R Connections

Jean Kirkpatrick Lederer

239-390-1349 or 630-987-9388

j[email protected]

Dear 45th Reunion Class of 1973:

Do you feel as I do, that it cannot possibly be 45 years since we paraded down the lawn in front of the Union to get our diplomas? The years have flown by, and even though it’s been that long, many of my Ripon  memories  and friends I made there are fresh in my mind. GARY LEDERER ’72 and I treasure our Ripon friends and just recently hosted JOHN CLARK ’71 and his wife Patti here in Florida for a few days of golf. And a few days later we were again on the golf course with LINDA BRASSINGTON DANIELS ’72, and her husband Dave, and KAREN TESCHNER DORN ’72 and her husband Al. It just feels good to be with Ripon friends, and that is why I am so looking forward to our 45th Reunion on Alumni Weekend: June 21 to 24.

I hope many of you are planning on attending. Your Alumni Reunion Committee is working hard to make our Saturday night event memorable and fun. It will be a cocktail party held in the new Wilmore Center.  If you  have not seen the new health and wellness facility, you are in for a real treat! It is truly impressive. I have heard from a number of classmates who plan on being there: BRUCE CLAUTER ’73, ROB LEITSCHUH ’73,  DAVE  BUNTEN ’73, JIM STONE ’73, TIM PETERSIK ’73, DOREEN CONFORTI CHEMEROW ’73, MIKE JUNEAU ’73, KATE

PARRISH MILLER ’73, JOANN SELLECK ’73, JANE SCHORE ’73, and the list goes on. Hopefully we can add you to the list of attendees. Sign up is now available at https://www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend/. Golf on Friday morning, Awards Dinner that night, numerous events on Saturday during the day and our party in the evening. Please mark your calendars now.

As in all reunion years, our class is asked to step up our giving to the Annual Fund. Our class has been very generous in past reunion years, and I am hopeful each of you will come forward this year with a generous donation. You will, if you have not already, be hearing from DOREEN CONFORTI CHEMEROW ’73 and BILL MACLEOD ’73 regarding your gift. Our Ripon education helped each of us in our  careers and adult life, and giving to Ripon gives those coming behind us the same foundation of a great liberal arts education.

News from classmates:

JIM STONE ’73 of Brookfield, Wisconsin, sent a message via Facebook saying “I’ll be there (at the reunion) on Saturday with TIM PETERSIK ’73. We moved to 2885 N River Birch Drive Unit D, Brookfield Wisconsin, 53045, into a ranch condo. Both of our girls are at UW Milwaukee.”

I also got this message on Facebook from BLAKE  ISERMAN ’73  of Green Valley, Arizona, who writes, “I will not be at reunion. Moved to southern Arizona last fall when my wife and I retired. We are really enjoying Southwest culture – the sun and warmth aren’t bad either. I will likely travel north for part of summer and again in autumn  to bike with colors. Every day/night when I stroll outside I pinch myself and think ‘this is so nice.’ ”

ROB LEITSCHUH ’73 of Thetford Center, Vermont, writes, “I’m watching the snowfall as I write this here in Vermont. January was brutal with temperatures dipping to -22 degrees. I love Vermont but the winters are starting to wear on me. I’ll be coming to the reunion along with DAVE BUNTEN ’73 and possibly BILL MACLEOD ’73.

I’m looking forward to seeing many old Ripon friends.”

TIM PETERSIK ’73 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sent the following email “I continue to enjoy retirement living in Milwaukee,  where I meet with fellow alumni on a pretty regular  basis. Among  these are classmates JIM  STONE ’73 and JOHN FREDERICK ’73, as well as JANE RUNKEL FREDERICK  ’74. I also run  into former students of mine from Ripon pretty often. This is a good location for seeing my daughters  too. Ripon alumna TALYA PETERSIK ’10 lives in La Crosse and Korinne (a Lawrence graduate) lives in St. Paul. It’s a hop, skip, and jump to  go visit them. When I’m not socializing with folks I enjoy going to the gym to fight off aging as best I can.”

JOSEPH SANDRIN ’73 of Bayside, Wisconsin, writes, “I’m still working in Saudi Arabia with a projected end date of December 31, 2019. Retirement is planned for a few months later. I’m still diving most weekends and working on my photography skills. Janice and I celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary in December, though it would be nice if we were together more. Janice had one hip replacement in 2017 with another planned for March of this year. I will be home for the event. Our son Joe and his wife Jenny added a new granddaughter to the family in September. On the other end, our oldest granddaughter Tristin is a sophomore in high school and now receiving college brochures and planning her college search. Her twin sisters, Gwen and Cheyne will begin high school in the fall. It would be nice to make the 45th Reunion; however, the twins 8th grade graduation is June 7 and I will have to be back at work before reunion weekend. I guess I will have to wait for the 50th.”

DAVE GROSSMAN ’73 of Lunenburg,  Massachusetts, emailed  this: “Well, I guess I do have news. In  the summer of ’74, myself, AL PACH ’74, and MARK WAGNER played at the PM. I sent the recording (an old reel to reel) to a studio in Tennessee in December. They will convert the concert to CD’s. RICHARD WEBSTER ’76 recorded us.

All Riponites. We all lived in a farmhouse out on Highway 23, just outside of town. The farmhouse was torn down, but I may be able to scrounge out a picture.

RUTH ANN DELESS SEAVER ’73 of Elkhart, Indiana, writes, “JACK SEAVER ’72 and I are in Marblehead, Massachusetts as I write, welcoming our newest grandson to our family. John “Jack” Henry Seaver was born on February 6 to our son and his wife. He joins his two sisters: Grace, age 6, and Kathryn, age 15 months. We will see our  other  two grandchildren – William,  age 3,  and Molly, age 5  months – when we visit our daughter, Laura, and her husband in Indianapolis next weekend. Unfortunately, we will not be attending  our  reunion in  Ripon  this year as our youngest daughter, Tracy, is getting married in June in  Napa,  California!  We look  forward  to  hearing reports on what I know will be a fun gathering. The more our family grows, the more Jack realizes that he needs to retire. His plastics business  that he started almost  20 years ago just isn’t as fun as visiting children and  grandchildren! Fingers crossed he will sell the business this year and we can  be footloose!  We are looking  forward to visiting JACKIE FARMER ANDREWS ’73 and MARK ANDREWS ’73 early March as well as meeting Lynn and Bob Schenk in Bayfield, Wisconsin to visit Nancy

and STEVE SANDSTROM ’72. Ripon might have been small, but we sure made some lasting friendships in those four years. If anyone is on 80-90, we are at Exit 92 Elkhart and would love to see fellow Riponites… provided, of course, that we are not visiting family!

BILL MACLEOD ’73 of Washington, D.C., writes, “Here’s what I know from folks who probably haven’t

responded: Retirement is over for DAVE BUNTEN  ’73, who  has returned  to high school, as a teacher  this time. The lead for the Night crawlers (who played at our 10th reunion, I think) is never far from one of his guitars, so School of Rock II could be in the making. Dave recently saw MARK LEFENS ’74 (finished at Utah State), and the Packers last fall. DAVE and ROB LEITSCHUH ’73 have booked their rooms for the reunion. For my report: I finished my year as Chair of the Antitrust Section of the ABA, visited Ripon last August, and stopped by again this February. The town and the school look better than ever. The first road trip through Kettle Moraine reminded  me why Wisconsin is a great summer getaway. In February,  the  temps dropped  below zero, but  that didn’t stop me from running laps around the tennis courts in the fieldhouse at the Willmore Center. This is the best track in Wisconsin – better than anything UWM has to offer. We’ll be reading about NCAA events there, but first we get to enjoy it ourselves this June.”

PAT WILKE EPTING ’73 and LEX EPTING ’72 of Aransas Pass, Texas, write, “we weathered the storms of Texas. It’s been quite the winter. As lucky as we were getting through Hurricane Harvey relatively intact, repairs in South Texas are progressing slowly as everyone is in line for the same contractors. Next week will be a big week for us as they start replacing our roof and we are rounding the  bend  on  getting some  of  the interior  repairs sorted. Of course, it’s also the week  that Whitney  and kids are flying down  from  Rhode Island and joining Lexi and her  kids in a trip to Grandma and Opa’s house! We are hoping for good beach weather.  The good news is that our city, Aransas Pass is showing good progress towards hurricane  recovery.  I’m looking  forward  to having everything under control by the spring, as we plan to be in  Ripon  for the reunion and can’t wait  to reconnect with our classmates again!”

SALLY LILLARD ADAMS ’73 of Thornton, Colorado, wrote “that her youngest daughter and husband have just moved back to Colorado so both her daughters and her 4 grandchildren are within a 10 mile radius.”

MARK CONRAD ’73 of Chetek, Wisconsin, says, “Greetings to all. This ‘maturing’ in age isn’t getting any easier. I’m still teaching. I’ll become a UW-Eau Claire employee July 1, 2018. I’m also talking to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, as we are moving back to Minnesota. The house is up for sale, and we’re getting close  to sale with a nice, professional couple. One day at a time… ”

MIKE MIZEN ’73 and PEGGI SEELBACH MIZEN ’74 of Lakewood, Ohio, write “We continue to fool ourselves regarding skiing abilities every February. So far no senior olympics for us but the ability to continue to be with family remains paramount. Here we are in Snowmass, Colorado  at “Longshot”  with our  younger  daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, Joe. The fun trick about this run is a hike uphill  that approaches  a simulation  of  a cardiac stress test. But the reward is a 3.5 mile trail though some beautiful forests and trails. For the past week we have been averaging 20-30 miles per day with about  20k vertical feet as documented  on  the iPhone app. We are also getting used to the grandparents role. In April our grandson, Kael, will turn 1 year. With Alison and Trip also living in Lakewood, the ability to be with them is precious. We are undecided about the reunion. Peggi turns 65 tomorrow and we are trying to get all of the family in one location this summer. Alison is a teacher  but Jenn, Joe, and Trip have to juggle  time off. So we’re still in  the planning stages for something in Ohio or Pennsylvania  and that will take priority.”

MARIAN OSSMAN ’73 of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, says “Right now I am in Vermont skiing. I’ll be heading home tomorrow (2/10). Retirement is fabulous: I ski all winter, horseback ride weekly, sail all summer and travel in between. I won’t be able to make the reunion since we have our granddaughter for a month starting mid-June. Busy is good! You could add that I keep in touch with KAREN ‘MURPH’ LOWERY ’73, who was out in Telluride, Colorado this February and plans to hike the Grand Canyon on her way home. Also, I have recently been in contact with DANIEL MOCHALSKI ’73. Every now and then it’s a blast to jump in the Way Back Machine and reconnect with old friends!”

JAMES HAWES ’73 of Skokie, Illinois, writes, “Life has been full of activity here. Last fall, I finished a consulting

project with Team Play, an arcade games company. I’ve worked for the Team Play guys a few times before, so this was a command performance. On the contract, I composed and designed two user manuals. This time, I wrote everything in HTML. The output is a ‘single-source’ file for three applications: reproduction on the web, printing by a commercial printer, or printing on an office laser printer. The Internet version is interactive. Isn’t technology grand! Last fall, I also signed a contract with a publisher to print my book on mechanical television. Here’s the flavor of that effort, which I began in grad school: Mechanical television prototypes before the “tube” proved that television could operate. For about six years, entrepreneurs large and small attempted to market these prototypes. The Great Depression didn’t exactly help sales. But necessity is the mother of invention: some people actually built their own sets! They watched shows from various cities such as London, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. A few university hosted stations went on the air, too. (One was at my grad school University of Iowa. While there, I searched for any remnant of the station. What I didn’t know is that in the 1960s, Iowa shipped the equipment to the Smithsonian.) The medium frequencies that television then used allowed nighttime shows to “skip” across great distances. People several hundred miles from a transmitter could receive evening programs. The pictures were coarse-grained. Although they were monochrome, typical images had a sepia tone. This warm, orange tinge was favorable to flesh tones of all races. Experiments with full color and 3D produced useful results, but no marketable products. Shows consisted of Vaudeville-type acts, singers, cartoonists, and even some shadow boxing. Because of the low resolution, almost all the pictures were close-ups. But the audience was smart: the movie house down the street was cheaper. And the pictures were sharper. Plus, you never had to adjust the framing, or change the batteries. Along with my written research, I’ve built several mechanical television projects of my own. Some of these can actually put out rudimentary pictures, but everything is experimental and he apparatus is makeshift. I have much fun between electromechanical disasters. This is the only way to learn what the inventors must have encountered so many years ago. With the economy improving, a new consulting project is upcoming. Just last night, I heard that a local company approved my latest contract proposal. Perhaps my 43-year effort on the TV book might take several more years, but obviously I’m in no rush! My wife Jean retired several years ago. Maybe I’ll have to join her before I can start cranking out new chapters. By the way, she plans another wonderful garden this year. I look forward to more fresh produce!”

