CLEAR THE DECK Sponsor Families PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHY AND WAYNE SIROIS
Sponsor families offer a “home away from home” for midshipmen. For many, those relationships last a lifetime. Shipmate asked alumni to share what their sponsor families meant to them. Here is a sampling of the responses. Grateful I remember being handed a piece of paper during Plebe Summer with the name of my sponsor family and pinning it up on my cork board, anxiously trying to figure out how to pronounce their last name in between chow calls and uniform races. A few days later, I sat in Alumni Hall, feeling like a puppy with my litter waiting to be picked for my new home. Little did I know that I would actually get a sponsor puppy! And that they would become family. For the last 15 years, Mr. and Mrs. S have always been there for me and all my friends, no matter where I have been stationed. From letting me do laundry, to “watching” movies (aka starting a movie and falling asleep), to blowing up Peeps in the microwave, their house has always felt like home and provided a respite, levity and encouragement during difficult and stressful times. I was stationed in Japan in 2010. When they found out they were moving there, they joked that it would be my turn to sponsor them. In 2014, I was able to stop and see them outside of Houston, TX, while driving cross country. In 2017, we met up in Disney World. In 2018, they were able to be a part of my wedding in Virginia. They have helped me discover my passion for running, taught me to embrace the adventure and illustrated how to care for and serve others. I am grateful for their love and support. —Lieutenant Commander Avery Wilson ’10, USN Lifelong Bond Visiting Annapolis means the opportunity to see my sponsor, Saralee. This blonde divorcee would pick me up plebe year in her gold Porsche 944 for relaxing visits with her family on the Severn River. I used to think if someone saw me leave with her, I might get “fried.” I was the second to the last midshipman she sponsored, a responsibility she took on for more than a decade because she wanted positive role models for her son. Saralee made her midshipmen family. Her sponsorship extended to our significant others who later became our spouses and to our children (we’ve dubbed them “mids’ kids”). She continued as a sponsor far beyond my Academy years. She was matron of honor to my wife, we named our first daughter after her and she is godmother to our second daughter. When our second daughter was born, Saralee took care of our first. In 2015, she sat with my wife while I underwent open heart surgery at Johns Hopkins and hosted us during my recovery. Saralee exemplifies what it means to be a sponsor. We are so grateful for her presence in our lives throughout our courtship and marriage. —Joel Scott McFadden, ’89
LCDR Avery Wilson ’10, USN, in 2012 with Kathy Sirois who was part of her sponsor family while she was at the Naval Academy. Wayne and Kathy Sirois were living in Tokyo at the time and LCDR Wilson was stationed in Japan.
Invaluable Gifts Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Mike and Cathy Sheedy and their three daughters have been an invaluable gift to me as my sponsor family at the Naval Academy and beyond. The Sheedys traveled far and wide for many years after leaving the Academy but stayed in touch with me from every stop. They retired to Williamsburg, VA—so I still see them a couple of times a year. My family and I had dinner with them recently. One of the hundreds of special stories: One Sunday afternoon, the mate of the deck informed me that I had a phone call from (then) Major Sheedy. The major asked me if I wanted to come over for a couple hours. I politely declined citing a paper I was working on and went back to my room. As quickly as I sat down, the mate returned and said Major Sheedy was on the phone again. “Yes, sir?” “I’ll be in 8th Wing Parking Lot in 20 minutes. Be there.” Click. Unbeknownst to me, the discussion after the first call likely went something like… Cathy: “What do you mean he’s busy? Go get him.” Major: “Yes, ma’am.” When we arrived at the house, the girls had prepared a birthday party and baked a cake for me! I’ll never be able to thank the Sheedys enough for all they have given me over the last 41 years (and still going)! —Neil Duffy ’84 ® This issue’s question: What was the biggest misconception you had about the Naval Academy before you reported to I-Day? Please send responses (200-word maximum) to Managing Editor Jimmy DeButts at: jimmy.debutts@usna.com. Submissions have been edited for length and Shipmate style.
OCTOBER 2021 • SHIPMATE 37
