FOREVER A LOPER

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Alumni are making an impact in their communities every single day. Please share those stories with us at lopers@unkalumni.org.

LOPER ALUMNI PROFILE

Dana, Rod, Shannon and Todd Falter

Four brothers are making a difference at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and in the community of Creighton, Nebraska, by establishing the Falter “4” UNK scholarship. All four brothers attended Kearney State College and credit it for the lasting impact it had on their lives.

“Our hope is that this scholarship will open the door to someone that wants to pursue the UNK life that might not have thought that was possible before,” said Shannon Falter.

The “4” in the name is the foundation of the scholarship:

• The “4” represents the four Falter brothers: Dana, Rod, Shannon, and Todd. They all attended Creighton High School and went on to graduate from Kearney State College.

• The “4” also represents that they established this scholarship “for” UNK.

• The scholarship was established “for” the Creighton community and extends into the Knox County communities.

• The scholarship of $5,000 will be automatically renewed for up to “4” years to students enrolled in the College of Business and Technology and who meet the scholarship requirements.

“We chose the business and technology area for the scholarship not only because three of us graduated with degrees in those fields, but because over the course of our careers we have witnessed the importance of the continued emphasis on financial literacy and technology, regardless of what career you choose to pursue,” said Dana Falter.

The brothers are excited about giving students the opportunity to attend their alma mater. “It’s exciting to know that we are creating a legacy and giving back to the community. It feels great!” said Rod Falter.

“This scholarship really is about giving back to your community and helping younger people achieve success,” said Todd Falter. It gives the brothers the opportunity to give back to the students at Creighton High School and northeast Nebraska while promoting UNK.

Dana Falter’s hopes are that this scholarship “will assist students in creating their own memories and receive a great education like we did."

1959

Glenda and Ken Cook of Adams celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary May 21.

1960

Bob Reier of Lincoln retired with 37 years of service in education in Montana, Lyman, Chadron and Lincoln. Gwen and Carl Sterner of Potwin, Kansas, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 4.

Gathering of friends: 1964-1965 alumni Ron Larsen, Fred George, Roger Jones, Jim Rundstrom, Tim Johnson, Larry Callen and Rod Kehl gather for social time and reminiscing in Kearney.

1964

Jim Rundstrom of Kearney published a book titled "A Collection of Friends." Barry Sherman of Kearney retired from the Kearney Civil Service Commission after 42 years.

1970

Connie and Ron Cox MSE ’75 of Kearney celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 19.

1971

Bernie and Marijke (Vermeulen) Klahn ’70,

MAE ’72 of Wichita, Kansas, both recently retired.

1972

Dennis Hahn of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, retired from Valero Energy in 2017 after 42 years in the oil industry. Norma (Moors) Schrack of Kearney celebrated her 90th birthday on June 13.

1973

Connie and John Foster of Kearney celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary June 4.

1976

Richard Luedtke of Arcadia retired after more than 46 years of service to Becton Dickinson in Broken Bow. Scott Maul Ed.S. ’88 of Georgetown, Texas, is a development officer for the Devil Dog Squadron, which is part of the Commemorative Air Force. Steve Rose MAE ’78 of Indianola, Iowa, won the Nebraska Writers Guild poetry contest twice in one year. In 2021, his two poems "The Bedroom" and "Safe Harbor" tied for first place. Steve is now retired from Simpson College.

1977

Gregg Ahlers of Grand Island is retiring with 43 years of service to the Hall County Sheriff’s Department. Peg (McElvain) Johnston of Kearney retired from UNK. Lori Potter of Kearney retired from the Kearney Hub with 45 years of service.

1978

Sylvia (Stadler) Asay MS ’84 of Omaha retired from UNK with 30 years of service. Alta (Fread) Kramer of Litchfield is celebrating 40 years of service to UNK. Carol Lomicky MAE ’82 of Kearney has written a book, “North Platte’s Keith Blackledge: Lessons from a Community Journalist.” The biography is the story of a small-town Nebraska newspaperman whose career spanned from the early 1950s and into the 20th century. Chuck Salestrom ’91 of Jacksonville, Florida, was the project coordinator for the book. Lomicky was a faculty member at UNK for 30 years and Salestrom taught at UNK for four years.

