1st Lt. Paul G. Magers, U.S. Army, was killed in action in 1971 in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, while flying an AH-1 Cobra. Missing in action for nearly four decades, Paul's remains were positively identified and returned to his family in August, 2010. He was buried with full military honors on August 27, 2010. Many from our class were in attendance to honor our fallen classmate and war hero.
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| 1st Lt. Paul G. Magers |
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| Paul on left |
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| Burial with full military honors |
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| Paul's Arrival in Billings |
Along with Paul, the following classmates are also deceased: Dale Avens, Ray Boespflug, John Breen, Tim Brooks, Frank Burgoyne, Kathy Dietrich Bingaman, Jerry Foote, Sharon Hill Wimberly, Jerry Keating, Leland Kraus, Mary Jo Lent Zimmerman, Greg Magilke, Jay Olson, Barney Schaff, Leon Schillinger, Kathy Sheridan Williams, Jim Spelman, Pat Walsh.
The Paul Magers Scholarship Fund is given yearly to a deserving student attending Billings Central High School in the form of tuition assistance. Your generous donations will help students for years to come.
Please consider making a donation to the scholarship fund to honor our deceased classmates and friends. This will be a group donation from the "BCCHS Class of 1963" in memory of our classmates. You will also be listed as a donor and the contributions are tax deductible.
Send your check, payable to Paul Magers Scholarship Fund to: Cathy Pasquarello, 4203 Avenue D, Billings, MT 59106.
Thank you for any support you can provide.
BIOGRAPHIES
Tom Kennedy
For the 50th bio book, I submit my 45th bio because nuthin' happened in the last five years except for a week in the Lewis and Clark County Jail proudly served for contempt of court.
After graduating from Central, I spent 4-5 years at MSUB and UofM, enjoying having thrown off the constraints of BCCHS (having to actually go to school and study.) Those were very good years indeed laced with alcohol, camaraderie, sports and some exposure to academia. Alas, after the second University imposed sabbatical to reconsider my commitment, Uncle Sam jumped off the poster and grabbed me in 1968. After two months of basic training in which 45 of my well-marbled pounds deserted me, it was off to Monterey for personnel training and typing class, and a final move to Colorado Springs for the balance of my two years. I took a two month early out as the UofM welcomed me back into the fold.
About a year before I was drafted, I met a Great Falls girl, Sandra Thorvilson, and we continued the relationship while I was in the Army. She took the opportunity to spend two years as a stewardess on a charter airlines that flew internationally and made trips to Europe, Asia and Viet Nam. She sometimes wakes up screaming in the night but I understand that to be more about me than PTSD.
After returning to the halls of academia, I acquired some new credits to go along with the old ones in History, English, Foreign Languages, Philosophy and Anthropology, took a Liberal Arts BA, and pronounced myself a Renaissance man. All of this I believe was right-brained (except for the Army bit which was no-brained.) Then, finding the working world's call for Renaissance men constrained, I escaped back to academia, turned on my left-brain and secured a BA in Accounting.
The next ten years were spent in Missoula and Billings working as a CPA in public and private practice. The exposure to various businesses was interesting and educational but the job lacked a sense of being close to the action, the sale.
Oh, by the way, when I got out of the service, Sandi moved back to Missoula and we were married in 1971. And from this marriage came two issues, a son 31 interested in music and a daughter 27 interested in art and both now involved in the commercial world. Sandi was a stay at home mother for about 20 years and has spent most of the last ten years as a childcare professional at Young Families/Early Head Start.
After I slaked my thirst for Accounting, I started a PC retailing and consulting business in 1984 and operated it for 18 years. The business proved interesting as the computer came out of the glass house and proliferated on business desks and in homes. More interesting than the swift increase in computing power was the explosion of sophisticated software for PCs. However, I forgot the law of physics that says everything that goes up must come down and the business succumbed to the lull after Y2K and 2001 dot.com bust.
Since that time, I've been helping Montana consumers to access prescription drugs from Canadian and other international pharmacies in a new business, Canadian Connection. I can't distinguish the work from retirement and it's rewarding to stick it to the pharmaceutical industry which is sticking it to the American consumer.
