1980s
1980s
80 “Mike on a Bike”
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Dobbertien has joined us as class treasurer. We also are pleased to report that we won 50 OSU tickets in the NDAA lottery. If you were among the winners, Jim Lukeman has contacted you to make arrangements for payment. Regardless of your game plans, please join us at our class tailgate. Stay tuned for an email with details. As we get older and suffer the aches and pains of age and loss, we are always in need of volunteers for notes, prayers and special intentions. If you would like to help, please contact me or our AngelsonCall@gmail.com. Mike DeBlasi wrote: The day after retiring from his position in Multnomah County in Portland OR, he began a 4,200-mile bicycle ride across the US. Mike started in Astoria OR and finished in Rehoboth Beach DE. When Mike returned to Portland, he started writing a book about the trip, which was published about a month ago on Amazon. The book is titled Mike on a Bike ~ Across the US in 83 Days. Bill Kresse and his wife, Erin, celebrated their 10th anniversary with a two-week tour of Ireland. The trip included a private vow renewal ceremony in the Glendalough National Park in County Wicklow. Ever the loyal son of Our Lady’s University, Bill ended the ceremony by unfurling a Notre Dame flag! Tim McKeogh’s youngest child, Meghan McKeogh, recently graduated from Hillsdale College in MI. That same day Meghan was commissioned a second lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. Cindy Lupica will retire at the end of July. Her last 17-plus years were as general counsel for a national transportation brokerage. Located three minutes from her house, it was family-oriented and understanding of Cindy’s need to be available for her kids as they dealt with the death of Cindy’s daughter Marisa. It was a new area of law that allowed her to grow in her legal career. Now, with the impending birth of a first grandchild, she is ready for a new chapter in life—being a grandparent, volunteering more, learning to paint, honing her woodworking skills and more. We are ever grateful that in Cindy’s loss, she found purpose and has offered her love and experience to any ND parent who has lost a child. Paul Lewis wrote upon his return from a trip to San Francisco to see son Jack ’24 who is interning there. Daughter Clare is a rising sophomore and ready to take on the world studying Mandarin! Hardy Rayam marks 25 years in good health as a two-time liver transplant survivor! Kevin Fisher-Paulson’s third book, Secrets of the Blue Bungalow, was published in August. Kathy Kennelly retired after 38 years as a junior high art educator. She taught in Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Fishers IN. Earlier this year, I noted Mark Palmer’s new history podcast, History Analyzed. It prompted us to schedule a call to catch up on nearly 40 years of news. Though time has flown, we talked as if it were yesterday. Great to hear news of Keenan friends. Our hearts go out to Gregg “Gus” Stefanek and Leslie Brinkley Graumlich, who lost their fathers; to Mike Tuohy whose wife, Kathy, passed away; and to Mike Doherty, who lost his son. We mourn the loss of classmates Richard Miller, Marcia Cunningham Wilhoite and Louanne Snellgrove Bennett. May all the families find peace. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/
80MBA Luck of the Irish
Maureen (Eyres) and Michael Staub ’78, haven’t missed a game in Ireland yet. They attended the ones in 1996, 2012 and 2023 but were shut out from tickets the year of the pandemic, so when the lottery opened this year, she wasn’t taking any chances and submitted for four tickets each for herself, Michael and their son. This time they all won so she was able to accommodate her Irish cousins and friends with tickets that, naturally, she sold to them at cost. Prior to the game in Ireland, Anne and Pat Ward are going to take a few days beforehand to attend a Connacht Whiskey investor meeting in Ballina, County Mayo. Pat says that most of the investors are Notre Dame alumni. I suspect quite a few customers are as well. Paul Katilas writes that he and his wife, Debbie, and their two Boston terriers, Domer and Ginge, are planning their annual trek north to Bethany Beach DE for September to get relief from the sweltering South FL heat and humidity. Paul adds that Labor Day week will be a week-long family beach reunion with attendees coming from FL, CO, NC, MD and Washington DC. Attending will be family alumni Mike Mulhern ’77, Pat Mulhern ’73, Catie Mulhern ’15SMC and 20-plus Notre Dame subway fanatics. Paul also noted that his late father-in-law Neil Macfarlan ’54 USMC raised his three girls right by having them hold Saturday afternoons sacred in addition to Sundays and memorize both the “Notre Dame Victory March” and “The Marines Hymn.” Paul closes by saying he hopes to catch up with Joe Bowers and his brother Jim Bowers ’79 while in DE and also reminded me to drive on the left in Ireland. No worries there, Paul, as I would not even attempt such a feat in the land of Guinness. Writing from Chicago was Mike Maloney whose son Thomas is 50 percent through the Mendoza eMBA program, but Mike and his wife, Cathy (Gallagher) Maloney ’79, are 100 percent finished with their master’s degrees in biology. What a great accomplishment. Now added to the ranks of the officially retired is Mike Previte after 23 years of teaching at Waukesha County Technical College. He says one of his labors of love in retirement is writing for the sports and positive people profiles for the Salem News. This is a revival of sorts for Mike who 43 years ago was writing sports for the Notre Dame Observer. Rick Abordo commented on my Dr. Chang reference in the last column and recalled a funny related event. He says, “In October of 1978 I lost a World Series bet to Dennis Shea. Loser had to wear a full bunny costume to Dr. Chang’s eight a.m. statistics class. When the Yankees beat the Dodgers I had to resign myself to going to a South Bend costume shop with Dennis and renting a full-length rabbit costume, complete with bunny ears and cottontail. I then had to sit through Dr. Chang’s class enduring the smirks of my classmates. Dr. Chang was a good sport about the whole thing and actually shook my paw when I apologized after class.” Finally, the luck of the Irish smiled down on Mike Colbert who after many years of golfing says that on June 21 he got his first hole-in-one playing in a 48-person tournament, adding that it was a very lucky and expensive shot because anyone who gets a hole-in-one has to buy everyone else a drink. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 475-225-1421; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com
