We mourn the loss of Jim Wei, who passed away 7/24/2024. Send me any photo or remembrance you happen to have so I can add it to his page at KP83.org.

We congratulate Mike Logan for his induction to the USMMA Athletics Hall of Fame on 9/6/24!

Mark Suter reports (he and Craig Ellixson provided these photos):
What a great weekend! Our Class of ‘83 football team gathered together to celebrate longstanding friendship and our Captain Mike Logan’s long overdue induction into the USMMA Athletic Hall of Fame!  The dinner was held at the Mariner’s Estate.  Jane and Mike Logan, Erin and Bob Bennett, Kira and Kevin Fauvel, Rich Colonna, John Rhatigan, Jim Goulden, Craig Ellixson, and Jeanann and I began our reunion at KP Friday afternoon waterfront at Eldridge pool in glorious sunshine and a reminiscent walk around the campus.

Many of Mike’s family were in town including his 96 year-old mother! So many stories were re-told plus a few that I have not heard before. I haven’t laughed that much in a while! One of the weekend’s highlights definitely included having Coach John Campo and his wife Regina join us for the festivities. Coach Campo performed Mike’s induction. He recruited most of us back in 1978/1979 and impressed us with his incredible recall of our lives, families, and personal backgrounds. 

Saturday was the march-on and football game vs Western Connecticut.  Mike performed the coin toss and was featured on the scoreboard throughout the game along with the other Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.  Happy to report KP won 44-27.

Difficult to describe the heartfelt, warm feeling Jeanann and I felt throughout the weekend being around so many of our good friends at the academy which holds special memories for us, including the Mariners Chapel.  We will be married 40 years this October 6th!  Time sure flies. We all shared updates on our families and lives but it’s so much more that uniquely binds us together as trusted friends, teammates, and sailing partners.

Mike Logan remarks:
“This past weekend at Kings Point was truly special.  I am truly humbled, grateful and honored to be inducted into the USMMA Athletics Hall of Fame!  This recognition is a shared victory for my classmates and teammates!  I had a great time with Bob Bennett, Rich Colonna, Craig Ellixson, Mark Suter, Kevin Fauvell, Jim Goulden, John Rhatigan, Coach John Campo,  and my family. I want to say thanks for all of their support and friendship.   I would not  have been able to achieve this honor without them!  Awesome men!”

Reprinting (without permission) Rex Gundle’s 7/24 Facebook post:

Standing around at the Charlotte airport deciding if the third delay of my plane was a sign that I should go back home, when out of the corner of my eye I see somebody who looks familiar, just a bit older than I remember! So now being of that age that I will go talk to almost anybody, and nevermind if this guy is bigger than me.

Sure enough it was Jim Goulden! We spent a nice bit of time catching up before I said goodbye to Jim, my delayed plane and that ridiculous airport! Small world.

Maureen McKeever sends:
To my KP Classmates. Happy Fall! As an A-Split this is my favorite time of year – especially since it seems like the 90 degree days are behind us! I really enjoyed watching the Olympics this year – especially the Breaking! It brought back memories of watching Kevin Brofford and Bill Solis breakdancing at the company parties.

It also brought back memories of running into Erin Gantt at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul – I was in Korea doing my ACDUTRA and she was there to go to the Olympics – and I saw her at the Men’s Platform Diving Prelims. We spent the evening wandering around Seoul. It is true – if you want to run into a Kings Point classmate just go to the other side of the world!

Acta non Verba everyone and Go Mariners!

Erin Gantt chimes in:
The AAF asked me to sing the Nat’l Anthem at the 2024 Homecoming game.  I will march onto the field with other female grads first to honor the 50th anniversary of women at KP.

Also, Young Heinbockel, Lisa Fields, & I attended a service academy women’s night at the National’s baseball game on 09 Aug 2024 along with other KP grads.  The first class of KP women was highlighted with photos on the jumbotron during the opening ceremonies.

Lisa Fields adds:
The Nationals recognized women from all service academies, but paid a special tribute to the 50th year anniversary of women at KP.  Erin Gantt, Young Heinbockel and I met at the park to be part of the celebration. Here are a couple of photos.  The highlight of our evening was when we went to our seats. The usher, Heather, stated that her brother had graduated from Kings Point. Her brother is our esteemed classmate, Lee Forsgren!

