Class Notes

1957 Bob Mumford sends a photo of himself wearing the traditional Bhutanese robe called a “gho” and a description of the trip he took last spring with his fiancée, Christine Smith, to the Himalayan country of Bhutan to photograph its mountain scenery and wildlife. They drove from India with their Bhutanese guide, entering Bhutan at Samdrup Jongkhar, and traveled the country’s sole east-west highway all the way west to Paro, which has the only international airport. Bob writes: “Highlights included visiting the magnificent Punakha ‘Dzong’ (built in 1637); photographing one of the most beautiful birds in the world, the Himalayan monal at the Tharpaling Monastery; and watching elaborately dressed dancers at the spring festival in Paro. We also ate a picnic breakfast above the clouds at 12,500 feet elevation. While I was disappointed by the lack of snakes, Christine was delighted.”

1960 Eugene Nicandri, a retired St. Lawrence County judge and a trustee of the New York Power Authority, was honored by NYPA as the namesake of its new Eugene L. Nicandri Nature Center at Robert Moses State Park in Massena. The $12 million, 9,500-square-foot facility will provide science and nature education in indoor and outdoor settings for the public. Eugene is vice chair of the NYPA’s board of trustees and a longtime Massena community leader who championed the effort to build the new center, which was constructed with green-building design features to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

1961 Joyce Wolfe Hoffer (see ’63 Medicine and Dentistry).

1962 Karl Roth, a professor and former chair of the pediatrics department at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska, coedited the second edition of the book Pediatric Endocrinology and Inborn Errors of Metabolism (McGraw-Hill), first published in 2009.

1963 Karen Dahl sends a photograph and a challenge: “A group of women from the class of ’63 has met at my summer home on Cape Cod for a weekend ‘reunion’ each June for the past 14 years. I am attaching a photo of a part of this year’s group. Not everyone was there when this photo was taken. Pictured are Jeanne Torre, Janet Baker Jennison, Karen Lieber Dahl, Carol Munch, Judy McElroy Darweesh, Anne Stillman Brown, Carolyn Curtis Gelderman, Barbaralee Bank Milon, Barbara Murabito Crellin, Cindy Parsons Brown, Helen Calhoun Jaeger, and Lynne Trimby Kroner. Also part of the festivities, but not in the photo, were Eileen Cahill Cowley, Kathleen Rafferty Dunn, and Susan Everett Makowski. The fact that the names of the people in the photo are not in any particular order is for the entertainment of our classmates. Who can match the pictures with the names?”

1964 Thomas (Mike) McFarland has published a historical novel, Donnybrook (Bootstrap Publishing). Set during the Civil War, it tells the story of the New York City Police Department and the Draft Riots of 1863 from the vantage point of Patrick Kavanaugh, an Irish immigrant and member of the police force. Mike is the former president of the Rochester Civil War Roundtable and lives with his wife, Nicki, in Albion, New York.

1966 Richard Saddlemire ’68W (MA) has written a novel, Fracking Dinosaurs: The Cayuga Lake Disaster (Freisen Press), under the pseudonym Dalton Mire.

1967 Jeanne Tapp Ozols ’70W (MA) hosted a minireunion at her home in New Hope, Pennsylvania, for her Wilder 610 suitemates. Jeanne writes that they have seen each other over the years, but this reunion was a special celebration including “lots of laughter, pool time, remembrances, and late-night euchre on the porch.” They hope to reunite on campus for their class reunion in October. Pictured from left to right are Jeanne, Alice Hammond Doyle, Linda Lindquist Hewitt, and Susie Quick Rice.

1968 Ed Wetschler, Caribbean editor of Recommend magazine, won the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Inner Circle Media Award for his December feature, “Trending Now in the Caribbean.” He writes that most of his forecasts “are proving true, but the outlook for Cuba could get . . . interesting.”

1970 Nancy Heller Cohen ’70N writes that her third title, Murder by Manicure, in her Bad Hair Day Mystery series (Orange Grove Press), is now available as an audiobook.

