Ace was a pillar of our class from graduation until his death March 14, 2011.
He served in the Marines during World War II, and then began a journalism career he chronicled with candor in our last three-year book. For the first 20 years it gradually spiraled down to an average of one job a year — although Ace won several journalism prizes during that time and served as class president from 1952 to 1957.
In 1969 he joined AA and quickly turned his career around. In our 40th yearbook he reported his marriage to Cheri Cook. He became a born-again Baptist and moved to Tucson. After a successful stint as a journalist he joined the Pima County Sheriff’s Office in charge of its public relations — a position he held for many years.
Ace served as class secretary for the last 25 years. Many of us remember him as an amateur songwriter who wrote tunes (to the melody of “Going Back”) that celebrated the purported deeds of classmates. He wrote our summer newsletter and the signs we carried in the P-rade, and coined our class motto “war-torn but peaced together.”
In his latter years, Ace had dialysis twice a week as well as other treatments, but still hoped to make it to our 64th.
Ace and Cheri’s marriage created a family of six children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. To them, we tender this memorial of our great classmate and friend.