Class Reunion Yearbook - My Account

Class Reunion Yearbook
Charlotte Gallant ’39
One special event for me since our last reunion has been the opening of Gallant Farm Preserve in
October 2013. The Preserve is part of Preservation Parks of Delaware County and is located on land
that once belonged to my grandfather.
I still live in Delaware at Willow Brook Christian Village and continue to enjoy no cooking, no
dishwashing and lots of activities.
Virginia Lewis Jacobs ’44
Since the last reunion, I have been attending interesting events like playing bridge and having dinner
with friends. I moved into an apartment and it is easier living.
My memories of Ohio Wesleyan are all significant. I was there during war time when the navy came;
that was exciting. My time at OWU was all good. I was active in my sorority, Pi Beta Phi, and elected
President, then had to resign due to election as Judicial President of Student Government. My
roommate was the same all four years with additions made due to the Navy. My roommate lived in
Boston and passed away in December. She was Virginia Kostolski Bartlet. My memories of Ohio
Wesleyan are warm, good ones. I would like to return to see the changes. My son John R. Jacobs
also graduated from OWU.
Janet Schmier Bogin ’49
Email: janetbogin@gmail.com
Since our last reunion (2009) Asher and I have moved to Piedmont Gardens, a retirement facility in
Oakland, CA to be closer to our daughter and her family.
Some of my favorite memories from OWU are of meeting my roommates, who are still my friends.
Selene Elliott Butters ’49
I now volunteer for Opera/Columbus and the Columbus Symphony.
Helen Krumm Miller ’49
Email: hkkm27@gmail.com
I had been reading to 3rd grade students in Fort Dodge and also led tours at our Fort Museum for
school children and adults. Now, I have moved to a town home in a retirement community where I
volunteer at their service desk and also at their welcome desk. I also exercise five days per week at
their wellness center.
There are many memories, especially of the Botany field trips with Dr. O’Neil and Dr. Burns and living
at Perkins Hall with freshmen to seniors.
Elva W. Newdome ’49
Address: 990 Burkwood Rd., Mansfield, OH 44907
Phone: (419) 756-2206
Since my last reunion, I have been a private violin teacher in
Mansfield, OH. My daughter Lynn and I took a cruise to
Alaska in August 2013. My son Bill took over our business
when my husband died in 2000. Bill and his wife Amy have 9
year old twins, a boy and girl. Our third child, Beth, was a
professional violinist. Unfortunately, she died of cancer in
2010. My daughter Lynn is still a professional Violinist.
My dad graduated from OWU in 1909, my mother in 1915 and
my brother in 1941.
Some of my favorite memories from OWU are of my roommates, Jean Watts and Dorothy Ann
Hancock, my violin teacher and my solo violin recital in 1949. I also have fond memories of Buns, Chi
Omega and “little sisters”.
Catherine Winkler Olds ’49
Email: 516colds@gmail.com
Since my last reunion, I have been the director of 4 handball choirs, tutoring students, and
volunteering at a thrift store and a soup kitchen.
Some of my fondest memories from OWU include, being a senior advisor at Stuyvesant Hall, being a
lab assistant in the chemistry department and the association with excellent professors.
Lorraine "Lorry" Swatik Szabo ’49
Email: lsszabo@roadrunner.com
Since my last reunion, I have been traveling around the
world, serving on boards,
staying fit (hiking, snorkeling, tap dancing), supporting
the arts, and enjoying all the many cultural amenities that
Cleveland has to offer.
My favorite OWU memory is earning a degree in
Chemistry (great department), which was more rare for
women then, than it is now.
It was my ticket to a productive 38-year career at Standard Oil/BP.
Doris Roege Wright ’49
50th reunion, class of 1949, May 14-16, 1999- the last time I was
at OWU. After my husband Gene passed away, I was able to sell
the house and move to a lovely retirement community, with lots
of things to do and people to meet. I even found Pat Ranneman
Fritscher who graduated from OWU, class of 1949.
I have lots of happy memories of doing things with my
roommates. We still have a “round robin” letter to keep in touch
with each other.
William B. Ailes ’54
Address: 11820 N. Howard Ct. Spokane18
Phone: (509) 466-5315
Email: bvailes@comcast.net
Since retiring, Virginia (Leisy 1954) and I have enjoyed traveling and many volunteer opportunities.
We have been able to travel to most of the world and enjoy seeing new places and new cultures. We
are sorry to miss our 60th reunion but we will be in Ireland then.
Virginia is in her 26th year as the volunteer director for our presbytery’s resource library. She is active
in Presbyterian Women serving as historian in both the presbytery and synod. She continues to sing
in our church choir. Bill, serves as President of the local food bank, is state secretary for the Sons of
the American Revolution, and does some teaching.
Our best to all at the reunion.
William Walker Amick ’54
Email: amick@iag.net
Since last reunion, I’ve been designing gold courses and walking on the beach at sunrise with my
wife, Sara.
Some of my fondest memories have been playing on the OWU golf course for four years and winning
the Ohio Conference Tournament twice and many other matches.
Doug Applegath ’54
Email: dapplegath@aol.com
We moved out of the house into Independence
Village assisted living here in Midland Michigan. Not
much travel anymore.
Some of my favorite memories are of the girls in
Stuy Hall, where I was busboy for four years, and the
guys in Beta Sigma Tau- the first intercultural/
interracial fraternity.
Winifred “Wynn” Boin Breslin ’54
Address: 470 Terrapin Lane, Newark, DE, l9711.
Home phone: (302) 731-5738
Email: artymudder@yahoo.com
Since leaving Ohio Wesleyan in 1954, I have never been
back for a reunion. My husband, William W. Breslin (Phi
Kappa Psi) left in l953 due to an injury to his wrist while
doing some gymnastics at OWU.
We were married that summer and he stayed at Chanute
Air Force Base, and I returned to finish my senior year at
OWU with a B.F.A. degree (1954).
I was a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity.
Since leaving OWU, I have taught in the public and private schools of Delaware. I taught at the
Delaware Art Museum for 25 years and was elected to the Education Committee, where I served for
several years until I stopped teaching and opened my Wynn Breslin Studio at 470 Terrapin Lane,
Newark, DE. I am still painting there.
In 1966 our only child, William W. Breslin, IV was born. He graduated, as did his dad from the Univ.
of Delaware. He has 2 sons, William W. Breslin, age 8 and Ian, age 3. They live in VA.
In l976,I initiated an event called "Open Studio" and I still open my doors free to the public once a
year. I began this popular event to bridge the gap between artist and public. As a result, I have had
several visitors through the years inform me that they either investigated, or attended OWU I feel that
has been my biggest contribution so far to OWU. Last spring, I received a gracious letter from OWU
president, congratulating me for my accomplishments. I treasure that letter.
I am still painting in my studio and in Maine, each summer. I paint now in watercolor, oil, and mixed
media.
Some of my work may be seen on website: Wynn Breslin.com. There are several other mentions in
Google about my doings, if you are interested.
One of my favorite OWU memories is of the wonderful "May Day" ! Since I worked several jobs at
the university at the time, it was a wonderful day off. One never knew when the bells would ring and
we all received a box lunch, so we could picnic, or go on some other adventure.
Bill and I would take a blanket and a jug of cider and enjoy our picnic out in the woods along a
stream. I later painted that scene on one of the art school's days of painting and sketching ventures.
Great memories still remain with me, as I am sure many other classmates, such as Dan Butler, Betty
Vossers, who was my roommate, Ping Hilleboe, who all still remain my best friends.
I have many wonderful memories of my years at OWU Many of them are also great photos, which,
recently have made them even more precious in my mind.
Marjorie Butler Burkhart ’54
Cecil Robert Burkhart ’54
Email: marjburkhart@yahoo.com
Email: cecilb1006@yahoo.com
Cecil retired from his practice of pathology in 1995 and since then,
after traveling to and fro, we decided that it was time to follow our
children west. We are enjoying our Colorado mountains and home in
Durango since the move from North Carolina in 2008. It’s great to be
close to bother daughters and their families, all of whom are
Coloradans as well. Cecil continues to ski, though Marj hung up her
skis when she turned 75.
We both are active however, enjoying all that Durango and
southwest Colorado have to offer…the outdoors, music, theater, art, and good fishing, as well as
watching the soccer games of various offspring.
Travels have taken us to many of the highlights of the Bay Area, southern California and Colorado.
We’ve explored Arizona and New Mexico with several trips to our favorite fitness resort in old Mexico,
Rancho La Puerta. Grandchildren have given us reason to visit back east. Three of the six are
currently attending college , one at the University of Michigan Law School, one at the University of
Colorado-Boulder and a third at Denison. Three more to go…hopefully we will get a Bishop yet!
We keep up with many Pi Phi and Delt friends from the 50s but are eager to see lots of other folks at
the 60th reunion, and event we feel blessed to share. We again are delighted to be able to say “good
health prevails.”
We share a multitude of those both sentimental and funny memories from OWU but the most obvious
is discovering one’s life partner and best friend while in the process of acquiring an exceptional
education….a B.A. with a perk. It was all good.
Dan Butler ’54
Email: danbutler88@comcast.net
Linda (’60) and I have had a busy and gratifying life since we were married in 1960, when I was
working at OWU after returning from my our as a pilot in the USAF. We have lived in suburban
Philadelphia since 1961, enjoying the rearing of two daughters and two sons. This was followed by
eleven grandchildren who now live on the east coast- two were born in Tokyo and three in London.
An MBA at Ohio State led to 14 challenging years at what is now Vanguard Mutual Funds, followed
by Linda & me founding and co-publishing a weekly newsletter. Although no longer owned by us, the
2,000th issue was recently published. A just-ended 39-year stint as CEO and Chairman of a private
incorporating and legal services company—(CSC) Corporation Service Company—has been an
exhilarating experience as we have expanded from the small state of Delaware to fifty states and a
dozen foreign offices. We have enjoyed a number of visits back to OWU, and are looking forward to
my sixtieth reunion, and hopefully several more.
Richard “Dick” DeVos ’54
Address: 367 Lake Forest Dr., Bay Village, OH 44140
Phone: (440) 835-1546
Email: devos367@att.net
Sixty years can go by so quickly, as many of us know. It is disappointing for me not to have Nita also
meet with our friends from the class of ’54 who helped define four important years of our lives. From
Delaware, OWU sent us on our way to witness the many amazing changes the future decades had in
store for us. Since 1971, I have lived on the shore of Lake Erie in Bay Village, after the many moves
we made around the U.S. for Alcoa. Our four children are spread around the country in different
states (OH, CO, IL, and MI) and have given us 10 grandchildren to add happiness to our times with
them. Retirement allowed us freedom to travel and also pay dues to societies in need. Not everything
works out perfectly though, as my lifelong companion suffered seven plus years with Parkinson’s
disease and passed in May 2012. She escaped onto her next experience leaving many memories
and grateful family behind. My best to you all.
Harmon C. Dunathan ’54
Address: 1770 Tutwiler Ave., Memphis, TN 38107
Address: PO Box 284 Stonington, ME 04681
Phone: (901) 278-7736 (TN)
Phone: (207) 367-2929 (ME)
Email: pyridean@yahoo.com
Education:
B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University, 1954
Ph.D., Yale University, 1958 (Organic Chemistry)
Positions:
Director, high school chemistry teachers project, June 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011
Mid-South Community College, West Memphis, AR, 2006-2007
Director of Development
LeMoyne-Owen College, Memphis, TN, 1995-2006
Professor of Chemistry, 1996-2006
Special Assistant to the President, 1998-2003
Acting Director of Institutional Advancement, 1996-98 and 2000-2001
Director of Institutional Research and Planning, 2003-6
Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
Dean of Academic Affairs, 1987-94
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
Dean of Faculty, 1984-87
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
Provost and Dean of Faculty, 1975·84 (acting President, 1978·9)
Exchange Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, at the Institute of Molecular Biology,
Moscow, former Soviet Union, 1970-71.
Haverford College, Haverford, PA
Professor of Chemistry, 1957- 75 (Associate 1964-, Professor 1970-)
Professional Activities:
Leader in organizing the consortium: The Associated Colleges of the South, 1990-91.
Member, Editorial Board, Liberal Education 1986-89, Guest Editor, spring 1988
Organized and led tour of faculty deans from eight liberal arts colleges to Universities in the
former Soviet Union, Fall 1987. (Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Bucknell, Denison, Rollins,
Spelman and Saint Lawrence)
Organized Five College - N.S.F. Conference on "Cooperation in Undergraduate Science
Education", Amherst 1986.
Organized and obtained funding for a National Symposium on "The Role of the Academy
in Addressing the Issues of Nuclear War", Washington, D.C., 1982. (76 Colleges and Uni
versities were represented.)
Scientific Research:
Made major contributions to the determination of the mechanism of action of Vitamin B6.
Work summarized in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 55, 712-716, and
71. 3888-3891 (1966 and 1977).
Harry G. Ebeling ’54
Email: Hebeling@aol.com
Retired attorney. Active in local community, Oakwood Historical
Society, writing, researching; Oakwood Alumni Association;
Dayton Walk of Fame; travel
Meeting Marty 1st day at OWU; dating her for four years,
marriable- will be celebrating 60 years this year; participating in
Student Government and Phi Gam activities.
Martha (Marty) Bowman Ebeling ’54
Email: HEMarty@aol.com
Retired speech coach at Oakwood High School. Active in
community: President of Junior League of Dayton, board of
Children’s Medical Center and Alzheimers’ Association. Raised
money to build Pi Phi house at University of Dayton; chaired Pi Phi
fundraisers- much travel!
Meeting Harry the first day- dated 4 years, celebrating 60 years of
marriage in December! Fantastic Pi Phi friends; Fiji Island parties;
challenging professors.
Donna Parobeck Egley ’54
Address: 2690 Bella Coola Rd, Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450
Phone: (910) 646-4851
Email: dandgegley@embarqmail.com
60 years since graduation- it hardly seems possible! However, life during those 60 years has been
good for us. After satisfying careers as a Language/ Speech Pathologist, Plant Physiologist and
parents of three great kids, my husband and I totally enjoyed our retirement in Lake Waccamaw, NC.
We are actively involved in church and community activates when we are not in “planes, trains and
automobiles” or river boats. Travel these past five years, included Alaska during our 55th OWU
reunion; Greek Island Cruise; Ukraine; Rhine River Cruise; Normandy and Paris; our own U.S.
Majestic National Parks, and visits with family and friends in the USA. It is a beautiful world and our
traveling has rewarded us with magnificent scenery, experiences with different cultures, and good
opportunities to add to my OWU liberal arts education. What a great awakening we celebrated with
OWU graduation in 1954!
Joida Turk Evans ’54
Email: revans25@comcast.net
I have been mentoring. I attended ULM (University of La. at Monroe)
in ceramics. Writing, working in my clay studio, and painting. I attend
Arrowmont Arts and Crafts school yearly in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Being in the art department at Lyon Art Hall. Once, a couple of us art
majors stayed at LAH between semesters to work on our clay
projects- we joyously lived on canned fruit cocktail- loved it, and we
were very productive. Best wishes and blessings to all.
Dr. Robert H. Gifford ’54
Address: 72 Edgehill Rd, New Haven, CT, 06511
Phone: (203) 776-0922
Email: robert.gifford@yale.edu
I am currently Professor of Medicine (Emeritus) at Yale University School of Medicine. I spent most
of my professional life as a faculty member at Yale, retiring in 2000. My background also includes
three years in the United States Air Force and two years as a physician with the Peace Corps in
Colombia, South America.
As Deputy Dean for Education and Student Affairs at Yale Medical School, I oversaw the
development of a new curriculum at the School of Medicine, and had overall responsibility for
Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Affairs, the Office of Education, the Office of Multicultural Affairs,
and the Physician Associate Program. On January 1, 2000, I retired from Yale, and spent the next
three years as a full-time science teacher for students in grades four through eight at two inner-city
private schools in New Haven, most recently at St. Martin de Porres Academy, a privately funded
middle school for highly disadvantaged children. I now serve on the Board of Trustees of that
institution. I continue to teach physical diagnosis and a course entitled Professional Responsibility to
Yale medical students and continue to serve on the admissions committee at the School of Medicine.
I have been honored with several teaching awards by students and house staff at Yale and have
been selected to be the graduation speaker at Yale University School of Medicine on three separate
occasions. I was a member of the to the Board of Trustees of Ohio Wesleyan University for several
years and I am a member of the National Academy of Medicine of Colombia. I am a member of the
board of the Koerner Center for Emeritus Faculty at Yale and a board member at Home Haven, a
retirement village for elders who wish to stay in their homes. I spend summers on Littlejohn Island,
Yarmouth, Maine, where my family has had a cottage for many, many years.
Glenna Hartman Higgins ’54
Address: 310 Grant St. P.O.Box 217, Harveysburg Oh 45032
Email: gjhiggin2@gmail.com
I earned a BA degree Sociology, Business, Volunteer Management
Capital U. 1984
I married Charles Higgins ‘52 in 1953, USAF. Lived in Japan, Tx. Ok, discharged in ’56. Moved to
Cincinnati for 3 years before moving to Dayton. (Divorced 1998. He died in ‘02 from unknown cause)
3 children (2 girls, 1 boy) 5 grandchildren. About to have 3rd great grandchild.
I lived in Dayton, New Jersey and back to Dayton area since ’67.
I have been very active in community service, boards of directors and pres. of several. Board trainer
and consultant. Back to work in ’81 as volunteer manager in a large nursing home then moved on to
manage an independent senior living facility then marketing the same. I retired in ’07.
Lived at Friendship Village for 10 years to help parents who also lived there. After mother died at
102. I moved to a small rental house to live alone for first time in my life, for 6 years. Active in
multiple church and community activities. I continue to use my expertise in senior living through a
church ministry to provide informational meetings and counseling to seniors looking at the need to
make a change in their living arrangements.
Currently, I am in the process of moving to new home just purchased in Harveysburg, OH (near
Waynesville) where my recently divorced and job hunting son will also live until he finds a new path,
with oldest daughter nearby. My youngest daughter lives in Florida, where I visit as often as possible.
I am very fortunate to enjoy good health and mobility so anticipate enjoying the opportunity of starting
this new adventure at this ridiculous age. I find I can still paint walls, put up towel bars, arrange
cupboards, etc.
Sending greetings to all classmates and look forward to interesting news from many.
Joan Ely Holwadel ’54
Address: 3435 Golden Ave. #1003, Cincinnati, OH, 45226
Phone: (513) 321 6408
I retired from my Deli 12 years ago. It was a fun career and reasonably successful, allowing me to
enjoy trips as I chose and maintain my summer cottage in the U.P. of Michigan. I was married 10
years ago so, there are now with combined families it’s a really busy summer. I married Kent
Holwadel from Michigan. He has four children so, with my three girls we have a relatively large family.
We do enjoy them greatly and they are all very helpful to us. I’m definitely looking forward to the
reunion.
Robert F. Howard ’54
Address: 12000 N 90th St., Unit 1085, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Phone: (480) 451-2282
Email: bobmoll@wmvaz.com
As an OWU undergraduate, I paid for my education in part by working
as a research assistant at the Perkins Observatory, under the direction
of an Ohio State professor. In 1954 I entered the graduate program in
astrophysics at Princeton University. My PhD came from Princeton in
1957.The next step was a two-year postdoctoral position at the Mount
Wilson and Palomar Observatories in Pasadena, California. At the time
I met and married my wonderful Irish wife, Molly. We were delighted to
have three great children. The following two years saw me teaching at
the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Finally, in 1961, I joined
the Mount Wilson and Palomar staff in the research position,
occasionally teaching a graduate course at Caltech. Some years later I took on the responsibility of
being Director of the Mount Wilson part of the joint observatory. In 1984 I moved to Tucson, Arizona
as Director of the National Solar Observatory. My retirement came in 1998, and I was honored to
receive the Hale Prize of American Astronomical Society in 2003. Molly and I are now enjoying life in
a retirement home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Robinson G. Lapp ’54
Email: lapp.robinson@gmail.com
I was there for my 50th reunion. Janet Wallace
(Lapp) ’55, and I have adopted and are raising our
now 11 year old great granddaughter (have had her
9 years). I preside over a collection of nonprofits
that have built, own, and manage 365 apartments
for low income individuals and families in Denver. I
am pursuing a degree at Chicago Theological
Seminary, where I am a Life Trustee. Jan and I are
active in a UCC congregation in Boulder.
