1980s

80 Star Power

Recognizing their many contributions to our class, we have elected Beth Larocca and Leo Latz to serve as additional Class Officers. Beth is teaming up with VP Jim Lukeman to reprise our successful game and tailgate. We have won 50 tickets from the NDAA to the Sept. 23 tilt against THE Ohio State U. Our class will host a tailgate before the game. Stay tuned for an email with instructions about tickets and the tailgate. We also encourage everyone to make sure that you have updated your contact information in https://my.nd.edu/me/show. We are in need of a Class Treasurer. It’s not a very technical role, but one does need to work with us and the NDAA to manage and report on the balance in our class account. If you are so inclined, we suggest that you make a modest gift to our class account at giveto.nd.edu/give. You must designate your gift to the “Alumni Association Class of 1980.” Doug Collodel sends an update from Orange County CA. Doug and his son went to the local Marina High School basketball game where, at halftime, Marina honored one of its own (and ours), Rich Branning, by retiring his number 10. Rich, family, teammates and friends remembered his prowess on the court during his high school years. ND Coach Digger Phelps supplemented the presentation, too, as he shared Rich’s many contributions, including as an indispensable component of the team during ND’s only trip to the Final Four. It was great seeing Rich and his family, and catching up a bit with them. Mike Melbinger writes from Florida where he was spending the winter— with plans to connect with Dr. Mark Dobbertien and Ted Brauch. Additional plans include a get-together with classmates Tim O’Neill and Norm Mueller. Mike added that his son, Peter, received his Executive MBA from ND in May 2022. Pete was recruited by several East Coast schools for rowing and eventually went to Rutgers. Certainly, a very proud moment for wife Karen ’81 and Mike. Michael J. “Mike” Silvestro, who is CEO of Cleveland-based Flexjet, received the Living Legends of Aviation Lifetime Aviation Industry Award. Silvestro, who is the longest-tenured CEO in the fractional jet aviation industry, was given the group’s highest honor at its 20th annual awards event, hosted by John Travolta at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills CA. Liza Crisafi was honored during Girl Scouts San Diego’s “Cool Women” celebration. The event honors exemplary women whose personal and professional lives make them consummate role models for girls. The event included a mentoring session with Emerging Leader Girl Scouts, luncheon and ceremony. Dr. Michael McMullen has retired after 36 years as a family physician in Rochester NY. Mike attributes his acceptance into medical school to some early encouragement from Father Joseph Walter, C.S.C., chairman of the preprofessional studies department. Mary Ryan Amato had lunch with Theresa Rebeck in New York City. She has a play opening on Broadway in the fall. It stars Danny DeVito and his daughter in I Need That. The women of Badin plan a road trip. Cindy Lupica is finishing her term on the ND Senior Alumni Board, a responsibility she began in 2017. She has enjoyed working with so many great people. We are pleased to note that our Reunion practice of helping friends make it to Reunion was featured in the NDAA Senior Alumni’s “Golden Domer:” my.nd.edu/news/554748. Your intrepid secretary might have written the article. Our hearts go out to Marc Radell, Maj. Heraclio Mico Holguin Jr., Mike Cushing and Janet Wolff who lost their mothers and to Greg Sebold who lost his father. We mourn the loss of classmate Michael Morris. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/

 

