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Hawk Pride
We are proud of our school's history.
The straight line that runs through it is
top quality education,
traditions built by the student body,
and affinity for 'Hudson' that lasts a lifetime
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For the Glory of God and Service to Man | |
In Celebration of Catholic Schools | |
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"To whom much has been given, much is expected,"
Jesus said. (Luke 12:48)
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We have just completed Catholic Schools Week, so we share a timely message about the importance and value of Catholic schools and expect that the messaging will ring home with you, based on our common experience.
Faustin Weber, President of Prince of Peace Catholic School in Plano, TX, and advocate for strategic leadership in Catholic education, authored the following:
"Learning of his terminal diagnosis, an elderly man asked me to meet with him. He told me of his intent to endow our school $1.5 million upon his death, the proceeds of which he insisted be used for financial aid for families who needed it. Greatly moved, I asked him why he was doing this. With fire in his eyes, he said, 'My parents paid three dollars a month to send me to a Catholic grade school. They paid a hundred dollars a year to send me to a Catholic high school. Those two schools have marked me for my entire life. It's payback time'."
"When an adjacent property to our school was about to be sold to a real estate developer, that would have created myriad problems for our future development, five families each gave us $100,000 as a downpayment on a loan so that we could buy the property instead. 'Happy to help', one mother said, cheerfully, waving off my effusive thanks and turning it around: 'We're blessed to have our kids here'."
"From time to time, we in Catholic education can become critical of the lifestyles of our wealthier families, but we do well to remember that without their generosity to us, our schools could not survive our current and future challenges. Tuition alone cannot help us build new buildings, provide substantial financial aid to our families, or help us raise salaries in a substantive way. We need their help."
"I am deeply grateful for all those from my career as a Catholic school leader who have used their success to "pay their gift forward" to us. May God continue to bless our schools through them."
To which we say: "Ditto!"
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Published Today, Gone Tomorrow
The Last Edition of the Jersey Journal
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The Journal's headline of hope for the future
bodes equally well for Hudson Catholic,
as the tides of the two Hudsons
-- Catholic and County --
are linked together
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Message From The President | |
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February is always an exciting month in the calendar of Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese of Newark. Acceptance letters went out in January and families begin to make their choices. In the old days, the first Saturday in February would be THE DAY for registration. School would be open and lines of students and parents/guardians would line up to register in-person. Much like everything else, the registration process has changed. Today, most families register online and enrollment is rolling.
It's obvious that our Catholic mission, our raised academic standards and our success in athletics and drama have all helped make Hudson Catholic ‘the place to be’! Our college programs are the envy of our competitors and our students are the greatest ambassadors we could ever ask for!
The great news is that our applications are up by a hundred and we currently have a waiting list. However, this presents a new challenge. Unlike elementary school where one teacher teaches multiple subjects to a class, when you hit the enrollment number tipping point that requires new hires, you must hire 3-4 new teachers. Couple that with the fact that 80% of our families receive some type of aid, and you realize that more numbers create more problems…but they are good problems.
We do put a hard date by which families need to register in order to lock in their academic scholarship or grant-in-aid and which allows us to start creating a budget for next year, but we will continue to accept throughout the summer. With the close of so many Catholic high schools, our competition is really charter schools and specialized public schools, so our recruiting and enrollment strategies need to be built for that model.
As we strive to increase our enrollment and offer even better options for our student body, your contributions and support become even more vital. Thank you!!
I would like to close by sharing some words a recent 9th grade transfer put on his application. This is the image Hudson Catholic holds in our community today.
“I would like to attend Hudson Catholic High School because of the school's outstanding reputation and advanced curriculum. This advanced curriculum will help me achieve my future goals. As I graduate, I will leave with an exceptional skill set learned from your high school. I will demonstrate incredible critical and logical skills necessary for decision-making and problem-solving. I am enthusiastic about being a part of your dual enrollment program because it offers a fantastic opportunity to expand my knowledge above my limits, earn college credits, and prepare for my future education. Due to the amazing reputation I will have after graduating from Hudson Catholic, my chances of getting into better universities and continuing my education after high school will be stronger. I’m also highly athletic and eager to bring my sports dedication to your school and become a Hawk. This is a perfect fit for me because it is a Catholic school, and being a Christian will help me strengthen my relationship with God. Your school will help me take on new academic challenges and motivate me to get excellent grades to prepare for what's next after high school.”
