ALUM NEWS

He’s been privy to more top secrets than Jason Bourne. He recalls flying intelligence missions off foreign coasts, prepping helicopters for the Iran hostage mission, and the fall of the Berlin Wall (He has a piece of it on his desk.).

While it may sound like a lot of intrigue, deep down, RAY MUENCH ‘53 is just an average guy. He married his college sweetheart, Joyce, in 1961, after being awarded his Navy wings. Today, the couple lives in Virginia, a place they’ve called home for 36 years. “We love it here,” Muench says. “We’ve lived here longer than we’ve lived anywhere in our life.” At Gilmour, Muench and his classmates took classes six days a week. “Back then, we went to school on Saturdays,” he says. And while he enjoyed Br. Ambrose’s physics class, it was Wednesday’s arts A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 19 50 s class that left a lasting impression on Muench.

RAY MUENCH

“That education became big in my life,” Muench says, “because after I left Gilmour, I was in technology for the rest of my life.”

Muench was always headed that way. He had a natural knack for science. After Gilmour, Muench received his bachelor’s in physics from Villanova University and never looked back.

During the Vietnam War, he was stationed with the U.S. Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin. When the war ended, the Navy, enamored with Muench’s computer skills, wanted to hang on to him. He stayed with them for 21 years.

The Navy sent him to graduate school in Monterey, Calif., where he studied electrical engineering. From there, it was on to the University of Florida, where he studied systems engineering.

Muench retired from the Navy in 1980. When he did, his specialization in communications systems and signal processing put him in great demand. He joined Booz Allen Hamilton as director of electronics equipment development and worked on government contracts until 1990.

That’s when Muench’s career took a highly classified turn. He took a job as a principal scientist at EG&G—a national defense contractor founded by Doc Edgerton, Kenneth Germeshausen and Herbert Grier, the MIT professors behind the Manhattan Project.

“I did a lot of work in foreign intelligence,” Muench says. “A lot of the work was so highly classified. My movements were restricted and tracked by computer. Any trips outside of the U.S. had to be pre-approved by several intelligence agencies…I just attribute it to having the right background at the right time.”

You have been married to Joyce for 54 years and have four kids and four grandkids. How has family enhanced your life?

You look at what mistakes you made and try to mentor your children accordingly, often making more mistakes. The real fun is with the grandchildren. They are so eager to learn.

How do you spend your time?

Family! Enjoying and attempting to nurture our grandchildren and laughing with our kids at their tribulation of now being parents. Secondly, keeping abreast of world events through sources outside of the U.S. Our media, which has become very unreliable, has lost respect throughout the world.

What’s the best thing about Virginia?

Virginia embodies this country’s beauty of nature and formulation of much of this country’s history.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

“People I’ve Met” by our good friend and author of several books Sir Robert Lima, Ph.D. OIC.

You took a cruise on the Queen Mary in July. What was that like?

The great ocean liners are disappearing. You step back into the faux luxury of the 1940s. It was great fun.

Scenes from Reunion Weekend June 5-7

1965

1970

1985

1980

RORY BOURKE

A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 19 60 s The list of country music legends who have recorded the songs of RORY BOURKE ’60 is exhaustive. You’ll surely recognize the names: Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich,

Anne Murray, Ronnie Milsap, Bonnie Raitt,

Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw.

With hits like “The Most Beautiful Girl” and “Shadows in the Moonlight,” Bourke’s songs are some of country music’s most enduring favorites. And considering that Bourke himself has made a living writing songs in Nashville for more than 40 years, by now his talent and reputation have just as much staying power as his tunes.

“It’s a bigger crapshoot than anyone can possibly imagine,” he says of making it big in Nashville. “I mean, you come in and you don’t know anybody. You have to find a way into the system somehow, and you have to work 10 or 12 years before you might even make a dime. Most people come here, they get off a bus, and when they hit the ground they’re looking around saying ‘What do I do next?’”

Bourke himself did not have to take that route to songwriting success. When he arrived in Nashville at age 27 to do national promotions for Mercury Records, he had already been with the company several years. By the time he left Mercury to pursue songwriting full-time a few years later, “I knew just about everybody in town,” he says.

Most importantly, he had an influential mentor in music publisher Don Gant, who told Henry Hurt, VP and general manager at Chappell Music, “You need to sign this guy.” So he did. Bourke became a staff songwriter at Chappell Music and at PolyGram Music.

