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RIP Father Driscoll

HallLine69

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Aug 23, 2001
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A wonderful, wonderful priest, teacher and man has left us...Father William Driscoll. He was my favorite priest when I was an undergrad. He lived in what was then New Boland Hall on my floor when I was a senior and he was known there--and everywhere on campus--for his cheerful, booming greeting of "Hiya, boys! How's it going?". He taught American History and was especially brilliant in his class on the Reconstruction Era post-Civil War. His obituary below is on Legacy.com and posting a brief remembrance in their comment section would pay homage to this man who has no surviving relatives.

A warm, unforgettable man it was a great blessing to have known. God rest his soul.

Newark Archdiocesan priest, retired Seton Hall University Professor, Pre-Law Advisor
Rev. William D. Driscoll entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. He was 92 years old. Father was born in New York City on September 23, 1928 to Josephine (nee Feith) and William D. Driscoll, Sr. and lived most of his childhood and high school years in Teaneck, New Jersey.

He was a graduate of Saint Anastasia's Grammar School (Class of 1942) in Teaneck as well as Xavier High School (Class of 1946) in New York City. In the course of his time at Xavier, the seeds of Father's vocation to the priesthood were sown by the example offered to him by the exceptional Jesuit priests who staffed Xavier High School. In the course of his life, Father embraced the Jesuit motto, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, every human activity must be directed To The Greater Glory of God.

Father later graduated from Seton Hall University and attended Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey. He was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop Thomas A. Boland on June 4, 1955 and was dedicated throughout his sixty-six years as a priest to serve anyone who called upon him at a moment of need.

Father's first assignment was as parochial vicar to the Church of the Nativity, Midland Park, New Jersey. Father was later assigned as parochial vicar to Queen of Peace Church, North Arlington and would teach Latin, French, mathematics, history as well as religion at its high school for several years.

In 1960, Father became a professor of history at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey and would remain at Seton Hall until his retirement in 1996. He served for many years as a counselor to students in the Boland Hall dormitory and also taught theology at Seton Hall's former Newark undergraduate campus. In the course of his early tenure at Seton Hall, he earned both a Masters as well as Doctorate degree in history from Fordham University.

He was awarded a fellowship by the American Bar Association in 1967 to further pursue research into the history of law. Soon afterwards, Father was appointed the Pre-Law Advisor at Seton Hall in an age when acceptance into law school was very challenging. He helped many young men and women (today serving as judges and attorneys throughout the country) not only to be admitted to law school, but to possess the skills to "get through it." Father would often recall that he learned "many lessons of charity and kindness" from those that he taught, advised and counseled at Seton Hall.

In addition to his responsibilities at Seton Hall University, Father concurrently served for many years as the morning chaplain at Saint Vincent's Hospital in Montclair, New Jersey. He also served for over forty years as the weekend assistant at Saint Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Clark, New Jersey, a parish which remained very special to him after he retired from active ministry in 2006. As he often stated, the "good people of Saint Agnes were a source of inspiration and spiritual consolation to me."

Father was predeceased by his wonderful parents as well as his beloved sister, Elizabeth ("Betty") M. Driscoll who entered into eternal rest in 2016. Although Father does not have any surviving relatives, he was very grateful to his wonderful friends and classmates, kind neighbors, faithful parishioners of Saint Agnes, former students as well as the dedicated priests of the Archdiocese of Newark who remained close to him over the years. Father was also very appreciative of the phenomenal healthcare and attentiveness rendered to him by the medical professionals and staff associated with Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey as well as by the Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Father was particularly grateful to his former student, Timothy M. Yessman and Tim's wife, Kathy, for their "tender loving care" of him and his sister as they met the challenges of age and infirmities in the latter years of their lives. He was also very grateful to the entire Yessman family for embracing him as one of their own.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at Saint Agnes Church, 332 Madison Hill Road, Clark, NJ 07066 on Tuesday April 13, 11 am. Interment will be on Wednesday April 14, 2021, 10 am at Calvary Cemetery, Long Island City, NY in the Driscoll-Feith family plot. A visitation will be held at Saint Agnes Church on Monday April 12, 2021 from 4pm to 9pm. The Rossi Funeral Home, Scotch Plains, NJ is in charge of the funeral arrangements. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Father's memory to Hands Together (P.O. Box 80985, Springfield, Ma. 01138), an organization which Father continuously supported after personally witnessing its charitable outreach to the poor during his visit to the country of Haiti.
 
