30s
Edward Packard ’35 writes from Palm Harbor, Florida, “I have sixty years of practical experience in landscape architecture, site planning, and golf course architecture, which has resulted in broad working knowledge of the economical planning of land areas for human use.” His career includes working with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Resettlement Administration on Recreation Development Projects; the National Park Service; a landscape contractor in the Boston area; the U.S. War Department Corps of Engineers; and E.A. McIlhenny Landscape Co., makers of Tabasco sauce. He has designed numerous golf courses and has served as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. “I take great pride and pleasure in the courses I’ve designed and hope those who play enjoy the game.”
50s
Leo Gray ’50 is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., and in 1991 became founder and president of the Miami Chapter. He has six children, 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Bob MacLauchlin ’54 was inducted into the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado Hall of Fame in Denver on September 23. A professor of speech communication and director of television-radio instruction at Colorado State University from 1969 until 1997, Bob and his wife, Liz, live in Fort Collins. “I hope that all goes well there at UMass Amherst. Sadly, I have not been able to return to the campus since graduating in 1954.”
Rexford Baker ’57 and his wife, Janeen, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on January 7. Rex works as a consulting forester and Janeen teaches piano at the Pakachoag Community Music School in Auburn, and also at their home in Princeton. They have two children and one grandchild. To see a photo of the couple, visit umassmag.com/photos.
Hazel (Fuller) Kreinheder ’57 writes, “The class of ’57 will be holding its 50th reunion in June. We are trying to locate the following missing classmates: Edward “Smokey” Cooper, Ronald Gagnon, Joe Hughie Graham, Janice Littlefield Jacobs Dana, Arthur Mitchell, David Reynolds, John Costa Silva, and Joanna Velonides. If anyone has any information concerning any of these individuals, please contact the UMass Amherst alumni office at 800-456-UMASS or myself at hfkdc@aol.com.”
Mary Lou Bigelow ’59 of Bowes GMAC Real Estate in Arlington, received the national 2006 Distinguished Seniors Real Estate Specialist award from the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council at the National Association of Realtors convention in New Orleans last November.
Arthur Gordon ’59 writes from Hudson, “I’m into politics at age 68-years-young. I campaigned for Tim Murray for Lt. Governor and he won the primary. I voted for Deval Patrick for governor—picked two winners—feels like I won the trifecta at the race track.” Arthur would like to here from any classmates out there.
60s
Charles Curtis ’62, president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, has joined the board of directors for Edison International and Southern California Edison.
Michael Feldman ’62, ’69G, former chairperson and professor of education at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois, was recently granted the rank of Professor Emeritus.
Joseph LoBello ’63G has been named chairman and chief executive officer of Peoples Bank in Holyoke.
Warren “Bill” Weed ’63, a consulting utility forester with NSTAR Electric in Westwood, enjoys hunting, skiing, and observing nature. He serves as treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Stockbridge School Alumni Association.
Jim Wrynn ’64 of Lynn played Granpa Joad in a production of “Grapes of Wrath” at the Stoneham Theater in March.
Sandra Harzog Bierbrauer ’65, ’66G writes, “I’m happily semi-retired from Stockton College in Pomona, New Jersey, and now a Professor Emerita. I’d love to hear from botany classmates from 1964-71. Are you out there?” Sandra teaches botany, conducts ethnobotanical research on native Americans in New Jersey and Oaxaca, Mexico, and is a Cornell Extension Service Master Gardener. “My farm overlooking Lake Canandaigua in western New York is a far cry from my old home in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. I’m so happy to see hills, snow on occasion, and lots of hiking and kayaking.”
Robert Coburn ’66G retired from Franklin Pierce College after 37 years as professor of accounting and computer science. He also retired from a second career as administrator of Hillsborough County New Hampshire Sheriffs Office and relocated to The Villages, Florida.
Stephen Monsein’s ’66 law firm, Monsein & MacConnell in Amherst, has been merged with Bacon & Wilson in Springfield.
