1980s

80 Trojan Swan Song
As I write, we are days away from the USC game, and I am at a loss to think this may be the last time the Irish host our greatest intersectional rival. Who among us can forget the ’77 green jersey game, a 49-19 triumph over the Trojans, memorialized in Kodachrome by our deceased classmate Dom Yocius? NB, I have copies of Dom’s famed photo that I will gladly mail you upon request. Go Irish, Beat Trojans always. The best news comes from Bill McGurn regarding his miraculous recovery after going into cardiac arrest this past March. Bill’s heart stopped twice for almost 14 minutes, and he was given a 1 percent chance of survival. Bill writes, “Notre Dame Our Mother was definitely looking out for me. I am grateful for her but also the Notre Dame community. What a blessing you are, and your prayers really shook down the thunder for me. God bless you all.” Ed Zier was blessed with the birth of his third grandchild, Mia Jessica, in March. Not to be outdone, Michael “Doc” Cusick welcomed his second granddaughter, Brenna, born in September, and Kate and I kept it coming in October with the arrival of grandson William Michael. Grandparenthood is not overrated. After a storied 41-year journalism career, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Melinda Henneberger retired from the Kansas City Star in August, but she has not retired her Mac Air as she will be writing a column for RealClear Politics and working on some additional projects. Kudos to Tom “Coyote” Weiler who retired after a 42-year run from his Chicago law practice; fellow partner John Langhenry will continue to burn the midnight oil at Langhenry, Gillen, Lundquist & Johnson LLC. Tom and John traveled to the DE shore in August to visit Jim Bowers, and were joined by Tom “Crash” Carr, Jim Woods and Pete “Beak” Visceglia. Maritza Poza Grise writes that husband Steve Grise spent a wonderful week in Annecy, France, with the Oblates of St. Frances de Sales. Within a 15-month span, Molly McLoughlin Rhine and Beth Larocca have met up in CA, FL, CO, AZ, IL, IN, NV and UT. At this rate, they are projected to hit all 50 states before Reunion 50. The CO trip also included Ann McRedmond Waddey, Kathy McCann Carey and Maritza. The Lyons ladies are renowned travelers, and Badin women are always game to accept a challenge. Beth Imbriaco Hjelm has planned a mini-reunion in Seattle this coming March. All interested Badinites should contact Beth at bhcubs@aol.com. I am deeply sorry to report the deaths of two more classmates this year: Peter Ruvolo III (Darcy Kane Ruvolo) passed away March 28, and we lost Michael Miedlar (Peggy Kelly Miedlar ’81) on Aug. 3. More sad news as Tim Healy lost his wife, Peggy Cummings, in September; Beth Towne lost her dad, Miles Kavanagh Towne; Ed Zier lost his mom, Dorothy Marie Zier; Gregg Stefanek lost his mom, Ruth K. Stefanek; and Greg Rosenthal and Janine Wagner lost their son-in-law, Chris. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. May their families find peace. — Michael O’Reilly; oreillys708@gmail.com; facebook.com/groups/notredame80/

80MBA A Supreme Fall Weekend
The fall football season brought many of our classmates to various games on campus. Joining our tailgate at the Purdue game were Larry Sellars, Cathy (Gallagher) Maloney ’79 and husband Mike Maloney, Bill McCall, and Duane Tarnacki. Mike and Cathy brought son Thomas ’24EMBA, his wife Tori and their daughter Nora, and Bill was joined by his wife, Luci ’78SMC. Bill is enjoying retirement, having sold his CPA practice four years ago. Larry brought some old photos, and we marveled at viewing ourselves and friends from over 45 years ago. Duane is still practicing law in Detroit as a partner with Clark-Hill and brought along his friend Mike Thomas, aka “Tumor.” As usual, Dan Buck ’79MBA and his brother Mike organized our annual trip, accommodations and tailgate which was attended by Len Morris ’79MBA, Tom Brogan ’79MBA, John Hurley ’79MBA and Doug Wetmore ’79. In celebration of his 70th birthday, Len generously procured the tickets for our group of nine. Lane and Joe Bowers attended the USC game with their daughter Jacqueline ’05 and her family. They met up with Mike Previte on campus at the game. Joe adds that this fall marked a big change because he sold his investment business in September and is now helping the purchaser with the transition as he prepares for full retirement. Lane and Joe have some exciting trips lined up to London, Paris, Normandy and the Greenbriar Resort this fall and a Danube river cruise scheduled for the spring. Michele and Mike Traeger connected with Nancy (Zaytoun) and Tom Kenna in South Bend for the Texas A&M game weekend. They had the opportunity to attend a Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government (CCCG) dinner Friday evening featuring Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett ’97JD. On gameday they had one-on-one time with Justice Barrett at a CCCG tailgate gathering, stating that her sharp intellect is complimented by a warm and unpretentious persona. Bill Homer writes that his family had quite the summer as daughter Elizabeth ’17SMC married Eric Johnson ’15. Liz is a Ph.D. candidate at Drexel U studying how uveal melanoma, a form of eye cancer, metastasizes to other body organs. Eric works for a logistics firm and was a former defenseman for the Notre Dame hockey team. Last fall Bill and Mary Beth purchased a home on MD’s eastern shore and spent time making home improvements before heading to their place in FL for the winter, where Bill is the VP and treasurer of their HOA, violating his cardinal rule of never serving on an HOA board. Bill didn’t stop at violating just one rule — he also said he is getting talked into buying a boat. I will alert the Coast Guard. Before heading off to vacation in Barcelona, Kathleen and Mike Colbert, along with their son Andrew and nine family members, attended the Boise State game. They enjoyed the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art and played a round of golf. Finally, before I left home I found a new St. Joseph’s medal I had purchased years ago that was never blessed. During the rain delay at the game, I ran into Father Matt, a newly ordained Holy Cross priest, and he was kind enough to bless the medal and mentioned that his first parish was St. Joseph’s, so I believe this was destiny. Soon after, the rain stopped, the team played much better, and we won. I’m just saying. Go Irish. — Joe Kearney; 475-225-1421; jos.w.kearney@gmail.com

