1980s

80 Mental Health 

We are not the only ND class to be touched by mental illness, but its power is calling to me now. Joe died at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. Pacific Garden provides shelter, food and clothing to those without. Our friend and classmate needed exactly that help. Joe was a proud resident of Dillon Hall and an alum of the Rome program. Joe also suffered from mental illness, the onset of which was evident even before he graduated early and with honors. You should know that we had Mass said by our chaplain, Rev. Joe Uhen, and hosted an Irish Wake in Joe’s memory. Joe was also remembered at an annual Mass for the homeless said at Old St. Patrick’s Church. He was the only person recognized with his surname. Many are unknown. Thanks to a special exemption, Joe will be interred in the Cedar Grove Cemetery on campus. Joe’s life was shortened and made much more difficult by his illness and the stigmatization that is still all too common. Please remember Joe with kindness and be a good friend to those who suffer and those who love and tend to the sufferers. Take care of yourselves and please ask for help if you need it. ND has a new online platform and alumni directory. We encourage you to register at my.nd.edu/me/show and update your contact information. Spouses are welcome too. If you or your spouse enroll, you can get our regular class emails. Contact me for more details. Patricia Curtin White MD, FACP, CMD began a two-year term as president of the alumni association of Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson U, Philadelphia. The association serves one of the largest medical college alumni bases in the country. She looks forward to connecting with Jefferson/ND alumni and can be reached at patriciacurtin@comcast.net. Her daughter, Mary ’17, will join her in 2021, upon graduation with her MD from Jefferson. Patricia is section chief of geriatric medicine at ChristianaCare Health System in Delaware and medical director of a nursing home. She appreciates the prayers and support for healthcare workers during this time. John Callaway volunteered to organize our inaugural class football ticket allocation request. By the time you read this, we will know if we received any tickets and for which game. Richard Torres and Carlos A. Carrero were married Jan. 2 at an open-air sunset ceremony overlooking the Condado Lagoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they live. Celebrations will be held after COVID restrictions are lifted and it is safe to gather. Ed Darr will be retiring from Boeing after working as a system test engineer there for over 36 years. Sue Barry had a Zoom call with Ellen Schenkel Rupple, Kate McGuire, Mary Massman Rooney and Mary Michael Ryan O’Hare, along with spouses and partners. All are healthy and counting their blessings. Kate and her beau, Vinny, had cabin fever and rented an RV for a road trip. Joe Philbin is retiring to Indiana in February. Our hearts go out to retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Lukeman, Craig Lombardi and John Clark who lost their fathers; Chris Fenoglio, Rosemary Mills Russell and Dave Zavesky who lost their mothers; and the families of Dan Carlsen, Eric Thompson, Kevin Kenny and Joe Slovinec. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/ 

 

80MBA Eswatini or Bust

Our classmate John (Mike) Maloney was proud to write that his sister Jeanne Maloney was named ambassador to Eswatini, commonly referred to as Swaziland. Jeanne is a career diplomat in the State Department and has served in several leadership positions, culminating in her recently appointed role as ambassador. Mike adds that son Tom and wife Tori are both doing well and that Tom is finishing his business administration certificate at Harvard. Meanwhile, Mike and wife, Cathy (Gallagher) Maloney ’79, are now halfway through their master’s program in biology and looking forward to traveling again. Maybe a trip to Eswatini? Our resident Zoom teacher Mike Previte counts himself lucky as he had 10 of his students test positive for COVID in November and thinks that he would have also been sick if he had to teach in person. Mike says he got his best reviews as a teacher because Zoom allowed him to reach out individually to some students who were struggling. I think it might be related to the fact that when Mike got a warning that his connection was unstable, he quickly told his students, “That makes two of us.” They obviously love a teacher with a great sense of humor. Paul Katilas recently added two new puppies named Domer and Ginge. He adds that their nonstop energy keeps his 67-year-old self on his toes. Joe Bowers and wife, Lane, were supposed to attend two weddings last fall, but both were rescheduled to September. He writes in his Christmas letter that he is enjoying his professional life as an investment counselor with no day-to-day tax responsibility. His time is freed up to spend more quality time in Avalon with his grandchildren and uses the rest of his free time to double the number of golf rounds played. I hope to join him in that regard this year. Finally, like many of our classmates born in 1956, I must first navigate the myriad of options of Medicare that comes with turning 65 years old. They don’t seem to make it easy, but I expect to be fully covered, vaccinated and ready for our 40th plus one reunion in the fall if the cards, and more importantly, the vaccines — fall into place. Let us hope so. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 203-364-0346; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com

 

80JD Springin’ Forward

Kudos to all during these tough times. There is not much news to report because we are all at home. Send your news of how you are adapting and your plans for the future. Please remember the Order of St. Thomas More, and support students, faculty and programs at the law school. Thanks, and love to all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

 

