xavier hall of fame inductees 2014

Friday, November 7, 20146:00 p.m. Pier Sixty New York, N.Y.

2014HALL OF FAME DINNER

XAVIER HALL of FAME 2014

Eleven individuals who have exemplified the

highest ideals of Jesuit education will be

honored at the Xavier Hall of Fame Dinner

on November 7, 2014. They have been nominated by

their peers in recognition of their leadership, generosity

and selfless service. As they enter the Hall of Fame, their

example serves as an inspiration to us all.

For further information on the 2014 Hall of Fame, including sponsorship opportunities, please contact Helene Strong ([email protected])or visit www.xavierhs.org/hof2014

E. PETER CORCORAN ’46A Loyal Son of Xavier

Peter Corcoran ’46 was born in Forest Hills, Queens, in May 1928, the fourth of five children. His father, Edward, a lawyer and elected official, died when he was a child. His mother, Margaret, raised him on her own.

After attending Our Lady Queen of Martyrs grade

school, Mr. Corcoran entered Xavier in September 1942. Upon graduating in 1946, he went to Yale University where he studied at the prestigious Yale Sheffield School of Engineering, earning his degree in June 1950.

Mr. Corcoran started his long and illustrious business career as a trainee at J.P. Morgan. His career path took a detour in 1952, when he drew on his Xavier JROTC training to serve as a lieutenant in air intelligence in the U.S. Air Force for two years.

Following his military service, Mr. Corcoran continued building his career in finance at First National City Bank. After thirteen years, he left the bank to become a general partner at Lazard Freres & Co., a private investment banking firm. He retired from Lazard in 1994.

Since 1955, Mr. Corcoran has been married to the for-mer Faith Doyle. They raised six children together, and have nine grandchildren. The couple resides in Jupiter, Fla., most of the year. They spend summers visiting fam-ily in Point O’Woods, Fire Island.

Joseph Gorski, Vice President for Advancement at Xavier, said, “Peter is an outstanding individual, a successful businessman, philanthropist, devoted husband and father. He is a man of great honesty and integrity who truly understands the need to share his success with those less fortunate. Throughout his life, he has been an excellent example of a ‘man for others.’ ”

A loyal son indeed, Mr. Corcoran’s quiet consistent giving to Xavier puts him among Xavier’s most generous donors.


BRIG. GEN. RUBEN A. CUBERO, USAF (RET.) ’57Standing Tall for Xavier and the U.S. Air Force

At Xavier, Brigadier General Ruben “Randy” Cubero, USAF (Ret.) ’57 earned a reputation as the best Xavier football player of his generation, if not all time.

As a student athlete, Randy exemplified the values and conduct Xavier stands for, serving as a role model to all.

Paul D. McNamara ’58 played football with him from 1955 to 1957. He said, “Randy was a hero to all under-classmen, especially those of us who were fortunate to play on the same football team with him. He was always a class act on and off the field.”

Straight out of high school, he started on the undefeated 1958 Air Force Academy football team. He was member of the third graduating class of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Col., in 1961.

An accomplished pilot, Brig. Gen. Cubero received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the oldest U.S. military award for flying. It is awarded for “heroism or extraordi-nary achievement while participating in aerial flight.”

He flew the OV-10 during the Vietnam War as a forward air controller in support of military operations in Southeast Asia. Other assignments included Panama and the Military Airlift Command.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1961, he went on to earn a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico in 1972, followed by the completion of an Army Command and General Staff course at Fort Gulick, Panama, in 1975. In 1983, he completed his doctorate in higher education and administration at the University of Denver, at which time he was named professor and head of the Air Force Acad-emy’s foreign languages department. Brig. Gen. Cubero was named Dean of the Faculty in 1991.

Ruben retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1998.

REV. DANIEL J. GATTI, S.J. ’59For God’s Greater Glory

The contributions of Rev. Daniel J. Gatti, S.J. ’59 to Xavier High School are everywhere.

As president of Xavier for 12 years, Fr. Gatti strength-ened the spirit and discipline on 16th Street and laid the groundwork for Xavier’s current growth. Fr. Gatti

spearheaded a successful $15 million fundraising cam-paign, doubled annual giving, strengthened academics and increased enrollment.

