Email Article |  

About Alumni

Keep Us Posted. Send your news to The University of Montana Alumni Association, Brantly Hall, Missoula, MT 59812. Go to www.grizalum.com and click on “Submit a Class Note,” fax your news to 406-243-4467, or call 1-877-UM-ALUMS (877-862-5867). Material in this issue reached our office by February 28, 2012.

Note: The year immediately following an alum’s name indicates either an undergraduate degree year or attendance at UM. Graduate degrees from UM are indicated by initials.

Snowbirds/Sunbirds—Anyone! Whenever you change your mailing address, please contact the alumni office.

Let us know where you are and when. Thank you.

Stephen T. Millhouse ’85, Missoula, completed a 1,460-mile walk from the Poverello Center in Missoula to the Hospitality Kitchen in Los Angeles in a campaign to raise awareness and money for the homeless and the hungry. The distance was based on Stephen’s calculation of the number of miles the average homeless person walks in one year. It took Stephen—a Marine Corps veteran—five months to complete the journey, which he called “My One Man March.”

Stephen faced many challenges along the way, both physically and mentally. When he began to feel pain in his left foot, he stopped at a VA clinic in Twin Falls, Idaho, where he was diagnosed with a stress fracture. Although the doctor advised him to stop the march so his broken foot could heal, he pressed on after resting for only a few days.

When he wasn’t walking, Stephen volunteered at homeless shelters and food pantries.

“In many communities, food pantries are the basic safety net keeping people out of homelessness,” he says.

The experience was eye-opening. Stephen was shocked by the prevalence of hunger and poverty in America, especially in rural areas.

“I was humbled by the response I got,” he says. “I met so many people of so many different stripes that believed in the need to help homeless people.”

He finally arrived in L.A. at the beginning of January, elated, exhausted, and thirty pounds lighter than he was when he began his march in August.

“It wasn’t until the very last block came into view that it hit me that I was about to finish,” he says. “It was an overwhelming moment, and I just let the tears fall.”

Stephen, who will donate the funds he raised to programs in the four states through which he traveled, sees his effort as a way to pay it forward to all those who helped him during his own period of living as a homeless person in both Missoula and California. But even though the walk has ended, Stephen’s journey is far from complete.

“I am in the process of putting together a PowerPoint presentation that I can take on the road,” he says. “I have walked the walk, and now I want to talk the talk.”

'30s

Carol Wells Cooney ’35, celebrated her 100th birthday in February at the Bee Hive retirement home in Choteau. Sixteen family members and three friends surprised Carol with a party on her special day. A lifelong Griz fan, Carol still tunes in to cheer her beloved Grizzlies to victory whenever she has the chance. She also remains in contact with Emma Lommasson ’33, M.S. ’39, a dear friend from her college days in Missoula, who also recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Carol’s family has kept the UM tradition alive, with two of her children and one of her grandchildren graduating from the University.

’50s

Ivan O’Neil ’50, Kalispell, was the subject of a recent feature story in the Flathead Beacon. An original founder of Kalmont Distributors and Western Building Center, Ivan still enjoys frequent hikes and ski trips despite being legally blind. He also continues to help manage Western Building Center, which owns ten retail supply stores across Montana. “There’s no quit in him,” current general manager Doug Shanks tells the Beacon. “He’s been very successful and there’s so many things that he’s done that he doesn’t talk about or beat his chest about. He’s just an amazing guy. We all look up to him.”

Gary Jystad ’56, Rollins, received a certificate of distinction from the Montana Medical Association in recognition of his fifty years of service as a medical doctor. He and his wife, Mary Ellen Erickson Jystad ’56, have three children and seven grandchildren.

DeLynn Colvert ’57, M.F.A. ’58, Missoula, recently published the fourth edition of his book Play Winning Cribbage, in which he explains his signature Twenty-Six Theory. DeLynn has won the national cribbage championship four times and is currently the top-ranked lifetime player in the American Cribbage Congress.

’60s

Thomas Bullock ’61, West Covina, Calif., published Montana Memories, an e-book containing a series of recollections of his experiences growing up in Montana during the middle of the twentieth century. The stories recall the childhood adventures of young boys who spend their days hunting and fishing as their families face the challenges of tight budgets.

Clait E. Braun, M.S. ’65, Tucson, Ariz., recently received the Gunnison Sage Grouse Stewardship Award. Clait is a co-discoverer of the Gunnison species of sage grouse. He currently operates Grouse Inc., a consulting firm specializing in grouse issues in the western part of North America.

Linda Martin ’67, Homer, Alaska, received a master’s degree in poetry from Pacific Lutheran University this past August. Her poetry has appeared in Bloodroot Literary Magazine, Rock & Sling, and Cirque. She and her husband own and operate a glass shop in Alaska.