80JD Bringing Back Memories
Lots of wonderful news to share. Judy McMorrow is educating scores of law students at Boston College (including mine). Here’s her latest news: “Not retired yet! I was on sabbatical this spring so it was great to not rush. I plodded along with some research and prepared a short essay on the powerful and positive role of a Catholic law school closer to the secular line. (There is literature out there claiming that schools on the secular end [mostly Jesuit] are not authentically Catholic because they are not unique.) I’ll teach torts in the fall and then spend spring 2024 in Ireland running our Dublin program. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it . . . I’ll retire in June 2024. It is a bit exciting to think about who I want to be when I ‘grow up’ and am retired.” Thanks, Professor McMorrow, for your news and for all you do for legal education. Judy, you are a gift to your grateful students and to our profession. The “Rats”—Nick DiGiovanni and I spoke earlier this spring and his life is very busy with the law practice. Lisa and John Hendrickson had another family wedding of their son, in CA. Congrats Lisa and John. Pat Gallagher—it’s time for you to chime in from HI and make our day—as you always did during law school! All you “Rats”—share your latest news, please. Our class photo from May 1980 brought lots of comments. Judge Ethan Bennert Cooper chimed in with “What a great photo! It brings back wonderful memories,” and Kathi Deane proclaimed, “We haven’t aged a bit!” Bev Peyton Griffith sent her news after the picture: “Life is good here, too. All three children— two boys and a girl—live in Brooklyn. I retired right before the pandemic, and John is retiring. We love to travel, so we are glad the world has reopened to travelers. And we all enjoy good health. So many blessings! When I looked at the calendar this morning, I thought, hmmm, there’s something about May 18—how could I have forgotten?! It seems impossible that it was that long ago. I have such great memories of law school because of the people in our class. I wish I had a sharp and clear version of the class picture so I could see individual faces better.” Al Avila loved this picture as well and said, “Wow! Brings back memories. Today also marks 12 years since my son, Chris, graduated from ND Law. Time flies.” Al is still practicing law in Coral Gables at his own law firm and enjoying life. Al, great to hear from you. Jane Farrell’s thoughts on the picture said it all: “Such good people. Bittersweet with those we have lost—for the rest we haven’t changed a bit.” Amen, Jane, so many great people and lost too soon. Debbi Thomas Boye, at Kutak Rock in Chicago, added even more great news: “Thank you. I love this picture! I’m going to send it to my kids and see if they can find me. I’m a grandmother now, born on Jan. 26, 2023 and she is perfect.” Congratulations, Debbi, to you and your whole family on your sweet addition. Debbi joins the ranks of many grandparents in our class. Wendell Walsh is retired from the practice of law and he and his wonderful wife, Nancy, are enjoying their darling grandchildren. Dick Waris and wife Ann are enjoying their two grandchildren. Retired Judge Sue Zwick is enjoying her multiple grandchildren and her children, one of whom is a remarkable musical composer, a graduate of Juilliard and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music—Stefan Cwik. His achievements are fun to read and even more exciting to listen to. Take a look at stefancwik.com and enjoy reading and listening to his compositions on YouTube. Congrats, Sue! We know you are a proud mama of all your children and of Stefan. Very cool. So, everyone, please send the news of your grandchildren and children. It’s fun to see how our families are doing and interesting to see the wide range of professions within our law school class. (How did we get this “mature” to have grandchildren?) Professor Patty O’Hara ’74JD is doing great in retirement in South Bend. She and I meet for dinner and the conversation is always lively and way too short. She sure loves our class and has great memories of those days. Please keep the following classmates in your thoughts and prayers: Dillon and Tom Costa, who mourn the death of their son-in-law, Paul Duncan ’09, and husband of their daughter Ellen ’11. Paul passed away unexpectedly approximately one year ago while out on his regular run. Paul played football for the Irish and the Denver Broncos and his loss is very sharp while Ellen and their two very young daughters are still residing in Atlanta. Please keep Ellen, her young girls, Tommy and Dillon Costa and their whole family in your prayers. A very tough loss. Tom and Dillon, our hearts are with you. Berndette Broccolo lost her father-in-law, Dr. Eugene Broccolo, a remarkable physician in Chicago and wonderful family man. Bernie, our thoughts are with all of you. Thank you all for sending your news. We are a great class. Our bonds are strong and deep, rooted in love and always bring great joy. So, reach out today to a classmate to just say hello and reconnect—make someone’s day. And, of course, please send your news. Stay well. Go Irish. Love to all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com
