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| At the Murray-Storz wedding |
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| Walt Pierce, Pete Optekar, and Bob Campbell |
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
OK, classmates, one
of us is laying claim to an important distinction that deserves
confirmation. I received this e-mail from
Steve Duncan
I want to inform you that 27 March is my last day on watch. When I officially retire (by law, not choice) from the U.S. Naval Reserve tomorrow, I will have some 41 years, 7 months of naval service, including the four at the Academy, six plus years on full-time active duty, and over 31 years in the Naval Reserve. I am not aware that any of our classmates has a greater length of service.
I knew that
Denny Vaughan's longevity
would be close to Steve's, so I asked him for the facts and got this
answer:
Denny Vaughan
mentioned that our Medical Corps classmate Tom
Pessoney was still on active duty when he retired a year and a half
ago. Tom took some time out for medical school, so I don't know how his years
and months might add up. Are there any other claims to the longevity crown?
On 8 July 2000,
Erik Storz, son of Kathy
and Erwin Storz, was
married to Courtney Murray at St. Ignatius Church on the Boston College
campus. Erwin provided this excellent account of the event
I had only 40 plus
years if you count USNA, so Steve beats me. Well, if I count my one year in
NROTC at Oregon State University the year before we entered USNA, it would be
up to 41 years almost exactly, so he still beats me by a few months.
Denny Conley was the
"old salt" for the Surface Navy when he retired, which is worth mentioning
also.
The Class extends its sympathy to Steve Longo,
whose beloved wife Barbara passed away on 25 March. Steve's mailing address
is 914 Rembrandt Drive, Laguna Beach, CA 92651-3443.
Pete Quinton sent this
account of the inurnment of the ashes
of Jack Almond at the
Naval Academy on 12 March:
Jack's family could
not make it out for the ceremony but his brother-in-law, Gary Wells (who lives
locally) represented them. There was a ceremonial guard of marines firing a
three volley salute and a navy musician sounding taps, along with a Chaplain
conducting the ceremony. As usual, the Naval Academy conducted a very
dignified and solemn ceremony. The day was beautiful -- a day that I know
Jack would have remembered well from his springtimes in Annapolis. The niche
containing Jack's ashes faces College Creek and the Nimitz library.
Classmates who were at the ceremony along with myself were
Steve Leisge
and Harry Hirsch, both
companymates of Jack. (I was not.)
The Very Reverend
Kevin Mulhern, Erik's uncle, and Reverend Father Robert Donnelly, Courtney's
uncle, concelebrated the wedding mass. Fred Storz, Erik's brother, was Best
Man and Brooke Murray, Courtney's sister, was maid of honor. Erik and Courtney
met while they were both students at BC. They knew each other for five years
before deciding to tie the knot. It was a perfect day and the wedding was cast
in a nautical setting. Operation Sail started a few days later, so the harbor
was filled with sailing ships, and the reception was at the Boston Harbor Hotel
overlooking the water. A number of USNA '63 classmates attended, which made
the day very special. The Naval Academy contingent included Diane and
Bob Campbell who came from New Jersey, Linda
and Jim Stewart who drove up from Jacksonville,
Nancy and Walt Pierce who traveled from Exeter,
New Hampshire, and Pete Optekar, my roommate in
Bancroft, and Grace who traveled from Washington State. Tom Gallagher '62, my
brother-in-law, along with his wife Mary Alice from Dallas also attended. We
had a great time and it was nice that everyone could be there for this special
occasion. Courtney graduated from BC in 1997 with a degree in economics and
psychology. She worked for Andersen Consulting in New York prior to moving to
Jacksonville, Florida. Erik also graduated in 1997 with a degree in marketing
and now plays football for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He and Courtney returned
to Florida right after their honeymoon so they could be there for the start of
preseason training camp. The bride and groom will reside in Jacksonville as
long as Erik is with the Jaguars. You must stay flexible in the football
business because you never know where you may be tomorrow. We wish Courtney
and Erik many years of happiness. Along with rooting for Navy, root for the
Jaguars who, by the way, have two USNA grads as coaches.
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| At the Murray-Storz wedding |
|
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| Walt Pierce, Pete Optekar, and Bob Campbell |
Erwin provided these two photos from the wedding. Left to right in the larger group photo are Jimmy Stewart, Tom Gallagher '62, Erwin, Courtney, Erik, Bob Campbell, and Walt Pierce. Thank you, Sir!