JAMES THOMPSON ’73 of Salem, Oregon, wrote, “James B. Thompson’s new series of artworks dealing with contemporary environmental damage, Water is Sacred: Water is Life will be exhibited as a solo show at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon this coming spring in their Atrium Gallery. The dates of the solo exhibition will be April 14 to May 13, 2018, with a preview reception scheduled for Friday, April 13 from 6-8 p.m.

Thompson describes his new art series, Water is Sacred: Water is Life in this brief  statement: Every culture  has at one time or another revered water, used it in  rituals and as part of spiritual  practice. Its significance  to early peoples can be read in the way it punctuated the landscape and how  the ancients  responded  to its absence, presence, ebb and flow. Water is considered to have healing properties and is celebrated as a source of life itself. Water must break before we are born and it is into the water we return when the boat is pushed out. Yet we waste this precious substance and put it at risk to our peril. If, in fact, water is sacred and water is life – rather than a commodity to be bought and sold – then, what on earth have we done here and what is to become of life itself?

Hopefully the images he sent along will be published…that is beyond my expertise. I sent them along to the college with the hopes they will get printed.”

Thanks, MARTY MORRIS ’73 for saying I could make something up about you! Luckily for you some more classmates came through with news after I begged, so I do not have to resort to fabrications. However, BILL MACLEOD ’73 has offered to make up gossip, so if I get no response for news for our next class letter it may be filled with his and my imaginings! Marty by the way is moving to Portland, Oregon and at his writing was shoveling snow!

DONNA JENSEN SWEET ’73 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, writes, “While the entire world seems to be retiring around me, instead my business partner and I chose to expand our business. So now Haven Interiors Ltd. has its original location in downtown Milwaukee, and a new location in Geneva, Illinois. Needless to say, days are very

busy. My son, who is 34, lives and works in LA  with his wife Daniela. And my daughter, JORDYN  SWEET ’10 (29 and a Ripon alumna) lives and works in Milwaukee. Her wedding comes up in the fall, so perhaps one of these days I will experience the joy of grand parenting, as so many of you already have.”

KATE PARISH MILLER ’73 of Richland, Michigan, says “I am definitely coming to our 45th Class Reunion in June and enjoying helping on the committee. I have become an activist for  the environment  with 350.org and  on my own. Pipeline 5, which crosses under Mackinac Bridge, is of great concern. After #45’s State of the Union  speech 350.org launched a Fossil Free Fast livestream which I co-hosted in Kalamazoo. Now to promote the right candidates for the November elections and continue to work with our Senator, Governor and Congressman. My family is all fine. Grandchildren are always a delight.”

BOB BRENNAN ’73 of Baraboo, Wisconsin, writes, “My wife, Sue Mueller retired from her position as Assistant District Attorney in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Baraboo is the county seat and also where we live. I retired a few years ago and had enough of Wisconsin winter, and so now I spend winter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. If Sue and I can stay together a couple more months, we will celebrate our 40th anniversary on April Fool’s Day, Sue’s choice of dates. I’m not sure if I will be at the reunion or not.”

KATE LUHMAN WILLIAMS ’73 of Glendale, Wisconsin, states “I don’t know if this counts as news, but I am happy to report that, after reading about my classmates’ retirements for years now, I will be retiring from my full time law practice in May. I have been with the same firm for 32 years, so I will miss the people I work with, but I am looking forward to having “free” time. I may even make it to the reunion in June. My older son is a law professor in Anaheim, so I will also be making some trips to warm and sunny Southern California.  Looking forward to it!”

The hardest part of these letters, especially now as it seems to happen more frequently, is passing on the news of classmates who have died. The death of JOHN STIERNBERG ’73 came as a shock to many of us. John was founder and president of Stiernberg Consulting. Many of us  remember  his bluegrass music from our  days on campus. Do you remember he put together a great CD of  music from our college years for our  25th  reunion?  He is survived  by his wife Jeanne, his mother and brother.

Also, RAYMOND COX ’73 of Northfield, Minnesota, died in November after a seven year battle with cancer. Ray was the owner of Northfield Construction Company. He got great satisfaction from helping create strong and beautiful homes and buildings in his community.

Thanks to everyone who stepped forward with news for this spring class letter. Obviously begging works!

Gary and I look forward to seeing many of you June 21-24 for Alumni Weekend and our 45th Reunion. It really will be a great time.

Stay healthy, be happy, and travel safe!

JEAN KIRKPATRICK LEDERER ’73

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1973

Jean Kirkpatrick Lederer ’73

239-390-1349 / 630-987-9388 / [email protected]

Dear 1973 Classmates,

Alumni Weekend is now a memory, and a wonderful memory at that! For those of you not able to attend, those of us who were there missed you. As STEVE ILLICH ’73 just wrote to me in an email: “It was a blast!”  We reminisced, caught up, and enjoyed each other’s company. We laughed a lot, and even shed a few tears.”

GARY LEDERER’s ’72 and my weekend started Thursday evening with PAT WILKE EPTING ’73 and LEX EPTING ’72 joining our family for dinner in Green Lake. Friday Gary and I took part in the Annual Doc Weiske ‘50 Memorial Golf Scramble. Our partners were good friends JOHN CLARK ’71 and his wife Patti. Actually we were a fivesome as my son Stephen joined us. He and his wife Lindsey and our daughter Beth had come to Ripon as a surprise to see me receive the Distinguished Alumni Award! More about that later. The golf outing is always great fun and raises funds for the Athletic Department. The weather was decent and some people had really terrific scores. Sadly that was not us.

Friday evening was the Awards Banquet in Harwood Union. A tremendous event with great food, and even greater desserts! I was very touched to receive my Distinguished Alumni Award. I shared the stage with a man who ran for President of Panama and someone doing world renowned research on AIDS, a very illustrious group. My award is for service to community, and to Ripon and I am very proud of the things I have done for children in Swaziland, for the home my handicapped son Andrew resides in, for Girl Scouts of America, Baker Methodist Church, and Guardian ad litem, among others. I especially enjoy being your Class Agent; trying to keep you connected to the College, and our classmates and encouraging your giving. Special thanks to KAREN TESCHNER DORN ’72, SUE MIJANOVICH KEY ’72, and LINDA BRASSINGTON DANIELS ’72 who drove up to see me receive the Citation, and to the Class of ’73 friends who were there to cheer for me!

I may have failed a bit as Class Agent this time around by not getting more of you back for our 45th, but you did not fail the college in your giving. We again received the Award for the largest amount given over a five year period, an amount well over $2 million dollars. And this year’s Class Gift topped $496,000.00 beaten only by the Class of ’83 who presented a check over $1 million dollars. One thing all of us noted at the presentation of the checks was that no class gave an even dollar amount, all the donations included a number of cents which we all thought quite odd, especially the one that ended in $.01. I want to thank DOREEN CONFORTI CHEMEROW ’73 and BILL MACLEOD ’73 for leading the gift campaign and a special thanks to Bill for helping present the check and receiving the trophy! And thanks to each of you who gave to the Annual Fund! Your generosity is truly appreciated!

Speaking of gifts, I have decided that from now on when I ask for your donation, I will ask you to make  your gift for whatever amount you plan on giving and then have you add 73 cents. Just something silly, but it would add up and give even a bit more notoriety to our class which is already known for its generosity! I hope you’ll join in!

Over the Alumni Weekend there were many activities going on across campus. I know many of our classmates participated in the 5K, the Prairie Walk, the talks on various issues and the parade, the picnic, and our event Saturday evening at the Willmore Center. Everyone who attended our cocktail party took a quick tour and was blown away by this impressive facility. If you have not seen it, truly you should get up to Ripon to see it for yourself.

STEVE ILLICH ’73 again put together a slideshow of past reunions, our time at Ripon and acknowledgement of the classmates who are no longer with us. Jeanne Stiernberg had sent along a Memorial CD that a friend had put together about her husband JOHN STIERNBERG ’73 who died late last year. It brought tears to many of our eyes. Our discussions many times centered on the fact that 45 years is a long time, but the 5 years between now and our 50th will speed by, and how do we encourage more of you to return? I am not saying we needed more people because those of us who were there had a tremendous time and were quite content with everything. We all just felt bad that the rest of you were missing out on such a good time!

During the course of our cocktail party I thoroughly enjoyed listening to GERRY TROCHINSKI ’73 talking about the history of Ripon, the town and the college. Most of us recall Ripon as the birthplace of the Republican Party but the Socialists also got a start in the town. He told me that the College was funded by money that was really supposed to build a railway, something I did not know. I hope he will take my suggestion and write an article for the Ripon Magazine, as it would make very interesting reading.

It was so good to see JANE SCHORE ’73, JOANN SELLECK ’73, and KATHY GRAUNKE ’73 all who flew in from the West Coast. BRUCE CLAUTER ’73 was in from Ohio, and KATE PARISH MILLER ’73 from Michigan. DARCI JAEGER JAYNE ’73 and husband BRIAN JAYNE ’76 were there, as well as PAT WILKE EPTING ’73 with husband LEX EPTING ’72. JOHN FREDERICK ’73 with his wife, JANE RUNKEL FREDERICK ’74, JACK MEYER ’73,GERRY TROCHINSKI ’73, STEVE ILLICH ’73, and BILL MACLEOD ’73 also enjoyed the evening. When our reception ended people went on to the after party in the tent, as well as to the fire pit where they made s’mores.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. You can see pictures on the Ripon College website, and on our Facebook page. Mark your calendars now for June 22-25, 2023 which will be our 50th! Let’s make it a record turn out!

Here is  the news from classmates as sent to me in emails:

BRUCE CLAUTER ’73 and his spouse of 45 years, LaRue, retired early in 2017. He writes “FINALLY I’d say, and we should have done this sooner as we are both enjoying traveling. I don’t know how we ever got ANYTHING done before we retired, as there seems to be lots of things to keep us busy now! Not to mention that LaRue surprised me with an Australian Shepherd puppy last November: hardly miss a day at the dog park or walks in the woods with her. Our eldest daughter Jody took a new position in her field of Archeology in Montrose, Colorado early in 2017, and was married in July. LaRue helped her move from Laramie, Wyoming and we both spent a couple of weeks in Montrose for the wedding, and are already planning a fall “color” trip. Our younger daughter, Andrea, took a new position with Columbus Humane, which allows her to concentrate on her passion of rescuing neglected or mistreated pets and helping to find them families that will give them a “forever home”. We still call Columbus our official home, but spend time also at our lake house in Hamilton, Indiana. We’re making some long overdue upgrades to both properties – some of which we are doing ourselves. When we aren’t at one of these, you might find us at Ripon reunions (it was an enjoyable 45th one just completed in June, and I missed seeing others), with LaRue’s family in the Chicago area, or somewhere roaming the western slopes of Colorado.”

KRISTINA DAVIS ’73 writes, “I retired from my family therapy career last year. My husband Jim, also a retired family therapist, and I are spending time with our grandchildren, Ivy – 8, Isaac – 6 and Quin – 4. I recently became a certified Group Fitness Instructor with the American Council on Exercise and am planning to teach fitness walking classes to various groups. I am also a WALK15 instructor through Leslie Sansone’s “Walkathome” program. Fitness walking has been called the closest thing to a wonder drug because its benefits affect the mind, emotions, body and health of whose who do it . We have found a wonderful APP called “Walking” which lets you pick your music from many genres and then adjusts the beats per minute to the walking program you pick. Also Leslie Sansone’s dvds are fun. Jim and I are working on a grant for funding for a video on Praise and Worship dance I want to do for our WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) churches and missions.”

MIKE MIZEN ’73 writes, “Our grandson, Kael, continues to be a joy in our lives. She is “mobile” now and Alison and Trip will have him in a toddler swim class in June. Daily trips to the park where she construction is underway is another pleasant diversion. He loves the big trucks.  I cannot imagine how he will react when we have the RV in the driveway. In May we did a car trip through the Shenandoah Parkway and West Virginia ending up in Maryville, Tennessee to visit one of Peggi’s RC roommates, LINDA MOCHALSKI CARPENTER ’75. We are beginning to ponder an RV trip centered around the Mississippi River down to the Gulf Shores. Wheels up on or around Labor Day. Looking forward to seeing CAROL PARKHURST TULLIO ’73 and PETE TULLIO ’73 post 4th of July as they are in these parts visiting family and friends.”

BILL BRUCATO ’73 writes, “Ripon was the start of my National Security career (ROTC Scholarship – United States Army Signal Corps). I am now Vice President of Research and Development for Horizon Global Partners HGP working security around the world and in the US.”

MARTY MORRIS ’73 writes, “I have officially and finally moved to Portland, Oregon. I sold my house in Michigan and headed West over Memorial Day weekend. The most significant thing is that in 2 years I downsized from a 2900 square foot, 2 story colonial with a pool and 1/2 an acre to a mere 1500 square foot townhouse in Northwestern Portland. I’m working on becoming a dazzling urbanite too.”