80JD The Beat Goes On
It is hard to top all the news that wonderful Jane Farrell sent from Reunion. Thanks again, Jane! We bid farewell to Tammye Raster ’92JD, ND Law grad and alumni guru at the Law School, who has moved to the Pulte Foundation for a new initiative. Thank you for everything, Tammye! You’ll be missed. Surely, our class has lots of new grandchildren, lots of retirement news, lots of gathering with each other. Share your joy. — Sheila O’Brien; sobrien368@aol.com

81 Let’s Reunite
Our 45th Reunion is almost here — June 4 - 7 (visit reunion.nd.edu to register). Let’s get together on campus for what will surely be an amazing weekend. Jim Veraldi and the class reunion planning team have been hard at work putting together Class of ’81-only events on top of what the NDAA has planned. Interesting speakers? You can count on it. Beer tent? Of course. Class dinner? Check. Golf? Check. Class Mass to remember our departed classmates? Every time. Spontaneous walks around the lakes? Plenty of time on your own. I hope to see you there. Tracy Jackson, our own basketball phenom, was recently inducted into the Washington DC Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame. Tracy was a two-time All-Met selection and led his high school team to a MD state championship in 1977. That same year, Tracy was named The Washington Post Player of the Year. He played in the 1977 Capital Classic High School All-Star Game and was named to the inaugural McDonald’s All-American team that year. He then went on to have a standout collegiate career at Notre Dame (we know, we watched!) and was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 1981 NBA Draft. He also played for the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers during his NBA career. Congratulations to Tracy for this tremendous honor! Last August, Mike Martin joined Chris Burns on his annual backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada backcountry. Mike retired after a long career as a Navy pilot and as a professor at the Naval War College. Chris also retired from the Navy and as a program manager for the Department of the Navy in San Diego. Chris is married to Peggy Battle ’81SMC, and Mike is married to Mary “Skip” Tuite ’81SMC. Ralph Jaccodine was recently honored with a proclamation from the mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, for starting the Boston Managers Group, a professional organization for the music industry, 35 years ago. He founded the organization with Tim Collins, the longtime manager of Aerosmith. Ralph’s music management career started at Notre Dame! Update: Last Class Notes, I mentioned that Innsbruckers are planning a reunion, and we are looking for a few lost folks from our group. Darlene Armstrong ’83 saw our message and reconnected us with Warren “Wally” Armstrong. After graduation, Wally served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica for three years. He has been in Nicaragua for 40 years, the last 25 years as general manager of a farmer organization, Aldea Global/Aldea Coffee in Jinotega. This kind of reconnection is what makes being the class secretary fun! Mike Ward reports that our classmate Paul L. Rondino MD passed away suddenly Sept. 8 while on vacation in Cairo, Egypt. Paul, affectionately known as “Padre,” was Mike’s roommate along with Joe Wieck, Bob Fink and Paul Pisarski ’82 during our junior and senior years, in Dillon Hall. Please keep his wife, Cindy (Cristoff) Rondino, and their family in your prayers. 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 on Campus
I am writing this update from O’Hare the day after the hard-fought victory over USC!! It was a great win for the Irish despite the rain all day! Bob Weidner provided this very informative update. Bob reports that he was diagnosed with both melanoma and prostate cancers. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the melanoma surgeon got clean margins. Also, he started two-year-long hormone treatment, and completed six weeks of intense radiation treatment. His PSA is now down to 0.03 and he is now cancer-free!!! Bob is a huge proponent of annual medical checkups! He and Kathy celebrated their 40th anniversary this year with a riverboat cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam — the highlight was tulip season and a day in Keukenhof Gardens. Kids and grandkids (two) have really enriched their lives. They are truly blessed. Jim Kermott (jas@kermott.com) wrote a very special note. After Notre Dame, Jim took a commission with the Navy, retiring from the Reserves as a lieutenant commander (equivalent to a major). Kris and he are retired in Moscow ID, where her mother (98) lives with them. Their three sons are spread out: John (eldest) — Salinas CA and is a software developer; Jeremy (middle) — Hornell NY and is a tech rep for a software company, and Patrick (youngest) — Show Low AZ and is an accountant. They have nine grandchildren and two great-grands. Jim’s father passed away last summer, four days shy of his 102nd birthday. The real impetus for Jim’s writing was that a year ago, he noticed a discharge from his left nipple. Jim had a ductal carcinoma in situ (stage 0, thank God!), which was surgically removed in February. Jim really encourages all to get medical checkups annually. Thank you, Jim, for your very open and honest update and very good advice for all of us! To all, please encourage any fellow ’81MBA friends to drop us a short note — we would love to hear from all of you!! Go Irish!! — Steve Simmerman; 3126 E. Desert Broom Way, Phoenix AZ 85048; cell 602-524-7662; srsimmerman@gmail.com

