1960s

60 Getting Ready for Our 55th

Many of you have commented on needing more positive news. Here ’tis: I had a hole-in-one on July 28, 7 iron, 155 yards. Bill McCoy relates that Jim Waters was a little late on a recent trip from Philly to Atlanta, when he errantly hopped onto the Philly to Detroit flight. I believe that was the flight taking him to Nestor Weigand’s 75th. Nestor’s son, Ness, set it up and it was a major surprise when Dick Nowery, David Fay, Jim Waters and Bill McCoy all showed up for the event. Waters, McCoy, and Fay will definitely be at the 55th in 2015. Let’s get Nowery up there. Speaking of the 55th, our class treasury is about $2,100. Terry Keating said that he has not received any dues or donations in a number of months. We will need to build up the kitty for the upcoming 55th. Peter Giaimo is working on a doo-wop group for a possible dinner at Morris Park Country Club for the Thursday night of Reunion week. Early indications are that “we can’t afford it.” Let’s get those checks rolling to Terry at 535 Griswald, No.1900, Detroit MI 48226. Congrats to Chris White, son of our own Don White, who is Iowa’s running backs and special teams coach. He has been a beast on the recruiting trail in 2014. Congrats to the Mendoza School of Business. Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported ND as the top undergraduate program for the fifth year in a row. Don’t you wish we could go back and give it another go? Here is a note from Vicki and Tom Adamson: “Your response to Steve Barry’s health problems hoping he’ll be jogging marathons isn’t out of the question. I’ve had my entire colon removed, I survived cancer, and six days after last year’s Boston Marathon, I ended up in the emergency room of Emerson Hospital in Concord MA with a 6 mm kidney stone which lead to nine days in the hospital fighting sepsis.” Tom will be in wave 3, corral 7 for this year’s race. Tom Kurt notes the following: “My classmate friend Bob Middendorf MD retired after 50 or so years as an ophthalmologist in Dallas in January.” Ed Krall says, “We had a three-week visit with son Tim and his family in Lancaster CA, then with son Jeff’s in Columbia MO in July, and to Las Vegas in August with son Chris, finally Tahoe for a Navy (VAH 13) reunion in September. I was sorry to hear about Rivers Patout’s death. We anxiously await a report on the Scandinavian cruise of Griffins, Basolos, Shipmans and Walkers in July. It sounds fun.”— Joseph F. Jansen; 9190 Southmont Cove, No. 103, Ft. Myers FL 33908; 239-461-0980; mobile 317-514-4478; jfjansen@aol.com

60JD Class Secretary — John DiNardo;

512-264-2027; johnadinardo.58@gmail.com

61 What Goes Around

The expression “what goes around comes around” has a good side. Carl Yaztremski’s grandson is starting for the Delmarva Shorebirds, Class A farm team of the Baltimore Orioles. I ran out of room in my last column and what follows was edited out: Bill Hanley writes about a remarkable gathering of our mates with Father Ollie Williams. Father Ollie was invited by the ND Club of Boston to present a Hesburgh Lecture on business ethics at Marian Court College in Swampscott MA on March 20 as part of a speaker series. On learning of the event, Bill and others coordinated with classmate Jack Calahan with the Boston ND Club to attend. They also spent time with Father Ollie at dinner before the lecture and socializing afterward. Included were Christopher Watters of Middlebury VT, Jack Engler of Sudbury MA, Jack Calahan of Methuen MA, Jim O’Roueke of Wolflenboro NH, Charles Rieck of Chicago, and Bill. They said it was very enjoyable but too short Tom Hoban writes of the establishment of the Hoban Family Priests Formation Fund started with the Development Office. The intent of the fund is to assist CSC undergrad students in Old College with financial support. Father George Rosmun, CSC, ’61 attended the dedication along with the Hoban family. Joe Pietrus, who is really the man from Sleepy Eye, enjoyed 2/3 of a page jerking my chain on confusing our Joe Pickler with him three columns ago. I apologize to Pickler. I have other things reserved for Pietrus. But it was good to hear from Pietrus, no matter what he had in mind. After correcting my senior moment, he told me he was so proud of Pickler’s accomplishments, which you will recall were considerable even on a ND level. He was initiating steps to make him an honorary citizen of Sleepy Eye MN, therefore setting my story straight. Pietrus writes that post grad school and Army, he spent the bulk of those years as an agribusiness consultant. Much of his work has been abroad where he has had the privilege of working on projects in 19 countries. I am sorry if your note was edited out. The magazine has its limits. In addition to the above I had the following that I couldn’t write about because of length: Bill Parker worked seven years in aerospace then went to medical school and became an ophthalmologist. He has three kids and three grandchildren. He worked as an MD for 23 years in San Diego and retired there. He now climbs mountains and keeps in touch with Bob Fraser and Bob Burckel. Burckel retired in May after 43 years as a math professor at Kansas State. He spent four years in Germany translating books into English. He met his lovely wife in grad school at Yale, and is in good health. (A runner, he claims he’s run 1.5 times around the equator if his math is correct.) He’s writing a book. Ed Macor turned 80 along with Bob Child. The two of them with Dan Carew and Charlie Barry were 23 year-old freshmen in the class of 1961. Mike Terry in Columbus OH is still working at Farber Specialty Vehicles doing custom wood work for mobile medical units they build. His passion is teaching ESL to Somali immigrants for the past seven years. Dick Fox and Mike Farrar have helped them out financially. Frank Hamilton, Dick Fava and brides had dinner recently and reminisced over a trip they made last summer to Umbria. Tom Cubbage II and wife Linda celebrated 52 years of marriage. Tom is retired; he sees John Linehan, who lives in Tulsa, for lunch. John Grace wrote me twice. He and wife of 50 years, Peggy, live in Fort Meyers FL; they have nine grandkids. Ed McCarron was with Dan Mitchell and Bob Woehl recently; all are doing well and ask for prayers for all the class and families. Chuck MacMillan, Jim Crain, Gene Witchger and wives got together in West Palm Beach in February. Later they got down to Ave Maria U to see Prince Chuck Lennon, Lady Joan Lennon, and Tim Monahan for lunch. I regret to inform you that Pat Hickey died. He was the face of our class in the Northeast. Abbie and I made a trip to the Holy Land in June. We saw 19 of the 20 sites of the mysteries of the rosary and renewed our wedding vows at a chapel in Cana. Our coming anniversary is 50 years. That being said, Abbie is back at the front door with the latch string out waiting for you to drop by. — Joseph P. (“Pat”) Kelly; 2103 N. Wheeler St., Victoria TX 77901; 361-573- 9982; jpkellytx@sbcglobal.net

