Photo courtesy of Duke Catholic Center Facebook.
Friar Brad Heckathorne, OFM Conv., was born in Manchester, NH, on December 3, 1950. He died unexpectedly on July 11, 2020. The son of the late Russell Heckathorne, besides his Franciscan family, he leaves his loving mother Pauline (Bergeron) Heckathorne, his sisters Diana Perry and her husband Joseph, Susan Sanborn and her husband Bruce, a nephew and several nieces, and several great nieces and nephews. Friar Brad entered the Franciscan Friars Conventual Novitiate in Ellicott City, MD, in 1973, professed temporary vows on August 15, 1974, and professed his solemn vows, on August 15, 1978. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 9, 1981, in Albany, NY. Besides attending St. Anthony-on-Hudson in Rensselaer, NY, receiving a Master of Divinity in 1981, in 1988 he also received an M.S. in Education from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.
Friar Brad’s ministry centered around the educational apostolate. Teaching and working in high schools and campus ministry was his niche. His first assignment was to Archbishop Curley High School in 1981. A year later he was assigned as a teacher and later as assistant principal to St. Francis High School, Athol Springs (Hamburg), NY, where he served until 1989. Returning to Archbishop Curley High School in 1989, Friar Brad served as assistant principal for the next five years. Again in 1994, he returned to St. Francis High School and served as assistant principal until 2000. Moving to a new apostolate that year, Friar Brad joined the campus ministry team at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., where he served for the next eight years. In 2008 he extended his ministerial endeavors when he accepted the challenge to serve in the province’s new mission to St. Mary Above Rocks, in Jamaica, W.I. He served there for two years (2008-2010) before returning to the US in 2010, accepting the position of director of campus ministry at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT. In 2014, Friar Brad moved on to an assignment as associate director of campus ministry at Duke University’s Catholic Center, in Durham, NC. While still recovering after some recent cancer surgery this summer, Friar Brad unexpectedly died on July 11, 2020, leaving behind the many students who are unable to adequately grieve his loss during this time of COVID-19.
Friar Brad will lie in state from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at St. Peter Church, 567 Manchester Road, Auburn, NH 03032, on Friday, July 17, 2020, with a Franciscan wake service at 7:00 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Peter Church on Saturday, July 18, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 474 Goffstown Road, Manchester, NH 03102, immediately following the funeral Mass. Memorial donations may be made to the Franciscan Education Burse, 12300 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, MD, 21042.
Date of Birth: December 3, 1950
Simple Profession: August 15, 1974
Solemn Profession: August 15, 1978
Ordained to the priesthood: May 9, 1981
Entered into Eternal Life: July 11, 2020
J.N. Boufford & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. For more information and online guestbook please visit www.bouffordfuneralhome.com.