1960s
1960s
60 Age 80 for Most of Us
Now that more than half of us are 80, let’s realize how fortunate we are to have the health to make it to 80 years. And think back to the 1960s when age 65 or so was about par for men. Please send me an email with your thoughts on being 80. No long missives (Mr. K); we are limited to 600 words for our article. I had a busy season in the sunny south with seven luncheons in Naples, three tables of classmates and spouses on March 9 at UND with Brian Kelly as speaker, and numerous other classmate get-togethers. The Vanderbilt game on Sept. 15 will be our 2018 minireunion. It should be an afternoon game and our mini event will be Friday evening, the 14th. Let’s have a show of hands for attending. Peter McCasland resides in Elkhart and reports he has been a professor of chemistry at IUSB. He celebrated his 80th on Jan. 30. Arthur Franz reports his career was in banking and brokerage; he has been retired 20 years. He is in the Siesta Key area and enjoys an occasional cruise. Nestor Weigand went to Shreveport (despite a big snowstorm) to celebrate Dick Nowery’s 80th birthday. Dick is having some vision issues as well as a couple other serious medical problems. Steve Barry and Nestor have a few photos of the get-together if you care to see them. Bill McMurtrie got half way to Shreveport for the birthday party, but then was stranded by the storm Nick Healy is the inaugural president of Newman College Ireland. He was instrumental in the development and building of the college. Nick says, “There has been a great decline in the Catholic faith in Ireland over the past 20 years. Yet there are still pious families whose college-age children are hungry for solid Catholic teaching and a faith environment. Jane and I felt a debt of gratitude to our Irish ancestors who kept and passed on the faith despite great persecution and privation.” Nick was president of Ave Maria U in Ave Maria FL for 10 years before taking on the Ireland project. Alan Flanagan reports on his wedding to Judith on May 12, 2017. Congratulations from all of us. He appreciates the stats received from “this Fort Myers office” and says, “Us old folks are enjoying life together.” Our illustrious Steve “Gwine” Barry reports on receiving the Gerard Ryan Brill “Spiritus Petri Award,” granted for “meritorious service and maintaining St. Peters Prep loyalty through communication, example and actions”. Congratulations, Steve. You do a tremendous service to all the different groups you communicate with. Another report on the CA fires from Dan O’Neill: “We weren’t in the fires, but just sat out the infernos comfortably in Sacramento, remembering many years ago when ash from a fire in Marin County floated down on to Potomac Street in San Francisco. Ron Blubaugh was relaxing at Sea Ranch before the fires got going and was concerned about the safest route to follow back to Sacramento. The destruction I’ve seen in Santa Rosa and Calistoga is awful. I’ve found myself wondering several times what my reaction would have been if I was still a reporter at The Sacramento Bee and assigned to cover one of the blazes.” Your trusty secretary anxiously awaits comments on our success in reaching the 80 mark. — Joseph F. Jansen; 9190 Southmont Cove, No. 103, Ft. Myers FL 33908;239-461-0980; cell 317-514-4478; jfjansen@aol.com
61 More on Ryan Funeral
I wrote about Tom Ryan’s funeral in the last column, which you received in January, but much has come in after the deadline that I must return to that subject. Most of what I have received came from Tim Monahan and Prince Chuck (Charles Lennon). Classmates in attendance numbered 19. The wake that followed the burial is reported to have been heroic. Tim and Dave Lerman organized the class participation in the events. In the last issue, I mentioned that Tim and Larry Ericson were working on a video. The ceremony was video recorded and paid for by our class. They worked to get it down to five minutes. They put out a 10-minute version and asked for comments and help to reduce it to five minutes. Regan Shea, Prince Chuck, Dave Wochner and I and others were privileged to be asked to make comments. We all did. I even passed on some suggestions from my dear Abbie. She wanted more sound during the Mass. I told Tim, that it was just fine at 10 minutes and that cutting any of it would damage the message. They went with the 10-minute version. It is on the class website. Denis Retoske dropped me a line to note where he has been and what he has been doing since 1961. For 33 years, he practiced law in Orange County CA. Then, 10 years ago, he moved to Brentwood TN. Yes, he is another one of our lawyers, but I have even better news. He is also one of our 86 Marine officers (TBS 5-62). He and wife Cindy had dinner recently with Kathy and Brian Regan at Sunny Italy. (Talk about nostalgia). Also, he has been in contact with Skip Axtell in Missouri, who is doing well and still working. Denis is also a certified mediator in Tennessee. I regret to report the death of David J. McDonald. Also, I have been told of the death of Ray Kelly. As you know, Ray was our class treasurer for many years. On Oct. 23, a special breakfast meeting of class members was held, and Tim Monahan was elected to take over Ray's duties as class treasurer. This is an excellent choice considering Tim's managerial and organizational skills. Now we enter into the post storm report. It is reported that we had over 48 inches of rain in less than two and a half days. Flooding in Houston was a 1,000-year flood, and 68 people died in Hurricane Harvey. Even here in Victoria, people whose houses are gone are not getting help because of red tape. So please pray for them. Plans are under way for the St. Patrick’s Day parade followed by the annual dinner at the Talis Park Country Club in Naples. (I know this comes too late, but I wanted to mention it anyway. I will have more later.) On the bright side, guess who is at the front door. Yes, Abbie is back at it with the latchstring out hoping you will look in on us while passing through south Texas. She is very resilient and hopes to see you soon. — 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 Spring Notes
