1980s
1980s
80 More Parties and Reunions
Jim Buddie ’81 and Elaine Glaid Buddie proudly watched their daughter Melissa ’12 complete her first Boston Marathon. Mary Ellen Foley Scott led a team of seven students from Saint Joseph Academy, Cleveland, who won the national Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational STEM contest that empowers middle and high school students to learn about the environment. The Notre Dame Club of Chicago’s ND Women Connect initiative sponsored a lively panel discussion titled “The Changing Face of Journalism,” featuring our own Melinda Henneberger, Anne Thompson ’79 of ABC and Randi Belisomo ’04 of Chicago’s WGN. Yours truly moderated. We were very fortunate to have Sue Barry, Beth Jones Raseman, Mary Meg McCarthy, Rosemary Mills Russell (in from New Jersey), Barbara Lynch Kern, Lucy Maloney Jones (in from South Bend), Mary Fishman and Denise Streff, SMC, join us. Illness kept Mary Ryan Amato and Wendy Fencl from participating in a great evening of conversation. Gregory Anselmi met up with Theresa Rebeck at Roundabout Theater in NYC. He attended the final reading of her new Broadway play, Bernhardt/Hamlet, that was due to open Sept. 25. Erin and Bill Kresse guided 15 Governors State U students on an academic tour of Central Europe, including Budapest, Vienna and Prague. Highlights included a cruise on the Danube and a lecture at Corvinus U in Budapest, a Mozart concert and a tour of the United Nations headquarters in Vienna, and the Kafka statue and Franciscan gardens in Prague. In their “off hours” Erin and Bill explored the many Irish pubs that could be found in each of these capital cities, where the staff and patrons showed generous hospitality in welcoming a Domer to their ranks. From Kevin Connor: “40 years ago, at the start of our sophomore year, 45 of us boarded a plane starting the adventure of a lifetime in Salzburg and Innsbruck, Austria. Few of us knew each other. Some spoke fluent German, but most had only one year of German. The program director encouraged them to travel and that they did, visiting virtually every country in Europe, as well as Russia, Egypt, and Morocco. They missed trains, slept in tents, learned to read maps, hitchhiked, suffered broken bones, took care of one another and in short, became a family. They’ve had numerous reunions, the most recent being a few weeks ago back in Austria. They were fortunate to have 15 of the original group together. With spouses, and children, there were a total of 28. They remain a very close family to this day.” The reunion included Kevin Connor of Hinsdale IL, Tom Hay of Hartsdale NY, Paul D’Alessandro of Franklin Lakes NJ, Cathy Cowhey of Lake Forest IL, Dan Cahalan of Missoula MT, David Perry of Nashville TN, John Schmidtberger of Garland TX, Jon Kelly of Carlsbad CA, Karen Fink of Madison WI, Meg Schiltz of Richmond CA, Mary Kay (Cohan) Cresimanno of Canfield OH, Mike Shields of Zurich, Switzerland, Pat Edwards of Newton IA, Kevin Gorman of Philadelphia and Jeff Fisher of Wilmington IL. Lyons Hall ladies celebrated the year of turning 60 at a June weekend in Florida hosted by Maritza Poza-Grise. Attendees included Mary Blachowicz Lewis, Colleen Bronder, Cindy Casper Durley, Cindy Cronin Cahill, Ellen Gearin Sebasky, Terry Halliwell Wollman, Maureen Hennessy Pekosh, Cindy Jennings Posluszny, Beth Larocca, Pat Lavin Riely, Kathy McCann Carey, Molly McLaughlin Rhine, Ann McRedmond Waddey, Patti O'Neill Smith, Karen Pierce, and Michelle Renaldo Ferguson. Siesta Key will never be the same. From Robin Lavender ’78’s sister-in-law: Janet Caruso Raney’s daughter was married. Joining the celebration were Florence (Bridget) O’Connell Koury, Jayne O’Brien Kebe and Katie Martins. Our hearts go out to the family of Dave “Moose” Mitchell of South Bend and Matthew Campanella Jr. who lost his father. Please join our Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/notredame80) to connect with classmates. — Mary Ellen Woods;
mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu
80MBA Bio Domers
Mike Maloney writes that he has joined the ranks of the retired after a long career with Accenture. However, instead of golf, travel and the usual retirement fare, Mike and wife Cathy (Gallagher) ’79 are working on their master’s degrees in biology from Miami of Ohio in conjunction with the Brookfield Zoo. They are true bio Domers. Mike says it’s strange to have homework after 38 years. Mike and Cathy look forward to their son Tom’s wedding in August. Tom and Nancy (Zaytoun) Kenna joined up with son Jeffrey after his graduation from the U of North Carolina during his five-week trip through Europe prior to starting his analyst position with Harris Williams. They caught up with him for the Greece and Paris leg of the trip and write that they had a wonderful time on the Aegean Sea where the weather was beautiful, and the food was amazing. They have one son left in college. Mary Beth and Bill Homer have completed their move to Lake Worth FL which will take them closer to son Will Homer ’07 and his family. Will is studying for the Florida Bar and is due to start a position with Hogan Lovells in the fall. Mike Colbert highly recommends the play Sorin, which he recently saw at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. It’s a history of Notre Dame through the eyes of its founder and will be playing on campus Friday nights during football game weekends. Rich Walker wrote that Texas is still hot, and he is considering a move to Arkansas where he may open another storage rental location in addition to the ones he owns near Dallas. Finally, Doug Cooper checked in and said we should try and plan something for the NYC area classmates, perhaps at the Syracuse game in November so please let me know if you plan to attend or will be nearby that weekend and we’ll try and meet up for dinner somewhere. I hope to hear from classmates who haven’t yet written, whether to inquire about future events or just to say hello to the class. It only takes a minute, so just send a quick email or call if you prefer. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 203-364-0346; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com
