1980s

80 Reunion Countdown 

Mark your calendars, Reunion 2020 is June 4-7. We will continue our program of helping all classmates attend Reunion. Please contact me confidentially for more information. Gus Widmayer reports that he had dinner with Greg Anselmi. Greg announced his engagement to Rosann Razzuto. They are planning a 2020 wedding. John Callaway sent in his first ever update. In the spring of 2019, he relocated to Green Bay after 25 years in the Milwaukee area. Only two grandsons, ages 4 and 2, could inspire someone to move further north. John looks forward to the Shamrock Series game at Lambeau Field. He hopes to see a lot of the Class of ’80 for the game. It will be interesting as John lives in a “house divided.” His wife, Patty, is a U of Wisconsin-Madison grad. Sue Barry reports that MaryClare (Heraty) Birmingham is executive director of Kolbe House, a ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago that serves incarcerated people and their families. The agency was featured in an article on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. Alumni of the Class of 1980 who attended ND’s French foreign exchange program in Angers, France, reunited in Chicago for an action-packed weekend. Festivities kicked off at a Friday night supper party on South Michigan Avenue. All reconvened Saturday morning at the Art Institute of Chicago followed by lunches at the Cherry Circle Room at the Chicago Athletic Association and the Art Institute. That evening, the group visited the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights before celebrating with dinner at the Lincoln Hotel rooftop bar and Kennison restaurant. On Sunday, several attended Mass with the ND Club of Chicago and brunch afterward at Ditka’s restaurant. In attendance were Joe Philbin, Valda Staton, Susan Barry, Gus Widmayer with daughter Sophie, MaryJean Schmitt with daughter Isabelle, Mary Fishman, Bob Jones, Carol and Deacon Tony Clishem, Rod Beard, Kim (Walker) Kolda, Mary Jo (Dunne) Finkenstaedt, Paula (Shea) Ziegler and Paula Tironi. Yours truly was invited to tag along for some of the festivities. I was glad to rejoin this group who I mistakenly did not travel to Angers with years ago. Gus notes that the Angers reunions would not be the same without other Douzers who were in France with our friends yet attended other universities. Paul Lewis reports that his son, Jack, has been admitted to the ND class of 2024. Paul is working on a book about his experience with Guantanamo Bay. Mary Tara and Ed Zier became grandparents to Luke Hamilton McDonough, hopefully an enrollee into the class of 2042. Is time fleeting or what? Luke’s parents are ND Class of 2015.The friends who travelled to Angers, France, mourn the loss of their friend, Tom Sheridan. Joe Philbin traveled to Portland OR for the funeral. Keep Lesley and Dave Osborn close in your hearts. They lost their daughter, Anne, who suffered from mental illness. Dave also recently lost his mother. Our hearts go out to Cindy Lupica who lost her father; Tom Hasenberg and Steve Grise who lost their mothers; Carolyn Best who lost her husband, Al Ozimek Jr.; and the family of classmate Tom Sheridan. Just as I was wrapping this column, we received news that our class vice president and reunion chair, Joe Carey, passed away. Our hearts are immeasurably sad and we grieve for his wife, Nancy, and their three sons. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; facebook.com/groups/notredame80

 

80MBA Boy Oh Borzoi

Rick Abordo writes from his home in the mountains of New Mexico that he and wife Leonore will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in Australia in September. Rick says he left California in 2003 after working 20 years in Silicon Valley and they now live on five acres at 7,000 feet elevation with 11 Russian (Borzoi) wolfhounds, a chihuahua, a cat and a snake. Leonore breeds, shows, races and hunts with the Borzois and has had multiple show and field champions in the United States and Europe. Rick works in Santa Fe for an RIA firm affiliated with Charles Schwab. In visiting their son Anthony ’13 at past football games they met up with Donna Zhangi, Bruce Brand and Dennis Shea. Anniversary congratulations are also in order to Judy and Doug Cooper who celebrated their 42nd in January as new residents of Lakeland FL. Kevin Phelan was the subject of a recent FaithND podcast outlining his journey from working 25 years in corporate America for such companies as Bell, AT&T and Lucent to becoming chancellor at the dioceses of Helena MT and Madison WI and assisting them in dealing with the sexual abuse crisis in the church. I listened to the podcast and urge everyone to listen to our classmate’s incredible faith and service. It was thoughtful, funny at times and very moving. Nancy (Zaytoun) Kenna writes that she and husband Tom’s youngest son, Kevin, will graduate from UNC this year and that they ran into Michele and Mike Traeger at the Duke game in the fall. Mike Colbert wrote to say that he is starting a new assignment with an organization in Phoenix called Opportunities for Youth, through the AmeriCorps program and working to assist at-risk youth as part of their career connection team. Retiring after 15 years with the Notre Dame development department, Scott Jessup says that he is in the process of starting a company which will focus on assisting San Francisco Bay area tech companies in opening offices in South Bend and, by extension, helping the companies through reduced operating costs. Also benefiting by extension will be the city of South Bend and Notre Dame students and graduates. Finally, I have heard from quite a few classmates regarding our 40th reunion. The date will be Sept. 12 for the Arkansas game. If you need details, please contact me and I will keep you posted as plans develop. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 203-364-0346; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com

 

