Eugene Michael (Gene) Feeney Naples, FL
Eugene Michael (Gene) Feeney, a former Jesuit priest who co-founded a middle school for poor, mostly Latino children in New York City that became a mod el for dozens of similar religious schools, died March 2, 2013 in Naples, FL, after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 88.
Mr. Feeney was born May 22, 1924 in New York City, the son of a city police lieutenant detective. He grew up in Flushing and attended Xavier High School, where he was allcity in football, and Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where he played halfback.
Mr. Feeney left after three years to enter the Navy in 1942, serving in the Pacific during World War II, including at the Battle of Okinawa. He was discharged as a lieutenant.
After the war, he returned to Holy Cross, graduating in 1947. He worked for a year in accounting before entering the Jesuit seminary in Wernersville, PA, in 1948. He also taught Latin, English and World History at a Catholic school in New Jersey.
After being ordained as a priest, his first stop was Puerto Rico, where he worked to bring in less privileged students to the Colegio San Ignacio, a Jesuit high school. During a sabbatical, he received his master's degree in urban affairs from Saint Louis University.
In 1971, Mr. Feeney, as director of the Nativity Mission Center on New York's Lower East Side, approved the conversion of the Jesuit-run counseling and recreation center into a middle school to serve parents who couldn't afford parochial school in the largely Hispanic neighborhood. It operated out of a five story, red brick tenement.
'They called it Feeney's folly,' said Jeanne Fee, Mr. Feeney's wife. But she added, 'That was his legacy.'
The Rev. Jack Podsiadlo, who began working at the school in 1973 and later was its president, recalled that Mr. Feeney launched the school because he thought the center's various programs were a BandAid to the problem of poverty among the Lower East Side's immigrant population. Father Podsiadlo said Mr. Feeney personally taught reading to many students.
'A lot of these guys _ they're now in their 40s and 50s - he's the one who really taught them to read,' Father Podsiadlo said.
Father Podsiadlo said one goal was to get as many students as possible into the city's Jesuit high schools, and that Mr. Feeney had a good way with the young men.
'He interacted well with the kids,' Father Podsiadlo said. 'He always had that brash (way) - the Navy man never left him. He could curse better than any of the kids could, and he could do it bilingually. He called it as it was. No nonsense. Meat and potatoesHe knew how to rally people to support it.'
Mr. Feeney, who left the priesthood later in the decade, recently recalled that the school was run on an $18,000 budget during the first year. Many students went on to schools such as Xavier and Regis.
'From these cramped quarters, Nativity has inspired more than 60 other such religious schools nationwide - a movement that continues to grow,' The New York Times reported in 2010.
As the neighborhood was gentrified, though, fewer Latino families could afford to live there and the Nativity Mission Center's board decided to relocate. Mr. Feeney returned to the original school to attend a 40th anniversary celebration and then its closing last year.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Feeney married Peggy Cass, the actress, comedian and panelist on TV's longrunning 'To Tell The Truth.' They lived in New York City and Westhampton, NY. Ms. Cass died in March, 1999.
Three years later, Mr. Feeney married Jeanne Fee, whose late husband had been Mr. Feeney's roommate at Holy Cross. The couple resided in Bridgehampton and Naples, FL. In addition to being a stepfather to Ms. Fee's four grown children, Mr. Feeney was 'Uncle Gene' to more than two dozen nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Feeney is survived by three brothers, Thomas (Marcia) of Naples, FL, Bernard (Elizabeth) of Madison, CT; and James (late Grace) of Westhampton, NY; a sister, Eileen (late Edward), of Cutchogue, N.Y. ; 27 nieces and nephews; and four stepchildren, David Fee of Whitefish Bay, WI, and James Fee of Darien, CT, and Mariah Fee of New York City and Kathryn Fee of Sag Harbor, NY.
Eugene Michael (Gene) Feeney, a former Jesuit priest who co-founded a middle school for poor, mostly Latino children in New York City that became a mod el for dozens of similar religious schools, died March 2, 2013 in Naples, FL, after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 88.
Mr. Feeney was born May 22, 1924 in New York City, the son of a city police lieutenant detective. He grew up in Flushing and attended Xavier High School, where he was allcity in football, and Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where he played halfback.
Mr. Feeney left after three years to enter the Navy in 1942, serving in the Pacific during World War II, including at the Battle of Okinawa. He was discharged as a lieutenant.
After the war, he returned to Holy Cross, graduating in 1947. He worked for a year in accounting before entering the Jesuit seminary in Wernersville, PA, in 1948. He also taught Latin, English and World History at a Catholic school in New Jersey.
After being ordained as a priest, his first stop was Puerto Rico, where he worked to bring in less privileged students to the Colegio San Ignacio, a Jesuit high school. During a sabbatical, he received his master's degree in urban affairs from Saint Louis University.
In 1971, Mr. Feeney, as director of the Nativity Mission Center on New York's Lower East Side, approved the conversion of the Jesuit-run counseling and recreation center into a middle school to serve parents who couldn't afford parochial school in the largely Hispanic neighborhood. It operated out of a five story, red brick tenement.
