John Prien leads off:
Cindy and I are enjoying retirement in the foothills of North Georgia. Here’s a recent photo of our family (left to right Zach, Grayson, Cindy, Madison, Ben, and yours truly).  Our kids have grown up as you can see; however, we still have one in high school (Grayson).  Soon we will be empty nesters.  We just returned from an awesome trip with Leslie & Bill Higgins and Susan & Kevin Brofford to the Dominican Republic.
.
.

Mark Hoyle updates us:
After I retired from the Navy in 2012, I then worked as a Program Manager for a subcontractor in the Newport News Shipyard in charge of the overhaul of CVN distilling units. All of  my time in engineering in the Navy helped out. (I was a “deckie” by the way.)

But during COVID, my wife Linda and I decided to retire for good and move back to western PA to be closer to her mother, who was in need of some help. We found a house south of Pittsburgh which was built in the 70’s and still had pink, blue and green toilets. I am pretty handy and renovated the place from top to bottom. I also put in a vegetable garden, which I love to grow my own veggies. I put some of them at the end of the driveway for my neighbors.

We now go to the gym most weekdays and follow that up by driving for Meals on Wheels a couple times a week.

For fun, we have a motorhome on a site in the mountains near a river. It is alongside a bike rail trail which we use daily. Then at least once a year, we take a big trip in the RV. This past fall we did the New England trip all the way to Bar Harbor, stopping at several places there and back.

This summer will mark our 41st anniversary. We have two kids who are doing well. That’s all for our exciting lives.

Phil Mueller contributes:
Greetings from Florida where we met up with Marie & Ted Hercamp and David & Young Heinbockel in January for a meal in Sarasota Florida.  We heard about Young and Davids trip to Antarctica and told them how great the fishing is in Florida.  Heinbockels went back north in time for one of Philadelphia’s many snowstorms!
.
.
.

---

Rick Boudiette sends an action-packed update:
Retirement is good. I recently moved back to Northern California, settling in a small town east of Sacramento on the American River.

Dan Baerman drove up from Southern California to spend a few days at my new place last month.  We had the opportunity of catching up with Chris Cioni, who lives in Sacramento.

And Steve Nicholson was in the Bay Area with his wife, Priscilla, visiting their boys.  One works north of SF, the other south of SF.  We got together for dinner during their stay.

Will be heading to Thailand for a 95th birthday party of a former colleague.  While there, I’ll connect with John Wright.

Will be back in New Orleans for JazzFest with Frank/Kim Liantonio and Jim/Anne Quern.  Skip/Sam MacAloon will already be in Rhode Island for the summer.

Mark Suter reports:
Wanted to share that a few of us gathered at Jane & Mike Logan’s house last weekend for a general catch up, retell old stories and some new ones, and enjoy some warmer weather.  The group included Craig Ellixson, Erin and Bob Bennett, Kevin Fauvel, and Rich Colonna.

Mike and Jane are gracious hosts and we enjoyed their home and boat including a chocolate football.  Craig made some incredible meals and Mike cooked up some awesome Chili.

---

Bumper Kunkle updates us:
My 2026 has gotten off to a busy start.   I’ve traveled to NJ/PA a couple of times for some family events.   I had dinner with John Ayres ’88 during one of my trips.   He’s doing well and planning on visiting us in TN in April.

I am finishing my trip to Las Vegas,  as I type this, where I played in the alumni golf tournament.   Steve Dear ’85, Chuck Klehr ’85, and Matt McGovern ’86,  rounded out my foursome.  Brian Foy and Joe Walsh were also there.   I didn’t see any other classmates, sorry if I missed anyone that was there. We had a great time and I’m looking forward to the next one. I hope more of our classmates will come out and play, just have fun and reminisce about the days at KP.  The quality of your golf game really doesn’t matter as I am the epitome of a hacker.

We also got to catch a show at the Sphere and did a little hiking near Red Rocks.

We had dinner with Tom Heberle tonight. It was great seeing him.

