1976
Lisa Mansback Berk
Lman405@msn.com
June Rhoda
June.rhoda@yahoo.com
Posted 5/29/19
Linda Mosher was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Clarence Town Heritage, a local Historic Preservation activist group.
Posted 1/30/19
Susie Hyer has earned signature member status in the American Impressionist Society. She received the signature membership designation for both the Oil Painters of America and the AIS in 2018. Susie was also selected for the Virtuosos of the OPA Exhibit in St. Augustine, Florida to be held in March 2019. This exhibit is the best of the best of the OPA members.
Posted 10/5/18
David Smith has announced that he is running for Sparta Town Council. David has lived in Sparta for over forty-five years and has enjoyed giving back to the community as a volunteer. He was also an active member of the Ambulance Service for 30 years.
Posted 8/28/18
Susie Hyer won Best Nocturne painting at this year's Plein Air Competition in Port Angeles, Washington.
Posted 5/24/17
We are sad to report that F. Wayne Ferratti passed away on May 4, 2017.
Posted 2/19/16
A reminder that the class of 1976 will be celebrating their 40th reunion on Saturday, October 15, as part of the Homecoming festivities.
Posted 10/27/14
Tim Ressler writes: Hello to my fellow classmates and friends in both ’77 and ’78. It has been so long since I heard from some of you; we were all such good friends back then. Yes the years take their toll as we all go our separate ways. It would be nice to re-connect. Since graduating I have lived in Pa., N.C., and WA and now retired and living in Texas. I worked in pharmaceutical research culminating as VP regulatory affairs for two drug companies. I retired in 2013. I have two children; one was married in September in Hellertown! Sure would like to hear from some of my classmates.
Posted 5/30/14
Craig Smith, a veteran communicator with more than three decades of experience at the highest levels of the golf industry, has been named the new director of communications and media relations for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
F. Robert Huth, Jr. writes that he and his wife Barbara Colbourne Huth ’77 are living in DeLand, Florida. We relocated here in July of 2011 when I changed jobs from EVP of Middlebury College in Vt. to become VP for Business and CFO of Stetson University. DeLand is on the east coast of Florida approximately 40 miles north of Orlando and 20 miles west of Daytona. We love the weather.
I was able to attend President Grigsby’s inauguration in April. He is a fine choice and will help move Moravian forward.
Odell Guyton ’77 and Karen Boyer Guyton ’78 moved this past year to the Tampa area on the west coast of Florida and Barbara and I have been able to get together with them several times.
Our four daughters: Tina, Lissa, Kara, and, Nora live in Rutland, Vt., Frederick, Md., Guilford, Conn., and DeLand, Fla., respectively. Our older three are married and have given us a total of seven grandchildren to date.
Best wishes to the Class of ’76.
Posted 5-2-14
We are sad to report that Stanley A. Gawlik passed away on January 22, 2014.
Hello friends from the class of 76. After many years of wondering where you all are, June Rhoda and Lisa Mansback Berk have decided to take over our communications in the alumni news. IF you didn’t get a note from us personally, it is because we don’t have your email address. PLEASE send it to us and write something that you’ve done for the past years. We so much want all to be in touch as time marches on, 38 years past graduation. We did hear from many friends; here are some of the stories they shared:
Irene Silverio Kane - After completing a Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh Irene moved to Northern Virginia where she worked in the counseling department of a Health Maintenance Organization and later as co-director of an outpatient mental health center in Washington DC. In 1980 Irene married Mike (a fellow Philadelphian). They currently live in Vienna, VA where Irene is a School Social Worker for Fairfax County Public Schools. Irene and Mike have four children. Alexa, (33) is a Reading Recovery teacher with a Master’s Degree in teaching from UVA, they have two boys, Theodore and Nathan. Jackie (30) is a special education teacher with a Master’s Degree in teaching from UVA. She married in May 2013, and they are expecting their first child in September. Michael (27) earned his Master’s in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University while working at the National Institutes of Health. He works now for a private firm specializing in video conferencing technology for health care and education. Sean (24) is a Second Lieutenant in the USA Marine Corps and is training as an aviator in Pensacola, Florida. All of the three eldest children and their families live close by to Mike and Irene and are a source of joy for Mike and Irene.
