1960s

60 Anticipation of 60th

We just attended our class luncheon in north Naples in January, the fourth of our eight scheduled luncheons. Attending were Art Velasquez, Jim Driscoll, Dick Gelson, Bill Boland, Peter Giaimo, Gene Dolan, Tom Biever, Pete Mootz, Dan Kletter, and John and Tom Fitzgerald. Colleen organizes the wives for our March luncheon and had 14 in that group in 2019. We had 16 classmates. We also had three tables for our class at the 2019 Naples UND night, where John Affleck-Graves was speaker. This year we plan for the same and Dr. Tom Burish ‘72, retiring provost, will be the speaker. Phil Romig, professor emeritus at Colorado School of Mines reports, “Jane and I traveled to the Southeast recently, as our granddaughter has a part in the Tampa Bay Opera. Our youngest grandson will be graduating from high school in June so we will miss the 60th. I’m keeping busy with a variety of volunteer activities.” Lary Leach says, “I work with the United Way in Dallas as an 11-year volunteer on the panel that approves funds for the agencies applying for funds. We visit the agencies, review the request for funds, and how the agency fits the United Way Goals. We also analyze the agency’s progress toward achieving those goals. We then allocate funds based on the United Way budget. There is lots of ranking and discussion. I love this part.” Ted Dudley asks, “Can you believe our 60-year Reunion is upon us? How quickly the years have flown by. It is 63 years since I boarded a train in Los Angeles, bound for Notre Dame, having never been east of Phoenix. It is 60 years, coming up, since graduating from the greatest University in our country. It is 55 years since as a young Marine Corps pilot living in Japan but flying out of Japan and Danang, South Vietnam, I called Marianne by shortwave radio and asked her to come to Japan and marry me, which she did. It is 52 years since the birth of our son Jim ’90 and 44 years since the adoption of our daughter Jillian ’97. It is 39 years since we moved to Minnesota (by far, the best move we ever made) and 24 years since I sold my company and switched to the less hectic life of being on the boards of several companies. We have lived on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, 20 minutes from downtown Minneapolis, since moving to Minnesota. After graduating from Notre Dame, both of our kids returned to Minnesota.” Tim Carroll reports, “I’m committed to our 60th, Allah willing. My favorite cousin, Christine, visited recently for a week of hiking. She’s a mere 54 and running my legs off. Terrific pal, just retired from my line of work, but already was called back for short term gigs to keep our allies from giving up on us. Egad, what an era.” Guinness McFadden says, “Yes, the Derby Guinness is my son who grew up in Potter Valley driving tractor, pruning grapes and gathering cattle from a horse. He is the owner of Blackwood Stables.” Bill Quinlan says, “My current doings include progress on William Allen Quinlan, His Life & Times. I’m up to about 140 pages on this biography about my dad (1909-2001). He was a remarkable man whose legacy extends from experiences with US presidents to those with loving grandchildren.” Skip Sullivan says, “We remain in Lakeridge VA enjoying our 80s. Joanna and I work with local affordable housing issues and community activities. We are developing travel plans that should include the 60th.” Paul Beretz says, we hope to get to the 60th. I’m retired from corporate life, my consulting practice, and faculty positions at Saint Mary’s College, Moraga CA and on-line programs I taught for Arizona State U. I have been into several volunteer activities, including recruiting chairman for a local branch of SIRs (Sons in Retirement) including singing with their choral group at assisted living centers, senior centers, hospitals and the like. Jane and I have been married 55-plus years. We have five kids, four of whom were Domers. Since my dad graduated in 1927 (he was Rockne’s football manager), I still have a shot for a fourth generation Domer, provided their parents pay the tuition.” We look forward to our 60th next month. Go Irish. — Joseph F. Jansen; 9190 Southmont Cove, No. 103, Ft. Myers FL 33908; cell 317-514-4478; jfjansen@aol.com 

 

61 Letter from Joan Lennon

I received the following note from Joan Lennon to the class following Chuck Lennon’s death: “Dear members of the Class of ’61, Please forgive my tardiness in communicating my thoughts to you on behalf of Chuck. It has been only six months since he passed to his heavenly home. We feel comfort in knowing that his body is free of the pain he had fought so bravely these past few years. We know that his greatest joy must still be greeting alumni and organizing club activities. We hope you all know how much he loved all of you and how proud he was of being a member of the Class of ’61, Notre Dame’s Best. On behalf of our beloved husband, father and graduate, we want to thank the Class of ’61 for the many contributions that have been made in his name, including Gospel for Life Initiative, the Notre Dame Endowment Fund and funding for his tombstone which will be placed in Cedar Grove Cemetery. In the last few moments on this earth we prayed the rosary to the Blessed Mother, Notre Dame, and asked her to wrap her mantle around him and carry him to his heavenly home. Dedication is made by his family and by the Notre Dame Class of ’61.” Our thoughts and prayers go out not only for Chuck, but for his family as well. I just could not do as well paraphrasing her letter and knew all of you would want to read it yourself. How thoughtful of her to think of each of us in this difficult time. When you read this, I hope you are enjoying memories of the reunion in Naples FL and St. Patrick’s Day parade. I hope one of the participants will send me the attendance list to commemorate the event in these notes. Our editor, Kerry Temple ‘74, wrote to me commenting that the Class of ’61 is on a roll. He was telling me that our own Rev. Ollie Williams, CSC has received the Sumner Marcus Award from the Mendoza College of Business at ND. The award is for significant contributions to the field of management. Father Ollie is the author of more than 20 books on business ethics and Catholic social teaching, and numerous articles in leading journals. A significant controversy has arisen. Denis Retoske emailed me to inquire about the number of US Marine Corps members in our class. This was occasioned from the comment from Joe Libby in my last Class Notes that there were over 100 USMC officers in our class. Anybody else want to get into this? I explained to him that all I do is report, not investigate. I have heard numbers of 86 from Dick Lochner and another number, less than 100. So, I don’t have the number. I regret to report that John Matthew Pidick passed away. He was a CPA and self-employed management consultant in the healthcare industry. He leaves his wife, Helen, and three daughters. Please pray for his soul and his family. I have no additional information, but the following class members have passed away as well: John Flynn (basketball manager ’60), Philip C. Hofman and Francis Guillott. Also please remember all our classmates, living and dead. We have gotten to that age. Abbie and I are unable to make the reunion on March 14-18. Abbie had surgery on a bone in her ankle and is enduring great pain. Walking is out of the question. I’m not much better with torn meniscus in both knees. Nonetheless, I assure you that Abbie is at the front door with the latchstring out hoping that you will drop by and visit on your way through South Texas. — Joseph P. “Pat” Kelly; 2103 N. Wheeler St., Victoria TX 77901; 361-573-9982 jpkellytx@sbcglobal.net