80JD Devoted
Judy Gunderson Muncy writes, “I am now fully retired, as opposed to semi-retired, as I was the past few years. I’ve resigned from the DC Bar and my Illinois law license is inactive. Hooray for no more CLE. Most of my time is devoted to pottery. I’m participating in an art show in September. When not playing with clay, I’m playing bad golf and taking singing lessons. Life is good.” Thanks, Judy, for your update. Congrats to “glam mother” Carolyn Short on the birth of grandson Henry. Carolyn is over the moon with joy. Wendell Walsh is happy to announce another grandchild. Where did the years go? As I write this, we are preparing for ND Law’s Homecoming Weekend Sept. 14-15. Special thanks to Tammye Raster ’92JD of the Law School for all her help in organizing this. We started through the alphabet a few issues ago, so, let’s continue. I hope the following people will send their news for the next issue: Bob Blais, Brian Boyle, Tom Bradley, Bernadette Broccolo, Judy Budny, Brian Budsberg, Andy Bury, Ray Campbell, Connie Carey, Tim Carey, Chris Carlin, Eileen Carr Riley, Glenn Clark, Jean Claude, John Connors, Joyce Corsello, Tom Costa, Laurie Costanzo Davies, Dave Crossett, Mike Curreri. Yes, classmates want to hear your news. Thanks for all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com
81 Family, Friends and Faith
Anne Fink Roy, Alison Carberry Kiene and Joe Lohmuller are leaders in their local Notre Dame clubs. Anne represents Greater Jacksonville, Alison volunteers in Rockford, and Joe is in the Quad Cities. If you have not gotten involved with your local Notre Dame Club, give it a try. The National Football League Physicians Society recently named Neal S. ElAttrache MD as the 47th president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. An orthopaedic surgeon, Neal is the head team doctor for the Los Angeles Rams and the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the orthopaedic consultant to the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. He also served as on-site senior surgeon during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Dick Boushka’s son, Andrew, graduated from Notre Dame this past spring and, like his dad, will be getting his MSA from Notre Dame next fall. He was a member of the Fighting Irish Band and when Dick celebrated the 40th reunion of the 1977 National Championship football team, they were able to share a special moment on the field together. Nora Lyon Zusi has been living in South Bend since graduation, except for a year teaching in the Caribbean and two years in graduate school. She taught at Trinity School for many years, raised a family, and is back teaching there. Her two eldest children are in college, and three youngest are in high school. Nora has pursued her love for teaching, ballet, and literature, and she has never stopped learning, accepting challenges, seeking creativity, and helping others. That sounds like a full life. Andy Entwistle’s daughter, Rachel, graduated from Notre Dame in May. Andy recently moved to Austin TX to reopen his firm’s Austin office. At the same time, his son moved his company to Austin and Andy is acting as its CAO and general counsel. If that were not enough accomplishment, Andy won the Trans Am race at Indy last summer and he is racing a Trophy Spec truck off road in Baja with his son, too. Last Spring, Elaine (Glaid) ’80 and Jim Buddie proudly watched their daughter Melissa ’12 complete her first Boston Marathon. Melissa’s finishing time of 3 hours and 43 minutes was particularly impressive given the miserable weather conditions in Boston that day. A few Arkies got together at Robert Helle’s wedding in June. Too bad photos cannot be included in these notes. Our prayers are with Tom Reitz whose son, Matthew, passed away recently. Our prayers are also with Marcia McBrien whose mother, Florence, passed away. Florence saw three of her four children through ND (Marcia, Dianne ’87 and Rick ’91) and another through SMC (Vicki ’84). She greeted their graduations with equal parts pride and relief. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the parents, and parent figures, who helped us get to Notre Dame. Join us on the Class of ’81 Facebook page where about 400 classmates share their wit and wisdom. And please email updates before our Oct. 20 deadline. You are loved members of the Class of ’81 and we want to know how you are doing. Thanks to everyone who has already shared updates and those of you who are now inspired to do so. Each email brings a smile and a memory that connects us. I am honored to edit your submissions and share them with our motley class. — Mary Murphy; marymurphy81@alumni.nd.edu
81MBA Class Secretary — E.J. Fleming;
600 Hall Hill Road, Somers CT 06071; 860-749-7621; flemingiv@aol.com
81JD Lives and Accomplishments
