This page contains biographies provided by classmates whose last name (maiden name for the gals) begin with M-N-O, who wanted to share with you what has been going on in their lives..
Last updated: 07/28/19
M
Marilyn Marsh Goll (added 7/17/19)
Greetings from Laguna Woods California. I hope you are in good health and happily awaiting the next decade of life. My health is good, thanks to dog walking and rode biking! I received my BSN from UW in 1962, married Fred and moved out east. We finally settled for 8 years in College Park, Md. My husband was a microbiologist with APHIS! We then went west to Ames Iowa and lived there for 19 years. I had a wonderful job with the Ames schools working with special children from ages 2 to 21! Working with those children teaches one about the joy of living no matter who one is. We then retired to Arizona, too hot. Then to Nevada where our son is an ENT. He has one son. My husband developed health issues, so we moved to Laguna Woods to a cooler climate. Our daughter lives is Studio City, and has two girls. After consulting with numerous doctors, my husband was diagnosed with Multi-system atrophy, a progressive neurological condition. He became total care for me and I used my nursing skills to help him. He passed away in 2008 at 71 years. Meanwhile I met a friend dog walking, and he said why don’t you rode bike with me. That was 11 years ago and over 30000 miles we have ridden all over Orange County. We ride 3 times a week and now stay mainly on bike trails as much safer. My doctors tell me, the biking keeps me younger than my years. My daughter, girls and I spend a week at Yosemite every summer. It’s a wonderful place to commune with nature. We also go to Mammoth Mountain several times a winter to ski. My son joins us too. I stay on the easy slopes but it’s a beautiful way to enjoy the winter beauty! I wish you all much happiness and good health in the years ahead. Bye for now, Marilyn Marsh Goll
John McKenna
“A Quiet Riot” As I ambulated out of the West High Exit door my eyes were fixed on the horizon. In doing such I found my Life’s Path. That summer I registered for the draft, got my beer card, and took an exam and an interview to be accepted into the Navy ROTC program. Come fall I entered the UW Madison Engineering campus and the Navy facility. Upon receiving my diplomas, I was commissioned in the Navy Civil Engineering Corp and off for four years of active duty. Two years in Japan and Okinawa, then Beeville Texas as the Public Works Office at a Naval Air Station. My service time completed I returned to Madison in the fall of 1967. A married relationship resulted in two sons. Being single in 1985, I thought that perhaps a fellow graduate from the class of 1958 would be interested in re-meeting me. I went through the yearbook getting as far as the W’s. There my eyes caught a picture that was underlined with, “ A woman’s face is her fortune only when it draws a lot of interest ”. Got in touch with the individual. We came to the conclusion that we had common interests and objectives, resulting in formalizing the relationship at noon, on St. Patricks Day, 1986, when Mary Ann Webster joined the McKenna clan. We then lived in Verona, Madison and moved in 1989 to Oak Park, Illinois. Work called us to London in 2000. I practiced Civil Engineering during all those years. Coming back from London in 2002, we took 3.5 months traveling eastward around the globe. We have now settled down west of Madison in the Town of Spring Green.
Hobbies – enjoying life. Responsibilities – continue being a caring/supportive spouse.
John McLeod
After attending UW-Madison, where I lettered in wrestling and majored in biology (BS-SED), I spent three months at New Mexico State University for Peace Corps training before a two year stint in Guatemala. After traveling throughout Central and South America, I attended the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, AZ, married Donna De Young (RN) in 1966 and was graduated in 1967. I then joined CARE and for the next 19 years managed various feeding and self-help programs (such as water systems, ag production and housing) in Colombia, Chile (where our son Sean was born in ’71), Ecuador (where daughter Sarah was born in ’73), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras.
Upon returning to Wisconsin in 1985, we moved into our home in Cambria, WI. I then sold real estate for the next 20 years mainly in Sun Prairie. Our son has two daughters, Meghan 14 and Molly 18 who is now a freshman at William & Mary. Our daughter has two sons, Aiden 10 and Bjorn 14 both home schooled. We have been enjoying our retirement, our families and many activities that include our local Kiwanis Club and church. Donna and I also enjoy travelling, the four winter months in Florida, and I spend as much time as possible carving and painting birds.
MARGUERITE MARLETTE DAANE
After graduation from West I entered the work force and in 1961 I was married.
We had three children. Now besides the children have a daughter-in-law, two son-in-laws, eight grandchildren, two grandson-in-laws and one great grandson.