80JD New Year Promises, Challenges

2020 is here, full of news and promise and our 40th reunion. The past year was full of news. Jane Farrell has been running up a storm: up Black Elk Peak, running the lakes and keeping busy. Congrats to Jane as she finished her presidency of the U of Wyoming Alumni Association and as her daughter, Kate, graduated from Notre Dame Law. Jim Martin left Kroenke Sports & Entertainment in Denver and is looking for the next challenge. Joining the ranks of the fun retired people? Jim’s new email is jimmartin970@gmail.com. John Hendrickson is retired after a wonderful career in Chicago. Congrats, John, on a great run at McDermott, Will and Emery. John’s new email is jhendrickson12@comcast.net. Mary Ann O’Connor is busy running a division of International Banking Lawyers and volunteering to make the world a better place. Zenon Bidzinski has been seen around Chicago at ND functions and fun gatherings. Our prayers continue for Kathi Deane as she does physical rehab after a car accident that claimed the life of her beloved husband, Herb. Kathi, keep working and we will keep praying. Kathi’s email is npbags@sbcglocal.net. Please continue to send emails to Kathi. Also, our prayers are for Bo Scott on the loss of his brother. For some fun news, do you like Instagram? Then, start following Tina Walsh McLaughlin’s daughter Marcie McLaughlin @tryhardkitchen. Marcie is a great cook and a great businessperson. You will love the yummy pictures. Did you know that Dec. 10 each year is Decio Day? Jamee Decio and her family gather and celebrate. This year, send Jamee a note. Congratulations to her proud parents Tina and Bob. Judge Dan Buckley is back presiding over complex civil cases after a few years as chief judge of Los Angeles County. Our 40th reunion is upon us and there are several ways to celebrate. In the fall is the Law School Homecoming, in June is the University Reunion and there will be fun gatherings in our hometowns. Forty years is something to celebrate. Mark your calendars, get that airline ticket or plan a party at home. All
for the fun of it. Love to all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

 

81 Lacrosse, Love and Loss

Carl Lundblad reports that he returned to campus for the USC football weekend and the lacrosse reunion. The lacrosse team and over 300 players recognized coach Kevin Corrigan’s 300 wins. Carl saw Kevin Quigley and his son, Ciaran, all the way from Dublin, Ireland. He also saw Bob Stewart, Steve Hoey, Kevin Campion, Jack Murphy, Dan Charhut and Bob Durgin. Carl had not seen all those folks in a decade or more. Last summer, Tony Frogameni with girlfriend Misty Smith, Donna and Bill Husic, Jim Fontana and Don Veto celebrated their 60th birthdays in southern Italy, visiting Positano, Amalfi and Sicily. A good time was had by all, with plenty of pasta and wine, along with great friendship. Can we just say that the Class of ’81 has been celebrating our collective 60th birthdays with style? What should we do for our 61st? Sharp-eyed classmates spotted Mary Beth Sterling’s name in the credits of the re-released 2009 gangster film, Chicago Overcoat. MB was a talented Hollywood costume designer along the way and lives in Chicago. I am sorry to report the passing of a few of our classmates and ask that you keep them, and those who loved them, in your prayers. Tony Parisi passed away in Pontiac MI last May, celebrated by his friends from Flanner Hall. Margarita Haury passed away in Albuquerque in October. She was a prosecutor for over 20 years and a teacher at La Academia de Esperanza, a charter school for the growing population of at-risk youth in the middle and secondary levels. Pasquale (Pat) D’Orsi passed away in November after a brief illness. Pat’s family wrote, “What can be said about a man who throughout his life brought joy and happiness to everyone he met?” Dana (Michel) Mandolini passed away in January and her beloved Lewis Hall friends remember her with love. Friends who gathered in Bolingbrook IL to celebrate Dana’s life with husband Dave and her children Robyn ’04, Kelley, and D.J. included Julie (Wise) and Dan Ryan, Betsie Boland, Toni Fernandez, Bernadette (Lease) Kernen, Betty (Carbone) and Pat Schroeder, Bridgette ’81SMC and Mike Kiefer, Mike Onufrak, Shelly ’81SMC and Mark Kelley, Kim and Mark Rust, and J.T. McDonald. Tim Michels passed away in January and will be remembered especially by his lacrosse teammates. Save the date: our 40th Reunion is coming up in June 2021. Please join the Class of ’81 Facebook page where about 400 classmates reminisce, entertain, pray and opine with surprising civility. 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. If you have never seen your name in this column, now is the time. Otherwise I must keep reporting on my small circle of friends and, well, they are not that interesting after a while. 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; Dove’s Rest, 600 Hall Hill Road, Somers CT 06071; flemingiv@aol.com

 

81JD Life Changes 

Jack Nugent reports that his wife, Barbara, passed away in August from ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. May she rest in peace. Also, the Bishop of Portland ME has granted Jack faculties as a senior deacon. This means he can do anything a regular younger deacon can do without assignment to a parish. Ellen McLaughlin, who practices in the management side employment arena, testified before the Education and Labor Committee of the US House of Representatives on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in the fall. She was asked to testify by the House Republicans and was the sole Republican witness at the hearing. The hearing was televised live on C-SPAN. Ellen said it was a once in a lifetime experience, and she has crossed this off on her professional bucket list. Ellen is now working with the House Republicans to mark up the bill which will be sent to the full House for a vote. Ellen and Bob Cimala celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in Kauai HI with friends from ND undergrad. Jack Sawyer was selected by Best Lawyers as the 2019 Lawyer of the Year in Georgia for trust and estate litigation. We are sad to report that Claire Corson Skinner’s father, Thomas Corson, passed away in December at age 92. He was a benefactor of the Law School and served on several of its advisory committees. Yours truly is proud to report about his two-week speaking tour to Italy in November 2019. The trip was sponsored by the United States Embassy’s Cultural Affairs Department. The subject of the tour was my e-book, 20th Century History Songbook: Looking at 20th Century American History Through the Eyes of Singers and Songwriters (20th centuryhistorysongbook.com). I gave presentations in six cities, including Rome, Trieste and Messina, to teachers of English as a second language, college students and senior high school students. The title of the talk was “Topical Songs Promote All Aspects of Language Learning.” I tried to demonstrate how the use of topical songs in the classroom aided students’ development of cross-cultural awareness and critical thinking. I hope all are well. Go Irish. — Michael Palumbo; 3799 East Peachtree Drive, Chandler AZ 85249; res 480-284-4004; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com