---

Bruce Garrott shared some classic photos from our classmates at flight school in 1984, including:
Class of ’83 USN/USMC Flight Students watching the Blue Angels perform at the NAS Pensacola airshow, Veteran’s Day weekend in November 1984. Other photo was taken in Philly, on my drive south to NAS Pensacola, to begin my Naval career.  Bill Higgins is the other soul in the photo.

The recent storm in the NE made me remember the blizzard that hit KP, on a Friday in February of our 1st class year.  I made quite a bit of $$ the weekend of the storm, shoveling driveways.  It was a heavy, wet snow, too.

I appreciate that Susan Pawlukiewicz emailed just to compliment me on our KP83.org website:

I looked at the website you so beautifully put together. I’m impressed and enjoyed looking at it.  It’s cool to see where classmates have connection been travelling and to see the faces in the “older” person as you remember them as a younger person… their features are there!

Bill Sliker shares this tribute to our late classmate Mark Lund:
Remembering Mark Lund (Chuckie)
Hello from the West Coast. It is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news of the passing of our dear friend, Mark Lund. Affectionately known as Chuckie, Mark died peacefully at home from natural causes. A true and loyal companion, Mark was a loving brother, uncle, and above all, a dedicated and proud father to his sons, Alex and Evan. You can find his memorial on our website and at https://lewischapel.com/obituaries/mark-lund-2025

His service was attended by nearly 400 people, including many from Kings Point, from left to right in photo are Jim Storey, Joe Maggiora, John Kimmerlein, Mark’s sons Evan and Alex Lund, Steve Hamre (KP ’82), Steve Kimmel, Jon Kjaerulff, and Bill Sliker.

Additional photos from Steve Kimmel’s retirement party and Ellie Maggiora’s High School graduation party.

Mark played a significant role in my life and was a dear friend. After our time at Kings Point, we crossed paths again in Seattle. Mark was responsible for introducing me to my wife, and he stood as best man at our wedding. We were attendants in his wedding to Darcy, and our families were closely intertwined. He is our son’s Godfather. Mark often joined us at our Northern California ranch, lending a hand with projects and enjoying many games of cribbage. Our 45+ years of friendship are filled with countless memories.

Mark’s intelligence, his knack for fixing almost anything, and his boundless zest for life—especially skiing—are legendary. With a strong sense of camaraderie, he was someone you could always count on. Mark worked hard and played hard.

If you’re ever in the Seattle area, please reach out. I’d love to see you and raise a glass to Mark. Many KP ’83 classmates are nearby, and it’s always great to catch up. My email is .

Mark’s presence will be deeply missed but never forgotten. Fair winds and following seas, buddy.

Erin Gant recounts her participation in the Navy-Marine Corps 250 Parade in Philadelphia on Oct 13:
Swing Shift appears in this footage from a local Philly station,  ABC 6:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWOAa9zT_I0

*We were on the Eagle Float (#67) at this point in the broadcast:   1:18:40.  I am wearing my USMMA ’83 jacket due to the cold & drizzly weather.

British Chef Robert Irvine is the numbskull who mis-pronounced my name; he was supposed to ride the float but went to the broadcast booth.  Note that the speakers were on the back of the float, so you hear our voices when we pass by.  We shared the float with Miss Pennsylvania in less than perfect weather & sound system conditions & the sound guy only brought one microphone that we had to share.

*The Merchant Marine Vets are right behind my float with a WWII veteran.  I never saw the KP Color Guard; they either went to commercial or interviewed a vet when they passed by.

Bill Kraynik tells us that he “Ran into Kevin Fauvell at the Chinese Lantern Festival in Philadelphia in June this year.  It was hot but the beer was cold.  We’re both retired from the Naval Surface Warfare Center and enjoying retirement.”

A.J. Murphy shares:
We’ve had a busy year in Houston, with a move end JAN. Time to get rid of those pesky stairs and save on the knees!

At the end of MAY, we headed to the great white north and spent almost 2 weeks in various AK towns like Seward, Whittier, Anchorage, Talkeetna and Denali. Had a great trip, celebrating my oldest son, Sean, earning his Ph D from SMU here in TX.  My daughter, Cecilia also came along.  Have been to AK several times, but this one has shown us that the hiking trails are starting to win – whew!