1972 Carl Schwait was awarded the Florida Bar’s G. Kirk Haas Humanitarian Award. He recently stepped down from the Florida Bar’s board of governors, where he represented the lawyers and judges of north central Florida for 12 years. Carl remains on the faculty of the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainesville, where he teaches trial practice and mediation advocacy. He also continues to work as a mediator in civil cases throughout Florida. Carl and his wife, Anna, have two daughters and three grandchildren.

1976 Donna Matles Markell, retired from teaching public school French and Spanish for 37 years, is a certified yoga teacher and Yoga Calm youth instructor and teacher trainer. She sends a photo of herself doing a yoga practice with Tao Porchon Lynch, whom Donna calls “a phenomenal teacher and practitioner who had the distinction of turning 99” in June.

1979 Christopher Gribbin was installed as the 225th president of the Medical Society of New Jersey—founded in 1766—at its annual meeting in May. He has been an active member of the society for more than 20 years and served on its board of trustees beginning in 2010. Christopher practices diagnostic and interventional radiology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter’s University Hospital, where he has taught medical students, residents, and fellows for more than 25 years. He also serves as a clinical associate professor of radiology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

1980 Jane Bernzweig shares a photo she captions “Yellowjackets kickbox, but not in the Albany you think,” of herself with Ed Luby ’82 after a kickboxing class in Albany, California. She writes, “We are friends, living in the same community, having raised families. We just realized we both went to the U of R.” . . . Michael Blaire was named a fellow of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists. He is the CEO and founder of Diamondback Drugs in Scottsdale, Arizona, which specializes in veterinary compounding.

1982 Laura Gasparrini has published her fourth book, Earth & Elegance: A Bohemian’s Guide to Creating Artisan Leather Jewelry, Volume 2 (Om Tara). Laura is founder and designer at Om Tara, and the inventor of the patented Om Tara Crimping Pliers. . . . Ed Luby (see ’80).

1983 Hope Shapiro Lilian sends a photo of herself (far right) with her suite mates, Lori Tannenbaum Solano, Jennifer Pekale Schulman, and Jill Segal Toporek (see photo, page 54). Hope writes: “We have remained close friends since freshman year and recently enjoyed an evening together at the Pierre Hotel [in New York] at an alumni gathering.”

1984 Nancy Peckham Niemi ’01W (PhD), director of faculty teaching initiatives at Yale University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, has published a book, Degrees of Difference: Women, Men, and the Value of Higher Education (Routledge).

1986 Paul Hillman sends a photo and news of his promotion in May to colonel in the US Air Force Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps (see photo, page 54).

1987 Sam Guerrieri has joined Canandaigua National Bank & Trust (CNB) as executive vice president. He has worked in the financial industry for more than 25 years, holding several executive positions, most recently as president and CEO of M&T Securities.

1989 Anne Merton ’89N, Dawn Tudryn Piciacchio, Laura Hales Soliman, Maryann Leone Maidat, Amy Sinensky Rosenfeld, and Jennifer Traylor Kruschwitz ’95 (MS) reunited to celebrate their 50th birthdays together. The former suitemates of Slater 430 “descended upon New York City for a whirlwind weekend walking the High Line and seeing a Broadway show, with lots of laughter and Rocky in tow,” Anne writes.

1992 Risa Greene Boerner chairs the data security and workplace privacy group at the law firm Fisher Phillips, which was named among the top in the nation, according to recent survey results published in the annual report BTI Law Firms Best at Cybersecurity 2017. Risa is a partner in the firm’s Philadelphia office. . . . Philip Nel has published a book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books (Oxford University Press). He holds the title University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. . . . Michael Wenger joined the New York City–based law firm Otterbourg as counsel in the firm’s banking and finance practice. Before that he was general counsel with Rosenthal & Rosenthal, a privately owned factoring and finance company.