81 Pandemic, Schmandemic

Diane DeBoer Salat reports that her son Brian ’13 and his wife, Abby ’13SMC, gave Diane her first grandson, Connor, in September. This and having her Seattle-based son, Kevin ’16, work remotely and hang out with her for three months in Chicago helped ease the isolation of the pandemic. Rev. Timothy Hayes has changed parishes. He moved from St. Timothy Church in Columbus OH (2008-20) to a new consortium in Chillicothe and Waverly. Tim does live-streamed Masses, as is the new norm. Three years ago, JT McDonald and his wife, Sarah, moved to Niles MI, about six miles from campus. They have two daughters, both married. One is a doctor in Royal Oak MI and the other is the mom of their new grandson in Chicago. JT and Sarah retired five years ago, and they escape to Arizona during the winter months. They saw Keith Melaragno and Lexi and Tom Gibbons last fall at a COVID-safe tailgate. Mary Ahern loves her new role as assistant general counsel at Castlight Health Inc., an online health navigation platform company. Castlight supported the COVID-19 vaccine rollout by providing the back end for the vaccine inventory system used by the Center for Disease Control and Boston Children’s Hospital. Mary lives in Sunnyvale CA and spends her spare time and money trying to keep her 1970 Cutlass convertible running. It has bench seats, room for six, and is available for visitors. Mike Tranel was selected as Yellowstone National Park’s deputy superintendent and started his new assignment in February. In this role, Mike will serve as the chief operating officer of the park. He is a 35-year veteran of the National Park Service and had most recently served in the Powder River Group: Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Little Bighorn Battlefield and Devils Tower national monuments, and Fort Laramie National Historic Site. Mike’s previous assignments included superintendent of Klondike Goldrush AK, acting associate regional director for operations, Alaska, special assistant to the Alaska regional director, special assistant to the director of the NPS, and chief of planning at Denali National Park. Mike grew up in Billings MT as one of 10 siblings. His first national park visit was to Little Big Horn during a second-grade field trip. After spending most of his life in Baltimore, Joe Gladue moved to Puerto Rico. His new career adventure involves managing a mutual fund, with plans to launch another soon. Joe has found the people of Puerto Rico very welcoming, despite his achingly slow progress at learning Spanish. And he has made several friends in the local arts community. Joe was expecting one or two teammates from the lacrosse team to come for a visit, but that plan was delayed by the pandemic. Please pray for two of our classmates who recently passed away: retired Navy Cmdr. Richard M. Very Jr. and Ronald M. Ryniak. After graduation, Rick enjoyed a storied career in the Navy and then served in the Naval Reserve. In 2000, he started a business consulting firm. With his wife of 40 years, Diane, he raised three children and delighted in a grandson. He will be remembered as a fiercely dedicated, enthusiastic, and passionate man. Ron enjoyed a career as an FBI special agent. He loved life, embraced adventure and always prioritized his family. He was married to the love of his life, Gail, for 35 years and raised two beautiful daughters, Sarah and Emily. Although he was not a handyman, he enjoyed spending time working on his daughter and son-in-law’s ranch in Okeechobee FL. His generous spirit also brought him to Illinois last year to work as the “manny,” watching his grandson, Jack Ronald. He was filled with joy when going on walks to the park, reading books and spending quality time with his sweet grandbabies, Jack and Lia. Please join the Class of ‘81 Facebook page where about 400 classmates reminisce, entertain, pray and opine. 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 Here’s to a Better Year

It was nice to connect with several classmates who responded to my email in my search for news and updates. Thank you. It was nice to hear from Mike Zmachinski, Susan Leopold and Dave Marchiori, as well as Kevin Moon, who had the opportunity to have breakfast with EJ Fleming on EJ’s trip across the nation on his way to Pebble Beach. Kevin said they met in San Luis Obispo CA, and shared some good stories and memories. Kevin said that EJ asked him for a recommendation on where to buy some cigars to enjoy on his trip to Pebble Beach. Ron Veith reminded me that whenever he spoke to EJ during a phone call, just about everything they talked about would end up in this column. Ron said he and his daughter, Sarah ’14, suffered through the “ACC Championship game debacle,” as we all did. Mike Langnecker reports that he retired from a successful career at Mellon Bank in 2016 and that he and his wife, Jan, are trying to live a normal life during this COVID pandemic. Mike laments that there are no more trips to the gym, no summer softball and no pickleball, but he put nearly 1,200 miles on his bike last summer as an alternative. He reminded me that it’s been 40 years since the ’81MBAs spent a semester in London. Great memories: The classroom building on Albemarle Street; our “luxurious” flats; riding the tube or walking across London to class; trips to Ireland, Greece, France, Scotland and Munich; and the famous ’81 bombing at the entrance to Oktoberfest the night many of us were there. He said he revived his London cooking skills by making his classic London flat dinner of French toast and bacon while Jan recovered from arm surgery. I am happy (and quite surprised) to announce that I’m starting a new career in the field of supply chain robotics. I am now the head of global alliances for Locus Robotics, so keep all those e-comm orders coming so our bots can pick, pack and ship your orders. I know Al Casazza retired from a long and successful career with Textron. Al, I know you are out there, but please send me your personal email address so we can keep up on your dancing career and make plans to meet at ND for a game as we did in 2019. I welcome any news and phone calls. I would appreciate it if you could ask your classmates to send me their email addresses as I’m cleaning up the list that EJ had along with one that ND provided me. Here’s to a healthier, happier and more prosperous new year for all. We keep EJ and all our classmates who have passed in our thoughts and prayers. Go Irish. — Steve Simmerman; 3126 E. Desert Broom Way, Phoenix AZ 85048; bus 602-524-7662; srsimmerman@gmail.com

 