Made it toNew Orleans end OCT for a Quern daughter wedding and enjoyed seeing Jim Goulden, Rick Boudiette, Frank & Kim Liantonio and Mickey & Mary Kay Cunningham. Jim Quern was in fine form and dressed to kill in his James Bond tuxedo. Anne looked great and was very happy at the celebration.

In NOV, Gretchen and I made our anniversary into a nice trip to AZ. The hiking was more tolerable and with Help from George Toma, he gave us several places to make sure to see while there.  We didn’t get to connect up as he was out of town while we were nearby.  Stayed in Sedona for great hiking, went up to Flagstaff and almost to Utah, where we saw Lower Antelope Canyon. They are incredibly beautiful and just east of the Grand Canyon, just below Lake Powell.  Will be heading back to New Orleans for Christmas and looking forward to seeing Jim and Anne again, more relaxed after all the wedding pressure is relieved.

Brian Foy recaps a couple events:
The USMMA-AAF Space Coast Chapter hosted its annual Christmas Brunch on December 7 at the Indian River Colony Club in Viera, FL. Willie Barrere, AMO President, and I were the keynote speakers. Willie updated everyone on latest happenings in the maritime industry, including the SHIPS Act, and I focused on my advocacy role for the Academy on the Hill. After the brunch, we gathered our ’83 classmates for a picture. L-R: Joe Bishop, USMMA-AAF Space Coast Chapter President; Chris Thayer; Brian Foy; Willie Barrere; and Bruce Garrott.

The Class of ’83 was omnipresent for the Secretaries Cup Football Game at Historic Fenway Park. It was a fantastic event and one of the best KP football games I have ever witnessed. Pictured below at the after-party event are Brian Foy; Kevin Brofford; Bill Higgins; Rex Gundle; and Scott O’Connor.

Rex Gundle reports from Fenway Park:
It was great to see so many friends and classmates at the Secretarys’ Cup at Fenway in November. Thankfully the weather held out for our group that included Leslie and Bill Higgins, Susan and Kevin Brofford as well as Kim and myself. We decided to join the rowdy GA crowd that did include both KPer’s and Coastie’s for this great game and rivalry. Between dinner’s, breakfast’s, the game and bar afterwards, our group was also able to catch up with Scott and Glenda O’Connor, Craig Ellixson, Jim Goulden, Brian Foy, and Craig Matteson. I applaud the organizers for picking a location that made the decision to attend so easy.

The game weekend capped a crazy two weeks of adventure for us which included a week in Iceland; and if you haven’t been there, it is certainly worth the price of admission! I am really getting used to this retirement gig.

Lee Forsgren was also at Fenway and explains “I was at the game at Fenway but because I was in Secretary Duffy’s box (and was there in my official Army Corps Capacity). I really didn’t get a chance to see any other KP83 classmates.”

Ronda Cobb notes:
Surprisingly, I had a busy KP year.  I spoke for the Congressman’s Academy Information Night, I attended the ceremony where the Nomination certificates were presented to the future plebes of all Academies, and I attended the NCAA women’s Basketball playoff game in Ohio.

And, my high school alma mater added my name to their Wall of Honor for those who have served the country with Academy or Military service.  That was a great ceremony which made the local press, and included a blurb about Kings Point.

Thanks all for the input! Have peaceful and joyous 2026!

25fenway8 – L-R: Brian Foy; Kevin Brofford; Bill Higgins; Rex Gundle; and Scott O’Connor.

25gundle2 – Jim Goulden, Rex Gundle, Kevin Brofford, Bill Higgins and spouses

25gundle4 – Scott O’Connor, Kevin Brofford, Rex Gundle, Brian Foy, Bill Higgins

25ellixson4 – Jim Goulden, Mike Logan, Mickey C, Craig Ellixson, Bob Bennett, Jim Quern

25gundle5 – Rex & Kim Gundle in Iceland