Class Notes/Obits
Please submit your class notes to: Amanda.schwartz@utoledo.edu
‘60’s
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Michael Spiros (Bus ’69, Law ’72) received the UT Varsity T Hall of Fame Meritorious Service Award for his forty-plus years as men’s basketball statistician. Spiros currently works at UT as an associate professor in the criminal justice department. |
’70’s
| *Dr. Cheryl A. Smith-Miller (A/s ’79, MEd ’82) was selected 2014 Nurse of the Year by the division of Nursing Practice and Professional Development at UNC Health Care. She is the nurse researcher at University of North Carolina Hospitals and an adjunct faculty member at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Nursing, located in Chapel Hill, N.C. Smith-Miller recently co-authored an article that was published in the September issue of The Journal of Nursing Administration. |  |
’80’s
Dr. Steve Huffman (A/S ’87, A/S ’88, MED ’92) was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for the 80th District. Huffman currently serves as the coroner in Miami County. He also played football during his time at UT. Huffman was a three-year starter for the Rockets, a two-time all Mid-American Conference selection as linebacker and served as team captain in 1987. He was also a two-time all-MAC academic performer and was the 1987 Jim Nicholson honoree.
’90’s
George Kral (UTCTC ’93) was appointed to the position of Chief of Police for the Toledo Police Department. Kral is a 24-year Toledo police veteran and plans to move the department forward by enhancing community relations and community policing efforts.
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Erik Engle (Eng ’98) was honored by the city of North Ridgeville, Ohio as one of the first four inductees of its Athletic Hall of Fame. Engle was a member of both the track and football teams during his time at North Ridgeville High School. He also played football at UT, where he was a two-time varsity letterman and a member of the 1995 Mid-American Conference Championship team. |
The Hon. Tammie Hursh (Law ’91)was appointed judge in the Lima Municipal Court in Allen County, in September 2014. Hursh is the former deputy law director of the city of Lima, Ohio.
Dr. Rupak Rauniar (MBA ’98, PhD ’05) is one of six faculty members from the University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration who were recognized with financial awards for their efforts in teaching and research. Rauniar was given the Bloomberg Spring 2014 Teaching Award, based on his use of the Bloomberg Businessweek’s teaching materials in the classroom.
Jay Demagall (A/S ’94) and his business partners have a spring target date to open Forest City Brewery in the Duck Island part of Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.
’00’s
Cindy M. Ursell (A/S ’04) was recently promoted to director of sales and marketing of the YES-FM radio network in Toledo, Ohio. YES-FM is a Christ-honoring radio network, located in Northwest Ohio.
*Ken Haynik (Bus ’00) is now the global head of data operations for Imagine Software, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Haynik has worked at Imagine Software since 2006.
| Colonel Daniel L. Tack Jr. (MEng ’01) was promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel in October 2013. He is the 179th Airlift Wing Support Group Commander. Tack commands more than 300 personnel, providing mission support to 1,200-plus personnel assigned to 179th Airlift Wing and 200th RED HORSE units. |  |
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Laura Mecklenborg (Bus ’09) recently joined Pilkington Architectural Glass North America, located in Philadelphia, Pa. She is a regional sales and marketing director for a territory stretching from Northern Virginia through New York and Long Island. |
Becky Ziviski (Bus ’00) was selected by Penta Career Center as a recipient of the 2014 Outstanding Alumni Award. She was recognized in a banquet in November 2014. Ziviski, of Swanton, Ohio, is currently the administrator of Heartland of Waterville, Ohio, a skilled nursing facility.