81JD Anniversary Thoughts

This year will mark the 40th anniversary of our graduation, though as we know by now, the University’s on-campus Reunion has been cancelled. Hooray, we have news this time from three classmates who, in an understatement, have not made it a habit of providing tidbits for these columns: Peg Hanley Warner, Maura Quinlan and Mark M. Williams. Peg cherishes the enduring friendships she formed at ND and continues her national litigation practice at McDermitt, Will & Emery. Peg spent most of the first 20 years of her practice handling large insurance/reinsurance disputes and mass tort cases. The risk management industry remains a core client of hers. In the past 20 years, she has been an all-purpose trial and board lawyer with an emphasis on contract-related disputes. Her trial and arbitration list is impressive. Her current docket includes pending litigation in LA, Portland OR, NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Albany NY, Dallas and Wilmington DE. Mark Williams was hired as music director for St. Helen Catholic Church in Junction City OR beginning with the first Sunday of Advent last year. He has to sing through a mask, which turns out to be easier than it seems. He reports that the mask caused him to “fog up” on his high A flat in “O Holy Night” on Christmas Eve, but he attributes that to the fact that he was probably just emotional. Maura Quinlan reports that she had a great two-hour conversation with Marie Quinlavin. Marie’s email is mqczech@gmail.com. She retired (after 30 years) from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and is now with the Will County State’s Attorney, where she’s been for the last several years. As for herself, Maura is still in central Pennsylvania. She left the firm she was with for almost 20 years in 2006 to spend more time with her two adopted daughters, who are now studying at the U of Pittsburgh. Since then, she has done consulting from time-to-time, mainly drafting legislation and doing appellate litigation. Maura recently co-wrote an article that was published in the Case Western Reserve Law Review. She is working on an amicus brief for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Her husband, Dick, is going to retire at the end of this year, so another transition is about to unfold in their lives. I was glad to hear from Peg, Maura and Mark. Who will be our long-lost prodigal classmates for the next Class Notes column? Heidi Masano reports that the pandemic has not deterred her traveling. She has flown to Milwaukee and South Bend three times recently. According to Heidi, planes are half empty and couldn’t be cleaner. Most everyone conforms to CDC protocols. Airports are empty. Heidi planned on going to Jamaica in January. In 2020, Jim Blasé published the following three books: Estate Planning for IRAs and 401Ks: A Handbook for Individuals, Advisors and Attorneys; High Ideals: Theodore Roosevelt’s 1911 Western Trip; and The Ideals of Theodore Roosevelt (editor). John Fitzpatrick had two more grandsons born in 2020. He and Barb now have seven boys and three girls. Fitz finally took the vacation he had been talking about for 40 years. He and Barb went to Puerto Vallarta Mexico for the Christmas holidays. They spent a beautiful week on the beach and by the pool. Brian McDonough’s daughter Madison is in her third year performing with the Miami Ballet Company after beginning her professional career at Los Angeles Ballet. Madison was featured in a New York Times article (with pictures) on the Miami Ballet Company’s challenges in putting on a production of The Nutcracker in the time of the COVID pandemic. I hope all are well. Go Irish. — Michael Palumbo; 3799 E. Peachtree Drive, Chandler AZ 85249; res 480-284-4004; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com

 

82 Class Updates

John Ebert (BBA Accounting) owns one of the largest McDonald’s franchises in West Virginia. John operates 40 restaurants in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland and employs more than 2,500 employees who collectively serve about 15 million customers each year. He is the largest employer in the state of West Virginia. John spoke at the Mendoza School of Business to over 200 students. Prof. Chris Stevens ’74, cofounder of the Keurig coffee-maker company, invited John to speak to the students on how to become better leaders. Ebert was honored to attend. This was John’s second presentation. He gave a lecture on the impact COVID had on businesses. His daughter, Grace, attended his first lecture, which made it special for him. Ebert is a veteran McDonald’s franchisee and chairs the Fortune 100 national profit team. He is also the recipient of the Al Golin Brand Trust Award, McDonalds’ highest honor for outstanding commitment to community, employees and customers. John serves as a director of MVB Financial Corporation, a member of the board of trustees of Alderson Broaddus U, and a co-chairman of the Bridgeport 1-K Committee. John has sponsored and taught a free math ACT preparation class that has helped thousands of West Virginia high school students improve their math scores to qualify for the state’s Promise Scholarship. Ebert played four years of varsity baseball on scholarship at ND and has completed two marathons and nine triathlons. Lupe Eichelberger is cofounder of Snoozeenie LLC in Atlanta. Snoozeenie is a product that allows you to block light, stifle sound and reduce the spread of germs without interfering with your normal sleeping position. Lupe is also part of the advisory council for the Institute of Latino Studies at ND. As a member of this group, she serves as ambassador for the institute and the University in Atlanta. Theodore (Ted) Dilenschneider retired as the single World Language teacher at the Columbus City School System in May 2019. He plans to spend his retirement enjoying the company of his sons TJ ’17 and Justin. Ted, we wish you all the best in your retirement. Karen Kiley’s son, Casey J. Toohill, is a defensive end for the Washington Football Team. Casey played college football for Stanford U and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft. I want to take this opportunity to wish all our classmates a happy birthday. Reaching the sixth floor is a major accomplishment, and I hope we can celebrate together at a football game this fall. Do not forget to send us updates. Inquiring minds want to know. — Dave and Tess Lewis; 30 Battle Ridge Road, Morris Plains NJ 07950; cell 973-219-4050; tess@lewislegal.com or dave@lewislegal.com 

 

82MBA Unexpected Passing

It is with great sadness that I report the unexpected passing in September of our classmate Kevin J. Kenny ’80, ’82MBA. Kevin went to Notre Dame on a track scholarship, graduated in electrical engineering and then joined our class for his MBA. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Carolyn, and children Cole, Grace and Jack. He moved to Reno after graduation and worked for Sierra Pacific Power Co for 30 years and Liberty Utilities for seven years. The family is working on a memorial tribute at Notre Dame in honor of Kevin. Please send me any fond memories of Kevin you would like to share. On a better note, I was happy to hear from a few classmates. Curt Fuhro reached out to say he is enjoying retirement with his wife of 35 years, Elaine, and has lived in Cedar Park TX since 1998. Their daughter Kristy lives and works nearby in the Austin area. He enjoys golf, swimming and fishing. I also heard from Sergio San Pedro who lives in Bedford TX with his wife, Aimée. They have three children, Aimée, Sergio and Ana Laura, and two grandchildren, driving them ecstatic. After 34 years in banking, he started an insurance agency in 2016 with his wife. He is retired with his wife running the agency. I hope this finds all of you healthy. I look forward to hearing from you in 2021. Our 40-year reunion is June 2022. — Renée (Amirkanian) Sutherland; mobile 630-846-2707; reneemsr@aol.com

