Thanks for many great notes!

Pete Lafontaine writes:
We had perfect conditions for the KP 5K on Saturday 7/31 with cool, dry weather. The turnout was great with about 500 finishers. My son Trevor who is entering his senior year in high school took first place in 17:09. The X-Country coaches spent the rest of the day trying to convince him to attend KP, but his first choice is West Point which is currently recruiting him to run Track. I took 6th place in 18:20 (1st in alumni division) and my younger son Connor who is just entering his freshman year in high school finished 45th (1st in the alumni family division).

A.J. Murphy writes:
I met up with John Rhatigan for dinner, while I was briefly in Waltham, MA. Come to find out, this was actually where John grew up, prior to going to K.P. Had a guest dinner, enjoyed the visit and basically cut up quite a bit comparing notes!

Gretchen and I also teamed up at the Kurt Larsen household for a Texas style BBQ. Kurt has a great wife, Lisa (cause she is also from New Orleans like us) and a charming daughter still at home that just started her senior year in high school. They will be empty nesters soon as well.

Heard from Chirs D’Angelo end SEP. One of the few times he shows up in Houston, I was out of town. Sorry we missed a possible get together.

The last item that was just too cool to pass up were photos of some cool stuff on the island of Crete, Italy. Gretchen and were there for a week and stumbled across the “original seafaring people’s” maritime museum there. Being a true K.P’er, just had to get a picture of that. Then the real photo op came along. This is a real sea story… This is no %&@*, this really happened. I am doing my best ot drive this wind up toy of a car, just like the Greek Formula 1 racers around this huge island, and I look over and did a double take. Then I turned around and had to come back to get a picture to prove it. Someone had taken the superstructure of a small ship and permanently drydocked it on their lot! It had bridge windows, and some portholes. The steering wheel was on the gate and the radio DF was mounted over the garage or patio. A prop, spotlight and bell were still mounted on the front of the house. The bridge wing was covered over and a window was added. I got a feeling that some guy sailing was told by his girlfriend/wife that was it with him being gone all the time on a ship and those days were over, so he brought it “home”.

Matt Bucherati writes:
All is well with the Bucherati family. My son, Adam (28) got home from his year tour in Iraq. His daughter, Madison, was born six months into his tour. Thankfully, he was able to be home for the birth. His whole company opted out of those two weeks of leave to make sure he could be home. Three days after returning home, his wife Shannon delivered Madison actually on her due date. Adam was also reunited with his son and my grandson, Matthew. He had been gone for more than half of his life. Photo of my son and his family at their homecoming ceremony was in last column. (If you think my son looks tall in the picture it is because he is 6′-7″ and his wife is a squirt.)

My oldest daughter, Ellie (24) graduated from UNC last year and has been working in NY as a marketing analyst. She also just got engaged to a wonderful young man, Dave, who is completing his last year in medical school. Upon graduation, he will be a doctor and medical officer in the United States Army. They will be married in May 2011. Rosie (22), my youngest, is a senior at UNC Chapel Hill. In May she will graduate from the Keenan-Flagler School of Business at UNC with a BSBA. She is also a serious hang glider pilot.

Sara, my dear bride, and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary tomorrow. I am also about to celebrate my 25th year at Pepsi. Overall, life is good and I have been blessed with a wonderful and growing family. I wish the very best for all of my KP classmates as well.

Art Burns sent a photo:
It’s Robert Starks and me aboard a launch going ashore in Malaga, Spain. Our ship, USNS SISLER is in the background.

Congrats to Stephen Galati, Esq., of the Philadelphia law firm of Mattioni, Ltd. for being elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia (CACCGP). He has also been re-elected to the Board of Directors of the International Refrigerated Transportation Association (IRTA). Steve’s practice is in the areas of admiralty and maritime law and in business transaction matters, including representing those involved in the importation, transportation and storage of perishable commodities.

