November 2017
Featuring news received between July 1 and September 30, 2017
Class Notes Quarterly features professional accomplishments, educational attainments, awards, and other life milestones celebrated by our alumni. A section of In Memoriam listings follows to honor alumni who are no longer with us.
See the links below to jump to your choice of decade, or to additional sections devoted to marriage, birth, and death announcements. Based on alumni feedback, we have created easier to find and read In Memoriam listings for deceased classmates and friends, and we are pleased to provide links to their full, online obituaries as published by local media outlets, when available.
Searchable Archive: Our online class notes archive may be accessed and searched at any time. Our archived collection of notes (including class notes, marriage and birth announcements, and in memoriam listings) begins with those received in 2010. The archive may be searched by name, class year, city, or state and is updated regularly.
Have news to submit? Please submit your news via the online Alumni Update Form. We'll include all news received by December 31 in the February 2018 issue.
Did we miss something? Don't see a note that you remember submitting prior to September 30? Is a correction needed? Email bwalumni@bw.edu and we'll make the necessary additions (or edits) to this page and to the class notes archive.
Class Notes
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
Marriages
Births
In Memoriam
News & Updates
1944
JANICE SCHWENDEMAN SCHMIDT, Olmsted Falls, celebrated her 95th birthday in April. Her proudest personal accomplishments are her four children, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Janice was a vocal music teacher in both the public schools and in her private studio for over 35 years.
1958
ROBERT MALLONEE, Techny, Ill., is celebrating 50 years of being a priest. After serving 27 years at the Divine Word Retreat House in Duxbury, Massachusetts, he is now retired in Illinois.
1959
CAROL JONES LEWIS, Middletown, Md., was inducted into the Riverside High School Faculty Hall of Fame.
ROBERT POHLMAN, Minden, Nev., retired from a 37-year career as a system engineer with Sperry Rand Corporation. He is a member of the Board of Governors Shriners Hospitals for Children Salt Lake City, working on tele-health conferencing for children in rural Nevada. Robert has also earned a certified financial planner credential (CFP) from Adelphi University.
1963
PATRICIA MCKEE GEIGER, Fairlawn, is chief executive officer of Artemis Polymer Processing, Inc. where she is celebrating 40 years in business with her husband, Charles.
1966
JAMES PITCHER, Albuquerque, N.M., is retired from the music staff at Rocky River United Methodist Church. He and his wife Pamela Curry Pitcher ’66 are now living in New Mexico.
WILLIAM HANSEN, Pittsburgh, Pa., is vice president of the board for his condo association.
1967
BRADFORD KARELIUS, Laguna Niguel, Ca., has retired after 30 years as rector at Messiah Episcopal Church in Santa Ana. A philosophy professor at Saddleback Community College, his new book is titled Encounters with the World’s Religions (Wipf and Stock).
1970
JOSEPH SHIVERS, Salem, received the Joe Kelley Spirit of Salem Award from the Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
1971
JOHN YARD, Sunland, Calif., is retired from a career in computer systems engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
1973
JACQUELINE WELSH BJALONCIK, Stow, is now retired from a 44-year career in chemistry, including as a research chemist and laboratory manager at MetroHealth Medical Center, a lab chemist at Fairview General Hospital, and research associate at Northeast Ohio College of Medicine (NEOMED).
JAMES “BJ” BJALONCIK, Stow, is now retired from a 44-year career in chemistry, including 25 years at MetroHealth Medical Center, clinical lab science, and industry.
BOB GRAHAM, Avon Lake, is retired from a 40-year career of teaching mathematics.
BARBARA MUELLER SAWREY, La Jolla, Ca., retired after more than 33 years as a professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry and 10 years as the dean of undergraduate education at The University of California, San Diego.
1981
RICHARD THEWLIS, Garrettsville, began his eighth year as an adjunct professor of religious studies at Hiram College. He is also celebrating 30 years of ordination in the United Methodist Church and his 36th wedding anniversary with his wife Jill Carney ’82.
1982
VIKTOR TOTH, Woodstock, Conn., is now superintendent of the Woodstock Public Schools after 33 years as a teacher and administrator. He is married to Lorene Kolwicz ’83.
1985
ARTHUR RICE (MBA ’87), Brunswick, has launched his consulting firm, ACE Global Trade Consulting, after 30 years in banking. His specialties include export compliance and risk mitigation strategies.
1986
MALINDA DEXTER HARP, Oakwood Village, has re-opened the Law Office of Malinda D. Harp.
RANDELL MCSHEPARD, Medina, was honored with a 2017 Humanitarian Award by the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio for his dedication and service to the community.
1987
ARTHUR RICE (MBA), Brunswick, see ’85.
