Vol.

13, Issue 1 • SPRING 2009

BOLD NEW MBA

The Boler School Launches a
Pioneering Business Program

Carroll Goes Virtual | Cruise Captain

January 20, 2009:
The John Carroll community shared in the moment
of Inauguration Day. (Also see page 5.)
Vol. 13 Issue 1 SPRING 2009

John CarRoll University

President
Robert L. Niehoff, S.J.
Vice President for
University Advancement
Doreen Riley
Director of University ­
Marketing and Communications
Christine Somosi ’81
Editor
Ken Kesegich
Alumni Journal
Michele McFarland
Campus Photography Coordinator
Cheri Slattery
Advisory Board
George Bilgere
Sherri Crahen
Linda Eisenmann
Kimyette Finley ’95
Jack Hearns ’61
Mary Lavin ’87
John Marcus ’72 (ex officio)
Paul V. Murphy
Doreen Riley
Rev. Thomas Schubeck, S.J.
Barbara Schubert ’62
Karen Schuele
Christine Somosi ’81
Brian Williams

John Carroll Magazine is published quarterly by

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University Heights, OH 44118
journal@jcu.edu / 216-397-4343
Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, OH 44118,
and additional mailing offices.
ISSN 1542-0418
www.jcu.edu/magazine

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:

John Carroll Magazine
University Marketing and Communications
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University Heights, OH 44118

It is the mission of the magazine to ­provide an

­ ngaging and accurate reflection of the University
e
and its ­extended community for its alumni and the
other members of the John Carroll family.
Photograph by Robert Wetzler
 FEATURES
10 Bold New MBA
Grounded in ethics, leadership, and innovation, the new
MBA program at the Boler School is designed to create the
next generation of business leaders. By Ron Rajecki

15 Much Is Expected
10 Bob Dickinson ’65 built Carnival Cruise Lines into the
industry leader. Today, the retired executive puts his skills
to use in another endeavor – lifting Miami’s homeless
population. By Ken Kesegich

18 John Carroll Gets a Second Life

Using Second Life, a real-time virtual world, First Year
Seminar and other courses at Carroll are breaking new
ground in the classroom. By David Budin

15
DEPARTMENTS
3 President’s Message
4 On Campus
25 Alumni Journal / AlumNews
26 Class Notes
47 In Memoriam
48 My Turn

18 Inside back cover: Images of Carroll

ENROLLMENT QUARTERLY
22 John Carroll’s enrollment update and guide
to the college admission process.

Contributors: David Budin, Kathy Ewing, Gina Fontana, Barry Gutierrez,

Andy Johnson ’10, Daniel Milner, Ron Rajecki, Robert Wetzler

On the cover: John Carroll MBA students, from Design: Villa Beach Communications, Inc.
left, Brennan Day, Sherri Perry ’04, Kate Schultz,
and Chlondra N. Hunter. “Bold New MBA” begins Printed by Lane Press
on page 10. Photograph by Robert Wetzler.

2 John Carroll university SPRING 2009


The Promise of a Carroll Education
I
n these times of profound change in our world and
region, a liberal arts education grounded in the
Jesuit Catholic tradition is one of the most powerful
tools we can give our students – and the world’s future
workforce – to combat an uncertain future.
In a recent study, College Learning for the New
Global Century, the need for adaptability and flexibility
in the workforce is underscored. Let me share with
you a sentence that seems to capture what we strive
to do. “Virtually all occupational endeavors require a
working appreciation of the historical, cultural, ethical,
and global environments that surround the application
of skilled work.” I strongly believe John Carroll’s core
curriculum cultivates a global understanding that
prepares our students for any career.
While the effect of the economic downturn is
concerning to all of us, our students and their families
remain our top priority. This is why we have set our
smallest tuition increase in Carroll history for the
next academic year and why we
are committed to increasing our
ability to provide much-needed
financial support for our students.
The recently passed federal
stimulus package will increase
Pell Grant amounts to $5,350 by
July 1, 2009, and $5,500 by July 1,
2010, which will help many more
of our students. Philanthropic
gifts to The Carroll Fund, which
go directly to student financial
aid, are more important than
ever before. We are dedicated to
helping prospective students and
their families choose John Carroll,
and, once they are here, complete
Photograph by Robert Wetzler
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
their degrees in four years and use their Carroll
education to engage the world.
The University’s academic programs – and
the people who emerge from them – consistently
demonstrate the promise of a Carroll education.
This issue of the magazine is filled with examples.
The Boler School of Business has a newly redesigned
MBA program that exemplifies John Carroll’s
mission: a cutting-edge curriculum built on ethics,
service, and innovation, while being equally strong
on fundamentals (see “Bold New MBA,” on page
10). Bob Dickinson, Class of 1965, applied his
Carroll education to build the biggest cruise line in
the world – and is now using his Jesuit foundation
to serve Miami’s homeless population (see “Much Is
Expected,” on page 15). Bob will serve as our May
2009 Commencement speaker. Through the use of
Second Life, our faculty and students are learning in
the virtual world and gaining unique insights into
their reality in the process (see “John Carroll Gets a
Second Life,” on page 18).
While the effect of the economic
downturn is concerning to all
of us, our students and their
families remain our top priority.
We are blessed with an exceptional community
of students, faculty, alumni, friends, and Carroll
leadership. Through the strength of these resources,
the University will continue to strive toward and
celebrate the full promise of a John Carroll education.
God bless,
Robert L. Niehoff, S.J.
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 3
 ON CAMPUS
Walter Simmons, chair of the Department of
Economics and Finance, conducts research
on patterns of philanthropic giving. With
co-researcher Rosemary Emanuele, a former
John Carroll faculty member and now chair of
mathematics at nearby Ursuline College, Prof.
Simmons recently completed a study examining
patterns of giving money and time to nonprofit,
charitable organizations by those who attend
religious services regularly (at least twice a
month) and those who do not. Prof. Simmons
answers questions about their research.
Photograph by Robert Wetzler
44 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
The Giving Impulse
What led you and Dr. Emanuele to research giving patterns
among religious people?
We had done previous studies on patterns of giving and volunteering, motivated
initially by George H.W. Bush’s concept of a “thousand points of light.” For
example, we looked at differences in giving between men and women, and the
effect that government spending has on individual giving. For our latest study, we
decided to explore the question: Does the evidence confirm that religious affiliation
is strongly and positively related to philanthropic giving, or is this simply an
assumption that society has held for many years?
What patterns emerged?
On average, religious people donate more money and time than nonreligious people
do. Our calculations controlled for variables such as income, home ownership, work
experience, and the number of children living at home.
How do you explain these patterns?
Much of the average difference cannot be explained. Dr. Emanuele and I propose
that these differences arise from a culture of giving that surrounds religious people.
People who are religious are more likely to be exposed to a culture that encourages
giving and volunteering – making them more likely to give and volunteer. We also
believe that religious people are more likely to feel obligated to give money and time
to their congregations – the concept of tithing – and therefore have less to donate to
other groups.
What data did you use?
We examined data from the 2001 wave of the Independent Sector’s
Giving and Volunteering in the United States. This data set is the
American gold standard in the study of philanthropy.
What’s next for your research?
We will extend this research by trying to find giving patterns among
groups such as Catholics and Protestants. Right now, everyone is
grouped together. We also have completed about 70 percent of the
work on another study, which we’re calling “Giving and Volunteering
in a Time of Terrorism.” We’re examining giving patterns before 9/11
and after 9/11.
Finding the patterns:
Walter Simmons
Inauguration Day
Gathered in Donahue Auditorium in the Dolan Science Center, members of the John Carroll
community joined together to witness history on January 20, 2009. Sitting, standing, taking photos,
they watched on the big screen as Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States.
Earlier in the morning, the community gathered in Saint Francis Chapel for an interfaith
service of prayer and song in support of our country. Among the prayers shared was this one
written by Matt Hiznay ’10, Carroll’s newly elected Student Union president.
LORD God, Our Father,
Send down your Holy Spirit to guide all those in public service.
Give them the inspiration to lead and teach like your son, Jesus Christ.
Aid the work of these men and women in their efforts to uphold the ideals
proclaimed in our Constitution.
Protect our public servants from the hazards of their positions, especially
those who have chosen the paths of military service or law enforcement.
Help these people to feel the love and support that this great nation sends
them when they feel alone and afraid.
LORD, bless and protect these United States of America as we continue to
face challenges in the 21st century, both at home and abroad in the world.
Allow your Holy Spirit to remind every civilian of the privilege we share
as citizens of these United States.
Compel the American people to foster unity and community and
continually work to make true the words, “All men are created equal.”
In all of this, we ask for the guidance of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, just as our Founding Fathers did 233 years ago.
Amen.
Photographs by Robert Wetzler
The big moment: On Inauguration Day, John Carroll watched history happen.
Top Bronco
The John Carroll community was abuzz in
January, when Josh McDaniels, a member
of the Class of 1999, entered the ranks of
National Football League head coaches.
The former wide receiver on the Carroll Blue
Streaks was chosen to lead the Denver
Broncos. He left the New England Patriots,
where he earned three Super Bowl rings as a
member of the coaching staff. Mr. McDaniels
built his reputation at New England as the
quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
When the NFL season starts next fall, he
will be 33 years old, among the youngest-ever
coaches to debut in the league. “He’s young
looking, but it’s not the age that counts,” Tony
DeCarlo ’66G, Mr. McDaniels’ coach at John
Carroll, told the Rocky Mountain News. “It’s
the knowledge, the expertise, and the fact
that this guy is willing to prepare. He’s going
to be successful at whatever he does.”
Josh McDaniels becomes the second
Carroll alum to guide an NFL team. He joins
the legendary Don Shula ’51, retired coach of
the Miami Dolphins and member of the NFL
Hall of Fame.
Call him coach:
Josh McDaniels ’99,
new head coach of the
Denver Broncos.
Photograph, by Barry Gutierrez,
courtesy of the Rocky Mountain News
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 5
ON CAMPUS

Photograph by Daniel Milner

Carroll in winter: The setting was scenic at John Carroll in January, as snowfall graced the campus for much of the month.

Winning Ways
On February 18, the Blue Streaks men’s basketball squad
clinched a share of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) title
with a thrilling 86-71 victory over Baldwin-Wallace College in
the DeCarlo Varsity Center. The game was the 100th meeting
between the two Cleveland-area schools. The Blue Streaks,
whose record moved to 19-4 and 15-2 in the OAC, traveled to
Wilmington College three days later for its final regular-season
game. John Carroll beat Wilmington, 75-72, to win the OAC
crown outright. In its victory over B-W, John Carroll set a school
Photograph courtesy of JCU Sports Information

record with its 15th consecutive win. The team captured at least
a share of the OAC title for the eighth time in program history.
Earlier in the season, head coach Mike Moran reached a
milestone of his own. In a 105-84 Blue Streaks road win over
Heidelberg University, he rolled up his 300th coaching victory,
Thrill of victory: Senior Alex Koltsov
making him just the eighth coach in OAC history to achieve performs the ceremonial net cutting
that mark. This is coach Moran’s 17th season at the helm. after the Blue Streaks captured a share
of the Ohio Athletic Conference crown
on February 18.

6 John Carroll university SPRING 2009

Ignatian Celebration
John Carroll introduced a new tradition in February:
Ignatian Heritage Week, during which the Carroll
community came together to discuss and reflect
on the University’s Ignatian tradition. The new
initiative is an expansion of the former Ignatian Day.
The University welcomed the Very Reverend
Timothy Kesicki, S.J., who was appointed Provincial
Superior of the Detroit Province last year, as the
Ignatian Heritage Week keynote speaker. Fr. Kesicki

Photographs by Robert Wetzler

is a 1984 graduate of John Carroll and a member of
the Board of Directors. He shared his thoughts on
the 35th General Congregation and its pertinence to
John Carroll and higher education.
Other activities in the busy week ranged from a
film series to a Jesuit music concert to a Eucharistic
A tradition begins: The Very Reverend Timothy Kesicki, S.J., ’84 presented the keynote address
liturgy. at the University’s first Ignatian Heritage Week, in February.

CNN Adventure
A short documentary on the 2008 presidential election won John
Carroll junior Franco Carapellotti the experience of a lifetime during
the inauguration in January.
Franco, from Steubenville, Ohio, makes and edits short films with
his hometown friend Zach Hawrot. Usually, they post videos on their
website for fans. But one of their short films, Electoral College: Obama
and McCain College Roommates, put them in the national spotlight.
Photographs courtesy of
Their documentary takes a humorous look at how President
Obama and Senator McCain would have interacted had they been
college roommates. Submitted to iReport, a CNN.com film contest,
only two days before the deadline, the video won the audience
award, thus giving Franco and Zach an all-expense-paid trip to
Washington, D.C., for the inauguration.
“It was more than I could have imagined,” Franco says.
While in Washington, the duo kept the nation up-to-date on their
experiences through video blogs on their website. Ohio Congressman

Charlie Wilson gave them two tickets to the inauguration, and they
Franco Carapellotti

had press credentials along the parade route. They met Anderson
Cooper and Wolf Blitzer, among others, and appeared live in the CNN
newsroom with Don Lemon. Along with many CNN reporters and
staff, they stayed in the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.
While Franco is studying business management at John Carroll,
he wants to continue exploring film. He is filming an independent
musician in the Cleveland area and is keeping his options open for
further opportunities.
“I’m just looking for the right opportunity to come along,” he
says. “It might be in business or it might be in making commercials.”
His website is www.zfproductions.com.

Andy Johnson ’10

Journey to remember: Carroll junior Franco Carapellotti, seated front

left next to his fellow filmmaker Zach Hawrot, sits in with some familiar
CNN faces in Washington. The image above is a still from their
award-winning film.

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 7

ONON
CAMPUS
CAMPUS

Crowd Pleasers
Amid the melody of howling fans and screeching
sneakers, one sound stands out at a John Carroll home
basketball game: the Carroll pep band.
The pep band plays at all home basketball and
football games, exciting both players and fans. The band
also shares the gifts of music and communal energy at pep
rallies, Relay for Life, Race for the Cure, and Christmas
Carroll Eve. Along with these hometown events, the band
has also made a name for itself on the national level.
In 2004, the musicians traveled with the John
Carroll men’s basketball team to the Division III national
championships in Salem, Virginia, where the team soared
to a third-place finish. The pep band went home with
an invitation to come back the next year. Thanks to
their ability to perform well and energize the crowd, the
students have been asked back every year since 2004.
“We’re sort of like the house band,” says Marty
Hoehler, who has been the coordinator of bands since he
graduated from John Carroll in 1999. “It’s a neat way to
promote the band and John Carroll.”
“It’s very exciting to play in the national spotlight,”
says Katie Saporito ’09, the band’s president. “All of
the teams compete for our loyalty and the fans gravitate
toward us. The atmosphere is electric.” Strike up the band:
The growing band numbers about 30, and Mr. The John Carroll pep

Photographs by Robert Wetzler

band raises its game.
Hoehler is optimistic about the large freshman class this
year. A few alumni join in. The Carroll contingent once
again is sure to provide plenty of joyful noise over the
Division III championship weekend this March in Salem
with crowd favorites like “You Can Call Me Al” and
“Build Me Up Buttercup.”
Andy Johnson ’10

Computer World
Through a partnership with the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district,
Photograph courtesy of Gearity Professional Development School

John Carroll welcomed Natalie Wester’s third-grade class from Gearity Professional
Development School to campus in the fall. Every other week through the semester,
the third-graders came to Carroll’s computer lab, where they learned desktop
publishing, thanks to John Carroll student teacher Erin McBride ’09. They also
conducted research on computers. The children took their learning back to their
elementary school and redesigned the class newsletter. Next step for the youngsters?
Develop a plan for raising money to purchase a computer – and then shop for the
machine. When the students were on campus, Ms. Wester reports, comments such
as “Can I go to college here?” and “This is where I’m going to college” were common.

Learning in action: Third-graders from a local school visited Carroll through the fall
and learned about computers.

8 John Carroll university SPRING 2009

 Ambassadors
In January, 42 members of the newly formed
Magis Advisory Group gathered for an
inaugural luncheon at the Union Club in
downtown Cleveland. They met, dined,
and listened to a presentation by Carroll’s
president, Robert L. Niehoff, S.J., who
offered an update on the University. Created
in the fall of 2008, the group consists of
accounting, legal, financial, insurance, real
estate, and other professionals. Members
assist the University Advancement staff,
Photographs by Daniel Milner
Mailbox
John Carroll magazine welcomes letters from readers.
Letters may be edited for length and clarity. E-mail
journal@jcu.edu; fax to 216-397-3085; or send via
U.S. mail to John Carroll Magazine, University
Marketing and Communications, John Carroll
University, 20700 North Park Boulevard,
University Heights, OH 44118. Read letters on the
magazine’s website, at www.jcu.edu/magazine.
help propel planned giving efforts, and serve
as John Carroll advocates with their clients
and in the community at large. Chaired by
Robert Valente ’69, the group numbers 84
men and women – predominantly Carroll
graduates from a wide range of class years. The
group’s membership is expected to grow. For
information about the Magis Advisory Group
and to inquire about joining, contact Patrick
Ertle, senior director of major and planned
gifts, at pertle@jcu.edu.
Magis moments: John Carroll welcomed
guests to the inaugural luncheon of the
Magis Advisory Group. Top photo, from left,
are staff facilitator Patrick Ertle, Fr. Niehoff,
group member and Board of Directors chair
Allyn Adams ’64, and group chair Robert
Valente ’69. Inset photo, from left, are Paula
Reape ’86; Mary Eileen Vitale ’83; and
Megan Juby ’89, John Carroll’s associate
director of annual giving.
Briefs
Invitation to a
Celebration
Come to the eighth-annual A Celebration
of Scholarship! taking place the week
of March 23, 2009. The campus-wide
Celebration for students, faculty, and other
University community members features
speakers, panel discussions, poster
sessions, paper presentations, and artistic
activities. For more information and a schedule
of events, visit www.jcu.edu/celebration.
Did You Know?
With 70 chemistry majors graduating between
2006 and 2008, the last three years have
been a particularly energetic time for the
Department of Chemistry, and more of the
same is in store. In 2006, Carroll chemistry
graduates numbered 29, more than any of
the other 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in
the nation. While a slight dip followed in 2007
(20) and 2008 (21), the chemistry department
forecasts 31 majors graduating in 2009 and
in 2010, which will rank among all-time highs
for the department.
Cleveland Clinic
Partnership
John Carroll has announced a new
partnership with the Cleveland Clinic to offer
an innovative “health arts” curriculum for
K-12 teachers. Beginning this year, certified
teachers seeking credit for professional
development or licensure, or both, can opt
to participate in the Clinic’s “eXpressions™”
classroom-based programs and receive
graduate credit from John Carroll. The
eXpressions™ program challenges Northeast
Ohio high school students to produce
creative interpretations of scientific and
medical research conducted at the Clinic.
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 9
 Bold New MBA
Grounded in ethics, leadership, and
innovation, the new MBA program at the
Boler School is designed to create the
next generation of business leaders.
By Ron Rajecki
Photography by Robert Wetzler

Groundbreakers: Among the students in the pilot

phase of the new Integrated Business Decision Track
curriculum are, from left, Brennan Day, Katie Hedrick,
Sherri Perry ’04, Kate Schultz, and Chlondra N. Hunter.
10 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
W
hen the time came
to evaluate the MBA
curriculum at the Boler
School of Business, Karen
Schuele and Jim Martin hit the streets. What
they found led to the creation of a new MBA
program that promises to enhance the careers
of the next generation of businesspeople.
Karen Schuele, the school’s dean, and Jim
Martin, professor of marketing and associate
dean and director of graduate business
programs, began their appraisal of the MBA
curriculum in 2006. Along with a committee
of graduate faculty, they went “to the streets”
by forming focus groups made up of alumni
and members of the business community.
Their goal? Assess how well John Carroll was
preparing its graduates for the business world.
What they heard was that the
program did exceptionally well teaching
the functional areas of business, such as
finance, accountancy, marketing, and
operations analysis. However, graduates
were finding that they weren’t usually
being asked to make functional decisions;
rather, they were being asked to make
business decisions that required them to
integrate a number of the functional areas.
“The commonality of the message
we were hearing was amazing,” says Dean
Schuele. “Although we were providing very
good knowledge in all the disciplines, there
was no integration of those disciplines. So we
identified an opportunity in our program.”
“We began to look at how we could
help students integrate the functional areas
around different topics,” says Prof. Martin.
“We identified categories of decisions that
managers must make on a regular basis and
built the program around those. We’re teaching
material in a way that enables managers to
immediately go out and use it, and also focusing
on leadership, vision, ethics, and trust.”
Thus was born the new Integrated
Business Decision Track curriculum at the
Boler School, in which 12 students are
enrolled in the second semester of a pilot
phase. The integrated track maintains the four
“blocks” of the traditional MBA program, but
the content of the blocks differs significantly
(see sidebar, “Decidedly Nontraditional”).
“By the end of the program, students
in the integrated track will have had five
hours of leadership courses and three hours
of ethics and social responsibility, in addition
to the business-decision courses themselves,”
Prof. Martin says.
Real World Learning
Students involved in the pilot program are
impressed with the integrated track’s potential.
“I think it’s going to help me stand
out not only as a person who can manage
a business, but also as someone who can
lead people to the next level,” says Sherri
Perry ’04, a senior recruiter at the Lubrizol
Corporation. Meanwhile, Dave Jarus,
senior research and development manager
at PolyOne Corporation, likes that what
he’s learning is immediately applicable to
his professional life (see sidebar, “The Next
Level of Leadership”).
In keeping with the program’s focus on
applying classes to the business world, each
course will include a project in conjunction
with a leading business from the Cleveland
business community. The challenge
presented by the local business will be the
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 11