Tim Powers ’68, Provo, Utah, will retire from his position as the head swimming and diving coach at Brigham Young University at the end of his thirty-seventh season with the team. He and his wife, Patcee, plan to serve on a church mission together.

’70s

Mae Nan Ellingson ’70, J.D. ’76, retired from legal practice after spending the last twenty-eight years as a public finance lawyer for Dorsey & Whitney in Missoula. Over the course of her career, Mae Nan has had a hand in several landmark projects, including the introduction of open space bonds in Missoula and the establishment of the city’s first easement on Mount Sentinel. She also was the youngest delegate to attend the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1971 and 1972, when she was twenty-four years old.

Margaret Johnson ’71, Missoula, recently published her second book, The Drama Teacher’s Survival Guide #2: Activities, exercises and techniques for the theatre classroom. Margaret retired from the classroom after teaching drama at Sentinel High School in Missoula for thirty-seven years, but she remains active with the Missoula Community Theatre.

Teri Wheeler Wahl Rappe ’71, Wenatchee, Wash., is celebrating her fiftieth year of teaching music. She has taught classroom piano at Wenatchee Valley College for twenty-six years and was a church organist and pianist for forty-four years.

Arlynn Fishbaugh ’74, Helena, was elected president of the board of directors of the National Assembly of State Art Agencies. As the executive director of the Montana Arts Council, she hopes her service on the national board will benefit Montana arts. “Representing NASAA allows Montana to have unique visibility with other funders that could be of benefit to NASAA and a state like Montana,” she says.

Hugh Soape, M.B.A. ’74, was hired by Texas Agrilife Extension Service as an extension agent in Gregg County, Tex.

Tim Long ’78, joined the New York office of Protiviti, a global consulting firm, as a managing director specializing in the U.S. financial services practice. Prior to joining the company, Tim spent thirty years working for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C.

Dana Christensen, J.D. ’76, Kalispell, became the seventeenth U.S. District Court judge for Montana following unanimous approval by the U.S. Senate. He has worked as a partner at the law firm Christensen, Moore, Cockrell, Cummings & Axelberg PC since 1996 and has tried more than fifty trials in his thirty-five-year legal career.

’80s

Kelly Miller ’83, Asheville, N.C., was named president and chief executive officer of Tampa Bay & Company, a tourism and economic promotion organization based out of Hillsborough County, Fla.

Ginger Allen ’84, Cranesville, Pa., owns Crowley’s Restaurant & Irish Pub with her husband, Charles. When they find time to sneak away from the restaurant, they can be found fly fishing on local rivers. Ginger learned how to tie flies when she was a student at UM, and she spent several years as a fly-tying instructor.

Robert Keane, M.S. ’84, was appointed to American Forests’ new Science Advisory Board, which will help create and evaluate the organization’s forest restoration projects and public policy initiatives. Robert is a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula.

Gus Chambers ’85, Missoula, received a Programming Excellence Award from American Public Television for his documentary Glacier Park’s Night of the Grizzlies, which chronicles a night in 1967 in which separate grizzly bear attacks in Glacier National Park left two women dead. The film was the highest-rated local program in the history of MontanaPBS when it premiered in May 2011. Gus is a producer at UM’s Broadcast Media Center and MontanaPBS.

Doug Decker ’85, Portland, Ore., was selected as Oregon’s new state forester by the Oregon Department of Forestry. In his new role, Doug, who joined the agency as a public affairs specialist in 1987, will be responsible for the management of about 830,000 acres of state land and the coordination of fire protection on about sixteen million acres of private, state, and federal land.

Andrew Gould ’86, Yuma, Ariz., was appointed to serve on the Arizona Court of Appeals, which reviews cases from superior courts across the state. Gould has been a member of the Yuma County Superior Court since his appointment in 2001.

Pam Uschuk ’86, Bayfield, Colo., published her fifth poetry collection, titled Wild in the Plaza of Memory.

Kathy Dunnehoff ’87, M.F.A. ’91, Kalispell, published three e-books since starting her own small publishing company last year. Kathy, who also works as an instructor at Flathead Valley Community College, hopes to eventually publish hard copies of her books.

E. Scott McGhee ’87, Clarkton, N.C., earned his American Bladesmith Society Journeyman Smith Certification at the All Forged Blade Expo in San Antonio, Tex. There are fewer than 175 ABS Journeyman Smiths in the world.

Lori Harper Suek ’88, J.D. ’91, Billings, was one of 163 members of the U.S. Department of Justice recognized at the twenty-eighth annual Director’s Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. Lori, who is an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, was honored for her outstanding efforts in promoting justice in Indian Country.

