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'60s | '70s | '80s | '90s | '00s | Marriages | In Memoriam
Helen Bredderman, '64 Education, a retired educator, has returned to teaching part time as a reading specialist in the Newark Unified School District.
Judith Hetzel, '65 BA, '75 MA, Education, retired in May as a professor at Azusa Pacific University's School of Education, where she spent the last eight years of her 44-year career in education. She and husband, Bill, are relocating to West Covina to be near their grandchildren, she reports.
Hal Ramey, '69 Radio/TV/Film, sports director at KCBS Radio, is a 2009 nominee for the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
Gordon Wadsworth, '61 Advertising, president of Financial Aid Information Services, published The College Trap, a web-based financial guide for students and parents facing the escalating costs of a college education. A Crown Financial seminar instructor, Wadsworth is also the author of Debt Free College and Cost Effective College.
Lois Adams, '75 History, and husband, Bob, were named 2008 Los Altans of the Year by the Los Altos Town Crier in recognition of their long-time service to the community. Lois is an active fundraiser for the Los Altos History Museum, where she has also served as a volunteer for the past 10 years. She sits on the board of the local Red Cross and on the advisory board involved in the renovation of the Los Altos Community Center.
Frank Baumgardner, '70 MA History, author of Killing for Land in Early California: Indian Blood at Round Valley, 1856-1863 (Algora Publishing, 2005), reports that he's hard at work doing research on his second book about the north Mendocino coast.
Lou Bermingham, '78 BA, '92 MA, Art, who has exhibited his work in New York, France and Egypt, took part in a group show at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara spotlighting the work of Bay Area abstract artists. He will also have a solo show of his work at the Triton next summer.
Jo Ann Bjornstad, '78 Health Science, works as a dental hygienist in San José.
Mike Chasson, '77 Teaching Credential, who for ten years has served as head coach of the men's and women's swimming teams at Arizona State University, stepped down from those posts in April.
Fraser Goff, '71 Chemistry, an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico, published Valles Caldera: A Geologic History (University of New Mexico Press) in March. The Valles Caldera refers to a 12-mile-wide collapsed volcanic crater and several volcanic domes in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains. A fellow of the Geological Society of America, Goff retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2004 after 26 years of service. During his career, he worked on more than 40 geothermal systems and 15 active volcanoes.
Carol Hafner, '78 Botany, is the new Fresno County agricultural commissioner. She joined the Fresno County Agriculture Department in 1979 and rose through the ranks, becoming deputy agricultural commissioner in 1989 and assistant agricultural commissioner in 2008. She is responsible for regulating the county's agriculture industry, which includes more than 350 commercial crops.
Vance Hanna, '70 Interior Design, is chair of the Department of Art and Design at Lawrence Tech University in Southfield, Mich. He was instrumental in creating the university's Automotive Transportation design program. Students in the program won first place in design for the body of the Element One hydrogen-powered race cart, beating out competitors from UCLA, the University of Michigan, and 21 other universities.
Greta Manville, '75 BA, '78 MA, English, a 2002-2003 Steinbeck Fellow, is the author of three novels (Death Key, Murder Online and The Purgatory Trail) and serves as treasurer of the Arizona Authors Association.
Charles Marqueling, '76 Business, of San Carlos, is a senior appraiser at Hulberg & Associates, a real estate appraisal firm.
Cherie Martin, '78 Radio/TV/Film, manages web-based software projects for several Microsoft clients in her new position as senior interactive project manager at GreenRubino. She moved to Seattle in 2006 to work at Classmates Online and manage its online communications tools. Prior to her career in software development, she produced music and film festivals in Boston.
Bob Melrose, '73 Journalism, who covers the crime beat for KCBS Radio, is a 2009 nominee for the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
Michael Parsons, '75 Natural/Physical Science, retired as an investigator in the Napa County District Attorney's Office and is currently a volunteer Lifeline installer for the Calistoga area. He works part time at the St. Helena Hospital and is a "ballet dad" for his 16-year-old daughter, he reports.
