1980s

80 Kilimanjaro!

Bob Quakenbush ’76, who is responsible for communications for the NDAA Senior Alumni (NDSA), noted that they were pleased to host an inspiring look at pilgrimage and our Lenten journey — “From the Notre Dame Trail to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro,” this year’s NDSA Lenten Program. It featured a conversation with alumni Dr. Terry Tulisiak ’74, Haley Scott DeMaria ’95, Nancy Votava ’86 and Mark Alexander ’80, members of the core pilgrim group that retraced Father Sorin’s steps, 320 miles from Vincennes to South Bend, and then traveled to Tanzania to scale Mount Kilimanjaro together. During the conversation, they shared stories and insights from the experience, which tested their faith, strengthened their friendship and reinforced the special bond of the Notre Dame family. You will learn important lessons of courage and perseverance through life’s ups and downs, vulnerability and the power of faith and community. The conversation aired in March and is available for replay on the NDSA’s YouTube page. Paul Kane reports that several of the ND ’80 Navy ROTC Marines happened to be in Northern VA in March and met up for dinner in Clifton VA with their Marine Officer Instructor Col. Ken Burns, USMC (ret). Present were Laurie ’80SMC and Mike Brogan, Mike Brooker, Debbie and Mike Decker, Sara and Paul Kane, Frances (Ortega) and Jim Lukeman, and Mike O’Donnell. The group was also recently pictured on “Throwback Thursday” on the Notre Dame Naval ROTC Facebook page. Keith Connor was able to visit Nancy and Charlie Ydoate in February in Portsmouth NH. Charlie has a tough prognosis but is handling it with his normal wit and grace (some of the time). Keith and his wife, Julie, attended Jay Ferriero’s well-planned (by his wife, Lyn) surprise retirement party in Reston VA before Easter. As I mentioned to Keith, having been to a few of Lyn’s tailgates, I can only imagine the party that Lyn hosted. Congratulations, Jay. PA Gov. Josh Shapiro has appointed Phil Jaurigue to his Governor’s Workforce Development Board. Previously, under Gov. Tom Wolfe, Phil served on the Governor’s Advisory Commission for Asian Pacific American Affairs. Several guys from St. Ed’s got together with Jim Bowers in Ocean View DE for a reunion. Diego Pena, Jim Macke, Bill Melvin, Tim Neis, Bill McGurn and Bill Vita were in attendance. Diego is busy with his own arbitration business and travel to San Antonio because his mother suffered a stroke. The stroke has left her with dementia. Our hearts go out to Karen Pierce and David Randall, who lost their mothers; to Valda Staton and Mark Dobbertein, who lost their fathers; and to the family of Chris Lampione. May all the families find peace. Please let us know of losses in our Class family. You can email me or our Angels Team at 80AngelsonCall@gmail.com. — Mary Ellen Woods; mew.1980@alumni.nd.edu; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/

 

80MBA A Lasting Legacy

Mike Colbert writes, “Kathleen and I are both fine, and in addition to our annual trip to ID in June, we have a busy travel schedule with my niece’s wedding in Wurzburg, Germany, in July.” He continued, “Next month Andrew and I are hooking up to go to the PGA tournament at Valhalla GC in Louisville.” Paul Katilas says he will be taking a golf trip in July to Ireland with one of his undergrad roommates, Stephen P. Fitzell ’76, for a quasi-celebration of their 70th year on this planet. Previously they, along with some other undergrad classmates, had celebrated their 50th in Steamboat Springs CO, their 60th at the Notre Dame vs. ASU game in Tempe AZ, and now Ireland. One can only wonder if Paul plans to return to his original planet for his 80th. Mike Maloney and his wife, Cathy (Gallagher) Maloney ’79, are first-time grandparents to Nora, daughter of their son Tom and wife Tori. Tom is set to graduate with his MBA from Notre Dame in May this year. This past winter I sent a photo I had of a snow-filled parking lot at Campus View Apartments in the winter of ’79 to former Campus View neighbor Maureen (Eyres) Staub. Maureen wrote back that it made her shake her head and laugh. She says that all is well in NJ and that she and her husband, Michael Staub ’78, sold their business and are now enjoying the fruits of their labor. They also made it to Ireland for the Notre Dame vs. Navy game in August and visited their Irish cousins, and spent a week in Spain with them to walk the Camino Ingles. In November, they were in Germany for an NFL game and had dinner with Colts offensive guard Quenton Nelson ’18 who hails from Maureen’s high school. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 475-225-1421; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com

 

80JD The Years Are Flyin’

At this writing, we are celebrating Easter week and spring flowers, and remembering the 50th ordination anniversary of Rev. Mike McCafferty, CSC, ’69, ’73JD, our much beloved professor and assistant dean. God rest his soul. The years have truly flown by. Our 45th reunion is only a year away! Mark May 29-June 1, 2025, on your calendar for reunion fun in South Bend. And, the Law School homecoming, once a year at a fall home game, is also a great time to reconnect with classmates. I’ll share more news with dates about that in the future. Our lives are filled with family life and professional achievements. Congrats to Judy McMorrow on her retirement from teaching at Boston College Law, and to Mollie Murphy and Rich Meyer still teaching at Ave Maria Law School in FL. There are more grandchildren to love for Judge Dan Buckley and Dick Waris, while they both continue working. Nick DiGiovanni is “working at trying to retire” — but claims he’s failing! Send your news — you matter. Go Irish! — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

