Life Before Ordination
Cavanaugh's family emigrated from the tri-County region of southwest Co. Wicklow, on the Cos. Carlow and Wexford border. They settled originally in Erinsville, Ontario and later trekked to the upper Middle West, settling in Owosso, MI. Cavanaugh was a first cousin to the Honorable John Franklin Kinney of Rochester, New York. The Kenney, Cavanaugh, and Keegan families are all native to the region around Coolkenno. As a child, John Cavanaugh served in the choir at Saint Paul’s Church in Owosso, Michigan. He assisted his father in the family’s grocery store, as well. He retained a lifelong connect to the town, having been baptized, confirmed and celebrating his first mass at Saint Paul’s. Entering Notre Dame in 1917, he earned his way through college working as a secretary for Presidents John W. Cavanaugh, C.S.C. (1905-1919) and James A. Burns, C.S.C. (1919-1922). Cavanaugh was an athlete, editor of the student-run The Observer, as well as student government president. In 1923, John Cavanaugh initially entered the automobile industry, working in the advertising department at Studebaker Corporation. He later served as private secretary to Henry Ford. In 1926, he left private industry to undertake religious discernment.
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