Al Preisser

The son of German immigrants , Al Preisser was a Bronx boy through and through . He attended St . Frances de Chantel for grammar school , and he and his older brother Walter were encouraged to attend Fordham Prep through the influence of Herman Dengler ( Class of 1916 ). Dengler and Preisser ’ s parents were part of the Kolping Association , a Catholic lay association founded by the German Catholic priest , Blessed Adolph Kolping . It was through the association that Preisser ’ s parents met Dengler ; it changed the course of history for the Preisser boys .

“ All the teachers at Fordham Prep were fabulous ,” says Preisser .” The teachers fostered intellectual curiosity and developed a diversity of opinion . That is a Jesuit education .” A few teachers stick out in Preisser ’ s mind . “ I was a history major in college because of Frank Holbrook . He made history fun . I also don ’ t want to forget Al Kirscher and Rudy Hanish .”

During his time at the Prep , Preisser was involved in intramurals , the Ramkin , the Dramatic Society as a member of the stage crew , but did appear on stage as a judge in the production of The Caine Mutiny .

Many of Preisser ’ s classmates matriculated to Fordham University , and he was no different . “ The college adviser , Fr . Hennessy , asked me where I was looking to go after Fordham Prep . Since my family couldn ’ t really afford me going out of state or boarding , I would have to ‘ day-hop ’ for college , so I told Fr . Hennessy I was looking at commuting to Fordham University . He had me fill out an application and said I was in ! It ’ s a different process today !”

Preisser joined the ROTC program at Fordham University . Through that program , he was able to go to Munich , Germany and visit relatives . After graduation , the father of one of his classmates , George “ Bunty ” Joiner , asked Al what he was going to do for work . Al did not have a definitive plan , so Mr . Joiner sent Al to the employment office where he was offered “ the perfect job ” in the buyer program at JC Penney . Preisser was hesitant at first , but his classmate ’ s father was right . Preisser worked at JC Penney for 34 years . In his last assignment , Preisser worked out of Florence , Italy for three and a half years . When JC Penney relocated to Dallas in 1988 , Preisser went along with the company and has been there ever since . “ It was a great company and Mr . Penney looked out for his employees .”

Preisser retired from JC Penney in 1998 and , needless to say , he is enjoying the retired life . “ I travel a lot to see my kids and grandkids . I also do a lot of church work with my parish , St . Rita ’ s , where I am in involved in the bread ministry . Preisser has also been involved with many other non-profit organizations in the Dallas area .

Even though Preisser is in Dallas , he is still in contact with many of his Fordham Prep classmates . “ We made a lot of lifelong friends during our time at Fordham Prep and we make sure to stay in contact with each other . My wife and I are reunion people , so we go up for reunions as well . It ’ s a good group of guys and we ’ ve gotten together on a regular basis . In fact , I ’ ll be spending New Year ’ s Eve in New York with the Reillys !”

Preisser has also made sure he still gives back to Fordham Prep . “ One of the major reasons I give to the Prep is because at that time the teachers were not well paid and Jesuits made up much of the faculty . Now , we need to support the faculty to make sure they are compensated for the work they do . Also , financial aid – when I went to the Prep , the tuition was $ 300 and could be afforded by the parents who were bus drivers or manual laborers . Today , with the tuition over $ 19,000 , it ’ s a huge burden . We need to make the education accessible to the sons of immigrants , like my parents were . They should have the same opportunity that I had . Giving back comes from my dad . He was a very generous person , and I feel I should do the same . I hope the younger classes will do the same .”