Published June 5, 2019

By HELEN BREEN

LYNNFIELD — Ensign Evan Mark Scollard (1994-2018) was a graduate of Lynnfield Middle School, St. John’s Prep, Trinity College and the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School.

Hundreds of Lynnfield residents gathered on the Common on a beautiful Memorial Day this year to pay homage to those from our town who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Appropriately, Veterans’ Services Officer Bruce Siegel concluded the commemoration with a tribute to Lynnfield’s most recent hero, Evan Mark Scollard, who died on March 24, 2018 at age 23. Ensign Scollard was commissioned into the U.S. Navy at the Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island in October 2017. At the time of his death, he was stationed aboard the USS Boxer in San Diego, California.

ENSIGN EVAN SCOLLARD

School days

I met Evan 10 years ago when I was covering a one-year leave at the Lynnfield Middle School. He was not in my English class, only in a study period. But that was enough to be his friend for life. He would enter the room, usually a bit late, but brimming with such enthusiasm and good cheer that I would overlook his tardiness. Evan was always interested in discussing political and social issues, far above the pay grade of his fellow seventh graders.

After the Memorial Day observance, I chatted with Evan’s father Mark Scollard and his sister Emily, who has recently graduated from Stonehill College where her sister Hannah is currently enrolled. Mark filled me in on those intervening years after his son left the Middle School. Evan spent four great years at St. John’s Prep, a school he dearly loved. As a junior, he published his “first” novel, “Without Regard to Fortune.” The work is the “coming of age story of Miles Carlyn, a timid and wealthy New England blue blood who goes on to serve in the Vietnam War.”

According to Mark, Evan was proud of the military heritage on his and his mother’s (Carolyn Connell Scollard) sides of his family, especially their Naval traditions. Seeking authenticity for his novel, Evan interviewed scores of Vietnam veterans about their wartime experiences.

I recall that Evan told me once while at the Prep that he was considering studying at St. Andrews University in Scotland following graduation. After some deliberation, he chose to attend Trinity College in Hartford. Yet, he did enjoy one semester at the prestigious St. Andrews in his sophomore year. Evan was totally invested in his Trinity experience, becoming a member of the honor fraternity Gamma Sigma Alpha as well as being a loyal member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was also the editor of the Tripod Trinity Newspaper and a Fellow of the Churchill Institute on campus.

Mark said that his son was energized by the “spirit of brotherhood” that he enjoyed both at the St. John’s Prep and at Trinity College. He recalled that the celebrations of Evan’s life at both institutions were amazing.

“There were stories after stories, laughter and tears,” Mark remembered.

What might have been

Then I asked Mark what his son’s plans had been following his service in the Navy.

“Evan was interested in a career with the State Department,” said Mark. “An official there advised him to pursue an enlistment in the Navy, followed by attendance at a top law school. Evan was hoping for Harvard.”

No doubt, Evan’s intelligence, people skills, and spirit of camaraderie would have made him a great success in the field of U.S. diplomacy. He possessed in abundance those qualities so necessary to effective international relations.

Memories of Evan Scollard will be forever cherished by all who knew and loved him in Lynnfield and beyond.

Thanks to Mark Scollard for sharing the details of Evan’s life. His beloved Prep has established the Evan M. Scollard Scholarship Foundation in his memory at St. John’s Prepartory School, 72 Spring Street, Danvers, MA 01923 or www.stjohnsprep.org/scollard.