1980s
1980s
80 Stay Tuned
After the success of our class game at ND vs. Cincinnati in October 2021 and the tailgate led by Beth LaRocca and Karen Pierce, we are planning another weekend this fall. Thanks to Jim Lukeman who will take the lead on the football tickets. Details are TBD pending our success with the NDAA ticket lottery. When we know more, and certainly before the general ticket lottery, we’ll let you know by email and on our class Facebook page. Mark Palmer writes that he is enjoying retirement after 31 years as an attorney. Mark has returned to his true love—history—with a podcast called History Analyzed. The Palmers live in Santa Monica. Our monthly virtual prayer emails prompted Father Marty Miller to note that he has moved back to the Notre Dame area (in fact to Notre Dame Avenue!). He worked in chemical engineering (after getting a master’s in CHEG at Columbia U) as the acting production supervisor for a plant in Milwaukee. Following that, he directed a center for Opus Dei there. In 1990 Marty continued his studies for the priesthood in Rome and Spain, and was ordained in Rome in 1994. Father Marty will assist the Angels team by walking to the Grotto, lighting candles, and praying for us and our intentions. If he has available Masses, he will pray for the intentions of our class members and their families. The Oct. 31, 2022, edition of The Observer, in a story on the ND DC program, mentioned our own Paul Lewis who spoke to the students about his work winding down Guantanamo Bay. Another ND publication, in its November edition, The Golden Domer (published by the NDAA Senior Alumni) featured our class’ Angels on Call program. Terri Wareham hosted “Joe Fest,” in memory of Joe Carey, at her home in the Chicago area. Among the attendees were Joe’s wife, Nancy, and their sons Kyle and Ryan ’12, with his wife, Jillian, and Maureen Murphy, Mary Ellen Woods, Anne Talluto, Steve Wrappe, Ken Kadleck, Beth Larocca, Dave Osborn, Chris Ahearn ’79, and Murph’s sister, Kathleen Murphy ’84SMC. Joe’s sisters and their husbands also joined the gathering: Susan ’77 and Brad Matson and Sheila and Rein Rager. Joe’s son, Patrick, was in CO working on his master’s degree. Paula (Meyer) Brunn announces the addition of three new grandchildren added to their family in a seven-month period, bringing their total to five. Lots of miles have been traveled to regularly see the newbies in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Ann Arbor! In December 2022, Joe Barthel was inducted into the Pi Alpha National Honor Society for physician assistants. Joe was inducted as a physician for recognition of significant academic achievement, many contributions to the physician assistant profession, professionalism, leadership, research, service, and a high standard of character and conduct. Joe has been the associate medical director and a professor for the Florida Gulf Coast U Physician Assistant Master’s Studies Program. Beth Larocca, Karen Pierce, Ann (McRedmond) Waddey, and Molly (McLaughlin) Rhine attended the wedding of Kathy (McCann) and Bob Carey’s daughter in Chicago. Other attendees included John Muldoon, Mike Segobiano, and husband Greg Desmond ’83. The Lyons Ladies’ festivities continued at dinner later in the week with Cindy (Casper) Durley, Cindy (Cronin) Cahill, and Mary (Blachowicz) Lewis. Wilhelm “Wim” Dingler reports that his eldest son, Dr. Aaron Joseph Wilhelm Dingler ’07, ’12, ’13, is a professor at our alma mater in the Department of Engineering. His PhD from ND was in computer science engineering nanotechnology. His wife, Ashely Oberst Dingler ’07SMC, is the mother of five of Wim’s nine grandchildren. Our hearts go out to Kathy McCann Carey who lost her mother and to Dan Letcher who lost his son, Ryan. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/
80MBA Cooking in Ireland
It was great to hear from Anoop Rai who wrote to say that he and his wife, Pat, traveled to Europe last August. Pat had recently retired and decided to attend a five-week cooking class in Ballymaloe, Ireland. They first made stops in Rotterdam and London to see old friends and then on to Ireland for a tour of Donegal where Pat visited the gravesites of her mother’s siblings. While Pat was attending the cooking class, Anoop was working away in a small cottage and describes what a great view he has watching the Irish mists roll in and out with an occasional burst of sunshine in between. He says that the sea is blue and clear there but cold, yet they planned on taking a dip anyway. Mike Traeger said that it was great to catch up with Enrique Baena, who came up for the game in Las Vegas with two friends from Mexico. Mike noted that Enrique literally has not aged a day since our graduation. We should all be so lucky. One of the happiest Tulane graduates is Bill Homer who said that the Green Wave’s win over Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl was their most thrilling win ever. Still enjoying the many blizzard photos posted by my family who live in and near Buffalo from our home in Lakeland FL, writes Doug Cooper who adds that he continues to be the guy who prepares and presents the AV materials at Holy Masses each Sunday and Holy Days, and he was recently elected a Knight of the Third Degree by his local council. Doug’s daughter Jenna has been appointed chancellor of the Diocese of Winona in Rochester MN recently by Bishop Robert Barron, of Word on Fire fame. Doug is especially thankful to Kevin Phelan who years ago gave some much-valued guidance on diocesan careers. Not to be outdone, wife Judy has begun her work as a docent at their local art museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, and has had a short story published in an anthology compiled by the Make a Wish Foundation. Congratulations to the entire Cooper family. Paul Katilas is always good for a laugh when he wrote recently that you know you are getting old when the most eventful thing in your life is cataract surgery. On the plus side, Paul is hoping to see the golf ball better but more importantly says that he is blessed to have his eyesight improved. Ever the traveler in retirement, Scott Jessup, his wife, Janet, and their goldendoodle Finn are leaving shortly for a two-month motorhome tour of the western states. Scott said that it seemed like a good idea at the time when they ordered the motorhome two years ago and it finally showed up last November. Scott writes that they’ve never done anything like this before and they have no agenda, itinerary, or applicable skills so what could possibly go wrong. If anyone is interested their dog will be posting about the trip progress on his Instagram account @Finn_Wonder_Dog. He adds that Finn is a known liar so don’t believe everything you read. Please drop me a line anytime. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 475-225-1421; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com
