17 INDUCTIONS deck house antennas on the Navy’s three Zumwalt Stealth Destroyers. en, in 2008, Rich started LiteFighter Systems, LLC, with his two sons, Mike and Bill. is family-owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business specializes in manufacturing a unique Individual Shelter System for the Army, as well as other quality equipment for soldiers. In addition to his active involvement serving the Army and veterans, Rich’s accomplishments and recognitions are extensive. In 2005, he received the Indiana University Z.G. Clevenger Award, the highest honor given to a former IU athlete, recognizing his outstanding contributions to IU through service to its athletic program. In 2023, Rich received the Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award, which recognizes a Big Ten football student-athlete who has achieved success in leadership following their academic and athletic careers at a Big Ten University. Rich re ects on his inspiration from Major Don Hollender, a former Aquinas and West Point football player and military o cer, who served as a role model for his pursuits beyond Aquinas. He thanks his coach, Joe Repko, for pushing his AQ football team and teaching them that overcoming challenges strengthens you in more ways than one. Rich recalls that when he was shot in combat, he had a ashback to his time on the Aquinas eld, which helped him regain his composure and rally his soldiers. Rich has been married to his wife, Kay, for 56 years and they have three sons: Stephen, Michael, and William. He holds family, faith, country, friendships, work ethic, and competitive spirit close to his heart, attributing much of these values to his time at Aquinas. MR. JOHN A. D PETERS ’69 Distinguished Alumnus John Anthony DePeters, known to all as “Jack,” attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help grammar school and nished grammar school at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School. Jack enrolled as a freshman at Aquinas in 1965 and, a er graduating in 1969, attended St. John Fisher College (now University), where he earned a Bachelor in Business Administration in 1973. Jack juggled his studies at Aquinas and St. John Fisher with working about 35 hours a week at Wegmans (a workload that wouldn’t be allowed with today’s laws on employing minors). Over the years, Wegmans always seemed to have a new challenge for him, allowing him the exibility to try out many positions. Jack moved from working in the stores to the merchandising and corporate side of the business in 1982. During his 52 years at Wegmans, Jack rose from cleaning store bathrooms to becoming the highest-ranking non-Wegman executive in the familyowned company, as senior vice president of store operations. He credits his father for providing the example of a strong work ethic, which he followed by working six days a week ever since he began working full-time at Wegmans. Danny Wegman has stated: “Jack has played an immeasurable role in the success of our company by bringing our values to life and always putting people rst. His career has set an example of continuous learning and leadership for the many generations that followed. “Counting the number of people and families Jack has impacted throughout his professional career and through his community e orts would be an impossible feat. Our family is grateful for all that he has contributed to our company and our community.” Jack and his wife, Donna, have been married for 51 years. ey have lived in West Irondequoit for 48 years, and they have two daughters, Sarah and Laura, and three grandchildren: Jack, Blake and Duke. Both Jack and Donna have been directly involved with United Way for over three decades. ey have been Tocqueville Society members since 2010, serving as chairs from 2017–2018, solicitors from 2016–2021, and are current members of the Tocqueville Cabinet. ey sponsored the Tocqueville Challenge Grant in 2017 and have helped secure thousands of dollars in gi s throughout the years. Over the past 35 years, Jack and Donna have served many roles at United Way: Jack on the Finance Committee and Board of Directors and Donna on the Community Impact Cabinet. Most recently, Jack and Donna were named the 2023 Tocqueville Society Award Recipients. eir support for United Way is exempli ed through their generous contributions, continued volunteerism, and incredible involvement in the community. Jack has been on the St. John Fisher University Board of Trustees since 2007. He has served as chairman of the board, and was honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters in 2021. Jack, Donna, and their daughters have established e DePeters Family Center for Innovation and Teaching Excellence at St. John Fisher University. In memory of their parents, the DePeters family has dedicated two Family Gathering Rooms at St. Ann’s Home. PROF. FRANK JOSEPH GIBLIN, PHD ’60 Distinguished Career Frank Joseph Giblin graduated from Aquinas in 1960. During his time at Aquinas, Frank was a member of e Maroon & White, Oratoricals, and the German, Latin, Physics, and Chemistry Clubs. Frank also kept the scorebook for the basketball team, and then delivered the game stats to the Democrat & Chronicle Sports Department. A er graduating from Aquinas, Frank attended Assumption University, founded by the Basilian Fathers, where he majored in Chemical Engineering and graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree. While at Assumption, Frank was a member of the men’s basketball team that won the Canadian National Basketball Championship for the rst time in the school’s 100+ year history. In the summer of 1964, Frank worked as a summer intern for NASA during the Apollo Space Program. He later attended the State University of New York at Bu alo, earning his PhD in Biochemistry in 1974. Following his PhD, Frank began working as a postdoctoral fellow at the Eye Research Institute at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. is role evolved into a faculty position, where he became an Assistant Professor in 1983, a full Professor in 1993, and a Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Sciences in 2018. Frank also served as the Director of the Institute from 2004 to 2021.
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