November, 2007
As I
am sure you know by now, in August 2007 Don Taylor (Kingwood, TX) passed away and
then in October, Bob Philpott (Charlotte, NC). Brother Rats weighed in with
testimonials for both.
Bob Waldron (El Paso, TX) sent along a wonderful and uplifting
remembrance of Donny’s funeral. He wrote, “First I will tell you that this was
more of a celebration of a life well lived than a somber occasion because
everyone seemed to have a story about how Don had helped or inspired them in
some way or another. There were a lot of people who used Don's warning phrase
‘Oh Boy’ to describe how things were getting tense or his harshest phrase ‘Oh
Man’ to describe when things were about to erupt out of hand.
“John Chapla (Alexandria, VA) and I
attended the memorial services and John also served as pall bearer for Don's
casket at the grave side services. It was a well attended and most impressive
service at the church followed by grave side services conducted by the local
chapter of the VFW. Bill Dermott'66 worked with Don for many years at Exxon attended the
services as did a rather large contingent of active and retired Exxon employees
and families. Jay Slaughter (Wilsonville, OR) and Rev Jones (Prosper, TX) both called and
offered their condolences to Don's wife, Sheila and the rest of the family.
“Paul
Hartsel from Vinton, VA also attended the services. Paul, Don and I met each
other in the 2nd grade at Roland E. Cook Elementary School, and played football
and wrestled through sand lot and high school before going off to college. To
say that we lost a life long friend is a serious understatement. On the last
time I spoke with Don on Tuesday of last week before he passed away on Friday,
Don's closing words to me were to encourage me to check on Paul's status as he
has some serious back problems that will require surgery during September. Don
was just recovering from a month long battle with shingles, was having problems
with a cataract and was on the way out of the house to visit the doctor for
some pain relief management, but he still had concern for a friend over his
concern for anything impacting him. To me, that says it all about our Brother
Rat.
“Sheila
remained by Don's side for this last 18 months since his diagnosis putting
aside her teaching career and neglecting her own medical conditions to assist
Don throughout this period. This says it all about her and the love that Don
and Sheila shared.
“Don
and Sheila's daughter, Carey and son, Scott and their families were there
giving their Mom all the support that they can. Don's brother Mike and his
wife, Lizzy along with their two daughters braved the flight on a miniature
aircraft to come and support the family through this period. I have not
frequently observed the kind of family loyalty and support demonstrated by this
family unit.
“That
gives you my limited observations that were hampered by lack of command for the
English language and ability to convey in words the sensing of both loss and
celebration for Don and all the lives that he affected over the years from
grade school through retirement from Exxon. Godspeed.”
Jay Slaughter wrote, “I had the privilege of seeing Donnie and
Sheila about a week and a half before he died. If you remember him as being a
fearless football player or wrestler, I can only say that is the way he was
till the end. They had decided to have quality of life over quantity of life,
he and Sheila were brave beyond belief. He knew what was coming and he faced it
like he has always faced issues head on. He will truly be missed by his family
and his classmates, he was one of a kind and I am proud to be able to call him
a Brother Rat.”
Dick Rankin (Honolulu, HI) wrote, “I 'd like say that Donnie
Taylor had a smile on his face every time I ran into him. It was one of those
uplifting smiles that I think a lot of us benefited form in our cadet days.
Even if you were dead tired from practicing football and walking penalty tours
and doing homework and all that stuff, Donnie could lift your spirits with that
smile. In short, I will always remember Donnie Taylor fondly as my smiling
football buddie. What a great guy!”
Buck Miller (Wilton, CT) wrote, “Very sad news. It came during the
celebration of my second daughter's wedding in Jackson Hole, WY with Chips McCallum (Norfold, VA) and Krita Kritakara (Bangkok, Thailand) in
attendance. Don and I dyked in the same room our Rat year and I quickly came to
appreciate what a special guy he was. He will be greatly missed.”
Regarding
Bob Philpott, Tom Norment (Williamsburg, VA) wrote, “We
all share in the loss of a true BR. He was a great guy and was providing
wonderful leadership as head of the VMI Foundation. I am personally saddened
because Bob and I were both excited at the prospects of him presenting me the
VMI DSA award on Nov. 9, which would have been the first time in the history of
the Institute one BR presented it to another BR.”
Guy Wilson (Charlotte, NC) wrote, “At (Bob’s) funeral saw Howie Donald (Richmond, VA), John Royster (Advance, NC), "Groovie" Davis (High Point, NC) and Bob's
roommates Wes Padgett (Montgomery, AL) and Marvin Thews (Roanoke, VA). Had lunch with
Padgett and Thews and their wives afterwards to catch up. Marv has a son here
in Charlotte and is coming down next week to play golf with him at Pinehurst. “
More from Guy later.