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Fundraising Can Be A Challenge
(And We Love It That Way)
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By now, you know that we like to use match challenge gifts to motivate additional giving from among the ranks of Hawk alumni and friends. We deployed a successful challenge in December that resulted in adding $80,000 to our Campaign for 1964: The Fund for Hudson Catholic.
We have one remaining open challenge, aimed at motivating members of ten classes to make gifts to get their classes on the tally board. Every gift made by any member of the classes of
1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
will be cumulatively matched 100% up to $10,000. That total stands at $470 to date, so we have ample opportunity remaining to benefit Hudson Catholic by doubling the value of your giving.
Hey, '09! You almost became the last class in Hudson Catholic history, so you know how important it is as alumni to support your school! LET'S GOOOO!"
Give at hudsoncatholic.org/1964
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Show us what is important to you by voting with your gifts.
If you are reading this on your phone and wish to donate via the QR Code, please open this newsletter on your computer and scan the QR Code on your screen.
Or, simply click on the button below
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It's Bonus Time!
For those of you who are fortunate to receive a bonus in the First Quarter of 2025, it would be so appreciated if you thought of our young Hawks with a gift to The Fund for Hudson Catholic
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50th Anniversary Observance
1975 County Championship Victory!
Team Members:
Ed Barkala, Steve Cuccinelli, Kevin Murphy (dec.), Jim Spanarkel '75
Mark Carugan, Tom Clark, Mark Fowler, Steve O'Brien, Mike O'Koren '76
Alan Cancro, Bob Hammer, Marty Vogt '77
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On the Jack Campion Stage at Hudson Catholic | |
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Reunion Reminders
50 Years for 1975!
Contact Frank Martineau at 201-238-7753
SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 18th at The Nest, 5pm
Reunion Kickoff 4pm
The Astor Bar, 725 Montgomery Street
a/k/a "The Shrine at St. Astor"
1985 / 1995 / 2000 / 2005 / 2015
It is time to start thinking about your milestone.
Contact Jill Cypher at jcypher@hudsoncatholic.org
to express interest in having / helping with your class reunion
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For the nearly 1,000 Hawks who have joined our mailing list
over the past year, we invite you to have a look at our
'Stay Educated' video.
Created three years ago,
it still resonates on what it feels like to be a Hawk.
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Beat Prep!
Or Should We Say, Prep Beaten!
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Dateline January 23rd. The Hawks Nest Gym. In the only regular season meeting of the Hawks and the Marauders from downtown, the previously #1 state-ranked and currently #5 ranked Hawks came out on the winning end against the #1 state-ranked Prep in double overtime, 74-70.
History Teacher Frank McGady was quoted as saying this in the immediate aftermath of a game that is sure to be regarded as one of the greatest games to be played at The Nest: "It was way too exciting! Double OT and double knots in the stomach game. Congratulations to Coach Nick and his staff, the players, the athletic trainers who saw way too much work tonight, and our student fans, right down to the mop boy who kept the court clean and dry and who looked a lot like our principal."
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The Letter That Starts It All
'You're Accepted"
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Many alumni surely can recall the trepidation, back in the day, with which we awaited the arrival of an envelope in our mailbox that contained the return address of Hudson Catholic and a letter inside congratulating us on our acceptance to our school of choice. That began the life-changing trajectory of our lives and allowed us to crow about our achievement to our family, friends, and anyone who would listen. That was the beginning of the formation of our Hawk Pride that carried us through the doors, through four years, onto college studies, and into our adult lives. And it remains today.
It is now the turn of the Class of '29, yes '29!!!!!, to enter this portal just as we did in the years, or decades, before them. On Thursday, January 16th, 280 letters of acceptance were sent from the administrative offices of Hudson Catholic to their eager and deserving recipients, nearly 100 more than a year ago. Another 140 would-be applicants are in varying stages of fulfilling the requirements for grades and test scores. And to date, we have 15 siblings of current Hawks who have registered, keeping it literally in the family. Interest in The Home of The Hawks is soaring!
When the smoke clears on March 15th, our de facto Registration Day (online registrations at any time prior to that date) which serves as the deadline by which registrants will be considered for financial aid, we expect to reach or be well on our way toward meeting the target of 140 for our next incoming class. And because of growing demand for enrollment at McGinley Square, there is presently a Waiting List of 50. Those of you who experienced this in your day, before waning demographics eliminated the Waiting List as a thing, will probably lament its return, but it has been made necessary in the last few years by the success of our efforts to attract and enroll our preferred class sizes.
