Kenneth Svilich ’61, MBA ’64 started at Santa Clara as a chemistry major but struggled academically and took a year off. During that time, he enlisted in the Army, served six months on active duty, and joined the California National Guard. He later returned to SCU to earn his bachelor’s in economics and later his […]

John Tweten ’61 always aimed to leave places better than he found them. For over 50 years, he profoundly impacted San Jose’s education sector, from his early work as a counselor at Sonoma’s Hanna Boys Center to a 30-year career with San Jose Unified School District, where he was a school psychologist, vice principal, and […]

John Grant ’61 leaves a legacy of doing good deeds—his insistence on doing the right thing, big or small, left such an impression on family and friends that he was deemed “too good for this world.” Jack had the restless mind of an engineer, eager to embark on new adventures and tackle challenges. He earned […]

Writer and editor Daniel Flynn ’61 endorsed François Mühlberger’s book, The Leonardo of Philadelphia, which was recently featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book makes the argument that a Renaissance painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art is wrongly attributed to another artist, and was in fact painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Flynn also helped […]

Early in life, Thomas O’Rourke ’61, M.S. ’65 developed an appreciation for both spiritual and intellectual pursuits. He’d express both passions through his work as a church lector and in management at IBM, where he led technical teams in the U.S. and Europe. One of those teams helped develop the universal product code (UPC) that […]

Jack Grant ’61 always found wonder, humor, and nuance in life. Jack’s childhood was marked by a love for tinkering and he’d go on to apply his engineering prowess to all things. He worked on the so-called “Mars Box”—a project to reproduce the Martian environment in a chamber—and computer modeling of aircraft infrared tail emissions […]

John Bowling ’61 and his wife, Jean, were founding members of the Paradise Youth Soccer League. John was also instrumental in bringing high school soccer to Butte County, Calif. After retiring from work as executive director of the housing authorities in Pleasanton, Calif., Vancouver, Wash., and Butte County, and he moved to the family farm. […]

In his career as an OB/GYN, Michael Shea ’61 delivered more than 2,500 babies. He was chairman of the OB/GYN Department of San Jose Hospital, served as president of the Shufelt Gynecological Society of Santa Clara County, and led the committee that founded the first alternative birth center in San Jose. In retirement Mike co-authored […]

Donald Vadnais ’61 lovingly called Papa Goofy by everyone who knew him, was a kind and gentle man. He served three years in the US Army and then worked in accounting for 58 years, mostly in his own CPA practice. He was often found at wrestling meets, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, football fields, dance recitals, […]

Charles Longwello ’61 attended Santa Clara University on a full scholarship to play baseball. After two years at SCU, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was then commissioned to play baseball for the U.S. Army’s Special Services Division for two years. Chuck then returned to Santa Clara, graduated, then started working in sales for […]

As a competitive swimmer, Dominic Sposeto J.D. ’61 traversed 56 miles of Lake Tahoe in 49-degree water for over 24 hours. At 22, he went blind due to a congenital condition and a diving injury. But that didn’t stop him. He graduated from SCU Law School in 1961 and passed the California State Bar in 1962. […]

Fred Meyer ’61 was a hard worker his entire life. He started as a paperboy, then began working for his father’s furniture and carpet store. He had many careers throughout his life from working as a CPA, a wine company controller, CFO and treasurer for the San Jose Water Company, later becoming vice president of […]

Anthony “Tony” C. Diepenbrock, a prominent Sacramento attorney and loyal member of SCU’s Class of ’61, died May 2, 2021, of a heart attack. A lifelong Sacramentan, Tony attended Bellarmine College Preparatory and McClatchy High Schools, then followed family tradition by enrolling in Santa Clara. His father, Victor Leo Diepenbrock ’28, and many cousins attended […]

Born in Pasadena, John Anthony “Jack” Havens ’61 grew up in the Ingleside District of San Francisco, attended Lincoln High School, and was graduated from Santa Clara University in 1961. He and his wife, Maxine, of 58 years were longtime residents of San Marino, California, before returning to the Bay Area in 1998. He is […]

Charles “Charlie” Austin Shea III ’61 died Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 at the age of 85 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Charlie had a successful football career at Stanford University. He turned down an opportunity to play in the NFL to pursue a law degree at Santa Clara University. In the Bay Area, Charlie was […]

A lifelong student, Jeffrey Leigh “Painless” Peters ’61 attended Santa Clara University and completed his bachelor’s at San Jose State. He received a master’s degree in anatomy from UCLA, then another master’s in biomedical engineering and a Ph.D. in physiology from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He moved to Salt Lake City in […]

Joseph John Dooling ’61, AKA Jack, Joe, JoeJack, died February 19, 2020. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Jack’s honor may be made to The Dooling Family Scholarship Fund at Santa Clara University.

Actor, director, producer, and professor at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, Michael Keenan ’61 founded his love of the arts as a boy chorister with the San Francisco Opera. After earning his B.A. at Santa Clara, Michael directed at institutions across the country, including the Old Globe Theatre, the Pasadena Playhouse, […]

Michael Hankal ’61, MBA ’70 was a rare kind of success story. Placed in an orphanage with his older brother James Hankal ’59 by their father after their mother died, the boys were later adopted by Helen Souders. She moved from the Central Valley to San Jose so they could attend Bellarmine College Prep. Both worked […]

Thomas Foster, S.J., ’61 was born on New Year’s Day, 1938, in Rawalpindi, then a part of pre-partition India, now Pakistan. He spent a few years in Sumatra and later attended St. Joseph’s College, a high school operated by the Marist Brothers in Sydney, graduating in 1956. He came to the U.S. and attended Menlo […]