Check Points 

Winter 2005

Fall 2004

Spring 2004

Winter 2004

Fall 2003

Spring 2003

Winter 2003

Fall 2002

Winter 2005

Bob Best is still traveling to Jamaica about a week every month, but he thinks he can see an end to that project, for which he is thankful. When not in Jamaica, he spends a great deal of time in Arkansas with the company that he started there about 3 years ago. They have fashioned a new process for treating litter in the thousands of chicken houses. They introduce a myriad of non-pathogenic bacillus bacteria onto the litter. The bacteria degrade the chicken manure. The end result is an organic treatment that renders a pathogen-free environment. The process results in a healthier, faster growing, bigger, and cleaner bird while almost completely eliminating the odor. Also, and importantly, the chicken houses do not need to be cleaned out for 2 1/2 years. They now call Bob the "Guru of Doodoo". Seriously, though, this is pretty impressive. They are the first with this technology and are now being accepted by the major chicken producers (Tyson’s and Pilgrim's Pride, who represent almost 60% of the industry, and many others). Number one son, Stuart, lives with his wife and Bob’s only granddaughter, Laura Catherine, in Baton Rouge. John Forrest, is in his second year at Millsap’s University in Jackson, MS, preparing for the life of a Methodist Minister. Lauren Shelby (last remaining child at home) goes to college next fall, so Cathy and Bob plan to start building a new home on Greer’s Ferry Lake in northern Arkansas. As their daughter drives off to Ole Miss, they will move west. Bob’s not sure that Cathy has completely bought into this moving as yet though. She said, "If we are going to move west, why not to Colorado?" He couldn't think of a ready answer. So, it doesn't appear that retirement is anytime soon. Life is full and good for them.

Lydia and John Boesch are headed to San Diego to celebrate the first birthday of Tess Northcutt, their first grandchild. Lydia has been appointed to the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority Board, which funds land acquisition and capital development for state parks. They have quarterly meetings at various parks, which include spouses. (John is really conflicted about the "spouse programs.") With the approach of the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, if anyone planning to attend needs some local knowledge (not including tickets), call them. They will try to help.

Doug Cairns said that their son, Rob, is now stationed at the NATO Headquarters in Naples, Italy. What a great place to "have to" go to visit their grandchildren . Of course they did and had a great Christmas vacation, Neapolitan style. Rob is an Army LTC keeping an eye on special operations for Joint Forces Command Naples, NATO (previously known as Allied Forces Southern Europe). Someday he will tell us about the terrorist events that didn’t happen at the Olympics in Athens because he and his buddies were there.

Dick Davis just visited his children and grandchildren in the great state of Texas. His son Rick was just re-inaugurated as district judge in Brazos County. His oldest son, Luke, seems destined for Texas A&M and the corps. His daughter, Alexis, and her husband and children enjoyed the unusual phenomena of 12 inches of snow just 70 miles due WSW of Houston, Texas. His youngest son, Matt, will open a trendy disco/bar in March in Houston.

Judy and Gene Davis had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. Judy’s Mom, Janet Russell, who used to host numerous cadets in their home in Colorado Springs in our day, visited from San Diego. Judy’s Dad, Rusty, was the landscape architect for the Blue Zoo. He was in charge of the diggers and fillers. We have a tree planted on the site in his honor. Additionally, their daughter, Cindy, her husband, Herb, and their three sons moved to Melbourne, Florida, about five miles from Gene and Judy. They spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at the Davises. Gene went to Colorado Springs after Christmas to meet his son Chris (’85), daughter-in-law, Robbi (’85), and his four grandchildren. His grandson, Cole, played in a four-day hockey tournament in Colorado Springs. They handily won their division, 4-0, but lost in the championship game. Son Chris, daughter-in-law Robbi, and Gene took the parents and young hockey players (boys and girls) on a short tour of the Academy. The tour was short because everything except the Visitors’ Center, the Chapel, and the Field House are "off limits." The Academy looks more like a prison than a college campus. Anyway, the hockey coach, Frank Serratore, was kind enough to give them a 15-minute pep talk on AFA’s hockey program following his practice session. That was very positive. Gene said that the presidential election of 2004 was much less demanding than in 2000. Those in the elections business love 5% margins – much better than a 537 total vote margin. Their county did well as usual, although the usual kooks appeared in Florida before racing off to Ohio. With four hurricanes (two of them coming right at us), a presidential race, and a hip operation, 2004 was challenging in Florida. Judy and Gene look for a much calmer 2005. They wish the same for all our classmates and their families.

Dorothy and Jerry Gill just left for New Zealand and Australia for 18 days. They flew through LAX to Auckland and will then travel on a small boat (Clipper Odyssey) around the islands with stops at major cities and points of interest. Next will be Sydney for 4 days. After the return flight through Los Angeles, Jerry anticipates several days of jet lag. Hopefully, they will encounter no tsunamis.

Lowell Jones reports that the DC Gray Tags had another successful luncheon in December. Attending were: Charley Dixon, Bill Foster, Steve Ho, John Kohout, Lowell Jones, Jack McDonough, Jim Rogers, Bill Sanzenbacher, and Karl Whitaker. Terry Norris couldn’t make this luncheon but told Bill Sanzenbacher that he'll make the next one. Good stories from everyone. They toasted to the good health of Bill Foster and Charley Thomas (our heart patients) and also Terry Norris for his quick healing from some skin cancer (not serious) treatments. They also raised a glass to the memory of Norm Campbell (lost 8 years ago, November 18) - the original lunch date was on that date before they had to reschedule.

At the beginning of January, Jerry and Sue Lefton departed for Tucson. They spent Thanksgiving in Arlington Heights with their daughter, son-in-law, and their first grandchild. Thomas Jacob Seputis was born on 25 September, and of course they are very proud of him. While in Tucson they plan to make some other trips, as well. They are going to Kona Island on 27 January for a week, Las Vegas on 13 February for five days, and to Palm Springs on 28 February for a week. They also hope to see the Arizona Wildcats play some basketball games in Tucson.

Since Jerry Mason no longer drives a company car, he had to register his own license plates in Arizona. He sent a picture of his new plates, with the identification on them reading, "USAFA61". He wondered how many others have similar license plates in their states.

John May expects to retire as president of Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey, effective the end of June. He and Sheila plan to relocate to their vacation home on Bald Head Island in North Carolina. The O’Connors live just across Cape Fear River from Bald Head Island, so the Mays and O’Connors will consider starting the Brunswick County Chapter of the Gray Tag branch of the AOG. In fact, they held the first meeting in October.

Don McCarter said that this has been a year in which many in Florida have much to be thankful for. Although the hurricanes hit them hard, all realize it could have been much worse. When Charlie came directly over him and Johnnie in Orlando, his daughter Shannon, her husband Tom, and their only grandchild, Macy, a three-year-old, were weathering the storm at their house. As Charlie swept over them, they all moved into a closet hoping to avoid any harm. Macy thought it was a game. After the storm moved on, which was about a half hour, she wanted them all to hide in the closet again until the next storm passed. Little did they realize how soon her game would come into play again. The game really grew old after the third storm. However, after all that wind and rain, they suffered only damage to their roof, which had to be replaced, and some spots on their ceiling where water leaked in and had to be repainted. Their roof was finally repaired on December 17, which Don considered a birthday present, but a costly one with the deductible they had to pay. They are so thankful that the good Lord was watching over them in Orlando, because after surveying the damage to their area, they saw some heavy damage in the city. Don is having a lot of fun working for a contractor supporting the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation.

The excitement of entering the next phase of life is still high with Lee and Joanie McCleskey. Lee will retire from Texas A&M University on 31 January and both plan to enjoy their new-found freedom of doing what they choose, when they want to do it. They are really looking forward to seeing those scattered grandchildren more frequently than once or twice a year.

On 28 January, Terry Norris will be going to Arcanum, Ohio, to be inducted into the Arcanum Hall of Fame, which his high school recently started. When I found that out, I had to pry more details from Terry. We went through pilot training (where we were in the same car pool) and then survival training together, and I knew none of this. He was one of 47 nominees, with two being inducted to bring their total inductees to 7. Terry said that he thought it was due to being a gunner on his high school basketball team, which won the State Championship 50 years ago. Other factors may have been that he pitched on their baseball team that went 25-1 and was the league dash champion in track. While he seems a bit embarrassed with all the attention, it seems well deserved. I also didn’t realize that he was headed to West Point when USAFA recruited him for basketball. Terry said that Dean Smith, an assistant basketball coach at the Academy at the time and also the baseball coach before he left to go to North Carolina, played a great part in his later development as a player. Congratulations from all of us, Terry!

Nelson and Teri O’Rear had a full house over Christmas. Their AF son, Brian (’87), and his family joined them for a week from Alabama, where Brian is attending Air War College. (Does that make you feel as old as it makes Nelson?) With their local son and his family, plus a granddaughter from Virginia, 16 of them—including 10 grandchildren frolicked through their house and enjoyed outside sledding and ice skating for about a week. Kevin, their local son is general counsel for AM General, maker of the Humvee, so he set up driving a civilian version of the Humvee on their 300+ acre test facility—much of it hilly and forested—for Nelson and Brian. Kevin had told Nelson before how impressed he had been, when he drove a Humvee on this facility a few years ago, but Nelson couldn't really appreciate it until he experienced it.  Three or four times, he thought that the instructor with them was making a mistake asking them to go through some of the areas because he knew there was no way for the vehicle to negotiate them.  It never failed.  Twice, once when Nelson was driving and once when Brian was driving, the instructor told them to go down a very steep 10-15 foot embankment to cross a stream and go up the opposite equally steep and high embankment.  Snow also covered the ground.  No sweat.  Then, they traversed roads that had huge ruts in them, the road being quite uneven left and right.  They actually tilted to the left and right about 30 degrees or so.  No problem.  The instructor with them said that when the military first began using the Humvee, they did not appreciate nor use the full capabilities of the vehicle. That caused AM General to establish programs of instruction for Humvee users to get the most out of their vehicles. Special Ops folks spend about a week going through such courses. Without beginning to describe all of the obstacles we encountered, but driving for about 2 hours, Nelson can't remember having so much fun for a long time. Very impressive.

