September 2020
Featuring news received between May 1 and July 31, 2020
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, including links to complete obituaries available online at the time of publication.
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. The 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 any combination of name, class year, city, or state and is updated with each new issue. Use the sidebar menu (at left) to navigate between the archive and past issues referenced in the notes.
Have news to submit? Please submit your news via the online Alumni Update Form. We'll include all news received on or by October 31 in the December 2020 issue.
Did we miss something? Don't see a note that you remember submitting prior to August 1? 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
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Friends
Marriages
Births
In Memoriam
1953
IRENE PAUL THEODORE, Cuyahoga Falls, authored a forward for Geraldine Ray McTigue’s book, “The Amazing Power of Mothers” (see ’76).
1960
MARILYN GAEDE BAYER, Seminole, Fla., is a charter member of the Suncoast Singers of Florida with her husband, Donald Bayer ’61. The chorus has performed at Carnegie Hall and at the Normandy 50th anniversary events of 1994, among other special events
1961
DONALD BAYER, Seminole, Fla., retired from Honeywell Space and Strategic after 36 years as a staff engineer. In his retirement he and his wife of 62 years, Marilyn Gaede Bayer ’60 are charter members of the Suncoast Singers of Florida. Don is active in the choir and leadership of Faith Presbyterian Church and a past president of two condominium association boards in Pinellas County.
1964
ROBERT WALTERS, Ashtabula, was inducted to the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in recognition of his 56-year coaching career.
1965
RICHARD NEUWIRTH, Defiance, is a Civil Air Patrol search and rescue officer, pastor of Swan Creek Church of the Brethren and volunteer chaplain at Defiance Mercy Hospital.
1966
KARL SWANSON, Williamsburg, Va., has retired and re-located with his wife Cheryl from San Francisco, to Williamsburg during this pandemic. They love being retired and living back in on the East Coast.
1968
JERRY YODER, Kissimmee, Fla., returned to the USA in March 2020 after 25 years in the Philippines.
1972
CHRIS LYTLE, Chattanooga, Tenn., has moved with his wife to the scenic city of Chattanooga after living 30 years in Madison, Wis. He remains engaged in training broadcast advertising salespeople online and has zero frequent flyer miles left.
1976
DAVID “DC” ANDERSON, Montgomery, N.Y., has released his latest recording, Sarasota, on Spotify and YouTube. Recent gigs include acting in a development workshop of a new musical, Fountain, with ASOLO Rep in Sarasota and the role of Daddy Murphy in Bright Star at Florida Studio Theatre.
GERALDINE “GERRI” RAY MCTIGUE, Deerfield Beach, Fla., published a book, “The Amazing Power of Mothers.” The book includes a forward by Irene Theodore (see ’53).
1981
PAUL CLARK (MBA), Cleveland, retired in 2019 from a 43-year career at PNC Bank.
TIM COLLINS, Cleveland, was selected to the Class of 2020 Hall of Fame for the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law of Cleveland State University. He credits the skills and liberal arts education imparted by BW and the encouragement of BW faculty and staff for preparing him for law school.
1982
SUZANNE BURTON WOJCIK, Georgetown, Tex., transitioned to director of global quality assurance for Sterile Operations at AbbVie Pharmaceuticals
1983
GREGORY HAMILTON, Irving, Tex., released two CDs on the RosaMystica label: The Organ Music of Dom Paul Benoit, and Hymns. As a composer, he has over 100 works in print represented by six publishers, with recent performances in Europe, the U.K. and 12 states in the U.S.
1987
ANNIE WILLIAMS HEIDERSBACH, Grafton, was named president of Elyria Catholic High School following her retirement from BW in June 2020.
ROBERT “BOB” HUNT, Hudson, was named president of the National Alliance on Mental Health Illness of Summit County.
1988
WILLIAM MYERS, Liberty, Mo., is the founder and owner-operator of Nouvelle Music Publishing which has acquired the piano music of Carole Flautau. Works published by Nouvelle have been featured in the National Federation of Music Club catalog and TV programs on the Discovery Channel and CBS, among others.
1989
JOHN KARKOSIAK (MBA ’00), Broadview Heights, celebrated 31 years at Swagelok this year. He has also joined the board of directors for the nonprofit Values in Action.
