In Memoriam
In Memory of Members, Spouses and Associate Members of Chapter 528 who are now only with us in spirit.
Deceased VVA Chapter 528 Members
Richard Diveto 1944-1994
(Airforce )
Jeffery Stewart 1949 – 1995
Gary Smith 1943 – 1996
Delbert Haddock 1948 – 1996
(Army January 1968 – August 1970)
Marvin Schulz 1947 – 1999
(Army April 1969 – December 1971)
Bryan Tubbs 1945 – 1999
(Army June 1966 – May 1968)
Charles Sperry III 1951 – 2000
(Navy February 1972 – September 1976)
Thomas Labowitch 1947 – 2000
(Army November 1966 – August 1968)
John Hinman 1947 – 2001
(Navy June 1970 – September 1971)
Edward Cafruny 1940 – 2002
(Army January 1968 – October 1970)
Jerry Gibbons 1941 – 2002
(Marine Corps Nov. 1959 – Nov. 1968)
Robert Cicotte 1947 – 2003
(Marine Corps February 1964 – February 1968)
T. Joseph Dorey 1943 – 2004
(Navy October 1961 – September 1965)
John Macik 1943 – 2005
(Army September 1961 – September 1964)
Basilio “Buzz” Rivera 1953 – 2005
(Air Force June 1973 – June 1977)
Chris Busse 1947 – 2005
(Army August 1966 – August 1969)
Thomas Butterfield 1947 – 2006
(Army February 1967 – January 1970)
Dennis Lowry 1948 – 2006
(Army June 1967 – April 1970)
Mike Ramsey 1945 – 2007
(Navy June 1965 – February 1969)
George Troell 1943 – 2007
(Army November 1966 – September 1968)
Lawrence M. Jarvis 1948 – 2007
(Marine Corps April 1965 – March 1969)
Joseph Kato Jr. 1945 – 2007
(Navy March 1965 – March 1968)
Tom Snell 1946 – 2008
(Air Force March 1964 – March 1968)
Kris (KC) Brimer 1948 – 2008
(Army October 1967 – July 1969)
Cornelius “Connie” McGowan 1947 – 2008
(Navy July 1966 – May 1968)
Harry Bryant 1948 – 2009
(Army January 1967 – January 1970)
Richard Torossian 1941 – 2010
(Army February 1967 – February 1969)
Franz Brenner 1941 – 2010
(Army June 1964 – November 1966)
Michael Weaver 1949 – 2011
(Army June 1968 – January 1971)
Wade Rotthoff 1946 – 2011
(Army June 1966 – July 1967)
Carl Shefferd 1947 – 2011
(Army Airborne August 1965 – October 1969)
Rolland Anderson 1948 – 2012
(Army December 1968 – December 1970)
Bernard Burkacki 1947 – 2012
(Airforce July 1966 – February 1970)
Eric Schwaller 1950 – 2013
(Marine Corps February 1968 – January 1971)
Robert Valeri 1950 – 2013
(Marine Corps October 1967 – July 1971)
Fred Sattler, Jr 1942 – 2013
(Army November 1960 – 1963)
Eldon Frank 1946 – 2014
(Marine Corps January 1968 – August 1969)
Larry Luceus 1942 – 2014
(Army December 1960 – February 1965)
Melvin “Moe” Swope 1949 – 2014
(Army January 1969 – January 1971)
Arnold “Gene” Roberts 1949 – 2014
(Army August 1967 – August 1970)
Vaughn Hull 1950 – 2014
(Airforce November 1970 – November 1971)
William Tackett 1950 – 2015
(Army October 1967 – October 1971)
Tim Devlin 1947 – 2015
(Army 1966 – 1967)
Ken Winkler 1949 – 2015
(Marine Corps 1967 – 1970)
Ray Plesiewicz 1947 – 2015
(Army 1966 – 1968)
David Wilder 1948 – 2016
(Navy September 1967 – June 1971)
Donald King 1945 – 2016
(USAF June 1967 – September 1988)
Dennis Shrewsbury 1941 – 2017
(Coastguard June 1961 – July 1965)
Dominck Grake 1941 – 2017
(Army May 1966 – March 1968)
Max Bandy 1949 – 2017
(Army August 1967 – August 1970)
Ben Tallman 1943 – 2017
(Air Force June 1961 – June 1965)
Edward Florence Jr. 1945 – 2017
(Army September 1965 – August 1969)
Roger Schlee 1948 – 2017
(Navy February 1968 – December 1971)
Larry Backucz 1951 – 2017
(Army July 1970 – March 1972)
Thomas Brisbin 1949 – 2017
(Navy Aug 1969 – Nov 1993)
Larry Kilgore 1945 – 2018
(Navy December 1963 – September 1967)
Bill Hayes 1948 – 2018
(Marine Corps 1966 – 1970)
Art Sawyer 1949 – 2018
(Navy November 1969 – September 1971)
Wallace G. Dixon 1944 – 2018
(Marines August, 1966 – June, 1969)
James Peterson 1939 – 2018
(Navy August, 1958 – August 1962
Thomas Dorey 1949-2019
(Marines June, 1967 – April, 1969)
Brian Metzger 1944 – 2019
(Army July 1969 – October 1978)
Mike Dicker 1945 – 2019
(USMC January 1966 – January 1969)
Glen Heinnrich 1947 – 2019
(Army February 1967 – February 1969)
Gary Kubik 1947 – 2019
(Navy September 1967 – August 1971)
Leon Suchorski 1944 – 2019
(Marines 1965 – 1970)
