C L A S S “Nancy McDonald is a professional actor, director, and drama teacher,” Fr. Berg says. “She directed ‘Catch-22’ and starred in other Broadway productions some years ago. Nancy also has a family member back from combat with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She told me: ‘SCARS is not just a play; it is theater as a powerful tool.’ Our production began this summer with her actors, and will eventually include others (eg., with PTS) along with actors. All this, of course, will be with scriptwriter Roccie Hill and producer John Beaulieu’s collaboration. I think the initial tone of this was: we start small and then go big to help people understand and deal with post-traumatic stress.” Congratulations Fr. Berg, we know your stories will reach a wide and receptive audience. Amber Reneé Noonkester Ramsdell of Beaverton, Ore., adjunct instructor in the University of Portland School of Nursing, passed away on Sunday, July 3, 2016 in Portland, Oregon. Upon completion of high school, Amber entered the University of Texas at Austin where she earned her B.S. in nursing in 2010, and her RN license shortly thereafter. She went on to earn her masters of science in nurse education from Georgetown University in 2015. She was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in July 2010. During her service, she worked at Wilford Hall Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio, as a high risk labor and delivery nurse. In August 2014, she retired from the Air Force with the rank of captain. While serving in the Air Force, Amber met then-lieutenant Griffin Ramsdell in February 2011. Knowing immediately that they were meant for each other, Amber and Griffin were engaged in September 2011 and married on September 22, 2012, in Hurst, Texas. Amber was employed as a Labor and Delivery nurse at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital. Survivors include Griffin; parents, Larry and Lorie Noonkester; brother, Adam; in-laws, Karla and David Angal; and numerous relatives including aunts, uncles, cousins and many close family friends. Our prayers and condolences to the family. Pearl Brown, who for many years was the face of the University’s payroll office, passed away recently, according to a message we received from her daughter-in-law. We asked our resident personnel expert
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Jim Kuffner about Pearl and he remembers her well: “She did almost everything related to payroll, including handling the payroll for the Holy Cross community. The old payroll systems were pretty challenging back then and were done on a mostly manual basis.
N O T E S She had a quick smile and big laugh, and everyone got along with her.” Thanks Jim, and our prayers and condolences to Pearl’s family. Congratulations to Rev. Robert Antonelli, C.S.C., and Rev. Claude Pomerleau, C.S.C., on the occasion of their fiftieth
They come from near and they come from far: the couples who do our University the honor of holding their nuptials in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher, a seemingly endless procession of them every season, summer especially, and we welcome and cherish them all. Here we have Chris Bell ’15 and Jenny Rodriguez ’14 (henceforth known as Jenny Bell) exiting the chapel in joyful disbelief during their wedding on September 5, 2015. Best of luck and blessings to the new couple(s). Pearl hung in there as long as she could in the face of new technology, but when she reached retirement age she decided to step down about 20 years ago. She was among a core of old-school financial-type employees that included Anna Mullens, Marilyn Mattson, and Ruby Mann.
anniversaries of ordination to the priesthood. The quietly gracious Fr. Bob Antonelli came to The Bluff in 1999, and soon set about working the minor miracle of establishing calm and order in the voluminous University Archives. A most humble and holy man, no task is above his able and
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affable talents. Fr. Claude joined the UP faculty in 1991, bringing his vast knowledge to bear in the political science department, at the time joined with the history department. He taught politics at Notre Dame in 1970s and 1980s, was rector of St. George’s College in Santiago, 1985-1989; and taught peace studies and international relations at UP. He graces the campus still in the role of professor emeritus. Rev. John Donato, C.S.C., who serves as vice president for student affairs at the University of Portland, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this year. A native of Addison, Ill., Fr. John served his first pastoral assignment at St. Francis Xavier parish in Burbank, California; he spent nine years in pastoral ministry in South Bend, Indiana and Fort Lauderdale, Florida before coming to UP to join the Campus Ministry office. After leaving to earn a doctorate in educational leadership at Seattle University, Fr. John returned to UP in 2007 to serve as associate vice president for student development. He was appointed vice president of student affairs in January 2016. Xan Arch is the new dean of the University’s Clark Library, as of August 22, 2016. Arch comes to UP from Reed College, where she served as director of collection services. She also held many posts in the Stanford Univer-sity libraries, culminating her service there as the electronic resources and technology librarian. She was the 2013 recipient of the Esther J. Piercy Award given by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services to a person who has shown “outstanding promise for continuing contribution and leadership.” Arch has a B.A. in English and French literatures and an M.A. in English literature from Stanford University. She also has an M.S. in library science from San Jose State University. A number of people who attended Fr. Tom Hosinski’s final UP lecture, “The Sacredness of the Ordinary” (and many who weren’t able to attend) have asked if it would be available as a podcast. A downloadable podcast of the lecture is now available at http://tinyurl.com/hfmwr8q, along with a transcript, thanks to the efforts of Garaventa Center co-director Karen Eifler.