Big Man on Campus - Moravian College

classnotes
years as a clinical microbiologist. In 1979 he
left to take a position with the Morning Call
in Allentown, Pa., as a photography lab technician
and part-time photographer. He gradually
started his own freelance photography
studio, Fotagraphy, in Bethlehem, working for
AT&T, Sports Illustrated, Lafayette College,
Moravian College, Cedar Crest College, and
the Pennsylvania Stage Company, to name
a few. Greg took an early retirement from
the Morning Call in December 2005, after 27
years as the photo lab supervisor and photo
assignment editor. He now works for Pittman
Photography in Northampton, Pa., as a
photo editor and event manager for the youth
sports photography section. He also exhibits
his art photography in local Bethlehem galleries.
Several of his photos have won juried
awards. And of course he still shoots alumni
events at Moravian. We would appreciate
more updates from other alums like Greg. It’s
fun to read about what other classmates have
been doing.
1968
George Berger; 107 Mohawk Drive; Johnstown,
PA 15905; berger@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Jill Stefko; 671 Ferry St., #1; Easton, PA 18042;
ravenfirephd@yahoo.com
1967
Reunion May 18 -19, 2007
Kathie Broczkowski Klein; 1734 Sycamore St.;
Bethlehem, PA 18017; cklein6886@aol.com
1966
Fay Stover Iudicello; 1659 Kirby Road;
McLean, VA 22101; Fax: 703-827-0431;
fay_iudicello@ios.doi.gov
David Berg; 2058 Quaker Way, #45; Annapolis,
MD 21401; dgberg@erols.com
1965
William F. Horwath; 22300 Maplewood Drive;
Southfield, MI 48034; will@m-m-s.com
1964
Kathleen Cavanaugh; 448 King’s Highway East;
Haddonfield, NJ 08033; katcav1@gmail.com
1963
Bill Leicht; 16819 N. 59th Place; Scottsdale, AZ
85254; Fax: 602-493-1949; Leicht1@cox.net
1962
Reunion May 18-19, 2007
Merr Trumbore; 1040 Ebenezer Church Road; Rising
Sun, MD 21911; merr@dol.net
Emma Demuth Williams; 1013 Nicholas Street;
Bethlehem, PA 18017; eldw@ptdprolog.net
1961
Sam Maczko; 14 Sunrise Way; Towaco, NJ 07082;
sfmaczko@yahoo.com
From Sam:
The Sixth Annual Gus Rampone Scholarship
Fund Golf Tournament was a huge success.
The turnout was the largest to date. Our
class was represented by Jim Kritis, James
McCrudden, Joe Castellano, Ken Sepe Barry
Gaal, and me. Mike Payonk ’59 and Tony
Matz, with his son, represented the class of
1959. Pete Chimera ’88 did a commendable
job of organizing the entire affair.
I have received some nice e-mails from
Chuck Merkel in Illinois who is well and enjoying
retirement. He sends his best regards
to all. If anyone is in the area of Wheaton,
Ill., Chuck would like to receive a call and
get together with them. You can e-mail him
at merkel@speakeasy.net.
The weather cooperated for Homecoming
this year and the day was enjoyable. The new
tailgating arrangement seemed to work out
favorably and all who participated appeared
to have a good time. The football team made
the day complete with a win. Joe Castellano,
Ken Sepe, and I volunteered with the parking
at the tailgating area before the game.
We met Barry Gaal and John Bregman and
his wife and two grandchildren. I think the
grandkids are prospective students, judging
by the new Moravian shirts and jackets they
were wearing. John and Melissa are expecting
their eleventh and tweflth grandchildren
this fall. Barry Gaal is enjoying retirement
and keeps active with community affairs and
his family. Ken Sepe and John Bregman will
be leaving for the warmer climate of Florida
as the holidays approach.
Joe Castellano and I attended the Moravian
College Athletic Hall of Fame induction
ceremony on October 27, 2006. We were
primarily interested in the induction of Paul
Calvo ’52 and the posthumous induction of
Gus Rampone ’59. Paul was our offensive
line coach in football. In addition he played
football and basketball at Moravian. He also
served as an assistant football coach for
the Greyhounds from 1954-1971. Gus was
a teammate of mine and personal friend
and fraternity brother to Joe and me. Gus
was awarded the Robert Martin Herbstman
Award in 1998. He served as co-captain in
1957 and captain in 1958 of the football
team. He earned several ECAC Weekly Team
honors during his playing days. On the
wrestling mat, Gus became the first wrestler
in Moravian history to make the MAC finals.
Tony “Monk” Morelli ’59 and Tony Matz
’59 presented the induction speeches for
Gus and Jean, his wife, accepted the award.
Monk, Tony, and Jean each gave a moving
talk on Gus’s behalf. Also at this affair was
Jack Finelli ’58 who was a teammate of Gus.
Jack came up from Florida for the induction.
Jack is still working as a barber in Fort
Meyers, Fla. Charles Bartolet ‘60 was in attendance.
Charles is kept busy with his work
as a member of his local board of education.
Jim Kritis ‘61 was in attendance, since he
was coached by Paul and was a teammate of
Gus. The accomplishments of all of the inductees
were extremely impressive and their
affection for Moravian College came through
in all of their acceptance speeches.
1960
Peter French; 7018 Honeysuckle Terrace; Bradenton,
FL 34202; french@sar.usf.edu
1959
Kathy Werst Detwiler; 1383 N. Allen St.; State
College, PA 16803; wld2@psu.edu
26 MORAVIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE WINTER 2007
From Kathy:
Fall greetings from your class correspondent
in Happy Valley. This season Wayne and
I did again cheer on our Lions at all home
football games; we also attended the Notre
Dame and Ohio State away games. It is so
much fun to travel, now that Wayne and I are
retired—but we do primarily “theme” travel.