80MBA Motorhome Mania

Credit to the most adventurous of us by far goes to Scott Jessup, his wife, Janet, and their goldendoodle, Finn, for surviving a five-week and 6,300-mile journey across the United States in their motorhome. In the last column I mentioned that Finn would be chronicling the journey on his Instagram account. The pictures and commentary told a great story with too many state and national parks to count. The trip took them to the Upper Peninsula in MI where they swam in Lake Superior and then down to SC where Finn was able to dodge being eaten by a giant alligator. After that they were in FL, TX, AR, AZ, CA, UT and MT with pictures of oceans, snowy mountains, amazing vistas and, well, you get the point. Finn’s Instagram account is still active so check it out if you want to experience their fantastic journey in more detail: @finn_wonder_dog. Rick Abordo writes that he went to a few games last fall including the UNLV game with his two brothers and sister. Rick says that it was their first game at Notre Dame, and they were awed by the campus and how nice everyone was. You may run into Rick if you attend the USC and OSU games this fall. On the home front, Rick and his wife, Leonore, are still showing and winning various dog shows with their champion Borzois. Rick says he is plenty busy with the 17 to 20 dogs coming through the revolving door at his house but adds that he still makes time for hiking in the Sandia mountains and the Galisteo Basin. Meanwhile, their son Anthony Abordo ’13 is still doing well at Hong Kong U as regional director in the international affairs office. My wife, Azian, and I will be attending the game against Navy in Ireland this fall along with Mary Beth and Len Morris ’79MBA. Also making the trip is June and John Hurley ’79MBA, who will be on the same itinerary as us for a three-day tour from Dublin to Galway and the Aran Islands. Mike Traeger has indicated that he and his wife, Michele, will also be going to the game so hopefully we can catch up with them for a pint or two. Peter King checked in by jokingly saying, “hey Joe, when I’m not repairing voting machines I’m still working as an investment manager, investing people’s money until it’s all gone.” Pete adds that he joined the ranks of greatest grandparent last fall and now has lots of knowledge to impart. He was sorry to have missed classmates at the Cal game last year but said he was looking for the old Campus View apartments. Pete can keep looking because the place where many of us lived was torn down last year to make room for new high-rise apartments. Finally, Pete said he hopes to see some Domers this fall in South Bend and signed off with PKing, or as Professor Chang once said when calling on him, not the city in China. Some of us might also remember the time Professor Chang described trying to buy erasers at the campus bookstore, but I don’t think I can tell that story in this forum. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 475-225-1421; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com

 

80JD New Babies

By the time you read this, football season will be here before we know it—starting in Ireland against Navy. Let’s hope for great weather and big crowds. Sue Zwick is celebrating new grandchildren as is Wendell Walsh. Katie Kearney is celebrating two new furry friends—a new puppy and an older rescue. Tom Jennings’ “hounds” are very much part of his life, as usual. Tom is still working hard for his clients, too. Send your news! Love to all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

 

81 USC Weekend — Join Us!

Due to popular demand, we are doing it again! We have 150 tickets together to the USC game (limit two tickets per order). Dorothy Walker and Dave Pusateri have generously offered to host the Friday night cocktail party at their home just south of campus, near the site of The Library/Goose’s. We will have a tailgater at the same spot as the previous year, near the new Walsh Architecture building. On Sunday morning, we plan on Mass at Sacred Heart and a brunch at South Dining Hall. The brunch does not need an RSVP; you will pay on site. Registration at this link: my.nd.edu/networks/events/41824. James Ringlein’s daughter, Veronica ’23, graduated from ND in May, with a degree in political science and economics. Stephen Hoey and family welcomed grandson Caden Quinn Hoey and celebrated his first St. Patrick’s Day. Will he be Class of ’45?? A few classmates are celebrating their 50th (50th!) grade school reunion. I am sorry to share the news of Liz Boo’s father’s passing. Peter Boo was a wonderful father, grandfather, creative mind and entrepreneur, and all-around great guy. I had the huge pleasure of getting to know him and the rest of the Boo family when Liz was my freshman-year roommate and after. Please keep the Boo family in your prayers. Please join our class Facebook group to keep the conversation going. You can find about 450 classmates there. And please email updates before July 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 Blue-Gold Game  

I apologize for the late notice to get your input on the Class Notes, but I promise to get ahead of the game for the next edition. Seems time is really flying by. It’s hard to believe that the Blue-Gold game just happened last weekend! Things on my end remain very busy on the work front. I am currently in Madrid after a week in Germany and will return to Germany for the next week before heading back home. Our extended family is doing very well. Sheila and I had a fantastic time taking our three grandsons to Carlsbad CA (what 6–8-year-old boys don’t like the beach??), San Diego Zoo, and then a few days in Palm Springs where the morning and afternoon rituals were the same every day—eat, play golf, swim, eat, play more golf!!! Whenever I plan to retire, my three grandsons will become my permanent foursome on the course! I did hear back from Mike Langnecker. Mike reports that all is well with the Langneckers, but he finally had to pull the trigger and get his left knee replaced on Nov. 30. It’s quite a long recovery process, but now that spring has arrived, he is able to spend more time on the bicycle and that seems to be helping the process. After taking December off in deference to the knee, Mike and his wife, Jan, continue to watch our grandson, Reed Michael, a couple of days a week. As many of you have probably found out, that’s a blast! Reed Michael is beginning to talk up a storm and calls Jan Gigi, and Mike Boo-Boo (because of the knee). I continue to pursue the endless task of updating our class email addresses. If you are reading this, please send me an email with your current email address or just give me a call. July 20 will be the next deadline to report news, events, etc.—please mark your calendars! I look forward to sharing more news from even more of our ’81 classmates! 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 Class Secretary — 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 — Renee (Amirkanian) Sutherland;

mobile 630-846-2707; reneemsr@aol.com

 

