family class notes Steven J. Spielberg MBA ’98 (BUS) and Orly Aviv. Michael Richman ’05 (SCJ) and Devra Rottman MSW ’10 (SSW). Amy Klein ’11 (ENG) and Caleb Crain.
VOX
Kait Dunton DMA ’13 (MUS) and her band trioKAIT, which includes Jake Reed MM ’10, DMA ’13 (MUS), were featured in JazzTimes for their third album, TrioKAIT. Kate Williams Grabau MFA ’13 (DRA) recently completed an eight-month national tour of Camelot, playing Lady Anne. Perla Hernandez Trumkul MPA ’13 (SPP) was promoted to district director for U.S. Rep. Grace F. Napolitano. She was elected council member for the Southern California Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration for 2014–2015. William Cravy ’14 (MUS) was awarded second place in the 2015 Aspen Music Festival Low Strings Competition. Marielle Stair MSW ’15 (SSW) leads the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program in Atlanta, an employment-focused program that provides referral resources for veterans and their families facing homelessness.
M A R R I A G E S
Kenneth Post ’75 (ENG) and Karen Schoeman.
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Mark Snow ’95, PhD ’00 (LAS) and Orady Souksamlane ’94 (LAS), twins, a daughter and son, Kaitlyn Allison and Brayden Connor. Bryan Weaver ’01 (LAS) and Jennifer Shoucair Weaver ’03 (BUS), a son, Oliver Weston Weaver. He joins sister Willa Scott. Steven Lucero ’06 (ENG) and Danielle Lucero MS ’08 (ENG), a daughter, Olivia Leigh. She joins sister Eva Lynn.
I N
M E M O R I A M
A L U M N I Ruth Byers Rada ’44, MS ’45 (LAS) of Los Angeles; June 1 at the age of 91. Edward Vierheilig ’49 (BUS) of Century City, California; May 19 at the age of 90. Gordon Thompson Jr. ’51 (BUS) of San Diego; July 5 at the age of 85. Jasper Hawkins ’55 (ARC) of Phoenix; Sept. 4, at the age of 82.
Frank Gifford, 84 Celebrated football player and broadaster Frank Gifford ’56 (BUS) of Greenwich, Connecticut, died Aug. 9. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the New York Giants in 1952 out of USC and played both halfback and flanker during his 12-year football career. In 1956, he was league MVP and led the Giants to the NFL championship. After his playing career ended, he became a sports commentator for CBS.
He then became co-host of the popular Monday Night Football from 1971 to 1985, working with Howard Cosell and Al Michaels. The low-key, likable athlete became a reliable and instantly recognizable presence for millions of Americans. The son of an oilfield driller who was constantly looking for work, Gifford moved 47 times before starting high school in Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield High School was where his football ascent began—even though he was cut from the lightweight football team as a scrawny 5-foot-2 freshman. But he grew the summer before his junior season and made the varsity team. At USC, he played on offense as a running-passing tailback and on defense as a safety. He also caught passes, punted, kicked field goals and extra points, and returned punts and kickoffs. He was an All-American as a senior at USC in 1951 before going to the NFL. He is survived by his wife, Kathie Lee Gifford, three sons and two daughters. Saul S. Kreshek ’57 (BUS), LLB ’60 (LAW) of Los Angeles; Sept. 1, at the age of 79. David B. Finkel ’59 LLB (LAW) of Santa Monica, California; July 4 at the age of 83.
Marcus O. Tucker Jr., 80 Marcus O. Tucker Jr. ’60 (LAS), the first African-American to serve as presiding judge of Long Beach Municipal Court, died Aug. 8 in Long Beach, California. Tucker was an early advocate of restorative justice for teenage offenders. Admitted to the State Bar in 1962, he was in private practice in Santa Monica before becoming a deputy city attorney
VOX PHOTO COURTESY OF VOX; GIFFORD PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
B I R T H S
David Castillo MM ’13 (MUS), Arnold Geis MM ’14 (MUS) and Kevin Blickfeldt DMA ’15 (MUS), members of pop-opera group VOX, advanced from the audition round on NBC’s America’s Got Talent before being eliminated on the Aug. 4 episode. Castillo will make his European debut in Paris next year, performing Winterreise. Geis is an active session singer, having performed most recently in Bridge of Spies and Goosebumps. Blickfeldt is on the faculty of the 88 Keys Music Academy.
winter 2015
11/26/15 3:58 AM