John Dailey and I have corresponded over the years and we had a chance to talk at Reunion. I asked him how he came to choose his specialty as an otolaryngologist (ENT). John said, “Like many things in life, fate or circumstances play a roll or a voice within that beckons that you may or may not answer. I knew from my first few weeks and ND that I did not want to go to Annapolis where I had the nomination for the class starting in 1959. I realized I was being called to become a doctor like my dad, who was 1932 ND grad. I changed my major from liberal arts to science. It was only after I finished med school, my internship, and was serving as a medical officer with the Marines at Camp Pendleton that I started leaning toward the next step. I have to admit that I didn't really know the entire scope of the specialty, but I have never regretted my decision.” John recently left the hospital with which he had been associated to set up a private practice. Jerry McKenna joined Aaron Taylor at ND in December for the surprise presentation of the Joe Moore Award to the ND O Line. Jerry created the trophy a couple of years ago and, at 350 pounds, it is the largest one for college football. Charlie Lancelot ran the “Holy Half” marathon at ND as part of a College of Science team and later this month will run the first of the 2018 series of dog-human 5Ks with one of his dogs, followed by another half marathon in Nashville. Dave Bouton moved to Munster IN to downsize and be closer to family. He is still working part time as an adjunct professor at the Army War College’s distance education program. Linzie Kramer died Oct. 29. Linzie communicated with me on occasion with his last note coming before Reunion saying his health prevented him from attending. He had been battling cancer for about 18 months. On Nov. 7, Bob Biolchini passed away in Jackson Hole. Bob lived in Tulsa and served on the ND Board of Trustees for several years and was a benefactor of the Law School. Mike Ritschel, who was in the Glee Club and living in Colorado Springs, died Nov. 15 from complications after heart surgery. On Jan. 2, Mike’s ashes were interred in the mausoleum at Cedar Grove Cemetery. John F. “Skip” Morley passed away on Nov.18. His obituary noted that he was an Army veteran and a member of the American Legion. I also received word that Ed DenDooven passed away in December 2010 in Florida. Jim Daniel passed away Nov. 24 in Minneapolis. Jim had a 36-year career as a cardiologist and was a founding member of the Minneapolis Heart Institute. I recall sitting with Jim and Fred Spatz when Fred told about the time he was having a heart attack and decided to drive to a hospital but could not find the emergency room entrance. Fortunately, help came. Fred subsequently ended up having a heart transplant. Jim calmly told Fred he should have called an ambulance explaining some of the medical ramifications of Fred’s situation. Both agreed Fred was lucky to be alive. Fred is in line to receive the class “bionic parts award” because, in a recent email, he said the knee he had replaced in 2016 was replaced again in January with a different kind. “They call this a revision.” In ending, please make sure I have your current email address. — Raymond Raedy; 5310 Rileys Ridge Road, Hillsborough NC 27278; 919-967-8816; nd62secy@medicinemanremedies.com
62JD Memorable People
Sadly, I report three untimely deaths. In September, Mike Phenner’s wife Mary died shortly before their wedding anniversary. In December, Neil Collins died in a Buffalo hospital. In January, I received notice that Mike Brady died of brain cancer. These were memorable people. May they rest in peace. — Paul K. Rooney; 1209 Oakmont Drive, No. 2, Walnut Creek CA 94595; rooneypaul12@gmail.com
63 Passing the Torch
With the passing of Regis Campfield in October, I’ve been asked to assume the role of class secretary, at least on an interim basis. (See the wonderful memorial for Regis in the Class Notes section of the winter edition of Notre Dame Magazine.) For my responsibilities not to be, as Bartley O’Hara described, “being Charon to escort classmates across the River Styx,” I’ll need your cards and letters with information about your life. The class has two major events on the horizon. Beginning Tuesday May 29 through a closing luncheon on Thursday May 31, we’ll have an informal “gathering of the Class of 1963.” We’ll be headquartered in the Morris Inn, and have several events, including a tailgate party, group meals, a wine tasting, Class Mass presided over by Rev. Monk Malloy and Rev. Charlie O’Hara, and time to rekindle friendships with people you’ve known most of our lives. The gathering will be followed by the official Reunion 2018, where our class will celebrate our 55th as part of the 50 Year Club. Reunion begins the afternoon of May 31 through June 3. Information on Reunion can be found at reunion.nd.edu. Many of our classmates are planning to attend both events. The last several months have brought more sadness to our group. In September, Ron Tocchini passed away. Ron had come to ND from San Francisco as a fullback on a football scholarship. Along with an impressive and imposing physique, he had the gentlest demeanor off the football field. Ron gave up football after his father died around Christmas freshman year; he devoted himself to his studies of modern European languages. He went on to earn two advanced degrees and taught and coached football in the San Francisco Bay area. Brian Richardson writes that Pete Jason died in Naples FL. Pete had been a professor of law for 40 years. He leaves his wife of over 50 years, Sandy, and three children: Andy, Molly ’91, and Nick. In November, Jim Bruder died. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s for several years. Jim was as athletic and competitive as anyone you’re likely to meet; he also had an ebullient personality that attracted people to him. His funeral, in a very large church, had an overflowing crowd. Father Charlie O’Hara presided, assisted by three other priests, three monsignors and a bishop. Father Charlie, at the end of Mass, asked ND grads to stand and sing the Alma Mater. Joining me in the off-key chorus were ’63 classmates John Dougherty, Matt McCloskey, Jim Nolen, Jerry O’Grady and Brian Richardson. He leaves his wife Maripeg, six children and numerous grandchildren. In December, Brendan O’Reilly sat down to watch the news, closed his eyes, and went to the Lord. Brendan had been a CPA, went to St. John’s U Law School, and practiced business law in the New York City area. Brendan, who was a daily communicant, never married, but was devoted to his numerous nieces and nephews. Byron Jen Lee passed away over the Christmas holidays. Burton J. “B.J.” Smith died January 10 in Louisville, KY. He survived by family, including his wife of 54 years, Ruth Schnaus, three children, Kathy, Scott, and Steve; and six grandchildren. I’ve been back in the Philadelphia area since 2002, after an eight-year Midwestern odyssey in Chicago and Kansas City. Peggy and I loved our time there but were happy to return to the area that’s been our home since 1967. As I’m not allowed in the house between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., I’ve not retired, and continue to enjoy interacting with clients as an investment adviser. Please remember to send me news about you and your family. Your friends want to know what’s happening in your life. — John O’Brien; 1246 Denbigh Lane, Radnor PA 19087; 610-529-0811; jgob41@yahoo.com
63JD More Catching Up
Chick McErlean retired from United Airlines in 2001 and lives in Goodyear AZ, near Phoenix. He has two daughters as well as a brother and sister in the area and a son living a couple of hours away in Southern California. Chick is secretary and treasurer of a homeowner’s association. When not working on association matters, he can be found playing 18 holes at the Pebble Creek Golf Course or working out at a fitness center. Good news: Chick has been fighting cancer for some years, and he has declared mission accomplished in the battle. Great job, Chick. Ed Adams has two granddaughters enrolled at Notre Dame. Another granddaughter is a recent graduate of Saint Mary’s. Ed counts 12 family members who are graduates of ND or Saint Mary’s. After the first of the year, Denny Powell, Norm Matteoni and I met in San Juan Bautista for lunch. Denny has lived in Monterey County since moving out here in the early 1970s to join California Rural Legal Assistance. Paul Driscoll came at about the same time. Denny and Paul were early members of the CRLA legal staff working at the height of the farm workers movement. At one point, funding was threatened by a dispute among CRLA, Governor Reagan and the State Legislature. However, those were the days when compromise was still possible. One piece of the compromise was that the State Bar would review operations at each CRLA office with respect to certain activities. As the State Bar designee assigned to visit the CRLA office managed by Denny in Salinas, I remember it well. After working at CRLA for seven years, Denny opened a general private practice in Salinas and retired three years ago. For many years, Denny has been involved with church matters requiring numerous trips to the Vatican. He and a friend personally arranged to get more than 700 young people to the Pope’s World Youth Day in France. That’s not too bad for someone also juggling a private law practice. — Bob Saxe; 15725 Ranchero Drive, Morgan Hill CA 95037; bsaxe5@aol.com
64 From Famine to Feast
We have lots of material for this issue. I received a piece from Tim Sullivan called Engineer for the Soul. It discusses his electrical engineering career and the role that his faith has played. Tim started with IBM, moving back and forth between large companies and startups, and was a senior executive at Nortel and Lucent (president of optical networking). He now leads Nokia’s global business development for the IBM Alliance. Working out of Middletown NJ, the Sullivans have five children and eight grandchildren. Tim doesn’t plan to retire and is always looking for new leading-edge technology. Synda and Terry Kollman celebrated their 40th anniversary with a music-themed trip to Nashville and Memphis. They visited the usual places, as well as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Terry has been a fundraiser there for more than 40 years, producing the first Danny Thomas Telethon in 1977. First-time writer Bill Carney, checking in from Aldie VA, reports that he is “living the slow life” with wife Virginia. They celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss this year. After Army service, Bill had a long career in computer industry jobs. He recalls great memories at WSND, the Collegiate Jazz Festival and his glory days playing French horn in the Army ROTC band. Of note, Bill was MC at the Sorin Hall Pep Rally welcoming Ara to Notre Dame. Tom Goehl writes from Morrisville NC that he earned a PhD in biochemistry in 1969 before becoming a research chemist for Sterling Drug, teaching at the U of Pittsburgh and working for the FDA. He retired from the National Institutes of Health to become co-director of a program to support the development of medical journals in Africa. With wife Marilyn, he moved to another volunteer effort in 2012 as executive director of the Guatemalan Student Support Group, partnering with Guatemalan families to provide greater educational opportunities for their children. Don Vogel writes from Orchard Park NY. He spent 20 years as CFO for western New York companies but is now focused on golf. He shot his age last year and recorded his second hole in one. Don and Mary Jane are blessed that their children and grandchildren live nearby. Jack Doran and I had a good exchange of perspective on the football season just completed. Along with other wisdom, Jack claims to stay in touch with Pat Duffy and to “thoroughly enjoy” the rants of Pete Murray