[ Up ] [ Bio book ] [ Photo book ]

Class of 1973 - 20 year reunion

These bios were in the book distributed at the 20 year reunion in 1993.

PATRICE (ABARE) VOGEL taught dance (ballets tap & jazz) for 14 years and also worked in the magazine and jewelry industries before working in her current capacity as a supervisor at the Sacramento County Coroner. Patrice is married to Randy and has 2 stepchildren.

MARILYN (ABLES) TWOMLEY and husband, Jim, have 5 children, Lori,22, Michelle, 20, Ronda,18, David, 12, and John,10. When Marilyn and Jim, a Navy Chaplain, were first married they lived in Belgium for 3 years and while there had the opportunity to tour Europe, visiting 11 countries. Before having children, Marilyn worked as a legal and executive secretary. They had one son, adopted three daughters and had another son. Marilyn currently lives in Manteca and works part time as the administrator of a food bank. She enjoys traveling and being involved in her kid's school and sports activities.

PAMELA (ALLEN) CONNER lives with her husband, Steve, and sons Taylor, 4, in Chicago, IL. Pam says, "I've had the opportunity to move around, see the country, and make many wonderful friends. Since our last reunion I've moved from Chicago to New Jersey and back to Chicago. The greatest accomplishment, challenge, and the most fun in the last 20 years has been our son, Taylor, who turned 4 in July." Pam currently works for AT&T and says, "I'm in the really reputable part of the business now--selling 900 numbers!"

JENNIFER (BAILEY) KIMSEY and husband, Bill, live in the Sacramento area and have been married for 14 years. They have two children, Brian and Lisa. Jennifer works at her kid's schools and is also involved in their many sports activities. She also operates a craft business out of her home and in her "spare" time she is a piano teacher.

ANNE (BENBOW) POLLI attended UC Davis after graduation. She has been married to Steve for 14 years and has a daughter, Ryan, 13. They live on a ranch in Wilton, CA where Anne raises Thoroughbred horses and for several months every year travels throughout Northern California as a horse show judge and announcer. She's also involved with her daughter's school and 4-H activities.

KIM (BENEDETTI) BURNAP currently lives in Corvallis 0R with her husband, Ed, and two children, 10 & 6. Kim graduated from Humboldt State University in 1978, she moved to the next day and got a job with CH&M Hill the nest week; where she's been working for the last 15 years as a technical writer. She volunteers with the Boy Scouts, Midget Baseball, T-ball, and at her children's school. She also plays softball and volleyball.

MICHAEL M. BIELAWSKI works as a file clerk and does a lot of camping, fishing and cross country skiing. He recently went on a cruise and enjoys winter league bowling.

BRENT BOMBOLA and wife, Marcie, currently live in Rocklin, CA. Brent completed college with a degree in Forensic Science and works for the California Highway Patrol at the North Sacramento CHP office. Brent say, "all is well!"

MICHAEL L. BROWN and wife, Vicky, have two daughters, Devon, 7, and Chelsea, 5. Mike received a BA in 1977, an MS in 1986 and an MS in 1992. Currently a Captain, Mike is a 16 year veteran of the California Highway Patrol. Mike and Vicky have been married for 17 years and Mike says " After 16 moves in 17 years, up and down and up and down and up California, we are now living in E1k Grove."

CHRIS (BROWNING) SMITH is married to fellow '73 classmate KIRK SMITH. They have two children and Chris lists her occupation as "domestic engineer; Ace of all Trades." Chris says, "At home-work has got to be the toughest job thus far; however, it does have it's advantages. When I'm not shuffling our children from one end of town to the other, I manage to fit in a workout, a game of golf or, perhaps, a game of tennis..of course, it does have to be squeezed in between the hours of demand! Life is good!"

PAT BUCKNER and wife, Nancy, have two children, Andrea, 9, and David, 7 1/2. Pat is a systems engineer and says, "I met Nancy in college and married her two years later. We've been married for 15 years and have two great kids. I coach soccer and the kids and I enjoy fishing."

DEBBIE (BURRUSS) WILLIAMS and her husband, Michael, have two daughters, Jennifer, 8 1/2 and Sarah, 6 1/2. Debbie has lived in the Reno area for the past 14 years and has been a Deputy Sheriff for the Washoe County Sheriff's Dept. for over 5 years. Michael is also a Deputy Sheriff.

DEBBIE (HERMAN) SHAPIRO and husbands Tad, have two children, Amy 10, and Barry, 7. After graduating from Encina, Debbie attended UCLA where she met her husband. Upon graduation from college, she moved to the Bay Area while her husband attended graduate school. They have lived in Santa Rosa for the past 10 years and love it!

DAWN JAMES says she is a "popular motivational speaker on health and fitness, recently awarded the 1993 International Fitness Director of the Year. Over 12 years exciting experience of educating and motivating people to commit to a lifelong fitness program; i.e. get off your butt before it goes to your gut. Registered dietician; certified health fitness director, Masters Degree; work: for Wenmat Sports and Fitness where I am the general manager and health fitness director-I have created, developed, and provided all their fitness programming."

