NC 1956 Correspondent: Patricia Leary Dowling sadmpl@gmail.com 39 Woodside Drive Milton, MA 02186; 617-696-0163
1957 60TH REUNION June 2–4, 2017
Hello, members of the great Class of 1957! My name is Norma DeFeo Cacciamani, and I am hoping to fill the shoes of our departed Class of ’57 correspondent, Frank Lynch. Please send me your notes by email to altonorma @gmail.com, or mail to 135 Franklin Street, Arlington, MA 02474. • Ed Brickley wrote: “On June 7, several members of the Class of ’57 enjoyed a day of golf at the challenging, hilly, and scenic Presidents Golf Course in Quincy. The event was coordinated by Joe McMenimen, Jim Devlin, Paul Daly, and Joe Burke, along with other classmates. The day was made extra special through the kindness and generosity of Paul and Irene Daly, who hosted the entire group at their lovely home after the golf concluded. The après-golf gathering at the Daly residence provided an opportunity for reminiscing, storytelling, and marvelous camaraderie.” • Can you believe that we will be celebrating our 60th reunion this year? The class board of directors is working diligently on this—more to come. • Please continue to send your class dues to Bill Tobin, MBA’70, 181 Central Street, Holliston, MA 01746. Correspondent: Norma DeFeo Cacciamani altonorma@gmail.com 135 Franklin Street Arlington, MA 02474; 781-648-6784
NC 1957 60TH REUNION June 2–4, 2017
Vin and Vinnie (Murray) Burns are busy downsizing their house in Maine for sale as they move into their “Barn House” nearby, where they lived many years ago. Come October they will return to Florida for the winter. • Carol McCurdy Regenauer hosted a visit in Brewster with Jan Black Rohan McKillop and her new husband, Jim. They toured Nantucket, ate lobsters, and enjoyed catching up on an eventful year. Jan and Jim moved on to Connecticut to visit family and then to their winter home in Hilton Head, SC, where Carol will visit next season. • It’s hard to keep up with the activities of Neil and Joan (Hanlon) Curley, who forwarded a picture taken in Fort Myers with Florida Governor Rick Scott and former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Francis Rooney at a Republican rally. Joan and Neil are county chairs of the Republican Executive Committee. Joan has also published her ninth children’s book! What energy! • Exciting news: We may have a first (are there others?)—Diane Russell McDonough and husband Barry, JD’57, are great-grandparents to Mary Eleanor “Nora” Kelly, born to their granddaughter in
Virginia. Diane anticipates visiting soon. She also reports that their condo near Needham Square has worked out well; they recently moved after living for 40 years in a larger house just down the street. Diane plans to visit Michelle McGarty Madden in Newport, RI—please send along news, Diane! • On to the sad news: Liz Doyle Eckl lost her husband, Chris “Kit” Eckl, unexpectedly while on vacation in Florida in June. Kit was a loyal spouse of our class and the Sacred Heart community, attending reunions and visiting many classmates. Ellie Pope Clem attended Kit’s funeral in Reston, VA, representing so many of us, and sent along a glowing obituary and program highlighting Kit’s work in news, PR, and the energy industry. (Ellie also hosted her grandson from England during August at home in DC and Charlottesville.) • As many of you may know, our classmate (my roommate for three years) Elaine Conley Banahan passed away in April after a long struggle with pulmonary fibrosis, which she handled with characteristic patience, grace, and faith. Elaine had become an active member of Opus Dei during her 50 years in Ireland. She leaves four children—two in the United States and two in Ireland—all involved in the horse industry, which had become her passion. Elaine and husband Percy bred and raced thoroughbreds, claiming many winners worldwide, including Military Attack, who won the title Hong Kong Horse of the Year in 2013. • Here at home, prayers are asked for Kate McCann Benson’s husband, Bill, who is ill in Hanover, NH, and for all classmates and families who have health issues. Correspondent: Connie Weldon LeMaitre lemaitre.cornelia@gmail.com
