Class Notes
Use class and obituary notes for announcements you would like to share with classmates.
Class Notes
1934
At the annual Kagy Family Reunion, Raymond Kagy ’34, was honored for his 98th birthday. Other Heidelberg grads in the Kagy clan who attended were Thomas Kagy, ’78; Dave Kagy, ’84; Judith (Kilper) Rutherford, ’68; and Lauren Kagy, who will graduate in 2011. (photo left)
1949
Frank Andrews Stone, DeLand, Fla., published My African American Connecticut in June 2008. The book is intended for high school and university ethnic-studies courses. Frank is professor of International Education, emeritus, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut.
1955
Alex Pozniak, Winston Salem, N.C., has joined the ranks of the retired.
1958
Former Houston Oilers football player, Bill Groman, Houston, was recently featured in an edition of the Houston Chronicle for his role in two championship seasons with the Oilers. A Heidelberg Hall of Famer, Bill was with the Oilers from 1959-61 and brought home two AFL Championship rings.
1959
Retired high school counselor and coach Rudy Kominek, Garden Grove, Calif., was inducted into his high school’s hall of fame in September 2008.
Larry Clausing, Tiffin, taught in the Tiffin City School system for 34 years, where he ran the school’s planetarium. He also was a former city councilman and finance director. Always active in his church, today Larry in involved with Crossroad, a facility in Fort Wayne, Ind., that helps troubled youth. He also is the treasurer for the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. He is married to Judy (Drake) Clausing, ‘60.
1961
John Porter, Washington, D.C., has been elected trustee for the D.C. Counseling Association – a state branch of the American Counseling Association -- for 2009-10.
1962
After 30 years of service, William Spino, Irving, Texas, retired June 1 as vice president of management development and recruiting at NCH Corp.
1963
James Leininger recently moved to Merritt, N.C., following his retirement from self employment.
1966
Paul Thomas, Cardiff, United Kingdom, has been honored by the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was admitted to the Fellowship in Dental Surgery without examination. He is the former senior research fellow for the Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences in London, England.
1967
John Neighbor, Dennison, Ohio, was recently named the new commissioner of the East Central Ohio League.
1969
Jane (O'Brien) Staskus, Clearwater, Fla., recently retired after 39 years of service to Pinellas County Schools, where she was a teacher and media specialist.
1970
John Hill, Tiffin, has been named head men’s basketball coach at Tiffin University. He will also serve as associate vice president of development.
Cindy (Parke) Beukema, Minneapolis, continues to work at an independent used book store in her neighborhood.
1971
Why wait for Alumni Weekend? These graduates from the class of ’71 held a mini-reunion in August at the home of Becky Metzler in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. They had a wonderful weekend, laughing, catching up on their lives and telling Heidelberg stories. From left: Susie (Price) McCann, Becky Metzler, Judy Holdsworth, Sharon (Berry) Baldwin and Pam (Jones) Tice. (photo left)
1972
Della (Coon) Ellis, Marion, Ohio, is the creator/owner of MasterMind Tutoring, a tutoring service for children in the Marion area.
The Hellenic American Bankers Association recently honored James Orphanides, Princeton, N.J., as HABA’s 2009 Executive of the Year. He is chairman emeritus of First American Title Insurance Company of New York. Since 1992, he has worked in key executive positions at the company, including being named president, CEO and chairman of the board.
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1974
Larry Kisabeth, Tiffin, has retired as principal at Tiffin Columbian High School.
Tom Coffman, Durham, N.C., has been promoted to senior associate director of Athletics/Development & Planning at Duke University. (photo left)
1975
Susan Macwhinney-Ciufo, Westfield, N.J., has been named executive director of the Plainfield Area Humane Society.
Brenda (Gorrell) Pyatt, Carthage, Ill., works as the Community development director for the city of Carthage.
1977
Summit County Assistant Sheriff Steven Finical, Clinton, Ohio, recently retired after nearly 32 years in law enforcement.
