UNH 1954 CLASS NOTES

Welcome to the University of New Hampshire Class of 1954. Here you find class notes for future issues of the alumni magazine, which are then merged into the virtual yearbook. Use the jumps below to see those earlier notes and other good stuff. (The Obituaries, alas, have gotten so unwieldly that I have now merged them into the Notes.)

John P Driscoll, 1932-2009

Alas, the Class of 1954 has lost its president! Jack died November 15 at Boston's Deaconess Hospital of an aneurysm. This splendid tribute is online at the Boston Globe website:

'Bringing the determination of a former football lineman to all avenues of life, John P. Driscoll Jr. could coach Harvard freshmen to be better players, inspire lawyers to give back more to the community, or skipper a sailboat to victory as it sliced through the waves off Cape Cod.

"Jack didn't let anybody off easily. He made sure you had your assignments and you had your drills, and you were going to put out 110 percent or you were going to hear about it,'' said US Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr., who as a Harvard freshman was coached by Mr. Driscoll. "He had a little slice of the coach in him all the time.''' Read more.

Class notes

There's a great story in the Valdosta (GA) Daily Times about Ray Hamel, a pilot for most of his 24 years in the Air Force, including flying a C-130 in Vietnam. Postwar, the Air Force sent Ray to close its beleaguered ROTC detachment at Princeton--then to open a new one at Valdosta State College. He retired from the military to settle in Valdosta and run the United Way, retired again to study nursing and work at the local state prison infirmary, retired a third time to become a crossing guard famed for dancing in the street, and finally to devote his time as a Catholic layman who attends Mass and visits the sick and elderly on a daily basis-a rich and active career!

Shantih (peace) to Joseph Pelis of Essex Junction, VT, died July 21 at Burlington Health & Rehab. Joe matriculated at the Thompson School but graduated with a B.S. in horticulture, a major in education, and three minors, having financed his senior year by tending ten acres of cucumbers. After two years in the Army he went to work at Niagara Chemical Company in Ayers, MA, in a program to increase cranberry yields. Meanwhile he managed his own orchard and strawberry fields, ran a fertilizer plant, and was part owner of Canada's AOTKA Cranberries and a sister company that is the second-largest cranberry grower in the world. Joe was still working on his research when he died. He is survived by his wife Jean and their son Joe.

Shantih also to Patricia Damon Antz of Farmingdale, Maine, who died at home March 18 with her family at her side. Pat worked for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for 30 years, and was married to the late Edwin Antz. (I remember Eddie as the extremely cool marksman who starred on the UNH rifle team.) They are survived by five children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grands.