In the "Whenever two
or three shall meet"
department, Will Settle
reports a chance encounter.
A recent press
release conveyed the news that Peter P. Savage
has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Path 1 Network Technologies
Inc. According to the announcement, Pete has extensive experience related to
the telecommunications and network infrastructure industry. As the former
president and CEO, director, and chairman of the board of Applied Digital
Access (ADA), he has hands-on expertise related specifically to managing the
performance of networks. He has received numerous awards including Director of
the Year for Corporate Citizenship by the Corporate Director's Forum in 2000
and Southern California High Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995. Pete
served since 1990 as chairman, director, president and CEO of ADA, which
provides network performance management systems including test and monitoring
systems, operations systems software, and services to telephone companies via
direct sales. Previously, he was president and chief operating officer of
Xylogics, which provides terminal servers and I/O controllers to the UNIX
distributed computing market.
Here's a photo of Dick Augur mounted on a large horse named Sam March, riding a cactus trail somewhere in the great American west. The photo came to me via the net, but there were no details. In the meantime, maybe you can use your imagination.
I had occasion the
other day to meet a Classmate for the first time -- 38 years after graduation.
I was on AMTRAK from Richmond on 19 March going to a meeting at a law firm in
Stamford, Connecticut, and at the railway station the cab drivers were getting
people to double up. As a result I sat next to Chuck
Maclin long enough for him to see my USNA class ring and a conversation
developed. We had both been in the business car together since Alexandria,
but it was the taxi ride that introduced us. Then, of course, I ran into him
a few days later at the Under the Sea Symposium at the Academy, and now I'll
probably see him at the Texaco station. Life is really strange when it comes
to coincidences. I suppose out of 850 of us each person probably knew 250
other midshipmen classmates well from Plebe Summer, classes, summer cruises
and the like, and another 200 by sight or reputation (the sportsmen and
stripers, for example), and the rest you just bump into from time to time,
God willing.
Much work has already been accomplished by the committee. If you would like to join the planning process and/or have any have any suggestions to offer, please contact Bill by e-mail at jearner@aol.com.
As inspiration and examples, here are some recent submissions to the
Electronic Lucky Bag. The first is from Dick Omohundro:
This biographical
update came from Don
Hidy in Charlotte, NC
On the family side, my wife, Katrina works with the American Red Cross as a
medical technologist. My 14-year old daughter, Kathleen, is a competitive
dancer. My 10-year old son, Phillip, is known as the "white Michael Jordan"
and is active in AAU basketball. I have a son, David, who is 36 years old,
single, and a successful mortgage banker in California. My daughter, Joyce,
is 34 and lives in Del Mar, CA with her husband, Dana, and their 3 children,
Skyler (9), Savannah (5), and Logan (1). My hobbies include weightlifting,
bodybuilding, and traveling. My latest trip was to the annual Arnold Fitness
Classic in Columbus, OH, to visit my old friend, Arnold Swartzenegger.
Californian Jim Uphold
provided this information about himself and his family: Classmates are always welcome in our home; just give us a call and
come on up. Our address is 5561 Topa Topa Drive, Ventura, CA 93003-1149;
phone: 805-658-7100; e-mail: jimuphold@vcnet.com.
Skip Wilkinson's
submission tells of his retirement and relocation to a milder climate.
You'll see this info
from Mike McDermott in
the Electronic Lucky Bag:
Being retired from the civilian side of Federal Service, I have a special
interest in the career of Roger Mehle.
Read his current bio to see why.
In 1969, I left the Navy (but remained in the reserves) and began working in
New York City as an investment banker, which I continued for the next 15 years.
(From 1981 to 1983, I took a break to serve as Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury (Domestic Finance) in the first Ronald Reagan administration.) My
firms (with their then-names) were The First Boston Corporation, Dean Witter
Reynolds, and Blyth Eastman Paine Webber. During my time in Wall Street, I
acquired an M.B.A. (New York University) and a J.D. (Fordham University), both
at night.
In 1985, I moved to Washington, D.C, and for the next nine years practiced law,
with an emphasis in financial institutions and related litigation. In 1986, I
received a (part-time) presidential appointment as Chairman of the
then-brand-new Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. This Federal agency
was charged with the creation and management of the so-called Thrift Savings
Plan, a 401(k)-like retirement savings vehicle for Federal civilian employees.
