28 F r . P a r a m o 5 0 y e a r s a t c a t h o l i c c e n t r a l • F a l l 2 0 1 7

Student memorieSof Fr. Paramo from the past fifty years:

1976 Mark Majkowski Business ConsultantI want to say that you were always prepared and aware. The fact that you looked for the right and to give proper credit was both eye opening

and what I now do myself.

I’ve really never seen students who didn’t want to build on what they already knew or ones who could entertain topics lacking a reasonable competency predicate. Things seem impossible sometimes as students, but you are limited as a teacher in what you can ask that will test competency. Of all items, I thought the most important thing you taught was not physics at all, but that your brain was less operative while watching TV than when sleeping.

What impressed me is that you had the materials you wanted to cover, a way to convey them, and a way to evaluate mastery. Also, and most importantly, you prepared what you planned to do and how to do it. And you never “hid” the answer. You gave us the tools to understand the problem and showed us how to apply them. You also used multiple cues which you may not have realized helped even those with undiagnosed learning differences that no one was aware of, understand.

You wrote, pointed, talked, and repeated. Anything that was important was mentioned several times in different ways. And you were a little more interesting, as you almost never stood still, just watching you move made one more active in listening and comprehending.

A man 40 years ahead of his time.

1976 Greg Budde Technology CoordinatorFr. Ray Paramo, like many of his teaching colleagues at Catholic Central, was a gifted classroom teacher. He taught both physics and theology at CC with great dedication to his students. I remember taking an honors physics course at the University of Michigan where much of the content taught in a semester was a review of what I had learned from

Fr. Paramo at Catholic Central. My wife and I have been blessed to hear Fr. Ray preach at Mass on a few occasions over the years and can testify that his teaching ability remains strong. It is always a great joy to encounter Fr. Ray at social events, and I congratulate him on his fifty years of service to the CC family.

Rather than a detailed biography, the editors thought it would be more effective to have Fr. Paramo’s students and colleagues express their experiences of his ministry over the past fifty years. Below are some of these expressions.

1977 Joe Luther Attorney/Business OwnerI vividly remember taking Fr. Paramo’s theology class as a senior. The class was called “Man’s Search for Meaning Through Science” but the computer abbreviation for the class in the syllabus was simply “Mng Sci.” Perhaps in part because of the unusual name and also in part because it was being taught by the physics teacher, the class had a bit of

a mysterious reputation. Despite my concern that it might not be an easy “A” like most theology classes, my curiosity won and I took the class. I can remember like it was yesterday on the first day of the class when Fr. Ray said that during this class he will prove that God does exist (it is not a matter of belief), and he will do so without having to settle the debate between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the book of Genesis. Well, he certainly got this seventeen year-old’s undivided attention! He went on over the next few months to explore so many ideas of science, evolution, and the cosmos while underscoring the divine and miraculous origin of matter, life, and, most of all, man’s conscious ability to know and understand its beauty.

Over the years I have been asked, what was the best class you ever took? There is no doubt that no class in grammar or high school, college or law school had a greater impact on my life than Fr. Ray’s Mng Sci class. Every time I look at anything in nature or the sky I feel a deeper sense of connection to it all because of Ray Paramo. His brilliant understanding of science and nature is only outshone by his deeper understanding of God’s love and infinite grace. I feel very blessed to have been his student in such an important subject matter, and even more fortunate to call him my friend (and always teacher) now.

circa 1989

circa 2005

29F r . P a r a m o 5 0 y e a r s a t c a t h o l i c c e n t r a l • F a l l 2 0 1 7

1972 Peter Dabos Medical Software EngineerOn the occasion of your fiftieth year as a priest, I would like to thank you for the contributions that you have made to me and to others. Thank you for the inspiration that you have provided to me and to others over the years.Thank you for providing the sacraments, both at

Catholic Central and in local parishes. Thank you for your work as a theology teacher. While I was not able to personally attend your theology classes, I have learned a lot by speaking with you.

Thank you for your work as a physics teacher. I am now working on an application of high energy physics, a superconducting synchrocyclotron that is used to treat cancer. The laws of physics that you taught me still apply. As an engineer, I am sometimes required to keep a lab notebook, and I think of my first lab notebook, the one in your physics class, when I do this. Thank you for your work as an administrator. Thanks to your efforts, Catholic Central continues to thrive.