But Fr. Gatti’s history with Xavier is not limited to his time as president. He first entered Xavier’s doors in September 1955 as a freshman. Here, he was a proud member of the Regiment and enjoyed participating in many sports and activities.

It was at Xavier that Fr. Gatti felt called to be a Jesuit. “During a student trip to Europe the summer before senior year, it struck me that people were more important and precious than all the great sights, buildings and monuments I was seeing,” he recalled. “Only a person could laugh, cry or speak — this is obvious, but the personal realization of this truth was new for me.” That fall, the young Daniel Gatti made his senior retreat, and, later that year, applied to the Society of Jesus.

Following his ordination, Fr. Gatti moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for three years at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Then, for 13 years, he served as Director of pastoral care at Georgetown University Hospital. He worked in Advancement for Georgetown University Medical Center for four years. In 1996, he became assistant to the president at Xavier and became president in 1997.

Fr. Gatti currently serves as Alumni Chaplain at Fordham University.


RICHARD J. O’REILLY, M.D. ’60Hungry Mind and Benevolent Heart

Richard J. O’Reilly, M.D. ’60 has given his life to the pursuit of healing.

As Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. O’Reilly is one of the world’s foremost scientists working on bone marrow transplantation.

An extraordinary clinician, researcher and teacher, Dr. O’Reilly pioneered the development and application of cellular therapies to treat lethal diseases. He was the first doctor to conduct a successful marrow transplant from an unrelated, compatible donor — a technique now used on 2,500 cancer patients annually. Dr. O’Reilly also developed the transplant method that has allowed children born without an immune system to receive a

curative transplant from a half-matched parent or sibling.Dr. O’Reilly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree

from the College of the Holy Cross and received his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He did residencies at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, Mass., and Harvard Medical School. He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

The author or co-author of hundreds of articles, papers and research studies, Dr. O’Reilly has served as a visiting scholar or professor at the University of Rochester, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University and Emory University.

Dr. O’Reilly serves on the Board of Regents of Ronald McDonald House, where he is a tireless fundraiser for research.

PATRICK J. STOKES ’60World-Class Businessman, World-Class Good Man

Described as a “world-class businessman and a world-class good man,” Patrick Stokes ’60 was the first person outside the Anheuser and Busch families to serve as chairman of the Anheuser-Busch Companies. He also served on the boards of numerous service organizations

including the YMCA of Greater St. Louis, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Priory Society and Boys Hope/Girls Hope National Board.

Born in Washington, D.C., Mr. Stokes graduated from Xavier in 1960. Four years later, he received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, graduating magna cum laude. While still at Boston College, he visited Stockholm, Sweden, as part of an international student exchange program, and met his future wife, Anna-Kristina. The couple wed in 1966 at St. Francis Xavier Church in New

York City. Mr. Stokes earned a master’s degree in business administration in finance from Columbia University the same year.

He joined the U.S. Army in 1967, and served at 1st Army Headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., for two years. In 1969, he joined Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis in the corporate planning department.

In 1991, Mr. Stokes was presented with the Boston College Award of Excellence in Commerce. He currently sits on the board of trustees at Boston College, where Stokes Hall is a tribute to his generosity and the esteem in which the college holds him.

“Pat exemplifies a man of integrity and faith, an individual who was nationally known as a business leader and a husband and parent who nurtured and supported his family,“ said Rev. Paul G. Sheridan, S.J., President of Bellarmine College Preparatory. “His compassion was demonstrated in caring for the needs of the poor through sacrifice of time and means and in promoting Jesuit works. He is a very humble and generous person.”


MICHAEL WLACH ’71Never Give Up Hope

As a student and then as a faculty member, Michael Wlach ’71 always loved Xavier. He couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Mr. Wlach came to Xavier as a student in 1967. After graduating from Fordham University, he took a position in the Xavier High School

Mathematics Department and began a career as a teacher. In 1983, he was appointed Xavier’s first lay assistant headmaster.

