1980s
1980s
80 Milestone Birthdays
Class members who traveled to Angers, France, 1977-1978 joined a reunion of more than 200 former students of the Catholique Universite de l’Ouest in Chicago. Jorge Pierets sent the following with assists from Valda Staton and Lucy Maloney Jones. Roberta Moore was in from Charleston SC; Paula Shea Ziegler came from Utica MI; Denise Streff , SMC, from Chicago; Kim Walker, St Louis; Joe Philbin, Chicago; Don Grochocinski, Chicago; Ann McRedmond Waddey, Nashville; Tom Sheridan, Portland OR; Alicia Puente Cackley, Washington DC; Bob Jones, South Bend; Mary Fishman, Chicago; Mary Jean Schmitt, Gaithersburg MD; Sue Barry, Chicago; Stephen J. Kotz, Long Island, NY; and Valda Staton, Chicago. According to Leo Latz, 2018 has become the year of 60th birthday parties. He’s been privileged to attend celebrations honoring classmates Dan Hussey, Nick Zagotta and Cindy Cronin Cahill. All have been sentimental minireunions. Attending were Dan’s wife, Kathy Valona ’80SMC, Nick’s wife, Kathy McGrath ’80SMC, Liz Bathon Brown, Steve Brown, Ron Stefani and his wife Nina ’80SMC, Tom “Chet” Etling and his wife Maria Frigyesi ’80SMC, Don Condit and his wife Sue Smiggen ’80SMC, Mike Sobolewski ’77 and his wife Mary Beth Dvorak ’80SMC, Mike O’Reilly, Michael “Doc” Cusick, Dick King, Mike Kralovec ’73, Tom O’Brien ’93 and his wife Lisa Luedecking O’Brien ’93, Peter Vrdolyak ’85, Father Pat McGrath, SJ, ’88, Beth Larocca, Karen Pierce, and Kathy McCann. Michon (Althoff) Dowling tells us that they held a Farley minireunion at The Villages in Florida to celebrate 60th birthdays. Barb (Digangi) Sisson and Carol McKenna hosted. Both have retired and bought homes there. Attending were Jane (Pascuzzo) Michalek and Kathy (Juba) Linke of Boston; Mary Jean Schmitt of DC; Jane Knight and Rosemary Mills Russell of New York and New Jersey; Sharon (Henne) Wester, Detroit; Beth (Jones) Raseman of Chicago; Michele (Kelly) Herring, Minneapolis; Maureen Loughney, San Francisco and Michon of Seattle. They spent the weekend kayaking, bicycling, driving golf carts, belly dancing, eating, drinking and most of all catching up with each other. Carol, Barb, and Barb’s amazing and patient husband Kurt, planned a wonderful weekend. Rosemary added Delis Morales Yanker by facetime from vacation in Hawaii. Barb has retired from a long career with the military and senior executive service. Her last post was at the UN mission to NATO in Belgium. Morrissey Manor buddies Tom Nilsson, Bob Meckes, Rick Stanley and Bret Beegle surprised John Strickland for his 60th birthday, sharing a mission trip with Father Joe Uhen in Pirua, Peru. Mike Cushing was pleasantly surprised to be reminded that there were others in the exclusive ND 1980 and Togo 1980-1983 club. Mike met his wife there, and they’ve been raising their family in Sacramento. They see Paul Devereux and Brian Brett and spouses. Jo Lucey Puziol and her husband connected for a surprise birthday party. Mike reunited with Gary Borkes in New Jersey. Melinda Henneberger, columnist for the Kansas City Star, won a prestigious Scripps Howard Award for her columns about issues of the Heartland. Kim and Chris L. Kennedy were blessed to have their daughters married last fall and winter. Daughter Kristen Kennedy married Javier DeUriarte Ferro. Daughter Kaitlyn Kennedy ’16 married John McMackin ’16. Chris continues his family business, Hartson-Kennedy, as president/CEO. Chris met up with past Keenan rector Father Rich Conyers at a ND home game. Kevin Thaddeus Fisher-Paulson has been promoted to chief deputy sheriff of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Dept. Hearts go out to Joseph Trimbach, father of John Trimbach, Martin Sheehan and Michelle Simon who lost their dads, Keith Connor and Jim Bowers, who lost their moms, Joe Slovinec, who lost his aunt, and the family of John Mike “Mongo” Parrish. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu
80MBA Stogies and Brew
