Holy Cross Magazine - Summer 2020

SUMMER T WO THOUSAND T WENT Y

VOLUME FIFTY-FOUR / NUMBER THREE

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THE ROAD AHEAD PAGES 1 | 13 | 16

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

THE FIELD HOUSE: AN ORAL HISTORY PAGE 26 •

POET BILLY COLLINS ’63 PAGE 36 • FINDING HOLY CROSS WHEREVER YOU ARE PAGE 46

FROM THE PRESIDENT

H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

Finding Hope in Hard Work

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e are in unprecedented times. Our world is highly stressed, the uncertainties keep mounting, violence in so many forms is being experienced and recognized, and systemic racism is being questioned with new rigor. The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading, and its inconveniences and dramatic impact are proving unbearable for many. Political strife continues to rise and a critical election season is looming.

The economic impact of all this is dramatic and threatening.

And, at the same time, hope abounds. We note with admiration the courage and generosity of first responders and medical personnel, and the tireless support of those who are often unnoticed but provide us with basic services.

We are inspired by those whose creativity and commitment fosters deeper sense of the human family and care for those on the margins.

We engage one another with new energy as Black Americans and many allies are working to create more just, inclusive and welcoming communities. And in this election year, it is critical that we encourage and actively exercise the first responsibility of our democracy and vote.

Wonderfully, we see our own students and alumni working within all of these movements, demonstrating the value of their education and formation at Holy Cross.

In the midst of this tumult and energy, we have announced that the College will open in the fall and welcome all students who are able to return to campus. Their

return will be complex, made more so because we are still dealing with extraordinary uncertainty. The fall semester is going to look different from any educational experience we have experienced before, and we know that we may have to pivot at any point depending on the movement of the virus. But we also know that it is important that we work toward a full return.

We need to try to allow our students who so badly want to return to campus, or those whose academic progress depends on their return, to come back. We need to provide some in-person opportunities, particularly where specific educational outcomes depend on our labs, shared research and studios. So now we work with purpose toward opening for the fall, toward creating a safe as possible living and learning environment, and toward executing an academic and co-curricular program that delivers a Holy Cross experience that exemplifies our standards and principles.

At the same time, it is imperative that we move forward with continued determination on the important work of anti-racism.

It is inherent in our identity as a Jesuit, Catholic institution to respect the dignity of all people, to amplify the voices of the powerless, and to seek justice within and beyond the Holy Cross community. We have sought to build a diverse community marked by respect, but that is not enough. Our community and our world are asking more of us.

We must examine our role as individuals and as an institution in contributing to structures and systems that consciously or unconsciously support racism, and we must work actively toward change. We have developed a robust plan as a starting point, and we are committed to adding

to and developing that plan as we address the needs and concerns of different campus and off-campus constituencies and work toward a more just future.

While we face many challenges, I find hope each day as a member of this community. As always, our faculty and staff’s dedication and willingness to do whatever must be done to support our students’ learning is remarkable.

Our students want nothing more than to return “home” to Mount St. James this fall and to grow in mind, body, spirit and community. It is clear that when they arrive they will have multiple opportunities to learn resiliency, discipline, selflessness and concern for the common good.

Our alumni continue to support us in immeasurable ways, from giving financially, to mentoring students, to providing new opportunities for student internships as traditional programs were cancelled, to enlisting student support for social change. The dedication and generosity of our alumni are extraordinary and transformative.

As we work to conduct a fall semester in a way that has never been done before, and as we dedicate ourselves to addressing systemic racism, it is this community that gives me hope for our future.

Thank you for all that you do for Holy Cross, for our community and for the many ways in which you work to make our neighborhoods, cities, country and world a better place. May God bless you and your families during this uncertain time. ■ Sincerely,

Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.

President

F R OFMI NTDHI EN GP RHEOSPI DE EI N N TH/A O RD P EWNOI NR G K / 1

HOLY CROSS MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2020 / VOLUME FIFTY-FOUR / NUMBER THREE

BONUS MYSTERY PHOTO! Who is this barefoot accordionist entertaining the crowd outside Dinand? What was the occasion?

Let us know at hcmag@holycross.edu.

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HCM TEA M

MELISSA SHAW Editor

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STEPHEN ALBANO Art Director / Designer

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AVANELL BROCK Multimedia Producer

H O LY C R O SS M AGA Z I N E (USPS 0138-860) is published quarterly

by College Marketing and Communications at the College of the Holy Cross. Address all correspondence to the editor at: One College Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610-2395.

Periodicals postage paid at Worcester and additional mailing points.

TA B LE OF CON TE NTS 1 2 4 6 7

From the President Table of Contents Dear HCM, Editor’s Note Who We Are / Contributors

From gymnasium to concert hall, graduation stage, love-at-first-sight dance floor and more, the Field House played nearly every role over its 70-year history.

8 Campus Notebook 8 Snapshot 10 Spotlight 12 On The Hill

36 Mom, Dad, John Donne, Bugs Bunny: The Making of an American Poet Billy Collins ’63 Hon. ’02 has gone from a Bronx classroom and a shoebox full of rejections to the role of U.S. Poet Laureate and international renown.

His environs may have changed, but he hasn’t.

20 Faculty & Staff 20 Creative Spaces 22 Headliners 26 Features 26 Remembering the Swiss Army Knife of Buildings

46 Finding Holy Cross, Wherever You Are Whether it’s a milestone birthday, a love of continuing education or a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, alumni rely on their fellow Crusaders for friendship and support across the country.

52 Sports 52 Go Cross Go 54 Crusader Life

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58 Alumni News 58 Mystery Photo 60 HCAA News 62 Alumni News 64 Creative Notes 65 Unsolved Photo 66 For and With Others 68 Class Notes 74 Milestones 78 In Memoriam 87 Ask More / How To Reach Us 88 Examine

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CONTACT US Kate Shea ’13 makes nonmedical masks to donate to essential workers in health care, delivery services and grocery stores.

Her personal mission also extends to those experiencing homelessness, learn more on Page 66.

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DEAR HCM, Eventually, the students knew, but did the administration ever find out? Anyone recall? Thanks for the opportunity to share a Wheeler story from the 1950s.

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E. Norbert Zahm Jr. ’59

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Wheeler Moments Hats off to you for a great article about Wheeler. If you’re looking for additional reflections here’s one. I had a hard time choosing as I lived in Wheeler for three years after my first year in Alumni.

• In our days at Holy Cross (19691973) it was called Wheeler House, and I confess I still like that. In fact, it was more of a house than a hall in many ways, among them:

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In the Spring ’20 issue, we published a feature, “There’s Something About Wheeler” (Page 36), and judging by the response and letters we received, that headline was accurate.

We asked alumni to share some of their favorite Wheeler memories; enjoy them below. If any inspire you to share your favorite Wheeler moments, we’d love to read them: hcmag@holycross.edu.

The Ultimate Tribute I just had a chance to read the article about Wheeler. It brought back such great memories! My husband, Colin Gorman, and I lived and met in Wheeler in fall 2001. We stayed our freshman and sophomore year (Wheeler 1 and Wheeler 2). We started dating spring of freshman year and eventually got married at Holy Cross in 2010. When we welcomed our second child in 2018, we were thinking of a middle name and settled on Audrey Wheeler Gorman to honor our amazing experience on The Hill! We hope that our three children will

eventually become Crusaders!

• Molly (and Colin) Gorman ’05

Charlestown, Massachusetts

Fore!

In the mid-’50s, I was a transfer to Holy Cross; my first room assignment was in Wheeler.

One night, I was roaming the halls to get a card game started, when a “missile” zoomed over my head. It was fast and furious, and connected near my head knocking out the fire extinguisher on the ceiling. An immediate rush of water flooded the halls and went down stairways to lower floors.

The priest living in the hall had no idea how to stop the flow.

Eventually, the physical plant department arrived, as did the Worcester Fire Department.

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• When the water was shut off and the mopping began, the source of the problem was determined to be a golf ball. The mystery: Who drove it and for what purpose?

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Late-evening discussions with Ace Healey — Rev. Robert F. Healey, S.J. — beloved Oxford/Harvard classicist and all-around good guy, or his Sunday 11 p.m. Mass in Wheeler Lounge (yes, the bar, and it was always loaded with students).

You were as likely to hear Faure’s “Requiem” as “Gimme Shelter” by the Stones.

You got to know scholars, you got to know athletes; it was a great melting pot.

Famous poets who’d come to Holy Cross to read — among them Robert Bly, Robert Francis, Maxine Kumin, Diane Wakoski, Galway Kinnell — might stop in before heading to read their poems in the old Hogan 4 presentation room.

The rugby team “owned” Wheeler 1.

People jumped out windows into newly plowed and drifted high snow piles.

The pizza guy, who came each evening with a box of pizzas.

Lots of guitars … and lots of talent.

Frisbees in the spring on Wheeler Beach.

A toaster in Room 206 – everyone liked toast.

Marine ROTC guys easily rappelling down from the fifth floor.

A nice guy from Potomac, the RA who’d become a federal judge, at least two future Jesuits, many Naval officers, Air Force officers, teachers, doctors and lawyers-to-be, Glee Club members, many members of the track team, two classics majors who’d do Ph.D.s at Harvard and Johns Hopkins. It attracted all sorts of people and they, most often, would stay for three years once they landed there.

Some said you could see the supposed library ghost from the higher rooms overlooking the library.

It was an easy place to live: close to Hogan, Dinand, classroom buildings and more. It was bigger than Beaven (too small) and smaller than Mulledy (too big).

I still have a photo of it that I keep on my desk at work, and the fond memories of my friends have stayed with me forever.

William Bagley ’73

Worcester

A Shared Space?

I was very much taken by “There’s Something About Wheeler” and particularly by the recollections of Susan Lennon Capot ’89.

My years at Holy Cross predate those of Ms. Capot by three decades, but I could almost have written her reminiscence of life on Wheeler 5, where I roomed my freshman year with Johnny Ormond and Mike Samway. I have managed to unearth my copy of Bennett and Rolfe, “Horace, Complete Works (rev. ed. 1954),” and on the inside front cover I find “T. GILHEANY – WHEELER 511.”

I wonder if that was Ms. Capot’s room? Five eleven did indeed have that crawl space between the dormers, although it was not sumptuously fitted out with a beanbag chair, which I don’t think had been invented yet, and rug. A lamp and a blanket (and a chest

of drawers pulled back against the opening) were sufficient to provide a Spartan scholar with precious hours after lights-out to work on Fr. Ahearn’s “Ode Notebook” or parse some abstruse passage in T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” for Fr. Leonard McCarthy. My thanks to Ms. Capot and your magazine for bringing back those memories – distant, but vivid and fond.

Terence F. Gilheany ’59

Douglaston, New York

Remembering the Spirit of Wheeler As a three-year resident of Wheeler, I enjoyed your article.

I would only add that one of the great characters of the place was Rev. Robert Fisher Healey, S.J., a member of the classics department, known by the Jesuits as “Pish” and by most of us students as “Ace.” Fr. Healey’s presence was not to be missed whether at Sunday evening Masses in the social room, in his open-door sessions in his room as corridor prefect — with his everpresent pipe and the company of Calpurnia, his cat — or in his very audible laughter as he moved through the halls. He was certainly a part of the spirit of Wheeler.

Rev. Paul Sullivan, S.J., ’73

Portland, Maine

An Innocent Question Sparks Terror Our class arrived on campus in the fall of 1960 (in the middle of a hurricane, as it happens). I was assigned Wheeler 524, on the floor furthest from anything else on campus. If I recall correctly, floors 3, 4 and 5 were all freshmen; 1 and 2 were sophomores. There may have been a classroom or two in the basement. There was one pay phone in the building.

I met my new roommate, Paul Reising, in the room. It was a two-man room, maybe only one of two on the floor. The rest were three- and four-man rooms, all with upper and lower bunk beds.

Rev. William Casey, S.J., was one of

our resident priests. Our room was the closest to his suite; we could look out our window and see his window. I believe a scholastic lived at the other end, but I’m not sure.

In any case, one of the two did a room check every evening. Lightsout was 10 p.m., required morning Mass was at 7 a.m.

Reading your story made me realize just how fast Holy Cross culture changed after we graduated. During our time, being caught with a beer in your room (or anywhere else on campus) could be a ticket home for the remainder of the year. Within a very few years there was a bar in the building? And faculty came to partake? And classes all mixed up in the same dorm?

Never to eternity would any of us have thought such a thing could happen! To be honest, I liked the way things were for us, except for the 10 p.m. lights-out; studying with a flashlight was difficult.

Another ticket home could be having a female in your room, other than your mother or sister when arriving in the fall or leaving in the spring. I came close. Over Christmas vacation that first year, a high school classmate, Ben Burrell ’64, needed to return to campus to pick something up. I volunteered my mother’s car for the trip. We decided to bring his girlfriend and a girl friend of mine, both nursing students in Hartford.

We arrived on campus, Ben got whatever he needed, and we were ready to leave. Then I said to the young ladies, “Would you like to see my room?” This was said in all innocence. The campus was empty, so we didn’t think it would be a problem. We traipsed up the stairs, I opened the door and the girls walked in. They took a quick look around — not much to look at — and then moved to the window to see the view. One of the girls turned her head and said, “Who is that we see in that other room?” Not stopping to answer the question, we bolted down those stairs and into the car as fast our eight legs would carry us.

For the balance of vacation I

thought in terror about how I was going to explain the situation when Fr. Casey came to our room. I never did come up with an explanation. When the 9:30 p.m. knock on the door made me jump out of my chair, I expected the worst. When we opened the door, Fr. Casey smiled and said, “Welcome back, men. Did you enjoy your vacation? Did you do anything interesting?” I managed to gulp, “Yes.” He smiled again, checked us off on his list, and closed the door. Few smiles have been appreciated more than his.

Bill Richards ’64

Yarmouth, Maine

An 8-Year-Old’s Impression of Wheeler Just received my copy of the spring 2020 issue. Once again, well done.

I recall many stories of Wheeler Hall from my dad, William T. Stevens ’40, and, later, my brother, William T. Stevens Jr. ’71, and my “few” visits to Wheeler while a student (1977-1981).

My dad often spoke of how Wheeler was being built and was to be the senior dorm for the class of 1940. Unfortunately, Wheeler wasn’t ready in fall 1939 so the seniors didn’t get to move into Wheeler until after Christmas break in January 1940. It was considered a “palace.”

My first recollection of Wheeler Hall was when we went to visit my brother during his 1967 freshman year; I was 8 years old.

At that time, females weren’t allowed upstairs at this all-men’s college, so I recall sitting on the bottom step of a stairwell. I vividly remember complaining to my mother about how bad it smelled.

Looking back, I realize it was probably a Saturday or Sunday morning and the smell was stale beer.

As a Holy Cross freshman, I lived in Carlin Hall. It was a wonderful experience and with the exception of one sophomore, everyone on

Carlin 2 was a freshman. The first and third floor of men were a mix, but most of its freshmen stayed as connected as the Carlin 2 women are today.

My first trip to Wheeler as an undergraduate student was probably as a sophomore to meet my “Holy Cross freshman little sister.” She lived on the College’s first coed floor, which separated the men from the women with a locked door built in the middle of the floor. She seemed happy to live in Wheeler, but I didn’t see the attraction. I admit I was biased because of my wonderful Carlin memories. In all fairness, I must say that several Carlin friends moved to Wheeler for their junior and senior year and they loved it.

While I think I may have ventured there once or twice, it was Wheeler 5 and it was too out of the way.

A sincere thank you to you and your staff as it is a treat to receive and read this magazine each quarter. The “Very Holy Cross” article (Spring 20, Page 6) was so very true. I recall once interviewing a high school senior for Holy Cross about 15 years ago.

She told me that after a campus visit her dad commented that it was the one school where all of the students held the door for you. Very typical of a Crusader, but sadly not apparent on every college campus.

Liz Stevens Murdy ’81 Lido Beach, New York

Correction on Coed Year I enjoyed reading your article, “There’s Something About Wheeler.” As one who resided in Wheeler my first two years at Holy Cross, I wholeheartedly agree with your premise, but I also have to tell you: There’s something wrong in your Wheeler story.

Wheeler 2 was coed in September 1973, the fall of my freshman year.

The metal “fire” door mentioned was there, usually propped open so it didn’t prevent the fires of love from kindling — and several

(letters continued on Page 7)

DEAR HCM, / 5

EDITOR’S NOTE

WHO WE ARE whys of formation, I found two parts that unexpectedly provided good advice for living through a pandemic. First, Antonio titled the piece: “Trusting the Slow Work of God.” While he wrote this in relation to Jesuit formation, I found it an excellent reminder in terms of a response to life in general — especially 2020 thus far.

Historically, like many, I’m not great at waiting. I prefer answers, now. A resolution, now. A vaccine, now. But, as I read at the top of the document, I remembered that the work is not mine. The speed is not mine.

The only thing that is mine — in my circle of influence — is trust. It was a helpful reminder I needed and one about which I’ve thought often since I first read it in May.

MELISSA SHAW Editor

hopes you enjoy this issue, her 10th and the first in HCM history produced almost entirely away from Mount St. James. She wishes all K-12 teachers a restful summer and thanks them for their incredible dedication this spring.

While that epiphany came at the top of the column, the second arrived at the end, in which Antonio referenced St. Ignatius’ direction to Jesuits heading out on a mission: Age quod agis (“Do what you are doing”).

Taking Advice From St. Ignatius This spring has been at best, challenging, and at worst, heartbreaking.

It has been a nonstop, extreme exercise in what author Stephen Covey outlined in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”: a person’s small circle of influence (issues or outcomes you can control) and the larger circle of concern (those you can’t), which surrounds the former.

I’ve been thinking about those circles often since March, balancing frustration and acceptance, but then I read this issue’s Examine, which you’ll find on Page 88.

Written by James Antonio, S.J., ’09, the column brought me a sense of peace I wasn’t expecting. In it, he explains the stages of Jesuit formation and how the 11-year path to priesthood is just the first half of the Society of Jesus’ famously long journey.

Again, Antonio was writing about formation, but for me Ignatius’ direction leapt off the screen. “In other words,” Antonio explained, “do the ordinary things you have been called to do and trust that God is working though you.” This is good advice to internalize, accept and remember, whether you’re studying for the priesthood or, especially now, living in a pandemic whatever vocation — parent, child, friend, spouse, coworker, etc.

— to which you have been called.

Since March, when I’ve been asked how I’m doing, I’ve replied, “Hanging in.” And this has often been accompanied by a sense of passive defeat, because it’s easy to feel like I’m not doing anything other than surviving.

But, when I think about living through the lens of Age quod agis, I see an active, intentional life doing what I’m supposed to do, whether it’s “normal” life or a time of crisis. It’s comforting to realize the only thing I can do is exactly what I have been all along.

St. Ignatius’ nearly 500-year-old advice has, for me, greatly taken the edge off these indescribable times, featuring a virus that shows no signs of slowing down. If you are struggling with a sense of helplessness, I’d suggest heeding the words of the Pilgrim: “Age quod agis.” ■

Melissa Shaw While the column explores the hows and

Editor

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STEPHEN ALBANO

Art Director / Designer has been a part of the HCM team for almost nine years; this is his 36th issue.

Stephen earned his degree in studio art at Clark University. He has accomplished what he has set out to do and has cleaned and reorganized almost his entire house during this age of COVID. Now that tennis courts are open to the public, he looks forward to playing almost every day with his husband, David.

AVANELL BROCK

Multimedia Producer Soon to be known as Avanell Chang, she has been busy replanning her wedding after coronavirus threw a wrench in the works. She and her fiancé, Daniel, will be having a much smaller ceremony than originally planned, but they are so thankful that they are still getting married on July 11! Stay tuned for wedding photos in the next issue of the magazine.

CONTRIBUTORS

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WRITERS 1 MARYBETH REILLY-MCGREEN ’89 never much liked poetry until she happened upon the work of U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins ’63, whom she profiled for this issue (and poses with in this photo). “Emily Dickinson once said reading poetry made her feel as if the top of her head were taken off,” Reilly-McGreen says. “That’s what reading Billy Collins’ poetry does for me.”

2 MAURA SULLIVAN HILL is a freelance writer and editor who has written for the Notre Dame Alumni Association, Loyola Magazine and Impact, the research magazine of Brown University. She is also a proud alum of Team HCM, as former assistant editor of the magazine. 3 MEREDITH FIDROCKI is a freelance writer who graduated from Bates College with a degree in English and French. 4 JOE SULLIVAN was sports editor at the Boston Globe from 2004 until his retirement in July 2018. He’s still active as a freelance writer and editor. 5 JAMES ANTONIO, S.J., ’09 entered the Society of Jesus in 2012 and will start theology studies at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry this fall. Like Holy Cross President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., Antonio hails from the Pacific Northwest and is a member of the Jesuits West Province.

6 REBECCA (TESSITORE) SMITH ’99 and 7 KIMBERLY (OSBORNE) STALEY ’99 are former Holy Cross roommates who have been writing for HCM and other College publications for more than 15 years. They work together at their freelance writing firm, SmithWriting. CAMPUS CONTRIBUTORS 8 THE HOLY CROSS ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS TEAM is comprised of Abby Stambach, head of archives and special collections; Sarah Campbell, assistant archivist; and Corinne Gabriele, archival assistant. Archives collects, preserves, arranges and describes records of permanent value from the College’s founding in 1843 to the present. We couldn’t put together an issue without their historical research and context, as well as the access to archival images and objects.

LETTERS romances developed. We were mostly freshman and a few sophomore women on my side, and junior men — and Fr. Healey — on the other side.

With the door open, there was shared music, late night conversation and many friendships were forged. I’m still in touch with two friends from the other side of floor, Bob Gorman and Bill Harth, both class of ’75. My freshman year roommate and good friend, Pat Rock, is married to Bob. They are coming up on their 40-year anniversary.

astonishment, “What was that?” And the RA responded: “Your daughter is so lucky — she is on the first and only coed floor at HC!” And that was that. My father chuckled away … and my mother never said another thing about it.

I lived in Wheeler all four years, became an RA my junior year and the head RA my senior year. It was an amazing community. And despite the reputation, and a few crazy stunts and unfortunate behaviors, it was a great place to live.

Patty Finnegan Gates ’78

In spring of my sophomore year, I applied to be a resident assistant and moved to Mulledy in that role my junior year. Life at the top of The Hill could not compare to life in Wheeler — and my experience living on campus went downhill from there!

Mary Nerbonne ’77

West Hartford, Connecticut

When Wheeler Actually Went Coed

Princeton, Massachusetts

Grateful for HC Holy Cross Magazine arrived today and I read the article about Wheeler Hall. That’s where I was housed during my ROTC days at The Cross from 1944 until graduation in early 1946; I was company commander of 3rd Company.

The article reminded me again how fortunate I have been throughout my life. I owe a lot to my education at The Cross.

Contrary to several alumni quotes, Wheeler 2 did not first go coed in January 1978 or in the 1980s. It was actually in September 1973.

My husband, Patrick ’76, had the first room on the boys’ side, so he was often in charge of propping the door open. I was a freshman on Wheeler 4, but got to be close friends with Rose Provencher ’77, in the first room on the girls’ side, who shared a wall with Pat! Patty Kidera Malgieri ’77

Bronxville, New York

Mom’s Move-In Day Surprise

Ed Frank ’46

Oxford, Florida

Errata The story “9 Ways to Be the Boss You Want to Work For” (Spring 2020, Page 42) was missing a byline. It was written

by Maura Sullivan Hill. In “Matt Blake ’07 Will Begin First MLB Season on the Sport’s Biggest Stage” (Spring 2020, Page 53), the story misidentified Mark Freeman, Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society, in the Department of Psychology. Holy Cross Magazine regrets the errors.

We Want Your Letters!

When I arrived at Holy Cross for my freshman Move-In Day in 1974, a Wheeler RA took me and my parents to my room on Wheeler 2. As he put the key in the lock to open my door, a tall, blonde man wearing only a towel around his waist turned the corner at the other end of the hall, walked to a room, waved hello as the RA yelled, “Hi Marty,” and disappeared into his room.

Whether it is a response to something you read, Mystery Photo identification, Milestones submission or a story idea, drop us a line!

My very Catholic mother, who was never lost for words, could only say in

EMAIL

WRITE Holy Cross Magazine One College Street Worcester, MA 01610-2395

hcmag@holycross.edu

CONTRIBUTORS / WHO WE ARE / EDITOR’S NOTE / 7

CAMPUS NOTEBOOK

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8 Snapshot • 10 Spotlight • 12 On The Hill

While they couldn’t offer congratulations in person this year, alumni, faculty, staff and students shared their well-wishes for graduating seniors via video messages during Senior Week events, such as the online Celebration for the Class of 2020, NROTC commissioning, ALANA and International Student Senior Celebration, Lavender Graduation, First Generation Graduation and more.

A surprise guest from the class of 1962 even attended, see Page 10.

SNAPSHOT / CAMPUS NOTEBOOK / 9

SPOTLIGHT

Class of 2020 Receives Degrees, Surprises in Virtual Celebration The College welcomes 707 new alumni in live event

H

oly Cross conferred 707 Bachelor of Arts degrees as part of a virtual celebration on May 22. Aired live, the event included congratulatory messages from faculty, staff and alumni, reflections from the senior class, and a surprise message from Anthony Fauci, M.D.,

’62, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

“I am profoundly aware that graduating during this time and in this virtual way, unable to celebrate in person this important milestone in your lives, with your friends, classmates and teachers, is extremely difficult,” Fauci said. “I encourage you to stay strong and unflinching. The country and the world need your talent, your energy, your resolve and your character.”

A classics major with a premedical concentration at Holy Cross, Fauci has

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often credited his professional success to the Jesuit intellectual rigor that was a core part of his education at the College, which also instilled in him a lifelong commitment to social justice.

“The College of the Holy Cross holds a very special place in my heart,” Fauci said. “The education that you and I have received at Holy Cross, steeped in Jesuit traditions, should suit us well to confront and ultimately overcome this historic pandemic.”

In addition to Fauci, several members of the alumni community offered words of congratulations and support, including: Joanna Geraghty ’94, Adrian Cacho ’19, Meredith Coolidge ’19, Chris Loeber ’19, Michael Shananhan ’78, Anne Fink ’85, Jackie Brewster ’19, Rick Patterson ’80, Visaury Moreta ’18, Jehyve Floyd

(opposite top left) Anthony Fauci, M.D., ’62, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, was one of several special guests offering congratulations and encouragement during the online Celebration for the Class of 2020. Other Senior Week events held online included the NROTC commissioning, ALANA and International Student Senior Celebration, Lavender Graduation and First Generation Graduation.

’19, Hon. Harry Thomas Jr. ’78, Louis Hurtado ’19 and Helen Boucher, M.D., ’86.

“Your graduation is unlike any other in the storied history of Holy Cross,” said Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue. “But in its singularity, it also speaks to the commonality of becoming men and women for others. I have Holy Cross to thank for that gift of grit. And when you need it most in your life, Holy Cross will remind you of that.

We’ve graduated, true, but The Cross is not done teaching us yet, not by a long shot.”

“All of us at Holy Cross will forever think of you as the most resilient, creative and generous class, who sustained many challenges and triumphed,” said Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., College president. “May the questions that your education and formation here have encouraged and inspired give you direction and passion for the work ahead. And may your faith in God and each other bring you blessing and hope in all that lies before you.”