81JD Excellent Adventures
Pete Blume (Pittsburgh) received the St. Thomas More Award from Pittsburgh’s St. Thomas More Society at their Red Mass in recognition of his and his wife Patricia’s being instrumental among the founding families of Aquinas Academy, a K-12 independent Catholic school founded 29 years ago with 13 students. It now has 550. Pete says he’s blessed that four of his eight kids graduated from Notre Dame, the oldest now on its theology faculty. He also reported that Tom McCabe (DC) attended the wedding of one of his daughters. Jim Blase’s (St. Louis) new book, Theodore Roosevelt’s Brotherhood of America: A Daily Journal of the President’s Nationwide Travels, was released Oct. 27, Roosevelt’s birthday. Jim’s note about the book led to an interesting conversation about President Teddy Roosevelt and his son, as well as Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his father, all having been recipients of the Medal of Honor — joined by John (“Fitz”) Fitzpatrick (Sarasota), Lorne Liechty (Dallas) and Tim Kapshandy (N. Indiana). On a personal note, I shared how my father’s ship had been sunk in Manila Harbor, three days following the conclusion of the Battle of Manila, after Gen. MacArthur’s fabled return to the Philippines. Bob Cimala (Chicago) recently reached out with some political advice related to the “shutdown.” Ed Wallison (Houston), aka “Notorious BFG,” continues to draw crowds in comedy clubs across the country. Fitz shared that he, with West Point classmates and veterans, had taken a trip to follow the “Band of Brothers” trail, from Aldbourne, to Normandy, St. Marie E’glise, Arnhem, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, the Dachau concentration camp, and Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden. Afterward, he went from Croatia to Rome, visited the Vatican and saw Christian relics from AD 326. It was emotional and, indeed, a “trip of a lifetime.” As for me, Bob Allen (Palm Beach), I made my annual trips to Monaco and Cannes. In Monaco, I chaired the 18th Annual Marine Money Superyacht Forum. In Cannes, I chaired the inaugural Mercy Ships Yachting Day Gala which raised over half a million dollars for a wonderful Christian ministry which maintains two hospital ships, staffed by volunteer medical teams, off the east and west coasts of Africa. I’m writing the day after the win over USC. What a game! Go Irish! — Bob Allen; ndlaw81@robertallenlaw.com

82 Turning 65
This past summer, the Breen-Phillips ’82 annual trip headed to the Aloha State! The fun started with a dinner in Honolulu, reconnecting with John Marshall, who had just retired as a physician at Tripler Army Medical Center. Reconnecting and celebrating with John were Rose (May) Carroll, Terry (Dwyer) Hurley and her husband Steve, and Martina Kamaka and her husband Don. The rest of the B-P ladies — Carol Buzzard, Alesia (Dooley) Carroll, Kathy (Maley) Bailey, Pam Hennessy, Kelly (Leahy) Kamm and husband Bob, Mary (Allen) Kissner, Lisa Lombardi, Jolie Matthews, Karen (Fernandes) Mitchell, Peg (Moran) Mitchell and Leslie Mulligan — met on the Big Island for a stay at the Kilauea Military Camp located in the heart of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Those who were able to stay longer continued their adventure to enjoy the Kona beaches. A fun get-together as we all join Medicare. James A. Mellon passed away Sept. 8 after facing health complications. Born in Toledo OH, a date he cherished for its closeness to St. Patrick’s Day, Jim played football and was a member of the state championship wrestling team in high school. He served as equipment manager for the football team at ND and earned his MBA from U of Detroit Mercy. Jim dedicated nearly 20 years to a career for General Motors. Family was everything to him. He will be remembered for his support, loyalty, thoughtful generosity and his festive holiday attire. Dave and Tess were joined by Kevin “Vulch” Kenny and his better half, Deanna, on a yearly trip to ND. A great win for the Irish over NC State on a sunny day in the fall. We had dinner with Gayle and John Richards, Todd Krzyskowski (Tammy was babysitting), and Rich Wickel (missing Kerry). Kevin Cawneen, his son and grandkids joined us for a postgame dinner. I made us a true Spanish dinner to celebrate the win! The weekend was spent visiting all the highlights Notre Dame offers. It just never gets old. Wishing you all a happy 65! We need to remember those we have lost since graduation. We keep them and their families in our prayers. 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 — Renee (Amirkanian) Sutherland;

630-846-2707; reneemsr@aol.com

82JD Congratulations Tom and Anita
The Notre Dame Law Association presented the Rev. Michael McCafferty, CSC, Award to Anita and Tom Veldman on Sept. 19 at a luncheon on campus. The award recognized Anita and Tom for their decades of philanthropic work benefiting Notre Dame, the South Bend community and people in countries around the world. Tom is a member of the ND Law School Advisory Council and serves on the boards of directors of the Catholic Relief Services Foundation and the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Cele (Glacy) and Bruce Baty, Liz (Medina) Imhoff, Kathy and Tom Brickley, Betsy (Wolf) and Brad Friestedt, Pam (Radike) and Paul Wyzgowski, and Carol and I attended the awards presentation luncheon. Three of the Veldmans’ four children and five of their nine grandchildren were also on hand. Sister Rita Murillo had dinner with Cele and Bruce Baty while she was in Kansas City on a business trip in July. Sister Rita is a public defender with the Allegheny County PA Public Defender’s Office. Tim Abeska had dinner with Tim Nickels and John Smith in Chicago in August. Tim Abeska was in the city for an ALS Association board meeting. Tim Nickels became a grandfather for the sixth time as his daughter Nora ’13 had a son, Louis, in July. I saw Bob Keen and Greg Kruzel at the Boise State game. Bob is still practicing with the Barrett McNagny firm in Fort Wayne. Greg, who attended the game with his son Mark, retired from his firm in Phoenix in June. — Frank Julian; ndlaw82@gmail.com

