USD Magazine, Winter 1998

ficult time during Monsignor Eagen's tenure at the Mission San Diego de Alcala, when construction workers unearthed an ancient Indian burial site where a new mission pastoral center was going to be built. After an agreement was reached between the diocese and the local Indian bands - and the burial site was preserved - Monsignor Eagen held a Mass of reconciliation with the Indians. "I was honored to have watched the Indians come back to the mission," says Whitcomb, who worked closely with Monsignor Eagen on the mission's renovation. "He brought great love and compassion to the situation." Planting Seedd Through all of the accolades, Monsignor Eagen's colleagues and friends remember a man who was unfailingly polite and gracious, who always wanted those around him to feel included and who treasured family and friends. But of all his qualities, the one people found most endearing was his sense of humor. And he exhibited that quality to his last day. "Mother Teresa and Father Junipero Serra need a miracle in order to be canonized," Monsignor Eagen said to President Hayes during his final days in the hospital. "I'm available." It's this easy manner combined with a tenacious dedication to his vocation and to the university that makes Monsignor Eagen sorely missed at Alcala Park and in the San Diego community. He made his mark on the community, one person at a time. And while many didn't have an opportunity to say farewell - his illness wasn't diagnosed until shortly before his death - all can take comfort in the fact that he led a fulfilled life, and was content in his last days. "He died loving his work, loving his ministry, loving the peo– ple he worked with and feeling he was really contributing," Sister Cullen says. "Something that captured his energy was that he was helping plant seeds and supporting the young people who would be building the future church, the future world." Memorial donations may be made to the James and Stella Eagen Endowed Scholarship Fund (University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492), which Monsignor Eagen established in 1989 in honor of his parents. Special thanks to the following individuals who provided background information and invaluable assistance in preparing this article: Sister Irene Cullen, Monsignor Daniel J. Dillabough '70, Father Larry Dolan '68, Rabbi

versity as a vice president. He had just attended a meeting in which a group of students addressed the board of trustees. "He was so taken with what the students had shared about the importance of USD in their lives, how it helped them shape their futures, their faith values, their hopes and their dreams," Sister Cullen says. "He had tears in his eyes. He was deeply touched by what he heard from the students and I also think it touched into his own commitment and belief of how the university could support young people." Monsignor Eagen provided his own support when he could. He served many individuals on campus as a person to turn to for guidance on spiritual and worldly matters. "He was our voice of morality on campus," Rabbi Dosick says. "If there ever were a question of right or wrong, he was the one everyone turned to. He was in many ways the pastor of the university community in terms of setting the moral tone for us." Senior Elizabeth Himchak considered Monsignor Eagen a per– sonal campus advocate of her mass media and communications studies and of her work on the Vista student newspaper. She often stopped in his office for an impromptu chat and always was wel– comed in despite the piles of work that Monsignor Eagen regularly faced. She called the monsignor her good friend, a term she reserves for less than a handful of people. Though Himchak is not on the staff of the Vista this year, she volunteered to write an arti– cle about her friend as soon as she learned of his death. "He was so supportive of me in journalism," Himchak says. "That was our special connection. I couldn't think of a more appropriate way to say goodbye." Mur1wn Acco,npLuhed In addition to ministry, Monsignor Eagen saw another important role for himself at USD - ensuring that the university's mission is carried out. Most recently, he worked tirelessly on the Ethics Across the Campus project, which is directed by a committee he put together of faculty members, administrators, staff and students. The committee is evaluating how well the university adheres to its mission and goals, and to help it do so, distributed a survey to the entire campus community in October. In the hospital shortly before his death, Monsignor Eagen's thoughts stayed close to this and his many other responsibilities. He assured President Hayes during a visit that the survey would be completed. Anne Hendershott, professor of sociology and a member of the survey committee, is ensuring the survey is completed, consid– ering this a tribute to her role model. "Working on this survey has never been a burden, even though it's been a lot of work," Hendershott says. "Nothing that people did with or for Monsignor was ever a burden because he worked just as hard as you did. He shared the load. He appreciated what you did." Those qualities, combined with Monsignor Eagen's gentle nature and practice of looking for common bonds, enabled him to bring people together during contentious times. Hendershott remembers his habit of starting every meeting with a prayer, a simple act that reminded each person to come to the table with an open heart and mind. Therese (Truitt) Whitcomb '53 , professor emerita of fine arts and retired director of institutional design, recalls an especially dif-

Wayne Dosick, Alice B. Hayes, Anne Hendershott, Elizabeth Himchak, Author E. Hughes, Cathy Joseph, Eric Karakis, Jean (Hicks) Miller '59, Sister Virginia Rodee, Father Barry Vinyard '68, Diane West and Therese (Truitt) Whitcomb '53.

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