While visiting our daughter’s family in Hawaii in June I was fortunate to be able to catch up with Jeanne (Kleis) Dressel for lunch. We had a great time, lots of laughs while thinking back to our plebe year days!  We certainly remembered all of our 7th company classmates!

Stan Cutler shares:
I can write this midday Friday because I’m now retired! I taught for 35+ years after a couple of years of sailing, and now I’m spending my time playing Senior Softball 3 days a week, going out to plenty of live music, working out, and spending time with my 90-year-old dad. I’m also about to launch a music blog (www.mayorofmusic.com) aimed at local musicians and venues. A friend gave me the nickname “Mayor of Music” a couple of years ago since I usually know what bands are playing, and when. I see a lot of local bands (a couple of which let me sit in and play my Cajon drum!), and this summer I’ve seen Imagine Dragons, Styx and Stones, Foreigner, Def Leppard/Journey/Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Alanis Morrisette, Blink 182, Welcome to Rockville festival….so, if anyone is in the area and wants to catch a gig, hit me up (407-435-9726)! I’ll hopefully see Willie Barrere tomorrow at the UCF football game. And next Wednesday I look forward to my first Social Security check!

Bumper Kunkle has also been seeing some bands:
It’s hard to believe that the summer is over.  I have been fairly busy going on several trips and even managed to look-up a couple of classmates on some of them. My son, Jimmy, and I went to the final round of the US Open at Pinehurst in June.  It was very hot but we did get to see some good golf. Later that month, my family met up with Sue and Tom Bodman in Chicago.  They were on their way out west and spent a couple of days there.  We even got to see the NY Mets play and WIN.

We went to Florida at the end of the month for Maria’s nephew’s graduation party and got a chance to have dinner with Nat Agrippina’s family while they were on vacation. In July, Maria and I went to the Journey/Def Leppard/Steve Miller Band concert in Nashville.  Boy those guys are getting old (I guess we are too).  We also saw Travis Tritt at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.  Brushy Mtn is a historic place.  It once held James Earl Ray.  It’s a cool place to visit if you are in Eastern Tennessee.

In August, we went to Las Vegas to do a little sight seeing and to see Morgan Wallen perform at Allegiant Stadium.  While there, we got to have dinner with Tom Heberle.  He looks great and seems to be enjoying retirement.

The last photo is several months old but had to be included.  We were honored to attend Emelie Klehr’s wedding last October in New Jersey.  That’s Chuck Klehr KP ’85, his dad, Charles Klehr KP ‘57 and me. Things slow down a bit in the fall.  I only have a couple of trips planned.  I will be in the Philly area in October to play in the Kayla’s Hope for Kids Golf Tournament.  John Ayres KP ’88 and Chuck Klehr (KP ’85) are also playing. On a closing note, Congratulations to Mike Logan on his induction into the USMMA Athletic Hall of Fame!

Mark Smith continues to call balls and strikes:
Expecting our 3rd Grandchild (a girl) in early October.
Spent a lot of time with Little League this summer.  I was the Umpire in Chief for the Virginia State Senior (14-16) Baseball Tournament which our District hosted.  Then I umpired the 8-10 State Softball Tournament before heading to Salisbury, NC to umpire at the Senior Softball Regional. Got to umpire in the Regional Final. (picture attached).  Then we were off to volunteer at the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville,  NC for a week.  I did a lot of video replay for that and some other Tournaments.  Finally, we went to Williamsport, PA to sit back, relax and catch up with friends while we watched some great baseball.  The fall Honor Flight season is about to kick into full gear which will keep us busy through October.

We are booked on a month long tour to Rio/Iguaza Falls/Buenos Aires and a cruise to Antarctica in January.  Really looking forward to checking off 6th continent (still got to get to Australia).

Speaking of travel, Tom Lighsey sends:
Took this picture on this weekend’s Cozumel dive trip. Kudos to who decided the swag should include a dry bag! For the record, the empty bottle of tequila in the picture is not ours. I swear.

Here’s a recent post that begged to be lifted from Kevin Brofford’s facebook feed:
“What a fantastic time in Los Angeles last weekend! I had the privilege and honor to promote my daughter Kelsey to Major, United States Space Force!  Fantastic!  The icing on the cake, we had the whole family there! Simply wonderful!”

Ray Christensen thanks all for your wonderful contributions to this column! Check the website for additional photos. I continue to run 20-25 miles/week, participate in Knights of Columbus activities and fundraisers and help my brothers with projects such as constructing a new barn at our family farm in the Catskills. Peace!

