Fr. Roderick Malachy Dooley O.P.
July 17, 1919 -- June 15, 2002

Fr. Roderick Malachy Dooley O.P. Gratitude Card

Photo Album
            - - - Wake Photos
            - - - Funeral Photos

Comments at the Wake Service in RealAudio
Mr. Ray Wicklander
Sr. Kate Dooley
Mr. Leo Latz
Fr. John Reardon, OP, classmate

Comments at the Funeral Service in RealAudio
Fr. Gilbert Graham OP, Eulogy
Dr. Gerald Lordan, Ph.D., Fenwick Asst. Principal
Mr. Dan Dooley, nephew

Obituary:
Rev. Roderick Malachy Dooley O.P., age 82 years, June 15, 2002, beloved son of the late Mildred I. (nee Loney) and Daniel B. Dooley, dear brother of Josephine (Thomas) and the late Richard, Douglas, and Gordon. Remembered fondly by his nieces and nephews, the friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great, the faculty, staff, and students of Fenwick High School and his many friends. Wake services Monday and Tuesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Priory, 7200 W. Division St., River Forest from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. Office for the Dead, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Funeral Mass Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, 1530 Jackson Ave., River Forest. Interment Dominican Plot, All Saints Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Society for Vocational Support, c/o Dominican Provincial Office, 1909 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60608. Info. 773-736-3833 Published in the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune on 6/17/2002.

Fenwick High School -- Tribute at http://www.fenwickfriars.com/alumnidev/dooley-RIP.htm

A Note from Bob Dixon

  On behalf of the entire Fenwick community, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to reflect on the life of Father Dooley with your kind e-mails, letters, mass cards and even contributions in his name. I would also like to say thanks again to all who were able to attend Father's Wake and Celebration of the Mass of the Resurrection.

We counted nearly 2,000 people at these events and know that many more would have attended could they have done so. What a great tribute! If you were able to join us or just simply could not, please check:
http://www.op.org/domcentral/people/inmemoriam/dooley.htm

All of us at Fenwick remember how much Father Dooley loved a party, so we want you to be among the first to mark your calendar for THE DOOLEY'S HOOLEY. On Sunday, September 8th, we will have a celebratory mass followed by a light brunch right here at Fenwick. You and anyone you know who knew Father Dooley are invited to join us. We'll have a wonderful time, perhaps shed a tear or two, and likely laugh an awful lot. Mark your calendar and plan to join us. We'll get you more details as we get closer to the date.

Finally, Father Bernacki, O.P., former Fenwick President and longtime friend of Father Dooley, has put a few words together that I'd like to share with you:

"For almost 800 years, the desire of every Dominican at the time of their death was and is to be received into Heaven while his brother Dominicans sing the SALVE REGINA. Not only did Father Dooley enjoy that last moment just as he had wished, but he died while several of us were praying the Rosary at his bedside. His wry smile at the last moment seemed to fulfill his Dominican dream!

Such a great number of people had experienced his personal appreciation in a vast variety of ways, whether expressed through a welcome glance of his Irish eyes, a short flick of his hand, or a Dooley palms-up handshake. He was a close friend of the thousands whose names he rarely forgot. His love of everyone he met, of each human person, was instinctly accepted as genuine.

His often unseen prayer-life served as the foundation from which his smile eminated. His diverse apostolates, whether on the sidelines at a Fenwick basketball game, on the altar at a wedding, on the cliffs over Galway Bay, or at the quiet bedside of a friend in their last moments, helped him develop the unique "Dooley" personality that shall never be duplicated.

As we attempt to grasp the impossible we realize fully that God in His infinite wisdom never cloned a human being. Only he could, and if so, wouldn't it be wonderful to know and share another Malachy Dooley, O.P.!

But Father Dooley wouldn't want it that way. He would tell us -- and often did through his own peculiar way -- to be ourselves, to smile a lot, to love God. Everything will then be swell!"

For the final time, on behalf of my dear friend and colleague, Father Dooley, allow me to thank all of you who do so much for Fenwick.

Bob Dixon

--------------------
REV. R. MALACHY DOOLEY, 82
--------------------
Fenwick fundraiser, friend to many
By Will Potter
Tribune staff reporter

June 18, 2002

Rev. R. Malachy Dooley, 82, was at nearly every wedding, funeral, baptism and party involving alumni of Fenwick High School. His giving spirit--from remembering the anniversaries of couples he married to taking friends on tours of Ireland--made him a cornerstone of the Fenwick community. .

