Alumni News

1941

Clairus ’38 and Betty Johnson Dew of Fort Wayne, Ind., celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary on June 14. Although they were both from the Monmouth area, they didn’t meet until they were students at Monmouth. They married in 1943 when Clairus, who served in the South Pacific, was on military leave. Clairus retired as head of the underwriting department at Midwestern United Life Insurance Company and Betty is a retired teacher from Fort Wayne Community Schools.

1944

Forrest Strickler of Bella Vista, Ark., reports that in 2017 he returned to Europe to retrace his steps from the Battle of the Bulge to Berlin in 1944. He was a platoon sergeant at the time, leading 65 soldiers. He later became a first sergeant and had the pleasure of serving as President Truman’s honor guard for two weeks at the Potsdam Conference. Truman rewarded him by bringing him home on the Queen Mary.

1952

Barb Atkinson Bailey of Penney Farms, Fla., reports that she and her son are both fighting cancer but that she is recovering and getting back to her many activities.

Peg Deschwanden Foster of Hawaii is an inveterate traveler who recently made another tour of Europe.

Jack Kelly of Jekyll Island, Ga., stays active playing tennis and writing books.

1959 - 60th REUNION JUNE 6-9, 2019

1960

Neal Bullington of Traverse City, Mich., has been retired from the National Park Service since 2002. He stays in touch with Gaylan King and Rich Cargill via Facebook.

Jim Nelson and his wife, Bev, vacationed in Norway last summer, where they met their great-grandchildren. Carol Kemmerer Wetzel and her sister also vacationed in Scandanavia during the summer.

John Turnquist and his wife, Jeanette, of Bloomington, Ill., have established a family foundation that helps low-income families improve their quality of life through counseling and financial assistance. They have processed more than 100 application in the past two years. They have also traveled more than 43,000 miles in a century-old automobile.

1964 - 55th REUNION JUNE 6-9, 2019

Kay Buss MacNeil ’64

Kay Buss MacNeil of Frankfort, Ill., received the Member Award of Honor from National Gardens Club in May. For the past three years, MacNeil has been promoting her effort “Milkweed for Monarchs,” an effort in the greater Chicago area and across the country to save monarch butterflies.

Michael Fredrick ’67 (left) and Rick Kaskel ’67 made a memorable pilgrimage to Vietnam in October. It was Fredrick’s first time back in the country since 1969 when he served as a first lieutenant in the Army. He enjoyed seeing the many changes that had occurred over the past 48 years, as well as the friendliness and energy of the Vietnamese people.

1969 - 50th REUNION JUNE 6-9, 2019

1970

Steve Fowler of Dublin, Ohio, obtained his pilot’s instrument rating earlier this year and is working on 1970 hiscommercial pilot and instructor ratings. As a student, he remembers soloing at the Monmouth airport.

Victoria Wheeler Romero ’70

Victoria Wheeler Romero of Seattle, Wash., published a new book earlier this year. An education consultant, Romero co-authored Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences.

1972

William Daniel of Collinsville, Ill., earned senior counselor recognition from the St. Clair County Bar Association.

Lon Helton ’72

Westwood One’s Lon Helton won his ninth Country Music Association award, being named the 2018 National Broadcast Personality of the Year for his work on Country Countdown USA. Helton received the news via a phone call from country music star Jason Aldean. “Jason Aldean told me he was about to make my day even better, and boy, did he!” said Helton. “It’s simply overwhelming to be the CMA’s National Broadcast Personality of the Year for the ninth time.”

1973

Nancy Hayward Macari has moved to Palatine, Ill. She retired from teaching in 2011.

Thomas Satterly of Nixa, Mo., has semi-retired from his orthopedic surgery practice and now serves as an orthopedic surgery consultant for the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons.

Edwina Browski Diehl and her husband, Ray, live in Crown Point, Ind., where she enjoys taking care of her grandchild.

Greg Ellis of Bloomington, Ind., is retired from a career in pathology and enjoys playwriting, gardening and golf.

David Elmer lives in South Milwaukee, Wis., with his wife Donna. He has enjoyed a long career in medical social work and they have two children.

Charlie Goehl of Elmhurst, Ill., is the department chair and professor of kinesiology at Elmhurst College.

