1980s

80 A New Voice
A note from Class President Mary Ryan Amato: Mary Ellen Woods made an art of writing the Class Notes. And as a class officer many of the projects for which our Class is now lauded as “best practices” began with her. Mary Ellen loved our Class and the University of Notre Dame — but it wasn’t the legend or the lore that motivated her — it was the mission of Notre Dame, its ability to connect and change lives. Inspired by that example, it is with great enthusiasm that we introduce our new Class secretary, Mike O’Reilly. Some of you are already familiar with Mike through our Class Facebook page where he has been entertaining and supporting our Class with his postings for the past several years. We welcome Mike to the role knowing he is the right person for the job. In the past months, we’ve begun planning for our 45th Reunion May 29 - June 1. Registration opens in January at reunion.nd.edu. We urge you all to attend! As time marches on, it is a gift to spend a few days back on campus with friends. We will be emailing class-specific plans, so if you are not receiving email communications from us, please make sure to log in to 1980.undclass.org and click the “Join” button, or email the Help Desk at onlinehelp@alumni.nd.edu. Our Class Tailgate at the Louisville game was another fun success! We had approximately 75 guests stop by to cheer on the Irish! Thanks are extended from Beth Larocca, our official host, to all those who helped her set up, greet and break down. For those that have lost family or friends recently, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. We humbly ask you to submit your prayer requests to 80angelsoncall@gmail.com. Our next Class Notes will be written by Mike, so please send him your updates. — Mike O’Reilly; oreillys708@gmail.com; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/

 

80MBA Surviving Milton
I spoke with Vic Yeandel prior to and after Hurricane Milton, and I’m happy to report that Vic and his family survived by exercising the better part of valor and escaping to Miami from their home in Englewood FL, which was very close to where Milton made landfall. Vic lost power and had some damage to his home, but thankfully they did not suffer the catastrophic losses that others had faced in both Helene and Milton and that he had faced from Ian in 2022. Vic is positive that everyone’s prayers made a big difference. This was the fourth hurricane in the past few years, but Vic’s experience with them started the day he was born. That’s right. Incredibly, Vic was born in Miami during the eye of Hurricane Flossy in 1956. The Catholic faith was the main topic for the recently retired Mike Previte, who has found a new calling as a contributing writer for the Milwaukee Catholic Herald. He was excited to get his first press pass to interview Milwaukee Brewers’ Sal Frelick in the dugout before a game. The topic was Sal’s strong Catholic faith, and you can read the article online. It’s a terrific read. Scott Jessup writes that he recently returned from a three-week trip to Slovenia and Croatia that included a six-day bike trip. Scott opines that as he enters his eighth decade he feels as though he is aging in dog years, with one year equaling seven years of physical toll. He wonders if he is the only one that feels this way. Speaking for many in our Class, I can say that the short answer is no. Mike Colbert attended the Rice vs. Army game at West Point where he also attended the Thayer Award reception parade and dinner with former President Obama. While at the game Mike sent me a picture of him with Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland, the current superintendent of the academy. As of this writing Army and Navy, both future opponents of Notre Dame, are undefeated with Army playing Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium in November. Fifty-five years ago, Mike was a Plebe at West Point marching into Yankee Stadium with the Corps of Cadets. Mike also had a chance to attend the Stanford game in October with Walt Zukowski. Attending the Louisville game were Dave Kavanagh and Larry Sellars, who sent me a picture from the tailgate of our second-year MBA friends’ yearly tailgater. It’s easy to find as I’m pretty sure they have the only grass-roofed tiki hut bar setup in the Stadium Lot. Paul Katilas will be meeting up with fellow Notre Dame Arkie classmates that attended the School of Architecture’s Rome Studies Program in 1974 for a 50th reunion. I also attended a 50th reunion of the Syracuse U track in September. The good news was that everyone could at least still walk well. One of the members that appeared was Bruce Fischer, the first sub-four-minute miler in Syracuse’s history who later ran for the Chicago Track Club with Olympic medalist and Sullivan Award winner Rick Wohlhuter ’71. Rick had set the world half-mile record and was a hero to every young half-miler, myself included, and Bruce Fischer is still a legend at Syracuse. Finally, before we get to 50 we must pass 45, and next year will be our 45th year since graduation. Hopefully, we can arrange a reunion next fall. If you haven’t been getting emails from me please send your contact information so that I can keep you informed of future reunion plans. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 475-225-1421; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com

 

80JD Almost 45 Years!
Reunion (May 29 - June 1, 2025) will be the 45th anniversary of our graduation from Notre Dame Law. It was a world before personal computers, smartphones and QR codes for marking evidence. A world where law books were scattered on the library table and there was real free time from studying. A whole different world! Jane Farrell has graciously agreed to spearhead our Reunion 2025 efforts — thank you, wonderful Jane! More details will be provided soon, so visit reunion.nd.edu for the latest updates and keep your eyes out for Class communications. Our hearts go out to our classmates in FL who have endured the hurricane season. Russ Alba and Jim Gresser have been particularly affected — their homes and businesses were directly hit. Please keep them and everyone in your thoughts as the recovery continues. It will be a long, slow process. Many of us are crossing into our 70th decade — what are you doing to celebrate? Send your news, pictures and thoughts. You matter. Love to all. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

