January 1999
Submitted
10/25/98
More
sadness this time. Our flanker friend
and classmate Larry Burchell died on
15 Sep in Blanco, TX, of a stroke, after it had been thought that he was
recovering nicely from the bypass surgery he underwent a month or so
earlier. He and Mary had settled in Blanco, a hill country town about 60 miles
north of San Antonio, after Larry retired as CofS of 5th Army at Ft. Sam
Houston in 1988. John Corby was able to attend the memorial and graveside service in
San Antonio on 18 Sep, and he reported that it was well attended by many of
Larry’s friends and associates in the area. The class extends its heartfelt
sympathy to Mary, who will remain at the address in the Register; to their 3
sons Reb (a MAJ at Ft. Bragg), Sean, and Chris; and to all of Larry’s extended
family and friends. Memorial
contributions may be made to the Old Blanco County Courthouse Preservation
Society (a particular interest of Larry’s), P.O. Box 302, Blanco, TX 78606.
Then,
a week later, on 22 Sep, Harry Fletcher
died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Chamblee, GA. The funeral was there at the Holy Cross
Catholic Church on 25 Sep, and Don
Reinhard was able to attend along with Mike
& Elizabeth Gabel. Don reported that there were about 50-60 attendees,
most from the class of 1957, with whom Harry had begun his Army journey (he was
a legendary 6-year man), one that ended with his retirement from Hq FORSCOM in
1983. Harry was born on 9 Mar 32, which
made him the oldest member of our class, and his ashes will be interred at WP
in the Spring. The class was honored to
have him as a member and sends its sincere sympathy to his widow, Rosemary, whose address in Chamblee is
3445 Embry Circle (30341), and to the rest of his family and friends.
And
Phil Sheaffer lost his dear wife of
38 years, Janet, to cancer at their
home in Chesterfield, MO, on 11 Oct.
She was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis on
15 Oct, and Fitz & Barbara Chandler
were able to attend the visitation the previous day. Our sincerest condolences go to Phil and to his children and
grandchildren. Those who wish may make
contributions in Janet’s memory to the American Cancer Society.
Jim Walsh reports that Paul & Fran Elias hosted a party for the Stewart Field USMA
Prep School Class of 1955 at their home in Silver Spring, MD on 19 Sep. The idea to get just their class together
came up at last year’s 50th Anniversary Celebration at the school at Ft.
Monmouth. So they announced the class
party on the Internet, sent out invitations, and had fabulous food and great
fun enhanced by Army’s victory over Cincinnati during the festivities. Jim notes that the 16% of the 76 members of
the class who attended included Frank
& Elaine Besson, Bill Buell,
Fitz & Barbara Chandler, George & Pat Day, Roy Greene, Art & Joyce Griffin, Jim
Hanlon, John & Kathy Harkins, Harry & Jane Hughes, Monk & Betsy Hilliard, Dudley & Dottie Moorhous, and Jim & Phyllis Walsh. Can you
identify them in the accompanying photo?
Jim thinks that the Hugheses took the prize for coming the farthest --
from San Diego; and Bill Buell and Roy Greene came up with the biggest
coincidence when they discovered that they both now live in San Antonio. They all had such a good time that they’re
now talking of a repeat reunion down on the Carolina beaches some summer in the
near future.
Bill Schwartz, who calls himself a correspondent from
our left coast, points out that last issue’s report of the Tahoe mini reunion
failed to mention the two committee members who did most of the work: John Guthrie, who arranged all of the Tahoe
events, and Bill Mullen, who did a
great job as treasurer. Our
correspondent fears that if these stalwarts go unmentioned, unspeakable results
may ensue.
Joe & Jane Phillips are basking in retirement in Tucson,
and, after 39
years, Joe has decided to make contact
with the class. Tom Russell passed through and visited them a few months back, and
Joe was wowed with Tom’s knowledge of classmates and their activities. So, not to be outdone, he reports that Jack & Nancy Neal also visited (a
bit later) and that Jack had a picture of Joe and Sean Cummings dating back to cow year. It was a great reunion of old friends.
