CLASS NOTES CT for a few days to visit relatives. Because of some problems back in Utah, Bud and Sue flew home, while Ann and I continued on to Rockland, ME, where we met Joel Strunk, Jud Strunk’s youngest son. Joel, a tuna fisherman by day and a scriptwriter by night, planned to take us out on his fishing boat, but just as we got it in the water, we discovered a hydraulic leak. It didn’t slow us down; we spent the day on a land tour of the surrounding area, and in the evening we met his family for supper. Joel is a clone of Jud; at times I thought I was talking to our BR. In the morning, we drove to Lake Weld where we joined Jud’s widow, Marti, her husband, Sturgis, and Jud and Marti’s son, Rory. Rory had part of his family with him, daughters Scarlett and Tatum and son Jud III. Rory had to leave and get back to work as a TV producer in Portland, so after he left, we jumped into Sturgis’ car and drove up to Sugarloaf Mountain to meet Jud’s third son, Jeff, and his family. Jeff inherited Jud’s home – a four-story, octagonal log cabin. Jeff hasn’t decided yet whether it was a curse or a blessing – lots of maintenance. Jeff has two talented children. Mason, his son, has taken up the mandolin, piano and guitar and can perform all the G-rated songs that Jud ever sang. Songs like “She’s Got the Biggest Parakeets in Town” are off-limits until he’s 18. Besides working on the cabin, Jeff is in partnership with Sean Westcott, the Olympic snowboard gold medal winner. They own a bar and club at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain. It was great seeing the Strunk family, but we had to get on our way. Our next stop was DE where we made our way to Rehoboth Beach to visit with Hank “Sonny” Thomas. Unfortunately, Sonny was in the V.A. hospital with some very serious health problems. After returning home, I contacted him and found he has been suffering from cancer for years, and he spends most of his time these days visiting various hospitals. Sonny appreciates all the cards and letters he receives from his BRs. We then traveled to Virginia Beach to visit our son, Phil ’83, and his family. While there, we visited with Jim and Bet Vermillion and spent the morning at “Old Comfort.” We were surprised when they told us that their beautiful home is up for sale; seems their children have changed the center of mass, and Charlottesville is better suited for all of 2010-Issue 4
them. Later that day, we met Harlee Pate at his historic home in downtown Norfolk and were again shocked to find it was also up for sale. We had a great visit with Bet, Jim and Harlee but were disappointed that we didn’t get to see Barbara. Barbara was working hard, ensuring that all of us continue to receive our monthly Social Security checks; thanks, Barbara. Next, we headed down I-81 to Dublin and spent some time with Dick and Linda Phillippi. We met them at their beautiful lake house, and after a few hours of telling war stories, we joined Dick and Linda and 50 of their closest friends for dinner; not one of them went to VMI! We had a great evening. We spent the night at the lake and on the way out of town the next morning, stopped by to visit their home in Wytheville. What a beautiful home, built in the middle of 300 acres on top of a hill, just off the interstate. We left Wytheville and headed for Crossville, TN. We noticed that we would be passing Kingsport, TN – the home of George and Marie O’Neill – so we decided to stop and say hello. We caught them a little off guard, and Marie had to throw a lot of stuff in the closet, but we managed an hour visit before we got back on the road. George and Marie are about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We proceeded on to TN where we joined my brother and his wife for three days of golf and fine dining. Playing mountain courses put quite a strain on me, but I survived and made it to Tallahassee, where we stopped to visit Phil and Betty Sellers. They wanted to play a round of golf, but after those mountain courses, I was in no condition to play. So, they relented and took us for a tour of Tallahassee and the surrounding area. We spent a delightful evening having supper with a young man who just completed his Rat year at VMI. Were we ever that young? It was great, but the ladies would not let us strain the Rat. We packed up the next morning, and after three and a half weeks and 5,500 miles, we headed home. Our sincere thanks to our BRs, their spouses and families who were so kind to us. We truly appreciated your hospitality. Max Guggenheimer recently attended the Retired Military Golf Classic at Myrtle Beach, SC. There were about 1,000 participants there, and Max says they were all treated special. Max suggests that this
might be a great opportunity for the retired military in our class to get together for a mini reunion. If you’re interested, drop me a line. Gordo Keiser still works at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab where he enjoys working with Marines more every day. Gloria continues to put up with his foolishness as they enjoy life and the success of their offspring. Son, Duane, is the artist who conceived the online “painting-a-day” movement that was featured in USA Today several years ago. Son, John, a former F-14 aviator, flies for Cathay Pacific Airlines, and daughter, Paige, is a children’s book illustrator whose latest work was Wow! It’s a Cow! Both are extremely proud of their kids’ accomplishments. Gordo stays in touch with his old roomy, Tommy Klemenko, and hopes to join classmates in Lexington for a football game or two this fall. Noland and Mary Pipes recently hopped aboard a riverboat in Amsterdam and cruised to Budapest, where they visited beautiful and historic spots along the way. Noland’s health is much better, and Mary had a nerve block she hopes will relieve her persistent back pain. Bill and Susie Kirkland are doing great. On their way home from the great evening we spent with them while visiting KY, Susie told Bill that we must be a close class to have remembered as much as we talked about. I agree, but what Susie doesn’t realize is that we make up a lot of it as we go along, or at least we embellish stories; a little. When Bill heard about Marilyn Southard’s condition, he sent a Healing Blanket to her from his church group. Lee called Bill and thanked him for such an appropriate gift; it was the first time they had talked in 50 years. They caught up on a lot of things. Bill and Susie will be going out west to visit the national parks soon. They plan to spend a couple of days in Las Vegas enjoying the shows and making their fortune. We wish them the best of luck. Bill and Connie Nebraska are planning another family reunion in the Pocono Mountains where they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year. Their two boys and their families, as well as Bill and Connie, had so much fun, it’s become an annual event. Bill and Connie ache for the Southard family. They pray for Marilyn, Lee and their family who will need strength and faith to get through this. Bill feels a special bond 65