The Cairns and Westbrooks celebrated their annual Christmas holiday dinner with Susan and Jimmy Poole. Jimmy sent a picture of the three couples, which you can view at our class web site. There will NOT be a redneck reunion for 2005 as the beach area still is in a war zone mode. Since the fall of 2006 will be our USAFA 45th reunion, make your plans for a resumption of the Redneck celebration in October 2007.

The big event in the Dennis Ray household is the imminent arrival of their son, Mishka. Iva (wife and new mom to be) finished her International MBA in December. Iva's final project was a financial analysis of Genentech, the biotech giant. Dennis taught his most successful Capstone MBA Strategy courses this past fall. In the last 5 weeks students worked on corporate strategy initiatives in their firms, used Power Point to develop lean versions of business plans for entrepreneurial initiatives, or worked with him on a "strategy as power" research project. Two of the 25 corporate strategy initiatives led to major promotions even before the semester was over, two entrepreneurial projects were actually launched out of 10 plans, and a surprising five students opted to do research on the corporate exercise of political power. This was surprising because these students are full-time and mid-career managers and Dennis didn't expect any interest in this option. One student examined private military corporations and another looked at ethical implications of advertising in the pharmaceutical industry. Galina had her 16^th birthday, got her first job, and is composing and recording music in her electronic music course, a unique offering at Wayzata High School. Their chocolate Lab and tri-color Collie escaped a few days before Christmas and made visits to canine friends in their extended neighborhood. With the help of neighbors and the local police, both dogs were found safe and mostly sound. The Collie is still limping a little.

Christmas was good for Bob Smith’s family this year. All three of Bob's children, and one grandson from Michigan that Bob and Pat had not seen before, were on the west coast for the first time in about six years. Bob was elected president of the board of two health care Joint Powers Agencies as well as president of the Health Care District. He was re-elected to the board in November for the seventh time. His health remains good, with no recurrence of the colon cancer of four years ago.

Jack Taylor sent a picture of classmates attending their pilot training class reunion (63A, Craig AFB, Al '61-'62) in Washington,D.C., in October 2004. At our class web site www.usafa1961.info, you will see Jack Taylor, Bill Sanzenbacher, John Kohout and Pete Lane. Vic Apodaca was the fifth member of this class when they graduated and was remembered throughout the reunion and during their visit to the Vietnam Memorial, where his name is inscribed.

Charlie Thomas said that his big news is his successful heart surgery - 6 hours worth - which replaced a section of his aorta and the aortic valve. (His surgery was on October 28^th, and he was out of the hospital a week later).  He is recovering fine, and went back to work on January 3^rd. The support by '61 during and after surgery was terrific.  Wayne Haring, and Charlie and Linda Neel even made visits to the house. Thanks to all for the visits, calls, and cards. Gina and Charlie are planning a cruise in early February to the Caribbean. They leave from San Juan on the Radisson Diamond for five days. In June, they are renting a beach house in Cape May, NJ, for a family reunion with their three children and three grandchildren. This October they may also take a French canal trip to celebrate their 40^th anniversary. Charlie currently plans to retire this summer to allow more time for family and travel.

Jim and Judy Tulis said that John and Kathy Dates stopped by O'Fallon, IL to see them on their return from a visit to John's family in upstate New York. They were able to have dinner with John and Sherry Moore during their stay. Everyone had a great time reminiscing and telling stories.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. We all enjoy hearing what is going on in your lives.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Fall 2004                                             

 Thanks to Hanson Scott and Tom Eller for implementing our Class Care system.  Each ‘61 graduate is being

contacted by his Flight Lead, where possible, to participate. Hopefully, it will enable all of us to provide any needed

 support in times of a health crisis or death. We encourage each graduate to stay in touch with his Flight Lead on a

regular basis with current contact information and to keep him aware of the general trends in our lives. If you have

 any questions about it, please refer to our Class Web site or contact Scotty, Tom, or me.

The Academy Memorial Board approved the reconstruction of the Class of 1961 Overlook and will pay for the work.

We do not yet have a firm date.

As those of you who planned to attend know, Hurricane Ivan canceled our Class mini-reunion on the Redneck Riviera

this year. Jimmy Poole and Hector Negroni sent pictures of some of the damage Ivan caused. Romar Beach Baptist

Church, near the houses where we stayed is totally gone, and the ground level rooms are gone in the houses where we

stayed. The building where the Pooles have a condo no longer has the huge sand dunes in back and an outdoor pool

with nice landscaping across the front. Jimmy said that inside their condo is not too bad: wet carpet, some sand on the

floor, and cracks in two windows; however, their windows did not fail. Other units on the same side on other levels

lost everything inside when the windows were blown out. Hector sent a picture that showed about half of one side of

the building that contains their condo is gone. Jimmy said to think about the next Redneck Reunion in 2007. Thanks to

our Alabama contingent who put so much effort into planning this one.

Four San Antonio area '61ers gathered at the Rivercenter Marriott for a charity dinner on October 2nd. On hand were

Mark and Ginger Anderson, Larry and Kathy Freeman, Richard and Carolyn Smith, and Jim and Sydney Wild. The

event was a fund-raiser for a local non-profit that Mark presides over. A good time was had by all.

Doc and Marty Arnold have a significant focus on Colorado Springs where their daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband,

Gib Weiskopf (who recently received the outstanding law firm award from the Colorado Springs Business Journal),

 are involved in raising the Arnold’s only granddaughter, Kendall, now aged 5! She keeps them interested in what is

going on in the shadow of Pike's Peak. Kendall has red hair and an outgoing temperament to go with it; goes to

pre-school; and is on her bike and scooter and involved in all those things that little girls get to do when the parents

make the effort. Like the grandchildren of all of our classmates, she is "above average". Doc has been working as a

trust officer in Wells Fargo PCS for the past 6 years, and has persuaded Wells that he should be working only three

days each week. This provides an opportunity for him to evaluate whether he can or should try retirement within the

next 6 months or so. He also serves on a couple of local community boards. When he told Jim Hinkle that he was

trying to play a little golf, his only remark was, "Why?" And that pretty well sums up the experience. But the pastoral

settings on the several beautiful public golf courses in Grand Junction are worth the time, and if he gets one good shot

on every outing, well then, "He loves this game." Marty has retired from teaching and her sewing business. She is

involved in serving several community groups: Partners, Hospice, Spellbinders, and the Public Library. She is also

active in an exercise group, as well as in church activities. She is busier than Doc, and they are learning to

re-coordinate calendars as they approach a time when there won't be a mandatory "work call". Doc and Marty are

watching the coming Presidential elections with great interest, trying to determine why the incumbents think they are

worthy of another four years. Autumn in Grand Junction is a beautiful time of year. They enjoy their yard and the local

environment. They have made many friends and have enjoyed their time there since 1972. Their health remains good,

and they look forward to each new day. In January, they went with friends to sunny Cairo and cruised up the Nile to be

 reminded just how young our country is. On the way home they took in some sights and "cool" weather in Italy: Rome,

Florence and Venice. They still find a little sand in their shoes and hope to do some more traveling soon. They always

enjoy visiting with and hearing from members and family of our Class. What a fine group of men and women.

According to David Carlstrom, Susie Weeden said that Ron bought a new truck with an automatic transmission to

facilitate controls for his good left leg. His old truck had a manual shift and couldn't be modified for single leg control.

He also finished a project, which he started before his stroke, to put new siding on a rental property which was also

his boyhood home. The Weedens certainly are determined fighters.

Dick Coppock said that Larry Vacirca's sister Terry Cooper and husband Gary visited with them for a couple of days

 in September from Apple Valley, CA.  Terry had not been back there since graduation, when she was 13.  Larry even

had a date lined up for her for the Graduation Ball!  Dick took them on an extended tour of the Academy, which

brought back lots of memories for her.  That evening Trel and Dick, Nancy and Jim Wilhelm, and Terry and Gary

joined for dinner and samplings of California wine they had brought along.  They had been in touch with Larry's

mother and Terry all these years since graduation and Larry's subsequent passing.  Terry and Gary cared for Mrs.

Vacirca in their home and finally a care center in the years leading up to her passing a couple of years ago.  It was a

joy seeing and talking with them again.

On May 31, 2004 Randy and Jan Cubero, Mark Anderson along with Gene and Doe Stringer and four of their family

members went to the AOG building at the Academy after the Individual Awards ceremony at the Field House and hung

a plaque in honor of Roger Stringer, our fallen classmate, to commemorate the Army mule caper for the first USAFA

vs. West Point football game in the fall of 1959. Displayed on the plaque are a picture of Roger and a letter that he

wrote to his parents explaining that he might not be able to meet them in New York for the game as he had originally

intended. The reason for his possible absence was that the Academy brass was trying to determine the punishment for

Roger and five other ‘61ers for breaking into the West Point stables and attempting to kidnap the Army Mule two

weeks before the game. Unfortunately, Roger indicated that they were able to drug the watch dogs, but when they went

inside the stable and encountered an Army Military Policeman armed with .45 caliber pistol they all scattered to the

four winds. If you go to our Class Web site, you can see pictures that show the plaque with the letter and picture of

Roger, the translation of the letter since Roger's handwriting is a little difficult to read, and the family and friends

gathered around the hanging plaque inside the AOG building. It was a very nostalgic moment for everyone there.

Bob Dean has been busy working on his book, Connecting to Spirit: If You Build It They Will Come. It is a true story

and scheduled for publication on October 20^th.

Bill Foster reports that his Dacron aorta and his porcine (oink-oink) aortic valve are performing very well.  He is on

 a rigorous aerobic exercise regimen and is getting stronger every day.  Thanks for all the Graytag support!  Theda and

Bill went to Ft Walton Beach at the beginning of October to help son Chris (LtCol selectee) recover from Ivan.  Lots

of work. Son Bill, Jr. just moved to Houston where he has a retinal surgery practice, and he is also an associate

professor of physics at the University of Houston. Son Ted is in his third year of Veterinary School at Virginia Tech

and is doing a lot of operations on cows, etc., or so he tells them. Bill and Theda are so sorry we couldn't have "Redneck". 

Jimmy did a lot of work, which we all appreciate.

