Worcester-Rev. William J. O’Halloran, S. J., the first chair of the psychology department at the College of the Holy Cross who also served in various senior administrative positions at the College for more than 25 years, died at Cape Cod Hospital, in Hyannis, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008, after an illness. He was 80 years old.
At his death, he was special assistant to President Michael C. McFarland, S.J., a position he held since 1998.
The son of the late Dorothy M. (Keegan) and Frank T. O’Halloran, he was born in Springfield, Mass., on Nov. 26, 1927. In addition to his parents, Fr. O’Halloran was predeceased by his brother F. Thomas O’Halloran. He is survived by nephews and nieces F. Thomas O'Halloran III and his wife Andrea, of Bronxville, NY; Vincent M. O'Halloran, of Wilton, CT.; Martha McCorry, of Tampa, Florida; and Susan M. wife of Andreas Constable, of Barrington, RI.
Fr. O’Halloran arrived at Holy Cross as an assistant professor in 1963, having completed his doctoral studies in psychology at Fordham University. He was appointed the first chair of the psychology department at the College in 1964.
In January 1976, after serving for six years as rector of the Jesuit Community at Holy Cross in addition to teaching in the psychology department, Fr. O’Halloran became the sixth president of LeMoyne College in Syracuse. He left LeMoyne in June 1981 and returned to Holy Cross to serve as director of relations with corporations and foundations until 1984, when he was appointed vice president of the College. He served in this office until he became special assistant to the president in 1998.
A graduate of LaSalle Academy in Providence, RI, O’Halloran was a classmate and lifelong friend of John J. McLaughlin of the McLaughlin Group. He entered the Society of Jesus on Sept. 7, 1945, at Shadowbrook in Lenox, Mass. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1951 and a master’s degree in 1952 from Weston College and was then assigned to teach Latin, English, and religion from 1952 to 1954 at Boston College High School in Dorchester. The following year he obtained a master’s degree in psychology from Fordham University.
For his theology studies Fr. O’Halloran was assigned from 1955-59 to Enghien, Belgium, and then to Chantilly (Oise), France. He was ordained a priest on July 30, 1958, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Senlis, France.
While teaching at Holy Cross, he also spent four summers as a visiting professor and as a research fellow at the University of Michigan’s psychology department and participating in the growing Catholic charismatic movement that was centered around “The Word of God Community” in Ann Arbor. He later served as a fellow of that university’s program as a visiting research fellow in 1975 at the Office of Naval Research in Pensacola, Fla.
Throughout all these years, Fr. O’Halloran was invited to take on important roles in Jesuit educational institutions, serving as a trustee of Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, LeMoyne College, Spring Hill College, Xavier University, Wheeling College, and Cheverus High School.
He also served on civic boards such as the Unity Mutual Life Insurance in Syracuse, and was Chairman of the Educational Division of the United Way of Central New York. He was a member of the Advisory Committee of the New York State Senate Committee on Higher Education and as a trustee of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities of New York. He was the managing editor of the Catholic Psychological Record and a member of the Rhode Island Honor Society, Eastern Psychological Association, Massachusetts Psychological Association (Fellow), Academy of Religion and Health, Sigma Xi, American Psychological Association, Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society, and the Worcester Mental Health Planning committee.
As a priest, he was recognized in Worcester as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, a Knight of Columbus, and a moderator of the First Friday Club.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 4 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Joseph Chapel on the Holy Cross campus. Calling hours will be held on Monday, March 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Mary Chapel (lower level of St. Joseph Chapel). There will also be a calling hour from 9 to 10 a.m. before the funeral mass. Interment will be in the College cemetery. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Callahan and Fay Brothers of Worcester.
In lieu of flowers, the Jesuit Community requests that contributions in Fr. O’Halloran’s memory be made to the Nativity School of Worcester, 10 Irving Street, Worcester, Mass. 01609; or to Campion Center, 319 Concord Road, Weston, Mass. 02493.