I became a widow in 1995 and retired in 2000.
I live in Fitchburg Wi.
Since retiring I have enjoyed traveling with friends and family.
Spending time with family and at my second home in northern Wis.
FRANCINE MEADOWCROFT SALERNO
I married George in 1959.
George worked for the US Postal Service and I worked for the mid plains telephone company for 12 years
We have three children –
– Mark a restaurant manager
– Jeff a civil engineer at UW and Laura an attorney
Enjoying my grandchildren
Steve-college grad but chasing his dream of being a comedian
Avery-attending college in Indiana but currently doing a semester in Ecuador.
Jack-second year at Madison WEST In advanced Classes
Looking forward to seeing our classmates.
Karen Mennes Gasper
I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin, January 1962. I taught 3rd grade for 3 1/2years in Madison while my husband, Ken completed his PhD in Nuclear Engineering. Then we moved to Richland, Washington where we raised our 4 children. Ken’s career moved us to Fridley, Minnesota for 7 years, where he worked for Medtronic. Then we moved back to Richland where we lived for over 40 years. I returned to teaching and retired from the Richland School District in 2005.
After retirement we decided to move to Belllingham, Washington as none of our children were interested in moving back to Richland on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. Our youngest son lives in Seattle, our daughter married a German and lives in Germany, our next son recently retired as a medical doctor with the U.S. Navy and lives close to us in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. Our oldest son and family live about 7 minutes from us in Bellingham. He and his wife are both elementary school teachers and have 2 children in elementary school, so they enjoy having us near them. We have 11 grandchildren with 3 in college.
We have enjoyed our retirement. We especially treasure our times spent with our children and grandchildren. We also have traveled often to Europe, including time spent with our daughter and family in Bavaria. We are thankful that we have time and energy to walk the wonderful trails around Bellingham, time for family activities, and time to be involved in our church life.
PETER MERMIN
After West High, I attended Lawrence College for one year, enjoyed being Don Manson’s room-mate, but found myself turned off by the fraternity system and the general conservatism of ”the little Yale of the mid-west.” I transferred to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where progressive politics ruled, and a work-study program meant moving every three months between Antioch and different “co-op” jobs around the country. In my time at Antioch I spent the Winter of 1960 as a general maintenance person at The Inn on Cabbage Key, off Boca Grande, Florida, the Fall of 1960 teaching at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in New York, the year 1961-62 studying Philosophy the University of Tubingen, in Germany, and the Fall of 1962 helping do psychological research in Atlanta, Georgia.
After bouncing around from one thing to another at Antioch, I bounced some more in graduate schools: Two years at Adelphi University on Long Island, M.A. in Sociology, two years at The New School for Social Research in NYC, M.A. in Psychology, two years at Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ph.D. in Psychology.
I got married in 1967, got a job teaching Psychology at Southampton College on eastern Long Island. Had a daughter in 1969, lost the marriage in the great divorce epidemic of 1972, began new job teaching Psychology at Suffolk Community College, also on Long Island. Taught at Suffolk Community College for 35 years, had two more skirmishes with marriage, retired to Sarasota, Florida, in 2002. Began teaching a general course called “The World in Transition” at The Lifelong Learning Academy in Sarasota, where I am able to re-invent the course every semester as I find new and current books about our world situation. My students there, almost all of whom are old and retired, are engaging and help keep me young.
This Fall semester will mark my 50th continuous year of teaching …Meanwhile, met the love of my life, my last and current wife, Ginger, in Sarasota in 2004, got married in 2008; we reside mostly in Sarasota, but have a wonderful summer place in Black Mountain, North Carolina…. Also, I took up tennis again in Florida (I played on the West High team). My Club partner and won the Club championship this year, and had a 15 wins 1 loss record in Team Tennis. Not bad for an old guy.
MARIA MESSINA RITACCA – (Updated 5/6/19)
I was born on April 25, 1940 at Madison General Hospital in Madison, WI. I am the first of four children born to Maria Palermo Messina and Angelo Filippo Messina.
My father was living in St. Paul, MN from 1910 until he moved to Madison. He went back to Palermo, Sicily, Italy for the third time, where he met my mother. He married her on October 23, 1938 and they then immigrated to the U.S. following their marriage and settled in Madison.
They started and raised a family, which consisted of my brother, Vito born on August 12, 1943, who became an Accountant/Controller, my sister, Rosalia, born on October 5, 1948, who became an Occupational Therapist and my brother Angelo, who was born on May 13, 1952 and became an Architect He is living in Lake Como, Italy for now.
