1990s
1990s
90 These Irish Eyes Were Smiling
Dublin was spectacular! The Irish should play there every year (at least every other year). I saw a number of our classmates over the course of the week. I ran into Maureen Mohlenkamp at the Jameson Distillery, Dr. Chris Balint at Temple Bar and Kevin McCormack, Dave Glenister and Bingo Hanley ’88 at Buskers. I ran into Jim Rojas and crew at Fitzsimons Temple Bar and got a few updates: Angel and Jim live in Tampa and have three kids. Alexa just graduated from IU Maurer Law School, Sarah is working in Chicago for RSM and Dan is a senior at the U of South Florida. Lena and Miles Hadlock have three kids and live in Anthem AZ. Julie ’92 and Gary Davis have three kids and live in Pewaukee WI, and Shannon Fish ’91 lives in Basking Ridge NJ with his wife, Kimberly ’97MBA, and their son Ryan. Kevin Keane wanted to share that he and Thom Gasper are serving on the Board of Directors of The Association of Catholic Student Councils. Thom is a regional superintendent at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Kevin is chief operating officer of Directed Action Inc. Kevin’s wife, Shannon ’90SMC, started the firm 18 years ago. They are a management consulting firm who also work with Joe Womac ’02, who is the president of Specialty Family Foundation in Santa Monica. Shannon and Kevin’s oldest daughter, Reilly, just moved to Austin TX from Los Angeles. She graduated from Fordham U two years ago and is looking to make her way to London for graduate school in a few years. Their next oldest, Aileen, recently graduated from Saint Joseph U in Philadelphia. She’s migrated back to LA and then is heading back to Philly once she secures a job. Molly is next up and in her second year at St. Andrews in Scotland. There are no golfers in their family, but she is entitled to a free golf lesson at the Old Course. Reagan is a junior in high school. Their youngest, Colin, is in sixth grade. The night before the Ohio State game, Tom Eck and I stopped by Bobby Kloska’s St. Peter’s Pub. It was a blast, and we ran into Karen Weyrauch and Kristin Sosnowski Georgi. Per usual, Bobby was a host extraordinaire! Please keep track of us on Facebook at Notre Dame Irish Class of 1990 and at http://1990.undclass.org. Go Irish! — Marty Falkenberg; 23 Casselton Road, Raymond ME 04071; 847-323-4717; martin.falkenberg@yahoo.com
90MBA Pitt Weekend Reunion Recap
Our class celebrated a “mini-reunion” the weekend of the ND-Pitt game on Oct. 27-28. It was wonderful seeing everyone who could make it for the weekend and, of course, great to see such a dominating win by our Irish football team! Even the hockey team was dominating Friday night, showing no mercy to Mercyhurst with a 5-0 win. A special thank-you to Ryan Retartha ’07, director of alumni relations at Mendoza, for all the help he provided our Class in coordinating tickets and hosting a great event Friday with the Mendoza Rally. For those who missed out on the fun this year, you’ll be happy to know that there was an overwhelming desire to do this again in 2025 when we celebrate our 35th anniversary — but in September when the weather is better! Takahiro Miwa won the award for the longest journey back to ND, coming all the way from Tokyo. Taka-san was as joyful as ever despite being jet-lagged and promised to bring his wife in 2025. There was a large contingent from CA including our hosts for the gameday tailgate, Patti and Bill Sheedy, and their son Jack (Mendoza MBA ’25). Thank you so much, Patti and Bill, for your hospitality, generosity and friendship. The tailgate was so awesome that it won “Tailgate of the Week” from the NDAA and Dolly Duffy ’84, and you can see some photos of us on NDAA social media. Other Californians joining us and enjoying lower gas prices for the weekend were Tom Hillebrecht from the San Diego area, Tom Monroe from the San Francisco area and Craig Thompson (with wife Gina and daughter Sarah) from La Jolla. Other classmates seen at our events were Mary Collins White, Kathy Walton, Gerry Wilson, Greg Pellegrino, Rob Neus, Chris VanDevere and Ed Doman. Ed celebrated his big 6-0 with his wife, Kendall, and a large group of friends, and some of us had the chance to sing him “happy birthday” and welcome him to his seventh decade. Tom Hillebrecht just started a new role in wealth management at Lucia Capital Group and he and Amy have three kids: Sarah, a 21-year-old senior at TCU, and 13-year-old twins Tommy and Anna. Kathy has lived in NYC since graduating and spent the last few years doing equity research and sales in metals/mining/energy and industrials stocks, and has recently started working for Water Tower Research after a past illness. Kathy, our prayers are with you in your recovery. Rob joined the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in 1998 after serving as a Peace Corps volunteer and small business development trainer. Rob and his wife, Borami, raised three children (Sam ’23, Joe ’23 and Sarah ’26) overseas at a variety of US embassies throughout Latin America and