XULA alum, athlete, timer Vidal Easton dies at age 86

NEW ORLEANS — Vidal Easton, a 1955 Xavier University of Louisiana graduate with a longtime connection to XULA Athletics, died Jan. 10, 2021, at age 86.

Easton was a three-year starter as a lineman on the XULA football team, then spent 52 seasons as the clock operator at basketball home games before retiring from that position after the 2014-15 season.

“It was tough to hear about his passing,” said Todd Keller, XULA’s director of athletics from 1997-2002. “Mr. Easton was a good, salt-of-the-earth guy. He was well-connected throughout Xavier. His influence was beneficial to me. As a new 35-year-old Xavier AD, Mr. Easton, Sister Grace Mary Flickinger and Mrs. Alma Henderson were very supportive in my transition to the position.”

What others said about Easton:
• Bobby Bissant, longtime college basketball referee: “Vidal was a great guy and one of our most efficient guys at the table. We never had a problem with the clock when he was running it. When I got assigned at Xavier, I knew I would have a smooth game.”
• Bo Browder, XULA women’s basketball head coach: “Mr. Easton was a man of strong faith and outstanding character. He always treated me as friend. I always looked up to him as an excellent role model because of the way he treated his family and the way he communicated with others. We went to lunch multiple times, and he always gave me encouraging words. His jokes at lunch made me laugh so much that I usually ended up crying.”
• Johnny Crear, 1957 XULA graduate and a football teammate of Easton in 1953 and 1954: “I am sorry to hear that Vidal has passed. Vidal was a great teammate and an excellent player. He had a good sense of humor and kept us laughing at things that occurred during practice. He will be missed.”
• Dionne Humphrey Lapeyrolerie, 1955 XULA graduate and Miss Xavier for 1954-55: “Vidal was a good man. He was very athletic. He was a good friend and a tennis buddy of my first cousin, Kenneth Julian.”
Some of Easton’s football highlights included:
• Playing in what the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper described as the first interracial football game in New Orleans: XULA’s 39-6 victory against Keesler Air Force Base of Biloxi, Miss., on Oct. 9, 1954. That game was played on campus at Xavier Stadium, a facility which no longer exists.
• 46-0 home victories during consecutive Saturdays in 1952 against Alabama State and Tuskegee.
• A 99-0 home victory against Tougaloo on Oct. 17, 1953.

Another XULA teammate was Marino Casem, and Easton played against Florida A&M’s Willie Gallimore. Both Casem and Gallimore are College Football Hall of Fame inductees.

Easton was born April 18, 1934, in Natchez, Miss., and moved from Vicksburg, Miss., to New Orleans during junior high school. He received a master’s degree plus-30 from Tulane University. Easton was a 37-year employee of the Orleans Parish School Board before his retirement in 1992; he served in that system as a teacher, coach, guidance counselor and administrator. He officiated prep football and basketball games.

Easton was a mainstay of Atkinson-Stern Tennis Center, a founding member of the facility’s booster club and a longtime tournament director.

Survivors include his wife of 63 years, the former Bonnie Brumfield, and a daughter, Michelle. Easton’s funeral was Tuesday (Jan. 19, 2021) at Blessed Sacrament/St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in New Orleans, followed by a private graveside service.

From Easton’s online obituary: “In lieu of flowers, please consider making a financial donation to the Vidal Easton Athletic Scholarship at Xavier University of Louisiana. Contributions will benefit Xavier University Student-Athletes. Gifts may be mailed to 1 Drexel Drive, Box 66, New Orleans, LA 70125 (note Vidal Easton in the memo line) or online at www.xula.edu (note Vidal Easton in the comment section).”