1980s

80 Reunion Planning

Reunion 2015 is two years away. We hope that Reunion chair extraordinaire, Joe Carey, will continue to plan the successful Class of 1980 reunions. If you are interested in helping, please contact us. We ask your support for our Class Fund. Submit your donation of $35 to Class of 1980 Operating Fund, in care of Mike Brown, 100 Eck Center, Notre Dame IN 46556. Mike’s email is mbrown18@nd.edu, if you need to communicate with him. A little note about being able to donate to the class fund online might be helpful. Paul Hemmer reminds us of the transcendence of Tim Kelley. Seven years ago, Tim suffered a very serious stroke. Despite dire warnings to the contrary, surgeries and continuing challenges, Tim was motivated to regain a productive life with his wife and their five children and to return to the practice of law. Tim’s story is recounted here. Betsy and Steve Dillon, Catherine and Kevin Gallagher, and Paul and wife Joanna witnessed Tim escort his daughter, Ann ’09, down the aisle at her wedding to Collin McCabe ’10. Being able to “walk his daughters down the aisle” was a goal Tim announced after his stroke. The group gets together as often as possible with Tim and his wife, Cindy (Rudolph) ’80SMC. Tim and Cindy’s eldest son Michael ’07, ’10JD, is also depicted in the Dispatch photo. Cindy Kelley’s father, Bill Rudolph, who was a brilliant lawyer and consummate gentleman, passed away just before Christmas. Steve Dillon, Kevin Gallagher, and Paul attended the Elmhurst funeral for Mark Carney’s mom, who died in November. Mark (Santa Barbara CA), wife Val, and children Brenna and Nolan gave Mrs. Carney an Irish Catholic send-off. Tim and Paul have remained close friends for more than 40 years, since their first day of high school, when they sat next to each other in freshman homeroom at St. Charles Prep. They graduated together from St. Charles, ND, and Ohio State College of Law. John McDermott’s report comes from Hawaii, where he is the state long-term care ombudsman. John recently lost both his parents: John W. McDermott in 2010 and Helen F. McDermott in 2012. John’s dad never got to attend college, but as a 100 percent Irish Catholic kid from New York, he was a big Notre Dame fan. John’s twin sister, Jean, transferred to Notre Dame from Niagara U, so both are class of 1980. The McDermott family cruise features John’s sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews traveling to the Bahamas for a cruise. With all the negative press regarding cruise ships, they had some second thoughts about this, but know that mom and dad will be blessing them with smooth sailing. Andrea Andrews Larkin ’80, ’83JD was elected a trial court judge in East Lansing MI. Andrea is married to Mike Larkin ’79 and mother of Edward Larkin ’11. From Tim Debelius: Even though most diplomas say they graduated in ’81, this group still considers themselves ND ’80. It has become a tradition for this group of ND architects to get together for an annual bike trip. Over the years, biking has become optional. They gathered at Jessie Reed’s new home in Prescott AZ. Jessie Reed, this year’s host, lives in Phoenix and Prescott and works as the corporate services global health and well-being manager for Intel. Paul Kelsch lives in Alexandria VA and is a landscape architecture professor at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria campus. Joe Behles has his own architectural firm, Behles and Behles Architects, in Evanston IL. Tom Sherer lives outside Hartford CT, is an adjunct professor, and works for an engineering firm. Tim Debelius and Anne Woodhouse live in Boise ID and celebrated their 30th anniversary last year. Anne has switched from engineering to a career in holistic nutrition and Chinese medicine. Tim is a marketing manager for Weyerhaeuser. Karen Pierce Langham, Ann McRedmond Waddy, and Beth Larocca were together in Miami for the National Championship game. They sported ’80 jerseys. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; www.notredame80@groups.facebook.com

80MBA Time to Meet Again

Having had so much fun three years ago at our 30th Reunion, the class will hold a 33rd anniversary reunion in conjunction with the USC football game Oct. 19. A flyer and registration form will be mailed or emailed to everyone in the summer. A number of classmates have already set aside the weekend and plan to attend. Classmates committed or rumored to attend include the Traegers, Jessups, Coopers, Kavanaghs, and others. We connected with most but not all of our classmates and want to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions. We look forward to seeing all of you in South Bend. On a somber note, we are all saddened to learn that classmate Jim Severyn passed away on Nov. 28. He was 56. Born in South Bend, Jim had a highly successful career with Kurt Salmon, a global management consulting firm. During his years at Kurt Salmon, he was known as a passionate and dedicated leader and mentor, helping build and lead the firm as a senior partner and board director. Jim took great pride in the home he shared with his wife of 19 years, Suzanne Hauss. Jim earned his bachelor of science degree (1978) and his MBA (1980) from Notre Dame. He served as swim team captain at John Adams High School and Notre Dame. Donations in Jim’s memory may be made to the Headstrong Foundation (headstrongfoundation.org), 232 Green Avenue, Holmes PA 19043 or to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, NJ Chapter, 14 Commerce Drive, Suite 301, Cranford NJ 07016. — Doug Cooper; 954-589-9446; suntubi@aol.com

