2016-10-01 IWU Homecoming. The class of 1966 celebrated their 50 reunion at Bloomington Country Club. Photo by Marc Featherly.

Please help us identify some of your classmates. Please send corrections by clicking in the comments in the upper right hand corner of the post if we have anyone incorrectly labeled:

Front row left to right:  Carol (Coons) Hayner ’66, Unknown Woman in brown geometric print top and glasses, Carol (Gray) Beaman ‘66

Second row left to right: Janice (Stackhouse) Clark ’66, Fran (Olson) Rouzee ’66, Judith (Elbert) Favell ’66, Marjorie (Ticknor) Hazelton ‘66, Mary Jo( Catlin) Loder ’66, Connie (Leach) Larson ’66

Third Row left to right:  Candace (Martin) Hunter ’66, Mary (Wade) Baker ‘66, Denny Matthews ’66, Kathryn (Shouse) Tornquist ’66, Larry Bross ’66, Dick Healy ’66, Gayle Rathbun ‘66

Fourth Row:  Dick Muirhead ’66, James Gresham ’66, William Larson ’66, Tom Burmeister ’66, Robert Whitley ’66, Dr. Georgia (Griffith) Whitley ‘66

The spirit of giving is all around us this holiday season, please consider giving the gift of bright futures to current and future Illinois Wesleyan University students. Your gifts provide opportunities and experiences that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Hello friends, it is this time of year where we have a bit more space and time with family, and a good time to give thanks for all our blessings and the richness in our lives.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, we hope you enjoy our new video recorded with the Prague Symphony – “A Django Christmas” https://youtu.be/twUFepphC-0

Warmest wishes to you and yours for the Holiday season and New Year,
– David Wilkes and the Sultans of String

Jim Dorsey completed his 17th “Escape from the Rock”, a 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco in August. He repeated his first place finish in his age group (70-74). He and wife Wendy then went to Spain to complete the last 200 miles or so of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela across northern Spain. They had started the hike last year but had to suspend the trip when Wendy developed a stress fracture from hiking. Jim retired from IHS Market 2 years ago and is happily retired living in Massachusetts.

Durrie retired as a publisher of Tribune CT dailies (Stamford Advocate/Greenwich Time) just as the industry started its downward slide. He enjoyed success with the papers twice being named as New England Newspaper of the Year. He and wife Robbie then decompressed with a trip around the world. They eventually relocated back in Colorado where they both lead hikes for the Colorado Mountain Club. Durrie writes ‘I feed my hopeless newspaper addiction by serving on the board of the Colorado Independent, an online nonprofit publication staffed by former columnists and writers from the Denver Post.’ Durrie is also celebrating his 17th year on the board of a foundation that helps needy LA Times employees and retirees as well as the working poor of Los Angeles. This enables Durrie to visit two children in Santa Barbara and their older daughter in Laguna Beach. As a loyal IWU alum Durrie also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for IWU for 5 years.

Durrie also shared one of his fond memories at IWU…the Commons Cafeteria where Captain Crunch was served for dinner when they ran out of food. Does anyone else remember that night? As I recall Captain Crunch was served as chow mien noodles. Feel free to post any special memories you might have of the Commons back in the 60’s!

Ruth Klecka Schroeter ’69, Westchester, IL retired after a 40 year career in public, private and Christian education in Illinois. After teaching 2nd grade for 2 years in Naperville, Ruth attended the University of Illinois, Urbana, where she received a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education in 1973. She then worked as a reading specialist in Oak Park for 7 years. Following six years at home as a Mom, Ruth pursued part time work as a substitute teacher, preschool aide, World Book sales person and Church School Superintendent at Berkeley-Hillside Presbyterian Church. Most recently Ruth has served as a tutor for 22 years at West Suburban Educational Association in Hinsdale. Ruth’s retirement plans include becoming a certified Master Gardener, traveling with husband Fred and visiting Vermont to see her baby granddaughter. Congratulations, Ruth!

Marilyn Keiser ’63, Chancellor’s Professor of Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, will perform in concert at First Presbyterian Church in Alton, IL on Friday, Dec. 15. For more information, click here.

We are deeply sorry to announce that Alfred Raufeisen ’61  passed away at the age of 79 on Nov. 22, 2017, at Wild Rose Hospital. He was born on May 3, 1938, in Zurich, Switzerland and immigrated to America on Nov. 10, 1950, later proudly becoming a U.S. citizen. He graduated from New York Mills High School in Utica, N.Y., attended Utica College, Illinois Wesleyan University and the University of Illinois. He was part owner of Henneman and Raufeisen Associates Inc. He felt privileged to work with many clients on state-of-the-art projects throughout the Midwest and received numerous awards. As an adjunct professor, Alfred took great pride interacting with young student architects and engineers. Alfred also enjoyed winters in Punta Gorda, Fla. He will be deeply missed.

Read his full obituary here: http://www.news-gazette.com/obituaries/2017-11-28/alfred-raufeisen.html

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday is #GivingTuesday, a global initiative to celebrate generosity and give back during the holiday season. Join the movement and help make bright futures possible for current Titans with a gift at www.iwu.edu/give today!