Rich Sweeney and Jim Davis in Charleston, SC July 2009
Rich Sweeney and Jim Davis' friend Sandra July 2009
ND Class Notes submitted August, 2009: A Teachable Moment
When President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden prepared for their beers with a Cambridge police officer and a Harvard professor at the end of July, the officials turned once again to pros for instruction in the etiquette. On behalf of all of us, President Tom Weyer supplied hours of archived police video recorded at the Senior Bar, Corby’s, tailgate parties, and the Linebacker. He also arranged for training led by Jim Hutchinson, Mick Hyland, Bill Clark and Jimmy Powers so that the U.S. leaders would have a composure befitting men knowledgeable about the intricacies of the social beer, ready for anything from the certainty that Republicans do not always add marshmallows to their malt, all the way to the proper moment for “Danny Boy.” They also learned how to charge drinks to Mike Browning’s University Club account, a skill Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may have overused with some stimulus expenses, especially after he was able to “friend” the accounts of Bob Smith and Jasjit Singh. Many on the White House staff availed themselves of an extra-credit class taught by Bob Santaloci on besotted completion of important documents such as chem lab reports and trade agreements. Brien Murphy pressed for a convivial gator but the Surgeon General nixed that. There was only one slip up, this in the aftermath of some extra instruction from one of the Rogers twins, Neil or Rich, when the Vice-President was approached by some journalists interested in his views on Russia. Adhering to his training, the Vice-President also volunteered some opinions of St. Mary’s women but the discreet journalists, realizing that he, like our class, had little direct experience with the subject, courteously ignored those remarks altogether.
As the training progressed in D.C., many of the rest of us kept our skills fresh at gatherings. Bryan Dunigan’s choice of the Chicago southside’s Harborside course for his annual June golf outing made a good, mostly dry day for Roger Guerin, Tom Weyer, Tom Gibbs, Dennie Toolan, Paul Eide, Sandy Carrigan, Tom Cuggino, Terry Quinn, Bob Ptak, Rick McPartlin, John Walsh, Skip Strzelecki and Fran Mentone. On August 21, a similar group with similar intentions of fun will get together in South Bend for an evening Silver Hawks baseball game and, for some, an afternoon of golf. Joe Kernan, Dick Liccini, Chris Murphy and Carmi, Fred Ferlic (setting aside his Chicago Marathon training), Jim O’Rourke and Gene Cavanaugh, as well as retired professors Ed Goerner and Don Sniegowski, will give the day a home town flavor. Jim Davis, recovering quickly from some health problems brought on by his active bachelor life, keeps in touch about the plans but may have to miss this time. Now living in Charleston, SC, Jim sent photos taken for the class blog during the visit of New Yorker Rich Sweeney and his wife Pat.
The University’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies has a new director of policy studies, our classmate David Cortright. Dave is an Army veteran and a longtime scholar, teacher and advocate of nonviolence. Author or editor of 15 books, he is an expert on nuclear weapons policy, prevention of conflict through economic sanctions and counter-terrorism.
Matt Walsh wrote after he and Joyce ran into John O’Brien and Karen in Lake Geneva, WI, the weekend that John would be installed as head of the Illinois State Bar Association. “I was pretty impressed. John and Karen have always been a wonderful couple and great parents. They mentioned that one of their sons is now teaching law at the law school at ND. Also pretty cool.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s feud with former coach Don Nelson has kept Nelson’s lawyer John O’Connor busy and given Dallas visitor Ken Howard something to read while in town. Ken circulated a newspaper article with some of John’s comments in it. In Mississippi, Tom Durkin, representing Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, reached a settlement in the much-followed trial at the end of July.
Californian Mike Burgener and his family, always in search of things heavy enough for a worthwhile lift, traveled to Ireland and Scotland where Mike caused less trouble than expected while having a good time. “My no. 2 son Beau Jackson Burgener will on 7 August pin on the Navy trident (symbol of Seal status) and become a member of the elite Seal team 5!! Very proud of my son!! (In Europe), I along with son Casey and his wife Natalie 2008 Olympians both of them….and daughter Sage, we did Olympic weightlifting certifications for Crossfit. Www.crossfit.com. I encourage all my classmates to check out Crossfit and keep healthy.”
Keep Tom Condon and his family in your prayers. Tom’s youngest brother David, a recently married lawyer who made myriad contributions as an elected member of the New London, CT school board and city commissions, died of cancer on June 29th. David’s funeral was well-attended and David’s memories so extraordinary that a niece overheard one of the ministers saying that he had never laughed so hard at a funeral before.
