• BC BA ; UVA MA English; married Mary Anne Checrallah (BC grad, now Queen MAB); 6 months PhD work- no jobs, tired of school
32 interviews later: Chemical Bank (JPM Chase) credit training program; NYU MBA at night; learned I liked accounting (!!!!) and bankers, not credit guys ran banks.
• joined Arthur Andersen for 5½ years.  First two children: Cate and Tony II. Had first unplanned family addition(Queen MAB bought an Irish Setter puppy in Manhattan in a blizzard.)
Joined General Mills (2nd largest in world) toy group in NYC (Star Wars, Play Doh, Parker Games); moved to Cincinnati; Added children #3& 4 Bernard and Margo . General Mills spunoff ; became Controller of new NYSE toy company in Beverly, MA.  Put in play and acquired by Tonka for too high price.  Thought it wouldn’t work and left ( it didn’t)
• Joined Heller Financial in Chicago as Controller, then Treasurer: commercial finance company (owned by Mizuho Group) in a turnaround.  Grew $6B to $30B in assets and partially IPO’d; added 5th child Maureen with special needs.  After 13 years, acquired by GE just after 9/11!
• took a flyer on start up; crashed and burned
• CFO of mortgage servicer in Salt Lake; CEO changed and we parted ways.
• finished as CFO of fleet leasing company near Chicago. 3rd Irish Setter (planned)
• retired end of 2008; (great timing!)
• moved to Naples, FL in 2011; 3 married children, 5 granddaughters; seeking Y chromosome grandchild to continue family name ;-)
• spend time on Association Board and Committee, playing piano, choral singing, travel and friends.
• passionate Conservative after seeing Detroit and Illinois ruined.

 

After Xavier, I graduated from ND with BS in Civil Engineering in June’70.  Sept’70 I went to Fort Sill, OK for artillery school.  Spent ’71 in Nam as artillery officer.  I went to Fort Dix when I came back as the motor pool transportation officer till Aug’72.  In Aug’72 I went to work for a general contractor, Arnold M. Diamond who did mostly Federal contracting work.  I worked for AMD for the next 18 years.  I married Rosemary McDonnell of Woodside in Jan’74.  We moved 11 times in the first 9 years with AMD.  My oldest Sean was born in Blacksburg, VA in Dec’75 (project at the Radford Ammunition plant).  My daughter Cathy was born in Gitmo, Cuba in Mar’80 (extended the base power plant).  My youngest Patrick was born in Sep’82 at St. Vincent (moved back from St. Louis, MO in the middle of the pregnancy).  Bought house in East Meadow, NY in June’83.  Been here since.  In ’90 AMD was having a bad time, so I joined Cashin Associates, Hauppauge, NY.  Cashin pushed me to get my PE which I finally completed in Mar’93.  I did construction management & surety work for Cashin till Mar’14.  Now I am a resident engineer with the LiRo Group and I am working in NYC & LI.  My kids are doing well.  Sean & Cathy are married.  Rosemary has just retired from her job at Target Optical as an optician.

Hope to see everyone at the reunion.

We were all lucky to go to school on 16th St, to be taught, trained and influenced by Jesuits and I am sure each of our lives are better for it.  All of you are part of who I am today - and I will be ever thankful for that during my time with you all, and our mentors at Xavier -- I was lucky to have a special partner - My Heidi ! - I’ve always felt she, too, graduated with us.

After graduating from Boston College in 1970, Heidi and I were married and have lived happily ever after.  We have 3 wonderful, healthy, successful kids and 5 even more wonderful grandkids.

After BC, I taught in the Boston Public Schools for a few years and decided that “these kids” didn’t really want to learn.  So I gave up teaching.  Since the late 1970s I have been employed in the Life Safety industry.  Working with Commercial & Industrial Fire and Security systems from the rudimentary era, prior to even solid state circuitry - right up into today’s IP based systems and the Internet of Things.  As a systems salesman, a system designer, and project manager.  I have had my hands and equipment and designs in most of the high rise buildings and landmark properties in and around Boston.  Work is a challenge and life is a joy no need for change , so no plans to change my status by retiring anytime soon.

I have been looking forward to this reunion for 50 years - so bring it on !

After counseling on ‘coke machine’ anxiety issues, I got my math degree and an Army commission in 1970.  Served for 6½ years, mostly flying Huey and OH-58 helicopters.  Wasn’t shot down and walked away from all landings.  In late 76, I transferred into the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.  My first assignment for NOAA was aboard a ship out of Seattle for 3 years and then was transferred back to flying duties.  Flew mostly in Alaska doing ice, seismic and mammal studies throughout the 80’s.  (Goggle me for some Alaskan pics.)  In the 1990’s, I was flying a desk for NOAA in D.C. including a year on the ‘Hill’.  Made it to 0-6, retired in late 1999 and moved to Chesapeake, Va. for stay-at-home dad duties while the wife finished her career.  Married with a 14 year-old son (help me).  Just sold my Harley Heritage and neighbors gave me a walker with a horn and a shiny bell.  Golf game, eyesight, hearing and memory have seen better days.

