Class Notes
Class Notes of 10s
Eric LaRoche ’14 is one of three people from around the world admitted to the Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy, a one-year program allowing him to work with the company’s Red Bull Racing team at its Formula 1 factory in England, as well as with Infiniti’s road engineers, to help design the cars of the future.
Victor J. Valdez M.B.A. ’14 has been named chief operating officer and managing executive of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Enforcement Division. He came to the SEC from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), where he was deputy director of strategic planning and corporate programs for its Corporate University. He has an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduate degrees in international affairs from Saint Mary’s University (Texas) and in military operational art and science from the Air Command and Staff College.
Jordan Freiman ’11, Eric Owusu ’11 and Kate Oliva ’10 are among the founders of the new-media production company Covert Bacon. In August, it launched a YouTube channel featuring original comedic Web series.
Jessica “Jessy” Katz ’11 competed this summer on “The Voice Israel.” It’s nearly identical in format to the American version of the TV show. Niece of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg, she’s been singing in Tel Aviv since immigrating there three years ago, according to an August story in The Hollywood Reporter.
Jill A. Perry Ph.D. ’10 has been appointed executive director of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, which brings together a consortium of colleges and schools of education to institute a clear distinction between the professional practice doctorate in education (Ed.D.) and the education research doctorate (Ph.D.), and to improve reliability and efficacy of programs leading to the professional doctorate in education.
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith ’10 was selected in September as the National Football League Players Association Community MVP. The organization made a donation to the Torrey Smith Foundation, which just opened its second Reading Room at Benjamin Franklin High School in Baltimore. His foundation’s Back to School Program each August provides low-income children with backpacks filled with school supplies. Smith’s Turkey Bowl provides a full Thanksgiving meal to families in need. And in honor of his late brother, Tevin Jones, Smith’s foundation awards four annual scholarships to deserving area high school seniors.
Class Notes of 00s
Transgender activist Andrea “Andy” Bowen ’08 has been named executive director of Garden State Equality, making her one of the nation’s first openly transgender leaders of a statewide organization for LGBT civil rights. She previously served as social policy organizer with DC Trans Coalition and policy associate at the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Ronald Leo Checkai ’06 and Peter Martyr Joseph Yungwirth ’06 were ordained to the priesthood for the Dominican Order on May 23 in Washington, D.C. They entered the Dominican Order at Saint Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati in August 2007, and made their first profession of religious vows there in 2008. They were then assigned to the Dominican House of Studies in D.C. As deacons, Checkai served at St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill and Yungwirth served at St. Thomas Apostle Church, both in D.C.
Thuy Le Ph.D. ’05 is among the first 50 Woodrow Wilson New Jersey Teaching Fellows. The highly competitive program recruits recent graduates and career changers with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and awards them $30,000 to complete a specially designed master’s degree program. In return, fellows commit to teach for three years in New Jersey schools that most need strong STEM teachers. Le earned a bachelor’s degree in analytical chemistry at Bloomsburg University in 1983, and a master’s in organic chemistry from the University of South Florida.
Diallo Noel Williams ’05 married Teresa Heather Walker on Aug. 23 at the Green Building, an event space in Brooklyn. He is a facility rentals coordinator and technician at the Downtown Community Television Center in Manhattan. He has also directed and produced documentary shorts for GothamHoops.com.
Paula Peró ’00 received the “Educator of the Year” award from the steering committee of the Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala. She is the World Languages Department resource teacher at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington. She has planned trips to Europe, provided cooking lessons, arranged visits to plays and museums and taken students to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Policy Conference, and sponsors the competitive Latin dance team Titanes Salseros.
Class Notes of 90s
Anthony B. Kirkland D.M.A. ’97 is assistant professor of trumpet at Mississippi State University. Over the summer, he performed as soloist with the MSU Wind Ensemble during its Italian tour to Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice. He also conducted the brass ensemble in a performance at the Papal Chapel of St. Francis of Asissi.
Jason Cohen ’96, co-founder of That’s How We Roll, a snack-food company, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Award in the Excellence in Emerging category in the New Jersey region. He sold his first two companies, Mamma Says and Sensible Portions, to large, publicly traded companies, then launched Rickland Orchards, a Greek yogurt snack brand that was sold to B&G Foods last October. Cohen is also a partner in Skinny Pop Popcorn and Party ‘Tizers Dippin’ Chips.
