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That's Life
'60s '70s '80s '90s '00
Engagements Marriages Anniversaries Births In Memoriam

Compiled by Perry Jones '99

Send information for "That's Life" to Montclair State University, Office of Alumni Relations, 34 Normal Ave., Upper Montclair, NJ 07043. Be sure to include a telephone number for verification.


Margaret Swinton Spillinger

'23
Margaret Swinton Spillinger is hale and hearty at 97 years of age.

'28
Kittie-May Cain remains active as a painter catering to family and friends with her work.

'48
Daniel Alexander retired from the Newark Public Library where he worked since 1950 as a reference ibrarian. He occupies himself doing volunteer work for Newark's homeless. He almost booked a flight to San Francisco on September 11. However, at the last minute the friend he planned to visit decided to come to New Jersey instead.


Irwin Gawley, Frank Sutman and Fred Pregger

'49
Frank Sutman '52 M.A. sent in this photo of himself with Irwin Gawley '51 M.A. and Fred Pregger '48 '50 M.A. from 1955, when the three former classmates began teaching at state teachers colleges -- Sutman at William Paterson University, Gawley at Montclair State and Pregger at Trenton State University (now The College of New Jersey). Each earned a doctorate from Columbia University in 1956 and together they have 135 years of teaching experience.

'50
June Boswell Bell and Joan Clark participated in Avon's three-day hike to fight breast cancer, logging 60 miles, walking by day and camping at night. Each walker was required to raise $1,900.

'51
Congresswoman Margaret Scafati Roukema has decided not to run for another term. She has served as a moderate Republican for 11 years.


Mena Bellino McAllister (standing) and Ann Wheeler DeDantis

'52
Mena Bellino McAllister '55 M.A. and Ann Wheeler DeSantis are still friends 50 years after graduating from Montclair State. The pair met in a French class their senior year and their friendship remains strong today.

'60
John A. Koumoulides '61 M.A. was made an Honorary Fellow at Harris Manchester College at Oxford University. He also was a recipient of the Public Policy Scholar Award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington D.C. for the summer of 2001 and received the 2001 Ellis Island Medal Award.

'62
Anne Van Blarcom Kurowski '71 M.A., held her first art show after moving to North Carolina. Her work focuses on portrait painting and watercolor work.

Harvey N. Altman has retired from his post as principal of Memorial Junior School in Hanover. Over the course of 40 years he has filled positions as music teacher, vice principal and principal.

Robert W. Dey retired from IBM after 33 years of service.

Bob Mendito '77 M.A. retired from Emerson High School after 40 years.

'64
George Gross '66 M.A. authored his third book, A Year of Earth Science Demos, published by Flinn Scientific.

Carole Stuhrmann Demas was named director of the Learning Center at Caldwell College.

'66
Lawrence Latore was appointed municipal judge in Watchung. He has been an attorney for 26 years.

J oseph Conley '68 M.A. has retired after 35 years in physical education. His most recent post was in Upper Saddle River. He published Keeping Children First, a book outlining developmentally appropriate activities for children.


Kenneth R. Malone

'67
Kenneth R. Malone '73 M.A.
has retired after 34 years of teaching mathematics. He was named the University of Chicago's Most Influential Teacher, established the Kenneth R. Malone Mathematics Scholarship, and chaired the Adra Suchorsky English Scholarship Committee and the Andrew Hackes Scholarship Committee.

'68
Vera E. Niosi Breunig, named Teacher of the Year at Toms River High School North, and nominated for the Disney American Teacher Award, has received the 10th Legislative District Award for Excellence in Education.

James E. Harris '70 M.A., associate dean of students at Montclair State University, was the guest speaker at a recent meeting of the NAACP's Bayonne branch.

Bill Harris '72 M.A. returned to Colorado to become director of the Alumni C Club at the University of Colorado, after 25 years as a healthcare executive in New Jersey.

'69
Kurt Epps was chosen by students at the Arthur L. Johnson High School in Clark as Teacher of the Month for September. Epps has been teaching English for 33 years.

'70
Michael Mados has been named business administrator for the Northvale School District, and serves as secretary of the Northvale Board of Education.

Cynthia D. LeFevre Gary was named Teacher of the Year at Veterans Memorial Elementary School in Brick, where she is a speech-language specialist.

