Hogan, Thomas J. (Father)

Jesuit Father Thomas J. Hogan died on Dec. 19, 2013, in St. Louis. He was nearly 82 years old and a Jesuit for 59 years. Born in St. Louis on Dec. 27, 1931, Fr. Hogan entered the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Mo., on Aug. 17, 1954.

Fr. Hogan completed a bachelor’s in philosophy at Saint Louis University in 1960. After teaching mathematics and political science at St. Stephen’s Mission in Wyoming, he studied theology at St. Mary’s College in Kansas, from 1962 to 1966. Fr. Hogan was ordained to the priesthood in St. Mary’s on June 9, 1965.

After tertianship in Decatur, Ill., Fr. Hogan began the first of several assignments in hospital chaplaincy. He served at St. Louis University Hospital from 1967 to 1970 and later worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver and St. Joseph’s Health Center in Kansas City. For several years he was the Associate Pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Trinidad, Colo. In 1980 he moved into work in campus ministry, first at the University of Albuquerque and then at Rockhurst University in Kansas City.

Fr. Hogan gave simple and insightful homilies and his welcoming presence helped strengthen the faith communities of which he was a part. At the end of each academic year in Albuquerque, students or staff members would petition the provincial to allow Fr. Hogan to renew his contract for another year.

In the early 1990s, Fr. Hogan completed a program in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Baptist Medical Center in Kansas City to develop his skills in pastoral care. He served as a chaplain at St. Alexius Hospital in St. Louis from 1994 to 2007 where he established a reputation as a kind and compassionate chaplain with a special gift for accompanying the dying. He later served for a short time at St. Anthony’s Health Center in St. Louis and as a chaplain for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in Alton, Ill.

In 2010, when his health began to decline, Fr. Hogan joined the Fusz Pavilion community at Jesuit Hall. He is survived by two brothers, Francis and John, and two sisters, Mary Collins and Ann Russek.

Memorial gifts may be made to the USA Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus at 4511 West Pine Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108 or through this website.