 

82 Back in the Game

Michael Lynch and yours truly, Dave Lewis, co-captains of lacrosse ’82, will be playing in the over-55 lacrosse tournament with some of his old teammates at Tequesta Trace Park in Weston FL. Lots of Bengay and Advil are packed. The teams will play against alumni from several colleges. This is a short column as we have received no updates. Please write to us. We love keeping updates on your whereabouts. Please don’t forget to visit our class page on Facebook, “Notre Dame Class 1982,” and send updates to the email address below. — 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 Serving the Law School

Several of our classmates returned to campus last fall, not only to attend football games, but to serve the University and the Law School in various capacities. Diana Lewis, who is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, was in town for the trustees’ meeting over the USC weekend. Mike Dougherty was also on campus to watch the Irish beat the Trojans. Tim Abeska and Tim Nickels taught a Trial Ad class at the Law School in October. Various members of our class have been teaching a Trial Ad class once a semester for more than 30 years. Carol and I joined Tim and Tim for dinner after the class. Tim Abeska was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Indiana Bar Foundation. Kim (Ptak) and Tim Rooney, Anita and Tom Veldman, Sheila and Perry Vieth and Carol and I were on campus for the Law School Advisory Council meeting over the Boston College weekend. With four members, our class has more members on the Law School Advisory Council than any other class. (Go ’82JD.) A very interesting book has been published chronicling the life of Tom Veldman’s father. The book is titled Peter Veldman: Dutch Immigrant/American Entrepreneur. Tom’s father, coincidentally, is from an area of Holland near where Law School Dean Marcus Cole’s mother was born. Congratulations to Rev. Dexter Brewer on being named the vicar general for the Diocese of Nashville. Tim Nickels taught at the Intensive Trial Ad class at the Law School in January. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com

 

83 Congratulations and Catching Up

Nat Walsh was honored by Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri (MHA-EM) with the 2019 Silver Bell Award on Dec. 6 at the nonprofit’s annual Snow Ball Gala in St. Louis. The Silver Bell Award is given annually to individuals or organizations that provide outstanding community service, leadership, vision and values. Nat joined the MHA-EM board of directors in 1992 and completed a term as board president in 2019. He has also served in volunteer leadership roles with Habitat for Humanity, the Missouri Athletic Club and the Rohan Woods School. Dan Lawton has joined the Klinedinst San Diego law firm. He has specialized in civil trial work and complex commercial and intellectual property litigation on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. Dan has a deep background in civil appeals and is certified as a legal specialist in appellate law by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization. Diane and Russ Wyborski attended the Virginia football game with their children Andrew, Jena (Andrew’s fiancée) and Ana. At Kevin Simpson’s tailgate party, Andrew displayed his Emmy Award (a real one) that he won for his role in the Fox Sports production of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Russ’s company project was recently awarded a grant from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation for work to bring a new drug for the treatment of Crohn’s Disease into clinical trials. The company had an investigatory new drug application opened with the FDA in January 2019. Jeff Monaghan was driving to the Twin Cities a few days before Christmas and called T.J. Conley. They were able to connect and have lunch the next day. They met at a local bar and grill and exchanged Christmas gifts. They were joined at lunch by Greg Barth. Jeff reports the three talked nonstop for over an hour. Jeff observes that Notre Dame gives you friends for life. Christopher Temple Davis has formed a new nonprofit called Building Trust Americas in the neighborhoods in Colombia, Ciudadela Sucre, to continue the work of Habitat for Humanity where he has worked in previous years. Chris also reports that he and his husband, Greg Marita ’84, spent time with Anne Chapski and Mike Doyen. Katie Schlosser Goss and Joe Cristoforo had a Class of ’83 mini reunion at the American Academy of Periodontology annual meeting in Chicago last November. The class has a Facebook page that is solely for members of the Class of ’83. You may be wondering how to join. It’s simple. On Facebook, search for “Notre Dame Class of 1983” and select join. We have over 480 members and would be happy to add more. You’ll be able to reconnect with classmates without waiting for Reunion, see pictures and get news of who will be attending Notre Dame and non-Notre Dame events. If you have any news you’d like to share with the class, send me a note or email and I’ll be happy to include it in the next column. — Louis J. (“Chip”) Denkovic; 520 West 43 St., No. 32G, New York NY 10036; res 917-399-8784; bus 212-537-1781; ldenkovic@gmail.com

 