1966–1970	Fordham.  Suddenly, no uniforms, and in classrooms with girls, things I hadn’t experienced since 3rd grade.  Became an atheist - what a relief.  Wasn’t doing well at Fordham.  October ’67, Pentagon March and Sit-In, I stayed until 10:30 PM.  Soldiers moved in and dragged off one of our group around 11:00 PM.  We bailed him out next day for $35.  ’68, Transferred to SUNY Stony Brook.  The usual recreational activities (remember those days).  Paid my way mopping floors and washing dishes.  Improved academically.  Spring semester ended abruptly with massive drug bust (not me).  ’70, another spring semester shut-down due to Cambodia and Kent State.  Graduated Stony Brook, Math. Moved back to Staten Island.  Ran out of money after a few months, then got a job driving yellow cabs in NYC.
1971–1978	Busted in DC at May Day demonstration (with 7,000 other people), 2 ½ days guest of Uncle Sam, released as John Doe – they never got my name.  Started truck driving school 2 weeks later.   ’72, started driving trucks for the Atlantic Gummed Paper Corporation in (what is now) DUMBO in Brooklyn.  Delivered freight locally and moderate long distance.  ’73, promoted to road driver.  Drove 18-wheelers all over the Midwest and Deep South for 4 years, leaving Brooklyn on Monday, returning on Friday.  Great adventurous job for a young guy, and made great money, 60 hours per week at Teamsters scale.  I saved a lot of it.   ’77, burned out, quit Atlantic Gum, took a few months off.  Took up old-time Appalachian banjo.  ’78, bought semi-tractor, leased on to Pennsylvania Truck Lines, pulled piggy-back trailers between Newark and the rail yards in Alexandria, VA.  Lousy job.
1979–1991	Took computer programming classes at community college and NYU.  Sold the truck.  Started as a programmer trainee at Royal-Globe Insurance in NYC.  ’80, married (disastrous).  Started business school at NYU.  ’82, moved to J. P. Morgan’s Stock Transfer unit on West Broadway.  Worked there for 10 years – programming, systems analysis, data base, data security.  ’86, divorced (no kids).  Moved to Queens.  Finished MBA at NYU.  ’89, J. P. Morgan sold its Stock Transfer unit to First Chicago Bank.  Stayed on as Data Security Officer for 3 years.  Re-married (another disaster – slow learner, dude).  ’90, divorced (no kids).  Got seriously into clawhammer banjo.  Began attending week-long summer camps/festivals, notably Ashokan Fiddle And Dance Camp in West Hurley, NY.
1992–1997	Re-joined J. P. Morgan (Wall St., main office) as mainframe security guru.  Stayed there for 5 years.  Met Sara-Jo (an ER Doc, and fiddler) at Ashokan Fiddle And Dance.  ’97, Moved to Redmond, WA with Sara-Jo.  Tele-commuted back to J. P. Morgan for one year.
1998–2001	married Sara-Jo in ’98.  Bought 5-acre mini-farm.  Sara-Jo embarked on her new avocation as a dog trainer, herding livestock.  I bought her a small flock of sheep for training her dogs.  Got a job as an IT Audit Manager at Deloitte and Touche in Seattle.  Worked like a galley slave.  ’02, laid off at Deloitte – I was no good at selling service.
2002–2013	Bought a large farm in Arlington, WA with Sara-Jo.  Sheep flock had grown to around 30.  Went to work for Washington Mutual as a Compliance guy.  Lousy job.  But great news: our son Eli was born in September ’02.  06, Lost job at WaMu, went to work at Cascade Bank, a regional bank in Everett, WA, as an IT/general operations auditor.  Good job.  The farm grew: sold lambs and cows for slaughter, hosted several herding events each year.  ’12, Cascade Bank failed, sold to a California billionaire in a shotgun wedding.  ’13, my job ended;  retired.
Present	I’m working the farm, taking care of Eli (driving to and from school every day, 35 miles away).   Currently have 12 dogs, 15 beef cows (no, I don’t milk!), around 115 sheep (I fall asleep when I try to count them), 6 pigs, and some chickens and peacocks.  We continue to host herding competitions and instruction clinics, and the meat sales (beef, lamb, and pork) help the farm break even.  Sara-Jo is still working the ER at a nearby hospital, and is now a star in the livestock herding world – she’s won the National Herding Championship in the Australian Cattle Dog breed club seven times (link to newspaper story), and is now moving into Border Collie livestock herding, a much more rigorous discipline.  Eli is thriving, playing classical violin in a youth orchestra.  I’m healthy, and hope to keep this farm going for a long time.   (www.onthelambfarm.com)

Now I am known as either Mike, Dad, Grandpa, Brother or Hey you.

Left 16th Street and returned across the Hudson to spend the next four years at Seton Hall University in South Orange NJ and Immaculate Conception Seminary in Mahwah NJ. Ending up with a BA in Classical Languages. One morning in May of 1970 realized that the priesthood wasn’t going to work out for me. Left seminary and entered the world of construction. Spent next eight years building Two Guys department stores in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and of course New Jersey.

One of the benifits was meeting Annettte Rubino who in September of 1973 celebrated her birthday by becoming Mrs. Michael Dalessio. Children followed, Gina in 1974 and Christine in 1977.

Continued working for Two Guys until 1978 when they closed up. While working and fathering children went to school at night earning a certificate of construction management at Newark College of Engineering. In 1980 joined the Mack Construction Company which merged with Cali Associates in 1997. Stayed with them until September 2015 when company decided to change direction and wiped out the majority of development department. I was in the majority and joined the ranks of the unemployed. Since then I have been doing free lance estimating and construction estimating while I apply for as many jobs as possible. Still trying to decide if I am unemployed or retired.

Like most parents I got involved with the two kids activities ranging from girl scouts, high school plays and choir. Also worked in the parish and local politics. Favorite place to travel to was Disney World. Father had moved there in late seventies so we had reservations whenever we wanted them. Both daughters are long out of the house and are both married Gina in 2000 and with two sons. Christine in 2015. Both are happy and doing well. Get to see the grandsons frequently and back to going to grade and middle school activities.

As I grow older as we all are spending time reflecting on the past and hoping for the future. Spending too much time seeing a platoon of doctors. All of which speak in lock step. “Michael, lose the weight”.

Studied at Notre Dame, graduating in 1970 with a BA in English Literature. Became a Naval Flight Officer and flew in the P-3C Orion. Hunted Soviet submarines in the Norwegian Sea, North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Spent meaningful amounts of time in Keflavik, Iceland, the Azores, Crete and Sicily. Mustered off active duty the August night in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency.

Opted for business school. Was fortunate to go to Harvard and got my MBA in June 1976. Returned to New York and worked at my father’s firm, Coopers & Lybrand. Pretty sure I would not do that again. After five years as an underappreciated auditor, I ditched the CPA stuff and signed on with PepsiCo at their headquarters in Westchester.

Met my wife to be, Lenore McGown, while working at C&L. We married in fall of 1982. First child, Will, in December 1985. PepsiCo moved us to Dallas, TX at the start of 1988. Spent five years there as the Controller for Frito-Lay International bringing Ruffles, Fritos, Cheetos and Doritos to the world. Helped establish Joint Ventures in Egypt and Poland. Traveled extensively, earning 1.7 million American Airlines frequent flier miles. Second child, Katherine, in October 1988.

Moved the young family to Seattle in 1993 as I had a new job as CFO of a large dairy co-op. Changed out all the information systems in this $1.1 billion business operating out of 11 processing facilities in five states. Left just before the start of 2000. Did a quick stint with a start-up and then an M&A boutique before hooking on as CFO for the Seattle Division of Safeway (200 stores). Worked that job until retirement four years ago.

Our family has loved living in the Northwest. I have volunteered ten years with the Boy Scouts, and now 12 years with my rowing club. Learned to row ten years ago and enjoy getting on the water about four times a week. Have competed with modest success at regional regattas and at Head of the Charles in Boston and the San Diego Crew Classic. Rowing is both hard work and great fun. It keeps me out of trouble.

