Welcome to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to Tom McFadden at tmcfadden@christendom.edu.

The Grapevine Online will be uploaded, depending on the amount of information sent to the editor, every month. It will have a couple of sections (when information is available), namely, Class Notes (your basic information on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Calendar of Events, and Links to various recent stories about Christendom College and/or the Alumni of Christendom.

January 2005 edition of The Grapevine Online

Class Notes / Calendar of Events / Links to Stories / Prior issues

Class notes

Scythian has finally released their new album - Aidan's Orbit. This CD features a ecletic arrangement of Celtic, Greek and Native American tunes. The CD has been a long time in the making and so the fellas are stoked to start 2005 off on a productive foot. You can hear sound clips at http://www.scythianmusic.com/store.cfm where it is also available for online purchase. Hope you enjoy the tunes!

From celebrity hunter Claire Jensen '03: The first is my photo with Kurt Busch, the newest Nascar Champion. I have to thank Heather Tansey '03 for her brief lesson on the fundamentals of this "sport." In case you didn't know, this is not the same kind of racing that's done at the Indy 500. Only someone completely out of the loop would think that. The U2 picture captures a random moment in my life. I was on my way back to the office after an afternoon cafe break, when all of a sudden... "Who the heck is blaring U2?" I thought to myself, followed
by, "Oh, it's U2." Yes, they had made a stage of a flat bed truck and were traversing over the Manhattan Bridge, into Brooklyn. My quick thinking and enviable reflexes kicked into gear and I remembered that I had a camera in my pocket book. And then a few minutes later I proceeded to accidentally block in their tour bus, and that was the excitement for that day.

Shalon Spring '99 wishes to annouce her engagement to Mark Riddle. They are planning an August 6 wedding in Texas.

On Christmas Eve (2004), right before midnight mass, alumna Alysha Cimprich was proposed to by Mr. Michael Chambers (of Reston VA). The wedding will take place in New Jersey on September 24 of this year (2005).

From John and Gretchen Bowes: My youngest Matthew just turned 2 in December and my oldest Dominic turns 4 this month. Gretchen is always busy taking care of the boys since I am gone quite a bit. I recently upgraded to aircraft commander on the new KC-130J and will be deploying back to Iraq either this month or next.

Here's some happy news from Lafayette, IN. Minutes after Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Boniface, Grant Freeman ('04) popped the
question to Claire Schafer ('04) as they were saying good-night to the Child Jesus in the crib. The unsuspecting Claire forgot everything that happened after Grant got down on one knee, but Grant swears there was a "yes" somewhere in there.

Alumnus Craig Spiering and Jamie Dresch '04 have finalized a date for their wedding. They are planning on August 6th, which will unfortunately allow several of their friends to get married before them, but will allow Craig to complete his duties in the Navy. Craig is a Petty Officer Third Class and is stationed as a photojournalist (see his picture on the left) on board USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), which is currently operating on its regularly scheduled deployment in the Persian Gulf.

Tom and Carol Ehart are happy to announce that Lucy Olivia Ehart was born on November 27, 2004. She was 8 lbs, 1 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. She was greeted with big hugs and smiles by her brothers Judah Joseph and Micah Matthew and her big sister Lily Cecilia. Following in the footsteps of her sister, Lucy arrived with a full head of perfectly styled hair and very long, beautifully manicured nails (dad has hidden all the cash and credit cards). Mom and baby are doing great thanks to everyone's prayers.

Alicia and Ben Laxton are now in Lawton, Oklahoma, where Ben will be an instructor at Ft. Sill's artillery school for the next two to three years. Olivia is now 3, and Elizabeth is 16 mos. We are grateful to be together as a family during this blessed season, and to have Ben home safe and sound from his deployments. In a strange turn of events, the old roommates are together again, as Miss Andrea Nolan '03 and family live near Oklahoma City. We hope to see other Christendom friends, both here in the Midwest, and at the upcoming graduation.