SHERRY BUCKNER SALLEE, Strongsville, was appointed to the Strongsville Board of Education.
1992
SUSAN WAGNER SNOW, Charlotte, N.C., has been named North Carolina energy policy management director for Duke Energy.
AMY MCGAHAN, Rocky River, was promoted to managing director of Dix & Eaton where she leads the firm’s media relations practice.
1993
MARIA SZENTMIKLOSSY HERRON GREGG, Westlake, retired after 32 years with the Lakewood City Schools as accounting department administrator.
LAURA MENCH D’AMATO, Berea, circulation supervisor for Ritter Library, was named a 2020 Ohio Private Academic Libraries (OPAL) Service Award recipient. She was also a Library Leadership Ohio 2020 participant.
1994
HALLIE YAVITCH, Los Angeles, Calif., vice president of booking for the Staples Center and Microsoft Theater, was awarded 2020 Women of Influence Award by Venues Now.
1995
REBECCA SPOONER KORWIN, Akron, is executive vice president of science and innovation at State Chemical Corporation. She was honored in Crain’s annual Cleveland Business Women of the Year (2020).
1996
JEFF MILLER, Olmsted Twp., was promoted to director of athletic communications at BW.
1997
JULIE DEMOREST CLARK, Brunswick, was promoted to vice president of nonprofit engagement at Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) where she has been employed since 2007. In this role, she leads consulting, training, and support services to 800+ nonprofits in Northeast Ohio annually.
1998
CHRISTINE BONIN FOOTE, Cleveland, was named principal of Grant Elementary School in the Lakewood City School District.
1999
PAUL GENTILE, Lancaster, Calif., has retired from PPG Industries after 37 years of service. He is now focusing full-time on his travel business, Vicdaddy Travel.
JULIE ROTHACKER MAGIERA, Cleveland Heights, is a senior director for program development at Centene Corporation.
2000
JOHN KARKOSIAK (MBA), Broadview Heights, see ’89.
2001
LIZA JOHNSTON-SIEGEL, Nashville, Tenn., is a member of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, a company member of the Nashville Opera, and a private piano and voice instructor. She also volunteers with the Nashville Humane Association.
2002
CANDICE DEMPSEY, Seven Hills, has been married to her wife Jessica since 2011. They have four children, Matt (age 16), Keilei (12), Parker (7) and Bennett (5). Candice also coaches girls recreational and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball
2003
RICH PETRUNYAK (AMBA ’03), Cleveland, was appointed finance director for the City of Seven Hills, Ohio, in May 2020.
2004
ROB BECKER, Berea, was promoted to director of campus recreation and athletic facilities at BW. He just completed a four-year term as the President of the Ohio Recreational Sports Association (ORSA) and will still continue serving the association as its fundraising and sponsorship chair.
DANIEL REMEIN, Somerville, Mass., received tenure in July 2020 and was promoted to the rank of associate professor in the English Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
2006
GREG DONNELLAN, Bay Village, received the 2020 Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. He is director of the Lawrence School Middle School in Sagamore Hills which serves students with learning differences.
2008
JOSEPH LEVY, Chicago, Ill., earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in higher education leadership from National Louis University in April 2020.
2009
JESSICA BUTZER, Orrville, is entering her second season as the varsity assistant coach for girls basketball at Orrville High School.
JENNIFER CLARE-LATHAM, Middleburg Heights, bought a new home in Middleburg Heights with her husband and 19-month-old son and is happy to be back in the area.
TERRI MOORE PORTER, Greencastle, Pa., earned a graduate degree in teaching from Mount St. Mary’s University in 2011 and a doctoral degree in education from the University of Findlay in 2019. She now teaches English at Hagerstown Vocational High School. She is the third of four Moore family members to graduate from BW.
2010
AMANDA WYANT, Alexandria, Va., started a new position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a social science research analyst.
2011
MEGAN JONES AVELLANA, Columbus, purchased her first home in June 2019. She is assistant director for international and graduate affairs at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
KRISTINA GUY YAKO (MAEd), Strongsville, is now principal at Lee Burneson Middle School in the Westlake City School District.