Some of my favorite memories from OWU are of
the night Jan and I were pinned in the driveway of
Hayes House- March 22, 1953, and taking
Historical Geology from George Crowl. This evolutionary background has done more for my theology
than any other single course I have taken.
In the year following my 1954 graduation, I completed the first of three years of theological education
at Chicago Theological Seminary, married Janet Wallace, my OWU sweetheart, and began work in
my first church parish.
In the 60th year following my OWU graduation, I am still married (happily) to Janet, in the ninth year
of raising my great granddaughter Aubreyanna, I am president of a UCC church-related
non-profit low income housing outfit that owns and manages 360 units for families and homeless
individuals, Life Trustee of Chicago Theological Seminary, treasurer of another church nonprofit that
manages the Rocky Mountain Conference UCC Endowment Fund, and still able to walk and talk.
During the 60 years it’s been an intricate web of non-traditional ministry.
There were: 5 years of Youth Ministry in two churches, one in Illinois and the other in Michigan, 5
years as a new UCC church start minister in Arvada, Colorado, 4 years as Executive Director of
Metro Denver Fair Housing Center, and 10 years in management of two new town developments in
New York and Texas, 3 years as organizing minister of Wild Rose UCC, 4 years running a company
in Colorado and Florida that built homes for modest income seniors, and 9 years sponsoring the
creation of small businesses in Denver that majored in the employment of predominantly single
mothers.
As a volunteer, I have spent 10 years in the restructuring of La Foret, the Rocky Mountain UCC
church camp, 19 years as an officer of the RMC affordable housing development entity, 6 years as
president of a rural mountain Fire Protection District, 10 years as a board member of Chicago
Theological Seminary, 2 years as Executive Director of Mountain United Church Housing, 5 years as
an organizer and president of the Endowment Fund of the Rocky Mountain Conference, 13 years as
an officer and board member of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the UCC, 6 years as a member of
the UCC National Board for Homeland Ministries and 3 years as a board member of the Office of
Communications of the UCC, both in Cleveland, and 30 years of counseling, marrying, burying and
advising, mostly outside of the formal church.
In writing my autobiography, I have entitled the chapter on my OWU years: “Pieces Begin to Come
Together.” I am forever grateful for both the education and the personal growth I experienced
John E. “Jack” McKinnie ’54
Address: 1595 Mozart Drive, Westlake, OH 44145-2356
Phone: (440) 871-2436
Email: john.mckinnie.1954@owu.edu
I married Jean (Miami U. Grad) in 1960 and we have three children: Linda, Marilyn and Douglas.
I served three years in the U.S. Air force as a statistical service officer. I played on the air forces
championship basketball team. I then worked 35 years with the Standard Oil Co. (now BP/Amoco).
I retired in 1992 after 35 years with Standard Oil. I was asked to return twice for short stints on special
projects. It was hard to believe that I have been retired for over 20 years. I keep busy with family
visits, OWU volunteer activities, Bay Presbyterian church (Elder and member of various committees)
and attending many high school and college athletic events.
Debbie Donker Ornburn ’54
Address: 12000 N. 90th St. #3062, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Phone: (480) 451 2236
Email: debsdesert@wmvaz.com
Ben and I moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1987 and have loved exploring our beautiful state. We
lived in a great neighborhood for 24 years with two wonderful gold retrievers (one at a time- thank
goodness) and visits from family and friends. We were fortunate to travel to many places- special
ones were China, Bhutan and the Himalayas.
We moved into a retirement community in 2011 as Ben had some serious health issues. Sadly, he
passed away in December 2011.
I have met wonderful friends in my new home, as well as keeping up with our old group. Our children
have kept in close touch. Our son Steve is in Houston, and our daughter Cathy is in Chicago. I
volunteer at the Heard Museum, play bridge and enjoy book club as well as being a member of our
resident council marketing program.
I am sorry I won’t be at this special reunion but I will be thinking of everyone.
Have a wonderful 60th!
Ruth Palmer Roberts ’54
Email: ruthpalmerrober@aol.com
About 6 months of the year, I spend listening to the GPS as I travel and visit new places. I relax in the
Adirondack Mountains and the rest of the year, I spend carving and reading.
My lasting memory has been the Humanities education. That study has provided a firm basis for
understanding life’s events.
Mary Byrum Powell ’54
Address: 3 East 219th Street, Euclid, Ohio 44123
Phone: (216) 261-9090
Email: yogamomoh@gmail.com
I regret that I cannot attend the 60th reunion! I have a commitment to play
hand bells at East Shore Methodist Church for a big musical program.
I teach yoga classes and will practice the Sun Poses that weekend to
bring you good luck with the weather for the reunion!
Barbara Davis Rix ’54
Address: 4400 South 80th Street #111, Lincoln, NE, 68516
Phone: (402) 988-8448
I moved to a retirement community in 2013. I am still involved with many activities.
Pat James Simpson ’54
Email: pjsimpsonaz@aol.com
Traveling, enjoying grandchildren, working on genealogy, aging, and
more traveling!
Some of my favorite memories from OWU are of meeting new friends,
having a chance to get to know professors campus activities, and
participating in them and a fun social life. Gaining knowledge from
great teachers was a lifetime benefit as well as a happy memory.
Gordon Smith ’54
Email: gsmith@millerandsmith.com
Since my last reunion, I have been managing a company in California manufacturing manure
digestors, working to help a school in Tanzania for poor children (1800), building houses in greater
Washington D.C. and traveling.
My favorite memory of OWU is of meeting my wife of 58 years, Helen Crider.
Hal Stevens ’54
Address: 2539 Berwyn Rd., Columbus, OH 43221
Phone: (614) 486-3537
Email: hstevens@columbus.w.com
I will be producing an art fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan that annually in July. I serve as curator for
exhibitions at the Decorative Arts Museum of Ohio, and attend classes at Ohio State University and
the Cultural Arts Center of Columbus.
Phyllis Waters Thomas ’54
Mainly, I enjoy my six grandsons who all grew
up, nearly! I vacation with friends (mostly widows
like myself) every year at the Hilton Head Island
in South Carolina. I attended my grandson’s
wedding (August 10th, 2013) in New London,
New Hampshire. He is an OWU graduate and so
is wife, Justin Keith Saunders and Erin Leigh
Clayton Saunders.
I really loved all my four years at Ohio Wesleyan, but the best was my senior year. I met my future
husband that senior year (D. Keith Thomas, now deceased). We graduated together in 1954 and
were married in September 1954. Another favorite OWU memory- how could I forget “Spring Fever
Day”? Also my classes with Dr. Ross in Humanities and sage advice from Dr. Ingraham, and religion
classes with Goldie McCue.
Carolyn Huling Wenzelberger ’54
Email: wcrl88@aol.com
I have recently retired, as of December 27, 2013, after 19 years with the Department of Veteran
Affairs Out Patient Clinic in Columbus, Ohio. I look forward to spending more time with my children:
Anne (Jim) Ryan, Upper Arlington, Columbus, Ohio; Ellen (Dennis) Guzik, Annandale, Virginia; and
John (Andina), Singapore; and my four grandchildren
David M. Alpeter ’59
Email: dma13@sbcglobal.net
It has been a long, long time since my last reunion, so this is like writing my life story- spent 25 years
or so raising three boys with my wife Carol Veague (’59) and working for the Aetna. After
assignments in Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Hartford and New York City, I retired in 1994. Then
several difficult years caring for Carol who died in 2001. Then several hectic years until I met Susan
Wood (Conn. College/ Yale). Susan works at Pfizer as a clinical trial. We were married in 2008,
(Robert K. Davis ’59 was our best man) and are living happily in CT.
The next five year report will be easy, Susan retires, living in northern Florida and valiantly trying to
keep up with our six children and twelve grandchildren.
Carolyn Sharpe Batty ’59
Address: 28836 Jasper Lane, Easton, MD 21601
Phone: (410) 770-3867
Since our last reunion my husband, Jack and I have enjoyed frequent travel, including staying
connected with our daughters and their families. Being part of the cheering sections at various sports,
dance performances, and other special occasions never loses its charm.
Our travel most recently took us to southern Africa where we were dazzled by seeing the amazing
animals in the wild and learning more about the African cultures and history. We have taken a
western USA trip each year, and are always thankful for the beauty of our national parks and for
those who made it possible.
We love our little town of Easton and all it has to offer, including volunteer opportunities. At present, I
am serving on our homeowner’s association board of directors for our community of about 225
homes. It keeps me stimulated, as every day there seems to be something new on the agenda.
I am still active in P.W.O., a nation-wide woman’s organization which supports five notational and one
international scholarship for women and actively seeks qualified recipients.
I especially enjoy ringing in a hand bell ensemble at our church. The Sunday performances may not
always be perfect, but we all love playing together.
John “Jack” Batty ’59
Address: 28836 Jasper Lane, Easton, MD 21601
Phone: (410) 770-3867
Email: jcbatty@goeaston.net
Since our 50th reunion, Carolyn and I have continued to enjoy living in the Easter Shore town of
Easton, Maryland, where we have resided since 2001.
We both are involved in a number of volunteer organizations. We also enjoy this small town’s
amazing array of cultural dining choices.
Over the past several years I’ve helped a friend who is writing his autobiography, “Winning in Both
Leagues: Reflections from Baseball’s Front Office,” by Frank Cashen, former general manager of the
New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles. Publication date is this fall.
We continue to travel extensively- to see our grandchildren, Western U.S. and internationally, most
recently to Safari country in Southern Africa. We still have a ways to go to empty our bucket list, but
are actively working on it.
Martha “Marti” Leihgeber Becker ’59
Email: mofjsmom@aol.com
Since our last reunion, I have been busy with church activities, both my own church, Evergreen
Presbyterian Church, and the Presbytery of the Mid-South. Just prior to our last reunion, I was
installed as Moderator-elect for the Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery (PWP), an office I served
for two years. In 2011, I was installed as Moderator for the PWP. In that office I also served as ViceModerator of the Presbytery of the Mid-South, and in February 2013, I was installed as Moderator of
the Presbytery. I now serve as the Moderator of the Presbytery Council. These have been an
interesting five years as our denomination at all levels is going through changes. At Evergreen I
continue to sing in the choir, and until January 2011, I was the Clerk of Session. As Vice-Moderator of
the Presbyterian Women of Evergreen, I planned some of the programs and organize the Bible
Studies. In the spring of 2013, Evergreen sold the church property to Rhodes College, a Presbyterian
College much like OWU, which is directly across the street from the church. We continue to worship
in the sanctuary, however, there are changes. We are also in the process of looking for a co-pastor
who will become solo pastor when the current pastor retires, and I serve on the search committee. My
daughter, MJ, lives a little over a mile from me and was married last November.
I have many fond memories of my years at OWU. I think the best are of activities and time with my
friends as well as music, choir, choir tours, and being in the chorus of “Kiss Me Kate.” I also
remember Religious Emphasis Week in our senior year when I was the Hospitality Chair, providing
special times for our guest speakers.
Nancy Betts Bowman ’59
Address: 3289 Grenway Rd, Shaker Heights, OH 44172
Phone: (216) 751-1250
I have enjoyed being back in Ohio since David retired in 1999. However, we love our 13 years in
Buffalo- one of the most underrated and misunderstood cities in the country. Everyone should try a
visit there sometime; you’ll see what I’m talking about.
We go nowhere in the winter, but spend 3+ months of the summer at our old log cabin on Rangley
Lake, Maine, in the beautiful western mountain and lake area of the state. Pure Bliss!
Mary Glass Brown ’59
Email: brownmerry40@gmail.com
Since my last reunion, I am the recently retired president of Chardon Methodist Church. I have been
watching my grandkids play soccer, basketball, swimming and tennis.
My favorite OWU memories are of playing basketball, swimming, volleyball and softball for all 4 years.
I loved being in the swim club and president of my senior year. I taught college students swimming
and volleyball my second semester junior year.
Alberti Cinelli ’59
Email: acinelli@neo.rr.com
Since the last reunion I attended, I have been enjoying life with gratitude.
Barbara Firl Costen ’59
Michael Davis ’59
Robert K. Davis ’59
Email: RKD997@yahoo.com
Davis retired in November 2004 as the owner of a
MFGR’s representative firm which sold
electrical/electronic products. He has raised three
children, all married, and has six granddaughters and
one grandson. He married Nancy Blodgett, who
graduated from Centenary College on July 15, 1959.
I continued running after OWU and eventually ran
marathons in Boston and NY.
Patricia “Pat” Cochran Davis ’59
Address: 1160 Turnberry Lane, York, PA, 17403
Phone: (717) 852-7089
Email: mollymopa@aol.com
I married my high school classmate in June, 1960. I taught 2nd grade for 3 years until our 1st son,
Rob, was born in 1962. Our 2nd son came in 1965, and our 3rd son was born in 1974. I stayed at
home with the boys, during which time I did a lot of volunteering in many different organizations in my
free time. We now have 4 grandsons and 3 granddaughters. We have traveled to many countries,
including several mission trips to India.
Bob retired from his medical practice in 2002 and we moved to a townhouse after living for 27 years
in an old stone farmhouse on 100 acres. We still keep busy with a variety of activities and spend 2
months during the winter in FL. I'm looking forward to seeing "old" friends from my days at OWU at
the reunion!!
Dorothy Eileen Hammond Dexheimer ’59
Address: 8664 Jeffery Way, Machesney Park, IL 61115
Phone: (815) 633-2353
Email: dondotdex@att.net
After working in personnel at the Higbee Co., Cleveland, OH, for two years, I realized this was a dead
end job for me and I sought something more stable. Ohio State University was offering the
opportunity to obtain a teaching degree in a short time to anyone who already had a college degree.
While teaching 4th grade students in the Bath-Richfield, Ohio, schools, I learned to fly a Piper
Cherokee plane, play tennis and I dabbled in oil painting. But after 6 years of teaching, I sought to
combine my personnel work interest with teaching and headed to the University of Illinois at the
Champaign-Urbana campus. A grant with the Dean of Women’s Office allowed me to obtain a
master’s in Education, majoring in Guidance and Counseling at the Elementary School level. The day
I was to walk down the aisle to pick up my certificate, I was in Breckenridge, CO, obtaining my MRS.,
and I added Dexheimer to my name.
Donald (Robert Donald Dexheimer III) went into business after serving 2 years in Korea in the U.S.
Army. I joined him in Korea in 1968 for 8 months of his term. When he returned from Korea, he
obtained his masters in Business Administration from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University
Don spent 20 years in business during which we raised two beautiful and talented daughters. As they
advanced in their schooling, I returned to teaching and then counseling in public elementary schools.
After 20 years in business, my husband answered the call into ministry. During those years we took
turns being the main “bread winner” in the family.
With Don’s seminary training complete, the oldest daughter out of college and in her first job, and the
youngest daughter in her junior year of college, Don and I sold our home and devoted one year
(1994) to missionary work in Russia, the Far East. Returning from Russia, I continued as an
elementary school counselor and pastor’s wife as we served the United Methodist Church. We
returned to Russia in 1999 and again in 2001. We were there on 9/11 watching our home country
being attacked!
While Don served in ministry in Indiana, I had one of the richest experiences of my life when I was
invited to serve as a Chaplain at a local hospital. I hold many rewarding memories from that year.
Don retired from ministry in Indiana, and I from public service, and we moved to IL in 2007. However,
he took up ministering again here in IL and we currently serve a small church in walking distance from
our retirement home. I continue to garden, preserve food, hike, attend aerobic classes and golf. But
most of all, I enjoy hosting family and friends for an evening of dinner and games. Both of our
daughters are happily married to good Christian men and have blessed us with four beautiful
grandchildren, all close enough to visit often.
I have been richly blessed and I credit part of that to my childhood growing up with a loving family on
a dairy farm, and then to the catapult from Ohio Wesleyan in 1959.
Sally Reiff Dickey ’59
Email: dickeybirds18@comcast.net
We love our Florida weather, especially this winter. We swim, participate in water aerobics, bicycle,
and enjoy the beach. Our Viking River Cruise last summer was outstanding. I had a new knee
replacement in November and cataracts removed in March. We spent Christmas in Kansas City with
our four children, spouses, and 11 grandchildren in home for 5 days. What a blast! We will miss the
reunion this year for we have found it is becoming much harder to drive or fly.
One of my favorite memories from OWU is of getting pinned to Jim Dickey at Sulfur Springs, just like
Rutherford B. Hayes pinned Lucy. We celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary last August.
Carol Rees Eickhoff ’59
Email: acarolujim@sbcglobal.net
My life since 2009:
During the past five years my main interests have been divided
among family, church, and travel. Our son, Jim, and wife live in
Cincinnati and their two kids have graduated from college and
are employed, thankfully! Our son, Bill, died in 2011 and his
widow and three kids live in the Chicago area; two of them are in
college and Kristie is on the sales team at a software company.
Our daughter, Linda, lives with her family in Lebanon, OH. Her
husband has survived a brain tumor for two years and continues
to trust the Lord to give him additional years so he can see his son graduate from high school in
2015, and daughter graduate from college in 2017.
Jim and I are both involved with Bible study groups and I sing in the church choir. We are avid
readers and spend summers at our lake house in Door County, WI, where I take care of the flowers,
and Jim, the veggies. My freezer jam (strawberry, raspberry, and peach) is a family favorite.
We have done a little less traveling in the past few years, but did take a river boat tour from St.
Petersburg to Moscow and a driving trip through the Canadian maritime provinces. Additionally, we
usually spend some time in Florida in March, in Atlanta to visit my sister and her extended family, and
at our son Jim’s lake house in Tennessee.
Looking back over the past 55 years since I left Ohio Wesleyan, I can see how the Lord has led me in
amazing ways. We have been blessed with a wonderful family, many friends, and opportunities to
experience the mundane and exotic all over the world. Our prayer is to be His servants wherever He
puts us and to reflect His goodness to those around us. I am looking forward to returning again to
OWU and renewing the ties we first developed there.
Jill Shanks Eliot ’59 and Don Eliot ’59
Address: 615 S. Hague Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43204
Phone: (614) 278-7745
Email: jeliot@columbus.rr.com
In 2009, our family legacy with Ohio Wesleyan was reported and printed in the Ohio Wesleyan
Magazine by Gretchen Hirsch. We have had 28 members of our family attend Ohio Wesleyan.
During 2012-2014 Jill's company, The Imaginating Dramatics Company, performed several times
through last spring and summer. The first production was THE BROADWAY BEAT, featuring scenes
from “Hello Dolly”, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “West Side Story”. Summer brought an original play by
Jill with music entitled, "Stars for a Day" featuring the life story of Elsie Janis, a Columbus Actress,
Author, Entertainer. In late summer, the final production of the Imaginating Dramatics Company was
“Into the Woods”. Following that production, Jill took a hiatus from Imaginating which has become
permanent. Jill will do a few small scale plays and will work with Joanna Van Sickle (OWU 2012).
Summer of 2013 found Leah Shaefer OWU '13 serving as an intern at Imaginating. Jill has been
working with OWU theatre grads for many years, a fulfilling part of her position. The reason for the
hiatus was due to Don's very serious and ongoing health problems. From triple bypass heart surgery
on to cancer, the road has been a little rocky to say the least. Don is still working in audiology and
with hearing aids at his Grandview office.
While he was rehab he repaired aids and saw some of his patients. Amazing person! He is also
part of the First Community Church media crew and just like the postmen - neither health nor weather
will keep him away from his avocation! Jill is helping him with his business. She is also a very active
member of the First Community Church Women's Guild Executive Board and is currently working on
a script, based on American poets, which goes up Saturday, May 10 in the Columbus, Ohio area.
We're sorry to miss the festivities! Happy double nickel reunion, everyone.
Bob Ferguson ’59
Address: 340 Sand Key Dr. #26, Clearwater. FL 33767
Phone: (727) 365-8462
Email: rhferguson@tampabay.rr.com
The Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey team honored us as
“Lightening Community Heroes” in recognition of our
volunteer work for more than 20 years. We were presenting
a $50,000 donation to Morton Plant Mease Foundation in
support of the camp Living Springs, a camp for adult cancer
survivors.