Sue Trummel LaRose - moved out to Missoula, MT, 5 years ago. The outdoor lifestyle really appeals to me; in fact I’m going snowshoeing this afternoon! I work remotely as a marketing consultant for a photographer & underwater videographer in Philadelphia and will continue as an estate gardener for one family this summer. My son Willie lives and works in LA and I try to get there to visit when I can.
Amy Greiner Hawley - I’ve been attending career counseling events for Moravian College students for the past 10+ years. I’ve been reviewing their resumes, conducting mock interviews to prepare students for job interviews, and discussing the job market in the Lehigh Valley region. As a commercial-industrial broker in the Allentown area, I’ve been able to place students in internships and careers with local employers that have been my clients. There have been some dinner programs at the college where students interact with alumni who are employed with local companies. I have kept in touch with some of the students who have graduated and are pursuing their professional life. The reconnection with some of the alumni has been a nice aspect of these activities as well. I’d be glad to keep in touch with you to let you know about upcoming college events. I encourage my fellow classmates to become involved with the students and their career pursuits.
Betsy Stahl Worthen - For myself I have 9 months until that big number becomes a part of my life, so I am in denial. Our big celebration year was 2013 since my husband, Ken, and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and our daughter's graduation from Princeton University. I was fortunate enough to take advantage of an early retirement package from the Neshaminy School District after working for them as a School Social Worker and Director of Student Assistance Services. I use my retirement to do some volunteer work, audit a class at Princeton, read, cook and keep in touch with friends. While my daughter was in college she was a varsity athlete so it was nice to have the availability to travel to her meets. My husband is a track coach so I try to support his teams as much as I can. “
(Ruth) Kirby Child Megill - Married to Jack Megill ’75 for 34 years. We live in Mount Holly, NJ where I'm a dentist and Jack works for Bristol-Myers Squibb in Hopewell, NJ as a research scientist. We have three children, our two daughters are married and we have one beautiful 14 month old grandson and two wonderful step grandchildren. I belong to a ladies "birthday" club and we go somewhere special every year for those milestone birthdays. This year it’s my turn to choose since it’s my big "6-0", so we're off to Charleston, SC in May for a 4 day getaway. Our family also vacations every summer in OBX and has been for 20 years or so. Last September our younger daughter had her destination wedding in Duck.
Betty-Jean Herrmann Wrase - I continue to work at the School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University as a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Director of Field Education. I still enjoy working but do sometimes think about retirement. I have two wonderful grandchildren and enjoy them so much. They live very close so I get to see them often.
Susie Hyer - I am 60 in Aug and to celebrate I am going on a hut trip to paint with Dave Santillanes in June and some other crazy painters, to a 10th mountain division hut that you hike to, similar to the one we snow shoed to in Jan at 11,000 ft. to paint in the freezing cold. On top of being 60, Jeff and I are celebrating our official 25th anniversary, 30 years together. So we are having a 25-30-60 trip to Belize for a couple weeks to celebrate all that stuff.
I was published in an amazing coffee table book called "Art of the National Parks: Historic Connections, Contemporary Interpretations" and am honored to be included with some of this country's top landscape painters, some people would say this is a real accomplishment. I am also published in Southwest Art Magazine again, April 2014.
Rob Stevens - I live in Allentown and work in corporate communications at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Been at it for 27 years; before that I was tech writer with Air Products and a freelance journalist. I'm married (Donna) with a 27 year old son (Dan) and a 19 year old daughter (Abby). And two rescued pups, Bella and Bono. I’ve stayed in the Lehigh Valley since graduating except for 3 years in Africa with the Peace Corps and USAID. I am also teaching at Muhlenberg College, swimming laps, riding my bike or listening to music.