While attending the University of WI – Madison, I met my husband, Vincent J. Ritacca in Italian class. We married on August 19, 1961 and have three beautiful adult children, Jeffrey, born on April 2, 1963, Mark born on February 4, 1966 and Susanna born on October 23, 1967.
In the 1980’s I went back to work in The School of Business, UW – Madison, Career Services Office and became the Recruiting Coordinator where I worked with as may as one hundred companies per semester and with the many students who were ready to graduate from the Business School both BBA and MBA. At that time, I also enrolled in the Weekend Degree Program at Edgewood College where I majored in Business.
I worked as the Program Administrator for the Executive MBA Program at the University in my last five years at the Business School. It is from there that I retired in 2005 and was given a wonderful retirement party at that time.
Vince and I were members of the ARC – Dane County and became board members, as well. Vince was president of the ARC at one time. When I retired, I was invited to become a board member of the UW Retirement Association and I was also invited to become President of The Cultural Italian American Organization (CIAO) I, of course, accepted.
I write all of this because I am proud that all of us went to a University or College as children of immigrant parents, as my father and my children’s grandfather was intent that we all acquire a college education and were successful in life.
My son Jeff was an employee of UW – Madison for 27 years. He has a disability.
My son Mark went to the University of Maryland, College Park, MD and graduated with a BS in International Business and Marketing
And, my daughter Susanna graduated from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN with a BS in Psychology and Sociology followed by a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology from the UW – Madison and a Master’s Degree from the University of Colorado in Speech Pathology.
My husband Vincent worked in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as Chief of Programs and Systems Development, after receiving a BS in Psychology from UW – Madison. He was employed by the State of Wisconsin, Department of Health and Family Services for 40 years and received many accolades including some from Governor Tommy Thompson. He also retired in 2005 and was given a wonderful retirement party.
Life has been good to me and I am grateful for the wonderful family and longtime friends that I have made in various places as well as the friends that I have made here in Florida.
Vince and I moved to Florida in 2015 to be close to our son Mark and warmer weather. Since then I have become a member of the American Cancer Association and the Book Club here at the Palms.
Mark founded his aviation business, NextJet, in 1997. He continues to have fun with the business and its clients.
Jeff is lives in a Group Home and goes to School at the ARC – Broward County.
Susanna lives in Shoreview, MN and is a Speech Therapist in the School System there. Her ex-husband and my only grandson Maxwell Vincent Fishlove, who is thirteen years old and my only grandchild, are also there.
The rest of my extended family lives in Italy. Though I have been able to meet them and stay with them, I have only seen them two times. Of course, they are wonderful and have professional careers too. The good thing is that I have been able to retain my Italian language, as it is my first language.
Love to all of my 1958 West High School classmates.
Maria
MARILYN METZ
“Are you an Ozanne from Madison?” I inquired of a handsome young man wearing a name tag with Ozanne written on it, while attending a political rally in Palo Alto California in 1969. Caught a bit off guard, he replied ‘Yes!” Turns out, I had dated his brother Lee (West ’59) in high school and Larry( West ‘61) was his annoying little brother. Larry and I enjoyed reminiscing and he followed me back along El Camino in his ‘59 Chevy to my apartment.
Now, many years later, Larry and I are married, living in Washington DC, parents of two sons, and grandparents of two boys. Larry is retired from the Congressional Budget Office and I am continuing to teach piano (my 3rd career.) I also sing in various choruses throughout the year, most recently, this summer, “The Great American Songbook Chorus” at the Levine school of Music. We were accompanied by a jazz trio which enhanced our singing dramatically.
Over the years, Larry and I have enjoyed sailing, hiking, attending Nats games and hanging out with our family, especially our lively grandsons, now 7 and 9.
My longtime friendship with classmate Marsha Clinard has been especially precious to me. She inspired me to return to singing, which has helped make my “later years” greatly fulfilling,
I regret I will not be able to attend the reunion as my chorus and piano lessons will be in full swing by that time.
However, I’ve enjoyed reading the bios of our classmates and wish everyone health and happiness in these upcoming years.
Phyllis Mintz Eisenberg
I attended the U of Wis.
In 1964 moved to Chicago and went to work for Harris Bank/BMO in the government bond Dept selling Treasury bills and bonds.i became the first woman officer in that Dept.