61JD Class Secretary — John N. Moreland; jnmnd1958@aol.com

62 Time to Celebrate

Will Pfieffenberger retired at the end of June from Educational Testing Service in Princeton after 40 years of full-time and seven years part-time employment. Will, a physics major, worked in science assessment development. He and Susan live in Pennington NJ. As a retirement celebration, they toured the UK for three weeks in September. Don’t ask how this came about, but a couple of members of the class were concerned about the drought in California and its effect on the quality of the wine produced in the state. To satisfy their curiosity, I checked with Joe Gallo’s office and found that the 2014 vintage is going to be good and that their trees are still getting water from deep aquifers. So do not lose sleep over this. Neil Hitz sent a copy of the December 1961 Scholastic. The inside cover has an ad for a Nash Rambler followed by another showing the latest in fashion that could be purchased at Gilbert’s. In addition to five ads for various tobacco products, there was one from Ford telling about potential alternatives to gas, along with another from Western Electric announcing their Data-Phone service that “will let computers speak to each other over phone lines.” In one article, the University announced they had received a $1 million gift from Sperry-Rand toward the $3 million computer center to house a Remington Rand 1107 UNIVAC thin film memory computer system. Classmates featured included Dave Castaldi who won a $500 cash award from the Haskins and Sells Foundation for his academic achievements, Greg Weismantel’s letter advocating a safe passageway to Saint Mary’s College across the Dixie Highway, and a picture of Walt Willinghnganz, Fred Springsteel, Phil Yawman and John Lang planning the Marriage Institute of 1962. In the sports section there was a picture of John Deere, Eddie Schnurr, Armand Reo and Karl Roesler, along with an article by Armand on the prospects for the season. On the football side, Mike Lind was announced as captain of the 1962 team. Those listed as having been drafted, selected to All-America teams, and/or to play in All Star bowls were: Nick Buoniconti, Joe Carollo, John Powers, Bob Bill, Joe Perkowski, Les Traver, Angelo Dabiero and George Sefcik. If you would like a copy, let me know. Bob O’Leary is a human tissue banking scientist and has received the Thomas Edison Award for developing GRAFTON, which mends fractured bones in three weeks. He sold his patent to Medtronics, along with 30 other bone healing patents he invented. Bob works as an expert witness in cases involving medical products and human tissue engineering. Dave Bouton recently concluded five years as principal of Trinity High School in Harrisburg, and has returned to the Army War College as a faculty member for their distance education program. JoAnn and Sam Cutrara walked 375 miles, in four weeks, from Camino Frances to Santiago de Compestela, Spain, during May and June. “It was a wonderful pilgrimage. We have been going on pilgrimages since 2001 and it is such a meaningful way to see our precious Catholic tradition and the faiths of other cultures.” Both continue to work in their family CPA and business consulting firm with three of their children. John Beall, working with the ND Club of Richmond, is involved with the Club’s ND Summer Service Students program by taking the students to various Virginia historical locations. Class VP John Harty passed away from cancer on June 3 and William Moran died on June 6 due to a chronic illness that forced him to retire early. — Raymond Raedy; 5310 Rileys Ridge Road, Hillsborough NC 27278; 919-967-8816; ND62Secy@Medicinemanremedies.com

62JD Class Secretary — Paul K. Rooney;

