Alumni News and Stories

• Robert Spinti `54 received the Outstanding Eagle Scout for Chippewa Valley Council by the National Eagle Scout Association in 2020.
• Randolph Macholl `73 works part-time at AutoZone after of 50 years working full time. He is a grandpa and has been married for 37 years.
• Pete Sesselman `74 retired in 2018 after working 42 years in various vocational rehabilitation positions. The last 19 years were with Montana Vocational Rehabilitation.
• Steve Weber `74 retired in 2017 after 38 years as an international captain for Delta Airlines.
• Bill Pierquet `76 retired after 40 years of multi-unit restaurant and retail development.
• Kirk Meintsma `76 retired from Metropolitan Mechanical Contractors after 12 years of being a project manager.
• Kevin Lewis `77 will be retiring as president/CEO of Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Minneapolis in December 2021.
• Pamela Campbell `77 retired as a registered health information technician from Children’s Hospital & Clinics of Minnesota.
• Terry Jorgenson `77 retired in August 2021 after working over 44 years with IBM and Lenovo. His most recent job was as a senior program manager in product security.
• Edith Jones Zumwalt `78 retired after 31 years working for Lincoln Public School, Nebraska, as the director of food service.
• Colette Crotty Fisher `79 retired from teaching family and consumer sciences at Ottumwa High School in Ottumwa, Iowa after 42 years.
• John Muren `80 retired from Henkel Adhesives after 37 years. He resides with his wife, Denise, in Westerville, Ohio.
• Debra Johnson Bell `83 retired from teaching elementary school after 35 years in the Boyceville School District. She was a “looper” teaching 2nd then 3rd grade for over 20 of those years. It was the best job ever, with the exception of her current role of watching her grandson, born Aug. 19, 2020.
• Jennifer Knutson `83 is president of Lenhardt Property Management in Minneapolis, Minn.
• Jeff Bzdawka `85 is the chief executive officer of the Knowland Group.
• Mary Cloutier `86 is currently teaching intercultural studies at Moody Bible Institute. She recently published her Ph.D dissertation, entitled “Bridging the Gap, Breaching Barriers: The Presence and Contribution of (Foreign) Persons of African Descent to the Gaboon and Corisco Mission in Nineteenth-Century Africa.”
• Jim Brill `87 retired from UPS, Inc after 33 years. He resides with his wife, Joy, in Milton, GA.
• Michael McCann `90 had been teaching special education for 32 years in Sequim, Wash.
• Christy `91 and Paul `90 Nesja , launched Nesja Press, a letter press company that designs and sells printed greeting cards, art prints and broadsides.
• Paul Nesja `90 began a podcast with two fans of the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest called Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast.
• Ed Neumann `98 is the Project Lead the Way Outstanding Teacher of the Year.
• Jason Denis `00 is the global head of disability accommodations for Google. He works in the San Francisco office.
• Brian Stutz `09 works in the TRIO student support services department at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
• Sam Lenhart `14 is a property manager for Halverson & Blaiser Group in St. Paul, Minn.
• Hannah Gostonczik `19 was named 2021 PGA WORKS Fellow for the Carolina PGA section.
• Tonya Wagner `19 is the dean of Viterbo College of Business, Leadership and Ethics

Engagements:

• Tim Pieper `20 got engaged to Kelsey Yanna `20.

Marriages: 

• Ashley Duda `14 and Dylan Laabs `18 were married on Oct. 2, 2021
• Katie Krueger `15 and Kiefer Neumann `19 were married on May 15, 2021, in Chetek. Kiefer proposed in front of Bowman Hall on December 14, 2019, after his graduation. They met at Stout while playing intramural softball.
• Alyssa Stinson `16 and Adam Wendt `17 were married on September 25, 2021. They met in the supply chain management program in 2015.
• Marcy Towle `17 and Ryan Poncius `17 were married in May.
• Elizabeth Nelsen `19 and Myles Lade `20 were married on July 17, 2021.

