The Rev. John Brendan Hart, a newly minted Catholic priest from Ireland, arrived in Utah in September 1960 and would serve in the Beehive State for virtually the rest of his life.
But Hart, who died in Salt Lake City on July 27 at age 83 after a long illness, was the embodiment of all things Irish — the accent, the folk tales, the football (a cross between soccer, rugby and American football), the hearty laughs, the stubbornness, the generosity.
When the Utah priest petitioned to become a bona fide, full-fledged American, he was forced to give up citizenship in his home country.