John Flanagan, Permanent Deacon
A native of Chicago, John Flanagan was born in 1930 and based on recent sightings is probably still alive. His early education was at Our Lady of Solace and Little Flower Elementary schools in Chicago, except for his fifth grade year, which he spent in exile at Holy Family Academy in Beaverville, Illinois. He began High School at Leo High, but once again fled the jurisdiction to attend St. Anthony Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. Discovering he liked girls, he left the seminary and figured a military uniform would improve his chances. He served in the Navy Reserve from 1950 to 1954 when he received a medical discharge. Apparently, the Army was not as concerned about his health since they allowed him to serve from 1953 to 1955 when he received an honorable discharge. He settled down (somewhat) and married the former Joan Scanlon in 1956. They had one son, John J. Flanagan III, born in 1957. Along the way, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Roosevelt University and a Master of Arts from DePaul University. He entered the field of education, becoming a teacher at St. Rita Elementary School from 1961 to 1973. He served as Vice-Principal of the school from 1973 to 1982 and became its principal from 1982 to 1994. His retirement ended in 1995 when he was asked to become principal of St. Germaine Elementary School. He retired (again) from that post in 1997. That retirement lasted a little longer until he stepped in to become acting principal of St. Margaret of Scotland Elementary School for two months in 2000. He remains at St. Margaret as Vice-Principal to this day. He was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in 1978 and has served St. Germaine parish as a deacon since then. However, recognizing that it's difficult to hit a moving target, he has not confined his diaconal ministry to St. Germaine. He has shared his diaconate with St. Rita from 1978 to 1994 and St. Gerald parish from 1996 to the present. From 1979 to 1999 he was a Chaplain at Christ Hospital and currently serves as Chaplain (since 1993) to the St. Jude League of the Chicago Police Department. John notes that although (or perhaps because) he has two brilliant sisters, he is still in elementary school after all these years.