1990s

90 Reunion Postponed

Due to the continued concerns and uncertainty surrounding the spread of coronavirus, the University announced several changes to summer programming. With this announcement, came the decision to postpone Reunion 2020. Here is a statement from class president, Patrick Olmstead: “We truly hope that you and your family are safe and sound. These uncharted waters leave many of us feeling unmoored. We hope you can provide some love and attention (virtual though it may be) to those who need it. Our class reunion committee has been working for over a year planning the event. It would have been fantastic. However, the loss of reunion pales in comparison to what some are going through. For now, the University has asked us to stand down and wait for it to evaluate options for moving forward, which we will share as information becomes available. In the meantime, if you have any questions or memories to share, please join our Facebook group: Notre Dame Irish Class of 1990.” Courtney and Brian Maggio are living (sequestered) just north of Seattle with four kids: Sophia, Gabe, Camille and Fiona and a crew of dogs and cats. Brian is the divisional vice president of Power A, which makes accessories for Xbox, Nintendo and Sony. Courtney works in their local school district. Their two eldest are at Gonzaga and Villanova, so they have managed to corner the market on Catholic schools with solid hoops programs. Their son is a cheerleader at Villanova, so he’ll get better than front row seats when the season returns. Their kids keep busy with art and sports including volleyball and crew for the younger two. In their spare time, they have a side hustle called Vintage Patch Company, where they sell upcycled jewelry and whimsical signs at local art fairs. Eric Ehrensing lives in Metairie LA with his wife and sons aged 12 and 8. He is vice-chairman of infectious diseases at Ochsner Health, where lately he has been helping his community deal with COVID-19. He recently finished his master’s degree in health care management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He hopes to use his new knowledge to help health care and the community restart and rebuild. Fortunately, Eric is a neighbor of Paul Vogt and they recently reminded each other to submit blurbs for Class Notes. Robin ’93 and Paul Vogt live in Metairie LA and have two daughters. Katherine, a sophomore at Tufts, and Megan. This summer, Paul begins his 25th year as a member of the Associated Branch Pilots, a group that pilots ships through the mouth of the Mississippi. Last summer they had the opportunity to visit Notre Dame when they dropped off Megan for the Career Discovery Program. In his spare time, Paul works on a collection of novels that he hopes to publish. Please keep track of us on Facebook at Notre Dame Irish Class of 1990 and at 1990.undclass.org. Go Irish. — Marty Falkenberg; 23 Casselton Road, Raymond ME 04071; 847-323-4717; martin.falkenberg@yahoo.com

 

90MBA Class Secretary — Dave Wilson;

104 N. Wilson Court, Palatine IL 60067; david_c_wilson@hotmail.com

 

90JD Class Secretary — Cathy (Pollock) Gregory;

cagregory@sbcglobal.net

 

91 Class Secretary — Suzi (Criqui) Mueller;

cell 917-886-8176; suzi@cbglobalsearch.com

 