83 Condolences and News
Please remember all our classmates that have passed away and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Lori Ann (Goschinski) Rohlin passed away June 12, 2024. Her husband, Michael, provided the sad news. Jean Gartland ’82 has reported that Mary Ellen Jacobi passed away Sept. 11. Michael Murphy has reported that Matt Mullen passed away Sept. 17. Matt is survived by his wife, Kathy Mullen ’83SMC, and their sons, Sean ’12 and Patrick. Prior to Matt’s passing, Michael Murphy also reported that in August, Kathy and Matt hosted a Pangborn get-together in Milwaukee. In addition to Kathy and Matt, attendees included Cathy (Moran) and Michael Murphy, Jackie and John Educato, Michelle (Collins) and Steve Karaffa, Cindy and Bob Fricke, Suzie (McAfee) and Tim White, Patrick Doran, Camilla and Tom Kustner, Corey and Steve Carbery, Kathy and Dave Pokel, Sharon (Patterson) and Jack McKenna, Joan and Michael Honerlaw, and Stoney Ferlmann. Lauren ’84 and Tim Andree made an endowed gift to the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies to advance Japanese studies in the University’s Keough School of Global Affairs. The endowment will support a visiting scholars program and, ultimately, a postdoctoral program. Maureen (Burns) Zappala was recently in Washington DC to speak at a conference and got to catch up with Michelle (Schneider) Tiller. Mike O’Brien has written about his pilgrimage to visit what is left of all 21 of the historic Franciscan missions built 250 years ago in CA. Links to his writing can be accessed through the Class Facebook page. Marybeth (Mooney) Broderick reported that she went on a brewery tour in Maui and the tour guide was George Petros ’82. Jean Collier indicates that there will be a 60-year Diamond Jubilee celebration of Lewis Hall during the Navy football game weekend. Among others hoping to attend are Jean, Maureen (Burns) Zappala, Kathy (Jones) Williamson and Cheryl O’Brien. Greg Hartmann reports that his daughter Anna ’25 graduated in May with degrees in sociology and marketing. Greg notes that with Anna’s twin having also graduated from the University in 2024, 100 percent of his children are Domers. 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. We currently have over 600 classmates as members. 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 News and Sad News
Thanks to Deb Skopek Schumacher for the email with an update on her and Kirk. They still live in Reno. They have been guardians of a granddaughter for most of her life, and, incredibly at their ages, are parenting a child heading into high school. Kirk retired several years ago and is working on a single-digit handicap. Deb continues to preside as a senior judge, handling criminal, drug, mental health and felony DUI dockets. On a sad note, our condolences to Tim Healy on the death of his wife, Peggy. She fought stage IV metastatic breast cancer for over three years, but lost her fight. She died quietly at home on Sept. 4. You can read her obituary at blileys.com. Please keep Tim; his son, Sean Healy; his daughter, Maeve Healy; his daughter-in-law, Shelby Lea Healy; and his grandsons, Callum and Rowan Healy and Flynn Collins, in your prayers. 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 Send in News
The Catholic Media Association awarded theologian Dan Osborn a first-place award for his column, “Faith Matters.” Dan wanted to let his Dillon Hall classmates know how grateful he was for their support of a national research study on Mary’s impact on the Church — look for it at osvnews.com. Alison (Kamschulte) and Brian Levey hosted their second trip with the Traveling Irish in the summer of 2025. They led a land-based exploration of York, the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and Wales called The Heart of Britain. You never know who you will see at an alumni club event. Stanford alums Marty Hogan and Steve McHenry, along with their wives, took time out from their vacation to join the ND Club of Hilton Head and watch the Irish beat Arkansas. Denise (Harrington) Staubach and her husband still live in Boston where she is VP of marketing at AspenTech — Martha (Burns) Avery; mayoravery@comcast.net

84MBA New Email Address
Please send your life updates by Jan.18 to my new email address listed below. Your classmates would love to hear what everyone has planned for 2026. — Dhanraj Bhagat; dhanrajbhagat@yahoo.com

84JD Pope Leo Recognition
Congratulations to Mary Rice Hasson ’81, ’84JD, Catholic researcher and speaker who received the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Leo XIV, a papal honor recognizing distinguished service to the Catholic Church. The Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (“For the Church and the Pontiff”), first established by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, is a decoration of the Holy See conferred for dedication to the Church by laypeople and clergy. “I’m truly humbled and grateful to receive this honor from Pope Leo XIV, who reminds us that faith lies at the heart of our mission. It’s an honor to serve the Church and I am blessed to be able to integrate my faith and work in a way that serves the Church, and to work alongside so many others with similar commitments.” Hasson has been a keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women three times and is a consultant to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for its Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth and Committee on Religious Liberty. Mary Slattery, daughter of Anne and Jim Slattery, is in her first year of the MBA program at Notre Dame in the Mendoza College of Business. Mary graduated from Marquette with a degree in biomedical engineering and worked for two years at Estee Lauder in New York. I enjoyed seeing Jim and meeting Mary on campus for the Boise State game. Maeve Dever, daughter of Julie and Mike Dever, is enjoying her freshman year at Notre Dame where she is majoring in engineering with a concentration in corporate practice (like a mini-MBA). She is part of the Cavanaugh Hall Chaos and is a goalkeeper on the women’s club soccer team. Jackie and I enjoyed dinner with Julie and Mike Dever, Judy (Schulz) and Stan Murtaugh, and Ann and John Firth on Boise State weekend. Mike is nearing 40 years with BuchananIngersoll in Pittsburgh specializing in intellectual property. Ann continues her service to Notre Dame as vice president and chief of staff to University President Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC, ’87. — Matthew J. Dunn; 773-294-6851; mdunn19834@gmail.com

85 Awaiting a Report on BACT
Our annual Bad Ass Class Tailgater (BACT) was held this year at the USC game. Hosts were Erika and Jerry Judd, Julie and Casey Newell, Anne (Parigi) and Bob Michels, Meghan (Flattery) Allen, Nancy Walsh, Joanne (Madden) and Kevin Finger, Alison Yurko, Brian Milligan, Clarke Keough, and Connie O’Brien. I’m hoping that Nancy Walsh or another BACT host will provide us with a report of the event for the next issue of this magazine! Please send me news of your careers, hobbies, travel and other items of interest for this column. — Kathleen Doyle Yaninek; yanzlaw@comcast.net

