Father Patrick Diver, S.D.B. (1943-2011)

Saturday we lost a great Salesian Priest, Fr. Pat Diver (pronounced like river).  He was my predecessor as pastor here at St. Anthony's, and was a tremendous help during the transition period last year.  More than that he was a brother in Don Bosco and he was loved by both his confreres and the parishioners here in Elizabeth.  He had a warm heart, but also a feisty spirit, who didn't suffer fools or, being from Boston, Yankee fans gladly.  But most of all it is that warm heart and dedicated spirit that people remember.  As I went about the difficult task of informing the people this weekend at the beginning of our Masses, you could see the sadness expressed in the tears that were shed upon receiving the news.  As I wrote, Fr. Pat had a feisty spirit, and bravely battled cancer for a number of years, never surrendering, always fighting to keep on serving the people of St. Anthony's who he loved so much.     

Here is the obituary prepared by Fr. Michael Mendl, S.D.B.

            After a long bout with cancer, Father Patrick Diver, S.D.B., died early in the morning of August 6, 2011, at Father Hudson House, a hospice in Elizabeth, N.J. He was 68.

            Father Diver was born in Boston on August 5, 1943, to Patrick and Mary Connolly Diver. Within the month he was baptized at St. Margaret’s Church in Dorchester, which remained the family’s parish.

            Following his graduation from Don Bosco Technical High School in Boston in 1961, Patrick enrolled in Don Bosco College Seminary in Newton, N.J., as a candidate for Salesian life. In August 1962 he entered the novitiate, also in Newton, and made his first profession of religious vows on August 16, 1963.

            Like all Salesian seminarians, Brother Diver majored in philosophy at Don Bosco College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in June 1967. He minored in classical languages.

            Having volunteered for the foreign missions, Brother Diver was sent to the Philippines, where he taught at Don Bosco Academy in Pampanga, the province’s high school seminary, from 1967 to 1970. The students greatly appreciated him as a teacher and friend. At the same time he undertook a master’s program in guidance and counseling at De La Salle College’s Graduate School of Education in Manila, completing his degree in May 1970. One of the papers that he presented for the degree was titled “The Counselor in the Salesian System of Education.”

            Brother Diver returned to the U.S. in 1970 to study theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio. He was ordained in Columbus on March 30, 1974, and awarded a master of arts in theology from the Josephinum in June of that year.

            Father Diver’s first priestly assignment as dean of students at Don Bosco College in Newton (1974-1976). Twenty-one years of high school apostolate followed, during which he ministered as a guidance counselor at St. Dominic Savio High School in East Boston (1976-1980), treasurer at Dom Savio (1980-1984), and director of the school (1989-1995); he was treasurer at Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa (1984-1988) and then principal there (1988-1989), and guidance counselor at Don Bosco Technical High School in Paterson, N.J. (1995-1997). He later had another short stint as guidance counselor at Savio Prep in East Boston (2003-2004).

            Father Diver made a lasting impression on the young men at Savio. One alumnus, C. David Surface, writes: “He was the most honest and caring priest I have ever known. His influence helped to shape my life both professionally and from a family perspective…. I will never forget him and how he made my days at Savio truly special.”

            During his first assignment in East Boston he was certified as a school guidance counselor in Massachusetts (1978).

            Father Diver worked in parishes, too. He was pastor of Mary Help of Christians Church in Manhattan for a year (1997-1998), associate pastor at Nativity Church in Washington, D.C. (2002), acting pastor of St. Theresa’s Church in Leeds, Ala. (2003), and pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Elizabeth, N.J., and director of the Salesian community there (2004-2010).

            From 1998 to 2002 Father Diver was director of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, coordinating a vast fundraising program in service to Salesian missionary activities all over the world.

            In 2007, while he was pastor in Elizabeth, Father Diver was found to have colon cancer and went through a long treatment and recovery.

            In the summer of 2010 Father Diver completed his pastorate and directorship in Elizabeth and was assigned once more to the formation of young Salesians as a very experienced and highly valued staff member at the Don Bosco Residence in Orange, N.J. Late in the spring of 2011 cancer returned in a very serious form. When treatment was unavailing, he entered hospice care.

            Brother Gustavo Ramirez, S.D.B., one of the young Salesians from Orange, said of him: “Father Pat Diver was a great example of perseverance and love for the young. I will always remember him as the vital man who loved the young to the last minute of his life.”

            Father Diver is survived by his sisters Kathleen Tubman and Maureen Fitzgerald, both of the Boston area, and by his Salesian confreres of the New Rochelle Province.

            The funeral arrangements for Father Diver are:

            Wake at Saint Anthony of Padua Church, 853 Third Avenue, Elizabeth, N.J., 07202, on Monday, August 8, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, August 9, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

            Mass of Christian Burial at Saint Anthony’s, August 9 at 7:30 p.m. Father Thomas Dunne, S.D.B., provincial, will preside, and Father Thomas Ruekert, S.D.B., will preach.

            Burial in the Diver family plot at Newton Cemetery, Newton, Mass., on Wednesday, August 10, at 1:00 p.m.