1980s
1980s
80 Save the Date
Reunion 2020 will be held June 4-7. Mark your calendars, plan to be there and contact your friends. Susan Sebold Geraghty, inspired by a Notre Dame Magazine article by Beth Ann Fennelly ’93 that daughter, Erin Geraghty ’16, forwarded, rallied former Walsh roommates for a minireunion in California and celebration of their 60th birthdays. Husband Tim called it the Wild Women of Walsh Weekend, borrowing from Beth Ann’s article. Mary Meg McCarthy, Mary Tighe Longo, Michele Wilson Leiva, Ann Peters Bartlett and Susan enjoyed a long weekend of wine tasting, laughter, and catching up at Michele and Bill Leiva’s home in Napa. Although it has been years since they were all together, it was as if they were still in Room 328 of Walsh Hall. All these women are so accomplished yet so humble. Mary Meg is the executive director of the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, Mary Ann has a PhD in English and is a professor of English at Creighton U, Michele is the CFO of DPR Construction and was named one of 2018’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by The San Francisco Business Times, and Ann is CFO of Donor Alliance, a Denver-based non-profit that facilitates organ, eye, and tissue donation. Becky Lee coordinated a fabulous reunion in Steamboat Springs CO with Mary Lou Batt, Sue Callahan Grubaugh, Maureen Loughney, Anne Nachazel Toal, Mara Quinn Devitt, Michelle Simon, Donna Lorenzen Barker and Carrie Seringer to celebrate 60th birthdays, relax in the springs, hike the mountain and catch up on families, travels and recent pursuits. Love and laughter were shared. Carrie Seringer sends congratulations to Lewis Hall and Mara Quinn Devitt on the 40th anniversary of the first SYR at Notre Dame. Mara goes down in Notre Dame lore as the person who first brought this tradition to ND. Phil Jaurigue, chairman and CEO of Sabre Systems Inc. was named CEO of the Year by the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia. Sue Barry writes that alumni of the S.U.N.D.E.F. program 1977-78 met at the home of Gus Widmayer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their sophomore year in Angers, France. The celebration included 60th birthdays and took place in Massachusetts with visits to historic sites in Groton, Acton and Concord. The weekend kicked off with an elegant party at Indian Hill House, hosted by Gus and his lovely daughter Sophie. A reunion dinner was held at a local French restaurant with 26 in attendance, including Rodney M. Beard, Anne L. (Duffy) Burkart, Alicia J. (Puente) Cackley and husband Phil ’79, Mary Jo (Dunne) Finkenstaedt and husband Tim, Mary C. Fishman, Susan M. (Barry) Kohn, Kim (Walker) Kolda, Stephen J. Kotz, and wife Elizabeth, Mary Jean Schmitt, Jorge I. Peirats, Joe Philbin, Melinda (Henneberger) Turque, Ann M. (McRedmond) Waddey, Gus. J. Widmayer and daughter Sophie, Paula (Shea) Ziegler and friends from Saint Mary’s College and other original travelers. Philip Hicks has been teaching European history at Saint Mary’s College for 30 years. He and wife Joyce ’90MBA have four children: Stephen ’16, Reilly, David, and Kathleen. In the winter issue of this magazine, he paid tribute to fellow Sorinite Paul Fenlon, last of the bachelor dons. Our senior year was the last of Professor Fenlon’s 63 years living in Sorin. Our hearts go out to Mary Ryan Amato and husband John ’81, who lost their beloved daughter Allison at 37. Allison was a long-time resident of Misericordia Home. Allison gave her family much joy and happiness. And to Mike Walsh and Hank Monaco, who lost their fathers, and to Carlos Carrero, who lost his mother. Please share your news, and visit our class Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/notredame80/. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu
80MBA Calling all Crawlers
Nancy (Zaytoun) Kenna writes that her husband and sons have taken up duck hunting which, unfortunately, she must prepare when they return from a successful hunt. I think the ducks have a stronger complaint, Nancy. Joe Bowers and wife Lane spent a week with their entire family visiting Walt Disney World. He says his four young grandchildren went out of their minds with enjoyment at the park. After that respite, he says he is in full swing for tax season and comments that the new tax law has created many new and somewhat confusing forms. He wishes everyone luck this year getting their taxes done and goes on to say that in order to keep sane, he and Lane spend weekends at their vacation spot in Avalon NJ. Pat Ward writes that he has two sons in Pittsburgh. Patrick is an orthopedic surgeon