Bill Griffis was recently appointed to the position of Chairman within TEC International. TEC is an international

organization of CEOs who combine their knowledge and expertise to increase the performance -- business,

professional and personal -- of member companies. Bill will continue to be based in the Palm Beach, FL, area

(unless two more back-to-back hurricanes arrive, in which case all bets are off).

Lou Hablas has been dealing with the Department of the Air Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs on issues

related to disability pay for about a year. If any of you have a service-connected disability and do not know about

Concurrent Receipt or Combat Related Special Compensation, Lou would be happy to fill you in either by e-mail or

letter or telephone, whichever suits you.

Bob Heriza just entered the senior citizen population. He plans to end his job on December 31^st, after 20 years

working with the developmentally disabled. (Bob wanted to confirm that Hector was not one.) Bob begins receiving

Social Security on December 1^st if there is any money left in the fund. He plans to keep his hand in helping the

disabled but will only work when he wants. He plans to devote the rest of his time to skiing, mushroom hunting,

writing, and exploring Oregon. Bob’s wife, Judy, will retire in April 2005, and they will do the exploring together.

Bob hasn't had any surgeries to discuss with any of the class old folks. He’s looking forward to a winter get together

there in Baker City in 2010. Seventy and older ski free there at Anthony Lakes Resort.

Lowell Jones said that 10 of 12 expected showed for another great get-together in August. In attendance were: Bill

Foster (looking good for what he's been through), Steve Ho ( looking good for having to chase the market up and

down), Lowell (looking okay for what he hasn't been through), John Kohout (looking good in his working tie),

Hector Negroni (looking good for what he's still going through: on the wagon), Terry Norris (looking good and trim:

too much golf), Jim Rogers (looking good in his Tabasco tie), Bill Sanzenbacher (looking good as usual: but after

removing his cap, he looks like Hector and Lowell, and Stebbins too), Bill Stackhouse (looking good just like a

prosperous home builder), and Karl Whitaker (looking good as usual: none the worse for wear after his journey from

NJ). Jack McDonough was expected but had a legitimate excuse when his house flooded from a water heater

problem. Ron Muller was the other expected and will have to submit a good reason (other than work) to miss the

ultimate penalty. They talked about the upcoming Redneck Reunion; some had good excuses, like John Kohout and

Bill Sanzenbacher, who took some time after the lunch to do more planning for their October pilot training class

reunion in the DC area. Pete Lane and Jack Taylor will be in DC for that, as well. A great time had by all, as usual.

Jerry and Sue Lefton became grandparents for the first time on September 25^th. Their daughter Cindy gave birth to a

7lb 13oz baby boy-- Thomas Jacob Seputis. Baby, daughter, and father are all doing well. Jerry and Sue plan to visit

them during Thanksgiving week, but for now are off to Daytona for a week. They also have trips planned this fall for

Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, and Williamsburg. They will spend Christmas in Pinehurst and then make their winter

trip to Tucson for January, February, and part of March. They are gearing up for the 2005 Men's US Open on

Pinehurst #2 next June. Jerry will be working on the par 3 ninth hole.

Bob Kellock said that he can only report several sailboat races from Long Beach harbor to Santa Catalina and back,

a drive in his 2004 Prius from Long Beach to Montana and back for a week's vacation, and that he is still slaving

away for Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems' Air Force Systems' Airlift and Tanker Programs at Long Beach

Airport.

Jerry Mason has just completed three life-changing actions: (1) retiring from his environmental company and selling

to his employees, (2) fleeing Michigan winters for Tucson, and (3) reconnecting, through the magic of Google,

with his childhood and USAFA sweetheart Jo, to begin a new life together. (That whirring sound you hear is his head

spinning.) Their new address is 9001 E Rainsage, Tucson 85747.

Lee and Joanie McCleskey were busy in September and October buying and shipping Christmas presents. This had to

 be done early as two of their four children (and their spouses) and six of their nine grandchildren are living in Europe.

One is assigned to SHAPE Headquarters near Brussels and the other is with ExxonMobil in Hamburg, Germany. It

takes quite a while for the mail to reach them. Lee went through a 50,000 mile service by having Carpal Tunnel

surgery on both hands and cataract surgery on both eyes. (There must be something to that rumor about cataracts and

pulling G's.) All went well, and he's good for another 50,000! The anticipation is building as the end of January

approaches. At that time, Lee will retire from Texas A&M and join the ranks of those who have nothing to do--Ha!

 Lee and Joanie are both really looking forward to this next phase of life.

Doug McConnell has announced his retirement, scheduled for the end of the year. Doug has had an interesting and

varied career first as engineer in rocket motor production including the Minuteman and Apollo programs, owner of

an aerobatics flight training school (Flightways Sport Aviation) in Oakland, commercial test pilot (Champion Aircraft

and Bellanca Aircraft), Sales Manager at Piper Aircraft, air show stunt pilot, aerobatics competition pilot, President

of the International Aerobatic Club, and for the past 28 years in marketing and sales with Allis-Chalmers and

Caterpillar Corp. Wife Carol will continue as a Special Education teacher for two more years. Son Keith (Chicago)

is in Marketing with Motorola Cell Phone Division responsible for expansion in Asia, and Daughter Tricia, Hillsville,

 VA., is a College Professor currently working at home to raise two active boys. They have four grandchildren

(Chicago and Hillsville, VA), and also enjoy their second home on Wonderlake, IL for relaxation. Doug will be

attending his Mom's 100th birthday in Carmel, CA in December, and Mother-In-Law Nellie (who lives with Doug

and Carol) will be celebrating her 102nd birthday in January.... both ladies are still sharp and going strong! With a

little new free time, Doug looks forward to attending occasional USAFA football games and Graytag Class

get-togethers, such as the Redneck Reunion, in future years.

Charlie Moores, after two tours of duty spanning 35 years, has retired from Applied Dynamics Int'l and is headed

home to Austin, TX. The move to Austin won't really happen until spring of next year, so Charlie is trying to grow

enough hair on his body to survive one more Michigan winter. Chelsea (13) is sad to be leaving her friends from

dance and theater, but she and Maureen are both happy to be going home. Charlie's new e-mail is

crmoores@comcast.net He joined ADI in 1963 right out of Arizona State University (BSEE) and stayed with them

in Michigan until 1971. He then moved to Austin with Tracor and later was one of the founders of Collimation, Inc

(optically encoded keyboards for Tempest-type environments). ADI bought Collimation in 1977, so he was then back

with ADI but still in Texas. In 1988, a sudden death in the home office (Ann Arbor) created a need that Charlie agreed

to fill for a short time; he promised at least 6 months, and they promised he could leave within 9 months. Now, some

16 years later, his nine months are finally up! Austin has been home since 1971 and he can guarantee that a bad day

there is still better than a good day anywhere else!

Charlie and Lynda Neel just had a great weekend in Colorado Springs, starting with an exciting football game on

Thursday. Terry Storm also reported on these events, so the following combines their reports. Halftime included a

tribute to Ben Martin. Too bad that Navy beat Air Force in the last few seconds of the game with a field goal! But

Jim and Nancy Wilhelm were great hosts as always for a tailgate party attended by Jim and Peggy Hinkle, Dean

and Jo Jones, Worth and Joan McCue, Charlie and Lynda Neel, Earl and Lillie Saunders (Earl cooked up his world

 famous chili for all), Terry and Carleen Storm. Also, from out of town, Jim Ulm,

Mark Anderson stopped by, and Tom and Judy Wilson came in from Minnesota. Only thing that would have been

better would have been a win! Friday night most of the above couples were joined by Dick and Trel Coppock, Tom

and Anne Eller, and Tom and Susan Conley for dinner at a local restaurant. They closed the restaurant down after a

great evening of good food, wine, and great company. The Neels plan to join some other members of our class for the

trip to West Point for the AF-Army game on November 6th. Beat Army! All is well with Charlie and Lynda, and they

are looking forward to having their daughter Kris, husband Kevin Tibbs (Lt.Col., class of 1986) and their two

grandchildren, Spencer 13 and Erinn 11, move to Albuquerque, NM, in December. Much closer to them than their

last five years in Little Rock, AR.

Al and Becky Nunn celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at their home in Raleigh, NC, this past August 2^nd

(how time flies) with a renewal of their marriage vows. The Mistress of Honor was their daughter, Ashley, who flew

in from San Francisco for the event. Officiating was their Pastor, Monsignor "Tim" O'Connor. To witness the event

and help them celebrate were some 60 friends from the Raleigh area." Al's squadron (VMA-225) from his Viet Nam

days is having its 39^th annual reunion at a special celebratory weekend to be held at Marine Corps Air Station

Cherry Point the weekend of October 21-24. Though one of their members, Bill Sealock, cannot attend because he is

now serving as Communications Specialist supporting the war effort in Iraq, he plans on placing a telephone call

from Iraq during the Squadron's formal "Dining In" Saturday evening so that he can be among his mates. As Bill

states, "Our ranks are thinning. I wouldn't miss this reunion." Al and Becky anticipate hosting the event two years

hence at their summer home in Kilmarnock, Virginia. Coincidentally, Becky celebrates her 39^th birthday for the 22^nd

time at the midpoint of the reunion, October 23^rd.

Charlie and Sarah Stebbins celebrated the 50th anniversary of their first date on October 1^st!

Byron Theurer said that this quarter has been more eventful than usual. Early in July he was elected Chair of the San

Luis Obispo Chapter of SCORE (Service Corps Of Retired Executives, America's counselors to small business). In

mid-August the national SCORE office sponsored an orientation conference for new chapter chairs... in Portland, ME.

The New England coast is one of the few parts of the country that he had never seen, and he was frankly eager to go.

Since Byron’s reluctant to fly in somebody else's airplane, he planned to drive. Pat is no stranger to long-haul motor

travel, but she thought a 7,000-mile round trip a bit extreme. The compromise that they adopted was for him to drive

to Portland solo, attend the conference, and start back. Pat flew to Columbus, OH, where Byron’s daughter Karen,

son-in-law Bill, and four granddaughters live, and met Byron. They continued home through Denver, where they

visited with Pat's family. Working with SCORE promises to make a major dent in Byron’s spare time and may even

keep him from his air superiority sweeps over Tehachapi. In September Byron’s son Bill and daughter-in-law

Lennie presented him with his sixth grandchild and first grandson. The myth continues that fighter pilots only have

daughters, even unto the third generation.

