Loyola philosophy professor the Rev. David Boileau dies - New Orleans Times-Picayune

Posted: 25 Jan 2011 05:40 PM PST

Published: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 6:22 PM Updated: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 7:46 PM

The Rev. David A. Boileau, who taught philosophy at Loyola University for 30 years and was known for his generosity, human rights advocacy and larger-than-life persona, died Monday at Ochsner Medical Center. He was 80.

Father Boileau, professor emeritus and former chairman of the philosophy department at Loyola, most recently served at Mater Dolorosa Church while in residence there.

Father Boileau, who held bachelor's degrees from St. John's Seminary and St. Bonaventure University and a doctorate from the University of Louvain in Belgium, joined Loyola's philosophy faculty in 1970, specializing in ethics.

"He was an old-fashioned Democrat," said Mark Gossiaux, current chairman of the philosophy department, adding that Father Boileau supported equality, social justice and fighting discrimination in labor.

Father Boileau, who was at least 6-foot-5, played basketball for St. Bonaventure, said Loyola philosophy professor the Rev. Stephen Rowntree.

"He sort of dominated a room," Rowntree said.

A native of Kalamazoo, Mich., Father Boileau was ordained in 1956 and was a diocesan priest in Stuttgart, Ark., before joining Loyola, where he was director of the Institute of Human Relations.

In 1986 Father Boileau headed a human services department for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. In the 1960s he served on the steering committee of the Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Race.

Throughout his academic career, he published articles on those topics in the Louvain University Press, as well as three volumes of essays for Louvain's Higher Institute of Philosophy. He also published a book on the life and philosophy of the founder of Louvain's Higher Institute of Philosophy.

Gossiaux said Father Boileau's lectures on ethics and the philosophy of God packed classrooms.

"There were quite a few students who were reluctant to satisfy their philosophy course requirements, so they would take them with Father Boileau," Gossiaux said.

Father Boileau's former students said his classes were always entertaining because of his tendency to say things students might have been unaccustomed to hearing from priests.

Father Boileau sometimes went as far as to help fund students' education after Loyola, Gossiaux said. He said Father Boileau occasionally helped pay for students' graduate tuition or tuition for a second bachelor's degree, and sometimes he didn't even know them personally nor did they always want to study philosophy,

"I don't know how much of this came from his own pocket, and how much came from money that he raised," Gossiaux said. "In any event, he was extremely generous, and loved working with students -- and students loved him."

Danielle Layne, who teaches philosophy at Loyola, was one of Father Boileau's students and credits his generosity and guidance for her career.

"If it weren't for him I wouldn't be who I am today," she said. "When I was in college he urged me on to grad school and helped fund my studies, constantly supporting me in those endeavors. Occasionally, I would come back from Belgium to visit him, and over the years he took on a grandfather role in my life."

Gossiaux said Father Boileau especially encouraged students to study abroad and was a co-founder of Loyola's summer program in Leuven, Belgium. He was also faculty adviser to the Loyola sorority Delta Gamma.

Survivors include a sister, Eleanor Coffman, and eight nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

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Thursday, January 27, 2011