The event capped a week of virtual events held in celebration of the senior class, including the ALANA and

International Student Celebration, Lavender Graduation, “Énouement,”an online exhibition featuring the work of senior studio art majors and, on the morning of May 22, the commissioning of NROTC graduates as ensigns and 2nd lieutenants in the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps.

Kerry Shortell (bottom right) of Pearl River, New York, was selected as class valedictorian. A sociology and psychology major with a concentration in gender, sexuality and women’s studies, she is a member of the Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society, the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa.

Post-graduation, Shortell will join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, serving as an assistant campus minister and academic support at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School in San Jose, California. ■

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Creating a culture of anti-racism.

Training, education and anti-racist action planning.

Faculty and curriculum.

Civic engagement and national conversation.

Support, resources and ensuring equitable access.

Recruitment of diverse communities.

Accountability and structure.

Several key elements of the plan, which can be read in its entirety at www. holycross.edu/hcm/antiracismplan, include the following:

College Announces 40-Point Anti-Racism Action Plan

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n June 19, College President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., announced a 40-point antiracism action plan, designed to create a culture of anti-racism, accountability and structure, and fund training, support and resources.

“In the past two weeks, we have seen ongoing protests across the country and the globe as we collectively respond to the racism and violence experienced

by Black and African American people.

Though we are marking Juneteenth and the end of slavery in this country, we recognize that we still have a long way to go to combat racism,” Fr. Boroughs said. “We have heard from many of you - sharing stories of the ways in which you are contributing to these efforts, highlighting the ways in which the College can support these efforts, and encouraging us to do more. The commitment to social justice is at the heart of our institutional mission. We agree that in order to overcome the sin of racism, whether it be interpersonal or structural, we need to have a plan.”

Fr. Boroughs emphasized that the plan was a starting point for continuing work in this important area, and an affirmation of the College’s ongoing commitment to be an actively anti-racist organization.

In this plan, the College is dedicating substantial financial resources to:

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•

Devoting funds for faculty to develop new courses, or to significantly revise existing courses, around topics of race, racism and anti-racism.

•

Continuing to enhance the College’s efforts to recruit diverse communities of students, faculty and staff, with strategies that include expanding the use of “Mission and Diversity Search Ambassadors” for student-facing and high-impact hires at the College.

•

Providing new opportunities for training, education and anti-racist action planning for students, faculty and staff.

In addition to the plan announced by the College, the board of trustees is establishing a permanent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, chaired by trustee Francine Rosado-Cruz ’94. Committee members will receive ongoing updates on DEI work at the College and will engage with students, faculty and staff directly on priorities.

June’s announcement follows the April 2019 creation of an ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan, which has resulted in new staff, resources and improved practices for support of DEI efforts on campus. An update on plan progress can be found at www.holycross. edu/hcm/deiprogress. ■

Community, Cura Personalis and Scholarship How faculty and staff united and educated a scattered student body in a pandemic

BY MELISSA SHAW

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n March 11, College President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., announced his decision to move students to a distance learning format for the remainder of the semester in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The transition from in-person classes to distance learning was necessary, but difficult, because as Fr. Boroughs noted in a March message to campus: “We place such value on the strength of our on-campus community.

Being together is a large part of who we are.”

Like its peers across the country, Holy Cross was tasked with continuing the education of its students, maintaining its community and living its mission in real time. While there was no playbook nor the physical touchpoint of Mount St. James, faculty and staff did have the guidance of one of the key traditions of Ignatian education: cura personalis — care and attention to the needs of the individual — which they used as the backbone for maintaining a Holy Cross experience for those dispersed.

FLEXIBILITY AND CREATIVITY

The College’s information technology services department partnered with faculty and students to provide a support framework to translate Holy Cross’ in-person classes to a virtual model. Faculty modified their courses and developed new strategies for everything from class discussions to group projects to office hours in order to best leverage the medium and maximize student engagement and support.

One such creative adaption was found in Images from Latin America, a Montserrat course taught by Bridget Franco, associate professor of Spanish.

Her students originally planned to hold an on-campus art exhibit, open to the Holy Cross community. Instead, the event became a collaborative Instagram project that reached far beyond Mount St. James. “In a way, this enhanced the original idea because the digital platform opened my students’ posts to more people,” Franco says, noting that visitors from the United States and Latin America viewed and interacted with the students’ work online. “One of the goals of my class is to create an intellectual and social community that extends beyond the classroom, and our Instagram project was one way to maintain and expand that community.”

“Montserrat has a strong foundation in social connection already; that made the transition from learning in the traditional way to learning in more creative ways easier. The interdisciplinary approach has been a core element of Montserrat,” says Alison Bryant Ludden, director of Montserrat and professor of psychology. “Faculty have been innovative in translating the face-to-face experiences they had planned to online experiences, and students were already talking to their professors and each other about why and how they learn.”

For the fall 2020 semester, flexibility and creativity will continue to shape the academic program, as faculty design their course content and adapt their pedagogy to utilize technology in ways that enhance students’ academic experience.

Mary Ebbott, dean of the faculty and professor in the Department of Classics, says faculty are being thoughtful about how to create courses that best leverage the medium. “We’ve started to have conversations with faculty about how to take advantage of the online environment, not just create a virtual imitation of what we would do in person,” she says. “For example, the

online context might make it possible to create more opportunities to connect our students with outside experts or distant experiences, or it might facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration among our own faculty in exciting new ways.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMAL CONNECTION For the Division of Student Affairs, its first goal was safety and well-being, ensuring students had the support and resources necessary to move out of residence halls within a few days of the March announcement, transition to their homes and process an abrupt end to their on-campus semester.

“It was tough at first,” says Michelle Bata, associate dean for student engagement. “In the beginning, most of us were walking around checking on students, distributing boxes and making sure they were OK.” Once students safely left campus, Bata and student affairs colleagues, who oversee everything from campus recreation to student activities, programming and organizations, were left with the challenge of translating their in-person experiences to a seemingly antithetical format.

“So much of the work we do involves bringing people together physically,” she says. “If we’re not bringing students together in celebration, we’re planning meetings, having meals and sharing coffee. How do we transfer that interaction, that sense of care and concern, into a virtual environment?”

Over the semester, student affairs hosted a variety of programming, from live performances and entertainment to health and wellness workouts to one-night-only events, such as a faculty, staff and student talent show, senior reflection talks and more.

What staff learned through feedback is that while students appreciated and enjoyed these offerings, what they missed most were the informal opportunities to connect: walking to class, running into

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ON THE HILL

a friend at Cool Beans, or hanging out in their room or on their floor.

“Informal interaction is important and a large part of their social interaction on campus,” Bata says. “Because interactions between students are limited to their online courses, the lack of informal connection becomes even more important. That’s what they’re really missing.”

After navigating the brand-new world of creating a virtual Holy Cross student experience this spring, student affairs is continuing their work throughout the summer, honing programming and opportunities that best foster and support student community.

“Now that we know this, as we plan for the summer, we’ll plan fun things and provide a venue and forum where they can have these types of interactions,” Bata notes. “This is going to be our reality for the foreseeable future.”

A COMMUNITY IN DISPERSION

When students were sent home in midMarch, it was just a few weeks before the start of the student-led Manresa weekend retreat, during which students reflect on where they find God in their lives, relationships and community.

Student leaders met before leaving campus and decided that while they couldn’t hold the traditional program as planned, they wanted to offer a virtual

reflective experience for their peers.

“We didn’t totally know what it would look like, but it was really from the students,” says Crista Carrick Mahoney ’02, assistant chaplain. “They decided, ‘This is what we want to do.’”

was really there at all in that moment and struggled to have faith in those difficult moments,” one student wrote.

“Communitas helped remind me that God is in the people, and in each and every moment of our lives.”

Mahoney says student leadership quickly transformed Manresa into a five-week program, “Communitas: Stories to Connect Us.” The new name is a nod to communitas ad dispersionem — a “community in dispersion” — a term used

by St. Ignatius and the first companions to describe themselves. On Mondays and Wednesdays, retreat leaders gave talks on faith, self-identity, family and relationships, adapting what they originally wrote for Manresa by adding reflections on the theme of dispersion.

On Sundays, nearly 80 students met via Zoom for prayers, an Examen and small group breakout discussions.

Added another: “Throughout the retreat, I found our group getting deeper and more willing to explore difficult or vulnerable topics. I was shocked to see at points how connected we could all be through an online platform like Zoom, but the experience of Communitas and the openness of our group allowed us to reflect and, in many ways, transcend the barriers of distance.”

“Our purpose evolved over time: How are we finding meaning in this community and make meaning out of what feels like a very meaningless time of pain and suffering?” Mahoney says.

“There were elements that looked very similar [to Manresa], but the experience, I think, was extraordinarily different, probably more powerful. I was working with these students and I was so inspired with how thoughtful and caring they were with one another. They really dug deep to find meaning. They were a truly amazing group.”

(above) Class of 2020 softball players enjoy an impromptu March 12 “Senior Night” during what became their last practice on The Hill following the College’s decision to move to distance learning for the remainder of the semester.

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Student reflections revealed it was a powerful experience: “When leaving campus five weeks ago, I wondered if God

A SEASON’S SUDDEN END

The day after Fr. Boroughs announced the College’s decision to move to distance learning, the Patriot League announced the immediate cancellation of all seasons and practices for the remainder of the academic year.

For some teams, the announcement marked an abrupt end to a full season, while others’ never began. The women’s basketball team was in Pennsylvania, preparing to take on Bucknell in the Patriot League semifinals, when players walked off the court after practice and discovered their season was over — just hours before the game was scheduled to begin. Back on campus, many teams, including lacrosse, baseball and softball, held final practices, processing the news together and honoring their seniors in an impromptu celebration.

Over the semester and into the summer, the College’s 700 student-athletes

have stayed connected with their teammates and coaches through frequent Zoom, email and phone calls, and maintained their Crusader spirit with social media posts, videos and virtual events that showcased their strength and unity. Among those events have been virtual team banquets, a reimagined version of the annual Crusader Awards played out on Twitter and weekly participation in #PurpleFriday, where Crusaders near and far across all generations wear purple and share their Holy Cross pride on social media.

“Despite many of the unprecedented challenges brought upon by this difficult transition, staying in touch with the Holy Cross community was not one of them for me,” notes Emily Wogelius ’21, a member of the women’s track and field team. “The support I received from my professors and coaches during this transition made me all the more grateful for how connected the Holy Cross community is.”

For head football coach Bob Chesney and team, the Patriot League’s decision meant the cancellation of spring practice, yet student-athletes were sent home prepped by the coaching staff with guidance for keeping on track with classes, personal workouts and fitness, and schematics to learn for the upcoming season.

“All teams are in the same position, but it’s going to be a matter of who can come back the fastest, who won’t take such a huge hit by being home,” Chesney told the Telegram & Gazette. “What

(above) Images from “Énouement,” the annual senior studio art exhibition, which moved online in response to the unavailability of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery due to the pandemic. The title, chosen by the artists, is defined as “the bittersweet feeling of having arrived in the future to see how things turn out, without being able to tell one’s past self.” It can be viewed at www.holycross.edu/hcm/enouement.

players are motivated to do as much as possible when they’re at home given the circumstances? That’s who will have an advantage when we all come back.”

Despite losing access to the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex, conditioning has been a priority for all student-athletes. Strength and conditioning staff spent the spring ensuring every student-athlete had a workout plan based on the equipment they had on hand.

“During this time period, it was very important for our student-athletes to continue their athletic development while keeping their health and safety and the overall health of their communities as the utmost priority,” says Marcus Blossom, director of Athletics. “Our coaches and staff did a good job of supporting this development in creative ways while also recruiting virtually to find more talented student-athletes to add to their teams.”

CONNECTING ALUMNI IN UNEXPECTED WAYS In 2019, the Office of Alumni Relations coordinated 100 events between midMarch and the end of June, on campus and across the country. Its challenge for the first half of 2020 was recreating that level of activity in a strictly virtual setting, keeping Crusaders connected to alma mater and to each other. In response, the office created a host of

personal and professional online resources and live events, from career and networking workshops and facultyled continuing education webinars, to faith and spirituality opportunities and health and wellness events, even a live workout with Holy Cross Athletic Hall of Famer and personal trainer Keith Simmons ’07.

“The breadth of online programming that we have been able to offer people has been off the charts,” says Kristyn Dyer ’94, director of alumni relations.

(Upcoming virtual events and online resources can be found at alumni. holycross.edu/alumniresources.)

The office was even able to transition traditionally in-person events, such as the hidden history campus walking tour, online. Led by Tom Cadigan ’02, associate director of alumni relations, the tour was split into two online events and is based on the popular tour previously given by the late Rev. Anthony J. Kuzniewski, S.J. “What’s so gratifying is we learned that so many of these people on the tour, in the traditional in-person model, would never be able to get together and connect,” Dyer says. “People who perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise engaged with us are doing it now. The silver lining in this time is we are able to connect with every single alum virtually in new ways.” ■

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ON THE HILL •

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• •

•

College Announces Fall Plan for Student Return

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n June 24, College President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., announced plans to invite all students who are able to return to Mount St. James for the new academic year and institute a series of restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

While the plan will continue to be solidified over the summer – and can be impacted by future city, state or federal guidance – key elements include:

ments for all non-essential personnel.

“The fall semester will certainly feel very different from what we are used to on Mount St. James,” Fr. Boroughs said.

“But while we live, learn and engage in new ways, we will also continue to build an ever-stronger community through this unprecedented shared experience.

Together we will achieve something that has never been attempted before, and I look forward to this journey with you and the many opportunities, ideas and learning that we will gain along the way.”

The board of trustees has approved a budget plan designed to offset expected revenue losses and increased costs and required modifications due to COVID-19, as well as support students and families, many of who face increased financial needs due to the pandemic.

PLAN HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: •

• • •

•

Enforcing public health guidelines, such as mask wearing and physical distancing, and limiting gathering sizes.

Conducting COVID-19 testing, tracing and quarantine protocols.

Offering a mix of in-person, hybrid or fully online courses.

Limiting residence halls to two people per room and establishing isolation and quarantine spaces for students.

Continuing remote work require-

•

•

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Eliminating the previously announced tuition increase and freezing tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year at the 2019-2020 rate.

Spending an estimated $10 million-$12 million for additional cleaning; student housing; space modifications; required COVID-19 monitoring, testing and tracing; and providing quarantine/isolation spaces and quarantined student care.

Transferring an additional $5 million from the endowment to the College’s operating budget.

Furloughing a number of administrators and staff this summer and fall.

Maintaining tenured faculty salaries at the 2019-2020 level.

Continuing the administrator and staff salary freeze announced in April for the remainder of the 2021 fiscal year.

Suspending College contribution to the 403(b) plan for administrators, faculty and staff effective Aug. 1 for the remainder of the 2021 fiscal year.

“I want to be very clear that our plan for the fall is still subject to the course of the virus itself as well as by the restrictions that may be imposed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the city of Worcester or CDC guidelines, and our ability to secure necessary testing, contact tracing resources and housing capacity,” Fr. Boroughs said. “While we are working intently toward the plans above, we will all need to remain flexible as we progress through the summer and throughout the fall semester.”

On July 13, the Patriot League announced its decision to suspend all athletic competition for the fall semester.

“While we are all very disappointed, we were also not caught off guard, given the changing landscape that has developed in recent weeks,” said Marcus Blossom, Holy Cross director of Athletics. “Our goal is to provide [student-athletes] with a great experience, and at this moment we aren’t confident the fall season would either be safe or great because of the virus and the restrictions resulting from the virus.”

Decisions about winter and spring athletics will be made at a later date. ■

Continued updates on the College’s fall plans can be found at Holy Cross’ COVID-19 site: www.holycross.edu/2019novel-coronavirus-covid-19-information.

his yearlong project to create a musical Passion for soloists and orchestra based on the Stations of the Cross.

Academic Conference Goes Virtual

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s faculty members across the College worked to transition courses to a distance learning format this spring, one of the many logistical challenges to tackle was Academic Conference, where students present the results of their independent work in the performing and visual arts, social sciences, humanities and natural sciences. How could a multiday celebration of student work, filled with presentations, performances, poster sessions and dialogue, move to an online format?

“It was an amazing effort on the part of students and their faculty mentors, many of whom were learning new technology skills,” says Danuta Bukatko, professor of psychology and one of the organizers of the virtual Academic Conference. “When we realized the conference could not take its traditional form, we decided it was still important to acknowledge in some way the rigorous scholarly work conducted by so many of our students over the past several months. Because of the challenges of these times, not all

students doing independent projects were able to participate this year, but the conference signals appreciation for what all of them did in contributing to the process of knowledge-building. The response from the College community was very positive. In fact, there may be some features of the virtual conference we may want to keep next year.”

The virtual conference kicked off on Tuesday, April 21, with a live session with Los Angeles-based band Las Cafeteras. Streamed online, it included musical demonstrations and conversation with the artists. Originally scheduled for a residency on campus in mid-March, Las Cafeteras worked with Arts Transcending Borders to connect with the campus community in a different medium that still showcased their use of storytelling through music to amplify the voices of the marginalized as a tool to promote community activism and social change.

April 22 featured a full day of presentations by students from a variety of class years with more than 20 departments and programs represented. Sessions included a presentation by this year’s Fenwick Scholar, Matthew Pinder ’20, “Stations of the Cross: A Non-Traditional Musical Passion,” which gave insight into his research and composition and debuted segments, via a piano performance, of

Ellen Perry, director of the College Honors Program, explained that flexibility in the face of COVID-19 underscored all of her students’ presentations during the event. “There was a steep learning curve with technology,” she says.

Instead of giving practice presentations, students broke into groups and critiqued prerecorded performances of their peers, incorporating critical feedback into their final products. “Most important, I think, is this: A number of students completed this work in the face of adversity – technological, personal or family adversity. And they went ahead and did it anyway.”

Adaptation to the new virtual conference wasn’t limited to research presentations; for example, the College Choir debuted their performance — remotely recorded (above) — of the Tallis Canon. Under the direction of Allegra Martin, director of College choirs, with rehearsal support and guidance from Matthew Jaskot, lecturer in the music department, and audio and visual production by Brian Saia, lecturer in the music department, the ensemble learned to perform as a group of soloists, each singing and recording their piece individually for the cumulative video that was produced, edited and mixed by Saia.

“One of the most important skills we teach in academia is that of communication, which can come in many forms,” Martin says. “Figuring out new options for connection is particularly important right now, when we are all isolating to protect each other. I wanted to give the choir students a way to still make music and connect with each other, and I wanted them to have a chance to share their hard work with everyone else.” ■

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ON THE HILL Bishop Healy Emergency Fund, which assists ALANA students by creating a last resort safety net of funds for emergency expenses, including books and resources for classes, travel and other basic needs.

Annual Day of Giving Demonstrates ‘The Power of Purple’

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early 4,000 Holy Cross alumni, students, parents and friends rallyied around the theme of “The Power of Purple” on the College’s annual day of giving, donating $2.47 million on April 17.

The 2020 one-day challenge was originally scheduled to take place during Winter Homecoming in January.

After the women’s rowing team’s tragic accident, the College postponed the event and made plans to launch the day in conjunction with the Holy Cross Alumni Association’s (HCAA) Holy Cross Cares Day in April.

“Even though we had to cancel the in-person community service events, there is no doubt that our community responded with an outpouring of

hope and showed that Holy Cross cares,” says Mike Shanahan ’78, president of the HCAA. With the impact of COVID-19, giving day prioritized donation options focused on funds that directly support students and emergency needs, such as the Holy Cross Fund, which supports all areas of the academic enterprise and the Holy Cross community; the Emergency Relief Fund, newly established to help meet the unanticipated travel, technology and emergency financial aid needs of students affected by the COVID-19 crisis; support for financial aid; Crusader Athletics Fund, which provides the flexibility needed to support student-athletes during this period of distance learning; and the

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“We continue to see the tremendous value and impact of our volunteers who help make the case for support, connecting with their classmates and friends in very personal ways,” says Christene Riendeau, director of annual giving and volunteer engagement at the College. “And we’re enormously proud of the class of 2019, which had the most individual donors of any class. They understand that giving back is paying it forward.”

“We all know our alumni are living proof of the value of a Holy Cross education,” says Tracy Barlok, vice president for advancement. “This day of giving is such a testament to the power of the collective Holy Cross community – and a reminder of what it really means to be a Crusader – for and with others. This support helps ensure the success of generations of Holy Cross leaders to come. It gives us confidence that our students will take on whatever challenges may come in the future.” ■

Outcomes Good for Class of 2019

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ccording to recent graduates, outcomes look good for those who left The Hill last year, with students across majors finding success in securing job offers, internships and graduate program acceptances across the country. In a snapshot of outcomes for the class of 2019 with 87% of graduates responding, a considerable 93% of respondents are employed in a job or internship, engaged in service work or pursuing a graduate degree.

The most popular course for graduates was fulltime employment, with salaries ranging from $26,000 to $100,000 per year, with the average salary over $55,000. The top industries where Holy Cross graduates found employment include financial services (17%), health care (12%), government, politics and law (12%), technology (12%) and education (7%). Grads scattered to locations across the country, including Boston, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Most of those moving on to graduate school entered master’s

programs (48%), while others pursued doctoral degrees (17%), entered law school (14%) or enrolled in medical school or health professions programs (17%).

Some students were also awarded fellowships, such as Fulbrights, continuing the College’s longstanding tradition of producing fellowship recipient scholars. Those pursuing their passions through volunteering were accepted by organizations such as the Peace Corps, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and AmeriCorps Vista.

The key to Holy Cross students’ success after graduation is no secret — students prepare for the future while still in school by working with class deans, academic advisers and resources such as the Center for Career Development.

The majority of responding students — 78% — participated in an internship while still enrolled at Holy Cross to get valuable realworld experience, and many took advantage of Holy Cross’ extensive alumni network when pursuing internships and employment after graduation.

The First Destinations Report was compiled by the Center for Career Development, which collaborates with the network of Holy Cross alumni, employers and campus partners to share expertise and engage students throughout their undergraduate career to translate the liberal arts experience into meaningful vocation and a lifetime of professional achievement. ■

at Holy Cross?

First Director of Sustainability Named

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athy Liebowitz has been hired as the College’s first director of sustainability. She joined Holy Cross in April from Emerson College, where she was campus sustainability manager.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Dartmouth College and a master’s in higher education administration from the University of Maryland.

Can you tell us a little about your past experience, and how you hope that background will help you in the new role?

England mountains, rivers and farms. This environment sparked my professional interest in sustainable community development, so I attended Dartmouth College to pursue my B.A. in environmental studies. However, the mentors in my life showed me the importance of role models and support systems. I recognized that sustainable community development requires education and active listening, so I pursued my M.A. in higher education administration, where I also served as a resident director for fraternity and sorority life. My combined knowledge in environmental studies and education allowed me to manage the milliondollar green fund at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and progress Emerson College’s carbon neutrality goal.

Raised in rural New Hampshire, I grew up surrounded by New

What’s your top priority for sustainability

In this new role, Liebowitz will lead the development and execution of the College’s sustainability initiatives, integrating them throughout the campus and encouraging more sustainable policies, practices, infrastructure and culture.

Since 2007, Holy Cross has decreased its carbon footprint by over 46%.

That’s an incredible accomplishment and a testament to the community’s dedication to environmentally conscious practices. My top priority is supporting the College’s 2007 Carbon Commitment to become carbon neutral by 2040.

More concretely, I’m striving to expand student engagement opportunities and outreach channels, so our community knows about the Carbon Commitment and feels confident getting involved.

Where do you think Holy Cross has room to grow?

As I meet new people and learn about different initiatives, I’m energized by the many pockets around campus that have woven sustainable efforts into their work.

The student body voted to start the Green Fund in fall 2020. The facilities department has installed energy recovery systems and upgraded windows to high-efficiency. Environmental studies faculty will teach the program’s first capstone course next year.

Dining services purchases over 25% of its food from local sources. Holy Cross should take pride in these efforts and share them.

If Holy Cross improved its story about sustainable efforts happening on campus, I believe more individuals on and off campus would feel energized to participate in the College’s environmental stewardship. ■

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FACULT Y & STAFF

Students’ move to a distance learning format this spring meant a similar transition for faculty.

Here are images, submitted by faculty, of their recent off-campus Creative Spaces.

THANK YOU TO FACULTY SUSAN AMATANGELO | ROBERT BELLIN | CHRISTINE COCH | MARY CONLEY | DANIEL FROST | KENDY HESS | ALEX

20 Creative Spaces • 22 Headliners

“My scholarly workspaces reflect the fact that life requires constant adaptation. In graduate school, I worked out of the trunk of my Honda Civic, writing my dissertation in an assortment of local coffee shops and teaching for several colleges around Los Angeles. At the time, my friends called me a ‘Road Scholar’ for all the time I spent traveling on California freeways.

When I came to Holy Cross, I became deeply grateful for having a job in a single place, and I made my campus office the place where my productivity thrived. But now amid these strange times, I am evolving again. I have gone from having a commute of about 90 miles to one of less than 25 feet. From my ‘Road Scholar’ roots, I am still working to become a ‘Home Scholar.’”

— Alex Hindman (right), assistant professor of political science

avanell brock

HINDMAN | ERNEST JENNINGS | SCOTT MALIA | CRISTI RINKLIN | GARETH ROBERTS

C R E AT I V E S PA C E S / FA C U LT Y & S TA F F / 2 1

HEADLINERS

BERTIN

CECIL ’68

CRAIG

Holy Cross Says Farewell to Seven Retiring Professors The cohort leaves a long legacy, teaching on Mount St. James for a combined 286 years

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hey’ve taught generations of Holy Cross students in classrooms, laboratories, arts venues and even locales abroad.

Now, these esteemed faculty members are retiring: Robert Bertin, Distinguished Professor of Science; Thomas Cecil, Distinguished Professor of Science; Barbara Craig, associate professor of theatre; Robert Garvey, associate professor of physics; Maurice Géracht, Stephen J. Prior Professor of Humanities; Theresa McBride, professor of history; and Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities. From earning prestigious accolades to making research advances to implementing innovative programs at the College, these educators leave an unforgettable legacy.

ROBERT BERTIN Distinguished Professor of Science Robert Bertin joined the biology department in 1984.

BY MEREDITH FIDROCKI

His fields of study include ecology and natural history of higher plants. The monograph “Vascular Flora of Worcester County,” one of the many publications he’s authored or co-authored, positioned him as the preeminent expert in how the local flora has shifted due to forces such as climate change, species introductions and patterns of land use.

Bertin has won various contracts and grants, including those from the National Science Foundation. At Holy Cross, he was chair of his department and played an integral role in the Environmental Studies Program. From 2016 to 2019, he held the Anthony and Renee Marlon Professorship in the Sciences.

“Field Botany remains one of my favorite courses, in part because its subject is closest to my current research, and in part because the course provides an opportunity for deep immersion in a familiar part of our environment, yet one that few people examine closely,” Bertin says. “Plants are marvelously

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GARVEY

accessible and their study requires no specialized equipment. Learning their names is the first step in understanding their ecological and evolutionary relationships and fascinating natural history. If a student leaves the class knowing these things and understanding the power of close observation, I feel that I have accomplished something of value.”