celebrating the birth of a son, Jack. Brendan is a financial advisor who has a son James, 22 months. His four other sons live in the Philadelphia area. Included are Danny, owner of Penn Liberty Paints, Matty, a family counselor, Joey, a recent U of Denver grad who works for a local private equity firm and youngest son Kieran, who is a freshman at Gettysburg College. Dennis Shea wrote to say that his son will be getting married this summer and then he is off to Chicago with his new bride to start his MBA program at the U of Chicago. Dennis also says he spends much of his time in Colorado these days. Rich Walker attended the college football playoff game since he lives in Texas close to the Cotton Bowl where the game was held. He bought a ticket from a scalper at the venue and failed to check the ticket location so Rich ended up in the middle of a thousand screaming Clemson fans. Anoop Rai responded to my recent email, which referred to the old Senior Bar, with an idea to have the NYC local classmates get together for a pub crawl. He says he did that recently with some of his U of Indiana PhD buddies and had a great time recycling old stories, although they ended up naming it a geriatric pub crawl. He’s thinking of starting at the lower east end and working toward NYU. I would settle for just crawling from one end of the bar to the other, but I am up for the multiple location challenge. Anoop is thinking late April or early May so I will try and get an email out a few weeks before then for anyone interested in joining. Nancy (Cook) Curley also responded with vivid memories of the Senior Bar and the buckets of green beer on St. Paddy’s Day, along with the infamous disco dance floor. She laments that they ended up tearing the old place down. I agree. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 203-364-0346; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com
80JD
Farewell to Dean Nell Newton and welcome to Prof. Marcus Cole as dean of the ND Law School. Professor Cole is a scholar of the empirical law and economics of commerce and finance and has served on the Stanford Law School faculty since 1997. Welcome to Notre Dame Dean Cole. In other news, Lynn Schubert retired on Dec. 31 and is enjoying life. Congratulations, Lynn. How many of us are retired now? If you are, please go to Irish Online at the Alumni Association website and update your information. It will help you stay connected with everyone. Carolyn Short is not retiring. She is taking on a new role as head of her litigation team at Holland & Knight in Philadelphia. Congratulations, Carolyn. Thanks are sent to our classmates who helped with the US Senate campaign of Joe Donnelly ’77, ’81JD. I am thinking of you, Wendell. It was great to see people rally around Joe and his terrific spouse Jill Truitt Donnelly ’76, who does development work for the Law School. Many congrats to US District Judge Terri Lazar Springman, chief judge of the Northern District of Indiana. It is wonderful to see your name, Terri, as chief judge in the caption of the federal court. Steve Kruis is mediating and arbitrating in San Diego with ADR Systems, and retired Judge Sue Zwick is mediating and arbitrating in Chicago with JAMS Mediation and Arbitration. All your mediation needs can be helped by our classmates. Presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, classmate Judge Dan Buckley, finished his term as presiding judge to much acclaim. Judge Max Griffin is on the bench in Chicago Child Protection Court, Judge Barb McDonald is enjoying retirement, Debbi Thomas Boye is at Kutak Rock Chicago and rockin’ it, and Mary Ann O’Connor is at Chase and active on several charity boards in Chicago. Lisa and John Hendrickson have welcomed grandchildren. Yes,he cool young CSC priest at Notre Dame named Rev. Pat Reidy is our Maureen Reidy Witt’s nephew. And, yes, that was our Steve Ryan on the nightly news with a famous client. Congratulations to all. Our hearts and sympathies go to Joe Dunn on the death of his father and to Dona Bainbridge on the 30th anniversary of Harry Bainbridge’s death on Pam Am 103 at Lockerbie, Scotland. Please remember the Notre Dame Law School when you are feeling generous. Giving back warms the heart. Love to all. Send me your news. Go Irish. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com
81 Connections and Celebrations