'71
Jim Bobinyee has retired and become a certified life/personal coach, after 25 years with the Veterans Administration Healthcare System.

Richard D'Andreas
has been promoted to captain of the Lodi Police Department. He also oversees the agency's national crime information center computer system.

Louis Centolanza M.A. has left Passaic Valley Regional High School to become a professor at Montclair State University.

Midge Guerrera '78 M.A. helped create a summer workshop for children that affords them an opportunity to learn video production, scriptwriting, anchoring a news show and other skills associated with television and radio production.

'72
Judy Gross M.A. was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage in Union, Maine.

Robert W. Butts conducted an instrumental group supporting vocalists at a program in Westfield titled "Life Invited Me." Butts is a conductor, music critic and lecturer.

Frances C. Stromsland
has been named assistant superintendent of Watchung Hills Regional High School.

Maria E. Schmidt '76 M.A. is supervisor of social studies for Westfield Public Schools.

'73
Diego Castellanos M.A., host of the television show, "Puerto Rican Panorama," was a guest speaker at Mercer County College's celebration of Hispanic Awareness Month.

Donald Hummel M.A. was appointed national chaplain for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. He serves as Pastor at St. Bartholomew the Apostle Church in Scotch Plains.

'74
Stephen Troyanovich M.A. was named director of education for the state Juvenile Justice Commission, overseeing teachers and students in the state's juvenile detention facilities.

Lise Greene '81 M.A. has returned to Montclair State University after taking a leave of absence from her position as
executive assistant to the president. Greene, who holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration from New York University, lived in Denmark for one year, staying in various parts of the country and learning the language so she could translate her deceased mother's 61 diaries, which are written in Danish.

'75
Galo R. Vaca '77 M.A. is teaching Spanish II and Advanced Spanish at Harrison High School.


Bruce McMillian '75

Michael Gabriele presented a one-person art exhibit at the Hamilton House Museum in Clifton. He filled the position of first vice president of the Clifton Association of Artists during 2000-01, and was chosen to have his work included in the first juried art exhibition at the Clifton Arts Center.

Rena Segal displayed her artwork, late-impressionist/abstract-expressionist period inspired collages, in South Brunswick at a show titled, "5 Artists, 5 Mediums, 1 Township."

Bruce McMillan was promoted to assistant regional director of operations for the North East region of the Boy Scouts of America.

Diane Falk Romaine was appointed chair of the Music Department at William Paterson University. She also is the director of Music Education and the graduate program director for music.

'76
Susan Hargis,
having served 22 years with the Superior Court of New Jersey, was chosen as one of 2,000 Notable Women in America. She works in the Domestic Violence Unit.

Terry Fitzpatrick M.A. was named principal of Manville High School.

'77
Mary Lockshin has joined Summit Middle School as a French teacher.

Brian Shannon had an article, "The View from Valley Road," published in the Oct. 27 issue of The Asbury Park Press. In the article, Shannon spoke about the impact the World Trade Center had on his life, growing up in Clifton and attending Montclair State.

Joseph Toohey M.A. was named principal of Roxbury High School.

'78

Donald Scarinci, of the law firm Scarinci & Hollenbeck, was appointed to Governor-Elect James E. McGreevey's Transition Team as Transition Team Counsel. He was a guest speaker at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Harold P. Gunning was promoted to vice president at Cumberland Insurance.

Keith J. Murray, president and owner of Murray Insurance and Finance Inc., earned "Top of the Table" in the "Million Dollar Round Table."

'79
Charles R. Armstrong M.A., a captain in the U.S. Navy, was appointed Commander of U.S. Special Operations Joint
Intelligence Center.

Patricia Morris has been appointed to the Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional Board of Education.

Joe Tucker was named senior vice president of Administration for Disney's corporate operations and real estate services in New York City.

K.R. Burde M.A., a teacher at Belleville High School and Essex County College, exhibited a collection of his surrealistic watercolors at Frenchie the Barber in Montclair.

Michael J. Pinter was appointed director of Lakeland Bank's Milton/Newfoundland Office Advisory Board.

Ray Kietrys was honored by Century 21 as a top sales associate. He also is a member of the New Jersey Million Dollar Sales Club for Realtors.

'80
Robert Oltmann has been named president of IPREX, a global partnership of public relations firms.