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The Brothers of the Christian Schools' District of Eastern North America (DENA) sponsored the Lasallian Urban Education Summit, and West Catholic Preparatory High School in Philadelphia hosted it, bringing together the LaSallian Family to reflect, collaborate, and inspire to strengthen our mission. Hudson Catholic was well-represented by President-Principal Terry Matthews, Assistant Principal Sarah Degnan-Barbi, and Faculty member Anthony Monte '78. Together, we reaffirmed our commitment to educating young people in the urban setting, and ensuring that our schools remain beacons of hope and opportunity in our community. | |
Here, our fearless leader, President Matthews, regales the Summit with Hudson Catholic's successes at enhancing the excellence of its curriculum, building bridges to local universities, and providing our families with substantial savings in college tuition costs. | |
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Our Own Carl Sagan
Science Chair Mr. Phil Gazzale reports that NASA is studying asteroid dust obtained by the Osiris-REx spacecraft and returned to Earth. Fourteen amino acids (building blocks of proteins) & all five nucleobases (needed to form DNA & RNA) have been identified. Pay attention, there WILL be a Pop Quiz!
NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life’s Ingredients - NASA
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Alumni Spotlight
Leadership, Service, Achievements
(and occasional whimsy)
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Leadership material. Michael Torres '24 recently earned his Eagle Scout Award. Known for his artwork all over Hudson Catholic, his Eagle Scout project focused on art work in the community, in memory of a former Jersey City educator.
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Engaging the fans. Bernadette Matutino '21 is interning with the Rutgers University Athletics marketing team. She welcomes the opportunity to dive into the world of sports marketing events, game day activations, and collaborating on fan engagement strategies. We hope to benefit from Bernadette's learnings at the Hawks Nest!
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Getting behind the numbers. Andrea Lombeyda '18, former Hawk and Peacock Volleyball standout, with a Master's Degree in Accounting (SPU), is an Audit Investigator at the Office of the New York State Attorney General.
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Standing up for the kids. Johnny Carrie '02 is a Clinical Social Worker and Youth Advocate for the Northside Center for Child Development in New York City. Another Ivy League Hawk, he holds a Master's Degree in Clinical/Medical Social Work from Columbia University.
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For the Papi and the kids. Eric Amador Mays '91 celebrates eight years as a member of the Board of Directors for the David Ortiz Children's Fund.
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Water World. Marco Poisler '88 was recently appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee for a two-year term as a logistics and freight representative. Marco currently serves in the role of Executive Vice President of UTC Overseas, Inc. in Houston, TX.
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Legally Browne. Vincent Browne '81 recently retired from his long-held role as Chief Legal Officer for Employment at Prudential, but will not be improving his golf game anytime soon. He has joined Gibbons PC, also in Newark, as Director in their Employment & Labor Law Group.
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Hero of Hudson. Kevin O'Callahan '77 recently retired as Deputy Chief of Police after 39 years of service to Jersey City. | |
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Disaster Strikes; HEART 9/11 Responds. Lt. William Keegan, PAPD Ret. '73 has deployed the HEART 9/11 California Wildfire Rapid Response Team to Los Angeles to provide urgent relief efforts in every aspect of disaster response and recovery. HEART 9/11 Firefighters, EMTs, and construction workers will be coordinating logistics on the ground with the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA).
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On guard. Ed Kahrer '72, our former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Newark, is now Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives Global Group LLC and Chief Security Officer for AB Facility Services.
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Tell Us
Just one of many things that unites us as Hawks is that Hudson Catholic alumni spread around the nation and the world are making incredible contributions to their communities, professions, and to Hudson Catholic.
If you know of an exceptional Hawk deserving recognition, we invite you to share why, by writing to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org with examples of Hawk alumni and alumnae leadership, service, and achievement...........and occasional whimsy.
