Navy Patrol Bombing Squadrons 102/14 Association

Bud Gebhard sends his greetings to everyone. Thaddeus Godfryt could not make it plus both Leo and Bill Graham. Wendell Gudka sends word that he is fighting bladder cancer, was operated on 1 week after returning from our San Diego reunion.

Grace Hahn sent regrets. She is doing well, enjoys receiving the Tale Spins so she can keep up on the doings of her friends who are still in the group. Bill Hazlett sent regrets, also Russell Hoff. Jeannette Jacobs sent word that they would not be able to attend due to Jake’s dementia. They are hoping that new medication will help.

Word came to us that Robert Johnson died October 5, 2002. Again, our sincerest sympathies. Jesse Jolly sent regrets and also John Kacewicz who is also battling prostate cancer that has metastasized.

Jim Keith tells us that he is limited to home due to Parkinson’s. Bo Kilner held out ‘til the last minute hoping that John would be able to attend, but his health is not good so they had to cancel. George Lauzon sent word that he is suffering terminal lateral sclerosis. Richard Lockard sent word that he suffered a stroke last July and is still working hard at recovery.

Richard McCord sends word that his wife has cancer. Ed Pagel wrote Freda’s health is slowly deteriorating and his Parkinson’s has taken a turn for the worse. Bill Pierce — health problems. Ken Poppleton says that his body has been accepting stainless steel parts for the past few months — a pacemaker and a hip replacement. Everything is doing alright except for a few pains here and there. Harry Wolpert tells me that he had colon surgery and is getting chemo for his liver.

Word was received of the death of Dete Detour due to lung cancer. We will miss that very nice man. Marlin Roberts and Vera had to cancel due to health problems for both of them. Marge has not been well and Robbie had by-pass surgery which has left him with blood pressure problems.

Wayne and Cleo Rorman moved to South Dakota (new address is in the roster). Jenny Silzer sent word that Dick is having congestive heart failure problems and medications have not been as effective as hoped. They send greetings to old friends they will miss seeing.

Harvey Skaar was forced to attend the Korean War reunion as they missed it the last time.

VanBuren sends greetings to all. Paul Van Nostrand can not attend. Louise suffered a mild stroke in July but is now back to normal, we are glad to hear. We are told that George Stuckey has died.

Marlin Waechter sent word that Linde has been very ill — needed major abdominal surgery. It was determined that she would need a lot of care for some time. Her “home” is now at the East campus of Faith Regional Hospital, Norfolk, Nebraska (1-800-244-1184) Ask for East Campus Extended Care room #323A. We hope she’ll be home with her family soon. Miss you Linde.

Carol Small and Mark are living in Ohio, to be near their daughter. Carol has some health problems. We have received word that Al Dresner has passed away (6/27/02) after a long illness. Al and Barbara were part of the host contingent when we met in Washington, DC. Our sincere sympathies to his family. “Murphy” Quinn has also died.

Colleen Carter has written Bob Kirk that she will not be able to attend any further reunions due to health problems. Grace Hahn sent an email wishing us all well, sorry that she could not attend.

Despite all these pains, aches and losses, we carry on and that is the important thing — carrying on, making each day as happy and fulfilled as it can be despite the limitations forced upon us all due to the passage of time. But, hasn’t that time been great. Ken and I were on a 2-week tour which included a 2 ˝ day train trip across Canada, this last June. One of our fellow passengers was a 92 year old lady whose 3 children “brought” her. She was almost totally blind. She left the bus at every scenic stop to “see” the scene that one of her sons described to her. She walked on the glacier. She sat in the observation dome like many of us, to “see” the sights. Her comment was “I don’t have much longer and I don’t want to miss a thing”. What a wonderful motto for all of us!

Our reunion was great! We missed all of you who could not join us. Please be sure to read the summary included in this edition.

Friendship, what would the world be like without it Sincerely, Louise Thoman