Raymond W. Gadbois, M.D. AP’24, ’28, HD’63
Raymond received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1979 for his loyalty and friendship to Assumption College. Ray was the former Assumption College physician and always put the Assumption community first. He was a senior surgeon of St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass. and a past president of the hospital's medical staff. He received an honorary degree from Assumption in 1963, was named the Most Valuable Alumnus in 1974 and was a former president of the Alumni Board. Ray passed away in 1994.
Edouard received the College's Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1978 for his dedication to Assumption athletics. Edouard played tennis and baseball as an undergraduate at Assumption. He passed away in 2001.
Joseph M. O’Brien, Ed.D. ’57
(with Michael Jordan in 1985)
Joe received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1997. His dedication to Assumption College and its athletics program is legendary. His service to the College spanned more than 30 years, including duties as assistant athletics director, head baseball coach, head cross country coach, and 18 seasons (1967-85) as head men’s basketball coach, compiling a coaching record of 321-173. The basketball team participated in the NCAA Tournament 12 times, finishing third in the nation on three occasions. Joe collected three New England College Division Coach of the Year Awards during that time. He was inducted into the Assumption College Alumni/Athletics Hall of Fame in 1970 for his hard work and enthusiasm for Greyhound athletics and academics.
Joe served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1983-84 and in that capacity became involved with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of its board of directors. He was named executive director of the Hall of Fame in 1985, followed by a promotion to president and chief executive officer in 1993. During his tenure, he guided dramatic improvements to the Hall's exhibits, computerization and staffing. He played an integral role in its $100 million riverfront expansion and the building of the new Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. He received the Hall of Fame's most prestigious honor outside of induction, the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded annually to an international or national figure who has contributed greatly to the game of basketball. Joe was inducted to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He and wife Patricia had five children, including Eileen ’82 and Roberta ’86. Joe passed away in 2003.
Photo above: Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls presents his McDonald's High School All-America jersey to Joe O'Brien, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame executive director, on the steps of Symphony Hall in Springfield on June 29, 1985.
Very Rev. Louis F. Dion, A.A. AP’31, ’35, HD’79
Fr. Lou received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1976 and was awarded an honorary degree from Assumption in 1979. A Worcester native and the oldest of nine children, Fr. Lou was a natural leader for his siblings. He entered the Assumption Noviciate in Quebec in 1935 and was ordained a priest in France in 1940. He began teaching at Assumption College in 1942 and went on to serve as dean, registrar, second assistant to the president, director of alumni relations, development officer, and ultimately served as president (1964–68). He continued to serve as vice chancellor and member of the College’s Board of Trustees until his death in 2001. A residence hall at Assumption, Dion Hall, bears his name.
Fr. Lou was also devoted to the Augustinians of the Assumption, serving as apostolic administrator to the USSR and chaplain to the American Catholics in Moscow (1959–61, 1968–71). He held numerous other assignments including superior of the Assumptionist residence in Worcester. He was best known as a long-time and true friend to countless people, whom he kept in touch with through his hand-written letters and notes over the years. The College’s Outstanding Achievement Award was renamed in his honor in 2002.
Pierre B. Aucoin, M.D. AP’21, ’25, HD’64
Pierre received the College’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 1975 for his in recognition of continued enthusiastic service and devotion to the advancement of the Alumni Association and the College, as well as distinguished service in his field. Pierre earned his medical degree from Laval University Medical School, Quebec, in 1933, and began his career as a general practitioner and surgeon at Rumford (ME) Community Hospital, retiring in 1979. His contributions to Assumption are legendary. He was a part of one of the first basketball teams and also played baseball for three years, serving as team captain of both in 1925. Pierre later served as president of the Assumption Prep School Alumni Association and as an officer and director of the Assumption College Alumni Association for many years. In 1956, he founded the Scholarship Association of Rumford and Mexico, ME, a group that provides financial assistance to Assumption students who hail from that area. Pierre was awarded an honorary degree from the College in 1964. He was elected into the Assumption Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1995, he was awarded a President’s Medal from the College in honor of his 70th reunion, and in 2004 he received the Centennial Award from Assumption, when he served as its commencement speaker at the age of 100. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 102, leaving four grandchildren, including Peter Rowe ’86.
Rev. Wilfrid J. Dufault, A.A., Ph.D., AP’25, ’29, HD’70
Fr. Wilfrid receive the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1974 and its Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003. His devotion and service to Assumption College are unparalleled. Fr. Wilfrid joined the Assumptionist order in 1929 and was ordained a priest in 1934. He began his Assumption career as a philosophy professor in 1934. Upon completion of further studies at Laval University, he returned to the College to teach for another seven years and became president in 1946, before being named the first provincial superior of the North American Assumptionists (1947-52) and later became the first American born Superior General of the Assumptionist Order (1952-69) and a voting member of Vatican II. He also served the College as acting president on two occasions, a member of the Board of Trustees for some 30 years, and chancellor of the College for 24 years. In 2003 he was named chancellor emeritus and an honorary trustee. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including honorary degrees from Anna Maria, Assumption (1970) and Rivier colleges; the Assumption Prep School Hall of Fame; and the Assumption College President’s Medal. Fr. Wilfrid passed away in 2004. A College residence hall, Dufault Hall, bears his name.