The Class of ’81 has purchased 40 tickets for the Oct. 5 football game versus Bowling Green. The $85 cost will include a tailgater. Details will come via email and Facebook soon. Bob Mulhern and four Domers co-founded the ND Business Council in Boston, which hosts semiannual lunchtime speakers who draw business executives from along the Eastern Seaboard. Please visit the group’s website to see upcoming events: ndbusinesscouncil.com. Stephen Hoey, Kevin Campion, Bob Durgin and Jack Murphy played in a grand masters lacrosse tournament in Florida in January. Everyone survived. Mike Kiefer, Mike Onufrak, David Wood, Dana Michel Mandolini and Dave Mandolini met at Mark Rust’s home before the Northwestern game. Most of the same group attended the Michigan game, joined by Paul Turgeon and Bill Birsic. Kiefer, Onufrak, Wood and Dan Ryan played golf together at Sanibel Island last February. Onufrak also attended the Navy game in San Diego with Turgeon and Dave Brassard. The ND connection is strong with that group. In January, Tim Coonan and Terry Coonan celebrated their 60th birthdays at a surprise party in their honor. Dan Coonan ’84 organized the El Segundo CA bash which included Carroll Hall vermin: Hon. Phil Gutierrez, Tom Swegle, Ed Durbin, Bob Hogan, Tom “Action” Jackson, Dan Dutcher, Tom Rumely, Kevin Hawkins, Kevin Hackett ’82, Rod Linhares ’82 and Joe Massaro ’82. Some had not seen each other since graduation. Janet Bergeron, Chris Cervenak ’82, and I represented ND women the best we could. The toast of the night came from Tim and Terry’s mom, Kay, who commented, with perfect comedic timing, on the appropriateness of a surprise party for twins who were quite the surprise. I hope Kay and Tom Coonan ’56 are proud of the extended Coonan family, and all who are welcome in their circle. Tom Gibbons and Lexi ’81SMC hosted a tailgater at the Cotton Bowl that included Pat Glennon, Joe Ciuni, Kathy Corcoran, Keith Melaragno, Mike “Pro” Burke, Mary Beth Sterling, Dave Link, Anne Fink Roy, Dave Pusateri, Cory Shea, Walter Keating and Mike Vanic. James F. Slattery ’50, former president of the ND Clubs of New York and Long Island, passed away in January after a lengthy illness. Generations of students chose Notre Dame after attending a session for accepted students that the Slatterys graciously hosted over the years. Jim realized one of his greatest dreams: having all three of his children graduate from Notre Dame, including one of our own classmates, Jim Slattery. Beloved classmate Patti Craig ’82 passed away last November. She distinguished herself as a talented architectural designer with her own firm in Chicago. Patti loved the camaraderie of her Arkie classmates and hosted many of them at her home and tailgaters on football weekends. Classmates attending her funeral included Bob Ritger, Jane Nelson, Michael Molinelli, Steve Riese, Bob Swindler and Ellen Schmeltz Swindler, Dennis Figg, John Ineson, Buffy Murray Ineson, Kevin McShane, Paul Gates, Doug Marsh, Richard Welch, and Bob Helle. Just a few weeks prior to her death, these Arkies pulled off a surprise 60th birthday party complete with balloons and the required Hucklebuck. This same group, along with John Reynolds and Brian Tewey, gathered last June to celebrate the wedding of Bob Helle in Grays Lake. Join the Class of ’81 Facebook page. And please email updates before our April 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 who are now inspired. — Mary Murphy; marymurphy81@alumni.nd.edu
81MBA Class Secretary — E.J. Fleming;
600 Hall Hill Road, Somers CT 06071; flemingiv@aol.com
81JD Class Secretary — Michael Palumbo;
3799 East Peachtree Drive, Chandler AZ 85249; res 480-284-4004; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com
82 Wedding Party
Linda Wiessler-Hughes and Michael Hughes celebrated the marriage of their son Skyler Hughes ’16 and Sarah Followill ’16. Their daughter Athena ’13 and a posse of other alumni were in the wedding party. A string quartet played the Victory March as the bride and groom exited the chapel. The Golden Dome graced the groom’s cake, and the alumni sang choruses of the Victory March at the reception standing behind a sign that read: Marry like a Champion Today. Congratulations to all. Several Keenanites attended the Navy game in San Diego. Bill Richards drove his motor home and joined Greg Erjavac (England), Rudy Fernandez (Tampa), Paul Callahan (Tampa), Steve Riney (Houston) and Joe Orfano (Jacksonville). All enjoyed a great weekend in beautiful San Diego. Rose and Mike Carroll (South Bend) and Megan and Don Shank (Fullerton) joined the crew. Bill Richards is a VP of engineering, video CPE hardware for Arris in San Diego. Their children Alyssa, Kelsey and Cory graduated from ND, ND, and Purdue respectively. Rudy Fernandez is a director at Robert W. Baird & Co. Rudy is married to Meg and they have two daughters, Kerianne (Duke) and Kailey (Cornell).