“The
memorial service packed Christ Episcopal Church, and the family received guests
at the church afterward. We all spoke to Chip Brooke and his mom also. Sad day
but truly a celebration service that the minister said Bob had helped to plan.
As Bob would say, it was awesome.”
ML Buchanan (Fairfax, VA) wrote, “I am very saddened by the news
of Bob's passing but am also very grateful to have been on the E-mail for
notification. Bob and I were both from the Piedmont, me in Concord, right
outside Charlotte, he just down the road in Lexington. NC Furniture country. He
and his father were my ride home at Christmas and spring break.
“Bob
was an exceptionally fine man. Clearly exemplary in his professional life,
stalwart in his service to the Institute, and a man of high moral character and
positive action in his family and community. I am sure his life's legacy will
endure in innumerable hearts and in many accomplishments of enduring value. A
stanza in the Marine Corps Hymn advises the world that departed Marines stand
guard on Heaven's streets. I suspect that the Sgt. of the Guard at Heaven's
gate has probably gotten a waiver to the SOP and has asked Bob to go on the
watchlist!”
In
mid-October, Bob Crenshaw (Plumtree, NC) wrote, “I am back from Iraq and
settling in Plumtree, NC. I am sorry to hear about Bob and Don passing away.
Just points out how fragile life is and to enjoy what we have worked so hard
for and live in peace.” I think that just about sums it up for all of us.
Dee Biggs (Acton, MA) sent along an email that read, “… I was shocked to
hear about Bob Philpott's death after just talking to him a few weeks before he
died. Things are pretty quiet at our house as our youngest son has gone off to
the University of Rhode Island and seems to be enjoying college life. We were
in Boise a few weeks ago to visit with our oldest son, Bryan (named more or
less for Bryan Barton) and his family. We have two granddaughters and they are
a delight as are all grandchildren. Our daughter came over from Portland and is
enjoying married life and is working with her husband to fix up a house they
just bought there. I am still at Welch's and will likely stay for at least one
more year.”
Jim Burg (Prescott, AZ) sent along a nice report when he wrote, “... I
received a surprise call from my first class Dyke, Jeff Gausepohl’65. He took care of me when I was
a rat and haven't heard from him in over 40 years. The surprise call registered
his name on my caller ID and I could hardly believe it. He said he'd been
following my situation and had wanted to locate me after all these years. He
finally located me through the internet email system. He was coming out to
Sedona, AZ, to visit some friends and wanted to visit with me and my wife. It
was a great reunion and he and wife Vicky spent the day with us then took us to
dinner. They looked great especially since I was only 17 when he took me under
his wing. He retired from Dupont and now lives in California. Yes, good things
do happen.”
Guy Wilson gave an update when he wrote, “Now three years into full
retirement and not missing work a bit. We split our time between houses in
Charlotte (Ballantyne area) and Charleston (Mt. Pleasant). Daughter Anne
(Charlotte) now has daughter Elisabeth (almost 5) and son Wilon (almost 2).
Son-in-law John Jordan is now CFO of Bojangles and was recently selected one of
Charlotte's top 40 executives under 40. My mother, now 88, lives in assisted
living near our Charlotte home. Our son Jeff, a James Madison and W&L Law
School grad, and his wife Mandy have just moved from Dallas to the Norfolk
area. Jeff works as a labor and employment attorney with Williams & Mullen
in Virginia Beach. Golf handicap now hovers around 10, and just shot my best
round of 74 yesterday. I play with Charlotte Seniors group who play twice a
week year-round at about 12 courses, and now have golfing buddies in Charleston
as well.
“Just
recently visited a meeting of Moultrie Chapter (#27) of Sons of Confederate
Veterans (Mt. Pleasant/Sullivans/Ilse of Palms). They have some interesting
programs on Civil War history and current day Southern perspectives. Haven't
decided whether to join, but am eligible because my paternal great-granddad
James Munroe Wilson joined Co. B Brown Rifles (Putnam County/Eatonton GA), 3rd
GA Volunteer Infantry, at age 16 in June 1861, served most of the war in the
Army of Northern VA, and was one of the few to last it out to surrender at
Appomattox and walk home to GA at age 20.”
Mac Parrish (Richmond, VA) reports some changes to his life too.
“I am in the process of moving after 25 years in this house and have begun to
uncover things I did not know that I ever had or still have. Once I get
settled, I will assemble and forward the pictures, etc to whomever is running
that part of the reunion. This is a passage, kind of akin to a progressive
dinner; as I am discovering so many items, and it is all that I can do to NOT
delve into that box/folder/ envelope and keep my focus on packing and moving.”
