Garth L. Hallett S.J.: 1927-2022
07/08/2022
Garth L. Hallett, S.J., professor emeritus and former dean of Saint Louis University’s College of Philosophy and Letters, died Friday, June 24, 2022. He was 94.
Hallett was born in Chester, Penn., on Aug. 15, 1927. He grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., and served in the United States Navy from 1945-46. In September 1946 he entered the Jesuit novitiate at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, La., where he pronounced first vows on Sept. 8, 1948. He was ordained a priest on Aug. 6, 1959, in Brussels.
Garth L. Hallett, S.J. SLU file photo.
He began his career in education at Jesuit High School in New Orleans in 1953. He also taught at Loyola University in New Orleans before leaving to earn his doctorate in philosophy at Gregorian University in Rome. He earned his Ph.D. in 1964 and taught at Spring Hill College, Gregorian University, University of Detroit, and was a visiting professor at Xavier University.
In 1985 Hallett joined the faculty at Saint Louis University. He served at SLU until 2009. He then took a sabbatical year at Loyola University in Chicago and Marquette University. He also taught at St. John’s College in Belize. Upon retirement, he was a writer in residence at Jesuit Hall in St. Louis.
At SLU Hallett served as dean of the College of Philosophy and Letters, assisting young Jesuits in their academic program.
“Fr. Hallett was a brilliant philosopher and able administrator,” said Randall S. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Philosophy and Letters. “When I was in his presence, I sensed a Jesuit with clarity of purpose. He knew his vocation, embraced it, and lived it out with sincere dedication. I distinctly remember him challenging seminarians and Jesuits in formation not simply to regurgitate the ideas of others but to learn them and then to find their own voices. He challenged them to do the work of the philosophical inquiry. He will be remembered for his scholarly creativity, his generous service to the University, and his faithfulness as a Jesuit priest.
When Hallett began his teaching career at Spring Hill, Vatican II was still in session. It then fell to him to re-shape the Jesuit students’ program to respond to the changes mandated by the Jesuits’ 31st General Congregation. He expanded the study of contemporary philosophers and emphasized a close reading of key texts.
As a philosopher, Fr. Hallett was a disciple of Linguistic Analysis. He also was a prolific writer. He published 15 books, including A Middle Way to God (Oxford University Press, 2000), Identity and Mystery in Themes of Christian Faith (Ashgate, 2005), and Linguistic Philosophy: The Central Story (SUNY, 2008).
Hallett donated his body to science. A service was held Wednesday, July 6.
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