 

61JD Class Secretary — John N. Moreland;

jnmnd1958@aol.com

 

62 Retrospective from Tony Bill

I received a very comprehensive email from Tony Bill outlining some of his thoughts on life, ND and post-ND experiences. Tony pointed out he was part of an experiment in the College of Arts and Letters, sponsored by Frank O’Malley ’32 and Rev. Charles Sheedy, CSC ’33. “Three of us were selected to pursue our own curriculum. Therefore, I was not really a part of any formal degree program. This was the best thing that could have ever happened to me, but it separated me academically from the rest of the class. Two months after graduation, I had parachuted into a world rich with creative, daring, complicated, adventuresome artists and, well, real life. Jews, Protestants, atheists, gays, free-thinkers, and nary one of which had I ever encountered at ND. Three months after graduation I was co-starring in a major film, Come Blow Your Horn, and living for the first time in the new, real world. In my lucky case, I went directly into the film business and into another young group of friends, a new generation of filmmakers: Spielberg, Lucas, Malick, Scorsese, Bogdanovich, Coppola, DePalma, Rafelson, Pollack, Ashby, et alia. Of course, we didn’t know it then, but it’s sometimes referred to as the Last Golden Age of Hollywood. After several years acting in some interesting films (Soldier in the Rain, Castle Keep, You’re a Big Boy Now), I started producing (Taxi Driver, Hearts of the West) and received a Best Picture Oscar for The Sting. Then I moved into directing for the next 40 years (My Bodyguard, Five Corners, Flyboys). . I’ve produced and directed a bunch of television movies, commercials and episodes, and I’m still active.” Continuing, Tony noted, “I’m a commercially rated pilot and aerobatic competitor, a lifelong ocean racing sailor, and … wrote a book, Movie Speak, (2008) that’s become a standard film reference, and I still work in the film industry. For many decades now, I’ve lectured or taught college film classes from Harvard to USC and even at Notre Dame.” Ray Shea is an orthopedic surgeon. After serving in the Army, he settled in the Louisville area, joined a practice, and was the team physician for the U of Louisville football team for 14 years. One daughter is a Domer and the other went to Saint Mary’s. John Brinker and John Shanahan developed a lifelong friendship as undergraduates and roommates while living off campus working on their master’s degrees in CE. “Our landlady was Jewish, and from our desks, could hear her on the phone talking for hours in Yiddish, often telling funny stories about friends. John Shanahan was studying German and understood about half of it and would be rolling in laughter while trying to study.” After graduating, John B. started a family owned contracting business, mostly doing projects for the government in the DC area. John S. went into nuclear power where he is a strong advocate for its adoption worldwide. “In the early 2000s, John S. said, “we reconnected, our wives became good friends, and we found something new in common. We liked to ride and go on bicycle vacations in Canada, the US and Europe. Each vacation was a new adventure to a place we would not have seen the same way otherwise. Many are on rails to trails bicycle routes across wonderful landscapes: Quebec, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia in Canada; Colorado, Idaho, Missouri in the US; France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, and Croatia.” Since my last column, we lost John Muller on Sept. 12, David Calnon on Sept. 20, Jim Falvey on Oct. 7, Mike Hart on Oct. 24, and Thomas W. Fabish on Dec. 18. — Raymond Raedy; 5310 Rileys Ridge Road, Hillsborough NC 27278; 919-967-8816; nd62secy@medicinemanremedies.com

 

62JD Reflecting and Planning

Jim Gould, Christine Stucko, my wife Marianne and I met at Gibson’s in Chicago. In addition to reflecting on old times, we discussed our upcoming 2021 class reunion. Denny Sullivan informed me that he was awarded the 2019 William Roper Award, which is given to an attorney or judge in Dallas whose public and private life reflects and perpetuates the legacy of Thomas More. Our prayers and good wishes to Pat Cox. Pat finds it hard to believe that it has been almost two years since Bob Cox passed away. Pat is downsizing and moving from Arizona to the Holy Cross Village in South Bend to be closer to family members. Paul Rooney and his wife Katherine are doing fine but are mourning the loss of several close friends. George McAndrews reports that after 56 years of practicing intellectual property law and founding his firm McAndrews, Held and Malloy, which grew to an 80-lawyer firm, he is now retired and enjoying his 21 grandchildren. Four of George’s five children became lawyers. Norm Stark reports that all is well. Felix Maciszewski and Jay Charon checked in as did Sandra Brady, widow of Mike Brady, who passed away in January 2018. Karen Galvin, wife of deceased classmate Tim Galvin reports Tim will be gone 16 years this July. Karen enjoys good health and lives in Munster IN. Three of her 12 grandchildren are Domers. George Pelletier reported in from Santa Fe where he spends most of his time. George is enjoying life and doing fine. — Thomas J. Kelly; 802 Ambriance Drive, Burr Ridge IL 60527; marianne1956@sbcglobal.net