Maureen T. Wolff-Reed was elected president of the Boston Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute. She has won various awards in the public relations field including a Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil and several Publicity Club of New England Bell Ringer Awards.

Bonnie Maranz M.A. was a judge at the 2001 Union County Senior Citizens Art Contest and Exhibit. Her own work has been exhibited at Trenton State Museum, Monmouth Museum and the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, where she teaches painting and drawing.

'81
Cathy Tobin M.A. has written a book, Wayne Township, that chronicles the history of Wayne.

Bruce Chadwick M.A. authored The Reel Civil War: Myth-making in American Film, published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Debra Malmgren '98 M.A., athletic director at Kent Place School in Summit, received an E. J. Grassman Faculty Award, which recognizes excellence and creativity in teaching.

Anthony S. Pecci has been promoted to assistant branch manager of Construction Services at Goodkind & O'Dea in Rutherford.


'82
Richard Walsh was named chief operating officer of Viewpoint Archive Services, which provides a common digital archiving system to various financial services.

David Clauser M.A. was named principal of Bound Brook High School.

'83
Jeffrey Campo was elected to the Board of Directors of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey. He also was nominated for Business News magazine's "40 Under 40," which recognizes top business leaders ages 39 and younger.

Susan G. Preston, chair of Oratory Preparatory School's art department and owner/director of Susan Preston Designs, has
begun teaching art to grades 10, 11 and 12 at Oratory.

'84
John McEwen was appointed executive director for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

'86

Joy Baltiycki Palmer, an equity analyst with Merrill Lynch, spoke to the San Francisco Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute. Her topic was "The Analyst Community: Getting Your Story Across."

'87
Paul Egan-Larson M.A., a baritone saxophonist, performed with the New Jersey Saxophone Ensemble in the concert, "Music For Summer's Evening," which included a mix of ragtime, classical, contemporary and show tunes.

Sam Mills was inducted into the Panthers Hall of Honor. A life-size, bronze statue of the 5-foot, 9-inch football player was erected outside Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Jim Mora, head coach of the Philadelphia-Baltimore Stars, called him the best player he ever coached.

'88
Joseph J. Miller was chosen director of land development and land acquisition manager at Beazer Homes Corporation, New Jersey Division.

Stephanie Habadah M.A. received a doctorate in African-American studies from Temple University. She also was the recipient of a Fullbright Dissertation Fellowship and traveled to West Africa.

'92
Kara Baldwin Brennan was promoted to director of Alumni Relations at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Joe Cahill, recording artist and seasoned performer, gave an encore concert, "The Only Home I Know," in Bloomfield.

'93
Lesley Crawley Cora was inducted into the Phi Kappa Pi Honor Society at Kean University where she has a 4.0 grade point average. She is pursing a master's degree in educational media.

Kamlesh Mehrotra M.A. received an Individual Merit Award from the New Jersey International Association of Personnel in Employment Security. She is a counselor for the New Jersey Department of Labor.

Robert Orosz, managing partner at Total Energy System Training Health Club in Middletown, helped develop a series of unique fitness programs, including Fit at 50, The 911 ESPN Workout and Fit Kids.

Stephen R. Herrmann raised more than $85,000 for a new playground at a Houston, Texas school. He was also named vice president of Sales and Marketing at CDL Technology in Houston.

'94
Suzana Loncar M.A. joined Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A. as a summer associate. The firm has offices in New York and New Jersey.

Richard Kunze was named borough administrator in Highland Park.

Susan Ball Jacobs M.A. has been named director of Human Resources for the eastern Connecticut office of Interim HealthCare in Norwich.

'95
George Olschewski was inducted to the Omicron Pi chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honors Society.

'96
J.D. Klossek '99 M.A. has written a novel, The Fetcher in the Sky, a comic, self-help book that is a tribute to Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.

'98
Bernadette Matten performed in the musical "The All Night Strut" performed at the Bickford Theater in Morristown in October.

Elavia Bello participated in "Mole II: The Next Betrayal," a television show in the genre of "Survivor." She was one of 14 players to be chosen by ABC executives from among thousands of applicants.

Burak S. Ayata, after three years of service, earned a management position at Kuehne & Nagle Inc., a leading provider of global logistics service. The company's headquarters is in California.

