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NEWS Bits & Bytes 
Click for Music (Through The
Years)
Time Flies! Mission Viejo Company was formed in 1963. The City of Mission
Viejo Incorporation was on March 31, 1988. The 30th Anniversary Reunion at the Aliso Viejo Ranch was on May 14,
1993. Philip Morris sold MVC to the Shea
organization effective August 27, 1997. MVC Alumni celebrated the 40th anniversary
year of the “Company” at Reunion 2003 on April 5 at the Mission Viejo Country
Club, and again on July 29, 2006, the 40th anniversary year of the
“Community” of Mission Viejo!
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The City of Mission Viejo
celebrated the 40th
anniversary year of the “Community”
in 2006 with the below
events at Oso Viejo Community
Park/Norman P. Murray Community and Senior
Center. The two-day celebration included a
weekend full of entertainment!
Friday, August 4, 2006: A country hoedown with square dancing, a barbecue
dinner, hay rides, line dancing and a free live country/western concert by the
“American Made Band.” The festivities
began with the barbecue and square dancing at 5:30 p.m. and the concert at 6:30
p.m.
Saturday, August 5,
2006: Following the
ground-breaking of the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center expansion,
Mission Viejo hosted a free 2006 Target Symphony in the Cities
concert at Oso Viejo Park at 6:00 p.m. The Pacific Symphony Music
Director Carl St.Clair offered light pop and classical tunes, patriotic music
and special guest artists.
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Life Since
MVC… Tell us what
you have been doing since we were co-workers at Mission Viejo Company, allowing
us to reacquaint and build enthusiasm for Reunion
events. Remember, ALL former MVC
employees (California and Colorado) are included in this effort!
Send news,
photos and “Life Since MVC” stories to bschone@cox.net.
Scroll ¯ Scroll Down For “Life Since
MVC” Stories And Photos Scroll ¯
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2006:
Disposition of Mission Viejo Company Archival Material at the
City
MVC Alumni volunteers are assisting the City of Mission
Viejo with disposition of some of the 30 years of historical material received
from Mission Viejo Company, as they inventory and archive it for access in the
Library by the public. Meetings are on the second
Monday of each month at City Hall at 6:00 P.M. For those unable to attend evening meetings,
daytime meetings are scheduled at 9:00 a.m. on the Wednesday following the
Monday meeting. Please consider joining
us and invite your fellow MVC friends.
MVC Alumni
volunteers: Diane
(Morales) Blum, Bob Bunyan, Carol
Carroll, Art Cook, Dru Cottrell-Maurer (now a City employee), Jore Germeroth, Wendy (Wetzel) Harder, Barb Idstein (now a City employee), Bob Kahn,
Shirley Kenson, June McNeil, Maria
(Mies) Pais, Wayne Peterson, Carol
Pifer, Sue Rounds,
Pat Ruecker, Patti (Henry) Bartlett
Russell, Marty Russo, Barbara Schone,
Marsha (Ray) Selway, Connie Short, Sharon Siebert, Van
Stevens, Carol
Stoney, Mark “Ziggy” Wilczynski and Bob Wildey.
Speaking of
history, for a daily look at historical moments in Orange County, click on this
Orange County Register
link: http://www.ocregister.com/100/dailymoments/ Mission Viejo photos are at;
June
4 (1981 Rose Parade float), June 16 (whale
fossil on Chrisanta Drive), and July 13 (Filling
of Lake Mission Viejo).
From
our Steve Bell, now at the City of Mission Viejo: “Barbara,
please invite all the alumni to come by and visit the renovated Montanoso
Recreation Center and the brand new Sierra Recreation Center. They'd be proud that
the great legacy they started continues on!”
Sierra Recreation and Fitness Center Re-Opens
Recently
renovated and expanded, the project included the demolition of the existing
1,700 square foot building and the construction of a 3,400 square foot
building. It includes a 2,000 square
foot workout / fitness room fully equipped with circuit and cardiovascular
training equipment, plus upgraded men’s and women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and
showers. The Center is located at 26887 Recodo Lane,
near the corner of Marguerite
Parkway and La Sierra Drive.
For
more information about the programs, hours, and fees, call (949) 582-5639.
City of Mission Viejo
Heritage House – Grand Opening - April 2, 2005
The
City of Mission Viejo Heritage Committee opened
a mini-museum in Melinda Park (corner of Melinda Road and Santa Margarita Parkway) in Mission Viejo.
The
first exhibit was a tribute to Mission Viejo Company--“The California Promise Fulfilled”--displaying
items from the MVC archives. Jim Gilleran was
a featured speaker and MVC Alumni
volunteers assisted in greeting visitors.
Stop
by to see future exhibits. The opening
date of the new exhibit “Mission Viejo – The Rancho
Era” was February 25, 2006. The Rancho Era began with the secularization and
distribution of Mission San Juan Capistrano land during the 1830’s and 1840’s
and ended with a series of both natural and man-made disasters in the 1850’s
and 1860’s.
The
Heritage House is open the second and fourth Saturday of each month from Noon
to 4:00 p.m. For more information, or to
schedule a private tour and presentation, call (949) 470-3061.
Click For MVC Alumni Heritage House Opening Photos
Our
Mark “Ziggy” Wilczynski was
appointed by the Heritage Committee as the official liaison between the City
and the MVC Alumni “Association”
(that’s us). Ziggy constructed a
life-size wood album for the MVC part of the City’s “Painted Stories” project
where teams representing different community organizations prepared individual
history books recounting each group’s culture, heritage and influence in the
City. The MVC book was a part of the
above exhibit and will be displayed at future City events, and later be
preserved with the historical archives.
MVC Alumni volunteers who designed and filled the pages,
and helped with the grand opening ceremonies:
Diane (Morales) Blum, Arthur Cook, Mary (Putman) Cordes, Dru Cottrell, Sandie Galli,
Jim Gilleran, Kathie
(Robinson) Hortter, Barbara Schone, Connie Short, Carol Stoney, Jim Toepfer, and Mark “Ziggy” Wilczynski. The
volunteers were recognized with Certificates of Appreciation by the Mission Viejo City Council.
For
more about the City of Mission Viejo
Heritage Committee:
http://www.ci.mission-viejo.ca.us/depts/rcs/heritage.html
“Mission
Viejo: The Ageless Land” The History Book of Mission Viejo
For
a copy of this limited edition history book at $45 (sales tax included), click
on http://ci.mission-viejo.ca.us/depts/rcs/historybookapp.pdf
(Services/Forms/History Book Order Form - under
Recreation and Community Services). For more
information, call (949) 470-3061.
City of Mission Viejo Web Site: http://www.ci.mission-viejo.ca.us
Click on this
link for Mission Viejo History page: http://ci.mission-viejo.ca.us/dir/mvhistory.html
The “History of Mission
Viejo” MVTV video is available for purchase at $25 (sales tax
included). Copies are limited. Contact the City at (949) 470-3000.
For more
about Mission Viejo Television (MVTV), click
on http://ci.mission-viejo.ca.us/depts/cm/mvtv.html
Note: The
Mission Viejo sky painting that hung in the stairway at the Mission Viejo
Company Chrisanta office building has been placed in Mission Viejo City Hall (Building Department, first floor) and looks beautiful in its new location.
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On
July 31, 2004 a City of Mission Viejo 20th
Anniversary event was held at the site of the XXIII Olympiad Cycling Road Races commemorating the 1984 races that were held in Mission Viejo. A
dedication ceremony honored the 1984 races with a permanent start/finish line in the Olympiad Road
pavement, two
sculptures of Olympic bike riders, and a landscaped mini park. It followed Lake Mission Viejo Course
Official 5K+ Races sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, and
a reception was held at Florence Joyner Olympiad Park after the
dedication.