throughout the season. Joe McGowan passed away in June, leaving wife Nora, three children and eight grandchildren. The bulk of his career was spent with JP Morgan Chase as a VP. Upon retirement, he and Nora discovered Tucson, which Joe described as “heaven on earth.” He founded a business there and pursued a variety of hobbies. Phil Melchert died in November after a long bout with Alzheimer’s. He is survived by Catherine, two daughters and a grandson. Upon graduation, he joined Touche Ross, retiring as a partner after 25 years. He subsequently worked as CFO at Covenant Ministries of Benevolence, taking his career into the not-for-profit world. Peter Rumsey passed away in January. He earned an MBA from Wharton and a JD before working as a business executive specializing in transportation for major companies. He retired as VP of sales at Ingram Barge in Nashville. He is survived by Nancy, two children and three grandchildren. Reports say that Jim Olley, Dave Justin and Bill Rich have passed away, but I have no details. More next issue from Dave Kostolansky, Sal Lecesse, Fred Heroman, Frank Fee and Jack McCabe. — Paul R. Charron; 44 Contentment Island Road, Darien CT 06820; 203-655-3930; paul.richard.charron@gmail.com
64JD Escapes
Gazing from my den across a yard blanketed with 32 inches of snow, it is hard to believe this report will reach you in sunny weather. Sharon and I plan to head to Palm Desert soon and will try to connect with Adele and Jack Kopko who are vacationing there and visiting their daughter, a doctor at the Eisenhower Medical Center. Jim Slater reports that his home in Santa
Barbara was within a mile or so of the fires and subsequent flooding that killed many and destroyed property. Tom Conneely in Mill Valley was largely unaffected by the severe storms that hit northern California. Larry Gallick’s abode in Venice FL suffered a ruptured water pipe that ruined his wooden floor while he and Betty were traveling. Larry and Betty enjoyed several cruises with kids and grandkids in 2017. Joining them on an Iceland trip were Eileen and Bob Cash. With successful surgeries ranging from shoulder replacements to hip and knee operations, Bob Frost, with his great good humor, is our class piñata for 2017. The Frost’s Christmas was brightened by a visit by their son who teaches in Seoul, Korea. Gene Kramer remains active in public interest projects in Cleveland and recently collaborated on a book dealing with population dynamics and housing in northeast Ohio with a Cleveland State U professor. Russ Bley reports that he is well and has finished his work in drafting and publishing his parish’s history, capped by Russ hosting a special party for his grade school compatriots. He also remains very active in mentoring college students in programs with St. Louis University. Frank Miele continues his frenetic Manhattan pace. He is on stage at least twice weekly at the Met, is involved in
an art gallery and runs 5-8 miles daily in addition to other exercise activities. Charles Sacher also is a long-time exercise devotee, known to many as “Beau Flex” as is Jack Rammel, who has also become an aficionado of cross country skiing. This Christmas, both spent a fair
amount of time erecting, then removing, extensive electrical decorations and lights in/on their homes for the holidays. Chuck Sweeney is planning to return for a few weeks to his place in Longboat Key after spending part of the holidays in Hawaii. I plan to catch up with him at
lunch here in the Bend. He also is going to Scottsdale for a few weeks of watching the Cubs in spring training. Nancy and Jim Mercurio have been housebound with the flu in Chevy Chase but are on the mend. Nancy continues to have other health issues but is described by Jim as a real trooper in confronting them. Bob Hanlon reports that he and Kathleen remain in good health
while he continues to mentor younger attorneys in his firm. Lastly Claudettte Vairo called with a gracious message about our class remembrance of Gerry Vairo that appeared in the winter edition of this magazine. Blessings to all. Stay in touch. Remember, inside every
old person is a young person wondering what happened. — Richard Balfe Wagner; 1204 Erskine Manor Hill, South Bend IN 46614; 574-299-9888; cell 760-567-1270; rswagnersb@gmail.com
65 Friend, Physician and Scholar
Nass Cannon died in December in Birmingham AL from B cell lymphoma and hepatic carcinoma. Nass was an infectious diseases physician and clinical professor of medicine at the U of Alabama Medical School who devoted his life to care of the poor in Birmingham. His spirituality was manifest in how he lived. He was a member of the Thomas Merton Society and published extensively on the life and works of the mystics. Don Zone and I were his roommates for two years in Sorin College and miss him deeply, as does his wife, Gail Barber, and children: Brother John ’03, Bryant and Clare. Avon CT is home to Bernie Zahren who continues as CEO of Clean Investors I, LLC which supports investments in technologies and NPOs that combat climate change. He has been passionate about this cause for years. Rev. Paul Doyle, CSC, remains a guiding light to many undergraduates at ND where he serves as rector of Dillon Hall. He welcomes us to attend Mass there after home football games. In 2005, Paul was the recipient of the James Armstrong award for distinguished service to the University. After the NC State game, Paul, Eileen and John Huarte were guests of honor at a meeting of the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation donors in the Morris Inn. John received a standing ovation for his talk on Ara the man, the coach, his commitment to ND and his research foundation to find treatment for NPC disease. John Capacci resides in Sodus NY where he is retired from his law firm. John and his wife, Karen, have two children: John ’93 and Paige ’99. Jean and Col. Doug Lovejoy are residents of Annapolis MD. In September they were visiting their daughter in rural Brittany, France, when they randomly ran in to Glenda and