81 Forty-Six Years and Counting, What?
On deadline for our Class Notes knowing that our USC mini-reunion is either just ahead or just behind you when this magazine gets to your mailbox. I hope we have lots of fodder for Class Notes in the next issue. We are grateful to Keith Melaragno, Janet Bergeron and Mike “Pro” Burke for getting us all together. We are so lucky to have their energy and leadership for the Class of ’81. Thank you to Dorothy Walker and Dave Pusateri for hosting us. And thanks to the legions of classmates who made the trek to campus for a beautiful weekend. Karen Rensberger Weiland and her husband, Ken, attended the events surrounding the Sister Jean Lenz, OSF Endowed Rectorship in Farley Hall in June. Pat Hackett was there along with other Farley alumnae and residents, and Sister Jean’s brother and family. The event had a short program in the newly renovated chapel, a blessing of the plaque, Mass at the Basilica and a reception in the Main Building. In prepared remarks, Jean Gorman said, “The social norms for women at that time didn’t shout ‘be all you can be,’ but with Sister Jean, she created a wonderful Christian community in Farley Hall. . .Sister Jean gave us permission to lead full lives and inspired us to give back. If she were with us today, she would be red-faced and humbled by this newest recognition of her time at Notre Dame, but incredibly proud of all the women and men that she touched!” This rectorship will stand as an enduring tribute to Sister Jean’s gift of self to the Notre Dame community; her ministry remains a model for future rectors at Notre Dame. Karen reports that the legacy of Sister Jean was evident in the spirit of community and joyful sharing that marked this beautiful day. She was one of the truly special people we got to learn from, and laugh with, at Notre Dame. Many of us remember her encouraging us to “grow up and grow deep” in our time with her. To this day, I think Sister Jean was the best listener I ever met. Bill Nellist recently shared an update of what he has been doing, or not doing. He recently retired after nearly 30 years of federal service, all with NGA and its predecessor agencies. His wife, Catherine, retired recently, too. Since last anybody heard from Bill, they had taken ownership of a Havamalt (Havanese-Maltese mix) named Grendel, and will be getting a Cavapoo in a few weeks; her name will be Nymeria and will be an emotional support animal for their daughter, Fiona, who is finishing up her sophomore year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Bill reports that he has finally found a reasonable amount of time to make progress against the weeds in his garden and significantly catch up on his stamp collection that had been on hold for about 20 years. They have become more involved with their church, with Catherine on vestry and Bill on the financial ministry committee. Sounds like a lovely start to retirement! Please join our Class Facebook group to keep the conversation going. You can find about 450 classmates there. And please email updates before our Oct. 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 of you who are now inspired. — Mary Murphy; marymurphy81@alumni.nd.edu
81MBA Here Come the Irish!
Wow! ND vs. Navy in just a few weeks! Where did the summer go? All good on this end. Sheila and I are starting a major renovation to our house and will essentially be homeless for the next three months. We’ve rented a condo nearby so the crew can do their work without us in the way! It should be ready in mid-late October. I plan to attend every ND home game this season—please email or call if you are going to be on campus for any games! Sheila will join me for the USC game, and my daughter, Stefanie, her husband and their three young sons plan to join me for Wake Forest . . . brrrr. It was great to hear from Joyce Soucy. Her husband, Paul, retired in April with not too many retirement pains. He enjoys doing all their financial planning, so that keeps him busy along with being extra hands for one of the local yacht club sailing teams. Now that he’s retired, their travel schedule has picked up. They do a spring (May) and fall (late September) trip while traveling between houses in FL and RI. Joyce does volunteer work in FL at a sea turtle rescue center and an Everglades preserve in West Palm Beach. She works with school-aged children and loves it. They will be heading to Spain for two-plus weeks, and a few months later heading out of Ft. Lauderdale for a 140-day world cruise . . . really looking forward to it. Already planning trips into 2025. Their grandkids have been great (boy age 6 and girl age 3) and they go back to MD to help out when their daughter has to fly to Africa for her job (she’s an analyst for an NGO—think World Health but the US version). Their other daughter lives in Seattle and works for AirBnB as a project manager in Trust . . . waiting on grandkids there . . . hoping for 2024! Jim Connelly also reported in—great to hear from Jim! Retiring and living the beach life in Ocean City NJ is a dream come true. He’s keeping active with swimming, biking, tennis and something new: bodyboarding. Jim’s wife, Irene, has returned to her career after three years caring for her mother. She is working remotely as principal in retirement programs at Leidos in Reston VA. They are fortunate to have our two sons nearby. Older son Jimmy is a lead customer advocate for commercial insurer Epic Brokers and Consultants. Ryan has joined global shipping company Maersk and is gaining both import and export experience as a customer service specialist. Irene and Jim are going to the Pitt game (my undergrad). If any classmates are going that you know of, please email or call Jim— ijconn@comcast.net. If you are reading this column, please send me your current email address—several classmates have retired or simply changed their primary email address. If you are in touch with fellow MBA classmates, please ask them to send me their current email address. Thank you!! Go Irish!! — Steve Simmerman; 3126 E. Desert Broom Way, Phoenix AZ 85048; cell 602-524-7662; srsimmerman@gmail.com
81JD Class Secretary — Michael R. Palumbo;
4729 Casey Lane, Cave Creek AZ 85331; cell 602-703-0358; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com
82 Armstrong Award
