Greetings! I was shocked and saddened to hear of Bob Paternoster’s death, having seen him at Reunion last year with new bride Rona, where he seemed healthy and very happy. I have no illusions about filling his shoes, but I’ll do my best to keep you informed. You can help by calling me or sending me information.
Pete Wright was first to respond to the email that I would be your new correspondent. He lives in Seattle and sadly his wife has Alzheimer’s, so he’s not able to attend any functions back East. Pete notes that he spent about 30 years as Alcoa’s guy at Boeing helping to make sure they had new alloys to build their planes. He was in Seattle in 1970 for the delivery of the first 747 to Pan Am and was invited as a guest to the recent delivery of the last 747. Fun to come full circle!
When I spoke with Harold Barnes, he was inside his Virginia Beach home sheltering from a strong thunderstorm. He spends a lot of time caring for his yard, so that had been interrupted. Like many of us, he enjoys spending time on the internet.Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he’s been living in Virginia Beach for 48 years.He and his wife Virginia are both in good health and had recently returned from a thirteen hour drive to upstate New York (only 15 minutes from Canada) to visit her family. She is the oldest of seven, three brothers and three sisters.
After graduation, Max Blumenthal went to the University of Pennsylvania Law School and then over to Vietnam as an officer in the Army MP’s. He’s had a sailboat for years, having learned as a kid in Maine, and even sailed on the Mekong! He came home and worked with a law firm in Baltimore before joining two acquaintances to found their own law firm. He finally retired last year at 82. Max and Brenda have two daughters and four grandchildren. They love to travel and have been to New Zealand, Australia and much of Europe, but their favorites were Patagonia and the Galapagos. Living in Baltimore, Max keeps his sailboat in Annapolis. He and a friend once sailed the boat to Bermuda. Going over was fine, but crossing the Gulf Stream on the way back was very rough and scary.
Our undergraduate Class President, Jack Davidson, has had a difficult time but continues to be the most optimistic person I have ever met. He first showed symptoms (undiagnosed) of M.S. in his 30’s, was on a cane in his 40’s and completely bed-ridden by 1998. He moved into the senior living facility of Magnolia Manor in Americus, Ga., in 2004. He unfortunately had to have both legs amputated, and suffers repeated UTI’s, but he is indomitable and insists he “will not go quietly into the night”. His son, Ken Davidson, is his strong advocate and spends many hours with Jack at the Manor. I recently (I’m writing this in July) had the pleasure of speaking with the two of them. Jack enjoyed sharing stories of a trip in his jeep, the “Yogi-mobile” to Ocean City, NJ, right after graduation, pilfering steins from the Hofbräuhaus in Munich and several other tales not repeatable here. Hang in there, Jack!
On a quick personal note, Bob had mentioned how my two different toe infections had ruined or canceled trips to Europe. I’m happy to report that Jessica and I had a great two-week trip to Scotland and the southwest of England this past May.