Class Notes 1955

Are we getting old or what? The I don’t want to hear about it department -- Jerry Donatucci’s son recently retired from the Air Force. I thought it was just a few years ago that I left the military. ... Bob Dolgan, recently retired as sports writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, gave a talk on his experiences covering Cleveland sports teams. The talk was in the Larry Faulhaber Auditorium at the Baron Center in Lakewood, OH. ... When Art Dister retired in 1982 after 28 years in the army, he researched many franchise opportunities and settled on “Business Cards Tomorrow.” His last army assignment was Deputy Post Commander at Ft. Eustis, so he and his family decided to stay in the Tidewater Virginia area. Art’s printing business grew to one of the biggest and most successful in the franchise company. After 25 years in the original location, Art and son designed and built a new 12,000 foot modern printing shop. His son is in charge of the day to day operations and this gives Art and his wife, Barbara, time to enjoy their sailboat which they cruise Florida in the winter and the Chesapeake Bay in spring, summer, and fall. ... It’s a small world category! During the summer at my parish, we had a seminarian who spent the summer helping with parish activities. He was known to us only as John. After many conversations with “John,” I finally asked him what his full name was. He told me his name was John Mullee. He is the son of our classmate Al Mullee and niece of Ed’s wife Marge Mullee Schwallie. ... In May, I attended a Cleveland Indians game with fellow JCU alumni and soon to graduate JCU seniors. Lots of students, too few alumni. C.C. Sabathia pitched a good game for Cleveland. ... Very sad happenings in University Heights this fall. The building that formerly housed the (in)famous Mayflower Lounge Bar will be torn down. The ghost of bartenders Charlie, Tommy, John and others will have to move on. They might just find a pair of John Braucher glasses and other memorabilia in the rubble. ... Heard from Joe Andrasak, he lives in Concord, OH, and is retired after spending 45 years in sales in the packaging industries. ... Also heard from Tom Carmody. Tom went through JCU ROTC and was assigned to Ft. Riley, KS. A graduate of JCU’s business school, he started out as a sales correspondent and worked his way up to chairman and CEO of American Business Products. He has been married for 52 years and has three sons and lives in Lawrence, KS. ... Also, Don Morse was drafted into the army after graduation from JCU and served in Germany. He was involved with a restaurant on Cannery Row in Monterey, CA, dabbled in real estate and served as treasurer for the Western Reserve Historical Society for many years. He finally settled in Searcy, AR. He is married to Peggy, who is a successful Mary Kay Cosmetics representative, and together they raised two boys. ... Gordan LaGanke does his best to keep connected to JCU. He meets regularly with Paul Schlimm ’56, Bill Deighan and Jerry Suskowicz to discuss old times. ... As always, remember to keep your classmates in your prayers. Some are in poor health and are suffering greatly -- your prayers will be greatly appreciated. Ray

Stan Gorski is on the move. He has settled into a nice 1.2 acre spread in Valley City, Ohio, and is the business manager at Saint Coleman Parish and teaches in the Medina City Schools. He keeps in touch with Bob Tuma ’57. ... Tony Stavole is slowing down a bit. He has moved his law office from downtown Cleveland to a location near his home in Parma Heights, where he has been law director since 1974. He has 13 grandchildren; the oldest (Kalie) was recently married in Minneapolis. Tony plans to gather his entire flock in Destin, Fla. in early June. ... News from Williamsburg -- Mike Caplice will gather 74+ of his and his wife’s family at Chautauqua, N.Y., to celebrate the 100 years that his wife Pat’s family has been coming to the Chautauqua Institute. That is where he and Pat met. This celebration will come after he recovers from his hip replacement surgery this April. Best wishes for successful surgery and a quick and painless recovery. ... I recently heard from Bill Gardner. Bill sends his greetings to Mike Scalabrino his classmate and Army buddy from Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. After being drafted in 1955, Bill received his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, taught English at Ft. Bragg and served with the Army Security Agency in Japan. He returned to Cleveland for his master’s in library science at Case Western Reserve University and then was librarian at Cornell University, University of Kentucky and for 25 years at Marquette University. He retired in 1995 and resides near Marquette. He has three children and four grandchildren. He enjoys woodworking and of course, baby sitting for his grandchildren. ... Leo Leiden checked in with a bit of history. After graduating from Carroll, Leo received a master’s degree in economics from The Ohio State University. He was the industrial relations manager for the Grabler Manufacturing Co. before returning to the family business, the Leiden Cabinet Co. He retired four years ago. He has three children and nine grandchildren. Many years ago Leo and I bowled in league together. ... Also heard from Bill Doslak. Bill fondly remembers his days in the Carroll dorms and his roommate, John Mackin. After graduating from JCU, Bill attended Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania to earn his degree in dentistry and complete his training as an oral surgeon. He retired in 1999 after practicing in Lorain County for over 40 years. He has been married for 47 years and has nine children and 14 grandchildren. For the past five years he has been wintering in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., when he visits JCU classmate Merle Townley and Bob Farces. ... Molly Sweeney reports that she is expecting her 16th grandchild on May 9 ... that’s George’s birthday, folks. I’ll keep you posted. ... As always, remember to keep your classmates in your prayers. Some are in poor health and some are suffering greatly. Your prayers will be greatly appreciated. Ray

