May 2019
Featuring news received between January 1 and March 31, 2019
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. 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 June 30 in the August 2019 issue.
Did we miss something? Don't see a note that you remember submitting prior to March 31? 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
1940
JOHN BLOCHER, Oxford, enjoyed celebrating his 100th birthday at the Oxford Methodist Church in the company of over 100 friends, cards, congratulations, and refreshments.
1953
ALLEN OHMES, Iowa City, Iowa, is retired from the University of Iowa music faculty and concertmaster of the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra. He still practices violin daily and maintains a private violin studio.
1962
BRUCE RITENBURG III, Fredonia, N.Y., is enjoying his retirement and spending time with his family.
1964
JAMES CAUGHEY, San Diego, Calif., has retired after serving in the Vietnam War as an Air Force Pilot and 30 years as a US Airways captain. He now volunteers at Scripps Ranch Civic Association.
1966
SALLY GASSER BAUER, Islamorada, Fla., received BW’s Alumni Merit Award. The award jointly honored Sally and her late husband, Joseph Bauer ’52.
1968
PATRICIA HENNING MUMM-LOVELY, Mequon, Wis., is retired from playing in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as a violinist after 42 years. She now enjoys being audience member at these concerts. Attending one of BW Bach Festival performances years ago prompted fond memories of her time on campus, and she welcomes hearing from her classmates from the mid-late 1960s.
TOM BROOKS, Mendham, N.J., received BW’s Alumni Merit Award.
1969
HIRONOBU SHIBUYA, Bangkok, Thailand, retired from serving as CEO of Save the Children Japan during the Tohoku tsunami disaster. He is now semi-retired as a special adviser at UNICEF in Thailand, with a focus on disability, and enjoys traveling for work and spending time with his family.
1971
PHILIP CALABRIA, Northfield, Mass., retired from Northfield Mt. Hermon School as a visual arts faculty member and department chair. His 66-print essay entitled The Stilled Passage - Photographs of the Unrestored Building of Ellis Island was exhibited for six months at Ellis Island and is now part of the National Park Service’s permanent collection.
1974
W. DANIEL RUSHING III, Panama City, Fl., is CEO of Bay Radiology Associates. He has been in this role since 2014, shortly after Hurricane Michael, and reports that the Panama City area is still struggling to recover.
1975
PETER MUELLER, Prescott, Ariz., is now music director and conductor of the Prescott Chamber Orchestra. He is also an adjunct instructor and staff accompanist for Yavapai College where he also performs in several ensembles as well as performing with the Prescott Pops.
1976
LEE THOMAS, Gates Mills, received BW’s Alumni Merit Award.
1979
WILLIAM “BILL” RICKERT, Woodridge, Ill., is co-founder and executive director of Operation Support our Troops-America. He and his wife, Deb Rickert ’81, achieved the milestone of shipping the two millionth pound of supplies from their warehouse to U.S. troops overseas.
MICHAEL BROOKS, Orlando, Fla., is now retired after 35 years with United Airlines.
1981
DEB VIANCOURT RICKERT, Woodridge, Ill., is co-founder of Operation Support our Troops-America. She and her husband, Bill Rickert ’79, achieved the milestone of shipping the two millionth pound of supplies from their warehouse to U.S. troops overseas.
1982
TERRENCE “TERRY” WALSH, Bath, Pa., has a new call as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in Bath.
1984
TAMMIE WALLACE RINGER, Jefferson, owns Wholesale Imprints, Inc. in North Kingsville with her husband John Ringer ’87.
1985
GENE BERG (MBA), Raleigh, N.C., has moved to Raleigh after 40 years of working in private and local government human resources. He now teaches part-time at Wake Technical Community College.
1988
KRISTYNE KNOCH RAMSEY, Marion, developed Music Time, a community music program partnered with Marion Public Library for children from birth to age five and their families.
1990
BARBARA WEBER THOMAS (EMBA), Shaker Heights, received a Difference Maker Award from Leadership Lorain County for outstanding community advocacy in her role as CEO of Kendal at Oberlin.
PAULA HENNESSEY ACCORDINO, North Olmsted, is the director of economic development for the City of Olmsted Falls.
MELISSA HASTINGS-LAWHORN, Streetsboro, graduated with distinction from Capella University with a Doctor of Education in March 2018.
