T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F P O R T L A N D M A G A Z I N E S P R I N G 2 0 1 2

STUNNING &LOVELYWhen I was a child, many years ago, at a parish named for a saintfamous for hearing confessions eighteen hours at a pop, my lifewas graced by Dominican nuns, some of whom had ropy forearmslike stevedores, and by Franciscan monks, all of whom seemedto have knotted feet made from tree roots, and once by a Jesuit,who looked so forbiddingly intelligent that we schoolchildren scat-tered like sparrows when he passed silently through the school-yard, because rumor had it that Jesuits had laser eyes and couldkill sparrows by staring at them hard, but most of us thought thiswas silly, although all of us flittered away from the Jesuit rightquick, I noticed.Thus I was introduced, when young, to the different flavors of

Catholic charism — the Order of Preachers in their brilliant whites,the Order of Friars Minor in their quiet browns, and the brainyblackrobed intensity of the Society of Jesus, not to mention thesteady priests of the Archdiocese of New York, who generallydressed like dentists on golf outings when they weren’t in uniform.The religious orders, it seemed to us boys, were not unlike themilitary, with Regular Army personnel carrying most of the dailyduty and specialists coming in for specific tasks — the Franciscans

to conduct retreats, the Jesuit for astrophysicsseminars or other such incomprehensible rites,the burly Dominican sisters to haul our falter-ing mental machinery into the shop for heroicrenovation and repair. Not until I got to college,where I encountered the cheerful men of theCongregation of Holy Cross and their nuttyinsistence that I could learn as much or moreoutside the classroom than in, and to middleage, when I became absorbed by the Sisters ofthe Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and theirnutty insistence that missionary work was ascrucial Here as There, did I begin to pay closeattention to the infinitesimal but riveting dis-tinctions among the Catholic orders.In a real sense the military model holds

water still, for it seems to me that the Catholicorders, like the various services, are agentsfinally of peace; and the Catholic orders are alladamant ambassadors of the same brave hopeand crazy conviction, that life defeats death,hope defeats despair, light defeats dark; they’re

all on the same team, as it were. Yet each comes at the mountainof problems along a slightly different path.Work is prayer, say theBenedictines, insisting that actions are more eloquent than words.Epiphany is everywhere available, say the Holy Cross men andwomen, and an education of the heart is as crucial as that of themind. In the beginning was the Word, say the Order of Preachers,and the Word is God, and we will speak the Word wide. We are allbrothers and sisters in the Love, say the Franciscans, who insiston living the gospel, not just analyzing it — if necessary use words,as their entertaining founder noted. Go thou to the most difficultand extreme fields, said Pope Paul VI to the Jesuits, and away theystill go, agents of love into the jungles of despair, examples to theirstudents of quiet courage changing the world. And there are asmany more examples as there are Catholic orders in higher educa-tion; but for all the thrashing about that we poor badgers in theirsales offices must do, trying to shout the differences among themso as to secure market share, I confess here that in our hearts weare thrilled that the differences are so tiny — shimmers of sunlight,really. Every color in the rainbow wears a different jacket, but thecolors together compose something stunning and lovely beyondwords, yes? n

BrianDoyle is the author most recently of Grace Notes, a collection of essays. PHOTO: STEPH

EN TRIMBLE

Cover: Ostrich fern unfolding,by the American photographerTim Lyons. There are so manymiracles. For more of Tim’swork see pbase.com.

16 / Prayers of the People, Fourth Sunday of Easter, by Gail WellsWhy do we go to church? Really, why?

18 / At Sea, by Julie H. CaseThe long and astounding road of Peter Chu ’91.

22 / A Home for BoysFor more than a century University of Portland folks have quietly helped out at a most

amazing brave hard prayer of an orphanage in Beaverton.

24 / The Rec, a special sectionWhat might it really be like in the University’s long-dreamed-of new recreation center?What wild joys and sweet music? What is heaven’s name does wellness actually mean?Will anyone actually miss Howard Hall? And other notes on a crucial Campaign target.

26 / By Bread Alone, by Nina RamseyFood and agony and love and food and despair and love: notes.

29 / Notre Dame de la Faim, by Ursula K. Le GuinAn extraordinary sacred place, a stone’s throw from The Bluff.

32 / Year One, photographs by Steve HambuchenThe University’s women’s rowing team, 2011-

4 / 3,600 miles from The Bluff: Air Force Captain Lindsey Kinnear ’06

5 / Student debt and the University’s Rise Campaign

6 / “Because I made her cry”: an essay by Fr. Pat Hannon, C.S.C., ’82

7 / The University’s two junkets to Ireland in 2012

8 / “Tough old birds”: Marla Salmon ’71 on thorny grace

10 / Do students still smoke cigarettes?

11 / Pilot sports fanaticism: a cheerful note

12 / On running through gardens: an essay by Louis Masson

13 / The lives behind the loans: Matt Elerding ’95

14 / Sports, starring the Pilot men’s crosscountryists

15 / University news and notes and fetes and feats

48 / Isaac Chol Achuil ’08 and the new nation of South Sudan

Spring 2012: Vol. 31, No. 1President: Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C.

Founding Editor: John SoissonEditor: Brian Doyle

Glorious Grumpy Tall Designers: Matt Erceg & Joseph Erceg ’55Indentured Editors: Marc Covert ’93 & Amy Shelly Harrington ’95

Fitfully Contributing Editors: Louis Masson, Sue Säfve, Terry Favero, Mary Beebe

Portland is published quarterly by the University of Portland. Copyright ©2012 by the Universityof Portland. All rights reserved. Editorial offices are located in Waldschmidt Hall, 5000 N. WillametteBoulevard, Portland, Oregon 97203-5798. Telephone (503) 943-7202, fax (503) 943-7178, e-mail address:bdoyle@up.edu, Web site: http://www.up.edu/portland. Third-class postage paid at Portland, OR 97203.Canada Post International Publications Mail Product—Sales Agreement No. 40037899. Canadian MailDistribution Information—Express Messenger International: PO Box 25058, London, Ontario, Canada N6C6A8. Printed in the USA. Opinions expressed in Portland are those of the individual authors and do not

necessarily reflect the views of the University administration. Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland,The University of Portland Magazine, 5000 N. Willamette Boulevard, Portland, OR 97203-5798.

THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND MAGAZINE

F E A T U R E S

O N T H E B L U F F

page 16

page 18

page 22

page 26

page 29

page 32

page 24

Spring 20121

L E T T E R S

Portland2

He finished speakingand there was a silence.Usually an outpouring ofsympathy is the typical re-sponse at this juncture, butI let him wait a moment,and then said that I wasdeeply honored to be in hispresence at a time whenGod was testing him.He was incredulous.

“What?”“This is nothing new,”

I said. “Name me one saintwho didn’t go through a liv-ing hell on earth. Theywere being tested. And Godis testing you.”He muttered that he

didn’t believe in God any-more, as if this would gethim off the hook, but I toldhim I had seen for myselfhow he affected his stu-dents, opening up theirminds and souls to God,and that his gift for teach-ing had to come fromsomewhere. He concurred,reluctantly; and a momentlater our meeting ended.Soon he was sent back toNotre Dame, and I neversaw him again. But I dis-covered from his friendsthat somehow I had gottento him, and that his percep-

tion of himself had beenchanged that morning; hewas no longer a drunkardbeyond help, and there wasa purpose to his life. Hewas desperately hungry forthat affirmation, I think;starving for a self beyondhis addiction.I graduated in 1966,

earned a master’s in socialwork in 1968, and devotedmy life to counseling be-cause of that one specialmorning. My talk withFather Leahy pointed meto my own life’s calling.That morning, I think, hegave me his greatest popquiz, his toughest finalexam; he stretched me farbeyond my own self-per-ception; and that is whyhe’s at the top of my list ofpeople who changed mylife. Thank you, Father. Tom DeJardin ’66Portland, Oregon

after his class had beencancelled yet again, I washaving coffee in the PilotHouse. Father Leahy camein, unsteady on his feet,looking terrible. I got himcoffee and breakfast andsat down to talk with him.He confessed he was alco-holic, had fallen off thewagon, and none of his AAbuddies or friends hadbeen able to get through tohim. His spiritual advisor,however, had told him thatthe only group he had notreached out to for help washis students; and he wasdoing so now, reaching outto me. It was as if we had en-

tered an altered state. Theman I loved and respecteddearly, the teacher whowas my ideal, was baringhis soul to me, right in thePilot House. Our roles hadcompletely changed. I lis-tened intently, blockingout all distractions, notingthat there had been no res-ignation in his voice; infact, I detected some arro-gance, a satisfaction that hewas somehow beyond allour reach. The Army provides you

with a crash course inhuman dynamics—thegood, the bad, and every-thing in between. You arethrust into a matrix of lead-ers and wannabes, all try-ing to control you; learninghow to sort wheat fromchaff in conversation is es-sential. Occasionally youare confronted with work-ing alcoholics with morestripes and bars than youhave. Learning how to con-trol conversations andchange the dynamic wasessential; listening to whatis not said is critical. FatherLeahy had, in essence, in-formed me that I would beno more successful atreaching him than anyoneelse. I kept listening, notsaying a word, although heexpected me to step in.Other students came by, butleft quickly, sensing some-thing intense in the air.

FR. JIM LEAHY, C.S.C.The greatest lesson Ilearned in my life camefrom a man at the lowestpoint of his life: Universityphilosophy professorFather Jim Leahy, C.S.C.Here’s the story.My first three years of

college at a state universitywere a bust. I was adriftwith no sense of direction.I entered the military. Inthe Army I eventuallybegan taking courses onbase from a nearby college,and began rehabilitatingmy beleaguered grades.Gradually I became verygoal-driven, especially as I was the lowest-rankingsoldier amid officers andnon-coms in my classes.When discharged in 1965, I was accepted at theUniversity of Portland.This is when I met FatherLeahy, an excellent teacherand a tough grader—it wassaid he thought a C was aperfectly acceptable grade,a B might come if youworked very hard, but asfor an A, dream on.Somehow a connection

between us developed. I thrived in his classes, tookas many from him as Icould, and earned As.Maybe, I thought, I wasn’tthe dullard I thought I was.I even set up a golf outingfor him one weekend, dur-ing which he scored a hole-in-one, at which he was ec-static.But things slowly changed

with him. We were toldFather was ill and often asubstitute covered hisclasses. Early one morning,

LETTERS POLICYWe are delighted by testy or tender letters.Send them to bdoyle@up.edu.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

and graceful Oregon PoetLaureate, Paulann Petersen(March 21). Info: HermanAsarnow, asarnow@up.edu. ¶On campus October 22, forthe University’s annual RedMass celebrating lawyers andthe law: Sister Helen Prejean,of the Congregation of SaintJoseph. “I stand morally opposed to killing: war, execu-tions, killing of the old and demented, the killing of chil-dren, unborn and born…Thepractice of the death penaltyis the practice of torture. Theprofound moral question isnot, ‘Do they deserve to die?’but ‘Do we deserve to killthem?’…

FROM THE PASTBorn (May 9, 1877) and died(May, 1949) in spring: thecheerful Catholic genius PeterMaurin, who founded theCatholic Worker movement,which we sometimes think isthe bluntest honestest form ofChrist in action in the world.Born in the Languedoc inFrance, Peter was a ChristianBrother, a soldier, a farmer inCanada, a logger, a miner, ajailbird (vagrancy, riding therails), among many otherlabors. He met the journalistDorothy Day in 1932, persuad-ed her to start The CatholicWorker newspaper, and spentthe rest of his days imaginingand working for a world inwhich everyone, rich and poor,was an “ambassador of God."Riveting man. ¶ From the richjungle of University literatureprofessor Fr. David Sherrer’son-line historical calendar(www.up.edu/almanac): April3, 1806: Captain William Clarkinvestigated the lower Willa-mette River and probably stoodon the University campus;April 8, 1300, Dante Alighierihas a vision that results in La Divina Comedia; April 12,1935, the University’s sportsteams are first called thePilots, after being called theIrish and the Cliffdwellers;April 20, 1967, the Congregation of Holy Crosshandsomely hands the Uni -versity lock, stock, and barrelto a lay Board of Regents… welove stuff like this…

THE SEASONThe great Warwickshire poetPhilip Larkin on spring: “Thetrees are coming into leaf/Like something almost beingsaid; / The recent buds relaxand spread./ Their greennessis a kind of grief…” ¶ Electedin spring on The Bluff: the stu-dent body president (for a for-mer one’s essay, see page 13).¶ Named by the president,after interviews with faculty,staff, and students: the editorsof the Beacon and Log, thenewspaper and yearbook, andthe rodeomaster of KDUP, thestudent radio station. ¶Playing almost every day thisspring in lovely little Joe EtzelField: the Pilot baseballists.See portlandpilots.com. ¶Never seen the glorious Pilotlacrosse team play on Pru Pitch,next to the soccer field? Theirlast two games this spring areApril 14 and 21, both games atone p.m. ¶ Among the recog-nized saints of spring (somany are unknown, which iswhy we have All Saints Day):Hugh, Isidore, Notker, Julie,Waldetrudis, Lidwina, Stoer,Radbertus, Fidelis, and Zita.You have to love the sheercolor of Catholic.

THE UNIVERSITYThe University will sponsornot one but two August 31-September 9 trips to Irelandthis year, both including theNotre Dame/Navy footballgame in Dublin: a golf outingwith University presidentFather Bill Beauchamp, C.S.C.,and a cultural and religioustour around the island. For thegolfing jaunt, contact ColinMcGinty, 503.943.8005,mcginty@up.edu. For the big-ger voyage, call Laurie Kelley,

503.943.8332, kelleyl@up.edu.¶ Hosted by the alumni office:evenings at Broadway musi-cals at Keller Auditoriumdowntown. May 26 is MillionDollar Quartet and August 4 isJersey Boys. ¶ Chris Oslin ’81will teach beer-making at theAlumni House on May 12 andJune 2, University gourmand-in-chief Kirk Mustain will con-duct two of his astoundingChef’s Table dinners April 13and May 18, and The Kirknesswill offer a class on spices andAsian cooking June 2. Info onall: 503.943.7328.

THE FACULTYRetiring this spring, after 35years: the effervescent theolo-gy professor Father DickRutherford, C.S.C.; after 28years, the graceful music pro-fessor Judith Montgomery;business professor JackKondrasuk, and theater magi-cians Jill Hoddick and Ed Bowen.¶ The National ChampionCenter for Entrepreneurshiphosts the annual BauccioLecture April 12: this year’sguest is Starbucks global de-velopment president ArthurRubinfield. Call 503.943.7769.¶ Winner of a national GravesAward for excellent teachingby a young faculty member:University music professorand band director PatrickMurphy, who happens to bean international expert on…Soviet wind band music. Dowe have the most oddly inter-esting faculty? Yes, we do. ¶

STUDENT LIFEHuuuuge scholarship-raisingevent this spring: May 10 inthe Chiles Center, with the ex-traordinary Julianne Johnson’83 singing, and glorious food

donated by Fedele Bauccio’sBon Appetit, and lovely wines,and students singing…it’ll begreat. It’ll really help students.Why not come? Info: LaurieKelley, 503.943.8332, kelleyl@up.edu. ¶ Annual amount ofdebt that our students gradu-ate with: $22,000. See page 5.¶ Among the housing changestaking effect this year: KennaHall goes all-female, “squat-ting” (keeping your currentroom), is no longer allowed,and on-campus housing willbe capped at 985. More stu-dents every year want to liveon campus, all freshmen arerequired to live in the halls,and the University is lookingat building two new halls already, just two years afteropening Fields and Schoenfeldt.Wow. Got ten million buckslying around? Buy a hall?

ARTS & LETTERSTheology professor FatherCharlie Gordon’s annual pub-lic Terrific Christian WritersTalk is April 9, this year inconversation with fellow the-ology professor RebeccaGuadino on the great CatholicJapanese novelist ShusakuEndo. ¶ On stage in HuntTheater this new year: BillyShakespeare’s Midsummer’sNight’s Dream (April) andGilbert & Sullivan’s hilariouslight opera The Gondoliers, asthe annual Mock’s Crest operetta in June. Info:503.943.7228. Mock’s Crestfounder Roger Doyle, by theway, is ill unto death, and alovely way to celebrate him isto chip in to the Roger and KayDoyle Scholarship for Music.See rise.up.edu. ¶ Springmusic: April 18-19 is AnnualUniversity of Portland Festivalof Jazz; April 24 is the JazzBand and Chamber Ensembles;April 25 is the Wind Symphony;and May 10-11 is Annual Bestin the Northwest Choir Festival.¶ Guest of the English depart-ment this spring: the elegant

T H E u C A M P U S u D I G E S T

S P R I N G

Spring 20123

MARY MILLER DOYLE

Portland4

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Captain LindseyKinnear ’06 of theUnited States AirForce, at BagramAirfield in Afghan-istan. The photowas one of a seriesof hilarious photostaken around theworld for a Univer-sity Face book pro-ject — see facebook.com/universityof-portland.

PHO

TO

: BY

ST

EV

E H

AM

BU

CH

EN

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Spring 20125

Average amount of debt this year fora graduating University of Portlandsenior: $20,310. Total debt incurredby their parents this year alone to helptheir beloved children savor this ex-traordinary educational possibility:$10,769,045. Every dollar you contri-bute to scholarships through the Uni-versity’s Rise Campaign eases debt,worried parental minds, worried stu-dents’ futures. Scholarship gifts arecrucial here. Whatever you can spare...thanks. Call Diane Dickey, 503.943.8130, dickey@up.edu.

