Rememberin g ‘a student’s pastor’ EDITOR’S NOTE: The Rev. Stephen A. Anderson,
’ Nicole Bonvouloir ‘01 nicole led the womens lacrosse team to a 33-28 record during her four seasons – this after the team went 0-14 during the programs frst season in ’
who served as chaplain at Mercyhurst from 1988 to 1998, died unexpectedly on March 25, 2013. Jef Monreal ’96, a close friend who delivered his eulogy, pays tribute to Fr. Steve.
1997. she was the national goalkeeper of the year in 2001 and was a 2001 brine/iwlca first Team all-american.
’ she started every game for the lakers during her career and still ranks 15th in ncaa history with 590 career saves. she is the programs all-time leader in saves (590) and save percentage (.572), and is second in program history with an 8.49 goals-against average. she holds the highest single-season save total in school history (220), the programs top two goals-against average years, and the top three save-percentage years. she was also a member of the feld hockey team for four years. ’ following graduation, nicole coached both feld hockey and lacrosse for fve years before returning to school to earn a nursing license. she now lives and works in dayton, ohio, with her husband, Trevor Zeiders, and son elijah (3). Their second child is due later this year. ’ Bruce Alexander ‘99 one of the pioneers of mens lacrosse at mercyhurst, bruce led the lakers to a 14-10 record in the programs frst two seasons. he fnished in the top 20 scorers in the country during both of his seasons, ending his career with 118 points (4th all-time for the program) and 76 goals (7th all-time). his 42 assists rank him 5th in program history. ’ ’ The frst mercyhurst mens lacrosse player drafted professionally, he was selected 11th overall in the national lacrosse league draft by the syracuse smash in 1998 and went on to play 11 seasons of professional lacrosse. he was the team captain for the calgary roughnecks in 2002 and assistant captain for portland from 2006 to 2009. his teams won canadian mann cup national championships in 1997, 1999 and 2003.
Fr. Steve Anderson with Vanessa and Jef Monreal, Calista, now 5 and Bryson, now 7.
during father steve anderson’s 10 years at mercyhurst, he was a student’s pastor.
father steve once wrote that the most signifcant things his father, albert anderson, taught him were: do what you must, and do it well. love and laugh as much as you can. owe all to god. commit with no strings attached. be honest and available. live your life knowing all is a gift. peacefully die assured of the love of god and an everlasting reward. father steve lived those principles on a daily basis. The students who knew him know how much he loved and laughed. i met father steve more than 20 years ago when i started my freshman year. he taught me english and religious studies. he helped me prepare for confrmation at mercyhurst. he prayed with me and the rest of the football team down at the grotto before home games. and he was always available to talk – and listen – when i needed his help. our friendship continued long after i graduated. we traveled to many places together, including las Vegas, florida and new york city. our greatest adventure was a trip to europe during the Jubilee year in 2000. we saw the passion play in oberammergau, rode a gondola in Venice, shared wine at the Trevi fountain and prayed in the sistine chapel. we were blessed to be fewer than 50 yards from pope John paul after a sunday mass in st. peter’s square for the bishops of the world. he was present for many milestones in my life, as he was for so many other mercyhurst graduates. he celebrated my wedding to Vanessa and came to ohio to baptize both our children. if you heard him preach, you probably remember how he could captivate the congregation and make you relate to how he was feeling. he loved teaching the word of god, not only by his words, but by the way he lived his life. i will miss him, but i smile knowing he peacefully died assured of the love of god, knowing he is enjoying an everlasting reward with our savior. Jef Monreal is a funeral director in Mentor, Ohio. Besides handling funeral arrangements, he brought Fr. Steve’s family and friends together in June for a memorial Mass in the Mercyhurst grotto.
bruce lives in Victoria, b.c., where he worked in the auction business from 2000 to 2007. in 2009, he purchased design source warehouse, which imports furniture, garden products and decorative iron gates and fencing. he now works in the store with no employees and takes yearly trips to mainland china to see new products and attend trade shows. he and his wife, robyn, a public health nurse, have three kids, daughters aubrey (10) and hayley (8) and son Jordan (5).
’ since fnishing his pro lacrosse career in 2010, bruce has been playing mens league hockey, as well as helping to coach his kids hockey and lacrosse teams. The family enjoys camping and spending time at the many lakes in their area. ’
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