80JD The Alphabet Ends

Our alphabet review comes to a close and accurate info is vital, so please register with the ND Alumni Association with up-to-date personal and work information. You are important. Here we go; if I missed someone, let me know. RJ Keefe is blogging away in NYC. Ralph Higgins practices at Frantz Ward in Cleveland. Ray Campbell’s most recent info is as asst. patent counsel for Trane Co. The last known working information for Rick Haas is the Superior Court of Connecticut. Rick Slager is the founder and CEO at Acacia Living, Inc., senior living in Scottsdale. Rich Myers is teaching at Ave Maria U Law School in Florida with Molly Murphy. Rob Meyer, are you still living in California, and Rob Minor, are you still living near Atlanta? Russ Alba is at Black Swan Legal Counsel in Tampa. Ruth Beyer is senior vice president and general counsel at Precision Castparts. Sheila Murphy teaches at the Seth Boyden Demonstration School in Maplewood NJ. Sheila O’Brien — c’est moi. I’m with JAMS Mediation and Arbitration in Chicago, enjoying our 97-year-old father, who lives near us now. Our eldest daughter Mary will be at Notre Dame in the fall, after a year of study and travel in Israel. Shelley Gianni owns her own firm in Mystic CT. Sheryl Anderson owns her own firm, too: Wells, Anderson & Race in Denver. Steve Barclay writes that he is doing his “lobbying thing” in Phoenix and that Steve Kruis practices almost exclusively in mediation in Phoenix, in his own company, Kruis Mediation. Steve Ryan is a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery in DC. Sue Sullivan, are you still in Manhattan? Sue Zwick is a trial judge in Chicago and soon to be empty nester. Tim Aluise has his own firm, Hessell & Aluise, in DC. Tim Carey is with Winston & Strawn in Chicago. Terri Springman is a US District Court judge in Ft. Wayne and Todd Greenburg is the long time city attorney of Bloomington IL. Tom Bradley, are you still with McBreen & Kopko? Tom Costa is at Bristol-Meyers Squibb in New Jersey, and yes, that’s Tom and Dillon’s son Bob Costa on the political talk shows. Tom Jennings is a proud new grandfather and with Hill Wallach in PA. Tom McCabe’s last work information is with Forest View Consulting in Great Falls VA. Tom Powers is listed in Williston ND. Tom Standal, where are you? Tom Varga’s info has him at Financial Associates, South Bend. Tony Kahn is with White & Case, Manhattan. Tony Vero is in Chicago. Walter Zukowski owns his own practice in Peru IL. Wendell Walsh is a partner at May Lorber, Mishawaka, and Zenon Bidzinski is in his hometown of Rockford IL and still wielding a camera. Mark your calendars; Reunion 35 is Thursday, June 4 to Sunday, June 7, 2015. Be there. Love to all. Go Irish. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

81 No News

When is no news bad news? When I have no news to share. Please send me some news. Otherwise, our class column will continue to remain bare. — Lee Ann McLaughlin; 849 Douglas Ave., Elgin IL 60120; 847-636-1964; leeannmclaughlin@alumni.nd.edu

