The Reverend Monsignor Joseph F. Reynolds, pastor emeritus, Church of St. Anastasia, Harriman, entered eternal life on March 18, 2024, at age 90. 

The son of the late William A. Reynolds and Mary Gertrude Stentz Reynolds, he was born on July 15, 1933, in Bronxville.

Left to cherish his memory are his brothers: John Reynolds of Manhattan, and Owen Reynolds and his wife, Mary Ann of Circleville; along with several generations of nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, the Reverend Monsignor William V. Reynolds; and his sisters: Rose G. Rooney, Sister Mary Paul Reynolds (OSF), and Mary Elizabeth Kreutzer.

Monsignor Reynolds was ordained on May 30, 1959, and was a longtime teacher and administrator at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, including serving as the school’s dean of discipline. He was an associate pastor at St. Joseph’s Church, Croton Falls, and then at St. Joseph’s Church in Bronxville. Monsignor also served as pastor at St. Joseph’s Church in Millbrook, before leading St. Anastasia Church.

When speaking with children, Monsignor would often be seen accompanied by a character or two, most often, Snoopy. He loved people. He was a voracious reader, a fan of the opera, a frequent visitor to his favorite museums, and occasionally golf. He loved to travel, especially to Ireland where his father’s family was well loved in Drogheda, County of Meath.

Monsignor Francis Gorman knew Monsignor Reynolds since 1947, when they began studying at the now-closed Cathedral Preparatory and College in Manhattan. They continued together throughout their education, and both attended St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers and were ordained in 1959.

“We went to Ireland many times together. He got to know all of my relatives, and I got to know his,” Monsignor Gorman, who will give the homily at Monsignor Reynolds’ funeral Mass, told The Good Newsroom. 

Although Monsignor Reynolds was teaching and working at Stepinac, Monsignor Gorman and others urged him in another direction. “We were always after him, saying, ‘You’re supposed to be in a parish,’ and he said, ‘you’re right,’ and he finally got back into parish life,” Monsignor Gorman, who retired as administrator of St. Teresa of Avila in Sleepy Hollow in 2009, said.

When asked what he will miss most about his friend, Monsignor Gorman said, “Everything. We were Yankee fans. We did the Times crossword together. And we wouldn’t cheat! We wouldn’t give each other the right answer. He loved reading popular novels, he read them much faster than I did.”

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Archbishop Stepinac Scholarship Fund, or mailed to St. Anastasia Church, 21 North Main Street, Harriman, NY 10926.

+REQUIESCAT IN PACE+