Roger and Mary Sue Woodbury visited Nelson and Teri O’Rear for a few days in August. They had been visiting

family west of Indiana and were on their way home. Everyone had a great time catching up on what they and their

families have each done the last few decades. Roger confirmed that Butch Harmon is still the same person that they

knew more than 30 years ago. They recently saw and visited with him to confirm that. Roger, Mary Sue, and Nelson

got to the golf course only once but had a good time. (Teri does not golf.) Mary Sue and Roger spent a week on

Martha's Vineyard recently with a high school buddy and his wife, plus their friends from Quebec. They then spent

another few days in Vermont with the same Canadians. Roger bought some new golf clubs, and they played a lot of

golf. (Sounds like he may want to up our bet next time.)

Gayle Zompa reports that she was disappointed that Ivan ruined the Redneck Riviera gathering. She is still thinking

about moving back to Colorado Springs.

Nelson and Teri O’Rear are still having a great time with their grandchildren. After Hurricane Ivan, they talked with

 their AF son, Brian, who is in Montgomery attending Air War College. He said that their family spent the night when

Ivan came through sleeping in their hallway. Their 4- and 6-year-old sons thought that was a ball. And, to top it off,

they HAD to eat all the ice cream for lunch the next day because they had lost electricity! Oh, to keep the perspective

of children. It’s always an adventure.

Thanks to all who contributed for sharing a bit of your lives with the rest of us. It helps us all keep in touch.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Spring

2004                                                                                                                                                            

On 8-9 April, Mark and Ginger Anderson will be taking in the Masters Golf

Tournament at Augusta National. This is a first for them.a "once in a lifetime"

opportunity that they're really looking forward to. Over the last several years Jack Bright

has had a strong desire to see his navigator, Art Fisher (a 67 USAFA graduate), who

flew almost 200 missions with him in Vietnam. They finally got together after making

contact again. Jack went to Melbourne, FL, where Art presently lives. They spent a

weekend telling stories and having fun. Jack said that it was absolutely GREAT (even

though Art waxed him in their golf outing). Jack admires and respects Art, perhaps

affected by the fact that he saved Jack.s life on a dive bombing mission they flew

together in Laos one night. But more than that, Art, and the way he has lived his life, are

a real credit to all of us. Thanks, Art.

Gordon Clarke sent a short note to let us know that in mid-December he joined

the ranks of the "retired". Soon thereafter, on December 17th (how appropriate is that

date), their son and daughter-in-law in Plainview, TX, presented Gordon and Peggy with

twin grandsons. They could not have had a more wonderful Christmas gift. They are all

doing fine. Peggy and Gordon are busy with lots of family projects and plan to be in

College Station for the foreseeable future. Dick Davis recently put his horse in remedial

training for trailer loading. She came out of it well, and there are many offsite state trail

locations for them to ride, which are within easy reach. She had become trailer phobic

after he moved her from Texas to California. So it is a new dimension in their ability to

do things.

Bill and Theda Foster are ecstatic about the birth and baptism of their third

grandchild, Jacob Anthony, son of Veterinarian student Ted and his wife, Lori. On

March 6, Jacob was baptized with a full pitcher of water, so the priest must think he will

be a swimmer, not a track or soccer star. Pilot son Chris is busy flying the latest Red

Flag exercise in his F-15C at Nellis AFB. Jerry Gill writes that this year.s Annual

USAFA .61 Ski Utah event was the best ever! The snow and weather were spectacular

and the camaraderie was meaningful. Bob and Janice Brickey were their gracious hosts,

and their intense planning and preparation made the week pleasant, busy, and fun. They

stayed in Sam Hardage.s superb Chase Suites, and his staff took great care of them

although Sam had to cancel at the last moment because of a family illness. The high

point was an incredible 6-course, 15-wine dinner with our own winemaker, Brice Jones.

Jerry said that he doubts that any of us have ever had a more splendid meal, nor that they

will ever forget it. If Brice ever learns how to entertain, maybe he.ll be successful.

Attendees were: Mark and Ginger Anderson, Sam Barazzone, Stu and Marnie Boyd,

Bob and Jan Brickey, Clair and Mary Kay Carling, Jerry and Dorothy Gill, Bruce and

Pat Hines, Jim Hinkle, Brice Jones, George and Kathy McNulty, and Neal and Gwen

Westbrook. Bob and Jan's sons, daughter and their spouses (David and Stacie Brickey,

Tom and Heidi Brickey, and Ben and Andrea Phillips) also attended. (Picture of

.attendees at our class web site.)

A new grand-daughter of Bill and Linda Griffis entered the world on February 9,

2004. Her name is Isabelle Pei Qi Griffis, and she is the daughter of son Rob Griffis and

his wife Lee Chin Phmah, who reside in the San Francisco Bay area. Isabelle weighed in

at 6 lbs, 14 oz and was all of 19" tall. This new development brings the total of Griffis

grandchildren to 3: David (5) and Emma (2) are the children of John and Jennifer Griffis,

who reside in Camarillo, CA. John (West Point .88, Harvard MBA) had been doing

M&A work in Los Angeles, but has rejoined the Army and is training Iraq-bound troops

at Ft. Irwin, CA. The remaining holdout is Mark Griffis (still a bachelor) who began a

new sales position with Cross-Match Technologies (fingerprint-based security systems)

in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, last summer.

Lou Hablas says that in the 2004 Defense Authorization Act, the Republican

Congress joined with President Bush to partially reverse a 100-year-old policy of taking a

dollar out of the retirement pay of each disabled veteran for each dollar received in

disability pay. This change applies to veterans with 50% or higher disability and is being

phased in over a ten-year period. In addition, each branch of the Armed Forces is

currently evaluating disabled veterans who may have been disabled by combat or

combat-related activities, which could result in even more disability pay on a faster

schedule than the system just mentioned. Lou thinks what the DOD and the VA are

doing to try to take care of veterans is big, and he strongly disagrees with others trying to

take political advantage at the present expense of President Bush, who has helped make

this happen.

Gene Hopp can offer help to anyone researching their family tree. He's managed

to trace most of his lines back to well before 1800 but has had particular success in

tracking down present day relatives... 3rd through even 5th cousins... in Germany. After

two trips to Europe, he.s now on a first name basis including getting some of them to

visit the USA.Dean Jones said that he is trying to semi-retire so he can compete with

Wayne in golf, but not doing a very good job of either right now. Jo and his family are

fine, and they are excited by the addition of new grandchild, Remi Alexandra Jones, a

Leap Year baby born to their son, Bradley, and his wife, Tamra. All are doing well. They

are also looking forward to Gary and Beth (their daughter) and three sons moving to

Colorado Springs when Gary retires after 20 years in the US Army. He.s now completing

a tour as PAS of four colleges near Ft. Leavenworth. Lowell and Sandy Jones just

returned from their six-week Florida trip. They said that they had a great time in "cool"

Florida. I assume that they are referring to the temperatures.

Wayne Jones joined several other USAFA grads to watch our amazing basketball

team defeat San Diego State this winter. The USAFA team stood in a very straight line at

ram-rod attention during the National Anthem until the last note was played; meanwhile,

SDSU remained in the dressing room, so that they could make a big-deal screaming

entrance onto the floor at the end of the anthem. It was so gross that even the local

sportswriters made special mention of it..."the team with the most class and discipline

won the game last night". Wayne and the others were surely proud of the great USAFA

team this year!

Bob Kellock is still working and playing. He is working for Boeing IDS-LB

T&E and playing by running sailboat regattas about six times a year. And he still has

time to visit his daughter in Phoenix, with his son from C-Springs, for the last Angel's

spring training game and the Diamondbacks' first exhibition game of the year in the

BOB. He.s still trying to find the right words, and best place to put them, to get the

Academy to re-establish itself as the training and education ground for responsible,

unselfish, career Air Force officers for this great Nation of ours! There's simply too

much stuff, now, in the way of the real reason for having an Academy in the first place.

Bob says that we've gone too far away from the basic premise we started with, one that

was based upon all of our lessons learned from the other Academies and officer training

institutions, as begun by the Air Training Officers. Too many folks, who did not have

new ideas, following somebody's need to fix something that wasn't broken, usually in a

well-meant effort, have clouded the things officers are supposed to be and do: Lead

organizations on military missions in a just and legal manner. We've had the public trust,

resources, and authority to do what we're supposed to do, and been expected not to do the

things that we're not supposed to do. For many of us, that wasn't hard, was it! Why is it

that some must do things differently, trying to gain or lose something that's not in the

basic equation? Bob says that he hopes that our Class of '61 retains the leadership

characteristics to find a way to go forward, get the AOG on track, and find ourselves and

the right track again. He doesn't think we should bail out. It's too easy and leave the

field to those with less understanding than we have of the purpose and responsibilities of

the career Air Force officer. In February, Bob accepted an invitation (left over from

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas) and visited friends in Austin, Texas. He now knows what

Hill Country is, and he likes it a lot. As he points out, the Colorado River starts just

southeast of Lubbock (Bob went to Reese AFB), at the edge of the cap rock, and is

dammed to form several lakes in and northwest of Austin. He was surprised, amazed,

and pleased with all the water and boats. And it's not far from Fredericksburg's museum

and San Antonio's River walk. He'll be back and plans to warn the appropriate targets

before he goes. Pete and Patty Lane, their son, Mark, his spouse, Mary and their three

children received a dose of Brickey hospitality during the Spring Break at their beautiful

cabin in Soliture, Utah. Bob and Jan were great hosts for the Lane clan, who loved the

skiing and the war stories. Lee and Joanie McCleskey returned in late March from a

week in northwest Arkansas where they "test flew" their new travel trailer. It was truly

wonderful, and they're really looking forward to the time (probably next year) when they

can use it without regard to leave balance, work hours, etc. It's hard to beat waking to the

sounds of ducks, geese, and other wildlife you see as you're looking out over the lake!