80JD Morales Lives On
Blessings, sympathies, and prayers to our classmate RJ Keefe on the passing of his spouse and our classmate, Kathy Moriarty. Kathy was a leader in Bitcoin and in her firm during her entire professional life. She was the hit of our first year, particularly Charlie Rice’s tort class. Remember the Valentine’s Day when Jenny Durkan (now mayor of Seattle) presented Prof. Rice with roses? Kathy was behind that fun and probably orchestrated it. God rest your soul “Morales.” That girl from Montclair NJ and Smith College will live in our hearts and memories. RJ—we are thinking of you and sending love. Judy Gunderson Muncy, thanks for getting this news to all of us. You have been a great friend to RJ and Kathy. Kathy’s passing has been a loss for you, too, and for all who lived with and shared fun with Kathy during law school. Bob Blais’s daughter, Kelsey Blais Dobson, an ND grad, has written a rhyming children’s book all about Notre Dame. Your grandkids will love it! Help your little Domers learn about Notre Dame. Take a look at Kelsey’s website for purchase details and to download free coloring pages for the little Irish lovers in your life: www.atozofnd.com. Thanks to wonderful Kathi Deane for letting us know about this book gem. Kathi, you are always “in the know.” Reach out and connect with a classmate this week, this month, this season. Life is short and we need each other. Love to each of you and yours. Always, Go IRISH. Please send your news! — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com
81 Celebrating You
Class officers are working on our next home football weekend—tickets and a tailgater—for this fall. Please watch for updates via email and our class FB page. John Schafer retired this year after practicing law for over a decade and serving as a judge for 25 years. He will continue to mediate cases. John lives in Cary NC with his wife, Allison, and they frequently visit and travel with classmates and their families. Bill Corrigan was recently appointed to serve as the deputy attorney general for the state of MO. Michael Molinelli’s YouTube channel, Architecture Codex, has over 1,000 subscribers. It is a video blog that discusses the most inspiring buildings in the world, with information, insight, opinion, and humor. After 16 years, Brien Rourke made the pilgrimage for the September victory over Cal. He traveled with George Blanthorn ’80 and George’s son Christopher ’22. Joining the game: Michael Briganti, Robert Hurban ’79, Michael Elser ’79 and daughter Erin ’06, and John Garofalo ’77. They reconvened in Manhattan for their 42nd annual Christmas dinner, joined by Mike’s wife, Sheila Diener Elser ’80SMC, and founding attendee John Gallina ’77. Tom Langan and his wife, Maureen, hosted classmates for their daughter’s wedding last November in Farmington Hills MI. Bowling on Thursday, wedding ceremony and reception on Friday, and then the game watch as the Irish stomped Clemson on Saturday. Attendees included Mike Wood, Pat Glennon, Kathleen (McManus) and Steve de Groot, Tracy (Blake) deVlieger, Gerry Garcia, Katie (Walsh) Breslin, Tim Comerford, Barb (Hayes) and Ray Schmitt, Peter Paganelli, Dr. John Solari, Kelly (Gaffney) Selassie, Kevin Cleary, and Jim Veraldi. Just for fun, here are a few stories of random encounters with classmates over the years: Mary Ahern and Pat Byrnes and a bunch of others from ND ended up in a high school gym in Julesburg CO after getting caught in a massive blizzard that closed the roads. The National Guard was hauling people off the road in troop trucks. Janet Bergeron and Bill Corrigan ran into each other on the Amtrak Empire Builder, eastbound from Glacier National Park. Bob Kelly ran into Ed Callahan at 3 a.m. in a truck stop in the middle of Nebraska. Both families were heading to CO to ski over Christmas. I ran into David Jenkins in the Cincinnati airport, getting on the same plane to the West Coast. He was just at ND our freshman year and I had not seen him since but the conversation picked up where it left off. Please pray for the family and friends of Rich Lamping who passed away last August. Rich hailed from Pittsburgh and enjoyed a career in the commercial leasing sector of the transportation industry. He was a 40-plus-year season ticket holder of the Pittsburgh Penguins and attended amateur hockey games across North America and Canada. He was also a season ticket holder of the Pitt and Steeler football teams. Family and friends will miss his encyclopedic knowledge of all things, especially the French and Indian Wars, calculus, and genealogy. He was a member of the Sierra Club and hiked and camped in more than 15 national parks and forests. Please join our class FB group to keep the conversation going. You can find about 450 classmates at facebook.com/groups/23097123106. And please email updates before April 20—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 Class Secretary — Steve Simmerman;
3126 E. Desert Broom Way, Phoenix AZ 85048; cell 602-524-7662; srsimmerman@gmail.com
81JD An Afternoon with the Ambassador
