Father Jenniskens, Jesuit priest since 1956, dies

   Father Thomas J. “Dutch” Jenniskens, a Jesuit priest, teacher and self-taught ceramics artist, died May 22 at Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare Center in New Orleans. He was 86.
  Father Jenniskens was born in Marrero on July 9, 1926. His father, a native of the Netherlands, immigrated to the United States in 1919 in response to Msgr. Peter Wynhoven’s invitation to Dutch Catholics to relocate to Jefferson Parish’s growing west bank.
   Father Jenniskens and his four siblings grew up on their family’s dairy farm on the campus of Hope Haven – the site of today’s Archbishop Shaw High – when the site was home to about 100 indigent boys. The Jenniskens’ dairy supplied milk to Hope Haven and to the east bank of New Orleans during the city’s pre-bridge era, with the young Father Jenniskens accompanying his father to the ferry landing in the wee hours to deliver milk.
   Father Jenniskens, who attended Immaculate Conception Elementary and Jesuit High, entered the Jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau, La., in 1943. He studied for the priesthood at Spring Hill College, earning bachelor’s degrees in Latin and theology, the latter from St. Mary’s College in St. Marys, Kan.
   He was ordained a priest in 1956, devoting nearly 40 years to the teaching of Latin, English, history, theology and public speaking at Jesuit schools in New Orleans and Texas.
   In 1960 Father Jenniskens began what he called the “highlight” of his teaching ministry – 12 years at a minor seminary in Corpus Christi, Texas. In a 2011 interview with the Clarion Herald, he recalled working with “top-notch” teachers, singing in the choir, playing trumpet and managing props, costumes and scenery for drama productions.
   In 1978, the beginning of a 16-year tenure as a teacher, counselor and chaplain at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston, Father Jenniskens discovered a talent for ceramics. The studio he founded, initially conceived as a means of keeping students occupied on weekends, raised more than $200,000 for Jesuit ministries and scholarships.
   Father Jenniskens, who also held a master of education degree in counseling from Loyola University in Chicago, returned to Grand Coteau in 1994 to serve for 20 years as director of retreats. Upon his relocation in 2004 to the Jesuits’ Ignatius Residence in Algiers, he cultivated potted plants and taught ceramics to students enrolled in the “People Program” of enrichment courses, arriving as early as 5 a.m. to prepare for his afternoon classes and continuing to create his favorite ceramic subjects: flowers and birds.
            Father Jenniskens is survived by a brother, John Jenniskens, and a sister, Elizabeth Connick. A funeral Mass was celebrated May 28 at Holy Name of Jesus Church with interment at the Jesuit cemetery in Grand Coteau. Donations in Father Jenniskens’ memory may be made to the Senior Jesuits Fund, 710 Baronne St., Suite B, New Orleans, La., 70113.