Reunions 2010: A Touch of Class
Alumni News
Sr. Alice Wittenbach, O.P., Ph.D., ’59, Contributing Writer Reunions are a touch of class. Did you touch in this year? Are you one of the 48 attendees of the 50th Reunion, or one of the 38 who celebrated their 45th Reunion, or one of the 62 who reconnected at the 40th Reunion? Or are you one of the 100 others who came to the 35th, the 30th, the 10th or the 5th Reunions? If so, you know how special it is to be with friends from the past, to hear about the many activities going on at Aquinas, and to visit our newest building, the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center. As special as these reunions are, one bittersweet reality of every reunion class emerges: Where were all the others? We always get just a touch of the entire class being celebrated. Celebrations, we all know, are a tribute to those who take part, who reconnect, and who rejoice in each other’s presence. This past reunion year was, in a sense, a milestone year. I first started, with your help, to organize reunions in spring 2005. Those of you who graduated in 1965 and celebrated your 40th reunion in 2005, celebrated your 45th reunion in 2010. Those of you who celebrated your 25th in 2005 celebrated your 30th reunion in 2010. It was special, and many of you returned to acknowledge that, indeed, five years
is a very short time. 2011 will be the “second time around” for those of you who celebrated in 1966. Whether you have been away for five or 50 years, you really need to come to see for yourselves how Aquinas continues “to make all the difference in the world” for you and our current and potential students. We invite you to take advantage of this reunion time to celebrate, reminisce, share stories and reacquaint yourselves with the changes that have taken place since you were last here. Photos of the 2010 reunion groups are included here. We hope the happy smiles in each group will entice you to come together next year, when we will celebrate the 1s and the 6s, beginning with 1961and 1966 and every five years up to and including the 2006 class. Consider this your first invitation to join us Sept. 23-25, 2011. I also want to invite you to be an active participant in the committee structure that will be established to make calls or send emails to give special invites to those with whom you hope to celebrate. I have discovered that it’s often “people needing (and calling) other people” that makes all the difference. I look forward to seeing you next September.
50th Reunion (1960)
Back row: Jack Kirkwood, Stan Saganski, Vern Armbrustmacher, Ralph Mathis, Tom Deschaine, Bruce Spielmaker, Phil Monterusso, Richard Weber, Jon DeVries, Tom Mayan, John Fennell, George Colburn, Harry Hudson, Don Murphy Middle row: Jerry Luxford, Alex Callaghan, Judith (Lee) Nolan, Mitzie (Easlick) Murphy, Judy (Spendow) Van Order, Martha (Kaminski) Markham, Jerry Conrad, Dick Wakulat Front row: Jeanne Anne (Hackett) Hudson, Sally Jo (Black) Orr, Rita (Hasse) Kirkwood, Carolyn (Radawski) Armbrustmacher, Roberta (Robinson) Kok, Sr. Marie Joy Yuhasz, O.P., Jim Thrall
45th Reunion (1965)
Back row: David Huhn, Tom Laberteaux, Billy Osbourne, Fred Sebulske, Ron Bostwick, Tom Thrall, Pete Cordes Middle row: Tom Wieczorek, Paul Hansknecht, Sue Rapier, Vern Emery, Janet (Armstrong) Emery, Gary Copp, Pat (Granger) Hopkins, Carol (Karns) Cordes Front row: Mary Ruth Humitz Meyers, Leona (Mayan) Osbourne; Marion (Dougherty) Burns; Kathleen (Agostini) Haas, Karen (Lehman) Zakaras, Sr. Mary Kay Oosdyke, O.P., Nora Butcher
28 Alumni News | Spring 2011 | aquinas.edu/alumni