Patricia Pasetta, '73 BA History, '79 MA, Education, teaches 6th grade at Cabrillo Middle School in the Santa Clara Unified School District.
Randall Ramian, '79 Business, was appointed CEO of the USS Hornet Museum, located at carrier pier #3 in Alameda. A commander in the Naval Reserve, Ramian was recalled to active duty in 2004/2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has previously held management positions at Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank and Xerox Corporation. "I look forward to helping the Hornet Museum remain a premier sea, air and space museum and a valuable learning center, especially for the youth of the area," he told the press.
Dorothy Rieger, '71 Home Economics, '74 Nursing, is patient care coordinator/ RN at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San José.
James Savage, '75 Business, is a senior partner at Savage and Savage, a business consultant firm located in El Dorado Hills.
Teresa Standart, '74 Social Work/Sociology, of Stockton, retired after a 28-year career as a police officer, primarily working as an investigator.
Marlene Bosanko, '85 MA English, received an honorary degree from Washington's Tacoma Community College, where she worked for 25 years, starting as an adjunct in 1983. Subsequently she served as chair of the Department of English and Reading for seven years and as dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for nearly ten years. "I have spent every day of the past 25 years doing what I loved most," she reports. "Learning with students and helping them reach their goals, seeing fine art, hearing beautiful music, attending excellent theatre, reading the great books of many disciplines, and serving in my church and in my community."
Suzanne Dortch, '87 Business, is a Delta Airlines pilot, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to signing on with Delta in 2000, she worked at Loral Aerospace in San José as a database administrator.
Fred Ferrer, '83 MS Psychology, is CEO of The Health Trust, a Silicon Valley nonprofit organization founded in 1996 that has provided more than $100 million in community assistance through grants and direct health services such as Meals on Wheels. Previously Ferrer served as executive director of Estrella Family Services in San José. His business "hero," he told the Silicon Valley Business Journal, is Tom Peters. The hardest part of his job? The "falling Dow Jones industrial average," he said.
Diane Fuller, '86 Nursing, works as a home health case manager at Kaiser Permanente, San José.
Marc Horton, '89 History, is a children's librarian working in the Los Angeles Public Library system.
Mark Merino, '88 Accounting, works as a business planner/strategist at Hewlett- Packard for the company's Personal Systems Group.
Stephen Mona, '80 Journalism, is CEO of the World Golf Foundation.
Mark Tennis, '83 Journalism, of Stockton, is executive editor at espn.com. Last summer, ESPN bought his company, Student Sports, Inc. He continues to oversee Cal-Hi Sports.
Greg Weber, '88 Marketing, recently became a sales associate at David Lyng Real Estate in Santa Cruz. He previously worked as a residential appraiser for Bank of America, GreenPoint Mortgage and Wachovia Bank.
Robert Wien, '83 Meteorology, is a satellite flight specialist at Honeywell in Las Cruces, N.M.
John Wilcox, '89 Advertising, a financial advisor based in Upton, Mass., recently received his Certified Financial Planner certification. A veteran of the financial services industry, he joined Wachovia Securities in 2002. He is a member of the Corridor Nine and Blackstone Valley Chambers of Commerce and an ambassador for Business Networking International.
Edwin Acevedo, '91 Journalism, a master's degree candidate in art at SUNY Oswego, recently exhibited his work at the Tyler Art Gallery in Oswego. Before focusing on web and multimedia design, he worked as a journalist for nearly 14 years in California.
Rebekah Ahrendt, '98 Music/English, is a member of a baroque music ensemble that recorded its first CD in June. Last October, the group performed at SJSU's Humanities Honors Program reunion. More information about the ensemble.
Shelley Ash, '90 Journalism, '01 MPH, is a senior health educator at Kaiser Permanente's Santa Clara Medical Center.
Chris Dean, '94 Art, who shows his work at TAG Art Gallery in Nashville, Tenn., uses the lenticular printing process for his pop culture-inspired art.