After a one-issue hiatus, we are back with news regarding the lives and accomplishments of the Law School Class of 1981. Congratulations to Maureen (O’Connell) Hurley, who was recently elected to the board of directors of Catholic Health in Buffalo NY. Having retired from Rich Products Corp. as the company’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Maureen’s legacy of giving will continue. Last April, Heidi (Betz) Masano mentioned that she expected to see several of our Double Domers classmates, Arnie Gough, Fritz Hadley, Tom O’Neill and John Stephens at the 40th undergrad reunion. I hope it was memorable. According her automatic email reply to my latest communication, Heidi indicated that she was out of the country in July. Where did you go, Heidi? Bob Allen spoke on the topic “Navigating the Exclusions in the IYBA Listing and Sales Agreements” at the International Yacht Brokers Association Annual Sales Summit in Fort Lauderdale in June. Bob also announced that our classmate, Brian Belt, has left his “big law” position and established the Brian Belt Law Firm. Brian is now a sub-tenant in Bob’s Miami office. According to Tim Rastello, his daughter, Mackenzie, graduated magna cum laude in May from the U of Georgia with her criminal justice degree and Spanish minor. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and plans to attend law school after taking a gap semester in a Spanish-speaking country. His fourth and youngest child, Reilly ’19, completed his junior year in ND’s College Year in Athens program and continued his consecutive streak on the Dean's List. Shawn Gallagher retired from the office of chief counsel at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Langley Research Center in Hampton VA on Sept. 30, 2017. He worked more than 20 years with NASA serving as a business law attorney, business law team lead, and deputy chief counsel. He previously retired from the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 1997. Shawn and Mary Pat celebrated 40 years of marriage in 2016. Shawn returned to the Law School on April 16 at the request of The Space Law Society to speak about working for NASA and the military. It was his first trip to the school in about 20 years. Deacon Jack Nugent reports that the bishop of Portland ME has granted him active status as an “extern” deacon with a special ministry to the elderly. He conducts monthly communion services at Kennebunk nursing homes. Lorie Masters writes that she has been involved in the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance, the ALI’s first restatement on insurance. It has taken eight years to generate a final draft to be submitted to the ALI. During her involvement in the process, Lorie crossed paths with Tom Karol, who was on the other side of some of the issues discussed in the restatement. Tom is general counsel of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). Tom maintains a position on a Uniform Law Committee on autonomous vehicles and is considered an expert on insurance for autonomous vehicles. Tom's reports for NAMIC are excellent primers on these cutting-edge issues. The reports are available online at NAMIC’s website. We may have outdated email addresses for some class members. If you have not been receiving communications from me, please send me an email with your current email address. God Bless and Go Irish. — Michael Palumbo; 3799 E. Peachtree Drive, Chandler AZ 85249; res 480-284-4004; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com
82 Success and Endowment
Skip Desjardin of Sanford Hall has spent the last three decades working in the media industry. In the 1990s, Skip was the VP of Pay-Per-View for the WWF, now WWE. He then spent 10 years as VP of video products for ESPN. Then Skip made the transition to Google where he has been the head of sports and local content at YouTube TV for six years, bringing TV without cable to customers across the country. His first book, September 1918: War, Plague and the World Series, is the story of a remarkable month in which the biggest issues seemed to revolve around Boston. His book is available now. Skip lives in West Hartford CT and commutes to Manhattan to his dream job. Congrats Skip. We can’t wait to read your book. In February, the University announced that our classmate John “Tony” Hatherly of Morrissey Hall and his wife Christina made a generous donation to support ND track and field. John ran track for the Irish as a miler. The endowment for the John Hatherly-Joe Piane Head Track and Field Coach will help underwrite the salary of the head coach, provide stability and resources for long term goals and create funds for use within the department. Joe Piane was John’s coach while at ND and recently retired as head coach of the ND men’s and women’s track and field teams. John is the founder and managing partner of Wynnchurch Capital, a private equity firm with offices in Chicago, Toronto and LA. Prior to founding Wynnchurch, John worked as a senior executive for GE Capital’s Merchant Banking Group. John’s financial contribution is a result of his appreciation to ND for providing him with a scholarship that changed his life and gave him the opportunity for an education. Thank you, John and Christina, for your generous donation and support to our alma mater. Eileen Wirley and her husband, Paul Hussey, are proud to share that their daughter, Samantha, graduated magna cum laude from the State U of NY with a BA in global and international studies and minors in public justice and forensic science. We, Dave and Tess Lewis, would like to share that our youngest, Kevin (the only one who did not attend ND) was selected to represent Puerto Rico in the World Championship Lacrosse Tournament in Israel this past July and we were lucky to join him on the trip. Traveling to the Holy Land was very special. We highly recommend it. The PR Lax Team ended 8th in the tournament represented by 46 countries. Playing eight games in eight days in extreme heat, this group of talented young men was the talk of the tournament. Kevin, ended with 21 goals, tying for eighth in scoring for the tournament, even though he was injured and could not play the last two games. One of his teammates played the last game using Kevin’s jersey so that he would be part of the team. This was a remarkable group of young men. We were grateful to give Puerto Rico something to cheer about as it continues to recover from a devastating hurricane. As we write this, we are looking forward to seeing a number of classmates at the Vanderbilt game. If you are not receiving The Shamrock, please contact Rose Carroll at rosecarroll@alumni.nd.edu to update your information. — Dave and Tess Lewis; 30 Battle Ridge Road, Morris Plains NJ 07950; cell 973-219-4050; tess@lewislegal.com; dave@lewislegal.com