82JD Sicilian Retirement

Jim Gillis informed me that he retired in May 2022 after spending 30 years as a federal prosecutor. Among other things, Jim prosecuted some high-profile espionage cases during his career. Upon retirement Jim was presented with a flag that had flown over the US Capitol. Jim and his wife, Alison, plan to spend part of their retirement at a home in Sicily that they bought and refurbished a few years ago. Jim has been an adjunct professor at George Mason U for about six years. Jim is in the process of writing a textbook on criminal justice ethics. John Smith tells me that he and Jane Lynch had dinner together in March while Jane was in Chicago on business. Please let me know if any of you are planning to attend the ND vs. Navy game in Ireland in August. Perhaps we can organize a mini class reunion over a pint of Guinness. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com

 

83 Passings, Retirement

Please remember Patti Barrett and her family in your prayers. Patti passed away in Chicago on Feb. 4. Patti’s family wants the Class to know that Patti was an organ donor and through her donation, she was able to help several people. Please also keep the following of our classmates in your thoughts and prayers as they have each had family members recently pass away. Michele (Dietz) Chynoweth’s father passed away on Jan. 23; Anne (Chapski) Doyen’s mother passed away in February; Amy (Hirsh) Guarino’s mother passed away on April 3. Our condolences go out to all who have lost family members. Chris Temple Davis has announced that he recently retired. Congratulations! Many of our classmates have posted on the Class Facebook page of their plans for attending Reunion—we hope to see as many of you as possible there. The Class of 1983 has been assigned space to stay in Johnson Family Hall, a new dormitory located near Stepan Center. For those of us who lived in Flanner, Grace or the Pasquerillas, it will be like returning to the old neighborhood for our 40th! Christopher Fasano has posted that while visiting campus with his wife, Cathy, for his son Patrick’s PhD defense, he gave the physics department colloquium. He observed that standing in Nieuwland Hall 40 years later felt “like a minute.” In addition to Patrick attending the University, other members of the Fasano family attending Notre Dame include daughter Cecilia ’20 and daughter-in-law Charlotte. 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 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 Older and Better

I am amazed at what our classmates are doing these days. Yes, we are getting older, but that’s not stopping us! Some of us are still working and enjoying great business trips, as Beth Ann McLane did recently to India and Thailand. Some are retiring after very successful careers and/or joining boards of directors. Many classmates have celebrated milestone anniversaries, like Meg (Ford) and Mark Harrington’s 25 years or Amy and Tom Fanning celebrating 33 years. And so many have become grandparents! In a unique twist, Laurel (Seid) and Fish Brown are creating a sustainable fiber farm in Maryland. The house was completed in 1842, and the barn finished in the 1940s, where the hay loft was converted in 2023 to an apartment for a “Sleep with the Sheep” experience. Residents include 12 furry friends such as sheep, rams, and lambs, eight feathered friends of various types, and four dogs. Follow their fascinating story on Instagram: @historicshowmanfarm. Others are moving abroad, as Dana Hovig’s family did. They are now in Portugal where their two kids are in school and in many activities. Some are traveling for pleasure, like Cathy (Krause) Madlinger, to Nepal. The years away from ND didn’t diminish our enthusiasm for the University, as Josie (Kaiser) Froehlke shows as the ND Women Connect local leader in AZ while serving on the board of directors for the Notre Dame Club of Phoenix. Josie’s efforts helped her local chapter win a NDWC 2022 award for creative gatherings and an increase in participation. As a dear friend said when I talked about our Class recently— “just say that we are all fabulous!” Indeed, we are! Please send in info about your Third Act—I’m sure it’ll be interesting! — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net 

 

84MBA Class Secretary — Dhanraj Bhagat;

dbhagat1960@gmail.com

 

