April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Priest recalls woman of beauty and humor
Fifteen years later, as a friend of the late stage and screen actress, Father Hines played a more bittersweet role by concelebrating her Funeral Mass in the campus chapel.
Father Hines, who served as Siena's president from 1976 to 1989, delivered the homily at the June 29 Mass in the St. Mary of the Angels Chapel. Rev. William McConville, OFM, former Siena president, and Rev. Kevin Mackin, OFM, current Siena president, concelebrated.
Portrait of a lady
In an interview with The Evangelist, Father Hines, who currently serves on the staff of St. Anthony's Shrine in Boston, remembered Ms. O'Sullivan as a genuine lady whose personality didn't change, whether she was acting or just being herself."She was the same in life that she was on the screen: very exuberant, beautiful, funny," he said.
Father Hines recalled meeting her for the first time shortly after he became Siena's president in 1976. "I told her, 'I think I've known you all my life because I was always a fan,'" he said.
Connections
Ms. O'Sullivan was awarded an honorary doctor of fine arts degree by Siena in 1983, the same year she married James Cushing, founder of Cushing Stone in Schenectady. Her first husband, director John Farrow, died in 1963.Although Mr. Cushing, a trustee emeritus of the college, and Ms. O'Sullivan met through one of her sons, Father Hines is believed to be the person who introduced them.
"Some people thought that I was the matchmaker because we had given her the honorary degree and Jim was added as a trustee," he said.
Memories
Father Hines officiated at the Cushings' wedding, a small event followed by dinner for the five people in attendance, and he recalled how Ms. O'Sullivan insisted that the word "obey" be included in the vows.Not only did Father Hines host the couple for lunch when they were in town, but he would also visit them at their homes in Niskayuna and Phoenix, Arizona.
Father Hines, a Schenectady native, saw many of her films and watched her perform onstage in Williamstown, Mass., and New York City. He even recalled her stint on the soap opera "Guiding Light," which his mother followed faithfully.
Ms. O'Sullivan established her film career by playing Jane in a series of "Tarzan" movies with Johnny Weissmuller as the ape man. She went on to star in scores of motion pictures, including "Hannah and Her Sisters" in 1986 with her daughter, Mia Farrow.
Legacy
Father Hines, who last saw Ms. O'Sullivan during the winter, was surprised to learn of her death, but he had an idea that she wasn't in good health. After years of receiving a "thank-you" note from her when he sent her a birthday card each May, he didn't get such a response this year and was concerned that she might be ill.The legacy of Ms. O'Sullivan lives on at Siena: Her husband established the Maureen O'Sullivan Cushing Scholarship to honor her personal commitment to higher education and to provide financial assistance for multicultural students to attend Siena.
Another institution in the Albany Diocese where she will be missed is St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady. The James Cushing and Maureen O'Sullivan Cushing Center, which opened in 1996, was named for the couple in recognition of their $250,000 contribution to "The Spirit of Healing Campaign" conducted by the hospital that year. The Cushing family has given more than $2 million to St. Clare's Hospital during its 50-year history, according to Ceil Mack, director of public relations.
The Center is the hospital's family health center and houses mammography, MRI and medical imaging.
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