"Everyone thinks of him as their best friend," said Bill Stein, a former student and longtime friend. "And he thought of everyone as his best friend. Asking for nothing and giving everything, that was him."

Father Dooley, a Dominican friar for 60 years and a teacher and fundraiser for Fenwick High School in Oak Park, died Saturday, June 15, of cancer in his home in the Dominican Priory of River Forest.

Father Dooley was born in Minneapolis. He started at Fenwick in 1950 as a theology teacher. When administrators asked him in the early 1950s to head fundraising projects for the school, he threw himself into the new task.

In the 1950s Father Dooley raised more than $1 million for Fenwick's first capital campaign that resulted in construction of the west wing, including an auditorium and classrooms. In the 1980s he raised more than $3 million for science laboratories and an endowment fund, and in the 1990s he raised $10 million for an athletics field house and pool.

From 1963 to 1973, Father Dooley was assigned to St. Pius V parish in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, St. Anthony Parish in New Orleans and Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas. He then returned to his work at Fenwick.

Father Dooley did not like asking for money and, in fact, he rarely did, said Leo Latz, a former assistant and longtime friend. He didn't have to.

"People give to things they feel connected to," Latz said. "Dooley got legions of people to be connected or reconnected to the school. He had a gift of creating community and connecting people to their alma mater and reminding them of why they should be grateful. He has been the common denominator in Fenwick's successes in the last 50 years."

He was awarded the Lumen Tranquillum, or Quiet Light, award, by the school in November.

Father Dooley is survived by a sister, Josephine Thomas.

Visitation is scheduled from 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in St. Thomas Aquinas Priory, 7200 W. Division St., River Forest. Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, River Forest.

Copyright (c) 2002, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/chi-0206180273jun18.story?coll=chi%2Dnewsobituaries%2Dhed


Chicago Sun-Times http://www.suntimes.com/output/obituaries/cst-nws-xdool18.html

Rev. R. Malachy Dooley; led Fenwick High growth
June 18, 2002
BY GARY WISBY STAFF REPORTER

The Rev. R. Malachy Dooley, long identified with Fenwick High School in Oak Park, added as much to the school's spiritual presence as he did to its physical dimensions.

Father Dooley, responsible for an addition and other improvements at Fenwick, received its first Lumen Tranquillum Award, given annually to a role model for young people.

"He loved his faith, but he loved Fenwick second," said Bernard Judge, a 1957 graduate and editor and publisher of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. "There wasn't a function that went on without him. He was the real article."

Father Dooley, who served Fenwick for 44 years, died Saturday in his residence at the Dominican Priory in River Forest. He was 82.

Fenwick was his first assignment after his ordination in 1949. He served until 1963 and again from 1973 to the present.

In the intervening decade, Father Dooley worked at St. Pius V Parish in Pilsen, a New Orleans parish, a Dallas high school and the Province of St. Albert the Great Administrative Center in Chicago.

As Fenwick's building fund director, he was instrumental in construction of its west wing, a 14-year project completed in 1960. He directed a campaign in the mid-1990s that led to $12 million in improvements. In March, a $2 million renovation was finished.

Father Dooley established the Blackfriars' Dinner Dance, which raised millions for Fenwick's scholarship fund and marked its 50th anniversary last fall.

He organized alumni and parent trips to Ireland known as Dooley's Hooleys--"hooley" being Irish for a big party--and originated the Fenwick Golf Outings, which annually draw about 700 people with ties to the school.

A theology teacher, Father Dooley was a fixture in the student cafeteria, and his trademark tam o'shanter was seen at hundreds of Fenwick athletic events. He was moderator of the Fathers' Club.

"He was always giving and trying to please people," said the Rev. William Bernacki, who worked with him at Fenwick.

On anniversaries of weddings and funerals he had performed, Father Dooley for many years wrote or called families to tell them he had said mass for them that morning.

Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. today at the Dominican Priory, 7200 Division, River Forest. Mass will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, 1530 Jackson, River Forest, with burial in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines.



