Class Notes

In December Margaret Sylvester Wehner’s (Edu) grandson, Zachary Wehner (MMechEngr’14), became the fourth generation of their family to earn a degree from CU-Boulder. Zachary’s great-grandmother, Anna Mary DesBrisay(Btny, Edu1914), was the first, followed by Margaret, then by Zachary’s father, Russell Wehner (Econ’83). “Through the years, the University of Colorado has been our stronghold and has served our family very well,” Margaret says.

The passing of George Foster’s (Chem) wife, Mary Wiley Foster (A&S’58), motivated George to get in shape. In June he swam in the Montana Senior Olympics, setting state records for the men’s 75-79 age group in the 50 Fly, 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle. He writes that his “Living Legend” plaque has been hanging on his wall since CU awarded it in 2010. He lives in Helena, Mt.

The Life Story Library Foundation organized a workshop last fall featuring Nan Riethmayer Phifer (A&S), author ofMemoirs of the Soul: A Writing Guide. A Boulder resident, Nan is an advisor to the Utah-based foundation.

The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Fla., hired David Breneman (Phil) as president and chief executive officer in January. He previously worked 19 years at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., and in the early 1990s served as a visiting professor in Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Bill McConnell (Hist) and Beth McLeran McConnell (Edu’64) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last June. After graduating from Denver Seminary, Bill spent 40 years on the staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 15 of them on loan to the Aliança Bíblica Universitária in Brazil, where he started the organization’s publishing house, the ABU Editora. Beth taught school, both in the U.S. and Brazil. Bill retired in 2006, ending his career as assistant to the president of InterVarsity, and the couple moved to Denver, where their four children (two of them born in Brazil) and two grandchildren live.

At a luau at Hanalei Bay, Kauai, last fall Boulder couple John Meadows (A&S) and Lindalu Parker Meadows (Art) celebrated their 50th anniversary with their four children and six grandchildren. After working for Coors for 35 years, John took a job with the CU athletics department for five years. He is now an agent for college women’s basketball coaches. The couple continues to live in Boulder.

Joby Jenkins Patterson (Psych, MArt’70) has produced a book, Norma Bassett Hall: Catalogue Raisonné of the Block Prints and Serigraphs, the first comprehensive publication of printmaker Hall’s work. It reproduces more than 110 of her illustrations. Joby lives in Eugene, Ore.

The Health Mart Healthy Living Tour traveled to Pueblo, Colo., to honor Jim Sajbel (Phar) with the Health Mart Community Healthcare Excellence Award. Jim opened his pharmacy, the Prescription Shop, in 1969 and has placed emphasis on personalized care for his patients ever since. Jim also is on the board of directors for Rx Plus Pharmacies, where he advocates for legislation that will improve the pharmacy industry.

Columbia University appointed Tom Maniatis (A&S; MA’67) director of its precision medicine initiative. He also serves as chair of the biochemistry and molecular biophysics department and on the board of directors for the New York Genome Center, which he co-founded. The center looks for clinical solutions to diseases based on genomic research. Tom lives in New York.

History Colorado awarded Clementine Washington Pigford (Spch) the Honorable Mention Miles Bancroft award for her 600-page book, Colorado African American Organizations 1899-1926: Before and after the Dance. It was her second award from the organization since 2012. The book contains information about clubs and events sponsored by various African American organizations for the betterment of their academic, civic, religious and social groups. Clementine lives in Centennial, Colo.

J. Blaine Griffith Jr. (IntlAf) of Sewickley, Penn., was awarded the War Service Medal by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He flew 299 combat missions as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, 138 of which were at night in Laos. He has willed his lifetime definitive collection of Japanese “ukiyo-e” woodcuts to CU in memory of Muriel Sibell Wolle (MA&S’30), who introduced him to the art.