The
above was the conception of MVC Alumni
Mark “Ziggy” Wilczynski. Alumni volunteers helped with the reception and
memorabilia display at Florence
Joyner Park. It was fun reuniting with Alumni once again at
this special event coordinated by the Mission Viejo
Heritage Committee.
Participants:
Diane (Morales) Blum, Paula (Hall) Blum, Mary (Putman) Cordes, Sandie Galli, Kathie
(Robinson) Hortter, Gary Plambeck, Connie Short,
Sue
Trimborn, Art Villalovos, Ziggy
Wilczynski, and Barbara Schone.
appreciate
your invitation to join the celebration!
“That race was just one example...and surely an
exquisite one...illustrating what a group of caring citizens can cause to
happen in their community. I remember
the finish of the women's race. Two
young women, their faces grim over the handlebars, pumping to the
line. Close to a tie!!! And then a pair of arms shot up
in the air and it was over. As I recall, the winner of the race was
a young woman who trained in Colorado.
But the
winner of the day was the Mission Viejo
Activities Committee and all their volunteers.
“I send my congratulations to the City of Mission Viejo for
continuing to support the concept that evidencing pride in ones community will
never
go out of style.” Phil
Reilly
At the time
of the 1984 races the United
States had not medaled in cycling since 1912
and had never won a gold medal. There
had never been an Olympic cycling road race for women. That day, in a 79-kilometer women’s race American
Connie Carpenter-Phinney won the gold; American Rebecca Twigg won the
silver. American Alexi Grewal won the
gold medal in the 190-kilometer men’s race.
In
1984 MVC Alumni Greg Kibble entered and won a Saddleback Valley
News contest for the design on the bronze plaque that was presented to MVC by
the Olympic Committee. Greg suggested
another bronze plaque be added showing the course mounted in a river rock wall
and his design was chosen as well.
Our Mark Schubert was
the official Head Coach of U.S.
Women’s Swimming at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. At the time Mark was in his twelfth year
as Trojan head coach of the USC men’s swim team and eleventh year of the
women’s swim team, and this was his third U.S. Olympic head coaching
assignment.
Click Here For Olympic Cycling Commemoration 2004 Photos 
Contributing
photographers: Diane (Morales) Blum, Ron
Cordes, Kathie
(Robinson) Hortter, Kathy Hughes and Barbara Schone
When viewing
photo albums, remember to click on “Back” to return to the MVC Alumni Web Site.
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April
5, 2006 marked three years since the 2003 Mission Viejo Company Alumni 40th
Anniversary Year Reunion celebration at the Mission Viejo
Country Club. It was fun getting
together to talk about life after MVC.
We did it again on July 29, 2006.
See Guestbook
Page For Post-Reunion Alumni
Comments! See Reunion Photos Page For Link To Reunion
Photos
Mission Viejo
Television (MVTV) conducted pre-party interviews at the 2003 Reunion and the
program that included the interviews aired on the local MVTV
Channel
30. Participants were: Jim
Gilleran, Harvey Stearn,
Wendy Wetzel Harder, Art Cook, Mark
“Ziggy” Wilczynski, Joan Grierson of
MVCC, and
Judy Deeter, City of Mission Viejo Heritage
Committee President.
Scroll ¯ Scroll Down For “Life Since
MVC” Stories And Photos Scroll ¯
Phil and
Valley Reilly celebrated
their 50th wedding anniversary on August 25, 2006! The Reillys live in Hawaii
full time, but still get to the Palm
Springs area for about three months each year. Of interest…the representative who bought MVC
for Philip Morris has a Hawaii
vacation home just around the corner.
Son Sean Reilly, another MVC Alumni,
also owns a home in Hawaii
and is working as a Physician’s Assistant in Family Practice. Kevin Reilly
is teaching at Edison School in Glendale, CA and was named “Teacher Of The Year” for the Glendale School District over several thousand
teachers. Kevin also fixes up houses for
resale. PJR Signed: “A hui ho, malama
pono (until we meet again, take care of yourselves).”
He is doing
very well after triple bypass surgery in late March 2003. Doc said great result and everything was
caught early...absolutely no heart damage occurred. Though the Reillys had signed up for the 2003
MVC Alumni Reunion,
they were unable to attend; however, Sons Kevin
and Sean were at the event.
The Reillys
were at their Palm Springs, California
area home from February 22 through March 6, 2004 and are now back in Hawaii: “All is well here. Our little upcountry
farmhouse is about finished. Our endangered palm tree nursery is
planted. Valley has ordered 12 baby chicks to stock the chicken
house. The Reillys remain busy, active and healthy.” See
current Reilly photo in “Current Photos” album (link below).
Jim
and Carol Gilleran celebrated their 25th
wedding anniversary in 2001 by having a re-up at the same Las Vegas church in which they were
married. The Gillerans live in Las Vegas and travel a
LOT, including more than one African safari.
They were able to attend Reunion 2003.
Mr. Gilleran says he keeps in touch with many of the “old gang.” The family genealogy hobby must take up much
of JGG’s time, not to mention his 1931 Model A Roadster and 1958 Corvette.
Jim and Sue
Toepfer live
in beautiful Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Thanks Jim T., for hiring ME! -- AND for
being the driving force behind all those wonderful Mission
Viejo sports programs. Jim and
Sue were unable to make it to the 2003 Reunion in California, but he sent
special comments about MVC that were shared with the attendees by Emcee Art Cook. Hmmm, maybe Jim T. will host the “next” gathering at the Colorado Highlands Ranch
Mansion….
Sure could
use more news and photos from the Colorado
Division Alumni!
These Colorado
Alumni write: “Barb, you guys are absolutely phenomenal to
organize such a wonderful collection of characters. Thanks for doing it
and thanks for keeping me in the loop. MVC is still one of the proudest
badges of honor ever!” Joe Blake “Thanks
for all the hard work. I will have those here in Colorado I run into contact you.” Jerry Poston Barbara
Dettis now lives in
Sacramento, California.
Speaking
of Colorado, Bill Smith (aka/wks) writes,
“We have finished our house in Colorado and we have
found Creede to be far more than we had expected.” “I would LOVE to be able to
attend this event - it sounds like a great time would be had by all.” Well, they made it to the 2003 Reunion, and the Alumni enjoyed Bill’s outstanding
performance of playing keyboard and singing “The Mission Way” 1993 song to the tune “My
Way.”
Jim Huesman and Jack Raub are in
San Juan Island, Washington. Each made
it to the Reunion. “What a great list!! And what a tremendous undertaking!! I spent at least 30 minutes looking at the
names and trying to conjure up a face to go with each of them.” Jim Huesman
Thanks to Wendy Wetzel Harder for helping with, and participating in, the Mission Viejo
Television (MVTV) pre-party interviews at the MVC
Alumni Reunion at Mission Viejo Country Club in 2003. Wendy is busy as
Director of Community Relations at the new Soka University
in Aliso Viejo: www.soka.edu Dedicated on May
3, 2001, the campus is beyond beautiful!
Be sure to catch one of the "Open House and Family Tour Days."
Mark
“Ziggy” Wilczynski: Ziggy
is still volunteering and helping the City of Mission Viejo wherever he is needed. He was the driving force behind the July 2004
20th Anniversary commemoration of the 1984 Olympic Cycling Road
Races event. Looking fit, Ziggy swims
every morning at the Montanoso
Recreation Center,
and also enjoys spending time with his Grandchildren. Who better than Ziggy...he provided a
terrific memorabilia display at the 2003 Reunion! A special thank you to Nina Wilczynski for
restoring the Mission Viejo flag used as a
backdrop at the program podium.
2005: Ziggy is the recipient of the City of Mission Viejo’s first
annual “Community of Character” award in recognition of his many volunteer
activities. His 80th birthday
was on April 9, 2005!
