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Farewell, our friend... A True and Dedicated Meteor James O. Cunningham ’46 De La Salle mourns the loss of James O. Cunningham ’46, a former Christian Brother (Brother Jarlath John, FSC) and friend, who passed away on September 2, 2015, just two weeks shy of his 87th birthday. Those of you who were lucky enough to know Jim knew that he was athletic, aggressive, energetic, combative, empathetic and generous. Jim grew up in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago. His early life revolved around his siblings, sports and pets. After graduation from De La Salle, he attended the University of Illinois before entering the novitiate in 1950. Jim also did graduate studies at St. Mary’s University, Loyola University, the University of Ohio and the University of Oregon. He always considered himself a lifelong learner. In his many assignments as a Christian Brother, Jim taught at De La Salle Institute in Chicago from 1953-57. He left to complete an eight-year mission in Nicaragua before returning to De La Salle in 1965. Jim was a strong presence both in the classroom and the gym where he was a dedicated football and basketball coach. The tremendous impact Jim made on De La Salle was recognized by those he taught and coached. Jim left the Institute in 1968 and married Karen Marie Kelly in 1969. His major career as a school psychologist brought him to Coos Bay, OR where he and Karen raised their daughter. After retirement in 1997, Jim put his many adventures into stories that featured episodes of taxi driving in Chicago, toboggan rides with his nieces and nephews and pickup basketball games in the city projects. He followed in life this quote: “A life of service is the only life worth living.” Jim took care of the homeless, taught at a prison and cared for several animals at a time. With Jim’s passing, a true Meteor has left us. His memory will remain in our hearts forever as a teacher, an inspiring coach who knew what he was doing and an athlete in his own right. De La Salle alumni and friends plan to establish a scholarship in memory of Jim. If you would like to support this scholarship, please contact Iris Gist Cochran at 312-842-7355 ext. 152 or cochrani@dls.org. 16 Development May Mr. Cunningham rest in peace. St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever!
Alumni Profile: Victor Megaro ‘81 DEVELOPMENT Victor Megaro is a 1981 graduate of De La Salle. For 26 years, Megaro has been a member of the Chicago Fire Department, serving the last 21 years as a fire marshal. Megaro is also a training coordinator in the Office of Fire Investigation for the Chicago Fire Department. In his professional career, Megaro has received several awards, culminating in 2011 when he earned the “International Fire Investigator of the Year” and the “Harry P. Schaeffer Fire Investigator of the Year” Awards. Here is a question-and-answer session with Megaro – whose stepson, Anthony Slawson ’14, was chosen Theatre 100’s Thespian of the Year in his senior year – as to how his De La Salle education prepared him for a life of dedicated and committed service to the people of Chicago. Q: How did De La Salle influence your life? A: I attended Robert Healy, a very good public grade school. All of my classmates were almost exactly like me. They were poor, white, Irish, Italian or Mexican. We all pretty much lived within three blocks from our school. When I started at De La Salle, it was amazing to me how many different types of people were out there. It was an entire new thing for me. Before high school, I thought everyone worked as a carpenter, plumber or another trade. Computers were just coming out. When I started high school, I made a lot of new friends of different races. Some of the friends who helped me with computer programming were of a different race. To this day, a lot of my close co-workers are of different race than I. Q: How did De La Salle prepare you for life after high school? A: In my line of work as a fire investigator, compassion is the key when interviewing victims of fire. Be it caused by intentional or accidental factors, it is a very sad and traumatic time for the fire victims. Compassion does more than get more from the interview. I let the victims know that there is hope after devastation. Q: What are some of the most important things you learned at De La Salle? A: I learned to have more compassion while attending De La Salle. The Christian Brothers’ way of teaching leads by example. Nobody ever tried to force any student how to live their life. The school just quietly accomplishes that by leading, not pushing. Q: Who were some of the teachers who influenced you and why? A: Brother Edward and Brother Joseph. Brother Edward was my freshman homeroom teacher and he taught more than schoolwork. He liked to talk about “work” and what it means to be a good worker at whatever you choose to do in the future. He also had the hands of a boxer and I was a little too intimidated to ever think about disagreeing with him. Brother Joseph was probably the teacher who taught me compassion. He never had a negative thing to say about anyone. Q: What are some of your fondest memories of De La Salle? A: Junior and senior retreats were great memories for me. Intramurals was fun as was woodshop with Mr. (George) Jaros. During the senior retreat, one of the female chaperones dedicated a twig into the fire for her friend who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Her friend was a very good friend of mine who I had not seen since his accident two years prior. I got to reconnect with him after that. That made me think people are put into your life for a reason. Development 17
Page 1 and 2: magazine A Publication for Alumni a
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS ACADEMICS Diane L
Page 5 and 6: ACADEMICS De La Salle Going Co-Educ
Page 7 and 8: A Technology-Infused Curriculum: Th
Page 9 and 10: ACADEMICS Terry Pestlin ’73 - who
Page 11 and 12: An Improved Educational Experience
Page 13 and 14: FAITH, SERVICE & COMMUNITY Mayors o
Page 15 and 16: PARENT PLACE Parent Association Cho
Page 17: ATHLETICS Girls Swimming The girls
Page 21 and 22: DEVELOPMENT Meteors Come Home to Sh
Page 23 and 24: 20 Development
Page 25 and 26: Support De La Salle’s Annual Fund
Page 27 and 28: 25th Annual D-Final Event DEVELOPME

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