Association news & class notes
In May 2021, after the publication of our last class column, I received my first-ever communication from Janine “Jan” Gill M.Ed. ’76. She wrote that in 2020 she finally achieved what she has sought all her life: relief from her horrid head pain caused by external hydrocephalus. She had two brain surgeries, in February and March 2020. The first was a craniectomy to access four large cysts to relieve the pressure they were exerting on her brain. The second surgery was to place a shunt system into her brain, including antibiotic-impregnated tubing to prevent infection. She returned home on March 13, just two days before Massachusetts shut down for COVID-19. As of May 2021, Jan was still pain-free and hopefully has remained so.
Linda Ackley Ricks and her husband Robert continue to enjoy retirement in Ocean Pines, Maryland. They enjoy playing golf and pickleball and are so happy to be able to socialize with friends again. They also spend time with their family, including their daughter Lindsay Ricks Beil ’06, M.S. ’08, her husband, and 5-year-old Taylor in Mount Airy, Maryland. Before the pandemic, they were able to travel to Portugal with their son Ryan, who is a United Airlines pilot. They have also traveled out west and in New England. They are thankful that life is slowly returning to normal and can take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities that retirement has to offer!
Dell Wogsland Elias and her husband, Bob, continue to love living at Lake Tahoe in Incline Village, Nevada. It is a beautiful paradise, and this is definitely home after being there 30 years. They are (sort of) retired, but busier than ever with family, church, and community happenings, plus their two amazing golden retrievers. James Wogsland ’78 passed in December 2021 after a long cancer fight. Dell misses her dear brother every day but is grateful for all their memories and close relationship. Dell helps her sister, Nancy, as much as possible taking care of their 96-year-old mom, who is still in her own house in Georgia. Dell adds that she is very grateful for close friends made during WMC years!
Corynne Courpas writes from Westminster, Maryland, where she was able to join our Homecoming festivities despite the vestiges of Hurricane Ian. The awards banquet and DEI luncheon offered shelter from the rain, and she even attended the football game and celebrated the win. She continues to serve on the Alumni Council and as vice chair of the WMC Heritage Society, enjoying her many interactions with the campus. Retiring in October 2020 after a rewarding 33 years at Performance Foodservice has allowed her to become even more involved in volunteering, traveling, and enjoying her amazing nieces and nephews. She recently finished a COVID-era term as president of her local American Wine Society chapter. Zoom has its place, but it is not ideal for wine tasting. A great team made it work, though. She continues to serve as president of The ARC Carroll County and recently became president of the local Torch Club. Serving on the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee and working with Democratic candidates remains a passion. Being a 2020 elector was the pinnacle of her resume so far, but she has much more to do. These organizations provide for interaction with many McDaniel friends and serve as a reminder of the contributions our faculty, staff, and alums make to the Westminster community. As for travel, Corynne has partnered with McDaniel for that, too. She traveled to Egypt in 2019 and more recently Spain and Morocco with Mohamed Esa, a professor in the Department of World Languages. She also enjoyed a river cruise in Germany and Austria in fall 2021 and most recently a tour of South Africa. She now echoes Dr. Esa when asked which trip is her favorite: “The next one I am going on.” As for the nieces and nephews, they remind her why she stays involved. They are bright, curious, energetic, and they are our future. And they certainly keep her active and on her toes!
Dr. Greg Sherry and Margaret “Peggy” Powell Sherry are surviving these COVID-19 years, although Greg had to go through his days wearing two masks and sending his coughing patients to be tested. Greg hasn’t caught COVID-19 and is still practicing. He has too many patients telling him he is not allowed to retire because he has taken care of their whole family for 30-plus years. They are still in Somerset, Kentucky, cycling and going to weekly dance classes. Peggy is still painting and had one of her 5-foot paintings for Somerset Community College unveiled in November. Their son, Chris, has bought a beautiful lake home on Smith Lake, Alabama, and will soon post it on Airbnb. Their daughter, Kathleen, is keeping them busy cheering for the grandkids at their football and soccer games. Highlights include visiting brother, Bill Powell ’75, in Maine and David Cooney and Robin Stifler Cooney ’77 near Baltimore. Peggy also keeps in touch with Judy Guilliams-Tapia ’75 and Beth Steinmetz Warren ’75.
Caroline Babylon, M.L.A. ’92 retired from MidAtlantic Farm Credit, having spent all those years after college in banking. She now has a part-time “retirement job” as executive director at Carroll County Food Sunday, a food pantry in Westminster, Maryland. Classmate Janine Perry Wilson was already a volunteer there. Each day is an adventure and has included working with current McDaniel students as volunteers. She recently saw Susan “Susi” Blackman; Jeanne McGrew, M.Ed. ’78 and Bob Marciszewski at their high school reunion. Caroline’s other big activity is teaching at the local therapeutic riding program.
Diane Johnson Cash feels retirement is a wonderful stage of life. Her mornings are filled with swimming, pickleball, yoga, and long walks. Afternoons are devoted to volunteer work at the local animal shelter, time with family and friends, and church work. She occasionally helps David in his wood shop, where he has made dozens of fine furniture items for themselves, family, and friends. They love to spend time with their three grandkids, who live close by. In 2022, Diane and David resumed traveling, enjoying new experiences in Idaho, Oregon, New England, and Delaware. They were also able to visit family and friends in Maryland and Virginia for the first time in two years. In February, Diane was part of a group who traveled to the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee to repair homes for needy families. She hopes to resume her annual Central America mission trips soon.
Jeff Heinbaugh and Cathy Clayton Heinbaugh ’77 report they are now spending most of their time in Tennessee. In 2021, they bought a house in Ooltewah, a suburb of Chattanooga, to be near their son, daughter-in-law, and first grandchild, Evie, who is now 2 years old. Their other grandchild, Calvin, is 3 months younger than Evie, and he, their daughter, and son-in-law live in Williamsburg, Virginia. They try to visit them as much as possible. Jeff retired in July 2019 from his career in the IT field, but he still does some part-time consulting to stay abreast of technology. After retirement, Jeff and Cathy did four weeks of community service work with Habitat for Humanity and through Volunteers in Mission with the Methodist Church (two weeks in 2019, one in 2021, and one in 2022). Jeff planned to go to his 50th high school reunion at a venue on Kent Island, Maryland, in October, but it had to be canceled due to the possibility that Hurricane Ian could disrupt the outdoor event. He was disappointed in not being able to see his classmates. Hopefully it will be rescheduled. Now that they are in Chattanooga, Tennessee, they plan to travel around that part of the country and visit areas they haven’t seen before.
Guy Royston says that the Coastal Fire came within 70 feet of his home in Laguna Niguel, California, and caused extensive smoke damage. A helicopter with a speaker gave Guy and his wife six minutes to get out of their house. Many homes in the neighborhood burned to the ground. Luckily, Guy says his rental house was vacant, and they lived there for six months while his home got an interior and exterior facelift. The rental house is in a suburban location that is zoned for horses. Guy says he really enjoyed morning walks with his shih-tzu puppy, when he was able to feed carrots to a menagerie of large animals. Guy recently corresponded with Ann Luckenbill Koster, Bob Le Sueur ’79, and Terry Koenig ’78.
Peggy Taylor Woltz and Al Woltz ’74 have settled into their Abingdon, Maryland, seniors condominium and are enjoying their retirement. They admit that the isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions was a challenge but being together took some of the sting out of the loneliness. Al had been hoping to resume their cruising, but Peg had a much more conservative take on it, beginning in autumn 2023 with another cruise to New England and Canada. Following that cruise, who knows where Peg and Al might sail on their 44th at-sea experience.
Eileen McCauley Hirsch reports that she is happy to finally be able to emerge from COVID-19 seclusion and spent this year visiting family in Arizona and Florida. She also checked off a bucket list item by going on a two-week safari adventure in Kenya and Tanzania and a gorilla trek in Uganda with her daughter, son-in-law, and sister. She returned to the U.S. with unforgettable memories, pictures … and COVID-19 (fortunately a very mild case). While at home, she is actively involved in her church as treasurer and chairperson/member of numerous committees. She also finds it interesting to work at the polls on election day.
Bob Toner is enjoying retirement in South Boston, Virginia. Bob Kehler visited with him last summer while he was staying at his nearby cabin. He recently received a photo from Bob Kehler and Don “Angelo” Dea showing the two of them together at the 2022 Homecoming game. Bob loves the quiet life of golf, the grandsons, and attending car shows and cruise-ins.
Bruce Jones is enjoying retirement after 40 years of full-time pastoring. He is serving a small church in Seaford, Delaware, on a part-time basis. He and his wife, Dawn, still live in Sussex County, Delaware, in the home they designed themselves. They love living on Pepper Creek in Dagsboro, Delaware, on the property that once belonged to Dawn’s grandfather. Bruce and Dawn have four daughters and seven grandchildren: two boys and five girls. He finds time to play a lot of golf.
Susan Ogilvie Luchey sent her update on the day she was attending her retirement party at the University of Delaware (UD). She officially retired on Oct. 1, but on the same day began working for UD part time. After a 40-year career that most recently included establishing and building a nationally recognized collegiate leadership program, Sue decided she could not close the door completely and stayed on to teach and coordinate several aspects of the program she has directed since 2010. Sue continues to present on leadership topics and is leaning into more consulting work with colleges and nonprofits. She is also proud to announce that this past summer she was recognized with the Robin Orr Outstanding Practitioner award for her work in the leadership education field by the Association of Leadership Educators. On a more personal note, Sue and her husband, Dennis, had a busy summer and fall 2022. Sue visited Pete Clark ’77 and Korby Bowman Clark ’78 in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and met up with Gary Strain and Leta Richie Strain, M.Ed. ’77. Showers, bachelorette trips, and the wedding of their youngest daughter, Kelsey, occupied much of the summer. Right after the September wedding, Sue and Dennis officially moved full time to the beach. They’d love to see some WMC visitors at their new home on the Indian River Bay in Dagsboro, Delaware, about four miles from Bethany Beach, Delaware. Still an Ocean City, Maryland, girl at heart, Sue and Dennis spend lots of time going back to their favorite places and visiting friends there! Last summer, Sue had a reunion in New York City with her besties from WMC, Sue Snyder LaHatte ’77, M.L.A.’82; Stephi Lambert ’77; Korby Bowman Clark ’78; Leta Richie Strain, M.Ed. ’77; and Ann Luckenbill Koster. The six of them saw “SIX” on Broadway, which they thought was appropriate, and then saw “Company,” a show that Sue and Ann were in at WMC. Sue is looking forward to her semi-retirement and having time to travel and connect with friends as well as settle into a laid-back lifestyle at the beach.
From Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Jeff Leed reported that he sold his 27-year-old environmental consulting business, Leed Environmental Inc., to a much larger consulting company, Montrose Environmental Group (Montrose), in September 2020. Concurrent with the sale, he accepted a consulting position with Montrose. He continues to perform project management and environmental consulting services for large, high-profile, multi-party Superfund sites throughout the United States.
Debbie Baird celebrated her retirement by going to Kauai, Hawaii, with her three daughters in January 2022. In October, a new milestone was reached of having traveled to all 50 states and all 10 Canadian provinces. Up next for her is Siem Reap in Cambodia. Debbie lives at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
Kathy Clevenger Jones, M.Ed. ’77 retired from teaching five years ago and spends her time singing classic rock; being onstage, backstage, or in the boardroom with Church Hill Theatre; and traveling to Key West, Florida, with her recently retired husband, Bruce. They live on Kent Island, Maryland. Kathy frequently visits with Larry Kulp.
