Farewell from Joe Fragassi

Once in a lifetime, someone has an experience which they treasure forever.  Going to Archbishop Quigley has been an experience that I will never forget.  In a little corner of downtown Chicago, there exists a place of faith, a place of dreams – Quigley.  These years have been surreal.  I sometimes wondered if I would awake to find it was all a dream.  The young men I have befriended have become my brothers.  I have never known deeper bonds than are present amongst us.   We were boys who traveled from far and wide to come to Quigley.  We opened our hearts and let the arms of Quigley embrace us and take us in.  And I believe Jesus guided each of us to Quigley. 

I loved going into the chapel and knowing how great it was to be in such a place of peace and beauty.  The stained-glass windows always made me feel so blessed to be at this place. 

I loved the Quigley plays and all the friends I made.  I remember walking over to Lake Shore Park at 9:00 one night to play football with the guys and girls of “Damn Yankees” under the glow of the Hancock, and the time when the cast of “Once on this Island” all walked over to the beach.  There was no group of kids I had more fun with than the “Grease” cast members.  We all were so passionate about performing and we all loved “Grease”.

I will miss the mixers and the proms.  I loved planning the big night in the Student Senate with Mrs. Vasilj and Mrs Klipsch. .  It was so neat for me to see how each teacher grew over the years, especially when Mrs. Vasilj and Mrs. Klipsch became pregnant.  Mrs. Vasilj was one of the most caring and passionate people I knew, an awesome teacher who made literature such a fun Experience, and Mrs. Klipsch was so much fun to be around, and a wonderful source of inspiration in the plays.  It was wonderful to share the journey with them as they became new mothers.   I remember when we were sophomores and my date for the mixer thought it was so awesome that I got to go to this gorgeous place downtown. 

I loved the mission walks and the long way to Mundelein.   We slept over at Quigley that night and Fr. Zi made everyone watch “Prefontaine”, the movie about his favorite runner.

I will also miss doing impressions of my favorite people at Quigley, I loved getting up in front of everyone to act as the teachers do.  Thank you to Mr. Paul Gannusch for giving me my greatest source of impression material-you are behind the scenes at Quigley, but always appreciated.

The friendships that we made with teachers will also last forever.  We were a family, and everyone helped each other and we grew as a family.  Our devoted faculty encouraged each student to shoot for the stars, and to become a leader.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone at Quigley, especially, Fr. Wayne Watts, Mr. Alex Dilan, Mr. Robert Schwendau, Mr. Steven McGreal, Mrs. christine Vasilj, Mrs. Leslie Klipsch, Fr.Louis Zake, Fr. Dennis Ziomek, Sr. Inez, Mrs. Grosch, Mr. Ray Schuman, Mr. Timothy Stoelinga,  Mr. Ken Strouse, Dr. William Napiwocki, Mr. Peter Makrinski, Mr. Jason Krumwiede, Mr. Tom Lentine, Mr. Dan McKenna, Fr. Rich Jakubik, Mrs. Liz Hennessy, Mr. William Bingham, Mr. Paul Davidson, Mr. Marty Graham-McHugh, Fr. Peter Snieg, Fr. David Jones, Mr. Glen Barnhill, Mr. Thomas McGrath, Fr. Paul Kalchik, Mrs. Magdalena Lilisa, Mr. Michael Loch, Mr. David Glonek, Mr. Thomas Rogers, Mr. Marcus Mudd, all the staff and administration, all 43 0f my classmates, all the other teachers that I never had, and anyone I forgot.

Fr. Rich made the cenacle and UBS great experiences and he always made me laugh.  He was such a great and spiritual man.  Fr. Watts became a mentor to me and guided me through my Quigley years.  He is a great friend.  Mr. Dilan encouraged me to shoot for the stars, and he always believed in me.

Mr. Schwendau was a dear friend and counselor who always invited me to talk to him about life.  Mr. McGeal was just a great old man with a lot of wisdom to give to me.

Mr. Schuman, thanks for letting me help you with the missions, I loved planning the mission walk and I always enjoyed your ingenius personality.  Mr. Krumwiede, you saw in me a talented young man who could do anything.  Without your constant support, I would have never been Danny Zuko (thanks for letting me use your “danny Zuko” shoes!).

Mr. McKenna, you encouraged me to use my artistic skills to create great layouts in the yearbook.  You did a great job on the yearbooks, and you are a truly fantastic teacher.  You gave me great material to impersonate you as well.  And Fr.Zi, thanks for helping me become a great runner, and for making me laugh every day.

       Thank you to my classmates for being great friends.  I’ll never forget the fun we had on retreats and just being funny guys in class.  You guys made this experience complete.  I’ll never forget you.

We are now leaving our home, AQPS.  But it is as it was said in John’s gospel, ”Do not let your hearts be troubled”.  This was an experience no one can ever take away from us.

We are now to go out and spread the good news of Jesus, and to change the world.  Jesus told us “After I am gone, Do not be afraid, for I will be with you always.”   Gandhi once said, “When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won.  There have been murderers and tyrants and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall.  Think of it, always.”  In our lives to come, we will become old, and our lives will be different than they are now, but never forget Quigley.  And be happy- there is an old Italian phrase, “La Vita E Bella!,” Life is Beautiful!   

We may find ourselves at Quigley flashing back to memories of our days here, and we may ask ourselves, “Is this Heaven?,” and we will say to ourselves, no it’s Quigley.