I think it was my senior year when Ted and Ned retired and hit the road in that Motor home w/ the minibikes. I remember them cruising about south quad as they practiced on their bad motor scooters. Kids were running after them and they were ear to ear grins. Too cool.....

If I recall correctly they had just celebrated mass at the ACC (no "J" then of course), and the dining halls were closed for a picnic on the quad. As they cruised the sidewalk perimeter of the quad on the matching red scooters the place went nuts.

Serving as an alter boy for him at a small mass in the log chapel was #2. I told him that it had been 10+ years since I last served at mass. He winked, grinned, and said, "follow my lead". He was just the coolest guy ever.

Fr. Ted spent many of his summers at the 7500 acre University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center (UNDERC) located in Land O'Lakes, Wisconsin. Every few Sundays he would conduct mass at UNDERC for the approximately twenty people in attendance. He also celebrated his birthday every year at UNDERC. The students would prepare dinner for him. My year, the students also prepared a cake and Fr. Ted blew out the candles.

As some of you may know, Fr. Ted was an avid fisherman. In particular, he enjoyed trying to catch the elusive Musky which reside in many of the lakes on the property. Anyway, at the culmination of Fr. Ted's birthday dinner every year, every student would place his or her name in a hat and Fr. Ted would pick one name to go fishing with. My name was chosen.

The day we went fishing he showed up with his personal assistant (he had macular degeneration and required a guide for most daily tasks), two fishing poles, and some bait. We boarded the small wooden boat and I rowed the boat out into the middle of a small lake. Fr. Ted and I fished for two hours. While out on the lake, Fr. Ted told me one or two of his stories (which many on the UNDERC campus affectionately referred to as "Fr. Ted Saves the World" stories) and coached me through a life decision I was making.

Near the end of the first hour, Fr. Ted pulled out a cigar and started to light it. I asked him for one, and he pulled another from his jacket pocket. We sat there smoking cigars and talking for the next hour. Near the end of the two hours, recognizing that we had not caught anything, Fr. Ted perfunctorily stated, "Well, I can't make them jump into the boat." I rowed the boat back to shore and we took a picture. That picture sits in my office today and it is an experience I will never forget.

. . . made fish jump into a boat, if he had wanted to.

By the way, my son's name is Ted.

I had my oldest daughter when I was a Freshman at ND. After taking a semester off, I decided I wanted to have her baptized at ND. It was arranged that Fr. Hesburgh would baptize her as part of the Pop Farley celebrations. He was a delight and put my husband at I at such ease. He made me promise that if I felt ND was not supporting my efforts to go to school while raising a child, I should let him know.

Fast forward a couple of years. My daughter and I are at the library waiting on a shuttle, and Fr Hesburgh comes up to us and starts talking to my daughter. I mention to him that he baptized her, and he said yes of course, at the Pop Farley mass. We chatted a few minutes and we were on our way.

When my second daughter died tragically the following year, he wrote me a handwritten note of condolences and mentioned how impressed he was with my husband and I the first time he met us.

Took a walk one cold evening during frosh year and bumped into Father Ted.

After an introduction, legend has it that Father Ted asked, "What's your major?"

A: "Pre-med."

Father Ted: "What's your GPA?"

A: [Inaudible]

Father Ted: "Get out of pre-med."

Father Ted was never at a loss for words or cutting right to the heart of the matter. And so much more.

We've lost a giant who truly made in difference.

At a moment like this, I believe Father Ted would say three words: "Come Holy Spirit."

RIP.

Administration Building mail room to all the administration offices, campus buildings and departments except dorms. I was so fortunate to be among the first to break the snow on many pre 6 AM mornings. That campus in the early morning moonlight was magic. It was peaceful, alive, vibrant, colorful, comforting and ghostly all at the same time. Iconic statues would come to life as the moon light, snow and shadows played tricks on your brain. I always felt spiritually safe, honored and privileged to walk along and among the enormity that Notre Dame represents.

I saw Father Hesburgh in his Administration office regularly when he was in town. Father Joyce was across the hall. World class does not do justice to these giants. When they weren’t immersed in their work there was always a smile and a twinkle of sincere inquisitiveness about how things were going. Those conversations were never intimidating, always unique and always genuine.

Notre Dame is a perfect reflection of Father Hesburgh's laser vision.

We are all so blessed to have experienced and lived to see such greatness.

Father Hesburgh now joins God in Heaven and rest assured his Spirit will always roam Notre Dame.

God bless Father Ted.

Peace in Christ.