also Croatia, DC and Chicago. Thank you for your service to our country, Rob, and I hope being in MI now is not too boring! Reported sightings of Rick Scurfield, Jack Bachofer, Pat O’Leary and Chas Jerich were rumored but, unfortunately, I did not see them at the rally or tailgate. I’m sure you gents had a great weekend and we all look forward to seeing you at the 2025 football weekend reunion. Finally, we’re starting a new section this month called “where in the world is” based on requests from classmates. So, where in the world are Jamie Loftus, Moira (Devlin) and Bob Clarkin, and Liz Reeves Brent? Please send me an update, even if your name is not listed — inquiring minds in our Class want to know. — Jim Rogers; 1825 SouthPointe Dr., Morganton NC 28655; 336-413-2569; domer8490@gmail.com
90JD Slàinte
Dublin certainly gave a warm welcome to the 40,000 Irish fans in August, including an enthusiastic contingent from the Class of ’90: Carol (Reed) and Steve Chan, Christine (Cronin) ’90SMC and Tom Falkenberg, Laura and John Watkins, Jennifer (Hirschfeld) ’87SMC, ’91 JD/MBA and Bob Ryan, Rachel Hill and her husband, John Skiles, Michelle and Gabriel Shakour, Nancy and Jim Stricker, and Rick and me. With more than 72 hours of pub time and virtually no discussion of the law, it was suggested the weekend in Dublin held a close resemblance to our days in South Bend. While the game and win were terrific, the best part was just spending time together, catching up and meeting some of our now-adult kids. Oh, and Bob made sure there were Woo Woos. Huge thanks to Strick who set the plans in motion and found hotels, pubs and various other meeting places, most notably Slattery’s Pub — where the “Shicker Party of 25” dominated the “love nest” pre- and post-game. Several fake honorary degrees were granted to our spouses for their fortitude in enduring another replay of the ’87-’90 glory days. I treasure our friendships and any time we spend together. The next road trip is coming soon! In other happy news, I heard from Michelle Shakour after returning home that her daughter, Caroline, got engaged at the end of the trip. We all had the pleasure of meeting Caroline and her fiancé, Collie, at one of our dinners. That’s all for now. Be well and please drop a note to let me know how you’re doing! — Cathy (Pollock) Gregory; cagregory.home@gmail.com
91 Class Secretary — Suzi (Criqui) Mueller;
suzi@cbglobalsearch.com
91MBA Farewell to the Three-Semester MBA
The University’s Mendoza College of Business announced that it will discontinue the Notre Dame One-Year MBA at the end of the 2023-24 academic year in order to better focus on and invest in the Notre Dame Two-Year MBA program. Saying goodbye to this program will be a bittersweet experience to all the “three-semester students.” Are you feeling nostalgic? Let’s reflect on the journey and the countless memories it has provided us and bid adieu to this great program. Goodbye to what once was, and hello to what will be. As for individual updates in this issue, all was quiet. I welcome some news to share in the next issue. If you are not receiving my quarterly email reminders about the magazine submissions, please email me. They have been including photos (current and throwback photos) that classmates are sharing. — Patty (Spiekermann) Lynch; pattylynch05@gmail.com
91JD New Book
Congratulations to John Fisher who published his book Win Today in September. In addition to representing catastrophic injury victims in medical malpractice claims in his firm, John also created The Mastermind Experience, which brings successful lawyers together to work with and learn from each other in the challenges presented in practicing law. I would love to hear from you so send me a text or email, or just call. Until next time, act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God. — Martha (Boesen) Trout; 12823 Clark St., Clive IA 50325; 515-249-9235; marthatrout@gmail.com
92 Sesqui Class Overtakes Ireland
Dublin enjoyed the economic boost from our Class during the Navy game. John Gugle met classmate and fellow finance major Brent Phelan for the first time at the Torc Waterfall in Killarney. John also saw Julie Baron, Katie McMahon, Veronica Garza, Chris Baguer, Amy Folsom and Kendall (Dorminey) Jeynes. Jon Paul Potts shared that several from BP and Grace made the trek including Cara (Brannigan) and Brian Packard, Julie (Depke) Davis and Gary Davis ’90, Heather (Kern) Slovensky, Cathy (Newstrom) Dito, Colleen (Burke) Kave, Doug Fries, Caroline Goles, Kristy (Alkidas) Jacoby, Amy (Adamonis) and Jeff Bender, Amy Stack, and Tami (Posnanski) Carpenter. Katie McBride-Fields and her husband, Damon (Naval Academy ’88), also took in the festivities. Brian Peppard along with Deb (Walker) and Mike Julian mentioned attending the Mass in Dublin Castle. Cecilia Brown ran into Mark Mueller in a pub in Dublin. Scott “Scooter” Fraser coordinated a meetup with DC and ’92 alum at Flannery’s Dublin. Lots of ’92 mini-reunions prior to a great victory. Scott Mitsui is now