1960s
1960s
60 80 for Most of Us
Fires were the big topic in October. Edward T. Kennedy reported on Oct. 11: “Our houses in Yountville are OK so far. People are wearing masks because there is so much soot and ash in the air. And sometimes you can’t see 100 feet because of the pollution. On the health side, I am recovering nicely from the brain aneurism/stroke I had July-August. I received my medical care at the Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, including three weeks in the ICU. They are very strong regarding neurological matters. Eileen fainted at home in September and broke two bones in her back. She is recovering painfully at home, but it is a slow process to grow new cartilage. We owe our recovery to the power of prayer. We have had many people praying for us and it is working. We are blessed. Cell phones don’t work much in the fires.” And from Guinness McFadden on Oct. 14: “Thanks for the prayers. It was a close call for a few days and nights, but we sustained no damage to the vineyards. Some of our hill rangeland is black, but we've been lucky.” Paul Smith went on a Notre Dame Baltic cruise and spent time on the trip with Marylee and Howard Foley. Howard and Jim Lekin received the following information from ND about our Class scholarship and our donations over the past 12 years. Total giving from the Class of 1960 was $105.7 million. Total balance available in our scholarship as of June 30, 2017, was $3,993,000. Total number of students assisted since inception in 2004 is 25 students. Scholarships awarded to students total $750,000. One proud ’60 couple would be Joanne and Art Velasquez who were at ND recently as granddaughter Madyson is starting in the 2021 class. She is the fourth generation to attend ND. Peter Boyle remises that unfortunately we are getting into those years where the sadness of poor health and deaths outnumber the good news of family growth, get-togethers and reunions, but it still news we want to hear. I just passed 50 years as a member of the State Bar of California, and will be formally retired when my license expires in January 2018. Ron Zlotnik saw Tim Ryan recently, and adds, “I'm still in touch with Terry Reidy, who still owns Focus Ranch in Wyoming. Terry had some serious back issues last fall but is doing better now.” The rhetorical question was asked about Tom Lauth. “I wonder who he rooted for in the ND vs GA game. It was a house divided for our family. I was a member of the U of Georgia faculty for 32 years before retiring in 2013, and was Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs during my last 12 years. Three of our sons were in the stadium with me. Two of us for ND and two for Georgia. We are still good friends and continue to love each other, but that was an awkward day that probably will be repeated here in Athens in 2019.” Jack Mckenna says, “You can imagine how support from your friends helps when your body is giving you trouble. My trip to Houston gave a mixed bag of info. My cancer returned in a low-grade form, but they put me on a regimen of chemo for eight weeks. It is not fun but gives me the prospect to get rid of this cancer once and for all.” — Joseph F. Jansen; 9190 Southmont Cove, No.103, Ft. Myers FL 33908; 239-461-0980; cell 317-514-4478; jfjansen@aol.com\
60JD RIP John Dinardo
Class Secretary John A. Dinardo ’58, ’60JD died Sept. 29. He practiced law in Ohio, Illinois, and Texas, and was general counsel of the American Institute of Architects in Washington, prior to retiring in Franklin TN. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, three children and seven grandchildren. Please keep John’s family in your prayers. If anyone is interested in volunteering to take on the role of class secretary, please contact Tammye Raster with the Notre Dame Law School at traster@nd.edu.
61 Storm Report
The wind blew and there were airborne objects. For those of you who stopped by to visit us between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, our apologies. During the night of Aug. 25, a storm named Harvey passed through our great city. The eye came right over Victoria. Unsatisfied with what it had done to begin with, it stopped about 40 miles northwest of us and backed back over us. This took all night Aug. 25 and all day Aug. 26. I went out to survey the damage. When I returned to the house, I found Abbie very distraught. The front door was damaged and the latch string was missing. We searched everywhere to no avail. This went on for days and days. Finally on Sept. 1 we found the latchstring. It was somehow high up on the roof. Abbie immediately returned it to the repaired front door. All was well again. I heard from Prince Chuck Lennon. He wrote to advise about the funeral Mass and burial honoring classmate Admiral Tom Ryan. It was the full star rank ceremony and procession awarded such notable people who have served our country with distinction throughout their lives. My home in Arlington VA overlooked the cemetery on the west side. Henderson and my office at HQ USMC (Henderson Hall) overlooked it from the south. Tim Monahan described it as follows. Father Denis O’Shaughnessy celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial after an impressive formal transfer of the casket into the chapel. Following the Mass, the casket was carried by six service members and was lifted onto a caisson and, led by a parade of Navy personnel, a solemn parade carried it to the place of burial. (This is a moving ceremony which I watched from the windows