Wayne Burton wrote, “In 2002 Carole and I decided that we would
retire in St Marys, Georgia after spending three months working at the Kings
Bay Navy Base there. (St Marys is in the SE corner of Georgia on the Florida
state line). I bought a house there in Nov 2003 as an investment. Well, my
company has asked me to take an assignment to Kings Bay Navy Base in St Marys
for a year. After which time I could continue working for the company or
retire. Now we all know what happened to Br'er Rabbit. So, I am moving there in
a couple weeks and will be moved into my house by November 2007. Life is good.
I will be looking up the Jacksonville, FL, VMI alumni shortly.”
At
the end of October, Wayne wrote, “I took possession of my house today (Oct 31,
2007) and will be in there painting tonight. Due to timing and Thanksgiving, we
will not move our household goods until December and should be in the house Dec
10. So, then we can settle down. I officially moved here Oct 1 and am in an
apartment until I get moved in. I will be contacting the Jacksonville VMI
Alumni Chapter when I get settled. Looking forward to our April reunion. I
already have hotel reservations at the Holiday Inn in Lexington.”
In
the middle of September, Terry Bowers (Martinez, GA), provided an update on his project to
locate, photograph and publish (http://www.augustagavmiaa.info/new_market_database.htm)
the graves of all VMI cadets and staff involved in the Battle of New Market.
Terry wrote, “Yes, sadly there are perhaps ten of the New Market cadets who
have no marker at their grave. This project was started about two and a half
years ago and we have had remarkable success in locating the final resting
place of each member of the New Market Corps. We still have about 25 graves to
find and about 35 photos to take of known grave locations. When we are finished
with the locating and photographing phase of the project, it is our desire to
get markers from the VA for the graves that are unmarked. Then we hope that
Alumni Chapters, SCV camps or some local group can install the markers. We are
also hoping that the VMI Alumni Association will authorize and fund a special
VMI Cross that is similar to the Confederate Veteran Iron Cross at many graves.
These would be placed at each grave of the New Market Corps. That effort seems
far off now, but we will soon have to declare the initial effort virtually
complete, since we now have located 94% of the graves and have photographed
over 80%.” Terry assigned me the job of getting pictures of the gravestones of Thomas Hayes’867, Arthur Hawks’867, and Thomas Clendinen’867. I was successful on the first
two, but Cadet Clendinen’s resting place remains undiscovered.
On a
different topic, Terry wrote that he and Joyce were heading to Germany to see
their son and his family before his son heads to his next assignment at Fort
Carson (Colorado Springs, CO) in January 2008.
Thanks
to the VMI’69 class agent, Walt Judd (and no thanks to the VMI’68 participants) I got a
report on the September basketball reunion. Walt wrote, “John Kemper (Richmond, VA) arranged
"The McPherson Years" basketball reunion last weekend and several of
your guys were there. Curtis Beach (Salem, VA), Steve Powers (Malvern, PA), and Kevin Henry (Winston Salem, NC) joined "Jim" Kemper for golf and talk about
basketball 'back when'. Reed and I had fun messing with the 'older' guys there.
I never knew Reed had such a vocabulary of old tales. All the guys looked great
and were full of good times.
“Steve
especially looked well and told of his second wife, four daughters and nine
grandchildren. He started pulling pictures out of his wallet of the
"people he loved". It started with several of young children in
singles or groups. Then he said "and this is my work-out partner" and
he showed a picture of a large blonde gorilla. Next came a picture of John
Kemper... You gotta laugh at this guy!
“The
funniest thing to me was the fact John Mitchell and John Kemper still "own" those
taller guys. "Get me the ball," still works for those two when
talking to Steve and others over six one. Whether it was for a basketball or a
golf ball.”
ML Buchanan also included in his October remembrance of Bob Philpott the update, ““Re my status: I
am currently on the downside of an extended tour in OIF, the USMC part of the
sandbox. I return home 3 days prior to my 62nd birthday just in time for
Thanksgiving. I will be home for Christmas this year but depart a few days
after to return to my command. To my knowledge, I have at least three fellow
alumni with me, post '80 grads and in relatively close proximity to my
posting.”
My
standing Google-search for all things VMI, turned up the a lengthy article on Bob McDowell (Friday Harbor, WA) in
business.Scotsman.com in early November, “Some might vote for Donald Trump, but
the role of Scotland's favourite American businessman properly belongs to
Robert L McDowell, the senior Microsoft executive who acts as international
statesman for the $50-billion-revenue, 80,000- employee IT empire. A Scot by
ancestry, who first planted the Microsoft flag here while head of the company's
business consultancy arm, McDowell seems almost as entangled in the big-picture
strategising of Scotland plc as Microsoft's products are with our work and
social lives. A founding member of the Globalscot network, he is also a member
of Scottish Enterprise's international advisory board, and patron of the
University of Highlands and Islands Development Trust. …”
A
different day’s search revealed that Tom Boyd (Alexandria, VA) has joined
DLA Piper as a partner in Washington, D.C. Tom was formerly the head of Alston
& Bird LLP’s Legislative and Public Policy group, and will co-chair DLA
Piper’s Government Affairs and Regulatory Practice with Governor James
Blanchard.
