The class of 1935

It can be poignant to read the class notes in college alumni magazines. Recent graduates typically report job successes, marriages, and new arrivals. But here's something from the class of 1935:

Dick had just recovered from a heart attack and was resting up for a few days before going back to the hospital to receive a pacemaker. He and Mary were relaxed. At five o'clock on the day he died, they had their favorite "old-fashioneds," followed later by one of their favorite meals, and they ended the evening, at bedtime, by saying the rosary together. Mary slept downstairs because she was just recovering from a hip replacement. In the morning, Dick didn't respond to her calling. His ailing heart had quietly stopped beating. We should all be so lucky when the time comes.

A memory of Dick (John) Vaughan, written by his friend Edward T. Sullivan, correspondent for the Boston College class of 1935, published in the Spring 2005 issue of the Boston College Magazine. The surviving members of this class would now be in their early nineties.

[Note: An old-fashioned is a drink made with sugar, bitters, lemon peel, and whiskey, served on the rocks.]