The Next Level of Leadership
Being “good enough” has never been good
enough for Sherri Perry and Dave Jarus.
Ms. Perry and Dr. Jarus are two of the
12 students who make up the pilot class of
the Integrated Business Decision Track MBA
program at the Boler School. Both are thrilled
by what the integrated program offers.
Ms. Perry is a senior recruiter in
the Brecksville offices of the Lubrizol
Corporation. She earned a bachelor’s
degree in marketing from Carroll in 2004
and worked at a local insurance company
for 16 years before falling victim to a
restructuring. She plans to make her
human resources department a true
resource, and what she is learning through
John Carroll’s integrated MBA program will
help her achieve that goal.
“I think H.R. is often viewed as providing
12 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
‘tactical assistance’ at a company. I want
to make it into a strategic partnership with
management,” Ms. Perry says. “I work with
many high-level executives, and I’m building
a rapport with them and helping them see
the true value of H.R.”
She is already applying the leadership
elements of the integrated MBA to build the
credibility of her department.
“In my type of career, I’m going to
work with many people. Just as all their
different personalities come together to
form a company, the integrated MBA course
ties together all the different business
philosophies into a real-world dynamic,” Ms.
Perry says.
Dave Jarus describes himself as a
“lifelong learner.” As senior research
and development manager at PolyOne
focus of discussion throughout the semester,
Prof. Martin says. “They’ll present a real-
world issue to us, and the class will develop
an innovation. We’re bringing the real
business world right into the classroom.”
Citing confidentiality issues, Dean Schuele
demurs from identifying specific companies
and projects. “I can tell you that the companies
that are participating with us are very
impressed by the concept of the program and
are very excited about its possibilities. They’re
looking forward to the solutions that our
students can develop for them.”
John Carroll and the Boler School had
Corporation in Avon Lake, he already has
master’s and doctoral degrees in science.
That has given him a good analytical
background, he says, but he wanted to
pursue the MBA so that he could “walk on
both sides of the street.”
Although any MBA program conceivably
could have provided Dr. Jarus with the
business knowledge he was seeking, he
says there was a reason he transferred out
of the traditional MBA program and into the
new integrated track.
“The open-ended learning [of the
integrated program] is very exciting and
dynamic compared to being handed a
textbook and told to review chapters one
through 12,” says Dr. Jarus, who also is the
husband of Dean Schuele. The two courses
he has taken so far, ethics and analytical
no model on which to base this program.
“Several universities have gone to an
integrated approach, but our program is a
little different than anything out there,”
Dean Schuele says. “At Yale, for example,
they have a program that integrates the
various disciplines from the perspective of
the stakeholders, such as customers, vendors,
and stockholders. Ours integrates the
disciplines with a focus on innovation.”
Yale’s program is also full time, Prof.
Martin adds. “Our program is for part-time
students who are already working full time, so
that made it very important for us to allocate
our resources to deliver what the students
were telling us they really need.” Students
also benefit from the expertise of a career
coach, Luigi Pecoraro ’83, who works with
them throughout the program.
One initial area of concern for Prof.
Martin turned out to be the program’s core
strength. “This program requires the faculty
to teach very differently. We literally had to
design it from the ground up. So I was a little
monitoring, have proven to be immediately
applicable: one in the context of a new
employment agreement, the other in a
product lifecycle management project at
PolyOne’s business units.
“Both courses,” he says, “have given
me a new framework from which I’m
working every day.”
Dr. Jarus says that for him it “just
logically clicks” that a Jesuit university such
as John Carroll would offer a program that
addresses not only the fundamentals of
business but also the ethics. “I believe in
being in service for others, and the idea
that there’s a moral and ethical basis
behind everything that happens really
resonates with me.”
R.R.
concerned about how the faculty would react.
But they jumped on this right from the start.”
The faculty was so enthusiastic that when
Prof. Martin asked whether they would meet
over the summer of 2007 to work on the
curriculum, everyone did. “I can’t say enough
about our professors, Bob Bloom, Simran
Kahai, Gary Porter, and Charlie Watts.
They knew this was something the students
needed,” Prof. Martin says. “This enthusiasm
was contagious. We now have 12 professors
who meet regularly to discuss the program.”
The Business Community
Responds
In a business world that has
taken a few black eyes in
recent years, it’s probably
not surprising that a
Jesuit university would
create a program
grounded in ethics and
innovation. In fact, to
Prof. Martin, it would
Program architects:
Jim Martin and Karen Schuele
be surprising if John Carroll hadn’t been the
birthplace of this program. “It just seemed like a
natural thing for us to do,” he says. “Leadership
and service are steeped into our culture.”
The reaction of the business community
has been overwhelmingly positive, he notes.
Many local business leaders took part in the
focus groups that served as its genesis, and
they’re impressed by its potential.
“Once we designed the program, I went
back to the business community, and we
described it to a number of people,” Prof.
Martin says. “Some had participated in the
focus groups, and others were hearing about it
for the first time. Every one of them said this
WINTER 2008 John Carroll university 13
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 13
is an outstanding idea, and some said it made
them wish they could go back and get another
MBA. I don’t know if there’s a better way to
capture the excitement this program generates.”
Craig Melnick, manager of international
risk and captive management at the Eaton
Corporation, is one of those business leaders.
The 1998 Carroll graduate, who earned
his MBA from the Boler School in 2002,
participated in the focus groups that helped
Prof. Martin and Dean Schuele develop the
integrated curriculum.
“I work in insurance and risk management,
but everything that I do impacts other parts
of the organization, and I have to understand
what that impact is,” Mr. Melnick says.
If Mr. Melnick were pursuing his MBA
now, he’d prefer the integrated program. “Ten
years ago, I may not have fully understood the
importance of an integrated program.”
Jason Therrien ’01 also participated in the
focus groups. He is president of an integrated
marketing agency in Cleveland called
thunder::tech. He says that having a traditional
MBA has basically become the norm for
managers, while one earned through the new
curriculum will carry more weight with savvy
business leaders. Although the success of his
business has forced him to put his MBA studies
on hold temporarily, he says he will seek to
resume with the integrated program.
14 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
“The integrated program would very much
appeal to me,” he says. “And it’s a natural
extension of my undergraduate education
at JCU. The University educates the whole
person and helps you think critically. That
ability is very critical to business success,
especially at the pace things change.”
Mr. Therrien adds that Carroll has a
great reputation in the business community
for turning out top-notch students who are
well prepared to be business leaders. Thanks
to innovative new curricula such as the
integrated MBA program, that reputation is
likely to remain the constant in the ever-
changing world of business.
For more information about the new MBA
program, visit www.jcu.edu/boler/grads/mba.htm.
About the Boler School: The John and
Mary Jo Boler School of Business at John Carroll
is internationally accredited by the prestigious
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB). This accreditation is awarded
to only 11 percent of business programs in the
world. Also, in its percentage of accountancy
students passing at least one part of the CPA
exam, John Carroll has placed in the top three
nationally twice within the last eight years.
Ron Rajecki is a writer in the Cleveland area.
Decidedly Nontraditional
The new Integrated Business Decision
Track curriculum at the Boler School
of Business builds off of the four class
“blocks” of the traditional MBA program,
which itself is undergoing a restructuring.
Block I is foundation preparation,
and consists of the same seven
courses for the 12 students in the
integrated program’s pilot class and
the roughly 200 students in the Boler
School’s traditional MBA program. The
courses are: management information
systems, fundamentals of economics,
fundamentals of accountancy, business
statistics, organizational behavior,
principles of marketing, and fundamentals
of finance.
It is in Block II, business functions,
where the integrated track’s curriculum
differs significantly. Students take
three classes – totaling four credits –
together in the first semester. These are:
leadership, ethical decision making,
and analytical modeling. Six other
classes unique to the integrated track
follow: information, analytical tools, and
innovation; innovation planning and
forecasting; resource allocation decisions;
implementation and key performance
assessment; trust management; and
organization and team leadership.
Block III in both programs is
composed of electives, and Block IV
includes two more classes specific to
the integrated track: ethics and social
responsibility, and executive leadership.
R.R.
Much Is Expected
Bob Dickinson ’65 built Carnival Cruise Lines into the industry leader. Today,
the retired executive puts his skills to use in another endeavor – lifting
Miami’s homeless population. By Ken Kesegich

W
henever possible, Bob Dickinson ’65
steals away into the wine rooms
in his South Florida home. He dresses
for the chill. The younger wines are kept
at 55.7 degrees F., and the older ones, in
adjacent rooms, at 52 and 53 F. He labels
and organizes, working amid wine crates
and high walls filled with bottles nesting in
square slots. He designed the space himself.
Each room has its own refrigeration. A
backup generator waits in case a hurricane
knocks out power. As the older wines get
used up – he donates a lot of it – he moves
younger vintages into their place. He keeps
neither paper nor computer records. “It’s all
up here,” he says, tapping finger to temple.

Photographs by Gina Fontana, courtesy of Camillus House, except where noted

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 15

With Camillus House in need, says Bob Dickinson, “That was my calling.”
Bob Dickinson brings this combination
of brains, heart, and commitment to all of his
activities. He brought them to Carnival Cruise
Lines, where he spent more than three decades
transforming the fledgling company into the
industry’s leader. He retired in November 2007.
He remains on the board of the cruise line’s
parent company, Carnival Corporation, where he
was a founding board member.
Today, he brings his personal qualities to
his role as board chair of Camillus House, a
Catholic nonprofit organization serving poor
and homeless people in the Miami area. He is
leading an effort to build a new main shelter
facility. Paul Ahr, president and CEO of
Camillus House, marvels at Bob’s energy. “He’s
tireless. I can attest to that, because I get calls
and e-mails from him long before sunrise to
long past sundown – weekdays and weekends
alike,” he says. “Bob is always working for
Camillus and the people we serve.”
Cruise Control
Born in Chicago, Bob was the youngest of
four boys. The Dickinsons moved to Pittsburgh
when he was 10. He was educated in Catholic
schools and served as an altar boy. After
Shipshape: With the Carnival Liberty, Bob (second from right) is joined by Micky Arison (left), chairman of
Carnival Corporation; actress Mira Sorvino, the ship’s godmother; and Captain Marco Nogara.
16 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
graduating from John Carroll in 1965 with a advertising on what happens on the ship.
degree in business administration, and studying At that time, the American public had no
for an MBA at Duquesne University, he went idea what was happening on the ship. The
to work in the finance office at Ford and then competition was talking about the ports of call.”
in corporate planning at RCA. But, he says, He was promoted to president in 1993 and
“My goal was to actually run something.” named CEO in 2003. “We helped grow this
He got his wish when he joined the newly company from something that was the runt
formed Carnival in 1972, running the operation of the litter of the cruise industry,” he says,
under the title executive vice president and “to the largest, most profitable, most popular,
directing its sales and marketing efforts. He most successful cruise line in the world, by
moved his young family from Boston to Miami any measure – passengers carried, return on
and worked long hours, beginning an education invested capital, absolute level of profits.”
that today sees him as one of the most highly Regardless of his title, he resisted being
respected figures in the travel industry, with called “Mr. Dickinson.” Then, as now, he asked
three books about the business to his name. everyone to call him Bob. His approachability
“It was a real shoestring operation in the contributed to Carnival’s family atmosphere
beginning, to say the least,” he says. On its among employees. “We saw a minimum amount
maiden voyage, the Mardi Gras, Carnival’s of turnover and very high loyalty,” he says.
first liner, ran aground off the Port of Miami The former executive remains passionate
and was stuck for 24 hours. Carnival opened about awakening the public to the joys of
the ship’s bars and called the drink of the day cruising. Only one percent of the public had
“Mardi Gras on the Rocks.” been on a cruise in 1972. Today the number
Carnival rebounded and grew to industry is 20 percent. Still, cruising captures only 3½
dominance, in part on the strength of Bob’s percent of the vacation market. Based on the
most momentous marketing decision: to product and value offered, Bob believes cruising
market the ship and not the destination. “We should garner between 30 and 50 percent.
positioned it as the ‘Fun Ship’ and spent our “Once people try cruising, they like it and
come back. The return rate is very high. The
challenge is to get people to try it,” he says.
Photograph courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines
“We’re still in our embryonic stages. We could be
growing for many years – well past our lifetimes.”
We Offer You Hope
In 2000, Bob Dickinson’s life took a turn
during a United Way golf tournament in
Miami. He was playing with then Dolphins
head coach Dave Wannstedt, who talked up
the Bob Buford book Halftime. Bob read the
book, in which the author writes, “My passion
is to inspire business and professional leaders to
embrace God’s calling and move from success
to significance.” The message resonated.
A few years later, while serving as vice
chair of the Camillus House board, he was
thrust into the chair’s position after the
previous chair left and an upheaval ensued.
Until that time, Bob had been involved in
many philanthropic activities, but he had
not fully given himself over to any of them.
With Camillus in need, he says, “That was my
Embrace healing: Bob visits Camillus House’s main shelter facility,
in downtown Miami. The entrance includes a plaque that will
move to the shelter’s new facility next year.
calling.” It took all of his executive skills to
help right the organization.
Camillus House was founded in 1960 by
the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd.
Today, Camillus offers a continuum of
services – food, clothing, shelter, housing,
rehabilitative treatment, and healthcare
– aimed at helping its clients return to
productive society. It operates from a main
shelter in downtown Miami and 15 other
facilities in Miami-Dade County.
The organization’s goal is to make Miami
the first major American city to end chronic
homelessness. “That’s what drives everybody,”
Bob says. The federal government categorizes
persons as chronically homeless who have
lived on the streets for at least one year or have
had four instances of homelessness in a three-
year period, and have a disabling condition.
He says chronically homeless people number
about 800 in Miami. Camillus wants to create
a model that can be adopted nationally.
Camillus House is building a new,
expanded facility on a 3.1-acre campus in
Miami. “Since 1984, we’ve been trying to
move from the facility downtown, because
it’s inadequate,” says Bob. Groundbreaking is
scheduled for May 1, with completion slated
for August 2010. Bob raises money for the
$88-million project, about $40 million of
which will come from private sources. By
January 2009, Camillus had raised nearly
60 percent of that $40-million goal.
“It’s a full-time job,” he says. “When you’re
CEO, you have a bunch of people do a bunch of
things, and you oversee them. Here, I’m much
more hands-on. I don’t have that large staff.
I can’t tell somebody, ‘Get those sponsorships.’
I tend to do it. It’s all good work.”
He draws on his lessons from John Carroll.
“I loved my time at Carroll,” he says. “It was
a great school. Fr. [Joseph] Schell’s course in
logic was transformational. It helped me learn
how to think.” He also draws inspiration from
his personal philosophy: To whom much is
given, much is expected.
Bob lives with his wife of 20 years, Jodi, and
their two golden retrievers. Of his four adult
children, a daughter, Kristin Dickinson Hogue, is
a Carroll graduate, Class of 1990. She’s married
to fellow alum Michael Hogue ’88. Michael’s
father, Robert, graduated from Carroll in 1963.
Bob’s tenth grandchild arrived this past winter.
Without Bob, says Paul Ahr, Camillus
House would not be making its critical move.
“The brothers take care of the spiritual and the
corporal needs of the clients,” he says. “Hopefully,
we on the management team take care of the
professional side and the personal needs of the
staff. Bob Dickinson is the guy taking care of the
whole institution. When the time comes, there
will be a shelter ready for him in heaven.”
Bob Dickinson will be Carroll’s May 2009
Commencement speaker.
For more information about Camillus House,
visit www.camillus.org.
Ken Kesegich is editor of John Carroll magazine.
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 17
 John Carroll Gets a
Photograph by Robert Wetzel. Second Life image courtesy of Paul Lauritzen.

Life is good: Leading the way into Second Life at John Carroll are,
from left, Linda Eisenmann, Dan Palmer, Paul Lauritzen, and Sharon Kaye.
18 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
Second Life
Using Second Life, a real-time virtual world,
First Year Seminar and other courses at Carroll
are breaking new ground in the classroom.
By David Budin

Last semester, on a day he was supposed to teach Student Ideas Get Bigger
Second Life came to JCU by way of First Year Seminar (FYS) last
a class at John Carroll, computer science professor
semester. “Last year, [JCU mathematics and computer science professor]
Dan Palmer had to go out of town. No class that day, Paul Shick, who’s the coordinator of First Year Seminar, sent out a call
right? Wrong. Class was held. But with a substitute? for proposals,” recalls JCU philosophy professor Sharon Kaye. “I sent
a proposal. My real interest is critical thinking. I wanted to be able to
No. Prof. Palmer led the class as usual, but, well ... teach students some basic logical skills that would serve them through
not exactly as usual. He held it in a different world. their entire career at John Carroll and beyond, in terms of reading,
Actually, it was in a different life, or, more accurately, writing clearly, and making good arguments. But the idea didn’t really
have a hook, so [JCU philosophy professor] Earl Spurgin said I needed to
in Second Life. find something to make it interesting.”
Second Life (SL) is a 3-D virtual world that At that time, Prof. Kaye was working on a novel, Black Market
Truth, book one of her Aristotle Quest trilogy. (The book was published
is constantly being created by its own so-called
in October.) Part of the action takes place in Second Life. “I had been
“residents.” Though similar to a computer game, doing research on Second Life anyway,” she says, “and I realized that
Second Life activities take place in real time, and there this could be an excellent draw, to have these critical thinking skills
taught and learned through an Internet interface.”
are no rules, boundaries, or other such elements of
gaming. You sign up and create an “avatar” – or virtual-
world representative – of yourself. Then you explore
what other residents are doing.
Created in 2003 in San Francisco, Second Life
now is “home” to millions of residents. It’s free to
join and participate, but it will cost you some real,
not virtual, money if you want to purchase your own
“land” there.
Image courtesy of Paul Lauritzen

“I gave the lecture from St. Louis,” Prof. Palmer

says. In SL, you can communicate by speaking or
texting. “We went over questions about the reading
we had done. I had a little podium, and the students
all had these little floating clouds to sit on. If they had
Another world: Avatars of Carroll students and faculty gather in front of the
a question, they could hit ‘page up’ and their avatar JCU Administration Building. From left are student and staff member Mary
Jane Ponyik, professors Sharon Kaye and Paul Lauritzen, and students
would raise its hand.” George Banaszak ’12 and Chris Sarris ’12.
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 19
 Prof. Kaye continues, “The overall theme
for First Year Seminar is social justice, and all
of the sub-themes have to relate to that, so the
sub-theme for our learning community would
be critical thinking about social justice. Then
we added in Second Life as the venue for this
activity. And even though the students hadn’t
really been aware of Second Life, just like any
other educational tool that we might introduce
to them, it can have an appeal once they
learn how to use it. We’re bringing them to a
foreign, new world.”
As Amanda Hemann, a First Year Seminar
student last semester puts it: “I’d never heard
about Second Life until this year at school. It
was new, and anything new is interesting.”
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Linda Eisenmann, who is also a professor of
history and education, was one of the faculty
members who used Second Life in her First Year
Seminar class. “Second Life addresses ways that
students like to go about things,” she says. “There
are a lot of students who really enjoy gaming
and being on the computer, and they’re already
doing video games or things like Facebook.
When you know about multiple intelligences,
Images courtesy of Paul Lauritzen

and understand that people come at subjects

from different ways, this is a way of tapping into
interests of students who might want to look at
the issues with a different set of tools.”
Second Life was used last semester as a
project in First Year Seminar called “Second
Life and Social Justice – Building a Utopia,”
which grew out of Prof. Kaye’s idea. Groups
from most of the First Year Seminar classes
wrote proposals for ideas that demonstrated
some aspect of social justice in Second Life, and
then, in some cases, actually created them.
“The assignment,” says Dean Eisenmann,
“was to create a proposal for something that
could enhance social justice in Second Life –
an event, an activity, a building, a reading, a
“I’m interested in using
Second Life because
there’s so much out
there. The possibilities
are endless.”
– Freshman Andrea Brown
Big decisions: In a Second Life ethics simulation, Prof. Lauritzen has created a dying patient
and his family members, who must make decisions about their loved one’s care. Carroll
students play the roles of the family.
monument. Then there was a template students the presentations. “Everything was really
had to follow. For example, they had to research interesting,” she says. “Good ideas. But it was
the issue, talk about why it was an important hard, because it was so new, to develop anything
social justice issue, describe where in Second really concrete. Everyone was new with it, and
Life they would put it, and discuss what in there were technical difficulties. I’m interested
Second Life already addresses this. Of the nine in using it, though, because there’s so much out
classes, six chose that option, and the others there. The possibilities are endless.”
brought their classes in to see the final results.” Dean Eisenmann says that by working on the
On December 17, First Year Seminar projects together, the students’ ideas “got bigger
students and interested visitors watched and bigger and bigger. They started out with
presentations by those six. Freshman Andrea small, kind of predictable ideas. Then I or other
Brown was in one of the classes that used people would ask questions, such as, ‘Where
Second Life, and though she hadn’t worked would you put this in Second Life?’ That would
on one of those projects, she attended get them out there investigating Second Life.”

20 John Carroll university SPRING 2009

Novel Approaches “Second Life can have an appeal once students
In another Second Life experiment,
religious studies professor Paul Lauritzen has
learn how to use it. We’re bringing them to a
conceived of and implemented an ethics foreign, new world.” – Professor Sharon Kaye
simulation in which an avatar is in a hospital
bed, suffering in the late stages of cancer. portals – I was attempting to recreate that.” Year Seminar coordinator Paul Shick. She is
“We’ve created avatars that are the Second Life changes the dynamics of now at Case Western Reserve University.
patient’s wife, the son, the family members, teaching. “I’d be at home with my laptop and Sharon Kaye says that there has been talk of
and the patient is lying there, obviously in go into Second Life and see a couple of students John Carroll’s military science department using
pain,” says Prof. Lauritzen, director of JCU’s there working on their homework,” says Prof. it for their simulations, and the math department
Program in Applied Ethics. “The students, in Palmer. “At 10 o’clock at night, they’re asking using it for mathematical simulations. “And
groups, need to make decisions about whether me questions. I’d be helping one student and foreign languages,” she says, “because in Second
to give him more medication and so on.” another student’s avatar would come running Life, you meet people from different countries
Pulling the plug is one option. over, saying, ‘Look at this.’ And I’d say, ‘What?’ and speak with them in their language.
Dan Palmer, in mathematics and computer And he’d say, ‘I finished! Can I hand it in?’ So “It’s an experiment unfolding. We’re very
science, used Second Life in several ways. One I’d go over and he’d show it to me, and I’d grade excited about it and know that its applications
was “as a medium for students who don’t have it right there at 10 o’clock at night. There was a and potential are multiplying.”
any programming or computer background,” he level of excitement for the novelty of the venue
says. “In my First Year Seminar class, students that really got students involved and interested.” To get a sense of John Carroll in Second Life, go to
created a PowerPoint presentation on how you This semester, Prof. Palmer is finding the magazine’s website at www.jcu.edu/magazine.
could use Second Life to promote social justice more ways to use Second Life, including in a There, you can click on a short video showing the
or Utopian ideals. One group came up with robotics class. The professors using Second avatar for Carroll student Andrea Brown reading
an ‘Unjust Bus,’ where you would get on a bus Life cited the technical help they received her “This I Believe” essay written for a class taught
and it would travel to different locations in from Sue Shick, a former member of Carroll’s by Prof. Lauritzen last fall.
Second Life that either extolled the virtues of a information technology services department
particular social justice approach or showed the and also the wife of JCU professor and First David Budin is a Cleveland-area writer.
dangers of some social injustice behavior. Then
they wrote descriptions of their vision of how to
build a learning component for their subject.”
Prof. Palmer also used Second Life
for programming classes. Students created
an interactive station where they could
demonstrate programming capabilities. “They
could create a single hole for a miniature golf
course,” he says, noting that in the one they
created, the hole itself is moving. “Or they
could do something that tied into a game board
that your avatar can actually get on and move
around, playing the game.” That one contains
games within games; when you land on certain
squares, you get teleported to yet another game.
One of Prof. Palmer’s students last semester,
junior Jason Dengler, used Second Life in
his alternative programming course. “It was
different,” he says, “because normally when
you’re programming, you’re just writing a
Image courtesy of Dan Palmer

program for the computer, but with this you

actually create an object in the Second Life
world and you program it. For my final, I made
a gun that shoots a portal out, and when you
shoot two portals out, you can click on one
and teleport between the two portals. There’s a
Class is in session: Dan Palmer holds one of his First Year Seminar classes in Second Life. His
game, Portal, where you can walk between two avatar is at the lectern while his students’ avatars, unbound by gravity, actively participate.

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 21

Quarterly
Enrollment
John Carroll’s
Spotlight:
Partnering on Affordability
Over the last two years, John Carroll has
redefined the way our University views the
admission process. We see the process
as one continuous whole – how do we
transform a high school senior into a
John Carroll alum? An extension of this
thinking has begun to impact how we
consider our financial services.
Historically, at many colleges,
procedures such as financial aid and
billing happen in separate offices. The
procedures are not clearly defined, and
they’re difficult for students to navigate.
Financial aid has become more than just
awarding and delivering federal, state,
22 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
enrollment update and guide to the college admission process
and institutional dollars. The process of
paying for college is becoming increasingly
detailed. Families must consider a range
of circumstances, including other children
planning to attend college in a few years,
retirement planning, and the costs of
taking care of an elderly parent.
A new financial services team has been
formed at John Carroll. It will coordinate
previously separate functions to the benefit
of our students and families. What follows
are key ways the financial aid process
continues to change at John Carroll. Our
goal is to totally streamline the process of
applying for financial aid.
FAFSA filing. We encourage every
family to file the FAFSA. We emphasize
that families need assistance at any
income level (see: Financial Aid Myths at
www.jcu.edu/aidjcu). The FAFSA is the
gateway form that allows John Carroll to
manage federal and state resources, as well
as institutional resources. Carroll is a host
site for College Goal Sunday – a national
volunteer effort to help families file the FAFSA.
One-on-one counseling. Our aid
process is personalized to new levels. We
offer appointments year-round for families
at every stage in the admission process,
even meeting with parents of juniors trying
to plan their strategy. Last year, at freshman
orientation, our counselors guided each
family through the loan application process,
work-study considerations, and billing poli-
cies specific to them, rather than presenting
information in a large generic format.
Online service. Our processing of
need-based aid and use of technology
continues to expand. By fall 2009, we will
allow students to accept student loans
online and be guided through the entrance
interview process in a seamless way. Easy
interfaces with payment plans and online
payment options are being reviewed.
Payment plans. A variety of new
payment tools and online calculators will
be in place this coming summer. They will
provide families with flexibility in how they
can budget and plan tuition payments.
The services will help families plan their
educational expenses on a monthly basis
and budget accordingly.
 By the
Numbers
We listen. As we define a new financial
services philosophy for John Carroll, what
remains a constant for the University is
the caring staff across campus. True to
our mission and Jesuit philosophy, we are
guided by how we care for students in this
process. So as we continue to simplify and
personalize the aid process to reflect the
larger institutional culture, students will
find it easier to focus on their studies and
progress on their path toward graduation
with fewer obstacles.

Photograph by Andy Johnson ’10

Look for
Updates
The emergence of new Student
Financial Services, designed to help
students through the financial process,
will be chronicled more fully on the John
Carroll University website throughout the
spring semester. Head to www.jcu.edu/sfs
to follow our changes in processes and
policies, including:
n Billing timeline and deadlines
n Online account access for students
and parents
n New payment plan options and
changes to payment methods
n Opportunities for scholarships,
loans, and campus work in an
easier-to-follow web design
As with every class, the Class of 2013 starts with students applying to join
John Carroll. From this pool of students, Carroll extends offers of admission to
shape the next freshman class. Here’s a glimpse of the application numbers
as of early February.
n Carroll has extended nearly n Applications have come from
70 percent of its goal of offers 41 states and 19 foreign countries
of admission to shape the n Among the applicants, 70 are
Class of 2013 valedictorians
n The total number of applications n 50 percent of the applicants rank
exceeds 3,000 and is still climbing in the top 20 percent of their high
n Only 100 applications have been school class
submitted via paper, meaning n 47 percent have a GPA above 3.5
98 percent have been filed online
n The average GPA of all applicants
n 60 percent of the applicants is 3.38
are from Ohio

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 23

Quarterly
Enrollment

Class of
2013
Celebration
John Carroll University
Office of Admission
invites all admitted seniors
to attend the CLASS OF
2013 CELEBRATION
Saturday, April 4, 2009
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. John Carroll
Program highlights will include: Is Now on
• Detailed tours of campus and
freshman residence halls
• Presentations from various Facebook
campus departments,
• John Carroll neighborhood tours including Financial Join the 800-plus John Carroll alumni, friends
Aid, Student Life, and of the University, and current and prospective
• Perspectives from current Residence Life students who have become “fans” of the
John Carroll students University. Beyond the main Carroll website,
• Spring indoor picnic
• Academic presentations Facebook becomes a more interactive
platform to share your stories, ask questions,
For more information, please call and get a more lighthearted glimpse of the

216-397-4294 or 888-335-6800. campus and admission process.

Search “John Carroll University”

to find our page and pass it along
to your friends and family!
See you there.

Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Incorporated

24 John Carroll university SPRING 2009

 ALUMNI JOURNAL

alumNews
Alumni
A New Facebook Connection Service Month
Want to connect with fellow John Carroll April is John Carroll Alumni Service
alumni in a new way? JCU Connect, the Month. Following is a working list
University’s alumni online community, now of service projects to take place in
supports Facebook Connect. Carroll is one of the Cleveland; Baltimore; Washington,
first schools to provide this new resource.  D.C.; and Boston. 
If you are a registered user of JCU Connect, you
can use your Facebook user name and password to Sunday, April 19
log in to your account on JCU Connect. And when JCU Service Day
you register for a Carroll event, make a gift, or post (Baltimore)
a class note, you have the option to post it to your To log into JCU Connect for the first time, use Our Daily Bread, 725 Fallsway
Facebook News Feed and connect to John Carroll. your nine-digit alumni ID found at the top of the 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Connect today! Go to www.jcu.edu/jcuconnect. mailing label on the back of this magazine.
While you’re on JCU Connect, check out the Saturday, April 25
new-and-improved “Update My Information” Facebook is a registered trademark Cultivating Community Day
option. It’s easy and it’s real time.  of Facebook, Incorporated. (Cleveland)

Saturday/Sunday,
Alumni Association News April 25-26
Relay for Life (see page 31)
In January 2009, F. Eric Jochum ’83 became (John Carroll campus)
the new president of the Alumni Association,
succeeding Ken Honecker ’04G. Ken’s service
as president included helping lead the creation
Sunday, April 26
JCU Service Day (tentative)
of Carroll’s alumni online community, JCU
(Washington, D.C.)
Connect. Eric has served on the Alumni Associa-
The McKenna Center at St. Aloysius
tion Board since 2007, providing leadership to
19 Eye Street N.W.
the enrollment initiative and helping to establish
the Alumni Referral Program. He will continue to
Thursday, April 30          
Photograph by Robert Wetzler

provide leadership to the enrollment and

scholarship initiatives. Eric is an attorney in JCU Service Day
Mayfield Village, Ohio. His wife, Patty (Tainer) (Boston)
Jochum, is also a member of the Class of 1983. National Braille Press
Eric and Patty have three daughters, including 88 St. Stephen Street
Maura, Class of 2011. 5:30 – 9 p.m.
Eric Jochum ’83
The events listed above are
subject to change. 

Calling All
Additional service projects
Save the Date! may be added. 

Alumni Authors Alumni Golf Classic For more information,

visit www.jcu.edu/jcuconnect or
Monday,
Are you a John Carroll June 1, 2009 e-mail alumni@jcu.edu.
graduate who has published
a book? Your alma mater Fowlers Mill
wants to know. Golf Course
Please send us an update:
alumni@jcu.edu Chesterland, Ohio

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 25

ALUMNI JOURNAL
to our Readers
As a cost-saving measure, and a way to be more environmentally friendly, we have
reduced John Carroll magazine’s page count. We sought to limit the impact on class
notes through design changes. In one change, we have removed the mailing addresses
from the contact information for your columnist. Alumni, we found, communicate with
their columnists overwhelmingly by e-mail and phone. For additional columnist contact
information, please call us at 216-397-4343 or 800-736-ALUM (2587).
Note that we continue to publish additional class notes and archived columns online.
Visit www.jcu.edu/alumni/publications/classnotes.htm to read unabridged copy as
well as previous columns.
The Golden Years
UP TO
’39
Larry Kelley ’36
216-941-1795
journal@jcu.edu
I was just getting ready to send a note to Ken and
Michele about the previous issue of John Carroll
magazine, Vol. 12, Issue 4, to congratulate them
on having one that had more articles that were of
interest to the alumni and that I hoped the powers
that be would not interfere. However before I got
around to sending the note, I received a letter
from Ken saying that in the interest of economy,
the University was reducing the size of the
magazine. So columnists are limited to 450 words
and reunion years to 600 words. It won’t affect
me, as most of my graduates from the ’30s are
gone! Being old does have some good points. ...
While on the Ignatius Alumni Retreat, I was
reminded that I am old. While sitting in the dining
hall, one of the younger alumni saw my name tag
with the year I graduated -- ’32 -- and remarked
that we had something in common. He was 32
years old! Looking at his nametag, I said we had
something else in common. He graduated in ’93,
which is my age! ... After the ’30 graduates’ lunch
group disbanded, I was the only one. The alumni
from the ’50s Wednesday lunch group invited me
to join them. I enjoy lunches with the youngsters!
... So keep praying, just Larry
‘40
Carl Giblin
727-518-7961
GIBBI612@aol.com
John Sweeney, Cleveland bureau chief, is a
veritable fount of information -- most of it involving
the regular lunch bunch. Jim Carey had to cancel
his usual two-month visit to California because of
a herniated disc. If he can get his disc un-herniat-
ed, he will try to get out there for some skiing.
Lou Sulzer went to his place in Naples, FL, and
had a visit from his daughter. Lou indulged in a
little deserved braggadocio – one of his grand-
sons, a Northwestern student, studied in Spain for
a semester (bull fighting?). Another of his
grandsons, with his doctor’s degree, was in
Amsterdam to deliver a paper (his Plain Dealer
route didn’t pay enough?). Jim Schlecht, who is
not feeling very chipper these days, heard from
his brother-in-law, Jim Fleming, that he has
moved into an assisted living facility. John
Sweeney told about the New Year’s Eve
26 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
celebration, which is the day before New Year’s
Eve at his residence community (go figure). That
rascal, John, danced such a lively jitterbug number
that the young lady who operates the commu-
nity’s transportation (bus driver?) asked him to
dance with her. I am going to quote John, to be
sure he doesn’t sue me: “After dancing the first
one and while waiting for the next dance, I asked
her if she danced the ‘elevator step.’ She replied
that she didn’t, and I asked if she would like to
learn it. She said yes. I then started to instruct her
by telling her it was a ‘cheek to cheek’ step. She
said OK. We went ‘cheek to cheek,’ and after
about ½ minute, she backed away and said,
‘Well?’ I immediately told her there were no steps
in the elevator step. She got a big charge out of
that.” I think someone spiked the prune juice for
their New Year’s blast. ... I am an early-to-bed,
early-to-rise guy. By 6 a.m., I have finished
breakfast and read the morning paper. It is 11
hours until beverage break time; even when I go
on Dublin time it is six hours. I read an article that
presented a challenge. Write a book! My first two
books, How to Build a Swamp and Sky Diving,
Self Taught, disappeared from the bestseller list.
So I am now writing an autobiography, From Here
to Senility. It has several chapters on life at John
Carroll from 1936 to 1940. So, if it ever makes it to
print, your name will probably be in it. Take care of
each other. Carl
’42
Art Wincek
831-475-1210
atwincek@aol.com
Sadly, Jerard Mulvihill passed away this winter
after a long illness. ... Upon leaving Carroll, Jim
Paskert went into the air force in Southern
California. He was transferred later to Colorado,
Boca Raton, and finally Hawaii. He had also been
in the Philippines. He was discharged and then left
the service in 1944. He returned to Cleveland,
working in probation. He then worked for
Cylinders & Valves, Inc., and several auto dealers
as an accountant. He retired in 1982. He still
resides in Cleveland, where he recently under-
went hip surgery. His wife, Loretta, a registered
nurse, is a big help to Jim. ... Richard (Dick)
Cachat, both my high school and college
classmate, is in good spirits as always. We joined
up again at the Naval Operating Base in Norfolk,
VA. More recently, we talked about Jack Miller’s
tennis prowess on the courts at Lakewood. If you
won, you played; he was on the court all day. ...
Peg and Ray Casey have stopped their annual
trips to Europe. Ray keeps up with Bob Smith
and Tony Yonto. They finally solved the mystery
of Bill Driscoll; Smitty found that he was buried in
Arlington. ... Bob Politi continues to reside in
South Euclid, OH. Following graduation, he went
to Air Force Bowman Field, Louisville, KY. From
there, he was transferred to the UK. He was in the
European Theater for four years, attached to a
medical unit. During the war, he went to Milan for
four to five weeks. Upon discharge, he returned to
Cleveland and went to work for Simon and
Schuster. He was the area district manager until
retirement. Bob remains a bachelor. He, Jerard
Mulvihill, Peter Mesner, and Frank Greicius were
the Radio Club Founders. Father William F. Ryan
was the moderator. ... Art
’43
Bruce E. Thompson
216-382-4408
journal@jcu.edu
This mid-January column date – Jan. 17 – should
be particularly significant to some ’43ers,
especially those in the accelerated program. Jan.
17, 1943, was the John Carroll commencement
ceremony, 66 long years ago, for the 35 graduates
listed: Bachelor of Arts: John Corrigan, Thomas
Dunnigan, Edward Hyland, Edward Kipfstuhl,
Theodore Saker, Louis Sacriste, John Whelan,
and Joseph Wolff. Bachelor of Philosophy:
Salvatore Calandra, Thomas Daly, William
Ducsay, Daniel Lynch, Thomas Moore, Albert
Piccuta, John Quinn, Leonard Reichelt, Richard
Schmidle, Edward Shubeck, William Smith,
Sr. Mary Evangeline Szymanski. Bachelor of
Science: Alfred Balocca, Joseph Dempsey, Paul
Fetick, Edward Kilrain, Raymond Hodous,
Clayton Matowitz, Anthony Nicolay, Eugene
Sees, and Joseph Sepkoski. Bachelor of Science
in Business Administration: Robert Gorman,
Thomas Mazanec, Frank Sullivan, Bruce
Thompson, Richard Weisbarth, and Robert
Wilson. Read the list slowly, allowing your mind’s
eye to picture each one. What a delightful
reminiscence. Wish I could say a few words about
each, but our column is now limited to 450 words.
What a great bunch of fellows. If you need a
commencement program, write or call me. Those
in the May 9, 1943, commencement ceremony
will be listed in the next issue of John Carroll –
closer proximity to your graduation date. ...
Incidentally, Ms. Ann Saker, daughter of Ted,
brought us up-to-date with a name too long absent
from our pages. She writes, “Theodore R. Saker
and Patricia A. Saker of Mason, OH, and Palm
Beach, FL, reached their 50th wedding anniversary
Aug. 30, 2008. A Mass of celebration was said in
Bellarmine Chapel at Xavier University. A party
followed at the Cincinnati Country Club. Ted and
Pat are parents of seven and grandparents of 18.”
Congratulations, nice to hear about you, Ted. Let’s
hear from you. ... Bob Obringer proudly tells of
his son being appointed president of a company,
the American subsidiary of a Japanese manufac-
turer of commercial landscaping equipment. He is
the first American to hold this position. Reason to
be proud, Bob and Jane. ... Thanks to those who
sent Christmas greetings. Keep your notes
coming throughout the year. Take care, Bruce

’44
Don McDonald
216-991-9140
journal@jcu.edu
REUNION YEAR
Good news is very hard to find these days, as all
of you well know. Spring can’t come soon
enough. Keep in mind that Reunion Weekend is
June 19-21. It would be great to have at least one
table of 10 for the Saturday-night dinner following
Mass. Marty Franey is planning on attending. I’ll
be calling others to encourage their attendance. ...
In the meantime, we have lost some more of our
classmates. Eddy O’Connor died in Florida
around Thanksgiving. He is remembered as the
spark plug of our class, holding many offices
including class president. Ed was a lot of fun and
had a great career with Greyhound promoting
travel by bus. He left an outstanding family. Jack
Lavelle died Christmas Eve after several years of
declining health. There are still two of his brothers
with us, Jim and Gene ’50, both of whom reside
in the Cleveland area. Jim’s son runs the family
business, Gorman-Lavelle Corp. A family business
making it into the third generation is a testament
to great family values. Many of you must
remember Tony Lavelle, the oldest brother, who
ran the family business starting right after WWII.
... April and Leo ’43 Corr are still living on the
West Side of Cleveland. April is currently
recovering from a broken hip and Leo too has had
some health problems. It is great to have them
back in our area after spending many productive
years in Michigan. ... I received a call from Bill
Theiss, whose dad was Dr. Joe Kolp’s first
patient, telling me that Joe suffered a massive
brain hemorrhage on January 18. I spoke with
Pete, Joe’s son, and he told me that unfortunate-
ly, Joe passed away Monday afternoon, January
19. Our sympathy to Mary and the family. ... June
will be our 65th Reunion; hopefully we will have a
special dinner. Until June, stay well and get in
touch with us. All the best, Don
‘47
Ed Cunneen
216-561-1122
edcunneen@ameritech.net
Happy New Year to you. I want to share my New
Year’s wish ... I wish that anyone/someone from
the Class of 1947 would call me or drop me a note
just to prove that there really were graduates from
John Carroll that year! Ed
‘48
Julius Sukys
440-449-8768
journal@jcu.edu
‘49
Tom Harrison
440-331-4343
taharrison2001@sbcglobal.net
REUNION YEAR
Al Zippert has been an enthusiastic participant in
alumni activities until he was grounded by a
serious back ailment. Al is presently moving about
the house in a wheelchair, is striving to develop
ALUMNI JOURNAL
semi-painless walker ability, graduate to the use of
a cane, and again become an active retiree. ... Jim
Pojman is again leading his barbershop quartet,
with which he was scheduled for weekly
appearances at Kamm’s Corners shopping center
through December. Jim stays in shape. I was
surprised to learn that he almost beat Duane
Stanley ’52 in a singles tennis match! ... Years
ago, George Roberts wanted more than mild
weather and the exciting life of auditing the
financial records of large and small corporations,
so he purchased a small orange grove and
beautiful home which affords a “front seat” view
of the rocket launches at Cape Canaveral.
George’s Merritt Island location, just south of the
Cape, provides the view without the resulting
traffic and security difficulties. George hasn’t
returned to campus for years and while he knows
a visit would renew many happy memories at
John Carroll, he’s comfortable, relaxed, and happy
as a retiree at home. ... While attending the Gray
Streaks lunch on Dec. 10, Pete Corrigan, Ray
Fox, and I were surprised and impressed with Ed
McKenna’s beautifully tailored suit, white shirt
buttoned at the collar, coordinated tie, and newly
shined shoes. He was accused of abandoning
retirement, and either returning to the insurance
business, or planning to run for mayor of South
Euclid. Ed pled innocent, but we open shirt and
sweater wearers are watching closely. ... In
November, I called Tom Gibbons, who had
recently returned to his home in Florida. Tom and I Starting second from left are Jim Conway,
last visited while we participated, wearing cap and Owen McDermott, and Ed Turk.
gown, in John Carroll’s 2007 graduation of our Identify the man with the hat and glasses (far left)
and receive a prize from the class of 1950.
granddaughters. Tom’s granddaughter was the
E-mail your guess to tatlerjack25@sbcglobal.net.
lady’s basketball star of the year and now is
seriously working toward her master’s degree to
1949 Homecoming game at the old Cleveland
begin a career as a basketball coach. ... The death
Stadium where Carroll was beating Baldwin-
of Dave Gibbons, Tom’s brother, was a sad
Wallace at halftime. John’s date, Rita McGuigan,
event. The brothers, close in age, were class-
was crowned homecoming queen. She still
mates through college and graduated in the same
remains John’s queen after 58 years of marriage!
class. Tom is looking forward to less golf this year,
Len Terry (aka Curly) has some great memories of
probably only twice a week. He has attended the
his time at Carroll. One of his friends, Bill Snider,
annual alumni functions faithfully, and enjoyed
recommended JCU to him. When Len visited, he
visiting with Dick Hamlin at last year’s party. ...
said to himself, “This is too small to be a
Our graduation day of 1949 was our first great mo-
University; it’s like a country school!” But he
ment of success. Each of us enthusiastically
enrolled anyway and says it’s one of the best
looked forward to developing business opportuni-
moves he made. He met wife Lois at one of the
ties or going on to grad school. We’ve all enjoyed
socials with Notre Dame College. He still
continued success with our families and careers;
remembers Dean Graff and Fathers Schell,
and now we have a golden opportunity to
Castellano, and LaPlante. He says he also
celebrate, renew old friendships, enjoy happy
remembers the football games with Toledo,
college memories, and attend Mass together to
Bowling Green, and Canisius. He also wants to be
remember our deceased classmates and thank
remembered to all his friends he met while here.
God for His help in our lives. Come to our 60th
I, too, was referred by an alum, Tony Veteran ’42.
Reunion, June 19-21, 2009. Hope to see you
Emil Johnson and I drove from Tarrytown, NY.
there. ... Send news! Good news preferred. All
When we saw the Quad and Grasselli Tower, we
reported with reasonable accuracy. Tom
said to each other, “What did we do?” Grasselli
Tower was almost as big as all of Tarrytown! We
‘50
Jack Reilly figured we would stay a semester. I’m glad I
216-291-5762 stayed the full four years -- lots of laughs,
tatlerjack25@sbcglobal.net memories, and friends I’m still in contact with. Ed
Turk was in Newfoundland when he decided to
Christmas has come and gone -- hope everyone come to John Carroll. He was applying for officer’s
had a good and blessed one. Please think about training and was asked what University he wanted
attending our 60th Reunion in 2010. Prepare now to attend. He said John Carroll in his hometown.
for the event. ... John Buckon and I were talking Bad eyes kept him from becoming an officer, but
at Muldoon’s a few weeks ago and he mentioned he enrolled anyway. One of his college memories
Dr. Joseph Kolp ’44, his future brother-in-law, who had to be Stunt Night 1949 where he is pictured
was instrumental in getting John to attend Carroll. above. He remembers Dr. Graff and accounting
John’s most memorable time at Carroll was the professor John Seliskar. Ed lives in Mentor and
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 27
ALUMNI JOURNAL
says he has watched the University grow. ... Sorry
to report Ed Hawkins passed away on Jan. 4. We
extend our sympathy to his wife, Dorothy, and
family. We will miss you, Ed! We also note the
recent passing of Rev. Frank Lihvar, SJ, our
classmate and a 60-year member of the Jesuits.
He was always a celebrant at our Reunion
Masses. Please remember them both in your
prayers. ... Continue to pray for our sick and
deceased classmates. Until next time, have a
happy St. Patrick’s Day, God bless, and all the
best. Jack
‘51
Donald A. Ungar
330-723-5234
donyal@aol.com
Time marches on -- a new year. As we look back,
can we remember the things that we did to help
our fellow man so that we have a better world?
Why not take a few minutes to renew your
memories of years ago. We belong to the Gray
Streaks – 50+ year alumni -- maybe the Gray
Streak monthly luncheon would be a way to see
old friends. ... Lillian and Bill Switaj spent
Christmas in Chicago with their family. ... I
received a note from Mario D’Alanno recalling
our days at John Carroll. ... My wife, Ruth, and I
had breakfast with Amy and Bill Riski before they
made their annual winter move to their Florida
home. They wish to thank all for the prayers that
helped Bill recover from his illness. ... Times have
changed and so has each of us. Just what are we
doing in these senior years? How about a word or
two regarding what’s going on in your life today?
You all know me as the photo guy; well, yes, I still
take pictures and produce movies. My latest
movies are: Send Me a Postcard, a film about my
travels around the world; and Pioneers in
Broadcasting, a film that I use to tell about my
days at WEWS-TV5. Many clubs and organizations
enjoy hearing about my travels with Dorothy
Fuldheim and the fashion shows in New York with
Paige Palmer. Not to bore you too much, I had a
picture playing my trombone in the Medina
Gazette. I belong to a group of seniors called the
Jolly Jammers. We play music from the ’30s and
’40s. Our concerts are at the Medina Senior
Center on select Fridays, when the seniors come
for lunch. The musicians are retired people like
me; some were teachers, accountants, and
musicians. Occasionally I’ll get up and lead the
group in a song. Music plays a big part in my
retirement as I play my trombone in The Historic
Medina Symphony Orchestra, the Brunswick
Community Band, and BW Gold Concert Band. It
might be nice if someday we had a John Carroll
alumni band or orchestra. ... Just what are you
doing? How about a note or e-mail - donyal@aol.
com? Spend a couple of minutes telling us about
your life. Don
‘52
Dorothy Poland
PolandMomdot@aol.com
I am looking out at all this white stuff and
wondering why I am not visiting my children who
live in warmer climates. Then I remember that I
talked to my daughter in Houston this morning
28 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
and it was 35 degrees. ... In my last column, I said
that I would bring you up-to-date on an e-mail from
Bill Perusek: During summer 2007, the son of
Chuck Ferry was having lunch at a restaurant in
Phoenix and mentioned that his dad had attended
John Carroll University. A man at the next table
overheard this and said his dad had also attended
JCU. That was Jim Weber, son of Joe Weber.
Jim was only two when his dad died. He was
thrilled when Chuck contacted former Bernet Hall
dorm mates. Larry Snitzky, Paul Stitzel, Charlie
Toepp, Bill Perusek, and Chuck Ferry all sent
notes, letters, and photos to the remaining five
children. The children were thrilled to learn of their
father’s past at Carroll, and the men have kept in
touch with the family. I think this speaks well of
the connections established at our alma mater. ...
Finally finishing the saga of Betty and Bill
Kenealy’s trip around the British Isles and
Normandy. Their son, who has dual citizenship,
works for the Lord Mayor of the City of London
and was a great asset during their trip. One of
their missions was to search for family roots. Bill’s
mother left Kilkenny in 1927 and sailed from
Southampton. Same port from which Bill and
Betty sailed to Wales, Dublin, Glasgow, Belfast,
Edinburgh, and the Orkney Islands and Normandy
before returning to Southampton. Betty’s name
was Walker, which is an old English-Scots name.
In Le Havre, they saw the remnants of D-Day and
the magical light in that area, which drew the
artists who started the impressionist style of
painting. Bill also included a blurb about the 23rd
running of the Army Ten-Miler held yearly in
Washington. Their son and two daughters were
part of the 26,000 runners on Oct. 7. They all
finished in less than two hours, but the real
winner was 6-year-old granddaughter Olivia, who
streaked the course in 49 seconds. She ran the
100-meter course for her age group and received
a medal and other precious memorabilia. I haven’t
heard whether Bill and Betty took the cruise to the
Mexican Riviera in December. ... Finally met Tom
Fields ’71 during the Christmas holidays. Nice to
finally put a face to the name and voice. Tom is
still very involved in trying to get laws enacted
against “elder abuse.” ... That’s it for now. Let’s
hang on for the coming bumpy ride! Be safe and
let me hear from you, please. Dorothy
‘53
Jim Myers
440-358-0197
cealejim@gmail.com
Hello to all class of ’53 and to your family and
friends. At Reunion last June, I heard about Nancy
and Dick Barrett’s trip to the Amazon. That is
now old news, but it did sound like an exciting
trip. They spent time in Quito, Ecuador, on the
Amazon River, and a few nights in a bamboo hut.
The trip included some jungle walks and night
canoeing. The generator was shut down at ten
o’clock each night, which would bring them closer
to nature. I wonder as you read this how many are
thinking, “Wow, I wish I could do that” and how
many are thinking, “Gee, I’m glad it wasn’t me.”
Dick and Nancy also gathered their family last
summer at Grand Teton and Yellowstone National
Parks. With the kids and grandchildren, the group
numbered 25. The Barretts have given up their
home in which they ran a bed and breakfast for
many years in Canfield, OH. It was a home dating
back to 1822. Now they live in a condo only three
blocks away. ... When I called Tony LaPerna
recently, his wife, Jackie, announced he wasn’t
home from work yet. I am surprised at how many
of our classmates continue with their careers. I
understand Tony still goes to the office for at least
a few hours nearly each weekday. ... I did talk with
Bob Sullivan, also known as “Emmet” during our
school years, also known as “Mick” during his
navy days. He is enjoying his days in Indiatlantic,
FL, playing golf and continuing to be active in
various activities at church. Bob and his wife,
Marcia, have five children and, by the time you
read this, will have 13 grandchildren. He says his
brother Dick Sullivan has now permanently
relocated to Florida also. Dick had continued to
live in Toledo since we left school. He still returns
there during the summer months. ... Bob
Cummings’ wife, Ginette, recently went through
hip replacement surgery, and we hope that by the
time you read this she will be fully recovered. The
Cummings continue to live in Anthem, AZ. ...
When I talked with Harry Ohlrich in mid-January,
his wife, Marlene, was in the hospital having just
gone through replacement of both knees. We
hope she is also recovering well. Harry and
Marlene have been married for 56 years. He is a
history buff and, in connection with that, had a
hobby of collecting antique weapons. He recently
disposed of that collection. His daughter, Karen,
Carroll ’84, was also employed there for a number
of years. ... Send in your news for the next issue.
God’s blessings to you all, jim
‘54
Peter Mahoney
440-933-2503
peter007@centurytel.net
REUNION YEAR
Now that the snow is here, we can look back to
last summer and recall the directions taken and
the warmth enjoyed (no reference to the IRAs that
went south in the fall). Two couples decided to
celebrate wedding anniversaries and visit family
and friends -- Jake Blake and wife Eileen (40
years) with Jim Sutphin and wife Louise (50
years) packed and headed out to celebrate the
happiness and longevity of their marriages. First
stop was Uzbekistan, then to Poland, and then on
to Rome (private audience with Pope Benedict).
Jake had done work with the Vatican Bank while
he was on Wall Street. The ladies said that the
high point of the trip was the lunch with Benedict;
the lads agreed, but what happened in Ireland was
a close second. Seems the boys had a tee time at
Ballybunion and were all set to tee off when a
young Irishman walked up and asked if he could
join them. The young lad happened to be the
winner of the British Open and PGA Champion-
ship, Padraig Harrington. Jake and Jim refuse to
tell their scores but say Harrington did well. Check
the picture of the two couples taken in the land of
kings and poets. ... Dave Nilges, our agent in
Colorado, is predicting a very interesting year in
the West, especially for realtors. ... Tom Corbett
is leaving CSI: Las Vegas; the TV show offered
Tom a lead role, but after 15 years consulting for
the show, he decided that too much of what
happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. ... Now that ’09

