January 21, 2009

Communications director had love for Church, poet’s heart

By John Gleason

On Dec. 23, Bob Feeney, who for many years served as communications secretary for the Denver Archdiocese and general manager of the Denver Catholic Register, died at an assisted living center in Colorado Springs.  He was 78.

Feeney, who was originally from New York, worked in public relations and advertising before working for the Church.

Msgr. Edward Hoffman was Moderator of the Curia when Feeney was working for the archdiocese.  He said Feeney was a man like no other.

“Bob was a man of the Church, personally dedicated to serving that Church and had what I like to call a very Irish approach to things,” Msgr. Hoffman said.  “He was straightforward and honest and always said what he thought, which is something I very much appreciated. 

He had integrity,” the monsignor added. “He knew who he was and who he wanted to be.  It was important for him to be a servant of the Church, serving the people of the archdiocese in any way he could.”

Matthew Feeney said of his father that he very much enjoyed working for the archdiocese and forged many lifelong friendships in his decade there. 

“I always got the idea that that was a dream job for him,” Feeney said.  “He’d done what he wanted to do in the corporate world—had his own ad agency on Madison Avenue and he worked in the advertising department for Johns Mansville.  In fact, when the company restructured under Chapter 11 they tried to offer him a different position.  He said no.”

Feeney said that his father made sacrifices to work for the archdiocese but that he was as passionate about the job as he was about his faith.

“It was a good fit for him,” Feeney said. 

Born in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., on Oct. 8, 1930, Feeney attended Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., where he graduated with a degree in English literature.  He married Ann Philippa in 1956, who died in 1987.  Later he married Elle Martling.

Francis Maier, chancellor of the archdiocese, said that Feeney had a keen intelligence, a wonderfully Irish sense of humor and a great love for the Church. 

“He dealt with the media very skillfully,” Maier said. “But he was more than a good craftsman with public relations; he had a poet’s heart for words and a great ability to mentor, as he did very generously with me during my first year at the archdiocese.  He served the Catholic community very well, and he’s missed.”

In a message sent to the family, Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, who was archbishop in Denver while Feeney worked for the archdiocese, called him a collaborator and friend.

“Bob was a faithful and courageous servant of the Church,” the cardinal wrote.  “He was valued by all of us at the Catholic Pastoral Center as a knowledgeable, highly competent, professional journalist. 

The Church of Denver was very blessed to have him as its official spokesman for so many years,” the cardinal continued. “His deep love, experience and knowledge of the Church lit up her hidden beauty for the frequently unseeing and uncomprehending representatives of the media. His expansive humor was among his greatest blessings.”

According to Matthew Feeney, one of the things his father was most proud to be a part of was working to bring the pope to Denver for World Youth Day in 1993. 

“I remember it being a thrill of the first magnitude for him, a once in a lifetime event,” Feeney said.  “And it was also his swan song as he retired shortly thereafter.”

In addition to Matthew, Feeney is survived by another son, Michael, of Colorado Springs; two daughters, Kathryn of Eugene, Ore., and Roberta Keosheyan of Austin, Texas; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  A funeral Mass was held Dec. 30 at St. Mary Church in Littleton followed by burial in Littleton Cemetery. 

Memorial contributions may be made online to adaptiveadventures.org.