30
Apr. I just submitted 129th
after selecting seven photos. Beginning
Sep-Oct 02 edition now to ensure the first photo is Bob & Trinky Grete with
their six children & spouses and 26 grandchildren. In Bob’s words, “the 27th is with
the Lord.” Can anyone else compete in
the grandchildren category? Twenty-seven
is the number, going once, going twice, going, going, but not yet gone. Please let me hear from our grandparents.
I have some
data about the large families in numbers of children. Already mentioned are Bob & Trinky with six. We all know that Pat & Linda Mellin got
to six by 1963. At one point they had
five under the age of three! Two sets
of twins helped. Still hard for me to
believe that Linda is keeping an eye on us from a heavenly vantagepoint.
Others with
six or more (data from 30th Reunion Book) include: Gordon & Gail
Goodman six; Lorin & Sue Farr six; Paul & Elaine Bons six (know they
are supporting father Paul since Elaine’s death 19 Dec 00); Jerry & Maria
Mitchell seven (combined families); John & Rosalyn Evans six; Gerry &
Kathleen O’Barr EIGHT; Joe & Brenda Shea seven; Hal & Edith Lyon seven
(combined families); Bob & Katie McCann seven (reported 8 grandchildren by
30th); Mike & Grace Dugan six; Dan & Dorothy Johnson six; Neil
& Sue Williamson six. Any others I
have missed? Please let me know.
2 May. Very sad news. The ghostly assemblage gained a file and we lost a special
classmate, Dan Johnson. Those on email
list have the information included here.
Dan attended the Pensacola Mini and played in the infamous softball
game. One memory of Dan from Pensacola
was his being in the Benny Havens Room at all hours with his laptop getting
classmates to add info to other’s eulogy sites. It is difficult to accept that Dan left us. His official cause of death was accidental asphyxiation. Highlights from his newspaper obit
follow. He is survived by Dorothy and
their six children: Romer, Olin, Daniela, Wenonia, Conrad, Garrett and 12
grandchildren. Dan retired from USAF as
a colonel. He had an MS from Univ of
Mich and PhD from Univ of Colo. He was
a contributor to myriad technical journals.
The following quote from the Daily Herald is better than anything I
can write: “Of all his accomplishments, he was most proud of his six children
and twelve grandchildren. Grandpa was
always happy, cheerful, and forever the optimist. He loved to tell silly jokes, dance jigs in the kitchen, and wake
up sleepyheads with loud classical music and homemade pancakes. He always looked forward to a challenging
game of basketball.”
16 May. More very sad news. Dianne
LeTowt died after a very long battle with cancer. Again I am fortunate to have words from another to use here. “Many of you saw her at the reunion she and
Jody hosted in Carmel, and more recently at the reunion in Santa Fe. I met
Dianne on the day of her wedding to Jody in Carmel on 18 Sep 1965. She was a
happy lady and very much in love with Jody. They were best friends and worked
together to make a huge success of
"Le Bistro" in Carmel.
Not too long after their marriage, Dianne began her battles against
cancer. Throughout the next 30 years
she always had her chin up, with her lovely smile and her kind words for all.
She never wavered in her course, and continued to support Jody in all their
endeavors and avocations. She had two fine sons, Eric and Jeff, whom you may
remember from the Carmel mini.
“Dianne was a tremendous inspiration
to all, exuding a quiet courage and confidence that everything was alright.
And, it was. I so admired her courage. I am very proud of Jody, too, for his
loyal, devoted, unending love and devotion to Dianne. They were both so
fortunate in each other, Jody and Dianne.
I'll always miss her. John
Brinson, C-2, Jody's roommate.”
About the same time, we had email traffic about Phil
DiMauro’s heart attack and open- heart surgery (15 May, I think). The good news
here is that Phil is home and doing well with his recovery. More good news is use of the email lists to
pass around this sort of information.
Timely info permits prayers for those in need – Phil & Isolde in
this instance. Dan & Dorothy and
their family plus Jody and his sons in the two earlier reports. If you are not on the email lists, you
really should be!
26 June. We lost
another classmate to cancer, Leo Sheehan.
Renate kept F-2 posted on his final battle with this scourge. Among others I heard from indirectly was Wayne
Weiss who takes credit for introducing Leo & Renate Cow year. Paul Ruud visited Leo recently and will
represent the class at his 2 July funeral.
We lost another AF colonel to whom it must be said, “well done, be thou
at peace.”
1 July. Due
today. Running out of time and space,
but not info. The remainder of this
will be quick and dirty. Drags at Plebe
Christmas. A category initiated at
Pensacola mini. In response to my email
seeking information, I learned that Faith Ofgant, Jill Roosma, Patsy Densford
and Linda Waskowicz celebrated Plebe Christmas with us. Married names rather than maiden names for
ease of identification. Chuck wrote
that Patsy had great difficulty finding a winter coat in Winter Park, FL for
her trip to the frozen north. Jude
Theibert provided an interesting twist in that JoAnne came up for Plebe
Christmas in 1953. At that point in his
cadet career, Jude was in ’57.
Finding our non-grad classmates. Many have worked on finding roommates, company-mates, prepsters
or friends who did not graduate with us in June 1954. We already know about some located just before or just after they
died. Hugh Finley C-1 (25 June 00), Joe
Hornyak H-1 (13 Jul 00) and Harry Kirschner A-1 (25 Dec 00) come to mind. I have another such story to relate. Robert Higgins has searched off & on for
his L-2 Plebe roommate, Jack Ream.
Sadly, the Ream family was found, but Jack died on 11 April 1988.
After resigning at the end of Plebe year, Jack fulfilled his
Mormon missionary responsibilities, was graduated from Univ of Utah in 1960
followed by an MD from Harvard in 1964.
Jack served in the Army MC for two years that included a tour in VN and
time in US Army Japan. Residency at UVA
and specialization in orthopedics came next.
Jack founded a clinic that specialized in hand surgery. Higgins is getting further details from
Jack’s widow Jane and sister Joan.
Time to
repeat my admonitions about attending reunions. There are no guarantees with regard to time on earth before
joining the ghostly assemblage.
Therefore, plan now to attend the 45th at West Point next
year, 10-14 Sep. You owe it to your
roommates, company-mates and other classmates to be there. They want to see you before you make that
transition. If you did not believe my
earlier remarks about our being in the primary zone for this selection, the
story about Dan Johnson proves the case.
In addition to your planning to be there, pick up the phone and call
your roommates to urge them to attend.
Search the internet for non-grad classmates you knew. Encourage them to attend. Garry Roosma is doing the heavy lifting to
organize the 45th; the least you can do is be there.
Seven photos for 130th Column:
Grete family on the beach.
Pensacola organizers: Ben & Marie Pellegrini, Ken &
Jeanne Phillips and Faye & Jerry Cook.
B-1 at Pensacola.
Jack & Lee May and Rosalie & Hoblit.
Deputy Mayor McGavick & Mayor Baarsma of Tacoma, WA with
Tom Morgan after the mayor signed a West Point Bicentennial Proclamation on 19
Feb 02
Tony Smith & Linc Jones getting DA Awards for foreign
participation in Bicentennial.
DC Founder’s Day gang.