Faith,
Jack Gastler ’74
Family & Friends 4 Years After Graduating, Jack Gastler ’74 Has Never Forgotten The Home He Found At Xavier FL d former N tle Ga stle r an Lit yd lo F ck a running b
J
ack Gastler ’74 was a football and track captain at Xavier, captained the football team at an Ivy League school, Columbia, and had a long and successful career in the financial world. His football coach at Xavier, Larry McHugh, and his football coach at Columbia, Bill Campbell, were major influences in his life. “I always tell people how blessed I was,” Gastler said. He paused, breaking down for a second. “Sorry … my dad and my mom … talk about being blessed. My dad was the cornerstone and my mom helped build the person I am, and then I had both Larry and Billy and Rich Feitel. … When you talk about being blessed by those three coaches … I have to raise my father up as No. 1.” Gastler does not forget people. He rattled off the names of so many legendary players from that 1973 team, many with whom he remains in contact with and two, Matt Hoey ’74 and Kevin O’Rourke ’74, whom he calls best friends to this day. “We were just together and realized that it was 50 years ago that we met at Xavier,” Gastler said. “The three of us have raised our families together and now we are celebrating children’s marriages, and in our case, grandchildren, together.” He mentions the impact that Feitel, his pole vault coach in track, had on shaping him into the person he is today. Feitel and his wife Lauralane, and Gastler and his wife, Debbie, remain close all these years later. “They were great role models for our marriage and as young parents,” Gastler said. 10 XAVIER
M ag a z i n e
20
20 21
TiesBind
The
That
Gastler does not forget his roots. Faith. Family. Friends. Those three words came up a lot in a conversation that stretched into 1 ½ hours. Xavier means as much to him now as it did almost 50 years ago. His son Jay, a 2005 graduate, was married nearly a year ago, and five in the wedding party, including his best man, were Xavier graduates. Now in retirement, Gastler is on his second tour of duty on the Xavier Board of Directors.
At one point, Gastler was on the Mercy Board of Directors. “I’m committed to doing anything to help those two schools,” Gastler said. “I’m a firm believer that our world is in desperate need of the product of a Xavier and Mercy education and experience.” Gastler was on Xavier football teams that won 34 games in a row, a Connecticut state record at the time. The Falcons lost to West Haven in the
“I don’t know who coined the phrase ‘Good enough is never good enough if it’s not your best,’ but that concept has always driven me to do my best.” ~Jack Gastler “We were so tremendously blessed by the leadership and faculty at Xavier during our time there,” Gastler said. “Brother John Kerr, Brother James Boyle, Bill McKenna, provided a leadership style that aligned discipline with incredible caring for each individual. A superb faculty enacted the same in the classroom and the various coaching and extracurricular activities in which they participated. Giving, selflessness, and high expectations were continually on display.” Mercy means the world to him, too. His wife Debbie is a 1974 graduate. They hung out with the same friends and she invited him to the Mercy Junior Ring Dance. They’ve been married 42 years. One of their daughters. Connie, is a Mercy grad.
second-to-last game of the 1973 season. “All those wins,” he said, “and that’s the one you remember more than anything else … I always say we didn’t lose that game; we just ran out of time.” Still, he had the time of his life on the football field as a defensive back. … and on the track where he was a captain of the 1974 state champion outdoor team where fellow tri-captain, and still close friend, Pat Augeri, was dominant (“best athlete with whom I’ve been personally associated”). Gastler also excelled in another area: the classroom. “Larry McHugh, to my mind, was the best coach in the state, one of the best in the country, and an even better mentor,” Gastler said. “He was a master motivator and phenomenal coach. We were