 

82JD Names from the Past

I received an email from Ray Dunn updating us on his career. After graduating from NDLS, Ray earned his MBA from Columbia. He received an ambassadorial appointment as a research consultant for the OECD in Paris. He subsequently spent 14 years in investment banking at UBS, during which he worked in New York, London and the Far East. Ray has since co-founded a corporate finance/brokerage firm headquartered in Stamford CT. The firm focuses on maritime, energy and commodity markets. It also serves as a financial advisor to the US Maritime Administration and supports the Navy in the logistics and humanitarian aid sectors. Two of Ray’s four children attended ND. In 2014, Ray and his wife were invested into the Order of Malta, where Ray now serves on the regional board of directors. Kathy Laffy recently joined the Wilmington DE firm of Whitbeck Bennett as a managing partner. Kathy specializes in family law. Prior to joining Whitbeck Bennett, Kathy operated her own practice, Kelleher & Laffy, for nearly 35 years. Congratulations to Kathy Brickley, who became a grandmother for the second time in July. Tim Abeska recently created the Timothy J. Abeska Endowed Civic Education and Civil Justice Fund at the Indiana Bar Foundation. The fund will support civic education programs that focus on the teaching of history and the principles of American democracy and support the foundation’s civic justice initiatives, including pro bono services. Tim is on the board of directors of the Indiana Bar Foundation. Our 40th class reunion will likely be held on campus during the first weekend in June 2022. Please make plans to attend. Let’s hope the coronavirus is in the rearview mirror by then. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com

 

83 Remembrances and News

Please keep Janet (Staab) Larson and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Janet passed away in August and is survived by her husband, Creighton, and children, Ashley, Shane ’06, Ryan ’07 and Kelsey ’09. Please also keep the following classmates and their families in your thoughts and prayers due to their loss of loved ones. Laura Cuffe Kelley lost her husband, Mike ’84JD, in October. Christopher Temple Davis lost his father-in-law in October. Bill Bastedo lost his brother in October. Chris Cipoletti lost his sister in October. TJ Conley lost his father in November. Clare Padgett noted that arrangements for TJ’s father were handled by Kriegshauser Brothers, including Keith Krieghauser. Mike Rigali also lost his father in December. Our condolences and prayers go out to each of you and your families that you find comfort in your memories of your loved ones. Mike McAuliffe shared the news that he was elected to remain a judge on the circuit court for Montgomery County MD. Mike was initially appointed under the merit system in December 2019 but had to stand for election in November 2020. It was a contested election, and the voters chose to keep him on the job. John Gallo has been featured in an article, “Representing the Least Among Us,” from November 2020 that was included on the We Are ND stories website, weare.nd.edu. The article describes John’s work in overturning a defendant’s death sentence and how that led to John creating the Capital Litigation Project at his law firm, Sidley Austin, along with fellow Domer Kelly Huggins ’96, ’01JD. John is now a lawyer with Legal Aid Chicago helping people with low economic means in Chicago to obtain legal representation. Speaking of lawyers, congratulations to Jimmy McDonough and Billy McDonough who have been selected for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America as announced by their law firm, Jackson Walker. Best Lawyers listings are based on a peer review survey of thousands of attorneys who vote on the legal abilities of others in their practice areas. Recognition of your skills and abilities by your peers is truly a high honor. In November, the New York Times featured Dr. Jan Sanders and her husband, Leo McWilliams, in a story of how they yearly open their home for Thanksgiving to students, including students of color, international students and Dreamers. In 2019, there were more than 60 people who came for dinner and the article described the challenges of preparing the menu and the difference in the 2020 dinner due to most students leaving campus before the Thanksgiving holiday. I recommend that you read this heart-warming story if you have the opportunity. On a personal note, I offer my best wishes to all of you for a happy, safe and prosperous 2021. We have more than 500 class members who have joined our class Facebook page. It is the quickest and easiest way to stay up to date with what our classmates are doing. As a member of the Facebook page, you will also get an advance look at this column. The class Facebook page is restricted to members of the Class of ’83. To join, search for “Notre Dame Class of 1983” on Facebook and click “join.” If you have any news you would like to share with the class, send a note or email and I will be happy to include it in the next column. — Louis J. “Chip” Denkovic; 520 W. 43 St. No. 32G, New York NY 10036; res 917-399-8784; bus 212-537-1781; ldenkovic@gmail.com

 

83MBA Class Secretary — John Hilbrich;

630-677-2725; john.hilbrich@gmail.com 

 

83JD Class Secretary — Ann E. Merchlewitz;

cell 507-450-6609; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@smumn.edu 

 

84 Welcome to 2021

Peter Ciotta joined the Community Health Center of Buffalo Inc. as director of communications. CHCB provides preventive and primary health care to the underserved of the Buffalo/Niagara community. Mary Agnes (McAuliffe) Rogers lives in Silver Spring MD with her husband, Tim. They made the best of the 10-week winter breaks their college-aged girls had by building a patio and purchasing a fire pit. Kevin McCarry and his wife are back in the US after 15 years of working abroad in Japan, France and Belgium. They settled in Connecticut and are looking forward to getting involved with the ND Alumni Club. Kathy Cavanaugh and I spent Election Day as poll workers in our Upper East Side NYC polling place, while Anne (Wernimont) Kritzmire did the same thing in the Chicago suburbs. It was amazing to see how detailed and careful the process was. Bill Kirk and family are in the DC area where he is finishing up his term as deputy general counsel for the Department of Education and his wife is a professor at Catholic U School of Law. They enjoy that their four kids are geographically closer to the Kirk side of the family but miss being near his wife’s Midwestern family. Rob Snyder reports that he enjoys a closeness to the music biz, as his partner and mother to his kids, Shabnam Kamoii (Shab), is hitting it big as a dance-pop star with her song “Spell on Me.” Do you ever find yourself reflecting on professors who really touched your life? Dan Coonan is doing that now with the success of his book, Presidential Spirits. He wishes his creative writing professor, Elizabeth Christman, was alive to see his success and is deeply grateful to Emeritus Prof. Perry Arnold who helped in the drafting process. A character is even based on Prof. Arnold. Condolences to Tom Breitenbach and his family. His wife, Mary, passed away in December. Prayers also for Thomas Shaughnessy’s family. Tom was a veteran Catholic journalist and he also passed away in December. — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net

 

84MBA Class Secretary Wanted

The Alumni Association is in search of a class secretary for the MBA Class of 1984. Interested parties should email Alumni Editor Joanne Norell at jnorell@nd.edu using the subject line “Class Secretary 1984MBA.”

