Nancy Morse Dysart ‘60
From a November 2018 edition of The Cape Courier (Cape Elizabeth, ME) we learned of a posthumous honor extended by Omega Mu Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta to Joseph Sebastian Boulos ’41. Joe enlisted in the Army one week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Stationed in England as a member of the 446th Bomb Group, he completed 15 bombing missions over enemy-held Europe, for which he received the Army’s Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters. On the morning of April 27, 1944, while on yet another bombing mission, his aircraft was badly damaged, forcing an emergency return to home field.
That afternoon, aboard a replacement aircraft, fully loaded with 500-pound bombs, Joe and his crewmates were attempting to take off on their 29th bombing mission when wind sheer flipped the aircraft, killing all aboard. Joe was only 25 at the time of his death. Omega Mu Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 after research confirmed that it was the first one organized and recognized as a fraternity by the then-Maine State College in 1874. After receiving the designation, the chapter embarked on a multi-year renovation, including the detailing of a rich military history by their members. Joe Boulos, representing the valor of legions of brothers before and since his service, was selected for recognition with the naming of the Joseph Boulos Library and the establishment of the annual Joseph Sebastian Boulos Veterans Day Scholarship.
In another communiqué, this one from the Milford Daily News, we learned of another combat veteran of WWII, Walter Zinchuk ’49. Drafted into the Army as a combat engineer, he served in New Guinea and Australia. Sometime during the mid-1940s, he contracted malaria — a death sentence at the time. Sent home at the age of 28, he suffered the next three years from the effects of the pernicious disease. Told repeatedly that he wouldn’t make it past his 20s, Walter attended the University of Maine, where he met his wife, Alta Clifford. Last August Walter celebrated his 101st birthday. He and Alta also celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last July. Together they raised four children and celebrated the births of 12
grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Kudos to them both.
Al Ehrenfried ’44 wrote that he had learned that his classmate Esther Holden Hopkins ’44 was struck by the California forest fires.
Esther’s daughter, Ann Begley, who was away at the time, described how smoke came over the horizon at Esther’s Alpine, CA, location, followed by flames and the complete demolition of her home. Esther was rescued, but lost almost everything. Esther and her daughter moved to an apartment and then to a temporary home in Lakeside, CA. Ann’s email is: afbegley@cox.net.
On another note, your Senior Alumni Executive Committee voted last year to raise $90,000 to fund 36 non-traditional student scholarships. Recent awards have gone to 12 members of the College of Natural Resources, Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, six to students of Liberal Arts & Sciences, five to students of the College of Engineering, one from the Maine Business School, and two students in the Division of Lifelong Learning (both business majors). Since 1992, your donations to the Senior Alumni Scholarship fund have helped us raise nearly $1.9 M. Recipients of these awards have included three valedictorians and countless honors graduates.
As you consider your annual charitable giving, please help us reach our $90,000 goal with your 2019 gift to the Senior Alumni Non-Traditional Student Scholarship Fund. Your gift has the power to transform lives.
On a personal note, I count as one of life’s special blessings the friendships of my classmates and fellow Senior Alumni who shared with me the two-year journey with cancer that shaped the life of my husband, Donald, who died of mesothelioma on December 4. Your caring and support meant more to both of us than any words can ever express. Bless you, one and all.
Please call, email, or write with news of your activities and interests. Send photos of travels, family, and friends. All are welcomed and will be shared with classmates and fellow Senior Alumni. And finally, don’t forget the Senior Alumni Reunion on campus this September. Please come — you’ll be glad you did!
Yours for MAINE