Patty McShane Williams ’66 has moved to East Sandwich on Cape Cod with her husband, Pete. Patty recently retired from teaching, and Pete works with their son, Tim, for Williams Building Company.
John Roark ’67, executive director of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Washington, D.C., received the rank of Meritorious Executive from President Bush in Pentagon ceremonies headed by Secretary of the Navy, Donald Winter. He is a previous recipient of this presidential rank award; in 1988 from President Reagan and in 2001 from President Bush. He has served with the department of the Navy since 1971 and was named to the senior executive service in 1981. He lives in Burke, Virginia, with his wife Susan (Curran) ’70.
Laraine Goodman ’69 writes, “I recently performed in UMass Amherst Professor Rolf Karlstrom’s biology class doing my performance art ‘Timing is Everything.’ I tap-dance and talk using slides and music explaining evolution and development of the zebra fish brain.” Laraine lives in New York City.
Kevin Riordan ’69 has joined AMERIGROUP, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as vice president, state government relations.
Tim Steeves ’69 retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the army reserve where he served as a Chaplain since 1976. He is now rector of Saint James Episcopal Church in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
70
Judith Gravel ’71G, director of the Center for Childhood Communication at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was recently appointed to the William Potsic Endowed Chair in Pediatric Otolaryngology and Childhood Communications there.
Jeffrey McCormick of Longmeadow has been appointed to a four-year term on the Board of Bar Overseers. He is a partner in the Springfield law firm of Robinson Donovan, P.C.
71
Bruce Penniman ’74G has retired from teaching high school English after 30 years. In addition to teaching at Amherst High School, he teaches in the English department at UMass Amherst and is the director of the National Writing Project’s local site on campus.
72
Betty Choyce Sheehan (G) writes, “I did some freelance work over the years while my husband, Joe, and I raised our two children, Renee and Patrick. Once the kids were gone, we concentrated on working on the genealogy of my Choyce family. We conducted research and corresponded with families in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, and Australia. Without fail, all roots were traced to Great Britain. Sadly, Joe did not live to see the final result, The Choice/Choyce Compendium, published in 2006. It contains 1,097 pages and weighs nearly nine pounds.” Visit bettychoyce.com for more details.
73
Dave Barry, has been named president of Shaw Stone & Webster Nuclear Services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Jeffrey Blaustein ’75G, professor and head of the Behavioral Neuroscience Division of the UMass Amherst Psychology Department, has been named editor-in-chief of Endocrinology beginning in 2008.
74
Susan Hathaway Cipperly ’76G, after a career working in government, is now working for Zeiders & Szajna, Inc., an engineering/municipal consulting firm in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. She writes, “My two sons have both graduated from college (sigh of relief) and are well on their way to supporting their mother in her old age. Any alums in the Chambersburg/Gettysburg area, let me know. I’m surrounded by PennStaters!” Reach her at scipperly@zeidersszajna.com.
Peter Heymanns, Holyoke district court chief probation officer, recently celebrated 30 years of service as an employee of the Massachusetts Probation Service.
Joe Laroche ’75G writes, “My wife, Pat, and I have recently retired and moved from Concord, Ohio, to Rogers, Arkansas. Since graduating from UMass I have worked in the metals industry and rose to director of sales for Alcan Primary Products, the second largest aluminum producer in the western world. We have renovated our dream house, and I plan to spend retirement being active with my hobbies: hunting, fishing, beekeeping, gardening, and travel.”
76
Leslie Murray and his wife, Jayne, started a chocolate business in Salisbury—New England Chocolate Company—and celebrated their second year of operation in January. Leslie is in his sixth year as principal of Amesbury High School. Find them online at newenglandchocolatecompany.com.
Vincent Olinski, executive director of the Greater Holyoke YMCA since 1986, was elected president of the board of directors of the Volleyball Hall of Fame. He writes, “The game of volleyball was invented at the Holyoke YMCA in 1895. Anyone interested in finding more information should visit volleyhall.org.”