Carin Sullivan ’88 received the 2011 E.B. Craney Award for radio station promotion of the year. Presented by the Montana Broadcasters Association, the awards honor the memory of Montana broadcasting pioneer Ed Craney by recognizing excellence in all aspects of electronic media. Carin has worked in the broadcast field for more than twenty years and is currently an on-air announcer and producer for Cherry Creek Radio in Butte.

Kurt Wilson ’89 and reporter Vince Devlin earned a 2011 Lee Enterprises President’s Award for excellence in news for their coverage in the Missoulian of Marine and Ronan native Tomy Parker during Parker’s recovery from the loss of his legs and most of one hand in Afghanistan. The awards are handed out yearly to recognize outstanding efforts in journalism. Kurt is the Missoulian’s photography editor. This is his fifth President’s Award in eleven years.

---

Alumni Events 2012

May 2 Senior Send-Off, 4-6 p.m., UC Ballroom

May 10-12 Commencement reunions, classes of 1942, 1952, 1962, campus

May 25-June 5 International travel: Historic Reflections Luxury Cruise

June 5-18 International travel: British Isles Odyssey Luxury Cruise

June 14 Alumni event, Denver

June 14-16 UMAA Board of Directors meeting, Denver

July 19 Alumni event, Flathead Valley

August 1 UMAA-sponsored Out to Lunch, Caras Park, Missoula

August 10-21 International travel: Baltic Treasures Luxury Cruise

August 16 Eighth annual UM Alumni Night with the Missoula Osprey

September 16 Homecoming 2012 (Sept. 16-22)

September 16 Homecoming kickoff celebration, Southgate Mall

September 19 UM dorm and office decorating contests

September 20 House of Delegates annual meeting, all day

Homecoming buffet dinner, Food Zoo

September 21 Davidson Honors College all-class reunion, all day

Hello Walk

UM department open houses and receptions

Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony and reception

Pep Rally

All-Alumni Social and Dance

September 22 Homecoming Hustle – 5K race

Homecoming Parade

Homecoming TV Tailgate

Homecoming football game: Montana Grizzlies vs.

Northern Arizona University

November 17 112th Griz-Cat football game, Missoula

---

’90s

Aric Schneller ’90, Huntsville, Tex., directed the Sam Houston State University Bearkat Marching Band when it played the national anthem prior to SHSU’s Football Championship Subdivision semifinal game against the Montana Grizzlies in December. Aric, whose father Lewis Schneller ’67, M.Ed. ’75, was a lineman for the Grizzlies, has been the director of the Jazz Studies program at SHSU since 2008. “I’ve gotten some friendly jabs from people in Montana,” Aric told the Missoulian before the game. “A couple have suggested they sacrifice me on the fifty-yard line before the game, or maybe hang me from the goal post, like a sacrificial lamb.”

Brent Pease ’90 is the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Florida Gators. A former Grizzly quarterback who had a brief NFL playing career in the late 1980s, Brent coached several college teams over the course of his career, most recently serving as the offensive coordinator for the Boise State University Broncos.

Kathleen Jenks, J.D. ’92, was appointed as head judge for Missoula Municipal Court following the retirement of Judge Donald Louden ’77, J.D. ’80. Kathleen, who currently studies psychology at UM, is a former general prosecutor for the Missoula bureau of the Montana Attorney General’s Office. Before that, she worked as the supervising attorney for the Child Protection Unit of the state office, also in Missoula.

Jeffery Wehr ’92, ’96, Odessa, Wash., was one of three educators in the nation to receive the 2011 Siemens Founders Award. The annual honor recognizes individuals or schools for encouraging students to participate in math, science, or technology research programs and working to enhance math and science education in American high schools. In addition to $15,000 for their affiliated school or institution, recipients are given the opportunity to participate in a summer research immersion program at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, which Jeffery plans to attend.

Joe Johnston ’93, Missoula, completed his first season as a football official in the Pac-12 Conference this past fall. Joe, who is originally from Butte, has been officiating football games for more than twenty years, eight of which were spent in the Big Sky Conference. He and his wife, Kory, have two children: seven-year-old daughter Jayden and eleven-year-old son Jack.

Jim McGowan ’93 was named publisher of the Missoulian and the Ravalli Republic, both Lee Enterprises newspapers. Jim originally joined the Missoulian staff as a digital director in 2002.

James E. Brown ’94, Helena, was selected to be the executive director of the Montana Independent Bankers Association. James, who has six years of congressional staff experience in Washington, D.C., spent the past five years working for the law firm of Doney Crowley Bloomquist Payne.

Brian Tovson ’94 recently graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy. Upon graduation, he received the Alex F. Mavity Outstanding Student Award, which is given to the highest-performing student in each graduating class. Brian works as a police officer in Great Falls.