82MBA Class Secretary — Renée (Amirkanian) Cooper;
reneemsr@aol.com
82JD Loss of ND Fan
Carol and I saw Diana Lewis on campus in May. Diana was attending ND’s Board of Trustees meeting that weekend. We also had dinner at the Carriage House the same weekend with Tim Nickels and his daughter Grace, who just finished her 1L year at ND Law School. ND lost one of its biggest fans on June 6 as my father passed away at age 87. I know many of you have suffered grief from the loss of a parent. I am forever grateful to my father for many things, especially that his hard work gave me the opportunity to attend Notre Dame. Requiescat in pace. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com
83 Reunion and More
First, and foremost, we owe a huge thanks to everyone who helped to make our reunion a success. We had 137 classmates and 26 guests who made the trek to campus. It was great to be able to see and spend time with everyone. I hope all had a good time and arrived home safely afterward. Thank you especially to two people who were instrumental in the success of the weekend: Father Jim King ’81 and Chris Stevens ’74. Father Jim celebrated Mass in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel in Keough Hall and Chris was our entertaining speaker at the dinner on Friday night. Please remember Peter Batacan and Brian Muno, along with their families, in your prayers. Pete passed away in April and Brian passed away in May. John Conaghan and John Power have started a group called OGRES, Old Guys Run Extraordinary Society. They are looking for members to join them in their running adventures. They have been running half-marathons on various continents. Recently, they did a half-marathon in Antarctica, including running partway in a blizzard. They still have Australia and Asia to go to finish their goal of running a half-marathon on seven continents. John Conaghan reports that he has five children and that John Power has four children, all of whom are mostly out of the house. No wonder they have the time and energy to run. Steve Fox and Bill Mateja have joined the new Dallas office of Sheppard Mullin where Steve is co-managing partner of the office. Chris Davis is again putting together a volunteer trip to Colombia with Habitat for Humanity. This year’s trip will be joined by the Notre Dame Alumni Association of Colombia. The group will help to build homes outside Bogota. If you would like to join or contribute to their efforts, information is available on the class Facebook page. Nina DeLeone Mazuzan reported that a group of Lyonites got together over Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC for a minireunion. The group included Patty DeVaney, Sheila Prindiville, Kim Boland, Terry Glover Bergjans and Kathy Reid ’82. Sheila Roessler, Laura Larkner-Ozga, and Jacqueline Herrfeldt-Riely participated in a panel discussion and presentation at reunion on their Haiti medical mission efforts. The mission is another fine example of the giving spirit of Notre Dame. Be sure to join the class Facebook page if you have not done so already. Search on Facebook for Notre Dame Class of 1983 and click “join”. We have 450 members of the class on the Facebook page and it provides a great opportunity to reconnect with class members and get information on what everyone is doing. As always, a big thank you to all who have shared news about themselves or classmates. — Louis J. “Chip” Denkovic; 520 West 43 Street, Apt. 32G, New York NY 10036; cell 917-399-8784; bus 212-762-6674; ldenkovic@gmail.com
83MBA Class Secretary — John Hilbrich;
630-677-2725; john.hilbrich@gmail.com
83JD Finally, A Little News
Jack Greiner is honored to report that his blog, Jack “Out of the Box,” recently won the award for best overall blog from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. Jack advises that the award means a lot to him because he respects what journalists do so much. He notes that an award from this organization is truly an honor. I spent five weeks this summer serving as the interim president of Saint Mary’s U of Minnesota. Thanks, Patty O’Hara, for the phone call several years ago encouraging me to consider a college or university presidency. The interim position was just enough (travel, commencements, more travel, development work) and a real blessing in my life. Now that my five-week reign of terror is over, I am happy to return to my role as executive vice president and general counsel. Please send me an email with an update on you or a classmate for this column. — Ann E. Merchlewitz; Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, 700 Terrace Heights No. 30, Winona MN 55987; cell 507-450-6609; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@smumn.edu
84 Reunion Planning Under Way
Dr. Dan Osborn is a theologian for the diocese of Saginaw MI. Prior to that, he did 10 years of Catholic lay mission work in India, Nigeria and the former USSR and did his doctoral studies at the Angelicum, Rome. Dan received two National Catholic Press Awards in the category of best regular column: general commentary. Christopher Grady was promoted to four-star admiral in the Navy. Joe Baumann attended his promotion and change of command ceremony. Mark Himsworth was named a 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in business litigation. George Shevlin joined AIG as vice president, government affairs. Prior to joining AIG, George was the executive director of the US House of Representatives Democratic Caucus. In addition, he keeps very busy with his young children. Hon. Laura (Chagnon) Tighe won the 2018 St. Thomas More Award from the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Colorado. Laura is a district court judge in Jefferson County. I was lucky enough to attend our Lyons Hall group’s annual get-together weekend in