the Portico
“Our mission is to enhance the relationship between the University and its alumni and friends and promoted pride and commitment within the University Community.”Grad news updates
1950s
Senator Lorna Milne, BSA ’56, had “an eye-opening tour” of U of G’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre in March. “I was amazed at what can be produced from waste products and from extremely inexpensive plant materials using nanotechnology,” she says. To read her blog on the visit, go to www.liberalsenateforum.ca/blog/4808_rss.
1960s
Jim Crozier, B.Sc. ’67 and M.Sc. ’70, who went on to earn a PhD at the University of Glasgow, has retired from his career as a professor of biochemistry, exercise and nutrition.
Maurice Marwood, B.Sc. ’64 and M.Sc. ’66, is managing director of Capital Machinery Limited and has just finished a five-year stint in Taiwan. He recently published a book called Professional Nomad about his international adventures as a business executive over the past 40 years. Go to www.trafford.com/08-0776 for a preview.
Donna Washburn, B.H.Sc. ’63, recently completed work on her fourth gluten-free cookbook, Gluten-Free Favourites, with co-author Heather Butt. They’re now developing recipes for two books on bread making ― 300 Best Canadian Bread Machine Baking Recipes and 125 Gluten-Free Bread Machine Recipes ― both due for release next year. For details, visit www.bestbreadrecipes.com.
1970s
Rod Hodgson, BA ’78, a local historian in Hudson, Que., has published nine books and recently completed three more, including his first novel, a historical fiction set in Lower Canada in the 1830s. He also works for Hudson’s Public Works Department.
Katherine Jaconello, BA ’72, responded to a story in the Winter 2009 issue of The Portico about the study of memories. She referred to the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, who studied human memory and wrote the book Dianetics ― The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950. “My husband, who is a doctor of nutritional medicine, and I are dianetics auditors (one who listens and computes),” says Jaconello, who uses an instrument called an electrometer to measure thought. “We have had incredible results using memories to release people from unwanted psychosomatic illness.”
Edwin Loughlin, BA ’75, has been named Canadian ambassador to Croatia. Previously, he was minister-counsellor and consul general at the Embassy of Canada in Beijing. Since joining the Department of External Affairs in 1979, he has also worked in Algiers, Jakarta, Islamabad, Brasilia, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New Delhi. His postings in Canada have included serving as financial officer for the Office of International Summits and deputy director of the Resource Management Bureau. He and his wife, Suzie, have two daughters.
Deborah Poff, BA ’74 and PhD ’88, has been appointed the 16th president and vice-chancellor of Brandon University. She joined Brandon Aug. 1 from the University of Northern British Columbia, where she was founding dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science and served for 10 years as vice-president (academic) and provost. A philosophy professor, she co-founded and continues to edit the Journal of Business Ethics and the Journal of Academic Ethics. She is also president-elect of the National Council on Ethics in Human Research and vice-president, development, of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Poff, who is Brandon’s first female president, is married to retired U of G philosophy professor Alex Michalos, who is chancellor of UNBC.
Doug Romanek, B.Comm. ’79, has been operating a speciality bakeshop called Nana’s Bakery for 10 years in Windsor, Ont. Its specialty products include diabetic and gluten-free baking. He also offers classes for people with special dietary needs.
Patricia (Richards) Steer, B.Sc. 70, retired from teaching science and family studies in Burlington, Ont., in 2005 and now helps her daughter and son-in-law run Angel House Bed and Breakfast in Creemore. The B&B offers a 10-per-cent discount for Guelph grads.
Bob Stephenson, BA ’74, retired from the Ontario Ministry of Revenue in 2008 after a 30-year career with the federal and provincial governments. He and his wife, Daniele, live in Newcastle, Ont., and are enjoying retirement, pursuing their love of skiing, golfing and cycling. They have two grown sons and a grandchild.
Laura Tryssenaar, B.A.Sc. ’75, of Listowel, Ont., has retired after 28 years of teaching high school family studies. She was the lead writer for the textbook and teachers’ guide Parenting in Canada: Human Growth and Development, published in 2003. She received a PhD from the University of Western Ontario in 2005 and now writes and teaches additional qualification courses in family studies for Queen’s University.
