Wit, wheels and wisdom. These are what generations of XL-ers will remember their beloved Maggie for.
Father Edward McGrath, 94, former director of XLRI fondly nicknamed Maggie, breathed his last peacefully around 7am on Friday at Father Guidera Residence, XLRI, of old age complications.
Born on January 7, 1923, in New York, Father McGrath was the one of the three Jesuit priests who established XLRI in Jamshedpur in 1949 and he served as the director of XLRI between 1959-1962 and again between 1981 and 1982.
In the initial days, XLRI classes were held at KMPM High School in Bistupur while The Boulevard hotel across the road was its office. At the young age of 36, Father McGrath became the second director of XLRI that rapidly gained reputation as one of India's best B-schools.
As the face of XLRI, Father McGrath's popularity was not without reason. In class, he explained tough business concepts with clarity and wit and as an academic authored the best-selling Basic Managerial Skills for All currently in its ninth edition, among others.
As an administrator, he was a visionary who set new benchmarks for the XLRI. For instance, he was the first trainer for trade union leaders when XLRI started the course on industrial relations in its early years under the PG programme of Ranchi University till 1959.
Outside campus, he loved sports and had a yen for motorcycles. As a priest, he was humane to the core.
"I have known Father McGrath for the past 45 years. What I admire most in him is his love for his students and the poor, his hard work and his fantastic sense of humour. Even in his last days, he could entertain those who visited him," said XLRI director Father E. Abraham.
Recently, XLRI published a coffee table book titled The Legendary Father Ed McGrath SJ, Revered Teacher, Inspiring Forever, the sales of which will raise funds for education in rural and tribal slums of Chotanagpur plateau of Odisha and Jharkhand where he spent most of his time in the past two decades.
In it, Ratan Tata wrote, "Father McGrath was amongst the first few people I met when I was assigned to Jamshedpur. I can never forget his ability to put you at ease and the warmth of his friendship. I feel privileged to have known Father McGrath and to have had the pleasure of interacting with him in Jamshedpur over the years."
Old-timers will remember that Father McGrath also taught English to the newly opened Loyola School in the early 1950s.
In 1987, Father McGrath moved to Human Life Centre in Bhubaneswar where he developed vocational training courses, computer operating and carpentry among others, but his ties with Jamshedpur always stayed strong.
His funeral service will take place on Monday, August 7, at St Joseph's Cathedral in Golmuri, and the burial ceremony at Jesu Bhavan, Old Purulia Road in Mango.
