The Class of 1957 gathered for their 60th reunion on September 20, 2017. For some, it was another gathering
of old friends, while for others it was the first class reunion they had attended. For the reunion, Jean McAnaney,
wife of Ed McAnaney '57, created a reunion book for all attendees to see what the Class of 1957 had been
doing the past 60 years. Mrs. McAnaney forwarded the book to Fordham Prep with the idea that we should
interview a few members of the class for the Ramview to see the career choices the class made and how
Fordham Prep impacted their lives. Thank you for the idea! Here are three men of Fordham from 1957.
1957
Les Duffy
“I didn’t totally appreciate my Fordham
Prep experience until later in life.”
Les Duffy was born on the Upper West
Side of Manhattan, but grew up in
Larchmont. “My parents wanted me and
my siblings to go to the local Catholic
school,” said Duffy. Coming out of
grammar school, Duffy had three choices
for high school – Iona Prep, Archbishop
Stepinac and Fordham Prep. After some
deliberation, he chose Fordham Prep.
During his time at Fordham Prep, students
were on one of three tracks: Classical
Honors, Science Honors and College
Preparatory. Duffy was placed on the
Science Honors track, which ended up
being a magnificent experience. “Most of
the teachers were wonderful and they
wanted you to think as opposed to
repeating information, which was my
experience in grammar school. This
became obvious during a theology class
when someone asked if there was life on
Jupiter, did they also have a Jesus Christ.
Instead of reprimanding the student who
asked the question, the teacher
entertained the question and wanted
analysis relating to the question. That
showed me Fordham Prep was a different
experience.” Another Fordham Prep
teacher who influenced Duffy’s high
school experience was legendary
Fordham Prep teacher and Hall of Honor
member Fr. John Leonard, SJ. Duffy also
swam on the Fordham Prep swim team
for three years.
After graduating from Fordham Prep,
Duffy went to Notre Dame, though he
wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He
changed his major three times - initially
he was on track to be an aeronautical
engineer, but then switched to math and
physics. That change did not go well and
after some “parental encouragement,”
Duffy became a political science major.
After graduation, he still did not know
what he wanted to do, but knew he would
have better career opportunities with a
post-graduate degree. “Medical school
and teaching were out of the question, so
I was left with business and law school. I
figured I could do business later, so I went
to law school.” So Duffy attended
Columbia Law School.
Between his second and third year of law
school, Duffy worked for a Wall Street law
firm and received an offer. With an offer in
hand, he decided to interview at other law
firms as well. Eventually, there was an
offer with Cahill Gordon Rindell, and Duffy
accepted. Before joining the firm, he
joined the National Guard and served six
months of active duty at Fort Dix. After
active duty, Duffy joined the law firm he
would work at for 47 years, working in
several different areas of law before
settling into mergers and acquisitions. He
retired at the end of 2012.
In 2017, Duffy attended his first Fordham
Prep reunion and stepped foot into the
“new” Fordham Prep for the first time. At
first, he didn’t realize there was a “new
Prep,” and he had to ask directions before
he finally arrived at his destination. He did
walk past Hughes Hall, which brought
back memories of Fr. Arthur Shea, SJ and
his “walking JUG!”
The reunion allowed Duffy to meet
classmates he had not seen in 60 years
and re-connect with classmates Ed
McAnaney and Marty Waters. Walking into
Fordham Prep and seeing the students, he
noticed the amount of technology at the
school and how the students looked older
and more sophisticated.
Looking back, Duffy feels the best
education he received was Fordham Prep
and law school. “I didn’t totally appreciate
my Fordham Prep experience until later in
life. The school helped me learn to think
and think critically. It was a good
experience.”
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