Tom Thurber with other ND friends during a reunion in New Orleans, 1998 (photo from John Walsh)
Tom Thurber rockin' & rollin' at 1998 reunion, New Orleans -(photo from John Walsh)
From Bob Smith by way of Jim O'Rourke: John Hall, candidate for Congress, NY
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my old next door neighbor in Cavanaugh is in the news |
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Wed, 23 Aug 200613:57:19 -0400 |
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,208194,00.html
This should bring back some memories. FR. Mecili's biggest project in our
dorm. Lolla, Jim Chapman's roomie. <1.0 GPA in physics and only 16 at the
time.
(See attached file: FOXNews.com Photo.jpg)
—
J. S. O'Rourke, IV, Ph.D.
Concurrent Professor of Management
Director, The Eugene D. Fanning Center
MendozaCollege of Business
University of Notre Dame
(John Hall's campaign web site is http://www.johnhallforcongress.com/. Pete Seeger is one of his endorsers – no mention of Father Miceli.)
Death of Carol Lyman, Gary's wife
Bryan Dunigan forwarded this note from a friend of the Lyman family, Winnetka, IL.
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 9:50 AM
Subject: Fwd: Carol Lord Lyman
<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /> Perhaps some of you may have heard by now, but Carol died yesterday afternoon around 1:20 PM.She was surrounded by her children, one sister and 2 devoted friends – Ann O'Donnell Devlin and me.It was as peaceful and beautiful as anyone could imagine. For me, it was one of the greatest privileges of my life to be with my dearest friend, holding her hand and talking to her as she took her last breath. Her daughter Chris reminded all of us that Gary always called Carol every day from the corn pit at the end of the trading day at exactly 1:17PM. There was no doubt that Gary was calling yesterday.
Carol's funeral is Saturday morning at 9 AM at Faith Hope in Winnetka . The wake is from 3 – 9 on Friday at Donnellan Funeral Home on
Skokie Blvd. in
Skokie. Donnellan has a web site for more details and info on Memorials.
Keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. Notes or cards can still be sent to Carol's home address 1070 Sunset Road, Winnetka ,
IL 60093 . Her children are Garrett (Becca), Jeff (Kath), Carrie and Chris.
Love,
Susan
Class Notes – Submitted August, 2006
Class of 1968 Notes Contact: Tom Figel, 312-223-9536 ext. 301
August, 2006
With Help From Friends
Joe Kernan, lolling around in retirement as an owner of the SilverHawks minor league baseball team in South Bend and as a professor of government at Notre Dame, came to Chicago in July. Thinly disguised as a luncheon speech to a business group on government and baseball, Joe’s appearance was a get-together with Notre Dame friends from several classes. Class President Tom Weyer was traveling but did his best to prep Tom Gibbs with jibes and jokes left over from class pranks and Rocky Bleier roasts, but, in the end, Tom Gibbs, unable to be anyone but his fine self in front of his son Bill Gibbs, went with his own instincts and introduced Joe Kernan as a friend who happened to be the ex-Governor of Indiana. Bill Giles, the former W. Hudson Giles of the Observer sports column, came from Lexington, KY, and John Buck, the Chicago real estate developer, double-parked long enough to say hello at the end. John Walsh came with Matt Faccenda, who claims that he learned from Joe Kernan how to hit a curve ball, a useful skill for the practice of law. Tom Durkincame by at the start but then had to run back to the defense of one or another beleaguered public official; in recent weeks, Tom, often presented in courtroom artist’s drawings, has been the stuff of the front pages: he mounted a strong, blustery, indignant defense of two Chicago officials accused of politically-motivated hiring practices.
The recent trial prompted an audience question that led Joe to tell a story of his grandfather. Joe’s grandfather, a professional baseball scout, came to a season’s end at a Depression time when jobs were scarce. At the same time, Joe’s grandmother received a sad call from a friend whose husband had suddenly died, leaving her and the children. And things had been looking up for all of them, the friend said: her husband was to have started a City job the following Monday. During the weekend, the Kernans and their friend cooked up a scheme. Under the friend’s name, Joe’s grandfather would begin the job; the Kernans would share the income with the deceased man’s family. In order to bring stability to the position, the Kernans quietly petitioned political friends for a shift of the position to their own committeeman’s domain. After some weeks, Mr. Kernan’s supervisor called him in and announced that his job was ending: the coming Monday it was being given to some guy named Kernan.
Bryan Dunigan, busy with preparations for the early August golf outing he organizes for Chicago area classmates, could not attend. He may have been answering correspondence sparked by his email about the event, which would take place under the sponsorship of Butterfield County Club members Bob Ptak and Roger Guerin. Some examples: Tom Weyer wrote “To All, I will be bring my 'GAME' to the outing. How courageous of Roger and Bob to risk their memberships in this way. Of course we are turning 60 this year and tend to be better behaved……NOT… Are costumes required or just optional?” From Dave Kabatcame: “My first thought was that with the number of classmates who are members at BCC that any membership risk would be minimal. Then I recalled that we did get thrown out of the Cabin that Club President Ptak owned. I guess we can take comfort in the fact that Butterfield does not have working fireplaces.”
The same group of friends heard sad news from Dave July 17th: his father had died. In New Orleans, John Flemming, his family and friends lamented the sudden death of John’s stepson Sage. Tom Cuggino asks for prayers for his son Tommy, a young father who is struggling with cancer of the stomach. In Washington, D.C., Pat Collins is recovering from a successful early summer operation.
John Walsh sent a note about John G. O’Brien, who has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association and will be installed as president during the 2009 Annual Meeting.