85MBA New Class Notes Author
Please email me updates about yourself or classmates by Jan. 18 and I will include in the spring Class Notes. I’m hoping to hear from many of you in 2026. — John Newbanks; jnewbanks62@gmail.com

85JD Mini-Reunions and Retirement
This football season brought mini-reunions. In September, Matt Barrett, along with his wife, Kate ’85, attended a homecoming tailgate, where they caught up with Ted Eichelberger and Maureen Cafferky. Then in October, Ted and Maureen returned to campus to enjoy the Irish’s win over USC, despite torrential rain. They were joined by Trish Scanlon, Tom Hartzell and Laura Hanson (along with her husband, John, and son Will, USC 2021). Ted brought 11 members of the Eichelberger clan, including his 89-year-old mother, a loyal ND fan who rejected an offer to watch the game indoors on a big-screen TV and opted to brave the elements to cheer the Irish on to victory! She is a good luck charm. Many of our classmates are giving back to the ND community. Ted now serves on the NDLA board, where Walter Brown, Dave Scherper and Joseph Shannon have previously served. In addition to attending a few football games, Walter was back on campus to help teach the Intensive Trial Advocacy program at the law school. Matt Barrett has been using some of his retirement time to volunteer at the Eviction Court in South Bend. Matt’s IN pro bono publico authorization allows him to represent individuals of limited means served by legal aid organizations. He helps tenants facing eviction, explaining the eviction process and helping them understand how to qualify for the sealing of their eviction proceedings. Matt is also helping clients in a Tax Assistance Program. Thank you for the work you are doing, Matt. I had a lovely visit with Karen Kiley Toohill and her husband, Steve ’84JD, when they came through Boston on their way to Cape Cod to see their daughter Kathleen ’12 complete the Pan-Mass Challenge, a 186-mile bike ride that raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Kathleen rode across the state of MA for two days with the Toohills’ daughter-in-law, Dillon Schoen Toohill, in honor of Dillon’s late father, Jon Schoen. Since 1980, the Pan-Mass Challenge has raised $1.047 billion for Dana-Farber. Thank you, Kathleen and Dillon! And thanks to Kim Kirn for submitting this message about her visit with Barb and Dave Scheper. “After 24 years of serving as a CA state trial judge, our dear class member Barbara Scheper retired on Dec. 31, 2024. Her husband, David Scheper, threw a retirement party on May 2 at the California Club in Los Angeles. Many of Barb’s current and former colleagues from the bench attended as well as many Southern CA friends. My husband, David George, and I flew in for the dinner as well as Barb’s brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Sue Harrison. Barb gave a beautiful speech expressing her pride in serving the people of the state of CA and is looking forward to spending way too much time with her grandson, Sammy.” Please send me your news to share in the next Class Notes. — Kelly Kiernan Largey; kellyjd1985@alumni.nd.edu

86 The 40th Before the 40th
Incredible celebration for all those who came to our 40th Annual Mini-Reunion. If this was practice for the big 40th, we would say we are looking in fine shape! Speaking of the big 40th Reunion this June 4 - 7, everyone was talking about coming back for it! You will have seen a number of emails from us by now on the Big Bash. The main thing is we need to get everyone back for this one! Watch for further updates as this one is going to be our biggest celebration yet. Remember to go to reunion.nd.edu to find information and register. Back to the Mini-Reunion — Pam, Lori, Chris and I want to thank everyone on behalf of the Class for all of the awesome events held over the long weekend. First, we thank all those that came out to celebrate and gather at all of the events. Without you, none of this happens. A big thank-you to Beth (Duran) Thomas ’05 at the Alumni Association for all her help and guidance. We thank Werner Graf for his guided tours and special admission rates at the Heroes Gallery, Arcade & Museum in Michigan City. Thank you to John “Jack” Gibbs and Todd Hill ’91 and his crew from H2 Pickleball for working to make the Irish Open Pickleball Event a reality. A number of ’86ers participated in this open-style event held at Stepan Center (a first for Notre Dame), and we’ll look forward to seeing it grow in size and popularity. Tina and Bill Mitchell once again offered to host all of us Friday night at their house for our Pre-Game Class Bash. We cannot thank them enough for their warm and welcoming hospitality. Bill made Class of ’86 hats for everyone, along with fridge magnets and name tags with our yearbook pictures (yikes). That man put a smile on everyone’s face! Thank you, Mitchells!! We also have Tom “Beaver” McDonald to thank for bringing his recently launched Manojo Mezcal for tastings at the Friday night bash and again at our big tailgate party. We just learned that Rolling Stone magazine, in their 2025 Rolling Stone Spirit Awards, named Manojo Mezcal the best overall mezcal!! To celebrate, Tom is offering classmates a 20 percent discount through Feb. 15 on Manojo and merch. Just use discount code ND86 when you visit the website at manojomezcal.com. We also want to thank Raphaelle and Ray Vallera, Dave Crouch and Missy Sommer for donating their Stadium Lot parking passes to help us secure our tailgate spaces. Thank you to Bennett and the team at GameDay Your Way for helping make the tailgate set-up and food so memorable. A special thank-you to Denise Blank for putting together an incredibly beautiful Class Mass where our ’86 family celebrated together, while also remembering each classmate we have lost. Thank you to Rev. Peter Jarret, CSC, for celebrating the Mass, along with concelebrant Rev. Dan Groody, CSC. Thank you to Mark Rabogliatti for leading us in song with your beautiful voice. Thank you to our readers Mary Langer, Fifi Paraiso and Gretchen Prebys. Kathleen Burke was able to join us at our events on Friday and Saturday, as well as at Mass where she received the Anointing of the Sick by Father Dan. The entire weekend was a tremendous success because ’86 is by far Notre Dame’s greatest class! Rosann and Mike Falso took a trip to HI and linked up with Julie Boss and her husband, Ben. Mike hadn’t seen her since graduation! They had a great time catching up. Julie and Ben are big-time windsurfers and are living the life on Maui. Teresa Donovan enjoyed a visit in Cincinnati last year with her former Farley Hall roommate Cathie (Lohmuller) Cicchiello, who was in town on work-related business. For those not subscribed to our class email, I am very sad to share again the news that we lost two classmates. We lost Joseph Jameson on May 24. On Oct. 1, we lost Daniel “Dan” James Dressel. On behalf of our class, we had candles lit at the Grotto for Joseph and Dan, and their families. If we haven’t heard from you in a while, consider shooting in an update. Take care and God bless! — John Spatz; 201-264-2459; john@jjscb.com