Lowell R. Fleischer ’59
Address: 16424 John Rowland Trail, Milton, DE 19968
Phone: (302) 645-5709 (home) (703) 867-9630 (cell)
Email: lfleischer70@comcast.net
I finally retired from all remunerative activities when I reached 75 in Mach 2012. Since my wife Arline
and I moved to the Delaware shore in 2012, I had been driving into Washington D.C. at least once a
week to touch at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute. About every six weeks or so I drive
into Columbia, MD. To have lunch with 6-8 OWU graduates, including Jack Batty and Bob
Barnhouse from the class of ’59. Our lively discussions are great fun, even if we have not been able
to solve many of the world’s problems.
Arline and I are both active volunteers for many organizations in our community, including the historic
Lewis Farmer’s Market, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (of which I am the treasurer), Literacy Education
Pups (where children read to our dog), the Rehoboth Art League, and others. We also enjoy traveling,
both in the U.S. and abroad.
Our two children and granddaughter live I the D.C. area so we see them frequently both here at the
beach and at their homes in Fall Church, VA and Bethesda, Maryland.
Robert E. French ’59
After graduating from OWU in 1959, I attended Ohio
State University College of Medicine, and spent my
career as a Primary Care Physician at the University
of Kentucky. I served many years on Board of
Directors for Ramey Children's Home in Ashland
Kentucky. I retired in 2003, and active at Mt. Horeb
Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
Activities include hiking, travel, gardening, historical
studies, Civil War Round Table, and singing with the
Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers,
dedicated to preservation of early 19th Century
tradition of "Shape-note" singing. My favorite OWU memory was participating in the Men's Glee Club
under Professor Gordon Almstead, and our combined rendition directed by Rexford Keller with the
Orchestra and Girl's Glee Club of Arthur Honegger's Symphonic Psalm, "King David," narrated by
Basil Rathbone.
Fred Fulmer ’59
Address: 161 East Chicago Ave. Suite 47B,
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: (312) 943-9012
Email: ffulmer@ameritech.net
My wife Judy and I have been enjoying my
retirement for the last seventeen years on the 47th
floor of a high rise condo overlooking Lake Michigan
in downtown Chicago. We enjoy cooking together,
walking the lakefront, and taking full advantage of
Chicago’s varied restaurants and cultural attractions.
My hobbies include photography, reading and
fishing – yes, in downtown Chicago. My days are full, and I can’t imagine how I ever found the time
for work.
Judy and I travel extensively – we’ve hit all the continents except Antarctica. We recently completed
a two week cruise around the British Isles. I have been doing "inn to inn" trekking with a Denison
buddy for the last eleven years. We have gone trekking in England, Scotland, Switzerland, and New
Zealand, and have hiked around the San Francisco Bay and north to Sonoma in the California wine
country. In June, we will return to England for a hike in the Dorset - Wessex area. My knees have
told me that my running career is over, but I can still walk and exercise almost daily.
For intellectual stimulation, I participate in a “peer learning” program at nearby Northwestern
University where we tackle a broad range of subjects. I also belong to a writing group at
Northwestern and have had photographs and a written composition published in a Northwestern
Journal.
Gloria Allston Gibson ’59
Address: 7314 Drum Point Road, St. Michaels, MD 21663
Phone: (410) 745-9762
Retirement has been pleasant for Jim and I as we enjoy our home near historic St. Michaels on the
Eastern Shore of Maryland. We enjoy the sunsets on our creek that goes into Chesapeake Bay. Our
daughter, Karin, is thriving in her day program and nearby group home. Our son, Doug, works for
Hewlett Packard in Fort Collins, CO. I keep busy being the co-volunteer coordinator for the
therapeutic horseback riding program in which Karin rides. This Christmas, being in St. Michaels
Ornament Committee has kept us both busy for the last ten years- a new design each year
representing our area and selling about 2,000 each year- all to support local beneficiaries. Quilting is
another interest, and I belong to several creative groups. We appreciate our good health and enjoy
our travels as well and seeing family and friends.
Ann King Gunsalus ’59
Address: PO box 711, E. Orleans, MA 02643
Email: capenauset@aol.com
I have enjoyed twenty years on Cape Cod with Jim. We live in a house overlooking Nauset Beach on
the Atlantic. Our boys and six grandchildren are frequent visitors. Every day is a different experience
on the ocean.
I keep busy in a writers group, a book club, my garden club and our little church on beach road.
Nancy Hopkins Haines ’59
Address: 24932 Gold Finch Lane, Hollywood,
MD 20636
Phone: (301) 373-3586
Email: mdcrabgal@yahoo.com
While I did not graduate form OWU, I have fond
memories of my time there and the girls of Monet
Hall. The education foundation I received in my
one and a half years there enabled me to
succeed when I finished my degree many years
later. I enjoyed a wonderful career in education
first as a sub teacher, then as a school library media specialist. Books are still my first love- I’m luke
warm to the technology but accept it as the current communication tool. Even though my marriage
ended after 40 years, it provided many happy experiences, help completing my education, 3 children,
7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren (so far). Now I am very happy living in Maryland and
traveling the country with an old high school friend. I’ll always have a spot in my heart for OWU, a
great, great school.
Jack and Peggy Reed Hammett ’59
Since our last reunion we have become
more adjusted to really being retired. We
do some volunteer work, Jack still
participates in local musical activities, and
we usually cruise once a year.
Jack- singing in the choir and going on the
yearly tours. Peggy- dorm life in Monnett
and Austin Halls with good friends.
Gay Martin Hendricks ’59
Email: ghhendrinar@aol.com
Since the last reunion, John and I continue to call Bella Vista, Arkansas our home base. We are
fortunate to continue to do a lot of traveling. We do spend our summers up in Cumberland, WI, which
is close to family who live in the Twin cities, Minnesota.
My favorite memory from OWU is from my freshman year on the “Tweechie” corridor of Stuy, a
wonderful beginning to four memorable years at OWU.
Mary Kookootsede Jannides ’59
Email: mkjannides@embarqmail.com
I retired from teaching high school two years ago. I continue to coach the
high school swim team (both boys and girls) and the YMCA Swim Team
older age group (15-18 year olds). I have coached the high school team
since 1982 and the Y team since 1995. Along with this, I teach Sunday
School to 16-18 year olds and have done this for 39 years. In 2011,
during the summer, my youngest daughter and I went to Greece and met
my first cousins for the first time. This was my first visit to Greece and I
visited my parents’ home towns. I met the families of my aunt and uncle,
which was wonderful. During this new retired time I have been working in
my flower garden and have read many books. I continue to substitute
teach in the high school.
Living at Stuyvesant my freshmen year and all the good friends that I
met and still have contact with from the infamous “Tweetie” hall! All the good friends that I met
through the Alpha Gam sorority and from all my classes at OWU.
Elaine Fately Keener ’59
Address: 11146 Harbor Court, Reston, VA 20191
Phone: (571) 528-8555
Email: efkeener@gmail.com
I received a MA from university of Vermont in 1979 in Art Therapy and a BA from university of North
Carolina in 1994 in Painting. I worked as an Art Therapist for twenty years.
I have two children; Christine Cintron and Thad Kenner. I have three grandsons; Cameron, Devin and
Benjamin.
I have traveled extensively. My interests include, reading, family friends, church, painting and playing
bridge. I have been a member of a number of various social justice efforts.
Harriet R. Sheley Kiemle ’59
Address: 116 Grinders Circle, Greer, SC 29650
Phone: (864) 244-5395
Address: fkiemle@charter.net
I taught school for 30 years. I enjoy water aerobics, reading,
knitting and traveling. We see our two daughters and their families
(In Pennsylvania and Michigan) as much as possible. Our four
grandchildren give us great joy.
Nancy Burns Ryan Kitzmiller ’59
Email: NRKitz@aol.com
Enjoying retirement-reconnecting with OWU classmates and
keeping busy with our grandchildren activities.
Charles A. Landis ’59
Address: 7015 W. Calavar Rd., Peorea, AZ 85381
Phone: (623) 680-6684
Education, Gettysburg College 1954-56; OWU 1956-59; Syracuse 1960-62; Penn State University
1964-1967
Teacher West Hill, Syracuse, NY Soc St. 1962-64
Principal Catshell Jr. High Catshell, NY 1967-1970
Principal James Buchanaw High School Mercersburg, PS 1970-72
Assistant Superintendent Mt. Pleasant Area School distract Windber, PA 1974-78
Supt. Windber Area School District, Windber PA 1974-78
Supt Tolleson High School Distract Tollsen, AZ 1978-92
Supt Gilar Bend Area School Distract Gila Bend, AZ 1992-95
Community Coordinator Tollesm HS Distract Tollsem, AZ 1995-2010
Windber Area HS library named in honor 1978
Tollesm Science Committee Thanksgiving Day Dinner – 1982 stated name in honor
Founded Wolvesene- Knight Foundation 1982
Tollesm HS Football stadium name Charles Landis stadium 1999
Humaneterian Award 2010-2011 Southwest Community Netwek
Elizabeth “Betsy” Wester Lang ’59
Address: 4804 194th Ave. S.E., Issaquah, WA 98027
Phone: (425) 557-2820
Email: ablang@thelangs.com
Ronald Levinsohn ’59
Email: jacymax@cox.net
Since the last reunion/graduation I have been
serving as honorary President of the
Shotgunner’s Club of Arizona. I have been
writing a novel and a screenplay and working
for an agent. I have been traveling through the
Northwest with my wife in our R.V.
My favorite memories are graduating (!!), playing lacrosse, springtime nights on the Scioto River with
Teddy Fox, making a few forever friends, and being a bus-boy at Austin Hall.
Rosemary Uram Mayhew ’59
Email: mayhewjr@aol.com
I remain in Boulder, it’s still a lovely place to be even if the September
100 year flood just about swept me to Nebraska! Looking forward to a
beautiful spring and a drier year.
Art classes in that wonderful Victorian house across from Monnett.
Diane “Dutch” Mulvihill Millard ’59
Address: 208 Camino Bailen, Escondido, CA 92029
Phone: (760) 747-2120
Email: di2120@aol.com
Apologies for having to miss our 55th reunion, and
special greetings to all of my ’59 classmates.
Bob and I feel blessed to enjoy good health and the
ability to travel as often as possible. We have recently
discovered the joys of river cruising on the Danube and Rhine last fall and to China and the Yangtze
River last August. We’ll also be going back to Germany in November with our daughter and son-inlaw, whose relatives reside there. Our philosophy is to go while we still can!
Our oldest of 6 grandchildren will graduate from Carlsbad High School at the same time as our
reunion, so family must take precedence. We are really blessed to have our 3 children and 6 “grands”
living near us in California, so get-togethers are as frequent as possible.
I am still very involved as education chair for our assistance league chapter, along with P.E.O.
member and our church, where Bob and I both serve as greeters/ushers I enjoy attending a
community Bible study weekly. It was our strong faith which contributed to remaining positive, as our
youngest daughter battled stage 3 breast cancer last year, and gratefully she has come out
victoriously.
We plan to attend Bob’s 55th reunion next year, God willing, and it’s nice to have this second
opportunity to return to our alma mater where so many great friendships were formed.
Best wishes!
Janith E. Root Peak ’59
Address: 5300 Zebulon Rd., Macon, GA 31210
Phone: (703) 968-3201
Email: Janithpeak@gmail.com
I have recently moved to Carlyle Place, a CCRC community in Macon, GA. After the death of my
husband, Jim (’59), I sold my home in Clarkesville, GA and leased a home in the Carlyle Place
campus. This has been a good move for me. There are lots of activities and events and I have the
freedom to come and go from this campus when I like to visit my family or to travel. This Macon
community offers many good learning opportunities for seniors and is a place with a rich culture. Also
the weather is very pleasant all the year round.
Lynn C. Homeyer Ramshaw ’59
Email: grmlynn@scglobal.net
The biggest change is that I moved from Chicago to Ormond
Beach, Florida where all of my three children and eight
grandchildren live. Even my great grand son is here! All is well.
I fondly remember professors who cared and encouraged us, and
am grateful for education that nurtured me.
Sue Jett Reeves ’59
Email: charlespreeves@bellsouth.net
Since the last reunion, I am living happily with my husband, daughter and family in Kentucky. I
traveled to Albuquerque, NM to visit our son and his family. I enjoyed mini reunions with Marcia Van
Scoy Davis, Nancy Mattie Lockard, Jan Root Peak, Carol Smith Simpson and Marge Bensiiger
Greek. I also sew, knit, weave, and play hand bells and sing in the church choir.
I cannot pick one favorite memory from my time at OWU, however the Women’s Glee Club trip to
Europe, World’s fair in Brussels and five week tour of Europe will always be remembered. I enjoyed
participating in the senior class musicals both in the orchestra and on stage.
Betty Jo Cargo Riggs ’59
Address: 699 Harbor Drive, Manistee, MI 49660
Phone: (231) 723-2414
Email: bjriggs699@chartermi.net
Retirement has meant time to explore and enjoy the arts of
watercolor and writing. I achieved my goal of turning my
grandparents’ letters into a piece of historic fiction in “My
Dearest Husband”, My grandfather, Berton H. Ingles, attended
OWU the year Gray Chapel was built and later went west
searching for a pastor’s job. My experiments in watercolor led
to an exhibit in our local Art Institute. I have enjoyed leading
workshops in Biblical-inspired poetry and writing as well as those that connect the visual, written, and
musical arts.
My husband and I have discovered new travel modes and have recently enjoyed river cruises and
train travel. Choral singing and leadership in church activities mean no empty days. We love the
scenic beauty of our adopted home of Manistee, Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan but also
enjoy the wonders of the marsh at Seabrook Island, SC in March when spring is yet a long time in
arriving here.
Joanne Hlavin Ritter ’59
Address: 1327 Omaha Rd, Bellefontaine, OH 43311
Phone: (937) 592-8729
Email: jandjritter@gmail.com
After a fulfilling career raising three wonderful children, I renewed my art
training and studied watercolor for 8 years starting in 1988 at the
Springfield Museum School. This was a new medium as I was trained at
OWU in oil. Many of my watercolors highlight our travels in Europe,
British Columbia and the eastern U.S. with seascapes, landscapes,
architectural items and floral. In 2010 I had the opportunity to have a
one women show at the Mowry Alumni Center titled, “Journeys Home
and Away” and two of my watercolors that year were chosen for the
Alumni Calendar in 2011. I am a member of the Western Ohio
Watercolor Society, past president and active member of the Logan City
Tree Commission, and am active in volunteering for the city of
Bellefontaine, having chaired, for over 10 years, the Christmas
decorating team. Jerry and I enjoy traveling, reading, gardening, and keeping fit at our local Y. We
are looking forward to our reunions at OWU to rekindle old friendships.
Don E. Saliers ’59
Email: don.saliers@emory.edu
Teaching again spring terms at Emory. Lectures: at Princeton, Mercy Centre at San Francisco,
Societas Liturgica in Wurzburg, Germany. Composing and arranging; published several essays,
encyclopedia articles, directing Emory Chamber Players (two recitals each year) and organist at
Emory’s Cannon Chapel.
Some of my favorite memories are of “spring fever” days. Chairing the Gray Chapel Speaker Series.
Susan Murray Seifried ’59 & Douglass Seifried ’59
Email: seifreid59@gmail.com
We are enjoying traveling around the US.
David W. Smith ’59
Address: 648857 Augustine Dr., North West Canton, OH, 44718
Phone: (330) 494-3929
Janice Patenaude Smith ’59
Email: jansmith380@aol.com
My volunteer activities are centered around Fifth Ave.
Presbyterian Church where I serve as deacon, greeter/usher,
City Club board member and library coordinator. Taking
advantage of city culture, I regularly attend the theater, movies,
and museums. Travel is always a treat. Some favorite places I
have visited: Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand
and Cuba.
A favorite memory form OWU would be the yearly choir tours led by Rexford Keller
Sylvia Sanders Stevens ’59
Email: steven11@msu.edu
My OWU experience included a wide range of liberal arts courses;
speech, social science, history and education. I taught American and
Ohio history (challenging for a Kentucky native) and then settled in to
being a stay-at-home mother for the next few years. No regrets. By
the time the youngest was in school, I realized my teaching
credentials were outdated so I went back to school at Michigan State
University where I picked up a minor
and an MA in English.
In 1984, I was hired by the Department of Family and Community
Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, MSU, into a position best
described as office manager. I retired from there in 1999 after 15 years of service.
Bob and I have found living in a university community to be stimulating and rewarding. We have sung
with the MSU Choral Union since 1985, performing great musical literature twice a year. We have
season tickets to both MSU football and men’s basketball and are members of the community support
group for each. We support and attend MSU theater productions. We also sing in our church choir
and are involved in other church activities. Twice a year, we travel to Stratford Ontario, Canada to see
productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. It is just 4.5 hours from East Lansing. We have
been going there for 35 years and continue to be impressed with the quality of their plays.
Travel is our favorite activity. We love taking riverboat cruises or going out on our own to explore new
territory. It broke our hearts when the Delta Queen stopped doing overnight trips. We have enjoyed
Uniworld cruises in Europe. As Rick Stevens says, Keep on traveling!
Michael Tippett ’59
Email: mbtippet2@aol.com
Since the last reunion we have done some traveling, the highlight being a 2-week trip to Rome and
Israel. We moved to a 55+community at the end of 2013 about 10 miles from where we’ve lived since
moving to Florida in 2000. I still work as a substitute high school teacher several days a week.
Working on and acting in plays with Mr. Eyssen and Mr. Hunter- and meeting my wife of 55 years on
the prop crew for “Bell, Book and Candle!”
Suzanne Strobeck Webb ’59
Address : 624 Tyner Way, Incline Village, Nevada 89451
Phone : (775) 624-8446
Email : sue@webbspages.com
I married in 1957 and left OWU to transfer to the University of Denver
where my husband at the time (Jim Allemeier ’58) had work in the
insurance business. Our son, Karl, was born the next year and I
finished my bachelor’s degree in history in 1959—on schedule, but not
at OWU. Jim and I divorced and I completed a master’s degree in
English at DU in 1962, earned a teaching certificate, and taught in the
area for a year. I met and married my current husband in 1964 in
Breckenridge, Colorado, and in 1965 we moved to Moscow, Idaho
where I taught English at the university for 4 years. During that time I
undertook a Ph.D, in English at Washington State University, 9 miles away across the state. line. I
completed the Ph.D.
In 1972 and my husband and I moved to north Texas where I taught rhetoric and linguistics for 37
years at Texas Woman’s University. Our son, Aaron, was born in 1976, and in the mid-eighties I
became involved in textbook publishing while still teaching full time. I authored or edited six textbooks
either alone or with one or two other professors. I took early retirement in 1999, but returned to teach
half time for the next ten years. The other half of the time I spent living at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. I
had a brief fling selling real estate there between 2004 and 2008, but retired again—from both jobs
and for good this time—in 2008-09. I served a year as president of the local branch of AAUW, and am
currently on the board of the Reno Gem and Mineral Society serving as the editor of their newsletter.
One of my granddaughters and her family recently moved to Reno, and so I have a chance to be
Grandma GG (for great-grandma) to her three children. I have two other adult grandchildren—thanks
to my wonderful son Karl—and a 5-year-old granddaughter-- thanks to my other wonderful son, Aaron
and his wife, Katie. Lissa and Terry live and work in Quad Cities, Illinois and Ebie lives and goes to
kindergarten in Seattle. My husband, R. J., and I enjoy rockhounding with other members of the
RGMS and with son Karl and his wife, Jana when they come to visit from Madison, WI.
Karla Koehn Westlake ’59
Address: 33869 Maple Ridge Blvd., Avon, OH 44011
Phone: (440) 937-4811
Email: karlawestlake@sbcglobal.net
After living in our Lakewood colonial for 40 years, my husband, Jim, and I sold it to our daughter and
moved into a free standing cluster home in the fast growing suburb of Avon. We’ve been here nine
years now and enjoy it very much. Jim keeps busy with Kiwanis activates and working out at the Y,
and I am involved in College Club West, P.E.O., and Chi Omega Alumnae. We feel fortunate to have
good health and live near our children and grandchildren.
