Submitted For Multi-Year Reunion, May 18-20, 2007
1962
Gary Schadler '62 (Deceased).
Gary served as Controller of the house, and, for many years, he was the President
of the Alumni Association and Alumni Advisor to the fraternity.
1963
Nick Antich '63-'64.
A short Bio: Grad '63 and '64 Arts / Engineering - major CE. Married my wife Carol in
the Lehigh Chapel on June 6, 1964 (took my Arts degree in absentia since we were on our
honeymoon). We lived in Parsippany, NJ, until 1971. I got fired from my first job,
which was at Ingersoll Rand after I asked if they would send me to Grad school at the
end of my training program. After working at a few jobs for 5 1/2 years, I started a
business, A D Computer Corporation, to offer payroll services. Yes, we compete with
ADP, Paychex, and Ceridian and anyone else in the business. I liked the Lehigh Valley
so we built a house and moved back to the Lehigh Valley, where we opened our doors
for business in January 1971. It took many years to get financially sound, since we
started on a shoe string. In 1995 we built our headquarters in the Stabler Corporate
Center (the other side of the mountain from Lehigh). Carol and I are still active
in the business. My son Eric is 39 and I think will be living in Honduras or
Nicaragua. My daughter Lynn is 37, and she and my granddaughter Brittany who is 14
live with Carol and me. I never got into golf as other interests took up my time.
We have been involved with American Saddle bred show horses since around 1979.
We used to breed them (not us but our trainer), and show them. I plan to show again
next year after about a 15 year hiatus. Carol and I also enjoy touring on my Harley
(an Ultraclass touring bike) across country, up the Big Sur in CA, etc. The other
interest is boating. We keep a motor yacht in the Baltimore Inner Harbor 8 months
out of the year and move it to Longport NJ each summer. We spend most weekends on it
from April through October.
Sam Banks '63.
Retired to horse farm in New England. Looking forward to seeing everyone in May.
Tom Craven '63.
Graduated from American University School of Law in Washington, DC. Clerked for
Maryland Court of Appeals in Annapolis. Assistant District Attorney for many years in
Montgomery County, MD, outside Washington followed by private practice of law in
Gaithersburg MD. Since 1992, Judge - Circuit Court of Montgomery County Maryland.
Lived with Jack Bufton (Lehigh Sig-Ep '66) and Bob Varga (Lehigh Sig-Ep '70) during
early '70s. Married - wife Marnie, former IBM sales exec. Reside in Bethesda, MD.
Hobby - sailing.
Carvel Hoffman '63.
After a short stint with a small electronics manufacturing firm, I joined Bethlehem
Steel Research. For 39 years I had a great ride until Bethlehem went bankrupt and
was acquired by International Steel Group (ISG) in May 2003. After 2 years with ISG
as a Research Consultant, ISG merged with (read was acquired by) Mittal Steel in 2005.
I am now working for Mittal Steel USA, part of Arcelor Mittal (the largest steel
company in the world). I have been married to my second wife (Joan) for 33 years.
Together, we raised eight children (her four and my four) and now have nineteen
grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. After calling the Lehigh Valley home for
all our lives, we are now living in NW Indiana and we LOVE Chicago. I have traveled
extensively for work. Joan tags along at times, and, in our spare time, we travel
to visit our large family. I have no plans to retire. It's a sickness - I LOVE my
work.
Jim O'Brien '63.
You've done a nice job collecting info on everyone. I thought rather than being in
the "whereabouts unknown" category, I'd offer an update of what Anna Marie and I have
done over the past 43 years. After graduation I worked in NYC for a couple of years
where I got hooked on computers. It was then back to graduate school where I picked
up several degrees. Once that was over, I went to work for IBM starting stationed
at Princeton University for 4 years and then went into research and software
development for the rest of my IBM career. During that time we lived in NY, MD, PA,
NC, the UK, and France. While in PA, Anna Marie, the kids, and I had a small horse
breeding farm and watched our daughter ride to a national show jumping championship.
After PA we moved to NC where we have stayed, at least for now. There, besides my
IBM work, I spent my free time as an international track and field official and did
some adjoint track coaching and "watching" 3 kids go through UNC-CH. After IBM,
I worked for a friend's computer services company starting and running his offshore
programming center in the Philipines. Since the kids were all on their own by then,
Anna Marie accompanied me on a bi-monthly "commute" to Manila for about 5 years.
After that gig, another friend asked me to headup a technology subsidiary of his UK
startup company, so it was back to the UK for several years until I felt it appropriate
to turn operation over to a Brit. We returned home and I did a few executive level
consulting gigs and then finally decided to retire for the 4th and, possibly, final
time. However, like the postman who takes a walk on his day off, I still play with
computers in my free time. We now spend our time traveling (Asia, Europe, SA) as well
as seeing our 6 grandchildren (2 in NC, 2 in CO, and 2 in OR). We have three
children, 2 sons, both attorneys, and a daughter who is working on a PhD in
Education. We won't make the reunion as we will be traveling to visit my brother
in Hong Kong and then on to Tibet and other parts of China for about a month.
Give our best to every one.
Chuck Simmons '63.
After graduating from Lehigh, I joined Grumman Aircraft on Long Island. While there,
I worked on the Ground Support Equipment for the Navy version of the F-111
fighter/bomber, the Orbital Astronomical Observatory Satellite, and a few other small
projects. I also met and married my wife of 41 years, Carole. We spent our spare
time surfing at Jones Beach and socializing with friends, some of whom we still
maintain contact with. I also obtained a masters degree and a pilot's license.
In the spring of 1967, we moved to upstate New York where I joined the IBM
(International Brotherhood of Magicians) Corporation. In Owego, I worked on a
Navy carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft called the S-3A, a Boeing radar
airplane called the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), and the Navy
Submarine Sonar System called the AN/BQQ-5. We enjoyed the New York State Park
system and did our skiing at Greek Peak. IBM moved us to Manassas, VA, in early
1973. We were happy to get out of upstate New York, but the skiing was lousy in
Virginia. The AN/BQQ-5 Program for attack class submarines allowed us to bid
successfully on the companion sonar for the fleet ballistic missile (FBM)
submarines, the AN/BQQ-6. These two programs grew with the addition of a sonar
operator trainer system for each sonar. How many of you knew that the sonars
for all U.S. submarines were built by IBM, now Lockheed Martin? In early 1988,
IBM moved us to Boulder, CO, to work on missile warning and missile defense
systems for the U.S. Air Force. This was a fantastic move for Carole, Tim
(our son), and me. We love the weather, the skiing (and everything else
outdoors), and the City of Boulder itself. I took an IBM early retirement
program at the end of 1991, but worked my way back into the company, as a
consultant, a year later. I took a tour in Florida for a year working on a
U.S. Army training system (infantry, cavalry, aircraft, etc.), the ultimate
in arcade games. That is when IBM decided they did not want the Federal Systems
Division any more and sold us (lock, stock, and retirement plan) to an outfit
called Loral. Two years later, Loral came to the same conclusion and sold us to
Lockheed Martin. I decided I had had enough and retired in September 2001.
Since then, Carole and I have done some traveling (seven continents) and have
enjoyed life greatly. We have great friends from all the places we have lived and
do our best to keep in touch with all of them. I am looking forward to seeing all
of you in May. Carole will not be coming with me as one of her nephews is
graduating from college the same weekend, and she will be there to congratulate him.
I will join her on Sunday to celebrate at his graduation party.
Al Singmaster '63.
After graduation and 2 years in retailing, spent 15 years in HR with 3 companies as
Manager and Director; then in 1980 started my own employment agency, A.L. Singmaster
Personnel Services, specializing in the Metals/materials field. In 2001 started my
petsitting services company - Purr-Fect Petsitters. Still am running both companies.
Married 42 years to Marjorie (Marj) and blessed with 2 children, Amanda Kennedy and
H. Robert and one 6 month old grandchild, Brooks Robert.
Trying to resolve my weekend schedule, which because we also own/manage a
rental property in Ocean City, NJ (which has been the site of several SigEp reunions
amongst the '63 class in the '90s) makes getting away more difficult in light of
opening that place up for business the following weekend), but will probably try to
make Antich's party on Friday night vs. Sat. night. Pretty much have no choice other
than picking one night or the other. Will keep you posted.
1964
Miles Capron '64.
Upon graduating from Lehigh I joined Schlitz Brewing Co. (1964-1969) in the Marketing
Department in Milwaukee and later served as Assistant to the President when it was
the largest brewer in the world. It has since gone out of existence for which I do
not claim any credit and will accept only a modicum of blame. From 1970-1971,
I was Vice-President of Equipment Storage Corp. in Chicago which was a Capron Family
business. I left after that two-year period when it became apparent that one of my
principal responsibilities was tending bar at my uncle's social functions. That
company has since been sold by the family, and I have no idea whether it exists
now or not. In 1972 I joined my father at Capron Sales Company as Vice-President
and served this organization of manufacturer's reps. handling steel products in that
capacity until 1982. In 1982 I bought my father out and acted as sole owner of Capron
Sales Company until I closed the company down completely in 2005 after going into
semi-retirement in 1997. In my personal life, I followed an extended bachelor existence
with several engagements but no weddings until 1978. I met Barb in 1977 after a
business associate mentioned that he had a daughter getting a divorce. After
disregarding his instructions to keep my hands off, we met and hit it off together
and decided to get married in 1978 (rather than I should adopt her). She joined
me in my passion for travel which began in the 1970s and finally completely retired
from her own succesful business career in finance a year ago. We never had
children but had three long lived devoted dogs whose names are on my headstone much
to my Mother's chagrin. We now spend two to three months a year abroad and are
doing a complete rehab of our Florida home which is now our principal residence.
Barb's main volunteer activity is being a first responder on the Emergency Squad
while I spend a lot of volunteer time at the Southeastern Guide Dog School.
We enjoy good food, fine wine, and live theater along with our travels. If we don't
spend all our assets during our lifetime effort to keep the world economy moving
at a brisk pace, the Miles and Barbara Capron Foundation will dispense the few
remaining dribbles in Wisconsin and Florida.
Dennis Domchek '64.
I retired from Air Products after 26 years -- a very good run. I am at Moravian College
as the CFO with additional responsibilities for Facilities, HR, IT, Food Service, etc.,
and having fun. I am not teaching at Moravian - that would be a disaster for the
students, I think! Sadly, Maryanne passed away just about 4 years ago. I remarried
last year to a wonderful woman who's been a resident of Bethlehem for the past 25
years.
Gordon Everstine '64.
After Lehigh, I moved to Indianapolis to work for Bell Labs and to attend Purdue U.
for a master's degree in engineering. Then I went to Brown University (Providence, RI)
for a doctorate in applied mathematics and, after a two-year interruption for the
Navy, I finished in 1971. I then took a job as a civilian research engineer with a
Navy lab in Bethesda, Md., where I worked for about 30 years. I also later joined
the adjunct faculty of George Washington U. (Washington, DC), where I have taught
graduate engineering courses for about 20 years. I retired from my Navy position
about three years ago and continue to teach part-time at GWU. I met my wife
Ginny when I was at Brown, and we have two grown children.
Bert Gross '64.
I have been a professor at Marshall University, WV, since 1978. I got my M.A. and
Ph.D. at Temple and taught for a while at Canisius College in Buffalo and the
University of Georgia before settling here. My wife Kathleen and I were married
in 1967 and have two children. Elizabeth is 31 and lives in Huntington, WV.
David is 17 and graduating from high school this spring. He is interested in
engineering in college but I could not get him interested in Lehigh, which will
probably save me a lot of money. It looks like he will pick between West Virginia
and Ohio State. Kathleen is a lawyer who works for the West Virginia Supreme Court
as Director of Judicial Education. That's the thumbnail sketch of the last 40+ years.
Reduced to a few lines of type, it doesn't seem like much. My brother Bill
(Lehigh Sig-Ep '67) lives in Annandale, VA, and has worked for more than 25 years
at the U.S. Department of Labor.
John Houtz '64.
As others have done, I'd like to thank you for your efforts toward pulling the
mid-sixties LU Sig-Eps back together. It's been interesting reading on what
everyone has been up to to these 40 years. Because my mother lives west of
Allentown, and I get back that way several times a year, I've been to Lehigh fairly
often. For instance I was at the All-Classes parade at the 2000 Reunion but I
didn't see anybody from SPE there. I suppose I am on the hook for a mini-bio,
so here it is. Out of Lehigh I enlisted in the Army for three years, to avoid the
draft, or the alternative, years of obligation with the National Guard. I went into
Military Intelligence and spent time at Fort Dix (Basic Training), Fort Holabird, MD
(near Baltimore, for Specialty Training), Sandia Base, NM (Albuquerque, working
counterintelligence for the U.S.-located Nuclear-Weapons Army/Navy Air Force
commands), and Fort Huachuca, AZ (temporary duty on some development technical
gear). It was generally interesting, and involved lots of travel around the U.S.
(Washington DC, Nevada, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas). I lived off base and wore
civilian clothes, but it was, after all, the Army, and I was glad to get out in the
fall of '67. In October '67 I married an Albuquerque schoolteacher and took a job
at Boeing in Seattle, doing jack-of-all-trades engineering on 707, 727, 737, and
747 Flight Training Simulators. That job lasted about 12 years, when I got sick
of it and switched to propulsion control engineering. After participating in the
design and flight test of a prototype system on the company's 747 in 1980, I worked
on the most of the jetliner models (757, 737, 777) designing, testing, and
supporting the new electronic engine control systems that are now standard on all
jetliners, Boeing and otherwise. In 1989 my wife and I divorced, having had no
children by mutual agreement. I soon took up with a gal named Terri, originally
from Wisconsin, who is of all things, a fraternity cook (at Delta Tau Delta at the
University of Washington). And boy can she cook: I have the waistline to prove it.
I retired from Boeing after 35+ years there in May 2003. I have no trouble keeping
busy: the days just fly by. I have over 7000 books, most unread, and a whole bunch
of musical instruments, mostly guitars, to waste time on. I still can't play the
guitar worth a damn, but I enjoy trying. as long as no-one is around to listen.
Don Jackson '64.
After graduating, I went to Philly for three years, married Charlotte from Swarthmore,
and came back to Lehigh to get a Masters. We actually agreed to chaperon at SigEp
- was that an experience. Worked for an oil company for a decade, then in nuclear,
power generation and finally in environmental consulting until retiring recently
from a venture with Mitsubishi. Two kids and three grand kids. We have lived in
Texas, San Diego, and Colorado for the last 30 years and now spend half our time
looking at the Rockies and the other half looking at the Pacific from our beach
house in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, north of San Diego. In the last few years, we've been
gathering with the west coast SigEp crew including Dale Osborn, George Rushforth,
and Dave Depew. Looking forward to seeing everyone in May.
Skip Lankford '64.
Here's a short synopsis of 40 years gone by: Carol and I married upon graduation in '64;
MBA from Lehigh in '65; '66-'68 Officer in U.S. Army (ROTC commitment); '68-'92 Held
positions of increasing responsibility in the communications field - with C&P
Telephone of Maryland , A.T.&T., and Bell Atlantic; 12-15-92 Accepted "golden parachute"
retirement offer. Finished career as Director - Maryland Operations for Bell Atlantic.
That's right - I've now been retired for over 12 years. Hard to believe. Stopped
in many places along the way - Indianapolis, Baltimore, Cumberland (MD),
New Providence (NJ) - while working in NYC ; settled here in Severna Park, Md in 1981.
Our two kids (Brett and Jodi) have now blessed us with 3 grandchildren. Brett
(Washington College - MD) is a high school counselor in Baltimore; Jodi (Western
Maryland College) in on sabbatical from teaching duties while raising her own family
in Pasadena, MD. Carol continues to teach at a local church nursery school - loves it.
Spend time at our condo in Ocean City (Md); jump from project to project; continue
to follow financial world / sports; and try to keep things going health-wise.
Bernie Musch '64 (Deceased).
(This article was adapted by G. Everstine '64 from obituary and other sources.)
Bernie Musch grew up in Baltimore. He was active in scouting and achieved the rank of
Eagle Scout. He graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (High School).
While at Lehigh in 1964 he married Connie Brown, also of Baltimore. After
graduating from Lehigh with a degree in mechanical engineering, Bernie moved to
Indianapolis, where he was employed as an engineer by General Motors. He moved to
Palo Alto, where he earned his master's and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Bernie then worked for Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto until his tranfer to Corvallis,
Oregon, where he and another HP veteran later founded their own company, Tripod Data
Systems. TDS was formed in 1987 to develop surveying software for the HP41 calculator.
Bernie served as president of TDS until shortly before his death. Bernie died of
cancer on May 7, 1992, at age 50. He had two sons, Marty (now 38) and Jonathan (now 35).
Connie, Bernie's wife of 28 years, remarried in 1999 and resides in Oregon. The
pictures of Bernie and Connie that appear elsewhere on this website were taken at the
1989 reunion (the 25th reunion for Class of '64).
Rick Vernay '64.
Although I was Class of '64, I didn't graduate until Jan '68. First job out of school
was a research chemist with Schering-Plough in Bloomfield, NJ, trying to come up with
new semi-synthetic antibiotics. Kathy and I bought a small subsistence farm
(DeRuyter, NY) in 1974 and went back to the land. Then in 1977 we bought a commercial
dairy (Blodgett Mills, NY) and set about milking cows. Daughter Jessica was born that
year. Jim was born in 1980. We sold the herd in 1983, and I joined a group of
manufacturers' reps selling ag supplies. My territory was NY and New England. Got
separated in '88, fired in '89, divorced in '89 -- not a great time. I had a curious
job managing greenhouses for a commercial cabbage breeder, but then got into
archaeology, which had been a long-time interest of mine. I joined the Louis
Berger Group and continue with them today. The Cultural Resources division of the
company is like the red-headed stepchild; we don't get invited to the Christmas party.
It's an interesting company, global ambulance chasers, if there's a war, tsunami, or
disaster, we're there, but generally the archaeology folks don't go overseas. Susan
and I hooked up in 1990 and formalized it in 2002. We live in Homer, NY. My current
passions are fishing, gardening, and genealogy. As our parent's generation dies off,
I am compelled to collect and document their history. Likewise in the garden, I
concentrate on heirloom varieties. You can say that I live in the past. But when
this tired old curmudgeon looks at the present -- WHAT THE F***.
Tom Walker '64.
After graduation, I joined the Navy via OCS in Newport, RI, to be sure I did not
get drafted. I served aboard the destroyer back and forth between Vietnam and Long
Beach, CA, for the required three and a half years. When I got out I got my MBA and
joined IBM in LA. I stayed in the active reserves aboard destroyers for a total of
14 years, last commanding a DDG reserve unit in Atlanta before quitting because it
interfered with IBM work. I stayed with IBM in numerous sales and headquarters
management positions in Atlanta, Princeton, NJ, and White Plains NY for over 32
years before retiring in 2002. Like most other retirees, I (we) cannot find the time
to do all I want to do. When not traveling we have many interests that keep us busy.
Since retiring I wake up with a smile every morning! Our only daughter is working on
her Ph.D. in math at U of Chicago.
1965
Bill Anderson '65.