1209 Oakmont Drive, No. 2, Walnut Creek CA 94595; pkr101@aol.com

63 Adventures

Due to some loose talk about manly adventures at last year’s reunion, Dan Castellani, Tom McGowan and Oscar Wong completed a set of day hikes on classic trails and restaurant visits in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in May. Key issues were where and when to eat, and keeping beer and wine in stock. Dan, a founder of Entech Engineering, is retired and lives in Reading PA; Tom is a professor of English emeritus at Appalachian State U; and Oscar is still working at Highland Brewing Company in Asheville NC. The fourth was supposed to be Gerry Nathe but his doctor nixed the idea (he’s OK now) so Dan’s wife Joie and daughter Leigh ended up guiding the manly expedition and developed a set of jokes beginning, "Two engineers and a PhD were on a trip . . .” Tom and Leigh were the champs who conquered iconic Angel’s Landing at Zion. Ed Burke says, “Susie and I live 150 miles north of San Francisco in Mendocino, overlooking the Pacific. We purchased the property 12 years ago and moved up from Houston when I sold my law practice. Susie is very involved with the local no kill animal shelter while I volunteer with a homeless shelter. I’ve had some problems with a hip replacement and am now looking at a total shoulder replacement. Ah, the golden years. I talk with Steve Kolski weekly. We review our maladies: my hip and his back. I have regular email contact with Jack Kelleher, Jerry Schmidt, Denny Murphy, John O’Brien, John Walsh, Ed Hoerster, Ed “Spugs” Kennedy and Eddie Rutkowski.” I told Ed to put in a bid to host the 55th reunion at his place. Dr. Charles Kenny has written The Right Brain Way: Drive Your Brand with the Power of Emotion. Joseph Keen (“Jay”) Strack, died at home in Rancho Cucamonga CA, survived by wife Cathy, four children, seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Jerry Schmidt wrote me on July 8 to say, “Jay just died an hour ago or so. It was so lucky that I was able to get out there to visit him last week. I have to say that he looked better than I thought he would. That said, Cathy told me he perked up for me when I was there. I hope that’s true. He told me that he was always glad to hear from all of us. Jay was on a golf scholarship at ND. He is the only person I’ve known who could not practice or play the game for 9 or 10 years and come out and break 80. I know for a fact he did that at least twice. Jay fought a hard battle with esophageal and bone cancers. His disease did one amazing thing for us. It brought many of us together. All of a sudden guys like Ed Burke, Ed Kennedy, John Walsh, Jack Kelleher, Charlie Cruikshank, Rich Ginder, Larry Niklas, and Bill Bowling started being in touch again, concerned for their friend. It was great to hear from all of them. Even Jack Ward, who hadn’t been in touch for 40 years, joined. Jay remained a huge ND fan. He came to South Bend all the way from Southern California every year for over 50 years for a game with Brendan and Phil O’Reilly and the gang. At one time there were more than 50 of us. When Gerry O’Conner was dying, Jay took him around Rancho Cucamonga and showed him the sights. Jay became a very successful businessman. His company produced exceptionally close tolerance parts for armaments. John Walsh has kept a candle burning for him in the Grotto for the past eight months. We all prayed for the same thing. That God’s will be done, and that Jay would reach his final destination without too much pain and suffering.” Jack Ward said, “My roommate Tony Devine was another Californian and after summer school that year I took my first trip to the Golden State with ND buddy, John Walsh. What a great summer we had traveling around, visiting Jay, ending up in Mexico, drinking, gambling, etc. One memory was swimming in St Joseph’s Lake and using a wooden float to sun bathe. Another memory is the pizza place down the road and the wine store behind it and all the maneuvering we did to get our supply of Italian Swiss Colony. Over the years I fell away from the Notre Dame scene for various reasons, but when I learned that Jay was sick, he and I began to communicate fairly frequently. I enjoyed it so much because he sounded just like the curmudgeon I knew from college: full of life and enjoying every moment of it, even while he battled his disease. He was one of a kind.” Finally, this is perhaps “now-or-never time” for those whose relationships while we were at ND, or at any time really, ended on a sour note, to pick up the phone or send that email. I know that there are those among us in this situation. Get ’er done. — Regis W. Campfield; 7534 Oakbluff, Dallas TX 75254; res 972-239-1141; fax 972-458-6928; rwcampfield@alumni.nd.edu

63JD Class Secretary — Bernard P. “Bud” Malone;

Mortgages USA, 4455 LBJ Freeway, No. 1200, Dallas TX 75244; 972-720-0500 ext. 465; fax 214-393-5536; budmalone@mortgagesusa.com

