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Class
Notes
NEWS OF 1983
From Lori Vargo Heffner ’82:
Beth Heller Kortze lives in Virginia and works in the pet industry. Her
children are grown, and the oldest is off to college in the fall. Time flies—I remember
dancing at her wedding!
From the Alumni House:
Sean Diviny was awarded an ABC/Disney Studios Fellowship in television
writing.
Bruce Eden joined the Trust Company of the Lehigh Valley as vice president.
(After his B.A. in economics from Moravian, he received an M.B.A. in finance from Wilkes
University.) Bruce has been an adjunct instructor in economics at Penn State and an instructor
of economics at Lehigh Carbon Community College.
John Steyln lost almost everything in Hurricane Isabel. A storm surge
ruined most of his home and all his belongings. He currently resides with his wife and
four young children in a rental home in Seaford, Va. Anyone who would like to send him
a note can get his temporary address from the Alumni Office.
NEWS OF 1982
From Lori Vargo Heffner:
Greetings, Class of ’82,
from Bethlehem! It’s a beautiful summer day, and the Lehigh Valley is full of fun
events: Eagles training camp and Musikfest, just to name a few. We’ve had a restful
summer and are enjoying our new home and the surprises our garden brings.
My family was recently entertained by Russ Bennett, who has a dream home
in Point Pleasant, N.J. We had a great day on the beach and dinner afterward. He is still
with Continental Airlines and enjoys traveling abroad. We have not heard from some friends
in recent years, so I decided to do a quick shout in the column: “Hey, we miss you!
Let us know how you are!” Some folks mentioned were Tim Silsbee,
who was living in Michigan and working for Kellogg, Barry Yoder, Marie
Yanulus, Sarah Miller, Rich Lempke, and other
former program board buddies.
From the Alumni House:
Vanessa Schukis received the Gold Award and People’s Choice Award
in the 2002 Vera Scammon International Vocal Competition. Last fall, she performed in the
Boston premiere of The New Normal: A Spiritual Tribute to 9/11. Vanessa continues
to perform in theater, opera, and concert engagements in the United States and Austria.
NEWS OF 1981
From Craig “Kegger” Bartlett:
In March, Stephanie
Delana Akers and Lisa Calabrese Dogden ’83 hosted a
Moravian dinner party in Florham Park, N.J., with Joe Kubrak ’82, Michael
Castles, Margan Sztuk Mulvaney ’82, Walt Wehof,
and Kegger Bartlett and their wives, husbands, and kids on the guest
list. Steph and Lisa live 200 yards from each other. Their sons are in the same class.
In June, Michael Castles and Joe Kubrak played in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Mike’s
hometown of Carlisle. (They’ve continued their Moravian basketball career!) After
the tournament, Chris Smith III and I joined the families for dinner.
Michael’s family had several mini-reunions, including one with Harry Beisswenger,
his wife, Kari, and their kids, and Harry’s parents, Harry and Elva.
Frank ’79 and Melissa Ludwig Rauscher ’80
have two children, a 7-year-old daughter, Griffin, and 2-year-old son, Frank IV. Frank
has reconnected with Ken Pohlidal ’79, and they fish together most
every weekend. Frank is running the cancer center at Penn’s hospital, and Melissa
is still with Macy’s, overseeing 26 or so stores.
Mike visited with Hugh Richards, his wife, Eileen, and three kids: Paul,
15, Emily, 13, and Matt, 12. Hugh and Eileen have been married since 1986. Hugh was a successful
computer salesman in the early ’80s and started his own business, Haverford Systems,
in the late ’80s, selling, installing, and servicing audiovisual systems in corporate
boardrooms and classrooms.
On August 15, the second annual Noel J. Foster Golf Tournament was held at Fox Chase Country
Club in New Jersey. The players included: Ed Ford ’80, Chris
Oehrle ’83, Stanley Rugis ’82, Jeffrey Gumina, Dave
Wood, Mike Roosa ’80, Greg Burchette ’83, Gary
McLean ’83, Dave Dunn ’80, Mark Kluk ’82, Jim
Bartow ’83, Doug Geiger ’82, and David B.