And dead on accurate. Great post. One of the very few times I got myself out of bed early in the morning in the winter (I can't even remember why), that's exactly what it was like.

One time I just stopped and stood in the middle of the frigid snow-covered South Quad halfway between Alumni and the K of C building and just looked around and there was no one else, dead quiet. The light was just as you described. I was thinking how lucky I was to be in such a beautiful place.

Fr. Ted kept it that way, and made it even better.

because you were so close to Alumni

Like Newark being so close, yet so far from NYC, ditto Alumni to Dillon.

So far away but technically still a part

midnight. Many times I was the only one there. I miss those times.

As an Associate Commissioner for Bookstore Basketball, a group of us initiated the Hall of Fame Game matching a presumptive first seed against a "random" team from the pool. One of my dorm mates sought to play in the game with his team. These guys were all well under six feet tall and as unathletic as they come, but they arranged for a limo to take them to the bookstore courts, and brought trampolines so they could dunk in warmups. As gametime approached the bells of the Basilica rang out and Fr. Ted, whom they had invited to be their honorary coach, processed from the Basilica and proceeded to pray for and with them. Fr. Ted gave them Last Rites - in Latin- and stuck around for much of the game interacting with the crowd and posing for pictures. His ability to touch all of those he met in a meaningful way will be missed. RIP Fr. Ted.

just a brief encounter.

Father Hesburgh was headed to Wisconsin, departing from the FBO side of the South Bend airport. He wasn't flying in the Phantom Notre Dame owns that is usually hangered on the field so initially I didn't realize who was going to be on the plane I was dispatching to Wisconsin.

Along with members of the Notre Dame Fire Department I helped him board the aircraft for the journey. This little group, consisting the captain of the aircraft, a couple NDFD members, myself, an aide to Father Hesburgh, and Father Ted exchanged pleasantries, chatted about what kinds of fish were going to be on the menu and then got about our business.

After we finished with what needed to be done, handshakes were exchanged all around and the NDFD guys, the captain and I all deplaned. The captain then said in a way from the South drawl “Can you imagine all of the people who shook hands with him over the years?” I sure can.

Rest peacefully Father Hesburgh.

My freshman year I lived in Holy Cross Hall and was in concert band. We stayed after our exams to play for graduation. There were three of us who were running VERY late getting to graduation and running as fast as we could carrying our instruments all the way from Holy Cross.

We got to the Dome and were really running out of gas when we heard a voice from behind us, up on the steps, like the voice of God: "I believe you gentlemen are running late." We stopped dead in our tracks because that voice was instantly recognizable: Father Ted. Then we noticed the car parked alongside. "Would you guys like a ride?"

The President of the University of Notre Dame then chauffuered three out of breath band members to the 1976 graduation ceremony. He asked each of us our names, where we were from and how our year had gone. I had the honor of meeting Fr. Ted several times after that in later years and was always amazed that when I introduced myself that he not only remembered me but this incident.

We have lost a great man. RIP Father Ted.

I was fortunate enough to speak to him on a few occasions while a student at Notre Dame, and later as an alumnus. My fondest memory was once, coming back from fall or spring break in Puerto Rico, I had the good fortune to sit next to Fr Ted on the American Eagle flight from Chicago to South Bend. What was supposed to be a 20 min flight ended up getting delayed (as was typical back then) and I ended up sitting next to him for 2 hours! We chatted about my family, life growing up in Puerto Rico, and how I was enjoying Notre Dame so far. I asked him of all of his extraordinary accomplishments, which was he most proud of. He told me without hesitation it was being a priest. It was one of the highlights of my time at Notre Dame!

A few years later, he would officiate my best friends' wedding and when I walked into the church for the rehearsal and saw him, he greeted me with a "Que pasa, muchacho!" Fr Ted remembered me from that plane ride back to campus a few years back. What a memory! RIP Fr Ted.

My first Fr. Ted encounter was in 2007. Manor76 took me into Fr. Ted's office before we were to attend a dinner at the JACC. Fr. Ted was also attending this dinner and there was about 30 minutes before we all had to be there.

During this time, Fr. Hesburgh regaled us with stories of making Notre Dame co-educational, working with President Johnson and fishing. I showed him a picture of my son and he told me "teach him to be extraordinary". Those words have never left me; particularly because they were issued from a man whose own life was extraordinary. I don't know if I possess the ability to teach my son to be extraordinary but I've tried every day to do just that.

As our brief time came to an end, Fr. Hesburgh invited us to ride on his golf cart to the JACC and of course we accepted.

Rest in peace, Fr. Ted and thank you for inspiring and challenging me to be a better Catholic, a better man and a better father.