1980s
Linda Bolton, DVM ’84, a veterinarian in Walkerton, Ont., received the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association’s Award of Merit this year for her many contributions to veterinary medicine and animal welfare. Those contributions include her involvement in the Cat Lake Project, which takes volunteering veterinarians to a native community in northern Ontario, and the St. John’s Ambulance pet therapy program. Bolton is married with three children.
Susan (Thatcher) Dimma, B.A.Sc. ’83, reports that she has “retired” from the child-care field and has opened a new business in Guelph called Garnishes Personal Chef Services after graduating from the Liaison Culinary School’s personal chef program. Children will still be part of her work, however, because she plans to offer cooking camps and classes for kids.
Patrick Dowds, BA ’88, and his wife, Jeny, announce the arrival of “our beautiful daughter, Jana Julia, born June 1, weighing 7 lbs., 15.5 oz. Both Jeny and Jana are doing fine.” They live in Oakville, Ont., where Patrick teaches Grade 4 at St. Dominic’s School. He has been teaching elementary school for the Halton Catholic District School Board for the last 20 years. “I have many fond memories from my time at U of G and visit the campus at least once a year,” says Patrick. “My wife and I actually took baby Jana for a stroll up Winegard Walk and hiked through the Arboretum this summer. I wanted to show off U of G’s beautiful campus to my family. Maybe someday my daughter will be lucky enough to attend the University of Guelph.”
Christine Fraser-McDonald, BA ’87, recently completed a municipal administration program course en route to becoming clerk for the Township of Georgian Bluffs, surrounding Owen Sound, Ont.
Richard Guiot, B.Sc. ’83, has been with the Ontario Provincial Police for 24 years and is currently a staff sergeant and unit commander of the central tactics and rescue unit at OPP headquarters in Orillia. He and his wife, Anne, have two children: Tom, 16; and Michelle, 14.
Brad Honywill, BA ’81, was elected president of the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild in 2006 after 25 years as a journalist at the Windsor Star, Hamilton Spectator and Toronto Sun. With two children in university and a third about to go, Honywill says he is “seeking a financial bailout from the provincial and federal governments.” He lives in Toronto.
Elaine (White) Huxter, B.Comm. ’84, manages her husband’s medical practice in Steady Brook, NL. She invites HAFA ’84 grads to contact her at bobelaine.huxter@nf.sympatico.ca.
David Kangaloo, B.Sc. ’82, studied veterinary medicine at the University of Liverpool and is now a senior veterinary officer with the Ministry of Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago. He has two daughters, Dana and Farrah.
Monique Leclerc, M.Sc. ’82 and PhD ’87, a professor of crop and soil science at the
University of Georgia, has been named a Regents Professor by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. The honour recognizes her internationally renowned research on atmospheric biogeosciences and climate change. Leclerc joined the University of Georgia in 1995 and heads the Laboratory for Environmental Physics and Atmospheric Biogeosciences. Previously, she taught at Utah State University and the University of Quebec at Montreal. Leclerc was also honoured recently by Peking University, receiving the title of Honorary Professor at its State Key Laboratory. In addition, she was the first woman and youngest person ever to be voted president-elect of the International Society of Biometeorology.
Laura Murray, B.Sc. ’89, has been working at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto for 10 years and is currently co-ordinator of the Innovation Centre.
1990s
Ruth Bowes, BA ’98, a realtor based in Rockood, Ont., has become an accredited green agent, allowing her to bring her environmental interests and green business practices to her work. She took green a step further this year when she and her husband built a straw bale house in Eden Mills.
Mary (Atkins) Carley, M.Sc. ’90, received Conestoga College’s 2009 Aubrey Hagar Award for Teaching Excellence. She joined Conestoga’s nursing faculty almost 30 years ago. Her husband, Robert, M.Sc. ’83, is also a Guelph graduate, as are her parents, Janet, DHE ’37, and George Atkins, BSA ’39 and H.D.La. ’89. Carley’s grandfather was Prof. W.C. Blackwood, for whom U of G’s Blackwood Hall is named.
