Padre Las Casas or he would take a public stand against Trujillo. Bishop Reilly, CSsR, counseled him to follow his conscience.

"After much soul-searching," Fr. John wrote, "and with recognition of my own fears, inadequacies and unworthiness, that fateful but planned Sunday arrived. In my homily I spoke of the murders, lack of freedom, violations of human rights, and the many social injustices perpetrated..."

Fr. John was expelled from the Dominican Republic in 1961 on trumped up charges of smuggling drugs and corrupting people.

Back in Canada, he returned to his studies and received a doctorate in psychology from the University of Ottawa in 1967. For the next 20 years he practiced clinical psychology in the United States. He retired to Sun City, Florida, where he dedicated himself to spiritual direction, especially accompanying cancer patients and their families.

In April 2000 Fr. John wrote to Scarboro Missions central house in Canada to forward a donation given to him. His letter stated that he wanted the money sent to the Dominican Republic. He saw his time there "as the best years of my life," he said. "So if possible I want the money to go to feed the hungriest of the hungry and the poorest of the poor."

FR. GEORGE COURTRIGHT, SFM, passed away on November 21, 2001, at Providence Villa in Scarborough, Ontario. He had been failing due to heart problems for several months and moved to Providence Villa a short time before his death.

Fr. George was born in Ottawa on June 24, 1916. He was educated there and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Ottawa University before entering St. Francis Xavier Seminary in 1940. He was ordained for Scarboro Missions by Archbishop Vachon in Ottawa on June 10, 1945.

He first went to the Dominican Republic in September 1945 and served there for 15 years. Fr. George returned to Canada in 1960 and was appointed to the Promotion Department where he served until 1969.

In September of 1969, at the invitation of Bishop Carter, he assumed a new role as Director of Missions for the Diocese of London, Ontario, dedicating himself to the promotion of mission work.

In 1984, he underwent a quadruple bypass and then began serving in Michigan at St. Stephen's Parish in Port Huron and St. James Parish in Ferndale.

In his early 80s, he officially retired to Fraser Acres, Scarboro Missions' residence in Omemee, Ontario, where he lived until a few months before his death.

A Wake Service was held in the chapel at Scarboro Missions central house on November 23, followed by burial in Our Lady Queen of Angels cemetery adjacent to St. Augustine's Seminary in Scarborough.

The Funeral Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated by Fr. Jack Lynch, Superior General of Scarboro Missions. He was joined by Bishop Robert Clune, Fr. Norbert Gignac and Fr. Dave Harding, classmates of Fr. Courtright, as well as members of Scarboro Missions, including Fr. Joseph Curcio who gave the homily.

It was noted by many that Fr. George always tried to get along with everyone and never wanted to feel animosity toward anyone.

FR. HUGH MACDOUGALL, SFM, died accidentally outside of his residence in Havana, Cuba, on November 13, 2001. His death was a result of head injuries received after being struck by a bicycle as he crossed the street to his parked car.

Born on June 10, 1934, in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Fr. Hugh received his early schooling in Sydney Mines and at Xavier Junior College in Sydney. He graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and entered the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society a year later.

Ordained to the priesthood on August 21, 1960, Fr. Hugh was appointed to St.Vincent, West Indies, in 1961. In 1975 his next assignment began as director of student formation in Canada, and from 1980-82 he served in Halifax, Nova Scotia, promoting vocations and the work of the Society.

From 1982 he began working in Peru until he was recalled in 1991 to serve again as director of the student formation program. From 1992-1997 he served as a member of the General Council, and in 1995 took on the additional responsibility as pastor of St. Theresa's Shrine parish in Scarborough, Ontario.

In 1999 Fr. Hugh was assigned to work in Cuba with the Quebec Foreign Mission Society; an exciting appointment for him as Cuba was a new area of work for Scarboro Missions.

Fr. Hugh is survived by three brothers, Fr. Angus MacDougall, pastor of St. Theresa's parish, Sydney, Nova Scotia; Ronald (Ethel), Sydney Mines; and Cameron (Gladys), of Antigonish.

A funeral Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated on Thursday, November 15, in Fr. Hugh's parish of San Jos‚é, Bahia Honda, in the Diocese of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, where he was buried.

Many moving tributes were read aloud, coming from as far away as Peru. The people of La Victoria, a poor neighbourhood where Fr. Hugh served in Peru, wrote of their profound sadness. They shared the memory of Fr. Hugh's love, expressed through generous outreach and solidarity with the community. "How well he understood the tenderness of God and lived it in the midst of our people," they wrote.

Abounding with energy, determined, at times stubborn, and yet deeply loving-these all describe the person of Fr. Hugh MacDougall, who will be greatly missed. Sr. Mary Beth Moore of the Sisters of Charity who served with Fr. Hugh in Peru, captured the feeling of one and all when she wrote, "My life is richer for his friendship."

FR. VINCE MURNAGHAN, passed away suddenly at his home in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on November 15, 2001. Born in Fort Augustus in 1922, Fr. Vince graduated from St. Dunstan's University in 1945 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1949. After further education in Business Administration, he taught at St. Dunstan's University until 1968.

For the next six years he served in the Dominican Republic as part of the Diocese of Charlottetown's Latin American Missionary Program (LAMP), and became an integral part of Scarboro Missions' work among the Dominican people.

Returning to Prince Edward Island, he served in a number of parishes until his retirement in 1994. After retiring, he continued to provide pastoral assistance in parishes and nursing homes.

Fr. Vince contributed significantly to Scarboro Missions' work among the poor in the Dominican Republic, helping the poor to maintain the dignity which is theirs as children of God. In return, those same poor helped Fr. Vince to see and understand the world and the Gospel from their point of view. He journeyed with them and this journey continued in solidarity with the poor and marginalized of his home country and province.

He was a co-founder and committee member of the Cooper Institute, an organization involved in identifying and eradicating the root causes of inequality and injustice. He promoted the interests of the National Farmers' Union, and dedicated himself to the struggle to stop the violence suffered by women and the abuse of children. He committed himself to peace and had marched with the Prince Edward Island peace committee a few hours before returning to his apartment, where he died quietly of a heart attack.

Funeral Mass of the Resurrection took place on November 20 at St. Patrick's Church in Fort Augustus. Mass was followed by burial in the parish cemetery.

Return to Table of Contents
Print Article