Notables:

Monica Echeverri Casarez ’08, a Henry Ford College surgical technologist instructor, died April 12, 2019, from complications due to COVID-19. She was 49. As a certified surgical technologist, Casarez worked for Southwest Solutions, a social services agency in southwest Detroit. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, she returned to the Detroit Medical Center to offer assistance and medical expertise in one of the pandemic hot zones. She soon fell ill due to the virus and passed away a week later. According to Henry Ford, Casarez was a business coach and consultant who founded her own company, Blue Order, LLC. She also used her bilingual skills to work as a Spanish interpreter, primarily in the healthcare field. She also recently co-founded Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week, which was launched during Hispanic Heritage Month with a team of volunteers to celebrate the diversity of Latin American cuisine found in Detroit.

SHU Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Physics Dr. Anthony Scioly passed away July 11, 2020, at his home in Ann Arbor after a battle with leukemia. He taught at Siena Heights University for more than 30 years, teaching chemistry and physics, as well as occasionally teaching classical Greek and Latin. Scioly was a department chair for many years, and served as the longest standing chair of the Academic Standards Committee. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award in 1999, retiring in 2016. According to his wife, Claudia, “You cannot believe how many faculty and students reached out since he got sick and then went into hospice care. He was so gratified to have them write, and see the scope of the impact he had on so many.” The University will plan a time for his former students and colleagues to remember his presence to the Siena community.

Former SHU faculty member Kent Sheets (1978-81) passed away March 14, 2020, at the University of Michigan Medical Center. He had worked at the U-M’s medical school for approximately 30 years. He was the first voice of SHU basketball as its public address announcer, and was known as “Captain Video” for his work with the radio/TV program at Siena.

From The Sites:

Battle Creek

2017
Bryan Morrison was named the warden at the Lakeland Correctional Center in Coldwater, Mich., in March 2020. Morrison also serves on the Branch Area Career Center Criminal Justice Advisory Board

Benton Harbor

2001
Cathy Yates was named the supervisor of Benton Township (Mich.) in December 2019.

Lansing

2018
Jason Melot, who passed away in December 2018, had the Jesse Melot Memorial Scholarship established in his honor. Melot spent five years at the Lansing office of Ele’s Place, a nonprofit that offers support to grieving children, teens, young adults and their families from four locations in Michigan. He worked as an intern to the office’s volunteer coordinator and then became a volunteer facilitator of weekly grief support groups for elementary-age children. The first two scholarship recipients each received $5,000 toward continuing their education in July 2020.

Monroe

2014
Ryan Rafko MA was named as the new director of Admissions and Guidance Services at Monroe County Community College in September 2019. He previously served as the associate director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

2011
Derek Kaczor and co-partner Casey Beinlinch opened Adjusted Health Chiropractic in October 2019. The Monroe, Mich., practice promotes family wellness. In addition to traditional chiropractic care, the practice also offers education on corrective exercises and nutritional counseling. It also offers massage therapy.

Online

2010
Danny Hagen was appointed to the Michigan Suicide Prevention Commission by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in April 2029. Hagen is currently the chief of the Hamtramck Fire Department. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Great Lakes Division, and the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs. His term on the commission will run through April 2, 2024.

Southfield

1988
Francine Parker retired in December 2020 as the UAW trust’s founding executive director. She was named one of Crain’s Detroit Business’ “Newsmakers of the Year” for 2019 after spending the past decade creating a model for retiree care and a solid foundation for the trust, growing its assets by $7 billion to $56.7 billion by the end of 2018 and returning the plans to solvency. She previously served as the CEO of the Health Alliance Plan and is currently a member of the SHU Board of Trustees.

2008
Keambra Pierson was named the new Associate Dean of the Henry Ford College School of Business, Entrepreneurship, & Professional Development.

