This is a listing of notifications the Parramatta Marist Old Boys Union has received of the passing of Old Boys. “Vale” is latin for farewell and “Fortior Ito” means go forward with strength.
Click on the Old Boy’s Name for further details and a brief biography.
If we do not have the date of passing then the last day of the known month or year is used.
Please use the comments section at the bottom of the page or the contact form on this website to provide further details.
You can search surnames alphabetically. Click Clear Search on the right-hand side to return to the complete list
The tables immediately below are sorted by Class Year and Year of Passing respectively.
Sorted by Class Year, latest to earliest
Sorted by year of passing, latest to earliest.
Charlie Eiler, 1964
Graduate Royal Military College Duntroon. Killed in 1969 in a parachute accident while training with the SAS
Biographical Info
Lieutenant Charles George EILER (1947 – 1969)
Charlie Eiler was born in New South Wales on 13 September 1947. He was appointed Staff Cadet on 28 February 1965 and was appointed to the Australian Regular Army and allocated to the Royal Australian Infantry on 11 December 1968 and posted to SASR.
He underwent SAS selection in 1969. Charlie died on 12 August 1969 from injuries sustained as a result of a parachute accident at the Bindoon drop zone in Western Australia. He was participating in simultaneous double door exits from a C130 Hercules aircraft and collided with Sergeant John Grafton. Charlie’s next-of-kin at the time of his death was his father.
Chris was a good friend when I attended parramatta Marist. I used to run into him around the courts, he never seemed to change always a gentleman.
I’ve got Vale John Cassidy’s picture but how do I email it to you ????
Frank O’Sullivan
Vale John Cassidy LC 1962 Died 28th August 2019
John Cassidy and I worked on a religious organisation in our days at Marist Brothers Parramatta. It was to spread the message of Our Lady of Fatima that is, world peace through prayer, the Blue Army. It was a very strange coincidence that it was one of Cardinal Gilroy’s pet projects, but we didn’t know that at the time. The cardinal had set the organisation up in Sydney under Professor F G Coleman Sydney University and Father Cameron head of the Augustinian order in Sydney.
From 1959 – 1962 I did latin classes at St Mary’s Cathedral, late on Friday afternoon in preparation to enter, my studies for the priesthood. I ran into Cardinal Gilroy on many occasions as he did confessions 5pm to 6pm and I trapped him either going/coming in the presbytery grounds. So the long and short of it all is, that I dragged our John C along with me to say Hi and explain the difficulties we were having with Monsignor McGovern in conducting our Blue Army prayer meetings in St Pats at Parramatta. He smiled at us both & said would we from time to time give him a progress report on our work with the Blue Army. John and I had a few brief encounters with the cardinal & strangely we never had any further problems with the cranky old monsignor.
John Cassidy was a very humble man and would never have repeated this story but having been befriended by a cardinal, lived in a village named after the cardinal and being buried from the chapel on Friday 6th September 2019 that bears the cardinal’s name, I felt it appropriate to tell the story.
Frank O’Sullivan