R Connections

KEN GRANT ’87 of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, is an official intern/vicar at the Genesis Lutheran Church in Detroit and on way to ordination at the end of this year.

Submitted by: Dorrie Smith Scranton

Left to right – Mary Ulland Perabo ’67, Diane Vaughan Longcore ’67, Kathy Santimays Dunn ’67 taking a break while hiking at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

Submitted by: Kathy Santimays Dunn

David Mirisch ’59 shown on the flight deck of the USS Aircraft Carrier THE MIDWAY which is permanently docked in the San Diego Harbor. For 10 years David was on its Board of Directors and his family produced the motion picture MIDWAY starring Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda.

Submitted by: David Mirisch

Submitted by: Andrew Schmidt

Jackie Alcorn ’65 and family visited Ripon last summer.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

L-R Mark Henkel ’70 and Hilde Bormann Henkel ’73 with their sons, James Henkel and John Henkel received their black belts.  The diamond side punch is characteristic of the 7th degree form, called cheunkwon.

Submitted by: Mark Henkel

Dear Class of 1955,

ART LUNDEBERG ’55 has asked me to write on his behalf this spring. Due to some recent health challenges he finds that he is unable to write a letter this spring. He has high hopes to have something for you again in the fall. In the fall letter, he would like to highlight ‟During your time at Ripon, how did you get home for Christmas?  Did you drive, take a

train, bus etc…?” He would like to include these responses in the fall letter. Please email him your response. His contact information is listed above.

Classmate News:

ARTHUR ABT ’55 of Bonita Springs, Florida, writes, ‟Our condo had NO damage due to Irma, wonderful warm sunny winter in Florida Nov. 1 to May!”

He wishes you all a happy and healthy spring and summer.

Sincerely,

Yvonne Nicklaus

Associate Director of Engagement and Outreach

Submitted by: Art Lundeberg

Class Agent:

Deborah Johnson Van Slyke ’60

480-284-5564 / 619-889-5061

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Class of 1960,

Here is some classmate news:

DEE GRAY HOLDEN ’60 and DANNY HOLDEN ’60 of Phoenix, Arizona, are our constant world travelers. Last summer there were to trips to Europe. Every grandchild takes one trip with them. This was the final one. Nick and his grandparents were in the northern Italian Alps. Later. Dee and Dan took a Danube cruise and spent 5 days in Vienna. Dan had 2 spine surgeries last year and is now back on the golf course. This summer they will again be at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

KARL PIOTROWSKI ’60 of Aiea Oahu, Hawaii, celebrated his 80th with the family at the Green Bay – Bears games in Green Bay.  Daughter Jay graduated from med school and is now engaged so Karl will soon be father of the bride. His son Brian is working with Karl on construction projects for banks while his wife E Long is active with music and dancing.

DEBORAH JOHNSON VAN SLYKE ’60

Submitted by: Deborah Johnson Van Slyke

Class Agent:

WAYNE WOLFGRAM ’63

313-882-1712

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Hi Classmates!

I hope you all are coping with the weather. Here in Michigan the winter started out almost pleasant and mild, but it has turned.

Class Notes:

VERNON CRONEN ’63 of Wilmington, North Carolina, ([email protected]) writes, “I have been teaching a class in Argumentation and Debate in addition to other courses — echoes of Ripon days. Debate is far from my academic specialty, but it is fun to teach and important in the age of Trump’s madness. If that is offensive to some readers, I make no apologies. I am continuing to work on further development of my theory of communication, “Coordinated Management of Meaning” and I am still working on focusing on how to teach systemic ways of asking questions for undergraduates.

Myrna and I have survived the Hurricane that hit Wilmington, North Carolina with relatively minor damage to our house. We had to leave town for two weeks. We are still working on some repairs. UNCW was harder hit. I am able to get back into my office and things are getting mostly back to normal.”

CATHELINE PETRUSCHKE KREFT ’63 of Duluth, Minnesota, ([email protected]) writes, “I just read the winter Ripon magazine. It was interesting to me to see the timeline of teacher education and then to see in the news about Larry Miller. Larry was my education professor. I was the first student teacher in elementary education (1963) and the first to graduate. I feel fortunate to have used this education successfully in Duluth. Greetings to all.”

SUSAN KELLER MATTHES ’63 of Carson City, Nevada, ([email protected]) writes, “Lots of snow here in Carson City – neighbors told us, when we first moved out here back in 2002, that “it melts by 10am” – they just didn’t say how many days it would last! We’ve even had to shovel the stuff!! It’s melting quickly now and the spring flowers are exploding out of the flower beds. The mountains and foothills to our west are still lovely and the ski resorts are jubilant.

It’s back to Utah again this spring – a state that has so much to offer in the way of geology, history, scenery and outdoor activity. We’ve explored most of the Escalante Staircase – now just a bit more time in the Canyonlands and Arches and then it’s on to Flaming Gorge National Park. Last year we drove across to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake – no antelope spotted but a number of buffalo. And the most spectacular sunset ever!

It’s always nice to keep up with the activities of classmates. We wish all good health and happy days.”

LYNN SIEBEL SUNDELIUS ’63 of Kalispell, Montana 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.”

WAYNE WOLFGRAM ’63 of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, ([email protected]) writes, “My trip to Brisbane, Australia in July to attend my niece’s wedding and a family reunion (all seven Wolfgram siblings were able to attend) went great. I was impressed by the vibrancy and beauty of the city. It seemed that all the people walking around and enjoying the city’s ambiance were young people (of course most everyone else seems young these days).

Some of you may have read the disappointing article in the February 22, 2019 Wall Street Journal: “America’s Disappearing Private Colleges”. The plunging birthrate that occurred after the 2009 recession means there may not be enough students to keep small schools alive. The author predicts the hardest hit areas will be those most populated by private colleges, including those around the Great Lakes. So there may have to be mergers or, at worst, closings.

While donation of funds to the college is vitally important, just as important – maybe more so – is talking up the benefits of attending Ripon to grandchildren, great grandchildren, neighbor kids, etc.

Please inform me or the college of your email addresses and I sure hope to hear from more of you in the future.

A happy spring and summer to you all.

WAYNE WOLFGRAM ’63

Submitted by: Wayne Wolfgram

Class Agent:
John Hyde
[email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings ’65 Classmates,

Donna and I enjoy our days in Pensacola for a variety of reasons. Recently with all the news about the terrible storms, wind and snow/icy roads occurring across the country, our consistently mild weather here is wonderful. However, our lake house in Conover, Wisconsin is buried in snow and Donna’s mother, brother and son in Kansas City, Missouri just had a snow storm. We get together with my sister JEANNE HYDE HUMKE ’67 and her husband, my frat bro, RETT HUMKE ’65 either at their lake house just north of our Conover house across the Wisconsin border into Michigan or at our home in Pensacola a few times during the year.

It is almost time to put the boat in and also use the pool here. We enjoy the Pensacola Jazz Society events here and the relatively close locations for doing many things along the coast here. We drove to Tampa to see Michael Buble in February and spent an evening with one of Donna’s old friends and her significant other. This summer we will spend a month at our Conover home and organized maybe the last year of Cousin’s Camp which is week of activities with my five grandkids.

We saw Celine Dion and Beatles LOVE and others while in Vegas. We spent most of our time in various casinos. Every shop and restaurant you can think of is found in Las Vegas casinos.

John Hyde

Classmate News:

DICK BENNETT ’65 conveyed a pride regarding his son Tony who is currently have a great year as the basketball coach for the University of Virginia. We met Tony who attended one of reunion dinners about ten years ago. Dick spoke highly of the marvelous new Willmore Center at Ripon and how the athletic teams were doing. He commented on how he missed his departed Merriman friend and alumni trustee, MIKE REESE ’65. He says he enjoys reading, especially Faith based and nonfiction books.

In talking with CRAIG FERRIS ’65 his nature to understand the history of an issue became apparent. In describing how he and his wife, Nancy, took a cruise from Miami, Florida, to San Francisco through the Panama Canal, he described some of the history, with the failures in the building of the canal. In this class letter, Craig wrote a wonderful article about GREG THOMPSON ’65, a classmate of ours who passed away last November.

JOHN BURROWS ’65 of Jacksonville, Florida, writes, NANCY OSTERMEIER BURROWS ’66 and I remain in good health. I continue to be active during the day doing various chores around the house and then become a couch potato in the evening watching Netflix or Prime Video.

        We both do Pilates (different times) and know it has to be good for you. I also walk nearly every day and continue with my volunteer work: driver for meals on wheels, cooking at a large homeless shelter, donating blood, and volunteering at our church.

        We still enjoy traveling. We just returned from Oregon where our son lives with his wife and 2 year old son (our 3rd grandchild). You forget just how active a 2 year old child can be. Next trip will be to Disney World in Orlando. We have found it a great place to visit and enjoy the amazing restaurants. As a general rule, we do not go into the actual parks but try to walk everywhere. We will also be going to London in the early summer.

Spring cannot be far away. Our Azaleas are beginning to bloom and the temperature is in the upper 70’s. Our best to everyone.

