CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine 47
46 winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine
Laura Roscoe-Griffin
commented that she
loved themusic in the video that was sent around.
She did refer to it as “classic,”however, which may
suggest that we need to redefine what some of
these old terms actually refer to. Is it allowable
that an oldies station plays music from 2001?
Fred Millham
commented on the video, “The
ratio of students with books to students with
booze in their hands: 1/1,204. The ’70s were much
hairier than I remember.
Frank Pedlow
's head
gets bigger as the years pass. I took my old pal
Jennifer Cruise
to lunch in Cambridge. Happy to
report she doesn't look a day older than she did in
'81. Sorry to report that I do.”
Beatrice Doering Shea
writes that she’s in the
classroom all day, on the move in the afternoon
and catching up with life by evening. Her son
Spencer “LOVED SLU this year,” she says. “He is liv-
ing in Dean-Eaton, which is where I lived sopho-
more year many moons ago.”He is great pals with
Natalie Copeland ’16 (daughter of
Hans Cope-
land
and Betsy Purcell ’83), but the spicy part of
the note will be left to future reunion conversa-
tions.
I saw Bea at the Copeland residence on Goodfel-
low Hill in Hanover last fall. She was ferrying her
daughter to a Dartmouth lacrosse clinic. She was
full of vim and vigor, just like the days in Canton
years ago.
Karolyn Wix Varner
graduated last spring with
a master’s in nursing from Drexel University.
Rick Greene
is stateside for a change. Some
of his best memories of SLU have him “elevated
three feet above the black-and-white check-
ered dance floor at The Inside Track on Thursday
nights/Friday OMG mornings behind bottle-
proof half-inch Plexiglas, spinning dance tunes
and magically managing the strobe, black lights
and light boards.” Rick goes on, “I often share sto-
ries…certainly not ALL of them…with my two
sons (19 and 25) of old-school DJ-ing: Rotating
the turntables back a quarter turn to sync the
BPM, thumping the volume on the next song to
raise the roof on the floor. Both our boys are big-
ger Morrison and Doors fans than I’ll ever be, and
I go to their apartments/rooms to hear the best
Zeppelin…..wonder where they get it from?”Rick
remembers “dancing with
Maureen O’Grady Bi-
saccio
– thank you
Brian
--until I was drenched
with sweat to Yes’s ‘Roundabout’ on a bet it could
not be done because of the tempo changes. Still
my favorite dance song, Dan Folgelberg’s “Part of
the Plan”being #2 and Pousette Dart Band hits at
#3. Last call….”“Hey Jude, don’t make it bad. Take
a sad song and make it better…” Different time,
different life…..priceless memories.
If you have not joined the SLU Class of ’81 Face-
book group, do so immediately. There are some
great old shots there. I have added a few more. I
friended a bunch of you who could still be identi-
fied though a search of your SLU monikers. Some
of you are still incognito, but it was easy to find
Mark Lonnegren
(though most of his entries are
in Norwegian) and
John Voorhees
, but there are
too many
Jeff Constables
and
Chris Campbells
to track down the right one.
Stay in touch!
1982
Karen Helle Nemiah ’82
58 Oldfield Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
203-256-1171
Next Reunion: 35
th
, 2016 (cluster with ’80, ’81)
You’re probably all awash in your New Year’s
resolutions about now, but as I type, there are
leaves falling on my yard, and the annual “Who’s
Gonna Win: Me or Mother Nature?” battle is just
heating up. If I could click my heels and make it
winter, a nice dusting of snow, maybe a snow de-
lay (but school OF COURSE), these leaves would
be a distant memory. For now however, they are a
taunting reality. But enough about me. Let’s talk
about Buell Fest #3.
What’s Buell Fest? Frankly, I have no idea, but
from what I see on Facebook, it looks like a
whole lot o’ Laurentians having a mighty fine
time reliving life somewhere between summer
camp and campus.
In July, more than 70 people descended upon
Ron Buell
’s Lake Winnipesaukee-based camp in
Tuftonboro, N.H., including 35 St. Lawrence alum-
ni from ’72 to ’13. Boy, I hope they passed the hat
for SLU! The Classes of '80, '81, '82 and '83 were
most heavily represented. There’s a picture of the
gang on page 41.
The weekend saw performances by the Fly-
ing Wedge (including Scott Brown '72, Brad Van
Brunt '78, Peter Balderston '80, Ken Stahl '80, Rip
Westmoreland '80 and Josh Sacco '80), and
Lisa
Thorpe Brown
, with special guests Walter Roll
'81 and
Richard “Rackman” Ragold
providing a
memorable rendition of "Let it Rock.”
“Campers” hailed from far and wide; '82ers
showed true spirit with a strong contingent mak-
ing the long trek from California: the host,
Chuck
Gray, Alice Sherbow
and
Sarah Johnson. Ric
Miranda
escaped from Salt Lake City, and the
rarely-seen
Brad Clough
sneaked off the Uni-
versity of Montana campus just for the fun of
it.