A.J. Murphy leads off:
Met up with Chris Cioni and Mike Curtiss while Chris was in for a work trip.  It was great to catch up at a late dinner as Mike had to dock a ship and make it to the restaurant.  Being retired is a lot easier!

Then on Mar 20, was out on a boat in Galveston with friends and was able to coordinate a quick hello as Mike Curtiss was getting off the pilot boat after taking a ship out of Houston.  We were able to get a picture on the pilot boat to send in!

A.J. adds, “I was able to give the oath of office to my son Sean as he was promoted to Commander this month.  It was even better to be on board the BB 35 USS Texas in the shipyard in Galveston getting repaired!”

Mickey Cunningham texted to say that Tom Aufiero dropped in town to Jupiter (FL) for lunch in January. Sue and Tom Bodman joined Tom, Mary Kay and Mickey.

Quentin Franklin posted in Winter edition of Chris Thayer’s retirement from MSC after 40 years and now includes a photo. Our chief mate from our first sea year, Flip Walters ’75 told tall tales of our vibrant youth.”

Craig Matteson shares:
This past September I attended my 40th college reunion at Kings Point. Great to see everyone and some for the 1st time since June of 1983. Bruce Garrott inspired me with the awesome KP Bike jersey and Kevin Fauvell reminded me I could still do it!

So, the exercise began and last weekend I finished a Sprint Triathlon! Was 4th in my age group …! (There were only 4 of us but it sounded good). And I truly didn’t finish last. Great 1st step in what is my desire to be healthy again! Thanks Bruce and Kevin …!
ACTA non VERBA …! CEM

Brian Foy is always on lookout: “Two recent 83 classmate sightings in DC. I saw Willie Barerre yesterday at the Maritime Sail-in. I just ran into Doug Waldman a few minutes ago in front of the Supreme Court.”

As Craig Ellixson posted on FB, “Long weekend for those who could make it. Rich Surratt was the master planner & George Toma celebrated his 63rd birthday with mostly wholesome activities.” Tom Heberle and Stueart Mill rounded out the party.

Chris Cioni sends:
Writing from my layover on the way home from Houston (working at Calpine). I had diner and good conversation with AJ Murphy while in town for business.  AJ came down from Spring and introduced me to some wonderful food at a restaurant called Josephine’s.  OG gulf coast dishes that I’ve never had!  AJ is fully enjoying retirement – boating, grandkids and traveling around the gulf.  I think I’ll be joining that club soon too.

I look forward to my Houston trips to catch up with AJ, Mike Curtis (he flew out the day I flew in) and others.  Hope all is well with you in the running world!

Michael Donnelly:
Jane, my wife of nearly 37 years, and I moved to a nice place near the beach in Rhode Island back when Covid hit. It was finally time to get out of Connecticut.  I am able to work from home, which is nice. I see all of my classmates retiring, and that has got me thinking hard about retiring this coming year. In my spare time I umpire baseball/softball games and root for the Baltimore Orioles with Chris Thayer and Randy Johnson. Photo is of me getting an award for Marine Insurance at graduation. Pretty much a consolation prize, but I still have the watch 🙂

(left) The one and only time I had been in the Officers Club in my 4 years at KP. It was some form of awards dinner.
(right) The list of the attendees

Bruce Garrott rolls on:
Debbie and I spent 2.5 weeks in France in April, visiting Burgundy, Provance and the Loire Valley.  The highlight of the trip was the Backroads Bike Trip through Provance.  Our daughter Kara, and her husband Jeff joined us on the bike trip.  They had more fun they imagined, too!  The trip included a ride up Mont Ventoux, but the “Le Mistral” winds from the north, made the climb unsafe, since the winds in the valley were 20 gusting to >30 MPH, and the winds halfway up the mountain were >50 MPH.  Le Mistral lasted for several days, dropping the temps into the 50’s and making riding more challenging.  The picture of me sporting the latest KP bike jersey has Mont Ventoux in the background.

Ray Christensen hopes you’re all having a fabulous summer! When you post something juicy on facebook, send it to me too! Can you help me attain current email for any of these missing folks: Mark Allen, Roger Foster, David Garnet, Steve Grose, Steve Kohlhoff, John Labdon, Jim Marlin, Bob Nickey, Chris O’Connor, David Tobin or Bill Winget (among others)?