Paula Behrens Hargrove of New Market, Ala., recently retired from a distinguished elementary school education career, which included being awarded “Huntsville City Schools Teacher of the Year” in 2007.

Andy Kerr and his wife, Pamela, recently relocated from the north shore of Chicago to Tucson. Andy serves as vice president of the Monmouth College Alumni Board.

The Rev. Dr. Precious Mays-Matthews lives in Chicago with her husband, Herbert. They have one daughter and three grandchildren. She has pastored four congregations.

Ann Boley Parker has retired to Colorado Springs with her husband, Tom, following his long Naval career. She loves playing and teaching bridge, and riding her recumbent trike.

Terry Wade of Peoria, Ill., is very proud of having been a part of the 465-mile Memphis to Peoria Run for St. Jude for 32 years.

1974 - 45th REUNION JUNE 6-9, 2019

1975

Bill Pyatt is pastor of the Bethalto (Ill.) United Methodist Church.

1976

Celeste Goetz Arnotti of Myrtle Beach, S.C., is CEO of Carolina Preferred Family Resource. The organization,which has been offering professional family services for more than 20 years, opened its Myrtle Beach location in September.

Melvin Siverly of Galesburg, Ill., and his wife, Joyce, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August. Siverly is retired from Butler Manufacturing. The couple has four children, including Bryan Siverly ’81, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

1978

Brandon Abear of Antioch, Ill., is a teacher for the Special Education District of Lake County.

Barbara Cirks Reick of Kissimmee, Fla., retired in 2016 after teaching and coaching in the Mercer County (Ill.) School District.

1979 - 40th REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

1981

Carolyn Kellert and her partners in the Monmouth-based instrumental ensemble Grace Notes Trio are releasing their first album, a Christmas CD. Recorded in Monmouth College’s Dahl Chapel, the album features Kellert on piano, Madeline Wood on flute and Mari Hauge on cello. Kellert, who arranged the music, is an adjunct instructor at Monmouth and Knox College. Hauge is the daughter of Donna Hauge ’78 and the late Harris Hauge, longtime Monmouth librarian, while Wood is a former Monmouth College music instructor.

1984 - 35th REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

1986

Todd Peterson of East Galesburg, Ill., retired from the Galesburg Fire Department. He began his duties on 8-8-88 and retired as battalion chief exactly 30 years later.

1988

Ken Zvizdich of Lincolnwood, Ill., retired in 2018 after a career in the hotel and wine industries that saw him live in seven countries in Europe.

1989 - 30th REUNION OCT. 5-7, 2018

Tim Burress ’89

Tim Burress of Geneseo, Ill., was promoted earlier this year from chief financial officer to CEO at River Valley Cooperative in Davenport, Iowa. River Valley is a full-service ag retail business with 25 locations across eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Prior to joining River Valley in 2009, Burress worked 20 years for Deere & Co.

1993

Michele Koss of East Windsor, N.J., is a controller for Bell Ford.

1994 - 25th REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

Joe Jacobs of Minneapolis has a new position—senior operations manager for Target.

Matthew Winkelman has moved to Berkeley, Calif.

1998

Jennifer Eyre of Palm Springs, Calif., is an assistant administrator of instructional improvement in the areas of writing and literacy for the Coachella Unified School District. She has completed doctoral courses in reading and literacy leadership through Walden University.

1999

Becky Ortiz Melvin of O’Fallon, Mo., is a pediatrician for SSM Health.

Lucy Kellogg Thompson ’99

Lucy Kellogg Thompson of Monmouth began a new position as regional director of corporate gifts for the National FFA Foundation.

2001

Elise Estes Carter of Midlothian, Va., completed a master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix.

Matt Fotis ’01

Matt Fotis, a professor of theatre at Albright College in Reading, Penn., had a book review published in Theatre Journal, the prime publication of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. The book’s topic was the history of improvisation, and Fotis has also written a book about improv, titled Long Form Improvisation and American Comedy: The Harold.

Kelli Jones Hansen has moved to Ooltewah, Tenn. She is a telehealth nurse for Health Fitness.

2002

Crissy Keever Boone of Galesburg, Ill., is a deputy assessor for Knox County.