Nancy (Helling) and Mark Gargula celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary with a trip to Italy in October, staying in Positano for five days and Rome for four days, and visiting Capri and Pompeii in between. During their time in Rome, they had the chance to enjoy lunch and a visit with Joe Donnelly, the US Ambassador to the Holy See, and experienced “life as an ambassador” for an afternoon. Nancy and Mark were particularly impressed with the ambassadorial residence, which Joe and Jill have decorated with plenty of ND memorabilia. They were also taken aback by the security detail that attends the ambassador (a four-vehicle entourage), and, of course, the deference he receives in public places. Nancy included a picture of Joe, Mark, and herself. All three look great. Dan Smith has been busy with his website, bountyboycott.com, which is intended to help people make informed ethical decisions regarding companies which fund their employees’ abortions. He has also written several articles at Illinoislife.blogspot.com to argue that legalized abortion makes all preborn children slaves in violation of the 13th Amendment. Characteristically, Bill Fearnow informs that when people conversationally ask, “So, what you been up to, Bill?” he responds, “Nothing. I’m retired.” Brian McDonough inquired whether the reference to Bob Allen’s 11-year-old son in the last edition of class notes was a typo. He asked if we meant to say grandson? I have not received a report from Bob Cimala and Ellen McLaughlin about their three-week trip to Morocco and Egypt where they planned to ride camels, go glamping in the desert, float down the Nile, and stand at the foot of the pyramids. They were trying to decide whether they had the nerve to join their adventurous friends and go hot air ballooning in the Valley of the Kings at sunrise. Come on, Ellen and Bob, we are on the edge of our seats. Joe Holston reports that he is retiring at the end of the year (2022) and for the third year in a row he did a golf marathon for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter. He played 144 holes (eight rounds) in one day in September. Over the three years he raised more than $175,000. Sad news. Heide Masano’s mother passed away recently at the age of 96 (God bless her), and she requests that we all pray for the repose of her soul. Good luck and Go Irish. — Michael R. Palumbo; 4729 Casey Lane, Cave Creek AZ 85331; cell 602-703-0358; bus 602-262-5931; mpalumbo@jsslaw.com
82 Celebrating Life
In January, I teamed up with Michael Lynch, Rob Cozie, and Steve Linehan in Weston FL for the annual Florida Lacrosse Classic tournament. The Notre Dame alumni team called the HouNDs, which also included Kevin Campion ’81, Chuck Neff ’81, Jack Murphy ’81, Bob Durgin ’81, and Al Pinado ’83, competed in the 60+ division and took home a trophy. This annual tournament, which benefits youth lacrosse in Florida, is always a great time for ND lacrosse alumni to get together for some friendly competition followed by tailgating fun. Notre Dame also fields a 55+ team with both squads always looking for more alumni to join. If you’re interested, please call me. Rob lives in Elkhart IN with his better half, Michelle, and their four children: Michael, David, Maria, and Gabriella. Rob is now employed as an in-house counsel working remotely with LinQuest Corporation, an aerospace and defense company headquartered in Herndon VA. When not working, Rob enjoys golfing, playing lacrosse and basketball, and assistant coaching his children’s sports teams. Brian M. Reimer passed away on Jan. 21, 2022, from complications of cancer. He graduated with a degree in theology and served as a religion teacher in Ann Arbor MI. Brian received his JD degree at the U of Maryland and worked as an attorney for the US Postal Service for more than 30 years before retiring in 2020. He was married to Patricia Simpson and had two children: Thomas Michael and Joan Cecelia. He loved the Cincinnati Reds and supported the team with gusto. Brian announced Notre Dame football games at WNDU and continued to serve as an announcer at high school sporting events in Alaska and Maryland. A devout Catholic, Brian volunteered at his church until his health prevented him from working. Trish, his wife, says he loved loved Notre Dame. Mark McGoldrick, a Pangborn alumnus, passed away last fall. We received news from his sister, Kelly Curran. Among those present at the funeral were Marty Whalen, Paul Dinardo, Jim Link, Dave Poulin, and Jeff Perry. A celebration of his life was held in New Canaan CT with classmates Tom Valdisseri, Tom Duffy, Pat Finan ’81, and Bill Ryan ’80. A beautiful tribute and send-off of well-deserved love and respect for Mark. He was a lifelong ND enthusiast and a memorial scholarship in honor of his father, Robert McGoldrick ’56, has been established. Steve Malloy and his wife, Maureen, are in Naples FL for the winter. Steve played golf at Lakewood National with Kirk Orgen and Ernie Menold, a mini-ND reunion. Kirk and his wife, Paulina, moved from MN to Dallas where their kids have settled. They are enjoying the warm weather and hospitality in TX. Ernie and his wife, Pat, live in Media PA. Ernie is the third-generation owner of a family sheet metal business looking to spend more time with the grandchildren. Jan Corey Hawk lives in Lima OH and is very active in her community. Jan is vice chair of the Lima Memorial Hospital Foundation board of trustees and also serves on the Lima Symphony Orchestra board of directors. She is also on the ND Business Advisory Council. She attended our class tailgate last fall and caught up with classmates Eileen Wirley, Dalia Van den Boogaard, Ellen Albertini, Megan Boyle, and Trish Bjork, all Lewis Hall alumnae. An update on our fellow classmate, Steve Bruemmer, who is still recovering from injuries from a shark attack last summer. He is not progressing as well as he had hoped. Physical therapy is going well as he continues to gain strength in the muscles of his hips and legs. He is determined to regain his independence and we are all rooting for a speedy recovery. — 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 Football Gathering
Anita and Tom Veldman hosted a wonderful brunch at their home the morning after ND’s disappointing football loss to Stanford. Attending were Father Dexter Brewer, who celebrated a beautiful Mass before the brunch, Laura and Jon Ehlinger, Betsy (Wolf) and Brad Friestedt, Lisa and John Klebba, Marilyn and Paul Knapp, and Carol and me. I saw Sheila and Perry Vieth the weekend of ND’s memorable victory over Clemson. Tim Abeska and Tim Nickels continued their tradition of teaching a trial ad class at the Law School in November. Please send me news items. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com
