Father McGrath was a professor of chemistry and academic administration at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Portland in Oregon. Born Sept. 28, 1903 in Hubbard, Ore., he graduated from Columbia University, Portland, before entering the seminary in 1926. He made his first profession of vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross July 2, 1928 and was ordained to the priesthood June 24, 1936. Following further studies he was assigned  to the University of Portland where he taught sciences and later became dean of the graduate school and assistant to the president. In 1958 he transferred to the University of Notre Dame where he served as director of international students and as administrative assistant. In 1970 he took up residence in Tucson Ariz. where he served as chaplain until his return to Holy Cross House in 1983. When he moved from South Bend in 1970, he made a gift of his valuable collection of cacti and other succulent plants to the South Bend Park Department, which is now housed in the Tropical Garden in Potawatomi Park.