From left are Jim Sutphin ’54, Eileen Blake, Louise Sutphin, and Jake Blake ’54.
is here, we have a chance to get together and
enjoy, reconnect, laugh, and tell stories of how
good those years were -- it is called REUNION.
Get ready now to think young in June. You will be
hearing more about it -- better than a trip to the
spa. ... Prayers, please, for Joanne Groden, Fred
Blodgett, Sandra Nilges, and Gail LaRiche. Keep
the faith -- Reunion Reunion Reunion Reunion.
Peter
‘55
Ray Rhode
216-381-1996
rrrhode@aol.com
Jerry Donatucci wishes to thank all who offered
prayers for his wife, Nancy, during her very
serious health problems. We are happy to learn
that she is making a good recovery. Amen to the
power of prayer. ... Dave Hauer sent me news of
wonderful new neighbors Bob and Emma, who
they play bridge with regularly. Who, you might
ask, is this Bob and what relationship is he to us?
Well, turns out that Bob is none other than Major
Robert Owens, who was the S-2 at Carroll in
charge of ROTC operations during our stay. Major
Owens is remembered well and we wish him a
long and healthy retirement. ... Heard from Stefan
Schmidt in Niagara Falls, NY. After graduation,
Mike spent two years in Germany courtesy of the
U.S. Army. He returned to Niagara Falls where he
married and taught high school for 32 years. He is
retired and spends part of his time as a tour guide
at Power Vista, a Niagara Mohawk electric power
demonstration site. He has two sons and a
daughter. ... Tony Musca led me to call Pat
McDunn. Pat was a Jesuit for 23 years and was
teaching at the University of Detroit High School
for over 10 years when he left the order. He was
impressed with the Detroit area and decided to
stay. In 1971 he had a brainstorm to sing Irish
songs. This lead to the formation of the “Irish
Gaels,” a very successful Irish band. For many
years, the Irish Gaels drew over 6,000 Irish ladies
and gents when they played on St. Patrick’s Day.
The band is still together. Pat has worked at his
day job teaching at Brother Rice High School, a
school run by the Irish Christian Brothers, for 30
years. He often visits with classmates Frs. Leo
Cachat, SJ, and Dick Twohig, SJ, who are both in
the Detroit Province. Pat is married and has two
children. ... I heard from Don Lynch, who lives in
Raleigh, NC. Don worked part time at Merrill
Lynch (remember them) while he attended the
Business School at Carroll. He went full time with
Merrill Lynch after graduation and continued for 35
years. He worked in Los Angeles; Canton, OH;
Toledo, OH; and finally Raleigh, from where he
retired. He has three children and 11 grandchil-
dren. ... Tony Stavole recently received a card
from Nancy and Jerry Donatucci congratulating
him on his recent retirement. That report is greatly
exaggerated; Tony is still practicing law. ... Please
remember our classmate Jim Riccardi, who
recently passed away, in your prayers. And also
continue to pray for our classmates who are
suffering from serious illnesses. May God bless
you all, Ray
‘56
Leo Duffy
630-355-2199
January-May: 941-505-8394
leoduffy57@hotmail.com
Tom O’Connell says hello to all of you. He is still
in New Jersey, where he spends time with his 11
grandchildren. Due to a stroke a couple of years
ago, his mobility is somewhat limited. ... Ted
Druhot is in Hilton Head and married his lovely
wife, Carol, a couple years after Shirley died. He is
active in Red Cross disaster recovery programs
and plays banjo in a Dixieland jazz group. ...
Remember the musicals at Carroll? Conrad
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Pokorski is reliving some of that through his
oldest granddaughter (a junior at Ohio Northern),
who has a lead role in Cabaret. ... Phil Schaefer is
finally retiring after 41½ years of teaching. He and
Pat also celebrated their 50th anniversary, in
October ’08. Congratulations, Phil and Pat! ... Jim
Schempp is in South Carolina and says he is
finally going to give up his consulting work with
the FBI, since the paperwork requirements are
becoming a little too exacting. ... Danny O’Horo is
still active in his construction company, which has
not been hurt much by the downturn. ... Bob
Greenley has put a black band around his arm due
to the dismal showing of the Chicago Cubs at
year’s end. He has courage to be a Cubs fan in St.
Louis. ... The year 2008 was a big year in the
Olympics for the U.S. Well, it was also a big year
for the Class of ’56. Mike Conti led his bocce
team to the National U.S. Championship.
Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the first
round of the internationals in Toronto. ... Leo
Slack and yours truly are working on trying to get
rid of some of those Christmas pounds through
gym workouts. I’ve also been in touch with Ed
Daugherty, John Nowlan, Tom O’Neil, Jack
Broderick, Bob Pascente, and Fritz Eder, who all
say hello. ... Pat Shannon is struggling to recover
from his bout with cancer and could use your
prayers. It is also my sad duty to report that Frank
Moran died on Jan. 11, 2009. ... God bless all of
you and your families, and please let me know of
a little news about you. Leo
‘57
Salvatore R. Felice
440-842-1553
srfelice@cox.net
Jackie and Pat Keenan were surprised to meet
Gerry Anne and Tony Rocco at dinner at the Hyatt
Hotel in Key West, FL, while on their 45th
anniversary trip – a perfect example of “dorm
student meets day hop after 51 years.” Pat, a
four-year letterman in golf, sends greetings to his
’53-57 teammates -- three of those years, he was
team captain. ... At a John Carroll alumni reception
in the DC area Nov. 16, Robert Niehoff, S.J.,
presided at Mass and Bart Merella performed
Deaconate duties at the home of Col. (Ret.) Stan
Glod ’58. ... In December, I ran into Carol and Tom
Tupa at the Cleveland airport. They were returning
from the 50th anniversary celebration of Mary Lou
and Jerry O’Callahan in New Jersey. ... Colette
and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) John Myers celebrated their
50th anniversary last May and were presented with
grandchildren 12 and 13. John was quite excited
to read the feature article on ROTC in the winter
2008 issue of the magazine – “I was beginning to
think that the military was becoming unacceptable
to the Jesuits.” Since many of us have, or will,
celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary, send me a
note indicating your “special date” for inclusion in
our column. Your 50th is special and quite an
achievement in this day and age. ... Frank
Hovorka sends greetings from Joe Nieser in
California. Frank reminds us that “Lobo,” on the
seal, is the “head female wolf.” Frank is taking a
cruise to Belize and Acapulco this year. He says
that Jerry Cicero and John Scanlan are well and
send greetings. ... Mary Helen Braunig, widow of
George Biltz, deceased since Nov. 1979, recently
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 29
ALUMNI JOURNAL
spoke with me regarding our Class of 1957
Endowed Scholarship Fund. She stays in contact
with Kay and George Bidinger and Germaine and
Dave Zenk. ... John Gormley informs me that
Tony Cuttone underwent an emergency
tracheotomy in early December, per his wife
Penny. He could use prayers and support -- 601
Woodlawn Dr., #6, Fairfield Bay, AZ 72088. ...
Reunion is June 19-21, 2009 – a great time to visit
campus, see old friends, and meet the many new
John Carroll administrative staff – you will be
impressed. Homecoming Weekend will be Sept.
25-27, 2009. Chuck Novak is talking-up a possible
57½-year class mini-reunion during Homecoming
Weekend – what are your thoughts? The Gray
Streaks Luncheon is an excellent way for 50+ year
alumni to keep in touch, starting at noon with
refreshments, lunch, and speaker, you can’t beat
it for $12. Also, if you bring a first-time 50+ year
grad, your meal is free. Pray for peace, our
military, police and firefighters, and a stronger
economy. God bless. Sal
‘58
John E. Clifford
210-497-4045
JohnEClifford@prodigy.net
I write this on the 12th of January - 12 days after
New Year’s Eve. I have sufficiently recovered. I
went to bed at 11:30 p.m. -- an hour later than my
usual retirement – whoopee! Speaking of
retirement, as of midnight on the 31st, I am among
the ranks of the used-to-be-employed. I sold my
business to some folks in New Jersey, so now I
need to find something to do. Let’s see, I need to
clean the garage, fix the irrigation system out
back, take a nap, get more stones for the paths in
the back, play catch with my grandson, take a nap,
paint the baseboards, wash the second story
windows (yikes!), take a nap, finish my 3-D puzzle,
get started on the Clifford Family Movie album,
take a nap, catch up on cataloguing my Old Time
Radio programs (I have in excess of 10,000 now),
take a nap. Well, maybe next month! February is a
short month; good for resolving to get started on
projects. ... I might use Larry Dietz as my model.
He’s been retired since October 1985. He takes
no naps – just travels, plays golf, flies his Beech
Sierra, and scuba dives. He takes Stan Brock (of
Wild Kingdom fame) on medical missionary trips
to the Sioux in the Dakotas as well as trips to
Mexico to help the Huichol Indians. I might try to
do some of those things between my naps. He
does all this from home base in Knoxville, TN. ... I
sent out ten random e-mails asking classmates to
share their most significant 2009 New Year’s reso-
lution (anonymously). We can be proud of our
class, again. Many spouses will be pleased to
have a husband around more; churches (as well as
other charitable organizations) will have more
volunteers. Grandchildren will take more trips with
their Carroll grandfather. And the roads will be
crowded with ’58 travelers. Nobody mentioned
naps. Hmmmm. ... Peace, JEC
30 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
‘59
Richard E. Dodson
804-748-8432
dodson59@comcast.net
REUNION YEAR
I read in the winter 2008 issue of John Carroll
magazine that the position of class columnist was
open. For years I have enjoyed the writings of
Jerry Burke, who has a wonderful rapport with
classmates and a clear and expressive writing
style, the sign of a good down-to-earth communi-
cator. I spoke with Jerry and a health issue and
“burn out” inspired him to take a break and focus
in other areas. He still has the same quick wit and
hearty laugh and is planning to attend our 50th
Reunion this summer. I would like to personally
thank Jerry for his years of volunteer service as
our class columnist. I know that many of the
regular contributors, the dorm students, are
saying, “What does this day hop, who has been
out of state for 47 years, know about us?” Well
now is your opportunity to tell me about you. Drop
me some news. ... It is our 50th Reunion year and
the June 19-21 Reunion Weekend is fast
approaching. You don’t want to miss this year’s
big blast. Class of ’59 Reunion chair Tom Brunn
has the ball rolling, and the reunion committee is
composed of classmates: Jerry Burke, Bob
D’Alessandro, Marty Dempsey, Rick Dodson,
Peter Fegen, John Grady, Fred Kramer, Kat
McGann, Jerry McGivern, Paul Moon, Ed
Paglione, Don Palmer, Joe Ruble, David Ross,
Tom Tully, and Wes Toles, who are calling,
e-mailing and/or mailing letters to all classmates to
get the word out. I have contacted everyone on
my list, and John Szuch, fellow Horn Flying
School buddy, said he can’t wait to tell us about
his exploits as an armed helicopter pilot during the
Vietnam War. Jim Strainer in Big Falls, MT, is
considering leaving the natural beauty of Flathead
Lake and Glacier National Park for the more
sedate climes of University Heights in June. Roy
Streetz will be making the trip from Willoughby
Hills, OH. John Toronski will commute from
Brooklyn Heights, OH, as he has for all the
five-year reunions. Geraldine Turk, one of our
evening school classmates, will not be making the
Reunion. I have received a response to my letter
from Alan Tokunaga in Kihei, HI. Naga says he
and Jimmy Hirotsu, Spokane, WA, have been
talking about the 50th Reunion and trying to work
out the travel portion. Unfortunately, John
Stukbauer will be out of the country at Reunion
time but future Saturday evening Reunion events
are FREE for alumni of 50+ years, so maybe we’ll
see John next year. Wesley Toles, Cleveland
Heights, OH, will be at Reunion and will partici-
pate in the formal program. ... If you haven’t heard
from one of the committee members, pick up the
phone and call or e-mail me to reserve your spot.
My reason for attending is straightforward: I want
to renew some old friendships and establish some
that are long overdue. Whatever your reason,
please come and share in the fun and make
someone’s day with your presence. Call one of
the committee members that you know and tell
them, “I’ll be there.” Remember, the first 10
callers have the option of sitting at my table,
which should guarantee a few lines and maybe a
photo in the fall 2009 issue of John Carroll
magazine. I encourage each of you to send me an
e-mail telling me where you are and how you are. I
will not share e-mail addresses with anyone
unless approved by you. Failing that, I will call
every classmate before our 50th. Rick
‘60
Jerry Schweickert
216-381-0357
bjschweick@sbcglobal.net
I have heard from a few classmates since the last
column: Bill Buescher informs me that he and his
wife, Peg, traveled to Boise last summer and, in
September, they went to Germany and visited
Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart, where he met up
with a friend he was stationed with 43 years ago.
According to Bill, they stumbled around town
trying to find places, which were not where they
left them 43 years ago. He also passed along a
caution: “They force humongous quantities of
beer on you if you aren’t careful.” He further
informs me that Dave Marr is enjoying life holed
up in Galesburg, IL. ... Joyce and Len Piotrowski
are still in Viera, FL, and apparently don’t miss
winter. ... Gail and Karl Rill bought a condo in
Chagrin Falls, OH, and are in the process of trying
to sell their place in Cincinnati. Joyce and Don
Muno are still in Michigan, where, Bill says, Don
keeps his fingers in business. ... Jim Patterson
informs me that since retiring from Badger H.S.
(Kinsman, OH) in 1997, he has kept busy painting
houses and serving as an assistant baseball coach
at Thiel College in Greenville, PA. After a knee
replacement last September, he is hopeful he will
be able to catch batting practice this season. He
played competitively until 2003. Jim’s wife of 47
years, Onnalee, is a pastor of the Sheakleyville
Presbyterian Church. He says he critiques her
sermons. (Talk about playing with fire.) They have
four grandchildren in college, one in high school,
and six between preschool and grade seven. ...
The following comes from Larry Beaudin:
Considering the spiritual nature of the information
and the Easter season, it seems to be very timely.
It is a part of our Catholic faith about which I
certainly did not know, but found interesting. The
Rosary, as a means of teaching and mediating on
the chief portions of Christ’s and Mary’s lives, has
been around since the time of the Apostles in one
form or another. Priests who could read had a
devotion of reading/reciting the 150 Psalms. The
illiterate masses of faithful, who could not read,
recited from memory 150 Hail Marys while
meditating on the lives of Christ and His Mother,
Mary. At the time, the Hail Mary consisted of only
the first part we say today. It was not until 1214
AD that the Church received and accepted it in its
present form. It was at this time that the Blessed
Virgin gave the Rosary to St. Dominic, founder of
the Dominicans. ... I hope I’ll hear from more of
you. Remember our 50th Reunion in 2010,
Schweick
 ALUMNI JOURNAL

‘61
Jack T. Hearns
216-291-2319
jhearns@sbcglobal.net
Victor Zitel from Falls Church, VA, was employed
by the U.S. government for much of his career, in
which he operated educational centers for the
army - primarily in Germany, Italy, and Korea. Vic
received an M.A. in counseling from the University
of California in Sacramento and served in the U.S.
Air Force for six years. He spent four three-month
tours in Vietnam and retired as a Lt. Col. ... Bob
Kreidler and his wife, Mary Helen, reside in Akron
and have three children and ten grandchildren. He
is the founder of The Ohio College of Clowning
Arts and is also a noted actor and professional
storyteller. Bob, a professional clown for over 20
years, attempts to teach the art of living through
laughter so that his students are equally adept at
performing for youngsters or major corporations.
He is also a former U.S. Army officer who spent
five years in Vietnam and Europe and was a
professor of European history at the United States
Military Academy at West Point. ... Jim Meehan,
a CPA, was with the Internal Revenue Service for
practice, Al is a trustee who disperses scholar-
ships to students – who are interested in careers
in medicine or engineering – at the two Jesuit high
schools in Lithuania. He and his wife, Ringaile, live
in Willoughby, OH, and are planning a trip to
Lithuania for the 1,000th anniversary of the
crowning of the first king of that country. ... After
30 years in software engineering with Goodyear
Aerospace and Lockheed Martin in Akron, Frank
Sigmund migrated to Phoenix in the late ’90s and
led a software engineering process group at
Honeywell International. Now fully retired, he and
his wife, Judy, have three sons and a granddaugh-
ter and reside in Cave Creek, AZ. ... Dr. Thomas
Quirk has taught marketing at Webster University
in Webster Groves, MO, for the last 20 years.
Tom received both his M.A. and Ph.D. from
Stanford University. ... Jeremy Rakowsky has
retired as professor of history and political science
at Lorain County Community College after 40
years of service. Both he and his wife received
their doctorates from Case Western Reserve
University and have two children, both JCU
graduates, and five grandchildren. Jack
part-time job working as an Andy Frain usher at
Wrigley Field for Cubs games. (Isn’t that about the
best part-time job one of us retirees could dream
of?) He only works night games when the Cubs
play a day home game the next day. Pete stays
overnight with his son who lives in Wrigleyville.
Leahy and Barney Conway attended a seminar
together last year put on by the National Weather
Service. They are now “trained severe weather
spotters.” So, if anyone hears that severe weather
has been spotted by a “trained severe weather
spotter” somewhere in south central Wisconsin, it
could have been reported by one of them. Terry
says that so many classmates and members of
other JCU classes have contacted him since he
was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, cancer of
the bone marrow, in December 2003.This is the
continuation of his story from last issue: “In June
2007, I was admitted to the hospital for two
weeks because I was so weak from being in the
hospital, not exercising, etc. I was basically
bed-ridden. I think its called neuropathy. That
two-week stay got me started moving again. The
more I exercised, the better I got. As of October
2008 I can get around pretty much like before and

‘62
29 years. He and his wife, Laverne, live in I can drive. I’m not planning on trying out for the
Bob Andolsen
Highland Heights and have three children and four 440-327-1925 track team any time soon, though. Every time I
grandchildren. ... Attorney Algis Sirvaitis is the rrandolsen@aol.com was getting wheeled down the hall for another
treasurer of the Lithuanian Bar Association. For procedure, I thought of the people who were
over 20 years, Al was a deep sea diver - one of his supporting me. I also felt that ‘taking it one day at
We have received an additional update from Terry
most adventurous dives took place in the Red Sea a time’ was too long a time period. I tried to take it
Leahy with information about some classmates
off the shores of the Sudan. In addition to his legal one ‘procedure at a time.’ I can remember one
and also his health. He reports that Pete Ori has a
day when I had eight procedures on the same day.

Third Annual
American Cancer Society April 25 and 26, 2009

Relay For Life John Carroll University

3 p.m. Saturday - 9 a.m. Sunday
Join the John Carroll community for
one of the biggest events of the year
and one of the University’s newest
traditions.

For more information, including how

to register as a participant, purchase
a luminary, or make a donation,
visit www.jcu.edu/relay, e-mail
relay@jcu.edu, or call 216.397.6217.

Relay For Life.

It’s all about HOPE.

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 31

ALUMNI JOURNAL
Taking it one day at a time would have been too
long of a timeframe for me. The net result of all
this is that this spring my myeloma doctor told me
I should be able to lead a normal life. That’s what
prayer, friends, and relatives can accomplish. A
positive attitude helps too. I hope and pray that all
of my other classmates, and so many others, who
are now fighting the battle against whatever, will
achieve similar results.” We wish Terry well. Until
next time, take care. Bob
‘63
Pete Mykytyn
618-549-1946
mykytyn@cba.siu.edu
Welcome to 2009! Of course, by the time you
read this column, we will be well into the year. I
hesitate to point out, however, that the ’63 well is
pretty dry. I received but one item, a note from
John Dix - dix.3@osu.edu. He continues to remain
busy with the business he founded a number of
years ago, Business Development Index Limited,
in Columbus, OH. In December, John was
awarded a Professional Directors Certificate by
the Corporate Directors Group, Boston. John
earned the certification through continuing
educational programs accredited by RiskMetrics
Group Institutional Shareholders Services.
RiskMetrics Group’s Corporate Governance
Quotient is the benchmark for ranking a corporate
board’s governance performance for 5,400 U.S.
and 2,000 foreign companies. Congratulations,
John. ... As for yours truly, January 2009 provided
a late Christmas for the Mykytyn family. Our
oldest son, Trey, his wife, and two children
returned from three years in Belgium; Trey is a
Lt. Col. in the air force. His assignment there had
been with NATO. Since it had been a year since
Kathy and I had seen him and the family, we
decided to have a late Christmas in Carbondale for
the whole family. So, from about Jan. 13-20, the
Mykytyns from Belgium, plus our daughter, Lee
Ann, from Houston, and our other son, Greg, and
our other granddaughter, Lauren, from Dallas,
were all together in Carbondale. We even kept the
Christmas tree up for the kids. It was a great time
for all. ... As I close, please let me hear from you. I
hate to keep saying it, but it’s soooooooo easy to
send me an e-mail. Until next time, Pete
‘64
Frank Kelley
607-648-5947
fkelley@stny.rr.com
REUNION YEAR
This is your official Class of ’64 Reunion reminder,
University Heights, Ohio, June 18-21, including
our traditional Thursday night event. Committee
chair Tom Leahy began initial planning in January
and promises a terrific weekend agenda. You can
help by joining the committee; contact the reunion
coordinator, Carla Gall ’05, at cgall@jcu.edu or
216-397-1595. ... AND NOW -- A stroll down
reunion memory lane: 1969 Jim Heavey arrives
with suspiciously thick hair, more, in fact, than he
had as a freshman. Hmmm. ... 1974 The Streaks
whipped Allegheny and they left behind their 20’
stuffed mascot gator. Bill Smith, Bob Mirguet,
and I lashed it to the top of my car and drove to
32 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
Red & Eddies. Later we had to prevent exuberant
underclassmen from burning it in effigy. ... 1979
Heavey’s hair more luxurious; Cathy and Al
Rutledge and Kathy and Bob Mirguet toilet paper
Heavey’s dorm quarters the last night. He
subsequently uses this “barricade” as his excuse
for missing his Sunday afternoon plane. ... 1984
Late hour celebration in class tent on Saturday
evening; two visitors from a younger class are
cordially welcomed. Shortly, they attempt to exit
with two bottles of spirits, but their intent is
discovered by, oops, John Kovach and Ron
Timpanaro. Relieved of their contraband, they
were instructed to “go forth and ‘gin’ no more” by
Tim de Bord. ... 1989 Sweet 25th. Dave Betz’s
keynote speech is the highlight of all reunions.
Among numerous one-liners that brought down
the house: “The nuns said I’d go blind if I kept
doing that, so I asked if I could just do it until I
needed glasses.” For reasons known only to
history, that year your author was traveling with a
large cash stash in my car and no checkbook. Bill
Smith asked for a class gift and so out to the
parking lot. Thirty days later I receive a thank you
note from John Carroll President Mike Lavelle,
S.J., saying, “I understand your contribution not
only came from the bottom of your heart but the
bottom of your trunk.” Father Mike was the best.
... 1994 Great leadership by Bill Gibbons, Tom
Leahy, Gordy Priemer, and Dick Koenig
produced the Saturday sports and trivia challenge.
My wife, Joanne, still treasures the “Team Teal”
T-shirt we wore as we scored a narrow victory
thanks to four straight football tosses through the
hanging tire by Gus McPhie. Priemer and I
invented the chest bump receiving the winner’s
trophy. ... 1999 Ken Beres and other bleary-eyed
classmates in the dorm lounge well after midnight
watching the Stanley Cup championship game go
into three sudden death overtime periods. Tension
grew increasingly unbearable and, then, merciful
comic relief as Smith and Heavey walked in
cradling the severed parking lot control arm. ...
2004 Ginny and Russ Centanni break about 25
interstate commerce and individual state laws
transporting a couple hundred bottles of Idaho
wine to the Leahy household. Barristers John
Baker, Dave McClenahan, and Al Rutledge
advised we should destroy the evidence, and we
complied in a professional manner. ... Saturday
night, the runner-up best reunion highlight, Dick
Koenig calls Jim Heavey to the podium, removes
Jim’s demon rug, produces a gigantic set of
shears, and reduces it to shreds. A standing
ovation! ... Share some of your own memories on
the class E-net - jabreen333@sbcglobal.net - web
master John Breen. ... Lastly, I received a beautiful
Christmas message from Evelyn and Pete Kiebort
thanking all the ’64 classmates who contacted them
regarding their wonderfully creative work with Assisi
House in Virginia Beach, reported in the fall issue. ....
God bless all Streaks, Frank
‘65
Dick Conoboy
riton@comcast.net
I learned that New York Gov. David A. Paterson
has appointed Peter Kiernan to serve as counsel
to the governor. Pete will be a top adviser to
Paterson and one of the most powerful figures in
the executive chamber at a time of unprecedented
budget deficits. He will also play a critical role in
the executive branch of New York state govern-
ment, vetting potential bills, among other duties.
The announcement also stated, “During the New
York City fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, Kiernan
served as counsel to the deputy mayor for finance
of the City of New York. [He]... authored ... the
Shinn Committee Pension Reform legislation,
which completely restructured New York City’s
five actuarially funded pension systems. In 1978,
Kiernan was appointed chief counsel to the New
York State Senate Minority. Later, as a Littauer
fellow ... at Harvard University, he wrote an
analysis of the New York City fiscal crisis, which
was published by Harvard. In 1984, Kiernan was
retained by the administration of then-governor
Mario Cuomo to coordinate the proposed
Westway State Park Project. In 2003, he authored
the Report of the Association of the Bar of the
City of New York on the New York City Charter
Revision Commission and its controversial
proposal to eliminate partisan elections in New
York City. Most recently he worked in the
public-finance department of the law firm Edwards
Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP.” Pete is a graduate
of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard,
received his law degree from Cornell University in
1968, and is currently a student at Cornell’s
Johnson School, expecting to graduate with his
MBA in 2009. Pete, does this mean no retirement
in the near term? ... I also recently heard from Jim
Murray, living in Erie, PA. He looks forward to
retiring from his insurance firm in about three
years. This year he is headed to the Orlando area
from January through March, with a couple of
flights back to Erie for business. Jim’s son, Bob,
has been with Jim’s insurance business for 10
years and with his taking more responsibility, Jim
is free to move around. Jim and his family recently
took a trip to Thailand. Gearing up for retirement,
no doubt? ... My brother, John, and I recently
spent ten days in Ireland, mostly in County
Galway, the birthplace of my father’s parents. We
visited some relatives whom we had not seen in 35
years and found the ruins of the home in which my
grandmother was raised. We were surprised to
find, hanging on a wall in a pub in Leenane, a photo
of our great-grandfather. We also managed to get
caught in a rare snowstorm on the road between
Galway and Dublin. Luck of the Irish. Dick
‘66
Dave Griffin
727-944-5229
David.Griffin@MDIAchieve.com
Hello. It is shortly after Christmas that I write, and
I hope everyone had wonderful visits and time
with family and friends -- they are so important in
our lives. It truly is a wondrous time of the year. ...
Mike DeLisio sent his best wishes to all. If
anyone is traveling to Florence, Italy, I know Mike
would love to hear from you. I bet he is a great
tour guide. ... Dan Kush and Judy sent a
Christmas card with all the happenings in their
lives this past year. The highlight was the birth of
not one ... but two grandchildren. Leah Morgan
was born in July. Their daughter Kate and
son-in-law, Jon, are very happy, as is Dan. Then, in