DOREEN CONFORTI CHEMEROW ’73 writes, “We are spending our second season in our new summer home in Martha’s Vineyard and enjoying all that this special place offers including being near to lots of old friends from our early years in New England and New York City. David has recently retired and we are now able to take longer trips to more distant places. Last year we hiked in the mountains and glaciers of Patagonia in Argentina and this April we biked from Amsterdam to Bruges after a theatre week in London. We are heading to Antarctica in December. Anyone travelling this way or to the Boca Raton area, please get in touch.”

DAVE BUNTEN ’73 writes, “I came out of retirement to substitute teach 3-4 days a week. I save a day or two a week for volunteer work at my parish food bank and for my weekly skate at the hockey rink. I still play the guitar quite a bit.”

KATE PARISH MILLER ’73 writes, “My son is getting married this July 22 to a wonderful match who has two little boys, 4 & 6. He will be an instant dad! They planned the wedding to be while my daughter and husband and family are visiting Michigan. In my activist life my 350.org is blending with other organizations to help Kalamazoo become fossil free and 100% Renewable. Good to have groups working together.”

JANE SCHORE ’73 writes, “We are having a west coast Ripon Reunion July 7 at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. JOANN SELLLECK ’73, RICH DIEMER ’72 and CINDY HAYES DIEMER ’73, Jean Stiernberg,  and myself are meeting for lunch and a little culture.”

On a personal note: Thanks for all the emails and messages congratulating me on the Distinguished Alumni Award. It means a lot to me, and I am very proud to have received it.

Cheers,

JEAN KIRKPATRICK LEDERER ’73

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Class Agent:

Jim Beisner

770-227-2410 / [email protected]

Spring 2018

Greetings Class of 1971,

It is hard to believe another school year has about passed by. One thing I do know is Ripon is still providing the same quality education we experienced so many years ago. Our continued financial support of this vital mission will ensure incoming classes will experience the best quality education possible. There is a change to the publication process coming this fall: R Connections, the semiannual newsletter, will become an annual fall publication. Obituaries are going back to the Ripon Magazine starting in July 2018 and will no longer be included in R Connections.

Here is some class news:

MARY MCNALLY ’71 of Seattle, Washington, writes, “I retired for two years and then returned to work in fiscal budgeting for the University of Washington. I am loving this second career!”

As we look back at our experiences at Ripon, we can all see the benefits we derived from that special time. In some way, the Annual Fund assisted all of us. It underwrites all aspects of yearly operations, including, but not limited to, laboratory supplies, technological innovations, library resources, faculty support, financial aid and scholarships, athletics, opportunities to study abroad, the arts and facilities. I urge your consideration to increase this year’s gift in recognition of all we have accomplished because of Ripon College.  

Always for Ripon,

JIM

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1971

Jim Beisner

770-570-7725 / [email protected]

Greetings, Class of 1971!

Here’s to another great year!

It is hard to believe we were starting our freshman year fifty long years ago, just as the Class of

2022 is doing now. Where did the time go? I remember very well my first few weeks of getting

acclimated to classes and the campus as if it was just yesterday. Although there is a large time

gap between our start and theirs, the quality of education has not changed in all those years.

Through the support of our time, talents, and treasures, Ripon College has maintained a superb

educational experience. The update on current college activities along with honors of graduates

and faculty as noted below, continue to show the excellent contribution Ripon makes to the

nation and State of Wisconsin.

JOHN “BEAUX” LEONARD ’70 writes, “After graduation I spent a year in Denver, Colorado.

I returned to Boston in the spring of 1971. I rented an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts

with JOHN “SHADOW” THOMPSON ’71, MICHAEL PETERSON ’72 (would be class of ’72 who left

school following his junior year), and M. Greely (Mike) Summers, who attended Ripon for only

the ’70-’71 year before transferring to Boston University. We took in Trustee JOHN

“RALPH” WOLFE ’69 when he returned from the Army, Germany, and we have remained close

friends since. 69 Magazine Street in Cambridge was a fun time for a couple of years; many

stories. It was interesting answering the phone with 3 Johns and 2 Mikes in the house.”

As we look back at our experiences at Ripon, we can all see the benefits we derived from that

special time. In some way, the Annual Fund assisted all of us. It under writes all aspects of

yearly operations, including but not limited to laboratory supplies, technological innovations,

library resources, faculty support, financial aid and scholarships, athletics, opportunities to study

abroad, the arts, and facilities. I urge your consideration to increase this year’s gift in recognition

of all we have accomplished as a result of Ripon College. If you gave below the Heritage

Society level ($150-$499), consider giving at that level. If you give at one of the society levels, think about

increasing your gift annually to eventually elevating to the next highest society.

Signed,

JIM BEISNER

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Class Agent:

Susan Hecht Gebhardt ’70

815-464-5761 / [email protected]

Spring 2018

Hello from snowy Chicagoland. Life has been busy since the last newsletter.  The holidays certainly take on a renewed charm with grandchildren. BILL GEBHARDT ’69 and I hosted my family, which meant there were two little girls, our granddaughters, running around. One little boy who was crawling around and another, due any day, were the grandsons of my sisters. They really make Christmas fun.

We are counting the days until we leave for Hawaii. After two weeks there, one on Kaua’i and one on the big island, we will tour Napa, California for a few days. Ten days later, we are off to Florida. In January, when we were experiencing subzero temperatures, and Bill was suffering from golf withdrawal, he investigated condos for sale in Fort Pierce, where his brother DAVID GEBHARDT ’66 and sister-in-law spend winters. We have visited several times and enjoy their golf community. As luck would have it, we found a place, and oddly enough it is the unit below the other Gebhardts. In less than a week we flew down and bought it. We will start some updating of the condo in March. Then it’s back home for a rest before it is warm enough to golf here.

Now for some news from our classmates:

JIM HARMAN ’70 and SARAH RANDAHL HARMAN ’71 of San Antonio, Texas, responded to my request for a possible venue for our 50th Reunion. They write, “A suggestion for cocktails and dinner would be Tuscumbia. Sarah and I have found the food to be consistently good there.”

CHRIS LYDON JONES ’70 of Scottsdale, Arizona, writes, “2017 was an interesting year. I’m adapting to life as a ‘widow,’ but finding continued joy and support from friends and family. The best of the year was watching my 7 and 5 year old grandchildren grow into awesome little people and a fabulous trip to Ireland with a fun group of friends. Plus, summer in Milwaukee is a lot better than in Arizona, and while there, I got to see some of my old Ripon buddies!”

MARK HENKEL ’70 and HILDE BORMANN HENKEL ’73 of Rudolph, Wisconsin, write, “Mark is still practicing law, but less so. Hilde is leaving the county board this spring after 18 years. They have taken over the operation of Stevens Taekwondo Academy in Stevens Point and continue to teach martial arts. Lots of visits to the grandkids and work on the hobby farm and woods are keeping them healthy, happy, and busy.”

JOHN ‘BEAUX’ LEONARD ’70 of Cornwall, Vermont, writes, “After graduation I spent a year in Denver, Colorado. I returned to Boston in the spring of 1971. I rented an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts with JOHN ‘SHADOW’ THOMPSON ’71, Michael Peterson (would be class of ’72 who left school following his junior year), and M. Greely ‘Mike’ Summers, who attended Ripon for only the ’70-’71 year before transferring to Boston University. We took in JOHN ‘RALPH’ WOLFE ’69 when he returned from the army, and we have remained close friends since. 69 Magazine Street in Cambridge was a fun time for a couple of years; many stories. It was interesting answering the phone with 3 Johns and 2 Mikes in the house. The picture was taken in October last year in Deer Isle, Maine on the occasion of brother and trustee John Wolfe’s 70th birthday. The celebration was a three day event planned by his wife, Ruth Lamdan, and included many of their friends from Maine and Philadelphia, and of course the RC group representing 5 consecutive years. Included in the picture celebrating with John Wolfe are me, JIM DANKY ’70, JOHN THOMPSON ’71, Michael Peterson, and Mike Summers.  

In Hoc, JOHN ‘BEAUX’ LEONARD ’70.”

Thank you for sharing your news with us,

SUSAN    

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1970

Susan Hecht Gebhardt

815-464-5761 / 815-260-1656 / [email protected]

Hello again to the Class of 1970,

I hope you are enjoying a great summer with your families and friends. BILL GEBHARDT ’69, and I had a wonderful time in Hawaii. We enjoyed beautiful weather, sightseeing, a little golf, and just missed the flooding in Kauai and eruption of Kilauea on the big island. We stopped in Napa, California on the return trip for more sightseeing and wine tasting. We were home long enough to receive the wine we had purchased and repack before traveling to Florida to begin the remodeling of the condo we bought in Fort Pierce. Next winter it should be ready for guests in case any of you are in the area. This summer has been busy with our little granddaughters, golfing, and working on the family cottage in Wisconsin.

Class Notes:

In March, JOAN REINKE ZIEGLER ’70 emailed some of the AXO’s of the class of ’70 with a great suggestion. She wrote, “This is the year we all turn 70, a good time to plan a 1 or 2 day outing at a resort to celebrate our friendships.” She suggested June and offered several good places. After much emailing over several months, ten of us met at The Abbey on Geneva Lake, Wisconsin. Those attending were: CHRIS LYDON JONES ’70 (AZ), COLLEEN BURR KAMIN ’70 (IL), CONNIE JAYE HARRIS ’70 (IL), MARY GEIGER VAN DYKE ’70 (MN), CASSY BROOKS CURTRIGHT ’70 (AZ), LINDA WOHLSCHLAGER LARSON ’70 (SC), BEV RICE TRIER ’71 (AZ), SARAH RANDAHL HARMON ’71 (WI), plus Joan (WI) and myself (IL).  Cassy commented, “We had a fabulous time eating, drinking, catching up on children, grandchildren, spouses, retirement, etc.” Connie added, “It was the perfect 3 day un-weekend…great lodging, delicious food and wine and wine and wine as well as an indoor track to our rooms! We have so many good Ripon memories but finding out what everyone is up to now was just as much fun.” Mary Lynn remarked, “Isn’t it amazing how those few years (I left mid junior year!) could form such long lasting friendships.” All of us send many thanks to Joan for this wonderful idea and for organizing everything.

COLLEEN BURR KAMEN ’70 of Chicago, Illinois, writes, “What an unbelievable stroke of luck that I showed up at the First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chicago in August 2017. As I was reading down the church bulletin, a name stood out. GEORGE MANNING ’70 is the Music Director of the church. Yep, George Manning…class of 1970. I introduced myself and George broke out into an AXO song (that I couldn’t possibly have remembered). George has become a treasured friend. Ripon comes back to us in the most miraculous and joyful ways.”

DAVID BUHNER ’70 of Valparaiso, Indiana, writes,  “Like many of our classmates, I finally decided to retire and start travelling. Retiring at the end of February, we spent two weeks on the beaches of Punta Cana in April and will do 12 days on a Viking River Cruise in June. I also finished the wine cellar in our new house, so if you or our classmates ever plan to come to Valparaiso, Indiana, give a holler and we’ll share a bottle (or two) of wine.”

SHERYL SWENNES SCARLETT ’70, of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania writes: “I didn’t weigh in before on the choice of a reunion venue, so I thought I would now. I actually think the college does a good job on the dinner, and it’s nice to be on campus to get together with people from other classes afterward.”

LINDA TRACY FONDA ’70, of Freeport, Illinois shares some sad news with us: “DAVID FONDA ’70 died February 21, 2018. He is survived by his wife, LINDA TRACY FONDA ’70, two children and two grandchildren.” She adds this quote from Russell Kirsch: “Nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do.”

Thank you all for sharing a bit of your news with us. As we approach our 50th reunion we have a lot for which to be thankful, and we are also aware how important it is to make every minute count. Please continue to keep in touch with your Ripon friends and to send me your news and reunion suggestions. Also, please send Ripon any changes in addresses and emails.

SUSAN

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1960

Deborah Johnson Van Slyke

480-284-5564/619-889-5061/[email protected]

Class of 1960,

BOB BORGER ’60 writes, “We have been busy since returning from our winter home in Florida. The weather in Ohio has finally allowed for landscaping and flower planting to be finalized. We attended grandson Bobby’s graduation from Ohio Northern University and his acceptance of a position with Welltower in Toledo, Ohio. He also achieved academic All American in track. Our granddaughter Megan was a freshman cheerleader at Bowling Green State University. Yvette and I will be going to Idaho in June to visit son Barry. Hope all is well with Ripon alums.”

DEE GREY HOLDEN ’60 writes, “Our winter season in Arizona has been the usual fun with local friends and visitors escaping snow. More of Abbey Springers come to Arizona so there is much socializing going on here. Things became more complicated in spring when it became evident that Dan would need cervical surgery, diseconomy, and fusion. This was done in May and he is recovering well. We will return in a few weeks to the Midwest in time to get ready to a trip to Northern Italy. It will be the last grandchild trip and we are looking to relax at Lake Garda and then the Italian Alps. A few wineries will also be visited.