Joe says that his daughter, Debra, who
recently graduated from U of AZ as a doctor of music and is now teaching at
Marylhurst U in OR, has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall during the 1999
season. Her husband is an OCS type USMC
LT completing his 3rd year at Willamette School of Law. And the Phillips
have their first grandchild, a boy born to son Michael and his wife, Pam. They have just moved to Temple, TX, where
Michael is in a civilian group practice after a 3-year stint as a USAF
radiologist. Many thanks to Joe for the
news, and welcome back to the fold!
The
DC contingent had an enjoyable Fall Dinner evening on 9 Oct at the Army- Navy
Country Club with nice food and with entertainment by Ed Novogratz, who looks a lot like his brother Bob, as the accompanying photo attests. George Day was in
charge of setting up the evening, and his efforts were greatly
appreciated. There were 63 classmates,
wives, and guests in attendance; and recognition was given to those who had
come the farthest: John & Elaine
Guthrie from Tahoe, and Howard &
Eileen Stiles from Maine. Others
from out of town were Ted & Mary
Colby, Pete & Judi Dawkins, Chuck & Judy Darby, and Tom & Ann Russell. Barbara Novogratz and Pat Day were also there, as were Art & Babs Bair, Frank & Elaine
Besson, Frank Campbell, Bill & Bobbi Fitzgerald, Phil & Rosa Gibbs, Mike
and Felicity Gillette, Art & Joyce Griffin, Jim Hanlon, Mary Clare Haskin and
Dr. Vincent Zugay, Jerry & Geri
Hilmes, Powell & Joanne Hutton, George Kleb, Fred Malek, John & Margie
McNerney, Chuck Millick and son Brad, Milt
& Regina Newberry, Jack & Barbara O’Brien, Rod & Pat Paschall, Tom
& Marty Roberts, Bill Rowe, Skip & Charlie Schow, Joe & Beverly
Todaro, Bill Turpin, Jim & Phyllis Walsh, Bob & Elaine Weekley, and Dick & Margaret Welch.
Mike Gillette reports that his golf handicap should
shortly drop under 20, something that classmates who have played with him
recently will find hard to believe, he says.
Felicity, who retired in 1995
and began working on her golf seriously, has left Mike with little hope of
catching up with her. The Gillettes are
still in Great Falls, VA, where Mike continues to scrunch his knees as a member
of the Hash House Harriers, whom he describes as a group of bizarre runners
with a drinking problem. He and the
other founding members, John Gurr
and Bob Weekley, pursue the
foolishness they started back in 1982, and they have been joined intermittently
by the likes of John Guthrie, John McNerney, and Rich Clark. But only the persistent persist.
Mike spent 22 years with the World Bank
and has devoted a couple of years since to offering the Russians some G-7 help
under the auspices of the US Treasury.
The latter effort failed, although Mike was able to pick up the language
as a result of living in Moscow.
The Gillettes’ daughter, Laura, lives in
Denver where she works for the metro area special tax district, an entity whose
creation to support the arts in the region she wrote about in her master’s
thesis. She will help them celebrate
their 10th anniversary and then hopes to move on to arts-oriented
development work in the non-profit sector.
Some
short takes. Emmett McCracken, who has been chairman of the Beaufort (SC)
County Council, was to step down on 31 Dec.
He has announced his intention to run for mayor of Bluffton, his
hometown. Defense Secretary Cohen has
named Pete Dawkins as chairman of a
panel to address the possible problems that may affect our weapons of war when
the defense contractors who work on them are not exclusively US-owned
corporations. Those of us on the
Internet know that Pete has solicited our thoughts on the matter. Those who are not on line may reach him by
telephone at his office phone, (212) 816-889.
And the only report from the last hurricane season was from Bruce Medaris, whose organization had scheduled its annual conference and
trade show in New Orleans to coincide with Hurricane Georges. They had to spend some time away from the
comfort of their hotel with pillows, blankets, and no booze. Rats!
See
you at the 40th!