Marty Capodice passed away October 31, 2013. Since that time he has lived on through his family and friends. In his will he gave instructions for his ashes to be divided up, a little given to each of his friends, so they could take him on their travels.
Check out the link below to follow Marty for the year after his death.
Donald Eugene Dowe Sr. of Harmony, MN passed away on November 30, 2014 at his home surrounded by his loving family. Don’s body was donated per his request, to the Mayo Clinic to assist with research and education. Don always felt that organ donation was extremely important since he had been given the gift of life 21 years ago due to a kidney transplant. Due to his transplant, he could not be a donor to help other lives so he wanted to do his part through research and education. There will be a “Celebration of Life” at a later date next summer for everyone who was touched by Don in their lives.
Don was born in McHenry, IL on Sept. 19, 1934 to Herman and Pauline Dowe. He graduated McHenry High School and spent four years in the United States Air Force as a dental technician. After his service to his country, Don married Betty Lou Keenan from Pompano Beach, FL on Sept. 13, 1958. Don attended Illinois Wesleyan-Bloomington where he received his Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology. He continued his education at the University of Illinois, where he received his Master of Social Work degree.
You can read the Edmonton Journal obituary here.
Nancy recently published a book! Words Left Behind – tales of a life gladly lived recounts events from the author’s life that range from humorous encounters with famous and infamous folks and thoughtful remembrances of grape picking in a Rocky Mountain blizzard to a mysterious ghost dog visitation and a startling encounter with a puma. Her stories are funny, heartwarming, and sometimes tearful. It’s available on Amazon.
The Alumni Relations office would like to share that Helen Vogt passed away on July 8, 2014. Her obituary can be found here. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends.
‘Homecoming Immersion,’ is it the disease d’jour? No sick humor is intended especially in this time of Ebola and MRSA. Rather, this is a reminiscence of weekend activities of IWU 50th Reunion, Class of 1964. This Reunion truly lived up to its theme, “Off the Charts.” A big thank you is due everyone who worked so hard to pull together such a special activity-rich weekend.
It was a thrill to attend this spectacular event! After 50 years there are many reasons that classmates do not attend their reunions – lack of interest, health problems, mobility issues, time constraints, financial difficulties as well as other plans such as a trip to Thailand (Roger & Carol). This Homecoming was especially memorable and event-rich because it coincided with the celebration of the School of Music’s 150th Anniversary. While many classmates returned to campus by car or plane, I was able to drive across town to attend three days of events. I felt more invested in this event because Kay Gebhardt Ackerman called and asked me to help on the Reunion Committee. Over the summer we had several conference calls aided by the Alumni Relations Office to plan the details of our class events. Committee members contacted classmates by email, phone or snail mail.
There were so many events planned concurrently that I had to pick and choose carefully. My weekend began with picking up registration materials at Memorial Center Friday afternoon before attending three Back to College classes by Robert Bray, Kyle Pfortmiller & William Jaeckle. Then I attended the President’s Reception for reunion classes and saw Bill Roberts and several classmates. I drove over to our Reunion Kickoff at the Doubletree Hotel to see more classmates briefly, but left in order to attend the School of Music’s 150th Anniversary Green Carpet Gala Concert & Reception at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
Saturday morning I participated in the Captain Ryan A. Beaupre ’95 Memorial Scholarship 5K Run with the course through the campus. The kids had a fun run around the Tucci Stadium Track first. Ryan’s family was in attendance. His Economic Professor talked about Ryan’s time at IWU. The ROTC from ISU did drills and two recipients of the Scholarship were recognized. The American Legion conducted their ceremony while an IWU student sang the Star Spangled Banner and another student played taps. It was a moving ceremony. While I am not a fast runner, I did complete the course without seeing any classmates. (Lanny Lobdell and his wife Annette are runners but chose to run in Washington IL instead.)
After going home for a shower, I returned to visit with some of my AOII sisters in the Cartwright Room at Memorial Center before attending another Back to College class: Robert Delvin’s presentation on 150 Years of Music at IWU. Then on to the Alumni Awards Lunch in the Shirk Center prior to the football game. It was a chilly time watching Augustana win 7-2, but I did see a ‘safety’ live instead of on TV, and the Titan Band kept fans energized. I stayed to the bitter end and was sufficiently chilled that I decided to forgo the School of Art Reception in the Galleries.