Save the date, by the way, for theUniversity’s Scholarship Gala, on May10, 2012, in the Chiles Center, whichwill be a big roaring sweet funny poig-nant evening designed to raise untolddollars to help kids here have a chanceto find their own glory. Info: rise.up.edu.

PHO

TO

: JA

CK

IE J

EFF

ER

S

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Portland6

BECAUSEI MADE HERCRYAs young Catholics around the worldenter the confessional for their FirstConfession this spring, a note fromUniversity theology professor FatherPatrick Hannon, C.S.C. Pat’s most re-cent collection of essays is The LongYearning’s End: Stories of Sacramentand Incarnation.

The confessional box I stepped intothe first time at Our Lady of GraceChurch in Castro Valley, California,was four feet wide, four feet long, andless than six feet high. If you weretall you had to duck. I recall seeingmy father once—he stood around sixfeet two—slip into one of those con-fessional boxes in my church, hisframe bent slightly from the weightof his sin, his head lowered out of humility and necessity. It got meimagining that behind that heavypurple curtain lurked a yawning cavethat descended seemingly forever,one in which you could hear the dripof icy stalactites, the flutter of bats,and the scoot of a hundred species ofspider. If you listened even closer, youcould hear the murmur of conversa-tion; in the deep end of the cave livedsomeone who spoke our language.*What is it about confession thatmoves us so? Daytime televisionwith its steady diet of soap operas,real courtroom dramas, talk-showtearful unburdenings: we eat themup. Is it merely prurient interest thatdrives the ratings, or is it somethingin our DNA? Me, I think there’ssomething freeing and purgativeabout publicly admitting to shame orsecret. I think we are not moraltroglodytes: guilt itches, shame burns.And ultimately we cannot help our-selves; truth demands light. All con-fessions to some degree demand thatyou step out of the darkness, standnaked under the klieg lights of judg-ment, and speak the truth. Veritas vosliberabit, as the University’s mottohas it; the truth will set you free—what a promise!

But I think many of us—most ofus, all of us?—have a voice insidethat says in this world, pain is un-avoidable. Choose your pain, says thevoice. Let at least one person knowwho you really are. Let someone in to

the darkest corner of your heart. Itwill be painful, sure. But it will alsofree you. The voice tells me there is agreater, more enduring pain—a hell-ish pain, you might say—and thatthis hellish pain comes from dyingwithout having trusted at least oneperson with all of your secrets. *Upon entering the church that Fridaymorning, sweet pungent incensegreeted my classmates and me.Nestled in the organ loft in the back,Mrs. Medioti muscled her waythrough a dark dirge. One by one, myclassmates made their way to theconfessional box and slipped behindthe dark heavy curtain. While I wait-

ed, I closed my eyes and rehearsed.Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. Thisis my first confession, and these are mysins. I reviewed my transgressionsand listed them in order of severity,least grievous to most heinous. ThenI reviewed again the act of contritionI would pray before I received absolu-tion. O my God, I am heartily sorry forhaving offended thee, and I detest allmy sins because I dread the loss ofheaven and the pains of hell, but mostof all because I have offended thee, MyGod, who are all good and deserving ofall my love…Without warning, Sisternudged me to the vacant box. I steppedin. It was pitch-black. I knelt. Directlyabove the latticed opening throughwhich the penitent confessed to thepriest hung a crucifix. Talk about ajourney into the dark! Stripped naked,whipped to a bloody pulp, crownedin thorns, nailed to a cross, and with

no place to hide, is it any wonder thatone of the prayers Jesus was purport-ed to have said from that cross was,My God, my God, why have you aban-doned me?

Father Stack slid the wooden slatopen. I could not see him, nor he me,but he was listening. And so I beganmy first confession. I confessed to alitany of sins: of fighting with mybrothers and cussing and disobeyingmy parents and not doing my home-work. I saved the worst sin for last. I confessed to Father Stack that I hadwhispered into the ear of my class-mate Mary Cabral, You’re a retard.And with that, I coughed up mydeepest secret.

“And these are all my sins,” I said,grateful to be done with the whole affair.

“Which of these sins,” Father Stackasked me, “bothers you the most?”

I couldn’t lie. “The last one, Father.”“Why is that?”“Because I made her cry.” And this

was the truth. It ate me up inside tothink that I could be so cruel, that I could reduce someone to tears. I was the good son, the good brother.The good friend. It was a painfultruth to admit, a truth of monumentalproportions for me, then and now.Admitting dark truth, allowing anotherhuman being to fumble around in myattic, in my basement, in all the secrethiding places of my heart, even toone who has only words of mercyand absolution to give, is humiliating.I don’t enjoy being whittled down; I don’t enjoy admitting to fraud. AndI certainly do not enjoy others know-ing me the way I know me. I neverwill.

But maybe any real peace or joy inthis life hinges on our willingness tobe humbled, to be brought down apeg or two, to admit to at least some-one that there are dark places withinour hearts where angels fear to tread.I still recoil in whimpering protest atsuch a thought. I know I am still acoward. I know that the older I’vegotten, the deeper and darker thecave has become.

But now I’m beginning to see darkness differently. I enter into thedarkness of my heart because I be-lieve that for God, even darkness isnot dark and night is bright as day. A church ought to have such a placewhere God and people meet in darkness, because that is where Goddoes his best work. Maybe we do not need to be afraid of the dark after all. n C

HA

PEL

IN F

IELD

S H

ALL

BY

BRU

CE

FO

RST

ER

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Spring 20127

BAR

RIE

MC

GU

IRE

The University will sponsor not one but two August 31-September 9 trips to the Auld Sod this year, both including theNotre Dame/Navy football game in Dublin: a golf outing with University president Father Bill Beauchamp, C.S.C.,and a cultural and religious tour around the island. For the golfing jaunt, contact Colin McGinty, 503.943.8005,mcginty@up.edu. For the bigger voyage, call Laurie Kelley, 503.943.8332, kelleyl@up.edu.

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Portland8

TOUGHOLDBIRDS: A NOTEBy Marla Salmon, ’71, ’72, now deanand professor of nursing at the Univer -sity of Washington, after a remarkablecareer in which she was, among othercreative labors, the nation’s chief nurseduring the Clinton years. She also wroteNurse: a World of Care, a stunningbook which won the 2008 nursing bookof the year award in America.

She died, three years ago in May, andshe got a few paragraphs in this mag-azine. The factswere all there, sure—Vernia Jane Huffman, Dean of theSchool of Nursing from 1961 until1973, dead at age 92, U.S. Navy nurseduring two wars, scholarship estab-lished in her name, blah, blah, blah.Life’s conveyor belt delivers anothersoul. All the facts were there.

But nowhere did that article men-tion that Dean Huffman—VJ to thethousands of women and men whoadmired her—could see the future.Not like a fortune teller, no: VJ wasfar more practical. She could look atan 18-year-old kid and see the nursethat kid should become—and thenmake it happen. She did that for me.She did that tome. I guess you couldsay that she was my mentor, though I called her many other things duringthe time that I was her student. Shemade me and a lot of other peoplemad—but she made us.

When I learned that VJ had died,my debt to her finally became veryclear. She had given me the gift of be-lieving in me when I didn’t. She gaveme the gift of not allowing me to walkaway from what I could become.

I never adequately thanked her. I suspect I am not alone in that. Maybethat’s why the paucity, the merenews, of that article about VJ reallybugged me. She deserved more andbetter, and I needed to make it right. “Great idea,” one friend said, when I told him that I wanted to writesomething that was a truly propertribute. “But you know she really wasa tough old bird.” True enough. Shewas tough, and old, and as quick andattentive as a hawk. But the phrasejarred me, and initially derailed mygood intentions. Somehow, I thought,tough old birds don’t deserve the kindof tribute I had envisioned.

But then I realized: why not? Whythe hell not?

Maybe it’s because tough old birdsare often women who don’t rise—orfall—to that persistent, unspoken,ubiquitous standard of what womenshould be like: lovely, soft-spoken,agreeable, charming. Or, is it, or-nithologically speaking, simply thatonce you stop being a chick, you au-tomatically become a tough old bird?

Neither explanation is an adequatecase for not paying tribute, and bothare finally not only silly but stupidand cruel. So, for VJ, for all of thetough old birds who came before VJ,for those who will follow, I pay trib-ute today, right now, in the pages ofthe very same magazine.

The tough old birds I know areamazing. They are the mortar of life,holding people and things togetherwhen others turn away. They are thestrong hands and spirits that facedown lies and evils, and carry thescars of the loneliness and misunder-standing of others. They care way toomuch to be like the rest of us. Andthey irritate us with their impatienceand outspoken insistence that we cando and be more and better than weare. As if we owe them our lives.

Which, sometimes, a lot of times,

maybe most times, we do.And sometimes we hate them for

that. So we call them names andthrow verbal stones to keep themaway from us. Tough old bird, you’llnever catch me.

But VJ caught me, and thank Godshe did.

When I think of VJ now, and of allof those other tough old birds I’vebeen blessed to know in the nursingprofession and not, I finally under-stand that the label so casually pastedon them is actually a badge of honor.I also have come to realize that theprofession that VJ loved and thengave to me is full of tough old birds.No surprise, really. What does it taketo care and heal in circumstances de-signed to kill and maim? How didFlorence Nightingale make it throughthe day? How do those who have bat-tled society’s blindness to the needsof the poor and broken and ill and despairing, like Mother Teresa, getthrough the day? Can you get anytougher than Mother Teresa?

I could go on and on identifyingtough old birds. My own mother, alsoa nurse, would certainly be in there.She fought more than one battle forher patients, her family, and hercommunity. And my daughter, theschool nurse, who works with pro-foundly disabled kids; I suspect she’salready a fledgling tough old bird.And I’m sure every woman and manreading this essay could nominatemany, many more tough old birds; ina minute, too.

But I remain puzzled about onething. Why don’t we call them some-thing that really conveys the depth oftheir contributions, or the complexityof their lives? Why don’t we call themheroes or saints or giants? Why don’twe call them brave and great andholy? Because that is what they wereand are. And not until we use theright words for them, I suspect, willwe really see their greatness. Notuntil we acknowledge that they car-ried us, that they would not let us failand quit and quail, that they sufferedfor and from us because they lovedus and knew who and what we couldbe, will we say thanks properly, as I should have when VJ was alive anddid not do.

But I do it today. Thank you,Vernia Jane, for your strength, whichcarried me when my strength wasnot enough. And thank you, all yousweet, strong, capable, dear, toughold birds. Thank you forever. n

Marla SalmonThe inimitable VJ, second from right, with her students, 1968

Spring 20129

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Retiring this spring, after long sweet glorious creative remarkable teaching careers on The Bluff: theology professor FatherDick Rutherford, C.S.C., and music professor Judith Montgomery. Dick’s energy and archeological curiosity graced thecampus for 35 years; Judith’s extraordinary singing and educative skill elevated the campus for 28 years. Wow. Our mostsincere and heartfelt thanks. Gifts celebrating their dash and verve: rise.up.edu.

JER

RY H

ART

Portland10

O N u T H E u B L U F F

UP INSMOKEOne day recently we asked just- graduated Roya Ghorbani-Elizeh ’11 ifstudents still smoke on campus? Shefound out.

University rule for smokers: there isno smoking in any of the 30 buildingson The Bluff, and smokers muststand at least fifty feet from buildingentrances. In the rain they huddleunder trees big enough to keep offthe rain: generally sequoias. Uni ver -sity groundskeepers are sharp-eyed;conveniently placed by smokinghotspots are tall black ash recepta-cles, covered against the rain.*According to a recent University drugand alcohol survey of students, 5.2%of the University’s 3,600 studentsbody (or some 185 students), smoke“regularly”; nationally that number is14.8%. However, 35.8% of University

students report smoking in the lastyear, and 42.6% have smoked atsome point in their lives. *“There are barely any smokers oncampus, which is kind of surprisingfor a college,” says a student. “I actu-ally feel kind of bad for them, theway they are picked on, given thefact that there’s so few of them.”*Facts: Tobacco smoke causes 9 ofevery 10 cases of lung cancer.Tobacco use is responsible for nearly1 in 5 deaths in the United States.Each year some 443,000 people inthe United States die from illnessesrelated to tobacco use. Smoking ciga-rettes kills more Americans than al-cohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS,homicide, and illegal drugs com-bined. It is estimated that adult malesmokers lost an average of 13.2 yearsof life and female smokers lost 14.5years of life by smoking.*The University’s health center assis-tant director Tim Crump: “Short-term

effects of smoking in students? Colds,bronchitis, and reduced aerobic capacity. Long-term use, we see apredisposition to lung cancer, em-physema, and chronic bronchitis. Ifstudents stop smoking now, they’llmost likely be able to reverse effects.Your risk for health problems and de-pendency with tobacco becomesgreater with time.”*In the University’s archives, in ShipstadHall, I find that in 1949, students andprofessors were banned from smok-ing inside classrooms. In 1951, librarianBrother David Martin, C.S.C., prom-ised students that extra provisionswould be made to accommodatesmokers in the library. In a 1957issue of The Log I find a TwilightRoom ad, with a photo of a student,feet perched on his desk, cigarettedangling from his mouth. In 1964,the United States Surgeon Generalfirst reports the negative effects ofsmoking. In a 1966 profile of Uni ver -sity president Father Paul Waldschmidt,C.S.C., there is a photograph of himsmoking in his office. In 1970, smok-ing on campus is restricted to the“main lounge, faculty lounge, stafflounge, librarian’s office, graduatestudy room, and all restrooms.”

In 1982 United States SurgeonGeneral’s report stated that “cigarettesmoking is the major single cause ofcancer mortality in the UnitedStates.” In 1992 smoking in dorms isallowed only with doors shut and theconsent of roommates. In 1995, theUniversity bookstore stops selling cig-arettes. A year later smoking wasbanned in all private rooms. Todaysmoking is banned “in all indoor pub-lic areas of the University. Smoking ispermitted outdoors” except in thesoccer and baseball stands.*As of this past July, 500 collegesacross the country have banned to-bacco and smoking completely fromtheir campuses. In the past yearalone, 120 colleges have banned to-bacco use. The University of Oregon,Oregon State University, WesternOregon University, and SouthernOregon University plan to ban tobac-co in 2012. Perhaps the most interest-ing and surprising detail here: InNorth Carolina, which grows themost tobacco in the United States, de-votes some 170,000 acres to the crop,and earns a billion dollars a yearfrom it, 40 colleges and universitieshave banned tobacco completely. n

Ah, yes, students on The Bluff have always been sort of silly. And brave and brightand creative and eager and exuberant and shy and glorious. The Rise Campaignturns its high beams on scholarships this year; there’s a huge scholarship fundraisingevent May 10 in the Chiles Center, and any and all gifts to help students are welcomemore than we can say. See rise.up.edu.

O N u T H E u B L U F F

Spring 201211

FANATIDOMOne entertaining sidelight this pastsoccer season was a photo booth wherefans could pause, don or brandishPilot gear, and go all Mae West on thecamera. Here are some of the hilari-ousest. Can you make a donation toencourage this sort of cheerful sportishnuttiness on The Bluff? Heck, sure.See rise.up.edu.

JER

RY H

ART

Portland12

O N u T H E u B L U F F

R E F L E C T I O N S

IN THEGARDENI sat recently between my wife andour youngest daughter in a front rowseat at the Rose Garden, watching theCirque Du Soleil. We had taken thisdaughter, as a small girl, to see theRingling Brothers circus, in the WarMemorial Coliseum next door, and allthese years later she was taking us tothe circus; we were her guests.

We were so close to the performersthat I could see the concentrationand strain in the face of the wraith-thin acrobat who contorted her fine-wire-muscled limbs above her one-armed handstand. The amazingstrength of that lithe body, the sheerbeauty as she balanced on a thinpedestal, dissolved everything elsefor me—the lights, the music, theother performers. It was as if shewere dancing in mid-air, and I foundmyself instinctively clapping with joyand appreciation for the grace sculpt-ed in the motion of the human body.

And as I applauded and marveledat her grace, back into my mindflooded a memory from many yearsago. Spotlights, thousands of cheer-ing spectators, a band, tuxedoed offi-cials, an announcer’s staccato inter-ruptions, and young men runningand leaping with speed and grace…these were scenes buried in me for

almost fifty years, from winters whenthe venerable Boston Garden andMadison Square Garden in New Yorkhosted not only the Celtics andKnicks but also premier internationaltrack meets. Once, just once, I ran inone of those meets.

We were a medley relay team, fourrunners and coach, upstate NewYorkers from a small college only six-teen years in existence, and still with-out even a gym, not to mention in-door track facilities. So we ran out-doors, racing around the oval in frontof the administration building, sur-rounded by snowdrifts, wary of thecars and buses that wove through ourworkouts.

For this famous track meet inMadison Square Garden, we arrivedfrom the hotel already in our warm-ups, and coach carried our watchesand wallets in his go-to-meets satchel.He led us through a series of tunnelsand corridors under the stands,which vibrated overhead, and the dinof the crowd and band swallowed useven before we looked up and up torow upon row of faces all the way tothe ceiling, where championshiphockey and basketball banners hungand the spotlights blurred our firstglimpse in color of what we had onlyseen before on our black and whitetelevisions.

The banked wooden track waseven smaller than our snowy trafficcircle, and as we did our warm-upstretches inside its perimeter, otherracers pounded by, their strides thun-dering on the boards like swimmers

running across an old dock beforeleaping into a lake. Our event was butan interlude between those of world-caliber runners, and as they circledus we could see their relaxed hands,the synchronous back-and-forth ofarms and legs, the gentle leaning intoturns, the glint of their short spikesas they glided past, the leaders flash-ing in and out of the spotlight, every-one headed to the finish where tuxe-doed officials held out their stop-watches to catch their times.

