here - Morningside College

Michael & Linda (McFarlane) Alexander
By Dave Rebstock
on the business side of health care – from finance to marketing to business planning,” Michael said.
“I also minored in psychology, and that provided me with the ability to better understand people
and what they are going through and to communicate with people.”
Michael and Linda met in the fall of 1968.
“I guess you would say he observed my silliness with a friend on the way back to Dimmitt Hall
after a theatre production,” Linda said. “He called me the next day, and two and one-half years later,
we were married at the end of our junior year.”
Michael and Linda were both actively involved in Morningside’s Greek system, Michael as a Delta
Sigma Phi and Linda as an Alpha Delta Pi. As a Delta Sig, Michael developed a friendship with the
late Paul Splittorff 1969, who went on to post-Morningside fame as a longtime Major League
Baseball pitcher with the Kansas City Royals.
“He was my pledge dad in Delta Sig and the one who encouraged me to try out for the swim team,”
Michael said. “He was a great advisor to me my freshman year. He held me accountable as far as
making sure I went to class and had good grades, and he also opened my eyes in introducing me to
people on campus.”
Both Michael and Linda said the campus dances and Greek events were among their favorite
activities as students.
“The weekend dances were held in the cafeteria and were something that Linda and I enjoyed
doing on a regular basis,” Michael said.
“I also have great memories of being a part of the Delta Sigs and the camaraderie of that group of
individuals,” he said. “I still communicate with many of them even though we live in all different
parts of the country.”
“We had great theatre productions and music concerts to see when we were there,” Linda said.
“Attending football and basketball games, as well as Greek events, also provided a full calendar of
social activities. My ADPi sisters are still close treasured friends and we meet frequently across the
country for reunions.”
and social studies at South Sioux City High
School in Nebraska. She currently supervises
student teachers for various local colleges.
Mary and her husband, Ed, enjoy spending
time with their two granddaughters.
1971
Kathryn Lindquist is the chief marketing
officer for the international investment
banking firm Taylor-DeJongh, which is based
in Washington, D.C., with offices in London,
Paris and Dubai. She recently joined the
board of directors for the Maryland Public
Television Foundation. She also is on the
Thunderbird Global Council Board for
Thunderbird School of Global Management in
Glendale, Ariz., from which she received her
master’s degree.
Stan Wisnieski was an umpire at the 2011
Iowa High School Girls State Softball
Tournament in Fort Dodge in July. Wisnieski
has worked the most state tournaments of
any umpire in the history of the event.
1972
Meet Your Class Editor
Donna (Tack) Ricks lives in Grinnell, Iowa,
with her husband, Al Ricks 1973. She retired
in 2008 from her position as a speech coach
and English and speech teacher at Dike-New
Hartford High School in Dike, Iowa. She loves
being a grandmother to Ella and Tyce, who are
the children of daughter, Sarah, and son-inlaw,
Shane Van Waardhuizen. She continues
to be active in the Iowa High School Speech
Association (IHSSA), judging contests and
serving as a consultant to area schools and as
secretary of the IHSSA Hall of Fame.
Send your notes to: djrteach@msn.com or
1698 E. 142nd St. S., Grinnell, IA 50112.
Don “D.B.” McCulloch retired from teaching at
Spirit Lake Middle School in Spirit Lake, Iowa,
and is the owner of Iowa Great Lakes Coins in
Spirit Lake. He is married to Joan (Wolf) 1972.
1973
Linda Brant has edited three young adult
paranormal novels written by her niece,
Nancy Straight. “Meeting Destiny,” “Destiny’s
Revenge” and “Destiny’s Wrath” are available
in e-book and paperback. Brant is a retired
English teacher who still directs speech and
drama activities at Charles City High School
in Charles City, Iowa. She is currently
directing Neil Simon's “Rumors” for the Stony
Point Players in Charles City.
Dr. Kris (Toyne) O’Clair is coordinating a
second "edition" of the English Language
Acquisition (ELA) Summer Academy for the
Denver Public Schools in Colorado. The
month-long program enrolls 4,000 English
language learners – students ranging in age
from 5 to 14 with over 130 different native
languages. O’Clair interviews over 300
ELA-qualified teachers for the 17 school sites.
In addition to providing instruction to
improve academic language in both
mathematics and literacy, the academy also
serves as a practicum for newly-hired
teachers in the Denver Public Schools. O’Clair
commented that the experience was a full
circle from her student-initiated experience
as a Morningside junior when she taught
English to Spanish-speaking migrant children
in her hometown of Muscatine, Iowa, during
the summer of 1972.
Ken Spies of Hinton, Iowa, is a broker
associate with Century 21 ProLink. He has
served as president of the Greater Sioux City
Board of Realtors for 2011-2012. The Greater
Sioux City Board of Realtors also named him
Realtor of the Year for 2011, and he was
named one of the top 20 associates in the
Heartland Region, a region composed of 64
Century 21 offices.
1974
Luci Ferrin of Sibley, Iowa, retired after 35
years of teaching instrumental music for the
Sibley-Ocheyedan Community School
District. She was honored by the Iowa
Bandmasters Association, Iowa State
Education Association and National
Endowment for the Arts for her 35 years in
music education. Ferrin is now the accounts
receivable-technology manager at
Motorvation Engineering in Sibley.
1975
Delbert Christensen was an umpire at the
2011 Iowa High School Girls State Softball
Tournament in Fort Dodge.
Carol (Gonigam) Dietz, Jenny (Engelke)
Jorgensen, Gloria (Jelken) Miller, Jean
(Passer) Roemer, Joy (Engdahl) Shah, and
Maggie (Neidigh) Stewart gathered at a
crafters’ bed and breakfast in Stuart, Iowa, in
July 2011 to mark the 40th anniversary of
when they met as freshmen in the fall of 1971.
Several of them had not kept in contact since
they left Morningside, but they found each
other through Facebook. Over their reunion
weekend, they made crafts, visited a winery,
and shopped in the dollar store in downtown
Stuart. They are planning a second
get-together and hope others will join them.
Dale Howard recently finished co-authoring
“Ultimate Study Guide: Advanced Microsoft
Project 2010,” his 15th book about Microsoft
Project and Microsoft Project Server.
Howard is vice president of education for
MSProjectExperts and is considered one of
the world’s top trainers on how to use the
Microsoft Project and Microsoft Project
Server software. Over the past 11 years, he has
traveled nationally and internationally to
conduct training for clients and traveled
regularly to the company headquarters in
New York City to conduct open enrollment
classes. He has held the honorary title of
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
for the past eight years. Dale and his wife,
class notes
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