THOMAS CECIL ’68

Distinguished Professor of Science Thomas Cecil joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science in 1978. Cecil is a specialist in differential geometry and submanifolds. He authored “Lie Sphere Geometry,” in addition to writing or co-writing multiple other books and more than 30 journal articles. At Holy Cross, he was chair of his department and speaker of the faculty, and played an active role on several committees. A recipient of numerous Research in Undergraduate Institutions grants from the National Science Foundation, Cecil also received the Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2008 and held the Anthony and Renee Marlon Professorship in the Sciences from 2009 to 2012, among other honors.

GÉRACHT

“As an alumnus of Holy Cross and a professor here for 42 years, I’ve always felt truly at home at the College,” Cecil shares. “Most of all, I’ve loved working with so many wonderful, bright students and getting to know them well on a personal level as well. I’ve especially enjoyed teaching the two advanced courses in my research area of geometry: Topics in Geometry and Differential Geometry. I’ve been impressed by the high level of accomplishment that many of the students in these courses have attained, including 18 who wrote honors theses in geometry under my direction.

Several of those students went on to earn doctorates in mathematics at leading graduate programs. Working closely with so many outstanding students was certainly a highlight of my career at Holy Cross.”

BARBARA CRAIG associate professor of theatre

Barbara Craig joined the Department of Theatre and Dance faculty in 2004. An expert in set and lighting design as well as technical production, Craig has shared her talents in academic, professional and community theatres across the country.

At Holy Cross, she taught a range of courses, including Scene Design and

MCBRIDE

Virtual Realities. She was instrumental in bringing the College’s many productions to life, from annual plays and musicals to dance concerts and Arts Transcending Borders performances. Many of her Holy Cross stagings have earned the New England Theatre Conference’s Moss Hart Award for Best College Production.

“Most people think opening night is the big deal in theatre, but for me, it is the first tech/dress rehearsal when everyone’s work comes together for the first time,” Craig says. “It is a day of stress and pride, tempered by exhaustion, but never more exhilarating than this year, when the opening number of ‘Cabaret’ blew the roof off Fenwick Theatre. Good thing there’s a new building on the horizon.”

ROBERT GARVEY associate professor of physics

Robert Garvey joined the physics department in 1977.

His fields of study include theoretical atomic physics, general relativity and the philosophical implications of technology.

At Holy Cross, he was integral in creating the College’s First-Year Program, serving as its inaugural director, and received national recognition for his outstanding work on behalf of first-year students.

Over the years, he held various campus roles, including chair of his department.

Garvey and Janine Shertzer, Distinguished Professor of Science, were co-recipients of a Sherman-Fairchild grant, creating the innovative course General Physics in Daily Life. In 2000, Garvey won a U.S. Professor RAGUIN of the Year Award from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

“My favorite course was a two-course sequence that I taught for five years with Clyde Pax [professor of philosophy] over 35 years ago,” Garvey says. “My course was about how scientists interpret reality and Clyde’s course was, of course, much, much deeper. It was about the mystery in which we are embedded, about our role as interpreters of and our experience of being interpreted by reality. For me, teaching with Clyde [who passed away in 2017] was both a privilege and a revelation, in all the meanings of that word. It permanently affected how I thought, taught and lived.”

MAURICE GÉRACHT

Stephen J. Prior Professor of Humanities Maurice Géracht joined the English department in 1966.

A scholar of late 17th-century to early 20th-century British, American and French authors and artists, he has been published extensively. In 2010, Géracht gained acclaim for his work as coeditor, with Frédéric Ogée Université de Paris since 1999, of the bilingual word and image journal Interfaces; the publication earning the prestigious Parnassus Award for Significant Editorial

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HEADLINERS Achievement. At Holy Cross, Géracht’s impact has been felt everywhere, from helping to craft the College’s mission statement to securing major acquisitions for its art collection and exhibitions to founding and cultivating a robust, award-winning study abroad program, which he directed for 18 years. Géracht was awarded the College’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2014 and received a French knighthood in 2018 when the government of France named him a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, the country’s oldest nonmilitary decoration.

“Cleaning out my desk a few months ago, I came across a photograph of students around a dinner table talking to Beat poet Allen Ginsberg; the seminar was on that group of poets and novelists,” Géracht recalls. “Ginsberg had been

ANGGORO

invited to read at a local college. As we arranged to attend the reading, we discovered the other college hadn’t planned to pick Ginsberg up at the airport or take him to dinner. Our class volunteered to do all that — in short, we ‘hijacked’ him. It was one of those wonderful, memorable evenings with a very gracious gentleman: He signed our students’ copies of ‘Howl’ and ‘Kaddish.’”

THERESA MCBRIDE

professor of history Theresa McBride joined the history department in 1973.

She is an expert in modern French and Italian history, with research interests in the comparative history of women and gender, as well as global environmental history. She authored the book

GETTELMAN

Holy Cross Professors Honored for Scholarship, Teaching and Advising

F

our Holy Cross professors were honored this spring with faculty awards for their exemplary scholarship, teaching and advising.

In her address at the spring faculty assembly, Margaret Freije, provost and dean, presented the Mary Louise

MATHESON

RASK

J. Burns ’49 Career Teaching Medal to Kolleen Rask of the Department of Economics and Accounting.

BY MELISSA S H AW

Marfuggi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship to Florencia Anggoro of the Department of Psychology; the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award to Victor Matheson of the Department of Economics and Accounting; the Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Academic Advising to Debra Gettelman of the Department of English; and the Donal

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“The Domestic Revolution: The Modernization of Household Service in England and France, 1820-1920,” one of her many publications. At Holy Cross, McBride was an active leader, chairing her department twice and serving as speaker of the faculty — the first woman elected to that position. She directed the Environmental Studies Program and the College Honors Program, and was instrumental in founding and leading the Women’s Studies Program (now the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program). She played an integral role in writing Holy Cross’ mission statement and in developing other College standards, such as the Title IX policies on sexual respect. McBride earned multiple fellowships, including several from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and honors, such as the College’s 2012 Distinguished Teaching

Anggoro, a cognitive developmental scientist and associate professor of psychology, was recognized with the College’s annual award celebrating outstanding achievement in the creation of original scholarly work over the past 18 months. Over that time, she published journal articles, conference proceedings, a book chapter, and conference presentations and posters.

Her scholarship, which centers around how children learn about the world, was supported by two significant federal

Award.

“I’ve spent a career indulging my fascination with France’s history through many research leaves spent in France, but my particular joy has been in sharing my knowledge of this history with students at the sites where many of these events occurred,” McBride shares. “In the May term in Luxembourg, and more recently in the Maymester in Paris, I led students through the Maginot Line’s tunnels and narrated the experience of the world wars in ruined forts and military cemeteries in Germany and France.

About 10 years ago, I helped create a course on Paris where it has been a delight to introduce students to its rich history, art and architecture, and watch as they discover their own special places in this great city.”

research grants during this period.

In addition, Anggoro provided science learning opportunities for Worcester Public Schools students and mentored research experiences for a dozen Holy Cross students. Her nomination by departmental colleagues noted that her research “exemplifies what both the psychological community and the Holy Cross community value deeply: working in ways that leverage each of our unique gifts in order to improve the lives of others.”

Gettelman, associate professor of English, is the winner of this year’s Mary Louise Marfuggi Award for Academic Advising, given to a faculty member who has provided extraordinary academic student advisement and mentorship. The recipient is selected based on student nominations.

Students praised Gettelman for caring about the scope of their lives, from their classwork to their overall well-being.

Nominations noted that she has gone above and beyond what an academic adviser is expected to do, also working

VIRGINIA RAGUIN Distinguished Professor of Humanities

Virginia Raguin joined the department of visual arts in 1972. A leading scholar of medieval and Renaissance art as well as stained glass, Raguin has collaborated with peers across the globe on historic site conservation. Her curated exhibitions have appeared in many galleries, and she authored or coauthored numerous books and articles, as well as exhibition catalogs, garnering an award for “Sacred Spaces: Building and Remembering Sites of Worship in the 19th Century.” Over the years, Raguin earned various grants, including multiple awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities. At Holy Cross, she served the department as

with students who are not her assigned advisees. “Her openness and her always asking about my well-being definitely made me feel more at home and at ease here knowing my professors care,” wrote one student.

Professor of economics and sports economist Victor Matheson received the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award, presented to a faculty member with an eminent record of scholarly achievement throughout his or her career.

Matheson was nominated by departmental colleagues for his prolific output of scholarship over the years, including the publication of a leading textbook on sports economics and over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters.

In just the past 18 months, Matheson has appeared in more than 120 media outlets, traditionally serving as an expert on the intersection of sports and local economies, from Olympic host cities and major league stadium financing to sports gambling and the economic impact of COVID-19 on spectator sports.

A colleague in his field from Skidmore

chair, as well as head of its art history division. She directed the medieval and Renaissance studies minor, and held the College’s Brooks Chair in the Humanities from 2006 to 2010.

“People often ask what is my favorite work of art, and I find that the honest reply is, ‘What I’m looking at now,’” Raguin says. “The world is full of many modes of art and the process of engaging with any one of them is a privilege. The more familiar we are with some, the easier it is to connect to others. Do we see a familiar similarity, a new variation or a challenging contrast? And that thought extends to our teaching. As teachers, we remember the wonder, discovery and sense of confidence that we witnessed when anyone engaged and realized their own powers.” ■

College wrote in support of the nomination: “Without doubt, he is one of the most well-known and highly published scholars in our field. His record of professional service and scholarship, combined with his ability to engage the popular press, is nearly without equal.”

Kolleen Rask, professor of economics, was awarded the Donal J. Burns ’49 Career Teaching Medal. Nominated by individuals or groups on campus, the honor recognizes an outstanding faculty member who has devoted his or her career to teaching at Holy Cross.

Rask was lauded by nominators and the selection committee for her dedication and commitment to and passion for the liberal arts. One nominator wrote that Rask asks her students to “extend their learning beyond what they have read or seen in class …[seeing] the real value of the liberal arts education as helping to prepare a person to encounter and respond to a completely unexpected situation.” Eleven colleagues wrote testimonials noting that she has “challenged, inspired and supported” them as they evolved as teachers. ■

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SWISS ARMY KNIFE

REMEMBERING THE 26 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

OF BUILDINGS

From all-sport gymnasium to raucous concert hall, graduation stage, loveat-first-sight dance floor and more, the Field House played nearly every role over its 70-year history.

BY MELISSA SHAW

REMEMBERING THE ST WHI SE SA TARREMIYN KANCI FOEN O T EF NBTUI O I LUDSI NA G SE / 2 7

It wasn’t much to look at, but it did the job.

A utilitarian workhorse, the Field House fulfilled a host of functions over its 70 years: gymnasium, practice facility, concert hall, Commencement stage, finals pressure cooker, class registration hub ... the list is long.

From the start, the structure was intended to be a very temporary solution to the College’s need for a gym.

In 1945, advisers to Holy Cross President Rev. William J. Healy, S.J., noted that a new gym would serve two purposes: “Father Healy’s advisers pointed out that a gym would enhance the school’s popularity with students and help safeguard their moral lives because, he reported, there was ‘an astonishing drop in temptations and sins of impurity’ after a gymnasium opened at another Catholic college,” wrote the late Rev. Anthony J. Kuzniewski, S.J., in “Thy Honored Name: A History of the College of the Holy Cross.”

The estimate for building a facility came in at $1.8 million, which Fr. Healy noted was “a very classy neighborhood for us.” But with post-war enrollment on the rise, more housing and classroom space quickly became higher priorities.

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In 1946, Fr. Healy turned to the idea of finding and repurposing an unused surplus building from one of New England’s military bases: “a temporary structure that would tide us over the emergency of next Fall and Winter and would be a good stop-gap ... until the gymnasium emerges,” wrote Fr. Healy in a letter to architects.

This temporary building, a surplus hangar from Rhode Island’s Camp Endicott, a U.S. Navy Seabee facility in North Kingstown, would tide over the College — and

generations of students — through December 2019.

With the Field House slated to open in March 1948, Fr. Healy turned his attention toward construction of a new biology building (what would become O’Neil Hall), which he said was needed to “avoid compromising perhaps the best course offered by the College.”

But he knew the decision would be an unpopular one.

“There is no doubt about it: the Alumni will scream in anguish whatever building is started before the Gym,” Fr. Healy wrote to the Jesuit provincial, complete with italics. “The Gym is an albatross hung right around our necks.”

Alumni may have wanted a “permanent” gym, but for 70 years they made good use of — and good memories in — that unassuming building.

The years before the opening of the Hogan Campus Center in 1967 and the Hart Center in 1976 were the golden days of the Field House, where it hosted a variety of activity and produced fond memories for generations. ****** The year was 1961, and we were freshmen living on Wheeler IV, with windows overlooking the Field House.

On those special Saturdays when buses brought women to the campus for a dance, we developed a ritual. About an hour before the dance started, we cleaned up, dressed up a bit, sometimes found courage in libations and gathered in small groups looking out the windows for the heaven-sent buses.

When we were sure that the dance was underway, we walked up the hill and made our fashionably late entrance. No one of us dared approach a gathering of the opposite sex and risk being turned down for a dance.

We just kept circling the dance floor like moons in a planetary orbit.

The Field House was where Commencement for the class of 1956 was held and where, on that day, more than 100 of us received military commissions (as Navy ensigns or Air Force or Marine second lieutenants).

On a more personal level, the Field House also was the place where, at a weekend dance in the spring of 1953, I met Janice Foley, my wife of now almost 63 years and counting.

Bill Haupt ’56 As a senior, someone discovered the bright idea of a marathon basketball game nationwide competition. The rules were: only 10 players, regular game procedures, stoppages only for half time, ends of games and an occasional timeout. I was not excused from a mandatory quiz in Joe “Friar” McGuire’s class. The solution was to arrange one game to end, have a waiting car whisk me down to the start of class for the quiz (originally failed, later curved to pass), then

Donald D. Blake ’65

REMEMBERING THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF BUILDINGS / 2 9

return me to the Field House to continue to play. We set the record, over 28 hours. No sleep.

Jim Casey ’67 I could walk up there, take a ball from the huge carton that was filled with balls, and spend a couple of hours shooting or playing twoon-two or three-on-three with anybody who was around. One day I had put in a couple of hours and was getting ready to leave when I noticed a group of four or five guys going out on one of the courts. It was not unusual until one guy

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in the group asked me if I’d join them because they were short of an even number. I glanced at them and saw that one of them was Bob Cousy.

How could I not join in? I still ask myself that question and I never have a good answer. But — and I’ll regret that until the day I die — I told them I had to get back.

That was the Field House: a place where you could play with one of the great players of all time, a place where the greats would play with the not-anywhere-near-greats.

Bob Marrion ’52 Though perhaps being the least athletically gifted human on this planet, I was begrudgingly allowed to play some basketball with four classmates in the spring of ’57. Being sports editor of The Spire (nee Crusader and

House in the afternoon. The Field House was the home of many of our Navy ROTC Physical Training Tests over the years.

Karen Tsiantas, Capt. USN (Ret) ’87

Tomahawk) granted me no advantage, but when two alums dropped in to shoot hoops, the five of us took them on. For the rest of my life I have been able to brag that I played against Tommy Heinsohn and Bob Cousy.

During our five years at Holy Cross, we watched an astounding roster of musicians perform at the Field House, including America, Aerosmith, Delaney and Bonnie, Jesse Colin Young, Melissa Manchester and the Eagles. Yes, those Eagles!

Pat Malgieri ’76 and Patty (Kidera) Malgieri ’77

Edwin G. (Bud) Montgomery ’57 The most notable event in the Field House during my time at Holy Cross might be The Who concert in November 1969. The Field House was dangerously packed, but nobody cared.

During the band’s sound check, a crowd outside started banging on the windows and doors to be let in. In the aftermath of Woodstock, the people thought the music should be available to all interested parties with or without tickets. Someone made a good decision to open the doors, thereby avoiding a possible riot.

Cliff Browning ’71 April 1987: Due to a snowstorm, our Navy ROTC training had to be in the Field House. I remember a sea of Navy ROTC students in our whites, blending in with the snow as we all made our way to the Field

In fall 1982, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes made a trip to Mount St. James as Holy Cross was making a last gap attempt to keep any sort of concert series on campus. Two years earlier, a concert by a couple of guys from Philadelphia named Daryl Hall and John Oates had been sparsely attended and the school had said they would no longer

REMEMBERING THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF BUILDINGS / 3 1

back these events.

The Field House stage consisted of a bunch of rectangular banquet tables.

There was no seating so everyone would stand to watch the show. As the Jukes took the stage, the crowd surged forward. Remember the banquet tables? The “stage” started to buckle.

The security team was asking everyone to move back. No one did. Southside was laughing at the whole situation, but things were getting worse. Even a rubber chicken flying on the stage could not help.

Richard Hoff ’84 In August 1987, I was dropped off on Fitton Field for the men’s soccer first practice. After two sessions of grueling practice, I was shown to the Field House, which became my living quarters for my first two weeks on campus because the dorms weren’t open. I had a cot and shared a room with six to eight other gents who didn’t have off-campus living arrangements or could commute. I remember it being hot and one night leaving my cot to sleep on the large gymnastics mat that sat below a climbing rope that went to the rafters.

I remember every little sound echoing and not getting much sleep at all. At least the mat was nice and cool, and there was a bit of air circulation out in the open space. I’ll never forget that time.

Michael Brodeur ’90 As the children of George Blaney ’61, former head basketball coach from 1972-1994, the Field House

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was our playground. We would go up with my dad to practice, run around the track, jump on the pole vaulting mats until we were so tired we would just lay there, and venture in and out of the squash courts trying not to get locked in.

My brothers would shoot hoops until a ball would roll into the middle of practice and Kevin would blame Terry. We jumped over the chairs in the balcony, playing hide and seek. My dad ran a boys basketball camp based out of the Hart Center all the years he was coach. Because there were hundreds of kids, the Field House was used for practices and games, sometimes eight going on at a time. It would get loud and hot, with voices echoing off the walls, and if it was raining, the smell could get very funky.

As we grew, the Field House was a place where we saw some excellent concerts including Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Hall and Oates, Squeeze and the Chieftains. Holy Cross was a great place to grow up and the Field House played an important part in those times.

Annmarie ’86, Terry ’88, Kevin ’89, Tricia and Brian Blaney I was introduced to the man who would become my husband in the Field House in 1990. Over the years when we were back at Holy Cross with our four children, I would show them the exact spot. They would humor me with their feigned interest and roll their eyes when I’d give him a kiss to commemorate the place.

Lisa Germer Bice ’90 Met my wife there in 1962. As a frosh in 1960 from an open window in Wheeler, I could

his orchestra.

Mike Falivena ’63 It was a Friday night, around 10:30 p.m., September 16, 1966. My former roommate convinced me to make an appearance with him at the mixer at the Field House. As we walked in, there stood a 5’10” Worcester girl, with blondish hair down to her waist. In those times, there was nothing you could say that was right, so I simply walked straight into her and apologized. How better to start a relationship than to say “I’m sorry”? We danced, walked, talked and the rest is a 54-year history.

Phil Sbarbaro ’67 The Field House was a sort of lifeline for me in my early days at Holy Cross. I am a member of one of the first classes of women on The Hill and arrived as a nervous 17-year-old. Although I didn’t bring many extras with me, I made sure to pack my basketball. At home, I had never been much of a

hear the strains of the Glenn Miller Orchestra playing “Moonlight Serenade.” As a gym rat in 1959, I watched a skinny kid out of Assumption Prep, later to become known as Jack “The Shot” Foley, practice with our basketball team. That same year, I was surprised to see the Celtics’ Tommy Heinsohn playing a pickup game with some students. I also watched another Celt, Bob Cousy, all alone late at night sinking hook shot after hook shot from the top of the key! At junior prom in 1962, as the music chairman, I provided Cokes for Lionel Hampton &

REMEMBERING THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF BUILDINGS / 3 3

player, but I was a bit of a sharpshooter. When I was lonely or homesick, I would mope my way from Wheeler up the back hill to the Field House. There I could work out my blues; just me and the basket. Little by little, I adjusted to life at Holy Cross.

The Field House gave me a place to kill time, get some exercise, meet other hoopheads and slowly ease into campus life. The transition would’ve been much tougher without it.

Maureen Kiley Daniels ’77 As a member of the Holy Cross men’s tennis team, 1972-1976, I remember preparing for the spring seasons with hitting sessions in the Field House. While other teams in our league would take a southern swing to Florida to prep for their seasons, we would trudge to the open expanse of the Field House to hit tennis balls to each other. There were no nets, no backstops, no lines on the floor save the myriad of basketball and volleyball crisscross perimeter lines. The Tartan surface was so slippery that the balls did not bounce, but rather skid across the surface offering little opportunity to “groove”

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our strokes. Ah, but to hear that familiar “plop, plop” of tennis balls on tennis racquet strings amid the general din of dozens of bouncing basketballs, we knew that spring was coming and the outdoor season was soon to begin.

Herb Nachtrab ’76 The scene: early spring morning baseball practice, inside the Field House, approximately February 1995. Craig Cookson ’97 overthrows baseball to Chris Dziadosz ’96, shattering a glass trophy case containing memorabilia from the 1952 NCAA championshipwinning team.

A suddenly quiet Field House combined with shattered glass everywhere was quite

an embarrassing image at the time. Luckily, fiery coach John “Jack” Whelan was not watching or we would have been an audience to one of his famous tirades.

To this day I get a chuckle envisioning myself picking up the misthrown baseball amid such memorable items as the Jack Barry-led team photo and the James O’Neill (Most Outstanding Player) signed baseball.

his namesake athletic center opened in 1976, he worked out of the Field House. “If you asked me, ‘Who’s the greatest Holy Cross man of all time?’ it’s Fr. Hart,” Palazzi says.

Chris Dziadosz ’96 I was chairman of the senior prom and wanted to have the Duke Ellington band provide the music.

The theme of the prom was 1001 Nights. Black cargo netting was dropped from the ceiling to replicate large desert tents. The waiters all wore turbans.

As the band was getting ready, I asked the piano player if they could start with the band’s theme song, “Take the A Train.” I still remember the piano player, a short man with a soft voice and very pleasant smile. His reply: “We would be happy to do that for you.” My date and I danced to almost every song; 16 months later, she would become my wife and we would start a wonderful journey that is still going strong after 56 years. I think it was in 1967 when I read an article about the Ellington band. There was a picture of Duke sitting with another man identified as Duke’s “writing companion and alter ego,” Billy Strayhorn — the “short man with a soft voice and very pleasant smile” I had asked to play “Take the A Train,” a song that he composed!

Bob Ryan ’62

TOGO PAL AZZI ’54 ON THE FIELD HO USE

A

ccording to email sent to Holy Cross Magazine last year, the sight of the Field House’s 2019 demolition was not easy for many alumni. The back cover of the Spring 2019 issue showed the building’s east wall sporting a massive hole, the start of the building’s disappearance from Mount St. James.

When Holy Cross

basketball legend Togo Palazzi ’54 (above, #22) drove by, “All I saw was bricks and rubble,” he says. “Thoughts started going through my mind; by the time I hit the bottom of College Street, I felt a tear come down my face.”

The building had been on campus for two years by the time Palazzi arrived on campus in 1950: “Inside the lighting was bright, always,” he remembers. “It was always spotless and had a beautiful wooden floor that had give.”

If there was one person most associated with the Field House, it was the beloved Rev. Francis J. Hart, S.J., who for 40 years ran the College’s intramural sports program. Before

He remembers being a freshman practicing on one of the building’s six courts when the varsity players walked over and told him to leave. Fr. Hart overheard the exchange from his office and joined the group. His message to the varsity players: “This place was not built for 15 specialists, you go down to the library and come back here in two hours,” Palazzi recalls.

“And they did! What that showed me was that here at Holy Cross, as far as Fr. Hart was concerned, everybody was the same.”

While all were equal in Fr. Hart’s eyes, Holy Cross Athletics legends could be found in the building, from Palazzi and Tom Heinsohn ’56 to Bob Cousy ’50, Ron Perry ’54 and Rev. Earle Markey, S.J., ’53.

And, occasionally, the Field House hosted future legends. Palazzi remembers a scrimmage between coach Jack Donohue’s Crusaders and West Point. Coaching Army was future Indiana fixture Bobby Knight, and one of Knight’s players was future Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“There were no stands in there and the place was filled,” he says, with spectators ringing the court. ■

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MOM, DAD, JOHN DONNE, BUGS BUNNY:

THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN POET From a Bronx classroom and a shoebox full of rejections to his role as U.S. Poet Laureate and international renown, the environs of Billy Collins ’63 Hon. ’02 may have changed, but he hasn’t.

BY M A RY B ET H R E I L LY- M CG R E E N ’ 8 9

S

ome would say poetry is the calculus of English: Difficult.

Inscrutable. Maddening. An art form intended for a small, select and stuffy society that measures words by the foot and speaks the strange and secret language of caesura and catalexis, stanza and scansion.

“I want a poem to feel invitational, hospitable,” Collins says. “The first few lines should contain something easy to accept, something that makes few demands. Then you can close the door behind the reader and get wiggy.”

photo by bill hayes

Fans of poet Billy Collins ’63 Hon. ’02 don’t have those issues. They will tell you that his poetry is a journey from the familiar to the sublime, culminating in a moment of truth so, “Yes, exactly!” that you grin in recognition, unanimity and, always, wonder.

And about those fans: The former U.S. Poet Laureate has won a large and loyal following over his career, one

that includes former President Barack Obama, rock stars, actors, famous novelists, a Beatle and, yes, even teenagers, by being the champion of the everyday experience, a poet whose work throws open the door and waves you in.

“I want a poem to feel invitational, hospitable,” Collins says. “The first few lines should contain something easy to accept, something that makes few demands. Then you can close the door behind the reader and get wiggy.”

At the end of September, Random House will publish Collins’ 14th book of poetry, titled “Whale Day.” His last two collections, “Aimless Love” and “The Rain in Portugal,” made The New York Times’ bestseller list. The Wall Street

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Journal has called Collins “America’s favorite poet.” The Boston Globe has said that Collins is a “sort of poet not seen since Robert Frost.” Literary lion John Updike once waxed, “Billy Collins writes lovely poems . . . . Limpid, gently and consistently startling, more serious than they seem, they describe worlds that are and were and some others as well.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Annie Proulx stakes claim for all of us: “I have never before felt possessive about a poet, but I am fiercely glad that Billy Collins is ours,” she says.

Collins’ greatest contribution to poetry, however, may never earn him an award.

It isn’t calculable. Poetry reading in the United States is on the rise and the greatest growth in readership has been among 18-to-34-year-olds, according to a survey by the National Endowment for the Arts.

This would be the generation that benefitted from Poetry 180, Collins’ project with the Library of Congress, which has offered a daily dose of poetry to the nation’s high schools since 2001. To be clear, the project doesn’t offer a daily dose of Collins. Rather, it features the work of a whole army of poets selected by Collins for writing poetry that is understandable,

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illuminating — even painless. Factor in that 19 years later, everyone, it seems, is displaying their verse — on paper and in performance halls, on social media platforms and at hip-hop concerts. Poetry is having a big moment, so big that, in 2018, The Atlantic crowed “Poetry is Everywhere,” noting that “Far from ‘going extinct,’ as it was once predicted, poems are viral, vital — and invincible.”

Poetry is cool again, and Billy Collins is one of the people we have to thank for that. * * * * * * * *

We begin with a poem whose title is one of several that are routinely shouted, yes, shouted, at Collins’ readings, usually by someone with the zeal a concertgoer has for their favorite song.