’10’s
| *Alexandria Heinonen (Law ’14) joined the law firm of Smith and Miller, located in Jefferson, Ohio, as an associate attorney. |  |
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Rebecca S. House (Law ’14) has joined the Toledo office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP as an associate in the REIT, corporate, and real estate practice groups. While in law school at UT, House was the editor-in-chief of The University of Toledo Law Review. |
| *Gary Johnson (Bus ’13) is the CEO of American Floors and Interiors (AFI), located in Toledo, Ohio. AFI was recently named to the 2014 Inner City 100 by Fortune Magazine and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. Johnson’s company came in first place in the fastest-growing inner-city construction company and eleventh fastest-growing inner-city company overall. |  |
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Dr. Asma Taj (RES ’11) joined St. Mary’s of Michigan’s medical staff as a medical oncologist. Taj is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and practices at St. Mary’s of Michigan Towne Center in Saginaw, Mich. |
Faculty, staff & friends
*Katheryn Eckles (LLSS ’13), Erin Vogel (current UT psychology graduate student) and Lindsay Roberts (current UT psychology graduate student) along with Dr. Jason Rose (UT associate professor in the College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences) conducted two studies to examine how people compare themselves on Facebook and how those comparisons affect them. Results showed that people feel worse about themselves after looking at others’ Facebook profiles, and frequent Facebook users have lower self-esteem in general.
| Huilan Zhang (current UT PhD student) and Dr. Amal Said (UT associate professor in the College of Business and Innovation) were winners of the 2014 Excellence in Lean Accounting Award from the nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute. Zhang is conducting research into lean management in healthcare and manufacturing for her dissertation. Said was given the award for mentoring and encouraging undergraduate and graduate students to study lean principles as they learn about accounting and management. |  |
Births and Marriages
*Dr. Benjamin Joseph Reuben Wierwille (Eng ’05, MBA ’07) and Amber Michelle Kish announced their engagement and will exchange vows on May 23, 2015. Wierwille is employed at T-Cetra, LLC in Columbus, Ohio.
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Brett Wagner (Bus ’09) and Haley Ann Whitcomb were in engaged in 2014 and are planning a July 25, 2015 wedding. Brett is employed at General Fabrications Corp. in Sandusky, Ohio. |
Jason Allen Stienecker (Eng ’07) and Raquel Chacon Luna of San Rafael Alajuela, Costa Rica, were married on June 21, 2014 at Playa Mantas Beach in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The couple honeymooned in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jason is currently employed by St. John’s Medical Center and Parkview Hospital in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
*Kyle Henry (Eng ’12) and Megan Gross (Bus ’13) announced their engagement in late 2014. Kyle is a turnaround engineer at Toledo Refining Co., in Oregon, Ohio. Megan is a marketing specialist at Therma-Tru Doors in Maumee, Ohio.
Jessica Mary Dupes (HSHS ’11) and Jacob Daniel Keller exchanged wedding vows on December 13, 2014 at St. John Catholic Church in Lima, Ohio. Jessica is currently working towards her doctor of physical therapy degree at UT. She will graduate in 2015.
Faculty, staff & friends
Dr. Robert Ehrlich, New York City, N.Y. at 76. This former MCO faculty member joined the college in 1977 as an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics and was named an associate professor three years later. In 1985, he began a joint appointment after being named an associate professor in the department of anesthesiology. Ehrlich was director of the pediatric cardiology division when he resigned in 1988. He also served as director of the poison control center.
Nancy S. Kemper, Toledo at 93. Nancy worked in Carlson Library for 15 years. She joined the staff as a clerk in 1966, was promoted to clerk 2 in 1968 and clerk 3 in 1969. One year later, she became a library assistant and in 1975, a bibliographic assistant. In 1976, Kemper was named library media tech assistant 2, the position she held when she retired from the University in 1981.
Samantha Cozad, Toledo at 20. She was a security officer on the Health Science Campus. She worked at the University since 2013 and was taking classes and majoring in criminal justice at UT.
Edith A. Gholston (MEd ’72), Clarksburg, W.Va. at 92. She worked as a supervisor of student teachers.
JoAnn Redfern, Toledo at 75. She was a cashier in the UT bursar’s office from 1991 until her retirement in 2001.
Samuel P. Szor, Toledo at 84. He taught music at the University during the 1960s. Szor joined the UT faculty in 1963 as an assistant professor and conductor. He was director of the University band and concert bands. In 1969, he was named associate director of student activities and in the 1970s he left UT to teach for Toledo Public Schools. The local legend became known as “Mr. Music” for conducting the Music Under the Stars concerts at the Toledo Zoo and for leading the Toledo Choral Society for decades. He also played the bassoon in the Toledo Symphony Orchestra for years and later conducted the symphony’s Casual Concerts for 10 years. He was the conductor of the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra for 20 years.