In 1989 Bourke was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, something he calls “every songwriter’s dream.” “I was elated,” he says of the honor. “I felt relieved.”

But for all his success, the most meaningful song Bourke’s ever written is one that hits closer to home – the one he wrote upon becoming a father for the first time. It’s about his oldest daughter, Allyson, and it’s called “Your Love’s Been a Long Time Coming.”

“Elvis recorded it,” Bourke says. “And that song really means something to me, because she’s 40 now and she’s a terrific woman.”

And that’s Bourke, a family man first, a music man second. This is a man who married his college sweetheart, Rita Welty, six months after he met her. She shared his love of music, and in the early days of their marriage she told him, “We’re going to buy a piano and I’m going to write your lead sheets for you.”

Bourke’s daughters, too, recall a father who could make a tune out of anything, such as passing potatoes at the dinner table. For Bourke, it’s all been part of an amazing life.

“I just have to pinch myself sometimes,” he says. “When I look back at this incredible journey I’ve had, I can’t help but feel gratitude.”

At what point did you know you wanted to be a songwriter?

Music was always a great outlet for me. After I learned to play guitar “a little bit” in college, I started writing songs. By the time I graduated from college I knew I wanted to write songs.

You have been married to Rita for 50 years. You have three daughters, Allyson, Kelley and Leslie. What impact has your family had on your career?

They’ve always been there for me. They’re the ones I come home to. Their encouragement, through both good times and hard times, has been so important to me.

Who was your best teacher at Gilmour?

John Gale had a tremendous influence on me. I was a kid in a weird place, and he was very helpful. He busted my butt sometimes, he encouraged me, he was just a great guy.

What’s your favorite thing about Nashville?

The people. They’re so friendly. Nashville is a friendly place.

I read that, as a kid, you went up to the roof and shouted, “I am Rory Bourke! I am Rory Bourke!!” Why do you think you did that?

I haven’t the slightest idea. I never felt like I was going places. All I knew was that I wanted to go places.

ERIC PENICK ’71 came of age at Gilmour as a star athlete. He was as talented at football as he was at sprinting.

Sports were Eric Penick’s ticket. First to the University of Notre Dame, then to the NFL. But they were never his identity.

“Football was a vehicle, track was a vehicle, to Notre Dame, to the NFL, and to who I wanted to become in life. But they were never who I am.”

Penick shined as an All-American on Gilmour’s football team and set state records in the 100-yard, 220-yard and 440-yard races in track. He attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship and went on to play for the Denver Broncos. But he identifies more strongly with the work he does now as a chaplain ministering to incarcerated youth.

“I want them to learn to live their lives better,” he says of the young prisoners he teaches in a class about choices. “I want to help them look at things differently. You have to think about consequences, what the results of your actions could be. I learned that at Gilmour Academy, at Notre Dame, before that from my mother.”

To this day, Penick looks upon Gilmour through gilded eyes. It was, in many ways, where he got his start. He recalls his first day in Vern Weber’s gym class. Mr. Weber, the track and football coach at the time, saw how fast his new student ran the 100-yard dash and said, “You’ll run track.”

As a student, Penick bought quickly into the ideal of the “Gilmour Man.” He strove to become that ideal, and he is the proud embodiment of it today.

“Gilmour was a major blessing for me,” says Penick, who attended the school on an inter-racial scholarship. “At Gilmour, they were determined that a Gilmour Man would stand for something. It was the personification of a high level of integrity, a strong desire to do well and help others. Who I’ve become, it started at Gilmour.”

A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 19 70 s

ERIC PENICK

You got injured in the NFL and decided to get out. What did you do after that?

I got my MBA and became a financial consultant. I just retired a few months ago, from United Lending Partners. I still consult independently. I also buy and sell real estate. And I’ve been in the ministry since 1998, so I try to give back as much as I can.

Where do you live today?

I came to Dallas in 1985 for work and I decided I would never leave.

What about your family life?

I am married to my wife, Sandra, and have five kids. One boy and four girls.

How do you define success?

My youngest child is 23 now, and they’re dedicated to doing the best they can. That makes me proud. I have five kids I love. I have a wife I love. I have friends who care for me. That’s success. If you have the successes that are important in life, whether you have a lot of money or not, you have success.

What’s something you’ve learned?