(below) Purple editor Collins with the late Bernie Schmidt ’63 and Tony Libby ’63: “The Purple would come out on a certain day, and it would be stuffed in all the mailboxes. And we editors would go down to Kimball and watch people throw them into the wastebasket, you know, with the other junk mail. And, of course, we would fetch them out of the wastebasket.”

The Lanyard The other day I was ricocheting slowly off the blue walls of this room, moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano, from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor, when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist could send one into the past more suddenly— a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp by a deep Adirondack lake learning how to braid long thin plastic strips into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard or wear one, if that’s what you did with them, but that did not keep me from crossing strand over strand again and again until I had made a boxy red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts, and I gave her a lanyard.

She nursed me in many a sick room, lifted spoons of medicine to my lips, laid cold face-cloths on my forehead, and then led me out into the airy light and taught me to walk and swim, and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.

Here are thousands of meals, she said, and here is clothing and a good education.

And here is your lanyard, I replied, which I made with a little help from a counselor.

(opposite) This fall, Collins’ 14th book of poetry, “Whale Day: And Other Poems,” will be published

by Random House, joining his 21-book, 43-year bibliography.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart, strong legs, bones and teeth, and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered, and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.

And here, I wish to say to her now, is a smaller gift—not the worn truth that you can never repay your mother, but the rueful admission that when she took the two-tone lanyard from my hand, I was as sure as a boy could be that this useless, worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

—From “The Trouble With Poetry And Other Poems”

If you haven’t been to one, know that the traditional poetry reading is a solemn affair. The poet reads a selection of poems, the audience applauds politely, questions follow and a book signing concludes the event. There’s often seating for about 10 or 50 more attendees than are present. A Billy Collins poetry reading is more like a rock concert: sold out, standing room only, requests shouted, thunderous applause, standing ovations. In fact, Collins may be the only poet ever to have toured with a rock star (Grammywinner Aimee Mann). And he’s also likely the only poet who can claim that he has opened for Dave Brubeck and been introduced by Carly Simon and Bill Murray.

What makes Collins such a draw? Well, his poems are often laugh-out-loud

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funny even as they tackle themes typically enshrined in solemnity: death, loss, loneliness, joy, hell, faith.

Cats, dogs, mice (lots), birds and cows are well represented, too. Really any topic is fair game. And, yes, there are those poems whose titles signal familiar poetical terrain: “The Music of the Spheres,” “Cosmology” and “The Death of the Allegory,” but then there are others that deliver on their titular promise of hilarity: “Ode to a Desk Lamp,” “Keats: Or How I Got My Negative Capability Back,” “Victoria’s Secret” (yes, the catalog), “Lucky Bastards” and “More Than a Woman” (in which the speaker suffers a Bee Gees earworm).

Credit to Collins’ parents here. From the time he was a toddler, Collins’ mother read to him, “Black Beauty” and “The Yearling,” and recited Shakespeare. And his father had a wicked sense of humor and brought home copies of “Poetry” magazine when Collins was a teenager.

“My mother had these two voices: her regular speaking voice and her poetry voice, and I’ve compared it to AM and FM radio. The poetry voice was the FM,” Collins says. “And I could tell there was a different sound coming out of my mother’s mouth and it sounded, well, someone said, ‘Poetry is language that means more and sounds better,’ and this clearly meant more and sounded better than regular talk.”

Collins’ father, William, made art of the practical joke. He once had an exact copy of a co-worker’s hat made a size larger than the original so that he could watch the man’s consternation at the misperception that his head was expanding or shrinking. “Like, Monday through Thursday, he would put the real one out, his original hat,” Collins says, “and then Friday he slipped the big one in. That’s real dedication.”

It’s the foundation for another of Collins’ most popular poems, “The Death of the Hat.” That and “The Lanyard” are elegies,

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but in classic Collins fashion they start with the everyday and end in the sacred.

It’s a hallmark move.

“When I wrote ‘The Lanyard,’ I wasn’t really thinking of my mother. I was thinking of the lanyard. I was thinking of camp, and I thought I’d write about camp. And then, as I wrote, it became a poem about my mother. The other poem, ‘The Death of the Hat,’ became about my father,” Collins says. “Notice that the hat and the lanyard serve as portals or doorways to the larger subject of my mother and father. I could never write ‘elegy’ on the top of a poem about my father. It’s too big a subject, but he was able to slide into the hat poem and my mother slipped into the lanyard poem.”

Lest it all sound a little too literary, Collins, who watched a lot of Looney Tunes in his youth, also calls Bugs Bunny “a major influence.” * * * * * * * *

(clockwise from left) Early work in a 1963 edition of The Purple, the studentproduced literary magazine; the 19621963 Cross and Scroll Society; receiving an honorary degree from alma mater in 2002; a mid-’70s headshot from Collins’ self-described “brooding, romantic genius period”; his Purple Patcher photo.

Books From the heart of this dark, evacuated campus I can hear the library humming in the night, a choir of authors murmuring inside their books along the unlit, alphabetical shelves, Giovanni Pontano next to Pope, Dumas next to his son, each one stitched into his own private coat, together forming a low, gigantic chord of language.

I pictured a figure in the act of reading, shoes on a desk, head tilted into the wind of a book, a man in two worlds, holding the rope of his tie as the suicide of lovers saturates a page, or lighting a cigarette in the middle of a theorem.

He moves from paragraph to paragraph as if touring a house of endless, panelled rooms.

Holy Cross, 1953: The Rules

I hear the voice of my mother reading to me from a chair facing the bed, books about horses and dogs, and inside her voice lie other distant sounds, the horrors of a stable ablaze in the night, a bark that is moving toward the brink of speech.

I watch myself building bookshelves in college, walls within walls, as rain soaks New England, or standing in a book store in a trench coat.

I see all of us reading away from ourselves, straining in circles of light to find more light until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs that we follow across a page of fresh snow; when evening is shadowing the forest and small birds flutter down to consume the crumbs, we have to listen hard to hear the voices of the boy and his sister receding into the woods.

—From “The Apple That Astonished Paris”

• • • • • •

No skipping 7 a.m. Mass.

No lights after 10 p.m.

No drinking in the rooms.

No women in the rooms.

No cars on or off campus.

No jacket + no tie = no Kimball.

It was like a 19th-century English boarding school, says Collins’ friend John Whalen ’63. But things were happening. The civil rights movement was gaining ground, and in 1960, the country had its first Catholic president.

And there was this small contingent of guys, the New Yorkers, who were different, aware, Whalen says: “You could feel some change in the air, but it hadn’t arrived yet. It was anticipatory.”

Whalen, a Vermonter, gravitated to the New Yorkers.

“Collins was one of the New York guys, and they were hip, so I threw in with them right away. With Collins everything was ironic and cool,”

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Whalen says.

Whalen, who inspired not one, but two of Collins’ poems: “Looking for a Friend in a Crowd of Arriving Passengers: A Sonnet” and “The Country,” says their near-60-year friendship has its foundation in laughter, jazz, adventure and a shared devotion to language.

“It was like ‘A Hard Day’s Night’: all comic and light and hilarious. And Collins just had that great sense of language,” Whalen says. “He had such a sense of humor with The Purple when he was the editor. Collins mentioned Robert Frost being at Holy Cross, right?

That was a thrilling thing, like Mick Jagger coming.”

Whalen’s reaction to Frost’s cameo may not have been typical. The campus in its entirety didn’t fully embrace poetry, Collins observes.

“The Purple would come out on a certain day, and it would be stuffed in all the mailboxes. And we editors would go down to Kimball and watch people

throw them into the wastebasket, you know, with the other junk mail,” Collins observes. “And, of course, we would fetch them out of the wastebasket.”

Wait for it.

“But that just reinforced our sense that we were a special group, we were the literary, sophisticated group, and these Philistines just didn’t know what they were doing,” Collins deadpans. “So, great.”

About that time he met Frost: “It was 1960, only a few years before he died. I was editor of The Purple, and the staff and I were invited to a luncheon with Frost,” Collins says.

“We were ‘encouraged’ not to talk. So there were the two Jesuits sitting next to Frost and Dr. Callahan. Nobody said a word. We just kept our noses in our soup. Frankly, the immensity of the experience didn’t dawn on us till later. We were focused on eating good food for a change. Then we went to his reading.

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“We had Frost and Auden visit while I was there,” Collins notes. Silence follows at the shared wonder of that.

The other momentous event in the life of student William J. Collins involves a sly meditation on a flea.

“Mr. Francis Drumm was rather short, wore wire spectacles and always dressed in a three-piece suit with a watch fob — completely turned out. He taught 17th-century poetry — all the metaphysical poets,” Collins recalls.

“We really admired him, but there’d be a number of examinations during the semester, and he had the unique habit of not announcing them.

“We would station someone at the door and if he were carrying a pile of blue books, that was the giveaway. People would literally jump out the windows — this was on the first floor of Wheeler — and we’d just wiggle out the window and into the shrubs, then get over to the infirmary complaining of a sore throat or stomach ache.

official white house photo by amanda lucidon

“Anyway, he was a wonderful teacher, and I guess I had a, you’d call it an epiphanic — which is my favorite adjective, by the way — an epiphanic moment connected to his class when we read John Donne’s ‘The Flea.’ It was the first time I experienced genuine literary jealousy. I was so angered that I didn’t write that poem and fantasized that I did.”

It would be almost two decades before Collins’ career as a poet took off. He confided to John Whalen that he didn’t think publication, let alone international recognition, literary prizes and six-figure book deals, was in his future. He became a faculty member at Lehman College of the City University of New York. Then came the kind of hopeful encouragement that poets dream of: Famed editor and former President Bill Clinton’s inaugural poet Miller Williams returned a manuscript to Collins with 17 poems separated from the rest. Produce more like the 17 here, Williams wrote, and Collins would have his book deal. The result was the 1988 publication of “The Apple That Astonished Paris,” the book Collins calls his “first real book of poems.”

“Williams’ words were more encouragement than I had ever gotten before and more than enough to inspire me to begin taking my writing more seriously than I had before,” Collins says. A year later, Random House offered Collins an unprecedented six-figure deal for three books. Two years later, in 2001, Collins was named U.S. Poet Laureate.

And John Whalen? He found himself celebrating his friend’s success at George Plimpton’s townhouse alongside some of Collins’ friends, notably Paul Simon and Sir Paul McCartney.

“It was exciting, and he was so generous about it,” Whalen recalls.

“He’s exactly the same person, you know. He didn’t lose his old friends or anything. He brought you along.” * * * * * * * *

(left) Reading at a 2013 poetry recital, hosted by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, in honor of Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif, wife of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in the White House’s Blue Room. (right top) With Sir Paul McCartney and Paris Review founder George Plimpton. (middle) Touring with singersongwriter Aimee Mann. (bottom) With friends Brian Doyle Murray and Bill Murray.

“He’s exactly the same person, you know,” says friend John Whalen ’63.

“He didn’t lose his old friends or anything. He brought you along.”

From the final stanza of “The Names,” read in front of a special joint session of the U.S. Congress on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks: Names etched on the head of a pin.

One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.

A blue name needled into the skin.

Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers, The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.

Alphabet of names in green rows in a field.

Names in the small tracks of birds.

Names lifted from a hat Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.

Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.

So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

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A traditional elegy is a balm, acknowledging mourners’ sorrow, showing admiration for the deceased, offering solace. On the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Library of Congress asked Collins for a poem. How to memorialize 2,977 people? How to address a nation’s sorrow?

Ever the people’s poet, Collins wrote “The Names,” which includes 25 victims’ names, one surname for every letter of the alphabet save X — “(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound).”

Abstraction and political or mythic language are intentionally absent, Collins told “Wild” author Cheryl Strayed on her podcast, “Sugar Calling.”

Instead, Collins chose imagery: “It was picture language, as Emerson calls it. It was the language of the world, of rain, and windows and reality.”

In cohering the victims’ names with the natural world, Collins had made their number personal and their lives, mythic. * * * * * * * *

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So odd to suddenly become subject matter then have some Sarah fail to identify you on a test or be analyzed in an essay by young Kyle who is on to you and your obsession with sex.

It’s enough to make us forget where poems begin, maybe in the upstairs room of an anonymous boy, his face illuminated by lamplight.

He has penciled some lines in a notebook, and now he pauses to think up a strange and beautiful title while the windows of his parents’ house fill with falling leaves.

—excerpt from “Mister Shakespeare,” “The Rain in Portugal”

(above) Stills from Collins’ daily Poetry Broadcast, in this episode wearing a sweatshirt from his teaching home for over 40 years. Aired live on Facebook from his home study, Collins talks jazz and reads poetry — his and others’. He began the project this spring while spending more time at home due to the pandemic. (opposite left) With author Frank McCourt; (opposite right) with classmate Whalen, at the latter’s Vermont home.

COLLINS That’s the only revelation.

There are mice all over the place. * * * * * * * * When COVID-19 required Americans to shelter in place, Collins once again used the opportunity to democratize poetry, broadcasting daily Facebook readings from his Florida study with wife, Suzannah, acting as director, producer, lighting designer Collins’ papers are housed at The University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center. Thus far, the collection comprises 96 document boxes, two oversize boxes, 15 folders, four computer disks and a laptop. Collins’ agent and friend, Chris Calhoun, arranged the acquisition. As is the case with Whalen, Collins’ friendship with Calhoun spans decades; they met at a poker game in 1981. “At the time, I was a salesman for a tennis magazine and Billy had a shoebox full of rejections,” Calhoun jokes.

The Ransom Center is one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind — its collection includes a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. The acquisition ensures that there will be Collins scholars in the way there are Samuel Beckett, James Tate and Arthur Miller scholars: People who devote their lives to the study of a single literary figure.

What one thing would Collins like those future generations of scholars to know?

That the accolades and the fame were never part of the plan. That the first 20 years of his professional life were spent happily teaching poetry in the Bronx to students who spoke English as their second language. That he was first a teacher and then a poet. That he kept his head down, wrote on the side and wasn’t part of any poetry scene. That back in the

day, he had to crash Paris Review parties.

“I was on the sidelines, not even really in the game,” Collins recalls.

and makeup artist.

When fame hit, though, he realized his audience had been waiting for poetry that “didn’t seem to be, on the surface, completely egocentric and that showed some kind of hospitality to the reader.

And that hospitality might be, you know, about the Jesuits and my parents having a kind of respect for people,” Collins says. “And I think that respect — as a virtue in life — I think that might’ve kind of carried over into my poetry voice.”

Viewership keeps growing. Fans hail from exotic locales: Egypt; Donegal, Ireland; Belgium; Inverness, Scotland; and Grinnell, Iowa. And, as is his habit, Collins covers other poets’ work in addition to his own, doing his part to keep poetry viral, vital and invincible.

* * * * * * * * An excerpt from George Plimpton’s last Paris Review interview, “Billy Collins, The Art of Poetry No. 83,” in which he asks Collins about what epiphanies come from looking at the poems aggregated in his collections.

[PLIMPTON] When you look back at old poems in making these selections, do you see any similarities or find things in poems that you hadn’t noticed before?

COLLINS Only one thing: I have a lot of mice in my poems.

[PLIMPTON] Mice?

“I do my own hair,” Collins says.

A viewer’s comment has inspired a new poem, “The Minor Third,” which Collins reads one day and then another, after revising, delighting his audience who bliss out in thumbs up and heart emojis at his providing them this window into his process. That Collins has made a poem of a drive-by comment raises the question, can he make a poem of anything?

“Well, at around 9 this morning our cat Francis — we named him after the pope — caught a lizard and bit its tail off,” Collins says. “And the body, unaware, runs away and the tail is jumping all over the place. I could make that into something: two parts of a gecko moving in two directions like a break-up or a bad romance …

“You know, I need to write that down.” ■

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You are here ...

always.

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T

hey’re the people who can’t wait to see those pictures of your kid wearing a Holy Cross onesie. They cheer your accomplishments and pray for you when things get tough. The ones you call to discuss life, faith or the meaning of it all.

Maybe you met in class or lived on the same floor. Maybe you met in a new city, far from the hills of Worcester, but connected over the common experience of your years on Mount St. James.

Wherever it was, whenever it was, there was that spark of connection, of common experience. Oh, you’re like me. You’re one of us.

Finding Holy Cross, WherEver You Are

“I just think there is some seed planted in us from that experience, which is so nice

Whether the cause is a milestone birthday, a love of continuing education or a oncein-a-lifetime pandemic, alumni rely on their fellow Crusaders for friendship and support across the country.

BY MAURA SULLIVAN HILL

to nurture with each other as frequently as we can,” says Beth (Cunniff) Verrilli ’85.

Verrilli and a group of classmates started an annual vacation get-together in 2003, when they all turned 40, and have kept it up ever since.

And while the Holy Cross Alumni Association and Holy Cross clubs nationwide host hundreds of official events each year, there is something about gathering informally that hearkens back to the intimacy and closeness of days on Mount St. James. There are annual trips and birthday celebrations, many of which have appeared in the Milestones pages of this magazine, and even a book club or two. Holy Cross is not solely its campus — it is a way of being in the world with others, among others, for others. Meet a few of your fellow alumni who show us how.

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’94 GRADS TRAIN TOGETHER, LAUGH TOGETHER Their laughter was ringing off the walls of the Grand Canyon in the early hours of a late September morning in 2018.

The group of six women, all members of the class of 1994, were near the start of their 25-mile rim-to-rim hike of the natural wonder when they ran into another group, resting on a water break.

Maureen Haugh Powers ’94 says the moment sums up that trip — and all the others the group has taken over the years since their graduation.

“They told us, ‘We were just waiting to see who you guys were, we heard you laughing all the way down!’” says Powers, chuckling again as she retells the tale alongside her roommate from Healy Hall, Annie Long Sullivan ’94.

Sullivan adds: “You can’t beat the laughter. [And] there’s nothing like these people who watched you go from a teenager to a grown woman.”

Their group of friends is scattered from coast to coast, from New York to Chicago to Portland, Oregon, and down to Virginia in the South. While they keep in contact regularly, Powers says they

Members of the class of 1985 started getting together in 2003. “When I look at everybody’s faces [on Zoom], I think about what we’ve all been through in life,” says Kara (Kellaher) Mikulich ’85.

“When you’re in your 20s, you don’t know what life is going to hold for you. And we’ve been through a lot with each other: marriages, divorces, kids, deaths of parents, breast cancer, illnesses. And there is something very special about having these long-term friendships to sustain you through all that.”

have to be intentional about carving out time in their schedules to get together in person, which makes it all the more meaningful.

“We all have good friends, rich lives, but with this group of friends, we don’t just relive the Holy Cross glory days,” Powers says. “It’s people that we can talk about deeper issues with, too — things that are happening in our lives, in the world. The combination of the shared history, the intention and an openness to intellectual curiosity, that’s a unique thing.”

do not,” Landry says. “Above all, I feel accepted. The collective arms of the group are around my shoulders. No matter what, these mates have been and will be there when I need them.”

’68 GRADS SUPPORT EACH OTHER THROUGH LIFE’S JOYS, CHALLENGES

For the past 15 years, the group has been gathering in Florida each November, and before that, they were witness to marriages, professional accomplishments, sickness and injury, the addition of children and grandchildren. Landry likens their friendship to a tribe: “A tribe that is the safe harbor in the sometimes stormy waters of life. A tribe that brings us closer to the meaning of our very humanity.”

Shared history bonds Roger Landry ’68 and the nine buddies he met during his freshman year.

’85 ALUMNAE CELEBRATE THE YEARS TOGETHER

“These now old men knew me before I was a husband, a father, a doctor, a colonel, an author … all the things that have defined me since, and in the end,

The Zoom call starts with a round of hellos and waving; a “Happy birthday!” wish; exclamations and congratulations about the new house that is the backdrop for one of the callers. The

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Six ’94 alumnae trained for and tackled a 25-mile rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon in September 2018. “We don’t just relive the Holy Cross glory days,” notes Maureen Haugh Powers. “It’s people that we can talk about deeper issues with, too — things that are happening in our lives, in the world. The combination of the shared history, the intention and an openness to intellectual curiosity, that’s a unique thing.”

group’s long history is evident when the father of Lynne Hutchinson ’85 pops on screen to say hello and is met with big smiles and a chorus of “Hi, Dr. Hutchinson!” It’s a Sunday evening in April 2020, when most of these women from the class of 1985 are at home due to government safer-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic. They have an annual get-together in person every year, but started these biweekly calls to lean on each other and check in during the pandemic.

Among the group of 12, they were all friends or acquaintances at one time or another on The Hill, but it was Paula (Iaia) Grimm ’85 who brought them all together in 2003, in honor of their 40th birthdays. She hosted the group, some dormmates from Hanselman and others from off-campus housing senior year, at her home that year (“We all like her baked goods, so we showed up!”).

An annual tradition was born — and Julie Magri ’85 notes that keeping it to once a year makes it a more sacred date on the calendar. Magri refers to the passing years collectively, calling their 2013 gathering at the beach “our” 50th birthday celebration (even though she

had to miss that particular trip to care for her mom).

“When I look at everybody’s faces [on Zoom], I think about what we’ve all been through in life,” says Kara (Kellaher) Mikulich ’85. “When you’re in your 20s, you don’t know what life is going to hold for you. And we’ve been through a lot with each other: marriages, divorces, kids, deaths of parents, breast cancer, illnesses. And there is something very special about having these long-term friendships to sustain you through all that.”

BSU ALUMS GATHER ANNUALLY FOR NETWORKING, FELLOWSHIP Snow was in the forecast the day of the first gathering for Washington, D.C.area Black Student Union alumni and students. Danita Beck Wickwire ’94, who had organized the event alongside Marvin Blount ’74 and Robina Barlow ’76, wasn’t sure if people would venture out in the bad weather. While nobody blinks at a snowy day on Mount St. James, 3 inches on the roads in D.C. is another story.

“But people came, that’s how much it

meant to them,” Wickwire says of the event in January 2019. “Having attended the BSU 50th anniversary celebration [on campus in November 2018], we saw the importance of coming together — and coming back together — as friends and even as strangers who shared the same experience of studying at Holy Cross at some point in our lives. It’s important for us to see one another and support one another and to network and to fellowship in that way.”

Wickwire thinks of the D.C. gatherings as a grassroots effort that grew in its second year due in part to the work of an additional co-host, George Wimberly ’92. And she would love to see other groups of BSU alumni across the country follow suit. Friends from campus have reconnected — like Wickwire and Andrea Jordan ’92, who lost touch and didn’t realize they were now living in the same area. Plus, they make it a priority to invite and advise current students. Wickwire’s best friend, Angela Preston Weaver ’94, helped an international studies major decide to study abroad and Wickwire connected the student with U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. ’78 as a mentor.

As a class chair, Wickwire loves Reunion on campus every five years, but compares it to the blur of a wedding reception. “It is wonderful. You see so

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many of your friends and people you love from all over the country and the world, but you really only get to spend a few minutes with them,” she notes. But when it comes to the BSU gatherings in D.C., she takes a different approach: “You truly have time for an intimate conversation and you can really set the stage for ongoing conversations over the phone, over Zoom.”

30 YEARS – AND COUNTING – OF BOOK CLUB WITH ’70S GRADS Martha McGuane ’77 gathered some Holy Cross friends together for a book club in the early 1990s, hoping to discuss some of the new authors she’d discovered as a high school English teacher. And 30 years later, they’re still reading together.

With 13 members, they gather once a month; each member takes a month to host and choose the book. McGuane calls it “empowering” because of all the different types of books they’ve read and knowledge they’ve gained over the years. Member Anne Reilly Ziaja ’78 jokes that she’s read more science books than she ever would have chosen on her own and calls the

(above) Student and alumni members of the Black Student Union began meeting annually in the wake of the group’s 50th anniversary: “We saw the importance of coming together — and coming back together — as friends and even as strangers who shared the same experience of studying at Holy Cross at some point in our lives,” says Danita Beck Wickwire ’94. “It’s important for us to see one another and support one another and to network and to fellowship in that way.”

group “life-affirming.”

While all but one of the book club members are Holy Cross grads, they weren’t all in the same group of friends when they were students. The group grew as readers invited other Crusader friends and acquaintances. Paula Sasso ’78 joined after hearing about the book club at the Holy Cross coeducation 25th anniversary celebration; these days she’s in charge of the scheduling and structure of the meetings, which always include a meal and socializing before getting down to book discussion. “It is just so life-enriching and, for me, a real gift, because I moved away to the Midwest as soon as we graduated and was really unconnected to Holy Cross for a lot of years,” Sasso says.

They’ve hosted Holy Cross alumni authors three times: ‎Irene Murtagh Drago ’78, who writes fiction set in Maine, Edward Mahoney ’67, author

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of “Young Eric Malone” and Gemma Kallaugher Cannon ’78, author of “Voices of the Night.”

It’s not solely about books for this group of Crusaders, who have supported each other through the deaths of parents and other family members, and who rally to Sasso’s annual call for clothing donations to Abby’s House, the Worcester nonprofit that provides shelter and housing to women experiencing homelessness, violence or lack of income. Ziaja says she always looks for the bouquet of white and purple flowers at the wake of a book club member’s relative.

“These are women for others,” she says. “We support each other, we hope the best for each other and we want to make sure that the thirst for knowledge [continues].” McGuane echoes the sentiment, pointing out, “In all the reading that I’ve done, it always says that friendships are so important

(top left) Eric Butler ’06 began hosting Zoom play readings during the pandemic, the cast mainly comprised of Holy Cross faculty, staff, students and alumni: “There is that bond that we have, the appreciation to be able to connect at this time.” (top right) ’70s grads have held a monthly book club for 30 years: “These are women for others,” says Anne Reilly Ziaja ’78.

“In all the reading that I’ve done, it always says that friendships are so important in your life.”

in your life.”

THEATRE ALUMNI CONNECT, COPE THROUGH ART When Eric Butler ’06 came back to campus as a visiting theatre professor and director of the fall 2019 production of “Ah, Wilderness!”, he was surprised that the students ended every rehearsal by thanking him. “I thought, ‘OK, this is going to wear off eventually, right?’” says Butler, who was a theatre and psychology double major during his time on The Hill. “But three months later, after every rehearsal, they were still saying thank you.”

Later, when Butler organized twiceweekly play readings on Zoom for fellow theatre alumni, faculty and staff during the coronavirus pandemic, he said those meetings ended the same way as rehearsals.

“It’s funny, before they sign off, they’re

says. “There’s the element of connecting with one another and also connecting with the material, whether it is a beautiful drama or an escapist comedy.”

saying thank you for organizing,” says Butler, whose virtual readings have drawn alumni from the classes of 1975 through 2020, a few of whom he directed in the fall. There have even been appearances by faculty and staff. Edward Isser, associate dean of the performing arts and W. Arthur Garrity, Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics and Society, Steve Vineberg, distinguished professor of arts and humanities, and Joan Townsend, office coordinator, joined in on a Thursday in May, with Townsend gamely nailing a German accent for a reading of the play “Biography” by S.N. Behrman.

