Shipmate Column - Class of 1963

Shipmate Column
July/August 2000

CLASS OF 1963
Pres: Stephen M. Duncan
Sec'y: Michael H. Shelley
25 Sweetwater Lane, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
h: 828-862-4245 e: Class.Secretary@USNA63.org
Web site: www.USNA63.org

As you read this, the Class of 2004 is enduring the first hot weeks of its Plebe Summer. The heat and humidity in Annapolis can be oppressive, as we all know, but they are not authentically tropical. For the real thing, you just have to go there, as Ken Sanger did recently when he visited Costa Rica. While there, he enjoyed a reunion with his Academy roommate. Here is his account of the event:

    Much unexpected has happened to me since we took the oath on that July day in '59. Among the many unplanned events for me were: parachuting into the Laotian jungle; working for a German company (especially since my second language was French); becoming a ski bum; moving to a small town in northern Idaho. But the MOST unforeseen event and the most bizarre, was a chance reunion in Costa Rica with my staid USNA roommate of four years, Dave Shute. In fact, I doubt that in 1959 I knew where Costa Rica was.
    Some months ago, Claudio Pacheco '64 informed Mike Shelley that he had run across a '63 grad living in the farthest reaches of Costa Rica with no electricity, running water, or regular phone service. It was later revealed that this snake fearing, Pennsylvania Main Line dwelling, non-Spanish speaking, former couch potato was none other than Dave.
    Since I was planning a trip to Costa Rica in the spring, I e-mailed Claudio who helped me get in touch with Dave. We met in late March at Puntaleona, a beautiful resort on the Pacific. Dave and his lovely wife, Beth (Contact them for one of her beautiful paintings or prints of butterflies.), drove up from their home in the southwest corner of the country, a nine or ten hour drive of only about 170 miles as the macaw flies. Doris and I greatly appreciated that they came to us since only 15 percent of Costa Rica's roads are paved.
    We hadn't seen each other or corresponded for 18 years so there was a lot of catching up to do. Beth and Doris heard a few stories that would have caused them to run from the altar, had they heard the stories before the weddings!


Roommates reunite in Costa Rica	Dave and Beth Shute with Doris and Ken Sanger

     Dave and Beth built their house on two hectares (Dave talks metric now – it's about five acres) of jungle about a half mile from the beach. They get their water from a stream about a quarter mile away. Dave occasionally has to hack his way along the pipeline to effect repairs, remove critters and debris from the connecting joints, etc. He really does hate and fear snakes -- that is why he went destroyers instead of following in our beloved Marine Company Officer's footsteps! He has declared the area around their house a snake free zone but says the snakes don't respect it any more than he respected weekend curfews. He has become quite adept with a machete.
     They have a small generator that they use to charge batteries so they can fire up the cell phone weekly. To appease his mother, they did recently get a messaging service. They go to bed and rise according to the sun's schedule, though Beth says she occasionally reads after the sun goes down if a flashlight is handy.
     There are many more stories but I'll stop them for now. I am greatly impressed with the pioneering spirit my old roomy and his wife have displayed. They don't plan to live there forever, they just wanted the adventure (and some business opportunities). Before our meeting, I thought Doris' and my planned move to Sandpoint, Idaho, was adventurous!
     Dave and Beth would love to see any classmates who meander down their way. Phone them at 011-506-387-1367. They will call back by the following Sunday.

Tom Haney

I had received word some time ago that my Fourth Companymate Tom Haney had died, but I could find no further information. After several inquiries, I learned that Win Orgera might be able to help. Responding to my inquiry, Win sent a copy of the memorial program from Tom's funeral. The cover photo, which I am including here, captures a bit of his mischievous spirit which we remember so vividly. Tom was in many ways an original, and always a good and true friend. The funeral program included this note:

At his 25th Academy class reunion, Tom attempted to make an unobtrusive entrance during the Class President's speech. The quiet entrance quickly became disruptive as swells of "Haney is here" began to murmur through the hall. As the evening progressed, more and more classmates were eager to volunteer their stories about "Hanes". Their common theme was always, "He got me through".