 

81 Friendship and Loss
Elaine ’80 and Jim Buddie, Marilyn ’77 and Mike Sammarco, and Denise ’76 and Dave Brenner ’73 became fast friends while on a Traveling Irish cruise to French Polynesia in March 2020. They reunited during the Louisville football weekend, and, other than the slightly cooler weather, reported that it was like they were right back in the South Pacific. Wait, what? On a more somber note, we have recently lost three extraordinary classmates — a reminder that we have learned so much from each other about life and love in our time together. Jack Gaido passed away last July. He is survived by his wife, Ann Schilling Gaido; four children; three grandchildren; three siblings; and many in-laws. Jack was a proud Alumni Hall resident and four-year member of the marching band, where he met Ann. Following graduation, he served in the Marine Corps, then enjoyed a 34-year career with National Starch and Chemical (later Henkel Corp.). Jack was active in his Naperville IL parish as a religious education instructor, Alpha retreat leader, minister of care, and longtime member of the choir as both a vocalist and instrumentalist. He had a welcoming spirit and a genuine interest in helping others succeed and grow. He loved life and always tried to brighten the day of those around him. Steve Ledoux passed away last May and is remembered by his wife, Sara, and three children. Steve sadly lost his long and courageous battle with mental illness, a message his family has wanted to share. During his years at ND, Steve’s deep compassion was the source of his tireless work with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of South Bend. A proud Keenanite, he played lead guitar in a jazz band for the annual Keenan Review. He graduated from Harvard Law School and throughout his career, his passion, loyalty and deep listening helped him solve complex challenges for his clients. With boundless energy, Steve’s legal skills extended to support many nonprofits, too. John McBride passed away suddenly in October. A Cavanaugh resident at ND and a Double Domer in psychology, John moved to WA to provide and supervise counseling and mental health emergency services across two counties. He also worked at the local Area Agency on Aging, managing programs that supported senior citizens who needed help living independently, as well as unpaid family caregivers caring for seniors in their homes. At Notre Dame, John was a varsity fencer, continuing the family tradition; his dad, David McBride ’53, ’55JD, fenced in his time at ND, as well. John is survived by his wife, Joy; his mother, Rita; five siblings including Mary Ellen ’78 and Anne ’80; and many nieces and nephews. I was lucky to be close with John during our senior year and in the years just after. Kind, gentle, generous, scarily bright and hilarious, he helped shape my worldview at that most formative time, and generously shared his family with me, too. We had just exchanged emails days before his passing. Let’s all commit to being a little more like Jack, Steve and John. Please join our Class Facebook group to keep the conversation going. You can find more than 475 classmates there. And please email updates before our Jan. 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 Fall Update
Greetings ’81 MBA classmates and friends! As I am writing this, the Irish are currently 5-1, ranked number 12 and are preparing to go to Atlanta to take on GA Tech. Fall colors are at their peak and the holiday season will be here as you read this update in the next issue of Notre Dame Magazine. I did not hear from anyone so I’ll just give you a short update. I know that our Class email list is really in bad shape with retirement or just switching email providers. I was able to attend the N. Illinois (painful to watch), Louisville, Stanford (with my extended family including our three grandsons) and Florida State games. I’m still working and enjoying it, but I do find myself having the “is it time to retire” conversation with myself from time to time. I wish you and your families a blessed and enjoyable holiday season! Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!!! If you are reading this column, please send me your current email address — several classmates have retired or simply changed their primary email address. If you are in touch with fellow MBA classmates, please ask them to send me their current email address. Thank you!! Go Irish!! — Steve Simmerman; 3126 E. Desert Broom Way, Phoenix AZ 85048; cell 602-524-7662; srsimmerman@gmail.com

 

81JD Class Secretary — Bob Allen;
ndlaw81@robertallenlaw.com

 