86MBA Mini-Reunion Fun
Several classmates joined Jeff Fiocchi’s Boise State tailgate in October. Dave Sobek and Tom Hicks both forwarded a photo with Ellen (Trick) Knowling, Rick Hearden, Greg Brinkerhoff, Keith Hamilton, Fred Arthur, Dennis Donovan, John Rhile, Sam Duggan, Dave, Tom and Jeff. Also attending but not in the photo was Mike Viracola. Everyone enjoyed the party and it was great to bring home a winner! Next year marks our 40th year since graduation, so watch this space for information about a football reunion tailgate — I’m guessing it will be the first home game in October, so reserve the time on your calendar. Tom was the recipient of a kidney transplant in January. He’s feeling great and was blessed to have met his donor, Beth Ann, during a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2024. Less than nine months later she saved his life. They both live in Boise and became friends while on the pilgrimage. Beth Ann’s kidney was donated to another recipient with whom she matched, and Tom received a kidney from another willing donor. This paired donation allowed Tom to move up approximately 10 years on the waiting list. They were medically cleared on Dec. 12, 2024, and the transplant was performed on Jan. 29. Carmen (Cinco) Rodriguez recently obtained a new certification in AI from the MIT Sloan Executive Education program. Carmen is a process engineer with the Federal Reserve in DC. — Maureen (Mullan) Decker; 21231 Lilac Lane, Clinton Twp. MI 48036; bus 586-741-4305; mobile 586-817-1317; maureen.decker@mclaren.org

86JD Forty More Years (Clap Clap)
We stand on the precipice of our 40th Reunion to be celebrated on and around campus June 4 - 7. Mark your calendars, make your travel arrangements and visit reunion.nd.edu to register. Until then, here are the updates: Ever the biker, Jim Landenberger spent half of September riding his two-wheeler from Seattle to Monterey CA (only 1,200 miles this time), where he and Leslie visited their grandson, Sam. John Moran just retired from the federal government (US Development Finance Corporation, formerly OPIC) after 32 years, and he is looking forward to spending more time with wife Sally and their kids and grandkids (three: Etta, 6; Cora, 2; and Miles, 6 months) in Northern VA and Richmond VA. He is still working on Ukraine recovery/rebuilding investment projects as a private consultant, owing much of his career path to the wise and sage counsel received from ND law professors and classmates in London and South Bend. Maureen (Watz) Gornik is now chief deputy clerk for the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit after serving a year as acting clerk of court. She promised her judges that she would delay retirement to train the new clerk, so she is now chief deputy. Maureen’s youngest, Lily, is a senior at ND in accounting and just accepted a job at PWC in Chicago for next year; daughter Mia ’24 is an accountant with Deloitte. Laura (Hirschfeld) Hollis “re-upped” for another five years teaching in the Mendoza College of Business. Laura’s son Jason and his wife, Jessica, have three “precious” boys: Julian, Leo and Roman; son Alistair has enlisted in the Air Force and is awaiting an assignment in the cybersecurity/cyberwarfare space; daughter Celeste is a junior and a varsity swimmer at Franklin College. Also “re-upping” is Jeff McDermott for four more years as president/CEO of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts. Jeff and his wife, Sue, became new grandparents in March and expect grandchild No. 2 by the time you read this. Jerry Powers, director of Catholic peacebuilding studies at the Keough School of Global Affairs’ Kroc Institute, was part of an ND delegation, led by Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC, ’87 that joined a larger Catholic pilgrimage to Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings. Nick Simeonidis’s newborn grandson, Theo — son of Nick’s son Steve Simeonidis ’09 — saw his first ND game in October, the victory over NC State. Elizabeth Amorosi’s kickback email reported that she was furloughed from her role as assistant US trustee for the District of AZ, where she has been for 15 years, as a result of the government shutdown. John Glowacki finished his first year as litigation and reinsurance attorney at RiverStone Resources, managing a combination of reinsurance and direct insurance matters. Pete Lutz reports that his second youngest, Will, is a freshman at the U of Illinois, leaving only one still at home, daughter Maura, a high school freshman. Teresa (Ereon) and Tom Giltner were on campus for the A&M game where she met up with John Goetz. (Alas, John’s better half, Julie Maloney, remained behind in Pittsburgh). Theresa continues to serve as vice chair of the TX Board of Law Examiners. Wayne Malecha, also in for the A&M game, welcomed grandchild No. 2, Violet Elizabeth, back in June. Felecia Rotellini is back in AZ and is now chief counsel of the Civil Litigation Division in the AZ attorney general’s office. Rich John reported that he spent part of his summer digging ditches (you’ll have to ask him). Liza and Tim Reynolds hosted Tim Tompkins, Mike Mulhern, Bert Sugayan and me at their lakefront home in Harbor Shores MI for a few days prior to the boys’ annual golf outing at the Kingsley Club, hosted by Mr. Tompkins. On the return drive to CO, I stopped and had breakfast with Ed Murphy in South Bend and narrowly missed John Mauel in IA. On the long drive back to the Rockies, I reflected on the many wonderful friendships developed at NDLS. So, now is the time to mark your calendars for the 40th Reunion weekend in June, when South Bend days are long, the temperatures mild and the shores of Lake Michigan a mere hour away. If you haven’t gotten an email from me, I don’t have your email address. Please send it. — Brian Bates; mobile 303-523-4883; bbates@abblaw.com