of my office for 18 months.) After the prayers at the gravesite the traditional “Taps” was rendered. Tim tells me that the entire ceremony was recorded, and plans are in the works with Larry Erickson to put it on the website in summary and video. He also said that a true Irish wake followed which would have made Tom proud, humor and all. I regret to report the death of Tom Enright. He was from Cleveland OH. After graduation he went into business in Brighton MI. Tom lived with and loved his wife Judy for 56 years. She wrote to me the following: “Denis O’Shaughnessy celebrated the beautiful Mass at his funeral. Tom was a devoted ND fan. He always wanted ND to win a National Championship while he was alive, but I think he would take a championship even now.” Please pray for Tom and Judy and family. I hate to bring up the obvious, but we have reached that age when we all need each other’s prayers while we deal with the dark side of the golden age. On the lighter side, I noticed that Tim O'Reilly made mention in Blue and Gold Illustrated with a letter. Also, Mike McMahon exhibited some poetry, which puts him and a couple of other mates in the race for poet laureate of the class. Well that's about it for the winter edition. Abbie is hard at work seeing that the latch string is in proper operation, and excited about the possibility that some of you might stop in on your way through South Texas. She also says, “Go Irish” every time she thinks of ND. — Joseph P. (Pat) Kelly; 2103 N. Wheeler, Victoria TX 77901; 361-573-9982; jpkellytx@sbcglobal.net
61JD Class Secretary — John N. Moreland;
jnmnd1958@aol.com
62 Sadness
We lost five classmates during September and October. Class President Lou Schirano died Oct. 15 from liver cancer, about six weeks after his diagnosis. Lou did a fantastic job on our last four reunions, including hosting 314 class members and spouses at his home at our 50th. Lou retired from international banking about 20 years ago. Some 22 of us attended his funeral Mass at the Basilica, concelebrated by Fathers Carl Ebey, Joe Carey, Paul Doyle and Clyde Lewis, who was a regular at the class tailgates. Others attending, some with spouses, were John Maeder, John Lewis, Tom Noonan, Walt Kelly, Bill Snyder, Carman Belefonte, Dave Scalise and Jack Regan. Also Maury DeWald, Mike Dunigan, Hank Burns, Tony Hyder, Jim Loula, John Studebaker, Mike Fitzpatrick, John McNamara, Bob Henry and Tony Casale were there. Angelo Dabiero, who started the class tailgates, came, as did Gay Strojny. At the reception following the Mass, attendees told “Lou” stories for about an hour. Terry McGlinn died Sept. 13 after a long bout with cancer. Jim Krauser and Earl Linehan were able to visit Terry for a couple of hours a few days before his death. University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, ’76, ’78MA was the celebrant at the funeral Mass. Terry was a major benefactor, having made about 70 gifts to the University. He also interceded at our 40th, getting the University to allow us to have our own refreshment tent. Jerry Vairo passed away Sept. 8. He had contracted MS a number of years ago but it did not stop him from continuing his law practice. John Crowe died Sept. 17. He had practiced law in Rochester for about 40 years. John had a stroke before our 50th and several more later. On Oct.10, Ted Kretschmer, a civil engineering grad, passed away after a seven-year battle with pancreatic cancer. While in Hawaii this past fall, Dennis Keating was kind enough to show my wife and me around Honolulu for a couple of days. His wife, Sandy, later joined us for dinner and hosted us at their condo the following night. Dennis, who has lived in various parts of the world, has two books in publication. Poetry for Men is a compilation of five books that recount various chapters of his life. His second is The Olympics – An Unauthorized Unsanctioned History. You can find the former on Amazon by entering “Book – Dennis Keating.” We also had lunch with Ruth and Dick Prinzivalli as they showed us around Oahu. They had visited the islands a few years after graduation and ended up moving there in the late 1960s. Dick was engaged in various businesses including a stint at Hawaii National Bank. Two of their sons went to ND and were part of Lou Holtz’s teams. They now spend their time engaged in Catholic social action projects. Ruth heads up a center that provides counseling on abortion alternatives, adoption information, prenatal care and family counseling. Tom Gross (Ted Kretschmer’s cousin) helped me out by bringing my wine from the reunion to his home, where I was able to pick it up later. At lunch that day, Tom, who I did not know at school, said he had gone to St. Joe High in South Bend, commuting from his home in Elkhart. After graduation, Tom, a civil engineering grad, received his MS from Carnegie Mellon in industrial administration and then went to Navy OCS and was commissioned an officer in the Civil Engineering Corps. Upon discharge after three years, Tom was working for the EPA where one of his bosses encouraged him to join the Naval Reserves. It was a good suggestion as Tom subsequently made admiral and is one of three in the class who earned a star. He retired in 2004 after serving as assistant secretary at DOE. I had dinner at the reunion one night with Dick Trujillo. After ND, Dick went to law school and worked for Secretary Udall in the 1960s implementing the Civil Rights Law. He has practiced in the Phoenix area ever since. When a judgeship opened, others prevailed upon Dick to apply, appealing to a sense of pride in his Hispanic heritage whereby he could serve as a role model for the community. He spent nine years in that role. He now practices with his nephew and niece serving as “of counsel” to the firm and handles tort and civil rights cases. Dick’s youngest will follow in his footsteps as she began her first year at ND Law School in August. — 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; rooneypaul12@gmail.com
