November 2003 Print edition of The Grapevine Online

Class notes

Benoit Flippen and Kathleen Kosten '03 are engaged to be married.

The Wonderboy has found himself a Wonderwoman. Paul "Wonderboy" Jalsevac '03, the former star of Instaurare due to his tragic near-death car accident experience back in March of 2001, asked Megan McNeely '03, currently serving a two-year sentence as the College Relations Assistant at Christendom, to be his wedded bride, in other words, to be his Wonderwoman. They plan to wed, along with 18 other alumni couples, next summer: The Summer of Love.

Maria (Gaetano) O'Brien '02 and baby were seen wandering around Christendom's campus during Medieval Fest. Nice costumes! Pic is to the right.

Matthew Baker and Katie (Russell '00) were married Feb.23rd 2002 and (in true Christendom style) Isaac Silouan was born Dec.4th 2002. They now live in PA while Matt is in school. Katie is at home with her little guy and would love to hear from some old friends! lkb77@juno.com

Monica Rose Cabler was born on 10-30. She is #2 for Stephen and Teresa Cabler.

J. Scott Weinberg '93 beats Brown by 12 votes for seat: (From the Northern Virginia Daily)
A cliff-hanger race in Warren County's South River District went to Republican candidate Scott Weinberg by a razor-thin margin of 12 votes over independent candidate Charles R. Brown on Tuesday. The final result showed 557 votes for Weinberg and 545 for Brown, with 279 votes for independent write-in candidate Linda Glavis, according to complete, but unofficial, returns. "I'm delighted," Weinberg said. "It's great to have met so many people in South River. I'm very thankful to everyone who turned out to vote. I also want to thank my wife for standing by me in this. I wish the best to the other candidates."

Mary McCarthy ('96) is happy to announce that she now answers to 'Mrs. Michael Murphy', having gotten married on October 4, 2003. Mary and Michael met and dated at Thomas Aquinas College over 12 years ago, and in 2002 through an amazing series of events, met again, dated... again, and this time it clicked! Mary and Mike reside in Huntington Beach, CA, where Mary is currently in her fifth year of teaching history at an all boys' high school - thanks to Dr. Carroll for all he has given to us Christendom grads to help teach others keep Christ in the history of Christendom!

Mike and Clare (Gazzolo) Rohan had #7, Joan Marie, on Fri, 10/17.

Louisa Marie McFadden was born on November 2, 2003, at 12:16am to Tom and Amanda McFadden. The baby was 6 lbs and 9.5 oz and is healthy, despite the fact that she was born in Warren Memorial Hospital. She joins hers happy, happy siblings: John (11 1/2), Catherine (8 1/2), Maria (6), Dominic (4), and Cecila (2). Picture is on the left.

Chloe Margaret Costello was born to Greg and Emily (Dateno) Costello on October 22 at 1:16 p.m. Chloe weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 in. long. Greg, Emily, and Chloe are doing well.

Molly Becker '03 has been working since June for Household Finance in Sioux Falls, SD. She is a collector in their credit card division there. While she knows many people are going to laugh at the idea of her trying to coerce anyone into doing anything, let alone paying their delinquent bills, it is happening and she is doing well at it. She has also found great pleasure in volunteering within the community, particularly with Make-A-Wish and related causes. Beyond that she is busy trying to keep up with all of the engagements, weddings, expectancies, etc. that all of her Christendom friends continue to throw her way, and she is missing them more than she can say.

A new addition was added to the home of Carol Balint 00'(Miller) and husband Tom. Isaac George Balint was born on October 15th, the Feast of St.Teresa of Avila, at 7:20am weighing in at 8lbs 3oz & 21". Isaac's older brother Luke welcomed the new baby as an early gift for Luke's 2nd birthday on October 31st.

Chris Mirus ('97) will defend his PhD dissertation in History and Philosophy of Science, entitled "Aristotle's Teleology and Modern Mechanics," on November 17. The following weekend he will be commenting on a paper at the annual meeting of the U.S. working group on philosophy and developmental biology. Please pray he gets a job.

In October, Dori (Greco) Rutherford (1993) was appointed to serve in President Bush's Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Bob Kish (late 80's) sent in this picture of the latest O'Donnell led pilgrimage to Rome. A number of alumni and parents of students went on this trip which included the Beatification of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and the pope's 25th Anniversary. If you look closely you can see Kirk and Karla Kuykendall in the picture.

Speaking of Kirk Kuykendall '90, he was just made a member of the Board of Directors of Catholics United for the Faith. Keep up the good work!

It's a bird, no, it's a plane, and it's definitely not Superman. Anyways, Fran Corey took a spin over the campus on Saturday November 1 during the Medieval Fest in his little plane. David Farinholt was also in the cockpit. You can tell that it is Fran because of all the smoke coming from it.

