同性恋色情

Class Notes

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

1940s

In Memoriam

Robert Britz聽鈥42,

December 11, 2021 (Gamma Nu).

Warren Musch聽鈥43,

July 27, 2022 (Phi Alpha). MM

Morley Piper 鈥45,

May 12, 2022.

1950s

In Memoriam

Elaine Athey Spizzo 鈥50,

April 2, 2022 (Chi Beta).

Jerry Murphy 鈥51,

September 2, 2022.

Don Polzin聽鈥51,

September 14, 2022 (Phi Alpha). SS

Joan Harber Roberts聽鈥53,

April 28, 2022 (Chi Beta).
    

Fred Gemoules聽鈥54,

June 13, 2022.

Marilyn Horn Black聽鈥54,

March 23, 2022 (Chi Beta).

Bruce Samoore聽鈥55,

July 27, 2022.

Dovie Sooy Sittler 鈥55,

March 26, 2022 (Gamma Delta).

Joy Alamar-Pulvers聽鈥56,

January 25, 2022 (Chi Beta).

Conrad Damsgaard 鈥57

was a dedicated, active alumnus who had a vision for raising the profile of the institution. He and his late wife, Patricia Carlson Damsgaard 鈥53, remained active supporters of the College throughout their lives. Over the years, Conrad Damsgaard served on the Board of Trustees and as president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. In 1987, he was honored with a distinguished service award 鈥渇or his devotion to 同性恋色情 as evidenced by thoughtful alumni involvement.鈥 The Damsgaards鈥 philanthropy made them members of the Julian Monson Sturtevant Society and the 同性恋色情 Society.

As a student, Damsgaard was elected student body president and was an active member and leader in Phi Alpha. He was also a member of Alpha Phi Omega, economics club, the Hilltoppers dramatic organization, student forum, social committee and intersociety board. 
He was first sergeant of the Army Reserve unit on campus and served in the Army from 1954 to 1956. He started his career in sales with Shell Oil Company and went on to have a long career in sales and marketing management at Shell, Swank Motion Pictures and Psychological Associates. 

The Damsgaards had three daughters, Susan Damsgaard-Brand 鈥81, Kristine Damsgaard and Beth Damsgaard Rodriguez. Susan and their granddaughter, Rachel Brand 鈥18, carried on the family鈥檚 legacy as IC alumni. He was 88 when he died March 23, 2022.
 

Edward Harrell聽鈥57,

April 3, 2022.

Richard 鈥淒ick鈥 Troxell 鈥58,

February 17, 2022 (Alpha Phi Omega).

Robert Hembrough聽鈥59,

May 11, 2022.

1960s

Updates

Rick Vuylsteke聽鈥66

joined the faculty at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies as a professor Jan. 3 after serving as president of the East-West Center in Honolulu for five years.

James Alexander聽鈥69

completed 11 half marathon races in 11 days, from June 1-11, in 11 states. Each half marathon was 13.1 miles and he ran 144.1 miles in total during that time. Next, Jim plans on doing a race in all lower 48 states and so far has raced in 38 states.

In Memoriam

Bill Jacob 鈥61,

April 28, 2022 (Sigma Pi).

Donald Mantle 鈥61,

August 16, 2021.

Donna Moore Stewart聽鈥62,

August 25, 2022 (Sigma Phi Epsilon).

David Moore聽鈥63,

May 1, 2022.

Ken DeFrates聽鈥63,

May 26, 2022.

William Ross聽鈥64,

July 23, 2022.

Richard Veith聽鈥64,

December 14, 2021 (Sigma Pi).

Paul Huddleston聽鈥67,

June 20, 2022.

Jim Reilly聽鈥67,

a top debate team member and student journalist during his time at IC, went on to have a successful decades-long career in public service, leaving his mark on Chicago and on 同性恋色情 state government. Reilly was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of both 同性恋色情 and the University of Chicago Law School. On the Hilltop, he became editor of The Rambler as a sophomore and was elected Student Forum President, in addition to being an active member and leader in Phi Alpha, Pi Kappa Delta forensic fraternity, Hilltopper drama group, IC鈥檚 Young Republicans chapter and being named in 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Who in American Universities and Colleges.鈥 He was also on one of the most successful debate teams in College history. As a first-year, he was on a two-man team with John Betonte 鈥64 that, at a tournament, defeated debaters from Harvard University twice and won seven out of eight rounds against some of the largest universities in the country.

