50s

Edmund A. Bonczyk ’52, M.S. ’60, and Cecilia B. Cardosi-Bonczyk ’52 celebrated 70 years of marriage on Aug. 30, 2022. 

Appears In

JoAnn (Hosto) Kijewski ’59 is retired; met her husband, Jim Kijewski ’58, M.A. ’71, at Illinois State; resides in Lansing.

60s

Gerald Parker ’61 retired from teaching economics at Lake Land College; retired from a second career as a park ranger with the Army Corps of Engineers; resides with his wife, Carol, in Mattoon. 

Pamela (Small) Anderson ’69 retired from teaching; resides with her husband, Ronald, in Washington.

Janice Buckley ’69 retired from teaching; resides with her husband, David, in South Haven, Michigan. 

Dr. Margaret (Cook) Drew ’69 completed a doctorate at Southern Illinois University Carbondale; taught at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Northwest Missouri State University; is a professor emeritus at Northwest Missouri State; enjoys her grandchildren; resides with her husband, Michael, in Maryville, Missouri. 

Kay Kennedy ’69, M.A. ’71, retired from  teaching and coaching; has circumnavigated the world; resides in Safety Harbor, Florida. 

70s

Janet (Reinheimer) Lemons ’70 earned a Juris Doctorate at Baylor University Law School; retired as an attorney; resides with her husband, Stephen, in Roanoke, Virginia. 

Theodore Roels ’70 retired as a State Farm agent; resides in Sparta, Wisconsin. 

Diane (Moutrey) Patterson ’71 is a volunteer guardian ad litem in retirement; resides in Greenville, South Carolina. 

Dr. Michael Wiant ’71, M.S. ’77, received a doctorate in anthropology at Northwestern University; worked for the Illinois State Museum for 35 years, retiring as director of Dickson Mounds; former adjunct at Illinois State; resides with his wife, Theresa, in Petersburg. 

Jo Anna (Terando) Wisniewski ’72 retired from the National Council of Teachers of English; resides with her husband, Jerry Wisniewski ’73, in Gifford. 

Susan Holland ’73 is a psychiatric social worker who has operated her own practice for nearly 40 years; specializes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and trauma; resides in Seaside, California. 

Janet (Janulis) Look ’73 retired from District 230; is an adjunct at Joliet Junior College; has been teaching for nearly 50 years; resides with her husband, Jim, in Frankfort.

Barbara (Sarff) Kelleher ’74 retired as public information officer with the Florida Department of Transportation; resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

Molly Reilly LaVictoire ’74 retired from Francis Howell School District; worked with gifted students; competed successfully in short film productions; resides in St. Charles, Missouri. 

Richard Lorenc ’74, M.S. ’77, is a professor emeritus at the University of St. Francis; taught speech, audio, video, journalism, media law, and media ethics; helped establish school’s FM radio station and Federal Communications Commission license; he and his wife, Meg, have two children and three grandchildren; resides in Joliet.

Marc Loro ’74 retired from the Illinois Office of the Secretary of State; resides in Springfield. 

Mary Alice Molgard ’75, M.S. ’77, retired after teaching radio, TV, and film for 36 years at the College of Saint Rose; serves as Disaster Public Affairs team lead for the American Red Cross; is a volunteer firefighter; resides in Berne, New York. 

Gayle (Lorenz) Morrell ’75 retired from the military after 20 years in the Army Reserve; retired as an elementary school teacher; continues as a guest teacher; resides in East Moline. 

Brian Bown ’76 is a diamond coach with the National Forensic League; retired; resides in Tucson, Arizona.  

Tom Davis ’76 retired after 40 years in public accounting; resides with his wife, Holden, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

William Emerson Sr. ’76 is a student services resource officer for the Hammond school system; serves on city council; co-hosts Veterans Views radio program; past commander of Post 168 American Legion; resides with his wife, Jeanne, in Hammond, Indiana. 