a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a voter for the Oscars. He is an award-winning creative director and EVP at MWA Trailers. Chenoa (Topash) Mitsui is a clearance manager at Disney Television. She celebrated 20 years with Disney and teaches yoga in her spare time. In April some Farley girls gathered in Asheville NC, enjoying food, wine and art with laughter, tears and hugs: Angie (Butchko) Bachman, Joanne (Hoge) Curoe, Steph (Ferry) Milburn, Mary (Pozar) Klinger and Barbara (Rossman) Abbate. Another Farley crew extended their streak of gathering each year after turning 50. Their goal to see each other’s hometowns took them to Barb (Healy) Campbell’s home in the Houston area. They hit the hill country and spent time in Fredericksburg chilling, hiking, eating and visiting some wineries with late-night laughter around the fire pit. Cathy Evces, Susan Dognaux, Lynn (Mordan) Schoenbauer and Elizabeth (Gleason) Houser made the trip. At the USC game, Farley girls represented: Joan (Dimopoulos) Park, Madeleine (Castellini) Neuner, Barat (Bagenski) Laporte, Tara (McDonald) Morrison, Heather (Burns) Martin, Jennifer (Yost) Graber and Kathy (Mines) Williams made it to campus for the big win. Brian Murphy hosted a tailgate with his company Athletes First. Seen with Brian were Kevin Keegan, Jim Gordon and Lori (Corirossi) Hazen ’92SMC. A swim team reunion included Cynthia Safford, Kathleen (McKinney) Liston, Shana (Stephens) Murray and Debbie (Brady) Messman who watched the Purdue swim meet with fellow swimmers Karl Peterson, Tommy Whowell ’93, Chrissy (Ciletti) Stiegerweld ’91, Becky (Wood) Disorba ’91, Amy (Tri) Peltier ’91 and Katie (Andrew) Groya ’93, to name a few. Cynthia said it was like old times going from the pool to dancing at the tailgate to a winning football game! College kiddos: Gregg Soroka’s middle daughter, Addison, has committed to play soccer at Wash U in St. Louis next year. Jennifer (Kipp) Rentz’s daughter Becky verbally committed to swim for ND in ’25! Kimberly (Mitchell) Lutnesky’s daughter Ariel graduated with a master’s degree from U of OR; Ashley is in her senior year at Baylor and Anthony is a sophomore year at UTSA. Kevin Rooney sent word that daughter Alena will study abroad in Chile with Smith College. Kevin was named the 2023 CIO of the Year by the Executives’ Club of Chicago and AITP-Chicago. He is the CIO at West Monroe. Greg Hendry just published Power Sisters and re-released Power Priests books with audio. He speaks at Catholic conferences on the topic of powerful vocational stories. His Morrissey roommate Greg Carnevale, MD recently completed his second marathon 33 years after his first while a junior at ND. His time was within seconds of his original time. Check out my.nd.edu to update your contact info. Note the Class Facebook page: U of Notre Dame, Class of 1992. God bless and Go Irish! — Jill-Beth (JB) Hayes; ndclassof92@gmail.com
92MBA Class Secretary — Julie Pendell;
pendell.julie@gmail.com
92JD Class Secretary — Paul A. Drey;
6701 Westown Parkway, Suite 100, West Des Moines IA 50266; bus 515-271-1765; paul.drey@brickgentrylaw.com
93 Rally for Rosas
For anyone who followed the tennis team when we were undergrads, you know the name, if not the man himself, our classmate, Ron Rosas, who was an invaluable member of the legendary 1992 NCAA finalist Notre Dame tennis team. It has been a year since Ron, his wife, Victoria, and their four children had their lives completely upended after Ron was hospitalized in Dallas with pneumonia on Dec. 29, 2022. Shockingly, sepsis developed so severely that doctors had to amputate all four of Ron’s limbs. After researching multiple hospitals, the Rosas decided on the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Specialty Amputee Program because Dr. Jason Souza was the only one who confidently said he could save Ron’s right elbow. This meant a lot to Ron because he isn’t ready to give up his love for tennis! After spending nine weeks at the OSU Medical Center and 12 weeks at in-patient rehab, Ron returned home in mid-July. If there was ever a time for our ND family to rally behind a friend and classmate, this is it! Ron’s former tennis teammates and friends launched the Team Rosas GoFundMe. Please consider contributing to this fund to alleviate the unfathomable expenses that come with costly prosthetics, ongoing physical rehab and changes to the Rosas’ home to accommodate Ron’s mobility challenges. Not worrying about expenses will empower the Rosas family to instead focus on Ron’s recovery. For more information and to follow Ron’s journey of recovery, sign up at the Rosas family’s CaringBridge site: www.caringbridge.org/visit/ronrosas. Links to this and other related sites are also on the Rosas’ GoFundMe page. Post a Well Wish and let Ron know that you’re thinking of him. It really helps Ron get through the mentally tough times knowing that so many people are rooting for him. Ron and I chatted on the phone, and I was in awe of his positive attitude. As of October, Ron had been fitted with