Rocke Garcia who were sitting next to them in a small restaurant in the countryside. What are the odds of that? Rocke owns the Golf Club at Boulder Ridge in San Jose and was on a cruise at the time. Doug remains active as deacon in his parish and spends an evening a week with the campus ministry at the U of Maryland Baltimore County. Steve Hudson of Bedford NH is still working in business development for HEO3, a disinfection company that recently introduced a disinfection robot in partnership with iRobot’s AVA Robotics group. It will disinfect surfaces and air in a standard hospital room within 7-10 minutes. Steve is the CEO of their ocular disinfection business. Sadly, Steve’s wife of 42 years died in 2013. Dick Lange lives in Naperville IL where he uses his CPA and JD degrees by helping his clients with their estate planning and problems with the IRS. Dick tries to attend every home football game. He noted that in 1966, the ticket price was $5. Kathy and Jim Goetz celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary over Thanksgiving in Brockport NY. Jim is a fulltime practicing pediatrician. Larry Sheffield died last June in Burlingame CA. He is survived by his wife, Juanita. — James P. Harnisch MD; 6759 West Mercer Way, Mercer Island WA 98040; jpharnischnd65@hotmail.com
65JD Class Secretary — John Donald O’Shea;
pelagius@qconline.com
66 News Fit to Read
Following our highly successful and enjoyable 50th Reunion nearly two years ago, a number of you have suggested a reprise sooner rather than later. Now that we’re in the Fifty Year Club, no holds are barred The dates this year are May 31-June 3 and as Pat McRedmond from Nashville notes, “Let’s not wait five years; some of us won’t make it that long.” Registration is open through the Alumni Office and contact Class President Cap Gagnon (cappygagnon@comcast.net) for information on what might transpire. I had a recent email exchange with my Irish grid teammate Jim Smith in Lancaster PA. Smitty is distinguished in many ways, but in my mind is most noteworthy for staying close and helping Pete Duranko during the last stages of his debilitating fight with ALS. Smitty faithfully drove to Johnstown at least once a month to visit and lift Pete’s spirits. I heard from Bill Dwyer out LA way. I recall that Bill was sports editor for the LA Times from 1981 to 2006 and was a columnist for the next nine years, before retiring. Bill is now in the book publishing business and he and Jim Hayden are collaborating on an anthology of ND football, which will include chapters on ND sports folks like Rocky Bleier, Johnny Lujack, Hannah Storm, Red Smith and Pete Duranko as well as George Blaha, radio voice of the Detroit Pistons, who catches up with Bill when he’s out west. Jim Hayden enjoyed a stellar corporate career in NYC as creative director for Mattel Toys before teaming up with Bill. Blaha keeps in close touch with George Dohrmann, who is a successful insurance man in Stockton CA. Cap sent along much of the following news gleaned from his blog. Bob Bodnar has retired after “50 wonderful years of architectural work” in the Pittsburgh area, the last 15 as president of the firm. He still puts in three days per week as a consultant to the company. Paul Mayeux sent word from Charlotte of a recent dinner with Mike Bernath and Tom Doty. Physician, whistleblower lawyer, health policy advisor and scholar Dr. Peter Budetti has published a novel, Hemorrhage, available on Amazon as a paperback and as an e-book on Kindle. It’s about the Russian mob stealing billions of medical care dollars. Pete, who lives in in Kansas City, has had a distinguished career, recently modernizing the government’s anti-fraud efforts in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Gusti Rini sent word that his mom, who motivated him to attend ND, passed away two months shy of her 102nd birthday. Gusti has great genes. The class necrology unfortunately continues to grow. Mike Strubel passed away in late 2017 or early 2018. He was a great benefactor of St. Martin of Tours parish in his area. We also got word of the demise of Gary Kohs of Royal Oak MI and Gerald Lipovsky of Austin TX. No details were provided. I called Rich Sauget, the only person I know who owns his own town, Sauget IL, across the river from the arch in St. Louis. This is a light version of Class Notes. Send me more news. Stay well. — Tom Sullivan; 1108 Westwicke Lane, Lutherville MD 21093; cell 773-454-4343; t66sullynd@gmail.com
66JD Winter Wanderings
As I look out my window at the lake effect snow creating a freezing winter wonderland in my back yard, I’ve been enviously reviewing notes from classmates who are far from the cold Midwest. Jim Virgil reports that although he continues to manage his Washington lumber business from his home near San Antonio, he and his wife have been working on their “bucket list” which in the past year included a Mississippi River boat cruise, a visit to the Gettysburg battle field as well as numerous scuba diving trips to Mexico and Little Cayman Island. At this point, Jim has completed a total of 975 dives with a goal of completing another 25 dives by 2019 and is about to embark on a three-week trip to Argentina. If Jim keeps up these travels he’ll soon be catching up with Bob Siebert who is on a 14-day Caribbean cruise with Holland America which, due to the frequency of his cruises, has upgraded him to the 1,100 square-foot Pinnacle Suite aboard the Rotterdam. I suggest that if he keeps traveling, maybe Bob could arrange for us to meet in a similar suite for our next reunion. — Philip C. Ruddy; rudds241@aol.com
67 Conoscenti at 50
