Friends of Brendan Looney, a former athlete at DeMatha and the Naval Academy who was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, remembered his intense work ethic and his love of life.
“Any challenge you threw at him, he loved,” said Ryan Gillis of Arlington, who played football with Looney at DeMatha. “There was nothing we did together that he didn’t make more fun.”
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While Gillis accepted a football scholarship to Notre Dame, it was no surprise that Looney opted for the Naval Academy, or that he eventually was chosen to serve in the SEALs, the Navy’s primary special operations force.
“He was all about being part of a team, the pride and respect he had in being part of a unit,” Gillis said. “He didn’t get those qualities at the Naval Academy. He already had them.”
Officials at DeMatha declined comment. Attempts to reach Navy lacrosse coaches were unsuccessful.
Looney made his mark the moment he stepped on campus as a freshman at DeMatha. He was a multisport standout and worked as a volunteer in the development office, where his mother, Maureen, remains employed.
Looney’s brothers, Steve and Billy, followed Brendan at DeMatha. Each became a team leader in the mold of their older brother.
“It was a multigenerational thing, passed down from one Looney to another,” said Corey Sobel, who played football at DeMatha. “They led by showing teammates there was nowhere else they’d rather be.”
When Steve and Billy earned scholarships to the Naval Academy — and joined the lacrosse team — Brendan quit football to join them. All together on the team in 2004, the trio propelled Navy to the NCAA lacrosse finals for the first time since 1975, where the team lost to Syracuse 14-13.
After graduation, Looney served as an intelligence officer before he was selected for SEAL duty.
It was Gillis and another friend who introduced Looney to his wife, Amy. It took more than a simple introduction.
“As exceptional and accomplished as Brendan was, he was very humble,” Gillis said. “He would never approach people. We told him, if he didn’t talk to her, we were going to physically assault him.”
Gillis remembers Looney happier than ever at his wedding reception.
“He thanked us for forcing the issue,” Gillis said.
