Terrell, North Carolina 28682
828-478-9813
gerardd@charter.net
www.west-point.org/class/usma/1968
We mourn the passing of Fred Johnson's bride, Linda, on
Valentine's Day in Madison, Wisconsin.
Linda's obituary is posted on the Message Board at our Class Web Site. If you
wish to remember Linda, a donation may be made to the Linda Aplas Johnson
Memorial Lung Cancer Hope Fund, at: University of Wisconsin Foundation,
U.S. Bank Lockbox, P.O. Box 78807 Milwaukee, WI 53278-0807. Or, make
donations online at
https://www.uwfoundation.wisc.edu/giving/giving2.nsf/jsCheck. Indicate
under Gift Designation: “Other-detailed below” and cite your donation is for the
Linda Aplas Johnson Memorial Lung Cancer Hope Fund.
[Photo #1 – “Dorothy & Jerry Crawford with their plane and home in Augusta”]
Bob Brace continues to underscore marvels can be positive. In September 2005, John Knowles ('65) noted on our class web site that he had a '68 "A" Pin. Seven years earlier, Bob’s and Jo’s "A" Pin was lost in Ike Hall during our 30th class reunion luncheon. The “A” pin has been returned to its ecstatic owners. Of course this experience proves the rule that the easiest way to find something lost is to buy a replacement.
[Photo #2 “Surry Everett stressing out as a greeter on a local house
tour”]
If you REALLY want to know what retirement with a part-time teaching gig can be like, check out Surry Everett, who lives in a beautiful home designed by Dorothy on the east bank of Bath Creek near Everetts Crossroads, North Carolina. He teaches computer programming and CISCO networking at the local community college nine months of the year…
[Photo
#3 – “Pat & Dave Caraway, Annie & Matt Benolkin, Allison & Toby Manuloh with
Megan & TJ at Annie’s and Matt’s 2004 wedding”]
Holiday letters continue to trickle in. In addition to the passing of
Nancy’s
mom, Fred & Nancy Hoblit’s news was that they now work in the same SAIC
building in Northern Virginia – when Fred’s not on travel. Mike & Samar Fay
sent two years worth of letters. Mike underwent a heart valve
replacement in 2004 and is about two years away from his doctor of ministry
degree from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee (he takes a month
away annually from his orthopaedics practice in Montana). With Samar’s interest
in raising and taming horses and documenting paleontology digs, we shouldn’t be
surprised that she came up with a broken vertebra. Mike & Samar have endured a
couple of major blizzards in the last two years and they have yet to see a
network news or FEMA crew to blame it on. Dave & Pat Carraway continue
to keep Tom & Susan Burnette and Steve & Carole Herman company in
Savannah and travel to North Carolina and Florida to visit kids. Dave
carries on with his environmental work at Ft Stewart, and Pat still
volunteers as a “gate guard” at their community pools from Memorial to Labor
Day. John Dallen used his card to let us know that he and Frances
Rickgauer are planning a June wedding in Sacramento. Tom & Gretchen Jewell
made a great technological leap forward by sending their holiday letter out via
email. Tom still travels for Union College, and Gretchen
accompanies him when the trips are not too quick and packed with business. Tom
soloed to the United Arab Emirates and to Qatar to evaluate engineering programs, and was asked to chair the advisory
committee for the program in Qatar. Tom
agrees with Dick Shipley that the UAE is an amazing place and incredibly
pro USA. Tom also made Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
visits to stateside colleges. In mid December, he traveled to Viet Nam in
preparation for a “term abroad” there in fall 06. Jack
& Bobbi Munson say they’re doing the
same stuff as last year, only they’re doing it as grandparents (Megan & Denny
presented them with a grand daughter in February), and they’re soliciting
recommendations as to where to retire. Donna Lee’s 12 verse poem
indicates that she and Dwight plan on staying in the Washington, DC area
for quite a while since General Dynamics is still paying Dwight to play
golf and Donna’s commissions in the booming real estate business allowed
the Lees to visit kids and put in a pool. Carol Shimp’s poem had a third
more verses than Donna’s since Bob had a job change and a hip
replacement, and they took a trip to Kenya that encompassed a wedding and
safari. The 
hurricane
was not even mentioned.
[Photo #4 – “Gretchen & Tom Jewell last year in Boston”]
Monte Anderson also reported having a hip replaced. The procedure was done to cure the problem he had with running in circles. He also tried to get the medical team to increase his height by 2-3 inches to bring it in line with his weight, but that was classified as cosmetic surgery and not covered by TRICARE.
Andy Shaffer’s severe shoulder injury continues to heal; however, he is not yet ready to swing a golf club, throw out a ceremonial baseball, or write on a blackboard. We visited the Shaffers at New Years at their beautiful home in Midland, Texas.
[Photo #5 – “Barbara Gerard with Andy & Betty Shaffer around New Years
Day 2006”]
George Ziots checked in to let us know that he and Sunny have retired from engineering work in Alaska and are full-time RVers in a 38' Class A motor home (like living in a mobile double cadet room with a bath – defines “togetherness”). They spent last summer on the Oregon coast, and the winter between Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona City.