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It isn't just the Hawk student body that fills The Nest to overflow for all Boys Basketball games. Faculty and Alumni alike enjoy seeing their State-ranked Hawks compete against some of the best teams in New Jersey. | |
Past, Present, and Our Future! Mr. Frank McGady FAC flanked, on his left, by Ms. Anna Schreiber, Ret. FAC and Mrs. Debbie de Leon (wife of Jaime), and on his right, by Ryan Klimkowski '98 and his son and aspiring Hawk, Cole. | |  |
'73 was in The House! Right to left, Casey Zachowski, Mark Torzewski, Mike Finley, Jim Sweeney, Carl Gargiulo. | | |
'69 Hawks on the Mercer Steps | |
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Venerable Faculty
Becht, Schlachter, Robinson, Lenczuk, Eigo, McGady
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It is a mystery why so few photos of the 1975 County Title Game exist, but here is one gem taken at the sold-out Armory just as the Hawks were breaking the team huddle and huddled at mid-court following player introductions. The starting five, L. to R., were #20 Steve O'Brien, #32 Mark Carugan, #10 Tom Clark, #40 Mike O'Koren, and Jim Spanarkel on the far right. Photo courtesy of the Tom Clark Archives. (Is that the legendary Faculty member John Longworth standing courtside on the left?)
In its last days of publication, the Jersey Journal named the 1975 Hudson Catholic Boys Basketball Team its #2 Hudson County High School Sports Dream Team of all time. Additionally, the #7 "Games We'll Never Forget" was the 2000 Hudson Catholic vs. Bayonne State Tournament of Champions Ice Hockey Title Game.
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Steven Switaj '74 sports his Hawk shirt proudly in the Honolulu foreground of Diamond Head on the Island of Oahu after returning home to '5-0' following his Class of '74's 50th Reunion celebration.
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The End of the Jersey Journal | |
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With our hometown newspaper scheduled to publish its last edition and cease operations on February 1st, it has been publishing 'lookback' articles reflecting on its decades of coverage. One such article published on January 25th titled "The Greatest Hudson County Sports Figures of Our Time" featured, as you might imagine, the likes of Chuck Wepner, Richie Glover, Maria Pepe, The Faa - Ed Ford, and the Hurley Family, among many others who were household names in Hudson County long before they starred on the national stage.
Among those others were our own Jim Spanarkel '75 and Mike O'Koren '76. The Journal was quick to say, as all of us throughout the Hawk community have said for years, that "rarely do you hear the name of Spanarkel without the name O'Koren," going on to say that the two ushered in a new golden age of basketball in Hudson County (see above 'celebration' of the 50th anniversary of our first County Title, a victory over St. Anthony's.). This mention appeared in the article under the heading of "O'Koren, Spanarkel and the hotbed of hoops."
The Journal described the times of its prolific coverage of high school sports and athletes as a time when athletes would take a county title over a state title any day of the week, implying the all-important bragging rights among the athletes who interacted outside of school and all over the county. Hey, JJ, THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
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You can help Hudson Catholic
with 'likes' & 'shares' of our posts to your networks, from
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No Hawk Left Behind
We lose touch with some of our graduates who move around, go off to college, start careers, get married, etc. In some cases, they retire, having used their work email to receive ' BTL', and forget to notify us of a personal email address. Help us find them again and make it harder for us to lose touch. Many on this list have siblings who are Hawk alumni, so turn them in at advancement@hudsoncatholic.org or send them to hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected to update their contact info.
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Paul Andrukitis ‘69
Mike Bobal '69
Robert Garner ‘69
William McNeil ‘69
George Lopez ‘71
Richard Emmich ‘75
Neal Fiore ‘75
Patrick Fiore ‘ 75
Michael Fitzpatrick ‘75
Robert Frank ‘75
Sergio Gonzales ‘75
Peter Luciano ‘75
Jerome Mastrofilippo ‘75
David May ‘75
Thomas Miller ‘75
Scott Mitchell ‘75
Steven Mongon ‘75
Gary Monteleone ‘75
Gary Muche ‘75
