Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2005 September/October

Class Notes, 2005 September/October

September/October 2005

There is a lot of news, so rather than editorialize about the recent announcement by Jeffrey Lehman '77 that he has resigned after just two years in office as university president (a big loss), or the recent heat wave that has hit the northeast (too hot for June), or the price of gasoline (getting cheaper), or the war in Iraq (no comment) ... let's get right to it.

Joel Freundlich and his wife Karen happily announced the birth of their son Kyle Robert. Kyle was born on December 30 and is doing great. Kyle's sisters Grace and Madeleine are very excited to have a little brother. Joel is working as a medicinal chemist at Jacobus Pharmaceuticals in Princeton. His research is focused on novel therapeutics for malaria. He can still be found running on the roads and trails of Princeton early in the a.m. Chiara Puffer Shah and her husband Sunish celebrated the birth of daughter Kayla on October 12, 2004. Chiara reports, "With her big brother Kiran, now almost 5, our family is complete. We have happily settled in central New Jersey, where Sunish continues to work in the telecommunications industry, and I will be starting graduate school this summer. In two years I should be teaching high school English."

Robert G. Williams and his wife Melissa announce the birth of their son Christopher Louis on April 18. Christopher joins sister Caroline Brooke, who is 20 months old. These days, Rob is putting his English degree to work by developing a writing program for the 160 junior analysts and associates in the Lehman Brothers equity research department. Jeffrey Zola, ME '92, is living in Portland, OR, with his wife Julie and two boys Matthew, 6, and Sam, 3. After 13 years as a process engineer in semiconductor manufacturing, Jeffrey recently became registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office in patent matters and has started a new career as a patent agent at Kolisch Hartwell PC, an intellectual property law firm in Portland.

Cristos Goodrow and his wife Elizabeth (Toole), JD '97, write of the birth of their fourth child, Eve Elizabeth, on March 5, 2005. Wendy Fuhr writes that she is working full-time in family medicine in Collegeville, PA.Wendy is also in an all-female, traditional folk/Celtic/Americana group called Full Frontal Folk, which played in Ithaca on the nationally syndicated radio coffeehouse Bound for Glory, a show that is recorded in front of a live audience in Anabel Taylor Hall. Wendy sends out greetings "to any other former Touchtones reading this."

Jennifer Chuang VanderMarck finished her MBA in May 2004 and was married to a Stanford grad on August 28, 2004 in Sonoma, CA. Cornellians in attendance included: Kana Muraki, Michelle Casey Krakora '93, Matt '92 and Inger Hultgren Meyer '92, Randy '92 and Heather Nelson Koch '92, Lisa Lutz '92, Ed Barry, Liz Flynn '93, Eric '92 and Anne Tevebaugh Baurmeister '92, Eric Brinkley '93, ME '95, and Chris '90 and Jennifer King Hartung '92.

Jeremy Sarachan is a visiting instructor of communication/journalism at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. He and his wife Marie have a 4-month-old daughter Lillian. Marcia Delanty and her husband Caleb Brown have graduated (May 2005) from the U. of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. In between caring for their son Darius, born June 2, 2004, both Marcia and Caleb will be taking the Bar exam in July. Stephen Merz was recently promoted to VP, Administration at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Stephen's responsibilities include management of most non-clinical operational areas of the hospital, as well as its psychiatric hospital.

Lori Attanasio Woodring writes that she and husband Patrick '90 were blessed with twin girls on December 12, 2004. Isabella Maria and Tessa Jolee should be graduating from Cornell in 2025. Dave Koch and his wife Sara are living in New Canaan, CT, with 2-1/2-year-old son Griffin and 9-month-old daughter Payton. Therese Duane and Jeffrey Tessier welcomed son Xavier Duane-Tessier on July 1, 2004. Xavier joins brother Luke John, born October 21, 2004. Stephen Shimony reports that he and his wife Stacy welcomed their first child, Rebecca Morgan, on September 13, 2004.

Richard Levy is working as a research analyst for the National Multi-Housing Council in Washington, DC. In addition to his job, Richard participates in frequent piano recitals.He recently attended the wedding of his freshman-year roommate Marc Bloomstein. Ted Mason and his wife Holly have a 2-year-old daughter Sophia. Ted is practicing otology and neurotology in Springfield, MA, where he is the only specialist of his kind. Ted started a cochlear implant program at Baystate Medical Center, bringing hearing to deaf children and adults.

Lia Belanger Book, DVM '95, and husband Glen, DVM '95, have finished a two-year renovation of their 100-year-old farmhouse. They have sheep, peafowl, a donkey, dogs, and cats. In addition to their farm animals, the Books also have two children,Miles, born November 3, 2000, and Avery, born February 16, 2004. Christine Montenegro-Okezie writes that she married Tobenna Okezie (a Princeton alum--egad!) in September 2001 in NYC. They have one son, Chinwe Tristan Okezie, born July 9, 2003.

Cristina Moeder Shaul and husband Matt moved to Charlotte, NC, in April, where she promptly joined the Cornell Alumni Association. The Shauls have a 2-year-old son James. Cristina writes, "The weather is great and the flowering trees are gorgeous, but I still miss my friends back in Connecticut." Jean Signorelli Spiegel has been working for Kohl's department store for nearly seven years. Jean, husband Bruce, and their 3-year-old daughter Lauren recently relocated from Maryland to Albany and are looking forward to exploring the Capital District and surrounding areas and getting to Ithaca and Cayuga Lake this summer. Michael Maltenfort reports his wedding last September to John Glover. Michael is teaching math at one of the City Colleges of Chicago and developing his skills as a square dance caller "as a sideline."

And last but certainly not least, I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Evan Kanew and Joanna Cohen in New York City on June 18, 2005. Evan's wedding brought together friends not only from Cornell, but also from summer camp, elementary school, and high school--a true testament to the kind of friend Evan is. It was a wonderful occasion and we wish him the best of happiness in his marriage. Oh, and I left a small crumbled piece of paper behind the third tile to the left in the main room that reads, "EK was here in 2005." I'm hoping Evan will go back and retrieve it around 2030.

Congratulations to all the newlyweds, newly-hireds, new parents, and parents for the second, third, and fourth times. Hope you had a good summer! *Nina Rosen Peek, nsr5@cornell.edu; Dave Smith, docds30@yahoo.com; and Corinne Kuchling, kuccori@hotmail.com.