Thank you for encouraging me to study and play the violin. I am still playing violin, and I have also learned to play the viola. I have studied piano, and I am now learning to play the organ. I played violin and viola in many local orchestras, at many weddings, and at many Masses. Thank you for rescuing me from the Catholic Central band leader, William B. Watts ’40, who said that if I wanted to play a violin solo at Catholic Central that I should be carrying a flag on the football field with the marching band.

Thank you for introducing me to Richard Wagner. As you may recall, I attended the entire Wagner Ring cycle in Seattle with you. Wagner’s music has made a great impression on me. Thank you for inviting me to attend some Detroit Symphony concerts with you when I was a high school student. I think that it is very important to be exposed to different forms of classical music, as I believe that our musical tastes are largely formed during the high school years. Thank you for your friendship over the years.

1969 Kevin Sheahan AttorneyFr. Paramo came to CC the year after our father died. He was and is a great gift to our (Kevin ’69 and Patrick ’71) lives.

We are beneficiaries of his passion for teaching, for trying to get us to “think in a straight line.” In the tumultuous times of the ‘60s, he listened to our pronouncements, however goofy or poorly thought out. Fr. Ray gave us the respect of a thoughtful reply, demanded that we reply in kind, and defended our right to think and act as individuals. Throughout our lives, he has included us in his intellectual, artistic, and religious curiosity.

More importantly, he became a friend, not only to us, but also to our family. He came to weddings and blessed our homes. He engaged, challenged, and occasionally lost arguments with Mary, our mom. He entranced her Southern Baptist sister Milbrey with his wisdom, but mostly with their shared love of music. He has championed and supported Milbrey’s son Randy, a classically trained pianist who manages group homes for the handicapped.

When our sister Ellen committed suicide, Fr. Paramo celebrated a private Mass for our family at the Basilian residence. We felt he was extending the friendship of the Church to us through himself.Our family, and a lot of others, has many reasons to be grateful for Fr. Paramo’s vocation, which he has described as “seeing Christ in other people.”

Inspiration.

Challenge.

Growth.

Some people have changed our lives forever. At Catholic Central High School, Fr. Ray Paramo is such a person. In honor of Fr. Paramo, CC established the Fr. Ray Paramo Scholarship Fund to help with tuition costs for deserving Shamrocks!

Fr. raymond Paramo, C.S.B.

ScholarShip fund

circa 2010 - back row, left to right: Fr. Robert Moslosky, C.S.B.,

Fr. James O’Neill, C.S.B., Fr. Jefferson Thompson, C.S.B., Fr. John

Huber, C.S.B.; front row, left to right: Fr. John Wheeler, C.S.B.’57,

Fr. Edwin Kline, C.S.B., Fr. George Smith, C.S.B. (Basilian Superior

General), Fr. Ray Paramo, C.S.B, Fr. Richard Ranalletti, C.S.B.

30 F r . P a r a m o 5 0 y e a r s a t c a t h o l i c c e n t r a l • F a l l 2 0 1 7

1974 Dave McAll Chemistry Ph.D.Albert Einstein was at a dinner party seated next to a teenager. She asked what he did. He said, “I study physics.” She replied, “Oh, I did that last year.”

Today, I still feel at least a little bit confident that I didn’t just take Fr. Paramo’s physics class, but that he taught me to study physics. I offer three examples as evidence.

I was at Tiger Stadium with a friend once, watching some pre-game hijinks among players trying to hit the highest pop-up. The friend wondered how high they were hitting the ball. I said we didn’t have to wonder. He pulled out his fancy timepiece, with a stopwatch function, and I pulled out the relevant kinematics equation from my head (d = v1t + ½ at2) and we calculated the height on the spot.

A few years back I was plying my craft as a surface scientist in rented space at Madonna University. My room was across the hall from the physics lab and I often spent time talking to the physics students. At the end of the semester, they were reviewing a practice test in preparation for the final. Typical students, in near-panic mode, they asked me, an aging chemist, for help. With no preparation and not having cracked a physics text for decades, I was able to answer most of the questions. I would have passed the exam easily, quite possibly with an A!