Barbara Maronick Sample
Michael and I have been married for 42 years. He continues to photograph his beloved Montana and I am finally retired from Family Support Network after 20 plus years. Before that, I taught English both at Billings Central and Eastern. It was quite an experience to be back at Central on the other side of the desk.
I began FSN as non-profit to assist families who abused and neglected their children. One of our foster kids was the catalyst for this effort. She was angry that no one was helping her mom. So I started an agency to help the parents learn basic parenting skills. I loved the work, and learned quickly that the only difference between me and the parents I worked with, was my parents who nurtured and supported all nine of their kids. How lucky a child is to have good parents.
Since retiring, we have traveled to visit our children/grandchildren. James is a law professor in NYC. His wife, Joanne, works for the Wall Street Journal. They have two boys who love to golf. Kate is an ob/gyn in Madison, Wisconsin. She and her husband, Mike Murray, have two boys as well, the oldest is just starting school. John is a physicist and works for NASA through the University of California, Berkeley. He and his wife, Claire, have three boys, four and under. Ryan, our youngest, is a teacher (English) in Atlanta. His wife, Dana, works for Delta and they have two girls under two. I think the greatest gift our kids have given us is that they are good parents.
So retirement has been wonderful. I enjoy the freedom to travel to see the family, to work in the community, to exercise and to read. I am still able to facilitate trainings for the state and other non-profits which work with children in care and truly enjoy it.
Terry Forgrave McCarthy
My favorite quote is from John Lennon: "Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans". Life did happen and it was good. As of December 31, 2012, I joined the ranks of the unemployed. While raising the family, I owned my own business but finally started working for wages and benefits in 1988. My first career was that of an insurance agent. Did that for about 6 years and then in 1998 was offered a chance at a different career as a Mortgage Lender. That was a field that I truly loved. From first time home buyers to specializing in reverse mortgages for senior homeowners, it was a great run.
Since 2004 I have served on the Board of Directors of Big Sky Senior Services (BSSS), a non-profit that strives to keep seniors safely in their own homes. One division of BSSS is the Prevention of Elder Abuse (PEA) which is assisted by Partners for Elder Protection (PEP), a community coalition compiled of business leaders, attorneys, law enforcement and non-profit partners. We work to bring awareness to the problem partially by facilitating public and law enforcement training on elder abuse issues and promotion of new and stiffer penalties for criminals. We also advocate for funding and changes in the law that will assist in our mission. It has been very rewarding and I look forward to continuing this work. After all, now I am working for you and me:)
With Mike working in Ag related businesses all our married lives, we have not had the luxury of summer vacations since that is when he was the busiest. That will change at the end of this year and then we will be able to sneak away and see more of Montana and visit family across the country from Michigan to California and everywhere in between.
We are blessed to have a wonderful family consisting of 6 children, that are all successful in their careers, and 16-1/2 grandchildren ranging in age from not yet to 23. The picture of the family below was at the McCarthy family reunion in 2012 and is missing 6 of us.
Along with Keith and Doris Papka and Mike and Bonnie Thomas, we too will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in 2013. We are planning a gathering of the clan the summer of 2014 as we have several who are not available this summer. Then in October 2014, we are planning a trip to Ireland with all of the kids and spouses invited to join us. Cannot wait!!!
There is a bucket list of things I want to do and am determined to hammer away on them as quickly as possible. After all, "Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans". We only have this day with no guarantees of a tomorrow. God's blessing on all.
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Terry (Forgrave) & Mike McCarthy
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| McCarthy Family Reunion 2012 |
What a ride!! It hasn't always been smooth, but no one said it would be. We just try to fill in the pot holes and keep on going. Vernon is now singing with the Big Sky Chorus and enjoys the Christmas show (at St. Pats in December) and the spring show at Alberta Bair. It is quite a bit of memory work, but so far he is having fun. Of course, golfing is his priority over singing, chores, etc. We continue to attend the grandchildrens volleyball, football, basketball and baseball...oh, I forgot track. Singing and anything else we can get out of the house to go enjoy. We hope all of you are having the ride of your life and just remember the pot holes in our lives make us who we are today.
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| Edna (Davis) & Vernon Luderman |
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| Kathleen & Bill LaMeres |
Okay, all you procrastinators out there...please send your bios (hine@bresnan.net) and photos. I'm out of bios to publish and desperately need more. Help me out.
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