 

63 Updates Galore

Matt Murphy says he has been retired from General Motors for 20 years. Terry and Matt have been married for 55 years and live at the Landings on Skidaway Island about 20 minutes from Savannah GA. Their family consists of three boys and two girls. The boys graduated from ND and a daughter is a Saint Mary’s alumna. They are spread across the country from California to Chicago and Atlanta. There are nine grandchildren. One granddaughter just completed her second semester at Notre Dame in Rome and will be a senior this fall. Matt has been healthy except for several hip surgeries. He is an active member of the local ND Club. Matt is looking forward to an annual mini reunion on St. Patrick’s Day in Naples FL hosted by Greg Schwartz, with Pat O’Brien, Terry Desmond, Brian “Bomber” Richardson, Larry Morgan, Mickey Walker, Cliff Angers and their wives. Brian Shea lives at 5050 Burning Tree Circle, Sarasota FL. He would like to hear from classmates living nearby. He advises that there is an active ND club there as well. Felix Balmaz wrote that Paul Tshirhart, of Sarasota and Bill Westhaus of Land O’ Lakes FL planned to meet Felix at the Camping World Bowl. According to Felix, “several hours before kickoff, Bill called (and this is not a joke) and said he could not make it as he could not get his garage door open.” I spoke to Steve Peters who reports that he and wife of 40 years, Rita, live in St. Petersburg FL. They have three children and one grandchild. Following graduation, Steve attended the U of West Virginia seeking a PhD in history. An Army ROTC grad, Steve then served two and a half years in the Army, before joining the business world, from which he retired in 2013. On Oct. 5, Steve and Rita were elevated to the ranks of Knight and Lady Commander of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem-Eastern Lieutenancy by the Grand Master, Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Steve is a part of a mini reunion held each January in south Florida. Prior attendees were Ed Delahanty, Lance Erke, John Miller, Bob Burke, Marty Gautier and Vic Trino. Chuck Jordan wrote that Frank T. Kapple passed away on Dec. 26 after poor health for several years. He leaves behind his wife of 58 years, Barbara, five sons and many grandchildren. A great Irish sports fan, Frank attended every home opener for decades as part of “NDHO.” He was a CPA with his own firm in the Chicago area. The Alumni Association has advised of the following deaths: Emory J. Gary Jr. of Louisville KY on Aug. 19,, survived by his wife, Nancy, and five children; Hon. Larry J. Gist, of Beaumont TX, on Oct. 19, survived by three children; Dr. Mary Buman McCarthy MA, of Brockton MA, on Nov. 24, survived by her spouse, Charles, and 12 children, six of whom are ND graduates; and John Milewski MA of Hawthorne NJ, on Nov. 9, survived by his spouse, Mary, and two children. Rev. Pat Cawley will celebrate 50 years as a priest in June by saying Mass at St. Ann Parish in Cadillac MI, his home parish and where he celebrated his first Mass. He retired due to illness but was later assigned to Holy Cross Parish on Beaver Island MI where he spent “wonderful years with the best people on God’s good earth,” he says. The Scully family purchased a lodge on the Island and Rev. Tim Scully, CSC, was often on the Island. Recently, Father Cawley was asked if he would choose the priesthood again. His reply was, “in a heartbeat.” — John Dougherty Jr.; 915 Exeter Crest, Villanova PA 19085; 215-510-0844; johndoc969@gmail.com 

 

63JD Class Secretary — Bob Saxe;

15725 Ranchero Drive, Morgan Hill CA 95037; bsaxe5@aol.com

 