September, Brandon Matthew Kush appeared.
Dan’s son, Brian, and his wife, Mary Beth, are the
proud parents. Should we remember these names
for future political races? Dan and Judy worked
hard during the election campaign for Mr. Obama.
They were very happy when he was elected and
said this experience was priceless. A benefit was
that while in Ohio, they were able to visit with
Mark O’Connor and his wife, Martha. They
stayed and had a nice visit with them at their
home at Indian Lake. Dan and Judy stay busy with
various work projects and volunteer efforts. ...
Heard from Larry Henry but not sure I can print
the joke he sent about the cannibal restaurant and
the menu. ... I am still looking for Paul Klaus. I
sent an e-mail to the new address he gave me but
still have not heard from him. Paul, are you out
there? ... As for Dave Griffin, I am doing fine.
Jane and I were in Missouri spending the holidays
with our children and grandkids. It was a tremen-
dous time with some great memories. I am
working my way through a writing course and
want to begin writing short stories for children’s
publications. This is no threat to Joe Frederick.
Not to worry, Joe. I am not planning a book
anytime soon. ... YOU, our classmates, are the
main features of this column. If I have not heard
from you, I cannot tell your Carroll friends what
you have been doing. There are so many ways of
communicating with me and with JCU. What do I
have to do to help you take advantage of all those
methods? YOU have old friends who want to
know that you are well and happy. Tell me! ... My
very best to everyone. Take care, Dave
‘67
Peter French
440-734-5553
peter2play@yahoo.com
Although the weather is cold this time of the year,
I enjoy a pleasant afternoon on campus watching
the Blue Streaks play basketball. At this writing,
they are 9-4 in the OAC. Great entertainment, and
you never know who you might run into. ... In
January, we had our annual gathering of Cathedral
Latin, Ignatius, and John Carroll grads. We have
spirited discussions about local and national
affairs, but, more importantly, we discuss our
fellow classmates. Bob Spicer ’66 and Tom
Ashdown are the annual organizers. It is always
on MLK Day, so mark your calendar. All are
welcome. ... Speaking of Carroll, there is an active
Center for Service and Social Action that I actually
volunteered with at the Cleveland Hunger Center.
As a community resource specialist with the
Department of Justice, I recently encountered a
group of Carroll students while at the Thea
Bowman Center. I observed students tutoring
young children and introduced myself only to find
they were from Carroll. We had a long conversa-
tion about Carroll and public service. ... Ben Litra
called to say that he and his son remain active in
the new car and car lease business on the
Bedford, OH, Auto Mile. ... Sam Colacarro
continues to work as athletic director at Lake
Catholic High School. He enjoys it and is working
hard to bring home another state championship. ...
Over the Christmas holiday, Charlie McCarthy
surprised his 11-year-old and his 8-year-old (#7 &
#8) with a trip to Orlando, FL. They enjoyed
Disney, Sea World, Aquatica, and Bush Gardens.
While there, Charlie contacted Tom Kretschmer,
his roommate at Carroll. They spent time catching
up on old stories, and both want to know what
happened to George Jachimowski. ... When Bill
Ryan and I last talked, he was in the midst of a
major renovation project in New Orleans;
converting a historic funeral home into a Borders
Bookstore. It recently opened and has already
become the leading Borders store in the country.
Bill sent pictures and the bookstore looks
fantastic. He also related that a recent John Carroll
student immersion group was helping restore
New Orleans, and he had them to his home for a
Cajun dinner. Bill is currently the chairman of
Federal City New Orleans, which will be the new
home to all Marine Reserves. It is projected to be
a $750-million project over 10 years. To complete
the year, Bill and his wife have a new grandson,
James Craik Ryan (named after George Washing-
ton’s surgeon general). ... Keep the cards, letters,
and e-mails coming. Hope to see you all soon,
Peter
‘68
Jeff Hawk
317-845-4199
jjhawk68@sbcglobal.net
The Class of ’68 continues to make great progress
... forward, upward, and onward, thanks to all of
you. Your news of promotions, children, and
grandchildren, new homes, etc., makes great
reading for your classmates, so send me your
news. ... Spotlight on Dennis McGraw, who
resides in Cleveland: Dennis has his own very
successful computer equipment repair business.
Bill ’68 and Pam Ryan host JCU students at
their home in New Orleans. Front from left:
Alexzandria Wasco ’10, Lindsay Smetana ’11,
Pam Ryan, and Leigh George ’12.
Second row from left: Joseph Finucane ’09,
Amanda Allman ’09, and Justine Evers ’11.
Third row from left: Maria Ciccolini ’12,
Kathyrn Heitkamp ’09, and Daniel Fitzmaurice ’11.
Top row: Bill Ryan ’68 and Jill Sberna.
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Recently, I had a great telephone conversation
with Denny talking about careers, politics, the
good old days, and many friendships at JCU,
particularly in the Pershing Rifles. ... Tim D’Emilio
sent the following about Thomas Cunilio to the
Alumni Relations Office: Tom entered the Peace
Corps after graduation, worked with farmers in
Paraguay, returned to study agronomy, and
devised a number of energy-related projects. One
involves generating a third of Gainesville, FL’s,
electrical power with scrap lumber that the city
collects in its parks. You can see clips that show
TV interviews about Tom’s work with a flowering
peanut substitute for lawns (that requires no
nitrogen that pollutes water sources) and leucena.
Check out - http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=7VCe8PuWrng. Congratulations, Tom,
you’ve done an outstanding research project that
certainly has great application for our society. We
wish you continued success, keep up the great
work, and please send me more details. ... By the
way, have any of you heard from: Gale McNeeley,
Madeline Muller, Barbara Witkiewicz, Richard
Woods, and William Karnes? I’d love to hear
from them or news about them! ... Please send
your news direct to me via snail mail: 8705
Appleby Lane, Indianapolis, IN 46256-1100.
Phone: 317.845.4199. Or e-mail: jjhawk68@
sbcglobal.net. This is your column. I need your
help to keep ’68 moving forward, onward, upward
... Remember to be as generous as you can to
Carroll’s Annual Fund. For you and John Carroll, Jeff
‘69
Gerry Grim
grimg@hoban.org
REUNION YEAR
Acting like a big baby turned out to be an excellent
method to get news. Lots of nice notes after
crying the blues in the last issue. First from one of
our nicest classmates, Mike Benard. He also sent
me a photo of some historical importance circa
1966, prior to the Blue Streaks playing Eastern
Michigan. If you can identify the two gentlemen
wrapped in white sheets, you can win two free
tickets to Reunion Weekend – unless you’re the
two gentlemen wrapped in the sheets. In that
case, a nice donation to our 40th Reunion gift will
keep your names out of print. So here is Mike:
“Aw-right. I retired from Kodak in 2006 after
serving more than a dozen years as VP of
corporate communications and public affairs.
Since then my wife, Chris (West Liberty State
College ’69), and I have been speaking, consulting,
and traveling. The current meltdown in the
traditional news industry is very similar to the
upheaval that impacted Kodak and the photo
industry, thanks to digital. I have served as a
discussion leader with the American Press
Institute, speaker at the International Newsmedia
Marketing Association, and spent time with media
companies and newspaper management teams.
Here’s a link to one of my websites - http://www.
societystorytellers.com/. For aggravation, my wife
and I are among a group of property owners in
Pennsylvania who are fighting an eminent domain
case in federal court (Johnstown, PA), brought by
Houston-based Spectra Energy and backed by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Eminent
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 33
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Members of the Class of 1969 during Spirit
Week prior to the Eastern Michigan game.
domain is a big issue across the country because
it has less to do with the ‘public good’ and
everything to do with the financial good of publicly
held corporations. Here’s the website link:
www.spectraenergywatch.com/. Chris and I are
parents of three beloved sons in whom we are
well pleased: Mike, Steve, and Nick. Two Ph.D.
professors and one product manager. Son Mike
and wife Becca are parents to our grandson,
Cormac, who will celebrate his first birthday in
February 2009. As you can see from the photo
from ‘Spirit Explosion’ in 1966, before the Eastern
Michigan game, our class was encouraging
everyone to ‘Get Psyched.’ I think ‘Get Psyched’
would be an excellent theme for our 40th Reunion
in June.” ... I heard from Greg Doyle, who would
be interested in playing golf Reunion Weekend but
Jack O’Connell ’70 and Santa Casciani, director of JCU’s Bishop Pilla Program in Italian
American Studies, stand at the belvedere on the property of the Pontificia Università
Urbaniana in Vatican City.
34 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
only if he can tee it up with Walter Luc. Walter,
please e-mail me and I’ll get you in touch with Mr.
Doyle, who spent Christmas in warm warm
Florida getting his game in shape for a rematch in
June instead of in cold Connecticut. ... Living full
time in the warm weather is Lou LiPera -- in
that great city of Miami – and working for
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Lou was also looking
for Bob Valente – Bob, e-mail me for Lou’s
information. ... Allan Toomey checked in to
second the notion of a Golf Classic at Reunion.
Allan is having too good of a time for me to even
report on all the good things he is doing: traveling,
playing golf, taking a week-long golf class at
Pinehurst, attending the Sausage Festival. Allan,
see you on the first tee in June. ... I also heard
from an individual I always thought highly of: Phil
Anderson. Phil was nice enough to contact me
about using Facebook to solve my no-news
problem. I have taken Phil’s advice and estab-
lished a Facebook page. Thanks, Phil, and I am
looking for more information on you. ... On a
personal note, just added grandchild number two.
Daughter Gillian had Naomi Elaine Cox on Jan. 3.
... Please come to Reunion June 19-21 and also
support our Reunion gift effort. Grimmer
‘70
Ted Heutsche
517-669-4005
tedh@midwestairfil.com
Pete Blake wrote: “After 38 years, I decided I
finally have some news to share. Louise and I are
grandparents of a healthy boy, William Francis
Blake, son of Peter and Kim, who live in Columbus,
OH. Our daughter, Katie, works for AON, and
lives with her lawyer husband in Royal Oak, MI.
Daughter Lisa lives in Chicago, where she teaches
in a charter school. I still enjoy practicing civil
litigation with a firm in Detroit. I see several of
our classmates on a regular basis: Frank Brady
recently retired from GM and is looking for
something to do Monday through Friday. Joe
Moran is a commercial lending officer with
Comerica. Tim Robson runs a company that
supplies McDonald’s with storage systems and
other fixtures. Dr. Jim Kelley is retired from the
VA where he practiced psychiatry. All of us in
Detroit wished he would have stayed here to help
us. Mike Kirchner lives in Winter Park, FL, but he
returns here regularly to reign over his AGIS health
insurance empire. Dick Ray is still in the steel
business looking for an automobile company with
money to buy steel. Bob Deneweth is in the
home-building business looking for anyone with
money who wants a custom-built home. Bob over-
came a serious illness, but he is well and still
hitting his jump shot and driving the ball down the
middle of the fairway.” ... And Sandy Siegler
wrote: “My wife, Sally (a guidance counselor with
the West Geauga schools), and I have raised two
children, a daughter Elisa, a kindergarten teacher
with the Solon City Schools, and a son, Scott, an
attorney in Greenwich, CT, who is married to
Lindsey Carr. We will be grandparents for the first
time in January of ’09. I owned and operated
Eastgate Luggage and Shoe Repair for 37 years.
After being ‘retired’ for four months, I ran into the
father of a young lady that I coached as varsity
softball coach at West Geauga High school, who
asked me if I was interested in ‘real’ coaching. I
am now a coach with Cuyahoga East Vocational
Education Consortium (CEVEC) with 16 school
districts that send us their students with either a
physical, cognitive, or emotional disability. We find
jobs for them and we coach them to success on
the job site. It is very rewarding and CEVEC is a
wonderful place to work and I feel truly blessed to
be a part of it.” ... Jack O’Connell continues to
travel in his retirement. Last September, he had
the opportunity to visit Rome, where he met with
Dr. Santa Casciani, director of the Bishop Pilla
Program in Italian American Studies at John
Carroll, and her students. Ted
‘71
Tom and Rosemary Costello
217-344-2076
tcostello@cumtd.com
‘72
John M. Marcus
202-296-0901
jmarcus887@aol.com
This is my version of Headline News. (Column cut
to 450 words. New style ... no gerunds or
participles.) Bob Longo is in SF and is travelling a
lot with his company, ETech, a company out of
Tasmania (really!) ... Slingin’ Sam Morocco still
with Patriot Seating -- daughter graduated from
JCU and another at Miami, OH ... Jim “Pickles”
Peters -- son plays Legion baseball and also has a
daughter at Miami ... Eileen Burger White – last
year visited Peru and Ecuador and this winter is
road-trippin’ to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil ... Dr.
Marty Schreiber was named Ohio Kidney
Foundation “Man of the Year,” heads the
Department of Nephrology at Cleveland Clinic
(didn’t know he also had a Harvard fellowship!),

and has a son who is studying to be a Jesuit
deacon ... Tom Kaminski – distributor for Parker
Hannifin, has five kids and sees David O’Brien
occasionally in Pittsburgh ... Mark Blanchard –
still works at Eaton and had the privilege to get
“fixed up” by Schreiber’s staff at the Cleveland
Clinic ... Tom Joyce visits Jack Bertges on the
West Coast and has a daughter working for the
Cleveland Clinic, and another in DC working for the
BBC ... Chuck Tremp is in Orange County, CA,
and has a CPA firm, four kids, and two grandkids
-- and loves to fish and play golf (I combine both ...
with a ball retriever) ... Dr. Peter Perhac was
named CEO of the Alpine Campus of Colorado
Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, CO ...
José Feliciano was appointed chair of the
advisory group for the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Ohio ... (275 words – 10 notes
left) ... Jeff Narten – works for the University
Council AFT in California representing lecturers
and librarians, has three kids and five grands …
The other Tom Joyce is living in London,
frequents the “Golden Hind” pub (just off
Marleybone High Street), sees Sir Francis on
occasion (who is back in the investment business
doing deals in the Middle East), and keeps in touch
with Tom Ambrogio, Dave Dudash, Don
Badjun, Jack O’Toole ’73, Rick Farr…. Bob
Agnone writes that he, Jack Terrick, and Shawn
McNamara ’74 took a road trip to Cleveland for a
British sports car show … Bob Sidow retired from
the FBI and is rehabbing old cars in the Frederick,
MD, area ... Daniel Telzrow took on a position as
treasurer for the West Branch School District near
Alliance, OH ... Had dinner in DC over Christmas
with Bertges and Craig Roach – they made us
split the bill, so no news about them ... TILT –
reached the word limit ... Take care ... JM
‘73
Gerry O. Patno
216-410-0129
patno@att.net
Well, it is that time of the year, following up on a
hectic holiday season with a change in national
leadership, an imploding economy, an ice-cold
Browns team, a red-hot Cavs team, and every-
body’s too busy to send me information about
themselves. But there’s usually at least one
positive piece of class news to report. St. Ignatius
head football coach Chuck “Chico” Kyle and his
longtime assistant coach, Nick Restifo, have
captured the Jesuit high school’s tenth Ohio
Division I state football championship, defeating
Cincinnati Elder last fall, 28–20. Congratulations to
Chuck and Nick in continuing your record of
excellence at the private Catholic school at W. 30th
St. and Carroll Ave., which was founded in 1886
by Jesuit priests from Buffalo, NY, as St. Ignatius
College. Of course, as we all know, the college
half of the school moved out to the Eastern
suburbs in 1935 and became John Carroll
University, while the high school stayed put and
prospered on the original campus. Interestingly,
the Blue Streaks play in a sparkling new stadium
named after its favorite son, Don Shula ’51, while
the Wildcats practice on a sparkling new practice
field, Kyle Field, named after one our own. Keep
up the great work, guys, and “Go Wildcats!” – gop
‘74
Dave Robinson
248-642-9615
DRobby_18@Yahoo.com
REUNION YEAR
Several classmates e-mailed with news and have
made plans to attend our 35th Reunion this June
19-21. Mary Beth (Hayes) Zatko has been
teaching the Montessori Method with children
aged 3-6 since 1974. She has been at Gilmour
Academy, in Gates Mills, for the last 20 years. She
is married to Frank Zatko, Ph.D., M.D., adjunct
professor at Carroll in science and swim coach at
Case Western Reserve University. She adores her
work: “It has been more of a vocation than a job.”
She has been jogging for 30 years and is an avid
gardener and bird watcher. She’s written a
children’s bird guide/coloring book. Mary Beth
hopes to see Martha (Bellassai) Feldmeier,
Linda Meglin, Mary (Doetsch) Bateman and Val
Street at Reunion. ... Ken Sislak serves on the
Ohio Department of Transportation Priorities Task
Force, shaping the vision for a more multi-modal
transportation system for the state. ... Hugh
Morgan and wife Suzanne live in Auburn
Township, OH, and just celebrated their 35th
wedding anniversary. Hugh has a combined CPA
and legal practice in Independence. Their children,
Eric (Boston College), Kelly (Miami University), and
Katie (Denison) are sending their parents to Hawaii
in April to celebrate. The Morgans have three
granddaughters (including identical twins) with a
fourth expected in June. ... Rosemary Amato is a
director in the Enterprise Risk Services practice for
Deloitte in The Netherlands. She splits her time
between global knowledge management and
client services. She also coaches MBA students at
the Rotterdam School of Management. Marcia
(Milano) Drew, a licensed social worker, is a sex
offender-specific treatment therapist in central
Pennsylvania. She believes she’ll never be out of
work, “unless, of course, everyone gets on the
treatment bandwagon and does a spectacular
job.” Joan (Konewecke ’75) and Joe Ursic had a
busy 2008. Their first grandchild, Charlotte Lenore
Ursic, was born June 2, same birthday as Joan;
and their youngest daughter, Kathryn, was married
in May at St. Clare Parish in Lyndhurst where Joe
grew up and lived while attending JCU. Joe is on
the reunion committee. ... Jack Kleinhenz, CEO
of Kleinhenz & Associates, was named a National
Association for Business Economics Fellow for his
contributions in the field of business economics.
Jack joins a select group of 100 that includes
Nobel Laureates Lawrence Klein, Milton Friedman,
James Tobin, Federal Reserve Board Chairmen
Paul Volcker, and Alan Greenspan. (Jack, have any
ideas to fix the current economy?) ... Marlana
Pugh Hamer, a ninth-grade English teacher in
Cleveland, with an M.Ed. in curriculum and
instruction from Indiana Wesleyan University
(Cleveland campus), won second place in the 2008
Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest with her poem
“Possessions, Part II.” Marlana was the only
female winner and described the award as a
“wonderful and life-affirming experience.” She
was an active volunteer during Obama’s
presidential campaign, registering new voters and
canvassing in her Bedford Heights neighborhood.
... Larry Meathe predicts many AKY bros will
ALUMNI JOURNAL
return to campus in June and that they are looking
forward to the “dinner on the deck” at the Meathe
household. Gary and Mary Lynn (Crowley)
Laughlin plan to attend and believe Bob ’73 and
Martha (Bellassai) Feldmeier will also be there.
The Morgans, Ron Deneweth, Dan Conrad and
Dianne Siefert-Conrad ’77, and Ed Kelly plan to
be in University Heights this June. Possible shows
include: Sean and Karen Cooper, Jim Rados, and
Bob Dilgren. Molly ’75 and I hope to attend as
well. If you would like to be on the class
committee, contact Carla Gall ’05, reunion
coordinator - cgall@jcu.edu - or 216.397.1595.
Check JCU Connect for Reunion updates. Keep
the e-mails coming! Reminder: IXY 50th Reunion
this October. Robby
‘75
Rick Rea
314-769-9051
col.rickrea@charter.net
The answer to the “brain teaser” in the previous
column is Humble Pie. Dave Vtipil answered and
tells us he’s lived in Pittsburgh since graduation;
he has been working for Allegheny County for the
past 20 years. He’s been married to Barb for 30
years, lives in North Hills, and they have no
children. Dave has had a number of health issues
from polycystic kidney disease, including kidney
failure and a transplant in 2001, plus a mitral valve
replacement in 2004. He’s recovered and enjoys
fly fishing, fly tying, and hiking out West. He
thanks his organ donor and asks all to sign an
organ donor card. He’s active in St. Vincent de
Paul Society at his parish and feels his years at
Carroll led to this calling. Dave was one of the first
male Murphy Hall residents and would like to hear
from other “Murphy Hall men ’71” - david.vtipil@
verizon.net. ... George Christoph also answered
– He’s controller/CFO of Life Services Management,
which manages over 20 companies and properties,
including eight assisted living communities –
one in Erie, PA, and three in suburban Cleveland.
He has fond memories of Pacelli Hall, Business
School, tennis team, and would love to hear from
anyone in these groups - georgec@walsdc.com.
Like many of us, he is busy, works many hours,
and is thankful for his education. ... Tom Tassone
also e-mailed the correct answer – alas, no news.
... The alumni office sent an interesting article on
Ken O’Keefe. Ken is the offensive coordinator for
the University of Iowa’s football team. “Keefer”
had previous head coaching stints at a high school
in Fort Worth, TX, Worcester (MA) Academy,
Allegheny College, and Fordham. He still speaks
fondly of Jerry Schweickert ’60, who taught him
to “love his players.” Ken coached college all-star
football players in exhibition games in Moscow,
Russia, in the early ’90s. The mayor of Northern
Moscow asked him to teach younger kids to play
football, so he ran camps for two years. He later
helped form an organization that brought amateur
teams from Moscow to the U.S. He has been to
Russia five times on football trips and “loved every
minute of it.” Ken and wife Joanne have a
daughter, Meghan, a junior soccer player at Carroll,
and a son, Brendan, in Iowa City. ... This trivia
question is requested by Dave Vtipil. “There was a
great snowball battle, with about 200 participants,
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 35
ALUMNI JOURNAL
in front of Murphy winter ’71-72. A priest who
lived on the first floor took pictures to bust us or
to scare us. It worked and we scattered in a hurry.
Name the priest.” E-mail your answer with news
for the next column. ... I received news that Fr.
Frank Lihvar, S.J., ’50 died from cancer. He was
81, a Jesuit for 60 years, and a member of the
Carroll community for nearly 40 years. He taught
Latin and Greek at John Carroll since fall ’70. Fr.
Lihvar retired in 2000 as professor emeritus. ...
Pray for peace. Hi, Sam! RR
to St. Mary’s to pursue a nursing degree, Pat
worked in nursing for a while in Rochester, then it
was off to Boston for an MBA and work in the
world of pharmaceuticals, private consulting, and
Ph.D. in Human Development and Education.
Then she taught management at a small
Northeast Pennsylvania college. Whew! Now
she’s to be found in Atlanta, where she started
her own consulting firm specializing in executive
development and coaching. Oh, and in her free
time, ballroom dancing. Okay, I am exhausted just
typing all that! Over the years, Pat has kept in

‘76
touch with Debbie Utlak Cook periodically and
Diane Coolican Gaggin
cools@twcny.rr.com would love to hear from all of us who “remember
when...” I implied that we would oblige. Very glad
you found us again Pat! ... There you have it. Drop
a line when you are in the mood. See you in the
Hey Ho everyone! Deep winter encroaches daily.
spring. Cools
It’s great to hear from those who are living in
warmer climates; I get to live vicariously.