John de la Rosa ‘76
Matthew Dolan '77
Kevin Julien '77
Thomas Dolan '80
Ed Johnson '80
Stephen Lawler ‘80
Rodney Minick ‘80
Joseph Perez ‘80
Kevin Rider ‘80
Rudy Schuele '80
Samuel Amorino ‘81
Barry Baxmeyer ‘81
John Brett ‘81
Patrick Burke ‘81
Juan Cabrera ‘81
James Cassell ‘81
Robert Curry ‘81
Brian Diego ‘81
Steven Durak ‘81
Kevin Galvin ‘81
Joseph Gegenfurtner ‘81
Akram Girgis ‘81
Kevin O'Dea '81
Robert Sekelsky ‘81
Paul Smith ‘81
John Sterlacci ‘81
Thomas Torrillo ‘81
John Wares ‘81
Gerard Wendolowski ‘81
Kenneth Yakubik ‘81
John Bancroft ‘82
Raul Cabato ‘82
Michael DeCandia ‘83
Sean Fitzgerald ‘83
Messiha Shafik ‘83
James Carten '84
Anthony DeRobertis '86
Tim Francisco ‘86
Pomchalit Ploykrachang '86
Vincent Pasculli ‘87
Deogracias Religioso ‘87
Frank Andriuolo ‘88
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Matt Moloughney '90
Maged Hanna ‘91
Dennis Dembowski ‘92
Joe Rolon ‘94
Matt Wedemeyer ‘94
Janak Bhimani '96
Brian Buska ‘96
Raymond Ermita '96
Kevin Caroll ‘97
Joseph Collins ‘97
Patrick Coyle ‘97
Miguel Fontaina ‘97
Sean Foster ‘97
Alvin Santos ‘97
Pietro Barberi ‘00
Ivan Diaz '00
Trident Villanueva ‘00
Allen Brooks ‘01
Jonathan Ward ‘01
John Kenny '02
Jonathan Warren ‘02
Barshae Mainor ‘03
Cliff Kneuppel ‘05
Azam Tawl ‘05
Harold Torres ‘05
Mike Loureiro ‘06
James Do ‘07
Brian Procel ‘08
Tolan Washington ‘08
Matthew Spano ‘09
Adam Chodaba '10
Ethan Espina ‘10
Gerald Marafioti ‘10
Angelica Moran ‘10
Samantha Moro ‘10
Erik Quaglietta ‘10
Mary Tudela ‘10
Diandra Valdes ‘10
Alfredo Samson ‘11
Thomas Kelly ‘12
Sara Ann Basile ‘13
Lucia Desoto-Merino ‘13
Michael Albunia '14
Dominque Casales ‘15
Marcos Khilla '15
Nicole Picinich ‘15
Kayla Rivera ‘15
Andrea Schelmety ‘15
Sonia Zaib ‘15
Tanaya Bell ‘16
Kaylin Warren ‘16
Lee Ann Acuna ‘17
Joseph Cruz ‘17
Kayla Gomez ‘17
Nicole Greco ‘18
Jennifer Rubio ‘18
Jaden Rolling '19
Abeana Bellotte ‘20
Mamady Magassouba ‘20
Dafeng Wang ‘20
Makayla Webb ‘20
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Reminders
If you receive our email at your workplace
We may not be getting through to you if our email is being intercepted by your spam filter. Only you can correct that by placing us on your safe list, which would allow communications from our Constant Contact email platform to reach you.
For Hawks at or nearing retirement age
and receive this newsletter at your workplace email address
Please send us your personal email address at hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected, or we will lose touch with you! This happens often.
advancement@hudsoncatholic.org to:
Plan a visit back to the Hawks Nest
Obtain or donate a yearbook through The Yearbook Exchange
Convey an obituary notice
Advertise your business card here for $30 per issue
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Do you have a newsworthy item or something from the present or past to share with the Hawk community?
· Landed your first job? Taken a new one?
· Received a promotion or honor?
· Gotten engaged or married?
· Celebrated a milestone anniversary?
· Welcomed a child or grandchild?
· Reminisced with fellow Hawks recently?
· Relocated?
· Retired from your last job?
Hudson Catholic welcomes any and all news about your career, education, family life, and reconnecting with other alumni.
Submit a note and share photos with the Hudson Catholic community at
advancement@hudsoncatholic.org
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"If you want to go far, go together."
-- Anonymous
"Say 'Yes' to things. Do the daunting things to experience resilience and accomplishment. Seeing the results and knowing you can do them is gold."
-- Anonymous
"
"An elderly man was asked what it was like to be old and know the majority of his life was behind him. He said that he has been the same age all his life, that the voice inside his head had never aged. His body had aged and his faculties dulled, but the person inside had never tired. Never aged. Never changed. Our spirits are eternal, our souls are forever."
-- Anonymous
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Requiescant in Pace
Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur
(Life is changed, not ended)
___________________________
Thomas Ebert,
father of Thomas Ebert '74, Michael Ebert '76 and Paul Ebert '80
Kathleen Igoe,
sister of Matthew Donohue ‘68
_______________________________________
Will be remembered in the annual
Alumni Mass of Remembrance
on November 2nd, 2025
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We Thank
Our Alumni Sponsors
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