Butler started organizing the Zoom readings for any and all friends who enjoy theatre, but it evolved into a Holy Cross majority. “There is that bond that we have, the appreciation to be able to connect at this time, with people that maybe we’ve lost contact with or don’t get to see as much as we would like,” he

Butler chooses the play and casts the roles (that May night, Emily Strong Holmes ’04 played opposite Danny Goodman ’11 and Pat Simas ’14), and rotates the casting among a growing number of passionate Crusader participants. Even beyond these virtual performances, it’s typical for theatre majors to connect across the generations; they often return to campus for unofficial reunions after the Saturday evening performances of student productions (or, “Party in The Pit”).

“Whether you’ve graduated in 1962, 2002 or 2020, the Jesuit values and the high standards of the institution connect those generations and experiences,” Butler says. “Holy Cross alumni just love to help each other out, whether it is a classmate you knew really well or someone who graduated generations before you. You always have that connection, whether it is remotely or in person or on campus.” ■

F I N D I N G H O LY C R O S S , W H E R E V E R YO U A R E / 5 1

S PPOORRTTS S

Members of the Holy Cross football team posted a video message on May 31, pledging to listen to, empathize with and fight for each other in the face of racism.

View the message at holycross.edu/hcm/ playersedition

“It’s extremely important for people to speak up and say something, whether you’re directly affected, indirectly affected or just recognize

52 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

it’s wrong. Sitting back and being silent isn’t going to help anybody.

If anything, it’s going to perpetuate a broken system to turn over and

52 Go Cross Go • 54 Crusader Life

over and over again, and for things like this to continue to happen.

These are not new occurrences. These are not new issues. These are

issues that have been continuously happening in this country for a long time.” — g r a n t h o l lo m a n ’ 2 1

GO CROSS GO / S P O R T S / 5 3

CRUSADER LIFE marketing strategy for some of the most ubiquitous global brands: from Dell and Microsoft to Facebook, Twitter and Twitch. The English and Spanish major is now a year into her CMO role with the NBA, leading marketing for the league and its galaxy of stars.

“I think this is an opportunity for us to grow fandom around the globe,’’ Jhaveri says, “to connect fans with all of the right content, experiences, players and teams that people expect and love from the NBA. “I spent the better part of my career thinking about how communities come together. It could be any number of things you’re interested in, or in this case, a really dedicated international community of NBA fans,” she continues. “It’s really exciting to work with that community and talk with them about something they love so much.’’

The Maryland native started her new role with the NBA in July 2019, and the enthusiasm she has acquired is clear. She can quickly cite numbers that support the idea that basketball, in general — and the NBA, specifically — is popular almost everywhere.

NBA’s Kate Jhaveri ’95 Leads Strategy to Grow Global Billion-Fan Base “By nature, the NBA is very, very global,” notes the tech market veteran.

W

hen the National Basketball Association was considering candidates for the position of chief marketing officer, it’s hard to

BY JOSEPH S U L L I VA N

imagine a better resume than that of Kate (Taneyhill) Jhaveri ’95.

Since leaving Mount St. James, Jhaveri has developed corporate and

5 4 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

“We definitely are an incredibly global game,’’ she says. “We have more than a billion fans; 1 out of every 7 people tuned into an NBA game last season.

When we think about the reach of our games, we are seeing 215 countries and territories, 50 languages. In addition, our players are also super global; 108 players — that’s about 25% of our players — were born outside the United States. By nature, the NBA is very, very global.’’

Jhaveri’s two-pronged challenge is to try to increase the NBA’s popularity with young, tech-savvy people in the United States (“roughly half our U.S. fans are under 35’’); and internationally, with people who have not grown up with the game.

“Ninety-nine percent of our fans

will never experience an NBA game in person,’’ she notes. “How can we match the experience of the NBA across a variety of platforms in a great way for folks who won’t walk into (Madison Square) Garden to experience the amazingness that I feel the NBA is?

“If you’re looking at research and analytics, it’s really important for me to understand the fans, understand what motivates them, understand where they come from and what their needs are, in order to ensure that we’re helping to meet those needs. We can find them where they are with content that they’re interested in. Some people care about players, other fans like a particular team, others just love the beauty of the game.

Understanding fans more deeply and what they expect from the NBA helps us market to them.’’

Jhaveri lives in New York with her husband, Ash, and two children, Nora, 8, and Declan, 6, but she grew up in greater Baltimore, a fan of the

Celtics and Larry Bird.

“Over the years, I have had the pleasure of living in a number of awesome NBA cities,’’ she says. “I’ve lived in Boston, Chicago, Seattle and then, most recently, in the Bay Area, where I fell in love with the Warriors and got to see some amazing basketball. I’ve had the privilege to watch and enjoy all of those teams.’’

At Holy Cross, Jhaveri was a member of the rowing team, occupying the demanding three seat.

It’s a slot where powerful rowing is required, an area often referred to as the boat’s “engine room.”

“That still remains a really good set of memories, both getting up early and heading down to the lake and also the camaraderie of eight women in a boat trying to do the very best they can,’’ she says. “My time on the crew was one of my favorite memories from Holy Cross.’’ ■ editor’s note As of press time, the NBA announced plans to resume its season at the end of July.

Lachapelle Named Head Coach of US Under-18 Women’s National Team

H

oly Cross women’s ice hockey head coach Katie Lachapelle has been named head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team for the 2020-21 season.

“I’m excited for the challenge ahead and look forward to working with the best young players in the country,” Lachapelle says.

“I’m extremely honored and grateful.”

For the past two seasons, Lachapelle served as an assistant coach on the U.S. U-22 staff. She was

previously an assistant on the U-18 staff from 2013-2017 and won three gold and one silver medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under-18 Women’s World Championships.

She has also served as a camp coach at numerous national team and player development camps.

Lachapelle will lead the squad at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, anticipated to take place in January 2021. This fall, she will begin her second season as head coach at Holy Cross. ■

GOHOLYCROSS.COM

FOLLOW CRUSADER ATHLETICS ON SOCIAL @GOHOLYCROSS CRUSADER LIFE / S P O R T S / 5 5

S PU O SRATDSE R L I F E CR

MAUREEN MAGARITY Head Coach, Holy Cross Women’s Basketball

experience

•

• • •

Magarity Leaves UNH to Head Holy Cross Women’s Basketball

A

fter leading the University of New Hampshire program for the past decade, Maureen Magarity was named head coach of Crusader women’s basketball, the seventh head coach in program history.

“Maureen is a highly respected teacher, mentor and coach who is committed to the athletic, academic and overall personal development of our women’s basketball student-athletes,” said Marcus Blossom, Holy Cross director of Athletics, in the April announcement. “She has won championships as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, and we look forward to competing for and winning Patriot League championships under her leadership.”

Magarity brings a combined 21 years of Division I playing and coaching experience to The Hill. She was named Kay Yow National Coach of the Year and America East Coach of the Year, both in 2017, and recorded 146 wins during her UNH tenure – second most by a head coach in program history.

“I’m extremely honored to be the next head women’s basketball coach at Holy Cross,” Magarity said. “I’m grateful for this incredible opportunity to lead these amazing young women and am excited to build relationships within the community and with the alumni that love this program.”

The architect of a programchanging turnaround in Durham, Magarity made an instant impact upon arriving at UNH, posting winning

5 6 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

records in three of her first five seasons and leading the Wildcats to the program’s first winning season since 2005-06. She would go on to take a program that won 33 games in the four years prior to her arrival and guide it to a 93-60 record from 201318, including a combined 45 wins from 2016-18, the most victories in a two-year span in UNH history.

In 2016-17, Magarity led UNH to a 26-6 record and an America East regularseason title, also marking the program’s first 20-win season in more than 33 years and the secondbiggest turnaround in Division I that season. The Wildcats recorded a schoolrecord 13-consecutive victories and won 19 of their final 20 regular-season games on their way to the program’s first title since 1985. The team was awarded its first WNIT berth since 1999. ■

•

Head coach, University of New Hampshire, 20102020 Associate head coach, Army West Point, 2009-2010 Assistant coach, Army West Point, 2006-2010 Assistant coach, Fairfield University, 2005-2006 Assistant coach, Marist College, 20042005

education

• •

B.A., communications and public relations, Marist College M.P.A., Marist College

playing career

• • • •

• • •

Boston College women’s basketball, 1999-2000 Marist College women’s basketball, 2001-2004 Two-year team captain, Marist Two All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Second Team selections MAAC AllTournament Team honoree Two MAAC ScholarAthlete awards James Pizzani Award for dedication and loyalty as a senior

family Daughters Charlotte and Caroline

Golf’s Napoli Voted 2019-20 New England Coach of the Year

H

ead men’s golf coach Steve Napoli has been selected as the 2019-20 New England Coach of the Year, voted by New England’s Division I golf coaches.

During the 2019-20 season, Napoli led the Crusaders to their first tournament victory against Division I competition since 1998, when they captured the title at the Lehigh Invitational. Holy Cross posted three top-five team finishes on the season, while improving its individual scoring average from the previous year by over two strokes per 18 holes. For the first time in program history, every studentathlete who saw action averaged fewer than 76 strokes per round, including five of the school’s nine lowest single-season scoring averages of all time.

Napoli recently completed his third season as the Crusaders’ head coach. He has been a member of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America since 1979 and was inducted into the New England PGA Hall of Fame in 2013. ■

Manis ’20 Drafted by WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces Record-breaking senior becomes first player in Holy Cross history to be selected in WNBA Draft

F

orward Lauren Manis was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces in April’s 2020 WNBA Draft, selected in the third round as the 33rd overall pick.

She becomes the first player in Crusader history to be selected in the WNBA Draft and just the second player in Patriot League history to be drafted.

“I am so thankful and humbled to be selected by the Las Vegas Aces,” Manis said. “This is a dream come true. Thank you to the Holy Cross community for all the love and support during my four years.”

Manis finished her Holy Cross career with 2,020 points and 1,188 rebounds, breaking the school and Patriot League records in rebounds and becoming the first basketball player in school history – men’s or women’s – with 2,000 career points

and 1,000 career rebounds. She ranks third in program history in career points and second in career doubledoubles with 58. In May, she was named 2019-20 Crusader of the Year, the most prestigious student-athlete award presented by the Holy Cross Varsity Club.

During her senior season, Manis averaged 18.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 46.3% from 3-point range. She ranked fourth among all Division I players with 20 double-doubles this season and ranked fifth with 344 total rebounds.

Manis, a history major from Franklin, Massachusetts, led the Crusaders to a 19-11 record and 11-7 mark in conference play to help Holy Cross tie for third place in the Patriot League standings and earn a home quarterfinal game in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2015. She averaged 22.8 points and 12.7 rebounds per game over the final seven games of the regular season.

She was a five-time Patriot League Player of the Week selection and was named to the All-Patriot League first team and All-Defensive team for 2019-20. Manis is just the eighth player in league history to earn a spot on the first or second team in all four years of her career, and the first Holy Cross player to be a four-time All-Patriot League honoree. ■

CRUSADER LIFE / S P O R T S / 5 7

ALUMNI NEWS

58 Mystery Photo • 60 HCAA News

Mystery Photos Photo 5 8 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

• 62 Alumni News • 64 Creative Notes • 65 Solved Photo

• 66 For and With Others • 68 Class Notes • 74 Milestones • 78 In Memoriam

2-for-1! These two photos show Crusaders studying during different decades. Can you identify anyone? Email hcmag@holycross.edu!

MYSTERY PHOTO / ALUMNI NEWS / 59

HCAA NEWS at more than five dozen sites around the world, including, for the first time, sites in Europe and Africa. I would have talked about taking the program to even higher levels in 2021.

A Note From Mike

Then, I would have told you all how moving it was to be on stage as your representative as more than 700 members of the class of 2020 walked across the stage and received their hard-earned Holy Cross degrees. I’m sure I would have commented on the student speakers and shared tales of gatherings of so many happy families and the pride I felt in representing you at the Bishop Healy Committee’s senior awards recognition ceremony for ALANA students, many of them first-generation college graduates, as I was so many years ago.

Hello Crusader Nation, I had every expectation that this article was going to be easy to write; it would practically write itself.

First, I’d be able to talk about what a great turnout we had for our Classroom Revisited Day in early April and how so many of us enjoyed hearing from the nine faculty members who taught classes on such topics as the Chemistry of Wine and Understanding and Combating Aging – both subjects near and dear to me.

Next, I would have written about how proud I was of our alumni community setting a new record: how several hundred volunteers participated in our annual Holy Cross Cares events in April

And I would give thanks for helping the alumni association place more than a dozen current students in summer internship opportunities with nonprofit organizations, noting how much they love having Holy Cross student interns and how students love being able to test drive a hands-on experience with an agency that makes a difference.

Alas, none of these things have come to pass due to the unwelcomed intrusion of COVID-19. The whole situation makes me think of a line from Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”: “Don’t it always seem to go/That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

While we missed those important annual events, what has endured through the

crisis of 2020 is the connection between and among Holy Cross alumni around the world. Through the wonders of Zoom, social media and the good old telephone, we’ve been able to make and continue connections with one another.

From Fauci Fridays to Closing the Distance video reflections and online lectures from prominent faculty, we’ve managed to keep in touch and watch out for one another.

The story “Finding Holy Cross Wherever You Are” on Page 46 demonstrates that our graduates will find a way, wherever they might be, to bring people together.

It’s hard to find any silver linings in the dark clouds brought about by this insidious virus, but one side benefit has been the chance for all of us to reconnect with each other. And with the racial tension that has come to the fore, it is all the more important for us to bring people together.

As the public health crisis hopefully recedes into the background, I hope you will join with Holy Cross and the HCAA as we try to bring alumni together to help address our human rights crisis.

Racial insensitivity and prejudice have been accepted as “normal” for far too long and have no place in our community. We look forward to working with all of you to help speed its eradication and create a better “new normal” for everyone. ■ Thank you, Michael H. Shanahan ’78, P10 mshanahan@egancapital.com

CON N E CT WI T H

Alumni Professional Networks

S

ocial distancing guidelines don’t need to keep you separated from the HC network. Connect with the different industry-based professional networks and add more alumni to your professional circles. Check out

6 0 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

the alumni events calendar for virtual networking opportunities taking place throughout the summer. ■

LEARN MORE AND JOIN A NETWORK TODAY! holycross.edu/alumni/ crusaders-connect/affinity-groups

DOUGHERTY ’12

STONE ’90

MURPHY ’73 P99

DELEHAUNTY ’67 P90

BAGLEY ’73

Alumni Honored for Dedicated Service

T

he Holy Cross Alumni Association (HCAA) has announced the 2020 recipients of the In Hoc Signo Award, its highest alumni honor, given in recognition of significant, longstanding and exceptional service to the College: William F. Bagley '73; James F. Delehaunty '67, P90; John J. Murphy '73, P99; and Kimberly A. Stone '90. The recipient of the HCAA’s Young Alumni Leadership Award is Clare M. Dougherty '12.

William F. “Bill” Bagley '73 has served his class and the College with exceptional energy and loyalty for nearly 50 years.

Chair of the class of 1973 since 2005, Bagley has been an unflagging leader.

During this time, the class has set reunion records for participation (52%, 35th reunion) and overall giving ($3.8 million, 40th reunion). His engaging and entertaining letters connect his classmates to Holy Cross and to each other. In 2013, the Holy Cross Fund recognized his outstanding class communications with the Joseph A. Perrotta ’28 Award.

Bagley has contributed to HCAA's regional clubs program through his service as president of the Holy Cross Club of New Haven and as an

active member of the Holy Cross Clubs of Boston and Greater Worcester.

Bagley serves as the advancement officer for the International Catholic Migration Commission.

He and his wife, Mary, reside in Worcester and are the parents of two children.

James F. “Jim” Delehaunty '67, P90 has been an ardent supporter of Holy Cross — and specifically the O’Callahan Society — for more than five decades.

Michael H. Shanahan ’78

pr e side n t Laura Cutone Godwin ’96

pr e side n t-e l ect Schone L. Malliet ’74

vice pr e sident Jacqueline M. Rock ’02

vice pr e sident Daniel D’Agata ’04

t r e asur e r He has served alma mater in a variety of roles, including HCAA Board of Directors and Senate, class agent, Reunion Gift Committee member and, perhaps most significantly, a founding member and leader of the O’Callahan Society, a vibrant, supportive hub of Holy Cross ROTC alumni and students.

A member of the society since its founding in 1994 — and chairman since 2012 — Delehaunty has overseen its growth to more than 1,500 members and placed the organization on strong financial footing. His creative and energetic leadership has enabled and enhanced many meaningful initiatives for ROTC students and alumni, including scholarship awards,

Kristyn M. Dyer ’94

e xe cut ive se cretary

questions, comments and suggestions: hcaa@holycross.edu ( 508) 793- 241 8

The Holy Cross Alumni Association (HCAA) supports alma mater in its Catholic, Jesuit mission by bringing together the diverse talents, experience and knowledge of Holy Cross alumni. We accomplish this by engaging alumni for life through our reunions, regional clubs, community outreach and intellectual and spiritual formation programs.

By these means, we nurture our love for and dedication to Holy Cross, its students and its alumni as men and women for others. ■

HCA A NEWS / ALUMNI NEWS / 61

training opportunities, communications and events.

A retired attorney, Jim and his wife, Kathy, live in East Dennis, Massachusetts, and are the parents of two children, including the late Tim Delehaunty ’90.

John J. Murphy Jr. '73, P99 is a dedicated alumnus whose extensive service and leadership has advanced the College for decades.

A member of the Holy Cross Board of Trustees from 2000-2008, Murphy served on the board's Executive Committee and as chair of the Investment and Finance committees. He also co-chaired the New York Regional Campaign Committee for the Lift High the Cross campaign and currently serves as a member of the College’s Advisory Board.

Murphy chaired the 30th, 35th and 45th Reunion Gift Committees for the class of 1973. He is credited with helping to establish the New York Leadership Council in 1999 and has mentored countless Holy Cross students and alumni seeking career advice.

He holds board leadership roles in several nonprofit organizations, including the Jesuit USA Northeast Province. He

and his wife, Monica, live in New York City and are the parents of three children, including Dylan Murphy ’99.

Clare M. Dougherty '12 has demonstrated her passion and dedication as a volunteer since leaving Mount St. James.

Kimberly “Kim” A. Stone '90 has enthusiastically and tirelessly served Holy Cross and its alumni community for more than 20 years.

Dougherty has been an active volunteer for the Holy Cross Club of Metro New York since she graduated, and she has served as the club’s co-president since 2018. Her oversight of the club’s Instagram account, where she regularly shares creative and engaging content, has resulted in significantly increased awareness and engagement from metro area alumni. Additionally, Dougherty served as a member of the New York Leadership Council Dinner Committee in 2019.

During her tenure as HCAA president from 2015-2016, Stone was a strategic leader who oversaw an historic bylaw change that resulted in a new leadership structure for the association. She also served as an associate trustee and member of the Institutional Advancement subcommittee of the College’s Board of Trustees.

Currently serving as chair of the HCAA Nominations Committee, she has been a member or chair of the following committees: 150th Celebrations, Executive, Strategic Planning, Mission Statement, Book Prize, Spirituality, HCAA Dinner and Budget & Finance.

Additionally, she has held each of the executive offices of the Holy Cross Club of Greater Worcester, including president from 2002-2003.

Stone is a litigation attorney with Counsel on Call in Boston. She and her husband, Patrick Jones ’92, live in Worcester with their four children.

A past recipient of the HCAA's McCarthy Scholarship, she enthusiastically serves the class of 2012 as a class agent and was a member of the 5th Reunion Committee.

Dougherty is vice president of internal communications for Global Consumer Banking at Citi and resides in Brooklyn, New York. ■

MARK YOUR CALENDAR! FRIDAY, SEPT. 18, 2020

Alumni, family and friends are invited to attend this annual gathering to honor the In Hoc Signo and Young Alumni Leadership Award recipients. For tickets or sponsorship information, visit holycross.edu/alumni or call (508) 793-2418.

Performing Arts Alumni Stage Virtual Variety Show

T

hirty members of the Holy Cross Performing Arts Alumni Facebook group participated in a May 8 virtual variety show via Zoom.

Organized by Morgan Avery Sispoidis ’91, Paul Buckley ’90 and Darren Farrington

6 2 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

ALUMNI NEWS

Holy Cross Puzzle a Hit With Los Angeles Elementary Students

L

ast fall, the Holy Cross Alumni Association released a 500-piece puzzle in honor of its 150th anniversary.

The puzzle found an unexpected fan club in Los Angeles last December when teacher Jane De Haven P18 brought it into her Aragon Avenue Elementary School fourth and fifth grade classroom.

“My students have never heard of Holy Cross,” says De Haven, who notes the school is located in L.A.’s Cypress Park neighborhood.

“My students were obsessed with completing this puzzle.

They gave up recess and lunch to work on it.”

’90, the show featured 16 live performances, including those by alumni spouses and children.

Mel Ona, M.D., ’93, a gastroenterologist in Kapolei, Hawaii, submitted a video performance, as he was on call. The performers and audience members spanned the United States and included professional artists and arts administrators, amateur and community performers, and lovers and advocates of the arts.

The Holy Cross Performing Arts Alumni Facebook group (facebook.com/ groups/hcpaa) is open to all alumni who were involved in the performing arts on campus or who are (or were) involved in the performing arts after graduation. The group was originally created to discuss the planning of a 2013 reunion for Alternate College Theatre and choir members from the classes of approximately 1988 to 1993. ■

The students’ hard work paid off as they started the puzzle in December and quickly finished it in January. ■

Experience Making a Difference!

I

gnatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) provides men and women, most age 50 or better, opportunities to serve others and transform lives. It mobilizes alumni to bring

their talents to local nonprofits, schools and other entities serving the poor, marginalized and oppressed. IVC is exploring creative ways to be on the front lines assisting those in need.

Be a part of a community of social justice warriors, finding God in all things.

Continue the Ignatian values you learned at Holy Cross. ■

JOIN US! To learn more and find a region near you, contact John W. Green, vice president, partnership engagement, at 215-839-8415 or jgreen@ivcusa.org

HCA A NEWS / ALUMNI NEWS / 63

CREATIVE NOTES

From Our Creative Crusaders

BY REBECCA SMITH '99 A N D K I M B E R LY S TA L E Y ' 9 9

Thoreau, The Kid and Mr. Lou: Book Notes of a Foreign Correspondent

By Louis J. “Mr. Lou” Salome ’62

Published by Great Life Press “Thoreau, The Kid and Mr. Lou” is based, in part, on the daily journal Salome kept while living in a cabin in New Hampshire. During his yearlong stay in the woods, he wrote his first book, “Violence, Veils and Bloodlines—Reporting from War Zones.”

As one Amazon reviewer explains, “In ‘Thoreau, The Kid and Mr. Lou,’ we look

into the mind of this writer, and how that first book came to be.” Adds another Amazon reviewer: “He recounts his experience writing intertwined with some of the events that occurred while he was a foreign war correspondent.”

A retired journalist, Salome worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 35 years. He lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with his wife, Patricia.

Haunted!

By Scott SchaefferDuffy ’80, P17 Published by Haley’s

In “Haunted!,” the third book in his Catholic Worker mystery series, SchaefferDuffy explores the AfricanAmerican history of his Worcester neighborhood — and considers the likelihood that his Catholic Worker home is haunted.

“Nothing is Impossible.”

He and his wife, Claire, have four children and five grandchildren.

According to Selina GalloCruz, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at the College, “readers will contemplate how — unless we can learn to recognize the specter of our own racism — the spirits of those who lived before us may pass damning judgment on the more privileged lives we live in their stead.”

Published by Liturgical Press

Schaeffer-Duffy is also the author of “The Man Who Cannot Be Killed” and “Murder on Mott Street,” both Catholic Worker mysteries, as well as his memoir,

Mystical Prayer: The Poetic Example of Emily Dickinson

By Monsignor Charles M. Murphy ’57 In “Mystical Prayer,” Monsignor Murphy places Dickinson’s writings within the Christian mythical tradition exemplified by St. Teresa of Avila and identifies her poems as expressions of what he terms theologically as “believing unbelief.”

As author Marie Noonan Sabin explains, “It is an exploration of poetry and prayer that will be valued by all those who are drawn to either or both.” Adds author Paul Lakeland, the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Professor of

BO OK NOT ES H A S EX PA N DED! In an effort to showcase ALL creatives we are adapting this section to include authors, artists, musicians, makers and more! Email hcmag@holycross.edu for more information.

6 4 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

S O LV E D P H O T O Catholic Studies at Fairfield University, “No one who reads this book will ever think quite the same again about her poetry.”

After earning his B.A. in Latin and Greek at Holy Cross, Monsignor Murphy received his master’s degree from Harvard and his doctorate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. Former rector of the North American College in Rome, he is the author of several books.

The Pearl of Great Price: Pius VI & the Sack of Rome

By Christian Browne ’98 Published by Arouca Press

“The Pearl of Great Price,” as Browne explains, “is the story of the last two years in the life of Pope Pius VI and the momentous occurrences that afflicted the Church in the final phase of the French Revolution, just prior to Napoleon’s accession to power.”

While the play’s dialogue is fictional, the events it describes are based on historical accounts of that time — and according to The Rev. Gerald E. Murray, “Christian Browne brings to life the stark choices facing the elderly pope when the French revolutionary army in Italy threatened the very existence of the papacy.”

A practicing attorney and contributor to Crisis Magazine and the website onepeterfive.com, Browne currently resides in Rockville Centre, New York, with his family. ■

Easy Riders Identified

T

eam HCM had high hopes for learning the details behind this photo, given the large number of clearly identifiable people. And we were not disappointed.

Emails flew into the HCM inbox, many centering around the identification of roof-riding #44, which turned out to be Varsity Club Hall of Famer Michael Vicens ’78, described by Mark Cannon ’77 as: “one of the greatest basketball players ever to play at Holy Cross.”

Bill Griffiths ’77 wrote in

with a host of IDs and information, and he would know: You can see him wearing a white headband riding on the hood. He notes the picture was taken in the mid-’70s on Easy Street, just above the Jesuit Cemetery: “I believe we are coming back from an intramural football game on Freshman Field!”

According to Griffiths, left to right, starting on the hood, are: Dana McMaster ’76, Griffiths, Billy Jackson ’77, Gerry Migliaccio ’77, Mary Connolly ’78, Tom Fleishell ’77, Vicens, Liz Rosseel ’78, Kate Sullivan ’78 and Dennis Keogh ’77.

Driving the car (described

by Tom Doherty ’76 as the “famous red Pinto wagon”) was owner Enrique “Coco” Vicens ’76.

“No idea on the countless interior characters!”

Griffiths notes.

Mary Donahue Quinlan ’76 had good reason for identifying Jackson, Migliaccio, Michael Vicens and Keogh: “All of these guys resided in Clark . ..I was their head RA!” Our thanks to all who emailed, including Ray Veroneau ’77, Tito Gautier ’79, Jim Cummings ’77, Pat Padden ’78, Rod De Leaver ’74, Dana McMaster ’76 and Frank Marsilli ’76. ■

New! Alumni Business Directory

A

lumni business owners and service providers have yet another reason to connect with the HC Network. The Alumni Business Directory was launched in the spring

as a resource to help Crusaders work with one another seamlessly. List your business or service, and join the growing number of alumni-backed organizations in the directory.

Do you have a job that needs doing? Scroll through the directory and consider hiring an alumnus/a! ■

Visit www.holycross.edu/ alumni/benefits-services.