Congratulations to Rev. Mr. William Andrews on
his new assignment to Church of the Ascension,
555 S. Main St., Johnstown, OH, for diaconal
duties. William is retired from Licking Memorial
Hospital, where he served as president. To catch
you up on life after Carroll, as part of his formation
for the diaconate and continuing education, he
attended the Diaconal School of Theology at the
‘77
Dennis J. Lane
dlane@ryancom.com
Thanks to all of you who sent me Christmas cards
this year. I do want to ask one favor for next year,
though. Next year, when you send me a card,
send me some news! Just signing your name and

Who Are They? Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus. William

and his wife, Margie, have six children. Our best
wishes on your new assignment! ... Thanks to
saying Merry Christmas doesn’t give me enough
to work with here. ... I did receive some news
from Terry Bedell. He reported that once again
Gwen Benovich Dickerhoof for sending along an Ralph Stilphen hosted his annual Christmas Eve
Thanks to our readers who helped identify
astronomical heads up on the holiday evening breakfast in Rocky River. This year’s gathering
people on the winter 2008 issue’s Images
skies. Much appreciated. I’m presuming that Bob paid a tribute to Brian Ellis, who passed away last
of Carroll page. You have sharp eyes.
Tullio is once again over his head in lake effect. year. Terry noted that Brian was always the first to
We’re waiting on the 2009 picture of him snow arrive and the last to leave. He will be missed, but
Dave Haas ’64 identified the man wearing
blowing his house and the rest of the his presence will always be felt. The other
the Army Green uniform under the second
neighborhood! ... Always the wry one, Meg attendees were Tom Wallenhorst, Jim Clancy
“r” in “Carroll” as Lt. Col. Charles A. “Rip”
McCarthy Waters decided the financial crisis was ’78, John Corrigan, Marty Kelly, and John
Wilson ’65, U.S. Army, retired. Command-
a fine time to put her company’s website online. Duber. Terry also reports that Mike Powers,
er Paul Snopel ’65, ’68G, United States
For a peek at her productivity, visit www. Ralph Stilphen, Bob Hennessy, Marty Kelly, Mary
Navy Reserve, retired, identified Lt. Col.
watersandcompany.com. Best of luck, Meg! ... Anne Garvey, Maura (Shields) Powers, and Pat
Wilson as well. Commander Snopel wrote,
From the mystery missive category, yet another Cummings met up in Avon, OH, last July for the
“We were in Beta Tau Sigma – the Glee
former classmate chimes in with where they are wedding of Marty’s daughter, Kaitlyn. Judging
Club – together. He regaled us with his
now. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Pat from the photo he sent along, a good time was
accent and storyteller’s sense of humor,
Kubus - patkubus@yahoo.com! After transferring had by all. ... By the time this magazine comes, I
particularly tales of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Philadelphia Phils baseball games of that
era.” Commander Snopel remembers his
classmate’s wedding: “He and his bride
asked me to play piano at their wedding
reception, which was a great time.”

“The officer wearing the captain’s bars in

the top right picture,” wrote Tom Czech
’72, “is Thomas Timmes ’74G. He was
a member of the ROTC cadre in the very
early ’70s.” He recalled the officer as be-
ing “laid back, soft spoken, and every inch
the professional.”

John Ennis ’67 wrote to say that the

“mortar man” on one knee in the upper
left photo is Paul Dillon ’67.

In the photo at the bottom showing the

ROTC cadets holding the large flag, the
student farthest to the right facing the flag
is Michael Pyle ’89, ’93G. The information
was provided by Lt. Col. Thomas J. Rog-
ers, MD, ’89, Medical Corp, U.S. Army.
From left are Class of 1977 members Mike Powers, Pat Cummings, Marty Kelly, Ralph Stilphen,
Bob Hennessy, and Terry Bedell at the wedding of Marty’s daughter last July.
36 John Carroll university SPRING 2009

will have returned from our annual JCU spring
training trip in Naples, FL. If I can remember
anything, I’ll write about it in the next column.
Keep those cards and letters coming or I’ll be
forced to make some stuff up. Dennis
‘78
Tim Freeman
708-579-9075
tim@jesuits-chi.org
Greetings! Here’s the latest ... After a 30-year
career at Lubrizol, Jeff Cash has been appointed
corporate director, sales and marketing, for Premix
Inc. Premix Inc., based in North Kingsville, OH, is a
global leader in the development, design, and
manufacture of thermoset composite materials
and molded components. Premix services diverse
global markets focusing on electrical, transporta-
tion, HVAC, construction, and healthcare. Jeff will
be responsible for enhancing Premix’s presence in
existing core markets and identifying and
developing new opportunities to focus the Premix
“Total System Approach’’ on material replace-
ment. He has a B.S. in chemistry from John
Carroll and an MBA from Cleveland State
University. Jeff and his spouse, Cindy, live in
Mentor, OH. ... Terri and George Lewandowski
live in Columbus, OH. Terri is director of journal
production and manufacturing services for the
Publications Division of the American Chemical
Society. George is a doctor specializing in
gynecologic oncology. Steve Andrews ’81 recently
joined George’s practice. Son Chris Lewandowski
is a junior at Carroll majoring in economics. ...
Cathy ’79 and Jim Weir live in Geneva, Switzer-
land. Cathy is CEO for Citibank Global Wealth
Management, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Alex (16) and Dominic (12) attend College du
Leman in Geneva and are avid snowboarders. Jim
enjoys returning to Cleveland every summer to
see family and friends. Jim and classmates John
Jackson, Phil Devereaux, Jim Repicky, and Jim
Hark attended the induction of the 1975 Division
III National Champion wrestling team into the
Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame Homecoming
Weekend. ... Jim Gregorich, wife Shelly Benford,
and children Christian (8th grade) and Vivi (7th grade)
live in Boulder, CO. Jim stays involved in the kids’
sports -- basketball, soccer, baseball, and more. Jim
practices homeopathy; recently Shelly and Jim have
become students and teachers of Qigong. ... Mark
and Laura Fasano live in Southport, CT. Mark is a
principal in a commercial real estate company and is
on the board at Fairfield Prep, where Mark’s BC High
classmate Jack Hanwell, S.J., is president.
According to Mark, Laura is “great at being a mom
and is involved in community activities from helping
the homeless to protecting endangered plant life.”
The Fasanos look forward to being empty nesters
and enjoy skiing in Vermont. They have four kids:
Natalie (23) graduated from Boston University and
lives and works in NYC as a writer and book
reviewer for a food magazine; Mike (21) is at Arizona
State University; Matthew (20), an accomplished
bass guitar player, is at St. Michaels in Burlington,
VT; and Julia (16) is a junior in high school. An annual
highlight for Mark is the “big chill” reunion with Stan
Mambort ’77, Ken Mulcrone ’76, Tim Cannon ’77,
Denny Saunier ’76, Tom Welsh ’76, and Bill
Rainsberger ’76…thanks for writing. Tim
‘79
Nancy Agacinski
216-932-2824
nagacinski@yahoo.com
REUNION YEAR
Hope everyone is making plans to attend our 30th
Reunion on campus, June 19-21, 2009. Yes, we
want everyone to make it -- even those who live
locally. It’s a great time and always better than
you think it will be! If you haven’t given it much
thought yet - please consider it. The more the
merrier! Check out www.jcu.edu/Alumni/
reunion09/ for details. If you’d like to be on the
reunion committee, contact Carla Gall ’05, reunion
coordinator - cgall@jcu.edu - 216.397.1595. JCU
Connect will be a great source for Reunion
information as well as class-specific information.
... I ran into Dr. Vince Panichi ’57 recently. He’s
doing well and looks exactly the same! It’s always
great to run into our former profs. ... Fr. Casey
Bukala ’54 celebrated the 50th anniversary of his
ordination as a Jesuit, Sept. 21, 2008 -- beginning
with a concelebrated Mass at Gesu and a
reception in the Dolan Science Center. I ran into
Brian Niec and family and Gil Macali at the
festivities. Gil and I were the only class represen-
tatives Homecoming Weekend to begin plans for
our 30th Reunion. It doesn’t take loads of time and
would be great to get new faces involved.
Out-of-towners could make phone calls or give
suggestions to help draw more alumni and make it
more enjoyable. Ideas, anyone? ... I heard from
John Taormina, who lives in North Carolina and
works for Duke University as the director of the
Visual Resource Center in the Department of Art.
John loves the milder weather and is looking
forward to seeing everyone at Reunion in June. ...
Denise LeGrand Landreth wrote to say that she
had a busy year. Her youngest son got married;
her oldest son got his Ph.D.; she married a
wonderful man, Ron Landreth; and she became a
grandmother last November (send the details
when you have time!). Denise celebrated her 50th
with flair on the beaches of Mexico and went zip
lining over the jungle. ... Heard from George
Yezbak - gyezbak@roadrunner.com - who reports
that he “went crazy” last summer: sold his house,
quit his job of 22 years, and moved to North
Carolina. He and his wife moved to Advance, NC,
where he took a job at Murray Supply, a multi
branch wholesale supplier. He reports warmer
weather, slower pace, lower cost of living,
friendlier people, and a more challenging job.
Wow, George, I really admire you! ... Joe DeRosa
spoke at the Canton Football Hall of Fame
Luncheon Club in November ’08. Joe currently
lives in N. Canton, OH, and has been an NBA
official for 19 seasons. Interact with LeBron much,
Joe? We just love him in these parts. Any stories
you can share? ... Theresa Ptak Buiel is looking
forward to catching up with everyone at Reunion.
... Hope everyone will make plans to visit the old
stomping grounds in June. Let’s make it our best
party ever! If you have questions or need info,
drop me a line or give me a call. On another note
-- time has come for me to “pass the pen” to the
next ’79 class columnist. It’s time for a new voice,
but I want to make sure there is someone ready
to take over before I retire. Any volunteers?
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Please think about it and respond to me or
journal@jcu.edu, and we can make the transition
around Reunion. It has been my pleasure. ... On a
personal note, thanks to all of you who offered
your prayers and support when I lost my father,
Richard, in October. You helped me through a very
difficult time and I truly appreciate it. Looking
forward to seeing you under the tent, Nancy
‘80
Matt Holtz
440-331-1759
mfh2885@sbcglobal.net
Greetings, class. Since the last column, I have a
few items to share ... My family and I made the
trek out to Cary, NC, to visit Stacy and Kevin
Tighe. Kevin was the chef and we enjoyed a nice
North Carolina evening. While visiting, my kids
schooled Kevin on how to play Wii baseball and
bowling. It got even better when I took him on in
baseball. It was like the Indians beating the Tigers
again and again. When not trying to figure out how
to play Wii, Kevin stays busy as a dean at
Miller-Motte Technical College, which prepares
students with career skills needed to secure initial
employment. ... Many of us remember taking one
of Fr. Casey Bukala’s ’54 philosophy classes.
During the fourth quarter of 2008, he celebrated
his 50th anniversary of ordination. I remember
enjoying the class but not the tests. ... Cleveland-
based writer/editor/blogger and a gentle reader of
this column, John Ettorre, forwarded an article
from Mission magazine highlighting the works of
Rita Dollard-O’Malley. Rita is currently the
director of adult spirituality at St. Ignatius College
Preparatory in San Francisco. The article, “Blazing
Ignatian Trails,” highlights her work in the field of
theology with the Jesuits, students, and parents.
... Shirley Novak dropped an e-mail that she
keeps in contact with Maureen McCarthy, Cheryl
Kosak Wilson, Beth Hammer, Chris Bavola, and
Deb Walsh ’81. All the ladies got together for one
of their mini reunions. The next column will have
some nuggets from that bash. ... Rick Chelko,
president of the Chelko Consulting Group,
attended the JCU Entrepreneurs Association party
with Teresa ’81 and Scott Heran. A featured
speaker at the gathering was class of 1980’s Jim
Myers, who is CEO of PETCO. Jim shared the
PETCO story and the number of lessons he has
learned being at the helm of the company. ... Bob
Beringer offers a hello to all from Jacksonville, FL,
where he is a college administrator. Bob keeps in
contact with Rob Lombardi, who owns a
business in New Orleans near Jackson Square.
Bob claims Lombardi still plays a wicked game of
golf. Bob and Jim Reim attended the Masters and
tailed Phil Mickelson to witness some truly wicked
golf. Bob reports that Vicki McCauley is doing
well in Washington, DC, as an attorney for the
FCC. Most importantly, Bob notes that the
brotherhood of IXY will be celebrating their
50-year reunion in Las Vegas this spring. Feel free
to send an e-mail for information - robertberinger@
yahoo.com. I hope to glean a few pearls of
wisdom from the I-Chi anniversary Vegas bash for
our next column. ... Send an e-mail anytime, and
feel free to high-five Lobo, the new JCU mascot ...
MH
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 37
ALUMNI JOURNAL

‘81
Bob Hill
414-254-9880
Soar1@aol.com
Greetings to the Class of 1981. I hope you had a
Merry Christmas and that you have a happy New
Year. Make sure that you set some goals for 2009
and write them down. I am told that only five
percent of adult Americans will do that this year. ...
I am writing on what will be the coldest night in
Wisconsin in 15 years. We will go to 18 below
zero with 40-below wind chills. The schools are
already closed for what will seem to be the North
Pole in Milwaukee tomorrow. Warmer days are
ahead! ... Please send me a note about what is
happening in your life. I am excited about the
opportunity to gather stories from the Class of
1981 and publish them in the Alumni Journal.
Keep me posted, Bob
internal medicine practice in Columbus, OH.
Married by Father Birkenhauer, Arlene and
husband Niles reside in Columbus with beautiful
daughters Kristen and Lauren. ... In Columbus, I
connected with Myron Terlecky ’81, attorney at
law. I know he’s a success, he told me. Actually,
he’s awesome. He’s a coveted partner in Strip,
Hoppers, Leithart, McGrath & Terlecky Co. LPA.
Bestowed intelligence, wit, and unmatched
charismatic personality, Myron is also a life saver,
thanks! ... I was back in the TV booth for Sports-
Time Ohio calling play-by-play for JCU vs. Capital.
JCU stunned the ninth ranked football team in the
country with a 13-3 victory. Students work the TV
production and they were great! ... Living on the
Northside but hanging with the Southside girls is
Jane (Broeren) Lambesis with 22 years at
Federated Investors. Home is Mount Prospect, IL,
with husband Peter and kids: Annie, Susie, and
Peter James. I owe this to Jane Cunin, the world David D’Onofrio ’85 and family.
traveler, racking air miles to Macau and Hong Kong

‘82
Paul Hulseman
847-867-9322 (c)
PJHulseman@aol.com
Greetings from Chicago! The 12 inches of snow
this weekend followed by bitter cold helped to
mask the tears as our college kids returned to their
campuses (one picturesque in University Heights;
the other one not so picturesque). Those were
tears of joy, not sadness. If you have college kids,
you know exactly what I mean. It’s great to have
them home, but even better when they return! ...
Our oldest son, Colin, finished his political science
curriculum at Carroll in December. January saw
him working on that next stage of his life – have
degree, will work for food. We hope to have our
two oldest in cap and gown this May on the quad.
That would be fun! ... Judy Schoen Thomas is
careening toward an empty nest. Her oldest,
Jenny, graduated from UT a year ago and is
working there today. The final two enter college
this fall and next. So far, no Blue Streaks in the
Thomas offspring, but I will keep my hopes up. As
you know, all roads lead to Toledo ... I found out
this holiday season that a friend of mine went to
grade school and high school with Judy and Char
Murawa Donelan (DCMII). Small world! ... Barb
to visit her brother who lives there. Jane insists it
wasn’t the casinos or resorts that made the trip. ...
It took 27 years to reconnect with Nick Conyn-
gham ’82. The hour call was a killer! Nick owns C
Performance Group in Paramus, NJ. Nick and wife
Beth have a son, Terry, graduating from Boston
College. ... I tried to reach John Colombo ’84
through his cousin, Robert Cargnel ’84. Johnny’s
13-year-old son “looks just like him.” A great
storyteller, its likely co-workers at Continental
Airlines have endured Robert’s classic JCU
baseball stories for 22 years. Robert and wife
Diane live in Michigan. ... It was a little Northwest-
side Chicago at dinner in Saginaw, MI, with Alan
and Suzanne (Schlichtman) Greenberg. Just
talking about it, I miss SuperDawg. ... Look for the
1972 Dodge Challenger cruising Cleveland; its
likely Steve Musser with wife, Elizabeth, and
daughters, Veronica and Marie. Steve is a
podiatrist in North Olmsted. ... World of the weird,
I had never met my wife’s roommate from BGSU,
but she got engaged and we had to meet them.
Who knew that Dan Welly ’85, my football and
baseball teammate, was the guy engaged to my
wife’s roommate, Annette. Mark
handled by our other verbose classmate, Bob
Schufreider. It is a blast to see classmates caught
on film a quarter century ago. For example, Jim
(Spike) Kromer is interviewed in his three-piece
suit on his way to one of his first job interviews,
because he figured he would stop in the Rat to
first “...get prepped for it.” Spike ends his
interview with his trademarked pterodactyl yell.
Dozens of classmates take their turn sitting in
front of the camera reflecting back on their Carroll
memories and making life predictions: Dan
Schodowski, Amy (Nash) Golian, Bob (Reg)
Lally, Denise (Petronzio) Geisler, Tim Friday,
Beth (Heffernan) Broome, Tom Kreber, Scott
Logue, Ann (Oaks) Kerstetter, and Jeff Metzgar
are interviewed, among many others. Jack Bedell
comments that being an RA is the greatest job he
has ever had and he wishes he could major in it.
Mike Carswell predicted he might be involved in
producing record labels in the future. Bob Kovach
speculated that in 10 years he would be working
at 30 Rock in New York. Chris Yaw recalled a
story about waking up to find a Christmas pine
tree (from the quad) somehow mysteriously
placed in his dorm room. I have converted the tape
to DVD and hopefully we can have it playing at

‘84
Reunion during the Saturday night dinner
O’Brien Brown continues to give back to our alma Don D’Amore
440-235-1323 gathering. (If not, I will try to bring a portable DVD
mater. In addition to being the vice chair of the player, and at least we could see it on the small
jcuclassof84@yahoo.com
Entrepreneurs Association, Barb is helping out screen.) See you then. ... Don
with another Board of Directors initiative. Check
out Barb’s company - www.BrownFlynn.com. ... I REUNION YEAR

‘85
need scoops – please drop me a line. Onward On! Diane (Nerem) Wendel
The date for our 25th Reunion is set and is being 914-238-2227
Paul held just a few short months from now -- June DWendel@Optonline.net
19-21, 2009! If you are interested in helping out in

‘83
Mark Schroeder
216-210-2020
briome@auctionbrio.com
I never believed it could happen, but the presiden-
tial election affected me personally. A client told
me their decision to conduct an auction this year is
between rehiring me or hiring Sarah Palin as
speaker. If the governor accepts, I may be vetoed.
I wonder if the VP candidate views me as her
competitor. ... Dr. Arlene Fedorchak missed the
reunion fireworks for front-row fireworks at the
summer Olympics in Beijing. Medical school at
Ohio State, internship in Philly, then opened her
38 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
any way, contact Carla Gall ’05, reunion coordina-
“It’s about LOVING unconditionally, WORKING
tor, - cgall@jcu.edu - 216.397.1595. Have you tried
hard, PLAYING fair, CELEBRATING your family
JCU Connect? It is an online community specifi-
and friends, GIVING thanks for all your BLESS-
cally for John Carroll alumni - http://jcu.imodules.
INGS, all year long.” It has been a quiet winter of
com/. It should be a good source of info for
news, and hopefully the renewal of spring will
Reunion and hopefully will also have specific info
bring forth an awakened spirit of contact filled with
on our class’ activities. Speaking of Reunion, I
good news. The third Sutowski girls rendezvous in
have been the keeper of one of the rare copies of
the Big Apple happened last November and we
a videotaped “time capsule” of interviews that
truly had a grand time picking up exactly where we
were filmed during our senior year. Senior class
left off. Too numerous giggles and laughs -- I am
president John Breen and the other class officers
bound to my commitment of “What happened in
of our final year arranged to have videotaped
NY will stay in NY” (sorry, Vegas). Many thanks to
interviews during countdown to graduation events
Anne Walker Watterson ’86, Lisa Cortes Dawes
held in 1983-84. Jim Mahoney conducted most of
’86, Maura Rowley, Dolores Beiswenger
the interviews, but the microphone was also
Kimberly, Maureen Flaherty Menton, Susan

