Stepinac High School Alumni Remember Beloved, Faculty Member Crosier Father James Cashman

ARDSLEY, N.Y. - Feb. 25, 2015 - PRLog -- Archbishop Stepinac High School alumni are recalling how the late Crosier Father James H. Cashman, OSC, a beloved and long-time faculty member was an inspiration to them and a strong influence in shaping their professional and personal lives.

On January 28, Father Cashman passed away at the age of 93 in Onamia, Minnesota where he had spent the last years of his life.

He joined Stepinac’s faculty in 1954 and spent the next 31 years “totally devoted to his students, “said Rev. Thomas Collins (Class of ’79), Stepinac President, who experienced Father Cashman as a sophomore, “I have so many fond memories of him as an inspiring teacher who demanded excellence and, at the same time, was entertaining, thought provoking and unconventional in stoking a love for the theater arts in so many students and leaving them with a lifetime of indelible impressions.”

Dick Nagle (Class of ’59), President of the Stepinac Alumni Association, said: “He was instrumental in laying down the foundation for Stepinac’s acclaimed Drama Club and firing the imaginations of so many of us.”

“He encouraged me to take the risk of directing my first play when I was a junior. That experience sparked a passion in me for the theater that would

forever remain with me,” Nagle recalled. He would go on to direct plays at Marymount College where he was a student and for regional theater companies later on.

In 1964, Nagle founded the Stepinac Alumni Theatre, the inspiration for which he attributes directly to Father Cashman. “His vision and support made it happen,” he noted. “It was a tribute to his legacy when the theatre celebrated its 50^th anniversary last summer with a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies.”

Another alumnus, Anthony Sturniolo (Class of ’62), successfully pursued a career in the theatre arts as a result of Father Cashman’s encouragement. “He told me that if I worked hard, my dreams of going into TV and motion picture would come true.” Sturnio’s distinguished career of more than 40 years included serving as manager of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City and then as Director of Operations for CBS’s 60 Minutes, a position he worked his way up to and, along the way, interfaced with CBS journalist giants Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, among others.

“Father Cashman had such a huge impact on me. He was a kind, wonderful human being with a broad smile and wonderful sense of humor. I will forever treasure the experience of knowing him.”

Joseph Russo (Class of ’65), a White Plains attorney, says that Father Cashman was not only a mentor but became like “another parent in my family, a very supportive person who had a talent for getting things back on track,” Russo also notes that under Father Cashman’s guidance, “we learned how to work together as a team when we designed and built a set for a play. Team work is an invaluable life lesson that I and many other alumni learned from Father Cashman.”

Michael Molinelli (Class of ’77) had a similar positive team work experience. “We learned the entire craft of putting on a show and Father Cashman empowered all of us to make it happen.” Molinelli says that the experience he had in his senior year in designing, painting and supervising the construction of sets led him to pursue a career in architecture. He is principal of his own firm, Molinelli Architects based in Briarcliff Manor.

Jeff Schlotman, (Class of ’65), entertained the thought of becoming a professional actor when he attended Stepinac but Father Cashman “warned me about the reality and the nomadic life being an actor would become and asked me if I was ready to make that kind of sacrifice. I was not and I became a dentist,” Schlotman stated, adding: “He pointed out that my love of the theatre did not have to end if I decided not to pursue a professional acting career.”

Schlotman went on to provide dental care services for many patients including Father. Cashman. But, the bug to act remained. He starred in more than 200 shows and, in 2010, received the Cab Calloway Lifetime Achievement Award. “I attribute my passion for the theatre directly to Father Cashman.” Apparently, acting is part of his family’s DNA because his daughter, Emily, starred in Stepinac Drama Club’s “Beauty and the Beast” production and won a Best Actress Metro Award.  He and his daughter also performed together for the first time last summer in the Stepinac Alumni Theatre’s “Follies” production, which he says was a “special and singularly unique experience.”

“I would say that Father Cashman was the most influential man in my life and I am certain I would not be the only alum to say that.”

Born in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota to Thomas and Mary Loretta (Keenan) on May 11, 1921, Cashman was the youngest of 12 children. He attended the Crosier Seminary College in Onamia and joined the Crosier novitiate in Hastings, Nebraska in 1942 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1948.

He earned an M.A. in secondary education and served for five years on the faculty of the Crosier’s Our Lady of the Lake Seminary in Syracuse, Indiana before coming to Stepinac in 1954 where he taught until 1987. He then served as the Pastor of St. Louis Bertrand Parish in Foreston, Minnesota from 1987 until his retirement in 2006 when he returned to the Crosier Priory in Onamia.

A proud member of the Knights of Columbus and the National Association for Amateur Radio, Father Cashman is survived by numerous nieces and nephews and their families and by his beloved Crosier Brothers.

About Archbishop Stepinac High School

The mission of Archbishop Stepinac High School is to offer young men of the Archdiocese of New York a highly competitive academic and extracurricular program that will prepare them for college and leadership roles. The faculty and staff accomplish these objectives by pursuing excellence and creating a supportive, disciplined atmosphere with a strong sense of camaraderie and Christian values that is unique to the Stepinac experience. For more information, visit www.Stepinac.org.