Joe
Guignion credits Bob Stroud for
pulling together an E-3 mini reunion at the Army-Air Force game. Jesse Gatlin
accompanied Joe and Maureen on a flight from Northern Virginia, while Joe
Creeden came from upstate New York; Bob & Eileen Stroud flew in from
Annapolis; Bill Flowers and Joe & Becky Mance traveled from
California; and Jack & Marilyn Bussa came from Wisconsin. Joe Henry
and Chuck Jones were already in Colorado, and they all gathered to cheer
on the Army Team. To get into the spirit, they contributed heavily to the Air
Force Academy Golf Course and a Mexican restaurant. Game day started with Alka
Seltzer and a tailgate brunch at the Stadium where they were joined by Larry
Stevenson, Robby Robinson, Mike Fellows, and Mike Hart,
as well as Jesse’s Dad (Jesse Sr ’45), and Joe Mance’s son and daughter-in-law,
Sean and Amy. After the game, Chuck & Gayle Jones put on a dinner back
at their hom in Highland Ranch. In addition to the Army win, Joe saw the
highlight of the reunion when Jack Bussa lost his voice on Friday night
and couldn’t tell stories for the rest of the weekend.
[Photo #6 – “Joe Guignion suffering through a pose with Army Cheerleaders”]
Joe’s
& Maureen’s next great adventure was
to escort Franki Bennett (Ken Cummings widow) and Kimberly Ann
Page (Ken’s daughter) to the Army-Navy game. A couple of years ago, at the
Class Print presentation to Franki and Kim, the swimmers discovered that these
ladies had never been to an Army-Navy Game. At the Tailgate Brunch, Joe
maintained that he was minding his own business when five women approached him
and asked if he would let them have their picture taken with him. As you can
see, he didn’t enjoy himself one bit. Franki and Kim had their faces painted
with an “A,” visited with the mascot, and Kim’s husband, Eric was a huge help in
explaining the game to Kim’s children, Ryan, Conner, and Molly.
[Photo #7 – “Mike & Janean Hart, Ann & Bob Sweeny, Pat & Jim Thome and Cathy & Jim Kelley and their annual reunion”]
Last fall, Bob & Ann Sweeney hosted a mini reunion for Mike & Janean Hart, Jim & Kathy Kelley, and Jim & Pat Thome in the Washington, DC area. Each year, one couple hosts the gathering in Washington, DC, Denver, San Francisco, and Orlando – and, during reunion years, the group heads back to our alma mater. Activities at the DC reunion included a White House tour and visits to Mount Vernon, the WW II, Korean War, and Vietnam Memorials, and the traditional laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers on Veteran's Day. The Harts report that they are busy splitting time between careers (that still have years to run) and the activities of seven grandchildren (all of whom live nearby) and who together account for untold numbers of football, baseball, t-ball and basketball games and lots of sleep-overs at Grandma's and Grandpa's. Jim Kelley reports that he has turned sixty, still has most of his own teeth & hair, some of his own brain cells – and has basically still got it – but no one wants to see it. The Sweeney’s daughter, Kellie, an American Airlines Flight Attendant based in St. Louis, was able to fly in to DC and join the gang for the White House tour. The Thome’s son, James (USMA ’93), and his wife just gave the proud grandparents their second grandchild, John James Thome, in September. Jim & Pat’s younger son, Christopher [USAFA ‘94], has just joined CISCO Systems in Boulder, Colorado. Jim has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent treatment this winter.
Tony Dodson has joined forces with an alternative power specialist to form Thayer Gate Energy, a company that promotes hydrogen power as an alternate for fleet vehicles. They’ve met with West Point and airport executives (including those at Newburgh’s Stewart Airport) to sell the merits of clean hydrogen powered vehicles. They already have a contract with the State University of Buffalo to install fueling stations and a couple of vehicles. Their technology would convert combustion engines to hydrogen powered -- the byproduct of which is water.
Paul Pedrotti just checked on for a quick update. He moved from New England to Plainfield, New Jersey, to take on SVP Opns duties with Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (ticker: HCM), an outfit that buys and holds our mortgages. He’s had a knee replacement, and is coaching his bride, JoAnn, through hers. He just lost his Dad, a LTC in the Coast/Air Defense Artillery who was fiercely and rightfully proud of his son.
Ron & Kathy Feher attended 100th Night for the Class of 2006 with their son, Chuck, and is happy to report that Dan Kaufman and Sam Adams both played a significant and positive role in the Class Musical Comedy, "Revenge of the Comm". Chuck, who is branched Signal Corps and duty stationed at Fort Carson, told his parents that, "The morale of the Corps dropped 30% when the Dean left."
Let
me know if you did not receive the notice of the Class Coin, given in
recognition of giving a “fair share” ($5,000 – derived by dividing our initial
$2.5M Class Gift pledge by the number of living classmates and rounding up to
the nearest $1K to cover “memorialization”) to our Class Gift Fund for the Class
Rotunda at the new Thomas Jefferson Library. If you have already given your
fair share, you should already have the Coin. An annual contribution of less
than $132 from the time we graduated would would have rated a coin. The
documents attached to the notice – a list of classmates who have already given
their fair share, and a list of Company Reps and pledge numbers per company –
are quite telling. They are lists of classmates who are not too surprising –
they are the guys who have always been there for all of us – classmates who back
up what they say with action. But, I know that there are more classmates that
support and are reliable than the lists show. I know that you’ve supported
other good causes – clubs, teams, special needs. But this is OUR only class
project and YOU’RE ALL WE’VE GOT. –