Reverend John T. McDonough

In the fall of 1959 I began Magnificat High School, and every Tuesday afternoon I walked to St. Christopher to receive instructions from Fr. McDonough about the faith. He baptized me the Saturday before Christmas and I received my first communion at Midnight Mass on Christmas. Wonderful memories. Such a good priest, very kind and intelligent, with a great sense of humor. May he rest in peace!

My parents, contemporaries of Fr. McDonough, met him during his assignment to St. Christopher parish in Rocky River in 1955 and remained close to him until the end of their lives. He concelebrated my mother's funeral Mass when he was 87 and visited my father in his final years and attended his wake in 2015 (despite the great distance from Fr.'s residence and his having to arrange transportation with a parishioner since he was no longer driving). My father was one of the founding twelve...

My brother and I remember him as "Great Unc" as he was our great uncle. It was something special to have a priest in the family. Since I have moved away from the Cleveland area, I have not kept in touch. The last time we saw each other was at his sister's (my grandmother's) funeral. May he rest in peace.

"Big Dad" was an inspiration and leader in our Catholic formation at Newman center in the early sixties. His great sense of humor and fun loving antics made him an example of a very real human being. We will miss him. heaven has gained one great man. Dee Flanagan Dadik and Bob Dadik, Columbus, oh

As a student in the 60ties at the University of Akron I received the best advice of my life. When I asked Fr. McDonough where I should teach in the Catholic Schools or Public Schools, he surprised me with his fortuitous reply...the Public Schools. I was blessed with a very fulfilling career in the Akron Public Schools and in the Public Schools in Pontiac, Michigan. Certainly will miss his smiling face when I would see him at the First Friday luncheons.

To generations involved with the Newman campus ministry, we know him as "Father Mac". He was dedicate to bringing Christ to the campus.
Father Mac never retired: he went to live in Hinckley, where he made a second home. His was s dedicated life: well lived.