CLASS
Notes
JEAN SAKRISON VELARDE ’68 of Cordova,
Tenn., has closed her remodeling company and retired after 23 years in business. JOHN ERICH ’69 of Milwaukee, Wis., writes: “Recently opened an office for my law firm, Reinhart Boerner, in Scottsdale, Ariz., so no plans to retire until they boot me out. Also busy as an officer and director of two nonprofits which provide affordable housing to low-income individuals and finance community economic development.”
The 1970s HENRY KNUEPPEL ’70 of Beloit,
Wis., served as interim chairman and CEO of Harsco Corp. during its recent search for a permanent successor. Knueppel is a member of the board of directors of the worldwide industrial solutions company. He recently retired as the chairman and CEO of Regal Beloit Corp. GEORGE C. CLAM ’71 of Woodridge, Ill, retired
March 9, 2012, after 38 years in the banking business. He writes: “At a certain point in life, you realize that time and good health are your most precious resources, and that realization prompted my decision. I intend to use my time enjoying full-time family life with my wife, daughter and grandchildren. Also, part time, I’m starting a financial planning practice office in Oak Brook, Ill. My current good health will facilitate some travel I’ve postponed and, hopefully, I will continue playing baseball and softball in suburban Chicago. Retirement is off to an auspicious start with unseasonably warm March weather. I might actually have to take up golf!” BRUCE HAFFNER ’72 of Wilmette, Ill., teaches chess to 340 K-8 students in five schools in Glenview, Ill. He is looking for friends to motorcycle with this summer. His son, Will, graduated in June from the University of Chicago, and his daughter, Claire, will be a junior there this fall. He married Mary Moran, July 7, 2005. NOEL DALTON ’73 of Woodstock, Vt., writes
that his family is busy with athletics. He is enjoying skiing and loves living in Vermont. MICHAEL MIZEN ’73 and MARGARET “PEGGI” SEELBACH MIZEN ’75 have moved
to Lakewood, Ohio, to be near family. “We have a lovely home right on Lake Erie – visitors welcome,” they write. BILL STARKE ’73 of Vail, Ariz., is a loan officer
for People’s Mortgage Co. in Tucson, Ariz. ELIZABETH HENDERSON BARRATT ’74 of
Carmel Valley, Calif., has published three books in three years. “Images of America: Carmel Valley, California” was published by Arcadia Press in 2010; a biography of her great-grandfather, “A
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RIPON College
Country Doctor in the Valley of Heart’s Delight: The Life and Times of Gilroy Pioneer Physician and Mayor Heverland R. Chesbro, M.D.,” by Walsworth Publishers in 2011; and “The Centennial History of All Saints Episcopal Church in Carmel, Calif.” this year. STEVEN JOHNSON ’74 of North Oaks, Minn., retired in August 2011 from his position as CPA/ shareholder/director at Olsen Thielen & Co. Ltd. He had been with the firm for 35 years. JAN PETROVSKI MAC LEOD ’74 of Clarendon Hills, Ill., has been elected president of the Clarendon Hills Library Board. She is in her second four-year term as a library trustee and previously served three years as treasurer. VIRGIL STUCKER ’74 of Mill Spring, N.C., is the founding chairman/president of the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care and founding executive director/president of CooperRiis Healing Community, therapeutic communities. He previously spent 14 years working at Gould Farm, America’s oldest therapeutic community for individuals recovering from mental illness. Gould Farm, founded in 1913 in Massachusetts, is one of the models CooperRiis has followed. BARBARA COLEOPY ’75 of Queretaro,
Mexico, married Lord John Porter, March 19, 2011. “When we married, I became Lady Barbara Porter,” she says. They married in Las Vegas but were living in Vancouver, BC, Canada. She retired from teaching special education in June 2011. They now are living in Queretaro, Mexico, which she describes as “a beautiful, safe, prosperous and affordable city of about 2 million. The weather is perfect!” RUTH FRECHMAN ’75 of North
Hollywood, Calif., has published a book, “The Food is My Friend Diet,” published by Gales Publishing in January 2012. Ruth is a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer, and owner of On the Weigh in Burbank, and she has helped clients lose weight and feel energized for more than 20 years. The book details how to eat healthily and stop emotional eating. It is available at ruthfrechman.com; amazon.com; and barnesandnoble.com. The book trailer video can be viewed at http://ow.ly/bF3oN JONDI GUMZ ’75 of Scotts
Valley, Calif., received the 2011 Ruby Award for Women Helping Women from Soroptimist International of Capitola-by-theSea. The award recognizes her work as a journalist with the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
MARTHA KOLLINER JOHNSON ’75 of New
Rochelle, N.Y., just completed 23 years as controller of Siwanoy Country Club. DICK O’CONNOR ’75 of Olympia, Wash., teaches high school science at Pope John Paul II High School in Lacey, Wash. LAURIE HAYNES CURTIS ’77 of Kingwood, Texas, is a school counselor at Willow Creek Elementary School.
The late DICK REHBEIN ’77 was profiled in Yahoo! Sports about his career and his efforts as the first quarterback coach for Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Rehbein was inducted into the Ripon College Hall of Fame in 1997 as a football and track athlete. He had been an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers and then worked with the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and New England Patriots. The story can be accessed at http://ow.ly/bF3AU SUSAN LENNON SOLBERG ’77 of Greenville,
Wis., retired in June 2010 after teaching for 34 years in the field of early childhood education. “I am relishing this new season of life and the opportunity to pursue new interests, including furniture refinishing and knitting,” she says. GINNY MC GEHEE CONDON ’78 of Colchester, Vt., won a
Distinguished Service Award in November from the Vermont Association of Broadcasters. Condon was honored as the longest-serving female disc jockey in Vermont history and for her involvement in many local charitable causes. She started at WJOY-AM in Burlington in 1983 and today hosts the morning “Breakfast Table” program. She is a board member of the VermontNew Hampshire Red Cross and a former board member of Champlain Valley Crime Stoppers and other local organizations. She frequently mentions Ripon College on the air and proudly displays a Ripon bumper sticker on her car. While at Ripon, she was the first female member of the Ripon men’s lacrosse team. ROBERT MEYER ’78 of Moscow, Idaho, writes: “I am relocating from the Kettle Falls/Colville/ Chewelah, Wash., metroplex to the Pullman, Wash./Moscow, Idaho, metroplex.” PATTI KRUG MORRELL ’78 of Northfield, Ill.,
owns an interior design firm. DR. JONATHAN MURASKAS ’78
of Palos Park, Ill., was the lead author of an article in the journal “Pediatrics” about the world’s two smallest preemies, whom he cared for at Loyola University Medical School. A story about the girls appears on MSNBC.com: http:// ow.ly/bF3Nn