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Volume 22 May 2014
P.O. Box 586 Ashland, KY 41105-0586
Where Are They Now?
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Von Ashland nach Deutschland
(From Ashland to Germany)
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ou can’t blame George Gallion for being a car nut. His love of cars took him from cruising the streets
of Ashland, Ky., in high school to an international career with General Motors that made him a
design icon in his adopted home of Germany.
Gallion, 77, remembers cruising with high school buddies from the Holy Family class of 1955, driving
between The Bluegrass and the Outpost, two long-gone burger joints that marked either end of the
Winchester Avenue cruise route. Back then, he drove a 1938 and 1940 Ford and later moved up to a 1948
Dodge convertible.
He speaks fondly of growing up in Ashland, and coincidentally during the phone interview from his
home “Achy Breaky Heart” (by Russell, Ky., native Billy Ray Cyrus) plays on the German radio station in
the background.
“I grew up as a car guy, and back then, Ashland was like the movie American Graffitti,” Gallion said.
“If you had a nice car, you went cruising between those two places. That was the culture. I did my share of
cruising. I never got in any trouble, but I cruised a bit.”
After high school graduation, Gallion attended college at Georgia Tech where he majored in industrial
design. He submitted his design portfolio to General Motors and three months after college in 1961, he
went to work in Detroit, Mich., as a car designer. He had a hand in the design of classics like the Buick
Riviera and Chevrolet Camaro, working on cars for the 1964 and 1965 model years.
Then, in 1969 GM sent him to Germany to work at Opel, the GM German car subsidiary, on a sixmonth exchange program.
“I worked there for half a year and liked it,” Gallion said. “I told them if you ever want somebody to
come back I’d be glad to. In 1969 they offered me a good job and I stayed.”
He met a woman in Germany, settled down and had two children who attended college in the states.
He doesn’t return to Ashland as often as he used to since the birth of his grandchild, who lives in Germany.
Over his 40-year career, Gallion helped developed the Opel Manta and Opel GT, two European models
that were sold in the U.S. through Buick dealerships. He also managed the design of many cars that are
unknown in his native land.
He retired from Opel as deputy design director in 2002, but still keeps his hand in the game. Opel
brought him back as part of the launch event for the new Monza Concept. Gallion designed the original
1977 Opel Monza, a highly successful coupe sold in Europe for many years. He talked to the automotive
press about the old and new cars and his approach to design.
Gallion is still very much a car guy and serves as a judge for classic car shows in Germany. He still has a
1964 Cadillac DeVille Convertible that was restored and stored in Arizona, and a Jeep Renegade shipped
over from the states. He still keeps an Opel GT that he had a hand in designing, and 1963 VW Beetle. And
he drives a European model Opel Meriva B people carrier, kind of a small minivan.
After speaking German for nearly 40 years, Gallion can pass as a native in some situations like talking
with a store clerk, but in longer conversations, his accent gives him away.
“A lot of people think I’m from Holland because Dutch people pronounce a soft ‘R’ like Americans
do,” he said. “We don’t roll the Rs, French and Italians swallow their Rs, English people skip over them.
Americans and Dutch pronounce their Rs and we stand out.”
He lives in the Taunus region, about an hour from the French border, and takes a drive across the
border for a meal on special occasions. His area is in wine country, too. “ I’m about four kilometers from
the nearest winery and we often go down the road and have a glass of wine and sit in the sun. It’s very nice
when the weather is right,” he said.
Gallion grew up in a house on Ashland’s Carter Avenue back when the railroad tracks went to the
C&O passenger train station that’s now PNC bank. He remembers watching for the steam from the trains
approaching from Catlettsburg, Ky., and putting a penny on the rail for the locomotive to smash it.
“We lived half a block from Central Park, and we spent a lot of time there in the summer,” he recalled.
“It was a nice place to grow up.”
Reprinted from Bridges magazine Winter/Spring ‘14 #38.
Photo compliments General Motors.
Holy Family | 1
Congratulations!
Holy Family Parish
2014
First Communion
Recipients
Holy Family School
Luck O’ The Irish
Reverse Raffle & Silent Auction Event
Mary Pat MCCLINTOCK Stewart, Steve Tremel,
and Claudia SEREY Rudmann
Nada Tabet and Vivian Malloy
* The 2014 First Communion class
includes the grandchildren of alums
Ann BROWN Perkins, John Slattery,
Stephanie MILLER Gallaher, and
Mary Pat MCCLINTOCK Stewart.
Congrats!
Scott Martin, Judge Gerald Reams
and Rob Serey
Gary and Laura MURER Willis
Happy Graduation
Holy Family
8th Graders
Good luck in high school!
