Class Notes for 1977

Class Notes 1977

Dennis J. Lane

8144 Winding Ross Way
Ellicott City, MD 21043
dlane@ryancom.com

summer 2007

Okay. I missed it. I am speaking of our 30th Reunion. I won’t take up valuable column space seeking to justify my absence so I’ll just say my bad. ... Fifty-six members of the Class of ’77 did show up though. Thanks to Brian Henke I have the list of those who did which I will now share in alphabetical order: Alan Baldarelli, Len Barbe, Daniel Baron, Nancy (Cunningham) Benacci, Kathleen Berry, John Bundy, Gina Butler, Leslie (Smith) Cade, Dan Conrad ’74 and Diane Siefert-Conrad, Linda Cuculic, Dave Cullen, Randy D’Amore, James DiSiena, Carol Dougherty (KanShin KiJaku), Ida (Reisner) Doverspike, Michael Downing, Thomas Englehart, Mary Anne Garvey, Kristine (Kress) Gehring, Brian Henke, Kevin Hinkel, Doug Hogan, Jonathan Ivec, Virginia (Beyer) Ivec, Patty Jamieson, Robert Juhasz, Bob (Bert) Keir, Kathy (Coffey) Kenny, Bob Kenny, Marianne Kerr, Demaris (Levitt) LeBlanc, Tim Leddy, Stan Mambort, Tom Mauerer, Don May, Betsy (Heben) May, Tony Mazzella, Mark McMullen, Kathy (Norris) Michael and Joseph Michael ’76, Mary Morrison, Urban Picard, Nancy Pierce, Maura (Shields) Powers, Mike Powers, William Raeder, Michele (Angelotti) Raeder, Ed Rybka, Tommy Schoen, Val Sgro, Dave South, and Tom Swanson. ... Curiously, John Rutherford was not on the list of attendees but I have photographic evidence that he was there. This evidence was also provided by Brian. He sent me a link to a Snapfish web site that is loaded with pictures from the gathering. If you drop Brian an e-mail - BrianHenke@aol.com - he can tell you how to access them. ... Bill (“White Owl”) Gedeon also showed up to reconnect with the class of ’77 even though Bill was actually in the class of ’76. He always shows up at our reunions because I think he just liked our class better! ... Even more curious to me were the listed attendees Diane Sharp and Jane Zusman. Their names don’t show up on the official class roster that the alumni office provided me but who is to say that they were not members of our class? At least they showed up which is, of course, more than I can say for myself. ... Kathy Berry was kind enough to send me one of the Rathskellar shirts that were made up for our class. I don’t deserve to wear it but I probably will. Thanks Kathy. ... For those loyal classmates that did attend, please send me news to share with the rest of the class. Remember, if you don’t, I will freely exercise my artistic license and just start making things up. Dennis

spring 2007

By the time this issue of John Carroll magazine appears our 30th Reunion will have already come and gone. The weird thing is that I am writing it two months before the reunion. I haven’t even gotten my plane tickets for Cleveland yet! Anyway, it was great seeing you; at least it was good to see those of you that I did see. Unless of course for some yet unknown reason I didn’t make it which would mean that I didn’t see anybody. Ahem. ... I did see a few of the class of ’77 in March though. Brian Henke and Stan Mambort once again organized a great JCU Spring Training trip to Naples, FL. Bill Gagliano, Bob Keir, Urban Picard, Mike Downing, Dave Cullen, Joe Crogan, John Rutherford, Al Hess’79 and, yours truly got together for five days of golf, baseball, boating and male bonding. At one point, while lounging around the pool, Stan threw out a challenge to see if we could all lose ten percent of our body weight before our Reunion. I guess Stan was inspired by the sight of all of us sitting around in our bathing suits. Again, by the time you read this column the Reunion will be over with so you’ll just have to wait for the fall issue to find out who lost what. ... The alumni office sent me some info on other members of our class too. ... Deborah (Calevich) Wilson checked in from Charleston, WV, where she lives with her husband Michael and their two kids, Tyler (14) and Emily (9). Deborah is the senior vice president for Kimley-Horn and Associates, an engineering and land planning company. ... We also heard from Randy D’Amore. Randy is living in Farmington Hills, MI, with his wife, Deirdre, and their four kids. Three of Randy’s kids, Donovan (10), Caragh (9) and Bridget (5) all dance competitively in Irish Dance. The oldest, Donovan competed in the World Championships in Glasgow Scotland this past April. The fourth child, Dillon, is still in the predancing stage. He turns one this September. ... Darlene (“Darby”) Watts is living in Maple Heights, OH, with her husband Danny Baldwin. Darlene is the president and CEO of Midtown Scientific in Cleveland. ... Former Little Theatre director extraordinaire, Carol Dougherty, dropped a note from San Francisco, CA. Last year Carol was ordained as a Soto Zen Buddhist priest by Teah Strozer. Carol spent three years at the Tassajara Monastery in Carmel Valley. She writes that her Buddhist name is KanShin KiJaku which means Generous Heart, Returning to Silence. Peace. ... Keep those cards and letters coming. Your real news is better than the stuff I make up! -Dennis

