Class Notes

Below are Class Notes for this issue. To see all Class Notes, click here.

1940s

In Memoriam

Maxine E. Geiger '42

(Sigma Phi Epsilon)   July 13, 2023

Maxine Brenner Dehn '44

March 28, 2024

Martha Miller '48

September  4, 2023.  Illinois College extends sympathy  to alumnus family member  Hilda Radcliffe ’77.

Arnold Cronquist '49

(Sigma Pi) October 22, 2023. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumnus family member Craig Cronquist ’73.

Cornell J. Kane

October 13, 2023

1950s

In Memoriam

Joyce Buckley Bucklin '50

September 13, 2023. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumnus family member Nathaniel J. Bucklin Jr. ’48.

Dale Beerup '50

May 22, 2023

Mary Rybick Demo '50

(Gamma Delta) November 23, 2023 * SS

Judge Richard Mills '51

(Phi Alpha)  July 16, 2023

Robert L. Grove '51

January 20, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy  to alumnus family member  Ashley Kort Morhardt ’06

Robert V. Bonjean '51

May 26, 2023. Illinois College extends its sympathy to alumni family members Bob Bonjean Jr. ’78, Pat Bonjean ’78, Bobby Bonjean III ’94, Shannon Bonjean Beiermann ’02 and Cortney Hickox Bonjean ’05.

Darrell Ehlert '52

(Phi Alpha)  April 16, 2023

Joan Keiser Falkenburg '53

(Chi Beta) December 24, 2022

Elise Harbert Smith '53

(Gamma Delta) March 25, 2024

Robert Falkenburg '53

(Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Alpha)  July 1, 2023

Stanley Fishman '54

(Phi Alpha, Alpha Phi Omega) March 8, 2024

Helen Sellers Brooks '54

(Gamma Delta) November 15, 2023

John Boatwright '55

April 23, 2023 SS

J. Edward Flynn '56

February 21, 2024

Karen Meyers Hart '58

(Chi Beta) March 8, 2024

1960s

In Memoriam

William L. Currie

(Phi Alpha) July 19, 2024

Joseph Shanahan, Jr. '63

December 10, 2023

Dean Oder '63

(Phi Alpha) February 6, 2024

William P. Gussner '63

(Phi Alpha) June 21, 2024

James Newport '65

December 23, 2023

Donald Phelps '65

(Sigma Pi) December 22, 2022

George Dawson '65

September 2, 2023

Leonard “Len” J. Brink '66

(Gamma Nu)  June 21, 2023

Mary L. Shanahan Owen '66

(Chi Beta)  January 12, 2024

William D. Gibson '66

April 17, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy  to alumnus family members   William Gibson ’89, Elizabeth, Gibson Evans ’91 and Stephen Gibson ’95.

Thomas Egizii '67

November 16, 2023. Illinois College extends sympathy  to alumnus family member  Christine Egizii Kolaz ’86.

Edward D. Stanfield '68

(Sigma Pi) July 5, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy  to alumnus family member  Michael R. Cochran ’70.

Richard Haas '69

(Sigma Pi)

Patricia Lindquist Kirkland '69

March 28, 2024

Updates

Dr. Richard Vuylsteke '66

was recognized by the Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board as “Mentor of the Year” in ceremonies held at Pearl Harbor Naval Base.

1970s

In Memoriam

Lawrence L. Coultas '71

September 5, 2023

Betty Jean Whitehead '71

May 2, 2023

Carol Curtis '72

January 20, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Helen Conlee Curtis ’40 and Helen Curtis Brennan ’64.

Conrad Nick Surratt '73

July 1, 2024

James Gourley '74,

April 15, 2023

Marie E. Walsh '74

(Chi Beta), April 25, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy  to alumnus family member Joseph Walsh ’63.

Sheryl L. Sorenson Mokrzycki '75

February 8, 2024

Mark Murrin '77

October 10, 2023

Mary “Beth” Wilson Whitacre '78

July 22, 2024

Updates

Richard Bales '73

published a book, The Short Writings of Nelson Algren: A Study of His Stories, Essays, Articles, Reviews, Poems, and Other Literature, through McFarland & Company.

Jay Anders '79

received an award for Podcast of the Year from HITMC. His podcast is called Tell Me Where It Hurts. 

1980s

In Memoriam

Mark A. Tiemann '80

May 6, 2024

Carol A Chesebro '81

November 22, 2023

William J. Sampias '81

(Sigma Pi), April 23, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Sandra Miller Sampias ’83 and Wesley Sampias ’15. 