81JD Challenges and Rewards

Mike Borders is the office managing member for Dykema Gossett’s Chicago office. Nancy McDonald continues as assistant GC of Laurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Mike and Nancy’s elder daughter is graduating from Brown this spring. Their younger daughter is at Duke. Lorie Masters, our former class secretary, is running for president-elect of the DC Bar. Also, the British Insurance Law Association awarded Lorie and her two Queen’s Counsel co-authors their 2012 Book Prize for their book on international insurance arbitration, Liability Insurance in International Arbitration: The Bermuda Form. This prize is given annually to a book that has made an outstanding contribution to the field of legal scholarship on insurance issues. Bob Allen was involved in Prudential Real Estate Investors’ $184 million purchase of the Sabadell Bank Building at 1111 Brickell Ave., Miami. Bob thinks it is the highest price ever paid for a commercial office building in Florida. Lead counsel on the other side was also a Norte Dame Law School graduate, Paul Meyer ’82JD. Paul Patricoski still practices in Aurora IL, the same firm since graduation. He is still married to Stephanie. Paul has been active in the local ND club, where he has been the contact for the Summer Service Learning Program for 16 years. This program sponsors two ND students, who live at a local homeless shelter for eight weeks in return for college credit. Jeff and Cori Weston are happy to report that their daughter, Taylor, will be a freshman at ND this fall. Cori is SVP investment services group business services manager, Bank of Hawaii. Tom Byrne argued a pro bono case on behalf of a Chapter 7 debtor seeking a discharge in the US Supreme Court on March 18. The name of the case is Bullock v. Bank Champaign, N.A. Look for the opinion. MaryAnn (Teasley) Sharp practices at Dentons, the seventh largest firm in the world. Dentons was formed by the March 2013 combination of international law firm Salans LLP, Canadian law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC), and international law firm SNR Denton. Mary Ann supports the Kuwait office from Melbourne Beach FL, which, she says, continues to be a great way to practice law. Mike Hartigan and his family will be in South Bend in May for their daughter Laura’s graduation. All three of Georgia and Brian McDonough’s girls are graduating this year. Morgan is graduating from the U of Florida Law School. She has obtained a federal clerkship with Judge Robert Scola in the Southern District of Florida. Jane will be graduating from Barnard, and will be interning at an art gallery in Chelsea in New York City. And Madison is graduating from The Laurel School and continues to train at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Brian continues to practice affordable housing law at Stearns Weaver, while running a charity called Give Kids a Chance, which provides scholarships to low income high school seniors (GKAC.org). Fritz Shadley reports that Arnie Gough’s eldest son, Charlie, graduated from ND Law School and joined the Navy JAG. He is assigned to Afghanistan and is assisting in the creation of their legal system. Jim Blasé would love to have a section each month on “inside” class recollections. His favorite is Fred O’Neil’s: “You can’t do this to me; haven’t you ever heard of Brown against the Board of Education?” What is your favorite inside class memory? — Michael Palumbo; 2359 E. Brown St., Phoenix AZ 85028; res 602-482-0905; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com

82 Space Traveler

Kevin Ford has taken command of the International Space Station. The NASA astronaut became the station’s commander with two Russians and will be joined by additional astronauts from the US, Canada, and Russia. They are scheduled to return to Earth this spring. Kevin, a retired Air Force colonel, was the space shuttle Discovery’s pilot for a 2009 space station mission. Kevin’s hometown is Montpelier IN, where he lives with his wife and two children. Jason Tullai married April Thomas on Oct. 27, and is living in Chino Hills CA. April is an adjunct professor, clinical social worker, owner of Pink Diva Hair Studio, and is working on her doctoral degree in education of organizational leadership. Jason, a retired Navy commander, is also an adjunct professor and an account manager with Siemens. Their blended family includes two daughters and a son. Memphis-based physician Frederick M. Azar was elected vice president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board of Directors at its annual meeting in Chicago. Dr. Azar serves as chief of staff to the Campbell Clinic, as well as a professor and director of the sports medicine fellowship program in the U of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also was director of the department’s residency program for 10 years. Dr. Azar is a member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) and the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), along with many other national and international groups. Dr. Azar also serves as the team physician for the NBA Memphis Grizzlies, as well as the U of Memphis and Christian Brothers U sports teams. Dr. Azar has volunteered with the academy for nearly 20 years and graduated from the inaugural AAOS Leadership Fellow Program in 2003. He remains committed to the work ahead for the academy. Judge Andrew J. Gleason, an associate judge of the 20th Judicial Circuit, was elected resident circuit judge of St. Clair County IL. He has served as the public defender in St. Clair County and has been in the general practice of law for 18 years. Gleeson was appointed an associate judge in 2003 and elected in 2012. Andrew is an adjunct professor at Southwestern Illinois College, teaching litigation support for paralegals, and serves on the Article V Committee of the Illinois Supreme Court. We would like to take this time to congratulate our new class officers, president Rose May Carroll and vice president Eileen Wirley. We are excited to have new officers to help us get to our 40- and 50-year club. Their goal is to help renew old friendships as well as create new ones. We will forward information very soon on some football tickets allotted to our class, Facebook account for the ’82 Class, and LinkedIn Connection Group. We would like to take this time to thank Tom Lupo and Barbara Favret for their 31 years of service to our class. On a personal note, we have our fifth child graduating from high school this spring. He is our only child who will not attend our alma mater. Kevin, 18, is looking forward to playing lacrosse for Lafayette College in Easton PA. He is excited to make his own mark, regardless of the teasing he is receiving from his siblings. Stay tuned for updates and please send us information for the column. — David and Tess Lewis; 30 Battle Ridge Road, Morris Plains NJ 07950; bloomie711@gmail.com or dave@lewislegal.com

