HAIL PURDUE

Henrietta (Vaughn) Morgan Cecil (HHS’45), a lifelong Purdue men’s basketball fan, celebrated her 100th birthday.

Ken Warrick (CE’85) and Martha “Marty” (Honey) Warrick (HHS’76) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Alaska, where they met fellow Boilermaker Kamryn Dehn (A’21).

James Franklin Sharp (MS IE’61, PhD IE’66) showed his Purdue pride outside the Sharp Museum at Southern Illinois University (SIU). He graduated from SIU’s pre-engineering program in 1956 and recently made a $1 million gift to the museum, which was renamed in his honor.

Rick Cartheuser (T’76) and his partner, Sandra Burkert, traveled to Tahiti and French Polynesia with fellow Boilermakers.

CLASS NOTES

1960

Daniel Cunningham (T’68) was inducted into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame in recognition of more than 50 years of support to his country, community, and fellow veterans.

1970

Mel Crichton (ME’70) is enjoying the mountains of Montana with his wife, Cathy, and their two dogs. He worked in pharmaceutical engineering for more than 40 years and coauthored several books on pharma HVAC and facilities. He spent 30 years as a ski instructor and 20 years as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and is now serving his community through the Rotary Club of Big Sky.

Anthony “Tony” Vericella (S’75) launched his nonprofit Alzheimer’s Caregiving and the Caregivers on September 21, his 43rd wedding anniversary and World Alzheimer’s Day. His wife, Dana, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at age 65, and he created the nonprofit to provide empowerment, comfort, and resources to those caring for loved ones facing Alzheimer’s or dementia.

1980

“After teaching at Arsenal Tech High School for six years and Pike High School for the last 29 years, I am retired! I am enjoying life with my wife of 24 years, Carol.”
Franklin Drumwright (A’80)

John Lothian (LA’83, M’83) was inducted into the Futures Industry Association (FIA) Hall of Fame. The FIA represents the global listed derivatives industry.

David Byers (T’85) was elected to the Franklin College board of trustees. He is a B787 captain and quality control-check airman for United Airlines.

1990

Michael Lent (V’91) was elected to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Board of Directors as director of District IX. He will begin serving his six-year term in June. Lent has been involved in organized veterinary medicine for almost 32 years, starting at Purdue, where he served as president of the former Student Chapter of the AVMA (now SAVMA). Lent also served as president of the Arizona and Southern Arizona VMAs, as a member of the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board, and as Arizona’s alternate delegate and delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates.

Brad Thayer (AAS’91, T’91) retired from the Boeing Company after 26 years and now works at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies in Phoenix, Arizona.

William “Bill” Cox (MS M’92) was elected to the Franklin College board of trustees. He is the owner and principal consultant at the Triskele Group, specializing in advisory services, information technology leadership, and software solutions for complex business environments.

Lisa Casler (AAE’95, CE’97) was promoted to president of RQAW, an architecture and engineering firm in Fishers, Indiana. Casler has over 25 years of experience in the engineering field and previously was the division director of transportation for the company.

Ollie McCoy III (EnE’97) was named the office consulting leader for the Atlanta office of Deloitte. He is a principal in the life sciences and health-care industry and the mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring operating portfolio. Additionally, he is the lead client service partner of the Health Care Service Corporation.

Mary Frances Morland Price (A’97) was selected as the recipient of the Mary Alice Gooderl Award, which acknowledges outstanding contributions to the field of elder law by members of the Minnesota State Bar Association Elder Law Section.

Michael Shultz (M’97) joined the Hackett Group in Atlanta, Georgia, as the director of finance benchmarking.

Julie (Bever) Gilmore (PhD’98) was elected to the Franklin College board of trustees. She is the vice president and global head of Eli Lilly and Company’s Gateway Labs.

2000

Chris Creighton (LA’03) was named vice president of innovation and growth for Marian University.

