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109^th Column

4 Jan 99. For starters, please note my newish email address. This is not new to those who are on the class net (list server) run by our moderator, Dick Buckalew. Good opportunity to sing Dick’s praises for all he does on our behalf. If you are not on the net, you are missing too much. Contact Dick rbuckalew@usa.net and join up.

Sad news. Again, those on the net know most of this sad news, but for you others and for the Assembly record here goes. Luis M Mirasol, Jr died on 6 Dec. The notification on our class net is quoted: "Luis III called us today from Manila to share this news. Luie collapsed suddenly Friday afternoon (4 Dec 1998) due to the rupture of an undetected aneurysm and died shortly afterwards.

"Luie and Gloria's two sons, Luis III and Thomas, have returned to Manila from their homes in the Detroit area. Daughters Maria and Patricia live in Manila. All four children are married and all have children of their own, a total of eleven grandchildren. The family is gathering for a service to follow later this week."

And a follow-up from Terry Connell today from Luis III ("Chito") after his return from Manila. "Chito, Tom and their families traveled to the Philippines to be with Gloria and their sisters, Patricia and Maria. Family members, many friends and colleagues of Luie's, including senior governmental and military figures attended the memorial service.

"Both of Luie's sons and his two sons-in-law spoke at the service, sharing memories and thoughts of their father. Former President Eddie Ramos ‘50, spoke and paid tribute as a close personal and family friend. Luie had recently retired. He held many important economic positions within the government, to include Director of the Philippines National Steel Corporation, and was a valued advisor to the president." No doubt President Ramos used those words, which well apply to our classmate and retired colonel from the Philippine Air Force, "Well done, be thou at peace."

On 7 Dec Dick Webb died very unexpectedly. Quoting the email notification from Palmer McGrew I-2 CCQ: "I have the very sad duty to inform you of the death today of Dick Webb. Dick had had serious heart problems for many years, but seemed to have overcome those problems. He was at the Army-Navy game tailgate Saturday and was the picture of good health. He had a heart attack this afternoon and died at home. No futher details yet. I'll let you know when details of the services become available."

This scribe is glad that I was one who saw Dick at Florence & Alan Salisbury’s on 5 Dec and can attest also to his looking the picture of good health. I am also glad that Dick saw the Army victory before his premature departure. At the tailgate party, Dick had a wonderful war story about getting slugged for some trivial uniform violation on first class summer trip. Joe Luman was the other guilty party, but the Tac screwed up by citing Tom Looney. Seems Looney was in con or otherwise had a great b-ache for the case of mistaken identity. Luman skated!

The final P-rade for our I-2 cadet company commander was on 16 Dec at Arlington National Cemetery. Classmates, many friends, especially from their church and Officers Christian Fellowship turned out in force to say "Well done, be thou at peace."

Sad news continues with this email from Edgie Waller: "Dear George (Lawton): I would like to let you know that I was informed on December 2 that my son, LTC Wayne Clifton Farquhar, was killed in a civilian construction accident in Seoul, Korea. It is my information that he was crushed to death by some falling material while walking to his office to prepare a report on his day off and was walking on a public sidewalk.

"Cliff was assigned to the joint US 8th Army/South Korean Army HQ at Seoul. Cliff was my son by the marriage to Patricia Montgomery in 1958 at Ft Meade, an event in which you participated as one of my shotgun bearers. After divorcing me, Patricia remarried and my son was adopted by her husband. Cliff's wife and child, Teressa and Rebecca (5), lived in Seoul with Cliff. (They) will be accompanied to the US by LTC Tilley for the funeral, scheduled at Ft Sam Houston, TX on either December 8th or 9th. The chaplain of Ft Hood, where my son was previously stationed as an engineer in the US 4th Infantry Division, has been requested to officiate at the ceremony. Marianne and I will be at the funeral. I will appreciate your prayers for my daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I will appreciate your notifying George Sibert of the circumstances at your convenience."

Report from Jack Bujalski after Cliff Farquhar’s funeral. "The Class was represented at the funeral by Dick Buckalew, Bud Davenport, Chuck Davis, Mike Riordan, John Soper, Mac Williams and myself. Edgie was touched by, and much appreciative of, the support. The service was beautifully done; a tribute to an outstanding husband, father and Army officer."