The unforgettable sounds:Gentlemen, on your marks…set…theretort of the starter’s pistol…the up-tempo beat of the band…the beat ofspikes on the boards…the belllap…the click of stopwatches…andthroughout it all the polyphonouschorus of spectators far above and allaround us.

I looked up once, before I took thebaton for my short leg of our relay,and saw so many faces that theyblurred and merged, and the cacoph-ony of their voices poured down soheavily that I heard only intermittentnotes from the band. What I did hearas I ran, or perhaps more accuratelyfelt, was my own breath and therhythm of my spiked feet slappingthe drumhead of the boards.

In less than a minute I had handedoff the baton and become a breath-less spectator. I watched my team-mates flying on, and wondered ifthey too rode the excited pulse of thecrowd, and if they too forgot aboutthe race and relished the running.Had they too momentarily becomewhat they were doing?

I had run since I was a child, run-ning so often that I can hardly pull asingle memory from those years; butI do remember a summer evening inthe backyard, all lawn and garden,where a group of us children, quitesmall, somersaulted and cartwheeledand ran until we were dizzy andflopped to the grass while the worldspun around us. Little runners andacrobats we were, savoring the beautyof what our bodies could do. As itever was and is. Summers now, mygrandson will sometimes say watchme! as he runs in small circles in myyard, and then he challenges me,catch me grandpa! and I try, both ofus running, just running. n

Louis Masson, who retired last yearafter forty years as a beloved professorof literature on The Bluff, is the authorof two collections of essays, Reflectionsand The Play of Light.

Speaking of gardens, University provost Brother Donald Stabrowski. C.S.C., has labored long in his garden on campus; and his confrere Father Dick Berg, C.S.C.,has long chronicled the amazing results. Thank you, Richard.

Spring 201213

O N u T H E u B L U F F

THE LIVESBEHINDTHE LOANSBy Matt Elerding ’94, a loan officer inVancouver, Washington.

The construction worker who am-bled into my office wearing his hard-hat and steel-toed boots, paying hismortgage in cash: 43 twenty-dollarbills, to be exact. Some of the twen-ties were as dirty as his shirt andboots. He counted out eight hundredand sixty dollars. Even with this pay-ment he’s still four payments behind.

“Work’s been tight and it’s the bestI can do,” he says.

Or the warm, smiling, animatedIranian man who told me his storywith such zest and passion I just didn’thave the heart to tell him I did notspeak a word of his language, notone. We smiled at each other whenhe paused for breath.

Or the smell of food and wine andbeer and smoke on tax returns,telling me the home habits of mywould-be clients.

Or the look of distrust smearedacross the face of the client who hadan unpleasant experience during hislast mortgage mambo.

“But that wasn’t me,” I said.“You’re all cut from the same

cloth,” he said.Or the fiancé a week away from

her wedding in Hawaii, who learnedthe truth about her almost-husband.Her heart broken and her earnestmoney gone.

Or the recently widowed mother offour who called me to ask what need-ed to be done now that her husbandhad died of cancer because she doesn’tknow what to do.

“He handled all the bills,” she said,quietly.

Or the young client who, despitehaving never bought a home in histwenty-seven years on this planet, ex-plained to me, in painstaking detail,how, exactly, this process was goingto go.

Or the faithful husband and dotingfather of two who learned that hiswife preferred other company. Hecalled me to talk about financing butwe talked about confusion and sadnessmore than we did about financing.

Or the faithful wife and dotingmother of three who learned that herhusband needed to enter rehab, and

that every last dime of their equitywould need to be extracted from theirfamily home so that he could get better.

Or the second-worst call I’ve everreceived in my career, a woman in-forming me that her husband, myclient, a wonderful and humble man,couldn’t take the financial stress any-more. “Oh Matt, he did it. He reallydid it. He’s gone. Oh my god, he’sgone. What am I going to do?” I lis-tened to her cry and plead for an-swers. I didn’t know what to say.There is no script for this call. Sheasked me to be a pallbearer at hisservice. I said yes.

Or the way a client’s eyes light upwhen he realizes we both haveAlaskan roots.  “Oh, You’re fromAlaska! Do you know so-and-so?” heasks. “Of course I do,” I say. “It’sAlaska.”

Or the worst phone call I’ve everreceived in my career, the worst call I ever will receive, I hope, from ashattered mother, client, and friendwho lost five of her six children in asplit second. It’s been almost a yearsince that call and I still think aboutthat call nearly every day.

Or the fledgling realtor whose license had been printed so recentlyyou could smell the fresh ink, whocalled me three times a day, every day,to check the status of his first sale.

Or the divorcing husband who senta bouquet of flowers to his divorcingwife on the day that would have beentheir 29th wedding anniversary. Shedidn’t reply.

Or the way my assistant and I haveto call real estate agents and tell themthat the appraisal has come in undervalue on their clients’ homes.

Or the look of terror in the eyes ofthe young couple as my office printerwhirls to life and spits out a twelve-page credit report revealing, in inti-mate detail, every financial foibleand monetary misstep they haveever made in their imperfect journeyalong the road of life.

Or the goosebump-inducing phonecall that ends with the client tellingyou, unquestionably, unequivocally,undeniably, yes, I will work with you.

Or the gut-wrenching phone callthat ends with the client telling youunquestionably, unequivocally, un-deniably, no, I choose not to workwith you.

Or the awkward intimacy of theclient who fills my ear with far toomany far too intimate far too revela-tory personal details so clear I feel

the need to go to confession.Or the uncontainable excitement

that a wife and mother shows on herface when the right home finally ap-pears from the fog of listings, and sheknows this is the house where herchildren will be raised.

Last week was a bad week. Four appraisals came in low, three loanscouldn’t make the credit-cut, twoclients opted to “wait and see whatprices do this winter,” and onewealthy hoarder had the audacity topay cash for his home.

But, but, but,I love my job. And I suspect many

realtors and loan officers and escrowofficers and appraisers and agentswould say the same thing. Thesejobs, these careers, they are stuffedwith stories, yes? It’s for these stories—some painful, some poignant, all ofthem in some way precious—that I love my job. I love how a seeminglysingular function—loaning money—can bubble a brew of stories so vast,so different, so unique. And for allthe bad days I have had in fourteenyears of loaning money, and therehave been some very bad days, I be-lieve with all my heart that the gooddays, and there have been some verygood days, will prevail. It’s not eventhat I believe this, I realize now, atthe end of this essay; I know it.

On campus in January: artist MakotoFujimura, for the opening of a show ofhis “Four Holy Gospels” paintings, cele-brating the 400th anniversary of thatglorious work of genius, the King JamesBible. One of the works, ‘Tears of Christ,’was inspired, he noted, by the murdersof September 11: Fujimura lives close toGround Zero. His show and talk wassponsored by the University’s Gara ventaCenter for American Catholicism, longmay it wave.

Portland14

O N u T H E u B L U F F

S P O R T S

The Olympics Pilot alumnaeChristine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt(Canada) and Megan Rapinoe (USA)will lead their teams into theOlympics in London in July; Sinclair,now the best player in the world, ac-cording to American star AbbyWambach, has scored 129 interna-tional goals, third to only Wambach(131) and Mia Hamm (158). Cross Country The Pilot men fin-ished eighth in the nation, seniorAlfred Kipchumba and junior TrevorDunbar earned All-American honors,and the Pilots were the best Catholicuniversity team in America, as usual.The sheer consistency of the men’scc team is remarkable: this is theirninth national top-15 finish, and theyhave never gone two years withoutan NCAA championship meet berth.Wow. ¶ The Pilot women, who fin-ished tenth in the West, will havethree new faces this fall, amongthem: German high-school 800-meterchampion Laura Hottenrott-Freitag. Athletic Director Larry Williams,after seven stellar years on The Bluff,

left to be AD at Marquette University.During his tenure the Pilot women’ssoccer team led the nation in atten-dance and won the 2005 nationaltitle; men’s cross country advancedto seven consecutive NCAA champi-onship meets; men's basketball roseinto the national top 25 for the firsttime in fifty years; academics be-came even more of a priority; televi-sion coverage of Pilot sports doubled;and both the Chiles Center and theClive Charles soccer complex wereexpanded. He did good work, and wewish him well. Track Jared Bassett (from Coos Bay,Oregon, where The GreatestAmerican Runner Ever was born),earned All-America honors in thesteeplechase with a personal-best8:50.99 in the NCAA Championshipmeet; he also kept the Pilots’ champi-onship meet streak alive: 20 consecu-tive title meets with at least one Pilotrunner. ¶ One highlight of the winterseason: Tuesday Night at the Races inthe Chiles Center, a weekly all-com-ers meet sponsored by the Universityand USA Track & Field. Anyone 14 orover could run, for $5 a night, in asmany races as they wanted.

Basketball Rebuilding year for theyoung Pilot men, who were 5-17 atpresstime, after 60 wins in the lastthree seasons. Forward RyanNicholas led the club in scoring (12)and rebounds (8) per game, but theteam was shooting 30% from longrange. One highlight: freshmanKevin Bailey working himself intothe starting five and having breakoutgames as the season wore on. ¶ Thewomen were also having an off year;they were 8-15 at presstime, shootingonly 39% from the floor. All-WCCNatalie Day was having another fineyear, though, at 18 points and 8boards a game, and All-WCC ReZinaTeclemariam was averaging 11points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds agame. Both will finish among the toptwenty scorers in Pilot history.Soccer The Philadelphia Indepen -dence of Women’s Pro Soccer draftedstriker Danielle Foxhoven in the firstround; Foxhoven finished her Pilotcareer with 57 goals, joining only leg-ends Christine Sinclair, TiffenyMilbrett, and Shannon MacMillan atthe fifty mark. Even cooler, she wastwice Academic All-American. ¶ Backfor the Pilots when the season startsin August will be all-WCC forwardMicaela Cappelle and All-WCCFreshman Team midfielder RebekahKurle. ¶ For the men, WCC Defenderof the Year Ryan Kawulok ’11 waschosen by the MLS Portland Timbers,and goalkeeper Austin Guerrero ’10signed with Mexico’s Monterrey Tigres.The men, led by top scorer StevenEvans in midfield, open play inAugust; see portlandpilots.com forschedule and ticket details.Baseball The Pilots start WCC playMarch 22 at home against BYU.Three new players who were draftedby pro teams decided to play on TheBluff instead: pitcher Kody Watts(Pirates), shortstop Caleb Whalen(Brewers), and pitcher Travis Radke(Reds). Among the other new faces isPortland Central Catholic High in-fielder Lucas Hunter, who hit .419 forthe Rams, and whose dad is BrianHunter, who played for six teams inThe Show. Returning veterans in-clude all-WCC pitcher Kyle Kraus(whose average 1.37 walks per nineinnings is the best ever on The Bluff),and All-American outfielder TurnerGill, the Pride of Madras, who led thePilots in everything else: .332, 61 hits,18 doubles, 33 RBIs. Wow.Volleyball Kati Hronek and ArielUsher earned all-WCC athletic honors,Rachel Femling and Kate Bostwick

THE BEST SPORTS STORY OF THE YEAR ON THE BLUFFwas a thorough effort on the part of Pilot student-athletes all year long to raise money for others. Itwas totally cool. Men’s soccer players shaved their heads to raise cash for cancer re-search. Women’s soccer players helped build a park named for a sweet crippled kid.Volleyball players hosted a Dig Pink night to fight breast cancer. Men’s and women’sbasketball players joined junior Sam Bridgman (below, center) for the Sam Jam, awheelchair game that raised $7,000 to fight the Friedreich’s Ataxia that afflicts themuch-liked Bridge man, a manager for the baseball team. Volleyball player KateBostwick, track star Molly Billingham, and four other University students rode fiftymiles each on bikes to raise $12,685 for Sam. And much more. That was the bestvictory of all, that our students wanted to do that, and do it with verve and laughter.

Spring 201215

O N u T H E u B L U F F

earned all-WCC academic honors(Femling with a 3.76 in accounting,Bostwick with a 3.52 in biology), andAddie Webster joined as an assistantcoach; Webster, a Portland native andJesuit High grad, played pro in Austria.Tennis Sophomores Michael Hu Kwoand Alex Ferrero lead the young Pilotmen, and rookies Milagros Cubelli,Katy Krauel, and Anastasia Polyakovalead the even younger women. Tenniscontinues its amazing world recruitingrange: there are players from Brazil,Spain, Canada, China, Macedonia,Argentina, Australia, and Russia.

Summer Sports Camps start June18: see portlandpilots.com. RiseCampaign gifts to any and all ath-letic efforts: see rise.up.edu.

B R I E F L Y

Awardees Heck of a year for commu-nication studies professor ReneeHeath, who won the University’s 2011Teacher of the Year Award and a 2012award for excellence from OregonWomen in Higher Education. ¶ At theWhite House in January: Joe Womac’00, honored as a “champion forchange…doing extraordinary thingsin his community.” Womac runs theFulcrum Foundation in Seattle,which has helped more than 10,000low-income students attend Catholicschools in Washington state; 99 per-cent of those students went on to col-lege. ¶ Awarded, or sentenced, to avice-presidency of student affairs: at-torney and political science professorFather Gerry Olinger, C.S.C., who hasoverseen legal affairs and strategicplanning since his arrival on TheBluff in 2009. A brave man, Gerry; helives in Kenna Hall. ¶ Earning a national Graves Award for teaching:music professor Patrick Murphy.Student Feats The University’s engi-neering students won the Oregoncomputer programming title, thump-ing, among others, students fromsome school in Eugene. ¶ The Uni -versity’s student history journal,Northwest Passages, won its third na-tional title from Phi Alpha Theta, thenational history honor society;Passages has been first or second nationally five years in a row. Whew.¶ Hatched by MBA students JoaquinOrtiz and Katie Smith: the PortlandBurrito Project, by which 20 Univer -sity students make and deliver 100burritos on Skid Road every fewmonths. See portland.burritopro-

ject.org. ¶ University students mourntheir late classmate Molly Hightower’09 every semester with a work dayin the community, honoring Molly’swork ethic; she was crushed in theHaiti quake while working at an or-phanage. This semester’s project:total cleanup of streets around thecampus; among the previous MollyDays was one of the most successfulblood drives in campus history. A Second National Title for theUniversity’s Center for Entrepreneur -ship, named the best in Americaagain by the United States Associationfor Small Business and Entrepreneur -ship, which lauded the program’s in-novative energy. UP’s program,which was picked over Notre Dameand Maryland, brings students of allacademic disciplines into new ven-ture creation and technology man-agement, among other areas; the pro-gram has also been adopted at theCollege of St. Benedict and St. JohnsUniversity in Minnesota and St.Mary’s University in Texas. Very cool.Gifts & Grants to the University’sroaring Rise Campaign recently:$300,000 from the Collins Foundationand $250,000 from the MeyerMemorial Trust, for the reinventionof Clark Library; the renovations areso extensive it’s essentially a total re-boot of the lovely old barn. The library will be closed for the 2012-2013academic year, and will reopen withnew study labs, computer labs, a pro-duction studio, a space for music andreadings, and much else; for informa-tion on the project see rise.up.edu. ¶$10,000 from the Henry HillmanFoundation for the University’s ‘blackbox theater’ in Mehling Hall; see howyou can make Campaign gifts to jazzwhatever you want here? ¶ $100,364from the University’s own facultyand staff toward the Campaign. Morethan half the faculty and staff madeCampaign gifts (ranging from, enter-tainingly, $3 to $5000). Estimable Guests Frederik Willemde Klerk, who shared the NobelPeace Prize in 1993 for his work withNelson Mandela to kill apartheid,spoke to a packed Buckley Center inJanuary. ¶ The 1961 Freedom Riderswere here, sort of—the University(and Roosevelt High) hosted a three-day exhibit and program of photo-graphs and stories of the men andwomen who attempted to integratebuses and trains in the South, star-ring Portland residents. ¶ Austriangraphic novelist and comic artistAnna-Maria Jung, author of the

graphic novel Xoth! Die unaussprech-liche Stadt (you read that, didn’t you?)spoke on monsters and fantastic sto-ries… ¶ Actor Kunal Nayyar ’03, oftelevision’s The Big Bang Theory (inwhich he plays an astrophysicist),spoke to a packed crowd and then, hilariously, met with prospective stu-dents for hours. Now there’s an admis-sion office coup.Faculty Grants Among the projectsfunded by University researchstipends this year were studies of or-phans in South Africa, sacred music,child welfare in Prussia, mosque con-troversies in America, sun exposure,medieval Spanish synagogues, thework of Jonathan Kozol, war trauma,flaviviruses, and (words we alwayslove to type) algebraic topology.Now, Here, On Earth, AmenUniversity provost Brother DonaldStabrowski, C.S.C., speaking onVeterans Day: “We gather to remem-ber veterans of all our wars, and topray for peace. We thank the millionsof brave people who fought so thatwe could enjoy peace. We are re-minded of the words of GeneralDouglas MacArthur: “Our soldiers,above all other people, pray forpeace, for he or she must suffer andbear the deepest wounds and scars ofwar…” So we pray for peace, and wepray for these brave men and womenwho in their most productive yearsserved their country well, and espe-cially those who did not return totheir families and friends. We prayfor the families they left behind:mothers and fathers who wouldnever see their sons and daughtersagain; the young spouses and chil-dren who were left without some-times even knowing these amazingsouls. We ask that you never forgetthem, Lord, and we ask that you be-stow on us the grace to build yourkingdom of peace now, here, onearth. Amen.” Wow.

