SPAR News

*2010 Reunion

Capt. Lou Furlong has completed arrangements for the 2010 reunion and relevant documents have been mailed to the membership by Capt. Paul Cellecz. In addition, they are available on this Web site, in both Microsoft Word (.doc) and Adobe Acrobat® (.pdf) format, here.

This video has been removed.

In July, 1969, a Seaboard DC-8 destined for Danang, Vietnam mistakenly landed at Marble Mountain. There is a video about the incident on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=araRJYJJpCA

Reported by Capt. Hap Carpenter

President's Message

A Christmas message from President Lou Furlong has been posted here.

On May 5, 2009, Pat Parlette, continuing her long service to the Darien Community Association Thrift Shop, modeled in a fashion show.

In October 2009, Pat Parlette visited Jordan and Egypt. Two photos have been posted in the Members' Activities section here and here.

11/18/09

Happy birthday to John Willmott. Today is his 95th birthday. John, whatever you are doing, don't change a thing.

Seaboard reunion at JFK, Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, 2009

Updated information as of Oct. 25 at r09jfk/r09jfk-0.htm. Also new document. For questions please contact Frank and not this Web site. All the information I have is posted in Frank's message.

Framed photo of B747 cockpit available

Capt. Bob Mangas has a framed photo of B747 cockpit that he would like to dispose of. It is approximately 2' x 2' 3". If anyone is interested, please contact him and he will bring it to the reunion.

Bad e-mail addresses

If your name is on this list, please send us your current e-mail address so that we can keep you informed of matters of interest to Seaboarders.

Maureen Amberg, Gisela Beckerman, Stan Chandler, Dom Ciorciari, Carolyn DeRier, Chuck Frost, Bill Neuenhaus, Gino Pagley, Glenice Parkinson, Jackie Schwanky, Teresa Sharp, Bonnie Sprague, Jim Thomas, Vicki Thornton

The Seaboard video is now available on DVD. There is also a link to the ordering information on the home page. For SPAR members, there are still some available at a special price from Capt. Lou Furlong. Contact him for details.

New SPAR member

Stuart Baumgardner started at S&W as a cleaner in 1955, became a mechanic, and retired from FedEx in 2007, 52 years later.

Welcome Stuart.

CL-44 Association

From Ed Ferner: I don't know how many SPAR members are aware of it, but there is a CL-44 organization consisting of flight crew members, maintenance, support people who were in some way involved with the Canadair CL-44. Their Web site is www.cl44.org.

If anyone in SPAR would like to join that organization, they should send $20 in cash to:

Marvin Beier
1900 Peachtree Avenue
The Villages, FL 32162

I have been a member of their group for about two years and have enjoyed reading their newsletters about the 44.

In August 2009, during one of their trips in their Super Cub, Lou & Kathy Furlong stopped on Long Island to visit Bob Snowden who founded SPAR 36 years ago. Eleven photos they took during their visit have been posted in the Members' Activities section here.

Three photos taken by Kathy & Lou Furlong have been added to the 10 previously posted for the lunch in Danbury CT on Aug. 12, 2009. They can be seen in the album section here.

Seaboard reunion at JFK, Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, 2009

Frank Otto reports that he and some of his fellow ground service employees have organized a Seaboard reunion at JFK for Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, 2009. Details at r09jfk/r09jfk-0.htm. For questions please contact Frank and not this Web site. All the information I have is posted in Frank's message.

20 SPAR members got together for lunch in Danbury CT on Aug. 12, 2009. Ten photos have been posted so far in the album section here.

Other attendees also took photos. They will be added when they are received and a notice will be posted on this page. Some of the attendees have not been seen at the annual SPAR reunions.

I spoke to Ray Dorman today (7/15/09). He told me that his son Ronald, who died in 2008, was married for 37 years to Kathy Jenkins Dorman, the daughter of our Bob Jenkins. I've added Ray's e-mail address to directory. I'm sure he would enjoy hearing from some of his old friends.

84 photos showing all but one of the 100 attendees have now been posted on 6 pages starting here. Unfortunately, I have no photo that shows May Corda. If anyone has such a photo, please send it to me. The photos were submitted by Anita Bouvier, Jo Ann Benzing, George Conway, Kathy Conway, Lou Furlong, David Hill, Ted Loubris, Christl Mathis, and me. Some of them sent photos that were too small or of poor quality. The section is finished unless there are any more good photos submitted.

