The Knox College Fifty Year Club connects alumni and friends, sharing common memories and eras to inform, educate, engage, and support Knox College to keep its history and its future alive.
Bulletin Contents
2 President’s Message
4 50th Convocation Remarks
8 1969 Reunion Reflections
11 Poem dedicated to 1974
12 Alumni Council Report
13 Knox Service Award
14 FYC Members Give Back
15 Faculty Past and Present
16 Scroll of Honor
17 Knox Hall of Fame
18 Honoring Fuehrmeyer ’73
20 What’s New
23 Happy Anniversary
24 Indiana Dunes Adventure
25 My Time in Japan
26 Venture Boldly
27 In Memory
FYC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2024-2026
PRESIDENT
Mary Mangieri Burgland ’68
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Kim Adams Post ’69
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
Steve Jones ’72
SECRETARY-TREASURER
Terry Haptonstahl Jackson ’64
ALUMNI COUNCIL FYC LIAISON
Mary Lu Aft ’60
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE ENGAGEMENTEDITOR
Megan Clayton
President ’ s
By: Mary Mangieri Burgland ’68
Happy Spring to each of you Knox Fifty Year Clubbers!
The first thing that I wanted to do in this communique was to give a big “shout-out” to all the Megans who are working so tirelessly for us. Through the collaboration of our own Megan Clayton along with Vice President for Communications Megan Scott ’96 and Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Stewardship Megan Rehberg ’06, we have a whole new fabulous look to the publications that we are receiving. Kudos to each of you talented women.
The second thing that I wanted to do was to encourage you to Venture Boldly by staying engaged with Knox's bold future. As you may have heard, Knox is now in the thick of a $175 million dollar campaign and President McGadney would love to tell you in person about his bold vision for the future of our beloved alma mater.
There have been Venture Boldly events across the country where President McGadney shared his
ABOUT THE COVER
Alice Crane Hogarty ’69 and Tom Hogarty ’69 relax during Homecoming and Family & Friends Weekend 2024 on the Old Main lawn.
Message
bold vision for the future of our beloved alma mater. The events have been in New York City, Washington D.C., Denver, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, culminating in Galesburg on May 2.
Even if you couldn't attend a Venture Boldly event in person, there will be more opportunities to connect and be part of this exciting journey. You can learn more at knox.edu/ venture-boldly.
Veritas,
Editor’s Corner
By: Megan Clayton
This fall, the Fifty Year Club is excited to welcome you, the 50th Reunion class, back to campus for Homecoming and Family & Friends Weekend October 10-12, 2025. It’s a great time to reconnect with classmates, relive your Knox memories, and make new ones.
A highlight of the weekend is your official induction into the FYC, marking 50 years since graduation and celebrating your lifelong connection to Knox. You’ll also start receiving the FYC Bulletin twice a year, keeping you updated on alumni news and events.
Enjoy campus tours, lectures, athletic events, and social gatherings—all part of the Homecoming fun. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
As always, email 50yearclub@knox.edu to share updates, news, or articles for the Bulletin. We love hearing from you!
50th Reunion Convocation Remarks
By: Ernest Buck ’74
They asked a pediatrician to give a short speech. My mother’s six-word instruction for public speaking sprang to mind: Stand Up, Speak Up, Shut Up. So here we go.
In 1970, when our class arrived on campus, Vietnam was dragging on, Nixon was in office, the males were about to receive a draft lottery number and most of us were delighted to be on a college campus—deferred for a time.
The Knox Catalog from which we selected our fall classes opened with a two-page document called “The Knox Idea”. After describing the benefits of a liberal arts education conducted on a small campus where one could anticipate intimate engagement with faculty and classmates, it went on to suggest that Knox was in the business of producing “well-rounded individuals.” A Knox Student editorial mockingly suggested that “well rounded” meant that they rolled whichever way they were pushed. That is exactly what happened to me.
I arrived at Knox with a license to preach from the United Methodist Church in my back pocket just in case my draft number was low. I claimed to be pre-law but took enough science to keep my options open.
During my first year, the live-in job as the night boy in the Health Center came open, and I moved in to become the person who carried the meals, took the night vitals, and answered the door or phone when medical problems, infections, injuries, or “bad trips” landed
students in an infirmary bed. The job covered my room and board—making my Knox education more affordable. Many of my classmates sensed, before I did, that I was destined to be a physician.
Late in my junior year, Biology Professor Billy Geer and Chemistry Professor Lee Harris pushed me to apply for the inaugural Knox-Rush Medical Program, a program where an enhanced senior year at Knox could count as a freshman
year in med school. Similarly, in medical school, I planned to be an internist until my last term when the pediatric chairman asked, “When are you taking your acting internship?” Explaining that I was an internist, he said, “No you’re not, you’re a pediatrician.”
I had just suffered through caring for a couple of defining adult patients who would not or could not stop their bad alcohol habits and bounced back into my ICU after a weekend “bender.” In caring for children, I discovered that children have not yet developed bad habits, and parents will usually give
Brian Howell ’74 and Ernie Buck ’74
them their medicine (even if they won’t take it themselves). So, yes, I became a pediatrician.
Later in my career, the pediatricians of South Texas asked me to give up clinical practice to design a new HMO Medicaid program. They wanted a local doctor they could talk to. So, yes, I became an administrator instead of clinician. Repeatedly, a “well-rounded” Knox education allowed me to roll into an exciting new job, a different career.