From 1965 to 1995 I worked for 3 companies and led a pretty normal life. In 1995 I
was working for Loral in Sarasota and corporate made a decision to move the Sarasota
business to California. They asked me pick 7 people to take with me, and lay off the
rest -- about 70 folks. Some had been with the company for 30 years. It was wrong
on so many levels, and I resigned. During the next six years I went through three
startups in Silicon Valley. (A startup's half-life was pretty short in those days,
and I was brought in to head up rescue efforts.) The third one was a big winner and
we were acquired by Cisco Systems. Cisco signed me to a two-year retention contract,
and by '01 I was free to leave. The telecom industry was having tough times, and I
was financially independent by then, so my family and I moved back to our home in
Sarasota. On the personal side, my son Mike spent a long time deciding what he was
going to do with his life. In California I talked him into taking some web page
development classes with me at a community college. He was one of the best in the
class, and the girls hunted him down for help. He decide he liked that, and enrolled
in a local Sarasota college when we got back to Florida. He's good with the
technical, but really bad with the administrative... things like what days does he
have class, when is the homework due, there's a test today!!! So I've been taking
some classes with him to help get him focused on those things. He's been doing
surprisingly well, and I feel like my time and effort have been worthwhile. That's
given me some free time. More recently, I've started developing software for trading
stocks. It's turned out to be really interesting, and perhaps will turn a few bucks
in the process. My other kid, Jennifer, has a degree in Journalism. Last year
she got fed up with her job and talked her dog and her boyfriend into moving to
S. Korea and teach English. The dog doesn't like the cold weather and sleeps on the
electric blanket all winter. The boyfriend is a Brazilian soccer player. His English
wasn't great, but the schools keep complementing him on his American accent and he's
getting great jobs. His first love is soccer, and he's going to try for a coaching
position with one of the local teams. All-in-all, they sound pretty happy.
Dave Bainer '65.
Linda and I have been living in Barrington, RI, since '78. Cookie, you may remember
meeting her when we went to Cape Cod in June of '65! We have 3 kids (not kids any
more) -- Keith 36, Andrew 33, and Katie 30. All live outside the area. Two
grandchildren, Noah 6 and Eli 2. Yes... I'm still working and am enjoying that, too.
I work for a small manufacturing company that makes metal stampings for the automotive
industry. I'm kinda like Bill, I wear a lot of hats, and the owner leaves me alone.
I have been back to Lehigh on a couple of occasions, so very different now. Keith
went there and graduated in '91... chip off the old block. In my spare time,
besides enjoying the river, I run. Been doing that for 25 years, good way to burn
off the stress. Did the NY Marathon in '92, and recently did a small triathlon.
Bill Cooke '65.
Early after college spent time in Vietnam and Thailand with Raymond Construction.
Was president of a major construction firm near San Francisco - did off-shore
construction. Then self-employed and worked at Valdez, Alaska. Then with
construction manager for the SFO International Airport expansion. Have vacation
home at Lake Tahoe. Daughter is in college near San Jose. Now working for Manson
Construction Co., as a senior type, presently building a new bridge with Kiewit
across the SF Bay.
Tom Eustice '65.
Whole career was with Pennsylvaia Railroad/Conrail. Retired for 5 years, living west
of Philadelphia where Route 30 and Route 202 meet. We also have a cottage at Harvey's
Lake in the Pocono's. We bought it in 1997 after looking at Paupack and several other
northeast PA locations.
Joe Gellings, BA '65, BS' 66, MS '69.
I worked till age 59 in the paper industry, many years as Manager of Engineering --
Shawano Paper Mills, div. of Little Rapids Corp, Green Bay WI. Now semi-retired
and doing part-time things. I am adjunct faculty with the State Technical College
System, teaching Math, Physics, light computer courses, and Psychology- (I got a
Masters in Psych before I left Lehigh in 1969). Also, as a sideline, I do computer
service. I am a light weight in this field, but where I live the older folks have
trouble getting someone to come to their home. I do some free computer training for
seniors and disabled thru the County Social Services Agency. Also do Community
Service thru Rotary Club and the Hospital Board, I teach in the public schools thru a
program called Junior Achievement. I am on a Community Fund Board and similar groups.
Ann and I raised three kids here in Shawano -- all are grown and out of the house.
Divorced 1992. My girlfriend Pattie is still working full time, or I would be more
retired than I am. I finished college with a BA in Applied Science, BSEE, and a MS
in Experimental Psychology. I finally left Lehigh in February 1969. I was drafted
into the Army during the Viet Nam Era but stayed in the USA the whole time. I taught
reading and writing to barely literate recruits before they went to basic training.
After the army I worked a couple jobs in the personnel field, and then went back
to engineering. I worked for Scott Paper in Philadelphia in the Corporate Engineering
Dept. for a few years. Then, in 1976, I moved to Wisconsin and started as a project
engineer at a small privately owned paper mill. Over time I became the manager of
engineering. Ann and I raised 3 kids here, got divorced, and we moved on. I see
my kids several times a year, even though they are spread around the country.
Life is good. Kids: Joseph, the oldest, is 32 and a civil engineer with a strength
in transportation. His specialty is bicycle trails and urban bicycle lanes. He works
in Seattle as an urban planner. Robyn, 30, graduated from Bucknell as a Japanese major
and went to Japan doing missionary work. She married a minister, has 2 kids, and
lives in Oklahoma City, OK. John, the younger boy, 27, is in Denver as a
superintendent of a Construction / Demolition contractor. Here in Wisconsin, the
kids and I did lots of outdoor sports. In the winter - skiing - downhill and cross
country, ice fishing- just like in Grumpy Old Men. And our summers are great.
Lakes, boating, sailing, fishing, hunting, clean air and low population density
(translation -- no traffic delays). As I get a little older, I am less fond of
winter and, when the time comes, I will be glad to be gone all winter, but I will
always come back for summers. My friends of the last 29 years (The Support Group)
are here.
Phil Hogan '65.
Here's what I've been doing the past 40 years: Hired in with DuPont in Charleston,
West (by God) Virginia in June 1966; retired after 36 years in April 2002. Had
various Engineering assignments in Wilmington, DE; Munster, IN; Memphis, TN;
then back to Wilmington, DE. Highlights were design of some multi-million $
chemical plants that introduced proprietary technology to address global warming
issues and booming semi-conductor industry. Also had a chance to design plants for
European and Japanese and Chinese operations. Those overseas travels gave me an
opportunity to better understand different cultures, although the people I worked
with all had the same basic human concerns about family, health, and personal
contributions. It was also humbling to see how well they had mastered English
when I could barely say Hello and Goodbye in their native tongue. A month after
"marrying" DuPont, I married Mary (Mert) Graeff, and we have been bonded together
ever since. Including 3 years at Lehigh we've known each other over 42 years!
We have a wonderful son Chris who became an Industrial Engineer at Auburn U.
He now works for a large, conglomerate of smaller, niche companies applying customized
Business Mgt. software for various U.S. clients. He married Shelley from New Orleans,
and they settled in the Atlanta area after both graduated from Auburn. We moved down
here after I retired to be closer to them and our 2 grandkids Riley (5) and Cole (3).
They live 3 miles from us so we're spending lots of time enjoying watching, teaching,
and helping the kids develop. And, of course, we had to do Disneyworld -- that was
a real highlight! We took Chris there 30 years ago, and it was just as much fun
the second time around. We also make time to keep in shape, and both of us have
competed in short-course triathlons and duathlons since moving down here. We used to
run and bike a lot when we were in Memphis in the '80s but got away from that as work
kept getting in the way. Once we became empty-nesters in the '90s we took a number
of great vacation trips including England, western and eastern European countries,
Greece, and the Mediterranean islands. We really enjoyed those trips but glad we
took them before 9/11 and the emergence of the terrorist threats. Any future trips
we're considering all are U.S.-based and, with the reunion spark you've created,
we're already looking forward to seeing the Kitsons in SC. We also keep in touch
with the older SigEps through my brother-in-law Jim Barry (Lehigh Sig-Ep '63).
That's all for now.
Peter Keller '65.
Home in Chester, NJ 07930. I also have a place at Pelican Sound in Estero, FL,
just north of Bonita and Naples. I also spend a fair amount of time on the West Coast,
and we also keep a small vacation condo in Barbados. My Lehigh girl friend and first
wife Marsha and I divorced more than 20 years ago. I am still working in
International Shipping, currently COO for a large Japanese Shipping Company, NYK,
domiciled in beautiful Secaucus, N.J. One of the truly ungarden spots in the
Garden State! I am on my second family with a 14 year old daughter still at home.
My 2 older children are 36 and 30 and happily on their own.
Doug Kitson '65.
Here is a brief history or our adventures: After graduation Sandy and I lived in
Virginia, Florida, and finally the Chicago suburbs. Sandy is an alumnus of Moravian
College and earned her Master of Education from Lehigh, and I earned my MBA from Loyola
University of Chicago. I worked for IMC Global for 27 years and retired in 1996.
IMC was primarily an international fertilizer company with mines in Florida,
Saskatchewan, and New Mexico. IMC was also involved in the chemical, mineral, and
animal products businesses over the years. My final position was Director of
Transportation. Sandy retired from Mallinckrodt Veterinary in 1997 after 20 years.
In 1998 I started work with a steel company as Manager, Logistics with plants in Kansas
City and Georgetown, SC. They moved us to Murrells Inlet, SC, which is between
Georgetown and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I retired from the steel company in 2002.
Our son and his two children live in Rockford, IL.
John Landis '65.
I stayed on at Lehigh, got my Ph.D. in IE, and taught there until 1973. I then
went to work in the real world as a Manufacturing engineering manager at Lutron
Electronics for three years. I then joined Koh-I-Noor, Inc, and worked there as
VP of Operations for 20 years. During this time I also went into the restaurant
business with some friends and started the New Street Bridge Works, which is on the
site of the old New Merchants Hotel. I also bought part ownership in Lehigh Valley
Foreign Car Parts. I retired in 1995 and also sold my interests in both businesses.
To keep my sanity while I was working, I somehow became interested in breeding,
training, and showing dogs. I breed a rare Hungarian dog called a Komondor, and I
show them in both conformation and obedience. I am also a licensed AKC judge. Since
my retirement, I spend most of my time now traveling around the country judging or
showing dogs. To keep life interesting I am also chairman of my township's planning
board.
Rein Mannick '65.
As it turns out in the great scheme of life, our time at Lehigh was just a blip on that
great radar screen of life. 1965 was a good year but, as we graduated, many of us were
faced with that war over in the rice paddies. Somehow I lucked out and was sent to
Germany in 1967, and a wise decision from the Pentagon, for I spoke German fluently.
I spent nearly 2 years in Germany as a Post Engineer where I had some 80 Germans
working for me. When I left in 1969, I came back with a wife and Porsche -- still
have the wife, but not Porsche -- something about those priorities. Upon separation
from the service, I tried to go back to work for Westinghouse, but they were [not]
inclined to take me back, so I went to work for Johnson & Johnson. That kind of
established the blueprint for where I would spend the rest of my working career.
From there I went to work for Merck, then Hoechst, and finally Wyeth. What I did
in all that time was build manufacturing plants, offices, warehouses, and anything
else that would support our industries. Being the Owner's representative put me in
a wonderful position, for I could control the outcomes -- remember, he who has the
gold rules. My last 12 years were spent working internationally, often living in
the countries where we built plants. I have lived and spent significant time in
Brazil, Ireland, Singapore, and England -- and I got to see the world courtesy of
Wyeth. Now I am retired and looking back, I do not miss it at all. We have 2
sons, both who are living on the Left Coast -- but my younger son, who lives in
San Clemente, is a staunch conservative. Our older son lives in Sausalito, is married
and works in the fine construction trade. Our younger son is an investment and mortgage
broker who could probably sell you the Brooklyn Bridge twice and you would thing you
made a good buy. I am retired, but my wife is not. We are in the process of
transitioning our lives to Naples, Florida, where we have purchased a condo. Only
problem we have is that our house in New Hope still has not sold after being on
the market for 9 months. Regardless, we have faith and are looking forward to those
golden years, however painful they may be. We have found that getting old is not for
the feint-hearted. We are looking forward to the reunion and reliving those great
years at the old house. Anybody for a good round of Tales???
Jules Tindall '65.
Retired and living in the Pocono's - Lakeville, PA, which is north of Wallenpaupack.
We actually live on Paupackan Lake. We took a trip south in 2005 and ended up buying
land on Fripp Island, SC. Working with an architect and hope to start building soon.
The nearest city is Savannah, GA, near Beaufort, S.C. We'll probably keep this
house for at least a couple of years, but our kids won't be near here anyway - Kim lives
in southern VA, Joe is in Charlotte, NC, and Ed, if he ever graduates, may end up on
a Caribbean Island for all we know. What we do know is he won't be living in PA.
We plan to, eventually, move down there permanently. I'm putting in 20-30 hours a week
with Habitat for Humanity.
John Voorhees '65.
Moved to Florida. Involved in real estate part-time, and spending a significant
amount of time on the links.
Ford Young '65.
Was CFO with a few companies. Presently out of the business mainstream. Live in
Abingdon, PA, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Wife - Eileen.
1966
Pete Anselmo '66.
Works for New York Post newspaper in Manhattan. Also has a landscape design business.
He and wife Donna live on Long Island. 3 Children - older girl in college; middle girl
to grad from college; son at Lehigh - did not pledge. They recently bought a house
in Melbourne, Florida, near Cape Canaveral. As mentioned, Pete is doing landscape
design. Drawings for contractors to install. He will start doing this in Florida
and build up the business there. Same with Donna's businesses. Then they can settle
into retirement.
Jack Bufton '66.
I am retired from NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Just like Lehigh, where I never
received the recognition I richly deserved, my career with our nation's space
program was marred by my being selected for a top-secret space program in 1969.
At the time, we were still waging our Cold War battles with the Soviet Union, and
our skunk works people determined that our public space program should actually be
a decoy for our true exploration and, more importantly, military exploitation of space.
We were code-named "the Windex Project" -- some upper level guy thought the name was
cute, since all the records of our activities would be "wiped clean." This top-secret
program involved a team of 16 hand-picked male astronauts, all with top-level security
clearances and none of us at the time married. As a result of the secrecy surrounding
our endeavors, none of you are aware that over the next 22 years I -- your fraternity
brother -- made 12 trips into outer space, including two separate explorations of the
moon (talk about cool -- and no, it is not made of cheese. This program has not yet
been declassified, so please do not pass this on to anyone just yet. All of us are
in the process of hiring agents for our book rights and we would certainly not want
a leak to screw up what looks like a small fortune for each of us. I can tell
you -- the biggest story will be the elaborate system of "hidden satellites" we have
placed in non-geo-centric orbits, each armed with multiple nuclear and conventional
warheads, and each capable of being redirected to crash-land into any target on Earth.
This "doomsday" deployment is tantamount to an Armageddon scenario. Speaking of
small fortunes...I am sick and tired of reading these "life chronicles" on the
reunion website where each and everyone of you guys has become an enormous success,
own huge homes in Aspen, Monte Carlo, and Hawaii, play golf all the time and are
on your third arm-bracelet wife. I made great sacrifices for our country, risking
my life 12 separate time sitting atop God only knows how many tons of dynamite and
having someone blow my butt into outer space -- practically jerked my neck out of socket
each time they fired that sucker up. And what did I get for all of this... strictly
enforced anonymity and a lousy government wage. Heck, half the time we had to eat in
the NASA cafeteria... reminded me of freshmen year... If I see another bowl of Jello,
I'll puke. For recreation, I run regularly. I just completed my 39th marathon and
am ranked in the top 75 men in U.S. over 60. But who is bragging? Next you know,
I will be telling you about my cottage in Carmel. Well, its really not a cottage --
6,600 sq. ft of glass overlooking the Pacific. Sort of reminds me of being on the moon
(did I mention I have walked on the moon - twice?). Our 10 kids (oh yes, I forgot to
mention I married a former Catholic nun), range in age from 19 to 29. Pretty
efficient engineering (a Lehigh trait no doubt), about one per year. Three kids
are doctors, a lawyer, a graphic artist, and one is a teller at the local sperm bank.
The other kids are still in school. Most of the year we reside on our Maryland
farm, where we raise ostrichs (the other white meat) and grow a knock-off of Tofu.
We are exploring stocking our two ponds with that fish they use to make artifical
crab. It is amazing how many suckers buy that crap. Doesn't taste anything like
crab... trust me, we live most of the year in Maryland. Well, have to go... see you
all in May.
Tom Dunham '66.
After leaving Lehigh, I went to work for the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PPL)
and actually stayed there until I retired in 2003. I was in Marketing and Market
Research for four years and then Personnel for nine. I spent the rest of the time
in the Nuclear Department buying uranium for our reactors and doing the contracting
to convert the uranium into finished fuel. My first wife Greta and I had two children
(Kris 1966 and Kevin 1967). We divorced in 1977, but we have kept in touch
especially with regard to activities with the kids and grandkids. I remarried in 1981
to Nancy who has two children (Kelly 1967 and Valerie 1968) from her first marriage.
Together we raised our four children, and we had a crowded and loud home for quite
awhile. The kids are all grown now, and three of the four have kids of their own.
We have four grandsons, with another grandson due this month and a granddaughter
(at last) due in April. Nancy and I have enjoyed sailing over the years (but less in
recent years; somehow a sailboat berth is not as comfortable as it used to be).
We are also very active in our church and church family: The Calvary Bible Fellowship
Church. Just an aside to the Class of '66; we had our daughter Kristin's 39th
birthday party over the weekend, and one thing we did was watch old home movies.
One highlight for me was watching a movie my dad took of the '66 Lehigh graduation.
There were good shots of pretty much the whole class out front of the SigEp house
(also of Pete Anselmo's parents).
Rich Haas '66.
Retired from his Xerox agency in Portland, Maine. Now resides in Palm Coast, Florida.
Randy Johnson '66.
Thanks for your effort in putting this gathering together. A brief update since Lehigh:
I was in the Army in Germany for two years, where I did see Pete Keller, but since
them I have lost contact. Since then, except for a year in Boston in 1977, I have
been living in the Metro New York area, where I have been in the employee benefits
area, with most of the time as a consultant. Before starting my own business a few
years ago, I was at Aon Consulting, where I had an office on the 101st Floor at
Two World Trade Center. Fortunately on 9/11 I was at a meeting in Connecticut.
Thus, I have more than a passing interest on the War on Terrorism. I have been
married now for over 20 years and have an 12 year old son, living in Darien, CT,
where I have been living for over 20 years.
Gib Lentz '66.
I reside in Baton Rouge, LA, with my wife Sharon. We have 5 children (a blended
family, 3 are hers, and 2 are mine), all out on their own, and 6 grandchildren.
I've spent the last 40 years in the chemical industry, the last 35 in sales, marketing
and management with several different companies. Last one went bankrupt.
Phil Viola '66.
Well, I must admit that, since Lehigh I haven't done much the normal way. I tried,
but it didn't work out. Started out doing inside sales, then ChE research. Did my time
in the corporate world working up the ladder and even did M&A in the '80s. I wound up
having to break up and sell off the organization we built. So instead of being smart
and jumping back in, I backpacked around the world. Financially a disaster, but it
did open up a new perspective for me. Finally settled a bit and got married in 1990.