91MBA Trying Times

I am writing this column on April 19, 2020, from Maryland. It has been a unique time in the world, with unthinkable guidelines on how we live our lives to stop a pandemic that is affecting so many. My days have been confined to our home with all five of us. We walk in the neighborhood, take some hikes, and visit the grocery store. My hope is that by the time you read this, we will be back to a new normal. As most of you know from my email, Susan Meyr passed away on March 5. Susan was one of the brightest students in the Class of 1991. She was an accomplished global health economics, policy and reimbursement professional. Susan was a mom, daughter, sister and friend. Susan’s brother Scott Meyr said, “I have been blessed to have had such a wonderful caring, loving, generous, intelligent, talented, successful sister. Susan helped and cared about others. Susan hid her true feelings being sad and depressed and had fallen into a very dark place, had no peace to her life, and saw no way out. She is at peace now. We thank God for the time we shared with Sue, although shorter than we would have liked. God is providing us with strength, comfort and peace.” Susan’s sister-in law, Kris Kelly Meyr encourages anyone who is struggling to reach out for help from family and to call the National Suicide Prevention Line 1-800-273-8255. Dave Walkowski reflects about his time with Susan. “At ND, Susan and I worked together on some group projects, and were in the London program together. Over the years, we did keep in touch and even met up for dinner in NYC years ago. I’ll always remember the London program as my favorite experience at Notre Dame. I will miss Susan.” He also shares that during the pandemic, his family was hunkered down during the stay-at-home period with two of his three kids. He is the CFO of Hoffmaster Group, Inc., which manufactures disposable tabletop products. While working from home, Dave’s main priority was trying to figure out how to help his company survive through a period of dramatically lower sales with restaurants and bars closed. Michael Britt was very sad to hear about Susan and would like us all to raise a glass. He also reports that in February he was named the president and CEO of Southern Telecom, a subsidiary of Southern Company, a large southeastern electric and gas utility based in Atlanta that provides wholesale access to utility infrastructure and fiber optics. Scott Trossen started the Michigan HR Group in 2007 and lives in Ann Arbor. Two of his four kids graduated from college and two were home doing remote coursework during the spring. During the pandemic, Scott reflected on Easter, and commented, “Jesus’ resurrection does not remove the difficulty of financial implosion or physical loss of life, rather it and He shed light and hope. Let’s lean into both.” Signing off with prayers and my love for all in the MBA Class of 1991. — Patty (Spiekermann) Lynch, pattylynch05@gmail.com

 

91JD Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Aloysius Hogan is the director of the Office of Legislative Affairs and Program Planning at the Federal Labor Relations Authority in Washington DC. As part of his duties, he is the press person which has kept him busy in this COVID-19 world. Bernie Lau also accepted a new position as the senior intellectual property counsel for AdvanSix, a chemical company that manufactures nylon resin, chemical intermediates and fertilizer. I hope you are staying safe and healthy. Until next time, act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God. — Martha (Boesen) Trout; 12823 Clark St., Clive IA 50325; bus 515-281-6661; cell 515-249-9235; marthatrout@gmail.com

 

