An Open letter to all St. Leo Alum’s and all current and former Taconian’s

On behalf of the St. Leo’s Homecoming Committee, we would like to thank all who participated in the St. Leo Homecoming. This special event was a terrific experience allowing us to meet so many people and learn their connection to St. Leo and Tacony. It was my belief from the beginning that given the opportunity, fellow alum’s would want to share in the celebration of what was once a huge part of their lives, the pride of being part of St. Leo and Tacony.

I have received many phone calls and e-mails from those who attended the celebration. From the Mass at St. Leo’s held in the morning, to the actual celebration held at Cannstatters, it seems everyone was in a state of euphoria. Smiles were common place; eye contact, hugs, laughter, a pat on the back, a handshake, a kiss, it really was a homecoming. To be there and watch the expressions on the faces was remarkable.  To quote Sr. Frances Hart, SSJ, class of 1958, “It truly was an event you did not want to miss”.  It was everything the Committee had promised and more. Their dedication and hard work was rewarded.

To our award winners:

Homecoming Honoree: Therese Dignam Garvin '84

Special Award: Reverend Daniel J. Hoy, Pastor 1982-1991

Service Award: Rosemary Englehart Wolstenholme '45

Bless all of them. They define the true spirit of St. Leo. They are everything that makes St. Leo and Tacony special. We take great pride in their accomplishments.

 To our friends from Tacony; Our Lady of Consolation, St. Tim’s, and Disston school who joined us in making this such a unique event, thank you for your participation.

For those who could not attend hopefully the Website will help keep you connected and might be useful in locating some of your old St. Leo and Tacony friends. Our current plans are to keep the Website going. Who knows, maybe another Homecoming sometime in the future?

I would like to thank my classmates for their encouragement and support. If not for them the “class of 65” Website would never have gotten off the ground. The Website was instrumental in giving St. Leo Alum’s a place to reconnect. I take enormous pride in my classmates and to their devotion to their former school and neighborhood. The Website has experienced growing pains. After the Homecoming we lost all of our old pictures and data. We are in the process of trying to recover what has been lost. The future is up to those of us who want to see the Website succeed. I encourage you to contact us with any suggestions. The only request I have is for your patience.

Enormous thanks to an extraordinary group of people, the St. Leo Homecoming Committee. They earned a special recognition and a very huge thank you. They are:

Sr. Frances Patrice Kirk, SSJ ‘46

Mark Igoe ‘53

Frances McCluskey Stratton ‘56

Michael Whartenby ‘60

Gertrude Sullivan Pottichen ‘63

Gerard Beaucheane ‘64

Barbara DiPinto ‘65

George Manney ‘65

Edmund Salkowski ‘65

Dennis Daly ‘66

Tina Springman Sullivan ‘66

Maryanne Magee Lorimer ‘66

Patricia McHugh Willmunder ‘66

Georgiana Kennedy ‘67

Kathy Murphy ‘67

Carol Pettit ‘67

Arlene Sorendino Roakes ‘67

James Meyers ‘69

Joanne Waninger Troutner ‘71

Joseph Waninger ‘73

Maggie Hosgood Wrightson ‘73

Kathryn Clohessey ‘87

Marybeth McCluskey Dangler ‘88

Ann Marie Kuvick ‘89

Lou Baldwin

 Wishing everyone the very best this Holiday Season. May the Joy of Christmas be with you and your family and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Michael Sullivan ‘65