THE Ties THAT bind

Amongst them—Three historians. A priest. An accountant. Decades of service in the military and medicine, courtroom and classroom. Young men from different backgrounds forged friendships based on mutual respect and a camaraderie through their Jesuit education at Seattle Prep. Almost sixty years later, this experience is an unbroken thread that winds through their lives.

The Early Days

It was 1954 and Bishop Blanchet, a new Catholic high school, had just opened in north Seattle, but a handful of eighth graders had their sights set on Seattle Prep.

The father of David Kennedy '59 wanted him to attend Blanchet, which was closer to home and more affordable, but Kennedy wanted to attend Prep. “I still remember vividly the day, as an eighth-grader when I received my Seattle Prep admittance letter, along with the offer of a half-tuition scholarship. I felt indescribably grateful and enormously fortunate. My dad had made it clear that Prep wasn’t an option without financial help.”

Prep was always Bob McLean’s '59 first choice. “Attending Prep was a foregone conclusion; it never entered my mind that I might fail the entrance exam."

Sending a son to Prep was a point of pride for many Seattle-area families. "While sorting through my mother's trunks after her death, I found my Prep acceptance letter,” Grant Telfer '59 recalled. “She was more proud of that than my acceptance to the Naval Academy!”

Divergent Roots

Today, Prep draws from nearly 100 middle schools. The Class of 1959 began with 113 freshmen from a smaller number of schools including: St. Joseph School (Seattle), Holy Rosary, Assumption, Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Fatima and Christ the King. Other schools were less well-known or have since closed: Mt. Virgin, St. Margaret, the Marymount Military Academy, the Cathedral, Vashon Island, St. Edward Seminary, and Snoqualmie Grade School. By senior year, the Class of '59 included young men from Minnesota, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, Ohio and California. In total, their educational experiences stretched across 42 different U.S. schools.

A United Front

The Jesuits addressed students as ‘Mister.’ “They’re treating us like grownups,” Kennedy thought, “So we better act like it. As a sign of respect and seriousness, it was a little thing, but sure made an impression.”

Telfer fondly recalls the camaraderie. “It's one of the reasons I donate to Prep and the Jesuit retirement fund. I believe if you can give back, you should," he says.

For classmate McLean, the sentiment was “Prep against the world! We were very much a family." This sense of solidarity was clear when his wife died in the spring of 1978 while daughter Sheila was a student at Prep. The kids rallied around Sheila and the school excused students who wanted to attend the memorial service. There were five priests on the altar to celebrate the funeral Mass, including two from Prep. "That's family. It never would have happened in a public school," says McLean.

A Little Mischief

Pranks were common in a school of teenage boys. One day, Robert Brennan '59 and Carl Propp '59 climbed into Propp's ‘41 Chevy, parked outside the gym. Mike Lightfoot '59 hopped on the running board and as they turned the corner to go up the hill, Propp jokingly jerked the car to the left. Lightfoot woke up in Virginia Mason with a concussion after hitting his head on the curb.

Lightfoot says, "One day, shortly after the accident, Carl and I were screwing around. So, one of the teachers hit my head and I intentionally collapsed. Propp told him, ‘You shouldn’t have done that! The doctor said one more hit would kill him.’ The teacher started shaking me (to revive me) until I cracked up with laughter.”

Shoving paper down the old radiator chutes, to create more heat, was a favorite student past time. “Pretty soon," Lightfoot remembers, "it would start smoking and someone would open the window to avoid detection by the study hall moderator. One student tried this, but so much smoke filled the room that students had to evacuate. The prankster hid from Fr. Weissenberg, S.J. in the chapel until the bell rang, but there was no escaping from the priest waiting outside the door."

The Jesuits quickly clamped down on inappropriate behavior. Telfer recalls being sent to Fr. Weissenberg for disrupting class. "He was sorting folders on his desk and asked me to help. He said they were applications from all of the boys who wanted my seat. That was the last time I ever visited his office!"