1979

Jim O'Dea of McCook is retiring after 41 years of community banking service. Brenda (Snyder) Ruf MSE ’88, MSE ’99 of Cambridge is a mental health therapist and drug and alcohol therapist for Region II Human Services. During her 20 years of service, she has also worked for Lutheran Family Services and is a clinical director for Troop D and E of the Nebraska State Patrol Critical Incident Stress Management Team. She and her husband, Randy, live south of Cambridge on the family farm.

1980

Jean (Shearer) Mattson of Kearney retired from UNK with more than 48 years of service. Jane Ziebarth-Bovill MAE ’83 of Kearney presented "Inviting Hope During Difficult Times: Lessons on Living a Loper Legacy" as a part of the UNK Mortar Board’s Last Lecture series, which honors members of the UNK faculty, staff or administration.

1982

Rick Church of Tomball, Texas, was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Robin Harding of Minden is celebrating 35 years of service to UNK. Tom Moore MAE ’03 of Gibbon retired as the Amherst Public School superintendent. Jeff Vetter Ed.S. ’11 of Kearney retired as superintendent of Pleasanton Public Schools. Maha (Mazzauie) Younes MSE ’85 of Kearney celebrated 30 years of service to UNK.

1983

Bob Deter MSE ’90 of Lawrence, Kansas, retired from the Red Oak (Iowa) School District with 26 years of service. Bob began teaching business and physical education and was most recently the IT director. Jeanne (Mueller) Surface MAE ’94 of Omaha is a professor of educational leadership at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research is in K-12 and postsecondary school law, rural education and women in leadership, and she coaches dissertation writing.

1986

Linda (Staab) Johnson MSE ’09 of Kearney is celebrating 35 years of service at UNK.

Kirk Kuxhausen

Ed.S. ’15 of Mitchell received the National Distinguished Principal Award for Nebraska through the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and National Association of Elementary School Principals.

1987

Kelly (Ryan) Lutomski of Lincoln is a vice president, mortgage talent recruitment and development manager for West Gate Bank.

1988

Sheila Gawrych of Kearney is a public health center office assistant at UNK. Diane (Moravec) Simard of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, has been named one of 2021's Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce.

1989

Aaron Wright of Kearney retired from the UNK Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

1990

Doug Banks MAE ’99 of Boone, North Carolina, is a development officer in athletics for Appalachian State University.

Deb (Griffith) Gangwish MSE ’93, Ed.S.

’99 of Shelton has been reelected to the National Corn Growers Association Board of Directors. Andrew Stebbing of Lincoln is a security manager for FEMA.

1991

Mark Adler MAE ’96 of Omaha was recognized with the Leader in Education and Service Award by the Department of Educational Administration at UNK. Adler is in his ninth year as superintendent of Ralston Public Schools after serving in various roles in Nebraska schools.

1992

Gail Sims-Aubert of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is the assistant vice chancellor and dean of students at the University of WisconsinGreen Bay.

1993

Darold and Sandra (Royle) Eaton of Grand Island celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 25. Jeanne Keyser MSE ’97 of Douglas is the associate director of residential education operations in university housing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Kristi (Skala) Milks of Gibbon is celebrating her 30th year of service to UNK.

1994

Julie (Buman) McCoy of Grand Island attended Dodge Elementary in Grand Island for K-6, completed her student teaching at Dodge and has now taught at Dodge for 26 years. Jaci (Shoemaker) Pohl of Kearney is the branch manager for Trius Federal Credit Union.

1995

Don Ray MSE of Kearney is celebrating 35 years of service to UNK. Martin Segovia of El Paso, Texas, is the director of athletics at Ysleta Independent School District. He is a member of the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame for wrestling. JoLene (Boon) Williams retired from UNK.

1996

Aaron Babcock of Lincoln is the general manager of Pinnacle Bank Arena at Learfield IMG College. Susan Harnan of New Caney, Texas, is area director of sales and marketing at Clarus Hotels. Scott Jochum MAE ’00 of Kearney is an industrial technology teacher at Kearney High School.

1997

Carol Larson MSE of Kearney is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Counselor for her contributions in mental health counseling, her devotion to helping her community and her professional excellence as the owner of Family Life Counseling.

