Class of 1968
January
2006
Warm
Winter Greetings ’68 Gusties!
Actually
the warm greeting comes from our hearts not from a warm climate as Kris and I
are wintering in Minnesota for 2006.
Not hard for me as I continue to put my time in at Lindskoog Florist,
but for Kris, who has spent the last several winters in Naples, this is a REAL
change. Lucky for us this winter in
Minnesota has been very mild with just enough snow to make the holidays
festive. Speaking of holidays we extend
to you and yours a very Happy New Year...2006!
Some sad news comes to us from 2005 with the passing of Judy Hayenga
Barone in December. Judy had been
fighting a courageous battle with cancer the last several years and was
"holding her own" until the doctors discovered a brain tumor that
ultimately took her life. Judy is
survived by her husband, Michael, and her children, Hans and Katie, and our
thoughts and prayers are with the family.
This
holiday season brought greetings from some of our classmates: Karl Zaar is still in Milwaukee, WI
and working for Marcus Corporation and sent us a nice holiday email. Russ and Barbie Munson Sharp
are still in Dallas where Barbie is working in preschool education and Russ is
still in the oil industry.
After
months and months of home construction Barbie Gray Wenschlag has moved
into her new home on the Pines Golf course.
Her "dream" home is on the 12th fairway looking out the front
door and the 14th fairway looking out the back door. Barbie retired last year from teaching in Pequot Lakes but is
doing substitute teaching as her schedule permits. For sure, she is counting the days until golf season starts!
Don and Connie Waterbury still
live in Cincinnati, OH but split their time between Ohio in the summer and Vero
Beach, FL in the winter.
The Sikorowskis,
Kirk and Jolly (Palm ’70) sold their family restaurant, Little Oscar's,
after many years of ownership. Jolly
continues to teach in the Burnsville school district and Kirk has retired to a
position at Silver Sages Financial, setting up retirement programs for
individuals and small business owners.
Ron
Ackerman was
recently named to the Pipestone-Jasper Athletic Hall of Fame, which recognized
his accomplishments for an outstanding high school wrestling career. Ron ended up with 70 wins and only 9 losses
for his high school career, then went on to win 53 matches at Gustavus, capped
off by winning the MIAC 153 pound championship in 1965 and helped the Gusties
win their only MIAC conference wrestling crown during the years 1965-68. Ron has never lost his passion for the “mat”
and has been officiating and serving as a wrestling rules clinician for the
Minnesota High School League. This year
Ron has been nominated for the Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame. Congratulations Ron, and good luck!
Janie
Hawkes Hokanson
and her husband, Karl, live in Holiday, FL, where they manage self-storage
units. The center has 700 storage
units; an 8-bay car wash and they also rent Budget trucks. When they aren't overseeing all of this,
they jump into their Allegro Bay motor home for extended road trips.
Richard
Scherer and his
wife, Nancy, live in Edina and Dick's day job is Hennepin County District Court
Judge while Nancy just retired from Wells Fargo Bank as a vice president in
human resources. Dick is chair of the
Hennepin County Domestic Violence Homicide Review Committee, which is committed
to education and prevention.
David
R. and Sharon
(Tvete ’70) Olson live in Savage, MN.
Dave is a network administrator with the USDA National Agriculture
Statistics Survey in St. Paul and Sharon is a consultant with John Staurulakis,
Inc.
The Jaegers,
Rick and Benay (Borene ’67) have both retired from teaching in the
Montevideo Public School system and now split their time between summers in
Glenwood, MN and winters in Surprise, AZ.
David and Linda (Ek ’67) Asplin
live in Sparks, Maryland where David is senior pastor at Saint John’s Lutheran
Church and Linda is the program administrator for the Maryland State
Scholarship Administration.
Marilyn
Hoecke Rice and her
husband, Herbert, live in Williamstown, MA where Marilyn teaches in the
Williamstown Public Schools and Herbert is an electrical engineer for
Steinerfilm, Inc.
The Zenks,
Arv and Jane (Dornfeld), still make Mankato home but are now
retired; Jane from her elementary teaching career and Arv from Taylor Corp.
where he spent 17 years.
Julie
Hilleren Edstrom
and Dick ’66 are living in Stillwater, MN and when Dick isn't enjoying his
retirement (?) he is working with his partners in investment consulting. Julie is starting a breast cancer awareness
and recovery program at Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater and is about to publish
her first book about managing life transitions (instead of the other way
around).
Mark
Youngstrom has
been appointed to director of a new charter school, The Academy for Health
Careers. This new school will provide
high school students with a chance to explore and prepare for careers in health
care and health-related fields. The
school is a cooperative venture with Augsburg College and Fairview Health
Services.
