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        We have lost two of our classmates since my last report to you. I encourage you to visit the Last Call section of our web site to see their obituaries, both too long to include here.

        Cancer has claimed our classmate Clyde Van Arsdall III, who passed away on 30 December 2015. He was predeceased by his wife, Sybil. Cards may be sent to his home at 431 Country Club Lane, Coronado, CA 92118. His sons, Michael and Clyde, can contacted by email at vanarsdall@gmail.com and clyde@chingonhotsauce.com .

        Clinton Ward Bond died from congestive heart failure on 29 November 2015. I have no contact information for Ward's family.

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        I reported last month that Bernie Grabowski had passed away on 20 November. Several of our classmates attended the funeral mass and reception in Brevard, NC. A second service was held near his long-time home outside Philadelphia a few days later. I understand that Erwin Storz, Chris Munger, Harry Hirsch, Jim Lloyd, Steve Leisge, Keith Reynolds, and Mike Krause attended. The photo below was made in Brevard. Left to right are Dave Maples, Mike Shelley, Jim Spencer '64, Bob Maier, Bill Hollenack, and Vince Putiri '67. Joe Kotowski and Ben Cole were also at the service but had to leave before we assembled for the photo.

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        Scanning Facebook, I saw a photo from an Arlington, VA, USNA '63 luncheon in November. Jim Ring provided this description.

     As Class Vice President, I try to host a lunch for DC area classmates every other month at the Army Navy Country Club. From left to right in this picture are Chuck Maclin, Harlan Ullman, Dan Koczur, Bob Forster, Bill Earner, Denny Conley, Ed Hutcheson, Kent Maxfield, Keith Reynolds, Joel Gardner, Bruce Webb, Mario Fiori, Will Settle, Spencer Johnson, Ed Brady, and John Aucella.

Army Navy Country Club luncheon

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        Pete Carrothers submitted this news about the Class of 1963 being cited as an example of comradeship and service.

     On December 19, Nancy and I attended the North Texas Blue Chip Dinner -- where the local alumni invite the top 50 Class of 2020 candidates (and their parents) that the Blue and Gold Officers in the area have selected. The chapter raises over $20,000 to pick up the tab for the 300 plus attendees at a local country club. The Supe and the Commandant take turns attending. This year we had the Commandant along with the Dean of Admissions, Roger Staubach, and Ross Perot in attendance. The President of the North Texas Chapter, Matthew Elias '78, explained the close bond each of the candidates will have over the years with their classmates. He used the Class of 1963 as an example. He told about the Class of 63 Foundation that was set up to help fund the education our deceased classmates' children. He said this wasn't later in life when any of us could afford it; it was started when we were junior officers struggling on an Ensign or First Lt salary -- and helped support more than 90 kids in their post-high school studies. He then said we left the corpus of the fund to the Link in the Chain Class of 2013 so they could do the same thing. It was very inspiring and made me feel real proud to be a member of the Class of 1963. I thought you should know that it's still inspiring and setting the example.

     Merry Christmas to you, sir, and to all the members of the great class of 1963! I cannot begin to express to you the pride that I feel in being linked to such an incredible group of people who have done so much for the Naval Academy and the Navy. This morning our class president informed us of the overwhelming gift that was passed on to us by you and your classmates and I was floored. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are, not only for your gift, but to be links in the chain with such a generous and selfless class. Thank you for your legacy, and for maintaining the honor of this profession that has become our way of life

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        The Director of the 63CAE, Dr. Bruce Bukowski, reported to us about the center's service to the Brigade during Academic Year 2014-2015. Here is an excerpt from his report, which can be seen in full on the Foundation/CAE page of our web site.