I spoke recently with Victor Yeandel, who is retired and living in Englewood FL. Vic’s early retirement is the result of having lost much of his vision to a degenerative eye condition, but I can assure you that his sense of humor is fully intact, and he is enjoying life along with his wife, Lauren. They have three sons: Chris, Ryan and their youngest, Matt, who was due to graduate from Drexel in June. Vic recently went to Ybor City with his former college roommate to sample cigars and the many microbreweries in the area. He said they had a blast. In May, Vic planned to be back on the Notre Dame campus for his 40th undergraduate reunion. Bill Homer announced the upcoming wedding of daughter Colleen this September in Buffalo. Bill and wife Mary Beth recently bought a home in Lake Worth FL and will reside there most of the year but will continue to enjoy summers on the Jersey shore. After retirement last year, Bill continued to teach at Temple Law and volunteer at Ronald McDonald house in Camden. Mike Previte writes that he was recently made co-coach of the Lake County Lutheran JV girls team but insists that he is not converting, and that the Pope is not the commissioner of their league. I wonder if that means he will coach differently now. Mike Colbert joined the ranks of the fully retired and writes that he is a member of the Senior Notre Dame Club of Phoenix. He and wife, Kathleen, are traveling more and Mike plays lots of golf in his newly found free time. They also have a new addition to their home in the form of an Australian shepherd rescue mix named Gracie. In June they are hosting a group of classmates for their 45th reunion from the U.S. Military Academy. Finally, thanks to those who responded to my email in April asking for life updates, even if they had nothing to share for this edition. I hope everyone has a great summer. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 203-364-0346; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com
80JD News Galore
Lots of our classmates are doing interesting things. Thanks to Steve Ryan, who is very busy these days, for his generosity at the Notre Dame Lawyer of Washington DC gathering. The gathering included our own Dean Nell Newton, Tim Carey with daughter Molly Carey, Andy Grosso, Jim Gresser and Lynn Schubert. Spotted in an overflow crowd at Princeton U this spring were Tom Costa and Dillon Dalton Costa to hear a speech by their son, Robert Costa ’08 of the Washington Post. Judge Bob Scott was featured in the Kansas City Bar publication about his life on the bench as a judge and his adored wife, children and grandchildren. Many of us remember when Bo was one of the first coaches of the ND women’s basketball program. Now, they are national champs, thanks to Bo and many others for getting the program off the ground in the early days of ND co-education. Congrats to Judge Sue Zwick, traveling to San Francisco to hear her composer son’s piece with the San Francisco Symphony and see our own Ginny Roemer. Sue’s four kids keep her busy with weddings, bar exams and hockey games, and Sue is rocking it as a mediator with JAMS in Chicago. Ginny is rocking it, too, in San Francisco, of course. There are more grandchildren for our classmates. Wendell Walsh is a new grandpa and Lucille Del Tufo Davy welcomed another grandson. Tom and Dillon Costa have two grandchildren from daughter Ellen, a Domer. And, many of us are still doing college and high school graduations with our children. I am thinking of you Jane Farrell, Tina Walsh McLaughlin, Molly Murphy, Rich Myers, Judy McMorrow. I look forward to your news in my email. You are important to each of us, so tell us how you are and what is happening in your world. See you at the home opener against Michigan. Go Irish. Love to all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com
81 Vanderbilt Game and Connections All Around
Our class has 50 tickets to the Vanderbilt football game on Sept. 15 with a tailgater beforehand. Contact Mike “Pro” Burke for tickets, proburke@gmail.com. Before the ND men’s basketball team took on Florida State in February, Kevin Hawkins, Stan Wilcox, Tracy Jackson, Gil Salinas, Kelly Tripucka and Orlando Woolridge (posthumously) were celebrated at a tribute to the ND Final Four team of 1978. Michael Molinelli’s son, Luke, is a freshman in the ND school of architecture. Like his architect dad, he will be a member of two classes, depending on how he feels on any given reunion year. Mike Scolaro’s daughter, Allison Beckwith, got into the ACE graduate program at ND. Dan Gonzales gets together with Mary Ahern in Silicon Valley. Let them know when you are in the area and they will schedule the next gathering. Bob Van Hoomissen’s son, Peter, got married in Snohomish WA in April. Daughter Carly was in attendance and is stationed overseas with the Army. Congrats to Rosemary Abowd Schwendler on her election to the board of the Notre Dame Alumni Association. Rosemary will serve for three years and joins a long line of