Art
and Pat Cook were at the
2001 Reunion.
“It was fun to see so many friendly faces again.” After MVC Art enjoyed “corporate” driving for
Pacific Limo for a while. Art did an
excellent job “at the mike” as Master Of Ceremonies at the 2003 Reunion! “You know, even
though I am retired, I never lost my desire to pick up a microphone!” Thanks to Art for calling this article on Steve Selway to
our attention:
“Mission
Viejo man makes it a crusade to ‘ride his age’ each year; so far
he’s up to 71 miles and still riding.”
April 5, 2002 - Saddleback Valley
News
Caption:
Let’s Ride: Steve Selway, 71, is
staying fit with long-distance bicycle excursions
The article
further informs that Steve is a regular cyclist and rides with the Palmia
Retirement Community Bike Club three days a week. Weekly, he rides about 60
miles but hopes that he can pick it up to about 90 miles a week. "It's more than fun," said Selway.
“It's sort of like a hobby and it feels good." Steve started riding more than four years ago
following two angioplasties and bypass surgery. Steve Selway: “ . . . My 15
minutes of fame. My riding has become my
favorite hobby and exercise, but this is the first time anyone noticed what I
was up to.”
Way to go
Steve, now you have 30 minutes of fame.
You are an inspiration for us all.
Steve is married to MVC Alumna Marsha (Ray) Selway.
2004: Steve suffered congestive heart failure
corrected by installation of an internal cardiac defibrillator. He is doing well and is “on the road again”
but for shorter bike rides. Steve had a
heart attack in 2003.
Other “MVC
Couples” (Did we miss anyone?)
|
Amen
|
Jerry & Merelyn
|
|
Kinnee
|
Don &
Marlene (Jarvie)
|
|
Anaya
|
Jesse & Carol
|
|
Kosulandich
|
Mike & Diane (Oilar)
|
|
Beckies
|
Dave
& Joan
|
|
Leavitt
|
Dave & Josie
|
|
Blum
|
Tom
& Diane (Morales)
|
|
Noyes
|
Ron
& Pat (Waddell)
|
|
Brown
|
Jerry & Francene (Jakin)
|
|
Pacak
|
Mike
& Beverly (Stremel)
|
|
Burch
|
Norm & Mary
|
|
Potter
|
Doug
& Jani (Barley)
|
|
Cook
|
Jerry & Brenda
|
|
Rafferty
|
Mike
& Liz (Lupinacci)
|
|
Culbertson
|
Dave & Andi (Adams)
|
|
Rowe
|
Greg & Cindy (Duree)
|
|
Currens
|
Greg & Victoria
|
|
Selway
|
Steve & Marsha
(Ray)
|
|
Dumas
|
Ron & Anne (Hibberd)
|
|
Smegal
|
Jerry & Pam
|
|
Eason
|
Tom & Rena (Carter)
|
|
Tracy
|
Mike & Marcia
|
|
Hardy
|
Craig & Denise (Husson)
|
|
Trudeau
|
Bob & Gale
|
|
Hare
|
Dan & Jackie
|
|
Yencer
|
Dick & Maryann (Knight)
|
|
Hogan
|
Horace & Kim (Curry)
|
|
|
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It is not Victoria’s “secret” that
she and Greg Currens are working together now.
After MVC and AMHC’s Aliso Viejo Resort & Golf Club, Greg joined his wife, MVC Alumna Victoria (Nichols) Currens at her Newport
Beach firm, Style Interior Design, Inc. See the web site at www.style-interiors.com.
“Glad to see that the old MVC group is still staying in touch
and are looking forward to the next get together. We sure appreciate all the
effort you do to keep us in touch. Things are going well for us here.”
Nadine (Henry) Wilck is a Principal at The Wilck Group,
Public Relations/Public Affairs, in Irvine. Nadine
worked in PR/Advertising at MVC. “I’m
looking forward to this event...” “MVCC sounds terrific to me!” Nadine
reports that Marshall and Ellen McCain are in Littleton, Colorado. Have also heard from
Susie (Burns Cole), Barbara (Chilcott
Lord) Metz,
Metz Public Relations, and Mark Jacobsen, who is in Arlington, Virginia.
Mary Putman is now
Mary Cordes! Mary
and Ron Cordes were married in
January 2000 and moved into their new Talega home in San Clemente.
Ron is a retired United Airlines pilot, so it was natural for Mary to
retire too -- and it seems they travel “non-stop.” Congratulations, Mary and Ron!
Talk about traveling, Jore and Bob Germeroth
have seen it all!
Jore is one member of an all-MVC Bunco group that recently celebrated 13
years of camaraderie and “throwing the dice:” Diane Blum, Pinky Clark,
Mary (Putman) Cordes, Barbara Schone,
Connie Short, Carol Stoney and Jan Zlaket. Valley Building Materials has Carol Stoney, and she has been there since retiring from Mission
Viejo Company.
At
the Lake Mission Viejo offices these days, you
will find Deanna Scheffel, Peggy Miklaus and
Chuck Leonard.
Speaking of former “Recreators:”
Barb Idstein
works at the City’s Norm
Murray Senior
Center in Mission
Viejo. Barb does facility
rentals, and deals with organizations such as AYSO and Little League, as
opposed to activities for the Seniors.
At the Montanoso
Recreation Center
you will still find Steve Bell. George
and Jean Lyons are in Surprise, Arizona after
leaving Ft. Collins, Colorado, where George had been a top salesman in the auto
industry, and their two sons, Chris and Tim, attended Colorado colleges.
Dan Bemoll is
retired. Jerry Curran and Art Villalovos still work together
in the skating rink industry. Do you
remember a column about the Recreation Centers in the "Que Pasa"
news called "Reconnoiter?" I was the author. All right then, you must at least remember
the "Que Pasa!"
Bob
Osborne’s company, Osborne Development, is
in Rancho Santa Margarita. Both Bob Osborne and Bob Maurer are on the E-mail Directory of this web site.
Sandie Galli moved to Old
Town Orange last year. “We are the new residents of an historic
bungalow built in 1911 near the circle.”
Exciting, and their Mission Viejo house
of 24 years sold in about two weeks. No
surprise there! I have Sandie’s new
address and phone number if anyone would like to get in touch with her, and she
is also listed on the E-Mail Directory.
Sandie likes her job at Time Warner.
Speaking
of new residences, heard about a beautiful custom home high on a Laguna Niguel
hilltop owned by Van Stevens!
Sally Jo and Randy Clark remodeled their lovely six-bedroom
home in San Juan Capistrano. Sally Jo is in mini-retirement after working
for Shea for a while after the MVC sale.
In addition to exercising and walking (FIVE miles a day), she is
enjoying being Grandma to Shaylee.
Mary Anne Brown is now a permanent employee at
Shea Properties, after starting there as a temp a few months after the Company
was sold to the Shea organization in August 1997. Mary Anne was one of the “Survivors,” those
who were at MVC at the end, and has been hosting an annual Christmas party for
the “MVC Girls” at her home ever since.
Here are the California and Colorado ’97 “Survivors:”
California: Frances Banuelos, Diane Blum, Donna Bradley,
Francene Brown, Mary Anne Brown, Bob Bunyan, Sally Jo Clark, Toni Courson, Greg Currens, Steve Delson, Linda
Dionne, Celeste Duff, Danette Fenstermacher, Bonnie
Forsyth, John Franklin, Sandie Galli, Wendy Harder,
Charla Hauser, Sue Herigstad, Lee Hollo, Max Johnson, Angela Key, Donna Kriss, Dale Lloyd, Fred Martinez, Lynda Pekar,
Sue Rounds, Greg Rowe, Barbara Schone, Connie
Short, Krissi Simos,
Bill Smith, Linda Sohl,
Nancy Stephenson, Pat Sullivan,
Gracie Thornburgh, Mike Tracy, and Walt Webster.
