AlumNEWS
In an age where the average worker stays at a job for fewer than five years, JIM DENIG is an anomaly. The VP/Sales Director at Haggar Clothing has worked at Haggar for 43 years, and he’s set to retire this December. When he does retire, the Chicago resident will be spending a lot more time at his home near Orlando, Fla. He and his wife, Peggy, bought a home there in 2011 to be closer to their grandchildren, including their autistic grandson, Cipriano. Denig with his grandson, Cipriano
What are your older kids like? Diverse. Carrie and her husband manage a polo farm in Wellington, Fla. Brad lives in Singapore and is engaged to a young lady from Thailand. Brooke works for a health care company in Europe. What or who has enhanced your life? My brother-in-law Tommy. He moved in with us last year. He’s 61 with cerebral palsy. He can’t cut his meat, can’t move his fingers, but he worked every day until he was 55 years old. He’s an inspiration. Describe Peggy. She’s a hero. She really is. She’s just terrific. What are your thoughts on retirement? I’ll be sad to leave my job. When you’ve done the same thing for so long, it’s an adjustment. What makes you happy? My family.
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FALL 2014
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1970
TOM WESTON visited Fran and VINCE COLLETTI in St. Louis, Mo. on the final
During the 10 years CHARLIE TREMONT has been head varsity golf coach at Gilmour, he and the team have achieved several things, including Ohio Boys Golf Team State Champion 2010, Ohio Boys Golf Individual State Champions 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, The News-Herald Coach of the Year 2006 and 2010 and The Plain Dealer Coach of the Year 2010.
leg of a three-month motorcycle odyssey that began in May and saw him travel all the way back to campus for his 50th reunion in June. The pair enjoyed a tour of the Budweiser Brewery during their visit.
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“When he was diagnosed with autism in 2003, it just changed our lives. Everyone became dedicated,” Denig says.
ROBERT WRIGHT was recently honored
The family rallied to establish a foundation to pay for his 3-year-old grandson’s expensive therapy sessions, which ran into the tens of thousands of dollars annually.
by Ohio First Lady Karen Kasich as Summer Spotlight Artist at the Governor’s Residence and Gardens.
By the time he was 5, Cipriano had regained his speech. Today, at 14, he is a talented polo player. “Without this foundation, he probably wouldn’t have been high functioning,” Denig says. “I’m proud of what he’s fought himself through to become what he is today.” Denig considers himself traditional, but his life has been anything but that. Just look at his family. The father of four adopted his youngest daughter Tori, 22, from a Russian orphanage when she was 10. Denig was 58 at the time, and he and Peggy already had three grown children. But Peggy was active in Children’s Hope, a charity that finds homes for orphans around the world. When the opportunity to adopt Tori presented itself, the Denigs took it. “I didn’t want to adopt an infant,” Denig says. “At the time, I thought, ‘I can handle a 10-year-old but I’m not sure I can handle a 1-year-old.’” Besides the fact that Tori spoke only Russian (she has Disney movies to thank for her English), the adoption was a relatively easy adjustment for the family. Daughters Carrie, 37, and Brooke, 41, were elated. Son Brad, 39, however, was shocked. “The girls were like, ‘Isn’t this great?’” Denig recalls. “The boy was like, ‘Dad, what the hell were you thinking? You’re 58. She’s 10.’” Given the age disparity in the family, Denig’s only regret is not adopting two children at the same time. But Tori will have family to keep her company. She is 22 now and about to have her first child. “She’s been a real delight,” Denig says. “Having somebody come live with us who had no family, no future, no belongings, hopefully you give someone a chance at a much better life.”
get connected in the Cleveland area … LARRY WEBER’S newest book, “The Digital Marketer:Ten New Skills You Must Learn to Stay Relevant and Customer-Centric,” was released this spring by Wiley & Sons. The book was co-authored by Lisa Leslie Henderson.
1970S
Spotligһt
JIM DENIG Class of 1962
1975 A 20-year employee at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, CATHERINE ROSS WILKINS recently started a new job there as the First Patient Care Advocate for Pneumonia and COPD. On July 29, Catherine was a speaker and presenter at the Ohio Society for Respiratory Care regarding the role of a Respiratory Therapist as Patient Care Advocate.
1978 1965
Class of ’65, get ready for tһe 50 tһ! June 5 and 6, 2014 on Gilmour’s campus.
Robert Wrght (on the left) at the Governor’s Residence.
1973 Enjoying retirement in Pinehurst, N.C., MARK JANASEK invites anyone visiting the area to look him up for a round of golf. Mark recently hooked up with classmate JOHN KRALIK, a Los Angeles County superior court judge … BARB WATTS ONEY is a marketing consultant at Global Cleveland, an organization focused on regional economic development through actively attracting newcomers, welcoming them and helping them
News from LESLIE HERTZ FIRESTONE is that she is now retired and living in North Las Vegas, the land of “no snow to shovel!” … After four years in Austin, Texas, PATRICK MOONEY and wife, Meg, have moved back to Greensboro, N.C., where he has started a new business and “looks forward to traveling the world again.”
1979 KIRSTEN HOMEL VITALE, a registered
nurse at Mayo Clinic for 23 years, has been selected as both a bronze and silver Mayo Quality Fellow… MARKO VOVK is an inspector and investigator at Ambassador Construction Consultants LLC, a Cleveland-based home inspection, investigation and building science-consulting firm.
GILMOUR MAGAZINE
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