Sons of Xavier

1947

Dick Ryan lives in Palm Desert, California. “Although I miss New York, where I toiled as a lawyer for 60 years, I am happy as a clam out here,” he writes. “Last April I returned to the Masters (following the two-year COVID hiatus) for the 56th time.”

1948

Anton Stifter writes that he is “still enjoying being on the blade side of the grass.”

Tom Lamberti and his wife, Eileen, were honored at the 2023 Fordham Founder’s Dinner on March 20. Lamberti is a proud Fordham alumnus and member of the university’s President’s Council. He and Eileen have supported numerous initiatives at Fordham over the years, including the Elizabeth A. Johnson Endowed Scholarship for women in theology as well as the vocal group Highbridge Voices, which performed at the dinner and has an ongoing partnership with Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning. Last year, the Highbridge Voices also honored the Lambertis.

1949

Dr. Bill O’Brien is well and would welcome contact from his Xavier friends. He can be reached at bill@pobspace.com

Dr. Tom O’Brien and his wife, Nancy, attended December’s 175th Anniversary Gala, where they were the senior attendees. They continue to stay busy and enjoy their growing family, including their newest great-grandson, Sullivan (Sully) Thomas.

1950

Dr. Edward Reynolds is enjoying retirement after a 43-year career as a dentist in Pearl River, New York, and three years in the U.S. Air Force. He spends his time with his wife, eight children, and 19 grandchildren who are scattered across the country.

1951

On March 22, Bob Kramer presented a lecture at the New York Browning Society titled “Who is Really the Pied Piper?” It concerned Robert Browning’s poem, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” and the origins of the story in German history and legend.

1952

Tom Conniff P’83 ’84 attended the 175th Anniversary Gala on December 3 with his wife, Margaret P’83 ’84, and sons Peter ’83 and Chris ’84. They were delighted to see Paul Orsi ’83 and his wife, Isabelle, there. Twentyfive years ago, the Conniffs sold their Bay Ridge home to Paul and Isabelle. “We were delighted to know that the Orsi family still resides at the old homestead,” Conniff writes. “Three Xavier families have resided in the home—the Conniffs, the Orsis, and the Bennetts (RIP Jack Bennett ’44). As Jack Raslowsky is fond of saying, ‘Another Xavier story.’”

Dr. Chester Schmidt lives in Gibson Island, Maryland. He enjoyed participating in Xavier’s Junior Career Day in March.

1953

Tom Bonomo and his wife, Lorrie, have moved to an independent living facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut. “We are now very close to my daughter and her husband, who live in Fairfield,” he writes. “My granddaughter lives close by with her husband and two of my great-grandchildren. My grandson lives here, too, with his wife and daughter.” Bonomo welcomes hearing from his classmates at tjbonomo@yahoo.com.

1955

Joseph Ingersoll writes, “Dr. Ronnie Lofaro, one of my closest friends at Xavier, was proud of his jump shot, modeled after his hero, Philadelphia Warriors forward Paul Arizin. I guess Ron never lost his admiration, as in September 2021 he sent me a picture of him and Paul taken 43 years after

Ron’s graduation from Xavier. I hadn’t seen Ron since sometime in the 1970s. In reconnecting after almost 50 years, Ron spoke of his amazement at reaching 83 years old but of declining health over the last five to seven years. He must have known he didn’t have long as he passed away in June 2022. I appreciated hearing from him.”

1956

As they do every other week, 11 members of the Class of 1956 enjoyed camaraderie via Zoom on February 1. Dr. Frank Heelan reports, “From Florida to California, from a Chile port to the Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania), from Colorado to Iowa, these retired gentlemen exchanged humorous, sagacious, and poignant discernments of the world in which we live.” Alumni and professions represented included Charlie Ferrara (bank vice president), Tony Cusumano (science department chair), Dr. John Casko (dentist/ professor), Heelan (superintendent of schools), Frank Perroni (medical salesperson), Kevin Donohue (nursing home owner), Lou

Cumming (bank executive vice president), Gerry Seitz (attorney), Nick D’Agostino (president of D’Agostino Foods), Jack McDermott (Marine lieutenant colonel), and Mike Burke (Marine lieutenant colonel).

“These retirement days give me ample time to participate in local/community endeavors and political discourse with our elected politicians. I’d say ‘representatives’ but they are more often than not tone-deaf to their constituents,” writes Lou Cumming. “For my activity, which includes authoring municipal code enhancements, I was elected the 2015 Honorary Mayor of Pacific Beach, a beach suburb community of San Diego, California. Keeps me mentally agile and young at heart with time to enjoy our nine grandkids, the issue of our four kids and their BFFs, the youngest of whom is now 48 and the oldest being 57. I also join a dozen +/- SOX classmates every other week on a Zoom gathering where our world is dissected and cured of its ills with a Catholic foundation.”

1957

Joseph Juhasz lives in Boulder, Colorado. “Made it to 85 years of age on January 30!” he writes. “Am doing fine, everything considered—this not being the easiest of times.”

Fr. Tim Tighe, CSP celebrated his 54th anniversary as a Paulist priest on February 22.

1958

Stephen Koch and his wife, Jean, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on May 18. They have two daughters, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. The entire family will cruise to Bermuda in July.

Bob Vecchioti lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. “I will miss the monthly chats with my friend and fellow rifleman John Corrado,” he writes. “Rest in peace!”

1960

Several members of the Class of 1960 traveled to New York for the 175th Anniversary Gala on December 3, 2022. The festivities kicked off with lunch in Greenwich Village on Friday, December 2, attended by Bob Albracht, Barbara Albracht (Bob’s sister), Richard Bory, Colin Capello, Jim Cuddihy, Roger LoMenzo, Len Musmeci, Bob Oliver, and Bob Scavullo. The next evening, Albracht, Bory, Cuddihy, and Scavullo were joined by Mike Dowd, Doug Fraser, and Roger Kirwan at the gala at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers.

Bob Galastro lives in Tennessee. “Always proud to be part of the Xavier brotherhood,” he writes.

Jim Malone and his wife, Connie Fredericks-Malone, live in Canandaigua, New York. An exhibition of part of their collection of African American photographs and portraits, “Fierce Determination: Moving Forward with Grace and Dignity,” headlined Canandaigua’s Wood Library during Black History Month. Local and national news outlets featured the exhibition.

Dick Seif reports that his son, Rick, has been promoted from Rear Admiral (Lower Half) to Rear Admiral. He assumed the position of Commander Submarine Force Pacific (COMSUBPAC) in June.

In May 2022, Boston College presented an honorary degree to Patrick T. Stokes, a 1964 graduate of the university, former BC board chair, and former president, CEO, and chair of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.

Gene Tonry attended Gonzaga University and Manhattan College, where he earned a master’s degree. After careers in academia and public service, he joined his sister’s start-up company, helping to grow Pacific Interpreters into a national provider of over-the-phone interpreter services. Tonry and his wife, Christine, have lived in Oregon since 1977. They have two grown children, Andrew, director of a nonprofit community group, and Claire, partner in a Seattle law firm.

1962

Phil Ambrosini has been tutoring mathematics and statistics parttime at Lake Sumter State College, a satellite campus of the University of Central Florida. “It has been rewarding dealing with college-age students and a great way to keep the mind sharp,” he writes.

In October 2022, Georgetown College honored Dr. Hugh Cloke, an emeritus Georgetown dean, with the completion of a capital campaign to endow the Hubert J. Cloke Directorship in American