James Francis Geary was born in South Boston on May 21, 1905 to Margaret (O’Brien) and Joseph T. Geary. He grew up with two brothers and two sisters. After enrollment in Nazareth Grammar and High School in South Boston, Geary attended Boston College High School, graduating in 1923. In 1925, he entered the Society of Jesus at the Shadowbrook Novitiate in Lenox, Massachusetts. Geary received his Bachelor of Arts in 1931 and his Master of Arts in 1932 from Boston College. He was ordained from Weston College in 1937 and received his licentiate in sacred theology in 1938.

Geary taught history at Holy Cross College from 1932-1934 and at Shadowbrook from 1939-1941. Then, he became a history professor at Boston College. He volunteered on April 30, 1944 to serve in World War II as a chaplain in the United States Army. He was assigned to duty in Camp Croft, South Carolina and to the 115th Station Hospital in Europe. Geary saw duty in England, France, Belgium, and Germany. He was honorably discharged on January 28, 1946 and obtained the rank of Captain.

After the war, Geary continued to teach history at Boston College and in 1950, became the School of Nursing's Regent. In 1954, he returned to Holy Cross College. In 1958, Geary was appointed Superior of the School of Saint Philip Neri for Delayed Vocations and remained at that position through the spring of 1964. He then continued teaching history at Boston College and also served as the Student Counselor to the School of Nursing. Geary retired from teaching in June, 1970 and became an assistant pastor in the St. Francis Xavier Chapel in Boston’s Prudential Center.

Geary died on September 8, 1980.

Sources:

Boston College Faculty Collection, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

[Obituary] Boston Globe (Sept. 12, 1980): 69.

Sweeney, Fr. Francis, SJ. “Former SON Regent Geary Dies at 75.” The Heights (Sept. 15, 1980): 12.