Justice Mary Jane Theis and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of James T. Derico Jr. as an at-large Cook County circuit judge. The appointment took effect on Jan. 18. James says he is, “humbled by the appointment and grateful for the committee. He is looking forward to serving the people of Cook County.” James earned his JD degree from the U of Pennsylvania Law School. His professional associations include the Chicago Bar Association, where he was a chair on the corporate practices group (YLS), and the Cook County Bar Association. He has also served on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee for Civil Jury Instructions. For his work in providing pro bono legal services, James was the recipient of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Distinguished Service Award in 2009 and 2014. — 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 Sad News
I am sad to report that Tim Abeska’s wife, Mary Ann, passed away from ALS on Jan. 1. Tim was a dedicated caregiver throughout Mary Ann’s long and courageous battle with this horrible disease. Please keep Tim in your thoughts and prayers. Tim Nickels’ eldest daughter, Maggie ’12 got married in Chicago on Oct. 27. Cele (Glacy) and Bruce Baty, Tracy and Ed Sommer, and Carol and I attended. Patty and John Smith hosted a party at their Chicago home before the Northwestern game. Jane Lynch, Tim Nickels, Ed Sommer and Carol and I attended. I saw Kathy and Tom Brickley, Mike Daugherty and Tom Veldman in South Bend for the Florida State game and I saw Denise (Fontana) and Rich Ricci at Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral the morning of the Shamrock Series game in New York. Liz (Medina) and Greg Imhoff hosted a tailgate party before the Cotton Bowl game. Cele and Bruce Baty, Mike Daugherty, Ed Sommer and his son, Andrew (who is a senior at ND), Anita and Tom Veldman, and Carol and I were also on hand to witness ND’s disappointing loss to Clemson. Tim Nickels taught the Intensive Trial Ad class at the Law School in January. One of his students was his daughter Grace, who is a 2L. Condolences to John Smith, whose mother passed away in November. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com
83 Memorials and Memories
Brian Murray, John Karas, Matt Stolwyk, Lisa Keeley and Rich Daly attended the memorial service for Pete Batacan, who passed away in 2018. At the Pittsburgh game, the Zahm Hall Memorial Toast was used to honor Pete’s memory. Members of the Class of ’83 participating in the toast were Brian Murray, Dan Holmes, Jack McCabe, John Karas and Dave Wischerath. Money is being raised to donate to Zahm in Pete’s memory for the betterment of the house. Contact Brian Murray if you are interested in contributing. Most of the activity that took place over the last quarter was related to following the Irish football team in person and on television. The members of the Class of ’83 remain true and die-hard Irish fans. Away from football, Chris Davis completed his trip to Colombia with Habitat for Humanity. He reports that since 2013, his team has raised more than $360,000 for Habitat’s work, with almost a quarter of that sum coming from Notre Dame alumni. On the latest trip to Colombia, Chris’s team worked with two extended families to provide adequate kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. The team also provided funding for a new park. Bob Gorman reminded us that John Clements designed St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston in 2004. St. Martin’s was the site of Pres. George H. W. Bush’s memorial service and funeral. Be sure to join the Class Facebook page if you have not done so. Search for “Notre Dame Class of 1983” on Facebook and click “join”. We have more than 450 members 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 reached out with news to share about themselves or classmates. Please continue to reach out with updates. — Louis J. “Chip” Denkovic; 520 W. 43 St., Apt. 32G, New York NY 10036; cell 917-399-8784; bus 212-537-1781; ldenkovic@gmail.com
83MBA Class Secretary — John Hilbrich;
630-677-2725; john.hilbrich@gmail.com
83JD A Little Bit More News
Congratulations to Rob LaBerge who has been recognized as a 2018 Upstate New York Super Lawyer in the field of employment and labor. Rob is a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King working from its Syracuse office. Rob’s law experience includes representing management in collective bargaining, NLRB proceedings, labor arbitration, labor audits, supervisory training and contingency planning. I hope you read the wonderful article about Matt Feeney in the Notre Dame Lawyer about law as vocation and his service to the community. We are proud of you, Matt. 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 Get Ready for Reunion
Our 35th reunion is coming up fast. Mark your calendar for Friday, May 31, to Sunday, June 2. Come and reconnect with classmates. It promises to be a fun weekend. For women alumnae, the Notre Dame Women Connect group is planning its first on-campus retreat, “Called to be Daughters of God,” for Sunday, June 2. Plans are still in the works, but the tentative plan is a Mass at 9 a.m. followed by presentations, opportunities for individual reflection and/or group discussion, lunch and a concluding session that will end by mid-afternoon. To sign up, watch the ND Women Connect Facebook page or go to their website at womenconnect.alumni.nd.edu. Get ready for a good read in March. Notre Dame is publishing a book on our own Dr. David Gaus and his tireless work to improve healthcare in rural Ecuador and beyond. Long Road from Quito: Transforming Hearth Care in Rural Latin America will present a fascinating portrait of David and his mentor, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, as they strove to bring modern medicine to poor rural communities. In addition, the We Are ND website (weare.nd.edu) has a nice story on David. I encourage you to look at it. — Martha Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net