Karen: younger, beautiful, creative, art director of children's books, and main
breadwinner. So I am still out there hustling, doing what I can (yes, there is age
bias), teaching and consulting in business development, marketing, etc.; trying to sell
my photography; or painting houses if I have to. Now when many of you have grandkids,
I have one each in 7th and 9th grades and wonder why I have become the oldest one in
the PTA crowd.
Pete Weiksner '66.
From Jim Thorpe/Mauk Chunk, PA. Lehigh-Carbon County Community College 1968-Present -
Member of Business Faculty.
1967
Thomas Barr, BS '68 Civil Engineering.
Having always been a frustrated architect at heart, I was drawn to the construction
industry as a livelihood after Lehigh. After graduation, I joined an oil company in
Eastern PA and worked as a project manager maintaining and expanding their facilities
and mechanical equipment. The position proved to not be close enough to the building
trades for me, so, after five years, I joined a fast-food chain and managed the
construction of new restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic region. After seven years,
the building of restaurants became boring, so I jumped to the banking industry and
constructed banks and check processing facilities in the Baltimore area for four years.
I was then lured into the shoe business and worked as a project manager for a
national shoe chain building out shoe stores throughout the greater
Baltimore-Washington area. When that got to be old hat, I joined a Washington,
DC-based general contractor and managed a wide variety of commercial projects for
six years. Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Well, in an effort to break the
mold, I then formed a concrete contracting firm with a partner. The business went
bust after a couple of years. I spent way too much time chasing money. Recognizing
that it was time to get into something more high tech, I joined a company providing
project management services to the wireless telecommunications industry. After
14 years or so, I've progressed from the project management phase to the engineering
phase of the industry. I currently run the telecom division of an engineering firm
providing design services to all wireless carriers. After over forty years, I can
still say that the construction bug continues to bite me. For the last five years or
so, I've spent my "spare time" renovating an old cottage on the Severn River. The
master plan calls for another year or two before I'm able to spend more time on the
water. The sailing/boating bug also bit me about twenty years ago. I guess that's
why the Chesapeake Bay area of the country is so appealing to me. I married Arlene,
my Sig-Ep sweetheart, in 1968. We spent 20 years together. Our efforts to have a
family were finally rewarded by our adopting a child in 1976. My daughter Jennifer
has experienced public, Catholic, and private schools. She even spent her high school
senior year as an exchange student in Norway. She also attended and graduated from
Hampshire College, but she still hasn't figured out what she wants to be when she
grows up. She currently lives in MA, but has plans to move to FL next year. After
my divorce from Arlene, I spent a lot of time looking for that "good woman."
I found her in 1995 and married her in 1997. Kayzie and I have proven to be a good
match. We plan to stay in MD even after retirement. Since she is younger than me,
I plan to work another eight years, probably trying my hand at investment properties
at some point. After all this time, I don't expect the construction bug to stop
biting me!
Bart Cameron '67.
Upon graduation with my engineering degree in hand, I began my career with an
internship in the management consulting practice at Price Waterhouse in Chicago.
In the fall I began my MBA studies at Northwestern University and continued to work
part-time at Price Waterhouse. Upon graduation from NU with my freshly minted MBA,
I promptly left for 3 months of frivolous travel throughout Europe. I met many
people, sampled many refreshments, and developed a taste for travel that continues
to this day. Returning to the real world, I began working full time with Price
Waterhouse in Chicago and had a fascinating and rewarding variety of work
experiences, but, after 10 years, I decided that traveling to places like Detroit was
getting a little old. I accepted an opportunity to become part of the new management
team brought in to turnaround CNA Financial, a large insurance company based in Chicago,
that had just been acquired by the Tisch brothers of Loews Corp. This was a
consultant's dream job in that everything needed fixing, and virtually the entire
management team had been recruited from top consulting firms, so we had a team of
bright, like-minded individuals with pretty much a free rein to implement ideas that
we were used to recommending to clients. Some five years later our turnaround was
complete, and most of the team left for new challenges. I joined First National Bank of
Chicago and headed up a consulting group that focused on the Insurance and Financial
services industries. While my group was quite successful, the bank itself was
undergoing a lot of problems dealing with the beginning wave of consolidations in the
banking industry, and I decided to move on to a firm with a better vision of where it
wanted to go. A former colleague of mine from Price Waterhouse and I joined Merrill
Lynch and set up a middle market M&A group where we assisted privately owned companies
in buying and selling companies and provided a variety of financing services. After
a few very successful and enjoyable years building this business we became "noticed"
by the Capital Markets group that handles the large public company M&A deals, and they
felt that we should work at their direction. At that stage in my career I wasn't
particularly interested in taking direction from a bunch of 20-something prima donnas,
so I left Merrill with a bunch of clients and established the Lochiel Group, where
I continued serving my clients for several more years until I decided there were
more interesting things yet to be done in "retirement." When my daughter graduated
from Dartmouth with her engineering degree and started work with the Boston Consulting
Group, I became liberated of all parental responsibilities and have begun to travel
more and have been plotting my next major adventure to begin when my wife finally
retires -- hopefully soon. My passions for skiing and sailing have continued since
college days, but now I have more time to enjoy them. I have been looking at yachts
suitable for a round the world cruise, which is high on my priority list -- and has
been since that first trip to Europe after graduation. One of my other recent
interests, much to my wife's chagrin, has been acquiring and restoring tractors --
something that I started doing after she complained that I had too many boats! Now, of
course, she says I have too many tractors, so I'm back looking at boats to acquire.
One of the enjoyable aspects of my tractor collection is that I keep building
"attachments" to work with the tractors, and that brings me back to my engineering days
at Lehigh. So you can see there is a natural progression in life, but you always
return to your roots. Some of our recent travels have taken us to Amsterdam to visit
my daughter while she was on assignment there for 5 months and to Ireland to help them
celebrate St. Patrick's day. And, I almost forgot, my wife and I have four
grand-daughters thanks to my step-daughter and her husband. They are always a lot of
fun and help remind us that we don't, in fact, continue to have boundless energy.
We are looking forward to finding out what everyone else is/has been up to when we
return to Lehigh in May.
Dave Gili '67.
After a brief stint with one of the "Big Eight" accounting firms (which has long since
vanished into the M&A void), I fulfilled my ROTC commitment and served two years active
duty - one of which was in Vietnam where I too met brother Randy Wood in Saigon (see
Steve Nies's compelling account). It occurs to me that Woody maintained a rather high
profile in Saigon for a spook. Following Vietnam I took a job in Chicago with United
Airlines (which I hated) followed by an extended visit to Amsterdam (which I'm told I
loved). After a brief period in beautiful Southern California courtesy of brother
Anselmo and some friends (no worries Pete, what happens in San Diego stays in San
Diego), I moved north to San Jose, CA, where I took a masters degree in Cybernetic
Systems (don't ask). What followed can best be described not so much as a career
but rather a serious of meaningless jobs between 1975 and 2000. Most of it in
Corporate Finance and Information Technology for Silicon Valley high tech companies.
I got lucky and made a few bucks in an IPO (even a blind squirrel can sometimes find
an acorn) and quickly left California with my bride Carol. It was the first marriage
(1999) for both of us. I was 55 at the time, confirming the widely held belief that
those of us in the Business School really were slow learners. We have no children that
we will admit to. Sensing the impending doom that was about to befall this country in
the guise of the Idiot Son and his neo-con handlers, Carol and I headed for Vancouver,
Canada, only to learn that they have rules about who they will let live in their
country. Old white guys with no discernible job skills is pretty low on the list, so
we had to settle for the biggest black dot on the map closest to Vancouver - i.e.,
Bellingham, WA. It's a great place to live if you like boating, skiing, and hiking.
We don't do any of that. We are trying to spend more time with our religious
community, but it seems we atheists are a particularly non-gregarious lot. To
paraphrase Oscar Levant, "there's a fine line between retirement and unemployment -
I have erased this line." I have pretty much given up the job title "Consultant"
and now spend my days throwing heavy objects at the TV, and trying to learn Italian.
Two years ago we took a trip to Italy and did a "roots search," finding some very
distant relatives on my father's side. We returned again this year and decided to
have a go at living there. We are in the process of acquiring an apartment in central
Italy with hopes of moving there in the very near future. The Italians also have
rules about who they let live in their country, but I figure by time the Italian
bureaucracy catches up with me, I'll be dead. Regrettably, I have not stayed in touch
with anyone over the years. However, I did attend one reunion and shared a wonderful
dinner with Gene Hartzell and his lovely wife. You would be surprised at how
interesting the subject of acoustical ceiling systems can be after a few glasses of
wine. It's unlikely I will make it to this reunion. For those who do attend, I'm sure
it will be great fun. Have a couple of cold ones for me (and let Hartzell pick up the
tab).
Bill Gross '67.
It has been so long since those Lehigh days. After four and one-half years at Lehigh,
no degree, and the prospects of the draft looming large, I decided I would be better
off enlisting rather than wait for the inevitable. I figured the only thing of
value that I could get from the military would be learning a foreign language.
The recruiter told me that he couldn't guarantee that I would be sent to language
school, but if I enlisted for four years in the Army Security Agency, and I did well
enough on their test, I would likely be sent to language school. I figured that I
would take my chances on that rather than sign up for something I had zero interest in,
such as artillery or auto mechanics. I must have done ok on the test, since, after
basic training I did get orders for 32 weeks of German language school at Ft. Myer
in Arlington, VA. When I arrived at Ft. Myer they put me in a Russian class, and I
complained that I was supposed to be in a German class. I was switched to the German
class. It ended up that everyone in the Russian class was sent to Germany after
graduation, and that's where they stayed for the remainder of their time in the Army.
Everyone in the German class was cross-trained and sent to Viet Nam. My year in
Viet Nam was rather uneventful -- stationed at Bien Hoa monitoring the communications
of the Central Office of South Viet Nam. After my year in Viet Nam, the Army offered
to send me to Germany if I would re-up my enlistment to serve a full three years in
Germany. Since I only had a year and a half left in my original enlistment, I
declined and ended up at Homestead, FL, for the remainder of my Army service. After
the Army, I worked for a couple of months as a collector before I realized that I
needed to go back to school and get a degree. I enrolled at Temple University and
graduated in January 1974 with a B.S in Political Science. In September 1974, I
started working for the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, in
Washington, DC. I am still working for Wage and Hour and I am currently the Director
of the Office of Wage Determinations. I met Anne after I came to Washington, and we
were married in 1978. We have three children. The oldest, Carolyn, graduated from
William and Mary with a degree in Theater. She subsequently got her accounting
certificate from the University of Virginia and is currently a CPA working for
LarsonAllen in the Washington, DC, area. Carolyn was married this past March to Eric
Mollen, whom she met at William and Mary. The second oldest, Kevin, is currently a
junior at Virginia Tech, majoring in Computer Engineering. The youngest, Eric, is a
sophomore (?) at Virginia Commonwealth University, and he is still trying to figure
out what interests him. Hopefully he finds himself a little sooner than I did. Anne
and I have lived in Virginia almost the whole time that we have been married, and we
currently reside in Annandale, VA, although our kids went to Falls Church High School
and not Annandale High School. Until the recent reunion emails, I haven't thought too
much about the old Lehigh days, but when we moved to our current house in Annandale,
I did have a flashback moment that brought to mind "Fiery Joe." We have a neighbor
just up the street whose name is Joe Powers, with an "s." He grew up in Annandale,
and he graduated from Annandale High, but he graduated several years after "Fiery Joe"
without an "s." It has been great to read about everyone. My interest has been
sparked, and I look forward to making it back to Lehigh to say hello and reminisce.
Jim Gutzwiller '67.
I joined B&W in Ohio after leaving Lehigh. I was supposed to join the Fossil Division,
but the Nuclear Component Group was in dire need of people after landing several recent
contracts, so I ended up there. Moved up to supervisor and wrote some performance
computer programs that would predict how the Naval Components would work under certain
conditions. Our group was also responsible for the design and performance of B&W's
commercial nuclear components as well as Naval. Finally Rickover demanded that the two
groups be separated, and I ended up on the Navy side of things. After ten years of
getting very little design feedback from the Navy, I decided to find greener pastures
and transferred to B&W's Commercial Nuclear group in Lynchburg, VA. To catch back up
on the personal side of things, Nancy and I got married in '68. I had gone back to
night school and got an MBA in '71. We have two children, Stephen and Amy. When
Stephen came along in 1971, Nancy quit her job and became a stay-at-home mom. Amy
arrived in '75. We packed up and moved to Lynchburg in February of 1977. The kids
grew up as they tend to do. Amy is a Night Shift supervisor in the Pediatric Unit of
the Lynchburg Hospital. She and her husband Rhett live in Lynchburg with their one son.
Steve went to William & Mary and is now a supervisor of data base programs with a
company that supports the medical industry in the insurance area. He and his wife Krista
live with their three children in Richmond, VA. Meanwhile back at the salt mine, I was
one of several project engineers on the project that the company had going in Germany to
build a nuclear power plant. Along came Three Mile Island in 1979, and there were plant
cancellations left and right. In addition, the interveners in Germany had successfully
stopped the building of the plant due to a surveyor's mistake! Well, about that time
there were problems cropping up in the field with steam generators. So, with my
Ohio experience, I moved into the service area, primarily steam generators. I worked
in the group several years before becoming the Manager of the group. Late '80s along
came Framatome, a French supplier of Nuclear Plants and formerly a Westinghouse licensee.
They wanted to get in the U.S. market, and, since we were giving Westinghouse fits in the
service area, they made an offer to buy out the commercial nuclear division of B&W.
This was phased in over several years. I had a number of jobs in the service group of
Framatome, including VP of Chemistry and Heat Exchangers, VP of Engineering and, finally,
the Engineering Liaison dealing with mergers and acquisitions. Framatome was nice
enough to offer an early retirement program in 2001, which worked out perfectly for me
so that I could deal with some medical issues. Both Nancy and I retired, she having
gone back to work part-time when the kids were in high school. We moved to Smith
Mountain Lake, about 45 minutes south of Lynchburg and I began treatment for Multiple
Myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. Currently the cancer is under control, and we
are enjoying retirement along with Mollie, our 5 year old Yellow Lab. We volunteer our
time at the local school and the nearby State Park. I continue to play bridge once or
twice a week. Sometimes we get so busy, it's tough to remember how WORK used to fit
into the schedule.
Gene Hartzell '67.
Leaving Lehigh was emotionally about as significant an event as going down the street
for a beer. One day I was a student, and the next day I was looking for an apartment in
Lancaster, PA. I didn't attend graduation. At the time, both my parents and I were
happy about this decision, although, looking back, I realize that I should have --
like adding a period to the educational sentence. I started working for Armstrong
Cork Company (which later became Armstrong World Industries) right away, doing
research work in acoustical ceiling systems. It was hard to understand why, after one
year in an industry so critical to the well-being of this nation, I was drafted.
Taking my bravery into account, I was assigned to a chemical lab at Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Maryland, after basic training. There I led the perilous life of a soldier-mad
scientist, test tubes, and Bunsen burners by day and fighting on the front lines in
the Maryland theater in places like Havre de Grace, Perryman, and Spesutie Island by
night. After 2 years of battle-hardened service, I returned to Armstrong and ceilings.
Actually, to save us both a lot of boredom, I'll summarize my working career -- all at
Armstrong. One year in flooring flammability research as a research associate at the
National Bureau of Standards near DC. Ten years as the chief chemist in furniture
plants in North Carolina and Virginia. (Armstrong owned Thomasville at the time).
One year as a corporate manager of quality assurance. (I had no idea what the job was
for and, after a few months, was convinced that the job shouldn't exist. I decided
I didn't want to be there when top management came to the same conclusion.) Three
years in exploratory research, and the last twenty-one as a Chief Chemist and
Environmental Manager at a flooring plant. I'll retire next May if I can find and
train someone who wants to do this job. I met my first wife Carol while at the Bureau
of Standards. We split up after 5 years but remain friends. I met my last wife, Pat,
at Armstrong. She is one of the four people who taught me that life is not a spectator
sport. For that and many other reasons, I married her. (I would have married any of
the other three but none of those guys asked.) She is a dynamo and, to top it all
off, she loves me and actually likes me -- most of the time. She also gets along well
with Carol. Pat and I have a son and a daughter. Actually, she brought them to the
marriage, but Pennsylvania is a joint and severable state, and I've claimed half. We
have three grandchildren, two granddaughters (son in the Air Force) who live in
Okinawa and we see too seldom and a grandson (daughter in Lancaster area) whom we see
a lot, and certainly for his betterment. He's nine but will be an NFL quarterback
some day, if the NFL gets to the point where throwing and running the football are not
a requirement. I like contact sports like golf and skiing. Fairly good at golf and
have gotten to within 14 strokes of shooting my age. My guess is that I'll have a
stroke before I get significantly closer, but it's a goal. I have two separate groups
who meet once a year, one in the spring (The Dangling Carrot Classic -- no the name is
not a pornographic reference) and one in the fall (The Horny Toads -- ibid). The
spring group is mostly younger gorillas (we're in our 28th year, and they are in their
early 50s), and I'm in the bottom quartile in ability. The fall group is more diverse
agewise. Between the first and second year after I joined them, two of the guys died.
They recruit heavily. I'm a lousy skier, but about the same level as Pat, which makes
for wonderful ski trips. It's a romantic tumble through the woods. We have nice
equipment, though (ibid). I have not yet had my fifteen minutes of fame. In an
attempt to help my fear of flying I once did fly an ultralight. Terrifying (I also
have a fear of heights) and exhilarating. I should have taken a camera, but I needed
both sets of white knuckles to hold on. Didn't cure anything but what a memory! Also,
not 15 minutes from Goodman Stadium is a very impressive bridge with a sign that reads
"The Gene Hartzell Memorial Bridge." An exciting sight, although the word "Memorial"
was a bit of a downer. I looked on the internet and found out that the Gene Hartzell
in question was a Northhampton County politician. I think he was noteworthy for
erecting the sign. The bridge will probably be a stop on one of the campus tours, and
I'll sign pictures for $5. That's about all there is to tell. It is great to have these
reunions. I can't believe how much I look forward to seeing all of you and how much you
may match my memories -- or, if the face rings a bell at all! See you in May.
Wally Johnson '67.
What I have been doing for the last 40 years. Now I really have to think about this --
what to admit to and how to put a positive spin on the rest. It would be quite
interesting, and mind-taxing to do a life history and perhaps one day I will. For now,
however, I'll give a greatly abbreviated executive summary. 1967 - Graduated with BS
in Finance. Began work at Girard Bank, Philadelphia, eventually becoming a commercial
loan officer responsible for large corporate clients principally in the Midwest.
1968 - Son Wallace Jr. born. He is now a Navy Seal, Chief Petty Officer, married
with two daughters and stationed in Germany. 1969 - Daughter Jennifer born. She
works for me at the non-profit Round Hill Arts Center. Is married and mother of a
son and daughter. 1973 - Divorced from Janet, moved to Northern Virginia as Assistant
VP with the Bank of Virginia. 1976 - Director of Marketing, Cargoship International
Corporation. 1978-1981 - Still trying to figure out the spin. 1981 - Started a
woodworking business in Great Falls, Virginia. Finally I was doing something I
enjoyed. 1983 - Business burned to the ground, everything lost, no insurance.