Today, I honor my liberal arts education by reading the “poem of the day” to the pediatric residents prior to the morning report. They get a little rightbrain enlightenment to start their day. I have subjected them to offerings by Carl Sandburg, Tom Kimmel, my Knox classmate Glenda Bailey-Mershon, plus others. This daily poetry moment is, I suspect, very atypical in pediatric training programs nationwide. I hope you can compare your story to mine. Knox prepared me to do many things. Did it do the same for you?
As new students arriving at Knox in 1970, we would spend four years (20 percent) of our 18-year-old lives on this campus. It was a place where most would first define themselves as separate from their parents and families. Many would meet future spouses
and choose their first careers. The excitement of finding and making new friends, planning or stumbling through the day-to-day schedule, re-defining ourselves in relation to our peers, studying (or not), playing bridge/pool/ poker, drinking/smoking, discovering sex, exploring sexual orientation, all to
L to R: Stan Jaworski ’74, David Hayes ’74, Dan Keyes ’74, George Rosic ’74, Betty Spieth Croll ’74, Bruce Rohwer ’74, John Knoche ’74, Kevin Waite ’74, David Bauman ’74, David Schulz ’74, Jim Mott ’74, Ed Brown ’74, Marianne LeFave Jacobs ’74.
Annie Reinke ’74 and Jeanne Miyake Cuneo ’74
the rhythm of the 60s and 70s musical explosion was daunting and exciting.
Knox, with its relatively secluded campus, provided a marvelous safe haven to actually try out, drop into, grow
up, or put on all this stuff with little fear of long-term consequences.
Knox in the early 70s was a place that demanded excellence in teaching. Classes rarely contained twenty students and professors did the teaching. The use of multiple choice or multiple guess tests was discouraged. The dreaded, blank, “blue test” booklet required that you actually know the material well—not just well enough to
select the best guess from a multiplechoice format. You were expected to write well. The tiny classes meant that teachers came to know you as a person. Professor’s doors were open. They got to know you well enough to counsel you regarding career choices.
Political ideas and positions were discussed in class free of the contempt typical of today’s rantings. The required distribution of subjects needed to gain a liberal arts degree allowed students to experience the richness of a broad education and the breakthrough moments when knowledge from diverse disciplines collided to enrich insight. You were required to try life-long sports, and you could participate in art and music offerings—from symphony to kazoo band.
When you ask a pediatrician to give a talk, you should expect references to great children’s literature. My favorite author, Judith Viorst wrote at least three classics: one about life’s unfairness—Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, one about friendship—Rosie and Michael, and one about pushing up daisies—The Tenth Good Thing about Barnie. Besides these wonderful books that you should read to your children or your grandchildren, Judith wrote a serious book called
Top Left, L to R: Chuck Oertley ’73 and Karen Oberlaender Oertley ’74, Gabe Rotello ’74, Mike Murphy ’74.
Bottom Left, Jan Thompson ’74 and Margie Beers ’74.
Above: Doug Cole ’74 and Janet Howell Cole ’74.
Necessary Losses where she describes all the things we have to give up (or lose) to grow up….our mother’s breast, our parent’s exclusive devotion, our nuclear family, our adolescence, our dream of the perfect marriage, our career, the lives of our parents/spouses/friends, and finally our own life.
Our ability to make these transitions “well” is what makes us successful happy adults….or not. To the anniversary classes assembled here today, I would encourage you to work on your own psychological development, just as you did when you attended here at the age of 20.
Top: 50th Reunion Committee during Class Gift presentation at Homecoming Convocation. Middle, L to R: Mike Tweedle ’73 and Peter Bailley ’74; Trissa Crowley ’74, Harley Knosher, David Fridovich ’74.
Bottom, L to R: Fran Zimmerman ’74, Marya Axner ’74, Rick Heitman ’74, Monta Lee Dakin ’74; Tom Cooke ’73 and Nancy McMaster ’74.
Why now? Because your future is all you have left. Mend any damaged or estranged relationships. Grab whatever peace and abiding joy you can from life.
If you are one of those who find “walking the turf” of this campus nourishing to your soul, you may want to consider donating time to the important ideas or positions that you discovered here…sharing your knowledge and love of “lifelong learning” with others. Perhaps a financial gift to ensure that an affordable, quality, liberal arts education is preserved on the prairie of Illinois for another generation.
Finally, I hope that you can walk away from this convocation with at least three new thoughts. So, here they are: 1) My mother’s advice for short speeches— Stand up, Speak Up, Shut up, 2) Read Judith Viorst to the children in your life before you suffer one of “Alexander’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days,” 3) Consider the value of your own liberal arts Knox education. Do something about it.
Class of 1969 Reunion Weekend Reflections
By: Molly Miller Thorn ’69 and Raymond Howell ’69
Our class is deeply grateful to Mary Mangieri Burgland ’68 and George Burgland, who graciously opened their home for a wonderful pre-Reunion gathering. It was the perfect opportunity to reconnect in a relaxed setting with so many treasured friends.
Mollie Miller Thorn is enjoying her retirement and wonders how she ever had time to work. She continues to sing with her international online Stay at Home Choir as well as her community choir. She and her husband, Phil, keep in touch with their kids and grandkids by phone, text, FaceTime, Zoom—whatever it takes! They love supporting the whole crew.
Jim Dean says his current focus is on friends and photography. An accomplished photographer, he also enjoys a weekly walk with Knox friends in Denver. We found him to be a great listener, and it was wonderful to reconnect.
