Shawn Walsh an icon to UMaine community

ORONO – In the wake of Shawn Walsh’s death Monday afternoon, the palpable feeling of campus-wide sadness had yet to sink in Monday night.

Word of the University of Maine men’s hockey coach’s death was still getting out to students, faculty and employees on and around the Orono campus.

“People are just now starting to find out. I don’t think it’ll really sink in until tomorrow,” said Anna McDormand, a sophomore from Lynn, Mass., who described herself as a casual hockey fan. “It’s sad, but I was kind of expecting it … I guess I’m a fatalist.”

Whether you were a hockey fan or non-sports-minded student, the news of Walsh’s death was greeted with sadness and disbelief.

“I heard on the news he went to the hospital because he had trouble breathing, but I figured hopefully he’d be getting out soon,” said grad student Fred Meserve of Greenville. “I never thought…. It’s the last thing I’d expect to hear about him.”

Meserve used to work at Alfond Arena doing ice maintenance as part of a work study program. He saw Walsh on a regular basis for the two years he worked there.

“I actually used to clean his office,” Meserve explained. “I didn’t talk to him a lot because he always had things to do, but he always seemed like a nice enough guy to me and working in his office, I know his family meant a lot to him because he had pictures of them all over the place. It’s awful that he won’t be around for them anymore.”

Alana Russell, graduate assistant coach of the Maine women’s hockey team, said it’s hard to accept the fact Walsh will no longer be omnipresent at Alfond Arena.

“I saw him when he first had the stem cell treatments and he came back 25 pounds lighter and looked like a shell of his former person,” Russell said. “But at the same time, he was out on the ice giving the guys orders and he seemed like nothing was wrong.”

Loren Dosen, a shift supervisor at Fogler Library, was still digesting the news early Monday night.

“We hoped he’d pull through, so we’re just… shocked. I expected after the treatments he’d been receiving that there’d be a miracle and he’d be able to overcome everything. Because he has strong character and we know he was physically very strong. I always used to see him jogging.”

Dosen has also been one of Walsh’s Veazie neighbors for the past 10 years.

“They’re a very friendly family. They’d have neighborhood gatherings – a block party every summer on their front lawn and they’d invite all the children in the neighborhood to play on their front lawn. You’d have 30 children over there sometimes,” Dosen said. “They were very community and neighborhood-oriented.”

You won’t find any disagreement on that point from the Farnsworths, owners of Pat’s Pizza, a local institution that’s become an extended part of the UMaine community.

“He came in quite often. Probably once a month or so he’d come in with his whole family,” said owner/manager Bruce Farnsworth. “I was shocked because I knew he was sick, but I didn’t think it was that serious and would happen this quick.

“A lot of people have talked about it tonight. There’s another one of my customers who’s gonna be missed, and he will be missed.”

Wife and co-manager Carolyn Farnsworth was also surprised, especially after seeing Walsh at a recent benefit golf tournament.

“We saw him there and talked to him. It seemed like he was feeling really well,” she said. “He was very upbeat and seemed to be having a great day. He just had that fight in him and we figured maybe he would beat this.”

Bruce Farnsworth, whose father Pat founded the restaurant, said he’ll always remember Walsh as a great coach, but also as a great influence.

“If we ever had any problems – and over the years I have had problems with some of the hockey players – he was wonderful about it,” Farnsworth said. “I’d call him up and say ‘I had a problem with a couple of your boys’ and the next day they were down here apologizing and saying it would never happen again.

“He was real, real tough on them. He made men out of them … Not just hockey players, but men.”

The question isn’t whether Walsh will be remembered, but in how many different ways.

“A couple girls on the team have referred to him as the father of Maine hockey. When I think of the University of Maine, I think of Shawn Walsh,” said Russell, a native of Standish. “Those shoes are hard to fill.”

“Hockey’s a big thing up here at UMaine and even if you don’t go to games, you’re kind of into it anyway,” said Emily Burnham, a sophomore from Searsport. “People are so proud of hockey up here and he’s a big reason why.”

Russell said the women’s hockey team gathered around for an informal session before free ice time at Alfond. The main subject was Mr. Maine Hockey.

“We were talking about how we can be supportive, and one of the students said, ‘What else is gonna go wrong this month?’ ” she said. “I said, ‘Everything has a way of working out.’ We’ll get through this too and become stronger.”