Joseph Patrick Killilea, who for nearly six decades was a devoted 鈥渏ack of all trades鈥� to the Boston College Jesuit Community, will be remembered at a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, June 23, at 10 a.m. in St. Mary鈥檚 Chapel鈥攁n honor normally afforded only to community members. He died on May 17 at the age of 86.
A native of Ireland who came to the United States as a teenager and eventually found a home at Boston College, Mr. Killilea became a beloved presence at the Jesuit residence in St. Mary鈥檚 Hall, where he lived while overseeing domestic arrangements related to the kitchen, housekeeping, automobiles, and maintenance.
鈥淭hough not a Jesuit himself, Joe had a well-informed appreciation of religious life and regularly participated in daily Mass in St. Mary鈥檚 Chapel,鈥� said Jesuit Community Rector Robert Keane, S.J. 鈥淗e was a prayerful man of grace, dignity, humility, generosity, and discretion.鈥�
鈥淵ou might say the community became his family,鈥� said Joseph A. Appleyard, S.J., a longtime senior administrator at 精东影业聽 who was Jesuit rector from 1991-1997. 鈥淗e moved into a room in the basement, and successive ministers gave him more and more responsibility over the domestic side of the house. All of us came to depend on Joe for his many skills.鈥�
Born near Galway on February 22, 1932, Mr. Killilea was only a few years old when his mother died and his father placed him in a child care facility. As a youth, he worked at a local hotel, where he met American tourists Catherine and Patrick O鈥機onnor. With their encouragement, Mr. Killilea moved to Boston as a teenager, where he enrolled in and graduated from a vocational-technical high school.
In 1957, following several years of custodial work and rental property management, Mr. Killilea began his long affiliation with Boston College. During his first job at the Heights鈥攑ainting the benches in the new football stadium, which had been relocated from what was then known as "the Dustbowl" on Middle Campus to its present location on Beacon Street鈥攖he young man encountered Joseph Walsh, S.J., then minister of the Jesuit Community.
鈥淗e asked Joe where he was from in Ireland, and when he responded that Galway was his home, Fr. Walsh immediately offered him a job in St. Mary's Hall,鈥� said Fr. Keane.
"Joe [came to know] more about St. Mary's Hall and its occupants than anyone else alive today,鈥� said Fr. Keane, noting that in addition to his regular work, Mr. Killilea contributed many voluntary services to the community, including driving some of the older Jesuits. His eventual retirement from Boston College allowed him to spend the winter months in Florida, where he owned a condominum, Fr. Keane said, but Mr. Killilea regularly returned to St. Mary鈥檚 Hall to celebrate the major holidays and feast days with the Jesuit Community.
Of particular interest to Mr. Killilea, whose favorite hobby was gardening, was the Rose Garden at St. Mary鈥檚. 鈥淛oe became an expert on roses,鈥� said Fr. Appleyard, as well as on decorating for Christmas, Easter, and other occasions such as Thanksgiving. "He delighted in preparing our residence for the holidays.鈥�
A medical episode in December 2017 necessitated Mr. Killilea's hospitalization in Florida, which was followed by a transfer to a convalescent center. During the admission process, it came to light that he had a nephew, Jeff Kennedy, in Massachusetts鈥攐f whom the Jesuit Community had had no knowledge.
鈥淛oe was an intensely private man,鈥� Fr. Keane noted. 鈥淔or decades it had been understood that he was an orphan and had no family鈥攚hich is partially true.聽 What was not known is that Joe was legally adopted by Jeff鈥檚 grandparents鈥攖he American tourists who befriended him in Galway.鈥�
In April, his nephew鈥檚 family brought Mr. Killilea to a memory care facility in Westwood, Mass., and were devoted to him and his care. Family members and Jesuit Community representatives were at his bedside at the end of his life.
鈥淛oe slipped away quietly, with dignity and faith鈥攋ust as he had lived his life,鈥� said Fr. Keane.
Following the funeral Mass, the remains of Mr. Killilea鈥攚ho was cremated according to his wishes鈥攚ill be interred in a Kennedy family grave at 2 p.m. in St. Joseph鈥檚 Cemetery in West Roxbury.
Rosanne Pellegrini | University Communications