Please remember to check the photos and other notes on the class blog at http://www.ndclass1968.com. Have information about yourself and others? Send notes to Tom Figel, 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3-E, Chicago, IL 60626, tfigel@lake-effect.com.
Thomas J. Bernard, July, 2009
See the obituary for Tom here: http://ndclass-1968.figelpr.com/Thomas Bernard, July, 2009
Thomas Bernard was living in State College, PA, where he was a professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Tom’s obituary, found on the class blog, attests to a life of great accomplishment as a father, husband, author, and community volunteer. Despite a prediction of death within the year when Hodgkins Disease became evident in 1969, Tom lived ferociously and happily
Thaddeus Samulski, July, 2009
Our classmate Thaddeus Samulski was living in Chapel Hill, NC, where he is survived by his wife Ricka and his daughter Erica, ’95
Bob Nenoff
Robert J. Nenoff died during June, 2009 in Greensburg, PA. Tom Weyer remembers the fame Bob gained when he held the football for a 35-yard field goal in an interhall game. Bob then joined the Notre Dame fencing squad when, in Tom's estimation, Bob's thick-chested frame and short stature did not match the usual willowly look of the fencer. Maybe Bob won by slashing his opponents across the shins and ankles, Tom said.
Class notes submitted May 4, 2009: We Know the Feeling
ND Class of 1968 Contact: Tom Figel, 312-223-9536 x 301 (office)
May, 2009
We Know the Feeling
The broad and worldly experience of our class came to attention again during April when reports of China’s population imbalance prompted comparison to the weekend plight of Notre Dame undergraduates in the mid-1960s. Demographers pondering the future of a China with, currently, 32 million more young males than young women, seized on the similarities to the gray weekends of Notre Dame’s freshman class in 1964-1965. Photos from the time showed rows of eager, hungry young men pressed against the windows of Cavanaugh Hall as an unidentified couple walked past in the company of a student in a Notre Dame jacket and two teen-aged daughters. Other bleak images showed chains of desperate young men circling the Rathskellar as John Pergine, Jim Chapman, Dick Blumberg, Larry Lange, Jim Davis, Forrest Hainline, and Jerry McCabe made time on the dance floor with fourteen coeds bussed to the campus from Barat. Meanwhile, at St. Mary’s, at the Huddle, and at Frankie’s, other dispirited young men openly gaped as the Waters twins Joan and Gini, Chris Gott, Babs Gibson, and Kathleen O’Laughlin gushed with admiration while their smooth upperclassmen dates smoked Cherry Blend and explained Sartre. All the desire would erupt in the spring, when a young townswoman, Lola, would spark a riot with a provocative dance. In China, the comparison to Notre Dame of 1965 comforted some 19 year olds interviewed by a New York Times reporter: “Next Sunday, the China New York Club is having a smoker with four buses from St. Xavier’s,” said a hopeful Li-Chin.
More than 40 years later, none the worse for the experience, mentally balanced and bright, a group from that class came together on April 30th for a Chicago dinner that honored Tom Gibbs as Mt. Carmel High School’s “Man of the Year.” Once again, of course, the evening was a Friday night stag event but this time, Class President Tom Weyer was among those who could talk of success with the pretty coeds bussed from St. Xavier’s and Barat.
Jim Knaus wrote from Troy, MI that he’s enjoying work as a co-owner of Global Wealth Advisors LLC. Jim has also written a book available from AuthorHouse.com, the soon-to-be published Why Are You Laughing?, a collection of anecdotes from his financial services career.
Jim Hutchinson, and then Mike Helmer, sent news as Tom Weems, “The Troll,” suffered a major heart attack in California, slipped into unconsciousness for a day, and then passed away on March 26th. The emails were a chain from Dana Hart, Mike Trombetta, Tom Condon. . . . the lifelong friends from the Breen Phillips days when “Troll” seemed always in charge of a gin game and a good set of wisecracks. On Easter Sunday, Dan Harshman and his family lost Dan’s brother Paul, who suffered a heart attack in the Toledo, OH area. Then, in late April, a schoolbus turning at Riverside and Angela in South Bend struck and killed Chuck Leone’s wife Kathleen Curtis, who was taking her morning walk. Thank you to Gene Cavanaugh and to Mike Powers for informing all of us. Please keep our classmates and their families in your prayers.