And another sad notification received today: "Tony Nadal's father, COL Ramon Antonio Nadal '28, passed away on New Year's Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was eight days shy of his 94th birthday. His wife of 67 years and Tony were at his bedside. COL and Mrs Nadal were truly an inspirational couple. A few '58ers were honored when the senior Nadals joined us for dinner in San Juan a couple of years ago on a mini-mini that Tony organized in PR. Others in the class had met them over the years when they visited Billie & Tony. They were truly an elegant, distinguished couple, and we always had a delightful time with them. May it be said well done.... Tony Smith"

Not the same order of magnitude, but difficult news from Tom Conti. "FYI, I had shoulder replacement surgery in late Sep. During the operation my radial nerve was damaged. As a consequence, I can't lift the fingers of my right hand or pull my wrist up. Dr says it'll eventually recover, but could take 2 months to a year. Right now I have to wear a brace to keep everything in position. Shoulder is doing great though. Gail says since this is nothing one dies from, I'll just have to be patient, which, of course, I find very easy to do! Hardest thing to do is put on socks and type e-mail... but at least I'm excused from yard work! Hope all is well with you guys... We miss you (meaning Lawton and DC gang), Tom"

Another surgery. Email from Sam Collins. "Joan is in the hospital for scheduled back surgery. She's had back pain for more than a year. She completed her surgery Tuesday morning, Nov 3, at 11:30 am. It took about 4 hours. Vertebra L3, L4 and L5 were cleaned up and the disks where they were bulging out (ruptured) were reshaped so they would fit where they belong. No fusing. Joan is uncomfortable, but clearly a happy camper about completing this surgery. When I saw her just after the recovery room, she was prodding the nurse for food and liquid. She was really hungry. They wouldn't give her anything, so I snuck in a Pepsi and a yogurt to her about 3 pm (Aside: cadet training on sneaking food in/out where not authorized). Today when I visited Joan was on her feet and taking short walks. She will be released Thursday at noon. Recovery will take 3 months. We are really happy things went well."

Another classmate with cancer. "FYI, Al Claflin is recovering from surgery and therapy for pancreatic cancer. He is home and on his feet, and making occasional forays back to his office in DOE. He expects to retire from federal service at the end of the year. He sounds great and would like o hear from his friends, by email or by phone. All for now. Dick Schonberger, CCQ B-2."

And now for some good news. Here is a report from Phil Pryor H-2 CCQ: "Saw Bill & Mary Jane Parks at the Army - AF game at West Point." Phil then included an email from Bill: "Susan had the first part of many surgical reconstructions on Thursday. She got through the surgery all right, but the doctor thought there should have been more bone than he found. We don’t know the full significance of that, probably more bone transplants. The effort is necessary to build up the bone so it can support her weight. Susan's spirits are good. We appreciate all your prayers and well wishes. All the best -- Bill & Mary Jane Parks."

I (Sibert) have spoken to my roommate Bill more recently. Susan’s brain tumor has not grown! Good news. She is home, but cannot yet put any weight on her better leg and it will be even longer for the other. Susan is tough to be battling on two fronts simultaneously: the tumor and leg re-constructive surgery.

And good news from my other wife, Will Roosma. His son-in-law Dave Meeks had six weeks of radiation at Johns Hopkins in Mar-Apr. His brain tumor shrank 40%. His MRI in Sep revealed the tumor had stabilized, not grown at all. The numbness in his right side (leg, arm, face) is almost gone. Next MRI in Dec showed a small regression in tumor size. The doctor "called it very unusual." Dave says, "To God be the glory!"

Dave & Tracey were blessed with Tanner William Meeks on 19 Sep. Will & Sandy’s grandson stats were 7 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long. Mother and sister Kellyn are doing well, as, I am sure, are the grandparents.

Please keep Al Claflin, Susan Parks Hower, and Dave Meeks in your prayers along with all our classmates and class family fighting cancer and/or other major illnesses and surgery. Getting older ain’t easy, but it helps when we all help one another: be in touch with roommates, company-mates, others. Prayer and personal contact do help!