Ed TePas and his wife, Helen, have moved from the tiny town of Covelo to the metropolis of Willits (population nearly 6,000) in the West coast state of California. Ed is still president of the Covelo Friends of Round Valley Public Library and is helping to raise money for a new library building and commons for the 3,000 people of Covelo. Any bibliophile among us with a little extra cash can contact Ed - ehtepas@yahoo.com. Ed missed his third hole-in-one by a foot three times in the last two weeks. He hopes for a hole in one by the next edition of the Carroll magazine. Please let us know, Ed. We are all waiting to celebrate with you. ... Dave Hauer reports that he recently took the test that was featured on the “Dr. Phil” show and placed somewhere between Dr. Phil (55) and Oprah Winfrey (38). This is reported to be a real test given by human relations departments at many major corporations. His 47 earned him this analysis... “Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical and always interesting; someone who’s constantly the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced that it does not go to their head.” He doesn’t say whether he got the job. ... Our Irish classmate, John (Buck) Byrne, wants us to be aware of the supreme irony in the recently announced conversion of Tony Blair, the previous Prime Minister of England from the Church of England to the Roman Catholic faith. For centuries, the British and the Church of England persecuted the Irish Catholics just “for being what they were.” He thinks that with Tony’s conversion, millions of British are probably spinning in their graves and the Byrne’s of Wiklow are smiling happily. ... Did You Know ... Ed Andrews left our class in 1954 upon being accepted for medical school at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. Dr. Ed practiced orthopedic surgery at South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Hts., Ohio, for many years and was head of Orthopedic Surgery when he retired in 1998. He was inducted into the Education Hall of Fame at South Point Hospital upon his retirement. He has been married to his wife, Theresa, for 52 years; they have three children and six grandchildren. His son, Gary, graduated from John Carroll in 1986 and his granddaughter, Kaitlyn Arthurs, graduated from JCU in January 2008. ... More Did You Know ... Ben Anthony retired from General Electric Corporation in 1995 after 32 years service. In the ’60s he was assigned as a locomotive operator trainer in Venezuela, South America. He spent his last 20 years with GE in locomotive marketing. Ben and his wife, Norma, have been married for 45 years and have two children. Ben says that although he is a grand dad he has no grandchildren. ... Remember to pray for our classmates who are sick and suffering greatly. Get connected with JCU. Log on to www.jcu.edu/jcuconnect to locate classmates, learn about upcoming events and find out what’s new at John Carroll. Ray

