CLASS OF 1974
Welcome, Class of 1974, to the 50 Plus Club!
The 50 Plus Club members, comprised of all graduates from 1973 and before, extend a warm welcome to the Class of 1974 as they celebrate their Golden Reunion and join the 50 Plus Club!
This booklet contains updates written by members of the class celebrating their 50th reunion.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Bradley University.
Reunion Weekend
Roderick J. Fletcher
Nickname
Rod
Spouse Name
Yu-Yun Lee
Email roderick.j.fletcher@gmail.com
How many children do you have?
One daughter
Autobiography
I grew up in Peoria. After getting my BSEE at Bradley, I went to the University of Illinois. Many of my friends there, including one professor, were from Taiwan. After working at Westinghouse (near Baltimore) for a few years, I was introduced to a beautiful Taiwanese medical doctor who, miraculously, was still single. She invited me to visit Taiwan, we got married, and I began a new life in Taiwan.
Our 35th anniversary is coming up. We maintained a second home in the Seattle area for about 20 years, but the pandemic brought that to an end. I love living in Taiwan. My lifelong interests have been electronics (including hi-fi), math, physics (astronomy & cosmology) and science fiction. Along the way, I added photography and nonparametric statistics. After starting to learn Chinese, I also became interested in linguistics. All of that keeps me quite busy.
Mark Gleason
Spouse Name
Jeannine Gleason
Email mgleason2008@gmail.com
Phone (270) 339-1112
City Madisonville, KY
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
Six
Who was your favorite professor?
Dr. M Van Etten
Autobiography
Married since 1986 and retired from GE Aviation after 32 years.
Roderick J. Fletcher with his wife and daughter in Taiwan.
Thomas W. Heimsoth
Nickname
Tom Phone (312) 953-0347
Address
810 S. Park Avenue, Hinsdale, IL
THeimsoth@WillowAviation.com
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
Three
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory!
Basketball Games
Who was your favorite professor?
Professor Wardelman
Bradley is special to me because... It’s a part of my foundation of life.
What were your favorite songs as a Bradley student?
Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood” by the Bradley Band and the Great Tenor, and my friend, Jerry Hadley, singing the National Anthem.
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
Our Apartment
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
Intramural Basketball and Softball
Autobiography
I started with KPMG and then another ATG related job. Then I moved into capital markets, built a commercial aircraft finance (“CAF”) business at Sanwa, worked with Fleet & Bank of America, and finally started my own CAF business in the Chicago area. Now I am primarily retired. It’s been a long, interesting, and fun journey, and I’ve been blessed with many great friendships all along the way.
Bob Hoerner
Nickname
Horn
Spouse Name
Margaret
bob1brave@aol.com
Phone (847) 951-3415
Address
241 Seminole Drive Galesburg, IL
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
Three children and four grandchildren
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory!
The all Greek Streek
Who was your favorite professor? Why?
Dr John Freim. Doc was a great teacher. Anyone who took Physics 100 in the 70’s will agree!!
My Bradley friends will most likely remember me for...
Being a good friend.
Bradley is special to me because...
My years at BU were great. It prepared me for the many ups and downs that life throws at you as well as a great foundation for my career in education.
What were your favorite songs as a Bradley student?
“Stairway to Heaven,” “Jets,” and any Pink Floyd songs.
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
Cy’s Hitching Post—Braves Inn
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
Inter Fraternity Sports
Autobiography
In the 50 years since graduation, I have been a teacher, coach, and school administrator. We have three children and four grandchildren. In fact, our youngest grandson is a junior at Bradley. We have lived in Peoria, Prospect Heights, and currently in Galesburg. My wife and I love to travel, as we have visited most European countries as well as most in South East Asia. We have a condo in Naples, Florida as well as a house in The Villages. No, The Villages does not have the highest incidents of VD. We get back to Bradley often, attending many home basketball games.
Patricia Triff Noack
Nickname
Trisha
Spouse Name
Jim Copes
trishanoack@mac.com
Phone (309) 253-2398
Address
372 Ten Mile Creek Road, Germantown Hills, IL 61548
How many children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, or other family do you have?