Gail (Millette) Royal was honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology as an invited guest on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. She was there for the signing of a federal law that declares that all contact lenses be classified as a medical device and prohibits the sale of cosmetic contact lenses by anyone other than a licensed eye care professional. She writes, “The signing of the bill, S.172, culminated four years of advocacy work I initiated when first reporting a series of sight-threatening complications incurred by patients obtaining cosmetic contact lenses via non-licensed providers. The issue gained momentum throughout local, state, and federal levels and is a tremendous victory for public health and vision safety.” Gail practices ophthalmology in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Joe Shulman, a tax partner at the CPA firm Sharkansky & Co. in Brockton where he’s worked for 22 years, lives in Sharon with his wife, Sue. They have four children and one grandson. His daughter, Stacey, is married to Brett Kaufman ’95G and his son, Jason, is a UMass Amherst student in the Isenberg School of Management.
78
Lisa (Clarke) Gonzalez, who teaches ESOL in an elementary school, recently received her Ed.D. from the University of West Georgia. She writes, “The foci of my dissertation were the need for economic education particularly at the elementary level, and the lack of professional development for teachers to prepare them to address economics in their classrooms.” Lisa lives outside of Atlanta with her husband and two adult children.
Louise Merrick, administrator of London House Care Center in Sonoma, California, will serve as president of the Redwood Empire Chapter of the California Association of Health Facilities for one year. The Association is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1950 to serve as a statewide organization for long-term care providers.
Bonnie Ward, vice president of telecommunications at Liberty Mutual, was honored recently by Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu as an Angel in Adoption. Bonnie, a single mother, adopted two Chinese daughters and founded ChangDeKids, an online network that allows adoptive families to send donations and gifts back to the orphanges and the government agency in Hunan province that helped them with the adoption process.
Frank Wyatt is vice president of the Naval Weapon Systems product line at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.
79
Vickie Mays (G), a professor in the department of psychology and health services in the school of public health at UCLA was recently awarded one of the American Psychological Association’s highest awards, Distinguished Contributions for Research in Public Policy.
Peter Tilden has been named 2007 president for the New England Certified Commercial Investment Member chapter.
81
David Chou, senior staff applications consultant for Synopsys, Inc., in Marlborough, has been married for 21 wonderful years, and writes, “When not providing technical support for Synopsys’ analog and mixed-signal products, I like to avoid working on my old house and, instead, play paintball with my teenage son.”
82
Caesar Fiorini is a controller for Pantzer Properties in northern New Jersey. He recently bit the bachelorhood bullet and proposed at 46. He plans to marry in June and asks that you send your married life war stories, good or bad, to him at caesar.fiorini@gmail.com.
Carl Hallen completed the San Francisco Marathon in July. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
83
Tim Harney ’85G, who teaches painting and drawing at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, recently had one of his paintings included in the show, “Painting in Boston: 1950-2000,” at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln.
Michael Sperling (G) ’85G has been named provost/vice provost for Academic Affairs at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
84
T. Kim Cromwell (G), principal of Cromwell Consulting in Provincetown and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was honored recently by Denison University with an Alumni Citation for her contributions to her profession, communities, and alma mater. The ceremony took place at their Granville, Ohio, campus.
Margery Piercey has been made a Member of the firm of Wolf & Co. P.C. in Boston.
Andrew Prochniak is a project executive at Gilbaine, a construction and real estate development company, in Boston.
Michele Webber, aide to Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan since 2004, has been named his new chief of staff.
85
Victoria White ’94G, founder of the Northampton-based internet business, eclecTechs, announced that David Flaherty, owner of Ashton Services in Springfield, will begin managing eclecTechs.
86
Steve Cahillane ’86 lives in Hatfield and writes “I’m in the debt elimination business now so call me to find out more about paying off your 30 year mortgage in as little as eight to ten years. Also, anyone who remembers me from Gorman dorm or the famous Pig Roasts should e-mail me at
stevecal1964@yahoo.com.”
Kevin Lash was recently named chief marketing officer of FINEO Corporation, an Irish financial services software company with offices in Dublin, Ireland; Boston; and Melbourne, Australia.
