Alumni Bulletin Board
March 2008 (this page is currently being updated- please check back)
1930s
Mrs. Ruth (Dwight) Row MDS'37 followed in her mother's footsteps by attending Milwaukee Downer Seminary. She graduated in 1937- seventy years ago. She and her classmates learned a great deal, made good friends, and had happy times together. Since then, their ranks have dwindled. Ruth occassionally sees Peggy Banta Humleker MDS'37 and Marion Chester Read MDS'37. She misses the old school on the corner of Downer Avenue and Hartford. It holds lots of memories.
Mr. Richard P. Matthews MCD'38 has been widowed for nine years but was remarried last July to a direct descendent (her name, maiden name, was Pricilla Alden Sweeney) of America's very first celebrity couple: John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. As it happens, he too has a modest claim to fame. He is (indirectly) related to America's 14th First Lady, Jane Means Appleton Pierce. All three of her sons died before adolescence. Also, last year Richard's son Peter, a division III football coach in upstate New York, gave birth to a baby boy, so the Matthews name will continue for another generation, which he feels very fortunate about. Richard says "hello" to the other '38ers Ted, Gordy, mother Tex, Walter, Dirk, Jim, Phil, and Dave.
1940s
Mrs. Janet W. (Witte) Brooks MDS'40 moved to Mt. Pleasant, S.C., in June. Janet's daughter, Dana, and her husband, and Janet's grandson, Michael, and his wife, all live close by. She overlooks a huge pond with lots of birds and water fowl and is ten minutes from the ocean. Thought it isn't Lake Michigan, Janet is thrilled to be living on the water again!
Mr. Alexander Leslie Paternotte MCD'40, known as "Les" to fellow MCD students including George Chester MCD'40, Bayard Michael MCD'40, Dick Mayer MCD'40, and Johnny Taylor MCD'40 and all, has moved South to Wilmington, NC, to live with his son, Sandy, and family. Les has fond memories of years '35 to '38, prior to finishing at the Hill School, Pottstown, PA.
Mr. William M. Thompson MCD'44 is dealing with the decline in the housing scene by returning to his avocation as educational consultant, assisting high school juniors and seniors pursue their college choices.
Mrs. Elizabeth C. (Carman) Lanzer MUS'45 still enjoys making and selling etchings and monoprints. She invites anyone who travels to Ephraim in Door County this summer to check out her prints at the Paintbox Gallery, 10526 Hwy 42.
Rev. Richard S. Miller MCD'45 and his wife Anita visited Israel just before the war in July, 2006. Busy and exhausted, they returned to the mountains of Idaho north of Sun Valley.
Mr. John S. Ramaker MCD'46 went on several trips last spring to visit Bob Wenzel MCD'46, Kalo Wilcox Parmelee MDS'46, T.J. "Jake" Hedding MCD'46, Joanie Creager Waterman MDS'46, Dick Krauthoefer MUS'45, and Mac Taylor MCD'46. He enjoyed seeing all of them since they were unable to attend the 60th reunion in June 2006.
Mrs. Betsy L. (Lindemann) Rose MDS'47 is still alive and very happy. She is grateful that, although MS and Osteoporosis may have slowed her down, they haven't crippled her like they do so many people. She is lucky indeed!
1950s
Mrs. Laura Lee (Michelson) Garfinkel MDS'52 is still living in Akron, OH. She was widowed for the 2nd time and cares for her 99 year old mother who is now living in Akron, not Bluefield, WV. Laura travels, does the usual volunteer work, and loves to spend time with her grandchildren.
Mr. O. T. Lupinski MUS'52 is a marathon runner. He did 2 marathons in 2006, in Casper, Wyoming and Columbus Ohio. He plans to run the Marine Corps marathon in October. So far, Mr. Lupinski has completed 31 marathons. His father owned the farm property where University School of Milwaukee is now located.
Mrs. Judith (Cron) Friedman MDS'53 is passionate about environmental issues. Treasuring her family, friends and every living creature compels her to struggle towards a safer and saner world.
Mr. James R. Weller MUS'57 attended MCD through freshman year and MUS the last three years.
Mrs. Carol (Tooman) Smith MDS'58 is really looking forward to our 50th reunion in June 2008. She can't believe how fast time has gone by! Carol had a wonderful trip to France with Bobbi Brown Lee MDS'58 and Jeani Packard Lewis MDS'58 in October. Carol's son is safely back from 4 months in Iraq where he worked as an independent electrical contractor. He's now in Gulf Breeze, Fl.
