Former President of St. Joseph’s College Dies at 86

A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister George Aquin O’Connor, C.S.J., President Emerita, St. Joseph’s College, Downtown Brooklyn, was celebrated Nov. 20 at Queen of All Saints Church, Clinton Hill. She died Nov. 15 at Maria Regina Residence, Brentwood, after a short illness. She was 86.

Sister George was a member of the faculty of St. Joseph’s College from 1946 to 1969, when she was elected the fourth president of the college. She served as president until 1997.

Born in Astoria, she entered the congregation from Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in 1943.

She was a graduate of Hunter College, earned a master’s degree at Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Sociology at New York University.

Before joining the college faculty, she taught for one year at St. Joseph’s Commercial H.S., Downtown Brooklyn.

“Her many students remember her breadth of knowledge, her exacting standards, her insight and her wit with great affection and appreciation,” said Sister Elizabeth Hill, CSJ, the current president of St. Joseph’s College.

“As President, she gave courageous, visionary leadership to the College, guiding it through some very difficult early days and bringing it to a position of fiscal security and academic excellence.

“We are grateful for her many years of extraordinary service to St. Joseph’s, and to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

“It was a privilege and a joy to work with her, and the fruits of her labors will continue to provide abundant blessings for the College and for all of us. Although we mourn her loss, and will miss her very much, we rejoice that she is at peace and at home with the God whom she loved and served so faithfully,” Sister Elizabeth said.

Immediate survivors include her sister Alice LaMonte. Burial was in Calvary Cemetery, Brentwood.

*** *** ***

Joseph P. “Uncle Joe” Clavin, 85, died Nov. 9. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Nov. 13 at Our Lady of Angels Church, Bay Ridge.

Born in Brooklyn, he attended Our Lady of Angels School and Poly Prep Country Day School, both Bay Ridge, and Norwich University. After serving in World War II with the U.S. Marines, he attended the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service.

Upon graduating, he entered the Trappists. He later went on to serve as a licensed funeral director with the family business, Clavin and Son, Bay Ridge.

After retirement, he traveled extensively, settling in Gulfport, Miss., for several years. Illness brought him back to his roots in Brooklyn only days before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulfport region.

He is survived by his sisters, Mary I. Shanahan and Peggy Brown.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Marist Father Omer St. Onge, S.M., was celebrated Nov. 14 at the Marist House, Framingham, Mass. He died Nov. 10 at Eliot Healthcare Center in Natick at age 87.

Born in Brunswick, Maine, Father St. Onge entered the Society of Mary at age 19 from his home parish of St. John the Baptist, which was administered by Marist Fathers. He was ordained to the priesthood Feb. 2, 1946.

He was elected provincial of the Marist Fathers of Boston, 1970-1979.

He served as a teacher and eventually principal of three high schools. He was the founding principal of Bishop Grimes Junior/Senior H.S., Syracuse.

Locally, he served as parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise parish, Crown Heights, 1987-1998.

Father Philip Parent, S.M., current parochial vicar at St. Francis Assisi-St. Blaise, served at the parish with Father St. Onge from 1987 to 1990.

Noting Father St. Onge’s leadership experiences before coming to Brooklyn, Father Parent said his late friend was “a very capable leader, very warm, very active, very approachable.”

Father St. Onge took a special interest in the parish’s R.C.I.A. program and in his late 60s “learned Creole and Spanish so he could better serve the community here,” he said.

Burial was in the Marist plot at St. John the Baptist Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine. He is predeceased by a sister who was an Ursuline Sister. He is survived by his brother, Remi St. Onge of Brunswick, and sister, Marist Sister Fabienne St. Onge, S.M.S.M., of Waltham, Mass.

A memorial Mass for Kathleen Raymond Gionet Nulty, a former member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, will be celebrated Tuesday evening, Nov. 27, at Our Lady of Hope Church, Middle Village. She was 67 when she died June 28. A more complete obituary will appear in next week’s edition.

back to top