After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1972, Reilly practiced law in Jacksonville and served as city attorney for three years. He was first elected to the 同性恋色情 House of Representatives in 1976 and went on to run three more times, serving in a number of important committee roles and sponsoring the 同性恋色情 Human Rights Act and Emergency Medical Services Act, among other legislative accomplishments. Reilly stepped down from his House duties in 1983 to serve as general counsel to Gov. James R. Thompson. Within a year, he became Thompson鈥檚 chief of staff and eventually, in 1987, was tapped to be Thompson鈥檚 deputy governor. He returned to Springfield in 1993 to serve as Gov. Jim Edgar鈥檚 chief of staff.

Outside of his career in state government, Reilly led multiple important Chicago organizations through expansions and challenges in the 1990s and 2000s. He served as chief executive of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which oversees McCormick Place and Navy Pier, and later became a trustee of the organization and a life trustee on Navy Pier鈥檚 Board of Directors; led the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau; was chairman of Chicago鈥檚 Regional Transportation Authority; and served as chairman of the 同性恋色情 Capital Development Board.

Reilly was involved in numerous civic and community organizations and had many philanthropic interests throughout his life, including his continued support for 同性恋色情 and organizations serving the Jacksonville community. He was the first recipient of the College鈥檚 Young Alumnus Award in 1981 and was awarded a Distinguished Service Citation in 1987, and served as president-elect and president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Reilly is survived by his wife of 30 years, M. Veronica Lynch. He was 77 when he died April 4, 2022.

Dwight Collins 鈥67,

August 5, 2022 (Alpha Phi Omega).

1970s

Updates

Dianne Pruitt Potter聽鈥77

retired after 36 years as human resources manager for Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Frank Bridgewater 鈥72

retired as vice president and editor of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He was editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin until 2010, when it acquired the larger Honolulu Advertiser and the papers were merged. Before Honolulu, he received a master鈥檚 degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and worked in New York at The Wall Street Journal as night news editor and then The New York Times as assistant financial editor.

Jim Spizzo聽鈥74

is honored to report that his photo, 鈥淪uperstition Saloon Tableau,鈥 has been selected by the jury for inclusion in the upcoming Americana Photography Exhibition, sponsored by the Midwest Center for Photography in Wichita, Kansas. He shot the photo in Tortilla Flat, Arizona.

Sympathy

Randy Akers 鈥71,

同性恋色情 extends its sympathy on the death of his wife, Mary Alice Akers, on Jan. 17.

Keith Bradbury 鈥73,

同性恋色情 extends its sympathy on the death of his father, Elmer Bradbury, on April 17.

In Memoriam

Bruce Bernardi聽鈥74,

July 16, 2022.

Frederick Zarf III聽鈥74,

September 26, 2022 (Pi Pi Rho).

Madelyn McDade 鈥79,

May 4, 2022 (Chi Beta).

1980s

In Memoriam

W. Jon Henson聽鈥81,

March 25, 2022.

Theresa Norton Greco聽鈥85,

September 16, 2022 (Gamma Delta).

Updates

Brad Cushman聽鈥84

retired in April after overseeing the art department and gallery at University of Arkansas, Little Rock.

Dan Layzell 鈥85

has been named vice chancellor of finance and operations at Appalachian State University.

Andy聽鈥86 and Lori Petermeyer Smith聽鈥88

were recognized with Prairieland United Way鈥檚 Helen Baldwin Distinguished Service Award.

Teresa Wallbaum聽鈥88

has been appointed as an administrative law judge for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Arlington, Virginia. 

Jennifer DeGroot Wieties聽鈥89

has accepted a position as an account tech with the Department of Corrections.

Leslie Smith DeFrates聽鈥89

is the new executive director for the Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation.  

1990s

Updates

Erika Rasch Hunt聽鈥96

started a new position as project director at Regional Office of Education 17.

