Copyright @ 1998 by The University of Montana

Class Notes:

From Masquer Stage to Satellite Screen
by Joyce H. Brusin

It’s two thumbs up for Art Almquist, M.F.A., M.A. ’96! His review of the movie Twister won him first place in U.S. Satellite Broadcasting and Sony Electronics’ “You Be the Movie Critic” contest this past March.

Hand-picked by film critic Gene Siskel, of the renowned Siskel and Ebert team, Almquist will “dish out” movie reviews on U.S. Satellite Broadcasting beginning this spring. When the nationwide search for a critic began in September 1997, Almquist entered the contest with a videotaped review of the movie Face Off.

“I entered because I love movies and always have,” he said. By March he was one of three finalists auditioning live at Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“All three finalists in the competition were very good,” said Gene Siskel, “and had picked interesting films to talk about.” Siskel chose Almquist out of the three because, he said, “Art deconstructed Twister very well. In fact, I had many of the same criticisms, so of course I thought he was a very smart man.”

“Winning this contest,” said Almquist, “is just one example of how attending UM changed my whole life.” In the drama department from 1992 to 1996, Almquist studied performance theory and criticism, as well as acting. He wrote his master’s thesis in criticism on the film Silence of the Lambs.

“Movies are about storytelling and stories are what keep us alive as a people,” said Almquist. “Studying with Randy Bolton, and reading the work of theorists like Victor Turner and Clifford Geertz, helped me to understand what makes movies work and not work.”

Almquist has returned to his hometown of Tucson, Ariz., where he teaches acting at Tucson High Magnet School. Becoming a nationally-known movie critic wasn’t the only benefit of attending UM. Almquist met Amy Lehmann, M.F.A.’95, while here and the two were married last year. M

After 14 years Paddy O’Connell MacDonald, M.A. ’81, has retired from compiling and editing Class Notes, and moved on to other writing challenges. These Class Notes were compiled by Joyce H. Brusin, M.F.A. ’85. If you would like to submit information, please drop a line to the Alumni Association, Brantly Hall, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812-0013. Or e-mail your news to: alumnote@selway.umt.edu.


’30s
Celia Caffin Risen ’35 has published Jewels of Maine: Jewish Maine Pioneers, with Dorrance Publishing Co., about the lives of the Jewish immigrants who arrived in Maine from Eastern Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Paul Lowney ’39 has published Toads, a book of humorous philosophy, with Crowne & Lurie.


’40s
Marjorie Ann Boesen King ’49 spent 10 years researching and writing, A House Eternal, a historical novel about one of the scholars responsible for the King James Bible of 1611. Marjorie is an active member of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets.


’50s
William T. Barry ’51, M.A. ’55, Ed.D. ’77, of Cusick, Wash., worked as a water quality specialist and educator for many years. Following the publication of six papers on Pend Oreille County’s Bead Lake, he wrote a guest editorial for The Newport Miner on the lake’s water quality.

Margery Crockett Tede ’54 sings mezzo-soprano in operas and recitals throughout the United States, Europe, Central America and the South Pacific, including Susan B. Anthony in Virgil Thompson’s The Mother of Us All, and Mrs. Noah in Ron McFarland’s Pegasus. She is a frequent guest at the Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival.

Marilyn Shope Peterson ’57 joined the Montana Ambassadors, a statewide organization of 160 volunteers who represent the Office of the Governor and the Montana Department of Commerce in business, trade and tourism development. Marilyn owns the Emily A Bed and Breakfast in Seeley Lake and is active in the UM Foundation and Alumni Association.


’60s
Ken Maki ’62 was elected president of the Montana Farmers Union, a statewide organization of family farmers and ranchers. He has served on its board of directors since 1993.

Thomas O. Markle ’65 was selected by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to serve a two-year term as a Helena Branch director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He and his wife Cindy live in Glasgow.

Jim Searles ’68 is now director of professional development for D.A. Davidson & Co. in Great Falls.