C R E AT I V E N OT E S / S O LV ED PH OTO / A LU M N I N E W S / 6 5

FOR AND WITH OTHERS

“We’re just regular people, trying to do something” Kate Shea ’13 sews to aid those experiencing homelessness and, now, essential workers

BY MEREDITH FIDROCKI

O

n a chilly morning in 2017, Kate Shea ’13 was rushing to catch her train alongside fellow Boston commuters when she spotted a woman holding a sign that read, “Homeless. Anything Helps.” Shea almost kept walking, but then she realized there was something she could offer.

“I went up to her, and she said her name was Rose,” Shea recalls. After introducing herself, Shea asked if she could make Rose a pair of mittens, telling her she’d look for her the next day. As Shea was walking away, Rose called back over the crowd noting that pink was her favorite color.

“I wanted to give her something that would spark some joy,” Shea says. “I went home and made a pair of mittens for her

with a little pink rose flower that I found on a sweater.” She spotted Rose the next day and gave her the mittens: “It was a really special moment.”

That was one of the first pairs of mittens Shea gave away through Lost & Found Mittens, the online shop she started earlier that year with her younger sister Erin Shea.

For each pair of mittens purchased, the sisters sew and donate a pair to people experiencing homelessness. Made from repurposed materials and sewn with fleece lining, each pair is unique. The model is cost-effective, environmentally friendly — and leaves room for others to share in the mission by contributing spare fabric.

6 6 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

In the first two years, orders flew in from almost every state. Today, Lost & Found Mittens has donated more than 2,000 pairs, even partnering with Pine Street Inn, the largest provider of homeless services in New England, and taking part in the annual Homeless Census in Boston, passing out mittens on frigid nights.

“The driving force was the want and need to do something positive in our own community. That definitely came from and is inspired by all the experiences I had at Holy Cross,” says Shea, who majored in sociology and studio art.

“From spring break immersion for four years to reflection workshops, service was front and center.”

After graduating, Shea moved to Boston to serve with AmeriCorps for a year.

Every day, she found herself walking by someone living on the streets: “I was starting to think, ‘What could be a way to build a bridge of kindness between ourselves and this population?’”

Then, Shea had two defining moments with sewing. “I had a student who had a rip in her leggings,” she recalls of her time working at a school during her

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATE SHEA ’13

(opposite) In 2020, Kate Shea and sister Erin have sewn and donated more than 2,000 nonmedical face masks to essential workers in health care, delivery services and grocery stores. (above) After a full day of work — Kate at United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley and Erin at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston — the sisters, now roommates, move into sewing mode once home: “We’ve transformed part of our apartment into a little factory.”

service year. “I brought in a little sewing kit, shared with her how to sew and, at the end of the year, gave her her own kit.”

Soon after, Shea saw her grandmother make a new pair of mittens using old sweaters. The idea for Lost & Found Mittens, and its social mission, clicked.

After a full day of work — Kate as director of community impact at United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley and Erin as a development assistant at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston — the sisters, now roommates, switch into sewing mode. “We’ve transformed part of our apartment into a little factory,” Shea laughs.

And while it can be hard as a team of just two, she says it’s still important to act: “We’re not going to be able to make a pair for everyone who needs one. But we’re going to try, at least.”

So it’s no wonder that as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded this spring, the sisters knew the difference two pairs of helping hands can make.

Switching from mittens to masks, Kate and Erin have sewn more than 2,000 (and counting) nonmedical cloth masks to donate to essential workers in health care, delivery services and grocery stores, to name a few. And, with shifting recommendations and growing demand, they’re also selling cloth masks, donating additional masks for each purchase.

Can you give a window into a typical sewing session at Lost & Found Mittens?

If you know what sewing machines sound like, it’s like starting up our engines! Definitely loud, lots of fabric scraps everywhere. It can be fun. It can be stressful. It’s good to do it with a teammate. Being on a team with my sister is pretty awesome.

How do you find fabric for the mittens?

Shea hopes the level of neighborly care she’s seeing will continue long after the current crisis, noting that anyone can spread kindness: “We’re just regular people, trying to do something.”

There’s a lot of great people, including those in the Holy Cross community, who’ve given donations from the beginning. “Is this good for mittens?” is the new thought of our extended circles!

FIVE QUESTIONS with Kate Shea ’13

What’s something you’ve learned about homelessness?

The biggest takeaway is that it’s something someone is experiencing, not who they are. You are not a homeless individual, but you are experiencing homelessness. And it can happen to anyone.

What does “for and with others” mean to you?

“With” is the biggest word for me in that. Making sure you are being with the community, learning from it and recognizing the strengths within it.

Any advice for others looking for ways to live the Holy Cross mission?

You probably already are! So how can you do it more often? ■

FOR AND WITH OTHERS / ALUMNI NEWS / 67

CLASS NOTES

WANT TO SHARE YOUR NEWS?

1954

w r i t e Holy Cross Magazine / One College Street / Worcester, MA 01610 e m a i l hcmag@holycross.edu s u b m i t a n o t e o n l i n e holycross.edu/classnotes

Amazon.

Corps provides service

for academic affairs

was appointed pastor

John Wood and his

1975

opportunities for men

at SUNY Plattsburgh.

of St. Dunstan’s

wife, Mary, celebrated

Bill Daniels retired in

and women age 50

Dani Kennedy was

in Glastonbury,

their 62nd wedding

August 2019 after 31

or older in nonprofit

selected to serve on

Connecticut.

anniversary in

years as a letter carrier

organizations that

the Manchester Road

November 2019.

for the U.S. Postal

serve those in need,

Race’s seven-member

1985

Service in Toms River,

coupled with reflection

executive committee,

Cynthia (Christian)

New Jersey.

in the Ignatian tradition.

which acts as the event’s

O’Rourke, a certified

Hughes Burgess

policy-making body

financial planner and

1973 John F. Shea and his

firm, Mackie Shea

1976

previously served as

and corporate board of

senior client advisor

Durning PC, were

Sheila Moses was

secretary to the New

directors. The 4.748-

at Spinnaker Trust,

recognized as one of the

named as one of

York State Public Service

mile race has been run

has been promoted to

top environmental law

the 2020 Women in

Commission and ethics

on Thanksgiving Day in

principal at the Maine-

firms in Massachusetts

Business awardees by

officer for the New York

Connecticut for 83 years.

based firm. Kevin R.

in the 2020 edition of

the Hartford Business

State Department of

Robert F. McAnanly Jr.

Thimble has been named

Chambers USA Guide.

Journal.

Public Service. She was

has joined Schenck,

chief financial officer of

honored by Gov. Andrew

Price, Smith & King’s

DataCore Software in Ft.

his expertise in laws

1979

Cuomo in recognition

banking and finance

Lauderdale, Florida.

surrounding hazardous

Kathleen Hughes

of her dedication and

practice as counsel.

waste, water, wetlands

Burgess has been named

excellence in service to

Mathew McConnell

1988

and wildlife.

regional director of the

the people of the state of

has joined Marco Polo

Chris Boyd, founder and

newly formed Office of

New York.

Securities as CEO of

chief investment officer

MPS Chaperone and

of Asset Management

Distribution business.

Resources, was elected

Shea was noted for

1974

the Ignatian Volunteer

James X. Bembry has

Corps in Albany, New

1981

published a novel, “A

York, the 21st region

Anne F. Herzog has

Crack in the Heights,”

in the country. The

been named provost

1983

Planning Association

which is available on

Ignatian Volunteer

and vice president

Rev. Kevin Donovan

Advisory Council

to the Financial

A Crusader Trifecta

I

t was a very Holy Cross spring for Mike ’91 and Lisa Villa ’90, who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, her 30th reunion and daughter Catherine’s graduation from alma

mater.

The couple were married on May 20, 1995, in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel and returned to campus for a picture to commemorate the occasion, wearing the same shirts they sported as newlyweds at their fiveyear reunion.

At the time, the couple lived on Boyden Street, just off campus: “Between weddings and reunions, we hosted Holy Cross friends every three weeks that spring/ summer,” Lisa notes. ■

6 8 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

Executive Committee.

cancer research.

Dennis F. Kerrigan has

2019 Adrienne Rich Award

Boston Cannabis Board

UBS Private Wealth

for Poetry by the editors

by Mayor Marty Walsh.

Management.

been appointed executive

1991

of the Beloit Poetry

She will serve a two-year

vice president and general

Francis T. Bergin III

Journal.

term. Brian Lockhart,

counsel of The Hanover

has been appointed

Insurance Group.

president of Jovial Foods/

1989 Susan Beisaw Butler has

2000

executive producer, ESPN

Timothy M. Jarry was

1993

Original Content, led a

named chief financial

Bionaturae LLC. Matthew

Kate Burke has

Q&A at a March screening

officer of St. John’s High

Veno has been named

been named chief

of “Willie,” a 90-minute

School in Shrewsbury,

executive director of

operating officer of

documentary about the

Massachusetts.

been named principal of

the Group Insurance

AllianceBernstein. Tony

National Hockey League’s

Worcester’s Notre Dame

Commission.

Wolf published a full-

first Black player, Hall of

2003

page comics journalism

Famer Willie O’Ree.

William M. Andersen

Academy for grades 7-12.

Richard Carr, president

1992

piece about beloved

of Carr Financial Group

Philip J. Metres III was

Brooklyn pizzaiolo,

1997

shareholder in the

Corp. in Worcester, was

awarded a Guggenheim

Carmine’s Pizza, in an

Laurie B. Forcier has

Pittsburgh law firm

profiled by the Worcester

Fellowship in April by the

April edition of the New

been named chief

Sherrard, German

Business Journal. Carr

board of trustees of the

York Times.

global content officer at

& Kelly PC. Wilfredo

is in his second year as

John Simon Guggenheim

London-based LearnIt.

Lopez has been named

chairman of the UMass

Memorial Foundation. A

1994

Keith Moran has been

to City & State New

Cancer Walk & Run in

professor of English at

John Fallon has been

promoted to senior vice

York’s inaugural Labor

Worcester, which last

John Carroll University,

named president and

president of sales for the

40 Under 40 list. A core

September raised a

Metres was one of 175

CEO of All Flex Flexible

Americas for Nutanix,

organizing committee

record $780,000. He is

recipients chosen from

Circuits & Heaters.

an enterprise cloud

member for the New

also a 15-year rider and

a group of almost 3,000

computing firm.

York City Council’s

volunteer for the Pan-

applicants in the 96th

1996

Mass Challenge bike-a-

competition. An author of

Kathleen Joyce has been

1998

Association of Legislative

thon to raise money for

10 books, he received the

appointed chair of the

Denis J. Cleary has joined

Employees, he is also

has been named a

budding union, the

Donal Sullivan ’56 P90 Retired Dupont Company executive FAMILY Wife, Martha, and father of four, including Sheila Sullivan Zimmerman ’90

“Got some stock. Got a bonus.

Got a remainder trust.

Got no regrets.”

FUTURE GIFT “My wife, Martha, and I acted on the charitable remainder trust idea our advisor recommended. We get an income for the rest of our lives. At the same time, we are creating future legacy gifts for Holy Cross and two other institutions important to us.”

W W W.1843L EG AC Y S O C I E T Y.O R G

FOR OTHERS. FOREVER.

CL ASS NOTES / ALUMNI NEWS / 69

CLASS NOTES legislative director for

at Roswell Park

Sean Mullan launched

New York City Council

Comprehensive Cancer

his campaign to run

member Ben Kallos.

Center in Buffalo, New

for state representative

Jillian DiLaura McGuire

York, where he works as

in Massachusetts’ 9th

has been elected to

an anesthesiologist and

Hampden District,

the partnership at

intensivist.

which covers a section

Mackenzie Hughes

of Chicopee and

LLP. She focuses her

2005

precincts in Wards

practice on family and

Peter Harrison and

2, 5, 7, 8 and 9 in

matrimonial law.

Jennifer Markas were

Springfield. Dan Zacchei

married on April 29,

has been promoted

2004

2020, in New York’s

to the position of

Brian L. Beaupre

Central Park.

president, special

has joined Digital.ai

situations at Sloane &

as vice president of

2006

Company, a strategic

finance. Rev. Brett

Joseph Lombardo

communications firm.

McLaughlin, S.J., has

has joined global

been accepted into the

investment bank

doctoral program in

Houlihan Lokey as head

Katie Guarino and Josh

systematic theology at

of private equity general

Baker were married

Boston College. He will

partner advisory. Tyler

on July 13, 2019, at the

continue serving on

McGregor, D.O., was

Church of Santa Maria

weekends at St. Ignatius

profiled in an April

in Panzano in Chianti,

of Loyola parish and

Telegram & Gazette

Italy.

2008

MCI Concord prison.

article, “Where are

Tim Quaglieri has

they now: Holy Cross

been named director

grad Tyler McGregor

Jerry Dickinson has

of finance and human

scores, achieves goals

been awarded tenure

2009

resources at ePropelled.

with success.” He is

and promoted to the

Timothy Quinn, M.D.,

a sports medicine

rank of associate

was promoted to

orthopedic surgeon

professor at the

chief of critical care

practicing in Indiana.

University of Pittsburgh

C

onrad C. Heede ’62, M.S. ’63 was recently elect-

ed to serve as president

Marvin ’97 on Leadership During a Pandemic: ‘Do the Right Thing’

I

n May, Twin Cities Business interviewed CEO Paul Marvin ’97, of Minnesota-based Marvin Windows and Doors, about his company’s

response to the pandemic. Marvin mentioned the impact of his Holy Cross education on his

of the board of trustees

leadership of the 108-year-old, family-owned

for Texas’ Tarrant County

company and its nearly 6,000 employees.

College District (TCCD).

TCCD is the 17th larg-

“[The] Jesuit experience … rooted in service

est college or univer-

to others … has served me really well as a

sity in the U.S., serving

leader at Marvin,” he said.

100,000 students across six campuses, with an

According to the article: “Marvin noted

annual budget of $428

that the values he saw in action when he

million. ■

was an economics major at Holy Cross are

Heede Heads Board of Trustees for Texas College District 70 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

similar to the values the Marvin family has kept alive over four generations of running their business: ‘I cannot stress enough the anchoring of our values. We have five values, and the first one is: Do the right thing.’” ■

School of Law. Frank Walek joined Bryley

Systems’ dispatch center as an IT support technician.

2010 Laurie (Noreika) Melo

and husband, Luis Melo, welcomed their second child, Anthony Martin, in January 2020.

2011 Deirdre Foley has

joined Hermes, Netburn, O’Connor & Spearing as an associate, focusing on

Alumni Band Salutes Class of 2020 in Style

T

construction, product

perform the favorite Holy Cross

liability, professional

fight song, joined by Michele

liability, insurance law

Murray, vice president for

and insurance coverage

student affairs and dean of

matters.

students, and Megan Ross ’11,

hree-dozen Holy

class of 2020’s Commencement

a visiting lecturer in the music

2012

Cross Band alumni,

Day.

department. Those without

Ceferina Murrell was

access to the instruments

honored in February

Led by Matthew Cain ’09,

they played in band joined

for her years of

saluted the College’s newest

Ernest Jennings, director of

in on kazoos, pots and pans,

advocacy on behalf

graduates with a virtual version

bands, and other alumni, band

or children’s toys. Watch the

of people of color

of “Mamie Reilly” on May 22,

members from the classes of

performance at holycross.edu/

and women by the

what would have been the

1981-2018 took to Zoom to

hcm/mreilly. ■

Massachusetts Black

their families and two special guests

Foley ’10 Competes on Martha Stewart Food Network Series

C

atherine Foley

eliminated each week, bakers

’10 competed this

advanced and competed for

spring as one of

one-on-one mentoring sessions

six contestants on

with Stewart in her home kitchen

a new Food Network series

and the grand prize: a kitchen

“Bakeaway Camp with Martha

filled with $25,000 worth of

Stewart.” Hosted by former NFL

appliances.

quarterback Jesse Palmer and lifestyle icon Martha Stewart, the show mixed baking skills tests with camp-inspired games and challenges. With one contestant

A French major at Holy Cross, Foley lives in Washington, D.C., and is an energy resilience consultant at Deloitte. ■

photo courtesy of food net work

CL ASS NOTES / ALUMNI NEWS / 71

CLASS NOTES

Gomez ’14 Named to 2020 ‘41 List’

B

and Latino Legislative

2015

consumer financial

Caucus. She is chief of

Kati Fernandez, ESPN

services practice.

staff to Massachusetts

original content

state Sen. Nick Collins.

associate director,

2020

coordinated a March

Victor Karalolos

2013

screening of “Willie,” a

was named a 2020

Patrick Lowe, M.D.,

90-minute documentary

Outstanding Senior

graduated from UMASS

about the National

Award recipient by

Medical School in

Hockey League’s first

the Boston chapter of

March from a dual

Black player, Hall of

Financial Executives

degree (M.D./Ph.D.)

Famer Willie O’Ree.

International. The award

program. He will begin

recognizes students

his residency at Mass

2016

from local colleges

General Hospital and

Jack Green completed

and universities for

Brigham and Women’s

a master’s in social

academic excellence,

Hospital. Michael Petti-

work from Westfield

leadership and

nati successfully defend-

State University in

extracurricular

ed his Ph.D. thesis from

spring 2020. He studied

experiences.

the Georgia Institute of

political science and

randon Gomez ’14 has been named

Technology in April. The

peace and conflict

2021

to the fifth edition of Honor 41’s The

degree was awarded by

studies at Holy Cross,

Ting Cheng was named a

41 List, which celebrates 41 LGBTQ

Georgia Tech’s School

and has been working

2020 Junior Scholarship

Latinx role models. Honor 41 is a

of Interactive Comput-

in the mental health

Award recipient by

national Latinx LGBTQ nonprofit that pro-

ing in computer science

field since 2017. He will

the Boston chapter of

motes awareness and positive images of the

- intelligent systems.

soon begin a career as

Financial Executives

Latinx LGBTQ community. This year’s hon-

Niko Vangjeli became

a clinical social worker

International. The award

orees include a diverse group of professors,

Worcester’s 11th city

in Massachusetts.

recognizes students

journalists, community leaders, actors, elected

clerk since Worcester

Alex Vacco has joined

from local colleges

officials, activists, nonprofit leaders, artists,

was incorporated as a

Lippes Mathias

and universities for

students, entrepreneurs and more. An English

city in 1848 and, at age

Wexler Friedman as

academic excellence,

major at Holy Cross, Gomez is currently an

28, the youngest to be

an associate in the

leadership and

associate producer at CNBC. A full list of hon-

appointed to the posi-

firm’s asset receivable

extracurricular

orees can be found at honor41.org. ■

tion.

management and

experiences. ■

omedian and

tor of the NIH,” Colbert

I’m serious.” O’Brien

talk show

said. “He was basically

explained that his father,

host Stephen

Anthony Fauci.”

Thomas O’Brien, M.D.,

C

Colbert dis-

’50, is a microbiologist

covered he has more in

“Where did your dad

specializing in infectious

common with colleague

go to college?” O’Brien

diseases, like Colbert and

Conan O’Brien than just

asked.

Anthony Fauci, M.D., ’62.

“Same place Fauci went,

While O’Brien was

Holy Cross.”

serious – and accurate —

their professions.

During an April segment with O’Brien on “The

Colbert Discovers Holy Cross Link to Conan 7 2 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

about their joint paternal

Late Show With

“Yeah, which is where

Holy Cross ties, he was a

Stephen Colbert,” the

my dad went.”

little less so later.

picture of his late father,

“Wow!” replied a

“When did your dad

James W. Colbert, M.D.,

surprised, smiling

graduate from Holy

’42.

Colbert.

Cross?” Colbert asked.

“He was associate direc-

“Did you know that?

“1875.” ■

host showed O’Brien a

Alumni Enjoy Florida Red Sox Game, Gathering

O

n March 8, more than 180 alumni, parents and friends gathered

at “Fenway South” in Fort Myers, Florida, for the annual Red Sox spring training event.

Crusaders from the classes of 1950s through 2010s gathered for food, camaraderie and baseball. ■

(clockwise from bottom left) Maria Judge ’77 and Sharon Hilson ’77; “Fenway South” in Fort Myers, Florida; Jeanne and Bill Donahue ’58 P87, P85, P83 wearing Red Sox jerseys that celebrate their 60 years together; Tom Kennedy ’58 P84, Betty Bradley and Mike Kennedy ’84; Marian Akey, Tom Akey, Tim McLaughlin P04 and Lori McLaughlin P04

Share Your News USE THIS FORM TO SUBMIT YOUR NEWS email hcmag@holycrosss.edu or mail Holy Cross Magazine • 1 College Street • Worcester, MA 01610

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MILESTONES If you have a photo of a wedding, mini-reunion, ordination or other special event attended by Holy Cross alumni for the Milestones photo gallery, email us at hcmag@holycross.edu. Photos must be at least 1MB in size. See details about submission guidelines on Page 87.

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6 74 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

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1 Davin ’12 and Shekar ’12

Elizabeth Davin ’12 and Ajeya Shekar ’12 were married on Aug. 2, 2019, at Wequassett Resort in Harwich, Massachusetts.

2 Thode ’13 and Leech

Jeffrey Thode ’13 and Payton Leech were married on Oct. 13, 2019, in Cincinnati.

3 Mekler ’13 and Rutfield

8

Michael Mekler ’13 and Rachel Rutfield were married on June 1, 2019, at the Beauport Hotel in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

4 Lucid ’09 and Berger

Kevin Lucid ’09 and Julianne Berger were married on June 15, 2019, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

5 Rapillo ’11 and Post

Kristin Rapillo ’11 and Daniel Post were married on Oct. 5, 2019, at Annunciation Church in Crestwood, New York.

9

6 Annecchino ’16 and Wadsworth ’13

Maggie Annecchino ’16 and Stephen Wadsworth ’13 were married on Sept. 7, 2019, at the Apawamis Club in Rye, New York .

7 Bray ’10 and Lombardo ’05

Christine Bray ’10 and Joseph Lombardo ’05 were married on June 29, 2019, at the Rosecliff Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.

8 Wisbach ’12 and Smith

10

John Wisbach ’12 and Abigail Smith were married on Aug. 17, 2019, in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

9 Mercedes ’09 and Norton

Yorkiana Mercedes ’09 and Daniel Norton were married on Oct. 12, 2019, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

10 Brown ’08 and Newell Matthew Brown ’08 and Anna Newell were married on Oct. 5, 2019, in Julian, California.

11 Pasco ’15 and Loftus ’13

11

Chloe Pasco ’15 and Daniel Loftus ’13 were married on Aug. 3, 2019, at the Foxfire Mountain House in Mount Tremper, New York.

MILESTONES / ALUMNI NEWS / 75

MILESTONES

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12 Shaw ’16 and Medina ’16

Hannah Shaw ’16 and Jake Medina ’16 were married Oct. 5, 2019, in Chatham, New Jersey.

13 Kearns ’11 and Sprague

Sarah Kearns ’11 and Chad Sprague were married on June 28, 2019, in Nassau, Bahamas.

18

14 Spencer ’07 and Kucukay

Derek Spencer ’07 and Gulay Kucukay were married on Oct. 5, 2019, in Long Branch, New Jersey.

15 Joy ’11 and Hingston

Courtney Joy ’11 and Patrick Hingston were married on Dec. 7, 2019, in Boston.

16 Concannon ’03 and Marshall

John Concannon ’03 and Ann Marshall were married on July 13, 2019, at the Portland Country Club in Falmouth, Maine.

19

17 LaPointe ’09 and McLean

Alesandra LaPointe ’09 and CT McLean were married on Nov. 16, 2019, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.

18 Shanahan ’10 and Wilkie

Elizabeth M. Shanahan ’10 and Mark S. Wilkie were married on July 20, 2019, at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

19 Murphy ’16 and Kroll

20

Caitlin Murphy ’16 and Daniel Kroll were married on June 8, 2019, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Walpole, Massachusetts.

20 Anderson ’11 and Roy ’11

Cassandra Anderson ’11 and Adam Roy ’11 were married on Oct. 12, 2019, at the United Parish of Auburndale in Auburndale, Massachusetts. The ceremony was witnessed by Rev. Edward J. Vodokyls, S.J., ’72.

21 Pantazelos ’17 and Nolan ’16

17

18

21

Xanthi Pantazelos ’17 and Joseph Nolan ’16 and were married on Oct. 12, 2019, at St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church in Peabody, Massachusetts.

MILESTONES / ALUMNI NEWS / 77

IN MEMORIAM Holy Cross Magazine publishes In Memoriam to inform the College community of the deaths of alumni, trustees, students, employees and friends.

In Memoriam content, which is based on obituaries published in public forums or provided directly to HCM by the family, is a limited overview that includes service to alma mater and a survivors listing. Family members are welcome to submit an obituary or additional information, which will be included at the discretion of the editor; due to time and space constraints, the final obituaries will not be sent to family members for approval. Portrait photos from the Purple Patcher appear as space permits and at the discretion of the editor (photos provided by the deceased’s family are not accepted). Obituaries appear in the order in which they are received; due to the volume of submissions and magazine deadlines, it may be several issues before they appear in print. To notify the College of a death, please call the Alumni Office at 508-793-3039 or email AlumniRecords@holycross.edu, attaching a copy of an obituary, if available.

1945 Daniel F. O’Keeffe, M.D.

1948 Stanley A. Mills

College, Boston College, Loyola

in gastroenterology at Temple

Daniel F. “Dr.

University Hospital in Philadelphia

Stanley A. Mills, of Sun City,

Georgetown Preparatory School

Dan” O’Keeffe,

and the Graduate Hospital of the

Arizona, died on Oct. 17, 2018, at 97.

(Washington, D.C.); he received

M.D., of Glens

University of Pennsylvania. He

Falls, New York,

then opened a gastroenterology

died on Feb. 23,

practice physician, before training

High School (Baltimore) and

numerous accolades and awards for his contributions to football

practice in Schenectady and was

1949 Robert L. Gotfredson

2020, at 98. Dr. O’Keeffe studied

an attending gastroenterologist

Robert L. “Bob” Gotfredson, of

his wife, Carol; four daughters,

premed at Holy Cross and did his

at Ellis and St. Clare’s hospitals;

La Jolla, California, formerly of

one son and their spouses; and

medical education and training

he also served as a clinical

Grosse Pointe, Michigan, died on

nine grandchildren and great-

at the Albany Medical Center.

instructor in medicine at Albany

Feb. 9, 2020, at 92. Mr. Gotfredson

grandchildren. His brother was the

After serving in the U.S. Air Force,

Medical College for many years.

enrolled at Holy Cross, served

late Michael P. Mehr, M.D., ’55.

he was a physician practicing

Dr. Cirincione is survived by his

in the U.S. Navy during World

obstetrics and gynecology; he

wife of 56 years, Rae; three sons,

War II and graduated from the

started the practice that became

including Thomas R. Cirincione

University of Michigan. He started

Thomas J.

Women’s Care in Glens Falls. The

’86; two sons’ spouses; six

his career at the Chrysler Corp. in

Ryan, M.D., of

author of four books, Dr. O’Keeffe

grandchildren; and several nieces

New York City before running the

York Harbor,

served on many medical societies,

and nephews. He was predeceased

family business, Transamerican

Maine, formerly

boards and foundations; he was

by his parents; and three sisters.