83MBA Things to Remember

We have awesome memories and lots to report. Jim Hart and his wife Karen have a full life and are very busy. Last fall Jim went on a road trip with his son Sean down the West Coast to enjoy life a bit before Sean hit the pavement with a real job. After seeing the sights, he started with Goldman Sachs wealth management and joined the ranks of working stiffs. Around the same time last summer, Jim and Karen became grandparents. Their grandson Kelly is the son of Kevin and Bethany Hart. He is a strapping young lad. Their daughter Kate had an amazing wedding in September. As if that isn’t enough, Jim’s daughter Brianna studied abroad this summer and got in a precious round of golf at St. Andrews in Scotland. She had to arrive at the clubhouse at midnight and sleep in the pavilion to preserve a place in line to get on the course. She made it happen and was thrilled to call her dad after the round. Jim, Chas Bourland, Kevin Lethbridge and I took a road trip 37 years ago in a Citroen Deux Chevaux up to St. Andrews from London. As I recall, we slept in the car overnight on the side of the road near Hadrian’s Wall. Jim sent along the picture of himself standing at the St. Andrews Clubhouse door. He didn’t play that day. He clearly wasn’t as confident in his game as his daughter is. Lefty did, after some cajoling. I have also had a number of conversations with Chas Bourland, now known as Charlie as it’s easier for his Brazilian countrymen to pronounce. You might recall that Chas and I had a business together between first and second year in Simsbury CT. It was Irish Enterprises, a landscaping, driveway sealing and mulching business. We hired high school kids and had a very hardworking and successful summer. Chas’s wife, Cida, surprised him with a framed version of a Hartford Courant newspaper article with photographs chronicling the business. It was a gorgeous gift for Chas’s 60th birthday. He also sent me copies of our share certificates, flyers, handwritten payroll journals and other memorabilia from that time. That boy saves everything. We have great memories of our first business. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a memorable picture of Chas, Jim Hart, Louie from the Bronx and Tom Rolfes standing at Checkpoint Charlie in West Berlin back in the days before capitalism brought the Berlin Wall down. The Berlin trip occurred while we were part of the group studying in London our first semester, second year. I also have a picture of Tom and me trying to vicariously finish all the wine we bought in Berlin, while on the plane back to London. Amazing memories. Andy Panelli has been extremely active on the environmental action front. Andy is the supporting and driving interest in several important environmental actions. He was recently was interviewed by Notre Dame Magazine and has had articles published in the Chicago Tribune. He is very passionate and interested in engaging anyone who shares interest in improving the environment. You can contact Andy at panelli61@comcast.net. Motorhome 37 was a great success with Dave Valenti, Phil Pinkstaff, Mike Burton, Al Jonas and Jay Carter getting together for their 37th consecutive year. This incredible feat is particularly extraordinary because of the great friendships these guys have fostered over the years that got started at Notre Dame. Next year’s event will be at the Clemson game Nov. 7. We should all try to make it. Write, text or call folks. I can get you a job, promote your business, pump up your kids and give you a reason to read this fine publication. I think it best that you write to me before I make up something about you. My warmest regards for 2020. — John Hilbrich; 630-677-2725; john.hilbrich@gmail.com

 

83JD Teaching and Lobbying 

It was wonderful to hear from several of you recently. Mary Beth Beazley emailed to report that she is a faculty member for the National Judicial College in Reno NV. She is still on the faculty at UNLV but is primarily co-teaching courses a few times a year. This spring she is doing a course on logic and opinion writing. She hopes to get Marianne Lafferty Vorhees to teach a course. Mary Beth has met judges who have taken courses with Marianne, and they have spoken highly of her. That is not a surprise. Lynn Jacquez also emailed. She is the managing principal for her firm CJ-Lake LLC in Washington DC where she continues law and lobbying work. Her firm was selected as a top 10 firm in DC in 2018. She is heavily involved in federal immigration and refugee policy. Sadly, Lynn lost her husband of 31 years suddenly in August. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Please send me an email with an update on you or a classmate for this column. — Ann E. Merchlewitz; cell 507-450-6609; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@smumn.edu 

 

84 Continuously Doing Good

Rev. Gary Chamberland, CSC, will take over a new role in July. He will become the director for the Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith and Reason at Newman University Church, the historic Dublin church founded in 1856. Catherine and Michael Brennan have embarked on a new adventure for their empty-nester years. After raising four kids and working as the clinical coordinator/family nurse practitioner at a health center for the uninsured in Rochester NY, they moved to El Paso TX to work at Annunciation House, (annunciationhouse.org), a house of hospitality and shelter for political asylum refugees. Follow their blog at borderlands446479152.wordpress.com. Sheila Shunick Burton, quit her job as an attorney to found Join Hands East St. Louis with her husband. As the full-time executive director of this organization, she helps disadvantaged youth and families. Lynn Malooly carries on as executive director of Water for South Sudan, an organization that builds wells and promotes clean water in this war-torn country. And Dave Gaus continues to do great work with the poor in rural Ecuador with Andean Health, promoting medical care and education. — Martha Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net

 

84JD Academic and Football Success 

John Firth ’10, son of Ann Stockmann Firth and John Firth, has joined the Notre Dame faculty as an assistant professor of economics. Firth earned a PhD in economics from MIT. Congratulations to Casey Toohill, son of Steve Toohill and Karen Kiley Toohill ’82, ’85JD, who was named to the 2019 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Class. Casey, a senior linebacker at Stanford, started every game this year for the Cardinal. In December, NFF feted the scholar-athlete class at a dinner in NYC that included the 2019 inductees to the College Football Hall of Fame. Look for Casey to be playing on Sundays. Peter Schulz, son of Stan and Judy Murtagh Schulz, is an offensive lineman at Indiana U. Peter played high school football at Brother Rice in Bloomfield Hills MI. Well done, men. Please send updates. Your classmates and I enjoy hearing from you. — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com 

 