84JD Countdown to 35th Reunion
In December, University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, ’76, ’78MA appointed Ann Firth ’81, ’84JD to the position of vice president and chief of staff to the president. In this position, Ann will not only manage the president’s staff and advise the president, but also assume a role in the implementation of key initiatives of the president’s office and continue her work as liaison to the board of trustees. Kevin Luby reports that his first novel, Chasing Shadows, was published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Kevin relates that legendary literary critic Mike Kelley “tells me that he liked it so that’s good enough for me.” Pat Galvin, Chip Cavanaugh and Greg Cozad attended the Cotton Bowl. While the outcome was not what they hoped for, they enjoyed the festivities. Jim Slattery reports a career change as he joined Regional News Network (RNN) as general counsel. In October, Jim spoke on a panel at the Association of Corporate Counsel annual meeting in Austin on the topic of legal ethics. Wayne Patrick also attended. In a surprise to no one, Jim has plans to see the Rolling Stones this summer in Denver, Boston and NYC. Rock on. I am hearing from several groups of classmates that they are planning to return to campus for the USC game in October. I look forward to hearing from you. — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com
85 Postgame Reunions
Ben Suplick, Dave Wood, Scott Hobar, Bill Weiler, Joe Bongiovi and Tom Limanek spent the long weekend in New York City for the Irish v. Syracuse game. During the weekend, they tailgated with Dave’s son Alex ’14 and, according to Dave, felt very old hanging out with junior alumni on the rooftop parking garage. After the game, a short subway ride to the Lower West Side brought them to a great Notre Dame party with several members of our class including Kelly Fitzgerald, Linda Kelleher, Kate Grogan and Jennifer McGuire. Dave and friends are looking forward to next year's BACT. Javi Mulero lives in Los Angeles and reports that Rick Yohon hosted a nice gathering at his house in Hollywood after the Irish victory over USC, 24-17. The following class members were there: Kelly Fitzgerald, Annunziata (Nancy) Gianzero, Steve Burt and Alison Yurko. Javi writes, “A great time was had by all. Food and drinks, great stories, and some jokes.” Two classmates serve on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Brian Davis represents the Ohio Valley Region that includes Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Janeen Olds represents the Pacific Northwest Region that includes Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northern California, northern Nevada and British Columbia. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net
85MBA Class Secretary — Dom Yocius;
dyocius@ameritech.net
85JD Overseas Travel
Tom Nessinger and Tom Ajamie attended the October gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of the London Law Program. More than 50 alumni and their family members traveled to the United Kingdom for the events. Tom also attended the Winter Classic at Notre Dame stadium. LinkedIn told me that Mark Engel, who is chief executive officer of Phagelux Inc., a global biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel phage and lysin antibacterial products and solutions, presented at several healthcare investment conferences in California in January. I was able to visit with Kim Kirn and her husband Dave George (’88 Northwestern Law) who came through Boston on their way to Acadia National Park. Kim and Dave are empty nesters now that their two boys are away at college. Jeric is a senior at the U of Missouri and Seth is a sophomore at Webster U. During the past year, Kim traveled with her sister and niece to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand on a three-month journey. Happily, her husband and dog still recognized her when she returned. Kim and Dave also visited with Karen McSherry at her husband’s microbrewery south of Boston. Please send your news. I look forward to hearing from you. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellylargey@gmail.com
86 Watch for All the Signs
This next update starts on the scary side and ends with a tremendously phenomenal outcome. Kevin Mickey wrote in to let folks know about it because it might be a good warning or reminder to look out for things on the health side. Kevin had a heart attack on October 24th. He recognized the symptoms pretty early (chest and left arm pain) and got to the ER before any real damage was done. He was released after 36 hours and as he puts it is the proud owner of a LAD (widow maker) stent and fistfuls of daily pills. His only risk factor was bad genetics and several years of borderline high cholesterol readings. He passed the treadmill stress test with flying colors and his only restriction during workouts is to keep his heart rate below 150 for 6-12 months. On a happier note, he had dinner with Jeff Griffin during the winter. He said Jeff started a new job in Hawaii, but was in San Diego for a meeting. They had an awesome time catching up. Kevin had the direct signs with that chest and left arm pain and moved quickly. Six years ago I had a heart attack but