DeathsAlumni Esther (Krager) Fisher Marjorie (Dillingham) Washburn Class of 1942 George E. Swanson Jr. Maxine (Willis) Garman Class of 1951 Janice (Goranson) Fellows Class of 1952 Rose Marie (Emerson) Jennings Class of 1957 R. Larry Peterson Class of 1961 William M. Lederer Class of 1965 Ernestine “Pam” Banikowski Classes of 1966, 1971 Darlene (Gorski) Orlowski Class of 1980 Eileen Crowley Class of 1984 Faculty/Staff Genevieve Panek Stafford |
1947
Walter Reitz, ’47, (music ed.) was profiled in an article in the Buffalo News in March. A retired music educator, he has been director of the Amherst (N.Y.) Male Glee Club for 59 years.
1949
Sheila (Baldensperger) (elem. ed.) and Art Cheney, ’49, (music ed.) will celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary in August. They were married at the beginning of their junior year at what as then known as
1962
Frederick Renz, ’62, (music ed.) directed the Early Music
1965
Sandra Bernhoft, ’65, (elem. ed.) of
1966
David Cronk, ’66, (English/speech and drama) retired in 2004 as CEO of Cronk Insurance of Erie, Pa., and in 1990 as a lieutenant colonel and intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. He is married with two sons and four grandchildren.
1969
Truuke Ameigh, ’69, (music ed.) of
1971
Elenora J. Seib, ’71, (music ed.) performed in the “Spring Forward With Opera” program in April in Lewiston, N.Y. Fellow alum Ann Kennedy, ’75, (applied music) described her as absolutely magnificent,” and also that current Fredonia student Geordie Alexander performed beautifully.
1972
Hugh Duckwall, ’72, (elem. ed.) was a teacher/coach for Little Valley (N.Y.) Central Schools from 1972 until 2000, and then until his retirement in 2005 a teacher/coach at Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central Schools. Since 1988 he has coached at the Jim Kelly Football Camp and in 2005 and 2006 was a Game Day Guest Services Ambassador for Buffalo Bills Customer Service. As of April, Hugh has been a Buffalo Bills Customer Service representative.
1973
Thomas Lascell, ’73, (sociology) from
Dr. Michael Marletta, ’73, (chem., biology) was master of ceremonies at the Friday night dinner of the Alumni Leadership Conference held June 1 and 2 on campus, which focused on alumni from the natural sciences.
Dr. Diane Pennica, ’73, (biology) was named a 2007 inductee to the Fredonia High School Alumni Hall of Fame.
1974
Rick Urbanczyk, ’74, (elem. ed.) was promoted to executive director of Health and Physical Education for the Richardson (Texas) Independent School District, responsible for the health and physical education curriculum for the district serving 35,000 students. He has been an elementary physical educator for the past 26 years.
1975
David M. Berkey, ’75, (econ.) of
Louis DiPalma, ’75, (history) was re-appointed to the board of directors of AAA Western and
1977
Carol (Newell)
1978
Charles Pegan, ’78, (school admin./super.) was named interim acting superintendent of
1979
Mike Bobseine, ’79, (pol. sci.) of
Professor Emeritus Philip Kumler reports that Dr. Mike Richmond, ’79, (chem.) visited the department in April with Carol (Newell), ’77, (chem.) and presented a “cutting-edge” seminar, “Diphosphine Isomerization and Bond-Activation Sequences in the Triosmium Cluster Os3(CO)10(bpcd).” He is a professor of organic/organometallic chemistry at the
1981
Dr. Susan Schall, ’81, (coop. enginner., math.) related her positive experiences at SUNY Fredonia as a featured speaker during the Alumni Leadership Conference held June 1 and 2 on campus. She gave credit to the physics and mathematics faculty for the encouragement they gave her as a female engineering student in what was at that time, a male-dominated field.
1982
Jean Blackmore, ’82, ’89, (account., human res. mgmt.) of
Professor Emeritus Philip Kumler reported that Dr. John Farver, ’82, (chem., geology, geochem.) of Holland, Ohio, visited the department and offered the seminar, “Using Microchemistry of Otoliths for Fisheries Management: An Application of Geochemistry to Ecology.” Dr. Farmer is an associate professor of geology at
Kathy (Muller) Snow, ’82, (music ed.) received her Master of Arts degree in Music Education from Teachers College of Columbia University in
1983
Alan J. Durfee, ’83, (commun.) was named vice president at Five Star Bank’s corporate headquarters in Warsaw, N.Y. Employed at the bank since 2004, he served as data processing manager and later as technology services manager prior to his promotion.