Shelley.
NEWS OF 1980
From Molly Donaldson Brown:
Michelle Tillander took
a break from her busy schedule to give us an update. Last year, she resigned from her
job as visual arts chair of the Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia and
headed back to the classroom: to Penn State to work on her Ph.D. in art education, which
she hopes to finish in 2½ more years.
Last spring, she had an assistantship in the education department of Penn State’s
Palmer Museum of Art. She taught workshops for the museum this summer during the Pennsylvania
Festival of the Arts. This fall, as part of her assistantship, she’s coordinator
for the Zoller Gallery, which shows the work of students and faculty. She oversees installation
and coordination of the exhibits, with a team of work-study students to assist her.
Michelle’s residence is still Virginia, and she still lives with Dana, her partner
of 12 years. She adds that it’s been helpful to have unlimited minutes, free nights,
and weekends on her cell phone!
Michelle was back at Moravian last spring, working on the Moravian Women Artists Exhibit.
Over the summer, she had artwork on display in two juried shows: the National Digital Exhibit
in Prescott, Ariz., and Hampton Bay Days Exhibit in Hampton, Va.
As you may have heard, Eric Rhodin died February 16 at the age of 87. Dr. Rhodin founded
the journalism department at Moravian, which is what brought me to campus in the fall of
1976. He retired the year after we graduated. Those who were fellow journalism majors with
me or anyone who ever took a class with Dr. Rhodin must have appreciated his wit and intelligence.
His son, Tony Rhodin ’79, is assistant managing editor at the Express-Times
in Easton. I was in touch with Tony last winter and asked him to share some thoughts about
his father.
Dr. Rhodin’s classes always included stories of his own very interesting and unusual
life, moving us to share our stories with the same enthusiasm. Tony said legends surrounded
his father because he was always telling these stories—“and he had a lifetime
of them to entertain and inform inspiring journalists as they passed through his classes.”
Tony said his father showed up for every game he played and encouraged him to write. “You
can only do two things, as I see it,” he told Tony. “Work for a newspaper or
sell used cars. And you’re not very good at selling things.”
I’d heard another of the stories Tony shared: “Legend has it that Pop, on his
first date with my mother—the woman who would be his wife for 43 years—asked
her to pay off his bookie. She should have known better. But Pop was rakishly good-looking,
so she turned over the cash and married him four months later.”
Tony remembers that his father’s passions were more intense than most. “He
was a great writer, a fine teacher, an inspired thinker, and a guy who was almost always
right about things—a truly irritating trait.”
Dr. Rhodin’s grandson, Nicholas, the son of Tony and his ex-wife Rose Mayer
Sell, graduated in May from Bucknell University with a degree in biochemistry.
He plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health.
Jon Otis ’79, Rose, and several Moravian professors were there March
22 at Lafayette College’s Colton Chapel to hear Dr. George Diamond’s sendoff
to Dr. Rhodin. Mike Dowd ’68, one of Eric’s journalism students,
officiated at the service.
From the Alumni House:
John “Woody” Snyder, faculty advisor of the Iowa State Sailing
Club, and his crew won the 2003 FJUS Sailing Class National Championships. The races were
held on Lake Erie in May.
NEWS OF 1979
Reunion May 21-22, 2004
From the Alumni House:
On May 20, Mary Jo Johnson received the 14th annual Athena Award, honoring
outstanding businesswomen, from the Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce. Last year, Mary
Jo began her own business, M J Johnson Consulting, which specializes in human resources,
marketing, public, and community relations.
After being an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., since 1998, Jon
Otis has been awarded a tenure-track associate professorship in the interior design
department. He also received a faculty development fund grant to research and develop a
new curriculum for a master’s program in exhibition design, to be the first of its
kind in the United States. Jon also maintains his multidisciplinary design studio, Object
Inc., in New York City. |
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