Deborah Kaminske ’76 retired from teaching after 44 years; resides in Spotsylvania, Virginia. 

photo of alumni Rebecca Lynn and Dr. Aisha Fofana Ibrahim, M.A. ’93, M.S. ’06
Rebecca Lynn ’05, right, completed her undergraduate degree as a single mom living in Cardinal Court. She was befriended by Dr. Aisha Fofana Ibrahim, M.A. ’93, M.S. ’06, left, who was finishing her second graduate degree and also living in the complex that then housed families and couples. Ibrahim became a mentor and lifelong friend to Lynn, with the two remaining close despite distance.

Ted Parge ’76, M.M. ’77, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Aurora University in May 2022; retired from Aurora University in 2018 after 19 years as executive vice president; worked for more than 30 years in philanthropy roles and six years as an instrumental music teacher, which included three years at Illinois State University Laboratory Schools; resides with his wife, Kathy (Perring) Parge ’78, M.S. ’87, in Spring, Texas.

Karen (McConnell) Wood ’76 retired as a senior buyer from Hobbico; resides in Champaign. 

Rebecca (Rounds) Fegan ’77 is owner/operator of Fine Arts Academy; taught music for 50 years; has a coaching business to teach how to learn; is a division leader in Primerica Financial Services; collaborated on seven books and is writing an eighth; she and her husband, Mark, have five children and five grandchildren; resides in Bellevue, Nebraska. 

Roy Santoro ’77 released his sixth book, Dinner With God: The Last Supper; previously released Broken News: Journalism in Crisis, The Second Civil War, and One More Day in the Sun; retired following 40 years in Chicago TV news.

Victoria (Riassetto) Szewczyk ’77 retired from the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health; resides in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Donna Henderson ’78, an administrative law judge, was the recipient of a Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Award for Distinguished District of Columbia Government Employees; spearheaded implementation of an electronic filing and case management system for workers’ compensation adjudicatory bodies, which enabled programs to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic; resides in Hyattsville, Maryland. 

Ed Lewandowski ’78 retired after 35 years as a teacher and administrator with Joliet Township High School District 204; met his wife, Cindy, at Illinois State; resides in Shorewood. 

Steven Mulkey ’78 operates an intermediate care facility for developmentally disabled clients in the Houston area; resides in League City, Texas. 

Donald Staniszewski ’78 is president and owner of Control Transportation Services Inc. and Border Transfer Inc.; led creation of National Home Delivery Association and serves as its president; received a Pinnacle Award from the association; resides with his wife, Elisa, in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Booker Suggs ’78 retired as executive associate director of student centers at the University of Illinois-Chicago; resides in Chicago. 

Katherine (Bowlin) Watson ’78 retired as a hospital social worker; serves as a substitute teacher; resides with her husband, Gregg Watson ’71, in Bloomington. 

Janet (Klempin) McGann ’79 teaches middle school; enjoys traveling in Europe; resides in Davie, Florida. 

Robin (Gensert) Rossi ’79 is a flight attendant with Ultimate Jetcharters; resides with her husband, Robert, in Sarasota, Florida. 

80s

Debra Davis-Humble ’80 retired after 40 years of teaching; is a jewelry designer; resides in Bourbonnais. 

Maryalice (Robertson) Kilbourne ’80 retired as school library media specialist at Avoca Central School; resides with her husband, Kevin, in Cohocton, New York.  

Susan (Leszczynski) Movic ’80 retired as an analyst at State Farm; volunteers at Carle BroMenn Resale Boutique; resides with her husband, Wilson, in Bloomington. 

Harold Stewart ’80 is a production manager at Mars Wrigley; resides in Dacula, Georgia. 

Dr. James “Fred” Schouten, M.M. ’81, is retired as a teacher and administrator for grades K-12; taught undergraduate and graduate students; worked at Walt Disney World and received the Legacy Award; resides with his wife in Celebration, Florida. 

Joseph Kolar ’82 completed a three-year term as president of the Bohemian Lawyers’ Association of Chicago; is believed to be the longest-serving president in the history of the organization; resides in Libertyville. 