It's even better than going to work! Charlie Moores is still avoiding retirement and still

"temporarily" in Michigan. This 6 - 9 month TDY stint has now passed 16 years with no

end firmly set as yet. Texas is still home, and American Airlines is the primary

beneficiary of the displacement. Travel around the US, Europe, and sometimes Asia is

also part of the normal business activity for Charlie. Other travel for Charlie and Maureen

includes shuttling Chelsea (12 year old daughter) to dance competitions plus all the

regular activities.violin, dance, voice, dance, piano, dance, karate, etc. along with home

schooling activities. Oldest son, Mike, recently returned to the US from Buenos Aires

with his family including new daughter, Michelle.Hector Negroni, John Kohout, Jack

McDonough, and Twy Williams represented the Class of 1961 at the Air Force

Academy Foundation.s 50th Anniversary, sponsored by the Air Force Academy Society

of Washington DC. They were voted to be the oldest; therefore, they did not score.After

a great Centennial Celebration at Kitty Hawk in December with many friends, Lynda and

Charlie Neel started out the New Year with Carl and Charlene Granberry in Winona,

TX. They had a great visit. They continue to travel with friends and family about once a

month. Having just finished a week of skiing in March at Beaver Creek, CO, they were

off to Cozumel to scuba and snorkel for 10 days in April. Maybe by their return to

Colorado they will be having some warm weather so that can play a little golf. Rough

life, this retirement.

Terry Norris said that he saw something somewhere about someone claiming a

record on grandchildren. He now has 12 grandchildren, which could be in the running.

(I told Terry that the Sutton.s will undoubtedly hold the title if they don.t already.)

Sandy has gone back to work as a civil servant, heading up a team which formulates the

$4.5 billion Army National Guard budget for presentation to Congress. Now that she is

making the money, Terry is still playing lots of golf. Anyone visiting close to the

Fredericksburg area should drop in and play one of the premier golf courses in Virginia

with him. (Darrell Koerner and I took him up on his offer several years ago and really

enjoyed the golf, but especially Terry and Sandy.s hospitality.) Sandy has bought them a

nice little getaway in Myrtle Beach, so everyone is also invited to let them know if you

plan on being in the Myrtle Beach area. When he wrote, Al and Becky Nunn had just

returned today from Quantico, where nephew Joshua Nunn graduated from TBS (The

Basic School). They are very proud of him. The course is for new Marine Corps officers.

(Two Naval Academy graduates were in his graduating class; the course lasted six

months.) Josh. already a Third Degree Black Belt Karate guy, is completing the

Martial Arts Instructor course at Quantico and will be instructing "silent kill" and other

defense techniques. He will also be instructing "Leathernecks," the term applied to Naval

Academy midshipmen who are considering a commission in the Marine Corps upon

graduation. He then goes to six months Communication Officer's School before being

assigned to Camp LeJeune for the next three years. "The Swamp," or "Swamp LeJeune,"

as it's referred to, is about 2 hours driving time from Raleigh. Al and Becky will be

attending their daughter's Honors and graduation ceremonies April 28-May 1 at Notre

Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA (just outside San Francisco). She has

completed her studies for her Master of Arts degree as a Marriage and Family Therapist

and Art Therapist (MAFT), receiving honors and being tapped into Delta Epsilon Sigma

(national scholastic honorary society) on April 28th and "taking her walk" on May 1st.

She has been working with clinics on salvaging the lives of troubled teenagers, most of

whom have severe psychological problems resulting from parental abuse. They are quite

proud of her. It has been quite a grind, returning to school at the graduate level after

receiving her BA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1994. She anticipates

working with traumatized refugee children who escaped to India from China-controlled

Tibet.

Nelson and Teri O'Rear are continuing to enjoy life in northern Indiana. He has

managed to golf eight times this March, and the winter was fairly mild. Teri just returned

from spending a week in California with her two sisters. Nelson watched the news every

night to catch sight of them, but either they didn't do anything newsworthy, or they didn't

get caught. A couple of months ago, Nelson and Teri enjoyed 10 days in Spain and

Portugal. They found Barcelona particularly interesting. While the food, in general, was

quite good, the calamari was outstanding. John Payne said that he has been hunting the

past few months. He has also been keeping in touch with classmates at least once a

quarter as part of our informal class care system. John's big news is that in December,

after flying solo for almost six years, he asked Betty Ann Stringer of Lucedale, MS, to

marry him. (The holidays are always a dangerous time!) The wedding is on May 22nd,

and all local classmates are invited. They will be at home in southern Mississippi. She

loves to travel. Their first outing will probably be our next Orange Beach rendezvous.

Jimmy Poole says that the October 2004 Gray Tag Redneck Riviera Beach Weekend

Dates are October 1-4 (Friday afternoon through Monday morning), 3 nights, at an

approximate cost of $335 per couple for the weekend, which includes lodging and

miscellaneous other things. As of March 10th, they had 15 confirmed names for the

beach homes for the weekend, 3 in the Negroni condo, and 1 in an RV. The rental homes

are the major planning factor for the weekend, and Jimmy needs to hear NLT May 1st

from those who wish to stay in a beach home. You can contact Jimmy at

jpoolejr@knology.net or 334-272-1863 if you want to attend. Bill and Rhoda Stackhouse

are looking for a place to rent near the home they are building. They sold their house in

Vienna, so Bill's now sleeping with a homeless grandmother. Their new house is getting

the sheetrock finished. The flooring was due to arrive on Friday, April 2nd. Bill and his

crew still have lots more to do on it, but the light is beginning to show down the line.

And, just to make things even more interesting and challenging, Bill has started a new

project under his flag of Hickory Cove LLC. His new project is a 2500 ft2 addition with

a detached 'shed' for a friend. The shed is a 3 bay 30.x39. garage with 12' ceilings. Sarah

and Charlie Stebbins hosted a couple of '61ers at their West Virginia retirement home.

Sharon and Thom Schutt dropped by for lunch on their way to Michigan, and John

Boesch spent a couple of nights while on family business in Charleston. Charlie and

Sarah asked to pass the word that they enjoy visitors, and rates are reasonable. Indoor

plumbing might be a concern, however,Byron Theurer just celebrated in March one of

the more pleasant days in his own history of aviation. He soloed the Grob 103, a big

(1200 pound), fast (100 knot), fiberglass sailplane. It was harder than it looked. You know

those nose-wheel steering pedal things that your feet rest on in military airplanes; well,

glider pilots use them to move the rudder, you know, the wiggly thing back of the vertical

stabilizer. If you don't wiggle it adroitly, the airplane flies like a very wobbly goblin

indeed. Well, you do whatever it takes to maintain air superiority over Tehachapi. Tom

and Judy Wilson were enjoying their 3-week vacation in Sarasota. They especially

enjoyed looking out every morning at the Gulf. It is so gorgeous! Tom said that he

thinks that they could get used to that. All is well with them, with April and May looking

especially busy for them. Life is good. Roger Woodbury said that the wedding of Sandi

(their daughter) and Scott went wonderfully in November. All several hundred people

seemed to have a great time. People from 11 states and Canada attended. Their other

daughter (Michele) and her husband (Paul) have gotten things squared with the

Recruiting Service, and Paul will be commissioned in the Air Force on April 2nd. Roger

has the great honor of pinning on his rank at Maxwell AFB. He will attend

Communications Officers school in June, with a permanent assignment at Hill AFB.

Michele was also accepted for the program with an April start (Air Battle Staff

Management), but she has decided to delay entry. They feel it's better to start their

marriage together, so they'll both be at Hill AFB. Michele plans to get her Masters in

Business while they are there and then look at the Air Force again. Of course, Hill's a

great place for Roger and Mary Sue to visit, and they intend to. Roger finishes his

second career of teaching and will begin his second retirement on April 1st. They are still

planning to get to Indiana for our golf game. Their reservation is waiting.

Gayle said that another Zompa has made his grand entrance. Blake Edward

Willert was born March 10 to Ed and Gayle's daughter Kristen and her husband, Craig, in

Boulder, Colorado. Of course he is the cutest little guy around. Gayle says that is just

one more reason to visit Colorado, so stay alert for her if you are also in that area.

Winter 2004

Lee Bodenhamer had the privilege of being a guest on Wednesday, 5 November, in Abilene, TX, at the swearing in and enrobing of Philip R. Lane to the position of Federal Magistrate Judge of the Northern District of Texas.  Nancy did the enrobing.  Their son David led the Pledge of Allegiance.  It was a memorable and happy event.  All assembled agreed that it is a great omen to see men of Philip's integrity and wisdom to be appointed to the Judiciary Branch of our great nation.

Stu Boyd and Bob Brickey are providing another opportunity to get together, with the annual ski weekend, on February 23-26.  This year you will be staying in Salt Lake City, 30 minutes away from seven major ski resorts, as well as near art galleries, museums, LDS Temple Square, shopping, restaurants, and theaters—all within walking distance or by Trax train.  Non-skiers can share activities at the resorts or enjoy the sights and activities of Salt Lake City.  If you are interested and have not received information from them or just want to talk about the weekend, contact Bob at 801-484-7308 or e-mail bobnjan2002@earthlink.net, or Stu at 801-544-2106 or e-mail <stuboyd@surfmk.com>.

Jack Bright visited John and Casey Goodley in San Antonio for a couple of days and had a great time. The guys were able to get in a round of golf and had a lot of fun looking for lost golf balls.  Jack said that he didn't embarrass himself too much and even scored more "points" than John.

C.G. and Janell Carson traveled to Norway in May to visit a friend he went to pilot training with. The scenery was incredible along the western coast of Norway as they traveled for three days on Norway’s coastal voyage to the top of the world. In September, they went to San Diego for daughter Christina’s wedding to Tim Becker. Janell still works as a software test engineer. She loves her job and the challenges that it offers. Plus, it gets her out of the house allowing CG to be unsupervised all day. He is still unemployed, but stays busy with various non-threatening activities.

Dick Fairlamb attended the festivities at Kitty Hawk, NC, celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Wright brothers first flight on December 17^th.  He saw Dean Jones, who was there with Charlie Neel.  Randy Cubero was expected but not seen as of the Wednesday/12/17 festivities.  He said that he had seen a number of other USAFA graduates there, but thinks that ours was the most senior Class represented at Kitty Hawk.