84JD The Masters

Jim Slattery reports that Jack McCormick, Dan Hoffman, Tom Brilbeck and he enjoyed meeting in April for lunch at Flagler Beach FL. Slatts shared: “Jack was down from Orleans MA to celebrate his birthday and see the Marlins in Miami. Tom came down from Rochester NY to see The Masters with me. I’m currently living down in Ponte Vedra Beach FL, near Jacksonville, where I relocated from the NYC area about two years ago. I currently work full-time as a distribution attorney for PBS in Washington on a hybrid basis, so I’m up in our nation’s capital about once per month. All are welcome to come stop by and see us in PVB!” Jack added, “It was great to see the guys in FL. l am on a quest to see a game at every MLB park, so Miami was the latest addition. Teri Davis McCormick ’85 and I still practice together on Cape Cod, where we have been since graduation. We are heading to Las Vegas next for our daughter’s graduation from UNLV Law School, where Mary Beth Beasley ’83 is a member of the faculty. Our daughter Kait plans to clerk at the Nevada Supreme Court after the bar exam. Our son bought a house on the Cape, and is just 15 minutes away from us.” Dan reports, “I got married and moved to Georgia 38 years ago. I’ve been with the same insurance defense firm since. Semi-retired last year and as of July 1 this year I will no longer be practicing law at all but still working (when I want) as a mediator. Sue and I have two wonderful children, one in Atlanta and one in Charleston. I hadn’t seen these guys since graduation but last week was just like old times.” Tom wrote: “Great experience at the Masters. Saw Sepp Straka make a hole-in-one. I’m still in Rochester and clerking in New York State Supreme Court.” Please send updates. — Matthew Dunn; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com

 

85 News

Danny Maier emailed to let me know that in December Pope Francis appointed Father Pat Neary, CSC, to be the 10th Bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud MN. Danny reminisced that in 1982 he and now-Bishop Neary, Father Jim Heyd (who serves in the Archdiocese of Chicago) and Father Tony Anderson of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) (who is pastor of a parish in Belize along the Guatemala border) completed foreign study together in Mexico. Danny is the only one of the four not to enter the priesthood! During his years of ministry, Bishop Neary spent time in Chile, Kenya and Uganda. James Malackowski has been recognized as an individual who has helped establish intellectual property (IP) as one of the key business assets of the 21st century. James, of Ocean Tomo LLC, a part of J.S. Held, was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame and received the 2022 Q. Todd Dickinson Award, which honors those who have made significant contributions to IP as a business asset. James created the nation’s first index based on the value of intellectual property. The Ocean Tomo 300 Patent Index (NYSE: OTPAT) is acknowledged by AMEX as “the first major, board-based market equity index to be launched in 35 years.” Also, in collaboration with the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Royal Philips Electronics (Philips), James created the Chicago-based Intellectual Property Exchange International (IPXI), the world’s first financial exchange with an IP focus. Finally, I am sad to inform you of the death of our classmate Martin Flyke. He died in January and is survived by his wife, Jane, and four children. Please keep them in your prayers and pray for the repose of the soul of Martin. Looking forward to receiving your emails! — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net

 

85JD Artistic Talent

When you think of complex commercial litigation, you may not immediately think of priceless art and new wave music, but Tom Ajamie’s practice combines them all. Recently, Tom was in Paris to see the results of legal work he did for an art exhibit at the Musée Louis Vuitton. The show celebrates a 1980s collaboration between the artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, which produced 160 works. One of those pieces, “China Paramount,” is owned by Tom’s friend and client Nick Rhodes, art collector and founding member of Duran Duran. Tom did all of the legal work needed to move the valuable painting from London to Paris and was among the first to see the exhibit. It runs through August if you are going to be in Paris this summer! Many of our classmates have creative talents in addition to their legal skills: Tom Nessinger has been singing with the National Philharmonic Chorale for the past 20 years, performing in three to four concerts per year. Tom sings tenor in the chorale, which is known for showcasing world-renowned guest artists in time-honored symphonic masterpieces. Last fall the chorale sang the Berlioz Requiem, followed this spring by Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Then, in April Tom performed Carmina Burana with the talented midshipmen of the Naval Academy Glee Club at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. Bravo, and hooyah! Kim Kirn was also involved in a performance of sorts: She recently taught a course for FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, to help educate arbitrators and mediators about developments within FINRA’s dispute resolution program. Kim has a mediation and arbitration practice in St. Louis. In Keeping up with the Kids news, Walter Brown travels frequently to visit his grown twin daughters, Hannah and Sophie. Hannah is a neonatal intensive care unit nurse in Kansas City and Sophie is finishing up her second year of law school at NYU. She will be a summer clerk at Sullivan & Cromwell. Walter and his wife, Denise, were able to visit with Paul Coletti and his son, Paul Jr., in NYC. Paul Jr. recently completed a master’s degree in computer science at Columbia. Barb and Dave Scheper’s son Tommy ’21JD, who is a second-year associate at Winston & Strawn, is engaged to be married to classmate Amanda Rhim ’21JD; bells will chime in May 2024. Please catch me up on what you are keeping up with, either inside or outside of work. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu

 