Lenore and I have been blessed with a happy marriage and two great kids. Will, 30, is a Post-Doctoral research fellow in Geology at UCLA. Katherine, 27, works in technology at Expedia.com in greater Seattle. Both kids have boy/girlfriends, but not yet married. Still waiting for grandkids.

With retirement we have enjoyed the freedom to travel. We get back to New York every summer and will make our fourth visit to Europe next month.

Looking forward to catching up with my smart, talented and accomplished classmates.

After graduation, headed to Fordham and, with BS in hand, worked for the Dept. Health in bacteriology.  Realized nobody would pay attention to suggestions until I got an advanced degree.  So headed off to ‘sunny’ Syracuse [SUNY Upstate] to work on a doctoral degree in Bacteriology.  I was dating a fellow ‘lab rat’ and great lady, Barbara [married in ’74].  After my first course in immunology, found my niche.  Left Upstate in ’76 with a Ph.D. in immunology; off to a post-doc in Charleston, SC at MUSC.  Stayed on the faculty at MUSC in rheumatology and left to set up an immunology lab for Collagen Corp in San Francisco in ’83.  So what is important is our daughter, Laura, was born in ’88 and has been a blessing to us since.  Served as VP R&D and started Cohesion as CEO in ’96; went public as Cohesion Technologies in ’98.  Love the entrepreneurial spirit of small medical device companies!  Retired to consulting here in rural SC in ’02.  Having a great time assisting companies [big & small] with scientific problems, in pursuit of volunteer service, and enjoying travel.  Has it really been 50 years?!  Look forward to seeing you all!

1970 – BS in Marketing from Fordham. Broke my leg playing Rugby there in ’69. The steel rod they used to piece it together kept me from going to Viet Nam (I had a low lottery number)! Went to work selling copiers in NYC for Xerox. Married Virginia Hanratty (who I met in soph.yr.) and bought a house in Pearl River, NY (where I lived while at Xavier).

1974 – 1983 - Moved with Xerox to Ct, to Tx, to DC, and back to NY. Left them in ’83 to become VP, Sales for the computer div. of Philips Electronics. Had 2 children (both girls) who currently live in NJ.

1983 – 1995 - Divorced in 1986 and left Philips to take a job as VP, North America for Datapoint Corp. in 1988. Also married Bonnie Hixson in June ’88 (she has 2 children from a prior marriage), and we moved back to Texas. In ’95 NY junk bond king, Asher Edelman, closed the doors of Datapoint. I moved on to be VP, Sales of a national graphics art company (Treasure Chest Advertising). We relocated with Treasure Chest to Scottsdale, AZ and then to Nashville, TN

1995 – 2005 - In ’98 I had the chance to take a VP, Marketing job with a competitor of Treasure Chest that would allow me to move back to Dallas. I did this and stayed with them for 3 years, leaving to become part of a start-up company that had invented a small footprint PC that hooked up to a TV set (like Web-TV). This company evolved into an “intelligent home” company called FutureSmart Networks. Honeywell purchased us in 2004. I stayed on through the transition then left them in ’05.

2005 – Today - I soon got cabin fever and started searching for another job. When I realized that no one wanted to hire a 55 year old to be their new sales leader, I went to a franchise show and ended up buying a Knockouts-Haircuts for Men franchise in Southlake, Texas (where I’ve lived since ’98). I now own 4 stores with Knockouts, all here in the DFW Metroplex. I have 6 grandchildren living in Bergen Co., NJ. I have 4 additional grandchildren from my two step-children. (Per Mr. Nash, that should make 10 in total!)

Graduated Fairfield, US Army for several years stateside, became a Sales Engineer for a power transmission company and was a working co-owner of a race car shop. Went on to sales engrg for microwave products, capital chemical systems and lastly, capital electronic test systems. After ~ 10 years of that I went with an Executive Search firm and led recruiting campaigns for many firms on the corporate side as well. This occupation was the bulk of my work days.

For twenty years now I have been concurrently developing a microwave system to remediate medical and, lately, pharmaceutical waste for hospitals and other generators. I have 2 patents going and seek an investor for $3MM to take it to 20 units in 2 years in the Northeast. John Meditz has kindly given some sage advice and Don Waldy has contributed many hours pro bono to move it along. I’d love to hear of potential investors from any of you since retirement per se is not in my future!

I also have a house in Germany and hope to host any of you in the future when I’m there. Will advise before I go. Got lottsa room and could use the help with my German from Tony Beirne and Bill Luderer among others who studied THAT language. My French is very good but the German ein bisschen.

I will be thinking of all of you this weekend and hope we can continue with the emails in the future.

Attended City College. Couldn’t decide between science and languages, so started out in the Civil Engineering program while minoring in German. In my junior year I changed my major to German. I also studied French, Italian, and Russian. In my freshman year I met my wife, Agnes, a Hunter College student, at a Newman Club function. She was only 17. We got married right after graduation and we’ve now been married 46 years!

After graduation I taught German at St. Francis Prep in Williamsburg. However after just one year the school was changing its emphasis from German to Spanish and I got laid off. I had worked part-time and summers for an insurance company all through high school and college, and so I was able to get a job as a fire underwriter with Transamerica Insurance down on William Street. I handled mostly industrial and municipal risks, and even just the two years of engineering was useful in evaluating construction and industrial processes and in developing loss control plans. I continued to work on my masters in linguistics at night at Hunter College. I remember thinking, “Thank God this is only to get me through school. Can you imagine doing this for the rest of your life”. My boss and my co-workers knew nothing about my academic activities, and I felt like I was living two lives.

My area of concentration was acoustic phonetics, which is basically the physics of speech and the study of how and where linguistic information is carried on the speech waveform. In this field I was able to merge my training in science and language. In my research at Hunter at least half of the papers I was reading were coming out of UCONN, and so in 1974, when I finished my masters, my wife and I moved up to rural eastern Connecticut so I could begin Ph.D. studies there. However after 6 months we started thinking about starting a family and the prospects of ever finding a university job in my field didn’t seem so promising, so I dropped out, and, being near Hartford, got a job in the insurance industry again, this time on the agency side. And, in spite of myself, I have had a rewarding and successful career.

I started out as a field agent, again mostly working on industrial and mercantile risks, but later got into agency management and later still, after a series of mergers, into finance and accounting. Got my CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter – you gotta’ be from Hartford) along the way, and at one point was president of our industry trade group, the Professional Insurance agents of Connecticut, which also named me “Connecticut Agent of the Year”, several years later. I was an advocate for the rights of the insurance consumer and testified often at the capital in Hartford on pertinent bills. Two technical workers’ compensation statutes are basically my wording and are still on the books. In 1986 (?-getting old), during the insurance availability crisis, I was appointed by Governor O’Neill to serve on his Task Force on Insurance Costs and Availability.