Ann McCallum M.Ed. ’96 aims to educate minds and fill stomachs with her book “Eat Your Science Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds.” Dishes such as “Sedimentary Lasagna” and “Atomic Popcorn Balls” are both savory and smart. More information can be found at annmccallumbooks.com.
William Cole ’94 is the new president and CEO of Baltimore Development Corp. He previously served as the Baltimore City Council representative for the 11th District, which includes more than a dozen neighborhoods, the Inner Harbor, downtown and the Port of Baltimore, since 2007. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1999-2002.
Steve Kerrigan ’93 is running for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts; his running mate on the Democratic ticket is Attorney General Martha Coakley. He is president of the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting military families of those who have been killed in action after 9/11. He also organized both inaugurations of President Obama and has a long history in Massachusetts politics.
Christopher H. Page ’92 has been named executive director of the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County. Since 2010, he has been vice president of the Howard Road Neighborhood Corp., and previously he was regional program director with the Community Preservation Development Corp. Page is also a graduate of the Howard University School of Divinity; he serves as a minister at Dayspring Community Church in Lanham, Md.
Class Notes of 80s
Naval Academy Professor Stephen Graham Ph.D. ’88 has received the ASTM (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) International Award of Merit, the highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities. He was honored for his technical and leadership contributions, including the development of fracture mechanics standards that are key to the structural integrity and reliability of welded structures.
Brad Tyndall ’83 has written “Touching God: A Journey, A Guide to Mysticism in Christianity and Islam,” following years of giving presentations to Rotary Clubs, churches and other organizations on “The Loving Side of Islam.” He is the vice president of academic affairs and teaches sustainable economics at Colorado Mountain College.
Diane Cooper-Currier ’82 received the Amelia Earhart Woman of Achievement Award from the Zonta Club of Oswego, N.Y., honoring her dedication to making a difference in her community and serving as a role model to other women. She is executive director of Oswego County Opportunities, a 550-employee health and human service agency.
Michael Martirano ’81, M.Ed. ’92 was recently appointed West Virginia state superintendent of schools. He has been an educator for 30 years and most recently served as superintendent of St. Mary’s County Public Schools in Leonardtown, Md. He was selected as the 2009 Superintendent of the Year in Maryland and a 2010 Innovator of the Year by the Maryland Daily Record.
Tia Powell Harris ’81, M.A. ’82 in March became executive director of the new Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn’s largest African-American cultural institution. She previously served as manager of community partnerships at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, associate director of education programs at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and arts educator at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
Deborah Slaner Larkin M.B.A. ’81 has been appointed chief executive officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Larkin served as the WSF’s second executive director from 1986 to 1992 and most recently served as executive director of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Foundation from 2010 through March 2013. For eight years, she served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, where she co-facilitated the renowned President’s Council Report: Physical Activity & Sport in the Lives of Girls, and gave expert testimony before Congress on health, gender equity and Title IX issues.
Class Notes of 70s
Rob Jolles ’79 has been a professional speaker for 30 years and teaches about influencing others. His latest book, “How to Change Minds: The Art of Influence Without Manipulation,” explores how to change someone through compassion rather than coercion. More information is available at jolles.com.
Renee Domogauer ’76, M.L.S. ’83 and the late Lynne Hicks ’74 co-wrote “The Washington Oak Kittens,” a children’s book that brings to life the story of a 300-year-old tree that was a historic part of a Connecticut community. Lynne died of breast cancer in 2007, and Domogauer finished the project with the help of Lynne’s husband, Donald ’72. More information can be found at washingtonoakkittens.com.
Walter N. Davenport Jr. ’75 has published his second collection of poetry, “The Poetry of Life II.” More information can be found at sbpra.com/walterndavenportjr.
Andrew Herndon ’75 was featured last year in Sunset Magazine after he stumbled into a new way to continue a long time home brewing hobby. Spying a vine during an Idaho trout-fishing trip, Herndon crushed a bloom in his hands—”It smelled like the best ale ever,” he told the magazine—took some home to California and ended up with a back yard full of hops.