 

81 Let’s Get Together

We have 150 tickets for the Sept. 28 ND vs. Louisville game. Mark your calendar and keep an eye out for registration. We will pull together a Friday night party and Saturday tailgater before the game. You may have seen news of Kerry Temple ’74’s retirement. Kerry worked at Notre Dame for a whoppin’ 46 years, 42 at Notre Dame Magazine and 28 as its editor. So many of us remain connected to campus through the award-winning, thought-provoking and heart-tugging content. Thank you, Kerry! Last December, Ann and Tom Healy received the Magis Award at Tom’s alma mater, St. Ignatius High School in Dublin OH. The award honors extraordinary individuals or families who are committed to the school and exemplify the magis, a Latin word meaning “more.” Tom just completed his 43rd year as a theology teacher. He also writes a blog that covers campus life, Catholic teaching, Ignatian tradition and events from his own life. He spends his summer months teaching at a summer camp for rising eighth graders focused on academic, social, cultural and athletic enrichment opportunities. Jim Gunshinan is working as a freelance science writer and enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at Dominican College in San Rafael CA, with a focus on poetry. He has had a few poems and books published over the years and now feels blessed to have the time and energy to devote to creative writing. Jim would be glad to hear from other poets and creative writers in our Class. Please reach out to jpgunshinan@me.com. Bill Hochul reports that he has joined the law firm Davis Polk and Wardwell in their NYC office. He most recently had been general counsel at Delaware North Companies, a global hospitality and entertainment company. Therese and Bill Wyman welcomed their fourth grandchild, Francesca (2044); she joins Penny Rose (2039), Stella (2040) and Eddie (2041). Band buds Bill, Mark Vahala, Mimi Sullivan Newell ’80, Dave Wurzer ’80 and Maureen Mara ’82 keep in contact via text. They recall playing “When I’m 64” in the marching band in the late ’70s! We received word that Herr Professor Albert Wimmer recently passed away. He was the director of the Innsbruck program when 52 of us gathered for 10 months of study and immersion. He might have been a bit beleaguered by our late returns from travel, against-the-rules vehicle purchases, hausfrau evictions (mine, don’t ask) and collective disregard for policy, but he kept his sense of humor. We have also learned that Dillonite Thomas O’Loughlin passed away in Fairfax Station VA last January. Tom was a recipient of the NROTC scholarship and was then commissioned into the US Navy. He earned his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He taught thermodynamic engineering at the US Naval Academy, received numerous Navy commendations, and served on board the USS Ranger, USS Marvin Shields, USS Fox and USS David R. Ray. His final tour, at the Pentagon, included service on Sept. 11, 2001. He retired from the Navy in 2003 and worked as a consultant on defense projects. Please keep Tom’s wife, Luanne, and their two daughters in your prayers. Please join our Class Facebook group to keep the conversation going. You can find more than 460 classmates there. And please email updates before our July 20 deadline — you are loved members of the Class of ’81 and we want to know how you are doing. Thanks to everyone who has already shared updates and those who are now inspired. — Mary Murphy; marymurphy81@alumni.nd.edu

 

81MBA Summer Is on the Way 

I am writing this edition of Class Notes on the Friday before the annual Blue-Gold Game! I normally try to attend, but was not able to make that happen. I’m looking forward to the alumni football ticket lottery and hope to make as many home games as possible. It would be great to connect if you are planning to go to any games — just pop me an email or a call. It’s hard to believe that spring break is behind us and summer is right around the corner! It was pretty quiet on the news front, but Mike Zmachinski wrote that he is anticipating going to ND vs. Navy in Philadelphia and the ND vs. Army 100th anniversary game at Yankee Stadium in 2024. If anyone else is planning to attend those games, let Mike know. Sheila and I are planning a road trip and will be driving from Phoenix to Higgins Lake in MI, where we plan to spend the month of July with our grandsons, daughter Stefanie and her husband. We’re looking forward to the trip and a respite from the heat of Phoenix in July. We look forward to updates from all of you — please take a moment to send me news, events, trips, etc. As always, please let me know if you see any incorrect email addresses — I am trying to update the accuracy of the Class email. All the best; please send me your news/updates. Thank you and Go Irish! — Steve Simmerman; 3126 E. Desert Broom Way, Phoenix AZ 85048; cell 602-524-7662; srsimmerman@gmail.com

 