Paul Bolmer
and Al '83 and
Sue Langham
Timpson
hopped over from Maine while
Peter
Cosgrove
,
Tod Costikyan
,
John Bailey
,
Kevin
Brooks
,
Greg Rodiger
,
John Suender
and
Chuck Schwer
arrived from hither and yon.
Saturday brought
Beth Nicholas Bemis, Paul
Stoughton, Phil Jackson
and
Bo Malpass
(Ron
reports,“I hadn't seen either Phil or Bo since grad-
uation!”). Others joining the campfire ring includ-
ed Bea Doering Shea '81, Anna Ozols Geoghegan
'84, LynnAnne Cook Hagar '84, Barb Kluge Hickox
'84, Rob Glass '13 and Sean O'Neil '13.
I’m sure there was much relaxing and getting to
bed early (before sunrise at least). No doubt rig-
orous exercise was de rigueur (water-skiing, golf-
ing, sunbathing, elbow-bending). And I’m certain
there was thoughtful communication between
attendees and families back home (oh wait—
darn that cell signal). In all, a vacation to recover
from. Now where do I sign?
Beth Butterworth Baker
knows a thing or
two about sunrise and exercise. And the rally
cry “Ready, row!!” Last year marked her fourth
season on the river as a master, but she’s had
rowing in her blood since high school (too bad
the Saints crew team wasn’t around in our day).
Beth has seen lots of early mornings (or perhaps
I should say BARELY seen; it’s pretty darn black
out when she reports for duty) at Central Con-
necticut Rowing on the Connecticut River. CCR
is a coed program, jointly run by Middletown
Park and Rec and Wesleyan College. In addition
to placing well last year, Beth’s squad got a silver
medal from the 2009 Head of the Connecticut
that receives occasional polishing. Her team also
raced at the Head of the Charles in October, in
the company of SLUers!
“Ready, kiss!” could have been the rallying cry
for Pat and
Maryann Ryer Kelly
’s son Ben’s
wedding in July. But it was probably more like
“Lobster!!”when Ben and his bride Corey tied the
knot in Kennebunkport, Maine. Since my invite
was lost in the mail, I ogled the gorgeous online
pictures and appreciated once again that I was
married before requirements of embellished de-
tails and wedding favors came into fashion (al-
though giving out jam--no doubt local blueber-
ry--labeled “Spread the Love” earned high marks
from this cynic).
St. Lawrence’s Family Weekend is always in fash-
ion, and
Kathy Gates Boissy
knows how to work
it. With her daughter Libby '16, she used the visit
to catch up with geology prof Jeffrey ’81 and
Val
LaGas Chiarenzelli
(very sneaky). She’s the li-
brarian at Millis High School in Massachusetts.
Last February, she leveraged an SLU hockey game
to catch up with Val and pals
Lori Bottorf Petrie
and
Mary Ellen Stocks
.
At press time, the city of Narobi, Kenya, was reel-
ing from a horrific mall shooting, leaving way too
many lives cut short. I am happy to report that
Susan Wakhungu Githuku
was fortunately not
In Buffalo, N.Y., on October 11-12, 2013, some
250 foreign language teachers from all across
New York State gathered at the 96th New
York State Association of Foreign Language
Teachers’ Annual Conference. Among them
were, clockwise from back left,
Ken Hughes
'98
(France Program 1997),
Jeff Brown ’87
(France program 1985-1986), Dana Emerita
Professor of Spanish Rita Goldberg and
Roberta (Robin) Eldred Brown '80
(France
program 1978-79).
at one of her favorite haunts that day. She now
calls Kenya home, after years in Columbus, Ohio,
London and Johannesburg. In 1986, she married
fellow sportsman Tony (rugby player, Kenyan
swimmer and brother of Anne Githuku-Shon-
gwe '87)), and they have two children: Shaun,
24, and Natalie, 20. Susan worked for develop-
ment organizations (USAID, CARE), then moved
into corporate life and a long, mutual love affair
with Coca-Cola. In 2009, she realized her dream
of creating jobs, having fun, making money
and doing good, and is now the proud founder
of two fun but fledgling enterprises: an orga-
nizational design company and a publishing
house with one book launched and another in
the works, plus
The Edition
, East Africa’s premier
contemporary career magazine, providing ideas
and insights on moving ahead in life and work.
Her love of tennis remains and she still dreams of
making Wimbledon an annual pilgrimage.
Susan writes, “I was at St. Lawrence in 2010 to
escort my sister Professor Judi Wakhungu '83,
who received an Alumni Citation. I wonderedwhy
she received an award when she was always the
naughty one and I was thepretender do-gooder...!
It was my first time back since graduation in May
1982; the flight from Albany to Ogdensburg was
déjà vu all over again. We were warmly hosted at
5 Jay Street by Lennie McKinnon '58 and missed
beloved late tennis coach Bernie Mckinnon '57.
The bookstore blew me away! I fondly remember
wintry walks in the snow...and the changing leaf
colors in the fall. Would love to re-establish con-
tact with a fewmore friends fromway back when.”
Judi, incidentally, was recently named to the Ke-
nyan equivalent of Secretary of the Interior; see
the story in the fall
St. Lawrence
.