Chris Conoscenti ’97 writes that his parents Ellen and Tom Conoscenti celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Dec. 30. Tom and Ellen have three children and six grandchildren. Tom and Ellen moved to Houston in 2017. Chris reminds us that his dad has a face for radio as he was live on WSND as a student. Tom tells stories to his grandkids of how successful he was as a campaign manager in hall and class elections. Tom Hennessy writes about how much he enjoyed our 50th Reunion reminiscing about Emil T. Hofman, being forced to live off campus due to grades, palling around with his Indianapolis buddies Joe Broecker and Earl Guertin, as well as driving his old Nash Rambler which he considered a “chick magnet.” After graduating, Tom went into the Navy via OCS followed by the Navy Supply School in Athens GA. He then reported to his ship anchored off Vung Tau, South Viet Nam. After his service, he met his wife Cynthia in San Diego, and moved back to Indianapolis for nine months. He never really liked accounting and ultimately became a court reporter. He recently retired from Sacramento County Courthouse. His son Andrew ’01 and daughter Katie ’03 are Domers. Unfortunately, we have a few deaths to report. Rev. Frank Bussmann, pastor of St. Peter parish in Fulton MO and St. Jude Thaddeus parish in Mokane MO died Nov. 24 in St. Louis. Art Boyle passed away Dec. 5. Bob Peters reported that Jim Bourke left this world in January. Bob reminds us that Jim was a member of the Irish Guard, a Navy ROTC cadet, and served in Viet Nam after graduation. Bill Hanigan reported that we lost John Hughes in late 2017 from complications of a bone marrow transplant. John moved back to his hometown of Bayonne NJ and was labeled by the Jersey Journal as an “unsung hero” in the community for his leadership in the city of Bayonne, being a public defender, and a longtime scoutmaster. He received the city’s Distinguished Citizen Award in 2004. For those of us above ground, I hope we will try to keep this column going by sending information about yourselves and classmates. It would be nice to see all classmates mentioned in this column before it is time for their obituaries. — Bert R. Bondi; 1891 Curtis St., Unit 1502, Denver CO 80202; bertrbondi@gmail.com
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67JD Bayou Bob
Bayou Bobby “Bubble-boy” Barkley finally crossed the ocean blue in search of the Old World. He and Diana landed in Italy where he discovered they spoke a Cajun dialect with which he was not familiar. He said the natives were as unintelligible to him as folks from New Yawk City. They also use a different kind of money, which you can buy at the airport or from Guido, the taxi driver, but at an exchange rate even more unfavorable than the rate at the airport. Bobby reports that Italy itself is comprised completely of hills and cliffs where all the tourist attractions are uphill, regardless of whether you’re going or returning. The place is littered with tourists. And, there are the fees for entry to the gazillion churches, fees to view 10 gazillion oil paintings and statutes, not to mention pay toilets. That raises his next complaint: the quality of the toilet paper. Apparently, it was rated at 60 grit and really rubbed him the wrong way. Nevertheless, he claimed they had a wonderful time. I believe that we still have diplomatic relations with Italy but thanks only to Bobby not having a Twitter account. Frank Cihlar was elected chairman of the North Fork of the South Shenandoah River, a local environmental group. But, the big news is that Frank has unretired and re-activated his DC Bar license to represent President Trump’s former campaign manager. Frank and his colleague are suing the DOJ and Robert Mueller. Carol and Dick Muench celebrated their grandson Jack’s selection of Cornell on a football scholarship. He plans on studying film direction as a career. Sean Keenan received a special recognition from the Ohio Bar for his 50 years of service. He also celebrated Christmas in Canton with all his children and grandchildren and then traveled to ND to join Jim Olson in attending a Lady Irish basketball game and witnessed the biggest comeback win in ND history. They returned to Jimmy’s house and watched it again on replay. ND won both times. Jerry Berthold and Margaret were taking their kids and grandchildren to Costa Rica to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. My family and I planned to travel to the Caribbean to thaw from the brutal winter. The Harringtons headed north to Michigan for Christmas and ran into a wall of snow. With son and daughter and grandchildren all together, they had a wonderful time. Beth and Frank Verterano attended the State Bar Association meeting conveniently held in Key West FL, rather than snowy Pennsylvania. They also were at the Fiesta Bowl for Beth’s alma mater’s victory. Medical follow-up: Lou Brenner’s wife Lois has recovered from her broken leg and they will cruise the Baltic and visit St. Petersburg this summer. Not as fortunate is Beth Kirby, who has been sidelined by vertigo for months. She is making slow progress and we offer prayers for her recovery. Jack Harty successfully had a cancerous melanoma removed from his scalp. To be certain that the entire malignancy was removed, the dermatologist dug deeply into his cranium and (wait for it) found nothing. We are not surprised. — Jim Heinhold; 1200 Carmel Lane, New Bern NC 28562; res 252-638-5913; im4irish@aol.com
68 On Your Mark, Reunion
In June of 1968, as eager young grads, we departed from a campus life that could seem cloying and filled with regulations. Fifty years later, we return with well-developed habits of independence. Still, there are minor strictures on us. Take service animals, for example. Neil Rogers found that his ploy to attend as brother Rich Rogers’s companion will not work: Neil will have to pay, same as the rest of us. The stringent policy makes it unlikely that we will see Tom Culcasi’s honey badger or Jerry Murray’s comfort python. And cougars? Men, we are in our 70s. Cougars are out of the question. Other than that, reunion time will be freewheeling. The bar service logjam affecting our class dinner five years ago will be solved with new staffing: a bartender for each 290 guests this time rather than 300. Spouses still need proof of age. So, have fun. Compare handicaps. Boldly go up to Roger Guerin and show him photos of grandchildren. Discuss Middlemarch with