James Lawrence Nolan, 94, Augustinian friar

The Rev. James Lawrence Nolan, 94, an Augustinian friar, teacher, and priest who in his later years was not above driving his fellow friars to medical appointments, died Tuesday, May 5, of heart failure at St. Thomas Monastery, Villanova.

"Father Nolan was a friar who cared deeply about his brothers in community, and was a generous and compassionate priest who was ever prepared to minister, especially to the sick and the dying," the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova said in a statement.

Born in Philadelphia, he was one of six children of Margaret Concannon and Michael Nolan. He graduated from Northeast Catholic High School in 1938 and, after a year at the Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, N.Y., was received into the order as a novice in 1939.

He professed his first vows and graduated from Villanova College, now a university, with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1943.

After professing his solemn vows, Father Nolan went to the Augustinian College in Washington for theological studies. Later, in 1959, he earned a master's degree in religious studies from Villanova.

Father Nolan was ordained to the priesthood on Aug. 26, 1946, at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church in Atlantic City by Bishop Bartholomew J. Eustace.

Father Nolan's first assignment was teaching at Malvern Preparatory School from 1947 to 1956. Next, he was appointed master of the professed, meaning he guided those who had professed their first vows, at the Augustinian College from 1956 until 1958. From 1958 to 1959, he taught at Villanova and was a member of the St. Thomas Monastery community.

In 1959, he returned to teaching at Malvern Preparatory School, where he remained until 1965.

For the next 30 years, Father Nolan served as a priest at various parishes, including: St. Genevieve, Flourtown; Our Mother of Consolation, Chestnut Hill; St. Augustine, Philadelphia; St. Laurence O'Toole, Lawrence, Mass.; and Our Mother of Good Counsel, Bryn Mawr. In 1985, he returned to St. Genevieve, and in 1992 was assigned to St. Denis, Havertown.

Father Nolan's final assignment in 1995 was to St. Thomas Monastery where he acted as chaplain to local communities of religious sisters.

He also was an eager and devoted driver for the friars of the community who needed transportation to medical appointments.

"He remarked that his father had been a chauffeur to a family in Chestnut Hill, and that he continued in his father's work by running a 'taxi service' for the friars at the monastery," said the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova in a statement.

Father Nolan reluctantly gave up that work in 2005, at the age of 85, but remained active in the St. Thomas Monastery community.

He is survived by nieces and nephews.

A viewing is to be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the Villanova University campus, followed at 7:30 p.m. by a Funeral Mass. Interment will be at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken.

Donations may be made to the Augustinian Fund: Care of Sick and Elderly, c/o Provincial Offices, Box 340, Villanova, Pa. 19085.