83 Countdown to Reunion!
Mark your calendars! Our 40th class reunion is coming up from June 1 to June 4 on campus. That is only a short time away—start planning now! These reunions are terrific events and offer a great opportunity to reconnect with your classmates. We are seeking volunteers to assist at Reunion with service at the Class Mass, including Eucharistic ministers, acolytes, musicians, and people to bring the gifts to the altar. If you are interested, please contact me or Clare Padgett. Please remember Karen L. (Geneser) Smith and her family in your prayers. Karen passed away in September 2022. Angela Adamson reports that her son, Alec Dinerstein, is now a graduate student at the University working with the Emergent Quantum Systems Lab. Congratulations to Bill Mateja on becoming president of the Dallas Bar Association. He assumed the post in January. Maureen (Burns) Zappala met with Terry Brown and Pierre Miller on campus for the Clemson game. She reports they participated in storming the field after the game to celebrate the victory. Angela Perino was on campus for the Clemson game. No word on whether Angela was also storming the field after the game. Russ Wyborski returned to campus for the Stanford game. Amy Guarino, Tim Hart, Anne Clark, and Paul Pizzini were able to get together in Las Vegas for the BYU game. Michelle (Schneider) Tiller, Ed Burley, Dave Doane, and Donna Mallet were also able to get together in Virginia to cheer on the team against BYU remotely. Congratulations to Gerald P. Igoe on being named one of the 2022 New York ACEP Unsung Heroes, as nominated by his colleagues, for dedicated patient care. Jerry was one of six UBMD emergency medicine physicians receiving the honor. Chris Temple Davis is raising funds for his charity, Building Trust Americas, which works to assist impoverished communities outside Bogota, Colombia. If you are interested in supporting this cause, please contact Chris through the class Facebook page. Chris has expressed his thanks to all of our classmates for their generosity in supporting this cause. Chris also spent Thanksgiving in WA with his youngest son and got to connect with Scott Fortman and Mary O’Connor. An added plus, Patty Brady called Mary while they were together. Mark Mai has posted some photos and memories of the senior trip to Los Angeles for the USC game from 40 years ago on the class Facebook page. He noted appreciation to Mike Rigali, Bill Myjak, Dave Shuster, and Mike Rodman regarding the trip. Mike O’Brien continues to provide insightful and inspiring posts on our class Facebook page. They provide wonderful life thoughts and lessons for personal reflection. Speaking of Facebook, 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 close to 550 members and would be very happy to add many more. You’ll be able to reconnect with classmates without waiting for reunion, 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 Class Secretary — Ann E. Merchlewitz;
cell 507-450-6609; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@smumn.edu
84 Cancer Stinks
I hate the word cancer!! It’s taking too many of our classmates too soon. Mark Stechshulte reported on the passing of a dear friend and Keenanite, John Inwood. Mark stated that “as an RA senior year, he lived around a group of underclassmen and made it look easy. He’d talk about his ND days like it was yesterday, laughing about the many stupid things we did. He earned both a JD and MBA from Indiana U, but his heart never left ND. John met and married the love of his life, Vicki, while at IU. They were loving partners and parents of children who clearly adored him, and he adored them. John was happy and blessed.” Dave McAvoy asks that we keep Matt Moughamian and his family in your prayers. Dave said, “Matt bravely fought metastatic cancer for 10 years inspiring all of us with his courage, optimism, and tenacity along that journey. He left with Christ just before Christmas, living like a meteor. After ND, Matt joined the Peace Corps in Ecuador where he met his wife, Jill, and they raised their family in Idaho next to a national forest. Matt was a creative environmental engineer who worked on many global projects up until the week he left us. He’ll surely build something grand in Heaven. He was light in the dark.” Dave Pangraze also gave us the sad update that Rob Ebert passed away “after demonstrating amazing grace and courage through his long battle with cancer. Please keep him, his wife, Darla, and his entire family in your prayers.” Please do all your health screenings!!! — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net
84MBA Class Secretary — Dhanraj Bhagat;
dbhagat1960@gmail.com
84JD Reunion in the Lone Star State
Judge Tom Schroeder shared this update. “Carrying on an annual tradition for over a decade, Ken Plifka, Augie Valdez, Randy Curato, and I got together for our ND football weekend reunion for the Navy game, which we watched at Ken’s second home in Austin TX. Ken and Augie still practice with Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka PC in Dallas. Ken is enjoying being a grandfather. Randy is vice president, senior loss prevention counsel at ALAS Inc., the risk insurer for major US law firms, and spends stretches at his second home in Maine. I enjoy my work as a US district judge and continue to hire ND Law School graduates as law clerks, and have an NDLS graduate and a ND undergrad working for me this term. I am wrapping up my last year as president of the Notre Dame Law Association as well as my term on the Judicial Conference’s Federal Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee (which recommends amendments to the rules). I am looking forward to our 40th reunion (can you believe it?).” Please send updates. — Matthew Dunn; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com
85 On Board
