William B. Thiel (MEd ’62, EdD ’76) was awarded the Eastern Illinois University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Educator Award. He is president of the Oconomowoc, WI, Area Retired
Educators Association.
James Finan (BBA ’65) and his wife, Susan (MEd ’72), have retired to Sonoma County, CA, to enjoy their hobbies of music, art, and winemaking.
Frank T. Fitzgerald (BS ’66) is the founder and CEO of HEARTof.com, an online shopping mall with more than 670 stores, from amazon.com to zappos.com. Every purchase earns the biggest donation provided by sites of this kind for the charity, school, or other worthy cause chosen by the shopper.
Michael J. Hayes Sr. (BA ’68), a member in Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC’s Litigation department and head of the firm’s public law practice, has joined the Board of Directors of Little City Foundation. The foundation has provided programs and services for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1959, on its Palatine campus and throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
Rev. Kenneth J. Spiess (MA ’71) is the Pastor of SS. Faith, Hope and Charity Parish in Winnetka, IL.
Dominic Q. Buttitta (BA ’72), reports that his firm was the selling broker in the sale of Comfort Inn Suites, Schiller Park, IL, for $9,700,000.
John G. O’Brien (JD ’72), a solo practitioner in Arlington Heights, IL, has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), and will become president in 2009-10. The 30,000-member organization, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.
Edward Kilbane, MD (SSOM ’76), a captain in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, has moved to the Naval Medical Research Unit #3, where he is the head of disease surveillance. His department monitors and detects emerging infectious diseases in Africa and the Middle East.
Sister Theresa Obremski (MRE ’78) is the director of religious education at St. Mary of Celle Parish in Berwyn, IL.
Stephen P. Peca (BBA ’79), of Annandale, NJ, has been a managing director and founding member of Concourse Realty Group, LLC (www.concourserealty.com), for the past five years. Concourse provides advisory and investment services to U.S. and international real estate owners, investors, and lenders with transaction, portfolio, and corporate management needs, as well as equity investment. He is an adjunct professor at New York University, where he was the the founding faculty advisor for the Entrepreneurs and Investors Student Group. He is also a member of Loyola’s ASK mentoring program.
Clement S. Rose, MD (BS ’79), of Chicago, has been elected president of the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society by its board of directors. In this position, the American Cancer Society’s highest volunteer office for a scientific and/or medical leader, Rose will provide leadership on its core mission areas of research, education, advocacy and patient services. He also will serve as the chief spokesperson on all medical and scientific issues for the Society’s Illinois Division.
Colonel William Lichtman (BS ’82) was a hero in World War II with the British and U.S. Air Forces and later in helping to set up the Israeli Air Force.
John Butcher (MPS ’84) was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1986. Up until two years ago, when he resigned, he was in a country parish and lives there in the presbytery. He retains his sense of humor, stating, “There’s a certain integrity about Parkinson’s sufferers. Other people talk about shaking hands, but we actually do it.”
Lawrence W. Conklin (BBA ’86) recently wrote a song in a contest for the Bears; produced a commercial for Doritos; and wrote and produced shows on Comcast Public Access Channel 19.
Mark Russell (BA ’86) is teaching sixth-grade social studies at Morton Middle School in Lexington, KY. During the summer, he teaches an intensive German class at Clemson University in South Carolina.
Lawrence L. Hicks (MPS ’87) is the retired pastor of the First Baptist Church in Painesville, OH. He lives in Goshen, IN.
Michael E. Helminski (MBA ’88) has been appointed a senior vice president at Sargent & Lundy LLC. He is general counsel and directs the organization’s legal matters. Sargent & Lundy LLC is a worldwide leader in professional services for the electric power industry.
Jorge Cazares (JD ’90) formerly a partner at Pugh Jones Johnson and Quandt in Chicago, has been named general counsel of the Chicago Housing Authority.
Maureen Garton Pultinas (MSW ’90) says hello to the MSW Class of 1990. In 2002, she married and moved back home to Ohio. She and her husband have a two-year-old son named Brian, and she works evenings at a nursing home. She asks her classmates to write her at mosley622@sbcglobal.net.
Julian Quinlan (MRE ’92, MPS ’93) continues his ministry in Australia by teaching catechetics in government schools and doing parish work.
M. Grace Sielaff (BA ’92) is the principal-interior designer of M. Grace Designs Inc., a commercial and residential interior design firm in Chicago and Hinsdale, IL.
Sister Lil Mattingly (MPS ’93) of BorderLinks in Tucson, AZ, serves as a delegation leader, taking groups to the Mexican border to help with the understanding of people and issues.
Brian Oswald (MPS ’96) is an artist and gives mission appeals for his order. He lives in London, England.
Evelyn Torres Hopkins (JD ’98) published Delicious!, a cookbook featuring more than 100 recipes
from Palm Beach, FL.
Sister Rose Therese Nolta (MPS ’98) is in administration and formation for her province, the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters.
Julie Ryan (BS ’98) graduated from Western Michigan University with a master’s degree in biology. She is now working on her doctorate.
Sister Sarah Schmitt (MDiv ’98) is a chaplain at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, CA.
Joe Fingerhut (BA ’99), a magician, circus performer, teacher, and DJ, spent 2001-04 teaching English in Kumamoto, Japan, where he married Michiyo Ishizuka. In 2005, the couple backpacked around South America, and in 2006, the pair completed an around-the-world trip to Turkey, Egypt, India, and Japan. He works for Abra-Kid-Abra, a program in St. Louis providing after-school programs and entertainment in elementary schools and day-care centers, and is also a wedding/
reception DJ for Complete Music.
Sister Zofia Krolik (MPS ’00) has returned to her original Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters Province in Poland after 33 years of mission mandate to Australia.
Jennifer Lorek (BBA ’02) has joined the human resources department of Elgin Community College as a benefits specialist.
Rachel Neff Greenley, PhD (MA ’01, PhD ’04), of Wauwatosa, WI, has been appointed assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of adolescent medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin and to the medical staff of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She is a clinical psychologist specializing in child and adolescent psychology. Her clinical interests are in the evaluation and treatment of psychological functioning difficulties among adolescents with acute or chronic medical conditions.
Jane Olivieri Caschetta (MAPS ’05) is the director of youth faith formation at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Frankfort, IL.
Shawn Hamerlinck (MA ’05) is second ward alderman in the City of Davenport, Iowa, the second youngest elected alderman in Davenport’s history as a Charter City (the city began before Iowa was a state). He also teaches at Black Hawk College in Moline, IL.
Sarah Otting (MAPS ’05) works for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, as secretary to the chancellor and the vicar general, and as secretary to the secretary of the archbishop.