Thanks for posting this up here hotice. He was a selfless man, who gave his life to the nepali people. He simply was the best..

xx-nepal · Aug 18, 2009 8:59 AM

RIP Fr. Donnelly. Gave up his life for the betterment of students. A selfless man whose desire to help Nepali kids was simply beyond imagination. His "Pink Handbook" has to be the greatest course book for all Xavierians.   Last edited: 18-Aug-09 03:57 PM

anthony15 · Aug 18, 2009 9:18 AM

Indeed, a sad moment, but also a moment to reflect upon the legacy of a man who exemplified  unquestionable and untiring devotion to the service of a country which was not his original, and to aspire to be what he truly aspired us to be! Fr. Donnelly, you'll be missed, but may your legacy of selflessness live forever!

Poonte · Aug 18, 2009 10:25 AM

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BathroomCoffee · Aug 18, 2009 11:21 AM

Fr. Donnely Article 32, Spelling. Fr. Donnelly. He will be missed.

N · Aug 18, 2009 11:44 AM

From: http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/... Not many who met the late James J Donnelly will ever be able to forget him: his thundering voice and commanding stature, his phenomenal memory of his students. The Cincinnati-born Irish American lad came to Nepal in 1961 as a young Jesuit priest, and spent his entire life serving the country as a teacher at St Xavier's in Godavari and Jawalakhel. He inspired both awe and fear, especially if you were a growing Nepali boy under his tutelage having had to confront the giant that he was when he was upset with some homework not done. There have been unfortunate ones who have faced the Donnelly fury. But this was because the teacher of English grammar and later principal was a perfectionist who drove his students to achieve excellence. Not a comma could be out of place, and the use of every semi-colon needed to be fully justified. There is a whole generation of Nepalis today in their middle ages whose grammar and punctuation is what it is because of Fr Donnelley. Long before he even decided to come to Nepal, Jim knew that the path he had chosen, to serve God through the Society of Jesus was not an easy one, but he was not a man to falter. This was a character reflected in his personal life. The goal he set himself to, improving the standard and quality of the English language knowledge of his students is one of his biggest contributions to the education sector of Nepal. It was not easy seeing a man one associated with so much of energy and life vegetate into an invalid, forgotten by those whose every detail he remembered and filed, until his death in coma last week. His last wish, to be bestowed an honorary Nepali citizenship was left unfulfilled. Alok Tumbahangphey