didn’t have the pain. I had a weird feeling in my left hand and arm, jaw and upper back when I was getting ready for work and as I was driving to the train station. Something wasn’t right and I decided not to get on the train. I called Jean who was an emergency room nurse for many years and she and I stayed on the phone while I drove to the ER. The nurses ran an EKG and told me I was having a heart attack. My LAD was 100% blocked and I received a stent. Fortunately, I had zero damage to my heart because it was only about an hour from the time I had the symptoms to the clearing of the artery. Unlike Kevin, I kept it a secret for years, but started telling some people when a friend passed from a heart attack. None of us knew that he was having health issues. I know Kevin wanted to spread the word to act quickly and he inspired me to speak to all of you as well. I had a family history of heart disease, but low cholesterol levels. I had never been to a cardiologist. So clearly if you have pain you act immediately, but if you also feel the strange feelings in the left hand, left arm, jaw and upper back make a move. Don’t wait to see if the symptoms go away. Minutes count and can cause damage. Thank you Kevin for writing in to all of us with your story. Sharon Markert wrote to share the very sad news that Christine (Janicik) Harmon passed away on May 25, 2018 at Montefiore Hospital, Pittsburgh. Christine was a School Counselor at St. Joe’s High School, Natrona Heights for 25 years where she was also taught Psychology. Christine loved her work and was devoted to her students. Christine lost her battle while waiting for a liver transplant. Please keep her husband Keith Harmon and their family in your prayers. Sharon said that she was glad she had hounded her group of Lyonites to all attend our 30th Reunion. That was the last time that many of them were able to see Christine. I will have one of our friends on campus light a candle for Christine and her family. Take care and God bless. — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com
86MBA Class Secretary — 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 Career and Family News
Here’s the report: Jeff Thompson, IP insurance and commercial litigator in Minneapolis, reports that he and Margaret are expecting their second grandchild. Daughter Kate, UM Med School grad, is a completing her radiology residency. Detroiter Denny Barnes was recently elected president-elect of the State Bar of Michigan and will be installed as its 85th president in September. Rob Kurnick, with Penske Corp. for more than 25 years, has been president of Penske since 2003 and recently was named vice chair. That’s in addition to his role as president of Penske Auto Group since 2006. I’ve seen Rob in Denver where his eldest, Claire, is a senior at the U of Denver. He also has 20-year-old college sophomore twins, Annie (Miami) and Ben (Dayton). Susan and Tom Burger ’82 met up with Mary Jane and Mike Walker in London at the Notre Dame London Law at 50: Golden Jubilee last October. Events included a session with Winston Churchill’s granddaughter at the War Rooms, Middle Temple dinner and a visit to Windsor Castle. Tom writes that both the Goat and the King’s Arms still serve a good pint. Also attending were Joan (Flood) and John Mauel. Tom is a longtime partner at the Cincinnati IP firm of Wood, Herron. He and Susan have two at ND: Mark, a junior in architecture, and Anna, a freshman in engineering. Mike retired as chief IP counsel at DuPont in 2015 after 13 years. Then he served on a USPTO advisory board until he retired for good last December. Mike’s daughter, Audrey, is a current MBA student at Notre Dame. On a recent visit to campus, Mike presented to the NDLS IP Society. As for the Mauels, John is the global head of energy at Norton Rose Fulbright in Houston and Joan is happily retired from the practice of law. Laura Hollis ’83 continues to teach business law and entrepreneurship in the Mendoza College of Business and a public policy class in the law school. She and her husband, Jess, have two swimmers at home. Alistair is a freshman at Riley High and Celeste is in eighth grade. In 2017, Jeff McDermott became the president and CEO of The Center for Performing Arts and The Great American Songbook in Carmel IN. Jeff is still affiliated with Krieg DeVault LLP, but spends most of his time running a $180 million performing arts center, thecenterpresents.org. Tom Hinchey served on the faculty at the 46th annual IADC Trial Academy at Stanford last year. His firm opened a Florida office and Tom will sit for the Florida Bar in July. (Yikes.) Tom and Patti ’86 have two daughters. Maddi is pursuing PT at PSU. Audrey studies public health at Tulane and is a student manager for the Green Wave football team. Rich John left his position as GC at Intertek a couple years back and, in renaissance man fashion, is involved in a start-up (Triconic), is teaching two courses at Cornell Law School, is involved in a Finger Lakes winery, and is the District 4 Legislator of the Tompkins County (Ithaca) Legislature. Rich met up with Bert Sugayan recently when Bert dropped off his softball-playing freshman daughter, Ruby, at Cornell. Ouch: Mary McPherson reports a full tear of the main tendon in her rotator cuff and will likely have gone under the knife by the time you read this. Her pitching career is in jeopardy. And we Bateses express our gratitude for the hospitality extended by Tim Tompkins and Maureen Madion ’86 in Traverse City last fall. We had a blast. Keep your news coming. —Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com
87 Unique Chapters
