CLASS OF 1963
Pres:  Stephen M. Duncan
Sec'y: Michael H. Shelley
25 Sweetwater Lane, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
h: 828-862-4245  e: Class.Secretary@USNA63.org
Web site: www.USNA63.org

 "epitomizes the global CEO.  He has lived in five countries and speaks four languages.  In his six year command at Honeywell, he has visited nearly all of the 95 countries where the company operates.  A self-effacing executive who insists that every subordinate call him "Mike", Mr. Bonsignore neither puts on airs nor bullies his troops."

      A motley crew of Quality '63 fitness fanatics (not the term our wives used) once again assembled in the Blue Ridge foothills of Northern Virginia on 15 May.  Appropriately enough, it was Armed Forces Day and another opportunity to crusade for funds to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, while also demonstrating the great regard and affection the Class has for our own Terry Abell.
[[ INSERT PHOTO 3 HERE.  CAPTION:  MS "Terry’s Team" bike riders Harper, Baumgart, Vaughan, Cronin, and Carter ]]
    This year the team consisted of Satch Baumgart, Jimmy Carter, Mike Cronin, Bob Harper, and Denny Vaughan.  Special mention also goes to Dick Williams, who trained hard for the ride but whose back strenuously declined the opportunity.  The special mention is because he still got up and drove out to send our crew off at the starting line.  He was the only one who remembered to bring a camera.  Thanks, Dick!
    The ride began in good weather and everyone settled into a comfortable (slow) pace.  Among about 1,500 riders, our guys were widely recognized as "Terry's Team."  The folklore of the Old Men of the Bikes is legend in the MS Society.  This year, we established yet another record for the oldest team to compete (Terry reported that the team averaged 59.5 years.).
    While the course meandered through some very scenic portions of Loudoun County, all participants had some sharp words for the HILLS!  The accepted solution was to walk to the tops whenever the legs requested a break, recognizing that the butt always concurred -- with thanks -- for such breaks.  Most of the crew cycled the one-day (63 mile) tour, with Bob continuing on Sunday, after camping overnight (crisp weather even for a Maine-iac) to complete 100 miles.  The only incidents reported were a flat tire for Bob, a skinned knee for Satch, and an anonymous citation for biking on a girl's bike.
    Additional sightings along the course were Mike Dunn's son cycling, plus a couple of youngsters from the 70s and 80s who spotted the team's USNA cycling team jerseys.  It makes our guys look like they're going fast, even when they're not.  Related cycling news from the Class includes Clay Dugas' wife Cheryl, who biked from North to South Louisiana in May and Charlie "Goose" Gosnell who is looking for company to bike the MS 150 in Delaware (It's flat!) the first weekend in October.
Both Jay Gowens and Dave Robinson had been training for this year’s ride but were not able to participate at the last moment.  Denny Vaughan has retired and will be living in Seattle, but has already indicated his willingness to bike with the team again next year.  You, too, can plan on joining them for yet another record setting venture next year on Armed Forces Day weekend.  Reports are not yet complete, but the Class of 1963 is credited with over $1,000 support to the team and Terry at this writing; BZ!  You can still contribute to the team totals by sending your contribution to Bob Harper at 202 Providence Road, Annapolis, MD 21401-6310.

   As we prepare to leave Arabia after eight years, it’s time to provide some news.  I switched from Line to CEC after two years aboard an LST in Yokosuka.  I retired from the USN as a CEC Captain in 1990, from Naples, Italy, where I was the Chief of Infrastructure for AFSOUTH (NATO’s southern region).  The poor guy who relieved me got all the Bosnia business.  Before, I had normal CEC tours and command, and spent 21 of the 27 years outside the USA.  I immediately went to work for Saudi Aramco (used to be just Aramco until the Saudi’s bought out the four U.S. firms in 1988) as a project manager constructing petrochemical projects.  Lived in various oil patches in Arabia, and have played golf in oiled sand at 134 degrees.  Yes, I’m sure my brain is fried; if the sun didn’t get it, the homemade brews and wines did.  Arabia is probably the most fundamental of all Islamic countries (ignoring Afghanistan) owing to the holy mosques; as a result there are no theaters, libraries, bars, etc. and no pork or alcohol available.  However, living on an Aramco compound is just like a military base, with theaters, libraries, stables, and an oil facility instead of piers and runways.  Moreover, women can drive (only on the compounds), so my wife Jean drives across the street to visit, just to show her stuff.  When we were in the USA in January buying a home, the Saudi’s replaced me with a Saudi and, rather than take a job with another move, we thought it serendipitous to "repatriate," as they say it here.
     I married Jean McKibben, whom I met while at grad school at Ann Arbor, MI, in 1966.  She had just graduated from the University of Michigan and out-earned my LTJG pay, so I knew a good thing when I saw it.  Thirty-two years later, and we’re still going strong.  Coincidentally, my roommate, Willy Kaman, met Jean’s roomie, Bev Scales, at our wedding, and are a few years behind us in wedded bliss.  We have one daughter, Courtney, still single but getting closer to the altar, who resides in Santa Barbara, CA.  We recently sold our house in Coronado and decided to be close to our kid, so we bought a house in Santa Barbara.  Our new address is 1925 Eucalyptus Hill Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93108.

