CLASS NOTES
1950s Barbara Robertson ’50 was an elementary school teacher in St. Joseph, Missouri, for 33 years. She taught at Edison and Eugene Field elementary schools. W. Keith Adams ’52 and Phylliss Stevens Adams ’51 live in Thornton, Colorado. Keith retired from Denver Public Schools after many years and Phylliss retired as professor emeritus at California State University, San Bernardi.
1970s Gary Esbeck ’70 recently retired after 38 years of work at Hormel Foods and moved from Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, to Naples, Florida. He spends summers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to be near his daughter and grandchildren. Leo Riley ’74 retired from Edward Jones in June 2016. After serving in the U.S. Army, he worked
as a certified public accountant for 20 years and then as an investment advisor for 21 years. He lives in Liberal, Kansas, with his wife, Linda, who also attended Northwest.
during a 33-year teaching career, retiring as student media director at Northwest in 2012.
Tom Danner ’75 was honored Oct. 29, 2016, by the Iowa Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame at its banquet in Des Moines. He enjoyed a successful career in education and coaching during 40 years at Newman Catholic, Western Dubuque and Wahlert Catholic, where he retired in 2011. As a head coach his teams posted a combined 150-47 record with 23 state qualifiers and two state champions. He was a four-time District Coach of the Year and was Iowa 3A Wrestling Coach of the Year in 2011.
1980s Karen Daniel ’80 was unanimously elected in October to a one-year term as chair of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce by the Chamber’s Board of Directors. She is chief financial officer of Black & Veatch.
Laura Widmer ’79 has been named executive director of the National Scholastic Press Association, a national organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that supports scholastic journalism at the middle school, high school and college levels. Widmer advised student media at middle school, high school and college levels
’72 Paula Moyer Savaiano ’72, ’73 recently published two children’s books, “My Gramma and Her Pogo Stick” and “My Gramma Has Ants in Her Pants.” Both books are about her mother, Jeanne Bahl Moyer ’50. Paula is a retired elementary teacher and lives in LeClaire, Iowa, with her husband, Angelo Savaiano ’72, ’74. He is a sales consultant for LLC Savy Solutions.
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Tunell solves neurological mysteries Dr. Gary Tunell ’67 figured he would become a college professor when he graduated from Northwest. But as he furthered his education, Tunell concluded he needed to help people find solutions to health issues, particularly those afflicted by serious neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Today, Tunell is a neurologist affiliated with Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, and he is active in research to find cures for those diseases. “There are animals who get muscular dystrophy, same as humans do,” he said. “I became interested in that and I thought, ‘I respect the animals who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but we didn’t help them.’ I thought maybe we could help people.” Tunell believes researchers are on the cusp of a cure for Alzheimer’s. In recent clinical trials he administered, patients have received an antibody intravenously to dissolve proteins that clump in the brain, called amyloid. Getting rid of the amyloid, however, has not restored patients’ memories. “What we need is a better way to predict
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Dr. Gary Tunell returned to Northwest last fall to share his experiences as a neurologist during a roundtable luncheon with faculty and students in the University’s School of Health Science and Wellness as well as athletic training staff.
earlier on, and then we will have a cure within two to four years, I think,” he said. “If I knew you were building up amyloid in your brain, I could give you that medicine before you became forgetful and that would keep you from getting Alzheimer’s.” Northwest, Tunell says, opened a door to all the opportunities he’s had since earning his bachelor’s degree – from receiving a scholarship to attend graduate school at Kansas State University to running clinical trials in search of a cure for Alzheimer’s. “It prepared me very well with all of the basic sciences,” he said. “I enjoyed every class that I took. When I took geology and botany, I liked those even though I didn’t want to pursue that. I thought there were great professors at that time, and I think I was very well prepared to go on to graduate school and even medical school.” To read more of this story, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni/magazine/
Terry Lesher lives in Westboro, Missouri, where he is a farmer. He and his wife, Cathy, have 10 grandchildren. Terry recently published his first children’s book, “Fire Truck #1274 Finds Its Way Home.”
’84 Nancy Edwards Andrew retired in June 2016 after teaching 32 years in the Gallatin R-V (Missouri) School District. She taught special education and Alternative (STARS) Behavioral School. Her husband, Tim, works for Bridgeman’s Wrecker Service in Gallatin, and their son, Kyle Andrew ’09, married Bethany Flef in Estes Park, Colorado, on Sept. 24, 2016.
NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2017
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