ClassNotes
22
In the new position, she is responsible
for expanding customer relationships
and developing new small business and
consumer financial relationships.
Carrie Strong ‘99 is a supervisor at
Catholic Social Services in Adrian.
Micah Smith ‘99/AA of Three Oaks has
started a new job as programmer/analyst
for Shepherd Hardware Products, LLC.
Active alumnus rarely pauses,
thanks to good paws!
Larry Dilworth ’99, a graduate of the Siena Heights Metropolitan Detroit Program
in Southfield and a native of Detroit, was accompanied by a close companion
at commencement; his service dog, Dever, was with him at graduation, just as
he’d been with him at all his classes. Larry, who is confined to a wheelchair due
to Spina Bifida, credits the chocolate lab for helping him get to class sometimes. “He pulled my wheelchair through many snowdrifts,” said Larry.
Larry said that many people assume, because he has a service dog, that he is
blind. But like other dogs trained by Paws with A Cause, Dever aids people in
wheelchairs by helping around the house or assisting in mobility.
Despite his need for an occasional pull from Dever, Larry is very much on the
go. A professional freelance photographer, he has “shot” many well-known
personalities, including model Tyra Banks, comedian Sinbad, talk show host
Montel Williams, General Colin Powell and President Bill Clinton. When preparing to photograph Clinton at a Detroit appearance, security was so tight that
secret service agents even searched Dever’s pooch backpack.
Larry also keeps busy athletically. He has participated in many wheelchair
athletic events, including racing in the Detroit Free Press Marathon wheelchair
division and playing basketball as a member of the Detroit Wheelchair Pistons. He was also one of the first wheelchair users to skydive, getting special
permission from the U.S. Parachute Association to do the tandem jump with an
instructor.
Prior to his coursework at Siena
Heights, Larry studied
broadcasting at Specs
Howard in Detroit.
Larry received his
Bachelor of Applied
Science diploma from
Siena Heights in May;
but based on class
attendance, Dever
probably deserves
Alumni Association
membership, too!
Jane Marion Morehouse, OP ‘42 died
April 19 at the age of 84. She taught
elementary school for 20 years, in Chicago and at various Michigan locations.
She then spent 35 years in secondary
education in Michigan, Florida, Nevada
and the Bahamas. She retired in Santa
Cruz, CA, in 1986. She moved to the
Dominican Life Center in 1996.
Mary Geraghty Laffey ‘47 of Wakefield, RI, died May 30. She was 73. A
beloved mother of 10 children, Mary
was also a highly respected art teacher
in South Kingstown (RI) schools from
1965 to 1988. As an artist, her deep faith
was reflected in her passion for liturgical
subjects; wooden and ceramic sculpted
stations of the cross, along with elaborate
stained glass and bronze casted crucifixes, can be seen in churches around the
U.S. Her talent also can be seen in the
large frescoes in Della Strata Chapel at
Loyola University in Chicago and in Lumen Ecclesiae Chapel at Siena Heights.
The Lumen work was done under the
direction of the late Melville Steinfels,
then an artist-in-residence at Siena.
Patricia Gallagher ‘49 died Dec. 15,
1998, in Clinton Township after a long
illness. She was 75. A native of Des
Moines, IA, she spent most of her life
as an Adrian Dominican known as Sister
Michael Dennis. She taught in Florida,
Michigan and Illinois; was a teacher
and principal at Dominican High School
in Detroit (1950-63); was principal of
Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette, IL (1967-77), and was associate
superintendent of the Archdiocese of
Detroit schools from 1977 to 1979. She
served as director of the Weekend College of Mercy College of Detroit from
1980 to 1992.
Joseph Bride McElligott, OP ‘52
died April 2 at the age of 85. She spent
44 years in elementary education in
Michigan, New Mexico, California and
Illinois. She ministered in prayer and
services at St. Rita Convent in Chicago
before coming to Adrian in 1991. She
retired in 1995.
Sister Susan Annunciata Lashinsky
‘55 died March 12. She was 76. She
was a musician who ministered at SS
Cyril and Methodius in Detroit, Sacred
Heart in Flint, St. Sylvester in Warren,
St. Joseph in Owosso and St. Matthias
in Unita. She also worked at parishes in
Chicago Heights and in her hometown
of Windber, PA.
Kay Amstutz ‘82 died Feb. 16 at her
home in Britton. She was 57. She was
a lab technician for many years. She
is survived by her mother, brother,
husband, three children, and grandchildren.
Margaret Perschbacher ‘82/MA died
Feb. 7 in Anacortes, WA, where she had
lived in recent years. One of the first
registered art therapists in Michigan,
she was a former editor of the American
Art Therapists Association newsletter
and a lifetime member of the association. Known for her love of watercolor,
painting and sketching, she was an accomplished landscape and portrait artist.
She is survived by a sister, four sons and
grandchildren.
August (Augie) Lincoln Bishop, Jr.
‘96 (LMC) of St. Joseph died July 1
of cancer. He was 53. He earned his
Bachelor of Applied Science degree
in drafting and design technology at
Siena’s Lake Michigan College Center
in Benton Harbor. He was a member
of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Posse,
retiring from the St. Joseph Police in
1990 after 22 years. At the time of his
death, he was a design engineer for the
Consumer Energy Palisades Nuclear
Plant. He was a lively attendee at the
Siena Heights alumni gathering in St.
Joseph this past December. He is survived by his wife, mother, ]Y