1998

Rebecca (Lafferty) Cooke of Kearney is chief operating officer at Kearney County Health Services. Kylee Schneckloth of Gilbert, Arizona, is a principal at Wood Elementary School in the Tempe School District. Mike Smith of Kearney is an environmental/ safety coordinator at O'Neill Transportation & Equipment/Heartland Testing & Consulting.

1999

Jeremey Gee of Parker, Colorado, teaches math at Cherry Creek High School. Bryan Munson of Rockwall, Texas, is a distinguished engineer at Verizon. Stefani (Rowe) Wegner of Kearney is a health sciences advisor at UNK.

2000

Heather (Lucas) Brennan of Overton is the director of human resources at Cozad Community Health System. Brian Graham MA ’15 of Kearney retired after 14 seasons as head coach of the Five Points American Legion baseball team. Rich Hardy MAE of Chokio, Minnesota, is employed with Heartland Orthopedic Specialists and has been elected as a member of the editorial board for the international, peer-reviewed publication "Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery." Brenda (Kring) Jochum of Kearney celebrated 30 years of service with UNK. Angela Mercer of Kearney is the enrollment evaluator in the office of the university registrar at UNK.

2001

Jeff Anderson Ed.S. of Fullerton was recognized with the Leader in Education and Service Award by the Educational Administration Department at UNK. Anderson, who began his education career in Minnesota, has served as superintendent for 20 years and was principal for seven years at Fullerton Public Schools. Angela (Emrick) Hollman MSE ’09 of Gibbon has been named National Strategic Research Institute fellow. Hollman will help amplify research for the Department of Defense and

other federal agencies with national security missions. She is an associate professor of cyber systems at UNK. Jeff Jones of Kearney is a vice president and the policy and regulatory change management program manager at Wells Fargo. Aaron Madsen of Kearney was inducted into the Nebraska State Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame. Madsen serves as the clinic administrator at Prairie Meadows Dental in Kearney. Jason Weston of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is a senior vice president of corporate and institutional banking at PNC.

2002

Anibal Diogenes MS of Boerne, Texas, was selected for the 2021 Faculty Research Award for his long-running standard of research excellence at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Adam Hittner of Lincoln is a client relations specialist at GolfStatus.org. Dusty Newton MSE of Kearney is the village administrator for Elm Creek. Jeremey Shiers of Pleasant Dale is the executive vice president of West Gate Bank and president of the bank's mortgage division. Ty Swarm MAE ’09 of Kearney is the assistant principal at Kearney High School.

2003

Bill Beckenhauer MAE of Hastings retired as principal of Cozad High School. Corey Fisher MAE of O'Neill is the Cozad High School principal. Justin Hoeke MBA ’08 of Hudson, Wisconsin, is a director of operations for 3M Manufacturing. Stacey (Plautz) Schwarz of Kearney is a career consultant with Medical Solutions. Kristeen (Dostal) Shabram MSE ’07 of Omaha is the 2021 Rich Katt CTE Educator of the Year Award recipient in Communication and Information Systems.

2004

Aaron Estes MSE ’06 of Kearney is the director of academic success at UNK. Matthew Fowler of Kearney is a pastor at First United Methodist Church of Kearney. Dustin Mitchell of Kearney is principal at Bryant Elementary School.

2005

Mark Johnson MAE of Kearney is the principal at Sunrise Middle School.

2006

Samba Dieng of Macungie, Pennsylvania, is the senior internationalization officer and executive director for international programs at Louisiana State University. Matt Gordon MAE ’11, Ed.S. ’18 of Brady is the Amherst Public Schools superintendent. Max Marshall MBA ’09 of Grand Rapids, Michigan, completed a psychiatry residency program at Creighton University. Max is now a physician at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. Angela Runquist of Grand Island is a school social worker for ESU #3 in LaVista.

2007

Wes Bernt of Kearney is the men's golf coach at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. Melissa (Huffman) Bucher of Axtell is national account director with Eaton. Jesse Jacobs of Kearney opened the Brickwalk Gallery, an art gallery. Brandon Luedtke of Axtell has been named National Strategic Research Institute fellow. Luedtke will help amplify research for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies with national security missions. He is an associate professor of biology at UNK. Jason Stergiadis of Pickering, Ontario, Canada, is the North American markets sales manager for HD Golf.

