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Louis Jones ’54, alumnus and Olympic gold medalist
Louis Jones ’54, Olympic gold medalist
at the 1956 Games in Melbourne,
Australia, who set a world track and
field record that stood for 11 years,
died February 3, 2006. He was 74.
Jones was renowned for his worldclass
accomplishments in the field of
sports and remembered for the quality
of his commitment to his teammates,
family, friends and community.
A star in both football and track at
New Rochelle High School, Jones enrolled
in Manhattan’s school of business in
1950. He had a brilliant athletic career
at the College under the tutelage of
legendary track and field coach George
Eastment. Entering the Army upon
graduation in 1954, Jones continued
his track career. At the Pan Am Games
held in Mexico City in 1955, he set the
world standard of 45.4 seconds for the
400-meter dash. A year later at the U.S.
Olympic trials in Los Angeles, Jones
broke his own record for the 400 with a
45.2. That record would not be broken
until 1966. At the Melbourne Games,
he was a member of United States’
victorious 4x400 relay team.
Retiring from track and field, Jones
earned a master’s degree in education
from Teacher’s College of Columbia
University and began a distinguished
career in both education and public
service. A former director of advisory
services at Manhattan, he held various
posts at public and private schools in
New York City and Westchester County.
According to Dr. Jerome Cashman,
former vice president for student life at
the College, Jones had a connection to
the students and went out of his way to
assist them.
“Lou was always willing and able to
help anyone he came in contact with,”
Cashman says. “He had an extreme
sensitivity to the kinds of problems that
young people would be concerned with
and dedicated himself to their needs.”
Jones moved on to become dean of
students and assistant principal at New
Rochelle High School. He also directed
the Office of Affirmative Action of
Westchester County and was a special
assistant to former Westchester County
executives Alfred DelBello ’56 and
Brother Eugene O’Gara, F.S.C., director of the Brothers Community
Brother Eugene O’Gara, F.S.C., archivist
of the Long Island-New England Province
located at Manhattan College and director
of the Manhattan College Brothers
Community, died on October 18, 2005.
He was 74.
Br. Eugene was born on August 9,
1931, in Lowell, Mass. He was invested
with the religious habit of the Brothers
of the Christian Schools in September of
1950 and made his final profession in
1956. Br. Eugene received his Bachelor
of Arts in the classics from The Catholic
University of America and went on to
earn a Master of Arts in Latin and music
education from Boston College and New
York University, respectively.
Before joining Manhattan College in
2001, Br. Eugene taught at St. Raymond’s
High School in the Bronx from 1993 to
2001. Prior to St. Raymond’s, he taught
at several high schools, including La
Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, N.Y.,
La Salle Academy in New York and Bishop
Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Br. Eugene, who played the piano and
organ, taught music to his students, as
well as Latin, religion and French.
At Manhattan, Br. Eugene was charged
with the archival material relating to the
Christian Brothers in Long Island and
New England, but he also focused his
research on the early history of the
Christian Brothers and their history in
the New York District.
Brother Luke Salm, archivist and
College trustee emeritus, says Br. Eugene
“was a devoted archivist and very much
interested in the history of the Brothers.”
In his eulogy, Brother David Detje said
Br. Eugene had a desire “to know and
understand the Brothers who went before
him and on whose shoulders he stood.”
Andrew O’Rourke ’40. Jones was a
trustee of St. Catherine African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, too.
During his lifetime, he was active
with the Urban League, the NAACP, the
Greenburgh Central 7 School Board, the
Neighborhood Youth Corps, the Boy Scouts
and the Boys Club of New Rochelle.
A resident of New Rochelle, N.Y., at
the time of his death, Jones is survived
by his sons; Louis and Steven; and his
daughter, Carla.
Br. Eugene is survived by two brothers,
James and Robert; and two sisters,
Maureen Winchester and Patricia
Lehman. A wake for Br. Eugene was
held on October 21, 2005, at the
Christian Brothers Center at the College.
The Mass of Christian Burial was held
the following day at the community
chapel of the Christian Brothers Center.