Mary Jo BOND and Patrick Bell
Francis Mabley, Vivian Malloy,
Connie McCullough and Nada Tabet
Photo Ashley G. Quinn
Front, from left - Ruth Hernandez, Haley Defade,
Alyson Johnson and Brett Hall. Back, from left Layne Meek, Will Klein, Ryan Campbell and
Daniel Davidson.
David Gillespie, Annie Robinson,
David Wilson and Martha MURRAY Gillespie
2 | Holy Family
Al Lewis, Mary Ann Fitzgerald and
Greg Schlomer
In Memoriam
Laurence “Larry” Berscheit Jr. died February 26, 2014, following an extended
illness. He resided in Shelbyville, Ky. Larry was
born November 17, 1951, in Cabell County,
W.Va., a son of the late Laurence and Eva
Killin Berscheit. He was preceded in death by his
sister, Joyce BERSCHEIT Sturgill,’66.
Larry was a 1970 graduate of Holy Family
and served in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated
from Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in
criminal justice. He retired in 2005 as an investigator in
the Special Investigations unit for the Commonwealth of Kentucky office of
the Attorney General. Most recently, he was a claims and fraud investigator
with Ohio Casualty.
Survivors include his daughter Amanda of Lexington; his son Jon of Fort
Mitchell, Ky.; his longtime companion Missy Cole of Ashland; his sister
Minta Kaye BERSCHEIT ’62 of Russell; and two grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Holy Family Church with burial in
Bellefonte Memorial Gardens.
Henry “Frank” Quinlan died March 26, 2014, in Houston, Texas. He was born Jan. 10, 1961, in Chillicothe,
Ohio, the son of Charles Thomas and Billie Jean
Grissinger Quinlan. He was preceded in death by
his father and a nephew, George Hogg II.
Frank was a 1979 graduate of Holy Family
and attended Ashland Community College. He
graduated from Ashland Vocational Technical
school with a degree in electronics. Frank was
married to Margie Glockner and they had recently
celebrated 25 years of marriage. He worked as a plant
engineer with Zayo Bandwidth.
He is survived by his wife Margie; his son Sean Quinlan of Bixby, Okla.;
daughters Katherine Quinlan, Molly Quinlan Garrison, Mary Quinlan, and
Elizabeth Quinlan of Bixby,Okla., and Kelsey Quinlan of Tulsa; his mother,
Billie Jean Quinlan of Ashland; a brother Tom ‘75 of Lexington; two sisters,
Patricia Gray ’65 (Bob)of Lexington and Debbie Hogg ‘68 (George ‘66) of
Olive Hill; and two grandchildren of Bixby.
Funeral services and burial were held in Bixby.
Carolyn KRELL Keith died April 13, 2014, at
the age of 71 at her residence in Crittenden, Ky.
She was born July 25, 1942, in Ironton, Ohio,
to the late Charles Krell and Mary Margaret
Mahlmeister Krell. Carolyn was a retired
teacher for the Covington Independent
School District. She was a 1960 graduate
of Holy Family High School. Carolyn was a
graduate of Thomas More College, formerly
Villa Madonna, and taught with the Covington
School system for 30 years. Upon retirement,
she and her husband traveled the country in an RV for 17 years.
Carolyn was preceded in death by her sister Kay KRELL Blaine ’53. She
is survived by her husband of 45 years, Jerry Keith; her son Jerry Keith II
of Crittenden; two grandsons; her sisters Peggy KRELL Halpin ’58 of
Ft. Mitchell and Jane KRELL Scherer ’62 of Denver, Colo.; and her
brothers Tony Krell ’64 of Denver and Toddy Krell ’55 (Mary HOGG ‘59)
of Lexington.
Memorial services were held April 30 with burial in Riverside Cemetery,
Falmouth, Ky.
Walter Fred Weinfurtner, 54, of Ironton, Ohio,
formerly of Ashland, died March 14, 2014, in St.
Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va.
Fred was born November 8, 1954, a son of the late
Walter and Blanche Breeding Weinfurtner. He was
also preceded in death by his wife Brenda Roark
Weinfurtner.
He is survived by a son, Fred Weinfurtner of Coal Grove, Ohio; two
daughters, Rebecca Weinfurtner Potter of Flatwoods, Ky., and Hazel
Weinfurtner of Ashland; a brother, Emory Slone of Ashland; a sister, Susie
WEINFURTNER Blair ‘83 of Ashland; and a grandson.
Funeral services were held at Preston Family Funeral Home with burial
in O’Brien Cemetery.
