AlumNotes
Lohse family reaches out through endowments and gift annuities by Jim Kelvington, Ph.D.
In 1996, Gannon was pleasantly surprised by the gift of a large scholarship by a brother and sister who had lived very modestly but invested well. Monsignor Walter Lohse and his sister Vera Betts established a $200,000 endowed scholarship and have enjoyed hearing from the many grateful student recipients they have benefited over the last nine years. Msgr. Lohse’s connection with Gannon goes back to 1933 and Dr. Wehrle’s establishment of Cathedral College. He had spent one year at St. Charles Minor Seminary in Baltimore. His mother had financed that year with an insurance policy, but there was no more money for the second. That summer, Lohse got a call from Joseph J. “Doc” Wehrle inviting him to continue his studies at the new Cathedral College. Dr. Wehrle remembered Walter because Walter had been in the first class at Cathedral Prep where he and Dr. Zipper had paid their way as janitors. Dr. Wehrle’s offer was a gift from heaven. Because of it, Msgr. Lohse was able to continue his studies, and the next year Archbishop Gannon accepted him as a seminarian, allowing him to complete his studies, and be ordained in 1940. He has been eternally grateful to Dr. Wehrle and Gannon for making his life goal of the priesthood possible. Msgr. Lohse’s first assignment was to St John’s Parish in his old 26th Street neighborhood, but he became interested in becoming an army chaplain and an uncle of his friend, Hugh Barber, recommended him for the position. In 1942, because of a plea from Cardinal Spellman for chaplains, Father John Gannon, Chancellor of the Diocese, asked Msgr. Lohse to volunteer as a chaplain. He was eventually assigned to the 96th Bombardment Group of the 8th Army Air Force. Msgr. Lohse spent two years at a base in Snetterton Heath, United Kingdom. The base was on the estate of the Earl of Albemarle, and Lady Albemarle attended Mass on the base. Eventually, she set up a chapel in her mansion, and he celebrated Mass there once a week. On his return to Erie, Msgr. Lohse was assigned to St. James Parish in Wesleyville. The parish was small, but Msgr. Lohse realized its potential with so many veterans returning. In 1947, the Archbishop assigned him to start a school, which had eight grades with two classes per grade. He built the parish to include more than 1,000 families during his 12 years there. He also served parishes in Titusville, Meadville, and Oil City, eventually finishing his active ministry at St. John’s Parish in Girard. Msgr.’s Lohse’s sister, Vera Betts, grew up with her brother on the corner of E. 26th Street and Brandes Avenue. Vera was interested in music and studied opera with Mrs. Reineke at the Campbell’s Studio on North Park Row. They produced an opera in 1930, and she had a major role. She sang at a number of concerts in Erie and surrounding cities and sang solos with the choirs at Holy Rosary and St. Andrew Parish. Vera was also a good typist and stenographer and worked for a number of offices including architect George Stickle, St. Vincent Hospital, the Erie School District, General Electric, and the Quinn Law Firm. She was also interested in archery and won many competitions as well as the 1973 Mid-Atlantic Championship in her class. After retiring, she was an active volunteer at the Salvation Army.
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In 1996, when Msgr. Lohse and Vera were making estate plans, they decided to devote the bulk of their estate to a scholarship at Gannon. Their first step was the $200,000 scholarship. Since 1996, they have given Gannon a house worth more than $50,000 and established gift annuities of $45,000. With these gifts and their bequests, their scholarship will grow to more than $1.3 million helping to fund many future Gannon students.
JENNIFER A. MAILEY ‘05M has accepted the position as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Public Affairs and Marketing Communications at Gannon University. DAVID MARIANI, JR. is a corrections officer employed by the State Department of Corrections at Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York. SCOTT J. MIGLI has been named as the new executive director of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania. PAUL E. SHIELDS, D.O. has opened a new office, Your Family Doctor, in West Ridge Commons in Erie.
1996
RUBY S. BEIL, PH.D. has joined the faculty as a biology professor at Lorain Community College in Elyria, Ohio. Ruby Sue earned her master’s degree and doctorate in environmental horticulture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
1997
SANDRA (EVANS) OBLEMAN, PHARM.D. received her doctor of pharmacy degree from Duquesne University and is a pharmacist at Oswego Hospital in Oswego, New York. HEATHER J. TAIT has had her book Making Your Purpose Your Business published by Lulu Publishing.