Class Notes
1930s
Edward Janosik ‘39 and Martha (Harris) Bradson ‘40 are alive and well, living in Springfield, Mo.
1940s
Edward Bender ‘40 recently published a book, Lest They Forget Freedom’s Price about his experiences in WWII and as a prisoner of war.
Mary (Harrelson) Davidson ‘47 enjoyed getting together with the Florida Southeast alums in Sarasota, Fla., this year. Mary is a retired teacher from the Chicago suburbs, now living in Sarasota.
Marion (Lake) Weingaertner ‘49 is enjoying the activities and facilities of Friendship Village in Sappington, Mo., and spending time with her grandaughter and great grandaughter. She would love to hear from former classmates!
1950s
Harold Stratton ’52, after graduating magna cum laude from Southeast,went to the University of Missouri where he received a B.S. in medicine and then to Washington University in St. Louis where he received his MD degree in 1955. He interned in surgery at Barnes and Allied hospitals. Later he spent eight years in the United States Air Force where he had a residency in anesthesiology. He became board certified in anesthesiology and practiced medicine in Tulsa, Okla., for 37 years.
Donald Brod ‘54 completed his term as immediate past president of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. He was elected president at the Society’s conference in 2008 in Detroit and moved into the immediate past president position last year at the Prince Edward Island Conference. Next year in Coventry, England, he can relax and enjoy the conference.
Marietta (Nussbaum) Martin ‘56 retired from the Office Systems & Technology at Jefferson College, Hillsboro, Mo. She is a part-time secretary at St. Andrew’s UMC, in De Soto.
Kenneth Wessel ‘56 resumed work in the field of leadership development, designing and leading more than 60 leadership development seminars.
Kenneth Wessel ‘ 56 resumed work in the field of leadership development, designing and leading more than 60 leadership development seminars.
Robert Crawford ‘57 and wife, Brenda, celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on June 27, 2010.
Paul McKee ‘57 recently visited Southeast after 54 years and was truly impressed with the hospitality he received and the beauty of the campus. He has been volunteering as a consultant to the College of Education.
Thomas Gwaltney ‘57 is a professor emeritus at Eastern Michigan University where he served as a professor of education for 41 of his more than 50 years of service. He is now minister of visitation in his church and visits those who are in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and hospices. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Eastern Michigan University Foundation and two state professional boards in Michigan.
Joseph Kersting ‘58 retired after 15 years as a professor and administrator at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill. Joe is currently a part-time education consultant and evaluator of Illinois public school grant applications, and he also serves as an elected representative on his local county board. He and his wife Carol have three daughters and five grandchildren. As a former Southeast student athlete, he supports Southeast through an endowed scholar/athlete scholarship.
1960s
Helen (Menser) Harris ‘60 was honored by coworkers at a celebration in recognition of her 50 years as a nurse.
Ted Miller ‘60 and his wife Priscilla moved to Maine in 2007 when he retired as a music educator after 46 years. They are enjoying a more relaxed life in a beautiful part of the country.
Cecil (Neudigate) Mossotti ‘61 retired after 23 years with LifeScan, a Johnson & Johnson company. She is enjoying life in the Bay Area of California.
Gilbert Baumker ‘62 retired in 2007 after 45 years as a design engineer at two companies in Washington, Mo. He and his wife Margie take care of the grandchildren, golf and travel west for elk and mule deer.
George Bennett ‘62 retired after 40 years of working in medical sales and now follows his passion for photography. He and his wife Hilda moved from Tampa Bay, Fla., after 23 years and now live in Paducah, Ky. He opened George Bennett Photography. This past spring he did the photography for the Lois Lane statue dedication and celebration in Metropolis, Ill. He also does photograph restoration and has found and restored the only known photograph of Amelia Earhart on the day she graduated from Parks Air College.
Mark Hopkins ‘62 has served as president of three colleges over a 25-year career and is currently serving as president of Pacific States University, a Los Angeles-based graduate school. He and his wife Ruth (Kight) ’63 have been married for more than 50 years and live in Anderson, S.C. The Hopkins have three children and six grandchildren. They would appreciate hearing from any old friends from Southeast.
Ronald McIlvain ‘63 retired after 16 years in sales, marketing, product development and division management for the Thomson Corporation and relocated from Chicago to Kirkwood, Mo., with his wife.
Richard O’Briant ‘63 and his wife Julie rebuilt their house on the Bay of St. Louis after Hurricane Katrina and are happily retired in Pass Christian, Miss.
Larry Tucker ‘63 retired after being a teacher for two and a half years and a federal investigator for 35 years.
Jerry Ford ‘64 and the Jerry Ford Orchestra recently performed with the Las Vegas “Rat Pack” Tour for a gala in St. Louis. Jerry’s orchestra rehearsed with look-a-likes Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. and presented the Vegas Floor Show.