Joseph Sheehan '82

March 4, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Kathryn Sheehan Turner ’78, Charles Sheehan ’83, Rebecca Sheehan Birdsell ’85, Linda Sheehan ’86 and Brian Sheehan ’89.

Dale A. Wurste '84

June 17, 2024

Eric Heikes '88

February 26, 2024

Updates

Richard Meidel, Jr. '85

 retired from Exxon Mobil after 32 years with the company.

Russell Miers '89

started a new position as senior project manager at Horace Mann.

1990s

In Memoriam

Bette R. DeSilva '90

February 7, 2024

Jeffrey D. Brown '91

(Pi Pi Rho), May 6, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Larry Brown    ’60 and Carolyn Marsh Brown ’62.

Marcia Macholl '92

July 12, 2023. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Cynthia Macholl Slaton ’88 and Christopher ’92 and Heidi Sturtevant Macholl ’90.

Updates

Debra McCormick Drake '92

started a new position as group head of corporate finance at Anglo American in London.

Thomas Betsinger '97

was appointed as the new executive director of the Oswegoland Park Board of Commissioners.

Dr. Chris Becker '97

was promoted as the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction of Highland CUSD No. 5.

2000s

Updates

Adam R. Ford '00

started a new position as chief technology Officer at Zscaler.

Amanda Jillyn Shoemaker '01

started a new position as director of advancement operations for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Scott Stewart '02

started a new position as a senior director of operations at Nathan Wright Landscape Design. 

Jason Paproth '03

was hired as an administrator by Racine Unified School District, in Racine Wisconsin, to serve as the eighth grade principal the the Academies of Racine Jerstad-Agerholm.

Steve Snyder '04

started a new position as national sales manager at Coro Foods.

Christina Lappe Beck '04

was chosen from over 600 applications in the state to be awarded the Golden Apple in Teaching award.

Jeremy Briggs '04

started a new position as the controller at Nestle.

Sarah McCullough Grant '06

is the director of development at Galesburg Community Foundation.

Claire Griffith '06

started a new position as client service manager at the American Dental Association.

Dallas Petefish '06

started a new position as farm manager at The Farmers State Bank and Trust Co.

Sarah Keller '07

was promoted to strategy accounting consultant at Caterpillar Inc.

Eckhart Spalding '07

started working at the University of Sydney, Australia, in 2023.

Amanda Flemmer '08

started a new position as the customer success manager, director at Salesforce.

Jordan Stott '08

received the Springfield Business Journal Forty Under 40 award.

Amanda Cox Nagle '09

has received her master’s degree from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. 

Jonathan Valuck '09

received the Springfield Business Journal Forty Under 40 award.

2010s

In Memoriam

Kimberly O’Toole '11

August 1, 2024

Tiffiny Sanders Mason '10

January 12, 2024

Logan Dunne '13

November 12, 2023

Updates

Caleb Yarbrough '10

has been promoted strategic projects North American Finance Director.

Katie Brunk '10

started a new position as a broadband specialist at Learn Design Apply Inc and is certified in cybersecurity from ISC2.

Kayla Graven '11

started a new position as operations coordinator at City of Springfield, Illinois. 

Kyle Colglazier '11

started a new position as instructional designer at PayPal.

Rachel Macon '11

started a new position as an employee experience business partner at Federal Reserve Financial Services.

Dr. Clare Zimmerman '11

a board certified physician in pediatric hematology-oncology, was appointed chair of the Southern Illinois University Medicine Institutional Review Board. She was also named to Springfield Business Journal Forty Under 40 award for 2024.

Travis Davis '11

received the Springfield Business Journal Forty Under 40 award.

Dr. Haleigh A. Ray '12

has been awarded a silver medal in the education category of the Chelsea Flower Show in London for her “Finding the Rare Florida Ghost Orchid and More” display.

Amy Kralik '12

has started a new position as a senior human resources Manager at Medline Industries. 

Ryan Blesse '13

 is the new human resources manager leading strategic projects for Springfield Clinic.

Hannah Neuendorf '13

earned a certification for human resources professionals.

Carly Stroud '13

completed her MBA with an emphasis in marketing at the University of WisconsinWhitewater. 

Ross Barker '13

earned a certified crop specialist designation.

Nathan Kohler '14

started a new position as a recruiter at The Jonus Group. 

Josephine Oshiafi '14

was voted as a Rising Star in the Nigerian 40 under 40 legal awards by My ESQ Legal.

Corey Foulon '15

 has obtained a certification for Azure AI Fundamentals from Microsoft.