Ted Boecker ’70 was at the Reunion to to be inducted into the Knox-Lombard Hall of Fame. He and Linda Tyson Boecker ’71 run a real estate company in Southern California and stay busy with kids and grandkids.
Mollie Miller Thorn ’69 and Kim Adams Post ’69.
Susan Buckner Hammon has recently started singing again with her church choir. You may remember her from Knox Choir, and she still loves to sing.
It was such a pleasure to reconnect with Gary Barnhart and his wife, Susan. Susan is so engaging that we almost forgot she wasn’t a Knox alum! However, two of their three kids are Knox graduates. Brynna ’03 is an attorney for the NCAA and heads up her department there, while Brett ’96 is an orthopedic surgeon. Gary and Ray Howell exchanged John Martin stories. John was a late-night host at the local radio station. His fraternity brothers decided to call in as the Galesburg police department (complete with typewriters and radio calls in the background) to report that Knox College students were rioting and moving off the campus to set the city on fire. They told John to immediately broadcast a citywide alert… which he did. Perhaps a brilliant career was cut short.
We were also excited to see Tom and Alice Hogarty, who couldn’t attend the 50th Reunion due to a last-minute health challenge. They (and we) were so sorry to miss them, as they were an integral part of the planning and a driving force behind the Peace and Justice Endowed Chair at Knox.
Mike Hosford is retired from his career in financial planning, having
successfully sold his business. He now enjoys playing golf a couple of times a week. He and Kitty Belle drove from their home in Maryland to the familiar Knox woodlands and cornfields, visiting family all along the way. Their son is a legislative aide to Senator Edward Markey, and Kitty Belle serves on the board of the Senate daycare facility. Mike Hosford and Ray Howell played golf at Soangetaha on Friday. They mutually and mercifully decided not to keep score after the first hole. Later, Mike teased some of their dating stories out of Marilyn Abazoris Howell ’71 which became late-night fodder.
Row two: Gary Barnhart, Patrick Kelley, Michael Hosford, Tom Hogarty.
Row three: Raymond Howell, James Dean, Tom Pschirrer, Larry Moore.
Class of 1969—55th Reunion Photo
Row one, L to R: Karen Knox-Tom, Jean Wilhelms Moore, Susan Buckner Hammon, Alice Crane Hogarty.
Larry and Jeannie Wilhelms Moore are dedicated volunteers. Jeannie, a retired teacher, volunteers in the Philadelphia schools, while Larry was very active during the election cycle, going door-todoor and gathering research through a deep listening program in their county. It was also a pleasure to see David McMillin, who remains cheerful and friendly. He is still teaching at Purdue, and he and his wife stay very involved with their children and grandchildren.
Pat Kelly is still wearing his ’69 Knox jacket and it still fits! He regaled us with thoroughbred horse racing experiences and emerged financially intact managing to even make money in the process. He now raises miniature horses and is planning trips to the North Pole
Class of 1964—60th Reunion Photo
Row one, L to R: Cynthia Brown, Fay Stevenson-Smith, Catherine Gardner, Jean Howell Card.
Row two: Patricia White Strassburg, Lynn Melcher Barrett, Nancy Anderson Levin, Kathy Molda East, Avis Sorenson Erickson
Row three: Shripad Pendse, Iggy Matkov, Wayne Parks, Bob Glorch.
Lynn Melcher Barrett ’64 and Karen Kuhfuss Koch ’62.
and Hiroshima…your normal retirement activities. We revisited his Phi Gam room known unaffectionately as the “Lung” for its expansive dimensions and also his brother Joe who was the lead guitarist in the Shadows of Knight (G-L-O-R-I-A) who played such noteworthy venues as Marty’s in Galesburg.
Dan Gunning was stationed at the DMZ between North and South Korea. Apparently, lots of amusing things get shot at in the “demilitarized zone”.
John Heyer ’68 gifted his photography skills to memorialize our Reunion. He has been a lifelong, passionate supporter of Scouting. It is so inspiring to see this commitment.
Karl Immenhausen ’71.
Out Across the Evening Gray
By: Glenda Bailey-Mershon ’74
Dedicated to the Knox College Class of 1974
our muscles taut, our minds at play, we lit our lamps across the quad, and settled down to study.
On breaks we might look out to see a friend’s silhouette, at work or carefree, or some unknown one’s gleaming zeal
to do their best, survive the test, For a moment, we glowed in time, our hearts attuned in full.
You ask if I remember you. Oh, yes! Oh, yes, of course I do. You who sat beside the roar
of fire in the lounge at Seymour, who wore yourself frantic making lists, writing poems, memorizing gist.
And I remember so much else —that heartbreak your junior year, your trip abroad, your spirits soared
from dream to dream and brim to brim. Who’s to say who snapped the limb between adult and careless child?
Was it you who broke your arm on Flunk Day? Did I carry your trunk when graduation came? We waved, and swore to meet soon, but life began anew, rush too vital to ignore: Reunions came, other tasks implored, while we sat up all night—kids or work, our lamps aglow. Our futures forked.
The years have tumbled on and yet always we come back to lights flickering across the evening gray, beacons on the fields of play we all relinquish, must—one day Still, other beacons shall be lit.
Other bodies, wiry, fit, will one day climb the Oaks, perhaps, glimpse the smokes
of fires we lit back in our day— awards, protests, triumphal glee. They’ll discern what we assayed, not always won. Still, we move on. Oh, come, let’s sing for evening gray, for lights that glimmer across the way.
Spring on campus.
by Steve Davis.