After closing the Petras Law Firm PLLC at the end of February 2022, George Petras retired from the practice of law after almost 37 years. George worked for Jester King Craft Brewery in Austin through July and moved from Austin TX with wife Kimberly and their dog, Kiska, to their new home in Kahului, Maui. Kimberly still works remotely for Atkins Global as an architect and George is a tour guide for Maui Brewing Company-Kihei. Carol Mullaney was awarded The James E. Armstrong Award, conferred on a graduate who is a current or former employee of Notre Dame and has rendered distinguished service to the University. Carol currently serves as senior director in the Office of the President, where she helps coordinate operations and communications for the Board of Trustees; leads high-impact, strategic projects; manages and coordinates major University-wide events; and provides critical support to the President’s Leadership Council. Carol led several initiatives associated with dealing with COVID-19 pandemic issues. She eventually became the director of the COVID-19 Response Unit, which included oversight of the hotline, testing center, student compact compliance, contact tracing, care and concern and housing teams. Prior to joining ND as a full-time employee, Carol served on the ND Alumni Association Board of Directors (’01–’04) and was a member of the steering committee for ND Connect. Carol and her husband, Brian McMorrow ’81, live in South Bend. Our youngest son, Kevin (the only one who did NOT go to ND), represented Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship in San Diego CA this past June. Puerto Rico, on their second appearance on the world stage, lost a bid for fifth place in a devastating overtime loss to England. However, PR ended 10th in the tournament. We would like to congratulate all the players, especially those ND grads in the US team who won gold defeating their biggest rival, Canada. It was an unbelievable experience. Sorry for the short column, but again, I need all our classmates to cooperate and send us their whereabouts. Dave and I plan to be at the USC game this fall. Our class game is Oct. 28 vs. Pittsburgh. Hope to see you all soon. As always, please send any updates (nothing major) to keep us all up to date. May the Irish hills caress you. May her lakes and rivers bless you. May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you. — Dave and Tess Lewis; 30 Battle Ridge Road, Morris Plains NJ 07950; cell 973-219-4050; tess@lewislegal.com; dave@lewislegal.com
82MBA Class Secretary — Renne (Amirkanian) Sutherland;
mobile 630-846-2707; reneemsr@aol.com
82JD On the Move
Bruce Baty recently left Bryan Cave and joined the Norton Rose Fulbright firm as a partner in its St. Louis office, although Bruce will remain in Kansas City. Bruce continues to represent clients in the insurance industry on insurance regulatory and reinsurance matters. Congratulations to Tim Nickels, who was named the Best Lawyers 2023 Medical Malpractice “Lawyer of the Year” in Chicago. Carol and I had dinner with Wendy and Tim Nickels at the Morris Inn in July to belatedly celebrate Tim’s daughter Grace’s graduation from ND Law School in 2020. (Between COVID and everyone’s busy schedules, it really did take three years to reschedule this dinner.) My mother passed away in April at the age of 94. Cele Baty came from Kansas City to Dayton OH for the visitation and funeral. Carol and I cannot express how grateful we were for Cele’s presence and support during those difficult days. The friendships we made in Law School are indeed true, lifelong friendships. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com
83 40 Years
Our 40th class reunion took place from June 1- 4 on campus. It is still quite hard to believe that it has been 40 years since we graduated. Many thanks to all those who helped to make the weekend a special event including Clare Padgett, Jean Collier, Bill Bastedo, Theresa DiPasquale, Michael Murphy, Eduardo Magallanez, Kimberly Cornyn, Jack McKenna, Mary (Rauth) and Tom O’Brien, Libby Lyon, Matt Mullen, and Joann Warren. A special note of thanks to Rev. Brian Ching, CSC, ’07 who celebrated our Class Mass held in the St. Teresa of Calcutta Chapel in Johnson Family Hall on Friday evening. In addition to the Mass, hospitality gatherings, seminars and workshops during the weekend, we were also able to gather as a group at the Grotto to recognize and commemorate those members of our class who have passed away since the time we began our journey in 1979. We had a large group of attendees from our class and you can find the list of attendees online at https://reunion.nd.edu/page/whos-coming, which shows a list of those people who registered to attend Reunion. Just prior to the beginning of Reunion Weekend, we received the sad news that Amy (Hirsh) Guarino passed away suddenly. Please keep Amy’s husband and family in your thoughts and prayers. Amy had been a speaker at the “Father Ted Said . . .” seminar series at Reunion 2022 that was held to celebrate 50 years of women at Notre Dame. You can find a link to her talk on the class Facebook page as well as on YouTube. On a personal note, Amy was the first other Notre Dame student I met at the accepted students’ sendoff reception held in NJ when we were still in high school. In other news, Jean Collier will assume the responsibilities of class treasurer. Thanks to Mike Power for his service for many years in that role. Phil Fowler has reported that he is leaving his long-standing law partnership that includes Charlie Falkenberg at Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg LLC in Chicago due to his elevation to the judicial bench. Phil was appointed to the position of Cook County Circuit Court Judge by the Illinois Supreme Court on May 5. If you aren’t a member of the class Facebook page, you may be wondering how to join. It’s simple! On Facebook, search for “Notre Dame Class of 1983” and select join. That’s all there is to it. The page is limited to members of the Class of ’83. We currently have over 550 members and would be very happy to add many more. You’ll be able to reconnect with classmates, see pictures and get news of who will be attending various 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 Class Secretary — John Hilbrich;
630-677-2725; john.hilbrich@gmail.com
83JD Some Sad News
Thanks to Jay Coleman, Ellen La Berge and Bill Hittler for letting me know that our classmate Michael Ripp passed away in February. Prior to his passing, Mike practiced law in Phoenix at Ryley Carlock & Applewhite, focusing on lending, banking and commercial real estate law. Our condolences to Mike’s wife, Beth, and his children Daniel, Brandon (Maddie) and Nicole. For our classmates who participated in the London program, Emmett McAuliffe extends his greetings. Emmett did his 2L at the ND London Centre, but graduated from Vanderbilt Law School. Emmett is the IP chair at Riezman Berger in St. Louis. He is also a DJ at Takashima Record Bar under the name DJ Flavio. Tony Lusvardi has retired from the practice of law, but is now working with a Twin Cities travel agency where he and his wife develop small group trips focused on the charming and authentic aspects of Italian life. Sounds like a great job! Paul Lewis has worked with the Notre Dame Washington Program where, last fall, he spoke to students about this work as the former Department of Defense special envoy for the Guantanamo closure. Please send me an email with an update on you or a fellow classmate for this column. — Ann E. Merchlewitz; cell 507-450-6609; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@smumn.edu