1978
Thomas Kagy, Norwalk, Ohio, was recently named director of pupil personnel services for the Willard City Schools.
1980
Robin Ratliff, Lakewood, Ohio, the assistant vice president of communication and assistant corporate secretary for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, has been named the 2009 Communicator of the Year by the Cleveland chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.
Nancy (Darmour) Grandillo, Tiffin, has been appointed to the Terra Community College Board of Trustees. A sixth-grade teacher with the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, an online charter school, Nancy has more than 24 years of service in education, government and nonprofit organizations.
1981
Robert James “Jaimie” Orr, Tiffin, is an assistant professor of criminal justice and security studies. Dr. Orr recently taught tai chi classes at Tiffin Middle School.
1982
UNCG theater professor Jim Wren, Greensboro, N.C., was chosen to take a group of students to Washington, D.C., to perform in the American College Theatre Festival. Of the nearly 1,000 schools vying for the spot, only four productions were chosen to be performed.
1983
Johanna (Revers) Pionke, Odenton, Md., received both the University of Maryland College of Behavioral & Social Sciences Outstanding Academic Advisor Award and the University of Maryland Provost’s Outstanding Academic Advisor Award in 2008. Currently, she is school counselor and counseling department chair at the Center of Applied Technology North in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Severn, Md.
1984
Lori Arnold-Grine, Tiffin, is beginning her ninth year of full-time teaching in the Education Department at Heidelberg. In May 2009, she was promoted to associate professor of early childhood education and also granted tenure.
1985
Randy Mann, Galion, Ohio, recently was one of three conductors for the Galion Community Band and Choir. He is the choral music director at Mount Gilead High School.
Kris Kreiger, Berea, Ohio, is the owner of Chef’s Choice Meats in Berea. His meat market features home-cured Slovenian and Hungarian sausages, all-veal German weisswurst, Genoa salami, house-smoked Canadian bacon and his own Italian prosciutto.
1986
Mary (Young) Bowers, Flagstaff, Ariz., senior lecturer of management and director of the Business Communication Center, was selected as the 2008-09 Teacher of the Year for the W.A. Franke College of Business at Northern Arizona University.
1988
John Buccigross, South Windsor, Conn., recently served as the official host of the Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fest ’09, a three-day interactive festival celebrating the L.A. Kings and the game of hockey. John is an ESPN anchor and ESPN.com columnist.
1989
Kevin Buchman, Dublin, Ohio, just completed his administrative license through Ursuline College and accepted a new position as principal at Weaver Middle School in Hilliard, Ohio.
Eric White, Albuquerque, N.M., recently relocated there to join the Dublin, Ohio,-based Cardinal Health as director of Financial Shared Services-West.
1991
In May 2009, Arika (Bleininger) Crawford, Fresno, Ohio, graduated with distinction from Kent State University Nursing School.
Cathleen (Perkins) Berrick, Centerville, Va., was a 2009 finalist for the Homeland Security Medal. Cathleen was recognized for her work in increased passenger safety and reduced vulnerabilities by generating a series of reports and congressional testimony about transportation security issues that have resulted in legislative action to strengthen security.
Doreen (Huston) Close, Rustburg, Va., has been hired to serve as seventh-grade language arts teacher at the Altavista Combined School system. She has been a teacher for 13 years.
1993
Eric Ward and his wife, Jackie (Boros) ’92, have relocated to Phoenix, Ariz., where Eric is the purchasing supervisor for ESCO Corp.’s Phoenix operation.
Shannon (Starkey) Taylor, Loveland, Ohio, was recently named one of Cincinnati’s 40 Under 40 Next Generation Leaders and Innovators by the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Kelly (Gillman) Thomas, Rittman, Ohio, is currently serving a two-year apprenticeship to obtain her funeral director’s license.
1994
Yuta Kogiso has relocated from Japan to a city near Shanghai, China, where he works for a Japanese machine & equipment maker called NIDEC TOSOK.