Nashville. Mary Jo (Francis) Conradt booked us a great house, Paula (Toohey) Smith picked great restaurants, I made sure we got some Bisquit Love, Ellie (Knapp) Cullom reserved a great bike ride and Teresa (Hedrick) Williams got some of us out for line dancing lessons. Marie Devlin and Ellen (Banovetz) Kaiser persevered and got us Hattie B’s hot chicken, Maureen Canavan whipped up culinary delights, Sheila (Dresser) Novak had us in stitches with her quotes game, Kelly (Frank) Kehl made sure we stopped at a true honky-tonk where Anne (Wernimont) Kritzmire made friends with the musicians who then played our special requests and Josie (Kaiser) Froehlke was a great late-night listener. These weekends are evidence of how true this quote is: “A true friendship isn’t about being inseparable, it’s about being separated and nothing changes.” On that note, our 35th reunion is fast approaching. If anyone has any ideas to help make it another super weekend, please send them to me. Also, we are thinking of repeating the class speaker program since we have so many classmates doing great things. If you would be interested in giving a presentation, please let me know. — Martha Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net
84JD Write On
Mark Mullineaux is a partner at Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel in Philadelphia. He practices commercial and IP law and litigation, including representation of US companies that conduct business in Europe. Mark recently was the coauthor of an article, “The Test: Does the European General Data Protection Regulation Apply to Your Business Operating in the USA?” The article provides a test to be used to determine if the regulation requires a US company with business in Europe to comply with that demanding regulation. Some will recall that Mark ran the Boston Marathon while we were in law school. Mark says, “I had to give up running about 13 years ago because of a bad knee. I took up biking and ride with a group, doing about 150 miles a week in warm weather. Still crazy.” Our condolences to Leslie Budewitz on the recent passing of her mother. Leslie and her husband, Don Beans, live near Flathead Lake in western Montana. She maintains a “very part-time law practice, doing some civil litigation and mediation.” Her latest book, As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles, the fifth Food Lovers’ Village Mystery, came out in June. Her first historical short story, “All God’s Sparrows,” appeared in the May/June issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. It features a real historical figure, a former slave named Mary Fields who came to Montana in 1885 to work for the Ursuline Sisters at St. Peter’s, a Jesuit mission to the Indians. Leslie hopes to publish more “Stagecoach Mary” stories in the future, along with her Seattle Spice Shop Mysteries. Kindly send me updates. I look forward to hearing from you. — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com
85 Save the Date
Nancy Walsh announced that the Class of 1985’s “unsanctioned, ultra-hot” class tailgater will be Oct. 13 at the Pitt game. Kick-off is 2:30 p.m. Be there. Dick “Bird” Larkin has been elected treasurer of The Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, one of the largest nonprofit community action agencies in the US. CEDA reduces poverty, revitalizes low-income communities, and empowers low-income individuals and families to become fully self-sufficient. His book, The Magic of Everyday Giving, was due out in August. Please send information about your career, travel, hobbies, volunteering or anything else of interest. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net
85MBA Class Secretary — Dom Yocius;
dyocius@ameritech.net
85JD Busy Times
Michelle Garcia Gilbert checked in from Tampa, where she owns a firm that employs 40 people, including 12 attorneys. In addition to her busy practice, Michelle has been busy keeping up with her six kids. Her daughter, Mary Castillo, graduated from ND Law in 2016. Michelle was able to hood her, a wonderful and rewarding experience. Mary is working at the state attorney’s office for Hillsborough County. Michelle’s eldest daughter, Andrea O’Sullivan, was married in 2016 and has a daughter, Mary Anne, born Feb. 26. Her third daughter, Selena Castillo, is creative director for Duke Women’s Basketball. Her fourth daughter, Laura Castillo, graduated from Belmont U this spring and will be working for Sony in Nashville. Her fifth daughter, Sarah Castillo, completed her junior year at Notre Dame in mechanical engineering. Finally, Michelle’s son, Daniel Castillo, completed his freshman year at the U of South Florida, Michelle’s undergraduate alma mater, where he is majoring in mechanical engineering. Amy and Joe Harraka celebrated their daughter Mimi’s graduation from the U of Southern California, where she earned a degree in forensic psychology. After Mimi’s graduation, Joe and his family met Dave Scheper for breakfast. Barb Scheper was busy presiding over a trial. Mimi will attend Seton Hall Law School on a full academic scholarship. To Dave's chagrin, and a further test of his friendship with Joe, given Dave’s extreme loyalty to all things Fighting Irish, Joe is adding another Trojan to his family. His youngest, Jake, was admitted to USC as a transfer student for his junior year; he will major in history. Joe’s eldest, Josh, works as a financial analyst in NYC. Tom Hartzell is practicing at his own firm, Finucane and Hartzell, in Pittsford NY. The eldest of his three daughters, Isabel, entered Temple U as a freshman studying musical theater. Deb Hennigan Knapp has taken a new position with the New Jersey Division of The Salvation Army. She is program and resource manager. You probably know The Salvation Army from its red kettles, but you may not know that The Salvation Army is the largest provider of drug and alcohol recovery services in the