Richard F. “Rick” Cebull, J.D. ’69, was chosen to become federal magistrate for Great Falls.

Lawrence D. Huss, J.D. ’69, was named Oregon vice president for US West Communications. He lives in Portland with his wife, Nancy, and their sons, Daniel and Robinson.


’70s
Richard E. Hart ’70, who lives with his wife Tracy in Great Falls, was selected by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to serve a two-year term as a Helena Branch director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Alan Goldin ’74, M.A. ’76, joined the Oregon Institute of Technology as an assistant professor in natural sciences.

Mark D. Safty ’74, J.D. ’77, is a Billings attorney and chair of the business department at Holland & Hart, a firm employing 200 lawyers in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

Robert J. Doornek ’75 was chosen employee of the month at Western Bank in Wolf Point, where he has been employed since 1975, and has presided since 1995. A fourth-generation Wolf Point native, “R.J.” is past-president of the Wolf Point Chamber of Commerce and current president of the Montana Independent Bankers Association. He and his wife Arlene have four grown children.

Mike Halligan ’75, M.P.A. ’77, J.D. ’85, was the principal speaker at the Hill County Democratic Central Committee’s annual dinner, November 22, 1997 in Havre.

Becky Stebbins Mitchell ’75 is the social worker on staff for Carbon County Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home in Red Lodge.

Terry Spear, Ph.D. ’75, an associate professor of safety, health and industrial hygiene at Montana Tech of The University of Montana, presented his research on respirator protection factors at the 19th Lead Occupational Health Conference in Chicago.

John T. Farmer, J.D. ’77, of San Diego, announces the establishment of John T. Farmer & Associates, which will focus on insurance defense and general civil trial practice.

David B. Kinnard, J.D. ’77, has opened the Kinnard Law Firm in Billings.

Deborah Singer ’77 was named regional energy marketing director for the Montana Power Trading & Marketing Company’s regional office in Billings.

Kathy A. Lane ’78, an assistant professor of music at Idaho State University in Pocatello, worked with students from north central Montana at the National Association of Teachers of Singing festival in Great Falls.

Dean J. Peterson ’78, choral director at Missoula’s Hellgate High School, received a 1997 Milken Family Foundation National Educator award for innovative curricula and teaching methods.

Shelley George Van Atta ’79 joined the Billings office of Piper Jaffray as an investment executive. With her husband, Larry Van Atta, Piper Jaffray’s managing director of investments, she will specialize in retirement plans, investments and college and estate planning.


’80s
John G. Crist ’80, J.D. ’84, opened the Crist Law Firm in Billings, where he will handle employment, discrimination law and commercial litigation.

John T. McNay ’80, M.A. ’91, received a doctorate in U.S. diplomatic history from Temple University, where he was selected as the outstanding graduate student in international research and the history department’s outstanding teaching assistant. He researched his dissertation, “Imperial Paradigm: Dean Acheson and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1949-1952,” at the national archives in Washington, D.C., and the British national archives in London. He will teach at Cheyney College in suburban Philadelphia this coming year.

Russ Porter ’82 was elected president of Whitefish First Interstate Bank, where he has worked since 1983. He and his wife Kim have two sons, Jordan and Ryan.

Bret C. “Wildman” Bennett ’83 works as a sales associate for Coldwell Banker in Red Lodge.

Mark Sokkappa, J.D. ’83, who finished a one-year contract as attorney to the Supreme Court in Chuuk, Micronesia, joined the law firm of Chen and Chern Attorneys at Law in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The firm serves southern Taiwan.

John G. Connors ’84 was elected to the Montana Power Co.’s board of directors. He is Microsoft Corporation’s chief information officer and received UM’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997.

Terry Annalora, M.F.A. ’85, was guest soloist at First Presbyterian Church in Helena this winter. This is his 13th year as director of choirs at Custer County High School in Miles City.