June Rhoda - Living back in Philly burbs, Huntingdon Valley, after 20 years in White Mountains of New Hampshire where I enjoyed skiing, hiking, horseback riding, raising a son and a daughter, and working at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center as a nurse practitioner in oncology. I continue to work full time but am creating more time to travel and paint, following Susiehyer to the Rocky Mountains, Sedona, and to Montana for a visit with Sue Trummel LaRose where my granddaughter was born. Also fortunate to make my way to West Africa, Mali when my daughter was in the Peace Corp and Sierra Leone for volunteer work.
A group, including Scott Burke, Rich Zeigler, Lisa,Mansback Berk, Irene Silverio Kane, Chris Moore, Susiehyer, George Bork, and Kemper Morse enjoyed a nostalgic party at Gary Boyajian and his wife’s home in Saddle River, NJ where we all went down memory lane, inspired by Gary’s classic collection of MoMo group shots which span our years together at Moravian.
Carol Mitrani – married to Jim Santoro – live in Seattle, WA. shared exciting news of the sale of her retail bookstore– reported in the New York Times in April!
Carol Santoro, owner of Santoro’s Books in the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood area of Seattle, Wash., is selling the store to Tom Nissley, an author, former Amazon books editor and eight-time champion on Jeopardy! The sale is effective in early May, and Nissley plans to close the store and reopen it under the name Phinney Books in early June. Santoro is keeping the Santoro's Books name for her wholesale business providing books for schools and libraries.
"I couldn't have hoped for a better buyer or a better outcome for the bookstore," Santoro said in an announcement about the sale. "After nine years owning Santoro's Books and 29 years in the bookselling business, it's time for me to make a change. I feel completely confident that Tom will take the bookstore in an interesting new direction. He's extremely knowledgeable and well-connected in the bookselling world--it's a perfect fit. My customers are ecstatic that this will live on as Phinney Books."
Linda Mosher - I’ve been very involved with Historic Preservation in Clarence, NY. I am a grandma since 2012 to a wonderful grandson. For 3 years I have been Moving Day Events coordinator for the National Parkinson Foundation WNY Chapter. We raised over $60,000 with over 400 walkers and 90 volunteers. Since graduation, I have had two careers, real estate where I owned my own brokerage business and then working in banking and financial services field. Life is full of twists and turns, but I look back on the time I spent at Moravian with great fondness. I am grateful for all I learned from the professors and classmates. I only wish there are more alumni in Western NY.
Lisa Mansback Berk - I live in Binghamton, NY for the past 35 years, and continue to follow the passion that I found in college, working in the outdoor/ski business. We have two wonderful children seeking their way in this complicated world we live in. This year we celebrated 30 years of marriage and spent our anniversary travelling in Iceland.
Celia Zucker Craig - Lives in Rockaway, NJ and has a consulting firm that provides expert witness services to attorneys in technical and engineering litigation. For her 60th birthday she became a happy grandmother.
Stephen Kowitz - Lives in Easton, PA and has been married for 34 years to Debbie. They have two children. Currently, Steve is embarking on new employment and career counseling.
Finally, we heard shout outs from:
Diane Cleasby Cook, Tom Englert, Joe Bender, Amy Mende
Please keep the news coming! Thanks!
June Rhoda – june.rhoda@yahoo.com
Lisa Mansback Berk – lman405@msn.com
Posted 2/11/14
We are sad to report that Stanley A. Gawlik passed away on January 22, 2014.