85 Plan for Reunion

Plan to attend our 35th reunion on campus June 4-7. The celebration will begin Thursday evening with a special class-run event. On Friday, a class Mass will be held in the chapel of the dorm to which our class has been assigned. (As I write, this has yet to be announced.) Friday night’s class dinner is planned for the Smith Ballroom at the Morris Inn. Saturday’s dinner will be a food and wine festival called “Taste of ND.” It will be held in the stadium. Other activities are being organized as well, including a possible Saturday afternoon gathering for the London 1983 fall group. Also, Brian DeToy hopes to have an ROTC reunion on Friday. Informal rounds of golf at the Burke Golf Course are included in the cost of Reunion. (Burke is the nine-hole course on campus by the Rockne Memorial.) I am trying to convince Kathleen Keifer to attend Reunion and hold an exhibit of her Notre Dame-themed artwork. Kathleen, who lives in Manhattan Beach CA, often produces paintings depicting Notre Dame and the leading force of the New California Realism. She studied art at Notre Dame and at the Art Institute of Chicago. She made her entrance into the fine art world in 1996 in a sold-out solo show at McLean Gallery in Malibu. Her next 10 Malibu exhibitions launched her into the LA art world, with paintings featured in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her work appears in the collections of James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, Kelly Clarkson, Hilton Hotels, Walt Disney Studios, and the United States Historical Society. Kathleen is known for contemporary landscapes, pop art and figurative works. In her most recent work, she has a style of overlapping colors and textures. This was described by LA Magazine as “fluidly capturing pop culture in a tapestry of layered color.” On several football weekends last fall, Kathleen held exhibitions at the Morris Inn. Kathleen writes on her website: “The icons of the University of Notre Dame: Golden Dome, Grotto, stadium and golden helmets, are as important to me as beach icons I paint.” Kathleen is a triple legacy, as both her grandfather and father studied under the Dome. Kathleen and her husband Jim Keifer met in an art class at Notre Dame and were married in the Log Chapel. Jim was an industrial designer and is now a successful game inventor. Kathleen writes: “One of my favorite things to do is to fly in for a game. There is nothing like a crisp October game day to wake up the echoes and shake down the thunder. I set up my easel in the God Quad, paint the Dome and swap stories with other fans.” Check out Kathleen’s art at her website kathleenkeifer.com. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net

 

85MBA Class Secretary — Dom Yocius; dyocius@ameritech.net

 

85JD Life Journeys

I was delighted to reconnect with Steve Grimm who has had his own law practice in Grand Rapids since about 1990. Steve specializes in medical and legal malpractice cases for plaintiffs. Steve and his wife, Amber, have been married for 25 years and have three kids. Their eldest is a senior at the U of Michigan and was recently voted MVP of the rugby club. Their middle child is a junior in high school, playing rugby and football, and looking to attend U of Michigan like his brother. Their youngest is a freshman at a high school for gifted and talented students and is busy keeping her parents on their toes. Deb Hennigan Knapp and her husband Jeff have four sons and are now empty nesters. They adopted a rescue dog, a very large Great Dane, whom I met while visiting their beautiful new home in New Jersey. Deb recently attended the U of North Carolina law school graduation of her son Justin, who is an associate in the McGuireWoods Charlotte office where he focuses on the healthcare industry, advising clients on transactional matters, mergers, acquisitions, private equity transactions and healthcare regulatory compliance matters. Sons Christopher and Eric are close by in New York and one son, Patrick, lives in Wisconsin. Speaking of empty nesters, Kate ’85 and Matt Barrett just sent their youngest off to ND. Maggie, a freshman, joins her brother Luke, a junior. Karen Kiley Toohill and her husband Steve ’84JD traveled to Florida to watch their son Casey play in the East-West Shrine Game. Casey, who co-captained the Stanford U football team, was selected as a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The trophy, often called the Academic Heisman, recognizes the best scholar-athlete in collegiate football and honors academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. And, congratulations to Terry Brady, who was named president, CEO and Trustee of Underwriters Laboratories Inc., a 125-year-old safety science research and standards development organization. Terry has been president of UL since 2018. In personal news, last spring I left my legal marketing career to build a consulting practice, where I have been working on a wide variety of projects. Being self-employed means more flexibility for travel and I recently visited one of my kids who is studying at the U of St. Andrews in Scotland this year. Please send me news of your life journeys. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu

 

86 Shakespeare Helps

Marie Fidela Paraiso (Fifi) just traveled over the Christmas and New Year holidays to Maui where she and her family had a wonderful vacation and reunion with Julia Boss Jones and her husband Ben, who are retired and enjoying every minute of paradise in Maui. Fifi just completed a successful year as president of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, the largest minimally invasive gynecologic surgery society in the world. She gave her residential oration in November in Vancouver BC. She was recently appointed vice chair of the Ob Gyn & Women’s Health Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Fifi and her husband, Craig Van Etten, are proud parents of a freshman at ND. We received an article from the Chicago Tribune headlined, “Someone shot, but the clock didn’t stop: Learning Shakespeare and writing sonnets in youth prison.” The article is about juvenile detainees in Chicago who are participating in a Shakespeare program. A grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts is funding Shakespeare education in juvenile justice centers, creating a new and experimental initiative for the Illinois youth prison system. Our very own Will Ryder has been an instructor in this important and impactful program. At the youth center, the teenagers gather twice a week in the facility’s library, sitting in a circle of plastic chairs. They read passages from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth, unpacking the meaning with instructors and talking about similar themes and patterns they see in their own lives. Many of these youths have never heard of Shakespeare and they struggle over the language. They talk about similar beats and rhythms in rap songs. There’s lots of discussion in the sessions and the kids learn to write their own sonnets based on their own experiences. The instructors work on raising the youths’ confidence in reading and performing scenes out loud. Please let us know what you have been up to. Take care and God bless. — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com