JOE JEFFREY and wife, Debbie, have three children. Joe is a salesman.

KATHLEEN KAY (KETCHERSIDE) ARCEO has three children, Sarah, 8, Kaitlynn, 7, and Kellen, 5. She is a part-time student at ARC and says, I have been married for 14 years. My husband, Glenn, and I manage our own telecommunications company and have worked together for 11 years. We live in my old neighborhood. I take pride in my family and friends. We enjoy camping, music, gardening, & our yellow lab, Mollie. I have come in contact with more of my high school classmates this past year at my children's elementary school than I have in the last 19 years since graduation."

HARLAN LAU and wife, Joyce, have one son, Nicholas, 2. Harlan earned a BS & MS in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, then worked for IBM for two years, then startup companies Elxsi, MIPS and Rambus. Harlan and Joyce were married in 1988. He enjoys tennis, golf (prior to Nicholas), reading and hacking on his personal computer.

COLLEEN (LOGAN) SICKELS and husband, Larry, have 4 children. Colleen is still married to the man she dated in her senior year. She home schools her children and is also a Sunday School teacher at their church. She is a homemaker and a hairdresser and says, "every year gets better than the last."

ELLIOTT MANDELL is an Administrator and a Budget-Policy Analyst. He says, "During the last twenty years, I achieved the goal of becoming a modern renaissance man--average at a great number of things."

SCOTT MATHEWS is a record producer. He and wife, Kolleen, have a son, Wilson, 3 months. Scott says, "20 years? This can't be real! Well, it keeps getting better, I can say that in a big way. I have the mighty love of my dear wife, Kolleen, (Rio, class of '82) and beautiful son, Wilson. We live in Mill Valley overlooking the San Francisco Bay with our dog, cat, and pig, (Elvis). I've been lucky to write songs and make records with some of my heroes (Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Van Morrison, The Beach Boys, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger) But more than that I've been blessed to work in a field that I truly love. Albeit left field. Wish you were here, Ollie."

MICHELLE (MAUVAIS) STEVENSON lives in Elk Grove, CR with husband, Douglass, and 3 children: Amber, 14, Justin, 11, and Jordan, 7. She says in her "past life" she was a career woman as an escrow officer for 10 years. In 1986 she quit her job and became a birth educator, women's advocate, labor assistant and "fanatic" home birth supporter. She is currently in school to become a certified nurse midwife. She has been married for 15 years.

TIM MCCARTHY and wife, Jill, have 2 children. Tim says, "Since graduation, I attended CSUS and graduated from CSU Fresno's Physical Therapy program. I returned to the Sacramento area and have practiced here since 1978. Between work, children's school & youth sports our family's time is always occupied."

BOB NANNINI and wife Debbie have 4 children. Bob is a program analyst. He says that apart from wondering what "cocktail attire" for the reunion is, and searching for an ultimate cure for "follicle sparsity", he has been living and loving life with his wife and family.

JULIA NICKLES is an investment banker in New York:. She says, "I've enjoyed living and working in Washington D.C., New York, and London."

SUSAN (NICOL) THIBODEAUX and husband, Dave, have one child, Taylor Jean, 3 1/2. Sue is a finance manager. She received her B.S. from Stanford in 1977, and her M.B.A. from UCLA in 1983. She has been employed by Hughes Aircraft Company from 1983. to the present, first in LA, now in Arizona since 1985.

PHIL OLIVAS is married to Nancy and has 2 children. He is a lineman and says he has done line construction from Lake Tahoe to Monterey. He likes to spend his spare time riding snow machines, motorcyles or boating.

CHARLENE (0RR) CARROLL and husband, Bruce, have been married for 17 years. They have two children, Steve, 14, and Michaelw 11. Charlene says, "The last 20 years have been great! I was a secretary for 5 years then a full time mom for the next 14. I just recently started working at our business, "Wheels West-A Car Company" full time."

CLAUDIA (PERRY) SMITH and her husband, John are both missionaries currently residing in Caracas, Venezuela. They have been married for 14 years and have no children. Claudia's mother writes, "Claudia and John are enjoying their assignment as missionaries of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, otherwise known as Jehovah's Witnesses."

KIM (PERRY) RYTHER is married to Keith. She has two biological and two step-children. Kim attended Chico State and holds a cosmetology license in both California and Hawaii. She is a political activist and founder of Chico Area National Organization for Women. She owns and operates "Ceramics by Kim", specializing in fine craft ceramics. Her two children are Kate, 10, and Sam, 3.

DENNIS PLESSAS is chief officer for the American River Fire District. Under "married?", Dennis writes, not yet! He is living in Fair Oaks and describes himself as a borderline workaholic. He says he enjoys cycling, raquetball, and running in his off time. His other hobbies are music, photography and traveling.

SALLY (REID) CLAUSEN and husband, Curt, have 3 children. Sally says, "I've changed! I'm not the girl you used to know! I went to school in San Luis Obispo, got a degree in Early Childhood Education, taught Preschool, moved to British Columbia. Fell in love, got married, moved to Seattle, WA, bought a house, had three kids and that's where I am today."

