Mystery Classmate 065

Congratulations to Coleman Brennan, Scott Silverman, Ted Showers, Barbara Bender Pietro, Karen Campbell Ricci, and Ann Broadberry, all of whom correctly identified Mary Bender ('90) as Mystery Classmate #65 (center) and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Mary Bender Knight lives in Columbus, Ohio, where she enjoys a successful career as a behavior modification therapist, specializing in treating children with autistic spectrum disorders. On May 29, 2004, Mary wed Harry Knight, and the two of them are pictured here on their honeymoon, accompanied by popular Las Vegas entertainer Big Elvis. On their cross country drive, Mary and Harry saw many other amazing sights along the way. Congratulations, Mary!

Donna Andreas Copley guessed Sonya Welesko. Pam Van Cara Collis guessed Sonya Welesko. Leann Impavido Mendenhall guessed Sonya Welesko, and added a guess that the gentleman on the left was Sonya’s husband and classmate David Buerger.

Colleen O’Connor Casey guessed Barb Neches. Ron Levick guessed Jamie Fagen.

Kimberly Hall guessed Carolyn Wasko. Ellen Broadberry Gallagher guessed either Carolyn or Anita Wasko.

Carrie Schadle wrote, “As usual, I have no idea who that is, but the guy to her left looks like some guy I went to college with, whom we used to call Zippy for some long-forgotten (like his real name) reason.”

Ted Showers supposed that the gentleman pictured on the right was me, and complimented me on the shirt. Ted, I wish I looked that good!

Mystery Classmate 064

Congratulations to Steve Landay, who correctly identified Dave Zafris ('82) as Mystery Classmate #64.

In case you were wondering, Dave is a reporter for WJAC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Johnstown. In his bio on the station website, Dave writes, “After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in English Writing, I began my career as a newswriter for KQV Radio and went on to several other stations, including WYDD-FM and WNRJ-FM, doing news and sports. From there I moved into newspaper reporting, first for Gateway Publications in Monroeville and then as a reporter at the Butler Eagle in Butler County. I also worked as a freelance writer for several publications, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“I went back to get my masters degree at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, because I wanted to attempt to get into television news. Halfway through the program, I applied for an opening at WJAC, and have worked here as a general assignment reporter covering Blair County, and most recently, Clearfield County. I live in Dubois, with my dog Bear, and have a girlfriend and cat in Pittsburgh. I love hockey, football, and pizza, not necessarily in that order.”Pam Van Cara Collis guessed Steve Landay. Brian “S.D.” Stevenson didn’t guess, but noted that the Mystery Classmate was positioned in front of an NBC logo.
Laura Fleming Schulte wrote, “My guess with Burris (Esplen) has made me bold.” (You go, Laura!) “Could that be a picture of Andy Katzen? It doesn't look like him, but the person people identified as Andy at our 10-year reunion didn't look like him either.”

Jerry Koutavas guessed Peter Leventopoulos, noting that Peter (like Dave Zafris) is of Greek descent.

Mystery Classmate 063

Congratulations to Jack Horner, Jamie Kracsun McBride, Coleman Brennan, Bob Smith, Brian “S.D.” Stevenson, Laura Fleming Schulte, Maria Wojtaszek Romanelli, and Megan Mahoney, all of whom correctly identified Burris Esplen ('85) as Mystery Classmate #63 and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Burris and his wife Ashlee live in Churchill, where Burris is a member of the Volunteer Fire Department. He also serves as Membership Chairman of the Pittsburgh East Chapter of the American Wine Society.

Burris reports, “I enjoy sweet, vinifera wines; however, I also enjoy dry whites and reds. I prefer vinifera but there are good French-American hybrids out there. I like the obscure whites like Semillon and Viognier. My favorite vineyards are in Napa Valley--an awesome experience!”

Some classmates had curious things to say about Burris. Laura Fleming Schulte noted his resemblance to the the American spy who sold secrets to the Russians.

Jack Horner wrote, “I love saying his name. Burris.”

Linda Wolff guessed Dave Crawford. Donna Andreas Copley guessed Dave Buerger. Bill Stout guessed Bill Blake, or Ernie Knoche. Jerry Koutavas incorrectly identified the three gentlemen pictured as Scott Rosenfeld, Fred Grejda, and either Gary Krawczewicz or Ed Knapp.

Mystery Classmate 062

Mystery Classmate #62 may have been a little too difficult for anyone to identify. He is Alexandre “Sasha” Polozoff (’82).

In case you were wondering, Sasha works for IBM and lives in Chicago with his wife Sandra and children Stephen and Kristie. He hates Pittsburgh! You can read his life story on his website, to which you can find a link in the right hand column of this page.

Maria Wojtaszek Romanelli guessed Rosario Collucci. Jerry Koutavas guessed Ron “Spanky” Kirkpatrick. Mary Bender Knight guessed Sam Kinison.

Mystery Classmate 061

Congratulations to Stu Cohen, Gary Cervi, Rich Reschoff, Brandon "Brandon B" Holmes, and Lori Haas Baccari, all of whom correctly identified Michael Bernstein ('85) as Mystery Classmate #61 and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Mike lives in Pittsburgh, has been married to wife Amy for 10 years, and has three kids plus another on the way in November. Mike just returned from Japan where he spent four days with Douglas Schafer (who would've been class of '85 if he hadn't switched to Sewickley Academy) and Doug's family, along with Mike's oldest son Max. Mike says, "Hello to all of my old classmates and would love to hear from anybody who is willing to contact me, at mbernstein@leedsworld.com." Mike also noted that Jack Horner is a dead man.