winter 2007

In case you have not been paying attention, our 30th reunion is set for June 22 through 24 and your classmates on the reunion committee, Bill Gagliano, Don May, Kathleen Berry, Marianne Kerr, Virginia Ivec, Al Baldarelli, Dave De Angelis, Dave South, Terry Sullivan and Jane Paunicka have been busy planning a weekend of fun and frivolity. If I missed a committee member or two, please forgive me. Our 30th reunion has sparked a veritable flurry of news from the Class of ’77. Since the powers that be limit my word count somewhat I have left out details on children and advanced degrees. ... Across the big pond, Jim Koerner checked in from Vienna, Austria, where he is living with his wife, Noreen. Jim is the vice president of the IBM Software Group for Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East, Austria and Switzerland. ... Senior Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld dropped a note from Getzville, NY, where he is living with his wife Michelle Hope. Harry is currently teaching Jewish Studies at Canisius College in Buffalo. ... Cheryl (Wachtfeitl) Franz sent in a note from Hartsdale, NY, where she lives with her husband, Bruce. Cheryl is a senior manager with Pfizer. ... David De Angelis is currently living in Tulsa, OK, with his wife Tami. Dave is the owner of Architectural Paving Systems, LLC. ... Noel (Boylan) Tyler and her husband, Michael, are also in Oklahoma. They are living in Okalahoma City where Noel is the administrator of the Disability Determination Division. Sounds like we need an alumni chapter in Oklahoma! ... And speaking of Texas ... Reverend Richard Matty is the rector of Saint Patrick Cathedral in El Paso, TX. ... Over in Houston, James DiSiena is working on the nation’s energy problems as a team leader X-RPFS (whatever that is) for Chevron Energy Technology Company. Jim resides in Houston with his wife Patricia. His note said that he would like to get a blog going for the reunion - gphy_jim@swbell.net. ... Another JCU Texan who checked in is Alan Barth. Al lives in The Woodlands, TX, and he is the chief financial officer for Beusa Energy, Inc. ... We also heard from Richard Stevens, Jr. Richard is living in Osprey, FL, with his wife Jennifer. Rick is the vice president and chief financial officer of Power Source Industries in Sarasota. ... And then there are those who didn’t fall far from the JCU nest, the Ohioans. Jeffrey Kasper sent in words from Auburn Township where he lives with his wife, Jana. Jeff is the owner of Auburn Stables which I assume means he has something to do with horses. ... From Mentor comes a note from Thomas Mauerer. Tom is living in Mentor with his wife, Julieann, and working in Twinsburg as the manager of international logistics for Rockwell International. ... Former Rat Bar manger (the Upper Crust Crew), John Fickes is living in Copely, OH, with his wife, Mary Kate. John lists his current occupation as “shareholder” for Brouse McDowell, L.P.A. ... Michael Mulhern ’81 sent a very short note saying that he is now living in Columbus. ... Leslie Ann (Smith) Cade is working for the Cleveland Museum of Art as an archivist and records manager. She and her husband, Edward are living in South Euclid. ... Getting closer to campus we heard from Tim Myers who is living in Pepper Pike with his wife, Wendy. Tim is the president of TIMCO Sales, Inc. in Wickliffe. ... Finally, from Parma, the former class columnist (a position I aspire to), Kim Petrovich dropped a note to tell us that she is working for the Cleveland Board of Education as a high school guidance counselor. ... And before I get on to some more reunion business, I need to mention that we received a note too late for the last column from James Pojman, Margaret (Pojman) Glenn’s father. Marj was honored as the Teacher of The Year in the Nordonia School System for “her innovative work with autistic children.” Nicely done Marj! ... And finally, the record for attendance at a JCU 30th reunion is 70. It was set by the Class of 1972 in 2002. We had 110 that year (our 25th) so let’s try and set a new record this year. Keep those cards and letters coming and I’ll see you on the chapel steps in June! - Dennis

