Story and photos submitted by Charles Paikert
What did a stone lithographer, professional storyteller, healing practitioner, social worker, cardiologist, pastor, defense contractor, physician’s assistant, as well as lawyers, corporate executives, authors and teachers have in common when they gathered in a small gymnasium on Salt Springs Road in Syracuse in mid-September?
1965-66 CYO champions
They were members of the 1966 graduating class of Our Lady of Solace grammar school, reunited, improbably, nearly six decades after graduating from eighth grade and 30 years after the school closed in 1995.
The previous spring, class members Elizabeth “Betsy” Downes and Charles Paikert met at the 50th reunion of their 1974 graduating class at LeMoyne College. After reminiscing about grammar school, they agreed to see if it would be possible to arrange a reunion of the class, many of whom hadn’t seen each other in 59 years.
Classmate Robert Finke had laid the groundwork. After retiring and cleaning out his home office, he found the class picture of the OLS class of 1966. “I wondered what became of us,” Finke said. “What did we do to help make a better world? So, I started finding my classmates and discovered there was an interest in a possible reunion.”
Downes contacted Finke and a reunion committee was formed. Finke, a former trucking industry executive who may have a second career as a private investigator, continued to track down classmates. Christine Cosentino Gellert, Jack Morrison, Mike O’Malley, Robert O’Shea, John Quattrone and Paikert joined the committee and rolled up their sleeves as momentum built thanks to an overwhelmingly positive response.
Class picture in 2025, same seating order as original 1966 photo
On Friday, September 12, 20 of the 36 members of the OLS class (five have passed away) and their guests met at the former Our Lady of Solace Church, which closed in 2008 and is now a part of Hillside Children Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. They were given a tour of the school, now run by Hillside as the “Work-Scholarship Connection” program, which helps area students to stay in school and graduate.
That evening, classmates mingled and reconnected while enjoying a nostalgic buffet dinner in the school gym. Members of the 1966 CYO basketball team, which won the city championship, even tried to recapture lost glory by shooting some baskets. At the end of the evening, class president Mark Heitzman presented Downes and Gellert with bouquets of flowers in recognition of their contributions to the reunion committee.
The reunion continued on Saturday, as classmates and their guests gathered for a luncheon at a home on Skaneateles Lake, where they competed in a school trivia contest and heard a mesmerizing story told by James Brulé, an alumnus who recently participated in the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival. The reunion then moved to Skaneateles Village, where the classmates continued to catch up and reminisce during a scenic dinner cruise on the lake.
On Sunday, a number of classmates attended Mass at All Saints Church, formed when the former Our Lady of Solace and St. Teresa parishes merged, and had a farewell brunch at Drumlins Country Club.
Reflecting on her years at Our Lady of Solace, Downes said, “We were given a solid foundation for learning and life, strong enough to carry us through times of great change and to bring us back together after all these years.”
James Brulé telling a story at the reunion
“A lot has changed but a lot hasn’t,” said Paikert. “It was nice to see Hillside doing such a great job with the old church and school. And it was really touching to see so many grammar school classmates after all these years and fascinating to find out what they had done with their lives. But it was also very poignant knowing most of us would probably never see each other again.”
In addition to the organizing committee and Brulé and Heitzman, OLS alumni attending the reunion included Kimberlee Bowman, Mark Clauss, Steve Condon, Christine Curtin, Bill Duggan, Mark Falco, Nancy Farrell, Mary Pat Fitzgibbons, Jim Ross and Diane Sollish Torre.
Charles Paikert is the U.S. Correspondent for Family Wealth Report and co-author of “Madness: The Ten Most Memorable NCAA Basketball Finals.”
