Obituary

Jesuit administrator taught respect, humility

''He was as good as they come,'' J.J. Fernandez' wife said of the teacher, coach and principal.

By MARTY CLEAR
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 21, 2003

Bob Ruland had dozens of stops on his weekly sales route, but his favorite was always the Wednesday appointment at Jesuit High School.

That was when he'd get to see J.J. Fernandez. Ruland would set aside extra time so he could linger for conversation.

"He had such great stories about the Jesuit kids," Ruland said. "Any time you wanted to talk about fishing or Jesuit sports he'd make the time."

Mr. Fernandez, who died March 11 at age 59 from complications of lung cancer, spent virtually his entire working life at Jesuit. He was a teacher, a coach, a dean and principal.

His students remember him as an imposing man who treated students with genuine respect. But he also demanded that they respect the school.

"He was one of those people you'll never forget," said Gary Stupp, a Jesuit student from 1973 to 1977, now a sergeant first class in the Army.

Tampa lawyer John Grandoff, one of three students who spoke at a memorial service for Mr. Fernandez on Monday, remembered a strict disciplinarian with a great sense of humor.

"He humbled you, but he never humiliated you," Grandoff said. "He referred to us as men, always, even though we were just 14 or 15 years old. J.J. was my mentor. He taught me a lot about life."

Other students echoed Grandoff's sentiments.

"J.J. was the man," said physician and Air Force Col. Douglas Robb. "Great sense of humor, great coach and a great teacher. In fact, he's probably responsible for me becoming a doctor because of the positive experience I had in his biology class."

Mr. Fernandez grew up in Ybor City and became an All-State baseball player at Hillsborough High School in the early 1960s. He went to Florida State University on a baseball scholarship but stayed in Tallahassee for only a year.

"He gave up a full-ride scholarship at FSU and finished at USF," said his sister, Vilma Zalupski.

Zalupski said she never knew exactly why her brother gave up on baseball and FSU. He may have just missed Tampa, she thought.

A few years later, he met his wife-to-be, Rosemary.

"He was as good as they come," she said. "And to everybody, not just his family."

Shortly after he graduated from USF, Mr. Fernandez began teaching biology at Jesuit. He also served as head baseball coach and assistant football coach.

"He never played a down of football in high school or college, but he was a defensive genius," Grandoff said.

Not long after he started working at Jesuit, Mr. Fernandez and his wife moved to a home just a few blocks away from the school. They raised one daughter, Shelley Fernandez Girsch.

Mr. Fernandez held a variety of positions at Jesuit. When he felt the need for a career change, it never occurred to him to look elsewhere. He would just take a new position at Jesuit.

He earned a master's degree in administration from the University of Tampa and became the first lay principal in Jesuit's history. In time, he stepped aside to become director of facilities.

That was how he came to meet Ruland, who sold paper products for Peninsular Paper.

The two became good friends, but Ruland never knew about the cancer.

"You could see something was wrong, but he never said anything about it," Ruland said. "And he'd always take the time to talk to you about your personal problems.

"He was a pillar to lean against. I just wish he would have let me be a pillar for him, too."

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