63 RIP Regis Campfield
Class Secretary Regis Campfield, a man marked by his devotion to his faith, his family, and the University of Notre Dame, passed away on Oct. 27 in Dallas TX. He is survived family, including loving wife of 51 years, Mary Tarpley Campfield; the couple’s two daughters and sons-in-law: Allison and Mike Taten and Claire and John Storino; six grandchildren: Matthew, Laura and Jane Taten and Mary, Anne Elise and Catherine Storino; and brother-in-law Charles Tarpley and his wife, Mary Ellen. Campfield graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Business Administration from Notre Dame in 1963 and then earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he met and in 1966 married Mary Tarpley, a University of Virginia PhD candidate from Dallas. He practiced law in Cleveland before joining the faculty of the Notre Dame Law School, where he served from 1970-1977. While on the Law School faculty, he founded the Estate Planning Institute, which attracts hundreds of attendees each year to hear the nation’s best tax and estate planning experts. He later served on the faculty of SMU Law School until his retirement in 2009. Campfield was a nationally known expert in trusts and estates, and in particular estate and gift taxation, and wrote many books and articles. For more information on his life and career, please visit law.nd.edu/news/in-memoriam-professor-regis-william-campfield. Please keep his family in your prayers. The Notre Dame family and his classmates are grateful for all his work as a class secretary, and his contributions in this column will be missed. Going forward, anyone who would like to volunteer as class secretary may contact the Alumni Association at alumpubs@nd.edu.
63JD Catching Up
I retired for a second time last month and immediately left on a trip to Alaska with my son and daughter-in-law, whose relatives have lived in Alaska for many years. It was a great trip. One of the best experiences was meeting one of their friends, a very interesting man with a great story. He makes his living raising and racing sled dogs and has done the Iditarod Race 18 times. He is also the elected mayor of Mat-Su Borough with a territory larger than Rhode Island and the second largest population of any borough (county) in the state. Upon graduating from the U of South Dakota Law School, he moved to Alaska and worked as a public defender on Kodiak Island. We left law school burdened by the dean’s jealous mistress life sentence vision of practicing law, but this guy never met the dean. After a few years he figured out that working with sled dogs beat practicing law and has been happy ever since. Speaking of deans, or assistant deans, Tom Brannigan was reminiscing about 2017 being the 20th anniversary of the chief’s passing. No one had more energy or enthusiasm or cared more about his students, as individuals, than Prof. Jack Broderick. Tom was in the undergraduate-law school combination program and the chief was a big part of it. He recalls the chief telling him, “Ya know, Tom, the dean tells everybody that he’s here to help you out. Well, I’m here to help you in.” Nor can any of us forget the chief’s uncanny ability to convey obscure Latin legal principles such as whether “De Minimis non Curat Lex” was a potential defense in an indecent exposure case. Mike Feldmeier has a grandson senior at Notre Dame and a granddaughter sophomore at Saint Mary’s. Two other grandsons are playing high school football. He makes a point of attending one ND football game a year, quite a few White Sox games, and plays golf when he can. He also serves on the Catholic Charities Board of Advisors. Many thanks to those of you who responded to my request for information. I am spreading out that information. Otherwise I won’t have anything to report in the next couple of issues. — Bob Saxe; 15725 Ranchero Drive, Morgan Hill CA 95037; bsaxe5@aol.com
64 You Guys Must Work Harder
… to get me news. It will be a shorter column this issue. I expect I will have to redouble my efforts in beating the bushes for news tidbits. I did hear from Jim Webster, who indicates he is still running races. Because almost no one runs in their 70s, he and wife Beth usually win their age group. Jim’s tax prep practice is down to 25 clients that he has had for 40 years. His says, “It is especially gratifying to still feel needed.” Their 11 grandchildren from age 9 months to 18 years old keep them busy, but it is a joyous busy. Jim also shared a coincidence from a wedding a few weeks back. While waiting for the ceremony to begin, Jim looked around the chapel to find classmate (and dorm mate) John Poelker and wife Janet sitting right behind the Websters. The reception included drinks and dinner and lots of catching up between these two friends, who enjoyed so much together years ago. Dick Panther sent me a piece as the news circulated about the passing of Ara Parseghian. Dick described his good fortune at sharing a lunch with Ara, basketball team captain Arm Reo ’62 and ND benefactor and all around