Thanks to the magnificent work done by the SPAR officers and their wives, the 2009 reunion was a great success. Capt. Lou Furlong and Capt. Paul Cellecz made it an occasion unsurpassed by any before. By my (corrected) count, 100 people attended at least part of the reunion. The list is here. Lou surprised us all by giving us DVD's of the Seaboard video, "A Crew Members Album", originally published as a VHS tape. Copies are also available to SPAR members who did not attend. Additional details will be provided shortly.

The best surprise of all is that Lou has agreed to organize next year's reunion. Details will be provided when I get them.

Many attendees took photos and promised to send them to me. I hope to start posting them in the next few weeks.

Last October, Captain David O. Hill, the Seaboard historian, provided a comprehensive status report about his ongoing efforts to preserve Seaboard's legacy. A link to his report has been added to the home page. You can read his report here.

New SPAR members

Barabara Morton Bungay, husband John. Barb was a flight attendant. Welcome Barb and John.

Larry Irving was an aircraft inspector. Welcome Larry.

Marge Snowden, wife of Capt. Bob Snowden, died on March 1, one month short of their 71st anniversary. The funeral was held on the following Sunday. For those wishing to send condolences, Bob's contact information is in the directory.

Seniority lists have been added for Maintenance and Stores at JFK. Unlike the crew lists, they only show the employees as of July 20, 1979. If anyone has lists for other dates that show additional employees, please send me copies and I will add the additional names. Lists courtesy of John Winkelman

It was previously reported that Seaboard once owned a Douglas Banshee/Dauntless, still flying with the Commemorative Air Force. It now appears that Seaboard owned a different Banshee, N9449H.

N1005C, one of Seaboard's Connies, has been undergoing restoration as a C-121 at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover AFB, Dover, DE. John Winkelman visited it in March 2008 and his photos and report have been added to the aircraft section here.

A question has been asked whether any Seaboard aircraft were hit by ground fire during the Vietnam war. Please let me know if you have any first-hand information about such an incident.

Courtesy of Martha Jackson, a group photo taken during the cruise that was part of the 2002 SPAR reunion has been posted with the rest of the 2002 photos. The Zoomify version posted has controls at the bottom for zooming and panning. If you are a Windows users, you can also pan by dragging with the mouse and zoom with the scroll wheel on the mouse. Below the photo is a scrollable list of those who have been identified (50 out of 67) and 4 guesses. The numbers can be seen when you zoom in all the way. Please send me missing identifications and corrections.

The unidentified people are numbers, 4, 11, 14, 17, 18, 25, 30, 31, 32, 35, 41, 49, and 57. Those for whom confirmation is needed are numbers 16, 43, 65 and 67.

The photo is here. Be sure to scroll to the sides to see the entire photo.

A photo of Joe Hennessey has been added to his memorial page, courtesy of his daughters Sharon O'Leary and Susan Hennessey; and John Willmott.

A 1950's photo of Capt. Ed McKinney, Job Vanderweyde (Ground Supervisor of Cargo), and F/O Kaplowitz in Luxembourg operations has been added to the album section here, courtesy of James Vanderweyde.

A memorial page has been added for Capt. John McGrail, courtesy of his daughter, Coleen McGrail Fletcher.

In the album section, three photos from past reunions have ben added, courtesy of Capt. Larry Nelson. This one shows Jean Glick and Sheila Cellecz at the 1996 reunion. These two show Larry Nelson and Pinky Clark, and Jean Glick and Mike Wojiechowski at the 2001 reunion.

In the memorabilia section, a photo of the cover of a schedule of flights Seaboard flew for Saudia, 1970's has been added here.

A very nice 1950's photo of Honolulu station manager Elliot Held and seven mechanics has been added to the album section here, courtesy of Bill Callanan.

A photo of F/A Elaine Fife on the ramp in Jamaica, 1954 or 1955 has been added to the album section here, courtesy of Roz Grashaw.

Joe Hennessy, who worked in Shannon in the 1950's, wrote an article about his experiences working with DC-4 flights. His article is here.

A tribute by Dick Craven had been added to the memorial page for Suzanne Beerli.

A photo Joe of Paiva, Jim Mathis, and Nick Tramontano in March 1976 during the El Al wet-lease operation has been added to the album section here, courtesy of Christl Mathis.

A page has been added to the memorial section for Mickey Hutter, a pilot who flew for Seaboard in the 1950's.

Capt. Ralph Webber

Capt. Ralph Webber died Oct. 7, 2009. He was 80 years old.

