Bumper Kunkle writes:
Attached is a picture of Me, Maria, Steve Dear, Ella Brennan, Pete Brennan, Tom Bodman, and Sue Bodman at Riverwinds restaurant in West Deptford, NJ. We had a good time talking about old times at KP and our families. We are going to make an effort to get together more frequently so anyone that wants to join us can feel free to do so.

Tom and I are still working at NAVSSES. Other classmates here include Bill Higgins, Dan Hicks, Dave Ferchau, Kevin Fauvell, Dave Heinbockel, John O’Brien, and Bill Kraynik. Dan Gieschen works for a local contractor that supports NAVSSES so we run into him once in a while.

Pete Brennan works for Cardinal Health where he is some sort of big wig. Pete and Ella have 2 sons, one is going to Penn State, the other attends Boston College.

Steve Dear (KP ’85) works on an oil drilling ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Steve has 2 daughters, one in high school and the other is going to be in the 5th or 6th grade this fall.

Tom and Sue have 2 daughters, one is in Washington DC and the other is in south Florida.

As for me and Maria, our daughter graduates this December from Kean University. She will be a history teacher. My son is entering East Carolina this fall as a junior where he will major in business management. Frank Amend has agreed to keep an eye on him since he and his wife, Mel, live relatively close to ECU.

I see Donna and Tom Aufiero once in a while. They have a home in Jersey and on Lake Norman in NC. Tom’s daughter in a nurse in NC and his son is attending Rowan University.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Mickey C writes:
My youngest daughter Sarah graduated as an electrical engineer from The Catholic University of America in Washington DC. She is employed by the local utility (PEPCO)
while continuing her education at Catholic pursuing a masters degree in electrical engineering. Present at the ceremony were my sister Mary Susan and brother Pat, myself and son Brian. Dr Nguyen (the Dean of EE), my father (Mike) who received his Civil Engineering degree 60 years ago from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon), Sarah the graduate and my lovely wife of 30 years Mary Kay. Our oldest daughter Amanda missed the ceremony as she received her MBA from LaSalle University in Philadelphia the same day. Good times!

Jim Quern sent a photo:
My father is Al Quern, class of 1944. We got together this June 6th and took a picture. He’s doing quite well; lives in Buckhead, GA, and is coming to my son’s wedding on July 4th in New Orleans.

Stueart Mill writes:
I just pulled back in to Portland Oregon on the Global Sentinel. We were out for 47 days doing survey work on fiber optic cables near California and Oregon. My relief is here and I fly home tomorrow!
[See KP83.org for “photos of some odd critters seen down around 700 m depth.”]

Bill Rupy is back in the USA:
I’m now living in Philadelphia, having returned from Italy last fall.

I can now cross “go to great lengths to become an Army postal clerk” off my bucket list! Wife’s still over there while she awaits a new stateside gig, so for now we’re in the long-distance relationship club. I’m back to living the exciting life of a Database Geek as I try to not annoy my new neighbors with my accordion practice and learn to interact inoffensively with that most mercurial and unpredictable of creatures known as the American Driver. Looking forward to reconnecting with Philly-area classmates! I’m on that blasted Facebook.

Here’s a photo of Rick Wood, with his 2 Kings Pointer sons.

Phil Mueller sent this fine photo: Rachel passed her RN exam!!

Bruce Garrott writes:
After a memorable family vacation to Norway in June, our daughter, Mikaela, reported to Annapolis on July 1st. We visited with her during Plebe Parent Weekend, at the conclusion the Naval Academy’s six week Plebe Summer. Our older daughter, Kara, is working on her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at GWU.

See our website for color versions of all the photos. Thanks for all of the great reports. Next time, I hope to hear from everyone else!
—– Ray Christensen

Bumper & Maria Kunkle, Steve Dear, Ella & Pete Brennan, Tom & Sue Bodman

Mickey, Sarah, Mary Kay & Brian Cunningham

Al ’44 & Jim Quern

Rick Wood, with sons Ryan & Liam at KP

Phil Mueller w/daughter Rachel

Bruce Garrott & family

Please drop me a line or call if your name hasn’t appeared here in a while.Otherwise I’ll force you to read more about my latest running adventures. I ran a marathon along Susquehanna River in PA that had just 69 participants! Luckily, the scenery was nice. See link to my recap and video at Class Notes page of KP83.org. I’ve run a couple 5K’s recently, but my times are over 4 minutes slower than the 19 minute times that the truly fast Pete Lafontaine can still do!

Pete writes:
I am currently sidelined with another injury and haven’t run in four months. Judi and I are true ‘empty-nesters’ now. The attached photo is from Thanksgiving. Our younger son Connor on the left is a “Rook” (freshman) at Norwich University in Vermont and is on a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship. Norwich is the oldest private military college in the U.S. and is where ROTC began many years ago.