William Kern 1946 – 2019
(Army January 1965 – January 1968)
Don Shannon 1943 – 2019
(Army May 1966 – February 1968)
Gary “Ouch” Boucher 1941 – 2020
(Army October 1965 – October 1967)
Robert Anderson 1946 – 2020
(Navy May 1966 -February 1970)
Anthony Brinza III 1947 – 2020
(Navy February 1970 – April 1975)
Ed Dziadzio 1947 – 2020
(Navy September 1966 – September 1969)
David Codd 1949 – 2020
(Marines Oct. 1967 – Dec. 1971)
Clark Crain 1951 – 2020
(Air Force 1973 – 1977)
Bill Browning 1953 – 2020
(U.S. Marine Corps 1969 – 1970)
Dennis Mozdzen 1948 – 2020
(U.S. Navy 1966 – 1970)
Roger Kehrier 1945 – 2020
(U.S. Army July 1965 – June 1968)
Mike Kennedy 1946 – 2020
(U.S. Army Feb 1966 – Feb 1969)
Frank Stecker 1946 – 2020
(U.S. Army May 1966 – May 1969)
Clyde Rains 1948 – 2020
(U.S. Army January 1969 – November 1970)
Les Brookins 1944 – 2020
(U.S. Army November 1961 – December 1964)
Michael Cline 1950 – 2020
(U.S. Marines June 1968 – July 1972)
William Adams 1943 – 2021
(U.S. Air Force March 1963 – March 1967)
Robert Kuhlmam 1948 – 2021
(U.S. Army Sept 1968 – Apeil 70)
Phillip Lang 1943 – 2021
(U.S. Army Oct 1967 – July 1069 )
Dale Fisher 1947 – 2021
(U.S. Army January 1967 – September 1969)
Allen Kerbyson 1946 – 2021
(U.S. Air Force March 1966 – March 1969)
John Ligner 1949 – 2021
(U.S. Army August 1969 – March 1971)
John Zielinski 1950 – 2021
(U.S. Army June 1969 – January 1972)
Marvin Booth 1946 – 2021
(U.S. Army August 1969 – March 1971)
Richard Stidham 19?? – 2022
(Military Service details Not Available)
Gary Pritchard 1946 – 2022
(U.S. Marines June 1966 – January 1968)
Mark Mittleman 1949 – 2022
(U.S. Army Oct 1969 – May 1971)
Patrick Sullivan 1945 – 2022
(U. S. Navy February 1967 to October 1968)
James Kimball 1945 – 2022
(U.S. Navy April 1967 -April 1971)
Deceased Spouses of Members and AVVA Members
Michael Cline 1950 – 2020
(U. S. Marines June 1968 – July 1972)
Robert Nelson
1929 – 1995
Henry “Bob” Smith
1923 – 1995
Cynthia Estermyer
1951 – 1998
George Salhaney 1931 – 1998
(Army April 52 – January 54)
Stanley Jenkins
1924 – 2000
Judith LaGrow
1949 – 2003
Carol Luebke
1947 – 2003
William Jakobcic
1943 – 2003
Dorothy Dorey
1924 – 2004
Floyd Riley
1933 – 2004
Denise Cain
1953 – 2005
Lynn Wallace
1961 – 2005
Patricia Hull
1946 – 2006
James St. Holmes
1961 – 2007
Anna Smith
1923 – 2008
Adam Hays
1930 – 2010
Karen Ligner
1950 – 2010
Katherine Boucher
1939 – 2011
Dorothy Wallace
? – 2011
Nancy E. Spencer
1947 – 2012
Robert W. Irwin
1935 – 2014
Barbara Bresnahan
1948 – 2014
Harold Messer
1935 – 2015
Barbara Jean Roberts
1953 – 2016
Ann Rains
2016
Sue Willim
2016
Sheri Schlott
1946 – 2017
Bill Blue
1946 – 2018
Henry “Hank” Giles
1933 – 2018
Ann Doherty
1944 – 2019
Cynthia Dziadzio
1953 – 2020
Sue Dodson
1944 – 2020
Lucy Stern
1946 – 2021
Maureen Estermyer
1952 – 2021
Robin King
1953 – 2022
Christine Ann Spurgess
1948 – 2022
“Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
(Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!)
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am the song that will never end.
I am the love of family and friend.
I am the child who has come to rest
In the arms of the Father who knows him best.
When you see the sunset fair,
I am the scented evening air.
I am the joy of a task well done.
I am the glow of the setting sun.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!”
…Author Mary Frye in 1932
History Of Taps
Reportedly,it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison’s Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted. The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth’s uniform. This wish was granted. The haunting melody, we now know as ‘Taps’ used at military funerals was born. The words are: “Day is done. Gone the sun. From the lakes. From the hills. From the sky. All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh.
Fading light. Dims the sight. And a star. Gems the sky. Gleaming bright. From afar. Drawing nigh. Falls the night.
Thanks and praise. For our days. Neath the sun Neath the stars. Neath the sky. As we go. This we know. God is nigh.
