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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Brian Krenzien takes on a key position:
I’ll be starting a new job as the DHS attaché to the US Embassy in Poland and the TSA representative for Eastern Europe. I’ll be handling aviation security issues for an AOR that includes: Poland, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. I’ll be moving to Warsaw for this position in the fall (hopefully late October).

Rick Boudiette shares:
I held a small remembrance for the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the ITB Oxy Producer in late September. The original plan for a dinner on the actual anniversary was postponed due to the slow recovery following Hurricane Ida. That said, it was a very good dinner – Kim & Frank Liantonio, Anne & Jim Quern, as well as a few others who were available (Frank/Kim’s eldest daughter and SIL; one of Jim/Anne’s sons, and a former Chevron colleague living in NOLA). Everyone, including Frank/Kim’s new grandson, got a commemorative lifejacket koozie! It was interesting to go back and review the legal issues associated of the sinking, commercial contracts, salvage, and eventual “new” construction event using the cargo section of the surviving section. Paul Ricci and I were engine cadets onboard the ill-fated vessel. Peter Kanellos KP52 was Master; Fred Murphy KP70 was Chief Officer, and Peter Davis KP81 was Cargo Engineer. No injuries, just a very good sea story! What wasn’t captured in any of the legal reviews, but probably more notable, was the question from the top deck in Wiley Hall when Paul and I were repatriated: “Why didn’t you sew your sea project into your lifejacket?”

At our last reunion, I was still a resident of Angola working for a Chevron Joint-Venture as Marine Manager at an LNG export terminal at the mouth of the Congo River. In mid-2019, I convinced management to make the job rotational (I was the only Operations person, including the Angolan nationals, who was resident) and made my home in New Orleans. As luck would have it with the pandemic, a 4 week rotation in March 2020 turned into a 23 week lockdown in Soyo. That was enough; I took a package from mama Chevron back in February this year as my Angolan visa was expiring. Hence, despite Ida and the fact that I have to drive 2 hours one-way to Lafayette to ice skate, I am easing into retirement life in New Orleans and filling any free time walking rescue dogs at the local animal shelter.

Back in July, I made a road trip primarily to see my siblings in NYC for the first time since the pandemic. Made a few detours and was able to catch up with Priscilla & Steve Nicholson and Pete Feeney (KP88) and his wife Nanette in Maine, and Mary Kay & Mickey C in Baltimore. The second pic is of Pete, Steve and me navigating the Androscoggin River one Sunday afternoon.

Deacon Bob Grimaldi announces:
My wife and I became grandparents for the first time, James Maverick Wooten born 11/12/21, 9 lbs 2 oz, my daughter Sara and son-in-law Josh Wooten, yippi! all are well.

Phil Custer surfaces:
Since I have been off hook since grad a lot has happened but not sure that much of it would be very interesting.

Jeff Kalb brings us up to date on his adventures:
Hard to believe it will soon be 40 years since graduation! Here is a quick snapshot of what has happened since 83′ and a pic of my family.
After graduation I moved to Clearwater, Fl. I met Joann playing tennis (my dad actually introduced us!), we dated for 3 years and got married in March of ’87. I spent 10 years with Honeywell Space and Strategic Systems Group doing HVAC designs, building clean rooms, fire sprinkler system and process piping designs for our assembly areas. We adopted our first daughter, Hannah, born January ’94. We moved to Cleveland, TN in August of ’94 as I started working for Maytag Appliance Corporation. We adopted our second daughter, Megan, born September ’97. In 2006 Whirlpool Corporation bought Maytag. I spent a total of 27 years at our manufacturing plant in Cleveland, serving in numerous roles – Manufacturing Engineer, Lean Manufacturing Engineer, Warehouse and Inventory Control Manager, Materials Planning Manager, Cost and Quality Engineer and lastly as a Quality Lead before retiring September of ’20. Hannah got married in 2016 and Megan in 2020.

We are blessed with 2 amazing son-in-laws, Matt and Cole! No grandchildren as yet, just grand dogs and grand cats! Since retiring Joann and I have ridden many Rails to Trails including the Virginia Creeper, The GAP (Pennsylvania), Silver Comet (Georgia), Pinellas Trail (Florida) and others. We love playing pickle ball and play wherever we go. We also felt the Lord leading us to get deeply involved in helping the homeless and low income folks living in Cleveland which has been quite the journey but rewarding.
So there you have it, 38 years in one long paragraph! Attached is the pic of the fam. My cell is 423-595-0985 if anyone is in the area.

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Ray Christensen takes a road trip! A grade school buddy asked me to drive to Florida with him in November. We visited friends and relatives of his in NC, GA and FL.
I was unable to get together with Matthew Bucherati in Winston-Salem, since he was assisting his son in recovering from an auto accident. We did a phone visit instead. He’s busy keeping track of his kids and grandkids and looks forward to retirement from Pepsi in the near future.

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I was able to enjoy a long lunch with Brian Foy in St. Augustine and got a tour of his golf course home that he and his wife Karen are very happy with – especially since a couple of their kids have moved nearby!

