Spirit of Xaverian Dinner Honors School’s Finest

Paying tribute to those in its community that have dedicatedtheir lives to serving city and country as members of the ArmedForces, law enforcement and the FDNY, Xaverian High Schooladministration, faculty, alumni and friends gathered to celebratethe third annual Spirit of Xaverian Dinner on November 10.

Dr. Theodore Strange, co-founder and vice president ofUniversity Physicians Group, P.C. and a member of the Class of1977, was accorded the school’s highest honor, the Spirit ofXaverian Award. Strange, during an emotional speech, thankedfamily, friends and the Xaverian Brothers for their dedicationbefore calling upon his parents, John and Kay, to accept the awardwith him.

Lifelong Ridgeite Jerry Cahill and Donna Ward were inducted intothe St. Francis Xavier Society, Cahill for his extensive volunteerefforts fighting cystic fibrosis on behalf of the Boomer EsiasonFoundation and Ward for her leadership on the P.O. ChristopherHoban Race committee.

Xaverian also recognized four men as Distinguished Alumni:Thomas Grenham, former principal who founded the school’s renownedPipe and Drum Corps; Colonel Christopher Putko, highly decoratedover a 28-year career that included his service during OperationIraqi Freedom I; Dr. Vincent Tuohy, for his extensive work indeveloping a vaccine to prevent breast cancer; and Vice AdmiralJoseph Maguire, a retired Navy SEAL , who received a standingovation after recounting the pride he feels to have trained andserved with the men that carried out the raid on Osama BinLaden.

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