Brenda Houchen, M.Ed. ’85, who was named Outstanding Collegiate Teacher of the Year by the Montana Business Education Association, has been a faculty member at Western Montana College since 1987, where she chairs the business and technology department.

Andrew J. “A.J.” King ’85 is senior vice-president at First Security Bank in Kalispell. A.J. and his wife JoAnna have a two-year-old daughter, Annie Jo.

Tracy Axelberg, J.D. ’86, has been elected president of Montana Defense Trial Lawyers, Inc.

Glenn J. Barr ’86 is a Major in the U. S. Army, stationed at Fort Irwin in California’s Mojave Desert. He writes: “My wife Janet and I, and our son Logan, are all looking forward to a Montana trip when we’ll be able to see trees and snow again!”

Jeffrey Howard Stockwell ’86 works as Fire Management Officer for the Beartooth District of Custer National Forest, where, in his spare time, he snowmobiles, hunts, fishes and golfs.

Doug Abbott, M.B.A. ’88, was named dean of the College of Humanities, Social Science and Information Technology at Montana Tech.

Patrick D. Hould, M.Ed. ’88, received the 1997 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award for his work as principal at Lewistown Junior High School.

Marcelle Compton Quist, J.D. ’88, relocated to Southern Pines, N.C., to open “Legal Alternatives,” a mediation and arbitration center.

Susan Dunn Watters, J.D. ’88, of Billings was appointed by Gov. Marc Racicot to the 13th Judicial District.

Neil G. Westesen ’88 is a Billings trial attorney and a new partner at Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, where he specializes in civil litigation, and construction and Indian law.

Emery B. Jones ’89, M.A. ’91, is now an addiction treatment counselor for Mineral County’s Turning Point program.

Renee K. Pettinato ’89, J.D. ’92, manages the property, casualty and professional liability insurance programs for the state of Wyoming.


’90s
Colleen Graham ’90, J.D. ’93, a staff attorney at the Montana School Boards Association, was previously legal counsel to the Montana Department of Commerce Professional and Occupational Licensing Bureau.

Tony Hines ’90, the recipient of 24 1997 Montana Addy awards for creative excellence in advertising, lives in Billings where he co-owns KHG Advertising,

Peter Steele, J.D. ’90, is the new deputy county attorney for Flathead County. He and his wife, Elaine Thompson, and their sons, Charlie, 7, and Jack, 4, enjoy skiing and hiking in Glacier National Park.

Amy Christensen Appel ’91, who recently studied geriatric balance-related disorders at a physical therapy seminar in Portland, is on the staff of the Bozeman Physical Therapy Center.

Michael B. Austin x’92 launched a new business, Out of Court Solutions, focusing on conflict resolution and Indian law. His services are available within a 90-mile radius of his office in Custer.

Lisa Dunn Bennett ’92 lives with her husband Jay in San Jose, Calif., where she is assistant athletic trainer for San Jose State University.

David G. Dennis , J.D. ’92, of Great Falls was named vice-president and general counsel of D.A. Davidson & Co. A member of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, he chairs the Great Falls area chamber’s Government Affairs Committee.

Kevin S. Jones, J.D. ’92, is a principal in the Missoula law firm of Christian, Samson & Jones.

Damian Charette ’93 of Mesa, Ariz., was an artist-in-resident at elementary schools in Polson and Billings this fall. In Arizona, he teaches art to juvenile offenders and adults in prison.

Eric S. Hummel ’93, J.D. ’96, joined the Flathead Valley Attorney’s Office as a deputy attorney, after his clerkship with the Hon. Jean Turnage, J.D. ’51, Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court.

Keri Simonetti ’93 is a registered associate at D.A. Davidson and Co.’s Missoula office.

Anders T. Berry, J.D. ’94, has become associate counsel to D.A. Davidson & Co. in Great Falls.

Michael J. Burke ’94 has begun work with Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals in Lake Oswego, Ore.

Kenneth L. Jansa, M.B.A. ’94, relocated to Glasgow where he is now vice-president in charge of commerical lending at Valley Bank.

