Rev. Joseph F. Maisonneuve

The Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, Order of Carmelites, mourns the death of the Rev. Joseph Floran Maisonneuve, O.Carm., who died at the age of 61 Aug. 4, 2011, at his home in Kankakee. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. Tuesday until the 10:30 a.m. Mass of Resurrection at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 486 W. Merchant St., Kankakee. Committal services will take place at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Mount Olivet Cemetery Chapel in Chicago. Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, west Kankakee, is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in honor of Father Joseph Maisonneuve, O. Carm., to the Memorials Society of Mount Carmel, 1317 Frontage Road, Darien, IL 60561. Father Joseph was born Aug. 12, 1949, in Kankakee, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (White) Maisonneuve. He attended St. Patrick Grade School and later St. Rose of Lima Grade School, both in Kankakee. In 1964, he entered high school for his first year at the Carmelite Seminary in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He completed his remaining high school years at Mount Carmel Junior Seminary in Hamilton, Mass. After graduating from high school in 1968, he entered as a novice at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Priory in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He received the Carmelite habit Aug. 21, 1969. He professed simple vows to the Carmelites in the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary Aug. 22, 1970, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. For the next two years, Brother Joseph studied hotel and restaurant cookery at Milwaukee Area Technical College in Milwaukee, Wis., where he received an associate degree in applied science. After graduating, Joseph served a ministry assignment as the assistant dean of discipline at Carmel High School in Mundelein. During his time there, Brother Joseph also became the cafeteria manager and theology teacher. Making his solemn profession with the Carmelites on Aug. 23, 1975, in Mundelein, he continued his education at Loyola University, Chicago, where in 1979 he received his bachelor of science degree in education. He moved to Washington, D.C., and studied theology (canon law) at Washington Theological Union, where in 1986 he received his master’s degree in theology. He was ordained a priest May 16, 1986, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Libertyville. Father Joseph began his Carmelite ministry in 1972 teaching at Carmel High School in Mundelein. That first teaching assignment led to a career in secondary schools that spanned 22 years. After 10 years at Carmel High School in Mundelein, Father Joseph moved south to Joliet Catholic High School, where he taught until the school merged with the Franciscan Sisters and became Joliet Catholic Academy (JCA) in 1990. Father Joseph continued at JCA for the next eight years. In 1998, Father Joseph attended the Center for Aging, Religion and Spirituality, Geriatric Pastoral Care Institute in St. Paul, Minn., where he received a certificate in geriatric chaplaincy. After his internship at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home in Joliet, he became the full-time chaplain there. In 2001, Father Joseph re-entered his teaching career at De Sales High School in Louisville, Ky., where he taught for the next four years. During that time he also served at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Louisville as associate pastor and later administrator. In 2006, he took a medical sabbatical and moved to Carmelite Carefree Village in Darien. After one year there he took residence at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Darien, before entering retirement in 2008. In March of 2009, he moved from Darien to Kankakee, where he served as prior of the community there until his death. Father Joseph was a member of the Association of Professional Chaplains and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Father Joseph stated that both assignments, as teacher and chaplain to the aged, were a blessing and a gift from God. May he rest in peace. Surviving are his brother, Jerome, and sister-in-law, Sh a ron Maisonneuve , of Joliet ; three aunts, Alice Humphrey, of Florida, Bridgie and Elwin Kingsnorth, and Loretta LaFrance, all of Kankakee; and many cousins, including Cheryl and Tim McCue. For further information on the Rev. Joseph Maisonneuve, O.Carm., or the Order of Carmelites, contact Carmelite Media at 630-971-0724 or visit the Carmelite website at www.carmelnet.org.

Rev. Joseph F. Maisonneuve

August 12, 1949 - August 4, 2011