64 Fascinating Email Exchange 

… with the legendary Dick Wolfe. We laughed our way through some of his many capers, the first of which was WSOB, Radio Free Keenan. Dick located a transmitter and overrode the WSND signal for four days during freshman year. The rector and station personnel searched Keenan non-stop to no avail. This is because Dick and his friends had moved the transmitter to Cavanaugh. WSOB had ad-free music and satirical sports interviews which students loved. As we know, Dick was raised on a farm in Lost Nation IA, a town of 400. In discussing where he got his sense of humor and prankster skills, Dick indicated that his father held his own early wake at the legion hall in Lost Nation, 13 years before he actually passed away. The wake was complete with a rented casket, an Irish tenor and an Irish band. The acorn doesn’t fall far from the giant oak tree. Dick has lived in Scottsdale for 45 years. He has two sons, one of whom lives in the Phoenix area. For some time, he has been an author and publisher of sports books. His first three were with large publishers, but in 2000 Dick decided to publish on his own. He sold more, made more money and went from frustration to having a ball. He hopes to publish his eighth book this year, the story of College GameDay. He has had some health issues in recent years, completing radiation treatment in 2017 for throat cancer. The cancer was in remission for two years but returned this past fall. He is now halfway through a regimen of 56 proton radiation treatments. He is strong, optimistic and maintains that super sense of humor. Dick (or Rich, your call) is at rjwolfe52@gmail.com. Dick and I connected as
a follow-up to an email from Fred Heroman. In a lengthy posting, Fred indicated he is an active volunteer for St. Vincent DePaul at his parish in Baton Rouge. He highlighted details of his commitment to this group and the community. Fred also shared that he began feeling poorly last spring, culminating in a diagnosis of lung cancer in August. We keep our fingers crossed for Fred at fwheroman@cox.net. In Tom O’Brien’s seasonal posting, he communicated his surprise at the special recognition he received from the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church. Those who know of Tom’s extraordinary commitment to the church are not surprised. John Nelson writes from Montrose CO that for the first time in 18 years he is experiencing retirement. Not sitting on the sidelines, John is devoting time to civic and community volunteer projects in southwest Colorado. He notes that he has time to fish and hunt within 20 minutes of the home he shares with his wife of 54 years, Linda. Jon James continues his full time work for his two Premananda orphanages in Ongole, India. He raises all the money to sustain the centers which care for 130 Dalit children and young adults. Jim Ginty has retired from AT&T where he served as a senior executive for many years. Based in Philadelphia, he enjoys good health, lots of travel, backpacking, camping with his grandchildren and skiing as much as possible. Keep in your prayers John Lorr and Tom McDonnell who passed away in November. John’s family is in Naperville IL and Tom’s is in Mt. Pleasant SC. — Paul R. Charron; 44 Contentment Island Road, Darien CT 06820; 203-655-3930; paul.richard.charron@gmail.com

 

64JD New Decade

This report is written while we still are in the Christmas season, anticipating a new year and new decade prayerfully filled with love and peace. That said, I have some sad news from Lou Pfeiler that his wife of 60 years, Carol, passed on Nov. 7 from complications of dementia. A memorial has been established with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque where she had been a significant contributor of her services for many years. Requiescat in pace, Carol. Russ Bley is recovering from a serious fall while on an Egyptian cruise in October. He suffered a leg triple fracture and was air evacuated to a Luxor hospital for surgery and two weeks of treatment before being able to return to the States. He is on the road to recovery, but in the meantime is unable to drive and has limited mobility. He hopes to be back on his feet by late February. Jack Jiganti is still working, heading a Chicago-based nationwide investment group. He also is deeply involved with charitable activities, one of which is founding the Gerald Vairo Memorial Fund in Houghton MI honoring our deceased mate Gerry Vairo. The fund enables patients with limited resources to receive hospice care. Jack initially contributed $50,000 to start the fund and remains involved in its ongoing activities. Tom Conneely reports that he and Kay are well and anxiously awaiting their ski trip to Utah and California. Tom has found another reason to be happy with entering the age 80 portal: free skiing. Betty and Larry Gallick also are travelers, this time a cruise through the Panama Canal. Frank Miele is successfully recovering from cataract surgery and remains a workout warrior whose daily routine is simply awesome. He has resumed various roles as a supernumerary at the Met this season. Charles Sacher and I talk frequently, from which I can relate that he is in good health, still active in his estate practice and a great caregiver for his special cat, Ted. Mary and Jack Rammel are planning another cruise, this time to Venice, Athens and then Rome, thereby completing a tour of the whole Mediterranean over the last several months. Jim Slater is forever active in his mediation practice. He and Marian also continue their world travel agenda but are trimming travel to some hot spots considering world conditions. Eileen and Bob Cash have ensconced themselves in their home in Venice FL for the winter. Dawn and Bob Frost report that all is well with them in their new digs in Lewis Center OH. While focusing on his estate administration, Gene Kramer finds time to take on high level Ohio state governmental projects such as the Great Lakes restoration. He and JoAnn continue to enjoy their apartment overlooking Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland. Bob Hanlon remains active in his litigation practice in New Jersey, having overcome a heart attack sustained on his 58th wedding anniversary. Jim Mercurio is in Bethesda MD enjoying his retirement. Finally, Sharon and I celebrated the Christmas holidays with our kids, grandkids and extended family in Seattle. Blessings and peace to everyone. — Richard Balfe Wagner; 1204 Erskine Manor Hill, South Bend IN 46614; res 574-299-9888; cell 760-5671270; email rswagnersb@gmail.com 

 