'They called it Feeney's folly,' said Jeanne Fee, Mr. Feeney's wife. But she added, 'That was his legacy.'
The Rev. Jack Podsiadlo, who began working at the school in 1973 and later was its president, recalled that Mr. Feeney launched the school because he thought the center's various programs were a BandAid to the problem of poverty among the Lower East Side's immigrant population. Father Podsiadlo said Mr. Feeney personally taught reading to many students.
'A lot of these guys _ they're now in their 40s and 50s - he's the one who really taught them to read,' Father Podsiadlo said.
Father Podsiadlo said one goal was to get as many students as possible into the city's Jesuit high schools, and that Mr. Feeney had a good way with the young men.
'He interacted well with the kids,' Father Podsiadlo said. 'He always had that brash (way) - the Navy man never left him. He could curse better than any of the kids could, and he could do it bilingually. He called it as it was. No nonsense. Meat and potatoesHe knew how to rally people to support it.'
Mr. Feeney, who left the priesthood later in the decade, recently recalled that the school was run on an $18,000 budget during the first year. Many students went on to schools such as Xavier and Regis.
'From these cramped quarters, Nativity has inspired more than 60 other such religious schools nationwide - a movement that continues to grow,' The New York Times reported in 2010.
As the neighborhood was gentrified, though, fewer Latino families could afford to live there and the Nativity Mission Center's board decided to relocate. Mr. Feeney returned to the original school to attend a 40th anniversary celebration and then its closing last year.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Feeney married Peggy Cass, the actress, comedian and panelist on TV's longrunning 'To Tell The Truth.' They lived in New York City and Westhampton, NY. Ms. Cass died in March, 1999.
Three years later, Mr. Feeney married Jeanne Fee, whose late husband had been Mr. Feeney's roommate at Holy Cross. The couple resided in Bridgehampton and Naples, FL. In addition to being a stepfather to Ms. Fee's four grown children, Mr. Feeney was 'Uncle Gene' to more than two dozen nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Feeney is survived by three brothers, Thomas (Marcia) of Naples, FL, Bernard (Elizabeth) of Madison, CT; and James (late Grace) of Westhampton, NY; a sister, Eileen (late Edward), of Cutchogue, N.Y. ; 27 nieces and nephews; and four stepchildren, David Fee of Whitefish Bay, WI, and James Fee of Darien, CT, and Mariah Fee of New York City and Kathryn Fee of Sag Harbor, NY.
Eugene Michael (Gene) Feeney Naples, FL
Eugene Michael (Gene) Feeney, a former Jesuit priest who co-founded a middle school for poor, mostly Latino children in New York City that became a mod el for dozens of similar religious schools, died March 2, 2013 in Naples, FL, after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 88.
Mr. Feeney was born May 22, 1924 in New York City, the son of a city police lieutenant detective. He grew up in Flushing and attended Xavier High School, where he was allcity in football, and Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where he played halfback.
Mr. Feeney left after three years to enter the Navy in 1942, serving in the Pacific during World War II, including at the Battle of Okinawa. He was discharged as a lieutenant.
After the war, he returned to Holy Cross, graduating in 1947. He worked for a year in accounting before entering the Jesuit seminary in Wernersville, PA, in 1948. He also taught Latin, English and World History at a Catholic school in New Jersey.
After being ordained as a priest, his first stop was Puerto Rico, where he worked to bring in less privileged students to the Colegio San Ignacio, a Jesuit high school. During a sabbatical, he received his master's degree in urban affairs from Saint Louis University.
In 1971, Mr. Feeney, as director of the Nativity Mission Center on New York's Lower East Side, approved the conversion of the Jesuit-run counseling and recreation center into a middle school to serve parents who couldn't afford parochial school in the largely Hispanic neighborhood. It operated out of a five story, red brick tenement.
'They called it Feeney's folly,' said Jeanne Fee, Mr. Feeney's wife. But she added, 'That was his legacy.'
The Rev. Jack Podsiadlo, who began working at the school in 1973 and later was its president, recalled that Mr. Feeney launched the school because he thought the center's various programs were a BandAid to the problem of poverty among the Lower East Side's immigrant population. Father Podsiadlo said Mr. Feeney personally taught reading to many students.
'A lot of these guys _ they're now in their 40s and 50s - he's the one who really taught them to read,' Father Podsiadlo said.
Father Podsiadlo said one goal was to get as many students as possible into the city's Jesuit high schools, and that Mr. Feeney had a good way with the young men.
'He interacted well with the kids,' Father Podsiadlo said. 'He always had that brash (way) - the Navy man never left him. He could curse better than any of the kids could, and he could do it bilingually. He called it as it was. No nonsense. Meat and potatoesHe knew how to rally people to support it.'
Mr. Feeney, who left the priesthood later in the decade, recently recalled that the school was run on an $18,000 budget during the first year. Many students went on to schools such as Xavier and Regis.
