24 minute read
Alumni Roll Call and Memorials
ROLL CALL
1970
Ellen Baker Whiting ‘70 took the trip of a lifetime to Australia to visit her brother. She went with her sister and brother-inlaw and visited Fiji, Australia, Tasmania, and Hawaii. She shared, “After my trip to Australia to visit my brother, I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive uterine cancer called carcinosarcoma. I have completed all treatments (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation) and pray that all cancer has been eliminated. The prayers of my friends and family have helped get me through this trial. God’s in control and God is always good.”
1971
David Dangerfield ‘71 retired at the end of April 2019 from full-time pastoral ministry after serving Advent Lutheran Church, Boca Raton and St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Port St. Lucie. Dave serves on the boards of Sarah’s Kitchen, a feeding ministry serving St. Lucie County and Alzheimer’s Community Care serving Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. Dave and his wife Kathy live in Jensen Beach and enjoy being grandparents to their six grandchildren, traveling, playing golf and a variety of outdoor activities. John Freer ‘71 shared, “Some of us from the class of 1971 meet on Zoom every couple of months. It’s fun to see people from 49 years ago.”
1972
Dwayne Guthrie
‘72 started his own consulting firm, DP Guthrie, LLC. He lives in Mesa, AZ.
Karl Oltz ‘72 is enjoying retirement in Lakewood Ranch, FL.
1973
On October 10, 2020, Nery
Manzano ‘73
and Mark
Davenport ‘74
were married in Miami, at a small private ceremony. While they did not really know each other in high school, Nery and Mark positively took note of each other at the “All 70’s Reunion” back in 2014; first during the Homecoming football game at WCS and then at the Reunion Dinner later that evening at the Riviera Country Club. For the past six years, despite Mark living in Atlanta and Nery calling Miami home, the couple had been flying back and forth sharing any moment they could together. Mark shared, “I have to say that the surprise and joy of Nery’s and my finding each other at the reunion is an example of how God’s plans and timing rarely align with our own. And because it happened in that special context, we’ve enjoyed the love and encouragement of WCS friends as our relationship grew.”
1975
Martha Purdum Bellomy ‘75 lives in Ft. Worth, TX.
1977
Chris “Hawk” Moore ‘77
retired for the second time after spending 27 years in the US Air Force and 10 1/2 years at The Citadel. Hawk and wife Jill moved at the beginning of COVID from SC to Viera, FL. Hawk volunteers at Valiant Air Command Warbird museum while looking to start a third career.
1978
Lisa Fuge Cason ‘78 is “feeling blessed to have been married for 37 years and to have raised four awesome “kids” that are all amazing married adults! We welcomed our third grandchild (first girl!) on Nov. 19, 2020. After 19 years at the same school in the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Schools, I changed locations this year and moved over to the brand new WSFCS Virtual Academy, where I teach first grade and serve as a mentor to new teachers.”
Betsy Reynolds Mark ‘78 shares, “My husband Jim and I decided to act like millennials and take a gap year. Since we both turned 60 in 2020 we thought it was time to enjoy life a little. We left for Madrid in February and planned to be in Europe much of the year. We kept a close eye on the spread of Coronavirus while in Spain. When the pandemic was declared and the President issued the travel restrictions, our kids convinced us we needed to get home. We are terribly disappointed at the interruption of our trip of a lifetime. However, so many people’s health and livelihoods are at risk that we know we are blessed to be home and well.
Having been in eldercare since 2003, we have some perspective on what Jim refers to as ‘our fourth quarter.’ Most of our clients have told us that their favorite decade was their sixties (not THE sixties). Their kids had launched and they had the health and the means to travel and enjoy life. We intend to do just that and as soon as we get the all clear we will head out again. If you want to check out our trip blog it is: http://lavidaviajera.net/”
Grant Slayden ‘78 enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school. He later earned a commission, and attended the University of Florida, graduating with a BA and JD. Serving in Japan, Korea, and twice commanding the ground-based air and missile defense of Washington, DC, Grant retired as a colonel after 32 years of service. Grant currently serves as the Trial Court Administrator for the Second Judicial Circuit, comprising state and county trial courts in Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla Counties with 14 court facilities and 37 judicial officers. Grant is married to Kristine Ellyn Jenkins, the Chief of Resource Planning for Florida’s Judicial Branch. Grant and Kris raised four children: Trevor is a deputy clerk for the Maryland Courts, Julia is an environmental engineer for ExxonMobil in Wyoming, Emily is in sales in Florida, and Tessa teaches for the Fairfax City Schools in Virginia. Martha Glass Cribs ‘80 is an instructional coach for the Savannah-Chatham County Schools.
