Class Notes

1940s

Yvonne Jane Belt ’40 celebrated her 100th birthday on Oct. 21. Belt continues to live independently, plays bridge and mahjong and participates in civic and educational outings at the retirement village in which she resides.

1950s

Eileen Broderick Walker ’59 attended her 60th class reunion in September and appreciated seeing old friends and reliving the college days.

1960s

Bill Sharkey ’67 was a music teacher for 40 years in public and private schools locally and abroad. Sharkey is an active performer and teacher and has published a children’s book titled Can You Put Diapers on a Goose?

1970s

Margaret Pfaff ’71 is the new coordinator of McDaniel College’s master’s degree program in curriculum and instruction. Pfaff has 48 years of public education experience and has been an adjunct professor at McDaniel for nearly two decades.

Gemma Staub Hoskins ’74, ’77 was one of the grassroots investigators in the 2017 Netflix series The Keepers. Hoskins’ book about the experience, Keeping On, will be
released in May.

1980s

Lisa (Allen) Flannery ’81 is the community outreach coordinator for Carroll Hospice, covering Baltimore City and Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties as well as York and Adams counties in Pennsylvania.

Bob Cameron ’82 has been a social worker with Nine Mile Falls School District for the past 27 years. Cameron also is an adjunct field instructor for Eastern Washington University School of Social Work. Cameron was the Washington Association
of School Social Workers’ 2013 School Social Worker of the Year.

Ed Melick ’82 has published Healing Pledge and Monumental Hug.

Sandy (Bartlebaugh) Zimmerman ’83 is part of LYNX (Linking Youth to New Experiences), an innovative education initiative at Frederick High School. Zimmerman began teaching in the Frederick County Public School system in 1998.

“ In 2008, I wrote a song entitled “Dream,” which reminded persons to pursue their passions. We were coordinating a concert to introduce the song and my producer suggested we give out some educational scholarships. That year we gave out three scholarships totaling $750. Within a few years we were a registered nonprofit with a commitment to support the educational dreams of young people. ”

Anthony Brown ’85, ’95 is a local minister and recording artist. Brown started the Dream 4 It Foundation, which raises scholarship funds for college freshmen and recently celebrated its 12th anniversary. The program will begin offering scholarships for TU students soon.

William C. O’Meally ’85 is a family physician and assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. O’Meally has earned the Degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Hope Tarr ’86 published a Victorian-era novel called Tempting. Tarr recently resold six of 25 previously published romance novels to content subscription service Scribd and is working on a new novel, Irish Eyes.

Lynn Weber ’86 coauthored A Playful Spirit: Exploring the Theology, Philosophy, and Psychology of Play with Mark W. Teismann. The work was published in February by Lexington Books.

Jenny Collins ’87 is co-owner of Widmer Sign Co. with husband, Todd. The Scranton, Pennsylvania-based company received first- and second-place recognition in the Best Original Design and Fabrication, Illuminated category among medium sign shops from Signs of the Times magazine.

“ I love being a business owner . . . our employees are part of our family. We know their spouses and children. Our company benefits from each of their individual talents creating award-winning products that will represent small businesses for many years to come. We have personally benefited with a fuller life having worked with these individuals every day. ”

Seth Jeff Chanowitz ’89 has had his novels, Russia Rising and Return to Little Russia, featured in magazines and websites. Chanowitz bases his novels on his prior experience as an international journalist, intelligence analyst and asylum/refugee officer.

Mitchell Platt ’89 was installed as secretary-treasurer of the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) board of directors at its 2020 World Conference and Club Business Expo in Grapevine, Texas. Platt was first elected to the board in 2016.

Stephanie Strappelli ’89 was named chief marketing and experience coordinator at Maller Wealth Advisors, a financial planning and investment company. Strappelli also volunteers with Associated Catholic Charities and the John Carroll School.

1990s

Greg Barbera ’91 has a collection of photos in the Southern Folklife Collection in Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Barbera also worked as a music journalist for many years and has photographed musicians such as Willie Nelson.

Andrew Funk ’96 published a memoir titled The Monsters Family. A portion of proceeds will go to Penn State’s dance marathon in memory of Funk’s brother, a Penn State student who died of leukemia at 19. Funk also created a dance organization called Monsters of HipHop, which has produced auditions and casting for Disney, Universal, Sony and Janet Jackson.

Katherine Danley ’97 was elected to the board of directors of the Dramatists Guild to represent the western United States. Danley sits on the council with luminaries Christopher Durang, Tina Howe, Tony Kushner, Alan Menken, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Marsha Norman. Danley will help guide and implement national policy and initiatives affecting playwrights from the smallest basement theaters to Broadway. 

Alyce Heather Kirk ’98 is writing a play called Songs of the Wars. Kirk will produce and direct the play, which focuses on the juxtaposition of war’s public relations and recruitment campaigns and the documented atrocities of the Civil War, World War I and World War II.

Lou Garcia ’99 is the newest shareholder of Timmons Group. Garcia has over three decades of experience in consulting and project management.

2000s

Mandy Arnold ’01, ’10 is the founder of Gavin, a digitally minded public relations and marketing agency that recently acquired brand strategy and integrated design services company Holberg Design. Arnold also is the co-owner of The Left Bank Restaurant and Bar in York, Pennsylvania.

Cal Bowman ’03 joined Think|Stack, an organization that designs and delivers technology and security, as vice president for strategy and innovation.

Florence Falatko ’03 recently taught STrEAM education in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. She won a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2018.

Dennis Jutras ’06 won the 2019 National Association for Gifted Children’s District Coordinator of the Year award for his work in Baltimore City Public Schools.

Joseph Rector ’06 is the CEO and cofounder of Pelican Property Management in Towson. Rector was elected to the board of directors at Cromwell Valley Park, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the stewardship of Cromwell Valley as a public space
for passive reaction and school programs.

2010s

Daniel Renz ’10 was named program manager with the Defense Information Systems
Agency (DISA) Insider Threat Program at Fort Meade, Maryland. In this new role, Renz is responsible for oversight of all program operations, which involves protecting of all physical and logical agency resources from internal threats.

Lisé Sanchez ’12 and Alex Cholet ’13 met as political science majors and recently married. The couple resides in Dallas, where Sanchez works in healthcare event planning and Cholet works in commercial real estate.

“ So much history is buried right under our feet. The smallest artifact can reveal the history of the people that lived there or reveal trade from a foreign country that we didn’t know existed. Archaeology is like one huge jigsaw puzzle that if you have patience and dedication you can put the pieces together. ”

Ilka (Gray) Knüppel ’17 became president of the Natural History Society of Maryland’s Archaeology Club, which is partnering with the Baltimore City Environmental Police on archaeological excavations in Loch Raven Reservoir.