Class of ’81 board members: Beth Toomey, Mary Murphy, Steve Rudnicki and Erin O’Connor French. Joel Harrington was among 175 scholars, artists and scientists named as 2018 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellows, chosen from 3,000 applicants. He is the Centennial Professor of History and department chair at Vanderbilt U and is a historian of pre-modern Germany. Sue and Jim Ringlein celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by visiting classmate Dr. Bill McCormack and his fiancé, Kathryn, at their home on Maui last summer. The gin and tonics tasted just as good as they did back in the day at Campus View. Last April, Treci Keating Dimas organized classmates for the Virginia Beach Color Me Rad run. Michelle Fey Pullano, Kathleen Ward and Maureen Finnegan O’Brien participated in the general silliness. Bob Grabman has returned to his hometown of Geneva in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Over the years, he has worked for the Peace Corps, Save the Children, Project HOPE, and Catholic Relief Services. If anyone would like to visit Bob and his wife, Lisa, they have plenty of room in their 1801 house overlooking Seneca Lake, and you can contact them at bobgrabman1@yahoo.com. Several of the former residents of 4S Lewis Hall met up in New York in April: Betsie Boland, Toni Fernandez, Bernadette Lease Kernen, Dana Michel Mandolini, Julie Wise Ryan, and Betty Carbone Schroeder. They enjoyed Broadway theater, great dinners, and catching up in the city that never sleeps. Randee Jennings popped over the bridge from New Jersey to reconnect and reminisce with them. They are planning a return trip to attend Springsteen on Broadway. Carl Lundblad reports spotting deer on his daily mountain hike near his home in Arizona. That is Carl’s full report. Gaelynn McGavick’s son, Gates, was elected ND student body president. Angers program alumni got together in April: Deirdre Reidy Horton, Diane Clancy Prindiville, Beth Toomey, Julie Joyce, Suzie Bernard Merrick, Barb Corbett Vogel, Kathy Lew, Liz Boo, Brenda Dugan Goudy, Martha Anderson, Katie Foy, Joe Willke, Meg Goerner Collins, and Madeleine Philbin. Please pray for the families of Joe Straub and Mary Ellen Konieczny who recently passed away. Join us on the class Facebook page where classmates share their wit and wisdom. And please email updates before our Aug. 1 deadline. You are loved members of the Class of ’81. — Mary Murphy; marymurphy81@alumni.nd.edu
81MBA Emptying Nests
Some of us are sliding into retirement and some are still gainfully employed, but it seems many are edging toward empty nest syndrome. At least it allows us to get back for football weekends more often. Tim and Susan Barbacane Leopold, still in Kingwood TX, and doing trucking logistics, escaped major damage from Hurricane Harvey, though some neighbors were not as lucky. Susan was traveling during the storm and stayed in Chicago with daughter Natalie and her grandson, who is named after Father Ted. Tim and Susan were at the Temple game and visited with Betty and Mike Zmachinski. Mike is still with Sovereign Bank and active with the New Jersey alumni. Son Michael is a Clemson grad working in NYC. I was on campus for the senior alumni golf outing the weekend of the Miami of Ohio game and had a great day with Park Owens. He and Carol are in North Barrington IL and he’s commuting to China for his Juvo Products Company, a designer and retailer of senior-related products. Dave Marchiori is still in Chicago and in his 38th year at Walsh Construction. Son Barrett is a biochemist in San Diego, Kevin is with Coyote Logistics in Chicago, and Alexandra is a teacher in Schaumburg IL. Dave spends a lot of time at homes in Wisconsin and Bonita Beach FL. Mary and Lorne Liechty are near Dallas and are official empty nesters playing host to six grandchildren. Lorne is in his second term as mayor of Heath and a partner at Liechty, McGinnis PC. Shiela ’80SMC and Steve Simmerman are outside Phoenix and he still runs all over the world with JDA Software. Stacy and Dr. Joe Sopcich are in Overland Park KS where Joe is the czar at the massive Johnson Country Community College. They were at the Georgia and USC games. Also, at Georgia and USC were Lori and Ron Veith along with Max, a senior at Georgia, and Sarah ’14. Jan and Mike Langnecker are outside Pittsburg where Mike joined the 60-year club last year and retired after a long career with Bank of New York Mellon, and immediately signed up