84 Different Paths to Explore
Sue Freeman McCortney is experiencing a unique third act. Her husband, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“LDS”), is a “missionary” doing legal consulting for his church around the globe. Sue travels with him and involves herself in their humanitarian projects in the various countries they visit. In the past year, they have traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Auckland, New Zealand; and Manila, Philippines, and will leave for Hong Kong in September. They have committed to two to three years of this work, which will include trips to Peru, Ghana and South Africa. Sue says it has been a very unique experience as a Catholic to volunteer with the LDS church. In fact, they are the first interfaith couple in LDS history to serve a mission. Tom Schreier hopes many ’84 alums will join the Inspired Leadership Initiative program. Participants can take advantage of enhanced core programming, select individual classes and benefit from lectures, arts, athletics and all that Notre Dame has to offer. To learn more visit the ili.nd.edu website. Applications for the fifth cohort open on Oct. 1. Dr. Eleanor Walker, a radiation oncologist in the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, will be a 2023 American Cancer Society Detroit Discovery Ball Honoree. Dr. Walker is the director/breast radiation oncology, medical director for the Center for Integrative Medicine, Henry Ford Cancer Institute Council/DEIJ representative, institutional PI for NRG oncology research group, the institutional PI for MROQC (MI Radiation Oncology Quality) and the HFHS Health Equity Scholar and Health Disparities Ambassador. Lots of classmates will be heading to Dublin for the Navy game! Meg Ford, Lynne Harris Giordano, Tom Riley, Kep Vadnais, Steve Colburn, Linda Legault Quinn, Monica Grogan, Michael Kitz, Theresa Smith Hohman and Perry Hohman, Elise Dalton Brennan, Tricia and Pat Barry, Neilli Mullen Walsh, Mike Viracola, Ted Schwartz and Julie Vormezeele Dunn all chimed in on the class Facebook page to say they’ll be there! Go Irish! — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net
84MBA Class Secretary — Dhanraj Bhagat;
dbhagat1960@gmail.com
84JD Class Secretary — Matthew Dunn;
773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com
85 Global Outlook
After 33 years of working for Fortune 100 employers in the R&D pharma industry, John (Wachter) Walker decided to make the switch to philanthropy. He relocated from Minneapolis (his home for the past 18 years) to Seattle and is now the senior program officer in global health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His work focuses on developing and supplying contraception, HIV and polio eradication therapies for low- and middle-income countries. Looking forward to receiving your emails soon! — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net
85JD A Happy Update
Brief but spectacular news: Samuel Lincoln Scheper was born April 20 to Stephanie and Dan Scheper, daughter-in-law and son of Barb and Dave Scheper. Congratulations to all! I continue my world travels and in July spent two weeks in the UK visiting friends and attending a fitness festival with my youngest son (by one minute), Aidan, who recently completed a master’s degree in Latin and starts a job as a high school Latin teacher this fall. Vita Dulcedo Spes. I look forward to hearing about your own odysseys. Please send your news to me. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu
86 New Zealand Anyone?
Martha Sommers relocated to New Zealand to work at Te Hiku Hauora (https://www.tehikuhauora.nz/about-us/). It’s an extraordinarily innovative Maori-run health system serving the NW corner of the North Island. If any classmates get lost that way, she lives near the “90-mile beach” and has a guest room. Pete Weis is a physician/rheumatologist living in San Diego with wife Leslie and daughter Marianna. Pete attended Creighton U School of Medicine ’90, was a Navy physician until 2010, and since then has practiced at San Diego’s Scripps Clinic. He is still great friends with Stanford Hall roommate Jim Larson, who lives 3 miles away! Ken Griffo celebrated 30 years living in the Triangle region of NC. Years ago, Ken served as president of the ND Club of Eastern NC. He now serves an active role on the board, focusing mostly on faith-based activities. Ken and Stephanie raised three sons in the Raleigh area and are now empty-nesters. Stephanie is an OSU grad (Oklahoma State U, the original OSU). Ken celebrated 36 years with IBM as the global SAN sales executive. Last March, Ken and Stephanie coordinated a visit from the Belles Voix (SMC) and ND Glee Club. Ken is a Glee Club alumnus and was delighted to help bring this unique event to life. A historical first, both choirs performed in concert at Raleigh’s new Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral. More than 700 people attended! They look forward to seeing everyone at USC! Dillonites Bob Carillo, Mike Connors and Jim Sinnott gathered last summer at Bob’s lake house for a crazy weekend on the water, and then again in MD (along with Jim Ball) to watch ND Lax beat Johns Hopkins. Irish No. 1! In 2010, Dave Shine started a medical device company (dBMEDx). He has also worked with some med device startups at ND’s IDEA Center and recommends alums sign up for their newsletter and help out if possible. He and Shannon (Oakes) Shine ’88 just celebrated their 31st as their twins Andrew ’23 and Piper ’23 graduated. Watching graduation in the stadium was really a thrill, but bittersweet. Andrew got his computer engineering degree, was president of ND Martial Arts Club and is working for SEAKR, a Denver aerospace firm. Piper was an RA in Walsh Hall (and former hall president) and Baraka Bouts captain, and she got her psychology degree, gender studies major and sustainability minor. Kerry Dixon’s dad passed away on April 19. He was Class of ’56, the first to have Father Ted sign diplomas, as ours was Father Ted’s last. They loved sharing ND experiences, among them her father’s epic tailgaters! Her son Jackson Fox is Creighton U ’23 (Phi Beta Kappa) and headed for a year of service in the DR working for Creighton’s ILAC center before entering med school. Kerry is with ENGIE at U of Iowa as program manager for capital improvements. Mike Brogioli works in DC for TASH, a disability advocacy organization. He has enjoyed a stream of visitors including Greg Ladner, Rick Stubbs, Tim Buckley, Steve Breaux, John Geelan and Nick Steck. After 30-plus years of trying, Mike Roberts convinced ND Law School pal Jim Flynn ’87, ’90 to merge their two historic OH firms where they have each spent their careers to form 220-lawyer Bricker Graydon, where Jim is managing partner. Mike is busy with two grandsons, Michael and Charlie. Scott LeMay’s daughter Moira LeMay ’20SMC married Eric Goodman ’20 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on July 8. Ken Iwanski attended and Father Mark Thesing, CSC, celebrated. Watch for USC weekend emails! Take care and God bless! — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com