Kim Ferm, '91 Health Care Administration, heads the 2-1-1 information service for United Way Silicon Valley. "It's an amazing program," she told the Silicon Valley Business Journal. "It's free help, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from a live person and in more than 140 languages." The 2-1-1 resource, begun in 2007, connects users to hundreds of community services and "its disasterresponse capability is astounding," Ferm reports. Before joining the United Way, she was department director at West Valley Community Services. In between jobs, she took a three-month trip across the U.S. in a convertible. "I thought I was a patriotic person before," she said, "but (that trip) changed my life."
Greg Finch, '91 Corrections, is Campbell's new police chief. He began his career in the Campbell Police Department in 1987. He was promoted to sergeant in 1996 and to captain in 2006.
Gary Fleischman, '91 MS Taxation, the McGee Hearne and Paiz Faculty Scholar in Accounting and an associate professor at the University of Wyoming, received the 2009 Hollon Family Award for Teaching Excellence in Off Campus Programs, an award conceived to recognize faculty contributions to the university's outreach programs.
Daniel Gerson,'97 Political Science, of Woodbury, N.Y., an attorney at Carway & Flipse of Mineola, received his second Pro Bono Attorney of the Month award from the Nassau County Bar Association. He donates his time through the NCBA-supported Volunteer Lawyers Project, which provides pro bono legal representation in civil cases for individuals meeting federal poverty guidelines. He began his pro bono service as a student at Hofstra University School of Law.
Paul Hill, '99 Aviation, is a Continental Express Airlines pilot.
Michelle Kane, '92 Advertising, is marketing director at the law firm of Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, with offices in Rapid City and Sioux Falls, S.D.
Sherman Lee, '99 Business, who has worked with Valley Yellow Pages for two years, is membership development manager at the San José Chamber of Commerce.
Ann Jackson O'Kane, '96 English, teaches sixth grade in the Santa Clara Unified School District.
Kelly Pham, '97 Psychology, of San José, is a doctoral student at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology.
Linda Resler, '93 MLS, based in Fredericksburg, Va., is manager of library technical services support at the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Julie Rose, '93 Humanities, author of the manuscript The Pilgrim Glass, was named one of 100 semifinalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition.
Patrick Shabram, '98 MA Geography, is the author of Shabram's Guide to California's Professional Ballparks, which provides information on each of the West Coast's 31 professional baseball stadiums, from Everett (Wash.) Memorial Stadium (home of the Northwest League's Everett Aquasox) to Petco Park (home of the National League's San Diego Padres). Shabram offers a "fan'seye view" of each ballpark, complete with directions, ticket prices and food reviews. More details
Sarah Sherwood, '92 Social Science, of San Mateo, works as a publicist at the company she founded, Sherwood Communications.
Barbara Stuber, '92 MSW, of Fremont, works as a social worker for Santa Clara County.
LaSandra Brill, '00 Business, is manager of web and social media marketing at Cisco Systems. She also authors a blog, Marketing in a Web 2.0 World. Before joining Cisco, she held management positions at Mirapoint and AppStream.
Roslyn Bryant, '02 Liberal Studies, of San José, teaches in both the Evergreen and Franklin-McKinley School Districts.
Michael Clarke, '01 MS Criminal Justice Administration, was promoted to probation manager of the Special Services section of the Santa Clara County Probation Department. He lives in Gilroy.
James Colvin, '06 Kinesiology, is director of Community and Organizational Wellness at Sunnyvale's Generations Community Wellness, a provider of individual and family social services. He also chairs the Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Commission.
Ursula Ferguson, '08 Child Development is a K-sixth grade substitute teacher in Eureka.
Michael Fossati, '08 MUP, is assistant planner for the city of Saratoga.
Ting-yi Huang, '08 Psychology, is currently pursuing a master's degree in clinical psychology/marriage and family therapy at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.
Jasmine Kang, '07 Business, published River of Light, which she describes as a "collection of inspirational prose, poetry, artwork and photography." More information.
Titus Kaphar, '01 BFA Painting/African- American Studies, who has exhibited his work at the Yale University Art Gallery, the Savannah College of Art and Design and elsewhere, received Seattle Art Museum's inaugural Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowship. The fellowship includes a $10,000 monetary award and a one-person exhibition at the museum. Kaphar's work will also be shown at Cuba's Havana Biennial.