Kayla Kolis '15

was promoted to project manager of Natural Resources at SWCA Environmental Consultants. 

Alessandra Capparelli McNamara '15

is a nursing faculty instructor at Harper College.

Renee Colley '15

started a new position as foster care liaison at Centene Corporation.

Matthew Murphy '16

defended his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois with his dissertation in applying variance genome-wide association studies for identifying gene-by-environment interactions and accepted a postdoctoral research fellow position at the University of Arkansas and will serve as the statistical consultant for the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. 

Taylor Molandro Koskie '16

 started a new position as senior implementation manager at Crafty.

Emily L. Smith '16

has been awarded team player of the quarter at Dell Technologies.

Drew Stroud '16

graduated from The University of New Orleans with a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance.

Lauren Mense Stutsman '16

started a new position as the assistant director of development at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Daniel Lewis '16

started a new position as director of legislative affairs at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Tamar Norville Walleser '16

is a solider and family readiness specialist for the Minnesota National Guard.

Samuel Welbourne '17

started a new position as warehouse manager at Dot Foods in Manchester, Tennessee.

Megan Zirkelbach '17

 graduated from Lindenwood University with a Master of Business Administration.

Christian Flores '18

was promoted to senior associate at Mercury Public Affairs.

Jonathan Miller '18

 started a new position as the foundation and corporate relations manager at Atlanta Mission.

Kaitlin Thompson Houser '19

was promoted to escalations & solutions analyst at Dot Foods.

Faculty & Staff

In Memoriam

Don A. Gustine, Professor and Coach

July 3, 2023 

George “Jack” Mann, Physics and Math Professor

April 7, 2024. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Mark Mann ’82 and Mike Mann ’85.

George L. Westenberger, Accounting Professor

April 29, 2024

Donald Hipkins, Maintenance Technician

December 10, 2023. Illinois College extends sympathy to alumni family members Charity Hipkins-Robinson ’00.

Peter Lira, Football Coach

March 3, 2024 

Howard P. Gallois, Professor

July 3, 2023 

2020s

Marriages

Anthony Flores and Olivia Flores

were married. 

Updates

Tyler Kozaritz '20

 passed his professional engineering exam in civil engineering. 

Nickolas Rentschler '20

 started a new position as senior software engineer at Mastercard. 

Colin Edwards '20

was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the Army National Guard.

Amanda Boeckman Trickel '20

completed her master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in applied behavior analysis.

Austin Gruber '20

 is pretreatment administrator for the Sanitary District of Decatur.

Austin Crawford '21

started a new position as employer services auditor II at the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois.

Shelby Salzman-Edwards '21

 was promoted at work as the residential services supervisor for the Center for Prevention of Abuse / Residential Services.

Morgan Mayberry '21

is working a full time position at the Learning Nook as a preschool teacher, and is working towards her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education.

Maddy Monge '21

earned a master’s degree in social work from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. She was named Graduate Student of the Year for 2023.

Tiffany Shirkey '21

started a new position at Growmark, Inc., as a social media analyst. 

Asia Watson '21

started a new position as a field representative at Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale.

Grant Flynn '21

started a new position as Policy and Budget Analyst with the Illinois State Senate Democratic Caucus.

Bryce Whinningham '21

started a new position at Walt Disney World.

Maddy Morgan '21

graduated with her master’s degree in social work and has accepted a full time position in St Louis.

Josh Grant '21

got accepted into McKendree University’s MBA program this spring, earning a graduate assistant job in the athletic department.

Leah Reither '21

started a new job at Schuyler County Mental Health as a counselor.  

Jasaun King '21

graduated from the University of Central Florida with a master’s degree in communication and is a corporate communications officer at the AAA National Office.

Juta Wowoe '22

completed a master’s degree in environmental science in sustainable development and policy at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Mckenna Servis '22

was awarded the Russell L. Lewis Young Museum Professional Award at the Illinois State Historical Society.

Grace Frost '22

started a new position as a staff accountant at Dot Foods.

Brynne Wallace '22

started a new position as leaning and organizational development analyst at Core & Main. 

Colin Gwillim '22

started a new position as a legislative assistant at the U.S. House of Representatives.

Willie Terry '23

 began teaching at Kewanee High School, and and earned a certification to teach driver’s education.

Laten Wayer '23

 started a new position as a financial planner at Prudential Financial. 

Elise Griffin '24

started a new position as the seasonal interpreter at Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site.

Sierra Brewer '24

 started a new position as an outpatient mental health therapist at Locust Resource Health Center. 

Michael Finley '24

was promoted to associate people partner at Independence Pet Group.