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Scroll down to see Erin Gantt video

Bumper Kunkle leads off:
I finally convinced my wife to sell our NJ house.   We are now in TN full time.   I was driving down here every couple of weeks to check on the house but won’t have to worry about that anymore. My wife and I just got back from a trip to St Louis and Branson MO.  I wanted to see the Cardinals play in Busch Stadium and wanted to go to Branson to see some country performers.  I’ll be heading to NY in September to see the Mets play the Phillies.   It’s tough being a Mets fan!  We’ve gotten to use to saying “maybe next year”.

I still keep in touch with Tom Bodman.  He and his wife Sue are in Montana right now.   They travel from Florida in their RV to see their daughter and to enjoy the great sights in the US.

I also keep in touch with Steve Dear.  He is in Singapore while one of his ships is shipyard.

Tom Aufiero is still maintaining a residence in NJ and NC.  I think he prefers is home on Lake Norman but his wife is working for Lockheed in NJ.

Pete Brennan is also a resident of NC.  He and his wife moved from NJ  over a year ago.

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Bob Ross tells us:
I’m retired and living in Rehoboth Beach now. Had the opportunity to meet up with Mike Safina who’s been here for 4 years. He invited me to the 100th anniversary of the christening of the OverFalls light ship. He’s the president of their board. Here are some pics from the event. First time I’ve been on a ship in a while.

Kurt Larsen shares:
I retired from ABS after almost 30 years in November 2018. I’ve been enjoying retirement and Lisa and I decided to stay in The Woodlands, TX. We bought a motorhome which we do some travelling in. The grandkids love it! I see some of our classmates who live in the Houston area especially when a classmate comes in from out of town. Rick Boudiette was here a few months ago and we met up at Karbach Brewery for lunch with Arthur Murphy, Mike Booth, Mike Curtiss and Kirk ‘82. Missed the last reunion due to a business trip, but won’t have that problem for the next one!

Mark Faller proudly writes that his daughter, Caitlyn (Faller) Rerucha, was recently deep selected for Lieutenant Colonel. Caitlyn is a physician in the U.S. Army and is seen here after a HALO jump at Fort Bragg. “When your kid makes O-5, that makes us relics.” Prost – Mark

Bruce Garrott’s photo op:
We stumbled upon this street while on a REI Bike Tour of the San Juan Islands, this past June.  Debbie had to capture the moment.  It was serendipity that I was wearing a KP jersey!

Ed Fairbairn shares:
Jeff Kalb is retired from Whirlpool for about a year now.   Jeff & Joanne visited us back in October. Also Mary and I are new grandparents to Rosemary Bella Fairbairn, August 4, 2021.  Parents Steve and Antionette Fairbairn live outside of Dallas TX, in Crandall, TX.

Maureen McKeever notes:
Life in Pittsburgh is just fine. I’ve been working and going to Stamp Club meetings. We just had our annual show and I got a ribbon for my exhibit on stamps I’ve collected during my travels – OK, so it was for “Participation”, but I was thrilled! We had a “Disney Day” at work and here I am with my Eeyore hat on, with my boss Crissy in her Star Wars light-up mouse ears. Finally, here’s a picture of the clouds over the Allegheny River – they look like whales! I hope everyone’s doing well, staying safe and I look forward to the reunion!

Chris Cioni reports:
Coming to you from the land of smoke and fire …

Chris Hart, AJ Murphy, Chris Cioni, Mike Curtiss & George Toma in Houston[/caption]The stars were in alignment on my recent business trip to Houston (Pasadena to be exact).  Mike Curtiss was on pilot duty that week and we hoped to meet, if his vessel schedule allowed.  Turns out that Mike was free one night, so he reached out to others in the area and we were joined by AJ Murphy, Chris Hart and George Toma!  Mike pulled in on a big Harley with his shades, shorts and the wind blowing in his hair.  AJ lives quite a ways north of Pasadena and Chris & George are still busy with careers, so it was so great that they could meet on short notice.  Great conversations about things new and old!  Aside from the reality of our sixth decade, all are happy and healthy.  There are a fair number of us in the Houston area, so I’m already looking forward to my next trip in Oct.

I’ve also had a couple of long chats with other classmates recently.  Spoke with my one time roommate Jim Romeo.  Jim and wife Jeanie live in northern Virginia, where Jim retired from NAVSEA (or one of those naval engineering groups) last year.  Jim’s still very busy with his freelance technical writing work and attending various tech trade shows.  My second catch-up was with Doug Barlow.  Doug and his wife Mita live on the coast between Seattle and Bellingham WA.  Doug had sailed for a number of years before launching his own venture in plant-based nutrition.  As with all classmates, the conversations are easy and interesting as though we haven’t been long out of Victory gate.

I hope all is well in your life and want to thank you for your commitment to keeping us all connected.

Craig Ellixson turned lemons into lemonade:
Furloughed from PortMiami at the onset of the Pandemic when the cruise industry crashed. Jettisoned the Port life of round the clock hours and moved to bucolic PA. Something that most of you take for granted like sleeping in a bed every night was now granted to me at 60! As several of our classmates have observed, I took the unconventional step of moving from Miami to PA in the winter. But we built a brand new home and life is sweeter than ever living next door to Hershey. Experiencing all four seasons for the first time and three day weekends every week. Life is good…

Ray Christensen dropped up to Philly to watch Erin Gantt perform 11 songs at Philadelphia city hall courtyard on a hot Sunday afternoon in June. She made KP and the Navy proud!!

Thanks to Leo Carling for reaching out to a couple “missing classmates” for me.