BARBARA BRADFORD SEWALL ’65 and TED SEWALL ’66 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, took a delightful Holland America trip in the spring with friends of theirs. Both of their sons, TOM ’93 and GREG ’95, who also attended Ripon, are doing well. Ted often goes hunting with Greg who bought a small farm for bow hunting. They spend part of April every year, away from the snow in Wisconsin; at a place they rent in Venice, Florida where their children and grandchildren join them. 

DAVID MEISSNER ’65 is still enjoying life and gardening (and retirement from Alfred University) in Western New York with trips to the Caribbean Islands in winter, and our Family Home on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire in the summertime.

KEN MAHER ’65 writes, “Now retired after selling my pension administrative services business two years ago. I am spending January through March in my home in Queen Valle, Arizona, and the rest of the year in Coventry, Connecticut.” 

I am playing lots of golf with my significant other Dee, even though she usually out drives me. I have been taking courses at two state universities towards a Masters in Sociology and Data Science. I may use this combination to launch new career. When I’m not golfing or studying I enjoy working on the Connecticut house.

RICHARD MENSON ’65 of Dunwoody, Georgia, writes, “On January 6 of this year, it was 50 years since I landed in Vietnam to start 20 months of in country service as a JAG officer. I arrived later than a number of those in the class of 1965 since I went to Northwestern Law School in Chicago graduating in 1968. Since then I have participated in trying to help Veterans through the establishment of Veterans Legal Clinics at various law school in Georgia after I moved to Atlanta in June of 2007. All of us who were commissioned in the class of 1965 did their service proudly. In what is going on in my life, my wife and I are visiting Cuba in the fall with stops in Havana, Santiago and other places. While we are in Havana we are going to the Tropicana and in Santiago, visiting San Juan Hill. We are traveling to Tacoma, Washington to visit my daughter who took a position at Pacific Lutheran College along with following my grandchildren who swim with the Athens (Georgia) Bulldog Swim Club.  

CAROLE COOP ATHERATON ’65 of Redmond, Oregon, enjoys traveling and has done so in interesting locations in the world. She saw MARY SHIRER KROENING ’65 in Naperville, Illinois. She commented that her significant other, Malarkey, is recouping from a bad fall on the ice, resulting in a compound fracture near their home in Oregon. He is an interesting and bright person who I met at a past reunion. Coop is always full of energy when you engage her in conversation.

MARY SHIRER KROENING ’65 of Naperville, Illinois, writes, “John and I spent the month of January in Naples, Florida, and wish we were still there! Thankfully, we missed the really cold snap here in Naperville. Now that we’re home, I enjoy cuddling up with my books since I’m in 3 book clubs. I still serve as chair of the Worship Team at HOPE Church. It’s such a welcoming place – very diverse, very progressive. Over the years, I’ve met such interesting people and have learned a lot about people and their challenges as they search for love and acceptance. Our ukulele band has a number of gigs coming up, one of which is a fund-raiser for the families of victims and first responders in Aurora. When will these mass shootings stop? I’m glad that we can do at least a little something to help. I’m planning to finally get my right knee replaced in a couple of weeks. The recovery won’t be fun, but the expected results will motivate me to do the work. I passed my road test last week – yay! Haven’t had one of those for 60 years! That’s about it for me!

DAVID WORDEN ’65 of Scottsdale, Arizona, writes, “Terri and I have dividing our time between California and Arizona spending time with grandkids and the rest of our family.  We welcomed our 6th grandchild the end of September and are truly blessed to have such a big family.  Looking forward to our vacation to Victoria, BC, in May and short trips to the coast in between. Hope all our classmates are well and we look forward to hearing their news.

JIM THORSEN ’65 of Idaho Falls, Idaho, writes, “We are planning a trip to Normandy to observe the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Our grandkids are playing in one of 12 high school and college marching bands selected to represent the U.S. at the ceremonies. After the event, we are going to see our friends in Scotland. As an aside when I was the Manager of one of Louisville’s airports, the director had been on the meteorological staff on General Eisenhower, and was active in advising General Eisenhower to delay the invasion from the 5th to the 6th. Interesting fellow, to say the least!

CHAD NELSON ’65 of Plymouth, Minnesota, writes, “Not much has changed in our lives; just noticing that the time is going by faster and faster. We still make regular trips to Aspen, Colorado, to visit our son and his family. (I keep meaning to look up classmate TOM BUESCH ’65 when we are in town, but our son, his wife and our 3 granddaughters keep us busy — even though we frequently stay for 10-14 days at a time.)

We have tried to get away from the Minnesota winter, but, so far, our timing has been poor. We went to Las Vegas in January but got back in Minnesota just in time for a cold spell. We are getting ready to take a cruise to Cuba this week; looking forward to learning about the culture… and experiencing the warm weather!

Best to you and Donna, and our fellow classmates.

KARL BERES ’65 of Ripon, Wisconsin, writes, “Diane and I made our umpteenth trips to Costa Rica this past January. Two back-to-back trips: A cruise through the Panama Canal and up the Pacific coasts of both countries, followed by a birding trip through southern Costa Rica. Had a great time, and I didn’t even take my cane. Meanwhile, Diane is teaching three 6th-grade math classes as a long-term sub.

JUDY DU FRÊNE HALL ’65 writes, “I’m sitting here in a borrowed casita in San Miguel de Allende, GTO Mexico. It is 84 degrees out and clear blue skies.

We have been coming here for over 20 years, and now have even more reason as our daughter, Chandra and her husband and our grandson, Nicholas, moved here a year and a half ago to escape the corporate world of Seattle. Bill and I have really enjoyed being in the same town with them. In November, our other daughter, Allyson, and her family of husband and 3 teenage sons came from North Carolina for Thanksgiving and to celebrate my 75th birthday.  We had 5 lovely days and introduced them to San Miguel. When we are not here we are in California and/or Minnesota.

Last summer we spent 6 weeks in Europe with a cruise over, a cruise to St. Petersburg and a couple weeks around Hamburg and Berlin. How fortunate we are!!

JOHN NEWHARD ’65 writes, “Sharon and I are enjoying watching the University of Virginia basketball team coached by Tony Bennett—Dick Bennett’s son and I am recovering from a right knee replacement-slowly.”

JOHN WHEELER ’65:

My undying gratitude to Ripon for all that it has given to me.

I have been putting John H. off on his request that I provide him with a few lines for the class of ’65 newsletter. I figure that my personal news is always mundane and boring.  Finally, I decided to think about what Ripon has meant to me and to express the gratitude that I feel toward everyone that played a part in my time there, regardless of how small and inconsequential it seemed to them at that time; not just “what” happened, but more importantly, “why?”

I wanted to answer this question of “why” for myself. All this is driven by my positive feelings about my “Ripon Experience” and the impact that it has on my life. It includes people that I am still close to all the way to people that have no idea that they even left the minutest impression on my thinking.

There are very few decisions that I have made that I am sure were the best possible decisions that I could make at a critical point in my life. For me, the most consequential was choosing Ripon. When you take into account that I made that choice 58 years ago, long before I had the maturity and the intellect to comprehend how pivotal this choice would prove to be, it seems like a miracle.

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make my journey from Scott Hall to retirement so rewarding.

I especially want to honor GREG THOMPSON ’65 who was there with me and for me every step of the way, until his passing on November 15, 2018.

CRAIG FERRIS ’65 writes reflections on GREG THOMPSON ’65 who passed away last November and had a passion for flying.

Most of the 14 freshmen members of Sigma Nu at tiny Ripon College in Wisconsin had one thing in common. They had no idea what they wanted to do with their lives.

The one exception was Greg. He just wanted to fly. And he did so at every opportunity.

As a freshman, Greg was a bit of a celebrity. As an Air Force brat, he joined flying clubs at bases where his father was stationed and had a private pilot’s license before he had a driver’s license.

One tradition of fraternities and sororities at Ripon and other colleges was so-called Hell Week which is a hazing of freshmen by the sophomores. It takes place at the end of the first semester when new pledges spent a long weekend engaged in bonding including never-ending all night treasure hunts that consisted of walking back and forth from one side of town to the other looking for clues.

Part of that tradition was to capture the chief “Heller,” usually a sophomore, and drive him as far away as possible and leave him with only enough money to make a phone call to arrange transportation back to campus. The goal was to try to make sure that he didn’t get back until the weekend was over so he could not make our lives miserable.

But we had a better idea—since we had Greg, our own pilot, we decided to fly the Heller as far away as possible. We each contributed $5-$10 apiece and Greg made arrangements to rent a 4-seat plane at the small airport 20 miles away in Fond du Lac. Some of us suggested that we fly the Heller across Lake Michigan to a city or town in Michigan and leave him, thus guaranteeing that he could not get back before the weekend was over.

But Greg, despite wanting to take every opportunity to fly, said “no.” There was too great a risk that the plane could be forced down into the icy waters of the lake. So we settled on flying the Heller to Freeport, Illinois, some 250 miles south and left him in the snow at the end of a desolate runway. Needless to say, he was back in about 8 hours.