Arvis Myron ’82 is a Hopi language instructor with Tuba City Unified School District; resides in Tuba City, Arizona. 

Patricia (Meltzer) Maree ’84 taught for more than 26 years in private schools; teaches first grade at Midwest Central School; resides in Forest City.  

group of alumni on the beach
Five women who met as freshmen in Hewitt Hall formed a friendship so strong they rented a house at 7 Delaine Drive together their last two years at Illinois State. They gathered in Florida to share Redbird memories and celebrate turning 55. They are, from left, Pam (Brame) McMillen ’89 of Warrensburg; Jill (Hengst) Wynne ’89 of Decatur; Jodi (Rowe) Fleck ’89, M.S. ’90, of Sherman; Amy (Tackett) Hoehner ’89, M.S. ’91, of Crosby, Texas; and Kristi Fosberg ’89 of Chicago.

Vanessa Curry ’85 published her first book, A Gold Medal Man: A Biography of Kenneth “Tug” Wilson, on the former Olympian and president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, who, like Vanessa, grew up in Atwood. 

Barbara (Boris) Mendralla ’85 is the continuing education manager with DuPage County Bar Association; resides in Carol Stream. 

Donna (Prochot) Graver ’86 is a dental hygienist at Fox River Dental and Sandwich Dental; resides with her husband, Chris, and daughter, Andra, and two dogs in Montgomery. 

Jennifer K. (Taylor) Bone ’87 retired after teaching in the Mount Pulaski school district; resides with her husband, Paul, in Clinton. 

Celeste Gulley ’87 is a quality and food safety manager at Kraft Heinz; resides in Mahomet.

John A. Paulin ’87 retired after 35 years in banking, the past 21 as vice president at Citibank; resides in Bolingbrook. 

Kim Stewart-Jiles ’87 is a payroll administrator with McLean County Unit District No. 5; resides with her husband, Brian, in LeRoy. 

Michael Chausse ’88 is a field supervisor for agriculture education student teachers at the University of Illinois; resides in Aledo. 

Ben Holman ’88 is the creative director at Thomson Industries Inc.; his wife, Tristin (Reeves) Holman ’91, teaches third grade at Stoner Creek Elementary; resides in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. 

Helen (Knilands) Ciani ’89 is a senior claims examiner with Athens Administrators; resides in Baden, Pennsylvania. 

Rob Zmudka ’89 is senior vice president and chief commercial officer with GATX Corp.; member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Trustees, ITS ConGlobal board, and Illinois State’s Business Advisory Council; resides with his wife, Irene, in Winnetka. 

90s

L. Wayne Hoover ’91 is a senior partner at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates and chair of the International Association of Interviewers; was inducted into the Loss Prevention Hall of Honor.

Julie (Greene) Katzenberger ’93 is the superintendent at West Carroll Community Unit District No. 314; resides in Freeport.

Joyce (Helle) Rizer ’93 is the senior producer for Country Heat Weekly, Amazon Music’s flagship country music podcast; resides in Antioch, Tennessee.

Dr. Robin Silbergleid ’94 is a professor of English at Michigan State University; authored several books; co-edited the anthology, The ART of Infertility; resides in East Lansing, Michigan.

Dr. Rey de la Cruz, Ph.D. ’95, received the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas 2022 for Drama in Filipino, a lifetime achievement award given to living Filipino writers by UMPIL, the country’s largest organization of Filipino writers.

John Desjarlais, M.A. ’95, is the author of The Kill Floor, his latest mystery novel; is a retired professor of English at Kishwaukee College; resides in Henderson, North Carolina.

Shyla Jannusch ’95 is an office manager with Anne Groh Beckman State Farm Insurance in Barrington; resides in Schaumburg.

Lisa (Askey) Solak ’95 is a member of the archives staff at the Barack Obama Presidential Library, National Archives and Records Administration; resides in Crystal Lake.

Cynthia (Nelson) Long ’97 is retired from the Cook County Adult Probation Department; resides in Evergreen Park.