David Yoder ’59
I married Betty Zimmerman of Tifton, Georgia in
1965. We quit our jobs a year later to act on our lust
to experience other cultures…traveling for a year
around the world…and spending all our savings. We
returned to San Francisco to flirt with the hippie era.
But we continued our ventures thereafter, seeking out
hamlets where we had to worry about the water. I am
glad now that we did not defer all our gratifications;
especially before we began to care or needed to care
about creature comforts.
In the 1980's, when the running craze started, we became addicted joggers and ran marathons. We
also rode mountain bikes, which began in our Marin County, as well as hiked our many mountain
trails. And, we didn't miss out on the free wine tasting in Napa. I was also lucky to ride a ferry to San
Francisco almost every day.
Betty graduated from Emory University, the first class to permit women, and later from Columbia
University for a graduate degree. She worked for years as a medical social worker. In San
Francisco, many of her patients had the mysterious disease now known as AIDS.
I went on to earn a MBA degree in the evenings at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Our two children and their families live near each other in Portland, Oregon. Karen is a graphic
designer, digital sales, and real estate entrepreneur while Alan is the labor lawyer for the Oregon
nurses’ union. Our three grandchildren’s birthdays are all together around Halloween. This
coincidence makes these celebrations very convenient and, while wild, they are embraced.
I had a stimulating career in research and media advertising with nine agencies and Mad Man
characters. After hitchhiking to New York, I started out at BBDO on the Campbell Soup account. I
liked the due-yesterday challenges. When I applied for my second job, I listed only one reference-the night watchman. I also worked on soap, car, cereal, and soda accounts.
My last 16 years, however, were the most rewarding because I had to quickly learn and think
differently with high tech advertisers. My clients Apple, Intel, Dell, Oracle, Microsoft and others were
bent on changing the world…and they did. They were frenetic. Today, let alone the past, was
meaningless.
I wrote the media plan at Chiat-Day which put the legendary 1984 Apple commercial into the Super
Bowl. I also developed, though IntelliQuest, the first multimillion dollar studies of the high tech
industry to determine who influenced purchase decisions and their media preferences. Prior to my
high tech clients, I helped launch what is now known as Visa. It also changed the world with a
revolutionary way to buy things.
Over the years, I was acknowledged for my contributions in Advertising Age and other trade
magazines. I was also asked to teach an advertising course for several years at San Francisco
State University.
I retired in 2008 from McCann Erickson San Francisco as Director of Media.
Eunice Campbell Youngblood ’59
Email: ecyoungblood714@gmail.com
We welcomed our grandson who is now four years old and living near us. We are active in Shandon
Presbyterian Church and community.
Dean Anson II ’69
Ohio Wesleyan and my parents taught me to give back to society. Following a 30 year career in
environmental businesses, I have taught at the college, high school and junior high school levels,
teaching mostly about environmental issues facing society. How can we learn from the past and not
repeat it in the future? Teaching by example, showing students what they can do to make a
difference in their community.
During the past six years, I have volunteered on the Federal, New Hampshire state, county and local
level to conserve natural resources, particularly land and water. I have been accused of being a
"tree-hugger" but, I am not. I am a "tree-lover!”
I love to fish, garden, cross-country ski, snowshoe and would rather be outside rather than inside.
My life is guided by "to whom much is given, much is expected.”
Alan Armstrong ’69
Address: 720 Forest St., Ashland, OR 97520
Phone: (541) 482-8233
Email: armstrong@ sou.edu
After OWU, I took a Ph.D. at Cornell, did a post-doc in
England, was hired by Georgia Tech, married Victoria
Sturtevant (sociologist), and relocated to Ashland,
Oregon when Vic got a job at Southern Oregon
University. I spent a couple of years teaching part-time
and caring for our twins, Tom & Jonny, before founding SOU’s Center for Shakespeare Studies,
which I directed until I retired in 2008. By then I had also discovered a new vocation, working as a
production dramaturg for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I’m still working with actors and directors
and still writing about original and contemporary performance of Shakespeare’s plays, but have more
time now for skiing, hiking, and sea-kayaking.
Mary Ann Hoyt Bell ’69
Address: 6061 Bayberry Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45242
Phone: (513) 985-9569
Email: DBell79296@aol.com
After leaving OWU, I attended Kent State where I
received a Master’s degree in Library Science. I
worked at Akron-Summit County Public Library as a
reference librarian until getting married in 1992 to
Doug Bell.
Two years later I gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, Steven, and became a stay-at-home mom. The
"baby boy" is now 6'5", 300 pounds and plays football at Ball State University. I'm still a stay-at-home
mom and volunteer at my church and Cincinnati Public Library.
Dan ’68 and Sue Swan Bennington ’69
Address: 87 Somerset Rd, Delaware, OH 43015
Phone: (740) 369-6243
Email: thebennys@yahoo.com
My husband and I both retired on the same day in 2011. Since then we have enjoyed spending time
with our grandchildren, planning a wedding for our youngest daughter, taking a riverboat cruise in
Europe and annually staying in Florida during the month of March. I am currently co-chair of the
"Century of Cinema Campaign" to renovate the Strand Theater by the year 2016 when this Delaware
landmark will turn 100 years old. My passion is duplicate bridge, and I hope someday to become a
life master. Loving retirement!
Marc Benton ’69
Email: marcbenton@hotmail.com
I started a M.A. in education- quit after one semester of student teaching at inner city Junior High. I
did alternative service at Cornell University for 2 years. Received M.A. in Communications from the
University of Kentucky. Began PhD in Mass Communications at University of Minnesota. After a
conversion to Christ, I went to Seminary at Yale. Twenty-eight year full-time in the Presbyterian
Church (USA). Now I’m teaching college full-time, split between York College of Pennsylvania and
Harrisburg Area Community College.
One of my favorite memories from OWU is of meeting my wife Trish (Patricia Novak) in Abnormal
Psychology with Dr. Barrett.
Tamara J. Hughes Berry ’69
Address: 3232 Meadowbrook Dr., Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Email: mombozobo@hotmail.com
My chosen profession was being a full-time mother to my five awesome children. After being divorced
in 1987, I had to continue this journey alone. We all survived and thrived, and are all now happy,
capable adults with families of their own. They have blessed me with twenty beautiful, healthy and
intelligent grandchildren. I live with my daughter, Reagan, and her family and enjoy working part-time
at Ikea.
Larry Bump ’69
Address: 804 Stages Leap Dr., McKinney, TX 75071
Phone: (972) 832-2099
Email: FarmWizard2@aol.com
The highlights of the past five years have been family related.
Topping the list was our “When I’m 64 Tour” in 2012 to the Isle of Wight. Joining me were my
daughter Diana and Jeff Johns; daughter Erin and Marcus Cohn; son, Phillip; Margaret Johnson, and
her daughter, Samantha.
We spent a week in a three story “cottage” within walking distance of downtown Yarmouth and the
ferry to mainland England. Good company, good times and even some good food as we explored the
island’s historic sites and natural beauty. Highly recommended. Some of us went on to other places
while we were across the pond. I was there a total of 10 days, with two overnights in London and
Paris.
As I write this, our next scheduled family event is in April of 2014. We’re expecting 11 people for the
NCAA Final Four April 5 and 7, with plans for Margaret and me to get married April 6.
For three years I had a part-time contract with the Rockwall Independent School District for sports
information and sports marketing. The district has two 5A high schools that play football in an 8,300
seat stadium. During my time there, the schools won state championships in baseball and girls’
gymnastics.
I’ve continued my now 21-year career as a freelance writer. My current major client is The Associated
Press, for which my primary assignments have been baseball’s Texas Rangers and hockey’s Dallas
Stars. I’m also the primary official scorer for the Texas Frisco Roughriders. On a few occasions, I
have been the Rangers’ official scorer. You also can see my freelance work on occasions in
newspapers from Portland, Maine, to San Diego.
Other than that, I spend a lot of time following Samantha’s activatities- cross country, track, orchestra,
chorus- and Margaret’s work as a high school orchestra director and freelance violinist.
Jean Fitzwater Bussell ’69
Address: 386 Foos Rd., West Manchester, OH 45382
Phone: (937) 678-0208 (home) (937) 533-0977 (cell)
Email: jeanbussell@gmail.com
So many things have happened since my last reunion!
My youngest daughter, Jennifer, added a Ph.D. from Cal Berkley, a husband and a daughter
(bringing our total to 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.) She also received a faculty position
at Cal Berkley in political science and public policy.
We have made several cross-country road trips to visit our family and friends and to explore new
sites. We traveled to Egypt for two weeks in December 2011 and went to Bermuda for a week in
2012 between hurricanes.
I continue to serve on the Board of Trustees (32 years now!). I serve on the Local Board of Service
for county board of Developmental Disabilities and County board of convention and visitors bureau. I
raised funds and built an outdoor amphitheater in scenic rural site overlooking restored wetland and
woods at county historical society’s 255 acre farm.
I hope to reduce my volunteer obligations and increase the time I spend with my grandchildren and
continue to travel!
Erik Calonius ’69
Address: 86 Secession St., Mt. Pleasant, SC, 29464
Phone: (843) 302-1075
Email: Ecalonius@bellsouth.net
Following graduation in 1969 I became a printer and typesetter in Boston. After a year I helped start
"The Boston Phoenix," an underground weekly (that has since won several Pulitzer Prizes). From
there I went to Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, and received an MS. Following
that, I was a photographer for the EPA's "Documerica" project and a newspaper writer. In 1975 I
journeyed south to Orlando to teach reporting and start the photojournalism department at the
University of Central Florida. Following that I was the Managing Editor of Memphis Magazine, and
following that I worked for Florida Trend Magazine, a Florida business monthly.
In 1981 I was hired at the Atlanta office of the Wall Street Journal. After two years of writing front
page stories from the Southeast, I was sent to London as a foreign correspondent. In Europe I wrote
dozens of front page stories for the Journal. I returned to New York as an editor for the Journal's
second section. In 1987 I joined Newsweek as Miami Bureau Chief, where I covered Miami and the
Caribbean (and Al Gore's campaign for President), and was nominated for the Overseas Press
Award. I then joined Fortune and wrote stories and created photo essays, and was nominated for the
National Magazine Award.
In the 1990s I began to collaborate on books and served as a "book doctor" to publishers. I've
collaborated now on more than 20 books, including "Predictably Irrational," which was named one of
the 100 best books of 2008. I also wrote "The Wanderer," a narrative non-fiction book about the last
slave ship. I'm on the board of Mayborn Literary Non-fiction Conference, the nation's most significant
gathering of non-fiction writers, and teach writing each summer in North Texas.
I've been married to my wife, Nancy, for 30 years. We have a daughter, Michelle, and a son,
Matthew. We moved to the Charleston area six years ago, and love it here. Life has not always been
easy; we've had to overcome many challenges. But regardless of the downdraft, we manage to get
back on our feet and keep going. That's the advice I always give students: Pick yourself up and keep
going.
Jean B. Boyer Cowling ’69
Email: jbbcowling@aol.com
Oregon remains our home. My husband, Bob, is recently retired attorney and I, retired from
international business, split our time between Medford and our home on the Oregon Coast. Our new
English Labrador puppy is keeping us busy. Since last we met, I was appointed by the governor and
served on the Oregon Arts Commission for eight years, two years as chair; received Oregon’s
Women of Achievement Award from the March of Dimes. We enjoy good travels- Sweden, Mexico,
Costa Rice, Hawaii and a grand back-road-trip across country from Oregon to Ohio. I enjoy yearly
east coast gatherings with OWU girlfriends- the BEST of friendships started oh so many years ago in
Delaware.
Kathleen Lane Enscoe ’69
Address: 630 Brule Rd, Unit 33, De Pere, WI 54115
Phone: (920) 433-0102
Email: kathyenscoe@gmail.com
I have been divorced from Phillip Maydock Enscoe (’69) since 2007. I continue to live in the Green
Bay area, since my daughter and her family live here. I am retired from Real Estate and enjoy my
friends, family and international travel. I love walking trips to Europe. I also love bridge.
I lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Italy, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, and India.
In 1968, I met Karen Foley at the wedding of Rob and Wynn Sells (Class of '70) in Upstate New York.
We were married in 1970 and will celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary in June.
Not blessed with children, we have had a parade of Siamese cats as our companions through our
lives. We live in an "active retirement community" in Central Florida and spend much of our time
playing tennis, golf, and softball.
Richard “Dick” Epps ’69
Email: johnnypickwick@gmail.com
Since our last reunion/graduation I have practiced law for 38 years. My favorite Ohio Wesleyan
memories are interfraternity sports, fraternity life, the Brown Jug and the Dam, Dr Smith and history
classes.
Jim Fellabaum ’69
Address: 876 Robles Ave., The Villages, Florida 32159
Email: jfellabaum@gmail.com
At OWU, I majored in Economics, was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and reported sports for
WSLN.
After graduation, I started working as a teacher in the Maumee City Schools in Northwestern Ohio.
After six years of teaching I went into school administration and remained in that profession until my
retirement in 2011. Additional education was obtained at the University of Toledo. I hold a MA in
Educational Administration, an MA in Guidance and Counselor Education, and an Ed D in
Educational Administration (1982).
Much of my career was spent working in American curriculum schools overseas. I lived and worked
in Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Italy, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, and India.
In 1968, I met Karen Foley at the wedding of Rob and Wynn Sells (Class of '70) in Upstate New York.
We were married in 1970 and will celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary in June. Not blessed with
children, we have had a parade of Siamese cats as our companions through our lives. We live in an
"active retirement community" in Central Florida and spend much of our time playing tennis, golf, and
softball.
Harry Flannery ’69
Address: 116 Valhalla Drive, New castle, PA.
16105
Phone (724) 654-4155
Cell (330) 819 -7137
Email: flanneryh@hotmail.com
flanneryh@firstenergycorp.com
In June of 1969 after graduation from OWU I
married my New Castle, PA grade school
sweetheart (Maureen Flaherty) and am still
married to the same woman! :)
From Delaware Ohio we ventured up the street to Ada, Ohio and received a Degree of Juris Doctor in
1972 from Ohio Northern University College of Law. We next went to Boston and in 1973 I
received a Degree of Master of Laws in Taxation in 1973. From there we went to Pittsburgh, PA
where I was Pittsburgh National Bank's first Trust Legal Officer. Next back to our hometown where we
reside today where I was an attorney for Pennsylvania Power Company. Currently I am Senior
Corporate Counsel for FirstEnergy Services Company in Akron, Ohio. Being corporate counsel for a
Fortune 200 company I was involved from dissolving international entities, to labor law, real estate
law, tax law and utility law for a multitude of entities under the FirstEnergy Corp. umbrella of
companies
It has been a real trip having spent my first summer at OWU as one of the Delaware Inn boys and in
fact I recently came across a paper I wrote of the history of the Delaware Inn with interviews and all
when at OWU. I have written several books under pen names, one having its origins from my
philosophy and religion classes at OWU (Dr. Fichter-Dr. Kearns) entitled, “LOVE: Sex, Marriage,
Divorce, OR Happiness?” by Grant Stinn, Esq. In fact it was a research paper at OWU that was from
the 60s and published in 2006! I even have a footnote at 104"A roommate at college (William B.
Allin) had this written on the wall in his room. Academic year of 1968-1969." OWU was and is the
greatest and was my foundation of life's journey. Two of my brothers Jack and Dick Flannery
graduated in 1964 and our daughter Courtney attended as well in the 2005 timeframe. Again, what a
trip, we have two children, Preston and Courtney, a son in law, Mike, and daughter in law, Jenny, and
have 3 grandchildren, Payton, Miley and Connor.
Maria Elizabeth Woodside Freitag ’69
Now that both my husband and I are retired we enjoy spending more time with our grandchildren in
Connecticut and Arizona as well as traveling to many places on our "bucket list."
Barbara George ’69
Address: 917 SW Evans St., Potland OR 97219
Phone: (503) 246-8015
In 2006, I ended my job of over a decade, as a program manager for the city of Portland Bureau of
Environmental Services. In this capacity, I was part of an effort to significantly improve the water
quality of the city’s major river- the Willamette.
I continue to play the violin in the Portland Opera Orchestra and in a summer 3 week orchestra
festival in Southern Oregon. I made a trip to OWU with my husband in spring 2008 where I visited
with college roommate, Jean Fitzgerald Bussell, and her husband,
Ann Tarbutton Gerhart ’69
Email: ann.gerhart@gmail.com
For the past four years I have worked as an attorney on the Cuyahoga
County Board of Revision, which deals with appeals of tax values on
commercial and residential real property. Peter and I have raised four
children, and we have one grandchild so far. We are both still working.
(He teaches at Case Law School).
Everything from Freshmen Camp to leaf raking with the Delt pledges, to
discovering the Victorian novels, to “working breakfast” in the StuyHayes dining room.
Ginny Goll ’69
Address: 6611 N. 16th Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85015
Phone: (602) 246-0406
Email: vgoll@cox.net
We are sorry to be missing this reunion. There were
just too many schedule conflicts to make the trip back
to Ohio work. Hopefully, next time… My partner of
17 years, Chuck Sowder, and I have both been retired
for the last 3 years and are loving it! I taught for 38
years, mostly kindergarten. Now I work one day a week in an adoption attorney’s office and do
occasional work at the U of AZ medical school in downtown Phoenix, where I act out patient cases for
the students. We love to travel and take regular trips to Sedona, AZ and Puerto Penasco, MX, our
nearest beach. We enjoyed a wonderful Eastern Mediterranean Cruise with fellow classmates, Steve
and Diana Smith. Over the years we’ve had a great time at several “mini-reunions” with Glee Club
friends. I have taken trips to Germany and Italy and we manage to get back to Indiana once a year to
visit our families. If anyone is headed to our great Southwest, we’d love to see you – we’re pretty
decent tour guides!
Martha “Marti” Louise Bond Hardy ’69
Our Children and Grandchildren: Brian Michael Hardy (Son) OWU '98; Kevin Shea Hardy (Son)
Wesleyan (CT) '00; William Michael Hardy (Grandson) -5 yrs old; Ellie Bird Hardy (Granddaughter) -5
years old
After graduating from OWU in '69, I went to the University of Michigan and completed my Master's
Degree in Romance Languages and Literature in '71. I have spent the past 42 years teaching
Spanish in public and private schools in Michigan and Ohio, the last 33 at Laurel School for Girls in
Shaker Heights, Ohio. In addition to teaching, I have been fortunate to Direct our Service Learning
Program K-12, serve as Senior Class Dean, and coach our Varsity golf team. My husband, Mike, and
I have two sons, Brian, a 1998 graduate of OWU, and Kevin, a 2000 graduate of Wesleyan in
Connecticut. We have two grandchildren, both 5, and will have another grandson born in early May. I
am thrilled that two of my Laurel golfers are currently attending OWU and playing golf. Every summer
for the past 10 years I look forward to spending time with ten of my '69 OWU friends in Westhampton,
NY., where we reminisce about our wonderful times and friendships at OWU. It continues to be a
special place and I love reading about the Service Programs, faculty/student interactions and trips,
athletic renovations, etc. I am looking forward to our 45th reunion as an opportunity to catch up with
old friends and learn more about the changes have been made at OWU since our last reunion.
I Married Michael Lynn Hardy in ‘72; we have been married for 42 years.
Awards and Recognition: Laurel School Hostetler Award for Outstanding Teaching; Laurel School
Yearbook Dedication '96, '12; Laurel School Athletic Hall of Fame '14
My career: Teacher of Upper School Spanish at Laurel School -Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122, Director
of Community Service , Senior Class Dean, Varsity Golf Coach
Sheryl Rundell Hiltebrant ’69
Email: srh1369@gmail.com
I have spent the past five years doing whatever was necessary to help
nurse our younger son, Scott, is back to health following his being in a
serious car accident in L.A. His physical injuries have healed but the
effects of a traumatic brain injury still linger. Since my husband still
works full time and owns his own business, I continue to be his
assistant. I am also very active in the Cleveland West Pi Beta Phi
Alumnae Club as well as the Cleveland Alumni Panhellenic
Association. Greek affiliation is “not for college days alone.”