In his defense I had bleached it in anticipation of dying it the colors of the Irish flag for St. Patrick's Day.

He was a tremendous presence yet so approachable. They don't make them like him anymore.

it isn't exactly my story -- it belongs to a friend of mine, so it may be exaggerated or apocryphal or an outright invention, but nonetheless, it makes me laugh, so I'll share it with you here.

It was the fall semester of 1990, and we were freshmen, newly freed from the bonds of high school and living with our parents. One of my friends was walking to the library one evening when an older priest joined her on the sidewalk. He struck up a conversation with her as they walked across campus, asking her about where she was from and how she liked Notre Dame so far.

As they entered the library, he introduced himself: "I'm Ted Hesburgh." My friend laughed, which led the priest to give her a quizzical look. They stepped onto the elevator and she turned to the priest, who joined her on the elevator, and said, "Don't be silly. Everybody knows Father Hesburgh is dead."

The priest (who, of course, was indeed Fr. Ted) chuckled as the elevator rose. She got off on an intermediate floor, they said their goodbyes, and she didn't think much about it.

Later that night, she told her roommates this story. They were all aghast, and my friend asked, "What?" One of them said, "Uh, Fr. Ted is alive and well." They rummaged around and found a photograph of him and showed it to my friend, who squeaked and said, "Oh no, I insulted Fr. Hesburgh."

The next day, she went to the 14th floor of the library and asked quietly to see Fr. Hesburgh. The secretary replied that he was not there, and my friend said, "Well, yesterday, Fr. Hesburgh and I walked to the library together, and he told me who he was, and I said --" The secretary interrupted: "Oh, that was you! Fr. Ted couldn't stop laughing about that when he told me."

My first Fr. Ted encounter was in 2007. Manor76 took me into Fr. Ted's office before we were to attend a dinner at the JACC. Fr. Ted was also attending this dinner and there was about 30 minutes before we all had to be there.

During this time, Fr. Hesburgh regaled us with stories of making Notre Dame co-educational, working with President Johnson and fishing. I showed him a picture of my son and he told me "teach him to be extraordinary". Those words have never left me; particularly because they were issued from a man whose own life was extraordinary. I don't know if I possess the ability to teach my son to be extraordinary but I've tried every day to do just that. Last April I took mt son in to meet Fr. Hesburgh and that was a special moment. I could tell that his health had understandably declined. 97 is one heckuva good life.

As our brief time came to an end, Fr. Hesburgh invited us to ride on his golf cart to the JACC and of course we accepted.

Rest in peace, Fr. Ted and thank you for inspiring and challenging me to be a better Catholic, a better man and a better father.

after my acceptance, we were in the library poking around, and Father Hesburg introduced himself to us and invited us up to his office.

He spent 20 or 30 minutes telling us, complete unconnected nobodys from Central Illinois, about this history of Notre Dame, his own role in it, and about how my being there was going to change my life (he was right).

RIP

twice as a student. Once when I was walking from the Grotto at midnight. He wanted to know how I was doing, where I was from, and how I enjoyed Notre Dame. I really enjoyed walking with him back to the Dome.
"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to Love their Mother." ---- Rest In Peace Fr. Ted.

RIP Father Hesburgh.

own private chapel in the crypt (basement) and would offer private mass
or say a solo mass when he was on campus.

Once after he received cash tip for presiding a wedding, he gave it to me and my-coworker.

RIP, Father Ted, your rest is well-deserved.

sophomore year, the year of football greatness and victory in New Orleans was also the year of academic mayhem for my roommate and me. We were two kids from New York City, working class types amidst what we perceived to be an alienating suburban wealth. But we were young and the chip on the shoulders was more of our own making than that of our classmates. We were both mathematically precocious and spent more time using ND's ancient telescope on top of Nieuwland than studying. Certainly more time than attending classes. Classes? Who needs stinking classes? We were going to save the world with George McGovern and kick USC in the ass on the way to the championship.

We decided the school needed a new telescope, not one donated by Napoleon III.

The joke at the time on campus was told affectionately. What's the difference between God and Father Ted? Easy. God is everywhere while Fr. Ted is everywhere but Notre Dame. When we saw the light on in his office we decided to act. We walked over to the Golden Dome and went in. All doors were open in those days. We made our way to the inner sanctum and unbelieveably Fr. Ted answered the knock on his door. He was very gracious, in his stocking feet and asked us to sit down. We explained our quest. He listened to us thoughtfully, asked about our homes and then brought out a huge checkbook. (Neither of us had ever seen a ledger checkbook before.) he proceeded to write us a University check for $10,000.00 (It might have been $5,000.00, but memory serves an Irishman as a corporal not a captain.)