Mike McQuaid '59 had a similar experience with Fr. Christopher McDonald S.J. after several involuntary trips to the Boiler Room. Fr. McDonald explained that attending Prep was a "privilege" and not a "right," adjusted McQuaid's "peggers" (low-slung pants), then took a pair of scissors and cut off one half of the carefully coiffed "duck tail" haircut, before calling McQuaid’s mom to take him to the barber. “Needless to say, from that moment on I became an "almost" good citizen and a big believer in Jesuit education!”

Divergent Paths

Shenanigans aside, their Jesuit education left its mark. Kennedy credits Prep for teaching him how to write, closely followed by public speaking and debate. He says, “It was a gift Prep gave me that I didn’t see coming, didn’t ask for, resisted the receipt of it, but which proved hugely invaluable.”

McLean is thankful. "The Jesuit education I received at Prep and SU formed me into what I am today. Some of that came from John Goodwin. He along with Fr. Seaver, S.J.; Fr. Falsetto, S.J.; Mr. Nelson, S.J. and several other teachers made a positive impression on me and how I should live my life."

McQuaid says, “The two traits I learned from my Jesuit education were personal responsibility and personal accountability. Those attributes, plus a healthy degree of humility, served me well. I can never thank Jesuit education enough for steering me towards self-fulfillment and a constructive life. I volunteered with the Navy Reserves as a sophomore at Prep, spent four years in the Navy, got out at age 26 after Vietnam, and became a stockbroker. I never faced a challenge or a position that I was not prepared for thanks to my Jesuit education.”

Fr. Hess, S.J., Prep faculty member, tested every student for vocational aptitude. Results suggested Telfer should become a philosopher. "As a 17-yr-old, I thought the Jesuits were crazy," he says. "But in law school, I realized they were right! Prep was a vital experience," shared Telfer, "because I was educated by very, very intelligent Jesuits and the discipline was unrelenting. I would not have survived if that hadn't been the case. It was the same as the Naval Academy… Years later I was on a difficult BUD/S training run on a San Diego beach. The guy next to me was also a graduate of Jesuit education. We joked that our instructors thought they were being tough, but they hadn't met the Jesuits."

West Seattleites and boyhood friends – Brennan, Propp, Lightfoot, and John Lenihan '59 and Gene Rafanelli '59 navigated life together—from first grade through graduation from Seattle University’s ROTC program. Light, Propp and Rafanelli went on to retire from notable military careers as did several of their Prep classmates, with Propp and Rafanelli’s service histories now published and housed in the Library of Congress

Lightfoot says, “Carl, Gene, Bob, and John are the standard that I have always tried to live up to and I don’t want to let them down. Outside my family, they - and of course Jesus - have been my rock. They are family. I would not be where I am now if not for their friendship and support. I did not really recognize how indelible it was, but my Jesuit education provided me with a very strong faith. This would not have occurred without the direction of Mr. Enslow, S.J.; Mr. Brands, S.J.; Mr. Sitter, S.J.; Mr. Martin, S.J.; Fr. Weissenberg; Fr. Manard, S.J.; Mr. Oliver, S.J. and many others."

Classmate Gary Morelli '59 eventually became a priest. Telfer recalls his parents spending summers on Orcas Island. "They would pick up the visiting priest from the Seattle ferry. He'd say Mass at the local church, then come over to the house for a meal. In the late 1970s my Mom walked in the house trailed by the visitor and I yelled, "Gary!" She said, ‘No, this is Fr. Morelli.’ I said, “No, that’s my classmate Gary!“

Coincidentally Kennedy, Lenihan and Mike Wilson '59 dedicated their careers to history. Kennedy is a Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University and the former director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West. Lenihan specializes in U.S. Cultural History (including Film) at Texas A&M, where he’s taught since 1977. Wilson is a recent retiree after a 38-year career teaching at Georgetown Visitation in Washington, D.C. with a specialty in history.

A true historian, Kennedy recognizes that it's a different world for young people today: "In 1959 our country was positioned like no other in the world. To be white, male and living in the American West, then, was to land in the most favorable circumstances imaginable. We were the beneficiaries of a Prep education in an era when we were also enormously favored by historical circumstance.”