In August of 1984, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was considered inoperable, but he successfully underwent major surgery to remove the tumor and recovered dramatically, resuming work full-time in 1986.

As he retired from a storied career at Xavier in June 2012, Mr. Wlach reflected on the illness that nearly ended his life. “My faith tells me God has kept me alive for a reason. And one of the main reasons is to teach others.”

“Very little was the same after my brain tumor,” he said. “I don’t take things for granted. I never take the elevator, because I want to remind myself how lucky I am that I don’t have to take it.”

Perhaps due to this experience, Mr. Wlach was regarded by students as an unusually positive role model. He shared his faith and wisdom on no fewer than 23 Kairos retreats.

Recalling his brush with death, he had this advice for people facing challenges: “Always look for the good in every situation and never give up hope.”

REV. D. MICHAEL FLYNN, S.J. 1/2/41 – 7/27/12With Heart and Humor

In lifetime roles as teacher, pastor and counselor, Rev. D. Michael Flynn, S.J. changed many lives with his heart and humor. “He was incredibly personable,” recalled Joseph Nardiello ’80. “He had the perfect balance of goodness and humility.”

Born in Queens in 1941, Fr. Flynn graduated from Power Memorial Academy and St. Peter’s College. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1973. Fr. Flynn was a teacher in Xavier’s Religious Education department from 1972 to 1980.

Fr. Flynn’s name is synonymous with Xavier’s Higher Achievement Program. This program, founded at St. Peter’s Prep in 1964, provides academic and extracurricular enrichment for rising 8th graders regardless

of financial status. Its mission fit Fr. Flynn’s gifts and talents perfectly. Ken Ng ’80, who was recruited by Fr. Flynn from HAP into Xavier, said, “He changed my life completely.”

When he left Xavier in 1980, Fr. Flynn became director of vocations for the New York Province until 1986, then was pastor of Nativity Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan until 1996. He was the director of the Hispanic Lay Leadership Program from 1997 to 2002.

Known as a gifted and loving pastor, Fr. Flynn served primarily Hispanic communities. He described his job as “seeing the hearts and souls of people.” When Fr. Flynn died, he was serving as pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption and Our Lady of Mount Carmel – St. Benedicta on Staten Island. His loss was felt deeply. At his wake, parishioners performed traditional Mexican prayers, songs, and dances. One parishioner honored Fr. Flynn by placing a Mexican flag on his coffin.


LT. GEN. DENNIS PHILIP MCAULIFFE, USA (RET.) ’41 4/8/22 – 7/31/12 Daring Leader

Lt. Gen. Dennis Philip McAuliffe, USA (Ret.) ’41 participated in some of the most dramatic and disturb-ing moments in our nation’s history.

Lt. Gen. McAuliffe was born the oldest of five chil-dren to Irish immigrants on Manhattan’s East Side. After

graduating from Xavier as a Junior ROTC cadet battalion commander, he was appointed to West Point and gradu-ated on D-Day in 1944.

As a forward observer, Lt. Gen. McAuliffe entered the first Nazi concentration camp to fall into U.S. hands. “I was among the first Americans to see it,” he wrote. When Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley and George S. Patton visited the camp, he was close enough to see their expressions. “Gen. Patton became ill,” he wrote.

His family knew nothing of his role in liberating the concentration camp until 1993, when he and other veterans took part in the dedication ceremony of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Lt. Gen. McAuliffe met his wife, Kathleen Bolton, on a blind date after VE Day. They had three children, Denny, Carolyn and Kathie.

After the war, he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Dur-ing his career, he helped test-fire the Army’s first nuclear shell for a 280mm gun and was the first American officer to enter Cambodia during the 1970 invasion.

Lt. Gen. McAuliffe served under the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command in Panama, where he hosted two-thirds of the U.S. Senate during the contentious Panama Canal Treaty negotiations.

He served Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as the first administrator of the Panama Canal Commission.

STAFF SERGEANT MICHAEL RAND, USA 4/26/29 – 10/27/66A Vital Force

Even 50 years later, the very mention of his name makes eyes open wider.