   The Richmond chapter of the USNA Alumni Association had a dinner on 27 May at the Commonwealth Club in honor of the six high school seniors from our area who had received direct appointments to the Academy and the two others who will be going via NAPS.  Steve Duncan was our speaker.  As you might expect, it was a most impressive address on the subject of service to one's country and the higher calling of a military career.  I think the parents were even more impressed than the youngsters that their boys and girls are taking the veil.
    My youngest child,  Harriet, graduated from the University of Colorado on 14 May, and she and I were able to look up Penny and Hank Dalton while Jane and I were out in Boulder for the commencement festivities.  Hank is now head of security at the Rocky Flats nuclear site, and they seem to be thriving in the dry air of Colorado.
    I have done one of my periodic self-reinventions, and since February have shed 25 pounds, become a teetotaler and discovered Jesus.  You would not care to sit next to Will Settle on a trans-Pacific flight. The weight loss was facilitated by daily 2,500 meter work-outs in the Medical College of Virginia swimming pool, and I recently began weight training under the tutelage of a former Marine enlisted man who is my trainer.  If I had it to do over again and were in the Class of '03, I should elect to go out for Brigade boxing and take my commission in the Marine Corps.

      I recently bought a house on St. Simons Island, GA.  We will probably move there for good in two years.  As my wife and I were packing three-quarters of our belongings to be moved to Georgia, I came across some memorabilia from our days at USNA.  My mother had saved the hand designed Christmas Dinner menus from '59 through '62.  They are in excellent condition, so I had them framed and they are proudly displayed in our condo.  Our classmate Dick Bachmann designed the Christmas '62 menu.

      The commentary on license plates in the June issue prompted me to a long overdue communication.   In the first instance, I'm proud to be the holder of "Navy 63" plates in both Virginia and Colorado.  As the years go by, however, I'm finding that this overt identification increasingly inhibits my ability to lie about my age!
    Cynthia and I were pleased to host the Class of 1963 Foundation Trustees and Officers at their Winter Meeting.  The gathering included Pete Carrothers, Steve Duncan, Sonny Glassner, Kent Maxfield, Roger Mehle, Dave Puckett, Jim Ring, Dave Robinson, Will Settle, and Bruce Webb.  Apart from attending to some serious Foundation business at an extended meeting, everyone did get a chance to enjoy the mountains, good fellowship, and a healthy ration of good wine.
    I had further occasion to see Will Settle just a few weeks ago.  His son, Alex, is a resident in the Aspen area and was married in Glenwood Springs on 5 June.  Cynthia and I were privileged to attend the delightful ceremony and shared the festivities with Penny and Hank Dalton, currently residents of Boulder where Hank is directing clean-up of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal on behalf of the Department of Energy.
    I also communicate quite regularly with Ron Terwilliger,  recently elected Chairman of the Urban Land Institute.  Candidly, I find it to be the most prestigious of the various real estate organizations but must confess to prejudice, since I am a member of the Board of Trustees and have also been asked by Ron to serve as one of his officers as his term commences on 1 July.
    As for my own activities, they continue to be focused on a variety of land development projects.  I am active in large-scale community developments in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Reno.  We are also about to initiate a program in Acapulco, Mexico, with Citibank and have just started work on a 6,000-acre ranch near Aspen (so that I have an excuse to spend more time at home).  My partners have aggressively grown our company's other activities, and we now have a national presence in both commercial development and hotel ownership and management.
    On the family front, Cynthia and I are pleased to report that our combined brood of seven are all doing very well.  Two daughters are in Seattle (one in marketing with Eddie Bauer and the other with a software company).  Another daughter is in graduate school at the University of Denver, another in the television industry in New York, and the youngest daughter, an artist, now resides in Istanbul.  The elder of the two boys is a film and video director with a private production company in Florida and the younger is in law school at the University of Virginia.  Two of the brood are married (one daughter and one son) but no grandchildren to report as of this date.
     Cynthia and I had occasion to enjoy a delightful dinner visit with Judy and Dick Arvedlund some months ago when passing through Wilmington.  Dick continues as the Financial Advisor to the Foundation and we are all much indebted for his fine services in that regard.   I also had occasion several months ago to speak by telephone with Buzz Barlow.  He and Cecelia are both well and content in his FBI retirement in Edmond, OK.  Edith and Max Ricketts are expected in Aspen in late July.  Max has a very strong aversion to air travel but has committed to the drive from San Diego so that the two of us can commemorate the 35th Anniversary of our 1964 Saigon duty.
     I've also had occasion to chat with Mike Rubel from time to time.  I travel with some regularity to Seattle where Mike has his investment banking operations.  In fact, we did the 200-mile Seattle to Tacoma bike ride together a couple of years ago accompanied by Ron Terwilliger.  I claim honors for that endeavor, incidentally, since I did the entire 208 miles over two days while Mike succumbed to several miles of SAG wagon assistance and Ron was assisted by riding a tandem with his trainer!

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