Photo
Alumni Council Meeting Report
By: FYC Representative Mary Lu Aft ’60
The regular fall meeting of the Knox Alumni Council was held on a picture-perfect Homecoming and Family & Friends Weekend. The Alumni Council spent Friday afternoon meeting in the brand-new Galesburg Public Library. (Some of you may remember the horrific fire that consumed the original Carnegie Library in May 1958.)
Alumni Council president Tom Bazan ’05 welcomed 12 members in person and four on Zoom. Following the recognition of the new Southwest Ohio Knox Club, we heard reports from the standing committees. The Awards committee, chaired by Pam Hernandez ’02, reported changes to the awards process. All alumni awards will be presented during Homecoming and Family & Friends Weekend. The deadline for all nominations will be February 1.
The Campus Engagement Committee, chaired by Alex Kemmsies ’09, has challenged itself to expand its role to increase student exposure to career opportunities and support with more ways of connecting alumni and students professionally. The committee also plans to organize “Welcome to Our City” for spring 2025. This program would provide local Knox Clubs with a blueprint to welcome Knox alums who are new to a community.
Scott Calhoun ’81 reported on initiatives, which the Alumni Engagement Committee is focusing on. First, it is to offer support and resources to our Knox Clubs and help to establish new ones where there is interest. As a resource, Ann Perille ’76 has developed the Knox Club Event Planning and Ideas Guide, a ‘soup to nuts’ guide, as a major resource for Knox clubs.
Second, the group will develop a series of surveys to help local clubs focus on their members’ interests and help the Committee respond to the clubs’ needs. Third, the Committee wants to initiate a speaker’s bureau of faculty, staff, and alumni who would be available to speak or meet with interested alumni.
Reports from the College were all very positive. Enrollment is up, and compared with colleges that are also part of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest consortium, Knox is a leader. There is even hope that with a larger percentage of new students who are athletes, we will bring home some championships. Watch for an announcement of a Venture Boldly event near you. Knox will be hosting events to celebrate our proud traditions across the country this year and may be coming to your area. Please attend these events where you will have an opportunity to meet President Andy McGadney and learn all about the exciting plans for Knox’s future.
Gorski Receives Knox Service Award
Since graduating from Knox, John Gorski ’73 has been a dedicated volunteer for the campus TKE House. As the national coordinator for the 1988 “Save the TKE House” campaign, he led efforts to renovate the house, personally working on the deck with a ramp, making it the first ADA-accessible fraternity house on campus.
John's commitment extends to preserving TKE history, collaborating with alumni and Knox Archives & Special Collections. As chair of the Knox College TKE Board of Advisors, he received the Honor Delta TKE Award and was recognized by the Life Loyal TKE program and the National TKE Hall of Fame. He authored a history of Knox TKE and donated a plaque marking the Knox TKE House as the oldest in North America. He also chaired the 50th Homecoming TKE celebration in 2023. John served as the director of national accounts at International Harvester Co. and vice president at Navistar International dealership.
Tom Bazan ’05, Alumni Council Chair, John Gorski ’73, President C. Andrew McGadney.
FYC Members Give Back
Retiring To vs. Retiring From
By: John H. Post ’67
Most of my classmates were ready to retire long ago. In 2008, I was looking forward to doing so but soon found out that I could only play golf so much, and, with my wife, Kim Adams Post ’69, still working, we could only travel so much.
I found an adult ed class entitled “How to Retire Successfully.” It was focused on a good balance of financial, mental, and spiritual goals. The quote I remember most was, “Retire to something, not from something.” So I took stock of my skills and interests and decided which might bring me spiritual satisfaction.
After finishing my education, serving in the Army, and coaching for two years, I realized I needed different challenges.
I spent the next 40 years in residential construction with large national home-building companies. In the last 20 years, I served as vice president or president of various organizations. I especially enjoyed building homes for first-time homeowners and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and other non-profits as a way to give back to the community. After taking the retirement class, I started doing more volunteer work.
In 2010, I was approached by the Community Action Agency for Butler County, Ohio, about assisting a non-profit called Support to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF). Their vision was to start offering additional services to the community, namely home repairs for low-income residents, the elderly, and the disabled at no cost to them. This would enable them to stay in their homes. It would also be less expensive to them and taxpayers than going into a home.
In the first year, we were able to help 30 families. We built two wheelchair ramps, installed many handrails, grab bars, and smoke detectors, as well as painting and other repairs. With our limited resources, we had to be creative.
John Post ’67.
The State of Ohio paid my salary and covered some of our company overhead. We depended on the United Way and private donations to buy materials. Our labor was supplied by volunteers from various church groups, high school and college students, mission groups, retired contractors or businessmen, and others.
As our reputation grew, so did our funding and our volunteer base. Just before the pandemic, we repaired 180 homes per year. We had more than 1,000 volunteers who donated 20,000 hours of their time. We started hiring professional contractors to handle more complex jobs. We were especially gratified that we were able to keep so many of our clients out of retirement homes during the pandemic.
Today we are repairing 150 homes per year but have expanded our program to include teaching construction skills to unemployed or aspiring youths and rehabbing distressed homes to sell to first-time homeowners. We are also licensed for and doing lead abatement.
