1940s

40 Class Secretary — Rebecca Smith;

542 Fairview Ave., Glen Ellyn IL 60137; 630-254-4485; rebecca.antas@gmail.com

 

41 Class Secretary — Meg Julian ’03, ’06JD;

804 Jersey Ave., Spring Lake NJ 07762; 646-246-5480; megjulian@gmail.com

 

42 Class Secretary — Ann Schanuel;

annjolene2@aol.com

 

43 Class Secretary — A. Robert Masters ’05;

1906 E. Madison St., South Bend IN 46617; res 574-904-8315; bus 574-234-0121; armasters@nfmlaw.com

 

44 Class Secretary — Laura (Julian) Fraser ’00;

1021 Royal Bombay Ct., Naperville IL 60563; 773-255-9843; lejfraser@outlook.com

 

45 Crossing Paths and Didn’t Even Know

My family was fortunate to get nine seats together for the USC game. Our little cheering section included my husband, Mark Rackish ’74, and my daughters, Caitlin ’05, Megan ’07 and son Joe, plus their families, cheering enthusiastically. Our 6-year-old grandson had a great time doing all the push-ups, but those holding him up were exhausted. As my husband stated: it makes no logical sense but a win over USC will keep me happy for a year. Yes, we had the game recorded at home, it was re-watched and I’m sure it will never be deleted. Our son, Alec ’09, regretted not being able to attend. Comforting him, I explained, relying on superstition, that if he attended we probably would have had all-day rain and a loss. Older alums can still remember the chant of “Ara stop the rain.” What a game, and the rivalry for the older alumni runs very deep. Usually the first sentence from Capt. Bob Thomas is, “How many of my classmates are still alive?” But this year it was: how about that USC game. Bob spares no love for the Trojans and he lives in CA. Before the game I met with Nancy Pietrangeli. Her father was William (Bill) Voll Sr. ’48, a good family friend of Jim Griffin. Jim passed last year, but his wife, Jane, put me in touch with Nancy. Jane Griffin says the hole is big without Jim, but she has lots of family and friends for support. In talking with Nancy it was established that her family has quite the connection to ND/SMC. Her paternal grandfather, Bernard (BJ) Voll ’17, married his SMC love. As a senior alum he served on the Board of Trustees for the University. Coincidentally, my father joined the Board probably as BJ resigned, but as Alumni Board president their paths crossed. Nancy’s father was Bill Voll Sr.; her brothers are John Voll ’73 and William (Bill) Voll Jr. ’72. Bill Sr. probably crossed paths in the mid-’40s with my father, Robert Erkins. The ROTC group. Mark and I resided in Michigan City and were acquainted with some of Nancy’s in-laws, Tim McBride ’75 and Mike McBride ’74, who attended the USC game with his team celebrating their 50th anniversary of winning the national championship. Bob McBride Jr. ’72MBA returned to campus after attending the Air Force Academy. Pat McBride (and Rusty) attended the Air Force Academy and returned to Michigan City; their daughters babysat my children. Their father was Robert (Bob) McBride ’44, who coached under Frank Leahy. My father was the team manager during that time frame. Chances are they knew each other. Bob McBride and Frank Leahy have quite the war stories, which you can read about by going to https://magazine.nd.edu/stories/more-than-a-game/. And in answer to Capt. Bob Thomas’s normal question: there are probably 15 still-active classmates from the Class of ’45. In the Class of ’45 there were approximately 445 students. Now, I am out of space, so Nancy’s other stories of SMC and younger-generation ND connections will have to wait. It truly is a complete web of who’s who. Sisters, brothers, roommates all keeping our ND family traditions alive. As classes have grown in size, students never really know the connection of who might be sitting next to them in class, the game or the dining hall. — Melissa Erkins Rackish ’77; 1224 Campbell St., Williamsport PA 17701; 570-971-2296; mrackish@comcast.net

 

46 Class Secretary — Paul Taggett;

mtaggett@tampabay.rr.com

 