People talk about “What is my purpose in life?” Your purpose in life is to help people. You’re not taking this other stuff with you. What you do in your lifetime is what you take with you forever.

Who influenced you most at Gilmour?

Mr. Weber was the greatest thing in the world. Mr. Brandt, our track coach for junior and senior year, he was instrumental in my life. Mr. Gale made sure I toed the line and got good grades.

What type of physician are you at Kaiser Permanente?

I’m a Family Medicine physician in Kaiser’s Adult Medicine Department

Who makes up your family?

My wife, Catherine, my daughter, Claire. My brother, Jeff ’84; my sister, Jennifer ’94; and my parents, Joyce and Joseph.

You’ll never catch me_____.

Listening to country music. Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday are more my style.

True happiness is_______.

Bare feet three inches deep in white sand.

What’s one of your hobbies?

My daughter and I go to a Krav Maga Martial Arts class once a week. While DR. JIM TOTH ’86 won’t be going to Haiti this February, it’ll be a first – at least, the first time that’s happened in 15 years.

Dr. Toth has taken the trip twice annually since 2000. He’s gone to treat patients at The Whitney Clinic, the primary care clinic his Georgia church, St. Monica’s, founded several years ago.

The clinic has three exam rooms and three dental chairs. The team of doctors and dentists does everything from vaccinating and treating infections to dressing wounds and extracting teeth.

JIM TOTH

The medical missions started as an annual trip, but St. Monica’s realized it wasn’t really making an impact. So the initiative slowly grew. In 2003, The Whitney Clinic hired a nurse to treat high blood pressure. In 2005, it hired a doctor, who’s seen patients five days a week there ever since. There’s also a soup kitchen on the property now. “As a result, the incidence of disease dropped because people are better nourished,” Toth says. Toth, who until 2014 was medical director at the clinic, says he goes to Haiti because he feels it’s his duty as a physician, as a Catholic and as a parent. He recalls his very first mission trip in A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 19 80 s 2000, where he cared for a sick baby, and how it changed him.

“I’m in Haiti, where there’s no medical care, and I’m holding this baby girl in my arms,” he says. “She’s a year old, the same age as my daughter back home. I thought, ‘This could be my daughter.’ I looked at the parents and thought, ‘That could be me and my wife.’ And from that moment on, I just thought, ‘This is something I need to do. Because I can.’”

While Toth has seen some serious illnesses at The Whitney Clinic, the work never fails to fulfill him. “It’s a mix of spirituality, fellowship, partnership,” he says. “We’re brothers and sisters in Christ, but in a very tangible way we can bring our skills, supplies and medication to help people who need it. In return we get a huge influx of spiritual energy from the folks we’re treating.”

The patients range in age from newborns to the elderly.

Toth plans to return to Haiti for as long as help is needed, even if he can’t make it this year. “There are some really positive changes taking place,” he says. “Someday, the hope is, they won’t need us anymore.”

DANIELLE DEROY PIRAIN

She read about a sunscreen initiative Miami Beach was launching, and it got her attention. So DANIELLE DEROY PIRAIN ’94 decided to do something about it. Pirain, who works as a histologist at Vujevich Dermatology Associates in Pittsburgh, took her idea to the dermatologist she works with. She wanted to install sunscreen dispensers at public parks in the area. Together, they proposed the idea to the City of Mount Lebanon in the Pittsburgh suburbs, and then again to the City of Pittsburgh. Now, thanks to Pirain, sunscreen dispensers (SPF 30) are in several parks in the Pittsburgh area. A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 19 90 s “I guess I’m that kind of action person,” she says. “I want to be that person who does it, not just talks about doing it.”

With the rise of skin cancer incidences, Pirain believes having sunscreen in the parks will be a handy reminder to people to apply sunscreen—and reapply it. “You put your sunscreen on and you think you’re fine for the whole day, but you actually have to reapply it every two hours,” she says. “A lot of people don’t know that.”

As a histologist, Pirain takes skin tissue, freezes it, stains it and puts it under the microscope to look for cancer cells. At Vujevich Dermatology Associates, two surgeons remove skin cancer in real time during an intricate procedure called MOHS surgery.

“I love being part of the laboratory,” Pirain says. “It’s a wonderful area to be in, for helping to solve the whole medical mystery of things. You’re solving the puzzle real time. Patients come in with cancer, and by the time they leave, their cancer is gone.”