1991
JENNIFER BUGBEE, Painesville, was included in the February 2019 “Notable Women in STEM” feature section of Crain’s Cleveland Business. She is vice president for operations at Werner G. Smith, Inc.
1992
ROCHONDA WILEY NENONENE, Beavercreek, received BW’s Alumni Merit Award.
KAREN SCHUSTER SIIMAN (MAED ’02), Columbia Station, is now an intervention specialist with Partners for Success in Innovation, serving at-risk kindergarten students and special needs students in the elementary grades at a parochial school in Independence.
1994
AARON DANIELS, Roslindale, Mass., is a senior lecturer at Curry College and a research fellow for the Psychology and the Other Conference at Boston College. He presents a paper at the conference publishing the results of his investigation into “Dante and Phenomenology” in June 2019.
1995
CHARLES SINITO, Brunswick, earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Cleveland State University.
MARK VAN HOUTEN, Fredericktown, started Mound City Tire & Auto Repair in 2015, which became a Goodyear tire & service network dealer in February 2019. He and his wife Tisha celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on May 1 and are proud grandparents of two young grandsons.
PHYLLIS ZAHAROF, Cleveland, worked as a speech language pathologist in Las Vegas, Nevada for eight years where she received several recognitions from parents and co-workers. She has returned to Ohio where she is exploring new hobbies and helping to raise her two granddaughters.
1996
CLOUD PAWELETZ, Boston, Mass., received BW’s Alumni Merit Award.
1997
MATTHEW SMITH, Cleveland, earned a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Toledo. His dissertation study was entitled An Investigation of the Influence of Being a Resident Assistant on College Students’ Spiritual Growth and Development. He is director of student life and housing at Cleveland Institute of Art.
MICHAEL DOVILLA, Berea, founded The Grindstone Institute, a leadership development and human resources consulting firm. He has returned home to Ohio from Washington, D.C., where he served as chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
1998
DAVID GELHAR, Brunswick, achieved level two coaching certification status for U.S. Women’s Lacrosse. He now coaches with Brunswick Youth Lacrosse.
GREGORY HIPP (MBA ’05), Seville, was promoted to president of IRG Realty Advisors after 14 years with the company. IRG’s projects include redevelopment of the Goodyear Campus in Akron and the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village in Canton.
1999
BRIAN WRIGHT, Oakwood, is returning to the Faruki+ law firm after three years as general counsel and vice president of innovation for Henny Penny Corporation. He will continue to represent Henny Penny as outside general counsel.
2000
STEPHANIE CLEMONS-THOMPSON, Westerville, earned a Ph.D. in counseling and higher education from the Patton College of Education at Ohio University in May 2019. She is an assistant director of residence life at The Ohio State University.
2002
KAREN SCHUSTER SIIMAN (MAED), Columbia Station, see ’92.
KYLE OLDHAM, Fort Collins, Co., was promoted to director of workplace inclusion and talent management for housing and dining services at Colorado State University. He has also trained and facilitated for the City of Fort Collins on the topics of workplace inclusion and equity.
2003
PAT SHANNON, Madison, Ct., had the honor of “ringing the bell” for NASDAQ on Wall Street. He represented his clients and Legg Mason Global Asset Management for his firm, Ameriprise Financial, where he is a vice president and private wealth advisor. The bell-ringing was captured on CNBC and the Times Square Jumbotron.
2005
CHRISTOPHER CRAWFORD, Parma, received a Regional Emmy Award in 2018 for his instructional design and engagement work on NewsDepth, a locally produced multimedia educational program for students in grades 3-8. He and his wife Mallory Splete Crawford ’13 purchased their first home.
ALEXIS WITT, Bloomington, Ind., earned a PhD in musicology from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in December 2018.
2006
SHAWN GAINES, Chicago, Ill., was promoted to vice president of marketing at Relativity, a global tech company that builds software for digital investigations and electronic discovery.
WILLIAM LAMPE, Westerville, is now director of technical account management at Tanium.
2007
LISA LIOTTA, Snyder, N.Y., is the associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator at Canisius College, a Jesuit institution with a Division I athletics department serving almost 400 student-athletes.
SARA GOMBASH LAMPE, Westerville, is now a visiting professor of neuroscience at Ohio Wesleyan University.
