GBNF. Classmate Phillip L. “Buddy” Kendall passed away at the age of 63 in February 2017 at his home in Irving, TX. Upon graduating Undergraduate Helicopter Training Buddy flew in assignments in Hampton, VA and as a search and rescue pilot in Keflavik, Iceland before going through Fixed Wing Transition Training in 1983. As a C-130 aircraft commander he flew tactical airlift missions along the East German border, into West Berlin, and in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, including humanitarian relief to Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq. He is preceded in death by his wife, Becky and survived by three sons: Nicholas, Benjamin, and Derik.
Grim Reapers Spotted on Winter Park Slopes. CS-31 squadron mates Jack Storer, Dr. Larry Colletti, Mike Dehart, and Jim Burling got together for a ski weekend of snow and sun in Winter Park, CO during the third week of March. Dave Ferguson also joined in on the outing. Larry supplied a cabin on Shadow Mountain Lake, Fergy showed up with the Scotch, and Mike provided cigars and reportedly awful movies. They plan to make it an annual event…presumably with someone other than Mike in charge of the movies. At the end of the weekend everyone went home with the same number of appendages they brought to the junket and without the aid of orthopedic supports, which earned the event the coveted “good time was had by all” rating.
High-Timers Retire From SWA. Ted Stallone flew his last flight from Oklahoma City to Denver as the #1 Senior Captain Denver-based pilot after 35 years at Southwest Airlines in February. In addition to safely getting thousands of people to their destinations, one of his other notable accomplishments is that he is STILL single at 65! Gary Matson also recently retired from Southwest Airlines after 33+ years. Following 68 combined years of enabling others the freedom to roam the country, now Ted and Gary will be able to do their own roaming, or watch cable news at home and marvel at the fascinating machinations of modern-day politics. The possibilities are endless, and sometimes downright scary.
Troll Earns Award For Achievements on High School Soccer Fields. CS-20 Troll Mike Goyden received the 2016 Tracy Fifer award for outstanding long term achievement and service to Colorado High School Soccer through his coaching and leadership positions in Colorado and National-level committees. A partial list of criteria to receive the award is making a positive impact on improvement, advancement and presentation of the game of soccer at the high school level, and exemplifying the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and Colorado High School Soccer Coaches Association Code of Ethics. Well done, Mike!
Jim Marshall (CS-18) was recently elected President of the Alamo Chapter of the Association of Graduates. The chapter hosted Maj Gen Dondi Costin, the AF Chief of Chaplains at the Founders’ Day dinner.
They Fly Alone but Stick Together. Dale and Bonita Hanner, Rod and Vicki Kallman, and Paul (Boo) and Chrissie Butalla recently took a weeklong cruise to Antigua with ten other Stealth couples from their F-117 Z-Unit days at Tonopah. The cruise idea germinated after a planned dinner last August of three couples who live in the Denver area turned into a full blown reunion with about 20 couples going to Colorado for the weekend. According to Dale the Stealth lads were, and after 30 years still are, a tight knit group. That closeness must have extended to family life as well, because 95% of the Stealth fliers on the cruise still had their original wives! Hanner also claims the members of the Stealth community are getting better looking with age. As is evidenced in the attached picture of Dale, Rod, and Boo with their wives, he must have been referring to the wives; either that, or flying under the cloak of invisibility messed up his eyesight something fierce.
Peon Visits the Masters. Lowly class scribe Foster Bitton stumbled across a ticket to Augusta National on Wednesday of Masters Week, and I took my sticks with me just in case someone had to drop out at the last minute. Wednesday is the day of the Par 3 contest, but this year it turned into more of an exercise in lightning dodging. The course was evacuated for weather at 10 am, reopened at 12:30 pm, and then evacuated for the rest of the day at 2 pm. Cellphones were not permitted on the course so I didn’t take any pictures, but I can confirm that every blade of grass is manicured and the egg salad sandwiches at the concession stands are still only a buck fifty.
Keeping in Touch. Jeff Chappell traveled to Tampa in February for his oldest son’s 40th birthday (to put that in perspective, his son is more than twice as old as most of us were when we took our first stroll up the “Bring Me Men…” Core Values ramp). While he was in that part of Florida he wandered over to St Petersburg for a short visit with Al Nash. Despite the auto accident in 1980 that left Al with long-term brain damage, he has continued to grind away in his typical trooper manner and remains alert and aware of what’s going on around him. He’s still sharp witted, and his grip is as strong as ever. Al and his 93-year-old father moved to Florida about a year ago. They have caregivers on site at their home that help to arrange visits. If you are going to be in the Tampa area and would like to drop in on Al, contact Jeff for details.
31. It has come to our attention that Jeff Krumeich appears in a major motion picture, with a starring role in 1996's Fargo, along with some lesser stars (William Macy, Francis McDormand, et. al.).