86MBA Class Secretary — Maureen (Mullan) Decker;
21855 Town Gate, Macomb MI 48044; bus 586-741-4305; mobile 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org
86JD Life Is Fine
In grandparent news, Liz ’79 and Paul Peralta became grandparents for the first time last year when their oldest, Katie (Peralta) Soloff ’10, and husband Jesse welcomed Talia. Middle daughter, Ellen ’12, tied the knot with Brian Disher this summer in Paradise Valley MT. Paul and Liz occasionally escape Charlotte for their place in Black Mountain NC, where their neighbors are Eileen (Beadling) and Pat Doran. The Dorans have two grandchildren and while they continue to make their principal residence in Topeka, they hope to relocate more permanently to NC. In other grandparent news, Wayne Malecha became a grandfather for the first time on Feb. 3 of this year, when son Patrick and daughter-in-law Kaitlyn graced the planet with Ronan Archer, reportedly spectacular in every respect. In regular parent news, Peter Lutz writes that his eldest daughter is a rising senior at Providence College and his oldest son is beginning his freshman year at GW. Youngest son is a high school junior and youngest daughter enters the seventh grade. That’s years still of college tuition payments for Peter, poor guy. Peter sent along a photo of him, John Gurganus, first assistant US attorney for Middle District of PA, and Tony Monaco, CEO and corporate counsel for Rochester Colonial Mfg. Corp., when those three took in a round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill CC. Tony reports that his and Vicky’s son, Nicholas, was married last June in a villa overlooking Florence, Italy, after which Vicky and Tony spent three days in Rome hosting dinners for family and friends before spending some recovery time on the Italian Riviera. In other European travel news, recent re-appointee to the Texas Board of Law Examiners, Theresa (Ereon) Giltner, attended the ND vs. Navy game in Dublin with her husband followed by some travel time in Scotland. Also, by the time you read this, my wife, Sherry, and I will have spent a couple weeks floating the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel. For next summer, Mary McPherson reports that she has tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympics and requests restaurant recommendations. John Glowacki is the new senior alumni rep for the East Region of the ND Senior Alumni Board of the ND Alumni Association, working with ND Alumni Clubs in that region. (John, remember to speak loudly and clearly at those meetings.) FL attorney and federal equity receiver Mark Bernet and wife Sandy recently closed on a 7.5-acre lakefront lot in KY where they plan to build their retirement home. Tom Lange shared letters of thanks from three current NDLS students who are beneficiaries of financial support from the Law Class of ’86 / McCafferty Fund. I will share these letters with you via email but know that they clearly demonstrate the impact of your contributions—please keep them coming in. Finally, David Corrigan shared a story about his brother, National Champion ND Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan, which I am printing verbatim because it is good: “About an hour after the Irish victory in the national championship game—13–9 over Duke—Kevin was making his way across the parking lot toward the 3,000 happy Irish fans, a large percentage of whom played for Kevin or were related to someone who played for Kevin in his 35 years as head coach. Starting about 100 yards away from the throng, he couldn’t take a step without families, young and old, stopping him for a handshake and a hug. Some had him place his hands on their child’s head for a blessing or requested an autograph. This went on for three hours. It was like the final scene in It’s a Wonderful Life and also like he was the pope.” — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com
87 Milestones
Happy summer, Class of ’87! I hope by the time you’re reading this, the Irish are in the middle of a winning football season. I haven’t been to a game for several years, but just made arrangements to swing through South Bend on my way back to Switzerland, for the Ohio State game. I’m really looking forward to it, and a late September game usually means good weather. Should be a great weekend and I hope to see many of you there. Deb Argus and Paul Duvair ’88 have three children at Notre Dame this fall—a senior and sophomore twins. This was all the news I got from her, but she’d love to hear from classmates and included contact information in her email. My understanding is that the column doesn’t publish these details, but if you’d like to reach her, contact me and I’ll happily pass the information along. Wonderful career news from Ellen McDonald—she’s taken a new job of general counsel at shift5.io, which is a startup based in VA. She’ll remain living in the Bay Area but will travel frequently to VA, and she’d like to catch up with ND friends in the area. She also told me that she, Joan Harvath and Susan Scott met for dinner a few months ago, a mini fall London program reunion. Meredith Healy Duncan and Greg Duncan ’86’s eldest daughter, Kathleen ’13, got married in June on Cape Cod, and it was a great chance for Leah Weis McDonald, Lisa Thummess Kovalik, Connie O’Connor Klenke and me to get together for the weekend. John Nickodemus was also there—fantastic to see him. The wedding was gorgeous and a highlight was an Irish dance performed by the bride and her siblings, all of whom are very accomplished Irish dancers. It’s something very special to see the next generation get married and start their adult lives, and I feel very grateful to have been there. Speaking of the kids starting their adult lives, I see tons of your exciting news on social media—graduations, weddings, grandchildren. I never publish things unless you let me know that you’d like it to appear in this column, but I know there are a lot of happy milestones occurring out there! Write and let me know, so we can share your joy. In the meantime, Go Irish! — Meg Brennan Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com
87MBA Look for the Flag