SUE (RHODES) UPTON and husband, Ben, live in Elk Grove, CA. They have an 18 year old son who graduated in '93 from Christian Brothers and will be attending college this fall. Sue has been working in the title insurance business for the past 19 years and is currently a subdivision consultant. She has been very active in the Elk Grove community; has been on the Board of Directors for the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce, Western Festival Committee and the Escrow Association. Not only does she have a son off to college, but she is stepmother to three of her husband's children, and grandmother to 10 of his grandchildren. She says,"I enjoy camping, fishing, gardening, reading and painting. I have been truly enjoying my life."

JOHN RITTENHOUSE and wife, Marianne were married in May of 1992. John has one stepson. He is an engineer and has worked for Intel Corp. for the last 14 years in both Arizona and California.

MARILOU (SALASKY) GOLDMAN and husband, Benjamin, live in Tel Aviv, Israel with their two daughters, ages 9 and 11. Marilou teaches school and her husband is with the Ministry of Defense.

KATHY SCHROEDER works in real estate.

JULIANNE (SCOTT) BELL and husband, Allen have 6 children, all boys! Julianne says, "I'm married to a respiratory therapist. I was lucky to be able to stay home as a homemaker for 16 years until my youngest was in school full time. Now I enjoy working in the English department at Shasta High School teaching non-Enqlish speaking newcomers."

LAURINDA LEE (SHELLY) LEAVER has been married to William for 19 years. They have 4 boys, ages 6 to 17 and live in Oakes, North Dakota. William is currently the owner of a computer software/programming firm. Laurinda returned to school in 1990 to get her LPN (nursing) license. She is now a full time mom and teaches her children at home. They spend a lot of time as a family teaching the Bible as Jehovah's Witnesses.

JOHN SKAGGS is an elementary school teacher.

RETT SMART and wife, Theresa have two children, Jenna, 7, and Katie, 5. Rett is a reinsurance intermediary and is the Professional Disc Golf Association Regional Coordinator for the West Coast.

KEN SMITH and wife, Lin have two children, Kendra, 14, and Adam, 10. Ken is a sheriff's sergeant and says, "we live at a lake in the mountains of Yuba County. Come by and visit."

KIRK SMITH is married to fellow '73 graduate, Chris Browning. They have two children, Lindsay, 12, and Brian, 9. Kirk graduated from CSUS with a major in Business Administration. He has worked in the shopping center development industry for 15 years and is currently specializing in developing major shopping centers as a partner with the Riley/Perlman Company. Kirk and Chris have been married for 14 years and he says, "We water ski, golf, snow ski, and play tennis as a happy aerobic family."

RICK STALKER is divorced and living in the LA area. He is self-employed, a manufacturer's representative in sporting goods. After college he remained in the sporting goods business and moved to the Reno/Lake Tahoe area where he was general manager of Ski Stalker. They sold the business in 1988 but he remains in the business in his current position. Rick also does contributing work for Snow Country magazine which is owned by the New York Times.

DEBORAH (STRADER) HALLIGAN and husband David, have 4 children; Joshua, 10, Joseph, 8 1/2, Jennifer, 7, and Julia, 5 1/2. Deborah says, "After obtaining a BS in Nursing at Seattle Pacific University, I worked one year in Seattle before returning to Sacramento. I then worked 4 years at Mercy General before marrying David and moving to Stockton in May of '82. Three years later we returned to Sacramento. I home school our 4 children, we are members of Immanuel Baptist Church. I keep plenty busy as a home manager! What greater profession could any woman have than the nurturing and guidance of her own children-the future citizens of this country."

ERIC SUDHOFF and wife, Barbara Hughes, are currently living in San Luis Obispo. Eric moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1975 where he lived for 9 years. He met his wife there in 1983 and they moved to Sacramento soon after so they could both return to school. They were married in 1989. They transferred to Cal Poly where Eric got his degree in Mechanical Engineering at age 37. Barbara is still working on her degree in Landscape Architecture.

NIKKI (TANKO) GUERLAND and husband, Mark, have one 2 year old. Nikki says, "I sailed to Hawaii in 1978, and have been living in "paradise" ever since."

SYDNIE (TARRO) ORFANOS and husbands Jonathan, live in the Sacramento area and own a florist shop and a photo studio. Sydnie has a daughter, Kristin, 16.

KAREN (TEAKLE) LEMIEUX and husband, Don, have been married for 20 years and have 2 daughters. Karen is a dental hygienist and says, " It seems like we just graduated."

LONI (WHALEN) MELLERUP and husband, Dill, have one daughter, 6. Loni is the principal of Grand Oaks Elementary School in the San Juan Unified District.

DAWN WIZNER says "I'd like to be known as a person who cares for others. I'm still outgoing! I've gone to college, worked as a manager for a clothing store. Now, I'm doing sales reception work for my aunt's company."

KAREN (YODER) ENSLEY and husband, Charles have two boys. Karen is a dental hygienist and says "I am alive and well and living in the Pacific Northwest."