I retired in 1981
I married Marvin Eisenberg in 1973. He was the founder and pres. Of Kelly Corned Beef and Eisenberg gourmet hot dogs (look for them in your movie theater).
I have 2 step sons – 5 grands- and 3 great grands.
In 1988 we bought a second home in Palm Springs calif
We went there every winter.
Unfortunately Marvin died in 2017.
I keep busy with lectures – bridge -but my real passion is with the many charities I am involved with- 2 of which have honored me in the past and in February I will be honored by STEINWAY society- after school music classes
I have had a wonderful life and can’t wait to share stories with all of our other classmates.
KATARINA HOHWU-CHRISTENSEN (MOBERG)
I am grateful to West High School where I spent 1957 – 1958 as an AFS student. I lived with Joanne Lillywhites family and had an extra family Marsha Clinards.
Joanne and her brother came to see me in Europe in 1961 and came with her father to see me in New York in 1980.
Marsha and her husband came to see me in Sweden in 1965 and 2015.
I graduated from Medical school in 1969. During my training I worked as a doctor in radiology 1965 ,surgery 1968, infectious deseases, internal medicine 1969, psychiatry, general medicine 1974, neurosurgery 1978, tropical medicine in Bangkok 1970. Specialized in Opthalmology in 1979, had a fellowship at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York in 1980, attended King Khaled Eye hospital in Ryadh regularly 1991 – 1996. Helped a friend eye-doctor in Oman , attended eye-hospital in Yemen.
Married Steen in 1964, he studied law and in 1967 he started to work for Ministry of Foreign Affaiirs.
We have been posted to London 1968-69, Bangkok 1969 -71, Geneva 1971 -74, New York 1979 -83, Paris 1987 – 91, Saudiarabia,Oman Yemen 1991 -1996, Iran 2000 – 2003.
We have three daughters born 1965, 1967 and 1979. five grandchidren.
We retired in 2007.
We both enjoyed the 50 th and 55 th reunion.
Sorry my husband is too weak to travel to Madison again so we cannot join the 60 th reunion.
We live in Djursholm 10 km north of Stockholm, we bought a house here in 1974 and we will live here as long as we can the house was built in 1905 with a garden which keeps us busy. Steen has to walk his dog every day.
I would have liked to be with you for the reunion what a nice program you have organized
JANET MORTON DOUGLAS
After graduation I attended the U of Wi and got a degree in physical therapy.
My career consisted of about twenty years of working mainly with handicapped children, in hospital, homes or schools as I balanced my life as a homemaker and mother of three.
Larry and I were married in 1964, and have had a wonderful life living in White Bear Lake, Mn, a suburb of St Paul. We have lived for 48 years in the same house on a lovely lake, where we enjoy boating, and some fishing, and swimming, we also enjoy the cultural amenities of the Twin Cities, music and theater. I’ve been retired for 25 years, Larry for 20 years.Music has always been a focus of our lives, something that still gives much enjoyment.
Our three children are doing well, and our 10 grandchildren, 8 boys and 2 girls, range in age from 24 years to 22 months. (One grandson is just beginning a college career at UW.). Our older son and daughter and families live near us in Mn. Our youngest son and his wife and four young children live in So. Cal, which gives us reason to spend a month or two in Ca. to be near them, enjoying the kids and escaping some of the Mn winter.
Thankfully we have enjoyed good health. It’s a wonderful life!
SUE MOTT FITZGIBBON
I married jim Fitzgibbon shortly after graduation and we had 5 children
Jim passed away in 1977
My working years were spent in retail and the insurance Industry.
I enjoy retirement by spending time with my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren -along with some volunteer work.
To my surprise our classmate William Kaeser Is grandfather to my youngest grandchild.
We’ve all learned a lot about life but what I believe is — what you learn with pleasure you never forget.
N
JIM NAFZIGER
Happily, I’m still teaching wannabe lawyers full-time and enjoying the good life in Oregon (the state, not the Madison-area town). After high school came BA and MA degrees (UW-Madison), army service, a JD degree (Harvard Law School), a federal court clerkship, and several years of work in Washington, D.C. I then jumped at an opportunity to teach international and comparative (foreign) law in Oregon, where most of my extended family already resided, including my only sibling, Ralph (West ’55). I’ve never looked back. During the main school year I teach at Willamette University in Salem (capital cities seem to be my thing) and in the summer at the U. of California-Davis. I’ve also taught as a visitor at a number of other universities, including the UW-Madison and Marquette. Overall, the combination of classroom teaching and writing is still endlessly (though not always) enjoyable. My latest book, Comparative Law and Anthropology, was published last December. For exercise I hike, ski and jog (three miles slowly).