82MBA Class Secretary — Renee S. Cooper; 630-850-9707; reneemsr@aol.com

82JD Tidbits

Helene (Gorman) Bradley sent me a note saying that she, Tom, and their five children went to the BCS National Championship game in Miami. Helene said that she and Tom have been practicing together in Philadelphia for 10 years. Their eldest daughter, Eleanor ’08, is following in her parents’ footsteps as she is editor-in-chief of the law review at Temple. Mary Persyn retired last August after 28 years as associate dean for library services and associate professor of law at Valparaiso U School of Law. Mary will continue to live in Valparaiso. I saw Liz Imhoff and Tim Nickels at the NDLA Board meeting in April. Carol and I were guests at Ara Parseghian’s 90th birthday party, which was held on campus in April. Jean Gorman was one of the organizers of the event. There were 300 guests in attendance, including many of Ara’s former players. The event was a very fitting tribute to a man who is truly a Notre Dame legend. It raised $300,000 to help fight Niemann-Pick disease, the disease that claimed the lives of three of Ara’s grandchildren. Condolences to Kim (Ptak) Rooney, whose father passed away this year. — Frank Julian; 7 W. Seventh St., Cincinnati OH 45202; 513-579-7337; frank.julian@macys.com

83 Reunion Time

It is hard to believe that it is time for our 30th Reunion in just a few short weeks. Where has the time gone? I am excited to see everyone who is making the trip to campus this summer. I’m sure the entire weekend will be a tremendous success. Matthew Bell has been elevated to the American Institute of Architects’ prestigious College of Fellows. He works at EE&K-Perkins Eastman in Washington DC and was nominated in the category of Practice. The fellowship program recognizes architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Fellows for 2013 will be honored at the National AIA convention in June. Congratulations are also in order for Michael Dugan on being appointed chief medical officer at bioTheranostics, Inc., a leading provider of molecular diagnostic solutions for metastasis. Mike will play an important role in bioTheranostics’ precision medicine products for cancer patients. Lastly, congratulations to the husband of one of our own. Dan Hicks, husband of Hannah (Storen) Storm, was named the new voice of the Fighting Irish on NBC. Dan will call all of Notre Dame’s 2013 home games and the Oct. 5 Shamrock Series game against Arizona State being played in Arlington TX. Dan is succeeding long-time NBC announcer Tom Hammond. We have a group on Facebook that I hope you will all consider joining. The group is strictly for members of the Class of 1983. To join, search on Facebook for “Notre Dame Class of 1983.” We have 332 class members who belong to the group. It’s a great way to reconnect with classmates that you may have lost touch with over the years and a great way to stay in touch with everyone you will reconnect with at Reunion. — Louis (Chip) Denkovic; 520 W. 43 St., Apt. 32G, New York NY 10036; res 212-564-4264; cell 917-399-8784; bus 212-762-6674; ldenkovic@gmail.com

Need news.

83MBA Class Secretary — John Hilbrich; 630-677-2725; hilbrich@hotmail.com

83JD Law Tidbits

I have just a few tidbits of news to report. Andrea Andrews Larkin was elected a district court judge in East Lansing MI in November 2012, and assumed her new role on Jan. 1. Believe it or not, Mr. Fun, Bill Vertes, is a published author. His article, Caught in the Crossfire: The Dilemma of Marijuana “Medicalization” for Healthcare Providers, was published in the April 2012 issue of the Wayne Law Review. Congratulations, Andrea and Bill. Also, Bill visited* Dave Knight* in Florida recently, and reports that Dave is doing well. Please send me an email with an update on you or a classmate. — Ann E. Merchlewitz; Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, 700 Terrace Heights, No. 30, Winona MN 55987; res 507-454-4774; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@smumn.edu

84 Courageous Battle

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my dear friend, Sue Carroll. Sue passed away in February after a courageous battle with an autoimmune disease. Her wake and funeral were a tribute to her kind and caring nature and were attended by several classmates. Kathy Cavanaugh, Jon Cromie, and Doug Gauthier shared their memories at her wake. Marie Devlin, Maureen Canavan, Sheila (Dresser) Novak, Ellen (Banovetz) Kaiser, Josie (Kaiser) Froehlke, Anne (Wernimont) Kritzmire, Brian Callaghan, Mike Cannon, Pat Malley, and I attended the funeral and family luncheon. Sue will be greatly missed. Mark Himsworth was elected to the board of directors of the Montgomery County AL Bar Association. He has been handling commercial litigation matters for more than 20 years. Stephen Theobald joined Walker & Dunlop as the EVP, CFO, and treasurer. — Martha Avery; mayoravery@aol.com

Need news.

