Shipmate Column
April 2007
CLASS OF
1963
Pres: CAPT W. Spencer Johnson IV, USN (Ret.)
Sec'y: Michael H. Shelley
164 Sweetwater Lane, Pisgah Forest, NC
28768
h: 828-862-4245 e: nstar@citcom.net
Web site: http://www.usna63.org.
For any classmate you can go to the Classmates Page and enter his name to read his current biography if available.
Before plunging into this month's news exchange, I want to remind you that the 45th Reunion of the Class of 1963 will be held in Annapolis Thursday through Sunday, 24-27 April 2008. It's not too soon to block out those dates on your long-range calendar.
Here's a brief illustrated note from St. Petersburg, FL, resident Ollie Donelan:
Ray Ross was visiting Florida from Colorado, and he and Carol, Fran and Tom Reemelin, and Elyse and Vern Browne joined me and Sandy for dinner at our house in late January. I swear to goodness, the stories (fabrications) just get bigger and better with time!! Here's a picture of the four of us taken that evening.
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18th Companymates Browne, Donelan, Ross, and Reemelin
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Jim Ring sent along a note and photograph he received this January from his former USNA roommate, Pete Rollosson, who just retired from the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon. Here are some excerpts:
I finally joined the ranks of the retired as of the end of 2006. So far it has been very relaxing and I highly recommend it. I ended up with a little over 26 years of government service counting USNA, USN, and BLM time.
I plan to do quite a bit of traveling with my soon-to-be-retired travel agent wife, Joyce. Our first stop will probably be in New York to visit our two children, both of whom work for the UN.
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Pete Rollosson and his 1959 Jaguar XK 150S |
My father acquired a 1959 Jaguar XK150S Open Two Seater (roadster) in 1961 and let me have it in 1984. I got serious about restoring it about two years ago. I campaigned it last year and will continue to show it again this year. I need to do some touch up work on it and get it ready for the season. I ended up 3rd nationally in my JCNA "Driven" class. It was a lot of fun going to the various shows (Western States in Bend, OR, Victoria and Vancouver, BC, and Seattle). I got to visit Paul Revere when we were in Bend. We are looking forward to more good times showing the Jag in 2007. Who knows, I may see some USNA alumni at some of the shows.
The Trustees and officers of the Class of 1963 Foundation met in Colorado in January. I received two reports about the meeting. The first came from Trustee Mike Krause. He sent numerous photographs.
I wanted to pass along some photos from the Foundation meeting held at Cynthia and Jim DeFrancia's home in Aspen on January 13th. As usual, Jim and Cynthia were the perfect hosts. Classmates attending were Al Griggs, Steve Duncan, Will Settle, Sonny Glassner, Mike Rubel, Jim DeFrancia, Ken Metviner, Harry Salmon, Doug Davidson, Dave Puckett, and me. The meeting covered several items of interest to the Class including a survey to be mailed to all classmates. The Trustees seek the widest possible Class input as decisions for the future are taken. (Sec'y note: If you are reading this on our web site in February or March, you may not yet have completed and returned the survey form that was mailed to you. Please mail it today or tomorrow. )
The recent election resulted in two Trustee vacancies being filled by Mario Fiori and Mike Rubel. David Puckett was named to a third seat, filled by appointment at the discretion of the Class President. Financially, the Foundation is in excellent shape with a net worth of over $500,000.
The trustees and officers chipped in to buy a laser-engraved plaque thanking Cynthia and Jim for their years of outstanding hospitality. Here is a picture of the plaque.
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David Puckett presents the plaque to Cynthia and Jim DeFrancia
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On another note, we still have a good stock of four-in-hand ties, bow ties and cummerbunds, as well as lovely silk scarves for your ladies. All are done in the 1963 Class pattern of regimental stripes designed exclusively for our use. Ties (both styles), scarves, and the cummerbunds are $63 each, but a discount is offered for orders of more than one article -- any three at a price of $175, or all four for $235. Please be specific when ordering. They are available by sending a check payable to "Class of 1963 Foundation" and mailed to Ms. Dawn Storm, Lowe Enterprises, P.O. Box 12393,
Aspen, CO 81612.
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Trustees, officers, and wives |
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'63 wives in Aspen
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Chef Jim serves Ken Metviner and Sonny Glassner
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Judi and David Puckett
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Jim DeFrancia and Will Settle
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Also filing a report was Phillip Marsden:
Cynthia and Jim DeFrancia were kind enough to invite me and my skiing buddies, Jim Kaufman and Guy Zeller, to join the Class of 1963 Foundation dinner at their Aspen chateau. We were treated to a spectacular dinner and great camaraderie. As it turns out, Jim Kaufman, Mike Rubel and Jim DeFrancia were great buddies at Supply School and Jim Kaufman and Al Griggs were classmates at Andover Prep prior to Al heading to the academy. What a small world! The photos show: Doug Davidson, Guy, Dave Puckett, Al Griggs, Mike Rubel, and Jim during happy hour; Jim DeFrancia and Steve Duncan admiring Sonny Glassner's culinary art; Charlsie Davidson, Al Griggs Laurie and Sonny Glassner letting me know what they think about my crashing the buffet line.
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Enjoying Happy Hour
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DeFrancia, Duncan, and Glassner
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Charlsie Davidson, Al Griggs, Laurie and Sonny Glassner
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I learned from Dave Moore that The Reverend Jim Fisher has retired from full-time work. He will still be very busy, as the note below indicates.
I will be content to watch the Episcopal fireworks from the sideline. I have an extensive garden railway (large scale model train) in the front garden and I do high end wood turnings that I sell at a few select art shows during the year. I haven't done much of that in the last couple of years so I am looking forward to cranking that up a bit. Gail and I will travel more in the motor home. I am a certified EMT/Firefighter in NJ, and I'll work for the City of Cape May doing EMS and firefighting on a part-time basis. I should catch four or five shifts a month, which will be plenty.
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch announced in early February that he would nominate Charles O'Leary to fill the unexpired term of the current Transportation Commissioner, who was stepping down. "There are immediate financial and management challenges that need to be addressed at the department." said the Governor. "Chuck O'Leary has the knowledge of the department and a proven record as an administrator making him the right choice to lead the agency over the next several months."
Chuck previously served as commissioner of the Department of Transportation from 1990 to 1996. Prior to that appointment, he was executive vice president of the CHEMFAB Corporation in Merrimack After leaving the department, he became president and partner of Northeast Concrete Products based in Plainview, MA., a position he held until retiring in December 2004.
I hope you folks check out the Chapter News section of each issue of Shipmate. Our classmates are often mentioned there, and especially noteworthy are the large number who are in leadership positions in alumni chapters across the country. A quick scan of the January-February issue found chapter presidents Rich Pace (Los Angeles), Birney Pease (Fort Lauderdale), Jim Koehn (Southern Nevada), Rob Black (Metro New York), David Puckett (Toledo), Dave Driskell (Alamo, TX), Thom Rossa (Intermountain, UT), and Ron Tebben (Shenandoah, VA). Also to be noted are Ed Howard (Secretary, Arizona), Don McAlister (Secretary, Austin, TX), and Grayson Redford (Treasurer, Shenandoah, VA). BZ, guys!
That's all, folks! Please contact me soon with news of yourself and our classmates. We need your input to keep this monthly report full and interesting. Thanks.