Shel Hanser ’95, M.Ed. ’03, Billings, received The University of Montana Educational Leadership Excellence Award, given out each year by the University to an alum working in education. The award recognizes the recipient’s significant contributions to education through their vision and action. Shel has been the principal at Billings Central High School since 2002. During his run as the longest-tenured principal in the school’s history, he has seen standardized test scores consistently exceed state and national averages.

Eric Schuck, M.A. ’95, McMinnville, Ore., spent eleven months as a naval reservist in Kuwait, where he participated in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. As a logistics department leader, Eric oversaw supply engineering and boat maintenance. He also was responsible for providing security coverage for vessels entering and exiting ports. Eric currently is an economics professor at Linfield College.

Clayton Christian ’96, Missoula, is the new commissioner of higher education for the state of Montana. A businessman by trade, Clayton was appointed to the state Board of Regents in 2006 and served as its chairman for more than two years. He succeeds Sheila Stearns ’68, M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’83, Helena, who will retire in June.

Randy Rupert ’93, Missoula, published a children’s book, A Dog-Gone Tale, which tells the story of three puppies who must find their way back to their parents after wandering off in the park. The book is based on a bedtime story Randy created to teach his young son the importance of staying with his parents in a way he would understand. Inspired by his son’s love of the story and aided by the encouragement of his wife, Coryll, Randy set out to re-create the tale in print. A marketing professional by trade, Randy hopes his first effort as a children’s author will help other parents teach a valuable lesson while having fun with their children.

Ryan Screnar ’96, Helena, was appointed to represent the St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation on the St. Peter’s Hospital board of directors. A certified public accountant, Ryan is senior vice president and audit director for Glacier Bancorp Inc., where he has worked since May 2000.

David Roberts, M.A. ’98, Seattle, served as a panelist at the American Philosophical Association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. The discussion panel was titled “From Philosophical Training to Professional Blogging.” He currently works as a blogger and writer for Grist magazine.

Joe Schaffer ’98, Ed.D. ’10, is the president of Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo. Before accepting the position, he was the dean and chief executive officer of the Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology.

David Pellerin ’98 and his wife, Brandi Pellerin ’99, New London, N.H., have found success on a national level with Indikoi Sinks, a small business they started together in 2010. After getting a lot of attention for the hand-crafted ceramic sinks he sold at craft fairs, David, who also runs a pottery school called Wellhouse Farm Pottery, decided to create an entire line of sinks. Over the past two years, the pair have worked side-by-side to grow their company, which now offers thirty-six different sinks and has more than fifty showroom accounts across the U.S. David makes each sink from start to finish, and Brandi handles sales, marketing, and bookkeeping while caring for their children, three-year-old Remster and newborn twins Jarvis and Magnolia. Even back when they were both fine art students at UM, Brandi and David knew they eventually wanted to start their own business. “I will never forget when Professor Catherine Mallory said in my senior thesis class that you are not going to find a job in the paper for an artist. You have to take something you are passionate about, like art, and figure out a way to make a living at it,” Brandi says.

Samuel Frederick ’99, Mason, Mich., was elected as a new shareholder for the law firm Foster Swift Collins and Smith, PC. Sam specializes in the areas of intellectual property protection and information technology, specifically in trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and software licensing.

Sue Malek, M.A. ’99, Missoula, was one of forty-eight state leaders across the nation selected for the prestigious Toll Fellowship Program sponsored by the Council of State Governments. Sue, who is serving her second term as a representative in the Montana Legislature, attended the weeklong seminar this past fall.

Keith Anderson ’98, Woodstock, Va., is the vice president of marketing at Ibex Outdoor Clothing, which recently expanded its wool source to the Lehfeldt family sheep ranch in Lavina, Mont. The company will use the wool for its line of Shak Lite garments, produced with 100 percent U.S. resources.

Mary Ann McCrackin, Ph.D. ’99, joined the faculty at Virginia Tech as the university veterinarian and director of the Office of Animal Resources. She previously was the director of laboratory animal resources at UM and an adjunct professor of small animal medicine at the University of Georgia.

’00s

Billie Jo Kipp, M.A. ’00, Ph.D. ’05, is the new president of Blackfeet Community College in Browning. Billie, who dropped out of college once before going on to earn an advanced degree, hopes her achievements will help inspire struggling students. She plans to add more four-year college programs and job-training courses to the school’s curriculum.

Hugh Powell, M.S. ’00, Ithaca, N.Y., is a science editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a contributor to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Oceanus and other publications. As an environmental journalist, Hugh tries to connect his readers with the issues he reports on. “It can be easy to think that by providing the right set of statistics—number of acres remaining or tons released into the environment—readers will become as passionate about the topic as your sources are,” he tells Mongabay.com. “But people read stories to find out what happens to the main characters, so I need to make sure people have enough detail to go on that those characters are real.”