Charlotte Gibson ‘64 and her husband Bruce are enjoying their “Golden Years”–doing some traveling, especially in the beautiful American West. They also enjoy playing golf, volunteering and spending time with their three grandchildren. Charlotte says hello to all her classmates, friends and fellow Newmanites.
Evelyn (Smith) Mehl ‘65 recently retired from ordained Lutheran ministy with her pastor husband. They moved to a home they built 30 years ago in the Adirondack area of New York. In the winter, they will become snowbirds and enjoy this beautiful nation of ours.
Joseph Rolwing ‘65 has retired from his position as president of the Tennessee Biotechnology Association but is continuing a part-time role as director of the Cumberland Emerging Technologies Life Sciences Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Carl Sewald ‘65 retired after more than 36 years of teaching. His wife Rita (Mathis) ’67 taught 38 years and has also retired. They have lived in Pine Bluff, Ark. for 30 years and have one daughter, Jill Marie. They are the proud owners of two golden retrievers and two horses.
Donald Frank ‘66 is Professor Emeritus at Portland State University and is working on two books (baseball and politics) as well as several articles. He is living in St. Louis on an interim basis but loves the Northwest.
Joe Dunn ‘67 begins his 35th year at Converse College where he is Charles A. Dana Professor and Chair in the Department of History and Politics. This year he has traveled to Cuba and Israel.
Sharon (Mouser) Foster ‘67 is fully retired for the first time in 34 years. Most of her career in teaching was for Shawnee Mission School District. She enjoys reading, working out and doing ministry projects for her church. She has fond memories of being a student on campus and living in Dearmont with her friend Diana Wunning.
Edgar Graves ‘67 represented Southeast Missouri State University and President Kenneth W. Dobbins at the inauguration of Dr. Thomas Harden as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the fall of 2009.
Molly (Propst) Strickland ‘67 is celebrating 25 years of employment with Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri, the past 10 years as director of the southeast office.
Dennis Tucker ‘67 is division manager at the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library in Stockton, Calif.
Gary Hanneman ‘68 is currently working as a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, La. He is looking forward to retirement in Denver, Colo. next year.
Phyllis (Pemberton) Hastings ‘68 retired after 38 years in education to enter the general workforce. Her husband Harry ‘66 bought a small business in his hometown. They sell school jackets and promotional items and have a hobby store.
Penelope Caragonne ‘68 obtained a master’s degree in social work at the University of Houston in 1972 and a doctoral degree in 1981 at the University of Texas at Austin. She directed three federal survey research grants and completed nationwide consultation for 18 years. She became a legal consultant as an expert witness in medical malpractice and personal injury litigation in 1990. Now semi-retired in Mexico, she is still involved in civil litigation in both the United States and Latin America and teaching.
Ronald Patterson ‘68 is practicing law in Washington D.C.
Michael Sabo ‘68 retired two years ago after 32 years in medical practice in Lufkin, Texas. Michael and his wife Pat moved to Denton, Texas to be near their four grandchildren.
George Gresham ‘69 is professor of marketing at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla
Deborah (Dettmann) Jackson ‘69 made the shift from elementary physical education teacher to high school biology teacher.
Frederick Schaljo ‘69 and his wife Georgia (Bader) ‘69 live in Florissant, Mo. Fred retired after 37 years as an elementary teacher in the Ferguson Florissant School District. Georgia is teaching pre-school two days a week at St. Marks Mini School in Florissant. They have two married sons and six grandchildren. Fred is currently in his 30th year as a part-time assistant professor at Florissant Valley Community College. They are active in their church, the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America.
1970s
Dora (Opalewski) Cole ‘70 retired from the mental health field after 35 years. She is married to Arthur W. Cole ‘63. They enjoy their grandson, politics, church and gardening. Dora is working on a book in the field of mental health.
George Miller ‘70 retired from Anheuser-Busch Companies. He is driving a school bus and substitute teaching for Oak Ridge School District R-6. He has been married for almost 29 years, and he and his wife have four children. He misses the Rainbow Room; the Last Chance; the Pilot House on Sunday nights-the important things that shape a college student’s life.
Yvonne (Dusablon) Mitkos ‘70 earned an Ed.D. in educational organization and leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007. She has been working in higher education for 18 years.
JoAnn Plucker ‘70 is owner of Mooresville Consulting Services LLC, providing management, communication and fundraising expertise to organizations working in the social services. She also provides grant writing and grant management services to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She hosted a gathering of Southeast alumni in north Alabama and southern Tennessee on April 17 at her home in the historic village of Mooresville, Ala.
Michael Rixman ‘70 is currently semi-retired and enjoying lakeside living in the upstate region of South Carolina. He and Beverly, his wife, now have three beautiful grandchildren. Michael remains close to many of his Sigma Chi brothers and other Southeast alums.