Jackie Fraser, B.Sc.(Agr.) ’94 and M.Sc. ’96, and her husband, Derek Roberts, welcomed their first daughter, Charlotte Willow, in June 2008. They have opened Fraberts Fresh Food in the old marketplace in Fergus, Ont., offering local produce, meat, gourmet cheeses and ready-made meals. A number of their suppliers are U of G grads, including Krista Harrington, B.Sc.(Agr.) ’05 (From These Roots gourmet jams); Katie Wilman, B.Sc.(Agr.) ’97 (dairy goat products); and Brad, ADA ’80, and Heather Fraser, BA ’78 and ADA ’80, (Harvest Goodies).
Jefferson Frisbee, B.Sc.(H.K.) ’92, M.Sc. ’93 and PhD ’97, has been selected by the Microcirculatory Society, Inc., to serve as editor-in-chief of its official journal, Microcirculation. Frisbee is an associate professor of physiology and pharmacology at West Virginia University.
Celeste Gray, BA ’90, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and worked in purchasing after graduating from Guelph. She’s now a child-care worker in Germany, where she has lived for the past five years with her husband.
Derek Künsken, B.Sc. ’94, who lives in Gatineau, Que., published a short story called Getting High With Thomas the Apostle in the spring 2009 issue of the literary magazine sub-Terrain. It’s the story of three boys living on the streets of Honduras and is his first publication outside of science fiction.
Alain Lajeunesse, B.Sc.(Agr.) ’90 and MBA ’99, and his wife, Paula Rogers, B.A.Sc. ’92, announce the arrival of their son, Malin, who is 2½ and was born in Ethiopia. Lajeunesse was recently appointed manager of business development and communication services with Holstein Canada, based in Brantford, Ont.
Laura-May Mason, BA ’96, lives in Fergus, Ont., and is a social work consultant with the Upper Grand District School Board. She also works privately as a personal transformation counsellor/coach/consultant.
Mark McCutcheon, BA ’95 and PhD ’06, is an assistant professor of literary studies at Athabasca University in Alberta. His article “DownloadingDoppelgängers: New Media Anxieties and Transnational Ironies in Battlestar Galactica” recently appeared in the journal Science Fiction Film and Television.
Ross Mitchell, M.Sc. ’98, has been a social impact assessment specialist at Golder Associates Ltd. in Calgary since 2008.
Alan Smithson, B.Sc. ’99, started his own DJ business, Star Productions Inc., when he was a student at Guelph and was the resident DJ at the Brass Taps and the Bullring from 1996 to 1999. In 2005, he went back to the business full-time and now offers both audio-visual and DJ services. He was nominated for an Entertainer of the Year award in 2008. This year, Star Productions won a Canadian Event Industry Award for best use of lighting. The company’s website is www.starproductions.com.
Joy Sterritt, MA ’91, is a supervisor with the field services division of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. She lives in Brockville.
Laura-Jane Swan, BA ’94, teaches English and dance at a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. Last year, she was one of six teachers selected from across the country to travel to Zambia to pilot the ChildFund Global Schools program, which focuses on the quality and sustainability of education in developing nations. For more information, visit www.childfundchallenge.co.nz/LauraSwan.
Graham Takata, B.Sc.(Env.) ’98, went on to earn a master’s degree at Ryerson University and is now head of research and client services for Zerofootprint, which provides carbon disclosure and adaptation strategies to corporations, governments and not-for-profits. Previously, he worked for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and an environmental consulting firm. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Judi; their son, David; and their dog, Ralph.
Stephen and Lee-Ann (Thorne) Turley, both ADA ’92, will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary Oct. 15, not their 13th as reported in the summer issue of The Portico. They have three children: Eric, 12; Joshua, 10; and Grace, 3. Stephen works for the City of Kitchener Cemeteries and is a volunteer firefighter with the Mapleton Fire
Department, Drayton Station. Contact them at stephenrturley@hotmail.com.
