Class Notes

1969

Paul Erickson was named Grand Marshall for the Dayton PRCA Labor Day Rodeo, in Dayton, Iowa.

Larry Kuster published a biography, "Fred Francis, A Prairie State Genius." 

1978

Dag Blanck retired from Uppsala University, where he was professor of North American Studies and the director of the Swedish Institute for North American Studies.

1979

Sheri Russell Conover is in her 20th year as assistant band director at Lake Zurich High School. She took the marching band on its fifth international trip — this time to the New Year's Day parade in Rome, Italy.

1982

Scott Jackson retired after a 40+ year career as a wildlife biologist, most recently serving as the National Carnivore Program leader for the U.S. Forest Service in Missoula, Mont.

1990

Anne Burswold Calder received the 2025 Outstanding Planned Giving Professional Award by the Quad City Planned Giving Council and the Quad Cities Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is vice president of development for the Quad Cities Community Foundation.

1993 

Holly Hitchcock completed a Master of Special Education and received an endorsement of Special Education Specialist Level 1 from the State of Illinois Board of Education. She was hired by Cary School District 26 as special education resource teacher.

1999

Nick Polyak was named the 2026 Illinois Superintendent of the Year. He has been a superintendent for 17 years, including the last 13 years with the Leyden High School District 212.

2000

Kimberly Vana is general manager of the Cheesecake Factory, which opened a new location in Naperville, Ill., hiring 300 employees from the area.

2001

Chris Sweet published a book, "A History of Bicycling in Illinois: 160 Years of Booms and Busts."

2004 

Katie Pertl Duff was named a National STEM Scholar. This program with Western Kentucky University and The National Stem Cell Foundation brings together outstanding middle school science educators from across the country to develop and implement innovative STEM challenge projects.

2008

Christopher Sienza is the director for first- and second-year academic advising with Loyola University.

2015

Alex Odenkirk graduated with an MBA from the Northwestern University School of Management. He is the chief of staff at Prosperous Robotics Inc, a robotics and digital health company that is creating products to assist patients with mobility disabilities, including stroke survivors, Parkinson's patients, veterans, the elderly.

2016

Brandon Stiers had a son.

2021

Maria Wood is the STEAM Educator at Lewis Latimer House in Flushing, Queens.

2023

Amy Bramley has an externship at the Mayo Clinic in Florida as part of her audiology doctoral program.

Deaths

Notices as of Jan. 8, 2026

LaVona Peterson ’48 Farney on Sept. 29, 2025.

Betty Nelson ’49 Carlson on Sept. 19, 2025.

C. Joan Anderson ’57 Reed on Dec. 2, 2025.

*Roberta Linse ’58 Anderson on Dec. 16, 2025.

Robert Hanson ’58 on Nov. 30, 2025.

*Margaret Knierim ’58 Timeus on June 6, 2025.

Martin Anderson ’59 on Nov. 30, 2025.

Gene Bengston ’59 on Dec. 9, 2025.

*Donald Young ’59 on Sept. 24, 2025.

Paul Bengtson ’64 on Nov. 26, 2025.

Evelyn Anderson ’64 Johnson on Sept. 10, 2025.

Heinz Frommann ’68 on Oct. 1, 2025.

Sally Peterson ’70 Short on Dec. 13, 2025.

Dana Haynie ’78 on Dec. 8, 2025.

*attendee