1988
HOLLY SCOTT, Garfield Heights, is a senior healthcare solutions trainer and knowledge consultant for IBM Watson Health. She is also active in community theatre, performing in many productions and scheduled to direct at both the Brecksville Theatre and Independence Community Theatre in 2018.
MALISSE SINITO, Waite Hill, president of Millenia Hospitality Group, has opened the Marble Room Steaks and Raw Bar in Cleveland’s historic Garfield Building.
1989
STACY DEPAOLIS WINDAHL (MBA), Bay Village, has co-written a book with Jody Dreyer, a Disney executive who held 22 positions at the company. The book is titled Beyond the Castle: A Guide to Discovering your Happily Ever After (Zondervan).
1990
CURT MILLER, Uncasville, Ct., was named WBNA Coach of the Year for his accomplishments as head coach of the Connecticut Sun.
1991
DALE KLOSE (MBA), Kansas City, Mo., is now president of the Kansas City region of PNC Bank.
PEGGY FORTUNE YETMAN, Spring, Tx., won the women’s Olympic Division race at the 31st annual Cleveland Triathlon with a total time of two hours, seven minutes and 57 seconds.
1992
BILL CHORBA, North Ridgeville, is now chief financial officer of the Cleveland Metroparks.
THOMAS BAKER, Lakewood, has been named to the list of Best Lawyers in America for 2018.
ROCHONDA WILEY NENONENE, Beavercreek, is now assistant dean for the School of Education and Health Sciences at the University of Dayton. She and her husband, Kwasi Nenonene ’91, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in June.
1993
LAURA MENCH D’AMATO, Berea, is now the circulation supervisor of BW’s Ritter Library.
1995
KRISTEN DEMBOSKI YOUNG, Smithfield, Va., is now an English as a Second Language (ESL) newcomer teacher at Newport News Public Schools, working with middle school students.
1998
ANTHONY PEEBLES (MBA), Shaker Heights, is now a financial advisor at Skylight Financial Group, specializing in small and family owned business. He was also appointed chair of the finance and audit committee of the Shaker Heights City School District.
RICHARD BAYTOSH (EMBA), Clemmons, N.C., is now assistant director of Investor Relations for BB&T.
1999
RANDY KIMBRO (EMBA ’01), Grafton, was appointed fire chief of the Grafton Village Fire Department.
2001
TRACY CEROVSKI HAWTHORNE (MBA ’11), Valley View, is now controller at Donley’s Inc.
RANDY KIMBRO (EMBA), Grafton, see ’99.
2002
CATHERINE “CAT” CVENGROS, San Jose, Calif., is vice president of development and marketing at Second Harvest Food Bank.
LAURA MARELI NOVAK, Painesville, authored her first children’s book, Giggling with the Geese (Light Your Life Publishing).
2003
TYLER KELLY, Bay Village, was promoted to captain in the Westlake Fire Department.
2004
KATE SIDLEY, Astoria, N.Y., was nominated for two Emmy Awards for comedy writing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
2005
CASSANDRA JACKSON NIST, Canton, was honored with a Genesis Award by the Humane Society of the United States for her coverage of crimes against police canines as senior producer of investigations for CBS Cleveland 19 News. She also received her third Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her political and government corruption investigations.
2006
ERIN OSBURN HALL, Medina, is manager of annual giving at Padua Franciscan High School.
2007
ANDREW SZILAGYI, Alexandria, Va., is an attorney-advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
KIMBERLY CONIAM, Seoul, Korea, is currently the acting director for the Army Commander’s Strategic Initiatives Group, which includes the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea.
2008
BRENDAN REYNOLDS, Rocky River, is a corporate and foundation relations officer at Holden Forests and Gardens.
JAMES VASCONI, Sharon, Pa., is an adjunct professor of piano, college organist, and choral accompanist at Thiel College. He also teaches music theory at Youngstown State University.
SEAN SMITH, Urbana, Ill., earned a Master of Music in wind conducting from the University of Illinois, where he is assistant director of athletic bands.
2009
DONALD BROWN, JR., New York, N.Y., is an associate director for student and alumni services at the College of Global Health of New York University (NYU).
KRISTEN WRIGHT, Ellicott City, Md., is an associate director of the Student Outreach Resource Center (SOURCE) for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
STEVE HORNE (MBA), North Royalton, is an account executive for Industrial Parts and Service.
2010
SCOTT MONACO (MBA), Broadview Heights, is now chief executive officer of Evolution Capital Partners, LLC.
RYAN ROUTH, Medina, is a recruitment specialist at Cuyahoga Community College.
2011
TRACY CEROVSKI HAWTHORNE (MBA), Valley View, see ’01.
