Rev. Joseph Pomeroy; guided colleges into computer age

He was both a man of the cloth and considered the father of technological revolutions at The College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, and Gonzaga University.

Father Pomeroy died on July 16 in Weston of leukemia-related complications, following heart bypass surgery.

He was 80.

Born in Portland, Maine, Father Pomeroy graduated from Cheverus High School in his hometown in 1947. He took an early interest in higher learning and religious leadership, attending Holy Cross in Worcester for a year after high school, and then entering the Society of Jesus in 1948, with his eye set on the priesthood.

Soon afterward, Father Pomeroy enrolled at Boston College, receiving a bachelor’s degree in the classics in 1954 and a master’s in philosophy in 1955.

Father Pomeroy taught math at Holy Cross for two years before returning to Boston College for a second master’s degree, this time in physics, which he received in 1959.

He was a physics teacher at Boston College High School in Dorchester for seven years while studying for the priesthood at the Jesuit House of Studies in Weston. He was ordained by Cardinal Richard Cushing on June 16, 1962, and completed priesthood training at Saint Robert’s Hall in Pomfret, Conn., two years later.

In the late 1960s, Father Pomeroy began the work in computer science that would be such a big part of his legacy. He was appointed in 1966 as director of the Data Processing Center at Holy Cross, now known as Information Technology Services. There, he spearheaded the establishment of the institution’s integration of computers into its operations and academics, building the school’s original computer labs, and finding ways to make computers and computer processes work more efficiently. That year, he also visited Spokane, Wash., to establish Gonzaga’s first computer center.

In 1971, Father Pomeroy become director of the Computer Center at Boston College, and for a time, simultaneously ran the center at Holy Cross, commuting to Newton during the day and returning to Worcester in the evenings.

“Joe Pomeroy was the founder of computing at both Holy Cross and Boston College,’’ said Bernard Gleason, chief information officer emeritus of BC. Gleason and others credit Father Pomeroy with being a visionary who foresaw the need to integrate the computer as an essential component for both the school’s administrative needs and its curriculum.

Despite his focus on computers and the rigors of his daily schedule, he also found time to keep his commitment to the ministry.

“I know Father Pomeroy was well known on the Holy Cross campus for his scholarly and administrative work,’’ said Reverend Paul J. Tougas, pastor of Saint Mary of the Hills Church in Boylston. “But his long and faithful ministry to us was another very important part of his life. He regularly celebrated the 11:15 Sunday Mass; presided at baptisms and weddings; heard confessions; and helped during Holy Week . . . he was very grateful for those sacramental opportunities and, in turn, we were immensely grateful to him.’’

At the time of his death, he had continued the ministry while also working as a computer support specialist at Holy Cross.

All the while, Father Pomeroy never stopped advocating for his staff and colleagues the benefits of technology in academic institutions.

Ellen J. Keohane, the current Information Technology Services director at Holy Cross, said of Father Pomeroy’s help over the years: “At a time when technology in higher education was moving beyond transaction processing with punch cards, into all areas of college life . . . we helped Holy Cross navigate that rapid and tumultuous technological change.’’

Father Pomeroy leaves a brother, Paul W. of Port Ewen, N.Y.; a niece, Claire, of Davis, Calif.; and two cousins, Reverend Daniel G. Madigan of Helena, Mont., and Sister Catherine Green of Portland, Maine.

Father Pomeroy willed his body to the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and a memorial Mass was said July 21 at the College of the Holy Cross.

Another memorial Mass will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Saint Mary of the Hills Church in Boylston.