Don Lamoreaux, ’83, (English) is a screenwriter living in
Catherine (Sedota) Pratt, ’83, (elem. ed./early child. ed.) of Fredonia, N.Y., ran the Boston Marathon in April, finishing with a time of 3:52 and bettering her 2005 run by almost 20 minutes. The time qualified her to run the marathon in 2008.
Steven Snow, ’83, (mus. theatre) see 1982.
Gregory Swiech, ’83, (chem.) is a senior product compliance specialist for Benjamin Moore & Co. of
1984
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Joe Granata, ’84, (geology) has completed three tours of duty in Iraq and until this month is stationed at Camp Pendleton in California as a supply officer and commanding officer of a maintenance battalion. His future plans include attending college for Strategic Planning Studies.
Cathy (Lilley) Huffman, ’84, (elem. ed./coop. spec. ed.) is living with her two children and working in
Scott Martelle, ’84, (pol. sci.) of Irvine, Calif., will travel to Denver, Colo. for readings/signings of his first book, Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West (Rutgers University Press) on Aug. 23 at the Tattered Cover bookstore, and will take part in Denver’s Mercury Café reading/discussion with two poets about Ludlow. In October, he is slated to travel to
David Shaffer, ’84, (account.) is director of commercial finance for Coopervision in
1985
Bill Boria, ’85, ’91, (geology, geophysics) was named to the New York State Department of Health’s “The Public Health Works! Honor Roll” for his work to secure grant funding and completing projects to improve drinking water supplies in
Kelley Briggs, ’85, (art/graphic design) reports her company, Hudson Fusion, LLC, an integrated marketing firm, has become a certified Women Business Enterprise through the Empire State Development Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development.
Diane (Gibbons) Deveney, ’85, (elem. ed./early child. ed.) has a daughter, Bridget, and a son, Timothy, and lives in
Simone Fancher-Rowan, ’85, (sociology) has worked for the Girl Scouts of Buffalo & Erie County for the past three years, and is program coordinator and summer camp director at Camp Sky High in Orchard Park, N.Y. Friends can reach her through e-mail at srowan@bflogirlscouts.org or fishtyee@aol.com. She lives in
Wendi (Jones) Lamphear, ’85, (econ.) lives in
1986
Lisa Brigantino, ’86, ’88, (music theory, music theory/composition) received her fourth consecutive honorable mention in the Billboard World Song Contest for her song, “Don’t Say it All.” She also recently scored music for the film, “Taken,” written and directed by Jennifer Williams, ’87, (commun.) which has been accepted into the Seattle Truly Independent Film Festival, as well as the Austin Woman’s Film, Music and Literary Festival. Lisa tours internationally with Lez Zepplin, an all-girl, all-Led Zepplin tribute band, playing bass, keyboards and mandolin. The band’s debut CD, recorded at Electric Lady Studios in
Lori Brigantino, ’87, (special studies) see 1986.
Heidi (Werner) Fairhead, ’87, (bus. admin.) is a pastry chef for the Balsams Grand Resort in the great North Woods of New Hampshire, where her husband, Brett, ’88, (bus. admin./account.) is controller. They have a 13-year-old son, Austin, and a 15-year-old daughter, Chelsea, and live in
Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, ’87, ’93, (English) received promotion to full professor at Duke University, where he teaches black popular culture and gender and sexuality in the African and African American Studies Department. He also serves as director of the Institute for Critical U.S. Studies at Duke. In the spring he participated in a national tour of scholars, journalists and artists called, “Rap Sessions: Does Hip-Hop Hate Women?” which traveled to 10 locations including Vanderbilt University, the University of California at Los Angeles and Berkeley, and the University of Chicago, and was broadcast on CSPAN in May.
Jennifer Williams, ’87, (commun.) see 1986.
1988
Kelly (
Dr. Dean Mancuso, ’88, (sound rec. technology) has been manager of Aural Rehabilitation at
1989
Tricia Campbell, ’89, (bus. admin.) is a principal editor for the tort and insurance topical publications at Thomson/West Legal Publishing, and lives in Fairport, N.Y.