Living in Monnett Hall for two years- freshmen year by assignment,
junior year by choice- created many fond memories. The 100 year old
dorm was majestic and no one can forget: kissing goodnight on the big
front porch; eating family style meals in the dining room; spending long hours in the huge third flood
study hall; standing in line to use the pay phone; listening for ghosts; socializing in the smoker;
sneaking through the tunnel to Austin Hall; sharing the huge community bathroom; tanning on the
roof in the spring; signing in at the bell office hoping not to get late minutes; marveling at the very
wide hallways, tall ceilings and beautiful woodwork. Demolishing the building in the mid 1970’s really
did break my heart, by my memories are alive and well! My parents bought the brass number slate
from my freshmen room’s door when Monnett memorabilia was sold prior to demolition. “356” is in a
frame under an artist’s rendering of the dorm itself which hangs in my family room.
Doug Hoover ’69
Address: 6420 Fairfield Rd, Oxford, OH 45056
Phone: (513) 255-7584
Email: dhoover@woh.rr.com
Since our last reunion, I have become a grandfather to three boys. Son Greg, (OWU 2000) and wife
Amy had a boy, John Douglas (JD) on 10/20/2012. Daughter Natalie had two boys, Anderson
(10/20/2010) and Marshall (7/24/2013).
I sold my dental practice and retired in June 2013. I will move to Westerville when my house in Oxford
sells.
Dana A. Jackson ’69
Address: 74 Longfellow Road, Newton Lower Falls,
MA 02462
Phone: (617) 965-6356
Email: woodlandt@comcast.net
After graduating from OWU and doing some
graduate study at the University of Washington, I
taught history in Vermont in the early 1970s, then
earned an M.Ed. from Boston College and taught
visually impaired students in the Boston Public
Schools for 30 years.
Since I retired from teaching in 2004, I’ve worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Office of
Grants & Contracts at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston (I expect that I may cut back on
that work when I hit age 70.) I still live in Newton, where I grew up, just west of Boston.
My son Greg, age 30, graduated from OWU in 2006, and like me, was a Chi Phi. He, too, is in
education, working in the Brookline Public Schools. My daughter, Arielle, age 27, works in Event
Management. I’m fortunate that both my kids leave nearby.
I’ve been fortunate to make it back to OWU for all of the Richard W. Smith Civil War Lectures since
they started about 11 years ago, and have stayed in touch with Richard & Betty Smith since my
student days.
My interest in and love of history continues to this day, as does my enjoyment of reading, travel,
music, and involvement in Freemasonry. I’ve been actively involved with rescuing Golden Retrievers
for the past 20 years, as well. With 2 sisters living in Santa Barbara, California, I find the opportunity
to visit them at least once each winter, which provides a breather from New England weather.
I keep in touch with a number of friends from Ohio Wesleyan, and find it hard to believe it’s been so
many years since we graduated. I feel truly fortunate for the great professors I had back then,
in particular, Professors. Smith, Jennings, Almstead, Reed, and Easton, and the wonderful friends
and experiences of those years.
Daphne A. Loew Jameson ’69
I've been a professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, since completing graduate school
(Ph.D., English) at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. The faculty members I
encountered at Ohio Wesleyan certainly influenced my career, both as positive and negative models.
Last September, the Chi Omega classes of 1969-71 met in Chicago, and it was great to see
everyone! Thanks to Mollie Nacrelli and Heidi Hanssen for organizing that event.
Judith Climer Jones ’69
Email: brckojudy@mac.com
Curiosity may kill the car but it can get you a job.
Happily retired from the Foreign Service on my
Florida island, I saw an advertisement for “Stanford's
Online High School for Gifted Youth” and answered
just because I had no idea what an online high
school was. I have ended up teaching here in Palo
Alto and again being thankful for my OWU English
classes.
First, OHS is the opposite of MOOC, the university online course for huge numbers of students.
These small classes (7 to 12 students for me) involve direct interaction in a seminar format. Students
“put up their hands” and answer questions and comment on others’ answers. However, because the
class is online, those “hands” can be sitting in New York, Arkansas, California, Hong Kong, and
Mexico. Interestingly, every one of my seventh graders has a passport and has travelled abroad.
OHS gives high school degrees and has good academic results. Of last year’s 29 graduating seniors,
14 had National Merit scholarships.
The students are gifted in many ways- one of my seventh graders is the youngest person ever to earn
master status in the International Scrabble Association; one of my ninth graders has just turned
professional in her tennis career. They also challenge ideas- did you know that Aladdin likely spoke
Chinese? One of our students is accompanying her parents around the world on a sailboat. She
keeps a satellite connection and follows her courses. In many ways, the classes remind me of Dr.
Spencer’s OWU literature classes where honor roll students were able to register without
prerequisites so there was always a rainbow of majors represented. Dr. Spencer just let students feed
off each other’s observations, with an occasional comment or question. He let us find our own
discoveries and they’re still with me today.
Pete Kakel ’69
Address: 1 Ruxlea Court Baltimore, MD 21204
Phone: (410) 337-7401
Email: loispete2@aol.com
After graduating from OWU, I did graduate work in history at Brown
University. I then started a career as an insurance broker which
lasted 37 years and which allowed me to travel all over the world.
As my insurance career was winding down, I went 'back to school'
and eventually earned a Masters degree in Liberal Arts (Johns
Hopkins University, 2003); a Masters degree in Holocaust Studies,
with distinction (University of London, 2004); and a PhD in Modern History (University of London,
2009).
Today I am a research historian and lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Liberal Arts. I
also give papers at academic conferences and give one-off lectures (including the occasional history
lecture at Ohio Wesleyan). I am the author of two books in the field of Holocaust and Genocide
Studies. I am also an assistant varsity soccer coach at a girls' private school in Baltimore.
My favorite OWU memories are history classes with Dr. Robert Kragalott and soccer at Roy Rike with
Fred Myers. My love of history and soccer brings me back to campus at least once a year, for a
history lecture and/or a men's soccer reunion.
From my frequent visits to campus, I know that the student-mentor relationship we enjoyed with our
professors more than four decades ago is alive and well at Ohio Wesleyan today. No matter how
much the campus changes visually, it still feels the same -- it still feels like 'home.”
My wife and I live in Baltimore, MD. We especially enjoy our annual family vacation (all 18 of us,
including 8 grandchildren) in Bethany Beach, DE, as well as frequent trips with the grandchildren to
Walt Disney World. We love our role as grandparents in charge of 'nonsense'.
Best wishes to all my classmates.
Patricia J. Kennedy Keating ’69
Address: 48 Woodlawn Terrace, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009
Phone: (973) 256-5206
Email: pkeating3@optonline.net
I recently retired from a long career of elementary school teaching. In 2011, I was honored with the
governor’s teaching award here in New Jersey.
My husband, Patrick, and I are involved with the introduction and operation of a food pantry out of our
parish. We’ve had four children, all grown and out there trying to make it in the employment world.
For leisure, I play team tennis an experience I never had in school because title 9 did not exist then. I
also try to keep up with reading, and am considering volunteer work with a local animal shelter.
Patricia Groenewoud Lennox ’69
Address : 4 Cardinal Lane, Scarborough, ME 04074
Phone: (207) 883-6102
Email: plennox@maine.rr.com
I’ve continued to work as a Senior Business Systems Analyst for
Fairchild Semiconductor in Maine for the past 5 years. This year will
finally bring retirement at the end of March!
Distant travels have included visits to Malaysia, China, Hong Kong,
Korea, The Philippines, New Zealand, England, France, The
Netherlands, Alaska, Yosemite and Hawaii. Living in Maine, trips to
Acadia National Park and the White Mountains in New Hampshire are
a regular part of our plans.
The reunion will be my first visit back to OWU since I graduated.
Lawrence “Larry” Levy ’69 & Cheryl Kern Levy ’69
To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, “Age has no effect on us. We surf as
often as we used to. We play polo as often as we used to. We
climb Mt. Everest as often as we used to! But to walk down to
the hardware store we find a little bit more difficult.” But not too
difficult. Thanks to good genes, swimming, and Zumba classes
at the local community fitness center, we strive to keep up with
the grandkids and all the kids we work with through various
community arts organizations.
While in Oaxaca, Mexico last October, we learned that the
Spanish word for retirees is “jubilados” – the jubilant or rejoicing
ones. That sounds so much better than “geezers” and we try to
live as the jubilant ones by continuing to teach, travel, write
poetry, tell stories, and work with those young in age and spirit.
It has also given us the time to sing again as some of our best memories of OWU were Larry’s time
with Mr. A. and the Glee Club, and mine with the OWU choir. In 2011 we joined sister Lynnette Kern
Salton (’71) and her Canadian friends to tour Europe singing in Prague, Budapest and Vienna.
Because we had not sung in any choirs since OWU, we joined our local Center Stage Chorale to get
our voices in shape. Chorale has been so much fun that we stayed on and just performed with 198
others, 4 professional soloists and the Midland Symphony to present Beethoven’s 9th to a packed
house of almost 1,500 people. “Ode to Joy” indeed!
Michael McCluggage ’69
Email: mmccluggage@comcast.net
Two major events- I became a member of the OWU Board of Trustees in 2012. I’m pleased to be
able to give back. And, after decade with the same Chicago law firm, I moved to Eimer Stahl, a
litigation “boutique” that specializes in antitrust work, which is much of what I do. It was the opposite
of a retirement move.
Richard McGarrity ’69
Email: ram12321@aol.com
Since my last reunion, I have retired from a career in finance and banking. My wife Noel and I have
been traveling extensively throughout the US and Canada in our small RV.
Some of my favorite memories from OWU are of my inspiring professors in English, Economics and
Humanities. I also have fond memories of my fraternity friendships and activities.
Douglas W. Moore ’69
After completing our graduate programs at the U of M, Malinda and I wandered west. Six months
after leaving Ann Arbor we settled in Oregon where we happily remain today. A private practice
focusing on litigation and families in crisis followed a few years as counsel to committees at the
Oregon Legislature and 2 plus years as a prosecutor. The flexibility of practicing in a small town
allowed me to coach our kids youth teams, pursue my own team oriented recreation and to become
as immersed in community affairs through years of service on the School Board, YMCA and United
Way Boards, and various other small non-profits.
Oregon proved to be an ideal place to live. We love the rural nature that allowed us to engage in as
much recreational options as we wanted, including running, biking, hiking, camping, skiing, golf and
white water rafting, and the cosmopolitan offerings of one of the greatest cities in the world, Portland.
We also were fortunate enough to be able to travel this vast country and take multiple trips to many
places throughout the world. Now that we are both retired we will soon be moving full time to our
Portland condominium where we will be closer to our son Kirk and family and to an international
airport that lets us make frequent trips to NY and our daughter, Maggie, and family in Brooklyn and
points further afield.
Malinda Kirk Moore ’69
In the summer of 1972 Doug and I left Ann Arbor in an old Ford Falcon van with our yellow lab, our
grad degrees and no jobs. Six months later we’d traveled through nearly every state and we ran out
money in Oregon. We’re still here. Oregon turned out to be a wonderful place to become immersed
in a community, raise a family, grow vegetables, and participate in outdoor activities like running,
hiking, camping, white water rafting, horseback riding and skiing. We never lost the urge to explore so
continued to travel in and out of the country, with and without our kids.
I started the speech-language-swallowing program at the hospital in Albany and spent over 30 years
there before retiring four years ago. I remain active on local boards and committees, mostly health
care related. We plan to continue our retirement plan and move to Portland soon. That will put us
close to our son, Kirk, and his family who live in Portland. We’ll also be closer to an airport and flights
to JFK. Our daughter, Maggie, and her family live in Brooklyn and we visit them and New York City
regularly.
William “Bill” Lowrie Nix ’69
I continue to practice pediatrics with Texas Children's Pediatrics in the Woodlands, a northern suburb
of Houston. I currently work 4 days a week and plan on continuing to work for several more years
since I am healthy and love what I do. I go on a medical mission trip to Guatemala yearly with the
group, Faith in Practice. We leave this year on April 26. These are amazing experiences that I find
rekindle the reasons I went into medicine in the first place.
Peggy and I have been married for 38 years. She is a graduate of Grace New Haven school of
nursing and is retiring this year after 24 years with the John Cooper School, an independent school
here in The Woodlands. We have lots of interests together especially travel, cooking together and the
arts. Life is good.
My wife, Peggy, and I have 3 grown children, Amy, Will and Lisa and one grandchild. Lisa married
Robert Bryant in March in a wonderful wedding at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. Will married
Elizabeth Elefano in 2012; they are the parents of Catalina who is 3 and a half.
Robert T. Nuner ’69
Mail: PO Box 1543 Montpelier, VT 05601-1543
(802) 223-7227 land (802) 522-7829 cell
rtnuner@myfairpoint.net
robert.nuner@gmail.com
I'm retired, but exploring what's next. After a decade of prospecting for customers with a remote
power business and a carbon accounting firm while also occasionally performing in theater, I then
wrote for a community paper. That's wrapped, but I still occasionally write and participate in theater
projects. Among those was the premier of “A Song For My Father” by Ohio native - now Vermont poet
- David Budbill, whose play explores the relationship between a working class father in Cleveland and
his college-educated son. In addition to theater interests, I also follow efforts to resurrect grain
growing in the Northeast and to develop renewable energy.
Linda Reed Pettis ’69
Address: 617 Princeton St., Brandon, FL 33511
Phone: (813) 685-7409
Email: Linda@tampaiplaw.com
Tom Poole ’69
Sorry that I am unable to attend, but plan to make every effort to be the 50th in five years. Give my
best to my classmates.
In December, my wife Jan and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in the Chapel where we married at
the same time so that we could see the same lighting as the day that we were married. We visit
grandchildren in Phoenix as often as possible. Two years ago I started swimming in an outdoor pool,
an activity that I put on hold for about 43 years. Now I swim six or seven days a week and recently
took Master Swim, the first swim class I have taken since OWU physical education. I am working as
Director of Development for Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach and Long Beach Memorial Medical
Center, which share the same campuses. We live in Long Beach, California.
Susan Phillips Read ’69
Email: sread@courts.state.ny.us
The past five years have been busy for me as an Associate Judge on
the New York Court of Appeals. One of my predecessors christened
this great common law court her “lawyer’s heaven,” indeed it is. I am
at the point, though, where I am thinking ahead to legal and private
life beyond the bench. (My term expires in early 2017, but my
beloved husband Howard long ago warned that if I was still on the
bench then, I would either be divorced or widowed!) I have also been
and will continue to be deeply engaged in the not-for-profit arts world.
My chairmanship at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, summer home of the New York City Ballet, the
Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, continue through SPAC’s
50th anniversary season in 2016.
My fondest memories center on teachers- Ruth Davies, David Jennings, Norm Leonard, John Chase,
Anna Macias, Wendell Patton- and on and on. Access to this dedicated and accomplished cadre of
professors shaped my perceptions and ambitions.
Paul M. Rugg ’69
Address: 3019 Palisade Drive, Duluth MN 55811
Phone: (218) 722-2378
Email: pmrugg@Hotmail.com
I returned home from our OWU graduation to find a letter from my Uncle Sam. Instead of sending me
a nice celebratory check, he told me that he wanted the "pleasure of my company" in the Army or
Marines! After weighing my options, I decided to join the Air Force under the delayed enlistment
program and then completed one quarter of graduate school at Southern Illinois University. Before
departing for basic training I married my pin mate, Judy Kaul (OWU class of 1970). After completing
basic and then Personnel Specialist training (where I set a course record of 99% for the 12 week
course), I was assigned to Westover AFB in MA. Judy graduated from OWU a semester early and
joined me.
At Westover I was assigned to the Casualty Assistance section where, after only 6 months, I was
selected to manage the program. Our duties included assisting the next of kin of deceased active
duty and retired AF members and the families of missing in action/prisoner of war (MIA/POW) AF
personnel. My assignment proved to be extremely challenging and rewarding and was highlighted in
1973 when I made phone calls in the early morning hours to over 50 POW families to tell them their
husband, son or brother was coming home. Westover AFB served as one of the repatriation sites for
our POWS. Although not an easy decision, I opted to leave the AF after 4 years and return to grad
school. Before doing so Judy and I welcomed our first (and only) child, Christopher.
Having worked closely with the local Social Security and Veterans Administration offices when I was
in Casualty Assistance, I explored career opportunities with both. The Social Security Administration
hired me in 1974 and I held a variety of positions in several states over the next 33 years. I retired as
a District Manager in Duluth, MN, a position I held for 20 years while supervising 4 offices (in MN and
WI) with over 100 employees.
Judy and I enjoyed a variety of activities including motor boating, fishing, hiking, skiing and golfing.
As a former sprinter on my high school and OWU track teams, I resumed running in my 30's and
"moved up" to distance races. I completed countless races over the next 25 years from 5K on up to
full marathons (26.2 miles).
Judy worked in Human Resources for a Hotel Management company and both of our jobs provided a
certain amount of travel. We enjoyed visiting a variety of locales and expanded our horizons after we
retired in 2007. Since then we've gone to Alaska, Hawaii, Ireland and the UK and we've gone on
several cruises. This fall we're flying to Vegas and driving to many of the national parks in that area.
Retirement has also given us the time to take up golfing more seriously (albeit not necessarily
better!). I did manage to get my first (and possibly last) hole-in-one last month! Loving MN, but not
so much the brutal winters there, we opted to spend the cold months in FL the past few years. Last
year we bought a villa in a gated golfing community, "Timber Pines", and expect to eventually sell our
home in Duluth. At that point FL will become our "home base" and we'll travel and/or rent elsewhere
in the summer. Judy and I enjoy being unemployed, volunteering and look forward to becoming even
more active with all that Timber Pines has to offer!
Unfortunately we won't be able to attend this year's Alumni Weekend but we think often of our
classmates and the good times we had in Delaware!
Dean Rushmore ’69
Email: drushmore@jencospeed.net
Since my last reunion, I retired from Nestle in 2008.
Since then I’ve enjoyed many trips, including
Alaska, Europe, the Caribbean, and U.S. National
Parks. In addition, I enjoy playing golf, kayaking,
and gardening.
I have so many fond memories of OWU, it’s hard to
choose a favorite. However, my fondest memories
include all the good times in enjoyed with my
fraternity brothers at Chi Phi. I still continue to keep in touch with many of my fraternity brothers.
Ann Gaither Russell
Email: arussellpt@aol.com
I have continued to work as a physical therapist, working presently in an acute care setting.
Previously I was in a skilled nursing facility. I have done some traveling: Paris, Alaska, and the Baltic
area.
My favorite OWU memories (and please note these are not in order of preference or ranking) are my
first day moving into Monnett Hall, field trip to the cranberry bog, beer baseball, comparative anatomy
class, the old Brown Jug, friends in the dorms, Bun’s sugar cookies, the old study area in the library in
Slocum, the new Beeghly library, the dining halls, great classes, and a solid path for vocation and
avocation.
Anne Sawyer ’69
Mailing address: PO Box 946, Abiquiu, NM 87510
Phone: (505) 685-4108
Email: ansawyer@newmexico.com
Clutching my BFA from OWU, I roamed about the country for a while before falling in love with Santa
Fe, New Mexico in 1972. Shortly after settling, I was offered an etching press to use. Since this is not
only unusual but had happened to me before, I read the handwriting on the wall and became a
professional etcher. I ran a studio/gallery on Canyon Road for 26 years called Graphics House.
In 1980 I became sober and the year after that I rediscovered a childhood passion for horses and
began to ride again, eventually taking up polocrosse and playing at the B level for several years. I still
have 3 horses, and mostly I ride them in the National Forest across the highway from my home near
Abiquiu. But I occasionally dabble in other equine disciplines just to keep things interesting.
My worldly accomplishments are minor I fear, but I’ve had a pretty good time and enjoy wonderful
friends and terrific scenery.
Carol Rice Schuster ’69
Address: 3238 Pristine View, Williamsburg, Virginia 23188
Phone:(757) 208-0094
Email: schusterVA@yahoo.com
Lou and I retired to Williamsburg, Virginia in December 2010.