1995 Joseph Mastrosimone was granted tenure and promoted to full professor of law at Washburn University’s law school and will serve as the school’s associate dean for academic affairs. Joe continues to write in the areas of labor and employment law and the ethics of legal writing. His most recent article, “Benchslaps,” was published in the Utah Law Review. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Gina, and their three children, Zachary, 12, Katie, 9, and Ryan, 8.

1996 Christa Tinari coauthored a book, Create a Culture of Kindness in Middle School: 48 Character-Building Lessons to Foster Respect and Prevent Bullying (Free Spirit). She writes that her passion for education, peace, and justice have informed her work at public and private schools and youth-serving organizations for nearly 20 years. She welcomes the opportunity to partner with Rochester alumni who are interested in bringing bullying prevention and social-emotional skills training to their school or workplace. She can be reached on the website Peacepraxis.com. . . . Chris Webb sends a wedding announcement and photo: “I married my partner of six years, Alfredo Justo, in a small ceremony under a painted maple tree at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, on a beautiful day in July 2016. A larger celebration followed in August on yet another gorgeous day at Allis State Park in Brookfield, Vermont. Isabel Hernandez-Cata, Steve Markofsky, Brett Dreyer, Jeff Suszczynski, and Manish Saha attended, and it was a great minireunion! The photo is of us livin’ it up in downtown Montpelier, Vermont, the following day.”

2004 Chris ’06S (MBA) and Grace Vangeison Johnston ’09M (PhD) welcomed their second daughter in April. Chris writes, “Oliana May is the newest future Yellowjacket!” They live in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

2005 Erin Bressler (see ’07).

2006 Daniel Etlinger and his wife, Tabitha, welcomed their second child, Orion Nachumbear Etlinger—with the initials ONE, Daniel points out. He adds that he and classmate Christopher Widowski ’07 “were victorious over fellow Theta Chi alumni Alex Geringer and Ajay Makhija in a recent rooftop death-match Pong game.”

2007 Pooja Rawal sends this update: “I joined the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct as an attorney and also got married in February. My matron of honor, Erin Bressler ’05, was my big sister in my sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. She is directly to the left of me in the photo. My brother, Sagar Rawal ’08, was the best man.” . . . Christopher Widowski (see ’06).

2008 Sagar Rawal (see ’07).

2011 Courtney Legg ’12W (MS) and Craig Baumgartner were married at Lourdes Camp in Skaneateles, New York. Pictured are (bottom, left to right) Lia Weiner, Dan Chebot ’09, Jason Zayac ’12, Erin Crossett, and Maggie Stevenson; and (top row, left to right) Tyle Stelzig, Donald Polaski, Jonathan Pinto, Matt Metz ’13, Andy Byrd, Craig, Courtney, John Christopher Legg ’80, Jenna Hoeler ’07, Joe Lust ’08, Brian Thomson ’11, ’12 (MS), Pat Hughes ’08, Philip Rihm ’13, and Marek Slipski.”

2012 Catherine Marando writes that she and Andrew Hagar were married in June (see photo, page 58). Pictured from left to right are Patrick Messmer ’10, Kaitlin Holden Messmer, Zack Milstone, Nina DeSoi ’14N, Andrew, Catherine, Kaitlyn Brady, Jaclyn Inglis, Chris Schmitt ’14 (MS), and Cassandra Gorman.

2014 Sarah Skinner writes that she and Shawn Burke got engaged in October 2016 and plan to return to Rochester to get married in October 2018 (see photo, page 58). Sarah and Shawn met in 2012 while working at the Goergen Athletic Center. They live in Urbana, Illinois, with their two dogs and are both pursuing graduate degrees in exercise physiology.

2015 Renee Smith and Alex Matthers were married in June at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts (see photo, page 58). Pictured from left to right are Harry Clarke ’15, ’17 (MS), Alexander Lambropoulos, Erik Roisland, Benjamin Dengler, Alex, Renee, Caitlin Topkis, Amaya Duncan ’14, Emily Michel ’17, Natalya Tausanovitch ’17, and Brittany Flittner. Renee and Alex relocated to Durham, North Carolina, just a few weeks after the wedding and report that they “are loving it.”