We are so proud of our 2 grandsons in the military. Cooper Holden was commissioned in December and is now training in Florida with the United States Air Force. Beckett has completed his nuclear engineering course and has been assigned to the United States Navy base in Seattle where he will be on the USS Kentucky, a ballistic missile sub.

Our granddaughter just finished her freshman year at University of Arizona and will be volunteering in Laos at an elephant rescue camp.

Summer will have us socializing at the lakefront of Lake Geneva. I do not look forward to having to keep Dan from golfing before he gets the doctor’s okay to play.  A river cruise in September will round out the summer.”

JANET GORN ‘60 “has no retirement plans on the horizon. She is a Diplomat with the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. She has had temporary duty assignments in Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Paris, and Vienna this year. In Paris, she served as the U.S. Representative to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Steering Committee meetings and in Vienna was the U.S. Representative and Head of delegation to the Meeting of the Parties of the Joint Convention on Nuclear Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste. She was named a lifetime achiever by Marquis Who’s Who. Check out her extension career in the 2017-18 Who’s Who in America.”

I was unable to drive from Scottsdale to drive to Idyllwild, California for the inaugural performance of KEN LUBER’S ’60 musical Esperanza: The Musical of Hope. He wrote the lyrics for a song “Revenge is Near.” The song won “Best Song” at the Italian Oniros Film Awards.

I will escape the heat of summer in Arizona and visit Chicago in August where I will see my roommate and sorority sister BARBARA KOUBA HOFFMAN ’60 in Highland Park.

LIVIO VALLE ’60 passed in Chicago on October 22, 2017

BILL BROOKS ’60 passed on March 8, 2017

Let us keep in touch. Send me your news, gossip or your thoughts, DEB

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Class Agent:
Deborah Johnson Van Slyke
480-284-5564 / 619-889-5061

Spring 2018

Class Notes:

Congratulations to KEN LUBER ’60 for his musical abilities. He has co-written a musical, entitled “Esperanza the Musical of Hope,” with his composer Saverio Rapessi. Ken and Saverio also wrote a song, “The Revenge is Near,” for the highly-awarded film Odeon. The song won Best Song at the Italian Oniros Film Awards. Once again, well done from all of us.

JANET GORN ’60 has no retirement plans on the horizon. She is a Diplomat with the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. She has had temporary duty assignments in Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Paris, and Vienna this year. In Paris, she served as the U.S. Representative to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Steering Committee meetings and in Vienna was the U.S. Representative and Head of Delegation to the Meeting of the Parties of the Joint Convention on Nuclear Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste. She was named a lifetime achiever by Marquis Who’s Who. Check out her extension career in the 2017-2018 Who’s Who in America.

DANNY HOLDEN ’60 and DEE GRAY HOLDEN ’60 of Littleton, Colorado, have been traveling with a Mediterranean Cruise in September 2017 and then a golf trip with friends to Marbella, Spain. Dan golfed in Spain while Dee walked on the beach and practiced her Spanish. They are very proud of grandsons serving in the Military. Beckett is finishing nuclear engineering training in the Navy and Cooper was commissioned in December at graduation from Northern Arizona University. He is in training now with the USAF in Panama City, Florida.

We lost two of our friends since the last alumni update. LIVIO VALLI JR. ’60 passed in Chicago on October 22, 2017. BILL BROOKS ’60 was a beloved Biology Professor at Ripon for 35 years and he passed this winter. There was memorial service for him on March 16 at the college.

As for me, the four cats and I are enduring a cold spell in Scottsdale…58 degrees and waiting for the heat to rise again. An ex-employee asked me to return to help with interviewing prospective new employees so I am enjoying working a day and a half a week. I think keeping active will help me keep writing the newsletter for a few more decades.

DEBORAH JOHNSON VAN SLYKE ’60

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Spring 2018

Class Agent:
Wayne Wolfgram ’63

313-882-1712 / [email protected]

Hi, Classmates,

Hard to believe, but it’s about to be 55 years since our Saturday, June 8, 1963 graduation day. I hope you are planning to attend Alumni Weekend, June 21-24. Those of us who attended our 50th really enjoyed it.

Class Notes:

JACKIE BLODGETT HUGDAHL ’63 of Hudson, Wisconsin, ([email protected]) writes, “TOM HUGDAHL ’62 & I were on a Columbia & Snake River Cruise last fall & experienced the stories of the Lewis & Clark expedition. A lady sitting next to me at dinner, knowing we were from Wisconsin, said she went to a small college in Wisconsin and wondered if I’d heard of it …. Ripon College. Well, Tom & I both looked at her & said “Oh Yes… Class of ‘62 &‘63 here.” She said Class of ‘64 here. It was nice to meet PAT OSTROM KOHNEN ’64. We reminisced about Ripon during our trip.”

L to R in picture: Tom Hugdahl ’62, Pat Ostrom Kohnen ’64, Jackie Blodgett Hugdahl ’63 and Todd Weber, the naturalist/story teller on board.

SUSAN KELLER MATTHES ’63 of Carson City, Nevada, ([email protected]) writes, “Spring and Fall of 2017 found my husband and I in Oregon and Washington state. We enjoyed the seashore, tidal pools and the might of the Pacific. A special stop at the Tacoma Glass Museum and bridge over the highway featuring some of the works of Dale Chihuly was a real treat. Too much winter/spring snow around Bend and the Newberry Volcano/Crater cut our hiking short. A return trip in September to Newberry Crater and a week’s stay at East Lake gave us time to explore the area and especially the Big Obsidian Flow. Ahh, the might and beauty of Mother Nature! We’re heading out to Arches and Canyonlands soon to do more hiking and some jeep tours of this extraordinary area. Will let you know how this trip went next time. Meanwhile, eat healthy, stay well and get lots of fresh air!”

DAVID NEUBAUER ’63 of Ormond Beach, Florida, ([email protected]) writes, “With my retirement decision behind me, my wife Linda and I have rediscovered our vacation house, which has been used largely by family and friends and others for the past years. It’s been painted and spruced up and I expect we will be taking weeks or months at a time there. A river flows by in the backyard and now I will find if there are any fish in it. It is the most tranquil place. I don’t feel any compulsion to “do” anything. I’ve worked for the last 60 years, so I will do something else now.

So many of my classmates have taken cruises—and so have we— and there will be another next year plus a visit to my cousin in France. This year, a neighbor offered us their condo in Maui in September. We accepted as we’ve never been to Hawaii and look forward to vacationing and also visiting our son in Los Angeles en route and my brother JOHN NEUBAUER ’63 in San Diego. Meanwhile, our children and granddaughter delight us. Our calendar looks so much different now than a year ago. Good different.”

JOHN NEUBAUER ’63 of Solana Beach, California, ([email protected]) writes, “I created a 501(c)(3), The San Diego Neuroendocrine Tumor Support Group, a California Benefits Corporation (meaning we do not solicit funds outside of California) that educates medical professionals and new patients of a slow growing but problematic mid-gut cancer. In a short 3 years, we have almost 300 members who seek more knowledge of their condition, referrals to doctors, range of treatments, etc. We champion the hospitals of UCLA, Cedar Sinai Medical Center, City of Hope, Stanford University Medical Center among others. We and our related organizations hold meetings almost weekly somewhere in California and invite leading national medical experts to present to our groups. We underwrite their expenses as the sole expense of our nonprofit.

Our education at Ripon was just a catalyst for life afterwards. We are grateful for life’s outlook instilled in us by the school.”

LES PERRY ’63 of Jacksonville, FL ([email protected]) writes: “Nice to hear from you, Wayne. It has been awhile. Since Ripon, I went to the University of Wisconsin and graduated in Civil Engineering. Spent 37 years with the US government working for NOAA. Served as officer and performed hydrographic surveys on the East Coast and for a potential track for laying a transAtlantic cable line to Spain. Was sent to army flight school and flew aerial photography for five years. One season landed in 47 states. Finished government career in Washington DC. Retired in 1999. I keep busy with golf, woodworking, and a little travel. Have two children from first marriage: Ted – Medical Doctor in Dallas, and Christy – managing clinical trials from D.C. Very happily married to Sandy.”

Note: Les left for Madison after his Freshman year at Ripon where he was a fellow pledge of Delta Upsilon.

LYNN SIEBEL SUNDELIUS ’63 of Kalispell, Montana, ([email protected]) writes, “I wish I had been cognizant of the dates of the June 21-24 Alumni Weekend when I booked my 3 week trip to Northern Europe! I was looking forward to attending, as the 50th was such fun. Say hi to all for me.”

CAROLYN QUILLING WOLF ‘63 of Valencia, California, ([email protected]) writes, “Tom and I are still enjoying our life at the Belcaro 55 and over living area. We’ve met many new friends and enjoy bocce ball, parties, book clubs, exercise classes, dance classes, etc. Tom is still working but might retire later this year. We visit our daughter and grandchildren who live in the Bay area a few times a year.”

Have a great spring and I hope to see you all at our 55th reunion – June 21-24!

 WAYNE

Submitted by: Wayne Wolfgram

1963

Wayne Wolfgram

313-882-1712 / [email protected]

Greetings Classmates,

Well, it’s been 55 years since we received our diplomas, said goodbye to classmates and began our adult lives. It sure flew by. I hope this finds everyone in good health and enjoying their “golden years.”

TERRY BOOTH ’63 of Kenilworth, Illinois ([email protected]) writes, “Only a few from our class made it to the 55th reunion, but it was still a fun time. Besides me and my wife Carol, DAVE NEUBAUER ’63 and wife Linda helped celebrate our class coming in 4th place among reunion class donors. The class donation per attendee was surely in 1st place. We all had dinner with MARCIA MACLEISH HIGGINS ’63 and JUD HIGGINS ’62, who live nearby in Green Lake. President Zach Messitte earlier led a state of the college discussion suggesting Ripon still values a liberal arts focus versus professional preparation, but it does mean graduate school for many (as it did for me).

I almost didn’t go, since the college lumps all classes after the 50th reunion into a big ‘Golden R’ punchbowl of grey hairs. So the 55th wasn’t as special or highlighted as the 50th, but we still had a delightful dinner. If the college ever decides to promote the over 50th reunions, I still may try the 60th.

Can you imagine, the state of the college discussion had people lamenting that the quads were still there despite being built “in the 80’s.” Someone else spoke up and said “Oh no, they were built in the 70’s.” I held my tongue, but of course they were there when our class of ’63 arrived. It does date our generation doesn’t it. The younger classes were remembering famous alumni, headed by AL JARREAU ’62 and HARRISON “HARRY” FORD ’64. But Al’s now gone – so sad – and perhaps an honorary degree might persuade Harry to show his head on campus again – I’d go back for that if it included Alumni.”

JUDY ELLICSON KOVARIK ’63 of Aurora, Illinois ([email protected]) writes, “DICK KOVARIK ’64 and I are both doing fine. Dick has been retired for a full year. We had a cruise through the Panama Canal in April. Our oldest grandson, Charlie, graduated from Butler University in May, and is gainfully employed. Our other 5 grandchildren are all doing well. We have not seen anybody from Ripon, except the neighbors, one who graduated in 1953 and PAT CARSON ’60.”

I am headed to Brisbane, Australia for my niece’s wedding and a family reunion. All my six siblings, including my brother DAN WOLFGRAM ’69 and his wife JOAN KNUTSON WOLFGRAM ’69 will be there. It will no doubt be interesting listening to Aussie comments regarding U.S. politics.

Have a great summer everyone!

WAYNE

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1964

Pat Ostrom Kohnen

925-201-7377 / [email protected]

Class of 1964,

As I write his message to you it is very hot here in California, but my suitcase is packed for the cooler weather of Alaska. I will enjoy a cruise for 14 days on Crystal with a woman from Stoneridge Creek who still works part time as a travel agent. She has been on 100 cruises.

Life at Stoneridge Creek is great. The final phase is almost complete and then we will have about 825 residents in independent living plus residents at Creekview who need more care. Water exercise, book club and excursions continue to be my favorite activities. I am still giving the book Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss by Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen to people who need it. A friend shared it with me four years ago and I have been sharing it ever since.

I was pleased to see my oldest granddaughter graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her major was Criminal Justice and she will be attending the police academy in Nevada.

I have some news from classmates to share. RICHARD MOSCHEL ’64 of Sun City West, Arizona writes, “Enjoying retirement spending October-May in Arizona and May-October in Ely, Minnesota at our log home. We have one son living in Los Angeles looking for job behind the scenes in film. Our second son is bartending in Scottsdale and our third son is in New Orleans.”

DAVID SCHENCK ’64 of Tampa Florida writes, “I am very happy to report on the publication of a new book entitled Communication and Bioethics at The End of Life: Real Cases, Real Dilemmas, by Lori Roscoe and David Schenck. The book is intended for advanced undergraduates interested in careers in healthcare, medical and nursing students, persons in allied healthcare, as well as physicians and educators.” David is Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida.