Faculty Past and Present: Charles Lerche
By: Jim Dunlevey ’54
“There will never be peace in the Middle East!” So spoke Charley Lerche some 70 years ago. His wisdom remained with me as I read my morning newspaper and a few hours later the FYC Bulletin. Charley (Professor Charles O.) headed the three-man Political Science department in which I majored in 1950-54. One of his courses was in Middle Eastern politics. Charley may have been my favorite, but I also liked the other two–Ed Cooke and Rene Ballard. They shared a single office in Old Main and often a table for coffee with students in the old Gizmo, which was then located on the lowest level of Alumni Hall. I believe Ballard also may have put academic Poli Sci to practical use as a member of the Galesburg City Council but that was after I left the city.
Courtesy of Knox College Archives
2024 FYC Scroll of Honor
Meet the three FYC members who received Scrolls of Honor during Homecoming and Family & Friends Weekend 2024.
During his career, Howard Heath ’73 served as a math and computer science instructor at Lane Tech College Prep High School, and, more recently, as an adjunct at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Howard also served as Chicago Teachers Union's first and only male black vice president and as the first minority delegate at Lane Tech High School.
An educator, lobbyist, and union officer, he continues to serve as the Chicago Teachers Union’s retiree functional vice president and American Federation of Teachers retiree representative. As union vice president, Howard helped to lower the full-pension retirement age for Chicago Teachers Union members from 67 to 55 and to restore the union’s full bargaining rights. He secured an endorsement for Senator Barack Obama by the American Federation of Teachers and was selected as Lakeview Citizens Council Teacher of the Year and emcee at the 2002 United Negro College Fund event.
Following her graduation from Knox, Carolyne “Carrie” Swanson McPherson ’68 began work in computer programming. At the University of Florida, she helped engineering students write programs, including machine interfaces for NASA. After moving to Chicago, she founded a software firm, Information Development Consultants, Inc., alongside her husband. Carrie and her team developed DiLOG and 4gov, ground-breaking accounting and financial software packages. The company helped more than 250 clients in 28 states, as well as the Trust Territories of the Pacific and Virgin Islands.
She is the recipient of the Wells Fargo Bank TrailBlazer Technology Innovation Award, Women Business Owner’s Technology Innovation Award, BBB Ethical Business Award, Chicago and Northern Illinois Green Business Award, as well as an Illinois Homeland Security Grant. Carrie has served Knox as an admission and career service volunteer. Now retired, she serves as a commissioner of aviation for the Aiken, South Carolina, regional airport.
L to R: Carolyne Swanson McPherson ’68, Howard Heath ’73, Mary Mangieri Burgland ’68; Steven Seward ’68.
Steven L. Seward ’68 earned advanced degrees in physiological science and optometry after graduating from Knox. He would later receive the Indiana Optometric Association’s Outstanding Young Optometrist Award and the American Optometric Association’s Distinguished Optometric Recognition Award. Steve held multiple leadership roles, including director of the Indiana Optometric Association Department of Education and president of the Indiana Optometric Association and the Wabash Valley Optometric Society. He was an Emeritus Senior Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and served on several state and national optometric committees.
Within his community, Steve has served as president of the Wabash County United Fund Board and the Wabash County Community Foundation, as well as the North Manchester Recreational Association Board and the North Manchester Town Housing Forum as the Housing Committee chair. He participated in the Voluntary Optometric Service to Humanity mission to Cuba and was a Federal Drug Administration investigator for extended-wear contact lenses.
Fennema and Boecker Inducted into Knox Athletic Hall of Fame
James Fennema ’73 cemented his legacy in Knox College baseball with a career marked by exceptional achievements. Fennema holds the records for most career wins, most career complete games, and most career no-hitters by a Knox player. His remarkable skill and dedication on the mound have earned him a well-deserved place in the Knox-Lombard Athletics Hall of Fame.
Ted Boecker ’70 was a three-time letter winner in men's golf and men's swimming and diving. Freshmen were not eligible to participate in varsity athletics when he was in school. Ted led the 1970 men's golf team to a Midwest Conference (MWC) title, the first conference title by any Knox sport in over a decade. He was also the MWC Diving Champion in 1968 and 1970. Ted won the John W. Hilding Prize, awarded to the Knox senior student-athlete participating on a men’s team with the most outstanding career in intercollegiate athletics.
Honoring Jean Bitunjac Fuehrmeyer ’73
and Jim Fuehrmeyer
In September 1969, the Knox Class of 1973 assembled and met at Pumphandle. Most young women were housed in Whiting Hall, including a group of us on the west side of the first floor. We came from different backgrounds but soon became fast friends. We learned about each other's families, pets, their first crushes, and current boyfriends. It was then that we got to know Jim Fuehrmeyer. He became part of our group as soon as Jean Bitunjac did.
Jean came to Knox from Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois. She had a dual major in French and Russian and took the popular elective, Serbo-Croatian, taught by Momcilo Rosic. She also had enough credits in education courses to attain certification to teach both grade school and high school. She participated in the Besançon program in France during her junior year. Jean was warm, funny, and humble, downplaying herself, but never others. She joined Pi Beta Phi, attended Newman Club weekly, and made lifelong Knox friends.
Jean’s high school boyfriend, Jim, had received a coveted nomination to attend the United States Military
Academy. Jean and Jim grew up two blocks from one another on the same street in South Holland, Illinois. She wrote him every night and letters from him were equally frequent. We grew to know Jim and his West Point friends through Jean. Jim visited Jean in Galesburg and France. The first time he came to Galesburg, he arrived on the train and the Whiting girls went to the station to meet the train! No doubt we embarrassed him. He became our brother and spent time in suite six with us while Jean studied.
Jim Fuehrmeyer and Jean Bitunjac Fuehrmeyer ’73.
