Brother Michael Finnegan, FSC 1942-2011

Eulogy given by Brother Charles O’Connell, FSC

I honor today a poet, a student of spirituality, an advocate of women’s rights, a compassionate CEO, who could still be a stickler, a man in his 7th decade who remained eager for growth, a loyal Catholic, a Brother of the Christian Schools.

Few would expect Brother Mike Finnegan to be described first as a poet. Yet he was, with some published works to his credit; a fact that made him proud, but about which he rarely spoke, and only in a self-deprecating way.

Mike often spoke self-deprecatingly because he doubted himself. After about fifth grade, despite fine report cards, Mike didn’t enjoy school. Not for lack of ability. Rather, formal school settings, whether as a student or later as a teacher, didn’t engage his special talents. Like most of us, he began school before the concept of multiple intelligences became widely accepted. His own mind inclined to the poetic, holistic, and intuitive, more than to the linear and logical. Later, belonging to a religious congregation mostly about schools sometimes made life hard for him. The Brotherhood attracted Mike as a way to nurture troubled kids in a child care setting rather than to work in a standard school.

Mike told me this himself. Over the years, we formed a practice of going for car rides on Tuesday afternoons. Having long known each other, our conversations didn’t start from scratch. As we rode along, and as the years passed, our talks increased in candor and range.

Mike told me how, for decades, he filled notebooks with quotations copied meticulously from the spiritual and psychological books and magazines he loved to read. Compensating for the formal education he felt he hadn’t fully exploited, Mike created his own classroom and educated himself his own way. He succeeded. I knew of no non-professional more conversant with current spiritual and church topics than Mike.

He thought his way to considered views on complex issues. He became an ardent feminist, favoring a far greater role for women in the church. All his life Mike identified with the ordinary folk, not with the VIPs, and he envisioned an expanded place for lay people in the church. He was a democrat in the best sense of the word.

Mike revered the Institute of the Brothers. On another car outing, he said “The Brothers gave me everything.” As it does for many Brothers, this statement held much truth. From grade school in New York City’s Inwood neighborhood, through adulthood, the Brothers formed the context of his life.

But it isn’t true that the Brothers gave him everything. Mike’s own efforts, some of which I mentioned, also enriched him . And his many friends gave him much. Forgive me if I don’t mention all, the list is long: Just in Lincroft: Joanne , Ginny, Rebecca , several Carols, Ginny again, Jim, Harry, Ed, Denise, Annalisa, Lenora, the countless aides, nurses, and housekeepers who work and have worked here. He had a special affection for Juan, the long-time handyman here. All these and more gave Mike something.

Mike’s family also gave him much. He showed legendary devotion to them, especially to his two sisters over the last quarter century. In recent years, he spent himself shuttling back and forth to be with his family, especially his beloved Dorothy, as illness weakened her, all the while discharging his duties here at De La Salle Hall. A modest man, how much he did will only become apparent when he isn’t here to do it.

Former Brothers, who had been his colleagues, remained close and deeply influenced Mike: especially Ed Hartman, Pete Ballasty, John Ford, and the late Tim Collins. Among the Brothers he cherished, mention should be made of Tim Murphy, Joe Radice, and his fond companion, the late Barney McKenna. All, by their friendship, contributed to shaping the man Mike became.

Above all, they gave him self-confidence. Mike carried all his life a sense that others out-did him, that others took the academic honors or other recognition. Although he was, with total justice, immensely proud of his work for delinquent boys at La Salle School and Lincoln Hall, an aching doubt lingered that in an organization mostly of teachers, where academic recognition counted a lot, he never fully made it. Having been tapped several times as a community Director didn’t seem to bolster him. He never spoke of it. Those friends, who by their respect and affirmation, removed that doubt, gave him a priceless gift.

That self-confidence, reinforced by his own life-long private study, stimulated him and validated his correct sense that more ways existed to show one’s worth and to develop one’s talents than in a formal school setting.

In fact, Mike did become an effective teacher. Assuming Directorship at De La Salle Hall, a complex new job, presented the chance to teach how a man could keep growing, keep learning. Indeed, his not having followed a more usual career now proved a surprise bonus. His unconventional history shaped his mind in ways that the school room wouldn’t have, and suited him to lead a house for elderly and ill people. Through his own struggles, he acquired a sense of proportion and insight he might not otherwise have learned.

