Brotherly Love

Memoir details 16 long-lasting friendships formed at Villanova

When Ray Kane ’67 CE, ’81 MSCE set out to write a memoir chronicling his adult life, he realized his journey was indelibly marked by his time at Villanova— especially by the friendships he formed as an Engineering student and NROTC midshipman.

So rather than embarking on his writing project alone, Kane asked a core group of friends if they cared to contribute their life stories, expecting two or three others to participate. Instead, 15 agreed to join him in detailing the bonds forged at Villanova that still unite them today.

The result is The Journey of a Band of Villanova Brothers (FriesenPress, 2022), the memoirs of 16 friends who all started at Villanova in the fall of 1962. Over more than 60 years, the men have remained close—thanks in large part to a shared appreciation for Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic values.

“We all have such a fondness for each other. We respect each other. We enjoy each other’s company. That’s a common thread through a lot of what you read,” says Kane, of Naples, Fla. “To even want to invest the energy to write the book, it’s because of our love for Villanova and our respect and admiration for each other.”

All royalties from sales of the book are being donated back to Villanova. Kane served as the book’s organizer and editor, with assistance from Lee Doyer ’66 ME. Most of the contributors met through Engineering classes or through Villanova’s NROTC program, which kept them connected even during summers as they took part in military training exercises. Each man’s chapter is broken into six sections, covering his life arc from high school to Villanova and on through their retirement years. Kane’s journey took him from

A Kinship of Midshipmen: Thirteen of the men who contributed to the book were members of Villanova’s NROTC program, shown here in 1964 during summer training exercises in Little Creek, Va. “There was a lot of contact amongst us, all year long, and that established the friendships,” says Joel DeFreytas ’67 CE, of Berwyn, Pa. “We could have gone different ways, but the more commonalities we had, the closer the friendships got.”

Villanova to the Naval Submarine Force before he settled into a 40-year career in environmental engineering and management consulting.

The book also includes a foreword by the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 CLAS, president of Villanova University, who reflects on St. Augustine’s teachings about friendship. Though written by and for members of the Villanova community, Kane says, the book’s universal themes of love and friendship should resonate with readers of any background.

“Veritas, Unitas, Caritas: They aren’t just things you learned in theology 50 years ago—they are day-to-day principles by which you try to live your life,” he says. “I honestly feel that was another thing that pulled the book together: The same principles we initially learned at Villanova have carried through our lives.”

The Band of Brothers:

John Barrow ’66 EE | Jerry Brett ’67 CE | Joel DeFreytas ’67 CE | Frank Fleming ’67 CE, ’74 JD | Bob Gallo ’66 CLAS | Mike Gray ’67 CE | Ted Hack ’67 EE | Ray Kane ’67 CE, ’81 MSCE | Greg Kuzniewski ’67 CE | Joe Lynch ’67 VSB | Fred MacAry ’67 EE | Jack Macknis ’67 EE | Mike McDermott ’67 EE | Jim Morgan ’66 CLAS | Paul Service ’66 CE | John Sherm ’67 ME

A Kinship of Midshipmen:

Thirteen of the men who contributed to the book were members of Villanova’s NROTC program, shown above in 1964 during summer training exercises in Little Creek, Va. “There was a lot of contact amongst us, all year long, and that established the friendships,” says Joel DeFreytas ’67 CE, of Berwyn, Pa. “We could have gone different ways, but the more commonalities we had, the closer the friendships got.”