Ἅ l u m n i N e ws
>>> The ultimate Gift
Ἅ l u m n i R e v i e w w w w . u n d a l u m n i . o r g
Lee Glasoe, ’87, an occupational therapist and hand therapist, received the South Dakota Physical Therapy Association Hall of Fame Contributor Award. Lee works part-time in patient care and serves as chief executive officer and administrator for Prairie Rehabilitation Services in Sioux Falls, where he resides with his wife, Gina.
34
Tracy Letzring, ’87, is one of few engineers in the U.S. to earn professional civil engineering licensing in all 50 states. Tracy is a vice president at Tait & Associates in Loveland, Colo., where he and his wife, Karen, reside. Mary Beth (Bye) Wressell, ’87, was named director-media advertising and e-marketing for Holland America Line. She and her husband, Brad, live in Seattle.
1988
Karla (Glick) Fordham, ’88, ’98, is senior HCM business
analyst for Alaska Airlines. In this role, Karla implements and administers the Greenlight Learning Management System for both Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, organizes the company learning programs and provides support to staff development and training departments. Previously, she was a course developer for Alaska Airlines maintenance training. She and her husband, Patrick, live in Fife, Wash. Brian Messmer, ’88, ’91, was named Nevada School Administrator of the Year by the Nevada Association of School Boards. He is principal of Jackpot Combined School in Jackpot, Nev., which was one of only 321 public and private schools to receive a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award. Brian and his wife, Becky, live in Jackpot.
1989
Brad Derrig, ’89, an F-16 fighter pilot, was promoted to the rank of colonel with the North Dakota Air
When Keith, ’74, ’77, and Becky (Fontaine) Ronkowski, ’92, were married in 1980, they had no idea how literal the words, “two become one” would one day be. For the first 17 years of their marriage things were just about perfect. They had three healthy children; Christopher, Ryan and Callie, good jobs (they were both teachers), and a nice home. But, in 1997, Becky became very ill and was diagnosed with end‐stage renal disease (total kidney failure). “The doctor biopsied my kidneys and found out they were both functioning at just 11 percent. He told me I was going to need a transplant. You just don’t think about it until it hits you. My daughter was just in kindergarten,” Becky recalls. To no avail, Becky’s family members and closest friends began testing to see if they were a match and could donate a kidney to Becky. “Since no one was a match the doctors told me I would have to be put on the transplant list and the wait could be five years,” Becky said. The next couple of years were beyond difficult. Due to her illness, Becky had to quit her teaching job at Lake Agassiz Elementary, eventually to go on dialysis. “I got very depressed. I would cry almost all day long. I felt like I couldn’t be a good mom,” she said. But, in December of 1999, Keith and Becky felt a ray of hope when a friend called and told them of a new procedure at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “She said they had started doing successful non-compatible kidney transplants, as long as the antigens matched,” Keith said. Keith didn’t have to think twice. The couple set up appointments at Mayo and on Valentine’s Day of 2000, Keith learned he was able to give his wife the best gift imaginable, one of his kidneys. The transplant was successfully completed just before Keith and Becky’s 20th anniversary. Today, both are doing well, and have completely adjusted to life with one functioning kidney. “I feel so good I forget. I really don’t think about it most days,” Becky said. She hasn’t, however, forgotten the amazing gift her husband gave her – a new kidney and her life back. Leanna Ihry