     Over the past four years, the number of midshipmen who utilize our services has steadily increased. In fact, in AY2011-2012, only 44% of the Brigade utilized CAE; in AY2014-2015, that number increased to 62%. Significantly, an increase is evident among all classes: First Class, from 11% to 27%; Second Class, from 32% to 57%; Third Class, from 52% to 74%; and Fourth Class, from 80% to 91%. This data indicates a yard-wide change in perception of the Center for Academic Excellence. Not only is our center a valuable resource for athletes, plebes, and struggling students, it has now become an integral component for the academic success of upperclassmen and high performing students alike. As we offer academic help to an increasing number of midshipmen, we successfully fulfill our mission to provide the highest quality academic support programs for all midshipmen seeking to improve their academic performance.

     Over 40 classmates, spouses, and significant others gathered at the Murietta home of Karen and Steve Hoy to cheer Navy on to a hard-fought victory over Army. Besides the duty photographer, the attendees included: Mike and Sheila Bonsignore; Wayne and Chris Clark; Dick and Shiela Ortwein; Donna Kaup; Bob and Sue Easton; Jim and Pat Fontana; Alan and Terry McAnally; Vern and Gail Von Sydow; Karl and Marirose Kozak; Grant Telfer; Win and Sally Orgera; Dave and Patti Meyers; Bill and Dottie Hughes; Janet Gushue; Ted and Kay Krohne; Tim and Valerie Cook; Mike and Jan Ruble; Rich and Betty Ray Wilson; Jerry and Rowena Harken; John and Terri Ryan; Chuck and June Stone; Dick and Helen Anderson; John and Betty Middleton; Lee Tillotson. A good time was had by all as we celebrated our mutual good fortune to witness another season of wonderful Navy football. Our post-game rendering of Navy Blue and Gold seems to get more spirited each year! Here's the group photo -- can you spot everyone?

Beating Army in Southern California

     Ginger, my bride of 52 years, and I flew from Iowa to Northern Virginia to spend Christmas with my oldest son, John, and his family. Being only 60 miles away, I got us game and tailgate tickets for the Military bowl. It was a sellout. I am sure other '63 classmates were there but seeing someone you knew in the crowd was blind luck. The last bowl game I went to was the Navy vs. Texas Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1964. The last time Navy played Pitt was at Homecoming during our 50th reunion.
     This picture shows John, me, and my oldest granddaughter enjoying food and suds along with about 4,000 others at the tailgate. John will retire as a Captain next year, 30 years to the day after I retired.

At the Military Bowl tailgate

     After serving for six years I resigned my commission and went to work for Shell Oil in NJ. I worked for them for 30 years and had a very successful career retiring as VP, Logistics for one of their subsidiaries. Upon retirement in Texas I started my own consulting company ( chemical logistics ) and within three years I had a another full time job as Executive Director of United States Shippers Association. I had that position for seven years and then resigned to move into a full time position as President of De Santis Selection Imports - a wine importing company specializing in importing fine Italian wines. That is where I am now, working for myself importing great wines. The pay is lousy but the benefits are great. Hilda and I go every year to Italy and spend usually two weeks visiting wineries and tasting their wines. It is a tough job but somebody must do it. Often I drag along company mates or friends and it makes for a great vacation. Lots of good food and great wines - a combination that does not do any good for your waistline.
     I married on the 6th of June at the Academy and my bride, Hilda, is still trying hard to take care of me. She does a very good job and we exercise four to five days a week. We have three children. Maria (our oldest) lives in Long Beach, CA; Tony Jr. lives in Houston ( near us ) and has a girl ( 13 years old ); Michele ( our youngest ) lives in Florida and is not married.
     We have lived in Houston now for 38 years and in the same community where we have lots of good friends who help me drink our wines. For the longest time I coached kids in soccer and even took two teams to Europe to play in tournaments. After doing that for many years, I moved on to golf and tennis. With tennis, I have had teams compete in the Houston leagues and in the summertime, we compete in the USTA league for an opportunity to go to Nationals. Here is a photo of my 2015 team ( over 55, 7.0 level ) that recently won the championship at the state level and went to Nationals at the end of October for the opportunity to play teams from all over the country. It was my second trip to Nationals ( the last was in 2009 ) and it is quite an experience. Needless to say, I love the game and play three to four times a week in order to compete at a high level.

Tony DeSantis (center) and championship teammates