Mark Ishaug has been elected a trustee of Dominican U where he works closely with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Dominican U is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution and a top Midwestern university in teaching, innovation, social mobility, and value, according to US News and World Report. Mark has also been elected to the board of directors of the Chicago Urban League, which is focused on creating equity and opportunity for Black Chicagoans. He also serves as chief executive officer of Thresholds, Illinois’s largest community mental health center, which provides housing and behavioral health care to thousands of individuals with mental illnesses and co-occurring conditions. After a visit to Northwestern where his son is a sophomore, Francis James, who works for the United Nations Development Program in Libreville, Gabon, in West Africa, returned to Notre Dame on a visit arranged by Prof. Steve Reifenberg. Prof. Reifenberg’s wife, Christine Cervenak ’82, and James serve together on a board of the Geneva-based human rights organization International Bridges to Justice (www.ibj.com). While on campus, James gave a presentation at the Keough School of Global Affairs, addressing such topics as the role of the United Nations, international development, and the COP27 (at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Conference, held in November 2022, countries met to take action toward achieving the world’s climate goals under the Paris Agreement and the convention). Francis writes that he “hardly recognized the [campus] it’s changed so much (new quads, amazing Duncan Student Center, Four Corners is gone, replaced by high-end stores, restaurants, shops, Trader Joe’s!) Definitely not the ND or South Bend of old.” Bill Phelan was a finalist for Chicago CFO of 2022. Bird Larkin attended the ceremony along with Bill’s wife, Lynn; Bill and Lynn’s four sons (three of whom are Notre Dame grads); Bill’s brother Kevin; and niece Colleen. Please email soon! — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net
85JD A Mini-Reunion at the Clemson Game
Our class was well-represented when Notre Dame dominated Clemson in football last November. I attended and it was a thrill to see the students storm the field after the game. It was just as much fun to see so many classmates. Laura Hanson and her husband, John, attended on the first leg of a collegiate sports tour that included a stop in Boston for a Northeastern U hockey game with daughter Elsa, who is a sophomore there, then out to LA for the USC vs. ND football game with son Will, who graduated from USC in 2021. Laura and I had a chance to visit with Molly Murphy and Michael Bruton at their lovely lake home in MI before the game. Molly and Michael just celebrated their son Peter’s wedding on Cape Cod over the summer. Also in South Bend for the Clemson game was Ted Eichelberger, visiting from Atlanta along with his mom, brother, sister-in-law, and two adorable nephews. Maureen Cafferkey and Trish Scanlon drove to campus together from OH. In addition to attending the game, Maureen was able to visit with her son Michael, who will be graduating with the ND Class of ’23! Maureen recently retired from full-time practice and is enjoying more free time. Tom Hartzell, who practices in Rochester NY, attended with his daughter Ava, who is a high school junior. It was wonderful to see my O’Hara Grace roommate from the ND Law Class of ’84, Shelley Bacon Bacastow, and her husband, Dan, who came from Chicago. Shelley is the chief legal officer at PCTEL and she and Dan are also very experienced cyclists. Now that I have caught the cycling bug, I appreciated hearing their winter training tips and ideas for cycling adventures in France and Italy. Please let me know where your travels are taking you. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu
86 Gatherings Galore
A round of applause for all who gathered for our 37th annual Mini-Reunion Tailgate bash at the Stanford game. We had close to 400 join the party! A special thank-you to Kathleen Burke for organizing a beautiful class Mass and to Father Dan Groody for celebrating it with us. We had an ice emergency at the tailgate when our bartenders pulled us aside to say that we were down to two bags of ice with three hours remaining. A very special thank-you to the Ice Crew (Mike Mazza, John Rubino, Mike “MG” Grace ’85 and John Kaminski, Lori’s husband and honorary ’86er) who rallied with me to run over to Belmont Beverages, help convince one of their employees to let us borrow his truck to transport 30 bags to our tailgate, and unload it in the nick of time. We saw so many of you having a great time gathering with close friends and meeting new ones. Chris Smolen wrote to us after saying that he had a blast seeing friends like Matt Kineen, Art Helmus, Brian Groark, Big and Little John Mooney, Cletus Blum, and Tom Ryder, to name a few. Chris was saying that he had not seen many of these folks in person since 1986. He also said that he played sax in the Pat Giblin Band and was delighted to see his lead singer Mark Toner’s daughter Megan, who is a sophomore at ND. So many wonderful reunions there indeed. Let’s get more of you back this fall! The feedback from everyone on the weekend was tremendous and Pam, Lori, Chris, and I are looking forward to getting everything in place for next year’s bash. By the time this is published we will have the game selected and you’ll have received emails updating you on all the details. Again, if you are not receiving our emails please hit me and we’ll get you signed up. John Kunz joined PGT Innovations as CFO back in January. He relocated to Sarasota FL and lives not far from Kevin Morrissey and Patty Fagan. John was at the reunion with some of the Dillon crew including Marty Connor, Bucky Lopez, Joe Cripe, Tom Berens, Wally Rolfs, Dave Tracy, Jerry Lally, Steve Bryck, Mike Mazza, John Meara, and Andre Hutchinson. John also let us know that Bill Healy is battling colon cancer. Please keep Bill in your prayers. Chelley (Todaro) and Robert Zielinski’s daughter Nicole Zielinski ’17 married Matt Stevens ’17 at the Basilica last