Outstanding graduating senior mourned at Fairfield University

Outstanding graduating senior mourned at Fairfield University

Frank Marx' valedictory address
Information on services for Francis J. Marx V

Image: Frank Marx A Fairfield University graduating senior, who had been selected to deliver the valedictory address at this Sunday's commencement ceremonies, died early Thursday morning in a tragic accident in Newport, R.I. Francis J. Marx V, 21, died as the result of injuries received during a bus/pedestrian accident.

A resident of Richboro, Pa., Marx had traveled to Rhode Island to attend a dance sponsored by Wheaton College. He is the son of Fairfield alumnus Francis Marx Sr., class of 1976, and Maureen Marx and is survived by his two sisters, Lauren and Katelyn and his brother Patrick.

A Memorial Mass was held on campus at 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening in the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Rev. Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., University president, said, "This is such a tragic loss on so many levels. Frank was a very gifted student who truly believed in the Jesuit ideal of service to others. He will be greatly missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and his many friends."

The tragedy has shaken the entire university community which is profoundly saddened by the loss of such a valued member of the Fairfield family.

A finance major and economics minor in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Marx was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest honor society for undergraduate students, and had been inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a leadership honor society, in his junior year. He had interned in the GE Capital Financial Management Program and been selected for GE's intensive two-year Financial Management Program, considered by many to be the premier program of its kind.

Under a scholarship from the Institute for Study Abroad, Marx had studied in the United Kingdom for a semester during his junior year. This past year he received the prestigious William G. McGowan Scholar award, presented to students enrolled in accredited business schools who achieve academic excellence, demonstrate leadership skills, show an intellectual curiosity, display entrepreneurial potential, and are involved in campus and community activities.

Marx was a Eucharistic Minister at Fairfield, a freshman participant in the University's S.K.I.L.L. Leadership program and a member of the Finance Club. He was a captain of the Fairfield University men's crew team that received a Student Leadership Award for "Most Outstanding Student Organization," as a result of the team's volunteer work at the Malta House Shelter for Homeless Women in Norwalk, Conn.

His volunteer activities included tutoring grade school children through the North End Boys & Girls Club, in Bridgeport, Conn., and serving as both a driver and mentor for Woods Services, a housing facility for the physically and mentally challenged based in Langhorne, Penn.

At Fairfield, the staffs of residence life, the counseling center and campus ministry are reaching out to all students, particularly those close to Frank.

Posted On: 05-20-2004 10:05 AM

Volume: 36 Number: 291