1940s

40 Class Secretary — Bob Sanford;

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

41 Happy Birthdays

Happy Birthday wishes are in order for Leo Robidoux of Santa Barbara, who celebrated his 96th in October. Leo is enjoying his days in his retirement home with his wife, Andree, and their dog, Charlie. All are in good health. Leo stays pretty busy but keeps up with ND sports, and he was hoping to get his driver’s license renewed (though not driving very much) as of our last correspondence. I also heard from Jack Nace that his father, John Nace, celebrated his 95th in August. In October, I had the good fortune to make it back to campus for the Navy game and paid a visit to the Grotto on behalf of the class. While plenty has changed and the construction marches on, the center of campus is as beautiful as ever and, as always, I was thrilled to be back. Thank you for keeping in touch and Happy New Year! — Meg Julian; 171 E. 89th St., No. 5C, New York NY 10128; 646-246-5480; megjulian@gmail.com

42 Class Secretary — John Kirby;

110 Upland Road, Kentfield CA 94904; res/fax 415-925-0544; cell 415-272-4016

43 Forever Loyal

We lost John “Jack” Harold Tallett in August at the age of 93. Jack was born in Waukegan IL and excelled at baseball. A member of the Notre Dame varsity team, Jack famously hit two home runs over the head of Otto Graham (later of Cleveland Browns fame) to lead the Irish past Northwestern. At ND, Jack earned a BA in Letters and Law, serving as class president his senior year. After graduation, Jack was commissioned an officer in the Army Air Corps, where he became a navigator of a B-24 Liberator. During a bombing run over Nazi-occupied Vienna, Jack and his crew were hit with flack and were forced to bail out over Yugoslavia. After parachuting into enemy territory and enduring a month-long journey by train, boat and foot, Jack and his crew were reunited with their bomber squadron in Italy. After the war, Jack married Katherine Pfeiffer and raised Judy, Tricia, Pamela, and Janet. Jack earned a law degree from the U of Michigan and, in his private legal practice, handled numerous matters for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). Notre Dame was a daily and important part of Jack’s life. He loved sharing stories of his math class, his classmates, Irish baseball and football, accelerating his studies to graduate early for the war effort and his many fellow alumni and their achievements. Always the varsity athlete, Jack was forever loyal to our Fighting Irish sports teams. Rest in peace, Jack. — Bob Masters ’05; 202 Remington Court North Drive, Apartment C, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545; res 574-904-8315; bus 574-234-0121

44 Legacies

John G. O’Connell III, son of John G. O’Connell Jr., wrote to tell me about his ongoing family history project on findagrave.com to memorialize his father and other classmates that he can locate in order to pay tribute. John was an architectural-engineering graduate and taught at the Architecture School from circa 1946 until late 1949. He then moved on with his growing family to Lawrence KS, where he taught at the U of Kansas. Then they moved on to Clemson College (now Clemson U) at Clemson Station SC from 1950-1953. Later, until his retirement in December 1990, he was with a number of engineering construction firms. John’s widow, Genevieve Roberta Holzbauer O’Connell, resides in Mauldin SC and recently celebrated her 95th birthday. You can read more by visiting the site and searching memorial number 6588196. If you’d like to contribute to John’s memorial project, please reach out. I look forward to our continued correspondence in the new year. — Laura (Julian) Fraser ’00; 989 Belaire Court, Naperville IL 60563; 773-255-9843; lejulian00@yahoo.com

45 Respect, Honor, Tradition

Those words were worn by Notre Dame and Navy coaches at last fall’s game. They reflected, of course, the respect the two institutions have for each other. And they led Bob Thomas to recirculate an article he wrote several years ago explaining the wartime connection between the two schools. Among the recipients was Kristen Peronis, an executive with the Naval Academy alumni office who responded by forwarding an article about the tradition written by Notre Dame student Elizabeth Fenton which appeared on the website odysseyonline.com. It drew a number of very positive responses. Jimmy Evert does not appear on our class roster and like so many other students at Notre Dame when World War II erupted may have selected a different class year. Even so, I remember Jimmy as a fellow incoming freshman on the first floor of Breen-Phillips in the fall of 1941. Reporting his death in late August, The New York Times identified him as an instructor of tennis champions. For 49 years, he had been Fort Lauderdale’s tennis instructor and as the Times pointed out, “all five of his children reached at least the finals of a national junior championship and Chris Evert was recognized as one of history’s greatest female players.” Jimmy himself was an all-American tennis player at Notre Dame and reached No. 11 in United States rankings. The previous edition of this magazine lists the deaths of two class members of which we were unaware. John Kearney Jr. and Daniel O’Donnell Jr. died in May. — Ted Weber Jr.; 1400 Geary Blvd., Apt 1409, San Francisco CA 94109; 415-674-8771; theodoreweber@comcast.net

46 A Little History

This update was submitted by Jim Cagney about his brother Joseph Phillip “Phil” Cagney, who was a member of the 1942-43 freshman class starting in chemical engineering. His roommates in Zahm Hall room 321 were Pat Aertker and Jim Bach. Shortly after Phil completed his freshman year, he was inducted into the Army. He completed basic training and was accepted in the Army Specialized Training Program at the U of Wisconsin. In March 1944, the ASTP was disbanded except for seniors, and Phil reported to the 96th infantry division in Oregon and then to the invasion of Leyte Island in the Philippines. He was wounded while attacking a Japanese machine emplacement and died the next day, Oct. 30, 1944. He was awarded the bronze star posthumously. — Paul Taggett; 21 Legacy Drive, Apt. 723, Baldwinsville NY 13027; ptagget1@twcny.rr.com