92 Scoop for Year of 50 

All of us are in the COVID-19 storm but in different boats on different sides of the storm. Thanks and gratitude to all our healthcare and frontline classmates who risked their personal health for others. This article is dedicated to you. Jennifer (Yost) Graber asked we keep roomie Joan (Dimopoulos) Park in mind before she started multiple shifts at Loyola as an ER physician. She also mentioned Tara (McDonald) Morrison MD providing help in Houston. Jeff Jotz worked at a COVID-19 screening center with over 7,000 tested in a few weeks. John Stoj is in Atlanta with his first-grader and wife, Dr. Kim Haluski, who is an anesthesiologist on the front lines. John founded Verbatim Financial, a flat-fee, fee-only registered investment advisor. 5-0 celebrations: Farley friends Barb Campbell, Lynn (Mordan) Schoenbauer, Cathy (Evces) Gaytan, Susan Dognaux and Liz (Gleason) Houser celebrated at a spa near Scottsdale in February. Carol Ruff shared her crew’s “Fabulous at 50” in Florida before beaches closed in March. Kristin (Gafvert) Hammerschmitt, Wendy (Shields) Freimuth, Shannon (Kelleher) Bauer, Cheryl (Cihak) Wate and Jenn (Karaffa) Pae made the trip. Rodger Laurite celebrated on March 26 with his kids at home in Atlanta. His eldest, Samantha, a junior at Wake Forest and middle daughter, Kris, a freshman at ND, would have missed the festivities otherwise. Rodger’s son is a freshman in high school. One of my fave Zoom 5-0 calls was the surprise “party” for Dr. John Stavrakos on April 5. Coordinated by John Gugle, I joined John, Mike Potter, Matthew Hall, and cheerleading team members from multiple years including: Matt Raulston (calling from Ankara, Turkey), Jessica (Chiappetta) Roman, Laura (Garza) Gage and Diego Miron as we took a walk down memory lane. Some of the Lewis 8-chick met in Lake Tahoe to kick off “Year of 50” events: Colleen (Danaher) Contreras, Cristin (McCarthy) Vahey, Kris (Cebulla) Thompson, Jennifer (Sorice) Clark, Lisa (Broeren) Richards, Maria (Reda) Gulli, Kathy (Lamprecht) Prue and honorary roomie, Kristen Friel made the getaway. They hope to see the Grace guys at a football game in the fall. Brittany Graham and her twin Katherine (Graham) Lane ’92SMC, ’00MSA went to Hawaii in February to celebrate ahead of the curve. Terry Coyne met up with Mark Zoia, Bryce Bettinger, Mike Buchheit, Steve Petros and Chris Baguer ’91 at the Virginia Tech game, suite-style. Mike is in consulting in San Fran; Bryce is in Cinci working as an accountant; Steve is in Grand Rapids teaching and coaching swimming; and Mark is in Minneapolis in the construction business. Terry is in commercial real estate development with Newmark Knight Frank in Cleveland. He is on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Board, so let him know if you want a great behind-the-scenes tour. Greg Hendry published his first book with editing from multi-book author, Jamie Reidy. Mommying from Heaven is a special story about life after the passing of his wife, Allison (Coleman) Hendry ’91. Buy it on Amazon. Six years ago, Jonathan Halloran co-founded American Homebuilders of West Africa to tackle the West African housing crisis. Check out bit.ly/AfricaHousing to learn more. Jonathan lives in Chicago with his wife and three children. Tray Siegfried shared that his son Bob was a freshman in Keough. Tray is still in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and was promoted to brigadier general last fall. Bridget (Underwood) Baird shared that son Sean will join the class of ’24, hopefully on campus, in the fall. Wedding bells: Bridget (Zappa) married Rob Hahn ’91 in November. Judge John McShane ’68 officiated. Domers in attendance: Madden Zappa ’16 and Bob Hahn ’64. Update your contact info on the alumni.nd.edu website and share “Road to 50” or creative COVID-19 activities. — Jill-Beth (JB) Hayes; ndclassof92@gmail.com

 

92MBA Class Secretary — Julie Pendell;

pendell.julie@gmail.com

 

92JD Class Secretary — Paul A. Drey;

6701 Westown Parkway, Suite 100, West Des Moines IA 50266; bus 515-271-1765; paul.drey@brickgentrylaw.com

 

93 Class Secretary — Anne Marie (Krauza) Yuhas;

Hilton Head Island SC 29928; mobile 623-606-7000; yuhas93@gmail.com 

 

93MBA Family Time

I pray that this letter finds all of you healthy after the tumultuous few months we have experienced. I was fortunate to spend the months with my three children and my husband. With a computer in tow, each child occupied a floor with Zoom calls and homework. My eldest lives in NYC and works for a restructuring group. He and his coworkers work 100 hours per week helping companies grapple with these tough times. My youngest is a senior in high school and has enjoyed the end of her school year spending time with her siblings. She will attend Notre Dame and hopes that school starts in August. Maybe by the time this article is printed, we will know whether college football will be played as scheduled. Please email me if you are going to any games. I will pass that information to those who will be attending the same games. My next deadline is July 20. I am praying for your safety and health. Go Irish. — Tricia Hug Schorr; 317-987-5000, thugschorr@yahoo.com

 

