Mayville, Michigan Alumni Association - Est 1887 ~Celebrating 138 years in 2025~
2023 Alumni Scholarship and Duncan Memorial Award Recipient
Congratulations Hunter LaBean!
Hunter is pictured here receiving the Alumni Scholarship and the Duncan Memorial Award, presented by 50-year graduate, Joe Fowler, Class of 1973.
Hunter earned 8 All-Conference Awards and was selected for All Thumb Football 2 times.
He has been named Captain 4 times for his exceptional leadership.
Hunter is the son of Melissa Bodeis LaBean - '96 and Sam LaBean. His grandparents are Bruce and Sherry Reh Bodeis - '75. Hunters Great Grandparents on his Grandmother Sherry's side attended Mayville Schools, his Great-Great Grandfather David Ohmer was a graduate with the class of 1935, and his Great Grandfather Howard Bodeis was a graduate of the class of 1941.
Hunter LaBean and the Duncan Memorial Trophy
The Duncan Memorial Trophy was first presented in 1947, to Louis Hamilton. It was given in memory and honor of Norman Duncan, Class of 1937 by his best friend and classmate, George Foster. Scroll down the page to read the history behind this memorial award and the MHS Alumni who have received it in the past 76 years.
2022 Alumni Scholarship and Duncan Memorial Award Recipient
Congratulations Carly Hoag - Class of 2022!!
Carly is pictured here with David Patterson - Class of 1971 and former Norman Duncan Award recipient, at the 2022 Alumni Reunion Social. Carly is the daughter of Lane and Kelly Hoag.
Carly was also the Valedictorian of the Class of 2022. She took Dual Enrollment classes through Mid Michigan Community College and graduated High School with 36 college credits. Carly was active in basketball, volleyball and softball and won many sports awards. She is was also a member of the National Honor Society, Future Youth Involvement of Tuscola County, SADD Club, Student Council, Project Unify and the History Academic Games Team. In 2021, Carly was Mayville's Junior Citizen of the Year.
Carly will attend Oakland University with plans on becoming a Nurse and eventually a Nurse Practitioner.
The first Norman Duncan Memorial Award was given in 1947...
Norman Duncan Memorial Award
Who was Norman Duncan and who was George Foster, the classmate that gifted the Duncan Memorial Award to Mayville High School in 1947 in honor and in memory of his best friend and classmate Norm Duncan. Read below to find out who these two best friends really were.
Norman J. Duncan - Class of 1937
Norman J. Duncan was born in Mayville, Michigan on January 28, 1920
to William Henry And Anna J. Irwin Duncan. Norm attended Mayville High School and graduated with the Class of 1937. He married Marjorie May Widrig on March 6, 1943. They had one son, Norman John Duncan Jr.
After graduating from Mayville High School, Norm attended Michigan State. Duncan went on to captain the baseball team at Michigan State College (later Michigan State University). He led the Spartans in hitting in 1939, with a .341 batting average, and raised that figure to a team best .398 in 1940. In 1941, he hit .301 and attracted a lot of interest from major league clubs.
On June 26, 1941, Duncan and fellow Michigan State player, Casmir “Casey” Klewicki signed with the Browns and joined the St. Joseph Autos of the Class C Michigan State League. In their debut against Muskegon the following night, Duncan had a single and two walks in the lead-off spot, while Klewicki, playing third base and batting second, had four singles in six trips to the plate. Both players enjoyed strong rookie seasons. Duncan batted .277 in 66 games with 35 RBIs and four home runs, while Klewicki batted .261 in 63 games with 34 RBIs and six home runs.
Duncan returned to Michigan State in the fall of 1941, for post graduate work and also served as assistant baseball coach. He was sold to the Cincinnati Reds' organization for the 1942 season but military service called and he attended the Navy's Officer Training School in Chicago, from which he graduated as an ensign. Promoted to lieutenant junior grade, Duncan served on board the escort destroyer USS Whitehurst (DE-634) as an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Officer, interpreting data and determining changes of course and speed, as the ship hunted for enemy submarines.
The Whitehurst put to sea in November 1943, and performed a variety of escort duties in the Pacific. At the beginning of April 1945, she was involved in vital screening duties off the southwest coast of Okinawa during the invasion of the island. At 2:30 P.M., on April 12, 1945, four Japanese Aichi D3A "Val" dive-bombers approached the Whitehurst from the south. One plane detached itself from the group and headed for the destroyer. It circled and then commenced a steep dive in a kamikaze attack, somehow getting through the anti-aircraft fire and crashing into the ship's forward superstructure, penetrating the bulkheads and starting fires that enveloped the entire bridge.
Duncan's battle station was the SONAR Shack, which was a very small compartment on the face of the ship's superstructure just forward of the bridge. The plane—packed with explosives—passed through the Combat Information Center and the Pilot House, which was directly below the SONAR Shack. It is not known whether Duncan was killed at this time or jumped overboard to escape the inferno, but his body was never recovered. Of the crew of 189 men, 42 were dead or missing and over 40 were seriously burned or injured. The Whitehurst eventually limped back to Hawaii for repairs. Whitehurst returned to duty after being repaired and converted into a floating power station.