Began again In Leesburg with a partner. Moved business to Round Hill, VA. Bought
an old log cabin in Loudoun County, and restored it, adding additions in 1992 and 2001.
1989 - Opened Round Hill Design Studio-design, sales and installation of high-end
custom kitchens (www.roundhilldesign.com). 1996 - Split with business partner, a very
unpleasant experience. Married Carolyn Kruger, a very pleasant experience. 1997 -
Incorporated Round Hill Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, together with Carolyn.
1998 - Incorporated Genesis International, a Virginia non-profit, together with my
wife. More about this later. Things have stayed pretty much the same since then as
far as career changes. The Design Studio has been quite successful and occupies most
of my time. The Arts Center has grown quite nicely. Carolyn and I bought the 120
year old building which was my former woodworking shop, and it now houses the Arts
Center. I do maintain a woodworking shop in the building, although I don't get to
spend as much time there as I would like. The Arts Center, www.roundhillarts.org, has
become the hub for art in Western Loudoun County. We have a gallery, classrooms,
pottery kilns, and studio space for rent. We also host an extremely popular and
successful bluegrass jam session on the last Friday of each month and are now in our
fourth year. People attend from many miles away -- last month there was a couple
from Allentown. Carolyn is nearing the end of a long care in international health.
She is currently Senior Technical Director, Nutrition for AED, a Washington-based
large non-profit. She develops and manages programs throughout Africa. As an offspring
of her work we started Genesis, www.genesisintl.org, six years ago. Our focus is on
helping communities in their efforts to improve the health and education of children
orphaned by HIV/AIDS. We do this by helping them create income-generating activities
that are self-sustaining. For instance, we have built a brick chicken house in Malawi,
and the community uses the proceeds from sale of eggs to support the orphans. We
currently have programs in Malawi and Zambia. One of the great strengths of Genesis
is that all contributions go directly the recipients. There is no overhead as Carolyn
and I pay our own expenses when we travel there. Carolyn visits the projects three or
four times each year as her work schedule permits, and I generally go once a year.
Last spring we bought some cattle to help keep down the grass in one of our fields.
I guess that makes me a cowboy! Carolyn's 90-year-old father who lives with us enjoys
giving them sweet feed every morning as he walks up to get the newspaper. He also
helps around the property by cutting grass, raking leaves etc. There is more to tell
but, as I said earlier, this is an executive summary.
Jim Kilmoyer '67.
After Lehigh I traveled around for some years and worked at different jobs. Finally
settled in Houston and began working in the oil and gas industry in 1974, and have been
here since that time. Most of this has been engineering design and development of
high pressure wellhead, valves, chokes, and other pressure controlling equipment.
The last 25 years have been with Cameron Corp, a manufacturer of this equipment.
I've been divorced for a number of years, but have maintained a close relation with
three stepdaughters that I raised (and a bunch of grandkids). And I'm lucky to have
a great girlfriend Becky who keeps me in line. Becky has retired after 30 years of
school teaching and is enjoying the leisure of not working. Outside of work, our
current goals are to buy some new bikes, build a greenhouse, and make it to the
reunion.
Bill McLean '67.
After earning my degree in metallurgy, I worked in Philly, where I met Carol. We were
married in '71. We lived in Jersey, then Williamsport, PA, Idaho Falls, ID, and finally
the Phoenix area in '77. I started working for Honeywell (formerly AlliedSignal,
Garrett, and AiResearch) in '80. We make airplane motors at this site and a variety
of airplane hardware in all Honeywell Aerospace. I've been in Quality, Manufacturing,
and Engineering. I've also been in and out of management. Presently, I manage a
department of Metallurgists, many of whom are PhDs and much smarter than I am. We
have no children, due to Carol's health. We vacation in cooler climates in the summer,
e.g., Canada, Alaska. (Most anywhere is cooler than here in the summer!) This year
we spent two weeks in Alaska in June and two weeks in Newfoundland in August. We rent
an RV and kick back for a couple of weeks, fish, sightsee, etc. I keep busy with work
and the Christian Congregation. Nothing exciting. We have a nice home on a lake with
a view of the mountain. I travel occasionally for work and sometimes take Carol with me.
I was in Spain in July, and we just came back from Toronto and Niagara Falls. I've been
to Mexico, Canada, Asia, and Europe on working trips.
Sam Nauhaus '67.
After finishing BSEE and MS Mgmt Sci at Lehigh, I joined IBM in Endicott, NY, in 1968.
Married in 1972, my daughter, Kara Anne, was born in 1974. Divorced in 1976, I endured
the crappy NY weather until 1979 when IBM's Check Image Processing group transferred me
to the recently-opened site in Charlotte, NC. Things got tense in the early '90s as
IBM was down-sizing, but I was fortunate enough to avoid the hammer each time it fell.
In June 2005 I retired from Big Blue with 38 years of service. In August 2005 I
returned to the scene as a contractor working on the Blackberry support team, where
I'm still hanging out today. Current leisure activities include golf and flying my
vintage 1947 Cessna 120.
Steve Nies '67.
Self-employed Stone mason contractor in Saylor, CA. Live 7 hours drive from San
Fransico, 75 miles east of Eureka, CA. One hour inland from ocean. Married twice --
both a long time ago. Single for last 20 years. Worked for The Hartford group long
ago. Drafted - served 3 years in the Army. Do acting and directing now in community
theater. Stranger Than Truth Files - Haven't kept in touch with anyone. Only seen
Randy Wood in Saigon in 1969. I was in a jeep with my boss, stopped to ask directions,
and heard a distinctive voice. Unmistakable - Woody! In the interest of providing
humor and insight, to whom I don't know, let me expand upon my "career". After leaving
Lehigh mid-way thru my senior year, tail planted squarely between legs, I registered
at Post Jr. College and Univ. of Bridgeport, back home in CT. Scared and
uncharacteristically motivated, I did very well, but Lehigh insisted on my absence for
a full year. So, I went back into construction (summer #6), worked that, got a draft
notice, tired of construction, got hired by the Hartford Group in their Surety Dept.
but got drafted after three months. Spent three years in the Army instead of two in
an attempt to stay out of Viet Nam. The Army trained me in aerial photo
interpretation. I can't see in stereo vision. "No problem," they said, "that's only
part of the course." Ten months in Baltimore, then one year in Viet Nam, where I had
the proverbial "cush" job. We had a pool, photo lab, and tennis court. My best
friend, the co. clerk, and I Iearned to play tennis opposite two very nice but
non-communicative Vietnamese officers (no English for them, no Viet Namese for us).
Woody, where were you? Home after a year, one more in D.C. Married Jody, wife #1,
that year. She, a "stew," we traveled some. Out of military, back to Lehigh where
I needed a 3.25 to graduate. This from a guy who did no better than a 2.8 in a
semester that included two "repeats." I remember crying at the kitchen table.
Miracle of miracles, I managed to graduate. Back to the Hartford Group to re-start
the two-year training program. With little patience for such things, I took a sales
job with Xerox, spent two years with them and moved on to Instapak Corp. (foam-in-pace
packaging) to make some real money. Transferred to the West Coast, I covered the
Northwest terrritory. Oh ... a year or so before I had divorced Jody. Nothing in
common - she would NOT get on my Bonneville. While living in the Bay Area I married my
girlfriend from CT, Holly. We were together two years. She wanted kids desperately,
not me - Divorce #2. We had moved back to CT from CA at her request. I divorced her
and my job in the same month, went back into construction (pools and foundations) for
a year or so, decided I needed to see the country, bought a pickup and fifth-wheeler
and went on the road selling crystal prisms - Wow, man, look at the rainbows! Ended
up in CA, visiting my younger, equally-erstwile brother (who had caught me up on the
drug scene after the military stint / the usuual-psychadelic et.al.). We visited
northern, northern, Ca. the area I would relocate to three years later. Back to
reality and the need for income, I was back in CT, working const. again (masonry this
time with a "master mason"). That was interesting for a year. The year before, in CA,
I had met an interesting woman who had recently graduated from the Univ. of Maine
in Anthropology. Now she and I were both on the East Coast. I managed to pry her
away from her job (asst. curator for museum in Old Towne, ME). We traveled selling
the crystal prisms, ending up in Lancaster County, PA. Did you know there's a flea
market every day of the week in that area? We made a bunch of money, wore each other
out with too much thinking, ended the run at Zern's Market the day before Christmas
1979. She intended to go back to Maine, reunite with her old boyfriend, the leader
of the band, and I was going to Hollywood, my dream. Kathy's boyfriend, Red, had found
a new, blonde girlfriend and was perfectly happy. So, Kathy drove with me to CA,
bickering all the way. Ten days in Hollywood, and I knew I didn't have the balls,
also known as self-esteem, for it and headed north to visit my brother who had moved to
that quaint, mountainous area of Northern CA in 1980, and work was very hard to find
up here. I took the only job I could get, stick-picker in a gravel pit for four
dollars per and lived in a shack with cold running water. I supplemented the
gravel pit income substitute teaching, working as a aide to a quadriplegic and
tending bar at night. Eventually I put up a notice on the post office bulletin
board, "mason for hire," and my business was born. Two years later I was able to put
a "down" on three-and-a-half acres on the Trinity River. I started building rock walls,
all I could afford to do at the time, to build equity. After many years in a small
travel trailer, I'm living in a still-unfinished home with three levels, acute (and
therefor obtuse) angles. I designed it while stoned and now have to live in it.
What was I thinking? Within a couple of months of my arrival here, the Redbud
Theatre, local amateurs, was re-started, and I had as many roles as I could handle.
I directed six plays, wrote a short play, and got my Hollywood Fix. Years later I was
hired to rebuild a chimney in Northridge, CA, the first with new guidelines after the
Northridge earthquake. My experience at Lehigh paid off. The very-cautious engineers
were a cinch to deal with and, to this day, I believe, all rebuilds and new structures
have those same requirements. The chimney may fall over, but the home will go with it.
While in the L.A. area, I rented a bungalow in Topanga Canyon, started the acting
scene again, now with plenty of self-esteem, but had spent too many years in the
mountains and missed it. Professional acting held no thrill now, so it was back to
the mountains and Redbud Theatre where I still have as many "leads" as I can handle.
I live in a wonderful part of the world, have had much community involvement and will
leave behind over three hundred masonry projects. I'm phasing out that part of my
life -- I'm wearing out, but will fulfill the year of work commitments I've made.
1968
Chuck Haight '68.
After graduating in 1968, I spent two years in the Army with a stint in Vietnam as a
Company Commander of Engineering Company. Spent some time in Cambodia and was
issued a Bronze Star. From 1971-1977, I worked for a small engineering company as a
resident engineer, building a 4 mile segment of the Bowling Green Summerset Parkway
in Kentucky, the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge across the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio,
and a bascule bridge in Bay City, Michigan. There I met the love of my life, Nancy,
and we have just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. In 1977, I joined the
Sverdrup Corporation which in 1999 merged with Jacobs Engineering. The last 30 years
I have served as senior program/construction manager, mainly in the water and
wastewater fields with major projects in St Louis Mo., Columbus Oh., Tulsa Ok. and
presently in Washington, DC, at the Blue Plains WWTP. I currently live in Fairfax,
Virginia. I've been lucky to have 3-10 year construction projects. Repeat business
is wonderful. My wife and I have had 3 wonderful children, Charles Jr., Victoria,
and Elizabeth. Charles (30) is in the restaurant business, Victoria (27) is a dancer
and teaches piloties, and Elizabeth (25) now works for Navy Intelligence. No grand
children as yet. Elizabeth, by the way, graduated from Lehigh in 2005. We have
bought some land on the Nues River, in New Bern, North Carolina, and we are
currently building a retirement home for this year or next. It is our intention to
retire on or before I reach my 62nd birthday.
Ed Kercher '68.
Graduated Lehigh in '68. Married an Emmaus girl in October. Joined the Army Reserves
in August and spent 6 glorious months at Fort Benning. Went to Pitt for my MBA and,
from Pitt's "Tower of Learning," watched the steel mills, which are no longer there.
Felt right at home, coming from Lehigh and Bethlehem Steel. Interesting sidebar on
Pitt: My grades weren't the greatest at Lehigh -- blame it on four years of football,
or was it the two years of concert band?? Anyway, the dean of admissions at Pitt
wrote me a letter. He said he realized the low grading system at Lehigh, at that
time. He also realized I spent a lot of time in college football and that "Perhaps
your priorities were misplaced," but if I promised to be a good boy and study hard,
he'd let me come to Pitt. I wrote him that I did not feel my priorities were
misplaced; however, I promised to be a good boy and study real hard! Grad. from
Pitt, a breeze compared to Lehigh Engineering. Returned to Lebanon and began full-time
work with my father at Kercher Machine Works. An amicable divorce took place in 1976.
1983 was a banner year. I got a new business, got a new house, and got a new wife,
all in the period of three months! Cindy, my wife, and I knew each other through
church and ski and scuba clubs for years. It's a long story, but we finally started
dating and got married a few months later. I got my pilot's license while at Lehigh.
I've been flying ever since, mainly in our V-Tail Bonanza. In 2000, Cindy, who is a
freelance graphic designer, decided she was tired of flying right seat and wanted to be
a pilot. She got her private license, then her commercial, then instrument, flight
instructor, and finally instrument flight instructor! We've had a wonderful time
together, but right now she is going to graduate school at a local seminary for a
licensed degree in Marriage and Family Counseling!! It has been very interesting!
The business we started in 1983 is Kercher Industries, Inc. We design and manufacture,
by Kercher Machine works, industrial mixing equipment and molded brick making equipment.
World-wide, for any LCD display, from cell phones to wall TVs, the probability is
about a 65% that the glass was processed through our Lancaster Mixers and Lancaster
Crushers. Kinda neat for little ol' Lebanon, PA. Been on various small corporate and
non-profit boards, including chairman of The World Trade Center ... of Central PA, that
is! Look forward to seeing you in May.
Ned Locke '68.
B.A. Applied Science, B.S. Chem. E. Louise and I concluded that Vietnam had more to do
with our life's direction than anything else, even though I was never in the military.
I was in the 5 yr. arts-engineering curriculum, and, after receiving my B.A. in 1968,
my draft board came after me. I decided to try to graduate with my Chem. E. degree
a semester early before the draft got me. So, working in the Chem. E. lab over the
summer of 1968, I met Louise retailing at Orr's, a nice respite from Kent State.
After doubling up on classes in the fall, aiming for a Jan. '69 second graduation,
my appeals to the draft board ran out. But, the Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head,
was recruiting on campus, and, with my promise to begin working for them in Jan., I
was granted a deferment as a "world-class rocket scientist." A what? Actually, over
the years, with experience and the help of an advanced degree, I really did learn the
art and science of rocket technology. Today, I can point to the Aegis Guided Missile
System - the Navy's premiere defensive weapon system - as the product of the superb
engineering team of which I was a member. In 1994, I left the Naval Air Systems
Command Senior Executive Service and joined private industry where, today, I consult
for Booz Allen Hamilton, providing weapons engineering support to the Missile Defense
Agency and the Department of Defense. But what I'm most proud of is my family. After
7 years as a highly successful geography and conservation of natural resources teacher,
Louise left teaching with the birth of our first child to devote herself to the raising
of our children. She even guided them through their exciting professional acting and
modeling careers. All were members of the Screen Actors Guild. Today, son Ned and his
wife live in San Francisco after he graduated with honors from Princeton in computer
science, spent 5 years in Silicon Valley's computer shops, earned a Magna Cum Laude
degree from Harvard Law School, and is now clerking with the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals. Daughter Lindsay graduated from Duke and has settled down in the Raleigh-Durham
area where she's into commercial real estate. Youngest son John graduated Phi Beta
Kappa in computer science from Lehigh in 2005, was LU's longest legacy recipient, and
is now living in the Washington, DC, area doing classified work. I'll tell you about
John's SigEp experience when we all meet. Louise and I are water lovers, so we look
forward to living aboard our boat on the Chesapeake Bay, vacationing at our beach house
on Cape Cod, big-ship cruising, and snorkeling. We look forward to seeing all of you
and thank the reunion committee for an unbelievably well-done job.
Sky McCammon '68.
Graduated in 1968 and did my military commitment after receiving my commission via ROTC.
Served stateside and in Korea during the Viet Nam conflict. Started my banking career in
1972 with a bank here in the Albany, NY, area which is now Bank of America. Was a
commercial loan officer most of the time with the bank. Divorced Molly in 1976 (whom
I married in 1967 in the Lehigh Chapel with most of my SigEp brothers in attendance).
She did bear me two great boys who are carrying on the McCammon name. Got caught in
the popular activity called "downsizing" in 1992 after 20 years with the bank. Joined
a small regional bank nearby as Senior Loan Officer. Turning 50 in 1996 and tired of
3-piece suits and a bleeding ulcer, I decided to semi-retire. I didn't want to pay for
my health insurance, so I took a part time job driving a bus for the local school
district. In November 2007 will have enough time in with the district to retire and
get the district to pay a majority of my health premium. Planning on retiring at the
end of the school year 2007-2008, but that may be moved up as early as that November
date. I have 3 grandchildren (a girl and 2 boys). Plan on spending as much time with
them and traveling. Am a member of the local American Legion and a 25-year active
member of the local volunteer fire department.
James Heebner Pollock '68 (Deceased).
While at Lehigh, Jim redefined the role of House Manager, elevating its importance and
effectiveness to new heights. However, Heebie (as he was sometime affectionately
referred to) may be best known for his entreprenurial spirit in operating a motel
brokerage business while in the house. Upon graduation, Jim married the former Susan
Starr Van Winkle and moved to Connecticut. An accomplished accounting major while at
Lehigh, Jim was an auditor with what was then known as Price Waterhouse & Co.
R. Budd Swartz '68.
Thinking back the 40+ years, I feel like my life chronicle reads like the outline for
soap opera. I spent 9 years getting my BSME from Lehigh fighting maturity, angst, and
other personal demons. Two of the years I worked for the Marine Geotechnical
Laboratory at Lehigh, where I helped impractical college professors do research in
ocean bottom studies. I studied part-time and even got a ride in the Alvin to the
bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. I was victorious in my struggle in 1973 and graduated
cum laude. A couple years later I landed at General Electric where I helped them
build and fix fossil power plants until I was able to retire in 2002. Along the way
I dabbled with real estate and other investments. I feel very fortunate to be where I
am, and actually attribute a college education as the most pivotal achievement of my life
(remember - my two sons won't be reading this). Without Lehigh I feel I may have
passed through life like one of the two guys drinking beer with Bill Murray in the
bowling alley in "Groundhog Day." On the personal side I was widowed when my oldest
son was 12 months old, so I was able to be celebrated on Mother's Day as well as
Father's Day for two years. I remarried (way too quickly) two years later in a union
that produced my second son. Now it is me and the two boys. I am acquiring a lot of
toys I never had time for when I was working to make ends meet. My youngest is racing
motocross. I indulge myself with a couple Harley Davidsons (the only love that money can
buy). Some of you may remember I busted myself up in 1967 on one. I am also entering
my third and last committed relationship. Our two characters could not be more
contrasting. Elizabeth is a Mayflower WASP from Rhode Island, Wellsley-educated, and
a working psychotherapist. I am still just a working class guy with a college
education. Over the next 20 years she may be able to figure me out and help direct me
to where I want to be when I grow up. No one should take my self-deprecating comments
as a cry for help. If I had it to do all over again, what would I change? Probably
nothing. I am sure I would get through Lehigh University, do power plants for GE, and
marry the same women.