Prayersof thePeople,FourthSundayof EasterWhy do wego to church?Really, why?By Gail Wells

“Now be sure to follow along onpage five,” says Father B., “because thePrayers of the People are differentthis Sunday.”

Father B. is a retired priest fillingin for our rector, Father Q. Father B.doesn’t know that, in this Episcopalchurch, the Prayers of the People aredifferent every Sunday. Father Q. likesto change things up, keep the congre-gation on its toes.

People moan about this. They com-plain to me because I’m on the churchcouncil. We don’t like all these changes,they tell me fretfully. Why can’t wejust stick with our familiar comfortableways?

God forbid you should be uncomfort-able in church, I think.

“Is this thing on?” booms Father B.,fiddling with his lapel mike.

But Father B. isn’t following thebulletin. His eyes are closed and hisface is lifted to heaven, and he’slaunched into the familiar words fromthe Book of Common Prayer that he’sbeen speaking ever since he was or-dained. “It is right, and a good and joy-ful thing, always and everywhere togive thanks to you, Father Almighty,Creator of Heaven and Earth.”

A distressed shuffling from below.I glance down from the choir loft atthe puzzled heads. The congregationis lost.

Today’s psalm is the familiar Twenty-Third. The choir has just finishedsinging it, doing the best we can withour sparse voices. We’ve been a skele-ton choir since our music directorgot into a fight with Father Q. and left.It’s a long story. About a third of thechoir quit in protest, including all thealtos. The rest of us soldier on.

From below I detect a nervouspause. Father B. is looking expectantlyat the congregation, which is supposedto be saying, “Thanks be to God,”only the words aren’t printed wherethey should be; the church secretaryis doing a terrible job with the bulletin.

Finally an old-timer belts out,“Thanks be to God!”

“We pray for Christian churchesthroughout the world...” continuesFather B.

Behind me Abbott and Costello arewhispering and laughing. They’reour only tenors this morning. I sitstraight-backed in my chair, as if thesight of my rigid spine will shut themup. Fat chance. I try to pray, to blocktheir voices out of my ears, but I can’t.I distract myself by thinking back tothe sermon: How do you listen for yourShepherd’s voice?

What is wrong with me today? I justcrave a little order, a little decorum, alittle dignity. Is that too much to ask?

I want inner quiet and I can’t find it.I want those green pastures, I wantthose waters of comfort. If I can’t findthem in church, where can I findthem?

Maybe I’m asking too much. MaybeI’m more like those fretful complainersthan I want to admit. Maybe I’m ex-pecting church to be a refuge from themess and anxiety and befuddlementand occasional pure muck of ordinarylife. Maybe I’m expecting self-centered,fearful, small-minded people — peoplelike me, that is — to suddenly turninto saints when they pass throughthe church door.

Abbott and Costello are conversingin stage whispers, passing a notebookbetween them. I knew Abbott whenhe was a lovable lunk of a high-school

Portland16

kid with a promising tenor voice. Nowhe’s a college graduate. His voice isglorious; his social graces, not so much.He’s become best buddies with Cos-tello, who’s still in high school. Theyegg each other on.

I turn around and lay a hand onCostello’s arm, and say, “Please.” Hegives me a spooked look and fallssilent. I can’t reach Abbott, which islucky for him because I’d probablysmack him.

Abbott’s mother was a no-nonsensewoman with a sweet husky contraltovoice. She died of cancer three yearsago. His father is absent from thebass section today because he’s sickwith cancer.

Does unspeakable sorrow giveAbbott a license to run his mouth with-

out hindrance? Maybe it does. Maybehe’s doing the best he can. But whydoes he have to do it in church? Whyis he even here?

Why am I even here, come to thinkof it?

Why am I here? The question seemsto come from somewhere outsidemy brain, through my left ear, maybe,or up the back of my neck. Once Ilet it in, I feel my shoulders sag, feelthe breath flow slackly from my nos-trils, and suddenly it’s quiet insidemy head, and suddenly — I can’t ex-plain it — I know the answer.

I look down at the heads below me.People are scrutinizing their pink bul-letins, or using them as fans, or lettingthem lie abandoned in the pews. Buteverybody is keeping up just fine.

Father B. turns to the congregationand flings out his arms in a wide em-brace, and the wings of his whitevestments ripple like the wings of aswan alighting on the water. “Thepeace of the Lord be always with you!”His voice surges out of the mike likea tsunami.

Let it go, for heaven’s sake. Every-thing you need is right here, right now.

I turn around and wish Abbottand Costello the Lord’s peace. Mirac-ulously, I really mean it. Thanks beto God. n

Gail Wells is a writer in Corvallis, Ore-gon; her most recent book is The LittleLucky, a “family geography” starringher grandfather’s ramshackle house nearthe Little Luckiamute River. PH

OTO: STEPH

EN TRIM

BLE

; SAIN

T FRANCIS CAT

HEDRAL, SANTA

FE, N

EW M

EXICO

Founded in 1889 as a Catholic orphanagefor abandoned and wayward kids, theSaint Mary’s Home for Boys on Portland’swest side was an astounding jumble ofhope and sadness and joy and pain rightfrom the start; but it never quit, andfor a hundred years University of Portlandfolks have helped out as counselors (formerPilot basketball star Sarah Green was abeloved counselor there), donors, boardmembers, visiting musicians, and articulateambassadors for the hope and healing thatcan happen there to boys who have beenabsolutely hammered in this life. DirectorLynda Walker notes that eighty percentof the boys (ages 10 to 17) graduate to a lessstructured care facility or earn jobs. “Money spenthelping them is better spent than money spentimprisoning them,” she says, with her usual blunthonesty. To which we say amen, with prayersin our mouths.

Editor

For more information on SaintMary’s Home for Boys, seestmaryshomeforboys.org; forinformation on the hundredways the University’s faculty,staff, students, and alumnibend their creative labors toelevating kids, see www.up.edu.To throw mountains of cashat our remarkable and relentlesslabors, see rise.up.edu.

There you are, Ruby Bustamante,five years old, sitting in a wheelchair,your right leg casted from ankle tohip. Your newspaper photo is captionedgirl in wreck survives ten days on noo-dles, Gatorade. Ruby, 5, thought deadmother was asleep... You raise your righthand to wave at the camera. You lookconfused. Are you awake? Are youdreaming?

Ruby, arise! You survived ten daysafter Mommy crashed the car througha guardrail and into a ravine seventymiles east of Los Angeles. You survivedrattlesnakes, hunger, heat, and thirst.How did you do it, Ruby? How didyou survive? Uncle Juan said you werea brave girl. The highway worker whofound you called it a miracle. AuntRose believes Mommy set out drynoodles and Gatorade for you beforeshe died. Was it a miracle? Were thenoodles your manna from heaven?Or had Mommy taught you to be quietand leave Mommy alone whenMommy slept? Were you a good girl,Ruby? Did you open the Gatoradeand break the noodles into tiny bitesand wait for Mommy to wake up?

My sister Claire was born in 1950, mymother’s first child. Mother scheduledClaire’s feedings: she set the timerand fed Claire formula every four hours.Six o’clock, ten o’clock, two o’clock,six o’clock, ten o’clock, two o’clock.It didn’t matter if Claire was crying,cooing, spitting up, or sleeping. Motherput the rubber nipple to Claire’s lipsuntil she sucked the bottle dry.

Last Mother’s Day, during a brunchof baguettes, scrambled eggs, andcouscous-stuffed tomatoes, Mothertold Claire, You’d lie in your crib andcry and cry and cry. Claire will tell youthis remark tore her open. I finallytook you to the pediatrician when youwere nine months old, and he told meto increase your feedings. Why, he saidyou were just hungry! Mother sippedher mimosa and smiled.

Today Claire is a brilliant linguist,a scholar, a specialist in symbols,syntax, and sign language. Yet Clairecannot decode the signals from herbelly to her brain. Claire hates food.Food is her labor, her loathing, herlife. Claire has starved herself until sheis thin as a famine victim and she

has binged on cookies and cake untilshe is fat as the Michelin Man. Thelast time I saw Claire, her eyelids,fingers, ankles, and feet were puffedup like marshmallows. She refusedto share my evening meal — babybok choy, coconut shrimp, and steamedrice — and instead ate a bowl of ce-real. After which, she announced, shewould be giving up all white food.White cake, white rice, white bread,white potatoes, white pasta in whitesauce with white parmesan cheese.It won’t matter, she said. No matter howmuch she eats, she is always empty.

I ate alone for a long time after mymiserable divorce. Then I met Bob.Bob was a lean health-food nut, witha pink and blue butterfly tattooed onhis right bicep. One day he openedmy refrigerator and stared at its con-tents: four sesame bagels, a half-emptycontainer of cottage cheese, threered delicious apples, a two-liter plasticbottle of cola. He shook his head.Don’t you ever eat?

The next day I joined the food co-operative. I bought a carton of eggs,a wedge of cheese, two bunches of locally grown carrots, and a bag ofbroccoli. Later, I married Bob.

We eat to feel love and comfort. Weeat so we don’t feel sadness, despair,anger. We eat to feel separate. We eatto belong. We eat foods that soothedus when we were children — scallopedpotatoes, macaroni and cheese, warmsourdough bread, oatmeal cookies.We eat candle-lit cake on birthdays,stuffed turkey at Thanks giving, choc-olate bunnies at Easter, unleavenedbread during Passover. We eat to be-come one with the corn and one withthe wheat and one with the flesh ofthe animal we eat. And after we con-sume the flesh off the bones, we mustnot break the bones. The bones mustbe kept safe, the bones are necessaryfor the animal to resurrect itself andgive itself to us again. We don’t eatblood because the Lord said unto Mosesif any man of the house of Israel orof the strangers that sojourn amongthem eats any blood, I will set myface against that person who eats bloodand I will cut him off from among hispeople. We do drink blood because

Jesus sat with his disciples for theirLast Supper and he struck a bargainwith them — when they ate the bread,they would eat the body of Christ;when they drank the wine, they woulddrink the blood of Christ; and in doingso, they would be made one with Christ.

Do this and I will set my faceagainst you.

Do this and I will always be with you.

Pass me the green salad, Daddy says.He frowns into the bowl. Where’s thedamned dressing!? We all cringe. Nodressing, only lemon juice, Mother re-minds him. Daddy got a promotionto Commercial Jet Sales Manager atBoeing, but Daddy is a metallurgicalengineer. He hates sales and he hatesmanagement. He hates his new jobso much he’s been binge eating —cookies, toffee, ice cream, candy. Nowhe weighs 230 pounds and his bloodpressure is too high. He must lose 50pounds. But he is not suffering alone:Mother has put us all on his diet. Nosalad dressing, no butter, no potatoes,no bread; no candy, no ice cream, nocake. We will all lose weight, like itor not. We sit quietly at the end of ourdinner, Claire and Carol and Motherand Daddy and I, and nibble our des-sert: sliced peaches and fat-free non-dairy topping. Only our black catLibby is satisfied: she licked up everybit of her kitty tuna and she is washingher face and purring. Daddy emptiesa teaspoon of artificial sweetener intohis tea and takes a sip.

I choose that moment to makemy announcement, my voice robotic,as though I was reporting road condi-tions over Snoqualmie Pass. Limitedvisibility. Compact snow and ice.Approved traction devices required. I am dropping out of the ninth grade.I have attended classes only one daya week for the past two months. I amgoing to be expelled anyway. Daddydrops his teacup and it shatters onthe table.

When I was six years old, UncleHoward gave me his leather-boundcollection of Classics Illustrated:Ivanhoe, Othello, Hamlet, The Countof Monte Cristo, King Solomon’s Mines.But it was Puddin’ Head Wilson thatstuck. I remember one horrible scene

Portland26

By Bread AloneFood and agony and love and food and despair and love: notes.

By Nina Ramsey

PAINTING: W

OMAN SELLING BREAD, 1911; NATALIA GONCHAROVA

(1881-1962) / ART

RESO

URCE, N

Y

— a slave named Roxy is forced topick cotton in suffocating heat with-out food. No biscuits, no grits, nocornmeal mush. Roxy is being pun-ished. I don’t remember why. Theslaves are warned not to share foodwith her, but one brave soul disobeys.Here’s a tator, Roxy. I know they ain’tfeedin’ you right. That slave is nearlybeaten to death for his simple act ofgoodness, for his charity, for his hu-manity. I knew right then if what theBible said was true, then Roxy wasthe Living Christ, and the slave whofed her was a Saint and was going togo straight to Heaven.

In 1932 and 1933, Stalin’s Soviet Guardforced Ukraine peasants to turn overtheir entire food supply — every bitof wheat, barley, oats, and rye. It wasan artificial famine. A genocide. Sevenmillion Ukrainians starved to death:25,000 people a day, dead; one thou-sand per hour, dead; seventeen everyminute, dead. Corpses lined the cob-bled streets. The Soviet Guard forcedthe starving peasants to load the bod-ies of their friends, their parents, theirchildren into carts and haul themaway to be hurled into pits like gar-bage. The people slowly, painfully,died of hunger. They ate every dogand every cat and every bird thatcould be found. As the famine raged,human beings ate other human be-ings. In the province of Poltava, in thespring of 1933, it was rumored that astarving woman ate her children.

It is midnight. A young woman withstringy hair and dull eyes shufflesdown the grocery aisle. She is a bagof bones. So thin she could swim rightout of her blue overalls. She gazes atthe bread sticks, bagels, muffins, andcakes. She admires the contents ofher shopping cart: diet cola, celery,lettuce. She gazes again at the cakes.Strokes the baby hairs on her cheeks.Her arm drifts to an angel food cake.She stops. Squeezes her eyes shut.Bony fingers grip her cart. Knuckleswhiten. How many meals have Ishared with her in my dreams? In mydreams we sit at the table. I tempther. I coax her. Please, oh please, takea bite. She pushes green peas aroundon her plate, then spears the tiniestpea with her fork and places it in hermouth. She chews for five minutesand she wipes her mouth with hernapkin and she rolls it into a moist balland she looks at me and she smiles.Listen, honey, I say, I know a littlesomething about refusing to eat. Why,when I was a child, my father butcheredmy pet chicken. She was called Hazelnutand she was my beloved and on the

night that Hazelnut was killed, the skyturned black and a dark wind aroseand claps of thunder roared down fromthe heavens and lightning split the skiesand I refused to partake of her fleshand her blood. I stop my sermon andI look at her and I smile. But I see itis too late. She has fallen off her chairand she is crawling away and I hearher chanting you can’t make me, youcan’t make me.

In 1992 I took Mother with me toWashington, D.C., while I attendedthe scientific meetings of the Geron -tological Society of America. I pre-sented my doctoral research that year,an achievement I wanted Mother toshare. It was Mother who made sureI finished high school, who madesure I went to university, who madesure I had this opportunity she wasnever granted.

At the end of each day, Motherand I would meet at the Ritz CarltonHotel. We’d drink tea and eat short-bread cookies and our dialogue wouldgo like this:

Where would you like to have dinnertonight? I ask.

Oh, I don’t care, it doesn’t matter,she replies.

What kind of food would you like?I persist.

Oh, I don’t care, it doesn’t matter,she says.

It doesn’t matter. I wonder ifMother has ever thought she matters.Eventually, I give up. I choose AmericaRestaurant, in Union Station, my favorite D.C. eatery. I love their crabcakes, their macaroni and cheese, theirgumbo, their baked potatoes, theirsourdough bread, their navy beansoup. We eat at America every night.

Two weeks after the trip, my sisterCarol phones. It sounds like Mom hada really good time in D.C., she says.Except for the food. What? I ask. Yeah,she said you insisted on eating at thesame restaurant every night.

My dear friend Dave is dying. We wereborn the same year; we grew upwithin an hour’s drive of each other;we’ve been friends since we met atuniversity the year we both turnedthirty. Now cancer has consumedhim. It started in his kidneys and ittraveled to his brain and it attackedhis spine. He has had sixteen surgeries.His legs are paralyzed and his baldhead is covered with scars. Two roundsof chemicals have done nothing tostop it. None of us can stop it.

Tonight, we have brought dinnerto Dave at the hospice where he’slived the last six months. A feast fromhis favorite restaurant, the New Delhi.

Poori, paneer, saffron pilaf, lambcurry, tandoori chicken, gobhi matar.The staff leaves us alone to celebratewhat we all know will be our lastsupper. One hour into our meal, Davegrows tired and he needs more drugs.It takes three of us to carry him fromthe recliner to his wheelchair andtuck him into bed.

His eyelids droop and his speechslurs. God, you guys, that was the bestdinner of my life.

It’s 1975 and I’m in Kamloops, BritishColumbia, visiting my sister Carol.Carol has red hair, freckles, and ourGrandma Sue’s brown eyes. She iskindhearted and humorous; a hardworker; a heart breaker. She brokeMother and Daddy’s hearts when shedropped out of college, married acowboy, and moved to a cattle ranchin the British Columbian interior. Nowshe has given birth to her first child,the first baby in a new generation ofmy family. Jenny is two weeks oldand has red tufts of hair, button eyes,and fat cheeks that dimple when shenurses. She has an impressive ap-petite. She gurgles and smacks herlips and gulps and burps until hermilk-drunk eyes close and she sleeps.