for any senior league sport he could find. He used the same softball glove he used at ND. Ann and Mark Toth have been married 33 years and live in Libertyville IL. She is HR director for a division of Becton Dickinson and he is in the pharmaceutical engineering industry as sales manager for Genentech. Son Chris graduated from Marquette and is a product manager for a surgical instrument company in Chicago. Meghan graduated from the Butler pharmacy school and is doing a pharmacy residency in Peoria IL. Barb and I won’t be empty nesters, as we are lucky to have Abby along. She’s busy with the cats and at an equine therapy center and Barb is a very busy therapist. (Cue the comments about “counseling E.J. for years.”) Ted and Annabelle are in Sartell MN with our grandchildren Clara, E.J., and Henry. Ted just passed the bar after Minnesota Law and works for Gray, Plant, Mooty in St. Cloud. Colin is finishing at Berklee College of Music in Boston and has worked at a music studio in Cambridge for three years. He didn’t walk in Berklee’s graduation because he was producing a session with Queen Latifah. My book, I’ll Tell: The Catholic Church and the Danny Croteau Murder, is due in December. Hopefully, they’ll let me keep writing this after the release. As usual, I’m begging the missing to get touch. Contact us if your travels take you to New England. — E.J. Fleming; 600 Hall Hill Road, Somers CT 06071; 860-749-7621; flemingiv@aol.com
81JD Class Secretary — Michael Palumbo;
3799 E. Peachtree Drive, Chandler AZ 85249; res 480-284-4004; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com
82 New Venture
Lisa and Stephen O’Hearn are moving from Zurich, Switzerland, to Munich, Germany. Stephen leads PWC’s global insurance practice. They just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary and spent it in Sicily with their children: Patrick ’11, Meghan and Connor. Happy anniversary from all of us. William (Bill) Egan and several lawyers have founded a business law boutique, Avisen Legal PA, in Minneapolis. It offers sophisticated legal advice and counsel to businesses and entrepreneurs. Bill joined Kim Lowe, Todd Taylor and a few other attorneys in this new venture. Bill is a 30-year executive compensation and employment law attorney formerly of Oppenheimer, William J. Egan, PLLC and Rider Bennet Egan and Arundel LLP. His partners are seasoned veterans in the field as well. The firm’s name, Avisen, means adviser in old French. We wish you the best in your new adventure. Lawrence (Larry) Kissner, a Cardinal Newman High School dominant lineman, was inducted into the 2018 Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame. Larry played offense and defense and lettered 10 times in football, track and wrestling in high school. He was selected as the 1978 athlete of the year for football in Florida. A high school All-American, Larry was also named to Newman’s 50th Anniversary Team and named one of the top 100 players from Palm Beach County. Larry played for our alma mater on a football scholarship and continued his multi-sport participation by lettering in football and wrestling. He earned Notre Dame’s Herring Award as the most improved player and started at guard and center during his senior year. Congratulations, Larry. Dan Dondanville was named one of 11 US Merrill Lynch employees honored with the 2017 David Brady Award. The award is named for David Brady, a New York financial advisor who died on Sept. 11. Brady was highly respected for putting clients first and giving back to his community. The award honors individuals within BOA’s global wealth and investment management division. Dan was recognized for his outstanding multi-generational client focus, 28-year tenure as senior resident director of the Springfield IL office and his overall commitment to his community. Dan is married to Anne Hesslau Dondanville ’82SMC. Way to go Dan. Our apologies to Gaelle and Jason Tullai for misrepresenting their news update in the last issue of Notre Dame Magazine. Here’s a corrected version of the update: On July 30, 2017, wedding bells rang in southern California as Jason Tullai married Gaelle Mediem. Gaelle is the director of staff for the first lady of Liberia. She is originally from Cameroon and has lived in Paris, where she earned her two master’s degrees, and New York, where she worked for a law firm. Jason is a senior account manager for Evoqua Water Technologies, an adjunct professor, and works in entertainment security. Jason’s daughter, Sydney, is a freshman at USC. She majors in psychology and runs cross country and track. We have received our allotment of tickets for the upcoming football season. Our class will have a block of tickets for the Vanderbilt game at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 15. Please see our Facebook page for details on purchasing tickets. 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 or dave@lewislegal.com