fall 2006

My appeal to keep those cards and letters coming continues to bear fruit. This time around I heard from Mike Mack and Terry Bedell again! There is no limit to how many times you can be in this column. Terry reported in with a great memory about the exploits of the ’76 JCU soccer team. “Andy Szeltner and I were the only two seniors on that rag-tag collection of “scholar athletes.” We knew we took a backseat to some of the higher profile teams on campus -- but that didn’t prevent the good times we had. It also didn’t prevent us from packing the sidelines when Notre Dame visited the final game of the season. Our coach, George Golias, bugged out to go duck hunting. He was replaced by swimming coach Ron Zwirlein (a pretty fair soccer player in his day) to lead us to a 2-1 victory over the Irish. Our second goal was controversial and upset the ND bench to the point they wanted to confront the referee after the game. Andy Szeltner, familiar with the ref from his Lake Erie league play, advised against it because the ref was known to keep a .22 pistol tucked in his waistband in case ‘protestations got out of hand’ (you can’t make up this stuff). During spring break in Lauderdale that next March, by sheer coincidence, I ran into one of the ND players on the beach. He was still bitter and offered an expletive to describe our play. “Domers” sure can hold a grudge. It would be great to hear from teammates Jon Catalano ’78, Tim Hanrahan ’78, Carl Schikowski ’79, Vin Karl ’78, Marco Iglesias ’80, Jim Perusek, Marty Roberts ’80, Mark Strohbeck ’78, Jim Gregorich ’78, Jim Coyne, Chuck Kretschmer ’78, Brian Coughlin, Tim Ciampi, Roland Karthan ’80, Mike Maurer ’79, Mike Fiedler ’80 and Pete Szeltner.” Thanks Terry, I couldn’t have said it better myself! He also wanted me to pass along his e-mail -- terbed6@sbcglobal.net -- to any former players and, for that matter, any former alum who may wish to contact him. Terry said he is “in” for our 30th reunion next summer. ... Now on to Mike Mack ... Remember Mike? I do, he starred in the Little Theatre production of The Fantastiks our senior year along with Ann (Fissinger) Manning and Ernie Weninger. I know there were other members of our class in that cast (including yours truly) but I can’t think of them as I write this. Any help here? I do recall that Carol Dougherty directed it. Mike was another of our class who left the cold of Cleveland for the warm California sun. After graduation Mike ended up with Sea World in San Diego running a chain of their restaurants around the country. After 30 years with Shamu and company he retired last year. But not for long ... Mike has taken on a new role with “one of Orlando’s largest dinner theatre operations, Pirates Dinner Adventure!” He will be busy opening new Pirates around the country until he decides to “re-retire.” Mike said he is also planning to attend the 30th reunion next June. I hope everyone makes the pilgrimage to University Heights next summer, in the meantime, stay in touch or I’ll just make stuff up. Just ask Pete Gailey! Dennis

summer 2006

Well it looks like I can cross Pete Gailey off of the missing persons list. After the last column appeared I received the following email: “There once was a rancher in ENCINITAS/Who married the most lovely of all SENIORITAS/While raising EMUS, He forgot to SCHMOZE/When next in town will drop by to see YAS.” Okay. Not bad. You may recall that I manufactured a rumor that Pete was raising emus in Encinitas in order to coax a response from him. It appears that this is a good strategy. Pete further reports that he is living in Plano, TX. He and his wife, Robin, have two kids -- Lauren (15) and Nick (13). Lauren has recently earned her Girl Scout Gold Award and Nick is working on becoming an Eagle Scout. Pete is the executive vice president of sales and marketing for Technologent. Pete reports that he caught up with Bob Reigert (“Tigger”) at Mardi Gras a couple of years ago. Bob is working as a technical director for a TV station in New Orleans and according to Pete he is as crazy as ever. Pete also says that he would love to hear from the “old gang; IBGs, and Bernet Hall inmates.” Didn’t we used to call it Burn out Hall? ... I also received a short note from Jane Kvacek Zusman. She is living in Mishawaka, IN, and working for the University of Notre Dame as a costume shop specialist. She and her husband, Marty, have a daughter, Jennifer (9). ... That’s about all I have the time for now. Keep those cards and letters coming. Dennis