81JD A Tour of Rome

Sadly, John Fitzpatrick (Lakewood Ranches FL) reports that Claire (Corson) Skinner passed away in March, and he asks for our prayers for her and her family. Fitz added that he had a phenomenal trip to Rome, with a private Mass and tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, dinner with the pope’s chief theologian, Alessandro Borghese (yes, those Borgheses …) and a privileged stay at the Angelicum (Angelicum.it). He retired this year. Brian McDonough (Miami) shared that Give Kids a Chance, a charity he founded, just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and has so far awarded 470 scholarships to children living in the affordable housing communities — Brian serves as chair of his firm’s affordable housing practice group. Great work, Brian! Nancy Gargula (Indianapolis), who started the NDLS Annual Homecoming Tailgate during her tenure as NDLS president, invites us along with Mark Gargula to this year’s tailgate on Oct. 12, when ND plays Stanford. Justice Elena Kagan, who spoke at the Law School the day before, joined the tailgate last year! Tim Rastello (Denver) reports that his son Reilly Rastello ’19 is graduating with honors from Michigan’s law school — though he remains, Tim reassured me, an Irish fan! Greg Sergesketter (Houston) shared his amazing photography, which I encourage you to take a look at: www.sergesketter.photography. It’s both beautiful and mind-blowingly creative. He promised to share some stories of “travels on the border” before long. Heidi Masano (Wyomissing PA) is still the managing partner of the firm that she started with in 1981. Her daughter, Julia Masano ’15, works in NY as an interior designer with nateberkus.com. Heidi will be at the Navy and Army games in the fall and would love to hear from some of you. I stay in touch with Brian Belt (Miami), who is in a law partnership with his wife, and with Steve Cordill (Houston), who reports in from time to time when he is in Palm Beach. Last year I was in touch with Peter Blume (Pittsburgh) about the Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh, of which he is the president and founder. And Bill Fearnow (Paradise Valley AZ) sent me a copy of his book Stories from Way Out West, available on Amazon. As for me, I’m still in Palm Beach. Thanks to Mike Hartigan (Rockland MA) and Tim Kapshandy (retired, Somewhere IL, with Marci Barcenas Kapshandy) for staying in touch from time to time. You probably won’t be surprised to hear I’ve been rousing a little rabble at my alma mater, New College of Florida. A little hint, the headline in USA Today and affiliates read “Meet the Trump-loving yacht lawyer who helped engineer Desantis’ New College takeover.” My picture was in the New York Times and I even made Ms. magazine! Other than rabble rousing, notwithstanding my reputation for living the high life at yacht shows, you will mostly find me traveling around the country to tennis tournaments — when not at chess tournaments — with my son these days. Can you believe in seven years, we will have our 50th anniversary? Anyone who is not getting my emails and/or interested in participating in a substantial Class gift in 2031, please reach out to me at ndlaw81@robertallenlaw.com. I’m in if enough of you are in! No question ND Law made a big difference in all our lives. God bless you all. P.S. Can someone send me Mike Palumbo’s personal email? Thank you! — Bob Allen; ndlaw81@robertallenlaw.com

 

82 Reconnecting

A group of St. Ed’s classmates got together for the first time since graduation. After the group reconnected during COVID, they spent a weekend last September reminiscing. Among the crew were Kevin Gibbons, Tom DeGrave, Ron Rose, Dan Callan, Joe Costic, Ron Reed, Glen Gurtcheff and Tim McKeogh ’80. They are planning another reunion this September in the Finger Lakes in upstate NY, where Mike Quinlan plans to make an appearance. I love it when we reconnect! John Buckley Jr. has been married for 35 years to Colleen, a Michigan U alumna. They live in Fremont MI where Gerber Federal Credit Union is headquartered. Jack, their son, is an entertainment attorney in LA, and daughter Kathleen lives in Muskegon MI with two kids. She is married and works in wholesale hair product sales. John was a commercial lender/community banker for 22 years before joining GFCU as president-CEO. The Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL) awarded John with the 2024 MCUL Distinguished Service Award, which celebrates a lifetime of achievement for those demonstrating exceptional dedication to the credit union industry over the course of their careers. Congratulations, my friend. I hope to see you all this fall at a game. Please don’t forget to write us. — 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 A Generous Gift

Anita and Tom Veldman, along with other members of the Veldman family, made a generous foundational gift to Notre Dame to establish the Wilma and Peter Veldman Family Psychology Clinic and to endow several key faculty positions. The clinic, named in honor of Tom’s immigrant parents, will be built in South Bend’s East Bank neighborhood. Once completed, the clinic will serve more than 1,500 people in the South Bend community annually through mental health assessment, intervention and prevention services. The gift will also increase the number of senior psychology faculty, triple the number of clinical psychology graduate students and triple the experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate psychology majors. Tim Abeska taught a Trial Ad class at the Law School in February. Congratulations to Kim (Ptak) and Tim Rooney, who recently welcomed their third grandchild, Luke. Bruce Baty, Liz Imhoff, Tim Nickels, John Smith and I were on campus in March for the Notre Dame Law Association Board of Directors meeting. Please send me news items. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com

 