DANIEL SICULAN ’64 of Columbia, South Carolina, writes, “We celebrated the birth of our latest grandchild, Rylan Mae on March 8th. My daughter’s other two children are aged 15 and 17!”

Is anyone thinking of returning to Ripon next June for our 55 year reunion? Please contact me at (925)201-7377 or [email protected] if you are in San Francisco so we could meet for a visit.

Join me in donating to Ripon. I’m grateful for the wonderful education and experience I had at Ripon.

PAT KOHNEN ’64

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Spring 2018

Class Agent:

Pat Ostrom Kohnen ’64

925-201-7377 / [email protected]

Greetings, Classmates,

The last few letters have appeared in the R Connections booklet. In the future an R Connections booklet will become an annual fall publication, and the spring letters will be sent by email and/or regular mail. For this letter, I will request that it be emailed to class members with emails and sent by regular mail to the other members. Obituaries will be going back to the Ripon Magazine starting in July 2018. A stronger Class Agent, class letter and news note presence online is being developed for release this fall.

As we all know, our lives are filled with both happy and sad things. My brother Terry did not come to visit me for my fifth Christmas here at Stoneridge Creek because he died suddenly in early September. He was still teaching at the University of Michigan Dearborn campus. I enjoyed a Lewis and Clark paddle boat trip on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in early November. I traveled with Cleve Beck, a friend who also lives at Stoneridge Creek. One day at lunch we met TOM HUGDAHL ’62 and JACKIE BLODGETT HUGDAHL ’62. He is Ripon ‘62 and she is Ripon ’63 although she left after sophomore year to go to nursing school. It is indeed a small world! We had fun sharing Ripon memories. This spring I have a trip planned to Ashland, Oregon for theater performances and my first Road Scholar trip to Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. I suspect that many of you have traveled with Road Scholar (formerly Elder Hostle). In late June I will be going on a Crystal Alaska cruise.

I have news to share from three of our classmates:

LINDA FLAMME HANSEN ’64 of Racine, Wisconsin, writes, “Married April 21, 2017 to Randol Hansen; 3 children; 8 grandchildren. Retired, but still a church organist! Love to travel!”

JAMES HAAG ’64 of Charleston, South Carolina, writes, “Been a long time since Ripon. But ask the guys on the wrestling team, how many will keep doing the same thing in 53 years? I guess I couldn’t get enough of the wrestling back at Ripon. I am still training in BJJ. Even went to Israel a year ago to train with the real practitioners. I manage to mix it up with the young guys about 3 days a week, and there is something to be said for age and sneakiness vs youth and vigor.  Like I say in Krav Maga, if you don’t cheat, your tactics suck. Living in Charleston, South Carolina, and would enjoy hearing from any other old time Riponites.

MARY ANN SIMS TROMBETTA ’64 of East Setauket, New York, writes, “Still married to Angelo after 53 happy years. Retired as an ESL teacher in 2003. Divide our time between Setauket, New York and Marco Island, Florida. Enjoy our son and daughter, their lovely spouses and their four beautiful smart granddaughters-2 in elementary and 2 in college.”

I enjoyed reading the winter issue of the Ripon Magazine which focuses on giving back, volunteering and helping those less fortunate. President Zach Messitte closes his message by saying “Being a part of the Ripon community means that we are duty-bound to be our neighbor’s keeper in what we do today and hope to accomplish tomorrow.”

Please join me in making a donation to the Annual Fund. I continue to be grateful for my time at Ripon. If you come to San Francisco please contact me for a visit.

I wish you a happy and healthy spring and summer,

PAT KOHNEN

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1965

John C. Hyde

414-530-4041 / [email protected]

Class of 1965,

Donna and I will be celebrating our 2nd anniversary this August. We have enjoyed the fact that our Pensacola house is only three hours from New Orleans. We saw Maroon 5 recently and have tickets for Paul Simon in September and Keith Urban in November.

We are leaving for our lake home in Conover, Wisconsin shortly. We have Cousins Camp the second week in July. That is all five grandkids for a week. In October, we have a ten-day Holland America cruise in the Caribbean with two Cuban ports, Havana and Cienfuego.

It is also the time to start thinking about our 55th Class Reunion.

All the very best,

John

Here are the updates from the class of 1965:

CAROLE COOP ATHERTON ’65 writes, “I am writing from Appiano, Italy, where we are staying with two granddaughters (technically, my step-grands). What a delight! We are staying at Schloss Korb, a restored castle overlooking vineyards and apple orchards with the city of Bolzano in the mid-distance and the Alps as the backdrop.

The big doings back in the U.S. before we left were the high school graduations of two granddaughters and the college graduation of another as well as a too-brief visit to our home in Oregon from classmate MARY SHIRER KROENING ’65 and her husband, John. Mary entertained us with a wonderful selection of ukelele tunes and I showed off the 12 volt spotlight I had just installed to illuminate our flagpole (dug about 170 feet of shallow trench and put the darned thing in myself. I love doing things like that with my own hands). It was so good to see them.

This fall, Malarkey and I are going on a river boat on the Mississippi from Minneapolis to St. Louis. The trip is focused on the life and times of Mark Twain. After that, we will visit with family in Illinois and, we hope, see the Kroenings again.

In January 2019, we have a trip planned to Bogota and Cartagena, Colombia, more details to follow.

Hope all is well with you and yours and, as always, thanks for your devotion to our class.”

DAVID MEISSNER ’65 writes, “I am a happily retired (former) Professor of Psychology at Alfred University in Western New York, and still enjoy organic gardening, collecting antique toy cannons(!), and spending time at our family home on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire in the Summer.

Trivia: Countertop jars of Pickled HB Eggs at “The Greekers” were always a treat to wash-down with a Mug of “Suds” after a winning Redmen football game”

LARRY TICE ’65 writes, ” … inspired by references to his (L. Warchus) local bowling team (which includes a 100-year-old centenarian bowling team member) and, further warned (directly or indirectly) not long ago not to go “Bowling Alone” (Putnam, 2000) which spoke of the potential collapse and loosening of social ties of the American community … I may yet seek to explore additional social solidarity on LSD (otherwise: Lake Shore Drive) by joining up for “bowling on the green” … an activity and site just located behind the Museum of Science and Industry. Still swimming, and biking along south end of Lake Shore Drive; but, much less so at the moment. Mostly walking (thus, perhaps pursuits of alternative exercise).

Elsewhere in the neighborhood (sum) resolution has finally been reached between “friends of the Park” and Obama Presidential Library Commission as precise location in Jackson Park and layout plans generally agreed upon. So finally, Library – in Obama name – to be built (… not far away either it seems from the site of “bowling on the green”). And, perhaps that’s a bit more than might be said or predicted of current president library possibilities: as one book (for July release: “Donald Trump Tweeter Presidential Library” by T. Noah) may say it all. As observed by many it’s possible Mr. Trump doesn’t read much anyway … so he might not worry too much if a library is not built in his name.

At the moment enjoying semi-retirement, presently enjoined in a government survey project part time, while MinJa – in full retirement now – enjoying the lakefront. “

DAVE WORDEN ’65 writes, “So far this year has been one of travels between our condo in Oceanside, California and our home in Scottsdale. Time with our twin two-year-old granddaughters and 18-month-old grandson has tested these old bones! We also managed to take time for a cruise to Alaska which is probably the most beautiful place Terri & I have ever visited.  If you haven’t done so please add it to your bucket list. We’re looking forward to this summer and time at the beach, and then the birth of another grandson in September. The best to all my classmates!

JOHN BURROWS ’65 writes, “Nancy and I remain in good health. The attached photo of me wearing our 50th reunion tee-shirt is appropriate as I am about to start my morning walk.  Having just turned 75 on June 1st, I no longer believe 75 is so old although the guy in the photo is getting up there. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in April and had it not been for The Spot, we might not have connected while at Ripon. I will always remain thankful for this.

President Messitte’s published remarks concerning President Trump still gets me hot under the collar.  

We are about to embark on a two week trip to Italy, Lake Como and Florence, neither of which we have visited before. Upon our return we will be home for a week before having a family vacation with our kids and our grandchildren at Sun River in Redmond Oregon. Should be fun. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the 2018 hurricane season will not be a repeat of Irma that hit Jacksonville last year. I wish all the best to our classmates.

JIM THORSEN ’65 writes, “Nancy and I will spend the summer here in Idaho, hosting kids and grandkids, friends from Tucson and delegates from our Japanese Sister City. The grandkids both play in their high school band which has been selected to perform representing the State of Missouri in the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in 2019 in Normandy. We are planning to attend the event and are involved in planning the trip. Needless to say, most tours are booked a year in advance, and we were lucky to book one. I hope everyone has a pleasant summer and enjoys good health.”

JUDI GONIA SCHAEFER ’65 writes, “We’re fine and keeping busy.  Last winter (December, 2017) we went to New Zealand to spend the Christmas holidays with our youngest daughter, Beth, her husband Mark, and our 18 year old grandson Burgess.  This was our second trip to New Zealand. The first time we flew non-stop from Chicago to Auckland; this time we stopped in Hawaii on our way to and on our way back from New Zealand.  It turned a 20 hour flight into two 9.5 hour flights…much easier for both of us. Our time spent with our family was wonderful. We stayed with our daughter just outside Nelson on the South Island, traveled to Wellington on the North Island, where by the way, our grandson is attending Victoria University, went to a cricket game, and generally had a great time. The country is beautiful and the people are very friendly. If you haven’t been there, go if you ever have a chance.

Now we’re back in the good ol’ USA where we spend our winters in Illinois and our summers in Winter, Wisconsin.”

GREG THOMPSON ’65 writes, “Greetings from Seattle. Thank you for continuing with being our class agent.

The Thompson’s are in our third full year of retirement and enjoying it here in Seattle and elsewhere.

Most of our travel is to San Francisco where our three grandchildren live. They are ages six, four, and one. We got a late start on children and so did our daughter. We are almost frequent flyers just on that route and just got back last night from our latest visit there.

Other travels take us in the winter to sunnier climes to combat grey skies and rain here. A road trip we like to take every year is to beautiful Northeast Oregon. Among other things, you can see wagon tracks from the “Oregon Trail” migration.

This summer we are hoping to have a couple of weeks roaming Wisconsin. That is the home state of both my parents and we have cousins there and in Chicago.

I am lucky to have a Ripon classmate living here in Seattle. JOHN WHEELER ’65 and I get together for lunch on a fairly regular basis. We are in looser touch than we would like with MARK LEDGER ’65, CHARLES BARBER ’65, CRAIG FERRIS ’65, and WARREN WARCHUS ’65 who all live some distance from here.”

DONNA STABEN LONG ’65 is looking forward to a trip to Spain with her daughters. She and Bob didn’t have a winter skiing trip this year since Bob is recouping from an injured rotator cuff. They are looking into the Villages for a winter option.

JOHN NEWHARD ’65 is is also recouping from a torn rotator cuff. So the vigorous golfing plans were replaced by a trip to Cuba with a Rhodes Scholar travel program that has lectures each night by college professors.

DICK BENNETT ’65 and ANNE DONALDSON BENNETT ’65 are celebrating 56 years of marriage. They met at Ripon freshman year. Their son, Tony who attended one our reunions with Dick twenty-something years ago, has built a successful coaching career at Virginia and there may be possibilities pro basketball options. Dick very much misses MIKE REESE ’65 and remembers fondly the Ripon Golf Outings with Mike and CHARLIE LARSON ’65 during homecoming every year. He has enjoyed reading books the lives of a number early US presidents.

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Class Agent:
John Hyde
[email protected]

Spring 2018

Greetings ’65 Classmates,

I am writing in 70 degree weather from Donna and my house in Pensacola, Florida. We were at our northern Wisconsin home for Christmas with my children and five grandkids. However, it was so cold, -20 degrees, that we left before New Year’s.

We will probably go boating this weekend with the temp climbing into the low 80s. We are members of the Pensacola Jazz Society, which organizes enjoyable jazz programs twice a month and the annual Jazz Fest the first weekend in April. For Jazz Fest, my role is to solicit and organize members to work various shifts in the merchandise tent. The two days of great bands is free to the public. It’s a nice venue in a beautiful park setting. There is a variety of music venues and festivals here and along the coast of Alabama.

In June, we have three days planned in New Orleans which is a little over three hours from Pensacola. We plan to see Maroon 5 perform and just sort of hang out for three days. At the end of June we leave Pensacola for our lake house in Conover, Wisconsin and will be there for two months. Our neighbors along the lake have become good friends and they attended our wedding in in nearby Eagle River in August of 2016. Donna and I will once again organize Cousins Camp which is all five grandkids and no parents. The kids love the lake and going tubing behind the boat.

In August, we will spend a few days at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island where we honeymooned in August 2016.