He called us by our nicknames (and still does). Jean and Jim’s romance was enduring. They were kindred spirits and were married just 21 days after commencement. Jean made her wedding dress in her dorm room.
After graduation, Jean became a military wife and mother. While stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado, she began teaching. Jim earned his MBA and spent 27 years with Deloitte and Touche.
When they retired, Jim started a third career as a professor of accountancy, and Jean volunteered with an organization to aid children in underserved, low-income families. Jean served as a board member and chaired the strategic planning committee, book program, and dental program. In addition, she tutored children, coordinated the tutoring program, and served as librarian and school board president. Even when Jean was diagnosed with ALS, she continued to serve. It took five volunteers to replace her. Jim and Jean traveled extensively during their 50 years of marriage. They were parents to two daughters and have three grandchildren.
They faithfully returned to Knox for class Reunions. Jim proudly wore his purple Knox College sweatshirt. During COVID, and until her death, Jean participated in a bi-weekly Zoom call organized by classmate Donna Rockin, who was Jean’s roommate at Knox.
When they were unable to attend our 50th Reunion in person in 2023, we arranged a Facetime call with Jean and Jim and sent photos and a souvenir box to them. Jean died a few weeks following this call. Jim has continued the Knox tradition by coming to Homecoming and establishing the Jean Bitunjac Fuehrmeyer ’73 Scholarship Fund to support students pursuing Educational Studies.
We nominated Jim to be an honorary member of the Fify Year Club because he had been there with us for our entire Knox experience. This past October, a group of us was there to welcome him into the FYC. We proudly gave him a standing ovation, just as we welcomed his train so many years before. It's only fitting to salute them both.
What’s New With You?
Bob Willett ’50, Rockledge, FL– “I guess I never thought back in my Siwash days that I would stick around to see my name as one of Knox's oldest alumni. But I'm happy to be here, a bit punchy at times, and a nuisance to the VA. I still write some but haven't been published for a while. I miss my old Sigma Nu pals who have gone on to grander lands but rejoice in family and kids who help me with my homework. My days in Galesburg are a distant memory, beginning with the 365th Army Service Unit, and classwork memories have faded badly. Still, the friendships formed have indeed been life-lasting, and I look forward to chapters of the White Star of Sigma Nu in the next life.”
Patricia Barker ’52, Palo Alto, CA–“I have moved from Illinois to California to live in a 4th story apartment with my brother John. This facility provides one main, usually delicious, meal a day served in a lovely dining room. I do miss having four seasons. Now is our rainy season, but we are snug and dry. They provide activities here and have a movie theater. They also provide transportation and health services so we are well cared for.”
Susan Mitchell Nienhuis ’61, Beaver Dam, WI– “Karl Nienhuis ’61 died on October 4, 2024. We met at Knox. Our daughter Laurie Nienhuis Marchese graduated from Knox in 1992, and I still keep in touch with a lot of good friends. So many good memories.”
Homecoming and Family & Friends Weekend October 10-12, 2025.
If your class year ends with a 0 or a 5, you have a milestone Reunion this year!
We hope you will make a gift and return to celebrate on campus.
Make your hotel reservations early and watch for more information in your mailbox and inbox.
Glenn Schiffman ’65 was featured in last summer’s issue of Whitefish Review, a non-profit literary journal that celebrates the literature, art, and photography of mountain culture. During an event at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake, Glenn read an essay about Janis Joplin and his time on the road as a rock and roll sound equipment truck driver.
Marge Alig, daughter of Marilyn Weise Victor ’55 writes, “My mom passed away this past September 12, 2024, in Corvallis, Oregon after a brief illness. She adored her time and beloved friends at Knox. From the time my brother and I were quite young, a week did not go by without her telling a story or two of her time and friendships there. She was indeed effusive in her recollections and descriptions of her life at Knox and loved to share them. She had a Knox sticker on her car, and incorporated “Siwash” into a username or two!”
good internet and we can stream TV programs from almost any place in the world. I still have a small condo in Seattle but am hardly ever there. I wish you all a happy new year.”
Shauna Herminghouse writes, "I have the sad news to share that my mother, Patricia Burke Herminghouse ’62, passed on October 29, 2024. I have been in contact with Kate Bloomberg ’62 and other classmates from 1962 who still gather every year and meet online every month. I have been fortunate to communicate with them frequently. What an impact Knox College had on all of their lives!"
Peter E. Johanson ’57, Central Mexico– “I have been happily retired and living in a retirement community in Central Mexico for 20 years. It is near but not on the shores of Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico, just south of Guadalajara at an altitude of 5000 feet. The high elevation keeps us from getting too hot. And this far South, the weather never gets too cold. About a third of the population is from either Canada or the United States, and most of those who are retired are at least 65 to 80 years old. We have
Gary Moses ’65, Castle Rock, CO– “I am compiling autobiographies of classmates of the 1960s to provide our history to our families, friends, classmates, and Knox. Consider that we have lost the stories that could have been told by Knox graduates who fought in WWI, lived through the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean War, and more. Where did they live, and serve, what were their conditions, and how did they handle transitions? So much history has been lost. If you are interested in learning more, send me an email at garymari@aol.com.”
Beth Lorenz, Katy, TX– “Thank you for keeping John Lorenz ’66 informed about Knox alumni. He passed away in November 2024.”
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Barbara Por Srur ’68, Sarasota, FL–“I’m retiring on January 31, 2025!”
David Dowley ’68, Roque Bluffs, ME– “Congratulations to Mary Mangieri Burgland ’68 for becoming president of the Fifty Year Club and making the Class of ’68 especially proud. You go, girl!”
