Class Notes

1958

Phillip Hubbart wrote a book, "From Death Row To Freedom: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Pitts-Lee Case," about a celebrated murder case (1965-1975) that he handled  as a public defender with another attorney. It was published on June 13, 2023, by University Press of Florida.

1966

Judith Salmon Kaur has retired as emeritus professor of oncology after 29 years of teaching, practicing and cancer research at Mayo Clinic.

1968

Toni Mitchell Tollerud retired as professor emerita, Northern Illinois University, in 2020, after teaching for 30 years.

1972

Mark Bloom retired after working 30 years at the Cook County (Chicago) Medical Examiner's Office. 

Leroy Marsh is in his 51st year of teaching at Munster High School in Munster, Ind. He coached football there for 45 years and was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Wayne Miller is being honored in October by the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois with the 2023 "True Friend Award." 

Norm Peterson retired from Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Rhinelander in 2013, but he continues to serve the community as the deputy chief of the Town of Pelican Fire/Rescue and as an emergency medical responder.

Mona Wells Welvaert is teaching part-time at Augustana in the mathematics and computer science department.

1975    

Marilyn Finke Broccolo retired as an area coordinator, K-12 education in May 2022.

1976

Gary Shank retired from pastoral ministry on May 31, 2023. 

1978

Dixie Thuline Burress retired as treasurer of the International Trumpet Guild, after 13 years.

Jeffrey Stafford retired in 2022, after 40 years as director of the Robert R. Jones Public Library in Coal Valley, Ill.

1979

Christopher Johnson retired in September 2022.

1981

Jane Dalton was promoted to full professor of art education at the University of North Carolina Charlotte in May 2023. She recently had a book released, titled "The Mindful Studio: Cultivating Creativity and Well-Being in the Art Classroom."

1984

Cheryl Draeger is doing pastoral ministry full-time. She is pasturing a small house church, Ecumenical Fellowship Church, with an outdoor chapel named Goose Hollow Meditation Garden in Davenport, Iowa, which is open to the public.

Lori DeVore Dryg is serving a three-year commitment on the Augustana Alumni Association Board. She supervises the Pediatric Therapy Center at Genesis Health System in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Jon France came out of retirement to be the city manager of Baker City, Ore.

Susan Schipper Rezin joined NIU's Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series to kick off its 4th season. She is an Illinois state senator, and was selected as one of the 2020 Women of Excellence Award honorees by the National Foundation for Women Legislators.

1986

Susan Modder Harvey attained the level of FT (Fellow in Thanatology) through the Association for Death Education and Counseling. She continues to specialize in grief and loss in her private practice as a psychotherapist.

1987

Kevin McKee published his first book, "Dear Jon: Emails to a Drummer." It's a vade mecum that painstakingly recounts a quarter century of email exchanges between two college acquaintances and their favorite drummer, Jon Schwartz.

1988

Lynda Simmons-Pierce is president and CEO of Global Accent Reduction Services, which provides services to professional athletes in the MLB, NBA, NHL and China NBA.

1991

Clyde Grady is serving on the Augustana Alumni Association Board.

2003

Angelique Hedman Minett is serving as the national chair of the Scouts BSA program. She is the first woman to hold this position.

2004

Jessica Harrison Berek earned her Doctorate of Education in 2021. She serves as the dean of health sciences at Kishwaukee College.

2005

Kristi Vana Cobble had a daughter, Addalyn, on March 19, 2023. (Chris)

2007

Abby Razer was one of 16 chosen for the 2023 cohort of the L.E.A.D. (Leading, Empowering, Advocating, Developing) SIU Carbondale Inititative, a select group of faculty and staff interested in learning more about higher education leadership and the complexities of operating a public university in today’s world.

2010

Max Petersen joined the Department of Medicine, in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipid Research, as an instructor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

2012

Laurel Householder Boyer had a son, Felix Owen Boyer, on Aug. 24, 2023. (Tyler)

2013

Shannon Slick Greenlee had a son, Beckett Greenlee. He joins big brother, Easton.

Robin Quinn Marrano had a daughter in March 2023.

Mike Mertel and his wife, Katie, received the Rock Island Citizen of the Year award for education. He teaches world studies at RIHS. He also founded the RIHS Education Internship Program and leads the Cultural Appreciation Club.

2018

Gustav Benson and Christianne Albers '21 were married on June 30, 2023.

2019

Danie Janacek is a family law attorney licensed to practice in Iowa and Illinois.

Raisha Shrestha is marketing and events coordinator at Prada.

Brandon Wilkerson and Jill Humecke '20 were married in July 2023. 

2020

Isabel Dawson is the executive director of the Puppet Co. in Glen Echo Park, Md.

Jill Humecke and Brandon Wilkerson '19 were married in July 2023. 

2021

Christianne Albers and Gustav Benson '18 were married on June 30, 2023.

Deceased

Notices received as of Oct. 15, 2023

Ruth Holmer '43 Friberg on Dec. 17, 2020.

*Doren Russler '50 on Sept. 18, 2023.

*Stanley Coin '51 on Oct. 7, 2023.

Donald Carlson '53 on Sept. 17, 2023.

Kenneth Tillman '54 on Sept. 10, 2023.

*Joann Paetz '56 Dickinson on April 21, 2023.

James Kappler '56 on Sept. 9, 2023.

Pauline Johnson '57 Easter on Dec. 22, 2022.

Joan Nelson '57 Pierotti on Sept. 2, 2023.

Eugene Beenk '58 on April 23, 2021.

Richard Benson '58 on Aug. 22, 2023.   

Marshall Hesler '58 on Feb. 24, 2019. 

Alan Johnson '58 on Jan. 2, 2022.

Michael Bemis '61 on June 3, 2023.

Karen Leonhard '61 Lohse on Sept. 22, 2023.

Lynne Rosenbohm '62 Ewan on Sept. 30, 2023.

Rodney Henningsen '62 on Aug. 8, 2023.

Jerry Norsman '63 on Jan. 25, 2023.

Marsha Peterson '65 Bullwinkle on May 7, 2023.

Michael Becker '67 on Sept. 4, 2023.

James Couch '67 on March 21, 2022.

Patricia Donegan '67 on Jan. 24, 2023.

Mildred Young '68 Burgess on April 10, 2021.

James Gustafson '68 on Aug. 20, 2023.

Joan Matuska '68 Lonstine on Sept. 27, 2023.

Mary Bell '69 Fislar on Sept. 13, 2023.

David Beckstrom '71 on Sept. 17, 2023.

Craig Anderson '73 on Sept. 1, 2023.

Michael Lange '73 on Sept. 21, 2023.

Kent Frisbie '82 on Sept. 10, 2023.

Georgerine Ebert '85 Eckert on Oct. 2, 2023.

James Bisanz '90 on Sept. 5, 2023.

Michael Morrison '94 on Sept. 9, 2023.

Kevin Rogers '12 on Oct. 2, 2023.

*attendee