Class Notes

Received as of Dec. 19, 2023

1974

Ron May retired as director of music ministries at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors for The Deanery School of Music and as a board member (past president and co-founder) of Opera Quad Cities. He also continues to freelance as a musical director at Circa 21 Dinner Theatre Playhouse and other musical theatre venues in the Midwest.

1975

Donna Huber Brunner wrote a book titled "HANG ON! It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride" about caring for a spouse with Parkinson's Disease.

1977

Richard Rogers retired in May 2022 after 37 years as a research chemist at Grain Processing Corp in Muscatine, Iowa.

1980

Ellen Paul Cooling retired in April 2023 from Thompson Cooling & Associates LLC.

1985

Charlene Quint received the Augustana Alumni Association's Humanitarian Award in October 2022 for her work with victims of domestic abuse. In September 2023, she gave a TEDx Talk in Riverside, Calif., on the subject of ""How to Overcome Domestic Abuse and Finally Set Yourself Free." In October 2023, she was a guest speaker on a video podcast by best-selling author Leslie Vernick on "Uncovering Lies: Overcoming the Impact of Abuse."

1986

Elizabeth Conley Johnson retired after 20 years with Jones Day Law Firm. She has accepted a position with Prairie State College in the Opportunity Works Program.

1991

Ben Bergren serves as senior pastor at Community Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, Nev. He has been appointed to the ELCA Church Council that helps govern the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

Chris Holford will be the next chancellor of Purdue University Northwest. He has been the provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs since May 2020. He is also a professor of biology, and the founding dean of the College of Engineering and Sciences.

Lori Getz Kyger received the Outstanding Certified Staff Member Award in May 2023 at Rock Falls Township High School.

1994

Nicholas Bennyhoff received his master's in history from Missouri State University in December 2023.

Eric Schmitz retired after 25 years in K-12 education as a teacher and administrator. He is currently a Realtor in Salt Lake City and northern Utah.

1995

Matt Hensler was named Wisconsin Football Coaches Association/Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Year. He is in his 17th year as head coach at Badger High School in Lake Geneva.

1998

Scott Nelson is the assistant division manager of engineering, overseeing the Rights-of-Way Program, with Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Anna Edmonds Phillips graduated with a master's in pastoral studies from Loyola University Chicago in May 2023, and is currently working as a hospital chaplain in the Chicagoland area.

Brian Zeleznik was elected to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is the athletic director and head coach at LeRoy High School.

1999

Paul Allen had his fourth book, a biography of cartoonist and children's author Jack Kent, published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2023.

2000

Zubair Ansari was honored by "Who's Who in America" 2023 edition.

2004

Scott Heisel and his wife, Aubrey Welbers, had a son, Austin Paul, on Nov. 18, 2023.

2005

Kirsten Lyons Merritt has been vice mayor of Needles, Calif., since 2022.

2006

Andrew Houghton created an exchange program with police in Scotland, focusing on crime against children and homicide investigations. A reciprocal exchange with police from Scotland traveling to the United States is pending.

2007

Charles Blazevich and his wife, Ashley, had a daughter, Lillian Pearl Blazevich, on Nov. 14, 2023.

Jennifer Craft is the executive director of UnityPoint Health – Trinity Muscatine Public Health.

Katie Gough-Edwards was the 2022 American Heart Association Leader of Impact for the greater Cincinnati area.

Amanda Hamilton was appointed a commissioner by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. She is a partner at Konicek & Sillon, P.C. 

2009

Sarah Miers and Tyler Vens were married on Oct. 14, 2023.

William Ramsdale retired from pastoral duties on Jan. 1. 2024.

Teri Kay Santee married Ramon Henderson on March 3, 2023.

2011

Julie Churchill was named Counselor of the Year for 2023 by the Illinois School Counselor Association. She is a counselor at Rock Island High School.

Amy Knapp joined the Denver office of Spencer Fane LLP in the Labor and Employment practice group. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. While in law school, she spent three months as a legal intern for the EEOC’s Denver office.