84MBA Class Secretary — Tom Phillips; bus 407-629-4420; fax 407-629-4480; cell 407-580-8757; taprealtor@earthlink.net

84JD Boston Marathon

“Horrified” — in one word, John Firth described the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, as he experienced them from one block away. John had just finished his 10th marathon, and first at Boston, when the bombs went off. Worse yet, he was walking back to the finish line to meet up with his wife, Ann Stockman Firth ’81, ’84JD and three of their five children, Johnny ’10, Molly ’12, and Clare, when the bombs exploded nearby. As John described it to the South Bend Tribune, “The next 20 minutes were the longest 20 minutes of my life.” Eventually, he found Ann and his family unhurt, and they made their way to safety to allow first responders to do their jobs. Meanwhile, the Boston streets went from “extraordinarily festive” to “somber.” — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn@atg.state.il.us.

85 Honoring a West Point Professor

Lt. Col. Brian M. DeToy PhD, professor at West Point, concluded 28 years of service while leading his final class of cadets through a three-day battlefield study at Gettysburg PA National Military Park in April. Brian, who had been the director of the Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS) program at the United States Military Academy, retired during a ceremony on East Cemetery Hill on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Col. Jim Brundage and Col. Tim Vuono, who were in ROTC with Brian, hosted the event. Brian spent 11 years teaching at West Point, first in the history department, then in the department of military instruction. During his career, Brian served in light and mechanized infantry units in the US and Germany. He was chief of research and publications for the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth KS and professor of military science at the U of Kansas. He deployed to Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras, the Sinai Multi-National Force and Observers, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Brian received MA and PhD degrees in history from Florida State U and has been published numerous times. Also during his service, Brian led more than 80 staff rides (another term for battlefield studies) on three continents, covering the battles of five wars. He led more than 40 staff rides at Gettysburg. Thank you to Brian for his service to our country and for his part in training our future military leaders. Best wishes on his retirement. Please send updates. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; PO Box 6192, Harrisburg PA 17112; yanzlaw@comcast.net

85MBA Start Planning

It has been a while, but we need to start planning for upcoming events. Put the following items on your calendar: June 2015, 30-year Reunion; fall 2013, football season. Dirk McMahon expects to be at the Oklahoma and USC games to visit daughter Anna, who will be a freshman this fall. He is very excited that after sending two children to Marquette, he can transfer significant wealth to ND. If you are cruising the Pacific and pass a boat called the “Fighting Irish,” it may be our very own Bob Flaig. Please recall Bob’s shirt from the first day of our accelerated summer session had the inscription, “He who has the most toys when he dies, wins.” Bob continues to live large. John Newbanks, past keeper of these notes, reports he was promoted to first vice president, wealth management at Merrill Lynch. His eldest enters college in the fall. John has been the president of the high school band boosters but has stepped down from running Charlotte Jests AAU Basketball. John will finally have time for Reunion 2015.
Tom Varga, managing partner at CFO Selections, enjoys life in Seattle with his new wife and their daughters. He reports climbing Mt. Whitney via the Mountaineers Route. Tom is planning on being at the 2015 Reunion. Scott Kamieneski joined salesforce.com in August after his most recent stay at Oracle. He is running their sales organization in New England and much of New York. At present, Scott is non-committal regarding either a game or the 2015 Reunion.
I’ve seen Tom O’Connell at past NDCLE functions in Chicago. See ndcle.org for information on this organization. Shari Athey Cloghessy reports both daughters will be in college in the fall. She operates a vacation rental business, simplysanibel.com, which keeps her busy. Shari reports Marcia Mandi is coming in for the Oklahoma game. Shari’s husband, Mark ’80, shares our reunion years. Shari and I were the only attendees at our MBA 20th Reunion in 2005. Thank goodness we had simultaneous undergrad reunions at that time. Since I walk past Shari’s home in Western Springs daily on my way home from the train, we need more classmates participating in the on-campus reunion. Joe Macdonell is with the United States Hockey League in Chicago, always ready for a quick drive over for a game with wife Kathy, when he is not visiting hockey teams across the Midwest. My wife and I enjoyed dinner at Joe and Kathy’s home while the National Championship game played last January. Please plan on attending Reunion 2015. Professor David Norburn taught us the importance of that Harvard MBA Alumni Directory. Does anyone still have our MBA Class Resume Book from fall 1984? Please send each other a LinkedIn invite. Finally, please send me more information for future notes. — Dom Yocius; dyocius@ameritech.net