64 Great Time Was Had By All

What a special series of moments we all shared as we returned to campus for our 50th Reunion. The weather cooperated, with abundant fun and fellowship as we reminisced about those wonderful experiences a number of years back. As might be expected, I have enough material to fill two or three columns, so anything you have sent will be shared here or in an upcoming issue. We understand that Paul Basbagill organized not only a well-attended dinner before the big weekend, but also a field trip to Bob Dragani’s cattle ranch down the road in Plymouth. Frank Corrado, now a blueberry farmer with his son in South Haven MI, joined retired teacher and country farmer (a trend?) Bob Casey and Rich Wolfe for a tour of Dragani’s expanding Black Angus breeding operation. Dragani still runs his auto/tractor parts manufacturing business. A highlight was watching Casey wheel out his Army surplus 5-ton truck for a barnyard tour (raising the question as to whether these guys will ever grow up). After listening to Wolfe on the barnyard tour, Corrado prodded him to go on-stage at the Saturday night dinner where he regaled classmates with tales of his undergrad scams (like selling stripped gold leaf from the Dome), which made him four times more during his senior year than Gillette offered him as a starting salary at graduation. Wolfe has gone on to write 41 books and lives in Sedona AZ. Lots of former Farley Hall classmates were on hand, including former Iowa politico Pat Deluhery. Kevin Fagan reprised his stunt of getting into the class photo two times. Former AP correspondent Terry Wolkerstorfer and NY Times Washington guy Dave Stout were seen conferring. Urologists Joe LaNasa and Paul West spent at least a minute or two discussing high tech “subjects of interest.” Rich Wolfe impacted more than one group during the Reunion activities. My Louisville buddy, Pat Duffy, reports that the highlight of the Reunion for him occurred Thursday night when Joe Farrell and Rich swapped enthralling stories for over an hour in their suite in McGlinn. Pat described Joe and Rich as “masterful” story tellers, indicating that all in attendance were amazed at their recall of escapades from 50 years ago. Duffy coaxed a note out of Jack Doran. Jack is a legacy, as his father was a ’23 grad. His dad commented many times that the best teacher he had at ND was his chemistry teacher, a guy named Knute Rockne. Jack and his wife of 44 years are retired and living in Truckee in the California Sierras. It seems pretty rustic. Jack worked for himself as a manufacturers rep for 35 years. He enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with all at the 50th and expressed regret that he had not attended the other reunions. For Peter Murray, he particularly enjoyed the later night bull and bourbon sessions in their McGlinn quad. Pete was also pleased to entertain two lovely ladies from the class of 2009 who stopped by the 50-year tent to see what life was like at ND during the Middle Ages. Pete commented on the confusion we all felt when we read each name tag and simply did not recognize the wearer. Mike Casper checked in to salute (once again) the late night bull sessions. He particularly enjoyed the Warren course and the tournament run by Paul Basbagill. Mike took particular pleasure in reuniting with Jim Walsh from Hawaii, his roommate sophomore year. Sam Mirabito was designated to respond on behalf of his former Walsh Hall cronies. This group included Dick Erlenbaugh, Jack Gaine, Mark Laboe, Ernie Larini, Charlie O’Hara, Mike Weidner, Dick Wolsfeld and Matt Storin, in addition to Sam. They toured Walsh and stood in wonder at the incredibly small size of their former rooms. They invited one former Sorin resident, Mike Kealy, to tag along and ensure that all was on the up and up. Sam reports that a major highlight was a visit to the chapel where they circled the altar with bowed heads as Father Charlie delivered a moving prayer of memory, hope and love. In total, we had over 325 classmates and more than 180 guests who joined us. The class presented a check for more than $6 million to the University, and was one of the real leaders in percentage of the class contributing. Kudos to Paul Tierney for his diligence in this area. Of course, special thanks to Bruce Tuthill for organizing a wonderful program. I will have more from other attendees in upcoming issues. — Paul R. Charron; 44 Contentment Island Road, Darien CT 06820; 203-655-3930; paul.richard.charron@gmail.com

64JD Home for our Golden 50th

A total of 15 of our 31 class members came home to ND for our Reunion over the May 29 weekend to renew old acquaintances and create new memories. Sharon and I hosted a welcoming dinner at the Gatsbyesque Bieger Mansion in Mishawaka. Special ND guests included Father Dave Link who spoke passionately of his new prison ministry eloquently captured in the book Camerado, I Give You My Hand. Warm welcoming remarks were made by Dean Nell Newton, and some penetrating comments on being a student-athlete at ND were offered by Dr. Brian Ratigan, the chief surgeon and physician for our football and basketball teams and a standout lineman for the Irish under Lou Holtz. He later played with the Colts prior to medical school. The next day featured a Law School open house with guided tours of the new facilities, followed by dinner. Saturday included a special dean’s breakfast with Dean Newton, highlighted by the Skype participation in the 50-Year Club induction by Gerry Vairo, who had been bedridden for more than 200 days with MS. Each of our mates then visited with him via the internet. Following the breakfast, Sharon and I gave a historical tour of the Basilica. The afternoon brought a boffo presentation of Atticus Finch and To Kill a Mockingbird by Father Link with yet another dinner that night in the Law School after our Class Mass. Among many takeaways was the notion, certainly espoused by our Dean Joseph O’Meara, that law at Notre Dame is truly embraced as a profession with its attorneys occupying a high position of integrity and societal leadership far beyond mere technical proficiency. Those attending: Russ Bley, Eileen and Bob Cash, Kay and Tom Conneely, Dawn and Bob Frost, Betty and Larry Gallick, Kathie and Bob Hanlon, Dorothy and Jack Jiganti, Adele and Jack Kopko, JoAnn and Gene Kramer, Sheila and John Leahy, Carol and Lou Pfeiler, Dorothy and Charles Sacher, Marian and Jim Slater, Georgia and Charlie Sweeney, Sharon and Balfe Wagner. Significant news upon coming home and preparing this column involves Marian and Jim Slater‘s grandson, Cormac, who sadly has inoperable cancer. Please keep him and the family in your prayers. Good news has arrived regarding Gerry Vairo, who advises that he can be out of bed and has even regained some independence by being able to drive his specially equipped car. Jim Mercurio checked in to say that he and Nancy are progressing with some health issues that prohibited them from attending the Reunion. Dorothy Sacher reports post-Reunion life is amiable for them after a Mediterranean cruise. Georgia Sweeney, Adele Kopko and Eileen Cash have expressed similar thoughts, as have Larry and Betty Gallick. Larry and Charley Sweeney, based on spousal reporting, are spending time on the links. Gene and JoAnn Kramer continue their house downsizing process while visiting their daughter and her spouse in Queens. Gene is thinking of planning a minireunion in Ohio later this year for Ohio mates. Russ Bley had a special family reunion in New Jersey, visiting his son over July 4 and was joined there by an international student Russ had been mentoring along with the student’s family from China. Russ fell down some 13 steps and was in a neck cast. He reports a full recovery. Frank Miele still lives just off Central Park South and is seeking employment beyond his part-time efforts as a supernumerary with the American Ballet Theatre. If anyone has some job suggestions, Frank would welcome them. Tom Conneely has been spending some post-Reunion time biking with his granddaughter in the North Bay area near Point Reyes CA, and gearing up for a western Ireland trek to the village of Bally (tavern) Conneely. John and Sheila Leahy are planning a family reunion in San Francisco featuring a 98th birthday party for her uncle who will be traveling to the event from Hawaii. Ernie Zavodnick and Suzie were unable to attend our reunion because of the baptism of their grandchild in New York. Sharon and I just returned from several weeks in Minnesota visiting relatives and in Seattle with our kids and grandkids. Peace and blessings to all. — Richard Balfe Wagner; 1204 Erskine Manor Hill, South Bend IN 46614; 574-299-9888; rs-wag@sbcglobal.net