All, football season is upon us. I am looking forward to seeing many of you on campus this fall. We haven’t received much news from our classmates as of yet. Let’s keep the information flowing; let’s stay in contact. Remember the Canadian tailgate is always there on game days . . . look for the Canadian flag, directly east of Legends in Stadium Parking Lot. Go Irish! — Perry N. Dellelce; Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Suite 800, Wildeboer Dellelce Place, 365 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario M5H 2V1; 416-361-5899; fax 416-361-1790; perry@wildlaw.ca
87JD More Grandchildren
Caroline and Tony Bonacci are delighted to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Gia Marie Bonacci. Ruth and Mike Richardson are also overjoyed to welcome their first grandchild into the world, Fiona LeClaire Richardson. Tony Foley is in Chicago doing cyber and privacy work for Wolters Kluwer. Tony’s wife, Jan, is VP/corporate counsel at Cramer-Krasselt. Their oldest, Bridget, graduated with her master’s in musicology from Indiana U’s Jacobs School of Music and is now getting her doctorate at Northwestern. Their youngest, Claire, was promoted to a loan operations manager at Metropolitan Capital Bank in Chicago. Tony caught up with Paul Castiglione at the American Music Festival in Chicago over the Fourth of July holiday. Kristin (Tomonto) Jaros and her husband finally went on their cruise to AK. Their trip was originally scheduled for 2020 to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, but due to COVID it had been canceled three times. Paul Lochner was recognized by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan for 30 years of service as a prosecutor (state and federal). Paul sees retirement ahead of him in the near future. Mary (Ambrose) Gerak received visits in Chicago from Karen Morrison and her son Max, as well as Karen Koster and her husband. Mary later returned the visit at Karen’s home in Marquette MI. Ed Kelly is on track for 2,500 miles of bicycle riding this year, including the Ohio to Erie Trail from Cincinnati to Cleveland. Chip Lewis proudly reports that his son, John Paul ’23, is heading to Indiana U’s School of Medicine. Jeff Hahn and his wife, Carol, are planning a trip to Ireland and London this fall. Carol is the controller for a commercial construction company in Chicago and has been assisted on some legal matters by John Farnan and Juan Bermudez. Robin (Binder) Heath retired in 2022 and is currently writing a murder mystery novel. Robin’s husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer but is doing great thanks to the work of the doctors at the U of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Robin, Ann Morales and Jan Castonguay had a mini reunion in San Diego last year. James Scranton checked in from NY where he moved after graduation. James practiced securities and reinsurance litigation for a number of years but had a career change in the early 2000s and is now a computer programmer. James has been with Allianz Global Investors for the past 15 years. Carl Livingston is the lead professor in the political science department at Seattle Central College. An article that Carl wrote, published in the Howard University Law Journal 25 years ago warning that affirmative action would come to an end if the civil rights community does not work to save it, is getting renewed attention. Kent Mitchell checked in to say that he remains steadfast and in good spirits in his fight against liver cancer. Please keep Kent in your thoughts and prayers. Please send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com
88 Can Still Party Like It’s 19 . . . 88
Seizing the opportunity to enjoy the company of such quality humans—“making new friends and keeping the old” as the Girl Scout song goes—dozens of classmates saw hours of the morning not seen in a while! We put the mishaps behind us the first evening, with Mary Marley stepping off the sidewalk and breaking her ankle and Kitty Duffy upending the Linebacker in search of her much-needed glasses. (Fortunately, they both went on to enjoy the weekend.) A highlight of Reunion was our Class Mass on Friday. Rev. Paul Kollman, CSC, ’84, ’90, brother of Ken Kollman, was an attentive celebrant who set an intimate, class-specific tone to our Liturgy. Thank you to Meg (Egan) Auderset, Margaret Clarkson and Mike Hawley for serving as well-prepared lectors; to Kitty Duffy and Vivian (Dickson) Linder for composing and delivering the Intercessions; to Joelle (Bafile) Chapman and Moira (Hogan) Mitchell for bringing up the gifts; to Colleen (Dowd) Kollman, Lisa Orchen, John Omernik and Kevin Doherty for being our Ems; and to Amy (Humphrey) O’Brien, Theresa (Lawton) Hawley and Mary (Miller) Hamlin for guiding us in song. Thanks also to Mike Kurowski, Patty (Chopp) Keegan and Bill Gartland for assisting with the candle-lighting ceremony to honor our deceased classmates. With Bill Gartland’s help, I have updated the spreadsheet of classmates whom we’ve lost too soon so we have the most accurate list for the future. Lisa Orchen ’88, ’94MDiv reflected that she had a fantastic time at Reunion as the years melted away and friendships were revived. She was thrilled that, as usual, the gang from PW was a presence and noted that the Class Mass in the Dunne Hall Chapel was her high point. She and husband John live in Wethersfield CT and became empty-nesters in September. Their daughter, Elizabeth, is an ND sophomore living in Ryan Hall, and their son, John, just started at Fairfield U. When Lisa’s mom passed into eternal glory last Easter Monday, seven years of cross-country caregiving came to a close. Lisa continues in parish ministry and is actively discerning her next steps as her season of raising kids and caring for parents concludes. Moira (Hogan) Mitchell observed that it was the best of the Reunions that she’s attended at ND, noting that, while she certainly appreciated the many offerings of lectures and activities, her favorite part was reconnecting with longtime friends while having the chance to meet other classmates, leaving with new friends and plans for future get-togethers. She also added—and this is big—that her husband, Kent, and Joelle’s husband, Ed, neither Domers, expressed that they had great experiences all weekend. As of year’s end, Moira will have been practicing law in CA for 30 years. While she worked as a civil litigator for most of her career, she became certified as a family law specialist in 2013, thus transitioning over to the practice of high-conflict family law. Her days are intense as she litigates hotly disputed divorce, custody and property division matters and mediates such cases privately too. It’s no wonder that she recently told Kent that they needed to plan their exit strategy. This led to the decision to purchase a waterfront home and property in Eastern TN, as they’ve always wanted to live on a lake. Thanks to the comity process offered via the TN