good guy Terry McGlinn. Fact is, this lunch took place in 2011, but Dick’s note graphically captured so many memories of the contributions Ara made to the program and to the University that I felt as I was reading it that I was also at that lunch. Dick must be a big golfer down in Naples FL. He pointed out that Cappy Gagnon and Dick Wolfe spoke to the Naples ND golf club outing within the last few years. We understand that John Cook is the commissioner of the group. The only additional news I have is that classmate George Boden passed away peacefully on Oct. 4 in Savannah after a long illness. He is survived by Nina and eight children. George was, of course, a tremendous athlete and a great guy. After graduation, he held management positions with Borden before starting his own company, Promotional Graphics. George and Nina purchased a retail food store in Easthampton NY which they owned for 13 years before retiring to Savannah in 2009. I also understand that Rick Chomeau and Joe McGowan passed away in June, but I have no details. Please keep George, Rick and Joe and their families in your thoughts and prayers. — Paul R. Charron; 44 Contentment Island Road, Darien CT 06820; 203-655-3930; paul.richard.charron@gmail.com
64JD Memorable Classmate
“To everything there is a season. There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:2. With sadness I report the passing of our classmate, colleague and friend Gerald G. Vairo of Lake Linden MI. To many of us, Gerry was the personification of the indomitable spirit, who to the very end fought an unflagging fight against his multiple sclerosis. Our classmate Jack Jiganti enjoyed a special friendship with Gerry over the years, attended Gerry’s funeral in Calumet MI and has provided insights into Gerry’s character. For many years, as his MS progressed, Gerry continued to practice, leading his firm to being perceived as one of the top (if not the top) firm in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He daily commuted to his offices in Houghton and Calumet via a special van that he could operate with his hands, along with a wheel chair. As Jack told me, Gerry and Claudette also built a beautiful lake house outfitted with special lifts to accommodate his anticipated loss of mobility. During the week before he passed, Gerry told Claudette, “I will never give up.” He never did. During Jack’s visits with Gerry, the two often would traverse the local Calumet streets where Gerry, a recognizable community figure, would quickly be greeted by everyone. He was an outstanding high school athlete, recognized as the school’s best, at Calumet High, a school which produced George Gipp, Hunk Anderson and Gerry’s father Dominic, who captained the 1935 Notre Dame football team. Jack also told me that all of Gerry’s children graduated from Notre Dame as well as three sons-in-law. To many of us, Gerry was the quintessential Notre Dame man who loved God, country and Notre Dame as well as his neighbor. RIP Gerry. On other fronts, life, for those of you with whom I have spoken, proceeds apace with reasonably good health as we in South Bend reach toward the end of a beautiful fall and the anticipation of winter. Blessings to all. Stay in touch. — Richard Balfe Wagner; 1204 Erskine Manor Hill, South Bend IN 46614; 574-299-9888; cell 760-567-1270; rswagnersb@gmail.com
65 Fun in Boston
Mary Ann and Frank Gaul, along with Lisa and Ed Burke, co-hosted a gathering of good friends in Boston in September. The focus of their weekend event was family, health and ND memories. Frank and Ed live in the Boston area. Frank earned his MBA from Harvard, and now serves as concierge to their three children and eight grandchildren, all of whom live in the area. Ed just retired from teaching two undergraduate courses on health policy at Regis College. Ann and John Gearen as well as Marianne and Dave Schiavone were among the attendees. Both couples live in the same condominium complex in Oak Park IL. The Gearens also spend time at their home in Union Pier on Lake Michigan and at their vacation home in the Bahamas. Although technically retired, John keeps active with the law firm of Mayer Brown. Dave retired from the practice of law several years ago but stays busy with volunteer projects. He and Marianne celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by taking their family to a private villa in Tuscany. Nick Sordi joined the group but his wife Eileen had the duty of babysitting their two grandchildren at their home in Eagle CO. Jane and Howard Voigt also traveled from their home in Pittsburgh to the Boston event. They have three children and seven grandkids, and spend winters in Naples FL. Howard is a retired lawyer, but stays involved with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. Frank and Howard married the Dattilo sisters of Pittsburgh, which makes them brothers-in-law. Steve Culbert, a retired Houston pediatric oncologist, was another classmate who went to the Boston gathering, as did Steve Walther, who lives in Washington DC where he serves as chairman of the Federal Election Commission. Also attending were Bobbie and Mike Wilsey who have homes in San Francisco and Hawaii, and are actively involved with The Grace Science Foundation. In September, Patricia and Kevin Gardner experienced the heart-wrenching loss of their son Kevin ’96 from complications of glioblastoma. Kevin and his wife live in Houston. Don Miller died in Cleveland of a heart attack in July. He is survived by his wife, Mary Frances, three