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ClassNotes St. John ’83 and current Beta Jeremy Edmund Burke ’14. Kim Patton (kpatton@tcco.com), and the gorgeous Kentucky home he and Sarah Mortensen Patton ’84 live in, were recently featured in Best Magazine Cincinnati. Kim, who now works as business development manager for Turner Construction, designed the house in 1994 using green building techniques he learned at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Architecture. Situated on a high bluff, the house has more than 60 windows – most showcasing panoramic views of the Ohio River. Several of the interior doors were salvaged from old homes from the 1800s. The article also says that Kim makes a mean bowl of gumbo soup! Musical divas with dogs: Deanna Peden (speechless.deanna@yahoo.com), or “Miss Peden” as her vocal students (and, I imagine, class secretaries who misbehave) call her, has moved from Houston to Utah. Now living in Salt Lake City, Deanna and her partner Patrice have adopted Roman Theodore, an American Cocker Spaniel. Over five years in the suburbs of Houston, Deanna had built her own nonprofit music and theatre company. She produced and directed several shows, including The Pirates of Penzance and Grease, and her vocal students went on to conservatories such as Oberlin, Cincinnati and San Francisco. Beginning anew in Utah, Deanna says she is “busy building a new empire!” Another songstress, Sarah McGraw Krushinski (Mcgrawactor1@aol.com), reports from the Pittsburgh area that, after much brow-beating from her children, she and her husband “bit the bullet and adopted a puppy, Flurry, a Maltipoo. He has won our hearts.” Sarah is busy with her Wexford Acting Studio fall show The Wizard of Oz, as well as directing the North Allegheny High School spring musical. “It's so fun to see Wooster posts on Facebook,” says Sarah, “Let's be friends there!” Marie Caterini Choppin (mchoppin@counselingforcontentment.com)
Deadlines Send news, obituaries, & photographs to class_notes@wooster.edu 108 Ebert Art Center The College of Wooster, 1220 Beall Ave. Wooster, OH 44691 phone: (330) 263-2187 fax: (330) 263-2592
UPCOMING DEADLINES Spring issue: Jan. 20 Summer issue: Apr. 20
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WI NTE R 2013
and Carolyn Caskey Lisbon got together with Laura Chambers Monter to celebrate Laura’s birthday in September. The three friends went to GoApe!, which Marie described in the technical jargon of her calling as a licensed clinical psychotherapist: “It's a thrilling, exhilarating and scary ropes course in Rockville, Md. We had a wonderful time, overcame some fears and loved bonding with each other.” As a non-technical human with a sick mind, I (Barry) love Laura’s job title. She’s ScrumMaster at AdRem Systems Incorporated, an information technology services provider in Virginia. (Scrum, of course, is an iterative and incremental process used in agile software development. Thanks Wikipedia!) Meanwhile, Carolyn has served as database manager for a variety of D.C.-area nonprofits, including the Lupus Foundation of America. That’s the news! Remember to burn your AARP card when it arrives, and stay classy.
1986
Leslie Winter Gordon lesliegordon@comcast.net
Andy Moir andym12@gmail.com
Doug Hart sends greetings from Maryland: “I got married on July 21 to a native Ohioan...Becky Blakely (Hart). My daughter, Maddie, graduated from Wooster in May and is currently student teaching in Wooster. My son, Max, just started his freshman year at Lynchburg College in Virginia. I’m in my 26th year of teaching, still playing tennis (even with my new hip replacement), and I need to drop a few pounds!” Doug can be reached at dhartteach@comcast.net or his address, 1214 N. Market St. Frederick MD. Libby Turner (Eturner27@aol.com ) sends this update: “Since ‘coming off the road’ (see Linkedin bio for info on my musical endeavors over the years) I got married in 2009. My husband Evans Opanga and I live in St. Paul, Minn., with our cockatiel and turtle (no kids so far!). Evans is from Kenya, so I am excited to identify as an international family. We have built a house there, and I expect we will maintain activities on two continents within a few years! I have spent the last several years enjoying my dual career as an administrator and a professional singer and music teacher. In my administrative roles I generally work for nonprofit agencies providing social services, housing and legal assistance. In my ‘other world’ I am still a professional singer, teaching and coaching all manner of students from young school kids to amateur and aspiring singers to national-level recording artists. I work with
church and community choirs, and still do my share of studio. I have done some fun musical work with composer Elizabeth Alexander ’85 who also has a great and active musical career here in St. Paul! I send greetings to Pat Gorman of course, and also a shout out to any COW music alums, like Tyrone Williams and Ed Ridley ’87 (where are you guys?) and my old constant musical companion Salvatore Midolo. And all the best to you as well! Barikiwa Sana!” Lisa Dordal writes: “I live in Nashville, Tenn., with my partner, Laurie, and our two retired greyhounds. I received a Master of Fine Arts in poetry in 2011 and a Master of Divinity in 2005 from Vanderbilt University. I currently teach poetry in the English Department at Vanderbilt and am happy to announce the publication of my chapbook, Commemoration (available from Finishing Line Press and Amazon). Commemoration is a collection of poems that explores issues of psychological confinement arising from damaging and restrictive societal expectations for women, focusing on the specific experience of a closeted lesbian trying to fit her life into the prescribed script of heterosexuality and on the deep points of interconnection between the speaker’s life and that of her mother. I hope people will consider buying a copy!” We are always looking for news from our classmates. Please email or Facebook us with information. No detail is too small! There is someone out there who is thinking of YOU!
1987
Kim Todd Sayers ksayers87@alumnimail.wooster.edu Although no new updates came in over the last two months, we have plenty to share from the brief bios and updates classmates provided in response to our 25th reunion questionnaire. What follows is random sample of what some ’87s shared. Brian Bodenbender lives with his wife, Janice, along with a son and daughter. Brian says: “At this point, my family life could not be better, and as a geology professor, I’ve done more and more varied professional activities than I ever imagined.” Kevin Burns, his wife, Lori, and their 13month-old son joined in on the Alumni Weekend fun last June. It was great to see such youth and energy at our 25th reunion. Kevin has become an avid scuba diver and says there are several places he’d like to dive on his bucket list. Karen Johnson, class president, splits her time living with Kahlua, her cat, in Chicago