82MBA Class Secretary — Renée (Amirkanian) Cooper;
reneemsr@aol.com
82JD Classmates in the News
When Barbara Bush passed away in April, several media outlets played clips from the famous commencement speech she delivered at Wellesley College in 1990. Much of that speech should look familiar as it was originally written by Tex Dutile for his commencement address to our law school class. As you may recall, Ed McNally was a speech writer for President George H.W. Bush at the time Barbara was asked to deliver the commencement address at Wellesley. Ed was tasked with writing her speech. Ed sought and received Tex’s permission to incorporate much of Tex’s commencement speech into Barbara Bush’s speech. The speech drew accolades from media outlets across the country, and it has been labeled as one of the 100 greatest speeches of all time. Ed was a guest on Fox News the day after Mrs. Bush’s death and told the story of writing this famous speech. Kym Worthy was the subject of an HBO documentary in April titled I Am Evidence, which tells the story of Kym’s efforts to have thousands of untested rape kits processed. Kym is the prosecutor in Wayne County MI. Wayne Belock’s son Ryan ’11 was instrumental in the production of the play Sorin: A Notre Dame Story, an excellent play about the life of Father Edward Sorin. I saw Tom Veldman at the US Supreme Court oral argument in South Dakota v. Wayfair, a case about whether states should be permitted to require remote sellers to collect sales tax. I also saw Liz Imhoff on campus in March for the NDLA Board meeting. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com
83 Time Flies
I’m writing this before our 35th reunion and thinking how quickly time has passed since we were students. By the time you read this, many have had the chance to catch up with each other in person, and I hope all who attended Reunion had a great time and are already looking forward to our next one. Amy (Hirsh) Guarino got together with Mike Shiner ’84 and Sonny Peek at Mike’s restaurant, Red Caboose, in Antioch CA. Amy says it was a great chance to catch up for a minireunion. Congratulations and thanks to Mary Brosnahan on completing 30 years with the Coalition for the Homeless in New York. Mary stepped down from her position as president and CEO on her 30th anniversary. Under Mary’s stewardship, the coalition was grown from its humble, grassroots beginnings into one of the most effective and influential anti-homelessness organizations in the world. The coalition operates 11 highly effective direct service programs and serves 3,500 people per day. Well done, Mary. Please remember Brian McGlinn and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Brian passed away on March 8 at home in Richfield MN. Bill Scala used one of the photos he took at Reunion 2013 and had a custom deck of cards made with it. He says his golf clubs are retired, so he is ready for playing cards. Eduardo Magallanez reports that the Notre Dame baseball team played in this annual Irish invitational in San Antonio. He got to meet and talk with Blaise Lezynski, a member of the team. Blaise is the son of Greg and Jackie (Pagley) Lezynski. Mike Joyce returned to campus in February for a weekend of hockey and hoops. He spent time with several class members, including Tom Bertsche and Frank Reily Jr. Also, in February, Tom Scully met up with Stoney Ferlmann and Brian Muno for some golf in Tucson. Be sure to join the class Facebook page if you haven’t already. You’ll be able to reconnect with class members, get information on what everyone is doing and sneak a peek at this column. Membership on the class Facebook page is still growing. We have over 450 members of the page. Search for “Notre Dame Class of 1983” and click to join. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to provide updates about our classmates. Feel free to drop me a line with news you’d like to share. — Louis J. “Chip” Denkovic; 520 West 43 St. 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 Class Secretary — 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 Send News and Prayers