2012
JENNIFER HAWKER GRAMUGLIA, Parma, is pursuing a master’s degree in clinic mental health counseling at Cleveland State University.
CORY ISLER (MBA ’15), is membership and customer experience manager for The City Club of Cleveland.
2013
KAYLAN LEMON, Washington, D.C., is a first grade teacher at KIPP DC: Heights Academy.
DENNIS LOCONTI (MAED), Tiffin, is residence life coordinator for housing at Heidelberg University.
MAX NOLIN, Washington, D.C., is a teacher at the Edmund Burke School. He is also artistic director of the Loudoun Chorale.
MARJORIE HURLOW STUMP, Lexington, Ky., earned a Master of Arts in ethnomusicology at Cardiff University in Wales. She is now an AmeriCorps volunteer in Lexington.
2014
EMILY HOUSEHOLDER STACEY, Shaker Heights, started a travel agency, Aida’s Adventures, serving the greater Cleveland area.
JANE HELEN COOPER, North Royalton, has published her first children’s book, Willie and the Tomato Garden (Banyan Tree Press).
GABRIELLE FRIEDLUND BERRY, Knox, Pa., earned a Master of Arts in exercise physiology from The University of Akron.
LAURA GAGLIONE, St. Paul, M.N., is a certified wound and ostomy nurse at the Regions Hospital Burn Center.
MICHAEL TWIG, Westlake, is a medical surgical nurse at the Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs.
SOPHIA VIGLIONE, Parma, earned a Master of Education from The Ohio State University. She teaches 11th and 12th grade English in the Reynoldsburg City Schools.
2015
CAITLYN ABBEY, Caro, Mich., is serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar, working as an agricultural extension agent.
JOELLE DELISI BESENFELDER, North Ridgeville, is a circulating and scrub nurse in the cardiothoracic operating rooms of the Cleveland Clinic. She is also the mother of a four-year old daughter and one-year old son.
COLIN CUNNINGHAM, Medina, is a sales assistant and product specialist at Cleveland Motorsports.
AMANDA VAN GILDER, Fairlawn, earned a master’s degree at John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. As a finalist in the two-year presidential management fellowship program, she is a management analyst at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
CORY ISLER (MBA), Cleveland, see ’12.
SHARI MANGAS, Annapolis, Md., has been certified as an assistant director of equipment operations for the United States Naval Academy.
OLECIA SZEDNY, Parma, is a registered nurse at Lutheran Hospital. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in the Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at Kent State University.
2016
AMANDA GRIFFITHS, Elyria, is a life enrichment coordinator at the Renaissance Retirement Campus.
ARIC CROSS (MBA ’16), Geneva, is an accountant at Parker Hannifin.
ASHLEY HAWLEY, North Royalton, is a grant writer at Family Promise of Lorain County and the owner of Ashley Hawley Freelancing.
CAITLIN NEWCOMB, Champaign, Ill., is now a first grade teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Urbana.
PATRICK MORAN, North Olmsted, is pursuing doctoral studies in physical therapy at Cleveland State University. He was also appointed to the Board of Governors of Phi Kappa Tau.
RACHEL WILKEN, Columbus, Ind., is the program and center coordinator at the Indiana University Center for Art and Design.
2017
NICHOLAS “NICK” HANSON, Miami, Fl., is assistant residence life coordinator at Florida International University.
TYLER LEE, New York, N.Y., is enrolled at New York University School of Law.
GRACE YANG, New York, N.Y., is enrolled at New York University’s Steindhart School of Culture, Education and Human Development for graduate studies in viola performance.
PAIGE ZILBA, Perrysburg, created and recorded a cover of the Smash Mouth tune “All Star,” which garnered more than 200,000 views in a day.
Marriages
CHRISTINA PULTRONE ’94 to Gary Bradley Welborn
CLAIRE DECHANT ’01 to John Fisher
RACHEL WILLIAMS ’01 to Jason Kulisek (2016)
KELSIE BAKER ’10 to Shane Gunnoe (2014)
RYAN ROUTH ’10 to Michael Sferro
JENNIFER HAWKER ’12 to Ricky Gramuglia
ALLISON BIAGLOW ’13 to Mike Duniec
NATHAN HOWELL ’13 to SOPHIA VIGLIONE ’14 (2015)
KYLE SUSMAN ’16 to EMILY SMITH ’16
Births
RACHEL WILLIAMS ’01 and husband Jason, a son
LARRY ZAKRAJSEK ’05, and wife Amanda, twin daughter and son
KELSIE BAKER GUNNOE ’09 and husband Shane, a son
ERIN HEGARTY ANDRZEJEWSKI ’09, and husband Jeff, a daughter
KATIE KOVACS BADER ’10, ’10 and husband Greg, a daughter
SARAH HUSTED DIXON ’10, and husband Andrew, a daughter
In Memoriam
1945
SOPHIE SOEFFKER ALBRECHT, Elyria, died on September 14. Majored in music. Honored with the Conservatory Alumni Achievement Award in 1988.
