Class Notes

Notices as of May 6, 2025

1968

John Wennstrom sang bass in the chorus for “Andrea Bocelli's Christmas Concert on CBS,” Christmas Eve 2024.

1975

Gary Anderson retired after 45 years of private optometric practice.

1978

Dag Blanck, the director of Augustana's Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center and the director of the Swedish Institute for North American Studies at Uppsala University, received the 2025 Stora historiepriset, one of Sweden’s most prestigious awards for history.

1979

Pete Morton is co-founder and senior economist at Conservation Economics Institute.

2011

Brian Tuinenga is a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice.

2016

Suzie Geisler is a licensed clinical professional counselor working as a therapist at Hope Haven, the only homeless shelter in DeKalb County, Ill. She also serves on the DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children and its Birth-to-Eight Mental Health Committee. This collaborative works to create communities that support the development, school readiness and future success of young children.

Madeline (Mae) McCarty Ruzek had a son, Arlo, in August 2024. She works in Alzheimer's research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

2019

Amanda Schar married Zach Pierce on Feb. 22, 2025.

2021

Alexander Michalak is a physician assistant in neurocritical care at Saint Luke's hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

Deaths

Notices as of May 6, 2025

Dorothy Whitehurst ’50 Horton on April 13, 2025.

Norma Graefe ’54 Kent on Dec. 18, 2022.

Dale Whiteside ’56 on April 14, 2025.

Gary Maxwell ’63 on Jan. 5, 2025.

James Young ’63 on April 3, 2025.

Janet Anderson ’64 Vedell on April 20, 2025. 

Rose Mary DeJovine ’71 Munson on Dec. 1, 2022.

Douglas Snell ’72 on April 3, 2023.

Ronald Knuth ’84 on April 2, 2025.

Karen Losnedahl ’93 Erickson on March 21, 2025.