2008

Joe Ellenberger MAE ’10 of Omaha will be inducted into the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association 2021 Hall of Fame. While at UNK, Joe was a two-time All American and member of the 2008 national championship team. Ashley Stillwell of Tempe, Arizona, is a physician in family medicine and psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

2009

Chelsea (Schultz) Bartling of Kearney is the director of UNK's LaVonne Kopecky Plambeck Early Childhood Learning Center. Ted Stein of Miles City, Montana, is an insurance agent with Fred Wacker Agency.

2011

Dan Dunbar of Lincoln is a senior designer at Swanson Russell. Alex Farrell of Kearney is a sales representative at Medtronic Spine & Biologics. Zachary Leas of Omaha is business development executive with Infosys. Alyssa (Baker) Wyant of Kearney is the director of online student recruitment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

2013

Jacob Deines MS of Kearney is a mental health practitioner at UNK. Ashley (Volmer) Rockey MA of Martell is the principal at St. Michael Catholic School in Lincoln. Alyshia (Nelson) Samuelson of Kearney is a senior project manager at Bozell. Jonah Santo of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a business development strategist at SalesReach.

2014

Wade Jensen of Kearney is a chiropractor at Wolf Chiropractic Clinic.

2016

Nick White of Lincoln is an account coordinator at Firespring.

2017

Theison Anderson MAE ’20 of Ravenna is a fourth grade teacher at Kenwood Elementary School and head volleyball coach for Kearney High School. Derek Lonowski of Hastings has joined TEAM Physical Therapy PC as a physical therapist in Kearney. Dylan Munson of Lincoln is an account executive at Hudl.

Before Conrad Hall was razed, lifelong friends who all first met living in Conrad Hall, gathered one last time. Group picture, left to right: Chris (Foth) Reinboth (1974), Sandi (Belz) Hansen (1973), Julie (Waggoner) Richardson, Judy (Schilz) Zapp (1973), Marlene (Shimek) Windhorst (1971).

2018

Ty Danielson of York is an assistant men's basketball coach at Fort Lewis College. Alex Hart of Carmel, Indiana, is a director of growth at Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. Courtney Lierman of Grand Island is the vice president of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce. Rachel Papez of Lincoln is a product copywriter for Spreetail.

2019

Allison Bauer of Kearney is a member of the Denver Broncos NFL 2021 cheerleading squad. Alex McGinnis of Crete is an account manager at Apex Systems.

2020

Amanda Lager Gleason MSE of Fort Collins, Colorado, is the graduate program specialist for the mechanical engineering department at Colorado State University. Cassie Sleicher of Lincoln is a social media manager at Grindstone. Trey Taubenheim of Omaha is a tax associate at Seim Johnson.

Loper Unions

Jay Blattner ’02 and Brittani Moeller ’08 of Kearney married Dec. 31. Cassondra Darveau ’04 and Matthew Steggall of Alliance married Jan. 2. Kristin Klanecky ’14 and Joseph Arbelo Jr. of Reading, Pennsylvania, married May 29.

Loper Legacies

Craig ’08 and Emily (Vencill) Beaman ’09 of Kearney are parents of a son, Charles Jay, born May 21. He has a brother, Max.

Aaron ’14 and Danielle (Howard) Bliven

’14 of La Vista are parents of a son, Charlie Benjamin, born Feb. 6.

Brad ’06 and Sarah (Longo) Bohn ’07, MSE

'09 of Rochester, Minnesota, are parents of a son, Brooks, born July 6. He has sisters Eloise, Nora and Katherine at home. Matt ’10 and Jenny (Dietz) Demoret ’13 of Kearney are parents of a son, Zachary Allen, born Nov. 29. Andi ’13 and Katie (Swett) Diediker ’13 of Wayne are parents of a son, Brooks David, born April 7. He has a sister, Emmy. Elliott and Erin (Hullinger) Haack ’14 of Omaha are parents of a daughter, Rylee Ann, born June 3.

Max ’10 and Mandy (Propp) Hadenfeldt ’09

of Scottsbluff are parents of a daughter, Mary Paige, born July 10.

