A Class(ic) Legacy

Greg Rockwell ‘62 and John Bianchi ’62 shared an appreciation for classic cars and Jesuit values.

One lesson they learned at Prep was the importance of service and treating others with respect. John embodies this tenet with every employee and customer who walks through the door of B&G Machine, a successful diesel re-manufacturing company that he launched in Georgetown 47 years ago. “It’s all about how you treat people. You respect someone else’s opinion, even if you don’t like it,” shares John.

“Seattle Prep taught me to be accountable and responsible, and to help others. Service is not optional (for me),” said Greg. “It’s an awareness of who is in need. Service is about focusing your lens on the broader world and not yourself.” In addition to a full-time law practice, Greg also ran errands for elderly neighbors and visited former classmates in need. He passed away in October, 2015.

Greg and John lost touch after graduation, but reconnected while planning their 50^th class reunion and volunteered to help plan the class legacy. Their classmate and reunion committee chair, Creg Howard ’62, had recently established an endowment in memory his son, Joshua ’90 and wife, Terese, a ’62 Holy Names alumna.

Josh was an avid fisherman. He fished commercially in Bristol Bay, Alaska with his uncle Jim Smith ’64, and in the Puget Sound with his dad. Creg was a marine engineer in the Merchant Marines and helped Josh join; eventually they both worked for American President Lines.

In 1992, Josh passed tragically in motorcycle accident and Creg established the Josh Howard Memorial Fund. Donations from family members and others enabled scholarship distributions to begin shortly thereafter. In 1994, Creg’s wife Terese passed away of brain cancer and her name was added to the memorial. Terese Smith Howard was a popular Holy Names Academy ’62 grad and known by many Prep ’62 classmates.

With the blessing of the reunion committee, Creg, Greg and John decided to combine the existing memorial with a class scholarship to form the Class of ‘62 Endowment in Honor of Terese and Josh Howard ‘90. The endowment serves as both a class legacy and family memorial, benefiting Seattle Prep and scholarship recipients for years to come. Through the generosity of classmates, the endowment has blossomed in value.

"You don't have to help a million kids, but you can help one," says John. “If you help them get started, there’s so much they can do. They just need a jumpstart. A scholarship can do that for them.”

Why create a class endowment?

“Seattle Prep was the best four years of my life. You can give individually, but the collegiality in a class gift is an affirmation of the experience you shared,” said Greg. “Students need to ask themselves, ‘why am I here?’ It’s a much larger picture.”

“It’s not just our legacy, “says John. “We’re putting forth a legacy for others.”

The Class of ’62 Endowment in honor of Terese & Joshua Howard ’90 is one of dozens of named endowments and funds for tuition assistance at Seattle Prep. Most provide valuable tuition assistance funds for students. Others support school programs like science or technology, teachers or the Learning Resource Center.