Following his retirement from the Smithsonian, Bernie Gallagher, M.L.A. ’79 relocated to historic Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 2021. He stays busy visiting local and national historical sites, golfing, and walking to Fred Nats stadium for baseball games. In the fall, he went on his annual trip to Cooperstown, New York, (for a grad school conference … and baseball) and a family trip to Florida, including a stop at the World Golf Hall of Fame. He also had a moment to catch up with Deb Hosey White at their 50th high school reunion.
Don Haskin and Peggy Harding Haskin celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in July 2022. They also celebrated their 50th high school reunion and had the chance to reconnect with many old friends. This was especially meaningful as they were high school sweethearts. They are enjoying their retirement, although Peggy stays busy with her online retail business. They have two grown sons who live close by and four grandchildren. They are both active in their church. Don is the chairman of the Saint Mary’s County Board of Electrical Examiners, serves on a state electrical committee and teaches continuing education classes for electricians. He recently retired from the Coast Guard Auxiliary after serving for 35 years. Peggy and Don enjoy traveling and went on several trips in 2022, after a couple of years of reduced travel due to the pandemic. In July, they traveled to Disney World with their two sons and their families. This was followed by a tour of the Canadian Rockies that culminated in an Alaskan cruise. They have enjoyed traveling and camping throughout their marriage and purchased a “Class B” motorhome in 2020. This allowed them to make an extended trip to Yellowstone National Park and some other attractions out west this past fall. They look forward to more adventures.
Judy Warfield Price bid a fond farewell to her professional legal and nonprofit careers by retiring in May 2022 from the Aspen Institute. Then she jumped immediately into being the president of the Centreville Rotary Club, which is demanding but fulfilling. Recently, she had the honor of being the keynote speaker at The Gunston School National Honor Society induction ceremonies. She is also finding time to do some things that were deferred during her career and young motherhood days, such as joining the Queen Anne’s County Musical Chorale, a throwback to her younger days when she loved to sing. She is also back to traveling, with Seattle, New Orleans, and Minnesota being some of her favorite destinations to visit family. Judy’s hubby, Robert Koenke, who hails from Minnesota, still works around the country as an art appraiser. Also in 2022, she had get-togethers with fellow graduates Linda Ackley Ricks at Linda’s home in Ocean Pines, Maryland, and Ann Holmes Jones in Ellicott City, Maryland. At a recent wedding, she was surprised to see Albert “Ross” McCausland, who was a member of our class through sophomore year.
Brian Twillman and his wife, Mary, continue to adjust to being very active empty nesters. Brian and Mary are actively working in ways that make a difference to many others. Mary, who is teleworking, works on change management initiatives with Montgomery County Public Schools. Brian continues to serve as an organization development specialist and training coordinator with the Office of the Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He is the national program manager for the award-winning EPA Leaders and Learners Mentoring Program. This program is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has had nearly 3,000 employees participate. With his leadership and ongoing input, they have developed a winning formula with their vendor and with most parts of the organization. The program is viewed by senior leaders and many others as essential, as 50% of EPA’s workforce will be retirement-eligible in the next five years. Brian will have 30 years in 2025 and will likely consider retiring after he achieves that milestone. For fun, and because he is an INFP and enjoys performing noble service to aid society, he has created a public group on Facebook, called “Striking Chords.” It is a global community of collaborative and compassionate communicators who love all the arts, nature, and the inspirational things life offers. Everyone is welcome to enjoy and to participate! They continue to reside in the Cherrywood section of Olney, Maryland.
Steve Vandegrift reports he is still in Austin, Texas, after almost 30 years, now enjoying being an empty nester after his youngest daughter has found her first job after graduation. He sold his senior care marketplace matching company several years ago and now has acquired a mobile app company focused on high school sports. He and his family had a “catch-up” summer of travel in 2022, going to Portugal, Amsterdam, Italy, and hiking in Yosemite. He still plays tennis and soccer and has recently added pickleball to the mix.