US. and offers shelter for the homeless, disaster relief, assistance for former prisoners reentering society, and more. It serves about 25 million people in the US annually and has operations in 128 countries. Speaking of classmates who are making the world a better place, Cari Votava has worked for 20 years at the World Bank, an international organization that focuses on poverty reduction. Cari helps officials in countries classified as “fragile, violence & conflict-affected” states (i.e., the poorest and most fragile in the world) to strengthen systems for corruption prevention, anti-money laundering, and countering the financing of terrorism. Although many poor countries are rich in natural resources, they generally face high levels of corruption, which prevent economic development that would improve living standards. Cari wrote a book (recently released by the World Bank) to help officials conduct integrity due diligence checks to help reduce corruption: License to Drill: Manual on Integrity Due Diligence for Extractive Sector Licensing. Cari is based in Washington DC, but her work takes her around the world. She has worked in 70 countries and now focuses on Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Ghana, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In October, Cari will present at the annual conference of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Dakar, Senegal. In other international travel news, Tom Nessinger will be celebrating the London Law Programme’s 50th anniversary with other Domers in London in October. If you attend the celebration, let me know. Thank you for sharing your news. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; largey@fr.com
86 My Three Sons
Bryan Dedrick shot me a text the other day that put a smile on my face and made me think about probabilities, possibilities and dreams. Bryan and wife Chris have three sons. Eldest Kyle Dedrick ’18 played soccer for the Irish and now works for William Blair in I-banking. Sean also plays soccer for Our Lady’s team, has been a starting defender the past two seasons and graduates in 2019. The news is that Zach just committed to ND to play soccer and will be Class of 2023. Bryan and Chris have spent a ton of time on campus watching their sons play and look forward to many more visits. What are the odds and how many dreams did those boys have of playing for the Irish? Incredible. Mary George Rupp and her husband have lived in Phoenix for 20 years and work for Boeing at the Apache Helicopter plant in Mesa. They and their daughter had a fun dinner with Pete Piche and family in Scottsdale. They had not seen each other in over 25 years. The Rupps plan to visit the Piches one summer in Traverse City. The Rupps plan to hit the Navy and Syracuse games this season. Kathi Deegan joined IBM Watson Health almost two years ago and was able to make her dream of moving back to Florida come true when she took a new position in the Southeast. She is based in Oldmar FL, near Tampa, and will enjoy her home on the farthest north part of Old Tampa Bay where she can watch dolphins and manatees in her back yard. Jim Foley and his wife had a great visit with Cristina and Navy Capt. Jeff Griffin, who after 32 years of active duty service, retired from the Navy as the chief of staff of the Navy’s 7th Fleet, based out of Yokosuka, Japan. Jeff had a successful, highly decorated career of significant responsibility. Jim said Jeff was the last NROTC classmate to retire from active duty and may be the last in any of the services from our class. Dave Finn’s two eldest are at ND. Liam is a junior in Alumni Hall and Rory is a freshman in PW. His two youngest are still in high school. After years of doing owners rep work for healthcare projects, Joe Kapitan accepted a position in March with Sodexo as director of design and construction, regional/ambulatory for the University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland. Joe and his team of four project managers plan and direct construction projects at UH’s 70 regional facilities consisting of regional hospitals and ambulatory care centers in 11 counties. He and his wife JoAnne have a son who just started college and a daughter who is a junior in high school. Joe also writes in his spare time and just had a book of Ohio-based short stories, Caves of the Rust Belt, published this summer by Tortoise Books of Chicago. David Harouse’s daughter is a sophomore at Saint Mary’s. Michael E. Smith is a partner at Frantz Ward in Cleveland. He was recently named board chair for Community of Hope, which is a nonprofit organization that is the home of the Cleveland Open Table Initiative, a movement that assembles groups of six or seven adult volunteers, or “tables” that meet once a week for a year to help young people aging out of foster care navigate from poverty toward a prosperous future. Drop us a line. Take care and God bless. — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com
86MBA On the Road
Carl Bastien vacationed in Vancouver recently and shared some fun photos on social media. Also traveling locally and internationally is Carolyn (Anderson) Wells, who has seen practically all the state of Michigan by bike. She participated in an adult mission with her church in Managua, Nicaragua, in November 2017, and her eldest son, Matthew, went to Belize for a mission before starting college this fall. Tuyet and Dan Kerrigan vacationed in Australia in April and celebrated 20 years of marriage in May. An Easter visit to Sea Island GA was just what Kathleen Reidy needed after a long winter in Chicago. I escaped the lingering winter with a trip to Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam in April. The highlight of the trip was a visit to Keukenhof Garden in Lille for the tulip festival. Put it on your bucket list, and I’ll meet you there. Still hitting the slopes are Lisa and Dave Greiner, who