 

86MBA Far and Away 

Christmas came early when Mitch Opalski ’86 and I visited London, Strasbourg and Lyon in December. The holiday decorations were lovely, while many of the streets and storefronts were beautifully embellished with all the trimmings. We particularly enjoyed the many Christmas markets in Strasbourg and the annual Fete des Lumières in Lyon. If you have a travel bucket list, both are worthy additions. Lisa (Miller) and Jamie Maguire and their four daughters traveled to Vietnam for the holidays. The photos they shared of New Year’s Eve showed that they had a fantastic time celebrating. Congratulations to Douglas, the son of Jim and Carolyn (Anderson) Wells, who earned his Eagle Scout designation. His service project was the construction of bat houses at a local nature preserve. After graduation, Douglas will attend Northern Michigan U. Carolyn recently became a volunteer with the National Mountain Bike Patrol. Thanks to Dave Greiner and Tom Hanks, who sent Christmas cards with photos of their beautiful families. Please drop a quick note via email or text before my deadline of April 20, and I’ll share your update in the next issue. — Maureen (Mullan) Decker; 21855 Town Gate, Macomb MI 48044; bus 586-741-4305; mobile 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org

 

86JD Travels, Weddings

Thanks to those who sent updates. For those who did not, please do so. To paraphrase Scott Fitzgerald, you can’t know how much space you occupy in another’s life. I assure you our classmates are interested in your lives. Mike Maguire wrote that his daughter, Annise ’03, also a UM law grad, is taking a sabbatical from practice and traveling the world. Mike and Sheila spent Christmas with Annise in Mexico City. In other travel news, John Duggan spent 23 days trekking in Nepal at the end of the year, making it to Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar at 18,500 feet. John reports he has cut back to 50 percent although his bike law firm is operating at full speed. Janet Cadogan saw the new year arrive in New Zealand. Janet runs the legal department at Novantas Inc., a financial services consulting firm based in NYC. Steve Hogan reached mandatory retirement with the NY State Police Counsel’s Office and moves on to full-time teaching in the biology and criminal justice departments at the U of Albany. His expertise is in forensic DNA. Mark Bernet checked-in from Tampa where he is a longtime partner at Akerman. Mark spends most of his professional time serving as a federal equity receiver in various federal (FTC, SEC, CFTC, etc.) enforcement actions. Typically, he takes control of the “evildoer” entity, secures it and then works on recovery of assets such as yachts, jewelry, buildings, backhoes, Ferraris. (You know, the usual.) He and Sandy have been married 33 years and have three children: Ryan ’15, Daniel and Caitlin. Jim Root is starting his 32nd year as a prosecutor, as Senior Assistant California AG, in Los Angeles. Despite the traffic, Jim and Darlene enjoy the SoCal life. They have a daughter, Kate, at UC San Diego, and son, John, a high school senior. Jeff McDermott’s contract as CEO of the $180 million Center for Performing Arts in Carmel IN, outside Indianapolis, was extended for five more years and he urges classmates to come as his guest for a performance. Jeff’s two adult daughters, Emily and Mary, work in the nonprofit world but are independent and pay their own bills. Kevin Griffith is the managing shareholder of the Columbus office of Littler, the largest employment and labor law firm in the world. While that’s impressive, it is dwarfed by this: his golf handicap is 4. Kevin and his wife, Julie Rindler MD have four daughters, the eldest of whom, Kelly ’16, ’18, will marry Brendan Bell ’15, this June in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. A reception will follow in Notre Dame Stadium. More wedding news: Jack Horas’ daughter, Amanda, was married in November in New Orleans. Liz ’79 and Paul Peralta’s eldest daughter, Katie ’10, a North Carolina journalist, will marry this September in Big Sky Country Montana. Paul, Liz and daughters Katie, Ellie ’12 and Gracie, moved from South Bend to Charlotte about 15 years ago. Paul is a partner at Moore & VanAllen practicing management side employment law, but he also manages a side-gig as an adjunct at NDLS where he tele-teaches unfair comp, trade secrets and non-compete law. Other South Bend transplants are Eileen (Beadling) and Pat Doran who moved to Topeka KS about 15 years ago. Eileen is the executive director of TARC, a non-profit serving the developmentally disabled. Pat is GC for the Federal Home Loan Bank. Last summer, Cincinnatians Philomena (Saldanha) and Charles Ashdown, husband and wife law partners at Strauss Troy, attended the special ceremony where Glenn Schmitt completed his role as commander of the 9th Legal Operations Detachment US Army Reserve Legal Command. — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com 

 