Colorado: Gerri Alleman, Tim Amberry, Jim
Borgel, Barbara Dettis, Jeff Donelson, Lisa Fraser, Cheryl Haflich, Helene Harrill,
Cay Hassler, Carol Janus, Jeff
Kappes, Teresa Kershisnik, Shawna Kovac, Dick Leopoldus, Nancy
Mockenhaupt, Debra Pelkowski, Joe Pelter, Lynn Rutzki, Ruth Smith, Terry
Teague, and Jim Tomlin.
California
‘97 MVC Alumni who went on to work
at the Shea Companies are:
James
Fryslie*, Rodger Gazelle*, Charla Hauser, Joe Horvath*, Max Johnson (Vice
President and General Counsel), Greg Kibble*, Donna
Kriss, Barry Osborne*, Lynda Pekar, Greg Rowe, Connie Short, Nancy
Stephenson, Mike Tracy, and Donna Trexler* *
Former RBF
Colorado ‘97 MVC
Alumni who went on to work at the Shea Companies are:
Tim Amberry, Jeff Donelson, Lisa
Fraser, Cheryl Haflich, Cay Hassler, Carol
Janus, Jeff Kappes, Terri Kershisnik, Nancy
Mockenhaupt, Lynn Rutzki, Ruth Smith, and Terry Teague.
J.F. Shea Co., Inc. together with its affiliates and subsidiaries
is one of the nation's largest builders and developers of master planned
communities, homes, apartments, offices, industrial parks and neighborhood and
community shopping centers. It also
operates as a civil infrastructure contractor and venture capital
investor. The company is privately owned and has been in business for
over 120 years.
Jim Kelton’s MVC spin-off information
technology company, Software Unlimited (http://www.softwareunlimited.com), is now known as Altius
Information Technologies (http://www.altiusit.com/). And yes, Scott (Schone) is still at SU.
Bert
Leydekkers: “Since you placed all the e-mails out there I
have heard from quite a few people from the past.” Bert mentioned and provided info on some of
the MVC Financial group: Glen
Burchfield, Kelley Huford, and Mary Witmer.
Bob
Strong is
at Fuscoe Engineering, Inc. Grant Sullivan and
Carol Carroll are at
Warmington Homes. Ric Clark is
Project Operations Manager at Company 39, Inc./Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.
These tidbits
from Jim May: “Chris Rodda was
working at the Santa Margarita High School.
While living in Medford, Oregon, I ran into Ron
and Anne (Hibberd) Dumas, they were
living near Ruch, Oregon.
The San Joaquin
Valley is in serious need
of a Mission Viejo Company.”
From Debbie Myers: Jan Michael operates a store called The Beach
Bum in Laguna Niguel. Marta Borsanyi has a company called Concord
Group in Newport Beach. Claire
(Gebhardt) Altman: “Have heard about the
upcoming 'party' via Tucson,
AZ!! Looking forward to seeing many old
friends.” Claire lives in Mission Viejo.
Per Syl
Egan: Dick Leopoldus and
Millie Hurlburt both
work at Oakwood homes in Denver.
Larry Webb is president of John Laing
Homes. From Steve Lauzier: Jim
Furuyama
is at Wells Fargo Bank; Carl Goodwin, Public
Economics;
Doug Krah and Gary
Carlson
at Standard Pacific in Irvine; and Dan O'Donovan, Western National.
Tom
Stephenson, Moulton
Niguel Water District: “I hope your reunion plans develop, that could be quite
a group photo op.” Per Tom: Pat Mercado,
Paul Rothenberg, Warren Singleton and Terry Tony are at EKN Engineering;
Gary Eikerman, Powell Engineers; Marlene and Don Kinnee and Dave Roohk, CGvL Engineers; Andi
Adams, Dave Culbertson, Kevin Canning, Paul Shaver, and Ellis
Delameter, Culbertson Adams &
Associates (CAA), and Mark Bradley, RBF.
In the North Country you will find Francene and Jerry Brown and Celeste Duff. Celeste likes the
Pacific Northwest: "We are located
at the south end of Tacoma. On a good traffic day, we can drive up to the
University of Washington
(north side of Seattle)
in an hour. Anytime anyone
is in the area, please give us a call.”
Freddie Oglesby lives in Oceanside.
He re-married in 1997, and has been working for the Federal Government
since 1995. Said he hoped to retire in
2002. Let us know, Freddie... Joe Lamberta: “Hi Barb, Great to hear from
you. Thank you for the list. Wonderful to see all the familiar
names again.” (Wait until he sees this
web site!) George O’Connell: “I trust you are well except for the fact that
you are planning to put this reunion together.
It really is very nice of you, and Carol
and I look forward to it.” John Younkin: Thanks for all of your hard work and efforts toward the
reunion. I for one am looking forward to it.” They were all there! Walt
Webster, tell us what it's like to fly
your own plane! Better yet, let us hear
Robbie’s version… In addition to Ken Walker’s Guestbook
comments, Ken writes: “I now live in the Florida
Panhandle, specifically Gulf Breeze, Florida. My wife and I have been here for almost 13
years. I am about 20 miles from John T.
and I try to visit him at least a couple of times a year. On my last visit he and Mrs. T were doing
well. He is the same ol’
John T.” Of course Ken is talking about none other
than John
Tarquinio (a/k/a John T.)!
Joan
and Dave Beckies
are living in SaddleBrooke, AZ. “It's a wonderful and very active adult
community with a country club atmosphere including all the amenities. It
is located 15 miles northwest of Tucson.” Jim
Tomlin was in the
MVC Colorado office at the end, but mostly worked in California.
He and wife Cindy and daughter Stephanie like living in Phoenix, Arizona. “We live in a 20-to-30-year old area in a neat
territorial-style house on a big, big lot.
Long-term project, though.” All is well with Jim since the Del
Webb merger with Pulte last year. Jim is
Director of Commercial Properties. “My job responsibilities have changed, though. While I had been traveling frequently for 3
years, I now work only in Arizona, primarily
in Anthem, a 5,900-acre master-planned community in the Phoenix metro area. My job is very similar to my responsibilities
with Mission. Thanks for keeping in touch.”
Bob
Bunyan’s consulting
business in Mission Viejo (Robert Bunyan & Associates,
Real Estate Consultants) has gotten very active with a many clients and projects.
Gracie Thornburgh worked
at J.F. Shea Mortgage but is now
retired. David Taussig
reports that Ken
McKay, who worked with John Younkin
in commercial sales, is the Regional President of
KBS Realty Advisors in Newport Beach. Brenda
and Jerry Cook own a glass shop business in Mt. Shasta. Among others, Brenda has kept in contact with Judy (Cottingham) Brown who now lives in Kirkland,
WA. Herb
and Linda Sohl are fully retired and living in Palm Desert, California. Bonnie
Forsyth reports that Janice Norgaard and
her husband returned to California. A Chrysler job transfer took them to Denver for a while, and
they are now living in Laguna Woods.
Robert
(Bob) Kahn is
Principal of RK engineering group, inc., a full service transportation planning/engineering
firm located in Newport Beach providing consulting services to the private and
public sectors. Take a look at Bob’s
awesome web site http://www.rkengineer.com. Bob and Gale Kahn celebrated
their 31 year anniversary and have been enjoying life with their daughter
(Allison), son-in-law Rogier and grandchildren Abbie and Jack who live in the
Westridge area of Aliso Viejo. They love
the area and think it is great to see it developing like MVC planned it over 20
years ago. Bob's son Ryan graduated from Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo in planning and is pursuing a professional music career
with his band “Elevation” which is located in Santa Barbara. You can view
current photos of Bob Kahn and his family on this Web Site Gallery. Current Photos Album: The Kahn Family during annual trip to the
Alisal Guest Ranch. They’ve been doing
it for the past 18 years. Grandchildren
Photos Album: Bob with his two Cal
Bear Backer Grandchildren, Abigale and Jack.