SSG Michael Rand was a Bronx native who found his calling in the U.S. Army. As a JROTC instructor at Xavier, SSG Rand command-ed instant respect but still found a way to be a friendly

mentor or even an older brother.SSG Rand was a captivating teacher who brought a

high sense of adventure to his classes. “He could make close order drill fun,” said Lawrence J. Gubas ’59. “He was a vital force, so incredibly positive.”

Before his military service, Rand was head usher for CBS Radio at what is now the Ed Sullivan Theater. After serving two years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he trans-

ferred into the Army and married his wife, Rosalind. From 1953 to 1958 he was JROTC Military Science

Instructor at Xavier, where he coached the Rifle Team to four national championships.

After leaving Xavier, SSG Rand continued his service as an Army recruiter in New York, where he was very active in his son’s and daughter’s school as President of the PTA. He later served as an instructor at the New York Military Academy prior to being transferred to Fort Richardson, Alaska, before commencing a tour of duty in Vietnam.

On the morning of October 27, 1966 SSG Rand was killed in action near Cu Chi, Vietnam. He was 37. SSG Rand was recommended for the Bronze Star with a V for Valor.


REV. JOSEPH C. MCKENNA, S.J. ’35 6/10/17 – 7/4/02Missionary Pioneer and Scholar

Rev. Joseph C. McKenna, S.J. ’35 was a remarkable scholar who devoted his life to missionary work in Africa. One of the pioneering Jesuits to work in Nigeria (“the three Joes” – the others were Joe Schuyler and Joe Schuh), Fr. McKenna served as Superior of the Jesuits of Nigeria from

1965 to 1980, sometimes in the face of terrifying circum-stances.

In 1963, Fr. McKenna arrived in Nigeria to be a lecturer at the University of Nigeria at Lagos. He also served as Secretary of the National Catholic Education Section of the Nigerian Bishops’ Conference until the schools were nationalized in 1965. In 1967, Nigeria erupted into civil war and an estimated one million civilians died of famine or injuries. Though most of his

fellow Jesuits were forced to leave the country at the time of the war, Fr. McKenna with the assistance of the remaining Jesuits gradually rebuilt the Jesuit presence in Nigeria. The novitiate in Benin City is the result of his careful and wise planning.

After the war, Fr. McKenna remained a wise counsel, serving as Acting Secretary for Social Welfare. He also advised the Major Superiors of Religious Women in Nigeria and other Major Superiors of Jesuits in Africa. Later, he served at the Pastoral Institute in Ibadan and provided assistance to the Bishops of Nigeria.

Fr. McKenna graduated from Xavier in January of 1935 and Fordham University in 1938. In August of that year, he entered the Society of Jesus. His graduate studies at Georgetown and Yale Universities le d to a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science. He was a noted author of books on international politics and the virtually unexplored topic of church-state interactions in contemporary Africa.

Wlach

HON. THOMAS N. LYONS ’67 3/12/49 – 5/8/10A Man (and Jurist) for Others

From his days as a student and throughout his life, Hon. Thomas N. Lyons ’67 was a man for others.

At Xavier, Judge Lyons was a first honors student in the Greek Honors Class, a Cadet Major in the Regiment, a member of the varsity football team, as well

as a class officer and Sodalist. A graduate of The College of the Holy Cross in

Worcester, Mass., and Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., he had a distinguished legal career. Judge Lyons was a partner at Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione prior to being appointed to the Superior Court of New Jersey. Judge Lyons took the oath of office in the same courtroom where his grand-

father Thomas Lyons became a United States citizen.Judge Lyons was a loving husband and father who

donated much of his free time to volunteer causes. A member of the Supreme Court Committee on

Minority Concerns, he developed a program about the need for tolerance and respect for minorities to be presented to middle and high school students.

As a Family Court Judge handling many domestic violence matters, Judge Lyons saw a need for a special room to be used by victims and their children while awaiting their court hearings. He obtained the room and equipped it with appropriate furniture, books and toys for the use of victims and their children so they would feel safe while awaiting their hearing.

Judge Lyons said that his father John “taught me a love of the law, and the need to use not only your legal knowledge but kindness and humor to advance the cause of justice.”

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xavier hall of fame inductees 2014

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