Class Notes
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1980
Hello classmates, here’s the news you’ve shared and a bit I found on my own travels. Carolyn Rehill Stiles lives in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and would love to hear from alums on the South Shore. She is enjoying her first granddaughter with a grandson on the way in December. After many years at State Street Global Advisors, she is enjoying her role as the senior associate director of gift planning at Northeastern University, and she encourages all of you who are thinking of leaving UNH in your estate plan to let the UNH Office of Gift Planning know so they can answer your questions (email gift.planning@unh.edu or phone (603) 862-3694). Gail McSweeney MacInnes writes she officially retired by celebrating on a Viking River Cruise on the Danube River with her husband John, Steve Perna ’79 and Eileen Smith ’78. The old friends had a great time and look forward to another river cruise. Gail notes she will be helping another close UNH friend, Nancy Errico ’79, and her husband move to their new retirement home in Delaware, and they also see their old friend, Don Bisson ’78, when he is home from his work with The Jimmy Carter Center currently in Tunisia. The MacInneses celebrated their 40th anniversary, John’s retirement and their 65th birthdays with friends Steve, Nancy, Eileen and Tom Pappas ’79. Gail tells us the couple split their time between home in Francestown and an apartment in Boxborough, Massachusetts. They’re not sure what retirement plans are quite yet but they do know they will be spending lots of time with their first grandchild, Lucas. From my view, UNH alumni get around, and it’s just amazing where you find us! I was recently on a fabulous trip with the Seacoast Ski Club, which I’ve enjoyed being a member of for many years and traveled to some really cool places. It didn’t surprise me when I realized I was in Wildcat company in Croatia. Of the 33 on the trip, eight of us are UNH alumni — that’s a pretty strong representation. We had a wonderful time on a national park tour. After exploring Zadar, the oldest city in Dalmatia along the Adriatic (known for its Venetian forts, Ottoman influence and cultural attractions like the famous Sea Organ) we headed to the beautiful Velebit mountains. Every day we discovered new terrain in the Paklenica and Plitvička National Parks, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. Whether we were hiking or biking in the rugged Velebit, kayaking along the Adriatic coast, exploring the magnificent lakes and caves connected by stunning waterfalls in Plitvička, or taking the day off at a local organic winery, we were bombarded by epic views where mountains, canyons and the coast collide. Please join the Facebook class group at www.facebook.com/groups/UNH1980 —invite your friends and send along news and photos.
1981
1982
We asked alumni to share what Durham eatery they’d want to bring back from their UNH years. Read stories of favorite restaurants here in Class Notes, and in “Sound Bites” on Page 84.
Alumni Food Faves
1983
Hello fellow alums! Please save the date June 7-9, 2024! Registration opened for the UNH Big ’80s Reunion on March 1, and you can register www.unh.edu/reunion. The first 100 people to register will be eligible to win a drawing for a UNH T-shirt! There will be a kickoff evening at Jimmy’s Jazz Club on Friday night featuring music by the Eric Grant Band with Mark Phaneuf ’87 and on Saturday night Chris Avery ’83 is performing with The Crab Shack Band. The UNH Reunion Committee has reserved discounted hotel rooms on a first-come, first-served basis in Portsmouth at the Residence Inn Marriott or the Hampton Inn & Suites (room block expires March 8) and in Dover at the Homewood Suites by Hilton or the Hampton Inn & Suites (room block expires April 30). I hope you will sign up to follow the Big ’80s reunion Facebook page (www.facebook.com/groups/big80sreunion) where we are posting photos and other important information as our reunion approaches. For additional questions, please contact reunion co-chairs John Davis ’85 at johncdavis@comcast.net or Robin Peters Schell ’84 at rschell@jjwpr.com. Sheila McDonough writes that she can’t believe it has been 40 years since we graduated from college. After UNH, she went on to get her master of education degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2000, and when she was working on her Ph.D. with one statistics class and the defense of her thesis left to go, she suffered a stroke in April 2021. While her doctors gave her a poor prognosis, her strong faith supported her back to a full recovery. Robert T. Coppins also is surprised that we are 40 years older than when we graduated. He is currently the director of testing at Castaway Technologies, LLC, a comprehensive data destruction company in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Bobby is still in touch with many of his Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers. He attends most of the New England Patriot home games and usually can be found tailgating with other UNH alumni. Suzanne Noble wrote that she lives in London, and runs a social enterprise called Advantages of Age which delivers a government-funded program called Startup School for Seniors. She was recently shortlisted in the British Businesswoman Awards for her work in supporting people over 50 who are interested in turning their ideas into a business. She also hosts a podcast and TikTok channel with 55,000 followers named Sex Advice for Seniors which has been featured in national newspapers and magazines. Melissa Thayer retired two years ago after 37 years as an occupational certified hand therapist. She is married and currently living in western Maine. She enjoys many outdoor activities and spending time with her three sons and daughter. Deborah Carrigan McGuire and her husband Bob recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a trip to Hawaii and were blessed to welcome their sixth grandchild this past July. The grandchildren range in age from the newborn to 16 years old and keep them quite busy. Debbie has worked for more than 25 years in the professional development program at the University of Albany in New York, where she is a training director managing training contracts and activities with state agencies. Timothy Giotas took early retirement from Fidelity Investments on July 1, 2023, and is enjoying his free time. He would love to hear from our classmates and can be found on Facebook.