1969
Stephen Bartell '69.
Went from Lehigh (in June 1969) to Doyle Dane Bernbach, one of the pre-eminent consumer
advertising agencies in New York. Then, over the next ten years, worked at a number
of other agencies working on a variety of different products, usually new, often
innovative ones, including: Clairol hair coloring, hair care and skin careproducts;
Sterling Drug's new analgesic and cough medicines; Cheseborough-Pond's skin care;
LHSP&B to introduce: Prince Tennis Racket; Jockey Fashion Underwear; and Matchbox
toys. I then moved to San Diego to work with my Dad at a Direct Mail business he bought.
Convinced him to sell it and came back in 1980. Did a bunch of entrepreneurial things
until 1986 when I got a job with a sales promotion and marketing company, working on
credit cards. This led to me being recruited by MasterCard International in 1988.
Got married in 1991 -- more (or less) on that later. Right after this, I quit
drinking and smoking cigarettes. (Part of what I called my mid-life course correction
and maintenance program which continues, with variations, to this day. Mid-life is
hopefully longer than I thought). This was, by far, the most fun (and productivity)
I've had in my business career. I devised and executed the "co-branding" strategy for
MasterCard, worldwide, that led to the ATT, GM, Shell, etc. MasterCard cards with their
remarkable rewards programs. Worked very hard, but loved it. Travelled the U.S. and
world and loved that, too. In 1995, I left MasterCard to another adventure (short-lived)
and then, in 1996, my son, Andrew was born, and I took 1 1/2 years off to care for him
while his Mom re-started her business. Best decision of my life to not miss those early
years. Then, in 1998, I moved the family to New Rochelle, New York, in Westchester
County, just 1/2 hour north of the City. I started "commuting" to Toronto, Canada, to
consult to Royal Bank of Canada. A 1 1/2 year gig that was great work and fun to do.
2 years later the marriage was over -- the divorce took another 2. Since then, I have
met a wonderful woman, Sandra, who is beautiful, smart and remarkably intuitive (I'm
of course saying this in case she ever sees this!!). We've been together almost 4 years
(and counting). I'm looking forward to introducing her to my earlier "family."
Work-wise, the last few years I've been doing developmental sales work on a new,
patented credit card technology/methodology that should really rock the card world
(again, globally). I am hoping to be able to report significant results by the time I
get to Bethlehem. That's it for now. Got to leave some stuff for face-to-face in May.
Jim Dorris '69 (Deceased).
Hailing from Short Hills, NJ, Jim was a House Manager and Steward extraordinare. Dorkis
will be forever remembered for being one of the first to take on Ralph Nader, staring
death in its face on a daily basis in his convertible Corvair Spider. While in the
house, Jim, an EE, built several tube type stereo amplifers that rocked the entire house
back then and also served as an auxilliary heating system for the fraternity. Jim
had a highly successful career with Compaq Computer, in his later years running
Compaq's operations in China. He had the distinction of traveling the farthest to
attend the 1999 SigEp Reunion.
Chuck Half '69.
After the Social Psychology leadership agreed that I had enough Metallurgical
Engineering credits valid on my transcript to graduate with the rest of you guys, I went
back to Pittsburgh, sold my 250 cc Harley, started-up a great conversation with Marilyn
at a coffee shop at Chatham College, and began an 11 year stint teaching high school
students math, wood design, and metal working with juvenile delinquents before moving
on to college bound students in Amenia, NY, Groton, MA, and Gladstone, NJ. During
those 11 years I received a M.Ed. in Administration, got certified to teach math and
to be a high school principal. But I got hooked on alternative learning styles and
experiential curriculum and ended up leading some very non-traditional curriculum
options. In 1980, I realized that I did not enjoy managing teachers, which I had to
do to earn enough cash, so we moved back to Pittsburgh with our 5-year old son, Cameron,
and have remained in Pittsburgh. I became an applied software technologist selling,
marketing, or implementing leading edge, bleeding edge, and (3 times) crumbling edge
automation solutions to Fortune 500 firms. Lots of fun; lots of incredible business
case studies; lots of travel (Japan, Russia, England, Canada), sometimes lots of $$$,
and far too much knowledge about "receivership." Started-up my own eBill and ePay
consulting firm 3-weeks prior to those 767's flying into the WTC towers. Stuck it out
for a year, and decided to return to teaching math to City students kicked-out of their
regular high schools. I transferred to a new change agent position in the 82 person
IT department, which was great until a new Superintendent had the tenacity to close
27 schools (out of 83). My attempt at applying private industry productivity metrics
to a $500 million government organization ended with a major budget cut in Jan '06.
I spent the past year trying to implement an enterprise software application for
architects that I could not appreciate. I am searching again for the next thing.
Eight years ago we moved to our 3rd home and back to the inner city. I thought that
giving up an acre of suburban green and business traveling would give me time to
improve by golf game. But we found an eclectic South Side neighborhood with over
100 watering holes within a 30 minute walk, and have been rehabbing our 1874
three-story row house since. My golf may suck, but the elbow bending bar strokes
are crisp and down the middle! My avocation is urban revitalization and neighborhood
quality of life, so it is easy to get distracted from trying to earn a living.
Marilyn keeps overwhelmed with her 91-year-old still-in-the-same-house mother,
involved with competitive tennis, and pub-crawling. Cameron, now 32, has returned
to living in London again after 2-years in Moscow as a fluent-in-Russian attorney
doing huge capital market deals.
Dale Holmes '69.
Upon graduation in '69, I joined Procter & Gamble in manufacturing, ready to put my
industrial engineering education to work. Jean and I married in the summer of 1970.
We took up residence in our common hometown in New Jersey. It didn't take long for
me to realize that manufacturing wasn't my thing. Enrolling in Harvard Business
School in 1972 and graduating with an MBA in 1974 proved to be an absolutely
life-changing experience in skills gained, people met, and new potentials available!
From then until the early 1980s I shed the operations work and transitioned to
corporate planning and finance, including a stint as a consultant with Booz Allen.
Our daughter Kristin was born during this time, and at the age of two asked, "Where's
daddy?" as I was infrequently home. In a short time we found that we had a daughter
that expected that she had an equal if not a ruling voice in family matters. We tried
to disabuse her of that notion for over 20 years! Starting in the early '80s, I became
the CFO for a number of high-tech ventures, in industries including electronic printers,
biotechnology (Celgene Corp.), semiconductor equipment, and WiFi. Of four public
companies for whom I was CFO, I took three public. My last venture I took public,
Aironet Wireless, was bought out by Cisco Systems in early 2000. While at Aironet I had
been commuting weeky from New Jersey to Akron, Ohio. I promptly retired with a smile on
my face before the market bubble burst. Being a masochist, and being oblivious to the
market meltdown, with a partner, in midyear 2000 I founded a software and ASP company.
As the venture capital market was in the tank (and our business plan called for a large
capital investment), we self-financed until 2004 when we faced significant beta testing
and roll-out costs -- with no outside funding in sight. We shut it down. Catastrophe
had struck in the Fall of 2003. Jean died unexpectedly - Things went pretty black for
awhile. After Philips Exeter, Duke, and reading at Oxford, Kristin at 30 with three
undergraduate liberal arts majors (Italian, Comparative Area Studies, and English
Literature) is "still finding her way." The best is: she is now engaged. Yea!!!
Joyously, I have a new woman and partner in my life, Irene. She is a Ph.D. and
professional art historian and artist, collected and recognized internationally. Life
blossoms again, as we are enjoying a loving and committed relationship! I look forward
to seeing you at the reunion.
John Koegler '69.
June 1969 - Jan 1976 Sales and Management with Philly-based Rohm and Haas.
Jan 1976 - Sept 1989 Founded the largest acrylic display manufacturer in the U.S.,
Discovery Plastics. Oct 1989 - Jan 1999 retired to Sunriver, OR. Jan 1995 Started
Forest Furniture, a manufacturer of rustic wood furniture for high-end homes. Jan 1998
Shut down Forest due to lack of quality wood. NAFTA drove 5 local lumber mills out of
business. Feb 1999 bored, desired to return to work, took 1 yr position in Hillsboro,
OR, selling 2,000,000 wooden pallets from Costco, sold within 10 months. Oct 1999 went
to work as national sales manager at TKL Plastics, Seattle, a leading manufacturer of
plastic OEM parts. April 2002 took position as General Manager of GE's plastics
division in Seattle. Dec 2004 CEO, US Castings, Entiat, WA. I'm still happily married
to Barbara. We have 3 grown kids. The oldest is a senior design engineer with Wet Labs,
builders of oceanographic test equipment for the Navy. He has two great kids. Our
daughter is a school psychologist who is presently on retirement with 3 kids. Our
youngest son is the engineering manager for Callaway Golf. He's got the dream job. He
designs the new clubs and gets to test them with Phil Mickelson and Anna Sorenstam.
They force him to play 2 rounds of golf each week testing clubs. All that and they pay
him 10X my starting wage -- go figure. All my kids graduated with master's degrees from
west coast universities. and are all doing very well. I hope to some day enjoy their
wealth when I move in -- yeah, right. Barbara is the nurse manager for First Choice,
a national organization of clinics coaching mothers against abortion. She loves the
work. Fortunately, Barbara and I are in great health. We enjoy the resort atmosphere
of Entiat -- 54 mile long deep lake at one end with multi-million dollar homes and a
world-class ski area on the other. The temperature hits 30 in the winter and 110 in
the summer with 300+ days of sunshine. I just bought a new boat for cruising and
fishing, so I'm all set for this summer. Not much else to tell you. I'm sorry I won't
be able to enjoy catching up with everyone.
Hal Melville '69.
Here's the abridged version of Hal Melville's last 37 years, written by Claire, who
remembers most of it. After graduation, Hal headed for law school, which seemed a safer
alternative than Army Signal Corps in the midst of the Vietnam War. After graduation
from the Univ. of Miami, he worked for the Public Defender and a variety of medium and
large firms. Miami was changing and was not exactly the pristine paradise of Hal's
youth. In 1981, the Melvilles moved to Fort Pierce, a small city two hours to the North.
We still live in the house, which is 20 minutes from the beach, 20 minutes from the boat,
and 20 minutes from the hunting lease. We have been able to contribute to the community
in a variety of ways, and it has been a wonderful place to raise two children. Erik, 30,
graduated from Tulane and is a Financial Consultant with A.G. Edwards. Jenn, 26, is an
Auburn graduate and the Director of Development for the regional Catholic high school
she attended. Five years ago, she married Erik's best friend, and 5 months ago, they
became the parents of Olivia Grace. We are truly blessed that both kids live less than
10 minutes away, and we see some or all of them daily. Our lives have been impacted
by Erik and Jenn having multisyllable, but different, rare disorders. Erik has a
metabolic disease of muscle and Jenn an immune disorder. They are both doing
remarkably well and have positive attitudes which are inspirational to all of us.
Thanks to Brother Bob Varga's email campaign, and many of your kind donations, we
were able to start the Center for Inborn Errors of Mebabolism at Columbia Presbyterian
Hospital in New York. Thanks is too small a word for our gratitude! Hal has been a
solo practitioner specializing in complex litigation for the past 12 years. Sometimes
he thinks about retirement, but then a challenging case comes in and he loses the
thought. He still loves the water and fishing, taking his boys around the Caribbean
in search of billfish. He also hunts or at least enjoys being outside looking at
animals. Claire has spent her working life testing and advocating for children with
special needs. In her spare time, she takes photographs. Together, they spend a lot of
island time at their house in the Abacos and travel to fun spots like the Galapagos
Islands. We are looking forward to the Reunion and seeing all of you!
Jerry Sjoblom '69.
After graduation from Lehigh, I went into USAF pilot training, married Arlene (Moravian,
Class of '70) towards the end of pilot training and then spent the next 5 years as a
flight instructor in the T-37 (twin engine intermediate jet trainer). After fulfilling
the desire to fly, I went to Penn State for a second BS, this time in Horticulture to
pursue interests in that direction. I spent about 5 years in landscaping and garden
center management in both PA and CT. At this point I decided to pursue an engineering
career with my 10 year-old degree from Lehigh. After 26 years (14 in CT and 12 in NY),
I continue to spend my time in the casting industry. Most of my time was spent with
investment castings (lost wax process) making parts for turbine engines. I worked a
number of different roles including casting engineer, engineering manager, quality
manager, continuous improvement director, and business unit leader for the industrial
gas turbine market. I guess wanderlust set in again last year and I took a quality
manager job at the corporate level and moved to Portland, Oregon. ESCO is a worldwide,
privately held, corporation with two primary business groups. The Turbine Technologies
group that I was a part of during my 12 years in Syracuse also has facilities in
Cleveland, Mexico, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. The Engineered Products group that
I am most closely associated with now has 9 foundries across the US, Canada, UK, and
China. There are also 10 fabrication plants located throughout North America. My new
job is Corporate QA Manager, so I have the opportunity to interact with all of these
different sites across both business groups. I enjoy the travel, meeting the people,
and getting involved with the different processes. Over the years Arlene and I brought
two sons into this world. Erik is still living in Syracuse and is getting anxious to
move on. Dane is in Maui and enjoying that. Neither is married yet, so Arlene and I
haven't yet reached that old age of grandparents. (No offense to those that have.)
Both have joined us in Portland for Christmas and New Years. Arlene and I are enjoying
our explorations of the Northwest. Truly a beautiful area, Columbia River Gorge,
Mt. Hood and the Cascades to the east, Pacific coast to the west, and great Pinot Noirs
of the Willamette Valley. With the new position and relocation, Arlene and I regret
we won't be able to join you in May.
Professor James Simpson Wallace '69.
B.S.M.E., B.A. (Lehigh), M.S.E. (Mich), Ph.D. (Mich), P.Eng., FSAE, FCSME Professor,
University of Toronto. Area of Research, Alternative fuels combustion: The combustion of
alternative fuels, including natural gas, propane, methanol, dissociated methanol,
hydrogen, and biodiesel, has been studied in IC engines with a focus on reducing exhaust
emissions. Current projects include ignition studies in natural-gas fueled diesel
engines, the emissions impact of biodiesel fuel blends, and research into
hydrogen-fueled IC engines as a technology that will help build fueling infrastructure
for fuel cells. Other interests include clean diesel engine technology, fuel cell
ancillary systems and systems integration issues, and optical diagnostic techniques
for in-situ measurements of combustion systems.
Jack Wielar '69.
My post-Lehigh life began with the smartest thing I ever did -- I married my high school
and SigEp Sweetheart, Susan Scott. For the past 37 years we have stood side by side,
raising 3 sons, moving numerous times all over the U.S., and finally starting the move
towards retirement when we relocated to North Carolina in 2002. After getting married,
I started what turned out to be a very exciting 25-year career with DuPont in
Wilmington, Delaware. I started in product development (fiber optics) and then moved
thru the prerequisite assignments in sales, financial analysis, technology, and finally
on to what was to be my main activity in management -- business development, where I
spent the last 12-years of my career. We moved many times, from the east coast to the
west coast and, for the last 15 years at DuPont, traveled the world. In 1992 I was
promoted to President of DuPont's Biodegradable Polymer joint venture with Con Agra.
As part of the deal, DuPont was required to offer me a "golden" early retirement package,
which took me all of 5 seconds to take. So at the ripe old age of 47, I started
receiving my first pension. As luck would have it, in late 1993 I was recruited to run
Norel, a group of packaging and technology companies that we had worked with in the JV.
By then my two oldest sons had graduated from UVA and it was relatively easy for Susan
and me to uproot our 10-year old and move to northern NJ, where we both had lived and
where we met. The job with Norel allowed me to practice everything DuPont had taught
me. Within two-years we had turned the company around and sold it to a large $7B
company called Unisource, which was soon acquired by Georgia Pacific. I ended up as
a Vice-President in GP, running their Mid-Atlantic distribution businesses. It didn't
take long for me to realize why I had enjoyed leaving DuPont so much (no bureaucracy),
and, as soon as my mandatory employment term was up in 1999, I exercised my severance
option and retired from GP. After 6-months of retirement, Susan threatened me with my
life if I didn't get out of the house, and so I started a small consulting practice
working with small-mid size privately held companies that needed to be either
restructured or sold. I usually went in, tried to turn them around and then sold them.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was heading into NYC to close what turned out
to be my biggest deal. By the time I got thru the Lincoln Tunnel, the second plane had
gone in. I was able to quickly make a U-turn and get back to NJ before the tunnels were
closed. As we sat on the front steps watching the smoke rise from the towers, we decided
that as soon as Josh graduated high school in June, we would move to NC where we had
some waterfront property. We started construction in late 2002 and finished in early
2004. I scaled back my practice to 30+ hours/week and began to learn about retirement.
Golfing and boating now consume most of our time and we are preparing to move up to a
larger boat for the third time. This one will be the last one and will allow us to
comfortably go on 30+ day cruises. Unlike Bart Cameron, the only thing we collect is
wine and have put together a 1,200-bottle cellar. Having a son who is the business has
made this a fun and cost-effective hobby, so come-on-down, and enjoy the grapes.
1970
Klaus Burckhardt BS '70, MBA'88.
I've survived some great career experiences and opportunities to work for several
organizations. This included Applications Engineering for bulk industrial gasses,
Sales and Customer Service for engineered products to the automotive industry, and
the last nine years Sales and Marketing for machined ceramic parts to all sorts of
high-tech customers. Along the way I picked up a Pennsylvania PE license, and an MBA
from Lehigh, which sounds nice, and was quite interesting, but career-wise not so
recommended. My bride of 33 years, Robyn, is teaching High School Art, and we just
completed construction of a studio (palace) for her continuing personal art business
and art interests. Our two daughters are happy and leading full lives as well.
Molly graduated from Lehigh with a BA/MA in Journalism and Political Science in 1999.
She recently left CNN after five years as writer and producer to join NY1 in Manhattan
as TV writer, producer, and reporter. She has a wedding planned for right after our
SigEp Reunion, so that's keeping everyone busy. Jesse graduated from Philadelphia
Textile (now University) in 2000 and worked as a fashion designer before starting her
own fashion business. I invite you all to check out www.thejessebcollection.com to
shop for your wives and friends! Jesse is married to an architect in Reading, PA, and
is expecting our first grandchild this Fall. Naturally that's also keeping us all busy!
Most of my free time the last five years has been spent on the Chesapeake Bay sailing
out of Rock Hall, MD, on board "Edelweiss," a 1980 Tartan 33. We have developed a lot
of boating friends there, and I'm now Commodore of The Haven Yacht Club, so I expect
full and appropriate salutes from all subordinate SigEps (especially power boaters)
as they drop for ten.