Our son and daughter-in-law Alan and Jen are nearby, and we
enjoy playing with our young granddaughter, Nora. We also
spend time in Seattle visiting our son Brian. Our time is spent
attending classes at William and Mary’s lifelong learning
institute, volunteering, and traveling. Carol golfs, bikes,
kayaks and engages in genealogy.
Peggy Lynn Shaw ’69 and Donald H. Shaw ’69
Address: 72 Canal Road, Granby, CT 06035
Phone: (860) 653-7347
Email: peggylynnshaw@cox.net and
don.shaw@cox.net
We are still in our “starter home” in Granby, CT. It is
just the right size for the two of us now as Sarah and
Kate are married with families of their own. Sarah and
her husband are in Rochester, NY with 2 sons and
Katie and her husband live in Philly with one son and
(the reason we can’t make it to the reunion) another
baby boy due May 12th. I am a retired pre-school
teacher, but still teach the music classes there and volunteer quite a bit. I am active in the local
community theater and sing in our church choir. Don has retired , first from Accenture, and then from
the City of Hartford and is now the interim ED at Hartford Habitat for Humanity (his passion). He has
served on several Habitat Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project construction crews around the
world. We enjoy visiting grandsons, cross- country skiing, biking and walking. We are sorry to miss
the reunion – to meet up with old friends- but look forward to other small reunions in the next few
months with our wonderful OWU friends. See you at the 50th!!
Coral Davis Snider ’69
Email: coral.snider@yahoo.com
The last reunion I attended was in 2004, I believe. Since then I have retired from teaching high school
English. A week before my retirement my oldest daughter Jennie had her first baby. Since then she
has had two more babies and my daughter Jill (class of 2000) had had two also! To celebrate my
retirement, Ron and I took our first cruise. Since then we have taken two more. We were able to go to
England for 3-week trips in 2008 and 2011. This summer we will go again, but this time I will stay on
to attend a three-week course at Oxford University. I am now living guided by the adage “If you want
to do it, do it! There are only so many tomorrows!”
There are so many! One of my favorites was in my freshman year while living in Stuyvesent Hall. On
one or two occasions we were serenaded by different fraternity men singing in the courtyard. Another
favorite was dancing on the fraternity oval at a mixer. My roommate and I had only been at OWU for
two weeks. It was the night I met and danced with my future husband!
It’s amazing to think it has been so many years since we were students on the OWU campus. We
may have changed physically since then, but mentally it seems as though it was only a few years
ago! All of us are still young in the great store of my memories. I still have the occasional anxiety
dream where I can’t find my class and I am wandering all over University Hall trying to find it; or I
forgot that I was taking a math class and didn’t remember to attend until there was a midterm.
To the present day; I retired from teaching high school English at Hilliard Davidson H.S. in 2007. (Ron
had retired from the same school in 2001 and continues to teach part time at OWU). Conveniently,
just one week prior to my retirement, our oldest daughter Jennie had her first baby; since then she
has had two more. Our daughter Jill (OWU class of 2000) now has two children as well. Obviously,
babysitting is one of my major avocations!
Upon retirement, Ron and I went on our first cruise. We enjoyed it so much we have taken three more
cruises since then.
We love to travel now that we have time. We have been to Europe twice since my retirement and plan
to go again this summer. What makes this trip special is that when Ron returns to Ohio, I will stay on
to attend a three-week-long course at Oxford University. During those three weeks I will live and eat
in Merton College, built in the 1200’s and go on three “field trips” in various parts of England.
In addition to babysitting and traveling, two of my other passions are gardening and genealogy. I have
traced my father’s ancestors (mostly from Britain) back to the 1100’s. I was particularly surprised to
discover that my fifteenth grandfather was King James I of Scotland!
I loved my teaching career, but retirement affords so many opportunities to do all that matters the
most to me. My new attitude about life is, “Don’t put off what you want to do. There are only so many
tomorrows!”
Allen L. Snyder III ’69
Since our last reunion in 2009, I've been doing pretty much the same thing. I've been with
Northwestern Mutual of Milwaukee, Wisconsin now for 42 years selling life insurance. I've been
involved with Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition, where I'm the Chairman, I also sing in the
choir and serve on the Vestry at Old North Church.
Since the last reunion, I've purchased a second home in Tucson, Arizona that backs up to the Santa
Catalina Mountains. I've been trying to travel more, as I ease into retirement in another three years.
My favorite memory at Ohio Wesleyan: The friends that I have made that I see periodically and at our
reunions.
Thomas Tritton ’69
Address: 316 S 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (267) 324-5646
Email: ttritton01@gmail.com
Thomas R. Tritton is a Senior Fellow at the Chemical Heritage
Foundation and a Visiting Scholar at the University of
Pennsylvania. He is former president of Haverford College, and
former president and CEO of the Chemical Heritage Foundation,
an organization headquartered in Philadelphia as a library,
museum, and center for scholars. Prior to joining CHF, he was
President-in-Residence at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education. He was also a professor of Pharmacology for twelve
years each at Yale University and the University of Vermont. At
UVM he served as Deputy Director of the Vermont
Comprehensive Cancer Center, and as Vice Provost of the university. He is currently a member of
the Corporation of Haverford College, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at Ohio Wesleyan
University, and member of the board of directors for the Fox Chase Cancer Center, the Greater
Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress, and the Philadelphia Area Center for the History of Science. In
addition, Tom is a scientific advisor to Sefacor, a biotechnology company developing cures for brain
cancer, and a partner in CALICO, a consulting firm that provides advice to nonprofit organizations.
Jane Ayres Welsheimer ’69
Email: jwelsheimer@columbus.rr.com
I have been enjoying my retirement from teaching and the library. My
grandchildren are growing like weeds and I spend time with them and
volunteer. We are not traveling as much as I was because George is
resisting retirement!
All the sorority and fraternity parties were a blast. That was the golden
age for the Greek system. Also the long hours at the “Art Hall” were
memorable, as well as student government.
Cheryl Louise Smith Benefield ’74
I wrote and published my first book, “Nathan's Story” in April 2009. I was ordained as a minister of
the gospel on November 9, 2009. I established Miracles Believers, Inc. in 2009, where I provide
editing and marketing of books, and mentoring and counseling services.
Kathryn “Katie” Bright ’74
Katie deceased in June of 2005 following a battle with colon cancer. She was a fine arts major who
completed her degree at Akron University.
She spent her adult life tutoring autistic and dyslexic students. She received awards from the Orton
Society.
Betsy Bruce Cariello ’74
Address: 5921 East Sandra Terrace, Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Phone: (602) 692-1999
Email: ebcariello@gmail.com
I have not returned to OWU since the day I graduated and had hoped this would be the year I would
get back to Delaware. But with work and other planned travels in 2014 my return will have to wait!
Since graduation, I went to the University of Missouri where I obtained a secondary teaching
certificate in Biology/Life Sciences. I have never used the teaching certificate, but my first job was as
a QC Laboratory Analyst with Campbell's Soup Company in Dover, Delaware. I worked there for 5
years before moving to the Medical Device/Consumer Products company, International Playtex,
where I was a QC Laboratory Technician for 5 years. After that I started what has become a 28 year
career in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry in the roles of Manufacturing and Quality
Management. I have worked in non-sterile and sterile pharmaceuticals in Delaware, Pennsylvania
and Arizona, currently as the Director, Quality Control Microbiology for Celgene Corporation's
Phoenix, Arizona sterile manufacturing facility where we manufacture ABRAXANE, a
chemotherapeutic drug used to treat Pancreatic, Breast and Lung Cancer. Our drug is marketed
throughout the world and is saving and extending people's lives so that they can enjoy more time with
their families and loved ones.
I have been married to my husband for almost 34 years, and we have one daughter, now 25 years
old. We are also parents to 2 Dalmatians, 1 Boston Terrier, and grandparents to one
Chihuahua/Poodle mix. We have recently enjoyed trips to Europe and are going on our first trip to
Alaska this summer.
I have such fond memories of OWU and all of the wonderful friends I made there! I always loved the
outdoor concerts and picnics in "Stuyvesant Glen" I think it was called?! My education at OWU has
served me well over the years.
I may not physically be at the reunion, but will definitely be there in spirit!
Donna Jaildagian Collins ’74
Address: 648 Kilmarnock Ct., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168
Phone: (516) 639-0989
Email: zumalou@aol.com
This will be my second time returning to OWU for a reunion. I did attempt to get my middle son to
attend OWU with a visit to the campus, but he had aspirations of his own and chose Arizona State. I
have to say that he did follow in his mother’s footsteps, though, as he got is Master’s in Physical
Education and is now a PE teacher in Montauk NY Public Schools (K-8). My youngest son got a 4year degree from Johnson and Wales and is now a chef, though he lives in a seasonal town and finds
full time employment difficult to find. Our oldest son, Mark, was brain damaged at birth and lived with
my husband and I for 37 and a half years, but passed away this year after a brief illness. He was a
true angel, sweet and kind and we miss him so much.
I am an avid golfer, even though my handicap has skyrocketed, due to my lack of playing time this
winter, as I had a full left knee replacement in December. I have just recently returned to all activities
that I love so much- aerobics, biking, swimming and golfing. My husband and I also love our
motorcycles. I had three until recently, as I let my husband trade in one of my bikes for a new one for
himself. We ride our bikes with some amazing people! I used to love to quilt, but haven’t found the
time to do the hand stitching that I loved so much in the past. One of my passions is playing canasta,
which I usually try to do three times a week. My husband and I love to travel and have visited several
countries in the past few years, since retiring. We have been to Switzerland, Germany, France,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy (our favorite), and Canada. We joined the AAA Chairman’s Cruise
twice and last year cruised to Alaska! We have a beautiful country! We will be returning to Italy this
year, with a side trip to Austria to visit two of the Au Pairs that helped with our children when they
were young and we were working. We are hoping to join the Chairman’s Cruise to the Far East next
year.
My middle son was married in 2010 and we were blessed with a grandson in November of 2011. He
is a chatterbox, loves to read books and sing, and keeps us very happy and content.
I stay in touch with several friends and classmates from OWU and look forward to seeing some of
them at this 40th reunion!
George F. "Rick" Evans ’74
Address: 120 Cherokee Ln, San Antonio, TX 78232
Phone: (210) 402-0146
Email: captainrickevans@gmail.com
My wife, Rainy, and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. We have three children, Whitney,
Reid and Ross. Whitney is a brand and marketing manager for a solar energy company in San
Francisco, Reid directs creative design teams for a firm in San Francisco, and Ross is a practicing
attorney in San Antonio. After graduating from OWU, I obtained a law degree from ClevelandMarshall College of Law and then practiced law for two years in Cleveland before relocating to
Denver to defend Johns Manville in its asbestos litigation. My family and I then moved to San
Antonio in 1982 where I continued as a defense trial attorney in civil litigation specializing in the
representation of hospitals and physicians. I founded my own firm, Evans & Rowe, which grew to be
among the largest health care defense firms in Texas. In May, 2013, I retired from my practice and
am now gratefully enjoying doing little to nothing on a professional level. Rainy and I spend our
summers in our home in Chautauqua Institution, New York. For the rest of the year, we enjoy sailing
a boat we keep near Galveston, Texas along with other "water activities" since becoming certified as
a U.S.C.G. Master Captain. That includes captaining a bona fide paddle wheel steam boat; one of
four remaining in the nation. We travel frequently to San Francisco to enjoy our two children from that
neck of the woods and anxiously await the day we become grandparents now that Ross is married,
Whitney is engaged, and we suspect Reid will be next to tie the knot. While in San Antonio, I'm
involved in my tenth year as an elected City Councilperson for our community but make plenty of time
for travel, golf, and anything that looks like fun. I still continue to teach health law at the University of
Texas Medical School in San Antonio and remain as the General Counsel to the county's medical
society, but otherwise try to remain legally lazy.
Helen Evans Fernald ’74
Address: PO Box 1805, Wolfeboro, NH 03984
Phone: (603) 569-4661
Email: helenfernald@gmail.com
I feel very fortunate to have attended Ohio Wesleyan and am looking
forward to reconnecting with friends at the reunion. I am grateful to have
led a fun and fulfilling life so far, and to be embarking on a new career
now. After receiving my MA from Middlebury College in 1975, I taught
Spanish at the University of New Hampshire. While studying in Spain, I
met my husband and we were married in 1978.
We have a daughter, 29, and a son, 20. After the birth of our first child, I
enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom while teaching a variety of subjects (Spanish, aerobics, dance)
part-time. As a family we have travelled extensively and our children are bilingual. In 2013 I became a
level 2 certified EFT practitioner. Emotional Freedom Technique is an incredibly versatile healing
method and popular stress relief tool. I work with clients in both English and Spanish. I am also
writing a memoir that will be published in 2016. Life continues to be exciting!
Ann Bailey Glamm ’74
Email: ann.glamm@gmail.com
Recently retired from Library Treasurer, school system payroll. Three children live in Denver, Seattle,
and Columbus. Expecting first grandchild.
Gregg Glamm ’74
Email: greggglamm@yahoo.com
Recently retired from 37 years of dentistry. Three children live in Seattle, Denver, and Columbus.
Expecting first grandchild.
Too many to memories to mention. Meeting all my friends is one of my favorites.
Gene Goell ’74
Email: genegoell@aol.com
Life at Phi Kappa Psi and the OWU track team are some of my favorite memories from my time at
OWU.
Cheryl Hale ’74
Address 14542 White Birch Valley Lane Chesterfield, MO 63017
Email: cheryl.hale.carafiol@gmail.com
Retired in 2007 after a 26 year career as a Psychology professor at a junior college. I got married
during my first semester teaching and retired three weeks before my daughter graduated from college
(and my son completed his second year of law school). It seemed like a nice way to bookend my
career.
I noticed that the reunion weekend includes a BBQ held at Stuyvesant courtyard which got me to
thinking... One of my favorite OWU memories is having ice cream at our corridor birthday parties’
freshman year.
Susan J. Gormley Harrington ’74
Address: 3690 Sussex Dr. NE, Milledgeville, GA 31061
Phone: (478) 452-9758
Email: sharring@windstream.net
In 1975, I married Hugh Harrington (’72). I worked in information systems in big businesses until
1986. I then taught college while obtaining my Ph.D. After I finished my Ph.D. in 1992, I ended up in
Georgia teaching in the state university system there. I retired 3 years ago and am thoroughly
enjoying retirement. There are plenty of volunteer projects to keep me busy full time!
Carl James ’74
Address: 109 High Street, Canfield, OH 44406
Phone: (330) 719-7714
Email: cjames@bdi-usa.com
Since graduating OWU, I became an attorney and was the President/CEO of BDI Global Group. My
wife, Annie, has deceased. We have two children, Will and Khepri. My interests include being a
Regional Community Theater Co-founder, and being a part of St. Patrick Parish, Gamaliel
Foundation, Oak Hill Collaborative.
Margaret Weaver Krull ’74
Address: 104 Stoweklake, Williamsburg, VA 23188
Phone: (757) 564-3310
Email: mwkrull@me.com
Since graduating from OWU, I had a long and satisfying career in college admissions and human
resources in Washington, DC. Fifteen years ago my husband and I moved to Williamsburg, VA where
we had our PR/Communications Company. Now retired, I am heavily into the volunteer mode as a
tour guide at colonial Williamsburg and a board member for various civic organizations. An avid
golfer, I play in several leagues in the Hampton Roads area. I love to travel, read, and go to
Broadway shows—and I’m still a concert hunter! If you find yourself in the Williamsburg area, please
give me a call!!
Joanie Johnson Larson ’74
Address: P.O. Box 22231, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925
John (’72) and I spent the last 40 years enjoying time with our two sons and family, traveling
extensively, and moving with IBM multiple times within the United States, each an adventure. John
retired from IBM; Joanie continues to teach high school Spanish and serves as department chair. She
has led numerous trips to Spain and other parts of Europe with students and she has spoken at
various state teacher conferences. Greetings to fellow 40 year anniversary alumni!
Susan “Sue” C. Currie Morehouse ’74
I am looking forward to attending the reunion with my
dearest OWU friends, Leslie Jarvis Abernathy, Susan
Fuller McDonough and Ann Maxfield Kisling. We still
get together often, last ladies' reunion at Ann's in
Sarasota!!
Nancy Brindock Overley ’74
Address: 5171 Lupine Ln., Acworth, GA 30102
Phone: (770) 924-2759
Email:nboverley@comcast.net
For the past 6 years, I have enjoyed more traveling than at any other time in my life. My daughter and
I have been taking some wonderful trips, both domestic and international, and have some additional
ones planned for later this year and next. I am living in a suburb of Atlanta and working in higher
education, although I would like to find something that aligns more closely with my interests,
education, and experience and possibly in one of the more northern mid-Atlantic states like Maryland,
Virginia, or Pennsylvania.
Exercise is a priority of mine- especially walking on the beach, aerobics classes and tennis and I
enjoy cooking and social eating. Atlanta is fun and my home is always open for visitors.
I have plenty of room and beds so please let me know if you are coming to the Atlanta area so we
can get together or just plan to come for a visit- soon! I hope to hear from some of you.
My thoughts and best wishes!
Jennifer Gross Peterson ’74
Address: 2051 Lake Harbor Dr., Eugene, OR 97408
Phone: (541) 344-3678
Email: jgp51@comcast.net
I met my future husband, Kent D. Peterson, in Rochester, MN where
we were married in November of 1975. We moved together to
Eugene, Oregon in 1976 where I completed the Masters of Library
Science program at the University of Oregon, class of 1978. I worked
full time at the Springfield (Oregon) Public Library from 1978-2009,
the last 26 years as Reference & Adult Services Manager.
My late husband established a successful commercial photography business, shooting a wide range
of subjects including the ballet, opera, many forms of art and architecture, and other commercial
products & personnel. He passed away from cancer in Jan 2010.
Over the years I have enjoyed many activities: travel, single & tandem bicycling (recreational, touring,
& racing), exercise walking, reading, dance, theater, yoga, meditation, caring for cat companions,
crossword puzzling, and especially socializing with a wide & wonderful network of friends.
Since retiring from full time work in 2009, I continue to keep my hand in at the Library with some oncall substitute work at the reference desk, still enjoy many of the above activities, and also do
volunteer work in the community.
Peter P. Poll ’74
Email: ppoll@obrcoolingtowers.com
Since my last reunion I have been hanging out at the Hamburger Inn.
One of my favorite memories from OWU is of throwing tiki torches at a gasoline truck during a FIJI
Island King party.
Jeff “Duke” Ranck ’74
Address: 425 S 21st Street, Lewisburg, Pa 17837
Phone: (570) 523-3552
Email: jeffranc@ptd.net
Following a brief stint (6 years) as Men’s Golf Coach and Fund
Raiser at Bucknell University, I settled into what is now a 32 year
career as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch in their
Williamsport, PA branch where I served for three years as
resident manager. Now a First Vice President, Wealth
Management Advisor, you can imagine I have seen some of the
best and worst of the financial industry. But enough about that.
In 1976 I married Debra Callenberger, a local girl whom I had not known prior to college, and we have
been together ever since. We have a 32 year old daughter Lindsay Woog who lives in Charlotte, NC
with her husband Jonathan and our two granddaughters, McKennah (3) and Leigh (3 months) and a
28 year old son, Jeffrey Jr. who lives in Denver, Co at least for now.
I have been involved with the game of golf as an avocation all of my life. In addition to a fairly active
competitive amateur career as a player, I co-founded the North Central Pennsylvania Golf
Association in 1981, have served as a committeeman for the USGA for 28 years and am currently on
the executive committee of the Pennsylvania Golf Association. I have won quite a few tournaments
over the years but have made more friends playing in tournaments than I have in winning them. Most
of my competitive golf is limited to senior events and officiating at other competitions.
In addition to golf, I enjoy spending time with my family and my dogs at our second home in North
Myrtle Beach, SC, following college basketball and serving on the board of a few non-profits.
My deepest connection to Ohio Wesleyan continues to be through my fraternity experience at Phi
Gamma Delta. I remain in contact with many of my brothers and get together with at least a few of
them annually.