Gregory Dehm ’71 is the national spokesperson for the 2011 Fallbrook Film Festival in Southern California. Greg recently taped a principal role on an upcoming episode of Fox’s Terriers.
Rosemary (Morrey) Gianelli ‘71 returned from Australia where she celebrated retirement after 37 years of teaching in Missouri, California, Florida, Georgia and Europe. Rosemary is a National Board Certified Teacher. She now divides her time between Gainesville, Fla. and New Orleans, La,. where she is occupied illustrating children’s books.
David Lyle ‘71 retired and has been traveling with plans to go to Israel for his oldest son’s wedding.
Leese Yarbrough ‘71 is president/owner of LeCoya Packaging & Process Equipment. He and his wife Lonelle have two daughters, three horses, two dogs and a cat.
John Young ‘71 is the director of response for American Red Cross in Omaha, Neb., and is also the state coordinator of disaster response.
Leon Book ‘72 retired from Southeast Missouri State University after 38 years. He began a new career as coordinator of general education at Southeast Missouri Hospital’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. He coordinates the general education components of four distinct curricula: medical technology, nursing, radiologic technology and surgical technology. Write to him there at lbook@sehosp.org.
Steven Parker ‘72 has been actively involved in the Boy Scouts for 25 years.
Reva (Bennett) Schwan ‘72 lives in Sharonville, Ohio, and opened a consignment shop called “Down On Main Consignments, Etc.” and it is the best job she has ever had.
Diana Scott ‘72 retired after 35 years of teaching in Brantley County Schools, Nahunta, Ga.
Stanley Smee ‘72 retired as a public school superintendent in 2000 after serviing the districts of Puxico, Kelly, Jackson, Woodland and Bernie. He is working part-time as a political action representative for the Missouri State Teachers Association. He is also assisting his son, Tony, in establishing the first franchised home-inspection service (AmeriSpec) in the region and is enjoying spoiling his grandchildren.
Linda Wells ‘72, a 2008 Olympic coach in the Netherlands, as well as former Olympic Coach for the Greeks, National Team Coach for the U.S.A. and head coach at Arizona State, has received recent inductions into two hall of fames. First, Linda was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Southeast Missouri State where she was a five-sport athlete in college. Linda played volleyball, basketball, field hockey, tennis and softball for the Redhawks during her career. The second honor for Linda was her induction into the St. Louis Softball Hall of Fame for her playing and coaching career as well as her contributions to equity in women’s sports. The award for Linda is her seventh hall of fame induction.
Audrey Crafton ‘73 is a CPA in Houston, Texas.
Mark Harris ‘73 has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 1997. He owns a private practice called Adult-Parent-Family-Child, LLC, specializing in forensic counseling and treatment. He has a secondary license (LSOTP) and is clinically certified as a forensic counselor. Mark is currently the president of the San Antonio Group Psychotherapy Society and a member of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. He and his wife have been married for 33 years and have one son.
Sheri (Mitchell) Munie ‘73 now works for the Pacific Symphony in Orange County, Calif., in addition to teaching music and art education classes at Glendale College. She creates curriculum for education programs, writes concert scripts and organizes events and concert groups working with world class musicians and guest stars.
Sherry Anderson ‘74 retired from Hazelwood School District in Florissant, Mo., after teaching high school social studies for 30 years. She and her husband live at Lake of the Ozarks. She works part-time at Marshall’s in Osage Beach, Mo. Sherry would love to hear from former Southeast classmates.
Samson Dunlap ‘74 retired from the St. Louis Public Schools after 36 years as a teacher, administrator and district-wide high school athletic coordinator.
Deborah Kanyo ‘74 presented a workshop on music technology at the Ilinois Music Educator Association (IMEA) annual conference. She was also nominated for the Mary Hoffman award for outstanding music educators from IMEA. Debbie and her husband Jim reside in Godfrey, Ill.
John LeBoube ‘74 retired from the fire/EMS service after 27 years with the Fenton Fire Protection District in southwest St. Louis County, Mo.
Ronald Dahlin ‘75 and his wife, Jo Anne, celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary and are enjoying life. They have three children and one grandson.
Rebecca (Tope) Belli ‘76 graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a master’s degree in school administration. She received principal certification and is currently looking for a music supervisor position in North Carolina or Virginia.
George Danner ‘76 is a retired educator living in Griffin, Ga. He was inducted into the Griffin-Spalding Athletic Hall of Fame as a coach of football, basketball and soccer. He is currently the USA Deaf Men’s/Women’s assistant soccer coach. While coaching at Griffin High School, his basketball teams won five region titles in six years, compiling a 66-24 record. His soccer teams compiled a 135-74-8 record in 15 years, winning two North Georgia Titles, an AAAA region title, two state AAAA championship appearances and at one time was ranked among the top 20 high school teams in the nation. George has seen more than 50 of his players earn scholarships and has worked with several professional players. He started the high school soccer program in 1984 and resigned in 1998, going to another school system to coach football. The USA women’s soccer team is a two-time gold medalist in the 20th and 21st Deaflympics (Australia-2005 and Taiwan-2009). The USA men’s soccer team is ranked 4th in the world by finishing 4th in the Deaf World Cup in Petras, Greece, in 2008. George’s club soccer teams reached the 400-win mark on Oct. 15, 2000. George’s wife Dale (Williamson) ‘77 will retire from teaching at the end of this school year.