Having always been somewhat of a professional groupie and collaborator, I’m currently keeping busy as a Vice Chair of the International Law Association, headquartered in London; Secretary of the American Society of International Law; and Honorary President of the International Association of Sports Law. I’m also a member of the State Department’s advisory committee on international law–quite a challenge these days, as you can imagine. Another challenge is trying to keep in close touch with my five godsons, distributed among three continents. But challenges, they say, are what keep us young in spirit.
I owe a lot to my education at West. Our 50th reunion was great fun albeit awkwardly wedged into a three-day weekend away from my teaching at Trinity College in Dublin. Now I’m looking forward to seeing so many of you youngsters at our 60th. Beyond that, my welcome mat is out here for everyone in the remarkable class of ’58.
Judy (Mary Judith) Nelson Pollock (added 07/06/19)
After graduation I married and had two children.The marriage didn’t work out. I married Rollie (Rolland) Pollock in May 1968. We raised Jayne and John and continued to live in Madison on the east side.The second time was the charm and were married for over 50 years. Rollie worked for the United States Post Office as an auditor.
In 1966 I began working at the Wisconsin Department of Justice as a typist. In June 1975, I became the first paralegal at DOJ and the second in the State of Wisconsin. In that position I handled worker’s compensation cases working with Assistant Attorneys General. As I progressed I was assigned to represent the Work Injury Supplemental Benefit Fund as the Worker’s Compensation Resolution Officer. The claims were barred by the statute of limitations against the previous employer and covered by the Work Injury Supplemental Benefit Fund. I had the authority to settle clams by stipulation or compromise. I enjoyed the independence of the work and remained with DOJ for over 41 years until April 2008.
After retirement we enjoyed traveling to each of the United States. Rollie collected baseball style caps and had a hat from every state. We enjoyed our time together. Our daughter passed away in 2017. Rollie passed away in December 2018. I am staying In our Madison home with my cat Misty. I have a grandson Matt and a great grandson Micah (age 8) who live near me in Madison. Our son John lives in Loveland, Colorado so we talk often. Matt, Micah and I may go to visit John and his wife Carmen this fall. In a nut shell, that is what happened to Judy Nelson since 1958.
ANNE NEREIM BENSON
I retired after 35 years of work to indulge in my many hobbies.
I made many quilts and gifted them to the various family members.
I also make doll clothes for each of my three great grandnieces.
Now I have been writing memories and short stories. I had several published in the Westley times.
I also published a book telling how my husband and I acquired our cats. It can be ordered through Barnes and Noble.
I entered two contests with my writings – – waiting to hear back.
Looking forward to seeing all my classmates
Louise (Nuesse) Cadwgan (added 7/28/19)
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin in early June 1962 and three weeks later married and moved to Berkeley CA. We were there for three years while my husband went to law school. Two of my children, Michelle and Michael, were born there. From Berkeley we moved to Utica, New York. Culture shock moving from Berkeley to upstate New York in 1965! Our third child, Marielle, arrived in 1966 – three children in three years so I was busy.
From New York we moved to San Juan, PR for a year and then back to Troy, New York for four years. In 1972 we moved to Columbia, MD, the new city being developed between Baltimore, MD and Washington D.C. It was the height of the women’s movement, Vietnam turmoil, and generational change. My marriage fell apart over a number of years and I felt like I lost my thirties. I went to work full time at an accounting firm, went back to school to obtain my CPA, had three children in high school, and we survived. I lived in Columbia 24 years.
My children and I made many trips to Wisconsin, each time stopping in Madison, and often visiting the Wisconsin Union. They all graduated from the University of Wisconsin and loved the school and Madison. They became close to their grandparents in Barron, WI and an aunt and cousins in the area. They now feel Wisconsin is their home.
I became a partner at the accounting firm and we added two more partners. The four of us had a very successful practice, my specialty was auditing, and we had excellent staff to support us. It felt good to go to work each day. I am a strong voice and supporter for young women going into accounting as it gave them so many options.
