RINGWOOD, N.J. — John Van Hook, OFM, 85, a professed Franciscan friar for 65 years and a priest for 60, died Nov. 5 at Holy Name Friary.
An Evening Prayer for the Dead will be offered at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 at Holy Name Friary, 2 Morris Rd., Ringwood. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Nov. 11 at St. Anthony Church, 65 Bartholdi Ave., Butler, N.J., with Provincial Minister Kevin Mullen, OFM, presiding. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Paterson, N.J.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 1 at St. Mary of the Angels Chapel at Siena College, 515 Loudon Rd., Loudonville, N.Y.
Early Years
John was born on Nov. 22, 1929 in Fair Lawn, N.J., to Joseph and Julia Van Hook. After attending St. John’s High School in Paterson, N.J., he entered St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y., in 1947, where he completed his first two years of college.
He was received into the Order of Friars Minor on Aug. 12, 1949 at St. Bonaventure Friary in Paterson, N.J., and professed first vows there the following year. He studied philosophy at St. Stephen Friary in Croghan, N.Y., and St. Anthony Friary in Butler, N.J., receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1952 from St. Bonaventure University. John completed his theological studies at Holy Name College in Washington, D.C., and professed final vows on Sept. 17, 1953. He was ordained to the priesthood on Sept. 8, 1955 in Washington, D.C., and earned a master’s degree in 1956 from St. Bonaventure University.
Ministry
Following ordination, John was assigned to Siena College, where he would remain for nearly 60 years. He served in the department of philosophy as an instructor from 1956 to 1958, an assistant professor from 1960 to 1964, and from 1967 to 1974, as head of the department from 1967 to 1972, and as associate professor from 1974 to 2004.
John contributed articles to scholarly journals, published “Systemic Philosophy” in 1979, and received a number of awards and honors, including visiting scholar at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He also served on a variety of college committees and was actively involved in campus and community organizations.
John’s tenure at Siena was interrupted only by future graduate studies. He attended the Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum in Rome, completing a Ph.B. in 1959 and a Ph.L. in 1960. He also earned another master’s degree in 1967 from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
He retired from teaching in 2004 and continued to live with the friar community at Siena College. John was appointed emeritus professor of philosophy in March 2006. He relocated to Holy Name Friary in Ringwood earlier this year.
John is survived by a sister, Frances Caponigro of Whiting, N.J., and a number of nieces and nephews.
Memorial donations may be sent to Franciscan Friars — Holy Name Province, 144 West 32nd St., New York, NY 10001-3202.
— Compiled by Carolyn Croke and Maria Hayes. Information about other deceased friars can be found in the Our Friars section of the Province’s website.
Related Links
- “Province Congratulates 2015 Jubilarians” — Jan. 7, 2015, HNP Today
- Siena College friary webpage