Cuddigan, John D. (Father)

Jesuit Father John D. Cuddigan died May 30, 2017 at St. Camillus, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 87 years old, a Jesuit for 67 years, and a priest for 54 years.

Born in Anoka, Minnesota, on Dec. 21, 1929, Fr. Cuddigan attended grade school and high school in Minneapolis and Saint John’s Prep in Collegeville, Minnesota. After a year at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, he entered the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri, on Aug. 7, 1949. Jack had the usual Jesuit course of studies at St. Stanislaus, Saint Louis University, and St. Mary’s College. He was ordained a priest on June 12, 1962, made tertianship in Decatur, Illinois. (1963–64), and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1965. After teaching history as a regent at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee (1956–59), he earned a PhD in history from the University of Minnesota in 1968.

Jack’s ministry involved both academic and pastoral assignments. He taught history at Creighton University and at Gonzaga University. From 1974 through 1983, he served as an academic administrator at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri; Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia; and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. From 1977 through 1980, Jack was first superintendent of schools and next director of deferred giving for the Diocese of San Diego. After a sabbatical, he moved into pastoral ministry, serving as an associate pastor in various parishes in Minnesota and California and as pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Mankato, Minnesota. In 2004, he joined the Creighton University Jesuit Community and remained active in pastoral ministry in the Omaha area until declining health led to his move to St. Camillus in 2015. He continued to do active pastoral ministry in the Milwaukee area almost until his death.