A classmate not heard from lately, not for 20 years according to John Nun. He and Dick Buckalew have been getting A-2 files on the class net. This is a response from Dick McManigell, the voice heard from finally: "Hi Dick, Long time no see. I feel like I've just crawled out of a deep hole by finally retiring for good. It took four retirements plans and some arm-twisting from the spouse (Betty Gay, who goes by Gay) to make me throw in the towel. You wrote me recently (definition: within the last year) telling me how easy it was to get on the e-mail list. Yeah right, just buy a computer, learn to set it up, since I no longer have computer Service Slaves to do it for me, then learn the new systems that the Hi-Tech folks use now. (I worked for eleven years at the Lockheed Skunk Works; they can build fabulous airplanes, but their computer systems are either out-dated, poorly managed, or asleep.) Anyway, I'm here, and assume you can get my address from the header. If not, it's supposed to be rmcmanig@gateway.net. My home address is 3438 S. Abrego Drive, Green Valley, AZ 85614-5753. If I'm not at my computer I'm on the golf course, doing Honey-do's or asleep. Cheers, Dick"

Another classmate located by Roger Waddell, who has been chasing some A-1 files since the 25^th Reunion. Roger wrote, "I just got off the phone after talking with my long lost A-1 roommate of first semester plebe year, Harry Culbertson Kirschner, professional writer. After varying degrees of searching over the years I finally decided to try the search capabilities of the internet and found his address there. His address is PO Box 1796, Morehead City, NC 28557-1796; Phone (252) 726-4819." Roger’s challenge is to get Harry to attend the In-Barracks Mini in June. To help with memory loss: Harry was a poop-school grad victimized by Plebe Math in Dec 54.

Perpetual Fund report from Ed Weckel. "Fellow Classmates: At the end of the 28 December fund drive, the class has contributed $64,438.77 to the Perpetual Endowment. A-2 leads with 18 contributions. This includes contributions made in the name of deceased classmates. The value of our account is $72,420.28. I hope to work with Pete Trainor to have a more complete breakout posted quarterly on the Class Home page in January.

"As a reminder -- the fund drive window is now closed. I can not accept any donations (unless they total at least $1,000.00) until the next contribution opportunity is announced by George Lawton in his semi annual class newsletter. (This is dictated by Fidelity's minimum investment requirement). Happy New Year, Ed Weckel, Provisional Trustee."

Another retirement. Fred Stritzinger wrote, "George: Didn't pick up on the original requirement but have attached a photo of yours truly taken in support of retirement award/ceremony. Last day of federal service is today. Retirement date is 2 Jan. Plan on playing more golf, doing more fishing, and preparing for an eventual move to Florida." Fred’s may be the only pic this time—I can send it in electronically with the notes.

Thanks for all your Christmas cards, letters, email messages, etc. Great photo of Bill Tuttle and Barrie Williams, but not till next time. I am rapidly running out of airspeed, altitude and runway for this effort. I will repeat the reunion reminders from the last one:

Too late for the 7-12 Feb Ski Trip by the time you read this. Bob Moscatelli’s MOAST, "Mother of all Ski Trips," has 32 classmates signed up. About 60 total including drags and kinder. No doubt you will get another class skiing opportunity in 2000.

Not too late for 1999 In-Barracks Mini—the 14-17 June Graduate Enrichment Seminar advertised pp 20-21 in Jan/Feb Assembly. Jerry Mitchell is our organizer. George Lawton has blocked rooms at West Point Motel in Highland Falls (914-446-4180) for our drags. They can attend the seminars, but cannot stay in the barracks (and a close watch will be kept on Mark Sigurski’s room).

Future Mini Reunions.

• 2000 Mini in Portland with Terry Connell.
• 2001 in Santa Fe courtesy of Tom Claffey.
• 2002 in Pensacola with Ken Phillips & A-2.

Back to West Point for number 45 in 2003 with Garry Roosma.

Company micros.

• C-1 had one in Kansas City in Sep 98.
• F-1 and A-2 have scheduled 1999 affairs in Montana (F-1) and Pensacola (A-2).