Bonnie Benton is semi-retired and back in Mission Viejo after living in Laguna Niguel. Bonnie provided this Alumni news: George
Bacopulos is in Temecula; Ruth Ochoa in Las
Vegas; Randy Lush in Lodi; Bill
Lindstrom in Danville; and Danielle Kennedy and
Mike Craig in Sun Valley, Idaho. Grant Sullivan
has been working for Larry Riggs, President
of Warmington, for a number of years. Mike Pacak is Vice
Principal of a Junior High School in Huntington
Beach. He
married MVC Alumna Beverly Stremel
and they have two Grandsons. Don
Hildreth returned to Irvine after living
in the Philippines, Northern Luzon. He had been commuting back and forth for
about 12 years (when he was not fishing in Cabo San Lucas, that is). Don was married on October 30, 2002. Alice
Fetters remarried in 2001 and is now
Alice Almand. Alice is the
Inventory/Production Manager for Diamante Media Group in Newport Beach. Steve
Lauzier
is Director of Real Estate, Cal Poly Pomona
Foundation, Inc. Gretchen (Herzog) Malcolm is
a Recreation Supervisor at the City of Laguna
Niguel, overseeing youth programs-day camps/teens and
volunteers. Virginia Lee still
lives in Corona del Mar, and works at Erin Cole Design (bridal accessories) in Costa Mesa, where they
opened a new store. Horace Hogan is President of Brehm Homes in Carlsbad, California.
Al
and Danette Fenstermacher’s Daughter
Alison graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in June 2002, and
Son Alan is a Junior there. Alison was
accepted to the school of her first choice, Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. You can view photos of both in the “Current”
Photos Album Slideshow (scroll down to Life Since MVC section on this page). Danette
and her family live in Corona
del Mar. The four enjoyed a 2½-week trip to Paris and London
before Alison left for college. You can also
view a photo of
Sue Trimborn and family in the above
Album. Sue is Executive Secretary,
Consumer Eye Care Marketing, at Allergan. Greg and Cindy
(Duree) Rowe moved to Wenatchee, Washington. “Everyone is welcome to visit.” Kathie (Robinson) Hortter and
husband Daniel have moved to Arizona. Harvey
and Bobbie Stearn have retired and moved
to Sedona, Arizona. They return to Newport
Beach one week out of every four, as their children, grandchildren
and long-time friends are in California. Darrylle Stafford is
working in Legal and Business Management in San Jose,
Costa Rica, and was able to
attend the 2003 Reunion! Take
a look at the web site for First
Costa Rican Title & Trust: http://www.firstcr.com
A note from Lynda Pekar: “It’s hard to
believe how time and life flies by - we have now been married over 33
years. Tommy is with Shea Homes for
almost 5 years now so we're a total Shea team.
He is looking forward to seeing a lot of the construction guys he has
worked with on other projects – he ran into Dave
Folsom playing
golf and word has it Gary Roberts
will be making an appearance. He is lucky to
work with Fred Martinez all the time at Shea Homes. I can’t wait to see Gerry Ognibene who
is the one who hired me to work for Bill
Halstrum and then on to Jack Haynes who is
still missed so dearly - what a loss for us all. We both consider
ourselves so lucky to have worked with and live close to all those people who
have been a part of our lives for so long. We recently ran into Peggy and Jeff Miklaus at the movies and they looked great! Can't wait to see everyone
on the 5th!”
Tom and Lynda’s new granddaughter Caroline was born on September 7, 2005.
Congratulations!
2004:
Regards to all from Linda Sowell: “Hello,
hello, hello .......... so very nice to walk down memory lane. My son, Maurice,
who's now 23 years old and in graduate school at USC, ran into Horace Hogan, who passed along the website. I'm in tears just
seeing the photos, reading the notes and feeling very close to all MVC
memories. I am now living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(brrrrr!) and working for a native American tribe, the Forest County
Potawatomi Community. I have served as Public Relations Director at their Milwaukee casino for the
past five years. Were it not for the solid foundation in corporate affairs at
MVC, I would not been equipped to handle the vast duties of a position of this
nature.”
Nancy Stephenson is enjoying
her retirement from the Shea organization:
“Our travels have been fun - Alaska for
a month, and then south on the Alcan highway through the Yukon,
Canada, Alberta,
Montana, Utah,
Colorado, New Mexico
and Phoenix, Arizona. Lots of exciting visits to
Indian ruins, museums and much more. My favorite is the hiking in
Utah/Arizona on red rock.” Paul and Sue Herigstad are
grandparents for the sixth time! Wanda (McClain) Ashby is back in town (Mission
Viejo). Krissi Simos is
living back in Florida
since March of 2003 and says she loves it.
Dick Putman worked at the Company from 1968 to early 1972. “My
wife Dianne and I would like any notice of up coming events. I look
forward to seeing some of the people I worked with.” Jan Zlaket, Esther Slagle and
Chris Cory
work in the same division at Laing Luxury Homes in Newport Beach.
Peggy and Marty Russo: “We received your email regarding the anniversary of the Olympics
in M.V. We will be in Sweden
from the 20th of July until August 4th. Our new granddaughter will be
Baptized there as her brothers were baptized. She is one year and her
name is Liliana. We enjoy any news from
you and applaud the work you do in keeping the website. Thank you!!! We are well and keep busy, Marty has lots to
do with designing and building furniture as well as some remodeling of our
house. Our youngest daughter, Jill will be married this October in
northern California.”
Mark Schubert (Former M. V.
Nadadores Swim Coach)
March 13,
2006 - Orange County Register
Schubert
takes USA Swimming job - As expected, USA Swimming announced that USC coach Mark Schubert, 57, a resident of Surfside, has
accepted the newly created position of U.S. national team head coach and
general manager. Schubert, who will resign after 14 years at USC, will be
the U.S.
coach at all international competitions through 2013.
Mark
was the Head Coach of both the men’s and women’s swim
teams at USC. He and his wife Joke live
in Seal Beach, California with their daughters, Tatum and
Leigh, both former swimmers. Mark
initially made his “mark” on the national level as the head coach of the
internationally renowned Mission Viejo
Nadadores from 1972 to 1985. He coached
at Mission Viejo High School from 1973 to 1975.
Mark was
named U.S.
Women's Swimming Head Coach At the 2004 Olympics!
One
of the winningest coaches in diving history, Ron O’Brien was Head Diving Coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores from
1963-1978. O’Brien Diving Enterprises,
Inc. is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Mark Schubert
Ron O’Brien
Check
out these web sites for former Nadadores Swim and Dive Coaches Mark and Ron:
Mark Schubert, USC
Trojans-Swim: http://usctrojans.ocsn.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/schubert_mark00.html
Ron
O’Brien, O’Brien
Diving Enterprises, Inc.: http://www.pvisuals.com/diving/hmpg.htm
Former
Nadadores Coaches Larry Liebowitz (Swim) and
Hongping Li (Dive)
also currently coach at USC, and Li lives in Aliso Viejo, California. Bev (Eliott) Montrella, one of Mark Schubert's former Nadadores Coaches, married Jim Montrella who was
Head Coach at Lakewood
Aquatics. They moved first to Florida
and then to Columbus, Ohio,
where Jim was Head Women’s Swim Coach at Ohio State.
Both have been Coaches for the Olympic Team and have returned to their home in Mission Viejo. Bev
and Jim are now coaching the Nadadores.
2005-2006:
Trent Pulliam: “Barbara, Thank you so much for keeping the web
site up to date and contacting all of us on a regular basis with news about our
former coworkers. I thought you may wish
to know that I am retiring from the City of Moreno Valley, as their Public
Works Director/City Engineer after almost 10 years in that position, this
Dec. 2 and Kathy is retiring from Kaiser on March 1, 2006. We will be
moving back to permanently occupy our home here in Mission
Viejo early next year and hope to reestablish old contacts and
start a new phase of our lives. Both of us have elderly parents which we
provide much attention to and support for on a daily basis and we will continue
to do so in retirement but more effectively.