Beth Mayfield-House ’99 is an exhibiting artist; works in oil painting and encaustic; resides in St. Louis.

00s

Kimberly Martin-Boyd ’00, ’03, M.S. ’10, is the principal at George L. Evans Junior High School in McLean County Unit District No. 5; is pursuing a doctorate in teaching and learning; resides in Normal.

Bobbie (Allen) Smith ’02 is a public safety dispatcher for the City of Bloomington; resides in Lincoln.

DaWayne Morris ’04 is the lead teacher with Heartland Head Start; resides in Bloomington.

Matthew Bryant ’05 is a teacher at Champaign Central High School; resides in Monticello.

Brian Linhart ’05 is an adjunct professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education at DePaul University; is a school counselor at Buffalo Grove High School; resides in Arlington Heights.

Peter Marston Sullivan, MFA ’05, was appointed artistic director of Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire; is responsible for envisaging, developing, and executing the artistic vision of the theatre.

Swetha Singari ’06, M.S. ’10, is head of project delivery at Children’s Cancer Institute; earned an MBA; resides in Melbourne, Australia.

Julie (Boyd) Navickas ’07, M.S. ’10, M.S. ’18, published her debut novel, I Loved You Yesterday, the first of three novels comprising the “Trading Heartbeats” trilogy; is an academic advisor in Illinois State’s School of Communication; resides in Bloomington.

Seth Birgells ’08 is a classroom teacher and coach in Chicago Public Schools; resides in Chicago.

Claire (Nachowicz) Obuchowski ’09 is a certified safety professional and machine safety expert employed with Motorola Solutions in Schaumburg; serves on the board of the Northeast Illinois chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals; resides in Mundelein.

10s

Shilyn (Carls) Grossmann ’11 is in her 10th year as a second grade teacher; resides in Mechanicsburg.

Reginald Walker ’12 is a client associate for software company Globant; resides in Austin, Texas.

Kaitlyn (Bell) Conroy ’13 is a middle school math teacher near Columbus, Ohio; resides in Worthington, Ohio.

alumni at spring training baseball in Arizona
Five men who met as undergraduates living in the same house in Watterson Towers now plan an annual gathering with their spouses to enjoy spring training baseball in Arizona. The group includes, first row, from left, Mark Chase ’78 and his wife, Tina (Fabley) Chase ’79, of Rocklin, California; Mike Brown ’80 of Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Elizabeth Sproat of Bourbonnais; second row, from left, David Sproat ’78, husband to Elizabeth; Joni Beck of Geneseo; Lisa Brown, wife to Mike; third row, from left, Howard Beck, husband to Joni; David Bean ’79, M.M. ’91, and his wife, Ann (Hemmingson) ’79, M.S. ’94, of Brimley, Michigan.

Patrick Donovan ’13 is an employee experience business consultant at Southwest Airlines; resides in Arlington, Texas.

Kayla (Richardson) Officer ’13, ’15 is a recreation therapist in public schools in Chicago’s northwest suburbs; resides in Palatine.

Claire (Troyer) Pascavis ’13, MBA ’15, is the CEO and event designer of a company she runs with husband Tyler Pascavis ’16; Tyler earned a medical degree in 2021 and is a resident physician; he is the director of operations for the couple’s company, Design Plus Events; they reside in Chandler, Arizona.

Travis Meadors ’14 is a network engineer for Illinois State’s Office of Technology Solutions, and Infrastructure Operations and Network; previously worked for 15 years at WGLT; resides in Bloomington.

Kristin Somers ’14 earned a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois; is a nurse technician at Carle BroMenn Medical Center; resides in Bloomington.

Danielle Vogel ’14, M.S. ’18, is a senior international services representative at UT Health Science Center San Antonio; processes visas for physicians and scientists; resides in San Antonio.

Jessica Melzer ’15 earned a master’s degree in mathematics education; has been a secondary math teacher for eight years; resides in Montgomery.

Mark Reppen ’15, ’19 works for Southwest Cook County Cooperative Area of Special Education as a high school Deaf education teacher at Lemont High School; resides in Alsip.