We enjoyed touring New York during the
colorful changing of the leaves, visiting the
Fenimore Museum display of Grandma Moses
and taking a boat ride through the Erie
Canal Locks. We have been planning to attend
Christmas Vespers at Moravian College
with family this year. Your holiday messages
with your news for our next column are enthusiastically
awaited. Bye for now.
1958
Daneen Jones Phelps; 1547 Bonnie Drive; Bethlehem,
PA 18018; dhphelps@ptd.net
1957
Reunion May 18-19, 2007
Pearl Stein; 3 Tulip Court; Marlton, NJ 08053;
steinpearl@msn.com
From Pearl:
May 18-19, 2007! Save that special date
for our 50th Reunion at Moravian College.
The reunion committee has been meeting
regularly, planning events that will surprise
and delight you. If you have not been back to
visit the campus, you will be so impressed
by the facilities available to students today.
The committee members are: Pearl Stein,
Pat Miller Helfrich, Carl Ackerman, Shirley
Kunsman Bilheimer, Don Bortz, Irene
Breslin Genther, Bev Love and Jerry Potter
’61, Gordon Sommers, George Toth, and Earl
Zeiner.
Following our meeting with Bertie
Knisely, alumni director, on November 10,
the female members of the committee were
invited to pour at a tea for female faculty,
administrators, and students in the beautiful
atrium of the Priscilla Payne Hurd Academic
Complex. Pat, Irene, and I were joined by Bev
Bell ’56, Anne Frankenfield Howlett, Dani
Jones Phelps ’58, and Carolyn Edwards
Simmons. What a lovely and relaxing setting
to meet and greet students and faculty! All
this and Moravian sugar cake, too!
1956
Robert Gray; 98 Mill Run North; Augusta, SC
29860-8704; bobsrs@aol.com
Renee Johnson Dragotta; 341 Biery’s Bridge
Road; Bethlehem, PA 18017
From Renee:
Our 50th reunion on May 19-20 had
grand events from start to finish. Some women
started early Friday morning by meeting
at the president’s house on Church Street for
the Founder’s Day celebration. After coffee
and sugar cakes there we proceeded to the
chapel for a speaker, entertainment, and a
lovefeast. The morning ended with a luncheon
in the South Campus dining room. On
Friday evening all the men and women from
our class joined together for the Reunionfest
reception and dinner in Johnston Hall. This
was the time we learned who came back to
celebrate being away for 50 years.
Saturday started with our class members
attending our first 50+ Club Breakfast. Dr.
Rokke introduced each of us individually
and called us to the stage to receive our new
50+ pin. From there, the Parade of Classes
began, the route being from North Campus
to South Campus along Main Street. Our
class led the parade, some walking, and
some riding in convertibles. At the judging
stand we acted out our class reunion theme,
“North Meets South.” The women wore
purple and gold sashes and men wore blue
pants and Moravian gray shirts. The women
and men then greeted each other and joined
to sing to the College alma mater. All of this
was done with such enthusiasm that we won
the “Most Creative” award in the parade. We
also won an award for the highest percentage
of attendees for a reunion class.
Following the parade we all attended the
Alumni Grand Reunion Luncheon where Dr.
Rokke gave his “last” state of the college address.
We then sang both alma maters to finish
this part of the festivities. Late in the afternoon
there was a veteran’s reunion where
Dr. Rokke was honored. The day ended with a
Class of ’56 reception and dinner in the HUB.
The following 29 classmates connected again
and talked of the past and present.
Marietta Schwartz Banach is a medical
technologist working part-time at Sacred
Heart Hospital. She is proud of her daughter,
Kelly, a judge of the Lehigh County Court of
Common Pleas.
Beverly Bell retired after many years
with Bethlehem Steel and is presently active
in many Moravian College functions.
Richard Benner and Pauline Ritter
Benner deserve the credit for guiding our
class to a successful class reunion. Dick is
a retired pastor and Pauline was a teacher.
They love their new home in a retirement village
in Hanover, Pa.
Jeanette “Bobby” Marossy Brady and
Elenor Beck Schleicher with her husband,
Henry, returned to the campus for their first
reunion.
Jack Burke and wife Pat ’71 and Richard
Stine are retired from the Bethlehem Area
School District.
Stanley Banach is a retired physician
who continues to lecture on the impact of
exercise and nutrition on chronic degeneration
disease.
There are more retired teachers:
Gail Dangler Miller, from the Pottsgrove,
Pa., school district, presently is a tour escort
for a travel agency.
William Marsh, living in Carolina
Shores, N.C., retired from the Hillside Board
of Education.
Renee Johnson Dragotta and her
husband, Vince, taught mathematics and
computer programming for 40 years at Phillipsburg
High School in New Jersey.
Gil Stelter and his wife Sally and Tony
Kochenach are retired university professors.
Gil and Sally made the trip from Ontario,
Canada. Tony and his wife, Marie, attended
as well.
Jim Johnson and his wife, Edith, came
up from Charolette, N.C. Jim retired as a
CEO of United Family Services. Also coming
from North Carolina was Roger Kimbal, a
retired Moravian pastor, and his wife, Mitzie
Pennington Kimbal ’57.
Others seen at the luncheon were: James
Ovady, Bob Brennan, Ron Saderholm, Rudy
Kresh, Millie Siftar Kimock, Art Jolley,
Harold Frack, Jay Jones, Bill Stifnagle, and
Joan Boyer Rathbone, who now lives in
Biltmore, N.C.
Joanne Albright Hoodmaker spends
most of her time as a soloist for the Bethlehem
Area Church Women United and as the
vocalist for the Hanover Township <strong>Big</strong> Band.
WINTER 2007 MORAVIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE 27