85JD Checking In

Peggy Gillis Ayalp checked in from Farmington Hills MI, where she raised her two children, Erin, 18, and Kurt, 16. Erin is heading off to the U of Michigan in the fall. Peggy is an assistant prosecutor in the appeals division of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Detroit. She keeps in touch with Jenny Eads Anderson and has enjoyed visits with Maureen Cafferkey and Trish Scanlon. For several years, Peggy and her family stayed with Maureen and her family in Cleveland over Memorial Day, while Peggy’s daughter Erin competed in Irish dance. Greg Bakies is a partner in Maurer, Newlove & Bakies, LLC, a five-person firm in Bowling Green OH. Greg and his wife of 23 years, Karen, a registered dietitian for the Dairy Council, have three children: Morgan, who was class valedictorian and is a sophomore at the U of Illinois majoring in chemical engineering; Hannah, an All-American cheerleader, who will attend Miami U in the fall, where she plans to major in education; and Luke, a freshman at Perrysburg High School, where he is a shortstop and pitcher on the JV baseball team. Karen and Greg return to Notre Dame two or three times each fall for football games, and visit with Atlanta-based Greg Youra and his family. Neal Buethe wrote from Minneapolis, where he is a partner at Briggs and Morgan and head of the firm’s employment, benefits, and labor section, co-chair of the firm’s nonprofit practice group, and head of the education practice group. Neal and fellow Minnesotans Margaret Arola Ford and Laura Hansen have served as moot court judges for a class at the U of Minnesota Law School for 17 years. Margaret is a tax attorney and partner at Smith, Gendler, Shiell, Sheff, Ford & Maher in Minneapolis, and Laura is a partner at Meagher & Geer, where she handles commercial insurance coverage cases. Joe Harraka sent a terrific note with lots of news from New Jersey. After practicing law in California first with Morrison & Foerster and then his own firm for about 15 years, Joe returned to the East Coast and is a partner at Becker Meisel, a 35-attorney firm with offices in Livingston, Shrewsbury, and Cherry Hill NJ. Joe chairs the firm’s insurance coverage department and is a member of the firm’s management committee. Joe’s eldest son Joshua turned down an early action acceptance to ND to matriculate at Cornell U with the Class of 2017 after graduating from the Peddie School in Hightstown NJ. Joe’s daughter Mimi, a junior at Peddie, is a star field hockey player and track sprinter. Joe hopes that Mimi will apply to ND and USC, where Joe earned his MBA. Joe’s youngest, Jake, is a freshmen at New Hope Solebury High School in New Hope PA, where he excels at football and track. Joe attributes his children’s athleticism to his wife of 22 years, Amy. Joe and I commiserated about the teenager time sink that is Xbox. If you are in New Jersey, contact Joe to play a round of golf or smoke a Cuban cigar. John Polster is senior vice president and general counsel of Bridgeview Bank Group in Chicago. John has been with Bridgeview for five years and reports that he keeps in touch with many classmates, including Peter Haleas, Nancy Townsend, Paul Brennan, Bob DiSilvestro, Steve Gouletas, Paul McMenamin, and Ed Rolwes, who also sent an update. Ed’s last update predated his late ’90s move from Chicago to St. Louis, and his earlier career shift away from big-firm partner life at Hinshaw & Culbertson to a smaller firm practice. Ed has his own St. Louis-based firm and represents lawyers, primarily in the area of lawyer ethics, risk management, and lawyer discipline defense. Ed and wife Kristi have four grown children and are adjusting to empty-nester status since their youngest enrolled at USC last fall, after, inexplicably, passing on ND. Ed recently enjoyed a road trip to the Masters Golf Tournament with his eldest son, Justin, capped off by a short return-trip detour through Lynchburg TN. John Roda is vice president, general counsel, and secretary with Burnham Holdings LLC in Lancaster PA. John has been with Burnham for more than a year, after having served as in-house counsel for 13 years with Auntie Anne’s. Please continue to send your news. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; largey@fr.com

86 Congrats and What’s Up?

As I write this, I prepare to fill out my football lottery form and hope for a great season. We will be hosting our 28th annual minireunion in the Stadium Lot. As always, all are welcome, so please stop by to raise a glass and say hello. You can always text me for the exact location, but many of you know we have been just off the northeast corner of Legends. Congratulations to Katharine Weber on being selected as BTI Client Service All Star for 2013 by BTI Consulting Group, Inc. This is a select group of attorneys that are nominated exclusively by clients. The BTI Consulting Group, Inc. conducts the Client Service All Star survey each year, which draws from candid feedback from the corporate counsels at Fortune 1000 companies. Katharine works in her firm’s insurance and financial services litigation practice group, where she serves as the primary outside counsel for a Fortune 500 insurance and financial services company, litigating and managing their individual cases and class actions throughout the United States. Joe Garry lives in Egan MN with his two kids and is a doctor at U of Minnesota. Father Tom Gibson is pastor of two large parishes in Moline IL, in the Diocese of Peoria. He has been a priest for 19 years. Betsy (Boyle) ’86SMC and Pat Flood just celebrated their 26th anniversary. He practices law in Omaha and their youngest son, Eddie, just completing his sophomore year at Notre Dame. Pat had a great time connecting with fellow Vermin ’85 Domers, Mike Schunk, Ron Hutter, and Mark Seguin in Miami for the BCS game. The 18th annual “Swools” took place at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale this past May. I am happy to report that all made it safely out and back and there were no incidents such as the ones that you might recall from these pages in the early years of the event. In attendance were gracious host and organizer Jerry “Swools” Whooley ’85, Patrick Conboy, Peter Moore, John Waller, Bryan Dedrick, Greg Dingens, Tony Rademaker, myself, ’85ers Tim Grozier, Mark McNally, Mike Quinn, Casey Newell, Rob Bertino, and longtime attendees and non-Domers Chris Connor, Joe Frendo, and Stu Cohen. Rounds of golf were played at Talking Stick and Grayhawk. The casino took our money and we hung out by the pool. Patrick Burns is working in Congressman Charlie Rangel’s office as a Brookings Institute Senior Legislative Fellow. We look forward to an update on his next move in DC. Pat has lost 20 percent of his lung capacity from when he volunteered at Ground Zero in the weeks following the attack, but he is still an avid runner. Bridget Skvarna and husband Vic live in Upland CA. Bridget works at Cal Poly Pomona and Vic has an estate planning practice. Daughter Katie is an exercise science major at Northern Arizona U and will pursue her doctorate in physical therapy. Son Jack will be attending Cal Poly Pomona this fall, where he will study engineering and continue to jump for the track team. Daughter Jenny is a sophomore in high school and a member of the soccer team. Please take a moment to fire me a brief update. If you need a candle lit at the Grotto, we have classmates and friends on campus who can walk over and help get that done. Just email me. Take care and God Bless. — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john.spatz@rbccm.com

86MBA News Trickling In

Congratulations to Carmen (Cinco) Rodriguez, who relocated to Columbus OH from Richmond VA. Carmen is a business consultant/director of continuing improvement at Nationwide Insurance. Her beautiful daughter, Ellie, recently appeared in a Wal-Mart in-store commercial for Pop Tarts. I saw the ad and she did a super job. Also on the move are Sam Duggan and Jim Conlin. Sam is CFO at Stupp Bros., an oil and energy firm in the St. Louis area. Jim recently moved back to his home town of Champaign-Urbana IL. He’s still in the commercial banking business. Please include Dave Pustinger’s daughter, Maggie, in your prayers. She is recovering from surgery for severe facial injuries she incurred in a serious riding accident. Andy King enjoyed a five-day, 125-mile bike tour of Napa/Sonoma wine country in April. Let me know if you plan to attend any football games this fall. I plan to attend the Oklahoma game. — Maureen Decker; 21855 Town Gate, Macomb MI 48044; res 586-468-7713; bus 586-741-4305; maureen.decker@mclaren.org

Need news.

86JD Class Secretary — Don Passenger; 61st District Court, 180 Ottawa NW, Ste. 8500, Grand Rapids MI 49503; 616-632-5678; dpasseng@iserv.net

87 New Committeeman

Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar announced the appointment of Jim Falvey as the new committeeman in Lyons Township. Patty (Perez) Sherk is planning weekend activities for the women of PW at the ASU game in Dallas. Contact Patty at domers87@gmail.com or dancinirish87@gmail.com. — Katherine Bull; 14 E. 41st St., Savannah GA 31401; kmbull47@gmail.com