'From these cramped quarters, Nativity has inspired more than 60 other such religious schools nationwide - a movement that continues to grow,' The New York Times reported in 2010.
As the neighborhood was gentrified, though, fewer Latino families could afford to live there and the Nativity Mission Center's board decided to relocate. Mr. Feeney returned to the original school to attend a 40th anniversary celebration and then its closing last year.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Feeney married Peggy Cass, the actress, comedian and panelist on TV's longrunning 'To Tell The Truth.' They lived in New York City and Westhampton, NY. Ms. Cass died in March, 1999.
Three years later, Mr. Feeney married Jeanne Fee, whose late husband had been Mr. Feeney's roommate at Holy Cross. The couple resided in Bridgehampton and Naples, FL. In addition to being a stepfather to Ms. Fee's four grown children, Mr. Feeney was 'Uncle Gene' to more than two dozen nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Feeney is survived by three brothers, Thomas (Marcia) of Naples, FL, Bernard (Elizabeth) of Madison, CT; and James (late Grace) of Westhampton, NY; a sister, Eileen (late Edward), of Cutchogue, N.Y. ; 27 nieces and nephews; and four stepchildren, David Fee of Whitefish Bay, WI, and James Fee of Darien, CT, and Mariah Fee of New York City and Kathryn Fee of Sag Harbor, NY.
Eugene Michael (Gene) Feeney, a former Jesuit priest who co-founded a middle school for poor, mostly Latino children in New York City that became a mod el for dozens of similar religious schools, died March 2, 2013 in Naples, FL, after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 88.
Mr. Feeney was born May 22, 1924 in New York City, the son of a city police lieutenant detective. He grew up in Flushing and attended Xavier High School, where he was allcity in football, and Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where he played halfback.
Mr. Feeney left after three years to enter the Navy in 1942, serving in the Pacific during World War II, including at the Battle of Okinawa. He was discharged as a lieutenant.
After the war, he returned to Holy Cross, graduating in 1947. He worked for a year in accounting before entering the Jesuit seminary in Wernersville, PA, in 1948. He also taught Latin, English and World History at a Catholic school in New Jersey.
After being ordained as a priest, his first stop was Puerto Rico, where he worked to bring in less privileged students to the Colegio San Ignacio, a Jesuit high school. During a sabbatical, he received his master's degree in urban affairs from Saint Louis University.
In 1971, Mr. Feeney, as director of the Nativity Mission Center on New York's Lower East Side, approved the conversion of the Jesuit-run counseling and recreation center into a middle school to serve parents who couldn't afford parochial school in the largely Hispanic neighborhood. It operated out of a five story, red brick tenement.
'They called it Feeney's folly,' said Jeanne Fee, Mr. Feeney's wife. But she added, 'That was his legacy.'
The Rev. Jack Podsiadlo, who began working at the school in 1973 and later was its president, recalled that Mr. Feeney launched the school because he thought the center's various programs were a BandAid to the problem of poverty among the Lower East Side's immigrant population. Father Podsiadlo said Mr. Feeney personally taught reading to many students.
'A lot of these guys _ they're now in their 40s and 50s - he's the one who really taught them to read,' Father Podsiadlo said.
Father Podsiadlo said one goal was to get as many students as possible into the city's Jesuit high schools, and that Mr. Feeney had a good way with the young men.
'He interacted well with the kids,' Father Podsiadlo said. 'He always had that brash (way) - the Navy man never left him. He could curse better than any of the kids could, and he could do it bilingually. He called it as it was. No nonsense. Meat and potatoesHe knew how to rally people to support it.'
Mr. Feeney, who left the priesthood later in the decade, recently recalled that the school was run on an $18,000 budget during the first year. Many students went on to schools such as Xavier and Regis.
'From these cramped quarters, Nativity has inspired more than 60 other such religious schools nationwide - a movement that continues to grow,' The New York Times reported in 2010.
As the neighborhood was gentrified, though, fewer Latino families could afford to live there and the Nativity Mission Center's board decided to relocate. Mr. Feeney returned to the original school to attend a 40th anniversary celebration and then its closing last year.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Feeney married Peggy Cass, the actress, comedian and panelist on TV's longrunning 'To Tell The Truth.' They lived in New York City and Westhampton, NY. Ms. Cass died in March, 1999.
Three years later, Mr. Feeney married Jeanne Fee, whose late husband had been Mr. Feeney's roommate at Holy Cross. The couple resided in Bridgehampton and Naples, FL. In addition to being a stepfather to Ms. Fee's four grown children, Mr. Feeney was 'Uncle Gene' to more than two dozen nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Feeney is survived by three brothers, Thomas (Marcia) of Naples, FL, Bernard (Elizabeth) of Madison, CT; and James (late Grace) of Westhampton, NY; a sister, Eileen (late Edward), of Cutchogue, N.Y. ; 27 nieces and nephews; and four stepchildren, David Fee of Whitefish Bay, WI, and James Fee of Darien, CT, and Mariah Fee of New York City and Kathryn Fee of Sag Harbor, NY.
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