–Hiromi Yoshida, BA (FCRH 1990), MA (GSAS 1994)

Love this memory! Thanks for sharing it, Parmach!

Fr. O’Hare said that he “worked hard to help make a Fordham Jesuit education accessible to more students over the years.” And the second accomplishment? I asked. Without losing a beat, he looked me in the eyes and said humorously, “Well, hiring you, of course, so let’s get to work at this meeting!” He was always filled with purpose and wit, a contagious sense of gratitude, and an encouraging smile. Requiescat in pace. (Robert J. Parmach is FCRH Dean for First-Year Students.)

A Philippine Tale
My long friendship with Father Joe O’Hare began in the mid-1980s when I joined the Fordham Board as a trustee in 1986. We kept a friendly banter going between us about our two alma maters, Regis and Xavier high schools, throughout our time together.

In 1986, after joining the Board, my wife, Judy, and I traveled to Manila for a reception hosted by a fellow trustee, Jose Fernandez, who at the time was minister of finance for the Philippines. The high point of the trip, aside from the reception given by Jose, was our visit to Malacanang Palace and an audience with the new president, Cory Aquino. Father Joe had been ordained at the Ateneo de Manila and so was friendly with the president and her late husband, Benito, and family for years. (Yes, after the meeting, we did get a Cook’s tour of the shoe collection of Imelda Marcos.)

During the visit, Father O’Hare issued an invitation for President Aquino to visit Fordham while in New York for the opening of the U.N. in September. She graciously accepted and plans began.
 With the ascension of Cory Aquino to the presidency, Philippine nationalism in the world became renowned. In New York, the fervor was rising with her pending arrival. On September 22, 1986, Fordham held a special convocation in honor of President Aquino’s visit to Rose Hill.

Edwards Parade was packed with Filipino and Filipino Americans numbering in the thousands and bedecked with yellow ribbons and scarves. The press estimated the crowd at 5,000. When the crowd spotted President Aquino, they went wild with celebration and chanted her name—Cory, Cory! The air was electric. The hair on my arms stood up from the emotional energy generated as we sat there spellbound. Finally, after the perfunctory remarks to open the convocation, Father O’Hare presented President Aquino with her honorary doctorate. Then, as Father Joe moved to the microphone to introduce President Aquino, it was obvious to all that he was quite emotional—understandable to me after our recent visit to Manila and his return to the Philippines.


Gathering himself for a few moments, Father O’Hare then began his remarks in fluent Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines, and spoke for over five minutes before switching over to English. To say the crowd went wild with emotion at Joe’s linguistic gesture would be a massive understatement. The love fest continued throughout the rest of the ceremony and, when over, everyone was joyous at heart and emotionally exhausted. Those moments have been embedded in my memory bank for 35 years—thanks to Father Joe O’Hare.

An Irish Tale
This tale is more like a shaggy dog story—the original humorous incident and sequels that continued to pop up as time went on.

In 1991, during my chairmanship, I managed to organize the Fordham-Holy Cross football game in Ireland. The appointed time was Saturday, November 16, in the GAA Stadium in Limerick. At the time, Judy and I owned Adare Manor, a hotel in Limerick County, Ireland. Since it was a no-cost trip to Ireland for the teams, and more importantly, Father O’Hare’s father was from Limerick, the convincing required was minimal. Joe handled negotiations with Father Brooks, who was president of Holy Cross at the time and less than enthusiastic about the journey.

Arrangements went smoothly, and the teams departed for Shannon from Boston and New York on Wednesday evening, arriving very early on Thursday. The Holy Cross team was based at Dromoland Castle in County Clare—15 minutes north of Limerick City, site of the match on Sunday. For obvious reasons, Fordham was based 15 minutes south of Limerick at Adare Manor and the Dunraven Arms in the town of Adare.

Due to the passing of one of the Jesuits at Murray-Weigel Hall, Joe’s departure for Ireland was delayed by 24 hours, so he arrived early Friday morning. The City of Limerick had a parade for the visiting teams and supporters at midday on Friday—Father George McMahon carried the standard for Fordham and almost choked to death from exhaust fumes following the team bus! Although a bit jet-lagged, Father O’Hare enthusiastically participated in the parade and other festivities. Afterward, we returned to Adare Manor and after some much-needed rest, gathered for dinner and a pregame celebration.

President Mary Robinson and her husband arrived at Adare Manor late in the evening from Dublin and went directly to their suite. As a barrister herself, she was due to preside at a 9 a.m. breakfast hosted by the Fordham Law alumni who had gone to Holy Cross. Since Father O’Hare and most everyone else was still on Eastern Standard Time, the after-dinner festivities moved down to the Tack Room and singing went on into the wee hours of the morning.

