1940s

40 Class Secretary — Bob Sanford;

3212 N. Miller Road, No. 106 Scottsdale AZ 85251; 480-998-5380

41 Class Secretary — Meg Julian ’03, ’06JD;

6 Carriage Trail, Princeton NJ 08540; 646-246-5480; megjulian@gmail.com

42 Gaining Serenity

Ray Rowan, 95, lives in Seattle. He has cancer but fortunately he suffers no pain and has decided against surgery. We cheerfully reviewed our days on campus and reunions with Steve Graliker. Patricia and Neil McCarty are comfortably retired back in Appleton WI, old family grounds. I congratulated him again on his great achievement with The Dome, a big help in working on this column. He told me how much Prof. Frank O’Malley ’32, ’33MA contributed to the innovative design and other publishing ideas. But Frank, typically, did not want any public mention. It was, all in all, a great masterwork of the Class of ’42, revered all these years. Mount Tamalpais, 15 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, is 2,700 feet high and has quite a steep slope, on which our home is perched. Last week, I tumbled against a wire fence which saved me from falling another 250 feet to the bottom, as one of my rescuers pointed out. Bloodied, cut and hopelessly entangled, I was lucky to fall into that fence, thank heaven. I’m OK now, no breaks or sprains, and back to swimming. Watch your step, classmates. — John Kirby; 110 Upland Road, Kentfield CA 94904; res/fax 415-925-0544; cell 415-272-4016

43 Class Secretary — Bob Masters ’05;

202 Remington Court N. Drive, Apt. C, Mishawaka IN 46545; res 574-904-8315

44 Honor Flight

In early May, Bob McKahan from Rancho Bernardo CA, an Air Corps combat veteran, was selected to take the Honor Flight. The Honor Flight Network was created to honor World War II veterans for their sacrifices. Veterans are flown to Washington DC to visit and reflect on their memorials, built and dedicated to their service. Congratulations, Bob, on this honor. Tom O’Reilly shared the sad news that Ben Brunetti passed away in Fort Lauderdale on June 1. His obituary highlighted Ben’s service in the 44th Infantry, receiving a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, as well as the Knights of Columbus, Fort Lauderdale Rotary Club South and the Notre Dame Club of Fort Lauderdale. On behalf of the class, our deepest sympathy goes to his wife of 50 years, Mary, and family. Thank you to those who continue to write or email. I look forward to hearing from you. — Laura (Julian) Fraser ’00; 989 Belaire Ct., Naperville IL 60563; 773-255-9843; lejulian00@yahoo.com

45 Seven for Seventy

Those are the numbers for the 70th reunion. Twenty years ago, 95 attended the 50th, according to Bill Klem, who went to the trouble of digging out the 50th reunion photo and counting heads. This year’s smaller event was still “great,” according to class president Dennis Scully, who arranged a hospitality room adorned with vintage photographs. The five other attendees were Jim Griffin, Bill Glass, Vince Cushing, Mike Garry and Joe Fisher. Dennis reports that the limited balance in our treasury was used to cover the cost of the hospitality room. His conclusion: “We have no money and no plans for any more meetings so I have no more duties as your class president. Maybe some of us will attend the 75th five years hence and we will just blend in with the 50 Year Club.” Having worked with Dennis over the years, I am aware of how much he has contributed in keeping the class organized. All of us owe him a “thank you” for his efforts. His final suggestion is to send news to me, which I guess indicates I was “re-elected” class secretary. I’ll be glad to continue but it won’t work if I don’t get a steadier flow of news from you. — Ted Weber Jr.; 1400 Geary Blvd., Apt. 1409, San Francisco CA 94109; 415-674-8771; theodoreweber@comcast.net

46 New Secretary

I will need a lot of help getting news of this class. Please, let me hear from you. To start off, here is a little about me. I graduated in midyear with a BS in chemical engineering and as an ensign from the V12 program. It was a small commencement with just 84 graduates and 10 graduate degrees. After a cruise on the Montpelier, I started work on my master’s at the U of Michigan where I met Julius Banchero, who was working on his doctorate. I did some lab work for him on his research. A few years later, Dr. Banchero became chairman of the chemical engineering department at Notre Dame, and remained there for 20 years. After I got my master’s degree, I went to work for General Electric, where I stayed until retirement 40 years later. Most of that time, I spent in the television picture tube department located at Syracuse NY. After retirement I went back to GE as a consultant and helped train Chinese to run the picture tube factory, which was shut down, packed and shipped to Shenzen, China. I also spent four months working with the Chinese in Shenzen. The nice part about that was that my wife came also; she and the other wives had a good time shopping in China and Hong Kong. — Paul Taggett; 21 Legacy Drive, Apt. 723, Baldwinsville NY 13027; ptagget1@twcny.rr.com