82 A New Legal Thriller
Michael Cassidy has been teaching criminal law, evidence and legal ethics at Boston College Law School for the past 28 years. Mike is considered an expert on the subject of prosecutorial ethics and provides training nationally to public sector attorneys on their responsibilities under the Rules of Professional Conduct. He served as chief of the Criminal Bureau in the MA attorney general’s office and has served on many boards on this subject. Now, let’s add author to his many titles. Mike just published his first work of fiction, a legal thriller set in Boston, When the Past is All Deception, which is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Well done, my friend. Mike and his lovely wife, Mary Beth, spend most of their time in Cape Cod. Tara Kenney Grassey and Dr. Patty Jacques Emmanuel participated in the annual Andean Health and Development (AHD) bike ride this summer, raising awareness and financial support for the legacy work of Father Ted Hesburgh, CSC, in Ecuador. AHD was co-founded by Dr. David Gaus ’84 and Father Ted more than two decades ago to bring quality health care to the country. Hesburgh Hospital was built in 2014 and serves as a model teaching hospital on the coast. Tara is a board member and active contributor. She is married to Gary Grassey, an eighth-grade civics teacher, who transitioned from a career as a lawyer, and coaches basketball in their local community. Tara serves on several boards and is an adjunct professor at Mendoza and Keough School. Patty is an infectious disease specialist and chair of pediatrics at the U of South Florida College of Medicine. She and her husband, John, a commercial litigator, reside in Tampa. Patty and Tara are in close touch with Clare Twist, who is back home in Buffalo NY, a pediatric oncologist at Roswell Park Cancer Center. Clare is also a clinical professor and has been instrumental in building a therapy program to treat children with high-risk neuroblastoma. Kathy (Cannon) Laurini, Lyons Hall, has recently retired from a long career working for NASA and private industry on human space exploration programs. Kathy now consults for global clients interested in space exploration and commerce and spends time with her husband, Daniele, between CO and Italy. Tara (Carney) Runnals lives in the lake region of ME, has recently retired from KPMG and completed her 11th Pan-Mass Challenge this summer. She is now joined in ME by Carolyn Elliott-Farino, who moved to Portland and is the director for research grants for the MaineHealth Institute for Research. Nancy Kelly is in Boston and works for Bank of America as a consultant and art curator. Peter Crowe, who is now with the Small Business Administration, is based in Boston and has hosted several Grace Hall friends for his twins’ weddings, including Rich Damberg, a senior policy adviser to the EPA in Durham NC, and Tim O’Connor, now retired and living in Carlsbad CA. Bob Zimmerman, a senior sales executive with Marriott, based in Davis CA, met up with fellow travel expert Rose (Hardart) Wylie, who manages a travel agency outside of Chicago. She and Jim Wylie, a managing director at Marsh, see fellow classmates Maura Welch Abernethy, Alisa (Collins) Anderson, Don Murday, a senior litigator, and Lou Ritten and wife Carolyn Neff, who split their time between Chicago and NOLA. Marybeth Faccenda Hough is now living in NC, Stephanie DeCrane Cavanor, recently retired from Marsh, and Larry Cutler retired from 3M. Many reunions also include Barb Favret Mitchell, living in Pasadena CA, along with Melanie (Murray) Schane, a teacher in Oakland CA, Julie Stenger Ryckman in MI and Martie (Frey) Hart who splits her time between MI and FL. I hope to see you all this fall at a game. Please don’t forget to write to 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 Week of ND Wine
Tim Abeska and his significant other, Juliet Taylor; Cele (Glacy) and Bruce Baty; Wendy and Tim Nickels; and Carol and I spent five days in Napa CA in August to celebrate Tim Nickels’ retirement. All of the wineries we visited were owned by ND graduates, or by parents of ND students. To no one’s surprise, we drank copious amounts of outstanding wine on the trip and shipped several cases back to our respective homes! Wendy and Tim Nickels recently celebrated the births of their fourth and fifth grandchildren. Their daughter Maggie ’12 and her husband, Michael, had a daughter, Elise, in July. Their son Ted ’15 and his wife, Hope, had a son, Oliver, in September. Carol and I saw Anita and Tom Veldman on campus in September for the inauguration of Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC, ’87 as ND’s 18th president. Sheila and Perry Vieth, Anita and Tom Veldman, and Carol and I were on campus the weekend of the Louisville game for the Law School Advisory Council meeting. Condolences to John Smith, whose father, John J. Smith ’54, passed away in July. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com

 