65 50th Reunion 2015

Plan to attend the always memorable 50th Reunion, June 4-7, 2015 starting with our Thursday evening dinner. Bob Lee, our class treasurer, and Don Zone are arranging that venue. See my next column for further details. Registration will be in the Morris Inn which means that our dinner will have to be held in an alternate site. Rooms will be available either in an air conditioned campus student dorm or a specific South Bend hotel with ND transportation. Expect full details from the Alumni Office in early spring. Carl Giombetti received the Clifford E. Prodehl person of the year award from the ND Club of Philadelphia for his outstanding success organizing their outreach programs. Carl and wife Dianne have two daughters and live in the Philly area where he is a pediatrician. Carl was a member of the original 1964 Lacrosse Club team that evolved into a varsity sport and won the ACC title this year, as well as the honor of placing second in the NCAA. In May there was a memorial dinner honoring the founder of the team, the late Jack Tate ’64. Also attending the event from our class were original first team members Pat McDonnell, Will McGuire, Tom Moran, Bob Quinn, Jim Salscheider and Jay Smith. Jim Tedford retired in June from a 38-year career in general pediatrics in San Luis Obispo CA. He loved his profession but feels his real success has been a 47-year marriage to his wife Claudia, along with their three children (all of whom attended Jesuit colleges) and eight grandchildren. Bob Arboit and wife Jan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August at their home in Seal Beach CA. Bob still works as managing partner for Benefits Planning Service, the employee benefits consulting and brokerage firm that he started 35 years ago. Bob’s oldest grandson was the California state 100 and 200 meters champion this year. Cindy and Larry Wind of Pittsburgh donated the Wind Family Fireside Terrace at the new Morris Inn. Larry is owner and president of two Ford dealerships in the Pittsburgh area. Daughter, Lindsay Wind Hess ’04, and son-in-law, Andy Hess ’03, are ND grads. In May Larry and Cindy became grandparents of twins. The Winds spend winters in Stuart FL and summer weekends at Deep Creek Lake MD. In May, Bill Dunn passed away in Libertyville IL. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Valerie, five children, and 17 grandchildren. His career spanned four companies, including Baxter International designing medical products, and he has been named on several patents. Bill loved ND; the bag pipers played the ND Fight Song at his gravesite. — James P. Harnisch MD; 6759 West Mercer Way, Mercer Island WA 98040; jphnd65@hotmail.com