1958 Marian Bernardini DeLollis hosted her annual season opener in May, and before I knew it, it was time to attend our summer luncheon at Wianno and get ready for fall. Marian spends half the year in California, where she winters with her son Stephen and his wife, Lien, and son Ethan (2). Back on the East Coast Marian is kept busy with her grandson Grayson (5), the child of her daughter and son-in-law, Karen ’88 and Mark McLean ’88. • Tony ’71 and Joyce (Ryder) Rizzuto savored every day of their vacation at their home on Prince Edward Island with their family: daughter Alexis Rizzuto ’92 and her husband, Alex Herbstritt ’92, MA’96; Karen Rizzuto ’96; and son Peter and his wife, Holly, and children Nicholas and Leah. They spent several fun days on the beach in front of their “Beach House,” and at Greenwich Park on the provincial seashore. Nick and Leah loved their day at Shining Waters, the local water park, and they all enjoyed several wonderful meals at local seafood restaurants. Tony continues to work for a task force to address issues of child abuse and neglect in the Commonwealth. In his spare time, he collects antique toys for yet another career when he finally “retires.” Joyce and Tony are hoping to find a smaller home in the Dracut area to complete their downsizing. • Virginia DeGenova is enjoying time with grandchildren Ryan and Erinn. Erinn completed high school in three years
under the current “educate yourself at home with the state’s internet curriculum.” He also took college courses while in high school and was off to college in September. • Now our friends Tony ’59 and Bea Capraro Busa are healthy enough to fly to Italy to hear their granddaughter Lauren sing with the Manchester (NH) choir for the pope as he closes out the Year of Mercy. Many family members are going on the trip, which will undoubtedly result in lifelong memories. • I’ve heard from classmates who have moved to better enjoy retirement. George Bishop has moved to Pocono Pines, PA. He retired as the owner of a sales agency that served the Atlantic states. Jack Dillon has moved to Ocean Bluff—and if you’re in the Plymouth area, check out his son’s restaurant, Dillon’s Local Fine Food. MaryAnn and Bill Ryan sold their Swampscott home (after 44 years) and moved to Collierville, TN, to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Bill’s farewell words to all: “Stop in!” • Meanwhile, Ernest Caponi continues to search for his Italian roots and is happy to share his findings if you ask. • It was nice to hear from Paul Fennell, who is doing well and is able to dance three or four times a week. You would put a few of us to shame, Paul! • Our summer luncheon at Wianno was a winner, as usual, thanks to Barbara Cuneo O’Connell, Pat Brine O’Riordan, and Dottie Sollitto Hiltz. A special thanks to Marilyn and Jim Quinn for providing such an awesome venue. I understand Pat is taking a cruise to Italy. It was nice to hear from Barbara and husband John ’55; they are so proud of their grandson who graduated summa cum laude from BU and started law school at Columbia in the fall. Dottie stays busy with her church work and as president of the Cape Cod Chapter of the BC Alumni Association. • Just a quick summary of the luncheon: The group at Table 1 probably planned their golf plays and then set up a date for lunch. This group included Barbara and Dick Shea, Lois and Richard McArdle, Dorothy and Tom Pickette, Jackie and Jack Kudzma MBA’70, and Lavinia and Joe Giardina. Several nurses and others gathered at Table 2: Pat Brine O’Riordan, Carol Brady Vigliano, Paul and Moira (Feeley) Lyons, Dave and Eileen (Teahan) Quigley, John and Barbara (Cuneo) O’Connell, and Nancy and Sheldon Daly. Table 3 comprised educators Don Agnetta and Cynthia Plumb, Roland and Joan Downing Lachance, Virginia DeGenova, Marian Bernardini DeLollis, Joyce Ryder Rizzuto, Dottie Sollitto Hiltz, and Elaine and Dan Cummins, while the Busas, Joyce and Paul Maney MBA’66, Mary Ann and Robert Moll, and John and Ellen (Chambers) Rooney made up Table 4. And at Table 5, it was nice to see Dorothy and Frederick Steeves, MBA’72, and Marilyn and Leo McCarthy as well as Dick Simons and Jim Quinn. Not the usual reunion talk. On this beautiful day at Wianno, discussions started with carpools to BC, who attended whose wedding, and which supermarket had the best salmon, and ended with feeding birds and how much enjoyment we got from watching them. Not a pill was mentioned. The afternoon concluded with a picture of three whose friendship dates back to first grade at Mount Trinity: Bea Busa, Paul Maney, and 49