I reveal no secret if I say Mike had rough edges and sharp elbows now and then. When he became Director here, he intuitively sensed he had to soften these. In our rides, he spoke of working on this. In his invariably methodical way, he succeeded. When I asked some employees what first came to mind about Mike they most often said “he was always happy.”

Mike looked for small gestures or attentions to brighten a specific resident’s life. He frequently asked if I knew what would enliven a particular resident’s day. He then did these little things without fanfare. Searching for treats that meant much to someone became a discipline for him. And it taught me a simple way to make a friend.

Older Brothers often talk about the “bosses” they have had, by which they mean their community Directors. Today almost everyone here is saying goodbye to their boss in one sense or another, either their Director or their employer. In keeping with his sympathy for the ordinary gal and guy, Mike tried to be a considerate, generous, and fair boss. He put effort into growing in the job. He sincerely had the employees’ welfare at heart. When the economic crunch began three years ago, he agonized over how it might preclude giving raises and bonuses.

Some other memorable things about Mike:

One thing he never learned was how to fix his computer, something I did countless times for him. “Is there anything I can do myself to fix it?” he asked. “Evidently not,” I replied.

Flat screen televisions hated him. When he regularly appeared at my door clutching the remote, he didn’t have to say anything. I knew.

He loved singing and songs, especially Ecce Quam Bonum, Danny Boy, and listening to Russian Liturgical chants with their ultra deep bass voices.

He loved corned beef hash and spam.

When driving past a church, he always made the sign of the cross.

He did crossword puzzles daily without fail, and when he completed the New York Times puzzle, Mike walked on air for days.

He loved to dance with Lucille Moran at parties.

An idealist, Mike chose a life oriented to helping people. But it was an affliction to him, an inner wound, that the organization he joined offered this help mainly in a way that didn’t precisely fit his talents. Through luck and the grace of God, he found, first in serving delinquent youth, and then the elderly, ways to reconcile this conflict. He felt drawn to works where he could extend a helping hand to those life had damaged or wearied, and then support them on their way. On our rides in recent months, I sensed a long sought serenity, as if his wound had finally healed. Mike once told me, “It looks like my life amounted to something. For a long time I didn’t think it would.” It did, Mike, and it made us all richer. Godspeed!

Please pray for the happy repose of the soul of
Br. Michael Finnegan, FSC

Born Michael Andrew Finnegan in New York City, NY, on March 16, 1942

Entered the Barrytown, NY Juniorate on September 12, 1957, and Novitiate on June 27, 1960

Received the Religious Habit and Name, Brother Michael Stephen, on September 7, 1960

Pronounced Perpetual Vows at Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY, in 1967.

Brother Michael died at Riverview Hospital, Red Bank, NJ on October 6, 2011

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Funeral Liturgy at 11:30 am
Viewing from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Prayer Service at 7:30 pm

De La Salle Hall
810 Newman Springs Road
Lincroft, NJ 07738-1608

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 am

St. Paul’s Church
82 Lake Road West
Congers, NY 10920

Burial, according to Brother Michael’s wishes, in Gethsemane Cemetery, Rockland Lake, NY, next to his sister, Dorothy.

SUFFRAGES FOR OUR DECEASED BROTHER MICHAEL

District: 50 masses
De La Salle Hall community: 30 masses
Each community in the District: 1 mass

Brother Michael passed away peacefully at the hospital, after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest several days earlier. May he rest in peace.

Tour of Duty

1965-1966
Teacher
New York, NY
St. Thomas the Apostle School

1966-1979
Teacher
Albany, NY
La Salle School

1979-1981
Prefect
Lincolndale, NY
Lincoln Hall

1981-1984
Social Work
Yonkers, NY
Sacred Heart High School

1984-1985
Teacher
New York, NY
Good Shepherd School

1985-1985
[Sept through Dec] recovery from accident
New York, NY
La Salle Academy

1986-2004
Staff, as of January 1, 1986
Lincroft, NJ
De La Salle Hall

2004-2005
sabbatical
Bronx, NY
Manhattan College Community

2005-2007
Sub-Director
Lincroft, NJ
De La Salle Hall

2007-2011
Director
Lincroft, NJ
De La Salle Hall