With the death of Terry Abell, the Class of 1963 has lost 100 of those who graduated with us forty years ago. I encourage you to visit the Last Call section of our web site to remember and pay your respects to these good men.

    We had a good turnout for the opener against VMI in the newly expanded and renovated Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium -- at least 16 classmates plus their guests. I am sure I missed some folks but here is a partial muster: Carla and Jeff Miles; Arlene and Forrest Siburt; Phil Rooney and a neighbor's son (Phil was AWOL from work renovating Jan's kitchen.); Al Sherman and his daughter Jennifer; Fred Storz and his wife; Sandy and Ron Klemick (up from Wilmington, NC, where Ron has retired); Andrea and Spence Johnson; Nick Nerangis and Doug Thomas (VMI '65); Sharon and Bob Forster; Charlie Stubbs; Larissa and Bruce Webb and Elena; Jennifer and Bill Earner (looking very well despite their work getting the reunion ready); Jan and Peter Quinton (also heavily involved in reunion planning); Chester"Whitey" White; and yours truly and Lisa.

Nick's VMI friend took the day in stride. His presence reminded me of the time Ron Baxter's brother came up from VMI, put on a midshipman's uniform, and masqueraded around Bancroft Hall as one of us. He never got caught. I think the statute of limitations has run and I'm sure the likes of Admirals Kirkpatrick, Minter, and Burke would have found the gig worth a few laughs (after giving Ron the obligatory demerits).

Jeff and Carla have been sponsors for many midshipmen over the years, and have acquired a new plebe to sponsor -- Julie Jordan '05, daughter of our classmate Jerry Jordan and Judy, of Kaneohe, HI. Jerry was a submariner. He is now employed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics lab. Jerry and Judy have another daughter, Jerylin, who is married to a physician and living in Hawaii, and a son John who is in the Peace Corps and is headed for Malawi.

Lisa and I had a great trip to the UK in July to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons. Matthew is just over two and Adam was born in March. It's tough to get Lisa back on the plane to the USA. Our son Jim has just started his last year of law school at the University of Richmond and was recently selected for LCDR, USNR, in the Supply Corps.

    I'm writing about the "how many Grandkids" claim first made by Dave Puckett and since answered by a few other guys. I lay claim to twelve, the oldest of whom is nine years old, with another due in October. The youngest of my five children was married this past June, so there is still potential for additions.

       Joe sent a great photo of the twelve kids seen here in living color, but not in the magazine because there is no USNA alumnus in the picture.

Joe Collins' Twelve Grandchildren!

        Joe also submitted his current biographical info for the web site. Here are some excerpts

    After a challenging undergraduate experience, followed by reasonable success on BARTON (DD 722) and AMERICA (CVA 66), together with a wonderful three years on the CINCLANT staff, I left the Navy in 1969. By that time, Suzanne and I had four children, having been married shortly after graduation in '63. We added a fifth in 1972 while I was working at MIT, my only employer after leaving the Navy, and I'm still working there 34 years later. My career has focused on "External Relations." I've been in Government & Community Affairs and Alumni Relations (including 20 years as Director of the MIT Alumni Fund). I am now a Senior Development Officer working on a very large capital fundraising campaign. Along the way, I've done graduate work in American History, served as an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and spent time in the Naval Reserve, retiring as an O-6 and now happily collecting retirement pay.

It surprises me to think that, of all our nearly 900 distinguished classmates, I may have achieved the rank of #1 in one category, that of having the most grandchildren. Each of our four children has three of their own. They all live nearby and we have the pleasure of their company on a regular basis. Suzanne and I are truly fortunate and grateful for all our good fortune after 40 years of marriage.

A new topic: I was struck by Harold Bahr's comments in your July-August column about Steve Toth. Steve had been a member of our 1st , then 21st Company cadre. He was a great athlete and a "gym rat" as I recall. He had a tremendous physique and kept it toned through regular workouts.

I was a Briefing Officer at CINCLANT in June 1967 when LIBERTY was attacked by Israeli aircraft. I was quick to contact Steve's family, who lived in Virginia Beach. Steve's father, a retired Navy Captain, was quite broken up by the tragedy and I recall visiting him. Soon thereafter, Steve was awarded a posthumous medal at a ceremony to which I was pleased to be invited and attended. The citation noted Steve's diligent efforts to fire at the attacking aircraft, using whatever limited weapons --3 inch or 40mm guns - that LIBERTY possessed. It was a very moving ceremony. Steve was a good man!

    The following provides a fill in for what I have done since leaving the Academy in June 1963. Academics caused my demise, but it only preceded my being separated for medical purposes. That fall I applied with the Central Intelligence Agency and went to work at the National Photographic Intelligence Center in March 1964 as a research analyst. In 1969, they asked me to transfer to a Photo Intelligence Analyst position, which got me involved in many interesting activities - nuclear proliferation, strategic missiles and naval issues. In 1985, I transferred to the Office of Scientific Weapons and Research at CIA Headquarters but continued to work on proliferation issues. In October 1990, I moved to the position of Executive Secretary of the Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee. That was one of my better moves. It turned out to a most interesting position, especially during the lead-up to Persian Gulf War.

In October 1995, after 31 years of Federal Service, I finally took the plunge and retired to a life of leisure. I soon learned it was something not meant for me. There was nothing so boring!! I'm now working full-time for BAE Systems in Crystal City working for a Navy Program Office as their Admin Officer and a variety of other things. We are enjoying it very much, but what a change from those former days with the government! It is very laid back - one of those jobs you always look for until you get into it. The major drawback is you are only on the fringe of the activity. The good part is you get to kibitz on occasion with fellow USNA people, swapping sea stories.

