October 03, 2015

In Memoriam: Officer Michael A. Lannon ’04SCE: a heart-and-soul Friar

IM mike lannon
A big Friars fan, Officer Michael A. Lannon ’04 SCE poses with Laura M. DiClemente ’12 & ’14G, a former PC women’s soccer student-athlete, in the Joe Calabria Hallway of Legends in Alumni Hall.

Michael A. Lannon ’04SCE was a supremely respected security officer at Providence College whose big heart matched his warmth and ever-present smile, colleagues and friends say.

Mr. Lannon, who worked in the Office of Safety and Security for 16 years, died on May 19, 2015, at a Providence hospice center after a brief illness. He was 61.

His unexpected death stunned members of the College community who had grown used to being welcomed by “Mike” at campus entrances or receiving office visits from him to inquire about their lives and welfare.

“He had a big heart. He would do anything for you,” said security Officer Ernest “Nick” Nicolace, who worked both third and first shifts with Mr. Lannon.

“Mike was a really good guy,” said Amy Goggin ’93 & ’13G, digital services coordinator in the Division of Marketing and Communications. “He loved to talk. He always had time to talk, especially about his family. And he was funny. He loved to tell stories.”

Mr. Lannon’s reputation and impact at the College became all the more apparent in the weeks before his death. As news of his sudden illness spread, staff members, faculty, and students huddled in concern in offices and on stairwells. Many reached out to him to offer prayers and thoughts.

A Friar sports fanatic and men’s basketball season ticket holder, Mr. Lannon was elated when he received a hospital bedside visit from Nick Reggio, associate athletic director for student-athlete development, with the 2015 NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship trophy in tow. Soon after he entered hospice care, Mr. Lannon began fielding one visit after another from colleagues and friends throughout the College community — as best he could in the appreciative, positive demeanor for which he was known.

That warm, welcoming style was emblematic of Mr. Lannon in his duties as a security officer, whether he was greeting motorists at campus gates, giving parking or building directions to visitors, or in other situations.

“Mike was engaging and affable. He was always there to welcome people to campus. He just had a way about him,” said Major John J. Leyden, Jr., executive director of safety and security.

“It’s remarkable how many people felt the same way about him as I did,” remarked Kristine C. Goodwin, vice president for student affairs. “It’s amazing the impact you can have from a security shack. He made everyone feel so good.”

Goodwin pointed out that when Mr. Lannon, a Rhode Island native, came to the College in 1999 after serving on the police force at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for eight years, he came so with a sense of purpose.

“He knew he wanted to do this. This was something he loved. This was not a job for Mike; this was a vocation. He was filled with joy in doing this,” she said.

Respected colleague and mentor
It was a responsibility he understood and performed well, in the eyes of many. Nicolace noted that Mr. Lannon worked the third shift, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., for approximately 11 years before his seniority permitted him to switch to days. The third shift “is tough and puts a lot of wear and tear on a body,” in part because officers tend to be outside more frequently in all sorts of weather conditions, he said.

“Mike was the perfect example of a good officer. He helped everyone. He’d talk to the students and faculty all the time. He cared about everyone,” said Nicolace.

Sgt. Dave Marshall, who was his supervisor for 12 years, said Mr. Lannon was a fine officer who protected and mentored his peers.

“He’d give you the shirt off his back and yet, always had your back. He was always there to back you up,” said Marshall.

Saying that supervisors “don’t always have the answer,” Marshall said he valued Mr. Lannon for the advice he would give. He recalled one circumstance when the two of them confronted a stranger who had his hands in his pockets on a staircase. Mr. Lannon advised Marshall to “be careful” and convince the individual to free his hands, which Marshall did.

“‘Thank God you did that,’” he recalled saying to Mr. Lannon later. “Sometimes you can get nonchalant, and that was a good reminder.”

Beyond their security responsibilities and bond, Marshall and Nicolace said they also respected Mr. Lannon for returning to school to earn his bachelor’s degree while working at PC. He earned his degree in liberal studies, magna cum laude, from the College’s School of Continuing Education in 2004.

“Most guys our age say ‘That’s it. I’ve had enough,’ but not Mike,” said Nicolace.

Others came first
Of all his fine qualities, colleagues said Mr. Lannon was special in his interest and care for others. Goggin recalled meeting him in 2007 when he would do late-night security checks as she worked in Phillips Memorial Library. She said Mr. Lannon had a knack for befriending people and simply stopping by to say hello. In her case, that practice continued when she switched offices at the College.

“He used to tease me about becoming a security officer because one night I walked a student back to her dorm,” said Goggin, who worked in the Office of Academic Services for several years.

More than one of his colleagues recounted how last summer, Mr. Lannon and his wife had student-athletes and coaches on the women’s basketball team down to their home in East Greenwich, R.I., for kayaking on a river.

Marshall also emphasized that Mr. Lannon was “a very strong family man” and cooked and cared for his wife last fall and winter after she was injured and had limited mobility.

“The love for his fellow man was very deep,” said Marshall. “Mike had a love for his job, his Friars (athletics team), his fellow officers. He loved us, and everyone.”

Mr. Lannon was the husband of 37 years of Rae Ann (Brown) Lannon. He also is survived by his son, Michael A. Lannon, Jr., and his wife, Christine; his daughter, Michaela R. Walker ’02, and her husband, Patrick; a grandson; two sisters; and two brothers.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 23 in St. Gregory the Great Church, Warwick, R.I.

Contributions in his name may be made to the Providence College Angel Fund, Office of Institutional Advancement, 1 Cunningham Square, Providence, RI 02918-0001, or to Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, 1085 North Main St., Providence, RI 02904.