This page is from the Providence College yearbook, ‘Veritas,’ in 1940, the year my father graduated from PC.
Forty years! What is that to you? Blink of an eye? (As we get older, doesn’t time speed up?)
I’m 59, and 40 years ago, I was a college sophomore living in an all-girls dorm on the campus of a Catholic college that my father attended (no girls back then), my older sister attended (she was a senior at the time), my cousin attended (Class of 1973), and my younger sister would attend. Providence College is, for some, a family tradition.
Forty years ago there were no cellphones, no email, no terrorism threats, no Netflix or Hulu, no personal computers, tablets, or iPods. There were no ATMs. No AIDS. The Berlin Wall stood. Jimmy Carter was president and if you ate a meal in Raymond Cafeteria, you might have heard Debby Boone singing ‘You Light Up My Life” over the piped-in music system.
When people die young, at the very beginning of their adult lives, one can’t help but imagine what they would have become. The ten girls who died in the Aquinas fire that snowy night will always be young in our memories.
Always remembered as the bright, youthful, beautiful girls they were:
Kathryn Jean Andresakes ’80
Jacqueline Luiza Botelho ’79
Barbara Jean Feeney ’81
Donna Bernadette Galligan ’81
Sallyann Garvey ’81
Gretchen Kay Ludwig ’81
Catherine Anne Repucci ’81
Laura Marie Ryan ’81
Deborah Ann Smith ’78
Dorothy Anne Widman ’81
Just returned from Mass in remembrance of Katy, Debbie, Jackie, Laura, Kathy , Donna, Barbara, Dot Sallyann and Gretchen. I lived on 4 North. I discovered the fire. I will never forget but will always remember these beautiful girls.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, Sharon. I do wish we’d met up this afternoon. I’m sending you a virtual hug.
LikeLike
Hey Sharon, hope all is well. I couldn’t make today but hope to see you at the next
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sorry I missed you, Sharon.
– Michele DiSalvo McHugh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicely written. I was a classmate of your sister 1978. My sister lived on the 4th floor Aquinas and I also had a brother who was a freshman at that time. Like you PC runs in our family. My dad was a graduate and lived in Aquinas in the 1950′ s. My daughter and 3 of my cousins also attended PC. This tragedy affected so many of us in so many ways. Today I attended a beautiful Mass at PC in memory of the victims. There were reunions of classmates, families, and faculty, and some tears. The emotions of that day are still with so many. Never to be forgotten.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Deb, thank you! I’m sorry we didn’t meet up at the Mass – and you’re right, it was a moving event. So many classmates in attendance, each of us with our own memories. 💙 Peace.
LikeLike
Patty Andresakes Ferguson,40 yrs… Thank You for your beautiful Tribute….always in our HEARTS…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved your sister.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for this beautiful post, Martha. Thank you for finding the words for those of us who still cannot find the words, even 40 years later.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely Mass today, Gina. 💙💙💙
LikeLike
Well written, Martha. You always choose the right words for such a sorrowful topic.
LikeLike
Thank you, Marie. We’re all filled with the grace of our sisters. xxx
LikeLike
God bless them and their families. Aquinas was my home for two years. I remember hearing about this tragedy on the news….the year before I was to start my college studies there. A wonderful tribute.
LikeLike
Thanks, Lori.
LikeLike
Great tribute Martha. Wow 40 years. Time does fly.
LikeLike
Too quickly, Michelle. But this afternoon, we were all PC students again.
LikeLike
My only thought for the day is: “May they all continue to Rest in Peace”.
LikeLike
Thank you, John.
LikeLike
I remember too, of course, but at a bit more of a remove. A young bride, we were living in our little apartment in Pawtucket when the news broke. Unthinkable that ten young women lost their lives in that fire. (It looks as though most of them were freshmen).
Horrible.
I knew none of them, but when I see a piece about that awful night, I read through each of their names, in memory, so they will never be forgotten. Forty years!
I can’t even fathom how terrible it was for you, Martha, living in the thing of it.
Rest In Peace, Kathryn, Jacqueline, Barbara, Donna, Sallyann, Gretchen, Catherine, Laura, Deborah, and Dorothy.
LikeLike
Katie Andresakes is,was my SISTER, Thank You for your kind thoughts and sympathy…
LikeLike
Patty, I’m so thankful we’ve connected. Beautiful, wonderful Katie.
LikeLike
Thank you, Connie. You’ve illustrated how this tragedy touched everyone who lived in the area in December 1977.
LikeLike
Well done, as always, Martha.
LikeLike
Thought of you today, too, Michelle. 💙💙💙
LikeLike