Shipmate Column
September-October 2025
CLASS OF 1963
Pres: CAPT W. Spencer Johnson IV, USN (Ret.)
Sec'y: Michael H. Shelley
27 Cambridge DR, Brevard, NC 28712
h: 828-506-2201 e: nstar@citcom.net
Web site: http://www.usna63.org.
For any classmate you can go to the Classmates Page and enter his name to read his current biography if available.
This month we note the loss of six classmates and two widows. Be sure to visit the Last Call section of our web site to read classmates' obituaries and other information about their lives and careers. Spouses' obituaries are posted with their husband's Last Call or Current Biography entry.
John Wayne Nelson died on 19 March. We do not have contact information for his next of kin.
Frederick J. Yeager passed away on 4 May. His wife, Melanie, had died on 3 April. We do not have contact information for their next of kin.
William T. Gunn III died on 28 May. We do not have contact information for his next of kin.
Richard M. Ortwein died on 2 June. His widow, Sheila, can be contacted at 1435 Galaxy Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
David P. Greeneisen died on 7 June. His widow, Christy, can be contacted at 104 Las Lomas Court, West Lake Hills, TX 78746.
Ted G. Franklin passed away on 16 June. We do not have contact information for Gary's next of kin.
Joe Kotowski's wife, Wendy, died on 8 July. Joe can be contacted at 9290 West Youth Camp Road, Columbus, IN 47201.
Ron Klemick's widow, Sandy, passed away on 12 July. Her son, Matt, can be contacted at 312 Lady Marian Court, Cary, NC 27518.
The Celebration of Dick Ortwein's life was held on 31 July in Newport Beach, CA. Steve Leisge submitted these two photos from the event.
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Steve Leisge, Sheila Ortwein, Mike Rubel, Steve Hoy |
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Steve Leisge, Steve Hoy, Sheila Ortwein, Jim Thornton |
The long chain of Naval Academy classes grew on 26 June when the Class of 2029 was inducted. Because of ongoing construction, the ceremony was held on Worden Field rather than the traditional Tecumseh Court setting. Thanks to Mike Blackledge for finding an official USNA video overview of I-Day activities. I'm sure you will enjoy seeing it, so click HERE.
The Naval Academy maintains a digital photo archive on Flickr, a popular image hosting web site. The Academy's archive includes more than 88,000 photos organized by year (2010 forward) and topic. I encourage you to visit the archive by click HERE. As examples, I downloaded these images from the archive.
Many of us have discovered the physical and social benefits of pickleball. It's safe to say that Jim Oakes is the most dedicated to the sport among us all. His latest pickleball travels led to some quality time spent with classmates.
I spent the Fourth of July week in Santa Fe, NM, playing pickleball. Lynda and Mike Spear hosted a lovely dinner at their home on July 3. Also at the dinner were Georgia and Hugh Schall, who live a few miles away. Mike and Hugh had the pleasure of being in the "Terrible 10th" company, so they got a true plebe year experience. We ate our dinner on the Spear residence patio looking at the Sun Mountains, were treated to a light shower around 8 o'clock, and a beautiful rainbow followed. A GREAT evening! Left to right in the picture are Mike and Lynda Spear, Georgia and Hugh Schall, and Jimbo Oakes. Suzanne Fuqua was kind enough to take the picture.
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Dinner at the Spears' home in Santa Fe |
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Coronado concertgoers |
We can depend on Phillip Marsden to report on our classmates who attend a yearly outdoor community concert in Coronado, CA. This is his latest account.
Once again, a lively group of Southern California classmates gathered for our annual Concert in the Park in Coronado. The weather on 6 July was lovely, the food tasty, and the sea stories as compelling as ever. The first of these two photos shows Sue and Lee Cargill, Martha Marsden, Grant Telfer, Lana and Dave Moore, Rowena and Jerry Harken, Donna Kaup, and yours truly. As usual, our USNA '63 banner drew visitors from other classes. They included midshipmen from the classes of 2027 and 2028 on summer training and a naval aviator from our Link in the Chain class of 2013. Even the concert organizers gave our class a "shout-out!"
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Former and current Midshipmen |
The second photo from the concert includes three Midshipmen on liberty from their summer PROTRAMID (Amphib/USMC) training. The one on the left (name unknown) is from the Class of 2027, the one in the middle is Anjeli Webb '28, and the third is Alyssa Pangallo '28.
Mike Rubel tells us about a quartet of classmates visiting a California winery for lunch together and updates us about his writing and publishing activities.
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Hoy, Rubel, Thornton, and Ricketts |
In early June I had the opportunity to pick up Jim Thornton and then drive south from Orange County to Murrieta where I picked up Steve Hoy and then drove further south to Temecula to pick up Max Ricketts. We lunched at a winery there, Max having made the arrangements. Max is moving back to San Diego where he lived for several decades with his wife, Edith, who passed away over a year ago. Steve remains in his home in the Bear Creek country club residential area after Karen's passing. Jim Thornton plays golf five days a week and lives in Costa Mesa while I still live in Newport Coast, CA, and continue to write books.
I am in the process of producing a 12-minute animated short film based on my book The Adventures of Charlie Chipmunk. I also wrote Big Feet, a children's book that advances meaning and purpose for a young person. The books are available on my web site, booksbyRubel.com, for several dollars less than what you would buy them for on Amazon.
Denny Vaughan sent a photo from early June when Ray Ross and his travel companion Judi Vlasak stopped in Seattle for a visit. Obviously, it was a happy day in this picture of the four friends.
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LuAnne and Denny Vaughan (front) with Judi Vlasak and Ray Ross |
It was a nice surprise to hear from Jerry Saber, who sent this news about a remarkable achievement by his grandson, Colin Saber.
I want to tell you about Colin's Eagle Scout project, which he started about three years ago. While performing a service activity at a local retirement facility he met LtCol Earl Depner, a P-51 Mustang pilot who is a veteran of WW II. That sparked his interest in the war and led to his decision to create a monument to Depner and all veterans of that era as his project to cap his progress toward Eagle Scout rank.
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Colin Saber with his Eagle Scout project |
Colin had to raise $55,000 to purchase the custom-built 1/13 scale model P-51 that was placed a short distance from the main entrance to the Town Hall in Monument, Colorado, where he lives with his parents. This is quite an achievement for someone who just celebrated his 16th birthday. Colin learned that he would be honored with a one plane flyover at the dedication ceremony. The many who came to the ceremony on June 8th were thrilled to enjoy a flyover by not one but five airplanes!
A rising Junior, Colin is an excellent student and was on the varsity hockey team at his high school as a sophomore! He plans to submit an application to be in the USNA class of 2031. If that happens, I hope to be there for that celebration.
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Jerry and Colin Saber |
All is well with my wife, Carol, and me as well as our family. We just celebrated Carol's 90th birthday with a cabin in THE HAVEN on NCL PRIMA, then took a cruise from Hong Kong to Japan where we spent four days saying sayonara as we met in Tokyo where I lived for 15 years. We live in Spring, Texas, and are in the initial stages of downsizing. The task is huge because our home is full of mementos and souvenirs from our 15 years in Japan and leading tours to Japan for 20 years. In between, we sold Japanese textiles in quilt shows all over the country and had time to do about 100 river, ocean, and DIY tours.
That's it for now, folks. Please keep sending your news and photos to me. We're depending on your support.
