Farewell, Jim

Jim Pelletier of Fort Wayne, IN served in many capacities in Unit 154, climaxing in his presidency at the time of his death. He was respected for his competent leadership, his excellent bridge ability, and his love of the game.

His most-often partner for at least the last 18 years was Joe Shull. (They even shared the same birthdays, though a year apart.)  Joe came over to Jim’s home at least every other week to talk bridge. Joe has this to say of his former partner:
  “Jim was a very good partner and a strong declarer. An important personality trait of his was that he was not easily rattled. He ran the tournament in Fort Wayne. He had many friends and acquaintances as overnight guests during tournament weeks. Jim started playing bridge in the mid 80s and earned over 2100 masterpoints during that time. He had many friends come from all over just to see him, to play bridge with him, and to have a good time.”

Jim was very active in his 13-year-old son’s ice skating and hockey. He was always at an ice rink if he was not at the bridge table. He was a wonderful father.

Jim passed away as a result of complications from a heart transplant. He received the heart of a 22-year-old male. Having had a bad heart for so many years (he had a heart attack at the age of 28) compromised the other organs, and they began to fail, despite the surgeons’ valiant efforts.

Welcome, Chuck

Chuck Briggs of Hobart, IN has assumed the duties of President of Unit 154. He has the awesome responsibility of filling the shoes of his predecessor.

This is Chuck’s message to the members of Unit 154 — It was in a sad moment that I assumed the presidency of Unit 154 with the passing of Jim Pelletier. We will miss his many contributions and the effort that he gave to our unit. The combined effort of Jim and Bob Carteaux to run the Fort Wayne Regional also greatly contributed to the financial stability of our unit. As your new president, I will share with you where I plan to place our efforts during my term.

Over the past four years under the leadership of Jim Davis, our primary effort has been to provide sectionals over the spring, summer, and fall months of the year. Another area that I would like to look into is new membership. The South Bend Club has done very well in attracting new members in the past couple of years. It may be worthwhile looking into their methods of attracting new members.

Finally, I would like to thank the Kokomo representatives, Jim Davis and Dick Ellis, for getting me involved in our unit and their guidance for the running of the Northwest Indiana Sectionals. I look forward to the next four years.
 

Life Master Milestones

Silver Life Masters

Nancy LaMaster enjoys the game immensely, especially playing with Frank, her favorite partner. Nancy and Frank travel extensively, playing in many regional and national tournaments, combined with visits to many places throughout the USA, as well.

Gene and Chris Miley from Hinsdale are an important part of Nancy’s bridge life. The foursome started out together in the 199ers, and Nancy made Life Master playing with them. They even travel together for bridge (as far away as Alaska).

Nancy is a bridge director in Thornton IL. She works untiringly to motivate players to come to the games. She works especially hard at encouraging newcomers to feel more comfortable in what can be an intimidating experience, and her newcomer games are some of the best attended. She teaches the game — which comes naturally, having been a math teacher.
 

Frank LaMaster’s love of bridge motivates him to play as often as possible. Bridge is always a source of enjoyment for him. He and Nancy combine their vacations with regionals and nationals, so they are often out of the state playing in many different venues.

Frank and Nancy are one of the successful husband/wife pairs. Nancy describes Frank as “wonderful — a great partner in bridge and in life. He’s a gentleman — always supportive, easy going, and compatible.”

Frank is a terrific father and a loving grandfather. The LaMasters are getting ready to move to Indianapolis, where they will be nearer to their children and grandchildren. They will truly be missed.

 

Bob Kellstrom’s illustrious bridge career has passed the 1000-point mark. His oftentimes partner, Howard Schmid, says this of Bob, “He is one of the easiest players to play with; he never gets upset.” That’s a statement with which we all agree. He is Mr. Congeniality.

Bob first learned to play bridge in the military where he played for money. He was in Army Security — a linguist — a voice interpreter. When he got married, he and his wife played, and they won a few trophies.

Bob was a math teacher — taught geometry mostly. He played bridge for 13 or 14 years, but stopped playing when he went to work at U.S. Steel, since he was working shift work, and his new wife didn’t play.

Bob resumed playing bridge about six years ago and just can’t get enough of it. He says there is a true love in him for bridge. “It stimulates our thinking, keeps us sharp, and keeps us going.”  Bob has a very bright outlook on life. He says his partners are all good people. As declarer, Bob gets the most out of every hand, and his defense is equally awesome!

Bronze Life Masters

Faye Anderson learned bridge in high school, and thought she knew what she was doing until she played during lunch times at Standard Oil. That was

when she was told. “I think you ought to take beginners’ lessons.”  Well, she was insulted!  Nevertheless, she did take intermediate and advanced lessons, and then started to play duplicate bridge.