1981
Rick Hooper ‘81 has been elected as the chairman of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers. GAM works on behalf of all Georgia manufacturers to enhance their competitiveness in a global marketplace. Rick is employed by Shaw Industries where he serves as its vice president, chief legal & advocacy officer. He and his wife Sandee live in Dalton, Georgia where they raised their three children.
1982
Jim Kern ‘82 shares, “As of this year, my son Jimmy ‘18 is a junior at Florida State University studying business entrepreneurship. My daughter Sarah ‘15 is working for the family business as a project manager. We are healthy, happy, and blessed beyond belief to spend time with one another any chance we get.”
1983
Robin Bryan-Schue’s ‘83 daughter Victoria ‘21 is one of the cheer captains at Westminster. Jenni Gold ‘83 shared, “Thinking back to 2019 and even 2020 through the pandemic God has provided many opportunities! First my award-winning film ‘CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion’ starring Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Marlee Matlin, and a host of others premiered on TCM and I was honored to co-host for two days with Ben Mankiewicz. Then it was chosen by the US State Department to represent America in the American Film Showcase. So even during the pandemic, I kept busy screening and speaking virtually in places like Prague! Today the film can be seen on all streaming platforms. Also, the Christian comedy that we produce ‘Can I get a Witness Protection’ is now available on Amazon and I just released a children’s book, titled “Lucky,” which will soon be made into a feature. Currently, I’m in post-production on a feature film that I directed, and since Gold Pictures is a full-service development, production, and post company, soon we will be launching an entertainment-related start-up. I know that: ‘All things work together for good... Romans 8:28’ and so we are looking forward to new opportunities to bring good stories to life and glorify God. Learn more at www.goldpictures.com.”
1984
Michael Erwin ‘84 is a retired fire chief.
Michael Nimer
‘85 is a pastor of Calvary Chapel of Lexington, SC.
1987
Karla Wolaver Sheridan ‘87 has been an elementary educator in Brevard County Public Schools for 20 years. Her daughters attend Titusville High School in the 9th and 11th grades. She has been happily married to Douglas for 23 years.
1993
Pauline Rogers Hahlen ‘93 lives in Lexington, SC with her husband Terry and four children: Joel (20); Riley (17); Jesse (15) and Josiah (12). She is a cake decorator at the local Publix, and is also very involved with the Alzheimer’s Organization where she helps fundraise for a cure. She shares, “This organization is very close to my heart because my mom Anina lost her battle to Alzheimers five years ago and my friend Marianne this past March.”
Philip Harmon ‘93 lives with his family in Naples, FL. Maura Parsons Benson ‘94 lives with her family in Chicago, IL.
1996
Brian Martino ‘96 and wife Paola were fortunate to be able to work from home with their two sons: Luca (5) and Noah (8 months) during the height of the pandemic. He shared, “I know this has been a challenging time for everyone across all industries and I hope everyone in the Westminster Family is staying safe and healthy. Although it’s been challenging at times for my family, we came to realize maybe this was the pause our family needed. I have been fortunate to be home to witness the milestones of Noah crawling, walking, climbing and saying more words and Luca having class via zoom. Moments I otherwise would have missed if I were on my normal schedule which consists of office time, travel and meetings. I hope everyone found the silver lining during this pandemic. It’s reminded me family is most important.”
1997
Javier Azucena ‘97 has been working in the recycling business for over 15 years supplying second-hand fiber to paper mills all over the world to manufacture pulp and paper products. “I started in an American company doing customer service and then moved up to sales for only Latin America. I decided to put my international business degree and master’s to use and so I became the global director for a company in Lausanne, Switzerland and then three years later a company in Vienna, Austria for four years until finally deciding to open my own company. I got married two years ago and we have a one-yearold baby girl. We moved back south to Palmetto Bay from Brickell to raise our family. I am looking forward to sending my kids to Westminster, which was one of the best experiences of my high school career.”
Melanie Price Pendray ‘97 and Sean Pendray ‘88 live in Palmetto Bay with their two children.
1998
Kimberly McReynolds Gorrin ‘98
shared that her son James ‘29 will be joining her daughter Madison ‘26 at Westminster for the 2021-22 school year. “So happy to have them both together.”