Happy 2019, everyone. I hope the new year finds you happy and healthy. I’ve really enjoyed catching up with classmates over the past few weeks, and I only wish space permitted me to replicate some of the interesting, funny, thoughtful and open emails I’ve received in their entirety. The evolution of technology is helping Sean Callahan, Kevin Clegg, Kurt Petersen and John Lavelle relive and share a unique chapter in their lives. After graduation, Sean, Kevin and Kurt took summer jobs as a caddie, waiter and pizza delivery guy, respectively, and pooled the $15,000 that they earned to buy a van, a tent and a video camera. They took a yearlong tour of North America together, recording their trip as they went. John joined in for the first two weeks before starting graduate school. The many hours of resulting video have been well-preserved, and John, as the main tech guy, has been instrumental in editing it and creating a YouTube channel, “The Trip Tapes.” At this writing, five episodes have been uploaded, including one in which the guys hunt for Bob Dylan’s boyhood home in Hibbing MN, and another in which they struggle mightily to install a tape deck in the van. (On a personal note, I love this so much that I showed the episodes to both of my college-aged sons and basically told them, “You’re nuts if you don’t do this. Life is long and you’ll never regret taking this time with your college buddies.” Today, Sean lives in Chicago with his wife Nancy (Joyce) Callahan. He’s a marketing guru at LinkedIn, while Nancy teaches refugees vocational skills at Heartland Alliance. Kevin is in Redondo Beach CA as the president of Americhip, and his wife Fran is an elementary school teacher. Kurt lives in Los Angeles and is the co-president of UNITE-HERE Local 11. His wife, Anne (DeWald) Petersen is also an elementary school teacher. Finally, John is a litigation partner with Sidley Austin in Brooklyn NY. His wife is Natasha Lifton, a senior programmer at The New York Community Trust. Recently I saw something on Annie (Jennings) Weber’s social media feed that was so great I just had to contact her and ask if she’d be OK with my including it in the column. When her dad was a freshman at Notre Dame, her grandfather was working in NYC, selling adding machines. He made a sales call at a modeling agency, and while their decision to buy office equipment is lost to the annals of time, they did offer him a modeling job on the spot. He happily took advantage of this second job opportunity, and he used the extra income to pay Annie’s dad’s tuition, which she thinks was about $2,000 per year. I only wish I could post the ad featuring him here. He looks just like Carey Grant, relaxing in a club chair, clad in elegant pajamas and smoking a pipe. So, think about it, folks, and consider putting your portfolio together. Annie also let me know that she and her husband John Weber joined Mark Foley and his wife Dana (Getzinger) Foley at the Notre Dame versus Stanford game for the dedication of the Foley entertainment space and Joe’s Bar in ND Stadium. Mark’s grandfather, Joe, played for Knute Rockne and the bar is named in his honor. Other classmates on hand for the celebration were Bill Wagner and his wife Nikki, Jim Walsh, Mary Kay (Steinmetz) Lauderback, Patrick Tickle, Debbie (Thompson) Casey, Dan O’Brien, Dan Duffy, Mike Budnyk and Meg (McGlynn) Shields. Also at the Stanford game were John Gardiner, Bob Van Kirk, Mike Bono and Mike Gleason. Fittingly, they noticed while tailgating that they’d met 35 years earlier as freshmen in Stanford Hall. John didn’t provide additional details, but I’m sure they had a wonderful time catching up and I hope they’re all doing well. Please write with your updates. — Meg Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com
87MBA Adventures Await
Hello, everyone. Peter Dolan (pdolan@kpmg.com) and his wife Kristin are still living in Germany and love it. In September, Peter spent nine days with two friends hiking 280 km on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Their two sons have graduated from university and as Peter put it, “off the payroll.” Peter is planning to trek the Himalayas in May, including Mt. Everest base camp. A few years ago, the Dolan family climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and enjoyed it immensely. Some of the Notre Dame games air at 2 a.m. Munich time, but Peter watches them even at that hour. John Brennan (jbnasisa@comcast.net) reached out to us from Marietta GA. John has been teaching college since moving to the Atlanta suburbs in 1988. He is running a boutique income tax practice and playing competitive league tennis year-round. Peter met and married his wife Allyson, who has three grown children, in 2016 and they are doting on their granddaughter Chloe. John keeps up with classmates Mark Langheim (hammr512@att.net), Tim O’Neill (tim@vanguardassociates.net), Nick Panepinto (panepirn@flagler.edu) and Jim Makowski (makowsjs@flagler.edu). Nick and Jim are on the faculty at Flagler College in St. Augustine FL.
I attended the Notre Dame/Syracuse game in New York City. Henry Paracchini and I met up for a drink. Henry hasn’t changed a bit. Henry and his wife Yvette are living in New York City as both of their children are off to college. Many of our classmates joined forces to celebrate Irish football victories at tailgate parties in 2018. In attendance were Jake Frego, Mark Brostowski, Mickey Banik, Rick Hans, Bob Krohn, Mike McCarthy, Jay Jhaveri, Connie O’Brien, Ellen Crawley, Bernardo Norena, Nancy Martin, Mayling Woo, Stephen King and yours truly. As you can see, the “Canadian” tailgate is getting quite popular. Be there next year.