Hank Dorkin '70.
After graduation, I left Lehigh for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in
Baltimore. Seven years later, with an MD and Pediatric Residency under my belt, I moved
to Boston as a Parker B. Francis Research Fellow in Pulmonary Disease and Cystic
Fibrosis at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital. After the Fellowship
and a year on the Staff, I was asked to form the Pediatric Pulmonary Unit across town
at the Tufts University Medical School and the New England Medical Center's Floating
Hospital for Children. Had the opportunity also to be an ICU Attending and Director
of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at the Floating Hospital. While there, we had the
privilege of performing the first inhalational gene therapy trial in CF patients in the
world. After 21 years, I left Tufts as Professor of Pediatrics in 2002. I was asked
to come to the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School as Director of
the Joey O'Donnell Cystic Fibrosis Center and Co-Director of the CF Therapeutic
Development Research Program. Now in my 5th year, we have helped develop a number of
new therapies for CF, and have 6 clinical trials currently running. In Boston I was
fortunate enough to meet my wife Kathy. A graduate of Radcliffe College and the Curtis
Institute of Music, she was at that time Principal Harpist of the Opera Company of
Boston. We have two children (both smarter than their father, and possibly even their
mother). Molly, 25, majored in Art History at Harvard and the Courtauld Institute of
the University of London. She is now a member of the Old Masters Department at Christies
Auction House in NYC. Robert, 22, just received his degree in Biochemistry from
Swarthmore and is working for a year while applying to graduate school. His research
to date has been in synthetic organic chemistry, but he is leaning in the direction of
stem cell research. We live in an 1870 farmhouse in Newton, Massachusetts, with an
old Irish Setter of limited cognitive ability and even less tendency towards obedience.
Kathy teaches Harp Performance at New England Conservatory and is Director of the
Middle School Mathematics Department at Buckingham, Browne and Nichols in Cambridge.
We spend summer vacations in Camden, Maine, in our small cabin on the waterfront.
I am not playing as much tennis as I would like, but my current project is to hit my
forehand with a semi-Western Grip -- however, the prospects for success look grim at
the moment.
Donald Geiling '70.
B.S. in Engineering Physics, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute (RPI), 1976. Registered Professional Engineer (PE), Connecticut Certified
Project Management Professional (PMP) by Project Management Institute. Career:
1988-Present, US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE), MORGANTOWN, WV, Project Manager
for energy-related research and development project funded by DOE. 1977-1988,
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, SCHENECTADY, NY, Engineer involved in the design and sales
of industrial and utility gas turbines. 1970-1977, UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION,
WINDSOR LOCKS, CT, Design Engineer for advanced inertial guidance equipment.
Family: Wife Melanie, Sales Associate at Macys. Daughter Cassandra, married to
Eric, electrical engineer, both are graduate students at Syracuse University.
Daughter Heidi, married to David, physical therapist, live is in McMurray, PA, with
her daughter, Grace, 16 months old.
Jim Hall '70.
'70-'72 Peace Corps Thailand, '73-Present Boston Metro area. '73-'78 Married to Denny
(from Conn College)/ 4 good years, 1 bad, no children (thank God!), '78-'83 Active
heterosexual dating. Great times, but I realized I really don't want a mate, I prefer
groups (ala SigEp, music, church, etc). I feel that the best description is the
conscious creation and nurturing of a "extended non-genetic family." '78-'88 lived
in a group house with 3 other people. Thank you, Fraternity life, for teaching me
the skills of evaluating and choosing people to live with! '75-Present, Choral singing
with Arlington Philharmonic Society. Singing has been the most constant activity
throughout my life, and the source of many of my friendships. '78-Present, Member of
Unitarian Church, Belmont MA. Many additional musical activities; founded an all
benefit Coffeehouse where I still perform once a year. Lots of social action and
community activities. '90-Present, Men's group (~10 members) for support and "Men's"
stuff / 80% Physical Fitness and Wellness. Started as an aerobic exercise disciple,
ultimately got certified as an instructor but I have never actually taught classes.
'00-Present, Volunteer Fitness Instructor at my local YMCA, a great community
organization to support! Continue to evolve a more and more vegetarian and health
conscious diet. '01-Present, Re-discovered "Long Board" surfing. Currently spend
7-8 weeks each summer at a family home on the Jersey Shore. '70-'72 Peace Corps,
Thailand, small flood and irrigation projects. '73-'75, Small Chemical company, pipe,
pump, and tank engineering. '75-'79, Solar Thermal Collector mfg; hot water and heating
projects. '80-'00, Several Industrial Equipment mfg: Automated soldering equip for
Electronic Assembly Industry. product development and advanced applications engineering.
'00-Present, Semi-retired; part time consultant to Elc Assembly Industry. Teach basic
and new technologies, advise on improvements in assembly processes.
Frank Kerrigon '70, M.S. '71.
Frank Kerrigon dropped out of sight shortly after receiving his Masters in Finance from
Lehigh in 1971. Professor Beitlmen had fried his brain. Inspired by the teachings of
his mentor, Professor Earle French, Freddie as he was then known headed to the Far East
to meditate and study ancient Asian religions. A "seeker of truth," Freddie wrestled
while in the rugged mountains of Kathmandu with his deepest secret, his inner longing
to live the life of the Great Gatsby. Who among us will not recall his
Fitzgeraldian-like courtship of Miss Anne Wilson, who was presented to society at the
Lord Chamberlin's Silver Anniversary Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria in 1966. Their storied
wedding on a beautiful fall day lakeside in a country chapel in upstate Connecticut was
chronicled in Harper's Bazaar as the end of an era of high society charm and good taste
(but for Geo & Swartzer being in attendance). One always wondered how such a fine
lady ended up with young Freddie, much less signed on to be an integral part of his
mysterious journey through life. As the years passed and having mellowed perhaps too
much from his Far Eastern studies, Freddie returned in the early '80s to the Big Apple,
where he quickly became a highly successful investment banker, much in the mold of Tom
Wolfe's satire "Bonfire of the Vanities." A snappy dresser, Freddie relished in the
opportunity to wheel and deal, wear Brooks Brothers suits, dine at New York's finest
restaurants and limo about town. He had at last found the piece and tranquility he had
sought earlier in his life. Unfortunately, being heavily overinvested when the stock
market dipped in the late '90s he lost that loving feeling and more. Last heard,
Freddie and Anne have returned to Tibet, where Freddie is reportedly studying under the
Dali Rama Lama Ding Dong. Ahmmmmmmm.
Robert Meger '70.
Graduated from Lehigh in 1970. Joined the US Army Reserve in fall 1970, completed duty
1976. Started graduate school at Cornell U. in January 1971. Received MS in 1973 and
PhD in 1977. Joined University of Maryland physics department as a post-doctoral
fellow from 1977-1979. Moved to the Naval Research Laboratory as a contractor (beltway
bandit) from 1979 to 1983, then joined the government in 1983 as a research physicist
for NRL's Plasma Physics Division. Became a Branch Head in 1986 and continue to manage
the Charged Particle Physics Branch to the present. As a physicist for NRL, I have
worked on many programs for the DoD. Presently I have programs in space physics,
plasma processing, beam-generated plasmas, and electric launchers among others. The
electric launcher program seeks to develop the next generation railgun electric launcher
for a future version of an electric warship. Other interests: I play tennis several times
per week and play softball in a NRL league. FAMILY: Wife: Barbara B. Meger, married 32
years. Teaches needle arts around the country, sells English smocking kits from her
business Classic Creations. Works part time as a guide for the Historic Annapolis
Foundation. Son: R. Andrew Meger, married and living in Boston, MA. Librarian for the
Suffolk University in Boston, MA. BA from Boston U and MLS from Simmons. Daughter:
Sarah A. Meger, single and living in Riverdale, MD, with grand-dog Punky. Works for Fox
Architects in Washington, DC. Attending Corcoran School of Art & Design in DC to get
a Masters in interior design with specialty in museum display design.
Bob Varga, BS Marketing '70; MBA '71.
Having loved my college experience, I decided two degrees and five years of Lehigh were
not sufficient. Consequently, upon receiving my MBA from Lehigh in 1971, I enrolled at
The Catholic University of America Law School in Washington, DC, where I received my JD
in 1974. While in law school I had the opportunity to intern in the US State Department
under Henry Kissinger as well as clerk for a Justice of the US Court of Claims. Law
school and marriage did not mix well, and at the end of my first year, Jane and I
separated, and we ultimately divorced. Upon graduation and passing the bar, I was
fortunate enough to secure employment as a corporate attorney with a top Wall Street
firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore. I departed Cravath after two years for booming HotLanta,
where I spent the next four years with Atlanta's second largest law firm, Kilpatrick &
Stockton, specializing in corporate securities and mergers and acquisitions. With
almost eight years off for good behavior, I married my current wife in late 1979,
shortly before departing Atlanta for Washington DC for a brief stint as head of M&A
for Comsat (the satellite folks). I then moved on to head up M&A for Fortune 50 Litton
Industries in Beverly Hills, a fascinating position that permitted me to travel the world
weekly for five years. In 1985, a senior executive at Litton was provided the
opportunity to undertake a leveraged buyout of Itek, a Boston-based Litton subsidiary,
and he invited me to be part of his team. Packing up again, my wife and I moved to
Boston in late 1985. Turning around this previously distressed business, Itek quickly
became the world's largest manufacturer of pre-press printing equipment and supplies.
Upon selling this company in late 1988 to General Electric PLC, my wife and I returned
to Atlanta, where we continue to reside. My career positions in Atlanta have been, to
say the least, varied if not unique, having served as (a) VP of another turnaround,
Environmental Control Group, a Cherry Hill NJ-based asbestos abatement concern, (b)
campaign manager and then initial Chief of Staff for Congressman John Linder (former
chairman of the Nat'l Republican Congressional Committee and the author and sponsor of
the Fair Tax -- a bill to replace the income tax with a national sales/consumption tax)
during the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in the early-mid '90s,
(c) Corporate VP of Equifax in charge of M&A, Strategic Planning and Government & Public
Affairs, (d) VP-Development of OHM Corporation, another environmental remediation
concern, which was unfortunately acquired shortly after I joined, (e) VP of National
Data Corporation, where I managed the reorganization and breakup of the company into two
separate public enterprises, and (f) most recently as VP and Chief of Staff at Kennesaw
State University, the 3rd largest university in GA with 20,000 students. Unfortunately,
my boss (the longest serving female president in the history of U.S. higher education)
retired in July 2006 (at age 75). I was a casualty of our new president bringing in
some of his own team. So at 58 was out of a job and actively looking. I am currently
consulting on business development and organizational management issues, but continue
to seek a more permanent career situation. My wife and I reside in suburban Atlanta
with our two sons, Ryan, who attends Gwinnett Technical College, where he is studying
construction management, and Kyle, who attends the University of Alabama, where he is a
Computer Science major, but also appears to be studying partying and enjoying the
fraternity life (yes, unlike up north, fraternities continue to thrive at the larger
southern universities). My wife Cindy and I have enjoyed beach vacations with the kids
over the years -- mainly to Hilton Head and the Mayan Riviera (south of Cancun) and an
occasional trek to Maui. For recreation, I enjoy golf; although a serious car accident
five years ago -- resulting in four fused vertebrae in my neck -- has sent my handicap
soaring from 9 to 18. Pushing the envelope a bit, at the age of 58 I recently got my
scuba certification and enjoyed a marvelous visit to the reefs off Curacao in October
2006. I have also developed a keen interest in quotations and distribute a weekly
quotation mailing, "Friday's Quotations: Food for Weekend Thought," which is received
by an estimated 10,000 people weekly. I even occasionally make some blogs. Many Sig-Eps
already receive my mailings, and anyone interested in being added to my distribution list
can do so by forwarding me an email. It was great seeing everyone at the reunion in May
2007 and hopefully we can do it again soon ... Target perhaps four or five years out ...
circa 2011-2012.
1971
Carl Detterline '71.
After graduation I entered Navy Officer Candidate School and served 3 years at sea in
the engineering department of a destroyer in charge of the steam propulsion and
electrical generating plant. I was stationed in Newport, RI, and Mayport
(Jacksonville), FL, and made a couple of six-month deployments to the Mediterranean,
well clear of the Republic of Viet Nam. I returned to work for Moore Products Co.,
a process control and industrial automation company in Spring House, PA, as a systems
application engineer and spent a few years capitalizing on my Navy experience by
designing industrial steam plant control systems. As time went by, I migrated to
eventually manage their engineering services organization, including project
engineering and management across all process industries. I was there for 27 years
and moved on but have stayed involved in engineering, quality, and technical services
in the process automation and telecommunications industries throughout my career.
I'm currently leading process improvement efforts for Communications Test Design, Inc.,
a global telecommunications services company headquartered in West Chester, PA.
Along the way I obtained a PE license (I passed the EIT and ME exam on the first try,
easy after my extensive experience with Dr. Beer's book at Lehigh) and remained involved
with the Navy Reserve as an Engineering Duty Officer, specializing in surface ship
acquisition, repair, and quality assurance. I had the good fortune to command three
naval reserve units including Naval Shipyard Philadelphia and retired at the rank of
Captain in 1995. My wife Linda and I have three children between us. In order of age,
Linda's son Chip graduated from Penn State with a BS in Structural Engineering. He is
a PE as well and is Regional Engineering Manager for Rotondo Precast. He and his wife
Dian reside near Barto, PA, with our two granddaughters, ages 6 and 4. I have two
daughters, both of whom were athletes and chose Patriot League schools. My oldest,
Kate, ran track, was twice league champion in the 800m and got a BS in Civil Engineering
from Lafayette College in 1998. We have a lot of fun with that each year as you might
imagine. She is a construction project manager for Bovis Lend-Lease and is currently
assigned at Astra Zeneca in Wilmington, DE. She lives in Pennsburg, PA, and now plays
soccer and is a college track official in her spare time. My youngest daughter, Amanda,
played soccer and lacrosse in college, earned team MVP and outstanding female athlete
honors and got a BA in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government
from American University in Washington, DC, in 2002. She resides in Alexandria, VA,
played semi-pro soccer in Maryland and Virginia and was invited to play last summer
for a now Premier Level team in Iceland. Employed by Science Applications
International Corp. (SAIC) on assignment to NASA, she is also a full-time graduate
student at Marymount University toward a MA in Forensic Psychology. SigEps from our
era would probably make good subjects for her coursework, along with the usual axe
murderers and serial criminals. Our lifelong interests in water-oriented activities
led us to a series of boats of increasing size that we kept on the Chesapeake Bay.
When the boat ultimately contained more machinery and electronics than our house and
cars, we ultimately sold it and bought a piece of property on Fairlee Creek just off
the Chesapeake between Chestertown and Rock Hall on Maryland's Eastern Shore. We
designed and built a house there in 1998, planning it as a retirement home. We did
most of the interior work ourselves and liked it so much that we decided not to wait for
retirement and moved there full-time in 2001. Our interest in boating is still strong,
of course, but the boats are smaller, and we keep them at our own dock behind the house
so our trek to the water on evenings and weekends is fairly short. We're looking
forward to full-time retirement sometime in the next few years when work gets in the
way of our hobbies and other activities. I missed the last reunion and look forward
to the gathering in May.
Lauren Johnson '71.
Joined Peace Corps (inspired by Jim Hall '70) after Lehigh graduation, 30 months in
Brazil. Married Brazilian beauty, Ielnia, and returned to start first job at Clark
Equipment Co. in Buchanan, MI, in March 1974. Career with Clark went from dealer
business management to international finance. Latin America, moved into sales in
1977 with transfer to Caracas. Back, to Battle Creek, MI, as VP Sales. Overseas, then
to Miami in 1982 to look after Latin American sales for construction machinery and
forklifts. Moved to Orlando in 1987 as President of Florida Machinery & Equipment Co,
a subsidiary of a Clark-Volvo joint venture. In 1992, the company was sold to LB Smith
(Camp Hill, PA), and I stayed on for a couple of years as VP and Gen Mgr before moving
to Maine in 1995 as Sr VP Sales of Chadwick-BaRoss, a multi-line construction equipment
distributor. In 1998 we migrated south, again, this time to Houston, to run a large
John Deere dealership for Rush Enterprises. I couldn't get along with the owner and
got fired after 3 months. Took a year off to recharge before moving to Fort Myers, FL
(where we live now) to join a former employee in a small trucking business. Bought
half, started another business, Johnson Machinery and Truck Service, and sold out
totally in 2003, retiring at 54 to mess around with Chamego (our boat). So! With a
house on the water, boat in my backyard, married for 33 years, 2 children (Erika, Yale,
married and pregnant with first grand child, and Robert, Gettysburg, married with two
grand dogs), retired at 54, what do I do but proceed to have a heart attack while
visiting relatives in Brazil in 2005. Fortunately it was minor, and with a brand new
stent put in a couple of months ago, I feel great. Nothing like heart attack to
change your perspective a bit. Our gypsy blood has boiled up again, and we have now
sold the boat, have the house on the market, and have developed plans A, B, C, D.
(Ielnia says we'll be through the whole alphabet pretty soon). Plan A is to move to
Maryland (where I can get health insurance) to be close to our new grand daughter and
spend half year there with the winters in Brazil. But we're flexible, so who knows,
might even go back to work if I find something interesting.
Art Lyons '71.
Britt and I still put on shows once in a while; however, we have settled into a life
where I am still a Psychology professor at Moravian College, and she is an
Administrative Law Judge for the Commonwealth of PA. For play we sail, motorcycle,
ski, travel, garden, and have fun with our grown kids, Matt and Libby and their spouses
and kids! Looking forward to catching up with people in just a few weeks.
Keith Scott Morton '72.
Life since college -- it's really fairly simple. Interiors/lifestyle photographer.
Visit keithscottmorton.com or scottmortonworks.com (latter site should be up by reunion)
to check out what I do (you don't have to; it's just general suggestion). I'm probably
one of the only suckers still working (what a fool). Married (2nd) in '93 to Christine
Churchill, one daughter, Natasha, age 7. Live in NYC (since 1980). Have a growing and
hopefully successful tree nursery (Old Orchard Farm ) in Orient, Long Island. So I
snap pics and dig in the dirt -- what more could one want!
Alan "Red Nose" Rudolph '71 (originally).
Well, I finally graduated (Tank U Lordee) in 1981. I believe I set a Lehigh record:
24 semesters to accumulate 124 passing credits. Thank heaven there were only three
colleges at Lehigh at the time, because I flunked out of both Engineering and Business,
ultimately securing my degree in "The Arts." Armed with my LEHIGH degree and the
Viet Nam War now safely over, I headed to Haight Asbury to pursue a career in the
tobacco industry. Wow, what a change from Lehigh. People were drugged out all the
time -- some of them were even living in teepees in the woods. It was quite a sight.
Hung out there for I think six or nine years; my mind is a bit cloudy on that fact.