Carla Jeanie Eddleman ‘76 has published two books. The first was Images of Bollinger County: Graphite Drawings and Narratives, which was a narrative history of each building she drew. It had 117 illustrations of which 75 are buildings. The second is called Shadows of Cape Girardeau County Yesteryears: Graphite Drawings and Narratives. It was in the same format as the first book and had 92 buildings and one double portrait. She has also been published in other publications and currently has artwork in 24 states and nine foreign countries. Jeanie is retired from teaching art K-12 and is doing her artwork full time. She is also president of the Cat Ranch Art Guild and is working with Joel Ray, M.D., F.A.C.S. with his photography as operations manager of WESTRAY Photography.
Vickie (Brown) McCann ‘76 retired from teaching elementary music after 30 years. She is a third year Americorps/Vista member working as a tutor coordinator.
Pamela (Wiley) Schaefer ‘76 is now a traveling and training photographer with National Studios, Inc. Pamela and her husband Michael have relocated to Doniphan, Mo.
Cynthia Anderson-Vaupel ‘77 is married to Lieutenant Colonel Leon Vaupel (retired) and resides near Huntsville, Ala. She has worked for the U.S. Army as a civil servant for 30 years and is currently the retirement services officer for Redstone Arsenal, home of the Army Material Command.
Mark Durbin ‘77 retired after 23 years as city manager of Kissimee, Fla.
Mary (Gibbar) Herndon ‘77 recently passed her national boards and was awarded the Heartland’s Best Teacher on KFVS. She has four children and seven grandchildren. Mary taught special ed for 17 years and is in her fourth year teaching first grade.
Gloria (Wilson) Juedemann ’78 received the 2003/2004 Missouri Elementary School Counselor of the Year award and the 2005 ASCA National Elementary Counselor of the Year award. She retired in 2005 and is teaching conversational English in China and recruiting teachers for the program.
Robert Louder ‘78 began his 33rd year in the Rector School District where he serves as superintendent. Robert and his wife Cathy have four children and three grandchildren.
Carole (Rickard) Hedden ‘79 recently moved to the Washington, D.C. area where she continues her 15-year role as special projects editor for Aviation Week and Aviation Week & Space Technology.
Suzanne Tinsley ‘79 would love to hear from fellow University Hall alumni.
Robert Warren ‘79 joined the staff of the small business development center in the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. He works with small businesses in developing their government market. A 26-year U.S. Air Force Reserve veteran, Bob will also act as the veteran’s advocate for the center.
1980s
Michael Clynch ‘80 is working for radio stations KFNS and KYRO in Moscow Mills, Mo. He is currently running for Missouri State Representative in the 11th District of Lincoln County.
Robert Winter ‘80 and his wife Anita have four sons. Since graduation he has worked for Richardson-Vicks Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Cadbury Schweppes PLC, and is now with Online Commerce Group LLC.
Therese (Schuberth) Hubble ‘81 is in her 22nd year with the Parents As Teachers program. She has been living in the Tulsa, Okla., metro area for 15 years and enjoys college football, traveling, gardening, reading and jazzercise.
Joan (Dungey) Toomey ‘81 just returned to the full-time practice of law at Wagstaff & Cartmell in Kansas City, Mo., after 12 years of raising children and volunteering in the community.
Connie (Thomson) Garnett ‘82 lives in Norfolk, Va., with her husband and is the vice president of operations for Sentara Healthcare, a large integrated health care system.
Vera (Huffman) Hayman ‘82 teaches Spanish at Central High School in Park Hills, Mo.
Brucee (Oquinn) Woods ‘82 retired from teaching in 1999 and enjoys playing the piano on the Grand at Lacy’s each week. She was recently honored at the 150th anniversary of The First Baptist Church in Wilson, N.C.
Terri (Lincoln) Kovarik ‘83 is vice president, finance business partner, at Marriott International, located in Bethesda, Md.
Phillip Milligan ‘83 is in his third year as the principal of Bernard Middle School. He spends time playing music, biking and perfecting his portrait photography skills.
Walter Treppler ‘83 is owner/operator of Above The Dogs, LLC, which specializes in audio, video, web and multimedia projects.
Nanci (Hanks) Young ‘83 completed her 21st year of working in public schools and was selected 2010 Secondary Teacher of the Year. Nanci is also the coach of the sixth grade Odyssey of the Mind Team that placed 14th at World Finals in Michigan.