2009
SAMANTHA WILLI, Westlake, earned two master’s degrees in psychology and mental health counseling from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC). After working in community health settings, she is now in private practice.
2010
LAUREN BELTZ, Minneapolis, Minn., is a senior account executive for Procter & Gamble, leading P&G’s home care business at Target.
LISA DOMONKOS-SLAMA, Middleburg Heights, is owner of both Get After It Fitness (personal training) and K9 Coaches (dog training).
GREGORY DEGIROLAMO, Parma, earned his Ph.D. in psychology in May 2018 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at the Cleveland Clinic, with a research focus on memory changes throughout life and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, and multiple sclerosis.
NICHOLAS SMITH, New York, N.Y, is pursuing a Master of Science in higher education administration at Baruch College - City University of New York (CUNY).
2012
EMILY MILLS GESSNER, Cleveland, is an investor relations manager at KeyCorp.
JENNIFER RYANS MARTINEZ, Charleston, S.C., is pursuing a Master of Public Health with a concentration in leadership at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. The school is ranked #1 for public university public health programs.
AMBER STOUT, North Royalton, earned a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from Kent State University. She also completed a Master of Letters in the history of medicine at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Amber is now a medical librarian at University Hospitals.
2013
MALLORY SPLETE CRAWFORD, Parma, completed the Polaris Basic Police Academy and soon after was sworn into the Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Department. She and her husband Chris Crawford ’05 purchased their first home.
BROOKE HAMILTON, Cleveland, is an associate in the transportation department at the Pittsburgh-based law firm Burns White LLC. Her practice focuses on mass torts, toxic torts, and railroad law.
SAMANTHA ANIA, Medina, was promoted to children’s librarian at the Medina County District Library. She earned a master’s degree in library and information science from Kent State University in May 2019.
2015
ARMAND RIVERS (MBA ’15), Columbus, has moved to Columbus where he is now an auditor at JPMorgan Chase.
BRUCE STACEY II, Cleveland, is the manager of fan engagement at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He is involved at every stage of the guest experience, ensuring “Fans First” quality service both in-museum and online.
2016
ALANNA CRUMMIE, Parma Heights, is the morning show producer for 98.5 WNCX and an adoption associate with the Cleveland Animal Protection League (APL), helping animals find their “forever” homes.
2017
GEORGE TOLDY JR. (EMBA), Huron, is a regional automation manager for Acieta LLC, a robotic automation integrator with focus on manufacturing and packaging automation. His territory includes Ohio, Michigan, western Pennsylvania and New York.
FRIENDS
CHERI HARRER, Berea, was inducted into the Hancock County Sports Hall of Fame in April 2019. She wrapped up her 29th season has BW’s head women’s basketball coach with a 584-221 career record.
Marriage Announcements
JERRY BRADSHAW ’74 to Gerald “Jerry” Golski
JENNIFER NOBLE ’98 to Chad Malcolm (2018)
CHRIS CRAWFORD ’05 to MALLORY SPLETE ’13 (2018)
EMILY MILLS ’12 to Carson Gessner
REBECCA ROGG ’12 to JAKE SINATRA ’12 (2018)
Birth Announcements
JULIE BYLOW MOOR ’02 and husband Justin, a son
NICOLE BELL MITCHELL ’04 and NATE MITCHELL ’04, a son
JACQUELINE ENZERRA GAINES ’06 and SHAWN GAINES ‘06, a son
SARA GOMBASH LAMPE ’07 and WILLIAM LAMPE ’06, a son
KRISTEN SCHMIDT GLAZER ’10 and husband Paul, a daughter
In Memoriam
1943
EARL BOHN, Cleveland, died on March 8, 2019. Majored in biology.
1944
RUTH MAPLE BRAUNAGEL, Columbus Grove, died on February 9, 2019. Majored in home economics. Member of Delta Zeta.
1948
JOSEPH PRICE, Unionville, died on February 22, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha. He attended BW as part of the Navy V-12 program.
KATHERINE CARLSON KINLEY, Chagrin Falls, died on January 15, 2019. Studied music.
JAMES BOND, Seattle, Wa., died on January 16, 2019. Majored in psychology. Member of Pi Lambda Phi. Received BW’s Alumni Merit Award and an honorary doctor of laws in 1969.
1949
MARJORIE “MARGE” DEUTSCH GARRETT, Huron, died on January 22, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta and the Women’s Recreation Association.