Mary and Dick Waddick visited with Virginia and Jim Trainor in Savannah, GA, and while there Dick and Jim finished second in their flight in member-guest golf. The Trainors were in Denver, CO, for the baptism of their 20th grandchild and while there spent a day with Sunny “Mike” Dunagan. Jim reports that “Mike” is in pretty good shape for an old guy. ... Nancy Donatucci is recovering from open heart and by-pass surgery. Doing well, so far. ... Benny Barranco survived a heart procedure and is recovering nicely. ... Harold (Doggie) Ziegler is still helping to grow the Ziegler Tire & Oil Company that now operates in several states and still finds time for volunteering and quietly doing good deeds for others. ... Emmett (Bud) Feely and Phil Buchanan are on the mend from health problems ... your prayers are needed. ... Jack Martin is substitute teaching after retiring from operating his own successful insurance business. He continues to work out three or four times a week and is said to look the same as he did in his high school graduation picture. ... A reunion was held in July for outstanding basketball players from Cleveland High Schools during the early ’50s. Included in the group were JCU graduates: Rudy Bracale, Tom Burke, Nick Christopher ’56, Tony Musca, Jim Lawless and Don Mack ’57. Tom Burke could use our prayers as he is not well. ... George Thomey’s family had a big surprise party for him to celebrate his 75th birthday. A belated “happy birthday” George from your classmates at JCU. ... Bob Dolgan spoke to a group about his latest book, America’s Polka King: The Real Story of Frankie Yankovic and His Music. Frankie and Bob’s father were close personal friends and so Bob has a lot of stories to relate. He was really surprised when he learned that his program would be in the Larry Faulhaber Auditorium! Larry was managing director of the center for 20 years and the room was named in his honor in 1998. ... And on the Left Coast, Ed TePas reports that Leo Cachat visited him and “tried” to play golf with him. Ed thinks that Leo’s game is about where his was two years ago and he was “awful” then. ... Tony Stavole’s son, Bill, is also a lawyer and partner in a rather large law firm here in Cleveland. Tony’s granddaughter, Kalie, was recently married in Minneapolis, MN. ... Dick Walker is returning to Vegas for another year of high school football coaching. He still runs and works out every day. ... Dave Hauer reports that his daughter and her family have recently returned after six years in Australia. Now, both of his daughters and five grandkids live nearby. Dave will be going to Hawaii soon. Is there a connection here? Dave can be reached at davehhauer@gmail.com. ... Mike Caplice rubbed elbows with Queen Elizabeth II who was in Williamsburg to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, VA. He served on several committees that planned and executed the celebration. He reminds us that the Jesuits had a mission in what is now southern Virginia many years before the founding of Jamestown in 1607. ... Dick Mulac is making a full recovery from his devastating paralysis. He is now fully mobile and no longer in therapy. His doctors say he is the poster boy for the rehab center. ... Stan Gorski recently had lunch with Matt Gresko. Matt was associated with Brentwood Hospital for many years. ... Hal Feldman is still involved in the steel fabricating business that has been in his family for years. Hal has three children and two grandchildren. He was part of the famous ROTC sound off ... Faulhaber - Feely - Feeney - Feldman. He served in an armor unit in Korea and retired as a Lt. Colonel. ... Ben Anthony has retired after 32 years in locomotive marketing with General Electric. ... Stay well and remember to pray for the many classmates who are ill and suffering greatly. Ray

GOOD NEWS: I am happy to report that our snowbirds have returned to their Northern area nesting grounds safely and in good health. BETTER NEWS: Dick Mulac will testify to the power of prayer. In the last issue of the John Carroll magazine, we asked you to pray for Dick who was paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors had told Dick and Kathy that he probably would never walk again. In just three months he has progressed from using a wheel chair to a walker to a cane. The doctors at the Texas Medical Center are amazed at the progress he has made. Lots more rehab is necessary but he is on the mend. ... While we Clevelander’s are suffering from the coldest and snowiest winter in a very long time, Lady Lake in central Florida was also misbehaving. Tom Jira reports that on February 1and 2, five tornado cells blew through the area and narrowly missed his home. In The Villages and surrounding area where Tom lives, lives were lost and property damage was extensive. ... Stan Gorski recently renewed his friendship with Robert Tuma ’57. Stan served as Tom’s campaign manager when Tom ran for the Ohio Senate in the ’60s. ... Joan and Dave Hauer cruised the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal in January. But time marches on ... Dave reports that his nine-year-old granddaughter now shows him up while doing California style skiing and certainly will leave him in her wake next year. ... Remember Paul Kozak ’04 from the cover of the last issue of the John Carroll magazine? Tony Musca thinks that maybe the Class of ’55 can take some pride in molding his strong character. It seems that our Jim Lawless and Mike Cleary ’56 coached Paul in basketball while he was at St. Philomena’s Elementary School. Tony Musca also attended St. Philomena’s but missed out on the excellent coaching of Jim and Mike. Another example of character building in the Class of ’55 -- Ed TePas plays golf almost every day in sunny California and reported that good things are starting to happen to his golf game. He had his second hole-in-one this year and that came one hour after he took his first ever golf lesson. Way to go! ... Molly Sweeney reports that her 13th grandchild has arrived. ... Please remember in your prayers, John M. Skoda who passed away March 5, 2007. ... Stay well and remember to pray for our many classmates who are in poor health and suffering greatly, Ray

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