65JD Class Secretary — John Donald O’Shea; pelaguis@aconline.com

66 Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Long time passing. I hate to start on a down note, but let me begin with news of the unfortunate passing of four classmates. Herb Seymour of Detroit died suddenly in May while on his annual trout fishing excursion in northern Michigan. Herb had spent his career as a freelance artist and was a delightful individual. I recall that his twin, Ed Seymour, also of Detroit, joined Herb on the Fighting Irish football squad. John O’Hearn of Elmhurst IL passed away in July after a debilitating illness. John spent his career in radio advertising sales and finished up working for the ABA in advertising. He is survived by Mary Jo and a passel of kids and grandkids. “O” and I managed to have more than a few good times over the years, and he was also close to Jim Walsh, retired USAir pilot now of the San Francisco Bay area in California. *Marty Dunn sent word of Tom Diebold’s untimely death in July in Louisville, where he had been the very successful CEO of a steel processing company. Tom was a big ND booster and also a fan of Xavier High School. Tim Malloy reported the passing of Dr. John Proos in St. Joseph MI. John was a beloved physician there for 45 years who apparently died in his sleep in May. And while we’re dealing with bad news, John Berges related that Jude Lenehan, down Nashville way, lost his wife at the very same time he was retiring from his public defender job. JB also noted that Dr. John Wylie is still practicing ortho surgery in West Virginia. JB met with Rudy Navari on campus just before Rudy departed ND for his second career in Switzerland. JB also keeps in close touch with John Rahyia in Atlanta, where he heads the Rahyia Group, doing leadership training. John still manages to rack up 100,000 air miles a year at his “day job,” but his primary activity is tending his Missouri Ozark ranch and his horses. He and Claudia live 20 miles south of Rolla, and JB still manages to compete with folks of all ages in horse/cattle sports like team penning ranch sorting. If you want to play cowboy, stop by. John Jackoboice is still holding forth in Grand Rapids, playing golf a few days a week, taking a trip to Alaska, helping Aquinas College establish a foundation and spending the winters in Florida. Jim Starshak, of that tough duty spot, Honolulu, is planning to hit the Bend for a game or two. Bob Brandt just retired after 40 years as founder/CEO of his very successful Chicago ad agency…to LaQuinta CA. Bob’s firm was nominated for four Clio Awards during his tenure and he reports having seen Charlie Cappel, almost playing golf with Pete Thornton and keeping in touch with Arunas Vasys, Tom Talaga, Doug Ford, Joe Guiltinan and Jim Herbstritt. Tom Begley sent word of a Nappy’s Boys reunion in Louisville in February. The entire group worked with Nappy for three years on the Bengal Bouts. Dr. Jay McGowan, longtime president of Bellarmine U and his wife Maureen hosted the gang, which also included Denny O’Toole, Jude Lenehan and John Wylie. You may not know that Jay has transformed BU from a sleepy little local Catholic college to a significant regional university. Begs also reported having dinner with Frank Sheehan and Justine in Punta Gorda last March as well as enjoying a March repast with Mike McKim and Shirley, as Mike continues his health battle. Begs was sad to miss the 70th birthday celebration of George Palmer. Mike Boone of Denver checked in with class president Cap Gagnon, noting that he had recently seen Pat Lannon at a Denver ND Club senior luncheon. Tony Andrea reports hitting the Windy City occasionally, doing some work for the Pat Tillman Foundation. He promises to call one of these times so we can reminisce about our Stanford Hall days as residents of adjacent rooms. Cap G reminded me of our super successful mate, Rich Sauget, who is either buying up or developing all of southern Illinois, right across the bridge from St. Louis. I saw Boston-based Mike Rush for lunch during a ChiTown visit in July and spoke by phone with ND Assistant Band Director Larry Dwyer, who is well and happy. John Flatley of Chicago planned to bring Joe Pete Wilbert and Mary, along with Hank Schlachter and Barbara, all of Dallas, to the Michigan game. I am done for now. Keep me posted. — Tom Sullivan; 2028 Elmwood Ave., Wilmette IL 60091; 312-415-3353; tsullivan@ric.org

66JD Class Secretary — Phillip C. Ruddy;

269-469-1933; rudds241@aol.com

67 Class Secretary — Bert Bondi; bertrbondi@gmail.com

67JD Making A Difference

Mike Seng, professor at the John Marshall Law School for nearly 40 years, has been awarded the Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence. The award is presented by the Chicago Bar Association to recognize exemplary attorneys in academia who have made significant and lasting contributions to bring roving access to justice for the less fortunate. Mike’s career has focused on discrimination in housing, co-founding the Fair Housing and Support Center in 1991 and the Fair Housing Legal Clinic, which was the first law school clinic in the US to handle solely issues involving housing discrimination. Mike has been recognized twice by the Fulbright program with teaching posts in Nigeria and the Czech Republic. For 20 years, Mike has organized delegations of lawyers and judges to travel to the Czech and Slovak republics to assist the bar as the countries rebuilt their legal systems after the fall of Communism. Mike traveled to Beijing in June for several weeks of teaching and missed the presentation of his latest award in July because he was teaching in Taiwan. Others in our class also travel the world albeit without casebooks and course outlines. Mo Nicholson returned from a land/sea venture to Alaska while planning another cruise later in the year. He plans on catching the Syracuse and ASU games in the fall. Obviously, his broken ankle is well healed. Jack Couch and wife Sam have planned a trip to England for a canal cruise on the Cornwall coast. They continue their volunteer work at a therapeutic riding and driving stable. Nancy and Jim Olson are traveling on an ND sponsored trip to Cuba over the winter. They plan a couple of major trips per year; it was Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. They also take the obligatory trips to visit their three kids around the country several times a year. Flo and I also plan at least two cruises a year. It’s a dissolute life as we sail from one Caribbean island to the next and one huge meal to the next but fortunately the guilt fades just in time for boarding the next cruise. With the Cubs failing again, Lynne and Ted Sinars have booked a trip to France for a river cruise. Roseann and Jim Harrington are enjoying their four grandchildren as houseguests as they continue their education. The whole extended family will be at the Rice game. The Harringtons returned to campus in May to celebrate the big 50 undergraduate reunion and enjoyed seeing the Muenchs and Hargroves. Unfortunately, Jack Harty and Dave Francescani were no-shows, but Jack finally gave me some tidbits that I can use in the column. He and Maureen celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary with a Mediterranean cruise. According to Jack, Maureen brought home a case of hand blown drinking glasses, and he brought home a case of bronchitis. Jack has been consoling Maureen that the first 50 years of marriage are the hardest but now that it is almost here, he is concerned that he has no explanation for the disappointment she will surely encounter. — Jim Heinhold; 1200 Carmel Lane, New Bern NC 28562; res 252-638-5913; im4irish@aol.com

