My daughter and her husband have a vacation home in Bridgton and they gave us the key to that home for us to spend some free and easy time “away from it all.”

Every morning I bought two newspapers to keep me in touch with everything. The Sun Journal was one of the selections for local news.

On June 17, after doing the crossword puzzles, I couldn’t help but notice the lengthy write-up in the obit section on Richard J. Potvin Jr.‘s life.

It was in the first of four columns that I realized what a small world we live in. I not only knew this man, but I graduated with him from Mt. St. Charles Academy of Woonsocket, R.I., in 1949.

Mind you, I never bought your paper before, yet it seems that a rare coincidence like this happened. I waited until now to write this letter because I wanted to look at the 1949 “Excelsior” yearbook to see if, indeed, we had graduated together. And, yes we did.

I took the time to read all of the life of this man and was amazed at his accomplishments. I thought that I had a complete life traveling the world with my wife, having my own business, five children, my own home, 16 grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. Yet, Mr. Potvin far surpassed me in all categories.

Good for him. He deserved it.

Going over the yearbook I would like to bring you up to date on what the brothers of the Sacred Heart thought of him. First of all, he was known as “Jockey” to his classmates. He was “an athlete, a wit and a friend,” plus he participated in football, basketball, baseball and varsity hockey.

“Dick’s athletic ability and fine personality made him a well known personage atop Bernon Heights. His sharp passes in football and excellent defensive work in hockey won him the admiration of his opponents as well as his teammates.”

Thank you Sun Journal for being so thorough on the life of this good and great man. Reading about him brought a tear to my heart.

Marcel Duguay, Woonsocket, R.I.