As the semester went on, Greg would talk many of us into flying with him for an hour or two when we could scrape a few dollars together to rent a plane.

During that spring, Greg also became the official pilot of the college debate team. Speech Prof. Howard Hansen and two members of the team, VERN CRONEN ’63 and DICK JOHNSON ’62, were scheduled to go to a debate tournament in Iowa. Greg convinced them that he could rent the plane, fly them to the tournament and save money and hours that would be spent on the road.

Greg had elaborate maps and carefully charted his course. When he got close to the location of the tournament he couldn’t see the airport. Remember, in those days you flew by dead reckoning and followed a radio beam. The map showed a large water tower and the airport was supposed to be nearby, but he could not see the runway. He radioed the airport control tower which finally told him to fly around the water tower and see what name was on it. It turned out it was the wrong town. He was off course by a few miles. He corrected his position and landed at the airport. But Greg said later that Prof. Hansen looked at him as if he was having second thoughts having a debate team pilot even though the professor and the two members of the team introduced him to others at the tournament as “their pilot.”

Our sophomore year before so-called rush week when fraternities were trying to recruit new members, Greg convinced his fellow members to rent a plane so he could “bomb” the campus with hundreds of ping pong balls stamped “Sigma Nu Open House” to get as many frosh as possible to attend. Even though it was a windy day, Greg managed to dump the ping pong balls and get them to land close to Scott Hall, the freshman dorm.

I remember that my junior year when I was the editor of the college newspaper I told Greg that we had a decent budget both from the student activity fund and from advertising. His eyes lit up and he immediately suggested that we rent a plane to take aerial photos of the campus. That prompted an hour and a half of buzzing the college so the paper’s photographer, who had never been in a light plane before and had a queasy look on his face, could take wide shots of the campus. We printed the photo in the next edition with a line that credited the photographer and added: Aircraft by Greg Thompson. Greg had that photo pinned up on his bulletin board until we graduated.

You know the rest of the story—he earned an MBA from the University of Washington and worked for Boeing. Then he discovered that banks were looking for a way to move checks for millions of dollars from banks in wheat-growing areas in eastern Washington to the Federal Reserve in Seattle. That triggered a part-time job that involved his passion—flying—and eventually led to his founding and owning the very successful Seattle-based Airpac Airlines with a fleet of turboprops that forwarded to smaller airports everything from cargo from UPS and Fed Ex down to medical transplants.

We all have disappointments. Greg wanted to fly for the military and perhaps for a major passenger airline. But he prospered from what grads of most liberal arts colleges thrive on. Take what you have and build on it. Greg followed his bliss—flying—and truly found a life well lived!

Submitted by: John Hyde

Class Agent:

Kathryn Santimays Dunn

[email protected]

(704) 633-8999

Spring 2019

A woman asks her doctor, ‘I’ve got a bad back.  The doctor says, ‘It’s old age.’ The woman says, ‘I want a second opinion.’

The doctor says, ‘Okay – you’re ugly as well.’

                                                                                -Tommy Cooper

Dear Class of 1967,

How many times have you heard that phrase – it’s just old age? Baloney I say!!  I think in our heads we’re all still twenty-something. But twenty-something with a lot more knowledge and wisdom. Ripon planted those seeds of knowledge and continues to do so for today’s students. As I read the Ripon Magazine I’m blown away by the talents and intellect of the students.

Breaking news!!  Heidel House is closing its doors for good in May! Apparently they’ve been trying to sell it but have had no luck. I think they’ve been around as long as I have. I’m sure we all have lots of fond memories of times spent there.

Perhaps we could start a Go-Fund-Me page for the owners!

BILL ’67 and JUDY WILKINSON ’68 NEILL are continuing their tradition of spending the winter months on Anna Maria Island in Florida. SUE BOOTHROYD ’67 and Norm Loomer, JOHN ’67 and JILL WILLIAMS ’68 BISHOP and other Riponites also escape the Wisconsin winters to enjoy the Sunshine State.

PETER ENGELKING ’67 and his wife had a very busy travel year last year. Among the many highlights was a stay in an old farmhouse near Bordeaux followed by a lovely apartment in Paris. Though all the sites were beautiful, Peter said the food was amazing! California, Costa Rica and New Orleans rounded out the year. When not traveling, Peter volunteers for the local Land Trust, mainly keeping trails open and clearing brush.

COLLEEN DURKIN SMALL ’67 and TOPHER SMALL ’67 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with an all family Alaskan cruise. Our kids and grandkids are fortunate they get to “tag” along on these big adventures.

MARYBETH O’BRIEN FORBESS ’67 & GARY FORBESS ’69

January- Met cousins I hadn’t seen since 1956.

June- Sold Marlatt Machine Shop and retired.

June- 50th wedding anniversary.

September- Gary and friend bought a Cherokee 140/160 (1974) to enjoy the open skies over Nebraska.”

ANNA (NAN) JONES HAINES ’67 of Front Royal, Virginia, writes, “In spite of all the hurricane threats to the VA. region this week, life goes on as usual. As I live close to the river I had to make special plans to evacuate. But it looks as if most of it will go around us. Praise God. To those impacted by Florence, our hearts go out to you for safety and a quick recovery from it. My God be with you, too. Other than this, life goes on as usual. Continue to take care of clients’ pets in Pampered Pet Sitting. Also church work, and am on the Board for our local Christian Women’s Connection. My kids live in Annapolis, MD. and unfortunately we don’t get together often enough. Most of the time make do with weekly phone calls (and of course, emails). So sorry I missed the Class reunion, but I think of you all often. Someone was kind enough to send me (50th Reunion Memories) Thanks so much!!!!!”

Looking forward to traveling with his grandparents is Samuel George Gitcho, the newest grandchild of Susan and GEORGE ’67 GITCHO. His nickname is “Sammy Ocho” as he was born on the 18th at 1:18 and weighed 8.1 lbs! George should definitely buy a lottery ticket with those numbers!

Put May 1 on your calendar. That’s when the College will hold One Day Rally, a focused 24 hours of giving. Thanks to your giving on this day and annually, students’ financial burdens are lessened.

Please keep me updated on all your adventures and activities.

Have a happy, healthy Spring!

Submitted by: Kathy Santimays Dunn

Class Agent: Bob Martin [email protected]

Spring 2019

Dear Classmates:

I hope this letter finds you luxuriating in a sunlit den where the aromas of spring waft through an open window. As I write this in February, it’s easy for the mind to wander to such pleasantries.

With that in mind, I ask you to imagine this: a weekday in the school year of Ripon College when classes are canceled, where lunch is served in your residence hall and where buses transport the guys from the Quads for dinner at the Commons.

This actually happened at Ripon on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Before you start bellyaching that “We never got a day off from scheduled classes,” consider the weather in Ripon on that day: a low of minus 11, with a wind chill of minus 24. Just imagine how a walk from the Quad to the Commons would have felt.

I can’t say that our winters were gentle, but, hey, we never had it this bad.

This letter marks some significant changes that I hope you will take advantage of. The old deal of the individual class letter being snail-mailed (on request) to classmates remains, but now it will also be emailed to alumni (spring only) and posted on the R Connections class pages website (https://www.ripon.edu/rconnections/) every spring and fall. Every fall we will still receive the hard copy R Connections book in the mail. The best innovation of these class pages is that you will be able to post news and pictures of yourself and classmates on our class page. Stay tuned for the launch of these pages in the coming weeks.

1968 Classmate News:

JOHN HERMES of Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, writes, “1968 doesn’t seem so long ago. After graduating from Ripon, I worked for six months at General Electric in Milwaukee and my wife, SUSAN ROBINSON HERMES, started teaching in Oak Park, Illinois. In November 1968, I reported for duty in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant at Ft. Benning, Georgia, then to Ft. Holabird, Maryland, then to Vietnam, back to the United States for more training (again with Susan) and finally to the Third Armored Division, Germany (with Susan) I was discharged from the Army in the summer of 1972 and entered law school at the University of Oklahoma. Our two sons, Nick and Peter, are 45 and 42. After law school in 1975, I went to work for McAfee & Taft, an Oklahoma City law firm where I’ve been ever since. Susan, who died in 2016, was active with the Oklahoma City Board of Education, where she served for eight years, including a year as board president. She was a volunteer in countless organizations and active in our church, St. Stephen’s Presbyterian.

BONNIE MACDOUGALL BECK is a retired teacher, librarian, and campground owner. She  lives in Cameron, Missouri, near her daughter, Jennifer, and her granddaughter, Elizabeth.

SCOTT MATHOT of Loudon, Tennessee, writes, “Happily retired since 2000. Wife Karen and I travel often (grandkids, Cabo, Packers, cruises). Enjoying boating on Tellico Lake! Anxious to see everyone.”

