the Magazine for Fairfield college preparatory School • Winter 2010

ALUMNI SERVING OUR COUNTRY
Nelson ’03 flying on “Wings of Gold”
LTJG Jonathan R. nelson was
awarded his “Wings of Gold”
and designated a naval flight
officer and air intercept controller
in Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 30 by
Rear Admiral R. J. O’Hanlon, commander,
Naval Air Force Atlantic.
LTJG Nelson began his aviation
preflight indoctrination at Naval
Aviation Schools Command, at the
Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla.
He was selected for carrier
aviation, continuing on to successfully complete Intermediate Student NFO
Training. LTJG Nelson was then assigned to the E-2 Hawkeye community,
and transferred to the Naval Air Station in Norfolk for advanced training with
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120.
LTJG Nelson will be flying on the Hawkeye 2000 associated with Fleet
E-2 Squadron VAW-117 (the “Wallbangers”), based at Point Magu, Calif., following
further instruction at Norfolk.
He graduated from Prep in 2003 and from the College of the Holy Cross
and the Holy Cross NROTC Unit in 2007.
36 Prep Today
Jonathan with his parents, Marcia
and Dick Nelson, and his brother,
MIDN 1/C Ryan T. Nelson, College of
the Holy Cross NROTC.
Walsh ’82 promoted
US Army officer Michael T. walsh ’82 was promoted
to colonel at a ceremony in Murfreesboro, Tenn.,
on Aug. 6. Brigadier General Max Haston, assistant
adjutant general-Army, Tennessee National Guard, presided
over the ceremony. He is a distinguished military
graduate of Northeastern University and subsequently
earned advanced degrees from Troy State University
and King’s College, London, England.
Before his current assignment as team chief for an advisory team
headed to Iraq, he was professor of military science at Middle Tennessee
State University in Murfreesboro. He has held numerous troop and staff
assignments throughout his nearly 22 years on active duty.
In September, he leads a 10-man advisory team to a base just south of
Baghdad for a 12-month deployment. His team is charged with coaching and
advising the leadership of an Iraqi Army division. Col. Walsh and his family
live in Brentwood, Tenn.
Marsan ’91 deployed
National Guard Staff Sgt. nick Marsan ’91
who works as a Westport firefighter and
lives in Norwalk, is one of more than 1,000
Connecticut soldiers and airmen who will
leave for mobilization stations, where they’ll
be trained before shipping out to Afghanistan
in early 2010. It’ll be his first deployment
overseas, although he served in the Army
for nearly a decade in the 1990s. About three
years ago, he joined the Guard with his brother “to kind of finish what I
started,” he said.
While it would be a lie to say he isn’t fearful at the prospect of going to
war, Marsan said that fear “helps call us to action. I’m prepared and I’m
staying focused.”
He enjoys the camaraderie of the Guard, and the common dedication to
each other and country, he said, adding that the typical reasons for enlisting
have always been duty to country, state and fellow soldier.
Rev. W. Laurence O’Neil, S.J.
dies after 50 years of service
For 50 years Fairfield University and
Fairfield Prep have been blessed
with Fr. Larry O’Neil’s warm Irish
humor, selfless devotion to the Jesuit
mission, and utmost concern for students.
He leaves a legacy of thousands of
people whose lives he touched and often
changed significantly through his priesthood
and the several important positions
he held on campus. He will be missed.
Born in Westfield, Mass., and raised in Springfield, Fr. O’Neil
followed in the path of three uncles when he entered the Society
of Jesus in 1948. His first teaching assignment as a Jesuit in 1955
was at Fairfield Prep where he later said his Jesuit vocation was
confirmed. After three years of teaching at Prep and working
as the Assistant Athletic Director, Fr. O’Neil left for five years of
Jesuit studies, returning to Prep as Dean of Students. After earning
a master’s degree in Adolescent Psychology from Fairfield
University, he was asked to establish a formal guidance program
at Fairfield Prep.
In 1972 Fr. O’Neil was appointed Director of Career Counseling
at Fairfield University where over a span of 15 years, he
guided thousands of students as they made the transition from
the University into careers and lives of service. Many alumni
kept in touch with him over the years, grateful for his impact.
A one-year assignment in 1986 as Dean of Students, turned
into seven, followed in 1993 with his appointment as International
Student Adviser.
In 1992, Fr. O’Neil’s sister, Eileen Stanley, and her husband,
John, established the Rev. W. Laurence O’Neil, S.J. Scholarship to
help students with financial need. It was especially gratifying to
Fr. O’Neil who so often had expressed his concern for students
who struggle financially.
Fairfield University and the Alumni Association honored
Fr. O’Neil in 2005 with the Alumni Service Award; the Office
of Human Resources presented him in 2004 with the “Choice
Award.” He was named to the Fairfield Prep Hall of Fame in
1981.
Over the years, Fr. O’Neil worked in many parishes in the
Diocese of Bridgeport.
At the time of his death he served as chaplain to the Fairfield
University alumni and athletic teams. As chaplain to alumni,
he performed their weddings and baptisms; he visited the sick
and attended countless wakes and funerals. He was particularly
effective in his position as chaplain to student athletes,
and came to be well-loved by players, coaches, and the Athletic
Department staff. His office in the Walsh Athletic Building was
much frequented by those who sought his counsel. It should be
a great consolation to all who mourn his loss that he found this
last service to his beloved Fairfield the most fulfilling and personally
satisfying of his long career here.
For individuals who wish to make a gift to the University in Rev.
O’Neill’s memory, they may do so by giving to the Rev. W. Laurence
O’Neill Scholarship Fund at Fairfield University c/o 1073 North Benson
Road, Fairfield, CT 06824.