Jim Burns’ (Dahlgren, VA) update read, “I'm looking forward to the upcoming
Nov. 9 meeting of the VMI Institute Society. They will be recognizing BR Tommy Norment for his years of public
service as a Virginia State Senator. Gives me a chance to see Tommy honored,
celebrate my birthday and visit with my son, Sloan, VMI Class of 2010. He is
doing great - a lance corporal and wearing stars. Just returned from a week of
fishing in Baja, Mexico with Ron Lowry, Class of 1971. He is a "part-time" doctor
and a "full-time fisherman" which is a description that I would like
to entertain for myself soon.”
Chuck Maddox’s (Strasburg, VA) news was, “The big news in our family is
Deacon Maddox '93 will be back from his extended tour in Iraq with 1ID for
Christmas. Mom is very happy and Dad gets his hunting partner back before the
end of the season! Thanks to John and Cindy Crim for the Rat March (September
2007) reception and to the BR's who braved the elements for a 7am Tee Time at
the "Good To Me Open" at "The Jack" Sunday morning (Class
Agent addition: with thanks to Chuck for hosting us). We are planning to do it
again next year so get the calendars out. It is normally Labor Day Weekend!”
In
early November, Marta Anders (Woodstock, VA) wrote, “I’m writing on Skip’s behalf. Well, actually, I’ve
been nagging him to write you and finally realized he was never going to find
time, LOL. I wanted you to hear about his new job because we are finally back
in Virginia after nine long years up north. On August 1, Skip became Commandant
of Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, VA. It all happened very quickly.
He came down here to teach summer school, and on July 21, he found out that the
current commandant had just resigned. By Aug. 1 Skip was at work and on Aug. 23
we moved in here.
‘Skip
is loving the job – all 90 hours a week of it. His boss, Col. Zinser, is a
Citadel graduate, but the SAI went to VMI, so the boss is outnumbered. (Phil
Corbo is the SAI – I can’t remember his class year.) We had the idea to come
down to the VMI-Citadel game as a group, but the others can’t make it, so it
will just be us with our daughter, plus the cadet battalion commander, a young
man named Costa. We’d love to know if any of your BRs will be there. We’ll also
be attending the parade that morning. I’m not sure if we are staying overnight
or not.”
“We
are looking forward to the class reunion next spring. Unfortunately, it is the
same weekend as the Military Ball at MMA, so we will not be able to participate
in all the reunion activities, but it will be good to be there as much as we’re
able.”
Heard
from Larry
Ryan
(Germany) in early November when he provided the following, “My daughter was
promoted to captain; she's an Army nurse and she tells me I'm to become a
grandfather in May. So that's very exciting news for me. I've been offered a
new job- I'll be the Resident Engineer in Beersheva, Israel working for the
Army Corps of Engineers. I'm sorry to leave Germany but excited about both the
job and the location. Just to get in the mood I watched Lawrence of Arabia last
weekend.”
Just
to follow-up on Tom Norment. On November 10, 2007, Tom was honored with the VMI
Foundation Distinguished Service Award. Quoting from the VMI web site, “The
Foundation’s highest honor, the award is given to those alumni and friends of
the Institute who have displayed exemplary dedication to the Institute and its
mission and worked diligently on behalf of the VMI Foundation and Virginia
Military Institute. Before presenting the award, Perrin praised Norment as an
‘active citizen’ who had ‘served his country in uniform, served the
Commonwealth in political office and served his alma mater as a trustee of the
VMI Foundation’ and read the award citation, which highlighted Norment’s 17
years of service in the Senate of Virginia and his role in the celebrations of
the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in 2007 as well as his eight
years as a trustee of the VMI Foundation. ‘VMI was established to be a school
for leaders in all walks of life, and that includes public service,’ commented
Perrin before the ceremony. ‘For many years, Senator Norment has been a leader
in Virginia’s government, offering principled leadership that has brought
credit to VMI. Moreover, as a Virginia senator and a trustee of the VMI
Foundation, he has done much to ensure that VMI’s singular education is
strengthened.’”
August 2007
In response to a missed birthday
call, Tom Coffey (Wytheville, VA) wrote “Nothing particularly
new for Ilona and me here in Wytheville, but our daughter (Kelly) in
Sweetwater, TX, is expecting their first child (and our first grandchild) later
in the year. Kelly is the science teacher at a small high school there, a
location she finds much more conducive to the teaching and learning enterprise
than the Bronx, where the teachers should receive hazardous duty pay! Our son
(Ethan) just made Lt. (j.g.) in the Navy, and is serving as an instructor at
the US Navy Nuclear Power School in Charleston SC while working on a masters in
mechanical engineering at Ga. Tech.”