1999
Monica Pappas Snyder ‘99 and her husband Bryon and their three children Cameron (20), Isabelle (6) and Rayne
(6) live in Miami. Monica is the clinical director at Wellspring Counseling and Bryon is the assistant operation manager for Dadeland Macy’s. They are members at Old Cutler Presbyterian Church.
Yvette Rodriguez-Arce ‘99 is a clinical nurse manager at the University of Miami Bascom Palmer of Naples. She earned a master’s degree in nursing education in 2018. She shares, “I am blessed beyond measure as a mother of two beautiful boys Lucas and Isaac, ages 6 and 9, and have been married for over 15 years to Rene Arce.”
2000
Sergio Fernandez del Pino ‘00
purchased a new home in August 2020. He and his family live in Olathe, KS.
Carlos Tudela ‘00 lives with his family in Miami, FL.
2002
Katie Kerestes de la Fe ‘02 is the principal at King’s Christian School. She lives in Miami with her husband and three sons, Dante (12), Deacon (10), and Dash (6). Eric Batule ‘03 shares, “We have a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and one on the way. I am an air traffic control operations specialist, serving on a small specialized HQ team that audits air traffic facilities all over of the country.” The family lives in Senoia, GA.
2005
William “Billy” Garner ‘05 owns and operates a pet food store in Pinecrest since 2013.
2006
Kathleen Adams ‘06 shares, “I started a new job as a Sociology and Political Science professor and moved to Columbus, GA in January, got married in February, and we bought our first home in December!”
2007
Jessica (Dietrich) Warren ‘07 and husband Ben welcomed the birth of their daughter Frankie on September 6, 2020. The couple lives in Miami where Jess works as a nurse and Ben is Westminster’s athletic director.
2008
Christopher Fundora ‘08
shared, “My wife Kasia (Jezequel) and I have a deep love for Westminster. We met for about 30 seconds in the 9th grade before her family moved to New Jersey. I literally took her seat in her classes as I started and she moved. Our mutual friends from WCS encouraged us to connect in college (Kasia went to Gordon College and I went to BU) which didn’t take convincing for me! We became friends, started dating and got married in 2015. We have two little girls: Lyla Isabel Fundora (2018) and we welcomed our second daughter Arden Josephine in October 2020.
early October 2020.”
Stephanie Kearns Ginn ‘08 lives with her family in Atlanta, GA.
Kailey Swindal ‘08 is engaged to be married in December.
Madeleine Bezold ‘09 earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Miami in 2013 and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the medical school at Vanderbilt University in 2015. She worked for a few years in Shreveport, LA at an LSU affiliated hospital and is currently working as a speech-language pathologist for the Acute Rehabilitation Department at Orlando Regional Medical Center, a level one trauma center and certified stroke center in downtown Orlando. She is a certified brain injury specialist and her work revolves around rehabilitating the swallowing function and cogntivecommunication abilities of folks who have had strokes and traumatic brain injuries. She shares, “I love my work, I enjoy frequenting the theme parks with my sister who lives with me, and I hope to buy my first home this summer. I still look back fondly on my time at WCS, the opportunities going to this wonderful school provided me, and the lifelong friendships I made there!”
Kevin Fennell ‘09 and Hannah Sielk were married on February 20, 2021. Fennell’s groomsmen included David Corral ’09, Michael Sabates ’09, Ryan Ronda ’05, and Chris Barbato ’14.
Cassandra Fernandez de la
Fe ‘09 started a family. Her son, Steven Javier de la Fe, was born on Superbowl Sunday on February 2, 2020.
Brittany Hays Nichols ‘09 and her husband CPT Michael Nicholas, US Army, welcomed their first child into the world. David Williams Nichols was born on October 13, 2020 and has added nothing but joy into their lives.
Sarah Pybas
East ‘09 married Blake East in December 2019 in Key Largo, FL. They currently live in Atlanta, GA where Sarah works for Marriott International as a senior event manager and Blake as a superintendent for JE Dunn Construction.
2010
Cameron
Cabrera ‘10 and wife Catherine welcomed the birth of their daughter Charlotte Maren on August 31, 2020. The family lives in Pine, CO. Jacquelyn Rodriguez ‘10 recently moved back to Miami with her husband. The couple lives in Miami Beach.
2011
Andrew Hays ‘11 shares, “married Courtney Reznicek in May 2020 and we bought our first house together in Waco, TX.”
Bijan Ghaemmaghami ‘11 moved to the Netherlands after graduating from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2014. There he attended Erasmus University where he earned a master’s degree in human learning and performance psychology. He is currently working full-time as a research master’s student within organizational psychology and as a scientific researcher with the University of Gronigen, Behavioral & Social Sciences Faculty.