There is not much news this time. Please send me info. Keep the family of Tom Bellino in your prayers. Tom passed away after a battle with cancer. — Martha Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net
84JD As the Years Go By
Chip Cavanaugh reports that he joined Peter Reilly, Pat Galvin, Adam Katz, Don Cleary and Mark Byrne in San Clemente for a weekend back in January “to tell old ND stories for the 100th time that no longer bear any relation to what actually happened but get funnier as the years go by.” Southern California in January sounds pretty inviting to this Midwesterner. I invite all classmates to send me updates. — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com
85 Microreunion
Tim Farrell and Harry Burnett met at Sardi’s in NYC for dinner on Tim’s birthday. Tim is corporate counsel for MBI Health Services, DC’s largest mental health care provider. Harry is a partner at King and Spalding. He focuses on international commercial and investor-state arbitration matters, along with general domestic and international litigation. The two hope to meet again at the Montpelier steeplechase races in November at Madison’s estate in central Virginia. All are welcome to join them. Thanks for your updates. Send more. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net
85MBA Class Secretary — Dom Yocius;
dyocius@ameritech.net
85JD Doing Good Work
I’m sorry to share the news that Karen Keltz passed away on Oct. 8. Karen practiced civil and family law at her own firm in Dallas. She served in leadership roles for the State Bar of Texas Insurance Law Section and as a mentor to high school students. She is survived by her son Zachary. Please keep Zachary in your prayers. Michon Hinz was profiled on We Are ND, a website from the Alumni Association that tells stories of Domers who are doing good in the world. The profile, “Returning the Kindness,” describes how Michon is using her legal expertise to help battered immigrant women get the help they need. Recalling that her ancestors were Irish immigrants, Michon says: “When I see those people who are having such a hard time, I try to give them a hand up like the many, many people who gave my Irish ancestors a hand up.” You can read Michon’s story online at weare.nd.edu. In February, Terry Brady was named president of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., which fosters safe living and working conditions for people everywhere through the application of science to solve safety, security and sustainability challenges. Terry previously served as UL’s senior vice president, chief commercial and legal officer and secretary. I previously wrote about Tom Ajamie’s work for the board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), in which Tom uncovered Harvey Weinstein’s shady deal to allegedly divert charitable donations that were made to support AmfAR’s research into finding a cure for HIV and instead funnel them to Weinstein’s theatre production company. Tom’s work helping to uncover this alleged fraud was featured in the February 2018 issue of Vanity Fair in an article titled, “The Other Harvey Scandal.” Vanity Fair calls Tom “a respected litigator with practices in New York and Houston.” The article describes the blistering personal pressure Weinstein put on Tom to suppress the information, including trying to sway Tom by inviting him to parties with celebrities, aggressively pursuing a non-disclosure agreement, and threats of litigation. Tom squared off against one of Hollywood’s most powerful people and won. All Notre Dame lawyers should be proud to know that Tom did not yield, and his report is now the foundation for a civil and a criminal investigation into Weinstein’s actions. In April, I enjoyed a minireunion in Santa Fe with Deb Hennigan Knapp, Karen Kiley Toohill, Madeleine Murphy and Molly Murphy. We also caught up with Candi Lichtenfels and her husband Tim Hartzer ’72JD. Candi and Tim were spectacular guides and gave us terrific advice on how to enjoy the best of Santa Fe. Candi and Tim would be happy to welcome classmates to the Land of Enchantment. If you are planning a trip to Santa Fe, let me know so I can connect you with Candi. Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate 60 by supporting me in my Boston Marathon run. I was proud to finish the coldest Boston Marathon in 30 years as a charity runner, raising money for the Museum of Science. My son Tommy, who is a senior at Boston College, lives in a dorm on the marathon route and brought his friends out to cheer for his mom. Please continue to send your news. I look forward to hearing from you. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; largey@fr.com