2012

Timothy Murga works at the largest military medical installation in Texas, doing both acute musculoskeletal injury evaluation/treatment and orthopedic/physical therapy research.

Amy Moon Pettit and Kevin Pettit had a daughter, Ella Grace, on Oct. 8, 2023.

2013

Sarah Pouls married Kyle Mirochna on Oct. 21, 2023.

Will Tolmie and Britney Rae Bush Tolmie '14 had a daughter, Lyla Tolmie, in 2021.

2014

Britney Rae Bush Tolmie and Will Tolmie '13 had a daughter, Lyla Tolmie, in 2021.

2015

Jeremy Gottardo and Allison Kotleba '16 had a son, Henry, in June 2023. 

Ashley LaGrow married W. Zeb Gore in September 2023.

2016

Allison Kotleba and Jeremy Gottardo '15 had a son, Henry, in June 2023. 

2019

Emma Samatas Santiago is pursuing her MBA with a concentration in human resources at Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business.

Christine Vincent Taylor graduated in May 2023 from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., where she was the commencement speaker. She was ordained on Oct. 27, 2023 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. Her former professor, Augustana's Dr. Jason Mahn, participated in the service. She is the pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church in Jackson, Miss.

2020

Mikaela Ferrara earned a master's in museum studies, with a concentration in visitor experience and exhibitions, from George Washington University. She is a collections inventory technician at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

Haley DeGreve and Kevin Donovan founded NFP Gray Matters Collective in 2018. Gray Matters is now in 40+ schools in the Midwest and recently added a chapter for veterans. It received the 2023 Community Caring Conference Hero Award (Organization).

Richard (Joey) Padula was sworn in as a lawyer by the Illinois Supreme Court on Nov. 9, 2023.

2021

Atiqul Haque and Megan Johnson '22 were married on Aug. 12, 2023 in Geneva, Ill.

2022

Megan Johnson and Atiqul Haque '21 were married on Aug. 12, 2023 in Geneva, Ill.

Lizzie Oswalt is a library and information science graduate student at University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is completing her practicum as an intern at the Arts + Literature Laboratory, working in the smALL Press Library — Wisconsin’s only lending library of works from small publishers. 

2023

Caroline Sorenson is pursuing a master's of science in geography at Virginia Tech University.

Deaths

Received as of Dec. 19, 2023

Marjorie Mirfield  ’49 Decker on Nov. 12, 2023.        

Jean Larm  ’49 Tack on Nov. 27, 2022.        

Milton Johnson  ’50 on Oct. 14, 2023.     

Paul Johnson  ’50 on Nov. 7, 2023.    

David Johnson  ’51 on July 25, 2023.     

*John Strieter  ’51 on Nov. 13, 2023.        

*John Johnson  ’53 on Feb. 28, 2022.         

Robert Anderson  ’54 on Dec. 9, 2023.        

*Joan Johnson  ’54 Johnson on Oct. 17, 2023.

*Nancy Schoenfeld  ’54 Nelson on Dec. 15, 2023.

Bruce Mueller  ’58 on Nov. 13, 2023.

Richard Retz  ’58 on Oct. 8, 2023.        

Peter Tiffany  ’59 on Oct. 27, 2023.            

John Munson  ’61 on Dec. 11, 2023.             

S. Wesley Marshall  ’62 on July 18, 2023.         

*Barbara Clark  ’63 McCormick on March 27, 2021.        

Sharon Murphy  ’65 King on Dec. 13, 2023.             

Marcette Danner  ’68 on Oct. 17, 2023.    

Michael Thompson  ’68 on June 30, 2022.         

Thomas Barber  ’70 on Nov. 19, 2023.         

*Diana Meincke  ’72 on Dec. 14, 2023.        

Mark Beilke  ’77 on Nov. 26, 2021.        

Susan Lewis  ’78 on Oct. 27, 2023.         

Dale Herbeck  ’80 on Oct. 26, 2023.         

John Nodeen  ’87 on Sept. 11, 2023.    

Luke Caldwell  ’09 on Feb. 16, 2023.

*Attendee