Life After 90

Editor's Note: Rol Herriges passed away unexpectedly Jan. 24, mere weeks after an interview for this story; we're still including him as a tribute to his contributions.

Marty Weber ('56, '64 J.D.), Rol Herriges ('57) and Mike Paioni ('47) are anything but whatever your image of couch potatoes might be. All three continue to give back in an assortment of ways, making life better for those around them.

This trio served in the miliary. They rose high in the ranks of their chosen professions. Weber spent most of his career as a lawyer, Paioni as a bank administrator and Herriges as a journalist and public relations professional.

And all three set sterling examples of their Gonzaga educations late in their retired lives.

Weber, 91, took down his shingle in 2010 after 46 years practicing law, the last 36 at Lukins and Annis in Spokane. Raised in a Catholic family in Uniontown, Washington, he was the ninth of 10 children. It’s no surprise much of his service work is devoted to his church and parish. He also promoted religious life vocations through the national board of directors of Serra International and as a trustee for the Serra Club of Spokane.

One of his favorite causes has been the restoration of the Jesuit Cemetery at Mt. St. Michael’s in northeast Spokane. In a project established with impetus from Mary Margaret (Brajcich) McLafferty (’74) and Dan Harbaugh (’70, ’74 J.D.), Weber was the moving force in the repair of the water system, straightening tombstones, trimming trees, and creating a brick-and-marble directory with the names of almost 700 Jesuits interred there.

Weber still shows his Gonzaga colors, attending every Zags’ home men’s basketball game with daughter Joan. He’s been a season ticket holder since 1999 but remembers the days “when we could arrive at game time and have no trouble getting a seat.”

Paioni is a man who has made the most of his 100 years.

“Gonzaga has come a long way since I was there as part of the Navy V-12 officer training program in 1944-47,” says Paioni (pronounced pie-OWN-ee), crediting former President Father Bernard Coughlin “for laying the foundation for what we have today.”

One of his best college memories was meeting Gonzaga alumnus Bing Crosby when the crooner came to campus and sang with the Glee Club.

Paioni also boxed for Gonzaga “but I got tired of getting hit, so I sang the national anthem before every fight,” he says. He was elected student body president by a slim margin over his boyhood friend Art Dugoni, “although Dugoni long believed it was a tie.”

Before Crosby's death in 1977, Paioni twice ran into him at a golf and country club. “Although Bing was quiet and reserved, we loved talking about Gonzaga and our memories of the Glee Club,” Paioni adds.

After a distinguished career with Bank of America (1963-1994) and living in Los Altos, California, Paioni made a point to continue singing and making people smile. With a beautiful tenor’s voice, he sang at the San Francisco Opera House, in a synagogue, at Bay Area churches and at his 600-member Vi Palo Alto retirement community, where he is known as “the Western Union Singing Telegram Boy.” He sings “Happy Birthday” to fellow residents in English, Italian and Spanish, igniting many smiles. Not bad for 100.

Also from a strong Catholic family, Herriges – whose middle name was Aloysius – was the seventh of 12 children. While he was never a member of Gonzaga’s Glee Club, as were the other two, it was a Glee Club performance at his high school that lured the Whitefish, Montana, lad to GU.

Before Gonzaga, Herriges attended Carroll College in Helena, Montana, and served a stint as photographer onboard the USS Rochester, stationed in Japan, during the Korean War. During that time, he cultivated a deep affinity for the Japanese people and their culture. He completed a journalism degree in GU’s School of Business and his career took him to Spokane’s KHQ TV and radio station, serving the last 10 of his 15 years there as news director. He helped publicize Expo ’74, then joined Associated General Contractors as trust manager, where he finished his working career in 2007.

Serving on community boards put his passions to good use for the AGC foundation board, Morning Star Boys’ Ranch, Spokane Heart Association, Gonzaga Alumni Association, GU’s Board of Regents and United Way.

A champion of Spokane’s Sister Cities Association, Herriges was its president for 13 years and remained active in the Spokane Nishinomiya (Japan) Sister City Society until his death. He welcomed many Japanese visitors to Spokane and made the return trip a few times.

“The last time in Japan I visited Hiroshima (190 miles from Nishinomiya), and a museum retelling the city’s story about the atomic bomb drop in 1945,” Herriges remembered. “I had the strangest feeling, seeing burnt clothing, melted bottles, a building whose top was blown off. It was haunting.”

One retirement project Herriges claimed “is the best job I ever had” was proofreading Gonzaga Magazine. “It helps me keep in touch with all the great things that are happening here.”

To these three gents who routinely exemplified Gonzaga’s mission, Salute! And to Herriges, rest in peace, good friend.