The Jesuit Legacy

Fellow Jesuit Alumni,

As we plan and prepare for the Fiftieth Anniversary of our Alma Mater, Jesuit High School of El Paso, we reflect on the achievements and perhaps some disappointments we’ve experienced in life. We realize what a gift we were given as young men by the Jesuit Priests and Brothers who shared their faith, wisdom, and understanding with us as they guided us through our high school education. Our accomplishments were made in science, engineering, medicine, law, education, business, government, etc. However, no matter what we have done, THERE IS MORE TO DO. We, Jesuit Alumni, say to the world, WE HAVE MORE TO OFFER. We have more to do, more people to thank, more people to help, more to live for. As we approach the Fiftieth Anniversary celebration we realize this is not the dusk of our lives, but rather the prime of our understanding.

We understand the sacrifices of the many people who formed and educated us. We understand their commitment, their dedication. We understand our goodness and the call to manifest that goodness. We understand the meaning of involvement to evoke change. We understand sacrifice. We understand the call to help the poor and disenfranchised. WE UNDERSTAND.

We, the undersigned, invite our Jesuit Alumni brothers to join us and collectively say to the world that we haven’t forgotten our roots, our education, our friends, our mentors. We say to the world that JESUIT GRADS ARE A SPECIAL BREED as we continue to make this a better world. We invite you to join us in supporting the continuing work of the Jesuits in and around El Paso. The ministries and services provided by the Jesuits are phenomenal. In addition to the sacramental ministries offered at Sacred Heart Parish by the Jesuits, they support a half-way house for battered and neglected women called Villa Maria, as well as an educational program for adult immigrants which offers GED classes at the primary and secondary level, ESL classes at 3 levels, citizenship classes in English and Spanish, and adult computer literacy classes. They also provide food on a daily basis to needy and hungry in the area, as well as a program designed to help the unemployed learn the skills they need to land better jobs. The Jesuits do this on a very limited budget. The needs are many but through our understanding, our generosity, our commitment we can lessen the burden of many. This is our legacy, our way of saying thank you to the many great men who set the example, who encouraged us, who made a difference in our lives. We do this in memory of all the Jesuit priests, brothers and lay teachers of Jesuit High School 1959-1972.

Class of 1963
Louie Lawrence, Peter Love, Mike McNamee, Kevin Shannon, Chava Gonzalez-Barney, Mario Correa, Tony Caruso, Henry Concha, Larry Candelaria, Roger Delgado

Class of 1964
Luis Gardea, Dan Tirres, John Joyce, Buck Gardner, Steve Putnicki, Bruno Zaldo, Mike Mattingly, Oscar Morales, Carlos Mora-Sanchez, Jerry Dufour, David Garcia James Higdon, Don (Chip) Orlowski, Jim Lorkowski, Ralph Torres, Matthew Walsh

Class of 1965
Julian Villapando,Chris Jensen, Tom Shaughnessy, Rick Enger, Joe Martinez

Class of 1966
Manny Varela, George Armendariz, Rene Mena, Mike Funk

Class of 1967
Ernie Valencia, Paul Beenen, Daniel Frequez, Charles Stephenson, Chuck Munoz, Mike Purcell

Class of 1968
Pat Velarde, Paul Enger,Larry Funk

Class of 1969
Raul Amaya, Danny Jurado, Francisco Trejo, Bobby Adauto

Class of 1970

Class of 1971
James Tirres

Class of 1972
J. Austin Ryan, Jim Horan