Miranda Langloss ’16 earned a doctorate in nursing; resides in Springfield.

Nicole (Jager) Baumgart ’17 is a high school English teacher; resides in Panama City, Florida.

Olivia (Hegber) Blomberg ’17 is the mayor’s executive assistant and deputy village clerk in Romeoville; resides in Bolingbrook.

Hallie Fahey ’17 joined the faculty of St. Ignatius College Prep; teaches advanced placement macroeconomics and world history; was named an Outstanding Educator by the University of Chicago; resides in Chicago.

Natalie Grider ’17 is a program coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension’s Unity Community Center in Normal; resides in Bloomington.

Taylor (Ray) Siracusa ’17 is in her sixth year as a kindergarten inclusion special education teacher; resides in Poplar Grove.

Jessi (Tolly) Alvarado ’18 is in her fourth year as a second grade teacher; resides in Peoria.

Alexis Eberle ’18 is a fifth grade math teacher in El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11; resides in Farmer City.

Dr. Mary Fischer ’18 completed medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Kansas City; has entered residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Family Medicine Residency Program at Ascension Via Christi in Wichita, Kansas. 

Terra Rumer ’19 is a certified pharmacy technician and certified health education specialist; works in clinical documentation at Northwestern Medicine; resides in Chicago.

20s

Hanna Bima ’20, M.S. ’22, is a speech-language pathologist for Golisano Children’s Hospital Outpatient Center; resides in Naples, Florida.

Diana Bender ’20 is the director of youth development at YWCA McLean County; resides in Bloomington.

Savannah Burgett ’20 is an event coordinator at JW Marriott Nashville; resides in Nashville.

Mariah Jones ’20 is a creative assistant for a nail polish company, formulating and naming nail polish colors and nail dops; resides in Aurora.

Megan Smalter ’20 was promoted to underwriting specialist at CNA Insurance; resides in New Lenox.

Jessica Boston ’21 is a high school science teacher; resides in Lebanon, Missouri.

Grace (Taylor) McKown ’21 is a nurse on the surgical floor at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center; resides in Bloomington.

Katie Thomas ’21 is a teacher in Decatur public schools; building dance programs at two elementary schools; resides in Decatur.

Emma Apicella ’22 is a graduate student at Northern Illinois University pursuing a Master of Science in speech language pathology; resides in Naperville.

students on trip to Washington, D.C.
Eight Illinois State students led by Erik Rankin, director of enrollment and undergraduate studies in the Department of Politics and Government, went on the University’s 2022 Civic Engagement Trip to Washington, D.C. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time the trip was held in two years.

Ayo Babarinde, M.S. ’22, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner; resides in Bloomington.

Kelsey Bartley ’22 is a special education teacher in Edwardsville Community Unit District 7; teaches in the K-2 CASTLE program, a specialized program for students with autism; resides in Edwardsville.

Erick Bladek ’22 is a junior financial analyst with Cascade; resides in Mt. Prospect.

Sarah Hlade ’22 is a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Metcalf School; resides in Bloomington.

Kaitlin Reese ’22 is a fifth-grade teacher at Washington Elementary School in Sterling; resides in Sterling.

Troops

Joseph Kerke ’72 is a Vietnam era Marine Corps veteran; participated in Honor Flight Chicago in June; retired from teaching; resides with his wife, Hattie, in Mokena. 

B.J. Faulk ’95 serves in the U.S. Army; resides in Clarksville, Tennessee. 

Kwame Curtis ’00, M.S. ’02, is a bioenvironmental engineering flight commander with the U.S. Air Force; resides with his wife, Christy, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Tyler Relph ’12 is a captain in the U.S. Air Force and critical care air transport nurse; deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Allies Refuge; received Humanitarian Service Medal; resides on Travis Air Force Base in California.

Ida Crawford ’16 is completing an MBA at University of Maryland Global Campus while serving on active duty in the U.S. Air Force; resides in Wittlich, Germany.