Robert D. Ouellette, M.D. AP’48, ’52, HD’75
Dr. Ouellette received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus award in 1973 and an honorary degree from Assumption in 1975. He continues to devote outstanding service and support to Assumption College. One of the College’s seven honorary trustees, he served the Board of Trustees for 30 years and chaired its Development Committee. He was one of the first to accept an invitation to serve on the lay-cleric Board of Trustees when it was first created. A charter member of the President’s Council, he previously served the Alumni Association as its treasurer, secretary, and president (1972-74). Dr. Ouellette was also the chairman of the Worcester, MA chapter of the Alumni Association and has acted as a class agent. He has been a member of the Club Executive Committee, the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, the Century Club, and the Founder’s Club. He retired in 1998 after 38 years at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, where he was chief anesthesiologist for 12 years and director of the pain clinic for 14 years.
Normand R. Marois AP’53, ’57, HD’91
Normand received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1972 and an honorary degree from Assumption in 1991. As a longtime employee, and former president and chairman of his family-owned construction company, Marois Brothers, Inc., he has helped the College grow from five buildings in 1956 to 43 in 2011. Marois Brothers has been working on campus since 1957. Its most notable projects were the site prep and utility work for the construction of the campus loop road (1997), as well as the Testa Science Center and Multi-Sport Stadium. All three were much needed additions to the campus, which have greatly improved both campus and student life. Norm was also instrumental in the construction of both the College’s original football field and the field hockey/softball field, and supported the building of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and Plourde Recreation Center.
Norm has been well recognized for his many contributions to the College, which extend far beyond construction. He served on the Board of Trustees for 15 years (1975–90) and in 1987 the women’s athletic field was dedicated in his honor. Norm received an honorary Doctor of Public Administration degree from the College in 1991, was named an honorary trustee in 1994, and was an honorary inductee to the Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. He was also a founding father of the College’s original athletic booster club, has served on countless College committees, and Norm (and wife Gloria) are charter members of the President’s Council. Norm has also been involved in numerous civic and business organizations. He has held a leadership role with Commerce Group, Inc., Commonwealth National Bank, St. Francis Home, the Harmony Club, and Mechanics Hall, among others. He and wife Gloria continue to generously support the College. Gloria and Normand Marois were featured in the summer 2007 issue of Assumption Magazine (p. 20)
Raymond J. Marion, Ph.D. AP’38, ’42, HD’73
Ray received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1971. He served in World War II before returning to Assumption Prep and Assumption College, which he served from 1946 to 1990. He taught at the Prep School and the College (1946-70). He chaired the History Department (1961-70) and the Division of Social Sciences (1961-69). He served as academic dean (1971-73) and received and honorary degree from the College in 1973. He later served as college historian until retiring in 1990. Ray showed great enthusiasm in the athletics program and coached football at the Prep and College and basketball at the College. He was inducted to the College’s Alumni/Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a President’s Medal in 1995. Ray was active on many college committees and served on the Dean’s Council and Presidential Inaugural Committee. Always an active member of the Assumption Alumni Association, Ray was the former secretary and past president of the Greater Worcester Alumni Association. The Marion Award, a monetary award presented to the Assumption senior student/athlete with the highest G.P.A., was established in 1985. The Augustinians of the Assumption conferred their prestigious d’Alzon Medal upon Ray in 1990 for service to the College community.
Rev. A. Aime Deschamps, A.A. ’37
Father Aime received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1970 for his many years of service as the Assumption College librarian. Aime also worked as the College’s alumni director, possibly the first for the College. Father Aime passed away several years ago.
Rev. Armand H. Desautels, A.A. AP’26, ’30, HD’79
Father Armand received the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1969 for his dedication to Assumption College. Father Armand was Assumption’s 10th president (1952-64), and the second longest tenured of the College’s past 15 presidents. Prior to his appointment he had served as the College’s dean of students for several years. Fr. Armand oversaw the rebuilding of the campus on Salisbury Street after the devastating tornado of 1953 destroyed several campus buildings and claimed three lives on the Greendale campus. During his presidency, he also served as the superior of the Worcester order of the Augustinians of the Assumption. After his presidency, he became provincial superior and served as a member of the Board of Trustees (1962-75). Fr. Armand received an honorary degree from the College in 1979 and Desautels Hall on campus is named in his honor. He passed away January 1995 and was posthumously awarded a President’s Medal from the College in June 1995.
Eugene W. Beauchamp, Jr. M.D. AP’45
Eugene was the second recipient of the College’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1968, which he received for his dedication to Assumption College. A father of four sons, Eugene always made time to stay actively involved with the College. In 2008, Eugene was one of 86 physicians honored for reaching their 50th anniversary as members of the Massachusetts Medical Society. Eugene passed away in February 2011.
His father, the late Eugene, Sr. M.D. ’20; and brothers Charles, M.D. ’50; David, M.D. ’55; and Joseph M.D. ’60 are all alumni and doctors.
Lucien H. Desjardins, Ph.D. AP’21, ’25, HD’61
Lucien received the College’s first Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1967 for his many years of dedication to Assumption as chemistry and physics professor (1925-71) . Lucien also developed a thesis while at Assumption and was awarded an honorary degree from the college in 1961. He passed away in 1980.
