The following Class Notes were received recently in the UW Oshkosh Alumni Relations Office:
’61 Celest King (EHS), of Green Lake, served in the Peace Corps from 1964 to 1966. Today, she volunteers at the Thrasher Opera House, serves as treasurer for the Dartford Historical Society and works with kindergarteners.
’64 Gerald “Jerry” Gonyo (LS) was elected to the Terravita Country Club Board of Directors in Scottsdale, Ariz. In January, Gonyo completed the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon to benefit the American Cancer Society.
’67 Jo Carol (Hilgendorf) Moede (EHS) retired from Little Lambs Preschool at First Lutheran Church in Lake Geneva. She plans to travel with her husband to Europe and take a cruise down the Danube River.
’68 Ronald Schreier (EHS) and ’70 (MSE), of Neenah, retired from Appleton West High School as associate principal. Schreier spent 32 years working in the Appleton Area School District.
’70 Laurel (Moths) Vierthaler (EHS) retired as a guidance counselor at Monroe Middle School. She plans to explore new adventures and help her husband with his dog grooming business.
’72 Barbara (Jensen) O’Connell (EHS) retired from Washington Island School, the smallest K-12 public school district in Wisconsin. For 37 years, she taught Spanish and was the senior class and yearbook adviser.
’73 Barbara Roloff (MST) was this year’s rallymistress at the Kaukauna Alumni 75th Anniversary. Roloff is a retired speech and theater teacher at Kaukauna High School. She was among the first class of inductees into the KHS Performing Arts Hall of Fame and, along with her husband, Ken, was the recipient of the Alumni Award in 1984.
’73 Kathryn Stratton (EHS) retired after 37 years as the Fort Atkinson School District language/speech pathologist. While working in the school district, Stratton was nominated twice for the Wildermuth Award and once for the Golden Apple Award. She plans to spend more time with her sons and granddaughter as well as time gardening.
’74 Lois (Lemke) Alferi (EHS), of Kaukauna, retired from Little Chute School District after 24 years of teaching first grade and library/media classes. Her plans include traveling, gardening, crafting and volunteering.
’75 Stephen Dedecker (EHS) and ’85 (MA), of Yuma, Ariz., released his second CD entitled “Happy Birthday America,” which is available on iTunes and Amazon.com. Dedecker has been writing songs since 1968 and released his first CD in 2000, entitled “Matter of Time.”
’76 Luann (Hartung) Desmond (EHS) and ’85 (MSE), of Appleton, retired after 32 years of teaching at Electa Quinney and Tanner schools in Kaukauna. She looks forward to traveling, camping, reading, volunteering and, possibly, substitute teaching.
’76 Julie Janquart (EHS) and ’93 (MSE), of De Pere, retired from the Little Chute School District after 35 years of working in developmental guidance and school counseling as well as teaching physical education.
’76 Steven Villwock (MSE), of Salem, Ore., published the Social Security ruling on transferability of vocational skills.
’77 Mary Ann (Klotz) Hertel (EHS) retired from the Kaukauna School District, where she taught art to elementary school students for 34 years. Her plans include “creating some awesome artwork.”
’77 Lynn (Hedlund) Zimmer (EHS), of West Bend, is the owner of Zimmer Consulting. She provides sales and service training and human resources and marketing consulting. Zimmer also is an adjunct faculty member at Moraine Park Technical College and Harper College for Business.
’78 Russell Holbrook (EHS), of Geneva, Ill., is the new vice president of human resources for EAA.
’78 Michael Kruszynski (LS), of Menomonie, retired from the Boyceville School District as an English/composition teacher. He taught grades 7-12, coached football and volleyball, advised the student yearbook and newspaper and coached drama throughout his career.
’78 Keith Shaw (MSE) retired as principal from Lincoln High School in Manitowoc. Shaw plans to take cooking classes, travel to Italy with his wife, Sue, teach the classroom portion of driver’s education at Advantage Driving School and, possibly, teach administration classes at various colleges.
’82 Kenneth Bouressa (EHS) retired from the Little Chute School District after 29 years of teaching general music, choir, bell choir, swing choir, theatre, concert choir, show choir and women’s choir. He looks forward to joining the New Horizons Orchestra and performing for the Kaukauna Community Players.