When Fr. Paramo taught optics, he always showed us his air lens to make the point of the importance of refractive index differences. I have that air lens now and have used it on three separate occasions – including a class lecture at Madonna and in a paper presented at a national chemistry conference. That demonstration NEVER fails to draw positive comment from the crowd afterward.

The point is that when Fr. Paramo taught something, it stayed taught. I no longer know the final body count in Romeo and Juliet, I don’t remember the 11th amendment to the US Constitution and, sadly, I would have to look up the integral for the sin x function. But, if you asked me to predict the size and location of an image produced by a convex lens, I could do it.

Thanks, Fr. Paramo!

With Basilian colleagues in 1971, left to right: Fr. Allen Genca, C.S.B.’50, Fr. Robert Seguin, C.S.B. ’58, Fr. Phil Acquaro, C.S.B. and Fr. Joseph Miller, C.S.B.’44

At the Novi Campus groundbreaking ceremony in 2003, with Fr. Marvin

Labute, C.S.B. and Fr. Edwin Kline, C.S.B. Also seen are then Congressman

Thaddeus McCotter ’83 with his family and Fr. John Menner, C.S.B.

Being honored at the Annual Alumni Association Dinner

in 2010, with Fr. Richard Elmer, C.S.B. ’46

31F r . P a r a m o 5 0 y e a r s a t c a t h o l i c c e n t r a l • F a l l 2 0 1 7

1975 Sean F. Cox U.S. District Court Judge Not long ago, I had lunch with Fr. Ray Paramo, Fr. Dick Elmer, C.S.B. ’46, as well as my classmate, Dr. Greg Mahr ’75, at the Selden Standard Restaurant near Wayne State

University. Greg is a prominent psychiatrist at Henry Ford Hospital. When I called Fr. Paramo to set up the luncheon and let him know that Greg was going to be able to join us, he was very excited because he was going to be able to discuss the most recent developments in psychiatry, psychology, and philosophy with Greg. Lunch revolved around a discussion between Fr. Paramo and Greg about the writings of the French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

I am not sure if Fr. Elmer was paying close attention to the discussion or not. After a while, my mind wandered to the physics class I had with Fr. Paramo during my senior year at Catholic Central. As a student, I had little interest in science, and, more specifically, less interest in physics. I thought about my lab partner, Doug Cousino ’75, and some of his zany antics during our physics labs.

I must say that Fr. Paramo had a rare gift in that he could make a subject interesting for a student who had little interest, and less aptitude, in the subject. I actually enjoyed the physics course I had with Fr. Paramo! I came to learn how Fr. Paramo is a renaissance man (as is Dr. Mahr). I always thought of Fr. Paramo as a science teacher. Later, I learned that he was an excellent instructor in theology, psychology, and sociology. Fr. Paramo was one of the finest teachers I have had at any educational level, including high school, college, and law school.

1970 Terry Cwik Automotive Electrical Systems

Product Design Engineer I was fortunate enough to meet Fr. Ray Paramo in the fall of 1967, my sophomore year at DCC. Fr. Ray asked me to assist him in the bookstore and I accepted his offer. That started the relationship and friendship that

is approaching 50 years. This enabled me to experience a life-long exposure to the culture, the mystery, and the humor of Fr. Ray.

My early impression of Fr. Ray was of amazement due to his office just off of the Physics Lab at 6565 West Outer Drive. He had this great stereo system and a large collection of records that spanned many musical styles and he liked to play them loud. Besides working for him for my entire time at CC, he also was my Physics teacher and my senior year Religion teacher. That Religion class was a unique blend of science and God, a great class.

With Fr. Ray, I attended my first opera (Michigan Opera Theatre) and my first Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert. For me, the mystery of the man revolves around his travels. Fr. Ray loves to travel and I have been fortunate to accompany him on a few of his trips. His stories are always a great listen. He knows someone in almost every place that you can mention. Some have even questioned if he is a CIA agent.

Fr. Ray liked to emphasize the knowledge and goodness part of the CC Motto and this is reflected in his successful efforts to establish the Fr. Daniel Dillon Award in 1970, which is given each year to the graduate with the highest grade-point average, and the Academic Showcase Wall at CC in 2009. The Congregation of St. Basil was blessed when Ray Paramo was ordained in 1966, but the CC Family is the true winner for having Fr. Ray Paramo at CC since the fall of 1967.