1996
Rev. Monte Hoyles, Toledo, completed his first pastoral assignment at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Maumee, in June 2009. He has been assigned to study Canon Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C..
Brian Filippetti, Westerville, Ohio, recently left 10TV WBNA in Columbus to pursue a career as a freelance technical director. Brian is the technical director for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Fox Sports Ohio. He also frequently works for ESPN, the Big Ten Network, and for other local and regional sporting and non-sporting television events.
1997
Jeff Eader, Bellefontaine, Ohio, has been named the new principal of Hardin Northern High School. He will be entering his 11th year in education. Jeff holds two master’s degrees from Grand Canyon University in the areas of special education and educational leadership.
1998
Erica (Calix-Jenner) Kaltenbach, Fairborn, Ohio, is one of two new assistant principals at Wayne High School in the Huber Heights City School District.
Melissa Carr, Esq., Austin, Texas, has joined the law firm of Clasen, Raffalow & Rhoads as an attorney in the Austin branch.
1999
Ellen Dawson, Pittsburgh, received her Master’s of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary on May 28. During the ceremony, she was awarded the Paul T. Gerrard Prize in Homiletics and Pastoral Care. She hopes to be ordained as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church. (photo left)
Colleen Flanagan, Las Vegas, has relocated to pursue more singing opportunities. She currently works as a cocktail waitress at Bill’s Casino and performs as a freelance singer in a Top 40/rock band that performs at various casinos and resorts on the strip and in the Las Vegas area.
2000
Gretchen (Innerst) Colon, Wichita, Kan., has been named vice president of advancement and marketing at the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. Gretchen will lead fundraising efforts and develop and implement a comprehensive marketing plan to make the organization’s research available to more of Kansas.
2001
Shannon (Decker) Turner, Bellevue, Ohio, is the new principal at Stamm Elementary School in Fremont. Previously, she was a third-grade teacher at Ellis Elementary School in the Bellevue School District.
Dan Bauman, Willard, Ohio, has been hired as assistant high school principal at Norwalk City Schools. He had been the high school counselor at Tiffin Columbian since 2002. He also taught at the Willard City Schools.
2002
Kyle Gibson, Columbus, is now the assistant principal at Woodward Park Elementary School in Columbus.
2003
Ben and Lisa (Markiewicz ‘05) Fischer are living in South Daytona, Fla. Ben is a certified vision rehabilitation therapist and works as a transistion specialist at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Dayton Beach. He is working on his master’s certificate in orientation and mobility. Lisa is the marketing coordinator for Kingspan Insulated Panels based in Deland, Fla.
2004
Alyssa Thomas, Athens, Ohio, is a graduate research assistant at Ohio University. Recently, she was recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of scientific research. As a graduate research assistant, Alyssa excels in the study of spectroscopy, physical chemistry and nanotechnology.
2005
Tricia Sindel, Durham, N.C., received her Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in May 2009. She plans to join the law firm of Dickstein, Shapiro LLP in Washington, D.C.
Laura Scott, Norwood, Ohio, is currently living in Cincinnati and working as the associate director of e-commerce and marketing for the Castrucci Automotive Group.
2007
Matthew Lofton, Kent, Ohio, graduated with a master’s degree in sports management from Kent State University, while also working as a graduate assistant in the athletic communications office at KSU. This year, he plans to continue to work in athletic communications at Kent State.
Joel McMichael, El Paso, is a first lieutenant in the United States Army. He just finished an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment last December. He is currently in El Paso, training soldiers set to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan on the Operation Warrior Trainer program.
2008
Jennifer Tangeman, Logansport, Ind., recently graduated from AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Pacific Region, wrapping up 10 months of community service nationwide.
2009
Katie Ruffing, Bellevue, Ohio, is the new volleyball coach at Bucyrus High School.
From Fall 2009 Bulletin.