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Class of 1981 Indicator Log

Class Secretary: David L. Ritter

Oct. 30, 2015 — In our last column, we had an update from John Donahue and Fran Caroselli Donahue — but, due to a secretarial error (yes, mine), I sent in the one that was written last year! Now we have their update from this summer.

“Lots to catch up on for 2015. Fran and I are doing well. We bought a condo in Treasure Island, Florida, a few years back and we spend as muchtime there as possible. We love living close to the beach and the Gulf of Mexico. We get to watch dolphins and manatees pass our dock, and we set crab traps to catch fresh blue and stone crab. We enjoy fishing, sailing, kayaking, paddle-boarding, and just walking/running along the beach. Last year, we did our first half-marathon, and I have since done a second. I think we have decided that 10Ks are plenty as we age! With retirement about five years away, I can definitely see us continuing to enjoy Florida and becoming permanent residents. Fran and I just spent the weekend in Florida with Mary Ivan (Class of ’79), catching up and enjoying great seafood.

“Our oldest son, Greg, and his wife, Lesley, made us grandparents on April 22. Cecilia Noelle joined our family three weeks early, and Fran is really busy buying things, helping them move into their first house and adjust to being parents. As Fran will have a bit larger role on the babysitting front, we have now bought a small condo in Alexandria, MN. It’s a beautiful summer resort, surrounded by lakes, so we will enjoy Florida in the winter and Minnesota in the summer. Greg recently joined a law firm in Alexandria and Lesley teaches high school science. Our younger son, Mark, was married to Lauren in St. Louis on May 30, so things are really hectic. Mark is a middle school band director in O’Fallon, Illinois, and Lauren recently graduated from law school at the University of Missouri.

“Work for me has been busy; am now in my 17th year at Caterpillar. I spent the last few years as a commercial manager working in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) area, dealing with the company’s merging with Bucyrus, and some jointventures. My assigned area was Europe/India (and, at times, China), so I was travelling extensively. As that wrapped up, I joined Caterpillar’s Diversified Products Division as the strategy manager, here in Peoria, IL. Following a recent restructuring, I am now the integration manager for M&A at Caterpillar Strategic Investments. This is a great role for me, basically helping fit newly acquired companies into our portfolio. I am really enjoying the work, traveling a bit less, and hopefully generating value for Caterpillar.

“When we are not working, Fran and I do some work with non-profits. I have been on the board of directors of Blue Stars Performing Arts for Youth for the last six years. This is a drum and bugle corps, based out of La Crosse, WI. Our son, Mark, marched with the Blue Stars for five seasons, and we stayed around after he ‘aged’ out at 21. Fran lends her considerable organization and sewing skills to the corps. I fix and build things, as well as fundraise for the corps. It’s inspiring to see these young adults perform and grow into amazing people.

“That’s about it from central Illinois. Life is good, and we are healthy. Thinking about trying to get a group together to return to Hoboken for our 35th — calling out to Bruno, Sco-Pie, Drew, Wayne, Knarf, Rochelle, Tony, etc. Why not plan for it?”

Thanks, John and Fran — we’re looking forward to seeing you both, along with a large portion of our class (we hope!) at Alumni Weekend 2016.

Heading down toward Texas way, just this past week, Anil Keswani texted me a picture from the wedding of his daughter. He included this email update separately:

“Dave, I hope all is well. I wanted let you know that my daughter Beth got married on Oct. 23!

“Many of both families and friends were able to join in the festivities. Her hubby is Brett Goode from Philadelphia, and is a great guy! Pat and I are very happy for the young couple. They are now off to Tanzania for their honeymoon; the picture I sent is from the Mehndi party we had the night before the wedding. Keep in touch.”

In case you were wondering (I found detailed descriptions on the Internet), a Mehndi (henna) party is a pre-wedding ceremony in which intricate henna designs are applied to the bride’s hands and feet. Occasionally, the letters of the groom’s name are even hidden in the design for him to find before the wedding.

At this writing, folks, I believe it’s official that Tony Bazzini, John Donahue, and yours truly will be the Class of 1981 officers for at least the next five years. Let’s plan on meeting at Castle Point in June to swap stories and renew our ties to each other as Stevens Tech grads!

Keep those notes, emails and social media postings coming…