Kenneth Lowe (T’04) was honored as a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2024 Men’s Silver Anniversary Team. He was a 1999 Indiana All-Star; scored 1,079 points in four seasons as a Purdue player and was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year; and played nine years of professional basketball in Turkey, Finland, Germany, Hungary, and Venezuela. He is an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

Hillary (DiRenzo) Gramm (HHS’05) is now the CEO of Higher Up Texas. She previously was the executive director of the nonprofit, which educates, equips, and empowers young adults. She is also a student in the Leadership Institute for Nonprofit Executives at Rice University and will graduate in May.

2010

Katharine Harris (S’10) received the Faculty Excellence in Scholarship Award from Franklin College. The award recognizes a faculty member’s scholarly achievement as well as their work outside the college.

Brittany (Wojcik) Weiss (LA’11) was named to the 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. She is a counsel in the Chicago office of Tucker Ellis LLP and focuses her practice on medical device and pharmaceutical liability matters.

Vasilios “Vasili” Rizos (HHS’14) was elected a shareholder of Three Cord True Wealth Management Group of Pittsburgh and Beaver, Pennsylvania.

Lucas Schmit (ABE’17) joined Airmo Pressure Technologies as a customer relationship engineer. He previously held engineering and policy development roles with Caterpillar and Indiana Farm Bureau.

2020

Brian O’Leary (T’21) won first place in the ruck division of the 10-kilometer Savannah Bridge Race. He is the team leader of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Response Team 2 from the 25th CBRNE Company (Technical Escort).

Brooks Royal (A’21) was named product specialist for Brock Grain Systems, a global provider of grain storage, handling, drying and conditioning, and structural systems. In this role, he will provide technical information and training to dealers while also researching, developing, and creating new technologies as part of the Product Technical Group.

BOOKS

“I published my sixth book Politics and Healthcare: Where Is Nursing?, which is for nurses who may run for office or support those who run, serve as advocates, consider board service, are involved in policy development, or want to become better-informed voters. Including a historic perspective of the U.S. Constitution and the advent of political parties in the United States, it discusses social challenges that nurses can address.”

—Sue Johnson (NRS’82)

“My novel Playing With Wildfire recounts the days leading up to a Colorado mountain town’s evacuation from a wildfire and is based on my own experience of the 2012 and 2020 fires near my hometown in northern Colorado. The book is told from multiple points of view and is a polyphonic tale of what wildfire does to community—and how bifurcated neighbors must come together to help and heal after moments of trauma.”

—Laura Pritchett (PhD LA’04)

“My picture book Do Mommies Ever Sleep? was published in March. My first-born daughter was a terrible sleeper, and I was driving myself crazy trying to get her to sleep longer than 30 minutes. I got the idea for the book when I thought about how, from her point of view, I was the one who was always awake. I think everyone from new moms to kids to grandparents will enjoy this cheeky baby’s take on why mommies never sleep. The baby has some sweet advice to share on how to get mommy to bed!”

—Kim Howard (EDU’14)
kimhowardbooks@gmail.com

“I was born the fourth kid in a one-bedroom house. Little was expected of me—until a $320 college scholarship enabled a future that I didn’t know existed. From the poverty of rural Iowa, I defied expectations and built billion-dollar businesses, navigated the United States’ largest merger, rose to be a top Microsoft executive, and have paid forward what I learned and earned. In sharing my failure and success story with humor and honesty in Worthy: From Cornfields to Corner Office of Microsoft, I hope you will know that worth is not defined by what others say or expect, but what you make, claim, and give.”

—Jane Boulware (MS’87)

“During the pandemic, I took the plunge to write a book that spans two of my favorite topics: Washington DC, where I’ve lived and worked, and Walt Disney and his company. The result is my first book Walt Goes to Washington: Finding Disney in DC. More information about this book and other writing projects are on my website at jamieheckerwriter.com.”

—Jamie Hecker (LA’88)
jhecker59@gmail.com