Eileen STRAUS Thompson, age 98, died February 8, 2014, in Greeley,
Colo. She was born December 1, 1915, in Newark, Ohio, the biological
daughter of Duncan and Henrietta Macdonald. She was adopted in 1919
by Simon and Anna Straus of Portsmouth, Ohio, where she was raised. She
married Leonard Thompson in 1948 and moved to Ashland in 1952.
Mrs. Thompson was an active member of Holy Family parish during the
44 years that she lived in Ashland. She moved to Lexington in 1996 and to
Greeley in 1999 to be near her daughter and family.
She was preceded in death by her husband Leonard in 1990. She is
survived by their five children – Michael Thompson ’67 of Denver Colo.;
Kathy THOMPSON Baars ’69 (Ron) of Greeley; Bridget THOMPSON
Coffey ’70 of Marietta, Ga.; James Thompson ’82 of Allison Park, Pa.; Mark
Thompson of Lexington; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Holy Family Church with burial in Calvary
Cemetery.
Becky Keeton Curtis, age 64, died May 10, 2014,
at her home in Ashland, Ky. She was born September 27, the daughter of the late Curtis Keeton and
Ada Roe Scott. She was also predeceased by her stepfather Robert Scott. She is survived by her husband
Danny Curtis ’66 of Ashland; her son Drew Curtis
also of Ashland; her daughter, Courtney Whitaker
(Mike) of Woodstock, Ga.; a sister Jeannie Damron
Simmons of Woodstock; and two grandchildren,
Peyton and Lorelei Whitaker.
Becky was retired from Ashland Independent Schools where she served as
the school secretary at Hager Elementary for 24 years and became a second
mother to thousands of children. Becky leaves a legacy of love, friendship,
devotion and faith.
Funeral services were held at Holy Family Church.
Elinor Miller died May 22, 2014, in Versailles,
Ky. She was born Nov. 24, 1926, in Huntington,
W.Va., the daughter of the late Patrick Joseph and
Marjorie Jackson McDermott. Upon graduating
from St. Joseph’s High School in Huntington, she
attended Marshall University and graduated with
a degree in chemistry. She and her husband Charlie and family moved to Ashland in 1962 and Charlie died in 1978. Elinor worked for Ashland Oil after
the death of her husband and retired in 1990. Elinor was a very
active member of Holy Family Parish. She is survived by her three children,
Christine MILLER Donahoe ‘66 (Patrick) of Lexington, Michael Miller
(Jane) of Lexington and Matthew Miller ‘76 of Swansboro, N.C.,; four
grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. A funeral Mass was held at Holy
Family Church with the Rev. Jay Von Handorf officiating with burial in
Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington.
Holy Family | 3
The Blarney Stone
Non-Profit
US Postage
PAID
Ashland, KY
Permit No. 51
P.O. Box 586
Ashland, KY 41105
HOLY FAMILY
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
HFS Class Notes
School News
A Visit to Rome
Bob Curtis, class of ‘68, and his wife Susie shared photos from their recent
trip to Rome. “The crowd at the Canonization was unbelievable. We had a
great time! There is so much to do and see. We plan to return,” Bob said.
Academic Team
Congrats to Holy Family School’s elementary academic team for their great
performance in Governor’s Cup regional competition. HFS placed 6th out of
18 schools in the region. Pictured here are coaches Rich Debord and Theresia
Gussler along with sutdents Emma Stansbury, Maria Debord, Jared Johnson,
Mason Quinn, Wes Gibbs and Billy Gussler. Also serving as a coach was Lisa
LUNSFORD Haymond ‘77 (not pictured).
Thank You, Postage Donors­!
The Akers Family in memory of their
sister Cecila AKERS Irving, Class of 1965
Marjorie MULVANEY Goldcamp, Class of 1938
Go online at
Sharon TUSSEY Horton, Class of 1960
http://holyfamilyashland.weebly.com
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Bill Shackleford, Class of 1959
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Stay Connected
with Holy Family School
Chris Fox, Class of 1963
Betty LEHR, Class of 1945
Patricia FITZGERALD Suttles, Class of 1957
Dr. Joseph K. Weis, Class of 1972
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Bobby ROBINSON Wymer Class of 1968
Postage for The Blarney Stone is funded privately.
Your contribution is greatly appreciated. Please send checks to:
Blarney Stone, P. O. Box 586, Ashland, KY 41105-0586
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The Blarney Stone is published for
the alumni and friends of
Holy Family School.
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EDITOR:
Stephanie MILLER Gallaher ’65 stephanie@thegallahergroup.com
Designed, printed,
and donated by
The Gallaher Group
P.O. Box 586
101 Armco Blvd.
Ashland, KY 41101
606-329-8383