Lou and Kate Hablas were in Virginia visiting his son and daughter and their families when hurricane Isabel hit. They both lost power for a couple of days, but there was no greater damage than that.  In October, they went to Alpharetta, GA (just outside of Atlanta) to visit Lou’s older son, Lou, and his family.  They had a nice couple of days there, then went to Asheville, NC to visit Kate's aunt and uncle, another pleasant respite.  The highlight of the fall season was a trip to Pleasanton, CA (between San Jose and San Francisco) to attend the wedding of Lou’s 45 year old niece (her first!) and at the same time experience a mini reunion with all but one of Lou’s siblings (there are six) and many of his other nieces and nephews. While they were in the area, they visited his old high school in San Jose, and they also drove through the campus of Stanford University, which is where Lou was headed had he not received his appointment to the Academy.  That was all new and interesting to Kate, but it was just very nostalgic to Lou.  At Thanksgiving they hosted 42 of Kate's family for a traditional family day of food and games.  For Christmas they expect to spend Christmas Eve with Kate's mom and dad and her immediate family and then attend evening church services.  On Christmas day they will drive to Indianapolis to celebrate with Kate's daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, and on the Sunday after

Christmas, Lou’s daughter-in-law is driving out from Virginia with Lou’s two oldest grandchildren, Alex and Samantha.  On New Year's Eve they plan to be in church thanking God for all He has given them this year.  Lou’s health is relatively good.  He did have rotator cuff surgery last June, and he may need to have the other shoulder done next year, but he has a good surgeon, so it's not something he worries about.

            Bruce Hinds reports that his son is now a professor at the University of Kentucky after a three year National Science Foundation fellowship at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.  He married Casey Legler, USAFA '91 and a C-130 pilot.  They now have one daughter and another child in progress. (It seems Bruce told his daughter about the ways of Air Force pilots but neglected to tell his son, and he married one).  They are doing great in Lexington, Kentucky.  Bruce also e-mailed an article from the Lexington Herald Leader, which featured his son and the impressive work he and his team are doing.  The following is from the lead paragraph, “Researchers at the University of Kentucky have found a way to fashion an exotic form of carbon into specialized membranes that could lead to new drug delivery systems for medical patients, highly efficient filters or improved fuel cells to power automobiles.”  For further information, contact Bruce, or you can access the article at www.kentucky.com (28 November issue).

            Henry and Peggy Howe have begun the transition into a new home in Denton, TX. The

movers filled the house and garage with boxes on a Friday.  By Sunday, they had mouse trails enough through the cartons so they could answer the front door and find a bed. It was a good thing since on Sunday afternoon the door bell rang, and Pete and Patty Lane stood there with a welcome gift of freshly baked muffins. It was great to see them again and wonderful to know the

class is a great bunch of comrades. Henry is looking forward to getting the local classmates around the hot tub - maybe even before all of the boxes are gone.  Note the new home phone below. Email addresses will not change for now. Their new address is: 1420 Hidden Oaks Circle, Denton TX 76210. Both of Henry’s children will be with them for the holidays. (He hopes they like unpacking boxes!)

            In case you wondered what Brice Jones has been doing, now that he no longer hosts the World Croquet Championships, the Press Democrat ran an article detailing his new November charitable event: the Hospices of Sonoma, which raised $200,000.  Brice is modeling this activity on Burgundy's famed Hospices de Beaune event as his foundation’s new fund-raiser.  Saturday's live auction, the weekend's main event, was at Brice’s' new winery, goldridgepinot in Sebastopol.  More than 250 bidders vied for half-barrels of 2003 Pinot Noir from 24 producers. Brice, a foundation trustee, wants to expand the annual event to see most of the wineries in the Sonoma Coast participate and raise $5 million annually for the charities the foundation supports for children in life-threatening circumstances, such as the Polly Klaas Foundation. Some of the money raised this year will help build a house near Sutter Medical Center for indigent families with sick children.  Brice said that he expects it will take a few years to reach the fundraising goal he has set.  Their next event is scheduled for 12-14 November. 

            Lowell Jones reports that on 20 November, our DC-area contingent gathered for lunch. Luncheon.  Attendees were: Charlie Dixon, Bill Foster, Steve Ho, Lowell Jones, Hector Negroni, Terry Norris, Jim Rogers, Bill Sanzenbacher, and Karl Whitaker. Everyone looked and

sounded hale and hearty, and they had a great time, as usual.  The golf course at Fawn Lake was too wet, so Terry Norris and Bill Sanzenbacher finally made a luncheon.  Faithful Karl Whitaker made the trek from New Jersey again.  Steve Ho tore himself away from playing the market on the computer.  After eating all of his Mexican lunch, Bill Foster said he was going out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Ouch!  Jim Rogers (the only attendee with a steady job) wore a colorful tie—on which he spilled something.  Charlie Dixon, Lowell Jones, and Hector Negroni kept

their admirable attendance records in tact. 

            Several have asked about Wayne and Mary Jones’ status after the big wildfires in the San Diego area.  They were very fortunate that their home survived the worst firestorm in California history.  It swirled around two sides of them and burned the chaparral to within 50 feet of their lot boundary.  That's as close as they ever want to get.  A total of 25 homes were lost in their valley, which was bad enough, but the enormous losses in other communities were unbelievable!  Their church volunteers have been assisting Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse organization in cleaning debris from burned homes in the Crest area, and it's a heartbreaking tragedy for hundreds of poor folks.

            Larry Karnowski sent me a note saying that if I wanted help with my golf swing—whereupon I became very interested—he couldn’t help!  How’s that for a let-down?  Then, he told about how he and Jim Wilhelm had great rounds of 73 and 71, which could have been even better if the windmill blades and the alligator’s mouth had been kinder to their games.  It sounds as if he has recovered from his medical problems earlier this year and is again enjoying living on Polish Pond in Ohio.

            Art Kerr said that 2003 has passed by relatively uneventfully and very rapidly.  He is still working at the University of Washington (UW), and he recycles his pay back into UW for his daughter—a UW student.  One more daughter should be ready for UW in a couple of years.  Most of the rest of his pay goes to USAA for car insurance since both daughters have filled their squares for totaling cars—not that he hasn’t done his fair share, too.  Art has also recently completed our most recent class milestone: signing up for Medicare.

            Jerry and Sue Lefton arrived in Tucson on 21 December.  They are staying with their son

David until the first of March.  They left Pinehurst on the 14th to go to Hilton Head and drove

directly from Hilton Head to Tucson.

Doug and Carol McConnell just completed their first full summer in their "new" lake home in Wonder Lake, IL (about 40 miles NW of Chicago).  Carol is a teacher with summers off, and Doug continues to enjoy "office in the home" privileges, so they can be at the lake in the summer.  Their permanent home has been in Olympia Fields, IL (about 40 miles south of Chicago) for the past 27 years.  For fun, Doug has owned and flown a brand new Champion Decathlon (which he helped design and introduce in 1970), and competed in aerobatics competitions all around the Midwest.  He is also a recent Past President of the International Aerobatic Club and recent past Director for the EAA, National Aeronautic Association, and US Aerobatic Foundation. They also enjoy Carol's 100-year-old mom (Nellie), who lives with them and is still very active.  Side-note:  Nellie was recognized and honored this summer by the EAA and National Aviation Foundation for being hired by Ford Motor Co. in 1927 to serve as a hostess for the unveiling and first tour of the Ford Trimotor.

Jimmy Poole said that the 8th annual Gray Tag “Redneck Riviera” beach weekend is scheduled for Oct 1-2-3-4 in Orange Beach, Alabama. This is the weekend before the Columbus Day weekend and is one week earlier than it was in 2003.  The Orange Beach area is a piece of heaven on earth: white sand beaches / warm water / homes right on the beach with 2 pools / 15 golf courses in the area / great eating / deep-sea fishing / shopping at one of the largest discount malls in the US / historic sites to visit / plus fun together.  If you want to know about the last one, you can read about it at our Class Web Site.  Everyone said they had a great time.  Jimmy would appreciate a response from you by March 15th about this reunion if you are even considering attending so that he can begin the necessary planning. We had a wonderful time last year and look forward to seeing many of you this next year. The nice homes get reserved early, and he can get additional homes nearby if he has your intentions early on.  You can contact Jimmy via e-mail jpoolejr@knology.net, or by telephone: 334-272-1863 (H), 334-271-1305 (F).

Dennis Ray earned his MA and PhD from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver, taught as a professor at California State University at Los Angeles in '73 and then began teaching in an executive MBA International program as an adjunct professor in '75.  He was VP for international marketing for a small U.S. manufacturing firm focusing on the Asia-Pacific for a year and formed his own export management company but never quite left the academic world. He shifted career focus in '85 from social science to business.  His field research in entrepreneurship is based on Singapore and Vietnam.  Dennis is now 3M Chair of Global Strategy at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, teaching entrepreneurship, international business, and strategy courses. Bicycle touring has been the source of his greatest life experiences.  Dennis also coached and played soccer from '76 to '90.

Mike and Ginny Rawlins have another grandson in their combined family.  On their way home from the "Redneck Riviera" reunion in early October they delayed their change of airplanes in Atlanta to meet a new grandson, Cody Patrick Rawlins, born 28 September.  He is the first boy on Mike’s side of the family, whereas, Ginny's daughter has two boys.  Together, they have four children and seven grandchildren.  Cody's dad, Mike’s son Scott is the ticket manager for "Bell South Classic", the PGA tour golf tournament held in Atlanta the last week in March each year.  Mike is still flying a "Falcon 10" out of Easton MD but only several days a month for now.  Effectively, he is now a "Man of Leisure".  His tennis is improving, but he can't touch his two sons in golf.  They shoot 80+/-2, while he can just barely break 100.  Ginny is still working full time for a commercial contractor who builds all over the US and Puerto Rico as their Industry Compliance Officer.   She makes sure they are properly licensed, registered and taxed appropriately in each state where they are building.  Somebody has to work full time in their house to keep Mike supplied with tennis balls! They were visited the first week of December by Jerry and Sue Lefton who were in Williamsburg with some friends for the week and enjoyed dinner with them two nights that week.  Mike may be the only class member still flying for somewhat of a living.  Anyone else?