Mark Wipper
’s new role as director of library
development at Case Western Reserve University
could directly affect me, as my Japanese major-
seeking high school senior has CWRU on her list!
(Note to Mark: no money here!) He writes, “The
University had another record-breaking fund-
raising year; I was very pleased to be a part of the
team. Remembering my time in the SLU library,
complete with the '70s striped carpet, purple
couches for naps and “tree houses” for study-
ing, who would have thought that I would have
ended up actually working in a library!” He also
serves as president of the Rotary Club of Cleve-
land, which hosted a dozen historic tall ships at
Cleveland’s lakefront over last summer’s Fourth
of July weekend. With 100,000 attendees, it was
deemed a hit!
“Megan, 20, is a junior at Ohio University major-
ing in speech and language pathology and look-
ing at graduate school (CWRU has a terrific grad-
uate program in her major and the price is right),”
Mark reports.“Matthew, 19, is playing his second
year of Junior A hockey in NorthernVirginia, with
the Potomac Patriots. Got to see fellow SAEers
John Voorhees '81 and
Karl Woelflein
a couple
of times over last season, watch some great
hockey, catch up and reminisce about our time
in Larryland.”
Mark said that this year Matthew is playing for
Pembroke, Ontario, in a Tier 1 Junior A league.
“Hopefully some college scouts will get interested
(Saints?) and he’ll end up playing in college next
year,” he commented. He and Jane are grandpar-
ents to Owen, 3, and Nora, 1.
Gerry Gould
sent word of a successful SLU rep-
resentation at the July 27 Buffalo Tough Mudder,
touted by the organizers as “probably the tough-
est event on the planet.”Teammate
Bob “Boog”
Cates
joined Gerry and his daughter Tammy
Gould '14 from his Monroe, Wis., home. (My fel-
low Class Reporter Ken Polk '91 also survived the
Mudder Madness.)“We had great fun completing
the 16-obstacle, 11.5-mile course in three hours
and were rewarded with the coveted Tough Mud-
der head band and a cold beer,” Gerry reported.
“Next year, we will be looking for more St. Law-
rence Tough Mudder teammates.” Consider your-
self warned, folks.
1983
Eric Kozlowski ’83
160 Fernboro Road
Rochester, NY 14618
(c) 585-230-7400
(h) 585-461-3784
Next Reunion: 30
th
, May 29-June 1, 2014 (cluster
with ’84, ’85)
Reunion is just four months away! If you have a
chance, make sure you join our Facebook page,
started by
David Streett
. It has 114 members,
and people are committing to coming to our
reunion. I am ready to start a hair restoration
system next month, I just subscribed to a health
magazine, and I put my cupcake tin of the month
on hold until June. Please mark your calendars,
update your Blackberries, IPhones, Androids, lap-
tops, Ipads, and use the label maker you couldn’t
sell at the garage sale for a paper file, “info about
reunion to scan!”
I begin my report with the sad news of the pass-
ing of
Paul W. Stevenson
. There was a memorial
notice in last summer’s issue, but I amhoping that
a classmate could send a nice story about his time
on campus and I will include in our next notes.
Tom Isaac
sent me a great update; he is teaching
chemistry and physical science at South Fayette
High School in a suburb of Pittsburgh. This job
is a culmination of many years in banking, time
spent as a firefighter/EMT, and being a stay-at-
home dad. He has four children who could not be
bribed to go to St. Lawrence! His wife, Angela, is a
professor and works for PNC.
I received an update about
Lars Tatlock
from
none other than his mother! Thanks to Ruth Tat-
lock for the update. Lars lives in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam, and is married to Vy Tran. They have
three wonderful children. He is the head of the
English department at an international school.
Before going to Vietnam, he taught English in Ja-
pan and Indonesia.
Thanks to
Scott Clark
and
Bob Phinney
for
leading the reunion planning. Let’s have a great
turnout. My son, Charlie, has already volunteered
to carry the parade sign!
1984
Julie Parker '84
31 East Reid Place
Verona, NJ 07044
973-857-2142
Next Reunion: 30
th
, May 29-June 1, 2014 (cluster
with ’83, ’85)
This is my first column as your class reporter, and
I want to begin by thanking
Laura Curley Pen-
dergast
for her dedicated effort in keeping us
informed over the years. I’ve always turned right
to her Class Notes when the magazine arrives. I
hope I can meet her standard! I am looking for-
ward to your news, especially as we approach our
2014 Milestone 30th Reunion, May 29 – June 1. It
is already on your calendar, right?
During last summer’s Reunion Weekend, several SAEers reminisced at their former lodge. Front
from left are
Warren Bird ’88 and Dave Thrun ’88,
while behind them from left are
John Butsch
’88, Will Wilson ’88, Terry Gardner ’88, Pete Jette ’88, Scott Sneath ’88, John Dixon ’88, John
Reynolds ’88, Simon Scott ’88, Brian Grady ’89
and
Bill Pribis ’88
. The members of the Class of
’88 were observing their 25th Reunion.
