Throughout 40 years of practicing cardiology in the Salinas Valley, William Kennedy ’54 touched the lives of patients and colleagues alike. He was engaged with the medical community, serving on many executive committees and the Board of Directors for the Salinas Valley Memorial Foundation. Bill was elected to the Hospital’s Board of Directors. In retirement, Bill […]

James Putkey ’54 earned his college tuition through a year and a half as a merchant seaman on a Standard Oil tanker ship. Jim had a successful professional career as a civil engineer with Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation. He later started a business as a private construction consultant, which he ran for 30 years. […]

Patrick Clines ’54 traveled a good part of the world in his 92 years.  Born in Nebraska, he spent his boyhood in Washington D.C.  After graduating from San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno, and serving for a short time in the U.S. Army, the G.I. bill gave him the opportunity to attend SCU.  In […]

The San Francisco Bay lost a devoted fisherman when Richard Pera ’54 died on Sept. 3, 2022. Dick hauled in salmon, striped bass, crab, and more aboard the Whaler One for decades. He was full of stories about his Fall River fishing trips, his days on the bay, and his bird-hunting escapades. He could talk […]

Glancing out the window that overlooked the front yard, I saw my Dad, Allen Codiroli, handing out $5 bills to a group of homeless people gathered around the dumpster. I thought to myself, here is a guy living out of his office five days a week trying to make ends meet for us, his family, […]

Henry Shea ’54 reports: “I talk once in a while with the class president, Al Walsh, in Coquille, OR, and my roommate John Arena in Phoenix, AZ. Both are doing well.” Reach out the scmagazine@scu.edu if you are also from the class of 1954 and would like Henry’s email address.

His four years at Santa Clara University set up Hugh Isola ’54 for the life he enjoyed thereafter. He served a stint in the U.S. Army, worked at Wells Fargo Bank, and then graduated from USF Law School in 1961. His legal career lasted 51 years, 34 of which were spent at Berliner Cohen in […]

Along the classic South Bay Jesuit education path—Bellarmine College Preparatory to Santa Clara University— Daniel O’Donnell ’54 MBA ’63 made life-long friends. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army and worked at IBM and in the aerospace industry. Dan found his happy niche teaching computer science at De Anza College. He is survived […]

Paul Raymond Nussbaum ’54 loved hunting, fishing, and sports—particularly coaching and cheering on his children and grandchildren. He was married for 62 years to Shirley. Paul died in Burlingame on July 26, 2020.

 James “Jim” Delaney JD ’54 passed away at age 92 on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020. He arrived at SCU Law after he was discharged from the Army Air Force, a career that took him to the Hanford Atomic Bomb Project and Greenland. It was while Jim attended SCU that he met Jo Ann Cardwell, who […]

After majoring in civil engineering at Santa Clara Jay Philip Murphy ’54 served in the U.S. Army as a Private First Class topographic surveyor at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Jay worked with his father in the family business, Murphy Pacific Co., which built several major infrastructure bridges in the western U.S., including the San Mateo-Hayward bridge in the […]

Following graduation from Santa Clara University in 1954 to 1956, Robert A. “Bob” Bonnel ’54 was a 1st Lt. for the U.S. Army specializing in artillery. He was employed by McKesson for 37 years as one of the region’s leading representatives. Upon his retirement in 1993, he and his wife, Dorie, moved to Livermore, and […]

Bill McPherson, who won five Super Bowls as a highly respected longtime assistant coach with the 49ers, died Tuesday. He was 88. McPherson is one of the few individuals with five Super Bowl rings from the championships the 49ers won following the 1981, ’84, ’88, ’89 and ’94 regular seasons. He spent more than a […]

Originally from Antioch, Raymond Ernest Salazar ’54 was born on June 2, 1932, as one of three kids of immigrant parents. He was a high school football star who went on to play at SCU, where he built a community of friends that would last a lifetime. After college and a short stint in the […]

After graduating from Bellarmine College Prep, class of 1950, Kenneth Ravizza ’54 attended Santa Clara University on a football scholarship. That same year he married the love of his life, Norma Goncalves, and together they began their nearly 66-year marriage. After two years in the Army as a second lieutenant, he began a career with IBM […]

Joseph Daniel McNally ’54 was born on June 15, 1931, in Tacoma, Washington. He graduated from Bellarmine Preparatory and SCU with a chemistry degree, served in the Army before marrying Patricia Masonic, and graduated from the University of Washington Dental School, where he became a longtime Husky fan. He subsequently opened a family dental practice in Tacoma, […]

Joseph P.D. Kern ’54, J.D. ’60 was a lawyer in Fillmore for over 60 years, serving 19 of those as city attorney. A longtime member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, he was also an active Rotarian for over 50 years and was honored as a Paul Harris fellow. It was the privilege of his […]

Albert “Al” Torres ’54 graduated from Bellarmine High School and SCU. He was an officer in the Army, a founder of California Land Title Company, and later became senior VP of Old Republic Title Company in Santa Clara County. At the age of 88, Al passed away in his San Jose home surrounded by family on […]

David Joseph Toomey Jr. ’54 was born to David Joseph and Catherine Creegan Toomey on March 1, 1933, in Visalia, California. He attended schools in Visalia and graduated from SCU. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army. After serving his country, Dave returned to Visalia and began his career on the […]

Robert Laubacher ’54 was born on March 4, 1933, in Oxnard, California, to Benjamin Daniel and Evangeline (Carroll) Laubacher. He graduated from Santa Clara High School and SCU in with a business degree. He was an outstanding athlete and lettered in three high school sports. Pitching his senior year for the SCU Broncos, he threw […]