86 Mini-Reunion Weekend Approaches 

Many of you know from our class emails that our 38th annual Mini-Reunion Weekend is coming together wonderfully and will be USC weekend (Oct. 13, 14 and 15). We’ll have a casual gathering/dinner at Susie and Nick Schilling’s house on Friday night. On Saturday we’ll celebrate being back together at our fully catered tailgate bash with a bar in the Stadium Lot near the Walsh Family Hall of Architecture. You need advance tickets for the tailgate for all the food and drink. If interested, we have only a few tickets ($50) left. We also had a great response again for the Class football tickets and will have more than 200 sitting together for the game. And we’ll complete the weekend with Father Dan Groody, CSC, celebrating our Class Mass on Sunday morning. We will continue to send out details via email with everything you need to know for these events. If you would like to be added to the Class email list, please email me. Bob Musselman sold his propeller business in Tampa after 33 years and relocated to Ave Maria FL, where he is working as an assistant to the COO and project manager at Ave Maria U. His wife, Julie, is the university president’s chief of staff. Bob asked me to let you all know that if you are ever in the area (Naples, Fort Myers) and would like to visit Our Lady’s “other” university, please look him up! He would love to share what’s going on there. Their daughter, Mary, will graduate ND in 2024. Joe Cripe just finished his 30th year at Adidas North America. He is still coaching CYO basketball (35 years) and is looking forward to many more! He and Molly ’86SMC enjoy hosting ND classmates when they roll through Indy. His Dillonite crew has planned their annual weekend get-together around the USC game and our ’86 class tailgater. In addition to their usual suspects, they are looking forward to adding John Husmann to the mix this fall. Mike McGowan joined Deloitte Consulting last year and he and Sonia ’87SMC have relocated to Chicago. They have enjoyed getting back to campus more often, including for the Clemson and Stanford games, meeting up with ’86ers Patty ’87SMC and Pat Mullen, Connie and Dan Brennan, Bill Mitchell, Kathy and Conrad Rehill, Shannon and Dave Shine, Matt Donaher, John McShane, Dudley Kelsey, Meg Sherman and Tom Ryder. Mike Falso and Jeff Kulmayer, two ND Army ROTC veterans and good friends, hit Beaver Creek ski resort in CO for a week of skiing, camaraderie and tall tales. Dave Delahanty retired from Aon last February and is spending a lot of time with his kids and granddaughter. He is also doing a lot of volunteer habitat restoration work on the Mississippi River where it runs through downtown Minneapolis. We learned from the University the sad news that our classmate Matthew Pawlak passed on Dec. 11. I was able to recently light a candle for Matt at the Grotto on behalf of all of us in the ’86 family. Please keep Matt’s wife, Tricia, and sons Noah and Clarke, and the entire Pawlak family, in your prayers. Please take a few moments and send in an update, particularly those who we have not heard from in a while! 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 Family Updates and New Parts

Time marches on for us all. Jim Landenberger became a grandfather a few months back. Leslie and Jim’s oldest daughter, Jenna, and her husband, Brandon, welcomed their son, Sam. Those three make their home in Camp Lejeune NC, where Jenna is a special ed teacher and Brandon is a Marine captain. Jim and Leslie’s other daughter is a sous chef in the Hyatt organization. I believe with tongue in cheek, Jim of Amalgamated Bank of Chicago also wrote that it has been a “fun year in banking.” Retirement “looms”; presumably it will be voluntary. Lori Lopez Guzzo shared sad news which I had not previously heard: Her Seattle home was essentially destroyed by fire last summer. On the good news front, they’ve begun to move back in now that all repairs and rebuild are nearly complete. In even better news, her son is in medical school at the U of Washington. Mike Shields reports that he, Steve Powell, Tim Riordan, Anna (Moore) Carulas and “reasonable man” Scott Bilse enjoyed a Motor City NDLS 1986 mini-reunion in a suite at the Red Wings game in Detroit last February. (Anna, were you able to get in a word edgewise?) Unfortunately, Denny Barnes, who thought a tan in Mexico was more important than suffering through a Detroit winter, and Rob Kurnick, who was away on business, were not able to join. Scott brought his son who is a huge hockey fan. Mike said they had so much fun they had no idea who won the game—likely not the Red Wings. (Go Avs!) From Tampa, where he is senior assistant Hillsborough County attorney, Ernie Mayor wrote that his son, Justin ’14, and Theresa Macari were married last year at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, with wedding events at both the Morris Inn and Notre Dame Stadium. While Ernie and Justin have three ND degrees between them, Justin, Theresa and Ernie’s other son have five UF degrees among the three of them. Still, Irish over Gators any day. Mary McPherson recently moved to the college town of Claremont CA, and bought a little midcentury house “up on the hill,” which she is now renovating with an eye toward retirement in a year or two. Ernesto Dominguez wrote to tell me that not too long ago he tuned in to watch a TX Supreme Court argument where Blake Bailey argued a case involving educational malpractice, and that Blake “did a great job.” Ernesto reports that TX Supreme Court arguments are available for viewing on that court’s website should any of you care to see Blake’s command of the podium. David Corrigan’s brother, Kevin, is now the longest tenured D-1 varsity lacrosse coach in the country. Kevin began as Notre Dame’s LAX coach in 1988 and has built the Irish program into a perennial powerhouse. Finally, our favorite bike law expert, John Duggan, checked in from his recovery bed and transmitted gruesome OR pics of his recent total knee replacement. John’s new metal joins his 16-year-old total hip. (My new hips are only 13 and 9 years old, respectively). Reminder, Law School homecoming: Oct. 23 (Ohio State game weekend). Make plans to attend—three years in advance of our 40th Reunion. More importantly, please send your news, joint replacements or otherwise. — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com 