Stephanie A. Reinhardt, J.D. ’94, is a partner with the firm of Smith, Walsh, Clarke and Gregoire in Great Falls, where she has practiced since 1995.

Timothy Thompson, M.A. ’94, is an assistant professor of mathematics at the Oregon Institute of Technology.

Allen Birdsong, J.D. ’95, and Randy Lint, J.D. ’95 opened a second office of the Florence firm Birdsong & Lint on West Main in Hamilton.

Paul Grigsby, J.D. ’95, joined the Billings firm of Wright, Tolliver & Guthals.

Jodi Harrison, J.D. ’95, is associate at the Bozeman law firm of Harris, Tarlow & Stonecipher.

David E. Keen ’95 completed 11 weeks of training at the law enforcement academy in Helena, and is now a sheriff’s deputy for Stillwater County.

Moira G. Murphy-D’Alton, J.D. ’95, is a deputy attorney with the Billings City Attorney’s Office.

Aaron M. Simard ’95 is a producer at CNBC in New York. He and Alison R. Stern ’94, a financial media relations specialist for Merrill Lynch, plan to marry in May 1999.

Johnathan W. Anderson, J.D. ’96, joined Loren Tucker, P.C. in Virginia City.

Bradley J. Baldwin ’96 passed his state licensing exams for property, casualty, life and health insurance, and has joined Erickson-Baldwin Insurance Associates in Havre as a sales associate.

Mary E. Bryson, M.P.A. ’96, was elected to the executive committee of the Multi-State Tax Commission. She has worked as Montana’s state revenue director since 1996.

Allison P. Fontenot, J.D. ’96, joined the Billings law firm of Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, where she practices litigation.

Casey Heitz, J.D. ’96, is a deputy county attorney in the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office. He completed a clerkship in the 13th Judicial District Court.

Kyle R. Washington ’96 of Vancouver, British Columbia, was appointed president and chief operating officer of Seaspan International Ltd.

David Paul Wilkins, J.D. ’96, joined the Billings law firm of Wright, Tolliver & Guthals.

Ian Michael Carlson ’97 and his wife, Sara, live in Missoula where Ian is a software engineer for Education Logistics.

Kenneth Connors, J.D. ’97, has joined the Connors Law Firm in Anaconda.

Jeffrey E. Knutson, J.D. ’97, is an associate attorney in the Great Falls firm of Alexander, Baucus, Taleff & Paul.

Jennifer L. Massman, J.D. ’97, joined the Great Falls firm of Smith, Walsh, Clarke & Gregoire.

Liana Messer, J.D. ’97, joined the Missoula law firm of Christian, Samson & Jones.

Faith Mishenah Price ’97 coordinates UM’s McNair Scholars and Upward Bound programs.

Randy L. Tarum, J.D. ’97, has joined the Deschenes Law Firm in Great Falls, where he’ll focus on general civil litigation and bankruptcy.

Mark R. Taylor, J.D. ’97, is now part of the Helena law firm of Browning, Kaleczyc, Berry & Hoven.

Beverly G. Tronrud, J.D. ’97, is a deputy county attorney in the Yellowstone County Attorney’s office, where she interned in 1996.

Anna Wherry ’97 works as a physical therapist at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

