Joseph F. Lanigan

1923 - 2015

Joseph F. Lanigan
July 5, 1923 - Jan. 20, 2015
Resident of Berkeley
Joseph F. Lanigan, 91, died peacefully at home in Berkeley on January 20, 2015, surrounded by loved ones.
Born in New York City on July 5, 1923, to Irene Veronica (Heaney) and Joseph Anthony Lanigan, he was a professor at Saint Mary's College of California for 46 years. He earned his PhD in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1956, and was a scholar of Plato, with a particular focus on the Parmenides. In addition to teaching philosophy, he was a tutor in the College's Integral Program, where his subjects ranged from Euclidean geometry to ancient Greek. A committed educator with a lively and enquiring mind, he was awarded Saint Mary's Professor of the Year Award in 1998. He and his beloved wife Mary-Delia were married for 51 years, and together they raised four children.
After a childhood spent in New York, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, Lanigan attended the University of Notre Dame, receiving his bachelor's degree in English in 1944. Before completing graduate school, he spent a memorable period in Nevada City, CA, where he worked with a friend at a printing press, then called Berliner & Lanigan. With his customary dry wit, he often told tales of his days in this former gold mining town. After receiving his PhD, he taught first at Saint Mary's College in Winona, MN for six years before moving to Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, where he spent the remainder of his long career, finally retiring in 2005.
His Catholic faith nourished and sustained him. He was a lay member of the Discalced Carmelites and worshipped at Newman Hall Holy Spirit Parish at the University of California, Berkeley. He and his wife met at an event sponsored by the Catholic Alumni Club, and in 1963 they were one of the last couples to be married at the old Newman Hall in Berkeley. Throughout his many years at Saint Mary's, he regularly attended daily Mass in the College Chapel.
Joseph will be lovingly remembered by his wife Mary-Delia of Berkeley; his children, Maire of Oakland; Cathleen Doucette (Armand) of Newburyport, MA; Julia (Catherine Gallivan) of Watertown, MA; John-David (Senobar) of Berkeley; his grandchildren, Sean and Anna Doucette of Newburyport and Sasha and Chiara Lanigan of Berkeley; his sister, Mary Irene Lanigan of Oakland; and his sister-in-law, Josephine Kuchinski of Wilton, CT.
A requiem Mass will be held in the Saint Mary's College Chapel on Saturday, February 14 at 10:30 AM.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Joseph's name to Integral Program at St. Mary's College or to Catholic Charities.
Holy Angels Sorensen
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