In any event, having secured a part-time job helping others borrow exotic autos from
people late at night, auto sales seemed a natural career succession. Thus, the
incorporation of Big Al's Used Auto Parts. Business was good in the '80s. Fueled by
high-tech money, the sale of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mazarratis, and Porsches were
extraordinary in the Bar Area, and, due to my supply chain experience, Big Al was there
to supply good-as new-fenders, engines, seats, whatever to highly scrupulosu body shops
and dealers at below dealer cost. Alas, some people (aka the cops) smelled a rat,
so I decided Columbia might be a good place to visit. Do you know drugs are rampant
down there? Unbelievable. Had several offers to play a mule, but never could swallow
those Trojans full of cocaine without throwing up. I guess I didn't have the stomach
for that job. I became a share cropper instead -- growing poppy and a bunch of weed.
Man, like I think it was cool time, but again I don't remember much about those 11
years. Suspecting the heat was now off, and who in the world would look for me in NJ,
I stowed away on a freighter headed for Perth Amboy. Little did I know it made four
port of calls on the way. Took me 45 days in a damp hole to get back; worse yet there
were rats. Fed them my stash, which kept them wiped out and away from me. Ah, New
Jersey, beautiful downtown Bayonne, NJ, to be exact is now my home. We are talking a
water-front slum here. Oil refinery, dock sludge, warf rats, the whole nine yards.
But what do you expect for $165/month rent. Set up shop again (this time - Big Als
Buffalo Wings). I am making a killing. Better than the pizza business (which I was
in briefly -- I delivered) -- my inventory is free. Do you know that when cooked,
rats taste like chicken? In any event, I have not been in touch with many of the guys
over the years. Kubic and I hung out together for quite a while in SF (he had a crush
on that Carol Doda chick at a club we frequented when he was in town), but somewhere
along the way some of my habits became a security risk or something and he had to
ditch me -- one of the toughest days of my life. I loved his military stories.
Ran into Bob Weiss of all people while in Columbia; unlike me, he has a good stomach.
The Crapper and I get together annually out in Sturgis with our Harley buddies.
Crapper looks great, except for those huge serpentine tattoos all over his body.
80% of his body must be multi-colored, but those chicks out there really get into it.
I swear he catches more stuff out there than any guy I have ever known. Bumped into
Jim Wallace at The Jockey Club in NYC about 20 years ago. I was there with a
big-breasted silicone-laden bimbo who was falling out of the top of her dress.
I think Wallace almost licked her nipples. Same old Wallace. Lastly, I think I saw
Bob Pim in a back alley Vegas strip joint about two years ago. Had a girl on each arm,
a smile on his face and appeared to have a large gun or something in his pants pocket.
So much for what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I hope to get back to the
reunion but am still non-committal. The May dates conflict with my annual pilgrimage
to Las Mehalas Temple in Cocordias, Mexico. Not much to do there, but it allows me
to visit one of my former partners in Big Al's Auto Parts. I think Columbia was a
better choice. Perhaps I will see you guys in May.
1972
Larry Burke '72.
After Lehigh, I went to the University of Virginia for an MBA, met my wife there.
Worked in DC for Arthur Andersen, Life Insurance Company of Virginia in Richmond,
and Blue Cross, mostly in I.T. Also had career counseling franchise for about ten
years. Along the way I became a CPA, mostly doing taxes still here in Richmond.
My "boys" are 25 and 22 still in college (!), and my wife Barbara is a Speech
Pathologist.... Oh and my dog is a "labopit."
Paul Coppock '72.
As graduation from Lehigh approached, the big adult issues of job placement and
marriage that many of my classmates faced were not a part of my reality. Maybe it was
just my futile attempt to prolong that golden four year experience of academics and
brotherhood. But I spent the year after graduation attending law school at Villanova
during the week and attending weddings of my SigEp classmates on the weekends.
The law school thing continued two years more, but the weddings tailed off and so did
contacts with SigEp buddies, other than a couple of road trips with Jon Pearce.
In law school, they told us there is a brotherhood among those who survive that Socratic
boot camp. Well maybe, but it doesn't compare to what we had at the fraternity. Not
that I regret the law school decision, but our Lehigh experience was unique. And
thank you Bob Pim for suggesting that I put an application in at Villanova. Your
casual remark as I was filling out other applications set the course of my post grad
work. But back to senior year at Lehigh. Knowing that there was no chance I would be
among those married in the twelve months after graduation, and my long odds for years
beyond, I made a $5 bet with Jon Pearce and one other brother (Bob Pim? Andy Mills?)
that I would be the last one married. The unidentified brother folded early and paid
up. In 1979, I received a wedding invitation from Jon with a $5 bill enclosed and a
note saying "You win!" After graduating law school in 1975, I did some criminal trial
work with the public defender's office and general practice. In 1977, I moved to
Harrisburg to work as a staff attorney for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Working in the legislative process was interesting but there wasn't much of a career
path. So, in 1981, I took a staff attorney position with Harsco Corporation at its
headquarters in the Harrisburg area. Harsco is an international diversified
industrial services and manufacturing company listed on the NYSE. The job provided
a mix of legal issues ranging from mergers and acquisitions to securities and litigation.
About a year after joining Harsco, my lucky streak was extended when I met Alison
during a ski trip in Montana. In that moment of first sight, I experienced and
understood what Mario Puzo meant by "the Thunderbolt." The pulse races, the knees
buckle, the brain locks, and she thinks, "Oh no, not again." But I had a major
advantage over most of the other single men in Bozeman, Montana. I was employed.
Eventually my persistence convinced Alison to move east, and we married in June 1985.
Jackson was born in 1986 and Davy in 1988. Meanwhile, my job at Harsco was growing,
and, in 1994, I was appointed senior vice president, chief administrative officer,
general counsel and secretary. While they never made me the kingpin of the
organization, I do hold the record for the longest title in the company's history.
Some of the issues at Harsco were mundane, others fascinating, and a few down right
hair-raising, which is about all that you can ask of a job. Time away from the office
was consumed with family, coaching the boys' ice hockey teams, playing men's ice hockey,
and skiing, with a little guitar, tennis and golf mixed in. But work never left
enough time for family and outside interests, and the pace only intensified each year.
So in May 2003, I retired to spend time with the family before the boys graduated from
high school. Over the next year, I taught a business law course at Penn State
Harrisburg and worked six months with the state government helping implement a
reorganization of the procurement function. In May 2004, I retired again and for good,
realizing the need to just focus on long neglected relationships and interests. Some
said, "You're too young to retire," but my answer is that I don't want to wait until
I'm too old to retire. The time since hanging up the brief case has been great.
I enjoyed helping the boys with their college searches. Jack went to Penn State in
2005 as a music major but transferred to Elon University in North Carolina this year
to major in exercise science. Davy had a choice between Lehigh and Carnegie Mellon
for chemical engineering. In the end I think it was Carnegie's stronger geek factor
that lured him there last fall. These days I spend quite a bit of time as a
do-it-yourself investor, putting to work all of those economics and finance lessons
from Professor Aronson and Eli Schwartz. My health club is the local ice rink where
I play hockey several times a week, and I'm beginning to make a dent in my reading
list. Last July, Alison and I took on a pile of new projects when we bought a house
on Indian Lake in the Adirondacks. It is teaching me to build docks, repair burst
pipes, and replace dry wall, but is a great escape once the ice melts off the lake.
We plan on spending much of this summer and fall there while we relax and consider what
other retirement ventures may lay ahead. These days, there is no need to rush.
Better to savor the freedom of it all. And spend time with old friends from SigEp.
Doug DeVitt '72.
1950 - Born in Erie PA. 1955 - Family moved to Darien CT. 1957 - Family moved to
Atlanta GA. 1960 - Family moved back to Erie PA (my father got relocated a lot for
Hammermill Paper). 1961 - Attended Erie Day School. 1961 - Family built house designed
by my father (Great memories). 1965 - Attended Lawrenceville Prep School, NJ.
1968 - Attended Lehigh University (summer job at NBC - WICU-TV Erie).
1969 - Moved in to SigEp (thanks Al)- met some great friends and brothers.
1972 - Graduated Lehigh degree BSEE. 1973 - Worked for Metropolitan Edison (before
3 mile island). 1974 - Lived on farm, did freelance photography, Worked at PBS WQLN-TV
Erie. 1974 - Moved to Boston, online editor at WGBH-TV-PBS (quite a ride), Worked on:
Pops, Julie Child, Boston Symphony, Advocates, Crockett's Garden, This old House, etc.
1978 - Moved to Weston MA. with my brother Don, built recording studio. 1979 - Opened
The Recordatory, 8 track recording studio, in my barn. 1980 - Worked for ABC-WCVB-TV
Boston, CMX editor and audio. 1989 - Married Barbara Donovan, Nurse - was involved in
the first heart transplant in the US. 1992 - Alexandra DeVitt was born, quite a
daughter. 2001 - Officially started Voyager Sound, with patents in hand for Graphic
Mixing. 2005 - My wife succumbed to lung cancer. 2006 - Still alive, and Alex and I
are doing much better.
John Gantzhorn '72.
Of course, it would almost impossible to top that great period of my life at Lehigh --
especially the times at SigEp but anyway, following graduation and a wayyy too short
R&R period (I'll know better next time), I was off to DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware.
My chosen field, developing machinery that DuPont needs to manufacture products, has
taken me around the world and back many times over. Of course, having a degree and
knowing how to do my job are two different things, so my early years were spent learning
the ropes. Then finally, management felt it time to let me run my own job. As luck
would have it, my task was to fix an under-performing machine we'd purchased and
installed in Luxembourg, which was also my first international experience. This was
in 1975 or about 3 years after I'd started work. Well, I spent some time in Luxembourg,
took some high speed videos, came back to Wilmington, analyzed the video, ran a few
tests and thought to myself, "I see the problem and I can fix this." Anyway, naively,
I proceeded to design the modifications, built the hardware, and shipped it over to
Lux. Then I flew over for the six week installation and startup. Of course, as the
startup neared I suddenly started feeling a lot of pressure. My piece of equipment,
the last in line of a bunch of other equipment, had to work or we were in big trouble,
and, sure enough, the first time we tried it, it didn't work. On top of that, I was
facing a 3-day weekend by myself with only the thought of that failed first test.
I could only visualize the repercussions. I thought I'd be fired. So anyway, I
couldn't sleep at all that night. I got up on Saturday morning, called my contact
who had his own weekend plans with his family, and explained to him that I couldn't
possibly sit around for three days without doing something. Fortunately he understood,
and the two of us went back to the plant. After a few hours I figured out what had
gone wrong, fixed it, and I was ecstatic. This was the start of a career of highs
and lows -- who would have thought that boring engineering would be like this.
Anyway, I digress for the moment, but, in 1973 I married my longtime sweetheart Jan.
Many of you, of course, attended my wedding. In 1977 DuPont sent me down to Brevard,
North Carolina, for a 3-year field assignment. While in North Carolina, our first
two boys were born. The Western North Carolina mountains were so nice, we thought
seriously about staying there permanently, but I wanted to return to the challenges
of my previous work, and so, in 1980, we returned to Wilmington. Two more boys
followed shortly thereafter and so did the exciting work. My favorite job was
developing a machine to duplicate prerecorded VHS video tapes at high speed. That
4-year effort in the mid 1980s involved many trips to Japan and ended up being quite
successful. Since then, I've worked on machinery that makes many famous DuPont
products -- for example, Tyvek, Kevlar, and Nomex -- but it's always been exciting.
Yes, I know, that wouldn't be exciting to most of you. It must be in the genes.
Meanwhile, I've crossed paths with several Lehigh SigEps here at DuPont over the years,
including Jack Wielar '69 and Steve Springer '74. In my spare time I'm consumed by
sports. I've had my stint at coaching baseball, basketball, and soccer, of course,
but I'd rather be playing ... basketball for 20 years until a torn ACL gave notice
that I needed a new sport. I then became serious about tennis, which I play several
times a week and still have dreams of winning a USTA league national championship with
one of my local teams (Note to Hank Dorkin: forget about that semi-Western forehand
grip. It's too late to start at our age). In between I play golf and jog -- even
running the Marine Corps marathon once. Jan and I remain happily married in Hockessin,
DE, hopefully awaiting marriage by at least one of our four sons (all of whom have or
will attend Virginia Tech, not Lehigh, by the way) and maybe some grandchildren.
We have a villa in Hilton Head so when retirement beckons in a few years, we hope to
spend more time there -- at least in the winter months so I won't need to put the clubs
away for any extended period of time.
Larry Gilbert '72.
I graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1972 and went to work for Procter
and Gamble in their R&D Dept in Cincinnati, Ohio. I did very well there, with a 29-year
career, the last ten years as Director of Product Development for a number of global
product lines. I was very successful as an innovator (20 U.S. patents) and as a leader
of others. I was acknowledged as a top developer of multi-cultural organizations.
In the early 1990s I was assigned to lead our R&D organization located in Mexico City.
Half my Regional organization was in Venezuela. This opportunity put me on the P&G
Mexico Management team in charge of a billion dollar business, giving me a real
understanding of what it's like to conduct business in third-world countries. Most
of my assignments were global, taking me to over 20 countries, including China, Japan,
Peru and much of Western Europe. I retired from the corporate world in 2001 to focus
on investments and building a small photography business (www.larrygilbertphoto.com).
Some of you may recall that my father died suddenly at the end of our Junior year
(1971). He was only 54. The fact that he never enjoyed life after the corporate world
was a key factor in my decision to retire at an early age, enabling travel, time with
family, and opportunity to pursue other business endeavors. On the personal side, I
was married for a few years to my first wife, Sally, in the 1970s. We had two sons,
Jeremy and Nick, who are now married and living in Colorado. I was then married to
Joanne for 19 years, and we had two sons, Chris and Brian, who are in college/HS.
Yes -- four sons! When Joanne elected to follow a very religious path, our marriage
ended, and then I met and married Stephanie, a successful home builder and real estate
tycoon in northern Ohio. We love to travel, especially to Florida, where we have some
investment properties, and to Colorado to visit family. Stephanie has two sons, Mark
and BJ, one at Ohio State and one going there in 2007, pursuing Chemical Engineering.
We took four of our sons on a Med cruise in 2005 -- had a blast. I played racquetball
and in a touch football league for many years and now play golf every now and then --
pretty much a bogey golfer. I work out several times a week to stay fit, but probably
not fit enough to defend my Fight-Night titles!! I have stayed connected to Lehigh a
bit -- mainly through recruiting Chemical Engineers in the '80s and '90s. Went to see
the Lehigh wrestling team participate in a massive tournament in Cleveland in early
2005. It was fun to reconnect. Occasionally I catch the Lehigh-Lafayette football
game with one of the Ohio Lehigh Clubs.
Charles R. Kubic '72.
President, ECC International, LLC - Charles R. Kubic, P.E., a retired Rear Admiral in
the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, joined ECC in February 2005 as President of ECC
International (ECCI), LLC and as a member of ECC's Board of Directors. In 2005, Mr.
Kubic operated primarily from Iraq where he led a highly motivated ECCI team that
expanded ECC's design-build construction workload to over $600 million and doubled
annual revenues to over $300 million. Concurrently he led efforts to establish
ECCI's construction capability in SW Asia and the Pacific. Chuck Kubic has over 33
years of worldwide engineering and construction experience in contingency and
peacetime environments gained during his Navy Seabee career. In 2003/2004, Rear
Admiral Kubic served concurrently as Commander of the 1st Naval Construction Division
and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Engineer Group during the US-led Operation Iraqi
Freedom and the ensuing reconstruction commencing in April 2003. He returned to
Iraq with the Marines in February 2004, and led the Navy Seabee construction effort
in Al Anbar Province, including the cities of Ar Ramadi and Al Fallujah, where he also
initiated an Iraqi Construction Apprentice Program. Between 1999 and 2002, Rear
Admiral Kubic served as Commander of the Pacific Division of the Naval Facilities
Engineering Command and 3rd Naval Construction Brigade in Pearl Harbor, HI. During 1998
and 1999, he served as Vice Commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in
Washington, DC. Born in Greensburg, PA, on December 7, 1950, Chuck was an active Boy
Scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA,
where he graduated at the head of his class in 1972 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.
Chuck received his commission in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps in November 1972 through
the Reserve Officer Candidate Program. From 1973 to 1975, Ensign Kubic was assigned to
the Officer in Charge of Construction, Thailand. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kubic was
assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR from 1975 to 1977. He was selected
as a CNO Scholar and received an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Lehigh in 1978.
Lieutenant Kubic was assigned to the Bureau of Naval Personnel as the CEC junior
officer detailer in 1978. From 1980 to 1982, he was the Assistant Public Works Officer
at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Lieutenant Commander Kubic was then assigned
to Officer In Charge of Construction (OICC) Mediterranean in Madrid as Assistant OICC
for Design and Project Management. Lieutenant Commander Kubic was selected as a White
House Fellow in 1985 and served on the staff of President Reagan's Domestic Policy
Council. From 1986 to 1989, he was assigned to the Naval Facilities Engineering
Command as Director, Strategic Programs Office. From October 1988 through February
1989, Commander Kubic was detailed to the White House Office of Policy Development
and served as Senior Staff Member for transition coordination. Commander Kubic was
the Commanding Officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE from 1989 to 1991.
He then served as Production Officer, Navy Public Works Center, Norfolk. From 1994 to
1997, Captain Kubic was the Vice Commander, Atlantic Division, Naval Facilities
Engineering Command. He assumed duties as Commander, TWENTY-SECOND Naval Construction
Regiment, in Norfolk, VA, in June 1997. He was subsequently selected for promotion
to Rear Admiral in September 1997. Rear Admiral Kubic is a qualified Seabee Combat
Warfare Specialist, a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania and Virginia,
and was a certified level III Navy contracting officer. In 1995, he graduated from
the Advanced Management Program at the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania. Rear Admiral Kubic's military awards include the Legion of Merit (4),
Defense Meritorious and Meritorious Service (4) medals, the Navy Commendation and
Achievement medals, the Armed Forces and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary
medals, and the National Defense, Vietnam, Armed Forces, and Humanitarian Service
medals. He is a Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers, and a member
of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Design-Build Institute of
America, the U.S. Naval Institute, and the White House Fellows Association. Chuck is
married to the former Anne Sheroda of Clarks Green, Pennsylvania. They have three
children and a granddaughter, Charlie (married to Heather with daughter Azalea Noelle),
Katie (married to Brad), and Andy (married to Penn State football).
Bruce Mulder '72.