“Bubbles” McAllister Cahill, and Mary Pat
Bluemle Maretz for coming out to celebrate the
health of Peggy Bertsch Currier. ... I can neither
confirm nor deny but there is a rumor of a reunion
percolating this spring in Vegas for the IXYs. ... I
did receive a beautiful Christmas greeting from
Tim Reid and his family. Tim and Mary are busy
as ever with their four active children: Molly, Ellen,
Andrew, and Lauren. Keep those cards coming! ...
Also this fall, I went back into the work force full
time as a computer teacher for our elementary
school – and loved the change of venue from my
former corporate field of real estate. ... Peter
Bernardo ’67 is still accepting donations on behalf
of the Karen J. Schipke Memorial Scholarship.
Once the fund reaches $50,000, the earnings will
go first to a direct descendant from the Class of
1985. Please consider a gift in Karen’s memory.
We are hoping to reach our goal before our 25th
Reunion June 2010. Specify that your gift is
intended to go to the Karen J. Schipke Memorial
Scholarship fund and send to JCU, Attn. Peter
Bernardo, 20700 North Park Boulevard, University
Heights, OH 44118. ... On a personal note, please
keep my mother, Nancy Nerem, in your prayers
for a full recovery from her lobectomy. She is my
hero who is fighting a courageous battle every
day. ... Enjoy the sunshine, take two, and send me
an e-mail - DWendel@optonline.net. Diane
‘86
Gigi Togliatti-Rice
419-529-5530
gigirice@neo.rr.com
Beth (Bonanno) Hausoul
ehausoul@mac.com
Happy New Year (a bit late)! Hopefully by the time
you are reading this, the cold weather has subsided
and spring is just around the corner. Once again, we
are low on information -- please call or e-mail any
news you may have. Remember, we cannot create
topics to write about, so send us your news ...
someone has to have something worth writing
From left are Tempany and Brian Donovan ’89 at their November 8, 2008, wedding in Hawaii;
Mary Lavin ’87; and Randy Hamilton ’92.
about! ... Susan Menner Stojanovski ran into
Patty Mancini, who is living in Avon Lake with her
husband, Sean, and their three children. Patty
reports that her only recent contact with JCU grads
has been with Cathy Coyne Walsh, her children’s
pediatrician. ... We also received some interesting
news from Drue Carney. He has designed a product
called The Bench Coach. It took over a year to get
the product launched, with multiple stages
necessary for the design, development, and
prototypes to make sure it was done correctly. He is
very excited and happy with the outcome. Drue said
it couldn’t be any easier to use and functions great.
All you baseball and softball fans, go online and
check out this product - www.thebenchcoach.com.
Good luck, Drue! ... I (Gigi) will be meeting Chris
O’Brien Kramer, Paula Zerbi Reape, Grace Volpe,
and Lisa Geraci Macauda for lunch this week.
Hopefully they have a lot to report. ... Class of 1986
– send us your news! Gigi and Beth
‘87
Sue Farinacci Grazia
440-256-0338
jsgrazia@adelphia.net
‘88
Jamie Jamison
330-702-1965
jjamison@zoominternet.net
Kathy Reali Matthews
440-871-7283
bk3matthews@yahoo.com
‘89
David Gassman
440-934-0366
dgassmktvp@aol.com
REUNION YEAR
Happy winter, fellow Blue Streaks. We here in
Cleveland were hit with our first major storm of
ALUMNI JOURNAL
the year as 12+ inches dumped on us the
weekend of Jan. 10. All is well -- I must say the
buzz should be on our 20-year Reunion this
summer. The official dates for Reunion are June
19-21, and more info about Reunion and specific
class data can be found at JCU Connect - http://
jcu.imodules.com/s/566/index.aspx. Anyone
interested in being on the class committee can
contact Carla Gall ’05 - 216-397-1595 or cgall@jcu.
edu. I can assure you that I have talked to several
’89ers who plan to attend: Irma Santoro Bliss,
Amy Caldwell, Rita Cole, Michelle Conkle,
Jennie Femec, Christine Fennelly, John Fox,
Andy Hoffman, Robert Horton, Richard Juby,
Joseph Koshay, Jeffrey Rummel, Daniel
Weaver, Brian Winovich – and the maybes:
Thomas Adent, Laura Asseff, Joanne Belbas,
Colette Donnelly Carr, Andrew Cossick, Mike
Craddock, Tom Curtis, Kimberly Fiocco, Pearl
Graham-Johnson, David Hall, Liz Crowley
Harrington, Douglas Krause, Faith Manning,
Tony Micheli, Justin Murphy, Carol Noall,
Michael Petras, Catharine Barrett Roof, Steven
Ryba, Anita Sheibley Wagner, Elizabeth Klomp
Tenner, Theresa Weinberg, Tom Wienclaw. ...
In class news, Geoff Klimas joined the Navy
Reserves and is now a Navy Reserve logistics
officer in charge of the fuels company located in
Jacksonville, FL. His teams’ mission is to provide
fuel services globally in combat environments
dispensing a variety of petroleum distillates. Geoff
has not yet had to deploy but is ready 24/7 in this
volatile field of work. In his spare time, he and his
wife both work as mortgage bankers for Chase
Bank and shuttle their two boys to Little League
games. Thanks for the info, Geoff, and thanks for
offering your time and skills to the Reserves. ... I
also heard from Gary Gavin this month. Gary has
been named vice president and company officer
of Container The Americas. Prior to this role, Gary
held several general manager positions in
International Paper’s wood and decorative
products business unit, as well as several sales
management roles. Gary has an MBA in finance
from Carnegie Mellon University and a chemistry
degree from JCU. Gary and his wife, Kathy, reside
in Memphis, TN, along with their son, Patrick.
Congrats, Gary. ... I will have one last column
before Reunion next summer, so send me your
updates now and I will try and release another list
of planned attendees for the event. ... Cheers,
David
‘90
Melissa Wenzler
440-725-0753
WenzJCU90@aol.com
“These are a few of my favorite things” ...sings
Julie Andrews in the song, “My Favorite Things”
from the The Sound of Music. ... Well, one of my
favorite things lately is Facebook! At first, I
thought I might be too “mature” for Facebook,
but pretty quickly, I noticed more and more people
in our age group were getting on board. Every day,
it seemed, more and more Carroll classmates
were signing up. As the class columnist, I love it
because it allows me to keep connected in order
to keep the column fresh and interesting. So, if
you have not joined the Facebook revolution, give
it a try! I am confident it will become one of your
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 39
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Jeff and Kristin (Oberheu) ’90 Corn
favorite things, too! ... Through Facebook, I heard
from Kristin Marie Oberheu Corn. Kristin
recently married Jeffrey Brian Corn on Sept. 13,
2008, on Kiawah Island, SC, where Kristin’s family
owns a home. Kristin received her law degree
from the University of Dayton. Today, she works
in the legal department at Bank of America in the
Corporate Securities/Mergers & Acquisitions/
Corporate Governance division. Following their
wedding, Jeff and Kristin embarked on a “mini-
moon” to Savannah, GA, but took a longer
honeymoon in Hawaii in January. The newlyweds
reside in Charlotte, NC. ... News from Shawn
Robertson is that he and his wife, Erin, welcomed
their new daughter, Bridget, in August! Bridget
joins big sister Molly (4). Congratulations, Shawn
and Erin! ... Scott Jenney dropped me a note
about a 40th birthday getaway to Lake Kipawa,
Quebec, with several of the IXYs. Tom “That’s
why they call it fishing and not catching” Roche,
John “It’s freezing in here” Frendo, Jim “I’m hit”
Noteman, and Kevin “I caught a fish and a buzz”
Monahan joined Scott on a trip up north.
According to Scott, a good time was had by all
reminiscing about the good old JCU days.
Unfortunately, Chris Cosgrove, Dan Curran,
Chris Donnelly, and Eric Lochner were on board
to go, but got “scared off” at the last minute. That
is too bad, as it sounds like they missed a good
time. ... We rang in the New Year with Tim
Forrestal and his wife, Michelle. Tim is a trust/
estate attorney (so if you need a will or estate
planning, he’s your guy!). They live in Hudson,
OH, with their three children: Hannah, Grace, and
Riley. Mike Newman and his family made the
drive up the turnpike to join in the festivities. Mike
and his wife, Lisa, live in Bethel Park, PA, with
their two children: Madison and Owen. ... Stay
well, friends, and keep the news and notes
coming! Melissa
40 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
‘91 ‘93
Molly Coughlin Fanta
440-716-1749
mfanta4714@wowway.com
‘92
Jim Sislo
440-269-1245
James@Sislo.net
Happy New Year! Here is the latest ... Congratula-
tions to our very own John Flanagan, who was
honored at an event presented by Crain’s
Cleveland Business and insurance brokerage
firm Marsh. They honored 10 Northeast Ohio chief
financial officers for excellence in fiscal management
at their companies. More than 50 nominations
were received for the awards, which were
selected by an independent panel of five judges
representing the corporate community. John’s
category: Small Private Company: John Flanagan,
Howley Bread Group Inc. ... I was happy to hear
that Greg Triplett has been promoted at Marlite
to vice president – sales and marketing for the
company’s designer wall systems. “Greg has
proven himself to be a gifted manager with a dem-
onstrated ability to understand our company and
its markets,” said John Popa, owner of Marlite.
Greg started his career at Marlite in 1994 as
marketing analyst and later was promoted to
product manager. After becoming director of
marketing, he recently served as the managing
director for the designer wall division. As vice
president, he will be charged with growing sales
of wall systems domestically and internationally as
well as expanding Marlite’s distribution network.
Greg, his wife, and their three children live in New
Philadelphia, OH. ... Jenni Grimes O’Brien
married Dan O’Brien ’93 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
in Armagh, Ireland, on June 7, 2008. They then
celebrated with friends and family at a reception in
August. Blue Streaks in attendance were Wendy
Hasenkopf Maglio, Jennifer Kraut, Molly
McTigue McNally, Wendy Weber Fiala, Krista
Lannert, and Katie Boyle Manning ’93. (I was sad
to learn of the passing of Jenni’s father, Hugh
Gavin Grimes M.D., who died peacefully surround-
ed by his family on June 26, 2008) ... Paul
Bayhurst recently won an award for a job he did
in Chevy Chase, MD, from the Washington
Building Congress for Choice Hotels International.
He is currently one of four lead cabinetmakers for
Casework. Paul is also having a brand new 2009
Indian motorcycle built. “Mine is the 200th bike off
the line and I will pick it up in March. When I’m
not chasing my two dogs ‘Roulette’ and ‘Norma
Jean’ around the yard, I can be found riding my
other cruiser through the DC metro area. I also
work as an instructor at The Woodworkers Club in
Rockville, MD, where I teach courses on
cabinetmaking, furniture making, and how to work
all the associated power tools.” Paul is happily
married to Nicki Sack Bayhurst ’93. ... AJ
Panahon has been living in Las Vegas for eight
years working for Ford Credit for seven years. AJ
has been married for five years and has a two-year
old daughter named Autumn. ... See you on
campus, Jim
Julie Reardon
440-877-0939
dereardon@roadrunner.com
Hello all, I hope you had wonderful holidays.
Winter has hit here in Cleveland (it’s -12 outside).
I’m just trying to keep warm and looking forward
to spring time. ... Each year, I receive many
Christmas cards, including a handful of John
Carroll friends, and only one had an annual update
this year: Monica Merella Steiner, Ted Steiner,
and children Grace (5th grade) and Isaiah (2nd
grade). Ted took a new job at Carroll, where he
will be coordinating immersion trips and other
service opportunities for students, faculty, and
staff; he is also taking a freshman Spanish class.
Monica is teaching Spanish to little ones at five
different schools. ... Other cards were from Lisa
and Andy Botzer and their three girls: Siena,
Sophia, and Sabrina; Alysia (Ross) ’95 and Jeff
Mitten and their two sons; Maureen and John
Reichart’s card was a picture of their two girls,
Brigid and Ciara, in Ireland last summer. Tom and
Pam (Phelleps) Shields and their boys, Gavin and
Benjamin; Katie and Joe Gumeny and their
daughters, Lauren and Alexandria; Erin and Scott
Webber and their children, Shane (5) and Bridget
(2); Therese and Mike Schrage and their dog,
Dakota; Jinny and Jim Cahill and their daughter,
Elisabeth; Allen ’07G and Mary Ellen (Brenkus)
Guisinger and their children, Natalie, Stephen,
and Thomas; Sandra Crapis, and Jill Ledin ’97. ...
I’m sorry to report that Jody R. Wolfe, a physical
therapist at University Hospitals, died Dec. 21 at
age 49. Jody received a master’s from Carroll. ...
Newsflash, I am now on Facebook -- feel free to
find me and add me. There is a group for Carroll
Class of ’93 that was started for Reunion but lives
on today. Doug Ennis started it, so find him and
he’ll get you the link to join the group. It’s a fun
way to keep in touch and see what some are up
to on a daily basis instead of just once or twice a
year. Here’s an update I got on Facebook:
Christine Poleon is training to run her 2nd full
marathon; she is running for The Pulmonary
Fibrosis Foundation, a lung disease that her father
was diagnosed with in December 2006. There is
more information on her Facebook page, and her
training blog is available at www.myspace.com/
cpoleon. ... That’s all the updates I have. Please
send yours now! Take care, Julie
‘94
Maureen “Moe” McGuinness
moe@unt.edu
REUNION YEAR
Happy spring to everyone! I am sure you know by
now this is our Reunion year! Our 15th Class
Reunion (yes, everyone can say ... has it really
been that long?) is set for June 19-21, 2009, on
the John Carroll University campus! It is not too
late to sign up, you can do so by contacting the
Alumni Office or using JCU Connect. JCU
Connect will give you the most up-to-date informa-
tion that there is on Reunion. Hope to see
everyone there! ... Here is the information that I
have received from our classmates. Please do not
hesitate to e-mail me - moe@unt.edu. We would

love to hear what you are up to! Patrice (Capret-
ta) Adamonis had a baby boy, Blake Nicolas, on
Nov. 20, 2008. He joins big sisters Mackenzie (4)
and Sydney (2). Congratulations to the entire
Adamonis family! ... Amy Caste Wheeler and I
get to chat often on Facebook. After graduation,
she worked in Michigan at Chrysler until 2002,
then moved to Volkswagen of America, where
she met her husband, Bill Wheeler. Amy relocated
to Illinois to be closer to Bill, and they got married
on St. Patty’s Day 2007. Bill and Amy are
expecting their first baby, a boy, in April. Keep us
posted, Amy! ... Leslie Pallotta was recently
named Cranberry Public Library director in
Cranberry Township, PA. Leslie received her
master’s in library science from the University of
Pittsburgh in 1996, after graduating from Carroll.
Congratulations, Leslie! ... Well, that is all I have to
report. Please continue to contact me via e-mail or
on Facebook and let me know what is going on in
your life! We all love to read about one another
here! See you at Reunion! Moe
‘95
Annie (Hummer) DePerro
330-966-8845
anniedeperro@sssnet.com
I’m not sure that I loved turning 36 this year, but I
did love that at least 20 of my Facebook friends
left me birthday messages on my wall, while only
six of my actual friends did. FB reunited me with
many Blue Streaks, including Dan Walsh ’94 who
reminded me about the turquoise house on the
corner of Lee and Superior. Yes, Dan, we are all
grown up, and, no, I never ever want to go back to
that dump! Dan lives in Denver with his cute wife
and adorable daughter and might be found skiing
this winter with Kris Lucic ’94, another of my FB
friends. After his day job at Carlson Restaurants
Worldwide as director of brand marketing, Matt
Durbin went bowling tonight; I found that out on
FB, too. It’s so up-to-the-minute; I love it. ... In the
slow world of traditional e-mail, I heard from new
mom Annie Laurie (Parker) Gallant. Before she
and husband Brad welcomed a baby girl into their
world, in October, Annie and several JCU friends
spent a girls’ weekend in the Finger Lakes region
of New York. Annie reports that Carina
(Woodrich) Schnitter switched gears after 10
years of selling pediatric vaccines; she is now
coaching her son’s soccer and t-ball teams among
other full-time mom duties. ... Megan Farrell
Fraser, her husband, and toddler recently moved
back to Buffalo, NY, from Los Angeles. Megan is a
psychologist in private practice. ... Melissa
(Georgi) Edwards lives in Frederick, MD, with her
spouse and two children. Melissa works for
Westat, Inc, as the supervisor of retirement
benefits. ... Middle schoolers in Pittsburgh are
turning to counselor Janae (Moeslein) Batchelor
for advice. She has a lot to offer as the mom of
three kids under the age of six! ... Middle school
math teacher Stephanie (Davies) Wyman
e-mailed from Virginia Beach, where she lives with
husband Rob and two young sons. She reports:
Shannon (Vaughn) Rosenberry works at Chase
Bank in Wilmington, DE, and is married to Chuck;
Holly (Ranquist) Santoro lives in Ohio with her
husband, Joseph ’94, and children; Mary Pat
(Kearney) Burke and husband Tim live in
Michigan with their two young children. ... Finally,
in the ultra-slow world of face-to-face
communication, I met up with Carole (Chandler)
Sullivan and Kathy Apple Francis at P.F. Chang’s
in Beachwood in January. They filled me in on the
fun details of the marriage of Claire Mooney to
David DeHorn at Thanksgiving in Chicago. Annie
(Dunn) Hughes did a reading at the wedding,
which was celebrated at Northwestern University
with Tim ’94 and Annie Bayne also guests.
Congratulations, Claire! ... Until next time, find me
on FB! Annie
‘96
Amy Spisich Kogovsek
ASKamy@aol.com
Happy 2009, everyone! I hope this column finds
you all happy and healthy. I know that the
Valentino Ellerbusch family must be elated, as
they e-mailed the wonderful news of the addition
of their second child. Dominik Paul Ellerbusch was
born on Sept. 15, 2008, and joins big sister
Marcella (21 mos.). Roslyn still works as a sales
account manager with Ashland in the Environmen-
tal Services Division. She and her family reside in
The Woodlands, TX. ... John Cranley has joined
the Cincinnati law firm of Keating, Muething &
Klekamp PLL (KMK) as an attorney practicing in
the bond and municipal finance area. John joins
the firm after serving eight years on Cincinnati City
Council, which is the maximum allowed by law. In
addition to his work on city council, Cranley was
the founder and co-director of the Ohio Innocence
Project at the University of Cincinnati College of
Law (2002-2006), which, through the use of
DNA-technology, has exonerated three innocent
men. Cranley also served as an adjunct professor
at the College of Law during that time. John and
his wife, Dena, are expecting their first child in
April. Congratulations! ... Well, with the New Year
off and running, hopefully we will hear from many
more of you. Until then, the Lord bless you and
keep you, Amy
‘97
Brian Sparks
440-746-0309
bdsparks@meistermedia.com
Hello, everyone! Not too much news to report this
time around. Jen (Sezon) Brugger and her
ALUMNI JOURNAL
husband, Garett ’95, welcomed a new addition to
their family. Their son Harrison John Brugger was
born on Sept. 3, 2008. He joins twin siblings
Graydon and Ellie (3). ... Erin McNabb Howe is liv-
ing in Tucson, AZ. She and her husband Bill have a
2-year-old daughter. My “thanks” to Erin for
letting me know that she’s not missing those
Chicago winters (as I write this in the middle of a
cold wave here in Cleveland). ... Grant Cleveland
was recently highlighted in an issue of the
Cleveland Plain Dealer by Marcia Pledger. Since
it’s a short article, here’s the full item: “Looking
back, Grant Cleveland admits that starting a
business with just one product, a kit for growing
cactus plants, didn’t seem like the most logical
thing to do. Then again, what’s considered logical
for a serial entrepreneur working on his fourth
business? Six years ago, Cleveland launched
DuneCraft Inc. with just the cactus kit, called the
Odd Pod, and less than $100,000 he raised from
suppliers and angel investors. A year later he had
two products to sell and lukewarm interest from a
few small retail chains, websites, and catalog
companies. Today, DuneCraft has 25 employees
and offers 250 educational novelty products
through national retailers, including Toys ’R’ Us,
Borders, and Kmart, and it has licensing agree-
ments with Nickelodeon and others. Sales are
expected to top $3.5 million this year and reach $5
million to $7 million next year, thanks to increased
orders from big retailers.” ... If you’re on Face-
book, I started a new group called “John Carroll
University Class of 1997.” Be sure to sign up! ...
Brian
‘98
Cherie Skoczen
216-741-1823
cherieskoczen@ameritech.net
Matthew Girty was promoted from financial
analyst to assistant vice president of quantitative
analysis at Contemporary Healthcare Capital, LLC,
located in Shrewsbury, NJ. Prior to joining
Contemporary Healthcare Capital, Matt served as
a portfolio manager at Victory Capital Manage-
ment, Inc., in Cleveland, where he managed
pension and profit sharing plans for institutional
clients. Matt lives in Red Bank, NJ. ... Sandra
(Lobritz) Gaston and her husband, Jay, wel-
comed their second baby, Emily, in June 2008. Big
Kelly Cooke Barry ’97,
husband Jon, and son
Sean (also in inset photo)
with Santa.
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 41
ALUMNI JOURNAL
alumProfile
The Politics of Identity
Erin E. O’Brien ’97 hates the phrase “working poor,”
even though she put it in the title of her new book.
“Most poor people are working or have worked
or want to work,” explains Dr. O’Brien, assistant
professor of political science at the University of
Massachusetts, Boston. “Working poor,” she says,
may imply that some poor people are worthier of
respect than others, a distinction she believes neither
real nor politically helpful.
Politics of Identity: Solidarity Building Among
America’s Working Poor (SUNY Press, 2008) reflects
this theme of her teaching and research – that pre-
sumed divisions among people should be called into
question. It’s frequently assumed, for instance, that a
Latino worker will identify primarily as Latino and will
not see the connections between himself and, say, the
African American working alongside him.
“Identity politics usually gets a bad rap,” she says.
“I wanted to change that conversation.” Identity
politics centers on the concerns of groups defined by
gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, as examples.
It sometimes suggests that low-wage workers are hard
to organize because they define themselves by their
differences.
Dr. O’Brien approached this issue directly: She
worked at a low-wage job – hotel room service – for
11 months and interviewed her co-workers. Her
fieldwork was a part of her Ph.D. dissertation, which
evolved into her new book, and a doctorate from
American University in 2003.
brother John is now 2. Sandra stays at home with
the children; they live in Flowery Branch, GA…Jim
and Lynn Sabol had their second child in Aug.
2008. Emma Lynn was born in Oklahoma City,
making Evan, who was 13 months at the time of
her birth, a big brother. Jim is an aircraft mainte-
nance officer in the air force. He’s a captain with
23 years of service and looking to retire in a few
years. The Sabols are stationed at Tinker AFB.
Lynn said, “We are enjoying our family, and I am
certainly busy chasing a young toddler while
caring for a newborn!” Lynn can be reached at
sabolfamily@cox.net. ... In December, Kate
Curry-Conway and Steve Conway welcomed
42 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
Telling the story:
As part of the research for her
book, Erin O’Brien ’97 worked at
a low-wage job for 11 months.
She found that low-wage workers might actually
identify with each other on many levels. Dr. O’Brien
hopes that her book’s audience – which she sees
as the “general public who care about poverty and
inequality; advanced undergrad and grad students;
social scientists; activists” – might apply its findings
to public policy. She would like to see low-income
people tell their own story, as they do in her book.
She would like to see them get a place “at the table,”
where decisions are made. And she would hope they
might be able to organize appropriately for better
working conditions and higher wages.
their first baby, Lauren Elizabeth. Kate is a
purchasing manager for Lakeshore Cryotronics, a
family owned business in Westerville, OH. About
two years ago, Steve left NetJets, a Berkshire
Hathaway-owned private jet company, and he is
now a director of finance at The Scotts Miracle-
Gro Company. The Conways live in Powell, OH,
which is along the outskirts of Columbus. ... Best
wishes to everyone for a lovely spring and
summer. Please send me an e-mail to let me, and
ultimately the rest of our classmates, know what
good things are happening in your life! Take care,
Cherie
Dr. O’Brien developed these interests as a
sociology major at John Carroll, where her mentors
emphasized a strong empirical grounding in one’s
field and were powerful social-justice scholars. “The
Jesuits are great on poverty politics,” she says. “My
social justice concern is in keeping with my Carroll
education. You have an obligation to help the poor.
So, not only do you serve at the homeless shelter,
you ask questions about why the homeless shelter has
to exist – and work to change those conditions.”
Kathy Ewing
‘99
Meg Galligan
galliganm22@hotmail.com
REUNION YEAR
Can you remember what you were doing 10 years
ago? Perhaps you were studying for your finals,
enjoying spring weather on the quad, or planning
carpools for our senior trip to Myrtle Beach. Since
then, time has flown, and in this update our
classmates share news about the much more
recent highlights in their lives. Vince Benander
just renewed his religious vows as Brother Alan
 ALUMNI JOURNAL
Vincent of the Norbertine Order. This is his second
three-year renewal of vows as a seminarian at
St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, CA. Prior
to joining the abbey, Brother Alan worked as an
Internet programmer. He studies theology in
Rome at the Angelicum University and promises
to keep the JCU community in his prayers - especially
the class of 1999! ... Jim ’98 and Michelle
(Zuccaro) Evans welcomed their third child,
Payton McKenna, into their family on the same
day that they celebrated their eighth anniversary –
Aug. 6, 2008. Payton joins her big sister, Kaylee (5
½), and big brother, Dylan (4 ½). ... Pat Carey has
been in good ol’ Cincinnati for the past eight
years. At the moment he works for Convergys. ...
Sarah (Furey) Reichert married Matt Reichart on
June 28, 2008, at St. Paul Catholic Church in
Norwalk, OH. The couple resides in North
Olmsted, where Sarah teaches English at
Westlake High School, and Matt works as an
electronics technician for Fisher Electronics in
Norwalk. ... Sally Taylor is the newest director of
financial planning at Arizona’s Keats, Connelly and
Associates, LLC. The firm specializes in managing
the complexities of accumulated wealth as well as
U.S./Canadian cross-border planning. Since
graduating from Carroll, Sally received her Master Sarah (Furey) Reichert’s wedding guests celebrate their JCU ties. From left are Rob and Michelle
of Science in Financial Planning from the College (Bjel) Velotta ’99, Bridget Perea ’99, Pat McGannon ’98, Matt and Sarah (Furey) Reichert ’99,
for Financial Planning and is a member of the Carrie Minardo ’99, Jim Wetzel ’01, Sara Neville ’04, Maria Podsiadlo ’99, and Christine (Weimer)
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Papesch ’99.
the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants,
the Financial Planning Association, and the

‘00 ‘01
Lisa Foster Maureen DeMers Fariello
Central Arizona Estate Planning Council. ...
440-339-6572 jcualumni2001@yahoo.com
Paul Hospodar provided a quick update via the
lisafoster19@gmail.com
JCU Alumni website. He’s now in North Olmsted
with this wife, Danielle, and their two children: Clare Taft
Paul and Luke. Currently at Champion One in claretaft@hotmail.com Happy spring! Jillian (Valerius) Shute and
Beachwood, Paul works as the Optical Product Matt Shute were married at St. Peter in Chains
Line manager. ... Christina Fisk works as a Cathedral in Cincinnati on Aug. 16, 2008. ...
Unbelievable as it may be, it has been nearly nine
litigation paralegal for a publicly traded real-estate Rami Ahmed has been selected as a Harvard
years since our graduation from Carroll, and our
trust, Developers Diversified Realty Corp., in Macy Scholar and completed the “Educators in
ten-year Reunion is in 2010. The past nine years
Beachwood. She’s also pursuing her license in the Health Professions” program in January 2009.
have certainly been busy for the Class of 2000. ...
special education from Notre Dame College and Rami continues to complete his fellowship in
Douglas and Eneida (Crespo) Dentler welcomed
will be student teaching in the fall. Living in medical simulation at Harvard Medical School,
their second child, Anthony Philip, in February
Willowick, Christina would love to hear from any while simultaneously working as an attending
2008. Tony joins big sister Anabella. Doug and Nei
of our classmates - cfisk14@gmail.com. ... Last physician in emergency medicine at Massachu-
moved back to Ohio in February of this year after
November, Erin (Collins) Soroosh walked down setts General Hospital. In his “very little free
being out of state for five years. Also welcoming
the aisle at JCU with many of our classmates in time,” he is completing a Master of Health
children are a number of first-time parents from
attendance, including Julie Worthington, Blythe Professions Education at the University of Illinois
our class: Jason and MaryAnn (Vizmeg) Dale
(Fuller) Hronek and Jimmy Hronek ’01, Shaena at Chicago. Rami plans to return to Northeast Ohio
welcomed Elena Noelle on Dec. 9, 2008. Elena
(Welsh) Miller, Megan Cannell, Kerry Gallagher, in July 2009 to start the first medical simulation
weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 inches. Ann
Kristin (Oswick) Bergen and Zach Bergen ’97, fellowship in the Midwest. ... This is an excerpt of
(Dolgan) Potter and her husband welcomed
Sheryl Strell, Annie Reape, Janey (Price) Ames. an article submitted regarding Rev. Benson
Katherine Ann on July 29, 2008. And Brett and
Erin now works for John Carroll as a regional Okpara: When St. Benedict Catholic Church [in
Jane (Howarth) Vogelsberger welcomed their
director in Chicago on both alumni relations and Canton, OH] was built in 1923, it was to serve the
first child as well, Mary Cathleen, on Dec. 15,
admissions. ... April Dawn Protzik married Ernest spiritual needs of the surrounding community’s
2008. Mary Cate weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. ... Congratu-
Richard Hollenbeck on Sept. 20, 2008, at St. mostly-Spanish population ... St. Benedict’s
lations to Meghan Downs, who married Chris
Ursula Church in Allison Park, PA. Since graduat- founding parishioners could not have envisioned
Weber on Oct. 3, 2008, in Chicago. ... Emily
ing from John Carroll, April earned her physician the changes that would result in their parish being
(DeWitt) McManamon updated us on her life
assistant degree as a graduate of Chatham served by a priest from Nigeria. But the Rev.
since graduation. Emily married Brian McManamon
University. Her husband is employed at Pittsburgh Benson Okpara’s presence is indicative of
and lives in the West Park area of Cleveland. Emily
Children’s Hospital in ER Trauma. The couple calls Catholicism’s commitment to missions in places
and Brian have two children, Lucy (4) and Tommy
Allison Park home. ... Remember, our Reunion is such as Africa, an effort which now is reaping
(2). Emily teaches fifth and sixth grade at
June 19-21, 2009. If you’d like to be on the class rewards for the American church, which is
Archbishop Lyke School. ... Be sure to send us
committee, contact Carla Gall ’05, reunion experiencing a severe shortage of priests. A native
your updates if we haven’t heard from you in a
coordinator - cgall@jcu.edu - 216.397.1595. JCU of Orlu-Imo State, Nigeria, the tall and easygoing
while, and remember, you can send us both
Connect - http://jcu.imodules.com/s/566/index. Okpara has just completed his first year as a
messages via e-mail and Facebook. Have fun
aspx - is a great source for reunion information as parish priest. He also serves St. Mary’s parish in
and keep us informed ... Clare and Lisa
well as class specific information. I hope to see Canton. Okpara came to the United States in 1999
many of you this summer on campus. Meanwhile, to study at John Carroll University, where he
let me know what’s new to you! Meg earned a master’s degree in education. Once

SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 43

ALUMNI JOURNAL
Members of the Class of 2001 gather at Jillian (Valerius) Shute’s wedding. Front, from left, are
Marla Marino, Julie (Zone) Andolina, Jillian (Valerius) Shute, Traci Sybelnik, and Nichole Giannios.
Back, from left, are Adam Andolina, Mike Case, Erica Taylor, and Ernie Zayicek. The groom,
Matt Shute, is not in the photo.
here, Okpara was assigned to the Diocese of
Youngstown “on loan” by his bishop in
Nigeria...“The only difficulty people have is with
my accent,” he said with a smile. Okpara clearly
relishes his role as a priest of two parishes, albeit
it a taxing one. “It’s a lot of work,” he said. “The
best part is when people are in celebration or in
sorrow, knowing that I’m there for them; it’s being
another ‘Christ’ in the midst of God’s people, to
minister to them and to pray for them. The
hardest part is the demand. I’m doing now what
used to be done by three, four, or five people.”
“He’s a wonderful person, a wonderful priest, a
wonderful human being,” said Marlene Chipko,
parish council president. “He’s got a lot of spirit.
It’s wonderful to see his enthusiasm for the
parish. The kids love him, which is terrific,
obviously, because they’re the church’s future.” ...
Please continue to send updates about you and
your friends. May you cherish the magnificence of
every moment. Maureen
‘02
Kristen (Muoio) McVean
585-259-3955
jcuclassof2002@gmail.com
Jacquie Moncrief is living in Cleveland and
celebrates her seventh anniversary at Clear
Channel Radio in May. She is promotion director
for WMJI Majic 105.7, WGAR 99.5, and WMVX
Mix 106.5. ... Ryan and Jennifer (Schmidt) Wise
married Oct. 18, 2008, in Newport Beach, CA, and
live in Seal Beach. Jennifer is an assistant director
at California State University, Long Beach, and
Ryan is a chef at the Huntington Beach Hilton
Waterfront Hotel. ... Becky Bash works in
development for Cleveland Public Theatre. She
lived in Salt Lake City for two years doing the
same type of work for a nonprofit health care
clinic for the homeless. ... Charles Chaney lives in
Seven Hills, OH. He’s just started a job trading
networking equipment for ISP Trader. Previously,
44 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
partner for IBM. They recently spent a week
vacationing in London, and are enjoying skiing
almost every weekend. ... Kate Gaul lives in
Columbus, OH, and works for Microsoft as a
strategic engagement manager. On weekends
she travels to visit friends. ... In June, Krissy
Gasbarre returned from a year in Italy with Carrie
Linn. She is a freelance writer for national and
digital publications. She auditioned in December
to be a host on QVC! ... Brett and Jennifer
(Ginnetti) Claxon have been living in Akron/
Canton for five years. Jennifer is a division director
for Robert Half International in Akron. They
welcomed their first son, Noah Michael, in April.
He is a joy and keeps them very busy! ... Jamie
Andrews is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.
He and his wife, Erin, moved to Savannah, GA,
and Jamie is starting physician assistant school at
South University. They are expecting their first
child in June. ... Megan (Macho) and Frank
Percaciante were married Dec. 16, 2005, and just
had their first little one, Mia. Frank is the divisional
controller for Garland Industries. Megan finished
her master’s and is an occupational therapist at
Cleveland Clinic’s Euclid Hospital. ... Michael and
Stephanie (Hahlen) Dailey married July 12.
Stephanie is a kindergarten teacher in Austintown
Schools. ... Take care, and send me your updates!
Kristen
he worked for a plastics recycling company for six
‘03
years. Las Vegas has become a second home to
Theresa (Jurak) Polachek
him. ... Nick Lytle is living in Denver and working jcu2003@hotmail.com
for Guardian Life Insurance Company as a
disability income specialist. He is thoroughly
enjoying everything Colorado has to offer. ...
Thanks for all the news this time around! Here’s
Jessie Trimmer ’03 is also living in Denver, and is
what’s new: Kristin (Cipriani) Bender sent a note
a community relationship manager at the
about her wedding to Dan Bender, which was
American Cancer Society. She just purchased a
Sept. 27 at St. Patrick Church in Erie, PA. Fellow
house, and is getting married this June in New
alumni in attendance were Matt Zajac ’05, Tiffany
York. ... Kevin and Katie (Barnum) Brzezinski live
Brick ’05, Steve and Kristy (DePretis) Bowman,
in Rochester, NY, where Kevin is a real estate
Kelsey Knarr, Aaron Carino, Colleen (Bender)
attorney with Dollinger Associates. Katie is an HR
Shelly ’96, John Bender, Colleen Cain ’04, Jarrod
Members of the Class of 2003 celebrate at Sarah (Navratil) Traven’s wedding. Front, from left,
are Jeffrey Freeman, Amey O’Donnell, Stacey Perkins, Sarah (Navratil) Traven, and Laura (Wray)
Bromwich. Back, from left, are Tony and Katie (Jackson) Hollis, Tracy Hobbs, Beth Grzybowski,
Carrie Poleski, Brooke (Cuevas) Novak, Terri (May) Woodall.

West, Paul ’04 and Katie (Sullivan) Murphy ’04. ...
Philip and Sarah Navratil Traven were married
Labor Day weekend in Chicago. Sarah wrote that
there were a lot of alums present: Tony and Katie
(Jackson) Hollis, Tracy Hobbs, Beth Grzy-
bowski, Carrie Poleski, Brooke (Cuevas) Novak,
Terri (May) Woodall, Jeffrey Freeman, Amey
O’Donnell, Stacey Perkins, and Laura (Wray)
Bromwich. ... Kristin (Rasmussen) Barry wrote
that she and her husband, Patrick ’04, welcomed
baby girl Madelyn Grace on June 21, 2008. The
family is living in Charlotte, NC, and both Patrick
and Kristin work for Deloitte as senior auditors.
... Rhodora (Donley) Huffmyer welcomed her
second child, Brynne Lee, on Aug. 27. Rhodora
wrote that big brother adores her and both mom
and dad love having two children. ... Scott ’01 and
Audrey (Balbaugh) Embacher happily welcomed
a baby boy, Fasika (1) who they greeted in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 23. They are happy to
begin their family through the miracle of adop-
tion! ... Janine (Rendano) Novick married Todd
Novick on June 7, 2008, in Youngstown, OH.
Her matron of honor was her sister Tori Rendano
Nook ’00. In attendance from our class were Katie
Gannon, Gina Nardone, Valarie Vukelic, and
Sarah Rodak. Janine works as a commercial real
estate broker with CB Richard Ellis in Naples, FL.
... Jen Gardner wrote with exciting news – she’s
engaged to Alan Skerl and is planning an October
2009 wedding. ... Keith and Gabrielle (Savitski)
Allman were married Oct. 11, 2008, in Akron, OH.
Gabrielle wrote it was a beautiful day and that they
celebrated with a reception outside their home in
Medina. She is currently managing an East Side
Target store. ... Jaime (McKay) O’Connor wrote
that she and Ryan ’01 welcomed their third child,
Patrick Hugh O’Connor in October. ... Jerome
Moschetta has accepted a position as assistant
district attorney for Washington County, Washing-
ton, PA. He is the 10th member of his immediate
family to join the legal profession, including his
grandfather, father, uncles, and cousins. ... And
last but not least, Melissa Hoppert is engaged!
Congratulations to all! Take care, Theresa
‘04
Paul Clapp
440-796-4947
pclapp04@jcu.edu
REUNION YEAR
Hello, I hope everyone is getting ready for our
Reunion this summer. If you want to get caught
up on all the “moving and shaking” before we get
together, check out all class columns dating back
to graduation at www.jcu.edu/alumni/johncarroll-
magazine/. My last column didn’t make it to print,
so I apologize for any “dated” news in this issue.
Jessica (Franck) and Erik McKay were married
on Aug. 9, 2008. Their wedding party was filled
with plenty of Carroll grads including: Theresa
Spada, Emilie Alesnik Lucia, Natalie Alesnik,
Jaime McKay O’Connor ’03, Nick Kishmarton,
and Kevin Soucek ’05. Aimee Bragle and Andy
Weidl of Pittsburgh became engaged in Septem-
ber and are hoping to plan a 2009 wedding. Jackie
Eaton and Adam Lytle of Conneaut, OH, were
engaged in October and will be getting married
late fall 2009. Jeffrey Miller and Meghan Kelly
were married May 10, 2008, at Traders Point
Christian Church in Whitestown, IN. Cheryl Tanko
and Kevin Snell announced their engagement.
Cheryl is employed as an accountant for Pricewa-
terhouseCoopers in Cincinnati. Dana DelSignore
and John Garber will be married May 30 at John
Carroll, which should be a beautiful spring
wedding on campus. ... Class comedian, Adam
Duale, accepted a new position and moved to
Seattle. ... Gina Edgehouse took a position
teaching fourth grade at St. Mel in Cleveland while
Stephanie Tomko graduated from Cleveland
State University with her MBA. ... Melissa Smith
accepted a ministry role and headed to Somalia
fall 2008. ...... Since graduation, Brendan Verner
has been very active within the Cleveland Indians
organization. Recently he was announced as the
strength and conditioning coach of the Columbus
Clippers, an Indians affiliate. Verner spent the last
two seasons assisting strength and conditioning
coach Tim Maxey in Cleveland and also served in
Akron for part of 2007. He previously served in a
similar capacity for Mahoning Valley (2006) and
Lake County (2005). This is his sixth season with
the Indians organization. He earned a master’s
degree in exercise science from Cleveland State
University in 2007. ... Lou Grasso and his wife,
Brooke, just celebrated the birth of first son
Dominic Thomas Grasso on Nov. 13, 2008. Nick
Kishmarton and wife Shannon are expecting their
first child in June (right around Reunion). ... Sara
Fox is teaching third grade at an inner city charter
school and loves it. She has been there for four
years and just this year was promoted to lead third
grade teacher, where she is responsible for four
teachers. ... And it has been a while since I’ve
given an update about myself. I just started back
at Carroll to earn my master’s in education. I’ve
been coaching wrestling at Kirtland High School
for two years and love it. ... Again a reminder -- our
first ever Reunion is quickly approaching. Mark
your calendars now for June 19-21, 2009, to catch
up with old friends at the biggest party of the year.
Friday night is Vegas night, which should be a lot
of fun. Check out JCU Connect or our Facebook
group for updates. Our goal is to have the best
attendance for a five-year class. This is one Carroll
tradition you don’t want to miss! Contact Theresa
Spada - tspada@jcu.edu - or Carla Gall ’05 - cgall@jcu.
edu - for more information or to get involved. Paul
‘05
Jennifer Tolhurst
jtolhurst04@jcu.edu
Thanks to everyone who sent updates. I’ve
enjoyed reading about all of you, and I hope
everyone else will, too: It’s been a busy year for
Jim and Jen (Bakisae) Schalmo. They were
married in July 2007 at John Carroll University,
welcomed their daughter, Lily, in mid-April, and
bought a house in Stow. Jen is also working
toward her statistics master’s at the University of
Akron while working at FirstEnergy. Jim works as
a lab tech at the Cleveland Clinic. ... Julie Guyer
recently moved to Florida and landed a job
teaching fifth grade in Ormond Beach. She gets to
cross the intercoastal bridge over the ocean every
morning on her way to work. Can’t beat that
commute! ... Sean and Beth (Kovach) Kennedy
were married on June 18, in an intimate ceremony
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Jim and Jen (Bakisae) Schalmo’s ’05 daughter, Lily.
on the beach in Sandestin, FL, and then celebrat-
ed with an Ohio reception. Beth received her
master’s in education and finished the educational
specialist program at Kent State University and is
now a school psychologist in Canton. They live in
Broadview Heights. ... Mary Tonti ’06 finished her
M.A. in math education at Carroll this summer and
is teaching algebra at St. Leo Elementary School in
Cleveland. She also tells me that Matt Gromek
recently fled Cleveland to enjoy the sunshine and
teach sixth grade in Phoenix. ... Elizabeth
Scheurman is in her fourth year of teaching fifth
grade in Euclid. She also got engaged on July 25
to Derek Mattson. They have known each other
since childhood -- met as kids at a Soap Box
Derby. Derek proposed to Elizabeth at the Soap
Box Derby world championships. (I’d like to
nominate these two for my unofficial cutest
how-we-met and proposal stories.) The wedding
will be July 9, 2010. ... Scott and Jessica
(McCarty) Huff married September 20 and
currently reside on the West Side. Jessica is an
auditor and CPA with Progressive Insurance in
Mayfield Village. ... Jessica Hackman and Tim
Weidel were married June 28 in Chicago and
enjoyed hosting many alums at their wedding.
Jessica works at Metropolitan Family Services,
providing therapy to adoptive families. Tim is at
Loyola University and this spring is beginning work
on his doctoral dissertation in philosophy, along
with teaching a couple of classes. ... Joe ’06 and
Ellen (Mathews) Divers were married August 16
in Pittsburgh. ... Carla Gall is the reunion
coordinator in the Alumni Relations Office at
Carroll. I’m sure we’ll all be hearing a lot more
from her when it’s time for our Class Reunion in
2010 -- not as far away as you might think! ... So
now how about the rest of you -- got any news or
cute how-we-met stories? I enjoy reading both, so
let’s hear it! Jennifer
‘06
Christine Bohn
440-668-8210
Cbohn06@jcu.edu
Roberta Muoio
330-284-7722
rmuoio06@jcu.edu
We hope that everyone had a blessed start to the
New Year. Our fellow classmates had some great
achievements in 2008. Mary Cichanski wrote that
she, along with fellow classmates Sarah Denney,
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 45
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Milko Cecez, Fadi Boumitri, Steve McIntosh,
Grace Doberdruk, and Kevin Wood, are all
graduating from the Cleveland-Marshall College of
Law on May 17, 2009, with a Juris Doctor. They
will also sit for the July 2009 bar exam. Good luck!
... There are many engagements to announce:
Sarah Denney and CJ Dolak were engaged in
February and are planning their wedding for Aug.
1, 2009. Angi Lokaj is engaged to Nate Moss ’08
and is planning a May wedding. Anita Brahm and
Patrick Mallott were engaged this summer and
are planning a July wedding. Katie Steinacker is
engaged to Neil Frohnapple, and they will be
married in May. Kim Petro is engaged to Brian
Knall, and they are planning a July wedding.
She teaches English and is planning a workshop
on air quality. She says hi to everyone from Carroll
and hopes to hear news from others soon. Rory
O’Neil is also doing service. He is currently
working on the Cyprus island for an American
charity called PeacePlayers International. The
program uses the game of basketball to bring
children from divided communities together. The
basic idea is that if children can learn to play
together, then they can learn to live together. He
currently works with Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-
Cypriot communities. ... Please remember to
e-mail us with updates. We love to hear from you!
Peace, Christine and Roberta
wedding to Matthew Ursick at St. Mary Magdalene
Parish in Willowick, OH. ... Joe Rich is in his
second year of law school at The University of
Akron. In October, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland
appointed Joe to The University of Akron Board of
Trustees to serve as a student trustee. ... Adrienne
Clark ’06 is working for Libra Industries as a
program manager, managing customer products in
Mentor, OH. Adrienne recently got engaged to
Nick Greene, and they are planning a fall 2010
wedding. ... Betsy Rafferty is currently teaching in
the Alliance for Catholic Education Program at the
University of Notre Dame. In this two-year service
program, Betsy teaches at an under-resourced
Catholic High School in Montgomery, AL, while

‘07
Congratulations! ... Karen Harmeyer continues to
Lisa Iafelice
serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay. liafelice07@jcu.edu
Brittany Bush
bbush07@jcu.edu
REUNION YEAR - first time ever
Are you looking for a way to get together with all
your Carroll friends? JCU will be inviting our class
to the first-ever 2-year Reunion June 19-21, 2009.
Join the Facebook group JCU Class of 2007-2-year
Reunion, share your ideas for the weekend and
stay informed as to what will be planned for our
class. If you are interested in taking part in the
planning and want to be on a committee, please
contact Carla Gall ’05, reunion coordinator - cgall@
jcu.edu - or 216.397.1592. ... Tim Slivka and Erin
Kobrinski were recently engaged; their wedding
will be at Carroll on July 10, 2010. They are living in
New England and both working for pharmaceutical
also earning a Master of Education from UND. ...
Tricia Stege recently became engaged to Kevin
Panek ’06. Tricia is a financial analyst at The
Lubrizol Corporation and working toward her MBA
at John Carroll. Kevin has earned his Master of
Education from Carroll, specializing in school
psychology. He is completing an internship for the
program. ... Melissa Eucker recently became
engaged to Chris Kulbago ’06, and their wedding is
set for Aug. 1, 2009. Melissa obtained a position as
a benefits coordinator with Jones Day in July 2008.
... Chrissy Pratt is currently working as a pharma-
ceutical sales rep in Silicon Valley and graduated
with an M.A. in bioethics from Case Western
Reserve last May. ... Another Carroll couple,
Leanne D’Apolito and Tom Miller, were recently
engaged. ... If you haven’t done so, join the JCU
2007 class column group on Facebook to send us
updates for the column. Lisa and Brittany

‘08
companies -- Tim is with Eli Lilly and Co. and Erin MJ LaPerch
Abbott Laboratories. ... Megan Beatty ’06 is mjlaperch@gmail.com
recently engaged and planning her March 2010
Tim Slivka and Erin Kobrinski, both Class of 2007.

The Carroll Fund

Your gift to The Carroll Fund provides immediate support for
University-funded scholarships and programs. Most importantly,
The Carroll Fund supports our greatest asset – John Carroll
students. We need your help so that our students can continue The Carroll Fund
to pursue their dream of a university education. John Carroll University
Now more than ever, every dollar matters. Many of your classmates 20700 North Park Boulevard
have responded. Please make your gift using our secure online form University Heights, Ohio 44118
at www.jcu.edu/givetojcu or with the envelope in this magazine. www.jcu.edu/givetojcu
Your gift will benefit current students immediately.

46 John Carroll university SPRING 2009

IN MEMORIAM
Jerard T. Mulvihill ’42 7/11/2008
Francis J. Voiner ’42 4/10/2008
Joseph W. Kolp ’44 1/19/2009
John R. Lavelle ’44 12/25/2008
Edward C. O’Connor ’44 11/4/2008
Robert J. Pfeil ’45 11/11/2008
Joseph P. Osborne ’48 11/9/2008
Robert G. Ponikvar ’49 8/11/2008
Raymond T. Chay ’50 1/16/2009
Edward C. Hawkins ’50 1/4/2009
Rev. Francis P. Lihvar, S.J. ’50, prof. emeritus 1/8/2009
Edmund L. Wick ’51 12/1/2008
Raymond F. Wiemer ’51 12/21/2008
David F. Dvorak ’54 12/2/2008
Anthony J. Stefanek ’54 10/22/2008
John Patrick Davis ’55 11/10/2008
Alice T. DeWitt ’55G 12/22/2008
James D. Riccardi ’55 1/2/2009
Frank J. Moran ’56 1/11/2009
Thomas J. Kinsella ’58 11/4/2008
Raymond H. Kling ’58 12/23/2008
Rev. Edward F. Prendergast ’58 12/14/2008
Rev. Eugene A. LaVerdiere ’63G 11/20/2008
Eugene G. Smith ’63 12/23/2008
Wilbert Nichols ’67G 6/7/2008
Joseph E. Olszewski ’69 12/20/2006
Charles P. Cangialosi ’70 10/5/2008
Ruth K. Doyle ’72G 12/9/2008
Andrew J. Zelenak ’72 11/15/2008
John M. Malone Jr. ’73 1/29/2009
Richard J. Kindel ’74G 6/23/2008
John R. O’Hare ’77 11/6/2008
Betsy L. Riccardi ’77G 11/24/2008
Dorothy S. Sawyer ’82G 11/13/2000
Jeffrey W. Hunter ’91 7/10/2008
Mark Damian Sombat ’92 12/17/2008
Jody Wolfe ’93G 12/21/2008
This is the deceased list as we know it. We apologize for any omission
and ask that you please notify Joan Brosius at 216-397-4332.
ALUMNI JOURNAL
Frank P. Lihvar, S.J. ’50
Reverend Frank P. Lihvar, S.J. ’50, died on
Jan. 8, 2009, at the age of 81. 
A native Clevelander, Fr. Lihvar attended Our
Lady of Lourdes grade school and Benedictine
High School. After his discharge from the U.S. Navy
in World War II, Fr. Lihvar attended John Carroll,
where he felt he received his vocation to the Jesuits
and priesthood. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate in
Milford, Ohio, in August 1948; between his Jesuit
philosophical and theological studies at West Baden College in Indiana,
he taught at University of Detroit High School. He was ordained a priest
at West Baden College in June 1961, and, after graduate studies at the
University of Chicago, he received a doctorate in classical languages.
Fr. Lihvar taught Latin and Greek at John Carroll University from 1970
to 2000. Upon retirement, he became professor emeritus. As recently
as fall 2008, he taught a special course in Greek literature for advanced
classics majors. For many years, he served as a chaplain to the Sisters
of Notre Dame at Regina High School. He was an avid golfer, enjoyed
classical music, and was a companion to many. He is survived by his sister,
Margaret Janos, of Perry, Ohio, as well as many nephews and nieces.
James Riccardi ’55
James Riccardi ’55, of Fairview Park, Ohio,
died Jan. 2, 2009. A musician and renowned
cinematographer, Mr. Riccardi was behind the
camera for some 2,000 commercials, feature
films, music videos, television programs, and
other projects throughout his lifetime.
Born in Lakewood, Ohio, Mr. Riccardi entered into
St. Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati before transfer-
ring to John Carroll. He graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in social sciences. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he
was placed in the 8th Division band.
After his service in Europe, Mr. Riccardi returned to Cleveland and
played piano and accordion on WEWS-TV’s The Apple Show. In 1972,
Mr. Riccardi was hired at Cleveland’s public television station, WVIZ-TV,
where he worked on the children’s program Inside/Out, for which he won a
national Emmy. Other projects included work with HBO, The Daily Show, the
Discovery Channel, and Seinfeld. He won recognition from Steven Spielberg
and a global award for documenting the stories of Holocaust survivors.
In 2000, he completed a pilgrimage to France to retrace the steps of
Joan of Arc, for whom he had a faith-based and scholarly devotion.
Jim Riccardi is survived by his wife, Martha; 10 children;
five grandchildren; and a sister.
Edward F. Prendergast ’58
Reverend Edward F. Prendergast ’58 died on
Dec. 14, 2008, after receiving the prayerful
support and consolation of the Sacraments.
Edward Francis Prendergast was born on July
18, 1926, in Lakewood, Ohio. He attended Saint
Clement Elementary School, Saint Ignatius High
School, Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, and Saint
Mary Seminary in Cleveland. On April 28, 1951,
Fr. Prendergast was ordained into the Diocese of
Cleveland by Bishop Edward F. Hoban.
After ordination, Fr. Prendergast served as an assistant at Saint Luke
Parish from 1951 to 1956. He was then transferred to Saint Henry
Parish in Cleveland. After a brief time, he was appointed a faculty
member at Borromeo Seminary. In 1971, he was named vice rector of
Borromeo Seminary High School. Two years later, he became pastor of
Saint Christopher Parish in Rocky River, where he served until his
retirement as pastor emeritus on July 1, 1997.
SPRING 2009 John Carroll university 47
MY TURN
Picture Perfect
T
raditionally, the My Turn page in John Carroll
magazine is a forum for first-person essays by
members of the Carroll community. For this
issue, we feature senior Alyson Werner, who expresses her
viewpoint in a different way – through a photograph.
Ms. Werner took this photo, “Colori,” in Italy, while
paricipating in the John Carroll study abroad program
at Vatican City in December 2007. The photograph
shows Vernazza, one of five towns in Cinque Terre, in
northwestern Italy. Vernazza sits on the Ligurian Sea. A
religious studies and sociology major from Hudson, Ohio,
Ms. Werner entered her photo last semester in the Study
Abroad Photo Contest, sponsored by the University’s
Center for Global Education. “Colori” was one of a
number of striking pieces chosen for display in the main
lobby of Grasselli Library.
About the photo, Ms. Werner says, “A few friends and
I took a trip to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre means ‘five
48 John Carroll university SPRING 2009
lands’ in Italian and includes five beautiful towns. The
towns are within miles of each other and are linked by a
12-mile hiking trail and a train. We arrived in the first
town at 5 a.m. to learn that the trains were not running
because of a strike – not uncommon in Italy. So we walked
from town to town, up and down the mountain each time
– a total of 12 miles. We took a lot of pictures in between.”
Ms. Werner is among scores of Carroll students who
study abroad every year through programs administered
by the Center for Global Education. Last year, 111
students participated in semester programs around the
world. Another 119 students traveled for short-term
programs during academic breaks and over the summer.
The former number has remained stable while the
latter has been steadily rising. Among the most popular
destinations are Rome, London, and Mexico. For more
information about study abroad programs at John Carroll,
visit www.jcu.edu/global/study/index.htm.
Carroll
Images of

Can you identify anyone in these photos?

We’d like to know!
Please e-mail us at journal@jcu.edu.
 20700 North Park Boulevard
University Heights, Ohio 44118-4520
www.jcu.edu

If you receive duplicate copies of

John Carroll magazine, or a copy
for your son or daughter who has
established a separate permanent
address, please notify us
at journal@jcu.edu or 216-397-4332.

Reunion2009
June 19-21, 2009
For more information, visit
JCU Connect at www.jcu.edu/jcuconnect.
• Register by June 1 for
early-bird pricing
• Friday is Vegas Night! All Greater
Cleveland-area alumni welcome
• Sunday is Father’s Day – celebrate
with a special brunch complete
with entertainment