93JD Candle at the Grotto

We have a few updates, but first I want to convey my admiration for Charlie Hegarty for his herculean efforts over the many years with the class column. This is not easy to squeeze out class updates and Charlie did a great job. Gilberto Perez reports that he bumped into Judge David Haimes and Dean Kevin Ceipley at a dinner for Justice Gorsuch in early March. Kevin arranged the special invite and now Gil has an autographed book by the distinguished jurist. Despite trying, I have no additional updates from classmates. I can personally report that campus is beautiful albeit desolate as I write this in April. With students not on campus, it seems unnatural but at the same time very beautiful. I meandered down to the Grotto on April 14 and lit a candle for all members of the Law Class of 1993 and prayed that you are all safe. Peace and blessings to you all and as my mom always says to me: you pray for me and I’ll pray for thee. — Jamie O’Brien; jamesobrienesq@yahoo.com

 

94 Putting the Arts in Liberal Arts

Hey, it’s been a minute. I hope this finds you and your families safe and healthy. Away we go to the babies, because babies come first. Congratulations to Erik Stevens, Brad Shebib and Jeff Riney, who recently welcomed new members of their families. Kudos to Christine Swanson, who directed the new Lifetime movie The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, about the Grammy-winning gospel group The Clark Sisters, one of the top-selling female gospel groups of all time. Michael Somerville has been keeping us laughing during this difficult time, filling it up on Facebook with his brilliant Quarantine Comedy Shows and daily observations. Give it up for Anne Heaton, who published a book, To the Light: A Collection of Songs & Stories. She has been hosting an interview series, How the Song Came to Be, and has been nominated for two Independent Music Awards for her song Joy and its video. Cheers to Sean O’Reilly, who is president-elect of the Notre Dame Alumni Association Board for 2020-21. Best wishes for a successful and fulfilling term. We’re proud of you. Speaking of proud, Richard Nettles MD vice president of medical affairs, Janssen Infectious Diseases, Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC (the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson) was interviewed by VeryWell Health about his firm’s efforts to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Vincent Casingal MD, a surgeon who runs the abdominal transplant program at Carolinas Medical Center, was featured by the Alumni Association in “We Are ND: Be the Light Vol. 2” in April. Frank McGehee is doing his civic duty as the mayor of Maplewood Township NJ. Congratulations to classmates who have achieved recognition in academia. After 11 years on the faculty at UW-Milwaukee, Michael Zimmer joined the Department of Computer Science at Marquette U as an associate professor. He specializes in privacy and data ethics and co-directs their interdisciplinary data science major. Paul Czoty was recently promoted to full professor with tenure at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, where he researches drug and alcohol abuse in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and directs the pharmacology PhD program. And last, but certainly not least, to keep in touch with the rest of our classmates in real time, check out the Class of 1994 page on Facebook, started by and sustained by Aurelie Gallagher. Send me news, let me know what’s happening or just say hi. I remain your humble scrivener. — Joe Poe; ndclass1994@yahoo.com

 

94MBA Class Secretary — Rodger Laurite;

678-644-0422; rodgerlaurite@hotmail.com

 

94JD Wine Business

Steve Kelley has left the firm he founded to spend more time as an investor and entrepreneur. Steve’s latest venture is a 600-acre vineyard and winery on the Columbia River in south-central Washington. He is CEO. Along with investors from the wine community, one of his partners is Hall of Fame baseball player Edgar Martinez. As I write this in April, the pandemic is uncertain to say the least, so I hope you and your families are healthy and safe by the time you read this. — Doug Duncan; pdouglasduncanjr@yahoo.com

 

95 Missing Our Class News

We hope you and your families are in good health and taking care. With Reunion 2020 postponed, we are looking for class updates more than ever. We want to hear from you and share your news. Meanwhile, Mariah Sharkey-Brumund reports that she quit her job at the VA San Diego to be home with her three tween children and to pursue her passion in writing. Her first novel in a trilogy, Omnipotent, was just published. Check it out at: AuthorMariah.com. As soon as future dates and details for the reunion are finalized, the information will be listed on our class site at 1995.undclass.org. — Colleen (Mickus) and Mike Robson; 1814 N. Robincrest Lane, Glenview IL 60025; cell 847-772-0551; therobsons@sbcglobal.net

 

95MBA Class Secretary — Renee Werner;