You’re mom to Noelle, 11, and Christopher, 9. What’s it like being a mom?

Being a mom of a middle schooler is fun. It tests your technology skills and the love of your car. I enjoy watching my kids in their activities as they mature into beautiful, kind people.

What values do you strive to impart to your kids?

I try to teach my kids values by example. I want my kids to be respectful, compassionate and honest.

What are some things Americans can do to take better care of their skin?

Protect your skin at a younger age by wearing sunscreen – even on your hands. Skip the tanning beds, and get an annual skin check.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I love cooking, eating great food, entertaining friends, any kind of music and running.

What’s one trait you like in others?

I admire a sense of adventure.

A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 20 00 s

JINJOO CHO

Her career has been far from ordinary. JINJOO CHO ‘06 is a world-renowned violinist – and she’s just 27. She’s been playing professionally since age 17, when she won the prestigious Montreal International Musical Competition. She beat out 250 others in the preliminary round alone.

In that competition, Cho was launched to stardom. Since then, she has performed in the world’s finest music halls: Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall and Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, among them. Now she will be giving back to Gilmour in the best way she knows how, through music.

For three weeks next summer, Cho will host ENCORE Chamber Music at Gilmour, bringing internationally acclaimed music teachers and talented young musicians from around the world to campus.

“It’s the most meaningful thing I’ve done so far in my career,” says Cho, who recently completed a residency in Seoul, South Korea. “The fact that it will take place at Gilmour makes it even more meaningful.”

ENCORE aims to educate young musicians through musical collaboration. The chamber music festival is open to international students of exceptional talent (ages 14 to 23) who aspire to be professional musicians.

Cho approached several venues about hosting the festival, but she chose Gilmour because of the school’s strong support of the concept.

“The most important thing was their openness to the arts and their willingness to integrate art into Gilmour,” Cho says. “Everybody I talked to at Gilmour was very appreciative of what this could be. They really believed in this vision, they fully embraced it, and for me as a creative artist, that is always what made Gilmour really special to me.”

Sitting prominently on ENCORE’s faculty are those who influenced Cho most on her own path to artistry. Among them, Paul Kantor, Jamie Laredo and Sharon Robinson, the festival’s three artistic advisors. Having traveled the world, Cho says Clevelanders’ generosity of spirit, their desire to help others, is rare and unique.

“Musicians in Cleveland are incredibly generous – they share so much of their experience and love for this art form that it transmits into you,” Cho says. “In a way, they give out pieces of themselves so our potential can shine through, and I find that to be extraordinary.

“That really was the biggest motivation for creating this festival,” Cho continues. “I want to expose all the young aspiring musicians to that nurturing.”

How does one become a violinist of your caliber – what traits must have one have?

I think you have to love it. You have to love being involved in the artistic process, because no one can teach you to love something. When you love something, you think about it. And when you think about it, you act on it.

What is your favorite concert hall in which to perform?

Every venue is really special in its own way. I love Severance Hall, because that was where I made my first performance, at age 15. I played with the youth orchestra.

What advice do you give aspiring violinists?

Work hard. Trust yourself.

Who were your most influential teachers at Gilmour?

Mr. McCamley (English) and Mr. Horner (World History). They taught me the things you can’t see are the most important things. Mr. McCamley encouraged you to explore your creativity and your own voice. For me, as an artist, it was such a priceless lesson. It eventually translated into my playing.

Where did your talent come from? Is your family musical?

My family is not musical at all. I think it has more to do with how I work – how I practice and how I work. Especially when I was younger, I had a good work ethic.

Few undergrads have the opportunity that MICHAEL CLARK ’12 had last year. Now a senior at Johns Hopkins University, Clark was the team leader on a stem cell injection project that may one day make life a lot easier for people with prosthetic limbs.

Clark’s eight-person team, which he vetted and selected himself, was introduced to Dr. Luis Garza, who does wound healing research at Johns Hopkins. “He was working on developing a new stem cell therapy with the goal of converting the thin skin you might find on your arms or legs to the thick, volar skin typically found on your palms and your feet,” Clark says. “For amputees, this could mean a reduction in the chafing and abrasion caused by wearing a prosthetic device.”

