Leo T Lariviere Jr
My Life After LaSalle
My fellow classmates, I was totally looking forward to attending the reunion, but, unfortunately, a personal matter has come up, and I will be unable to attend. Since I won't be able to update you personally, I decided to write this to inform any of you who are interested in what I did during the last 60 years.
After graduating from LaSalle, I went to Providence College along with a number of you. I graduated in June 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics Education and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army.
After working for the summer, I went on active duty in November 1965 to the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, KY. After graduating from the Armor Officer Basic Course in February 1966, I was sent overseas to serve along the Korean DMZ.
While in Korea, I was stationed at Camp Kaiser which was actually North of the 38th Parallel during what has been designated as the 2nd Korean Conflict or DMZ War (1966-1969). I served as the Reconnaissance Platoon Leader for the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division for 5 months, and then became the Company Commander of A Company, 1st Bn (Mech), 17th Inf, as a Second Lieutenant. I commanded A Company for 9 months during which time I led the Company to an all time record setting performance at the 7th Division’s Counterguerilla Warfare School. I was promoted to First Lieutenant in November, 1966 and finished my overseas assignment in April 1967 being assigned to the 6th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort George G. Meade, MD as the Troop Commander of Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron.
After leaving active duty as a First Lieutenant, I continued a military career in the US Army Reserve during which time I graduated from the Armor Officer Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky in 1975 and as an Honor Graduate of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1978.
I served in various positions with the 76th Division Maneuver Training Command to include being the Chief of the Armor Team before being assigned as an Instructor for the Reserve Component of the Command and General Staff College. I served a total of twenty-one years on active duty and the reserves and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. Our classmates Chuck Gaffney and Jim McVeigh served with me as officers at various times in the 76th MTC.
In my civilian career, I taught mathematics in the Town of Lincoln School Department for 27 years. During that time, I earned my Masters of Arts in Teaching Mathematics at Rhode Island College in August of 1971, and was hired by the RIC Math Department as an Adjunct Professor in the fall of 1972. In 1978, I earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Mathematics Education at RIC, and continued to Adjunct there during most fall and spring semesters until 1996.
While teaching in Lincoln, I taught one year at the Elementary level, 4 years at the Junior High School level, and the remainder of my service at the Senior High School. Our classmates Jim McVeigh and Howie Boyaj taught at the High School as well.
I, also, served as the Lincoln Teacher Association’s President from June 1978 to June 1982, as well as an Executive Board Member of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and the Rhode Island AFL-CIO during the same period and was a member of the American Federation of Teachers from 1967-1994.
After retiring from Lincoln in June 1994, I taught mathematics to US Marines at the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training School (BOOST) at the Newport Naval Education Center and retired from there in 2007.
I married my wife Marianne in June 1969 and were together for close to 50 years until she passed in March 2019. We have 4 children---2 girls and 2 boys--and 5 grandchildren--1 girl and 4 boys.
When our children were growing up, we were actively involved with them as Leaders and Committee Members with Cub Scout Pack 4 Gaspee, Boy Scout Troop 4 Scout and St. Peter’s Brownie and Girl Scout Troops. Additionally, I was an assistant coach for my sons' soccer teams in the Warwick Firefighters League and grandson’s Tee Ball team at West Side Little League.
I am a Lifetime member of the 17th Infantry Association, the Brotherhood of US Army Veterans Association, Reserve Officers Association, and VFW Post #272. I am also a 3rd Degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Society of Mayflower Descendants.
Leo Lariviere
Leo T Lariviere Jr <llarivi06@gmail.com>
Warwick, RI USA - Monday, October 11, 2021 at 13:32:57 (EDT)