Freight Lines Inc., in Michigan.

the chief gynecologist at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Dr. O’Keeffe supported the College

1947 William O. Cregar

and golf. Mr. Mehr is survived by

Thomas J. Ryan, M.D.

of Newton,

Later, he launched Transamerican

Massachusetts, died on Feb. 24,

Properties, a commercial real

2020, at 91. At Holy Cross, Dr. Ryan

estate business. He is survived

studied premed and majored in

as an admissions advisor and

William O.

by his wife of 70 years, Ann;

philosophy and mathematics;

class agent, and as a member of

“Bill” Cregar, of

eight children and their spouses;

he was a member of the Alpha

the 1843 Society and President’s

Glassboro, New

32 grandchildren; 23 great-

Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society

Council. He is survived by three

Jersey, died on

grandchildren; and 11 nieces and

and graduated cum laude. His

children, including Daniel F. “Dan”

Dec. 26, 2019, at

nephews. He was predeceased by

College activities included Purple

O’Keeffe III, M.D., ’69, and their

94. After serving in the U.S. Navy

his parents; two siblings; and one

Key Society and the Tomahawk.

spouses; nine grandchildren; and

during World War II, Mr. Cregar

daughter.

He graduated from Georgetown

five great-grandchildren. He was

played football at the College

predeceased by his wife, Kathryn.

and in the 1946 Orange Bowl. He

His alumni relatives also include

was a member of the Varsity Club

his cousin, the late Edward R.

and Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall

John Tracy

of medicine at Boston University

O’Keeffe, M.D., ’49.

of Fame; he was the recipient of

“Coach” Mehr,

School of Medicine and chief,

the John Lawlor Medal (student

of Hoschton,

section of cardiology, at Boston

1945 Dominic R. Cirincione, M.D.

athlete). Following his graduation,

Georgia, formerly

Medical Center, after which time

he played professional football

of Amherst,

he continued to practice medicine,

Dominic R. Cirincione, M.D., of

for two years with the Pittsburgh

Massachusetts, died on Feb. 26,

educate trainees and conduct

Schenectady, New York, died on

Steelers before pursuing a career

2020, at 91. Mr. Mehr graduated

significant cardiovascular research

Jan. 24, 2020, at 96. Dr. Cirincione

in the FBI, where he worked for 29

cum laude from Holy Cross,

and influence health care policy as

studied premed at Holy Cross, and

years and retired as the assistant

where he played football and

a senior consultant in cardiology.

after basic training in World War II,

director of foreign intelligence and

golf; he was a member of the

Later in life, he became a Fulbright

he completed his premed training

counter espionage. He later served

Varsity Club and a class agent.

Scholar at Oxford University.

at the University of Pennsylvania

as head of security for A.I. DuPont

He earned a Master of Business

A leader in the American Heart

under the Army Specialized

for 10 years. Mr. Cregar is survived

Administration from Boston

Association, Dr. Ryan was the

Training Program. He then

by two children; one child’s

College and retired as a tenured

recipient of numerous awards; his

graduated from Loyola University

spouse; six grandchildren; and

professor of physical education

clinical skills and reverence for

School of Medicine. He served as

three great-grandchildren. He was

from Amherst College, where he

clinical medicine are memorialized

a captain in the U.S. Army Medical

predeceased by his wife, Elynor;

also served as the football and

in the Thomas J. Ryan Chair of

Corps during the Korean War,

one son; one child’s spouse; and

golf coach. He coached for more

Medicine at Boston University

and later worked as a general

one sister.

than four decades at Amherst

School of Medicine. Dr. Ryan is

78 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

Medical School before serving

1950 John Tracy Mehr

as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He was professor

John W. Sheehy

survived by his wife, Nancy; one

Medal in philosophy. His College

sister; six children, including

activities included Cross Currents,

John W. Sheehy,

spouses; and six grandchildren.

Paula J. Ryan ’84, and their

Dramatic Society, Junior Class

of Mashpee,

His brother was the late James G.

spouses; 15 grandchildren; and

Officer, ROTC and the Tomahawk.

Massachusetts,

Spellissy ’50.

five great-grandchildren. He was

Affiliated with Naval ROTC, he

died on Jan. 20,

predeceased by his parents; two

was a member of the O’Callahan

sisters; one brother; and one

Society and Holy Cross Lawyers

Sheehy earned his master’s degree

grandson.

Association. After graduation, he

from Bridgewater State College.

Richard E. “Dick”

entered the U.S. Navy, where he

He worked in banking for several

McVay, D.M.D., of

was assigned to Naval Intelligence.

years before becoming a sixth

East Falmouth,

He received a law degree from

grade science and mathematics

formerly of

Hovey Eordekian,

Georgetown University and served

teacher; his career in education

of Marstons Mills,

in several senior positions at the

spanned 31 years. A veteran

Massachusetts, died on March

Massachusetts,

National Security Agency; he

of the U.S. Army, Mr. Sheehy

21, 2020, at 88. At Holy Cross, Dr.

died on March

earned the agency’s highest civilian

was a seasonal officer for the

McVay studied economics and

26, 2020, at 95.

honor, the Exceptional Service

Barnstable Police Department

participated in intramural sports.

After serving in the U.S. Army

Award. Mr. Burke was appointed

for three decades, and served

After graduating, he served two

during World War II, Mr. Eordekian

to the White House staff in 1969,

as the assistant harbormaster

years in the U.S. Army, attaining

studied business administration

serving as executive director of

for the town of Barnstable and

the rank of sergeant. Following

at Holy Cross. He is survived by

the president’s Foreign Intelligence

harbormaster for the town of

discharge, he graduated from

three children and their families,

Advisory Board until 1973. He

Dennis; he also worked as a

Tufts University School of Dental

including three grandchildren and

later founded Parvus, a corporate

security officer for the Paul Mellon

Medicine. He practiced dentistry

one great-grandson; three brothers

intelligence and security group

estate in Oyster Harbors for seven

in Islington, Massachusetts, for 40

and their spouses; one brother-in-

that had several international

years. He supported the College

years. Dr. McVay is survived by two

law and his spouse; one niece; and

subsidiary operations. Mr.

as a member of the career advisor

daughters, including Janet McVay

four nephews. He was predeceased

Burke is survived by one son,

network. Mr. Sheehy is survived by

Pratt ’88; one son-in-law; and two

by his wife, Lily Rachel.

Gerard P. Burke Jr. ’78, and his

his wife of 43 years, Patricia; seven

grandsons. He was predeceased by

spouse; two daughters and their

children; seven grandchildren;

his wife, Geraldine; one son; and

spouses; nine granddaughters,

one great-grandchild; and two

six siblings, including Robert W.

Conrad L. Pare,

including Caroline M. Carr ’17 and

brothers. His alumni relatives

McVay ’43.

of Hingham,

Katherine B. Finnegan ’08; two

include his brother, the late Alfred

Massachusetts,

granddaughters’ spouses; and

M. Sheehy, M.D., ’48, P80; his niece

died on March

three great-grandchildren. He

Catherine S. Crean ’80; and his

5, 2020, at 94.

1951 Hovey Eordekian

Conrad L. Pare

“Tommy”; four children and their

2020, at 90. Mr.

1953 Richard E. McVay, D.M.D.

Dedham,

1954 Louis A. Craco

was predeceased by his wife of 54

cousin, the late Richard W. Sheehy

Louis A. “Lou”

Mr. Pare served in the U.S. Navy

years, Ann; one brother; and one

Jr. ’49.

Craco, of

as a pharmacist’s mate second

sister.

class during World War II and as a hospital corpsman second class during the Korean War.

Capt. Robert L. Chasse, USN (Ret)

Manhasset, New

George T. Spellissy

York, died on

George T. Spellissy,

Feb. 15, 2020,

of Cumming,

at 86. At Holy Cross, Mr. Craco

He was a pharmaceutical sales

Capt. Robert L.

formerly of

studied political science and was

representative for the former

Chasse, USN (Ret),

Dunwoody,

a member of the Alpha Sigma

Lederle Laboratory for many years.

of Viera, Florida,

Georgia, died

Nu Jesuit Honor Society. He

He is survived by five children and

died on Feb. 17,

on Feb. 17, 2020, at 89. At Holy

was the recipient of the Joseph

their spouses; 14 grandchildren;

2020, at 89. At Holy Cross, Mr.

Cross, Mr. Spellissy majored in

J. O’Connor Purse (Debating)

two great-granddaughters; one

Chasse studied political science

English; he was a recipient of the

and the Patrick F. Crowley Purse

brother and his wife; one sister-

and naval science and participated

Book Prize. He later supported

(Oratory); he graduated magna

in-law; and several nieces and

in ROTC; he graduated cum laude.

the College as a member of the

cum laude. He later supported the

nephews. He was predeceased by

He later supported the College as

1843 Society, President’s Council

College as a member of the Class

his wife of 53 years, Elizabeth; and

a member of President’s Council

and Alumni Board Senate. He also

Reunion Gift Committee and Holy

one brother.

and the O’Callahan Society; he was

served as a class agent, Alumni

Cross Lawyers Association. He

affiliated with Naval ROTC. He was

Board director and regional club

earned a law degree from New

commissioned as an ensign in the

president. During the Korean War,

York University School of Law

U.S. Navy and subsequently had

Mr. Spellissy served in the U.S.

and was a partner at Willkie Farr

Gerard P. Burke,

a 33-year career in submarines

Army. For most of his business

& Gallagher. He was one of the

of Bethesda

and as a comptroller. Mr. Chasse

career, he worked for New England

founders of Volunteers of Legal

and Cambridge,

is survived by his wife of 64 years,

Life; he started the organization’s

Service, a program that more

Maryland, died on

Mary; four children, including

Southern Group Pension Sales

than doubled the amount of time

Feb. 9, 2020, at 89.

Robert T. Chasse, M.D., ’82;

office and was a salesman and

private lawyers donated to public

At Holy Cross, Mr. Burke studied

seven grandchildren, including

manager of this office until his

interest work. At age 50, he was at

political science and philosophy;

Madeleine M. Chasse ’18; and six

retirement. He is survived by his

the time the youngest president of

he was awarded the Strain Gold

great-grandchildren.

wife of more than 65 years, Anna

the Association of the Bar of the

1952 Gerard P. Burke

IN MEMORIAM / ALUMNI NEWS / 79

IN MEMORIAM opinion that more often than not won the day,” says Frank Vellaccio, senior vice president emeritus. “Her words were always formed after her keen intellect went through a process of discernment – a process, however, always guided by her big heart and strong faith.

Agnes was exceptionally bright, but one truly appreciated her intelligence because it was buffered by real humility and abundant kindness.”

City of New York. Mr. Craco is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Vreeland; three sons; and four grandchildren.

Paul L. Giuffre Paul L. Giuffre, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, died on Jan. 2, 2020, at 86. Mr. Giuffre studied English at Holy Cross and graduated cum laude.

A member of Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, he was also

“Agnes Williams’ academic, professional, philanthropic and personal accomplishments are an inspiration to our community and beyond,” says Richard Patterson ’80, chair of the Board of Trustees. “Her dynamic energy at Holy Cross was focused on supporting faculty excellence and student financial aid, for which we are all grateful.”

involved in the Purple Patcher.

He later supported the College as a class agent and member of the Holy Cross Lawyers Association. Mr. Giuffre served in the U.S. Navy, and earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas Law School. He practiced law in Fort Smith, first at Daily and Woods and later as a senior partner

Williams with former Holy Cross President Rev. Raymond J. Swords, S.J.

In 2015, the board presented Mrs. Williams with the P. Kevin Condron ’67 Award for Trustee Service.

at Warner Smith, before going into private practice; he also practiced at Jones, Jackson and Moll. Mr. Giuffre is survived by his wife of 59 years, Emma Jo;

holy cross remembers former trustee, 1990 - 1998

Agnes Neill Williams P83 (1930–2020)

Agnes Neill Williams, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, died on March 4, 2020, at 89.

Following graduation from the College of New Rochelle, Mrs. Williams was a member of the first class of women to attend law school at Georgetown University, one of only two in the law school’s day division and the first woman on the staff of The Georgetown Law Journal.

After receiving her degree, she joined the law offices of celebrated trial attorney Edward Bennett Williams ’49, whom she married several years later.

Mrs. Williams served the

College as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1990 to 1998 and as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.

Later, she served as a member of the Board of Advisors. In a 2013 interview with Holy Cross Magazine, she noted her service to the College was originally rooted in continuing the legacy of her husband, a longtime trustee and chair, following his 1988 death. “After I’d been on the board for a while, it wasn’t so much continuing his legacy, but a personal — rather than a derivative — relationship. I felt a personal commitment,” she said.

“I was at most of the trustee meetings she attended and all of the Board of Advisors meetings and, without doubt, she always first listened to what others had to say about an issue before expressing an

8 0 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

“I came to know Agnes while working at Georgetown, but it was through our association at Holy Cross that we became good friends,” says College President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J. “I will always appreciate her graciousness, deep intelligence and probing questions, and consistent support for the needs of our faculty. And I will cherish her generosity of spirit, lively and intelligent faith, motherly pride in her children and grandchildren, and delightful joy in living. I really miss her.”

one daughter; one son; and two grandsons. He was predeceased by one son; and one sister.

Henry M. Hogan Jr. Henry M. “Hank” Hogan Jr., of Clarkston, Michigan, died on Jan. 11, 2020. Mr. Hogan studied political science and philosophy at Holy Cross. He earned his Juris Doctor and MBA at the University of Michigan Law School and worked at the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone. A two-term Michigan

Mrs. Williams is survived by three daughters; three sons, including Edward N. Williams ’83; son-in-law Daniel W. Fulham ’82; 15 grandchildren, including Adair B. Bender ’12; and one great-granddaughter.

state representative, he was active in the BirminghamBloomfield community and served on several boards; he was a Bloomfield Township trustee as well as the owner and publisher of the Eccentric Newspapers.

After moving to Clarkston, he

She was predeceased by her husband; and one son. ■

and his wife became a top real estate team there. Mr. Hogan

is survived by his wife of 65

He later supported the College as

public school system, and he later

manager, based in Amsterdam,

years, Barbara; two daughters,

a class agent and member of the

retired as the assistant director of

and advertising manager of the

one son and their spouses; five

1843 Society, President’s Council

the Holyoke Housing Authority;

Middle East. He is survived by his

grandchildren; and five great-

and Reunion Gift Committee.

he also served as a Holyoke

wife of over 56 years, Georgette;

grandchildren. His alumni relatives

He also graduated from Yale

Ward 7 alderman and Holyoke

two daughters; two grandsons;

include his father, the late Henry

University School of Medicine and

Gas & Electric commissioner.

one brother, his wife and their

M. Hogan, class of 1918.

practiced urology at St. Vincent’s

Mr. Greaney is survived by

daughter; one sister-in-law and

Hospital in Manhattan, where he

four daughters; two daughters’

her children and their spouses;

was chief of urology for 16 years.

spouses; seven grandchildren; four

grandnieces and grandnephews;

David T. “Dave”

He served in the U.S. Air Force and

grandchildren’s spouses; three

and a lifelong friend and his

McGoldrick,

was affiliated with Mercy Hospital

great-grandchildren; nieces and

wife. He was predeceased by one

of Broomfield,

in Rockville Centre, Winthrop

nephews; other extended family

brother.

Colorado, died on

Hospital in Mineloa and St. Francis

members; and many close friends.

Feb. 11, 2020, at 87.

David T. McGoldrick

Dominic F. Proto

Hospital in Roslyn; he was a

He was predeceased by his wife,

Mr. McGoldrick studied education

consultant for Medical Liability

Eleanor; his parents; and three

Dominic F.

at Holy Cross. He later served the

Mutual Insurance Company.

siblings.

“Dom” Proto,

College as a member of the 1843

Upon retiring from practice, he

Society, President’s Council and

became president of Metropolitan

the following committees: Class

Lithotriptor Associates. He is

Joseph G.

Reunion Gift, IT and Regional

survived by his wife of 61 years,

Hinchliffe, M.D.,

at 85. Mr. Proto studied accounting

Clubs Association. He was also a

Lois; three children and their

of Pittsburgh,

at Holy Cross and graduated cum

class agent, admissions advisor,

spouses; and seven grandchildren.

Pennsylvania, died

laude; he later supported the

on Aug. 11, 2019.

College as a member of President’s

Dr. Hinchliffe studied biology at

Council. He began his career as an

Holy Cross and was the recipient

accountant at Bailey, Moore and

Alumni Board director, member of the Alumni Board Senate, regional club president and

1955 David E. Carlstrom

of Woodbridge,

Joseph G. Hinchliffe, M.D.

Connecticut, died on Jan. 14, 2020,

secretary of the Holy Cross Club

David E.

of the Alumni Sodality Award. He

Glazer, CPAs and later became a

of Colorado. Mr. McGoldrick

Carlstrom, of

was the director of student health

partner in the firm, today known as

earned a master’s degree from

Shrewsbury,

at the University of Pittsburgh for

Bailey, Moore, Glazer, Schaefer and

Niagara University and worked

Massachusetts,

many years, and was in private

Proto LLP, CPAs. He is survived

for the General Electric Co. in

died on Feb. 4,

psychiatric practice and active

by his wife, Antoinette “Nettie”;

Bridgeport, Connecticut. He later

2020, at 86. Mr. Carlstrom studied

in the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic

four children and their spouses;

joined the Samsonite Corporation

economics at Holy Cross and

Center. Dr. Hinchcliffe is survived

nine grandchildren; seven great-

in Denver, where he held such

graduated U.S. Air Force ROTC.

by his wife, Marie; six children

grandchildren; one sister; and

roles as V.P. of marketing for

He served in Laredo, Texas, as

and their spouses; seven

several nieces and nephews.

the Toy Division (LEGO) and

a flight instructor, retiring as

grandchildren; and three sisters.

president of both Samsonite

lieutenant colonel after 20 years

His alumni relatives include his

Furniture and Samsonite

of service. He later worked at and

niece Rosemary Weiss Meland

Luggage. Subsequently, he joined

ran Carlstrom Pressed Metal in

’86; and his cousin Raymond R.

Donald G. “Don”

the Sunbeam Corporation in

Westborough, Massachusetts.

Ruppert Jr. ’58.

McCarthy, of

Chicago, where he served as the

He supported the Holy Cross

president of Northern Electric,

men’s crew team. Mr. Carlstrom

Sunbeam Appliance and Oster

is survived by four children; 12

Robert J. “Bob”

Manufacturing. In retirement, he

grandchildren; and six nieces and

Neville, of

retired attorney, Mr. McCarthy

was a principal of Bottom Line

nephews. He was predeceased

Danvers, formerly

studied economics at Holy Cross,

Logistics in Denver, in addition

by his wife of 45 years, Joan; his

of Manchester-

and later supported the College

to his many volunteer roles. Mr.

parents; and one brother.

by-the-Sea,

as an admissions advisor, class

McGoldrick is survived by his wife of 63 years, Nancy; seven children, including Teresa M. Buttler ’85, and

1956 Gerald T. Greaney

1957 Donald G. McCarthy Avon Lake, Ohio,

Robert J. Neville

died on Dec. 3, 2019, at 84. A

Massachusetts, died on March

agent and member of the Holy

9, 2020, at 85. At Holy Cross, Mr.

Cross Lawyers Association. He

Neville studied English; he later

is survived by his wife, Marilyn;

their spouses; 17 grandchildren;

Gerald T. “Gerry”

supported the College as a class

one son, Daniel W. McCarthy ’87,

two great-grandchildren; and one

or “Butch”

agent. He enlisted in the U.S.

one daughter, Kelly McCarthy

brother.

Greaney, of

Marine Corps and was stationed

Getz ’82, and their spouses; three

Holyoke,

at Parris Island in Beaufort, N.C.

grandchildren; and one nephew.

Massachusetts,

His advertising career included

Andrew J. McGowan Jr., M.D

1958 John R. Barry Jr.

Andrew J.

and Deerfield Beach, Florida,

roles at Fuller & Smith & Ross

McGowan Jr.,

died on Jan. 10, 2020, at 85. Mr.

and the Singer Company, both in

M.D., of Greenport,

Greaney studied education at

New York City. He subsequently

John R. Barry Jr.,

New York, died on

Holy Cross and also graduated

joined the Polaroid Corporation

of Northbrook,

Jan. 30, 2020. Dr.

from Westfield State College. He

in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as

Illinois, died on

McGowan studied biology at Holy

was a longtime educator, teacher

sales promotion manager. He later

Nov. 8, 2019. Mr.

Cross and graduated cum laude.

and principal in the South Hadley

became European advertising

Barry studied

IN MEMORIAM / ALUMNI NEWS / 81

IN MEMORIAM 1959 Kenneth J. Hohl

physics and participated in Glee

years. He is survived by his wife

Club at Holy Cross; he graduated

of 55 years, Nancy; three children

cum laude. He also participated

and their spouses; two sisters; one

Kenneth J. Hohl,

Mr. Peattie is survived by three

in ROTC at the College; he was a

sister’s spouse; 10 grandchildren;

of Tonawanda,

daughters and their spouses; three

member of the O’Callahan Society

and many nieces and nephews,

New York, died

grandchildren; six nieces and

and affiliated with Naval ROTC.

including Katherine Gibson

on Jan. 22, 2020,

nephews; several cousins; and

He is survived by his wife, Patricia;

Gormley ’90 and Philip F. Gibson

at 83. Mr. Hohl

his longtime caregiver. He was

two sons; one son’s spouse; three

’95. His father was the late Joseph

studied marketing at Holy Cross

predeceased by his parents; three

grandchildren; one brother, Philip

J. Fay ’32.

and played football, earning

siblings; and several nieces and

All-American recognition; he was

nephews.

L. Barry, M.D., ’64, and his spouse; and many family members and

Myles Hannan

a member of the Varsity Club.

the home building and contracting business for more than 50 years.

John M. Ricciardi Jr.

friends. His alumni relatives also

Myles Hannan, of

After graduation, he served in

include his uncles, the late Rev.

Bluffton, South

the U.S. Air Force as a second

John M. Ricciardi

William L. Keleher, S.J., ’26, and the

Carolina, formerly

lieutenant. He was president and

Jr., of River Ridge,

late Paul C. Keleher, M.D., ’29.

of Bethesda,

owner of Watson Sales Company

Louisiana, died on

Maryland,

in Buffalo, an industrial safety

Nov. 5, 2019. Mr.

Frederick J. Cartier

died on Jan. 4, 2020, at 83. Mr.

sales company he ran for nearly

Frederick J. “Fred”

Hannan studied political science

40 years. Mr. Hohl is survived by

marketing at the College and was

Cartier, of Natick,

and prelaw at Holy Cross, and

four children and their spouses;

a graduate of Holy Cross and the

Massachusetts,

participated in ROTC; he was a

four grandchildren; many nieces

University of New Haven. He was a

died on March

member of the Honors Program

and nephews; his friend, Marilyn

20-year employee of Shell Norco,

12, 2020, at 84. At

and Pre-Law Society. He later

Coughlin; and his former wife,

where he worked as an electrical

Holy Cross, Mr. Cartier majored

supported the College as an

Patricia McCarthy-Hohl. He was

engineer. Mr. Ricciardi is survived

in economics and participated

admissions advisor and class

predeceased by two brothers,

by one daughter; and two sons. He

in Knights of Columbus and

agent, and was a member of

including Dale J. Hohl ’57.

was predeceased by his wife, Mary

Sodality. He attended St. John’s

the Varsity Club, O’Callahan

Seminary and served 16 years

Society and Holy Cross Lawyers

as a priest of the Archdiocese of

Association; he was also affiliated

Boston. He later changed careers

with Naval ROTC. A U.S. Navy

Col. Paul E.

father, the late John M. Ricciardi,

and moved to administrative

veteran who attained the rank of

McManus, USAF

D.M.D., ’26.

management positions in the

lieutenant, Mr. Hannan graduated

(Ret.), of Palm

computer industry before founding

from Harvard Law School with an

and operating Canine Connection

LL.B. degree. He had a long career

died on Jan. 21, 2020, at 82. Mr.

John E. Ritz, of

Mobile Grooming Service in the

in law, starting as an associate at

McManus studied English and

Pittsford, New

Metrowest area. He is survived by

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in

visual arts: studio at Holy Cross,

York, died on

his sister and her husband; and

New York City and subsequently

and played football; he was a

Feb. 2, 2020,

five nieces and nephews. He was

serving as vice president and

member of the Varsity Club. He

predeceased by one adopted son.

general counsel of High Voltage

later earned his master’s degree

studied economics at Holy Cross

Engineering Corp.; head of the

from Shippensburg University in

and worked for more than 30

legal and real estate groups for

Pennsylvania. He served in the

years as an industrial engineer

James F. “Jim”

The Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.;

U.S. Air Force for 23 years before

at Delco Products. He served in

Fay, formerly

and executive vice president and

starting a successful defense

the U.S. Army. He is survived by

of Needham

chief lending officer of Empire of

consulting firm in Alexandria,

his wife of 55 years, Mary; three

and Wellesley,

America Federal Savings Bank. He

Virginia. Mr. McManus is survived

children and their spouses; and

Massachusetts,

later returned to private practice

by his wife 56 years, Karen; two

eight grandchildren. He was

died on March 2, 2020, at 84.

in Bethesda at Linowes and

daughters; one son; one son-in-

predeceased by his parents; and

At Holy Cross, Mr. Fay studied

Blocker LLP, where he worked for

law; one daughter-in-law; five

one sister.

economics, participated in ROTC

27 years. Mr. Hannan is survived

grandchildren; one sister and her

and played golf; he graduated

by his wife of 17 years, Phyllis;

husband; and many nieces and

cum laude and was a member of

his four children and her three

nephews.

the Varsity Club. Affiliated with

children; their combined family

Naval ROTC, he supported the

of 16 grandchildren and three

College as a class agent, Alumni

great-grandchildren; one brother,

Joseph T. Peattie,

Massachusetts,

Board director, and as a member

Michael B. Hannan ’61, and his

of Wilton, New

died on Feb. 2,

of the O’Callahan Society and

spouse; two sisters; and numerous

York, died on Jan.

Class Reunion Committee.

cousins, nieces, including Kathryn

1, 2020, at 86. Mr.

Boucher studied economics at

Upon graduation, Mr. Fay was

E. Jubboori ’03, and nephews. He

Peattie studied

Holy Cross and was a claims

commissioned in the U.S. Navy.

was predeceased by his first wife,

English at Holy Cross and played

supervisor for many years at

Following his military service,

Maureen Ronan; his parents; and

football; he was a member of the

Worcester Insurance. He was a

he worked at MacIntyre, Fay &

one brother.

Varsity Club. He served in the U.S.

former town of Spencer treasurer

Army as a corporal, and he was in

and selectman, serving for more

James F. Fay

Thayer Insurance Agency for 42

8 2 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

Col. Paul E. McManus, USAF (Ret.)

City, Florida,

Joseph T. Peattie

Ricciardi studied

Jane; and one son. His alumni relatives include his brother, Gerald A. Ricciardi ’62; and his

John E. Ritz

at 83. Mr. Ritz

1960 Robert A. Boucher Robert A. Boucher, of Spencer,

2020, at 83. Mr.

than 10 years, and he also

him as a generous,

Kolleen Rask, professor of

served in the Air National

insightful and

economics, says that when she

Guard. Mr. Boucher is survived

humble educator

arrived at Holy Cross, she soon

by one son and his wife; two

who supported

found herself as the only woman

daughters; one daughter’s

the College

in the department. “This made

husband; seven grandchildren;

community in

the department a bit of a lonely

nine great-grandchildren;

myriad ways.

place for me, but several

extended family; and his

individuals stepped up and

caregivers. He was predeceased

“When I allow

became mentors and role models.

by his wife, Cheryl; and one

myself to

One of them was Frank Petrella,”

sister.

remember the

she remembers. “He was kind,

two-plus decades

knowledgeable, empathetic and

I spent with

supportive. He offered thoughtful

John A.