Michael H. Logan (Anth) of Knoxville, Tenn., retired in June after a 38-year career as an anthropology professor at the University of Tennessee. He is now professor emeritus. Last spring he served as curator of “Brightly Beaded: North American Glass Beadwork,” his third exhibit at the university’s Frank H. McClung Museum to feature 19th-century American Indian art. His departmental colleagues created an annual graduate student teaching award in his name. He and wife Beth Brown Logan (Soc’68) travel widely in the U.S. and abroad. Mike’s career was sparked in the basement classrooms at Hellems at CU-Boulder, where he studied under Omer C. Stewart, David Breternitz and others.

Steve Hatchell (Jour) of Dallas completed 10 years as president and chief executive officer of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. In August, the NFF completed construction of a new, $68 million College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Steve, who was at CU for 10 years as student and then employee, describes the new hall of fame as a “very modern showpiece for all of college football.” In its lobby is a three-story display of helmets from 768 college football teams.

Former Denver Post journalist Kristine Robbins McGovern (Phil) was co-winner of the 2014 T.F. Evans Award presented by the Shaw Society of the United Kingdom. The prize recognizes “writing that reflects the wit and wisdom of George Bernard Shaw.” Kristine writes the award is “proof that there is life after a philosophy degree!” After leavingThe Post, she wrote short plays that were performed nationwide. In her spare time, she paints and is rehabbing her Florence, Colo., home, which was built in 1903.

Since retiring as provost at California’s Brooks Institute in 2010, David Litschel (Art) has built houses in Guatemala, Paraguay and Bolivia with his wife through Habitat for Humanity. The couple also helps immigrants and foreign visitors with their English-language skills. David enjoys photography and sells his work through the UK-based stock photography agency Alamy. His photographs are in the permanent collections of the Crocker Art Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the University of Michigan and the Quincy Art Center. See his work at davidlitschel.com.

Academy Award-winner John Melanson (ElEngrCompSci) has received 278 U.S. patents, and has another 91 patent applications pending. His work has contributed to breakthroughs in the fields of audio- and mixed-signal processing and LED controller technologies. The part-time Boulder resident has worked for 15 years at Cirrus Logic in Austin, Texas, and he serves as the company’s senior technical fellow. He won an Academy Award in 2004 for digital audio editing in film. He also has received the Outstanding Inventor Award from the Austin Intellectual Property Law Association.

In May Kenneth Miller (PhDBio), a biology professor at Brown University, was awarded the Laetare Medal at Notre Dame University’s commencement ceremonies. It is described as the “oldest and most prestigious award” given to American Catholics. Notre Dame’s president said his work “illustrates how science and faith can mutually flourish.” A cell biologist, Kenneth is co-author of the nation’s most widely used high school biology textbook and has received numerous other honors, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science award for advancing the public’s understanding of science.

Chambers USA ranked Michael B. Van Sicklen (Engl) of Dodgeville, Wis., as a top attorney in 2014. Michael is a retired partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner’s Madison, Wis., office. He represented clients in civil and commercial litigation, bankruptcy and more.

After 39 years in the mining industry, Clyde Borrell (CivEngr) retired and moved to Venice, Fla., with wife Sarah. He spent the last 17 years working for Murray Energy Corporation (MEC), the largest privately held coal company in the U.S. He worked primarily in business planning and development as part of MEC’s acquisition team. In December 2014 the team finalized the purchase of five large underground coal mines in West Virginia from CONSOL Energy for $3.5 billion. Clyde and Sarah’s son, Stanford, is a sophomore at Stetson University and has already put CU on his list of potential graduate schools.

Jamie Forbes’ (Phil) collection of short stories, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, was published by Pronghorn Press in 2014. Her first book, Unbroken, won the 2011 WILLA literary award for outstanding contemporary fiction. Jamie lives and practices law in Greensboro, N.C.
Ellen McCormick (MCDBio; MD’81) retired from her medical practice after nearly 20 years. She closed Pediatric Associates of Cañon City last May. She and her husband are planning a move to Denver to be closer to family.