CLASS NOTES
48
spr ing 2013 | st. Lawrence Universit y Magazine
Ray Celeste
ran in the 2012 vermont Marathon
with r oger Brandt ‘80 and a few other folks. He
writes, “i hit marathon 50 last fall by completing
the Marine corps Marathon.” r ay was recognized
for his 10+ years of volunteer tutoring at an el-
ementary school in alexandria, va.
Dr.
Geoff ey Megargee
is the senior applied
research scholar at the center for advanced Ho-
locaust studies, United states Holocaust Memo-
rial Museum, where he has been since 2000. He
writes,” My main job is to serve as editor-in-chief
for the Museum’s
Encyclopedia of Camps and
Ghettos, 1933-1945.
t he work will consist of seven
volumes, of which we have produced two so far. it
will cover something on the order of 40,000 sites.”
geoff’swife is an attorneywith nasa , and their son
is in the fourth grade. geoff stays in close touchwith
TimHogan
and
Bill
and
LizMorrisonWessel.
Beth Hanggeli
is still living in the Jacksonville/
st. augustine area, and loving life at the beach.
she is still writing, mainly song lyrics for musician
friends. she writes,”it’s not makingme rich, but it’s
fun to see a royalty check appear in my mailbox
every now and then and to hear my words on cDs
and on the radio. i’m also sales manager for Mojo
Hot sauce.”Find it on Facebook! Beth is hoping to
get her novels in digital format soon and is always
looking for songwriters to collaborate with.
JudyWilliams Reddy
writes that daughter nata-
lie will be going to Ohio wesleyan in the fall. she
will be on the lacrosse team with garry ’79 and
Betsy craigweischedel ’80’s daughter.
georgia Lubrano
is headed to colby and may
play lacrosse or soccer. st. Lawrence was next on
her list, but colby came throughwith the early de-
cision bid. My heart wept for a moment, but she is
thrilled. i may have some luck with the remaining
two Lubrano kids.
Ellynne Skove
recently sojourned at the
amargosa Opera House in Death valley, produc-
ing a variety show and modern dance benefi
event for the famed Marta Becket, who has cre-
ated ballets in the desert for 45 years. Becket is
88
years old and is trying to save her opera house,
which is painted with amazing murals. if you are
ever looking for a totally unique piece of ameri-
can modern history, visit amargosa Opera House
and Hotel! ellynne also led a movement medita-
tion in the nearby oasis at ash Meadows wildlife
r efuge.
Jim Pecori
met up with
George“Greek”Goula-
kos
,
George Smith
,
steve r hoads ’78 and chuck
Long ’80 at a hockey game at colgate, to watch
greek’s son play against st. Lawrence. sLU won.
He writes, “we had some good laughs and greek
drove us crazy ... literally.”
John Wilking
is finishing up his north country
tour of colleges, universities and convents. His
daughter is in the hunt for a place to spend the
next four years.
Jeff “Spike” Schneider
and Karen have been
living in woodcliff Lake, n.J., for 18 years. His old-
est son graduated from college in December; the
youngest son is a junior at Duke. He studied in
Florence, italy, last fall, and spike and Karen“were
able to relive college days by visiting him." enjoy-
ing the fact that the boys are older now, Karen and
i are acting like newlyweds again,”spike wrote.
Morgan Murray
reports a great January ski
trip to whistler/Blackcomb in British columbia.
He was joined by
David King
,
Peter Loft
,
skip-
per smith ‘81 and paul r eed ‘80. andré couture
‘82
was a generous host, “and his son victor ‘15
learned a lot by watching the old folks reminisce,”
Morgan said. For more on couture and his family,
see this issue’s philanthropy in action section.
Sarah Showalter Murray, Sally Richardson
Barden
and
Gina Moorehead Nerlino
took a
walk down memory lane by going on the st. Law-
rence alumni trip to spain last October. t hey were
guided by their professor, r ita goldberg, who
was the director of the spain program in 1979-
1980.
t hey visited Barcelona and the Basque,
regions they were not able to travel to back then.
One highlight was a rendezvous in Madrid with
Meghan King garcia, who was on their program
but from r utgers University, married a spaniard
and lives in Madrid. t here was a picture of the
group in the last issue.