PETER UHRIG of Austin, Texas, reports: “Several of us from the great class of ’68 had a mini-reunion in October in North Carolina. Thanks to the Ripon 50th Facebook page, I reconnected with STEVEN HENIG. Linda and I met up with Steven and his wife, Kathy, in Chicago during the summer and I let him know DOUG and DIANE THORSEN WHITELEY lived close to him in North Carolina. Later, they got together, and by email, we discussed a visit during the fall. Linda and I were going to be traveling to various historic places in the South on our way up to visit friends and family near Washington, D.C. and so thought we could all meet. We then thought of RICK KAMMEN and LINDA JONES KAMMEN ’69, who live nearby in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and a reunion was born. We had a great time during our our three days together.

PHOTO: Clockwise from bottom left; Steve Henig, Diane Whiteley, Rick Kammen, Kathy Henig, Peter Uhrig, Doug Whiteley and Linda Kammen. (Photo by Linda Uhrig)

Obituary

ROBERT BOGATIN JR. ’69 of Broomall, Pennsylvania, died on Nov. 28, 2018, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. After Ripon, he served in Vietnam and attained the rank of first lieutenant. He received the Bronze Star. Post-military, he held a variety of jobs, including insurance salesman, freelance photographer and chemical manufacturers representative. He is survived by his wife, the former Pamela M. Rowley, two sons and one grandson.

Best wishes,

Bob

Submitted by: Bob Martin

Class Agent: Susan Hecht Gebhardt ’70

815-464-5761     wmacrogeb/@yahoo.com

Spring 2019

Greeting from sunny Florida.  

Bill ’69, and I are certainly glad to be missing the Midwest winter and are enjoying both the weather and continuing to work on the condo we purchased last year.  It is a work in progress, slowed by Bill’s time on the links. I have only done 9 holes so far. I had some unexpected surgery before Christmas and am finally able to swing a club again, though not very accurately.  If any of you are in our area, the Treasure Coast, send me an email or text (815-260-1656). We would love to see you.

We had a wonderful fall.  In September we took a Rick Steves trip to Greece, spending 15 days touring Athens and the Peloponnese.  We added 3 days on Crete to visit Knossos, home of the Minoan civilization. I was a classics major at Ripon and taught Latin for 20 years.  Having studied and taught Greek history and culture as well as Roman, it was overwhelming to finally visit the sites, and walk, climb, and run (Olympia, site of the first ancient games!), where the heroic figures had centuries ago. The food was outstanding and luckily all the walking took off the extra calories. The guide was an archeologist and fantastic, as were the local guides. I could have easily stayed another two weeks. The weather was great.  However, the mini-cyclone Zorba, which hit and flooded southern Italy, southern Greece, and Eastern Turkey, was two day behind us. It did alter the last two days of the trip. The sea was too rough and no ferries were allowed to the island of Hydrae. We had more time just south of Athens and in Athens. Our guide and the Rick Steves agents had to scramble to find accommodations for those unscheduled nights. They did a great job. I highly recommend his tours. They can be strenuous at times, but with a little conditioning, (we wish we had done more!), even at our age they are fun.

At the end of October, Bill and I spent a week in Colonial Williamsburg. It was my fourth time there, but it was 20 years since our last visit. I also majored in History and occasionally taught U.S. History, so it was fun to see everything again. The visitors’ centers at Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown have all been expanded and were a nice addition. We managed to get in a few rounds of golf also.

Our sons are still in the Chicago area.  Matt, our older son, is head golf professional and general manager of Calumet Country Club in Homewood, Illinois.  As I write this newsletter he and Bill are golfing in the member-guest tournament at our club, Meadowood CC in Ft. Pierce, Florida.  Matt is looking forward to actually playing in this event since he has organized so many in his career. Our younger son, Will, is a bridge design engineer and manager, and new engineer trainer for Canadian National Railroad.  He is based in Homewood, Illinois and spends one week a month in Winnipeg, Canada. He and wife Tera had their third daughter this October. They have their hands full! It is nice having the family so close.

Class Notes:

JOHN LEONARD ’70 of Cornwall, Vermont writes:  JAMES DANKY ’70 and I visited Ripon’s campus on January 21.  Guided by JOLENE RUEDEN SCHATZINGER ’07 from the advancement office we were treated to an extensive tour of the campus, town of Ripon, and enjoyed lunch at the Mexican restaurant, El Fogon, (Dairy Queen in 1970).  We learned of the many programs, initiatives and upgrades. We appreciated the many changes and use of space. It was comforting to visit familiar buildings significantly upgraded to accommodate today’s technology and curriculum.

TOM BURTON ’70 of Oak Brook, Illinois writes: Dee and I are about to celebrate our 45th anniversary on St. Pat’s day, 3/17/74 seems like yesterday. Last year we downsized again and now are living in a condo in Oak Brook, just west of Chicago. We are in the same building where I met Dee on a blind date in 1973 and her mom still lives in the building. Mom is 99½ and still mentally sharp but fading physically. We are happy to be close to her and able to visit each day.

I am still working full time in my business and am blessed to be working with both of my sons and my youngest son’s wife, Danielle. She and I work as a team. We are doing business as Megent Financial which is owned by oldest son Eric and his close friend Ron. We are securities representatives and investment advisors. Our business has transitioned over my career from insurance to financial advisors. Actually, my grandfather started a career in life insurance on May 1, 1918 so last year was the 100 year mark. My dad joined him in 1947 and I joined my dad in 1972. Eric joined me in 1998 and Reid and Danielle joined Megent Financial in 2010 and 2012 respectively. I have no plans to retire and still enjoy the challenges and the reward of helping people. Working with my family and the great team Eric and Ron have built is fun for an old guy. Dee says it is adult day care.

The family is great and still growing. Eric and wife Tina will be married for 19 years this year. They have two great kids. Sydney is 15 and attends Benet Academy. She is athletic and also an avid equestrienne. She has shown in English, Western and Ranch style events with great success. It is a treat to watch her cut cattle and rope calves. She loves jumping and we have enjoyed riding together for more than 10 years now. Her horse is a great addition to the family.

Cade is 13 and attends Bridgedale Academy which is a hockey centered school. Cade is an outstanding hockey defenseman. He is currently playing in AA hockey in the Central States Division. He will probably attend Benet Academy next year.

Reid and Danielle have a 15 month old son named Rhett. They are expecting a little girl in May. I work remotely from their home several days each week to help with Rhett and allow Danielle to work with our clients. My usual workday consists of lots of playtime between naps, Rhett’s and mine.

We are enjoying traveling as always. The entire family goes to Mackinac Island each August for a week at Grand Hotel. Bike riding and pool time are our favorite activities. Sydney and I enjoy the horses also. We go to Disney World with the kids but don’t try to keep up with their pace. We enjoy skiing in Vail every March but I am no match for Cade or Sydney. I had my right knee replaced in 2017 but still can ski as badly as before. We still go to Galena in NW Illinois several times a year although we sold our log home there in 2003. It was a great place but too much work.

I am looking forward to the 50th reunion. The last 50 years have gone quickly but they have been great. I am a big fan of casual activities and think a relaxed dinner would be great. So much of the fun at each reunion seems to happen when we get together at Norton’s and the Heidel House (closing May 20).

Thank you for sharing your news with us.  Please continue to keep in touch with your Ripon friends and send me some news later this summer for the fall R Connections.  Also include any suggestions for our 50th reunion in 2020.  We love to hear from you.  Please notify Ripon of any changes in address, email, or phone.

Sincerely,

Susan Hecht Gebhardt

Submitted by: Susan Hecht Gebhardt

Class Agent:

Jim Beisner

770-227-2410

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings, Class of 1971

It is hard to believe another school year has about passed by. We are moving toward our 50th class reunion in the next couple of years and one has to wonder where the time has gone. 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.

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 Ripon 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.  

Classmate News:

TOM BACHHUBER ’71 and LESLIE SMITH BACHHUBER ’71 of Wauconda, Illinois, moved to Wauconda, Illinois, to be closer to their family and granddaughter. Tom’s new book, “Transpirations: Guidance for the Head & Heart through Career and Beyond” was released by Caritas Communications in February, 2018. It is available on Amazon.”

ROBERTA QUINN-ANDERSON ’71 of Raphine, Virginia, writes, “Owner of a small horse farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Ride two horses daily, bushhog, fix fence, muck stalls, mow, weedeat, split wood, drive tractor, truck, horse trailer, show, trail ride…at age 69. Needless to say, nothing I learned at Ripon College ever contributed to my life.”

Dr. KARL R. WILHELM ’71 of Gainesville, Virginia, writes, “We adopted identical twins from China – they will be seniors in college next year.”

Always for Ripon,

Jim

Submitted by: Jim Beisner

Class Agents:

Susan Frederick-Clarkson

[email protected]

Stephanie Greene

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings, Class of 1972!

Last month I had the opportunity to have lunch with DAVID and DOREEN CONFORTI CHEMEROW ’73 and separately with SHARON WALTON ’73. Doreen and David were here from Florida for a theatre weekend. Sharon was here from California for a conference prior to going to London.

New York is having a relatively mild winter despite a few days of really cold weather and a trace of snow. I still spend most of my time playing tennis, knitting and doing needlepoint. I am so enjoying retirement.