’84 Donald Harr (EHS) has been named chair of the science department at Mukwonago High School. He has been teaching biology at the school since 1984.
’85 Joy Smith (LS), of Lakeland, Fla., is the author of “Remodeling: Buying and Updating a Foreclosure,” published by Smashwords, an ebook publishing and distribution platform.
’86 Theodore Lenz (EHS), of Oshkosh, was named principal at Pardeeville Middle School. Lenz has been a middle school science teacher for 20 years in the Winneconne Community School District.
’87 Jeffrey Griffith (LS), of New York City and a creative director for Rodale Publishing, received the Shelby Foote Preservation Legacy Award from The Civil War Trust for his work to stop a casino from being licensed near the Gettysburg National Military Park.
’87 Douglas Mock (EHS), of Waupun, coaches the Oakfield High School girls softball team. The Mighty Oaks won their third state championship with an 8-3 victory over McDonell Central High School in the Division IV state title game.
’87 Kim Mooney (LS) and ’09 (MPA) will be recognized by UW-Fond du Lac as a 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient in September.
’88 Ted Wahoske (B), of Manassas, Va., graduated with a master’s degree in logistics from the Air Force Institute of Technology in June. During that same week, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Wahoske is assigned to the Pentagon and works as a senior weapons system cost analyst.
’89 Mary Hansen (MPA), of Oshkosh, was named the new Commandant of the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, where she will oversee a staff of nearly 900 employees who provide care for residents in four residential halls. She has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare field.
’89 Lori Sween (EHS) retired as an English Language Learning teacher from the Fox Valley Technical College in Oshkosh. Sween was awarded the Oshkosh Human Relations Council 2000 Diversity Award for her work with ELL students.
’90 Lisa (Krueger) Pugh (LS), of Madison, has been with the Van Lieshout Law Office since 2003. Her primary area of practice is in family law, handling divorce actions, child custody, placement disputes and paternity actions.
’91 John Hendrickson (MBA), of Appleton, was appointed vice president of U.S. Bank. Before joining U.S. Bank, he was the vice president of M&I Bank Fox Valley.
’91 Paul Makurat (LS), of Oshkosh, joined Alta Resources as managing director of Wisconsin care teams for the customer care business unit. Makurat has more than 14 years of experience at Alta and has been crucial in developing the company’s strategic mandates.
’92 Lois Genson-Sanders (MSE), of Wautoma, retired after 30 years of teaching. She taught at Berlin Catholic School before joining the Weyauwega-Fremont School District, where she spent the last 26 years of her career.
’93 Andrew Mielke (B), of Oshkosh, opened a PODS franchise in northeastern Wisconsin in 2006. He currently manages the daily franchise operation that offers moving and storage containers.
’94 Julie (Warner) Van Vonderen (B), of Appleton, was promoted to vice president of operations at Prospera Credit Union. She had served as director of human resources since 2005. Van Vonderen also serves as board treasurer for the Society for Human Resource Management.
’95 Debra Johnson (B), of Waupaca, has joined the staff at Advanced Family Eye care as practice administrator.
’95 Kevin Rettler (B), of Menasha, has been promoted to senior client service manager II for the Principal Financial Group. Rettler has more than 15 years of experience in Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) administration.
’95 Tina (Wellnitz) Semotan (B), of Milwaukee, was promoted to vice president of human resources and organizational development for Franklin Energy Services LLC.
’96 Carol (Dempsey) Hemauer (N) opened Westshore Acupuncture LLC, in Oshkosh. She provides acupuncture, herb and nutritional counseling and Chinese acupressure massage services.
’97 Pamela Themar (B), of Appleton, has been promoted to assistant manager for the Principal Financial Group.
’98 Gary “Dave” Richter (LS), of Appleton, is a Six Sigma green belt and has been promoted to vice president of the sales business unit at Alta Resources in Neenah. Previously, Richter was the managing director of the customer care business unit.
’01 John Schindhelm (MSE), of Suamico, retired from the Kaukauna School District after 13 years of teaching technology education. He also coached middle school girls’ and boys’ track, basketball and volleyball.