Chris Mazzuchetti came in second at the New Jersey State Golf Association Open Championship, shooting two-over-par 74.

'99
Deborah Ferrara M.A.
was named principal of Demarest School. The 12-year teaching veteran helped develop writing portfolio guidelines, literacy programs and the implementation of upgraded software townwide.

Melissa Smeall was promoted to branch manager of Atlantic Stewardship Bank, Pequannock Office.

Heather Campagno, founder of the Brick Children's Community Theatre, produced "Oliver," based on Dickens' "Oliver Twist."

Lisa Salayko accepted a position at Jefferson Elementary School in Hawthorne.

Nestor A. Pla Jr. is a New Jersey State Trooper. He graduated from the New Jersey State Police Academy in Sea Girt.

'00
Fred Schuster M.A., an exercise physiologist, traveled to Cuba to participate in an exchange of strength training and physical conditioning techniques. Catherine Dokachev is an elementary school teacher in the Caldwell/West Caldwell school district.

'01
Megan Brooks teaches kindergarten at Eastlake School in Parsippany.

James Whitney M.A. teaches physical education in North Caldwell.

Lauren Bianco has been named marketing coordinator for Rosenberg Rich Baker Berman & Co., a professional association of certified public accountants.

Vishnu Singh participated in Pascack Valley Hospital's annual Stewart F. Alexander, M.D. Premedical Student Program. For six weeks students are exposed to different departments at the hospital and make rounds with doctors.


Engagements

Karen Santaniello '98 to Joseph Sorce Jr.

Alex Thaler '94 to Valerie J. Sandler Wedd


Marriages

Emil "Joe" Piel '40 '47 M.A. to Marybelle Buck on September 15, 2001

Thomas Cutalo '91 to Josephine Adornetto on June 24, 2001

Lesley Crawley '93 to Joseph Cora on August 25, 2001

Edward Kiney '93 to Maria Saporito on December 30, 2000

Mary Ellen Widrick '01 M.A. to Gregory Caracappa on August 11, 2001

Anniversaries

Louise Irving Donohue '64 and Peter, celebrated 35 years on October 29, 2001

Births
To Darryl Rankin '97 and his wife, Jocelyn, a boy, Shawn Thomas, on Sept. 3, 2001

To Colleen Collins Hendrzak '87 and her husband, Richard, triplets: Jack, Matthew, and Kathryn, on Dec. 21, 2000

To Richard Kunze '94 and his wife, Jessica Bieri Kunze '93 a girl, Sabina Marie, on May 31, 2001

To Andrea Marrone '92 and her husband, George Lowndes, a boy, Ethan, on May 28, 2001

To Richard P. Gallagher '81 and his wife, Ann, a boy, Caleb, on Dec. 2, 2000

In Memoriam
Marian Silkworth '20
Gertrude Bruley '21
Charlotte Sophrer McKenzie '31
Mary R. Cumming Higgins '32
Alexander S. Hughes '34
Bertha Simberloff Flexser '34
Eleanor Meyer Schmidt '35 '36 M.A.
Mary McDede '37
Florence Coppola '41
James B. Todd '41 '50 M.A.
Lucien Bowe '41
George B. Loriot '47 M.A.
Robert G. Champney '48
Marvin Shlofmitz '49 '51 M.A.
Paul C. Hauser '50
Alberta Rooney '52 '85 M.A.
Doris M. Kopp '56
John L. Wright '56 M.A.
Joseph Flaherty '59 '78 M.A.
Frank Fernicola '62
Karen Kruse Ege '67
Linda M. Hagen '71 '73 M.A.
Viola H. Leyenberger '72 M.A.
Marta Martinez '73 M.A.
James F. Warner '75 M.A.
Zygmunt H. Goralski '76
Dona Marie Drozdowski
De Martino '83
Maureen O'Brien DoornBosch '87
Alice M. Barrett '88
William F. Connolly '95


Alumni can send infor mation about engagements, weddings and births to Alumni Relations, 34 Normal Ave., Upper Montclair, NJ 07043; fax 973-655-5483; or e-mail alumni@mail.montclair.edu. All information must be submitted within six months of the event and include the expected date of marriage for "Engagements," the wedding date for "Marriages" and the date of birth for "Births." All submissions must include a name and telephone number for verification.

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