Anniversaries: 

• Tim `68 and Jane Banks celebrated their 50th anniversary in Key West, Flor. In April.
• Tim `71 and Cathe Ewanic `71 Fuchs celebrated their 50th anniversary on August 8, 2021.
• Robert `72 and Linda `72 Newton celebrated 50 years of marriage in August. They were married their last year on campus and live in Sheboygan.
• Catherine and Michael Becker `80 will celebrate their 20th anniversary on February 2, 2022.
• Joe Vander Wielen `95 celebrated his 25th anniversary on Sept. 21, 2021

Passings: 

• Larry Wright `47, August 27, 2021, Naples, Flor.
• Beverly Ryder `52, December 30, 2020, Madison
• Celia Fritz `55, May 25, 2020, Pinellas County, Flor.
• Anton “Tony” Kotyza `57, June 22, 2021, Kewaunee
• Joanne Bauer `60, August 12, 2021, Green Bay  
• Harry Watts Jr. `61, July 7, 2021, Barnes
• Ronald M. Beckman `63, January 23, 2021, Weston
• Susan Johnson `63, July 8, 2021, Fish Creek
• Stanley Payne `64, June 30, 2021, Hudson
• Judy Ziebell Horton `67, August, West Dundee, Ill.
• John C. Ott `68, March 29, 2021, Syracuse, NY
• Edward Dean `71, December 15, 2015, Marshfield
• Marlene S. Chekanoff `71, June 11, 2021, Cape Coral, Fla.
• Steven Hammer `71, September 14, 2020, Apple Valley, Minn.
• Barbara Bell Abo `72, June 9, 2021, Boise, Idaho
• Charles M. Kirby `72, February 27, 2021, Sebastian, Flor.
• Gerald “Gerry” Schneck `72, December 8, 2020, Mankato, Minn.
• John Green `72, July 9, 2021, Channahon, Ill.
• Lynne Baltzer `72, June 5, 2020, Ames, Iowa
• James Horne `73, January 9, 2021, Lombardi, Ill.
• Phyllis Linck Nagler `73, Sept. 19, 2021, Beaver Dam
• Barbara Powers Bassett `74, Feb. 10, 2021, Valley Spring, Cali.
• Jan Barcz `74, Oct. 2, 2020, Central City, Ia.
• Randy Wegener `76, Sept. 25, 2020, Muskego
• Deborah Jane Ballinger `82, June 2, 2021, Bethlehem, Penn.
• Katy Golden Richter `82, June 16, 2021, Waukesha
• Jane Young `86, March 19, 2018, Rochester, Minn.
• Monique Ouellette `88, Aug. 1, 2021, Edina, Minn.
• Andrew Yngsdahl `90, Sept. 3, 2021, Ecuador
• Shari Bjork `93, July 17, 2021, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Scott Stacey `00, December 16, 2017, Zumbro Falls, Minn.

Friends of UW-Stout Passings: 

• Elaine “Liz” Lammer, June 7, 2021, Menomonie
• James Lammer, July 12, 2021, Menomonie

Passings: 

• Andrew McIntosh, 59, of Colfax, passed away on July 12 after a battle with cancer. McIntosh had worked at UW-Stout since 2004. He was the Digital Process Lab supervisor at the School of Art and Design.
• Maureen Munger, 87, of Eau Claire, passed away Sept. 4, 2021. Maureen, a professor, retired from UW-Stout in June 1997 after teaching accounting in the business department for 22 years. She also was the program director for the Wisconsin in Scotland program for many years.
• Marlys Jimos, 84, of Menomonie, passed away Sept. 16, 2021. Marlys retired from UW-Stout in May 1999 as a secretary in the restaurant and tourism management graduate studies department.
• Betty Ann Utpadel, 96, of Menomonie, passed away Sept. 26, 2021. Betty retired from UW-Stout in 1981 where she worked as a cook.
• Florence L. Barlow, 98, of Tellico Village, Tenn., and formerly of Menomonie, died Sept. 25, 2021. Florence retired from UW-Stout in 1986 as a university staff member in the math department.
• Lawrence S. Wright, 98, of Naples, Fla., passed away Aug. 27, 2021. Larry retired from UW-Stout in May 1988 as an associate dean of Graduate Studies and Curriculum after nearly 20 years at the university.