Gilbert Alums meet aboard Navy ship

WINSTED — The Gilbert School received news last week that two of its graduates met recently during an official visit aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower at the ship’s home port in Norfolk, Va.

Chief Petty Officer Lori Steenstra, class of 1984, sent an e-mail to Gilbert last month, following a visit from fellow sailors aboard the Eisenhower.

“We use this opportunity to showcase the professionalism of our sailors and the work they do,� Steenstra wrote. “We are currently on our routine six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and supporting troops on the ground and Afghanistan.�

Steenstra was surprised to find out that one of the visitors on Feb. 16 and 17 was Rear Admiral Karen Flaherty, class of 1970, who is deputy chief of the Wounded, Ill and Injured, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

“On the day of her arrival and throughout the day, I tried to find the time to speak with her,� Steenstra recalled. “Finally, I found a small window of available time and approached and no sooner had I informed her that I was an alumna, but she informed me, too, that she was the daughter of the late science [physics] teacher at The Gilbert School, none other than Mr. William ‘Doc’ Flaherty. I told her I had known him when I first came to the school with my father, who was a former headmaster from 1981 to 1992. She remembered my dad and was totally shocked to see me (and a Winsted native at that).

“My dad remembered Mr. Flaherty very well and thought he might have remembered her, too. We spoke for 20 to 25 minutes, catching up on Winsted news, her family and mine.�

The two Laurel City natives posed for a photo and went their separate ways.

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