1960s

60 A Story or So

Having a difficult time starting this article in mid-April. So many of my notes are from many of you on the passing of a classmate. Summary from a number of classmates and summarized by Richard Daggett: “I would love to attend but health issues make that unfortunately impossible. I have attended over 10 reunions over the years and each one was wonderful. Best wishes for another successful reunion.” The reality is that our class is passing on to our final reunion in heaven. God bless us. From Rich: Ruth & Rich Griffin, Sara & Mike Shipman, Carol & Mike Foley, Jean & Bill White, Dick Corbett, John Gamble, Frank Carpin, attended a ’60 luncheon in Tampa in March. All had a great time. And Gamble even offered to organize it next year! I get many requests for email addresses and phone numbers. Basically, if I have them in my iPhone contacts, I can readily get them out. Otherwise, I would have to do what all others do, and I would login into my.nd.edu and go to our 1960 site to get the information. Not all classmates are adept at the computer and I can make exceptions. From Tom Kurt: Erin O’Sullivan ’28 is granddaughter of Bob Middendorf, and both of her parents are ND grads. She was just admitted to ND and Bob was so proud of this accomplishment when I visited him in the hospital two days before his death on Good Friday morning. And another note from Tom: “I knew Nester Weigand, Paul Quinn and Dick Meaney more than just a little: Nester, as we were both from Wichita and distant cousins, Paul, as we were both pre-meds, and Dick as we started off as friends on the 2nd floor of Cavanaugh.” From Jerry Delay: “Donnie White roomed next door to me in Sorin and played QB. I talked to him years ago and he told me about his sons coaching at U of Iowa & one at Wisconsin. A very religious man. Great guy!” I find that it would be great, if we had the space, to place photos in the Class articles. From Bill Ward in early May 2023: “I have worked on my Parkinson’s with Rock Steady Boxing but my sacroiliac is in need of treatment which I’ll get next week. Hence, I’ll miss what looks to be a great reunion. As Steve Barry comments on approaching nonagenarian status, I’m looking forward to the next Reunion.” From Tim Caroll in 2022: “Just finished a major hike on the Mormon trail (and me, a good Catholic boy!) and discovered I was eight miles from my car. Happily, a cowboy came by and gave me a lift in his pick-up. See how the Holy Spirit protects the Indy loonies. It’s been a great hiking year and I’ll be back at Sunnyslope and back in the grips of my trainer there we’re starting our 13th year together. Longest relationship I’ve ever had. Certainly, the sweatiest. Your mini reunion sounds great!” Short note in 2022 from Dennis Pheney: “It’s all about staying active. Funerals are my big social event these days. I often think not retiring, although it is approaching, has kept me going & alert. We had dinner last evening with Susan and Peter Giaimo. They are staying longer in Florida now, since Peter has fully retired. They are still playing tennis and golf!” — Joseph F. Jansen; 9190 Southmont Cove #103, Fort Myers FL 33908; 317-514-4478; jfjansen@aol.com

 

61 Play Ball

As this report is being put to pen, the baseball season is already underway. This writer still entertains dreams of throwing out the first ball on opening day at Yankee Stadium. Dan Halloran wrote thanking me for paying tribute to his buddy, and my undergrad roomie, George O’Connell, who was truly one of a kind. Our class Naples FL contingent has been growing by leaps and bounds. The annual St. Patrick’s Day pre-parade dinner was attended by Hank Baby, Ned Grant, Bob Weber, Patrick Feeney, Jack Grace, Tom Melby, Spike Werner, Bill Queenan and Ted Dawson. At the Saturday parade, all wore special new polo shirts to celebrate the occasion. Bob “Rocky” Bleier ’68 was the grand marshal. The Notre Dame delegation represented the largest marching group in the parade. Later that evening, all Domers gathered at Talis Park Country Club for Mass concelebrated by our classmates, Rev. Denis O’Shaughnessy and Rev. Ollie Williams, CSC. Our class president, Frank Annese, hosted a sumptuous dinner. Attendees included George Bott, Mike Brennan, Bernie Craig, Larry Erickson, Mike Esposito, Roger Fardin, Paul Flemming, Frank Gargiulo, John Hoey, Joe Ingarra, Joe Libby, Tim Monahan, Patrick McKeever, Mike Mullen, George Niemeyer, Dennis Owens, Al Salvino and Jim Sullivan. Also present were Chidie [Phil] Farley, Susie [Mike] Hoch, and Joan [Chuck] Lennon. What tremendous encouragement this offers as incentive for more of us to join in the festivities for next year’s Florida Fling. After a lifetime in the oil business, John Linehan has returned to his native Tulsa OK where he now enjoys retirement. Jack Castin was recently voted the best left-handed golfer in our class. Congratulations, Jack! Tony “Scooter” Monsour called from Syracuse to wish me a happy Easter. Jim Wareham, our Class baseball trivia buff, has relocated from the frigid confines of MI to the warmth of sunny Scottsdale AZ. Jack Engler’s brother, Bob ’64, called to inform me of Jack’s recent passing. Jack was our Class valedictorian. Mose Glynn sent me a lengthy handwritten message from his roost in Palos Heights IL where he enjoys retirement following a lengthy career with the Midas Corporation. Mose still shares his leisure moments with his lifelong friend, grade school classmate and undergraduate roommate, Jim Martin, who lives in Verona WI. Jim spent his productive years with Ernst and Young. I look forward to hearing from the following classmates at their earliest leisure: Tom Hoban, Dave Hudson, Gerry Hughes, Mike Kennedy, Steve Leroux, Bill Cronin and Chris Lund. In closing, I am pleased to report that the Notre Dame spirit is alive and flourishing; this spirit is hard to define, but impossible to ignore. Go Irish! — Arnold Leporati Jr.; 463 Tarrasa Drive, Jacksonville FL, 32225; 904-703-4366