Carol smiles, her own milk-drunkeyes closed. Jenny stirs and latchesher lips onto Carol’s nipple and slurpsnoisily. Carol strokes Jenny’s head.She looks at me and she whispers,this is all I’ve ever wanted. I kiss Carol’sfreckled cheek and we both leandown and kiss the top of Jenny’s head.Jenny has stopped nursing. She hasfallen asleep. Her tummy is full. Sheis safe and warm in the loving armsof her mama and her auntie. Westudy the tiny blue veins of her eye-lids. We watch her lips pucker andtwitch. Jenny smiles. She is dreamingof her mama’s milk.

Eat! Live! Love! Television chef Wolf-gang Puck proclaims. Chef Puck is ashort man with delicate hands and aloud German-accented voice. Hischoice of a culinary career over thetrades cost him the love of his father.His success as a chef and restaurateurcost him the love of his wife. But hisstudio audience loves him. He whipsup their enthusiasm while he whipsup chocolate soufflé. Eat, live, love!He booms. His raucous audience joinsthe chant. Eat, live, love! Eat, live, love!I start chanting along, too. Eat, live,love! I holler back at the televisionscreen. I can’t help myself. Eat, live,love! Eat! Live! Love! n

Nina Ramsey is a psychiatric nurse andwriter in Seattle.

Portland28

NOTRE DAME DE LA FAIMAn extraordinary sacred place, a stone’s throw from the University.

By Ursula K. Le Guin

menacing, fortress-like look of thegreat window less citadels of consumer-ism, WalMart and the rest. When youget inside this building, you see thecathedral. The high, airy entrance hallleads you first, on a elegantly stone-tiled floor with little bronze decorationsset in here and there, to an area ofoffices and cubicles. Most churcheshide their administrative department,but this one puts it right out front.The walls are blond wood; everythingis spacious and handsome. Like thehigh nave of Notre-Dame, the startling-ly high ceiling of steel-braced woodsoars above all the small human activ-

ity down on the floor beneath. In theold cathedral, that height creates agreat, mysterious, upper space ofshadows. But the space beneath thisvault is luminous. It wasn’t till I en-tered the interior, the cathedral proper,that I understood why they’d builtthe ceiling so high. As there should be,there are great doors to open into thesacred space. And as a sacred spacewill do, the first sight took my breathaway. I stood silent. I rememberedwhat the word awe means.

Much of the interior of the hugebuilding is visible from that doorway,or would be except that the whole

Spring 201229

Ivisited a great cathedral this week.It’s situated in a mixed industrial-small business-residential area notfar from the Portland Airport, an oddplace for a cathedral. But it has a hugecongregation and is full of people,not just on Sundays but every day ofthe week.

And it’s big. Notre-Dame de Pariscovers about 67,000 square feet, thisone is nearly twice as big — 108,000square feet, two full city blocks, withan adjunct building across the riverthat covers 94,000 square feet.

From the outside it looks like a hugewarehouse, but it hasn’t the strangely

PHOTOS: STEVEN SCARDINA

Portland30

floor is covered with immense, tower-ing blocks and piles and stacks ofcrates, cartons, boxes, and containers,arranged in gigantically severe order,with wide aisles between each toweror bay. Only down the aisles can yousee the far walls in the far distance.There are no permanent walls or di-visions. The immense, splendidlycantilevered ceiling stretches serenelyabove it all. The air is cool, fresh, andclean, with the faintest smell of gardenstuff, fresh vegetables. Vehicles runquietly up and down the aisles, mini-forklifts and the like, looking quitetiny among the high blocks and stacks,constantly busy at moving crates andboxes, bringing in and taking out.

Well, it isn’t a cathedral. That wasa metaphor. It’s just a warehouse,after all.

But what kind of warehouse stores

nothing to sell? Nothing, not one itemin all these (literally) acres of goods,is or ever will be for sale.

Actually, it’s a bank. But not thekind of bank where money is the onlything that happens.

Here is where money doesn’t hap-pen.

This is the Oregon Food Bank.Every box in the great cubical stacksbetween the aisles, every carton, everycan, every bottle, every crate, holdsfood. Every carton, every can, everypound, every ounce of that food willbe given to the people of Oregon whohaven’t the money to buy what theyneed to live on.

It is a cathedral, after all. The ca-thedral of hunger.

Or should I say the cathedral of gen-erosity? Of compassion, or community,

or caritas?It comes to the same thing.There are people who need help.

There are people who deny this, say-ing that God helps those who helpthemselves, and the poor and the un-employed are merely shiftless slackerssponging on a nanny government.

There are people who don’t denypoverty, but they don’t want to knowabout it because it’s all so terrible andwhat can you do?

And then there are people who help. This place is the most impressive

proof of their existence I ever saw.Their existence, their efficiency, theirinfluence. This place embodieshuman kindness.

In, of course, the most unspiritual,lowly, humdrum, even gross way. Ina thousand cans of green beans, intowers of macaroni boxes, in crates

Spring 201231

of fresh-picked vegetables, in coldside-chapel-refrigerators of meat andcheese... In hundreds of cartons withimprobable names of obscure beerson them, donated by the brewers be-cause beer-cartons are particularlysturdy and useful for packing food...In the men and women, employeesand trained volunteers, operating themachinery, manning the desks, sort-ing and packaging the fresh produce,teaching survival skills in the FoodBank classrooms, kitchens, and gar-dens, driving the trucks that bringfood in and the trucks that take foodout to where it’s needed.

For these towering walls and blocksand reefs of goods — 12 to 18 thousandpounds of food in each bay of thewarehouse — will vanish, melt awaylike sandcastles, tonight or in a fewdays, to be replaced instantly by the

supply of boxed, canned, glassed, fresh,and frozen food, which in turn willmelt away in a day or a week, goingwhere it’s needed.

And that is everywhere. The FoodBank distributes in every county ofthe state of Oregon plus one countyof Washington state. They don’t haveto look far to find people who needhelp getting enough to eat.

Anywhere kids are, to start with.Many school-age children in ourcountry, towns, and cities don’t getthree meals a day, or even two. Manyaren’t always sure if they’ll get any-thing to eat today at all.

How many? About a third of them.One child in three.

Put it this way: If you or I were astatistic-parent with three statistic-kidsin school, one of our three childrenwould be hungry. Malnourished.

Hungry in the morning, hungry atnight. The kind of hungry that makesa child feel cold all the time. Makesa child stupid. Makes a child sick.

Which one of our children...whichchild...? n

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is the authorof the masterpieces The Left Hand ofDarkness and Always Coming Home,among many other books. She was theUniversity’s Schoenfeldt Series visitingwriter in 1990.

The University’s students devotethousands of hours annually to helpingout at the Oregon Food Bank and Port-land’s Blanchet House, which has fedmillions of people since it was foundedby University alumni in 1952. For in-formation, see oregonfoodbank. com,blanchethouse.org, or the University’sCampaign site, rise.up.edu.

YEARONEThe University’s brand-new women’s rowingteam, through the sharpeyes of a fine Oregonphotographer.Photographs by Steve Hambuchen

A year ago the University started its firstintercollegiate women’s rowing teamby hiring a most interesting man namedBill Zack – Coast Guard lieutenant com-mander, president of the Collegiate RowingCoaches Association, renowned coach,and veteran of the Olympic Games andWorld Rowing Championships. Six monthsago Pilot boats hit the Willamette River.Five months ago the Pilots won their firstrace. Three months ago the team got itsfirst commitments from vaunted recruitsin Alaska and Seattle. The sky is the limitfor the women’s rowing team, and wehave been fascinated to watch a wholenew varsity sport born with hard work andlaughter and exhaustion and mist andparents and friends cheering from theriverbank, so we asked the fine Oregonphotographer Steve Hambuchen to catchsome of the wet joy of the team, whichhe did.

Editor

To help out the Pilot rowingteam, or to help out any and allof the hard-working grinningstudent-athletes on The Bluff, seerise.up.edu. And thanks.

REUN ION 2012: JUNE21-24Save the date to join us thissummer as we transport theidyllic Greek Isles to The Bluffat Reunion 2012! We will bringthe best of the Mediterraneanto Portland and welcome backour historic social fraternitiesand sororities, and celebratethe Golden Anniversary of theClass of 1962 and the SilverAnniversary of the Class of1987. On Thursday anotherclass of legendary Pilot ath-letes will be inducted into theAthletics Hall of Fame and onFriday the 26th annual Nation -al Alumni Board Golf Tourna -ment will be played at Pump -kin Ridge Golf Course.Watchyour mailbox for a detailedschedule of events, and visitthe Reunion 2012 website atalumni.up.edu/reunion. Wewelcome all of our alumni andtheir families and hope thatthey’ll return to campus. Seeyou at Reunion 2012. Opa!

ALUMNI AWARDS &STATE OF U.P.Seating is limited at our annualState of the University andAlumni Awards luncheon somark your calendars for Tues-day, March 20, 2012 and planto join us at noon at the Mult-nomah Athletic Club in down-town Portland. Univer sitypresident Fr. Bill Beauchamp,C.S.C. will deliver his annualstate of the University addressand take full measure of oneof the finest Catholic universi-ties in the West. We will alsohonor the three 2011 AlumniAward winners and recognizethe student recipient of thisyear’s Gerhardt Award. Watchfor your invitation in the mailthis spring and hear about theUniversity’s continued growthand accomplishments.

HIVE ENTREPRENEURSNETWORKThe UP Hive is an open forumfor alumni of all ages, currentM.B.A. students, and Univer -sity of Portland supporters in-terested in business and entre-preneurial activity within thecommunity. The Hive organ-izes events focused on con-necting and assisting alumniand supporters in finding newbusiness partners, clients, andinvestors through networkingand interactive and fun educa-tional presentations. If youhave a speaker in mind orwould like to host a Hive event,please contact the Hive com-mittee directly at hive@pi-lotwm.com. To learn moreabout upcoming Hive eventsplease visit their website atuphive.wordpress.com.

NATIONAL ALUMNI DAYOF SERVICE: APRIL 28Tough times call for kind ac-tions. Join fellow Pilots andtheir families and friendsacross the country to donatetime and energy to variouscharitable causes. Each alum-ni chapter organizes a differ-ent volunteer activity, fromsorting food boxes, to serving ameal in a day shelter, to spruc-ing up a yard and doing minorhome repairs. So mark yourcalendar for Saturday, April28, 2012 and watch your mail-box or check the alumni web-site at alumni.up.edu for in-formation about activities inyour neighborhood.

2012 ELECTION PRIMERThis course presented in threeparts seeks to energize politi-cal junkies and provide newinsights to political novicesthroughout the course of the2012 election cycle. Br. DonaldStabrowski, C.S.C., Universityof Portland provost and politi-cal scientist, will analyze and

break down the primaries anddiscuss other hot issues in theinitial two sessions leading upto the third and final courseon election day. Refreshmentswill be provided. Classes willbe held on February 12, Octo -ber 2, and November 6. Con -tact alumni relations for moreinformation.

SUMMER IN SALZBURGThe University of Portland’sSalzburg Center will be avail-able for alumni travelers thissummer from August 20 toSeptember 2. Salzburg pro-vides rich cultural opportuni-ties, including the internation-ally acclaimed SalzburgFestival of music and drama.Come soak up the unique his-tory and culture of thisAustrian jewel when you workwith the Office of AlumniRelations to choose your ownactivities and site visits, allwhile using the University’sSalzburg Center as home base.$75 U.S. per person per night(single occupancy), includesbreakfast. Double and tripleoccupancy rooms are alsoavailable. Contact alumni rela-tions for more information.

BREW IT UP: THE ARTOF HOME BREWINGJoin University alumnus andbrew master Chris Oslin ’81 aswe give you the history ofbrewing and present a hands-on introduction to the fine artof zymurgy. In this two-partclass, you will brew your ownbeer, learn to refine the devel-oping flavors, and take homeyour class “final” to enjoy! Partone of Brew it UP will takeplace on May 12, 2012. Parttwo will be on June 2, 2012.Cost is $30 per person and in-cludes the cost of supplies andlunch. Contact the alumni re-lations office for more infor-mation.

CHEF’S TABLE SET FORAPRIL 13, MAY 18Plan to attend our Chef’s Tabledinners on April 13 and May18, where Bon Appétit generalmanager Kirk Mustain and hischefs will select a delightfulmenu and prepare eight to tenmini-plate courses with winepairings, all prepared beforeyour eyes as you enjoy theshow from the kitchen in theBauccio Commons. Cost is $75per person. Contact alumni re-lations for more information.

ROLL IT UP: FLAVORS OFTHE EASTImmerse yourself in the cul-tures and bold flavors of theEast in this cooking class of-fered by Bon Appétit generalmanager Kirk Mustain onJune 2, 2012. You’ll learn tomake sushi, egg rolls, saladrolls, spring rolls, and lumpia.Cost is $20 per person. Con -tact alumni relations for moreinformation.

MENOF COLUMBIA PREPRETURN TO CAMPUSPlease plan to share memoriesand renew friendships whenyou return to campus for theColumbia Prep All-class Reun -ion on Sunday, April 29, 2012.This year’s celebration com-memorates all Columbia Prepalumni. However, specialrecognition will be given tothe classes of 1952, 1947, 1942,1937, and 1932. Reunion be-gins at 10:30 a.m. with a Massin the Chapel of Christ theTeacher followed by a servedbrunch at St. Mary’s lounge.Plan to enjoy brunch, raise atoast, and sing the fight songwith your fellow Preppers.The cost is $15. For more information or toRSVP, contact the Office ofAlumni Relations at alum-ni@up.edu or 888.UP.ALUMS(888.872.5867).

A L U M N I u N E W S

Portland36

C H A P T E R u N E W S

Spring 201237

Yes, that is indeed the estimable Jimmy Dorsey on the sax, at the University’s 1955 Air Force Ball. Fascin-ating man, Jimmy – very fine horn player, Tommy Dorsey’s big brother, Charlie Parker’s favorite saxplayer, and probably the jazziest of the big band leaders of his time. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra is stillgoing, 55 years after Jimmy’s death in the spring of 1957. The University, of course, welcomes scholarshipgifts for jazz musicians, Air Force cadets, guys named Jimmy, and women with cool shoes, among manyother entertaining Rise Campaign targets. See rise.up.edu.

C L A S S u N O T E S

Portland38

FIFTY YEAR CLUBRichard W. Johnson ’36 passedaway on October 23, 2011, inPortland, Ore. Survivors includehis wife, Doris M. Johnson.Our prayers and condolencesto the family. John Anduiza ’40 passed away

on October 14, 2011, in Boise,Idaho. After his military serv-ice he went to work for the

Internal Revenue Service in1945, retiring in 1973 as chiefof administration. Survivorsinclude his wife of 70 years,Mary; daughter, Joann; and twograndchildren. Our prayersand condolences. Carl Nydegger ’40 passed away

on October 6, 2011, at the ageof 95. He came to The Bluff ona football scholarship and

played semi-pro football inPortland after college. He taughthigh school and coached inCalifornia, Guam, and Oregonuntil retiring in 1978. Survivorsinclude his wife of 71 years,Barbara; sons, Carl and Richard;daughters, Joan Rivers, DorothyBray, and Margaret Vedder; 18grandchildren; 27 great-grand-children; and one great-great-grandchild. He was precededin death by one son, JamesPatrick, and two grandchildren.Our prayers and condolencesto the family. Norman Alfred “Norm” Stoll’42 passed away on November30, 2011, in Portland, Ore. Heand his late wife Helen taughtdancing and etiquette to gener-ations of Portlanders throughthe Norm Stoll Dance Studio,which they opened in 1950.He attended the University ofPortland on a full scholarship,graduating Maxima Cum Laudewith a B.A. in business admin-istration. After graduation hewent to work in the Portlandshipyards, building LibertyShips for the war effort; it wasafter the war that he began toteach dance. While he was alsoa very successful businessmanin the real estate field, thedance studio was where Normand Helen made many lastingimpressions, especially in themagical moment of every classwhen Norm would join Helenfor a turn on the dance floor.Survivors include son Wayne;daughter-in-law, Alison; grand-children, Annsley and Kaitlyn;great-granddaughter, Isabelle;and brother, Jack. Our prayersand condolences to the family.Kenneth Baricevic ’42 passed

away on March 9, 2011, in LosAltos, Calif. He was a veteranof the U.S. Army and servedin World War II and Korea, andhad a 38-year career with West-inghouse. Survivors includechildren Katherine Rogness,Julia Browne, LawrenceBaricevic, and Maria Baricevic;sister, Cecilia Baricevic; andsixteen grandchildren. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family. Kenneth K. Maher ’43 passed

away on December 30, 2011, atthe age of 90, in Morton, Wash.He served as a state represen-tative in the Oregon Legislaturefrom 1961 to 1973, where heworked with political figureslike John F. Kennedy, MarkHatfield, Tom McCall,and VicAtiyeh. Survivors include hisseven children, Patricia,Creighton, Patrick, Richard,Stephen, Michael, and Kimber-ly; 16 grandchildren; and fourgreat-grandchildren. Our prayersand condolences to the family.Dr. Alfred James Grierson,M.D. ’44 passed away on

October 31, 2011, in Portland,Ore. He was predeceased byhis wife, Norma Keefe Grierson’45. Survivors include elevenchildren: Norma Hamblin,Nancy Ikeda, Ann Strayer,Maureen Stearns, VirginiaBrowning, Molly Mataele, Jim,John, Mike, Greg, Larry, andPatrick; 26 grandchildren; and11 great-grandchildren. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family. Prayers, please, for Evangeline(Huie) Walker ’44 on the loss ofher husband of 61 years, W.Parks Walker, Jr., on October19, 2011. Parks had a long anddistinguished career in theforest management field andretired from the Naval Reserveas a captain in 1973. Evangelineand Parks are members of theHooyboer, society, which hon-ors those who support themission of the University ofPortland by including us intheir estate plans. They alsoestablished the Parks andEvangeline Walker EndowedScholarship Fund to supportnursing students. Survivors in-clude Evangeline and theirchildren, Catherine Strait, CarolHodgin, and W.P. Walker III;seven grandchildren; and threegreat-grandchildren. Our pray-ers and condolences.Loa Beauchamp McElligott ’45

passed away on December 25,2011, surrounded by family, inIone, Oregon. After earningher nursing degree on TheBluff she worked for two yearsat St. Vincent Hospital, thenmarried her husband of nearly60 years, the late Charles RichardMcElligott ’47, after he returnedfrom service in the Army AirCorps and graduated from theUniversity. Survivors includetwelve children: John, Jim, Tom,Joe, Annie, Melissa, MaryPat,Charles, Catherine, Daniel,Martha, and Dick; 42 grand-children; and 20 great-grand-children at last count. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family. Joseph Mikolavich ’47 passed

away on November 22, 2011,in Portland, Ore. Joe served inWorld War II in the China BurmaIndia (CBI) Theater, workedas an insurance adjuster incivilian life, and lived for mostof the past 48 years in GrantsPass. Survivors include his wifeof 59 years, Bette; children,Mike, Mark, Chris, Tanja, andVince; and their families. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family. Carl Plass Sr. ’47 died on

December 3, 2011, at the ageof 89. He was born on July 29,1922, in Portland. He attendedLlewellyn Grade School andWashington High School. Afterone year at the University of

The Slabtown Boys took a

hard hit with the passing

of the irrepressible Stan

Bozich ’53 on November

15, 2011, in Portland, Ore.