As far as your humble class correspondent, I can’t come close to the blazing speed of Pete Lafontaine, but can still knock down the miles, running my 18th marathon in October. I’m webmaster for over 100 sites & my online empire includes selling travel, posters, supplements, drugs, and even a couple eBooks. See previous columns & photos at our website.
—– Ray Christensen

Pete LaFontaine with sons Trevor & Connor at KP

Trevor LaFontaine wins Alumni 5K

 
Art Burns & Robert Starks                 Stephen Galati

 
A.J. Murphy in Greece

Thanks for many great notes!

Matthew Bucherati writes:
My son Adam just returned from Iraq two weeks ago safe and sound after being gone 416 days. We met him at the airport with his wife, Shannon, this two year old son, Matthew, and his six month old daughter, Madison. It was a wonderful homecoming. He is now settled in back at his home in Winston-Salem and is assimilating back into civilian life again. We are all thankful for his safe return.

A.J. Murphy writes:
Found out a fellow classmate Kurt Larsen was here in Houston since AUG of 2009. Got together this past weekend to visit with my wife and daughter along with his wife and daughter. Had a really nice outing on the boat on Lake Conroe. It was good to catch up with him. Kurt works for ABS nearby and we only live about 20 minutes from each other.

John Prien writes:
Cindy and I are keeping very busy with our 4 “tax deductions” – Maddie (almost 10), Ben (8), Zach (4) and Grayson (2) – and our newest addition to the family – a 23′ deck boat with a 350 HP inboard / outboard we keep out on Lake Allatoona. Between the family, Clorox and the Navy I’ve been keeping quite busy – in fact I was called up by the Navy to support the Deepwater Horizon spill as US Fleet Forces Command Liaison Officer to Unified Area Command for the spill . On the morning of April 30th the headline on the front page of the Wall Street Journal was “Navy Joins the Fight” – and by 6 PM that evening I was on my way down to the Gulf (needless to say it was a very interesting deployment).

Brian Foy writes:
Ray…I don’t think I have “sounded off” since our 25th so I am due. The past year has been quite hectic but the Foy’s have finally settled down in Pawling, NY. I am working again for the Westchester County Medical Society in White Plains (since 9-09) and we spent the last year living with my mother-in-law (no comment) in Port Chester until we sold our Oklahoma home. My two oldest (Melissa, 26 and Vincent, 23) remain in Oklahoma building their lives and my two youngest (James, 17 and Connor, 13) are with Karen and I here in NY. We really like Pawling but I have a feeling I will be in dire need of a snowblower in the near future!

I am enjoying a quiet summer thus far. The Foy siblings and their families are all gathering in Destin, FL later this month (July) to celebrate my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary. Turns out we are getting a huge refund from the owners of the house we are renting due to the oil spill. BP at work, I suspect. I am planning to get to a KP football game or two this Fall and I am about 30 minutes from West Point and may try to get to an Army game. Speaking of KP, my son (gasp) has expressed some interest so we are going to an orientation session in August for the would-be Class of 2015.

I haven’t had much contact lately with fellow ’83ers. My cell remains 405-850-8367 and email is . I have contacted the Mid-Hudson Chapter of USMMAAA and plan to join soon. I would welcome contact from classmates and especially those passing through the Hudson Valley area.

How’s the Marathon Man these days? I’ll let you know when I am next in the DC area so we can celebrate one more year since we stepped off the brow of the navy’s most infamous Tuna Boat!

Fair winds…

Thanks Brian. Marathon Man is fine (although my car recently got totaled in a 4 car collision). No big injuries and even getting some “medical massage” from a cute young lady. I’m now president of my running club (www.pcvrc.com) and race director of www.NunRun5K.org. I’ll run Rock’n’Roll half marathon in VA Beach, with concerts the nights before and after on the beach. Then in early October I’ll run my 18th marathon in Corning, NY, with www.RebelRunners.com buddies. That just leaves enough time to build websites for actual paying customers here and there.
See previous columns & photos at our website. Drive safely – land, sea, and air!
—– Ray Christensen

Ray Christensen after marathon with Chris Cioni in Sacramento Dec’09

 


Matthew Bucherati’s son home from Iraq tour – – Grandson

Thanks for many great notes! Be sure to update your profile at re-designed USMMAAF.com and add photos/notes to our class page anytime. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Jim Goulden, on the loss of his wife Carrie.