In 1993 I reconnected with a boyfriend from two summers when I worked at a resort in Maine in 1960 and 1961. We were married in 1996 and I moved to Hudson, Massachusetts. I had retired from the CPA practice in Baltimore, but in a year I was working again at a firm in Wellesley, again in auditing. I thought it would be short term but it was nine years before Dick and I decided to make some changes. We spent a year looking for a retirement home in Maine and moved to Rockport in August of 2007. Our only regret was that we didn’t come ten years sooner. It is a beautiful small town on the water in mid-coast Maine and we love our life here.
Most of my time is spent in the garden. We planted fruit trees, apple and cherry, grapes, raspberries, rhubarb, raised vegetable beds, and the flower gardens. We are a mile back from the ocean, up a hill, and we can watch the fog roll over the meadow across the street and into the yard, enclosing us. I am active in the Unitarian Universalist Church, and participate in a knitting group and a book club – I still read many books a year.
Life is rich and I am so grateful for the blessings, though there have been challenges and losses – I still find things I would like to talk to Joanne Lillywhite about, but she died at only 41 from cancer. Hope Bakken and Alice (Dean) Mortenson are dearest old friends. My children and grandchildren are a big part of my life: Michelle in VT, with Charlie, Michael, Henry and Maeve; Michael is in Seattle with Bunker, and the twins, Kate and Lauren. My youngest daughter, Marielle, is a college professor at Dhofar University in Salalah, Oman.
I have such good memories of our class at West High, and Madison. We were a special class at a special time.
Paula Newsome Sabljak (added 07/06/19
What have I been doing for the past 60 years? Made the mistake of marrying my first husband right out of High School, and after having 6 children, divorced him after 7 years. Best thing I ever did. In 1974 I married the wonderful husband I have now. We have had quite a great life.
As for what we have been doing together – mostly teaching. Mostly teaching. Qualifications? I received a BS/ED degree from the UW Madison, later a Masters from UTEP. During which time opened a private language school (Tintero Inc.) in El Paso and in Juarez, Chih. Mexico with my husband Clay. After about 15 years we closed the 3 branches and went to teach in Beijing, PCR, where I was Deputy Director of GSELC for Academia Sinica. From there we went to Tai Pei, Taiwan, where we worked for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT} It was all quite an experience. We then spent 6 years teaching in Dahran, Saudi Arabia: Clay at King Fahad University and I at the British International School. I retired after teaching in the Monona Grove School District and we are now living in El Paso and have been happily married for 45 years
NATALIE “JOAN” NORDNESS YELINEK
I am still living in Madison several miles from 2104 University Avenue where I lived in high school. I attended the UW in the fall of 1958 and met my husband that fall at the “pharm” (Rennebohm on State and Lake). We dated for two years and were married on December 16, 1960. I then worked until Keith finished Law School in January 1962.
About a week (January 26) after Keith graduated our daughter, Kristin, was born. The excitement of the first child and the adventure to move to Seattle where Keith had accepted a job with Boeing Aircraft soon became a great sadness. Our daughter Kristin was diagnosed with Downs Syndrome which we had never heard of before. I didn’t want to leave the support of my mother, Keith’s family or our friends. We needed so much support.
However, living in Dane County was the best place to live if your family had a special needs child. We got involved in a parents group and from then on we advocated for improved social services and educational programs for both Dane County and the state of Wisconsin.
We were blessed to have two other children, John and Anna who graduated from Memorial High School and the UW.
Anna received a MS degree from Minnesota and had worked in Marketing at Nabisco, General Mills and Hornet. John has a real estate appraising firm in the Chicago area. Both have a son and daughter.
In the early 1980’s I returned to the UW part time getting a degree in Social Work. Dr. Lou Brown, professor in behavioral disabilities, hired me to interview parents and teachers in order to help design an educational curriculum for children at the “trainable” level. This was a national objective at that time.
Kristin is now 56 years old and has lived in an apartment with the same roommate for over 30 years. We parents of the 6 individuals living there purchased the 4 unit apartment building and transferred ownership to a non-profit. They can live there for their life.
Thanks to her high school teacher, Mrs. Pitot-Frank, the daughter of DR. Henry Pitot who was the director of the McArdle Cancer Laboratory at the UW, they found a place for Kristin to work.
She has worked at McArdle for over 35 years delivering supplies to the lab technicians.
As I look back on those sad early years I can now say that it was the support of friends and family that enabled us to provide Kristin the life she has been able to enjoy. I find it difficult to believe that the time we spent in high school is still such a heartwarming memory of my friends from that time. I miss so many of you and look forward to seeing you at the reunion.
Madison West High School Class of 1958 