Tom's active duty service included a tour aboard USS TAUSSIG and command of a Swift boat in Vietnam. As a civilian, he worked for a time with the CIA, later pursuing his dream of becoming a golf professional. (You may remember that he captained the USNA golf team.) He spent more than 25 years in the golf world, working in New York, Florida, Illinois, and California. During a brief time away from the golf business, he lived in Key West, Florida, where he single-handedly restored an old lobster boat which he used to earn a living as a commercial fisherman. The program recounts, “It was in this craft he navigated through the night waters of the Gulf to save Cuban refugees during the two rescues he completed in the Mariel Boatlift. With standing room only and inches of freeboard, he helped to save the lives of his first mate's family and friends. The boat was lost after being impounded by the U.S. government when a change of politics ensued.” In the late 1980's he founded the Haney-Johnston Academy of Golf in Palm Desert, California. Most recently, he was the teaching professional at Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor, Illinois. Surrounded by family and friends, Tom died on 13 December 1997 in Chicago. He is survived by his widow, Claudia.

Steve Coester reports that he and Vern Browne represented the Class at a festive surprise party celebrating the 60th birthday of Ollie Donelan on 7 April:

The party was held at the Donelan home in St. Petersburg, Florida. Plotting worthy of the CIA was performed by Ollie's wife, Sandy, and daughters Linda and Nancy to keep the party a secret from Ollie while bringing in food and drink and setting up their home as a full casino. Linda feigned car trouble and had Ollie picking up her kids and doing errands around town until it was time for the party. Their son, John, and wife came in from Maryland and his sister, Martha, came all the way from Kentucky. All the grandkids were there, so Ollie was in hog heaven. Ollie was truly surprised and remarked upon seeing all the cars parked on their street that, "Some SOB is having a party and didn't even invite us". The gambling was a lot of fun with door prizes and white elephants going to the big winners. Food, drink, and great conversation were enjoyed by all. Yvonne and I spent the night with Vern and Elise at their home and enjoyed the chance to catch up on all the happenings since graduation.


18th Companymates at Ollie Donelan's birthday party	Sandy and Ollie Donelan

Steve supplied two photos taken at the party. The first pictures Steve, Vern, and the smiling Birthday Boy. The other shows Sandy with Ollie, who's modeling his new Harley-Davidson boxer shorts. (Somebody please tell him that they should be worn under his trousers!)
A News Flash from Ollie himself arrived just before I submitted this report to the Shipmate Editor. He reported that he would be retiring from Federal Service on 25 May. He will stay in the St. Petersburg area and continue to teach Statistics and Quantitative methods at two local colleges.

Another recognition of distinguished service by a member of the Class of 1963 came this spring when RADM Tom Hall was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. A joint effort of the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of the Reserve Officers Association, the Hall of Fame was created in 1999 to honor Oklahomans whose names have become prominent in American military history and, more importantly, those Oklahomans whose contributions, while significant, have gone unrecognized for various reasons. By honoring those who have contributed significantly to the defense of the nation, the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame serves to educate the public on Oklahomans' role in U. S. military history, the impact of U. S. military history on the history of the state, the development of military science and technology, the function of the military in a democratic society, and the role of the modern military in today's world. Congratulations, Tom!

You may have overlooked a photo of four of our classmates that appeared with the Class of '93 column in the April issue of Shipmate. The occasion was the Navy-Hawaii football game last November. Pictured showing the young guys how to party were Jerry Mulholland, Ron Wills, Dick Hyland, and Jerry Jordan.

Following one of his recent business trips from San Diego to D.C. this spring, Phil Marsden sent this note and two photos:


A chance meeting of great minds at the Library of Congress	9th Company roommates Marsden, Killian, and McCloy

I was showing my youngest son, Dave, around the beautiful Library of Congress building and who should I run into but Denny Vaughan! Denny splits his time between Seattle and D.C. where he is consulting. Here we are, surrounded by all that polished marble in the library's Great Hall. The other photo shows me with two of my former roommates. Jim Killian is now a projects manager at the National Academy of Sciences. Retired from the Marine Corps, Murph McCloy is a leading State Department representative for de-mining operations around the world. Jim and I were thrilled with the opportunity to remind Murph of some of his finer moments -- he is hardly ever in town and misses all of our 9th Company get-togethers. Of course, Murph can give as good as he gets and lost no time pointing out to Jim that he found it hard to believe that someone who barely passed wires and steam could be representing the NAS! I was careful to remain neutral in all these proceedings.