Lawrence L. Reddick III ’74
Email: Llreddick3@yahoo.com
I serve as a Bishop for the First Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E)
Church, which includes Congregations in Arkansas, Tennessee and Jamaica. My wife and I reside in
Memphis.
Doug Riddell ’74 and Cathy Rodger Riddell ’74
Address: 7258 Brixton Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45255
Address until May: 2509 Augusta Drive, Naples, FL
34109
Phone: (513) 232-0415 (OH)
Phone: (239) 260-1434 (FL)
Email: riddellcathy@gmail.com
Cathy and Doug Riddell are enjoying retired life in
Naples, FL. Both of our sons are married, and we have
one granddaughter and another baby on the way. We
golf a lot, but recently put the clubs away to take a
European Cruise. We reside in Cincinnati, OH in the
summertime.
Barbara McEachern Smith ’74
Address: 14429 Drexmore Road Shaker Heights, OH 44120
Phone: (216) 561-1767
Email: kemet9000@netzero.net
Following graduation from OWU in 1974, I was awarded a
research/teaching assistantship at Bowling Green State University.
Upon successful graduation from BGSU, I returned to New York
City, the place of my birth, and continued my study and theatre performance Off-Broadway, at The
Nat Horne Musical Theatre.
After a year of searching for employment in New York, I decided to return to Ohio where I
immediately landed a promising teaching position at Lakeland Community College, a growing,
prominent college just east of Cleveland. I remained at Lakeland for 32 years, where I taught Speech
and Theatre classes, authored books and articles and served as Department Chair. I retired from
Lakeland as Professor Emeritus (the highest rank of the professorship) in August of 2009 after having
taught and influenced more than 10,000 students.
While fulfilling my professional obligations at Lakeland, I was also able to nurture familial and
community relationships. Morton V. Smith Jr. (Pete) OWU class of 1971 and I were married in 1976
and were blessed with two sons, Diambu and Tor, both now college graduates with one having
achieved his Master of Science degree and the other directing Cuyahoga Community College’s
Freedom Project.
Community organizations for which I have held board positions are: OWU Black Alumni Network,
Ruffing Montessori School, African American Museum, Children’s Community Corner, Innovative
Educational Concepts, Inc., African American Angels, Jordan Resource Center, African American
Society of Queens, and Cornerstone Connections. I have also been involved in local political
elections and organizations and I am an active member of University Circle United Methodist Church
and NAACP.
I have also developed and facilitated workshops for and made speeches to numerous professional,
civic, church and educational groups.
Currently I have three main areas of special interest. Children Defense Fund Freedom Schools have
captured my heart and mind. As has my precious grandson, Kace. My third interest lies in
participating in the redevelopment of housing in the North Coast. I continue to be interested in and
hopeful for racial parity at OWU.
Fred and Denise Dempster Watkins ’74
We have three kids:
Lauren (31) married a young man named Brendan Corrigan (no relation to our classmate Steve
Corrigan although Steve searched hard for a connection). She and her husband live in San
Francisco. She works for Preferred Building Services and he works at JP Morgan. Meredith (28)
works for PricewaterhouseCoopers and lives in Jackson Hole WY. Tucker (26) is currently deployed
in Afghanistan.
Denise is active as always: She has a children's book coming out this summer, watch for it on
Amazon. She has been the House Manager at Ruth Eckerd Hall for past 6 years. She is EVP of the
Island Estates Women's Club. Denise is very involved with the regional Tri Delta Alumnae. In her
spare time she enjoys her boat on the Gulf of Mexico.
Fred - I am still very active in the telecom industry, currently focused on VoIP solutions. I have given
up playing lacrosse, as the pains keep lasting longer (not sure why??). My golf game is erratic (again
not sure why??). I get to drive Denise's boat as often as I can (it is my happy place).
Actually all is good with us, as we hope it is with all of you. Enjoy the re-union, we hope to see you at
the next one or sooner!
Diane Nicholson Wells ’74
I recently marked the 10th anniversary of my retirement from the U.S. Geological Survey. My primary
retirement occupation continues to be playing tennis an average of four to five times per week all
year, socially and in leagues.
Between my husband, Rob, and myself, we have four adult children, three of whom live locally. Two
of our three grandchildren are local.
Rob served as general contractor and I as interior designer for the house we built in 2012. The
building site consists of a few acres of high prairie and Ponderosa pines, surrounded by dedicated
open space, in a semi-rural area about 30 miles southeast of the center of Denver. Our house is
situated on a high point that provides unobstructed panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, which
we greatly appreciate every day.
Frances R. Wells ’74
Address: 37 Village Landing, Apt. A, Chatham, MA 02633
Phone: (508) 348-1929
Email: frwells@msn.com
I earned an MS In Biology, Plant ecology specialty, from Western Illinois University in May 1977.
I worked for the USDA for almost twenty five years and then for the US Department of Homeland
Security, Customs and Border Protection for a little over ten years. Most of my career, the last twenty
nine years, was as a federal agricultural officer/inspector at JFK airport in NY. I retired from this
very interesting job on May 31, 2013, and I moved to Cape Cod where I am enjoying retirement!
Dave Wible ’74
Email: dfwible@hotmail.com
I retired from a career in commercial lending four years ago and have
been enjoying having more time to spend on travel, hobbies, and with
my lovely wife of 39 years, Mary Ellen, our 3 grown children, and their
spouses/fiancés (2 weddings later this year), and our two
grandchildren.
Harry Williams ’74
Email: Hwilli12@msn.com
I retired from Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) on July 1st, 2012,
after working 38 years of service. The last 14 years my position was that
of an administrator. I still live in Gaithersburg, Maryland and visit
Columbus, Ohio, often to see my family.
I have many fond memories of Ohio Wesleyan, not a favorite one. I
enjoyed the interactions of the Black students during SUBA events and
activities. Also, there were the college sports participation during crosscountry and baseball. Also, there were the many cultural learning of
things while living in Bashford Hall for four years. And there was the
“closeness” of the student in the class of 1974- willing to help each other.
Linda Williams ’74
Address: 5 W. Chestnut St., Norwalk, Ohio 44857
Email: blewd@neo.rr.com
After graduating, I spent one and a half years as a Vista
Volunteer in North Carolina. I worked with families in a
low-income housing project, with RIF, and recruited AJSS
volunteers who helped repair homes in Greenville. I
returned to Ohio, where I have spent my career as a
substitute, a tutor, a teacher in middle school, and in
Adult Basic and Literacy Education for people who need
to enhance skills or earn a G.E.D. Favorite experiences
included helping my 85-year-old student earn her diploma, helping students achieve goals, get jobs,
or have writings and artwork published for the annual statewide Writers’ Conference.
In 1978, I married Benjamin Kenny, and we have two wonderful children, and an adorable grandchild.
Both of our children attended OWU; Emily graduated in 2004; William graduated in 2009, so we get to
celebrate our reunions in the same years.
My Christian faith and desire to help others has been an important part of my life. I teach Sunday
School, vacation Bible School, and Logos. I have served as a Big Sister, I’m on a Relay for Life team
and am secretary for First Book of Huron County.
Some of the best things I gained from OWU are the friendships of roommates and others that have
remained strong for over 40 years. Several of us gather almost monthly. The fabrics of our lives have
been interwoven through celebrations of birthdays, weddings, births, anniversaries, and holidays.
The fabric has remained strong as it supported us through struggles with health or loss of loved ones.
My OWU friends have been like family to my husband and me, to our children, and now to our
grandchild. What a blessing.
Greg Wilson ’74
Address: 960 Carya Court, Great Falls, VA 22066
Phone: (202) 494-0652
Email: greg@gregwilsonconsulting.com
To quote Joe Walsh, “Life’s been good to me, so far.” My life has been blessed, no complaints.
I have two wonderful, grown children who live in New York City: my daughter is an actress, my son is
a banker with Capital One. My wife works for a small cardiac research foundation near our home in
Great Falls, Virginia. My step-son is working on his PhD. In physical therapy, and my step-daughter
is studying nursing.
I get back to OWU once a year for our Phi Gam annual Pig Dinner, which is always good fun. Three
years ago, our class started a new tradition of a summer FIJI weekend in Cleveland. Last year we
went to a ball game, drank a few beers, and then watched our classmate, Bill Iovino, compete in the
Senior National Games, where he took third place in discus. I look forward to returning to Delaware
for a second time this year and seeing other old friends at our 40th reunion.
In 2006, I left my former firm, McKinsey & Company, as a partner to establish my own consulting firm
focused on financial services policy and regulatory issues. In 2011, I wrote my second book about
the aftermath of the financial crisis, “Managing to the New Regulatory Reality: Doing Business after
the Dodd-Frank Act.” Despite the Obama no-growth economic policies, my small business survives,
but we live in challenging times.
In 1998, my old high school rock band reunited for a gig, and we have been playing together ever
since. F.O.G. [Fat Old Guys] released its CD of all-original music in 2002, and broke into the college
circuit last year, playing for the first time at Miami University. We have a lot of fun playing a mix of
music from the 1960s-1970s, originals, and contemporary hits. Our friends and followers tell us the
more they drink, the better we sound.
My current passion is writing a Civil War biography on the ironies of the only Quaker in the war who
simultaneously was both a Union Army scout and a local county sheriff. Jonathan Roberts was a
simple farmer, surveyor, abolitionist, and political activist, who was hunted by secessionists before
the war for his beliefs and then ordered arrested by C.S.A. Gen. Beauregard before First Manassas.
The rest is history, as the saying goes. This story of my second great grandfather’s life will be
published later this year.
I hope we have a great turnout, and look forward to seeing lots of classmates and friends in Delaware
in May.
Kate Hahn Asbeck ’79
Address: 2339 Springside Oval, Brecksville, OH 44141
Phone: (216) 615-7176
Email: kasbeck@clevefdn.org
After living away for 30 some years, Rick and I moved back to the Cleveland area in 2009. Our home
in Brecksville has become a gathering place for our extended families - - all of our parents are close
by, along with several of our 8 siblings and 14 nieces and nephews. We are happy to be home!
I am working as CFO of the Cleveland Foundation, the first and one of the largest community
foundations in the world. We are celebrating our centennial in 2014! After so many years in
corporate finance in a publicly traded company, it is a refreshing challenge to work in a mission-based
organization.
In addition to spending time with family, we like to travel. Greece was our last major trip and we are
planning a trip to Argentina in February. We also like to spend time at Lake Chautauqua in the
summers!
We are looking forward to returning to OWU for the reunion in May!
Julianne Wallace Benson ’79
Address: 540 Jackson Tavern way, Great Falls, VA 22066
Phone: (703) 406-8464
Email: julbenson@aol.com
I have been a busy mom with three sons. Now I have been working and going back to school to
become a certified nutritional Therapy Practitioner in VA. I love traveling with my husband, exercising,
volunteering with our church and chilling with family and friends.
Amy Dick Fechtor ’79
Email: Amyfechtor@gmail.com
I’m still working as President of the Haverford Lumber Company. In the past few years, Rich and I
have travelled to Greece, London, China, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Budapest and Vienna. We are
always planning the next adventure. Our oldest daughter is now married and our younger daughter is
finally back in the country after a year in China. All is well.
Beth Kohler Gerber ’79
Email: tgerber301@zoominternet.net
Worked as an RN in critical care and now as a school
nurse. Married to Ted for 35 years. 3 daughters and 3
grandchildren. Active in my church as former Elder and
direct two childrens’ choirs. Our hobby is traveling.
One of my favorite memories from OWU is of the
Blizzard of ’78!
Dave Gillette ’79
Phone: (303) 808-1492
Email: dirtdoc@juno.com
Who are these old people and what are they doing at my college
reunion? Wait, what? Am I one too?
Family: Married 28 years to Denise, a special-ed teacher. We have
two sons, one 25 years old, out of school and working in DC (while
wishing he was back in Colorado), the other about to finish high school
and go off to study vocal music.
Home: Golden CO, right over the mesa from Coors (though I prefer
stout).
Work: Geotechnical engineer, specializing in risk analysis and seismic
analysis of dams. It's taken me to Taiwan, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Oklahoma
too.
Play: Not enough, of course, but rafted the Grand Canyon two years ago with Jim Almendinger
(1978) and Jon Pertee (1980 - briefly).
A mystery revealed, maybe: My cousin married a Delaware townie who claims they really were trying
to run us over on Sandusky Street.
What I miss about OWU: The friends - the easy way we slipped into friendships, when we were all
first away from home and comfort zone, forming new connections and our new adult identities. The
life-long friends I stay close to, others whose address I've lost, though I think of them often. Casual
friends whose company I enjoyed at the time, before we went separate ways - we may have shared a
bottle of wine, or a tent on a cold night, or maybe class notes from chemistry. Would love to sit and
talk over coffee, just to find out where you landed. There were some from far away, who listened to
bands I'd never heard of, or played sports I'd never seen, and those from farther away, from
continents I'd never seen. There were guys who held the rope that kept me from accelerating toward
the ground at 9.8 meters per second squared when I slipped off a rock at Clifton Gorge or Seneca. (I
kept a few of you off the ground, too.) People I cared about, and people who cared about me. It was
a pleasure.
Cecily P. Judd ’79
Address: 28 Kalnin Ln., Sullivan, ME, 04664
Phone: (207) 422-9003
My interests include: Social Justice, community choir and chord choir, kayaking, travel, treatment of
posttraumatic stress disorder- have had much post masters training, the environment.
M & W- 1983- The Ohio State University; 1979- so VISTA volunteer – rural Washington State- started
a program for survivors of domestic violence.
Candace Caldwell Kennedy ’79
Address: 5658 Tara Hill Dr. Dublin, OH 43017-3040
Phone: (614) 766-5678
Email: dken104542@gmail.com
Doug and I have lived in Dublin, Ohio since 1986 and benefit from a
large, loving circle of friends. Doug's mom, Mary Jo Kennedy (Class
of 1950), is our surviving parent and we spend much quality time
with her. We still frequently see many old OWU friends, especially
Doug's fraternity brothers and spouses. We have two children, Kate
(26) and Conor (24), who represent the best achievement of our 33
plus years of marriage. I continue to work two part-time jobs as a
consultant to a family trust and for Dublin City Schools. Doug is a
partner at Roetzel and Andress where he has practiced law for 24
years. Our daughter Kate is to be married in June and they will settle
in Virginia where she has been working for a company called
Revolution Messaging as a Digital Media Specialist. Wedding planning will occupy me for much of
the spring and may be the reason I will miss this reunion. Conor graduated from The Ohio State
University in December and is actively seeking employment with his Hospitality Management Degree.
I wish all my classmates well.
Sharon Keeler Lastrapes ’79
Address: 2030 Pleasant Panorama View, Austin, TX 78738
Phone: (512) 329-0636 (home) (512) 517-8450 (cell)
Email: slastrapes6489@gmail.com
Since leaving OWU, I’ve settled in Texas, living in Houston,
Midland, the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and Austin since 1989.
I married my husband David in 1981 and we have two sons,
Thomas, a sophomore at Auburn University, and Gregory, who’ll
be a freshman at Alfred University in the Fall.
I moved to Austin to work for Dell, when it was just a small
computer company people still confused with the paperback
publishing company. During my 12 and a half years there, I
worked in Sales, Marketing, Sales Ops, Services, and Business
Process Improvement.
After taking a few years off, I went back to work in an entirely different arena, the land of development
business. I work with two partners who buy raw land, conduct feasibility studies, rezone, put in the
infrastructure, and sell finished lots to builders for residential subdivisions. It’s been fun and exciting
to learn something new at this point in my career. Austin’s the fastest growing city in the country with
110 people a day moving here so we have contracts on property all around Austin and numerous
construction projects underway. I’m spending time on construction sites supervising projects and
have rubber boots, a shovel, and other tools in my car at all times.
I love to travel, especially to Europe, and can’t get enough of France or Italy. Gregory is fluent in
Chinese and we took a memorable trip there when he was in Middle School. We visit Ohio about
once a year to see family and drive by Bishop Stadium during most of our visits.
Carolea Graf Radke ’79
Address: 2010 Clifton Ave, Casper, WY, 82609
Phone: (307) 315-7761
Email: Carolearadke@aol.com
Hello old friends,
It’s been a very busy and interesting life since I last saw you. My right eye began blistering and it was
two years before a doctor knew what was wrong. It was the cornea. It was failing. This August I
underwent a cornea transplant by the Doctor who invented a quick and fast surgery. Although I am
still not seeing I will have the sight in my right eye without pain. It will be nice to see again.
I am the popcorn chairman for my son, Brett’s, Cub Scout pack. We sold almost $30,000 this year
with 21 kids. Not bad for an old salesman, I still got it. I also volunteered for the Scout house soliciting
for auction gifts and was able to get over 10 in a month period. They actually told me to stop getting
gifts.
My family took our annual monthly vacation in June to my favorite island, Anna Maria Island on the
West coast. I actually manage this property, which are my fathers. I still love the sun and the water.
My mom died two and a half years ago of something she should have never died from. When she left
us half of me went with her. It’s been difficult to get through a day without tears and heartache. I miss
her so much. Many of you knew her and knew she was a fireball. The boys just love her. Remember
her Phi Psi’s?
We moved to Casper, Wyoming in January 1011. It’s just beautiful here. Every day feel like a
vacation. I believe I am the only person in WY with a swimming pool. Not one person here knew how
to take care of it. I still buy my chemicals from Kansas. I guess the Florida girl in me will never go
away. I look out my kitchen window and see mountains and breathe the fresh, crisp air. Come out for
a visit anytime. My classmates are always invited.
In the winter we go skiing in Colorado even though we have ski MT just 5 miles away. Last year we
didn’t have snow until May! Nice!
I got a beautiful Westie puppy, from my Father’s Champion dog which has brought me much joy
except for the presents that she leaves behind.
It’s been a joy raising my twins, Brett and Karlea. Many of you held them at the 30th reunion. They
are now 10 years young. They are both tracking 6’ tall. My daughter Karlea is a State champion
swimmer after only 6 months of swimming. Brett, Karlea and I are all green belt Tae Kwon Do. Not
much golfing or tennis for me the last few years since I couldn’t follow the ball.
Karl, my husband changed jobs from CMO of the Community Health Center to a privately owned
hospital. He is very happy with his job and we enjoy seeing more of him.
I hope that I am here at the reunion because I truly miss you all. I think that our great times often and
would love to go back in time for a while. I hope that you all have had great lives filled with joy and
good health.
Christina Misner Roa ’79
Email: tjbosox@yahoo.com
I have been teaching at Joel Barlow School in Redding,
CT for 14 years. In addition to teaching business
classes, I am also the Academic Services Coordinator
and earned my intermediate administrator’s certificate.
Outside of school, I continue as a director of a hand bell
choir at our church and substitute on the organ when the regular organist is away. We also do
piano/organ duets often. This summer my husband and I are moving to Maine to be closer to my
parents.
There are so many great memories from OWU- ringing the chimes in Stuy Tower, playing the old
organ in Gray Chapel, Mr. Griffiths, Dr. Sudduth, good friends, the big storm of 1978.
Barbranda “Barb” Lumpkins Walls ’79
Hello to the Class of 1979! I can hardly believe it's been 35 years since we all left OWU. I'm still loving
the nation's capital (been here 25+ years), working in Washington and living in Alexandria, Va. I'm a
features editor with AARP Media (have you joined?) and now have a year-old grandson, who brings
great joy to me and my husband Hal. I've had a great run in my journalism career - Akron Beacon
Journal, USA Today, AOL and now AARP - and look forward to retirement, whenever that is. I keep in
touch with several OWU alums via Facebook and run into them in DC. Wishing you all many
blessings and God's grace now and in the years ahead.
Lynn G. Warfield ’79
Phone: (908) 876-3677
Email: LGWarfield@aol.com
Amy Eiken ’84
Email: amy.eiken@yahoo.com
I’ve been teaching seventh grade World History for the past 21 years. I’m
living in Delaware and love it! Have been running half marathons and
other races for the past two years and recently became an entrepreneur
and started a home based business that deals in essential services.
That’s been fun and exciting. Life is good J. spent August 2010 in Africa
with my mom (Maribeth Graham, ’55). What a thrill to share that time with
her!