Please update your contact information or send along any news notes or photos to Ripon College ([email protected]).

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy spring!

STEPHANIE GREENE ’72

Submitted by: Stephanie Greene

Class Agent: Jean Kirkpatrick Lederer

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Dear Class of 1973,

When I write the greeting I don’t think of 1973 as being that long ago. But here it is 2019 and four months has gone by already. Time has a way of flying by so fast. Our 50th Ripon reunion will be here before you know it, so I hope you all have marked  your calendars that the last weekend of June, 2023 you need to be in Ripon! You probably will be sick of me saying that between now and then, but really it would be wonderful to get as many people back as possible! And I don’t want “I did not know the date” to be your excuse.

Our class has always been very generous to Ripon College and I hope this year will be no exception. Remember the Ripon Fund gifts should be in by Alumni Weekend 2019. Also, if you have not thought about it already, maybe it’s time to think about including Ripon in your estate planning.

A few of our classmates sent in news, and some of the news sent in was a bit longer than I can include  in my letter, so I have had to paraphrase, and hopefully did an okay job of it. Apologies if I did not.

KATE PARISH MILLER ’73 Richland, Michigan, writes,“I’m still doing some activist work for the environment. There is so much to do- environment, racism, low income housing, food assistance, etc! The shutdown hasn’t helped. Pipeline 5 – under the Great Lakes we are trying to push to Shut It Down. Trying to coordinate 350.org,  which seeks to get us away from dependency on fossil fuels, and Sierra Club and Citizens Climate Lobby which are seeking 100% renewables by approaching city governments. So much to do! All are healthy and hope you all are, too.”

After more than 30 years in New Mexico, LEE HUFFMAN ’73 and wife, Christine, of Missoula, Montana, retired and relocated to Montana. They moved from Santa Fe to Missoula in 2015, one hundred years after his grandparents moved from Oregon to Montana. Over the decades in New Mexico, Lee says his Ripon visitors included SAM WELLER ’73, MIKE JUNEAU ’73, BILL ’73  and ROBYN MACKIEWICZ LAKE ’74,  STEVE FLOOD ’73, and JIM HUFFMAN ’70.

Lee commented on the passing of Ripon Professor Curt Thompson saying: “I had Curt Thompson for four economics courses,  although I was not an Economics Major. I learned everything I needed in Curt’s classes to properly cross examine economists in several cases. One of those economists served in the cabinet of several administrations.” Lee also mentioned BILL NEILL ’67 who sent him a nice note when Lee’s father passed away.

JOSEPH SANDRIN ’73 of Bayside, Wisconsin, works in Saudi Arabia as manager of a program supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its efforts to remediate and restore damages to the desert and coastal environment from the First Gulf War.  The project is funded through the United Nations and Iraq oil revenues, and is one the largest environmental restoration projects underway anywhere. He has been with Jacobs, Formerly CH2M Hill, which offers environmental and engineering consulting services.

GARY SHARPE ’73 lives in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and is still working. “It’s what happens when you marry a younger woman.”

WILLIAM H STARKE ’73 of Tucson, Arizona, writes, “Sold our house in Vail, Arizona and bought a townhouse in Wrightstown Square in Tucson. Major remodeling took three months to complete.”

JAMES B. THOMPSON ’73 of Salem, Oregon, was featured in an “Out & About” article relating to an art show at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art. Water is Sacred: Water is Life” is the latest solo show by James B. Thompson a longtime Willamette University faculty member and mature artist at the height of his career. The author of the article wrote: “Thompson’s work has  a more rigorous feel, a seriousness of intent that is by no account dull, but rather, in its own way, both engrossing and liberating. Thompson, who creates variously in paintings, prints, and fused glass, usually works in series of images rising from the same theme and often  taking him a year or more to complete. His interests range from the historical to the geological, to the ways in which science and nature and human beings interact and to the human impact on the changing landscape… Thompson’s work never seems didactic. It is rather an exploration of the visual and intellectual possibilities arriving from a specific philosophical proposition and it seems to lead him to surprises as he traverses its terrain. His artist statement for Water is Sacred: Water is Life states his intention….clearly and succinctly: We can live without food for days on end but not without water, or we perish.”

HILDE BORMANN HENKEL ’73 and husband MARK HENKEL ’70 of Rudolph, Wisconsin,  along with their sons James and John just made history as all four earned their 7th degree black belts in Taekwondo. They are the first family in the Kukkiwon records of  the World Taekwondo to simultaneously achieve this level of expertise. The skill testing was completed by Robert Stevens , who holds the coveted Grade 1 Dan Examiner certification, the highest awarded by the World Taekwondo Academy of Seoul, Korea. Testing includes  advanced skill components, board breaking, and high intensity sparring, and writing a paper on techniques and teaching of Taekwondo. They also needed to meet age and time in rank requirements. Grandmaster Stevens refers to the Henkel family as “The First Family of Taekwondo.”  Mark and Hilde have recently taken over Stevens Taekwondo Academy after the founder and lead instructor retired. The couple enjoys teaching the classes for may reasons beyond the continuing fitness. Hilde says: “Taekwondo has been really great for us. We enjoy working together and enjoy providing the fun and discipline of Taekwondo for others.”

MIKE MIZEN ’73 of Lakewood, Ohio sent an email in late January: Finally some cold weather and snow in Lakewood albeit the promise of 3/4” rain and 50 degrees tomorrow. Have several chances to see Beta Sig’s this year. PETE TULLIO ’73 of Northridge, California, GARY SHARPE ’73 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, ROBERT GADDIS ’72 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and us in May and October. Childrens weddings are nice events to connect. We will ski in Colorado in February. They have consistent snow and cold. Our fall 2018 RV trip to the Gulf Shores was great even with the 100+ heat index for 10 days in a row. New found appreciation for crab claws. Beginning fall 2019 RV adventures. Perhaps Ontario Canada provincial adventures…

MARTY MORRIS ’73: Totally settled into Portland life now. Trying to enjoy the Great Pacific Northwest. In addition to the culinary adventures in town have been exploring the countryside and coast. Wineries, beach combing, camping, whale watching have all been enjoyable. Even took a trip to Hawaii which will have to be repeated. It’s amazing what one can do when freed from the commitments to work and other things.

KEN ’73 and MARCIA FRUHMAN ’74 ELLIOT of Malta, Illinois, Ken retired from teaching at Northern Illinois University at the end of August 2018. He works more at our store Made Just for You Gifts which features handcrafted gifts and home décor items. He would like to spend more time crafting himself, but family matters have kept us hopping. Maybe things will slow down in 2019 so he can enjoy his retirement a bit. Our daughter Christina added new baby Brynlee Rayne Williams to the family. She joins Brooklyn (age 9), Bria (age 4) and Bryson (18 months).

SUDY REIGLE ALTHOLZ ’73 of Chicago, Illinois, writes, “I’m sending this from New Zealand where TOM ’72  and  I are visiting for a driving trip for 3 weeks. We sold our house in Arizona last spring. Our plans are to travel a lot, and spend time with our boys and our grandchildren. We love our life in Chicago and all the activities we try to take advantage of. And we continue to stay in active involvement with Ripon, a special spot for us

JEAN KIRKPATRICK LEDERER ’73 and GARY LEDERER ’72 of Estero, Florida, writes,

“We became grandparents for the first time on December 18. Emily Alice Lederer is adorable and we are all in love with her. She will be coming from California to visit us in Florida with her parents in March and we are counting the days. Gary and I keep busy with Guardian ad litem  cases. We have three cases with children ranging in age from 2 to 16. Each case is challenging and involves a lot of time. We find it rewarding and just hope we are making a positive influence in the children’s lives.”

For those of you who do not know: KEN MAGRATH ’73 passed away in December of 2018. Our sympathies to JULIE FENWICK MAGRATH ’73 and her family.

I do hope to hear from more of you for the next letter. I can see on Facebook that lots of you are busy doing many fun things: saw a picture of FRANK NEER ’73 at the Super Bowl, DARCI JAEGER JAYNE ’73 has an adorable granddaughter and puts some magnificent pictures of birds and Lake Michigan in her posts. BILL MACLEOD ’73  seems to be very adventurous, and PAT WILKE EPTING ’73 and LEX ’72 EPTING sure do like Taco Tuesday. JANE SCHORE ’73 who is a Realtor lists some magnificent LA properties that I would love to  wander through. Me, I just complain a lot about delayed aircraft keeping me from getting where I want to go when I want to get there. And for those of you who remember him Marvin will be off on a new great adventure in June. Look forward to it!

Wishing everyone a Happy Spring!

Jean

Submitted by: Jean Kirkpatrick Lederer

Class Agent: Jondi Gumz

[email protected] / 831-461-1120

Spring 2019

Dear classmates,

Big news for me — 26 years as an award-winning reporter at the Santa Cruz Sentinel ended Dec. 31!

The reason: Breast cancer.

In August, surgery (a lumpectomy) was successful. I did not want chemo, radiation or drugs with side effects, and health experts told me I had to reduce the stress in my life. I could not ignore that advice!