83 Remembrances and Congratulations

Please remember Kevin Renfree, his wife, Lisa, and their family in your thoughts and prayers. Lisa recently passed away on Jan. 2. Hannah (Storen) Hicks, also known to all of us and the world on television as Hannah Storm, recently shared news on Good Morning America of her recent diagnosis of breast cancer discovered after yearly screening. Fortunately, Hannah also reported that she has undergone treatment and is currently cancer-free. Please keep Hannah and all those who have been diagnosed with cancer and other diseases in your thoughts. Paula Corrigan reports that she was able to catch up in Las Vegas in February with Don Wussler and his wife, Jill. Tom Anhut is planning to visit Normandy, France, for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Congratulations to Bill Mateja on his inauguration as the 2024 president of the Dallas Bar Association. He was joined at the ceremony by many including his wife, Sondi, classmates Tom Melsheimer and Stephen Fox, and Steve’s wife, Karen, and many others. Steve reports that Bill crushed his welcome speech and danced until the wee hours of the morning to a Beatles cover band. Speaking of congratulations, they are due twice to Tom Melsheimer. Tom will be the new co-chair of the Litigation Department of Winston & Strawn, a nearly 1,000-lawyer firm with a large share of Notre Dame connections, beginning June 1. He will be charged with managing 450 trial lawyers ranging from young associates to senior partners, as well as continuing his day job as a trial lawyer. Even more importantly, last year Tom and his wife, Miki, welcomed their first grandchild, a perfect girl named Poppy, whom Tom and Miki visit as frequently as humanly possible. Tom also has asked that any classmates who will be attending the Notre Dame game in College Station TX to look him up. Jean Collier participated in a panel discussion in January for ND Women Connect titled “‘Now What?’ Navigating Life’s Changes and Adjusting Our Sails.” Chris Temple Davis has expressed his thanks to all those in the Class who made donations to his charity, Building Trust Americas, toward their work in Colombia to construct an athletic field and to provide continuing education scholarships. Michael Murphy was able to get together with friends from Pangborn Hall to see the Irish play Wisconsin in ice hockey. He was joined by John Educato, Matthew Mullen, Steve Karaffa, Mike Honerlaw, Bob Fricke, Jim Elliott and Steve Carberry. Angela Allyn posted pictures on the Class Facebook page of her “Domer Grad Student” enjoying a Fighting Irish sundae at Fiddler’s Hearth to kick off the spring semester. 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 590 members and would be very happy to add many more. You’ll be able to reconnect with classmates, see pictures and get news of who will be attending various Notre Dame and non-Notre Dame events. If you have any news you’d like to share with the Class, send me a note or email and I’ll be happy to include it in the next column. — Louis J. (“Chip”) Denkovic; 111 Centre Ave., Unit 523, New Rochelle NY 10801; 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 40th Reunion

By the time you are reading this, our 40th Reunion will be a fabulous memory! At last count, there were a lot of us who signed up, so I am sure that the next issue will be filled with lots of fun information from a great weekend! For those of you who could not get back to ND, I hope to see you at the 45th. For news now, David McAvoy reported on his new role as Teva Pharmaceuticals’ EVP and chief legal officer. He’s helping Teva expand from being the world’s largest manufacturer of generic medicines into additionally being a global leader of biosimilars and innovative drugs. Every day Teva helps around 200 million people around the world gain access to quality, affordable medicines to combat the worst diseases. Please keep the family and friends of John Harron in our prayers. John passed away at the end of 2023. — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net

 

84MBA Class Secretary — Dhanraj Bhagat;

dbhagat1960@gmail.com

 

84JD Reunion Countdown

Kevin Luby shared that he has published his third novel, Murder on Alameda, a “worthy sequel to Murder in Bridge City.” Congratulations to Jane and Kevin, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary in September. When he is not writing novels, Kevin maintains his law office near Portland OR. The Corporation of Brown U, the university’s governing body, announced in February that Brian T. Moynihan, a 1981 Brown graduate and chair and CEO of Bank of America, was elected to serve as Brown’s 22nd chancellor. The Corporation, the name given in the charter of the university, written in 1764, is composed of a group of appointed and elected volunteers dedicated to fulfilling the mission of Brown U. The chancellor is a volunteer role that leads the Brown Corporation. Brian has been a member of the Corporation since 2010, serving for six years as a trustee and now in his eighth year on the board of fellows. Well done! By the time you read this, we will be just weeks from our 40th Reunion, Oct. 11-13. Planning is underway for a reception in the Law School on Friday night, the Law School homecoming “tailgate” near Notre Dame Stadium in the hours before kickoff when the Fighting Irish beat the Stanford Cardinal, and a Class Mass in the Law School chapel Sunday morning. Game time is TBD as I write this note. I hope to see you in October. Please send any updates to my attention. — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com

 

85 Reworld

Chris Vargas has been working with an NGO to purchase and reforest a nature preserve in Colombia. The organization recently raised $1.2 million to buy the land. Chris was inspired by the work of Fundacion Proyecto Titi founder Rosamira Guillen, who buys forest land in Colombia to improve the habitat for the cotton-top tamarin, which is on the brink of extinction. Chris developed an innovative form of crowd-funded conservation he calls Reworld. The website for the project can be found at www.reworld.eco. Chris built a website and technology that allows a donor to click on a map of the land purchased and get feedback as to how the donated money is being used. Donors also receive yearly satellite photos showing the land being reforested and the trees growing. CNN aired a story about this project that can be found by going to www.cnn.com/videos and searching for “tamarin.” Note that Chris is wearing his Fighting Irish baseball cap as he is interviewed on CNN! Now the organization is embarking on a 10-year project to create a new biodiversity region in Colombia that will add more than 2 million trees, protect three critically endangered species and provide jobs for the local Indigenous population. Katie (Nowalk) and Jim Shea live in Pittsburgh near two of their adult sons, Dan and Tom. Their youngest son, Jack ’20, attended Notre Dame and settled in Chicago. Katie and Jim report that this past year they were blessed with the birth of their first grandchild, Addie Shea. They write: “Our favorite days are when we get to babysit her!” Jim has published his first book, Get Up and Ride. It is the humorous, true story of Jim’s 350-mile cycling adventure with his brother-in-law, Marty, on the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. The book weaves stories from the pair’s often hilarious “artist vs. engineer” friendship and includes some “tales from the trail,” together with a history of many of the places visited along the way. Jim originally wrote the book as a memoir for his family and friends, but the book has sold 7,000 copies! In search of a sequel, Jim and his brother-in-law cycled the Camino de Santiago in September. Jim writes: “It was an incredible experience — and a really challenging bike ride. If anyone is interested in walking or cycling the Camino, feel free to reach out!” Katie gets together with her Farley ’85 crew every year. Last June, the party was in Breckenridge CO, hosted by Rita (Kelleher) Mohler. Attending were Toby (Martin) Kawulicz, Claire (Schoshinksi) Brier, Cathy (Till) Pines, Maureen (McGillis) Borin, Judy (Fenlon) Harvey, Elinor (Gwynn) Hoover, Colleen Sullivan and Carol Cerny. Usually Terri (Seliga) Patterson and Tricia Booker attend, but they could not make it last year. Please email soon! — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net