Cynthia (Crisp) Dickens ‘84 and her husband Keith reside in Paducah, Ky. They have three boys.
John Isom ‘84 is currently working at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) with the International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) program. He is the program manager of a staff of engineers and business professionals supporting programs in the science and mission systems office at MSFC.
Jeffery Thompson ‘85 is regional sales manger for The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Company.
Lisa (Timmerman) Rose ‘86 has traveled the world. Her favorite countries are Tibet, Bali, Peru, Australia, Greece, Bhutan, French Polynesia (Bora Bora ) France and Italy.
Ann Young ‘86 changed careers after 18 years and completed an AAS in interior design at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. She does freelance design consulting and AutoCAD drafting and is an associate representative with Stephenson Toelkes Associates and a manufacturer’s representative for six commercial furniture manufacturers specializing in education, business and healthcare environments.
Kerry King ‘87 is owner of Bellyrubs Dog Grooming Inc., in Normal, Ill.
David Tyson ‘87 and his wife had a girl on March 2, 2009. David works for Aflac.
William Blaylock ‘88 was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Missouri Army National Guard and serves as the deputy commander for the 35th Engineer Brigade located in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Randal Long ‘88 is a quality assurance technologist for ConAgra Foods in Lincoln, Neb, and says hello to all TKE Greek and Student Government alumni!
Marcia (Childers) Dunn ‘89 was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2009 but is a survivor. She enjoys teaching special educaion and kindergarten music at Potosi Elementary School. Marcia and James, her husband, enjoy trips to Texas to visit their one-year old grandson.
Brian Koonce ‘89 retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving more than 20 years in the United States Air Force. He moved to Huntsville, Ala., with his wife and four children and accepted the director of anesthesia services position at Decatur General Hospital.
Carmen McDowell ‘89 graduated from Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry with a Master of Divinity degree. Carmen will serve as a ministerial intern at University Unitarian Church in Seattle. Her vocational goal is to become an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister.
1990s
Jane (Rodgers) Nicholas ‘90 retired from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Tonja (Dillon) Castaneda ‘91 is working as a newspaper reporter for The Banner Press weekly newspaper in Brighton, Colo., covering business and school news. She published her first book, Thornton, about the history of her town. She and her husband Ken celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in St. Louis, visiting where they were married at Creve Coeur Park. They have two children, Andrew and Kaitlin.
Tony Smee ‘91 and his wife Tamara have purchased the AmeriSpec franchise for the greater Cape Girardeau area. AmeriSpec, Inc. provides professional home inspection services to home buyers and sellers, construction phase inspections for lenders and reinspections for insurance carriers. Prior to purchasing the AmeriSpec franchise, Tony spent 12 years with ServiceMaster Disaster Restoration Services and KMC Construction, the last 10 of those as vice president of operations and general manager.
Toni Grimes ‘92 bought a house last spring and is busy fixing it up.
Jimmy Williams ‘92 received a promotion and now serves as the assistant program manager of grain inspection for the Missouri Department of Agriculture. He is also working on his master’s degree in public administration through the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Lisa Moore ‘93 has been a correctional officer at both the medium and maximum security jails for the City of St. Louis for 13 years.
David Thomas ‘93 is currently serving as a planner for the U.S. Strategic Command Center for Combating WMD. He and his wife Stacey (Speight) ’91 celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
Alecia Fischer ‘94 is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church, serving in the Tennessee Conference.
Tammy Miller ‘94 works at Brown Shoe Company, purchased a new home and started her MBA at Missouri Baptist University this fall.
Christopher Morrill ‘94 is a senior fraud investigator with Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company in O’Fallon, Mo.
Leianne (Neff) Heppner ‘95 has been appointed the executive director of The Summit County Historical Society of Akron, Ohio.
Keeli (Smith) Singer ‘95 was selected as the 2010 Missouri Art Educator of the Year. Keeli has been an intermediate art educator for Potosi R-3 School District since 1996.
John Watson ‘95 is the owner of Zar Property Solutions LLC. John and his wife Jill have two daughters, Zaria and Oriana.
James Henson ’96 and Tracy (Newberry) ‘96 were married on March 20, 2010, and reside in Piedmont, Mo.
Darryl Spurlock ‘96 was promoted to major in the United States Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol and is commanding the local Civil Air Patrol squadron. He was elected president of the Alumni Board of Trustees for the Southeast Missouri Chapter of Delta Chi in February 2010.
Jeffrey Barker ‘97 is a quality engineer with Kilgore Flares Company in Toone, Tenn. Kilgore is part of the worldwide Chemring Group of companies, producing countermeasures and other energetics for the United States and its allies.