ROBERT KURFIS, Cincinnati, died on January 26, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
1950
EDWIN HALTTUNEN, South Pasadena, Fla., died on January 1, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha. Lettered in swimming and diving.
ERNEST “ERNIE” KOZMA, Seneca, S.C., died on March 23, 2019. Majored in economics. Lettered in baseball. Received BW’s Outstanding Educator Award in 2010.
MARJORIE KERR ANDERSON, Franklin, Pa., died on January 31, 2019. Majored in music.
1951
ROBERT SCHMITTGEN, North Ridgeville, died on March 23, 2019. Studied business and accounting. Member of Alpha Tau Omega.
1952
MARGARET FILINA SIGNOR, Avon Lake, died on February 9, 2019. Majored in elementary education.
RICHARD CARLSON, Newton, N.J., died on March 9, 2019. Majored in history.
JANICE DOUGLAS STRASSNER, Akron, died on February 2, 2019. Majored in education. Member of Delta Zeta.
1953
MARION “BUD” BUCKLES, Findlay, died on February 12, 2019. Studied music.
1954
NANCY BENING DUNNE, Pensacola, Fla., died on February 16, 2019. Majored in education. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
1956
CHARLES DEEDS, Dover, died on February 21, 2019. Majored in biology. Member of Alpha Tau Omega.
RAYMOND WALDMAN, Westmont Ill., died on January 22, 2019. Majored in history.
1958
THOMAS WALTER BETTS, Berea, died on January 7, 2019. Studied English and Spanish.
HOWARD CAILOR, JR., Sarasota, Fla., died on February 16, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
1959
CARMEN MENDEZ SANTIN (EMBA ‘86), Avon, died on March 5, 2019. Majored in psychology and later earned an Executive MBA. Member of Alpha Phi.
DOROTHY LINK HAZEL, Parma, died on February 11, 2018. Majored in English.
1960
GUY BURT, Binghamton, N.Y., died on March 26, 2019. Majored in philosophy.
1961
GERALD HEWUS, Des Moines, Iowa, died on March 8, 2019. Majored in music education.
SANDRA SIMMONS SULLIVAN, Bay Village, died on March 27, 2019. Majored in home economics. Received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from BW in 1999.
1962
CHARLES “RAY” BENNETT, Pace, Fla., died on February 19, 2019. Majored in history. Member of Alpha Sigma Phi.
HELAINE MUNDT PFEIFFER, Hillsville, Va., died on March 22, 2019. Majored in music. Member of Zeta Tau Alpha.
1964
CAROLE BITTNER LEWIS, Berea, died on February 12, 2019. Majored In education. Member of Alpha Phi.
LINDA GABELLI STEPHENS, Sunset Beach, N.C., died on March 14, 2019. Majored in health and physical education. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
SUSAN BEEDE STEPHENS, Elkton, died on March 21, 2019. Majored in home economics. Member of Alpha Gamma Delta.
1966
DAVID SMITH, Kirtland, died on January 5, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Tau Omega.
1969
CYNTHIA WHITE BARCLAY, Pisgah Forest, N.C., died on March 19, 2019. Majored in history.
1974
THOMAS PIERSON, Cuyahoga Falls, died on January 12, 2019. Majored in music education.
1976
WILLIAM J. GAULT, San Diego, CA, died on February 28, 2019. Majored in business administration.
1982
MARY MILLER DUNNING, Parma, died on January 22, 2019. Majored in psychology.
1987
KAREN CARLSON TRAXLER (MAED), North Ridgeville, died on March 5, 2019. Earned a master’s degree in education with focus on reading.
1990
ERIN THOMAS HABERMAN, Olney, Md., died on February 2, 2019. Majored in business administration. Member of Alpha Phi.
1991
GARY REED, Seven Hills, died on March 26, 2019. Majored in accounting.
1992
DAVID PETCH, JR., Cleveland, died on February 13, 2019. Majored in studio art.
DAVID DOROSY, Seven Hills, died in March 2019. Majored in business administration.
1996
CHAD DAVIES, Medina, died on January 8, 2019. Majored in business administration.
FRIENDS OF BW
EARL BROWN, Vallejo, Calif, died on December 5, 2018. Dr. Brown was an assistant professor of history at BW in the late 1950s and early 1960s.