Class Notes

1950s

Marilyn Ekas Van Niel, Mary Alice Painter Peterson and Joyce Henninger Wise — all class of 1955 — had a nice visit in Florida in March 2022.

James “Jim” Brooker ’56 (Delta Upsilon) sent in a photo of his wife, Dolores at Christmas time 2021. At 91, Jim continues to travel and surf fish, including in Alaska.

William Robert White ’59 is retired and living in Upland, California.

1960s

Ken Luther ’60 continues into his 20th year as s volunteer broadcaster on WMKV-FM public radio in Cincinnati, Ohio — and it all started in the Andrews Hall basement studios.

Stanley Fink, ’61 was among the honorees when he received one of the Melville “De” Miller Jr. Memorial Fund Fellowship Equal Justice Medals at the recent Legal Services of New Jersey 2022 EQUAL JUSTICE Award Reception, Celebrating Those Who Advance Justice and Fairness Under the Law. Stan keeps himself busy working in his community. He is currently serving on the Executive Board of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, has served as an in-house volunteer with the Union County office of Central Jersey Legal Services since 2018, and had served as President of the Board of Union County Legal Services in the early 1970’s. He was the founding member and law partner at Fink Rosner Ershow Levenberg, LLC, in Clark, New Jersey. After retiring from active practice at the end of 2017, he has continued to be involved on Committees and as a speaker on several Union County Bar Association continuing education panels, served as a Court-appointed Administrator of a decedent’s intestate Estate, and involved with several charitable and law-related organizations.

Irene Sarich O’Neill ’62 lives in Marietta, Georgia.

David H. Rosenbloom AB ’64, Life Associate Trustee and Honorary Doctor of Laws (1994) is retiring after a 53-year academic career. He will be a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at American University (Washington, D.C.) as of September 1, 2022. David taught political science and public administration at the Universities of Kansas, Tel Aviv, and Vermont as well as at Syracuse and American Universities with extended visits at City University of Hong Kong, Renmin University of China, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is best known for his work on public administration and law and the framework for analyzing public administration from the sometimes-competing perspective of management, politics/policy, and law. David has four daughters and one son along with three grandsons and two granddaughters. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and can be reached at rbloom313@hotmail.com. 

Terry M. Limpert ’65 is retired and lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Mary Rupp Minturn ’65 lives in Sharonville, Ohio.

Nancy Hoye Mufti ’65 is a retired Management Analyst in the Government Accountability Office of the Federal Government. She lives in Marietta, Ohio.

James M. Brocco ’67 lives in Lewes, Delaware.

In April 2022, Sigma Kappa sisters (Class of 1969) gathered for an extraordinary week together in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to celebrate their 75th birthdays — their 10^th ΣΚ reunion since graduation. Pictured front row (from left) are Pat Collins, Lynn Sweeting Sweet, Sherry Hartman Dussel, Priss Sullivan Calanni, and Louise Raish Gentry; and back row (from left) Susan Enos, Barbara Sweeton Burnham, Marilyn Paul Pavlakovic, and Karen Weiss Wallace.

Dennis Di Donto ’69 is a retired psychotherapist having earned degrees from St. Lawrence University (M.Ed. Counseling) and San Francisco State University (MS Counseling). He ended his career as a psychotherapist in September 2020. Living in San Francisco since 1974, his spouse, Martin, and he were among the first gay couples to marry when Mayor Gavin Newsom (now governor) opened the process up.

Robert B. Gundlach ’69 is retired and lives in Vero Beach, Florida.

1970s

Linda Smyser Fossetta ’70 lives in Bolivia, North Carolina.

Jeffrey D. Thomas ’73 recently moved back to Marietta, Ohio, for his retirement.

Peter Mandell ’74 was the proud recipient of The Marine Mammal Center's nomination for the Volunteer of the Year Award, hosted annually by Marin County's Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL.) The Center recognized Peter's leadership in serving as a docent for the public when they visit its teaching hospital, responding to distressed marine mammals in the wild, and interviewing new volunteer applicants. Special recognition was given to his role in maintaining relationships with several companies, restaurants, and institutions that contribute in-kind supplies and gifts to further The Marine Mammal Center's ocean conservation programs and volunteer appreciation efforts.

Robert S. Coates ’75 lives in Belpre, Ohio.

Jacqueline Herron Murawski ’76 and her husband researched and wrote volumes pertaining to family histories. They donated them to various libraries, including the DAR library. The Morris family was 28 volumes, the John Henry Goetschius family was 11 volumes, and the John Short family is two volumes. The couple continue to work on more of Jacqueline’s ancestors.

Cynthia Adams ’78 (Alpha Xi Delta), a Columbus piano instructor, is set to have a prestigious music education fellowship established in her name for her decades-spanning impact upon the lives of fellow music teachers in Central Ohio. The Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) formally recognized Adams on March 28, 2022, at the MTNA Gala, during their 2022 National Virtual Conference. Founded in 1876, MTNA is a nationwide organization for the support, growth and empowerment of music-teaching professionals. Adams’ career as a professional pianist and teacher spans nearly 40 years.