spring 2006

I tell you what. Threaten to make things up about people and the floodgates of information burst wide open! ... Before the last issue of this rag was even on the presses I heard from my old Bernet Hall buddy Rob Dwyer. Rob felt compelled to squelch the rumor about Peter Gailey raising emus in Encinitas. Turns out that Peter is living in Plano, TX, with “wife, two kids, mini-van, the whole nine yards.” Okay, fine. Do you think Peter could at least drop me a note? ... Rob lives in Los Angeles now. I always thought he’d go California. He married a girl he met at UCLA Business School and they have two daughters, the oldest of which will attend college this fall. Rob does forensic accounting for Navigant Consulting, Inc. Rob also gave me some news about another former Bernet Hall resident, Bob Reigert. Bob lives in New Orleans now and yes, his home suffered from the wrath of Katrina. According to Robby it was bad but not as bad as some. Bob is married with no kids and works for a local television station. ... Terry Bedell also dropped me a note. Terry provided a wealth of information on fellow classmates. He informs us that Ralph Stilphen’s son Ryan is a starting forward for the Marist College Red Foxes in Poughkeepsie, NY. That is Division 1 play and Ryan is only a sophomore. For the past 12 years or so Ralph has organized a Christmas Eve breakfast that brings together Marty Kelly, Bob Hennessy, Brian Ellis, Jim Clancy ’78, John Duber, John Corrigan, Tom Wallenhorst, Mary Ann Garvey and her “very understanding” husband AJ Cianflocco ’72. Nicely done Ralph. ... Terry also reports that Pat Cummings “recently completed a one-man benefit bike ride for Chicago PADS, Catholic homeless shelter in southwest Chicago. Pat raised $15,000 cycling from Chicago to Champaign/Urbana.” Pat measured it as 130 miles and a tube of Preparation H. ... There was also a bit of news about Mike Powers and heading up something called the 45 and 20 Club. I’ll try and get more information on that before the next column. ... I also heard from Tom Swanson who is living just down the highway from me in Bethesda, MD. Tom is married with three daughters and as he puts it, “I basically work for shoes.” ... Chris Smerglia dropped a note to say that he and two other gentlemen are starting a new full service bank in Beachwood, OH. The new venture is called Ohio Commerce Bank and they expect to open the doors on July 1 this year. ... Somewhat further south, we hear from David Murphy. He and his wife, Joanne, now reside in Boca Raton where David works as a customer support manger for Hamilton Sundstrand. ... And since we find ourselves in Florida, I should report that Brian Henke, Stan Mambort, Mike Downing, Bob Keir, Dave Cullen, Urban Picard, Bill Gagliano, Dr. Al Hess ’79 and John (“JR”) Rutherford gathered once again for their annual spring training trip. They converged on Naples this year. Nancy (Cunningham) Benacci, who was also in Naples visiting her mom, joined the boys for “Roman dinner” on Saturday night. Terry Roberts also found the time to join the boys for a cocktail or two. She lives in Naples and works for Gulf Shore Insurance. They were all in Naples for St. Patrick’s Day but apparently they were not able to pull together another impromptu parade like the one we had in Fort Lauderdale in 1973. That is probably a good thing. ... Keep those cards and letters coming. Dennis

winter 2006

It’s kind of strange. No sooner does the John Carroll magazine arrive in the mailbox than we class columnists get hit with the deadline for the next issue. Even though the cover of the magazine says that it is the fall issue, it didn’t show up in my home until the very tail end of fall. I suppose this column is intended for the winter issue which means it is probably March when you’re reading this. Well, for what it’s worth, it’s January when I writing it! It makes you wonder if JCU has outsourced the printing of the magazine to India. ... Okay, enough with the venting. The truth of the matter is that I am writing this column a week later than the official deadline anyway. You came here for class news and that is what I intend to give you. The first person I heard from after the last column was Mike Perry. Mike writes that he is living in Mentor, OH, with wife of 27 years, Lucille. They have four children, two of whom have already graduated college, one still in college and one in junior high school. Mike mentioned that he recently attended a Delta Alpha Theta reunion in Cleveland. No further details were provided on those festivities. ... Mike asked if I knew the whereabouts of Mike “Duke” McCarthy. The alumni office has him in Wilmette, IL, but not much else. I checked in with my back up researcher on lost alums, John “JR” Rutherford to see if he could add any info. JR fired back an e-mail saying that he ran into him “in an Italian restaurant on 56th Street in New York City last year.” So there you go. I guess we need to hear from Mike McCarthy now. ... I also heard from Susan Bergquist. You may recall that I singled Sue out in last month’s column to see if I could generate some a response from her. It worked. It seems that Susan is busy “turning teenagers onto the classics in literature: Shakespeare and Poe, Cervantes and Twain.” She writes that she is working with “multicultural, multiethnic, inner city kids.” She thinks that next year she may end up in the principal’s office though. No surprise there. Sue invites all former JCU friends to feel free to send her an e-mail at smberg99@yahoo.com. Susan asked if I could find out anything about Leslie Koczur. “She was always a blast, funny and wonderful. I haven’t seen her in forever and, with my erratic reading of our class notes, may have missed what she’s up to now.” Well Sue, you picked a tough one. My handy little excel spreadsheet with all the class information has absolutely zero, zip, nothing on Leslie. If anyone reading this has anything to share please do so. ... And speaking of zero, zip, nothing, I didn’t get any response from my rumor about Peter Gailey raising emus in Encinitas. Nothing yet from Peter Norton either. So the missing persons file now contains two Peters and a Leslie. Stay tuned. Dennis