July, with the reception at the Dahnke Ballroom. They had almost 50 alumni in attendance, with several friends from our class. It was a great weekend! Making their way to ND for the weekend—Tim Baker, Elizabeth (Dodson) and John Bodrozik ’89, Joanne and Mike Fitzpatrick, Brenda and Scott Feudo, Mona (Maas) and Tim Mould, Becky and Shawn O’Grady, Julie (Stratton) and Jim Prinster, Bill Jolley, Brian Steber, as well as many graduates from the Class of 2016 and architecture Class of 2017 with some other classes sprinkled in. Mary and Brian Donley have moved to NYC. In October, Brian was named executive vice president and chief operating officer at New York-Presbyterian. I am sorry to report sad news that we lost our classmate Gary Davis MD on Jan. 2. He fought a courageous battle and left behind three adult children. A candle was lit at the Grotto for his family on behalf of our class. Please keep the Davis family in your prayers. Take care and God Bless! — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com
86MBA Time Passages
In December, Jorge Valencia became a first-time grandpa to baby Isla Marie. He and his family visited Santa Monica CA to meet her in early January. Due to some family needs, Juliet and Tom Hicks and their daughters recently relocated to Boise ID. He officially retired from Comerica after 34+ years, but plans to continue his career in Boise. Condolences to the family of Thomas Bennett DDS, who passed away in October 2022. He practiced dentistry in Paw Paw MI and earned his MBA through the executive program. Erica and J.R. Reid enjoyed Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert so much, they decided to return the next night for back-to-back performances. I saw the show twice too, but they were a few years apart. Congratulations to Matthew Wells, eldest son of Carolyn (Anderson) Wells, who graduated from Michigan Tech, majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in aerospace engineering. Carolyn recently completed a hiking adventure on the Grand Circle tour. She hiked the Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail, Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon’s Sheets Slot Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Park. I’m exhausted just writing about her adventures! The next issue’s column will be longer and much more interesting if you text or e-mail a quick update. Do it now. We all want to hear from you. — Maureen (Mullan) Decker; 21855 Town Gate, Macomb MI 48044; bus 586-741-4305; mobile 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org
86JD South and North
Great to hear from our southernmost classmate, Ernesto Dominguez, who wrote from McAllen TX. (McAllen, in the Rio Grande Valley, is further south than just about anywhere in the U.S. other than Key West). Ernesto emailed me over this year’s USC game weekend, reminding me that he and I stood next to one another nearly 40 years ago at the ’83 USC game, the fall of our 1L year, when the Irish, wearing green jerseys, pummeled the Trojans, 27–6. That win started an Irish run of 11 straight wins against the boys of Troy. Fond memories. Ernesto is still in practice at Orendain & Dominguez in McAllen, but, unfortunately, his longtime law partner passed away last year presenting plenty of additional work and many challenges for Ernesto and the practice. Ernesto’s wife, Iris, also an attorney, is with the legal department of the city of McAllen. Their daughter, Paloma, graduated from Williams College (got that, Dave Barry?) and then from UT Law in Austin, and she now practices at Norton Rose Fulbright in Houston (got that, John Mauel?). Speaking of Mr. Mauel, after a number of years as head of Norton Rose’s fossil fuel, errr, Global Energy practice, he retired effective Dec. 31 of last year. Well done, Johnny. Heading north, I received a nice note from Maureen (Watz) Gornik who lives in the Twin Cities and continues to serve as deputy-in-charge of the US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, St. Paul, MN courthouse. Maureen’s older daughter, Mia, is a junior accounting major at ND and finishing her spring semester in Dublin; younger daughter Lily is a freshman engineering major at U of Wisconsin in Madison. Maureen sees Mary O’Brien regularly and Susan (Lindbloom) and David Link often, but she refused to share any “juicy updates” without their express written consent. Luckily Susan took it upon herself to send an update. She reported that she and David welcomed their first grandchild, Amelia Ann Link, last September. Susan also wrote that the toast of Carmel IN, Jeff McDermott, got married last fall (like David, also to a Susan). Writing from South Bend where he is the director of Catholic peacebuilding studies at Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute, Jerry Powers shared “news” which probably applies to many of us: “same job, same spouse, same house, same kids, same lack of grandkids, and same growing thoughts of maybe retiring in a few years.” That said, Jerry also mentioned that he recently edited a book on Catholic mining (you read that right and, as Jerry wrote, “there is a Catholic position on everything”), Catholic Peacebuilding and Mining: Integral Peace, Development, and Ecology. It is available on Amazon. Beth (Spencer) Meyer checked in from Chicagoland to report that she and Paul ’87JD, the parents of four sons, are often up at their lake house in New Buffalo MI where they welcome visitors anytime! And, I have it on good authority that, by the time you read this, Beth, Beth (Schneider) Naylor, Mary McPherson, and Ellen (Kelly) Cordrey will have had their annual Bacchanalia, this time in Cincinnati. Full report in the fall column. As I write this, Beth and Mike Mulhern are tearing up the slopes (and let’s hope not knees) not far from me in Beaver Creek CO. Finally, Law School Homecoming: Oct. 23 (OSU game). Make plans to attend—three years in advance of our 40th. And please send news. — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com