Penn Hoyt
alerted me that he is in deep debt to
Don Laidlaw,
but Don has not been open to any
of the times or locations suggested by penn to
pay off the debt. penn is threatening to go public
with Don’s freshman picture if he does not pick up
a phone pretty quickly.
as i flipped through the old “pig book” i noticed
a few fashion trends that were popular back in
1977
and may be worth mentioning: turtlenecks
on guys (46), guys with puka beads (4), necklaces
(5)
and neckties (74), guys in their prom tuxedos
(
heh-heh) (7), girls in Fair isle sweaters (67), guys
with beards (14), girl’s haircuts (46), hippie-style
haircuts (17) and Bee gee-style haircuts (26), girls
with Bee-gee style haircuts (32), guys with Bee
gee-style shirts ( 35), girls in cheerleader outfit
(1),
guys in cheerleader outfits (0), guys in football
uniforms (1, yours truly). i will happily scan your
picture and send it to you upon request.
My youngest daughter flipped through the pag-
es last night and asked if i had ever dated
Lou-
ise Merrell Middleton
.
i said that i had not, but
wanted to knowwhat triggered the question. she
smiled and pointed to the book …“Dad, you’re in
a football uniform and she’s dressed as a cheer-
leader … it just makes sense.”Or maybe it doesn’t.
Pamela Hall Wilkins
writes, “i wouldn’t trade
atlanta weather for canton’s any day! i have a
14-
year-old daughter and i’ve started teaching
a dance program at her school. i have become
a bullfig ting aficionada, and therefore spend
much time in spain and the south of France. t his
year my family and i were invited by my old friend
cristina sanchez, who became the first female
matador in spain back in ‘96, to spend a week at
their ranch in portugal. going local made all the
difference. Her son was an exchange student in
our home! so, while i may have retired early (!)
from my career in advertising, there’s never a dull
moment here.”
Charlie Merrell
writes that daughter Lindsay
married her British boyfriend last fall and is liv-
ing in canterbury, england. alex ’13 is in his last
semester at st. Lawrence as a third-generation
chimer. Jamie is legally driving and looking at col-
leges, and elyse is about to enter high school. su-
san neiley Merrell ‘83 continues as a regional di-
rector for senator gillibrand (D-ny ), while charlie
sits on the supreme court bench in new york’s
5
th Judicial District.
Ellen McCurdy Burchenal
lives in summit, n.J.,
home to many Laurentians. t hey have three sons.
t he eldest graduated fromHamilton last May and
is working in new york city. will ’15 plays lacrosse
for coach Mike Mahoney ’93. “He’s having a great
experience and always bumping into sons or
daughters of alums,”ellen says.“it makes for a fun
Family weekend. Our youngest is a freshman at
Lafayette.”
John Imhof
sent a note in from gitmo with a
refle tion on his experience with the reality tv
show “Hotel Hell”: “Much of what happened end-
ed up on the cutting room floor and i can tell you
‘
reality tv ’ is not real. t he show aired in august
but by then we had given up on trying to rebuild
the hotel and i had accepted a job with the Mili-
tary commissions in guantanamo Bay. i’ve traded
my skis for scuba tanks. all is well and my wife
and i are truly enjoying this complete change in
lifestyle. island living is wonderful.“
Bruce Sozzi
spent a week-
end in north
carolina with
a crop of sae s
and spouses
at
Charlie
Izard
and
Kathy’s fantastic north carolina estate (from left:
Dave Priebe
and gigi, charlie and Kathy,
Dave
Smith
andMeryl, and Bruce and r obin scott sozzi
‘82).
charlie was building out his wine cellar and
needed some expert advice on where to put the
bottles. Bruce writes, “Dave and Merrill were the
‘
mystery guests,’ surprising us all as we arrived at
the airport! Dave’s a top lawyer in D.c., but he and
his family have kept their north country roots and
summer on the st. Lawrence every year.”
Bruce added that he hosts an annual football
game on t hanksgiving at his place and has re-
peatedly trounced Dave priebe and his family.
t his year’s victory was followed by Bruce’s visit
to the sharp end of a scalpel for ac L surgery, per-
formed by Dr. Dan Fish ‘82.
Do you have a son or daughter who is
starting to look at colleges?
Plan a visit to St. Lawrence and learn
about Laurentian Legacy Grants:
admissions@stlawu.edu
or
1-800-285-1856.
l au r Entian
par Ent S!