Sincerely,

John Hyde

Classmate News:

JIM THORSEN ’65 of Idaho Falls, Idaho, writes, “Nancy and I will head north to Idaho in April from our winter home in Tucson, stopping to visit friends in Las Vegas along the way. Summer in Idaho is wonderful, and we’ll play as much golf as possible. This fall, we might take a trip to the U.K. to visit friends like we did last year. A visit from our Japanese Sister City is being set up for the fall, then back to Tucson before the snow flies. Have a great summer.”

JOHN BURROWS ’65 of Jacksonville, Florida, writes, “It is hard to believe how fast 2018 is going by. In April NANCY OSTERMEIER BURROWS ’66 and I will be celebrating 50 years of marriage.  We are both healthy, for which we are thankful, and I continue the recovery process from having my prostate removed in September.

We continue to enjoy travel and were just in Sarasota for a long weekend and marveled at how the downtown has grown since we moved in 1974. We have the names of some great restaurants if anyone is going that way.

BARB BERGER LASCODY ’67 and LARRY LASCODY ’65 stopped in for the night on their way back to Atlanta. I tried to show them the benefits of having Netflix, Prime Video, and Acorn TV, but Larry just kept seeing dollar signs. We are most thankful for our time at Ripon.”

DONALD “WIN” RYDER ’65 of Fennville, Michigan, writes, “I really appreciate the time and energy you put into this. I am still working and plan to keep at it. Mary and I are off to Eastern Europe this spring and to Portugal this fall. We still live in Lake Effect Snow Michigan so we break the winter up with visits to Florida, Southern California and Texas.”

JOHN NEWHARD ’65 of Suffolk, Virginia, writes, “We were a little late getting to Florida this year due to my slow recovery from Achilles’ tendon surgery. We made up for it however, by enjoying visits in Sebring, Florida from LARRY LASCODY ’65 and BARB BERGER LASCODY ’67 and RICK WEBB ’66, all classmates from Ripon College.”

JANE PERSON ’65 of Petaluma, California, writes, “It is hard to believe that the Northern California Wine Fires were a little over four months ago. My home and town did not suffer the fires, but neighboring communities had mass destruction. The fires started on a Sunday night about 10 PM. By 2:30 in the morning I had my first ‘can I come and stay with you’ phone call.  By five that morning I had six adults, three cats, and one dog as evacuees. One residential area that burned is near two of the Sonoma County/Santa Rosa hospitals (both were closed and evacuated during the fire and for weeks afterward). As such, many medical professionals lived near there and lost their homes I have heard 400 medical personnel—including 200 doctors—lost their homes. Everyone here knows people who suffered great loss.  

What warms my heart to this day are the thanks poured out to the First Responders who saved many, many lives, especially in the first 24 hours of the fire. People were in bed asleep. There were no warning signals—mainly people going door to door to their neighbors. The winds were fierce that night and for days to come. Wind in my backyard sounded like a freight train. It was this wind that blew the sparks all over the place, spreading the fire with a fury. Some folks were burned alive in their homes. Signs are still up thanking the First Responders. My community—Petaluma—responded with evacuation centers, restaurants serving food for free, and donations of time, clothes, and money. Petaluma Rocks.

Oh, one more thing—just got home from having lunch with MARY FRASER ’66 and NANCY WADLEY KEOUGH ’67. Great to get caught up with college friends.”

MARY ‘MJ’ KROENING ’65 of Naperville, Illinois, writes, “We just got back from spending the month of January in Naples, Florida. Though it was a bit chilly, it sure beat being in Naperville! Once we returned, it snowed nine days in a row – so much for warm memories! I always take my ukulele wherever we travel. Found a group that meets weekly, so I had a chance to meet some great folks and keep on strummin’ while we were away. Fun!

Now that we’re back, my calendar has filled up with all kinds of stuff. I see all my doctors and oncologists. I can’t believe that it’s been almost 4 years since I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So far so good. Every day is a blessing. For the past few years I’ve been volunteering at Samantha’s school for a program called Brain Fuel. The kids spend their lunch and recess time with me as we discuss a book. It’s been great – Sam says she loves having me as her teacher!

I continue as worship team chair at our church. We’re having a retreat soon to figure out what a progressive worship service looks like. I love our church. We are small, open and affirming, and quite diverse. John and I were two of the founding members and are so pleased that we’ve created a church home where so many feel welcome and loved.

Next thing on the calendar is my annual trip to Denton, Texas for the Texas Storytelling Festival. One of my mentors, Tim Tingle, storyteller for the Choctaw Nation, will be one of the featured tellers. Can’t wait to see and hear him again! He has taught me so much. The end of May we’ll be heading to Seattle again for our grandson’s wedding. It’ll be great to see so many of our grandchildren (4 there) and great-grandchildren (3, with another on the way.) All are doing well and seem to be very happy. 

Wishing you and all of our classmates good health, happiness and peace.”

BOB FLECK ’65 of Columbus, Georgia, writes, “We are looking forward to another Golden R reunion and Alumni Weekend. This last year my wife, RUTH POTTS FLECK ’66, and I visited two Ripon alumni who live in Hawaii. A great time seeing two islands through the eyes of those who have lived there for years. My wife had total knee replacement early this year and is just now (mid-February) able to drive and walk without assistance. We plan on visiting the Green Lake in late March and then returning again in the summer. Along the way we will spend some time at Hilton Head and Pensacola Beach. 

I continue to ‘play’ with a lathe and seem to turn some items that are appreciated by others. I am now thinking of getting a third lathe. As anyone who has done any craft knows, you are always just one tool away from having the perfect set up. I am also thinking about doing some part-time teaching at a university.”

CRAIG FERRIS ’65 of Chevy Chase, Maryland, writes, “Hell, no. I won’t go.” That was my immediate response when the love of my life for nearly 43 years said to me at breakfast a couple of months ago: “I think that it is time that we think about selling the house and moving to a condo with an elevator.”

But Nancy was partly right. Living in a two-story house with a finished basement is not easy at our age. Plus she has a problem with her left ankle that she tore up nearly three years ago when I dragged her on a trip by railroad down the ancient Silk Road across the ‘Stans from Beijing to Moscow. Even though it was a luxury train, there was a large gap between the railcar and the platform at the station in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. I said would catch her when she took a large step off the train. But she feared we would both go crashing down and said she would just take a giant step. As I feared, she hit her ankle at a bad angle and fell. Nothing broken, but upon our return to the U.S. she learned that she had torn several ligaments. First a “boot” and then a high-tech ankle brace have stabilized her. But going up and down the stairs is now not easy for her. And I have to confess that I have gotten to the point that hauling the laundry hamper three floors from the second floor to the basement and back up again is now drudgery.

But we have lived in our house for nearly 32 years and want to “age in place.” We have spent a lot or time improving the house and manicuring our garden. The thought of giving it all up and selling was difficult to fathom. There had to be a better way.

Then I spotted an advertisement for a new condo complex nearby with four-story units that have individual elevators. It seemed like the perfect solution until I realized that the price tag was well over a million and we would still lose our garden.

So I “Googled” residential elevators and found several companies that would install an elevator in our house. But we don’t live in a mini-mansion and finding space for a large box-like elevator seemed impossible.

Then I found an elevator that is right out of the Jetsons–a plastic tube inside an aluminum 37″ frame. It’s a pneumatic vacuum elevator–think of the pneumatic tube at your friendly neighborhood bank branch–that will take one of us from the basement to the first floor and on to the second floor all driven by a vacuum pump.

The local agent discovered that there is a clear path from the basement rec room to a corner of the living room and up to a closet just off the upstairs hallway. Believe it or not, Nancy thinks it’s a great idea. The elevator has been ordered and sometime in April while we are on vacation a crew will come in and cut 37 inch holes in the living room floor and the living room ceiling. Then after the dust settles and we return, a crew will remove our front door and install the tube and frame in three one-story pieces that will be bolted together and all connected to a compressor in the attic.

So stay tuned–with luck we get to stay in the house we love and I get to pretend to be George Jetson!”

STEVE PETERS ’65 of Marquette, Michigan, writes, “So far my year has been ruled by my doctors. I had a partial cornea transplant and cataract surgery in my right eye on February 1. At my one-week check the doctor said that the eye was healing better than expected. My vision has greatly improved already and should get better as the healing progresses. The healing period for a partial cornea transplant is six months. Next up is a bladder cancer check to see if any low-grade non-invasive tumors have reappeared.”

RICHARD MENSON ’65 of Dunwoody, Georgia, writes, “I just got back home after spending two months in Florida. I managed to get in 23 rounds of golf. Our oldest granddaughter, a freshman in high school, swam in the state high school swim meet while we were away and my other granddaughter, who is in seventh grade, swam in the state age group meet and made one final. They live in Athens, Georgia where my daughter is a physician. My other daughter works at LSU and is in a Doctoral at Azusa Pacific. We are taking the family on a River Cruise in June from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam. Lynne and I are planning a trip to Vietnam to visit many of the places that I saw when I was there from January 1969 to August of 1970. Looking forward to my 50th anniversary of graduation from Northwestern Law School in the fall.

JAMES SEBBEN ’65 of Littleton, Colorado, “About two years ago, my first daughter moved out to live with her college friend in an apartment and the second moved home to attend a local junior college. Last September, the first daughter moved back home when her roommate decided to move home to save money. So now I have two daughters and all their stuff back in the house. Next week we should close on daughter #1’s new townhouse, and daughter #2 will move with her to share expenses. It may take a while, but eventually we will get our household back to some semblance of normal with only daughter #3 at home. I continue with my hobby of making bamboo fly rods and fishing trips. Went to Chile and Alaska last year while this year will be going to Mexico and Panama.”

LEE WARCHUS JR. ’65 of Tyler, Texas, writes, “2017 was a fairly active year with my wife and I moving to a new address in Tyler, Texas, a road trip to Arizona, and spending the holidays with our family. With five children, ten grandchildren and one great grandchild, we feel blessed. Christmas seems extra special with the excitement of the young ones opening their presents.

Last summer, some friends asked me to join their bowling team. After much consideration I said yes and, after over 35 years, picked up a bowling ball. At one point during my first practice game, I fell and went sliding down the alley on my stomach with the ball. This caused my teammates and a number of other bowlers to run to my rescue. After recovering from my embarrassment, I began thinking that maybe I had made a very bad decision joining the team. Well, our team, made up of male “senior” citizens, a 72 year old (lowest average), a 74 year old (me), an 80 year old (who just got married) and a 96 year old (highest average), finished the first half of the season in first place. We feel fairly proud of this, since the league consists of 18 teams of men between 18 and 96 years of age. We are the target of a lot of “age” jokes around the alley, but we have earned a position in the league championship series at the end of the season.

Luckily, Tyler, Texas, even though there was plenty of rain, was not hit by the main force of Hurricane Harvey. The city felt the effects of many refugees and the needs of a lot of recovery organizations headed south to help. Sadly, there are still people without homes as a result of this storm.

Finally, for those who are wondering, Texas is still alive and well. If you ever plan to visit, remember our motto: “Don’t Mess with Texas”

DAVE WORDEN ’65: We welcomed the New Year with great news that we’ll be having another grandchild in Oct., #6! Terri and I have embraced being grandparents and spend a lot of time in California at our Oceanside condo seeing the grandkids in Tarzana and San Diego. We’re excited to be taking a cruise to Alaska this May which will take another check off our Bucket List. We’re staying busy with family, hiking, and golfing, so our health is good. We hope all our classmates are in similar condition.

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1966

Nancy Burrows

[email protected]

Summer greetings to all!

Although I only heard from two members of our class this time around, I hope everyone is enjoying a great summer. I must admit I had to shorten the “mail in” time in due to personal plans.  

JOHN BURROWS ’65 and I are doing well and are grateful for family, friends and good health. We are traveling to Lake Como for a week and down to Florence, Italy with friends for a two week trip next week! We enjoy traveling and know we will truly enjoy all of the side trips. We are  especially looking forward to the Bernina Express train through the Alps and a day in St. Moritz! Lake Como is known for beautiful scenery and excellent food. We will diet when we return. We are also planning a family reunion with children and grandchildren at Sunriver Resort in Oregon. Time is precious and family time to celebrate 50 years of marriage and John turning 75 seemed to be in order.

PAM KURZ GOODE ’66 ([email protected])

“Having endured a horrible winter and an even worse April (24″ of snow mid-month and 8″ shortly before that!) we were glad to escape to Syracuse, NY to visit our son and his family.  And yes… the weather in Syracuse was much better than in WI! We took our NY grandson on a 4 day trip to the Hyde Park area — lots of Roosevelt sites, spectacular Gilded Age mansions like the Vanderbilt’s, Storm King Art Center, etc. We had a great time and also spent a while in Buffalo NY where we stayed in a renovated state mental institution which is now a hotel called The Henry and, yes, they did let us out and no lobotomies were performed (that we know of)!! Now where was I?

