Kings Point Class of 1983

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy alumni

  • Class Notes
  • Reunion
    • Homecoming 2023
    • Homecoming 2018
      • 35th Reunion Photos
    • Homecoming 2013
      • 30th Reunion Photos
      • 30th: Apparel/Items
      • 30th: Long Island Marriott
      • 30th: Class Gift
    • Homecoming 2008
    • Homecoming 2003
    • Class Sponsors
  • In Memoriam
  • Contact

Kings Pointer – Fall 2022

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Rod Knecht leads off:
My daughter Kelly got married on May 28th. My Sea Partner and great friend Bobby Grimaldi was there to help me celebrate.

Adriane Grimaldi, Rod Knecht, Nancy Knecht, Bob Grimaldi
Adriane Grimaldi, Rod Knecht, Nancy Knecht, Bob Grimaldi

Rex Gundle has been getting around and posted a couple photos to our Facebook Group, including a visit to Mike Booth in Minnesota.

Jon Kjaerulff, Rex Gundle, Mike Curtiss, AJ Murphy, Chris Hart in Houston
Jon Kjaerulff, Rex Gundle, Mike Curtiss, AJ Murphy, Chris Hart in Houston
Mike Booth & Rex Gundle
Mike Booth & Rex Gundle

Craig Ellixson & Mark Suter
Craig Ellixson & Mark Suter
Mark Suter contributes:
We spent a wonderful day with Craig Ellixson and Sherry Ulsh last month in Andover, MA.  Craig and Sherry joined a wedding/graduation party hosted by the Colby’s to celebrate Jeanann and my son Gregory’s wedding to Moorea as well as Moorea’s siblings graduations from high school and college.

Gregory and Moorea got married last November and due to covid, only the two immediate families attended.  Moorea’s parents hosted a wonderful Mediterranean barbecue on a beautiful day in July.

Craig and Sherry look great and made the drive up from Harrisburg, PA.  Craig is working for Cargill and not missing the terrible hours at the port of Miami.  Sherry is working for Hershey as Director of Procurement.

Mark Suter
Mark Suter
Mark Suter

Dan Rohde is working on potentially having a boat available during next year’s reunion for some cocktail cruises, so he’s been in touch with our Homecoming coordinator Mickey C, who retired June 30. Mickey and Mary Kay are in Jupiter along with Mike Keane and John Carbone.

Dan says: I am retiring next July 1, Carrie and I will stay in Savannah but spend summers up North and winters down South in the sailboat – with Jupiter, FL as an “absolute must” stopping point when sailing South.

Mark Smith working at the LL Softball World Series
Mark Smith working at the LL Softball World Series
Mark Smith has been spending time on the field:
Had a busy summer of Little League Softball and Baseball.  I got to umpire at the LL Southeast Region Softball Tournament and worked the plate for the semi-final and 3rd base for the Championship.  I got my recommendation to work the Softball World Series sometime in the next few years.  We then went to work at the LL Softball World Series, where I was the Time Out Coordinator, which means I worked with ESPN to make sure the players got back on the field at the right time and got the game re-started to support ESPN commercial timing, and helped with replay.  See attached photo during one of the replay reviews.  We then went up to Williamsport, PA to watch the Little League Baseball World Series for about a week.  Had a great time and saw some great baseball.  We head out to Alaska on 1 Sept for 18 day land/cruise tour.  Retirement is awesome and highly recommended to those that haven’t done it yet!

Send a couple lines of news if your name hasn’t appeared in this column lately or if you know the whereabouts of Jeff Ciampa, Lisa (Taylor) Cripps, Eric Duepen or John Green. I want to see lots of classmates at Homecoming next year! To get in touch with Mickey C regarding 40th Reunion, email me at and I’ll pass your message to him.

Filed Under: Class Notes

Kings Pointer – Summer 2022

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Jeff & Joanne Kalb with Mary & Ed Fairbairn
Jeff & Joanne Kalb with Mary & Ed Fairbairn
Jeff Kalb and Ed Fairbairn start us rolling:
We spent the week in Hilton Head biking, beach, pool and pickleball in mid-May. A great week to catch up along with our wives, Joanne Kalb and Mary Fairbairn. A chance to show off the awesome KP bike jersey on the trails of Hilton Head. Jeff and Joanne are in Cleveland Tennessee, Jeff is retired engineer at Whirlpool. I am still a support contractor at CACI, supporting MSC N71. I’ve been working with Mike Palmer from our class the past few years who was at MSC N71 and now retired working for Emprise Corporation on the same contract as CACI.

