H THE
JESUIT NEXT DOOR
Over his 40 years at Loyola, Jerry Overbeck, S.J., has formed lasting relationships with generations of alumni • BY MAURA SULLIVAN HILL
e’s known as Fr. Jerry, Fr. J, even Dr. J. Others call him Padre, or Padrecito. At the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii, he is Pono. Some teasingly refer to him as FJSJ, with
the last two letters standing not for Society of Jesus but “surfing Jesuit.” No matter which name you know him by,
he’s Rev. T. Jerome Overbeck, S.J., a beloved chaplain and professor who has been a part of Loyola since August 1976. He’s comfortable with whichever name people use; he’s just happy to be talking to them. “My name is Thomas Jerome. I’m a junior,
and they called me Jerry from when I was little,” he explains. “As I became an adult, I learned more about St. Jerome and, honestly, I think it names who I am.” St. Jerome is known for translating the Bible
into Latin, then the common language of the people, to make it more accessible. In many ways, that’s the work Overbeck has been doing
at Loyola for four decades. “My method of working is: Go where the people are,” he says. “Whether it’s food courts, Starbucks, Pippin’s, wherever. The place isn’t important.” That’s why you’ll find Overbeck at Starbucks
on State and Pearson at 6:30 every weekday morning (except for Thursday, his one day off) for what he considers his office hours but what students have dubbed “Java with the Jesuit.” He says he sees the early birds, and those who haven’t been to bed yet. There is always a seat at his table, whether it is for someone who needs to talk about a personal problem or a student with a question on a class assign- ment. “Truly, I see more students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, neighbors, and baristas at that Starbucks than I ever see in my church, classroom, or office,” he says. For Overbeck, any conversation is his class-
room, and he never stops teaching and learn- ing. “I’ve loved teaching for all of my Jesuit life, but I think there are different ways to teach,” he says. “It’s the variety of venues that I find so interesting, where people learn how to put life learning together with classroom learning.”
SPRING 2017 21
Opposite page: Jerry Overbeck, S.J., sits in his office on the third floor of the Terry Student Center surrounded by photos and mementos of the many friendships he’s made over the years at Loyola.
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