2012
RYAN NORDQUIST, Wickliffe, has returned to his alma mater as assistant baseball coach of the Yellow Jackets after three years as the assistant baseball coach at John Carroll University.
2013
DOUG DEGIROLAMO (MAEd ’16), Lakewood, is now assistant director of the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University.
BRADEN PONTOLI, Alhambra, Calif., graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a Master of Fine Art in music performance and composition. He is film scoring and producing music in the Los Angeles area.
2014
EMILY HOUSEHOLDER-STACEY, Cleveland, was hired by CZYK Publishing to write “Eat Like a Local: Ohio Food Guide” as part of the Eat Like a Local series.
2015
BRIANA SINN O’BRIEN, Northfield, is an occupational therapist in the Cleveland area for children who are diagnosed with autism.
ALICIA SWITZER NICKELS (MAEd), Westlake, is national director of foundation relations for the American Lung Association.
2016
DOUG DEGIROLAMO (MAEd), Lakewood, see ’13.
2017
EMILY RABER, Northfield, was selected for the national Alpha Phi’s “30 under 30” for innovation, leadership, excellence, generosity and commitment to others. She is the community programs coordinator at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square.
ROBERT ROYER, Las Vegas, Nev., is pursuing a Master of Science in physics at Bowling Green State University.
2018
BELINDA CONRAD, New Haven, Conn., is a program manager in the office of the deputy dean at the Yale School of Music.
D’ANGELO SANDERS, Columbus, has lived in Columbus since graduation. He is now an enterprise account manager at Matic, a finance and technology startup.
AMBER VARGO (MBA ’19), Parma, is the marketing communications and events coordinator for BW’s School of Business.
SAMANTHA WICKTORA, Moretown, Vt., is a social media coordinator for Dealer.com. She manages social media channels for car dealerships across the U.S.
2019
AMBER VARGO (MBA), see ’18.
CLAY STANTON, Berea, was named assistant offensive line coach for the BW Yellow Jackets.
2020
JAMIE EUBANKS, Parma, is a content marketer at Blue Ridge Media Company, writing blogs, web copy and managing social media for a variety of clients. She lives with her rescue cat Sassy.
CHARLVON GASTON, Columbus, is an account representative for Buckeye Better Business Consulting.
KATHERINE “KATE” JOHNSON, Berea, is an administrative assistant for Vecmar Corporation.
KLEMENTYNA POZNIAK, Amherst, was named a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She will teach in the Ukraine beginning in January 2021.
JESSICA VILLACRES, Westerville, named a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She is pursuing a master’s degree at Indiana University in speech-language pathology and participating in a Spanish-English bilingual training program.
Marriage Announcements
DAVID GREGORY ’08 to JENNIFER NOBLE ’10
TERRI MOORE ’09 to Dillon Porter (2017)
Birth Announcements
JULIE ROTHACKER MAGIERA ’99 and husband Mike, a son (2019)
CHARLES GELETZKE ’08 and wife Rachel, a son
LAUREN HANNA-MASUGA ’08 and husband Chase, a daughter
TERRI MOORE PORTER ’09 and husband Dillon, a son (2019)
SARAH BIONDO STENGEL ’11 and JORDAN STENGEL 11, a son
In Memoriam
1945
ANN WOLF, North Canton, died on July 6. Majored in sociology & anthropology. Member of Delta Zeta.
1947
CHARLES BILL, JR., Kearney, Nebr., died on February 1. Majored in business administration and enrolled at BW as part of the Navy V-12 program during World War II.
1948
SALLY THOMAS BOOTEY, Lakewood, N.Y., died on May 13. Majored in home economics. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
REV. PAUL WHIPPLE, University Heights, died on May 15. Majored in sociology and anthropology. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
1949
HARRY TOBAN, Vero Beach, Fla., died on July 24. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
1952
DON BRYANT, Brunswick, died on July 23. Majored in political science. Member of Alpha Tau Omega.
DOROTHY BELL HAGEY, Clemmons, N.C., died on May 18. Majored in education.
1953
“JO-VAL” SCHNEIDER CODLING, Evans, Ga., died on June 13. Majored in business administration.
NANCY MCARTHUR, Berea, died on July 15. Majored in English literature. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta. Received BW’s Alumni Merit Award in 1999.