Though for many years I was a partner in a medium size agency (30-35 employees) in my own town, Vernon, CT, by the time I retired we were then a part of USI Insurance, a 5,500 employee national broker. In the interim I had become essentially the resident database guru, and the guy you went to if somebody else told you something couldn’t be done.

I should say that in between and overlapping the above I served in the army - Corps of Engineers for eight years, active and reserve. I may have had only two years of engineering training, but the job of a combat engineer officer is not all that complicated. A Bailey bridge, for example, is essentially a very big, very heavy Erector Set. By the time I resigned my commission I had reached the rank of Captain.

I retired in 2011 and, after 40 years in Connecticut, followed my daughter, Stephanie, who is a fitness instructor, and her husband down to the Charlotte area. My son, Chris came along too, so the whole family is together, although I still miss Connecticut and New England

We live now in Davidson, North Carolina, a lovely college town about twenty miles north of Charlotte. It looks like a New England village, which makes me smile. If I really need a fix of New England topography I can drive two hours west to the Blue Ridge. Of late I have been clearing my bookshelves of all the books on accounting, finance, insurance, etc, to make room for more works on language and linguistics and am glad to once again be reading about Grimm’s law rather than about the law of large numbers. My wife and I enjoy working in our garden and going for walks along the shore of nearby Lake Norman. I sing in my church choir, as I have for the last 30 years. Thank you, Joe Caruso, you dear man, for the training and encouragement.

Can’t wait to see the whole gang.

• Husband for 43 years (same wife), father of a 31 great year old son (Do I really need any other accomplishment?)
• Received a BA from Fordham, my JD from Rutgers Law school, received the award for most significant contribution to overall legal scholarship, published a law journal article
• Practicing law for 43 years, began as a law clerk for a Federal judge, then a private law firm, ultimately managing partner and grew firm to 60 lawyers, for the last 13 years at my own firm, Graziano & Flynn, still going strong
• Certified as a trial lawyer for over 20 years, successfully sued many Fortune 500 companies, frequent lecturer across the Country on trial tactics for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School
• Been recognized as a “super lawyer”, “Best lawyers in America”, AV Martindale-Hubbell rating, etc.
• Councilman and Mayor for a 44,000 population town, Mt. Laurel, NJ (amusing story to tell about my near- run for Congress).
• Coached baseball for almost a decade and ran the entire baseball program for 2 years – hundreds of kids, dozens of coaches.
• Published in peer reviewed legal publications, working on a lawyer novel
• Travelled extensively in primarily western Europe, my first such trip with Bill Luderer ’66 for about 10 weeks in 1970 (I like to think that we were primarily responsible for the formation of the EU as a unified defense against the two of us)

 

Went to U.of Scranton and graduated in 1970. Came home to work at small family run bank in my old Yorkville neighborhood. In Management program. Became Asst. to the President. Also in 1976 became a member of NYAC and got into running. Ran ’83 & ’84 NYC Marathons. Ran 1983 in 3:43. Still cannot believe it. In Dec. 1984 got fired by bank...oh did I not mention it wasn’t my family who ran the bank. Since I had been there before to visit friends and liked it, I moved to Jacksonville Fla. and started as a Broker trainee with Dean Witter. After first year I ended up #3 -1st. year Broker in Country. No connections or family wealth just worked long hours as many of you did. They put me on Management track and brought me back up to HQ at the WTC. I was a trainer for 3 years. On Feb. 26, 1993 we were at a graduation lunch for 100 new Brokers up at Windows on the World. A bit after Noon a bomb went off in the garage. Took us over 2 hours to walk down 110 flights in smoke and darkness. (Always wondered who got paid off so not to install emergency lighting).

I went back to the field and became Manager of the large Binghamton/Elmira NY Complex. in 1995. Dean Witter bought Morgan Stanley in 1997. My wife was a Florida native and wanted to move back. I was able to get transferred and was the Manager of the St. Petersburg office. Got divorced in 2001. Unfortunately right after our marriage my wife had to have a hysterectomy and we did not have any kids. Some interesting clients in St. Pete/Tampa. Number of Buccaneers...huge individuals. Also a lot of WWE wrestlers lived in area. Yes gang, Brutus Beefcake was a client of our office...calm down.

I moved later to manage the Ormond Beach(Daytona)/Deland complex. Then in 2007 decided to let someone else have all the fun and I retired. I moved back to the Jax, Fl. area...Ponte Vedra Beach. I took up golf (an evil game) and volunteered. Church, Mayo Clinic, other stuff. This May I will volunteer at my 8th Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. I’m a Marshall on Hole 11. Since Day One at Xavier when we met in class 1-G, Ron Rivera has been one of my closest friends. Also kept in touch with Conrad Tridente, Pat Tunney, and Pete Beavins over the years. Saw some of you last March at the tragic funeral of Ron’s younger boy, Mark. I knew both his sons since they were born.

Looking foward to seeing you all in April. Thanks again to Andy, Mike and the Committee for putting it together. Special kudos to Ed DeSimone for starting us all up again.

Otto Heil
Proud Alumnus of Xavier 1966.

In terms of my spiritual journey, in Catholic grammar school and at Xavier I would describe myself as having heard all the words but none of the music. I didn’t get that it was about loving relationship. I thought God was irrelevant and religion confining. I thought he and it might be comforting for cripples, weaklings and old people. As a result, for years I led a life that might be described as self will run riot. Today I would say that God used circumstances to compel me to come to my senses in 1977. Out of need, I came to believe that there was a personal God and that I was not him/her/it. That conclusion started me on a spiritual journey that led to my becoming a Christian in 1990. In the spirit of ecumenism, I am now a member of a Presbyterian Church, participating at an Anglican Church in a 40 week retreat based on (you guessed it) the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola.

On a more material plane, following Xavier, I began an 11 year baccalaureate program that included RPI, the USNR, the Bennington Pennysaver and SUNY Brockport (can you spell chequered). In 1979, I broke my neck in a car crash resulting in a C5/6 spinal cord injury and quadriplegia. Following extensive rehab, I went to work for IBM (bless the corporate environment that made that possible) from 1980 to 1993. Even more remarkable, I married a wonderful and courageous woman in 1991. In 1993, I entered a masters program in clinical psychology at Wheaton College. Following graduation in 1995 (please note: a two year program in only two years), I worked as a counselor for the local county government, a private agency and ended my career with 15 years as the Director of Care and Counseling at a Presbyterian Church.