Breakfast time came early. The residents and guests trickled into the gallery for the 9 a.m. event.
After a reasonable wait for Father Brooks, the host, who never showed up, the breakfast began with welcoming remarks by Father O’Hare, who was now the replacement host for the event. Still suffering from jet lag, Father Joe began with a humorous defense of his late hours the evening before by blaming his Cousin Henry, a mythical stand-in for Joe when he chose to employ him. He was hilarious in describing how he has had to deal with the antics of his Cousin Henry over the years. Mary Robinson took mental note and then presented her remarks and best wishes to both teams and, of course, to “Dear Cousin Henry”!


The game ensued and was considered a success, although Fordham lost, 24-19.

Fast forward a year or so later to the annual September opening of the U.N. President Mary Robinson was in New York and hosting a reception which included Father O’Hare as a guest. Joe tells about standing in the reception line and after a formal introduction, Mary Robinson smiled and asked him how his Cousin Henry is getting along these days. Her staff had no idea what she was referring to at the moment.

Fast forward again a few years, and I am sitting on the steps overlooking Edwards Parade for the annual commencement and honorary degree award ceremonies. This was in 1992, my last year as chair. The principal honoree that year was Mary Robinson, the sitting president of Ireland. Father O’Hare took great pleasure in introducing President Robinson and welcoming her to Fordham. In his remarks, Joe made special mention of Fordham’s visit to Ireland in 1991, where he first met the president, and introduced her to the several thousand graduates and their families at Rose Hill for the Big Day.


When he was finished, Mary Robinson was awarded her honorary doctorate and moved to the dais for her remarks. After the perfunctory acknowledgements, she referenced the game back in Limerick and, turning to Father O’Hare, inquired how his Cousin Henry was doing these days. The tale of Father O’Hare’s legendary Cousin Henry around campus was certainly well known amongst the students, if not their families, and the audience erupted with spontaneous laughter and applause. It was a light, enjoyable, and very memorable acknowledgement of the personal relationship that existed between President Mary Robinson and Father Joe O’Hare.

Father Joe O’Hare spawned many similar friendships during his lifetime and touched many people in ways only they know. What a blessing for Judy and I to be able to call him a friend.

My 35-year friendship with Father Joe O’Hare is filled with anecdotes, but alas, after our move to Florida, the meetings were limited to the annual visits every winter. But when we did meet, as all Irish are inclined to do, we told the same tales over and over again. Judy and I miss Father O’Hare but relish the times we spent together all those many years ago.

He firmly planted and oriented Fordham to be a leader in the renewal of neighborhoods of this borough as reconstituted communities, in a way that engaged all of the different human and institutional resources of Fordham, from its students to its faculty, alumni, schools, and administrators, in this great initiative to support the Bronx in all of its community-based efforts to rise once again as a vital borough. In doing so he established the Office of Government Relations and Urban Affairs as an institutional entity within his own office, and later under the direction of the vice president for administration. Through this office he launched the student community service program that engaged thousands of students in community service at all levels. He supported efforts in the area of affordable housing undertaken by University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP), and the building of affordable housing for Bronx seniors and handicapped by the Rose Hill Housing Management Corp. He also led in the area of supporting the establishment of the Fordham Road Business Improvement District, as well as pulling together the Four Bronx Institutions Alliance with the other world-class institutions of the North Central Bronx, comprised of the New York Botanical Garden, the Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo), and Montefiore Medical Center, all while serving on the borough president’s overall Bronx planning effort launched by then Borough President Fernando Ferrer to renew the borough. All this in addition to his other civic engagement activities on the broader NYC level.

In many of these efforts I was honored and privileged to serve as the director and later associate vice president for government and urban affairs under his passionately supportive leadership. I will never forget the generosity, strength, and acute vision that he brought to this and all of the other dramatic efforts that he undertook as president of Fordham. We have all been enriched and invigorated by this leadership. He will always be remembered for all of this, but especially for the relationships that he forged along the way.

On one evening I confided to Father that when at Fordham I was not always happy to be there. The work was hard, the discipline was tough, and it was the 1960s. I told him that after these many years I was now happy that I had chosen Fordham. He looked right at me and said, “What makes you think we didn’t choose you?” He then explained that the Jesuits had been choosing individuals and educating them for over 400 years and probably had some experience in this area. I shared this O’Hare insight with a young Bill Clinton who was preparing to run for president and you could’ve knocked him over with a feather when he thought of his Georgetown experience in this light. The Jesuits recognized his potential even before he did.

I’ll always remember Father O’Hare on the dance floor at Jubilee. Surrounded by well-wishers 30 years his junior, his smile and grace was a sight to see. Godspeed, Father O’Hare.