Congrats to
Rachel Kniseley
Hatfield ’11, Bryan Hatfield and their daughter Norah as they welcome new baby boy, Remedy “Rem my” James on November 16, 2020! Rachel shared, “James, after my Grandad, who cried after every prayer and was the wisest, most godly man I knew. Our prayer is that he would point people to Christ, who is our Remedy and only cure for this broken world.”
Jessica Forbes ‘12 graduated from Nova Southeastern University Medical School in May 2021. Only a few days later, she was a beautiful bride marrying the love of her life, Taylor Kaprive. The couple will live in Viriginia while Jessie completes her medical residency in dermatology.
Ashley Miller ‘12
graduated May 5 from Clemson University with a master’s degree in human resource development with a 4.0 GPA, and as a member of four honor socities.
Taylor Trezona ‘12 moved to Thomasville, GA at the beginning of 2020. She worked at Baptist Hospital for three years, and now works at a women’s center as an ultrasound tech.
Alex Forjan ‘12
and Natalia
Rodriguez ‘13
met at WCS and began dating the summer before his senior year/ her junior year. After nine years together, Alex decided to propose at Westminster, the place where their relationship began and a place they both love. He proposed at the bench where they would meet every day after school to wait for her parents to pick her up. “We had not been back to this bench since we both graduated and I always envisioned that I would someday propose to her there,” said Alex. This special moment was captured by Jon Fernandez ‘15.
2013
Maria Baltodano ’13 and Joseph Hassun ’08 were married on February 6, 2021 in the Church of the Little Flower and held the reception at the Biltmore Hotel. The couple will live in Miami.
Jos “Skip” de Kanter ‘13
shared, “I started my bachelor’s degree in cyber security at Miami Dade College. I’m currently on the pathway to take my CompTIA CySA+, CompTIA Security+, OSCP, CompTIA Network+, and CompTIA Linux+ certificates to improve my chances of getting hired. I plan on moving out of state to find work, preferably somewhere cold like Colorado. I am the vice president of North Cyber Security Club at MDC. I host seminars on fundamental security threats within the cyber security industry, and bring in prominent figures within the industry to talk to the students. I have written articles that I have received royalties for on the Medium.com blog platform under the name J.S. Praecordia, with one article being read over 5,000 times throughout the world. I have finally achieved a milestone in my life by completing 100 skydives out of a perfectly good airplane. I absolutely love it and I have made some great friends from the sport. I was hired as a fitness instructor at TruFusion in Coral Gables, teaching indoor cycling and suspension training classes with the TRX system. I am balancing working in the retail industry as a geek squad agent at Best Buy and going to school at the same time.”
Courtney Kirtland ‘13
shares, “Since graduating from WCS, I’ve done a ton of things including working with ESPN West Palm. I currently work as a sales representative for Avion Pharmaceuticals! I’ve also recently bought my first home!
2014
2015
Paola Torres ‘14
started medical school at NSU Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale.
Daniel Dvorak ‘15 is working as a project engineer at 3M’s rock granule manufacturing plant in Pittsboro, NC.
Gigi Figueroa ‘15 started her first year of dental school at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry in August 2019.
Adrian Mayans ‘15 was named to Forbes Top 30 under 30 for his work as co-founder of LUCID Drone Technologies. He shares, “Honored to be on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list. The three of us have been through war – countless ups and downs, early mornings and late nights. It’s a blessing to be acknowledged for our relentless pursuit.”
2016
Sophia Dueñas ‘16 graduated cum laude from NYU in 2020, earning the University Honors Scholar/Founders’ Day Award for top-ranking Baccalaureate candidates. She is currently attending law school at USC.
Anna Giacosa ‘16 graduated from Boston College in May 2020 with a degree in accounting in finance and consulting. She began working at Wells Fargo Private Bank as a wealth planning analyst in July.
Kelly Rico ‘16
graduated from FSU in fall 2020 with a degree in editing, writing, and media. She is pursuing a master’s in sport administration at the University of Miami.
Kevin Rodriguez ‘16 started his full-time job with Boston Consulting Group as an associate in Atlanta.
Nastassja Sardinas ‘16
graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and is currently working at CBS Laboratories under the COVID-19 department, helping test samples for COVID using real-time PCR.