86 Classmates Open for a Visit
We will be celebrating our 33rd annual minireunion tailgate on Sept. 8 at the Ball State game. We will be in our regular spot behind Legends and flying the class flag. Look for Father Ted and ’86. All are welcome and please come by for food and drink. David Harouse dropped a brief note to say his daughter is loving her time at Saint Mary’s. Leslie Krohn was named chief communications officer at Argonne National Laboratory. There are many ND alumni there doing great scientific research and we congratulate Leslie as she leads the charge to increase visibility and recognition of all they do in the name of science and technology. Leslie updated us on her BP crew. Karen Moritz Simons has a daughter in Flaherty Hall. Valerie (Weis) and Gus Herbert’s youngest is a sophomore at ND. Mary Eileen Kenney Baltes graduated her eldest from ND last May and has a sophomore son there now. Kathy (McCarthy) Walsh is in Boston, Angie (VanLear) Whitesell is in Staunton VA, Julie (Heslin) Pokat lives near Albany and Donna (Callis) and Lee Broussard reside in Severna Park MD. Joe Ebberwein’s daughter Sarah ’13 met her husband Stephen ’13 at Notre Dame. They have a beautiful baby girl, Lily, class of ’39. After years in the home health and hospice industry, Joe started a telehealth company, Corstrata, that is tackling the problem of chronic wounds in the US and internationally by creating access to wound experts using technology. The mission is to dramatically reduce preventable wounds and resulting amputations. He has connected with amazing Notre Dame alumni across the US to move this mission forward. He would welcome connecting with any other alumni who share the passion for solving this problem. In January, Patti (Bergin) Bedard gave the gift of life to her cousin, Patrick Laughlin ’76. Patti donated one of her kidneys to her cousin who had kidney failure due to polycystic kidney disease, an inherited condition. I learned that in the US more than 100,000 people are on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, and every year approximately 4,500 people die while waiting. In 2017, more than 20,000 transplants were performed. Patrick and Patti are recovering well. The surgery was successful, and Patrick hoped to run in the 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on July 4. We look forward to hearing about that in another issue. Patti’s goal was to get back on the ski slopes before the end of this past ski season and she did. We learned that John Oteri was selected as superintendent of schools in Malden MA in the summer of 2017. He grew up in Malden, graduated Malden High 1982 and returned to Malden after spending the last 18 years in neighboring Somerville. For the past five years, he led SHS to a Level 1 accountability. It was the only urban high school in Massachusetts to achieve this rating. Taking over the Malden Public Schools, with the most diverse high school in Massachusetts (70 languages/cultures) and nearly 7,000 students, is a dream come true for him. Pat and Dana Cusack celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in January. They were thrilled to receive a congratulatory note from Rev. Dave Porterfield (Sorin Hall) who married them in 1988. Arroyo Grande CA is home to the Cusacks, who have been blessed with five children and five wonderful grandchildren. Toyota and Honda dealerships, real estate development and grandkids are their passions, but if anyone is out West and needs a place to stay or wants to go wine tasting they ask that you give them a ring. Judith Windhorst is the new president of the Jefferson Bar Association in Louisiana and a senior partner at Jones Walker LLP in the New Orleans office. Now that her youngest, Luke, is off to LSU, she and her husband Chip are working hard at being empty nesters. Everyone is welcome to visit. I am very sorry to pass along the sad news that we lost our classmate Sean Farley on April 17 after a brief battle with cancer. His wife Ginny and son Patrick will be in our prayers. Take care and God bless. — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com
86MBA Class Secretary — Maureen 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 Grateful