While practicing law, I continued to serve as the Board's chairman for the
next seven years.
In 1994, I left my law practice to become the Board's Executive Director, a
position to which I was appointed by my Board member colleagues at that time.
The Executive Director is the Board's full-time chief executive and managing
fiduciary. The Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP, now manages over $100 billion of
current and former Federal employees' retirement savings in 2.5 million
accounts. In that regard, it is already the largest plan of its type in the
world. In October 2001, the approximately 2.5 million members of the active
Uniformed Services and Ready Reserves will become eligible to join the TSP,
making it larger still.
On the personal side, I remained single until (July 4!) 1998, when I married
the former Colette Bohatch, a wonderful woman whom I had known for ten years.
Colette is a lawyer who specializes in the energy field. She has her own
practice in Washington, D.C. Colette has especially enjoyed getting to know
our classmates and their wives at reunions, local social events, and through
my previous service as a trustee of our Class of 1963 Foundation. I expect to
return to the private sector, but for the time being I will continue at the
Thrift Investment Board, particularly to see through some substantial changes
currently being made to TSP software systems, as well as the impending
participation of the Uniformed Services. The TSP has been my "baby" since its
inception in 1986, and I have a strong sense of pride in and commitment to it.
Noel Bing reports
that he is retired from teaching and coaching track. He is living in the
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, pursuing woodcarving as a second career. Noel
invites Classmates to stop in for a visit anytime at 45 Lilley Farm Lane,
Raphine, Virginia 24472; phone 540-377-9208. Laurie and
Meredith Musick are living in Poulsbo, Washington.
He works for George Sharp, Inc., a company engaged in maintenance of the
mothball fleet near there. Dave Greeneisen
is President of HP Pelzer Automotive Systems in Troy, Michigan.
After leaving the
Navy in 1967, I went directly to Graduate Business School and the University
of Virginia. I received an MBA in 1969, and then went right to work in the
investment business. I have worked in both the investment analyst and
portfolio manager positions, and also spent 12 years on Wall Street in the junk
bond arena. For the past 12 years I have been with a small investment manager
in Boston specializing in boutique investment products. I married Ann Brown
in 1969 and have one son, Paul, now married and living in Chicago. We have
lived in the Boston area since 1973, and have made it home, in spite of the
nasty winters! I have been rowing with many of our classmates and others from
the Navy Masters Rowing Club which was founded for USNA alumni to compete in
the national and international rowing circuit. This has been a lot of fun,
especially for a former coxswain to row, albeit still a lightweight. One of
the highlights of this was to row in an eight in the Royal Henley Regatta in
1999 with Pete Bos '60 Olympic Captain, and Lyman Perry '60 Olympic Stroke and
classmates Craig Thrasher,
Mike Pero and Jim
Fontana. Ann and I now travel a lot to Europe on business and
pleasure, and to Maine and the British Virgin Islands for vacations.
After graduating
from the Academy and going through training in San Diego, I joined the Pacific
Fleet as ASW Officer and DASH Controller aboard RADFORD out of Hawaii. After
three Vietnam tours, I joined FRANK KNOX for my final tour of duty. In July
'67, I left active duty and joined Sears Roebuck in their management training
program, subsequently serving six years as a multi-department manager. Since
1974, I have been involved in the fitness industry. Initially, I helped develop
a product known as the Total Gym. (Chuck Norris now promotes a home version of
this on TV.) I also competed in some physique contests in Southern California
winning "Mr. San Diego" a couple of years in the early '70s. In the late '70s
and '80s, I was a consultant, sales & marketing director, and an entrepreneur
in the fitness industry. After getting an associate degree in exercise
physiology, I started a personal fitness training business, One-To-One
Fitness. I am still actively involved with that today. I also have a retail
store, Total Fitness Warehouse, which specializes in commercial and residential
fitness equipment. In addition, I have a sports nutrition business and an
Internet fitness business.
After receiving a
medical discharge from the Naval Academy and the Navy in June Week 1962, I
returned to my home in Whittier, which is in the Los Angeles area, and
finished school at USC, receiving BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering
in 1964. Upon graduation, I went to work for Hughes Aircraft Company and began
my career as a systems engineer on a series of Navy programs including the
Phoenix Weapons System for the F-14 and the radar for the F/A-18. Meanwhile,
the former Ruth Grams, also from Whittier, and I were married in July 1966.
