Fr. Edward “Whitey” John McCall

April 15, 1929 - September 29, 2020

Black Rock native Father Edward “Whitey” John McCall passed away peacefully on September 29, 2020, at home in Remanso, Bahia, Brazil, where he served God and the people of Brazil as a missionary. He was born in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport on April 15, 1929, to Thomas and Julia ( Vasse) McCall.

Whitey attended St. Ann’s Elementary School and Fairfield Prep, where he excelled in sports both as a running back for the football team and as a southpaw first baseman. After graduating from Prep in 1947, he entered St. Thomas Seminary where he began his studies for the priesthood followed by six more years studying philosophy and theology at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton/ Boston.

Fr. Whitey was ordained to the priesthood on February 2, 1955, at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport and assigned as a parish priest to Sacred Heart parish in the south end of the city. It was at Sacred Heart where Fr. Whitey met Fr. John McGough and they became lifelong friends. After several years, Fr. Whitey was transferred to Stamford to be Principal of Stamford Catholic High and also served as chaplain to the Stamford Fire Dept.

While there was no conflict between loving baseball and serving in the priesthood, diocese rules forbade ordained priests from participating in organized sports at the time. Fr. Whitey’s workaround was to sometimes play under a pseudonym, participating in the Senior City League ( SCL) under his mother’s maiden name, as Edward or Whitey Vasse, and wearing his SCL uniform underneath his priestly cassock so he could quickly make it to games after his official duties were done.

In his book, A Nice Tuesday, Pat Jordan recalled Fr. Whitey:

“[ Edward] “Whitey” McCall was a pale, delicate- looking man, always smooth- shaven with neatly parted blond hair. He was shy, soft- spoken, the gentlest of men. His teammates never cursed in Whitey’s presence . . . He was a southpaw first baseman who fielded his position with a dancer’s grace. He was also one of the few players in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s famous Senior City League ( SCL) whose uniform was always spotless. It was laundered each week, and pressed with an iron, by the housekeeper in the rectory of St. Augustine’s Cathedral, where Whitey was known as Father [ Edward] McCall.”

After Vatican II, the Diocese of Bridgeport assumed responsibility for the parishes of Remanso and Campo Alegre de Lourdes in the Diocese of Juazeiro deep within the interior of Northeastern Brazil. In 1965, Fr. Whitey traveled to Brazil with Fr. Joseph Potter to lead both parishes as missionary priests, Fr. Whitey becoming the first pastor for the parish of Campo Alegre. One of his proudest accomplishments during his time in Brazil was helping to build a dam in the tiny interior town of Malhada, which sustains the townspeople with water to this day through the long dry season. After seven years of mission work, Fr. Whitey ( known in Brazil as Padre Edmundo) received a dispensation from his priestly vows, which allowed him to marry and have children.

In 1974, Whitey married Debra Hallstrom of Stratford and went on to have two children, Ann and John, while living just outside of Boston. After many years serving as both a guidance director and assistant principal in Massachusetts public schools, the family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Whitey worked for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation ( now Novartis Consumer Health) until he retired in 1996.

In 2001, when Whitey’s children were grown and after he had moved home to Black Rock, the Bishop of the Diocese of Juazeiro asked Fr. Whitey to return to his priestly duties and continue his missionary work in and around Remanso. Fr. Whitey agreed, and he continued to minister to the people in Remanso and more remote areas until his passing. He will be greatly missed by his lifelong friend and colleague, Fr. Potter, and all those he served.

His best and boyhood friend, Dr. James “Jimmy” Roach, remembers Fr. Whitey as a very generous, considerate person, and that he never met anyone who didn’t like him. Dr. Roach recalls the time Fr. Whitey went to the old Madison Square Garden to see his friend, Floyd Patterson, fight. After the fight, “Whitey was talking with a group of people that included his hero Jackie Robinson. When Robinson heard that Fr. Whitey lived in Stamford as well, Jackie offered him a ride back home. Although most people would have given their left arm to spend a couple of hours with Jackie Robinson, he declined as he had plans to meet friends afterward and had no way of letting them know he wouldn’t have been able to make it. So he passed. That’s the kind of loyalty he had.” Jackie Robsinson made his Major League debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on Whitey’s 17th birthday, and Fr. Whitey had a framed picture of Robinson hanging in his bedroom for as long as his children could remember.

Fr. Whitey is remembered as enjoying most his time ministering to the people in Brazil, whom he loved and where he felt at home; playing or watching baseball; spending evenings talking and reminiscing with old friends at Jimmy and Joan Roach’s home in Black Rock; playing fetch with his dog, Joao ( and before him, Lampiao, who he named after the famous bandit from Northeastern Brazil); and of course, enjoying pictures and videos of his grandson, Jack, of whom he was so proud.

Fr. Whitey is survived by his daughter Ann McCall and son- in- law Paul Kelleher ( Madison, WI), son John McCall ( Pittsburgh, PA), grandson Jack McCall Kelleher ( Madison, WI), niece Mary Lou Evans ( Milford), nephews Tucker ( Marie) McCall ( Bradford, MA) and Brian ( Sue) McCall ( Fairfield), several great nieces and nephews, life- long friends Jimmy, Joan, and Tommy ( Agnes, deceased) Roach, and the entire Roach family. He left behind a Brazilian family as well, including Ana Paula and Wellington Carvahlo and their children, Euflavio Pinheiro, Carmem Muniz, and countless others.

Fr. Whitey was predeceased by his parents and dear older brother, Thomas McCall, and Tom’s beloved wife, Dorothy. Fr. Whitey was known among the family as the only one who could stomach Dorothy’s black coffee, and this probably made him all right in her eyes. He was also predeceased by his beloved cousin ( and lifelong friend) and his wonderful wife, Jack and Mary McCall.

In accordance with his wishes, Fr. Whitey was buried in the small village of Aparecida, a 30 minute drive from his home in Remanso, in a church that he helped build. Fr. Whitey’s children have the deepest appreciation and love for his Brazilian family, who were his friends and loving caretakers over the past two decades.

Memorials or donations in his honor will directly support the Creche, an early childcare center in Remanso that provides free meals and education for young children. Fr. Whitey was a founder and benefactor and gave mass at the Creche chapel every day for years.

Donations/ checks may be sent to:

Father Joseph Potter c/ o Mrs. Virginia Gardner 110 Aspetuck Trail Shelton, CT 06484