Terry Bowers
(Martinez, GA) volunteered some information when he wrote, “Joyce and I
attended our son Matt's graduation from Air Command and Staff College this past
weekend. Saturday morning I attended the Air Force Association brunch for the
‘2007 Gathering of Eagles’ (see http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/goe/index.html
click on biographies and then 2007). We got to meet some real heroes, 2 Medal
of Honor winners, a Doolittle Raider, an SR-71 Blackbird test pilot, Hal Moore
of "We were Soldiers Once" fame etc.; it was humbling experience.
Also at the brunch was Wes Padgett (Montgomery, AL). We got to talk
awhile; Wes said his ACSC class started the "Gathering of Eagles"
tradition in 1982. It was a great weekend. My son and his family are now off to
Ramstein AFB in Germany.”
Later in the summer, Terry sent
me an email with a subject line of, “Hey, Brother Rat.” Well, you know what I
thought, “What does Terry want from me?” He wanted me to find and photograph
the gravesite of Arthur Wells Hawks’1867, a New Market Cadet. Well, I
hadn’t even started on that task when a second task came to me from Terry. Al
Conner’66 was able to identify the gravesite of Thomas Gordon Hayes’1867, one of
the New Market Cadets. Hayes was buried in a cemetery not far from my house. He
wanted me to go to the cemetery and take a picture of the gravesite and
tombstone. Turns out that Cadet Hayes had a distinguished political career in
Maryland after the Civil War with being Mayor of Baltimore from 1897 – 1901 as
the capstone. When I called the cemetery to find out where he was buried, they
were able to quickly give me the location. On a hot day in August, I took the
picture. Later, I found a descendent of Cadet Hawks, who had a career as a
Chautauqua speaker and philosopher, who said that Cadet Hawks was also buried
in that same cemetery, but in a different area. My upcoming mission is to
verify this information and get a picture of his headstone for Terry’s website.
You can see Terry’s and others’ impressive collection of work at
http://www.augustagavmiaa.info/new_market_database.htm.
By the time this is published the
event will be long over but in early June, Buck Miller (Wilton,
CT) wrote, “I am sailing in the Marion, MA to Bermuda race next week as crew on
PILGRIM. The race starts at noon on the 15th and we hope to arrive off St.
Georges, Bermuda in about 5 days.”
Skip Roberts
(Lexington, VA) gave a quick update when he wrote, “My youngest daughter Anne
just had her third son- ages 6,3 and the new one. Maybe we'll get a Keydet out
of the group, but both parents are Hoos.” Later, Skip wrote that while he was
at his vacation place in Idaho he was wearing a VMI hat at a wine tasting
event. A fellow came up to him and said, in essence, “WOW, you're from VMI,
that's quite a prestigious university!” Skip concluded, “He's from Idaho - so
his contact with VMI is slim. Go figure.”
On June 1, VMI’68 was well
represented at the Keydet Club outing in Lexington. I played golf with Jim Henry (Vienna,
VA), Mike Thacker (Roanoke, VA), and Dick Wise
(Richmond, VA). The following are excerpts of the report Dick provided, “Fellow
members of room 150, Just letting you all know that I upheld the honor of our
great room, as I stunk up the course at Lexington Country Club with my
exceedingly incompetent play last Friday. … My teammates: Jim Henry (team
captain), Tom Hickey, and Mike Thacker all deserve to be rewarded
for their infinite patience. At times the situation made me reminisce back to
Cadre '64 and poor Paul Maini’66, as he tried to teach me some
new military maneuver without completely losing it! Alas, just as Maini's, my
teammates' efforts were in vain, as I continued to abuse the course and insult
the game with each succeeding shot. I just hope that what happened to Maini,
i.e. being busted to the rank of private (George (Walton) and
Bill (Welsh) did contribute some to that) doesn't happen
to these noble gentlemen, as they return to their normal daily routines. After
all, golf is supposed to be fun!” Which prompted the following reply from Steve Fogleman’71, “That
must of been quite a sight – a gaggle of Good-To-Me's on the links with weapons
in-hand, The Storm unleashed and no adult supervision. … Nice write up, dyke,
semi-literate and entertaining. Room 150 reached its zenith of glory when Big
Charles, yours truly, Geoff and Ronayne lived there.”