In early April, the Orange County, California, Business Journal reported that Dick Ortwein, President of Koll Development Company, had left that position to launch Focus Real Estate LP, which will concentrate on developing and managing projects for the burgeoning high-tech industry. Dick and another former senior Koll executive are founding partners of the new venture. The firm initially will focus its activity in Southern California, but is expected eventually to expand to other areas of the United States. Dick had been with the Koll organization for 20 years in various capacities. Previously, he spent 10 years with Wells Fargo Bank. He is affiliated with various local and national organizations including the Orange County Business Council, the Urban Land Institute, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

For several years, Lou and I have been wanting to visit parts of the Southwestern United States where we'd not been before. The planets came into the necessary alignment in late March, so we set out on a motor voyage of discovery which ultimately stretched to 7,300 miles including a route extension to Florida. As we traveled westward through Texas, we stopped in the Hill Country west of San Antonio to visit former roommate Bill Kennedy at "The Red House," his home in the outback. Our special good fortune was that Bill had as houseguests Tim Harvey and Tim's friend Tamara Johnson. I had not seen Bill or Tim for many years, so we had a lot to talk about and our time together went all too quickly. I did manage a complete tour of Bill's technology palace, from which he operates his computer services business and provides hosting services for the Class of 1963 web site. I was amazed at the number of computers, routers, and other hardware that were humming along in his large computer room. Bill was one of three guys from our class (The others were Paul Jara and Mike McQuown) who were so adept at computers that they were retained at USNA after graduation to teach the incoming group of officer instructors so that they could, in turn, teach '64. Bill still operates at a technical level well beyond normal humans. We're lucky to have him.

Tim Harvey, Bill Kennedy, and Mike Shelley in the Texas Hill Country
Continuing our journey, we spent a few days touring much of Arizona and New Mexico, arriving in Albuquerque on 6 April for a two-day visit with Helen and Mike Blackledge. We were immediately impressed by the contrast between the Blackledges' desert-style landscaping and the complete polar bear skin which hangs in their front hallway. (Relax: the skin was legally obtained many years ago.) Mike took us on an extensive tour of the area’s many sights, including the Albuquerque Museum, the Rio Grande Nature Center, and the large antique mall which Helen operates. The highlight of our visit was a wonderful dinner hosted by the Blackledges at the historic Maria Teresa Restaurant in Old Town Albuquerque, where we were joined by P.J. and Olen Thompson. (Mike and Olen both work at Sandia Laboratories.) I had the waiter take a photo of our group, which is reproduced here. Left to right are Lou, Olen and PJ, me, and Mike and Helen. It was a happy, memorable evening.

Dinnertime in Albuquerque

Soon after we returned home to North Carolina, Lou and I headed south to Florida for a wedding and visits with family. After spending an exhausting day at Disney World with our not quite four-year-old twin grandchildren, we drove east for a visit with Yvonne and Steve Coester at their home in Rockledge – not far from the Space Center at Cape Canaveral where Steve worked for 33 years before his retirement in 1997. (Boy, does Steve have a lot of nifty awards and memorabilia on his walls and mantelpiece!) Such a good visit it was! The Coesters had prepared an expansive brunch, preceded by Bloody Mary's next to their swimming pool. They have been in their house for many years, and have developed a beautiful environment of flowers and tropical plants throughout their back yard. Quite a setting, some of which is visible in this photo of Steve and the ladies. Extending their hospitality to the end, Yvonne and Steve sent us on our way with a large bag of delicious grapefruit picked right there in their yard.

Lou Shelley visits Steve and Yvonne Coester

Our visit to the Coesters completed a clean sweep of the developers of the Class of 1963 web site. Work on the site began in February 1999 and has continued ever since, yielding what we believe is by a wide margin the finest of the growing number of USNA class web sites. Before my trip, none of us had conferred face-to-face or even spoken on the phone since the work began. Everything has been done electronically, a testimony to the effectiveness of modern data communications. As I traveled, I took a photo of each of the developers at his computer. Since we are all pictured above, the photos are not shown here but are included with the online version of this column in the Shipmate section of our web site. Take a look!


Blackie, the New Mexico Webmaster	Bill Kennedy, your Texas Hostmaster


Steve Coester, The Florida InstiGator	Mike Shelley, the Class Perpetrator

A final word about the web site. The Electronic Lucky Bag section includes a facility for adding information about your current situation and your activities since 1963. Many of our classmates have placed their info there. Among the recent contributors are Denny Tomlin, Chuck Calvano, Mal Schantz, Alan McAnally, Paul Jara, Eric Krieger, Wayne Clarke, Jack Fischer, and Jim Ring. Take a look at their submissions, then make your own. It’s your turn!

Enjoy your summer, folks! And please find a moment to send me some news to share with our classmates. It will make you feel better, I promise.

QUALITY - '63

This page is
Shipmate:
July/Aug 2000

posted on:
21 May 2000

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