1960s
Mr. Theodore V. "Todd" Montgomery, Jr. MUS'61 was recently honored with an award from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Civic Alliance for outstanding community volunteerism. He was nominated for this award by the International Institute of Wisconsin, where he has been involved in a variety of capacities for more than 34 years. Todd, who holds Master's and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is a Senior Vice-President at Wachovia Securities, LLC. In 1999, Todd received the first major citizenship award from Robert W. Baird, his previous company. Some of his other most prominent positions include being the founding president of the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, president of the UWM Alumni Association, and president of the Navy League of Milwaukee. He serves on the Development Committees of the UWM Foundation and 16th Street Health Center, and is also active on the boards of Strive Media, Friends of Lake Park, the USO, America's Freedom Center and UWM's Board of Visitors. Todd is or has been actively involved with the Milwaukee Rotary Club, the Milwaukee Press Club, the Milwaukee Foundation Associates, United Way, Villa Terrace, the Skylight Theatre, and the Betty Brinn Children's Museum.
Dr. Lutz H. Schlicke MUS'61 has authored his second book entitled "Change and Stress".
Mr. Michael G. Pfeifer USM'65 took an early retirement from Ernst & Young's International Tax Services National Office in January 2004 and became a Member of Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered, a well-known Washington, DC tax boutique, in February 2004. There he continues to handle tax planning and controversy matters for a broad range of international private clients. More importantly, he was married in October 2005 to Robin Taub, who has her own family law practice in Bethesda, MD. Between the two of them they have 5 children between the ages of 16 and 21. It makes for an exciting life!
Mr. Randolph L. Frank USM'66 is an ordained minister serving as chaplan at Trinity Village in Milwaukee.
1970s
Kathleen LeFeber Nelson USM'71 recently had a job change. She is the new Administrative Assistant at Deerwood Christian Childcare Center, leaving her job of Administrative Assistant for the past 12 years at Hill Point Church.
Chris Spheeris USM'74 lives in Sedona, Arizona. He performed at the free Monday Concert at Lake Park in Milwaukee on Monday July 16, 2007. For more information on Chris and his music, please visit: http://www.chrisspheeris.com/
Mrs. Karen A. (McNamara) Carver USM'76 enjoyed a variety of diverse work opportunities over the summer. She taught a class about rivers and watersheds for gifted and talented elementary students, guided a river trip on the Green River in Utah for a group of blind teenagers, and was an environmental educator for a day camp at the Durango Nature Center. Her oldest son, Peter,18, just graduated from High School. Her other children, Claire, 16, and Colin, 14, are training for fall soccer.
Mr. Jonathan E. Bridge USM'78 has joined the staff at the University School in Huntington Valley, Ohio, as Director of Development.
1980s
Ms. Mary Katharine USM'84 is a single Mom of five daughters who works as an executive pastry chef for a golf club. She is also a professional race car driver, racing Mazda's in two different pro series. Her daughters Nancy 14, Maggie 13, Lane 11, Mia 8, and Helen 6, are her biggest fans.
Mrs. Elizabeth Kohl (Kohl) Feinerman USM'86 had her memoir: Embryo Culture: Making Babies in the Twenty-first Century published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her memoir is a first-person account of going through in vitro fertilization, but by way of talking about "bigger" issues-moral, spiritual, bioethical-that IVF necessarily conjures.
1990s
Mr. Brook D. Scheiber USM'90 is engaged to be married in April, 2008 and plans to honeymoon in Kenya and South Africa.
Mrs. Victoria M. (Mueller) Bashara USM'91 and her husband, Terry, would like to announce the birth of their second daughter, Elizabeth Paige. Born April 12th, she weighed 6 lbs and was 20.5 inches long. She joins big sister, Madeleine who is 2 ½ years old.
Mr. Paul Guten USM'91 is doing well and living in Glencoe, IL. He has two sons Miles, and Ollie.
Mr. Robin P. Mandel USM'93 has accepted a faculty position in the Department of Art at Colby College, Waterville, Maine. Robin is a visual artist, currently living in Providence, RI. He has taught art and design at the College of the Holy Cross, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and the Rhode Island School of Design since completing his MFA in sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design in 2005. Recent exhibitions include Broadway Gallery, New York; Green Street Gallery, Boston; Cushing-Martin Gallery at Stonehill College, Easton, MA; and Centro Culturale Candiani, Venice, Italy. His online gallery can be visited at www.robinmandel.net
Ms. Jeanette S. Martin USM'94 had a baby boy on January 17, 2007, named Ari Joseph.
Talleah Bridges USM'95 was the associate producer of OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE, which aired on PBS on April 16 as part of the series America at a Crossroads. This film also won a Special Jury Prize for Innovative Documentary Storytelling at the Florida Film Festival. The televised version is a shorter version. The PBS website for the program with lots more details is: http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_operation_homecoming.html . Unlike any documentary yet to emerge from the war in Iraq, OPERATION HOMECOMING takes you inside the minds of the men and women on the front lines. Built upon a project created by the National Endowment for the Arts to gather the writing of soldiers who have participated in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the film presents a profound window into the human side of America's current conflicts. At once deeply urgent and stunningly timeless, this film will forever change how you see war.