1980s

Jacqui Brandon Gripman ’82 and her husband retired in January 2021 and moved to Panama. “We currently live on the Pacific Coast and can watch the sun rise and set over the Pacific Ocean from our patio. I reunited with my Alpha Xi Delta sisters Laurie Allen Bush and Kathy McAdoo Messics at my son's wedding in Bethpage, New York, in April of 2022!”

After 24 and a half years with Higher Education Software vendor Jenzabar, working everything from Product Development, to Data Services and Customer Support, Bruce S. MacCullagh ’84 is now working as a Data Analyst in the IT department at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Mary Cantlin ’86 works for Temescal Wellness and lives in Grantham, New Hampshire.

Eric Holdren ’87 is the Director at Levin Consulting and lives in Canton, Ohio.

Dan Leffingwell ’88, the former Superintendent for Noble Local Schools, was named the 2022 Ohio Superintendent of the Year. “Any award like this is certainly attributed to the work of an entire team over a number of years. Our Noble Local staff has worked so hard to transform education and offerings for our students and without their efforts, this award would not be possible.” Dan is now the Executive Director of Special Projects and Student Services for. theEast Central Ohio Educational Service Center.

2000s

Joe Swislocki ’03 is a Software Engineer Manager for BoxCast and lives in Bay Village, Ohio.

Candice Miller ’04 lives in Houston, Texas.

James Nice ’05 has joined Keurig/Dr. Pepper as a National Account Executive, while also working on his MBA at the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University. For more than 13 years he worked a variety of jobs with McDonald’s, most recently as a Field Marketing Officer.

Kate Paullin ’06 has worked at KeyBank in Cleveland, Ohio, for two years and was recently promoted to Senior UX Designer.

Amanda Stacy Hartman ’07, MAP’08 joined 7-Eleven as Senior Counsel, Litigation in December. Amanda, who earned her Doctor of Law from Ohio Northern University, had been an attorney with Speedway for nearly three years. Following 7-Eleven’s acquisition of Speedway, Amanda was able to make the transition.

Michael Hart ’08 is the Director of Talent Acquisition for Redwood Living in Independence, Ohio. Over the past three years, he honed his human resource skills as a Regional Talent Manager with Team NEO in Cleveland, Ohio, and as a Talent Acquisition Manager with MGM Northfield Park in Northfield, Ohio.

Marissa Missinne Shockey ’08 is now the Chief Human Resources Officer at Westbrook Health Services in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Bo Richardson ’09 was promoted to Executive Director of Business Operations at Ohio University. He has been working at the Athens, Ohio, institution since 2014.

2010s

Catlin Ball ’10 and Natalie George Ball ’10 PA’12 welcomed their son, Cecil, on June 23, 2021. The Balls reside in Marietta, Ohio.

Jessica Christie ’10 is still the owner of Jessica Christie Photography in Denver, Colorado, but now she is also working as a flight attendant with Frontier Airlines.

Amanda Hardt ’13 was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Marketing Lead: Corporate & Institutional Banking Marketing Strategy at PNC in Pittsburgh.

George Bloomfield ’14 started working as an Assurance Director with Cleveland, Ohio-based Thornhill Financial in January.

Brooke McMillin League ’14 was married to Austin League on March 13, 2022. Alumni who attended their wedding include (from left) Colton Nutt ’17, Eddie Watson ’15, Zak Janus, Brey Mays ’17, Bobby Thaxton ’14, Jim Shinaberry ’13, Brooke, Kelsie Sparber Giannoulis ’14, Julia Houck Stegman ’14, Andy Stegman ’15 and Katie Gordon ’14. Brooke is a graphic designer at Alcon and lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Summer Shelton ’14 is an Assistant Professor of Adverting and Public Relations at the University of Southern Indiana. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2019 and worked at Idaho State University for two years prior to her current position.

Josh Ungerbuehler ’14 joined Afterpay as an Account Executive.

Ryan Hanahan ’15 was promoted to Coordinator of Admissions Communications and Senior Counselor at Cleveland State University. He joined Cleveland State in 2018 as an Admission Counselor.

Zachary Jon Janus ’17 is a sales engineer at Terra Sonic International. He and his wife, Breyanne Mays ’17, live in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Matthew E. Mock ’17 works at Lowes and also does public relations for the Lancaster Soap Box Derby. He lives in Lancaster, Ohio.

Claudia Allen ’18 and Scott Oberhelman ’18 were married on September 9, 2021 in Corolla, North Carolina. The couple live in Westerville, Ohio. Their wedding photos includes fellow Pioneers: Steve Oberhelman ’88, Janet Smythe Oberhelman ’88, Alex Diehl ’15, Kristina LaRocca Diehl ’17, Trevor Mescher ’18, Anna Reece ’21, Grant Helber ’19, Alec Bianchi ’18, David Stover ’18, Chris Petrucci ’18, ’21, Eric White ’17, Shane Fetsko ’18, and Ali Prologo ’18.

Amanda Arrowood ’19 was promoted to Digital Marketing Specialist at RevLocal, a digital marketing partner for businesses.

Kelsey Willis Vinsel PA’19 is a physician assistant at Reveal Aesthetic and lives in New Albany, Ohio.