Ednan Khera, '08 Business, is a commissioned officer in the California Army National Guard.
Sarah Kimakwa, '09 MLIS, former acquisitions manager at the Darling Library, Hope International University in Fullerton, has accepted a position as acquisitions librarian at Chicago State University.
Brad Leary, '01 MSW, is director of social services and counseling at Hospice of the Valley, a provider of end-of-life care and community grief education in Santa Clara County.
Ben Liu, '05 Journalism, who calls himself "the only performing harpist in the Tri-City area," often plays his custommade harp at Paddy's Coffee House in Union City, among other venues. His repertoire includes Celtic and Jewish music and medieval tunes. He also plays with the San José-based group, Harpers Hall. Information about his upcoming performances.
Claudia Maria Lopez, '08 Sociology, is pursuing her doctorate in sociology at UC Santa Cruz.
Rafael Lopez, '06 Civil Engineering, of San José, is a design engineer at Mark Thomas & Co., Inc.
Samara Madrid, '00 MA Psychology, is an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary and Childhood Education at the University of Wyoming. Previously, she was an administrative/ research associate at Ohio State University, where she received her doctorate in early childhood education.
Colette Massa, '07 Hospitality Management, is employed by Pebble Beach Resorts.
Krista Nilsen, '06 Public Relations, is public relations manager at Threshold Enterprises in Scotts Valley. She has also been an account executive at Armanasco Public Relations in Monterey, marketing coordinator at Whole Foods Market in Los Altos, and public relations coordinator at Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara.
Kenneth Nagata, '08 Political Science, is a U.S. Army infantry officer.
Jenah Nugent, '08 Speech Pathology, is pursuing a graduate degree in speech and language pathology at the University of Central Florida.
Laila Rodriguez, '05 Advertising, is a production coordinator at Time Out New York, a weekly magazine.
Mahalakshmi Srinivasan, '07 Electrical Engineering, is a software engineer at Mark Logic Corporation in San Carlos.
Mike Sun, '07 Finance, is a finance business analyst at Cisco Systems.
Winnie Tsang, '08 MA Speech Pathology, works as a pediatric speech-language pathologist in New Jersey.
Jenny Vodvarka, '08 MBA, is finance manager at AECOM USA for the San Francisco Central Subway Station.
Wendolyn Wysock, '07 MLIS, is a metadata librarian at Cal Poly Pomona University Library, working on developing the Institutional Repository.
Shaun Yaple, '08 Business, of Santa Rosa, is COO of CGR Imports and also works in casino management for Fortiss, LLC.
Kelly Fisher, '03 Economics, married David Noble on March 28 at St. Leo the Great Church in San José.
Ernestine Lavagnino Agnew, '49 Business, Teaching Credential, at age 81, on Feb. 20, in Fresno.
Robert Aiello, '57 Accounting, at age 73, on Feb. 12, in Martinez.
John Akin, '63 Engineering, at age 76, on April 14, in San José.
Helen Amrine-Jones, Nursing, at age 75, on Sept. 24, 2008, in Manteca.
Carl Anderson, '55 Industrial Technology, at age 80, on May 3, in San José.
Jacquelyn Andre, '52 Education, at age 79, on Feb. 27, in Morro Bay.
Arthur Horace Bayley, '48 Industrial Arts, at age 85, on Jan. 17, in San Leandro.
Stephen Berg, '67 Business, at age 63, on April 16, in San Rafael.
Stephen Bertoncin, '76 Management, at age 58, in February, in Tucson, Ariz.
Steven Block, '74 Finance, at age 57, on April 3, in Grass Valley.
Stan Brannon, Mechanical Engineering, at age 68, on Feb. 23, in Fresno.
Roy Brophy, '46 Journalism, at age 87, on April 14, in Sacramento.
Mar Dell Casto, '67 Mechanical Engineering, at age 71, on March 9, in San José.
Robert Crete, '54 Business, at age 79, on April 6, in Carmichael.