68 The Streams of Our Lives

These notes have two streams converging. One is a rising current of notes announcing classmates’ deaths. The other is a frothing white water of news mostly supplied by Mike Helmer in California, Brian Schanning from the high seas of Massachusetts, and president Tom Weyer from his Oak Brook residence, the class center in the Chicago area. Thanks to Mike, Brian and Tom, there’s nothing to do but get out of their way. Let’s start with Mike Helmer: “Beth and I just got back from dear old New London CT where we (in the august company of reunion emcee Tom Condon and his lovely wife, Anne) celebrated the 50-year reunion of our class at St. Bernard’s High School. We had planned a side trip to Gloucester to see Mary Ellen and Dana Hart only to learn that they are done with Cape Ann and now live in the Tucson area. You English majors might appreciate this tale. Beth has always been a very active person and road trips are a trial for her. Try to imagine a day on the road with a 110 pound hummingbird riding shotgun. So on the advice of a literary friend, we tried the classic books on disc. The road trip to Nashville and back featured Jane Eyre, the climax to which coincided with our return trip via US 50, the loneliest road in America. … The road trip death march also included a July clockwise circling of Lake Michigan, Beth to visit her old nursing supervisor in Lake Geneva, me to have a beer in Sault Ste. Marie. The back story on the beer: the summer job in 1965 and 1966 was respective employment as a deck hand and a coal-passer on the ore boats where I committed the deadly sin of envy every time we passed through the locks. The sight of people enjoying themselves on a restaurant deck overlooking the locks turned me green with jealousy back then and I made a promise to myself that I would go back to the Soo and return the favor. I’m sleeping much better for having kept the promise.” Here is Brian Schanning’s late July note: “Susan and I have just started sailing to Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. We hope to connect with Bob Brady in Maine who will be coming back with Margaret from a visit to Nova Scotia in early August. I will be attending my 50th reunion of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains NY with fellow class members Bill Holahan and John Longhi on Oct. 10.” President Tom Weyer wrote: “In June I attended the Mt. Carmel High School 50th reunion even though I did not go to school there. But if the cocktail party was a half hour longer, I might have been elected to something. I went to support Dr. Rick McPartlin. You have to be nice to your doctor at our age. I caught up with ND classmates Mike Terrill, Tom McCann and the rarely seen Chris Wilcox in from Connecticut. Rick was being honored for his Mt Carmel hockey history from being a founding player to team physician for many years. That combined with his recent military service as an AARP member garnered him hall of fame honors. Tom Gibbs and sisters were in attendance as well, to honor their mom, the lovely and lively Mary Jane Gibbs. Mary Jane was given honorary alumni status for her half century of support to Our Lady’s Caravan.” Unfortunately, our news also includes the deaths of Steven G. Rothmeier, John Siverd, Jorge Mas, Al Mansour and, from ’69, Bill Luking. Sweet, beautiful Mary Disser McCrea, often with Bryan Dunigan at class gatherings, died at the end of May after four years of struggle. Our class blog, ndclass1968.com, has obituaries and remembrances of these good, highly accomplished friends. Steven G. Rothmeier held high station as a CEO but this is how Bryan Dunigan remembers him: “Steve Rothmeier aka Sparty Spartan because of his haircut in the mid-1960s, was a great guy. May his soul rest in peace. He had little peace in Stanford Hall. His roommate was Terry Quinn and he lived next door to Bob Ptak and Billy The Big Cheese Balsis. Steve was always trying to study and the Fenwick guys were usually screwing around and occasionally trying to wrestle him to the ground. I laugh when I picture Steve waving Terry Quinn like a flag as Terry tried to grab a leg. I am pretty sure Joe Kernan lived down the hall, too.” Ron Kurtz remembers John Siverd as a freshman roommate and wonders how John put up with it. Ned Buchbinder, who roomed with Jorge Mas one year, recalls the lifelong friendship that Jorge and Ned’s mother developed one Thanksgiving holiday. Al Mansour was very active in his native Georgia community while heading the retail business begun by his grandfather. Please visit the class blog, www.ndclass1968.com, for additional details and for news from or about Forrest Hainline, Monk Forness, artist Tom Fitzharris, Jim O’Rourke, Dan Harshman, Fred Ferlic and many others. Thanks. — Tom Figel; 1054 W. North Shore, Apt. 3-E, Chicago IL 60626, bus 312-223-9536; tfigel@lake-effect.com