Bill Perry ’75, M.S. ’78 has been named director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Directorate of Standards and Guidance. He most recently served as deputy director in the Directorate of Standards and Guidance. In his new role, Perry directs technical analysis and scientific research to develop standards and guidance materials and oversees regulatory development. He began his federal career at OSHA in 1994 as a health scientist.
Robert E. Morris ’74, a research chemist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, has been honored with the Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award. He was recognized for his achievements in fuel analytics that have been the singular driving factor in the Navy’s development of advanced diagnostics and prognostics for Navy mobility fuels.
Rodney L. Adelman ’72 was elected a regional vice president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE). With a membership of nearly 250,000, it represents the interests of all active and retired federal employees. Adelman retired in 2005 from the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice after a nearly 37-year career with the federal government.
Barbara Lockhart ’72 won a silver medal in the 2014 Independent Publishers Book Awards for her historical novel, “Elizabeth’s Field.” These awards are open to all members of the independent publishing industry; Lockhart’s novel exploring the pre-Civil War era on the Eastern Shore was chosen from 1,400 entries in the regional category.
Carol Miller Fradkin ’71 has written “What Brings You Joy?,” a collection of thoughts from over 350 people ages 6 to 97, representing more than 30 states and six countries and a variety of backgrounds and occupations. Some are amusing, others are touching or surprising. All are meant to bring more joy into people’s lives.
Class Notes of 60s
John S. Haller Jr. Ph.D. ’68 explores whether evidence-based medicine and alternative treatments can coexist in his new book, “Shadow Medicine: The Placebo in Conventional and Alternative Therapies.” Haller, an expert in medical history, is an emeritus professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Brothers Michael ’67 and Jay Headman ’67, M.A. ’76 are working with the nonprofit Delaware Center for the Inland Bays to raise money for and awareness of the plight of the diamondback terrapin. The center’s Save the TERP (Terrapin Education and Restoration Program) is seeking donations to continue supporting fencing along Coastal Highway to protect terrapins and to establish a summer “TERP-ternship” for a college student. The goal is to prevent needless deaths of terrapins as they migrate across the busy road to lay their eggs in the dunes of the beach.
John Reisinger ’66 won gold medals for two of his books at the Global eBook Awards. The awards are open to eBooks from all publishers and a panel of 200 judges determines the winners in a number of categories. “Death and the Blind Tiger,” one of Reisinger’s Roaring 20s mysteries, won first place in the Mystery Fiction category, and “Flanagan and the Crown of Mexico” won first place in the Historical Literature Fiction category. His website is johnreisinger.com.
Class Notes of 50s
Jacob D. Goering Ph.D. ’59 was awarded the 2014 Faye McCoy Positive Aging Award on Oct.1, in honor of his active approach to aging in his retirement community in North Newton, Kan. A retired emeritus professor of human development at Maryland (1957–83), he developed a recreational nature trail that begins on the Bethel College campus in the community, and he traveled to China shortly before his 94th birthday.
Class Notes of Passings
Robert L. Montgomery Ph.D. ’75 died Sept. 7, at the age of 76, according to the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. He was born on Nov. 24, 1937, in Rome, Ga., to the late Essie and Willie Montgomery Sr. After graduating from Clark Atlanta University, he married his college sweetheart. He worked for the federal government and, ultimately, retired after decades of service to the CIA. A life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the NAACP, Montgomery loved education and was an advocate of social justice. He was a golf pro, master poker player and an expert at Sudoku. He was an active member of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) and a supporter of Mount Zion Baptist Church. Montgomery is survived by his wife, Laura; children Enda and Joseph; grandchildren Mark (Angela) and Siobhan; siblings Joe, Ola and Willie; and a host of other family and friends.
