Class Notes

NEWS OF 1968

NEWS OF 1967

From Kathie Broczkowski Klein:

A very sad occasion brought many of us together: a memorial service in Borhek Chapel honoring David Mucka, who died on his birthday, August 1, in the Bahamas. It had been only a year ago that Dave and I renewed a friendship that had gone back to elementary school days in South Bethlehem, where we attended Packer School in the third and fourth grades. When I contacted him for these class notes, he had become a widower; and for the past year, he helped me through a difficult time with the passing of my husband. We e-mailed often, despite his heavy work schedule. His death came as a real shock.

At the memorial service, Frank Matla and Bill Dry eulogized him as a loyal friend and great athlete. Bob Check ’73 said Dave had been best man at many of their weddings. Dave would say: “Tell me where and when, and I’ll be there!”

It was great to see Bob after 40 years since Moravian days. Bob left our class and joined the Marines in the ’60s, then returned to finish two degrees at the College. He earned an engineering degree from Penn State. He has two grown children and says he’s doing well despite losing his wife to cancer. He is retired and spends time gardening and enjoying his home in Bethlehem Township.

In October, Moravian held its third annual Celebration Ball to raise money for Comenius Scholarships. I served on the decorating committee, setting the stage for an evening of great food and dancing. Old Johnston Hall looked wonderful, and seeing many friends at the affair made for a fun evening. It was wonderful to renew an old friendship with Steve Zarnas ’68, his lovely wife, Sylvia, and his beautiful family, all of whom attended or attend Moravian. Steve is on the board of trustees at the College, and Sylvia, along with Pat Nemesh Schoenen ’70, was a co-chair of the ball.

Terry Beidelman ’69, as reported in our last column, had moved back to Bethlehem and taken a job in Northampton County’s Government Center. He had been pictured in the local paper and TV news as having his hands full with bid documents and controversy with one of our illustrious local politicians. Couldn’t help but print this as a “Good luck, Terry!” from those local alums who feel for you!

NEWS OF 1966

From the Alumni House:

Judith Share Yaphe, an expert on Iraq since her College honors project, now a professor at the National Defense University, joined an intercollegiate panel about the Middle East sponsored by the Lehigh University and Moravian Home Clubs of their Alumni Associations. The well-attended event was held at Lehigh in November.

Afterward, C. Robert Adams ’67, who attended the event with his wife, Jacqueline, came up to re-introduce himself to Judith. Retired after 36 years of teaching learning-disabled students at all levels in the Caldwell, N.J., schools, Bob lives in Bethlehem. He had seen Judith’s name on a flier for the event and thought: “That rings a bell.”

“It felt good to see a Moravian alum reach that level,” he said.

Harry E. Weaver Jr., husband of Maryann Weaver, died December 15. Maryann was the longtime administrative assistant for the Department of Economics and Business. She retired in 2002. Harry and Maryann would have celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this month. Their children are Mark ’93, Allentown; Brian ’95, Northampton; and Audrey Weaver Sparks ’98, Downingtown.

NEWS OF 1965

Reunion May 20-21

From William Horwath:

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the North Pole, flagged “Karl Monetti ’65.” We were all wondering what happened to you, Karl. No one’s heard from you except Phil Evans, who last saw you some years ago during Bike Week in Fairbanks, Alaska.

So here’s the story. After Moravian, Karl picked up his veterinary medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania, kicked around a bit in the wild West, and wound up in Alaska, where he opened a clinic in 1971 (still operating), raised a family, canoed, hiked, biked, fished, hunted, and flew everywhere that was flyable in his own plane.

Karl says: “Feel free to share my e-mail address with any of our classmates who might be coming up here for a visit. I’d be happy to help with travel suggestions.” Here ’tis, then: npvhkhm@mosquitonet.com.

Who knows, mates, maybe we could pull off a Moravian first: a class reunion on the Kenai when the Kings are running.

NEWS OF 1964

NEWS OF 1963

NEWS OF 1962

NEWS OF 1961

From Sam Maczko:

John Woltjen ’59 and Barbara Roberts Woltjen have relocated to Williamsburg, Va., where they are having a home built. They expected to move in by mid-October. They’re enjoying retirement and spending time visiting their daughters, Karen and Debbie, and grandchildren in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. They’ve also purchased a condo on Smith Mountain Lake, Va. Barbara is a volunteer at Colonial Williamsburg. The Woltjens toured Scandinavia last summer.

Tom Christianson spent the fall working for the Democratic Party in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. His wife, Donna, stayed in Mexico and cared for their animals and house and continued to volunteer at a little barrio grade school. Tom stayed with friends and worked at least 12 hours a day seven days a week in Delaware County.

Barry Gaal is retiring from Lehigh University, where he is associate vice president for business services. Barry will be primed for consulting work in retirement. He also will be working on his golf game, as he carries Joe Castellano, Ken Sepe, and me when we play. Barry plans to spend more time at his vacation home in the Poconos.

Joe, Barry, Ken, and I participated in the fourth annual Gus Rampone ’59 Scholarship Golf Tournament. It was good to see Jim Kritis, Fritz Toner ’58, Bill Werpehowski ’51, and Jim Frank ’62. Winning is becoming an annual event for them. They had the lowest score again. Other participants from our years were Mike Payonk and Tony Matz, both ’59. Dr. John Gehman also is an active golfer at age 82. Business majors can remember his strict approach to teaching the core material of his subjects.

The Omicron Gamma Omega fraternity provided breakfast for the returning brothers on Homecoming morning. Joe Castellano, Ken Sepe, and I took advantage of this offer and enjoyed meeting the active brothers. After breakfast we helped park cars at Steel Field. Then we joined the festivities. Paul Noonan ’60 related that his wife, Anita Filler Noonan, has retired from teaching and is thriving. Paul still hikes the Appalachian Trail in his leisure time.

Robert Dietrich ’63 is adjusting to retired life. Bob was a scout for the Moravian football team for years. Now he enjoys watching the Hounds play.

John Bregman is well and working in his business. In January, he will travel to Florida and mix business with pleasure for a few months.

NEWS OF 1960

Reunion May 20-21

From Peter French,

It’s time to remind everyone to start making plans for our 45th reunion in May. I hope you’re planning to be in Bethlehem for that gathering.

I had a note from Bill Hershey, who lives in Orlando. He is retired from Hartford Insurance after 28 years, and Kathy has retired from a quarter of a century of teaching to help a 5-year-old grandson work through every book in the Orlando library. Bill continues to jog every day and claims “hacker” golf status, playing a couple of times a week—but you have to watch out for those old hackers. Bill and Kathy have a daughter and two grandchildren in North Carolina and a son who is a physical education teacher in Orlando. Sadly, an older son passed away in 2003. Bill and Kathy are looking forward to traveling once the 5-year-old starts school next fall. I hope they can visit here in Sarasota.

I also had a nice e-mail from Fran LeTowt Von Bonin-Schlemmer in Germany. She enjoys gardening and the arts and spending time with her family. She was planning a trip to Japan with her grandson at the time she wrote. She visits the United States each year, spending time in Bethlehem and South Carolina. She says she’s hoping to be at our 45th reunion.

Woody Snyder ’80 and his sailboat “crew,” Lu Han, with their first-place sailing award in Pella, Iowa.