Jason LeGrand ‘97 is starting his fourth year as the director of major gifts for the West Coast for the University of Maryland, College Park, which is in the final 18 months of a $1 billion capital campaign. He splits his time between California and the Washington, D.C. area, and visited the Southeast campus with family and friends in May to receive a Young Alumni Merit Award.
Bruce Skinner ‘97 completed his doctorate in education through the University of Missouri-Columbia. Skinner’s dissertation focused on the funding of public higher education in Missouri by the Missouri General Assembly.
Mandi Tally-Moore ‘97 and her husband Jason had their third child (second daughter) Emma Michelle on May 3, 2010.
Emily (Holt) Kirk ‘98 and her husband Chris ‘96 had a son, Liam Christopher Kirk, in January. He joins their two daughters, Mackenzie and Delaney. Emily is an attorney at Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC in East Alton, Ill.
Michael McNamara ‘98 has been working with AJ Adhesives, Inc., as a sales representative for 12 years. He and his wife Brandy were married on April 24, 2010.
Marissa Weaver ‘98 was honored by the Springfield Business Journal in Springfield, Mo., as part of the 2010 40 Under 40 Class for civic and professional accomplishments.
Whitney Tate ‘99 and husband Ryan had their first child, Addison Rae, on Dec. 30, 2009.
Andrew Tinnin ‘99 is the associate director for orientation and student leadership programs at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J.
Darrin Tipton ‘99 was promoted to district administrator with the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole in 2009 and oversees community corrections services and institutional parole services in Mississippi County, Mo.
2000s
Melissa (Wood) Eversmann ‘00 and her husband Matthew welcomed their first baby, Adelaide Grace.
Carson Heady ’00, after nine years and three promotions in a sales career, is having his first novel, Birth of a Salesman, published by World Audience, Inc.
Sasha (Glasscock) Jackson ‘00 and husband Jamie had their second boy, Connor Bryce, on Sept. 2, 2009.
Tammy (Rodenberry) Murakami ‘00 has been at Southeast Missouri Hospital for six years. She is studying the Becker program. She has sat for two of the four parts of the CPA Exam and is looking forward to finishing by the end of the year.
Nathaniel Wilson ‘00 is the new principal at Vienna Grade School in Vienna, Ill. He and his wife Mallori were married on June 26, 2010.
Jocelyne (Dillender) Boehme ‘01 and husband Josh had a daughter, Alectre Sparrow, on Jan. 10, 2010.
Amanda Rainey ‘01 is the vice president of advancement at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. Amanda oversees development, alumni relations and marketing/communications for the university.
Vannesa (Torrey) Schwendemann ‘01 is now teaching future medical laboratory scientists. She began work on her master’s degree in higher education and administration this fall. Vannesa is married and has two children, Emma and Joseph.
Lona Skaggs ‘01 is enrolled at Walden University working for a post master’s certificate to teach psychology.
Jason Alexander ‘02 earned an M.S. in physics from the University of Oklahoma in 2006 and Ph.D. in experimental atomic, molecular and optical physics from Missouri University of Science and Technology in May 2009. He is an Oak Ridge Associated Universities Postdoctoral Fellow in the Cold Atom Optics Group at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi Laboratory Center, in Adelphi, Md. Jason gives much thanks to the faculty and staff of Southeast’s Department of Physics for preparing him for this long journey and to his family for supporting him along the way.
Kelly Finke ‘02 was promoted to lead auditor at AT&T.
Nina Goodpasture ‘02 started her own business, becoming a cake artist.
Katie (Fox) Myer ’02 and her husband Brandon Myer ‘03 had a daughter, Eliana Arlynn, on Dec. 22, 2009.
Joella Smith ‘02 started her first year with Normandy School District as a kindergarten art teacher. She received a master’s degree in teaching from Lindenwood University in St. Charles Mo., and earned Missouri Teaching Certification in three areas, social studies 9-12, social studies 5-9 and art K-12.
Patricia (Sander) Van Dyne ‘02 is a senior accountant at Charter Communications. Patricia and her husband Mark have a three-year old son and boy/girl twins who are 18-months old.
Malicia Dillon ‘03 has been employed with The Boeing Company since 2007. She received an M.B.A. in 2006 from Lindenwood University and a master’s degree in project management in 2009 from Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University.
Kay (Rittirote) Bieber ‘04 is taking a break from teaching to raise her beautiful daughter.
Carissa Ewing ‘04 completed her human resources certification and is now Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certified. She is a recruiter for a non-profit hospital in Kansas City.
Kristine Gruver ‘04 is corporate relations manager at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Margaret Harmon ‘04 is developing a professional archive for Zachary United Methodist Church. She is having fun digging through boxes and file cabinets full of history and meeting with church members, present and past, for the purpose of preserving the church’s history.
Chris Krueger ‘04 is in his sixth year (third year as a teacher) with the Windsor C-1 School District. He has moved to the middle school (grades 6-8) to teach physical education. He still coaches junior varsity boys soccer but has been promoted to also coach ninth grade boys basketball.