So I will be Grandma Jondi.

My son and daughter-in-law, who live close by, are foster parents. They have two adorable toddlers 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 whom they hope to adopt. When I see the children, they said, “Grandma Jondi, read to me!”

And I will!

In December, I attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium along with 7,499 doctors and researchers. Classmate BECKY HADLEY ’75 took time out to show me a section of the riverwalk most visitors don’t see, the John Marin exhibit, and photos of her very cute grandson — and I helped her connect with TERRY ’74 and KATHY WILLIAMS HOFFER ’74 in Vermont. Becky is painting now, and since she works fewer days at the hospital, she’s been traveling — Tucson, where her brother lives, and then to Christchurch, New Zealand, to see her niece perform with the orchestra there. See the photos on Facebook!

One of my inspirations was the book, “Radical Remission,” by Kelly Turner, a Wisconsin native with a doctorate from the University of California Berkeley, who researched how people survived cancer against all odds and found nine factors that made a difference. At the Annie Appleseed conference in complementary and alternative cancer treatment in February, I learned that training to become a “Radical Remission” teacher is scheduled for 2019, so I put my name on the waitlist. Email me at [email protected] if this topic interests you.

Of course, I am expecting to see you at our next Ripon College class reunion in 2020 (the last weekend in June).

Now for classmate news: We have authors — history, mystery, holding onto your brain cells and tasty recipes — travel adventures plus grandbabies so keep reading!

RICK ESTBERG ’75 of Severna, Maryland, and our very own reunion Jeopardy host, self-published “Berlin Daze,” a 390-page book on his “wild and unusual adventures” while living in (West) Berlin for seven years. The culmination of six years’ work, the book is on Amazon.com. Rick writes, “All I need is sales of around, oh, 4 or 5 million, and then I can retire and move back to Monterey in California.”

Rick read a column Jan. 28 in the Washington Post, Section C front page, by Margaret Sullivan, titled, “Your paper’s being wrecked.  Stand by it.”

If you wonder why your daily newspaper is smaller, this explains why. Hundreds of newspapers are owned by private equity hedge funds, and their mission is not to serve the community but to boost profits, easily done by cutting staff and selling offices.

Rick will give a talk on “Berlin Daze” for 75 people at the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation’s quarterly meeting March 27 and sign books. He’s already 100 pages into his next book, a historical novel circa 1875 with the protagonist being John Wilkes Booth’s killer, Boston Corbett, arriving in San Francisco on the newly completed transcontinental railroad, on the very day the Palace Hotel opens. Rick writes, “He will end up being chased out of the state on that same railroad, but trapped in winter snow in the Sierra, in a snow shed near Donner Lake (one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever visited).” Rick is considering retiring sometime in the next two years, so he can devote more time to writing. He writes, “I’m already looking forward to next year’s Ripon reunion and hope we can get a great turnout.”

ANDY RICHARDS ’75 of Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, reports “Retirement is great, especially when you can stay active all the time. Darlene and I continue to enjoy life in Howey in the Hills, Florida. I play golf about 4 days a week and have been enjoying my guitar lessons for several years now. It seems I am busier in retirement than when I was working. We took several trips in 2018.  We did the 15-day Baltic cruise with Viking last summer, with extended stays in Stockholm and Oslo. I highly recommend this trip as the land tours were awesome. Then in November and December we toured Thailand and Singapore. We loved touring the temples, beach time in Phuket and eating the wonderful Asian food. The people are very friendly and go out of their way to make you feel at home. I suspect we may stay closer to home in 2019, although we escape Florida in the summer, often in the Chicago area visiting our daughter Jenny.”

Here’s a scoop from LEN KACHINSKY ’75 of Neenah, Wisconsin: After 22 years of service as Fox Crossing Municipal judge, he is not seeking re-election. He writes, “In my semi-retirement, I am doing criminal appeals and cat socializing at the Neenah Animal Shelter.  Looking forward to the birth of our first grandchild in July.”

DORN CARLSON ’75 of Saint Leonard, Maryland, retired February 1 from his job with the federal government in Silver Spring, Maryland. He spent 40 years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and was Sea Grant assistant director for programs. You can find him on Facebook.

STEVE ANDERSON ’75 of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, spent three days in California in February playing some golf in Palm Springs and some work in Anaheim at a medical device convention. He writes, “Weather was much nicer there than here in Minnesota! Plan to meet up with GEORGE ’74 and LOUISE RENIER ’75 BOOTHBY next June at Ripon.” Steve’s new email is [email protected].

DICK O’CONNOR ‘75 of Olympia, Washington, is looking at retirement in summer 2021. He writes, “We are joining friends this summer on a 10-day trip to Ireland this June, our first, but likely not our last. Need to see the farms near Castleisland where both of my dad’s parents were born and raised, so Kilkenny, Kerry and Dublin are the main stops with plenty of side trips planned…Will put reunion on the calendar; it comes at a good time of year for us, but planning that far out is always an interesting exercise. By #50 we should be fully retired and have a bit more control over where we go and when!” Dick keeps in touch with PERRY HOWLAND ’76, a fellow Theta Chi, who posts regular emails and pix (often of past fun events!) to fraternity brothers and spouses. Perry has been talking with classmates from ‘74 about their 45th reunion this year, the last weekend in June. Dick adds, “He is a new grandpa, and pics indicate he has shed a few pounds since he was my best man in 1977.”

JAN RUSSELL ’75 of Addison, Illinois, writes: “I’m still working and will be for awhile. Take care and hi to all.”

SUE CHAPMAN CARLTON ’75 of Fort Mill, South Carolina, writes: “Our big news is that we are moving to South Carolina. We are building a home in Del Webb – Carolina Orchards in Ft. Mill, South Carolina, just 20 minutes away from Charlotte, North Carolina. We hope to be settled by the end of March.” Sue’s mom died a year ago on Valentine’s Day and she was in charge of organizing the memorial service.

PEGGI SEELBACH MIZEN ’75 of Lakewood, Ohio, traveled West on vacation with husband MICHAEL MIZEN ’73, skiing in Aspen and hitting the slopes with NANCY LAWS KERN ’75 and her husband George, and spending four days in Palm Springs with PETER ’73 and CAROL PARKHURST ’73 TULLIO. Peggi writes, “We saw LINDA MOHALSKI CARPENTER ’75 this fall while on an RV trip. We continue to love living on Lake Erie and being very close to our 22-month-old grandson Kael and our daughter Alison and her husband Trip. Our other daughter, Jennifer, and her husband Joe now live outside of D.C. and we enjoy visiting them to see all the sites.”

SUSAN SCHREYER STANDER ’75 of Paradise Valley, Arizona, was in Palm Springs in November and visited LEON PASCUCCI ’75. She writes, “We had a delightful lunch together.  Leon’s husband, Michael Craft, is a mystery writer, and he will speak at my book club about his latest book, “Flabbergassed,” when they visit me in May. I also want to alert all my fellow drama majors to watch “The Kominsky Method” on Netflix and see if it doesn’t scream Lorrie Hull and The Lee Strasberg Method! (And by the way, the last time I was in LA visiting my daughters, I drove past Strasberg’s school on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. UnBELIEVABLE!”

MIKE PETERSEN ’75 of New Smyrna Beach, Florida is retired (for the second time) in early January after 18 years working for Northrop Grumman. He writes, “Just completed building a new home in New Smyrna Beach (Florida) near the coast and many golf courses. Plan to do some traveling with our motorhome to visit relatives and friends when not in New Smyrna Beach.”

ROSIE GAY FATHEREE ’75 of Alpharetta, Georgia, shared photos on Facebook of her daughter Katherine’s wedding in May.

DEE AUSTRING ’75 reports from Waiheke Island, Aotearoa, New Zealand, where she is hoping for rain: “I’m now officially a ‘senior’ with a New Zealand pension and a Gold Card that gives me free public transport and quite a few other discounts, too. I still do a bit of casual work at the local library, though that’s my only ‘job’ at present; still have a few accounts for my ProTem home-based office service; and am still (and always will be!) an associate with USANA Health Sciences, promoting high-quality nutritional supplements and skin-care products. Oh, and my third granddaughter is due in early June.  Wish they lived closer than Perth, Western Australia, but them’s the breaks.”

LINDA MOGICATO SASSER ’75 of Peoria, Arizona and her husband Carey have been enjoying living in Arizona for more than a year. Linda’s BE! Brain Enrichment Curriculumcontinues to be taught in more and more senior living communities throughout the U.S., and she travels nationally as a speaker on memory and brain health. Her book, “Brain SENSE: A Guide and Workbook to Keep Your Mind and Memory Sharp,” is due to be released in March. Look for it on Amazon.com and check out her blog post on ageism at brainandmemoryhealth.com.

RUTH GALES FRECHMAN ’75 of North Hollywood, California, reports her book, “The Food is My Friend Diet” is at Costco in Burbank. She expects her latest, “The Food Is My Friend Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook” with 19 tasty, delicious recipes to be published on Amazon.com in March.