Art Burns gets us underway:
Ray, here’s a photo of Rose and Paul Zubaly with Grace and me in Tagaytay City, Philippines taken March 1st. Paul lives in Metro Manila and we are visiting Grace’s brother and sister-in-law in Lipa City. It was great catching up! Not only were we Second Company Plebes together, I was Captain Paul’s Chief Mate for a few years in the late 1990’s.

Mickey Cunningham texted to say that Tom Aufiero dropped in town to Jupiter (FL) for lunch in January. Sue and Tom Bodman joined Tom, Mary Kay and myself.

Jim Goulden announces:
My youngest Jillian married AJ Conklin in Orlando on March 2 in a beautiful outdoor ceremony followed by cocktails and reception in a gorgeous setting near Orlando, Florida.

In attendance were my KP brothers and their wives who have given me unconditional support over the years: Donna and John Carbone, Mary Kay and Mickey Cunningham, Anne and Jimmy Quern, Elaine and John Rhatigan and Jeannie and Mike Keane.  We celebrated all evening long and continued on into the night after the formalities were concluded.  I’ve known these guys for 45 years and they are my closest friends.  We’ve grown together through raising our kids and now count 15 grandchildren among us.  Our long friendship will endure forever.

Quentin Franklin texted to say that he attended Chris Thayer’s retirement from MSC where he was “chief of ops, I believe.” Also featured there was their chief mate from initial sea year, Flip Walters ’75. “We told tall tales of wooden men and iron ships!”

Al Reeves is our top class correspondent in this issue:
Hi Ray – as always thank you for all you do for our class.  You can rest assured it is greatly appreciated.  As always I want to continue to mention Brian Foy who does so much for our school and in my humble opinion gets a small fraction of the credit and honor he deserves.  Well I am a grandfather and have attached a “4 generation picture” which I am quite proud of.  It makes you understand what is truly important in life.  I am in touch with a group of classmates and have come to truly understand how blessed we were to have all come together from all walks of life.  I will go quickly and if I leave anyone out I promise it’s not on purpose.  Jim Goulden is hanging tough and is a man I look up to.  Tom Heberle retired and moved to Vegas of all places. Tom is one of my dearest friends.  Scott McCauley is still in Australia and very successful – another dear friend and unique character.  Rich Surratt is coordinating a small group get together in Vegas this May (who else would you want to coordinate anything – he is the Father of FAC after all).  Kent Morton is hanging tough and building his dream home – I have come to know and respect this man and appreciate his friendship. Stu Mill is retired and focused on physical fitness at all levels – I always call Stu when I have an extra roll of blubber I’m trying to lose! Craig Ellixon actually settled in PA within 15 miles of my entire family near Harrisburg and looking forward to seeing him soon.  Scott Brueggeman lives in Austin and never calls me but I will always forgive him because he is Bruegs after all!!  I had a great a great conversation with Mark Suter who is doing great with his family in Long Island.  Mark and I go back to day one plebe year, as is our school case he went A and I went B, and so it goes.  Can somebody please tell me another person who could go through plebe indoctrination fresh off ACL surgery and never once complain?  Tough dude!  At the reunion Bumper Kunkle gave me Nat Agrippina’s number which I had been searching for I don’t know how long.  He was my Plebe year roommate.  Well now we are in regular communication and he is doing wonderful as a Chiropractor in Atlanta.  Talk about a wonderful man! I know I’m missing guys so I apologize in advance.  Thanks again Ray for all you do.  One last thing – Dan Russell is never to be forgotten ever.  The greatest of men.

Chris Hart reports:
I’m finally getting around to sending you this photo for some Class of 1983 news.  This is Jon Kjaerulff, Tom Aufiero, and Chris Hart at the WW II Museum in New Orleans on December 1, 2023.  We met up while attending the International Workboat Show in NOLA.  And we enjoyed some fine hospitality from the New Orleans KP Alumni Chapter when they hosted a happy hour with many classmates and old friends attending.

Thanks to all for periodically responding to my requests for news and photos! If you have any contact info or knowledge of or even rumors about these classmates, please tell me since they’ve been off my radar for some time: John Burns, John Cataldi, Lisa (Taylor) Cripps, Jeff Fout, John Green, Eric Jorgensen, Ed Napoli, Chris Shirley, James Wei (among others).