 

61JD Class Secretary — John N. Moreland;
jnmnd1958@aol.com

 

62 Football Updates

Tom Maxwell had one of his knees replaced and said, “The knee is good, and I wish I had it done years earlier.” He is now back to playing golf. Tom is also recommending “Trac Vision” glasses for those who have difficulty driving at night. He did not say if they were one of his clients. Ray Stefani, who taught engineering at the college level for over 40 years, has 200-plus publications to his name. Interestingly, most deal with performance in individual and team sports. He developed “a least squared team rating system” that has been applied to predicting the outcome of more than 20,000 games of American football, basketball, European soccer, Australian rules football and Super Rugby. The one on football had appeared weekly during the season in numerous papers around the country. A recent work looked at the success of women’s teams post-COVID, due to cohesiveness. “I submitted it to the Athens (Greece) Journal of Sports … and they published it.” Ray added, “I’ve been to both stadiums, the one in Olympia and the one in Athens. Talk about being optimistic: the 1896 stadium was built out of marble. No temporary seating there!” Tom Noonan said he sold his company last May and now has a reduced secondary role. “This is allowing me to be able to get some active involvement in a couple of my other investments. And I now have time to read more and travel and start playing regular golf.” John Dailey has written another book — The Story of Gunnar Hansen. It is about a person our age that has some medical issues and is taking that one last trip while he is able. To get a copy, contact John at joeseliga17@gmail.com. Don Criqui feels the football team could be very strong this season due to the contributions expected from the incoming portal players at WR and DB. He also said the starting QB question is very much in play because Angeli played very well in the Sun Bowl game. Don noted that his son, Tom, and Jason Garrett, who was head coach of the Cowboys for 10 years and is now on the NBC ND broadcasts, were teammates at Princeton and close friends. Don said that in a conversation, “Jason told us Angeli has stood out in every game he’s played in, especially vs. Oregon St.” On the home front, I decided to “retire” after 16 years of coaching high school football where I worked under 10 head coaches. Over that time, I coached QBs, running backs, receivers and DBs. This past season I was also the special team’s coordinator and the team returned two kickoffs for a touchdown and recovered an onside kick on the opening kickoff (but did not convert it for a score). This past season took a lot out of me, especially getting up at 5:30 a.m. for morning practices. The funny thing was at the beginning of fall practice several of the new players were hesitant to throw a football to me, probably thinking it would bounce off my head. In showing how certain pass routes were to be run and catching the ball in the process, I disabused them of that notion. Going forward, I did not want to be known as the oldest football coach in the state! Will McNamara passed away Nov. 3, 2021. Tony Scibelli died Dec. 11, 2023, in Hilton Head SC. Earlier this year we lost Frank Moorman, who passed away in Jacksonville FL on Jan. 13. Pat Sheedy died March 1 in VA and Charlie Monahan passed away March 30 in MA. — Raymond Raedy; 5310 Rileys Ridge Road, Hillsborough NC 27278; 919-967-8816; nd62secy@medicinemanremedies.com

 

62JD Keeping in Touch

Dennis Sullivan writes that he is sharing an office with another lawyer and an accountant. It helps with his sanity and saves his marriage. But he has no active practice. He and Bev have three children and eight grandchildren; the three youngest start college next fall. He says that his best gig was serving as general counsel to the Diocese of Dallas for 19 years. Norm Stark noted that he doesn’t have much to report at 87, but wrote the following: Erie PA was in the direct path of totality for the recent eclipse, so they planned a party at their home on Presque Isle Bay to view the eclipse. The day started with rain and gray clouds, but amazingly, just as the four-hour process of the eclipse started, the rain stopped, the clouds parted and they had an unobscured view. It was a religious experience, especially seeing the sun’s corona for almost four minutes and then a spectacular burst of white light, just as the moon moved on and exposed a tiny part of the sun. He hopes other classmates had a similar experience. Marianne Kelly writes that she and Tom Kelly recently enjoyed a week in FL with dear friends. Tom’s Lewy body disease symptoms are somewhat stable and he is trying hard to continue with daily exercises to keep him upright and alert. Tom’s daughter, Susan Ashby ’97, and her husband, Christopher ’95, both Notre Dame grads, are donating a tree to Notre Dame in honor of their parents. The dedication ceremony will be followed by a celebration luncheon. Great to hear from you. Thank you. — Christine Stucko; christinestucko@gmail.com

 