In Memoriam
The Alumni Office extends sympathy to the families of the following alumni, friends and faculty.
Dorris Dorsey Harbert x’21, Polson
Dorothy E. Risley Leavey x’21, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Mary Vedder Butler ’22, Alton, Ill.
Margaret E. Nelson ’24, Butte
Katherine Morgan ’26, Butte
Ruth Miller Wilfley ’26, Sparta, Tenn.
Mary Frances Farnsworth Dyas ’28, San Diego
Gertrude Bassett ’29, Hamilton
Franklin G. Meeker ’29, Naples, Fla.
Rachael Wood ’29, Spokane, Wash.
Josephine McGlumphy Vogt ’30, Hamilton
Newell B. “Red” Matthews ’33, Reno, Nev.
Thelma Woodrow ’33, Billings
Charles L. Rohel ’34, Butte
Annie R. Evans Larsen ’35, Roundup
Edward J. Lousen ’35, Butte
Mary Jean McLaughlin Wells ’35, Everett,Wash.
Margaret B. Johnson ’36, Eugene, Ore.
Sue Tooley-McBride Averill ’37, Edmonds, Wash.
Robert P. Lathrop ’37, Great Falls
Arne O. Nousanen ’37, Hamilton
Margaret Lucy Hennessy ’38, Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Raymond S. Megquier ’38, Fernley, Nev.
Patricia Holmes Poppaw ’38, Desert Hot Springs, Calif.
Marion Rose McGill Smith ’38, Stanford, Calif.
John S. Wulf ’38, Whitehall
Wendell L. Jones ’39, Missoula
Harold R. Miller ’39, Sanders
Karl W. Bergner ’40, Buffalo, Wyo.
Harold N. Ives x’40, Happy Camp, Calif.
Margaret J. “Peg” Kemp Wagner ’40, Missoula
Sverre L. Thorsrud ’41, San Jose, Calif.
Lucille Fulton Stripling ’42, Seattle
Howard K. Small x’44, Corvallis, Ore.
Tennie Yoder ’44, M.Ed. ’50, Missoula
Willard R. “Bill” Fallis ’45, Frenchtown
Dwight W. “Bud” Miller ’46, Missoula
Vernon W. Rauk, M.S. ’46, Kalispell
Lowell O. Asher ’48, Eugene, Ore.
Lois Jane Larson Koch ’48, Sidney
James O. McGray ’48, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Lyle K. Miller ’48, Great Falls
Paul A. Strong ’48, Spokane, Wash.
Rhynold C. Auch ’49, Florissant, Mo.
Thomas T. Cacavas ’49, M.A. ’50, Bethpage, N.Y.
John L. Carver ’49, Kalispell
Richard F. Keefe ’49, M.Ed. ’53, Georgetown, Calif.
Robert A. McKinsey ’49, Missoula
Paul F. Voorhees ’49, Kalispell
Margery Hunter Brown ’50, ’53, J.D. ’75, Bigfork
Joseph E. Estes ’50, Redding, Calif.
Theodore W. Navratil ’50, M.S. ’52, Sandpoint, Idaho
Charles R. “Bob” Tharalson ’50, Vancouver, British Columbia
Henry J. Pratt ’52, Lakewood, Colo.
Lawrence Burlingame ’53, M.Ed. ’67, Missoula
Gloria A. Tinseth Whitcomb ’53, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
William F. O’Connor ’55, M.Ed. ’58, Butte
Nancy May Ruckman Blake ’58, Post Falls, Idaho
James J. Bottomly , J.D. ’58, West Glacier
William A. Brolin , J.D. ’58, Anaconda
Leroy F. Saxton ’58, Bend, Ore.
Ann Steffenson ’58, Pleasant Hill, Ore.
Richard D. Chaney ’61, Livingston
Graeff T. Fister ’64, Missoula
Tinsley Palmer ’64, Seattle
Douglas L. Mason ’67, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Dana J. Bunnell, M.A. ’69, Boise, Idaho
Denis M. “Dinny” Lynch ’75, Missoula
Walter R. Hall, M.Ed. ’76, Polson
Brian P. Kellogg ’79, Folsom, Calif.
Gary C. Altmaier ’86, ’89, Missoula
Kerin S. Smart ’90, Big Timber
Thomas Robert Hallett ’92, Butte
Jon C. Taft ’95, Missoula
Mike Bell, Lynwood, Wash.
Raymond J. Fox, Missoula
Dorothy R. Kaye, Denver, Colo.
Peter Koch, Corvallis
Martha S. McElwain, Helena
Philip G. Maloney, Missoula
Clara L. Ranstrom, Missoula
Kay Simpson, Moore
Florence E. “Betty” Swanson, Missoula
Walter L. Titus, Apache Junction, Ariz.
Lloyd L. Zimmerman, Missoula

Births
Jase Harrison to Alan J. Hall ’87, J.D. ’90, and Michele Fox Hall ’86, Feb. 19, 1997, in Billings.
McKenzie Rae to Lisa Fasbender Flaherty ’89 and Andrew Flaherty ’90, Feb. 26, 1998, in Spokane, Wash.
Aaron Edward to Natalie Edwards Marx ’89 and Bryan Marx ’88, Sept. 18, 1997, in Missoula.
Tanner Steven to Suan Fousek Simon ’90 and Steven R. Simon ’90, Aug.11, 1997, in Redmond, Wash.
Cheyenne Marie to Angela Hanson Astle ’93, M.A. ’94, and Timothy Mark Astle ’93, June 15, 1997 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Pierce Evan to Vonda L. Franklin ’96 and Bill Franklin ’96, Dec. 13, 1997, in Pueblo, Colo.

New Alumni Association Life Members
Patricia Tyler Allen ’78, Spokane, Wash.
Lobell Bennett ’51, Billings
Donna Fleshman Bennett ’52, Billings
David Benson ’82, Denver
Stephen R. Brown ’77, J.D. ’80, Havre
Teresa Felzer Brown ’87, Havre
Cynthia Rapp Bryan ’71, Missoula
Diana Lynne Burke ’82, Lake Oswego, Ore.
James M. Burns ’74, Vancouver, Wash.
Cindy Carlson ’90, Butte
Richard A. Carlson ’71, Mills, Wyo.
Robert M. Carlson ’76, J.D. ’79, Butte
Daniel B. Corts ’59. M.A. ’66, Arlington, Va.
Lynne Woodcock Cravath ’75, Phoeniz, Ariz.
Allen F. Davis ’89, Little Rock, Ark.
Donald H. Davis ’68, Conrad
Sherry Hunter Davis ’66, Conrad
Veronica Brandt Dinkins ’88, Renton, Wash.
Clifford A. Feather ’88, Walerston, S.D.
Mavis A. Loscheider Greer ’74, M.A. ’78, Casper, Wyo.
Janice Heikkila-Walker ’82, M.Acct. ’86, Ketchikan, Alaska
Colleen McGrath Jones ’81, Federal Way, Wash.
Debra Bender Julian ’89, New York, N.Y.
Paul W. Kuhn, M.S. ’83, Spokane, Wash.
Ronald B. Mahugh ’75, Yreka, Calif.
Kandi J. Massey ’83, Pasco, Wash.
Margarita “Chita” Wine Miller ’66, Roche Harbor, Wash.
Warren R. Neyenhuis ’92, Hamilton
Kenneth J. Nicholson ’92, Missoula
Thomas H. Pelletier ’76, Missoula
Mark A. Schafer ’92, Corvallis, Ore.
Shannon E. Scott ’93, M.A. ’95, Yerington, Nev.
Gene M. Solomon ’88, Missoula
Rod R. Stoll ’73, M.B.A. ’75, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Joan G. Sweitzer ’52, M.A. ’54, Wellborn, Fla.
Margaret “Peggy” Tonon, J.D. ’74, Hamilton
Andrew J. Vliet ’86, El Paso, Texas
Ingrid Nicholson Vliet ’87, ’88, El Paso, Texas
Carol Dolan Wachter ’83, Beaverton, Ore.
Timothy B. Walker ’87, Ketchikan, Alaska
Kelly A. Ward ’86, Missoula
Marc H. Washenfelder ’78, Riverton, Wyo.
John C. Wertz ’61, Arlington, Va.
Ramonda Wertz, Arlington, Va.
Linda Whitham Whatley ’80, Seattle
Arlene M. Wilson ’81, Littleton, Colo.
Gary Lee Wilson ’81, Littleton, Colo.