Bob Philpott
(Charlotte, NC) sent along a press release that began, “(Williamsburg, Va.) –
State Sen. Tommy Norment (R-3rd)
(Williamsburg, VA) has been named the recipient of the College of William and
Mary’s 2007 Prentis Award. College President Gene R. Nichol presented the award
at a reception honoring Norment May 16. …’Our College—like our community and
our Commonwealth—is beyond fortunate to have Tommy Norment in our corner,’ said
Nichol. ‘William and Mary couldn't ask for a more devoted advocate in Richmond.
I’m proud to honor his friendship and service with the Prentis Award.’ …
Prentis Awards are given annually to community members whose civic involvement
benefits the community and the College. The award is named in honor of the
Williamsburg family whose 18th-century shop on Duke of Gloucester Street was a
hub of colonial life. Members of the Prentis family have been friends of the
College and the community since 1720, when the store was first established in
Williamsburg. … As the state senator representing Williamsburg, James City
County, York County, New Kent County, Gloucester County and parts of Newport
News, Norment has long been a tireless advocate for William and Mary. Recently,
Norment’s support for a new William and Mary School of Education building led
to the General Assembly’s approval of $5.4 million for the project to move
forward with planning and design. Norment has also been actively involved in
the Williamsburg community. He serves as an honorary trustee of the
Williamsburg Land Conservancy and a trustee of the Williamsburg Land
Partnership in Educational Excellence. As co-chair of the Jamestown-Yorktown
Foundation, Norment has been a leader in planning the Jamestown 2007
activities.”
Bill Cobb (Pompano
Beach, FL) sent along an update that began, “Greetings from sunny South
Florida. Vicki and I have successfully almost completed another PCS move,
meaning we're still on speaking terms and haven't killed each other (yet). We
are living amongst boxes and disarray, but figure we can always unpack those
boxes tomorrow, or the next day. Meanwhile, we're learning the area, using the
workout room, pool and spa, and really enjoying the view looking at the
intercoastal waterway towards Ft Lauderdale and the Atlantic Ocean. It's like
we're living permanently at our Marriott Hilton Head timeshare.”
The passing of Richard Burton caused Ben Hedrick
(Bethlehem, PA) to send along an update that included, “The news about Rich was
sad indeed. It reminds us to take seriously the old saying, ‘Live each day as
if it were your last and learn new things as if you will live forever.’ … To
that end, I retired a year ago last April (2006). The commute had gotten up to
almost two hours and the corporate insurance world seemed to have lost respect
for knowledge, experience, and fair play. … It took a good bit of time to
adjust to the concept of not working, striving for more money, promotions, and
the like. … But I adjusted and am now busier than a bull's behind in fly
season. Marcy and I went to Antarctica last January (2007) - 21 day cruise from
Santiago, Chilean fjords, around in Antarctica, and then back to Argentina. We
made a bunch of zodiac landings and got up close and personal with the
penguins. … We have also been taking Japanese lessons at the community college
in anticipation of a return to Japan in June 2006. Plan to do three weeks with
our older son as our guide and fill-in interpreter. He is doing great and
trying to get into a math PhD course. … Younger son is finishing his second
year of surgical residency in Rochester, NY so we don't hear from him very
often. But the police haven't called so he must be OK.”
In response to the same sad
event, Harvey Sadow (Jupiter, FL) wrote, “… in
addition to life in the art world, I am now working as the Director of the
Treasure Coast Golf Association, serving amateur golfers in southeastern
Florida. My game is in remarkably good shape for an old geezer. I am still
playing off the back tees on most courses and I even won a two-day tournament
in April, playing against the youngsters (who out drive me by 30-60 yards! How
can they routinely hit a golf ball 320 yards? I went to Scotland last summer
and played St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Royal Troon, Loch Lomond, Kingsbarns and a
few other courses lesser known to Americans but on the "Top Fifty in the
World List". I am taking a group this summer at the end of July for ten
days to play seven of the top fifty and a couple of the hidden gems. … My
daughter is going to be a freshman at GW in the fall.”
Talked with Roy Dornsife
(Tualatin, OR) in mid-June. Roy said he’s looking to retire from his orthodontic
practice by the time of our spring 2008 reunion. He said that he met with his
“old” roommates, Hal Switzer (Cambridge, MD), Clay Thompson (Salisbury, MD),
and Will Robertson (Virginia Beach, VA) back in May 2007 when he was in the
Baltimore area visiting his son Nicholas who is a Baltimore City copy. His
daughter Alison is a lawyer in St. Louis.
Bill Welsh
(Ashburn, VA) says he still selling State Farm Insurance in Arlington, VA. He
and Janet have four children, Katie who is married and lives in Leesburg,
Rachel who lives in the Orlando, FL, area, Laurie who is studying Nutrition and
Health in college, and Jeff who is a senior at O’Connell High School in
Arlington.