Neal Westbrook sends along the following for those who are interested in road trips:  He and Gwen took their two 12-year old grandsons on a road trip up the Missouri River this past summer following the Lewis and Clark (L&C) Trail—2300 miles from St Louis to Three Forks, MT.  If a road went along the river, they took it, through cornfield and forest, prairie and city.  States along the way are really getting into L&C, and 2004 will be even better.  Read Undaunted Courage, and take a copy of L&C's journal with you.  That'll let you know where the mosquitoes are.

            Tom Wilson’s father passed away on December 13, 2003.  It was quick, and they believe he did not suffer.  At 91, he still lived at home and was alone at the time.  They were blessed that God shared him with them for such a long time.  One Thomas leaves and another arrives.  Tom and Judy’s youngest son, Todd, and his wife, Jaimi, presented them on December 16th with grandchild #9, Jace Thomas Wilson.  For the ladies: 7:12 am, 6# 14 oz., 20 and 1/2 inches.  They feel truly Blessed !!  Y'all come to Minnesota...

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Fall 2003

            According to Stu Boyd, the annual February ski event will be the weekend following Presidents’ Day, with the details provided later.  He is now siding a barn, designing a house, training a horse, harvesting his hay, fixing his tractor, fighting the state “tree-huggers”, working with marriages (counseling and teaching workshops), serving as a Lt Col (Chaplain) in the Civil Air Patrol, providing “fill in help” to the Hill AFB Chapel, and working as a half time pastor.

            While Dave Carlstrom was attending the marriage of an Irish nephew to a French woman this summer, he stopped at a French bank to buy Euros.  He was surprised when the young Frenchman teller wished him a Happy 4^th of July.  Some bonds still exist.  He and Lilly flew to and from Europe on a C-17 via space-A between Dover AFB and Ramstein.  On the way over, the Zoomie co-pilot was amazed that Dave was a navigator and delighted in showing him the small black box that had replaced him.  He also decided that Dave was doubly obsolete after  learning that he was a ‘61 Zoomie.  On the way home, Dave and Lilly kept getting bumped by GI's coming out of the desert, but that was a pleasure.  Those guys were terrific.

            Bill Foster and a ‘61 group of 19 went to the Navy game on October 4^th at FEDEX Field (Redskins Stadium).  He and Theda hosted the post-game party.

            When Jerry Gill retired again, a year ago, Dorothy mentioned that their overseas assignments had caused them to see more of the rest of the world than North America. During the past year, they have corrected that!  They started with an Alaskan cruise in September 2002 with Jimmy and Susan Poole.  In addition to other travel, they also recently returned from a small ship cruise to Halifax, many spots in between, and New York City. The weather was gorgeous, and cruising down the Hudson River and around Lady Liberty was awesome.

            Bill and Linda Griffis and their son Mark traveled to Piedmont, CA, in September for their son Robert's marriage.  The bride manages an international flower business, so they had plenty of beautiful orchids at the wedding.

            Late Friday, September 12^th, Henry Howe’s Air Force daughter, Captain Tricia Paulsen-Howe, called to ask if he could travel to the Pentagon on Monday the 15^th to attend an Air Force Association meeting.  He traveled with her on Monday and accompanied her to the Chief’s office on Tuesday. They were escorted, along with four other “heroes” as the Chief called them, to the AFA gathering where many Air Chiefs from many different countries were gathered.  Henry and his daughter were recognized for their family contribution.  It is good to see our military getting the public recognition for their service in SWA that was lacking for SEA.

            In July, Dean and Wayne Jones, their wives, and other family members cruised the "Mexican Riviera", with stops at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Great food, entertainment, relaxation, and sightseeing!

            Bob Kellock has been on a Boeing IDS Working Group to address and implement a "mission assurance" feature for IDS programs.  He still doesn't see retirement, but it must not be too far away!

            Hector and Joan Negroni and Charlie and Sarah Stebbins visited Brice Jones and Susan Porth in their Orleans area residence (Cape Cod) in August.  The first evening they dined at Chatham House, a gourmet restaurant operated by Tom and Mimi Skilling. The next day, Brice and Susan outfitted their boat and took their guests to the eastern reaches of the Cape to gaze at the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean.  Brice was the only one brave enough to get into the 67 degree waters. The rest of their visit was equally enjoyable and memorable.  Hector enclosed a photo of the group, which John May has posted at our class web site.

            Hurricane Isabel mostly passed Al and Becky Nunn’s Raleigh, NC, home. In Kilmarnock, they lost only one tree and had no structural damage, but quite a few businesses and residences were hurt badly by uprooted trees that fell on homes.  Two days after Isabel, three tornadoes severely damaged an automobile dealership.  Roads and streets were clear and passable, with trees pushed to the roadside; many fallen trees were still on houses, and power lines were down but not 'hot'.  In spite of homes without electricity and many without water or telephones, great community spirit prevailed.

            Jim Rogers’ wife, Linda Cain, hosted a wonderful 65^th birthday party for Jim in Vienna, VA, on August 3^rd.  The more than 80 people sang the Air Force Song, and the dance floor was never empty.  Participants included family, ’61 classmates and their ladies (Charlie Dixon and Dottie Willey, Bill and Theda Foster, Steve Ho and Lynn Funkhauser, Lowell and Sandy Jones, John and Joan Kohout, Jack and Diane McDonough, Ron and Cathy Muller, Hector and Joan Negroni, Bill and Rhoda Stackhouse, Charlie and Sarah Stebbins, John and Ellen Sullivan, Rees and Pauline Wagner, and Karl and Dianne Whitaker), and other friends.  Jim said that having lost more classmates recently should remind us to take the time to smell the roses.

Bob Smith’s well-planned retirement turned out to be short-lived. The newspaper for which he occasionally reports drafted him as its new editor, and the city council also again appointed Bob to be the city's representative to the Edwards AFB Base Restoration Advisory Board—a really fascinating job, particularly with more than 460 sites identified on the base. Pat and Bob worked in a quick trip to Gladbeck, Germany, on 9/25 for their daughter Elizabeth’s church wedding.

            Richard Smith ended his employment with CACI on October 1^st and began cleaning out closets and attics in their house.  Since this is the 25^th house he and Carolyn have lived in since 1961, and they have lived at their current address for 9 years, this is a new experience. The surgeons at Wilford Hall Medical Center replaced Carolyn’s right knee on July 15^th, and she is recovering very well.  Richard applauds our Air Force medical system.  They could not have been treated any better.  In November, Carolyn returns to WHMC for replacement of her left knee.  About the middle of March, his bionic wife should be ready to travel.  They would love to have any Gray Tag visit.

            Bill Stackhouse said that during Isabel he and Rhoda spent the day and night in the shed since it had earlier survived a 65 mph gust without a tremor. Isabel gusted up to 90 mph, but neither the house nor shed trembled.  Water rose over the dock and to within a foot of the piling tops but never threatened the house.  The local old-timers, whose memories go back to the ‘30s, could not recall a tide so high. The biggest tree on their lot was blown down and took six prized persimmon trees with it.  The house was fine, but power was out, and trees were down everywhere.  Nobody was hurt, and not a great deal of property damage occurred in the development.  Although Bill and Rhoda lost some fine trees, their view is improved.  Inclement weather keeps slipping their housing completion schedule though.

            Charlie and Sarah Stebbins visited the Pentagon on July 31^st for Charlie, Jr.’s, ('87)  promotion to lieutenant colonel.  Charlie, Sr., donned his old uniform and performed the honors (see class web site for photo).  He reports that getting into his uniform 15 years after retirement required moving all four buttons and wearing some rather severe foundation garments.

Paul Stephen’s  VFW Post 5762 sponsored the Vietnam Memorial (moving wall) display over the Labor Day weekend.  More than 10,000 visited their town of 3000.  Residents of 25 states and Mexico signed the visitors’ registry. Paul had never before seen such an outpouring of support for veterans as he noted during the two weeks of preparation.  He and his granddaughter shared a trip to the wall, where she laid a flower under each panel where our classmates (Vic Apodaca, Robert Bull, Lee Dixon, Terry Koonce, Monte Moorberg, Burke Morgan, Tom Sanders, John Stackhouse, and Tom Walker) were listed, and Paul explained the purpose of this memorial.  He hopes that all of you, if you haven't already, will go to DC, visit the traveling wall memorial, or get your VFW Post to sponsor a visit from the Wall. Your community will appreciate and remember it for a lifetime. On a personal note, Paul has fully recovered from his hip replacement surgery and thrown away his cane.  He expects to be swinging golf clubs soon.

Bob and Winnie Wagner continue to enjoy Jacksonville, where Bob is the director of operations for a subsidiary of CSX railroad. He likes his job, but the pull of retirement is getting very strong. Winnie continues her work as a public relations consultant and is currently on the Board of Trustees for Families First, a local agency.  They had a great summer trip to St. Thomas with son Scott’s family, as well as a great week on the North Carolina beach with daughter Valerie and her family.  They claim that their grandchildren are the cutest and smartest in the universe and now understand what all the fuss is about.  They feel exceptionally blessed.

Twy Williams’ youngest son, Robert, married on Saturday, September 20^th. Hurricane Isabel threatened the outdoor wedding and reception near Lexington, VA, but thankfully caused little problem. In Callao the only damage was to their dock; the boat survived.  He and Nancy used a generator during the week's power outage, so they were fortunate. They visited Bill and Rhoda Stackhouse and surveyed their damage.

 Roger and Mary Sue Woodbury’s daughter, Michele, and her husband hope to be commissioned in the Air Force next year.  Their other daughter, Sandi, married in October.  Roger also noted that as the C-141 rapidly approaches retirement, so is he.  If the forecast of simulator closure in March 2004 is accurate, he may retire then.  He and Mary Sue plan to travel through Indiana in 2004 and stop to see the O’Rears. Roger suggested playing some golf, but in another note mentioned that Butch Harmon is a good friend of theirs!  This could be interesting.

And finally, 33 of our classmates and their ladies currently plan to attend the annual October mini-reunion in Orange Beach, AL.  Jimmy Poole says that the number attending this year is twice the number last year, so we can all expect twice the fun.  Since this column must be submitted before that reunion, you can read the survivors’ after-action report at our class web site.