SHELDON “SHELLY” MILLER, Mansfield, died on June 2. Studied humanities. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
CLEMMONS PARRISH, Columbus, died on May 20. Majored in English. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
1955
HARLOW EICHLER, Northfield, died on June 25. Majored in biology.
NANCE DOUGLASS OSSMAN, Georgetown, Del., died on May 22. Majored in music education. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
ELAINE SCHOTTKE UMERLEY, Rocky River, died on June 19. Majored in history.
1956
LOUELLA “JOYCE” HICKS PATTERSON, Canfield, died on May 15. Majored in education. Member of Alpha Xi Delta.
1958
DAVID NITCHMAN, Wakeman, died on June 28. Majored in health & physical education. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
REV. KENNETH WILLIAMS, Olmsted Falls, died on July 4. Majored in religion.
1959
ROGER BAKER, Estero, Fla., died on April 16. Majored in health & physical education. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
WILLIAM “BILL” LEWIS, Elyria, died on July 1. Majored in business administration.
1961
NOELLE WALKER GIFREDA, Dayton, died on May 17. Majored in business administration.
1962
ROBERT GILES, San Antonio, Tex., died on June 4. Majored in music education. Member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
1963
ERNEST GOODSITE, JR., Amherst, died on July 21. Majored in English literature. Member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
CHARLES “CHUCK” LEWIS, Ardmore, Pa., died on June 4. Majored in physics and astronomy.
1966
ANN LACEY ROBERTS, Staunton, Va., died on July 20. Majored in French. Member of Delta Zeta.
1967
EDWARD HACKETT, Toledo, died on May 4. Majored in business administration.
KAREN RICHARDS HOFF, Naples, Fla., died on July 13. Majored in psychology. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
1970
DAVID PITUCH, Evanston, Ill., died on June 23. Majored in music. BW honored David with the Conservatory Alumni Achievement Award in 1999.
1971
CLAYTON BENJAMIN, Medina, died on June 24. Majored in business administration.
1975
NICHOLAS CAP, North Canton, died on May 17. Majored in business administration.
JEAN SOBON CONROY, Maumee, died on June 23. Majored in business administration.
1976
DWIGHT JACKSON, Montclair, N.J., died on July 4. Majored in biology. Member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and played tennis.
1982
FRED RISTOW (EMBA), see ’84. Majored in business administration and earned an MBA in executive management.
1984
FRED RISTOW (EMBA ’82), Wimauma, Fla., see ’82.
1987
PAUL “BUZZ” TYLER JR. (EMBA), Willoughby, died on July 29. Earned an MBA in executive management. He served as BW’s bursar for 26 years, from 1983 to 2009.
1988
SANDRA ROBINSON MADDOX (MBA), Cleveland Heights, died on July 7. Earned an MBA in management.
1989
AGNES ARMSTRONG, Sagamore Hills, died on May 6. Majored in communication studies.
1990
DONNA DIAL, Berea, died on July 11. Majored in English and art history. Donna worked in BW’s Ritter Library in cataloguing and acquisitions from 1978 to 2002.
1993
JOANNE CHULIG (MBA), Lorain, died on June 21. Earned an MBA in management.
1995
CHERYL GAISER QUIGLEY (MBA), Vermilion, died on July 9. Earned an MBA in executive management.
FRIENDS OF BW
BETTY GOTSHALL DORNAN, Canton, died on July 6. Served as an instructor in voice at BW from 1947-1952.
RUTH BALOG KRUG, Westlake, died on July 12. Served as receptionist of the BW Computer Center from 1994 to 1998.
GALAN KRAL, Baltimore, Md., died on July 28, 2019. He was professor of oboe, saxophone and music theory in the Conservatory from 1967 to 1990. Many BW Bach Festivals featured him as an oboe and English horn soloist. Kral co-founded the BW Chamber Arts Orchestra (later known as the Ohio Chamber Orchestra) in 1972. No obituary available at time of publication.
JOSEPH YOCABET, JR., North Olmsted, died on June 22. He retired from BW in 2007 as head softball coach, then continued assisting the team. His 226 career victories are the most-ever by a BW fast-pitch coach.