87 A 60th Birthday Bash
Happy 2026 to all — I hope members of the Class of ’87 enjoyed peaceful holiday seasons and that we’re all off to a positive start to the new year. Julie Splan from Lewis Hall wrote to let us know that some of the Lewis girls celebrated their collective 60th birthdays in mid-October by meeting in SC. Moira McGrath-Cade hosted everyone at her beautiful home on Sullivan’s Island, and Chrisanne Corbett, Nellie (Hautzinger) Bauer, Terri (Walsh) Lyon, Julie (Grantham) Sullivan, Melissa (Moody) Rich and Diane (Jacob) Effer were all able to join. Julie said they had a wonderful weekend together, eating, drinking, reminiscing, celebrating an Irish football win and toasting their beloved friend Bridget Kleiderer on her heavenly birthday. Sounds amazing! I know just a couple of people in our class who have not yet entered this great new decade, but if you have, and you celebrated in some way, let us know! I also heard from Orlando Rubiano, who’s found a very fulfilling new chapter. He retired secularly six years ago and, in May, completed a five-year diaconate formation program. He’s now serving as a permanent deacon in Venice FL. Orlando leads a men’s bible study and works extensively ministering to the homeless and to imprisoned men. He’s been married to Deborah (Bormann) Rubiano ’88SMC for 35 years, and they live in Babcock Ranch FL, near Fort Myers. Their two adult children, Daniel and Elizabeth, are both married and they have one grandson with a granddaughter on the way. Lastly, the downside of our increasing age is that we have a few classmates living with serious health concerns. Please hold them in your highest thoughts, praying for their strength, courage and peace. The Class of ’87 is a mighty spiritual force when we join our efforts. Please let me know if you have any news you’d like to share with the class. — Meg Brennan Hamilton; meghamilton@yahoo.com

87MBA Happy New Year
Looking forward to hearing everyone’s plans for 2026. Please send your updates by Jan. 18 for the spring Class Notes. — 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 Growing Families
Jeff Hahn and his wife, Carol, now have seven grandsons and zero granddaughters. Jeff merged his collection practice with a larger law firm back in 2021 and is now handling his older matters but not filing new ones. Jeff has been on the move, going to the final round of the Ryder Cup in September and spending a week in Aruba with his three daughters and all of his grandsons. This June he and Carol are going on a Greek Isle cruise with the Notre Dame Alumni Association Traveling Irish program. In August, Kristin (Tomonto) Jaros retired from JPMorgan Chase after 22 years. Kristin had been the field support lead covering several Western states, coaching regional and branch management on compliance with banking controls. Kristin and her husband, Bob, have been married for 35 years, have four adult children and are expecting their first grandchild in January. Chip Lewis and his wife, Ana Maria ’19MA, traveled to Ireland for a couple of weeks over the summer, hitting 19 of 32 counties over a couple of weeks, and spending a night in Kylemore Abbey as guests of the Benedictine nuns. They also welcomed their granddaughter, Poppy, over the summer. Chuck Shreffler joined Hellmuth & Johnson in their business litigation department. The Alliance Defending Freedom published a very nice profile on Chuck in the September issue of Faith & Justice. The article is titled “The Law and the Lathe.” Congratulations to Greg Shumaker on his portrayal of the Father of the Bride in September with one of his daughters, Sloane. He also ran into Kim (Cafaro) Schlifske at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in NYC, hosted by Cardinal Dolan. Please send me news to share in this column or in our class email loop. — Mike Gurdak; 202-879-3939; mpgurdak@jonesday.com

88 And the Winner Is
At our Texas A&M game annual ’88 tailgater, classmates had the opportunity to contribute cash to the beer, wine and bourbon fund by voting for their favorite ND mascot: the “old” leprechaun, the “new” leprechaun or Clashmore Mike. (Clashmore Mike was the Irish terrier who served as ND’s mascot from 1924 to 1966.) The clear winner was the “old” leprechaun, who brought in $120. Clashmore Mike landed in second place with $67. Garnering only $20, the “new” football-bearing leprechaun has not yet grown on us. A quick side note: We are no longer able to use class fees or funds to reimburse ourselves for purchasing alcoholic beverages from a source other than a sanctioned catering company, so we’re getting creative to keep costs down. Thanks to everyone who contributed with cash or via Venmo! (Also, please know that we always have plenty of non-alcoholic options, which are covered by class monies.) The rain dried up just in time for this year’s ’88 tailgater, and out came such a remarkable number of classmates that I can’t name all who were in attendance without the risk of overlooking someone. Stay tuned for an email from classof1988@alumni.nd.edu this spring for news of 2026’s class game. As of the writing of this column in mid-October, Brian Moffitt had already experienced quite the action-packed football season. It started at the Miami game, where he met Todd Graves, one of his Grace roommates. While tailgating, he further connected with George Keough and Ed Kirchmier, fellow football managers back in the day, and caught up with former cheerleader Margo Ball ’90. Next, the A&M game brought meet-up time with classmates Kitty Duffy, George Keough (once again), Mary Marley, Jane Weldon, Sean Munster, John Montiero, Frank Stams, Craig Horvath, Tom Jennings and John Souter, plus Gen. Bryan Fenton ’87. That same weekend, Brian also enjoyed seeing another former roommate, Jeff “Tex” Gulde, at the Schivarelli Player’s Lounge Friday night reception and former walk-on kicker Mark Napierkowski at the Holtz’s Heroes event. But wait, there’s more: On Oct. 3, he was in Tampa to witness Gen. Bryan Fenton’s retirement and change of command ceremonies, which culminated a three-plus-decades-long career as an Army Special Forces officer. Coach Lou Holtz attended too, along with Tom Galloway ’87 and Corney Southall ’89. Finally, an unexpected ticket to the USC game presented itself thanks to Todd, so Brian once again enjoyed hanging with Mary Marley and the Holtz-era crew that he so cherishes. If you’re not yet 60, you will be soon! Savor the start of this next decade, and please send news by text or email to share how you celebrated — for inclusion in the spring issue of Notre Dame Magazine. — 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 More Retirements
Hello, friends! I hope all is well. I am happy to report that Jim Stucko will be retiring from the practice of law effective Dec. 31, 2025. Jim worked four years in Chicago and the last 33 in Columbus OH. He is not sure if it went by fast or slow, haha! Depends on the day! Hopefully, retirement means that he and Mary Laudick Stucko can spend more time with their five grandkids in Houston. Congratulations, Jim and Mary! Dave Gilmartin happily shares that, at the end of September, he joined many of our classmates in retiring from full-time legal work. Dave is looking forward to some potential interim GC engagements, some fractional GC work and volunteering. Enough to stay sharp, but not too busy. Good luck with retirement, Dave! I think I have a lot of outdated email addresses. Feel free to send me an updated address. Talk to you in the spring! Send news, big or small, to — Lori Merlo Coticchia; lcoticchia@aol.com