Campus News
Study Abroad Leader
Gustavus continues to be a leading institution for the number of students studying abroad, according to an annual ranking recently released by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Consistent with its mission of giving students an education that is international in perspective, Gustavus was ranked seventh in the "Top 20 Baccalaureate Institutions" list of the institute’s "Open Doors 2005" report. Gustavus was one of four Minnesota private colleges to make the list of 20. The report was based on study abroad statistics from the 2003-04 academic year. Gustavus students engage in international learning through various programs in more than 100 locations throughout the world, ranging from Australia to India and Ecuador to Sweden. In recent years, 50 percent of Gustavus graduates have participated in at least one study-abroad experience.
Insurance Programs
The Alumni
Association, in partnership with Meyer and Associates and Liberty Mutual,
offers an insurance program to alumni and their families. Products include insurance policies for
life, short-term medical, auto, home, and renters. For life and short-term medical insurance call Meyer and
Associates at 800-635-7801 or visit www.meyerandassoc.com. For auto, home, and renters insurance call
Liberty Mutual at 800-524-9400 or visit www.libertymutual.com/lm/gustavus.
The Gustavus Music Showcase will be Sunday, March 12, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. The Gustavus Choir, Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, and Gustavus Wind Orchestra will perform. This is a unique opportunity to hear three premier ensembles from Gustavus in one concert. This showcase also allows prospective students, parents, and alumni from the area to meet and connect. For tickets, call the Orchestra Hall box office at 800/292-4141. Tickets are $20 for general admission, and $10 for students 18 and under.
Two big stories from the fall sports are that Hailey Harren won the national NCAA Division III cross country title and the men’s soccer team became the first MIAC school to play in the national championship game and finished second, losing 1-0 to defending national champion Messiah. For the second consecutive year, men's soccer coach Larry Zelenz has been named Coach of the Year in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas NCAA Division III West Region. The men's hockey team is unbeaten in conference play, outscoring their opponents 28-5 in four games.
This year nearly 300 students will participate in music tours as members of the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, Gustavus Choir, Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, Gustavus Jazz Lab Band, and Choir of Christ Chapel. The Gustavus Wind Orchestra will tour Eastern Europe Jan. 14-30. Performances are scheduled for Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria. The Gustavus Choir will tour Jan. 27-Feb. 11 (see schedule below), with performances in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, Gustavus Jazz Lab Band, and Choir of Christ Chapel will tour during Spring Semester.
Gustavus Choir Tour Schedule
January 27 at Augustana Lutheran Church, West St. Paul, 7:30 p.m.
January 28 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Grand Rapids, 7:30 p.m.
January 29 at Zion Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids, 8:30 a.m. morning service
January 29 at Concordia Lutheran Church, Duluth, 3 p.m.
January 30 at Bemidji High School Auditorium, Bemidji, 7 p.m.
January 31 at First Lutheran Church, Morris, 7 p.m.
February 2 at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, Marshfield, WI, 7:30 p.m.
February 3 at St. Francis Catholic Church, Brainerd, 7:30 p.m.
February 4 at Central Lutheran Church, Winona, 7 p.m.
February 5 at Faith Lutheran Church, Winona, 8 a.m. morning service
February 5 at First Lutheran Church, Red Wing, 2 p.m.
February 11 at Christ Chapel, Saint Peter, 7:30 p.m.
Tucson, AZ Gustie Gathering - February 10
Phoenix, AZ Gustie Gathering - February 11
Sun City, AZ Gustie Gathering - February 12
Gustavus Music Showcase at Orchestra Hall - March 12
Atlanta, GA Gustie Gathering - March 26
Thanks for
your "news & notes" that you sent to the Alumni Office which
makes writing our class letter much easier.
We’d love to hear from more of you, so keep us posted as to what’s going
on in your lives either through Gustavus (1968classagent@gustavus.edu) or drop
us an email (klmoorhead@aol.com or afton.alps@juno.com).
It's hard
to believe, but this February we have been invited to attend an organizational
meeting regarding our 40th reunion that will be coming up in two years!!!! Between now and then we will be putting
together a committee and getting our plans set and we’d like to extend an
invitation to all of you to be part of this celebration! More news will be forthcoming.
Along with
a great reunion we want you to remember to give your annual support to the
Alumni Fund. As of December 31, 2005
our class contributed $18,991.94 from 85 donors. Compared to last year’s giving at this time, we’re up in dollars,
but down in donors. And it places us in
a pretty respectable spot on the chart for our decade (1966-75). Thank you to everyone that has given! Now, we hope we can do even better! It’s so important to just participate, no
matter what the amount, as that is the percentage that foundations look at when
making their gift awards.
Barb
Veker Elnes has
agreed to be our guest author for the spring letter…thank you Barb!
2006…this is THE year we all turn
"60!" Happy birthday to all
of us and we wish you a very healthy and prosperous New Year!
John Moorhead
Kris Lundberg Moorhead
Paula Navarro
1968
Co-class Agents