The invigorating discussions with students, in and out of the classroom … the evening basketball games and ping-pong matches … the friendly smile and down-to-earth demeanor … the love for family, friends and faith ….

These are some of the qualities that staff and students of Thomas Aquinas College will remember --- and miss --- about Dr. Thomas E. Dillon, its longtime president, who died the afternoon of April 15 in an automobile crash in Ireland. The single-car crash occurred on highway N-7 between Dublin and Limerick, as Dillon, accompanied by his wife Terri, was traveling to a conference for the International Council of Universities of St. Thomas Aquinas in Limerick.

The cause of the crash --- three days before Dillon's 63rd birthday --- was still under investigation by Irish authorities. Terri Dillon suffered a broken collarbone in the crash, but was expected to return to California as soon as possible.

The Funeral Mass for Dr. Dillon will be held in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel --- dedicated only last month on the college campus in the hills above Santa Paula --- on April 24, 10 a.m. Interment will be at Santa Paula Cemetery. (A rosary was scheduled April 23, 7:30 p.m., in the Chapel.)

As classes resumed this week at Thomas Aquinas College, the closely-knit community --- understandably shaken by the death of their longtime president --- was all too aware that life would be very different on the campus in the hills above Santa Paula.

"It's a huge blow to the school and to me personally," admitted Dr. Michael McLean, dean of the college and Dillon's classmate at St. Mary's College in the 1960s. "Tom was a man really devoted to education, to liberal arts, to the great books curriculum we have here. And his energy, his dedication to the school, and his piety and devotion to the Church as a devout Catholic are qualities that we will all remember."

Another longtime colleague, Dr. Peter DeLuca III, said that he "still can't get used to the idea" that his son's godfather --- and close friend for nearly 40 years --- would no longer be trading emails with him.

"Tom saw himself as a servant of the college, and never tried to make himself into any sort of personality that outshone the college," said DeLuca, longtime tutor (professor) who was named interim president this week. "The college has changed and grown over time, but its vision has stayed the same. And Tom, as president the last 18 years, has guided that with a steady hand."

Dillon joined the Thomas Aquinas faculty in 1972, a year after the college was founded, having earned his B.A. from St. Mary's and a Master's from the University of Notre Dame. He later earned his Ph.D. from Notre Dame, and in 1981 was named dean of the college. A decade later, he was named president.

In that role, he continued to teach, and this year served as tutor for a Tuesday evening sophomore seminar, part of the college's unique "great books" curriculum that students analyze and discuss in tutorials, seminars and laboratories in their study of language, math, science, philosophy and more.

"A great tutor," said Cara Buskmiller, a 19-year-old sophomore from Dallas. "Dr. Dillon knew when to step in when we went too far in our presentations, and he knew when to validate us and encourage us to go further. It's going to be very strange not having him here for those seminars."

Classmate Luke Bueche agreed. "I liked his style --- very forthright, and very organized," said the 20-year-old sophomore from Detroit. "He would lay out his strategy for the whole two-hour discussion. He could always get you to see the next step, and he always supported his opinions very well."

Bueche said he also enjoyed evening pickup basketball games with the president --- "two-on-two, six-on-six" --- and was forever frustrated by the president's hook shot. "It was the most annoying thing," he chuckled. "Dr. Dillon wasn't that tall, maybe five-ten, but you could never stop that hook shot of his."

The two students said they most of all will miss being able to have lunch, or a chat between or after class, with their president --- part of the perks of life at a small (350-student) college. "You could talk with him on any number of subjects," said Buskmiller, who is interested in pursuing a medical career. "He was so approachable, and it always reaffirmed my decision to come here, to look for the truth behind the science."

The presidency of any college "is a demanding job," said McLean, "but Tom made himself available to all the people here --- attending daily Mass, participating in sports, as well as handling all of the duties on and off campus that a college president is asked to do. He balanced the duties of the office in a very good way."

Dillon's qualities --- personal and professional --- were realized by many outside the college campus as well.

"Dr. Dillon was a gracious and joyful man, always making time in his often hectic schedule for other projects and events that enriched the spiritual life of the archdiocese," said Cardinal Roger Mahony. "Through his work as chairman of the Defense of the Faith Committee of the Western Association of the Order of Malta, he was the source of important doctrinal and spiritual material that enriched the lives of many Catholics."

The cardinal said he was honored to consecrate Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel on the campus March 7. The chapel is considered the crown jewel in a longterm, still-in-process expansion program at Thomas Aquinas that Dillon spent endless hours pursuing and promoting, locally and around the world.

"It was apparent to all that Dr. Dillon rightly considered the Chapel to be the heart and soul of the College to which he had devoted so much of his energy, talent and life," said Cardianl Mahony. "And though his death is a great shock to us all, there is some small consolation in knowing that the completion and dedication of the Chapel was the last great act in the life of a man devoted to knowing and loving God."

DeLuca, Dillon's friend and colleague, recalled that the president attended Holy Week and Easter Triduum services at the new chapel, and was on hand Easter Monday as the very last finishing touch on the chapel was finished, before he headed off to Ireland.

"What can you say," said DeLuca, "but, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'"

Thomas E. Dillon is survived by his wife Terri; their four children and their spouses (Elizabeth and Thomas J. Dillon, Maria and Domiane Forte, Christine and Thomas Ellis, and Danny Dillon); 15 grandchildren; his mother and five siblings. Memorial donations may be made to Thomas Aquinas College or, more specifically, to Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel.