1960 – Spring 2021 Class Letter
1960 – Spring 2021 Class Letter
Hello Everyone:
Hopefully, all of you have gotten your shots and are enjoying good health. For many of us who have been staying home more, it makes hearing from our classmates even more meaningful. There is not a lot of news so this will be a shorter than usual letter. Please, please, write, email, phone, or appear at my front door to let me know what is going on in your lives. In this time of isolation, it is a joy to find out what is going on in the lives of others that we know. Yes, our numbers are diminishing so it is really important to stay in contact.
Class Notes:
JUDITH PELINO BALL ’60 of Brighton, Michigan, sent me STANLEY BALL ’60’s obituary. He passed on Feb. 15, 2020, at the age of 82. He was the father of five and grandfather of four. He got his MBA at Indiana University. At Ripon, he majored in Economics and was a Theta Chi. He worked at Ford Motor Credit Company for 31 years in the Commercial Paper Dept. and retired as Assistant Treasurer. After he retired, Stan and Judy were honored to work at Send International, an international agency, in fundraising for eight years. He also served on the Cornerstone EPC mission committee for 13 years.
BARBARA KOUBA HOFFMAN ’60 of Vernon Hills, Illinois, died Oct. 23, 2020. At Ripon, she was my Alpha Xi Delta sister and roommate. She was a biology major. She had a varied career as a violist, orchestral musician, microbiologist, and a gemstone specialist. She was a member of the University of Chicago Orchestra, North Shore Chamber orchestra, and other classical music groups. She also ran two Chicago marathons. She had one daughter and two grandchildren.
GEORGENE KLANER KOBLENZ ’60 of Sugar Grove, Illinois, died in January 2021. She also was an Alpha Xi sister and a Biology major at Ripon.
Now on to happier news:
JOHN BENKA ’60 of Park Ridge, Illinois, received the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award on February 16, 2020. He has been and is still active in many city and education projects.
DEE GRAY HOLDEN ’60 and DANNY HOLDEN ’60 of Phoenix, Arizona, write that their salvation in Arizona during this nasty COVID-19 time was being able to visit with their son and his family who live nearby. It was a time of cancellation in visiting with the USAF grandson in Maastricht, Belgium, to meet his fiancé. We did visit our USN grandson in Bremerton, Washington. He is a submariner on the USS Kentucky.
DIANE GOTZ RANIERE ’60 of Schaumburg, Illinois, wrote to commiserate with me on the loss of all Yahoo group sites including ours.
Since ED SIEBEL ’60 of Balboa Island, California, has had a home law office for years, the pandemic has not disrupted his routine. Living full time on Balboa Island, 200 feet from the beach reduces the pain of staying “home.” Three of his five kids live close by. Ed and Sue keep busy with parents of developmentally disabled children to obtain the support they need from their governmental districts.
As for myself, I had to purchase a new bookcase as my already large book collection has expanded during the shutdown here in Scottsdale, Arizona. Three cats serve as bookmarks as I read. I also swim daily and walk which gives me the strength to “badger” all of you to give me your news.
Speaking of news, I have good news regarding this year’s Alumni Weekend! Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.
JUNE 2021
- In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
- The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.
AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.
- Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
- In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8 and will focus on alumni awards recognition; 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations including our 60th Class Reunion Golden R Celebration, and will feature other outdoor events like Rally Run and prairie walk.
- Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our 60th Reunion celebration on Saturday, August 7, 2021.
Stay well. Stay happy and bless you all.
Deb
H: (480) 284-5564 / C: (619) 889-5061 / [email protected]