87MBA Fun and Camaraderie

Christopher Murphy (christopher.m.murphy.385@nd.edu), Mark Brostowski (mbrostowski@regimentcapital.com), and I attended the BCS game. It was a weekend filled with fun and camaraderie. I’m sure others of our class were in attendance but we didn’t connect during the weekend. Chris and Mark’s daughters were accepted to Notre Dame and will be starting as freshmen in fall. Congratulations to the Murphy and Brostowski families. We should be proud of our own Ken Kavanagh (Kavanagh@fgcu.edu). Ken is the athletic director of Florida Gulf Coast U. How about that run to the Sweet 16 in men’s basketball? Congratulations, Ken. I met up with Ahmed Mousa (amoussa@fmmacro.com) and Kevin Bridges (kevin.bridges@hp.com) at the Notre Dame Club of Toronto Christmas reception. Both are doing well and send everyone their best. Finally, I’ll be at all home games except Michigan State. You are all welcome to my tailgater. Look for the Canadian flag near Senior Bar, (Legends, as it is called now) or email me on game day. — 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 Classmates in the Media

John Owens was recently interviewed on Inspiration Radio in Lagos, Nigeria, after being invited onto the show by a Twitter colleague. John was visiting Nigeria to share his experiences in mobile money from around the world. You can follow John on Twitter at jvowens. His page states that John is recognized as one of the top 20 Twitter influencers in the world and number one in South East Asia in the area of mobile money, mobile payments, and mobile commerce. Pat Corbett was quoted in an article about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the May ABA Journal. The writer sought his opinion because Pat is a professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School and was a former federal prosecutor with a background in computer crimes. On the personal level, Pat and Jody have one daughter teaching in Honduras, one studying in Beijing, and a junior and eighth-grader at home. Because life was too easy and becoming routine for them, they adopted a child who is now 3. As always, forward me any news or information. — Jay Brinker; jay@jaybrinker.com

88 Reunion News Forthcoming

As I compose this column, we are in the process of finalizing many details of the reunion, with exactly a month to go until the long-awaited weekend. Now that you’re reading it however, the Reunion is the stuff of memories. Many friendships have been rekindled (or newly established) and pictures have been posted on our website and on Facebook. In response to Reunion preparation emails, several classmates contacted me with bad news-good news scenarios, with the bad news being that they couldn’t attend and the good news being that a positively life-altering event impacted their ability to do so. First of all, figuratively and literally, Andy Barlow just couldn’t stay away from the capital in Texas. Two years after leaving his post as Gov. Rick Perry’s deputy director of communications to start his own consulting venture, Andy accepted the “gig” as director of communications for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. He learned that he missed being part of a team with a noble cause. With Reunion falling during the legislative session, Andy’s communication efforts were hot in demand. Come August, Andy will have good reason to return to campus anyway. His firstborn, Haley, accepted a spot in the Class of ’17. Second of all, Dawn and Ed Hickey welcomed Caela Skye on Feb. 11. With a newborn and new employment to boot, Ed regretfully reported to being doubtful about an appearance at the Reunion. Other than missing his sleep-in Saturdays, Ed is a proud papa for numerous reasons. Caela’s sister, Katrina, 16, performed as Maria in The Sound of Music this past spring to rave reviews and went on to sing with the National Youth Choir at Carnegie Hall. I bet Katrina can sing her baby sis to sleep with more than your average version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Another classmate with a wee one at home is Andrew Richardson. Blythe Catherine Richardson joined our extended Notre Dame family on Nov. 7, 2012. Steve DuFour has worked for Fidelity almost as long as we’ve been ND alums. He was originally hired as an equity analyst in 1992 and, since ’93, has managed numerous US funds. In January, with an extensive track record of success, Steve assumed portfolio management responsibilities for Fidelity Investments Canada, particularly for the Fidelity Growth America Fund. Stay tuned for news gathered at the Reunion in the fall issue. — Laurine Megna-Davis; PO Box 18138, Avon CO 81620; 970-748-9933; magnet@vail.net

Need notes.

88MBA Class Secretary — Margaret M. Lyons; 203-869-7267; meglyons@optionline.net

Need notes.

88JD Class Secretary — Lisa Marie Visingardi; 3389 12th St., Riverside CA 92501; bus 951-248-0315; res 789-6272; lisa.visingardi@jud.ca.gov

Need notes.

89 Class Secretary — Noël (Murtha) Di Nome; 326 Melbourne Ave., Mamaroneck NY 10543; home 914-806 3760; Noel.D.DiNome@live.com; Noel.D.DiNome@alumni.nd.edu

Need notes.

89MBA Class Secretary — Maggie (McJoynt) DeVoe; 612-845-9662; maggie.devoe@oracle.com

Need notes.

89JD Class Secretary — Jenny O’Leary Smith; jennyoleary@comcast.net