Congratulations to our 2021 Inductees
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Hudson Catholic is proud to announce that five new members have been elected to the Hudson Catholic Hall of Fame. They will be inducted at a semi-formal reception and dinner to be held June 18th at Hudson House in Port Liberte, Jersey City.
This distinguished class consists of our school’s founders, two lifelong educators, and two alumni who personify the LaSallian principle of living a life in service to others.
From the Founders in 1964 to our longest serving President/Principal who retired this past December 31st, the newest class for the Hall of Fame spans the entire 57-year history of Hudson Catholic.
The honorees are:
· Mr. Curt Zegler, Class of 1989
· David Lemagne, Class of 1992 (PAPD, posthumously)
· Mr. John Cruitt, teacher, administrator, coach
· Mr. Richard Garibell, President/Principal, 2012-2020
· The Founding Christian Brothers Communities of 1964 to 1968
Our honorees were nominated, vetted, and elected by the Hall of Fame Committee, which comprises the individual members of the Hall of Fame.
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Curt Zegler, 1989Perhaps more than any other graduate, Curt Zegler personifies the LaSallian tradition of living a life in service to others. He has given of his time, talent and treasure to Hudson Catholic. He embodies ‘Signum Fidei’.
Curt served 15 years as a leader in the Alumni Association, including as President from 1997 to 2001. His philanthropy knows few limits. He was a 12-year sponsor of Alumni Leadership Program awards for tuition assistance. He brought the resources of his firm, Turner Construction, to the sponsorship support of the Alumni Golf Outing and the Hudson Catholic Gala event for three decades. As a result, Curt is among the top donors in school history.
Among Curt's finest moments was his participation in the campaign to save Hudson Catholic in 2008, which led to the decision for Hudson Catholic to open its enrollment to girls. That could not have happened without Curt. He volunteered to serve as Lead Architect for retrofitting campus facilities to accommodate the acceptance of females to the Hawks Nest, thereby launching Hudson Catholic into the next era as a co-educational college preparatory school.
Following our transformation to co-educational, Curt received the De LaSalle Signum Fidei Award, the school’s highest individual honor, in 2010, for dedicated service to alma mater. That same year, he was appointed to the school’s Board of Consultors by the Archbishop and serves on that guiding body to present day.
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David LeMagne, 1992Posthumously Awarded
At eleven years old, David joined the Union City Ambulance Corp, thus beginning his life lived in service to others. He later earned his EMT certification there in 1990, as a sophomore at Hudson Catholic.
Upon graduation from Hudson Catholic in 1992, David worked as an EMT for the Jersey City Medical Center and for Newark’s University Hospital EMS. In 1994, David received an associate’s degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and started working as a paramedic for the Jersey City Medical Center. In 1997, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach to the football team and an athletic trainer, for the next two years.
David became a Port Authority Police Officer in August 2000, serving the people of New York and New Jersey. Barely more than a year later, on September 11, 2001, David Lemagne, age 27, rushed from Journal Square to the World Trade Center in response to the terrorist attacks, where he attempted to rescue victims trapped in the towers. Sadly, David perished in the fall of the towers while trying to save others. He had been told by his commanding officer to remain in Journal Square, but convinced the C.O. to let him go to the WTC because he was a certified EMT and would be needed to treat the injured. This young man not only dedicated his life in service to others, but ultimately gave that life in such service.
David Lemagne was posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush.
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John CruittJohn served our school community for 22 years as a dedicated teacher, development director, assistant principal for admissions, director of alumni/public relations, assistant athletic director, and head soccer coach. A/k/a ‘CruDog’ (his students will know him by this name), he worked tirelessly on behalf of our school, achieving great success in all of these positions, including: establishing our school's first development office, and maintaining a stable student enrollment.
His Hawk Soccer teams delivered 11 championship banners that fly in our gym, representing one sectional state championship, four county titles, and six conference championships. He enabled his teams to travel and compete against top-notch regional and international opponents. And for his dedication to his student athletes, John was named Coach of the Year numerous times by the Jersey City Coaches Association and Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Coaches Association.
