John F. Pennington (Father)

John was born on March 14, 1937, in Evanston, Ill. He entered the Society of Jesus on August 8, 1959, at Milford Novitiate in Milford, Ohio. He was ordained a priest on June 11, 1970, at St. Joseph Church in Aurora, Ill. and professed final vows on August 6, 1995, at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill.

John graduated from Loyola Academy in 1954. In 1958 he obtained an honors bachelor of arts degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati. The H.A.B. program, Xavier University’s first and oldest honors program, emphasizes the interdisciplinary study of philosophy and the classics. After entering the Society, John obtained a master’s degree (1967) and a master of divinity degree (1971) from Loyola University Chicago. He studied music at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. for one year (1970–71) and did special studies in aesthetics at Syracuse University in New York (1974–81), obtaining a PhD iin 1985.

Throughout his Jesuit life, John was a teacher, chaplain, and writer. During regency he taught at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati (1963–66).  After ordination, he taught religion at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, Ind. (1971–74). John taught the philosophy of man at Xavier University (1981–84) and did research at Xavier on Beethoven and his philosophy of suffering (1984–87).

In 1987, John participated in a year of continuing and professional education (CPE) at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. (1987–88). He then did CPE residency at the University of Chicago (1988–89). John was a chaplain at Loyola University Medical Center (1989–94), where his long service as night chaplain to patients and medical staff was highly valued. From 1995 to 2002, John was the director of Catholic Chaplains at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He spent two years writing on the ethics of compassion. John returned to chaplaincy in 2004 at Rapid City Regional Hospital in Rapid City, S.D. In 2007, John moved to Colombiere, where he continued writing until his health prevented him from doing so.

VISITATION
Monday, March 30, 2015
4-7 p.m.
Wake Service 7 p.m.
Colombiere Center
9075 Big Lake Road
Clarkston, MI 48346

FUNERAL
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
10:45 a.m.
Colombiere Center
9075 Big Lake Road
Clarkston, MI  48346