Alumni News & Notes
1960
Greetings, Yellow Jackets! Our 57th-year reunion luncheon June 14 was a wonderful event. Your class councilors, Doris Hische Brossy and Joan Cali Pecore, were especially grateful to Loida Vera Cruz of the Alumni Association for helping bring the event to fruition. Those in attendance from our class were: Ann Foley Baldwin; Doris Hische Brossy; Jean Graziano Deyo; Ann Fleming Eppelman; Mary Matey Garrett; Joanne Basista Gascoyne; Richard Gascoyne; Kathy Pino Hand; Mary Ellen Johnson; Inese Klavins-Klavitis; Teresa Kerwin Lehr; Joan Cali Pecore; Sue Nagle Roser; Robert Williams; Olga Eckardt Winsor; and Sue Updike Younger. Guests and alumni from other classes included: Eric Brossy de Dios; Hank Boehning ’59; Jeannette Leggieri Boehning ’62; Vic Pecore; Rene Roser; Shelley Dixon Williams ’97, ’10; John Deyo; and George Younger.
In class news, Nancy McGowan Clinton and husband Pete live in a senior community in Glen Mills, Pa., and enjoy an active lifestyle. They vacationed with family in Avalon, N.J., in June. Art Hackett lives in Virginia and enjoys social events, Life Time Learning lectures, and amateur-radio contesting. He recently contributed some Kappa Beta formal weekend memorabilia to the University Archives. Mary Matey Garrett has lived in Rotterdam, N.Y., for 25 years. She cares for and enjoys walking her dog, Lily. Mary Ellen Johnson enjoyed a trip to the Brandywine River Valley. She is active in her local historical society. She and Mary Matey Garrett often visit Nancy Marie Ryan, who lives in the assisted-living facility Atria Slingerlands near Albany. Teresa Kerwin Lehr’s eighth book, Black Velvet Band, will be published this fall. The fictive historical novel was inspired by letters written by a student nurse during World War I, early Prohibition, the first vote allowed to women in New York State, and the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. Sue Updike Younger reconnected with her high-school sweetheart and married last October. They enjoy gardening and working on their Revolutionary-era farmhouse.
Class notes councilors: Doris Hische Brossy, [email protected]; Joan Cali Pecore, [email protected]
1962
Dieter Hoffman lives in Kirchheim, Germany. Romantic suspense novelist Alice Harron Orr has authored dozens of books. Learn more at www.aliceorrbooks.com. Ron Coslick says hello to classmates. Robert Sweeney of Flagler Beach, Fla., enjoys European travel, is active in his church, does volunteer work, and visits his grandkids. Elena Rabin Halady spends seven months of each year in Florida. She recently traveled to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Buzz Earl Welker lives in New York’s Finger Lakesregion, volunteers at a hospital several times per week, and bikes along the Erie Canal. Gene Altman visited Helen Arcuri Stoloff and Sheril McCormack in Pompano Beach, Fla.
Class notes councilor: Sheril McCormack, [email protected]
1964
Norman Seidelman and wife Rita Brensilver ’65 relocated to a retirement community in Mechanicsburg, Penn. They have traveled to 54 countries. After serving more than 41 years as a computer programmer for Department of Defense agencies, Norm retired in 2006. Your class councilors are already looking forward to our 55th-year reunion in 2019. Our most recent class information update was in 2014. Please let us know if you have recently updated your contact information, and if you have any news to share.
Class notes councilors: Alan Minarcik, [email protected]; Bill Robelee, [email protected]
1965
Roselle (Warshaw) Mironer’s husband Merril was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013. Roselle is happy to share that they are both still living active and happy lives. She is still teaching Spanish full time and loves it, as it serves as respite from challenges at home. Merril has a wonderful care partner, in addition to Roselle. “If you have to have this disease, one of the best places to live with it is New York City. There are so many wonderful services and activities that permit people to live at home and still be social and stimulated around town.” Roselle and Merril are selling their country home. Elissa Gold Laster is living life to the fullest! Her passions are scuba diving and making divine jewelry. She and her husband traveled to Cozumel to dive the Palancar Reefs in May. Rita Brensilver Seidelman retired after serving more than 10 years as assistant manager for the Village of Long Reach in Columbia, Md. She and husband Norman Seidelman ’64 have visited 54 countries. After living 44-plus years in Columbia, Md., they relocated to a retirement community in Mechanicsburg, Penn.