65 Sculpture Park

In 2018, the Charles B. Hayes Sculpture Park was dedicated on the south edge of the campus across from the Eddy Street Commons. The park was named after Charlie Hayes’ father, who graduated from ND in ’39. Charlie is on the Snite Museum of Art Advisory Council. He moved to South Bend from Chicago 40 years ago and was involved with the construction of cell phone towers in Indiana and Michigan. He has two children and six grandchildren. His daughter, Anne ’99, works with him in the tower business and son, Chas ’00, is a criminal defense attorney. Evergreen CO is home to Barb and Pat Conroy, but from December until early April they can be found in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, fishing and diving in the Sea of Cortez. Three years ago, his wife told him to stop yelling at the TV news and write a book. Two years of writing produced Let’s Get Civil: Healing our Fractured Body Politic. Pat writes that Marianne and Rich Fennelly live in Scarsdale NY and summer on the Jersey Shore. Rich is a retired corporate attorney who specialized in intellectual property. Bill Boyle is still teaching philosophy at St John’s in NYC. Ellen and Bill Clark live in San Jose where they run a nonprofit that supports an orphanage and school in Zimbabwe. John Moye is a retired corporate attorney in Denver and a well-known figure in the city and at the U of Denver. He is recovering slowly from a bicycle accident last year which also disrupted his classical piano lessons. Kathy and Mike Theisen are delighted to have retired to Florida from Michigan. Two years ago, Sheila and Jack Mattingly moved to Cave Creek AZ from the Seattle area to be near their daughters. Jack spent 20 years in the Air Force then taught at Seattle U and now teaches professional short courses on the design of gas turbine engines for aircraft to government engineers in the armed services and NASA. He is the author of two engineering textbooks on gas turbine engines and a suite of software. Updating his textbooks and doing expert witness work occupies his free time. While at ND, he and Ed Ojdana were roommates junior year. Ed’s talents led to owning an award-winning Napa Valley winery. Ed again will donate his wine to our June 4 dinner during the 55th Reunion weekend. The dinner is separate from the University’s reunion package and will be held at the Morris Inn. Cost for the dinner will be $65 per person. Reunion mailings will detail method of payment, which will be facilitated by the University when registering. Bob Lee, class treasurer, is organizing that dinner with help from Don Zone. Prepayment is necessary for planning so please follow the instructions when registering. Deerfield IL is home to Patricia and Dan Ziemba who have four children and six grandchildren. The two eldest children are ND grads: Nancy Lee Patel ’00 and Cheryl Ziemba ’02. Dan and Pat had total knee replacements recently but will be at our reunion. Last October, Connie and Ed Mack celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in Normandy, France, with the ND Travelin’ Irish. Ed has been retired five years after two careers, one in trucking and later in financial services. They have six grandchildren. Their daughter, Dawn Mayle ’89, and husband, Lou ’89, are parents of a sophomore living in Alumni Hall. Ed loves to travel and pursues his interest in model railroading and volunteering. They live in Hunting Valley PA but summer on the Jersey Shore. In December, Don Witty died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Woodstock IL where he had lived for 50 years with his wife, Jill. A son, Peter ’89, and a grandson are ND grads. Don was a lawyer and a financial advisor. In January, Peter Langenus died from cancer in New Canaan CT. He received his JD at NYU and practiced law in NYC. Peter is survived by his wife, Eileen, and a son. — 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 Why Wait?

Several mates have asked that we gather again as a class at this June’s Reunion, instead of waiting until our 55th. Class president Cap Gagnon is recruiting perennial South Bend stalwart Ray Flynn and other locals to develop a program that will inspire and amaze. So, make your plans now for June 4-6. I heard from Jim Throgmorton, who retired for the second time at the end of the year. Having retired 24 years earlier as a professor of urban planning at U of Iowa, he re-retired following eight years as a city council member in Iowa City, serving as mayor during his final four years. Jim noted that Libby and Jerry Bukiewicz recently moved to Middletown NY to be closer to kids. Rose and Ed Hiss are living on the west side of St. Louis. Rich Pascal is living near Canberra, Australia, and Margaret and John Scanlan are in South Bend. Edie and Xavier Maruyama are keeping busy and enjoying life in the Carmel CA area and looking forward to more world travel this year. Brian Graham forwarded a note from Chuck Datz, who suffered a major cardiac arrest and thanks to his daughter-in-law is still with us and recovering well in Hawthorn Woods IL. Honolulu-based Jim Starshak organized the ’69 Law School reunion on the Georgia weekend on campus. Scott Atwell from Colorado attended. Star made the USC game with John Ganahl, who sees Nick Eddy out Modesto way. Star also saw Matt Dwyer at SC. He reminds Bill Wentworth that he still has the amp BW sold him upon returning from Vietnam, and that it still works. News arrived that Paul Fieberg had a serious auto accident last fall. Some major surgery and lots of rehab followed. Keep Feebs in your thoughts and prayers. Barry Barth sent word that he and Barb hosted a group of ND buds in Hilton Head last fall. On hand were Linda and Dave Worland, Jim Ireton, and Tom Doty. Barry and Barb also made it for the New Mexico game. Tom Eagan sent word from Cincy that he’s enjoying retirement following 45 years as a civil trial attorney. He and Fran get to South Bend regularly to visit their daughter and grandkids. Tom attended his 50th at the Law School, along with Bill Joseph, who served as a municipal court judge in Zanesville OH for 20 years. TE mentioned that John “Tickets” Sheridan recently retired from a security business in Cincy and that Joe Rouse is still an active partner with his Cincy law firm. Mike Rush noted that he’s moving from Beantown to the Bend, where he’s ensconced in a condo near campus. Mike connected with John Blum of Mishawaka who lost his wife in recent months. Mike had dinner with John and Cap. Mike’s also finishing his term as New England Regional Director for Senior Alumni. Mike looks forward to being closer to son Brian and family in Chicago and his 100-year-old mom in Ohio. Dick Martiny reminded that Mike Boone is still a major force with the ND Senior Alumni in Denver, working hard on the Kits for Kids initiative. Dick is ramrodding senior alumni activities in the Baltimore area. Sad news from Joan of Gary Fishburn’s October passing in Rocky River OH. Gary earned three degrees from ND and spent 20 years in the Air Force, retiring as a major. I made two ND games: USC with son Chris, and Duke with sons Chris and Mark, and the Carolina grandkids, including one Thomas Rockne Sullivan. Chris is obviously quite an ND fan and his wife asked who Rockne was. Be well, stay happy and send news. — Tom Sullivan; 1108 Westwicke Lane, Lutherville-Timonium MD 21093; cell 773-454-4343; t66sullynnd@gmail.com

 

66JD Class Secretary — Philip C. Ruddy;

rudds241@aol.com

 