The next event that evening was our 50-Year Class Reunion, a Heavy Hors D’Oeuvres Reception at Bloomington Country Club. (Not being familiar with the term ‘heavy,’ I wasn’t sure what to expect—but we had plenty of delicious meats, vegetables, fruits and desserts plus drinks which we enjoyed while we visited with classmates.) An attentive wait staff kept our glasses full and removed our plates as we enjoyed ourselves. President Dick Wilson and his wife Pat plus the Advancement/Alumni Office Personnel and the President of the IWU Board attended. Bill Roberts along with Kay Ackerman co-anchored a low-key remembrance of our college years 1960-1964 along with a slide show of photos from our days on campus. Congratulations to Bill for writing a fine script weaving the events of the time along with our college experiences. Our spouses who did not attend IWU could certainly relate to events Bill mentioned. We remembered our younger selves and the significant role IWU played in the shaping of our lives. Many of us have not forgotten the fateful day we took the Graduate Record Exams at Memorial Center when JFK died. I don’t recall ever hearing the results of that exam. After lunch the exam proctor said something like, “President Kennedy died at 1 pm in Dallas. We will now turn to page __ and continue the exam.” There was disbelief on our faces, tears in our eyes and audible crying in the room. So much promise we had felt with our young President had been snuffed out as we spent the weekend glued to the newscasts on TV as the nation and the world mourned.
Here 50 years later we have gained the perspective to see such events in a new light. Seeing classmates that I had not seen for so many years made me wonder if I would recognize them. The Alumni Office helped immensely by making nametags that included our senior photos from the yearbook as well as assembling a Reunion Book that included photos, Commencement Program, Tuition costs, University Catalogue and Faculty and Administrative Officers, our yearbook photos and Biographical updates of those who responded to requests for information. Then there was the list of our classmates who are no longer with us.
I appreciated the updates that classmates provided and hope to reconnect with some who were unable to attend.
Back to the Sunday activities, I attended the All-Campus Service in Evelyn Chapel and was pleased to see many classmates there. Our own Schuyler Robinson, organist played the Bach Postlude. (It was nice to remember that Schuyler played another Bach Prelude at our graduation ceremony.) His wife Linda (King) sang in the Collegiate Choir (with returning Alumni). A School of Music Brunch followed on the Quad. Then there was the final concert by the Camerata Orchestra and Chamber Music Reunion Concert in Presser Hall Westbrook Auditorium. At the end of this concert Vadim Mazo dedicated the final orchestral work in memory of former President Minor Myers. I saw Mario Pelusi, Head of the School of Music as I left campus and told him that I would call Ellen Myers, Minor’s widow to tell her that IWU remembered her husband Minor during the School of Music’s event. She appreciated the call and was touched that Minor was remembered since he loved music so much and attended many of the recitals and concerts.
Whew, what a weekend! I must admit that I was tired, yet I was energized by the activities, by the alums and students I talked with and shared experiences. Indeed it was a very special and memorable weekend that was truly “Off the Charts.”
FROM ADRIANE POWELL, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
Thank you for reading and contributing to your class newsletter I hope you enjoy receiving news about your classmates. Be sure to let us know when you have news to share!
Class years ending in 4 and 9 are reunion years. Our theme this year is OFF THE CHARTS. We are focusing on the 150th Anniversary of the School of Music, with many music themed events. Join us Friday night for the Green Carpet Gala Concert and Reception at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts On Saturday morning the Titan Pep Band Alumni Reunion will take place on the Quad while you enjoy the free Pancake/Sausage Breakfast. Saturday night join us in the Young Main Lounge for Club Tommy. Check the brochure of www.titanpride.org for more details. PLease register soon!
I look forward to seeing you at Homecoming or another alumni event very soon.
Adriane Powell
One of the important inserts in your Homecoming packet at Memorial Center Registration is the Campus Heritage…Self-Guided Tour Map. Based on my experience at the ’63 reunion last year some of the most pleasurable and memorable moments were those just wandering around the physical plant and grounds. Once I began my early tour at the Ames Library early Friday I was compelled to do a foot cruise in between and after every scheduled event in the week-end itinerary. And was rewarded for the effort.
As a junior and senior at Normal Community High I felt the pull of a call to spend my college years out of town and had made visits to a few campuses in other parts of Illinois or in neighboring states. None of those options were a comfortable fit in reality, so I reluctantly unpacked my bags.
