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Class News: 1963 September, 2009
Contact Information: Norman I. (Skip) Lee 63119 E Cat Claw Ln Tucson, AZ 85739-2058 Home: (520) 825-7980 Cell: (520) 241-3498 E-Mail: 54wrs@msn.com
Just after press time last April the AOG learned of the death of Joe Cabuk, Class of 1963, who passed away on April 14th in Florida. Services were held on Apr 17th at the Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Oak Ridge, LA. Condolences may be sent to his family in care of his wife, Mrs. Marsha Cabuk, 1625 Girard Rd, Oak Ridge LA 71264. The AOG recently learned of the death of Robert V. Mahoney, Jr., Class of 1963 who on the 26th of June passed away of cancer in Temecula, CA. Services were held July 7th at the Presidio Main Post Chapel in San Francisco. Condolences may be sent to his family in care of his wife, Mrs. Janice Mahoney, 32956 Rhine Street, Temecula, CA 92592. You will remember in March, Diff announced a “Gift Team” (Borling, Caruana, Denend, Dotson, Fox, Johnson, Matjasko, Bill Simpson, leader Roth and DeBerry to advise) to consider a class gift to the Academy targeted for our 50th reunion. In April it was decided to reposition our Class Cups from the AOG Building to a prime location in Arnold Hall. John Borling spearheaded the search for and approval of the new spot which is at the north corridor of A-Hall overlooking the ballroom. The Gyr Falcon painting given to the Academy during our 40th Reunion will hang in the same location. On June 29th, the Team met with the new USAFA Superintendent, LTG Michael C. Gould ‘76, to discuss the idea of tying the cups to the 1963 class history both oral and video; an idea that appealed to General Gould. With the cups, three portable kiosks or lecterns wirelessly connected with touch screens to the cups are planned. Drue Deberry observed this set up ‘. . . will satisfy our wish to preserve and display our class cups, preserve and make accessible our class history.” Mick Roth says “We are effectively turning the cups into an accessible history of our class with, hopefully, extensive detail on many of our unique and outstanding members.” On another related item, Lou Matjasko succeeded in finding a cup that matches our cups and after it is engraved it will be placed in the cabinet to recognize President John Fitzgerald Kennedy as an honorary member of the Class of 1963. John Borling added that the JFK cup, the 500th cup, will be inscribed as ours are but with Honorary added and it will sit in the bottom right hand corner of the case. To distinguish it, the cup will sit on a small replica of the Presidential Seal. In the photograph below the Team members who participated in the 29 June meetings are pictured with William ‘T’ Thompson ‘73, CEO of the AOG, celebrating the decision. ‘T’ was given the honor of being the first to toast and drink from the Baldacci cup stored in the adjacent cognac case.
L to R: King, Hayes, Roth, Thompson, Borling, Matjasko and DeBerry
Next Steps: the Team is working to have the Gyr Falcon painting restoration project completed and both the painting and the cups relocated to Arnold Hall by October. The kiosks and lecterns will follow. An important step has been taken toward the development of a Class Gift for the 50th reunion. Great job! Speaking of October, Bob Hayes is working hard to get this years’ mini-Reunion sorted out. The reunion will be held during the October 17th Wyoming football game (game time is 12 noon). Relocation of the cups to Arnold Hall will certainly cause the annual cup turning event to remain in flux. Other than that, I think we can expect the normal mini-reunion routine to remain in tact: tailgate two hours before the game and following the game adjournment to Doolittle Hall for cocktails and dinner. This year’s mini-reunion festivities will be even more fun and full of events since the Class of ’63 varsity football players chose the Wyoming game to dedicate the 1963 Football Plaque that many of you supported. Dean Hess and John Gavin are contacting team members about the event and to date they talked to Skinner Simpson, Jim Lang, Jerry Thies, Charles Gebhardt, Chief Nacrelli, Jerry Ahman, Dave Nuss, and DeVere Henderson. Chief has been in touch with Danny Eckels, and Nick Arshinkoff. Bob pointed out to me, “flexibility is the key to airpower” so please stay close to the Class Web Site for event updates and if you want to be on Bob’s e-mail list let him know at bcahayes@comcast.net. Access the Class Web Site is available through the AOG but better yet just write (or copy and paste) the URL (http://www.usafa63.org) into your browser and click on ‘Go’. Once there don’t forget to bookmark the site for future ease of access. Jim Diffendorfer, Denny King and Bob Hayes wanted to share their picture with us taken at Joanie's Deli in Woodland Park, CO. Bob and Charlie Ann drove from their home in Monument while Diff and wife Megan stopped off in Woodland Park for a quick visit with the Kings after a longer stay in Gunnison.
That’s two for both Bob and Denny. Nada mas for a while.
John Helinski and Denny let it be known that Pat Caruana is the new Chairman of the Board for Focus on the Family. Pat confirmed he replaced Dr. Dobson as Chairman who will continue to work with the ministry and be heard on the Radio. Pat says the responsibilities of Board Chair will not require a move to Colorado Springs. Although he will spend more time in Colorado than in the past Pat says he remains a beach loving Californian. Congratulations Pat! John Heimburger reported on the graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2009: Graduation Week was a pleasure and the weather and ceremonies in Falcon Stadium couldn't have been better. Vice-President Biden greeted each of 1,046 new 2/Lts and the Thunderbirds roared overhead precisely to the split-second. The really extraordinary piece to this graduation ceremony was the graduation of three 1963 off-spring. Joining John’s son Kais on the stage during the happy time were Ralph Bacue and Byron Bartlett's cadets, Stephanie and Austin. John and Chris found Kip Kippenhan and wife, Josette, sitting in the same section in the stands making a ’63 cheering section for the new grads. It turns out that the Kippenhans came out to the graduation to support one of Kais' 7th Squadron classmates.
Two old Grads: John and Kip
Denny Fendelander wanted to let us know how much he and Som were disappointed not being able to make the reunion. They had a trip to India with some relatives and couldn't get back in time. When Denny wrote his note they had just returned from a cruise from Singapore to Athens, taking them through the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Denny reported all was very interesting and no encounters with the pirates! He is working to put their India observations on the Class Web Site. We’re looking forward to the pictures. That’s it for now. Again, please to stay tuned to the Web Site for more information on the mini-reunion and the Class Gift Project. Take care and we’ll see you in October. |
