52 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | CLASS NOTES earning their Eagle Scout rank, continuing the role he did in Pennsylvania. Joe is also on the board of directors of the Service Academies Parents’ Club, which provides snack packages for students attending service academies. He says they live comfortably and only go out or travel as they feel is necessary. George Trotman entered Naval Officer Candidate School in the fall of ’61 and served as engineering officer on a minesweeper out of Charleston. At the end of this tour, the Navy selected him for the Naval Postgraduate School at MIT. In 1967, he married Liz Fincher, who had recently completed an MBA at Harvard Business School. Together they had Tyler and Winifred. In 1968 George graduated from MIT with an M.S. in mechanical engineering and a naval engineering degree. His naval engineering career centered on shipbuilding, restoration and repair. Duty assignments included the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, supervisor of Shipbuilding Brooklyn, the Joint Military Assistance Group Greece, and the Ship Systems Engineering Station in Philadelphia. In the mid 1970s, George developed a gait abnormality and was diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a genetic defect resulting in a slowly progressive increase in muscle tightness and weakness in the lower body. There is no cure for HSP. Regardless, he continues to stay as fit as he can by using specialized exercise equipment. In 1985, George retired from the Navy, disabled. Fortunately, the Navy determined that his HSP was service connected and provided him with full financial benefits. Now he is not able to walk at all. With help, he can still do his other interests, including art class, where he does portraits in oils and pastels. In 1995, at the age of 54, Liz died of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). For the next eight years George lived alone, using electric scooters and canes. In 2003, he met Linda Zaimis, and they have been together ever since in his Rittenhouse Square townhouse. Linda is a widow and had been a computer programmer at the Philadelphia Electric Company. As his condition worsens, she continues to be vital to his well-being. Please take a few minutes to contact me with your story— make my job easier! ’62 Philip J. Kinzel, 808 South Drive, Brick, NJ 08724. (732) 295.2106(H); (973) 226.1430(W); (973) 464.8282 (cell); pkinzel@kinzelco.com In July, Class President Bob Downing organized a Zoom reunion. While over 200 classmates were invited, only eight participated. Dick Teeter (Hawley, Pa.), Mark Hannah (Encintas, Calif.), Russ Borner (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.), Ron Johnson (Randolph, N.J.), Don Mellman (Tampa, Fla.), Ed Waterman (Keene, N.H.) and Phil Kinzel joined the BYO Zoom cocktail party. We reminisced about our experience at Lehigh. Teeter reminded us that he and Dick Le Grand (deceased) were caught trying to ignite Lafayette’s pre-game bonfire and had an “L” shaved on their heads by Leopard defenders. Russ Borner is co-director with wife Candice of the Borner Touch, a provider of massage and body treatments. Don Mellman is a retired neurosurgeon. Kip Adams, a fellow bandie at Lehigh, sent greetings from beautiful North Idaho! Kip and Loraine moved to Idaho 22 years ago following “20 interesting and unforgettable years in Hawaii,” according to Kip. They recently sold their Idaho farm and moved to Coeur d’Alene, a city in northwest Idaho. The city is known for water sports on Lake Coeur d’Alene, plus trails in the Canfield Mountain Natural Area and Coeur d’Alene National Forest. Kip is gradually retiring from project work for local businesses, mostly lumber mills. Jay Flynn is no stranger to Lehigh Commencement events. Jay’s daughter, Meghan (Flynn) Bigelow, is in the Class of ’99. Last May, Jay attended the 156th Commencement at Lehigh for Jay’s grandson, Jay Flynn V, who graduated with an engineering degree. Jay was also proud that Delta Tau Delta brother Scott Willoughby ’89 delivered the keynote address. Willoughby is senior vice president of performance excellence at Northrop Grumman and program manager for NASA’s James Webb telescope. Dr. Jay Flynn is a retired physician and specialized in internal medicine in Eatontown, N.J. Jay and Joyce live in Colts Neck, N.J. In June, I attended my 70th grammar school reunion. About a dozen classmates attended, including Bill Schoner and Bob Witteman. Four from my grammar school in Union, N.J., attended Lehigh. Unfortunately, Grant Anderson passed away in March 2024. Schoner is retired and living in Windsor, Conn. Witteman is retired and lives in Belle Meade, N.J. He is still an avid skier. Eleanor and I celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary last May with a 10-day Oceania Cruise. The ship left from Rome and ended in Seville, Spain, with stops in Portofino, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Marseille, France; Barcelona, Spain; Tangier, Morocco; and Seville. Mike Gennet keeps me well informed of his travels via Facebook. In July he and Chris were in Cooperstown, N.Y., to watch their 12-year-old grandson play in a five-day allstar tournament. They visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and then on to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, for shows at the Shaw Festival. ’63 Dr. Robert C. Elser, navman9@comcast.net; and James Newton Wilson, 959 Tree Tops, Wharton, NJ 07885, (973) LEhigh7-6516 (H), (862) 243-0864 (C), b14jnw@gmail.com From Reunion Chairman Fred Braun: “Harold Milton and I attended our 61st this past weekend to continue our participation and also to note anything worthwhile for our 65th in 2028.” Jim “Newt” Wilson got a note from Dr. Hoover in the Health Center and took a pass. Paul Seibert received an award for the longest-serving member of the Alumni Band, which assisted the parade participants in its usual fine fashion. Parade numbers were up significantly, with considerably more attention paid to class presentations at the reviewing stand. As has been the case for many years, bribes for the judges were again encouraged. We listened to Joe Sterrett ’76 in the Hall of Fame (located in Taylor Gym) discuss the ever-changing playing field in college athletics. Among other comments was a mention that our football coach would like to see an FBS team on the schedule from time to time … don’t be surprised to see Pittsburgh in the not-too-distant future. President Helble’s State of the University was well received and very upbeat as to Lehigh’s future. I won’t attempt to remember the statistics cited (they are on LU’s website), although applications have topped 20,000. One of the highlights for me was a tour of the under-construction University Center. That project, commenced in 2022, is ahead of schedule and expected to be completed by reunion weekend next year. The building was completely gutted, with the interior redesigned and all new windows fabricated and installed. I won’t go into the details other than to say there will be a pub and there will be a large fire pit at the northeast corner of the building. During the gutting process, they discovered a hidden staircase as
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