Many of these conversations occur in
Baumhart Hall, where Overbeck lives. He’s spent 30 of his 40 years at Loyola in residence halls. He lived in Mertz Hall at the Lake Shore Campus with 700 freshmen, then helped the University open Simpson Hall and later Regis Hall before moving downtown. Brian McFadden (BBA ’99) lived a few
doors down from Overbeck on the 10th floor of Mertz, and it was the beginning of an enduring friendship. “I find our conversations as meaningful now as they were 22 years ago, just in a completely different context,” McFadden says. “Then, I was a freshman from Omaha, Nebraska, with no ties or friends in Chicago. Now, I’m a parent with four kids.” Overbeck presided at McFadden’s wedding,
baptized his children, and blessed the fam- ily’s first home. McFadden’s wife, Jackie, says Overbeck cultivates a relaxed, comfortable environment with their kids. That’s something McFadden also witnessed at Loyola. “He’s visible and approachable, whether it’s with freshmen or graduate students or graduates, of faith or not of faith,” he says. Every Tuesday night, Overbeck makes a home-cooked meal at his apartment and
22 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
brings it around the residence hall to offer to his neighbors, going door-to-door until the pot is empty. Chicken stew is on the menu in the winter, and he often defaults to his spe- cialty, Italian cooking. He’s also been known to make Moroccan dishes, a skill he picked up while living and studying in Casablanca. “I knock on every door, ask if anyone is
hungry, and offer whatever I made that night,” Overbeck says. “Believe me, this connection feeds more than the body.” Beyond their shared address, Overbeck has
something else in common with students: He is a graduate himself, earning his degree from what was then Loyola’s Bellarmine School of Theology in 1970. He decided to become a Jesuit around the time he started college, and feels he’s perfectly suited to the order. “I’m called to be a contemplative in action,”
he says. “The chapel that is right down the hall from my office is a good symbol of Ignatian spirituality, in the sense that it has a contem- plative quality to it and there is a stillness in the room, yet if you look out the window, you’re clearly in the middle of a vibrant city. Being a Jesuit is finding God in the middle of all that.” At Loyola, Overbeck has taught courses
on theology, anthropology, counseling, and social work. His official titles have varied over the years, including professor, University Liturgist, and chaplain of the schools of law and social work, his current role. He’s such a fixture, in fact, that Lu’s Deli and Pub in the Terry Student Center even named a sandwich after him—the “Fr. J.”
A
lthough his titles have changed, one thing has remained consis- tent: Overbeck’s dedicated pres- ence on campus. Generations of alumni cherish his influence
on their lives, as evidenced by the packed house at Madonna della Strada Chapel for the celebration of his 50th year as a Jesuit in 2014. “He is multidimensional. He’s an authority fig- ure, yet he mixes really well with the students and is dedicated to that,” says Mike Calsin (BBA ’93). “I’m sure there are days when he’d really like to be by himself, but he’s with the student body almost all the time because he thinks that’s where he needs to be.” “He’s a common thread through a lot of
Loyola experiences,” adds Maria Calsin (BBA ’93), Mike’s wife.
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