Mark Langenfeld ‘04 presented at the International Conference on Obesity in Stockholm, Sweden. He described the Walking School Bus program he helped launch in Cape Girardeau. He is a professor of exercise physiology at Southeast Missouri State University.
Ross (‘04) and Alisa (Long) McFerron (‘04) are proud parents of a new son, Wesley Kenneth McFerron, born July 15, 2010. Ross is an attorney at Osburn, Hine, Yates and Murphy in Cape Girardeau. Alisa is an admission counselor II at Southeast Missouri State University. The family resides in Cape Girardeau.
Erin (Corkery) Risk ‘04 is currently working as a project coordinator at Martiz in St. Louis, Mo.
Colin Vandergraaf ’04, after obtaining his master’s degree in linguistics from UC Davis, embarked on a dream job – teaching English on cruise ships. He taught English as a second language with Princess Cruises as part of a new training initiative to crewmembers from Italy, Japan, Thailand, Serbia, Macedonia, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines while sailing to places like Singapore, Bora Bora, Fiji, Western Australia, Tasmania, Hawaii Japan, and Cambodia. Colin then embarked on a different type of journey and set off on the Pacific Crest Trail. He hiked 1,350 miles from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., to close to the Canadian border. Colin lives in Oakland, Calif., and is interning at TransfairUSA, a non-profit organization focused on creating market-based solutions to help alleviate poverty in the developing world through giving farmers fair prices for their crops.
Amanda (Guethle) Alton ‘05 is a kindergarten teacher at Prairie View Elementary School after working as an instructional assistant in the Wentzville School District.
Larry Littrell ‘05 was promoted to senior management in a company working with adults with disabilities. He also plays rugby for the St. Louis Crusaders.
Frank Montiel ‘05 played independent baseball in the Golden Baseball League after his collegiate career. He is the former mayor of the Town of Guadalupe and currently manages Yaqui Education Services, assisting more than 1,300 students from kindergarten through college annually. Frank was named the 2009 Chandler-Gilbert Community College Alumni of the Year. He married his wife Christina in 2008, and they have one child, Frank Montiel, Jr.
Dustin Murray ’05, after teaching for 10 years, changed careers to help run his family’s Ace Hardware. He and wife Laura have two children.
Leah (Teibel) Simino ‘05 and husband Jake were married on Oct. 17, 2009, in St. Louis, Mo., and now reside in Mississippi.
Dustin Bailey ’06 graduated from SIU-Edwardsville with a master’s degree in clinical child and school psychology and began working with children who suffer from mental illness. On June 5, 2010, he and his wife Andrea were married.
Jennifer (Hotop) Boyd ‘06 and her husband Daniel were married on April 17, 2010. She works for the State of Missouri in St. Louis, Mo.
Shad Burner ‘06, ‘08 and Layne (Strattman) Burner ’06 welcomed Kaydence Anne Burner on March 6, 2010. This is Kaydence at her first Southeast Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting.
Andrew Canter ‘06 is teaching high school business courses to future business people.
Brittany (Schwartz) ‘06 and Chris DeBolt ’07 were married on June 20, 2009. The couple lives in St. Louis, Mo., and have been working hard to update their home. Chris recently began graduate work in criminal justice while Brittany will complete her master’s degree in instructional technology leadership.
Sarah (Fowler) Ezell ‘06 works for the American Cancer Society as community manager of development doing Relay for Life events in five counties. She and her husband Kyle live in New Madrid, Mo., with their three dogs.
Brandy Goggin ‘06 has taken a position with National Healthcare (NHC). She will be entering the administrator-in-training program while obtaining her Missouri administrators licensing.
Bethany Lacey ‘06 has moved back to Little Rock, Ark., and is a fourth grade teacher at a math and science preparatory academy.
Kelly McDaniel ‘06 is office manager/site supervisor for Midwest Geriatrics in Belleville, Ill.
Alyssa Meyer ‘06 graduated with a master’s degree in education administration from Missouri Baptist University.
Alexandrea Morrow ‘06 works for the Missouri House of Representatives after working for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources since 2007.
Amanda Pratt ’06, after three years of experience in nonprofit management, relocated to St. Charles, Mo., to accept a volunteer coordinator position with the St. Charles Humane Society, a no-kill animal shelter. She continues as an independent grant writing consultant while working on her master’s degree in nonprofit administration from Lindenwood University.
Alicia Robinson ‘06 graduated in December 2009 with an M.B.A. from Saint Louis University. She is a procurement agent at The Boeing Company in St. Louis, Mo.
Jennifer Weggenmann ‘06 works for the Missouri State Auditor’s Office and was promoted to staff auditor II.
Matthew Ciolek ‘07 is an overnight associate at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Rolla, Mo.