three of his four prosthetics and already taken steps without the assistance of a walker, so his perseverance and determination are incredible! A special shoutout to Ron’s friends Andy Zurcher and Steve Gund, who contacted me to get word out to our classmates about Ron’s recovery as well as visibility to the Rally for Rosas GoFundMe. Because Ron is an ND alum and was a patient at the OSU Medical Center, UND showed a video featuring Ron’s story during halftime at the October OSU-ND game. Ron shared his story because he hopes to help someone else by spreading awareness about the incredible amputation clinic at OSU. Ron’s entire family was in South Bend for the game. He had a busy weekend, spending Friday morning at the Monogram Club and then speaking to the lacrosse team. He chatted with Pat McAfee, an analyst on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” as well as Pete Bevacqua the incoming athletic director for ND. Jack Calmeyn ’63 called me with news that no parent should ever have to share. His son, our classmate Tim, died from brain cancer on Jan. 17, 2023, 18 months after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma. Jack said that Tim loved people and loved life. A lifelong bachelor, Tim was very social and enjoyed skiing, trips to Vegas and playing soccer. He had black belts in taekwondo and jiu jitsu. After ND Tim earned an MS and Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Ohio University. His professional career saw him running his family’s business, Fabrication Specialties Incorporated, in Bridgeview IL. You can read Tim’s obituary on www.legacy.com, where you can leave a note for his family. — Anne Marie (Krauza) Yuhas; 623-606-7000; yuhas93@gmail.com
93MBA Reunions
Go Irish! I am writing this update after being on campus on a lively Saturday enjoying the activities before the Irish beat USC on a typical South Bend day with a little bit of rain and a nip in the air. I received an update and a photo the next day from six of us who were on campus. It stated: Matt Gleason, Todd Stopperich, Frank Leyden, Tom Beahn, Scott Demorest and John Liptak met up for the ND-USC game. It had been 25 years since they all had gotten together. Matt came in from VT, Todd from PA, Tom from VA, Scott from OR and Frank and John from SC. The weekend included a round of golf at Blackthorn in South Bend, followed by dinner at the Corndance on Friday. Todd put on a great tailgate before the game and the dominating Irish win topped off the night! But they say the real highlight was getting back together to reminisce about their time at ND and catching up on everyone’s lives since graduation! All are well and they look forward to doing it again next year. They hope more classmates will be there! Tom Berchou and Tim Postufka reached out to me and sent a great photo of the two of them along with Bill Broun and Courtney Pernell. Tom sent this update: “I had my 20th wedding anniversary party at Dalhousie Castle near Edinburgh, Scotland. The party was 20 years to the day (married 10/6/03 and the party was 10/6/23) my wife Shirley and I got married in that same castle. I am writing because I was honored to have fellow ’93 class members, and dear friends, Courtney Pernell (and wife Shannon and daughter Meghan), Tim Postufka (and wife Cheryl) and Bill Broun (and wife Mary) in attendance. Bill Broun honored his Scottish heritage by wearing a kilt. (I did not check to see, nor did I ask, if he had undergarments under the kilt!) We all spent a few days in the castle, and it was an experience of a lifetime. We had such a great time together, and talked so much about our days at Notre Dame, which were some of the greatest times of our lives.” I love receiving these stories!! If anyone else has any fun reunion stories, please share with me. My next deadline is Jan. 20, 2024. I also love to receive your Christmas cards and updates. — Tricia Hug Schorr; 317-987-5000; thugschorr@yahoo.com
93JD Good Times, Bad Times
It is with great sadness that I report that Anthony Greene passed away on Aug. 6. Anthony formed his own firm in 1996 and was engaged in private practice in MI focusing on criminal and social justice issues, and he advised clients on religious liberty matters. He is survived by his wife, Yvonne, their son James, their daughter Elyse and his mother, as well as extended family. Please keep them all in your prayers. In happier news, football season has brought about many reunions commemorating the 30 years that have passed since our graduation — including but not limited to the University homecoming. Several classmates, including Erin (Bartholomy) and Dave Birks, Patricia (McManmon) Carlson, and Jim Zendejas were observed in Dublin for the exciting season-opening victory over Navy. Rumor has it that Jim had Dublin sightings of both Joe Montana and Will Ferrell. An unofficial reunion (lovingly referred to by those in attendance as the “rogue reunion”) took place for the Central Michigan game. The Club 23 Tailgate at that game was attended by Mary Malone, Jill