NEWS OF 1961

From Sam Maczko:

Paul Graf and his wife, Jane ’62, live in a blufftop home overlooking Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The Grafs have two daughters and three grandchildren. The last two are 16-month-old twin boys. Before retiring in September 2002, Paul was a pastor of the Moravian Church Northern Province. Pastoring in Sturgeon Bay has been exciting and rewarding, he says. The area has grown, and Paul was chairman of the board of directors of his district camp, Mount Morris, overseeing a $2 million expansion.

He also served on the board of a local food pantry and clothing store, a project of the ecumenical community of churches. Paul continues in retirement as a bishop of the Moravian Unity, serving as a consultant to Moravian churches and as a pastor to their clergy and families. He describes his career as fulfilling and humbling, while bringing a great sense of accomplishment.

I caught up with Paul while he and Jane were vacationing in Florida after a church meeting in Winston-Salem, N.C. In Florida, they visited Burke Johnson, who started college with us, graduated from Guilford College, then came back to the Seminary (M.D.V. ’67). The Grafs enjoy traveling and plan on doing more of it now that they are retired. Paul also enjoys boating, fishing, reading, gardening, writing, hiking, and a little home maintenance.

John Bregman, Ken Sepe, Joe Castellano, and I see each other regularly. Most recently, we watched the Super Bowl at John’s new home. Ken, Joe, and I played in the 11th annual Rocco Calvo Invitational Alumni Golf Tournament in November and almost froze to death. Later that evening, we attended the third annual Alumni Awards Ceremony. Roy Goshorn ’58 received the Comenius Award for his productive and rewarding career in the news media.

Joe is involved with the recolonization of the Omicron Gamma Omega fraternity on campus.

NEWS OF 1960

The Class of ’60 needs to be in closer touch, and I volunteered to seek out their stories. Joe Iampietro and his wife, Marylou, have lived in Alexandria, Va., for 40 years. After three decades as a teacher and administrator, Joe is retired but continues to work as a test administrator for the Department of Defense. He wants to see a large group come back for our 45th reunion in two years.

David Schattschneider retired in May 2002 from his position as dean and vice president of Moravian Theological Seminary, and Doris, his wife, retired last May after 33 years in the mathematics department of the College. They plan to stay in Bethlehem, continue various academic pursuits, and travel. They are proud of daughter Laura’s Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA.

In Washington D.C., Nancy Baker Traubitz retired from a long career as an English professor and now serves as director of outreach programs for the Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies at the University of Maryland. Nancy and Henry’s son graduated from Lehigh University and their daughter from Gettysburg College. Two grandchildren complete the picture.

As for me, I retired in 1999 as president of Newberry College in South Carolina, then stumbled into this great job on the shores of Sarasota Bay. I am associate vice president and dean of academic affairs as well as professor of African studies at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota campus. My good friend Tony Falco ’57 has joined me as an adjunct professor of marketing, and we play golf as often as we can. Grace and I celebrated our 36th anniversary in December. Our son Matt is a business analyst for Comcast in Fort Myers and our daughter Kate works for the state Department of Revenue in Tallahassee.

From the Alumni House:

Lt. Col. Bernard Nehring was awarded a Golden Jubilee Medal recognizing him as an outstanding citizen of Niagara, Ontario, Canada. He had organized special ceremonies there to commemorate General Sir Isaac Brock, who led British and Canadian military forces in the War of 1812.

NEWS OF 1959

Vespers 2002 was the occasion of a fine reunion of Moravian College alumni. Pat and Monk Morelli, Roy Goshorn ’58, and I reminisced about college days.

Holiday greetings from Pat Conover Diener contained news of her participation in Crop Walk, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and Habitat for Humanity during the past months. Our talented classmate Mary Lesin Mackenzie Ayala shared holiday news of her children and grandchildren, an enthusiastic group of surfers. “See the miracles” is Mary’s wish to you all.

NEWS OF 1958

From the Alumni House:

David Thaeler Jr. and several generations of his family have kept the Moravian Church tradition of a Christmas putz (indoor Nativity display) alive. Theirs has been open to the public since 1974. In 1990, it was moved to their church and has been made more beautiful with help from their fellow parishioners.

Fritz Toner was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Hall of Fame in February 2003.

Robert G. Smerko retired April 30 from the presidency of the Chlorine Institute, an international trade association. He had been president since 1986.

NEWS OF 1957

From Pearl Stein:

I received a letter from Elaine Thomasch Nolfa after our 45th reunion. Elaine was pleased to see Marian Wagner ’54, who had been an R.A. She heard from Regina Kelly Stephenson, whose two sons are in the military. She also sent a notice of the death of Hinda Hausman’s brother-in-law, Nathan Silverberg, of Bethlehem.

Shirley Kunsman Bilheimer misses her husband, Harold, who died this year. Graduates of Bethlehem High School remember Harold, who was an English teacher there before becoming an administrator. Shirley retired from public school administration but is teaching an education course at a local college.

My oldest sister, Gladys, and her husband, Joseph Mayer ’50, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary February 1, and their five children hosted a celebration in March. The Mayers have three grandchildren; the youngest, a boy, was born in January to their son Fred and his wife, Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, author of the guidebook Insulin Pump Therapy Demystified.

Cornelia Schlotter has become a New Jersey master gardener and was honored for her volunteer work. She diagnoses plant illnesses at nurseries in Camden and Burlington counties, using skills fine-tuned through years of medical laboratory analysis at Temple University Hospital.

From Helen Desh Woodbridge ’54:

At the 2002 Moravian College Vespers, Cornelia Schlotter, Karen Johnson Berry, Pearl Stein, and Bev Bell ’56 had a reunion of their own.

From the Alumni House:

We extend our sympathy to Roland Passaro on the death of his wife, Suzanne Evans Passaro ’55.

NEWS OF 1956