 

85JD Many Milestones

It was wonderful to hear from Greg Bakies, who sent a fantastic and informative update from Perrysburg OH. Greg has been a partner in his firm, Maurer, Newlove & Bakies, since 1994 and handles business acquisitions, real estate matters, probate estate administration and estate planning. Greg’s wife, Karen, is a registered dietitian. The Bakies are the proud parents of three. Their oldest, Morgan Rhobock, graduated from the U of Illinois with a degree in chemical engineering and works for Shell in Houston. Their second child, Hannah Fox, graduated from Miami U with an education degree. She teaches second grade at Olentangy Schools in Columbus. Their youngest, Luke Bakies, is also a graduate of Miami U, where he earned a degree in finance. He is on the management team of Charles Schwab in Chicago. Greg and his family frequently return to ND for games and other events. Tom Ajamie and Joseph Shannon are working on a case together in Detroit. Tom reports that it is fun to work with a buddy from law school, especially when that buddy is an excellent lawyer. I am very grateful to Tom for supporting my volunteer work with refugees and immigrants at Catholic Charities in Boston. I was fortunate to be matched with Catholic Charities through the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, which connects (ahem!) “mature” adults with volunteer work. I am also very fortunate that I get to see Laura Hanson when she travels from Minneapolis to Boston to visit her daughter Elsa, who is a student at Northeastern U. If you can’t make it to Boston, please send your news to me. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu

 

86 39th Annual Mini-Reunion Is Coming

Our 39th mini-reunion is Louisville game weekend! All details have been in the Class emails, but we wanted to spread the word in case you are not on the group email. Friday evening is the backyard pre-game party at Bill Mitchell’s house, which is walking distance from campus. The grill will be going and refreshments will be flowing. If you are planning to attend, let me know as Bill needs a count. Our mini-reunion tailgate celebration is catered by Mission BBQ, with two bars. Again, tickets have to be sold well in advance, with none sold game day so that we have enough food and refreshment for everyone. At the time of writing, we have 250-plus attending! Class football tickets are secured with 200 sitting together. As always, we will have a beautiful Class Mass Sunday morning. Please email me for more info or to be added to our email list. Sonia ’87SMC and Mike McGowan celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in March. Tina and Bill Mitchell’s oldest son, Michael, graduated ND in May with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and heads to Imperial College in London for a master’s in applied mathematics. Bill and Tina also recently celebrated their 25th. Vanessa and Matt Donaher’s daughter, Maeve, graduated Saint Mary’s this May with a bachelor’s in social work. Patty ’87SMC and Pat Mullen will soon welcome their second grandchild, and their son, John, will be getting married in June. When not working as senior legal counsel at TC Transcontinental, Kelly (Harbison) Cummings and husband Mark enjoy trivia nights with friends, including Debbie Argus ’87 and Paul DuVair ’88. Kelly and Mark’s twins, Katie ’22 and Connor ’22, are doing great. Katie works at Wrigley Field and is going for her master’s degree in computer science at DePaul. Connor joined Harris Associates as a trade operations specialist. Kelly is looking forward to our mini-reunion and hanging out with Patricia (Quintana) VanHorne and her kids, Liliana and Lucas. Jeanine and Tony Consoli met with Jodi and Bill Armstrong, who were vacationing on Anna Maria Island FL, where Tony lives. Tony and Bill are on a great group chat with Steve Jegier, Juan Jones, Mike Kirkland, John Tiberi, and Mark and Mike Boyle. Tony also stays in touch with the fencing program. Joe Kapitan is senior director of OH operations and health care for Cleveland-based AMHigley, a leading construction management firm. He also hikes, bikes, splits firewood, takes up barstool space at local craft brewpubs, and tries to get his creative writing published (check out his short story collection, Caves of the Rust Belt, on Amazon!). Son Luke graduated Kent State in ’23 and daughter Claire graduates from Hobart & William Smith this May. Wife JoAnne and he got bit by the travel bug in 2018 and have since visited France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the UT national parks. Michele “Chelley” (Todaro) and Robert “Z” Zielinski hosted Tim Mould and Shawn O’Grady in Charleston SC for the Cooper River Bridge Run. Tim leads transformation work for Accenture and runs marathons! Shawn retired this June as president of General Mills Food Service business after a 34-year career, and promptly stepped into the board chair role for Feeding America, the largest charitable organization in the US. Those on the group ’86 email will know the sad news that our classmate Sudhaker “Suds” Reddy passed Feb. 26. Nadine (Deocampo) and David Kaiser, Mitch Opalski, Maureen Decker and Doug Young attended the funeral ceremony. We had a candle lit at the Grotto on behalf of all of us in the ’86 family for Suds, his wife and two daughters. Take care and God bless! — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com

 

86MBA See You in September?