Stan was born in North-

west Portland and attend-

ed St. Patrick Elementary

School, Benson High

School, and of course the

University of Portland,

where he earned a bache-

lor’s degree and then returned for a master’s in secondary

education. Stan loved working with youth and sports

and spent 35 years as a teacher, counselor, and baseball

coach at Sweet Home Union, Roosevelt, and Lake

Oswego high schools. While Stan’s first love was family

and friends, baseball was right up there too, and he

could regale those around him for hours about the time

he spent in Northwest Portland’s old Vaughn Street ball

park watching the Port-

land Beavers. He loved

spending time with his

wife, kids, and especially

his grandkids, and always

made time to volunteer

with local children, no-

tably through the Start

Making A Reader Today

(SMART) program. Sur-

vivors include his wife of

46 years, Virginia; son,

Dan; daughter, Ann-Marie Cordova ’88, four grand-

children; brother, John; and sister, Eldine Anderson.

What can we say? Stan was just a stand-up guy, always

wanting to know what he could do to help others, a

great and loyal friend to the end. He will be missed ter-

ribly. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to

the University’s Slabtown Scholarship Fund. Our

prayers and condolences to Stan’s family and friends.

C L A S S u N O T E S

Spring 201239

Family, friends, and members of the Serra Club of San Francisco gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Holy Cross FatherJoe Peixotto C.S.C. ’54 on July 10, 2011, at St. Brendan Church. Fr. Joe, who was ordained in 1961, has spent 49 years in educationalmission work in Bangladesh at his congregation's Notre Dame College. As a young man, he earned an engineering degree onThe Bluff and had offers at a major aeronautical firm as well as the U.S. Air Force. “I wanted to choose a path in life in which Icould best serve God and my church,” he said about entering the seminary.

Portland40

C L A S S u N O T E S

Portland, he enlisted in theNavy and served in the Pacificas an officer aboard the U.S.S.Joseph E. Campbell until 1946.He returned to the Universityof Portland and graduated in1947 with a degree in businessadministration. He marriedAudrey Louise Williams in1949. After a 40-year career inthe insurance industry, Carlretired in 1985. He was pre-ceded in death by his wife in2001. Survivors include hischildren, Rick (Kris), Mike(Kathy), Suzanne, Steven“Beaver,” Joseph and MaryKay; and seven grandchildren.Our prayers and condolencesto the family. Prayers, please, for Jerome J.Bleeg ’49 on the loss of his wife,Jane Bleeg, who passed awayon March 31, 2011, in San Jose,California. Survivors includeJerome and their children,Stephen, Janet, Nancy, JerryJr., Mary Jo, and Jean; andeighteen grandchildren. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family.Lewis Archer McMurran ’50

passed away on November 14,2011, in Portland, Ore. Afterserving in World War II, he re-turned to Portland and workedat ESCO Corporation for 30years. Survivors include hiswife of 53 years, Gina; son,Lewis; daughter, Mary Helen;twin brother, Robert; and twograndsons. Remembrances toBlanchet House. Our prayersand condolences to the family. William Isaac Phillips IV ’50

passed away on January 2,2012 at the age of 85, in Mt.Vernon, Wash. He enlisted inthe U.S. Navy and was stationedaboard the U.S.S. Aaron Wardin 1944 where he served as aradio technician 1st class. Aftergraduation from UP he took aposition as a sales representa-tive with C&H Supply Companyin Seattle. In 1966 he estab-lished Western Technical Saleswith a home office in Bellevue,and later opened offices inPortland and Spokane. Bill waspreceded in death by an infantson and is survived by his wife,Marilyn; daughters, KimberlyReid and Mary Lanigan, andsons, William, Isaac, Steven,and Jeffrey; ten grandchildren,and six great-grandchildren.He is also survived by Marilyn’ssons, Jeffrey, Matthew, Nathan,and Anthony Thostenson, anddaughter, Sarah Bolton; ninegrandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; and his brother,Ralph Phillips. Our prayersand condolences to the family.Prayers, please, for KennethHeuvel ’51 after the loss of hiswife of 63 years, Patricia AnnHeuvel, on November 29, 2011,in Portland, Ore. Survivors in-

clude Ken; sons, Dan and Paul;daughter, Diane Moshofsky;seven grandchildren; and sixgreat-grandchildren. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family. Phillip DeVito ’54 passed

away on November 27, 2011,at his home in Salem, Ore. Heworked for many years in pri-vate clubs and many of the toprestaurants in Portland andwas a pioneer in the develop-ment of Oregon’s renownedwine industry. Survivors in-clude his wife, Janice BuschMorrow DeVito; children,Sudan, Greg, Paul, David, andstepdaughter Shannon Page;six grandchildren; and onegreat-grandchild. Our prayersand condolences to the family.Ernestine Alexis Palmer Brown’56 passed away on March 26,2011, in Prairie View, Texas.She was a licensed profession-al nurse and a member of theWhiting Nurses Guild, and wasaffiliated with the Prairie ViewCollege women’s basketballteam and Delta Sigma Thetasorority. Survivors include twodaughters, LaNell and Jeanine;two sons, Baron and Eric;grandchildren, Latoya, Lakekia,Baron Jr., Keisha, Kayla, DeeDee, Jeremy, Ragan, Damion,Floyd Jr., Tiffany, Courtney,and Alexis; and Alleyne Taylor,Mauvelyene Henry, and nu-merous great-grandchildren,cousins, and friends. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family. Mary Ann Foley Scheuring ’58

has made a contribution in theamount of $10,000 toward ren-ovation of the University’sWilson W. Clark MemorialLibrary as part of the RISECampaign. “I am grateful forthe education that I receivedthere,” she writes. “I was ascholarship girl and was ableto go on to graduate school ona fellowship before undertak-ing a career as a teacher, edi-tor, and writer. I warmly re-member my undergraduateextracurricular activities as ed-itor of the yearbook, violinistin the string orchestra, and ac-tress in several drama depart-ment productions. I also re-member, somewhat lesswarmly, working part-time asa sophomore reshelving booksin the library, which at thattime was largely housed in thecramped basement of ChristieHall. UP has come a long waysince then! Because I haveused a great many libraries ex-tensively throughout my lifefor both research and pleasure,I would like my contributionto the RISE campaign to bededicated to improvements inthe University library.” Ourthanks and prayers of grati-

ON THE BENCH

An hour with Judge Joe

DiLoreto ’63 of the California

Superior Court.He’d much

rather talk about his twenty

race cars, like the 1959 Jaguar

XK150 and the 1965 Cobra

Daytona Coupe, but I steer

His Honor into the law in-

stead.

“My business law course

at the University of Portland

planted a seed, so I went to

Loyola University’s law school, and then worked with a

deputy district attorney, a wonderful job. I went into

civil law, and loved going to trial. I enjoyed being a

lawyer more than I enjoy being a judge, I think. There’s

more personal satisfaction. As a lawyer, if I’ve got a client

who is injured and is seeking redress, and I’ve got an

adversary who doesn’t want to pay, and I to trial and get

that money, my client’s life is changed for the better.

That’s a real joy to me.

“As judge, I’m an umpire. I’m here to make sure the

law is enforced. It doesn’t mean I agree with everything

I do. I didn’t write the law. My job is to interpret it. The

facts are there. Sometimes I don’t like it, and some de-

cisions haunt me, like the time I had to sentence a boy

to life in prison. In that case I am especially happy that

he has a right to appeal. The system is pretty darn good,

if that’s the only case I can point to in 16 years on the

bench that really made me unhappy.

“My weakness as a judge? Sometimes I’m short-

tempered. I have jumped all over lawyers and later re-

gretted it. I dislike arrogance in my court, and there

are a few lawyers who are so arrogant I assign the cases

to another judge, to protect their clients from me, sort

of. The Los Angeles Daily Journal said it right: ‘Di Loreto

can come across as slightly gruff if you disrespect his

time...He basically tries to scare attorneys straight.’

“I’ve learned a few important things as a judge: don’t

make snap decisions, don’t prejudge, do listen to every-

body, do give everybody a fair chance to be heard.

“I’d like to work one more year and then retire. I have

one more great dream: to ship some of my race cars to

Italy and race on some of the European tracks before I

croak. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

—Claire Sykes

Spring 201241

C L A S S u N O T E S

tude to Mary Ann for her gen-erosity. Chuck Moran ’60 and CarolWeeks Moran ’62 celebrated 50years of marriage on January27, 2012.

’64 BOB’S LATEST HONORRobert E. “Bob” Maloney ofLane Powell has been appoint-ed to serve on the LawyersCommittee of the NationalCenter for State Courts (theNational Center) as one of twolawyer representatives fromthe state of Oregon. TheNational Center’s members in-clude the chief judges of eachstate's Court of Appeals andSupreme Court, in addition totwo attorney representativesfrom each state. Collectively,the organization works to en-sure the quality of state courtsthroughout the country and toadvocate improvements in thecivil justice system rangingfrom jury reform, to judicialindependence, to manage-ment of complex civil cases.Congratulations, Bob!Kay D. Toran, president and

chief executive officer of Volunteers of America-Oregonand member of the University’sboard of regents, was nomi-nated to Oregon governorJohn Kitzhaber's OregonEducation Investment Board,which oversees all educationspending in the state of Oregon.Toran also serves on the boardof the Oregon CommunityFoundation and the Chalk boardProject, and was leader of theState Office of Services toChildren and Families from1993 until 1999, and was an af-firmative-action directorunder Gov. Vic Atiyeh.

’64 PRAYERS, PLEASEPlease keep the family ofKaren and Bradford Williams’94 in your prayers for the lossof Karen’s husband andBradford’s father, William H.Williams, who died onDecember 21, 2011. Other sur-vivors include sister, Maryella;stepsister, Marla; daughter,Leslie; granddaughters,Summer, Audra, and Hannah;and great-granddaughter,Kloie. Our prayers and condo-lences to the family.

’66 AN HONOR FOR SANDRAJo Chisholmwrites: “I just re-turned from a luncheon hon-oring my best friend and col-lege roommate at theUniversity of Portland, SandraVan Handel Suran, who wasawarded the William H. VanRensselaer Public ServiceAward by the NationalAssociation of State Board ofAccountancy (NASBA), inNashville, Tennessee. What an

honor. She chaired this highpowered board (the firstwoman in the country to doso), which requires an ap-pointment by a state represen-tative in order to participateand attend. I listened to all ofher accomplishments in awe.I am so proud to be a part ofher close knit family!”

’73 SAD NEWSJames Murray Acres passedaway on November 17, 2011.“James had a wonderful senseof humor and loved life,” readshis death notice. He was a topsales manager for Wright LineFurniture Company but histrue passions were always act-ing, music, cars, and makingpeople laugh. He is survivedby his wife Patti; brother,Robert; and many dear friendsand family members. Ourprayers and condolences tothe family.

’77 LIFE’S JOURNEYLynette Jones-Baucke publisheda fictionalized memoir, Evidenceof Divine Intervention, in 2011.“The divine intervention seriesillustrates how our journeythrough life takes us down aroad full of the inane, the ab-surd, and the farcical yet si-multaneously, the road is alsofull of divine and serendipi-tous events,” she writes on herwebsite at www.divineinter-ventionseries.com. “It’s as

though life, the universe, andour reason for being all swirlaround us in concentric circlesof meaning. We just need toread the road signs.” Lynetteserved on the University’sNational Alumni Board fromJune 2007 to June 2010.

’79 WHAT A LONG STRANGETRIP IT’S BEENWe heard recently from TerryYoung, who writes: “A fewmonths ago I rode my bicyclefrom Mustang, Oklahoma to

It didn’t take long for the e-mails

to come flooding in for our win-

ter 2011 mystery faculty member,

who is of course the ebullient

Jill Peterson Hoddick, professor

and master costumer in our per-

forming and fine arts depart-

ment. “What a delight to open

the recent issue of the magazine

to find a photo of myself as the

mystery faculty member,” writes

Jill. “I still have that suit, now relegated to my ‘costume’

collection. I will retire in May after 35 years at UP, and

while I look forward to becoming an art quilter and

fiber artist in my ‘second act’ I will miss the day to day

contact with students, faculty and staff. I hope to return

to campus once in a while to take in a play, concert, or

lecture or to have lunch with old friends.” We hope you

do that Jill, we will miss you dearly and wish you the

very best.

Moving on to spring 2012, our current mystery faculty

or staff person, pictured below, second from left, has

been employed here on The Bluff for 40 years, earning

her a delighted round of applause from fellow employees

when her milestone year was announced at our annual

Christmas banquet in December 2011. “She first arrived

on campus in 1971 to serve as secretary for history pro-

fessor Fr. Barry

Hagan, C.S.C.,”

writes Univer-

sity archivist

Fr. Bob Anto-

nelli, C.S.C.

“She would do

typing for him,

and help him

grade papers

and do research,

effectively serving as his eyes, because he was legally

blind. She also drove him places around town, especially

to upscale hamburger restaurants. At one point she

was president of the campus secretaries group. She is

very good at making lists and meticulous in researching

and recording facts, skills which are invaluable both

for history professors and archivists.” Not to mention

gracious, unassuming, and very warm and friendly to

one and all. Best guesses to mcovert@up.edu.

Portland42

C L A S S u N O T E S

Carlsbad, California, duringwhich time I met several angels. On my ride I thoughtabout the road ahead. Ithought about glass, nails, pot-holes, flat tires, the wind,cracks in the blacktop, hugetrucks, the physical limita-tions of my own body, candybars, my four sons, my son’sFirst Combat MarineEngineers platoon. I thoughtabout Upton Sinclair: ‘Faith inits actual working out has togo through spells of unsylla-bled isolation.’ The first angel Imet used to be the mayor of

Apache, Oklahoma. His nameis Bill. He sat down with me atbreakfast at the Hop & Sak gasstation and store. He lovescars. We talked about focusingon safety on the road. The sec-ond angel I met lives nearTurkey, Texas. His name isJerry. He put my bike in theback of his pickup truck anddrove me 42 miles to a townwhere I could get spare tiresand a good night’s sleep. Hewouldn’t take the money I of-fered for his gas but onlyasked that I not forget thegood that was done for me and

pass it on. The third angel Imet lives in Lordsburg, NewMexico. Her name is ReverendAngel. She wears a long denimcoat, a straw hat, brown com-bat boots, and a large crossnecklace. She used to be astreet preacher in SanAntonio, Texas, spreading theGospel. The fourth angel isnamed Robert. He was smok-ing a cigarette at the VijaTruck Stop near Casa Grande,Arizona, when I met him. Hewas wearing camouflage pantsand a sweatshirt. He had adog. He found a bed and anAmerican flag blanket for meat the truck stop. Before Iwent to bed we watched a RoyRogers movie, The Bells ofSan Angelo. He also had a cat

named Arizona. He liked todrink beer. At the very end ofmy journey I was toiling up ahill when a young man in bat-tle fatigues called out to me.After a moment I realized itwas my son. At the top of thehill were two more of mysons, who emptied a bottle ofchampagne on me, a momentI will treasure the rest of mylife. God sends messengers.God unseals our eyes. Godshows us how the ordinary isextraordinary. I did see an-gels. I met people withouthomes or food or money andthey gave me what they hadand I gave them what I hadand I know they are angels.”

’80 MANNY AND MIKERetired School of Engineeringprofessor Larry Simmons andManny Hotchkiss ’78 had avery enjoyable visit withMikeMonteith and his wife Catherineat their home on the St. MariesRiver in Northern Idaho, ac-cording to a note sent bySimmons in October 2011.“Both Manny and Mike are re-tired after long engineeringcareers,” writes Larry. “Mannyhas been volunteering forabout 15 years as a member ofthe UP Engineering Dean'sAdvisory Council.”