47 Sons of ND

Greetings to our ’47 grads and their families: I hope this Winter Issue finds you all well. I don’t have anything to report this issue. Please keep in touch with your updates, stories and reminiscences. Go Irish! — Eileen Z. Surprenant ’09, ’15; emzander@gmail.com

 

48 Onward to Victory

I heard from John Tira ’06, ’07 concerning the recent passing of his grandfather, Robert “Bob” O’Donnell, on June 14 at the age of 98. John writes that Bob lived life to the fullest, finding joy in the small moments that led to lifelong memories. Bob was a war hero, having served as a bombardier during WWII in the “Mighty Eighth” (358th Bomb Squadron) and the Hell’s Angels 303rd Bomb Group. Bob survived the war on a “wing and a prayer” after his plane was struck over Germany and he was badly injured. After the war, Bob married Alice Feeney in 1951, and welcomed seven children (including Joe O’Donnell ’74) and in the years after, many grandchildren, including John (Tara Hyer ’08) and Dan Tira ’07, and even more great-grandchildren. Bob — always wily and quick-witted — loved the back roads and little places off the beaten path, taking the long route, discovering spots to stay and always, always charming the folks he met. We know Bob continues his journey in Heaven, where he is reunited with Alice, his family and many friends. I heard from Kate and Monica Marshall ’77 and Melanie Marshall-Roth ’75 concerning the passing of their beloved father, C. Travis Marshall, on July 1 at age 97 in Bethesda MD. (Charles) Travis loved his family, friends, work, travel and Notre Dame. He was born in Apalachicola FL on Jan. 31, 1926. At age 16 he left FL for Notre Dame, arriving without a winter coat at a frigid Chicago Union Station platform in January 1943. The temperature was minus 10 F. He was met by his older brother Willoughby ’47, who escorted him to Notre Dame where he bought his first winter coat and began his lifelong association with the University. His years at Notre Dame were interrupted by his service as an infantry officer in the United States Army during World War II, assigned to the Philippines. Later he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. One of the highlights of his career involved the development of cell phones and their use worldwide. As senior vice president and director of government relations for Motorola, Travis led the effort to convince the Federal Communications Commission to allocate certain frequencies for cell phone use, a technology that was not understood by many. He was assigned the world’s second cell phone number ever issued. When friends, US Congressmen and US presidents saw his cell phone, it was the first one they’d ever seen. It was so large, people called it “the brick.” Travis went on to become the deputy to the Motorola chief executive officer for telecommunications relations and to travel throughout the world, working with foreign governments to encourage them to develop similar, compatible networks. In 1989 President George Bush accorded Travis the personal rank of ambassador during the tenure of his service as chairman of the United States Delegation to the 1989 Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union. Travis continued to take leadership positions in the telecommunications industry throughout his career. In 2008 he established the Travis Marshall Family Endowment for Excellence in International Business Ethics. Travis lived his life with grace, honor, generosity, integrity, hard work and enthusiasm. The Class of ’48 also lost a legend in John C. “Johnny” Lujack on July 25. Johnny is considered one of the greatest ND athletes of all time: he was a two-time unanimous All-American who won the Heisman Trophy in 1947, the second of three ND players to do so in the 1940s. Johnny was the quarterback of three national championship teams in 1943, 1946 and 1947. He also lettered in baseball, basketball and track. Johnny played four seasons for the Chicago Bears, leading the team in scoring each year before retiring at the age of 26. He threw for 468 yards in a single game, which still stands as a record. In addition to being a legendary athlete, Johnny has an equally legendary list of adoring family and friends, including his wife of 74 years, Patricia. Johnny’s family is comforted in knowing they are reunited in heaven. Johnny maintained strong ties to ND, cheering on the Irish at many home and away games, including in Dublin in 2012 “where Johnny may have been the happiest his family has ever seen him.” Thank you for these touching tributes: Bob, Travis and Johnny continue to cheer their beloved Irish onward to victory from Heaven, where there are no bad seats in the house. — Eileen Z. Surprenant ’09, ’15; emzander@gmail.com

 

49 Class Secretary — Bill Slavick;

whslavick@gmail.com