Paris and Roger Loesch and Lia and Greg Brinkerhoff connected with Paige and David Sobek at last year’s ND-Navy Shamrock Classic game in Ireland. The Sobeks’ son, David, participated in the ND Bengal Bouts boxing tournament this past February. The annual tournament supports the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh. Lisa and Dave Greiner celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with a trip to Greece in September. They are four years into an active retirement and spend a lot of time traveling. They completed a 10-day multi-sport adventure in Patagonia, Argentina, and skied in Alta/Snowbird and Sun Valley this past winter. Thanksgiving 2024 will be celebrated in Japan with their family. Daughter Grace works in PR in Venice Beach and son Grant is in Salt Lake City working as an executive at Pit Viper, a trendy sunglasses and lifestyle company that your kids will immediately recognize. Last summer, they hosted Martha and Murphy Armstrong for an overnight stay while on their way to Mackinac Island and Harbor Springs MI — there were lots of laughs and storytelling at the Greiner home bar (“The G-Spot”). The Armstrongs became grandparents in February. Baby Jack and his parents live just 2 miles away in Greenville SC. Their daughter Elizabeth is married and resides in Asheville NC. Murphy asked about Missy Sherman — where are you, Missy? We would love to hear from you. Several classmates, including Dave, Murphy, Sue Giovanini, Carolyn (Anderson) Wells, Jim Conlin and myself, will be meeting up for the Northern Illinois game Sept. 7. Contact me if you are planning to go to the game so we can all get together. On a sad note, our favorite ND finance and investments professor, Kevin Scanlon, passed away in November. He was a friend to many and a regular attendee at ’86MBA football tailgates over the years. He began his ND career with our Class, and when I saw him a few years ago, he said he always had a soft spot for our Class. RIP, Prof. Scanlon. This issue’s challenge is for those of you who live in the Western states. Send me a quick update. International classmates will be challenged next. Just a couple of lines with details on what you’ve been up to, who you’ve seen or anything else of interest — it will only take two minutes. We all want to hear from you. — Maureen (Mullan) Decker; 21231 Lilac Lane, Clinton Twp., MI 48036; bus 586-741-4305; mobile 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org

 

86JD Grandparenting and General Aging

Tony Monaco reported that he and Vicky became grandparents for the first time in January. Their son, Aidan, and wife Amanda, London residents, welcomed daughter Marina as the newest Monaco. Aidan’s twin brother, Nicolas, and wife Jia (NYC residents) will welcome their own baby girl in October. Congrats to all the Monacos. Rosemarie and John Glowacki are also first-time grandparents. Their son John’s wife delivered twin boys, Jack and Lucas, on Jan. 8. John gave me the update from South Bend where he was on campus for the ND Senior Alumni Board meeting and Blue-Gold Game. Laura (Hirschfeld) Hollis sent a very nice note. She reports that she is still teaching in the Mendoza College of Business at ND and was recently put in charge of the new Foundations in Business minor there, which will give non-business majors the opportunity to take business courses. Laura reported that Mendoza Dean Martijn Cremers is committed to interdisciplinary education and giving non-business majors access to one of the best B schools in the country. Laura’s oldest, Jason, a counselor in Peoria IL, is married and has three sons: Julian (6), Leo (5) and Roman (3). Laura’s son Alistair turns 21 soon, and is biding his time working in a car dealership in Niles MI while planning his entrepreneurial future; daughter Celeste just finished her freshman year as a varsity swimmer at Franklin College in Franklin IN. She will turn 19 on the birthday she and Laura share in July. Laura did not report what she will be turning on that birthday, but she offered this anecdotal hint: She was walking recently with tax expert and ND accounting professor emeritus Ken Milani, who asked her whether she knew that other tax expert, our dean, the late Rev. Dave Link ’58, ’61. Laura informed Prof. Milani that not only was Father Link her law school dean, her law school classmate was David Link (the younger), to which Prof. Milani responded, “Wow, you really are old!” Yes, we are. Case in point: By the time you read this, Bob Cessar will have retired after 38 years of service with the United States, four with the FDIC in DC and 34 with the US attorney’s office in Pittsburgh. Another Pennsylvania AUSA, John Gurganus, will be one of the many AUSA’s in attendance at Bob’s official retirement party. Bob turns his sights to academia this fall when he will be taking an assistant professor position in the criminology department at LaRoche U in Pittsburgh. Jim Landenberger retired as president of Amalgamated Bank of Chicago. Tom Evans attended Jim’s retirement party. A full report on Jim’s cross-country bike trip is coming in the fall issue (John Duggan will reportedly do a leg of the bike trip with Jim). Mike Shields reported that the Detroit contingent of our Class kept alive their annual mini-reunion at a Red Wings hockey game. Attending were Holly and Steve Powell, Kris and Scott Bilse, Beth and Denny Barnes, Anna (Moore) and Jim Carulas, Rob Kurnick, and Mike Cooney. Tim Riordan missed it, claiming a delayed flight. Anna shared several pics from our law school days and the group agreed that none of them had aged at all. (Multiple ophthalmology appointments pending.) Mike said they do this Red Wings / NDLS ’86 mini-reunion every February, so if any of you plan to be in Detroit in February 2025, please join in! Frankly, who doesn’t want to be in Detroit in February? I will join classmates Tim Tompkins, Bert Sugayan, Tim Reynolds and Mike Mulhern this summer in northern MI for our annual golf mini-reunion. Full report in a future column. Finally, do not forget the Law School homecoming game: Oct. 12 versus Stanford. Send updates anytime, please. — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com