Jan Rockin ’70, Chicago, IL–“June 13, 2025, will mark the 55th anniversary of the Class of 1970’s graduation day. I also want to thank the staff of the Fifty Year Club Bulletin. It is an excellent publication, and I very much enjoy reading each issue.”
Leonard Greene ’73, Ashville, NC–“As part of the 50th Reunion weekend activities in 2023, our class put together a then-and-now discussion with classmates and current students participating on the panel. After the discussion, one of the student panelists, Cadence Eischens ’24 introduced me and other alumni who participated in the Knox Farm Term to Green Oaks students. We talked and shared our memories, and Cadence took us all over to tour the Knox Farm. There we got a chance to meet some of the student volunteers. I learned while talking with Cadence that she was planning a trip to North Carolina to visit her friend, Ahna, a student at Warren Wilson College, which is just 10 minutes away from where my wife, Lainie, and I live. We decided to return the hospitality and we invited Cadence and Ahna for dinner when she visited about a week after Thanksgiving. We took them on a field trip to Riverview Station, a large art building in Asheville, where Lainie is a part owner and manager.
It was a delightful day! They met many of the working artists and had great conversations! We later discovered that Ahna’s grandfather had been a tenant at Riverview Station several years ago, and that he is a Knox alum originally from Galesburg. At Knox, he studied with Issac Peterson, Harlan and Joanne Goudie, and Henry Joe.”
Terry Algren Bruner ’74, Galesburg, IL–“My husband and I couldn't attend my Class of 1974 Reunion as we were on a preplanned cruise. However, it sounds like it was a wonderful event! People I have run into said it was fantastic and so well planned. We can be very proud of our class for raising so much money to benefit the College! We arrived from our cruise through the St. Lawrence Seaway and eastern US and disembarked in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We then rented a car and drove to St. Petersburg. Our oldest son and his family have lived there since 2002. They lost their home in St. Pete during the first hurricane in the fall of 2024, Helene. They had over three and a half feet of seawater and raw sewage in their home. They evacuated to Orlando and took as much as possible in their three cars. But five people have a lot of belongings! Six months later, they are still not back in their house and have decided to sell it as is. It is completely gutted and ready for someone to redo everything. They have been in six rentals since the September hurricane. The second hurricane, a week after Helene, damaged their roof and solar panels. They have had a heck of a time, but they love St. Pete and it is their home. And it is a super place for us to visit them!”
Happy Anniversary!
Jim and Judy Scott Smith ’57 celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve, December 31. They celebrated with their children who traveled from Texas and New York.
Ron Pearson ’54 and Arline Searl Pearson ’57 celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in Knox style last November, at an open house hosted for friends and family in the Lincoln Room at Knox!
Ron and Arline’s love story began in Galesburg, where they both attended Galesburg High School, two years apart. Ron was a Knox sophomore when he first noticed Arline working in the ticket booth at the Orpheum Theater. He quickly made arrangements to meet her on a blind date, and their courtship began.
Arline was able to join Ron at Knox College after her high school graduation when she received a full tuition scholarship from the Rotary Club. They were married on November 6, 1954, in Galesburg, the same year that Ron received a
degree in Economics from Knox. Over the past 70 years, the couple has enjoyed living in many places, including an Army assignment in Germany as newlyweds, Staten Island, New York; Cincinnati, Ohio; Alton, Illinois; and finally coming full circle back to Galesburg in 1967, thanks to a work transfer from Ron’s job as controller with Alton Packaging.
Ron and Arline enjoy keeping busy visiting their three children, four grandchildren, and three greatgrandchildren and have shared many good times and adventures over the years.
Congratulations to the Smiths and the Pearsons on their seventy years of love!
Indiana Dunes Adventure
By: Chuck Dunn ’60
Now in the fifth year of gathering, our Knox-based exploratory group had traveled to the Laramie basin, Wyoming; Tucson, Arizona; Sleeping Bear National Seashore, Michigan; Black Butte in the Oregon Cascades, and this year we convened at Indiana Dunes National Park.
When we were students at Knox, the group all worked at Green Oaks and were inspired and challenged by Paul Shepard, director, and professor of biology.
The group includes Bill Reiners ’59, his wife Norma, Chuck Dunn ’60, his wife Sally, her brother David Chatfield, Tom Murphy ’59, and his wife Ellen. This year, Tom and Ellen participated via Zoom because Ellen was recovering from chemotherapy and unable to travel.
Indiana Dunes geography is amazing for its great dunes, Lake Michigan beaches, bogs, and forests. Among the differences from Green Oaks, other than the lake and dunes themselves, is the presence of magnificent tulip poplars at the Dunes, the world's tallest deciduous trees.
The new national park, created in 2019, surrounds and enlarges Indiana Dunes State Park, which dates to 1925. Together, it is a unique feature of the Great Lakes of our Midwest. It is not all wilderness such as Yellowstone, or remote such as Isle Royale.
Indiana Dunes is within an hour’s drive of Chicago and is laced with historic farms, villages, roads, and railroads. And yet, of the 61 U.S. National Parks, Indiana Dunes is fifth in biological diversity.