134 Willow Blvd., Willow Springs IL 60480; 773-528-3929; reneewerner@yahoo.com

 

95JD Full House

Tom Conaghan reports that due to the pandemic, “My house is now full again, with all three of my teenagers, aged 19, 17 and 13, at home.” Congratulations to Tom, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery, who won an award from M&A Advisor magazine for his work on “2019 Consumer M&A Deal of the Year” for the combination of Dogfish Head Brewery with Boston Beer (Sam Adams). Chris Iamarino checked in with news that his wife and our classmate Katrina (Noznesky) Iamarino is the cover story for the April issue of Faith Magazine, the diocesan publication for Lansing MI. The headline states: After a Called and Gifted workshop, Katrina uses her gifts “to bring Christ more fully into the world.” Please send me your news and updates. Be safe and well. — Julia Meister; meister@taftlaw.com

 

96 Uncertain Times

As I write this column, our country and world are amid a global pandemic. I hope that you and your loved ones are well and healthy, despite all the uncertainty and challenges that we face. I have sad news to report. Our classmate Kevin O’Grady passed away at the Hospital of the U of Pennsylvania on Jan. 31. Michael Moran wrote the following tribute: Kevin graduated with us in 1996 and went on to receive his JD at the Catholic U of America. He was a lifelong ND fan and a loyal friend. He left behind his wife Paula, his mother, sister, brother and several nieces and nephews and relatives. His memorial services were attended by Christopher Mullins, Patrick Cassidy, Garrett Gray, Hans Detlefsen and Michael Moran, all dorm-mates from Grace Hall. Those who attended his burial sang the “Alma Mater” at his grave site, and even convinced one of Kevin’s old friend (a BC alumnus if you can believe it) into singing along. A group of Class of ’96 friends were with him in spirit, including Alane Alvarez, Wade Barnhart, Sarah (Thompson) Biegel, Laura (James) Cavanaugh, Kathleen (McKeever) James, Julie Koenig-Keenan and Sean Keenan, Tara (Cavallaro) Kozlowski, Meghan Moran, Steve Ponisciak ’98 and Tom Roland ’98. Please keep Kevin and his family and friends in your prayers. Land Anderson reports that he and his wife Milena recently moved to Scottsdale AZ. Land also just reached 15 years with Amazon.com, where he works in sustainability, safety and compliance. Please feel free to send news and updates. Take good care. — Kate Crisham; catherine.crisham@usdoj.gov

 

96MBA Class Secretary — Maureen Maher;

ndmba96news@hotmail.com

 

96JD QuarantiNeD

I hope that by the time you read this column, we will have “flattened the curve” and returned to some semblance of normalcy. I’m not sure if COVID-19 caused this to be a slow news quarter, but it certainly is one. We have just a couple of items. Maria Mucha’s son, Matthew, appeared on national TV on April 5. He was a guest on Little Big Shots and talked about his love of fashion designing. He even met a real-life fashion designer who gave him some pointers. Marsha Griggs is an associate professor and the director of academic support and bar readiness at Washburn U School of Law. Marsha received national media attention for her article on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the scheduled July 2020 bar exam. Please see: abajournal.com/news/article/in-light-of-the-coronavirus-crisis-working-paper-suggests-alternatives-to-the-july-bar-exam. As I write this article, the Chicago Cubs are their way to completing their first undefeated April in over 112 years. I still have a handful of tickets to our minireunion football game on Sept. 12 against Arkansas. If you have any interest in them, or if you have news to share. please contact me. — Chris Spataro; 57027 Wedgefield Court, Elkhart IN 46516; 574-596-2417; chrisjspataro@gmail.com

 