Phil Muller is also riding:
Becky and I went on a bike trip to the Algarve in Portugal and met up with Kirsten Wolfe McGonagle ‘85 and Peter McGonagle ‘84. We had a terrific time and enjoyed catching up since we had last seen each other on or around 1983!

Kirsten Wolfe McGonagle ’85, Phil & Becky Muller, Peter McGonagle ‘84
Kirsten Wolfe McGonagle ’85, Phil & Becky Muller, Peter McGonagle ‘84

Michael Donnelly reported from a small alumni gathering in Rhode Island on March 16th. Rex Brewer ‘82 was kind enough to host us at the Wickford Yacht Club. It was a nice event and there were even 2 people older than me there!

Michael Donnelly in back row of Rhode Island alumni gathering
Michael Donnelly in back row of Rhode Island alumni gathering

Lifted this Facebook photo of Rex Gundle & Mike Curtiss.

Rex Gundle & Mike Curtiss
Rex Gundle & Mike Curtiss

Chris Thayer, Susan Pawlukiewicz, Brian Foy
Chris Thayer, Susan Pawlukiewicz, Brian Foy
Susan Pawlukiewicz submitted “a great photo from the May Kings Point DC area golf outing at Westfields.” Brian Foy and Chris Thayer joined her.

Within the same week, Brian texted that “literally within one hour of your email, I run into Kevin Brofford going through security at JAX airport.” Kevin is a corporate pilot.


 


Al Reeves celebrated his daughter’s wedding and made the day even more special by adding a class reunion to the festivities:

Chris Nixon, Jim Goulden, Stu Mill, Albert Reeves, Allison, Kent Morton, Craig Ellixson, Tom Heberle, Scott McCauley
Chris Nixon, Jim Goulden, Stu Mill, Albert Reeves, Allison, Kent Morton, Craig Ellixson, Tom Heberle, Scott McCauley

Al Reeves and his daughter Allison
Al Reeves and his daughter Allison
Well Ray I just completed the happiest day of my life with the help of my buddies from Kings Point! My daughter Allison was married to the love of her life in the northern part of Houston and I was blessed to have 7 KP classmates join me in that celebration. I want to say a few words about each in no particular order.

Scott McCauley honored me by flying in from Australia – we sailed together and have always been friends but I had not seen him since graduation!! What a treat he gave me by making the trip.

Tom Heberle and I also did a sea year and he came from Hawaii to help me celebrate. Is there a better man than Tom on the planet? If there is please point him out!

Kent Morton, Craig Ellixson, Tom Heberle, Scott McCauley, Stu Mill, Chris Nixon
Kent Morton, Craig Ellixson, Tom Heberle, Scott McCauley, Stu Mill, Chris Nixon
Chris Nixon came and as always made it a better experience just by his presence. His glass is always half full and I envy his outlook on life. He is the guy you always want around!

Jim Goulden honored me with his appearance. I have always looked up to Jim (no pun intended) and I am so proud to have him as a friend. He also somehow saved half my relatives from missing the ceremony but I’ll let him tell that tale!

Kent Morton was there and he is another classmate I look up to in so many ways it is hard to imagine. As I get older I grow in admiration for wonderful classmates like Kent! A gentleman in every way.

Craig Ellixson underway
Craig Ellixson underway
Stu Mill arrived and he is yet another terrific man. I always remember how smart Stu was as an Engineer at KP and it drove my career decision to never be a line Engineer for a career and have to compete with guys like him and Surratt😎. So I went into Operations at GE and things worked out!

Craig Ellixson was there and I knew him the least but I believe he and I will become much closer for reasons I won’t get into here. What a great guy to have for a wedding and party!!! He brought so much fun and joy that it was really incredible.

Well Ray the guys will be sending some more pics and maybe some words but I want to tell you that the words Kings Point Spirit live on my friend!!!!

Reeves weddingKent Morton adds:
Al said he was going to send you a note on his daughter’s wedding and KP attendance. I’ll add a few comments that Al might have missed as he was doing dad chores both before and after the event. Tom Heberle, Chris Nixon, Stu Mill, Craig Ellixson, Scott McCauley, and myself hung out on Monday. Unfortunately, Jim Goulden had to leave that morning. Great day on Lake Conroe in a pontoon boat. I note that as much as we tried to impress the young man who provided the orientation with the qualifications of this particular crew, he barely stifled a yawn. Water sports were followed by a fine steak dinner hosted by Al at a local restaurant. And no trip to Texas would be complete without a stop for brisket, which we made on our way to all our flights on Tuesday. Congrats to Allison, Jake, and Al for the special day.
Craig Ellixson underway Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding Al Reeves wedding


See more photos at the online version of this column at www.kp83.org Speaking of websites, here’s one I recently built that is transportation-related: AmericanTransport.com
Our 40th Reunion is next year. If you’d like to assist in any way, please contact Mickey C directly or thru Ray at

Filed Under: Class Notes

Kings Pointer – Spring 2022

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Pete Lafontaine shares good news:
My wife Judi and I had an extra special Thanksgiving this year. Not only were both of our sons and their wives able to join us on Cape Cod this year for our first Thanksgiving together in several years, but we also recently became grandparents for the first time and were able to spend some quality time with our grandson Louis.