Our older son Trevor is a senior at West Point, and Judi and I are making plans for graduation week in May. The four years have gone by so fast. Trevor’s first 6 month duty assignment will be as a grad assistant for the West Point athletic department. He’ll be responsible for coaching the Army prep school cross country and track team distance runners. His ultimate duty assignment will be with the Engineers of the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, WA. With a 5K time of 14:22 and 10K time under 30 minutes, he’s been asked to be a member of the Army distance team that will compete in a 10-mile race against the other armed service branches this summer.

Pete also noted that his wife Judi recently coached the local high school girls cross country team to their fourth straight Connecticut Class M state championship and also won their second straight State Open title with the fastest team time in state history. — That’s one fast family!

Rick Wood shares:
My son Liam Wood will join the class of 2019 on June 30. His brother Ryan Wood is class of 2017 and is recently back from his first sea year. Ryan is active with the sailing team and also an EMT at the academy. The leaves Kate and I with 2 girls left at home. We are living in Budd Lake, NJ.

Art Burns writes:

I was in the Houston area in late March and visited with Mike Curtiss. Mike is a Houston Pilot. I sail as Chief Mate with American Maritime Officers on government contracts with MSC.

Mike Safina & Erin Gantt informed me that former 1st CO officer, Ken Lyons passed away from complications of leukemia earlier this month. He was a 1968 USMMA graduate and worked for over 20 years at MSC HQ in Washington after serving at KP.

Thanks to all who’ve sent info! Nothing is too boring (except maybe my own running adventures?). This is the 10th year of my web design business. I’ve also just started a partnership focused on getting businesses to the first page of Google results with a prominent listing that stands out from the competition. See www.LocalResultsNow.com. If you’re a business owner, share your latest progress with us! Share photos with me and/or our Facebook Group.
Take care.
—– Ray Christensen

Pete Lafontaine & family

Karen & Brian Foy, with son Connor

Dave Ferchau (pic stolen from Facebook)

Mark Suter, our awesome past class correspondent of many years, writes:
Unfortunately, I don’t have not connected with any classmates for awhile. Brian Foy was good enough to share the picture of us and update in the last Kings Pointer.

I did run into Sue Peterson in January. Her daughter is the same age as my youngest, 8th grade, and they both played in Nassau County’s “All County” concert at Tilles Center. Sue looks great and I was amazed about how much she remembers from our class alone.
Received an invite to Battle Standard Dinner at KP on 3/16 for the first time and plan on attending. Cannot wait to enjoy the food once again at Delano Hall.

Suter Family update:
– – eldest is finishing NYU in May. Difficult to believe but realize many of our classmates are in same point in our lives. Justin is a history major with business & French minors. He’s hoping to land a job with a consulting firm here in NYC after graduation.
– – Gregory is a freshman at NYU Stern School of Business & following in his brothers footsteps by playing soccer for NYU.
– – Nicholas while the youngest is already taller than Gregory and me and doing well.
– – Jeanann is doing her best to keep the 4 of us in line. We celebrated the 30 year mark last October.
I’m working with Citi Bank who acquired the predecessor firm, BISYS almost 8 years ago. split time between Tribeca and 111 Wall Street when not traveling to LA, SF, Chicago & other US cities. Promote Citi’s accounting service for private equity funds and investors. As you know, we live in Lloyd Neck, Long Island and would love to see you and any of our classmates. Suggest summer time since we have a 30 foot Catalina and the winters on the east coast have been brutal.

Bruce Garrott writes:
Here’s an image of Jillian and Jim Goulden and Mikaela & Bruce Garrott (left to right, taken after a pre-season water polo game, on 6 February, in Winter Park, FL. Mikaela and Jillian are both seniors in adjacent high schools, which are friendly rivals. The girls were classmates back in their elementary years and have been good friends ever since!
Jim adds, “Their Dads maintain their youthful looks despite each raising two daughters (and Jim a son as well)“

A.J Murphy writes:
Was just in New Orleans over the Mardi Gras weekend and had an opportunity to grab a quick photo at the Thoth parade with Jim “King” Quern along with my brother Jim KP ’73 and myself. Had a great time visiting familyand friends, and ate too much as usual!

Rex Gundle writes:
After 17 years overseas, Kim and I have returned to the US to be closer to family. I have taken up a new job with Bechtel as a Port and Marine Project Manager, which has allowed me to work from the house (Lake Lure, NC) when not off to project sites. I hope to reconnect with many of our classmates or alumni in the coming months as I settle in for the expected culture shock that I am sure that is heading my way, now that we are back.

Asst Class Correspondent Brian Foy writes:
I had breakfast with Kevin Brofford. He’s looking great as always. He’s a corporate pilot for American Express and lives in New Milford, CT. We were long overdue to get-together.

At our facebook page, check out Chris D’Angelo‘s post on Wiley Hall history. See photos that Tony Harman posted of his Army retirement ceremony on his own facebook page. Congrats, Tony!

Everyone: Remember to drop me a line to announce any moves, retirements, grandkids, or 15 minutes of fame!
—– Ray Christensen

Kevin Brofford & Brian Foy

Jim Goulden, Bruce Garrott & their daughters

Jim Quern, A.J. Murphy & brother Jim Murphy, KP ’73

Tony Harman’s Army retirement ceremony