William Meade of Melrose was confirmed as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
Katherine (Ladenburg) Michon, a partner at Shilepsky O’Connell Casey Hartley Michon Yelen LLP in Boston, has been named co-chair of the Diversity Committee of the Boston Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section.
87
Mark Bail ’88 has been married to Sharon Chace since 1989 and lives in Granby with their three daughters. Mark earned an M.Ed. in 1992 from UMass Amherst and teaches English in East Longmeadow. Since 2004 he began working on his doctorate in education at UMass Amherst with hopes of completing it by 2008. He would love to hear from anyone from his Chadbourne days and can be reached at markbail@comcast.net.
Jeffrey Hart, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves, successfully completed the Army Infantry School’s airborne course “jump school.”
Pamela Jacobs ’90G married Michael Simboli in a sunrise ceremony at their home in Grand View, on the shore of the Hudson River, in October. Pamela, a librarian in a middle school and at Palisades Public Library, recalls spending many happy hours reading at the Jones Library in Amherst. “I hope they still have the comfortable overstuffed wing chairs by the windows and haven’t modernized too much!”
88
Justin Boyce was named partner at Dechert LLP in Palo Alto, California, where he practices patent litigation.
Gail Carberry (G) ’92G, who had been vice president at Springfield Technical Community College since 1990, is the new president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester.
Shannon Daigle (G) was appointed project manager at the engineering, science, and operations firm Woodard & Curran in Providence, Rhode Island.
John Dugan has been appointed associate district administrator for enforcement in the Boston district office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He will oversee the SEC’s securities law enforcement program in the New England area. He received his law degree in 1993 from George Washington University Law School.
Ellen (Weber) Stenmon and her husband, Chris, welcomed new daughter Lauren, born July 7, to their home in Quincy. Ellen writes, “She’s already a big Red Sox fan like her mom and dad!” They would love to hear from old friends and can be reached at ellenweber_99@yahoo.com.
89
Mary (Hadad) Arata and her husband, Christopher, celebrated the birth of their second child, Meaghan Rose, born on December 28. She joins brother, Michael, at their home in Harvard. Mary is a real estate attorney with Cunningham, Machanic, Cetlin, Johnson, and Harney, in Natick. Christopher is an investigative analyst for the IRS in Methuen. To see a picture of Meaghan, visit umassmag.com/photos.
Bill Olohan and his wife, Michelle, live in Southlake, Texas, with their six children. Bill was recently promoted to senior vice president southwest sales for Lifetime Brands. He sends his best to the 4:00 Club and Greek friends.
Tom O’Rourke was promoted to senior communications director for enterprise services at Fidelity Investments in Boston. He lives in Newburyport with his wife and their two daughters. He can be reached at thomas.orourke@comcast.net.
John Waterman writes, “About two years ago, I learned to blow glass. About one year ago, I sold off my business. I’ve been driving around the country for over a year meeting glass blowers and checking out our national treasures: The Grand Canyon, Route 66, all the sports halls of fame.” He was in St. Louis when the Cardinals won the Series. “When I’m done, I’ll have hit every state in the Union.”
90
Daniel Barry, senior legal counsel at BISYS Hedge Fund Services, Inc., in Boston, has been named co-chair of the Corporate Counsel Committee of the Boston Bar Association’s Business Law Section. He lives in Holden.
Mary Ann Farren and her husband, Michael, live in Waterford, Ireland, with their two daughters, Roisin and Mary.
Sean Huban writes, “After two years and four international trips, I recently received my MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.”
Susan (MacArthur) Walsh, executive director of the Blue Hill Peninsula Chamber of Commerce in Maine, lives in Blue Hill with her husband, Sean, and their two children, Sydney, 4 and Grady, 2.
91
Ken Gainey and Charise Nigrelli live in South Glastonbury, Connecticut, with their four children; Bella, 2, Sammy, 6, Jake, 8, and Luke, 4. Charise writes, “Jake was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 7 and has undergone two brain surgeries and more than a year of chemo. We are inviting everyone to ride with and/or sponsor us May 20, 2007 in the Brain Tumors Society’s Ride for Research under TEAMJAKE. The funds raised will go directly to research that could literally save Jake’s life and those of thousands of other children afflicted with this devastating disease. We hope with your help we can make a difference.” Visit teamjake.org for more information and umassmag.com/photos for a picture of Jake and his siblings.