children, and two grandchildren. Don started his own successful aviation maintenance and overhaul business in the Dallas area. He was passionate about golf and he helped found a USGA chartered club. Frank Gaul and Ken Maglicic represented our class at his funeral. Hernan Puentes passed away in July in Potomac MD from cancer. His earlier treatment allowed him to live for another 20 years. Barry Branagan of Casa Grande AZ writes that Dan Duffy died in October in Rockford MI of esophageal cancer. Dan and his wife, Charrie, have four children. Ed Charbonnet ’71, president of the Memphis ND Club, wrote regarding Steve Zeber, whose death I noted in our last column. He recalled that Steve served in Vietnam after graduation, was seriously wounded, and received two purple hearts. In 2017 the Memphis ND Club awarded him a lifetime achievement award for his many volunteer contributions. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, two children and four grandchildren. — James P. Harnisch MD; 6759 West Mercer Way, Mercer Island WA 98040; jphnd65@hotmail.com
65JD Class Secretary — John Donald O’Shea;
pelagius@qconline.com
66 Ruminations
I was on hand for ND’s blow-out of USC. It was a great day for the Irish. I saw Frank Murtha at his regular all-time tailgate. Frank continues to represent pro athletes and is working on a proposed spring professional football league. Jim Conley and Nick Eddy were on campus as well, but we didn’t connect. And I missed Cap Gagnon during his rounds. Mike Bradshaw sent word that following a 51-year hiatus, he and Michael Stoltz finally caught up over lunch in Alexandria VA. Mike Stoltz, a retired MD, was in town from Ft. Worth and Mike Bradshaw is a retired lawyer in the DC area. Word from Bob Conway, through Cappy, was that he joined Pete Budetti, Tim Gunn and John Phillips to watch the ND-MSU game at JP’s villa in Tuscany, Italy. Harry Long made it for the Miami game and is hoping his granddaughter from California makes it to ND. Tim Streb sent a missive about the ND-GA loss, copying Tom Begley, Jamie Toohey, Paul Fieberg, John Flatley and Dave Rentschler. Gusty Rini opined on the September passing of our famous mate Don Ohlmeyer. Gusty and Don roomed together off-campus for a semester senior year. Gusty noted that it was a motley crew that lived together and that it was one of his most memorable semesters at ND. As most know, Don O. was highly accomplished in broadcasting and equally recognized for his achievements with 16 Emmys. John Twohey, Minch Lewis and Tom Bettag continue their fine efforts for the Pete Duranko Fund at ND. The fund began last year and provides resources for the Athletic Dept. to study and prevent head injuries for student athletes at ND. Some neat technology has already been purchased and is in use. Ed Calior sent word from the Pittsburgh area where he resides in semi-retirement. Ed lived with Cap frosh year in BP and went on to Pitt Law. He did a hitch with Army JAG in Ft. Hood, where he re-connected with another JAG officer, George Gray. Ed practiced until 2015 and he wants to hear about George Blaha, Steve Blaha and Bob Hagin. Larry Dwyer continues his superb work as associate director of the ND band, which regularly wows audiences near and far. John Pavlic reports that retired life in Naples FL is good with Lynne and their two rescue dogs, along with some golf and travel. Mike Rush up BC way shared that Bob Lombardo and Bill Loftus, in from Sacramento, had a Keenan minireunion over lunch in NYC. Mike also heard from Roger Kirwan in Golden CO and Mike Smith in Santa Fe and reports that Sid Baker is retired in Indy and taking care of Judy, who has health issues. Bob Rivello and Jim Hawkins joined Mike for their 55th high school reunion In Arlington VA. Pat Lannon missed the soiree but is the social chair for the Denver ND Club. Fini for this issue. Stay well and send news. — Tom Sullivan; 1108 Westwicke Lane, Lutherville MD 21093; cell 773-454-4343; t66sullynd@gmail.com
66JD Winter Wandering
So far, this has been a wonderful fall for our football team but a quiet one from our classmates. I did hear from Bob Siebert, however, as he continues to travel the globe. Most recently he toured Israel and Jordan and reports that the highlight of this trip was a visit to Petra in southwest Jordan where he toured the treasury ruins of Indiana Jones fame. Bob next plans a Caribbean cruise in January as he refuses to let the aging process wear him down. Good for him. I continue to volunteer at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and particularly enjoy giving tours of the beautiful facility on football weekends. The enthusiastic reaction from so many visitors to being on campus is certainly not surprising but always heartwarming. I’ve mentioned previously the large numbers of new buildings springing up all over but have not mentioned the large numbers of Lime Bikes that appear to be equally ubiquitous in practically every corner of the campus. For a dollar an hour (50 cents for students) one can use a cell phone app to unlock the bike, ride it anywhere in the South Bend area you care to visit and then leave the bike whenever you please after locking it. We’ll see how they withstand the Indiana winter. — Philip C. Ruddy; rudds241@aol.com
67 Joe O’Neill Hall