 

87 New Chapters

Hello Class of ’87! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying a nice summer. As I write this, I’m packing to travel to St. Louis to see my youngest, Jake, graduate from Washington U. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying: Where did the years go? Like the talented writer she is, Nylce Prada Myers described a recent ND girls’ outing in Brooklyn perfectly. She wrote, “In The Wife of Bath, Chaucer famously asks, ‘What do women want?’ Annie Jennings Weber, Mary Heilmann Becker, Laura Dowden, Miriam Hill, Becky Nanovic and I decided what we wanted was to see The Wife of Willesden, Zadie Smith’s contemporary adaptation of that timeless tale. We met up in Brooklyn to enjoy the production at BAM, then enjoyed a terrific dinner at a nearby Italian bistro. Our goal is to organize similar outings and include other ND ’87 alumnae living in the NY metro area. (We threw this adventure together a bit hastily and then realized at dinner that there were other likely attendees we should have included.)” If you’re interested, please let me know and I can put you in touch with Nylce. Speaking of great writers, Patty Perez Sherk has published an inspirational romance novel, A Gift from Above. I’ve downloaded it from Amazon and I’m saving it for my plane ride. It might be fun to try to do an online discussion group about the book this fall, possibly getting Patty to join for Q&A. Again, let me know if there’s interest and I’ll see if this is something Patty is up for. Claire Driscoll moved to Santa Barbara CA in December to start a new job at UC Santa Barbara (director, Office of Technology & Industry Alliances) after living and working for 32 years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda MD. She’s happy to make this move as it gets her closer to her young adult son who lives in San Francisco as well as a few other family members and friends. Best of luck in this new chapter—wonderful to have the opportunity to set off on a great new adventure. John Lutz wrote to let us know that our classmate John G. Klinge was named Notre Dame Accounting Alumnus of the Year. John has spent his entire career at KPMG and currently works in Chicago. We’ve got strong support among our class members for women’s athletics, and I love seeing posts on social media about Lady Irish success. Mary Kate Donnelly wrote that Rebecca Nanovic Lin, Miriam Hill, Nylce Prada Myers and Maria Murphy McCarrick went to South Bend for the weekend to see an ND women’s basketball game. Although she couldn’t attend, Mary Kate has been thrilled with the season and got the chance to see Miriam in Chicago at a later date. Finally, Rick Effer contacted me to let me know that our classmate Jimmy Rueth passed away several weeks ago. Rick reminisced about the bonfires that Jimmy used to host at his blue bungalow on Bulla, and added, “He was my dear friend and was one of the kindest souls I have ever known.” Rick and his wife, Diane (Jacob) Effer, as well as Julie Splan and Tim Murney, were able to attend Jimmy’s services in Geneva IL. Jimmy is survived by three sons: Marko, John and David, and in addition, I sense that this is quite a difficult passing for Rick. Please hold all of Jimmy’s loved ones in your prayers. Additionally, Rick added that he and Diane are empty nesters in St. Louis, with adult children that they enjoy visiting in Chicago, San Diego and Dallas. He’s looking forward to seeing lots of us at the Flannerpalooza tailgate this fall. Enjoy the remainder of summer, and I hope to see you at a game this fall! — Meg Brennan Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com

 

87MBA Class Secretary — Perry N. Dellelce;

Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Suite 800, Wildeboer Dellelce Place, 365 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario M5H 2V1; 416-361-5899; fax 416-361-1790; perry@wildlaw.ca

 

87JD Grandchildren Galore!