63 Satisfying Careers 

Sal Cillela earned two master’s degrees, one from ND in American history (1966) and one from SUNY in history museum administration (1970). He spent three years in the US Army (1966-69), and then 43 years in museums including six at the Smithsonian. Sal has two grown sons (ND ’95 and ’99), a Rosary College bride of 54 years (a retired school administrator with an MAT from ND ’66) and five grandchildren. Retired in 2012, Sal has written and edited five books since 2009, all on Civil War history. Ron Ciancio and his wife, Sue, have been married for 59 years and have two daughters and two grandchildren. Following graduation, Ron earned both a JD and MBA from Northwestern. He practiced law for 40 years and retired as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of GATX Corporation in Chicago. Following retirement, he became very involved with volunteer activities (Seabrook Island GreenSpace and Johns Island Habitat for Humanity) and politics (two-term councilman and two-term mayor of Seabrook Island SC). Several years ago, Sue and Ron moved to Greenville SC where they have been taking classes at Furman U’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Ron has even managed to teach a couple of courses on F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ron Klimisch spent two years in the US Army as an artillery officer in Germany. Following release he worked as a financial analyst for Globe Union (now Johnson Controls) in Milwaukee. Ron has been married to his wife, Janet, for 56 years, and they have three daughters and five grandchildren. In 1968, Ron and several partners bought a small building materials distributor called Wausau Supply Company in Wausau WI. In 2000 the company had nine warehouses and a couple manufacturing locations in the Midwest, and now it has 21 warehouse locations and a couple of value-added locations. Ron bought out his partners and in 2016 sold his stock in the company to an ESOP he had created. He became a pilot in 1992 and in 1998 started a dry lease arrangement, which he still owns. Ron belongs to a number of for-profit and nonprofit boards, skis, curls, fly fishes, golfs and goes to all of the ND home games. Jack Moriarty graduated in aeronautical engineering and worked as such with the Department of the Navy, during which he earned an MBA and a JD from Indiana U. He was initially a prosecuting attorney, following which he was a partner in a patent law firm for years. His wife, Martha, was his grade/high school classmate and they have lived ever since in Indianapolis. Three of their children graduated from ND and one from U of Dayton. Approaching retirement, he served pro bono for those seeking American citizenship, said to be the most rewarding experience of his legal career. Mike McCarthy received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale, and then taught at Vassar College for 40 years. He has written eight books; the most recent, Liberal Education and Democratic Citizenship, will be published this June. Mike’s wife, Barbara, is also a teacher — they met over 58 years ago while students at Yale. They have three daughters and six grandchildren. Jack Ahern informed us that Tom Graham passed away Feb. 20 in St. Louis. He went to First National Bank after ND in the real estate division, and then left to join Jim Flanigan and Ed Noonan to build and manage The Main, a luxury apartment complex in Evanston IL. Later he, along with the Flanigans and two brothers from ND, bought the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. He found Mary, his wife for the past 40 years, as an architect-tenant. Andrew J. Griffin, MD and Ed Collins added remembrances. Artie Berry informed me that Gordon Dietzler, our freshman-year roommate in BP, died June 27, 2023. Gordon lived in Glendale IL for many years, before moving to San Diego in 2019. He was an independent contractor with Imperial Catering. Brian “Bomber” Richardson sent along information about Mark “Mad Dog” Howard, who passed away March 15 in Encinitas CA. Mark served in the US Marine Corps before embarking on a 37-year career as a secondary educator. Mark received a master’s in education from ND and a degree in the science of film from USC. He spent the majority of his teaching years at Fallbrook High School where he also coached diving and gymnastics. Mark is survived by his daughter. By the way, Bomber gave him the name “Mad Dog”! Ken Yeckley passed away Jan. 27 in Savannah GA. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Kathleen, two daughters and three stepsons. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, beginning his service as a navigator, then a pilot and finally a flight instructor. He served in Vietnam and was stationed all across the continental US. Ken moved to Savannah in 1990, where he began his second career as a teacher and coach at Benedictine Military School. Stephen Bennison ’61 told me that his brother, John Bennison, died in Port Orange FL. John was an economics major at ND who spent four years in the US Army following graduation. He earned an MBA at NYU and began his career in the clothing business with Macy’s in New York City, after which he joined Mass Brothers in FL. He later moved to Coeur d’Alene ID, where he was in real estate before retiring and moving to FL. The Alumni Office has advised of the passing of the following members of our Class: Matthew R. Westfall died Jan. 1 in Louisville KY, and Harry W. Steele Jr. died Jan. 7 in Indianapolis, survived by his father. — John F. 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 Doctor of Golf

Doctor of Golf is the honorific recently bestowed on classmate Charlie Blanchard by New Mexico’s lieutenant governor. This recognizes Charlie’s many contributions as a resident of Las Cruces and his roles as a golf columnist for two NM newspapers and as a performance psychologist for New Mexico State U’s athletic department. Plus, of course, the fact he is an all-around good guy. A Navy Vietnam vet with an MBA and a Ph.D., Charlie is an accomplished marathon runner and swimmer who competed in four Ironman Triathlons, winning two Masters (over 40) Championships. A pretty fair golfer as well, routinely completing a round with a score lower than his age. Kudos to Charlie! Patsy and Pat Callahan recently visited Marti and Peter Grace in Scarborough ME, enjoying the opportunity to catch up on family developments and sharing laughs about our times at ND. Terry Kollman and I had a couple of good conversations about events back in the day. He has refocused his business energies into charity work in South FL, while continuing his fundraising for St. Jude Children’s Hospital (a commitment now in its 47th year). Terry and wife Synda look forward to joining the crew at our 60th Reunion. Gene DeAgostino, wife Pat and their family hosted members of the Notre Dame Folk Choir at their homes in Bloomfield Hills MI. The group was performing at the DeAgostino parish church. David Bonnot passed away in November in Murfreesboro TN. A mechanical engineer by training, Dave was employed by GE and Northern Telecom over the course of a long and successful career. An avid golfer, a generous volunteer and active in his church, Dave was preceded in death by wife Tina and by one son. Five children, 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren survive. Tom “TJ” Tomjack died in December in Bend OR after a 10-year battle with Parkinson’s and dementia. An independent spirit, he had lots of interests, led by family, the out-of-doors and physical activity. TJ had a distinguished career as a CPA, CFO, CEO and board member. Mary, his wife of 60 years, and three daughters and six grandchildren survive. Patrick Rigney, who received his master’s in mechanical engineering in ’64, died unexpectedly in Niles MI after a long and well-traveled life. A native Irishman, Patrick worked up and down the East Coast after completing his studies, settling first in Allentown PA and then in Niles. Described by his family as “a man of many words and quite a few polymer patents,” he is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary, five children (all ND grads) and 10 grandchildren. George Callahan of Hot Springs AR passed away in December. He was reported to be “a tenacious and irascible” lawyer for more than 30 years. Successful too. George loved hunting, fishing and working on the farm. He was married to Janice for 41 years. Four children and five grandchildren survive. Don Dunphy passed away in Manhasset NY in March after a long illness. He had a 41-year career at ABC Television where he was a former VP and executive director of news services for ABC News with responsibility for NewsOne, the affiliate news service for ABC News. He was a key executive at WABC-TV, producing “eyewitness news” coverage of the Lake Placid Olympics, the return of American hostages from Iran and papal visits to New York City and Ireland. Don is survived by wife Sheila, three children and six grandchildren. I will be attending our 60th Reunion May 30-June 2, so should have lots of material for the next couple of issues. — Paul R. Charron; 44 Contentment Island Road, Darien CT 06820; 917-860-5385; paul.richard.charron@gmail.com