Dr. Garza told Clark’s team he was having problems delivering the stem cell therapy to patients through injections. He challenged Clark and his team to invent a device that would make that feasible. As it was, injecting into the outer layer of skin was challenging because the layer is so shallow.

Not to mention, “when these stem cells are injected through the needle, a lot of them die,” Clark says. “That was the primary concern for us.”

In the end, Clark and his team developed a device that performs intradermal injections with a high degree of control over injection rate and injection volume. They also designed a system that reduces the risk of infection at the injection site, and an automated cell thawing system that reduces cell loss.

In addition to all of this, they developed a business plan for selling, marketing and profiting from the device. They presented the device to researchers at Johns Hopkins and pitched their sales plan at contests, taking first place at Carnegie Mellon University’s McGinnis Venture Competition in 2014.

“I loved working on this,” says Clark, who is majoring in biomedical engineering. “I was thinking what direction I wanted to go in with my biomedical degree. I wanted to explore whether working as part of a start up would interest me, and I figured this would be a good way to test the waters.” In the end, it was, Clark says. “I ultimately decided to go to medical school, but whatever I end up doing in medicine, I want medical device innovation to be a part of it.”

A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T 20 10 s

MICHAEL CLARK

You applied for this project as a sophomore, when it is typically led by seniors. Why did you push yourself to get involved?

I was always a science guy at Gilmour. I did the Catalyst program there, and it really inspired me to get involved in research once I got here. Research was a big reason why I chose to come here, so I chose to get involved with it as soon as I could.

What do you envision yourself doing down the road?

I want to pursue a career in medicine, but I don’t just want to practice. While at Hopkins I have had a blast getting involved in clinical research and medical device innovation, so I want those aspects of medicine to be a part of my career.

How do you unwind?

Hanging out with friends and exploring Baltimore.

The best things in life are_____.

Not things.

2015 ATHLETICS

Gilmour Inducts Four to Athletics Hall of Fame

At halftime of the Gilmour Academy football team’s home opener on Saturday, September 5 against Mogadore, three former Lancer athletes and one former Lancer coach were inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees were Brett Schumacher ’01,

Gabrielle (Bri) Tayek Steiner ’04, Christopher

Rhode ’93 and Coach Tiho Teisl.

Brett Schumacher ’01

Schumacher played three sports – football, basketball and track – all four years at Gilmour. He earned a total of 10 varsity letters, including four in football and track and two in basketball. During his senior year at Gilmour, he was a captain in each of those sports. During his senior year, Schumacher was Sun Player of the Week in football; received the Lancer Award in football and track; earned All-MAC 8 recognition in all three sports; won the Charles Mooney Trophy as the (Co)-Male Athlete of the Year; received the Br. David Baltrinic Award and earned OIAAA/NIAAA Scholar-Athlete scholarships. He helped lead the track team to MAC 8 and District championships that season.

“It’s definitely a tremendous honor and I’m very grateful for the opportunities that I was given here at Gilmour – being able to play three sports and learning a lot lessons on the field that have helped me out in my life.”

– Brett Schumacher ’01

“Today is an honor because Gilmour is such a great place and there is commitment to the mission…Just to be put in that group of inductees is a real honor for me.”

– Bri Tayek Steiner ’04

“The induction is very special to me not only because it recognizes years of service but, in particular, it recognizes the fact that I got the opportunity to work with some very wonderful men and women over the 30 years and watch them grown from high school student-athletes to what they are today. That’s very special.”

– Tiho Teisl

“To come back and see the development not only in the athletic department, but also in academics has been just amazing. And now that I’m back in the U.S. (after being abroad for nine years), I’m really looking forward to becoming an active part of the community and hopefully sending my child here one day.”

– Chris Rhode ’93 Schumacher just finished his tenure as the Alumni Association President and will remain active as the Past-President for the next two years. He and his wife, Maggie, have a daughter Isabell and the family continues to reside a few miles from Gilmour.

Bri Tayek Steiner ’04

Steiner was on the softball and basketball teams during her time at Gilmour Academy. An accomplished pitcher on the Lancer fastpitch team, she had 42 career wins, and, during her junior year, pitched all but three innings, finishing with a 19-3 record. Throughout her career, she had the most runs scored (78), was a MAC 8 All-League selection for two years and was the conference Player of the Week twice. She earned the Gilmour MVP Award for her team in 2003 and received the Gilmour Coaches’ Award in 2004. Tayek Steiner was also recognized as a Plain Dealer “Player to Watch,” earned Plain Dealer Honorable Mention and was named to the NewsHerald First Team.