My late husband, William Noack. I also have three daughters and five grandchildren
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory!
Reviewing concerts for the Scout and sitting on the floor of the WCBU studio at 2 am while Don Chestnut spun the latest rock releases! I reviewed groups like Sly and Family Stone and Loggins and Messina, as well as the plays on campus. Nothing will ever compete with the old Fieldhouse.
Who was your favorite professor? Why?
How can you chose between Dr. Snider and Dr. Fought? They honed our writing skills and accuracy to a very sharp point. No one wanted the dreaded FE stamped in red on their news story.
My Bradley friends will most likely remember me for...
Taking pictures of everything and anything as well embroidering everyone’s jeans.
Bradley is special to me because...
It was always a part of my family. My mother taught art there for ten years and met my father, one of her students, when he came on the GI Bill.
I was often on campus growing up as my parents had many friends who taught and were involved there. I often did research at the library during high school. I got both my undergrad and graduate degree there and taught part-time myself (thanks Dr. Fought) from 1984–1990. My latest involvement was filming the part of Lydia Moss Bradley for the Big Picture project highlighting famous Peorians that are featured on the windows of the Peoria Public Library Main Library.
What were your favorite songs as a Bradley student?
“Give Me Love” (Give Me Peace on Earth), “You’re So Vain,” “Hooked on a Feeling,” (there are too many to name)
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
My friend’s rental house on Barker
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
The Scout
Patricia Triff Noack (cont.)
Autobiography
A lifelong Peorian, I have been working in journalism, public relations, marketing, and fundraising since graduating with a B.S. in Journalism since 1974. I worked writing in the clip art field at the beginning of my career and was lucky enough to stay home with my three babies while freelancing and teaching communications writing part time at Bradley. I worked remotely in the early 1990s as the Marketing Director for La Leche League International, running international events and conferences and handling day-to-day public relations.
Life reached a point where I could not easily travel and so accepted a job as Public Relations Director at Peoria Housing Authority during the tear down of Warner Homes, the building of the Hope VI project RiverWest, the redo of Taft Homes, and the plans for Harrison Homes. That led to an opportunity to move to Peoria Public Library as the Public Relations Manager as we held a very successful referendum and remodeled the library system of five buildings and a bookmobile. After running a library TV show for 15 years, handing publicity for thousands of library programs, ushering
Leonard A. Petrie
Nickname
Len
Spouse Name
Dr. Patricia J. Petrie
Phone
(815) 288-1864
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
Four children and eight grandchildren
in the new era of online libraries, working with the area group of FEMA public information officers, and helping educate other librarians around the state of Illinois about dealing with overdoses, I retired upon the death of my husband.
Since retiring I have continued to enjoy my hobbies of photography, genealogy, and living history. I sew authentic recreations of historic clothing, am the emcee for the programs at Mississinewa 1812 (the largest War of 1812 reenactment in the country), and serve on the board of the Peoria Historical Society. I am a docent at John C. Flanagan House Museum, the oldest standing home in Peoria, and continually research life in early Peoria. I also write scripts for Trinity Lutheran Church Sunday School that are recorded and available on YouTube so kids can learn at home.
Lucky in love, I found someone who shares my passions, and married Jim Copes in December 2023. We have been busy trying to combine two houses into one with plenty of time to enjoy our families. Travel plans are in the works and the future beckons!
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory!
After watching the movie “Shirts and Skins” the guys in our apartment divided into teams and hid tennis balls in plain sight on campus for the challenge of who could find the other team’s ball first.
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
Ray’s Tavern
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
Sigma Quota
Timothy Pifko
Nickname
Tim
Spouse Name
Ann Pifko
timothy.pifko@gmail.com
Phone (708) 837-6868
Address 5245 169th St.
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
Six
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory!
Being active in the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity
Gerald Schaffner
Nickname
Gerry
Spouse Name
Ellen
Email bigdrive11@live.com
Phone (925) 323-9161
Address 6020 Cottontail Cove St.