1984
Mark your calendars for June 7-9, 2024! Registration for the UNH Big ’80s Reunion is open as of March 1 and you can register using this link — www.unh.edu/reunion. The first 100 alums to register will be eligible for a drawing for a T-shirt! Let’s get this party rolling now! We have a kickoff evening at Jimmy’s Jazz Club on Friday featuring music by the Eric Grant band (Mark Phaneuf ’87) and on Saturday night, music by the Crab Shack Bank (Chris Avery ’83). The UNH Reunion Committee has discounted hotel rooms blocked for reunion (on a first-come, first-served basis) in Portsmouth (Resident Inn Marriott or Hampton Inn & Suites, room block expires March 8) and Dover (Homewood Suites by Hilton or Hampton Inn & Suites, room block expires April 30). If you haven’t already signed up to follow the Big ’80s reunion FB page, you can do so by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/508075372872742. Here’s where we’ll be posting lots of photos and other “need to know” information as reunion approaches. For additional questions, contact reunion co-chairs John Davis ’85 (johncdavis@comcast.net) or myself. Caroline (Reese) Brown is enjoying riding her horse and traveling during retirement. She spent a month in Portugal and in November, spent another month in Germany, Austria and Poland. Xochi Blymyer writes that she is still working as a first assistant director in Hollywood. Her latest projects include the documentary “Red Dog & Bates” and “Hey Alexa.” In her spare time, she participates in an axe-throwing league. After his time at UNH, Todd Robertson got his master’s degree and worked in printer maintenance for companies Ricoh and Xerox. After experiencing a lay-off during COVID, he became a caretaker for his father for two years and is now working on a 250-hour welding class. Jeanne Sheehan Corcoran retired from her position as an interim dean for the College of Health & Human Services and professor of occupational therapy at Salem State University in Massachusetts in November 2019. Since then, she has been serving as a consultant for the Registry and is currently enjoying her stint at the interim chair for speech pathology and audiology at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She fondly remembers her time at UNH (undergrad ’84, graduate ’98). Mike Wang, CEO/founder of Lifestyle Body Armor, writes that he became a grandpa to a grandson Raphael Pimentel Wang. Mike will be living abroad in Barcelona in 2024. After a career in high tech, Diana Keohane left the workforce to raise her four children. She became an active volunteer, serving several terms on both the Tyngsborough (Massachusetts) School Committee and Tyngsborough Recycling Committee. Her time volunteering in the classrooms led her back to school to get a second master’s degree in education. She began a second career as a math teacher, first at Groton-Dunstable Middle School and then at Greater Lowell Technical High School. In retirement, Diana has continued to serve her community as the chairwoman of the Tyngsborough Sustainability Committee. She put together a team to help support the International Institute of New England as they resettled Afghan refugees in the Lowell area, gathering donations, setting up apartments for arriving Afghan and other refugee families and tutoring children in math. She is also serving as president of the Larrea Family Foundation, established by her family to support sustainability efforts. She reports that their first grant went to the UNH Sustainability Institute, and she is looking forward to getting involved with the program at UNH. Our hearts go out to the families of UNH classmates we lost recently: Joyce D. (Costello) Cullins of Franklin, Massachusetts, (formerly Newton), passed away in January 2023 after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 60. She worked as a campaign manager in digital marketing at Merkle Inc., Monster.com and Gillette and was a passionate volunteer for charities associated with breast cancer. Daniel Thomas Fagan, of Ashland, Massachusetts, passed away in July 2023 at the age of 60 after a battle with bile duct cancer. He graduated from UNH in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and earned an MBA from Benedictine University in Illinois. He worked for Emerson & Cuming for 28 years and for ThermoFisher Scientific for the last 11 years of his career. A devoted husband and father, he is survived by his wife and son. He loved to travel, listen to jazz music and watch his son play hockey. He also enjoyed a variety of outdoor sports, including skiing and kayaking.