members of a new southwest Florida book group: Joan and Will Dunfey, Meg and Jeff Keyes and Bob Brady. Join Gene Cavanaugh, Tom Gibbs and Class President Tom Weyer in a gator pile. Watch Bill Cleary and Mark Lies resume a handball competition; Mark hopes someone will bring oxygen. Participate in the Depends raid Jim Hutchinson is organizing at Saint Mary’s. Presentations by John O’Connor (the Mark Felt Watergate history) and Rocky Bleier, plus a Friday morning performance of Ned Buchbinder’s play Coming Attractions will provide cerebral stimulation. The abundance of emails indicates that the reunion will have great attendance and rich conversation subjects. Here are bits from the letters, photos and posts found in full at ndclass1968.com: Carmi and Chris Murphy along with Carmi’s mother Ernestine Raclin, are lead donors for a new Notre Dame art museum. Physician Tom Mork and Dona will attend from Monterey CA; Tom’s former Cavanaugh roommate Tim Swearingen now lives in Vancouver WA. Mike Burgener and his wife are in a temporary Southern California residence after fires damaged their home and destroyed their business facility. Ken Howard will be at the reunion with former track team members Pete Farrell, Bob Timm and Ron Kurtz. They, their spouses and Paul Nowak and Barbara spent an October weekend with the Timms. Jan and John O’Connor had to skip when John was needed for a San Francisco opening of his film Mark Felt. Long out-of-touch Dick Blumberg has surfaced, in the class of 1969. Former lawyer and ESL teacher in Laos, Dick splits his year between Polson MT and Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. Tom Dorsel has composed and performed “Buy a Brew for Jesus,” youtube.com/wath?v=juc5C1pWRtY. Philadelphia lawyer Joe Ferry likes to appear in the Class Notes each time he appears on campus. He made his first campus appearance since 1968 when he attended the Temple game. Pat Collins planned to be the grand marshal of the Washington DC St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 11, 2018. Walt Moxham sent a moving note about Notre Dame he received long ago from now-deceased Dennis Hunt. See the note on the blog. Jim Bisceglia, who attached a photo for our blog, captained the New England team, the Outer Cape (Cod) Stripers, to a third-place finish in a National Championship Arizona match. Paul Ramsey, along with Richard Coburn, travel globally while devoting year-round attention to two robust programs they founded in India and the Yucatan, Mexico. The 21-year old school serving Mexican Mayan families counts numbers of college graduates. The program in India is on the same track. After viewing a CBS Sunday Morning report that included Dan Doyle’s work in Appalachia, Mike McCullough wrote about the network of health clinics our physician classmate and another man brought into existence. Father John Sheehan will come to the reunion from the Jesuit Center in Amman, Jordan. Ellen and Gene Schraeder live in Bluffton SC where Gene is a Wells Fargo branch manager. Jim O’Rourke, teaching at Notre Dame’s London location, sent a grand report of dining at the Athaneum, a club with some history. Chris Manion is one will not attend the reunion; from Maryland, he sent some thoughts about the Notre Dame of then and now. Does joy ever come pure? We have the sadness of Dana Hart’s death Dec. 16 after years of trouble with Parkinson’s. John Hickey wishes us to remember Bret Bernoff, a class member who is carried on the 1969 list but began with us: Barnett “Bret” Bernoff passed away after being involed in a motorcycle crash in Volusia County FL on March 16, 2017. Pray, too, for Professor Donald Sniegowski and his family; the youngest son recently learned he has leukemia. Please send news and photos. — Tom Figel; 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3E, Chicago IL 60626; 312-223-9536; tfigel@reputecture.com
68JD Words of Wisdom
In connection with our 50th reunion in 2018, I received a note from Owen Lopez who reports that he is still married to the “beautiful Vicki.” Owen’s wedding was attended by Charlie Weiss and Dennis Collins. Owen reports that his law practice specialized in natural resources, representing oil, gas and mining companies. Owen then became the first executive director of the largest charitable foundation in New Mexico. His mission was to improve the spiritual wellbeing of New Mexicans, including work in the arts, health, education, environment, social services, and economic development. Owen reminds us that he is a still a liberal and is not impressed with the last presidential election. Owen retired in 2012, and plays a lot golf and squash, works consulting gigs, and hangs around with his grandchildren and Ms. Vicki. In response to Tom Curtin’s distribution of an article titled, “For Fellows on the Back Nine,” Norm Smith responded: “Thanks for the reminder that we are getting older, but we still can enjoy life as we age. We are only in trouble if we try to continue to do those things we cannot do, or try to maintain an interest in matters or ideas that are no longer important to us. The only extra observation I have is that I check the obits to see if I have lost a friend.” Regarding the article titled, “50 Years Later, It Feels Familiar: How America Fractured in 1968,” Jim Cooling recalls driving back from New York City in 1968 with me when the announcement was made that Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. Jim then recalled when Ethel Kennedy visited Notre Dame that John Coyle chased her motorcade to obtain photographs. He also recalled politicking for Curtin in the ND Mock Republican Convention. He reminded us that the Vietnam War would not be settled and that many of the Class of 1968 were ROTC graduates. Pete King then shared his article titled, “Memories of Freezing Winters When Working at the Railway Express.” Pete recalls that he worked the summer after his freshman year in high school, and then worked fulltime at the end of his sophomore year until three days before he left for Notre Dame Law