E-mail:
A short tribute to fr. Dooley,
He was one of the most friendly, joyful friars I ever met. A man of many interest . He was deeply interestd in people: Dominicans and all other with whom he came in contact. He was interested in Fenwick: others can elaborate on that giagantic intrest. When he was pastor at St. Anthony in New Orleans(my parish) I met him and he made enduring friends there Undoubtedly his greatest interest was in his Lord and God, and his love for the Order. Grace builds on nature. What ever nature gave him that made him so outgoing was multiplied to make him be the magnanimous person he so wonderfully was. May the merciful Lord be most generous to his happy soul.
Pete Otillio OP
otillioop@yahoo.com

I was honored to know you from the day you came to Fenwick in 1950 and throughout the last 50 years. We socialized at numerous events including weddings, golf outings,fund raisers,Phil Sloan Scholarship Outing. Father Dooley,we will love you and will miss you very much, but know that you are in a better place and would not choose to come back if you could. These were the words of comfort you said to me at my father's wake in 1963. Rest in peace, Father Dooley, you truly earned it. Brendan S. Heintz '53.
Brendan Heintz (Chicago, IL ) June 19, 2002

While I never had Father Dooley as an instructor, he still left his mark on me. He truly was the spirit of Fenwick High School. You could always count of him to make you smile. He loved being at Fenwick and he loved the student of Fenwick. Everyone who knew him will miss him. In my time at Fenwick, I never once found a person who had anything negative to say about Father Dooley. He as the one we all loved and he is now the one we will all miss. His spirit will live on forever in the thousands of student he touched. We already miss you father.
Anthony Donato c/o'02 (Chicago, IL ) June 19, 2002
Michael A. Straub '82 (San Mateo, CA ) June 18, 2002

In the past half century, while many things at Fenwick have changed, one thing always remained. That of course was Father Dooley. He will be missed as a leader, a teacher, and most of all a friend to us all. We can be sure that Fenwick will always thrive through the perpetual intercessions of Father Dooley.
Peter Kennedy, 99' (River Forest, IL ) June 18, 2002

Father Dooley-
We will miss you immensely. We love you.
You baptized, married, and buried everyone related to me. Both my mom's side and my dad's side will always condsider you part of the family. We love you.
-The McMahons and the Nolans<
Anne-Michele McMahon (Chicago, IL ) June 18, 2002

Class of 58'
Phil Mancione (Lombard, IL ) June 18, 2002

thank you father dooley. the crilly family will miss you dearly
colleen crilly bruno (melrose park, IL ) June 18, 2002

Let us celebrate the good life of a Fenwick Friar who devoted himself to the education and care of Friars of all ages everywhere. I thank him for the privilege of working with him for Fenwick. May he rest in peace.
Tom, Sr. Carstens (Ft. Wayne, IN ) June 18, 2002

I was sorry to hear of the passing of Fr. Dooley. He always had a smile on his face and his "finger gun" will be remembered by many past Friars. My condolences to his family and to the Fenwick community. Sincerely, Bradley Nawara - Class of 1993
Bradley Nawara (Riverside, IL ) June 18, 2002

I only had the opportunity to have one year with Father Dooley at Fenwick Highschool. In that short amount of time, he left a mark with me and will always remain in my prayers. My condolences go out to his family. He will be missed at Fenwick Highschool.
Megan Musselman (Westchester, IL ) June 17, 2002

Michael Buzinski (Riverside, IL ) June 17, 2002

Father Dooley was the Spirit of Fenwick. He will always be there. The Alumni Club is truly the "Father Dooley Club."
Dr. Harold Bonus (Glen Ellyn, IL ) June 17, 2002

Father Dooley is one of the reasons why Fenwick is the greatest high school in the country. His devotion to God, the Dominicans and above all, to Fenwick Friars everywhere is what instilled such great pride and loyalty in so many Fenwick alumni. During the fifty-two years of his priesthood, he may have attended more wakes and presided at more funerals, weddings and baptisms than any priest in Chicago. His passing is truly the end of an era. We were all blessed to know him and call him "Father" and friend. May God bless him and the entire Fenwick family.
Leo J. Latz III '76 (River Forest, IL ) June 17, 2002

Fr. Dooley was a constant at Fenwick and will be missed by all.
Dan Foley (Oak Park, IL ) June 17, 2002

Kevin Morris '77 (Gleview, IL ) June 17, 2002

Brother Malachy, May all the saints of Ireland receive you warmly into the embrace of a loving God. May St. Dominic hold you in the presence of all the Dominican saints and blesseds. And may Bishop Fenwick honor you as you honored his name among the youth of Chicago over the past decades. We brothers will miss you but look forward to the time we will join you in the kingdom that await each of us.
Bede Jagoe (River Forest, IL ) June 17, 2002

"May the wind be always at his back..."
Ed Ahern (Wheaton, IL ) June 17, 2002

JAMES JORDAN (LAS VEGAS, NV ) June 17, 2002

VIEW the Online Guestbook at: http://www.legacy.com - - - -Search for "Dooley."

IN MEMORIAM HOME