89 Tailgate Was a Success
I’m excited to serve as the Class of ’89 secretary and to help keep our class connected. A special thank-you to Kerrie Wagner Debbs for her years of service as our class secretary. Mike Napier shared that we purchased a block of 250 tickets for the Texas A&M game. We sold out our allotment and raised funds for our class. Although the Irish didn’t win on the field, our class scored a big win at the tailgate. Thanks to Mike Carr, Tim Connors and John Brennan for donating parking passes, and to Tom Tisa and Mike Carr for coordinating and hosting. Our 36.5-year mini-reunion tailgate was a hit, and we plan to make it an annual Irish tradition. Kate ’91 and Brian O’Gara, Dave Gullott, Phil Faccenda, Kris Kennedy, Dave Cayce, Jim Winkler and Mike Napier attended the game and the opening day of Spinal Tap II. Kevin Walsh reached out with an update: After a 30-plus-year career at Merrill Lynch, Kevin retired in August. He and his wife, Bridget, are empty nesters now (or “free birds” as Bridget calls it) and are looking forward to the next chapter. In September, Brian Gant hosted Kevin and some fall ’87 ND London program friends — Pat Kiernan and Joe Medel — in Los Angeles. They enjoyed dancing and singing along with Oasis at the Rose Bowl (alongside 90,000 others), and saw Supergrass at the Hollywood Palladium. The weekend highlight was brunch hosted by Brian’s wife, followed by a game viewing at a Seahawks bar in Hermosa Beach. Tony Prisco missed the LA trip because his son Will Prisco ’29 started his freshman year at Notre Dame. Keep an eye out for Will’s byline in The Observer. Kris Murphy’s son is taking a fifth year of high school football at Lawrenceville Prep in NJ. Kris and Kevin Walsh, former roommates from Howard and friends from high school in Dayton OH, reconnected when Kris (who lives with his wife and four kids in Chicago) was in Lawrenceville. The two were able to watch both ND and Lawrenceville football games during their visit. Kevin plans to attend a wealth management conference at Notre Dame in late November and catch the Syracuse game that weekend. He heard about the program from Matt Barthel, a classmate and Barron’s journalist. Kathy (Berry) Templin will also be there — are any other Class of ’89 members attending? I caught up with Sorin Hall classmates Greg Bisignani and Geof Bisignani while planning our 40-year high school reunion. It was wonderful reconnecting with them during the planning process and at the reunion, which was a tremendous success with over 100 attendees. Greg has been married to his wife, Audrey, for 31 years. They have four children and two grandchildren. He runs a busy orthopedic surgery practice in Greensburg PA and still manages to attend Notre Dame football games, and he enjoyed visiting with his nephews and niece who are also Domers. Geof has been married to Kelly Ruffner ’91 for 31 years and practices urology in Latrobe/Greensburg PA. He and Kelly have four children — Adam ’22, Alex, Lauren ’25 and Eric ’29. Geof’s reunion started early after he ran into a high school friend at freshman orientation, who also has a son in the class. — Mary Policastro Hillen; 12810 Olde Banyon Blvd., North Fort Myers FL 33903; res 440-840-5303; mhillen89@gmail.com

89MBA NC State Weekend
There was a four-person 1989 MBA alumni reunion at the Notre Dame-NC State game on Oct. 11. Nathan Carter (retired, Raleigh NC), John Shellenberger (not retired, Denver), Damian Maggos (not retired, Carmel IN) and Tony Van Bokkem (not retired, Grand Rapids MI) reunited for the first time since graduation! We met before the game at the ND Shake Down the Thunder Tailgate, which is a great alternative to setting up your own lawn tailgate. Highly recommended for out-of-towners. The weather was perfect and the Irish won. Nathan also reached out to a few others who couldn’t make it, so they get honorable mention for wanting to get together next time: Paul Constantino (Charlotte NC) and John Cummings (Chicago). John, Tony and Nathan stayed at John’s son’s place on Eddy Street. John’s son, Craig, is a current MBA student at the Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business. The tradition continues. Go Irish! I also wanted to mention the sad passing of our classmate Hal Gorenz this past summer. Hal had been ailing for several years, so this was a blessing, but keep Hal’s memory alive with your prayers. — Maggie McJoynt DeVoe; 612-845-9662; maggiedevoe@yahoo.com

89JD Class Secretary — Jenny O’Leary Smith;

312-504-2298; jennyoleary@comcast.net