O’Neill Hall, named in honor of classmate Joe O’Neill, was dedicated Oct. 27. The new structure is attached to the south side of Notre Dame Stadium, and will house the University’s music department. O’Neill Hall bridges the Frank Leahy Gate and contains several music recital halls, practice areas and auditoriums. It also includes The South Club on the 4th floor, which includes Harper’s Bar (named in honor of Coach Jesse Harper). It displays football memorabilia, including a section dedicated to the 1966 National Champions. Joe’s sister Helen underwrote the construction costs to honor her brother and his efforts to maintain and improve Notre Dame. Several guests attended the dedication dinner in Duncan Hall on the west side of the stadium, including former President George W. Bush. When the former president briefly spoke, he related that Joe and Jan introduced him to Laura at a barbecue in Joe’s back yard, and according to the President, “Joe burned the burgers, and at that time if I thought some 50 years later I would be speaking at a dedication of a building to honor Joe O’Neill, I would have told you you’re crazy. On the other hand, if someone would have told Joe that I was going to be president of the United States, he would have told them that they were crazy.” As a follow-up to our 50th Reunion, the planning committee used excess class funds to install a class bench next to the Ara Parseghian Gate at the southeast corner of the stadium. The wooden bench has a plaque that reads: “Notre Dame Class of 1967, 50th Reunion, June 2017, ’66 National Champions.” Peter Munson also reported that our class has had a 58 percent giving participation and has given $10,778,913. A mock check of that amount was presented to University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, ’76, ’78MA at the Reunion dinner. Chip Malik has taken up the mantle started by Joe Devlin to have an annual cotillion. This year Chip hosted the event in Miami during the Irish-Hurricane football weekend, which included a dinner cruise on the Intracoastal Waterway. Regrettably I have three deaths to report. Bill Eckelkamp died Aug. 30 in Washington MO. Bill was the retired CFO of the Bank of Washington and a partner in the law firm of Eckelkamp and Kuenzel. Don Ohlmeyer passed away in September in Indian Wells CA. After serving several years as a disciple of Roone Arledge of ABC Sports, where Don was the producer of Monday Night Football in the 1970s, he left NBC Sports, and started his own company, Ohlmeyer Communications. Bob Brennan passed away suddenly in October. Bob lived in Great Neck, Long Island, and New York City where he was a commercial real estate broker. Bob was buried with his Notre Dame 50 Year Club patch that is awarded to each of us at our 50th Reunion. Please write so we know what you’re doing. The column needs material. — Bert R. Bondi; 1891 Curtis St., Unit 1502, Denver CO 80202; bertrbondi@gmail.com
67JD Reunion 50 A Great Success
With the foresight of Nostradamus, I forecast our 50th Reunion to be a great success and it exceeded even my exaggeration. Instantly, as I walked into the reception on Friday night, with my addled memory working overtime and, yes, the help of nametags on the lapels, the years melted away and friendships were rekindled, and conversation flowed like wine, or maybe because of it. To my eye, we huddled in groups of three or more, but everyone was involved; no one was excluded. There was no strain, no lull in the conversations, and it continued after dinner and long into the night and the next day and the day after that. We were more like brothers than mere colleagues. Despite some last-minute cancellations due to illnesses and accidents, we still had 60 percent of our surviving class attend at least one of the functions over the weekend. And we were honored to have Dean Nell Jessup Newton join us for dinner. The Law School is in good hands with this dean. In addition to outstanding academic and administrative ability, she brings warmth, an obvious caring attitude for her students and humor that was not always evident in our days on campus. By our third year, I was on a first-name basis with Dean O’Meara. He called me Jim and I called him Dean. Ted Sinars, Mike Seng, Frank Verterano, Hal Bliss, Dick Muench, Frank Carey and Tony Luber unabashedly claim to still be working. Hal, Dick and Tony are in single practices while Mike is a professor of law at John Marshall in Chicago, actively works on a restorative justice program and spends a month each year in Beijing teaching a course on free speech. Frank Carey is still employed by the Teamsters Trust Fund while Bob Konopa, Jim Harrington, Dave Holmes, Gary Kaup, Ken Lazarus and Tom Farrell admit to being “sort of” or semiretired. Sean Keenan and John Hargrove, although formally retired, dabble in pro bono and mediation arbitration respectively. Steve Lamantia has retired as principal clerk to an appellate judge in New York. The rest of us mark time, not by tenths of an hour but by the seasons and holidays. Mary and Tony Luber are involved with Cursillo, an apostolic movement founded in Spain. In the grandchild race, Jack Wingerter, Konopa, and Sinars have 10 or more, but the Kip Roes claims the prize with 16 biological grandchildren plus three adopted for a total of 19 grands. Hal Bliss, in a class by himself, claims the honors in the great-grandchild race with four. Our classmates in Florida, Tom Sullivan, Lou Brenner and Dave Kamm report that they escaped serious damage from the recent hurricanes. However, I have not heard back from John Fine and hope that his news is as good. Paul Meyer missed the reunion. His wife opened a unique breakfast/lunch sandwich restaurant a few years ago and took it to the next