Robin White, B.Sc. ’96, earned an MA in international environmental policy at Tufts University in 2006, then worked for a foreign affairs critic on Parliament Hill before joining Environment Canada as an economist. He is analyzing the impact of various climate change policies on the Canadian economy.
2000s
Nathalie Bendavid, BA ’03, left, Brook Hilditch, B.Sc. ’03, centre, and Mario Gallo, B.Sc. ’00, all former rugby Gryphons, competed in the first Women’s Rugby 7’s World Cup in Dubai as members of the Canadian National Women’s Rugby Team. Canada finished sixth in the tournament of 16 teams, losing to England in the bowl final.
David Derry, M.Sc. ’01, is publishing his first book this fall with Coach House Books. A past winner of the Prism International Short Fiction Award, he describes Sentimental Exorcisms as a collection of long short stories about men who have “grand designs and petty fears, or modest designs and grand fears.” Derry works as a legal assistant in Toronto.
Jennifer Duff, B.Sc. ’07, is in the third year of a five-year veterinary medicine program at the University of Glasgow.
Alex Folkl, B.Sc. ’06 and M.Sc. ’08, is in his second year of medical school at the University of Vermont and did some clinical work in Guelph this summer. He was married in May 2008 to Kathryn Kuntz, M.Sc. ’04, who is co-ordinator of national conservation programs for the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Toronto. Both are avid rock climbers.
Jaclyn Hill, B.Sc. ’02, completed a PhD at Rhodes University in South Africa in 2008, specializing in stable isotopes.
Michelle Le Chien, BA ’05, is assistant curator and registrar at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound, Ont. She organized the gallery’s 46th annual Juried Art Exhibit and had her first curated exhibit reviewed by the Toronto Star in May. It was titled “Mapping the Group: The Travels of the Group of Seven in Canada.”
Greg MacArthur, BA ’08, is an officer with the Guelph Police Service and has joined the Gryphon men’s hockey team as an assistant coach. He played defence with the team for four years as a student.
Brandon Mosgrove, BA ’07, is the accounts payable administrator at Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge, Ont., and is working towards his CGA designation.
Owen Mullings, B.Sc.(Eng.) ’06, has joined Desire2Learn Incorporated as a product designer. He’s also completing a master’s degree in engineering systems and computing at U of G.
Eamonn O’Connell, B.Sc. ’06, is the national stakeholder relations manager of the Campaign to Control Cancer, a Canadian coalition of more than 70 cancer organizations. He lives in Toronto.
Philippe Rinn, BLA ’05, works for Site360 Consulting Inc. in Kelowna, B.C.
Debby Seed, ADH ’04, has been hired as a supply teacher to oversee the greenhouse program at North Peel Secondary School in Brampton, Ont.
Dave Toms, BA ’06, of Oakville, Ont., writes that he’s “having a blast drumming in a country-bluegrass-psychedelic-rock-roots-metal band called GCDC. Guelph really let me see what’s important in life, and pursuing my dreams seems vital. Thank you for such a rewarding opportunity to shape my world view.”
Sarah Tsang, B.A.Sc. ’06, is a dietitian with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit in Bowmanville, Ont.