Several classmates shared fond recollections of Mike. Stu Cohen noted that "Mike was one of the coolest guys in our class. Creative, smart and just fun to be around."

Gary Cervi noted that Mike "is the CEO of Leed's (the company I work for). And for that reason, I will not make any smart remarks!

Brian "S.D." Stevenson guessed Ron Levick. Jack McDonough and Tracey Lucchino McDonough collaborated to guess Rich Mich. Chad Calabria guessed Ron Lippock.

Mystery Classmate 060

Congratulations to Coleman Brennan, Lauren Hoener Nace, Leslie Rush Cuda, Jack Horner, Donna Andreas Copley, and Ellen Broadberry Gallagher, all of whom correctly identified Lori Haas ('84) as Mystery Classmate #60 and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Lori Haas Baccari has for the past few years been the senior administrative assistant at Jack Horner Communications (Jack is Class of '85). Their office is located in the former Westinghouse Communications Center in Forest Hills across from WTAE.

Lori is married to a computer whiz at UPMC (Dale) and is pictured with her son, Lucca (2 1/2). Lori lives in Gilmore Acres and spends her leisure time collecting Thomas the Tank characters for Lucca, house-hunting for her next mansion, and trading in her car every 11 months due to Cheerios and Kool-Aid Jammers depreciation.

Ellen Broadberry Gallagher shared her fond recollections of Lori, noting that “she worked in my building at my former job and went to Robert Morris University as well as myself. Lori was always a very nice person to talk to.”

Mike Williams guessed Ann Broadberry.

Mystery Classmate 059

Congratulations to Coleman Brennan, Chuck Zimmerman, Beth Chufo Nichols, Ken Van Cara, Sharon Wasko Skoff, Carrie Schadle, Pam Van Cara Collis, Jennifer Machovec Buchanan, Bill Stout, Ellen Broadberry Gallagher, Maria Wojtaszek Romanelli, and Stu Cohen, all of whom correctly identified Alice Lin ('85) as Mystery Classmate #59 and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Dr. Alice Lin Welch is a 2000 graduate of the cellular and molecular physiology program of the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University and is now completing her postdoctoral fellowship at the American Red Cross in Bethesda, MD.

Many of you had fond recollections of Alice. Stu Cohen remembered Alice as a leader and a great musician. Bill Stout remarked that Alice was so talented that she and Bill didn't have any classes together. Pam Van Cara Collis wrote that she never knew anyone nicer than the Lin sisters. Chuck Zimmerman reported that the Lins moved to Barton Drive in 1982.

Others weren't done talking about Mystery Classmate #58, Dan Talbert. Amy Chufo Prezelski said that Dan and Johnny Shoop used to chase her during recess in elementary school, when they weren't playing kickball or Star Wars. Beth Chufo Nichols denied that she and Dan ever worked together, but surmised that Dan was visiting her office for academic advising.

Donna Andreas Copley guessed Alice's sister Ellen, or Alice herself, but couldn't remember Alice's name. Although she knew it was wrong, Karen Campbell Ricci guessed Cissy Kabbert.

Mystery Classmate 058

Congratulations to Beth Chufo Nichols, Jim Esplen, Ted Showers, Paul Rodgers, and Tom Mezyk, all of whom correctly identified Dan Talbert ('87) as Mystery Classmate #58 and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Dan is the Head Coach of the University of Pittsburgh rugby team and also serves as College Coordinator of the Allegheny Rugby Union. He is a founder of the Pitt Rugby Alumni Association and is the recruiting coordinator and a player for the Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club. He also has a place for rent, for $500 per month.

Joe Caprara guessed Ron Levick. Donna Andreas Copley guessed Bobby Scott, and wondered where Bob is today.

Mystery Classmate 057

Congratulations to Frank Battaglia, Paula Recchio Joseph, Matt McKeever, Melissa Mahoney Kortyna, and Joanna Patterson, all of whom correctly identified Dean Novotny ('82) as Mystery Classmate #57 and are listed in the order that their responses were received.

In case you were wondering, Dean Novotny was an original member of the Black Lips Performance Cult in New York City's East Village, appearing in productions of The Transvestite's Twelve Stations of the Cross, The Candy Darling Story (about the late Warhol superstar), The Ascension of Marsh P. Johnson (about the transvestite that threw the first brick at the Stonewall riots), and The Birth of Anne Frank.

The character of Sissy Fit, as whom Dean appears here, was born from his experimentation with gender roles and perceptions in the traditional theater genre. "It was fun. It behooved me to have that splashy name," Dean says. "But I am a serious actor, not a drag queen. I decided it was time to start losing the circusy name. I wanted to be taken seriously."

Since his return to Pittsburgh six years ago, Dean has produced numerous performance art pieces along similar lines, and has enjoyed a two-year cabaret run in the East End. His adaptation of the Tennessee Williams novella, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, was performed in December 1999 at The Lester Hamburg Studio Theatre at City Theatre, with Dean in the title role originated on the silver screen by Vivien Leigh.

Dean returned to City Theatre in 2001 with his original musical, The Balladof Captain Star Hollow and the Rings of Freedom, about a once handsome and dangerous corporate fleet captain who chucks a promising corporate career to sell illegal beauty products to the oppressed transgendered peoples of the galaxy.

Donna Andreas Copley guessed Brad Drago. Carrie Schadle (whom Bill Stout guessed last week) asserted that she does not look anything like Mystery Classmate #56 Karen Bonvalot, and guessed Bill Stout.