Remembering Fr. Ted.

Rob Kempf '84 with Fr. Ted at ND Night in Sacramento in 1989

Max Kempf, Robert's son and current Stedsman, in 2003

Former Stedsman, Dan Murphy, said of Fr. Ted’s death, “If you know anyone from Notre Dame, ask them about Fr. Hesburgh. Each of them will have a story, and they’ll all be worth hearing.” Here’s a story that a former Stedsman, Robert Kempf, Class of ’84 shared with me.

I happened to bump into Fr. Ted once in the old breezeway behind the Dome on my way back from Saint Mary’s, around 1 AM on a weeknight. I think it was spring semester of my junior year. 

Fr. Ted always worked late. His office light in the admin building normally burned well past midnight. I was working part-time as a security guard at SMC, making a few bucks, usually after eating dinner over there with my girlfriend. Father Ted popped out the back door and was headed for the Grotto as I made my way toward St. Ed’s. He took the time to turn and walk with me. 

Noticing my haircut, Fr. Ted asked about ROTC. Told me how he had been trying to get the US to fund a similar program to give full scholarships to students who agreed to train for, and commit to, equal time in the Peace Corps. He also took great pleasure in telling me, an Air Force ROTC cadet, that he had flown (in) the SR-71, at a speed so fast he could not divulge it. 

A few years later I was active in the Sacramento ND Club, where I had the task of retrieving Father Ted from the Airport. Surprisingly, Fr. Ted remembered me, and he went right back into the conversation about funding students for the Peace Corps! Since we already fund training for war, he said, we have an obligation to fund training for peace.

Fr. Ted, Requiescat in pace!