Alumni Connecti N - St. Vincent-St. Mary High School

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The STVM Alumni Association is pleased to announce the introduction of a new award... 2008 Irish Crusader Award The St. Vincent-St. Mary Alumni Association wishes to honor and recognize those individuals who have a longstanding and positive relationship with St. Mary, St. Vincent or St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. The Irish Crusader Award has been created to recognize those individuals who are not graduates of St. Mary, St. Vincent or St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, but who play an active and important role in the day-to-day running of our school and special events. The Alumni Association recognizes that the efforts of our non-alumni are integral to the success of our school. The Irish Crusader Award Recipient will be presented with honorary alumni status and become an honorary member of the STVM Alumni Association. Albert Letta Albert (Al) Letta was born in Akron, Ohio and grew up in the North Hill area. Al attended St. Martha Grade School and graduated from North High School. While at North High School, Al was a fullback on the Football team and Honorary Captain of the Basketball team where he earned his varsity letters. After High School, Al worked for General Tire and was in the Marine Corps Reserves. He left Akron to be stationed first at Camp Pendleton, then Boot Camp in San Diego, ultimately serving in Korea during the war for close to 2 years. He then returned to Akron and General Tire for 32 years as part of the final finish team. Al has been married to Joann Fanody for 55 years (April 11th) and they have 3 daughters, 7 wonderful grandchildren and 3 great-granddaughters. They currently attend St. Bernards Church. When Al looks back on St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he remembers the call that he made to John Cistone. Al had just retired from General Tire and in his words “I just could not stay at home.” Al asked John if he needed any help and John said, “Yes, you can help Pete.” According to Al, Pete Cistone “was the most wonderful guy I ever met.” Al first met Pete Cistone and John Cistone when he was in high school. Pete was coaching baseball at St. Anthony along with John Zampino. Pete and Al started working together at STVM about 18 years ago, while John coached the Fighting Irish Football team. According to Al, “everyday working with Pete was a joy!” Ever since those first days, Al has been helping the Fighting Irish athletic department – initially with Football and Basketball – and now during recent years – Al has been a permanent fixture in the ticket booth with Hank Mancino and 33
Harold Jenkins. When asked, what all did you do at STVM? Al replied – “anything that needed to be done – anything that I could do, I helped them on.” Al has cleaned the field house, disinfected the sporting equipment at the end of the season, helped with inventory and storage of the equipment and more. Al still attends all the sporting home games and travels with the team to the “away” games. He enjoys working with Kevin McDonald. When asked, “What is it about STVM that made you stay?” Al responded, “I love the teachers here. They are very good. I love the people here. And most of all, I really love the kids. They hooked me early on – I keep coming back! Since my first day here, the people have been so good to me. The other schools may think they have the teachers but they are wrong – the GREAT teachers are here!” Jerry Kelly Professional baseball was the reason Jerry Kelly’s parents moved to Texas and that’s how she happened to have been born there. Her father had signed with the Chicago Cubs while he was attending St. Viator College in Kankakee, Illinois, and ended up in the Texas League. Jerry was born in Turnertown, Texas, the youngest of three children of Jimmy and Angie Dalrymple. They grew up in Kilgore, Texas where they attended grade school, high school, and college. “I knew from first grade that I wanted to be involved in theatre. I was cast as the ‘lead’ in our first grade play, ‘Little Bear’s Christmas,’ and I was Little Bear. There was only one problem – my tail fell off just before I went on stage, but my teacher ‘saved the day’ with a bobbie pin!” In high school, Jerry was an active participant! She was a cheerleader, member of the Tri-Hi-Y Club, Assembly Committee, Skating Club, Proficiency Club, International Thespian Society, and was cast in lead character roles in both her Junior and Senior class plays. She loves dancing and has taken dance lessons most of her life. She admits that she still takes out the “old tap shoes” on occasion to see if she can “kick up her heels.” She says that she was born with “rhythm in her bones” and can still kick – just not as high! Jerry’s favorite things are musicals – especially