64JD Class Secretary — Richard Balfe Wagner;

1204 Erskine Manor Hill, South Bend IN 46614; 574-299-9888; 760-567-1270

 

65 Reunion

Plan to attend our 60th Reunion next year. Bob Lee, Class treasurer, Don Zone, Carl Giombetti and I are organizing the event. We will try to replicate the unique experience of our last gathering. Donna and Matt Lambert are retired in Charlottesville VA, but he remains on the board of the Hospital Sisters Health System and continues to volunteer for the local hospice. After medical school, Matt specialized in general surgery and just published his first novel, A Decent Interval, which is available on Amazon. John Fisher, infectious disease physician, continues to teach at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He published a book on Amazon titled Notre Dame We Hail Thee: Your Influence on a Life. It is a compilation of essays he has written over the years. John’s love for music and singing has persisted since his days in the ND Glee Club. He has been playing guitar and singing Irish rebel and drinking songs in a local pub for 20 years. Ann and Jim Jennings continue to live in Hernando MS. Park Ridge IL is home to David Donavan, who has his own insurance agency. He and his wife, Judith, have three sons. Jim Longe writes that Paul Ray’s son, Chris, is ND’s director of global safety and security. Ed Armento, retired FBI special agent, wrote that Ara Parseghian in January was enshrined in the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame. The event can be seen on fightingirishpreview.com/sugar-bowl-honors-ara. The Parseghian family asked Frank Pomarico ’74, tri-captain of the 1973 ND national champion football team, to represent them. Pat Ford, retired Miami trial attorney, is a highly regarded wildlife photographer who travels to exotic fishing destinations and has authored three fly fishing books. His photographs have appeared on over 300 covers for dozens of books and magazines. Steve Walther and John Gearen have asked for help contacting Rick Farrell and Dave Clennon. Send me any information on these men. Jim Epstein’s friend and colleague, John Woods, died in February in Town and Country MO and is survived by his wife, Karen. John’s son was a good friend of Jim’s son. Both families attended the same church. John was on the swim team at ND. After medical school, he specialized in general and vascular surgery and practiced in St. Louis for 30 years. Jules Vandersarl died last November in Colorado Springs where he was a dermatologist. He is survived by his wife, Mary, and four children including Jules ’04 and Elizabeth ’95. Also in November, Dan Ferguson passed away in West Lafayette IN where he was a research scientist at Purdue. After ND, Dan earned a Ph.D. and an MBA. He is survived by his wife, Irene, and three children. In December Ed Sherman died in Louisville KY where his professional career was primarily as a systems analyst, managing technology departments, at Citizens Fidelity and PNC Banks. He is survived by his wife, Carol, and three children. Tim Lawrence died in November in Crystal Lake IL. He is survived by his wife, Mary Kay, and son, Duane ’86. Don Wharton died in January in Landaff NH. He is survived by his wife, Carol. In December Joe D’Ercole died in Chapel Hill NC where he was a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the UNC. He is survived by his wife, Ginny, and two children including Jed ’99. Joe Martone died in February as did Richard Notebaert. Richard is survived by his wife, Patti, in New Hartford NY. — James P. Harnisch MD; 6759 West Mercer Way; Mercer Island WA 98040; jphnd65@hotmail.com

 

65JD Send News

After yielding the duties of Class secretary over the last few years, I’m back on the job again. The good news is that I have received no notice of any classmate passing in December 2023, or January or February 2024. The bad news is, nobody has sent me any news to publish for our summer 2024 Class Notes. Send me your fall edition news, and put me back in harness. I remain in good health. — John Donald O’Shea; irishplaywright1@gmail.com

 