87 Oldest Father

Hello, everyone. As I write this, we’re buried under two feet of snow in Toronto, but by the time you’re reading this, the first spring of a new decade will be unfolding. As some of you know, I’m training to become a Jungian analyst. Jung thought of the second half of life as being very different to the first, but perhaps even more rewarding, as we begin to turn away from the external life of career building, raising children, establishing a home and toward the internal life with the deepening of meaning, relationships and faith. Whether you find yourself entering this transition, I hope this spring is a time of renewal and joy for you. Ironically though, after typing that intro, I realized that the first person to contact me this quarter has most definitely extended the first half of his life in a fantastic way. Matthew Gracianette wrote with the wonderful news of the birth of his daughter Clara last June. When I responded that I was pretty sure she was, and might remain, the youngest offspring of the class, Matthew wrote back right away to add that yes, he is the oldest father he knows, and that’s saying quite a lot because he is a pediatrician. Matthew is in Portland OR with his wife Kim and their dog Mardi. He works as a pediatric and newborn hospitalist and has recently certified as a physician clinical informaticist, and he’s also been elected to the examination committee at the American Board of Pediatrics. He still finds time to play and write music, sing in a choir and hike and volunteer on the local mountain trails. I also heard from Betsy Butler Danes. Betsy and I are friends on Facebook and, several years ago, I was surprised to see my cousin commenting on one of Betsy’s posts. I blinked for a couple of minutes, and then texted them. It turns out they were neighbors years ago in Michigan and none of us ever made the connection. Small world. Betsy and her husband, Stratton, are in Old Lyme CT with their two high school aged sons. Their eldest daughter, Emma, is a freshman at Notre Dame and Betsy writes that she’s really found a second home in Breen-Phillips, with a view of the Dome, no less. Betsy volunteers with SafeGrad, Science-Olympiad and the board of education. Liza McAndrews Conces is another person I keep in touch with, and I was so glad she wrote to share her updates. She and Mark Conces have been married for 32 years. Mark works for Santander Bank while Liza teaches preschool at Wilmington Friends School. Last year, they downsized to a smaller house in Delaware and they also have an apartment in Boston, where Mark spends a couple of days a week with his job. (Commenting on people’s lives is probably not a good habit, but I need to figure out how to wrangle this set-up for Jeff and me.) The Conceses have three children and their youngest, Andrew, is a senior at Notre Dame. They’re looking forward to spending time in South Bend this spring to watch Andrew play club baseball and for graduation. Liza and Mark had dinner last December with Kathy ’88SMC and Bill Eginton. Their son, Andrew, is a classmate of Andrew Conces. Thanks so much for writing in. It’s a joy to keep in touch with so many of you and fun to write the column every quarter. — Meg Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.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 Grandparents and Grand Victory

Chuck Shreffler recently returned to his solo civil litigation practice in the Twin Cities after a two-year stint as general counsel for a software start-up company. Chuck and his wife, Beth Fondell, who teaches disability policy at the U of Minnesota, will celebrate 20 years of marriage this year. Chuck’s eldest son, Rick, graduated from the Naval Academy and is a flight instructor at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Rick and his wife have added “grandfather” to Chuck’s bio. Chuck’s son Kevin graduated from San Diego State and is a Navy EOD, Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer. His son Scott graduated from Belmont U with a nursing degree and lives in Fort Collins CO. Chuck took up wood turning 10 years ago, and his specialty is bark-edged bowls. See his Etsy page, OutwardTurning. Stacy and John Farnan became grandparents for the first time in November. Two of his six children are married and three are out of college. On the other end of the spectrum, Phil Kalamaros and Kim (Cafaro) Schlifske are still fighting the good fight raising teenagers. Kim questions the accuracy of the old saying that kids help keep you young, at least during their teen years. And with two teenage sons myself, along with a daughter and son in their early 20s, I’m not going to argue with Kim. Janice and Jay Brinker traveled to South Africa and Zambia at the end of the last decade, including a visit to the Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls, which is not for the faint of heart. One weekend Jay also rode his bike 120 miles to Columbus, met his son for dinner, and biked back home the next morning. Pamela Young took her mom and brother to a Notre Dame men’s basketball game to see the Irish take on her mom’s beloved Alabama A&M Bulldogs. John Owens is still trotting the globe in Southeast Asia and Africa advising central banks. He and his family also made the trek to Orlando to see the Irish dominate Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl. Ken Clingen has his own firm, Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC, with offices in and around Chicago. Ken’s son, Conor ’17, is a play-by-play sports broadcaster. Conor has provided play-by-play for Notre Dame hockey and women’s basketball, Western Michigan U basketball and, last summer, was part of the radio team for the Winston-Salem Dash, the Advanced Class A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. In January, Paul Lochner was ordained to the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Marquette MI. Ordination to the diaconate in Paul’s diocese involved five years of formation, including four years of masters-level theology courses, as well as training in homiletics (preaching), canon law and liturgical rites. Paul has been assigned to his local parish, St. Louis the King. Greg Shumaker reports that he rang in the new decade sitting on my couch and drinking wine. I remember that night and morning. We talked a lot about our Washington Nationals winning the 2019 World Series. Please send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com

 