Ms. Wendy Djinn Geniusz USM'95 entered American Studies with the 2000 cohort. Her dissertation, Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Knowledge: A Biskaabiiyang Approach, examined the ways Ojibwe plant knowledge is portrayed in the academic record and preserved in Anishinaabe communities with the goal of finding ways to decolonize this knowledge and make it more accessible to Anishinaabe people. Kudos are due to Wendy. Before graduating, she was hired as an Assistant Professor of American Multicultural Studies at Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
Ms. Sara Coffman USM'96 married Neil Duna on Sept. 9, 2006, they are both from Mequon and are now living in Seattle, WA.
Ms. Emily L. Davis USM'96 is currently finishing her masters in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver and is working as a nonprofit consultant for local and international nonprofit organizations.
Stephanie Asmuth Gardner USM'96 and Aaron Gardner USM'96 had a baby girl, Lindsey Woodland Gardner on November 16, 2007.
Mr. Benjamin N. Weber USM'96 is engaged to be married on November 10, 2007.
David Coles USM'97 is excited to announce the release of his debut album – Ten Tales – a collection of stories about life, arranged in rhyme. David calls it "rap/hip-hop for lack of a better word, but you will find that it is of its own style that is different from what you may be expecting." Visit his website – www.davecolesmusic.com – for more details and to order CDs. To listen to a sampling of the music, visit www.myspace.com/davecolesmusic. (You don't need to join myspace to listen.) For Milwaukee locals, CDs are also available at Atomic Records, and The Exclusive Company on Farwell.
Sierra Smith Nimtz USM'97 and Kaben Nimtz USM'95 moved to Mequon this fall with their daughters Molly (3) and Kasey (1).
Allison Krausen USM'98 is working in commercial lending and community banking at Colorado Capital Bank and is on the board of directors of the Vail Symposium and Bach on the Rocks. She was seen modeling a winter ensemble in the Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine (Holiday 2006-2007 edition).
Ms. Rorie J. Petri USM'99 recently moved back to Wisconsin to pursue her masters in special education at Madison. Prior to that, she spent three years teaching 4th grade and middle school special education at a residential treatment facility in Denver, CO.
Katie Robbins Ruidl USM'99 married Jeff Ruidl on July 28, 2007. Shown in photo (left to right): Andrew Robbins USM'04, Marnie Robbins USM'07, Steve Robbins, Lisa Robbins, Katie Robbins Ruidl USM'99, Jeff Ruidl, and Peter Robbins USM'02.
2000s
Mrs. Sierra L. (Reece) Sullivan USM'00 and Matthew Sullivan USM'00 were married June 30, 2007 in Telluride, CO, which is Sierra's hometown. After exchanging vows, the couple celebrated under a full moon with family and friends. Sierra and Matt currently reside in Shorewood.
Abby Davis USM'00 married Scott Williams USM'94 on July 14, 2007 at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Members of the wedding party included Emily Davis USM'96, Ross Williams USM'94, Natalia Minkel-Dumit USM'00, Katy McMicken USM'00, Alyssa Argall USM'00, Doug Williams USM'99, Chris Tornehl USM'94, Jono Adelman USM'95, Alex Wheat USM'95, Kathy Eagan McNamara USM'00, and Catie Romero-Finger USM'00. Family, friends celebrated with other USM alums.
Ms. Karen Esche USM'01 married James Eiff on June 16, 2007. Karen is currently attending UW-Milwaukee (M.S. Cultural Anthropology) and UW-Madison (certificate in Global Health).
Mr. Michael A. Nash USM'01 was awarded a Department of Homeland Security fellowship to begin fall 2007 at the University of Washington.
Ms. Kathryn E. Pelech USM'01 won a 2006 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism Award for Best Single Feature in a Magazine Story under 750 words for her piece in Milwaukee Magazine, Custard Culture.
Mr. Donald C. Forti USM'02 was awarded 1st place for Overall Graduate Performance by the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. He received the award for his stories on how books transform the lives of prison inmates, the affect of explicit music lyrics on teens, prescription drug prices and a local referendum on the Iraq War. He also was selected as a Carnegie Fellow to participate in the Summer Institute at ABC News this year. The internship is with ABC News' award winning Brian Ross investigative unit.
Ms. Catherine Gallagher USM'02 is living in Arlington, VA and is doing a training program with Crate and Barrel.
D.A. Wallach USM'03 and Maxwell Drummey are the creative partnership behind Chester French. The duo has been writing and producing gorgeous pop records for the past three years, and is currently readying its forthcoming full-length album, "Love the Future." Maxwell is from Boston and D.A. lives between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Nevis, a tiny island in the West Indies. Chester French was featured recently on Entertainment Weekly's popwatch blog.
Ms. Whitney C. Rush USM'04 is a senior at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Last summer, she had an internship in the Hedge Fund area of the Bank of New York in Manhattan. She loves the pace of the Big Apple!
Ms. Kathleen E. Hale USM'05 won the 2007 Cyrilly Abels Short Story Prize at Harvard. The Cyrilly award is awarded for the best short story written by an undergraduate during the academic year.
J.B. Dill USM'06 traveled to Ghana, West Africa for two weeks to help villagers instruct on how to use a device he created that helps reduce waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery in rural Africa.
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