Alex Sirven ’16 graduated from FIU in May 2020 with a bachelor’s in biology and a minor in psychology. While she completed her undergraduate degree she became involved with Our Grounds (www. ourgrounds.org), a non-profit that runs a coffee shop in Kendall to provide vocational training, education and employment opportunities to adults with intellectual and cognitive disabilities. These adults have an opportunity to learn and be employed in an educational and inclusive environment, while learning new skills from therapists, restaurateurs and other professionals in our community.
The organization and shop were founded by occupational therapist Vanessa Vila, sister to Monica Vila ’16. The idea for the coffee shop came about when she realized that adults with disabilities have few opportunities for employment.
“This is an underserved community and I love working with them as they train and develop news skills,” said Sirven. “These adults are more than capable once given the opportunity and training.”
Sirven is currently in the application process for medical school, with the goal of enrolling in fall 2021.
2017
Ashley Castano ‘17
was a Dean’s Ambassador for the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions during her senior year. Ashley graduated with a degree in health science and aspires to be a physician. Isabella Cina ‘17 shared, “I started a new job as a registered behavior technician doing ABA therapy with kids with autism. I absolutely love it and hope to make it my future career. I will be graduating from the University of Colorado-Boulder in May 2021. I also recently got a new kitten, Phoenix.”
Enrique Lastra ‘17 graduated from BIMM Institute in London, England with a Bachelor Honors degree in songwriting. He shares, “Played loads of shows and released music on Spotify in 2019; working in Los Angeles to release a new album.”
Ian Poveda ‘17
graduated from Pomona College with a degree in Spanish and a minor in Chemistry. He was selected to give the class address at the Chicano Latino Student Affairs Commencement Ceremony. He will begin his career as an e-commerce analyst with Knowde, a successful start-up that has developed the first marketplace for chemicals, polymers and ingredients.
Sophia Poveda ‘17
graduated magna cum laude from the Stonehill College Moreau Honors Program with a major in economics, and double minor in political
science and business. She was selected as the 2021 Stonehill Edward E. Martin Women’s Senior Scholar-Athlete and was selected to give the 2021 class address at her commencement. Sophia will be moving to Charlotte, NC in August to begin a career in consulting with Accenture.
Michael Riley ‘17 was accepted as a transfer student at Columbia University in NYC after spending his first two years of college at Seton Hall University in NJ. He will graduate with a BA in Economics in 2021.
In just four years, Miranda Torres ‘17 graduated magna cum laude from FSU in April 2021, earning a M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications & Management, with a certificate in Multicultural Marketing Communication. She completed internships with Bowstern Marketing Communications, The Mayfield Group and Jackson Memorial Hospital. She was a staff writer and part of the social media team for HerCampus Magazine, a brother in the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi, and a member of the Florida Public Relations Association. Her proudest achievement was to participate in Dance Marathon all four years as a dancer, a marketing and social media coordinator and this year serving in the executive team as the marketing and publishing chair, organizing a successful marathon against all odds. She will be working as a communications assistant with Feeding Florida and is also the communications coordinator at RBW Logistics.
Valentina Saavedra ‘17
graduated Magna Cum Laude from Duke University with a double major in Linguistics and International Comparatives Studies and a minor in Korean in May.
2018
Alexia Fleites ’18
started Once a Month Miami, an organization that provides homeless women with menstrual and sanitary products. She is currently an honors pre-med student at FIU. To learn more about her project, visit https://alexiafleites.wixsite.com/ onceamonthmiami.
2019
Alejandra “Chama” Silva ‘19 was named Female Rookie of the Year at Nova Southeastern University for her accomplishments as a member of the women’s soccer team. She shared, “My first year of college at NSU playing soccer went fantastic. I started every game and contributed one goal and three assists for my team. We also won the Regional Championship.”
2020
Isabella
Morales ‘20 is attending the University of Miami, where she serves as the television station news anchor.
James Myrtetus ‘20 is exceeding his expectations in college, in particular in his math course.
Beth Tutan Kundert ’74
of Dunwoody, Georgia passed away peacefully on June 2, 2021 at age 64 from complications of type-1 diabetes.
Charles Andrew Aramburu ‘92 passed away on May 4, 2020. His classmate Chris Bello ‘92 described him as “an all-around good guy that got along with all groups and cliques back in high school. Was a really unique guy and character.”
Todd M. Johannes ‘94 of Gainesville, FL passed away on June 17, 2018. He is survived by his father Michael Johannes.
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The beautiful stained glass “W” is located just outside of the Hazel M. Ross Media Center between the high school and middle school campus. This piece of art was designed and created by Francisco Urrego and was a gift from the Class of 2019. It has become a popular backdrop for senior photos.