67 At Home in the Mountains

John Kelleher writes that he and his wife Cindy are moving to Vail CO. John retired from his medical practice of plastic surgery in Amarillo in 2010 and since then they have split their time between Vail and Amarillo. Now he has cut the cord with Texas. John invites anyone who comes to Vail to look him up. Last winter, John and Cindy spent a few days in Steamboat Springs CO visiting Cindy and Stewart Beall. Stewart showed off his culinary skills by grilling perfectly cooked Colorado lamb. Bob Schoenherr and his partner Sam departed from Northern California to visit Melba and Karl Gustke in St. Petersburg FL. Then the group of four headed to Orlando to attend the Camping World Bowl Game where the Irish defeated Iowa State 33-9. Joe Devlin wrote to inform us of the sudden death of Chip Malik of Wells ME. Chip was a matrimonial law attorney in Massachusetts. He also served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War where he was a medevac helicopter pilot rising to the rank of captain. In 1970, Chip received a citation for assisting in the rescue and evacuation of wounded Marines from a forward field position in Quang Nam Province. An honor guard military ceremony will be held in southern Maine at a future date. Dan Mad-igan informed us that Pete DiDomenico died in December from double pneumonia. The old Kubiak’s bar (now demolished) near campus was never the same since Pete did a backflip off the bar into six inches of beer on the floor on St. Patrick’s Day. Please write so we have positive news to pass on to our classmates. — Bert R. Bondi; 1891 Curtis St., Unit 1502, Denver CO 80202; bertrbondi@gmail.com

 

67JD Catchin’ Up

Over the past 53 years, I have referred to Dave Francescani less than a half dozen times. So, I was delighted to get an email from Dave, and he agreed to “catch us up” on his life since graduation from ND. Dave spent close to 50 years practicing intellectual property law, primarily litigating cases in federal court across the country. Those cases brought Dave into contact with several of our classmates over the years including Barkley, Martori, Meyer, Hargrove, Keenan, Murray, Campbell and others. After spending most of his career at Darby & Darby, in 2001 he joined Fish & Richardson, a major IP firm, continuing to do IP litigation and serving as managing partner of the New York office. He retired from the firm in 2017. As you may recall, Maureen, his wife of 44 years, died in 2011. After Maureen died, he met and married Lori in 2014. They live in a small village adjacent to the Hamptons on Long Island. They jointly have four kids and eight grandkids and travel to Bethesda MD, Lancaster PA, Fairfield CT, NYC, Boston and Santa Monica CA to visit them on a rotating basis throughout the year. Dave enjoys golf and bowling and is active at Immaculate Conception Church in Westhampton and is on the parish council, food pantry and a lector at weekday Masses. Healthwise, Dave has the usual blood pressure, heart and prostate issues but all seem to be under control. Lori and Dave enjoyed the mini reunion of our class in Naples last winter and went to the Boston College game at ND last fall. Jimmy Olson and Nancy left home on Christmas Day to visit their daughter and family in the Denver area. They also found time to fall down the slopes while wearing waxed boards. Jim has again agreed to make the reservations for our second mini reunion in the Naples area in February during their vacation on Sanibel Island. Mary Jo and Kip Roe have bought a “snowbird” home in Naples but will not be able to join us for the reunion although later in the month they look forward to visiting Lois Brenner as well as the Monterossos who annually vacation in Naples. An added attraction in the area is their daughter, ’86SMC, who is director of fashion design at Chico’s, the women’s clothing chain. Last year, Kip was honored by the Cincinnati Bar and received their Lifetime Achievement in Law Award. The Roes have 16 grandchildren, eight of whom are in college. One is at ND. Also expressing their regret at missing our get together in Florida, are Marylyn and Ken Lazarus who will be in Mexico at that time. John Fine wrote a note to wish all our classmates the joy, love and peace of Christmas. Pam and Tom Sullivan thoroughly enjoyed their 18-day trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand last year. They enjoyed the exposure to a culture so vastly different from our own. They also plan on being at our mini reunion. Congrats to Bob Barkley on his LSU Tigers winning the National Title. It was an entertaining game. — Jim Heinhold; 1200 Carmel Lane, New Bern NC 28562; res 252-638-5913; im4irish@aol.com 

 

