On Wednesday, October 14, Assumption College hosted their annual Ray Marion award ceremony. Established in 1985, the Marion award was named after Dr. Raymond J. Marion, a dedicated faculty member and member of the Assumption community. It’s awarded annually to two seniors with the highest grade point average in their class upon completion of their junior year. Recipients must be at class level, carrying a total of at least 30 courses within their academic career.

Dean Eloise Knowlton gave out the award, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, to seniors Rachael Hickey and Andrew Lampi.

Hickey is from Woodstock, Connecticut. She studies psychology and human services and rehabilitation studies. She is president of the psychology club and a member of the international psychology honor society. She has been assisting Dr. Fitzpatrick on a study on social synchrony. After graduation, Hickey plans to pursue a masters’ degree in clinical psychology.

Lampi is also a psychology major. He minors in peace and conflict studies and has made many contributions to the College’s honors program. He is currently researching autism. He plans to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology in the future.

Dr. Eloise Knowlton started off the event by recognizing Dr. Ray Marion, for whom the award was named.

She then went on to describe Marion, taking a moment to recognize his family, including his six children and 16 grandchildren, many of whom were in attendance in his memory.

Marion was born in Gardner, Massachusetts in 1920. He came to Assumption Preparatory High School on a scholarship, then went on to attend Assumption College for his undergraduate degree. Here, he studied a number of languages, including French, Latin, Greek, German and English.

After Knowlton had spoken about a large part of his life, Dr. Leslie Choquette, professor of history, L’Institut Français professor of francophone cultures and director of the French Institute, who was a co-worker of Marion in his final two years at the College, spoke about his life and his overall impact on the College.

“He was a devoted family man. Both in the literal sense and in the figurative sense, as with his Assumption family, which he never left, except to fight in World War II,” she shared.

He earned a Masters degree in 1947 and completed his doctorate in 1947, both from Clarke University. As a professor at Assumption College, he taught a wide range of courses. He served as the chair of the History Department during the 1960s. From 1971 to 1973, he served as an Academic Dean. In addition to his other roles, he served as the director of the Assumption Alumni Association. He was awarded the prestigious Emmanuel D’Alzon medal for his contributions to the college.

“Professor Marion’s contributions were not limited to academic endeavors, as he was the basketball coach and the assistant football coach as well. He accepted the deanship during a time of crisis for the college, as well as postponed his retirement because the college was at a time in which it was understaffed,” Choquette shared.

She concluded her speech leaving the audience with some of her final thoughts on the late Marion.

“He was one of my role models, as a historian and as a professor. I learned many things from Ray during the time that we worked together. He never shied from uncomfortable truths. He was a man of faith…and a man of charity. I’m grateful to have known him and grateful to have been able to share my knowledge of him with all of you this afternoon,” said Choquette.

Kate, one of Marion’s daughters and an alumni of the College, spoke about her father.

“Perhaps my fondest memory of him is when he came up to my dorm one day with his own eggplants, and he made my entire dorm eggplant parmesan,” said Kate.

A second daughter, Betty, spoke about her father’s character.

“Besides his faith, education was very important to him. Right now, all six of us, have been, or are teachers and even one of his grandchildren. One thing that has been instilled on us, is that learning is a lifelong process,” shared Betty.

“Just yesterday, 14 alumni shared with the college that Dr. Marion was the most influential person whom they came into contact with during their time at Assumption,” Knowlton shared with the audience.

She brought the event to an end at 4:30 p.m. and invited guests, families and friends to enjoy the refreshments provided by the College’s Sodexo catering company.