JOSEPH BEATTIE


Rev. Joseph A.

Beattie, O.S.F.S.

Rev. Joseph A. Beattie, OSFS, 72, died on Sunday, August 15, 2010 in Florida where he had been ministering. Fr. Beattie spent 43 years as a teacher and coach, including 18 years at Salesianum School, where he taught religion and history and led many track and cross country teams to championships. He was known for his strong commitment to disciplined training for whatever tasks he was responsible.

"Fr. Joe was remarkably committed to the students, faculty, and parents at Bishop Verot," Rev. James J. Greenfield, OSFS, provincial of the Oblates, said about his most recent assignment in Florida. "And, listening to a good number of Salesianum graduates, I believe that his ministry there continues to live in the hearts of the men he taught and coached."

He began teaching at Salesianum in 1966 until his transfer to Bishop Verot in 1984. Achieving many awards and accolades for his coaching skills, he remained humble and continued to model virtue and discipline in his students.

"During my years as principal at Verot, Fr. Joe was a hero to so many of the students and teachers," Rev. Hugh McGuigan, OSFS, now pastor of Our Lady of Light Catholic Church in Estero. "He was a rock for us and a champion of what is best about Catholic education. Whether in the classroom or on the course, he was someone to look to as a role model and source of strength and constancy."

Along with his brother, Fr. John Beattie, who died in 2008, he entered in 1955 the seminary of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales after he graduated from Salesianum. He completed his studies for a master's degree in theology before his ordination to the priesthood in 1965.

Fr. Beattie's ordination is a piece of Church history, as the long-scheduled event almost did not occur, for nearly all of the world's bishops, including every American bishop at the time, were participating in the Second Vatican Council, the landmark gathering of church leaders. After a search by Church officials, a retired and exiled Chinese bishop residing in the States was located to perform the ordination, a rite that only a bishop can celebrate according to the tradition of the Catholic religion.

In addition to the members of the Oblates, survivors include his sisters, Anne Beattie Mundy and Sr. Mary Alfred, OSC; brother-in-law, Ed Mazurkiewicz; nieces and nephews, Katherine Mundy, Mary Winkler, Margaret Buff, and John, Joseph, and Edward Mazurkiewicz. In addition to his brother, he was preceded in death by his parents, Alfred and Mary Katherine Flynn Beattie; and sister, Cecilia Mazurkiewicz.

A memorial Mass is scheduled at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Wilmington, DE, on Saturday, August 21, at 10:30 am, with visitation beginning at 9 am. Burial will follow Mass in Oblate Cemetery, Childs, MD. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, August 19, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Fort Myers, FL.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be sent to the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, P.O. Box 87, Childs, MD 21916-0087, or to the Monastery of St. Clare, 1271 Langhorne-Newtown Road, Langhorne, PA 19047.



[published 08/18/2010]