I married that young lady whose picture always got me called into the Company Office after leave. Mary Jo and I will celebrate our 40th Anniversary this November. Following our marriage we finally settled down in Maryland (near Andrews AFB) and raised two daughters. The oldest currently works for the Agency. Unfortunately, the youngest daughter was killed in an automobile accident in March 2000. We still miss her very much.

Medically, the doctors say l am doing well. I managed to come through three heart attacks in late 1999 which resulted in a 5-way bypass. Luckily, I was well enough the next day, while still in ICU, to watch Navy kick Army's mule. We still have the ticket to the game. Should anyone from the 22nd Company happen to read this, feel free to call me when in town.

    I met my wife, Rella, during my senior year of high school. We were the second couple married in the chapel on graduation day.

During my first five years on active duty as a Supply Officer, I served on the West Coast, and in Japan and Philadelphia. Rella gave me two wonderful sons, Tom, Jr., and Rick who were born during this time.

After leaving active duty I attended seminary and was graduated from Eastern Baptist Seminary in Philadelphia with Master of Divinity ('70) and Master of Theology degrees ('72). I was ordained an Elder of the United Methodist Church and returned for fifteen years of active service in the Navy as a Chaplain with assignments in Hawaii, Midway Island, Camp Pendleton, Subic Bay, and San Diego. During that time I obtained a Master of Counseling from National University in San Diego and obtained a California license as a Marriage and Family Therapist from experience at the Naval Hospital Alcohol Rehabilitation Center at Camp Pendleton. Between leaving the Navy in 1988 and my "retirement" this July I served as a United Methodist pastor in four California cities: Anaheim, Santa Paula, Santa Maria, and Shell Beach.

Rella and I love the California Central Coast midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We were fortunate to be able to buy a house in Santa Maria when I served there. We are still close to Shell Beach and considered retiring there if the outrageous home prices were not measured by "proximity to and views of the ocean." Neither of our sons is married. Tom, Jr., works hard starting his own company providing all sorts of computer services and stuff I don't understand. Rick is a GS civilian engineer at Vandenberg AFB.

    I served eight years active (Ops Officer on WHIPPOORWILL (MSC-207), XO on GALLUP (PG-85), and Assistant Naval Attache in Chile). Spent twelve years in the reserves, retiring as an O-6 in 1983. Attended graduate school at Michigan State (MS, Forest Hydrology) and Arizona (PhD, Watershed Hydrology) from 1971 to 1976. Worked for the U.S. Geological Survey in Tucson, Miami and Reston, Virginia, ultimately as the Associate Director. Retired in 1998.

I married Maria Ortuzar in Santiago, Chile, in 1971. We have two children. Carrie is married to a special forces officer, a West Point graduate, so Army-Navy weekends are exciting. Our son, John Paul, is a pilot with a charter airline out of Easton, MD. Maria continues her landscape architecture business. I sail, golf, garden and participate in various Chesapeake Bay water-quality programs. Life is good.

    I left Westinghouse in 1990, after 23-plus years. I then started my own energy consulting business in the Pittsburgh area and did well through the '90s. Our older daughter, Karen, went to the University of Dayton Law School and stayed there after she graduated. She became an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and settled in the Dayton area. She is now a Staff Attorney in the Court of Appeals of Ohio. Our other daughter, Tamy, was "lured" to Dayton by her older sister and she, too, settled there. She is now married and needs one more course to get her master's degree in education at U. D. She expects to graduate Magma Cum Laude at the end of this fall's session.

Micki and I found ourselves doing a lot of traveling between home in Murrysville, PA, and Dayton, OH, and decided to move closer to our family. I was able to find a job with a company in the Cincinnati area and we are now Ohioans. The one thing I really miss here in Cinci is a professional football team. I'm still a big Steelers fan and it seems that they are hardly ever televised locally. When the "Bungles" are at home, they are not televised because they don't sell out. We get to watch the Browns instead. As a "true Pittsburgher" that's agonizing and is not a good thing!!!

    I've seen or talked to more '63ers in the last month than the previous couple of years. Connie, my wife, is back in Florida while I am attempting to sell our home here in Akron. Returning from a visit in late August, I called Steve Coester for a classmate's telephone number while on my way back from Florida and ended up stopping to have lunch with him and his lovely wife, Yvonne, at their home in Rockledge. Earlier in the month I drove down to Dayton and spent the weekend with Dave Riley while both our wives were out of town. Tom Sollars joined us for lunch and lies (sea stories, etc.) as well as going to the Air Farce museum at Wright Patt. AFB . The next day we drove to Columbus and had dinner with Christine and Phil Gubbins who are trying to bail out for Whidbey Island as soon as they sell their home.

Tom Brandt (left) visits Yvonne and Steve Coester

        Commenting on Tom's visit, Steve noted that they hadn't seen each other since 1963. He said, "Tom told exciting tales of his life flying in the Middle East. It was very enjoyable seeing a classmate here where we usually only see gators and cattle. Other classmates should note that we are a convenient distance north of Miami or south of Jacksonville for a rest stop and a cool drink."

One response I am considering is to prepare two versions of our column from time to time: one for the magazine and an expanded one on our web site. We have already made a move in that direction by publishing on the web site photos which do not conform to Shipmate's editorial policies. The photo of Joe Collins' grandchildren mentioned above is an example. Also, see the Sea Story submitted by Jim Stageman Click Here which appears as a supplement to this column in the Shipmate section of our web site.

This page is  Shipmate:     November/December 2003  posted on:  16 October 2003

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