Jim Lecinski wrote to say that after 12 years at Google, he’s moved on to his next chapter and is an associate professor of integrated marketing at Northwestern U. He is also teaching marketing strategy in the Notre Dame Executive MBA Program. His eldest graduated from ND in the class of 2018, and his youngest will enter ND this fall in the class of 2022. Sheila (McDaniel) Henry retired from UCLA last summer after 18 years of raising funds for cancer research at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Since then, she’s been enjoying yoga, cooking, volunteering and having more time with husband Steve and teenaged son Charlie. As a three-time cancer survivor, Sheila says she is grateful to be healthy and cancer-free. We are too, Sheila. — Katherine Bull; 821 E. 40th St., Savannah GA 31401; kmbull47@gmail.com
87MBA Class Secretary — 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 Class Secretary — Tim Borchers;
tim.borchers62@gmail.com
88 Pilgrimages
By the time of this column is published, many classmates will have made the pilgrimage to campus for our 30th reunion. Back in August 2017, classmate Janel (Blount) Carroll participated in a Notre Dame pilgrimage of another sort, the Notre Dame Trail. Janel completed the five-day segment of the reenactment of Father Sorin’s journey from Vincennes IN to South Bend. She reported that it was an amazing experience and noted that Rev. Edward “Monk” Malloy, CSC, celebrated Mass on two of the evenings. On the last day, she was joined for the final three-mile trek to campus by son Jay ’16, classmate Lisa (Buonaccorsi) Kelly and Lisa’s husband Jim. Along the way, she ran into another classmate, Matt Zyniewicz. Another ’88er who participated was Ellie Kuhns. From Toronto, Hugh Hart shared that he and wife Erin (O’Shea) ’86 had the pleasure of attending the 2017 graduation of their eldest son, Cameron, who then went on to spend the summer in Dublin with the Keough-Naughton program. Son Patrick spent the fall of his junior year in London and will return to campus this August to wrap up his undergraduate career. Hugh and Erin have four other children: Hughie who studies physics at the U of Waterloo while releasing records with his band and playing gigs around Toronto and Montreal, Kathleen who will enter college this fall, and Kellyanne and Bridget, who will be a junior and a freshman in high school. Hugh stays in touch with fellow Holy Cross Hog Todd Waffner who is enjoying life in Seattle, is married and has two young children. Also hailing from Seattle is Michelle Witt. After a career as a professional violinist, Michelle entered the realm of arts management and serves as the executive and artistic director of the Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the U of Washington. She formerly did similar work at Stanford and at the U of California, Santa Cruz. Her husband, Hans Hoffmeister, works for Avidian Technologies, and they have a daughter Mia, 10. Paul Bierbusse and wife Mary ’90SMC returned to campus for the UGA game. To make matters interesting, there is a divide in the Bierbusse household as children Erin and Patrick are UGA-loyal, graduating in 2016 and 2018. The disappointment in the loss was lessened by reports from UGA friends about how impressed they were with campus and ND hospitality. What’s more, the game gave them the chance to catch up with many Alumni Hall Dogs, including Chad Smith, Dave Phillips and Joe Dearie. Paul and Mary look forward to the 2019 game in Athens, hoping to host a few classmates in their Atlanta home. Professionally, Paul is a principal/partner at Ernst and Young. He travels all the time and is adjusting to an empty nest. With two children in South Bend, Sean Pieri makes frequent ND pilgrimages. Daughter Reilly just graduated from Saint Mary’s and son Kyle will be a junior at ND, living in Morrissey. Khalil Shalabi relocated from the New York City to Austin TX three years ago. He joined a contingent of ’88 grads already there, including Alison Macor, Andy Barlow and Joellen Peters SMC. Last summer, Matt O’Neill took his family from Milwaukee to Washington DC for a bi-annual visit with Michelle (Bolger) Pfiefer. As always, Michelle was the world’s best host, guiding Matt, Shannon and their three daughters to great sites around DC by day and throwing mad weeknight parties at her home by evening. — 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 Class Secretary — Noel 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