Posted 2/29/12
From the Alumni House:
Jeff Epstein has been creating all kinds of art since he was young. He teaches at Suffolk County Community College on Long island. He currently resides in Brooklyn and during college breaks, in his second home in mid-coast Maine, where he spent 18 summers painting. Epstein earned a MFA degree from Brooklyn College, and his work has been seen in galleries and museums in this area including the Trenton City Museum, Rider University, the Newark Museum and the Noyes Museum of Art. He has exhibited in the National Academy of Design in New York, U.S.S. R. Artists Union Gallery in Moscow, and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. He is represented by Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland, Maine, where he had a solo exhibition in 2010. An exhibit of 21 of his paintings is now on display in the Gallery at Chapin.
Posted 1/31/12
From the Alumni House:
Cheryl Gilbert Sommer has retired from the Whitehall Coplay School District, in Whitehall, PA after teaching for 35 years.
Posted 6/8/11
From the Alumni House:
Gary Boyjian is planning a mini reunion at the Boyjian estate on June 25. Contact him at performdent@aol.com if you are available.
Posted 4/4/11
From the Alumni House:
F. Robert Huth, Jr. has been named vice president for business and chief financial officer at Stetson University. He will join Stetson in July, succeeding George H. Herbst, who is retiring.
Posted 2/28/11
From the Alumni House:
Susan Hyer, a.k.a. Susiehyer, had her artwork featured in Southwest Art Magazine’s February 2011 issue. The article can be viewed at http://www.southwestart.com/featured/susiehyer-the-big-picture
Posted 1/26/11
From the Alumni House:
Susan Hyer, known as Susiehyer, is a plein-air painter living in Evergreen, Colorado. When she moved to Colorado, she took a 15-year hiatus from painting in order to raise her two children. But now she is painting again and enjoying the various landscapes that Colorado has to offer. She has an art studio, but she mainly goes outdoors to paint.
Amy L. Hawley writes:“I attended the Moravian Home Club event on Nov. 17th. We all met at the Hotel Bethlehem and then went holiday shopping at many of the downtown boutiques with our discount vouchers. Afterwards, I had dinner with Denise Torma ’77, my former badminton team partner and coach Dawn Ketterman. Bette Kovach ’75 and other alumni were there too. Fun catching up with everyone. On January 14, 2011, I am scheduled to particpate in the Backpack to Briefcase event at Moravian to assist graduating seniors with their upcoming job interview skills. This is part of an ongoing alumni effort to keep students connected with the local business community. I urge my fellow alumni to attend the Annual Entrepreneur Speaker Series event that we host in mid-September. Additional details will follow.”
Posted 10/6/10
From the Alumni House:
We are sad to announce that Col. Carl D. Strohl, USAF passed away on Thursday, September 23, 2010
Posted 3/4/10
From the Alumni House:
R.Timothy Smith writes “After being one of the millions of unemployed through 2009, I received offers for and worked two different jobs this past month. For two weeks I was a temporary administrative clerk with the 2010 Census. Then, effective 1/21/2010, I began a new job at Pennsylvania State University. I am serving as the curriculum coordinator for a two-year project funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Our goal is to develop curriculum modules for K-12 students in the area of environmental toxicology. Fortunately, the project involves a number of toxicology research scientists to keep the content accurate, especially since my degree from Moravian was in mathematics and physics. What I hope to bring to the project is my years of experience with science teaching and learning, providing professional development for teachers, and science curriculum development and evaluation. The broad focus of the project is to help students better understand how concerns for environmental issues can be informed by the work of research scientists. Related to this, the project intends to offer a limited number of summer internships for high school students to work with research scientists here at PSU. As to my non-work hours, we live in Spring Township, just outside of Bellefonte, Pa. Deb is an assistant professor in science education at PSU. My folks are both still living in Bethlehem, in the house they bought when I was in second grade, so we try to get there to visit when time permits.”
Posted 12/1/09
From the Alumni House:
Pete Raines writes that his wife Ann and he have had the pleasure of having two of their children enrolled at Moravian. Evan, the younger of the two, is a sophomore considering at chemistry major and Gillian is a senior about to graduate with a biology major and a photography minor.
Posted 4/20/09
There are no notes at this time.