National Connections & Alumni Events

ALUMNI EVENTS | Staying connected.

Alumni events are open to all alumni, parents and friends of Westminster College. The Office of Alumni Engagement works with volunteers to plan events in cities and regions across the country. RECONNECT WITH WESTMINSTER COLLEGE BY JOINING TOGETHER WITH TITANS.

PHILLY FRIENDS — Hosted by Pano Constantine ’16, alumni gathered for conversation and drinks at the City Tap House in Logan Square on Dec. 11. Westminster representative Rob Klamut stopped by to give an update on College happenings. HOLIDAY POPS! — The Alumni Engagement Office joined efforts with Becky Rickard ’98, Pittsburgh Regional Alumni Committee member and director of support and special projects for the Pittsburgh Symphony, for an afternoon at the Holiday Pops on Dec. 15. A special dessert reception was held prior to the show. Special thanks to Phil ‘83 and Ginny Petraglia and Ali Dubois ‘02 for providing event-day assistance and coordination. PARADE OF ROSES Alumni from across the country, including Elizabeth Bacheson ‘06, left, celebrated New Year’s Day with a trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. Coordinated by Alex Stupakis ’74, the event offered group seating at the worldfamous parade, an additional add-on option to tour NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and an alumni gathering hour.

TITAN TRADITION — More than 100 people attended the VIP viewing of Kraynak’s Holiday Display in Hermitage on Saturday, Dec. 14. Owners Penny Rice Kraynak ’75 and her husband, George

Kraynak, opened the display early just for our Titan family and friends. FLORIDA FOLKS — Matt Stinson, vice president for institutional advancement, met with Titans from the Marco Island area on Jan. 5. Stinson, along with President Richardson’s husband, Dr. Randy Richardson, hosted a dinner at CJ’s on the Bay. B.J. Cross ’92 and his wife, Shelly, helped coordinate the event.

BEANTOWN BUDDIES — Boston-area alumni make it a habit to meet for Titan fellowship. Andrew Henley ‘17, Haley Barger ‘15 and Alina Clough ‘18 coordinated an event on Jan. 18 at one of the group’s favorite spots, The Ginger Man.

HAPPY IN THE ‘BURGH The Pittsburgh Happy Hour series continued with wellattended gatherings at City Works in Market Square in January and Bakersfield in February. January’s hosts were Andrew Anthony ’11,

Mandie Giambroni ’09

and Phil Petraglia ’83 and February’s host was Melissa Wiley ’00. All are members of the Pittsburgh Regional Alumni Committee.

WINDY CITY CONNECTIONS During a March trip to Chicago for the national PITTCON conference, Dr. Helen Boylan ’95 and her students connected with alumni Ian Taylor ’08, Brian Domanski ’08, Ashley Blystone ’12 and Luke Simmons ‘19.

TITAN TABLE Mary Lynn Tobin ‘76 and David Campbell ‘78 hosted a small group of alumni and friends around the Titan Table at their home in Colorado on March 5. The overarching theme was “Becoming Human Beings at Our Best.” Dr. Tim Cuff ’78 was the conversation moderator.

TRAINING TITANS The Office of Institutional Advancement hosted two pre-game gatherings during the Titan Baseball and Softball spring break training trips in Florida. Family and friends of the men’s and women’s teams—and local alumni—joined College staff for a casual get-together prior to their games. The 2020 WEAR

WESTMINSTER DAY on

Jan. 21 boasted more than 120 photo submissions. The snapshots showcased Titan pride at work, at home and with children and furry friends! Check out the winning entries below.

MOST SPIRITED

Jackie Schultz ’17 & Chris Israel ’17

BIGGEST GROUP

Alison Tinker ’20 &

her Kappa Delta sisters

MOST CREATIVE

Mike Shovlin ’72

IN MEMORIAM | Titans we will miss.

Word has reached us of the passing of the following alumni and friends of Westminster College. To submit information for the In Memoriam section, please provide a complete obituary notice (if available) to the Office of Alumni Engagement.

MYRNA HOON MCKEE ’47 of Georgetown, Texas, March 12, 2020. JOHN COCHENOUR ’50 of Elizabeth Township, April 9, 2020. R. BRADY MITCHELL ’50 of Dunbar, April 22, 2020. THOMAS SWAN ’50 of Beaver, March 3, 2020. WILLIAM COATES ’51 of St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 15, 2020. GERALD “JERRY” HURD ’54 of Stow, Ohio, March 11, 2020. RALPH VEIGHTS ’54 of Jamestown, N.Y., March 21, 2020. DEAN HANEY ’56 of Montoursville, March 5, 2020. RAY HEID ’56 of Cabot, formerly of Fawn Township, Jan. 23, 2020. ALICIA WILLIAMS BLAMPHIN ’60 of The Villages, Fla., April 27, 2020. DOROTHY SEIDEL SCHACHTER ’60 of DeLand, Fla., Aug. 10, 2019. MARY “MARCHA” HOWARD DRAKE ’61 of Pennsylvania Furnace,

July 1, 2019. LILLIAN BOELL KLEIN ’64 of Black Mountain, N.C., Feb. 14, 2020. MARJORIE BROWN ASH ’65 of East Liverpool, Ohio, April 1, 2020. THE VERY REV. GEORGE HUTNYAN ‘68 of Youngstown, Ohio,

May 12, 2020.