’81 MICHELLE VENTURES AGUESS“It is Jill Peterson,” writesMichelle Crukshank in responseto our winter 2011 mysteryfaculty photo. “I did improvi-sational children’s theatrewith her for three years at UP”Thanks Michelle, you guessedcorrectly, and Jill has alwayshad the magic touch when itcomes to children’s theater.

’84 THE GUESSES CONTINUEYet another correct guess as tothe identity of our fall 2011mystery faculty member:“Probably lots of correct an-swers already,” writes DaveSarchet. “Ken Lulay, class of1984. One of a whoppingdozen BSME’s that year.” Yes,it’s Ken, who is now a memberof our engineering facultyhere on The Bluff. Dave worksat the Georgia-Pacific mill inCamas, Wash., as an assetavailability leader. Pat Hensler knows the identi-

ty of our winter 2011 mysteryfaculty member: “DefinitelyJill Hoddick. Jill is just one ofthose quality friends!”“The mystery faculty person

for winter 2011 is obviouslyJill Hoddick,” writes RandallHobson, “with whom I havehad the pleasure of teachingFine Arts 107. I graduatedwith a masters degree inmusic in 1984 so I’ve knownJill for a long time.” Dorothea “Dot” DeLapp

writes: “Your winter 2011 mys-tery faculty member is Jill K.Peterson-Hoddick. And yes,she was one of my best teach-ers. I knew her when she wasJill Peterson.”

’86 GOOD HEALTH TO ALLChunwah Richard Leewrites:“I would like to wish Fr. TomHosinski and Bro. FulgenceDougherty a Merry Christmas.I am now associate professorand assistant chair at the WeeKim Wee School of Communi-cation, Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity, Singapore. Wishingeveryone at UP good health.”Thanks Chunwah, and goodluck with your teaching careerand life in general.We received sad news re-

cently from Matt Waite ’84,who writes: “I thought youmight like to know KennyMeyerson passed away recent-ly at 47, he only attended UPfor one year, he was on thetennis team, as you can see inthe 1982 yearbook. If yougoogle ‘Kenny MeyersonTennis’ you’ll get all the de-tails. I knew him personally,he was a good guy.” ThanksMatt, we did that and foundthat Ken passed away in hissleep on Wednesday, October

Canaan Chatman ’95 was all-WCC as a basketball

player on The Bluff and then a professional ballplayer

for six years in Israel, Australia, Japan, Poland, Turkey,

Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates before end-

ing his career to focus on something more important:

children, both his own (like son Kameron, pictured with

his Dad above) and those he has taught and mentored

in his ten years back home in Portland, where he was a

star at Benson High. Today, after working with Adidas

and Nike over the years, he’s the executive director of

the YMCA facility called The Hoop in Beaverton, cre-

ator of the Rose City Showcase tournament, founder of

the Inner City Portland team (whose alumni include

the Detroit Lions’ Ndamukong Suh), owner of a company

called Courtside Entertainment, and proud dad of one

of Oregon’s best young basketball players, Kameron

Chatman, among his three children with his high school

sweetheart, LaShea Chatman. “I really wanted to help

put UP on the map as the city’s premier basketball pro-

gram,” he says of his college days, “but I also knew that

when the ball stopped bouncing, my education would

serve me well...”

—Nathan Dinsdale ’00

Spring 201243

C L A S S u N O T E S

19, 2011. He had a lifelonglove of tennis and worked asan agent for former No. 1-ranked tennis pro AndyRoddick, Chris Evert, JustineHenin, Fernando Gonzalez,Gael Monfils, and others. Heleaves his wife, Claudia, anddaughters Charlotte and Emily.Our prayers and condolences. Gregory McGreevey joined

Invesco as head of InvescoFixed Income on November28, 2011. He is based inAtlanta, Georgia. McGreeveymost recently served as presi-dent of Hartford InvestmentManagement Company andexecutive vice president andchief investment officer ofThe Hartford FinancialServices Group.

’90 IN A BLINK OF AN EYESudihugeng Hardjojo recentlywrote to engineering professorLarry Simmons, who couldn’tresist sharing: “How are you,in a blink of an eye 21 yearspassed and I have not contact-ed you nor let you know ofmy whereabouts. I was one ofthe students in your class andalso one of your assistants inyour research of helical screwexpanders together with DanSperling. I remember vividlywhen I went and tried to helpyou with your house construc-tion, and that day you gave allof us a fright because youswallowed a nail you heldwith your lips, when youcoughed while trying to drivea nail into the ceiling. Anyway,my wife Li-Kheng Lee and Ihave two sons, they are AnsonHardjojo (20 years old), andAdrian Hardjojo (15 yearsold). Oh how I miss the schooland everybody there that hasmade a meaningful impres-sion in my heart.” Thanks forsharing, Larry, and thanks forwriting, Sudihugeng. And wecertainly hope Dr. Simmonsisn’t still walking around withthat nail inside him. Paula Webbwrites: “I just got

the current issue of Portlandand recognized Jill Hoddick asyour mystery faculty memberimmediately! I spent manyhours in the costume shopironing shirts and sewingsleeves (backward) under herwatchful eye.”

’94 PRAYERS, PLEASEPlease keep the family ofKaren ’64 and Bradford Williamsin your prayers for the loss ofKaren’s husband and Bradford’sfather, William H. Williams,who died on December 21,2011. Other survivors includesister, Maryella; stepsister,Marla; daughter, Leslie; grand-daughters, Summer, Audra,and Hannah; and great-grand-

daughter, Kloie. Our prayersand condolences to the family.

’95 OOH! OOH! I KNOWTHIS ONE!“Jill Hoddick!” says ChristinaSigler, breathlessly we mightadd, which makes her the firstalumna or staff member (shejust so happens to be both) toguess the identity of our win-ter 2011 mystery facultyphoto. She’s right, too, whichwould have netted her a glitzynifty prize were it not for thefact that we do this for funsies.Christina is associate directorof stewardship in our develop-ment office.

’96 PRAYERS, PLEASEBruce A. Hamm passed awayon July 27, 2011, according toa call we received from hismother, Roberta Hamm, inNovember. Our prayers andcondolences to the family.

’97 AND BABY MAKES FOURWe heard recently fromGabrielle Baker, who writes

with wonderful news: “Iwould like to introduce MiraElliotte Coe, born onDecember 13, 2011, at 8 lbs.,14 oz., eleven days late butjust in time for Christmas!Happy Holidays to you all.”Mira joins her big brother andproud papa Damion Coe.

’98 WYNNE CHECKS INWynne McIntoshwrites: “Igraduated in both 1998 (B.A.)and 2006 (M.A.T.), was luckyenough to coach soccer withClive, Garrett and Big’n from2002-2005 on The Bluff. I ammarried to James Tanner andwe have three kids ages fiveand under in Seattle. I run thePilots soccer alumni group onFacebook for former playersand we are regularly trying toget people together, both inSeattle and Portland, so checkus out at https://www.face-book.com/groups/portland-soccer/. Soccer player alumnijust need to request to join.”Sharon Wood Wortman

writes: “I decided to come outof retirement, which lastedabout 15 minutes anyway, tolead two fundraising bridgewalks, one on October 30, andthe other on Saturday,November 19. All proceedsfrom the walks go toward

printing Big & Awesome, thefirst comprehensive book aboutPortland’s many WillametteRiver bridges written exclusive-ly for children. The Society ofWomen Engineers at PortlandState University and a PSUCivil and Environmental En-gineering Department profes-sor have adopted the book as acommunity project. This meansadult engineering studentswill be available to work withteachers and students in theelementary classroom for thebridge building and load test-ing activity found in Big &Awesome. Of course, the bookwill also include poetry andthe art of elementary students,and interviews, including aninterview with the WillametteRiver.” Sharon, of course, is bestknown for her iconic PortlandBridge Book, published in 1989,now in its third edition, andher always-fascinating guidedbridge walks.Erik Goldschmidt has been

named director of the Churchin the 21st Century Center atBoston College. Since its incep-tion in 2002, the center has ex-plored handing on the faith,especially with younger Catho-lics; relationships among lay men

and women, deacons, priests,and bishops; sexuality in theCatholic tradition; and theCatholic intellectual tradition.

’99 PILOT GENERATIONSMore babies to report: Ander-son LaFrenz was born to ourSan Francisco area alumnirepresentative Ryan LaFrenzand his wife Jessica on Sep-tember 20, 2011. Andersonweighed 9 lbs., 13 oz., and was20.5 inches long. He joins alarge UP alumni family in-cluding grandparents Margaret(Ryan) LaFrenz ’74 and RobertLaFrenz ’75; uncle and auntChristopher ’98 and Molly ’98;uncle and UP biology teacherAndy LaFrenz ’02; auntMegan LaFrenz Filly; andaunt Katherine LaFrenz ’12.Talk about a legacy family!

’00 DOING GREAT THINGSPatrick Fenessey has recentlybeen appointed principal ofSt. Joseph’s school in Seattle,Washington, “the largest gradeschool in the system, andwell-respected,” according toFr. Stephen Rowan, dean ofthe University’s College ofArts and Sciences, “and JoeWomac is the executive direc-

At work on his second record of his own compositions:

Scott Reis ’98, whose first, Carpe Diem in 2005, was

done with fellow alumna Maureen Briare ’92 and her

husband Tim. “That's my friend’s son, Erikson, he is so

cute!” wrote Scott when asked about the above photo.

“I was singing to him on his birthday. Toni Rosenquist

is his mother, she’s a UP alum, class of ’97. We went to

Salzburg together.” Scott’s day gig is teaching mathemat-

ics and calculus at De La Salle North Catholic High in

North Portland.

Portland44

C L A S S u N O T E S

tor of the Fulcrum Foundationin Seattle.” To be married in June: Air

Force Major Erich Kunrath andDr. Mary Miller, a Santa Claragraduate; the poor lass, couldshe not find a Catholic univer-sity? Mary is a pediatrician ata community health clinic inGladstone, Oregon, and Erich isa B-1 pilot flying missions overAfghanistan. Most interesting

souls, these two: Erich hastaught at the Air Force Academy,where he also coached the skiteam; Mary was a goalkeeperfor the Broncos, spent two yearsof research with NASA, andhas practiced in Eugene andAlbuquerque. Our best wishesand prayers.We hear wonderful news fromDeborah Vaughn recently, whowrites: “January 9, 7:31 a.m.,as the sun rose; 9 lb., 14 oz., 21inches; 12 hours active labor,no complications. Emery AnneVaughn, ‘Emmy’ born at home,nurses like a champ. All areexhausted, but well. While wewant to run thru the streetsshowing off how beautiful sheis, for now we sleep. Love toall from our new family of 5.”Congratulations Deb, by nowyou don’t need to be told to grabas much sleep as possible, when-ever possible, wherever possible.

’02 HEY! I KNOW HER!Sean Chiles knows the identityof our winter 2011 mysteryfaculty member: “JillHoddick,” he writes, that andnothing more. Concise and tothe point, our Sean.

’03 A TWO PERCENTERBrian Cahill has been selectedfor early promotion to therank of major in the U.S. Army.This “below the zone” selec-tion is limited to about the toptwo percent of Army officers.Congratulations, Brian!

’05 LIFE COACHINGJessica Hellerwrites: “I justwanted to let the UP commu-nity know that I’ve started myown life coaching businesscalled Ignite Life Coaching. Ifyou are someone who is look-ing to make a change in yourlife, if you’re feeling stuck, orjust looking for a direction tochoose, I would love to be apart in giving clarity to the sit-uation. Just look up Ignite Life

Coaching on Facebook andTwitter.”Kelsey Wingatewrites: “I just

received my UP magazinetoday and couldn’t wait to lookthrough it! I’m almost positivethat the mystery faculty mem-ber is Jill Hoddick. I graduatedin 2005 from the theater de-partment and have many fondmemories of taking classesfrom Jill and being laced intoa corset by her! Also, shetaught me the parts of a sewingmachine and how to paint myface to make me look old!She’s a treasure and must belooking forward to retirement.Thanks so much!” Yes, Kelsey,that’s Jill, and she is lookingforward to the next chapter inher life, although she will missher many friends, colleagues,and students here on TheBluff. Hopefully she’ll havetime left over from her newpursuits to come visit.

’06 THEY’RE BOTHADORABLE, AREN’T THEY?Caitlin Johnston Guantewrites:“Just wanted to pass along apicture that I thought wasclassic, of Fr. Jim Lies and mynewborn baby girl, Lilia Lisbet

Guante, born September 10,2011. Maybe (nudge, nudge),you can print it in the nextPortland Magazine?Mycousins Fiona and AilisThornhill came over with Fr.Lies for this photo session.”Alicia Bolsterwrites: “I re-

cently married Captain JacobDebevec (Notre Dame ’05)and switched from ActiveArmy to the Reserves (inwhich I am also a Captain) sothat I could move to EdwardsAir Force Base with my hus-band as he starts test pilotschool and I work as a civilianlabor and delivery nurse.”

’07 EMMA’S UPDATEWe heard recently from EmmaBenzar, who shared the follow-ing with Fr. Art Wheeler,C.S.C., who shared with us: “Ithas been a busy year, but I justwanted to say that I am think-ing of you, and wanted to senda quick update. In June I grad-uated from medical school atOregon Health SciencesUniversity (OHSU). A couple

Sandi Dennis ’08

sent a note and

this photo from

Africa to her busi-

ness professor,

Howard Feldman,

and we quote a

bit of her letter:

“Much has

happened on this

continent these

last ten months,

from the Arab

Spring, intense

economic strug-

gles, drought, and

wars compelling

people to leave

home in order to

survive. I was re-

cently in north-

ern Burundi, just

within walking distance of the border with Tanzania.

I was asked by a donor to check on a program that has

been building homes and supporting education for the

Batwa, the country's earliest inhabitants, representing

less than 1 percent of the population. We also visited

the community orphanages of Youth For Christ. One is

located in Gitega, the center of Burundi, and the newer

one is in Chibitoke on the eastern side near the border

with the Congo. The primary school is open to the com-

munity and the students have done so well that there

is now a waiting list to get in.

“Builders without Borders just finished the first sec-

ondary school buildings. There is a community health

clinic but it is not yet operational. They use solar power

and a water filter system for drinking water. The orphans

are placed into campus homes each in the care of a home

mother.

“My general observation is that Kenyans and Ugandans

are benefiting from employment in the service sector,

the Chinese are working hard on infrastructure and

mining, while the Indians are bringing in quality tech-

nology products. The majority of the young educated

Burundians I have spoken with seem determined to stay

and develop their country. All in all my time in Africa

has been challenging, humbling, and eye opening….”

Spring 201245

C L A S S u N O T E S

of weeks later, I moved to theSeattle area and started resi-dency in internal medicine atthe University of Washington.Residency has been gruelingso far. I’m working long hourson most rotations. I’m still con-sidering oncology, but I alsolike my primary care clinic atthe VA a lot, and may end updoing general medicine/ pri-mary care. So far, I’ve done ro-tations in the intensive careunit at Harborview, generalmedicine and primary care atthe VA, other outpatient clinics(HIV, rheumatology, derma-tology), cardiology, and hema-tology/oncology at Universityof Washington. On September 3,Devon Greer and I were mar-ried at the First Baptist Churchin Portland. Devon is a gradof West Point, and we met inschool at OHSU. He is originallyfrom Montana. He is doing hisresidency in ear, nose, andthroat at Madigan Army MedicalCenter near Tacoma. We areliving in Federal Way, which isabout halfway between Tacomaand Seattle. Although it is along commute, it is a blessingto see each other at the end ofthe day. We are enjoying mar-ried life and, of course, wish-

ing our days off correspondedmore often! We miss our activ-ities in Portland, especially ourChristian Medical and DentalAssociation (CMDA) group, at-tending church together, andthe symphony. However, wehad a wonderful wedding cele-bration with many friends andfamily from all over, and wefeel very blessed to havematched close to each other.”

’08 PURPLE PRIDE OVERSEASWe heard recently fromDanielle Bruno Matteson ’09,who sent us a bonus photo-

graph of her new husband,Donovan Matteson, along withnews of their wedding in Sep-

tember 2011. “I’ve attached aphoto of Donovan sporting hisPilot Pride in front of his planewhile deployed in Afghanistanthis summer,” she writes. “Hetakes the UP flag with himeach time he deploys and fliesit next to the U.S. flag duringhis daring missions as a KC-135 pilot. We thought youmight like to see it!” Thanks somuch, Danielle, and congratu-lations to you both.

’09 SO MUCH FORUNDECLAREDCara Phippswrites: “I believethat your winter 2011 mysteryfaculty member is Jill PetersonHoddick, one of the amazingmembers of the UP drama fac-ulty. Jill was my advisor dur-ing my years at UP and saw toit that my ‘undeclared’ majorshifted to a drama major. Aswe planned my classes duringthe first couple of years shegently pushed me toward Mago,and in doing so awakened apassion I wasn’t even aware Ihad. I knew the theatre waswhere I wanted to be for therest of my life. I was fortunateenough to have the guidanceof a great teacher like Jill andit’s partially thanks to her thatI am where I am today. I

couldn’t be more grateful. Icurrently live in the Bay Areain California and split my timebetween freelance theatre di-recting and working in the de-velopment department forTheatreWorks in Palo Alto,California.” Thanks Cara,you’re correct, of course. Jill isretiring after 35 years here onThe Bluff, at the end of thespring 2012 semester.