Poonte · Aug 21, 2009 3:08 PM

Another: http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/... Father James J. Donnelly wanted his students to not only learn English; he wanted them to learn correct English. In his office, he kept an abundant supply of comic books for students to read during their free time. When a student asked if he could see the comic books, Fr. Donnelly corrected him, "Do you want to 'see' where the comic books are, or do you want to read them? You don't 'see' comic books. You 'read' them or you 'look at' them!" I didn't fully grasp the difference between the verbs as a sixth-standard student at the time, but I certainly learned to ask to "look at" comic books if I wanted to find out how Superman overcame villains in colorful costumes. I think comic books were one of many ways in which Fr. Donnelly tried to teach English to his students. When I was in sixth standard at St. Xavier's Godavari School, Fr. Donnelly was our principal and also English teacher. On most weekdays, English class was in the morning. We read passages from stories, which Fr. Donnelly meticulously combed for words we might not understand. Each student was to keep his Oxford English Dictionary handy. In fact, the dictionary was to be used so frequently that Fr. Donnelly had the school cobbler bind each student's copy in hard leather to protect it from clumsy twelve-year old hands. "Okay, everybody, look up the word in your dictionary and tell me what it means," Fr. Donnelly would challenge the class. When there were multiple meanings of a word, he asked which one was applicable to the passage under review. Most of the time, we were clueless, having encountered the word for the first time, and on days when chicken was served at lunch, wondering how long it would be till lunch time. So, most of the time, the answer was an unadulterated guess: A coin toss with low odds. If the answer ended up correct, Fr. Donnelly would beam, "Yes! That's correct!" with an emphatic swing of his arm, fist clenched and head nodding to the side  "a proclamation of victory" followed by an explanation of the word in great detail. Conversely, if the answer was wrong, Fr. Donnelly was prone to a sudden transformation "into a raging bull, crimson in color, nostrils flaring" and his voice would carry across the classroom like a volcanic eruption. And the hapless student with the incorrect answer would inevitably be proclaimed "a Jackass!" Godavari school consisted of first through sixth standards. After completing sixth standard, we were automatically transferred to the day school at Jawalakhel, where we joined the Jawalakhel students in completing the remaining four years of school leading up to the government mandated School Leaving Certificate examinations. Fr. Donnelly kept a keen eye on his students after they were packed off to Jawalakhel. I think he was disappointed when Godavari students did not outflank their Jawalakhel counterparts in their studies. For him, the successes or failures of his students were his own successes and failures. After completing school at Jawalakhel, along with several other classmates, I returned to Godavari to teach mathematics for a year. It was customary for a handful of "old boys" to return as teachers to Godavari every year. When we arrived, Fr. Donnelly addressed us as "sir," the title reserved for teachers. In our mid-teens, and having been pronounced Jackasses merely four years earlier by the same Fr. Donnelly, this caught us off guard. But, I wonder whether my newly minted fellow teachers found themselves a little taller the next time they caught their reflection in the mirror. I certainly did. Fr. Donnelly was famous for his memory. Once, about three years into college in the United States, I returned to Nepal over the summer holidays and visited him. By then, he had stepped down from his principal role at Godavari and had moved to Jawalakhel. I met him in his small, windowless study. "Hello, Abhaya!" his voice boomed, "Now let's see? Godavari class of '86. And your brother Ajaya was three years junior to you." Fr. Donnelly scratched his chin and then went on to tell me my father's and mother's names and their respective professions. As he spoke, I noticed that in just a few years, he had aged. His generous figure had shrunk and his eyes peered out from deep within his face, covered by slightly bewildering bi-focal eyeglasses. But, his memory was intact. "Yes, Father," I acknowledged, in turn, all the facts he pulled out of his memory bank. It would not have surprised me if he had remembered the name of my fifth cousin. Fr. Donnelly asked me about my college experience in the United States. I mentioned that I was working as a teaching assistant at the college. The earnings helped with my pocket expenses and a college job was a requirement of my scholarship. The competition to obtain teaching assistant positions was modest. But to Fr. Donnelly, even the small success of his student meant the world. "Does that mean you are teaching Americans? Wow!" his pride filled the entire room. That was Fr. Donnelly. He found his greatest reward in the successes, small or big, of his students. In later years, whenever I visited him, Fr. Donnelly remembered my name and the small details of my years at Godavari. And, as most of his students must have felt, every time I saw him, I felt a pang of pleasure to be recognized and remembered by my teacher. I heard yesterday that Fr. Donnelly had passed away. I also heard that he had wanted to die in the country he loved and served: Nepal. I am lucky to have been one of his students. I remember that "horizontal" is flat, since, as Fr. Donnelly pointed out in sixth standard, the word contains "horizon." I remember that a school "principal" is spelled with a "pal" and, according to Fr. Donnelly, that's who a principal is. But to me, and I am sure to many others, he was more than a pal. He was a teacher and a guide, and his work for his students, performed with infinite dedication and love, will remain his enduring legacy. Abhaya Shrestha

Poonte · Aug 21, 2009 3:12 PM

I'm proud to be one of his students.  Fond memories of his white face turn red whenever he would get upset and yell at us, "jackass." RIP

Khaobaadi · Aug 21, 2009 11:09 PM

May Fr. Donnelly's soul rest in peace. Three lessons I have learnt from his life (from his examples and my observations): 1. When you commit to something, commit fully and whole-heartedly. Or, don't do it. Fr. Donnelly's commitment to what he did, big or small, was total in every sense of that word. 2. The pursuit of excellence comes from practice, practice and practice, and then more practice --whether you are trying to spell complicated words correctly or trying to use good spoken or written English or learning to play better basketball.  3. Help others succeed -- in education or in life.  Fr. Donnelly's whole life can be summed up in four words: He lived for others. That said, many years ago, I read John McPhee's excellent book called "The Headmaster". It was about the headmaster of a New England prep school. Today, as I went back to my notes from that book, I could not help thinking that many of the traits McPhee wrote about applied to Fr. Donnelly  as well.  Fr. Donnelly was someone who was smart enough to see through his oold students, but also someone  empathetic enough to see them through during difficult times. He will be missed. oohi ashu

ashu · Aug 22, 2009 10:46 AM

In case you've missed it on Nepalnews, here is the link to a set of very touching videos of Fr. Donnelly reflecting on his life: http://www.nepalnews.com/main/...

Poonte · Sep 1, 2009 4:31 AM