Jack Kelly
630-253-7053 mobile
630-665-9628 home
630-401-8149 fax

Went to Georgetown with several classmates.  Captained the chess team, did play by play football and basketball for the radio station (to avoid paying admission), including the first college basketball game in the (then) new MSG.  Voice was heard around the world when we played LSU (with Pistol Pete) in the NIT, Armed Forces Radio used our feed.  Graduated accounting major 1970.  Commissioned AFROTC, deferred for Georgetown law.  Graduated 1973 passed DC bar.  War ended, went on reserve.  Joined Hurdman and Cranstoun CPAs national tax office in DC.  Passed CPA exam and spent tax seasons in NYC.  1976 moved to NJ and spent six weeks in Iran (they were friendly then) and three months in London.  On return, almost immediately transferred to London, developed a strong attachment to British beer.  1980 back to NYC, to a bigger merged firm, started LLM masters in tax at NYU Law at night, graduated 1986.  1982 boss asked me to “help” teach a class in tax at NYU Grad Business School, decided he didn’t have time and left me to teach.  1984 joined Lehman Brothers (may they rest in peace) as international tax manager. Six weeks later acquired by American Express. For the next 12 years we were partially IPO’d, almost went bankrupt, bought back by Express and finally spun off in 1996.  1985 married my wife Victoria who I met at the bus stop not far from where Burr shot Hamilton.  Classmate John Meditz (whom I have known since first grade) was best man and is godfather to our daughter Rose.  We have two daughters, Annette born 1989 and Rose in 1991, they live together and work in NYC.

Peter Principled up to Global Tax Director, continuing to teach at NYU.  1987 acquired EF Hutton which is why I am still alive today.  We were to move into World Trade Center floor 104 where I would have been working on 9/11.  Instead we moved to Jersey City where I had a front row view of the devastation.  NYU Business closed its tax program so I followed Dept chair to Baruch where I taught the MBAs for a year.  2002 daughters were growing quickly, Lehman was time intensive and pressurized so I joined Montclair St University where I am in my 14th year as a tax professor, my third and final career.  Volunteer Treasurer and Chair of the finance committee at our local hospital (Palisades/Hackensack), John Meditz was Board Chair and current chair of the Charitable Foundation, and am just coming off the Xavier Finance Committee where I have served for several years.  Stayed close with Bob Scaffardi, and have seen several people at the beefsteak gathering the last few years including Frank O’Brien (thanks for posting that beefsteak picture of me quite inebriated).  Remember when you get back to the school, no talking in the halls or the ghost of Rev Heavy will descend upon you.  510 words, sorry Budd, some lawyers just can’t shut up. Apologies to my fellow bar members.

It was Mr. Maroney who instilled in me the seed of the notion that words are not only both beautiful and often powerful ways to express ideas, but they also serve to create the very ideas themselves - formative as well as reflective were I believe his words (or maybe not given my memory of late). They not only provide the framework for the expression of a concept but through their careful choice influence both the nature of the concept itself as well the dialogue that expression might engender. I have spent the past forty years cultivating that seed initially by teaching literature and writing to middle school aged students and more recently through private practice as a learning disabilities specialist helping to diagnose and remediate language based learning disabilities and provide accommodations in school settings for students so diagnosed .

The following poem by Stanley Kunitz, twice United States Poet Laureate, is to me a beautiful and powerful expression of thought. Its theme is particularly appropriate for those (such as we '66ers) who face a milestone.  Both reflective and formative, its "shards of wisdom" capture my feelings for the past as well as provide a guide for dealing with what is yet to come. I look forward to seeing you all on the 29th!

The Layers

 

After Xavier I commuted to Fordham College where I majored in History (no doubt inspired by Dick Mannion). I thought seriously about teaching History at the college level and so after graduation I went to Columbia University and earned a MA. As much as I enjoyed studying history and the life of a graduate student, I recognized after a year that the career prospects for a PhD were not promising. I also decided that I should fulfill my Army active duty commitment (from Army ROTC) and then study law (no doubt inspired by Dick Blake and Joe Reilly who got me interested in forensics and debate). I graduated from the New York University School of Law, clerked for a federal circuit judge and then became a trial lawyer for the past 40 years focusing on complex commercial litigation products liability and real estate disputes. I worked at a large law firm on Wall Street; I suffered from a bout of wanderlust and moved to Phoenix to practice for a few years; I then returned to New Jersey to become a partner for many years in a firm; and finally last year I moved to a firm in New York City where I continue to represent both New York and New Jersey clients. I also made what started as mandatory service in the US Army Reserves in 1972 into a hobby, and ultimately enjoyed 27 years in various Military Intelligence assignments, retiring as a Colonel.

I married my best friend and soul mate, Barbara Reichert (whom I met through a group house at the Jersey Shore), in 1983. Barbara was a purchasing agent for Christian Dior loungewear in NYC. We have no children but we do have a significant number of nephews and nieces and now grand nephews and nieces. We still love the Jersey Shore (at Point Pleasant), travel, especially trips to Hawaii, and sharing the frustrations of golf. Most of my other activities have in one way or another related to the profession of law.

I look forward to seeing you all in a few days at the reunion.

After Xavier, obtained a degree in English at Boston College in 1970. Managed to get into US Coast Guard OCS (had a low draft number) and served 3+ years on active duty on a cutter based in Boston and at the Rescue Coordination Center on Governor’s Island. Never intended to make it a career. Attended Northwestern, seeking a PhD in English, but realized that circumstances were against ever making a living that way.

Began working for an insurance company in New York in 1975, doing systems implementation work. Learned how to program, and accepted a position in Dallas with a startup consulting firm. After a decade or so, became an independent consultant working with large life insurance companies on their mainframe computer systems. Remained independent nearly all the time since. Retired from that now, although the phone keeps ringing, so who knows.

Married since 1982, my wife Jody and I have become Francophiles and have visited France 10 or so times. For no good reason, I recently obtained dual Irish citizenship and hold both US and Irish passports. We are currently trying to figure out where we want to live in retirement, probably not North Texas.

After graduating from Xavier, Jim Nagle went to Georgetown and then Rutgers law school.  He spent 20 years in the Army as a judge advocate general officer and, after retiring from the Army, joined a law firm in Seattle doing government contracts.  He semiretired from that in April of this year.  He and his wife Annie have been married since 1974 and have three sons.  The oldest is going to Fordham to get his PhD in theology.  Jim has made every Xavier reunion since 1966 and is looking forward to our 50^th!