Steve Powers
(Malvern, PA) was able to confirm the rumor that Frank Pinnizotto
(Conshohocken, PA) and his delightful friend, Nini, became more than friends
when they tied the knot in 2006. He says that he, Frank and Gil Piddington (and
Gil’s son, Trey) (Downington, PA) get together once in a while – sometimes for
golf or lunch, and sometimes for surf fishing. Steve and Susie have four
children: Meghan who works with Susie in her home decorating business, Kimberly
who lives in Charlotte, NC, Kelly who lives in Atlanta, and Shannon who lives
near Steve. All together, their children have presented them with nine
grandchildren. Steve said he plans to get together with John Kemper
(Richmond, VA) for a basketball team reunion in the fall of 2007. Steve added
that he had a great phone conversation with Jack Falzone (Crystal
Lake, IL) in May and hopes to have dinner with him on his next trip to Chicago.
John Chapla's
(Alexandria, VA) wife Lee asked John if he could come home from his job with
the House Armed Services Committee a little earlier in the future now that the
Democrats have control of the Hill. John didn't think that was going to happen.
He said the Committee isn't run in a highly partisan way. Their daughter Maren
has been married for just over a year and a half, living in Pasadena. She
continues to work for a small non-profit assisting young women develop computer
skills. Their daughter Marie is working for NOAA, based in Honolulu, tracking
spinner dolphins in the western Hawaiian islands. She has also just announced
her engagement. John says he goes to work in a suit, but Marie goes to work in
a swimsuit and flip-flops. He's asking himself if he made the right career
choice. John also said that he went to the memorial service for Coach John
McKenna in Lexington, and saw Coach Harmison, who looks great. Also spent some
time there with Hugh Jones’66 and Ed Willis’66. The
football talk brought on an urge to visit Donny Taylor (Kingwood, TX). So he
called Donny Taylor, made plane reservations and spent a good
part of the day on a visit with Donny and Sheila in Houston. He said they
watched tapes of their football games from '65 and '66 and talked the day away.
Bob Mills (Orange
Park, FL) wrote that he’s still flying for CSX in Jacksonville, FL. He plans to
continue for, probably, for 3 more years. He retired from US army National
Guard and is enjoying all those perks, especially with Naval Air Station
Jacksonville so close. He close with, “Hope to see you at the 40th.”
ML Buchanan
(Fairfax, VA) sent along an extensive update, excerpts of which follow. “Just
got back (May 24th) from another Iraq deployment. My wife Valerie immediately
asked if I intended to make the 40th reunion next year. I said yes … and then
decided I had better check things out. Obviously, the first stop was the Class
of '68 Home Page. That was a shock. I had no idea we have lost so many BR's …
and several this year. A very sobering experience! But, that aside, I have the
hotel information and will make reservations ASAP.
Things in the Buchanan household
are going relatively well. Our son Misha recently got married (October 2006) to
a lovely young lady from NYC named Gina. They are both in the US Secret
Service, stationed out of DC. We see very little of them despite the fact that
they only live 30 minutes away. Either they or I are constantly traveling and
it is hard to make connections, even for weekends. Misha is in the Uniform
Division (K-9 unit). Gina is an SA out of the Old Executive Building.
“Our daughter Victoria is in
Oregon, getting ready to go back to school to get a nursing degree. She is in a
serious relationship … at least serious enough to bring the young lad all the
way to the east coast to meet the family! Valerie and I will meet Chris in
August up at my in-laws home in Cape Cod. Chris asked her what the family was
like. Victoria said that most of the family are nice and normal folks …. except
for Dad who is a psychotic mercenary! I am not sure that I fit the description
and I do take some umbrage at being so characterized. But I am not in a
position to complain to strenuously since the rest of the family thinks she is
"spot on".
“Valerie is still an active staff
employee. She was promoted to GS-15 several years ago and is intent on staying
with her office until she accrues the necessary number of years to retire as a
GS15. I also think she enjoys the work! With any luck she will retire within
the next couple of years and become a "housewife". I will
consider/consider a second retirement at that time.
“As for me, it has been an
exciting, although relatively rough retirement, from staff employee status. I
have already seen one of my doctors … per the normal routine … the day after I
returned from this trip. This time it is for a possible torn rotator cuff …
jumped into a ditch and forgot to keep my arm with me. But it was a very narrow
ditch! As always seems to be the case when I deploy, my age and the
environmental conditions conspire to put me into a less than full up and ready
condition. So far the records show a compressed spine, ruptured disk, ruptured
Achilles tendon, pneumonia, concussion, and now the rotator cuff. I don't think
I'm as much accident-prone as I am targeted for misfortune by the three sisters
of fate. On the positive side, my superiors have now declared that I am no
longer allowed to go outside the wire. In all truth, I concur and am very, very
content with their mandate. My military and government associates also strongly
concur.