 

84JD Class Secretary — Matthew J. Dunn;

19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com

 

85 The Write Stuff

Lisa Hendey recently published her 14th title, a children’s picture book titled I’m a Saint in the Making, featuring illustrations by fellow Domer Katie Broussard ’04, ’06MEd. Lisa and husband, Greg Hendey, recently settled into a new home adjacent to the UCLA campus where Greg serves as chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. They hope to welcome classmates visiting Southern California as soon as it is safe. Marc Ramirez joined USA Today as a national correspondent in December after 10 years with The Dallas Morning News. Before that, he wrote for The Seattle Times, Phoenix New Times, The Phoenix Gazette (no longer in business), and The Wall Street Journal (interning in the Los Angeles bureau). He earned a master’s degree in journalism from UC-Berkeley a couple of years after graduating from ND. Mary Sieger Miller tipped me off about Marc’s successful journalism career. Mary is retired from the practice of law and lives in Tallahassee. She volunteered during the primaries and the 2020 presidential election campaigns. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net

 

85MBA Class Secretary — Dom Yocius;

dyocius@ameritech.net

 

85JD Big Changes

The three children of Karen Kiley Toohill ’82, ’85JD and Steve Toohill ’84JD relocated to the East Coast this summer: Kathleen ’12 to DC for her job as the editorial director of the gun violence prevention organization Giffords, Connor ’14 to New York City for the wellbeing app Ritual that he co-founded with Notre Dame business Professor Matt Bloom, and Casey for his rookie year in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Washington Football Team. Deb Hennigan Knapp started a new position as the patient experience liaison for the Mother-Baby Unit at Overlook Medical Center in Summit NJ. In addition to her experience as a mother of four, Deb brings to her role a commitment to improving maternal health, which was identified as a critical national priority by the US Department of Health and Human Services in December 2020. Walter Brown was recruited by AmLaw 50 firm Paul Weiss to open their new San Francisco office. At Paul Weiss, Walter will continue his practice representing companies and individuals in criminal and regulatory matters. Walter and his wife Denise reported that their daughter Hannah graduated from the nursing program at Baker U in Kansas and passed the National Council Licensure Examination. Hannah is now a nurse in the NICU at Overland Park Memorial Hospital. If COVID has taught us anything, it is that nurses are truly heroes; thank you, Hannah. Hannah’s twin, Sophie ’18, is a management consultant with Deloitte in Chicago. Barb and Dave Scheper’s son Tom is a 3L at NDLS, a dean’s lister (Dave says “like his mom”) and will be joining Winston & Strawn in Chicago after graduation. Please stay well and let us know how you are doing. I look forward to hearing from you. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu

 

86 The Emmy Goes To…

Linda Gase won two Emmys this year for Trinkets, the show she ran for Netflix last year. The show won for Best Young Adult Program and Best Writing for a Young Adult Program. It was her first gig as showrunner (head writer/producer), and we wish her a hearty congratulations. I caught up with Beth Fenner who lives in Brooklyn. Beth is a media consultant. She spent last December in Chicago, where her family still is and where she lived from 2012 to 2017 when she was the editor of Chicago Magazine. She had a lovely dinner (outside) with Lucy O’Shaughnessy, Kathy Murdock and Liz Miller. Lucy lives in Denver where she is studying theology. She brought her youngest children, twins Rachel and Megan, one of whom she was dropping off at Northwestern to have a normal school year (fingers crossed). Liz is working at a law firm in Chicago and her youngest, Matthew, is at the U of Illinois. Kathy is doing lots of nonprofit work, lives in Chicago with her husband, attorney Pat Doyle, and their four kids, the youngest of whom is in high school. Beth also huddled around the Chicago fire pit of Judge Jennifer Payne, who became a judge last year, and caught up with her husband Patrick Johnson and their two kids, both out of college now. Fifi Paraiso was elected by her peers to the Cleveland Clinic Board of Governors, a five-year leadership post. She is excited to learn, grow and serve in a new way, and thrilled that she will still be a surgeon most of the time. Engineer Jeff Shupe retired from SRAM Corporation, the Chicago global bicycle components manufacturer that he co-founded in 1987. With considerable help from John Kaltenmark, Jeff has founded his newest startup. Reprising Elon Musk, Jeff is building battery powered electric boats. Look for quiet, exhaust free wake surfing on a lake near you soon. I just write the stuff. Ziggy says hello. He and I did some skiing together in Colorado this past winter. He was an adaptive ski instructor for a few years in Heavenly. It’s funny. He and I had the same den mother in Cub Scouts, which happened to be my mom. Melissa “Missy” Sommer’s eldest, Peter, is a senior at ND. Son Nate is a senior at Villanova. Her youngest, Katie, is a freshman at SUNY Cobleskill majoring in canine training and their dog is her roommate. Missy started Darwin Trust two years ago. Jean and I moved to Portsmouth NH. We are keeping the footprint in Wyckoff but will be spending most of our time up North. Our son, Sean ’15, was married to Ansley ’15 SMC last December. Connor earned his CPA and Brooke spent the winter in Colorado working in hospitality. What have you been up to? Shoot me an email or text me with the goods. Take care and God bless. — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com