Mary Jane Lusby M.Ed. ’66, a teacher and principal for 37 years in the District of Columbia and Prince George’s County, Md., died Aug. 22 at Latrobe Area Hospital near her home in Blairsville, Ind., according to the Indiana Gazette. She was 75. A native of Cumberland, Md., she graduated with honors from Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross in D.C. in 1961 and began her teaching career at Takoma Park Elementary School. In 1967, she accepted a position at Catherine T. Reed Elementary in Lanham. She became principal of College Park Elementary School in 1973, and was appointed principal of Bond Mill Elementary School in Laurel, Md., in 1977, where she remained until her retirement in 1998. In 1994, Bond Mill was named a “blue ribbon school,” a designation of great prestige, and Lusby was honored for her “outstanding leadership” by the Maryland Association of Elementary School Administrators. A devout Catholic, she was a parishioner of SS. Simon and Jude Church after moving to Blairsville in 2002. She also served as a member and later president of the Burrell Township Library board of directors. Lusby was preceded in death by her husband, Lt. Col. Richard T. Lusby (U.S. Army Reserve). She is survived by her partner and caregiver of more than 25 years, James Rubish; her sister, Marie Edwards; her brother, Charles E. Howell Jr.; several nieces and 10 great-nieces and nephews.
William A. Loveless Ph.D. ’64, who urged the Seventh-day Adventist Church to accept college students as short-term missionaries and served as pastor of two of the largest Adventist churches in the United States, died Sept. 15, according to Adventist.org. He was 86. Loveless graduated from Walla Walla University in 1949, and earned a master’s degree from Andrews University in 1953. As associate pastor of the Sligo Adventist Church in Maryland, Loveless partnered in 1959 with Winton Beaven, dean of Washington Missionary College (now Washington Adventist University) to send a student for a three-month summer stint to Mexico. Though it went against the denomination’s policy at the time, the one-year mission program for college students is now widespread throughout the North American Division and continues to grow in other parts of the world church. When promoted to senior pastor, Loveless organized the Urban Service Corps, in which Adventist youth and college students tutored inner city kids struggling in school. He also served as president of the Pennsylvania Conference in the late 1970s and as president of Washington Adventist University from 1978 to 1990. Loveless pastored the Loma Linda University Church in California from 1970 to 1976 and from 1990 to 2000. He served as a professor at the university and taught at nearby La Sierra University and University of California at Riverside.
Donald J. Addor ’51 died of heart failure Sept. 18 at Bayhealth Medical Center in Milford, Del., according to The Cape Gazette. He was 89. Born in Washington, D.C., he enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 4, 1943, at the height of World War II. After shipping overseas with the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 10th Armored Division, part of Patton’s Third Army, he was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. After earning his degree in journalism and public relations at Maryland, he worked as a public information officer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and later as the assistant editor on All Hands Magazine, the official publication of the U.S. Navy. After retirement in 1970, he moved to Rehoboth Beach, Del. As a life member of the Veterans of Foreign War, he served as the commander of Rehoboth Beach VFW Post 7447 as well as commander of District 4. He was also a life member of the American Legion and commanded legion posts in Rehoboth Beach and Millsboro. His proudest achievement was founding the Oak Orchard Riverdale American Legion Post 28, which has become one of the largest legion posts nationally. Addor was preceded in death by his wife, Veronica, in 1985. He is survived by his son, George; stepdaughter, Sharon Day; four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Bedford Cook Glascock ’51, an insurance agent in Southern Maryland, died Sept. 8, according to Southern Maryland News Net. Raised on Strathmore Farm in Solomons, he attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy and at the age of 16 enrolled in the University of Maryland, where he joined the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity while pursuing his degree in agriculture. Upon graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served for two years, receiving an honorable discharge with the rank of sergeant. In 1955, Bedford married his sister’s college roommate, Judith M. Coleman of Silver Spring. Bedford operated the family farm until sudden health issues forced a change of career. He founded Glascock Insurance Agency in Prince Frederick, which he managed until his retirement in the late 1980s. Active until the end of his life in the local business community, he developed a number of commercial real estate projects and was an initial investor in Calvert Bank and Trust Co. Bedford over the years belonged to the Solomons Volunteer Fire Department, the Calvert County Lions Club, the Calvert County Sportsman’s Club and the Calvert County Ducks Unlimited Chapter. He was an active member of the Solomons Island Yacht Club from 1948 until his death, serving as commodore in 1963. A lifelong member of Middleham and Saint Peter’s Parish, he was the cemetery sexton for Middleham Cemetery for more than 20 years. He also collected farm tractors, bulldozers and fishing boats, then rebuilt them. Bedford was predeceased by his first wife, Judy, in 1990. After 16 years of marriage, his second wife, Annabelle H. Layfield, died as well. He is survived by his wife and lifelong friend, Barbara Bright Barrett; sister Sarah Elizabeth “Sarabeth” Smith; children Bill and Mary Elizabeth Wyrough; stepsons Daniel “Skip” III and Michael; five grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and one step great-grandchild.