Kathy and I hope to see you and other friends more frequently next
year.” See Pulliam family photos at
Trent and Kathy’s Home Page: http://007webhosting.com/trentdp
Gene Fabac was at MVC from 1969-1972 as a
General Superintendent in Construction.
He went on to Lewis Homes in Riverside and
then retired from Baldwin. Five years ago he relocated from Anaheim
Hills to Las Vegas, Nevada.
He married his long time partner ten years ago, is in good health and
works a few part-time construction jobs. Tony Bonacorsi lives in San Diego and works for the City of San Diego
Park & Recreation Department as Park Designer/Project
Manager, Park Planning & Development Division. Tony has two wonderful grandchildren and says
he is still going strong. Jim Tomlin, AICP, is Director of Commercial Properties,
Pulte Homes/the Communities of Del Webb in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Believe it or not, our daughter, Stephanie, is
off to college and we are empty nesters. Seems like a very short time ago
she was a toddler running around the office and showing off. She's
actually in Claremont, at Pomona College.
All is well with us. I am still grinding away, extremely busy, and I'll
be taking over as national director of commercial properties in January.
Then I get to travel around and tell people what to do with their
projects. Cindy is doing fine. Her back's still a mess, but it's no
worse, at least. All in all, we consider ourselves to be pretty
well-preserved specimens. Take care, and
give everyone my best.”
Phil Reilly: “Thanks for the update. All is well
here. My health is all the way back to normal...in fact better than it
has been for years. Mayo fixed me up!! So, Valley and I are both
healthy and happy. Please let us know if you should ever wander out our
way.” P. Danette Fenstermacher: “Thanks
for the information. Our baby girl Alison will be 21, can you believe it, on
June 11th so we are taking a birthday trip with her, family and friends.” Dave Snead (MVC 1978-1985):
“Greetings from North Bend
Washington. While surfing the
internet in one of my “whatever happened to” moods, I ran across the Reunion
Website. My thanks to everyone that took the time to put it together. I have so
many fond memories of working and living in Mission Viejo.
I am so very sorry that I missed the reunion but feel as though I attended by
going through the website. A wonderful job on the site, thank you.”
Rex Rasmussen worked in the residential construction department for
nine years, in Business Properties for eight, and then RBF Engineering for
seven. He was retired for five years
before joining Steve Delson’s company part time
in 2005. Rex and his wife enjoy travel
and went to South America in 2005. “Thanks Barbara, I look forward to reading
what all the “old” MVC people are up to.” Steve Kamieniecki worked at JGR in the
late 70's and early 80's. Steve is now
Senior Planner at Pierce County Public Works and Utilities, Environmental
Services Division, in University Place, Washington. Kathie (Robinson)
Hortter moved from
Coto de Caza to Goodyear, Arizona in 2005. We are sorry to lose one of our active and
creative volunteers on City projects, but Kathie
says we will see her again!
Nadine (Henry)
Wilck is working as Director of
Donor Relations, Special Events and Public Relations for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “When
I'm not raising money to fight blood cancers, I'm enjoying my family, including
my 9-year-old granddaughter Bailey, who is truly the light of my life, my
daughter Jacque (we lie about her age now), who is a mail carrier
and off-road bike enthusiast, and her husband Jeff Parker, who is a
wonderful and talented young man as well as an excellent hardscape
contractor. Some of you may know Tom
Wilck, who worked at The Irvine Company in the 70's and 80's (I know, I
know -- those guys up the road in that OTHER planned community) --
well we married in 1989, and are living happily in -- you guessed it --
Irvine. I love reading about all the news from the MVC alumni.” Nadine
and Tom’s company is The Wilck Group, Public Relations / Public Affairs.
Jim Toepfer: “Barb, what a great job
you are doing. To the rest of those MVC people still around, they should know
that my genes have finally worked their way to the top with granddaughters
Katei Willett having graduated Cum Laud from Colo State U and Laura Dykstra
graduating from Colorado Christian University Magna Cum Laud. Jenna W should graduate next spring Cum Laud
also - from CSU. Best regards,” Jim T.
Jim T and Jim
Gilleran, along with
other Alumni volunteers, were most helpful with the April 2005 Grand Opening of
the City of Mission Heritage House. (See details above on this page.) They provided valuable historical input, and
Jim G. traveled to Mission Viejo from his home in Las Vegas to be a program speaker. Thanks again to all who participated!
Joe Blake is at the Denver Chamber of
Commerce: “Barb, I just wanted to thank you for all you have done and are doing
to keep the Mission Viejo Company team together. I read with such
interest every one of your fine messages and when I read this afternoon about
‘Mission Viejo Company - The California
Promise Fulfilled’ it meant so much to me. I was only involved out here
with Highlands Ranch but you and your colleagues there in California created the culture of ‘promises
fulfilled’ long ago and we are all the beneficiaries. So I just wanted to take a moment on this
snowy Sunday afternoon here in the office to say thanks and please keep it
up!”
Pat Ruecker: “Barb - You are doing such a wonderful job. So
many of the people from "the early days" have left the area; I am
glad to see that they can stay in touch this way. While doing some
‘housekeeping’ I came across a file that I had from the 70's - the price lists
and some floor plans for Eldorado, Aliso Villas, Coronado, Granada, La
Paz, Andalusia, and many other of our developments - prices ranged from $19,000
to $220,000!!!! Wow - those of us who came here and made Mission
Viejo our home sure have enjoyed a wonderful lifestyle and great
appreciation of our homes. Now if we could just get rid of the
traffic....” Cheri Post: “Barb - Thank you so
very much for all of your time & energy keeping up with
all of the info from the former MVC ‘gang’. You are truly a
blessing! I ran the Race for the Cure in September at the ‘torturous’ Fashion Island course! Whew! I ran for you and
other survivors...and others.”
Diane and Max Johnson have a new grandson! Max Cooper Schaller was born on
October 19, 2005 in San Diego, California. Daughter Cory and her husband
Paul are the parents. Our Max is still Vice President and General
Counsel for J.F. Shea Co., Inc. His
MVC/Shea 20-year anniversary was in 2005. Joe and Carol Crawford’s Son Jake received
the Merchant Marine Captain's License (for commercial shipping; i.e., container
and tanker ships) which means he can operate any size vessel on any ocean. Congratulations to all! Our Carol
celebrated a milestone birthday in 2005:
“I heard the "new 60" is really 40-something!” This is
amazing: Two of Carol Stoney’s grandsons passed the California State Bar test on her birthday,
November 18, 2005. It was the first try
for Paul and Bryan Smith. Both graduated
from law school last year on the same day too; Paul from Notre
Dame University and Bryan from USC. The family had a special evening at the
Fullerton Court House where their father, Superior Court Judge Clay M. Smith,
swore them in to the California State Bar Association with special accolades to
their mother Lynn, Carol’s daughter.
The
Los Angeles Polish Consul General honored Mark “Ziggy”
Wilczynski with a
special award recognizing his contributions to furthering Poland’s
standing in this country. The
prestigious prize was presented at a November 2005 Mission Viejo City
Council meeting where Mayor Trish Kelly enumerated Ziggy’s long list of
volunteer activities. Since his retirement from Mission Viejo Company, Ziggy has put a
lot of “heart” into ensuring that our beloved MVC be remembered by future
generations of Mission Viejo residents.
Once
again Mary
Anne Brown hosted a
2005 Christmastime get-together of female Alumni friends who were at MVC in
1997 when Shea bought the Company. This
festive gathering has become an annual affair of great fun and food! Herb and Linda Sohl are retired and living in Palm Desert, California. They started the year 2006 with a cruise to the
Caribbean stopping at Aruba, Curacao, Panama Canal and Costa Rica. “It was a great trip and the weather was
beautiful. We did some snorkeling and enjoyed the luxury on the
ship. It’s such a great way to travel--cruising.”