level by expanding to a location at the airport the same weekend as our get-together. We wish them both every success. John Nelson gets the prize for having traveled the furthest. He left a conference in Hawaii and flew to South Bend. He had some trouble at security and arrived too late for our Friday dinner. John and a friend are now on a hunting expedition in the Colorado mountains above 11,000 feet. He’s been training for the trip by constantly carrying a backpack filled with 80 pounds of sand and bricks. Come to think of it, that may have been the reason he had trouble at airport security. We wish those classmates who could not make the reunion because of health reasons, either of their own or their wives, a speedy recovery: Jack Harty, Beth Kirby, Lois Brenner and, especially to Rosanne Nasky, who has a very serious illness. Greg: I need a new email address for you. — Jim Heinhold; 1200 Carmel Lane, New Bern NC 28562; res 252-638-5913; im4irish@aol.com
68 Big Reunion, Big Plans
If you read Class Notes, what you are reading about the 50th Reunion (May 31-June 3) may be two or three months old. There are ways to become current. As a safeguard, our blog, ndclass1968.com has a post titled “Reunion” and, in addition, my.nd.edu has a section titled “Reunion 2018” where, for example, you will find information about accommodations. Of course, the best way to make plans is to make plans directly with the lifelong friends you made as a young man on the Notre Dame campus. Thanks to the effort of South Bend classmates led by Fred Ferlic, Gene Cavanaugh, Skip Strezlecki and Chris Murphy, October 2017 ended with quite a reunion taking shape. The South Bend group plus Rocky Bleier and president Tom Weyer met often with the Notre Dame staff responsible for our class. There will be performances of Rocky Bleier’s “Rocky’s Show.” John O’Connor will talk about Watergate’s Mark Felt and the film John has produced, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House. Our class dinner, with help from Matt Walsh, may take place in the Architecture Building. Chris Murphy has invited the class for brunch at his South Bend home Sunday, June 3. We hope he’s told Carmie. The class Mass will be celebrated by Rev. John Sheehan, perhaps with Rev. John Pearson concelebrating. There will be a hospitality center ready for heavy use. A ceremony will honor the military service of our class. The battle of the bands taking place in committee at the end of October will be resolved as a Rick McPartlin faction favoring a Neverly Brothers group and a Fred Ferlic faction favoring a Darryl Buchanan band come to an agreement. Fred has dance floor plans for a new knee gained in an October surgery. Whether the knee is of gatoring quality, well, that will be decided at the party, maybe with the help of other athletic classmates: Tom Weyer, Gene Cavanaugh, Tom Gibbs, Tom Condon and others. The coming together will be great, the core of it is talk. For the best of conversation, of course, we will need one another, so get in touch, begin catching up, and make plans. What about locating the friends who have become mysteries? Look up emails, phone numbers and addresses at my.nd.edu. Reunion practicing is a good idea, too. Tom Culcasi offers an instructive example found in full on the blog: “Phil Mika and his wife Mimi spent a couple of days with us in early September. The plan was to head up to Michigan and find the famous Judge Tom Phillips. Unfortunately, the hurricane (Irma) had other ideas and Phil headed back to Orlando to make sure his homestead was still there. Judy and I then made the trip to Traverse City and found Tom Phillips. We had not seen each other since graduation but we picked right up where we left off. We told lots of stories about Keenan Hall days. We have made a promise that we will get together more often than once every 50 years. We all plan on going to the reunion.” Jim O’Rourke is coming and says that the same is true for Tom Scully (Illinois) and Tom Warner (California). The quality football this season has been a good supplement to the two tailgate areas of our class. Anne and Tom Condon were there with John McCoy at the NC game, saw both Tom McKennas as well as Dave Martin, Roger Guerin, Bryan Dunigan, and the birthday-celebrating Tom Weyer. In late September, Bill Kenealy’s wife Joan succumbed to cancer. Please keep the Kenealys in your prayers. On the blog are additional notes and photographs. Please send me news and photos. — Tom Figel; 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3E, Chicago IL 60626; 312-223-9536; tfigel@reputecture.com
68JD Winter Update
John Pusey was selected by the Prairie State Legal Services as a 2017 Hero for Justice Celebration which was held in Peoria on Sept. 28. John has enjoyed a great career and has made many contributions to the Illinois Bar. Lou Bianchi reports that he has retired from the State’s Attorney Office as his term expired this past year. Next, John Coyle reports that his granddaughter, K.C., began her studies at the ND School of Engineering, and is a cheerleader for the Fighting Irish. Tom Curtin, Charlie Weiss, Pete King (including most importantly Rosemary) and I joined up at the Miami of Ohio game at South Bend. It was a lot of fun. We will celebrate our 50th Reunion in 2018, and we have selected Oct. 6 for our Notre Dame reunion weekend. ND will be playing at Virginia Tech. (Game times will be announced next spring.) We are hoping to put together a short video for the 2018 celebration. Please