’10 SEEMS A LITTLE“CORNY” TO USPilot soccer legend (andSeattle Sounders goalkeeper)Kasey Keller has been immor-talized in a corn maze, accord-ing to Seattle Sounders FCblogger Joshua Mayers. Themaze was located at the SchilterFamily Farm in Olympia (141Nisqually Cutoff Road SE) dur-ing the month of October 2011.Kasey’s maze featured Kellertrivia, a petting farm, hayrides,corn and pumpkin cannons,round up railway cow train, ahay maze, a hay jump in a140-year-old barn, and otheractivities. “It’s certainly aunique tribute and very fittinggiven this is my hometownand my family has known theSchilter family for years andyears,” said Keller in a news

Seen on The Bluff, literally: a heartfelt memorial to

Miyoko, a Japanese fighting fish who obviously made

up in personality what he/she lacked in longevity.

Danielle Bruno ’09 and Donovan Matteson ’08 were

married on September 4, 2011 at Willa mette Valley

Vineyards. The wedding party was comprised almost

entirely of 2009 UP graduates, including (back row, l-r)

Nate Pramuk ’08, Adam Cyr ’08, Terry Thompson

’08, Mike Rumely ’08, Donovan Matteson ’08, Chris

Jackson ’07, William Dana ’09, Doug Pederson ’09,

Sam Pogue ’08, Mike Rittman ‘08, (front row, l-r)

Whitney Piper ’09, Lindsey Griffin ’08, Danielle

Matteson ’09, and Linda Collins ‘09. Donovan is cur-

rently a KC-135 pilot in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed

at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida.

Portland46

C L A S S u N O T E S

release. “I honestly don't thinktoo many other athletes cansay they’ve had their likenessfeatured in a corn maze, andthat is what makes it reallycool to me. I hope a lot of fanscan make their way to Olympiaand enjoy it.” See the mazefor yourself at http://tinyurl. -com/ 3e3mp9b.Carolyn Borschwrites: “I

have graduated from BostonUniversity School of PublicHealth with a master of publichealth (MPH) degree concen-trating in epidemiology. I cur-rently work on a colorectal

cancer risk factor study and ashared decision-making studyat Boston Medical Center. Ilook forward to returning tothe beautiful Pacific Northwestto utilize my degree.” We got some wonderful

news from Caitlin (Nusbaum)Fitchett recently: “On June 21,2010, Derek Fitchett andCaitlin Nusbaum were wed.”

’11 NICK’S JOINING UPNicholas Moran has joinedHattenburg Dilley & Linnell,LLC, an engineering firm inAnchorage, Alaska, as an engi-

neer-in-training for the firm’sGeotechnical EngineeringGroup. He is a graduate of theUniversity of Portland with aBachelor of Science degree incivil engineering with an em-phasis in geotechnical engi-neering. Jennifer Pesutwrites: “I just

got a promotion, and I can’tbelieve it either! I’ve only beenwith UTi Worldwide sinceMarch 2011, and even then itwas part-time until after Igraduated. But yes, I am mov-ing from being project admin-istrator to being a business an-alyst. In this new role I will beresponsible for researching,defining, and documenting re-quirements for the softwaresystem we are building. Myfirst official day was Monday,November 14.”

’13 COVER STORYOne of our current social workmajors, Janie Oliphant, madethe cover the New Social Workermagazine for winter 2011. Seefor yourself at www.social-worker.com/digitalmag/win-ter2012.pdf.

FACULTY, STAFF, FRIENDSPaul Richard Richter III, husbandof the late Judy Richter, diedon September 29, 2011. Paulwas born in Tillamook. He re-tired from the U.S. Postal Serviceafter a 30-year career. Judy, whoretired from the Universityafter 24 years of service as aninstructional media coordina-tor on May 31, 2010, passedaway on Tuesday, November 2,2010. Survivors include sons,Scott and Justin; granddaughter,Lillian Rose; brother, Frank;sister, Bobbie; nephews, Matt,Nathan, Danny, and David;and niece, Angie. Our prayersand condolences to the family. Robert “Bob” Allison passed

away on November 19, 2011,in Portland, Ore. Bob served inthe U.S. Air Force and afterthat worked for many years inthe printing industry, includ-ing the University’s printingservices shop. Survivors in-clude his wife, Suzanne ’02,and son, Matthew, Portland;Melanie Snitker ’00 and MichaelAllison, Texas; Tracey Allisonand Kim Smith, Michigan;three brothers; and eightgrandchildren. “All of our kidswere here, right by him, whenhe passed,” writes Suzanne.“His dog was on the bed at hisfeet. He went peacefully, with-out pain or discomfort.” Ourprayers and condolences tothe family.University German professorAlexandra Merley Hill andMiddlebury German professorFlorence Feiereisen are the ed-itors of a new book from Oxford

University Press, Germany inthe Loud Twentieth Century:An Introduction, November2011. The book examines re-cent German history and con-temporary German culturethrough “its sounds and mu-sics, noises and silences, usingthe means and modes of theemerging field of SoundStudies.” More information atwww.oup.com/us/.A team of University of

Portland students and profes-sors are researching theOccupy Portland movement.Communication studies pro-fessor Renee Heath and herteam are studying how thegroup is organized, how itbuilds consensus at general as-sembly meetings, and how itcommunicates. Heath alsosays they are documenting thegroup’s demographics. Shesays they have talked to peo-ple of all ages and all back-grounds. Heath says she is fas-cinated by the Occupy move-ment and predicts scholars bereading about it in academicjournals in years to come. We received word that FredFields passed away in themorning of December 13, 2011.Fred and his wife, the late SueSchoenfeldt, were the benefici-aries who made it possible forthe University to build Fieldsand Schoenfeldt halls. It wasFred’s wish that he be cremat-ed and that a memorial servicebe held for him at Lewis andClark College, where he wasthe former chair of the boardof regents. Our prayers andcondolences to the family.The University of Portland

Museum welcomes offers ofdonations of Columbia Prepand University of Portlandmemorabilia and photographsfrom alumni, friends, and fac-ulty for the museum and cam-pus display cases. If you haveitems of interest about Colum-bia Prep and University ofPortland academic, social, reli-gious, and athletic history (ex-amples could include sportsuniforms and equipment;overseas studies mementos;social, religious, and academicclubs/organizations memora-bilia; educational materials;publications such as yearbooks,sports programs, handbooks,etc.), contact Carolyn PiatzConnolly at museum@up.eduor piatz@up.edu or (503) 943-8038; University of PortlandMuseum MSC 015, 5000 N.Willamette Blvd., Portland, OR97203.More mystery faculty photo

guesses, this time from musicprofessor Hal Logan, whowrites: “The mystery facultymember is, of course, our es-teemed theater costumer, Jill

THE CHOCOLATIER

Kelly Callahan ’08, owner and head chef of ‘naKed

chocolat,’ as she calls her company, graduated with a

psych degree and went right to the Notter School of

Pastry Arts in Florida. “The most physically demanding

24 weeks of my life,” she says cheerfully, and this is a

young lady who has had rheumatoid arthritis since she

was a kid. “We did everything, breads, pastries, cakes,

tarts, ice creams, and candies, but I absolutely fell in

love with making chocolates, with the finest ingredients,

no additives, no preservatives, and I want to make each

and every one a tiny piece of mouth-watering art,” says

Kelly. We tried them. The Pilot women’s soccer team

tried them. Conclusion: O my sainted mother. Kelly is

making mouth-watering art. See for yourself: naked-

chocolat.com.

Spring 201247

C L A S S u N O T E S

Hoddick. Wow, were we everthat young?” Nice work Hal,that’s Jill pictured in her daysas a rookie professor here onThe Bluff, some 35 years ago.Joe Bianco, longtime editor of

the Oregonian’s Northwest Mag-azine, has written a book abouthis life and career, The StoryNever Ends: A Memoir of aNewspaper Reporter, publishedin 2011. Bianco delivered the

summer 1975 commencementaddress at the University andwas presented with an hon-orary doctorate; he also servedas an adjunct faculty memberon The Bluff. Mathematics professor LewisLumwas featured in an articleby Larry Ellis in the December2, 2011 edition of the CurryCoastal Pilot titled “Formulaexcellent when no scales avail-able.” The article concerns the“Lum Formula,” developed byLum to determine the weightof steelhead which need to bereleased by sport fishermenunharmed. Ironically enough,Lum has not the slightest in-terest in ever catching a steel-head himself, and finds theidea of suffering thoughnumbing cold, unrelentingdownpours, slippery rocks,and odoriferous bait containerexposure to be borderline in-sanity, which many steelheadfisherman will readily admit.He has nevertheless achieveda sort of underground cult sta-tus among local steelhead afi-cionados. See the article athttp://tinyurl.com/ 7txnkje.Steve Mayerwrites: “I just

grabbed Portland Magazinefrom my mailbox and as is mycustom, began flipping throughit before I could even sit down.Regarding the mystery facul-ty...Jill Hoddick.” That’s a goodway to walk right into a lightpost, or worse, but he’s right,it’s Jill, who will end her 35-year career on The Bluff whenshe retires at the conclusion ofthe spring 2012 semester. Anissa Rogers, professor of so-cial work here on The Bluff,let us know about the follow-ing: “I wanted to send thisalong: One of our social workmajors, Janie Oliphant, madethe cover the New SocialWorker magazine! It would begreat if we could give her a lit-tle publicity somehow.”Consider it done, and thanks,Anissa! Velma (Reid) Springer

writes: “Jill Hoddick is yourspring 2011 mystery facultymember. It looks just like her!I worked as office secretaryfor both performing and finearts and communication stud-ies for several years. RogerDoyle and Steve Ward werethe chairpersons at that time.All great people, I enjoyedmany conversations with Jillduring my time there. Dr.Doyle and I have remainedfriends throughout the yearsand I still visit with him andKay as often as possible whenhis health allows. This musicissue brought back many greatmemories and the CD is won-derful. I still correspond withmany students and adjunctfaculty. I love the PortlandMagazine.” Thanks Velma, andwe love hearing from employ-ees both present and past. Lisa Reed from the Pamplin

School of Business writes:“The winter 2011 mystery fac-ulty photo is Jill Hoddick, withshort hair! Am I first?” SorryLisa, while you are correctthat it is Jill, you were beatento the punch by ChristinaSigler ’95, who guessed first.French professor TrudieBoothwrites: “The mysteryprofessor this time is JillHoddick, right?” Oui, MadameBooth, c’est Jill effectivement.“Who is that professor?”

writes Sr. Angela Hoffman,chemistry professor extraordi-naire. “’Twould be Jill Hoddick,of course! I just got my maga-zine and wanted to jump infor the fun.”James Francis McKenna, Jr.

passed away on October 29,2011, in Portland, Ore. Univer-sity alumni, faculty, and staffwho frequented the TwilightRoom will remember Jim ashalf owner of the venerable

UP water-ing hole(alongwith DougPenner ’53)since theearly1980s. Hewas 65years old.Survivorsincludehis moth-

er, Virginia Ella McKenna;daughters, Kristen Fitzpatrickand Amy Insera; son, JamesFrances McKenna III; broth-ers, Michael, Thomas, John,and Peter McKenna; sisters,Suzanne M. Fogg and MaryanneM. Himmelsbach, and grand-children Ethan, Riley, Mae,Eli, Harley, and Oliver. Jimwas a warm, congenial, lovingman whose toothy TeddyRoosevelt-like smile and full-throated cackle were welcome

features behind the bar of theT-Room for many years. We’llcertainly miss you, Big Guy.

DEATHSRichard W. Johnson ’36, October23, 2011, Portland, Ore. John Anduiza ’40, October 14,2011, Boise, Idaho. Carl Nydegger ’40, October 6,2011. Norman Alfred “Norm” Stoll ’42,November 30, 2011, Portland. Kennethy Baricevic ’42, March 9,2011, Los Altos, Calif. Kenneth K. Maher ’43, December30, 2011, Morton, Wash.Dr. Alfred James Grierson, M.D.’44, October 31, 2011, Portland. W. Parks Walker, Jr., husbandof Evangeline (Huie) Walker ’44,October 19, 2011. Loa Beauchamp McElligott ’45,December 25, 2011, Ione, Ore. Joseph Mikolavich ’47,November 22, 2011, Portland,Ore. Carl Plass Sr. ’47, December 3,2011. Jane Bleeg, wife of Jerome J.Bleeg ’49, March 31, 2011, SanJose, Calif. Lewis Archer McMurran ’50,November 14, 2011, Portland,Ore.

William Isaac Phillips IV ’50,January 2, 2012, Mt. Vernon,Wash. Patricia Ann Heuvel, wife ofKenneth Heuvel ’51, November29, 2011, Portland, Ore. Stan Bozich ’53, November 15,2011, Portland, Ore. Phillip DeVito ’54, November27, 2011, Salem, Ore. Ernestine Alexis Palmer Brown’56, March 26, 2011, PrairieView, Texas. William H. Williams, husbandof Karen Williams ’64 and fa-ther of Bradford Williams ’94,December 21, 2011. James Murray Acres ’73, November 17, 2011. Steve Watson ’75, October 25,2011, Newberg, Ore. Kenny Meyerson ’86, October 11,2011. Bruce A. Hamm ’96, July 27,2011. Paul Richard Richter III, hus-band of the late Judy Richter,September 29, 2011. Robert “Bob” Allison, November19, 2011, Portland, Ore. Fred Fields, husband of the lateSue Schoenfeldt, December13, 2011. James Francis McKenna, Jr., October 29, 2011, Portland, Ore.

The campus com-

munity was shocked

to learn of the tragic

death of public safe-

ty assistant director

Steve Watson ’75

on Tuesday, October

25. He lost his life

in a midair collision

involving two small

planes near New-

berg, Ore.

Steve served here

on The Bluff with

grace and distinction

and he will be missed greatly. Students, faculty, and

staff alike were familiar with the tall, quiet, smiling man

in the immaculate suit and tie and ever-present sun-

glasses who bustled about campus on his daily rounds.

He was a 26-year veteran of the Oregon State Police,

and joined the public safety staff after retiring from OSP.

He leaves his wife Gale; daughters, Madison and Emily;

brother, John; and extended family and friends. A cele-

bration of Steve’s life was held on October 29 at his home.

Please include Steve and his family in your thoughts

and prayers.

L E S S u T R A V E L L E D u R O A D S

Portland48

Chol Isaac Achuil was eight years old, minding the cows in his native Sudan, when the war began. He ran into the forestto escape the fire and guns. He lost his family. He walked for weeks, holding onto the shirt of the boy in front of him asthey walked all night. The boys lived in the forest for years, being attacked regularly by militias. Finally the Red Crossfound him and brought him to a refugee camp in Kenya. He lived there for years. He was seventeen years old when theUnited States accepted 3,600 Lost Boys of Sudan as immigrants. He arrived in Oregon in 2000. He worked on campushauling recycling buckets, and started classes on The Bluff, but he didn’t have a cent, and things looked bleak until Univer-sity president Father Bill Beauchamp, C.S.C., told him the University would pay for his education if he promised to gotry to heal the Sudan when he was finished. He graduated in 2008, returned to the Sudan, “joined my fellow South Sudan-ese citizens voting for the independence of South Sudan, and in 2011 joined the United States Embassy to the Republicof South Sudan; I am standing here with U.S. Ambassador Barrie Walkley and Elaine French, and yes, that is Air ForceOne behind us.” Wow. Our prayers, Chol. To help students like this remarkable young man get a chance at the University,see rise.up.edu.

Or here’s a Campaign story. Augusto Carvalho Dias Carneiro ’01 is the founder of Nossa Familia Coffee. His family has been growing cof-fee on its farm (where the photo above of young Mr. Giovani St. Onge Carneiro ’30 was taken) for 121 years – six generations of hardwork in the lush mountains of Minas Gerais, in southern Brazil. Augusto arrives at the University in 1996 and gets utterly engaged byentrepreneurial energy, the roaring market in the Pacific Northwest for really good organic coffee, and sustainability and stewardshipas not only cool moral responsibilities but excellent profit engines. In 2005 he and Jason Lesh ’01 start a company, bringing freshlyharvested coffee from the family farm in Brazil to roast and sell in Oregon. The company does well, and Augusto, a bright young soul,does not forget the cheerful verb of a place that gave him ideas, training, and encouragement to dream huge; he makes a thorough annual Campaign gift, does coffee tastings and seminars for the University’s alumni office, and will leada “coffee tour” to Brazil from May 4 to May 14, all welcome, see alumni.up.edu. To make your cool Campaign gift, aimed at anything you like, see rise.up.edu, or call the effervescent Diane Dickey at 503.943.8130.

University of PortlandPortland Magazine5000 N. Willamette BlvdPortland, OR 97203-5798

Change service requested

The University’s Peg Hogan, 1963

The eminent philosopher and scholar Margaret Hogan, who graced theUniversity for years as both the first holder of the McNerney-Hanson Chairin Philosophy and first director of the Garaventa Center for American

Catholic Life, played college ball for the legendary Immaculata College MightyMacs, who won the first three truly national women’s college titles, from

1972-1974. We swore for years to find this photo, and print it with high glee, justfor the unimaginable vision of Peg, a woman of stalwart and untrammeleddignity and dresses, wearing sneakers and a letterwoman jacket; Peg (secondfrom right) swore it no longer existed on this planet. To her credit, she just

sent it, laughing. The excellent Pilot women’s basketball team, by the way, led bythe coach with the most wins in West Coast Conference history, is a terrifictarget for your Campaign gifts, as is the verve and joy of Pilot athletics in toto.

See rise.up.edu for information.

THE DISTAFF SIDE

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPortland, ORPermit No. 188