May Our Lord continue to bless Fr. Ray and allow him to continue his enjoyment of all parts of this planet.

Left to right: Fr. Ray Paramo, C.S.B., Sam Kennedy ’69, Fr. Leo Klosterman, C.S.B., Tom Sklut ’69

1969 Tom Sklut FundraiserThe Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - we enter another world through the wardrobe. Alice in Wonderland introduces a new reality when we fall down a rabbit hole. Harry Potter travels to Hogwarts by train. New worlds,

new realities, new understandings. New knowledge.

Fifty years of traveling to new worlds, thanks to the presence of Raymond Paramo in our lives. Through the portals of science, religion, philosophy, music, theater, visual arts, literature, poetry, and more. Guide, partner, fellow-traveler. Mentor. Friend. Teacher. Thank you, Ray!

32 F r . P a r a m o 5 0 y e a r s a t c a t h o l i c c e n t r a l • F a l l 2 0 1 7

(734) 927-1888 • info@smprate.com • successmortgagepartners.comhttp://nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/130562

Purchase • Refinance • Conventional • FHA • VA • Reverse Mortgage • HARP programPROUDLY SERVING MICHIGAN, FLORIDA, TEXAS, GEORGIA, N. CAROLINA, S. CAROLINA, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, AND WYOMING

Catholic Central Alumni Owners & ManagementTo express our appreciation for your obtaining a residential mortgage from Success Mortgage Partners by December 31, 2017,

at the closing of your loan, we will give you, the borrower, a check for $1,000.

1964 John Ronayne AttorneyAlthough I never had the experience of being one of Fr. Paramo’s students, I certainly know of his reputation as one of CC’s great educators.

My experience with Fr. Paramo came long after my days as a student, when I had the privilege to serve on the school’s Board of Directors.

The Board at that time was newly-minted, in that for the first time lay directors would serve on what had previously been an all-Basilian Board. It is probably fair to say that it was, in a good way, a challenging time for all. It was a new experience for everyone – new people and a new and more formal form of governance.

Fortunately for everyone, Fr. Paramo was the Chairman of that Board. He thoughtfully and insightfully guided us not only through the issues of the day but also through the more subtle issues emanating from new facts, new ideas, and the changed approach to governance. He skillfully guided our discourse and was able to reconcile and harmonize different points of view. It was an immensely rewarding experience, in no small part in consequence of Fr. Paramo’s leadership. He was an example for all of us.

1979 Tom Stepien IT Engineer/EntrepreneurRay Paramo inspired me, an awkward kid from a big family with limited exposure to the world - one who worked weekends at Olga’s Kitchen to afford the CC tuition. His enthusiasm for

science introduced me to opportunities I had never imagined, created in me a passion for tinkering and thinking, and launched me on a trajectory of lifetime learning. During the first day of Physics in the 11th grade, this great teacher appeared to stop a rotating fan with a strobe light. I was hooked! I continued as an undergraduate and graduate student in mechanical engineering with a focus on robotics. I have enjoyed a long career in the semiconductor industry, gaining management experience and international awareness. I started a couple of companies, including one that makes large batteries for the smart grid. Our battery systems are shipping to multiple countries and will help make the world cleaner and brighter.

A teacher like Ray Paramo is a gem. He sheds light not just on students for the year or two he has them in his classroom but in the years to follow. Father Paramo’s love of science and innovation is a spark which has ignited generations of CC students to make a difference.

In order to fit these into the printed version of the Aluminator, some have been shortened and others have had to be omitted. However, all responses appear in their entirety on the CC website. Also included will be responses that arrive after the printing deadlines. To see these please visit www.catholiccentral.net/paramo or use the QR code.

Mass 10 am ~ Reception to Follow

ALL ARE INVITED!

Come help us celebrate his 50 years of ministry to CC!

CC Celebrates Fr. Ray Paramo, C.S.B.Sunday, September 17, 2017

Catholic Central chapel

To RSVP, contact the Office of Advancement at (248) 596-3838

With adoring students circa 1983