Diane
Connell shared this good news.
In 1990 she
wrote and had published two cookbooks; "Mexican Cooking Made Easy"
and "One Dish Meals From Popular Cuisines." They have been selling in major bookstores
and on Amazon. She has even had a chance
to edit other books for her publisher and also represents them in
bookstores. A radio show producer bought
her book in New York
where he lives and works and asked Diane to be on his new weekly radio
show. She has been busy ever since
putting a cooking show segment together (all pre-recorded) for five
minutes of air time each week. "The
ExPat Show" is on WTBQ 1110AM Radio out of New York and is affiliated with ABC.
It airs every Saturday at 12:30 p.m. eastern time or 9:30 a.m. our time. You can also hear it over the World Wide Web
at: http://www.theexpatshow.com. So far she has had a good response.
“Thanks for keeping us all together, have a great
2006! “ Diane (Soliz-Martese)
Connell
“Barb,
many, many thanks for sharing the updates and the memories. It warms my
heart to read the stories and to take a few moments to think about
everyone. All is well in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. I look forward to
hearing more about the 40th anniversary celebration.”
Best
regards, Linda
Sowell, JGR/MVC Alumni, 1985 – 1995
Jim Gilleran: “Barb...I just read all of your updates..What
have we spawned??..where in the business world could you find a company whose
people have remained connected to each other so many years after they
left???...it reminds me of the remark I made at the Heritage Center
Dedication last April…that this must be the only community in the country that
honors its developers….instead of suing them!!!...All is well here in Las
Vegas..love the tax structure..and the weather..son Bill’s business is going
thru the roof…all national developers are climbing aboard for his product…my
greatest sadness is the loss of my mother in 2004…but then I had her for almost
102 years…and I think she figured she had finally straightened me out….so she
could go!!” ...Jim G
Bill
Gilleran moved his
company from Huntington Beach to Las Vegas. The web site location is: www.quickflashproducts.com
Phil
Reilly: “Thanks again for those
updates. Wonderful that the group stays in touch. I received a
front page story from the Denver Post concerning
the 25th for Highlands Ranch. After all
Jim T and the rest of the pioneers went thru over there in the early 80's, it
is great to see the wonderful response from across the board...officials and
activists as well. All is well with the
Reilly family...Kevin in Glendale, Sean in
Kailua-Kona, Valley and I...well we keep traveling from Hawaii
to California.
Just hung those three master plan maps in the little office in California as a reminder
that at one time I was part of a team that was engaged in productive
activities. Thanks again for the
site.” “All the bad rains in Hawaii have been on other islands, but we have had enough
nuisance rains to hold up a little house we are building in upcountry Kohala on
the Big Island. Thanks again for the
update. I have no alumni news since as far as I can tell none of the
group has settled over here.” P
Jim Toepfer: “Would you please post this in the MV Web Site 'stuff' ! I think
everyone should congratulate Barb Schone for the fantastic things she has done
over the past few years. She and so many 'helpers' have kept a lot of the
'old' Mission Viejo gang informed and in
contact with one another. I've asked Barb to include this in her monthly
what-evers, Hi to everyone.” Jim
T.
(Thanks Jim T, and for hiring me at MVC. And many thanks to all the Alumni
volunteers!)
Art Cook: “Hi Barb, I just read with excitement your
latest MVC Alumni News. How
fortunate we are to have an individual like you who takes the time to assemble
and distribute all the messages you receive from MVC
Alumni. Pat and I were
in Florida
for three weeks visiting her mother. We've been doing this visit for the
past six years. If you ever have an opportunity to spend some time there, visit
the Morse Tiffany Museum in Winter Park, FL and the ‘Ding Darling’ Natural
Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel and Captiva Islands in the Gulf of Mexico, near Ft.
Myers. We saw the Super Bowl at Pat's brother's home in Floral City
where I cooked BRATS in beer with onions---Wisconsin style. In June, I will be celebrating a BIG birthday
by taking our family (20 airfares) to Hawaii for a week! But will be back in MV to attend the MVC Alumni Reunion
on July 29. Anxious to see MVC Alumni again!” Art
Dedie Craig
Carroll:
“Hi Barbara, I was given your
name and e-mail by Leslie Bass. I worked
at Mission Viejo Company for approximately 3 years in the late 60's....about
1967-1970. I worked for Bob Maurer in Purchasing with Amanda Fay
and Lorraine Streimer. My name at that
time was Dedie Craig. My then husband
Mike Craig and I purchased a La Paz
home. My husband Bob Carroll and I now
live in Lake Arrowhead. My daughter Kari Messick and her family live
in Mission Viejo and are members of the Mission
Viejo Country Club. I would
like to receive reunion information and my husband and I plan to attend. Thank you so much....it sounds like a great
time!”
David
Alton: Home Decorating
Center 1980-1987: “Barbara: Just learned of this site and all
your efforts to build and maintain it - what a wonderful job you're doing. My wife Mary (whom I married one month after
starting at MVC in 1980) and I just celebrated our 25th anniversary - boy, how
time flies. We didn't move far - Mission Viejo
from 1983 to 1994, and then to Portola Hills 1994 to present. Keep up the great work, and thanks
again.” Sue
Herigstad: “Barb, thanks for all
your work. Paul and I are excited to see everyone in July. All is
well in Valley Center. We are enjoying sharing
the "Ranch" with family and friends. Our six grandchildren are
of course having a ball riding the horses and helping Papa on the tractor.
We think and speak of so many of our MVC friends and people can't believe
we are all still so close. Please contact me if I can help in any way as
July is just around the corner.”
Roslyn
Cerro Schryver, PCC: “Dear Barb, Thank you
for the excellent job on the e-letter. I was Mike Babbitt's secretary in
Earthwork Construction from 1979-October 1981 when I left with my first baby,
Scott, now 24. If any MVCers are traveling to Italy, please let me know. I
am first generation Italian-American, and I just love to talk about all things
Italiano!”
Donna Kriss retired from Shea Properties and moved to Palm Coast, Florida. Joan Grierson celebrated 32 years
with Mission Viejo Country Club: “It has been
good for me, no plans to retire yet.” Bob Wildey is back in town: “I moved back into my Barcelona home that I purchased from the MVC
back in 1974.” Becki Wetzel: “Ray and I moved to Yuma, AZ
on January 19, 2006 and we love it here.”
Donna
Bradley (Class of 1980-1998) will be retiring in June and is “looking
forward to seeing more MV Friends.” Sharon Siebert retired from Lennar after the loss of her husband John in
2004 and is living in a new home they purchased in the community of Talega in San Clemente. “I have been blessed and enriched with such a
wonderful family and friends that have contributed greatly to my happiness and
well being, as well as the joy I have found in being blessed with 5
grandchildren!” Larry Webb is CEO of John Laing Homes. “I worked in Colorado
from 1985-1987 and loved(almost)every minute of it. Over the years, I always
love to see and hear about MVC alumni.”
Chuck
Leonard, General Manager of Lake Mission Viejo Association, announced
his retirement effective April 1, 2006. Chuck joined MVC in May 1976 with the
Recreation Dept. His first position involved the opening of Felipe Recreation
Center. In April 1978,
Chuck transferred to Lake
Mission Viejo Association
where he has served for 28 years. Chuck looks forward to spending more time at
their second home in Lake
Arrowhead…yes he has a
beautiful view of the lake. He said if things slow up too much for him, he may
get involved with the Lake
Arrowhead association in
some lake-related capacity
Deanna
Scheffel, who joined the MVC Recreation staff in 1973, announced her
resignation from Lake Mission Viejo Association, effective in March 2006, Deanna moved to the LMVA in 1993 where she
has performed the duties of Recreation/Human Resources Manager. Deanna is
looking forward to taking up residence in Nashville, TN, so if you hear a
strange drawl from her next time you see her, you all will know why
Steve
Bucknam: Barbara: I was referred to you by Robin Blythe with SOCWA. I worked
for MVC from 1980 through 1983 as Manager of Engineering. Over the years I run
into MVC Alums. i.e. Ron Dumas, Trent Pulliam, Harvey
Stearn, Horace Hogan and others. I didn’t know that you
had an organization. I would like to join. Please add me to your business
website list. My corporate information is below. Thanks.