Three years later I earned an MBA degree from UCLA (I have to sit behind the
end zone when I go to football games between USC and UCLA.). Much of my
career at Hughes was in advanced radar technology development where I was
manager of several classified programs focused on the development and
application of low observables (stealth) technology to airborne radar. I
retired from Hughes (now owned by Raytheon) in February 1997 after 33 very
interesting and rewarding years. Ruth and I live in Ventura, which is about
65 miles northwest of Los Angeles, overlooking the Pacific and Channel Islands.
We have two adult children living in other parts of the state: Peter, who runs
his own dog agility equipment business and attends CSU Northridge, and
Jennifer, who is operations manager for a landscaping firm in San Jose.
I left Sears
Roebuck in 1991 after 27 years of service to satisfy an entrepreneurial urge
to be my own boss. In 1993 I married Joanne and started my own company,
"Employee Benefits & Business Services". EBBS is a Professional Employer
Organization that provides personnel services to small businesses. In mid-2000
we merged with another PEO and I'm now trying my best to just give advice to
the new owners and stay out of the way. Joanne and I moved to Salem, South
Carolina, from the Chicago area in 2000 to begin a new chapter in our lives
called retirement. We are in the foothills of the mountains and we really
enjoy not having to deal with snow and cold weather. It is great to golf and
hike without being encumbered with jackets and mittens. Between us we have
seven children, four of whom reside in Atlanta, which is just far enough away
to require a phone call to insure we are home before visits. Our four
grandkids are a joy and we are really looking forward to watching them grow.
There are some wonderful golf courses in our neck of the woods and hiking
trails with terrific views abound. If any classmate wants a tour just contact
us by phone at 864-944-9951 or e-mail
at skip40@msn.com. .
Jan and I were
married on June 15, 1963. Three children: Meghan (36), Brigid (35), Mike (33).
Meg is an architect in New York City. Brigid and her husband live on Long
Island with Emily (5) and Danny (2). Mike and his wife Amy live in Salem, OR,
with Mike (7), Pat (5), Joe (3) and Elizabeth (1+). Currently living and
working in Omaha, NE. Run the Home Depot program and export programs for the
William H. Harvey Co., local manufacturer of plumbing chemicals and
specialties. Have some 27 factory reps and 3 rep agencies servicing 1130 Home
Depot stores with more stores to come. Cuts in to my nap time a bit! Career:
1963-1974: Active duty. Aviator. Flew Spads (VA-215); transitioned and then
instructed in TA4F's (VA-45); then A7E's (VA-12). About 1000 hours in each;
about 450 traps; 175 missions in Vietnam. Personal Aide to ADM Holloway during
his Vice Chief tour. Left right after his CNO change of command. 1974-1978
Beltway bandit. Worked with NASA on crop dusters and large cargo aircraft (big
stuff including span-loaders with railroad cars in wings!) 1978-1987 and
1990-1996: Southland Corp. (7-Eleven parent)Operations and staff jobs including
National PR Manager and Sports Marketing Mgr (fun job: ran motor sports,
Olympic programs, Tour de France and amateur cycling teams; put on World
Cycling Championships at Colorado Springs in 1987; ran Muscular Dystrophy
programs.) 1987-1988 VP for Marketing and Community Relations with Seattle
Organizing Comm. for 1990 Goodwill Games. 1989 Soccer venture in Dallas that
rivaled the Titanic in the end. 1996 Joined Harvey Co. Owner and CEO is old
friend from HS and pre-USNA college days. Plan to work another 15 years;
looking to relocate to the East!
After graduation, I
went directly into the training pipeline for nuclear power/submarines with
several of our classmates. On completion of training in 1965, I was assigned
to the new construction crew of LEWIS AND CLARK (SSBN 644). In 1967, I was
assigned as Engineer Officer of JAMES K. POLK (SSBN 645).
Finally, my family would give me no peace if I didn't include this bit
of Shelley family news: Lou and I were on hand in Columbia, MD, for the 21
March birth of our third grandchild, Christopher Ryan Wynn, son of our daughter
Sarah and her husband Michael. Such a fine young lad he is! His older
siblings, twin four-year-olds Andrew and Emily Wynn, are proud and protective. All's well.
Be sure to contact me VERY SOON! We need your continued support.
QUALITY - '63
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