97 Thinking of Classmates

I never thought I would have to write an update hunkered down in my house, along with most of the rest of the world. I hope that by the time you read this magazine, we will be out enjoying each other’s company again, sports seasons will have resumed, and visits to the local restaurants will be going strong. I pray that everyone made it through this tough time with their family and health intact. It is with a very sad heart that I write that we lost one of our classmates late in 2019. Brandon Leveille passed away Dec. 29 at Massachusetts General Hospital after a courageous, hard-fought two-year battle with a rare form of cancer. Brandon was a loving husband to Heidi and a loving dad his children, Chase,10; twins Wyatt and Mia, 8; and Elise, 5. Please keep Brandon’s family in your thoughts and prayers. Frank Berry was married on Aug. 24 to Laurel Smyth in Huletts Landing NY. It was a beautiful service in a small Catholic chapel beside Lake George, with readings by Marshall Enos and his sister Julie Barry ’95. Sean Murray-Nolan and his wife Tracy delivered wonderful toasts, and best man Ben Balk ’95, his sister’s husband, brought the house down with his speech. There was a great crew there from our class: Pat Barthel, Doug Burns, Jeff Dodson, Anne (Doohan) Enos, Traci (Towne) and Mike McGillicuddy, Mark Mirabito, Barry Regan, Greg Wiercinski, and Ryan Wozniak. Also attending were Tim Glenister ’96, Ryan Smith ’98, John Murphy ’98, Michael Peppard ’98, Rory Barthel ’02, Michaela Murray-Nolan ’02, Lynn (Canzano) Pyfer ’02, and Matt Barthel ’89. Frank and Laurel live in Manhattan. Laurel works in marketing on projects for Google, while Frank had just come off the Bloomberg presidential campaign. Pat Gorman is still living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and often travels for his growing tech sector headhunting business. Last year, he flew over 100,000 miles often recruiting Brazilians to return to Brazil and lead tech companies at the C-level. Pat is working alongside Fernando Lohmann ’99, Joshua Kempf ’08 and Chris Lund ’61 to set up and endow a Notre Dame scholarship to help send more Brazilians to our beloved University. Please stay safe and healthy. Please send me updates. — Kate (Fisher) Murray; 1840 Huntingdon Road, Huntingdon Valley PA 19006; kmurraynd@yahoo.com

 

97MBA Class Secretary — Paul Mongelluzzo;

646-584-7340; paulanthonymba@gmail.com

 

97JD Class Secretary — Julie Vales;

cell 973-727-5767; juliemvales@gmail.com; john.vales@dentons.com

 

98 Positivity During the New Normal

As I submit this update, each of us is dealing with the uncertainty of when things will get back to normal. I wish you health, happiness, peace, and safety during these times. Nikki (Berard) Hershberg was recently promoted to executive director of customer success at athenahealth and leads a team supporting athena’s largest client. Nikki lives in South Burlington VT with her husband, Mike, and their two children. John Korb reports that his wife, Michelle (Yarbrough), became a shareholder at her law firm. Congrats to Michelle and the Korb family. Brian Hertz continues to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs (internal medicine and clinical informatics). He also teaches medical students attending Loyola U Chicago and recently advanced to be a full professor. Katie (Bellock) and Dan Richards are thrilled to announce their eldest daughter, Kelly, will be heading to South Bend in the fall to join the Class of 2024. Dan and Katie are eager to embarrass her at tailgates and show their daughter that the Class of ’98 still knows how to have fun. Go Irish. — Bob Flannery; rflannery98@gmail.com

 

98MBA Class Secretary — Joseph Dunlop;

330 N. Rockingham Way, Amherst NY 14228; res 716-625-8470; bus 716-821-9393 Ext. 274; joseph.dunlop.1@gmail.com

 

98JD Class Secretary — Chris Putt;

mobile 574-514-3703; crputt@gmail.com

 

99 Class Secretary — Erin (Wysong) Martin;

erinmartin03@yahoo.com

 

99MBA Class Secretary — Christy (Hayes) King;

christyking@alumni.nd.edu

 

99JD Class Secretary — Steve Boettinger;

boettinger@alumni.nd.edu