 

87 Remembering Josh

Hi everyone, and I hope you’re in the middle of enjoying what is, for most of us, our 60th summer on Earth. July always takes me back to the ’70s — bomb pops from the ice cream truck, my red Keds, sparklers in the steaming heat of a St. Louis night, shucking corn on the cob, and Cardinals baseball games. Simple memories, but very rich for me. It’s a sad column this quarter, as our only news is the death of a classmate. Josh Golub passed away after a 22-year battle with lymphoma. Paul Bridenstine, John Staud, John Bowler, Greg Brisson, Patrick Conklin, Fred Nelson, Steve Pampush and Lawrence Pravecek were all able to attend the funeral, which was held in Richmond VA. Paul and John Staud shared beautiful tributes. Josh was a devoted husband, father, son, uncle and friend. He is survived by his wife, Alison, and his sons Eli, Nathan, Cameron and Ian, as well as numerous family members, who want his Notre Dame family to recall how he lit up every room with his huge smile, infectious laugh and intelligence. Please hold his loved ones close in your thoughts. I feel certain that other classmates are struggling with difficult health issues that perhaps they’ve kept private. If you are in this position, know that the hearts and prayers of the Class of ’87 are with you. Write soon with your news; we’d love to hear from you. — Meg Brennan Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com

 

87MBA Domers on the Slopes

Hello everyone! Not much new news this quarter. Let’s get the updates following. Here are a few notes: The Brostowski family and the Dellelce family met for spring break in Aspen CO to hit the slopes. It was a great time. At that time, of the eight family members, there were five Domers — those being Mark Brostowski and his children Ginger ’17 and Ian ’22, yours truly, and my daughter Taylor ’25. My wife, Sue, and I are thrilled to announce that this number has recently increased to six! Our son Nicholas has committed to Notre Dame … finally! He will be a freshman at Mendoza in the fall and a member of the Class of 2028. Does anyone else have a son or daughter in that class? Let’s connect them. The most important news for each of you is that there will definitely be four more years of Canadian tailgates at every home game. See you in the fall! Keep the news coming. 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 40 Years

Nancy Burke’s twin sons have finished their freshman year at Xavier U in Cincinnati. Nancy is thankful that classmates Madge Beckmeyer and Jay Brinker are nearby if needed. Mary Wittenberg’s oldest son graduated from Xavier last year. Mary returned to Cincinnati in May to run the Flying Pig Half Marathon. Linda Weaver’s run through a parking garage in Chicago in January resulted in a broken left shoulder. While recovering, Linda is collecting jewelry from her friends that she will take out to a youth center on the west side of Chicago for children to pick out a gift for their moms for Mother’s Day. Mike Gotsch had the great thrill of presiding over his daughter’s wedding in his old courtroom. Mike will be retiring Aug. 12 after 40 years of public service as an Army officer, state prosecutor, and state and federal judge. All of Sarah and Mike’s five children live in the Midwest, and none is more than three hours away by car. Quality time with the grandchildren awaits. Tim Borchers’ dad, Karl, a devoted husband, father and Montana Grizzly fan, passed away in April. Please keep Mr. Borchers, Tim and their loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. A final note for thought: 40 years ago, we were just about a month away from meeting each other and spending three unforgettable years together. It just doesn’t seem that long ago. Please send me news to share in this column or in our Class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com

 