School. Congressman King’s bottom line was as follows: “Life owes you nothing; to survive and get something out of life, you have to work hard, fight hard. Don’t expect anything to be handed to you.” In response to Pete’s comments, Landers Bonenberger noted the following, “Very nice piece, Pete. Next step, full-fledged memoir. Sign me up for a signed copy.” Politician Cooling then provided these comments to Congressman King: “Pete, this really is a remarkable story that I never knew. Now I know why Dean O’Mara liked you better than J.C. and me.” Charlie Weiss forwarded the invitation from the famous Bonnie and Clyde Party, which was held on Feb. 3, 1968 at the Madison Manor. Charlie reports that the large urinal (reserved for adult beverages) is in his exercise room and that he and Suzi enjoy spirits each night. Stop by if you are in St. Louis. The details of the party were omitted, but the South Bend police ushered out an unnamed classmate at the party at the request of a classmate. As to our 50th Reunion, we struck out for the Oct. 6 weekend when ND will be playing at Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, there are no out-of-town games when rooms are available in South Bend. Tom Curtin and myself are working on the details that will include a Friday night reception, a Saturday dinner, and a Sunday brunch at a soon to be determined location. Finally, for those who wish to make my job easier, please send me your current email address. I would appreciate everyone taking a few moments to provide me with an update on you and your family. — Dennis Collins; dgc@greensfelder.com
69 News Galore
A lot has been happening since our last column in November. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wish you the best in 2018. Unfortunately, we have had a few more deaths in our class. Classmate Michael Greene of Colleyville TX passed away on Nov. 5. Peter Kessenich Jr. writes to let us know that his father Peter Kessenich passed away on Jan.15. Our classmate Greg Downes’ mother, Lorretta, passed away on Jan. 10. Our condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to our classmates and their families. Bob McGrath writes that last year we missed a zero in his biking miles. He actually biked 7,000 in 2016, and in 2017, he exceeded that and rode 7,200 miles. He indicates that Wisconsin has great roads for long distance biking and he encourages others to do the same. If you want to cycle, Bob is open to having you join him. Going down to the southern part of the country, classmate Delbert Hosemann is considering a run for lieutenant governor of Mississippi. As you know, Delbert is the secretary of state for Mississippi and is a dedicated and accomplished public servant. The residents of Mississippi should be glad to have him, and the rest of us should be glad he is not involved in our state’s political structure. A few interested classmates, John Hickey, Greg Rider, Dan Saracino and I, have been attempting to determine the best possible project for the University as a legacy from our class and to prepare for our 50th Reunion, which will be next year. Since the 50th is a milestone, we have been talking about leaving a legacy that would take the form of a class gift, a project that the class could support financially. Many of our classmates have been generous to Note Dame and have left a wonderful legacy on their behalf and ours. The idea we have been considering is to set up an endowment fund to be used by the University to exchange a scholarship grant to replace a loan for a student to reduce the amount of debt after graduation. By the time you read this column, this idea will have been floated to the class via our outstanding blog managed by John Hickey. We look forward to a robust debate in the blog. You can contact me if you support this idea or if you have another idea. No one has all the correct answers and ideas. This is what this group has thought about and it seems to make a lot of sense as far as assisting the people who need this help: the future students of Notre Dame. Again, the important point is that we hopefully have 100 percent participation in our class gift. It would be ideal if everyone could give at least something, of course, depending upon your financial circumstances. This will take a lot of effort, so your support will be appreciated. More is to come about this and our reunion plans. All the best. Go Irish. — 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 50 and 150
The Hoynes College of Law, now the Notre Dame Law School, opened its doors on campus in 1969. Our 50th Reunion also marks 150 years of the Law School. While we are planning our reunion, we hope that the University and the Law School especially acknowledge the anniversary of the Law School. Maybe Dean Newton can convince Under Armour to produce her special shoes for the class and other Law School alumni who participate in the 150th anniversary. I received a tremendous response to my request for reunion suggestions and offers to help with the planning. The overwhelming opinion of those who replied is to hold the reunion on an “away” football weekend, the Georgia game on Sept. 21. My thanks to John McLeod, who suggested a 5-minute oral argument between Jim Barba and George Rice before Judges Larimer and Hebert on the merits of a single payer health care system followed by a dissertation by Joe Frantin on the future of Brian Kelly as head coach. Also, thanks to Merle Wilberding, Jim Mackin, Joe McNeil, Bob Greene, Scott Atwell, Nick Trogan, Tim Malloy, Tom McCusker, Bryan Hughes, Dan Hebert, George Rice, Jim Brady, Tony Siemer, Hank Catenacci, and Dave Larimer for their suggestions for the reunion. John McLeod was concerned that we would not have enough to talk about and suggested each of us prepare a dope sheet of our lives since graduation. That is a good idea if we run out of things to talk about but that will not happen if Frantin attends. — Jim Starshak; 889 Kaohe Place, Honolulu HI 96825; bus 808-523-2515; res 808-395-0443; cell 808-778-4033; jstarshak@carl