ClassNotes: 1970-1979
Rose E. Frazier (Marshall; Coburn) (ABED ’73, CERTT EDUC ’73, AM ’74) was a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools for 28 years. She served on the Detroit Federation of Teachers Executive Board from 1984-1994. She also served on the Detroit Public Schools Policy Board/Professional Growth
and Development.
Sister Mary Thill (Sister Robert Francis Thill) (AM ’74) - Sister Mary Thill received the 2006 Public Citizen of the Year award from the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers for her tireless work for over 30 years to raise public awareness of the needs of older adults. She is currently the patient liaison for the Mature Health Connections Program at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, OH.
Sam Muller (AM ’71) - Sam is a retired Michigan public school teacher who earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan in early 1971. On June 9, 2007, he was one of the finalists in a local poetry contest held in Ortonville, MI in Oakland County in Southeast Michigan. The contest was part of a celebration called the CreekFest. It is an event that calls attention to the importance of a local stream called Kearsley Creek. Sam’s poem took third place in the competition. He received a certificate of recognition and $50 for that third place finish. The poem, “Kearsley Creek 2007,” traces the water’s flow from Oakland County to its end in Lake Huron. It concludes with this reflection on life:
As I become Lake Huron,
I learn a great truth from my journey:
There are no endings really –
only changes and new beginnings –
And they all are truly wonderful!
Martha H. Fales (CERTD DENT ’35, ABED ’43, CERTT EDUC ’43, AM ’68, PhD ’75) - Martha is enjoying retirement and playing with great-grandkids. She says, “I never had a chance to spend time with my grandkids – now I can learn what I missed!”
Dr. Nancy Craik Beights (BS ’72, CERTT EDUC ’72) - After 31½ years of teaching. Nancy is now the coordinator for math and computer science (pre K-12) for Collier County Public Schools in Naples, Florida.
Darryl B. Goncharoff (MS 1977) recently retired from Walled Lake (MI) schools. He was an educator in Walled Lake and Dearborn Heights for 31 years and now teaches part time as an English instructor at Schoolcraft Community College in Livonia (MI).
Nancy Craik Beights (BS 1972) After teaching mathematics for over 31 and a half years, Beights has now been chosen as the District Mathematics and Computer Science Coordinator for Collier County Public Schools in Naples, FL.
Bobbee Valleau-Pennington (BA Education 1978) graduated from the MLS program in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas in December 2004. She is now working in the youth services program of the Bryan Public Library in Bryan, Texas, as a storyteller and reference librarian.
Richard L. Steinhart (ABED 1973) has recorded and released a CD titled, “Elvis Has Left the Building,” with his band, The Bunker Boys, on Bight Me Records, LLC. More than 150 radio stations all over the world have played songs from the CD. You can learn about Richard’s “Elvis encounter of the third kind” on his website: www.elvishasleftthebuilding.biz. Sample songs and order forms for the CD are available at www.thebunkerboys.biz .