Joe Falvey has 16 grandchildren, and will be adding numbers 17 and 18 later this year. Joe and his wife, Annie, spent Easter week skiing in Vail with their four oldest grandsons and one of their granddaughters, along with their two young daughters who still live at home. Joe’s son Joe ’09, the father of two of those grandsons who went skiing (as well as a couple more at home), is a colleague at Jones Day in Washington. Dan Ryan checks in with 11 grandchildren, which includes two sets of twins. Jeff Hahn is now up to six grandsons, ranging in age from 6 months to 5 years old. Jeff, his wife, their children and all six grandchildren spent a week in Aruba in February. Linda Weaver has three grandsons and two granddaughters. She escaped the Chicago winter weather to spend some time in FL with all of them. Linda’s grandsons are into every sport imaginable and several different baseball teams, and Linda recently undertook another tour of Extreme Grandma Duty, helping her daughter shuttle the boys between various tournaments in different cities around GA. Jan ’86MBA and Pat Davies have three grandchildren, ranging from 18 months to sixth grade. They also have four daughters and three sons-in-law, all living in the Washington DC area. Pat retired nearly a decade ago after 27 years with Covington & Burling. Stacy and John Farnan have two grandsons, welcoming their most recent grandson on Good Friday. John’s mother was born in Ireland, so he is an automatic Irish citizen by birth, and hopes to enjoy the summers, at least, in Ireland once he retires. Fifteen of John’s 58 first cousins live there. Chip Lewis recently became a grandfather for the first time. Chip’s daughter Madeline ’17 and her husband, Michael Infantine ’16, ’18, had a son, Franklin, on March 31. In non-grandchildren news, congratulations to Scott Cessar on being named CEO of Eckert Seamans. Scott was a summer associate at Eckert Seamans in 1986 and has spent his entire career there. Over the past 35 years he has held several management positions, including member-in-charge of the firm’s Pittsburgh office and chair of the Construction and Alternative Dispute Resolution practice group. Please send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com

 

88 Smart Moves

In 2016 Anthony Ragunas sold his company, Single Source Inc., and turned to building a fine art career. He started by exploring ceramics at Callanwolde Art Center in Atlanta and transitioned to oil painting and multi-media works. If his gallery shows in Seattle, Raleigh, Denver and Atlanta are any indication, it’s fair to say that he has launched onto the art scene. Beyond making a name for himself as an artist, Tony’s true passion has been creating custom art to raise money for charity, with 100% of the profits being shared between the hosting charity and the local charities he supports. This April he participated in Notre Dame Day by creating a limited-edition piece called “Under a Blue, Gray Sky.” (Think the Four Horsemen meet graffiti enamel art.) His hope was to raise $200,000 and to follow his giving model of donating half to ND and half to art and education initiatives near his home in Georgia. To learn more about Tony’s artistic pursuits, go to method-artz.com. Open LMS, a leading eLearning company, recently appointed classmate Sean Tierney to its leadership team. He will serve as vice president of customer success. With his extensive experience in the software industry, including various leadership positions at Blackboard and BMC Software, Sean is well-suited to help guide Open LMS at a pivotal time of rapid expansion as they bring on more clients around the globe to help learners reach their fullest potential. Next, I’d like to provide a spring ’23 column correction. It has to do with Lynn (Ewing) Cassidy and the fact that I inadvertently altered her family’s history by marrying her off to a different guy. Her husband is Scott Cassidy ’86, EMBA ’06, not Joe as I mistakenly named him. Along with being a great sport as she pointed out my error, she shared that she recently had a hip replaced. As we hit this point in our lives when replacing parts and pieces becomes necessary, aren’t we glad that the Bionic Woman is becoming less sci-fi and more true-to-life?! Shannon (Walsh) Rivers made the most of her 56 years. It is with a leaden heart that I share that Shannon passed away on March 29th from complications related to a long battle with cancer. As her brother Tim so aptly said on Facebook, “Shannon will be remembered for her wit and irrepressible spirit. People often referred to her as ‘effervescent’ — quite appropriately.” Shannon was born on Valentine’s Day of 1967 and exuded love and light from that day forward. While at ND, she earned a degree in mathematics and then went on to complete an MBA from the University of Louisville. Her professional career began at IBM and eventually led her to PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she served as director of client experience. Outside of work, Shannon was active as a lector at her church, St. Lawrence, and she often cheered on the Irish with the ND Club of Greater Tampa. Her doormat read “Football’s on. Let yourself in.” which alerted guests to her love of sports and was a clue to the fact that gametime conversation better be about the event. She enjoyed traveling the world with friends and her son, Sebastian, and was known to read multiple books at a time, often including something by Stephen King. Condolences to Shannon’s husband, David Rivers, to Sebastian, and to the extended Walsh and Rivers families. Rev. Tom Streit, CSC knew Shannon well and presided over her service.  — 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 Loving Life