Brian Horgan, Kathy Kenny, Tiho Teisl, Chris Rhode ’93, Brett Schumacher ’01, Bri Tayek Steiner ’04, Jon Wanders and Jeff Walrich at the induction ceremony

On the basketball court, as a sophomore, she led the varsity basketball team to the district finals with double-digit scoring through the sectional tournament.

She was recently married to Ryan Steiner and resides in the Cleveland area.

Chris Rhode ’93

During Rhode’s four years at Gilmour Academy, he participated in three sports – swimming, baseball and football – lettering 10 times.

He was a varsity swimmer all four years and, during his junior and senior years, was the team captain. In 1992, he received the Lancer Award for boys swimming. As a sophomore, junior and senior, he also played varsity baseball and football. He earned a number of awards throughout his high school career.

Rhode’s senior year, he was selected as Gilmour’s Outstanding Defensive Back in football.

As a baseball player, he received Rookie of the Year in 1991. During the 1992 season, he won the Lancer Award and was selected for the All-SEC First Team. During his senior year, he was captain of the team and was one of seven seniors who led the team to a 20-2 record. He struck out only twice that season and finished with a .475 career batting average. He earned All-Ohio Honorable Mention, was selected for the News-Herald First Team Infield for Division III-IV and was selected for the Greater Cleveland Baseball All-Star game.

Rhode and his family have recently relocated to California.

Coach Tiho Teisl

Teisl began coaching soccer at Gilmour in 1974 and coached through 2003, amassing an overall record of 246-242-48. Throughout his tenure, his teams were East Division champions in 1977, 1978 (co-champions) and 1981; MAC 8 champions in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003; and the district runner-up in 2001.

Teisl accumulated numerous coaching awards as well. He was named the East Sectional Coach of the Year in 1981; MAC 8 Coach of the Year in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003; the Greater Cleveland Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association’s (GCSSCA) Division III Private School Coach of the Year in 1996, 2001 and 2003; the GCSSCA Division II Private School Coach of the Year in 1998; the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association’s (OSSCA) Division II Private School Coach of the Year in 1998 and the GCSSCA Private School Coach of the Year in 2002. He was inducted into the OSSCA Hall of Fame in 1996.

Teisl is in his 43 rd year at Gilmour. He is currently the Dean of Student Life and Discipline and he continues to lead yearly trips to Honduras with students, alumni and parents.

Athletic Director Jeff Walrich says of the inductees, “The Hall of Fame is such a special honor and I am excited to be a part of the inductees’ memorable day. The inductees embrace Gilmour’s mission and embody what it meant to be a student-athlete or a coach at the Academy.”

GILMOUR MEMORIALS

Memorial - - •

Charlie Tremont, Varsity Men’s Golf Coach, Dies at 62

Charles “Charlie” Tremont ’70, the beloved varsity golf coach who led the Lancer men to the state championship in 2010, passed away peacefully April 23, 2015. He was 62. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and two sons, Chris ’01 and A.J. ’04.

In his 11 years as Gilmour’s men’s varsity golf coach, Tremont also coached the team to seven district championships and eight top-10 state tournament finishes. Four students won individual state golf championships under Charlie’s direction as well.

One of them, Andrew Bieber ’13, recalled his former coach and mentor as utterly selfless, the kind of person one strove to emulate. Man of the Year in 2012, a nod to his consistent dedication to the school over the years. In addition to being the men’s varsity golf coach, Charlie served as Gilmour’s finance officer and assistant to the Headmaster from 1975 to 1978 and was a Gilmour parent.

finance and business manager at the Church of St. Clare in Lyndhurst.

News of Charlie’s passing invoked sympathy and sorrow throughout the Gilmour community. He was remembered by all as a talented coach, but more, as a kind person with a generous spirit.

“He was a very thoughtful guy. He never said ‘no,’” recalled Vern Weber, who coached Charlie in football and became his close friend as the years went by. “He always was there to help anybody. He’d call me every so often, usually on a Sunday evening, and he just liked to talk. He’d ask, ‘How’s everything going?’”