Frank, I am filled

advice on classes, on interactions

McDonough,

with unbounded

with students and other faculty

of Westport

affection,” says

members, and on scholarship.

Point,

John R. Carter,

But, more importantly, he

Massachusetts,

professor emeritus

watched out for me. He noticed

died on Feb. 14, 2020, at 81. Mr.

of economics. “In

when I was having a difficult

McDonough studied economics

Stein, his office

time and intervened when

at Holy Cross and graduated

was directly across

appropriate. Sometimes lending

cum laude. He later served the

the hall from mine,

a sympathetic ear was enough,

John A. McDonough

College as a member of Parents Council, President’s Council and Class Reunion Committee; he was also an admissions advisor and a supporter of the men’s and women’s ice hockey programs. He earned his master’s degree in business

holy cross remembers professor emeritus of economics, 1960 - 1995

and I often turned to him for

and Frank was always willing to

counsel. As a junior member of

provide that. He simply knew

the department, I remember him

when he was needed, and he

Frank Petrella Jr.

once sitting so patiently with me

quietly, but effectively, stepped

as I struggled to craft a hard-to-

up.”

(1930 – 2020)

administration from Harvard

get final sentence in a paper I was writing. As a senior colleague, I

Professor Petrella was a member

remember how in our closed-

of several professional economic

door deliberations for sometimes

societies and was particularly

University and served in the

Frank Petrella Jr., of Worcester,

difficult tenure and promotion

interested and active in the

U.S. Army. He is survived

died on Jan. 12, 2020, at 89.

cases, Frank was always the one

Economic History Association

willing to speak first, thereby

and History of Economics

by four children, including Timothy J. McDonough ’91

Born in Detroit, he enlisted

breaking the tension-filled

Society. A specialist in the

and Caitlin A. McDonough

in the U.S. Army 10 days after

silence and setting the tone for

history of economic analysis,

’00; two sons-in-law; and

graduating from high school.

the open and sincere discussion

he published numerous articles

four grandchildren. He was

Serving from 1948 to 1952, he

that followed. Mostly I remember

and book reviews in scholarly

predeceased by his wife, Sylvia.

participated in several major pre-

his unsurpassed goodness – his

journals. At least 10 of his major

His alumni relatives include

Korean War maneuvers, as well

gentleness, kindness, warmth and

articles were reprinted in several

his father, the late Paul V.

as the Korean War.

wisdom.”

published anthologies.

two uncles, the late John J.

After his discharge, he enrolled

“When I started as a new

After retirement, he retained his

McDonough, class of 1920, and

at the University of Notre Dame

economics professor, Frank

office on campus for seven years,

the late Joseph F. McDonough,

on the G.I. Bill. There, he earned

Petrella was a great help to

continuing to conduct research,

class of 1920.

his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.

me,” says Charles Anderton,

write and help the economics

in economics, also working as a

professor of economics. “When

department. “Have you ever met

teaching fellow and a graduate

I asked him questions about his

someone whose face, voice and

teaching instructor.

approaches to teaching, he was

manner conveyed exactly the

always enthusiastic and generous

person you would come to know

McDonough, class of 1924; and

1961 Walter G. Keefe Walter G. “Walt” Keefe, of

In 1960, he joined the Holy Cross

with his time. Frank was also an

and love?” Carter asks. “That was

San Francisco,

Department of Economics, where

immense help in my research.

Frank Petrella for me.”

died on Feb.

he remained until his retirement

He was interested in what I

28, 2020, at

in 1995 as professor emeritus.

was working on and offered

He is survived by his wife of 65

80. At Holy Cross, Mr. Keefe

Credited with playing a key role

abundant encouragement. What I

years, Eleanor Jane (McGinley);

studied economics. He served

in modernizing the department,

remember above all is how kind,

four children, including John A.

in the U.S. Army during the

Professor Petrella served as

generous and insightful Frank

Petrella ’85 and Karen M. Petrella

Cuban missile crisis as a cryp-

department chair from 1969 to

was. Frank was a wonderful

’81; and seven grandchildren. He

tographer. He earned an MBA

1973 and, throughout his career,

colleague to me, to others in the

was predeceased by his parents;

from the University of Kansas

remained very active across

department and to many across

and two sons. ■

before taking a position with

campus. Colleagues remember

the Holy Cross campus.”

IN MEMORIAM / ALUMNI NEWS / 83

IN MEMORIAM publication, and junior year

Kodak Co. He was later head

abroad, as well as the committee

of marketing for the west coast

that recommended coeducation.

with Crown Zellerbach before building his own staffing firm

“I am proud to have been a part

focusing on technical recruit-

of that committee,” he told Holy

ment. Mr. Keefe is survived by

Cross Magazine in 2001. “This

his wife of 49 years, Patricia

was a very good thing for Holy

“Patti”; one son; one brother; two

Cross.”

sisters-in-law; two sisters; and two brothers-in-law. His brother

“When I was hired in 1973, I

was the late Richard L. Keefe,

was one of only two women in

M.D., ’57, and his alumni relatives

history, and Bob embraced the

also include his cousin Mary Lou

changes in our curriculum and

Campion Ashur, M.D., ’80.

in the environment that our hires represented,” says Theresa

Robert E. O’Connell

M. McBride, professor of history

Robert E.

and a colleague for 26 years.

O’Connell, of

“He mentored many students

Dataw Island,

who wrote theses or took his

South Carolina,

advanced courses, but he also

died on Feb.

enjoyed teaching first-year

10, 2020, at 80. At Holy Cross,

students in small seminar-like

Mr. O’Connell studied English,

classes, long before there was a

played lacrosse and was involved

Montserrat program. He was a

in the following activities:

model to his younger colleagues

Conservative Club, intramural

as both a scholar and a teacher.”

sports, Outing Club, Purple Key Society, Purple Patcher and

“Bob was a solid professional

student newspaper; he graduated

presence in our department,

with honors. He later supported

connecting us with every new

the College as a member of the

development among American

career advisor network. A veteran

historians,” says David J.

of the U.S. Navy, Mr. O’Connell

O’Brien, professor emeritus,

had a business career at W.R.

Loyola Professor of Roman

Grace & Co, American Express,

Catholic Studies. “He also was a

the Albert Ellis Institute and

good friend, interested in what

as a consultant. He is survived

each of us was doing, in class

by his wife of 45 years, Joanne

and in our research, and in our

(Kearney); one sister; three

families.”

children by his marriage to Martha Hurlbert; two children

When Professor Brandfon and

by his marriage to Joanne; six

five colleagues in the history

grandchildren; and numerous

holy cross remembers professor emeritus of history, 1965 – 2000

After teaching at Colorado,

department retired together, “we

Kearney nieces and nephews. He

Harvard and Oberlin College,

felt the loss of their leadership

was predeceased by one brother.

he joined the Holy Cross history

keenly,” McBride notes. “Bob

His alumni relatives include his

Robert Brandfon

department in 1965, where he

himself graciously welcomed

cousin John P. Laschenski ’59.

taught until his retirement in

the historians who were hired to

2000.

teach ‘his’ areas and embraced

(1931–2020)

the new perspectives they

1962 Cmdr. John A. Keleher, USN (Ret.)

Professor Brandfon taught

brought to teaching that history.

a broad range of courses on

He was a kind and generous

Cmdr. John A.

Robert L. “Bob” Brandfon, of

19th- and 20th-century U.S.

man, and erudite in a modest

“Al” Keleher,

Munster, Indiana, died on Feb. 1,

history. He served as chair of

way. He is warmly remembered

USN (Ret.), of

2020, at 88.

the history department; faculty

by his colleagues and former

adviser for Phi Alpha Theta, the

students.”

Cherry Hill and Ocean City, New Jersey,

He received his bachelor’s in

history honor society; recorder

history from Ball State Teachers

of the faculty and more. He

He is survived by his wife,

Holy Cross, Mr. Keleher studied

College, a master’s from the

contributed to many College

Barbara Fierer; two children; two

accounting and participated

University of Colorado and a

committees, including those

stepchildren; two grandchildren;

in ROTC; he was affiliated

Ph.D. from Harvard University.

on financial aid, research and

and his sister. ■

with Naval ROTC. He served

8 4 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

died on Feb. 23, 2020, at 81. At

in the U.S. Navy for close to 30

Wilton, Connecticut, died on Feb.

Kathleen Sears ’88 and Eileen

Most recently, he retired from the

years, retiring with the rank of

12, 2020, at 76. At Holy Cross,

M. Sears ’93, nephews, including

Worcester Housing Authority. He

commander. His naval career

Mr. Noble studied sociology and

Christopher L. Sears ’96, and in-

is survived by three sisters; one

included the roles of chief engineer

played football; he was a member

laws. He was predeceased by his

brother, David F. Falvey ’73; one

on the USS John Willis, chief

of the Varsity Club. He served in

father, George E. Frost Jr. ’27, and

brother-in-law; one sister-in-

officer on the USS Chewaucan

the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance

his mother; two siblings; and three

law; and many nephews, nieces,

and a senior adviser River Assault

Wing of the U.S. Air Force; he

brothers-in-law.

extended family members and

in the Vietnam War. He was

then worked as a reporter for the

awarded US Navy Commendation

Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle Tribune

with Combat Distinguishing, the

and was involved in politics,

Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry

serving as New Hampshire press

James B. “Jim”

with Silver Star, and Vietnamese

secretary for Sargent Shriver’s

Hughes, of

Staff Honor Medal, First Class.

1976 bid for the presidency. From

Worcester,

After his retirement from the Navy,

there, he forged a long career

died on Jan. 31,

Mark K. Mowatt,

he worked for the Cherry Hill

in public relations, first at Carl

2020, at 72. Mr.

of Goleta,

Board of Education and Garland

Byoir & Associates and then in the

Hughes studied biology at Holy

California, died on

Roofing. Mr. Keleher is survived

telecommunications industry at

Cross and later earned his Ph.D.

Jan. 18, 2020, at 71.

by one daughter, one son and their

NYNEX, Bell Atlantic and Verizon.

from Georgetown University.

spouses; five grandchildren; and

He is survived by two sons; two

He was involved in a variety

Mowatt studied economics and

additional family members. He was

sisters; one nephew; one niece;

of entrepreneurial endeavors,

played football; he was a member

predeceased by his wife, Nancy.

and other family members and

including the establishment of the

of the Varsity Club. He worked as

friends. He was predeceased by

Himalayan Salt Company (USA)

an insurance claims adjustor for

his wife, Louise; and one brother.

and SeaTech Bioproducts. He is

Farmers Insurance for 30 years

survived by one sister.

before his retirement. Mr. Mowatt

1964 Howard F. Reznik Howard F. Reznik, of South Hadley,

1967 Joseph Z. Taylor Jr.

friends. He was predeceased by

1969 James B. Hughes

his parents; and seven siblings, including Richard F. Falvey ’62.

1971 Mark K. Mowatt

At Holy Cross, Mr.

is survived by his wife of 35

Daniel P. Reardon, D.D.S.

years, Susan; two children; three

Massachusetts,

Joseph Z. Taylor

Daniel P.

siblings; and numerous nieces and

died on Feb. 2,

Jr., of Orlando,

Reardon, D.D.S.,

nephews.

2020. Mr. Reznik

Florida, and

of Annapolis,

studied physics at Holy Cross. He

Alexandria,

Maryland,

was the human resource director

Virginia, died on

formerly of

1972 Thomas Peter Millaras

for Black and Decker for 40 years.

April 12, 2019, at 74. Mr. Taylor

Washington, D.C., died on Jan. 4,

Thomas Peter “Pogo” Millaras, of

He is survived by his wife of 53

studied history at Holy Cross, and

2020, at 72. Dr. Reardon studied

New London, Connecticut, died on

years, Carol; two daughters; one

later supported the College as a

French at Holy Cross, and after

Feb. 28, 2020, at 69. Mr. Millaras

daughter’s partner; one daughter’s

member of the 1843 Society and

graduation, he went into the

studied political science at Holy

husband; two grandsons; three

Class Reunion Committee.

Peace Corps and served for two

Cross. He was a veteran of the

years in Cameroon. He went on

Vietnam War, having served as a

to graduate from Georgetown

lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.

siblings and their spouses; and many nieces and nephews.

1965 James W. Snee

1968 Robert M. Frost, M.D.

University Dental School and

1973 George A. Cashman Jr

Robert M. “Bob”

established a general practice

Frost, M.D., of

in Washington, D.C. Dr. Reardon

James W. “Jim”

West Hartford,

is survived by one son; and two

George A.

Snee, of Center

Connecticut, died

brothers, including his twin

Cashman Jr.,

Rutland, Vermont,

on Feb. 6, 2020,

Dermid J. Reardon ’69. His alumni

of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, died

died on Feb. 27,

at 73. Dr. Frost studied English

relatives also include his father,

2020, at 77. Mr.

and philosophy at Holy Cross

the late Edward R. Reardon, M.D.,

Snee studied sociology at Holy

and later supported the College

’33; and his uncle, the late Rev.

68. Mr. Cashman studied political

Cross. He worked in information

as an admissions advisor. He

Jeremiah M. Reardon, class of

science at Holy Cross. He worked

systems at Conrail and Bellcore,

graduated from the Georgetown

1918.

for Northern Acres, in real estate

and he later purchased and owned

University School of Medicine and

Gibeault’s Body Shop. He is

specialized in internal medicine

survived by his wife, Deidre; two

and nephrology; he practiced at

sons; and one sister.

St. Francis Hospital in Hartford

Gerald F.

seven siblings, including Brian A.

for 35 years. Dr. Frost is survived

“Gerry” Falvey,

Cashman ’77, and their spouses;

by his wife of 48 years, Brigid; one

of Worcester,

and several nieces, including Emily

son, Robert M. Frost Jr. ’95; two

died on March

L. Kirstein ’07, and nephews. He

Robert C.

daughters, Kristin Frost Bowes

6, 2020, at 71. An

was predeceased by his father,

“Bob” Noble,

’96 and Katy Ouellette ’99; one

economics and accounting major

George A. Cashman ’47; and one

of Marshfield,

daughter-in-law; one son-in-law;

at Holy Cross, Mr. Falvey was a

sister. His alumni relatives also

Massachusetts,

three sisters; one brother and his

certified public accountant in the

include his uncle, the late Charles

formerly of

wife; and many nieces, including

commonwealth of Massachusetts.

C. Cashman ’51.

1966 Robert C. Noble

on Jan. 26, 2020, at

for recreational land, in Goffstown,

1970 Gerald F. Falvey

New Hampshire. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Janis; one son;

IN MEMORIAM / ALUMNI NEWS / 85

IN MEMORIAM 1977 Marita A. Halesworth

of Ann Halleron Eagan ’87 and

from Fordham University. A

before engaging with the St.

certified public accountant, she

Petersburg team in Florida, now

grandmother of Caroline R. Eagan

Marita A. “Tita”

began her career at KPMG, then

in the process of reforming as

’16, Catherine E. Eagan ’20 and

Halesworth,

was recruited to Citibank, where

the Tampa Bay Tiger Sharks. Mr.

Christopher W. Eagan ’22; Francis

of Medfield,

she was a vice president. She

Bilder is survived by his parents.

R. Ermilio, son of Francis P.

Massachusetts,

then moved with Court Square

died on Jan. 26,

Capital, a spin-off of Citibank, and

Christopher J. Seiler

Ermilio ’81; Loretta Evans, mother of John M. Evans ’81; Lillian

2020, at 64. Mrs. Halesworth

was chief financial officer; she

Christopher J.

Flynn, mother of Steven Flynn

studied English at Holy Cross

retired as chief compliance officer.

“Chris” Seiler, of

’81; Clytie Foster, mother of Alice

and graduated with honors.

Mrs. Connelly is survived by her

Bedford, New

Resker of the music department

After graduation, she served as

husband of 25 years, Mike; one

Hampshire, died

and grandmother of Katherine

a writing teacher at Assumption

son; one daughter; her parents;

on Feb. 2, 2020,

A. Resker ’17; Brian Gallant,

College, before earning her

and two brothers, their wives and

at 43. Mr. Seiler studied history

husband of Cathi Gallant of dining

law degree at the University of

their five children.

and religious studies at Holy

services; Rev. Deacon Charles J.

Cross and graduated cum laude.

Gebron 54; Robert M. Hanlon,

An Academic All-American, he

S.J., 54; Kathryn F. “Kate” Siegler

also played lacrosse and served

Hewitt, wife of Francis J. “Bud”

Connecticut School of Law. She then worked as a news reporter for The Patriot Ledger in Quincy

1988 John M. Hanley

and subsequently as a defense

John M. Hanley,

as a Eucharistic Minister. He later

Hewitt ’59, mother of Christopher

attorney in the Quincy District

of Plandome,

earned master’s degrees from

F. Hewitt ’93 and Gregory W.

Court. She supported the College

New York, died on

the University of Notre Dame,

Hewitt ’94, mother-in-law of Noël

as a member of the Holy Cross

March 3, 2020, at

Providence College and Bentley

Sabini Hewitt ’92 and Maryellen

Lawyers Association. In later

54. At Holy Cross,

University. He was employed by

Flaherty Hewitt, M.D., ’94 and

years, she served as a substitute

Mr. Hanley studied economics;

Boston Scientific Corporation

aunt of Jeremy J. Hewitt ’06;

teacher for the Barnstable Pubic

he later supported the College as

as a corporate tax director. Mr.

Rosemary Himmelsbach, wife of

Schools. Mrs. Halesworth is

a class agent. He was a volunteer

Seiler is survived by his wife of 19

the late William A. Himmelsbach

survived by her husband, Peter;

fireman with the Plandome Fire

years, Aimee (O’Rourke) ’98; three

’42; Frank Johnson, father of

four children; her mother; two

Department. He is survived by

children; one sister; two brothers;

Caroline Johnson Hodge of the

brothers, John P. Driscoll ’85 and

his wife of 24 years, Jennifer;

and his parents.

religious studies department;

James F. Driscoll ’79; three sisters,

four children; and four siblings.

including Paula C. Driscoll ’81 and

His alumni relatives include his

FRIENDS

Kalill ’21; Herbert H. King 57; Judy

Maureen Driscoll Leveroni ’83;

cousin William E. Chave ’90; and

Donald F. Adams 55; Richard

LaFontaine, mother of Dianne

and many nieces and nephews,

his uncle the late George P. Chave

Allard, father of Arthur Allard of

Baillargeon of environmental

including Herschel Halesworth

’59.

facilities; Irene Barry, mother of

services; Bonnie Lynch, wife of

’22. She was predeceased by her father, James P. Driscoll ’49.

1998 Patrick W. Bilder

Paul Kalill, father of Katherine

Anne Barry of ITS; Eavan Boland

the late Jack Lynch ’51; James J.

Hon. ’00; Marion L. Brooks, sister

Nachstein 52; Sheila Noonan,

of the late Rev. John E. Brooks,

mother of James Noonan of ITS;

Patrick W. “Pat”

S.J., ’49 and aunt of Maureen

Gail O’Connell, wife of John

Bilder, of Tampa,

Shambo ’84; Barbara Carmody,

F. O’Connell ’64, formerly of

Theresa M. Payne,

Florida, formerly

wife of Bill Carmody, formerly

the economics and accounting

of Georgia, died

of Lederach,

of Athletics; Faith E. (Martocci)

department; Josephine Pandolph,

on Jan. 21, 2020,

Pennsylvania,

Caron, mother of June Caron of

mother of KeriAnne (Travis)

1978 Theresa M. Payne

at 63. Ms. Payne

died on Feb. 22, 2020, at 43. Mr.

facilities; Patricia Carroll, wife of

Tisdale ’01; Jonathan Stephen

studied sociology

Bilder majored in biology at

the late John Carroll ’49, mother-

Sales, brother of Trevor Kelly,

at Holy Cross and was a member

Holy Cross and earned a Ph.D.

in-law of Bill Picotte ’71 and

n.S.J., of the Chaplains’ Office;

of the Black Student Union.

in biochemistry from Vanderbilt

grandmother of David Picotte ’05;

Robert J. Schiffmann, father of

University. He spent most of his

Ruth Casagrande, mother of Dean

John R. Schiffmann ’82 and Anne

life doing academic research

Casagrande ’83; Arthur T. Connor

M. Fink ’85 and grandfather of

at Vanderbilt, Louisiana State

Jr. 57; Helen Cordell, wife of

Alexandra Schiffmann ’15 and

Lauren M.

University and Albert Einstein

Arthur N. Cordell ’60; Rev. George

Jack Fink ’17; Rosemary Tierney,

(Marusic)

College of Medicine. He also

V. Coyne, S.J., Hon. ’09; Constance

wife of the late Hon. John A.

Connelly, of West

taught forensics and chemistry

Ryan Eagan, wife of the late

Tierney ’53; Cecelia E. Zaleski,

Nyack, New York,

as an assistant professor at

Willam A. Eagan Jr. ’49, mother of

grandmother of Jennifer A. Knapp

died on March 9,

Southeastern University in

Mary Ellen Eagan ’77, William A.

’07 and Erin L. Knapp ’12; Michael

2020, at 55. Mrs. Connelly studied

Lakeland, Florida. He played

Eagan III ’77, Christopher J. Eagan

Zenobio, father of Cris Zenobio

economics and accounting at

Australian rules football (“footy”)

’80, Constance A. Eagan ’81 and

’90 and father-in-law of Terri

Holy Cross and earned an MBA

with the New York City team

Gail Eagan ’87, mother-in-law

Zenobio ’90. ■

1986 Lauren M. (Marusic) Connelly

8 6 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

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Help Us Find Untold Stories and Unsung Heroes

G

ood news: Our new

The bad news? It can be hard to

feature series, For and

find these stories. For many, the

With Others, highlights

spirit of living for and with others

alumni who are living

is who they are and they don’t think

the mission in everyday ways. Last

twice about their efforts – and

issue, you met Richard McGuinness

they certainly aren’t looking for

’60, whose ordinary act of kindness

publicity. But we believe works

took him in an international

of all sizes, regardless of scope or

direction he never expected. In this

scale, should be celebrated.

issue, on Page 66, you’ll read about Kate Shea ’13, who, after a chance

Please help us find Crusaders

encounter at a T station, started

living the mission in everyday

an endeavor that is helping people

ways and email us at hcmag@

experiencing homelessness.

holycross.edu. ■

I

conditions, rationales and more that make up the world, its events and issues.

launched our Examine feature, in which alumni help us better

Is there a topic in your personal or

understand topics ranging

professional life that could ben-

from the everyday to those we never

efit from greater understanding

experienced or expected before.

and more reasoned thought in the world at large? Can you help dispel

Through their words, these writers

misconceptions about a misunder-

help us exercise our critical thinking

stood subject? If you’re intrigued by

skills, see issues from not just both,

this opportunity, we would love to

but all sides, and better understand

hear from you; email us at hcmag@

the interplay of circumstances,

holycross.edu. ■

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EXAMINE

8 8 \ H O LY CROS S M AG A ZINE \ SUMMER 2020

Trusting the Slow Work of God

W

BY JAM ES A N T O N I O, S . J. , ’ 0 9

hen I graduated from Holy Cross, I had no idea that God was germinating a seed in me that would turn into a religious vocation. Who would have thought that 11 years later I would be in long process of Jesuit formation? Certainly not me. But God always has wonderful surprises that are already at work in us, of which we are completely unaware.

For most Jesuit scholastics in the United States (that’s what they call Jesuits in formation to the priesthood), traveling the road to the priesthood takes 11 years: two years of novitiate, three years of philosophy studies, three years of apostolic work and three years of theology studies. And those are just the requirements to ordination. What’s unique about the Society of Jesus among religious orders is that the formal period of Jesuit formation isn’t complete until the candidate is called by the Superior General in Rome to profess final vows; this can be years – or decades – after one is ordained a priest. True, the path to becoming a Jesuit is long, but it certainly isn’t spent idly or in vain.

Honestly, my eight years of formation haven’t felt long.

Yes, a lot of hard work was put into studies and apostolic work, not to mention the hard interior work of daily prayer

and internalizing the three perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. But now that I’m finishing my third year of regency — the three years of apostolic work in between philosophy and theology studies — and the priesthood is finally just around the corner, the reality is I’m hardly “finished.” I feel just as excited, if not more than ever, at being a Jesuit and I find myself asking: Where did the time go? This is, perhaps, one of the essential questions of the Jesuit Examen prayer, the other being: And where was God? For me, those first two years of Jesuit life at the novitiate in Culver City, California, was a slamming of the brakes.

As a novice, life slows down significantly, and your body and mind adjust to a rhythm dictated by the ordo, or order of the day.

Here prayer, house chores, daily Mass, cooking, cleaning and apostolic work in hospitals and prisons become ingrained in the backdrop of community living.

It’s a drastic change of lifestyle and sometimes you wonder if God is really working through you when you’re cleaning toilets or if you’re doing anything worthwhile in the world when you’re told the most important thing you’ll do in the novitiate is a 30-day retreat of silence and prayer.

Then there was three years of philosophy studies at Saint Louis University, where I received a master’s degree, then two years of regency teaching math at Seattle Preparatory School and a third year in Mexico learning Spanish.

Currently, I’ve been missioned to master of divinity studies at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. (And, if you’re wondering: Yes, it

is common parlance among Jesuits to use “mission” as a verb.)

Where was God in all this work and study? For me, that’s a bit like asking a fish, “Where’s the water?” God is so hidden in plain sight that if we dare to look, sure enough, we will find Him. He’s there in the routine of a morning cup of coffee, daily Mass and doing dishes in community.

He’s in the freshman student who comes to you utterly lost in the quadratic formula. He’s even there when you’re trying to sort out Heidegger or Rahner.

When you learn to see God in ordinary circumstances, and not just extraordinary events, every moment becomes a moment of loving and being loved.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus, said these words of encouragement when missioning his fellow Jesuits in the field: Age quod agis (“Do what you are doing”). In other words, do the ordinary things you have been called to do and trust that God is working though you. Perhaps formation hasn’t felt long and drawn out because I don’t necessarily see priesthood as a goal, as if the gift of the Holy Spirit in ordination is something attained through one’s hard work. Vocation, if it’s to religious life or otherwise, is something that is lived into.

There is no end or goal in sight – it’s just a continual saying “yes.”

It’s a commitment of fidelity to the beloved; it’s being in love. And, as many people can attest – being in love is the most wonderful thing in the world. ■

Help us view subjects in a new light!

If you have personal or professional expertise on a topic and would like to share your perspective, email hcmag@holycross.edu.

TRUSTING THE SLOW WORK OF GOD / EX AMINE

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The College’s distinctive mailboxes located at the Mount Saint James Station Post Office in the Hogan Campus Center were replaced in June by smart lockers, better equipped to house packages received by today’s Crusaders. Look for our story in the fall issue.

C O N N E C T I O N I S J U S T A C L I C K AWAY ! Although we may be apart during this challenging time, there are plenty of ways for you to stay connected to Holy Cross and your fellow grads! Check out virtual programs and resources at alumni.holycross.edu/alumniresources.