Farrell, Bridget Quinn, Judy Fox and Kate Smith. Also in town and seen tailgating were Hank Alford, Jim Shields, Ann Schlaffman, Bob McMahon, Danielle (Johnston) Holmes, Bridget (Healy) Schoenig, Mary Beth (Welch) Andrews, Kathy (Quirk) Hegarty and Jane Nagle. A special shout-out to Jennifer (Laughlin) and Ed Yevoli and Kim (Lebnick) Brizzi, who were in town for the Central Michigan game, decided to stay for the Ohio State game, and bought my Ohio State tickets when I had to cancel my trip because my son was hospitalized as a newly diagnosed diabetic. On a personal note — thanks to those I told and who reached out with thoughts and support — he is doing very well, and we plan to attend a bowl game (wherever and whenever) instead, so if anyone is there, I hope to catch up with you at that time. However, the official University homecoming was forced to go on without me, and go on it did. Lynne (Pregenzer) Hook, Kari (Swindell) Gallagher (who is now an associate teaching professor in the law school legal writing program) and Pat Carlson were seen at Justice Kagan’s forum with Dean Cole, where they reconnected with our former professor Jay Tidmarsh and professor/assistant dean Patty O’Hara. Lynne, Pat and Dave Chorzempa hosted a Class reunion dinner (much thanks to them) that was attended by Dave and Erin (Bartholomy) Birks, Jen Yevoli, Kim Brizzi, Kathy Hegarty and Jane Nagle, followed by traditional shenanigans at the Backer (it’s not a reunion without them). Additional attendees seen at the Law School tailgate before the game included Susan Wilham, Maureen Smith and Rich Rolwing. Rosary (Cuello) Hernandez and Frank Kros were also seen in town (congratulations to Rosary on her inclusion in 2023’s list of the most influential women in AZ business). Tim Rhatigan was observed at the game with family, and Jim Zendejas was seen at the ESPN Gameday broadcast with a sign that traveled well from CO. If I missed you from pictures and reports of others, my apologies; please send me your story, and I’ll include it in the next column. While he did not attend the game, Jim Shields had a mini-reunion that weekend with Courtney (Genco) Scime when their sons played hockey against each other in Pittsburgh. In non-football-related news, a business trip to the Midwest allowed me to reconnect with Maria Vertuno, who now works as the dean of students at DePaul Law School. I also had the pleasure of a summer call with Charley Hegarty, who was well, and with whom I hope to reunite if I cannot successfully talk my son out of looking at the U of Michigan. Full columns make for good columns, and I’m happy to have a full one to celebrate our 30 years together. I’ve said before and I’ll say again, outside of my family, this is the group I’m most proud to identify with because of the people involved, the experiences we shared and the great institution that binds us together. To steal a phrase from one of my former study partner Rich McDermott’s favorite artists, long may we all run. Keep in touch, keep information coming, stay well, God bless and Go Irish! — Joe DiRienzo; DiRienzo & DiRienzo, 116 Saint Paul St., Westfield NJ 07090; res 908-812-2765; bus 908-233-6700; jd1@dirienzo-law.com
94 Reunion Is Less than Six Months Away
Will you be on campus May 30-June 2? We hope to see you there! Anh-Tuan Truong lives in downtown Chicago with his wife of 20 years, April Warren-Truong, and two children — Jonah (14) and Lola (11). Anh-Tuan has been in private practice since 2014 and is the founder and CEO of Chicago Breast & Body Aesthetics. Anh-Tuan and Ethan Shoaps attended the OSU game together with their sons. Ethan is an internist in Columbus. In August, a Facebook post spurred the brief but fun reunion of Alicia (Feehery) and Scott Wolf, Matt Doring, and Elizabeth (Macor) Groupp for a dinner in Boston. Scott and Alicia were touring the Northeast after dropping their daughter at Villanova while Elizabeth was in town for work. Matt is a local, working in Boston and living in the suburbs with his wife and three children. In July, Grace Hall alums Mark Engel, Dan Fagan, Javier Porras, Matt Osiecki, Todd Herman, Joe Ross and Jon Ross collected at Dave Kisch’s beautiful lake house in WI for some fun, and while there, FaceTimed with the rest of the trolls who couldn’t make it — Matt Lamberti, Eric Staub and Dave Platt. Sean Arthurs, now the director of global education and training with EarthRights International, is recently back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the EarthRights team partnered with colleagues at AfreWatch to design and lead the first Congo River School. AfreWatch and EarthRights worked with the 24 participants from communities experiencing the horrific consequences of critical mineral exploitation to design action plans to organize and mobilize community resistance. Sean is headed to Peru to work with the EarthRights training program for Indigenous leaders fighting harmful development and would love to connect with anyone thinking or acting in similar spaces. His two children, Keegan