Who was your favorite professor?
Dr. Lindstrom—Economics
My Bradley friends will most likely remember me for...
My time as a DJ on WCBU
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
The Student Center
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
Working for Scout, Anaga and WCBU
Anne Lewon Seidler
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
One daughter and two grandchildren
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory!
One of the many fun memories is that of Bradley’s first Equestrian class; learning to ride and drive horses for a PE credit. That team of ponies I was driving decided that instead of turning, they would sidestep into the wall of the arena. Truly a learning experience.
Who
was your favorite professor?
Why?
I had three professors that shaped my future: Dr. Paul Snider in the Journalism Department, in addition to Tom Hubbard for photography, and Joel Hartman for Broadcasting. Many others were both encouraging and supportive at a time that women were breaking out of traditional roles.
My Bradley friends will most likely remember me for...
My trusty camera, taking photos of campus activities and basketball games for the audio visual department, and working as a lab assistant in the photo lab. My senior year, I worked a tape shift and studio at the campus location of WTVP PBS affiliate Channel 47.
Spouse Name
Oliver Seidler
Bradley is special to me because...
I made close friends at Bradley University, including Susan Zabloudil Bradley and Hinda Start Travis, who were bridesmaids at my wedding to Oliver Seidler.
What were your favorite songs as a Bradley student?
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack and Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” were two favorite songs.
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
I loved the roast beef sandwiches at Avanti’s.
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
My interest in broadcasting started with WCBU student radio and continued with WTVP PBS Channel 47, both located on the campus.
Autobiography
I’m a 1974 graduate with a B.S. degree in Journalism. Bradley created the foundation for my career in Broadcasting. I was the first female producer/director at WMBD-TV (channel 31) Peoria and one of the few women covering motorsports as a writer producer/ director at WRTV (Channel 6) Indianapolis, IN.
I finished my broadcast career at KTVK (3TV) Phoenix.
Career recognition includes the Miller Motorsports Award for Excellence in Journalism, Telly Awards for Roche Diagnostics and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra videos, Emmy’s in Children’s Programming and Indycar Racing, and an IRIS nomination.
Ann Seidler (second from left in front row) with the Journalism Photography class.
Dr. Cynthia Steinwedel
Nickname
Cindy Spouse Name
Dr. John Steinwedel, DMD
cmsteinwedel@gmail.com
Phone (309) 472-8877
Address 219 W. Aspen Way, Peoria, IL 61614
How many children, grandchildren and/or great grandchildren do you have?
Three sons and three grandsons
What is your most memorable moment at Bradley? Share a fond or funny memory! Some things should not be shared. What happens in the hospital…
Who was your favorite professor?
Mostly all of them!
Bradley is special to me because...
I didn’t realize how wonderful my education was until I got out into nursing and practiced with graduates from other programs. They gave me a great start.
Where was your favorite “hangout” as a Bradley student?
The Student Center
What was your favorite club or activity on campus?
Nursing majors didn’t have a lot of time.
Autobiography
Education: BS (summa cum laude) from Bradley in Nursing, 1974. MS in Medical-Surgical Nursing from University of Illinois at Chicago in 1986. PhD in Nursing Science and Research from University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in 2013.
Professional: I have 18 years of critical care and surgical nursing experience. I taught at the undergraduate level and graduate level in nursing nine years for the University of Illinois, then 28 years for Bradley University. My area of research is in mixed methods, primarily family research.
I have served the International Family Nursing Association as their chairperson of the Education Committee and have served six years as a member of the editorial board of MEDSURG Nursing Journal. I have 15 years’ experience with disaster response through the Lutheran Early Response Teams and served as a district coordinator for disaster response in Central Illinois, covering 51 counties in the state.
Currently: I am retired from teaching, but I work part time in my husband’s dental practice as bookkeeper, administrative help, and do analysis of his Cone Beam CT scans and MRI images for patients with TMJ disorders. I love to read, knit, kayak in the High Sierras, hike in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, and play (not well yet) the hammered dulcimer.
