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Congratulations to our newest inductee to the Alumni Hall of Fame: Ms. Linda Krier! Elementary School-Class of 1970 High School-Class of 1974 Linda Krier is a lifelong parishioner of St. Benedict Parish and an alumna of both the Grade School and High School. She is proud to have a long family history in the parish. Her grandparents moved into St. Benedict Parish in 1919 and family members still reside in the first house purchased within the parish boundaries. Both of Linda’s parents, her siblings, as well as her nephew are alumni of the schools. For her entire life, Linda has been an active volunteer in both Parish and School activities. She served on the St. Benedict High School School Board from 1993 until 2004, and was president of the board from 1998 through 2004. Prior to 1993 the High School did not have a School Board, and the archdiocese did not have a model for such boards. The first year of this period was spent consulting with educational, religious and St. Benedict legacy experts on drafting the first constitution and bylaws for a High School Board. It was during this period that St. Benedict was gifted the majority of the funds needed to build a (L to R) Fr. Jason Malave, pastor, Ms. Rachel Gemo, CEO, Ms. Linda Krier ’74, Mr. Lynell “Tony” Couty new pre-school building (now known as Building ’84, Alumni Association President, Fr. Rodlin Rodrigue, associate pastor, Mr. Joe Accardi, M.A.O. #3). In addition to serving as co-chair of the major gift portion of the Centennial Campaign, Linda, along with the then School President, worked out the logistics of having the preschool exist in the High School while the building construction was in progress. Linda is currently an active supporter of the Protégé Program which matches high school students and prefessional internship while giving them job related skills during their junior and senior years. In the parish, Linda is currently a member of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and the Team Mission Coordinator for the Parish Transformation Committee. She also serves as a Eucharistic Minister. In the past she has served on the Finance Council and as a Lector. She is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Ms. Krier’s family and friends came out to celebrate at our reinstituted annual Alumni Hall of Fame Induction and Dinner on HS Scholarship Sunday, May 4, 2014.
Spring 2014
St. B e n e d i c t P re p A lu m n i
2014
1950
64 Years of Quality Catholic Secondary Education
St. benedict Prep alumni Newsletter
Spring 2014
Alumni Updates Reunion News
CLASS OF 1954 held their 50th year reunion this past Oct. 19th at the Rob Roy Country Club. Thanks to
Planning an Alumni Reunion? Have any Information or Pictures you’d like to share?
The St. Benedict Alumni Office is negotiating with local venues and would like to assist with your reunion planning. Please contact Ben Mazzone, Director of Alumni Relations at bmazzone@stbenedict.com or 773-509-3836.
In previous years, the St. Benedict Alumni Phonathon Appeal was conducted twice a year for a two week period. Initial calls were made some time in late December or early January and again in late April or early May. The greatest number of the alumni were called and recalled within these two, two week periods. While we achieved some success, we are pleased to announce a new strategy. This upcoming academic year the Alumni Office will be rolling out a new Alumni Phonathon Appeal strategy. Instead of calling twice a year for a two week period, we will be calling alumni from a given class year of graduation on a scheduled interval throughout the school year. This will result in alumni receiving fewer calls in any one given call period.
The following is a brief breakdown of the new Phonathon 2014-15 Strategy: • Each class year will be placed on a call schedule. •No alumni will be called more than once a month (unless specifically requested). & no alumni will receive more than 3 or 4 telephone calls. • Alumni who graduated in 1965 or earlier will be called during the afternoon rather than during the evening.
Since the vast majority of these alumni are most likely retired, there is no reason to call them during the evening hours. • Alumni who have donated to the Phonathon during the 2013-14 academic school years will not be called.
If you would to make a pledge or if you would like additional information, please contact the Alumni Office at 773 509-3836
or email Alumni@StBenedict.com.