Remember MICHAEL YUKNIS ’76? He and his wife live in Croatia. I remember his recipe for homemade bread with bacon! He keeps up with Ripon classmates on Facebook, and he shared tips for better cooking from The New York Times: Inventory items in your pantry — how old are they? How to keep track of spices so you get a fresh burst of flavor, not stale? Michael stays in touch with DAVID WHEELER ’74 who was in Marrakech in November and ERIC SORENSEN ’74 who traveled in December to St. Thomas in the British Virgin Islands, where he revisited the house where he stayed in 1972 while working in construction and connected with the grandson of his host family. For details, visit Facebook.

GAIL WEICKI MOORE ’75 of Soldotna, Alaska, writes, “Hope to see everyone in June 2020.”

That is June 25-28, 2020, and I second that motion!

With our reunion coming up, we should be ready to nominate a classmate for the Distinguished Alumni Award. Criteria are achievement in his/her field, service to the community and demonstrated loyalty to Ripon College. Award-winning television journalist HELEN HOLTER ’78 was honored in 2013. If you have thoughts for 2020, feel free to call me, 831-461-1120, or email me at [email protected].

Did you see that Ripon College ranks No. 1 in Wisconsin for how much graduates earn 10 years after graduation? See the map at the number-crunching website Zippia.

Thanks everyone for your support and well wishes!

Your Class Agent,

Jondi Gumz

Submitted by: Jondi Gumz

Class Agent: Alan N Lawrence ’77

[email protected] / 920-730-9515

Spring 2019

Dear 1977 Classmates:

Many of the classes from Ripon College have been using Facebook to successfully help classmates (and friends from other classes) keep in touch. I’d been wondering about this for our class. It finally took a note from MARYJO MACSWAIN ’77 telling me she thought it would be good for our class. She also agreed to co-administrator a class page with me.

So, we now have a Facebook page for OUR class. If you use Facebook please visit it and click the LIKE button. That will help ensure that you see news from your college and former classmates. If you don’t already use Facebook then I urge you to sign up (it’s free). This is our address:  https://www.facebook.com/RiponCollegeClassof1977. As you visit our page please leave a posting about yourself.

Because MaryJo and I are now Facebook friends I’ve been able to “follow” her recent grand adventure to Argentina and Chile. Join our page and ask her how it worked out.

Our Alumni Office shared this note from a classmate.

LAIRD DECRAMER ’77 and LINDA GLAUBITZ DECRAMER ’89 of Princeton, Wisconsin, write, “The Ripon tradition continues as both our children are matriculating at Ripon. CALLISTA ’20 is a junior and SULLIVAN ’21 is a sophomore. So glad they are having the “Ripon” experience.”

That reminds me that two of my daughters graduated from Ripon College. One of them recently added a granddaughter to my family, and the other is engaged to a member of her Class of 2014.

I know that some of you have already taken retirement, or early-retirement.  At 64 I’m feeling within sight of the time, though I haven’t set a goal date yet.  How is it working out for those of you who have retired, and for those still planning for it?

Alumni Weekend happens every June, regardless of whether it is one of our special anniversary years. Our next 5th anniversary reunion is in 2022. I plan to attend the Alumni Weekend this year on June 29. I hope to see some of you there. Because I have friends in other class years I always have a good time.

Please send news about yourself either to the college or to me to be shared in our next class letter. Always remember that your financial help is very important to help keep Ripon a competitive and quality institution. Your donations are important every year. Please consider making a gift to Ripon College this year. Your participation is very important.

Please write back to me or to the alumni office at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.

Always for Ripon,

Alan

Submitted by: Alan Lawrence

Gregg Petersen

(410)-884-0407 /[email protected]

Spring 2019

Dear Classmates:

Happy New Year to you all!  This will be a short note for us but with some great classmate updates.  Back on campus, “Doctor Bob” Wallace and Professor Paul Schoofs are retiring this semester, Ripon enrolled its largest freshman class in some time, and another One Day Rally is coming up on May 1.  Also, I know LOUISA GEBELEIN JONES ’78 and others of you will be pleased that the lady Red Hawks won the Midwest Conference basketball championship this past February.  Look for details in the overall campus news.

HEADLINES FOR THIS LETTER:

• ’78 Classmate Updates

• Ripon #OneDayRally May 1st

’78 Classmate Updates:

BARB DOERRER-PEACOCK ’78 of Tempe, Arizona says, “I am now the Associate Conference Minister of the Southwest Conference-United Church of Christ…and loving it. Enjoying life in Tempe,  Arizona, three adult kids still live near us, plus our 8-yr old granddaughter- joy of our lives!”

DOUG KINGS ’78 of Ellenton, Florida joined a Facebook chat on our Ripon Class of ’78 page between BARB DOERRER-PEACOCK ’78 and LOIS VAN LEER ’78 to add: “Alright, I’ll get into this, as well. I am now Pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Holmes Beach, Florida on Anna Maria Island.”

LOIS VAN LEER ’78 of Eugene, Oregon writes: “I am now the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene, Oregon. I hope to retire in 3-4 years. My early jockdom has resulted in becoming the Bionic woman with 4 joint replacements: 2 shoulders and 2 knees. I hope is to continue with less body abusive sports such as pickleball, kayaking, and hiking. I have come full circle in my ministry as I began in campus ministry in Eugene in 1981. May all beings be well!”

“The Pirate Poet of the Palouse, ROB “TEX” MEYER ’78, is still in the Kremlin of the Inland Northwest, Moscow Idaho. He writes: “The Cowboy and The Coonhound are still surviving, despite dental surgery for both of us in early Winter.  Winter? We got nothing to complain about compared to Wisconsin, Minnesota, New England…or most places.  Still regretting the fact that we missed June 2018 Reunion, we hope to travel in 2019…if Meyer sells some more bad poetry, or a 20-year-old screenplay, or his fourth novel.  Ya nevah know.  Go, Mariners!  [Fat Chance.]”

GREGG PETERSEN ’78 of Columbia, Maryland was elected to the Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) Board of Directors in October. ANS is the oldest independent environmental organization in the Washington, D.C. region and it is a leading organization linking conservation activities with environmental education in the area. In addition, in connection with his watershed education related volunteer efforts with area environmental organizations; Gregg exhibited illustrated benthic macroinvertebrate scoring charts that he developed for local ponds and streams at the annual Maryland Water Monitoring Conference in Linthicum, Maryland in December. More recently, Gregg taught a Lunch and Learn class about macroinvertebrates to the staff and some members of the Center for Watershed Protection in Ellicott City, Maryland. Of the seven measures of health listed by the Environmental Protection Agency, “the biological condition (of which benthic macroinvertebrates are a part) of a waterbody is the ultimate indicator of watershed health.”

JIM SWENSEN ’78 of Valdese, North Carolina, writes, “Back at Baker Furniture, Kohler no longer owns us! Have a new grandson to make a brother to his older sister. My son is in the Army and looks like a E-5 (Sergeant) promotion is happening soon. My daughter is still an O.T. in Arizona. Gardening and wine making/prepping are in full swing.”

LISA WOLLAN ’78, of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (just for a very short time longer) sends: “I officially retired from Wawa on January 4, 2019 – yay!!! I’m so grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have come my way since our Ripon graduation, and I am so excited to start this new chapter. I just returned from a spectacular month-long trip to New Zealand with my sister and brother-in-law – truly the trip of a lifetime. Highlights included: exploring the Hauraki Gulf on a friend’s sailboat; enjoying the spectacular wineries on the north and south islands; coastal hikes in beautiful Abel Tasman National Park; a 1:30 a.m. stargazing experience on Mount John; visiting seal colonies in the Fiordland National Park during our 3-day Hollyford Track hike; gazing at the forest below from the Redwood Treewalk bridges; experiencing the world’s newest geothermal area in Waimangu Volcanic Valley; and feeling Kiwi warmth and friendliness throughout our trip. Now I’m busy getting my house ready to put on the market in spring and I’ll be moving back to Minneapolis to be closer to family. I’m sad to leave this wonderful area but excited to be coming back to the Midwest and reconnecting with my MN/WI friends!”

Photo Caption: Lisa Wollan ’78 visiting Waimangu Volcanic Valley where the world’s youngest geothermal system is

located in New Zealand.

Ripon’s #OneDayRally May 1:  

As you may recall, in the first ever Giving Day #OneDayRally last year, our class topped all other class year groups in participation by nearly 10% with 48 donations. This year’s #OneDayRally will be for the 24-hour period on May 1. If you have not made your Ripon Fund (formerly Annual Fund) or other donation to Ripon this year, May 1 would be a great day to do that and represent our Class of ’78. This is exactly what I will be doing while I participate in one of our quarterly D.C. area Rally Hours in Crystal City, Virginia (If Crystal City sounds familiar, it will be the new home of Amazon’s HQ2 location which will change the city name to National Landing).  

Class Letter Updates:  That’s it for this letter!  Please keep sending me your updates and have a healthy, happy 2019!