fall 2005

Once again I find myself writing this column while flying back to Baltimore from Cleveland. This time I was in Cleveland for the inauguration of John Carroll’s new president, Father Robert L. Niehoff, SJ. One of the perks of the class columnist gig is that you get invited to things like that. I was asked to represent our class in the ceremony along with our class agent, Bill Gagliano. Jonathan Ivec was also in the ceremony since he is John Carroll’s vice president of finance and administrative services. Who’d have thought that one day one of us would be running the joint? ... Continuing on with that inaugural thread, I have received two e-mails from former classmates since my inaugural column. The first to check in was Ann (Fissinger) Manning. Ann is currently residing in Traverse City, MI, where she has been since 1993. She has a son, Andrew, who is attending Central Michigan University and a daughter, Amy, who is attending the University of Michigan. Her other son, Craig, is a freshman in high school. She is teaching figure skating and she still acts and sings. Anyone recall her role in The Fantastics in our senior year? ... Anyone remember Cosmic Joe? Joe (“Cosmic”) Haytas was the impresario of the Student Union Film Series in Kulas. After John Carroll, Joe headed west and eventually enrolled in the film school at the University of Southern California. He graduated from USC in 1986 and dabbled in the film industry for a few years before heading back to school yet again to get his law degree and he is now in private practice. ... I actually received a third e-mail from Brian Henke, but that doesn’t really count since I wrote about him in the last column. All Brian had to add was that no one was ever likely to offer to replace me as class columnist and that I would never win Pulitzer for my efforts. Thanks Peaches. ... I may never win a Pulitzer but I do intend to exercise a fair degree of poetic license in this quarterly update. One of the tools that the alumni office provides me with is a list of all of our former classmates and their last known whereabouts. It’s fairly accurate but there are mistakes and gaps. In any event I have decided to utilize it to see if I can provoke some response from other members of our class. In the last column I pondered on the fate of Peter Norton (still no word). This month’s target is Sue Bergquist. I last spoke with her about 10 years ago. My handy dandy alumni list has her hiding out in Palos Heights, Illinois. So Sue, it’s time to check in before I pull out my poetic license start making stuff up. ... That is apparently a common practice amongst class columnists. I met a few of my fellow scribes at the inauguration and picked up a few tips on column fabrication. So unless you want me to start spreading rumors like the one about Peter Gailey being an emu rancher in Encinitas, ya better drop me a note. ... Dennis

summer 2005

I’m sitting at 30,000 feet winging my way back to Baltimore from Cleveland where I spent the weekend celebrating Bill Gagliano’s fiftieth birthday along with fifteen other members of the Class of 1977. It is appropriate that I should begin my first column as the new class columnist with Gags’ party since he is the one who shanghaied me into this new job. I ended up as the new class scribe after my predecessor, Kim Petrovich, decided to go into retirement. Of course all of that is now academic. In a weak moment I accepted the job and so now my fellow members of the Class of 1977, you are stuck with me unless someone else is prepared to take the pen from my hand. -- No takers? -- I didn’t think so. This is a good year to take up this task. Most of us are hitting the half century point in life this year and so there should be lots of news to share from those of us still standing. Twenty-eight years have passed since we matriculated on the quad and most of us are bona-fide adults now. – Well, sort of anyway. The other ’77 alumni attendees at Gags’ party were Stan Mambort, Dave Cullen, Urban Picard, Brian Henke, Joe (“The Dictator”) Crogan, Kathy (Coffey) Kenny, Bob Kenny, Nancy (Cunningham) Benacci, Betsy (Heben) May, Don May, John Rutherford, Kevin Hinkel, Bob Keir, and Mike Downing. When I left to go back to the hotel at 1:30 a.m. the party was still going on. Even though the snow is on the roof, the fire isn’t out in the furnace! ... One of the perks of this job is that you get to hear from other folks that you haven’t kept track of lately. ... The alumni office sent along a note from Demaris (Levitt) LaBlanc. She and Maura (Shields) Powers and Kris (Kress) Gehring collectively celebrated their fiftieth birthdays together by going white water rafting. There’s that “sort of adult” thing again. They sent along a picture as proof but it was hard to be certain that it was really them, what with the splashing water, bulky life vests and yellow helmets. I’ll guess we’ll just have to take their word for it. Demaris wanted to know if we could include this activity at our 30th reunion. Where would we do that? The Johnson Natatorium? ... In other news, I’ve learned that Barbara (Donahue) Corrigan is teaching computer classes in Cleveland. Her husband, Bob, recently retired from the U.S. Navy Reserves as a commander. She writes that they “are celebrating a lot this summer.” Seems to be a good deal of that going around. ... I also received a blurb from Mark McMullen. Mark is currently residing in Mableton, GA, just outside Atlanta with his wife, Jan. Mark is a senior vice president with The Integer Group. Rumor has it that Peter Norton was last seen in Atlanta also. The alumni office has him in Raleigh. So Mark, if you happen to run into Peter, tell him to please check in with me. Stan has been asking about him. ... That’s the way this column is going to work. If you are reading this and you haven’t seen your name here in the past twenty-eight years, drop me a line. If you don’t, you are likely to see the same names over and over again, at least until they boot me out with a new class columnist. Now that could be something to celebrate. Dennis