Jim Langlais was elected partner in the law firm of Alston & Bird, LLP, and has been selected to be included in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of Mass Tort Litigation. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Susan, and daughters Abigail and Alexandra.
Melanie Macklow Weaver has opened her own company, Ace Mortgage & Loan, in Milford. She encourages anyone in need of a mortgage or home loan to visit her Web site acemortgageandloan.com. She recently celebrated her 11th wedding anniversary with her husband,
Michael ’93.
92
Bryan Gluck has been promoted to vice president in Small Business Lending at TD Banknorth in Burlington.
Paul Koster is managing partner at the newly established law firm of Daley, Koster & Lavallee, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia.
John Samia, a corporate attorney at Hanify & King in Boston, has been appointed to a seat on the Shrewsbury School Committee.
Aaron Schachter is the Middle East correspondent for NPR and reports regularly on their program, “The World.”
Jill (Heyman) Starishevsky and her husband Ted write, “We are thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter, Rebecca Sophia, born in October. She joins big sister Allison, 2.” Jill is a prosecutor in New York specializing in sex crimes cases and child abuse and just launched a new business called Howsmynanny.com.
Dan Strollo of Billerica is the new president of In Control Advanced Driver Training based in Weymouth.
93
Elena Silva recently attended the wedding of classmate Gloria Nevarez when Nevarez married Buki Wilson in Lake Tahoe, California. Many UMass alumni were present including Brian Woodward ’91, Jen (Devlin) Conner ’93, Kim (Kristofik) Chambers ’93, Keyburn (McCusker) Grady ’91, Rob Grady ’91G and Jen (Valliancourt) Moezzi. Their East Coast celebration included Jen Baril ’93, Tracey (Sullivan) Andrade, Cass Anderson ’96, Adam Bor ’96, and Jessica Gould ’96. Gloria is an associate commissioner/SWA at the West Coast Conference in San Bruno, California.
94
Marc Randazza is an attorney with the firm of Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters in Orlando, Florida, and specializes in first amendment, entertainment, intellectual property, and Internet law. He makes frequent appearances on Fox News in defense of first-amendment-protected expression. In September, he completed the Walt Disney Olympic-length triathlon to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of his law school roommate.
David Silva and his wife, Margaretta, live in southern California with their three children: newborn Anthony, and big sisters Isabella and Anna. David earned a doctorate in biochemistry from Boston University School of Medicine and is currently involved in technology transfer.
Stephanie (Follick) Weitzman lives with husband Adam and their two children, Mark and Naomi, in Newton. She writes, “I still keep in touch with a few ’94 UMass graduates but would love to find the ones that I have lost touch with over the years.” Reach her at sfweitzman@comcast.net.
95
Heather Beattie has been appointed partner at Morrison Mahoney LLP in Springfield. She works in the firm’s health care practice group in the areas of general liability defense including medical malpractice, professional liability, and health law.
96
Kathleen Cowan married Adam Riendeau ’97 in July. Jason Powers ’97, Luke Brooks ’97, Michael Fitzpatrick ’97, Jenny (Place) Capizano ’97, and Caitlin Horgan ’96 were in the wedding party. Guests included Chad Lemieux ’98, Arthur Fryar ’97, Phil Walper ’95, Tim Rodrick ’97, Dave Greeley ’97, Kerri Drinkwater ’97, Jodi Smith ’97, Tracee (Abbott) Fitzpatrick ’97, Carlyn (Haley) Powers ’96, Allison Haley ’99, Jason Terlato ’98, Joe Tribbetts ’96, Dave Asermely ’95, Kevin Sexton ’97, Chris Capizano ’95, Matt Twarog ’98, Jesse (Rutherford) Twarog ’97, Craig Asack ’96, and Ali Dehestani ’97. Kathleen is a fourth-grade teacher in Boston; Adam is a computer engineer at MITRE Corporation. Visit umassmag.com/photos for a wedding picture.
