Jack McBride Obituary and Funeral Details

--Information we received from NCCL's National Office.

"Believe and lean into the mysteries of life" - Jack McBride

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 602 Everglade Drive, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007. Visitation will be held at Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2007, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. with an Evening Prayer at 8 p.m. There will also be a visitation on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at the church. Gunderson West Funeral and Cremation Centers 7435 University Ave. (608) 831-6761 www.gundersonfh.com

An obituary prepared by Jack’s family follows. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. We at NCCL deeply mourn his loss. He was a wonderful colleague and friend to so many of us.

MADISON - Jack J. McBride died on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, at age 53. Jack was born on April 22, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio, to John and Marie McBride. He married Mary Hesse on June 11, 1977. They were blessed with three lovely children, Andrew, Megan and Sarah. Jack graduated from St. Joseph High School in Cleveland in 1971 and Marquette University in 1975. He went on to receive a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1980. Jack was a former faculty member of St. Edward High School in Cleveland and Edgewood High School in Madison. He served as a director of religious education at both Sacred Hearts Parish in Sun Prairie and St. Joseph Parish in Madison. From 1986 to the present he served the Diocese of Madison as the associate director for the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. In June 2006, Jack was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), in recognition of his dedicated and selfless service to the catechetical mission of the church. Jack had served as the chair of the NCCL's Adult Formation Task Force. In addition, he served as a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Advisory Committee on Adult Religious Education, a group he also chaired. Jack has served on the Wisconsin Committee on Central America and was a human rights observer in El Salvador. He was also a developer and editor for National Issues Forums in the Catholic Community. He spoke at and participated in the International Conference on Adult Religious Education in Dublin, Ireland. Jack is survived by his wife and children, as well as his sister, Mary Beth McBride Doyle (Thomas). He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Jimmy. Jack will be remembered as a devoted husband and loving and caring father. He found great strength in his relationship with God. He was passionate about education within the catholic faith and dedicated to service within the church. He had a great smile and an infectious laugh. His practical jokes and what Mary referred to as "that McBride humor," will always be the heart of many great stories. Jack loved to spend a quiet night on the porch staring at the sky with pipe or cigar in hand. He always had time to listen and had a unique way of getting to the essence of a problem and finding a solution. Jack was a charismatic man who touched the hearts of all the people around him. Our family would like to express how grateful Jack was for all the support, prayers, cards and letters we received. They provided all of us great joy and comfort. We would also like to thank the doctors and nurses of the UW Oncology department for all their care and kindness, especially Mattie, Ellen and Dr. Holen. In the spirit of practicality and giving that Jack lived his life by, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to University of Wisconsin Cancer Center-G.I. Research Fund.