We are off next week to visit friends in Northern Minnesota, but not much travel planned for a few months after that.  We might take a trip south in the late fall to visit more Civil War sites — a shared interest of ours. Beware, if we are in your area we may turn up on your doorstep! We hope to see BOB FLECK ’65 and RUTH POTTS FLECK ’66 this summer in Green Lake and hopefully a few other old Ripon classmates along the way.

In between trips, we keep busy in beautiful Door County and enjoy spending time with our daughter’s family. It’s nice having two grandsons just a few minutes away!

Hope all of you are enjoying life,  

Pam and Terry”

BARRY SIMON ‘66 ([email protected])

“I have seen film of me as a young child on my knees in front of a large radio counsel, rocking back and forth in time with the music playing. That was probably the start. It was in high school where I began to explore the performing arts through the school talent show and short plays.

But it was at Ripon where it became manifest.

I remember sitting at the lighting board at the old church that had been transformed into a theater after the Ripon College Theater burned down. At that moment I decided that instead of going to NYC to pursue theater, I would go to film school and learn the art of movie making that I had studied in the first such class taught at Ripon. As a preteen I had taken out books from the library about movies, perusing them with a sense of wonder since movies were my escape. However, it was this class that taught me that movies were actually an art and that I might be able to make them myself!

After four years at what was then called USC Cinema (George Lucas, Randall Kleiser, John Milius, and Caleb Deschanel–actress Zooey Deschanel’s father–were all in the class ahead of me and John Carpenter was in my class), I enter my long road in film and television. For the last 10 years of that journey I created a company with a partner that turned electronic press kits into a necessary aspect of movie publicity as I traveled around the world for nearly every major studio, directing short documentaries about the making of movies.

Prior to this I was a film and video editor, having been the latter for the first year or so on a new television show, Entertainment Tonight, which brought satellite dishes to all the stations that bought this syndicated half hour Hollywood news show and thus birthed the beginning of satellite delivery of real news, replacing the old “Get the film to the lab so it’s developed, edited and ready for the six o’clock broadcast!” It also started, I believe, the shift from news-as-news to news-as-entertainment. Sorry.

All the while I still practiced one of my Ripon College minors, education. For one year out of Ripon I taught high school English where I learned I wasn’t very good at classroom management, something they didn’t teach at Ripon at the time. Then in my film career, I taught various classes about filmmaking, editing and electronic press kits, classes that didn’t require management since the students wanted to learn this stuff.

While at USC as the editing T.A. (again teaching), I wrote a booklet on how to do negative cutting (a long, tedious process that, I believe, has gone the way of the buggy whip thanks to technology) which found its way to the other film school in town at the time–UCLA. Word had it that it was the “art” film school while USC was the “commercial” one. But negative cutting was still negative cutting and very boring no matter the film’s intention.

Now that I’m retired, I am still teaching as a volunteer with Albuquerque Reads. I have two 5 year old kindergartners who I work with during the school year, teaching them from the alphabet to sight words. Watching them learn to read is a joy beyond words. Not having children and grandchildren, I think of them during my school year sojourn as my “children,” planting seeds that go beyond learning to read, seeds about focus, dedication, attempting the unknown, being challenged, overcoming insecurity and fear, and believing in themselves. They are the future and my hope is that in some small way I help them at the beginning of their life’s journey.

I also returned to theater, becoming involved in local productions. I created and now coordinate the recording of a podcast for the Albuquerque Theatre Guild to promote local productions which educates listeners to the ins and outs of shows, thereby bringing together my publicity and production experience. Plus, I volunteer with the Music Guild of New Mexico, teaching youngsters what an orchestra is andleading to Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” which once more involves education and entertainment.

While doing this, my regular current entertainment activity is a monthly interactive game show I, as we used to say in the 60s, “liberated” from a similar idea in another state. It’s called The Liars’ Game and involves three storytellers, two are telling the truth and one is lying. The audience has to figure out who the liar is. And usually most get it wrong.

It’s great fun working with the storytellers on developing their 10 minute tales and promoting the show in a city that has slightly over 600,000 people. So this brings together everything I have been doing since I graduated–entertainment, production coordination, story creation, education and publicity.

The point of this long narrative is that Ripon and the education it gave me has served me well and still does fifty-some years later, except, maybe, barely learning how to use a slide rule in order to pass the Concepts of Science class. I traveled the world, created programming, entertained millions, educated others and continue to do so probably until I can’t do it any longer. I am thankful for what Ripon gave me and has allowed me to pass on.

Meanwhile, when you are in Albuquerque on the second Monday of the month, stop by Empire Board Game Library and play The Liars’ Game. Just maybe you can figure out who’s lying. But don’t bet on it. That’s one class they don’t teach at Ripon.”

Hopefully the members of the class of 1966 are all doing well. Have a super summer! NANCY

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Spring 2018

Class Agent:

Nancy Ostermeier Burrows ’66

[email protected]

2018…Hard to believe that we are approaching March. Spring is here and all of our allergies are in full swing! JOHN BURROWS ’65 and I feel very blessed to be approaching our 50th wedding anniversary in April. We met at Ripon and certainly appreciate all the good times, friends, and wonderful education we received at Ripon. We recently enjoyed having BARB BERGER LASCODY ’67 and her husband LARRY LASCODY ’65 stop in on their way back to Atlanta. There is really nothing better than reminiscing with old friends and laughing at the crazy times we enjoyed together. Please know we love visitors! Here are a couple of photos of our recent visit.  

      Barb and Nancy

Larry and John

Sincerely,

Nancy

Classmate News:

DAVID FUKUDA ’66
[email protected]

I am writing from Irvine, California, where Judy and I just moved into a CCRC called Regents Point. After 44 years in Maui, we made the big decision to leave Hawaii and be closer to the grandkids in Colorado Springs and Nashville. It is something we weren’t planning on for another 10 years, but the type of unit we were looking for came available so we jumped on it. Still getting used to the change in routines replacing yard work with pickle ball and swimming, and taking the kids to Disneyland instead of the beaches on Maui.

PAM KURZ GOODE ’66

[email protected]

Lots of travel for the Goodes in the past few months! In the late fall, we took our oldest grandson on a week-long trip driving through South Dakota – Badlands, Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, etc.- and to the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. We also made some stops on the way out to see the Corn Palace, St. Joseph’s Indian School, and an archeological dig. A great time was had by all! Mid-December to mid-January was spent in Akumal, Mexico (the Caribbean side of the country) with the kids and grandkids joining us for the middle two weeks. There is so much to do in the area, most notably the Mayan ruins, cenotes, snorkeling, etc. We liked it so much we have booked again for next year! Then, after three weeks at home, we spent 10 days touring Costa Rica in February. It is a beautiful country with amazing flora and fauna. We toured a coffee plantation and oxcart factory, walked on hanging bridges, took an aerial tram over the rainforest (no we did not zipline!), cruised on a couple of rivers, etc. If you haven’t been there, put it on your list. Now we have settled in for the rest of the winter. The only thing on the docket is an April trip to Syracuse, New York to visit our son and his family and to take our middle grandson on a trip to see all things related to the Roosevelt family in the Hyde Park, New York area.   Hasta la vista!

Terry and Pam in Costa Rica!

ROGER GREILING ’66

[email protected]

My wife Mindy and I recently spent four days in Vero Beach, Florida (escaping Minnesota just before 12″ of snow fell) visiting LINDY MASSON KASTENDIEK ’66 and her husband John. In addition to enjoying the warm January weather, we had the opportunity to spend relaxing time with them, see a bit of east central Florida, and enjoy their cooking as well as meals at ocean-side restaurants. There aren’t many of those in Minnesota. As Lindy commented, it was the most time we had spent together since Ripon days. After a trip to Belgium and France last summer we have a cruise planned to Cuba this fall – which hopefully will be allowed. There is just one grandchild: a 13 year old in Washington, D.C. who we always enjoy greatly, when we have a chance to see her. Health is still good for both of us (knock on wood) and we remain active in a variety of activities.

HELEN HANSEN ’66

[email protected]

2018 finds us in much better shape to travel and generally get out and about, despite Bob’s surgeries in the fall and a somewhat colder Minnesotan winter. Got Snow?! The Twin Cities not only survived the Superbowl, but also served as a superb host. We are proud of our hometowns. I’m enjoying a February trip to San Diego to see my daughter Mary, and looking forward to a March trip to Vero Beach, Florida to see Bob’s brother. My youngster, Bob, is turning 70 this year. Yawn! But we will celebrate his youth and charm in style. Happy belated Valentine’s Day to everyone from sunny Southern California.

MARY RASCHKA SIKORA ’66

[email protected]

I continue to keep my mental acuity sharp by tutoring college algebra, trigonometry, precalculus and calculus at Valencia College, where I had been a professor for many years. The one-on-one with students is a treat as I am much appreciated for explaining concepts to them that they did not understand from the classroom or online. The lack of making lesson plans and grading papers is an added benefit. In September, I attended my 55th High School Reunion in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin with my Ripon roommate, JANET HOLLATZ ’66. We didn’t understand why so many old people were in attendance as we could not have been their age, but I guess we were. My husband, Joe, and I will take our first Disney Cruise in April with our wonderful family.

TERRI KRIKORIAN WORDEN ‘66

[email protected]

Hi everyone! Our biggest news is that another grand baby is on the way. Our son and his wife are expecting baby #2. That will make #6 for us, and 4 grandchildren under the age of 3.Wow, what a workout! We continue going back and forth to California to see our daughters and their families and to help babysit. Our older 2 grandchildren continue to visit us and bring a friend. Last year, we took a cruise from Montreal to New York City. The weather was perfect. One highlight was visiting the 9/11 museum, which was both sobering and inspirational because of all the acts of heroism. This year we are taking a cruise to Alaska. Everyone came to us this Christmas and it was a memorable one, including sick babies, but it was full of fun and laughter despite the coughs and colds! Hope all is well with everyone.

Our best to all of you. TERRI KRIKORIAN WORDEN ‘66 and DAVE WORDEN ’65.

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1967

Kathryn “Kathy” Santimays Dunn

(704) 633-8999 / [email protected]

“In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.” -Edith Wharton

Dear Class of 1967,

As I write, the class of 1968 is preparing for their initiation into the Golden R Club. What great memories they will make! Though they will be hard pressed to surpass our fantastic weekend! Only four years to our 55th!

Many of us are feeding our “insatiable intellectual curiosity” by traveling.

DAVE LEIFHEIT ’67 and wife, NANCY OLIVER LEIFHEIT ’69, of Elmhurst, Illinois, write, “Most of our traveling this year was in the US. We spent time in Seattle with our kids and grandson, in Nashville for a family wedding, in Charlotte, North Carolina for another family wedding, and in Wisconsin at our cabin. To top it off we went to Costa Rica in January and enjoyed 94 degree weather before coming back to more than 8 inches of snow! The spring months were spent volunteering with AARP Tax Aide doing taxes for those who appreciate the help. At the family wedding in October, we were with all eight Oliver siblings in North Carolina, including my brother SCOTT OLIVER ’69! Such a fun reunion!”

JUDY WILKINSON NEIL ’68 and BILL NEIL ’67 visited SCOTT NYQUIST ’69 and his wife CYNTHIA SANBORN NYQUIST ‘69 in Naples, Florida in January. A couple of months ago Judy and Bill were in San Francisco and had lunch with NANCY WADLEY KEOUGH ’67 and Professor Phil Clarkson who taught at Ripon while we were there.

KATHLEEN KRANBUEHL KRAHNKE ’67 of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, writes, “Loving retirement on Hilton Head Island while keeping involved with kids through Backpack Buddies and The Boys and Girls Club.”

NANCY WADLEY KEOUGH ’67 was visiting a friend in Beaufort, South Carolina recently. I was in Hilton Head so we were able to get together for lunch in Harbor Town. After a short time back home, she and her husband are making a return trip to Ireland and adding Scotland.

Greg and I will have had an amazing two weeks in San Francisco and Hawaii with our youngest grandchild, Oliver, by the time you read this! We’ve taken his older brother, Zach, and sister, Hillary, in the past. I hope you are all feeling chipper and enjoying the gift of each day!

A little aside about Ripon, the city: Smuckers is made there and the Farmer’s Almanac is published there. That’s your Jeopardy trivia for today!

KATHY

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Kathy Santimays Dunn

[email protected]

Spring 2018

“There’re only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right way to look, believe, do and mostly live.”

            Dalai Lama

The older I get (and I can’t believe how old I am!) the more I value the gift of another day.

How fortunate we all were to celebrate our 50th Reunion last year. Many of you may be joining your “younger” spouses this June as they enjoy a 50 year reunion. Though try as hard as they may I don’t think they can top ours!

Our generation seems to understand the importance of keeping active and fit. Take for example DICK WRIGHT ’67 who bravely still participates in triathlons! He actually received the Incredible Hunk award at our reception. LUCY BROOKS WRIGHT ’67 keeps her amazingly youthful appearance with Pilates, Jazzercise, and yoga.