In Memorium Mr. Edward Donahue ‘70 - Beloved father of Kim, grandfather of 4 and great-grandfather of 5, dear brother of Tom ‘63, Maureen (Moran) ‘66, Barbara (Abbott) ‘67, Linda, James ‘73, Kathy ’73, and Tim ’75, Bob, Linda, and Terry Mr. Anthony G. “Tony” Springer ‘72 - Beloved father of Kathleen Springer (Cali Mitchell), dear brother of Jack, Nancy (Walter) Tatarowicz and the late Joseph and the late Michael (Bona) - passed away on April 7, 2014. Mr. John Joseph Kaufmann ‘58 - Beloved husband of Anita, devoted father of Christine, Theresa (Shawn) and Carl; grandfather of three - passed away on March 55, 2014. Ms. Joan Hamilton - Beloved wife of Harry; mother of Susan (Ronald) Ekx ‘73 and JoAnn (Scott Dunlap) Hamilton ‘74; grandmother of four that included Laura (Jeff) Welton ‘96, Bryan (Amanda) Ekx ‘98 and great grandmother of six - passed away on March 25, 2014. Mr. John Boywid ‘63 - Loving husband of Linda Boywid and devoted father to Charles Boywid and Bridget Doctater; grandfather of three; John was preceeded in death by his brother Michael Boywid ‘64 - passed away on March 14, 2014. Ms. Joyce Thoele - Mother of Jerry (Nancy), Janice (Robert) Becker ‘74, Cheri (Dan) Modlinski ‘76, Donna Chambers ‘77 and the late Debbie
Migasi ‘72 and Richard Thoele. Loving grandmother of six - passed away on March 12, 2014. Mrs. Pauline Couch - Beloved wife of the late Arthur F. Couch Jr., loving mother of Carol (Jules) Van Rengen ‘67, Thomas (Angie) Couch ‘70, and Janet (Edward) Walantas ‘73, proud grandmother of five and great-grandmother of three - passed away on March 12, 2014. Mr. Robert G. Noesen - Husband of Dolores (Wojcik). Loving father of Nancy (Bruce) Nagel ES ‘69 & HS ‘73, Michael (Sonja), Larry, Don (Dyana), Glen (Jamie); devoted grandfather of 11 grandchildren; dear brother of James, Lorraine ES ‘48, Mary Ann (late Peter) Kattner ES ‘54 & HS ‘58, Patricia (Kenneth) Woodhouse ES ‘56 & HS ‘60, Darlene ES ’61 & HS ‘65 and the late Dorothy Lilja - passed away on February 26, 2014. Ms. Dawn Kaberline Nather ES ‘69 - Passed away on February 21, 2014. Mrs. Carol J (Ludwig) Kloser ‘67 - Wife of Quentin Kloser. Loving mother of John Patrick (Michele Datcu - Kloser) and Beth Ann (Vito) Lagioia and cherished grandmother of two – passed away on January 31, 2014. Mrs. Judy (Ellinger) Scheele ‘58 - Wife of the late Donald E. Scheele; loving mother of Donald (Carla), Susan (Gregory) Costalis, and Eric (Elizabeth) Scheele; devoted grandmother of eight - passed away on November 19, 2013.
Visit our Facebook page for more updates, to submit your own, and connect with fellow Alumni! www.facebook.com/StBenedictBengalsAlumni or the alumni website at http://alumni.stbenedict.com
Endowment News School Spirit Awards Distributed The first disbursements from the new Parish Educational Endowment were awarded in memory of Coach Chris Ford for students who exemplified terrific school spirit. Six students applied for the award and two finalists were interviewed by Susan Ford McDonald (far right), sister of the late coach and daughter of Bernard Ford ’54. As both were outstanding, the estate of the late Christopher Ford matched our initial disbursement of $1000 so both girls could receive the initial award. Ms. Gemo, C.E.O., (far left) congratulates Rachel Sefah ’15 (left) and Hayley Kogen ’15, as next school year’s recipients at Honors Night.
Carol Molenda Art Exposition & Auction Brings Community Together to Support the Creative Spirit Award Our annual Student Art Show was combined with this year’s Carol Molenda Art Auction on HS Scholarship Sunday, May 4, 2014, to promote further awareness of the legacy left to us by Ms. Carol Molenda, HS art teacher from 1980-2011, and to raise endowment funds to support the Creative Spirit awards in her memory. Over $1000 was raised to support the endowment. The Creative Spirit Award applications for next school year’s disbursement of funds from the endowment in honor of Ms. Molenda were due at the end of May and over the summer, finalists will be interviewed by Ms. Lil Molenda, sister of the late teacher.
Mrs. Marge Lawlor, ES School Secretary, to Retire Mrs. Marge Lawlor, ES School Secretary, will be retiring after 35 years of service to our school. She was the first impression of St. Benedict Elementary School to everyone big and little who came to our doors. And what a fabulous impression: the warm smile, jovial rapport, motherly care and concern when ill or with a scraped knee, the patience of numerous saints, and most of all a welcoming embrace to be part of the family we know as St. Ben’s. She has been an inspiration to us all. A wonderful celebration was held on Saturday, May 31st at the 5 pm Mass followed by a dinner reception in the gymnasium celebrating both her retirement and that of Dr. Mary Sue Wielgus, parish director of religious education.
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Honoring Father Arthur Krueger Dean 1950-1962 Principal 1962-1965 Inaugurating the Christian Leadership Award
November 2, 2014 at 2 PM
Deceased Alumni & Faculty Memorial Mass & Endowment Reception
Join us for the
We are looking forward to making this a success, and a tradition.
Thank you to our committee members: Alfredo Alvarez, David Keenan, Max Nutkowitz, Tony Pellikan, Pete Quinn, and Jeff Remotigue. This is a collaborative parish effort supported by the Knights of Columbus Council #15052.
The Inagural Bell Tower Open will be held on Friday, September 19th at Sunset Valley Golf Course in Highland Park. The format is a scramble and is open to all. Cost per golfer is $145 and funds raised support the endowment. Golf is likely to start around 1pm. Transporation will be offered to those that are interested.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th. SAVE THE DATE! First Annual Bell Tower Open Golf Outing!
Summer is quickly approaching and that means so is BenFest! Join us July 18th, 19th, and 20th for three days of fun including great music, food and activities for kids of all ages!
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SAVE THE DATE! JULY 18 - 20