87 What Happens in Keenan . . .
Hello Class of ’87 and happy Easter! I have two co-writers of the column this quarter: Lisa Thummess Kovalik and Leah Weis McDonald, both of whom are visiting me in Park City UT this week. I cherish these nearly 40-year friendships (gulp!), and it’s been great to catch up with them. We’re looking forward to being together again with Meredith Healy Duncan and Connie O’Connor Klenke on the East Coast in June, for a wedding. Jim Pernas wrote with the good news that he’s been with Subaru of America since August 1987, and wonders if any other classmates are still with their original employer. He’s currently serving as vice president of fixed operations at Subaru’s Camden NJ headquarters. He and his wife, Wendy, have two children: Nick and Natalie, who went to Georgetown U and Loyola Marymount U respectively. After moving extensively for his career, Jim’s family is again living where he grew up, in the Pinelands of Medford NJ. He’s active in the ND South Jersey Club, and at the time of his writing, was planning a Keenan “bachelor weekend.” We’d love to hear about that event — unless, of course, “what happens in Keenan stays in Keenan.” Chris Sheedy was on campus last summer for the inauguration of the Sheedy Program in Economics, Enterprise, and Society, which was started in 2021 by his uncle and aunt, Charles and Ellen Sheedy. He then returned last fall and had the opportunity to speak to the first-year participants, along with other diverse business leaders from Western Pennsylvania. Chris sent a link to the program, and I would have loved to have had such an opportunity when we were in school: The program strives to create an experiential link between business and the liberal arts for students interested in both. Finally, another update from Keenan Hall—Matthew Gracianette, his wife, Kim, and his daughter Clara are moving to Madison WI for a career change. A physician, he is leaving a hospital pediatric career and joining Epic, an electronic health record software company. He writes that he’s excited about this change, and looking forward to seasonal snow again. He’s also hoping to re-connect with other classmates in southern WI and northern IL, and hopes to make it to a football game or our next reunion. Wherever you are in the world, I hope things are going well for you. Please write with your news—we’d all love to hear from you. — Meg Brennan Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com
87MBA Distinguished Alumnus
Hello everyone, and welcome to 2023! There has been some big news since our last update! It gives me great pleasure and pride to advise all of you that our classmate and friend Jake Frego has been honored with the Mendoza College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award. Congratulations, Jake. An honor well deserved. We are all proud of you! Keep the information flowing; let’s stay in contact. Remember the Canadian Tailgate is always there. . . Look for the Canadian flag, directly east of Legends in the 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 Wedding Bells Bells Bells
Steve Ryan and his wife, Renae, have had three engagements in their family over the past 12 months—their daughter Ellie and their sons Kennedy and Anderson. Ellie started the bells tolling last December and married her husband, Nic Moreau, in Carmel IN where they live. Ellie, a Dayton grad, manages a lab that does diabetes research and clinical trials. Kennedy, a Dayton grad, got engaged to Allison Healy the Saturday of our Reunion Weekend, which is why Steve was a no-show at our dinner. They will be married in June. Kennedy works for Meijer in buyer analytics. Anderson, also a Dayton grad, got engaged to Michaela Quam. They will be married in 2024. Anderson works for Apex in logistics. Dave Moorman’s dad, John, passed after a long and productive life of service to others. Mr. Moorman was a man of strong faith and is no doubt reunited with his wife, Dorothy, in Heaven. Please keep Mr. Moorman, Dave, and their family in your prayers. Greg Shumaker has taken over the reins at Jones Day, becoming only its eighth managing partner in the firm’s 130-year history. Greg, a partner in Jones Day’s Washington office, is a Jones Day lifer, going back to 1986 when he was a summer associate. Ed Kelly is retired, but not slowing down. He is still teaching refugee law and policy at Georgetown Law School and immigration law at George Mason Scalia School of Law while pursuing an MA degree in classical studies at Villanova. Ed biked over 2,000 miles in 2022 and is shooting for 2,500 this year. Finally, if you are thinking of traveling to Ireland in August to watch the Irish play Navy, keep your eyes open for details on a possible mini-reunion near the stadium in Dublin. Please send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com