BILL ’67 and JUDY ’68 WILKINSON NEILL are escaping Wisconsin winter weather by enjoying some weeks on Anna Maria Island. After spending a lot of time at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Florida is a very well-deserved sojourn.

KARON BRO STOPPS ‘67 and husband Malcolm continue to enjoy their five grandchildren. A trip to Mexico with two of them was an aquatic adventure. Perhaps a vacation after the vacation was needed!

LARRY and BARB LASCODY have also enjoyed vacations with their two daughters’ families, most recently a cruise to celebrate their anniversaries.

Suffice it to say all the grandchildren of our classmates seem to be the smartest, most athletic, most beautiful, most handsome and kindest children ever created – at least according to their grandparents.

Speaking of grandchildren some of yours are beginning to look at colleges. Of course I’m sure you are encouraging them to visit Ripon.

I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about the advantages of a liberal arts education (WSJ-Opinion page-March 3-4). The following quote particularly stood out to me as a summation of liberal arts at Ripon.

“Liberal arts courses don’t offer clearly defined answers to questions. Rather, they nurture disagreements among students and help them develop the ability to marshall cogent arguments in support of defensible positions. The ability to express a viewpoint verbally and then articulate it in writing is skill that will serve graduates whether they are pitching a business plan to a venture-capital firm or writing a report to shareholders explaining why their portfolios took a hit last quarter.”

In my opinion some majors (at other schools) hyper focus on one area and don’t integrate it with the whole.

Clearly we all made the right choice by attending Ripon. Our successful careers, friendships, and families were all positively influenced by that decision.

Have a happy, healthy spring!

Kathy

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

1968

Bob Martin

[email protected]  

Dear Classmates:

Do you remember the opening words of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends theme, which came out one month before we graduated in 1968?

Time it was, and what a time it was,

A time of innocence, a time of confidences

Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph

Preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you

We celebrated our memories for four days in June, reflected on our innocence, and took tons of pictures to commemorate the occasion, concluding with 41 classmates as well as guests and retired faculty singing the alma mater at our closing dinner on June 24. We remembered then and celebrated now.

Highlights:

Distinguished Alumni. Ours would be GUY HENSHAW ’68, recognized for his many contributions to the college and for his professional achievements. Congratulations, Guy, and also thanks for the shortest acceptance speech of the night. “A two-minute thank-you after an hour and 20 minutes seemed right,” said Guy.

Class gift. We finished third among all the reunion classes in our gift of $253, 532, of which $53,352 has been dedicated to a special Class of 1968 Scholarship fund. PAM PRICE SMITH ’68, JIM CLARK ’68, and Guy were responsible for leading the effort. Only the Classes of 1983 ($1.23 million) and 1973 ($496,870) raised more in their gifts this year. In the five years since our last reunion, our class has raised $1.37 million for the college.

The Quiz. Just a wonderful potpourri of our four years, thanks to JUDY WILKINSON NEILL ’68 and BONNIE BINKOFF RILEY ’68. My favorites were to match faculty names with their subject; guessing the number of entering freshmen in 1964 (330) and graduating seniors in 1968 (191), and the annual cost of room, board and tuition in 1964 ($2,350)

The Women’s Handbook. Read by VICKY PORTH TOBIAS ’68 in her walk down memory lane. A sample: “Thursday nights and Saturday are dress-up dinners in the dining hall. A tie and coat or a dress and hose add that extra special touch to a splendid meal. Plan to look just the way Mom wants you to look when you take her to church on Sunday. And don’t sit only with the guys or gals. Mix it up a little. Tag some guy or gal you may have your eye on and make it a little dinner party.

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

Class Agent:

Scott A. Nyquist ‘69

Home: (239) 732-0523 / Cell: (630) 632-1619

[email protected]

Spring 2018

Hello Class of ’69!

I’m writing this in mid-February and for most of you it was a pretty cold and snowy winter. You’re probably reading this in May and glad the weather is warm now. I hope you have made plans to visit Ripon in 2018. Alumni Weekend, on June 21-24, would be a great time, but come whenever you can. If you haven’t been to campus in a while, you will notice some changes. Make sure you take time to tour the new Willmore Center, Ripon’s state-of-the art athletic, health and fitness center. It is truly spectacular. There have been improvements in other buildings too, so walk around and think about those days back in the 60s when we were students. Take time also to walk through downtown. Some of the places there when we were students are still there. (Alas, the Rippin’ Good Cookie factory is closed down.) For some of Ripon it seems time has stood still. Find your way to Lane Library and spend some time in the Archives looking through old Crimson yearbooks or issues of the College Days newspaper. Visit your old dorm rooms and think about your college roommates. Do you keep in touch with them? If you were a science nerd, poke around Farr Hall. Visit the Pub (now known as “The Spot”) and The Great Hall in Harwood Union. Tour the remodeled S.N. Pickard Commons. (Remember the food fights there?)

OK, now to the news from the class. Here are the updates you guys sent me:

MARK BAUER ’69 of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, tells me, “I retired about 3-4 years ago. I am keeping busy while my wife Cindy is still working in Urgent Care. We have two sons living in the area, one a pediatrician, the other a dentist. Another son and daughter live in New York City. He is a sound engineer and works with a major podcast in California. My fourth son is a radiation oncologist in the Phoenix area. As such we spend a lot of time traveling with family between and on both coasts. I remain busy with some ‘babysitting,’ watching grandsons playing basketball, taking a German language class, having carnivorous plants, and I occasionally visit to my 100 year-old mother. I am looking forward to this next June for the Beta Sig get-together. We were in Bavaria last fall and are planning a trip to the Grand Canyon this spring. I am involved in my medical school class reunion this year.”

FRED KIEKHAEFER ’69 of Castle Rock, Colorado, says, “I’m building my second prototype of a new marine drive system here in Colorado. (It’s an odd place to design propulsion, but the view is great!) The first one is being rigged into a new test boat in Florida. I’m 5 years post-Mercury Racing presidency and 4 ½ years into this project. A U.S. Patent was issued to me on December 26 for this variable pitch surfaced drive – so I’m pumped! I can’t wait to get wet in February. Recently, I hosted a tour of my humble operation for a dozen current Ripon students and staff who were interested in hearing from alumni about “what it takes” to succeed in education, career and life. I think I was more impressed with them than they of me. It was fun. Life is good.”

NANCY OLIVER LEIFHEIT ’69 of Elmhurst, Illinois, writes, “Most of our traveling this year was in the U.S.  We spent time in Seattle with our kids and grandson, in Nashville for a family wedding, in Charlotte, North Carolina, for another family wedding, and in Wisconsin at our cabin. To top it off, my husband DAVE LEIFHEIT ’67 and I went to Costa Rica this January and enjoyed the 94 degree weather before coming back to more than 8 inches of snow! The next few months we are volunteering with AARP Tax Aide doing taxes for those who appreciate the help. At the family wedding in October, we were with all 8 Oliver siblings in North Carolina, including my brother SCOTT OLIVER ’69! Such a fun reunion!”

TOM MACE ’69 of Menasha, Wisconsin, writes, “Not much personally to report, but some sad news. Last week, I attended the celebration of life service for REV. PETER BIRD ’66. He was a senior when we were freshmen. Pete died from complications of cancer just before Christmas. Through several years of therapy, remission, and resurgence, he maintained the same cheerful attitude he had when we were in Phi Delta Theta together. Pete and I met again at St Thomas Episcopal Church in Menasha when I retired from NASA and returned to Wisconsin at the end of 2012. We instantly became friends. I am richer for our re-acquired friendship and poorer for his loss.”

PHIL MCCULLOUGH ’69 of Woodstock, Illinois, sent this update: “I am still teaching and seeing patients at the medical school at Northwestern. Pat and I are enjoying our grandchildren (we have 3). In November, my daughter, KRISTEN MCCULLOUGH GRANCHALEK ’04, CHRIS OGLE ’80 (Dean of Students at Ripon), and I released a little book: Mental Health and the Adaptation to College. It’s available on Amazon.”

BARRY MORTON ’69 of Laguna Hills, California, writes, “Last October, The Other Half (BOB FERNBACH ’69, JEFF SCHEFERMAN ’69, DAVE RICHARDSON ’69 and I), gave a concert in Southern California for a great crowd of about 100 of my neighbors and friends at our community in Laguna Hills. This was our 6th annual performance there. We even got paid this year, and were comped apartments during the 4-day stay. Jane and I are completing the expansion and redecoration of our mountain cabin on the shore of Big Bear Lake in Southern California. There will be more room for the kids and grandkids when we’re done. Last summer Jane and I went to Wool, in Dorset in the U.K., to celebrate the first wedding anniversary of our daughter Emily to a wonderful Brit named Simon Parsons. We partied with his British family and friends who weren’t able to attend the 2016 wedding in Long Beach, California on the HMS Queen Mary. Then, as long as we were in the neighborhood, we spent a few days in Paris before the flight back to Southern California.”

SCOTT NYQUIST ’69 and CYNTHIA SANBORN NYQUIST ’69 of Naples, Florida, write “The biggest news is that we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on March 9. We’ve been in Naples for more than 5 years now and love it. Cynthia volunteers at the Naples Botanic Garden, and I volunteer at St. Matthews House (soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless shelter, substance abuse program) as well as at WINK TV in Ft. Myers, answering the consumer hotline and helping people solve problems. Our house survived Hurricane Irma back in September without a scratch. We were in Germany when the storm hit, watching the radar on our iPhones. We almost didn’t get back because the airline we flew over (Air Berlin) went bankrupt so we had to scramble to get a Delta flight home. In October, Scott spent a long weekend on Longboat Key with three fraternity brothers: ART SCARLETT ’69, ROB HANDEYSIDE ’69, and STEVE LEITSCHUH ’69. We enjoyed a visit from BILL NEILL ’67 and JUDY WILKINSON NEILL ’68 in January and a visit from ART SCARLETT ’69 and his wife, SHERRY SWENNES SCARLETT ’70 in March. We’re excited about the 50th Reunion for the Class of 1969 next year.”

JOHN RICCIARDI ’69 of Tampa, Florida, writes, “My wife and I are in the process of moving from Tampa to Raleigh, where our son lives. We are excited about the next chapter in our lives as well as our March trip back to Saudi Arabia to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids.”

DAVE SINISH ’69 of Collinsville, Connecticut, wrote me “The extreme cold this winter has reminded me of the squeaky snow when walking back to the dorms after dinner at the Commons. It was a big deal when it got below 10 degrees and the women could wear slacks to dinner. Those woolen socks purchased at the Ripon knitting factory were great. Life is full with real estate, yoga, Farmington River steward activities, and elected Town positions. For the numbers, married 48 years, two children (one a concrete carpenter, the other an air quality compliance officer) and four grandchildren. Last count was 19 canoes and kayaks. Still afloat.” 

BOB ‘OTTO’ WACHHOLTZ ’69 of Papillion, Nebraska, says, “I finally retired on January 31. My bride retired in November, so now we have to figure out what comes next. I’ve been the Air Force liaison to an organization called Civil Air Patrol since 1987, so I have completed the paperwork to join them. I also plan to return to the links and donate golf balls to the various hazards as I used to. I like to get my money’s worth by not staying on the fairway. My bride has hinted that she may join me. Plus, I still have softball and nearly year-round ice hockey to keep me active, thus confirming my motto of “never too old to be stupid.” Sadly I never learned a useful trade around the house or in the garage. And if all else fails then I can feed my addiction to watching TV (ask some of the DUs from our era).”

As always, I want to urge all of you to make a gift to the Ripon College Annual Fund in 2018 if you have not already done so. Don’t forget to include the College in your estate plan. It’s easy to do. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at (920)-748-8351 or [email protected].

50 Year Reunion Plans:

Remember, our 50th Class Reunion will take place on Saturday, June 29, 2019. I hope all of you will try to attend. Please put this date on your calendar right now. Also, it’s recommended you make reservations at a Ripon area hotel well in advance, as the number of nearby hotel rooms is limited. Please try to arrive on Thursday, as the College has many events – some exclusively for the 50th Reunion Class – planned for the entire weekend.

I am looking for volunteers to serve on the Reunion Committee. The work involves participating in quarterly conference calls to plan reunion events, as well as contacting classmates to personally invite them to attend the reunion. The committee begins working on the reunion starting in July, giving us a year to create the best reunion ever! Please volunteer! Some decisions to make regarding the reunion are: where to have it, what type of food to serve decorations, music, etc. I’d like to find a way to livestream the reunion so those who couldn’t make it can see it in real time. Also, each year, the 50th Reunion Class is responsible for the non-denominational Service of Remembrance from 8:30-9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning of Alumni Weekend. We can choose the music and also the readings and ask whomever we want to speak. Last year’s special guest speaker at the service was English Professor Emeritus Doug Northrop.

Remember to send Ripon College your new address if you move and to notify them of a new email address if you create one. Keep in touch. I love hearing from you guys.

Always for Ripon,

SCOTT A. NYQUIST

Submitted by: DevStudent