Passages
William Abraham, BSA ’47, July 30, 2009
John Agar, DVM ’54 and M.Sc. ’70, June 28, 2009
Gus Alevizos, BA ’89, Jan. 30, 2008
Craig Alexander, BSA ’49 and MSA ’51, March 23, 2009
John Allin, ADA ’67, March 12, 2009
Ross Alloway, BSA ’49, March 3, 2009
James Barlow, BSA ’49, March 30, 2009
Renee (Roy) Biggs, DHE ’40, April 3, 2009
William Brack, DVM ’49, April 26, 2009
Russell Bruce, BSA ’47, May 11, 2009
Denton Brumwell, BSA ’61, March 14, 2009
Elizabeth (Jackson) Cardiff, DHE ’41, April 6, 2009
Brian Cardy, B.Sc. ’77, M.Sc. ’81 and PhD ’86, Jan. 18, 2009
Alexander Carman, BSA ’50, April 23, 2009
Leanne (Snively) Chalmers, BA ’89, May 20, 2009
Matthew Chapman, BA ’07, May 9, 2009
Alan Christie, DVM ’49, Sept. 12, 2007
William Cochrane, BSA ’51, May 28, 2009
Melanie (Bant) Dale, B.Sc. ’03, June 21, 2009
Eileen (Elson) Entwisle, DHE ’38, Dec. 4, 2008
Frederick Gillies, BSA ’50, April 26, 2009
John Gilman, DVM ’39, May 17, 2009
Arthur Godard, DVM ’51, April 20, 2009
Anna Liu Gonthier, BA ’93, April 15, 2009
Barbara Gregory, B.Sc. ’87, Feb. 2, 2009
Selwyn Griffith, B.Sc. ’71 and m.Sc. ’74, July 13, 2009
John Hare, BSA ’43, March 23, 2009
Michael Hawrylez, B.Sc. ’81, Feb. 17, 2009
Daniel Helsberg, MA ’77, May 20, 2009
Richard Hember, BSA ’53, April 15, 2009
Thomas Henderson, DVM ’59, Feb. 26, 2009
Ernest Hochhalter, BSA ’62, Feb. 21, 2009
William Howell, BSA ’49, May 30, 2009
Douglas Humphreys, DVM ’54, April 2009
William Hunt, ADA ’55, Jan. 13, 2009
Elizabeth (Goddard) Jamieson, B.H.Sc. ’64, March 23, 2009
Leonard Johnson, BSA ’36, May 13, 2009
Robert Johnston, BSA ’42 and MSA ’49, April 15, 2009
Michael Kamenar, BA’75, Feb. 28, 2009
Willard Karn, DVM ’54, May 8, 2009
Wallace Knapp, BSA ’48, April 16, 2009
Allen Knight, BSA ’39, March 20, 2009
Cheryl (Gandy) Korody, BA ’68, Feb. 2009
Hassan Lalani, B.Comm. ’92, March 18, 2008
Herbert Lavine, BSA ’50, June 17, 2009
Richard Luckham, BSA ’55, July 26, 2009
Wray Marshall, ADA ’51, Jan. 7, 2009
Bruce McCallum, BSA ’64, June 26, 2009
Kenneth McEwen, DVM ’51, March 31, 2009
Barrie McFadzean, ADA ’47 and BSA ’51, May 18, 2009
George McGowan, DVM ’47, May 26, 2009
Ruth (Schooley) McKersie, DHE ’56, Oct. 16, 2008
Edward McNinch, BSA ’49, March 25, 2009
Mildred (Taylor) Misener, DHE ’35, December 2008
Ruth (Srigley) Morris, BA ’74, May 7, 2009
Joseph Morrison, BSA ’51, Feb. 11, 2009
Harry Mount, DVM ’41, April 15, 2009
Donna Murdock, BA ’74, Feb. 25, 2009
Douglas Peacock, ADA ’62, March 21, 2009
Kenneth Pennifold, DVM ’50, Jan. 6, 2009
Ruth (Johnston) Peppen, DHE ’41, Nov. 25, 2008
Michael Pontello, BA ’84, July 19, 2009
William Roach, DVM ’49, April 22, 2009
Walter Saidak, BSA ’53, March 5, 2009
Lawrence Salmon, ADA ’48, May 14, 2009
Mary (Cox) Scott, DHE ’38, March 17, 2008
Tina-Lisa (McDowell) Skerrett, BA ’91, May 19, 2009
John Stone, BA ’72, March 31, 2009
Boyd Taylor, ADA ’53, March 10, 2009
Shirley (Herron) Taylor, DHE ’37, July 19, 2009
William Tom, BSA ’50, June 25, 2009
Dragoslava (Petkovich) Vesselinovitch, DVM ’59, Jan. 2, 2009
Jeffrey Wheeler, B.Comm. ’95, May 23, 2009
Donald Whillans, BSA ’50, April 21, 2009
James Wright, ADA ’61, May 9, 2009
John Young, ADA ’40, April 12, 2009
Harry Zinger, DVM ’59, May 25, 2008