66 Once More with Feeling

I connected with Al Augustine during Kim’s and my Naples FL winter escape, enjoying golf and a great meal. We also marched with the ND club in the local St. Pat’s Day parade, which ND great Rocky Bleier ’68 grand marshalled. Denis O’Toole wintered in Charleston SC and related that Dr. John Wylie was headed to campus for the ’24 Bengal Bouts with Pat Farrell. John reminded Denis, Bill Hill, Ray Flynn and John Burgess that 2025 will be the 95th anniversary of the BBs, and as pugilism vets they all need to be there. Denis added news of Denny O’Connell’s January passing in St. Louis, where he was a successful attorney. He was known as a great guy and caring friend to many. Regarding the BBs, Bill Loftus hailed from Sacramento CA noting Mike Smith’s January passing in Santa Fe NM, where he and Marilyn retired following a successful Chicago law career. The ’64 BBs 165 lb. champ, Mike was a good friend to many ’66ers. Attending his celebration of life were Keenan bud Mike Rush, Sid Baker of Indy, and Bill Breen and John Buck, both of Chicago. Pat Madden Jr. hit campus for the bestowing of the Rev. Robert F. Griffin, CSC, Award for writing excellence on his son Pat Madden III ’93, a professor at BYU. Our deceased mate Barry Lopez, also a superlative author, was the ’07 recipient of the Griffin Award. Pat Jr. keeps in touch with Jude Linehan and Pat McRedmond. Dick McCarty shared that he’s retired from commercial real estate in Chicago and is now settled with his spouse in Chandler AR, to be near their son. Dick enjoys golf, the warm climes and exploring the Southwest. John Blum, who lives in the shadow of the Dome, did a winter sojourn in Cabo San Lucas, with visits from his three kids and five grandkids, plus plenty of sun, golf and whale watching. Our fearless ’66 leader Cappy Gagnon joined Rush, Blum and Flynn over lunch with South Bend locals Pat Farrell and Joe Guiltinan. Cap remains deeply involved with research and reporting on numerous ND topics and is a top-tier, recognized expert on American baseball history and stats. I got word that Dave Worland’s cremains — he passed in ’23 — were to be interred at ND’s Cedar Grove Cemetery in mid-July. Dave’s pals from the infamous “Four Horsemen,” Barry Barth and Dean Planeaux, reacted to the news. The fourth, John Lawless, has yet to weigh in. Class of ’66 webmaster Jack Gerken, holed up in Southern CA, continues his fab tech efforts keeping us current. New registrants to the Class website include Jon Spoelstra, Delbert Hemphill, Jim Hawkins, Bill Springer, Bill Scott, George Carroll, Mike Delahanty, Bob Hagen, Joe Elias, Mike McDonald, Bob Williams, John Smith, Pat Ryan and Anton Kemps. Total registration is now 391. Get going and join us at 1966.und-class.org. Don’t mix it up with the U of North Dakota; keep searching. Frank Schleicher signaled from his farm in Blanco TX following a dynamic career as an engineer, entrepreneur and consultant. Remember Frank as the Dome photo editor/photographer. He has a trove of 10,000 negatives and slides from our ND tenure and welcomes suggestions about what to do with that “treasure.” I didn’t mention that Pam and Don Bouffard made Todd Herzog’s celebration of life in TN and that Todd had kept in touch with Jim Robison in TX, currently under the care of his wife, and Bruce Brommel in Quincy IL. What’s up with Ed Badaracco of Curacao and Bob Curran from Canada? I hope to make the Louisville game. Be well, keep moving and send news. — Tom Sullivan; 1090 Shore Road, Unit 14, Pocasset MA 02559; cell 773-454-4343; t66sullynd@gmail.com

 

66JD We Are Still Out Here

The title of this column came from the subject line of an email sent by Tom Kenney. He presumed that my plea for your information in the last issue generated a “raft of responses.” Well, had it not been for Tom and Walt Terry, the raft would have taken on water rapidly. Tom’s wife, Julie, passed away in 2013. He survived kidney cancer in 2014, and in 2015, he moved to the Oak Crest retirement community near Baltimore. He is happy to be there and plays the piano on Friday nights in one of the lounges (watch out, Billy Joel). In addition to demonstrating his musical talents, he is president of the community’s model railroad club. European travel (not as frequent as that of Bob Siebert) is one of Tom’s passions. Last year he traveled to Istanbul with his sons but turned down a piano playing job while there. Walt Terry continues to practice law five and a half days per week as a sole practitioner. Apparently not content with his open hours, Walt was a part-time City Court prosecutor in Oneonta NY for 24 years and an elected City Court part-time judge for 18 years. Walt and his wife, Diane, do manage to squeeze in a vacation in Aruba and a cruise each year. When asked why he continues to work, he said that it is fun and keeps his brain active. In addition, he has no hobbies, and Diane would go crazy if he were home full-time. Brett Peterson ’00 followed through on his promise to provide more information on his father, Tom Peterson. Tom passed away in December 2015, after suffering with a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer. He was survived by his wife of 43 years, Janis, three sons, three brothers and four grandchildren. He grew up in the Los Angeles area and, following graduation from high school, entered Texas A&M U. There, among other rituals, he was forced to sleep in a dresser drawer. With pressure from family members, he realized the error of his ways and transferred to Notre Dame, where he earned a BA in 1963 and a JD in 1966. He was named a commissioner of the Superior Court in 1974, and appointed judge by the governor of CA in 1984. Tom enjoyed well-written books, inexpensive scotch, chess, golf and spending time with his family and friends, to whom he showed great generosity. How about following the lead of Tom, Walt and Brett by sending texts, emails or calling me to update classmates on what’s going on in your world? — Scott Maxwell; 2781 Siena Lakes Circle, Unit 2444, Naples FL 34109; cell 215-920-0616; ndscotty@gmail.com

 