spring 2005

Ed Rybka’s son, Keith, was named the most valuable player on the Gilmour Academy varsity hockey team for the recently completed season. Keith, one of three seniors on the team, was cited as being a steady influence and team leader. ... Mike and Julie (Hubish) Marjenin’s son, Matt, graduates from St. Ignatius in May and will be attending Ohio University to study engineering. His sister, Jennifer, will be a junior at OU in the fall majoring in early childhood education. ... Tom O’Grady ’78, who is the Council president in North Olmstead, was chosen the acting mayor of that city when the current mayor retired in March. Tom, who is an 8th grade government and history teacher, plans to run for mayor in the May primary. ... Kim Petrovich, the head counselor at Thomas Jefferson Middle School was recognized by Forest City Enterprises as a Community Champion at an Idealism in Action luncheon held in March. Forest City, the school’s corporate sponsor, chose Kim for the award because she is “A dedicated individual who has inspired countless young people” through her position. We thank Kim for her years of dedication to the class of 1977 as class columnist.

winter 2005

By the time you read this we will be well into the New Year. I hope 2005 is bringing you good health, happiness and continued success. It’s hard to believe most of us will be turning the big “50” this year and some of us will be getting ready to retire in a few years. ... Unfortunately, I have no news for the second straight issue. I have been writing this column since the early ’90s and it has become increasingly difficult for me to keep the class of ’77 informed. Therefore, I feel it is time to move on and allow a fellow alum to try their hand a reporting. ... If you are interested in the class columnist position, please contact Jerry Pockar at journal@jcu.edu or Michele McFarland at mmcfarland@jcu.edu. ... Until we meet again at our 30th class reunion, take care, Kim

summer 2004

Summer has flown by once again and I can’t believe it’s time to go back to school. I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine, warm weather and their family vacations! Thank you to the several classmates that sent updates. John Naso lives in Aurora, OH with his wife and daughter. He is the VP of distribution services for Office Max. ... Robert Stall is an administrator, RMP with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and lives in Lakewood, OH. ... Joanne (Hammer) Chaten is a busy lady. She is not only a pediatrician practicing at Noblesville, (IN) pediatrics, but she is the president of the medical staff at Riverview hospital. Joanne and her husband are also raising five children between the ages of 14 and 21. You could certainly teach me a thing or two about time management, Joanne. … Congratulations to Bob Hennessy on being named the vice president of human resources for Gibraltar Processed Steel Products. Gibraltar is a manufacturer and distributor of more than 5,000 residential and commercial building products, one of North America’s leading metal processors. Bob will be responsible for the human resource functions all across the processed steel products group and will support the current resource personnel in their roles. He will be involved in developing and enhancing current programs and policies to better serve and support employee and leadership requirements. Bob is well suited for this new position as his career includes more than 20 years of progressive human resource experience in the manufacturing sector. Way to go Bob and good luck in your new job! … Well that’s it for now - I hope you continue to send me updates. Until next time, take care, Kim

spring 2004

Hello everyone! I hope your spring is off to a great start and your summer will be one filled with sunshine and good times with friends and family. ... I received a note from John Buckley who would like to say hi to his JCU buddies. John is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Youngstown, OH. He is also the director of plastic surgery at St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center. John is married and has three children who all play soccer. He would like to hear from the guys and girls from Rockside Rd. and Silsby -- jbuckl9176@aol.com. ... Maura (Shields) Powers also sends greetings from Audubon, PA where she lives with Mike and their two children. She is the cash department supervisor with Genex Service INC. ... Congratulations to Joe Fornal who was chosen as the “Good Joe” by the Cleveland Society of Poles in March. He has been a longtime leader in Greater Cleveland’s Polish-American community. Joe is currently the chief financial officer for Jack Matia Chevrolet and Honda in Elyria. He and his wife live in Westlake with their two sons, one who attends Bowling Green University and the other who attends Ohio University. ... Finally, in February, Nancy (Cunningham) Benacci’s husband, Dave ’76 passed away. He was very involved in both the John Carroll and Cleveland business communities. Our condolences to Nancy and her family. ... Condolences to Patty (Sobczak) Hamilton on the death of her younger brother in March. ... Until next time, take care Kim

