Bids Farewell

FAREWELL PARTY  Bob Jacob (right), CFO of Catholic Family and Community Services, Paterson, presents Joe Duffy with a plaque in appreciation for Duffy’s service as president of diocesan Catholic Charities.

PATERSON  Marking the end of an era for Diocesan Catholic Charities, a farewell dinner was held for Joseph Duffy, president of Diocesan Catholic Charities and executive director of Straight and Narrow, at the Brownstone here June 28.

Duffy announced his retirement in March and his final day serving as head of the Paterson Diocese’s social service agencies was June 30.

About 150 guests attended, including staff members from all three diocesan Catholic Charities agencies — Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS), Straight and Narrow and the Department for Persons with Disabilities; friends of Duffy and his family.

Bob Jacob, CFO of diocesan Catholic Charities CFCS, said, “Today is Joe Duffy’s day and we say farewell to him. I have worked at Catholic Charities for 31 years and 19 of those years with Joe. I could not have asked for a better boss and leader, who has great dedication, is a hard worker and above all, a passion for the poor, the disabled, the addicted, those most in need.”

Presentation Sister Janet Brisky, a Straight and Narrow board member who is pastoral associate at St. Joseph Parish, West Milford — where Duffy is a parishioner — shared some remarks in a heartfelt and humorous tone thanking not only Duffy but also his wife of 39 years, Carolyn. She spoke about the recent Corpus Christi diocesan-wide food drive and how Duffy and his wife lugged boxes and boxes of pasta and sauce, which they brought to the Catholic Charities food pantries.

Sister Janet said to Carolyn, “How do you do it? How do you put up with Joe, who could be so annoying?” which received bellows of laughter from the guests. Duffy is known for constantly recruiting volunteers and getting people involved in the work of Catholic Charities. Sister Janet, then said, “Thank you Carolyn for letting Joe be Joe.”

Also speaking was Dharmesh Parikh, CFO of Straight and Narrow, who recalled when Duffy came to Straight and Narrow in 2013 as executive director. “Within his first week at Straight and Narrow, he met with all the staff and the clients. A lot has been said what a true leader should be and that’s Joe Duffy,” said Parikh.

Duffy closed the program by sharing his comments, which centered on “thanks” and expressing his appreciation to those who have supported Catholic Charities. Duffy asked those in attendance to keep a tally of how many times he mentioned the word “thanks” or “thank you” in his speech saying, “I give my thanks for the opportunity to lead Catholic Charities and to work with so many wonderful paid and volunteer staff, supporters, donors, priests and the people in the pews. Many thanks to the people we serve who provide us the opportunity to be like Jesus Christ and to be the hands of Christ to those we serve.”

Duffy said looks forward to spending more time with his family, especially his two young grandchildren. He and his wife have three adult children: Kevin, who is married with one child and is vice president for development at City Harvest; Meghan, who is married with one child and is an occupational therapist, and Ryan, a lawyer with the firm of Wilson Elser in Washington, D.C.

Duffy said, “I’m going to ask before you go to sleep tonight that you say a prayer for Catholic Charities, pray that God will bless Catholic Charities with good and caring and competent staff and leadership. Bless us with supporters to do our good works. And I add for tonight that you say a prayer for me as I begin this new phase in my life and that I will discern my new vocation in my new life and not drive my family crazy.”