67 Trips and Departures

Jerry Pascale traveled to Vietnam in March with three Marine Corps buddies who served with him back in the day. They traversed most of the country from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi including some of the local sites where they served that brought back emotional remembrances. Jerry commented that today Vietnam is a beautiful country that welcomes Americans openly but loves their communism. Bill Walsh writes from Mokena IL informing us that his longtime friend and our classmate Dave Johnson passed away in Somerville MA in October from leukemia. Dave left campus with a physics degree and furthered his education getting a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics at the U of Chicago. His career spanned several institutions and academic organizations as he was recognized as a world-renowned expert in the field of acoustic propagation in fluid-saturated porous media. He was elected a fellow in the American Physical Society. As for Bill, he is a widower living in Mokena but reminisces about Dave as they attended grade school, high school and Notre Dame together where they both lived off campus junior and senior years, enabling them to overuse a ’62 Volkswagen with a sunroof. After graduating, Bill went into the Air Force where he was stationed at RAF Base Chicksands in Bedford, England, followed by over a year in Fort Meade MD in what we now call security service. After five years with AAA in Chicago in public relations, he spent the next 35 years selling security products, retiring from the Eastern Company as the national sales and marketing manager. Bill lost his wife, Diane Wegner Walsh, in 2021 to cancer after five years of treatment at Mayo Clinic and Rush Medical. We lost Fred Abide in January after a brief illness. After graduating Fred returned to run the family furniture store in Leland MS. He was loved by all who knew him through business and inspired many, including his younger brother John Abide ’69 who followed him to Notre Dame. Pete Tierney from Boulder CO let us know that his roommate of all four years, Father Tom Madden, died in Greenwich CT in February. Pete, John Dempsey from NC and John Gregory flew to be with Father Tom’s siblings in his final days in hospice. Cardinal Timothy Dolan stopped to bless and praise Tom the day before he died. Tom was in Blue Circle, the Meat Squad that protected the band as it marched around campus, and was instrumental in the success of Stay Hall getting started by his presence in Farley. Tom had last been on campus for the Ohio State game with Pete, John and Bob Reidy. John Dempsey also told us about Tom, as well as letting us know he retired after 41 years as a college president in multiple institutions in NC. John with Mike Moravec and Bob Kratovil, both retired attorneys, visited Gary Lewis in Houston. Email from Angelo Schiralli informs us that Kevin Hardy has been going through a rough patch for a few years with neck and esophagus surgeries causing him to lose weight, to the point that he’s now at 160 pounds. Kevin’s daughter lives near him and is overseeing his progress at a rehab facility in Northern CA where he hopes to be discharged by the time this column goes to print. Kristen Dufek ’96 was kind enough to let us know that her dad and our classmate, Jim Ruethling of Port Washington and Egg Harbor WI, left us in October. Soon after graduating Jim became a captain in the Marine Corps, serving three combat tours in Vietnam. Subsequently Jim earned an MBA from the U of Chicago. After many years in banking in Chicago and WI, Jim spent 23 years as the administrator of Beloit Clinic in Beloit WI. Phil Carter writes from Raleigh where he and his wife, Joan ’71MS, are secretaries for the Biological Sciences section of the Graduate School Class Notes where he has mentioned several classmates. Please write. — Bert R. Bondi; 1891 Curtis St., Unit 1502, Denver CO 80202; bertrbondi@gmail.com

 

67JD Cruising Along

Jane and John Hargrove recently cruised on a Viking ship to Venice and then Athens via the Adriatic. You may remember their last cruise along the Rhine when the weather was so rainy and foggy they didn’t see a thing. Here’s hoping this cruise will be perfect. Dick Muench managed to stay dry during the recent rainy and cool weather in CA, but the highlight was a large family reunion celebrating Carol’s “significant” birthday. Jim Harrington is planning on attending his 60th ND undergrad reunion this year. If any of you are also planning to attend, use this column’s email addresses to make sure you meet up with your Law class members. Germaine and Jim Mollison are still living close to campus and are celebrating that two of their grandchildren will also be close, at least for four years, attending Saint Mary’s College and St. Joe’s High School in South Bend. In this era where our family geographical roots are shallow, this will be the third generation of Mollisons attending St. Joe’s. Jim is still working from home and the office, but the really good news is that Germaine is “holding steady” with her health issues. Ted Sinars had his second knee replacement but sufficiently recovered to travel to Phoenix for the Cubs spring training. In June, they’re planning a train ride through the Canadian Rockies ending in Vancouver. Frank Cihlar is very proud of his weightlifting program and sent me a picture of some dumbbells. I think Frank is in the picture as well. Of course, I’ve been lifting 20-30 pounds of excess weight every time I struggle to stand up and I’ve been doing it for years, but I never thought it was something of which to be proud. Nevertheless, congratulations Frank. — Jim Heinhold; 1200 Carmel Lane, New Bern NC 28562; res 252-638-5913; im4irish@aol.com

 