spent time in Jackson Hole in March. Next time you visit NYC, look up Sal Somma who moved to Manhattan and is living on Central Park West. Whenever I see pictures of Seth Mason, he’s either skiing or boating. He is an avid fisherman on Lake Michigan. Visiting Indiana PA and looking for entertainment? Wally Stapleton plays drums with his band, Somebody to Love, and has a regular gig at the Park Inn Radisson. His daughter Audrey is the all-time leader in 3-point percentages for a season with Indiana U of Pennsylvania. Rick Hearden is president of the northeast Wisconsin market of First Business Bank. Congratulations to Andy King, who became a grandfather to baby Elle in January. Any other grandparents out there? I know Bob Teets also has a couple of grandchildren. Since I gather my news now from social media as well as email, friend me on Facebook or LinkedIn so I can share your news in the next issue. Until next time. — Maureen (Mullan) Decker; 21855 Town Gate, Macomb MI 48044; res 586-468-7713; bus 586-741-4305 cell 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org
86JD Class Secretary — Don Passenger;
180 Ottawa Ave., Suite 1200, Grand Rapids MI 49503; 616-632-5704; dpasseng@gmail.com
87 Greatly Missed
It is with deep sadness that we announce that Katherine “Kay” Bull passed away suddenly of natural causes at home in Savannah in June. Please keep her family and teenage daughter Maria Bull in your thoughts and prayers. In addition to writing our Class Notes for 11 years, Kay spent her career as a tech writer and editor, most recently for Optum. Kay’s friends from Lyons and Morrissey attended the funeral service at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in July. Attending were Tricia (Dolan) Abruzzo, Kelli (Graham) Coppola, Christine (Sapienza) Figueroa, Lisa (Dickinson) Michaux, Beth (Noland) Miller, Mary Carol (Creadon) Murphy, Anne (Culligan) Toal, and Dr. John Kobayashi. If you would like to donate in support of Kay's daughter Maria, please send a check payable to Kay’s sister and Maria’s guardian, Tricia Hurst, 8436 Duncaster Court, Indianapolis IN 46256. Going forward, Meg Brennan Hamilton has graciously agreed to take on the role of class secretary. Please send her your updates at meghamilton@yahoo.com.
87MBA Vacation and Updates
Hello everyone. By the time this article is written, I will have returned from my extended family vacation in Europe and will be spending the summer in my beautiful hometown of Sudbury, Canada. Everyone should visit Sudbury, it is fantastic. Earlier this year, I received an update email from Robert Krohn (robertbkrohn@yahoo.com). Bob is a partner in the global consulting firm ISG that specializes in sourcing advisory services. Bob is responsible for the healthcare practice. Bob’s wife Kathy is from Toronto and they visit our great city often. Bob and Kathy have two children: Celia who is heading to university and Ryan who will be in grade 11. I also received an update from Jay Jhaveri (jay@jayjhaveri.com). Jay’s son, Jan, will be enrolled this fall at Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business, Class of 2022. Jay was on campus in August to settle Jan into his new life on campus. Jay will attend the ND-Pitt game on Oct. 13. Mark Brostowski (mbrostowski@gmail.com) is thrilled that his son Ian has been accepted and will be attending Notre Dame. Ian will be a classmate of Jan Jhaveri. As I write this, I am planning to attend the Michigan, Stanford and Florida State games, and Mark Brostowski and I will be hosting tailgates. For anyone who can join us for the Florida State tailgate, look for the Canadian flag beside Legends in the stadium parking lot. My family and I visited Naples FL in May and enjoyed dinner with Mary and Ken Kavanagh (kavanagh@fgcu.edu) and their family. Ken enjoys his career as the athletic director of Florida Gulf Coast U. Keep the information flowing. We look forward to hearing from you. Go Irish. — Perry N. Dellelce; Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Suite 800, Wildeboer Dellelce Place, 365 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario M5H 2V1; 416-361-5899; fax 416-361-1790; perry@wildlaw.ca
87JD Passing the Torch
First, thanks very much to Tim Borchers for stepping up and handling this column for the past several years. Tim is a senior account executive at Epiq in NYC. Also in NYC are Mary (Robertson) Wittenberg and Vinny Nadile. Mary told me that after running the New York Road Runners’ 5 Mile Italy Run By Ferrero, she was standing near the finish line with friends when Vinny, also having finished the run, came over and the two had a nice chat. Vinny is VP and senior counsel at Swiss Re. Mary assures me that her training diet includes more than Peanut M&Ms. As I was getting ready for work recently, I was listening to a story on the Today show about cities vying for Amazon’s second headquarters, when a familiar voice made me look at the television screen. Juan Bermudez, mayor of Doral, was talking about getting on Amazon’s short list. Seeing Juan’s face on TV that early in the morning was a pleasant wake-up call. Scott Cessar, partner in charge of Eckert Seamans’ Pittsburgh office, where Scott has worked since graduation, had an arbitration in DC and he stopped by Jones Day to see me and Greg Shumaker, where Greg has worked since graduation. Greg is the head of Jones Day’s global disputes practice. Congratulations to Joe Falvey on his appointment to the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Joe was confirmed in April and took the bench in May. Steve Ryan, chair of the healthcare reimbursement group at Miller Johnson in Grand Rapids, where Steve has worked since graduation, reports that he is still recovering from our reunion in 2017. Following the reunion, Dan LeRoy visited John Magnuson in Coeur d’Alene ID where John has been since before graduation. Recovery from that visit was likely warranted for both. Mags sent me condolences on being passed over, again, for a vacant Supreme Court position. If nothing else, I hope that I could at least provide an entertaining confirmation hearing. If you are not receiving our class email loop or you haven’t joined our Facebook page, drop me a note. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com