Retired Army Col. Richard W. Seltzer ’48, who transitioned to careers in education, then acting, died June 14 in Boston. He was 91. Born in Washington, D.C., Seltzer was an Army private when he met his future wife, USO hostess Helen Estes, in 1943 at the Stage Door Canteen in Philadelphia. They wed the following year, and the day before he was to be shipped to Europe, he was sent to Officer’s Candidate School for training in counterintelligence and code-cracking. After World War II, Seltzer was accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles acting program, but the city’s postwar housing shortage sent the couple and their young son back east. He graduated with a teaching degree from Maryland, and earned a master’s degree in 1951 and doctorate in education in 1957 from the University of Pennsylvania. Seltzer was dean of Plymouth State College (now university) in Plymouth, N.H., from 1958–63, and superintendent of Lower Moreland School District in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., from 1964-74 and of the Columbia School District in Columbia, Pa., from 1974–80. He then began acting, with appearances in movies and TV shows including “Signs,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Gettysburg,” “For Richer or Poorer,” “Law and Order,” and “Homicide: Life on the Street.” He also appeared in the original “Reading Rainbow” on PBS as the Ringmaster with LeVar Burton. He is best remembered for his role as “Joe” in the Pennsylvania Lottery holiday commercial that ran for 20 years in the tri-state area. Seltzer was active in the Union League Glee Club and the University Glee Club in Philadelphia, and kept up his violin skills with the Parkway Orchestra in Boston. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Merion Cricket Club, and Pennsylvania Historical Society, and served as past president of the Rotary Club of Columbia, Pa., and the Paul Revere chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. Seltzer remained active in the Army Reserves for 35 years and received the Meritorious Award for Service in 1983. He was predeceased by his wife in 2010, and is survived by two children: Richard Jr. and Sallie, four grandchildren and two great granddaughters.
Dr. Charles E. Shaw Jr. ’44, an internal medicine doctor who operated a private practice for more than 40 years, died Aug. 31, according to The Baltimore Sun. He was 94. After graduating from UMD and while a medical student at the University of Maryland, he enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He joined the occupation forces in Japan and later served in China before returning to the United States. He later served in the Korean War and was granted commission as a lieutenant aboard the U.S.S. Northampton. Shaw began his private practice in 1949 in his residence and specialized in diabetes. He rendered pro bono services at the diabetes clinic at University Hospital and went on to serve as chief of staff at Maryland General. Shaw ultimately gained affiliations at Greater Baltimore Medical Center and what is now University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. He moved to Towson in 1964, and retired from his practice at age 70. He then worked another 15 years at the Social Security Administration reviewing disability cases. He was predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Eva Lorden Shaw, and is survived by sons Harry and Charles III, two granddaughters and five great-grandchildren.
Theodore M. Vial Sr. ’42, founding member and past president of Princeton (N.J.) Community Housing, died at home Sept. 17. He was 93. Born in Ware, Iowa, Vial earned the rank of Eagle Scout and the Quartermaster Award, the highest award in Sea Scouting. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal as part of a glider unit in the Army Air Corps in World War II, and he earned his doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois. He spent the bulk of his career in the rubber chemicals division of American Cyanamid in Bound Brook, N.J. At Nassau Presbyterian Church, he served as both treasurer and elder, sang in the choir, and taught Sunday School. An advocate for affordable housing in Princeton since the early 1970s, Ted was co-recipient of the Leslie “Bud” Vivian Memorial Award for community service in 2000 for his work with Princeton Community Housing. He was a longtime volunteer for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Always curious about the world around him, he was a woodworker, an amateur photographer and mechanic, a bread baker, a gardener and a fan of any baby who crossed his path. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Alice (Andrews); five children, Leslie Owsley, Jane Jaffe, Connie Green, Anne Vial and Ted Vial Jr.; 12 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Nassau Presbyterian Church at 11 a.m. Nov. 1. The family requests that memorial donations be made to Princeton Community Housing or Nassau Presbyterian Church.