Doug McConnell got on-line with GTN when the 40^th reunion was brewing but could not attend due to the airline grounding.  It also gave him the chance to renew contact with many friends, including Neal Rountree (his old roommate), before he passed to the next world.  Doug and Carol just completed their first full summer in their "new" lake home in Wonder Lake, IL (about 40 miles NW of Chicago).  Carol is a teacher with summers off, and Doug continues to enjoy "office in the home" privileges, so they can be at the lake in the summer.  Their permanent home has been in Olympia Fields, IL (about 40 miles south of Chicago) for the past 27 years.  The lake home was previously owned by their son and family who, last year, decided to take their young family away from the water. Doug and Carol loved the spot so much they just could not let it go to anybody else.  It is a good candidate for a permanent retirement place.  Doug is within one-year of completing his career (retirement), but plans to continue as an industry consultant for a few more years.  In the past Doug enjoyed working as a rocket engineer which included contracts with Apollo, then worked as an aircraft flight test pilot, did commercial airshow demonstrations (aerobatic), and then business aircraft planning and development.  When the private aircraft industry tanked in the late ‘70s, Doug and Carol moved to their current home after Doug joined Allis-Chalmers in industrial equipment design, development, and sales.  Allis-Chalmers, a 100-year-old company, fell on hard times and went bankrupt due to the farm recession of the mid-‘80s, so Doug then joined Caterpillar's industrial equipment division in National Accounts marketing and sales.  Next summer will be 18 years with Caterpillar.  For fun, Doug has owned and flown a brand new Champion Decathlon (which he helped design and introduce in 1970), and competed in aerobatic competitions all around the Midwest.  He is also a recent Past President of the International Aerobatic Club and recent past Director for the EAA, National Aeronautic Association, and US Aerobatic Foundation.  Doug and Carol have a son 40 and daughter 37 and are enjoying four above-average (fantastic) grandchildren!  They also enjoy Carol's 100-year-old mom (Nellie), who lives with them and is still very active.  Side-note:  Nellie was recognized and honored this summer by the EAA and National Aviation Foundation for being hired by Ford Motor Co. in 1927 to serve as a hostess for the unveiling and first tour of the Ford Trimotor.  She took an honorary flight in EAA's Ford Tri-motor this summer escorted by Edsel Ford and his son Stewart.  She will also be featured on a related PBS Special this fall!   When the tour reenactment came to Chicago, she was on-hand and featured in both newspaper and Chicago TV coverage...real fun for all the family!  To complete the picture, Doug's mom (Alma) is 98, living in Carmel, CA, and still very active.  Doug and his brother, Bob, will escort Alma to Ellensburg, WA, in November where they will attend the re-dedication of the "McConnell Auditorium" which was named for Doug's father after 28 years as the college President at Central Washington University.

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Spring 2003

      As you know from the last Checkpoints, we lost another wonderful classmate, Neal Rountree, last fall.  Although we were unable to provide more information in that issue, it is in the Gone But Not Forgotten section of this issue.

      Mark and Ginger Anderson hope to do the Mandarin China tour April 25th to May 12th, one of the trips sponsored through the Joint Academy Travel service.  Of course this assumes the world situation is conducive to overseas travel then (thank goodness for trip insurance!).  Shortly after return, Mark will chair his final meeting of the AOG Board (May 17th), and officially turn over the helm on July 1st.  He said that it has been an exciting 4 years, and he’s felt honored to serve on the AOG Board as several of our classmates have done in the past (Lee Butler, Dick Coppock, Randy Cubero, Tom Eller, Larry Freeman, Hector Negroni, Charlie Stebbins,  Jim Ulm, Jim Wilhelm, and probably others whom we are forgetting.)  Jim Ulm continues to serve on the Board. Mark and Ginger hope to see many folks at the Redneck Riviera weekend this fall.

      For those of you who may have missed it, Stu and Marnie Boyd are now helping, in supporting roles, competitive ice skaters, hoping to be involved with the Olympic competitions.  Lowell Jones is coordinating with them so they and the DC ‘61ers can get together for lunch while the Boyds are in the DC area supporting one of these events at the end of March.  Stu earlier provided a wrap-up of the ’61 Utah ski weekend, which showed many smiling faces—including some from much warmer climates, such as Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama.  To see pictures of some of their activities, as well as pictures of the participants, go to our Class Web Site.  If you wish to participate next year, their next scheduled event is the weekend after Presidents’ Day 2004.

      Randy Cubero reports that on Sunday, March 16^th, Jim and Peggy Hinkle's daughter, Christina, was baptized in the Catholic Church.  Christina is 18 years old, and that fact alone makes this a unique story.  Jan and Randy went from Colorado Springs to attend the special ceremony that had Christina receiving her sacrament of Baptism and three other parishioners receiving their sacrament of Holy Communion.  Randy was honored to be selected as Christina's Godfather, and Jim and Peg's neighbor, Mary Jean Baysore, was selected as the Godmother.  After the ceremony Jim and Peg hosted everyone to a Brunch at Denver's Valley High Country Club.  Also in attendance were Mary Jean's husband, Frank, and daughter, Billie, and Peggy's long time friend, Sandy Lavenia, who was visiting the Hinkles from France.  The only setback in the day was after the ceremony when Christina, a fanatical BYU fan, was told that now that she has become a baptized Catholic, she had to root for Notre Dame!!  Oh well, it was worth a try.  In January, Randy and Jim Hinkle went to San Antonio to visit with Mark Anderson and Jim Ulm.  They stayed three days and golfed every day at Fair Oaks Ranch where both Mark and Jim live.  Although it was unseasonably cold, they had a great time and vowed to do it again next year. 

        Dick Davis said that in January he was trying an unusual right side mount of his horse and was bucked off.  Fortunately, he was wearing a helmet and body protector, but he injured his shoulder.  He urges people to use helmets when working around horses since it could have been much worse (such as Christopher Reeves).

      Paul Dean said that several of the ‘61 group have a ‘61 table at the Founders Day dinner. So far, Dick Fairlamb, Allan Blaisdell, and Pete Lane are definite attendees. Paul’s wife says she might need a new dress, so he doesn't know if he can afford to go! Paul said that now they need Tom Williams and Phil Woods to respond, as well their honorary ‘61 member, John Kuenzel. Maybe Mike Rawlins can fly in from Virginia! Every time Mike goes to Dallas they have a mini-reunion and invite his cousin Ace to join them.

      Tom Eller reports that Dr. Robert Eller ('96) (Tom & Anne's son) took part in a Christian/Medical mission to Cuba in January with the approval of the Defense and Treasury departments. In addition to performing surgery, he gave a lecture (in Spanish) to Cuban surgeons on an aspect of sinus surgery.

        Richard/Dick Fairlamb said that their local AOG group will hold their Founders’ Day Ball on April 4th. He’s also planning to be at Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills on December 17th--at the 100 year HOUR of the flight!  He’s leading a group of four guys and two airplanes, so far--'61 USAFA (Dick); '60 USAFA (Ed Nogar); USAF/American Airlines Captain; Marine Gunnery Sergeant!  A very eclectic group.  Sounds like a great way to celebrate.

      When the North Texas Gray Tags gathered for dinner was the first time that Henry and Peggy Howe had been able to attend a function.  They said that they had a great time.  They are getting periodic e-mails from their daughter, who is now deployed with her KC-135 crew to an undisclosed location in SWA. They are taking a pool of when the balloon will go up.  Henry has  been spending long hours at their L-3 Communications facility in Waco trying to finish the modifications on EUH-60Ls, the Army's newest airborne command and control aircraft. They will be deployed directly from the L-3 facility to SWA with minimal testing and training. The testing and training will be done in theater—and maybe on operational missions. This is a very interesting time.  Hank said that their prayers are with all of our service men and women who are prepared to defend the freedom of our country, even those protesting.

      Wayne Jones had a great experience during the Super Bowl held here in San Diego in January.  Representative groups of veterans from all of America's major wars marched onto the football field for the singing of "God Bless America" and the "National Anthem" during the pre-game ceremonies.  Wayne had the honor and privilege of leading the Vietnam contingent that day, and he said that the overwhelming reception they received was really inspiring.  Finally, all those years of close order drill at USAFA were put to good use!  

      While attending a February medical conference in Anaheim, Charlie Moores had a great visit with Fred and Sandi Wohrman. They still live in nearby Fountain Valley.  Sandi is still teaching but coming up on retirement, and it is likely they will then be spending much more time at their place near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

      Hector Negroni said that on Saturday, February 8, 2003, John and Joan Kohout hosted a very elegant sit down dinner for the members of the Class of 1961 in the Washington DC area.  Among those attending and enjoy a delicious culinary repast were: Bill and Theda Foster, Steve Ho and Lynn Funkhouser, Lowell and Sandy Jones, Jack and Diane McDonough, Hector and Joan Negroni, Jim and Linda Rogers, Bill and Paulette Sanzenbacher, Bill and Rhoda Stackhouse, John and Ellen Sullivan, and Karl and Dianne Whitaker.   After the elegant soiree, the Kohouts conducted an inventory and found that nothing had been broken and nothing was missing.  Probably a class first!  While their parents and siblings attended Disneyworld for a week Hector and Joan cared for their 4-month old grandson Juan Hector "Jack" Negroni.  They were exhausted after the ordeal.  Hector said, “Thank God that he gives children to young people.  Now we know how John Sullivan must have felt like having children at an ‘old age.’”

      PB O’Connor reports that as the Caswell Beach Sultan of Sewer, he is having difficulties convincing his community of septuagenarian-octogenarian golfing associates of the efficacies of the well-established twentieth century technology of spraying recycled wastewater on the golf course.  Other than that, he is kept on a short leash helping the real entrepreneur of the house (Mer) prosecute what is fast becoming a going concern –MERITART.  Mer paints original watercolors in beach and other themes.  (PB e-mailed me a sample, and it is very attractive.)  Then she and PB work computer magic to allow her to copy the art to transfer paper, which is then applied to a myriad of products all the way from clothing to checkbook covers.  She's finishing a commission for the National Cherry Blossom Festival this week—a request by the North Carolina representative (princess) to the annual pageant.  Her framed art and souvenir collections are spread among a dozen stores and galleries throughout the southeast North Carolina coast.  You can contact Mer at: meritart@earthlink.net.

      Mi