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.
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
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.
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 …
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.
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.