“No matter the situation, Coach Tremont was a person who could always be relied upon,” Bieber said. “It didn't matter if one of his players was sick and in the hospital or standing on the podium receiving a trophy. He was there through the good and the bad. Not just out of courtesy, but because he genuinely cared for our well being and wanted to see us succeed in all of our endeavors.”

Charlie, who starred on Gilmour’s varsity football and golf teams, spent a lifetime giving back to his alma mater in many ways. He was honored as Gilmour’s Charlie earned his undergraduate degree in management and finance from Baldwin Wallace University in 1974. In 1983, he earned his master’s degree in systems management from Baldwin Wallace. For 17 years, he worked as the To honor Charlie, members of Gilmour’s golf team memorialized him with a plaque on a bench near Gilmour’s football field. It was dedicated in a special ceremony on October 11.

“Coach Tremont coached us in a similar way to how he lived his life: with respect, passion, courage, and care,” Bieber said. “As a result, these are the same values that he instilled by example into all of his players. He didn't just help to develop us as golfers, but as people, too. He was really a life coach, and golf was his medium.”

Memorial - - •

Gilmour Academy expresses sympatһy to tһe families of tһe following:

BRIAN J. KADUNC ’95, JAMES H. LOWNIK ’65 JAMES F. WEISGERBER ’64

brother of Melinda Kadunc Sgariglia ’93

JOSEPH E. SOTAK III ’61, JOSEPH R. ZIDANIC ’59

MARK A. KAMPMAN ’81, brother of Donald ’69 son of Mary, former Gilmour staff member; brother of Matthew ’85, MICHAEL P. TUITE ’87 Dean ’86 and Douglas ’88 Our sympathy is also extended to the alumni and families of the following:

RICHARD BARANSKI, father of Richard ’72

HENRY BELZINKSAS,

grandfather of Justin Hallal ’15

IRENE O. BENT, grandmother of Leland ’11 and Grant ’15 Bent

JAMES A. BROWN, SR.,

father of James Brown, Jr. ’88 and Lauri Brown ’98; father-in-law of Katherine Geraci Brown ’88

DONALD J. COBURN,

father of Mary Rose Coburn Sullivan GO ’78; grandfather of Colleen ’04 and Catherine ’07 Coburn

PAUL COLLINS,

son of Joseph Collins ’84; nephew of John Collins ’78

RICHARD COMMONS, relative of Sr. Mary Ann Mehling, I.H.M., Gilmour Upper School instructor

JOHN L. CONWAY,

uncle of Martine Conway ’92

LYNNE LAVELLE COSTIGAN,

aunt of Michael ’11 and Katharine ’14 Zavagno

MICHAEL DAHER, uncle of Charbel Najm ’16

ELAINE DESALVA, grandmother of Kevin Berry, former Gilmour Upper School instructor

MARY MARTHA C. EBLE, grandmother of Kiley Eble ’15

DANIEL E. FERRAZZA, father of Gregory Ferrazza ’83; father-in-law of Gregg Rodier ’79

ANNE MARIE FRIEDMAN, aunt of Ronald Ryavec ’16

SUSAN GALLATIN, mother of Krista Gallatin Weisberg ’83

HARRIET GEASE, great-grandmother of Hannah ’21 and Trevor ’24 Weltle

MARY GRETAK, aunt of Richard Grejtak, Gilmour Upper School instructor

BETTY ANN HARTMAN, grandmother of Katherine Budaji ’06

DANIEL HATHY, former Gilmour technical support specialist

ROBERT K. HEALEY, SR., founding member and board director of Glen Oak School for Girls; father of Sharon Healey Lesinski GO ’75 and Mary Healey Pisano GO ’81; grandfather of Christopher ’05 and Edith ’07 Lesinski

FLORENCE HEMMI, grandmother of Richard Hemmi ’87 and Theresa Hemmi Rowohlt ’88

JOSEPH HEIMANN, former Gilmour coach; grandfather of Megan Porter ’17

VINCENT J. HLAVIN, father of Thomas ’76, Peter ’77 and Pamela ’87

MARIAN S. HORBALY, mother of Pamela Horbaly ’84

JAMES J. KASCSAK, grandfather of Dominic Kascsak ’16

MARY G. KILBANE, cousin of Br. Robert Lavelle, headmaster emeritus and director of The Bishop Gilmour Institute for Holy Cross Mission Integration

BR. BERNARD KLIM, C.S.C., former Gilmour maintenance and groundskeeping staff member