September 2000
Jerry Mills was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon, GA on 23
June. Emmett McCracken, who represented the class at the funeral and
burial in Macon on 27 June, reported that the service underscored Jerry’s selfless
service to the community and particularly his church. The sincere condolences of the class are extended to his wife, Nancy, his son, Dan, his daughter,
Julie and to all his family and friends.
Nancy, who suffers from MS and is in a care facility, was able to be
present at the services. Her address is
Lyn Haven Nursing Home, Route 1, Box 185, Gray, GA 31032.
Don Tillar and his daughter, Lani, were pleased to stand up for the
Army as our class son, 1LT Don Tillar III ’88, KIA Iraq 27 Feb 1991, was
honored on 28 May in Charlotte, NC, at the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR pre-race
ceremonies. Donnie and the other
honorees represented those in the five armed services who gave their lives
while serving the nation. The program
included a brief bio on each service member, introduction of the family
members, presentation of a unit patch by the family members to an honor guard
who in turn placed the patch (in Don’s case, a 1st Div patch) in a
car designated to represent the service.
Following taps and the national anthem, sung by a chorus from the 82d
Abn Div, the family members in unison commanded, “Gentlemen, start your
engines,” and the race was on.
1959: Carlisle Mini-Reunion: Kleb and Hilmes
The Mini-Reunion at Carlisle, PA,
came off as scheduled on 18-21 May, and although there was some inclement
weather, the dispositions were sunny and the affair was pronounced a great
success by all. Despite some rain and
coolness, Mike Gillette managed to
play golf on each of the scheduled days, playing with Bill Rowe on Friday and with Sandy
Beach, Bill Fitzgerald and John Gurr on Saturday. Thanks of the 64 attendees were profuse for
the reunion committee made up of Ray
Fisher, John Harkins, Monk Hilliard, Pat Paschall, Bill Rowe
and Jim Walsh.
1959: Carlisle Mini-Reunion: Beurket, Walsh and McDonald
Sandy Beach is working on the next mini, to be held in
Houston for a football game at about the time you receive this issue; Tom Seybold is developing the mother of
all tailgate parties in Baltimore’s Camden Yards for the Army-Navy Game (he is
at tksey@aol.com); and Howard
Stiles (hstiles1@maine.rr.com)
is beating the drum for a skiing mini next 24 February to 3 March in
Breckenridge, CO. Watch your mailbox
and your e-mail.
1959: Carlisle
Mini-Reunion: Murry, Fisher and
Roesler
On 23 May, the Tuesday after
Carlisle, there were 22 of us, plus wives, families and friends, on the plain
at West Point to witness the presentation of The USMA Distinguished Graduate
Award to Fred Franks. We all popped our chests up. After the review and lunch in Washington
Hall, we were invited to the quarters of Peter
& Ann Stromberg for a Class
of ’59 reception and a bit of the most beautiful view in the world. The congratulations of the entire class are
extended to Fred & Denise for
the well-deserved recognition of their outstanding service to the Academy, to
the Army and to America. Photos and a
write-up of the event are in the front of the last issue.
Bill Luther writes that he retired from his job at Auburn U. on 1
June and has been up to his neck in work because of it. He is much involved with the Lee County, AL,
Humane Society, of which he is VP; but his main distraction these days is the
upcoming Ranger Memorial Ceremony set for 4 October at Ft. Benning. The ceremony honoring our Ranger classmates
who were killed in Vietnam and Larry
Shuck, who drowned in Ranger School, will be held at 1000 hours. Further information is at the Ranger
Memorial web site www.usranger.com. On the same day at 1600 hours, the Ranger
Hall of Fame inductions will be made in the Infantry School Building. Rocky
Versace and Tex Turner will be
up. Bill Luther’s recent contacts with
classmates have included a visit by Bill
Breen on 26 February, and another by Joe
Shea in Birmingham on 4-5 May. The
accompanying photos indicate that all are in good shape.
1959: Luther and Breen at Auburn Golf Course
1959: Luther and Shea in Birmingham
Bill Luther also sends the excellent photo from the 11 March
Founders’ Day Dinner at Fort McPherson.
Seated are Mary Helen Reinhard,
Elizabeth & Mike Gabel, and
Luther. Standing are Don Reinhard, Rosemary Fletcher (Harry’s
widow), Norm & Elva Rosner, John & Jane Joh, and Carol Luther.
Mark & Judy Magnussen live in the Manassas, VA, area where Mark
works in marketing at WIN Laboratories, Ltd., a computer manufacturer. Retirement is not in the immediate future,
says Mark, because Tracey, his 50th birthday present, won’t be out
of school for another nine years. Judy
is a full-time mom and does volunteer work in the library at Tracey’s
school. Mark still raises birds, a hobby
he picked up as a kid; and he has developed an interest in family history. His is not, he says, what you’d call a
military family, but he has found ancestors who fought in four wars, in three
of which they were on the losing side.
But there was one in the line of grandfathers who was among the original
rangers in the Clinch River Valley of southwest Virginia during the American
Revolution.
And this news is a bit late (from
last October) but the photo of Ed Burba
and Douglas Campbell, the
second-place team in a much younger field in the member-guest at the Cherokee
County Club, is definitely worth including.
Before it gets even later.
1959: Burba and Campbell
Once again Powell Hutton chaired the Class Scholarship Committee (Frank Besson and Dick Welch rounded out the group) as it met in May to consider the
applications of Molly Dyer, Glenn’s daughter, and Greg Stiles, Howard’s son. Both were
eminently qualified and had very different backgrounds and career
aspirations. Next year Molly will be a junior
majoring in business with a minor in information systems at the University of
Texas at El Paso. Greg will be in his
second year in a master’s degree program for environmental management and
policy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The committee’s choice, not an easy one, was Molly for the $2,000
scholarship for 2000-2001, based on her academic awards and her work with less
gifted students. The congratulations of
the class are offered to her and to Greg for their outstanding records and
goals.
Fred & Marlene Malek were at Carlisle, where I understand Fred
served as a demonstration mannequin for something or other on a bus trip. Fred writes that he is working hard
overseeing his firms – Thayer Capital Partners and Thayer Hotel Investors – and
their acquisitions and holdings. His
major interests at this point in life are family, biking and hiking, politics
and the restoration of values (he has a great interest in electing George W.
Bush), and West Point. Of the latter he
says that as years have passed he recognizes what a pivotal role our alma mater
has played in our development. We
couldn’t agree more, Fred. Of
classmates, Fred sees Pete Dawkins, Harry Walters and Jack Knebel quite often.
Good company.