on Broadway – and animals – especially dogs and cats. At Kilgore College, Jerry majored in Speech and Drama and Business and was chosen as “Best Actress” of the Drama Department. Just out of high school, Jerry was picked because of her dancing ability to be a member of the famed Kilgore College Rangerettes and was not required to go through the try-out process. She was also chosen to be a member of the Rangerette’s “inside select group,” the Swingsters, who are considered to be some of the best dancers of the Rangerette line. Jerry appeared with the Rangerettes in New York City on the Ed Sullivan Show (“Toast of the Town”), the Philadelphia Music Festival, many of President Eisenhower’s Inauguration Festivities in Washington, D.C. (where they were introduced by John Wayne), Soldier’s Field in Chicago, the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, many times at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, and numerous other performances throughout the country. Jerry, today, is a lifetime member of the Rangerette Alumni Group – Rangerettes Forever. One summer Jerry spent her vacation in Akron visiting relatives – the Dalrymples – her uncle and aunt and cousins, Jack Dalrymple V49 (now deceased) and Joan Dalrymple Hoover V56. While in Akron, she met Jim Kelly V50 and in 1961 became his bride. Following their Texas wedding and her move to Akron, Jerry became a supporter of St. Vincent High School and an Irish Fan! “I had no choice in the beginning,” chuckled Jerry. She continued, “Jim kept talking and talking about his great high school and his great teachers and the great education he received and the great spirit and the great this and the great that!” Jerry can remember thinking that there was no high school that could be that great! Little did she know that it was the same high school that would someday take over her heart. Volunteering has always been a part of Jerry Kelly. “My parents instilled in us that we are here to serve others and they set a great example for us,” Jerry reminisced. Jerry’s daughter, Teresa VM80, was born in 1962 and when she reached “kindergarten age” in 1967, Jerry was one of the room mothers at King School and from then on, beginning with Teresa’s first grade at St. Vincent Elementary School, Jerry never looked back. She served as both a Brownie and Girl Scout leader for six years, and was both a founding and charter member of the St. Vincent Elementary School Parents Association, serving as its first secretary. She volunteered in the grade school cafeteria for 9 years, chaired many fundraisers for the grade school and was a certified CYO volleyball coach. She was a member of the St. Vincent Altar Society, serving in many capacities, including president. A little known fact about Jerry is that for over 35 years, she and her close friend, Marcia Zarembka, and their crew have decorated the St. Vincent Church altar at Christmas and Easter time and many have commented that the St. V altar is one of the most beautiful in the city at those times. Jerry was also a member of Parish Council and belonged to Fr. Berardi’s St. Vincent Drama Guild. Jerry has been a member of St. Vincent Parish for nearly 47 years and, in addition, worked at Annunciation Parish rectory as a part-time secretary/receptionist for 22 years from 1984 to 2006. The last four years (2002 – 2006) she was the Development Director for the parish and Annunciation – St. John School. She helped raise $216,000 in a gallant effort to keep the school open. Unfortunately, the school’s doors closed in June 2006. At their final fundraiser in March, 2006, Ann Simmons, President of the school PTO, said of Jerry, “I would like CONTINUED ON PG. 35 34
Page 1 and 2: Connecti Alumni n St. Vincent-St. M
Page 3 and 4: Irish Greeting Dear Alumni Please J
Page 5 and 6: Alumni News Don M56 and Darlene Utr
Page 7 and 8: Alumni Accomplishments Former Stude
Page 9 and 10: Alumni Accomplishments Bill Henkel
Page 11 and 12: Class Reunions St. Vincent Class of
Page 13 and 14: Class Reunions St. Vincent-St. Mary
Page 15 and 16: Class Reunions 45TH REUNION - LAS V
Page 17 and 18: Alumni Alley Happy 90th Birthday Ma
Page 19 and 20: They are in Our Prayers Thomas A. K
Page 21 and 22: Memorial and Honor Gifts St. Vincen
Page 23 and 24: Development News Raymond R. & Marth
Page 25 and 26: Development News The LeBron James 2
Page 27 and 28: Development News We Remember Teri L
Page 29 and 30: Inverness Country Club in Toledo, O
Page 31 and 32: Pat then changed his career orienta
Page 33: At The University of Akron Kevin wo
Page 37 and 38: asketball season. Hank is thankful
Page 39 and 40: School News Michael David Kovarik V
Page 41 and 42: Athletic News “Red” Fassnacht A
Page 43 and 44: Athletic News STVM Bookstore News S

Alumni Connecti N - St. Vincent-St. Mary High School

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