Hello, friends! Lots to report this time around. Joe Schroeder’s daughter, Delaney, will be graduating from ND this May. She is currently the president of the Notre Dame Chorale. She is planning to head to law school this fall (despite Joe’s cautions!). Jim Kane’s daughter, Nancy, will also be graduating. Nancy has been a member of the Notre Dame volleyball team all four years. Jim Layden got in touch with Joe for the first time in about 30 years. Jim has a nice life in CA with a lovely wife and four beautiful kids. Joe is most excited about his recent retirement a year and a half ago. He is loving life! I heard from Tom Antonini—he notes that Joe Karaszewski retired from the Justice Department and is quite happy! Joe and his wife, Karen, have a daughter, Abigail, who is in the ND Marching Band. Great to hear from you, Tom! Mary (Laudick) and Jim Stucko were blessed with their fourth grandchild, Caroline Marie! They hosted a mini family reunion over Easter and had a blast. Jim Ganther reports that he is “old, fat and bald. Film at 11.” Jim, I find that hard to believe! I was happy to hear from Dave Gilmartin. Dave attended a board meeting in DC and was able to meet Tracy and Bill Cowden for dinner and had a wonderful time catching up. Dave just passed his third year as general counsel at American Health Information Management Association. Two of his three children are graduated and working and he is excited for the third to graduate in May. He is now “tuition free”! Russell Waldon is happy to announce that he has changed colleges. In February, Russell transitioned from dean of strategic partnerships and workforce development at Skyline College, San Bruno CA (near San Francisco) to dean of the School of Letters, Humanities and Communication Studies/site dean for the San Elijo Campus of MiraCosta College, Cardiff-by-the-Sea CA (near San Diego). Congratulations, Russell. Linda Toutant and her husband, Chris Guardia, are thrilled that their daughter, Justis, is traveling to Europe to study next year. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in production (she ran the Jumbotron at Pauley Pavilion—go Bruins) and a double minor in urban planning and digital humanities, followed by a nearly two-year stint as a city analyst, she has been accepted by U College London’s digital humanities master’s degree program. Linda says, “How wonderful to live and study in London—what fond memories I have from our time there, dear friends. Now if only Peggy O’Mahoney was still alive and could find her a decent flat. Let us know if you are visiting the UK, or have any leads for housing. Cheers! Linda.” Congratulations, Justis! As for me, I welcomed my third granddaughter last month! Loving life as a Gigi! Remember to send updates, big or small, to — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com; lcoticchia@ruffingmontessori.org 

 

89 55 and Vibrant as Ever 

Thanks to Jim Winkler for passing along news of what sounded like an amazing weekend! Back in September, to celebrate their collective 55th birthdays, a large group of Class of ’89ers and spouses got together in Park City UT for a long weekend of laughs, hiking, electric bikes, fun food, a euchre tournament and watching the ND-Cal game on TV. As if it were possible to do more, they also took in a beer festival at Deer Valley and a visit to the Salt Lake Olympics museum and training facility. A highlight was Phil Faccenda and Mike Napier riding the Olympic bobsled run! Mike also won the euchre tournament. The O’Garas and Kennedys did a side trip to Idaho to knock that state off their lists as well. Attendees included Jim Winkler, Kerstin (White) Winkler, Kathleen (Hannon) Gullott, Dave Gullott, Brian O’Gara, Kate (Monahan) O’Gara, Angie and Phil Faccenda, Mike Napier, David Cayce and fiancee Holly Capps, Dianna (Gullott) Sparacino, Joe Sparacino, Kris Kennedy, Jill Kennedy, Karen (Lynch) Conway, Theresa (Barnhart) Sedlack and husband Scott Bischoff. Unable to join but well represented were Mike Napier’s wife, Christy, and John Conway. Meanwhile I caught up recently with Mike “Wader” Wade who is still going strong at the NBA and talks to a handful of Domers on a regular basis. Please keep the stories coming. God bless. Go Irish. — 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