Casey Connors ’02, Helena, was promoted to commercial loan officer at Mountain West Bank. He also is active in his community, donating his time as a YMCA basketball coach and a Head Start volunteer.

Trisha Miller ’02, Missoula, won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon in Phoenix in January with a career-best time of 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds. Trisha, who has completed seventeen marathons, hopes to qualify for the 2016 Olympic marathon trials.

Kendra Mylnechuk ’03 played the lead role in the short film OK Breathe Auralee, which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The movie tells the story of an Inuit woman who is desperate to have a baby. Kendra and her husband, Tyler Potter ’02, live in New York City.

Joseph Dusatko ’04 recently graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy and became an officer for the Great Falls Police Department. Before that, he specialized as an aircraft and avionics technician for the U.S. Navy.

Alan Panebaker ’05, Montpelier, Vt., is the first full-time reporter for the growing online news source VTDigger.org, a Vermont-based website dedicated to coverage of state politics, consumer affairs, business, and public policy. He covers health care and energy issues for the publication, which is a project of the Vermont Journalism Trust.

Jacqueline Fallon ’06, Cle Elum, Wash., plays flute and marimba in the Chiroto Marimba Ensemble, based in Moscow, Idaho. She is the director of the twenty-first annual Zimbabwean Music Festival, to be held in Moscow in early August. The event features workshops and concerts by a wide array of performers and teachers.

Caitlin Copple, M.A. ’07, became the first openly gay councilmember to be elected to the Missoula City Council last November. Caitlin, who received her master’s degree in journalism, says her interest in politics developed after she came out and became an active member of the LGBT movement.

Lucy Beard ’08 received the United States Eventing Association’s Christine E. Stafford Groom of the Year Award for 2011. A former member of the UM Equestrian Team, Lucy now works at Jarba Farms in Kalispell as a horse trainer, groomer, and competitive rider.

Rachel Cook ’08, Bakersfield, Calif., is a breaking news and nighttime general assignment reporter at the Bakersfield Californian.

Colin Scott ’08, Whitefish, is a member of Literacy Volunteers of Flathead County, an organization that provides assistance to those who are struggling with literacy problems or learning English as a second language. He currently is working toward a Fulbright Scholarship that would allow him to spend a year teaching English in Croatia.

Paige Browning ’09, Spokane, Wash., was hired by Spokane Public Radio as a news host and reporter for KPBX 91.1 and KSFC 91.9. Paige previously served as a disc jockey for UM’s radio station, KBGA 89.9 FM, and helped produce and direct four shows for MontanaPBS.

Shannon Kuhn ’09, Anchorage, Alaska, is the founder of Anchorage Food Mosaic, a popular blog and Facebook community dedicated to promoting culinary diversity and the use of fresh ingredients.

Jessica Noyola ’04, San Diego, Calif., placed tenth overall in the female pro division of the 2011 XTERRA World Championship triathlon. Originally from Whitefish, Jessica discovered her hidden talent for endurance sports while finishing her master’s degree in exercise physiology at San Diego State. At the request of one of her professors, she completed a bicycle fitness test. Her performance was so impressive that she decided to give competitive mountain biking a whirl. Eventually, she began racing XTERRA triathlons, which include swimming, biking, and running segments. When she’s not busy training or racing, she runs her own chef and catering business, Fit Food by Jess, which has become popular among competitive athletes. Her most recent catering gigs have been with triathlon and cycling camps, including The Cycling House in Tucson, Ariz. She attributes her success in both business and athletics to her fearless attitude. “If I didn’t like to do things that scared me, I’d never be in this position,” she tells the Missoulian. “My advice is find something you’re passionate about and commit to it. Don’t be afraid of failing.”

Eric Tollefson ’06, Juneau, Alaska, released his second album, The Polar Ends, early this spring. Eric gained local recognition and notoriety following the 2008 release of his first CD, The Sum of Parts, which he recorded while living in Bend, Ore. He believes his second effort—which blends rock, soul, blues, and folk—is even better than his debut, telling the Juneau Empire, “Everything I could have put into this, I did…it took a lot of work, two and a half years, every day.”

Colter Nuanez ’09, Bozeman, was named Sports Writer of the Year by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for his reporting work with the Ellensburg Daily Record in Washington. He was selected from a pool of portfolio entries from more than eighty daily newspapers. He joined the staff at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in June 2011 and was promoted to the position of sports editor in December.

Tim Robbins, M.B.A. ’09, Great Falls, received the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassador of the Year Award. Tim served on the selection committee for Habitat for Humanity for the past four years, is a partner in the Great Falls Workforce Development Initiative, is the chairman of the Missouri River Community Management Team, and is on the Job Service Employer Committee. He works as the manager of the Great Falls Job Service.