Favorite memories are often tied to both the volleyball and softball teams
and friends who were teammates. Marine biology trip to Lewes, Delaware
with Dr. Patton. Classics with Dr. Finch and Hickcox.
Diane Hanscom ’84
Email: hanscomd@husson.edu
Since my last reunion, I’ve been working at the Husson University Library. I’ve also since had various
vacation trips to Baltimore, Nashville, Salem (MA) and Niagara Falls, Canada.
My favorite Ohio Wesleyan memory is the numerous sorority activities I’ve taken part of with my
Alpha Gamma Delta sisters.
Scott L. Korn D.O. ’84
Address: 365 Milhayen Dr., Spartanburg, SC 29301
Phone: (828) 980-2770
Email: skorndo@yahoo.com
Nothing but sunshine and puppies since graduation in 1984; perfect marriage, job, and children … big
awful lie. My life since graduation has been filled with all the usual stuff ; some good some bad, all too
boring to recount. I wouldn’t have changed any of it for fear of changing where I am now; happily
married, employed, healthy children & great friends and family. I think of my time at OWU often, miss
my friends and that care free time. I hope time has been kind to all of my classmates.
Jennifer Richards ’84
Address: 440 W Sheridan Pl, Lake Bluff, IL, 60044
Phone: (614) 204-2591
Email: onsecondthought@mac.com
Jen will not be at the class reunion because it is the
weekend of her daughter's prom and also because
she will be at OWU the next weekend to celebrate
her son's graduation from OWU - where he was the
captain of the Firedogs Ultimate Frisbee team. After
27 years spent in Worthington, Ohio Jen and Randy
recently relocated to Lake Bluff, IL (Jen's
hometown!) where Randy is an attorney with
Walgreens. Jen helps the family's English Bulldog with his blog: PAWS Moments by Magnus Pym
and volunteers for church and community needs. She stays in touch with her OWU girlfriends/Kappa
big and little sisters/bridesmaids: Eve Hoffman Smith, Mary Beth Craig Shea, Tracey Williams Ferns,
Robin Hirschfield, and Maggie Freehling Phillips through emails, calls and texts so her OWU family
tree is firmly planted with strong roots. Thank you OWU for the lifelong legacy which began with my
grandparents Carl and Thelma Fuller, was carried on by my parents Robert and Ginny (Fuller) Istnick,
and has been carried on by Max! Life is good!
Susan “Sue” Quen Henkel Smith ’84
Has it really been 30 years since we were all together at OWU? The old adage, "time flies while
you're having fun" rings true. To my fellow 1984 classmates attending the reunion weekend I know
you will have such fun and make new memories. Rogers and I wish we could also be there with you
to reminisce, catch up and be a part of the festivities. But we have happy news. Our oldest son
graduates from Texas Tech University on May 16th and we could not be any prouder. We can't wait
to join you at the next reunion.
David Spires ’84
Phone: (614) 332-1484
Email: david.spires@lennoxind.com
30 years goes by so quickly. I received a MBA from the University of Indianapolis in 1995 and
married my wife Karen in 1999. I have four children, Sierra 23, Jacob 13, Sydney 10, Ryan 8. Sierra
is in college at the University of Toledo where she is studying to be a teacher. The younger three are
involved in various sports and keep us very busy. We live in a house we built in 2002 in the same
community that my wife and I grew up (Cardington, Ohio), and where we enjoy our extended families.
For the past 11 years, I have been employed by Lennox Industries as a Territory Manager for
Northwest Ohio.
Richard “Dick” Spybey ’84
Email: spybey@otelco.net
I have retired from 18 years of college coaching (golf at the University of Alabama), and am currently
finishing my 12th year of ‘Christian’ Education, servings as teacher, coach, Principal, and now Athletic
Director.
My favorite OWU memories include many athletic events, including spring break golf trips to North
Carolina. Also, I enjoyed classes with Dr. Richard Gordin and Dr. Jay Martin.
Todd Burson ’94
Since the last reunion I have left The College of Wooster and I am now back at Kenyon College
working in the Finance Division. Two weeks after the last reunion, we celebrated the birth of our third
and now my wife and I are playing zone defense at all times.
One of my favorite memories from my time at OWU is of meeting my future wife on the 2nd floor of
Stuy in Fall ‘93.
Coleen Gatehouse ’94
Address: 5860 Leipzig Pl, Dulles, VA 20189
Phone: (202) 986-3932
Email: coleengatehouse@yahoo.com
Shortly after graduating from OWU I moved to Lithuania and
worked as an English teacher and project consultant for four
years as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. In 2001 I completed a
master's degree in international affairs at the Fletcher School of
Law and Diplomacy, and I've been working in international
education and exchange ever since - at the American Council on
Education, the U.S. State Department, and now at American
Experience, a company that specializes in cultural exchanges to
the United States for university students. Right now I'm living in
Leipzig, Germany, where my husband Rob is a U.S. diplomat; our previous posts were Monterrey,
Mexico, and Bucharest, Romania. We have two little boys, Benjamin (6) and Jack(4), who keep us
very busy.
Kevin A. Hinkle ’94
Email: Kevin.hinkle@anthem.com
20 years-Wow! Charity and I live in Powell, OH with three future
Battling Bishops-Henry(11), Parker (10), and Charlie(6). I’m
grateful for the opportunity supporting Team OWU and always
look forward to spending time on campus.
Melissa Werle Marcin ’94
Email: marcinandmarcin@msn.com
I am an attorney in private practice in Milford, Ohio. I am currently serving as the President of the
Clermont County Bar Association. My husband and I are proud parents of our son, Blake, who is 10
years old (and earned his black belt in tae kwon do at age 9!)
Todd Neilsen ’94
It will be great to see so many dear friends from OWU days back in Delaware! Life keeps Shannon
and I so busy with our two boys, but we would not trade it for anything. Travel, sports, and my duties
at Nationwide Children’s Hospital keep me going daily. Can’t wait to see everyone again!
There are so many- from all the time spent with my brother on the Selby Football field turf- to the days
hanging with Ket, Hawks, Smitty, Lunn, and Hollister. The best memory though is meeting Shannon
Dick and knowing she would one day be married to me!
Alison Martin Turner ’94
Email: Alison.Turner@PowellTravelTours.com
Over the last five years, my life has changed a lot as our
"babies" have grown into little ladies, now 9 and 11.5. Family
remains the focus, and the girls keep me busy with their
competition dance, choir, scouting, and school activities. We
have also enjoyed some wonderful vacations and adventures
together. As they have gotten older, I have pursued my own
interest in travel and business, and launched my own travel
agency in 2012 called Powell Travel and Tours (I live in Powell,
OH just south of Delaware). I have been helping clients with
vacations to resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Disney,
cruises and much more. One of the absolute highlights has
been reconnecting with "old" OWU friends across the country
and helping them plan their vacations. It has truly been a
rewarding experience, and feels that life is coming "full circle" as I once again use my premotherhood business skills in an area I am passionate about- travel. (I used to joke at OWU that my
dream job would be to be "Julie McCoy"... from "The Love Boat"!) Next year, Michael and I will
celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.. hopefully renewing our vows on a beautiful beach. As we
approach our 20th class reunion, I look forward to seeing many of you. In the crazy world we live in, I
am thankful to see smiling OWU faces on Facebook daily and be able to keep in touch better than in
past. But... it will be SO much nicer to say "cheers" in person!
I can't pull out just one favorite memory, but I am thankful for the enduring friendships and community
that are unique to a small college experience.
Maggie Smith-Beehler ’99
Address: 760 S. Roosevelt Avenue, Bexley, OH 43209
Phone: (614) 589-1013
Email: maggiejosmith@gmail.com
Website: www.maggiesmithpoet.com
After graduation I earned an MFA in poetry from The Ohio State
University, I taught creative writing at Gettysburg College, and
began a career in publishing upon returning to Columbus. My first
book of poems, “Lamp of the Body”, was published in 2005. My
husband Jason Beehler (’00) and I married later that year, and OWU
English professor Bob Flanagan spoke at our wedding.
In December 2008, our daughter Violet was born, and in 2010 we
moved to Bexley, Ohio. When I received a creative writing fellowship
from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2011, I left my job and
formed my own company, Versed Creative Services, LLC. Working
as a freelance writer and editor has enabled me to stay home with Violet and her brother Rhett, who
was born in October 2012. It’s also given me the freedom to write and travel in service of my writing.
My latest chapbook, Disasterology, will be published in 2014. My next full-length book, The Well
Speaks of Its Own Poison, was selected by Kimiko Hahn as winner of the Dorset Prize and will be
published by Tupelo Press in 2015. You can find poems and info online at maggiesmithpoet.com.
Bottom line: I wouldn’t have my family, my writing career, or so many of my friends without OWU. And
this life is worth every penny of my student loans.
Karla Melissa Chipelo McClain ’99
I am currently teaching at Bristow Middle School in West Hartford, CT. Since our last reunion, I was a
finalist for Teacher of the Year in my district, and completed my National Board Certification in Music.
I am playing trombone in a local brass ensemble and have started performing on stage again after a
long hiatus. Scott and I are the parents of two wonderful kids, Lori (almost 7) and Hunter (5). Life is
certainly never boring or quiet between work and home, but always interesting!
Julie Frances Myers McCord ’99
Julie Myers McCord lives in Worthington, Ohio with her husband Michael and their two children Eli
and Bryn. She is a licensed Realtor with Coldwell Banker King Thompson.
Kami Lu Shrader Beer ’04
Address: 6174 Broad Stripes Ave, Galloway, OH 43119
Phone: (614) 804-2708
Email: kamibeer@gmail.com
Rick and I have been married since 2013. Since then we have done 2 mission trips to South/Central
America. May 2014, we will have returned from our third trip and we are in the process with Global
Partners to become full-time missionaries overseas, preferably in El Salvador or Peru. We both like to
travel and continue to serve other in central Ohio and hope to inspire other to do the same.
Elizabeth Dale ’04
Address: 649 E. Arch St., Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 740-816-0037
E-mail: Elizabeth.dale@gmail.com
Greetings to the Class of 2004! After graduating in May 2004,
I moved to Columbus to complete my Master’s Degree in
Women’s Studies at The Ohio State University. While there,
I began working with the YWCA Great Lakes Alliance, and in
2006, I moved to Chicago to work full-time in marketing and
development at the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. In 2008, I left
the YWCA to join the development staff at Advocate Illinois
Masonic Medical Center, a community hospital in Chicago, where
I served as the Director of Development until July 2012.
In August 2012, we moved to Indianapolis so I could begin my Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies at the
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, where I am an instructor and full-time student.
My research focuses on gender and philanthropy, women’s organizations in the nonprofit sector,
board governance, and household charitable decision making.
I married Sarah Anderson in Davenport, Iowa in 2010 following a commitment ceremony held before
family and friends in Chicago. We have been together for over 8 years and just recently adopted a
miniature schnauzer named Hank. We love to travel and have visited London, Vancouver, Costa
Rica, Panama, France, and Japan, not to mention trips to Florida, California, Louisiana and North
Carolina to visit family and friends.
Erin Higgenbotham ’04
Email: elhiggen@yahoo.com
From 2005-2007, I lived and worked in Miyako City, Iwate Japan as and ESC teacher. I retured in
2007 to pursue and MA in Japanese Linguistics at the University of Arizona and an M. Ed in
Instructional Technology at Kent State University. Currently I am living in Western Idaho and work at
Schwitzer Engineers Laboratories located in Pullman, Washington.
Track meets and practice. I enjoyed attending practice with my fellow teammates and competing in
meets. I threw hammer and shot put so I was out in the field more, but it was a great experience.
Allison Jackson ’04
As this is my first reunion, I suppose I’ll pick it up from graduation. Upon leaving OWU in 2004, I
headed to London to get my Master’s Degree at the London Film School. I studied sound mixing and
in 2007, M.A in hand, I moved to New York City. For 5 years I worked on Indie films as a sound
mixer, my most well-known film being Beasts of the Southern Wild which was nominated for an
Academy Award last year. Two years ago I applied and was accepted into the Sound Union IATSE
local 52 which allows me to work on bigger budget films, television shows and have important things
like health care and a retirement plan. I currently work in the sound department on the televisin show
“The Following.” I love it!
I have many fond memories from my time at OWU but my favorite would have to be playing in the
snow one evening sledding down the hill in front of smith and learning that classes had been
cancelled for the next day. Let the festivities continue!
Adam Pry ’04
Address: 221 S Main St., Hudson, OH 44236
Phone: (980) 622-9434
Email: adammpry@gmail.com
Bethany Schwan ’04
Email: beth.schwan@yahoo.com
Shortly after leaving OWU, I began my professional career with JP
Morgan Chase. I am currently a Senior Business Analyst in Branch
Systems Automation, implementing projects to tighten systemic
controls for fraud and anti-money laundering. My career has afforded
me opportunities with incredible partners in the business and IT worlds,
as well as an ability to travel to exciting places like Chicago and San
Francisco to see my projects go live!
I recently spoke as a representative for young professionals on a
transportation panel for Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission
(MORPC), discussing benefits of bringing mass transit to the Columbus
area. Coupled with my personal endeavors for a green household
(organic gardening, recycling, and energy conservation) I have
embraced a vegan lifestyle for the past 3 years.
In my spare time I enjoy making jewelry, hats, and scarves for friends and family. I also compose a
pseudo-sardonic blog (swingstatevoter.me) with random musings of life in a swing state, which was
featured as an editor’s pick on WordPress in March 2013.
Late night cramming sessions for exams in Slocum, followed by 4 am runs to UDF for coffee.
Laura Nienaber Sedziol ’04
Email: laura.sedziol@gmail.com
I graduated with my Masters of Education in December of 2009
from Xavier University. I work for the Butler County Board of
Developmental Disabilities as a bilingual Development Speicalist
in Early Intervention. I married my college sweetheart in 2007 and
we now have a 3 year old daughter, Esme.
My favorite memory would have to be meeting and falling in love
with my (now) husband, Michael Sedziol!
Amy Kreps Shreve ’04
Address: 607 Shawnee Rd, Danville, KY 40422
Phone: (217) 649-3233
Email: amy_shreve@yahoo.com
I have worked full time as a Director of Youth Ministries and part-time as a Director of Christian
Education at United Methodist Churches in Champaign, Illinois. I love helping youth and families
experience Christ, embrace spirituality, and grow in maturity. It is exhausting leading ski retreats,
overnights, and mission trips. I am excited to now be working part-time at a Presbyterian church
focused mainly on children and young family ministry. No more overnights! However, watching the
youth I mentored succeed in college, serve others, establish nonprofits, and take over my job is pretty
amazing. My husband, Dr. Scott Shreve and I have two children, 3 and 1. We recently moved to
Danville, Kentucky where Scott teaches Biology at Centre College. Before kids, we enjoyed skiing in
Michigan and Colorado and hiking in Utah and southern Illinois. Now, we're exploring Kentucky and
taking mile walks with M&M incentives.
We won't make it to the reunion because Scott officially graduates. After seven years, we have to
have those pictures!
Pooja Dutt ’09
Address: 505/63-69 Bouverie Street, Carlton, VIC 3053 Australia
Phone: +61 (449) 594 493
Email: duttpooja@gmail.com
After graduating from OWU in 2009, I moved to Sydney, Australia
to get my Masters in Wildlife Conservation. After completing my
degree, I stayed on to work in the Development office at
Macquarie University in Sydney.
In September 2012, I quit my job and bought a one way ticket to
Ho Chi Minh City. Without a plan or a set destination in mind, I
spent the next year traveling through Vietnam, India, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
In January 2014, I started my dream job handling major gifts for the Australian Conservation
Foundation in Melbourne, Australia.
Jesika Keener ’09
Email: jesika.keener@gmail.com
I received my Master of Arts in Education degree in . Since then I have been volunteering the the NE
Ohio Young Alumni committee as well as co-chair for the NE Ohio Alumni chapter. I currently work as
an office manager for the Max Health Labs and am an independent consultant for thirty-one gifts.
There are too many favorite memories from my time at OWU to choose from, but I will never forget
the DC mission trip I went on. It really had an effect on me and will always hold the lessons learned
close to my heart.
Scarlett Rebman ’09
Address: 222 Thayer St. 2 Syracuse NY, 13210
Phone: (315) 727-9899
Email: scarlett.rebman@gmail.com
Since graduating from OWU in 2009, I have had a variety of rewarding and enriching experiences. I
have worked as a freelance playwright. My five historical one-act plays for students have been
published by Plays Magazine. My most recent play, which is about baseball player Jackie Robinson,
appeared in the January/February 2014 issue of Plays. I served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at
Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 2010-2011. During the
2011-2012 school year, I taught English in Debrecen, Hungary. I was able to work with students at a
kindergarten, a primary school, and a secondary school. In August 2013, I began a PhD program in
history at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.
Valerie Sloboda ’09
Address: 105 Tamaqui Village Beaver, PA 15009
Phone: (443) 472-1166
Email: Valerie.sloboda@gmail.com
Since I’ve graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, I have
made several accomplishments. I went back to school at Xavier
University to obtain my Master’s of Science in Nursing. I have
worked as a Registered Nurse for approximately two years in
both the adult and pediatric populations. I am now obtaining my
Doctorate’s in Nursing Practice with a focus on Family at the
University of Pittsburgh.
Lauren Smith ’09
Email: l-a-smith@live.com
Since graduating from Ohio Wesleyan in 2009, Lauren has been all over the place. She has only
once spent 6 months straight living in the same state, and it was a very odd experience. Working as a
field biologist and an environmental educator, Lauren has lived in eight different states and one
Canadian province.
Most of her jobs have involved working with wild birds, though she has also been known to walk dogs
and scoop ice cream (and no, she did not go to a special ice cream scooping school, she’s just that
good).
When she’s not climbing trees to study red-cockaded woodpeckers, getting charged by moose,
explaining bird migration to small children, or getting pooped on and/or bitten by songbirds, Lauren is
usually outside. When she’s outside and not working, she likes to climb rocks, go for long hikes, and
look at birds. Sometimes she does go inside, and then she usually writes things, mostly for her blog:
Tales from a Wandering Albatross (@wordpress.com).
Lauren tends to travel as often as she can, both domestically and internationally. She is particularly
fond of road trips through the American West and of trekking to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal. The
other parts of Asia she visited were also pretty cool. She also really likes southern Utah.
This summer (starting May 2014) Lauren will be going back to Jackson, Wyoming, to work with the
Teton Science Schools as an avian research technician, where she will be primarily banding
songbirds and secondarily educating visitors about bird banding and migration. In August of 2014 she
will start graduate school at The University of Montana in the Environmental Studies program, with a
focus in Environmental Writing.
I’m particularly fond of my memories of banding birds in Jed Burtt’s backyard. I have no idea why I
decided to sign up for his freshman honors tutorial, The Microbiology of Birds. At the time, I wasn’t
particularly interested in birds or their microbiology (and I might not have known exactly what
microbiology referred to), but it sounded intriguing and I didn’t know any better, so I signed on.
I can say with absolute certainty that this particular class influenced both the rest of my time at OWU
and the rest of my life. It was that class that sparked my interest in birds, a spark that has turned into
at least a Medium Fire Severity burn (standing trees are blackened but not charcoal; roots are alive
below 1 inch; duff is consumed—I like birds, but other things can be interesting too).
The research project I started in that class led to a number of ornithology conferences, where, in
addition to learning about extremely useful things like hummingbird wing morphology and duck
penises, I became much more confident in my public speaking and was exposed to the ornithological
research community. That project also led to my zoology departmental honors thesis on parrot
feather coloration (I’ll spare you the details), which hasn’t really led to much yet but sure looks good
on my resume.
I had no idea then that I would go on to spend the next few years after graduation studying birds all
over the country. Every time I set up a mist net or hold a Black-capped Chickadee in my hands, I am
reminded of Jed and all that he’s done for me. Thanks Jed. You’re awesome.
Jed also makes superb spice cake, which may or may not have been the main reason I agreed to
come back and mentor the freshman tutorial as an upper classman. I’m not ashamed to admit that I
can be motivated to do a great deal for food. Especially Jed’s spice cake.