Remembering a Brother

Photo of Brother Rancourt posted on the Marist Athletics Facebook page

One by one, as the years march on, core members of the original Marist College community have been passing on. This week came the sad news of the passing of Brother Richard Rancourt, one of the earliest graduates of the college and a person with a deep and abiding faith in the college and the Marist Brothers order. We got to know Brother Rancourt for his many years as Team Chaplain for the men's basketball and football teams. He was a constant presence on the sidelines and often at practice as well. He was a well-known and beloved figure for years in the McCann Center, for all teams.  Marist President Dr. Dennis Murray wrote a beautiful remembrance of Brother Rancourt that was distributed to the Marist community earlier in the week. Here is a brief excerpt from that.

"True to the Marist Brothers' motto of doing good quietly, Bro. Richard wrote more than 1,000 personalized notes to Marist faculty and staff urging their support of the Marist Fund and thanking them for their generosity.  He was well-known to a generation of Marist student-athletes through his service on the sidelines as chaplain of the football and basketball teams."  

I really like the "doing good quietly" part, as that is one of the legacies of the Marist Brothers that I try to live by each and every day. Rest In Peace, Brother.