’10s

Bridget Davis ’10, Richey, is in her second year as the K-12 music teacher in the Richey School District. A former Grizzly Marching Band saxophonist, Bridget says her goal as an educator is to broaden her students’ experience with music. Last year, she took them to Missoula to see UM’s world percussion ensemble in concert. She hopes to organize a student drumline to perform at school basketball games.

Mike Hauge ’11, Edina, Minn., completed the 2011 Northshore Inline Marathon on behalf of First Descents, an organization that offers cancer fighters and survivors a free weeklong adventure experience designed to help them reclaim their lives as they conquer the great outdoors. Mike, who was diagnosed with Stage III testicular cancer during his sophomore year of college, participated in First Descents after his cancer went into remission following several surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. He and fifteen other young cancer survivors traveled to North Carolina for a weeklong whitewater kayaking excursion. Inspired by the experience, he decided to compete in the long-distance inline skating event to raise money for the program. The day before the race, a final push of donations put him over his goal of $1,000—the amount it takes to give one cancer survivor the chance to participate in First Descents. “The race itself was a struggle, as I did not have the top-of-the-line equipment that some of the veterans had,” he says. “However, anytime I was going up a hill and thought my legs were going to give out, thinking of all the survivors I met who have been fighting their whole life kept me going through the finish line.” Mike plans to raise more money for the program by competing in a triathlon sometime this year. He currently works as a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual.

Jasper Miller ’10 and Fenn Nelson ’10 are the owners of one of Montana’s newest microbreweries: Higherground Brewing Company in Hamilton. Jasper and Fenn, who grew up together in the Bitterroot Valley, are both twenty-four years old, making them the youngest brewers in the state.

Sarah Red-Laird ’10, Ashland, Ore., is the founder of the nonprofit organization Bee Girl, which seeks to educate hobbyist beekeepers about strategies for promoting the health and survival of their bees. Although the insects and their byproducts provide numerous health benefits to humans, Sarah says many people do not know how to properly care for their hives. “It’s important to baby your bees,” she tells the Ashland Daily Tidings.

Andrew Selle ’10, Billings, coaches quarterbacks for the football program at Billings West High School. Andrew, who graduated from Billings West in 2006 and went on to play quarterback for the Grizzlies, also teaches algebra and geometry at his alma mater.

John Mack, M.B.A. ’11, recently joined the Great Falls Police Department.

Jaimie Thibeault ’11 signed a contract to play professional volleyball for the Lavoro Doc Pontecagnano club in Italy. The former Griz volleyball star and three-time first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection also made the national team in her native Canada and is expected to represent her country at international competitions through the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Keema Waterfield, M.F.A. ’11, was awarded a $1,000 prize from the online literary journal Mason’s Road for her creative nonfiction piece, “Inside Passage.” The memoir integrates descriptions of a slow-moving Alaskan ferry with scenes from a divided family. Keema, who splits her time between Missoula and rural Alaska, is currently working on a collection of essays about growing up in southeast Alaska.

NEW LIFETIME MEMBERS

The following alumni and friends made a commitment to the future of the UM Alumni Association by becoming lifetime members. You can join them by calling 877-862-5867 or by visiting our website: www.grizalum.com. The Alumni Association thanks them for their support. This list includes all new lifetime members through February 29, 2012.

Summerfield Baldridge ’78 and Julie Martin Baldridge ’79, Whitefish

David Bell ’96 and Brittany Bell ’98, Sandys, Bermuda

Chad Burchard’93, Spokane, WA

Paul Callahan, M.S. ’96, and Lynn Dankowski ’90, J.D. ’96, Missoula

Terry Carter ’70, Liberty Lake, WA

Alexander Cartwright ’78, Lake Tapps, WA

John Clotfelter ’76 and Debra Clotfelter, Yorktown, VA

Scott Eames ’87, Purdys, NY

Kelley Kostelecky ’96, Coeur d’Alene, ID

Timothy Long ’78, Arlington, VA

Mark McCue ’98, Denver, CO

Robert McCue ’83, Missoula

Sydney McCue, Missoula

Tim McCue ’95, Seattle, WA

Bill Muse and Mary Muse, Missoula

Brian Oevermann ’92, Issaquah, WA

Karin Larson-Pollock ’93, Mercer Island, WA

Teri Wheeler Wahl Rappe ’71, Wenatchee, WA

Carl Rummel ’76 and Annette Rummel, Missoula

Larry Ryan ’72, Lenexa, KS

Barbara Shonkwiler ’72 and Thomas Lee, Kalispell

Martha Spohn ’74, Worthington, OH

Mary Gail Sullivan ’79, M.B.A. ’00, Butte

Ashleen Williams ’11, Snohomish, WA

In Memoriam

We extend sympathy to the families of the following alumni, faculty, and friends. Names without class or degree years include UM alumni, employees, and friends. To be included in “In Memoriam,” the UM Office of Alumni Relations requires a newspaper obituary or a letter of notification from the immediate family.