The campus wanderings of Homecoming 2013 provided a strong reassurance of how wonderful an investment 1959 to 1963 turned out to be. And that was reinforced by the continuing dedications of brand new facilities right up to Homecoming week. I think you could say it was much more than we bargained for over the past half-century. And obviously the University family feels the same as I notice this may be the first year that a designated 60th anniversary reunion will be presented.
While it is true that many of the old campus and town “haunts’ and legends of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s are unidentifiable or extinguished you will not be able to deny that what has been raised in their places is OFF THE CHARTS.
Congratulations ’64. Enjoy and return often.
Frank Wanto ‘63
OKC,OK
Greetings, classmates. It’s time for the fall newsletter. Much of what used to be contained in the newsletter is now available online and needn’t be reproduced here. Consequently, I’ve limited the news to items of special interest, news that our classmates have submitted, and a couple of incidental items I thought you might find interesting. Or not.
The ol’ Alma Mater values your news and your continued support. It is a much finer university now than it was in our day—as a check of the website [iwu.edu] will substantiate.
A Mikoshi, a Shinto shrine donated by Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, Bloomington-Normal’s sister city, now resides on the IWU campus, its permanent home. A Mikoshi is a temporary portable shrine used to hold the spirit of deity during festivals.
Speaking of festivals, Homecoming will be held Oct. 13-19. The ol’ alma mater hopes you’ll attend and participate in events listed for you on the university web site.
Karen Kenyon, 864 Grand Ave., Astoria OR 97103, sent the following greeting: “I have lived in Astoria, Oregon, for about 36 years. It’s close to the mouth of the Columbia River. I’m married with several step-children (all grown, of course). My husband and I live in a house that overlooks the Columbia River. Can you imagine what that means to one who was raised a flat, flat Midwest?? I still can’t believe it! I’m a retired librarian, active with AAUW.”
Richard Leonard’s composition, “The Tri-State March” was performed by McNamara’s Band, Keokuk, IA, in March 2014 and by the Hamilton, IL, City Band in June 2014. A computer realization is available on YouTube. Richard was a liberal arts music major at IWU and plays flute and piccolo in these bands.
Ann McGurk Sokan joined Donna and me for our annual trip to Cooperstown, NY, where we saw two operas and a musical: Madame Butterfly, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Carousel. In the spring, we joined Pat (Lashbrook) and John Jordan at the Roger Ebert Film Festival in Champaign-Urbana.
What are you reading these days? Donna and I recommend the detective novels of Donna Leon, which we read one right after another until we’d read all of them. Then we bought DVD’s of TV dramatizations done in Germany of several of the novels. These were recorded in German with English subtitles. We enjoyed them as well as the paper versions on which they’re based.
A few days ago I finished reading a Harry Potter novel in a German translation. Now I’m reading, in English, the third volume of Rick Atkinson’s The Liberation Trilogy, a history of the European theater of World War II.
What’s next? I’m open to suggestions
As you’re undoubtedly aware, 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. That war was one of the most literary ever fought. So I suggest that for your reading entertainment you try the poems of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, and Ivor Gurney. Selections of their poetry are available online.
In prose, I suggest All Quiet on the Western Front, The Case of Sergeant Grischa, The Good Soldier Schweik, and Other Ranks. The last of these novels has been long out of print, but is available through interlibrary loan, which is how I got a copy.
Of course there are many other novels set during this period that are well worth your attention. I’ve merely suggested my favorites here.
That’s it for the fall newsletter. Remember to send me your news for the spring newsletter.
Keep in touch and stay well.
Larry
Larry Uffelman
Judy, Paula, and Jill enjoy a moment under one of the sculptures on loan to IWU.
September 3 found Judy Freundt Zawacke, Paula Bloomquist Wayland, and Jill Wyatt Dew traveling down I-55 from the Chicago area. They attended the President’s Convocation; enjoyed lunch with IWU President Dick Wilson and Brando Skyhorse, author of The Madonnas of Echo Park; and then spent some time touring IWU’s beautiful campus! All three agreed that attending the President’s Convocation at Presser Hall was a great experience. Singing Alma Wesleyan at the end of the program brought back many special memories.
Steve Nestler retired from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical School Education last year. This fall he will being volunteering in Grand Teton National Park. He will be a member of the Wildlife Brigade, a group that assists with wildlife jams, patrols camping and picnic areas for unsecured food, and provides wildlife safety information to visitors.