and Catherine, maintain that they miss him on his travels and respond with at least one-word texts every two weeks. Nina (Zalenski) and Dr. Chris Canzoniero regularly throw a ’94 tailgate for football Saturdays with fellow classmates Denise (Paulin) and Mark Bangasser and Lynn (Wilder) and Jeff Cordell. Each couple has had at least one child graduate from ND recently, and all now have sophomore daughters at ND. Each tailgate brings this tight-knit group back to campus with many other ’94 classmates. This fall they have reconnected with Alumni Hall Dawgs Scott Gallagher, whose oldest son is getting married this winter, and Paul Vredenburg, who now lives in FL and has recently remarried. Kevin Eastland, who retired after 25 years as an Air Force pilot, is finishing his career at the Pentagon. Charlene (Leahy) and Tom Yager made the trip in from Madison WI. A number of Pasquerilla East alumnae also gathered this fall with visits to campus from Kristin (Rosigno) Bernard, who lives in Aliso Viejo CA, Ellen (Hujarski) Ryan, who lives in Deerfield IL, Jeanne (Fitzpatrick) Barta, who lives in Colorado Springs, Helen (Cole) Hampson in Indianapolis and Christina McAdams in Newtown PA. Also seen tailgating there this season were Badin alumnae Aurelie Gallagher, Elizabeth Lennon and Cathy (Miller) Bernasek with her husband, Brian Bernasek. Look for Chris, Nina and many of our other classmates in ND’s Bookstore Lot at Pole 9 for nearly every home football game on campus. In early September, 12 classmates who spent the ’91-’92 year in the Innsbruck Program together gathered for a weekend of stories and laughs in Chicago: Maralee Bechtol Williams, Tim O’Neil, Jason Brost, Howie Lanser, Julie Schuetz Hipp, Stephanie Powell, Stephanie Zone, Dave Barry, Eileen O’Connor Labak ’93, Colleen Loeffler ’93 and Tom McCaughey ’93. Keep the updates coming to ndclass1994@yahoo.com! — Elizabeth Macor Groupp; elizabethgroupp@gmail.com; Matt Cannizzo; mcannizz@nd.edu
94MBA Class Secretary — Rodger Laurite;
678-644-0422; rodgerlaurite@hotmail.com
94JD Seen at the OSU Game
I will start this column with an apology to everyone who was so upset and disappointed that I didn’t write a column last quarter. I have no real excuse other than the deadline of July 20 came and went, and I missed it. I failed you all (especially you, Pierre Nona, and my father) and endeavor to do better going forward. As I write it is October break at ND, and the team finally gets a week off. We are gearing up to attend the Pitt game with a small-ish group this year that will include Angela (Stavropoulos) Laurite, Elizabeth (Ix) and Tom Buccellato, Megan (Lee) and Dave Hilal, and J. Matt Carr. Unfortunately, Jenner Davis, Diana (Stratbucker) Cook, Scott Steiger and Mark Mildenberger will be unable to attend. Jenner has the best excuse, as she and husband “Papa” will be in Cook Island celebrating the 100th birthday of her aunt! We were fortunate enough to see Jenner and her parents at the OSU game, along with a stellar crew of Mike Mullster Mulligan with his lovely wife, Katherine; Dave “Wally” Pasquale and his family; Kathy (Hardiek) and Kevin “Doc” Dougherty (although Kathy didn’t get to stay for the game); Pierre, Matthew and Amy Kavanaugh; Dan (aka Peanut) Pezolt; M. Scott Aubry, Esq.; and a surprise last-minute visit via LandJet from Scott Woodpile Frigon and his beautiful wife, Ann. Unfortunately, Christopher Brett Ohlmeyer and M. Sean O’Neill were unable to make it. Hilal was also at the OSU game (though we didn’t see each other), along with Dan Renouard, Jon Langenfeld and Kevin Berch. Dave and Bucce were together at USC as well. Pierre, Doc and I had the ultimate pleasure of spending the weekend in Louisville with Chris Zubag Zulanas. While the outcome of the game was not what we wanted or expected, we had a ton of laughs and bourbon. Plans are already underway for a big group gathering in Atlanta next year for the Georgia Tech game. Shannon (Davis) Pezolt is likely learning right now that her home may be a host house for said game! Lastly — I spoke with Charles Oliva recently and we discussed a reunion game for 2024, which will be 30 years since we graduated MBA. We are targeting the weekend of Sept. 20, which is the Miami of OH game. More to come but please mark your calendars. Charles did tell me that he recently saw Danielle (Sabin) Rushing in Dallas for dinner. Charles and family were in town for the Beyonce concert. Danielle recently went back to work full-time with Deloitte after working on and off there for 30 years. Not boring at all, Danielle! Please let Angela and me know how you’re doing! I need more info to fill out this column. — Doug Duncan; pdouglasduncanjr@yahoo.com
95 Happy 50th Birthday