Imelda Franklin ('96) recently made her leading-role operatic debut as Rosina in The Barber of Seville with the Internationales Studienzentrum fur Oper in Austria under the baton of Maestro Peter Berne, and got engaged the same day. She's still recovering. Imelda and her soon-to-be-husband, David Bogue, currently an aeronautical engineer for the Boeing Company and just one heck of a guy, will move from Seattle, Washington to Connecticut after their January wedding.
(Now dropping third person. I miss you all, dear alumni, so please drop me a line if you get a chance! You can find me at imelda@classicalsinger.net.)

Pearse Marschner (02) assisted at his 2nd Christ Mass in Iraq. Few are as warm, well-protected, or well-fed as he--in Iraq or elsewhere. His thanks to the Alumni community for their prayers for his sister-in-law who bore his brother a fine son and will bear more, God willing. He now asks your prayers for the troubled birth of a de-tyrannized Iraq. No one makes an idol out of reason in these parts; nor have proportion, just government, or any other Greek ideals ever been bestsellers. Please pray for The Spirit's Guidance on those who lead this January effort, The Father's Protection on those who execute it, and The Son's Mercy on those who give their lives
for it.

Christmas Pictures 2004

(left) Ted and Emily (Foushee) Eidem family: Mary Cecilia (3 1/4) and Laura Catherine (1 3/4) (right) The Chris and Sarah (Stafki) Muro family: Isabella and Katalina
The Steven and Carolyn Donahue Family: Bernadette, Benedict, Genevieve, Cornelius, Jacinta, Dominick, Augustine, Nathaniel, Carolyn holding Maximilian, Stephen holding Marcellinus, Theodore
(left) The Ben and Theresa (Ford) family with son Nicholas (right) The Michael and Cary (McCoy) Carey family with children Dominic 6 and Hugh 15 months
The Michael and Jacqueline Harbaugh family with son Michaelangelo and baby on the way.
(left) Gianna Marie (daughter of Dan and Mimi (Towne) Uhlenkott) and Penelope Hepler (daughter of Clint and Andria (Thornbrugh) Hepler. (right) The Jim and Michelle (McCoy) Hoeper family: Cecelia 2-3-03 & Baby # 2 due 2-21-05
(left) The Chuck and Anita (Blythe) Shunk family: Teresa (3 1/2) and Damien (15 mos) (right) The Bena and Elizabeth (McDevitt) Butina Family: Rose Butina (7 months)
The John and Maria (Gaetano) O'Brien Family: kids Jack and Megan
The Tim and Jill (Lucas) Cook Family: Ethan (almost 3), John Paul (9 yrs.), Anna (7 1/2 yrs.), Timmy (10 yrs.), Theresa (6 1/2 yrs.), Maria (4 1/2 yrs.)
The John and Gretchen Bowes family with Matthew (2) and Dominic (4)
The Tom and Amanda (Farinholt) Family: John (12), Louisa (1), Catherine (10), Maria (7), Dominic (5) and Cecilia (3).
The John and Michelle (Dawson) Charba Family: Therese-15, Marilyn-13, David-10, Katrina-7 1/2, Anya-6, Halyna-2 1/2, and Josef-8 months. charbaman@peoplepc.com
(left) The Tony and Darcia Raes family: Gavin is 2 1/2 in the picture and Caleb is 4 months. (right) The Sean and Jessica (Murphy) Gordon Family:James (4), John (3 in Feb.), Catherine (1) & Baby #4 (due April 29th)!
The Brian and Gio Hudson Family: Genevieve, Nathan, Giulianna, Sofia, and Anthony
The Daniel and Marianne (La Palm) Niksa family with son Stephen.
The Darren and Bernadette (Leininger) Fikac family: Rachel, 9 1/2, Emily, 7 1/2, Irena, 5 1/2, James, 2 in Jan., New baby due in June
The Greg and Michelle (Miller) Bodoh Family: Tommy is 4 and Renée is 1 1/2.
The Daniel and Agnes (Curley) Penny and their newest baby, Athanasius, who is now 8 months old, along with his adoring older sisters: Victoria (2 years), Loretta (3years) and Maria (just turned 5 years.
The Guy and Mary Kate (Jensen) Smith family: Christina, Bernadette, Dominic and Damian.

 

Calendar of events

January 24, 2005: March for Life (and subsequently the Irish Times or Dubliner)

October 7-9, 2005: Homecoming Weekend

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Press Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml

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