John is the third member of the Athletic Wall of Honor in the (Hall of Famer) Rocky Pope Gym to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, following Rocky’s prized pupils, Jim Spanarkel and Mike O’Koren. And this is John’s second Hall of Fame enshrinement, having been inducted into the N.J. Coaches Hall of Fame by the NJSIAA in 2001.
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Richard Garibell
Mr. Richard Garibell retired as President/Principal on December 31st, 2020 after a distinguished 50-year career in education, as teacher, administrator, and institutional leader, starting in the Paterson public school system.
Mr. Garibell provided the professional command and steady hand that was needed at one the most critical times in school history, joining us in September 2012, stewarding the first class of graduating females through commencement, and presiding over the strengthening of our academic programs during his tenure.
Richard came to us at the time that Paterson Catholic closed its doors, and served Hudson Catholic for nine years, our third and longest serving President.
He presided over the strengthening of our academic curriculum, including the Dual Enrollment Program, established with St. Peter's University, that allows our Honors students to attend classes on both campuses and acquire transferable college level credits up to and including an Associates Degree from SPU upon high school graduation.
He leaves on a high note, having established the Medical Arts Program this year, a three-year program that provides students with an entree to a variety of medical and health related fields and prepares them to move on to college level studies in these fields of interest.
Perhaps Richard's greatest legacy is one of the greatest accomplishments of an Administrative and Faculty Team in the history of Hudson Catholic Regional High School -- the ability to adjust to teaching virtual and in-class students simultaneously during the pandemic by creating a curriculum and schedule that met our high standards for education, engaged our students, maintained health and safety for all, and enabled students to have a semi-normal year interacting with their classmates and friends during a time of quarantine and isolation.
Hudson Catholic is grateful to Richard Garibell for his stellar leadership of the institution and loyal support of our students and families in the Hudson Catholic community.
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Founding Christian Brothers 1964-1968
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Br. Francis McCormick - Principal 1964, 1965
Br. Thomas Caldwell - Principal 1966-1968
Br. Luke Maher - Vice Principal 1965-1968
Br. Robert Annas Br. Francis J. Diamond
Br. Norbert Dunn Br. Matthew Hogan
Br. Lloyd Hepburn Br. Martin Zewe
Br. Albert Lautenslager Br. Patrick King
Br. Bernard Gresh Br. Richard Kestler
Br. James McGowen Br. Leonard Lubbehusen
Br. Bernard Bilicki Br. John Condon
Br. Benedict Brown Br. Joseph T. Meyers
Br. Henry Laffey Br. Eadbert Moran
Br. Brenden Donnelly
On August 18, 1964, a group of six Brothers of the Christian Schools arrived in Jersey City to the parish of St. Patrick’s on Bramhall Avenue in downtown Jersey City, to take up the duties of handling their young charges, 142 incoming freshmen in the Class of 1968 on September 9th. These students would become forever known as the first graduating class of Hudson Catholic, themselves enshrined in the very first Hall of Fame inductions in 2005. Pictured to the left, in that first year, left to right, are Brothers Albert Lautenslager, Robert Annas, Norbert Dunn, Francis McCormick (our first Principal), Lloyd Hepburn, and Bernard Gresh (now Mr. Sean Gresh).
Over the course of that year, and the three years to follow, they were joined by 16 other Christian Brothers, including surviving members Patrick King (a first year Hall of Fame inductee), Richard Kestler, Joseph Meyers, and future HC Principals Luke Maher and Martin Zewe.
These Brothers were responsible for selecting and installing a truly outstanding Lay Faculty and support staff that became the envy of other schools in Hudson County. They selected our school colors and mascot, began our traditions, and oversaw the concept and design of our beloved school emblem, The Sign of Faith that today adorns our walls, letterheads, school apparel, and this publication’s masthead.
All of our 7,500+ graduates are grateful for the legacy left to us by these pioneering educators, but none are more grateful for their journey to, and long residence in, Jersey City, than the first ten graduating classes who experienced these men first hand.
Other deceased members of this esteemed group are Brothers Thomas Caldwell, Francis Diamond, Benedict Brown, Brendan Donnelly, John Condon, James McGowen, Matthew Hogan, D. Leonard Lubbeheusen, and Eadbert Moran.
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