WINIFRED “WINNIE” MEKLAIT HICKSON, Akron, died on August 31. Majored in education. Member of Alpha Phi.
1946
ELEANOR “ELLY” RUFF SAUSSER, Sandusky, died on December 1, 2016. Majored in home economics. Member of Alpha Phi.
1948
CHARLES “CHUCK” HART, Millersburg, died on July 21. Majored in science and attended BW as part of the Navy V-12 program.
1949
MARIEANNE VON BERGEN CROSSMAN, Waxhaw, N.C., died on August 15. Majored in home economics. Member of Delta Zeta.
LOYAL LUIKART, Euclid, died on March 23. Majored in history. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
1952
ARLENE BEARDSLEY HARGATE, Mentor, died on July 27. Majored in biology. Member of Alpha Xi Delta.
1954
WARD JONES, Catonsville, Md., died on September 21. Majored in physics. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
1956
JAMES GILHAM, Newark, died on August 26. Majored in studio art.
THOMAS KIRSOP, Westlake, died on April 1. Majored in history.
1957
WALTER ANDERSON JR., Westerville, died on July 3. Majored in business administration.
1960
DARST GRUND, Cheboygan, Mich., died on September 16. Majored in humanities. Member of Alpha Tau Omega.
MARY JANE “MJ” VAN COURT HUSKONEN, Brecksville, died on May 19. Majored in music. Member of Alpha Phi.
1961
LAWRENCE “LARRY” PALL, Grafton, died on September 7. Majored in biology.
1963
DARIA DARLENE DOBOS PETRYKOWSKI, Strongsville, died on July 21. Majored in French.
1968
ROBERT KOLLMAN, Chardon, died on April 25. Majored in business administration. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha and lettered in basketball.
PHILIP LIPKIN, Lakewood, Colo., died on July 20. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
JANE MUSICK, Roanoke, Va., died on January 4, 2012. Majored in psychology. No obituary available at time of publication.
CONSTANCE “CONNIE” WEBER OATEY, Strongsville, died on June 21, 2012. Majored in German.
GEOFFREY “GEOFF” STOREY, Roselle, Ill., died in January. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Tau Omega and lettered in swimming and diving.
1969
MICHAEL DYE, North Ridgeville, died on September 14. Majored in health & physical education. Member of Alpha Tau Omega and lettered in football.
1970
LINDA GEARY BURNS, Oldsmar, Fla., died on July 14. Majored in political science. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
1971
LAURETTA ANDERSON ABRONSKI, Fort Mill, S.C., died on September 30. Majored in education. Member of Zeta Tau Alpha.
1975
MARY PRICE WARNER, Lorain, died on September 26. Majored in education.
1976
MARY “KATHY” LOWE, Midlothian, Va., died on August 3. Majored in speech and communication. Member of Delta Zeta.
TIMOTHY “MOUSE” MIESSE, Strongsville, died on September 29. Majored in history. Member of Phi Kappa Tau.
1979
BARBARA ANN KAMINSKI WALKER, Vermilion, died on August 29. Majored in education.
1986
GRETCHEN KRACH POZEK, (MBA ’07), Mantua, died on April 5. Majored in accounting and earned an MBA degree with a focus on human resources.
1987
JACK KOZAK, Allen, Tex., died on September 13. Majored in psychology. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
1988
CAROLE BEGIN, Houston, Tex., died on March 13, 2015. Majored in business administration.
1990
ROBERT WILLISTON, Medina, died on April 18. Majored in business administration.
1991
MELISSA TRIFILETTI, Fort Collins, Colo., died on August 13. Majored in business administration. Member of Delta Zeta, Omicron Delta Kappa, and was a class officer.
1992
DENNIS VECCHIO, Rocky River, died on July 7. Majored in history.
2007
GRETCHEN KRACH POZEK, Mantua, see ’86.
2008
SCOTT BORCHARDT, Berea, died on August 14. Majored in exercise science. Member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
2010
WILSON ADAMS (MBA), Trafalgar, In., died on June 28. Wilson earned an MBA in entrepreneurship.
FRIENDS
DOUG HENRY, Brunswick, died on October 3. He was a BW parking officer from 2014 to 2017.
CATHERINE LEWIS, Berea, died on May 16. She was a professor in BW’s department of English from 1998 to 2017.
EDGAR B. MOORE, Berea, died on October 16. He first served BW as its chaplain in the 1960s, then as a faculty member and chair of the history department for 45 years.