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| Reuniting with Judy and Bill Hollenack |
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
With Tom's appointment the Class of
1963 extends its distinguished leadership
of the Reserve community. Denny Vaughan served as Chief of the
Naval Reserve in the years
just before his retirement from active duty, and Steve Duncan was Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in the Reagan and first Bush
administrations.
Ken Metviner is leading the
effort to raise $250,000 to
include the Class of 1963 as a major benefactor of the Commodore Uriah P. Levy
Center and Jewish Chapel, to be built
next year between the 7th and 8th wings of Bancroft Hall. This new construction is
needed in part to modernize and
expand the existing Mitscher Hall, but also, according to Ken, to bring to the
Naval Academy a facility to equal the chapel
at West Point. Almost half the new space will be returned to the Academy for
classroom and conference space, potentially
useful in teaching leadership and ethics. Ken asked me to share this with you:
A White House press
release in late February announced
that the President would nominate our classmate Tom Hall to be
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Since retiring from the Navy
as a RADM in 1996, Tom has been
the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Naval Reserve
Association. His active duty service included
four years as Commander, Director and Chief of the Naval Reserve, three years as
the Commander of the Iceland
Defense Force and two years as Commander of Naval Air Station Bermuda.
Congratulations, Tom!
The law requires that funding for the Levy Center come from private sources. Civilians unrelated to the Academy have already contributed most of the money, but it is important that the Alumni participate as well. Our Class has a unique opportunity to make a leadership gift. I hope we can encourage other classes to join us. Jim DeFrancia, Sonny Glassner, Nick Nerangis, Will Settle and a number of other Classmates have already made pledges. Together with a donation from the Class of 1963 Foundation, we have exceeded $180,000 in pledges through mid-March. Some of our Classmates may not be familiar with the Levy Center. If you need any information about it, contact me by e-mail at kmetviner@aol.com or telephone at 201-967-6220.
The Class extends its sympathy to Jackie and Peter
Browne, whose son Joshua passed away on 20 February. Numerous classmates were
present for the services and
interment at Arlington Cemetery.
Lou and I have been lucky to have had
reunions with some of my Fourth Companymates
and their ladies this winter. Bill Hollenack and his wife Judy are investigating the
North Carolina mountains as a possible location for their retirement home. They
stayed with us in February and returned in March to continue their search. Here's
a snapshot from their first visit. Note the painting of the Academy on the wall
behind us. It depicts USNA in 1963/64, complete with the laundry smokestack that
was "ours" during our time as midshipmen. We bought the print in the Mid Store
for a dime in the late 1970's.
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| Reuniting with Judy and Bill Hollenack |
We were in Orlando on 23
February for the marriage
of companymate Bill Kennedy
and Jean Murray. The grand
event was held at the home of Jean' s sister, Joan Murray, who not only provided
the venue but officiated at the ceremony.
Bill and Jean will be residing at Bill's family home near Pipe Creek, TX. Joining
us in Orlando were Helen and Mike Blackledge (4th Co.) from
Albuquerque, Yvonne and Steve Coester (18th Co.) from
Rockledge, FL, and Tamara and Tim Harvey (1st Co.) from
Ellijay, GA. The hard, driving rain
forced the ceremony indoors but dampened no one' s spirits. We more or less
behaved ourselves but didn' t let propriety
interfere with having a good time. Here are two snapshots from Steve' s digital
camera. The first shows the Harveys,
Kennedys, Coesters, and Blackledges standing and Shelleys in front. The other
image shows the bride flanked by the five
distinguished classmates. Two more are bonus images available only on line.
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| Classmates and wives at Jean and Bill Kennedy's wedding | After the wedding in Orlando |
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| Tamara and Tim Harvey at the Wedding | It's Official!!! |
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| Calvanos and Helspers in Monterey |
Dave Moore continues to lead a
life of challenge, adventure and conviviality, as evidenced by his latest report
from the Sierra Nevada slopes. .
"It doesn't get any better than this " was the refrain that echoed through the mountains west of Lake Tahoe as six classmates took advantage of six fresh inches of snow and four sunny, mild days of skiing. Gary Hosey, Ed Hutcheson, Sandy Stoddard and Bob Tieslau formed the core from the Tenth Company while local resident Gary Thomas guided us to all the best runs and I coordinated the logistics. The mix of skiing ability allowed us to spend some time as a group and then break into smaller groups keeping in touch by walkie-talkies. We skied Northstar, Squaw Valley, Homewood, and Alpine Meadows. The four out-of- towners rented a cabin where all six could share excellent meals under the critical eye of our executive chef Gary Hosey and polish off a case of wine provided by our own little old winemaker, Bob Tieslau. There pictures capture some of the spirit of our time together. Left to right in the outdoor picture are Messrs. Moore, Hosey, Tieslau, Thomas, and Hutcheson. The indoor photo shows us engaged in the very serious business of tasting Tieslau's wine. Left to right are Thomas, Hosey, Tieslau, Hutcheson, and Stoddard.