68 You in the Back, the Floor Is Yours

With the South Bend and Chicago powers occupied with recovery from the Naples FL St. Patrick’s Day celebration that had Rocky Bleier chairing the parade, and with the President Tom Weyer cabinet immersed in happy hour management of world affairs, the paucity of incoming news leaves this note open to our backbenchers. Thank you to all of you who did not contrive to get into the notes by dying. Let’s begin with Terry Johnson, the St. Louis classmate who returned to St. Louis for management and increase of the custom home building company founded by his father. At graduation, Terry gave thought to continuing an additional year for gaining a master’s degree in business but decided that he knew what he wanted to do for his career. A true backbencher, Terry has attended no reunions, though he returns to campus for football weekends. During January, Terry accompanied his grandson to Notre Dame to cheer him on in a hockey tournament. To South Bend in January? “It was fun,” Terry said. This is an early start: Terry himself visited Notre Dame for the first time when he moved into his freshman hall. Retired now, Terry and his wife, Debbie, spend winter months in Bonita Springs FL, where they own a condominium. Phil Feola, whose good looks and law school ambition made him a target for Gini Waters Enright ’68SMC, did earn a law degree he put to use during a Washington DC career. In fact, post-retirement, Phil teaches at George Washington U Law School. In April, Phil and many lacrosse teammates returned to Notre Dame for the team’s 60th anniversary. Others in attendance were Tom Kingston, Fred Morrison, Len Niessen, Dr. Gerry Niederman and Bob Morin ’69. For the fellowship of it all, Geoff Sarm of Chicago and Mike Abeyta of CO will join the former players. At other times, if you are looking for Phil, his wife, Marcia, and their three children, check Cape Cod, where they have a vacation home. And now back to FL, this time Jacksonville, where Dick Brettell and his family came to live 45 years ago. They came from Philadelphia when Dick, a manager with the Workman’s Compensation Bureau, was offered the FL responsibility plus a promotion. You won’t find him looking north or, for that matter, anywhere but Jacksonville. Well, like all the rest of us, he has northern memories: winters in South Bend, the “memorable drink” Mike Ryan gave him at Rocco’s when Dick celebrated his 21st birthday. Dick asked about friends from Breen-Phillips and Dillon: Mike Ryan, Will Dunfey, Tom Condon and the mysterious Dave Vecchia, shown in the Notre Dame directory as living in CT. Finally, we recognize the waving hand of retired U of Alabama professor John Patrick “Pat” Hermann. As ardent as friends from Prof. Frank O’Malley’s freshman class remember him, Pat credits Ken Beirne for the introduction of The National Review and ideas that would shape his life. Describing himself as “real active in church and political affairs,” Pat is appalled by a universal climate intimidating the faculty of modern universities. No onlooker, Pat has jumped into the fray. Collaborating with a state legislator, he has testified in the two AL legislative houses, an effort that has resulted so far in a bill that monitors university diversity, equity and inclusion department activity. The Hermanns are a Sunbelt family, too. As a Notre Dame student, Pat was from the northwest Chicago suburbs, where his young mother had taken the family after Pat’s father died in an airplane crash. Now Pat and his wife have a son serving with the Army at Fort Bragg and daughters living in Biloxi MS and Atlanta. Monk Forness in Granger IN and Mike Burgener in San Diego have been exchanging emails about the bench presses they have in mind for celebration of their birthdays: 500 pounds for Monk and 9,000 kettle lifts during a month for Mike. Floridian Jim Smithberger seems to get his exercise from lifting household goods onto moving trucks: 22 relocations since 1971. At the moment, he is planning to appear at a tailgate during continued recovery from the horse fall that left him with eight broken ribs and a heart contusion. While we have no current deaths, we do have overlooked deaths. Please say prayers for Tom Duxbury, the Davies FL resident who died June 18, 2023. John Hughes wishes us to remember Stephen Clark Brandt, who died Oct. 18, 2023, in Pensacola FL. Include in your prayers classmates managing health issues: Tom McKenna of Carmel IN and South Bend’s steady Gene Cavanaugh. — Tom Figel; 570 Sheridan Square, Apt. 3, Evanston IL 60202; 312-241-7917; tfigel@reputecture.com

 

68JD Class Secretary — Dennis G. Collins;

2203 Derby Way, St. Louis MO 63131; bus 314-516-2648; dgc@greensfelder.com

 