state bar, she plans to continue practicing law. Moira’s dad, son Eamon (a senior studying musical theater), daughter Giovanna (in law school) and granddaughter Bella Lucia will be relocating with them. Promoting Kent’s Cocktail Cruises that will depart on their double-decker party boat at 5 p.m. daily, they are excited to welcome visitors. Regarding Reunion, Joelle (Bafile) Chapman shared that it was great to be home again, spending time with people who matured alongside her—specifically Jessica Quinn, the PW crew, the Lyons gals, her London classmates and Dennis Fitzpatrick. She appreciated having real conversations of life’s successes, struggles and blessings, along with the cold beers, memories and jokes. Regarding her dining hall conversation about “best parenting” practices and who gets that award, the verdict is still out, and the memory of it continues to make her smile. Dave Duncan shared that he and his wife, Kari (O’Connell), are pairing a trip to Ireland for the Navy game with a visit to London to meet with some classmates from their semester there. — 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 Good News
Hello, friends! Just a few updates. Brian Pummill’s daughter, Maggie, just broke the Pummill 2–2 ND-SMC tie, and enrolled in the SMC 4+1 BS-MS program in speech pathology. She will be SMC ’27 and ’28 if the plan holds. They will be moving Maggie into her new home in August (so Brian won’t be retiring anytime soon!). Daughter No. 3, Molly Pummill-Stiegman ’14, having recently completed service as an officer in the US Navy submarine force, is now expecting a baby boy this August. He is their fifth grandchild! Congrats on all your good news, Brian! Jeff Linton reports he is still general counsel at NextGen Healthcare. Linton daughters update: Jessica ’18 is a lawyer and talent agent for Evolved Talent, which represents streamers, gamers and social media influencers (who knew!). Whitney ’19 is a director of corporate development for Vox Media and will be doing a side gig as an Indianapolis Colts cheerleader this year! Rachel ’23 graduated from ND in May and will begin pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy at USC this fall. And, that annoying song is banned from Jeff’s house! Caroline (turned down ND) will be a junior at Chapman in Orange County in film and documentaries and spent the last semester in Prague where she interned for the One World Human International Rights Documentary Film Festival. Jeff hopes to see many at the OSU game! Thanks for the update, Jeff! Rumor has it Joe Karaszewski just started a two-year term as president of the Notre Dame Law Association Board. Congrats, Joe, and way to rep our class! Keep the news coming and Go Irish! — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com; lcoticchia@ruffingmontessori.org
89 Catholics in Good Standing
Wow, lots of great news pouring in. Perhaps it has something to do with our Class Reunion coming up in less than one year! Mike McConnell wrote to share the good news about his band, Catholics in Bad Standing. They have been asked to play at our 2024 reunion and Mike says they are all in! It will be the band’s third time playing at our reunion and they are already thinking up new songs (from the ’80s, that is) to try out! It will be an SYR kind of Saturday night so get ready to dance, ’89ers! Another update from Kathleen McKernan Whitfield from Plano TX where she lives with her husband, Paul, who retired in the fall of 2019. Kathleen started teaching English at their large neighborhood public high school and teaches mostly 12th graders. She also sponsors the Hope Squad, which is a club that focuses on suicide prevention. Kathleen was also her school’s “Teacher of the Year” for 2022. Her and Paul’s eldest, Peter, is discerning diocesan priesthood. May we please pray for Peter. He is on a path, God willing, to be ordained a priest in 2025. The Whitfields also have three other adult children, a middle schooler, and two grandbabies, all of whom are doing well. Christine Caponigri Frech wrote after having just returned from Cecilia Bryer’s wedding. There were two big events in as many months for a crew from PE. Cecilia married Brian Filak in OH on July 1 and Christine attended along with Dina Colucci, Maraya Goyer Steadman, Adrienne Quill, Mary Ryan Rebholz and Anne VonLuhrte along with Anne Marie Martersteck Sullivan and Jim Sullivan. Cecilia, Maraya, Anne Marie and Jim also connected over graduation weekend since they all had 2023 graduates. Cecilia is also expecting her first grandchild in November, while Mary’s two daughters are getting married in 2024. These PE’ers say they are all so very grateful for their friendship that began almost 40 years ago at ND. And finally, an update from Theresa DeGirolamo McKenna, who lives with her family in Houston and is thrilled to report that her son Carter (finance ’27, Fisher) will be joining his brother Kevin (finance ’25, Siegfried) at ND this fall. Theresa and her husband, Dan McKenna ’95, are headed to Dublin for the Navy game in August with other ’95 grads. Plus, they are headed to the Ohio State, USC and Wake Forest games to embrace being footloose and fancy-free empty-nesters! This may be a recurring theme for us! Please keep the news coming. God bless. Go Irish. — Kerrie (Wagner) Debbs; kwagsnd89@gmail.com
89MBA Class Secretary — Margaret DeVoe;
612-845-9662; maggiedevoe@yahoo.com
89JD Loss, Life and Milestones
It is with profound sadness that I report the loss of our friend and classmate Neil Maune. Neil died after an accident at his FL home in July. He was a kind and generous man of faith, a great friend with an infectious laugh, a successful lawyer, a humble servant in his communities, and most importantly, a loving and devoted father and husband. Please keep Neil’s sons, Tom and Will, his wife, Diana, and his stepsons, Aben and Garrett Johnson, in your prayers. Rest in peace, Neil. Jane (Doetsch) ’90JD and Paul Pasin report that Paul is making strides in his rehabilitation after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome in May. Although they have been through some serious challenges, Paul is steadily regaining his ability to walk, among other things. Paul and Jane are both deeply grateful for the wonderful medical care Paul has received, and for the outpouring of love and support from friends. Please keep the Pasins in your prayers as Paul continues on his road to full recovery. Finally, on a much lighter and happier note, Geri Drozdowski and her husband, Mark Behnke, are delighted to report that their daughter, Alexis Behnke, will be a first-year law student at Notre Dame Law School this fall. It is a pleasure to see the next generation get to enjoy the path we took so many years ago. Congratulations, Alexis (and Mom and Dad)! — Jenny O’Leary Smith; 312-504-2298; jennyoleary@comcast.net