We have a pampered yellow labrador retriever named Theophilus, plus a 180-gallon saltwater reef aquarium, in which we grow live corals and a lot of fish.
Sheryl M. Govedarica 10/24/06
Joseph L. Palumbo 7/5/24
Angela D. Girardi 6/24/84
Flossie B. Huser 11/15/22
Marie A. Lishka 12/20/93
Judith E. Stalling 10/4/18
Josephine F. Flippo
Janice K. Hawes 9/16/08
Alice M. Schwager 3/22/14
Hinda J. Travis 2/23/08
William E. Schmidt
Wayne A. Bradley 12/30/03
Margaret Kohlhase 3/24/21
Ronald D. Broy 3/6/09
Sammy Allen 6/17/05
Bruce A. Buck
Leo T. Cala 2/2/04
In Memorium
Patrick J. Callahan 3/4/14
Timothy J. Althoff 8/17/01
Richard A. Cemenska 11/26/06
Stephen E. Chadesh 8/16/83
James F. Christensen 9/6/21
Robert J. Cleary 3/22/87
Joseph J. Clement 6/30/24
Juliet Walker 7/16/10
Gene F. Collins 1/18/19
James J. Combs 5/29/24
Thomas J. Conway
Sidney D. Cooper 12/25/04
Georgia B. Corley 1/8/04
Craig L. Curry 12/10/20
Kathryn A. Davis-Curran 10/21/10
Raymond H. Davis 2/5/00
Sandra Deardorff 2/12/16
Marcy E. Lane 8/17/20
Richard L. Diamond 11/16/14
Terrence A. Donahue 7/3/19
Anthony C. Downes 4/23/14
Margaret A. Drebing 4/13/13
Lorraine M. Driver 9/10/11
Jeffrey J. Dubets
Howard A. Duncan 12/26/19
Mary B. Applen
Kenneth J. Emody 1/14/04
Norman F. Ewing 3/1/12
Lawrence A. Ferrara 1/24/10
John C. Fesler 1/10/11
William V. Fiorino 6/3/16
Michael I. Fish 2/9/19
Loretta M. Forden 4/23/20
Frankie A. Freeman 4/10/06
N
Kenneth Furlong 7/11/21
John W. Garms 6/15/13
Lawrence R. Gibes 3/9/01
Glenn R. Giesel 5/3/02
Elaine Greek 2/19/05
Samuel A. Grigg
Robert W. Bach 5/17/21
Jerry A. Hadley 7/18/07
Michael Hager 10/13/07
Cherie A. Bagley 1/14/13
Cleve L. Hall 8/10/86
Alan P. Hamburg 12/15/22
Nina J. Hamman 10/31/07
Brice E. Bain 7/12/17
William G. Hasselbacher 9/26/85
Venn S. Heerman 3/14/20
Paul R. Hellermann 2/9/17
Richard F. Balcom 6/7/06
Jeffrey C. Hibbard 2/12/20
Joseph A. Hobbick 8/1/21
Kim A. Hoffman 5/3/07
Tyler P. Hopkins 9/12/09
James J. Hutmacher 7/24/17
Daniel R. Jacobs
Marcella J. Barker 3/2/13
Andrew J. Jaskierski 7/8/08
Dorothy B. Jepson 5/11/16
Harley W. Jester 3/9/07
Douglas E. Barr 7/23/24
George L. Kasparian 7/19/03
Craig A. Kassabaum 4/27/21
Verna J. Barth 12/24/12
Terry F. King 5/30/17
Elwood P. Kinsinger 3/20/01
George J. Klasek 2/7/21
Richard A. Kleven 2/20/20
Lee A. Kozak 5/10/12
Lamonte L. Landivittori 7/8/14
Thurston Lee 7/2/16
David A. Leenknecht 4/15/97
Barbara H. Leistickow 11/20/13
Jeanette M. Lillehoj 12/23/19
Dennis D. Linnenburger 4/7/20
Brian S. MacPhee 5/5/21
James R. Martin 3/18/21
Valerie M. Maynard 7/11/08
Martin J. Meehan 3/27/21
Jerome P. Meismer 9/22/22
William J. Meyer 11/15/17
Mary-lou W. Bell 4/24/12
Jean C. Miller 7/18/94
In Memorium (cont.)
