1940s
1940s
40 Class Secretary — Rebecca Antas ’08;
505 N. Lakeshore Drive, No. 3401, Chicago IL 60611; 630-254-4485; rebecca.antas@gmail.com
41 Class Secretary — Meg Julian, ’03, ’06JD;
11 E. 36th St., No. 603, New York NY 10016; 646-246-5480; megjulian@gmail.com
42 Class Secretary — John Kirby;
110 Upland Road, Kentfield CA 94904; res/fax 415-925-0544; cell 415-272-4016; annjolene2@aol.com
43 Class Secretary — Bob Masters ’05;
202 Remington Court North Drive, Apt. C, Mishawaka IN 46545; res 574-904-8315; bus 574-234-0121; a.robert.masters@gmail.com
44 Legacies
I received a note from Melinda Henneberger ’80, as well as her mother, Freida, with news of her father’s death. John A. Henneberger passed away in July at his home in Evansville IN. He was preceded in death by his 16-year-old son John, in 1979, and by his two brothers, Francis Henneberger ’31 and Bob Henneberger ’35. A freshman soloist of the Glee Club, John never lost his beautiful voice and sang to his wife Freida every day. He was a devoted Catholic and like so many of this class had a deep love of Notre Dame. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, two daughters, and three grandchildren. He wished to attend one more football game, tour the new stadium, and enjoy dinner at the Morris Inn. Melinda penned a lovely obituary for her father, which you can find at the following address: legacy.com/obituaries/courierpress/obituary.aspx?pid=186137142. Her journalistic talents are far superior to my own and I encourage you to read about John’s life and legacy. The University notified me that William P. Deiss Jr. MD passed away in September and is survived by his wife Elizabeth in Galveston TX. Wishing Notre Dame’s finest and their families good health in the new year. — Laura (Julian) Fraser ’00; 989 Belaire Court, Naperville IL 60563; 773-255-9843; lejulian00@yahoo.com
45 Farewell
As I hinted in the last column, I am retiring after this, the 82nd column. Two results: several letters thanking me and, most important, an offer to take over. I appreciate the kind words from everyone and I am happy to introduce Melissa Rackish ’77, the daughter of Bob Erkins, whose death I reported in the last column. I had few facts in writing that obit and Melissa provided more information about Bob. He had 10 children, four of them daughters who graduated from Notre Dame, as well as three sons-in-law who are ND graduates and 28 grandchildren, three of whom are ND grads. And there are 12 great-grandchildren. Bob was a Notre Dame club president. He had a great friendship with the University dating back to post-war Vetville and Father Hesburgh, who married several members of the family. Melissa’s name will be on the column in the next issue and your contributions should be sent to Melissa Erkins Rackish ’77, 1224 Campbell St., Williamsport PA 17701, 570-326-4289, mrackish@comcast.net. I am delighted to have the daughter of a member of our class take over, and I appreciate her offer. In other news, the Scholastic is celebrating its 150th anniversary and interviewing former editors. Joe Pequigney was among the first subjects, introduced as the oldest living editor. I think I may qualify as the oldest living managing editor, having served in that role just before entering service in 1943 and resuming that role for a semester after I returned to campus in l946. Frank McFadden writes that he has bought, renovated and is living in a second residence in Birmingham. His Montgomery house is occupied by his daughter, who is on sabbatical from a teaching job in Pasadena. Frank decided to give her and her young children a “taste of Alabama.” And that it’s for now. It’s been a privilege to have written this column for so many years. Welcome Melissa by sending her some news for her first column. — Ted Weber Jr.; 1400 Geary Blvd., Apt. 1409, San Francisco CA 94109; 415-674-8771; theodoreweber@comcast.net
46 All About the Navy
This came from Lance Carroll, the son of Vice Admiral Kent Carroll. Kent enlisted in the Navy as an apprentice seaman. He was commissioned in the last NROTC class of World War II at Notre Dame. His combat tours include 21 months in the western Pacific during the Korean War while serving in submarines and seven months conducting numerous assault operations along the coast of Vietnam. He served on a battleship, aircraft carrier, numerous submarines, and amphibious ships. His 10 command tours include a submarine, two submarine divisions and Command Task Group 69.1, the deployed submarine commander in the Mediterranean, and the first commanding officer of a newly commissioned flagship, Blue Ridge. Between sea tours, he graduated from the Navy Post Graduate School, the Navy War College and the Army War College. For nine months in 1974, he coordinated the multinational efforts of American, Egyptian, British and French forces participating in the clearance of the Suez Canal. Some 686,000 mines were cleared along the banks and thousands of unexploded ordinances were cleared in the canal. The canal had been closed since the seven-day Arab Israel war in 1967. For this, he received the Order of Merit First Class from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. In 1975, after the fall of South Vietnam, he was responsible for processing more than 110,000 refugees evacuated from Vietnam. For his actions President Gerald Ford presented him with the Presidential Citation for Humanitarian Services for inspirational leadership, which also brought him the annual US Navy League prestigious John Paul Jones Leadership Award. In 1979, he became director for logistics in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and he was promoted to vice admiral, three stars. He was responsible for the development of the Navy’s fast sealift and maritime prepositioning programs that were enormously successful during the war with Iraq. In 1981 he assumed duties of commander of the Navy's Military Sealift Command, and was responsible for managing the operation of one of the largest fleets consisting of 145 ships. He retired after 39 and a half years of continuous active duty. His numerous American and foreign military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and two Navy Distinguished Service Medals. The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest noncombat award in the military. On Nov. 4, 1995, he was presented the Notre Dame Alumni Association’s Corby Award at the Notre Dame-Navy football game. The award was conferred for distinguishing himself in the military service. Since retiring from the Navy, he has served as president of the Sandhill chapter of the English Speaking Union and Retired Officers Association and the committee that built a veterans war memorial. He was also on the board of directors for hospice and the Country Club of North Carolina. He lives in Pinehurst NC and has four children and nine grandchildren. — Paul Taggett; 10 W. Grove Ave., D15, Lake Wales FL 33853; paultaggett@gmail.com