winter 2004

Hello classmates! I hope everyone’s New Year is off to a good start. Congratulations to Debbie Calevich Wilson who married Mike Wilson on August 2 at Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral in Charleston, WV. Among the attendants were Michele Raeder as matron of honor and Carla Calevich ’79 as maid of honor. The wedding was held two weeks before Carla was granted her Ph.D. from Kent State. Debbie and Mike live in Charleston with Mike’s son, Tyler, and daughter, Emily. Both children still wear their JCU gear that was bought while on campus last year during reunion. Debbie is senior vice president of Kimley-Horn and Associates and Mike is the senior historian for the West Virginia Division of Highways. ... Frank Zevnik has accepted a new position with Farval Lubrication Systems after 25 years with Lubriquip. His sales area includes Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Western New York and Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Laura, have three children (12, 20, and 22) and they live in Willowick. ... Katherine (Ledwith) Benson recently joined WETA, the nation’s largest public television station as vice president of eastern sales. Katherine brings impressive national advertising and sponsorship sales experience to the new WETA sales division. Based in New York, she previously worked at Bravo Cable Network where she served as vice president of national advertising sales. Other former experience includes affiliate sales with the Disney Channel and corporate development for United Artists Cable. ... Congratulations are in order to Bill Gagliano who’s been named one of Northeast Ohio’s Leading Lawyers by Inside Business. Bill, a partner at Ulmer & Berne LLP, chairs the Real Estate Group and practices Business Law, Business Litigation and Nonprofit Groups. He is also a member of the National Board of Governors of the American Red Cross, National Association of Corporate Directors, Greater Cleveland Mortgage Bankers Association and Ohio Housing Council. ...That’s all the news for now. Please make a belated resolution for 2004 and send a news item in to the column. Your classmates would like to hear from you. ... Until next time, take care ... Kim

spring 2003

Spring is finally here! Once again it’s been a long winter in Cleveland with more snow and cold temperatures than I would like. I’m jealous of all the alums that live in warmer climates. … Well on with the news -- two of our alums have moved halfway around the world. Kathy Monaghan (Luttrell), her husband, George Luttrell, and two sons (ages 10 & 9) have moved to Nanjing, China. They sold their home in Texas and are looking forward to learning a new language and experiencing a new culture. You can e-mail Kathy in China at gluttrell@prodigy.net. … After living in Austin, TX for the past eight years, Jim Koerner and his family moved to Tokyo, Japan this summer for a two year business assignment with IBM. Jim is the vice president for IBM Software Sales in the Asia Pacific region. The Koerner family traveled to Beijing during Thanksgiving and to Australia at Christmas. Jim’s daughter, Katie, is a junior at the American High School and his son, Tom, is a freshman. Jim’s wife, Noreen is involved in their church and has become skilled at Japanese crafts. If you have plans to visit Asia or Japan you can e-mail Jim at jkoerner@jp.ibm.com. … Gregory Nemecek dropped me a note that he is the president of Gasko Fabricated Products in Medina. He lives in Willoughby Hills with his wife and three children. … That’s all I have for this column. Please e-mail me with news about yourself, your career and your family for the next issue. Until next time, take care! Kim