“Pending an acceptable medical
diagnosis/waiver (no major surgery) on my latest injury, I will be going back
to the Marines in Fallujah (II MEF Fwd/ RCT-6) at the end of August. I will be
coming back out in early November, and return to Iraq at the end of December
2007. I should be back home in early April 2008 in time to make the reunion!!!”
Wayne Burton
(Albuquerque, NM) wrote, “It pays to wear a VMI shirt when at the airport. I
was at RDU June 22 coming home. A person on the same flight asked me when I
went to VMI. I said 68. He said 69 and said he lives in Santa Fe, NM. I
immediately said "You are Chris Brothers." Much to his surprise, he
asked who I was. Well, Chris has never been to a New Mexico chapter meeting for
various reasons, but Corville Nohava'69 always spoke of him.
Corville & I were the cofounders of the NM Chapter in 1984. Corville passed
away a few years ago of cancer. So, we had a great time hanging out all day
together as we had lunch together in Orlando. Carole and I are flying to New
Zealand on July 4 for a week. Then on to Alice Springs, Australia, to visit our
son who is on assignment for 4 years.
In early July, Ron Gallagher
(Poquoson, VA) wrote, “My connection with the "new VMI" is strong.
Son Ira will be a second classman this fall. He is at Ft. Benning in Airborne
Jump School and seems to be doing well. He reported in that he is
"rooming" with a Brother Rat and there are a number of other VMI
cadets that are going through the program in other sessions also. Olivia and I
plan to be there when he gets his "airborne wings" on July 21, 2007.
Daughter Whitney is planning to marry in October, I say planning as I can see
the results of such planning in my check book. As all fathers, I have nothing
to say or do in this matter. They never listen to me anyhow, so what’s' new?
The business keeps me busy, just the regular daily run of the mill things. Our
company will be 25 years old next year. So that says something.”
Mike Smythers
(Chesapeake, VA) sent along an email that read, “Yes, I did retire from Dept.
of Justice and as a Colonel, Army Reserves, last year. I've been busy ever
since. Carol and I have traveled several places after the retirement and in
fact, we were in the Canadian Rockies when you called. We returned on August 7.
Did some hiking and touring in Banff, Jasper and Kootenay National Parks in
Alberta and British Columbia. Second time we've been to Canada in past 14
months - first time we spent several weeks in Newfoundland and Labrador of all
places - loved it! We also took a trip to South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana
(saw where Custer was short about 1000 men!). Finally got to take my long
desired boat trip on the Intracoastal Waterway with my son Jim and another
retiree neighbor - went to Savannah and back from Norfolk. Carol and I are
hitting the airways again in mid-September for Australia and New Zealand.”
“My very next trip is this
weekend with Bro Rat Chips McCallum (Norfolk, VA) for a little
rafting adventure on the New River. Hope this works out well. We're staying at
his cabin near VMI that his grandfather got back in the thirty's. I know some
of his other VMI friends have been there, but this is my first trip. My son Jim Smythers'97, went
there with Cory McCallum'94, his dyke (Chips' son) when they
were at VMI. I understand this is not the hotel facility I have gotten use to
in my recent adventures!”
Ron Stultz
(Fairfax, VA) wrote that he has gotten new grandchild an appointment to VMI,
although his current plan for her is to go to Yale, learn how to clone and
eventually clone him. The parents are not too keen on idea but he sees a book
and maybe a movie deal. Priscilla and Ron were in Spain for 10 days in late
June. Images are posted on his web site http://www.ronstultz.com. They have not
been to Lexington in some time now but keep in touch with Dean and Maxine
Foster. Ron and Priscilla are ready to begin a home renovation with a 3-story
elevator, large media room, and expansion of wife's artist studio.
Just before these notes had to be
submitted, I talked with Jim Polley (Stafford, VA) and Clay Thompson. Jim
reports that his son Charles is a senior at Clemson where he on track to be
commissioned as a USAF 2LT at the time of our graduation. In his professional
life, Jim is a lawyer for a bunch of lawyers (I’m sure there’s no second
guessing going on there) in his job as the General Counsel for the National
District Attorneys Association.
Clay says that he was just back
from the YMCA where he gave his artificial knee a good workout. He’s playing a
lot of golf these days – sometimes as much as 36-holes in a day. Donna, though,
continues to work to keep Clay in the style to which he has become accustomed.
Donna works in quality control at the local hospital.
See you at The Good To Me 40th
Reunion, April 25-27, 2008.
Recent
Pictures:
Tommy Norment, Skip
Roberts, Jim Burns, Ron Gallagher, Bryan Barton and Walt Jeffress at the
November 2007 Institute Society Dinner where Tommy was honored.
Chuck Maddox at John Crim’s Rat Parade Party in
September 2007
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