Carla K. Robinson 10/19/21
Thomas E. Morgan 3/21/10
Marie E. Morris 4/29/95
William J. Mudra 5/3/22
Larry K. Murphy 10/10/06
James P. McCarthy
Gladys M. McCauley 5/6/24
Victoria J. McDonough 4/30/11
James H. Obert 6/21/20
Diane A. O’Grady 7/11/17
John T. O’Hara 1/23/10
Richard A. Owen 7/10/20
Gilbert E. Pacey 1/30/14
Joseph T. Parisi 10/20/16
Rosemary A. Paxton 6/27/16
Jeanne M. Person 9/15/14
Albert B. Pettet 4/19/22
Jack E. Pierce 11/23/14
Michael Poole 4/17/11
Barbara K. Pope 12/5/20
Virginia L. Kennedy 1/23/10
Michael J. Pribilski 7/30/19
Paul J. Rachielles 1/2/18
Diane L. Randolph 12/12/09
Lawrence S. Birkemo 3/11/09
Lawrence A. Reiser 5/4/17
Isiah Richardson 7/4/89
Michael W. Riley 7/22/14
Jacqueline M. Risser 3/25/94
Eileen L. Rogers 11/1/10
Jean E. Rogers 12/12/07
James H. Rosen 3/1/15
Johnny L. Blackwell 12/5/13
Gary E. Rushakoff 8/4/87
Lyle A. Sajewich 3/3/15
Jack C. Sales 12/8/15
Diana D. Sandy 7/2/19
Oleeda J. Albrecht 9/8/08
Ernest C. Schettini 2/8/22
James W. Schmidt 8/10/18
Neil A. Schulz
Michael L. Serao 3/3/19
Michael G. Sheehan 7/14/03
Thomas A. Sheppy 9/8/96
Richard G. Shorey
Karen K. Smith 10/13/23
Richard A. Snyder
John R. Stack 7/1/23
Alana A. Stahl 11/7/06
Thomas E. Stonebock 7/4/14
Donald W. Story 2/25/13
Annie G. Sullivan 1/9/03
Bryan A. Sutherland 9/15/12
Leon C. Tallman 1/26/13
Leon C. Tallman 1/26/13
Henry I. Thomas 1/27/18
Terry E. Thomas 3/18/07
Joan M. Threw 2/8/15
Gary W. Tindall 8/10/01
John R. Todt 5/24/17
James H. Bovie
Clark A. Wade 8/29/18
Richard W. Waldmeier 11/7/07
Doris Waller 8/21/22
Margaret S. Weber 4/12/09
Cary A. Weintraub
Carolyn L. Wertz 2/2/22
Fred Z. White 10/7/06
Rick P. Bradshaw 2/27/06
Donald R. Williams 10/18/20
Phillip A. Braet 4/19/23
Dean W. Branch 9/5/07
Mark M. Winston
Charles H. Winters 6/1/77
Howard G. Yeoman 1/17/19
Harold E. Brazee 7/20/11
Michael K. Blair 12/2/08
Phyllis J. Russell 3/10/15
Mary L. Hooks 5/26/20
Mardona K. Shay 9/15/20
Debra L. Godke 5/24/23
Thomas L. Smith 2/1/17
Douglas E. Kramer 9/5/13
Stephen W. Happ 11/3/14
Arlene G. Happach Dec-21
John F. Harchut 2/28/13
John R. Stewart 4/30/12
Richard A. Doversberger 12/24/03
Hugh E. Ford 7/7/18
Gerald C. Eaker
John N. Hallick 3/4/23
John W. Witthuhn 10/1/23
Arthur Von Behren 2/5/02
Terry M. Kuhn 8/10/21
Mary L. Pease 9/27/93
Dennis G. Duttarer 6/9/12
Larry L. Maxson 3/11/23
Michael B. Fandel 4/20/12