His parting words were, "boys, report back to me at the end of the semester on what you bought."

It was an early lesson in practical politics because as soon as our rector, Fr. Schilts (RIP) heard of our escapade he was angry. He was also a physics professor and rightly had little regard for us and our hijinks. He immediately went out and bought new telescopes on department money. Our money was unspent, except for dips into it for Farley pizza sales on occasion (who knew of fiduciary duties then?)

At the end of the semester someone told us that Fr. Hesburgh and Father Joyce were having dinner at the Morris Inn. We took a check from the Astronomy Club we 'founded' and marched over there to present it to him. It was for the entire amount given us, our borrowings were made good. We also brought him a bottle of great wine that was in our room, courtesy of a buddy from the South Side of Chicago who happened to 'find' rare Montrachets lying around the wine warehouse where he worked when home.

The good fathers were very pleased for both receipts. I suppose we'll have to pay some time on that seven story mountain for that bottle of great wine, but I'm sure Fr. Ted will be up there rooting us on to eventual glory.

RIP, Father. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Father Hesburgh will be remembered by generations of Notre Dame students. He, more than any other, made Notre Dame a great university. He will be missed.

of the man after getting the opportunity to attend a small, private mass with Fr. Hesburgh. Not sure I've ever seen my brother as profuse in his praise of someone after so short of a time.

ND and the world in general has lost an all-time great. RIP indeed.

Everybody is sharing their Father Hesburgh stories, so I have one to tell, one that I've held quietly in my heart for many years.

In the late Summer of 2006, my brother Jonny May (FHSUIRish)​ was told that his cancer would likely kill him by the end of the year. Somehow this got around to the various friends I have around here at the University of Notre Dame​ and they made arrangements for have a special day for Jon. We would get a tour of the Football Stadium, including the locker room, and get to be on the field for the Michigan pregame. The real highlight of the day/weekend was a quiet meeting and mass with Father Hesburgh in his private office in the Library that bears his name.

The meeting and Mass was one of the most spiritual moments of my life. Jon, myself, my father, a good friend of family, and my daughter (2 at the time) were able to pray with Father Hesburgh for Jon, we prayed for God's Healing Grace, we prayed for understanding, and we prayed for God to give us all strength for the battles ahead. In my heart I also made another prayer, a prayer that my single, sick, and hurting brother may have a chance to know the love a wife and family.

Fast forward 2 years. Jon has gone through much pain and suffering, beaten all sorts of odds, and best of all (in answer to the prayers in my heart), married his wife​ in the Log Chapel on campus. I lit a candle that day at the Grotto thanking God for answering the prayer of my heart that day with Father Hesburgh.

While Cancer finally claimed Jon, I focus on the joy and beauty that Jon was able to have in those years he was able to share with us. I attribute the miracle of this time to the prayers we shared with Father Hesburgh and I firmly believe that they wouldn't have been possible without his help and intersession.

I pray that when the day comes I may be worthy enough to speak with Father Hesburgh and Jon again in the kingdom of heaven.

your influence, accomplishments, and wisdom will live on in perpetuity while you watch us from above.

RIP, will be greatly missed.

as a religion prof. at ND in 1946/47. They corresponded through the years.

Requiescat in pace Fr. Hesburgh

• Click here for link at http://tomandkatehickeyfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/02/21

his whereabouts. A truly great Notre Dame man. Thank God for allowing him to be around this long.

The first time I went to confession at ND freshman year Father Hesburgh was in the box. It was during 1956 orientation and I didn't know who the priest was until he opened the window on my side. All I could think was," Wow, he does everything here at ND!"

RIP indeed.

• Click here for link at http://www.wsbt.com/news/notre-dames-father-hesburgh-dies-at

He was Notre Dame and will always be so!

...Twitter feed; and Observer has just announced it 3 minutes ago. Seems suitably corroborated.

A major era in ND history has passed; Notre Dame has reached the academic stature that he foresaw in the 1950s, a substantial achievement.

He was always very simple and straightforward, in my experience, which amounted to three personal encounters as a student and several as an alum, usually in connection with the ND Club of Chicago. The most memorable was a luncheon at the Union League Club about 7 or 8 years ago; he said mass at 11 as we sat at our tables, then delivered a memorable talk about the role of women at ND, and how that came about largely through his impetus starting in the later 1960s. At 97, a long and rich life; but still a little hard to believe he's now gone.