88 Registered for the Reunion?
If not, go to https://reunion.nd.edu/ to do so! Thursday, June 1–Sunday, June 4 are the dates when we will be together on campus. Kate Chester won’t have to travel far to attend—as she has moved from Portland OR to South Bend to take a position with the University. She is now the communications program director for the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. The Kroc Institute is part of the Keogh School of Global Affairs. Prior to assuming this role, Kate worked for 15 years with Portland Community College, a post-secondary institution of approximately 50,000 students, most recently serving as the senior director of communications and community engagement. In pursuit of her PhD through Pacific U, she has achieved ABD status and aims to complete her dissertation in 2024. Had our reunion been last summer, Joe Salamon may have arrived from NY by bicycle. Thirteen years ago he suffered a spinal cord injury and found himself in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the knees down. He wasn’t supposed to get back on his feet, but, God willing, he did. (He says that his pronounced limp reminds him to be humble.) During his recovery, he took up cycling, and, feeling stronger, he proclaimed to his kids, “If I can recover, I’m going to ride my bike to California.” Well, a dad of his word, he pedaled 3,669 miles from NY’s Central Park to the Golden Gate Bridge in summer ’22. In the process, he raised $21,500+ for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. How incredible that Joe turned personal tragedy into triumph and altruism! Another New Yorker, Susan (Nanovic) Flannery received a promotion to senior vice president and chief counsel at MetLife, supporting global technology and operations, employment, benefits, and information governance. A committed MetLife employee, she’s been in the general counsel’s office there for 28 years. Susan has also been a member of the advisory board for ND’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies since 2016. Continuing a proud Nanovic family tradition at Notre Dame, Susan’s daughter is enrolled as a sophomore and her son has been accepted as a member of the Class of 2027. Lynn (Ewing) Cassidy and husband Joe ’86, ’06EMBA are at the tail end of their time as parents of ND undergraduates. Having held a graduation for daughter McKenna in their living room in May ’20, they were quite happy to celebrate with her on campus in May ’22 when ND welcomed the Class of 2020 to join the Class of 2022 for a formal ceremony in the stadium. Just this February, they attended JPW with son Paul, a senior. The reason for the year’s delay was the fact that he studied abroad in Spain the spring of his junior year. They’ll be right back in South Bend in May for his graduation and will then catch their breaths after he moves to Boston for a job. Yes, that was classmate Rear Adm. Kathleen (Traynor) Creighton on the big screen during the UNLV game. Now retired from the Navy, Kathleen was the ’22 recipient of the Corby Award. This award is conferred on an alumnus/alumna with a distinguished career in military service. Upon graduation, Kathleen was commissioned as an ensign. As she rose through the ranks to rear admiral, she was at the forefront of the Navy’s information technology and cyber transformation. To learn more about Kathleen’s notable career, you can go to https://my.nd.edu/page/2022-kathleen-creighton-88. — 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 Peace Corps in Vietnam
Happy spring! After a little bit of persuading, I heard from a few of our friends! Linda Toutant says hello! All is well with Linda. She promises she may have some news for us in the next issue so check back! In the meantime, I did a little bit of stalking: Linda is senior counsel at Klinedinst in LA and she has a beautiful picture in her biography! Can’t wait to get an update, Linda. Jim Lowery is proud to announce the birth of his second grandchild (first granddaughter), Aria Lowery, in August. I love how Jim thinks. He writes Aria is a future member of the ND Class of 2043! Jill Rice writes that Robert Cianciulli, his daughter, Jill’s husband (Rick Rice ’84JD), and she had a wonderful visit in Northern MI this summer over the Fourth of July week. Jill had not seen Robert in about 20 years. They picked up right where they left off and enjoyed reminiscing about their time in law school. So glad you had a great time! Lien D. Galloway was in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Dec. 30, 2022, with the newly confirmed Peace Corps director to attend the swearing-in of the inaugural class of Peace Corps Vietnam Volunteers. Lien, as associate general counsel of the Peace Corps, worked on both bilateral agreements to establish the Peace Corps program in Vietnam, and then on a partnership with the Ministry of Education and Training to assign Peace Corps Volunteers to secondary schools in Hanoi to teach English. It has taken 16 years to get to this point, but Lien says it was worth the time and effort! Wow, that is awesome! Is anyone planning to attend the Notre Dame–Navy game in Dublin in August? Rosanne Ciambrone, Cathie Jones Rikkers, Mary Stucko, Jim Stucko and I will be there. It would be great to tailgate with other ’88JD members! Finally, Greg Abbott answered my pleas for information and says hello! Don’t forget to keep me in the loop with any updates. — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com; lcoticchia@ruffingmontessori.org
89 Class Secretary — Kerrie (Wagner) Debbs;
kwagsnd89@gmail.com
89MBA Class Secretary — Margaret DeVoe;
612-845-9662; maggiedevoe@yahoo.com
89JD Class Secretary — Jenny O’Leary Smith;
312-504-2298; jennyoleary@comcast.net