83 Remembrances and Congratulations
Please remember Patrick Beshel and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Pat passed away Aug. 4. Please also remember Maria (Miceli) Dotterweich and her family. Maria’s father, Frank Miceli ’64, passed away Sept. 16. The Miceli and Dotterweich families have many connections to the University, including Rev. Matthew Miceli, CSC, ’47, rector of Cavanaugh Hall for over 30 years, and Maria’s husband, Andy Dotterweich ’71, daughter Nancy Linnen ’86 and her husband Jeff Linnen ’85. Congratulations to Tim Andree and his family on the birth of his fifth granddaughter (and seventh grandchild) on July 31. Many thanks to Bill Bastedo for coordinating the Class tickets for the Louisville game. Michelle (Schneider) Tiller met Jakk (Junkins) Hopkins at a winery in Charlottesville VA. The meeting was a coincidence as neither knew beforehand the other would be there. Congratulations to Hannah (Storen) Storm Hicks on being named the recipient of the Pat Summerall Award, which will be presented at the Legends for Charity Dinner in New Orleans. The award celebrates Hannah’s career as well as her impactful community work for the Hannah Storm Foundation. Brian Murray saw Greg Hartmann in NY. They raised a glass to honor the memory of two of their comrades from the London program, Amy (Hirsh) Guarino and Mike Esparza. Brian also caught a Yankees game with Tim Bozik who recently retired from his position with Pearson Publishing. Brian also caught a Mets game with Tom Tuohy who was in town from Scottsdale AZ for a high school reunion. Tom is practicing law. Brian reports that his son is moving to Tokyo. Brian also met up with Tom Melsheimer and his wife, Miki, in NY. Tom is the managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Dallas office and scoffs if he is asked about retirement plans. Greg Hartmann also reports that he and his wife, Karim, were super pleased to have their daughter Rachel Hartmann ’24 graduate with a degree in political science this past May. That makes three generations from the family with degrees from the University, as Greg’s father, Fred ’52, also is a graduate. Chris Davis continues his charitable work through Building Trust Americas. The charity will be working to help construct a community center in Colombia. Chris thanks all who have donated to assist this cause. If you are interested in donating, information can be found on our Class Facebook page. The IDEA Center at the University has announced the creation of the Amy Hirsh Guarino Force for Good Award that recognizes Notre Dame students, alumni, staff or professors using a tech startup or nonprofit to address key areas of Catholic social teaching: the vulnerable, the planet or the Church. Keith Kriegshauser and his wife, Karen, were in Rome and stopped by the Notre Dame Global Gateway, near the Colosseum, and received a tour. Mark Mai and his wife, Kate, met up with Jon Talty and Libby (Helland) Bruce and her husband, Andy, during the Louisville game weekend. You can also keep up with members of the Class of 1983 by joining our Class Facebook page. Membership on the Facebook page is limited to members of the Class of 1983 only. To join, simply search for “Notre Dame Class of 1983” on Facebook and select the “join” option. If you have any news that you’d like to share with the Class, please send me a note or email and I’ll be happy to include your news in the next Class 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 New Book, New Music
Thanks to Ellen LaBerge and Matt Feeney, I have some exciting news to share. On Aug. 15, Black Rose Publishing released Michele Wendling’s first novel, Like Family. The novel is set in rural MI in 1918 during the influenza pandemic. It’s the story about fierce women, family — biological and intentional — and love. I’ve already read the book and loved it. You can find it on Amazon. Michele earned her MFA from Bennington College in 2022. In her spare time, she is the director of trial advocacy at ASU Law School, teaches at the law school, has a mediation and arbitration practice and enjoys time with her five children and three grandchildren. Matt stepped down as managing partner at Snell & Wilmer in 2023 after eight years. He spends about half his time on clients, law firm and community activities, and the other half on family, friends, music and writing. While at Notre Dame, Matt was in a folk rock band. The band gathered in 1999 and recorded an album, It’s Never Too Late, and in September, they released their final album, One More Song of Love. The new album consists of 18 original songs. In August, Ellen and Rob LaBerge spent a wonderful weekend on Cape Cod with Joyce and Alan Rosenfield. After working as an assistant district attorney, Alan established a successful law practice in Westborough MA. He and Joyce live in Upton MA, where Alan served on the town select board and founded the Upton Men’s Club, which since 1997 has contributed to the community of Upton through various fundraising activities and volunteer services and by fostering social networking opportunities. Alan and Joyce have two sons and two grandchildren. Rob and Ellen also paid a visit to Janet and Jay Coleman. Now retired, Jay practiced commercial litigation in Phoenix AZ. He was a partner of Matt Feeney’s at Snell & Wilmer before moving to Salmon Lewis & Weldon, PLLC. Jay and Janet have two sons, too. Rob and Ellen are hoping that Cheryl Dimeo and Pete Loveley ’82JD will join them next summer for this get-together. They lead busy lives in RI and on Cape Cod. Please send me an email with an update on you or a fellow classmate for this column. — Ann E. Merchlewitz; cell 507-450-6609; bus 507-457-1587; amerchle@gmail.com

 

84 Retirements and New Jobs
After 34 years, sports reporter Rachel Blount resigned from The Minnesota Star Tribune. It wasn’t an easy decision, having spent 40 years in the business of sports journalism. She started her career at a time when female sports reporters were barred from some locker rooms, and derided and detested for elbowing into what was then a man’s world. Blount has covered everything from football and horse racing to the Olympics and women’s professional hockey. After six years of formation, Bob Hickey Solis was ordained as a deacon in the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Phoenix on Nov. 9. What great timing since the next day he was thrilled to baptize six of his eight grandchildren! Bob also reports that his family’s ministry in South Africa, Open Arms Home for Children, is now serving a record 63 kids. Open Arms is a partner with the ND Institute for Social Concerns and hosts Notre Dame students every summer. Several classmates are key faculty in the Mendoza College of Business. Brian Levey, who has been teaching at ND for years, created an innovative course on ethics in tax. Michael Favorite joined the Department of Accountancy as a full-time associate teaching professor, after nearly five years as a concurrent adjunct faculty member and senior financial analyst in the controller’s office. Tonia (Hap) Murphy received the James Dincolo Outstanding Teaching Award. A proud parent moment: Former St. Ed’s and current The Woodlands TX resident Chris Romo sent word that his son Drew made his professional baseball debut at catcher for the CO Rockies! Since the due date for this column was shortly after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, some of you may be struggling to recover from those horrific storms. I hope that your recovery is not too difficult and your families are safe. — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net