Best wishes and warmest regards,

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Class Agents: Jeff Penney ’80

[email protected]

(574) 247-1182

Peggy Gero DaValt ’80

[email protected]

(608) 658-3779

Spring 2019

“Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.”

~Corrie Ten Boom

“Memory is the diary we all carry with us.”
~Oscar Wilde

Greetings Classmates!!

Here it is early March. There’s lots of snow still on the ground. Daylight Saving Time is around the corner, so at least we will have lots of snow and we can see it longer.  Well…maybe that’s not the way it should be. A co-worker had a bunch of daffodils she handed out to her staff. hey really did make the workplace seem a whole lot more “spring-like.”

For those of you that follow the class’ page on Facebook, I’m sure you have seen some of the information I share here. If you are on Facebook, please make sure you continue to add to the discussion on the page for our class.  The Class of 1979, 1981 and 1982 also have pages on Facebook.

The link to ours is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/283209381878413/

News In and Around Ripon

As with anything we have learned – change is always there. You will notice some changes to what Ripon College is doing to keep you more connected to them.

You never know when Ripon College or Ripon, Wisconsin will show up!! I have to say that the college and the community are doing everything they can to integrate and help students enjoy the quaintness that is Ripon.

Remember the Heidel House? We often went there for spring/fall formals, for workshops, for food. I loved their branding which was “Runaway and Heidel.” One of my friends from work loved this place, so I shared this with classmates, just the other day:

[First Ripon Good Cookies….now Heidel House]…sad…

http://www.riponpress.com/Content/News/News/Article/BREAKING-Heidel-House-will-close-May-20/2/20/13618?fbclid=IwAR0RKJv1-3nqHzKtKdRP5J1DLttwnxJEqAjyjWgO3BBkEupo2pipEDkWeQA

Classmate, CLARK WILCOX ’80, suggested that we get together as a group to have one last meal here. I am running a poll on the Class of 1980’s page. Several people have indicated interest. Currently, Saturday, May 18, 2019, is the favorite choice.  

[RIPON- The City] – While I was watching Channel 15 (NBC) out of Madison, Leigh Mills was showcasing a story about this place called Patina Vie and you can find their website and Facebook pages following:

(Website:  https://www.patinavie.com)

(Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patinavie

When Leigh said the place was in Ripon, I really had to stop and smile.

I recall going to the Class of 1982’s reunion (always go to someone’s reunion in addition to your own – it’s so much fun) and I truly got to see how much the City is doing its best to make it eclectic and quaint.

Check out the Facebook page and their website. I love what was done to the old building they rehabbed in good old Ripon. For those of us that shared the old downtown area, businesses like Patina Vie may just help to lure that special student to Ripon.

Enjoy!!

Catalyst Day

[Where does time go?] Greetings to you in the Class of 1980 (and other years). It’s been a really long time since I have taken time to write or share anything in here. As I sit here at the computer typing to you the wicked winter winds of Wisconsin are howlin’ outside my house. It feels worse tonight than it did a week ago with -51 wind chill outside. BRRRRR….

Yesterday, my Ripon Magazine showed up and tonight I was reading through it. I love hearing about our Alma Mater and love this edition. I am also reminded that it is almost Class Agent Letter time and I’m going to need to hear from some of you so that we have something to share!!

And….I was inspired reading the Ripon Magazine about this article, “What is the greatest life lesson you took away from your professors at Ripon College?”

The photos in the section with Dean David Harris and Jack Christ and Professor Brian Smith are priceless, as are the incredible gems of wisdom that many of our fellow Ripon graduates have shared.

If you have a favorite memory or a favorite snippet of life that you took away from our 4 years at Ripon College, would you care to share them here? I would love it if you’d allow me to share them in the Class Agent Letter that will be coming out soon.

The other thing that I’d like to share with you is the first Ripon College Catalyst Day on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. This is part of the new curriculum Ripon College began a couple years ago via a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. I share a photo of the page so that you can all take a look. If any of you are interesting in going to see what this is all about let me know. It’d be fun to just go back to Ripon to see all the new changes….and I think…..yup…there likely will not be snow.

Class of 1979 – Fellow Class Agent, KEVIN WARMACK ’79, and his co-chair for their 40th reunion, BETH PALMBACH NEMECEK ’79 invite anyone from our class who wants to attend their 40th…..watch Facebook for more announcements, the Ripon College website (http://www.ripon.edu) and snail mail, of course for Alumni Weekend 2019 information.  

It is a BLAST to go back to Alumni Weekend, especially when it’s not your class’ reunion. I had a blast with the Class of 1982 a couple years ago and got to hang out with CATHY LOTHROP HAGER ’82, JUDY GILBERT BORDER ’82, KEVIN DYKSTRA ’83, and RHEA BELL BEHLKE ’87. So much fun was had. Right? SUSAN ANGELL SCHMIDT ’80 and ANDREW SCHMIDT ’81 and some other DUs?

Class News

In what has become my shameless begging for news of classmates, this is what my plea brought forth the other day.  This is worse than cramming for an exam. To those of you that have shared your snippet of life since the last Class Agent letter, I thank you so much!!

SUSAN ANGELL SCHMIDT ‘80 and ANDREW SCHMIDT ‘81:

Sue is always there to give me a report!!  Thanks, Sue!! Here’s her report to me.

Hi Peggy!   I’m sending you half of our story.   The class of 1980 gets the first half; the class of 1981 gets the second half.

Our son, Alex Schmidt, graduated from Hamline University in May 2018. He started law school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is excited to start the step in his life!  

We said goodbye to Spritz as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She was 17+ years old.   We welcomed Topaz to our family in September. She is an Australian Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix and extremely cute. She is an 11-month-old puppy with bundles of energy…..(the rest of the story is continued in the Class of 1981’s entry….see ANDREW SCHMIDT ’81).

I recall the year, 1976….freshman year. English class with Mr. Ken Alrutz. He had a way of giving us all nicknames, and in some instances stuck. I remember him saying James. D (for JAMES D. GREENEBAUM ’80)….I got called, Margaret Peggy and I’m sure there were others. Anyway, my friend, James D, shared this:  

“My life is boring, Sorry.”

To which CHARLOTTE POHANKA SPARROW ’80 replied, “James D. Greenebaum…no way!!  ☺ “

To which he replied back:  “Way”

And then I responded:  “James D no way. Mine is boring.  I live under a rock….”

Classmates KATHY GOODBOUT ’80 and LISA HEIMLER ’80 shared this the other day:  “Lisa Heimler and I are our last day of a 9-day cruise. Have already booked another cruise for February of 2020.”

CHARLOTTE POHANKA SPARROW ’80 wrote: “DEB WILCOX ’80 and I celebrated our “special” bdays together with a long weekend in Quebec City last August. Had never vacationed together and had a blast enjoying the history, the walking, the people, the farmers market, the dining, the wining, the shopping. You name it.”

Co-Class Agent, JEFF PENNEY ’80 shared this: “I attended a lacrosse coaches clinic in Aurora, Illinois and met up with RUSTY RYAN ’80, JOHN GOSSELIN ’82 and BRYAN GHALIOUNGUI ’83 afterward. We had a spirited exchange of ideas, recalls of Ripon and old people ailments.”

1. SARA MAURER ’80 shared this “I retired January 1 after over twenty two years of practice as an anesthesiologist/pediatric anesthesiologist in Anchorage, Alaska. I would occasionally run into GREG GERBOTH ’81, who is a pulmonologist.”

DAN BESTUL ’80 and his wife, SANDY VAHLE ’79 BESTUL shared they “traveled to Cuba in early February. In our short time there, we traced 600 years of history through Cuban music, examined the state of US Cuba relations from the Cuban perspective, studied the transition of Cuban art from pre-Revolution to the present, witnessed the impact the collapse of the Soviet Union had on the Cuban economy and learned the secrets to making a great mojito.”

As for me, I get to keep in touch with ELLEN BARTH ’80, by phone or in person. Both of us have celebrated over 27 years working for the State of Wisconsin. Ellen works for the Department of Natural Resources and I work for the Department of Health Services.  The “r” word comes into conversations often. For me it’ll be later than sooner and for Ellen…stay tuned!! My co-breeder of Gordon Setters and I recently had a fun litter of 10 puppies of 5 boys and 5 girls born the day before Thanksgiving. We managed to travel a bit to deliver a couple of them. My brother, PAUL GERO ’82 and his wife, Nicki and children, have returned to Wisconsin from California. The Wisconsin winter greeted them with lots of love this year. Their return has been great for my mom, ANNE GERO P’80, ’82, ’84 and ’85 as it has given her great purpose to see and spend time with Paul’s kids; her grandkids.  

Thank you all for the information you share!!  As always, there is the Facebook group (here’s the link again, in case you really do want to sign-up and join us). It’s FREE!!  

The link to ours is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/283209381878413/)

Don’t forget – our 40th Class Reunion will be one year from now.  

SAVE. THE. DATE.  June 25-28, 2020!!  I hope to see lots of you there!!

Co-Class Agents,

Jeff and Peggy

Submitted by: Jeff Penney