Rochelle (Stewart) Valsaint and BP roommate Heather (Weeks) Pacholke have stayed in close touch. They have been vacationing together with their families since 2017. The two had a chance to meet up this fall with their junior-year roommates for a reunion in the GA mountains. Lisa (Mehl) Bonnett shared that her husband, William, son Zane (15) and daughter Ellery (13), who live in Allen TX, participated in Family Volunteer Camp on campus this past July. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of fun! She enjoyed showing her kids the campus for their very first time. A lot has changed since our days! Robin (Mego) Lynch lives in The Woodlands, just north of Houston, with her husband, Sean, and their two children. She is working in tech strategy/sales for a SaaS CX company. Robin met up with her sophomore-year roommates Alissa (Hock) Cavanaugh and Teresa (Swope) Carbonara in Kiawah Island SC for a weekend of catching up. She shared that Alissa and Tim Cavanaugh’s daughter Cara is at Notre Dame and that both Shannon (Maier) Eschenback and Chris Conway have daughters who are freshmen. They had fun at orientation running into some old soccer folks. Teresa Arosemena wrote that after graduating she received a master’s degree at Texas A&M. Originally from Panama, Teresa returned and worked at the Panama Canal for 16 years overseeing international communications. A highlight of her time was witnessing history in the making as the Panama Canal was transferred from US to Panamanian stewardship in December 1999. Teresa is now working as a teacher and school counselor at the Academia Interamericana de Panamá. Her oldest son, Luis Rafael Lopez, started at ND this fall. Her daughter is a senior in high school, and she will be studying law in Panama beginning next year. Teresa is the oldest of four children who all attended ND. A fun family fact is that her parents had children at Notre Dame for 14 consecutive years. Bill Fideli lives outside of Boston with his wife and four children, and his oldest, Ellen, turned 21 in August. He runs a national real estate investment firm specializing in student housing. Bill has also been assistant coaching his 10-year-old son in baseball and football. Janet Hathaway and Jeff Bocan recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and are continuing to enjoy life in Newport Beach CA with their four kids. Their oldest, Sean, is a sophomore at ND and their son Damien is a freshman at Boston College on the varsity sailing team. They fortunately still have two others to enjoy at home. Jeff remains a venture capitalist at Okapi Ventures, focused on early-stage tech companies, and Janet is general counsel at Beacon Pointe Advisors, a financial services company. One of their summer highlights was an epic 50th birthday celebration in Napa Valley hosted by Ryan Kerrigan. It included some fellow Domers: Jen ’97SMC and Mike Carroll ’96 and Bill Raney ’96. Jeff also recently got to shred up the ski slopes with Jeff Goddard, Gregg Behr and Jeff Lungren. Jeff and Janet are always up for Domer visitors in Newport Beach, and should you find yourself in the area, Jeff just might take you out for a surf! Please keep the updates coming. Go Irish! — Molly Donius Boscarino; 745 LeBrun Road, Amherst NY 14226; 412-304-8469; mdboscarino@gmail.com
95MBA Class Secretary — Renee Werner;
134 Willow Blvd., Willow Springs IL 60480; 773-528-3929; renee.werner@alumni.nd.edu
95JD News from Terrance
Terrance Henderson checked in from TX with great news about his career and family: “I’ve continued my service on the Goodyear Cotton Bowl’s Board of Directors and am on the executive committee. I was fortunate enough to be part of the coin toss and on the field when Tulane pulled off that epic comeback against USC. After 24+ years with Comerica Bank, I’m currently in my second year as managing director and chief counsel, consumer and business banking with Charles Schwab Bank and Charles Schwab Premier Bank. I’m a Notre Dame parent! My daughter is currently a freshman in the Glynn Family Honors Program at Notre Dame studying applied math. She’s loving her ND experience. If anyone from our class is going to be on campus for Notre Dame games or in the Dallas Fort Worth area, let’s catch up (terrancefhenderson@gmail.com).” Please send your news to Julia (Schroeder) Meister: meister@taftlaw.com. Enjoy the fall! — Julia Meister; meister@taftlaw.com
96 Class Secretary — Kate Crisham; Seattle;
catherine.crisham@usdoj.gov
96MBA Class Secretary — Maureen Maher;
ndmba96news@hotmail.com
96JD Biggest Gathering in Decades
Marsha (Foulks) Griggs earned tenure in spring 2023 and joined the faculty at St. Louis U School of Law in August. She was so happy to make it back to campus in October. Seeing Kevin Maley and other classmates has her looking forward to our next reunion gathering. Aurora Ciuca ’96LLM was nominated among the three Romanian finalists (following a national exam) for the position of judge at the International Criminal Court in the Hague (with the final vote of the Assembly of States Parties taking place in December). Katherine Lieberth, the oldest daughter of Joy Smith and Michael Liebert ’90, is a freshman at Notre Dame this academic year. Jen and Steve Hieatt hosted a Class tailgate before the big ND vs. USC game in October. Jill (Pignotti) Cheskes, Scott Clements, Marsha (Foulks) Griggs, Jeff Kopp, Alfred Lee, Rosi Lozada, Kevin Maley, Luka Misetic, Maria Mucha, Ed Perdue, Jerri Ryan ’97JD, Joy Smith and Chris Spataro all attended and/or had tickets in the “Class block” behind the student section. It was probably one of the largest gatherings of classmates on campus in decades. The rain held off for the night game, and the Irish handed the Trojans their first loss in an all-around “great day” for many! If you have any personal or professional updates to share for our next issue, please contact me. — Chris Spataro; 57027 Wedgefield Court, Elkhart IN 46516; 574-596-2417; chrisjspataro@gmail.com
