Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Robert J. Joda, SJ, who died on March 6, 2025 at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 97 years old. May he rest in peace.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents Frank and Jennie (nee Besendorfer) Joda, his brothers, Francis Joda and Thomas Joda, and his sister Patricia Linnemanstons. He is survived by his nieces and nephews.
Bob was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 28, 1927. He entered the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus on February 4, 1945 at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri and became a member of the Wisconsin Province when it was formed in 1955. He was ordained on June 18, 1958 at the Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee and pronounced final vows on August 15, 1961 in Bonn, Germany.
While in the Society, Bob earned a bachelor’s degree (1950), a master’s degree (1952), a licentiate in philosophy (1953), and a bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology (1960) from Saint Louis University. He studied classics and German at the University of Bonn (1960-1961) and earned a master’s degree in German from Marquette University (1964). He earned his doctorate in German from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (1968).