68 Joy, Sadness, Hope

Tanned Bob Ptak and Donna were back in the Chicago area for holiday celebrating with Tom Gibbs, John Walsh, Pat and Gene Cavanaugh, Mary Lou and Dennis Toolan, Matt Walsh, Jean and Roger Guerin, Ted Nebel and other Bryan Dunigan guests. Ted spoke of January retirement, though he then told of a prodigious “reduced” schedule of tax form preparations. Sue and Brian Schanning, took a cruise ship along the Norwegian coast, around the North Cape and into Murmansk, Russia, where they toured the Russian Northern Fleet Museum. Said Brian: “Never imagined back in ROTC, I would pay my respects at a memorial to the Russian submarine Kursk.” The Schannings had lunch with Bob Raaf and Barb when the two came to Boston from Ft. Myers FL for Christmas with their daughter and grandchildren. Bob Brady, Brian’s Farley Hall roommate, also was traveling and writing about what he found in Egypt: robertlindsaybrady.wordpress.com. In February, Ellen and Gene Schraeder were due to make a bucket list trip to New Zealand, their third ND trip. They meant to see New Zealand while in Australia years ago but then 9/11 occurred. Eileen and Jim Hutchinson had fun with Mary Ellen and Jerry Murray at the Duke game. Jerry said Jim had a bad knee “but ran 40 yards in 4.3 seconds when I mentioned Manhattans.” In western New York, Walt Moxham and his Vietnam veterans’ group are hosting Rocky Bleier’s performance at North Tonawanda’s Riviera Theatre on Aug. 8. From San Francisco, John O’Connor sent a shout-out to Tom Condon and Pat Collins: “They were two of the most insightful, pull-no-punch reporters during Watergate.” John’s new book, Postgate: How the Washington Post Betrayed Deep Throat, similarly is a pull-no-punch appraisal of Watergate cover-up and the initiation of today’s partisan climate. Tom Condon piled on with “Beat Reporter,” an online ND Magazine feature about Pat Collins’ journalism career: magazine.nd.edu/stories/beat-reporter. Katy and Ralph Neas, who apparently have surmounted Ralph’s second Guillain-Barre disease ordeal, planned a celebration in Bethesda MD at the end of January. Ralph continues to recover. In the parallel universe that our general program classmates occupy, a long email exchange began with Tom Durkin’s recommendation of a New Republic article by alumnus Tom Geoghegan, “Educated Fools,” produced Ned Buchbinder’s hope for a General Program reunion before the 2020 presidential election. Brian Schanning’s correspondence also included sorrow. Brian and Ben Lucchese saw each other at the New Mexico game that Ben attended with his daughter. Brian heard from Ben in late November that Ben’s daughter Nancy Marie had died. May Ben and his family have the help of our condolences and our prayers. On Jan. 17, Tom Condon’s sister Pat succumbed to an illness that had caused her six years of intense suffering. Tom wrote “It’s awfully sad to be glad for her sake of her passing, but the past month must have been torture for her. Now she is released from that. Prayers greatly appreciated.” A thudding email from Dennis Gallagher Jan. 9 had shocking news about John McCoy: “A few minutes ago, I received a telephone call from John McCoy’s sister Anne. John returned to Taos on New Year’s Day after spending the holidays with family. After being unable to reach him for several days, his sister called the Taos police, who found that he had signed in to ski on Jan. 2 and his car was still there. Given the passage of time, it’s presumed he had a fatal skiing accident and a search for him is underway. His sister says she will keep me informed of developments, which I will pass on to the group. I’m kind of in shock, so I’ll just end here for now.” Keep reading. News continues on ndclass1968.com. Please send news and photos. — Tom Figel; 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3E, Chicago IL 60626; 773-764-4898; tfigel@reputecture.com 

 

68JD Great Updates

In response to my plea for information, James McGovern provided a great update about his family. Jim noted that he is semi-retired and living in Minneapolis. He has five children, three of whom were born in South Bend. His daughter, Helen, is married to a PG&E executive and lives in a suburb of San Francisco. They have two children in college, one in Philadelphia and the other in Dublin, Ireland. Jim’s daughter, Amanda, is a lawyer doing complex international litigation with a firm in Miami. She is currently defending the inventor of Bitcoin, who is being sued for half of his Bitcoin holdings, or about $4 billion. She is a widow with three children, one in college. Jim’s son, Joseph, owns and operates an environmental engineering firm in Phoenix, and has two children, both in college. Jim’s son, Nathan, is an independent contractor in St. Paul, and has two sons, one of whom is an engineer, and the other who works for his dad. Jim’s daughter, Jessica, the youngest, is an executive assistant at Ryan Companies, headquartered in Minneapolis. She is married to the regional vice president of Harvard Maintenance. They have three children, including one at Kansas U. I received an email from Jim Cooling who attended the Living Legends of Aviation Awards Jan. 16. Tom Curtin noted his concern that the Honorable John Coyle was responsible for Tom’s receiving the inaugural Chief Judge Jerome Simandle Award from the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey for his outstanding service to the court. He is very concerned about J.C.’s ego moving to the next level. Tom and Charlie Weiss planned to attend the ABA mid-year meeting in Austin TX in February. Tom was elected vice chair of Autism New Jersey and is trying to learn more in order to help his grandson Tommy, 7, who is autistic. Tommy is the youngest child of Tom’s daughter, Amy Curtin Pini ’02 and Josh Pini ’02. Tom raised the issue of a mini reunion in 2021 in Chicago around the ND-Wisconsin game. Please email me now if you have any interest. We need a response in order to obtain tickets and room reservations. Tom also reported that Dick Manning is “mostly” retired and he and his bride, Laurie, are spending time being grandparents. As many of you know, Pete King will not run for reelection in 2020 and will leave Congress in 2021. Please remember in our prayers our deceased classmates including John Amerman, Emilio Belluomini, John Burgess,     Albert Dudash, Richard Hirsch, Joseph Ladd, Larry Miller and Robert Wilczek. Finally, I would appreciate if everyone can provide me with an update on you and your family so that we may share this information with classmates. — Dennis G. Collins; 2203 Derby Way, St. Louis MO 63131; bus. 314-516-2648; dgc@greensfelder.com

 