Our son Trevor recently ran a 2:20 marathon at the California International Marathon in Sacramento. He ran a personal best time by four minutes and so now if he he can knock two more minutes off his time he’ll qualify to compete at the next U.S. Olympic Trials.

Pete & Judi Lafontaine and grandson
Pete & Judi Lafontaine and grandson
Pete Lafontaine and family
Pete Lafontaine and family

Maureen McKeever had a busy fall:
Wilkins Township had its Bicentennial in 2021 and we had big plans – which all went overboard when Covid started. We ended up having a parade in September, a 5 K Run in October (no, I did not run – I helped) and a huge fireworks show in November. It was really fun to ride on a float in a parade – my first time! Every other parade I was ever in I was in a band. I also got to visit my brother in Haverford in September and we went to Longwood Gardens. The winter was quiet, and now my employer is (again) making plans to bring all of the work-at-home people back. I have been in the office the entire pandemic. I hope everyone is safe and well!

Maureen McKeever on parade float
Maureen McKeever on parade float
Maureen McKeever at Longwood Gardens
Maureen McKeever at Longwood Gardens

Jon Kjaerulff & Bill Sliker
Jon Kjaerulff & Bill Sliker
Stueart Mill reunited with classmates in November:
I returned today from a trip to Tampa to meet up with friends from KP: Scott and Glenda O’Connor, Bill Sliker, Maria & Jon Kjaerulff.  They were in town for a Navtech Conference for pilots. We tried to get the old crew from the T-boats together as shown in the old photo from ‘83, but Chris Hart wasn’t able to make it, so we held a space for him in the recent photo. Jon and Bill and I had a nice tour of the American Victory Ship floating museum which is well worth a visit. Everyone seems healthy and happy, and we are looking forward to our 40th reunion.
Scott O’Connor, Chris Hart, Stueart Mill, Bill Sliker, Jon Kjaerulff
Scott O’Connor, Chris Hart, Stueart Mill, Bill Sliker, Jon Kjaerulff
Scott O’Connor, [Chris Hart], Stueart Mill, Bill Sliker, Jon Kjaerulff
Scott O’Connor, [Chris Hart], Stueart Mill, Bill Sliker, Jon Kjaerulff

Bumper Kunkle has been getting around:
I’ve been busy traveling and settling in here in Tennessee.

I went to Daytona to see the race with my wife, Maria, daughter, Allison, my sister Miko, and her husband Wayne.  Allison and Wayne are race fans and their birthdays were on race day so we decided to go this year.

I finally got to catch-up with Stu Mill while we were there.  He lives in Ponce Inlet so we met for dinner on Saturday.  Stu is doing well.  He’s retired and stays busy as a parttime yoga teacher, riding his bike, and all the typical things retired folks do.

Bumper Kunkle & family
Bumper Kunkle & family
Bumper Kunkle & Stu Mill
Bumper Kunkle & Stu Mill

I spoke to Steve Dear (’85) a few weeks ago.  He bought a property in Chico, CA close to where his youngest daughter goes to school.  Steve is always on to go but I hope to catch up with him sometime soon at his new home.

Bumper also spoke to Tom Bodman a couple of weeks ago.  He and Sue are back in Florida for a while but I’m sure they will be headed out on the road again soon.

A.J. Murphy shares some pictures from Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where he met up with Yvette Smith Piggott right before the start of Krewe of Iris parade.  Additional photo from a family party…withYvette and Jim Quern.

A.J. Murphy & Yvette Smith Piggott
A.J. Murphy & Yvette Smith Piggott
Yvette Smith Piggott & daughter Carolyn
Yvette Smith Piggott & daughter Carolyn

Gretchen & A.J. Murphy
Gretchen & A.J. Murphy
A.J. Murphy, Jim Quern, Yvette Smith Piggott
A.J. Murphy, Jim Quern, Yvette Smith Piggott

Ray Christensen at Supreme Court
Ray Christensen at Supreme Court
Tony Hartman was invited to and spoke at the March for Life events in both McAllen and Schertz, Texas this year.

Meanwhile, Ray Christensen participated in March for Life in Washington DC on a frigid January day. Peace!

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Filed Under: Class Notes

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