• Post Xavier graduation enrolled in Arts & Sciences at Manhattan C., got kicked out after first semester of my Junior year (actually should have been tossed out after my Freshman year).
• Talked my way into a transfer to the night school there, got religion so to speak, and graduated after 3 additional years (Dec 1971) by taking 90 credits in during those 3 years; had a full-time job a an insurance company on mid-town while doing the night school gig and living in da Bronx.
• In my final semester applied to some graduate biz school programs and somehow got accepted at The University of Chicago, where I go an MBA in 1974. Along the way met my future wife, Charlotte, at U of C but we did not get hitched until 1982 after living in sin together for 8 years (what’s the rush after all?). Fr. Jim Keenan was at our reception (couldn’t do the ceremony).
• 1974 moved to NYC after U of C graduation and worked at Price Waterhouse, got a CPA, then moved on and worked in various roles as VP Controller and or CFO for Time-Life Films, United Satellite Communications, Columbia Pictures International Video and Price Communications (radio & TV holding company).
• Son, Ian, born in 1988 at St. Vincent’s (it closed a few years back for those not in the know) in NYC. He’s our only child. Have some videos on my phone of Ian’s opera performances for anyone interested at our reunion.
• In 1988 moved to Santa Rosa, CA become VP Finance/CFO for an alternative energy company which ultimately went belly-up (i.e., bankrupt) in 1993.
• Moved back to NYC area to become CFO of New Line Home Video operations.
• Left New Line and developed my own consulting practice on Long Island.
• Moved to Rhode Island 18 years ago to support Charlotte’s career at a small Waldorf elementary school.
• Went to work as a consultant for RGP where I have been doing financial and accounting driven projects for over 15 years. Clients have included Dr.Pepper Snapple, Goldman Sachs, Tyco, Logitech, Bank of New York, Fannie Mae, Dow, Prudential and about a dozen others. Have suitcase, will travel; really enjoy the variety of work and meeting new clients and their challenges every six months or so. Charlotte’s pushing hard for my retirement though, wants to travel the world (but not before the last weekend in April!).

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in April.

After graduating Xavier, I went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. It was a great experience, but after 3 semesters, it was clear that the engineering geared curriculum was not for me. I transferred to Fordham. (As I learned in my 20’s, my hearing was deteriorating since having pneumonia as an infant. I probably would have never served active duty.) Both the Academy and Fordham appointments were with the recommendation of Coach and Teacher, Leo Paquin. One of the many people who have impacted my life. I completed my military obligation in the Naval Reserve over the next 4 years. At Fordham I played on the Club Football Team for 2 years. In 1968, we were National Club Football Champions. I graduated in 1970 with a B.A. in Economics.

I spent 9 years in Commercial banking in N.Y.C. and Connecticut. I graduated with an M.B.A. from Western New England University in 1977. After banking, I joined a manufacturing company as Controller. A couple of years later, I became part owner and President. We manufactured portable office panels for office space division and acoustical control. In 1998, we merged the company with a furniture manufacturer in Alabama. My wife and I decided to stay in the Northeast and semi-retired to Maine.

Throughout my career, I had been active with Church and not-for-profit organizations in a variety of volunteer positions. In Maine, I joined non-profits as an employee in financial and general management. It has been a great experience.

In 2009, my wife, Deb, (we) survived Breast Cancer. In 2011, she was diagnosed with early onset of Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and was disabled. In 2013, I retired early to be her full time care giver. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s. Many of us will be affected by it in our lifetimes, Government research money is minimal, so please give money to help find a cure.

Deb and I were married 24 years on April 9, 2016.

I have 2 children, by a former annulled marriage, and a beautiful 1 year old granddaughter from my son and daughter–in-law.

A storied past to say the least.

After turning down an appointment to the Air Force Academy I wound up in City College only to drop out in 67 and decide that the “summer of love” was where it was at.

• Worked on Wall Street days while playing music nights until conscripted into the service in May of 68.
• Became a cryptographer in Germany (thank you Fritz) where I worked, traveled and played more music.
• Back in the states in 70 where I started a career in finance with the CIT Group on Madison Avenue.
• Pursued a degree in Economics, graduated in 76 then was sponsored into the Harriman Project which was more about networking than education.
• Met Ellen in late 76, married in May 77 and recruited by a Texas bank in August of 77 so off to Dallas we went.
• Had the opportunity to start Comerica Bank in Texas in 1984 until retiring in 1992.
• Started a Property and Casualty Insurance Agency specializing in large properties and fleets in 1992.
• Sold the agency to Hilb Rogal and Hobbs (later Willis) in 2001.
• Still active in the insurance industry managing a large book of business for the Higginbotham Group in Fort Worth.
• Living in Trophy Club still playing music and an avid golfer.
• Two grown children: Matthew 33 and Jessica Leigh 30 with two fine grandsons, Vincent (little V) and Dylan.

 

Looking forward to April.

After Xavier, I earned a Computer Science degree and spent two years in the Peace Corps.  Came home one summer, looked up Louise, a friend from college, and we were married the next April.  I worked at Lehman College when our first son, Anthony, was born.  We moved to Connecticut, where I worked as a developer for a software company.  A few years later, Corning Glass Works in Corning, NY hired me as a digital engineer and we bought a house in nearby Big Flats.  Our second son, Dan, was born and Louise finished her EdD in Adult Ed just before I struck out as an independent software contractor in 1980.

Today, Anthony is an environmental economist in DC and single (know any prospective wives?).  Dan is a professional musician in Philadelphia (need a much sought-after wedding band?) and married with one son.

Along the way, I developed various interests.  I learned to skate and play hockey, immersed myself in Civil War studies when I learned my great-great grandfather fought at Gettysburg, volunteered for many years to bring great musical performers to Corning and, most recently, sing barbershop harmony -- defying Father McGowan’s pronouncement the I could "single-handedly bring down a chorus".

Steve graduated from Syracuse University in 1970, spent a summer in France, then went to Ft Knox for Army Reserves training, eventually reaching the rank of Captain in 1980.  Over 44 years he worked for nine companies, mostly in the technology sales and consulting area, including Metropolitan Life, Deloitte, Price Waterhouse, Schlumberger, and ABB.  In several of those jobs he travelled extensively overseas, crossing one or the other ocean over 100 times. He happily retired in late 2014.

Unbelievably (for a Xavier graduate), he’s been married three times, and has one son, Rob, who is now 36 and works in the film industry.  Steve lived in New York City for three years and then moved to Kansas City for five years.  He then lived in Tampa, Florida for 30 years, but returned to New Jersey in 2009.  He now lives in an over-55 community in central Jersey with his wife, Carol.