47 Greatest Generation Numbers Dwindle

Gerald “Gerry” Harriman says he is “still alive” and lives near South Bend. Gerry was in the Navy amphibious corps in the Pacific for a few years. He gave a shout out to his former roommate, Marvin Huber. John Molinarolo seems well recovered, and writes “autumn has colored the trees while we get the sweaters out to ward off the chill of the approach of winter.” He has photos, home movies, and a collection of music hidden away, wondering if his children might explore one day. “A beautiful piano sits in our living room waiting for someone to listen. At 89 and shy of 90 by four months, I can say, bring it on. I feel good most of the time, and I say a prayer of thanks. My children fuss with me, but I always win. Colleen and I make time for Saturday football. We are there in our easy chairs, seeing more than in the bleacher seats, while having a glass of vino without having to drive seven hours and then getting our butts cold. Here’s to the games left. Let’s hope we have all wins and no more injuries.” Classmates who will be missed include Martin A. Bertsch, 93, who died May 29 in Larkspur CO. He served in the Navy on the USS Mission Bay, and graduated from ND with a degree in business. He retired from United Missouri Bank after 36 years. He lived in Pagosa Springs CO and was a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. He is survived by Patricia R. Hunt Bertsch, his beloved wife of 64 years, his son, his daughter and three grandchildren. John J. Dunleavy Jr. died April 28 at age 91 in Oakton VA. Born on Aug. 19, 1923 in Cleveland, and raised in Astoria and Jackson Heights NY, his college years were interrupted by WWII, He served in Europe, in the Army’s 737 Tank Battalion, Company D (known as Patton’s Spearheaders). On July 12 and 14, 1944, the Battalion landed on Omaha Beach; and, in May 1945, ended the war in Czechoslovakia facing the Red Army. During that time, it was engaged in five major battles: Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe, including prominent involvement at St. Lo, Mortain and the Battle of the Bulge. He began his involvement with the Battalion as a private and served in a “Stewart Tank” as a bowel gunner, driver, gunner and tank commander. At war’s end, he was the Battalion’s highest-ranking non-commissioned officer. He was honorably discharged after earning the European African Middle Eastern Campaign medal with five bronze service stars and presidential unit citation for action at Mortain, France, in August 1944. He was a retired FBI Special Agent. serving most of his career in the NYC. After his FBI retirement, he was a vice president of the Bank of New York. He also served as a contract FBI investigator from 1993 to 2003. In 1987, he and his wife relocated from Long Island to Virginia to be closer to their children and grandchildren. He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Mary (Dugan) Dunleavy, four children, three grandchildren and two great grandsons. I look forward to hearing from class members with news and stories. Call or email me. — Michael Morris ’80; 949-433-8568; michaelmorris07@gmail.com

48 In Notre Dame, with Father Ted

From the Office of the President at Notre Dame, dated April 16, 2015: “Dear Eileen, Dan, and the Class of 1948: Thank you for the beautiful and distinctive Class of ’48 floral arrangement and message you sent to honor Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC. Your remembrance and many others we received remind us once again of how much good Father Ted did and how many lives he touched. We celebrated his remarkable life in gratitude before we laid him to rest, and now we will try to follow the example of his generous life. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.” From the Class of ’48: He’s a man, Who’s a man, He’s a Notre Dame man, Father Ted, Father Ted. Father Ted! George Keenan was without a doubt Father Ted’s favorite class secretary because Father Ted was an avid reader of George’s famous newsletter, keeping him well informed of the Crescent Class (1945-1949) alums. This was a notable achievement of Father Ted’s considering his many round-the-clock duties as Vetville chaplain. At the time, ND was deeply engrossed in a two-phase fundraiser to build a library. And graduates were expected to sign pledges of support. To accomplish this, the alumni office had a field force under the direction of future Indiana governor, Joseph Kernan ’68, with Western Division Manager, classmate Ed Recker. The thousands of donors to the library are listed in a metal carousel permanently installed in the library lobby. Yours truly is listed under California because at the time I was president of the ND Club of San Francisco. Little did we know what to expect as the stone cutters, with Father Ted’s input from the sidelines, practiced their talents creating the Touchdown Jesus tower. In so doing, they created Father Ted’s future retirement home, where his presence graced the campus for so many years for our education and pleasure. Life at Vetville wasn’t easy. Classmate Bill Griffin and I rented a furnished apartment in the recently refurbished and now historical landmark at Rushton Apartments. That meant filling the bathtub with ice and beer for weekend open house festivities for classmates and their girlfriends. As we partied often at Vetville, a classmate would sometimes knock on the door asking for a small loan to carry his family to the end of the month. Others supplemented their income by working the swing shift at the Mishawaka rubber plant. I had two jobs: assistant manager of the Navy Canteen in the South Dining Hall basement and assistant manager of the South Bend Office of the National Conference of Christians and Jewish People. Just to the north of Hesburgh Library, a plaque dedicated by Father Ted on June 11, 1966 states: “This area was the site of Vetville, married student housing 1945-1962. Many were the trials. Thanks to the Holy Family for the many blessings needed to persevere.” We will miss your incomparable presence, Father Ted, and we pray for continued blessings to persevere. Go Irish. — Dan Gentile; PO Box 2671, Scottsdale AZ 85252; res 480-425-1240; or Eileen Surprenant ’09; 846 Hannah Ave., Forest Park IL 60130; bus 574-631-7505; ezander@nd.edu

49 Class Secretary — Joe O’Brien;

18120 Cloverleaf, South Bend IN 46637; 574-271-8323; obie49nd@comcast.net