In the early 1900s, Henry Cowles, the University of Chicago’s “Father of Ecology” studied succession and cataloged more than 1000 plants in the dunes. Consequently, Indiana Dunes is considered the “birthplace of ecology.” Over a week, our group hiked some of the dune’s 70 miles of trails winding through 15,000 acres of parkland. In a sense, we tracked Paul Shepard, who was an ecologist, back to his spiritual beginnings. We also realized that with the vicissitudes of our aging now in the ninth decade, we may not be able to continue exploring indefinitely. But for tracing ecology, which is what we have been doing, this may be a fitting conclusion.
My Time in Japan
By: James “Mack” Trapp ’56
“It all started at Knox.”
At age 90, I have been looking back at my post-Knox experience and submit this little story of life-changing experiences.
At Knox I was enrolled in the Army ROTC and upon graduation, I was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. Two surprises: I was assigned to serve two years of active duty (most were given six months) and placed in the Military Intelligence Department which sent me to Fort Holabird in Dundalk, Maryland, for six months of military intelligence training for the CounterIntelligence Corps (CIC).
Upon graduation from Holabird, I was directed to report to the CIC unit in Tokyo Japan. I drove from Galesburg to San Francisco and was flown to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, to Guam then Tokyo–three islands in 24 hours via a Super Constellation aircraft. I didn’t know the Japanese language or Japanese history. Japan changed my life. I became a writer, though not a very proficient one, and a CIC officer in charge of Japanese labor unions.
By the winter of 1958, Tokyo CIC was winding down, and I was assigned to a military assistance group working with the ROC KMT government of Taiwan. I set up a counter-intelligence school curriculum for the Republic of China Army. While there, I was given an all-expense paid trip to the island of Matsu, recently described by Tom Friedman of the New York Times as being “the most dangerous place in the world” in 1957-58.
In June 1958, I got another all-expense paid trip by MAATs airline from Tokyo to San Francisco and took the California Zephyr from San Francisco to Galesburg. Galesburg to Tokyo to Galesburg over two years. I survived and accumulated enough hazardous Army pay to cover my tuition at the University of Michigan Law School. It all started at Knox.
I am still a student of Japanese history and an accumulator of Japanese mingei and artwork. I’m also sponsoring Knox students studying in Japan. Japan is deep within my bones and my heart.
Mack Trapp ’56, Teruo Godo, his two sons, and friends.
FYC members are participating in events across the country. It is an exciting moment to gather together and connect with alumni, parents, current students, and faculty. By sharing your memories and aspirations for what’s ahead, you help reinforce that Knox's mission and values remain as relevant today as they were 50 year ago—continuing to inspire bold thinking and meaningful action.
Venture Boldly with a gift to Knox, and visit knox.edu/venture-boldly to see where Knox is headed next!
Your legacy can inspire the next generation just as Knox once inspired you.
As a member of the Fifty Year Club, you have already played a meaningful role in Knox’s history. Now, you have the opportunity to shape its future. A legacy gift—such as a bequest, beneficiary designation, or charitable trust—ensures that Knox continues to thrive for generations to come. Many options provide financial and tax benefits while making a lasting impact on students and programs.
Explore ways to include Knox in your plans at giftplanning.knox.edu, or contact Paul Steenis ’85 at psteenis@knox.edu or 309-341-7145 for a confidential conversation.
L to R: Bobbie Carnegie Whitman ’72; Chip Evans ’68, Keiko Evans, George Szostkowski ’75; Jordi Prats ’85.
In Memory
The following deaths of alumni and friends have been reported since Bulletin #176.
Anne Seeley Forbes ’40, 9/10/24
Grace Robbie Sperry ’49, 8/29/24
Tom Kurtz ’50, 11/12/24
Bobbie Stout Goforth ’52, 10/7/24
Marilyn Larsen Jelinek ’54, 8/1/24
Bob Anderson ’54, 10/8/24
Mario Ferraro ’54, 11/24/24
Tony Liberta ’55, 3/6/25
Christian Koch ’55, 7/10/24
Lynn Weise Victor ’55, 9/12/24
Ronald Kindelsperger ’55, 9/30/24
Marlene Pankow Hellwig ’56, 11/4/24
Mick Lacy ’56, 6/26/24
Wally Minor ’56, 12/21/24
Mary Stewart Unterberg ’57, 8/6/24
Pam Weeks Ames ’57, 12/4/24
Nancy Tice Norton ’57, 12/22/24
Karl Nienhuis ’61, 10/4/24
Carolyn Kay Roberts ’61, 12/2/24
Tom Bice ’62, 1/4/25
Paul Mellican ’62, 8/10/24
Patricia Burke Herminghouse ’62, 10/29/24
Lynn Wright ’63, 9/29/24
Hal Harrison ’64, 8/8/24
Stew Dyke ’64, 11/20/24
John Haiges ’65, 9/27/24
Al Link ’65, 11/19/24
Emi Takahara Klein ’65, 11/28/24
Robert Schnuckel ’66, 8/17/24
Neva Willard Ganun ’66, 10/25/24
John Lorenz ’66, 11/1/24
Jerry Sebesta ’66, 12/15/24
Linda Grover Stehura ’67, 11/17/24
Bill Culp ’69, 9/6/24
Steve Dibble ’70, 9/21/24
Susan Egan Schmuck ’70, 10/2/24
Verlea Fielder ’70, 10/6/24
Sandy Lange Bellinger ’72, 8/28/24
Charles Zacharias ’72, 9/18/24
Marilyn Brooks ’72, 11/4/24
Richard Eisenman ’72, 11/9/24
Harry Kopf ’72, 1/7/25
Valerie Wilk ’72, 8/31/24
Art Lyman ’75, 6/2/24
Robin Hiscock ’75, 6/12/24
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