Dr. Kevin E. Courtright, ’89, (pol. sci.) an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, served as principal investigator of a recently finished two-year study that measured the perception of economic impact of, and community satisfaction with, state correctional facilities located within rural communities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was recently named the 2007 Researcher of the Year at Edinboro during its spring convocation in April.
Kim S. Destro, CPA, ’89, (account.) was appointed vice president and chief financial officer at Waterford Village Bank in
1990
Betty Deland, ’90, (account.) was named a member of the Westfield Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. She has been business executive for
Pamela (Kirschenheiter) Gottheld, ’90, (commun.) is the young adult librarian at the Manlius (N.Y.) Library. She is married and has two sons.
Dr. Michael Symans, ’90, (coop. engineer., physics) received the Outstanding Research Team Award given by the
1991
Catherine Burkhart, ’91, (theatre) has been a client relations manager at ABC-Amega in
David Giambrone, ’91, (school admin./super.) was elected in May to a five-year term on the Fredonia Central School Board of Education.
Dr. Chris Leslie, ’91, (English) successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the
1992
Keith Nelson, ’92, (bus. admin.) recently accepted a position as an account executive with Corporate Technology Solutions, a Tempe, Ariz.-based company. He and his wife, Ann, live with their daughters,
Kevin O’Keefe, ’92 (bus. admin., psych.) earned his A.A.S. in Nursing from St. Joseph’s College of Nursing in Syracuse, N.Y. in December 2006 and is a Registered Nurse. He began working on the oncology floor at
1993
Dennis Jeremias, ’93, (comp. sci.) lives in
Heather (Sheppard) Mullins, ’93, (English) see note under “Births.”
Michael Rech, ’93, (biology) relocated to Rochester, N.Y., and accepted a new job as vice president of the Unity Living Center, an entity of the Unity Health System. Friends can reach him via e-mail at mrech4@excite.com. See note under “Marriages.”
Ryan Smock, ’93, (social studies/sec. ed.) was recently named the head boys basketball coach at Harbor Creek (
C. Patrick Swick, ’93, (elem. ed.) has taught at Northwestern Middle School for the past 10 years, and has been an assistant basketball coach at Penn State Behrend for the past five years. He and his wife, Lisa, live in
1994
Greg Brunelle, ’94, (history) was appointed deputy director for Preparedness for the New York State Emergency Management Office. He had previously been serving as the director of Fire and Emergency Management for Jefferson (N.Y.) County, and in 2002 completed his master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Greg, his wife, Erika, and their 2-year-old son, have relocated to
Chris Loss, ’94, (commun.) lives in
Jenny (Privitera) Medley, ’94, (biology) has been working since 1994 as a medical technologist and just graduated from
Kristen (Summe) Stoltman, ’94, ’96, (elem. ed., reading) see note under “Births.”
Monica (Brown) White, ’94, (sociology) see note under “Births.”
1995
Christopher Keffer, ’95, (English) is an academic counselor and coordinator of transfer and adult services at
Priscilla F. White, ’95, (bus. admin.) was named assistant vice president and compliance officer at Waterford Village Bank in
1996
Amy (Thurber) Fraboni, ’96, (elem. ed.) teaches third grade at West Greene Elementary school in Snow Hill, N.C., and was recently selected as the school’s Teacher of the Year, adding, “I am very proud of this honor and owe most of this to my educational training through Fredonia and the Fredonia-Hamburg program. Students in that program do not know how lucky they are to have such a valuable learning experience available to them.”
Lee Giardini, CPA, ’96, (account.) of Allegany, N.Y., was promoted to manager of the Tax Department at the Olean office of certified public accounting firm Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, P.C. Lee specializes in tax engagements, particularly the preparation of corporate, partnership, individual, limited liability company, and fiduciary tax returns, including multi-state returns.
Rebecca Graf, ’96, (English) is an attorney at Harter, Secrest & Emery LLP of Rochester, N.Y. See note under “Births.”
Kristi (Grabow) Kosanovich, ’96, ’98, ’03, (speech and hear. hand., speech path.) is a sole proprietor who contracts with a charter school in a suburb of
Holly (Czerwinski) Powell, ’96, (bus. admin.) works as a staffing manager at SUNY Brockport. She lives in Brockport with her husband, Dave, and daughter.