 

86MBA News is Trickling In

The holidays bring news from all over the world. Atchi Nagai sends an annual card. He is president of Sintokogio Ltd. in Nagoya, Japan. Congratulations to Dave Greiner, who is spending a lot more time on the slopes after selling his Grand Rapids MI business, Precision Label, in February 2020. He and Lisa are embarking on Greiner 2.0, which includes more skiing and extensive traveling. Tom Hicks is busy parenting two teenagers; Jess, 17, is getting ready for college, and Ellie, 13, is a seventh grader. Home schooling has likely been a challenge for all who have school-aged children. Brent Chapman is president and CEO of Sterling Global, and resides in Toronto and Nassau, maintaining homes and businesses (real estate and finance) in both. He enjoys vacationing in the Bahamas and keeps in contact with Tim Reilly and Perry Dellelce ’87MBA. Minnie and Rob Oughton have been married for 25 years and live in El Paso. Rob retired from Union Pacific, and recently vacationed in Los Cabos, Mexico. He and Minnie are looking forward to purchasing a home in Cabo, which would be a great location for a reunion. Dave Pustinger’s wine business has been busy during the pandemic as more folks are enjoying their wine from home. His two daughters are working on their master’s degrees, one in public health at Emory and the other in education at Columbia. His eldest is also working as a classroom resource for Detroit city schools prior to starting graduate school. Sadly, two members of our class recently passed away: Jim Mattecheck in September and John Williams in October. Jim lived in Lake Oswego OR and was a diehard ND fan, who ensured the first song each of his six kids could sing was the Victory March. He spent nearly 40 years in the software sales industry, mentoring and building strong relationships with his clients and co-workers. Condolences to his wife, Kristina, and children Alexandra, Catherine, Elizabeth, Maddi, Sarah and Winston. I believe John was in the Executive MBA program and lived in Greenfield IN. He leaves behind his beloved spouse, Leslie, and daughter, Laurie. Please keep them in your prayers. Stay in touch so I can keep this column going. My next deadline is April 20. — Maureen (Mullan) Decker; 21855 Town Gate, Macomb MI 48044; bus 586-741-4305; cell 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org

 

86JD Notes from East to West 

Writing in for the first time in 34 years, John Moran and spouse, Sally, live in the DC area. Their kids Thomas, Julia and Peter are out of the house and living in Virginia. John has been with the US government since 1993, first with USAID, then Treasury (Bosnia, Balkans task force) and, since 2000, with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, now called the US International Development Finance Corporation. His work principally involves private investment in emerging markets. John (and family) lived in Croatia from 2000 through 2003, when he was OPIC’s regional representative for SE Europe. Also from Virginia, David Corrigan writes that he and Jean are the proud grandparents of their first grandchild, Savannah Corrigan. David “highly recommends this grandparent thing.” Moving further southeast, Mark Bernet checked in from Tampa. He’s been to his office just four times since mid-March 2020 but managed to get appointed as a federal equity receiver in a case, fired 16 scamsters by email, got all the records off the cloud, and recovered almost $400,000, all from the comfort of home and without wearing a tie. (Mark didn’t mention whether he wore pants.) Moving to the northeast, Steve Hogan, retired from NY State Police, finished his first year of teaching at the U at Albany, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. Steve teaches in the master’s program in forensic biology, where his favorite course relates to the tension among DNA technology, forensic genealogy, and the right to genetic privacy. He cites Tex Dutile as his teaching inspiration. In the Midwest, Rob Kurnick of Michigan reports that daughter Claire graduated from U of Denver last spring and is considering a law degree; daughter Annie will graduate from the U of Miami (Coral Gables) in the spring; and son Ben continues at U of Dayton. (Rob has his fingers crossed). Jeff McDermott continues as president/CEO of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel IN while also serving as senior counsel at Krieg DeVault. Jeff writes that it has been a challenging time for a performing arts enterprise with no in-person performances, but they have pivoted to livestreams via high-definition cameras and remote educational programming. Susan (Lindbloom) and Dave Link are sheltering comfortably in Shorewood MN. Dave has retired but Susan’s trust and estate practice with the Maslon LLP continues, principally from her home office. Dave and daughter Katie, who is finishing her St. Olaf senior year, serve as witnesses for Susan’s socially distanced “drive up” law office, where Susan’s clients (and first responders participating in the Minnesota “Wills for Heroes” program) can get their signed documents notarized without ever leaving their cars. (“Would you like some large fries with that?”) Dave also writes that Dean Rev. David Link is healthy and actively reading and writing while sheltering at his condo at Holy Cross Village across from Notre Dame. Rev. Link would love to get a note from any of you willing to drop him one. Continuing west, from Topeka, Eileen (Beadling) and Pat Doran wrote that Eileen has worked in her office daily throughout COVID serving her disabled clients at TARC Inc. It has been a struggle, but with the PPP loan, TARC has kept its head above water. Pat spent most of the pandemic working from home with faithful golden retriever, Nellie, by his side. The good news: Pat has ended his cancer treatment and all milestones and markers look good. Felecia Rotellini stepped down as chair of the Arizona Democratic Party after two election cycles, leaving as the party posted big wins for President Biden and Sen. Mark Kelly. Seattle cycling attorney John Duggan exhorts us all to ride safely. — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com 

 