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| Skiing at Lake Tahoe | Tasting Bob Tieslau's wine |
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| Moore, Hosey, Thomas, Hutcheson, and Stoddard show their colors | 10th Company mountain men Hutcheson,Hosey,and Stoddard |
Ed Hutcheson lives in Oakton, VA, and has his own one man company teaching or organizing courses in how to write or administer government contracts, a direct outgrowth of his experiences in SUPSHIP Boston 25 years ago. The courses take him all over the world so all of his skiing has been in Europe or Quebec but he is hooked on western skiing (or Bob's wine) now.Gary Hosey is retired in Millersville, MD (near Ft. Meade) but has a full slate of volunteer or enrichment activities. He is definitely a candidate as one of the most physically fit member of the class. His son David is a junior in high school and daughter Anne is a rugby-playing sophomore at Clemson. He had a 17-year hiatus in skiing but was keen to get back on the slopes.
Since leaving the Navy in the 60's, Bob Tieslau has been teaching math to high schoolers in Fiddletown, CA, for many years. His three grown children live at Lake Tahoe. We had the pleasure of meeting sons Adrian and Paul. On February 10, Bob celebrated his birthday and it is believed he is the last person in the Class to reach the big LX milestone. Can anyone else in the class lay claim as "The Boot?" The Tieslau's recently purchased a second home at South Lake Tahoe and he will spend his summer remodeling it.
Sandy Stoddard concluded seven years working with the Red Cross of Sonoma County (after a 30 year hitch in the Navy) most recently coordinating the completion and move-in for a new headquarters building. When not watching his two granddaughters who also live in Santa Rosa, he is working part time assisting his wife Bunny inspecting hotels, restaurants, and resorts for Mobil Travel Guide (a terrible job but somebody has to do it).
Gary Thomas sold his government contracting business in the Bay Area last November which gives him full time to ski, fish, and baby-sit his two granddaughters. His oldest son Chris and spouse live a couple of blocks from Gary in Truckee. Younger son Jeff is living at home while he completes courses for med school at the University of Nevada, Reno. Gary has called Truckee his home for the last four years and only comes "down the mountain" when absolutely necessary! He also had a major remodel of his shoulder last fall and he puts a lot time into rehab therapy. The shoulder did not slow down his skiing at all. If you are going to ski North Tahoe, you need Gary the Guide.
I'm working as a full time grandfather in Hollister, CA, near Monterey. I also have a part time job managing the book store at Pinnacles National Monument. My skiing ability, which resembles my golf game, earned me the award as most likely to improve in the next thirty years.
Larry Marsh reports on the
continuation of a happy tradition:
Once again, Washington, DC, members of the great 20th Company held an annual Christmas dinner, continuing a tradition spanning two decades. It just gets better and more meaningful every year. In this group photo are Charlie Robbins, Pat Smith, Barb Marsh, myself, and Karen and Dan Koczur. Dan was the winner of the Big Gift again this year a "Battleship" game which, we understand, he and Karen have been playing daily since the party.
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| Continuing the 20th Company's holiday tradition | Battleship sailor Dan Koczur |
In case you missed it:
The Bravo Zulu feature in the March edition of Shipmate reported that Ron Terwilliger received the Frank Carter Urban Land
Institute Community Achievement
Award that recognizes the individual in development or real estate who makes the
most outstanding contribution to the
Atlanta community in his or her lifetime. Ron has served for the past two years
as the Institute's national chairman.
I've been asked several times whether all of our classmates have arrived at
the Big Six-O. The short answer is
"No." As of this writing, I'm one week shy of my own (17 March St. Patrick's
Day, always a good excuse to drink
beer early and often.). After me, there are twenty others about to enter their
seventh decade. The youngest member of the
Class of 1963 was born on 26 June 1942, making him all of seventeen years and
eleven days old when we began our Plebe
Summer. I won't "out" him by naming him publicly, nor will I name the oldest of
our classmates, born on 3 March 1937.
Happy Birthdays to all, for many years to come!
Friends, cherish your continuing youth. How about sending me a snapshot of
yourself so we can all see how good you still look? (Some of us look even better
than we used to.)
QUALITY '63
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Shipmate: May 2002 posted on: 12 March 2002 |
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