88 Dorm-Centricity 

Ann Middendorf cast her PW net and came up with the following blurbs, along with a few from Morrissey Manor. I’ll start in Dallas with Ann, who has been teaching in the Catholic school system for 25 years and is completing research for her dissertation. She hopes to graduate in May with a PhD focusing on Catholic identity in the Catholic educational system. This fall she’ll travel to China and Australia to study girls’ schools. All these years later, Kathy Roe is living the L.A. Law dream of the 1980s, but in the Windy City. She left big law for new law 10 years ago, co-founding a Chicago boutique health law firm, Health Law Consultancy, with husband Jack. Lucy (Ciletti) VanDusen has been a practicing architect in Denver for 19 years. She and her husband, Peter, have two children, Matt, 17, and Ella, 13. Molly (Sullivan) Sliney is a partner and coach at Vivo Fencing Club in Haverhill MA, where she is passing on her love of the sport to the next generation of fencers. Athletics are all in the family as daughter Micaela dives for the U of Louisville, son Troy plays lacrosse for Wheaton College and husband Keith has served as the creative director of the Boston Celtics for 25 years. Enjoying the many outdoor activities that the Northwest has to offer, Kerry (Regan) Hallesy lives in Spokane with her husband, Dan, and their children, Jake, 18, and Julia, 15. She worked as a litigation attorney for years, but currently loves devoting her full attention to motherhood. And now for two Morrissey men, Bill Sullivan and Paul Hunkler. After 30 years in the submarine force, Bill retired from the Navy Reserves as a captain. He finished his career on a high note with a stint in Naples, Italy, and traveled throughout Europe. Another milestone is that his sons are off on their own. Nick, 26, is a police officer in San Diego and Sean, 24, is an electrical engineer in Milwaukee. Paul is a salesman for a distribution automation company. He makes his home in Indianapolis with his wife, Maggie, and with his daughters, Danielle, 19, and Erica, 15. Down the sidewalk from Morrissey to Badin, Denise (Davis) Patus wrote to attest that the friendships cemented freshman year among the seven young women on the third floor overlooking South Quad are still alive and well to this day. Unable to make the 30th Reunion, these Badinites arranged one of their own in October 2018. Denise, Carolyn (Cyr) Millard, Sue (Meek) Harbury, Christie (Sieger) Barker, Veronica (Marquez) Orme and Laura (Schilling) Nereng met in Orlando for a long weekend. Lissa (Astilla) Tucker had a last-minute emergency and joined virtually via Facetime. Along with watching ND beat Pitt, they hung out at the condo and the pool, barely coming up for air as they reconnected. Denise also shared that her daughter, Katherine, is a junior interior design major at IU Bloomington and that her son, Joseph, is a senior at Marian High School in Mishawaka IN. Denise herself just celebrated her 25th anniversary at her law firm, Yoder, Ainlay, Ulmer and Buckingham, where she is a partner. In Cardiff by the Sea CA, Annie (Neis) and Joel Rump are experiencing their first year as empty-nesters. Annie is a school librarian and technology support specialist and has found that she loves middle schoolers. Joel has been employed by Callaway Golf as their director of sales training for the Americas. As a life-long golfer, he is happy to work in an industry for which he has great passion. — 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 Proud Parents, Meaningful Work 

Happy New Year. I am pleased to report some fun updates. Fred Everett ’85, ’88JD and his wife Lisa ’85 are the proud parents of seven children and grandparents of eight, so far. From 1988 to 2017, Fred and Lisa served the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend as co-directors of the Office of Family Life. Fred was ordained a deacon for the diocese in 2018. He is the secretary for evangelization and discipleship, overseeing a team of 10, and Lisa is the deputy secretary and director for marriage and family ministry. Tom Antonini is approaching his three-year anniversary as general counsel for the Catholic Diocese of Toledo. Tony Stites is at Barrett McNagny in Ft. Wayne. Tony joined Barrett two days after graduation and has been there ever since. He was on the management team for 20 years commencing in 1998 and was the managing partner for years. Tony stepped aside in 2018 after giving notice two years earlier that he wanted to slow down a bit and he now heads the firm’s labor and employment law section. Mark Adey is with Barnes and Thornburgh as a partner in their South Bend office. He joined Barnes shortly after graduation and has been there since. He practices in the areas of commercial and real estate transactions, bankruptcy and creditor’s rights. Mike Wilkins originally joined Ice Miller in Indianapolis out of law school. He now practices with Broyles, Kight & Ricafort PC out of Indianapolis on an “of counsel” basis focusing on family law and general litigation. He is active in ministries now with Outlook Christian Church. Tom Dixon is with Clark Hill in Detroit. Tom leads the litigation practice group. Lien Galloway Phuong is starting her 18th year as counsel to the Peace Corps, based in Washington DC. She and her husband, George, live in McLean VA. Their youngest daughter is working in San Francisco in commercial real estate financing, and their older daughter is in her third year at Georgetown School of Medicine. Lien can be reached at lgalloway@peacecorps.gov, 202-692-2159. Rosanne Ciambrone is a partner at Duane Morris in Chicago focusing on bankruptcy and commercial law. She has been there since October 2001. Jill Rice and her husband, Rick ’84JD, are founding partners with the law firm Alward Fisher Rice Rowe & Graf. Jill practices creditors’ rights and bankruptcy law throughout the Midwest. Jill and her husband recently went on an exciting mission trip to Northern Cyprus. They ministered to approximately 35 children, aged 2-11, from 17 countries and hosted a Bible school while their parents were attending a week-long church conference. The children spoke many different languages and often helped interpret for each other. Afterward, Jill and Rick traveled to Greece with the mission team. Joe Schroeder’s daughter, Delaney, and Jim Kane’s daughter, Nancy, are freshmen at Notre Dame. They met by chance at orientation. They started talking and realized, “Hey, I think my dad knows your dad.” Joe and his wife met up with Jim and his wife, Nancy, at the Bowling Green game. The younger Nancy plays for the ND volleyball team. Delaney recently toured California with the ND Chorale. Kevin Berry recently completed a six-week solo tour through Southeast Asia. Kevin returned with a new appreciation of the many blessings and freedoms that Americans enjoy. He also noted that the people in each of the countries were kind and welcoming. Kevin recommends that Americans travel as far and as often as possible to learn about others as well as ourselves. Please submit any news. We love hearing about you. — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com 

 

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;

jennyoleary@comcast.net