1985
Tammi Truax’s second book for young people was recently published by Piscataqua Press. “The Pearl of Portsmouth: A Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” is a biographical picture book about the day Rev. King and Miss Coretta Scott visited Portsmouth. It is beautifully illustrated by Rev. Lillian Buckley and is available from most booksellers. See you at the reunion June 7-9? Registration opened for the UNH Big ’80s Reunion on March 1, and you can register www.unh.edu/reunion. The first 100 people to register will be eligible to win a drawing for a UNH T-shirt! There will be a kickoff evening at Jimmy’s Jazz Club on Friday night featuring music by the Eric Grant Band with Mark Phaneuf ’87 and on Saturday night Chris Avery ’83 is performing with The Crab Shack Band. The UNH Reunion Committee has reserved discounted hotel rooms on a first-come, first-served basis in Portsmouth at the Residence Inn Marriott or the Hampton Inn & Suites (room block expires March 8) and in Dover at the Homewood Suites by Hilton or the Hampton Inn & Suites (room block expires April 30). I hope you will sign up to follow the Big ’80s reunion Facebook page (www.facebook.com/groups/big80sreunion) where we are posting photos and other important information as our reunion approaches. For additional questions, please contact reunion co-chairs John Davis at johncdavis@comcast.net or Robin Peters Schell ’84 at rschell@jjwpr.com.
Alumni Food Faves
1986
The countdown to The Big ’80s 40th Reunion has begun! Do you have June 7-9, 2024, on your calendar, yet? You don’t want to miss it. Now is the time to make plans to be there. All 1980s classes are welcome. Also, it’s not too late to volunteer to help by calling or emailing classmates, teammates, roommates … every big event needs lots of help with planning and coordination. There are tasks that need a local touch and plenty that can be done from your computer at home, wherever home is. Consider sponsoring an event for prominent name recognition for your business. Check out the Facebook page for all things reunion at www.facebook.com/groups/big80sreunion or contact John Davis ’85 at Johncdavis@comcast.net or Robin Peters Schell ’84 at rschell@jjwpr.com to see how you can get involved. Of course, you don’t have to wait for the official event to have a reunion. Some of the Sigma Nu guys had their own mini reunion over the summer. Ed Tetreault writes that he had a blast reconnecting with Sigma Nu brothers Dave Rayment, Tony Vegnani, Chris Casey, Craig Dickens and Neil Colstead at an impromptu reunion at the lake house of Phil Rayment ’87 in Laconia in August. They had a great time sharing old stories (some true) while spending time with their significant others, too. Drew Keifaber sent a quick recap of the last 37 years. After graduation, he earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He married Kristin Buckley ’87 ’97G in 1991. They have lived in Newmarket since 1986 and have two children, both of whom are UNH grads. Drew worked as an engineer for 32 years in the printing press and medical device industries. He is “pretired,” so he doesn’t have to work full-time anymore. Kristin has been a high school math and physics teacher for 26 years. She is planning to retire after this school year. They look forward to adventuring more when she is retired. Some of our classmates have already reached the golden years of retirement. Since retiring after a 24-year career on Wall Street, Mark Chamberlain bought a house in his New Hampshire hometown and now splits his time between there and Manhattan’s Upper West Side where he and his husband own an apartment. In New Hampshire, Mark serves on two non-profit boards, one of which is a public housing authority. In addition, he writes articles for the local newspaper on a variety of topics including the economy, local human-interest stories and even pickleball! Speaking of which, he’s jumped on the pickleball craze and reports that he plays several times per week. Many members of the class of ’86 will be turning 60 during this academic year. Do you have a big party planned? Are you taking a trip? I know at least one group of UNH ladies planning a tropical girls’ cruise to mark the milestone event. I hope you will tell us all about how you are celebrating (or have celebrated), whether you’re staying home with family, buying a beach house/ski cabin or traveling the world. I know I will be celebrating by traveling 1,001 miles to The Big ’80s Reunion. See you there! Registration opens March 1.
1988
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1993
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1996
Alumni Food Faves
1997
1998
2000
2001
Shannon A. Mullen, a longtime NPR journalist, has her first book coming out this month from Penguin Random House and Steerforth Press — it’s about the governor of Maine and a woman who sent her weekly letters of support for the first pandemic year. You can learn more about Shannon’s work on her website: www.shannonamullen.com.
2002
2003
2005
Nathan Michaud ’07, wife Laura Ogonowski ’07 and John Jeanson ’05 attended the 65th Honor Flight out of New England on September 17. Nate is a board member of Honor Flight New England and the others attended as volunteers. Honor Flight New England is a non-profit organization dedicated since its founding in 2009 to honoring America’s most senior veterans by transporting them — at no cost — to Washington, D.C. to visit veteran memorials. At the end of the day’s events, John asked a Vietnam veteran what his favorite part of the trip was, and he said, “The send-off line at Boston Logan Airport, filled with hundreds of people who wanted to thank me for my service. I didn’t know how to respond because I have been so accustomed to the opposite, for those years I served in Vietnam. It took a lot for me to hold it together after the many handshakes, hugs and seeing tears of TRUE GRATITUDE in those supporters’ eyes.” John notes that he wasn’t alone: a 91-year-old Korean War Veteran, for whom John was a guardian, said the same thing. John’s grandfather, a Korean War Veteran, also took part in an Honor Flight four years ago and felt the same way. John says that if any classmates know a veteran interested in taking part in an Honor Flight, check out the organization’s website: honorflightnewengland.org