On a personal note, Wildeboer Dellelce celebrated its 25th anniversary in February 2018. We commissioned an author to write our firm history. As we write this, we were planning to celebrate the book launch on Jan. 31. Copies are free if you want one. 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 Your Honor, Your Honor
Congratulations to Theresa McGonigle on her investiture as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She joins several of our classmates who are, or have been, judges in various jurisdictions, including Joe Falvey, Mary Beth (Uetz) Kelly, Amy (Ronayne) Krause, Mike Gotsch and Ed Kelly. Theresa (Connors) Hursh recently became the general counsel at Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph. During a sabbatical a few years ago, Theresa earned a life coaching certificate and continues to coach one person at a time. She has three children—a lawyer, a law student and a photographer. A few months back, she had dinner in St. Paul with Ingrid (Dittrich) Fleming and Trudell Guerue, who is Ingrid’s brother-in-law. Mike Richardson reports that he retired from the practice of law Dec. 31. He and his wife Ruth plan to spend time with family, travel, and continue to engage in community service. Ruth is a volunteer nurse with the American Red Cross, and Mike serves on the board of directors of Easterseals of Chicago and Rockford, which annually assists 30,000 children with autism and other disabilities. Mike warns that the world will not be free of Richardson lawyers, as his daughter is a 2L at U of California Hastings. Mike’s son is a commercial airline pilot. John Owens continues as a senior policy and regulatory advisor on financial technologies and begins 2019 as the fintech regulatory team lead for PWC Consulting Singapore, advising central banks and policy makers on fintech regulations and policies across ASEAN. ESPN covered Mary (Robertson) Wittenberg’s switch from running to cycling when she took on a new position as president of the EF Education First professional cycling organization. Look for Mary and her team at the Tour de France and other cycling events around the world. Send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com
88 Fore
Classmate Tim Brown has traded one large green expanse on campus for another and is set to co-chair the 40th USGA US Senior Open along with Jerome Bettis. This year’s tournament will be contested on our own Warren Golf Course June 24 to 30. For those considering attending, know that youth 18 and under can access the gallery for free with a ticketed adult and that parking is complimentary with your ticket purchase. In November, John Lake won the race for LaPorte County prosecutor. John brings extensive experience to his new role, having served as deputy prosecutor for LaPorte County for 22 years, and aims to make the prosecutor’s office a destination for attorneys to stay and work. All the best to John as he seeks justice for his constituents. Across the border in Illinois, Jenny Scanlon was named as one of the most powerful women in Chicago business by chicagobusiness.com in 2018. Jenny is president and CEO of USG, a wallboard manufacturer. With a stint at IBM and the attainment of an MBA from the U of Chicago’s Booth School of Business under her belt, Jenny’s work at a boutique consulting firm segued to a position with USG in 2003. She then served in a variety of positions within the company before taking the lead. During her time with USG, Jenny has advocated for the recruitment of more women in the manufacturing industry. In fact, in a piece that she once wrote for a trade journal, she drew a parallel between the manufacturing industry and ND’s admittance of women under Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, in the 1970s, saying, “Father Ted understood decades ago that women make up half of the potential human capital available in any economy, and the efficient use of this talent pool is a key driver for continued competitiveness.” Classmate Vivian (Dickson) Linder and her sons were dealt a heart-breaking blow when Vivian’s husband Steve unexpectedly died in early December. As time passes and Vivian continues to work through her loss, I bet she would appreciate continued contact and support from ND loved ones. The family and friends of Christopher “Perry” Jimenez are mourning as well. Gary Gamino emailed to share that Perry passed away suddenly at his home in Reston VA on Dec.16. Services were held in his hometown of Wheeling WV. Gary was able to attend, along with Chris Magouri and Joe Pangilinin ’85. Back in the day, Perry was a finance major who lived in Cavanaugh and was known for his red-framed glasses and practical jokes. More recently, he had a successful career in government consulting, working for such firms as Booz Allen and KPMG in the Washington DC area. A doting dad, he is survived by three college-aged daughters. Gary noted that, amongst his friends, Perry will be remembered for “how he eagerly shared our joy in our successes over the years and how he lifted us up after our defeats. He had a great sense of humor and was very generous with his time in all his friendships.” And, sadly, I am wrapping up this column on the weekend of the funeral of Tim O’Brien, a loving father, brother, son, uncle and friend who died on Jan. 13. An avid golfer and sports fan, he was most passionate about hockey. He played in high school, coached youth hockey teams over the years, installed ice rinks in his yard and those of some of his neighbors and loved nothing more than rooting for his kids on the ice. A devoted father of four, he delighted in their accomplishments, from sports to academics to community service. Tim’s career was spent in the field of finance, serving for the past 10 years as senior VP of equity derivative sales at BTIG, LLC. He will best be remembered for his razor-sharp mind, playful sense of humor, kind heart and unfailing generosity. His obituary can be found at donnellanfuneral.com. Prayers for the repose of the souls of Steve Linder, Perry Jimenez and Tim O’Brien. — 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;
lisa.visingardi@jud.ca.gov
89 Class Secretary — 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