In Reminiscence #66, I introduced the readers to a
lady, Joan Terracina, who had worked at Ignatius for 50 years as
the secretary to the treasurer…from 1939 to 1989. Joan
passed away on July 21, 2014. I ended
the article by saying that “it (the Reminiscence)
doesn’t speak to why, on Dec. 10th of 1989 at the Annual Christmas
Benefit, she received the Dei Gloriam
Award. In Part 2, I will disclose
why this woman was described in the yearbook as “a living expression of the
Jesuit ideal”.
Of course, nothing would be as good as having known
and worked with Joan, but I’ll give it my best shot. In 1989, on the occasion of her retirement,
the Chicago Sun-Times Newspaper had a feature article written by Bob Herguth entitled
“Chicago Profile”. In it she was called the “’Miss Chips’ of
St. Ignatius College Prep”.
Typically, when a member of a school’s staff is identified as “Miss/Mr. Chips”, it’s referring to a
teacher, or, at least an administrator…someone who comes in contact with the
students on a daily basis to inspire and comfort them.
In the article, Joan is quoted as saying, “Sooner or
later, I meet all the kids. When I see
that some of the students are not smiling, I try to ask them what’s wrong. I try to give them a little bit of
advice.” She would “encourage them to
“keep on with their studies. To work
hard while in high school as a better preparation for college, and to have
faith in God: that He’s always there to help them.”
She said that she bumped into “Ignatius grads
everywhere, even on planes. I’ve even
been invited to their weddings. One
student would visit me every day in my office.
After he graduated, he went to the Jesuit novitiate.” Years later, after he was ordained, he became
her boss.
But what was it about Joan that made such an impact
that she was given the highest honor the school has to bestow on an
individual? I’ve spoken in the past
about teachers who had that mysterious quality called “charisma”. Most of the time it remains a mystery, but I
think that I have a clue as to what made Joan special.
Perhaps you’ve heard the acronym, “K.I.S.S.”,
which stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. If I had to guess, I’d say that was the
secret to Joan’s charisma… the simplicity with which she led her life. Her focus and passions in life were God,
family and Ignatius. In
service of the Lord, she worked tirelessly in her parish as a part of the Legion-of-Mary,
the Altar and Rosary, and sang in the church choir, as well as
helping out at parish fundraisers. Even
as a child, Joan and her siblings were there to serve families in need in her
neighborhood.
Sister Ann Vincent, one of Joan’s nieces, told me
that, within the family, she always included her nieces and nephews in her
activities, even to the extent that she’d sit at the dreaded “kids’ table” for
holiday dinners. She never learned to
drive, but loved taking long walks through parks to enjoy the flowers and
whatever other sites Mother-Nature had to offer…always inviting the youngsters in
the family to accompany her.
At Joan’s funeral Mass, Father Mulvihill said that,
if the Jesuits had permitted women, he was sure that Joan would have been the
template…perhaps for the men also. I
believe that it was the simplicity with which she led a life in the service of
the Lord, her family and St. Ignatius that answers the question of why the
secretary-to-the-treasurer was accorded such grand recognition.