68JD Another Win

While the number of responses was limited, I am happy to report that Charlie Weiss and his firm’s team of pro bono attorneys successfully argued that their client had never fully consented to the insanity pleas given to the court by his private attorney. After seven years of confinement, the prosecutor dropped all criminal charges against this individual. That was another win for Charlie and his team. While we are all delighted with Charlie’s success, Paul Gore advised me that he and the late Steve Odgers were in all likelihood responsible for Charlie’s subsequent litigation successes. Paul notes that Steve Odgers and he competed against the moot court team of Charlie Weiss and Jim Seckinger and prevailed over Weiss/Seckinger. In fact, Mr. Gore noted that it only took 25 minutes for the jury to decide in favor of the Odgers/Gore team. With regard to Steve Odgers, Steve had a successful legal career, including representing the late Ray Charles. Paul reports that he is closing his Florida law firm in September, and that he and Colleen are moving to Bozeman MT to reside on a “working ranch” of 10 acres. Paul notes that he has reviewed his aeronautical charts the other day, and that this is well within flying distance of Jim Cooling. Paul recently was nominated and accepted the position of chairman of the board of the Gore Family Medical Foundation Trust, which is a 501©(3) Trust established for the good of the children of Broward and Dade Counties. The trust fund distributes approximately $900,000 a year in scholarships and other aids. In reviewing the files of applicants, Paul always remembers the advice given to him by Professor Tom Schaffer ’61JD that “law can be a ministry and should be more than just a profession to make money.” Tom Curtin recently advised me that he was in Kansas City and visited with Jim Cooling. Tom adds that he was very impressed with the excellent client base that Jim has developed. Finally, if any of you visit St. Louis, please give Charlie and myself a call, and we can remember some of the great days that we all enjoyed at ND. We need some updates for our next newsletter. — Dennis G. Collins; Greensfelder Hemker & Gale, PC, 10 S. Broadway, Suite 2000, St. Louis MO 63102; 314-516-2648; fax 314-241-3643; dgc@greensfelder.com

69 Reunion Recap No. 1

For the approximately 110 of us who made it to our 45th Reunion, I think I can say from all the comments received at the Reunion and since, that our class clearly enjoyed the Reunion. Many long time participants and first-time attendees expressed appreciation for our class and our time at Notre Dame. Our classmate, Father John Sheehan, SJ, was gracious enough to say our Class Mass to start off our official festivities on Friday evening and gave a blessing at meals. The Mass was well attended and fortunately the list of approximately 150 deceased classmates was read at the prayers of the faithful, a sobering thought to all in attendance. Our Friday dinner was at the North Dining Hall and after some brief business remarks by me as class president/secretary, the program was turned over to our own Thomas M. Breen, president emeritus of the Class of 1969, who gave a wonderful heartwarming address; comments are still being made by our classmates in attendance. Dick Lavely has captured on video Tom’s address and is working on making it available for private viewing to classmates who were not in attendance. Believe me, it is something to see. We had our class picture on Saturday and our dinner on Saturday night was in the Monogram Room. We received another stellar presentation by classmate John Sturm, who is associate vice president of federal and Washington relations at the University. John gave us an excellent view of the University from an insider’s standpoint, and his address was also captured on video and will be available in the near future. You will notice I titled this article Recap No. 1 because time constraints and column constraints will not allow me to fully discuss the Reunion in one column. I will address issues of attendance and nonattendance in the upcoming months. I hope to see folks at the Michigan and/or Stanford game and wish you and your families the best. Unfortunately we have lost several of our classmates. Bill Luking of Chicago passed away after our Reunion, and classmate Thomas F. Payne of Cincinnati also recently passed. Classmate Richard Cimino’s father, Louis, patriarch of the Cimino family, passed away after our Reunion as well. As you know the Ciminos sent six sons to Notre Dame. It was a great loss to the Cimino family and our deepest condolences go to the families of all our class losses. John Hickey writes that he is mostly retired, but still attends meetings and works on volunteer boards. Also, once a month, a group of the local 1969ers get together for breakfast: Steve Kavalauskas, Jim Lyons, Mike McCauley, and Tom Ladky. Also Mike Brennan indicates he enjoyed visiting with Bob Belden, Dave Yonto, Pat Callan, Jim Lyons, Matt Naegle and Dan O’Connor at the Reunion. Dan O’Connor celebrated this Reunion with his son Ben ’09. I wish you all the best. Go Irish. — Tom Ryan; 248-334-9938; sylvanlawtr@gmail.com

69MBA Class Secretary — Dennis B. McCarthy;

P.O Box 246, Bear Lake MI 49614; bus 231-864-3111 ext. 115; dbmc2@blarneycastleoil.com

69JD Retired or Not?

I have been in contact with a number of our classmates while organizing our 45th Reunion, scheduled for the weekend of the Rice football game. The big “R” word was a common topic of conversation. Jim Gillece recently retired, but retirement is not to his liking and he is pursing employment. Tom McCusker has retired several times and unretired just as many times. Tom will be at the Reunion and promised to give an employment history. At last count, 15 of our classmates (and one surprise guest) will attend the Reunion. Not a bad turnout. Many more have promised they will be at our 50th reunion in 2019. Larry Rousseau is still working but considering retiring in a few years to work on his golf game and spend time with his six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Maybe Larry can help track down two classmates I have been trying to contact. Jim Leavey reportedly retired from the US Attorney’s office and resides in Rhode Island where Larry lives and works. Arl Williams may have retired from the DC Airport system. I will have more in our next class column after the Reunion. — Jim Starshak; 889 Kaohe Place, Honolulu HI 96825; res 808-395-0443, bus 808-523-2515; jstarshak@carlsmith.com