Agnes Penny, alumna, author, and mommy, interviewed by Zenit.org

Mary (Corcoran) Biros '94-'95 and husband just got their first house - can be reached @ 6404 Glenallen Ave, Solon, Ohio 44139; 440-914-0471; email mkb@wortzman.com or sbiros@earthlink.net

Matthew and Jennifer (Timmerman) Sherman (Class of 1997) are proud to announce the birth of their first child, Jacob Matthew. He was welcomed into this world on Sunday, October 5th at 9:50 PM. He weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long--the same size as his cousin, Katrina, at five weeks old. Jennifer is presently working as a RN in the Emergency Room and her husband is owner of MJS Lawncare. They would be happy to receive mail at relativelysmall@yahoo.com.

Caroline Pollock '03 somehow, someway got to view Gibson's The Passion of Christ on October 24 (the same one which Dr. Lucky and Dr. O'Donnell attended). "Awesome" "Breath-taking" "Penance inducing" says she. The reason she does not jabber about the movie as you would expect her to do is because of a little thing she signed called a waiver. She now works for the Susan B. Anthony List, a non-profit, pro-life org that lobbies Congress to pass pro-life bills and also raises money to help elect pro-life women to Office. In addition to all that, she does a little free-lance writing for Celebrate Life, a publication of American Life League.

To the left is a photo of one of the perks of Claire Jensen's '03 new job...boozing and shmoozing, wining and dining with the rich, famous, etc. Star of Fox channel's hit series "24," Kiefer Sutherland gave Miss Jensen a light for her ciggie at a fundraiser last week. Her title is "Family Communications Liaison," and basically she is the contact between the FDNY and families (primarily those of fallen firemen). She would like to provide more details here but she realizes that it would bore the audience. If anyone is looking to obtain the 2004 calendar or perhaps obtain one of their very own FDNY heroes, give her a ring.

Greg Burns '03 just landed a job with A Anderson Scott, one of the larger morgatage brokering companies in the Northern VA area. He says that if anyone out there is looking for a house, contact him and he'll hook you up with a good rate.

Story from Olivia Tautkus ('94-'96):
"We had a great time in Rome and on our free day, Monday, Christy Williams and I decided to go back to St. Peter's and mail her friends postcards. That being done and seeing the Pieta by Michaelangelo once more we wandered down the street. Our attention was caught by a kilt-wearing bagpiper standing in front of a church. After taking pictures of this anomaly in Rome, Christy recognized it as the church I wanted to visit the day before (but was unable to due to it being reserved for a concert or something). So we went inside (it was Santa Maria in Transpontina) and came in the middle of a Scottish Mass. We decided to stay for the rest of Mass--gathering graces, etc. At the end of Mass we saw that it was a bishop who said it (the clue was when he put on his miter). The Scot bagpiper we saw earlier had come inside and now was playing for the recessional while there was a video camera and lots of people taking pictures. The bishop posed with the bagpiper as they were videoed and photographed by the multitude. Sparking interest as to who this might be I spied a leaflet on a table in the main aisle and retrieved a couple copies for myself and Christy. Apparently this was the Most Rev. Keith Patrick O'Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and we had just attended part of the Opening Mass of the Scottish Pilgrimage to Rome for the Consistory of October 21st, 2003. As everyone filed out we saw that the bishop was shaking everyone's hand as they were videoed with him. Christy and I debated as to how to perhaps avoid it as we had just happened in and didn't want to give the impression of being devout Scot pilgrims getting the honor to shake the hand of "our" bishop. Christy had been able to lightly step aside as some gentleman was getting a flurry of photos and video with the bishop, but I was right behind her and could not avoid (without there being some clumsiness) actually having to shake his hand and as I was videoed with bishop O'Brien. He shook my hand and said "God bless you" to which I replied giggling "Thanks, Father!", laughing of course because I had just happened in and wondering if I would be on Scot TV as a pilgrim countryman. Christy and I laughed about the surreal, funny circumstance of how we might be on Scot TV with their bishop the rest of the day. Next day on the plane home they showed BBC coverage of the Mass (while we squealed loudly that we had been there) and that announced that Archbishop O'Brien was now elevated as the only Scot in the College of Cardinals. Unfortunately no pictures of us that we saw--perhaps they had sniffed us out seeing as we had left our tartans at home.

It was announced in the last issue of the award-winning Grapevine Online that "On September 27th, bright and early, Claire Jensen '03, Anne Marie Jensen (dropout) and Heather Tansey '03 ran (loose definition of the word) in the Celtic Classic 5K in Pennsylvannia. No one was injured." It has recently been discovered that this statement is only partially true. Apparently, two of the three "athletes" burned themselves while trying to light each other's cigarettes during the minor marathon. Luckily for both ladies involved, Claire works for the New York City Fire Department (as stated above) and knows all about fire safety.