Reported by Capt. Bill Hyatt

Capt. Bill Bovers

Capt. Bill Bovers died Sept. 8, 2009. He was 86 years old.

Capt. Eugene Pagley

Capt. Eugene Pagley died recently (October or November), 2009 of lung cancer. He was 78 years old.

Reported by Capt. Paul Cellecz

Betty McCann

Betty McCann died early Wednesday, Sept. 9th. She was on morphine, not conscious most of that time but her nurse said she was peaceful and not in pain the night before.

There will be a one-day viewing on Monday, Sept. 14th. Hours: 2-4 p.m., 7-9 p.m.; and the funeral will be on Tuesday, Sept. 15th, at

Johnstons' Wellwood Funeral Home
305 N. Wellwood Ave.
Lindenhurst, NY 11757
631-226-2220

Reported by Marge Simmons

Doreen John

Doreen John, wife of Capt. Art John, died on Aug. 10th, 2009 after a long illness.

Reported by Margaret LeBedis

Micki Hecht

Micki Hecht, wife of Eli Hecht, died in April, 2009. She used to help at the Christmas party at the Seaboard Hanger.

Reported by Eli C. Hecht

Joe Hennessey

Joe Hennessey, who lived in Limerick, Ireland, and worked for Seaboard as an animal handler, died on June 23, 2009.

Reported by John Willmott

Rita Stoerlein

F/A Rita Stoerlein died July 16, 2009. She was about 82 years old.

Reported by Sandy Schipper

Capt. Ed Mitchell

Capt. Ed Mitchell died on July 15, 2009. He was 89 years old.

Repoted by Frances Sandy and Ken Mitchell

Doug Erwin

Doug Erwin, a F/E who flew briefly for Seaboard around 1964, died on June 16, 2009. He was about 84 years old.

Reported by Capt. Hal Bemis and Capt. Nick Tramontano

Don Hazen

Don Hazen died on June 29, 2009. He was 91 years old. He will be cremated and no service is planned. Condolences can be sent to his wife Stanislava. She is listed in the directory.

Reported by Kathy Furlong

Georgia Szydlo

Georgia Szydlo died on Apr. 17, 2009. She was 76 years old.

Reported by Tina Mortensen-Bennett via her daughter Christina

Capt. John McGrail

Capt. John McGrail died on April 17, 2009. He was 86 years old. No memorial service is planned. Condolence cards and notes can be sent to Joan and family (four daughters). The address is listed in the directory.

Reported by Capt. Hal Bemis and Capt. John Bilotta

Iris Dircks Lance

Iris Dircks Lance died on March 6, 2009. She was 79 years old. There was a funeral service in Ridgefield Park, NJ on March 10.

Reported by Ethel Ison

Suzanne Beerli

Sue Beerli died on Apr. 5, 2009.

There are no close family members surviving and there will be no funeral.

Reported by Pat Parlette

Gerald Elikann

Gerald Elikann, who was Manager of System Engineering, died on Mar. 17, 2009. He was 88 years old.

There will be no services at the request of the deceased.

Roy Smith, who worked for Seaboard in London, died on Mar. 16, 2009 after a long illness.

Reported by Pat Long

Capt. "Jock" Johnson

Capt. "Jock" Johnson died on Dec. 24, 2008. He was 87 years old.

The funeral home has an obituary notice and guest book posted here.

Capt. Dave Nicholson

Capt. Dave Nicholson died on Dec. 8, 2008 at the age of 87. He was living in Blairsville, GA. No funeral is planned. His stepdaughter Marilyn Miller plans to commit his ashes to the sea along with those of his wife who predeceased him.

Reported by Marilyn Miller

Capt. "Cec" Bryant

Capt. "Cec" Bryant died on Dec. 18, 2008. He was 88 years old. He is survived by his wife Jeannie. There are no plans for a funeral.

Notices previously listed here about members of the Seaboard family who died have been transferred to their memorial pages or to this page.

For the memorial section (with some pictures and biographical information) for members of the Seaboard family who died, click here.

News	Revised Feb. 20, 2010
Recent Deaths	Revised Mar. 3, 2010
Memory Lane	Revised Sept. 30, 2009

Capt. Vince Sproul	92 on Feb. 20
Capt. Joe Szaflarski	91 on Feb. 3
Capt. Ian Adamson	90 on Jan. 19
Capt. Bill Eastwood	90 on Jan. 11
Capt. Bob Snowden	96 on Dec. 25

SPAR NEWS