47 Remembering Joe Quill
Classmates who will be missed include Joseph Francis “Joe” Quill, 95, of Indianapolis, who passed away peacefully on January 13, 2017. Born in Indianapolis on May 9, 1921, Joe was a 1935 graduate of Holy Cross Grade School and a 1939 graduate of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. Joe started his college education at Butler University where he played basketball. After a year, he transferred to Notre Dame, but left in 1943 to enter the Army Special Training Program and then to serve with the U.S. 7th Army in Germany and France. During the post-World War II occupation of Europe, Joe attended the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Joe was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946 when he returned to Notre Dame to finish his undergraduate degree in 1947 and his law degree in 1948. He and his wife, Doe, were married in the first building on the University of Notre Dame campus, the Log Chapel, by the Rev. Charles Carey CSC. Joe continued to enjoy a close affiliation with Notre Dame throughout his life; he had many dear friends from his time at Notre Dame and embraced his huge network of Irish alumni. Joe was a member of the Notre Dame Club and served on its Board of Directors in the 1960s and 1990s. He was also a member of the St. Thomas More Society in conjunction with the Notre Dame Law School. Joe returned to campus for countless reunions over the years and loved attending home and away football games with Doe; they hardly ever missed a home game. Joe and Doe were famous for their boisterous tailgaters with an endless supply of Budweiser and the world’s best fried chicken. Joe’s daughters, Adrienne ’89 and Annette ’90 grew up with a similar appreciation for all things Irish. Joe was an extremely accomplished attorney, practicing law in Indianapolis for nearly 58 years. He started his legal career with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and then went into private practice where he represented clients on a wide array of legal matters. He was a member of the Indianapolis and Indiana Bar Associations, and he was past President of the Indianapolis Bar Association and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Bar Association. Joe remained very active in veteran’s affairs, holding various positions with the American Legion. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Cathedral High School and a former member of the Board of Trustees of Vincennes University. Joe was a longtime member of the Indianapolis Athletic Club as well as Indian Lake Country Club. He had been a member of St. Matthew Catholic Church since 1976 as well as a member of the Fatima Council of the Knights of Columbus. Joe and Doe loved to travel, enjoying many trips to Europe throughout the years, with a special affinity for Ireland where they enjoyed visiting Joe’s extended family. I look forward to hearing from class members with any news and stories. Call or email me. — Michael Morris ’80; 949-433-8568; michaelmorris07@gmail.com
48 Sad Passings
The Class of ’48 lost a dear friend and historian when my co-secretary, Dan Gentile, passed away in March. He was a loyal son of Notre Dame and always ready to regale you with a story about his beloved alma mater. Dan’s close friend, Winifred Caponigri Farquhar, shared that she met Dan in 1946 when she and her husband, a ND philosophy professor, were living in downtown South Bend in the same apartment building as Dan. A friendship of more than half a century was born. Dan was a great patron of ND, especially the marching band and University archives. An astute observer on campus would be able to locate several trees planted through Dan’s generosity. Dan will be greatly missed by Our Lady’s University in general and this publication specifically. H. David Mosier MD died on May 22 at the age of 92. He was deeply attached to ND. He went through school unusually fast since he had been drafted for WWII in his first semester and felt he had a lot of time to make up. Still, he graduated in pre-med magna cum laude. Fortunately, he died at home, surrounded by family, minutes after a visit from his favorite priest. He had a remarkable life, although he never saw it that way. He was buried in his small hometown in Kansas with the Knights of Columbus and a military detail in attendance. A memorial fund has been set up for him at ND. Our sincere condolences and prayers for the Gentile and Mosier families. Please continue to keep in touch with updates or stories. — Eileen Surprenant ’09, ’15; eileen.surprenant@gmail.com
49 On Down the Line
Our prayers and condolences go out to our class president, Al Lesko, who lost his lovely wife Anna recently. If ever there was a kind, thoughtful loving person it was she. Now, “glory’s mantle cloaks her” as she smiles down on her wonderful family, friends and all ’49ers. I always had to laugh when Al and I talked on the phone. Anna was always close in the background advising Al of the agenda and how to proceed. She was a great mentor to us both. Harold Hoffman of Holland OH emailed a note praising the Hesburgh postage stamp. He proudly bought his stamps on the first day of issue. He was happy to see that Bruce Harlan, South Bend, got some credit on the production of the stamp. He reported that he watched the Notre Dame Trail every day and even got to campus on the walk’s last day. He also reported sadly that he lost his best friend and classmate, Charles Comes, Sylvania OH, in June. Sam Hazo, Pittsburgh PA, does it again. His latest title, The Feast of Icarus, surveys his life and art. It has been published by Lambing Press, Pittsburgh. The Alumni Association shared with me the names of our recently deceased brothers: Philip B. Jensen, Prairie Village KS; Dr. Robert L. Olcese, Montague MI. Rest in peace, old friends. — Joe O’Brien; 18120 Cloverleaf Drive, South Bend IN 46637; 574-271-8323; obie49nd@comcast.net