Jesuit Journeys
Winter 2007

In Memoriam

John M. Ginsterblum, SJ

Full of energy and insightful humor, Fr. John M. Ginsterblum, 84, died Oct. 11, 2006 at the Jesuit Community of St. Camillus. in Wauwatosa, Wis. Born in Prairie du Chien, Wis. on March 1, 1922 John graduated from Campion Jesuit High School in 1939 and entered the Jesuits in 1940.

He loved to travel, meet new people and take on new challenges. He had four careers: as professor of theology at Creighton University (1957-74), as superior of the La Storta Jesuit Community in Minneapolis while teaching at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul (1974-81), as hospital chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital, both in St. Paul and inOmaha (1981-91), and as pastoral associate at Our of Lady of Peace in Minneapolis (1992-94) and at numerous parishes for months at a time while pastors were on sabbatical.

In each city John made scores of friends and impacted the institutions where he worked. At Creighton especially, he is remembered for building the reputation of the university’s theology department and the hospital’s department of pastoral care.

In 2005 his memory failed, and active ministry was no longer possible.

Thomas A. Hoffman, SJ

A very kind, funny, and holy priest Fr. Thomas A. Hoffman, SJ, 81, died after a heart attack, at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Neb. on May 23, 2006.

Born May 22, 1925 in Milwaukee, Tom finished Marquette High early so he could enter the Society of Jesus at Florissant in Feb. of 1943. He taught briefly at Regis High School in Denver and at Creighton Prep in Omaha, but is mostly remembered for his time at Campion (1958-66).

With encouragement from Vatican Council II, Tom earned a degree in Scripture at the Gregorian University in Rome. He taught Scripture at Creighton University (1960-1988) where his fastidious attention to detail could drive others crazy if they didn’t realize where his two passions in life lay, the Church and bird watching.

When heart trouble terminated his teaching in 1988, Tom stayed at Creighton to build up the theology library, hear confessions each noon, and roam the U.S. in search of birds he had not heard. A member of the Audubon Society since 1972, he documented over 1,400 species of birds in his lifetime.

James J. Quinn, SJ

An advocate for Creighton health science students from 1953 to 2003, Fr. James J. Quinn died of head injuries from a fall, on July 10, 2006 at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, Wis. He was 87.

Born in Chicago on Dec. 16, 1918, Jim moved when he was eight to Milwaukee and entered the Jesuits following graduation from Marquette University High School in 1937.

He was ordained in 1950 and went to Creighton University to teach philosophy and supervise the dorm known as Wareham Hall.

Realizing how often patients in the health care system sought to find compassion, integrity and humility in medical personnel, he advocated electives in history, literature, philosophy and theology which would give students a view of life from a patient’s perspective. His labors bore fruit through his own teaching of ethics and his close association with the Catholic Physicians Guild and with the health care institutions in Eastern Nebraska. Jim was a man who kept in contact with many Creighton alums by phone and letter, a practice he continued when he moved to Wauwatosa, Wis. in 2003.

C. M. Simon, SJ

A friend of many Native American artists, Br. Clair M. Simon, SJ, 69, died on July 14, 2006. He suffered an apparent heart attack while wading in Lake Angostura, near Rapid City, S.D. Simon entered the Jesuits in 1959 at the age of 22. His aptitude for being a treasurer was noticed early and in 1964 he was assigned to the treasurer’s office of Holy Rosary Mission on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

On the reservation, Simon fell in love with the people and asked himself what he could do to make them believe in themselves and in their own God-given goodness. Forsaking the treasurer’s office he established an annual art show, an early retail outlet for the works of local artisans, and a Heritage Center that collected the best examples of Lakota painting, bead and quill work, and quilts.

Clad in moccasins and an old cassock, Simon annually introduced thousands of visitors to Lakota culture, pointing out its beauty and values. A significant player in South Dakota art circles, he was an important contributor to Holy Rosary’s mission.