Barb Brown Dalton
21 Black Bear Drive
Veazie, ME 04401-6929
(207) 947-4827
Facebook: University of Maine Class of 1981 and
facebook.com/groups/UMaineClass1981/
Say what you want about social media, but I love it! When used properly, it does great things and sure is helping to keep our class connected. When the mailbag was empty and I found myself with only two clippings to use for this column, Facebook rewarded me with a great response to my plea! If you’re not on board yet, please consider it. You need not report your every move like some do, and you do have the power to limit who sees what and with whom you want to connect. Let’s beef up those numbers before the next issue!
First of all, a shout out to Lisa Pelkey Marchese on her appointment to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees. Lisa has had a high profile job in recent years as chief of the criminal division at the Maine Attorney General’s Office. And Dr. Nick Vachon’s Ellsworth podiatry practice has joined Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. Nick has been in private practice since 1988 and will continue to care for patients at all three of Hancock County’s hospitals. He is board certified in foot surgery and his specialties include surgical repair and reconstruction of numerous foot deformities and chronic management of the diabetic foot. He also treats sports-related injuries. Nick is married to the former Dottie Foster ’80 and they have three children.
And now for the Facebook updates—Martha Wellman lives in Middlebury, VT, and is a computer tape librarian at Pomeroy. Deb Kupa is an attorney and lives in North Kingstown, RI. Betsy Harling is also an attorney (love that we produced so many female lawyers!) and makes Hingham, MA, her home. She has two sons and loves spending time in Maine at their Jefferson lake house. She enjoys running marathons, racing in rowing shells, and scuba diving for scallops and lobsters. Karen Lindsay Dunn lives in Falmouth and works as a special ed teacher at the elementary level. All three of her sons have gone to UMaine; two have graduated and one will be a sophomore. She enjoys connecting with other alums in the Portland area regularly.
Rosemarie Marinelli Quirk is enjoying her retirement from her career as a biochemist working for a pharmaceutical company. She lives in Richland, WA, where she is now a ceramic artist and organizes art gallery exhibits in her spare time. Elaine Regina Shute is a field rep for the Census Bureau, but says her real love is the radio program she hosts three Mondays a month on Community Radio WERU-FM in Blue Hill, ME—indie rock, vintage rock, soul, and whatever! Charlotte Bailey is an RN in the quality department at Maine Medical Center and lives in South Portland. She has two children—a son in journalism and daughter in grad school. Sue Sawyer Smith is a senior adjuster for Cross Insurance, TPA, and lives in Sidney. She’s married to Tim Smith ’80 and they have a daughter who is a senior at UMFK.
Richard Silver has his own accounting practice in Westbrook. He’s married with two children; his son is a UMaine grad and his daughter attends UNE. He also reported that Alan Nexon passed away unexpectedly in June in Windham. He had worked for TD Bank in Lewiston. Michael Crowley has some exciting news! He’s retired after 20 years with Eastern Maine Health System as president and chief philanthropy officer of the EMHS Foundation and has returned to his hometown of Millinocket as the executive director of Our Katahdin, a non-profit group focused on regional economic development. They recently purchased the former Great Northern Paper Co. site in Millinocket for redevelopment purposes. Something tells me he’s the right guy for the job!
I’m having fun watching Kathy Trenholm and Rudy Shorette build their retirement home on Chemo Pond just outside Bangor via Facebook! Glad to have them back in this neck of the woods. Kathy was a veterinarian with her own practice in Ayer, MA, and Rudy was a dentist and partner at Franklin Dental Associates. And finally, Lee Blumenstock LeRoy and husband, Bill ‘80, just celebrated 35 years of marriage. They both are health teachers, he at Portland High and she at Windham Middle School. They have two grown children and live in Portland, where they enjoy keeping in touch with Pi Beta Phi and TKE friends and swimming and football alums.
So how about that for some juicy news from Facebook! Of course, you don’t have to wait for a magazine to be printed to share YOUR news. Just get on our page and post away!