Jeff Tydings, ’96, (bus. admin.) see note under “Births.” He and his wife, Lisa, also have two daughters, Taylor and McKenna.
Gregory Wollaston, ’96, (theatre) and David M. Culver, ’02, (speech and hear. hand.) have formed The Buster Brown Bean Company LLC and purchased Signature Café On Campus, Inc., which has five locations on the SUNY Fredonia campus.
1997
Andrew P. Alesso, ’97, (music therapy) is a clinical therapist at Harborcreek Youth Services in
Marla (DiSarno) Elder, ’97, (bus. admin.) of Chandler, Ariz., works as a risk manager for World Super Services in Phoenix, Ariz., handling all insurance claims and safety. See note under “Marriages.”
Dr. Jason Gestwicki, ’97, (chem., rec. gene technology) was one of the featured speakers at the recent Fredonia Alumni Leadership Conference which focused on graduates from the natural sciences. He spoke of his undergraduate experiences in meeting alumni who inspired him to pursue his goals.
Stacy Kraus, ’97, (pol. sci.) of
After completing his cooperative engineering program at the State University at Buffalo, Christine (Cramer) Merkel, ’97, 2000, (music ed.) is a high school vocal music teacher at Gates Chili High School, and lives in Irondequoit, N.Y., with her husband, Keith. See note under “Marriages.”
Capt. Nathan Merkel, ’97, (coop. eng., physics) spent four years living in
Sarah (Smith) Shafer, ’97, ’98. (speech and hear. hand., speech path.) and her husband, Patrick, live in
1998
Chris Dunfey, ’98, (bus. admin./mktg.) see note under “Births.”
Kara (Wittman) Hines, ’98, (elem. ed.) see note under “Births.”
Dr. Paul Gestwicki, ’98, (comp. sci.) was keynote speaker at SUNY Fredonia’s annual Student Research and Creativity Exposition on campus in April. Dr. Gestwicki is a professor of computer science at
1999
Cindy Aronson, ’99, (commun.) of
Kimberlie (Fergen) Ball, ’99, (commun.) of
Kenneith Burton, ’99, (commun.) is a patient services representative for Sisters of Charity Hospital in
Dr. Jacqueline R. Klein, ’99, (psych.) earned a M.S. in Counseling and Development from C.W. Post Long Island University in 2002, and just completed her Ph.D. in Counselor Education with a concentration in Student Development in Postsecondary Education at the University of Iowa. She is a college administrator at
Scott Sassone, ’99, (commun.) formerly of
2000
Jason Butterfield, 2000, (bus. admin.) of
Bradley (art/graphic design) and Leslie (Mellay) Lewthwaite, 2000, (pol. sci.) see note under “Births.”
2001
Adam Parker, ’01, (econ.) was named head men’s soccer coach at North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, N.Y. He is former assistant academy director for the Palm Beach Pumas in
Laurie Whitermore, ’01, (psych.) of Jamestown, N.Y., was named in 2006 to a three year term on the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) board of directors.
2002
Lezlie Brown, ’02, (account.) obtained her CPA license in September 2005 and works for Gray CPA in
Patrick Brown, ’02, (commun.) planned to complete his master’s degree in May at Central Michigan University in Broadcast and Cinematic Arts, with research focused around interactive narrative. He also served as president of the university’s chapter of the National Broadcasting Society, which garnered several awards at the organization’s national convention, and on April 13, Patrick received the chapter’s Outstanding Service Award.
David M. Culver, ’02, (speech and hear. hand.) see 1996.
2003
Jason Foster, ’03, (English) of
Michelle Ingram, ’03, (music bus.) earned her M.B.A. in Marketing from the New York Institute of Technology.
Dacia Patrick-Burton, ’03, (commun.) of
Matthew Rode, ’03, (account.) completed work at SUNY Cortland, including student teaching last fall, in pursuit of an M.S.T. in Health Education degree.
2004
David Tubbs Jr., ’04, (bus. admin./finance) of
2005
Matthew Ehrman, ’05, (bus. admin./mgmt.) was promoted to
Brian Filjones, ’05, (sociology) see note under “Marriages.”
Jessica (Gill) Filjones, ’05, (social work) has earned her L.M.S.W. degree. See note under “Marriages.”