2010
Shawn Armstrong ’13 MA was named the executive director of the Central YMCA of Youngstown, Ohio, in February 2020. Armstrong previously was the regional administrator of the University of North Carolina Physicians Network, overseeing seven primary care and specialty physician practices in the western region of the Research Triangle. He was a radiologic technologist at Beaumont Hospital for six years before being promoted to supervisor of radiology. He was recruited by Detroit Medical Center, where he was manager of radiology. In 2016 he relocated to Raleigh, N.C., where he was manager of imaging services for WakeMed North Campus, then had the same position at WakeMed Cary Hospital in Cary, N.C. In 2018, he was named regional administrator of UNC Physicians Network.

2013
Renita May is authorized to offer AARP-branded life insurance to AARP members. She is from the Montgomery General Office of New York Life. She is a Licensed Insurance Agent and passed courses specific to AARP. She is also certified to offer employee benefits to companies and small business owners. She is a member of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church where she serves on the usher board. She resides in Fitzpatrick, Ala.

Johnny Menefee was appointed as president of the Southeastern Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs in July 2020. He is currently the chief of the Southfield Fire Department.

Main Campus

1975
Shirley Van Benschoten and her husband, Bryan, received lifetime memberships at an awards banquet by the Adrian Center for the Arts in August 2019. The couple was part of the original group of artists that founded the nonprofit Lenawee Council for the Visual Arts. Shirley is a painter who works in oil and acrylics. She continued working at galleries and submitting art to shows while working at the Tecumseh Post Office until retiring 10 years ago and devoting herself full-time to art.

1978
Terry Reynolds MA was named the president of the Florida State League on Jan. 1, 2020. Reynolds most recently served as special assistant to the general manager for the Cincinnati Reds since 2016, has spent 42 years in various capacities in the professional baseball ranks. He spent 25 years in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. As general manager of the Florida State League’s Vero Beach Dodgers, Reynolds was named the league’s Executive of the Year in 1980, 1983 and 1985. He was named The Sporting News’ Minor League Executive of the Year in 1983 and the Florida Diamond Club Executive of the Year in 1986. In 2004, Reynolds joined the Cincinnati Reds organization as director of amateur scouting, a post he held for three years before being named senior director of player development. Following the 2010 season, he was named Cincinnati’s senior director of professional and global scouting and in 2016 was named special assistant to the general manager, player development. He was inducted into the Florida State League Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation Hall of Fame in 2011.

1984
Jacob Chi was inducted into the Pueblo (Colo.) Hall of Fame for his contributions to the community in February 2020. He currently directs the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra.

1991
Scott Dienes of Barnes & Thornburg LLP was elected vice chair of the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School’s Board of Directors in June 2020. Dienes has been a member of WMU-Cooley’s board since 2009. At Barnes & Thornburg, he is counsel to municipalities, downtown development authorities, police and fire departments and school districts. He serves both governmental units and private developers on complex development and litigation issues. In addition to serving on WMU-Cooley’s Board, Dienes serves on the board of the Lake Michigan College Foundation and is a former member of the Siena Heights Board of Trustees.

1992
Wendy Knox was named the director of human resources for Provincial House in Adrian. Provincial House is an assisted-living facility operated by ProMedica. She spent 14 years as the director of business operations and human resources of Hospice of Lenawee.

1996
Michelle Zimmerman Simmons is employed as a quality investigative analyst for Dart Container Corp. She resides in Mason, Mich.

1999
Heather Brown was named retail district manager of First Federal Bank’s west district in June 2020. The district includes 13 community bank branches across northeastern Indiana and western Ohio. Brown has more than 20 years of industry experience with expertise in retail banking, private banking and commercial credit analysis. In her new role, Brown will lead her branch teams and market efforts to meet and exceed sales and new customer acquisition goals for all customer segments. These segments include branch operations and sales, consumer and small business lending; as well as excellent customer service, community involvement and employee development.

John Jackson MA released his first book “From Mail to Mountain” in June 2020. The book tells the story of his father in World War II. More information on the book is available at mailtomountain.com. Jackson previously taught business classes as an adjunct at SHU and served as Program Manager for the PSA program while transitioning it to an online offering.

2002
University of Michigan-Flint chemistry professor Nicholas Kingsley was featured in Chemical and Engineering News in January 2020 for his systems thinking approach to the Flint water crisis.

