1930s

36 Few in Number

I received a notice from the alumni office that John Parish died in December. I believe he lived in Illinois. Joe Newman wrote about his 100-year birthday party in Florida. He is doing very well, still drives. As far as I can determine, we have about six or eight living members. If you know of anyone still living, please let me or the alumni office know. As for me, I’m doing OK for 97. I won’t make Reunion this year, but possibly next year when my grandson graduates. In the meantime, if you have any news, send it on so I can forward it to the known living members of our class. Go Irish. — John Norton; jwn176@aol.com

37 Class Secretary — Kathleen Coverick ’08 911 Hagan Ave., New Orleans LA 70119; 708-305-5536; kathleen.coverick@gmail.com

38 Checking In

Greetings to the Class of 1938, and congratulations on your 75th Reunion. I am eager to hear whether anyone made it back to campus for this year’s event. Based on the alumni directory, it appears there are 17 living members of the class. I have heard from a few of you in recent years, but would love to get in touch with others and be able to share info in the class notes. Sadly, I did hear from Pamela (Fox) Weber ’86 that her father, John P. Fox Jr., passed away on March 25, at age 96. Pam reports that John was of sound mind until the end and credited his good health to keeping his mind and body active. He lost his wife two years prior. A WWII fighter pilot and former skipper of the USS Independence CV62, John enjoyed a career in the Navy. He is survived by Pam, as well as his son, John Peter Fox III. — Meg Julian ’03, ’06JD; 171 E. 89th St. No. 5A; New York NY 10128; 646-246-5480; megjulian@gmail.com

39 Running and Boston

Most members of my extended family watched the events following the bombing at the Boston Marathon with particular interest, since distance running has been a major activity for many of us. Three of my four sons and one grandson have run the Boston race with personal bests of less than 2 hours and 40 minutes. Bill Jr., the eldest at 65, holds the family record at 2 hours and 35 minutes. He has written several articles for runners’ magazines, including some on Boston. His favorite subject matter describes what it was like “Back in the Day” (the early 1970s), when runners still had much to learn about proper diet, training, and race strategy. Younger brother Tom now directs many of the races in the Buffalo region, including a five-mile Thanksgiving Day race that has been held for more than 100 years and awards free turkeys to winners in various categories. For the past several years, the race has had 13,000 participants, a limit ordered by the county sheriff for safety’s sake. My daughter, Elizabeth, took up running 10 years ago at age 50 to lose weight. A teacher in Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada, she competed in many 5K and 10K races before taking on her first marathon a few years ago. I was there to pass out water and encouragement along the way and also present to cheer when she crossed the finish line. While studying for her doctorate at the U of Kansas a few years ago, Tom’s daughter, Alison, learned that Donnelly College in Kansas City KS was sponsoring a 5K race. She signed up for the women’s section and then proceeded to win the race. The school was delighted that for the first time ever, a Donnelly had won the Donnelly College 5K. As for me, I have never run more than seven miles in my life. However, I did letter in track and cross country at Notre Dame. I was part of a quartet anchored by Greg Rice ’39 that broke the meet record for the four-mile relay at the Drake Relays in 1938 and again in 1939, and came in second both times. I was also on the five-member cross country team that came in second in the National Collegiate Championship race at Michigan State in 1938. — Bill Donnelly; 6152 Verde Trail N, Apt. D201, Boca Raton FL 33433-2412; 561-852-9474; donnlywa@bellsouth.net