Benjamin Rodriguez ’98G married Jennifer (Valentino) in September 2006 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Attending was UMass Amherst associate dean of students, Gladys Rodriguez ’83G, and Benjamin Rodriguez ’75G, retired director of the UMass Bilingual Collegiate Program. Best man was Brian O’Brien ’94, guests were Sam Medina ’93, Sylvia Torres-Medina ’93, Jose Medina ’93, Jennifer Medina ’93, Magali Medina ’88, Daniel Goodman ’88, Matthew O’Connor ’95, Luke Ostrowski ’95, Christian Theriault ’94, Gloria Ortiz ’76 ’81G, and Manuela Pacheco-Littlefield ’79. Benjamin and Jennifer live in Enfield, Connecticut.
Erica Walch ’06G opened a new business in downtown Springfield called Speak Easy Accent Modification. She writes, “I work with non-native English speakers to help them change their accents to be better understood. This program really helps people feel more confident and poised when speaking and cuts down on their frustration at being misunderstood.” For more information visit speakeasyenglish.com.
97
Mark Awdycki married Christine Sison in August in Norwood. Tracy Awdycki ’02, Joe Andrade, James McKenney, Ryan Nadeau ’99, and Derek Phinney were in the wedding party. John Awdycki ’64 and Ann (Bates) Awdycki ’71 are parents of the groom. Mark is a school counselor at Hingham High School; Christine directs the Teamwork Physical Therapy clinic in Stoughton.
Christopher Hines is a partner in the Boston-based certified public accounting and business consulting firm of Feeley & Driscoll.
Sheldon Smith (G) has been promoted from senior data analyst to senior applications developer at the consulting, engineering, and operations firm of Woodard & Curran in Portland, Maine.
98
Elana Mendelson lives in Chicago where she’s working on opening a pizzeria with a unique concept shaped by her experiences at Antonio’s in Amherst. She writes, “I’m looking for other alumni in the pizza business to connect with, along with anyone else who would like to help finance this soon-to-be-successful pizzeria.” Reach her at elana.mendelson@sbcglobal.net.
99
Wesley Dunham and Nicole Romeo became engaged in July 2006 and planned to marry on April 21, 2007 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Colleen (Dunham) Henschke ’94 and Jennifer (Mikus) Jyringi ’05 will be bridesmaids.
Lisa (Keppler) married Dan Hoffman ’97 in June 2002 with Eric ’98 and Erica (Holcomb) Spitz ’00, Elie Piemer ’97 and Michael Stuchins in attendance. Dan is a consultant with Richard L. Hoffman & Associates in Manhattan. Lisa writes, “I have left my position in marketing at Bed Bath & Beyond in Long Island to raise our daughter, Allison Brooke, born in February 2006.” Reach them at lisab_hoffman@gmail.com.
Kallan Girrbach Lock married Timothy Duken in August at Cranwell in Lenox. She writes, “I met Tim in Puffton Dorm in 1998. To honor the importance that UMass played in our relationship, all guest tables incorporated the names of UMass dorms, buildings, or local area attractions.” Alumni attending the ceremony included, in the wedding party, James Carhart, Bryan Caro ’98, Lovell Clevenger ’00, Christopher Durken ’03, and Johanna (Kingkade) Roy ’00, ’05G. Guests were Maureen (Holland) Brown ’01, Jennifer (Fishman) Hart ’99, Daniel Geist ’00, William Kingkade, Jr. ’98, John Putnam ’00, Sean Rickrode ’00, Geoff Rickrode ’99, and John Sirafos ’92. After spending three years in Nashville, Tennessee, where Tim completed his J.D. at Vanderbilt University, and Kallan began an M.Ed. program at Middle Tennessee State University, the couple moved back to Massachusetts. They live in Boston where Tim is a first-year attorney at Brown Rudnick, and Kallan is finishing her studies. “We’d love to be in touch with fellow alumni and can be reached at kallanandtim@comcast.net.”