In late September, Jay Schwartz, Ed Kickham and I are visiting Russia and Estonia. We were going to invite Joe Blake, too, but decided that Joe’s passion for climbing tables and everything high could be a lot of trouble: Joe just finished a climb of Mt. Baker in Washington State.
Please send news to: Tom Figel, 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3-E, Chicago, IL 60626, tel. 312-223-9536 ext. 301, tfigel@figelpr.com.
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Class Notes – Submitted May, 2006
ND Class of 1968 Contact: Thomas Figel, 312-223-9536 ext. 301
May, 2006
Moving to the Front of the Wagon
In The Time of Man, a novel Frank O’Malley gave his freshman class, a girl first appears in the back of a pioneer wagon. The book ends with the girl on a similar wagon, this time seated in front with her own children in the back. So are we progressing, it seems. There was a time when class notes were full of 2nd lieutenants, and then law school, and then the births of Brian Patricks and Megan Eileens. This time we are at the front of the wagon and we have friends to remember. To begin, your lunkhead secretary failed to report the Oct. 30, 2004 death of Phil Rathweg, the former student senator whose popularity grew each year he lived. “Phil was a class person and seemed to maintain a positive attitude despite his illness,” wrote Jim Hutchison. He then told the story of an encounter with Phil at a football game. Jim heard a familiar voice heckling him. “I looked around and did not see anyone that looked familiar. Finally I figured out that this guy made up to look like a clown was Phil Rathweg! He was sneaking into the game on a student ticket – it was really funny and totally uncharacteristic of him.” Steve Anderson wrote in April about Jim Bigham, who died suddenly after contracting a severe soft tissue streptococcal infection: “Jim was one of the better basketball players in our class and started on the Keenan Hall team that was the Interhall championship squad our freshman year. Despite a gait that earned him the nickname `Duck,’ he was an outstanding point guard. His widow Nancy can be reached at 15070 Plymouth Crossing, Plymouth MI 48170.” John Lee Conner, who was a marching band member and later earned a Notre Dame law degree, died on March 21 in Reno, NV. Mike Coleman wrote from Detroit of the loss of his wife Kathy in October, 2005; two of their four sons attended ND, including Kevin, who is captain of the Irish Guard. On April 28, John Noel died of prostate cancer at his home in Glen Ellyn, IL. In addition to his law practice, John was a DuPage County board member. Ned Buchbinder wrote from Milwaukee with memories of getting to know John when they worked together on their Fenwick High School newspaper in Oak Park, IL: “I recall how privileged he felt to talk with an editor of Downbeat Magazine…and to co-ordinate the ND Jazz festival. John was a good person, a man of talent who served others well. I am blessed to have known him.” On May 5, her birthday, Col. John Stephen’s widow Almira Stephens died in South Bend. Always sharing the Colonel’s affection for all of us, Mrs. Stephens was quiet, dignified and warm. “In heaven, my father will greet her with `What took you so long?’” said her daughter Elise Stephens Reeder. “And then he will add, `And put some lipstick on.’”
Ron Messina is recovering from hip replacement surgery in Chicago, where many are looking forward to Bryan Dunigan’s annual golf outing. Paul Dunn took some practice rounds with Eddie Haggar, Dave Boehnen, Bill Sweetman, Tom Roche, and Ken Collins during a four-day gathering at the Haggar home at Dorado Country Club in Palm Springs.
Class President Tom Weyer helped roast Rocky Bleier at a Pittsburgh event during April. The same weekend, while Pat Collins, Bob Brady, Bill Knapp, Dennis Gallagher and the rest of the Observer crowd attended the 40th anniversary celebration of the paper, we had dinner with Father David Burrell, Professor Ed Goerner and his wife Iris, and Professor Don Costello and his wife Christine. Father Burrell told of a time Lenny Joyce announced plans to burn down the ROTC building. “Come to my room at 10 p.m. and we can talk,” said Father Burrell, then rector of Morrissey Hall. When Lenny arrived, he found Col. John Stephens waiting, too. Col. Stephens told Lenny the act would land him in Leavenworth and the plan came to an end.
“All’s quiet on the Shenandoah,” wrote Dr. Christopher Manion, who is in Front Royal, VA and looking for his old banking colleagues Bill Kelly and Jim Loverde. Ken Howard sent Bryan Dunigan a link to Ken’s blog about his recent photography of sea lions: http://www.seaimages.org/log/ . On a global, underwater scale, Ken leads a Joe Blake life of adventure.
Please send news of your own adventures to: Tom Figel, 1054 West North Shore, Apt. 3-E, Chicago, IL 60626, 312-223-9536 ext. 301, tfigel@figelpr.com.
Paul V. Davis, Nov. 5, 2004
Dear Tom and Class of '68:
It is with great sorrow that I inform all of you of the death of my husband Paul V. Davis. He had been ill since March, 2004, but appeared to be doing very well this past fall. He passed away on November 5 after a sudden bout with infection.
I cannot tell you how difficult this has been for me and our son Mark. Paul was truly a follower of Christ and very concerned about people in need. He initiated a St. Vincent DePaul chapter at our church and also a program for housing and mentoring homeless families, with the goal of helping them get the skills necessary to succeed in life on their own. I know his background at Notre Dame contributed to his choosing to do this work. In fact, he often said that himself.
Paul was also very active in our parish, heading the building committee planning our new parish center and being deputy grand knight in the Knights of Columbus.
Please remember Paul and our family in your prayers.
Warm regards,
Lynne Davis