A.J. Murphy writes:
Certainly no one could have predicted the Saints winning the NFC Championship, then the Super Bowl. Next weekend immediately following is Mardi Gras! What a great couple of weeks.
Yvette (Smith) Pigott and I had not seen each other for a couple of years, the last visit being in Orlando, Yvette’s “home port”. The two remaining New Orleans class of ’83 fans got to share the excitement and catch up a bit. Got to say hello to Yvette’s three lovely daughters, saw her Mom who was riding in the parade that day as well as re-meet one of Yvette’s sisters who also is now in Orlando area. Gretchen had met Yvette originally when I was a 3rd classman, so we all got to spend a short time on the street next to the parade
line up to catch up on all the latest with kids, schools and college tuition hikes!!!
Sometimes the timing works out just great. Attached a couple of photos we snapped while there in New Orleans on a beautiful day.

Andy Dywan writes:
Things have been going well for me. Got married Feb 13, 2010 to Dianne Shubert. (see picture). It was a wonderful wedding. Rossco and Jackson did not make it because of the snowstorm. They were missed. I’m still working for Transocean as OIM and will be working in the Gulf of Mexico for the foreseeable future. In the process of building a house in Ninety-Six, so that has been keeping us very busy, hopefully it will be finished by the end of April. Was invited by Jimmy Quern and the boys to their annual Myrtle Beach golf outing. Could not make it due to being at work. Not sure if Tiger has anything to worry about!!

Scott Brueggeman writes:
My wife Colleen and I welcomed the birth of our second daughter (Catherine) at the end of last year. With the newest addition, life has been busy the past few months. We live in a suburb of Chicago and look forward to the warmer weather coming soon. From time to time I chat with Richard Surratt, Dan Russell, Kent Morton, and Skip McAloon among others in our class. All seem to be doing well.

Al Gebhardt writes:
I haven’t been in touch with any classmates recently but I heard Rex Gundle has moved with APM Terminals (again) from The Hague to Dubai. His daughter Sarah was working for my group in Charlotte at Maersk line the last few months. As for me, I was given an offer I couldn’t refuse by Maersk, and have just relocated from Charlotte to Shanghai, China. Plan to be here for the next two years. If anyone is traveling this way, let me know. Barbeque has a whole different meaning here than in North Carolina.

Lynn Craddock-Melin writes:
Attached are a couple of pictures of my sons, Paul and Kenny and I while visiting Europe in March. 7 Countries, 12 days, 17 teenagers. It was an absolute BLAST! I am working for Shell Exploration on temp assignement in Louisiana. Still based and living in Alaska, love that too. As an update, got my unlimited masters in ’89 and an MBA from U of MD in 95. Now that I am certified a master of 2 trades, thinking it is better to be a jack of all trades. Go figure. Family is well, married 20 years this year. 2 boys, Paul 17 and Kenny 13. Both going to private school so trying to talk them into KP to shorten the cost line.

Bob Ross provides KP ’83 Myrtle Beach Golf Crew recap:
We had a larger attendance this year and Skip joined me as the other deckie in the group; not counting Jimmy Maloney since he was only a 1/2 deckie. A good time was had by all with lots of new sea stories to tell. Mickey C would have sent the picture but he took his camera snorkeling.
In attendance this year was: Kent Morton, Mike Keane, Skip MacAloon, Jim Quern, Del Lewis, Guy Wilson, Mickey C, Jeff Coons, John Rhatigan, Bob Ross, and Jimmy Maloney (not pictured).

See previous columns & photos at our website. Drive safely – land, sea, and air!
—– Ray Christensen

 
A.J. Murphy & Yvette Pigott

 
Lynn Craddock-Melin & sons

Andy Dywan and bride Dianne

Annual Myrtle Beach Golf Outing