Christina Query Shea and her husband, Christopher, recently welcomed Connor Shea to their home in Saco, Maine, on October 4. “He was born five weeks early and weighed only four pounds at birth but is a very healthy baby.”
Molly Vakulskas and her husband, Eric Joly, welcomed home twin sons, William and Jack, in September where they joined big sister, Alainna. Molly writes, “I continue to practice law with my father and my brother at Vakulskas Law Firm in Sioux City. Eric and I love to drive up to Amherst when we visit his family in Connecticut. We enjoy visiting the campus, especially the Newman Center, then we take in lunch at The Pub!”
00
Brad Gilbert married Jessica Ashapa in Falmouth. Brother of the groom, Robert ’04, was best man. Sister of the bride, Melissa (Ashapa) Miller ’88, sister of the groom, Kathleen (Gilbert) Sallila ’97, and Lauren (Bianchetto) Best were bridesmaids. Following a honeymoon to Hawaii, the couple settled in West Roxbury. Brad is a senior treasury analyst at Iron Mountain, Inc.
Jennifer White married Sean Corcoran ’99 in July in Port Jefferson, New York. After honeymooning in Hawaii they returned to their home in Brighton. Jennifer is a special education teacher for the Natick Public Schools; Sean is an account supervisor for Carat Fusion Marketing Agency in Boston. Visit umassmag.com/photos to see Jennifer, Sean, and lots of other UMass alumni attending the wedding.
02
Jason Cherry, assistant special teams coach and kicking coach at his alma mater, Butler High School, writes, “I miss all the times spent with my UMass football teammates and look forward to the ten year anniversary of the 1998 Division 1-AA National Championship team.” Jason has spent the past two years playing professional football in the Arena League for the Johnstown Riverhawks. “Even though I’m nine hours away I manage to meet some teammates at a UMass home football game once a year.”
Michael Coyne writes, “A few UMass grads have taken up residence across from the Brown football stadium in Providence, Rhode Island. Lance Conte ’03, Nick Slipp ’03 and I root on our alma mater Minutemen amidst the dull roar of the Brown Bears fans. Drop us a line if you’re going to be in the area, we welcome all former UMassers!” Reach Mike at umassmike@yahoo.com.
Bill Kim graduated with a master’s of divinity from Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, and is an active duty army chaplain with the rank of captain. He is serving in Iraq.
Zachary Slapsys graduated from CUNY Law School in May, passed the New York Bar exam in July, and is now practicing immigration law with a firm in New York City.
Lauren Way (G) is an assistant professor of business and director of the entrepreneurial program and cooperative education at Bay Path College in Longmeadow.
03
Marita Callahan of Woburn is an associate with the Salem law firm of Stern, Keilty & Wall. She earned her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.
Alexandra Puritz and Jason Vogt were married in November on Nantucket. Maid of honor was Jessica Puritz ’08, guests included: William Lyman ’68, Michael Kaplan ’02, Stephen Clark, Meghan Sullivan, Matthew Block ’03 ’04G, Lindsay Mercier ’03 ’04G, and Daniel Froburg ’07.
04
Allison (Berry) and Joshua Barbieri recently celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary. “We were members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Zeta Beta Tau, respectively, and moved back to the Boston area from Florida in August. We both plan to attend UMass Boston in the fall to pursue our master’s degrees.”
Griffin Gappert (G), a senior scientist with the Functional Polymers Technical Service division of Rohm and Haas Company in Spring House, Pennsylvania, was the recent recipient of the company’s annual Otto Haas Award for Technical Excellence.
05
Joseph Henrie of Leominster recently joined AspenCross Financial Group as a financial representative.
06
Nathan Rothstein writes, “I’m working for Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA.org), a relief association and volunteer corp. for the Tulane/Gravier neighborhood. Before the storm, this area was the poorest in the city. Since being down in New Orleans, I have been part of the learning process in rebuilding a city that was almost completely destroyed by hurricane Katrina.”