Since 1997, Bob Marciszewski’s life has literally gone to the dogs! It was at that time that he bought his first Borzoi (aka Russian hunting sighthound), which led him to the canine performance sport called lure coursing. The sport was developed for sighthounds to test what should be the innate characteristics of the breed to chase and hunt down game in the open field. Bob’s dog, G’Kar, was competitive and in 1998 was the No. 2 Borzoi in the American Kennel Club (AKC). Of course, having a competitive dog meant that to keep him in condition, it was necessary to purchase the requisite dog accessory for about $300,000 — a house with 4.6 acres. Competitions kept Bob on the road weekends chauffeuring G’Kar to field trials in the general Mid-Atlantic area. As his dogs — yes, he ended up with several — got older and retired, he turned to the other aspects of the sport and became an all-breed lure coursing judge with the AKC and the American Sighthound Field Association. His judging assignments have taken him as far north as Massachusetts, south to Florida, and west to Colorado. He recently returned from an assignment in Salt Lake City, Utah. To pay the bills, Bob is still working as an IT consultant and is involved with the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation – International and currently has two rescues from Russia. Because of this involvement and his judging, he’s recognized across the United States, Australia, Japan, and Russia as “Borzoi Bob.”
Brenda Manahan Sears and her husband, Jim, have sold their home of 42 years in Pennsylvania and are now residing in Chatham, Massachusetts. Once their home in Bonita Springs, Florida, is built, they will be splitting their time between the two homes. Hurricane Ian caused severe destruction along their beautiful coastline, and while their new home did not sustain much damage, the storm affected many of their builder’s job sites, resulting in delays across the board. Instead of moving in November, it was delayed to early 2023. They feel blessed that their home survived, but their hearts break for their neighbors’ losses. Their community is a strong one, so they have faith everyone will pull together and will eventually heal and rebuild. On a happier note, Brenda and Jim’s daughter, Jessica, has moved to and purchased a home in Arlington, Massachusetts. She is working in the provost’s office at Tufts. She is now much closer to their Massachusetts home, so they can visit each other frequently.
Susan Blackman took a solo retirement honeymoon to Spain. She put 1,756 miles on a rental car, traveling north from Madrid to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim, east to visit the architecture of Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, south along the coast to the Alhambra, west to Seville to stay with a friend from high school and to visit Cordoba, then returning to Madrid to see “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch at El Prado. She continues to write grants and coach a few clients, but she is also taking poetry-writing classes and studying the art of Torah cantillation. She recently got together with her three kids and their partners at a swanky B&B in Hocking Hills, Ohio, and then traveled back to Maryland for her 50th high school reunion. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her cat, Ira.
Since retiring, Sherry Martin White has been enjoying kayaking on the lakes around her in South Jersey and taking wildlife photos. When not in New Jersey, she and her husband, Joe, have been enjoying their cabin in northern Maine where moose walk through their yard. They even had a bear on the porch looking in the window.
Don “Angelo” Dea sends greetings from Santa Monica, California. While all their belongings remain in storage in Rochester, New York, they are enjoying no lake-effect snow. At the invitation of their daughter, Erin, Don and Cathy are enrolled in Grandparenting 201, which means they get to take care of their granddaughter a few times a week. It’s a good thing that the grandparenting course they are in is a team grade with his wife, as Don is afraid that he’s not carrying his weight. Plus, it helps that there is a curve and pass/fail. Their son, Al, just announced that he is engaged to Emily Choi also in Santa Monica, California, with a wedding scheduled for April 1 in Los Angeles. In October 2022, Al and Don presented a keynote address on talent management and career paths for professionals at the Construction Specification Institute National Conference in Denver, Colorado. Don had just finished a keynote for association leaders in Chicago the week before. Al and Don also did a similar keynote for the AICPA Conference in Austin, Texas, in December. Al decided to leave Salesforce and work on several new endeavors addressing talent. He is working on his second book and has created over 200 podcast episodes on the subject. Don and Cathy were back at McDaniel for Homecoming, and Don received the Alumni Service Award at the banquet and halftime. Paul Fulton ’78 and Lisa Breslin joined Don and Cathy for the awards ceremony and banquet. He had a great discussion with President Julia Jasken about her role and the future of the college. He also spoke with Bob Kehler and had great conversation with trustee Carroll “Splinter” Yingling ’68. The day ended with a wet Homecoming win over Dickinson College. The following week, Don had dinner with Steve Spinelli ’77, Hon. D.B.A. ’09, in Boston, where he is the current president of Babson College. What a great time sharing memories of Western Maryland, Jiffy Lube, many mutual buds, and business and educational experiences. In October 2021, Don was awarded ASAE’s Academy of Leaders Award for serving the association profession. In early 2022, he put together ASAE’s AAPI Advisory Group to help advance AAPI leadership in the association and nonprofit community. Don serves Excelsior University as chair of its board of trustees and is board chair of America’s VetDogs and the Guide Dog Foundation. He also continues to serve association and commercial client advisory clients.