Garett ’14 and Annie (Zecha) Hoffman ’09

of Kearney are parents of a son, Theodore James, born Feb. 4.

Aaron ’12 and Amanda (Siegel) Klingelhoefer

’07 of Kearney are parents of a son, Asher Miles, born June 2. Joseph Meyers ’17 and Michelle Gannon of Minden are parents of a son, Archer Jett, born May 31. He has brothers, Tyler and Connor. Jeff ’10, MAE ’17 and Katie Schwartz ’11 of Axtell are parents of a son, Cameron Charles, born Jan. 3. He has brothers Carter, Harvey and Henrik.

CALLING ALL ALUMNI

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

UNK Alumni are making an impact in their communities every single day.

Please share those stories with us at lopers@unkalumni.org

Lopers In Memoriam

The following Lopers were reported as deceased to the University of Nebraska at Kearney Alumni Association and University of Nebraska Foundation between February 1, 2021, and July 15, 2021. We share our condolences with their families and friends.

1941 Maurice Lamoree Sierra Vista, Arizona 1942 Melva (Wightman) Norris Brady 1948 Geraldine "Gerry" (Innes) McCormick Centennial, Colorado 1951 Betty (Shaw) Grassmeyer Oro Valley, Arizona Jack Krueger, MAE `60 Overland Park, Kansas Donald Shreve Naples, Florida 1952 Leonard Wever Lincoln 1958 Lloyd Speicher St. Louis, Missouri 1960 Junetta (Best) Reiter Axtell 1961 Ted Sherbeck Ansley 1962 Sharon (Wisch) Mason Kearney Robert Miller Salem, Oregon Dale Nispel Kearney James Rayer Indianola 1963 Connie (Burt) Bunting McHenry, Illinois Lynn Martin Pleasanton Juleen (Darnall) Olson Omaha 1964 Phil Stineman Lincoln 1965 Terry Gilliland MSE `70 Scottsbluff Richard Myers Central City 1966 Olinda (Odean) Boslau Lincoln Lois (Crouse) Dunwoody Keystone Linda (Roblee) Peterson Frisco, Texas 1967 Al Zuege Jr. Imperial 1969 Catherine (Gancos) Bals Elm Creek Thomas Hansen Omaha Don McGregor Sioux City, Iowa Judith (Kindscher) Staub Guide Rock 1970 Norman "Mark" Breen MSE Holdrege Tom Gorman MAE North Platte Justin Thompson Superior 1971 Tim Kolb Franklin 1972 Frank Chapman York Joan Cobb Trenton Bob Griesse Festus, Missouri Charles Pinkham Minden Beverly (Bundy) Yendra Kearney 1973 Charlotte (Wilken) Webb Mandeville, Louisiana 1974 Tim Hoffman Papillion Paul Liebig MSE `04 Kearney Kathleen “Kathy” (Mansfield) Rizek Belleville, Kansas Mike Moreno Grand Island 1976 Thomas Kinne Sr. MSE Great Barrington, Massachusetts Janet (Wilken) Stadler MSE `81 McCook 1979 Phyllis (Goldhorn) Osterday Osborn Kearney 1980 Douglas Lippstreu East Lansing, Michigan 1982 Don Shepherd Rockport, Texas 1983 Steve Fenster Lincoln 1985 Beth (Struble) Feese MAE Kearney Marsha (Krolikowksi) Kaiser MAE `88 Rolla, Missouri 1986 Mary Kolstad Kansas City, Missouri Beth (Reier) Shriver Flower Mound, Texas 1987 Connie (Golden) Schiel MAE `97 North Platte 1989 Doug Fastenau MSE Sutherland Kathryne (Cosner) Hollenbeck Johnson Grand Island 1990 Tammy (Hilbert) Sparvier Kearney 1994 Ryan Hagerbaumer Arvada, Colorado Craig Harbaugh Fremont Glenda (Beadle) Williams Glenrock, Wyoming 1998 Don Lear MSE `01 Kearney 2001 Noreen (Harwood) King Kearney 2007 Kevin Watson Papillion 2008 Amy (Putnam) Jessop Grand Island 2010 Derek Ross St. Francis, Kansas 2012 Marilyn (Hefner) Morehouse MS Lincoln

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