A three-week retrospective art event at Windsong Acres celebrates the work of Shelly Rasche ’78, whose illustrations graced products around the world from greeting cards and ornaments to stuffed animals and yard flags, before dementia led to her retirement from commercial art. You can read more here.
Sandullah Epsicokhan ’72 was featured in an article discussing the recent Webb Telescope’s photos of deep space. A section reads “A lot of wonderful science will come from the new telescope that will peer into the early history of the universe from its vantage beyond Earth’s orbit. Meanwhile, Epsicokhan simply takes joy in the newest images from the distant past.” You can read the full article by clicking here!
Stew Salowitz ’76 had his painting When Winter Fades accepted for exhibit in the McLean County Arts Center’s 95th Annual Amateur Exhibition in March 2022. The retired Illinois Wesleyan sports information director won first prize in the adult painting category at the MCAC’s Annual Amateur Exhibition in 2021.
John McGowan ’74 of Tamworth, New Hampshire, died April 4, 2022. He was 70. John studied elementary education at Illinois Wesleyan and taught third grade at schools in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania before embarking on a career in the travel industry. John worked as a guide at Independence Hall, the Alamo, the LBJ Ranch, and for a touring company. In 1986, he fulfilled a lifelong dream by becoming a flight attendant for TWA, and later, American Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines. He maintained homes in St. Louis and San Antonio for many years. He moved in 2012 to Tamworth, where he resided with his beloved Shih Tzu. John was most proud of his recovery from alcohol addition, and he remained involved with Alcoholics Anonymous until the end of his life. He was a devoted member of St. Andrew-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church. He is survived by two sisters, and many nieces, nephews and extended family members. You can read more here.
Morris ’75 and Linda (Brown) ’76 Tammen are using their retirement years to launch a new business with two of their children, Katrina Tammen Reber ’05 and Evan Tammen ’09. Artesia Brewing, located on their farm outside of Thawville, Illinois, opened its doors last fall and features varieties of hard cider, mead, and beer made with the fruits and honey from their farm.
“Two of our bestselling beers are named after a special IWU memory that my husband and I share,” Linda recently said. “I am sure I have told customers the story at least 50 times since we opened last fall. It always gets such a great reaction.”
Learn more here.
Mario Mancinelli of Bloomington, Illinois, died March 15, 2022. He was 99. Mario served as a faculty member in Illinois Wesleyan’s School of Music for 35 years. He was hired in 1948 to teach strings and chamber music, and conduct the student orchestra. He retired in 1983 with emeritus status. Mario attended Ohio State University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was also a faculty member at Brevard Music Center for 25 years. He was a member of the American String Teachers Association, American Federation of Musicians, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and an honorary member of Phi Kappa Phi. Mario was an accomplished violinist and played regularly in Central Illinois orchestras. He enjoyed crossword puzzles, playing and listening to classical music, playing cards, and watching the Indianapolis 500, World Series and the Olympics. He was a longtime member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal. He is survived by two children and a granddaughter.
Evelyn Wantland died Feb. 4, 2022, in Urbana, Illinois. She was 104. Evelyn served as a professor of mathematics at Illinois Wesleyan from 1964-76 and maintained emeritus status. Evelyn attended Hollins College, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and earned a doctorate in mathematics. In addition to Illinois Wesleyan, she taught at Ferrum Junior College, Kansas State University and the University of Mississippi. Evelyn enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles, playing bridge and Scrabble, and taking long walks in Meadowbrook Park in Urbana. She was a member of Urbana’s First United Methodist Church. She is survived by her daughter, two grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Larry Lee Ballard ’72 passed away Feb. 11, 2022 at Providence Ascension Hospital in Novi, Michigan. He was a 1968 graduate of North Greene High School and a 1972 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Sigma Pi National Fraternity. He was also the first student assistant to work for IWU’s Sports Information Director, Ed Alsene. While at Wesleyan, he met his future wife, Judith Kasper, of Chicago, IL in 1970. They were married in Bloomington, Illinois on March 24, 1973 by two of his Sigma Pi fraternity brothers. Read the full obituary here.
Michael Cooper ’77 has written a new play, The Sunflower Apostle, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s first visit to America in 1882 when he was twenty-seven years old, prior to literary fame. On December 24, 1881, Mr. Wilde sailed from Liverpool, England to New York City to embark on an American lecture tour addressing audiences with his lecture entitled, “The Decorative Arts”. That spring, Mr. Wilde arrived in Bloomington, Illinois to speak at the local Durley Hall for one evening only. A progressive women’s club in town sponsored his visit and rallied a curious sold-out crowd to see him.
Michael says that “During the pandemic, I decided to write a play based upon a story I heard while attending IWU. My research proved quite worthy, and I wrote THE SUNFLOWER APOSTLE, based upon Oscar Wilde’s one-time visit to Bloomington, IL. The Alchemy Theatre produced the premiere reading of this new play on October 29, 2021, with plans now to produce a full production in their 2023 Season, after which I will submit for publication or future performances at other theatres.”