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After 100 Years, Still Professing a Will to Serve By
Sue Anne Pressley Washington
Post, May 19, 2003
The Rev. Joseph T. Durkin is a busy man: Once
a week, he ministers to a group of Alzheimer's patients. He also works
with inmates at the Arlington County jail. Already the author of more than
two dozen books, he is writing two more -- one on rhetoric, the other on
the connection between poetry and science. What makes this so remarkable is that Durkin,
a revered professor emeritus of history at Georgetown University, just
turned 100 on Saturday. But Durkin was not able to attend the
birthday party the university had planned for him yesterday evening. As
about 300 relatives, faculty members and former students gathered for a
special Mass and reception in his honor, Durkin underwent surgery at
Georgetown University Hospital for a perforated colon. "He had been in some discomfort for
several days, but he was such a trouper, he didn't complain," said
Charlotte Daniel, assistant to the rector of Georgetown's Jesuit
community, who announced plans to continue the event without Durkin.
"The good thing is that all of these people are going to be here
praying for him." Durkin was out of surgery by 8:45 p.m., and
his doctors expected that "all will go well," Daniel said last
night. Meanwhile, she said, the party was
videotaped, so "he is going to be able to enjoy it." For his many admirers, Durkin has long been
an inspiration -- for his gentle nature and his lively mind. "He's never stopped learning -- that's
his secret," said Dorothy Brown, a former Georgetown provost and
history professor who studied under Durkin in 1957. "He has a passion
for discovery, and he's excited about ideas. One of his quotes was, 'My
ambition was to help students to think.' He's into art now -- that's
something he developed after he retired." There is some debate, however, about when, or
whether, Durkin ever really retired. Officially, the Jesuit priest from
Philadelphia taught history at Georgetown from 1944 to 1972. But until he
was well into his nineties, he continued giving tutorials and advising
students. He also turned to pastoral work; his ministry with Arlington
County inmates developed by chance after he was called there to counsel
someone he knew. "I think the key thing is his
example," said Linda Cirillo, residential chaplain at Georgetown's
Darnall Hall, who often drives Durkin to and from his duties and developed
the Alzheimer's ministry with him. "He has that demeanor about him
that in his presence, you feel nonjudged, you feel loved, you feel
forgiven. It doesn't matter what you've done." Durkin still has the dapper style, bright
blue eyes and animated grin of his younger days. As he welcomed guests one
day last week into his room in the assisted-living section of the Jesuit
community's home on campus, he rose in gentlemanly fashion, dressed in a
dark suit and checked shirt. His black fedora rested on a tall stack of
books nearby; his cane leaned against the dresser. Covering his desk were
scattered sheets from a legal pad -- notes on his book projects. Durkin's voice -- which once enthralled
students as he enacted the roles of Abraham Lincoln and other historical
figures in class -- has faded to a paper-thin whisper. His vision has
clouded with time. But he still recalls the subjects of long-ago students'
senior papers and still delights in telling stories about his friend,
aviator Charles Lindbergh, or about the time one of his history books was
spied in President Harry S. Truman's White House bedroom. A turning point in his life came much
earlier, in his late teens, when he felt called to the priesthood.
"It struck me very simply, the beauty of Christ, and it became
everything to me," he said. "In the Jesuit order, we know that
Christ makes his will known to you, and that's what we live by." Durkin admitted he was disappointed during
World War II when he longed to become an Army chaplain and his superior
rejected the idea, insisting he was too valuable as a teacher. The
military's loss soon became Georgetown's gain, as several generations of
students embraced Durkin as a beloved and unforgettable professor. "Father Durkin was my mentor at
Georgetown in 1976 and 1977, and he was probably the most influential
person of my life -- he just took me under his wing," said Ted
Leonsis, vice chairman of America Online Inc. "He was already in his
seventies, but he really helped me to think . . . and he pushed me and
guided me enough that I ended up first in my class. I never thought then
that I would have the joy and opportunity to go to his 100th birthday
party." Years later, Leonsis made a huge donation to
Georgetown in Durkin's name. Durkin finally realized his old dream when he
was feted at the Pentagon for his work with Army ROTC and was named an
honorary Army chaplain. He proudly shows off the framed document to all
visitors. At Georgetown, Durkin lives with 66 other
members of the religious order, 35 of them full-time employees of the
university. He spends his days working on his books, with some student
assistance, and sometimes entertaining guests. Each year, he travels to
Boston and California to help out at a family baptism or wedding. "He thinks nothing of traveling across
the country," said the Rev. Brian McDermott, rector of Georgetown's
Jesuit community. "He has balance issues, so sometimes he is in a
wheelchair. But mentally, he's terrific. He is just an absolutely
extraordinary Jesuit." For his part, Durkin said that being 100 does
not feel so very different. "Well, let's put it this way," he
said. "Thank God, the mind is all right." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