Well, the Cahills have been pretty busy since Bob “Flipper” Cahill’s last report. Just to catch up, Bob and his family have lived in New York (Queens and Long Island); Los Angeles; Houston; Seattle; Morgan Hill, California; San Antonio, Texas; and now Wisconsin. Bob figured if he can successfully leave South Florida for Western Maryland he can surely live anywhere — and he has! You can’t hit a moving target. Along the way, Bob and Robbie have raised three children and are blessed to have four grandchildren. Unfortunately, all of Bob and Robbie’s grandchildren live in Southern California. Although Bob and Robbie love their grandchildren immensely, they are in love with Wisconsin and the change of seasons. Bob and Robbie were able to spend time with WMC-AGT friends at the Annapolis, Maryland, home of Larry Matthews ’75, including fellow AGT brothers Rich Heritage and Jodee Engle Heritage ’80, Gary Strain and Leta Ritchie Strain ’76, M.Ed. ’77, and Joe Tyssowski, as well as other alums from ’73 to ’76. After years of traveling to visit family for holidays and reunions, Bob and Robbie took a trip last summer to London to see some concerts — Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and the Eagles — as well as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Abbey Road (yes, they have a picture crossing the street). They also attended opening rounds of Wimbledon. To top it off, they spent the night at the new TWA Hotel at JFK Airport upon their return to the U.S. It so happens their stay was on the 45th anniversary of Bob graduating from the TWA Flight Attendant training class, for whom Bob worked for 10 years after graduation. Bob enjoyed his travels to Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, having played on a TWA-sponsored fast-pitch softball team that represented the USA on goodwill tours. As far as work goes, Robbie loves working at Trader Joe’s where she has worked for eight years. And Bob? Well, as a true-blue Green Terror, Bob still works for a large franchisee of … you guessed it, Jiffy Lube. The new franchise started in December 2019 with one store, and has since exploded to 65 stores in 14 states, as of November 2022. Bob still gets to see Scott Trenner ’79, Pete Blauvelt ’77, and others at the JLI convention each year.
Dale and I, Debbie Cogan Gingrich, still love retirement living in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where I enjoy competitive doubles tennis, book club discussions, playing mah-jongg, fitness center time, and walks on the beach, while Dale has cut his handicap by 10 strokes to a four since moving here. During the time we both worked for Marriott, we purchased multiple timeshare weeks and points, which had piled up and had to be used or lost by December 2022. Vaccinated and ready to travel, in the past two years we have visited three Hawaiian Islands; California five times (mountains, desert, and coast); the Colorado mountains twice; Park City, Utah; Boston; Miami; and Orlando, as well as numerous trips to see our three sons and daughters-in-law and five grandchildren (all under age 6) in North Carolina, Georgia, and Hawaii, and Dale’s 91-year-old mother in Pennsylvania.
Debbie Cogan Gingrich1976 Class Reporter133 Laurel LanePonte Vedra Beach, FL 32082DebraAGingrich@gmail.com