Claudia Favre ‘07 has completed a Master of Science degree in public health nutrition from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville.
Justin Schutte ‘07 and Julie (Bickers) ’10 were married on May 29, 2010.
Natalie (Purcell) Taylor ‘07 made her debut for the New Zealand Women’s National Basketball Team and competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In December 2009, she married Ezra Taylor, a professional rugby union player. Natalie has spent the last two years playing in the Australia Women’s National Basketball League and is now moving to Ireland to follow her husband’s rugby union career.
Stephanie Tracy ’07, following commissioned officer training, will begin her final year of her Doctorate of Audiology. She will be working at Wilford Hall Medical Center as a captain in the United States Air Force.
Kia White ‘07 is moving to Birmingham, UK to open a new Hollister Co. store for Abercrombie and Fitch. She will be living there for at least two years and is excited for the opportunity to live abroad and travel through Europe.
Aaron Wright ‘07 received the First Year Teacher of the Year in the St. Charles School District. He is teaching freshman biology and forensic science at St. Charles High School and is also the science teacher at the Success Campus. He credits the College of Science and Mathematics, the College of Education, and his college advisor, Dr. Waterman, for much of his success.
Stephanie Black ‘08 is attending Southern Illinois University School of Law. During summer 2010, she was a legal intern for the United States Attorneys’ office in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Megan (Mueller) Brusca ’08, after two years of working as a health fitness specialist and personal trainer, is going back to school for physical therapy. Megan was accepted to the Washington University School of Medicine’s top-ranking physical therapy doctoral program. She and her husband Ryan were maried on July 5, 2008.
Janice Bunch ‘08 is relocating within her company and has become the office supervisor for Community Counseling Center in Perryville, Mo.
Lauren Cook ’08 graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with a master’s degree in environmental management and is starting a job with Aquaterra in Fairview Heights, Ill.
Scott Crean ‘08 is currently working as a territory manager in the St. Louis metro area for Fabick CAT, the local Caterpillar dealer. He is pursuing his master’s degree in management from Webster University.
Matt Knickman ‘08 graduated from the University of Central Missouri in May 2010 with a master’s degree. He is working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Housing and Residential Education as a community director. He oversees five residence hall buildings with approximately 500 residents and is in charge of the men at Carolina Living-Learning Community.
Dana Kluesner ‘08 began working with Greene County Children’s Division as a child abuse/neglect investigator. Anytime someone calls the child abuse hotline number, she receives the report and has 30 days to determine if the child was abused or neglected.
Maria Landram ‘08 works for Next Step for Life, a nonprofit agency which helps adults with disabilities find employment in the competitive job market. She is also working on her master’s degree in counseling at Saint Louis University.
Michael Painton ‘08 served as a teaching assistant on a study-abroad program, serving on a leadership team that took 40 undergraduates students in the Ball State University College of Architecture Planning through 26 countries and nearly 60 cities studying architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture and historic preservation. He graduated with his master’s degree in landscape architecture from Ball State University.
Anne Marie Pratt ‘08 gave birth to William Philip Pratt on April 20, 2009. She graduated with a specialist degree in curriculum and supervision from Union University in Jackson, Tenn.
Robert Riehn ‘08 is teaching at Perryville High School. He is working on his master’s degree at Southeast Missouri State University, majoring in educational technology.
Carolyn Robey ‘08 is continuing graduate school at Fontbonne University in St Louis, Mo., working on a series of paintings, ceramic pieces and creating jewelry in her metal smithing class.
Nate Saverino ‘08 is an athletics marketing and promotions assistant at the University of Tulsa.
Erin Sieveking ‘08 is a family and consumer science teacher at Lafayette High School. She and Schuyler Hagglund were married on June 25, 2010, in St. Louis, Mo.
Shawna Brandt ‘09 is attending graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia, pursuing her family nurse practitioner degree.
Jennifer Butchart ’09 is a writing teacher at Mineral Area College. This summer she returned to Southeast Missouri State University to obtain her master’s degree in English.
Jessica Doyel ‘09 finished her first year as the business teacher at Ste. Genevieve High School.
Andrea (Snelson) Hao ‘09 works for Sharp Electronics and Atlantic Business Systems on the Space Coast of Florida.
Carol Janes ‘09 is getting a master’s degree at Truman State University.
Joel Mitchell ‘09 is entering the Southern Illinois University School of Law. He and his wife, Kelly, are celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary this year. Joel and Kelly are pastors of the Restored Hope Apostolic Church of Charleston, Mo.
Toya Owens ‘09 is pursuing an M.B.A. in finance at American Military University online.
John Wright ‘09 began classes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in pursuit of a Ph.D. in cell, molecular and developmental biology. The degree program will last approximately five years and will involve extensive training in research techniques and methodologies as well as grantsmanship.