And speaking of New York, Marc-Pierre Jansen '02, formely of International Leisure fame, is now peddling stocks on Wall Street, or so he says. "It is not like I thought it would be," says Jansen, referring to the whole idea of work in general. "I mean, when I was skiing in the Swiss Alps, or traveling through Bavaria, I never really thought of it as work." Prior to going to press, it was learned that MPJ was possibly thinking of throwing in the towel on this assignment, that is, work.

Aloha everyone. Andrew and Julie Fier (01) just got back from an awesome trip to Hawaii. They stayed on the Island of O’ahu, right near Waikiki Beach. They had the most beautiful weather, with temps in the upper 80’s everyday. They visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, which was touching and very historically informing. They also rented a convertible and drove around the coast of the entire island, which was an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean and mountains. One of their favorite times was their steep hike up Diamond Head Volcanic Crater to see a panoramic view of Waikiki Beach and beyond. To the left is a picture of them with some hula dancers at an authentic Hawaiian Luau.

Rev. Michael Hickin '85 checked in recently and had the following to say: "I'm into my sixth year of priesthood, and this summer after four years teaching at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, I began a new ministry in Rome at a house of vocation discernment that I myself attended from 1993-1995 called the Casa Balthasar. My role here is basically as caretaker of the house in its material needs --- the building itself, guests, insurance, bills, supervision of house jobs, etc. I also help with different sorts of chaplaincy work --- at a local cardiac care facility, at a nearby Domican convent that runs a school, and then with some university students in town. It's a multi-faceted ministry, and looks to be getting even more diversified as time goes on."

Mary McFadden '98 married Jonathan Brand on October 25 at St. John's Catholic Church in McLean, VA. Jonathan is a former classmate of Christendom's Dr. Christopher Olaf Blum at the University of Virginia. He is the Academic Dean at The American School in Switzerland (TASIS) where he has been for the past number of years. Mary is still the Head of the Math Department at TASIS. Now living in the Swiss Alps, one can only say that they "live happiliy ever after." The wedding saw a number of alumni come together: Nancy (Lee) Bauer '96 was maid of honor, Heather (Rankin) Akers '98 and Kate (Murrell) Pride '98 were bridesmaids; Ben (jy) Akers '98 came along for the ride and got employed as Altar Boy for the Mass; Loretta (Hanley) Ferguson '98 and little baby arrived in time for the reception, as did Jen (Available) Gordon '98. Marcia (Transfer from Magdalen to Christendom to Thomas More) Lee and Mary (Claire) Almeter '97 were also present, along with of course, the McFadden brothers, George, Tom, Chris, Mike, and Joe (all CC alumni in their own ways).

Jason '99 and Bridget (Monahan) Kerlek '94-'96 announce the arrival of their second child, Teresa Marie. She was born via C-section on October 16, 2003. She weighed 8 pounds 11 ounces. She and big brother Michael get along very well so far! Pic is on the left.

Pearse Marschner (02) reports that both he and his guitar survived the last rocket attack on his hotel even though the door to his room was blown off its hinges this past Sunday. His friend, Lt. Colonel Charles Buehring, was not so fortunate. He died just a few hours after singing "Dust in the Wind" with Pearse in the lobby of that same hotel, named after Haroun Al-Rashid, philosopher, scholar, and one-time visitor to the Court of Charlemagne. The Emmylou Harris guitar played "Dixie" at the memorial service. Chad was a Citadel grad and he knew all the words to "The Bonny Blue Flag." He asks you all to remember the soul of this most faithfully departed dear friend. Please pray for the two sons and the wife back home and all those he leaves behind in Baghdad, once known as "City of Peace."

And here are November's Alumni Happy Birthdays........Unfortunately, I am unable to run our database program which allows me to list all of your birthdays...so, I am sorry but I do remember at least one....

Calendar of events

February 21, 2004: Alumni Network Career Mentoring Reception

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

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Stories

Interesting Story on Fr. Fran Peffley '86...old, but interesting (not Fr.Peffley..the story!)

Here is an article about Jennifer Murphy who attended Christendom in the 98-99 school year; (the sister of Sean Murphy who graduated in '03). She is acclaimed for winning the crown of the Miss Oregon USA Pageant. Congrats go out to her. http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2003/1030/local/stories/08local.htm

Lookey What We Have Here....from Homecoming 2003. (These pics were sent to me courtesy of a couple of alumni, namely, Elizabeth Kish, Dan Miller, and Mike Blackmer. Although many of the pictures show members from the Class of 2003, there were, in fact, many others in attendance as can be seen from the attendance list below.)

Here's the list of attendees at Homecoming 2003...