Illinois Wesleyan School of Nursing alum Jolene Bowen ’82 passed away peacefully at the age of 65 on November 15th, 2025. Dedicated to service and community, Jolene will be remembered for her warmth, her strength, her drive, her integrity, and her unwavering love for family. A full obituary may be accessed here.
William (Bill) Sunderland ’80 recently retired from a 40-year marketing career in the publishing industry. He began working for Champaign, Illinois-based educational publisher Human Kinetics Inc., in 1985. Since then he served as marketing manager, marketing director, and finally a bid administrator responsible for securing state-level adoptions for K-12 textbooks in the subjects of health, physical education, sports medicine, and dance.
Bill graduated from IWU with a BA in English and was known by some classmates to perform occasionally in local bars as lead guitarist in a band that covered songs by such ‘70s mainstays as Boz Skaggs, Yes, CSNY, Ambrosia, and The Brothers Johnson. His retirement plans include playing guitar, doing community volunteer work, and traveling with family.
Kris Condon ’84 has recently published the book Fragments of Flossmoor: A series of Essays on the Interesting, Curious, and Unique in Our Village, as well as related Flossmoor Veterans’ Time Machine curriculum. Both won Illinois State Historical Society “Best of History” awards this month. Congratulations, Kris!
You can learn more about Fragments of Flossmoor efforts here! 
Jill Rene Houser passed away peacefully on April 30, 2025, at home in Libertyville, Illinois, after battling brain cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family. Born on April 17, 1958, in Decatur, Illinois, Jill lived a life full of love and kindness.
You can read the full obituary here.
Gary Ohler ’87 recently became the President pf Appex Partners LLC. Congratulations Gary!
Susan (Yager) Farrell ’82 recently got married to Peter Farrell on May 26, 2024 in Clearwater Beach, Florida! Congratulations to the couple!
Bonnie Allen ’82 recently passed away on September 7,2024 at the age of 73 years old. A third attack of a very aggressive cancer moved her to a better place. She leaves her spouse of 52+ years (Tim), her son (Corey), and her three grand children to carry on the family name.
Greg Novak ’89 recently published the book A Kind of Pantheism: Escape from Cosmic Pessimism and the Quest for a Biocentric Ethic. You can learn more about the publication here. Congratulations, Greg!
Patrick Palmer ’87 has founded the company MassiveMinds, Inc. to help leaders make critical decisions through AI-enabled insights. Congratulations, Patrick!
Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing Assistant Professor and Maternal Infant Course Leader Denise Hallberg Hammer, DNP, RNC-NIC ’86 and Illinois Wesleyan Assistant Professor of Nursing Brenda Ward Drury, DNP, RNC-MNN ’85 published a journal article in Neonatal Network, The Journal of Neonatal Nursing with colleagues Keli Sidebottom, MSN, RNC-OB, Angela Philpott, BSN, RN and Loretta Tay, BSN, RN. The article, “Keeping Families Close: A Hospital-Sponsored Boarder Program That Facilitates Parents’ Presence at the Infant’s Bedside,” describes the Boarder Program at a community medical center, shares its history, and provides evidence-based support for the effectiveness of this model. The Boarder Program is a unique, family-centered program designed to keep a mother and her infant together when the mother has been discharged but her infant requires additional medical attention and hospitalization. This provides the mother and a second caregiver increased opportunities to participate in their infants’ care and to engage in decision making. |