’03 Marcia Waldron-Kuhn (MSE), of Luxemburg, has worked in the Mishicot School District for the past eight years and has spent the last two years developing a comprehensive guidance program for students in grades 6-12. Her efforts were recognized by the Wisconsin Association for College Admissions Counselors with the High School Counseling Professional of the Year Award.
’03 Randall Zietlow (MBA), of Marion, has been promoted to president/CFO of Community First Bank and will manage daily operations. Zietlow has more than 14 years of banking experience, eight of which are with Community First Bank.
’04 Melissa Pezzuto (B), of Menasha, has been promoted to assistant manager for the Principal Financial Group. She has been with Principal for seven years.
’05 Cassie (Hudzinski) Bornick (B), of Princeton, joined Jackson Kahl Insurance, an independent insurance agency based in Fond du Lac, as a senior account executive.
’05 Daniel “Cole” Racine (LS) is the manager of Belts’ Soft Serve in Stevens Point. He is the third generation operator at this soft serve establishment known for its famous large cone, weighing in at 2 pounds.
’06 Patrick Hughes (B), of Oshkosh, joined Integrity Insurance as a property claims representative. He has earned his accredited adviser in insurance designation.
’06 Amy Kozloski (B), of Wrightstown, has been promoted to assistant manager for the Principal Financial Group. Kozloski has been with Principal for more than five years.
’07 Daniel Cardinal (LS), of New Holstein, joined Central Garage in Chilton as a new sales associate, specializing in Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles.
’07 Matthew Snodgrass (LS), of Appleton, operates Sommerville Flag. The business was opened in 1948 by his grandfather, Ed Sommerville, and handed over to Snodgrass in March. Snodgrass sells and installs flags and flag poles.
’08 Katie (Baeten) Ribarchek (EHS) will return to Little Chute Elementary School as a fourth-grade teacher, after teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in De Pere. She was a substitute teacher at Little Chute Elementary during the 2008-2009 year and served a limited term teaching fourth grade during 2009-2010.
’09 Krystal deLeon (LS), of Beloit, graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
’10 Jason Kobishop (B), of Appleton, was hired as a graphic designer at Coalesce Marketing and Design, a strategic marketing and communications agency. Previously, Kobishop worked as a web designer for Dealer Fire, a website company based in Oshkosh.
’10 Patricia Roden (LS), of West Bend, has been hired by Economic Development/Washington County as programs and communications coordinator for the business development organization.
’10 Kelly Tennie (LS), of Oakfield, accepted a job at the Fond du Lac County Habitat for Humanity as a part-time administrative financial assistant.
’10 Anthony “Tony” Wahl (LS), a 2005 graduate of Broadhead High School, returned to his alma mater to share his college experiences and work with art students. Wahl works as a photographer.
’11 Nick Bartol (LS), of Berlin, spent six weeks in the nation’s capitol, working in the office of Sen. Ron Johnson, of Oshkosh. His internship included working in the mail room, aiding the press shop, guiding tours and attending lectures and hearings.
’11 Jeremy Jirschele (LS) is a hitting instructor and camp coordinator for the Wisconsin Baseball Academy in Wausau. He also teaches private lessons, holds clinics, coaches an Elite Travel Team and is the co-head coach for the varsity baseball team at Wausau West High School.
’11 Samantha Mallo (LS) has been accepted as a graduate student at Minnesota State University–Mankato. Mallo will pursue a master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology and exercise science.
’11 Dan Schuster (LS), of Oshkosh, spent six weeks interning at Sen. Ron Johnson’s office in Washington D.C. His duties included working in the mail room, aiding the press shop, guiding tours and attending lectures and hearings.
ABBREVIATION KEY
COLLEGES
• AAS — Associate of Arts and Science Degree
• B — Business
• EHS — Education and Human Services
• LS — Letters and Science
• N — Nursing
GRADUATE DEGREES
• GMBA — Global Master of Business Administration
• MA — Master of Arts
• MBA— Master of Business Administration
• MPA — Master of Public Administration
• MS — Master of Science
• MSE — Master of Science in Education
• MSN — Master of Science in Nursing
• MST — Master of Science in Teaching
• MSW — Master of Social Work
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