I graduated from Lehigh in 1972 with an Electrical Engineering degree and a minor in
premed. I had already been working for RCA Missile & Surface Radar following
Sophomore year in a Master's co-op program, but, following graduation, decided not to
continue with the Master's degree because the defense industry was preparing to crash
and burn. RCA was not happy when informed, and I accepted a position with American
Electronic Laboratories late in 1972 working in Landsdale, PA. I married Barb, or Babs
as she was sometimes referred to at SigEp, in December 1972 and decided to change
direction by applying to a several local dental schools. I began another 4-year stint
in 1973 and graduated from FDU School of Dentistry in 1977. Following graduation I
accepted a one year General Practice Residency position with the US ARMY and was sent
to Eisenhower Medical Center, Augusta, GA. During this year my oldest daughter Sarah
was born while I matured both professionally and personally. In the fall of 1978 I was
transferred to Aberdeen, Maryland, to fulfill my 3 year minimum obligation as a Captain
in the Army Dental Corps. After leaving the service, I practiced for about a year in
Havre de Grace, Maryland, overlooking the scenic Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, at
this time my marriage exploded and I left behind Babs, daughter Sarah, and my new first
house. The four years in Maryland had been difficult, but I had acquired a new love
while there, sailing. My first boat was a small 19-foot Lightning which could be placed
on a trailer. After gathering what few possessions Babs permitted, towing the sailboat,
I relocated to New Jersey. Finding a position in northern NJ with a group dental
practice was not difficult. Locating a place for the sailboat was quite a different
proposition. My first mooring was located in the Hudson River near the George Washington
Bridge. This proved to be a very dangerous location, and the boat almost found its
permanent resting place due to a storm. The following season I decided to join the
Nyack Boat Club, founded in 1908, situated north of the Tappan Zee Bridge and sailed
the Lightning for several years with many fond memories. Once again the mighty
Hudson with its strong current and, at times, violent Nor'easters proved to be quite
a change from the peaceful Chesapeake. In 1986 I purchased my own dental practice in
Teaneck NJ, as well as a more substantial C&C sailboat with a fixed keel and enough
displacement to survive most storms. I have been sailing in the Hudson and adjacent
Long Island Sound ever since. On a more personal note, I married another lovely Cedar
Crest graduate in 1986. We have been very happy during the past twenty years with a
daughter named Christin, who is a freshman in college. In 1988 I purchased another
dental practice in Franklin Lakes, NJ (the home of NFL Phil Simms) and found a way to
run both practices for sixteen years. Only recently did I sell the Teaneck practice
and decide to focus on one location with more free time.
Jon Pearce '72.
Geez, how do you summarize 35 years in a few paragraphs and make it interesting to
anyone? Well, here's my best try. After graduation I started with the Management
Engineering shared service organization with the NJ Hospital Association. This was a
job that Prof. Richardson had suggested to me at a SigEp pub night -- he had done some
consulting for them and had a contact there. The referral resulted from the project
that Tom Miller and I had done for Richardson analyzing the queues at the admitting
department at St. Luke's Hospital. Never let it be said that a senior project and
some beer can't get you a job! I stuck with them through 1979 and picked up my MBA
at Temple over that period. Believe me, a Temple MBA was a heck of a lot easier than
Lehigh engineering! When the market for ME in hospitals started to wane in 1979, I
moved over to Laventhol & Horwath, which at that time was #9 of the Big Eight CPA firms.
I worked on the national healthcare staff for about five years there and then
transferred to the local Philadelphia office to do some actual consulting work. Nora
and I got married in 1979, and our daughter Allie was born in 1984. We moved to
Medford, NJ, and lived the typical suburban lifestyle of soccer coaching, band
parenting, and mowing the lawn. L&H was a good place to work. I filled in a lot of
financial knowledge that I hadn't previously learned, and picked up my CPA
certification while I was there, although I never really practiced public accounting.
I did lots of financial feasibility studies, plus some really interesting stuff like
getting Medicare certification for the proton beam accelerator at Loma Linda
University Medical Center, which is used for radiation therapy cancer treatment.
A couple of months before L&H folded I got a call from a former L&H colleague named
Dan Grauman who was working for a small consulting firm in Cleveland and who wanted
to move back to Phila and start a local office of that firm. Fortunately I had agreed
to join him and was positioned to start out there in January 1991 when L&H went bankrupt
at Thanksgiving in 1990. I commuted weekly to Cleveland for 14 months while Dan
relocated back to Phila and got a practice started. I'm still there in essentially the
same practice after several spinoffs and being bought and sold a couple of times. We
currently have 15 staff and specialize in the financial, management, and data analysis
related to healthcare institutions. Our clients are hospitals, physician groups, health
insurers, and other similar entities, plus a few specialized projects like the one I'm
currently working on as an expert witness for a law firm in a suit by a local hospital
system against an HMO. My specific areas are in projects involving some heavier
financial and accounting analysis, and also in database analysis and data warehousing.
That Lehigh engineering training comes in handy when you're digging into a 187 million
record Medicaid SQL claims database and trying to figure out how many of the congestive
heart failure patients had taken a particular drug during the previous 18 months.
Our website is at www.dgapartners.com, if anyone is interested. Nora and I had been
drifting apart in our approach to life for several years, and we separated about four
years ago, and the divorce was final this year. Allie was in college, and, as I looked
forward at the next stage of my life, I didn't see us on the same track. It was a
difficult decision, but the right one. Allie graduated from Quinnipiac University this
year with a degree in Journalism, and is planning to go to Australia next year for some
further study abroad. It's tough to get used to having an adult-aged child, but it's
just another of the many stages in life that we all go thru. She's a great kid, and
I'm very proud of her. Having never been particularly physically active, I had always
thought that I could start getting more active "next year." That thought ended about
a decade ago when I casually remarked to Nora before a ski trip that "I need to learn to
ski moguls." Her comment was, "A 44 year old man doesn't need to ski moguls," which
was a wake-up call that, if I waited too long, I might be too old to do some of the
things that I had planned. About the same time I hooked up with a Phila-based inline
skating group (see www.landskaters.org) and started skating a couple of days a week.
Some of those guys were also into mountain biking, which I picked up about four years
ago. I got a road bike earlier this year and did a great 4-day cycling tour of Vermont
in August. Pictures of some of these activities are at www.pearcefamily.org along with
some technical stuff like GPS-driven elevation profiles of the rides, which you'd expect
from a biker who's also an engineer. This summer I was road biking on Monday nights,
skating Tuesday nights and Sundays, and mountain-biking Thursday nights and Saturdays.
At 56 I'm not sure how many good years of mountain biking I have ahead of me, but the
road cycling and skating should last at least another decade. I'm just sorry that I
didn't start earlier. I've made plenty of good and bad decisions over my life, but
I've never regretted choosing Lehigh, engineering, and SigEp. We were trained how
to think, how to analyze, how to break things down into systems, and see how everything
affects everything else. Being part of SigEp created wonderful memories of our
experiences together, and it was fun, after 35 years, to see names like Rick Woodruff,
Bob Pim, Doug DeVitt, and Rich Aarons showing up in my Inbox. I'm looking forward to
the reunion and seeing everyone again.
Wes Winterbottom '72.
It's hard to believe that I graduated 35 years ago from Lehigh. The freshman 4 o'clock
exams in Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry don't seem that long ago -- or is it that we
were traumatized for life by them? After graduating from Lehigh in 1972, I attended
Cornell for a year and earned a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering.
Cornell was like a bigger Lehigh with more Greek houses and intense hockey games that
almost rivaled Lehigh's wrestling matches. It was also as academically demanding as
Lehigh. After graduating from Cornell in 1973, I accepted a position with the
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in Hartford. I worked at the CT
DEP until 1994 in a variety of engineering, planning, and educator staff and management
positions. While there I attended the University of Connecticut's MBA program and
earned a graduate degree in finance and management in 1988. On a personal side, I
had a great time being single from 1973 until 1978 doing a great number of fun things,
including skiing, hiking, and whitewater canoeing. I married Nancy Roberts, an inner
city teacher in Hartford, in 1978 and bought my first house that year. We were blessed
with three wonderful children, Chris, now 27, who graduated from Dartmouth and is now in
his third year at Yale Medical School; Katie, now 25, who also graduated from Dartmouth,
spent her first year after graduation creating and running a computer lab at a K-8
school in Accra, Ghana, her second year working at an Americorp Job at Ohio State, and
now I'm happy to say has a job with a non-profit that actually pays the bills!; and
Jamie, 22, who will graduate from Colby next month and has a job lined up with a
financial consulting firm in Boston. (and, I'm done paying for college!). My marriage
ended in 1997 (which actually turned out to be a blessing!), and I've been single since
then. After teaching part-time at another Connecticut Community College, I accepted a
full-time position as a Professor of Environmental Science at Gateway Community College
in New Haven, where I remain today. I love teaching, so it's a great second career for
me. I've also been able to travel and work around the world during my summers,
including Rocky National Park in Colorado, Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington,
Western Arctic National Park in Kotzebue, Alaska (it's above the Arctic Circle, the ice
went out June 15th), China and Hong Kong (on a Fulbright), Hawaii, Costa Rica, Honduras,
Ghana, and, most recently, a research field trip to Kilimanjaro National Park and
Ngorongoro Conservation area in Tanzania. I keep myself busy these days with a number
of activities including cross country and downhill skiing, cycling, backpacking,
dancing, whitewater canoeing, and as a member of the healing team at my Episcopal
Church. My children all live fairly close, so I'm fortunate to see them frequently.
All in all, life has been good, and the future looks pretty good also.
Woody Woodruff '72.
I have been working at Belgacom, the incumbent phone company of Belgium, since May 1999
where I am currently an Executive Director of group projects having relinquished my
line responsibly as CFO for the Fixed Line Services Business earlier this year, as it
is my intention to leave Belgacom at the end of next year. I am itching to do
something different and, during 2007, I will explore what that may be. Perhaps some
of you may have some ideas that you can share with me when we have the good fortune to
come together for our reunion next May. I married at 29 to Liz Hamill (cousin of
Dorothy #61514;) and together we have two children that are actively engaged in
bringing me joy but also in spending my money on university tuitions. My daughter
Robin is attending Lehigh (3rd year), and my son Richard is attending Fordham, where he
is a freshman. Both are doing great. I am very proud of them and enjoying seeing them
move forward in life. As some of you know, I have been living overseas for the majority
of my career and I intend to continue doing so even when ultimately retired, although
I hope that next milestone is still five or so years into the future. I am enjoying my
work, and I have developed a real liking for coaching our younger executives and in
giving something back of my experience to the upcoming management. I hope to continue
doing this more formally as I seek new opportunities. In addition, I have continued
to pursue my passion for trekking and climbing and have recently summitted Mt.
Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru as well as completed the Tour du Mont Blanc this summer.
Regarding this pastime, next on my horizon is climbing Mt. Blanc this summer, together
with trekking the Haute Route in France and Switzerland. This hopefully will prepare me
for climbing Mt. Aconcagua in January 2008. By the way, should some of you follow the
same passion, just let me know, and perhaps we can do something together. Prior to
Belgacom and the new millennium, I worked for Arthur Andersen, where I was the Firm-wide
expert on European Monetary Union and Euro implementation. As you know, this was a big
deal for Europe to prepare, and it also impacted our investment and capital markets.
Prior to Arthur Andersen, I was the Executive Director Risk Management & Chief
Administrative Officer for Clearsteam (formally Cedel) in Luxembourg, having joined them
in October 1990 as CFO. While working for Clearstream I also had the chance to manage
the construction of their new operations center as well as the expansion of the
Company's international offices. Before 1990, I was working with The Chase Manhattan
Bank in Brussels, London, and New York, as well as at Citibank in New York. That's it,
and looking forward to writing more chapters as I live them! Remember, it is always
better to have had your wish than to wish you had.
1973
Tom Andruskevich '73.
After leaving Lehigh in 1973 I joined Hurdman and Cranstoun CPAs in New York City as a
staff auditor. I spent five good years there and became a CPA and an audit supervisor
but left in 1978 when my client, Avon Products, offered me a management position in
their Finance Department. I lived in Manhattan and Jamaica Estates in Queens during
those years. I also got married in 1976 for the first time. During 1982, after four
great years at Avon in a variety of management capacities, I was invited to join Tiffany
& Co. which, at the time, was a subsidiary of Avon. Then in 1984, after becoming Senior
V. P. and CFO of Tiffany, I led a leveraged buyout of Tiffany with our management team
and a financial sponsor when Avon decided to divest Tiffany. We took Tiffany public
in 1987, and, then in 1989, I took on EVP operating responsibility for Tiffany's
International, Trade and Fragrance Divisions. Not only was Tiffany great fun
career-wise, I met Suzanne McMillan there, with whom I will celebrate 18 years of
marriage this coming October. We have one son, Alexander, who is a junior in Riverdale
Country School in New York. He is a great kid who works hard at school and golf, which
he hopes to continue playing in college (maybe Lehigh?). Anyway, I left Tiffany in 1994
to run Mondi of America, a German fashion company, which lasted until 1996, when I
returned to the luxury jewelry industry. I was recruited away from Mondi to run Birks,
the "Tiffany" of Canada. I have been there ever since, and, in 2002, we acquired
Mayor's Jewelers, which made us a public company (Birks & Mayors). Since 1996, I have
commuted to Montreal from our homes in New York and New Jersey, where I spend Friday
through Sunday. Since 2002, I alternate my work weeks between Montreal and Fort
Lauderdale, Mayors headquarters. I traveled extensively internationally as an auditor
and during my Tiffany days. We love to vacation in Hawaii, Italy, and California, where
we recently bought some property in Carmel. I look forward to catching up with everyone
at the reunion.
Rick Arons '73.
After Lehigh, I wanted to pursue an R&D career, so I attended Columbia University and
completed a Doctoral degree in Materials Science. I had a great opportunity from there
to go to Argonne National Lab (a DOE lab) to pursue energy research during the '70s
energy crisis. Three Mile Island happened, OPEC fell apart, and the energy crisis went
into hibernation. But McKinsey was telling all the Chemical companies to move to higher
value products, and Celanese Corp. was looking for a materials guy. That was great fun
until, only 4 years later, McKinsey (yes, them again) told all the chemical companies
to "stick to their knitting." Methanol was back in, and diversification was out.
But what I really couldn't know was that the company was being sold, hence the
disinterest in R&D. It was at that time I took the most formative role in my career
by joining a British consulting firm called PA Consulting Group. We were a management
consulting firm that specialized in helping clients better utilize and manage technology.
Two-thirds of our business was in the medical products market, and it was a super
education for me. I thrived in that company and ultimately led their life science
practice and became COO of North America. I stayed there almost 10 years until I got
restless. Finally, in 1994, I was invited to join Korn/Ferry International as a Partner
in their Princeton Office and LifeScience Practice. And since 1996, I have been running
both the Princeton Office and the Global Medical Devices Practice. But I still do about
20% of my search work in R&D leadership roles. One good example is that I recently
recruited the Chief Technology Officer for United Technologies. On a curious note,
two of the 11 Partners in my office grew up in Bethlehem. And one of my clients,
Orasure, is in Bethlehem only two blocks from campus. In my personal life, I am living
in Princeton Junction, NJ, with my wife Liz Dickerman. Liz is previously an HR
professional who now does volunteer work for the Susan Koman Foundation. I have two
daughters. Dana is 25 years old, is married, and teaches 5th grade in East Brunswick,
NJ. Whitney is just finishing her Senior year at Muhlenberg college, so we still
frequent the Lehigh Valley. The family enjoys skiing together, the beach, and Liz and
I just took up golf. We have a condo just North of Naples, FL, and get there as often
as business allows. It is the ideal place to unwind. Regarding our brothers, I stay
in very close contact with Bill Clarke and Craig Schmoll (my senior year roommates), and
we see each other several times per year.
Mark Evans '73.
Moved to California after graduating. Worked in San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley) with
Arthur Andersen & Co (AA&Co). (now infamous and extinct thanks to Enron and U.S.
government). 3 years at AA & Co -- got CA CPA license. Hired away by small
privately-held client, Wiltron Co. (Electronic Measuring Instruments) in 1976 to be
controller. 14 years at Wiltron as controller, treasurer, and CFO. Living in San
Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. The craziness/fun of the late '60s and
early '70s carried on for quite a while in California; luckily I survived. I smoked
(cigarettes) from college till about age 30 or so and luckily was able to quit
permanently. I had a short 2-year marriage from 1976 to 1978 -- oops! All is well that
ends well. Married again in 1981 to California native, Donna Van Matre. Just had our
25th last year in Tahiti (Moorea and Bora Bora -- real paradise). Daughter Michelle
born in 1983 and son Steve in 1985. Michelle graduated Univ. of AZ and now works in
Los Angeles (the other California state). Steve is senior at Oregon State Univ.
majoring in nuclear engineering (I tell him he can always work in Iran or North Korea!).
We have one grandson, Tommy, who is 3. Wiltron was acquired in 1990 by Anritsu Corp.,
a Tokyo based corporation with a major division in the same Measuring Instruments
industry. Remained CFO of its U.S. operations until 1996, and then promoted to
President in charge of U.S. operations. Held U.S. president position for 8 years and
also ran Europe operations for one of those years. In 2004, was asked to move to Japan
as Vice President and become member of parent company Board of Directors (Anritsu is
listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange). Moved to Japan without my family and commuted
regularly back to U.S. Promoted in 2005 to Exec. VP and in charge of our Test &
Measurement business worldwide. About 70% of the company; $650M in sales and 2400
employees in 15 countries. Currently still have apartment in Machida, in Tokyo
prefecture, but about 40 minutes by train from central Tokyo. I now try to spend
30 or 40% of my time in CA office and my CA home, and I think that makes my wife happy.
My Japanese is good enough to survive, but for business we speak English, thank
goodness. I am in the top frequent flyer class for both American and United -- not a
good thing actually. Other than work: Coached baseball and softball for several years
when my son and daughter played. I played basketball in over 30 and over 40 leagues,
was in a bowling league (aka beer drinking league) for a few years and jogged quite
a bit; now I have bad knees, so I stick to golf, one of my passions. I am an avid
SF Giants fan and also carry on being a Pittsburgh Steelers fan from my days back
east. Try to do vegetable garden every year when I am in the U.S. (an all legal
selection). Retirement is a couple/few years away and will do something else at that
point. Not sure what quite yet. Mark. P.S. I think I still know the secret handshake.
Craig Schmoll '73.
Third generation Lehigh, third generation civil engineer. Graduated 1973, with more
than my share of gentleman's C's; but also having won, with Wally Greene, the first
annual American Society of Civil Engineers concrete canoe race. Commissioned as a
second lieutenant in the USAF (ROTC). Reported to Craig AFB, AL, for pilot training in
late '73. Met Gerry Sjoblom, SigEp '69, an instructor pilot there, shortly before he
left the Air Force. It takes most guys a year to finish pilot training. I must have
been a slow learner, because I didn't graduate until October 1975. Actually, I was
grounded for a while for a head injury. My trips to Brooks Aerospace Medical Center
paid off. Not only was I returned to flying status, but I met Kim Hedges, who would
become my wife on August 9, 1975. I flew B-52s out of Minot, ND, for the next several
years, leaving ND and the Air Force in October 1980. I spent the next three plus years
at Boeing in Seattle, involved in certification and experimental flight testing of
commercial airplanes. Somewhere along the line, I decided growing up wasn't all it was
cracked up to be. In fact, it wasn't fun at all. So I took a job with an upstart
company named America West Airlines, flying 737s. Twenty-some years later we bought
USAirways, took their name, painted our airplanes, and now are trying to buy Delta.
I currently fly Airbus 320s. Kim and I have been married for 31 years. She has worked
as a Registered Nurse, most recently as Nurse Case Manager at St. Luke's Hospital in
Phoenix. Our older son, Ryan, is a 2004 graduate of the USAF Academy. He and his wife
Cari live in Cheyenne, WY, where Ryan is a missile operations officer. Brandon is a
recent finance grad from Northern Arizona University, lives with us, and works for
Edward Jones.
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Rev. 3/02/2008