88 Courage Takes Many Forms

Let’s start with our tenacious classmate Michelle (Bradley) Melland. In March, her Badin Hall roommates Margo Kirchner, Julia Merkel, Alison Macor, Sue Pusek and Cathy (Nonnenkamp) Lindner joined her in Kansas City for a celebration. They were there to bear witness as the ALS Association presented Michelle with the Tom Watson Award for Courage, a prestigious honor recognizing her courage in living a fulfilling life despite her life-changing diagnosis of ALS 13 years ago. Because her diaphragm has atrophied, Michelle has breathed via a ventilator for about 10 years. She is also completely paralyzed. While she acknowledges that her lifestyle is definitely not for everyone, she has chosen to make the best of it. She has a second career as a freelance writer, maintains a book review blog, helps run the Melland household and, most importantly, enjoys watching her twin daughters grow into amazing young women. Cathy noted that the Badin crew was delighted to run into fellow classmate Dave Duncan, who was attending the event in support of his live auction donation of a personalized tour of his winery, Silver Oak. Next up is Marc Miller, who has courageously served with the DeKalb County Police Department over the last 22 years. In April, he became the new sergeant overseeing the mobile crisis unit, the behavioral health component of his department. Officers with his unit team up with mental health providers to respond to calls involving those in immediate need and also to follow up with those whom they’ve assisted in the past. Over his career, Marc has progressed from a line officer to a sergeant to a lieutenant on the streets of the eastern half of unincorporated Atlanta. He is eyeing retirement and a move north of Charleston SC, plus a sailing adventure around the Bahamas in a 39-foot Excess catamaran. Finally, from Seattle, we have Jamie Froman who, for over 10 years, demonstrated tremendous courage as he gave his all to holding a very tough cancer at bay. Before he was called home to God this March, he endeavored to be present for his family and to make every day count. Paul Kohl wrote, “Jamie faced his challenges with great dignity, faith and grace, drawing continued spiritual strength from his relationship with Notre Dame.” In fact, from serving as president of Carroll Hall as a student, to taking his family for a week of service through the ND Family Volunteer Camp, to leading a fundraising campaign to create and mount new Stations of the Cross in Carroll Hall’s St. Andre Bessette Chapel, to gathering joyously with his buddies on campus, his relationship with ND was mutually beneficial. He is survived by his wife, Lisa (Folstrom) ’89SMC, and his children John ’23, Emily (Gonzaga ’25) and Luke (just admitted to the Class of ’28). Many Domers attended Jamie’s funeral, including Carroll Hall Vermin Ernie Altbacker (Los Angeles), Mike Blocher (Nashville), John Culligan (Chicago), Dennis Fitzpatrick (Chicago), Gerry Grealish (Herndon VA), Andy Kraus (Columbus OH), Al Musgrove (Norfolk VA), Mark Napierkowski (Bethlehem PA), Tim Salmon (Dallas) and Paul Kohl (Leesburg, VA). Jamie’s dear friends from the ND London program also attended: Gabrielle Arrieh (Dallas), Maggie Green (Chicago) and Stacy Seicshnaydre (New Orleans). Dr. JP Kress ’87 paid his respects as well. Rev. Michael Ryan and Rev. Chad Green ’99, a Carroll Hall alumnus, concelebrated his Mass at St. James Cathedral. Donations in Jamie’s memory may be made to Notre Dame or to the Seattle Fred Hutchinson Cancer Care Center. — 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 Seeing Ireland and Scotland

I am very sad to report the death of two classmates, John Duffy and Paul O’Hop (both about three years ago)! Rest in peace, dear friends! Roseanne Ciambrone, a longtime partner in the Chicago office of Duane Morris, reports that she is now one of six Notre Dame alumni in her Chicago office. For the first time, this is more than Michigan and closing in on Northwestern! Go Irish. I am delighted to announce the birth of two new grandbabies, bringing the total to four! I am working part-time so I can babysit both babies one day a week. My sister and I call it “Two Old Farts Day Care.” The first song we will teach them is “The Notre Dame Victory March”! Lien D. Galloway is nearing retirement as associate general counsel of the Peace Corps. She traveled to N Dakota in December to visit our classmate Sheri Gronhovd Schrock, her husband, Jim, and their lovely daughter, Gretchen. It has been about 10 years since they were able to get together, and they had a wonderful time! Together they made Norwegian lefse for Lien to take home and enjoy! I was able to travel to Dublin together with Cathie Jones Rikkers, Roseanne Ciambrone, Jim Stucko and Mary Stucko for the recent Notre Dame game. We were able to have a drink with Joe Karaszewski and his wife, Karen! The five of us traveled to Edinburgh after the game. Scotland will never be the same, and a great time was had by all! As always, I hope all is well. Please spread the word to our classmates to forward me their news, big or small! — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com; lcoticchia@ruffingmontessori.org

 

89 Post-35th Reunion Blast

If all goes (or went) according to schedule, you will be reading this update following our 35th Class Reunion. Thank you to Mike “Napes” Napier, who did an amazing job leading the reunion effort, amidst marrying off his son only a couple of months prior. The band Catholics in Bad Standing, led by our classmate Mike O’Connell, played into the wee hours and wowed the crowd for sure. Theresa (DeGirolamo) McKenna wrote in that she has published a novel, Life in Christmas Letters: A Story of Friendship, Love and Loyalty. The story is fiction, but semi-autobiographical, and features a tremendous amount of Notre Dame in its pages. This is Theresa’s first book and a sequel is in the works. Finally, the results of the “fun facts” quiz from Mary (Berger) Dilenschneider: Who has just gone back to grad school? Theresa (Henley) Doerfler. Who is a Spanish citizen? Bridget (O’Brien) Swartz. Who is a grandmother? Mary (Berger) Dilenschneider. Who is a new teacher with a bearded dragon class pet? Chrissy (Rivaldo) Kohrt. Who has a Class of 2025 daughter at ND living in Lewis Hall? Margaret (Kemper) Schrimpf. Who is reliving her undergrad music experience listening to Peter Gabriel’s i/o album? Kathleen (Maglicic) Gund. Who just created an 8-foot-tall 3D head of the Wizard of Oz for a school musical? Ros (Winner) Sterling. Who is planning to visit her daughter who will be in the same university in Angers, France, where she also attended 37 years ago? Lisa (Marz) Mojica. Who feels almost like a native Nashvillian having lived in Music City for almost a quarter of a century? Gretchen (Reis) Funk. Who hosted the old gang at her childhood home for the U of L football game and a weekend of tailgates and late-night talks — including planning for a 60th birthday year gathering in 2027? Tina (Chou) Harrison. Happy summer to all! 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