Granger, IN resident Larry “Monk” Forness entertained the Father Lange’s gym crowd when the friends assembled for the Blue-Gold game weekend and a ceremony honoring the powerful Holy Cross priest. Larry can offer firsthand knowledge of the team’s prospects for the coming season, one that will see good times at the tailgates held under the Class of 1968 flag. During the summer, expect a third annual gathering for enjoyment of Joe Kernan’s Silver Hawks baseball team. Details, as well as additional notes and photos, will be found at our blog, http://www.ndclass1968.com. Remember to send news to: Tom Figel, 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3-E, Chicago, IL 60626, tel. 312-223-9536 x 301 (office).
Class notes submitted February 12, 2009: On the Road
On the Road
On occasion, word comes that some members of our class notice an excess of attention to the Chicago area and insufficient attention to the parts of the country where the Chicago crowd plays golf, changes planes, and attends away games. With so many ambassadors currently on the road, this seems an opportune time to balance the scales. Our President Tom Weyer and Mary, for example, spent a weekend in New Orleans at the end of January. As they livened up Bourbon Street each evening, the Weyers took note of the economic stimulus the city experiences once crowds of Texans are overserved. Bob Ptak and Roger Guerin, two other presidential advisors, made similar studies from vantage points overlooking the Gulf Coast of southwest Florida. There they marveled at the events of the local real estate market, which has seen a decline since the heady days when two Edina, MN investors, Jeff Keyes and Meg, led an investment pool in the purchase of a Naples condo well-located near an early bird dining establishment. Chris Murphy and Carmie marked their 40th wedding anniversary with a January stay in Key West. In Truro on outer Cape Cod, Jim Bisceglia joined a September reunion with Charlie Gareau, Gary DiMasi, and Bryan Fitz, the 215 So. Taylor foursome. “Also attending,” said Jim, “were de facto co-tenant Bob Santaloci and spiritual mentor Paul Joubert (‘66). Highlights included lunch on the beach with 200 seals sunning themselves nearby on a sandbar, watching Michigan State drub ND on Charlie’s large HD flatscreen; and general bonhomie. Gary won the long distance (Omaha) attendance prize.” Since that trip, Jim Bisceglia, his wife Nancy, Charlie Gareau and his wife Christine returned to the road, this time for a trip to the Turks and Caicos. While they were away, Jim learned of the death of his uncle Pasquale (Patsy) Bisceglia: Patsy was a first time AP All American on the 1955 ND team and a teammate of Paul Hornung. Patsy played a few years for the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. John Schmelzer phoned from Fall Church City, VA and said that Jim Biggs has retired (again, says John) in New Mexico. John has also been talking with Coley O’Brien, who lives nearby and is a member of Congressman Dan Lungren’s staff. Tom Durkin has been visiting Guantanamo on behalf of some clients.
Circling back toward the homeboys, we find Larry Forness recovering at his Granger, IN home from late December surgery and the excitement of each week’s football game postmortem. Larry is in steady email communication with Mike Burgener, Jan Debenedetto, Leo Collins, Paul Gill, Russ Bellamy, Kent Durso, Mike Murphy, and Tom Condon regarding a reunion of Father Lange’s Boys, or the Lead Heads, during the weekend of the Blue-Gold game.
A whisper at the Bryan Dunigan Christmas party in Oak Park, IL was the worry about the failing health of Dennie Toolan’s wife Gerri. Not many days later came the news that Gerri’s cancer had proven fatal. She died in early January, mourned by her four children and friends who assembled from all directions. At the annual Chicago classmates get-together Rick McPartlin organizes for the financial well-being of some Division Street pubs, Dennie told us on January 30th about the events and decisions he and his family confronted as Gerri’s health declined. Please remember the family in your prayers.
We take you now to Chicago where, alerted by San Diego resident John Burke (‘69), we await the May 1st Mt Carmel High School dinner when Tom Gibbs will be honored as the school’s Man of the Year. Also being honored, John said, “areCraig Robinson, Michele Obama's brother, and Dean Reynolds of CBS News. The big award goes to Gibbs!!!”
See? The energy and friendship of our class is already surmounting the difficulties of late 2008. May 2009 be a great year for all of us.
Please remember to check the photos and other notes on the class blog at http://www.ndclass1968.com. Send notes to Tom Figel, 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3-E, Chicago, IL 60626, tfigel@lake-effect.com.
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