send acceptable photographs by Feb. 1 to John Coyle at jcoyle@enter.net and Charlie Weiss at caweiss@bryancave.com. Coyle and Weiss are excited by this opportunity to combine the talents of a New Jersey attorney with a Missouri attorney. Curtin and Collins are working on the details in coordination with Tammye Raster ’92JD, who serves as law alumni program manager. Since this will be the last article for 2017, please remember in your prayers our deceased classmates: John Amerman (1996), Emilio Bulluomini (2004), John Burgess (2002), Albert Dudash (2005), Richard Hirsch (2003), Joseph Ladd (2007), Larry Miller (1996), and Bob Wilczek (2014). Finally, if you wish to make my job easier, I would appreciate everyone taking a few moments to provide me with an update as to what is happening with you and your family. — Dennis Collins; dgc@greensfelder.com
69 Edwardsburg Nine v. USC
For second year in a row, many of us emanating from the fourth floor of Keenan Hall have rented a home found by Dick Cimino in Edwardsburg MI, which is about 20 minutes from campus. We used the home as a base of operations and have developed a nice routine of Thursday and Friday night dinners, Friday and Saturday golf, and the game on Saturday evening. Following in the footsteps of the Cassopolis Three and the Kalamazoo Seven, the Edwardsburg Nine consists of myself, Dick Cimino, John Quinn, Richard Sullivan, Louis Leone, Matt White, Dean Benner, Ralph Williams and Tom Altmeyer. We tailgated with classmate Joe Fisher and were joined by Greg Downes. Tom Altmeyer missed the tailgate because he was visiting various medical facilities in the South Bend area due to an untimely fall in the shower, from which he survived and enjoyed the game. Obviously, the game was a wonderful success for the Irish. It reminded us of the ’77 romp when the green jerseys came out to start the game. The score was just about the same, but we really enjoyed the game. The weather couldn’t have been better, and the company and collegiality were unsurpassed. Looking forward to next year: Stanford, Sept. 29. Speaking of next football season, that will be our last football season prior to our 50th Reunion in 2019, only 18 months away. Peter Nardi’s latest book has been published by U of California Press, Critical Thinking: Tools for Evaluating Research. This book gives people the tools to analyze the evidence that should either support, or refute, the validity of claims being made by the news media, by academic journals, and in social media on the internet. It’s designed as a textbook primarily for undergraduate students in the social sciences. Peter is an emeritus professor of sociology at Pitzer College/Claremont Colleges, near Los Angeles. Ron Maier was elected president of the American College of Surgeons at the annual conference. American College of Surgeons is the largest surgical organization in North America and represents the full spectrum of surgical specialties. Election as president is one of the highest honors that one can achieve in a surgical career. Dr. Maier practices at the U of Washington Medical Center. On a sad note, David Bodkin passed away on Aug. 7, Frank Harrington passed away in June and Michael Green passed away on Nov. 5. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our classmates’ families. For those of you who were close to these classmates, I’m sure their families would appreciate hearing from you. Lastly, John Hickey is doing a fantastic job with our class of ’69 blog. He has been spending a lot of time maintaining the blog and putting in new information and items of interest. If you get a chance, please thank John for his work. Again, a year and half until the 50th reunion. Go Irish. All the best. — Tom Ryan; 248-334-9938; sylvanlawtr@gmail.com
69MBA Class Secretary — Dennis B. McCarthy;
PO Box 246, Bear Lake MI 49614; bus 231-864-3111 ext. 115; dbmc2@blarneycastleoil.com
69JD Cold Stadium, Hot Team
Joe McNeil and Ralph Litzenberger attended the St. Thomas More reception before the Georgia game. Joe was also at the reception for USC and NC State games. Both are doing well and looking forward to our 50th Reunion. I think Joe is spending more time in South Bend than Maine. Pat Cooney was at the reception before the USC game. We lamented over the absence of Jim Brady and Nick Trogan, who usually attend at least one game. Sue and I were in Portland ME for meetings before the USC game. Tom McCusker and his wife and his daughters Emily ’16 and Marie ’19 were at the NC State game. Emily is working for an engineering firm in Chicago. Marie transferred from Saint Mary’s to ND as a junior. The weather for the NC State game reminded me of how cold the stadium can be, even if the team is hot. It was shirt sleeves for the USC game and multilayers of clothes for NC State. Joe Frantin called before the SC game renewing his invitation to Miami for the game with the Hurricane. Sue and I had lunch with Lynne and Tim McLaughlin before the SC game. Tim is semiretired and enjoying life. They travel to Biloxi MS to play with the one-armed bandits. Frank Murray sent me an email. He is retired but his wife, Mary Anne, is working part time with a national educational consulting firm. He agreed with Scott Atwell’s message from my last column. Bob Greene is recovering from two surgeries earlier this year, which is all the more reason to make plans to attend our 50th reunion. — Jim Starshak; 889 Kaohe Place, Honolulu HI 96825-1314; bus 808-523-2515; res 808-395-0443; jstarshak@carlsmith.com