2004
Lisa Moore Owen completed her 16th year of teaching high school English for Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, N.C. She teaches at a large, diverse comprehensive high school and lead a team of five other educators. Mecklenburg’s 10th grade team was recently named as the top high school in the district in terms of student academic growth.

2005
Jim Walrod opened his new business, Front Door Marketing, in January 2020 after a 14-year career at The Image Group. Front Door, located in downtown Toledo, Ohio, is a full-service promotional company. Walrod is well-known for his work with EPIC Toledo. EPIC was founded as a networking organization for young professionals. He has also served on the boards of Leadership Toledo, The United Way of Greater Toledo, Junior Achievement and the TRCC. H is also the incoming board president of the Toledo Clinic Foundation.

2006
Jason Owens was named an assistant men’s basketball coach at Missouri State University-West Plains in June 2020. Owens previously was an assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State University and an assistant coach at Pittsburg State University in Kansas for two seasons.

2009
Andrew Dunn was profiled as a “Rising Star” by Thrive Global for his impact on society in the theater industry. After completing his MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School in 2012, he recently designed sets for Displeyst at Under St. Marks and Beyond the Etchings at the Washington D.C. and New York City Vietnam veterans memorials. He also co-hosts The Media Lunch Break podcast and is an actor based in NYC. Here is his complete story.

2014
Mike Lollo was named the Facilities Manager of the University of Michigan Stadium “The Big House” in February 2020.

2015
Lynn Hendricks joined the Maximum Performance physical therapy in May 2020. After completing her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Dayton in 2018, she completed a sports medicine residency with the University of Michigan MedSport, specializing in treating athletes. She also has completed her level one CrossFit certification and has an interest in treating women’s health and post-operative abdominal surgery patients.

2015
Kyle Johnson was named the varsity baseball coach at Adrian High School in October 2019. He also is a teacher at AHS.

2016
Gage Snyder was promoted to Business Analyst for Salesforce and Talend Cloud Applications by Masco Cabinetry. In this role, he is working closely with stakeholders and will be responsible for bridging the gap between IT and the business, determining requirements and delivering reliable systems and resourceful solutions. Before joining the Salesforce team, Gage was a part of CSD as a Technical Specialist.

2017
Kaleb Baublitz ’20 MBA was hired as a strategic account representative at EG Workforce Solutions in July 2020. He will be in the Managed Service Division.

2019
Lindsay Jasinski has been working on St. Catherine’s Island in Georgia as part of the free range lemur colony program. Her story is compelling and I think we should consider telling it in an upcoming issue of Reflections and/or highlight her accomplishments on our web page. Here is a link to the lemur program.

Deaths—Alumni

Sister Susan Mary Parker, OP
Sister Carol Louise Hiller, OP ’43
Sister Thomas Josephine Lawler, OP ’44
Sister Madonna Marie Black, OP ’52
Sister Barbara Gass, OP ’54
Sister Ruth Rabideau, OP ’54
Sister Mary Schmagner, OP ’54
Sister Margaret Mehigan, OP ’55
Sister Agnes Peplinski, OP ’58
Sister Theresia Scheuer, OP ’58
Sister Lila Watt, OP ’58
Sister Elizabeth Gibbons, OP ’59
Sister Barbara Ann Hehr, OP ’59
Sister Carolyn Nelson, OP ’59
Sister Margaret Ann Roggenbuck, OP ’59, ’65 MA
Sister Laura Marie Smith, OP ’59
Rochelle Bellegarde Weaver ’59
Sister Robert Irene Buchanan, OP ’61
Sister Pauline Richter, OP ’61
Sister Patricia Brady, OP ’63
Sister Denise Devitt, OP ’64
Sister Noreen Allgeyer, OP ’69
Sister Imelda Marie Eckhoff, OP ’69
Esther Wiebeck Fretwell ’70
Eleanor Simonson Eckhardt ’74
Robert McLeod ’82
Judy Rink Buckenmyer ’84
Sally Schwerha ’88 (Benton Harbor)
Sister Martha Herkness, OSF ’94

Deaths—Friends

Sister Dolores Enderle—former faculty member, 1977-83
Bob Parker—former SHU Registrar