Dear Sandy,
Follows a sad episode, not a life story. Within two months last year, I lost two good friends, Joe Staley and Jim Sturdivant, both fellow Marines and attorneys. Joe practiced in Dallas, Jim in Tulsa.
Joe was a roommate, along with John Moss, for a year in Silliman. Both were fraternity brothers. I first met Jim when we spent the summer of 1958 going through boot camp at Quantico. Also with me at boot camp was classmate and fraternity brother, Alki E. Scopelitis, who was also an attorney, now retired in Bloomington, IN.
From boot camp, I kept in touch with Jim. I caught up with him when the ABA held a conference in London. We experienced three fun days together. From then, it was contact by phone and emails.
Back to the summer of 1958, on a free weekend (only 2,) Alki and I ate dinner at a small Greek grill in downtown Quantico. While we sat at the counter watching our steaks on the grill, Alki and the owner/chef were conversing in Greek. All at once, Alki and the owner were hugging each other over the counter. Later, Alki told me Alki’s father and the owner came from the same small Greek island. We were compted the dinner.
I still have good memories of Joe and Linda. We spent some time together at the 50th and at the following Chicago Mini. We enjoyed the Chicago River Cruise, along with John Day, another fraternity brother.
John and I spent the summer of 1959 touring Europe. The trip included 30 days in Russia. Through the influence of John’s father, we were given tickets to the American Exposition in Moscow. It was interesting to witness Khrushchev’s tirade in the kitchen exhibit. That evening we were invited to the dinner reception at the US Embassy. After 28 days of Russian cuisine, the food was much appreciated.
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