47 Memorable Classmates

John Molinarolo of Muddy, IL, continues to recover and refers to himself as an 89-year-“mature”-old lover of life who continues to enjoy being around his grandsons. He is planning fishing trips to Kentucky and Barkley Lakes and is debating a trip to his ancestral Soave, Italy. It was good to hear from Bob Pavlin of Wilmington, DE, who reports that he is still “hanging in there.” Classmates who will be missed include Elmer M. Matthews, 87, who died on Feb. 5. A native of Orange NJ, Elmer lived in South Orange, Verona, Bernardsville and Sea Girt NJ before moving to Palm Beach FL. He received a bachelor of arts degree cum laude from Notre Dame in 1947 at the age of 19. He also ran on the cross country team. He received his bachelor of laws from Fordham U in 1950 and his master of laws in taxation from NYU in 1956. Elmer was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army in 1950 and was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly at the age of 28. He served three full terms in the Legislature and was elected to serve as assistant majority leader, majority leader and speaker. When he was speaker of the general assembly, he also served as acting governor of the state. Elmer served on the NJ/NY Bi-state Commission on Personal Taxation and was the prime sponsor of the legislation that provided for the acquisition of the Port Authority Trans Hudson Railway and the building of the World Trade Center by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Later, he served on various legislative boards and state commissions, including the New Jersey Tax Commission, the New Jersey Insurance Law Revision Commission, the New Jersey Commission on Legal and Ethical Problems in the Delivery of Health Care and the Governor’s Committee on Transportation Policy. Elmer was an attorney in private practice for many years as a partner in the firms of Sterns & Weinroth and Clapp & Eisenberg. He then was Of Counsel to Porzio, Bromberg and Newman and Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry. Beginning in 1971, Elmer served as the general counsel of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, representing the Catholic bishops of New Jersey on matters of public policy for 40 years. He is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Marjorie “Peggy,” his four children and nine grandchildren. I look forward to hearing from class members with news and stories. Call or email me.
— Michael Morris ’80b 949-433-8568; michaelmorris07@gmail.com

48 Hearty Salutes

In the intervening months, we have heard of the passing of several loyal sons of Notre Dame. Carl Look of Detroit passed away on June 24. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Vincent Patrick Hughes MD of Spokane WA passed away on Jan. 25 after a brief illness. His son, Marty Hughes ’97PhD, wrote that he was privileged to sing the “Alma Mater” softly at his father’s bedside and see him, weak and pale though he was, raise his fist one last time at the end, united with so many thousands who still “love thee, Notre Dame.” Pat also had a deep and abiding love for Notre Dame, sharing many memories of his time as a student. Pat was especially proud of being in the Glee Club, where he served as president. In fact, when Pat returned to campus for football games, his two requirements were visiting the Grotto and attending Glee Club practice with fellow alumni. Ellsworth Albert Cordesman, affectionately known as “Cordie,” passed away on April 5, Easter Sunday. Cordie had a great love for family, church, and people, and was a true gift to all. During World Waw II, Cordie served in the cryptology branch of the Army Air Corps in Belem, Brazil and spent two years coding top secret messages and decoding enemy transmissions. Throughout his career, Cordie also worked for General Motors, the National Underwriter of Chicago and Hewitt Associates. In 1974, Cordie became a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church and served in many capacities throughout the Chicago area. — Dan Gentile; PO Box 2671, Scottsdale AZ 85252; res 480-425-1240; or Eileen Surprenant; 846 Hannah Ave., Forest Park IL 60130; bus 574-631-7505; ezander@nd.edu

49 Need News

In the previous issue, when reporting on the passing of James Redington MD of St. Louis, we misspelled Jim’s last name. We deeply regret this error and apologize to Jim’s family and friends. Rest in peace, Jim. Our genial leader, President Alex Lesko, has moved his command post after 23 wonderful years in Coldwater MI. He and his executive officer, Ann, provided the new address: 1407 Skipper Drive, Apt. 418, Waterford, MI 48327. They’ll be closer to their daughters now, and don’t be surprised when Al runs for mayor of this enhanced senior community soon. Tom Hanlon of South Bend is now adjusting handicaps, setting tee times and correcting swings for us at our celestial golf course pro shop. Tom, the last surviving member of the 1944 Irish NCAA championship men’s golf squad, passed away in June. Tom was a fixture around athletes for well over 20 years. He served as an administrator for men’s and women’s golf and as a co-head coach. He joined Ara Parseghian in the insurance business in 1968 and formed his own successful firm in 1980. Tom was an exemplary family man and a special Domer. We trust that he will comp our green fees as well. All 49 members made the cut so far; see you around the grille. Paul Wesley ’93MBA e-mailed the notice of the passing of his father, Leo Wesley, our classmate from Rochester NY. Leo was a B-17 pilot during World War II. On graduation, he began a very successful 60 year career as an accountant. Now let’s talk numbers — he had 10 children, 29 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. What a tremendous legacy of boundless roots in Notre Dame love and lore. We take great pride in such a remarkable Domer. Take care old friends. — Joe O’Brien; 18120 Cloverleaf Drive, South Bend IN 46637; 574-271-8323; obie49nd@comcast.net