 

84MBA Class Secretary — Dhanraj Bhagat;
dbhagat1960@gmail.com

 

84JD 40th Reunion Recap
Our 40th Law School reunion was held on campus in conjunction with the annual Law School Homecoming the weekend of Oct. 11 - 13. The festivities began with a reception in the Law School on Friday night, followed by the homecoming tailgate in the quad behind the Law School on Saturday afternoon before the game against the Stanford Cardinal, and culminated with Mass in the St. Thomas More Chapel in the Law School on Sunday morning, where we remembered in prayer the deceased members of our Class of 1984: James Thomas Canfield, Thomas William Grant, Todd Edwin Haines, Michael Kevin Kelley, Patrick Joseph Pedro, Joseph Flores Sepeda, Peter R. Sgro, Karen E. Werme and Theresa Anne Zeman. The Rev. William R. Dailey, CSC, ’94, ’00, delivered a moving homily at Mass, where we were also honored to be joined by professor and former Law School dean Patti O’Hara ’74JD. The robust group of classmates attending included: Dr. Greg Andrews, Alan Arnall, Shelley Bacon Bacastow, Jane Barker, Thomas Brilbeck, Peter Burrell, Jim Carr, Chip Cavanaugh, Greg Cozad, Mark Cummins, Randy Curato, Richard DeFeo, Michael Dever, Matthew Dunn, Dana Eismeier, Ann Firth, John Firth, Abe Frank, Shaw Friedman, Barbara Grady, Macrina Groody Hjerpe, Daniel Hoffman, Michael Howard, Colleen Short Lucke, Ann Maloney Conway, Thomas Marek, Keith Maxfield, Jack McCormick, J. Daniel McCurrie, Tim Merker, Matthew Miklave, Kenneth Plifka, Dave Pusateri, Peter Reilly, Edward Ristaino, Linda Ruel, Judge Tom Schroeder, Judy Murtaugh Schulz, Jim Slattery, Amy Smith O’Connor, Loraine Troyer and Augie Valdez. Our planning committee thanks Jim Slattery for his leadership in coordinating our communication with the Law School and the football ticket office. The events and communication in advance thereof were expertly coordinated by Tammye Radke Raster ’92JD, the law alumni program manager. Thanks Tammye! Please send any updates to my attention. — Matthew J. Dunn; 19834 Timbered Estates Lane, Carlinville IL 62626; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com

 

85 Post-Action Report
Nancy Walsh reports that the 10th annual Bad A** Class Tailgater (BACT) was “really well attended, and by our calculations there were people from every dorm of our era there.” The event had a Western theme with cardboard cut-out celebrity Clint Eastwood decked out in Outlaw Josey Wales Western wear accompanied by a large cardboard bear. Nancy gives “kudos to those [BACT attendees] who wore Western gear and/or leather — it made things a little more saucy and special.” The event was hosted by Nancy; Erika and Jerry Judd; Anne (Parigi) and Bob Michels; Julie and Casey Newell; Joanne (Madden) and Kevin Finger; Meghan (Flattery) and Jim Allen; Alison Yurko; Clarke Keough; Connie O’Brien; and Kay (Wigton) McBrearty. Special recognition goes to Jerry, who kept the party going for hours after the game ended, DJing wild after-BACT festivities, including impressive singing and dancing. Nancy writes: “Rumor has it they were the last vehicle shooed out of the parking lot in the wee hours!” BACT attendees are encouraged to share any photos of the event. There is a Shutterfly album of photos from the weekend that people have posted on the Class Facebook page. Here is the link: link.shutterfly.com/pwnebOvAzNb. If you have BACT photos, but are not on Facebook, you can email them to Nancy. If you need her email address, I can send it to you. All are encouraged to attend next year’s BACT. The BACT 2025 game will be selected in March or early April. Also, mark your calendars for our 40th Reunion, May 29 - June 1, 2025. Please note that this is a bit earlier in the summer than previous Reunions. Register soon at reunion.nd.edu and email me if you’d like to volunteer to help make our Reunion the best yet. I’m looking forward to receiving your emails with updates on your careers, hobbies and achievements! — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net

 

85JD Class Secretary — Kelly Kiernan Largey;
kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu

 

