Alumni News
ALUMNI NEWS Note: The alumni office receives class news from a variety of sources including web page updates, emails, and automatic Google alerts. We apologize in advance if some news is no longer current or accurate. If you have information about yourself or other alumni, please contact the alumni office at 641-585-8140 or e-mail us at alumni@waldorf.edu.
1950s Jean Christian Rein ’51 has lived in Denver, Colo. since 1948. Her husband passed away in 2007. She had an accident that broke her neck last summer, and is now in an assisted living residence in Centennial, Colo. Email: gejere@juno.com Dean Nervig ’58 and his wife, Julia, live in Omaha, Neb. They are both retired.
1960s Esther Mattson Brown ’60 divides her time between Oconomowoc, Wisc. and Arizona. She has two daughters, four grandsons and two great granddaughters. Email: estheranndesigns@sbcglobal.net Lynn Menz ’62 has written and published a book, Ramblings from the Upper Deck: The Life and Times of an Iowa Boy, about his life’s journey. He notes that, in general, he used only first names when he told stories of people in his life. Many people from his Waldorf College years have been part of his stories and may find their names among the pages. Order your copy at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/lynnmenz. Email: Hawaii@netins.net E. David Sbragia ’64 and wife Judith Wolf Sbragia ’63 recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are both retired teachers and live in Rockton, Ill., and winter in Mesa, Ariz. Email: ridgedale1@aol.com Craig Johnson ’67 is a retired market manager at Buzzi Unicem USA. His
wife, Kathleen, is retired from elementary education. They have two children. Ardis Rusten Johnson ’68 is a retired teacher and her husband, Jeff, is a real estate broker/builder. They live in Ramsey, Minn. Email: J14655@aol.com
1970s Fay Stientjes Lourenso ’70 is an educator at Suffolk County Community College. Email: lourenf@sunysuffolk.edu Paul Nelson ’70 retired on November 10, 2013 after serving as pastor at St. James Lutheran Church in Mason City, Iowa for ten years. Throughout his 37 year ministry, Paul served four parishes in Iowa including Lime Springs, Council Bluffs, Grundy Center, and Mason City. Lora Charlson Darling ’72 retired in May 2013 after serving 38 years as a teacher in the IKM-Manning Community School system. Her husband, Jeff, is also retired. Sonja Peterson Johnson ’72 is an impressionist painter of farm animals who grew up on a dairy farm in north central Iowa. Sonja completed her undergraduate work at the University of Iowa, Iowa City for a Bachelor of Arts in Art & Education. She was an art instructor in public schools for 10 years in Missouri, later returning to the family dairy near Callender, Iowa. She has taught numerous classes for adults and children in drawing, printmaking, and painting. Sonja uses a variety of art mediums but prefers to paint in oils, and has participated in group and solo exhibitions in the Midwest. Her animal paintings have been featured on four covers of JAVMA, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Sonja Johnson currently resides in Thompson, Iowa. Marcia Hill Haugen ’73 is a music office coordinator at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Her husband, Dennis, is a development officer also at Wartburg College. Email: dmahaugen@mchsi.com Hope Griffith Kordahl ’73 is the 7-12 special education teacher at Ellsworth, Minn. Email: danandhope@hotmail.com
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Brent Thie ’73 is a teacher in the Ottumwa, Iowa school district. His wife, Peggy is a business coordinator at Indian Hills Community College. They have three children and live in Ottumwa, Iowa. Brent took up a lifelong interest in bow hunting from Coach Neil Boyd and has many great memories from his Waldorf years including great coaches he’ll never forget. Email: pbthie@gmail.com Dale Fagre ’75 received his Master of Arts in Leadership & Management from Concordia University-St. Paul in May 2013, and joined Opportunity Partners, a non-profit organization, as vice president of advancement, marketing & communications. His wife, Deb, is a teacher and they live in Maple Grove, Minn. They were blessed with a granddaughter in May 2013. Email: dmfagre55311@yahoo.com Larry Morris ’75 has published his first book, Among Us: Stories of Worship and Faith. It is available at www.Amazon.com and www.LarryPMorris.com. Dean Downer ’76 is a 7-12 industrial arts teacher and lives in Massena, Iowa. Mary Watson Hamilton ’76 has published her debut novel for tweens. Hear No Evil, is book 1 in the Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series, published by Hope Springs Books. Her website is www.maryhamiltonbooks.com. Her husband, Wayne, is an engineer and they live in Katy, Texas. Email: mhamilton122@yahoo.com Laurel Osnes Rye ’78 married Kjell-Jon Rye in 2012 and moved to the Pacific Northwest. On their honeymoon to Europe, their marriage vows were affirmed in the American Lutheran Church in Oslo, Norway – the same church the choir performed their first concert in Norway on their tour of Scandinavia back in May of 1978 when Laurel was a member. They live in the Seattle area, where Laurel is an activity coordinator at a retirement community and Kjell is a school teacher. Email: laurel.rye@comcast.net