87 The Need Is Real

Hello everyone, and happy spring. I am writing this in the middle of January, so I hope this column finds you at a time of greater peace for our country, and a notable improvement in our efforts to end the COVID pandemic. If you are a classmate whose professional life is aimed at helping those affected by the virus, I’m sure I’m not alone in deeply thanking you. Our prayers are with you. Rev. John Mennell is a priest at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Montclair NJ, and his wife, Sonia, teaches at the Princeton Seminary. He wrote to let me know about the dramatic growth of his church’s soup kitchen. Toni’s Kitchen saw meal disbursements grow from 4,000 to 25,000 in the past year. John closed the church and converted the parking lot and office space to food packing and storage, and yet they are still short of space. If you’re in a position to do so, consider contributing time or money to the issue of food insecurity. As John writes “the need is real and is great.” Beyond John, I haven’t heard from other classmates specifically for this column, but I keep in touch with a wide group of people, and I can touch on some themes. Many are grateful to have extended time with college-aged children in a way that they didn’t expect; however, they’re also worried about what that means for those children as they delay launching their own lives. I don’t perceive that many are worried about their own health, but they’re concerned about older parents. Quite a few have said they’re grateful for the downtime and have used it to take up new hobbies or get fit. Nearly everybody is itching to travel and eager for football season. My husband, Jeff, moved back to Switzerland in January to start a new position with Nestle. He’s been with them since 1990. I hope to join him in a few weeks as soon as we find a place to live and I can pack and ship our things. We’re very excited about this move. We’ve lived there before and hoped to go back before Jeff retired. Our elder son, Mark, is a senior at Queen’s U in Canada and is job-hunting in Toronto. Our younger son, Jake, took a gap year to work on a novel. He’s a math and creative writing major at Washington U in St. Louis and will return there in the fall as a junior. I continue to work on becoming a Jungian analyst. I’m about four years in and love what I’m studying. Keep well and enjoy the warmer weather. — Meg Brennan Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com

 

87MBA Ethics Professor Honored

Hello everyone. The updates are few and far between. Please send me your updates. I hope everyone is well and staying healthy. Our business ethics professor, Rev. Oliver Williams, CSC, ’61, ’69MA, received the Sumner Marcus Award from the Mendoza College of Business. The award is for significant contributions to the field of management. Father Ollie is the author of more than 20 books on business ethics and Catholic social teaching, and numerous articles in leading journals. Rick Hans has joined innovative Aspirations (“iA”) as its new chief financial officer. iA is a leading-edge provider of software-enabled pharmacy fulfillment solutions. We are still holding hopes for attending football games in 2021. As always, when we are fortunate enough to have football games, you know you are invited to our tailgate party. Look for the Canadian flag, east of Legends in the Stadium parking Lot. Keep the information flowing. We look forward to hearing from you. Stay positive and healthy. Go Irish. — Perry N. Dellelce; Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Suite 800, Wildeboer Dellelce Place, 365 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2V1; 416-361-5899; fax 416-361-1790; perry@wildlaw.ca

 

87JD Serving Others

Congratulations to Juan Bermudez on his re-election as mayor of Doral FL. Juan garnered nearly 70 percent of the vote. Amy (Ronayne) Krause also had a landslide victory, running unopposed for her third term on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Mary Beth (Uetz) Kelly was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court, where she began her judicial career in 1999. After getting sidetracked with the Michigan Supreme Court and private practice, Mary Beth is happy to be back in the trial court. Cathy and Joe DeLave celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary in December. They were married over Christmas break of our 3L year with Pat Corbett, John Coutilish and Jay Brinker in the pews. Joe is looking forward to having no more tuition payments after their youngest of four children graduates from college this spring. Joe and Cathy moved to their Michigan lake home eight years ago, and have been enjoying the company of their daughter, Natalie ’18JD, who has been working remotely during the pandemic. Karen Koster and her husband, Eric, are planning a move to Houston this spring. Karen is a VP with Honeywell, dealing with health, safety and environmental issues and has been just a little busy during the pandemic. Karen is hoping to be settled in by the summer so that she can work out of her lake home in the upper peninsula of Michigan during July and August. John Farnan is still taking breaks from handling insurance coverage matters at Weston Hurd in Cleveland to coach eighth grade girls’ basketball at St. Raphael School. John Owens has adapted to working remotely while he continues to support efforts on global digital financial inclusion efforts for international bodies and various central banks from countries as diverse as Romania, Cambodia, and the Philippines. John helped draft the FinTech Roadmap for OJK, the financial regulatory authority of Indonesia. As you’re reading this, one year ago I would have been sitting in Nationals Park watching the 2019 World Championship flag be raised. Fingers crossed that all of us are soon able to put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror and once again gather in our favorite places. Please send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com

 