69 50th Reunion Book Available

Bob Gibbons, Dave Sim, and I published Notre Dame Class of 1969: Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary in December, a sequel to the first reunion book. This 384-page publication, with stories, speeches, presentations, interviews, and photos from our June reunion, is available for $25 from John Nesbitt’s J&S Photo Service in Chicago. Mike Bars reported his recent retirement; he and Pamela are living in Beaufort SC. Tom Ryan and his daughter Meghan ’00 braved the monsoon to attend the Michigan game. In October, Gary Campana published his 14th book, Emory in Paris…and Other Stories (Amazon.com). Innsbruckers from ’69 gathered for their annual mini reunion at the Virginia Tech game: Jim Bodary, Karen and Jim Gleason, Judy and Bill Hennig, Diane and Steve Kavalauskas, Sharon and Chuck Nelson, and Tim Weizer. Eight Alumni Hall “Buffaloes” held their annual football pilgrimage at the Duke game: Tom Comerford, Kelley Macke ’70, Jack Mahon, Brian Schmidlin, Bill Schweitzer, Bob Search, Ross Simpson, Jack Wiethoff ’70. Ed Dunn, the medical director of palliative medicine at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, attended the BC game with my former physician Dr. Jerry Parent ’67. Post retirement from ND, Bob “Flash” Franken is back on the air at WSND-FM Wednesday afternoons playing the greatest hits of the 1700s and 1800s. Rick Coronado, a Triple Domer in economics, is living in Atchison KS, where he is teaching and publishing at Benedictine College. John Leonardo has been working in Albania for the Department of Justice since September 2018. He and Marsha came through the recent Tirana earthquakes unscathed. In December, Dr. Bob Ursano received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. He had recently retired after 24 years as the psychiatry department chair at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine in Bethesda MD. Dec. 13 John Berres, Jim Lyons, and I traveled by train from southeast Wisconsin to downtown Chicago to join Mike Brennan, Jim Burke, Mike “Buzz” Busby, John Hodel, Peter McInerney, Ebby Moran, John Nesbitt, Rick Redmond, and Tim Schlindwein for a lunch. Dec. 18, 11 Milwaukee ’69ers met for a pre-Christmas breakfast: John Berres, Don Jacobson, Steve Kavalauskas, Tony Kluka, Dan Merritt, Mike McCauley, Brian Schmidlin, Mike Ryan, Tom Shannon, and me. Tom “Alto” Altmeyer, Rick Demer, Jim Slattery, and Mike and Carolyn Schliff Uanis ’69SMC met for their annual Christmas Eve lunch in Falls Church VA. Tom then traveled to visit family in Chicago and watched the Iowa State bowl game with PJ Hosty, Mike Keane, Lou Leone, Ralph Williams and Dr. Ray McDonald ’67. On Dec. 31, Alto met Sally and Tom Ladky, Naomi Lovinger and Bill Wade, and me for an end-of-the-decade lunch in Lake Forest IL. Jerry Haddock went to the bowl game in Orlando. Mississippi voters elected Delbert Hosemann as the state’s 33rd lieutenant governor on Nov. 5. John Abide, Dean Benner, Lou Leone, Tom Ryan, Greg Schatz, and Ralph Williams attended Delbert’s Jan. 9 inauguration events in Jackson. On Jan. 18, Scottie and Dick Cimino, Trish and Jim Conway, Mary Ann and Errol Flynn, Diane and Steve Kavalauskas, my wife Kathy and I, dined at the Flynn’s condo in Estero FL. Class deaths: Joe Freebery, Oct. 26, Newark DE; Lloyd Hillock, Oct. 31, North Richland Hills TX; Rob Trost, Dec. 5, Tillamook County OR; Craig “Bernie” Wald, Jan. 16, Bel Air MD; Dick Farrell’s wife, Irene, Dec. 18, Moline IL. (John Leinart, Tom Ladky, Steve Kavalauskas attended her funeral.) Len Moretti’s mother, Phyllis, died in August and his mother-in-law, died in November. Our deepest condolences to their families. Take care, stay healthy and God bless. — John Hickey; 262-385-1961; jphjr47@hotmail.com 

 

69MBA Travel, Grandkids and More

There are patterns in our lives, even for the first MBA class of Notre Dame. Our president, Jerry Claeys, has retired after 43 years of service to Heitman and JMB. He, like many of us, is focused on travel, grandkids and showing off his 50-year MBA hat we received at Reunion. Jerry’s new email is jclaeys3@gmail.com. Joyce and Cliff Fleming sent a Christmas card laden with fun family pictures from across the country, and are doing quite well, spending the cold months in the South. Joe Cavato is seriously considering attending the ND-Wisconsin game at Lambeau. I plan on being there also. Joe also indicated he is still enjoying the inspiration he received from the Dean Cremers discussion at Reunion. Will Mcguire is still loving Richmond and having all his kids within driving distance. Denny McCarthy says it is cold and slow in Michigan. I saw a picture of Gene Dixon having a glass of wine in his kitchen, wearing a heavy jacket, so it must be really cold. Ken Samara reports he is traveling and enjoying life. (What’s new?) On the working front, Joe McCourt is going strong. Bernie Bieg is on his 48th year of teaching and holding his golf handicap at 12. Archie Sullivan is gradually transitioning his financial planning practice to his daughter and son-in-law, and still plays singles tennis. (It might be time for pickle ball.) I am gradually transitioning some of my work to one or more of my kids whilst Grace and I travel and play with family. Thanks very much for all the input. Remember we are having a mini reunion at the Western Michigan game this year. — Bob Dowdell; 31625 Coast Highway, Laguna Beach CA 92651; 714-381-6104; bobdowdell55@gmail.com

 

69JD Happy New Year 

Hawaii celebrates two New Years – January 1 and the Chinese New Year. Both come in with a BANG – lots of fireworks. Tom Dowling is the latest classmate to pass away. Tom was an avid supporter of ND and was known for his ND hat and nickname “Touch Down” (i.e. “TD”). Merle Wilberding was appointed by Ohio governor, Mike DeWine, to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors veterans for accomplishments after military service. Dan Hebert, I know you spell your name with an “n” not an “m”. Sorry about that. You can call me “Jin.” — Jim Starshak; 889 Kaohe Place, Honolulu HI 96825; cell 808-778-4033; starman@hawaii.rr.com