JOHN SANTAGATA ’69 of Masury, Ohio, formerly of Girard and

Warren, Ohio, March 18, 2020. TERENCE “TERRY” SERGI ’70 of Scottsdale, Ariz., May 30, 2019. JOYCE ROCKHILL SEIBERT ’71 of Charlottesville, N.C., March 16, 2020. BARBARA SCHOENHARD KOCH ’71 of Washington Township, N.J.,

Jan. 25, 2020. SARAH GIBSON WRITT M’74 of Hermitage, Dec. 25, 2019. NANCY MITCHELL HUTCHISON M’75, formerly of New Castle,

April 18, 2020. DR. JEFFREY CANOSE ’79 of Irving, Texas, Jan. 17, 2020. ANDREW “DREW” HADWAL ’79 of Wichita Falls, Texas, April 20, 2020. ROBIN EVENS MCGRATH ’79 of Plum, Dec. 24, 2019. PAMELA SWARTZ SOFER ’80 of Hermitage, Feb. 21, 2020. JOHN GILLETTE ’84 of Pittsburgh, Nov. 18, 2019. HENRY BREW ’01 of Youngstown, Ohio, May 4, 2020. KATIE NELSON ’18 of Mars, April 6, 2020.

CAMPUS FAMILY

DR. DELBER McKEE | NOV. 20, 2019 DR. DELBER MCKEE and his wife, Margaret, moved to New Wilmington in 1952 when Delber joined the Westminster faculty. He was history professor, department chair, acting dean and, following his retirement in 1989, curator of Westminster’s antiquities collection. In the New Wilmington community he was an active member and elder in the United Presbyterian Church, served on the school board and, with Margaret, was awarded the Rotary Club’s Distinguished Citizen Award. Interrupting his undergraduate years at Hastings College, he entered military service during World War II and was sent to the University of Washington to be trained as a Japanese translator. He earned his master’s from the University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. from Stanford University.

DIANE LEONETTI | DEC. 2, 2019 DIANE LEONETTI of New Wilmington was born and raised in nearby Grove City and graduated from Neshannock High School in New Castle. Before coming to Westminster she worked in department stores in Hermitage, at Castleview Memorial Gardens in New Castle and was a school bus driver for the Wilmington Area School District. She retired from Westminster’s physical plant department.

KAMAL HOUARI | JAN. 13, 2020 KAMAL HOUARI of Grove City is remembered for reviving the varsity soccer program at Westminster College. In the 1980s, Kamal started as the coach of the men’s soccer club, the rebirth of the men’s varsity team that was discontinued after the 1951 season. In 1986, the soccer program was elevated to varsity status with Kamal as head coach. The new team played competitively in its first year back, including a shutout victory of Youngstown State University. Kamal remained a familiar face at Westminster as an official and working at various soccer camps. He was also a Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) referee for many years.

B. EUGENE NICHOLSON M’69 | DEC. 29, 2019

GENE NICHOLSON—Titan Sports Hall of Famer, longtime Westminster College coach and professor of physical education—was a teacher, coach and mentor to countless players and students. If there was a team, he could coach it—and most likely, successfully. Over the course of his career, Nicholson coached more sports (seven) for more seasons (44) to more victories (more than a thousand) than anyone in the storied history of Titan athletics. He guided Westminster student-athletes to national competitions in seven different sports. Nicholson coached football, track and field, wrestling, tennis, golf and swimming and diving. Nicholson also pioneered the modern day swimming and diving program at Westminster, where he was the head coach from 1972-1985, coaching over 20 All-Americans and collecting eight NAIA Top 20 national finishes.

Nicholson was perhaps best known for his 30 years of coaching football for the Titans as the defensive coordinator and head coach. As head football coach from 1991-98, he led the Titan football program to a record of 64-25-2 (.714) in eight seasons, including posting an undefeated regular season in 1992 and capturing the school’s sixth NAIA Division II national championship in 1994.

Nicholson served as the defensive coordinator on all five of the other NAIA national championship Westminster football teams and overall coached in nine NAIA national championship games. Nicholson was the only coach in the history of Titan football who was a member of the coaching staff on all six of the school’s national championship teams.

Nicholson was selected as 1994 NAIA/Rawlings Division II National Coach of the Year, while earning the same honor from American Football Quarterly. He was also selected as Coach of the Year in the Tri-State area by the Tri-State Football Officials Association. In 1994 he was named to the Titan Sports Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Lawrence County Hall of Fame.

In 2013, Nicholson finished his 13th season at the helm of the Titan men’s golf program, where he was a three-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year and guided Westminster to three-straight league titles. During the 2004-05 season, Westminster captured five invitational titles, its third-straight PAC championship, and its first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships.

Gene grew up in Fayetteville, N.C., Germany and Brentwood, graduating in 1959 from Brentwood High School where he was a standout track, basketball and football player. He earned 10 varsity letters and received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Brentwood High School Hall of Fame in 2002.

He graduated from what is now Slippery Rock University in 1964 and earned a Master of Education degree from Westminster College.