John P. Williamson, Northwood, Ohio at 92. He was a longtime chair and CEO of Toledo Edison Co. To celebrate the centennial of light in 1979, the company gave the University the Toledo Edison Memorial Foundation, which is located in front of the Student Union. A quote by Williamson is on a plaque on the fountain: “As Thomas E. Edison brought the light of electricity to mankind, this university brings the light of knowledge to its scholars.”
Mary T. Wolfe, Toledo at 82. Mary was a UT benefactor and advocate for the arts. She and her husband, Frederic “Fritz,” gave the lead gift of $1.5 million for the research laboratories for the College of Pharmacy and the departments of biological sciences and chemistry. Dedicated in 1998, Wolfe Hall is adjacent to Bowman-Oddy Laboratories on Main Campus. To honor the $2.5 million gift to support diabetes research, the new home for the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the Health Science Campus was named the Frederick and Mary Wolfe Center when it opened in 2011. She also served on the UT visual arts committee, which was responsible for integrating the arts on campus.
*Donna Mohn, Toledo at 81.
*Jacqueline Mattison, Toledo at 78.
40’s
Eleanor Stephens (A/S ’42), Manitou Beach, Mich. at 95.
Gid Searle (Pharm ’41), Boise, Idaho at 97.
50’s
**Martha Shoun (Ed ’53), Brigham City, Utah at 83.
Robert O’Connell (MBA ’53), Toledo at 83.
Robert Taylor (Pharm ’57), Midland, Mich. at 79.
Romaine Clark (Ed ’51), Toledo at 85.
60’s
John Riehle (Bus ’61), Toledo at 83.
James Harton (Bus ’65), Toledo at 75.
Ella Heath (Ed ’69), Toledo at 76.
G. Roberts (MA ’69), Greensboro, N.C. at 77.
70’s
**Alyce Lutomski (A/S ’74), Toledo at 63.
Barbara Thames-Vaughan (Ed ’79), Toledo at 74.
Richard Vail (Ed ’73, MEd ’89, Ed Spec ’93), Walbridge, Ohio at 65.
Stephen Prudente (Bus ’71), Freehold, N.J.
Richard Hettel (A/S ’77, MS ’78), Whitehouse, Ohio at 61.
James Everett (UTCTC ’76), Toledo at 69.
Daniel McLaughlin (MEd ’78), Bay Village, Ohio at 77.
Dr. Charlie Grice (MEd ’73, Ed Spec ’77, PhD ’84), Cape Coral, Fla. at 83.
*Dr. William Wolfe (A/S ’75, MEd ’76, PhD ’94), Toledo at 67.
80’s
Rodger Hall (UTCTC ’84), Cordova, Tenn. at 74.
Suzanne Dennis (Univ Coll ’81), Toledo at 85.
Michael Young (Law ’83), Cincinnati, Ohio at 58.
Sheryl Shipman (Univ Coll ’88), Toledo at 57.
Randy Dossat (Eng ’80), Las Vegas, Nev. at 60.
John Green (Univ Coll ’85), Toledo at 52.
Kerry Myers (Eng ’88), Oregon, Ohio at 51.
Merrilee Ehrlich (NRSG ’88), New York, N.Y. at 57.
Lavern Miller (Eng ’82, A/S ’82), Cheyenne, Wyo. at 57.
Timothy Ireland (A/S ’88), Richmond, Va. at 59.
Arthur Lovisi (Law ’83), Norfolk, Va. at 59.
Mildred Balzer (UTCTC ’85), Gwynedd, Pa. at 85.
00’s
Joshua Martin (Bus ’01), Newark, Ohio at 35.
Elizabeth Kelley (MEd ’09), Ironton, Ohio at 51.
10’s
*Martin Peters (Pharm ’11, PharmD ’13), Toledo at 31.
Katie Morrissey (Pharm ’12), Toledo at 29.
*Annual Alumni Association Member
**Lifetime Alumni Association Member