Graduated Fordham and Married Ginny Fazio in 1971.
Worked for NY Tel but the program was dismantled and I went back to being a full time musician which is not the best job for newly marrieds.
Was competing against the returning vets so I didn’t do very well.
Answered an ad for Sherwin Williams Paint and have been in the paint business ever since, retail, wholesale, management.
Became foster parents to 3 pair of older children, adopted them and had 7 of our own.
Moved to Oak Park Il in 1988 an a Sales Manager.
Got tired of BS in corporate and bought a Benjamin Moore store in Westmont IL in 2007.
Survived the economic downturn and will have it paid off in 2017.
I am still married to Ginny, 45yrs, and have 21 grandchildren.
Still play for my own enjoyment but the synapses don’t quite connect like they used to.
Coached elite girls fast pitch, enjoy shooting and play a quick but uninspired game of golf.
Fill you in at the reunion
Ed

I got second honors maybe once so I’m not gonna try for 200 words! After all, what are facts if not in context? My high school years weren’t very happy; I had an arduous commute from an austere home but I met three people at Xavier who changed my life.

Since I wasn’t much of a student, I was astonished when Ed DeSantis chose me for AP English and gave me a window into literature. He encouraged me to apply to a non-Catholic college! He wasn’t worried about me losing my faith; he said it was important for Catholics to shine our light on the rest of the world. He said I’d learn how to write and he was right; at Kenyon, I also learned to question authority.

I found Linda Salvati in the Xavier library and she became my surrogate mother, encouraging me with her intuitive wisdom and hard-earned spirituality. I chose her for my daughter’s godmother and we remained devoted friends until she died eight years ago. You can read my memorial tribute to her at the top of this page. Click here for the express lane.

Phil DiBelardino, ’64 was a Junior when I met him but we became fast friends, then best friends for over 50 years. A world-renowned expert on fine wine, this extraordinarily generous and joyful man was beloved by almost everyone he met; over a thousand people attended his funeral. You can read my eulogy on his website www.FilippoForever.com.

I could have done Army OCS, thanks to Xavier, but I was in a hurry so I took my chances as an enlisted man.  #38 in the lottery!  Curt Elmore ‘66 (R.I.P.) did Basic Training with me at Fort Dix; then from Tigerland, Fort Polk to Vietnam with an 11B MOS. The infantry is where I realized my leadership qualities.  Met a bird Colonel with the same name as mine, head Catholic chaplain for all of Vietnam!  He reassigned me to a detox unit in Cam Ranh Bay where I met Dinh, a beautiful, resourceful Buddhist woman of tremendous faith and courage who would eventually become my wife.  Finagled a job producing all military entertainment in-country, learned to make movies and lived in Saigon among a community of international businessmen, journalists and entrepreneurs.

Discharged from Oakland, I hitched East, visiting the states I’d never seen (crossed the country three more times, all by thumb, during the 70s.)  Found jobs with the NY Shakespeare Festival, Circle Rep, the Juilliard School and numerous Off-Off-Off-Broadway productions.  In 1979, not knowing any better, I co-founded The Opera Ensemble of NY in partnership with a lady vocal coach who knew all about music; I did the drama and the fund-raising.  Over a dozen years, we built it into the city’s pre-eminent small company, providing NY debuts for future stars.

Personal life took a quantum leap forward when I was finally able to bring my daughter, Louise, and her mother from Vietnam to NYC.  They’d been ‘lost’ for over a decade; it took six more years to negotiate their release.  Took time off my career trajectory to acclimate them to the USA and established a proper family while teaching at Marymount Manhattan College.  These two women brought me a bounty of blessings beyond anything I could have imagined and, today, my family is the crown jewel and great joy of my life.  Louise is VP at a Japanese bank in Manhattan; she and my son-in-law play in the leading Vietnamese samba band on the east coast, at weddings and bar mitzvahs from Boston to Richmond.  Their two kids are smart, talented and happy.

In ’97, invited to serve as Artistic Director of the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, Siamsa Tire, in Tralee, County Kerry, I created five new productions about, by and for the Irish people and brought the company to Ford’s Theatre for the Washington, D.C. Irish Arts Festival in 2000.  Some of my shows are still in their repertory.  Then hired to manage the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I also taught drama classes at Queens College before moving on to direct and produce several shows in London and Romeo & Juliet for the Birmingham Stage Company.  In the past decade, I was named Executive Director of the Colorado Festival of World Theatre (we launched Studio Festi’s balloon spectacular on the golf course of the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs for HDTV) and staged the annual production of Amahl and the Night Visitors at Lincoln Center.

I’ve produced and directed over 65 stage productions and been gratified to work with many of my childhood idols including Stephen Sondheim, GianCarlo Menotti, Peter Shaffer and Zoe Caldwell.  Wrote some plays, book reviews and magazine articles; ran workshops and seminars on arts mgmt; currently train business executives to improve their writing.  Highlights of my adventures: the theatre at Epidaurus, the opera at La Scala, the Rolling Stones in concert, the Venice Regatta, the Kentucky Derby, flying on the Concorde.

Looking back on Ed DeSantis’s advice, I couldn’t have imagined the dividend of joys I’d accrue, due in no small part to my education and my faith.  Xavier taught me to pursue rigorous thinking, to value questioning, logic, liturgy and the liberal arts, to trust my conscience and to recognize that we are all children of God.  Catholicism trained me in the precepts of Christianity and I believe “the greatest of these is charity” but I have little use for dogma.  I don’t believe I have a soul; I am a soul and, at this point in eternity, I have a body.

The gifts I received from Father Bill McGowan and Mssrs Ruth, Mannion, Blake and Thompson, I passed along in my rehearsals and classes.  I can still quote Greek from The Odyssey and remember that words have wings, sleep is sweet, women are faithful and hospitality is so essential that Zeus is its patron.  My wife and I spend many happy hours helping to raise our two grandchildren: Natalie is a gymnast and Timothy is a freshman at Regis.  I continually tease him not to get ‘stuck up!’

After Xavier, I graduated from the New York State College of Agriculture with a BS in Anatomy and Physiology. I thought I wanted to become a veterinarian but the Vet School said No! I did get commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps.

I spent four years teach anatomy and physiology to Army medical specialists – mostly Operating Room technicians, Medical Records Technicians, and Air Ambulance Pilots.