Faye thanks Barbara Walczak for being instrumental in getting her Life Master designation, when she had no intention of ever doing so. The two of them went off to many tournaments trying to earn those gold points, even as far away as Reno. (And Barbara thanks Faye in return, since the Life Master quest was of mutual benefit.)  Faye is 89 years young with a sharp mind!
 

Andree Walczak — of the sanguine disposition — began playing bridge quite by accident. A neighbor had a game one afternoon, and someone didn’t show up. Andree was asked to fill in. She never had played bridge before, but she knew pinochle and felt she had good card sense, so she agreed, and she did surprisingly well. Her twin sister, Henriette, became interested in the game and always wanted to play, so upon her insistence Andree got involved.

Andree was a pediatrician before her retirement. She became interested in dysfunctional children and started a little clinic — Dysfunctional Child Center — where psychiatrists and psychologists evaluated children. This was at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. Andree was the director and coordinator of the clinic.

Andree was born in the French part of Switzerland and lived mostly in Geneva and Lausanne. She came to America in 1955 to practice pediatrics, only to find that she had to repeat all her studies when she came to this country.

Andree regards bridge as a nice pastime — nothing more than that. She doesn’t put her ego into it. She is happy when she wins, but is not unhappy if she doesn’t. She likes the good exercise it provides for the brain. She says bridge is a wonderful game — you meet so many people — so it fills both an intellectual and a social need.
 

Chuck Briggs has surpassed the 500-mp mark in a short 5 1/2 years. He attributes his success a lot to Dave Watkins who recognized his promise and started taking him to tournaments.

If it weren’t for Emelia Alberico, Chuck says he wouldn’t be playing duplicate bridge. He and Emelia played social bridge. Chuck wanted to kick his game up a notch and try duplicate, but didn’t want to come without a partner. Emelia was willing to give it a try with him. She still enjoys her Monday games with her only and patient partner, and she regards Chuck as her mentor and inspiration.

Chuck plays two or three days a week. He really enjoys playing bridge and the people he plays with. Dave Watkins characterizes Chuck as “an awfully good partner” and “fun to be around.”  They’ve gone to a lot of tournaments together. He says to Chuck, “Congratulations!  You are truly deserving of this award.”
 

Life Masters

Wayne Carpenter started playing duplicate bridge about forty years ago for a very short period of time. He then took off about 35 years to do one of those four-letter words — WORK! Shortly after he retired, he started to play duplicate bridge again and has loved every minute of it.

Dave Bigler feels that Wayne’s strength is in Swiss teams. Dave characterizes Wayne as one of the most consistent players in temperament and playing skills. Dave attributes Wayne’s encouragement as part of his impetus to play.

Wayne says, “Playing with and against such good players has helped me become a better player, and for this I am thankful. I must thank my cousin, Laverne Niksch, for being my partner most of the time. Also, Dave Bigler for being there most of the other times I have played.”

Wayne’s friendly demeanor and willingness to help new players improve their play is a wonderful asset to our game. He says, ”Duplicate bridge is by far the best game in the world and meeting such nice people is a terrific bonus.”
 

Dave Bigler began his duplicate bridge career with the purposeful intent of being the best bridge player he could be, and he has never wavered in that pursuit. This earning of the Life Master designation came to him in a relatively short time. Dave plays with great thought and superior logic.

Dave is a credit to our game. He plays with anyone who asks him and with assigned partners when he’s a standby. And in nearly every game he earns masterpoints. He is supportive of his partners and brings out the best in them. As an example of his expertise, he is being asked by the top players to be their partner. He is an advocate for the game and is willing to help newer players become better. He has just recently been named to serve on Unit 154’s Board of Directors.

As testimony to his accomplishments — Dave is in first place in his category in our unit’s Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney races by a substantial margin. He has made a strong first-place showing in both District 8’s races. And even more impressive — he is in 9th place in the world in the Ace of Clubs and 29th in the world in the Mini-McKenny race. An amazingly skillful player!
 

Series Game Winners

These six players were the highest scorers in a recent Series Game at Calumet Township:

     (seated)  John Chmielowiec - 2nd,  Faye Anderson - 5th.

   (standing)  Howard Schmid - 3rd,  Dan Spain - 1st, and Lou Nimnicht - 6th.

Not pictured is Sarah Nicewander - 4th.

The games were held on eight Wednesdays and Saturdays. The top four percentages of each player were recorded. Players could play with a partner no more than two times. Player rankings were weighted to level the playing field.