winter 2003

What a reunion - a long weekend full of interesting activities, lively entertainment, mouth-watering food, memories of simpler times and renewed friendships. Our alma mater really knows how to throw a reunion! This was the first reunion where I’ve attended the entire weekend, although I chickened out on spending nights in the dorms. The weekend was a wonderful experience. The festivities began with a family picnic on Friday where I had the pleasure of dining with Virginia (Byer) and John Ivec and Kathy (Norris) and Joe '76 Michael and their children. Both Kathy and Virginia are stay-at-home moms. The Ivecs have two daughters (one is a sophomore at JCU) and a son at St. Ignatius. The Michaels have two daughters at Gesu and a son at St. Ignatius also. ... I ran into Joann (Gura) Mindorza, who works for IBM. Her son recently graduated from the University of Dayton and she is busy helping him plan his August wedding. ... Randy and Deirdre D’Amore brought their 5 week-old daughter, Bridget, with them - she’s a real cutie. They also have a 5 year-old son and a 4 year-old daughter, which keeps them both busy. ... I attended the “State of Carroll” address where an impressive video showcasing influential alums was shown. Our own Nancy (Cunningham) Benacci was part of the video and shared what a Carroll education has meant to her both personally and professionally. Both the President’s Reception and the class dinner on Friday were well attended by the class of '77. Len and Deborah Barbe, Kathy and Bob Kenny, Bob Hennessy, Marty and Mary Kay Kelly, MaryAnn Garvey, Ann Mannen, Terry Bedell, Pat Cummings, Nancy and Dave '76 Benacci, Mike and Maura Powers, Urban Picard, Stan Mambort, Nancy Pierce, Bob Keir, Kathy Berry and Bill Gagliano were some of the alums having a good time. ... I spent time with Tom and Debbie McNeil reminiscing about the IPTs and the Carroll News. Tom and Debbie have two daughters and a son, who is studying engineering at CASE. They are avid boat racers and had to leave the party early because they had an early morning boat race on Saturday. ... I spent time with Laura (Runzo) Childress and her husband. They are both respiratory therapists in PA. ... Ed Liva and his family came in from Philadelphia. Ed is with KPMG. I met Ed’s three sons; the oldest will be attending Notre Dame in the fall. They were very interested in hearing my stories about their dad during his college days. ... Later in the afternoon I ran into Sue (McCue) Harris and her family. Sue has three children and the family has a vacation home on Florida’s west coast where she meets up with MaryAnn Garvey, Linda (Hall) Gillen and her sister Mary '78 for a vacation every year. ... Al Baldarelli has a son who attends Carroll. Al is busy being a high school principal in PA. ... MaryAnn (Osgood) Fiely is on the opposite career path. After years as an elementary school principal, she went back to the classroom. MaryAnn has two children who graduated from JCU. ... Saturday night’s alumni class Mass was very moving. Marianne Kerr represented our class during the moment of remembrance for deceased class members. Urban Picard and his wife, Christine '93, presented the gifts. Marianne had surgery on her leg in May due to a curling accident so she spent the weekend getting around in a wheelchair. ... After 13 years in the MIS field, 7 years as owner of a retail furniture store and 4 years of retirement, Jeff Kasper brought a horse farm (Auburn Stables) in Auburn Twp. The whole family is involved in boarding and training 31 horses. They also give riding lessons. ... Jim DiSiena was taking pictures Saturday night at the dinner. Check them out at http://www.jcu.edu/alumni/CLASSES/1977/Index.htm. ... Jim Koerner was unable to attend because he and his family have moved to Japan. He is the vice president of software sales for IBM Asia Pacific. Jim will be on this assignment for two years and will be traveling throughout Asia. Jim’s e-mail address is jkoerner@us.ibm.com. ... Patty (Sobczak) Hamilton was also unable to attend reunion, but she made it to JCU earlier in June for new student orientation. Her son, Michael, is now a freshman. Patty is the principal at East Carlisle Elementary School in the Midview Local School System. ... Tim Leddy sent his regrets. He couldn’t make the reunion because he was in London on business. ... This was our largest class reunion - 110 alums participated. In the 25 years since our graduation, we have donated $500,000 to John Carroll. ... I hope everyone who made it to our reunion had as good a time as I did. For those of you who were unable to attend, hopefully you will make it to our 30th! Kim

spring 2002

Hello classmates. I can’t believe it, but our reunion is right around the corner. It hardly seems possible that twenty-five years have gone by so quickly! I hope you’ve marked your calendars for the weekend of June 14-June 16 and plan to attend. You should have received several mailings by now with information on the weekend activities. I’m sure everyone is busy with their jobs, families, and a hundred other things, but you owe it to yourself to take time out of your busy schedule to relax and kick back at the place where it all began -- JCU. If you haven’t registered yet, DO IT NOW! It doesn’t cost you anything to attend; that’s right, all meals, activities, and dorm accommodations are FREE. So don’t delay making your plans. You can contact Rosalie Massey who is the reunion coordinator. ... I have received several e-mails with news about our fellow alums. Tom O’Grady is building quite a career out in North Olmsted, OH. In 1995, he was elected as a councilman, where he was the only challenger to unseat an incumbent. In the ’99 election, he was re-elected, finishing first among six candidates. In November 2001, he was elected president of council in an upset victory over a 30-year incumbent, winning by a landslide. Congratulations! Could the mayoral election be next? ... Dave Cullen who is president of Cullen Wealth Advisors Inc. in Findley Lake, NY held his 11th annual get-together this past summer at his home on the lake. The Bill Gaglianos, Stan Mamborts, Urban Picards, Brian Henkes, J.R. Rutherfords, Bob Keir, and the Mike Downings enjoyed the fun with Dave and his family. ... David Murphy sent greetings to his fellow IPT’s from Boca Raton, FL where he is the regional marketing manager at United Technologies Corp. He is enjoying sunny Florida with his wife, Joanne, and their two teenagers. ... Mary (Tomino) Joyce is an instructor in French and Spanish at The Ohio State University. She lives in Mansfield with her husband, Steve, and their three teenagers. ... Ralph Stilphen’s son, Ryan, was named one of the Plain Dealer’s Players of the Week in February. He is a junior on the St. Ignatius basketball team. Ryan helped the Wildcats to several overtime victories. He is also an honor student. ... Received an e-mail from Kathy Schade Kobyljanec saying - “Since I have come back ‘home’ after 25 years, I thought I’d send in my news. I obtained my JD in 1982, spent several years in law practice, then returned to Kent State and got my MLS (master’s of library science) in 1992. I spent 8 years at CWRU Law School Library, and recently took the position of Periodicals Librarian at JCU. I live in Aurora with my husband, Will, and have 2 children. We enjoy our 4 horses at home, and our mountain property in the wilds of western North Carolina. Thanks for the update, Kathy! ... Well that’s it for now. Take care and see you at our reunion! Kim

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