Michael Loffa:
CLASS OF 1971
Colonia High SchoolClass of 1971
Colonia, NJ
Michael's Story
Updated 10/2020 Some of you know I joined the US Merchant Marines at age 16 in 1969 and sailed during the summers until '72. I returned to school in October of '69 and was lucky enough to catch up on all the homework. I sailed around the world twice (notably Viet Nam, Korea and Japan) and put in about 4 years on deck before deciding to stay ashore. I went to MCC and got a AAS degree in Bio Tech and then went to work in the chemical industry while going to Rutgers. I got tired of NJ so I moved to Florida and went to work for Mobil Chemical Co (part of Mobil Oil). In 1988 I moved the first family to Arizona to get the kids out of bad schools and went to work for the City of Phoenix, first as a Chemical Tech then as an Environmental Compliance Inspector. I retired in 2011 as the Chief Water Quality Inspector with 15 employees and no lost time accidents, an accomplishment I am most proud of. I also created a comic book character for kids that we used to teach 3rd grade kids about storm water pollution. It was very successful ( the EPA even aske...Expand for more
d to use it) with almost a half million copies handed out in AZ and rights to copy it were given to many cities around the US. We also sent copies to countries around the world, like Mexico, Canada, and Italy.
Since then my second wife (Gail, who I dated in HS from Mother Seton HS) and I play golf as often as possible and head to Las Vegas (only a 3 hr. drive away) on a regular basis. We have 4 grand kids from age 10 to 17 who live in OH. Youth is wasted on the young for sure.
As a side note, I still sing a lot (but not bass anymore) although now it is just for my own entertainment (and anyone nearby??? LOL). Mr. DiGeorgio and my folks thought I had a future on the Broadway stage but I didn't think I would make it (since I don't dance very well) and I did not want to be a waiter in a fancy restaurant waiting for my big break half my life.
I hope to make it to the next 50+ year reunion. Be well, be safe, wear a mask!!! P.S. On November 20, 2022 we lost my best friend, George Walsh. RIP old friend. To contact me use stormcop71 with yahoo
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