Class notes councilor: Judy Madnick, [email protected]
1967
Green Gremlins, walk down memory lane, renew old friendships and reminisce about your college days this fall! We want you to help celebrate the 50th-year anniversary of our graduation. Bring fellow ’67 classmates and share fond memories of the good old days. Revisit Albany and your old haunts during Homecoming weekend, Oct. 20-22. Enjoy the fall foliage and see how much the campus has grown. Let’s make this reunion the biggest ever! Chi Sigma Theta sister Ruth Silverman Bald will be traveling from France to attend the Class of ’67 50th Reunion. “I’m really excited about seeing all of my ’67 Chi Sig sisters and all who attend the 50th Reunion. If I can make it from the ‘burbs of France, you should be able to also!”
Rosina Schneider Mulligan; Sandra Rudy Interdonato; Victoria Fox Friedman; Bonnie Tomaszewski Kisiel; and Mary Santay Shevis “have been friends for over 50 years, thanks to the University at Albany.” They met as incoming freshmen and became fast friends. The group went their separate ways after graduation, but vowed to get together at least once a year. They’ve kept the annual tradition after all these years, and look forward to reuniting with classmates at the Class of 1967 50th-year reunion Oct. 20-22!
A note from class councilor, Canon Kay C. Hotaling:
In just one month, members of our class will fly, train, drive, and walk to our beloved Alma Mater, eager to reconnect with each other. UAlbany is rolling out the green carpet to welcome us back home to campus.
Our 50th Reunion promises to be more than a party. The ever faithful and dedicated Reunion Planning Committee of Stephanie DeSimone Bollam, Ann Holcomb Fairbank, and Carol Marohn Zahurak has been hard at work placing finishing touches on a wide variety of spectacular events. Their overall goal is to make the three days of our 50th richly memorable and great fun.
There will be plenty of time to enjoy the company of old friends and acquaintances, meet some classmates you did not know before, and re-discover the matchless experience of UAlbany. The most meaningful part of our class reunion will be the people in the room. It won’t be the same without you. Please come.
In the words of Margaret Barber: ”To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.” So let’s embrace past times and create new fond memories. Our 50th Reunion is the only one we’ll ever have! Please join us.
I look forward with keen anticipation to seeing you back home on campus in October for our glorious and joyful 50th.
Class notes councilor: Canon Kay C. Hotaling, [email protected]
1968
Ray Starman published a New York Times “Metropolitan Diary” entry about meeting Eleanor Roosevelt his senior year at the Roosevelt School. Search “Meeting Eleanor Roosevelt” at www.nytimes.com.
1971
Jan Blumenstalk McDonald of New Rochelle, N.Y., retired after serving 46 years as senior executive director for Data and Accountability in the New York City Department of Education’s Office of the Deputy Chancellor. Psi Gamma Sorority alumna Deborah Barnhart Paulson retired in 2016. She and her husband of 40 years live in Florida.
1974
Jeff Passe assumed his new role as dean of the College of Education and Integrated Studies at Cal Poly Pomona.
1975
Arty Finkelberg of Ridgeland, Miss., was recently named to Financial Times’ 2017 “Top 400 Financial Advisors.” He was also named to the Barron’s “Top 1200 Financial Advisors for 2017.”
Cathy Ladman is a recurring character on Showtime’s new series, “I’m Dying Up Here,” which premiered in June. The series is a fictionalized account of the book by the same title, about the Los Angeles stand-up comedy scene in the early ’70s. In addition, Cathy documents her struggle with, journey and recovery from anorexia in her first solo show, “Does This Show Make Me Look Fat?” She started doing standup in New York in 1981.
1976
Robert Stack was named managing director, Deloitte Tax LLP. He previously served as deputy assistant secretary for International Tax Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
1977
Matthew Salanger will transition out of his role as president and chief executive officer, Universal Health Services, to become senior strategic adviser in January 2018. He joined UHS in 1985.
1979
Susan Strawgate Code received the 2017 Sheila W. Petersen Award at the annual Friends of Karen Gala for championing the organization’s mission to help families of children with critical illnesses. She has volunteered at the Friends of Karen children’s charity for 25 years. Susan is a real-estate broker with Houlihan Lawrence in Westchester, N.Y. Davis Malm attorney Paul Feldman was ranked in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.