97 Mini Reunions and Happy News
Lots to report this winter! Thank you everyone who took the time to send me an update. Another Lyons Hall Road trip for Molly O’Shaughnessy and her wife, Suzanna Adams ’96. They rafted the Grand Canyon with Angie (Fister) Elser ’98 and Steph (Sinnott) Boland ’98. No one fell out of the boat, they camped under the stars, they enjoyed gorgeous hikes, and three households with 10 teenagers survived just fine without them. We have several Farley girls from our Class with children who started their first year at Notre Dame (some have sophomores and juniors as well). It has been great reuniting at Welcome Weekend and football tailgates. But how did none of our daughters get Farley to live in? Bridget (O’Connell) and Jim Collins, Ellen (McSweeney) and Matt Lemarche, Colleen (Duffy) and Brian Klausner, Keri (Fogarty) and Brice Dille, Sue (Labonge) Kowalski, Noelle (Harper) Cronin, and Rob Murray and myself all are thanking our lucky stars that we are reliving our college years through our children. Courtney (Grounds) Lowery is our honorary Farley girl at the tailgates with her junior, son Max, to be proud of. The University must have known how amazing the Farley genes were and wanted to keep the tradition alive. Jennifer Jocz came back for her first football game in forever and now she needs to come to every game since she brought the luck with a routing of USC. Chrissy (Berry) Hicks’s oldest child got married this summer and has a baby boy on the way. I can’t believe we are getting to the age where we will be grandparents already! A happy update for their adopted Ukrainian daughter: She received her kidney transplant and is doing well. Chrissy is very busy with 11 kids but so blessed. Kim (Martin) Vick and her husband, Lawrence, sold their lighting company, Lightopia, to a private equity group concentrating on home furnishings. The strategy is to continue to acquire complementary lines to create a national brand. Kim is an independent contractor for a boutique consulting firm helping with talent acquisition, development and retention. She is working part-time, which enables her to remain a full-time mom. Their oldest daughter, Ella, graduated from Glenbrook South High School this spring and is headed to the U of Michigan this fall. Please stay safe and healthy. Please send all updates to — Kate (Fisher) Murray; 1840 Huntingdon Road, Huntingdon Valley PA 19006; kmurraynd@yahoo.com
97MBA Class Secretary — Paul Anthony Mongelluzzo;
646-584-7340; paulanthonymba@gmail.com
97JD Thriving with Success
Remember when we were energetic, young 1Ls? Now one of our classmates has a longevity website with some awesome blogs, tips, articles and photos. Sean Elliott’s compelling venture integrates purpose, success and longevity for a long, healthy and meaningful life. Check out Sean’s thrivespan.com and turn the clock back like it’s 1997! Send me a note with news, let me know what’s happening or just say hi. The next set of updates is due in mid-January. Go Irish! — Julie Vales; cell 973-727-5767; juliemvales@gmail.com; john.vales@dentons.com
98 Pete’s Fight
Jimmy Vail and Doug Pollina want to get the word out in support of our classmate and friend Pete Sanchez, who is in the fight of his life battling pancreatic cancer. Pete and his family need the help and support of the ND community, especially our Class. A GoFundMe page has been set up (https://gofund.me/05a3585b). Thank you for all of the prayers and financial support you could offer. Jennifer (Gerber) Moné has written and published a children’s book for children and families who have a new baby affected by a cleft lip or cleft palate. The book, available on Amazon, is titled The Extra Hole: A guide for young children and families about having a cleft-affected baby and the journey ahead. Jennifer maintains a counseling practice in Denver and works with individuals, couples and families on a variety of life transitions, grief and loss, and trauma. Go Irish! — Bob Flannery; rflannery98@gmail.com
98MBA Class Secretary — Mark Holloway;
mholloway@alumni.nd.edu
98JD Class Secretary — Chris Putt;
mobile 574-514-3703; crputt@gmail.com
99 Class Secretary — Ryan D. Costantini;
414 S. Notre Dame Ave., South Bend IN 46617; mobile: 574-339-8050; ryan.costantini@gmail.com
99MBA Class Secretary — Christy (Hayes) King;
christyking@alumni.nd.edu
99JD Class Secretary — Steve Boettinger;
boettinger@alumni.nd.edu