Everything is more difficult today. Education is more complicated and more expensive. Today’s kids are going to need more help than we needed. Only three students in our class received any kind of scholarship (compared to 25% now). Prep’s $19,700 annual tuition is staggering. In our day it was $130!”

Called to Give Back

On Prep's giving day two years ago McLean established the Class of 1959 Endowment, joined hours later by Kennedy. "I've always given to Prep as I've been able," shared McLean. "When my wife Jill and I were doing our estate planning she wanted to include Whitman College and I wanted to include Seattle Prep.

In that process I learned about endowments and I heard the Class of 1958 had just reached their $50,000 goal to fully fund their class endowment. I realized we hadn't even started! If I see something that needs to be done, I do it! Unfortunately some of our classmates are no longer with us. Still the clock keeps ticking, if we could get 100% participation from those of us remaining, giving whatever they can, I’m confident we can finish this.”

New competition with the Class of 1963 – who fully funded their class endowment in three years - motivates Brennan. "Our 60th reunion is coming up next year (July, 2019) and I know we can beat them!"

Kennedy believes everyone who benefitted from a good education (at Prep or any school) has an obligation to give back. To quote Rabbi Hillel, he says, "‘If not us, who? If not now, when?’
We have a lot more yesterdays than tomorrows. Who else is going to fund the Class of 1959 scholarship if not us?”

Last year Kennedy challenged his classmates to join him in making a five-year pledge to the class endowment. Several guys immediately responded, including Jerome Rose ’59 and the widow of Dan Sargent. For Rose, “It is important to me to give to Prep, because Prep gave me so much.”

Wilson knows it was a privilege to attend Prep. “As you grow older and wiser, you see the advantages of what we were taught. Having taught and being a school administrator myself, I’m sold on education! I got a good education and I owe it to them now (to give). It’s very personal.

Kennedy has issued a new invitation to his classmates; to join him in including Seattle Prep in their estates. McQuaid joined Kennedy in making a five-year pledge to the class endowment and has already included Seattle Prep in his estate. He says, “One thing I learned from my parents and my Jesuit education is to always take care of those who took care of you."

Don Luby '59, a CPA offers his professional advice to classmates. “Estate planning is defined as the orderly transfer of your assets to your attorney and CPA. Want to beat them out of it? Name Prep as the beneficiary of your IRAs or other retirement accounts. Even the IRS loses out with that strategy.”

The Impact of a Jesuit Education

“As an old person, you appreciate more and more the things that were instrumental in guiding you.” Telfer remembers Fr. Hess, SJ testing every student for vocational aptitude and suggesting he become a philosopher. “As a 17-yr-old, I thought the Jesuits were crazy. But in law school, I realized they were right!”

“Prep was a vital experience," he shared, "because I was educated by very, very intelligent Jesuits and the discipline was unrelenting. I would not have survived if that hadn't been the case. It was the same as the Naval Academy. A Prep Jesuit taught us that the 10 Commandments was the first military operation ever ordered. I remembered that during my entire military career. He was right!“

“If I had done what I wanted to, I wouldn't have gone to Prep or the Naval Academy. It was a good thing I didn't! Prep gave me the kick in the "pants" that I needed," says Telfer.

Lenihan agrees. “Prep laid down a code of ethics and morality rooted in the Roman Catholic faith which has stayed with me. Likewise, I have benefitted from the importance placed on critical thinking, effective writing, and a productive work discipline.

Brennan also recalled his education as formational. "Today they have politically correct names for what we did, but we didn't know it then. It was exactly what a young man needed at that time, instilling confidence, discipline and work ethic."

Carl Propp reiterated Prep’s “guiding light”. “Prep gave us values for life and being a responsible citizen. Being a young person, you need direction. And we needed a lot!”

Telfer sums it up best when he recounts his efforts to commute to Prep. "After school I took the bus to Mt. Virgin and since there was only one bridge across the lake, I would walk a mile to catch a Bellevue bus or hitchhike. I wouldn't get home until 7:30pm. It was a long commute, and Prep never closed for snow. Still, I never missed a day of class. Because it was worth it… worth the time, the cost, the extra effort.