Material on this page reached our office by March 6, 2012.

’30s

Eleanor MacDonald Ecker ’34,

Lake Havasu, AZ

Elinor R. Clack ’37, Monument, CA

William Hopkins Wickes ’37, Columbia, MO

Allison M. Vinal Easterling ’39, Missoula

’40s

Charles Dulane Fulton ’40, M.Ed. ’46, Kalispell

J. Hilbert Hanson ’40, Polson

Cecelia E. Mueller Solich ’40, Helena

Barbara Streit Koessler ’42, M.A. ’71, Missoula

Dorothy E. Mitchell Herda ’43, Peoria, AZ

Vernon Francis Reynolds ’43, Missoula

Rita Ann Schiltz Sheehy ’43, Helena

Margaret Landreth Wesselhoeft ’43, Seattle

Joseph B. Gary ’44, Bozeman

Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Sandberg Overby ’44, Seattle

Frances P. Morgan Andrews ’45, Minneapolis

Curtis C. Cook ’47, Hamilton

Robert H. Coombs ’47, Reno, NV

Garnet L. Sethne Dahmer ’47, Missoula

John Robert Grinde ’47, J.D. ’50, Polson

Robert Lee Gilbertson ’49, Tucson, AZ

Charles Luedke, J.D. ’49, Billings

Hilda Myre McGaugh ’49, Bigfork

Robert D. “Bob” O’Conner ’49, Missoula

Robert H. Patton ’49, Port Angeles, WA

Audrey Kramis Schultz ’49, Missoula

Lowell Allen Sheets ’49, North Bend, OR

Paul Eugene Verdon ’49, Helena

’50s

Robert N. “Bob” Denton ’50, Prescott, AZ

Gregory McLaren Hall ’50, Missoula

Gloria Dempsey Hauck ’50, Helena

James D. Hoffman ’50, Glendive

John E. “Jack” McCourt ’50, Bellingham, WA

John D. McRae ’50, Missoula

Gretchen A. Rasmussen Ragsdale ’50, Kenmore, WA

Bruce F. Saint ’50, Spokane, WA

Louis Orvin Strand ’50, M.Ed. ’55, Big Timber

Ruth M. Voorhees Voelker ’50, Denver

William Allen Worf ’50, Missoula

Margaret M. Alvis ’51, Montara, CA

John B. Cage, M.Ed. ’51, Waukesha, WI

Keith P. “Skip” Johnson ’51, Butte

Rodney Langum ’51, Ramona, CA

John Luke McKeon ’51, Anaconda

Mary Lee Powell Alkire ’52, Taylorsville, UT

Nancy Marie Calvert Burke ’52, Butte

Clarence T. “Chris” Christofferson ’52, Helena

Mary Jo Peterson Connelly ’52, Missoula

Jefferson Veach Doggett ’52,

White Sulphur Springs

Arthur John Holter ’52, Racine, WI

Frank Don Hughes Jr. ’52, Kalispell

John Albert Lahr ’52, Butte

Robert Lee Lindborg ’52, Bigfork

Gordon Thomas Litton ’52, Spokane, WA

John Michael Pecarich ’52, Missoula

Joseph Frank “Joe Frank” Pobrislo ’52, Tucson, AZ

James E. Purcell ’52, J.D. ’58, Butte

Betty I. Bernhardt Wilson ’52,

Sun City West, AZ

Marlene Ann Carrig Jacobsen ’53, Whitefish

Lee A. Jordan ’53, Bradenton, FL

Meredith L. Bear Mott ’53, M.Ed. ’65, Destin, FL

Elizabeth Grace “Dinny” Gibson Nelligan ’53, Missoula

Fay Louis Buck ’54, Choteau

Don Edwin Erickson ’54, Lincoln, CA

Philip Charles Hanson ’54, Bigfork

Bob J. Lerum ’54, Missoula

Geraldine Theresa St. Onge ’54, New York

Arch Dudden ’55, M.Ed. ’63, Butte

William L. Poulson ’55, Tremonton, UT

Frank J. Bremberger, M.Ed. ’56, Oshkosh, WI

Harry D. Eylar ’56, Cypress, CA

Roy William “Bill” Hammer ’56, Stanford

Evan Ellsworth Chaffey ’57, Providence, RI

William “Bill” Clark Kaiserman ’57, Spokane, WA

Alfred W. Laber ’57, M.S. ’60, Mims, FL

Donald Lawrence Sorte ’57, M.A. ’60, Great Falls

John Garfield Bishop ’58, M.Ed. ’71, Butte

Mary Travis Forman ’58, Seattle

Thomas Daniel Grady ’58, Hayden, ID

Daniel Joseph Ryan ’58, Duvall, WA