69 Two Alumni Association Awardees

Two classmates received Alumni Association awards at the Morris Inn on April 17: Mike Cerre received the Rev. Arthur S. Harvey, CSC, Award for his Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalism career. Gina Cerre (wife), Bob Burke, Greg Downes, Dave Heskin, John Hickey (Kathleen), and Tom Ryan attended the awards luncheon. Plastic surgeon Dr. Dick Ott received the Dr. Thomas Dooley Award for “outstanding service to humankind.” Wanda Ott (wife), Jennifer Ott ’98 and Matthew Ott ’00 (children), and Paul Ott ’70 (brother) attended the awards dinner. Congratulations, Dick and Mike! In more news, January: The “Travel Squad” (Jim Burke, Mike Busby, Ernie Gargaro, Fritz Gast, Peter McInerney, Eb Moran and Jerry Teagan) met for their 34th annual gathering for a men’s basketball game. Kelley Macke ’70 and Brian Schmidlin also met to watch a weekend of campus sports. Tim Russell has been reprising his impersonations and skits on A Prairie Home Companion’s 50th anniversary tour. Joel Connelly wrote “Farewell Sports Illustrated” for Post Alley Seattle, which included a story about his mother writing for the magazine (1960s-70s). Dick Cimino, Pat Cronin, Jim Gleason (Karen), Jim Goetz (Maryfran), John Hickey (Kathy), John Kenefick, Steve Kavalauskas (Diane), Mike Keane, John McAlister (Julie), Bob Osar (Karen), John Quinn (Mary Helen), Charlene Baron ’06, Charles Baron ’67 and Dave Marshall ’83 met at the Coyle Freedom Park in Naples FL to tour its wetlands area followed by a BYO lunch. John Quinn also shared his beekeeping stories. I also lunched with Suellen and Dave Sim at their home in Cape Coral FL. Jim Blakely attended three premieres of the Masters of the Air miniseries, featuring actor David Shields as Lt. Col. Everett Blakely ’64MA, Jim’s father. Mike Coughlin, legally blind since the age of 7, appeared in the podcast Unstoppable Mindset in episode 199, “Unstoppable Blind Engineer with Mike Coughlin.” February: Don Wycliff participated in ThinkND’s Black Domers: Past, Present, and Future podcast. John Kenefick hosted Dean Benner, Dick Cimino and John Quinn at the Bear’s Paw CC, Naples FL. George Kunz and Dave Casper ’74 discussed ND and NFL football on a podcast with George’s son, Matt Kunz ’98. While visiting Bend OR, Jim Lyons accidentally met Joe Schmidlin ’04, son of Brian Schmidlin. High school classmates (St. Joe’s, Kenosha WI) John Berres, Gene Hammond and Tony Kluka lunched in Madison. Gene also visited Steve Kavalauskas (Diane) for a week on Sanibel Island. Tim Schlindwein was on campus for the Ansari Institute advisory board meeting. Docent Peter Nardi gave Bob Franken (Cathy McCormick) a personal tour of the Hollyhock Museum in LA. March: Peter McInerney traveled to Hampton SC for a dinner that included recollections of his travels there in 1968 and 1969 with other ND and SMC students to assist in voter registration. Steve Kavalauskas (Diane) visited Jim Gleason (Karen) and Jim Bodary (Lesley) in Pinehurst NC. Brian Schmidlin (Caryn) visited Hal Smith (Susan) in Tucson. Ken Bieschke published The Story of Dragon: A Splendid Torch (January) and Doomsdayers. Mike Cerre, Bob Moran ’69Arch and Len Niessen ’68, ’69 attended the lacrosse team reunion on the Blue-Gold Game weekend. On campus, I lunched with Terry Hanratty and dined with Jim Groves. The Class blog hit 1.3 million pageviews. In memoriam: Bill Wolff, Dec. 23, Prescott AZ; Joe Williams, Jan. 10, Saratoga Springs NY; Jim O’Connor, Feb. 3, MD; Don Hild, Feb. 20, Cincinnati; Rev. Donald Dilg, CSC, March 19, Holy Cross House, Notre Dame; Charles “Chuck” Nau, April 6, Washington DC; Dan Saracino, April 7, South Bend. Dave Heskin, Hub Miller, Jim Groves, Paul Gill ’70 and I attended Dan’s services. Requiescant in pace. — John Hickey; jphjr47@hotmail.com; notredameclassof1969blog.blogspot.com

 

69MBA Sad News

On Oct. 22, 2023, Bob Dowdell lost his battle with cancer. His wife, Grace, sent me all the information on his Celebration of Life. It was a fitting tribute for Bob and for all on his volunteer and mentoring endeavors. He will most definitely be missed by all who knew and worked with him. Bob was the main catalyst to get our Zoom calls going. This task has now been passed on to Joe Cavato. Joe will communicate separately with info on the calls. It is a great way to discuss sports and doings at the University. Slightly better news regarding Vince George. Vince is a real fighter and is now facing a one-year battle with cancer and more recently heart disease. His care has been moved from Dallas to Northwestern U Hospital in Chicago. Cindy and Vince feel that their NW team of doctors are doing wonders and doing their best to make Vince’s care positive and comfortable. Recently, they made a short visit to Dallas and I was lucky enough to visit them for lunch. Vince looked better than I was expecting. We were able to catch up somewhat. To best follow his progress, go to CaringBridge.org. Son Matthew is doing an excellent journal update on what issues are most serious and being addressed. Jim Halas is wondering why not many classmates utilize our own ’69 MBA Facebook group? Please remember that our planned 55th mini reunion for the fall will be the Miami of Ohio weekend, Sept. 21. As noted in the last issue, about eight classmates have indicated they plan on attending. I have no other news, so please call or send me items of interest and/or travel that you would like to share with the Class. There is a major lag to get everything communicated on a timely basis. I’m writing this in April for the summer issue. Go Irish! — Ken Samara; 3030 McKinney Ave., Apt. 601, Dallas TX 75204; 214-532-2187; kensamara@sbcglobal.net

 

69JD Author, Author

John McLeod has penned another book, Annabel’s Eyes, a follow-up to his first novel, Justice Hill. His latest features a bloody crime scene sans a body, human trafficking and high-end art. John promised that the ending will be a surprise and a reward for the reader. John promised that he would have a book signing at our 55th reunion on Sept. 13 and 14. The Varsity Club in Mishawaka will be reunion central. Once I get an idea of the number of attendees, I will try to make arrangements for dinner Friday night at Corndance Tavern on Grape Road (where else?). Jim Barba sent me the Playbill for Heir, the third-year production by the Hoynes-Shakespearean Players Traveling Repertoire and Storm Door Company, which featured John McLeod as Herr Lippe, Joe Frantin (Otis “Big Ott” Lothario), Merle Wilberding (Arthur Anderson), Pete Driscoll (Flee Bailey), George Burgett (Walter Crankcase) and a host of classmates. I am tracking down a rumor that there were more players than attendees. As the candles on our birthday cakes set off fire alarms, Joe Kennedy is passing along safety tips. He recently added an electric stair lift. He says it is a wonderful addition to his house and made things safer. Dave Prior continues to write his “Rex Rover” feature that is very funny. Please let me know if you will be attending our reunion. I hope to see you there. — Jim Starshak; 889 Ka’ohe Place, Honolulu HI 96825; res 808-395-0443; cell 808-778-4033; starman@hawaii.rr.com