86 86ers in the House!
Here’s to an incredible 39th annual mini-reunion weekend! Two hundred seventy-five strong we were! Pam, Lori, Chris and I have several to thank. First, all those who were able to come and make it so special. Also, to Werner “Rip” Graf for inviting us to the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation’s Superhero Exhibit. Rip’s collection is one of the largest and we look forward to hearing about the permanent exhibit. Congratulations to John Gibbs and Brian Rady for getting the first Pickle Ballooza tourney off the ground. Thank you for including ’86 along with the ND Pickleball Club to help make the first one a success! Warm thanks to Tina and Bill Mitchell, Patty and Pat Mullen, Vanessa and Matt Donaher, Bridget and Rob Waeldner, Sonja and Mike McGowan, and Shannon and Dave Shine for hosting us Friday night for an incredible gathering at the Mitchells’ house. The Mexican food truck was delish and the 60th birthday cake /cupcakes for all ’86ers celebrating our milestone was awesome! Bill made up a batch of ND ’86 baseball caps for all and even made name tags and fridge magnets with pictures of us from that “directory book” we all received when we arrived on campus. What a welcome kickoff for the ’86 crew! The mini-reunion tailgate was a blast. Thanks to Mission BBQ and GameDay for keeping the food coming and our bartenders Angela and Zack for keeping the drinks flowing. Lots of great conversations, laughs, hugs and glasses raised! A special call-out to Mary Prebys ’18 (Gretchen’s daughter) at NDAA for all her help with football tickets, advice and help on the execution front. We need help every year with obtaining Stadium Parking passes to secure the footprint. Sincere thanks to Julie and Greg Dingens, Ray Vallera, Katie and John Anthony, and Michele ’87 and Bob Finley for their generosity. A special thank-you to Father Dan Groody for celebrating our Class Mass. It was a beautiful Mass, and we love having you lead us in prayer, fellowship and remembrance of those dear classmates we have lost. Patrick Conboy runs the Class Facebook page — big thanks for always getting the updates out, posting pictures from the Class and advising on communication and marketing ideas. Mark Huber was in San Diego recently for a visit with his daughter, and met up with Kevin Mickey. They lunched at USD’s version of the faculty club. It was the first time they had seen each other in 38 years! Tana and André Hutchinson attended the wedding of André’s goddaughter Haley Stumpf, daughter of Juli (Spala) ’87SMC and Dave Stumpf. Neal and Susie Baker Shipley have three: Fabiola ’20, Neal Jr. (JMU and Ohio State) and Max (Clemson). Neal Shipley Jr. is an amateur golfer. He had placed fourth in the Elite Amateur series, and was runner-up at the US Amateur Men’s Golf Championship. Being runner-up finish at US Amateur, he received invitations to play in The Masters as well as the US Open. Neal made the cut at The Masters, was the Low Amateur, played a round with Tiger Woods on Sunday morning, and finished the weekend in Butler Cabin. Neal Sr., Fabi, Max and Susie, along with others, including Susie’s sister Betsy (Baker) Moshier ’89 and Mike Moshier ’89, ’92MBA, were there to cheer. Neal Jr. and the Ohio State team also played in the NCAA Men’s National Golf Championships. Neal Jr. tied for 26th at the US Open. Susie and family live in Pittsburgh, where she is president of Huntington Bank’s PA, Ohio Valley and Mahoning Valley market. Take care and God Bless! — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com

 

86MBA Class Secretary — Maureen (Mullan) Decker;
21231 Lilac Lane, Clinton Twp., MI 48036; bus 586-741-4305; mobile 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org

 

86JD Big Adventure
Jim Landenberger provided a recap of his big adventure: “After retiring in March 2024, I decided to do something silly so I rode my bicycle solo from Astoria OR to Camp Lejeune NC (nearly 5,000 miles). Some friends met me along the route, including an assortment of Law School chums. My wife, Leslie, and I stayed with Julie and John Duggan leading up to the ride, and John rode the first leg with me down the OR coast. After crossing the mountainous West and the hot Midwest, morale was low. I spoke to Paul Kirsch by phone from Louisville KY, and he hopped on a ‘red eye’ that night to Louisville. Paul was my SAG wagon for the next four days. I continued across OH, to Pittsburgh, then to Washington DC and down to Richmond VA, where Tom Evans and Matt Steinmetz ’85JD determined that I needed a cocktail so they flew in from Chicago and bought me dinner and a few libations. Then, in the midst of Hurricane Debby, I pedaled furiously down the Outer Banks to the Camp Lejeune finale and was met by my family and Paul Peralta, who drove through the hurricane to greet me. A fabulous adventure.” Bravo, Jim. I ran into Beth (Schneider) Naylor, John Glowacki and new grandfather Dave Link at the Law School’s Stanford game tailgater. Congrats to Susan Link and Dave. I saw Paul Peralta, Jim Landenberger and Ed Murphy at my tailgater, but missed Mike Mulhern and Tom Evans, also in for the game. Kim Reid had sad news that her breast cancer returned, but that didn’t stop her from a trip to Cincinnati to visit with Philomena and Charles Ashdown. Kim made a cameo appearance on Philomena’s FaceTime call with Glenn Schmitt. Philomena and Charles are also new grandparents. Congrats. And Kim appreciates that Ernie Dominguez regularly checks in with her. — Brian Bates; bbates@abblaw.com

