Reunion Notes
1948
30
north yard and on my down-south patio in
Florida. In Florida, I find God in sea shells
and surf and sunsets as I walk along the
Gulf of Mexico. Up north and in Florida, I
swim nearly every day.” Travels over the
past 50 years include Europe, England,
Ireland, Asia, and cruising the Yangtze
River Gorges in China.
Sally Collins Pettit worked for GMC in
Detroit after graduating from Siena. She
Siena Heights University
at Lansing Community College
Mail Code 3001
P.O. Box 40010
Lansing, MI 48901-7210
(517) 483-1326
Undergraduate Degree Programs
B.A.S., Allied Health
B.A.S., Trade/Industrial Professions
B.A., General Studies
Minor in:
Health Care Management (starting 1/99)
Now in its third year of operation, the Siena
Heights Lansing Center enrolls many former
Lansing Community College students who
find finishing a bachelor’s degree on the LCC
campus a convenient way to move ahead in a
career. Nearly all students must balance
families and careers with the demands of
school. The first alumnus of Siena Heights at
LCC graduated in December 1997.
traveled to Europe and took two ocean
cruises before meeting and marrying her
husband, John, who had four sons ages 922, in 1964. “From the day we were
married, my life changed completely, and
for the better. I learned and liked camping
with the younger boys and enjoyed sailing
on Lake St. Clair for 16 years.” Sally and
John live in Indian River and love the
north country. Sally knits and makes latch
hook rugs and, having survived two
cancer bouts, “looks forward to many
happy years.”
Bette Jaminet Rowe retired in 1991 after
40 years of rich and rewarding work
teaching kindergarten; but she continues
to volunteer at the St. Clair elementary
school where she worked for many of
those years, and where her daughter now
teaches kindergarten. Bette and her
husband, Al, live in East China in the
Marine City area in a home they built on
the St. Clair River in 1965. Through the
years, Bette has been active on the school
board, parish council, Catholic Study
Club, Interfaith Choir, Port Huron
Musicale and Chorus, St. Clair Music
Study Club and Alpha Delta Kappa, an
international sorority of women teachers.
Ruth Wagner Schieltz and her husband,
George, live on a 65-acre farm near
Versailles, OH, where they have resided
for 42 years. “We are now letting it go
back to nature. A prairie has reappeared
with plants not seen here for hundreds of
years.” Ruth spent 31 years in education.
In addition to her career and rearing four
children, Ruth’s hobby has been
researching family ancestry. “I have
published five family history books; the
last of which was over 600 pages of
information. We even attended a family
reunion with 5th cousins in Belgium.”
Dorothy Noetzel Sullivan of Southfield
writes: “After Siena, I entered the
Dominican order and stayed for 18
months. Returning home, I taught 2nd
grade at a Catholic school. I married Tom
in 1953. We were blessed with nine
children, all of whom have at least one
college degree. Our youngest is a Siena
alumnus. We lead a simple life enjoying
our 22 grandchildren.”
Katherine Rink Suydam of Adrian
summarizes life since Siena this way: “50
years married, 3 kids, 6 grandchildren,
100 animals, 27.4 years teaching, master’s
degree.” At her wedding to Ken, shortly
after graduation, she wore a wedding
Lansing staff: Linda Cowes, site director.
gown and veil made in Sister Mary
Fidelas’ clothing class and modeled at
Siena’s fashion show. In addition to
raising two daughters and a son, she
worked as a high school librarian in
Blissfield, Adrian and Tecumseh.
Alice Miller Swartz of Perry lived for a
few years in Arizona after marrying her
husband, Lee, but returned to Michigan
in the ‘50s to raise eight children, now
four teachers, a doctor and three with
other specialties. Alice retired in ‘94
after 20 years as a hearing specialist for
the Shiawassee County Health
Department, and now spends time with
family, friends and volunteer church
activities.
Mary Kershner Van Tuyle and her
husband, Willard, live in Bay City.
“After raising two sons, with all the
volunteer work that goes with that, I
moved on to the volunteer work I enjoy
the most: fine arts. For about 20 years, I
did a lot of weaving and won quite a few
awards. For the past nine years, I’ve
been designing and making clay
sculptures. My specialty is raku, a special
firing technique with lots of surprises!”
Son Gregory is a nuclear engineer at Los
Alamos (NM) National Laboratory; son
Jeffrey is vice president of marketing for
Serta Mattress in Chicago.
Bernadine Maginsky Weeg married
Martin in 1949 and “spent the next 30
years giving birth to and raising eight
children (6 b