I was Assistant S4 and Headquarters Company commander in 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Tongduchon, Republic of Korea, then Commander, 601st Medical Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade, Canal Zone and Operations Officer for the Brigade Surgeon in the Canal Zone. That got me to lead a Mobile Training Team to Bogota, Columbia to help the Columbian Army build a field medical service. Next, I was Executive Officer, US Army Dental Activity, Ft Dix, NJ. If you made the 15th reunion, I was the one in uniform! That got me to grad school at Syracuse for an MBA in Army (now Defense) Comptrollership.

From Syracuse, I went to Heidelberg, Germany as a staff comptroller for Headquarters, 7th Medical Command. After my three year journeyman’s assignment, I got my own account as Director of Resource Management, US Army Medical Department Activity, Ft Huachuca, AZ.

By then, the Army was downsizing and nothing was going to happen in Kuwait so I got retired by the Army and hired by the Department of State to be the Financial Manager of US Mission to the United Nations. Same job as in the Army but with fewer zeros. Retired from that in May 2014

One of the OR Tech NCOs set me up on a blind date and we got married a few years later. She made the 25th reunion but died about a dozen years ago so, after awhile, I asked out the woman who sat behind me in church even though she was too young and, I thought, going with somebody. She said yes and we got married in 2007. We have four children, all with fur. Softy and Ripit are retired racing greyhounds, food bowl to couch 4.3 seconds, and Brie and Jack are cats from the SPCA.

For any who remember the Radio Club of the Physics Classroom, I finally got my ham license when I was in the Canal Zone, KA5BJC, and can often be found on 20 meter PSK or JT65.

Graduated from Fordham with a degree in Communication Arts (Journalism). Never used the specifics of the degree until much later in life. I’ll touch on that later!

In my sophomore year at Fordham, I began working part time for New York Telephone as a collection rep. While there I met a lovely young Irish lass, Jackie, who later become my bride. We married in 1972 and the wedding was officiated by Fr. Keenan at the Fordham chapel. Before graduation NYT offered me a management position in their management training program. I accepted and what was only to be a part time job became a 35 year career.

In 1981, the year before Divestiture, I accepted a job with AT&T in Basking Ridge, NJ and worked on Divestiture planning. My main job was employee communications, so that employees in all Bell Operating Companies would know what job they could apply for and what entity they could join. My journalism background was finally used. I also used an outside vendor to produce videos to convey the message to employees. On viewing possible spokespersons for the videos, I saw someone I recognized and used her. She was the Queen of our Military Ball!! Small world! During my 20 years with AT&T and the spin offs, I received several promotions and retired in 2001.

I certified at night to be a teacher and taught 5th and 6th grade in a local Catholic Grammar school. My main focus was reading and writing. Again journalism came into play! I retired when I hit 60 in 2009.

I umpire baseball and referee basketball both at the high school level during the high school seasons. I do baseball about 7 months with American Legion, Travel leagues and Men’s leagues keeping busy for about 175 games/year!

During my almost 44 years of marriage to Jackie, we had 2 daughters and 1 son. (all baptized by Fr. Keenan) Our daughters have given us 3 wonderful grandchildren and our son, who married 3 years ago is constantly in my wife’s prayers to add to that count!

Thanks to all who are making this Reunion possible and Jackie and I are looking forward to seeing all of you!

I am the eldest of a boisterous Irish-American family where one brother became Waylon Jennings’ band leader and another won two national championships coaching the Maine hockey team. We thought anything was possible. When I was at Notre Dame, the brother closest to me drowned and my father’s woolen business lost its battle to plastic fabrics so that turned out to be not quite true. I spent some interesting if eccentric years running a bakery in Albuquerque, writing pamphlets on the great books for the Franklin Mint and research reports for Wall Street. I even worked as a waiter at the re-opened Cotton Club, spending week after week bringing drinks to Dizzy or Carmen or Nina or Charlie.

While studying Chinese at Vanderbilt, I was encouraged to take the foreign service exam so I did. Following the A-100 class, they of course sent me to Japan. I had a wonderful thirty-year career at State, serving in places as disparate as Albania and Nagoya, Sarajevo and Berlin and picking up five languages (on a very good day, these days) in the mix. I had a manor house in Auvergne, France for a decade and a lovely flat on the upper east side when I was assigned to the U.N.

I loved Turkey (serving in both Istanbul and Izmir) and Vienna (I was senior advisor to the U.S. delegation the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for nearly five years) but all things come to an end. I live now with my English better half outside of Philly where we try and participate in the exploits of the kids and I sort of manage the local Quaker Meeting. My older son runs a high-tech firm in Oregon, my daughter teaches legal history at the University of Washington and our young guy is President of the Philosophy Club at U Chicago, at least until he graduates in June and – presumably – begins his Uber career.

Xavier was a fundamental building block in my understanding of and attention to the world – despite the occasional rap on the knuckles from Vinny Taylor. How can I not be grateful?

Currently married to Patty (38 years), no children, living in River Wilderness golf community in Parrish, Florida, close to Sarasota; neighbors include Don Kelly ’67, and Mike Whelan (brother of Pat Whelan ’66).

After XHS, attended and graduated Fordham University, BS in General Science; started as a Chemistry major, but become very interested in computers which became my profession.

Married shortly after college; didn’t last very long, annulled in 1971 – was’t a Catholic wedding.

1970 – began working in the computer industry at the Bank of New York in lower Manhattan.

Continued playing in a band for several more years after college with Walt Tully; the band was started in XHS – me, Wally, Joe Scaturo ’67, and Vinny Panzera as the original drummer, and we also had guest appearances from Eddie Seuffert and Pete Beavins; played all around NY, NJ, and Long Island.

1977 – married my best friend, Patricia, lived in Valley Cottage NY, West Nyack NY, and South Salem NY.

Continued at BNY through various areas of computers until 1988, when I went to IBM.

At IBM, was a Project Executive, working at major banks and brokerage houses managing large-scale software and hardware efforts; worked mostly in the NY/CT area. When IBM allowed work-from-anywhere initiatives, we relocated to Florida permanently in 2003.

2005 – retired from IBM shortly after my brother – Russ Warga ’62 – died of a heart attack.

Quickly got bored with retirement, started at J P Morgan Chase as a management consultant in 2006, and stayed until 2013, when Patty and I both retired for good.

Happily enjoying retirement now with golf and shooting sports; still playing guitar in a duo at small gigs around the area.

My father – William, 71 – passed away in 1979, and my mother – Viola, 89 – passed in 2006.

* Honors awarded for brevity.  First Honors awarded for strict adherence to the limit of 200 words or less.  Second Honors awarded for 250 words or less. Word count determined programatically by the industry standard "str-word-count" PHP function. See http://php.net/manual/en/function.str-word-count.php.