 

87 Inauguration
Hello Class of ‘87! I hope everyone enjoyed a peaceful holiday and a happy transition into 2025. Valerie (Barker) Waller sent me several photos of her time on campus in September attending the inauguration of our classmate Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC. She ran into Nylce Prada Myers and Byron Spruell that weekend and also let me know that Christa Singleton had been in South Bend the previous weekend and had the chance to catch up with Father Dowd. I enjoyed the photos and only wish Notre Dame Magazine could publish them! Best wishes for a healthy and fulfilling 2025. — 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 High School Honors
As I scrolled through my social media feed I came upon a post that mentioned “J.C. Bermudez High School” in FL. A quick internet search confirmed my suspicion that the “J.C. Bermudez” is our classmate Juan Bermudez. Juan is the founding mayor of the city of Doral and currently serves as the District 12 commissioner for the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. Juan has spent a significant portion of his career as a public servant, and in 2020 the Miami-Dade County School Board voted to honor Juan with the naming of J.C. Bermudez Doral Senior High School. I told Juan that when I ask for news to share with our classmates, some may characterize having a high school named after you as somewhat newsworthy. But if you know Juan, you know he is not one to blow his own horn. Juan said he was humbled to think that kids are going to college or entering the workforce with a high school diploma that has his name on it. At the opening of J.C. Bermudez High School, Juan made two points. First, he wished that his parents — who brought him to the United States from Cuba at the age of 3 — could have been around to see this. Second, he said that the school better have a good basketball team because he didn’t want to read in the newspaper, “Bermudez Loses Again”! Congratulations, Juan, on this tremendous honor. Please send me news to share in this column or in our Class email loop — even if it’s not as significant as having a high school named after you. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com

 

