St. Mary’s Inducts Nine into Hall of Fame

St. Mary’s Hall of Fame inductees included, front from left: Dr. Michael Fidler, Dr. Mary Finn Maples, Marguerite Callahan, Peggy Haggerty (representing her late uncle, Rev. William Kennedy) and Col. David Clark; back row, James Baldini, Michael Ruane, Mark Lee and Charles Gaeta.

St. Mary’s High School inducted nine alumni into the school’s Hall of Fame on April 27 at Spinelli’s in Lynnfield.

The inductees were: James G. Baldini ’66; Marguerite E. Callahan ’52; Col. David J. Clark ’77; Charles J. Gaeta ’70; Dr. Michael J. Fidler ’61’ Rev. William J. Kennedy ’52, S.J.; Mark E. Lee ’80; Dr. Mary Finn Maples ’51; and Michael A. Ruane ’67.

Baldini played football for Coach Nick Consoles, also a St. Mary’s Hall of Famer. He went on to the University of New Hampshire, graduating in 1966 with a degree in business. He has had a successful career in the financial services industry, currently serving as president of Suburban Campus Properties. He served in a leadership role on the Ours is to Build campaign.

Callahan, who graduated from Boston College, was an educator for more than 35 years, teaching at a Navajo mission in Arizona, for the U.S. Department of Defense in Bermuda and England, and for 32 years in Lynn Public Schools. Four of her siblings also graduated from St. Mary’s.

Col. Clark, a 28-year U.S. Army veteran, is one of the foremost intelligence officers in the military, serving as Director of Foreign Intelligence for the Army. He holds degrees from Boston College, Central Michigan University, the Defense Intelligence College and the U.S. Army War College. He is also the executive director of the Department of Defense’s 60th Anniversary of the Korean War committee.

Fidler has been an oral maxillofacial surgeon for more than 40 years. Prior to opening his practice, he served in the U.S. Army and treated servicemen who had suffered battlefield injuries during the Vietnam War. Fidler served as chair of the department of Dentistry and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y. Through Rotary International, he has volunteered one month a year treating people in Jamaica.

Gaeta has been executive director of the Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development since 1983. In that role, he has committed the agency to expanding housing opportunities, especially for low-income families, senior citizens and individuals who are disabled. He is also chair of the EDIC/Lynn board of directors. Gaeta was elected to the Lynn City Council at age 23 and council president at 25.

Rev. Kennedy, who was inducted posthumously, was on the receiving end of a 60-yard pass from Nick Consoles in a 1951 win over Central Catholic. He went on to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Jesuit priest Rev. Walter E. Kennedy. After his ordination in 1965, Rev. William Kennedy worked as a high school guidance counselor, college chaplain and admissions officer. He then served 25 years in parish ministry in Connecticut. He died in 2009.

Lee was named varsity hockey coach at his alma mater only six years after graduating. In his 25-year tenure, he has recorded more than 300 wins and guided the program’s ascension from Division 3 to Division 1. He is a member of the Lynn Police Department and co-owner – along with fellow SMH alumnus John Verrell — of a Boston restaurant and lounge, Battery Park.

Maples is known throughout the U.S. as an expert in counseling psychology and challenging people to fulfill their personal and professional goals. Currently the CEO of Transitions Life Coaching, Maples also serves as president emerita of Counseling and Educational Psychology at the University of Nevada-Reno. She has also served as a consultant to more than 100 state, regional and national agencies.

Ruane is the founder of TA Associates Realty, one of the largest privately held real estate advisors in the country. A graduate of Providence College and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, he is a member of the board of trustees at Providence and serves as chairman of the Northeast Health Foundation. St. Mary’s honored him in 2005 with the Cardinal Cushing Award in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to Catholic education.

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