Alumni Class Notes, December 2025

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John Lyons ’64 and Connie Ruscik Lyons, Marywood ’62, recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a party at their home in Jenkintown. The couple was married on October 16,1965, at Sacred Heart Church, Scranton, by Rev. John Albosta. They have two children: John Scott, retired from the FDNY, and Kimberly Ann, of Boise, Idaho, as well as one granddaughter, Kaia, of New York City.

A group of Scranton alumni continued their annual tradition of gathering for a mini reunion in Cape May, New Jersey, enjoying several days of dinner, drinks and music. The special friends who reunited in October 2025 were Gary Beilman ’76, Andrea (Rygiel) Beilman ’76, Roe (Bunting) Murphy ’76, Jim Helhowski ’76, Rose (Lally) Doyle ’76, Donna (Lange) Helhowski ’76, John O’Boyle ’74, Lucy (Burke) O’Boyle ’76 and Wayne Wilhelm ’76.

Ed Burnetta, M.D. '84, Villanova, is delighted that his son, Chris Burnetta, has committed to the admissions process at Harvard as a member of the 2027 Men's Lacrosse recruit group. He will graduate from Haverford School in 2027. Chris will be joining his three older sisters as an Ivy attendee. His oldest sister Isabelle graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, Kristin graduated from Harvard in 2020, and the youngest sister Sabrina is a junior at Cornell.

Christopher J. Kane '86, Jupiter, Florida, startup co-founder of 3PL-RX, announced a merger with the American Chain of Warehouses, a nonprofit organization founded in 1911. American Chain provides sales and marketing strategies and services for Warehouse Logistics members across the U.S. and Canada. Christopher J. Kane will become president; his son, Zach Kane, will be vice president of Administration and Technology. American Chain is one of the oldest Warehouse organizations whose members are long-established family businesses.

Richard W. Peuser '86, G'87, Brookfield, Maryland, retired on October 31, 2025, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) after 37.5 years in public service. His final position was director of the Processing and Release Division, National Declassification Center. As branch chief of the Textual Reference Unit, he assisted thousands of researchers, both at the Washington, D.C., building and at the College Park, Maryland, facility. One of the highlights of his career was assisting the late David McCullough on his book, "1776." “It was truly an honor and privilege working at this incredible institution,” he said.

Margot Royer-Johnson ’95, East Providence, Rhode Island, celebrated her 25th year as head coach of the NCAA Division I Providence College volleyball program in August.

Christine Royce, Ed.D. G’95, Newburg, is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and study in Cairo, Egypt, for the spring 2026 semester while on sabbatical from Shippensburg University. As part of this Fulbright, Royce will be teaching at Ain Shams University in Cairo, where her focus will be on the preparation of teachers, specifically in the STEM areas.

Joseph D. Ward '95, Coral Gables, Florida, has been named president and chief operating officer at Quirch Foods.

Glynnis Jones, OTD, OTR/L '02, G'03, Albrightsville, recently authored a peer-reviewed publication in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy: Jones, G., Helsley, S., Fox, R., Tumminello, A., Grasso, A., Potter, A., Wynarczuk, K., Reinson, C. (2025) titled "Parent Perspectives: Menstruation and Menstrual Hygiene Management for Autistic Daughters."

John P. Gray '00, Ewing, New Jersey, has joined the firm Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP as a partner in the Environmental and Energy and Renewable Resources practice areas.

Nicole E. Negowetti ’02, Melrose, Massachusetts, published a new book, "Feeding the Future," which offers a radical reframing of the global food system to address injustices and existential threats.

Five Scranton graduates proudly serve as board or committee members at Lincroft Elementary School in Lincroft, New Jersey: Alexandra (Parlamas) Russomanno ’11, G’12; Lauren (Zumbo) Netksa ’02; Lindsey (Pachuta) Miceli ’08; Danielle (Attanasio) Lemish ’05; and Annemarie (Craft) Champagne ’06, G’07.

Katelyn Mertz '12, Harrisburg, graduated with her MSN in May 2022 and her MBA in December 2024 from Pennsylvania Western University and will start her DNP in the summer of 2026. Mertz recently presented nationally at the International Magnet and Magnet Pathway Conference in October 2025 and will present at the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) Global Surgical Conference and Expo in April 2026 on her work “Safety Coach Simulation Training: Empowering Nurses to Speak Up in the Operating Room.” Mertz has been the manager of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s 39 Level 1 operating rooms since 2022.

Will Craven '19, Scranton, has joined Moses Taylor Foundation, a private foundation with a mission to improve the health of people in Northeastern Pennsylvania, as its operations and grants officer. In this role, he will support the Foundation’s grant management system, lead internal operations, and coordinate organizational initiatives and events.

MARRIAGES

Jaclyn Potapchuk '05 to James D. Vaughan '09

William D. Orasin ’09 to Brittany Strausser

Brenna Anderson ’15 to Francis Degnan ’16

Allison Smith '16, G'18 to Evan DeGraw

Jessica Nickel '16, G'17 to Mitchell Prescott

BIRTHS

A daughter, Maisy Lane, to Matt and Erin Fetsko Johnson '16, Syracuse, New York, and a granddaughter of Frank Fetsko ‘86

DEATHS

James P. McDonnell Jr. '52, Scranton

Vincent J. Mondelli '61, Endicott, New York

Richard J. Flynn, M.D. '63 Bradenton, Florida

Michael J. Mitchko '63, Bluffton, South Carolina

Roman S. Misorek '67, Duryea 

Joseph V. Grega '69, Opelika, Alabama

Hon. David J. Wenzel '69, Scranton

Yamini C. Desai '72, Bloomfield, Connecticut

Gardner W. Smith '74, Mechanicsburg

Arnold L. Ligi, Jr. '78, Dayton Beach, Florida

Linda S. Mainwaring G'79, Mountaintop

Susan Brown Otto '79, Bethel, New York

Nadia C. Burns '81, Norfolk, Virginia

Martin J. Barrett G'85, Hollisterville

William H. McDonald '90, Springville, New York 

Lauren R. Propst '05, Honesdale

Jennifer L. Murphy '09, Floral Park, New York

FRIENDS/FAMILY DEATHS

Harrison O. Bush Jr., father of Peter Bush '79

Jennifer Quattrocchi, wife of Joseph Quattrocchi ’02