88 Channeling Passion for the Benefit of Others
Over the last 14 years, the family of Ken Levandoski, a Stanford Hall Griffin, has been running a nonprofit called the Gift of Soccer Foundation. The mission of their foundation is to aid underprivileged communities in gaining access to soccer by providing them with unused and gently used soccer gear. To date they have distributed 40,000-plus pieces of equipment in 19 countries across six continents. The Levandoskis are well-versed in all things soccer — playing, coaching and managing teams. Ken shares the duties of running the Gift of Soccer with wife Margie, son Kenny and daughter Jessie. To learn more about their foundation and how you can support it, go to thegiftofsoccer.org. Experienced when it comes to working together, Ken and Margie also co-own LionSky, a web-branding and digital media company, with Margie being the majority owner. Our very own Andrew Barlow is the president-elect of the Notre Dame Alumni Association! Andy was elected at the conclusion of the NDAA’s spring ’24 meetings and began his term July 1. He will succeed Amy Porter ’14 in the full capacity of president beginning July 1, 2025. His NDAA resume includes serving as an active member of the ND Club of Austin for the past eight-plus years, including a two-year term as club president, and acting as an at-large member of the NDAA for two years. It would be difficult to think of someone better suited to the task of heading up the NDAA. Grace Hall friends Scott Inglis and Bob Carroll traded father-of-the-groom and guest roles in the back-to-back weddings of their sons this September. Brendan, the son of Jennifer (Diem) and Scott, married Vanessa on Sept. 22. Along with Bob, the Domers in attendance were Dave Lese ’89, uncle Jason Diem ’92 and Brendan’s siblings Mads ’16 and Gavin ’19. The following weekend, on Sept. 28, Jay ’16, the son of Janel (Blount) and Bob, wed Maura (Boston) ’17. Beyond sharing wedding experiences, Scott and Bob work together as investment advisers at Carnegie Investment Counsel. Jennifer is a social work manager at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In a further coincidence, Jennifer and Farley friend Anne (Brown) Johnson enjoyed mother-of-the-groom honors on subsequent weekends, with Anne’s son Andrew marrying Alexa on Sept. 27. Another Domer in attendance was the groom’s brother Bradley ’24. Many thanks to Matt Dingens for his service as Class vice president over the years. He would like to shift into a Class ambassador (emeritus) role. Stepping up to fill his shoes is Kitty Duffy. Her demonstrated abilities when it comes to connecting with and lifting up others and spreading good will make her a natural for this role. She is excited to share her gifts in service to ’88ers. And now a follow-up to our autumn ’24 column, where Nick Sparks’ most recent novel, Counting Miracles, was mentioned. As of the writing of this current column (in mid-October), Counting Miracles appears in the number one spots of both the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestsellers lists. Clearly, Nick’s knack for storytelling has staying power! — 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 An Excellent Reunion
Hello, friends! I have lots of news to report … John Culver and his wife, Kathy, recently traveled to Brooklyn NY to visit their oldest who is teaching second grade there. They enjoyed a wonderful meal with Chris Kendric and his wife, Debbie. Turns out John and Chris are both solo plaintiff’s-side personal injury and med mal attorneys, with some billed clients as well. They were able to pick up where they left off in 1988! Chris said it was an excellent spur-of-the-moment reunion after all these years! Jim Ciapciak reports that he is semi-retired! Believe it or not, two of his three children are lawyers! He says he keeps in touch and gets together with the other “stack rats” quite a bit! Good to hear from you, Jim! Jill Jones is still with the Midcontinent Independent Supply Operator. It is a nonprofit that acts as the “air controller” for the electric grid through the mid-section of the US, from Manitoba to New Orleans. Jill was recently promoted to assistant general counsel. She works on the corporate compliance side of the legal house and supports internal clients such as HR, finance and IT. When she is not working, she is enjoying the “grammy” life. Congrats, Jill! Peter Bogaard is living in Morristown NJ. He and his wife, Laurie, recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They have two kids in their mid-20s, one in New York City and the other in Jersey City. After working as a certified civil trial attorney doing both defense and plaintiff’s work for 25 years, Peter was appointed to the bench in NJ as a Superior Court judge in 2013. He remains as a sitting judge, currently serving in the Family Division. Peter tries to get back to campus once a year, and for several years he has given a lecture at the Law School to the Legal Voices for Children student group. Whenever possible, he tries to extend that trip to take in some time in Chicago, and catch up with our classmate and Peter’s good friend, John “JC” Culver. While Peter’s dream job after retirement from the judiciary (he will be retiring in early 2028) would be working at the Law School in the fall only (with four tickets for all home games on the 50-yard line) in the career development office, those positions are being ably filled by Vincent Versagli, Ed D’Arcy, Pat McLaughlin and Heidi Baguer!! Peter encourages “anyone looking to hire a fine young lawyer to reach out to them for some outstanding candidates. They have helped me greatly over the years, with half of the 12 law clerks I have hired and had the pleasure of mentoring and working with graduating from Notre Dame Law School, along with providing me with the names of about 15 undergrads and law students who have interned with me.” Great to hear from you, Peter! Peter also reports that Brian English became a Superior Court judge in NJ in approximately 2021. Brian sits in the Family Part in Middlesex County. Prior to becoming a judge, Brian was a partner in the Newark NJ firm of Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld and Barry. Congrats, Brian! Jerry Pappert is wrapping up his 10th year on the federal bench and cannot believe how quickly these years have gone. Jerry, his wife Ellen, and their daughter Mary (who will be 25 in December) are doing great. Mary graduated from Villanova, Jerry’s undergraduate alma mater, in 2022, and works in the Philadelphia suburbs for SEI, a large financial services company. Four years ago Jerry and his family built a home a block and half from the beach in Avalon NJ and they’ve had great summers there ever since. Note: Jerry says that all ’88JD Class members have an open invitation!! Next reunion is at Jerry’s house! Don’t forget to send me updates! No news is too small! — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com; lcoticchia@ruffingmontessori.org

 

89 Career Recognition
Tom Varnum writes that in late November, he was recognized by the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association for his 300th career high school varsity basketball victory. Tom has been the girls varsity basketball coach at Lowell (MA) Catholic High School since 2003. Prior to that, he coached the boys varsity at Tyngsboro (MA) High from 1997 to 2003. Tom is currently in his 31st year teaching high school English at Tyngsboro High. Here’s to a fellow English literature devotee! Please keep the updates coming. Dillon Hall is currently in the lead of the “Reunion Updates.” Finally and very sadly, our classmate Jay Wong passed away in June. We offer our deepest prayers and condolences to Jay’s family. God bless. Go Irish. — Kerrie (Wagner) Debbs; kwagsnd89@gmail.com

 

89MBA South Bend Weekend
Several of our Class gathered in October for a weekend in South Bend and couldn’t believe the changes on campus! George O’Sullivan, Matt Maloney, Leanne (Lash) O’Gorman, Mike Trier, Tim Foley and John DeVoe were all present. Scott Dowling and Dave McNeil had planned to attend, but Hurricane Milton in South FL changed their plans. We were graced by a visit from Mike Crowe and shout-outs from Pam Vargas and Kerry (Meyer) Trucco also! Some of us are retired; most are only thinking about it. Seems we’re a bunch of overachievers! I’m going to make a stronger effort to publish quarterly notes, so please reach out and let me know what you are doing these days. — Maggie McJoynt DeVoe; 612-845-9662; maggiedevoe@yahoo.com

 

89JD Class Secretary — Jenny O’Leary Smith;
jennyoleary@comcast.net