88 Silver Linings 

While we are fond of singing of our gold and blue, the color of 2020 just may have been silver, as in the silver linings that kept us going during our darker days. In just 12 hours, 52 classmates responded to my request for bright spots. Here they are in order of inbox appearance. Bill Webb wrote, “We’ve grown closer as a family, in part through playing lots of board games.” Rachel McCaffrey reflected that, in her friends and family circle, everyone has a deeper appreciation of the joy that simply being together and sharing a meal brings. Tom Jennings emailed to share the silver lining of two classmates, Tom Torter and Monica Imbriaco, who became engaged over Thanksgiving. Another classmate who took a relationship to the next level was Mike Fitzpatrick. On Aug. 22, he married Emily in the company of an intimate group of attendees, including their collective six children, ‘88ers Mark Oldani and Paul Reuvers, dad Mike ’62 and brother Paul ’90. Work-from-home enabled them to move from the cold of Madison WI to the warmth of Sarasota FL five years ahead of plan. For Amy (Humphrey) and Jamie O’Brien, being able to see their youngest of four, Elizabeth, start her college education on Our Lady’s campus was a positive of this past summer. Joining her on campus was Paul du Vair’s namesake and oldest. Given the unusual circumstances of last fall, Paul was pleased when, six weeks into the semester, his frosh Zahmbie reported that ND had far exceeded his high expectations. To the silver lining query, Mary King responded, “Easy, becoming a grandparent in November and welcoming Peter Eric George IV to this crazy yet wonderful world.” Meg (Egan) Auderset and husband Stephan, like many of us, spent unexpected time with their children. Beginning college (for daughter Susannah, a sophomore at Amherst) and finishing high school (for daughter Ella, who is soon to be a track student-athlete at UNC Chapel Hill) was less than ideal in 2020-21’s remote arrangement. But, lying in bed at night and listening to the girls laughing together up the hall was a joy that Meg didn’t expect to have in 2020. If one must work and attend school from home, Doug Ramler and his family chose to be comfortable weather-wise. They spent this winter in balmy Arizona and avoided Minnesota’s chilly temps. In Pittsburgh, TC Cramer took advantage of the free time to tackle his “meaning-to-do” list, including reconnecting with ND friends and vowing to remain connected moving forward. More of your looking-on-the-bright-side submissions will be shared in upcoming columns. Condolences to Julie Thornberry, who lost her husband, Michael Ledbetter, on Nov. 11. She and daughter Grace are adjusting and finding their way. While Michael dedicated himself to countless pursuits, friendships and interests, he particularly flourished in his role as a stay-at-home dad, embarking with Grace on regular neighborhood adventures. To read his obituary, go to: https://obituaries.seattletimes.com/obituary/michael-ledbetter-1080832900. Finally, Kevin McCloskey brought to my attention that we lost a wonderful one, Paul Avona, on May 16, 2020. Paul followed his ND CHEG degree with an MS from the U of Kansas, in the same field. While working in Tianjin, China, he met and married wife Christian Liu. His sons, Aaron and Aidan, were a source of great pride and companionship. To learn more about Paul, his obituary can be found: messingermortuary.com/obituary/Paul-Avona. — Laurine Megna; PO Box 6847, Avon CO 81620; 970-390-9742; classof1988@alumni.nd.edu

 

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 There Forever

With a heavy heart, I report the death of our classmate, John Duffy. John is survived by his wife, Shari, son Liam, his mom and brothers. He was a defense attorney in Las Vegas NV for nearly 25 years. There was a wonderful obituary written about John; his life was filled with family and friends who will mourn his loss. The obituary included a quote from A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh that captures John’s life: “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.” I was happy to hear from Jeff Linton: “Greetings from SoCal. I am entering my second year as the SoCal, Arizona and Nevada rep on the Notre Dame Law School Association Board of Directors. I am praying we can have in-person board meetings in 2021. I am enjoying my greatest professional experience as EVP, GC and secretary at NextGen Healthcare, a leading healthcare IT company. Our four daughters are navigating the pandemic: Jessica ’18 will graduate from Pepperdine Law School in May; Whitney ’19 is completing her second year as a financial analyst at Bain Capital Credit in Boston; Rachel is a sophomore at ND and on the pom squad. Caroline says she is not going to ND, but she applied. She is a senior at Rosary Academy, a varsity lacrosse goalie and film school applicant. Because I can work from anywhere, we are renting a house in South Bend for the football season so let me know if you are coming in for a game. I hope all are well, safe and healthy.” Amy Maher was elected as a circuit judge for the 3rd Judicial Circuit in Illinois, which covers Madison and Bond counties. She was sworn in on Dec. 7 in the courtroom that was used by her grandfather, Circuit Judge Michael M. Kinney ’31. He retired from the bench in 1972. Amy started her assignment in juvenile court, where she started her career as an assistant state’s attorney in 1989. Stay in touch and stay healthy. Send me updates. — Lori Coticchia; lcoticchia@ruffingmontessori.org; lcoticchia@aol.com

 

89 Sadness and Inspiration

The inspiring stories keep coming. Several of them are mixed with sadness but still have a spirit of strength and love. One came from Karen (McGuigan) Diebel whose late husband, our classmate Donald Diebel MD, passed away in 2002. One of Karen and Don’s three sons, Nicholas, 21, managed to host a golf tournament in November to benefit the Diebel Legacy Fund in Orlando FL, which benefits the Diebel Memorial Clinic for uninsured patients. Our classmate, Don, was a medical doctor and OBGYN and so is his father, N. Don Diebel MD ’68. Shortly after Don’s death, Karen and Don Sr. learned of the Orlando area’s need for medical assistance to women and children with limited financial resources. Karen, Don Sr. and the three Diebel boys, Conor, Liam and Nicholas, are proud of Don’s legacy of giving with the clinic serving patients since 2002. Karen reports that her ND roommate, Catherine (McMenamin) Trevillion is living in Brooklyn with her husband and twin boys, age 6. Another sad but inspiring story was the passing in December of our classmate, John “Heff” Heffernan, of Broadview Heights OH. Borrowing from the beautiful obituary, as passed along by Tom Tisa, Heff was a man of deep faith and strong character. He received his undergraduate accountancy degree from Notre Dame and went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from Case Western U in 1995. He practiced corporate law for 25 years. Heff leaves behind his wife, Cynthia, three stepchildren and two godchildren. A Mass celebrating John’s life was live streamed from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in December. A celebration of John’s life will be held Sept. 26 at his beloved Notre Dame. All his friends and colleagues will be invited. A local celebration will also be held in the summer for his Cleveland area friends and colleagues. I have received several uplifting notes about “getting our class back up on the board” in Class Notes. Thanks for the encouragement. Please keep the messages and updates coming. God bless. Go Irish. — Kerrie (Wagner) Debbs; kwagsnd89@gmail.com

 

89MBA Class Secretary — Maggie DeVoe;

612-845-9662; maggiedevoe@yahoo.com

 

89JD Class Secretary — Jenny O’Leary Smith;

jennyoleary@comcast.net