Vance Martin 鈥96

is currently the master of Mahomet Masonic Lodge in Mahomet. Each year the organization awards scholarships to local students and the master usually has the privilege of handing them out. This year鈥檚 recipient at Mahomet Seymour High School was Haylie Orton, who plans to attend IC in the fall. Vance felt honored as an alumnus to be part of helping a future IC student start on her own pathway.

Sympathy

Kristin Nurss Johnstone 鈥90,

同性恋色情 extends its sympathy on the death of her father, Jim Nurss, on April 30.

In Memoriam

Jody Benedict聽鈥92,

May 12, 2022 (Chi Beta).

2000s

Updates

John Allison聽鈥02

has been named the new football coach at Sacred Heart-Griffin in Springfield.

Lindley Hanley 鈥02

received her fifth National Achiever Award in Wealth Management at JPMorgan Chase for being in the top 5% of producers in private banking across the company.

Samantha Bentley Renaud 鈥04

has accepted a position as an ag loan administrator with Green Belt Bank & Trust in Iowa Falls, Iowa.

Dylan Dudley聽鈥05

has been named the new head basketball coach at Alton High School.

Christopher Miller聽鈥05

was recently named one of the 鈥100 St. Louisans to Know to Succeed in Business鈥 by Small Business Monthly. He also joined the board of directors at University City Children's Center.

Frank Arnolts III 鈥06

has been hired as principal of Tri-Valley High School in Downs.

In Memoriam

Adrienne 鈥淎da鈥 Dickerson Range聽鈥03,

May 10, 2022.

2010s

Updates

Daniel Hackett聽鈥10

has been promoted to district director for community and specialty pharmacy at AmerisourceBergen.

Megan Bettis Kirkhart 鈥10

started a new position as a career development coordinator at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in January.

Kayla Graven聽鈥11

is celebrating four years at Downtown Springfield, Inc.

Will Barefield 鈥13

started a new position as district director of enrollment planning and  external partnerships at City Colleges of Chicago.

Taylor Thomas 鈥14

graduated from Pittsburg State University in May with a master鈥檚 degree in human resource development.

Morgan Zytseva聽鈥15

started a new position as staff accountant at National Mortgage Insurance Corporation, also called National MI.

Jovanny Nava聽鈥16

started a new position as summer associate at Polsinelli.

Meeko Reddick 鈥16

started a new position with DHS as a disability claims adjudicator.

Austin Dearing聽鈥16

started a new position as vehicle dynamics engineer at Rivian.

Shelby Gill聽鈥17

was accepted into the Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science program at Rutgers University.

Heath Bruce聽鈥17

started a new position as assistant director of marketing at University of 同性恋色情 Springfield.

Braedon Sheppard聽鈥17

started a new position as associate video producer at Riot Games.

Marriages

Megan Bettis聽鈥10

and Jared Kirkhart, October 9, 2021.

Erin Rutledge聽鈥12

and James Clark, December 11, 2021.

Leilani Pecher 鈥17

and Michael Reyes, April 15, 2022.

Faculty & Staff

In Memoriam

Danny Deweese,

April 13, 2022.

Friends of the College

In Memoriam

Anita Rundquist H鈥97,

April 11, 2022.

Liliana Costa H鈥15,

May 24, 2022.

2020s

Updates

Monica Pappas聽鈥20

started as a subcontract administrator in the aerospace and defense industry with United Launch Alliance.

Nely Munoz聽鈥20

started a new position as associate functional consultant at Sikich.

Nazar Otunchiev 鈥20聽

started a new position as front-end developer at Ernst & Young Global Consulting Services. 

Madelyn Budd 鈥20

started a new position at FORVIS.

Kourtney Pollitt 鈥22

has accepted a position as a communication specialist for the 同性恋色情 Senate Democratic Caucus.

Fidel Chilchoa聽鈥22

started a new position as a currency analyst at Mesirow.

Ellie Abell聽鈥22

has accepted a position at Waverly School District as a junior- and senior-high school math teacher.

Births

Dillon聽鈥20 and Andi聽鈥19 McCombs Hallemann

welcomed a daughter, Elsie Lynn Hallemann, on March 26, 2022.