My deepest condolences to Brandon and your family. Mr. O'Neal was truly a ray of sunshine for everyone in the TAS community. To me, his office was always a must-visit each time I went back to TAS. From the running stories to the brief life updates, he always showed interest and compassion when I stopped by. He probably didn’t know, but he was one of the reasons I kept running in college. It was his encouragement during the summer before my sophomore year that made me believe I could compete. Thank you, Mr. O'Neal, and may you rest in peace.

Sincerely,

Joseph

My deepest condolences to Ellen, Brandon, Monica, Erica and the whole O'Neal family.  Shawn was an amazing person who impacted my life in so many positive ways.  

The first time we met was at Dartmouth College in 1983.  I introduced myself as we were on different study abroad programs to learn Chinese.  Shawn spoke to me in Chinese and I was blown away by his extensive vocabulary - the words he was using were NOT in our textbooks! He taught me countless phrases and sayings over the years but I remember the first word he taught me that day: "Condition/Terms"... We had just met and Shawn was proposing that we live together at Dartmouth provided that we ONLY spoke Chinese with each other.  It was a good deal for me, although I didn't expect that we would speak Chinese 100% of the time.  But, Shawn knew how to stick to a plan. Shawn was very disciplined and his well-worn Chinese-English dictionary was evidence of this.  He read the Chinese newspaper everyday.  We spoke only Chinese in our room and out and about campus.  One day when we were having milkshakes in downtown Hanover, the elderly waitress came over and said: "Boys, I just have to ask... what kind of language are you speaking?"  Over the years, I have told many people that Mr. O'Neal was my Chinese teacher.  Shawn made learning fun.  

After Shawn learned that I ran track in high school, he told me to join the track team at Dartmouth.  Shawn was one of the stars on the team and a fierce competitor.  He always encouraged me to keep up on long training runs and his stories and impersonations never ceased as I huffed and puffed.  We lived together in Taichung, Taiwan for a while and Shawn told me to bring some money for the bus and put on my running shoes.  The bus went to the ocean.   I knew he loved surfing so I imagined lying on the beach and watching him ride some waves.  Shawn had other plans.  "C'mon, Mr. Handelsman, you got it... keep up." He went through Eddie Murphy's stand-up routine, re-enacted his favorite horror movies, sang James Ingram and Patti Austin duets (both parts), etc, the whole time while he got me through 18 miles!

When Sandy and I got married in Taipei in 1990, Shawn offered to give a speech.  Needless to say, he wowed the crowd with his flawless Chinese and his message was consistent with how he lived his life:  "Need to build a strong foundation."  "Through the bumps in the road, remember it's a marathon not a sprint."  

Shawn had the mindset of a champion matched with a relentless work ethic.  He was compassionate and kind to everyone he met.  His big smile and contagious laughter were always present.  When I heard the news of Shawn's passing, I was shocked, sad and felt a hole in my heart.  Then I remembered his smile and the many times he literally rolled around on the ground laughing while holding his belly with his legs kicking up in the air.  Like so many, I was extremely fortunate to know Shawn. I will keep going forward one step at a time knowing that he will always be in my heart. Plus, Shawn would kick my ass if I didn't keep up.

I'm sorry to hear about Shawn, I knew him from highschool Oceanside high school 

Oceanside California 

Great Man he will truly be missed