John McIntyre [Click] Also see John's memoir
FIRST GRADUATING CLASS - GE 1951
Seventy years ago this week (2021), two remarkable photographs of the first graduation class at Glen Ellyn, 1951 were taken. The two pictures are lined up differently. One appeared in the Glen Echo, Here the students are lined up alphabetically A-Z from the front row left as you look at the picture (Ahearn...) to the top row right (...Zebrowski).

Here is that picture:

Here is a larger font list of students

FRONT ROW: (left to right) J. Ahern, J. Baggot, L. Bechtold, J. Bodenstedt, J. Burke, F. Callahan, J. Casey, B. Collins, J. Comber, J. Conard, A. Cote, R. Corrigan.

SECOND ROW: (left to right) R. Devoe, E. Feeks, G. Fitzpatrick, E. Flanigan, L. Fortin, T. Fox, W. Frazier, H. Garner, J. Heim, G. Herminghaus, J. Hoegger, H. Holbrook, B. Hunley.

THIRD ROW: (left to right) J. Kalchthaler, R. Kardian, T. Keane, D. Kennedy, T. Killackey, J. La Coste, J. Leahy, R. McCabe, W. McCarthy, J. Mclntyre, D. McMahon, A. Macri, L. Maginnis.

FOURTH ROW: (left to right) T. Maney, R. Maxwell, R. Menard, G. Mische, R. Morgan, G. Murphy, W. O'Brien, J. O'Halloran, P. O'Regan, G. Pavis, W. Price, J. Pruss.

TOP ROW: (left to right) J. Rhomberg, W. Roddin, J. Schreck, M. Simone, W. Stumpf, G. Sullivan, J. Tetzel, D. Walsh, J. Walsh, T. Waterman, E. Wurth, C. Zarsky, V. Zebrowski.
I have had my own personal copy of it for decades. , with each individual named and marked, and have tried to follow and reach out to as many of those pictured as possible. Here the students are lined up alphabetically Z-A from the front row right as you look at the picture (...Zebrowski) to the top row left (Ahearn...).

Here is that picture:
Here is a list of those students.
Also, here are some pages showing full names.
Ordination Class 1956
The class "ordination class 1956" had been split in two for the final year of philosophy - two thirds of us were at GE, the others at the Knoll, and rejoined at Bedford on September 1, 1951. We were up to that point, and probably way, way on out to the future, one of the largest single-society second philosophy seminary classes in the country. Taking stock, we used the motto "56 in 56" and came very near it with the 54 actual ordinandi that June. Age wise, it was a fascinating class - ex-GIs mingled with junior seminary graduates the year (1947) Lakewood opened, and when we finally assembled as a class at Bedford, John Ridyard our "old man" at 31 was ten years older than the handful of us who were of "normal" age.

Here is a list of the 1956 "Ordinandi". Note that a large group were WWII vets. In the list, the "out" column indicates those who were laicized.
50th Reunion of Ordination Class of 1956

Two Who Left Before Ordination

Ed Feeks and I were best friends in GE. He and I (ordination class of '56) left Bedford in the early fifties and we had parallel Naval Careers, both retiring as senior Captains.

[Click] Link to Ed Feeks page