A wonderful, wonderful priest, teacher and man has left us...Father William Driscoll. He was my favorite priest when I was an undergrad. He lived in what was then New Boland Hall on my floor when I was a senior and he was known there--and everywhere on campus--for his cheerful, booming greeting of "Hiya, boys! How's it going?". He taught American History and was especially brilliant in his class on the Reconstruction Era post-Civil War. His obituary below is on Legacy.com and posting a brief remembrance in their comment section would pay homage to this man who has no surviving relatives.

A warm, unforgettable man it was a great blessing to have known. God rest his soul.

Newark Archdiocesan priest, retired Seton Hall University Professor, Pre-Law Advisor
Rev. William D. Driscoll entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. He was 92 years old. Father was born in New York City on September 23, 1928 to Josephine (nee Feith) and William D. Driscoll, Sr. and lived most of his childhood and high school years in Teaneck, New Jersey.

He was a graduate of Saint Anastasia's Grammar School (Class of 1942) in Teaneck as well as Xavier High School (Class of 1946) in New York City. In the course of his time at Xavier, the seeds of Father's vocation to the priesthood were sown by the example offered to him by the exceptional Jesuit priests who staffed Xavier High School. In the course of his life, Father embraced the Jesuit motto, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, every human activity must be directed To The Greater Glory of God.

Father later graduated from Seton Hall University and attended Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey. He was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop Thomas A. Boland on June 4, 1955 and was dedicated throughout his sixty-six years as a priest to serve anyone who called upon him at a moment of need.

Father's first assignment was as parochial vicar to the Church of the Nativity, Midland Park, New Jersey. Father was later assigned as parochial vicar to Queen of Peace Church, North Arlington and would teach Latin, French, mathematics, history as well as religion at its high school for several years.

In 1960, Father became a professor of history at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey and would remain at Seton Hall until his retirement in 1996. He served for many years as a counselor to students in the Boland Hall dormitory and also taught theology at Seton Hall's former Newark undergraduate campus. In the course of his early tenure at Seton Hall, he earned both a Masters as well as Doctorate degree in history from Fordham University.

He was awarded a fellowship by the American Bar Association in 1967 to further pursue research into the history of law. Soon afterwards, Father was appointed the Pre-Law Advisor at Seton Hall in an age when acceptance into law school was very challenging. He helped many young men and women (today serving as judges and attorneys throughout the country) not only to be admitted to law school, but to possess the skills to "get through it." Father would often recall that he learned "many lessons of charity and kindness" from those that he taught, advised and counseled at Seton Hall.

In addition to his responsibilities at Seton Hall University, Father concurrently served for many years as the morning chaplain at Saint Vincent's Hospital in Montclair, New Jersey. He also served for over forty years as the weekend assistant at Saint Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Clark, New Jersey, a parish which remained very special to him after he retired from active ministry in 2006. As he often stated, the "good people of Saint Agnes were a source of inspiration and spiritual consolation to me."

Father was predeceased by his wonderful parents as well as his beloved sister, Elizabeth ("Betty") M. Driscoll who entered into eternal rest in 2016. Although Father does not have any surviving relatives, he was very grateful to his wonderful friends and classmates, kind neighbors, faithful parishioners of Saint Agnes, former students as well as the dedicated priests of the Archdiocese of Newark who remained close to him over the years. Father was also very appreciative of the phenomenal healthcare and attentiveness rendered to him by the medical professionals and staff associated with Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey as well as by the Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Father was particularly grateful to his former student, Timothy M. Yessman and Tim's wife, Kathy, for their "tender loving care" of him and his sister as they met the challenges of age and infirmities in the latter years of their lives. He was also very grateful to the entire Yessman family for embracing him as one of their own.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at Saint Agnes Church, 332 Madison Hill Road, Clark, NJ 07066 on Tuesday April 13, 11 am. Interment will be on Wednesday April 14, 2021, 10 am at Calvary Cemetery, Long Island City, NY in the Driscoll-Feith family plot. A visitation will be held at Saint Agnes Church on Monday April 12, 2021 from 4pm to 9pm. The Rossi Funeral Home, Scotch Plains, NJ is in charge of the funeral arrangements. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Father's memory to Hands Together (P.O. Box 80985, Springfield, Ma. 01138), an organization which Father continuously supported after personally witnessing its charitable outreach to the poor during his visit to the country of Haiti.
Great , enthusiastic teacher! RIP
 
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