Barbara Walker Dabel, '63 Art, at age 67, on April 10, in San José.
Laura Henry Doyle, '34 Education, at age 96, on Jan. 19, in San José.
David Drago, '76, at age 54, on May 15, in Auburn.
Lucinda Engelund, '01 MLS, at age 53, on Feb. 9, in Aptos.
Christine Helps Finwall, '41 Education/ Music, at age 89, on Feb. 16, in Juno Beach, Fla.
Zane Franks, '72 MA Industrial Arts, at age 81, on April 10, in Roseville.
Lucretia Gardner, '95 English, at age 64, on Feb. 1, in Gilroy.
Janet Longden Greathead, '48 Art, at age 82, on Feb. 23, in Salinas.
Earl Gustkey, '62 Journalism, at age 69, on April 17, in Billings, Mont.
Vivian Hallissy, '41 History, at age 90, on April 20, in Concord.
James D. Houston, '56 Theatre Arts, at age 75, on April 16, in Santa Cruz.
Bernard Isaacson, Business, at age 77, on May 5, in Las Vegas, Nev.
Martin Jensen, '43 History, at age 92, on Feb. 14, in Stockton.
Donald Kleyensteuber, '58 Art, at age 91, on Jan. 14, in Los Altos.
Rod Knowles, '88 Marketing, on April 22, in Oroville.
Wilma Laurence, '43 Music, at age 87, on March 3, in Carmichael.
Rodney Lee, '55 Journalism, at age 76, on Feb. 9, in Lafayette.
Howard Lohuis, '62 Education, at age 77, on March 6, in Salinas.
Nathalie Lotz, '54 English, at age 76, on March 23, in San José.
Florence Lovaglia, '40 Mathematics, at age 92, on March 27, in San José.
Jeremiah Lucey, '70 Nursing, on Sept. 5, 2008.
Dorothy Lyon, '47 Art, at age 82, on April 7, in Sonora.
Shane Mahoney, Civil Engineering, at age 54, on April 23, in Pinole.
Nancy Manley, '37 Education, on April 10.
Ronald McPherson, '73 Business Administration, at age 71, on Dec. 29, 2008, in Houston, Texas.
Donald Merkel, '67 Library Science, on Dec. 13, 2008, in Phoenix, Ariz.
Marilyn Merkel, Information Systems Management, on March 15, in San José.
Lloyd Middlekauff, '94 Public Relations, at age 40, on Feb. 8, in San José.
Paul Rose, '55 Radio/TV/Film, at age 82, on March 19, in Poulsbo, Wash.
Marietta Singer, '49 English/Philosophy, '50 Teaching Credential, on Dec. 29, 2007.
Quentin Smith, '52 Political Science, on March 23, in Millbrae.
James Trosino III, '69, at age 62, on May 9, in San José.
Rex Tudor, '65 Accounting, at age 69, on Feb. 3, in Shafter.
John Wallace, '59 Interior Design, on Feb. 4, 2008.
Marilyn Wegner, '62 Health Science, at age 70, on April 28, in Redding.
Marlou Weinzerl, '55 Education, on March 9, in San José.
Albert Yost, '42 Mathematics, at age 91, on April 22, in Palo Alto.
Gary Zaretzka, Civil Engineering, at age 59, on April 9, in Fremont.
William Edward Swanson, at age 74, on April 3, in Daly City. During his nearly four-decade tenure as an engineering professor at San José State, he became known for teaching more topics in the electrical engineering department than any other professor. Swanson received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, followed by a second master's in environmental engineering from Stanford University. He was awarded several National Science Foundation Fellowships for independent study and worked for Bell Labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sylvania.
Robert Thamm, at age 75, on March 4, in Tampa, Fla. Thamm was a sociology professor at SJSU.
Lucille Fillmore Whaley, at age 86, on June 3, in Sunnyvale. An emeritus professor in the nursing department at SJSU, Whaley began her career as a registered nurse. She co-authored Nursing Care of Infants and Children, one of the most widely used pediatric textbooks in nursing schools worldwide.
Read Washington Square Fall 2009.
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