Eloise Kingston Rusunen ’59, M.Ed. ’78, Vancouver, WA

James Noel Smith ’59, Bozeman

’60s

Arthur M. Buls ’60, Pauma Valley, CA

James Peter “Pete” Jarding ’61, Peru, IN

Walter Louis Lenington ’61, Orem, UT

Conrad “Harry” Tahija ’62, Escondido, CA

Judith E. Black Wolfe-Hopfinger ’62, Sutherlin, OR

Thomas L. Longan ’63, Dixon, IL

John Edward Snyder ’63, M.Ed. ’68, Corvallis

Patricia Ann “Patti” O’Neill ’64, ’66, Renton, WA

Nelson Bradley Templeman ’64, Eugene, OR

James Elliot Werner ’64, Helena

Thomas J. Moholt, J.D. ’66, Visalia, CA

Fred David Appelman ’67, Missoula

William J. “Bill” Beaman ’67, M.B.A. ’72, Helena

Robert James Kemp ’67, Harrisburg, PA

Ronald Wayne Patterson ’67, Eden Prairie, MN

Joseph Warren Bean Upshaw ’67, Tuscola, IL

William Wesley Wertz, J.D. ’67, Tallahassee, FL

Lorin Dennis Barnes ’68, Bremerton, WA

Doris Coates Forkin ’68, Columbia Falls

Katherine G. McConnell ’69, Deer Lodge

Michael Henry Minor ’69, Tacoma, WA

Joseph E. Tobin ’69, Billings

’70s

David H. Duncan ’72, West Hollywood, CA

Joy M. Girvan ’73, Eugene, OR

William E. Patton, Ed.D. ’73, Missoula

Nancy Ann O’Leyar MacDonald ’74, ’75, Anchorage, AK

Robert Dee Summers Jr. ’74, Bozeman

Jacqueline Lee Gibson ’75, M.A. ’88, Helena

Charlotte Lee Kilbourn Easter Kress ’77, Seattle

Frederick Gordon Willis ’77, Billings

Michael Lee Gilbert ’78, Manhattan Beach, CA

’80s

Shirley Parks Abel ’80, Hamilton

Eric Spencer “Buck” Crain ’80, Choteau

Michael William Brogan ’81, La Mirada, CA

James R. McCormick Jr. ’81, Great Falls

Cinda Marie Tompkins ’82, Helena

Peggy Mae Percival Johnson ’83, Missoula

Steven Lee Youssi ’84, Fort Worth, TX

David Russell Jandt ’85, Enterprise, OR

Jerry Burl Willis ’86, Missoula

Jerry L. Lane ’87, Missoula

Nancy Claire Hoon Logozzo ’88, Great Falls

Patricia Jo Branom Fellows ’89, Great Falls

’90s

Kyle James Clayton ’91, Butte

Suzanne Kay Bonifas Behan Campbell ’92, Troy

Grace Ardis McKinnon Scales ’93, Missoula

Scott William Peters ’94, Billings

Theodore Eddy Barney ’96, Missoula

Eric Richard Persicke ’98, Missoula

Matthew Myron Sampson ’98, Plains

Matthew Lawrence “Mattie” Gibson III, M.S. ’99, Missoula

’00s

Mariah Elizabeth Peterson, M.S. ’03, Seneca Falls, NY

Stephen Kent Green ’04, Lolo

Jelena Stojakovic ’06, M.A. ’09, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

FRIENDS

Ray Avery, Rock Creek

Donald Joe Bedunah, Missoula

Nathaniel Blumberg, Bigfork

Eugene A. “Gene” Brosovich, Billings

Charles Kay Buckingham, Missoula

Julie Marie Peters Caufield, Carson City, NV

Robbie “Rob” Dwight Foster, Bigfork

Scott Lester Greene, Missoula

Betty Randles Haight, Helena

Bonnie Rose Felker Hamilton, Missoula

Bridger Wyeth Holt, Havre

Evelyn Towler Hughes, Missoula

Daphne Bugbee Jones, Missoula

Jules Alexander Karlin, Missoula

Julien H. LePage, Missoula

Raymond Walter Meadows, Stevensville

Sherene Anne “Sherry” Petersen, Missoula

Lincoln Quappe, Sayville, NY

Eudora Anderson Reich, Spokane, WA

Gordon H. Simmons, Missoula

John Goodrich Watkins, Niwot, CO

John Henry Wicks, Missoula

Email Article |  

HOME | FEEDBACK | STAFF | ARCHIVES
ALL CONTENTS © 2013 THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA