In Memory of Alfred P. Geary '76

In Memory of

This August my family suffered the loss of our father Alfred Patrick Geary. After battling Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia for the past few years, he passed away on August 15, 2023. He was only 65. However, his life will not be defined by this relatively short battle. Rather, his life will be defined by his passions and legacy.

His greatest passion was education. He believed all students are entitled to the excellent education they deserve. His zeal for learning is the reason I am an educator today. If you asked my dad, among his greatest achievements was graduating from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School-–where he formed many lifelong friendships and where my brother and I later followed in his footsteps. Throughout his life, he dreamed of creating a scholarship fund at his beloved alma mater to empower financially vulnerable students to achieve their educational aspirations. His dream has now become my family’s mission. His legacy will be the Alfred P. Geary ‘76 Scholarship Fund at the Prep.

Our dad viewed attending the Prep as an honor and a privilege. He often boasted that his high school education was among the greatest in the world. He believed it. His time there was defined by great sacrifice. My father’s sacrifice was evident in his daily commute. A few buses, one train, then two trolleys shuttled him from Delaware County to the corner of 17th Street & Girard Avenue each day. His father’s sacrifice–scraping together tuition while trying to make ends meet as a train conductor for the Reading Railroad with four kids–was even greater. He made it work. He trusted that a Prep education would set my father up for academic success in college and mold him into a man for others. As a student, my dad was a member of the varsity swimming and diving team, he fervently studied French, and most fondly remembered courses in government. 

The Alfred P. Geary ‘76 Scholarship Fund will support financially vulnerable students at the Prep so that they may share in the same joy that our father shared with his classmates in the class of 1976. We know our father would be proud that his memory is empowering students in need to achieve academic success at the Prep. 

Please consider making a donation and thank you for helping us carry on his legacy. 

~Ryan P. Geary '13 and Family