88 Pilgrimages: The Follow-Up
The official number of attendees at the reunion for the Class of ’88 was 223, but, judging by the crowds at Ryan Hall both evenings, something tells me that the unofficial attendance exceeded that. Regardless, much merriment and bonding occurred as we enjoyed the slate of events put on by the Alumni Association, plus those of our own making. Thanks to Mike Kurowski for orchestrating the whole works, to Bill Gartland for his back-breaking work setting up the refreshment tent, to Rev. Kevin Sandberg, CSC, for organizing and saying Mass and for hosting the reception at the Center for Social Concerns, to Teresa (Sheppard) Meyer for coordinating the golf outing, to Eric Hunter for the rousing start to dinner, (Mike handled his ribbing well) to Mary (Marley) Anthony for arranging the garb order including “the” gray sweatshirt, to Michelle (Bolger) Pfeifer for arranging for donations in the names of deceased classmates. And thanks to all who attended for being enthusiastic participants. To those who were unable to make it, you were missed and included in many tales and catch-up chats. We have great news on the garb front. If you are interested in ordering ’88 clothing, including that classic Champion sweatshirt with Class of ’88 embroidered on the sleeve, Mary has arranged to keep the order open through the end of the year: ndalumniwebstore.com/Notre_Dame_Class_of_1988.html. What a way to knock off some Christmas shopping. On the topic of pilgrimages, Rob Labadie not only attended the reunion, but he and son Jameson ’21 completed 300 of the 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago during the summer of ’17. They chronicled their experiences in a recently published memoir, Nashville to Santiago de Compostela: Planes, Trains and a Whole Lot of Walking. While at the reunion, Rob dropped off Jameson for a summer as a music mentor with ND Vision. In May, Pat McKnight pilgrimaged as high as you can go. After several attempts to summit Mt. Everest were thwarted by natural disasters in previous years, Pat stood at 29,029 feet on May 19. From a malfunctioning oxygen mask to disappearing gear, it sounds like an unbelievable adventure. To learn more, you can go to Pat’s website: climbingonpurpose.com. From California, Patti Shackelford wrote to express excitement about making a gift to the CSC, mentioning fond memories of a spring break spent in Appalachia with a CSC program which was a huge eye-opener for someone raised in the Chicago suburbs. She and her husband moved to San Diego in 2000 and raised their two children there. Son Benjamin went to USC, and daughter Julia is a sophomore at UCLA. Patti enjoys having them nearby. Also, from California, Amy Odell sent an update about her husband, John Odell. Since he’s not one to toot his own horn, she did the tooting for him and shared that he was listed as a power player in the April issue of Pasadena Magazine. John is a CFP and a principal with the Arroyo Investment Group. From reading his profile in the magazine, it seems clear that, when not making investments, he indulges his travel bug with trips to Angkor Wat, Bora Bora, Egypt, Machu Picchu, Yellowstone, etc. Amy and John have been married for 19 years and have a daughter, Madeline, 17, who is a senior at La Canada High. Sadly, we have a classmate who has made his final pilgrimage. Rich Whelan posted on Facebook that Pat Tedesco passed away from cancer on June 4. He was an architecture major, so he was technically Class of ’89. His father, his wife Vionette and his teens Lucas and Camila were by his side. You may remember Pat as a member of the band Sean and the Sun Kings with two other architecture majors, Matthew Brehm and Kevin Mulhall. They played mainly at Club 23/Gianetto’s. Pat was originally from Glen Falls NY. After ND, Pat went on to earn a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. At the time of his death, he was a principal at NBBJ, a global architecture and design firm in Boston. He collaborated on a myriad of design projects across the country and overseas and was a member of numerous societies and boards, having a hand in many beautiful structures. Peace and support to the Tedesco family. — Laurine Megna; PO Box 6847, Avon CO 81620; 970-390-9742; magnet@vail.net
88MBA Class Secretary — Ron Linczer;
1251 N. Eddy St., Suite 300, South Bend, IN 46617; mobile 574-302-2832; bus 574-631-3591; rlinczer@nd.edu
88JD Class Secretary — Lisa Marie Visingardi;
3389 12th St., Riverside CA 92501; bus 951-248-0315; res 789-6272; lisa.visingardi@jud.ca.gov
89 Fall Notes
Thanks to all who reached out over the last few months. I heard from Joe DePiro (Innsbruck ’86). He and his partner Jim McKenna (Innsbruck ’86) are celebrating 31 years together this year. They live in sunny Miami where Joe is a professor of business fashion at the Istituto Marangoni and Jim is using the German he learned in Innsbruck working for Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Congratulations. Ted Woodward shared that he won a Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters for Personality of the Year. If you are in Wichita, tune in to “Steve and Ted in the Morning” on KNSS-radio where Ted just marked his 5,000th show. Here is hoping for a great football season. Go Irish. Keep the information coming. — Noel Murtha DiNome; noel.d.dinome@live.com
89MBA Class Secretary — Maggie DeVoe;
612-845-9662; maggiedevoe@yahoo.com
89JD Class Secretary — Jenny O’Leary Smith;
701 Big Sky Trail, Cary IL 60013; 312-504-2298; jennyoleary@comcast.net