Norman Duncan is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio in the Philippines. He was awarded the Commendation Ribbon for his service as ASW Officer that led to the successful attack upon a Japanese submarine, and he was also awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
Norman Duncan Continued
Norm Duncan (front row, fourth from left) with the Michigan State baseball team in 1941
Norm Duncan taking a swing with Michigan State in 1941
The escort destroyer USS Whitehurst
(DE-634)
Norman J. Duncan - Recipients
Norman J. Duncan Recipients from 1947 - 2022
1947 - Louis Hamilton
1948 - Alfred Titus * (03-25-12)
1949 - Morgan Lily *
1950 - Edmond Stephens
1951 - Carl Lindsey *
1952 - Duane Lindsey
1953 - Richard Bodeis
1954 - Raymond Schlattman
1955 - Lloyd McLane *
1956 - Edward McLane *
1957 - Robert Robison
1958 - Donald McLane *
1959 - Duane Lamiman *
1960 - Larry Davidson *
1961 - Charles Aumack
1962 - Lester Hall
1963 - Robert Shepherd
1964 - Larry Lamiman * & Tom Topham
1965 - James Plain *
1966 - Roy Gotham
1967 - Alan Fox
1968 - Ray Beach
1969 - Clare Kregar
1970 - Daniel Stover
1971 - David Patterson
1972 - Richard Lieber *
1973 - Joe Fowler
1974 - Craig Weaver
1975 - Martin Crane
1976 - Janet Carr & Beverly Crampton
1977 - Ed LaBair
1978 - Gary Kitchen
1979 - Terry Diegel
1980 - Craig Stout
1981 - Todd Harris
1982 - Theresa Crampton
1983 - Kathy Mohr
1984 - Tim Harris
1985 - Mark McLane & Denise Merckel
1986 - Sharmin Berlin & Kelly Brooks
1987 - Dale Barnhart
1988 - Kim Fox
1989 - Shane Beach
1990 - Gail Labair
1991 - Andy Fox
1992 - Andrea Foote
1993 - Scott Frenzel
1994 - John Franzel
1995 - Matthew Steele
1996 - Dan Cheney
1997 - Courtney Foote
1998 - Ryan Buhl
1999 - Melissa Muncy
2000 - Stephanie Patterson
2001 - Michael A. Scigel
2002 - Jennifer Patterson
2003 - Elizabeth Lieber
2004 - Heather Hoenighausen
2005 - Andrea Richardson
2006 - Jared Kapa
2007 - Danielle Nelson
2008 - Nichole Grover
2009 - Nathan Richardson
2010 - Chelsea Roehl
2011 - Hayden Garlick
2012 - Francis Buggia
2013 - Ruth Squires
2014 – Kyle Baxter
2015 – Jacob Lefler
2016 - Andrew Morrison
2017 – Benjamin Hulley
2018 – Lauryn Frenzel
2019 – Logan LaBean
2020 – Grace Middleton
2021 – Austin Middleton
2022 – Carly Hoag
2023 - Hunter LaBean
2024 - Jordan Burke
* Deceased
50th Anniversary of Norman Duncan Memorial Award
50th Anniversary of the Norman Duncan Award - 1997
The first Norman Duncan Memorial Award
was award to Louis C. Hamilton, Class of 1947.
Seated L-R:
Richard Bodeis '53
Courtney Foote '97
Norman Duncan Jr. - son of Norman Duncan
Morgan Lilly '49
Standing 2nd Row:
Donald McLane '58
Duane Lamiman '59
Al Titus '49
Al Fox '67
Louis Hamilton '47
Back Row:
Tom Topham '64
Mark McLane '85
70th Anniversary of Norman Duncan Memorial Award
70th Anniversary of the Norman Duncan Award
The first Norman Duncan Memorial Award was award to Louis C. Hamilton, Class of 1947. To commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Norman Duncan Award, the Alumni Association invited each of the 72 honorees to attend the 2017 Alumni Banquet and have their photo taken with the original Duncan Memorial trophy.
Seated L-R:
Richard Bodeis '53
Robert Robison '57
Louis Hamilton '47
Charles Aumack '61
Standing:
Benjamin Hulley 2017
Roy Gotham '66
Thomas Topham '64
Dave Patterson '71
Ray Beach '68
Kimberly (Fox) Fannelli '88
Alan Fox '67
George Foster
George F. Foster Jr.
was born May 6, 1920, the only son of George Foster Sr. and his wife Dora Fink Foster. George Sr. was a farmer and later the Justice of the Peace in Mayville and his wife Dora was a teacher in the Fostoria Schools.
George Jr. was raised on his parents farm on West Millington Road, between Edwards and Center Road. The Foster Farm as it was known, was home to one of the largest and best milk producing herds of Holsteins in Tuscola County.
The buildings as well as the equipment and facilities were state-of-the-art, and the well kept farm was a model of modern dairy, and described as one of the most attractive farms in the region.
The farm’s milk production was so great that George Sr. owned his own milk truck and hauled his own milk, as well as that of several of his neighbors, to milk stations in Lapeer and Imlay City.
George Foster Jr. attended Mayville High school graduating in 1937, along with Norman Duncan. He and Norm were best friends, classmates and war buddies. From High School, to college, to the Naval Academy and into World War II.
George returned to Mayville following the War, but sadly, his best friend Norman Duncan did not. So it was at the 61st Annual Alumni Dinner, held June 12, 1947, with two hundred and eight guests attending, George Foster Jr. presented the Norman John Duncan Memorial Trophy to the Mayville School. It was accepted by superintendent Francis Ode. The first award was made that night to Louis Hamilton as the outstanding athlete for 1947, by coach William Lamiman, and so the tradition began.
On December 26, 1953 George Jr. married Lorriane Wills, and became a stepfather to Alice Mary, better known as Marie—Class of ‘64, Lorraine’s daughter from her first marriage. George and Lorraine also had a daughter born in December of 1955—Felicia, who graduated with the class of ‘75.
When George Foster Sr. became the Justice of the Peace and moved to the village of Mayville, George Jr. took over running the farm on Millington Road. In addition to cows, the farm also raised award winning Arabian horses.
Throughout the years, George Jr. attended many Alumni Banquets presenting the Norm Duncan Award in honor of his best friend and classmate. George Jr. passed away in 1974, but the presentation of the Duncan Award continues, in honor and in memory of two best friends.