2004 - 15th REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

Kristin Martin of Boynton Beach, Fla., has joined Triumph Commercial Finance as vice president and national underwriting manager. She will manage the underwriting and due diligence

process for asset-based lending opportunities across the U.S. Most recently, Martin served as president for May 1st LLC, performing field examinations for various banks and financial institutions.

2006

Lacey Hatch Eaton ’06

Lacey Hatch Eaton of Quincy, Ill., is director of developmental disabilities at Transitions of Western Illinois.

2007

Kelli Wefenstette has opened Wildlight Yoga in Chicago. The studio is located on North Milwaukee Avenue.

2008

“KB” Brassfield Bell of Alsip, Ill., does sales support for Edward Don and Company, which assists the foodservice industry.

2009 - 10th REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

Jonathan ’10 and Andrea Dorscheid Peterson recently moved to Andrea’s hometown of Janesville, Wis. Jonathan is employed as a contract manager at AMTEC, the prime contractor for non-lethal and training ammunition for the U.S. Army and its international allies. Andrea works part-time as a children’s ministry coordinator at First Lutheran Church, while also parenting the couple’s three young children.

Chris Schwarz is in his second year as principal at United Junior High School outside Monmouth.

2010

Noah Emery of Hamilton, Ohio, is assistant director of financial aid at the University of Notre Dame.

Misty Czapla Grady of Davenport, Iowa, is foreclosure and business development coordinator for Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors.

Sally Hayes Hart of Ainsworth, Iowa, is news director at KCII Radio, where she’s had multiple pieces awarded by the Iowa Broadcast News Association. She has also coached the Washington High School boys soccer team.

Jordan Hedberg ’10

Jordan Hedberg of Westcliffe, Colo., has purchased the Wet Mountain Tribune. The paper, which has a circulation of 2,700, was founded in 1883 and is the oldest commercial business in Custer County.

2011

Scott ’10 and Sarah Ubbenga Wintersteen live in Normal, Ill., where Sarah is the OSHA/compliance coordinator at Gailey Eye Clinic.

2012

Luke Devlin ’12

Luke Devlin was recently featured in an article by one of his hometown newspapers, chronicling his career as an English teacher living and working in China. Asked how he sees himself in 10 years, Devlin said, “I see myself as a global citizen, making a positive impact, to make a difference in the world as a whole, not just in my community or country, but as a person of the world.”

Jessica Bingham Ott ’12

Jessica Bingham Ott recently accepted the position of Curator of Art II at University Galleries of Illinois State University.

2013

Shelby Courtois DeBoer of Zeeland, Mich., is a financial analyst for Dennen Steel Corporation. She holds a master’s degree in accountancy from Western Illinois University.

Tim Gilmour of Galesburg, Ill., works at Carl Sandburg College, where he is a project specialist for institutional effectiveness/human resources.

Amy Kerulis of Port Washington, N.Y., completed her Ph.D. in industrial organizational psychology from Hofstra University. She is an assistant professor at Touro College and an organizational development consultant at Trinity Services, Inc.

Rebecca Riggs of Davis, Calif., earned a master’s degree in public history from California State University, Sacramento in 2017. She works as an architectural historian at Stantec, an international professional services company in the design and consulting industry.

Katie Shipp has moved to Oxford, Ohio, to serve as director of annual giving and advancement communications for the Phi Delta Theta Foundation.

2014 - 5th REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

2015

Jacob Wilson is a traveling physical therapist for AMN Healthcare in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Mariela Shaker is the first recipient of the Promisekeeper Award, presented by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. Presented in New York City last June, the award recognizes a young person who is living the legacy of Frank by dedicating her passion and creative talents to raising awareness of social injustice and fostering peace among all people. Shaker was also featured in a Q&A in the Oct. 19 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

2016

Tyler Baxter of League City, Texas, is a yacht broker for Texas Sportfishing Yacht Sales.

2017

Jacob Marx is an ensign in the United States Coast Guard, stationed in Kodiak, Alaska.

2018 - 1st REUNION OCT. 18-20, 2019

Luke Pratt of Kewanee, Ill., is band director in the Elmwood school district.

Diana Rubi ’18

Diana Rubi of Chicago has been named special projects coordinator for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. She assists students, faculty and staff on a variety of ACM activities, including the Graduate School Exploration Fellowship, of which she is an alumna.