Kuol Acuek ’09, one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” returned to his homeland the summer after graduating with the help of the Lasell community to search for his long-lost brother. He has died after a three-year battle with cancer at the age of 38.

Acuek died on June 15, 2020, three years after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. At the time of his death, the resident of Chelsea, Massachusetts, was visiting his brother and father at a refugee camp in Uganda. Acuek worked for the Langham Hotel in Boston.

Thanks to financial support from members of the Lasell community and others, Acuek raised $10,000 to return to Africa in the summer of 2009 to find his younger brother, Geu, whom he had not seen in 20 years. Not only did Acuek reconnect with his brother, he also located his mother and uncles.

Acuek earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management at Lasell and was a standout center midfielder for the men’s soccer team.

“We are extremely saddened to learn of Kuol Acuek’s recent passing,” said Kristy Walter, director of athletics. “His impact on the men’s soccer program was dramatic. Not only was he an extremely talented player, but he was a true team player as well. His teammates and the Lasell community learned from him not to take freedom or safety for granted.”

Acuek is survived by his wife of three years, Achol Tavisa, and their 1-year-old daughter, Aliee.

In Memoriam:

Dorothy Bentley Grant ’43
December 31, 2019

Virginia Shaw ’43
May 28, 2020

Joan Gunning ’44
February 17, 2018

Ruth Nimee ’44
February 1, 2019

Norma Dietz Tarlow ’44
June 5, 2020

Barbara West ’44
November 9, 2019

Nancy Williams ’44
July 6, 2018

Betty Curtin Crowell ’45 P’76
April 28, 2020

Jean Mitchell Hunter ’45
August 2, 2020

Doris Wittman Ruckle ’45
March 25, 2020

Janice Schuelke Test ’46
March 31, 2020

Barbara Adler Melone ’47
April 15, 2020

Helen Sanasarian Sookikian ’47
May 6, 2020

Frances Carita Werly ’47
November 8, 2019

Jeanne Meyer Bird ’48
April 7, 2020

Martha Hurd Davenport ’49
August 19, 2020

Nancy Ann Hayden Drooff ’49
July 26, 2020

Nancy Irwin Van Dorn ’49
January 20, 2019

Beverly Pink Reynolds ’51
March 31, 2020

Eleanora Wrinn Schurdak ’51
November 23, 2019

Dorothy Rich Andersen-Gillis ’52
May 30, 2020

Jeanette Maynard Griffith ’52
May 23, 2020

Adrienne DeMaria White ’52
June 4, 2020

Janet Rummel Hayes ’53
July 3, 2020

Jane Corbin Post ’53
January 14, 2018

Jean Schofield Sherwood ’53
May 30, 2020

Jane Hudson Bodin ’54
September 5, 2019

Martha Ellis Brooks ’54
June 25, 2020

Carolyn Bruns ’54
May 25, 2020

Hope Dauwalter ’54
April 1, 2020

Joy Lanner Left ’54
February 1, 2020

Joan LeCouffe Street ’54
August 16, 2020

Dorothy Fenrich DelGuercio ’57
August 20, 2019

Ellen Mahoney Simmonds ’58
April 6, 2020

Elizabeth Arnall Thompson ’58
December 3, 2018

Carolyn Reid Towne ’58
March 16, 2020

Sandra Barton Fairchild ’59
June 16, 2020

Roslyn Lippman Ziegler ’59
March 25, 2020

Marcy Moore van der Kieft ’63
May 9, 2020

Joanne Giuffrida Becker ’65
October 20, 2018

Lynn Porsche ’66
December 3, 2019

Sarah Anne Paquette ’69
June 28, 2020

Gayle Saresky Zamkov ’69
February 11, 2020

Kathryn Post Bond ’71
February 17, 2018

Elizabeth Rollins Clough ’84
July 9, 2020

Leslie Batista Duplessis ’91
July 8, 2020