Note
these Alumni businesses. See Main Page
for those with web sites.
Steve
Bucknam, President, Bucknam &
Associates, Inc, 30131 Town Center
Drive, Suite 295, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 (949) 363-6461, csbjr@prodigy.net
Bob Bunyan, Robert Bunyan & Associates,
Real Estate Consultants, 24008 Skyline, Mission Viejo, CA 92692, (949) 916-1810, rbunyan4@cox.net
Ellis Delameter, E
&
M Delameter, Land Planning Coordination and Permit Processing, (949) 916-4161, delameter@cox.net
Roslyn
Cerro Schryver, PCC, Business Consulting and Coaching, (949)
4472-8140, RCSchryver@aol.com
Check out the work section at Classmates.com: http://www.classmates.com for a list of former MVC employees
who have signed up!
ALISO VIEJO
Per
MVC Alumni Bob
Bunyan (Robert Bunyan & Associates, Real Estate Consultants in Mission
Viejo), the Aliso Viejo Community Foundation has an Aliso Viejo Historical
Committee that is working with the City of Aliso Viejo to pursue preservation
of historical artifacts and several of the buildings on the Ranch. The
Committee was doing extensive research on the history and preservation of the
Ranch to be completed by the end of the 2004 summer for a written report to
AVCF and the City. For more information,
contact Bob at rbunyan4@cox.net or
(949) 916-1810 or 1809.
For Orange
County Register 2003 Article on the Aliso Viejo Ranch and Don Barnes, click on: Aliso Viejo's
Last Cowboy
(Remember
to hit “Back” to return to this Web Site.)
Soka
University, Aliso Viejo - 1
University Drive, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 480-4000 www.soka.edu
info@soka.edu
IN MEMORY: Listed below are those Alumni whom we are
aware of having lost.
|
Harold Atkins
|
Jed Gilleran
|
Tom Mitchell
|
|
Ruth Bares
|
Ricardo“Rick” Godinez
|
Roger Muller
|
|
Don Barnes
|
Betty Hackett
|
Dan Presley
|
|
John Bayless
|
JoAnn Hamlin
|
Brenda Ridges
|
|
Bill Bebermeyer
|
Howard Hardey
|
Steve Rood
|
|
Don Boucher
|
Bill Hayden
|
Mary Kay Shomaker
|
|
Jim Boulware
|
Jack Haynes
|
Nell Shukes
|
|
Sandy Briegel
|
Jim Hewitt
|
Warren Singleton
|
|
Glen Burchfield
|
Lillian Kanagae
|
Garry Tarquinio
|
|
Jay Campbell
|
Marv Lawrence
|
Linda Tice
|
|
Jim Christian
|
Jerry Letcher
|
Nancy Vance
|
|
Tom Colvin
|
Sherry Letterman
|
Walt Webster
|
|
Harold Dyer
|
Fred Martinez
|
Meno Wilhelms
|
|
Pat Farrell
|
Bonnie McKee
|
Graydon Zwilling
|
June
2004: American
Spectator Magazine reports the death of Altria Group’s Joe Cullman last month at age
92. Ross Millheiser died in
2003.
June 18, 2002:
MILWAUKEE (Associated Press) Former Miller Brewing Co. president John A. Murphy, who presided over the beer giant when it introduced
Miller Lite and adopted its blue-collar slogan ''It's Miller time,'' has died.
He was 72. Murphy joined former Miller parent company Philip Morris in 1962 as
assistant general counsel. He was tapped to lead Miller Brewing in 1971.
After the death of MVC’s Pat Farrell, a trust fund was set up for the benefit of his son,
Patrick, whom Pat supported. Patrick was
severely injured in a car accident several years ago and is a
quasi-quadriplegic. To contribute: First Bank of Cherry Creek fbo Patrick G.
Farrell Jr. Trust, 101 St Paul St., Denver, CO 80206 Patrick’s e-mail address
is: Patrickgf@msn.com. Pat’s wife
Connie resides in Basalt, CO. and her number is in the book.
A Special Thank You to
those who have helped to locate MVC Alumni. In addition to our Reunion Committee members,
some who have been especially active and helpful are: Art Cook, Bob Kahn,
Bob Sciotto, Jim Huesman, Greg Kibble, Jeanette Brooks, Pam Smegal, Tom Stephenson, Steve Lauzier, Bert
Leydekkers, Dave Lowe, Syl Egan, and
Bonnie Benton.
Ok folks, be sure to check out the other Web Site
Pages, and please stay in touch. There
is no question that this is just a small representation of our MVC family. Help us find the others, so they will not
miss out on the fun. In the words of a
wise former MVC Lady Executive, Danette
Fenstermacher: "We all
have such great memories from MVC!"
Send your
news and photos to bschone@cox.net
MISSION VIEJO: THE CALIFORNIA PROMISE!
***********************************************************************************************************************
LIFE SINCE MVC “PHOTOS”
Click Here For MVC Alumni "Current" Photos
Submit Your Photos To bschone@cox.net
Note the
slideshow option. When
viewing photo albums, remember to click on “Back” button to return to
the MVC Alumni Web Site.
If slideshow photos should “pause” during
viewing, either wait for photo download, or click back or forward arrow (above
photo). OR: Click Refresh (Browser upper
toolbar) and slideshow will resume at the beginning.
LIFE SINCE MVC “STORIES”
Let us know what you have been
doing… Submit To bschone@cox.net
Hello, MVC
Friends! After 26 years of service, I
retired from Mission Viejo Company in August 1997, the year it was sold by
Philip Morris. Don and I live in our
second Mission Viejo home. He worked at Southern California Edison (now Edison International) in engineering management from 1970
until his retirement in 1996, most of those years at San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station. We have two fine
Sons, and are first-time Grandparents since the beginning of the new
Millennium. Scott is a computer
network-engineering supervisor at Software Unlimited in Irvine.
He and his Wife Kathleen are parents of our two Grandchildren, Andrew
and Annaka. Steve lives in Santa Monica, is still
single, and is a manager at a national magazine publishing company.
It was fun
planning the reuniting of MVC “old-timers” with the Reunion
Committee members, and I have enjoyed creating this Web Site. A special thank you to Don
Schone for his technical assistance in helping me learn the
web site process. Reunion 2003 became a
reality at Mission Viejo Country Club on April
5, 2003. What fun celebrating the 40th
Anniversary Year with MVC friends!
Barbara
Schone – bschone@cox.net or mvcalumni@cox.net
I was one of
the three that turned the lights out at MVC. Talk about a sad day! It was
very difficult to close that chapter of my life. As I think back, the
years I spent at MVC were some of the best ever, and the friendships that were
formed will last my lifetime. I especially enjoyed the family atmosphere
that we all experienced at MVC. I stayed
with Shea Homes and a year later was transferred to Shea Properties. Can
you believe it has been five (5) years already since MVC was purchased by
Shea!!! Anyway, life is good with Shea. Ray, my other half, is
still selling wire rope and works out of San
Diego. Our daughter, D'Andrea, is married
and now Ray and I are the proud grandparents of two beautiful little girls,
Morgan (four) and Madelyn (two). We are still in San Clemente and our daughter and her family
has moved there as well. I am very
proud to serve on the Reunion Committee and I
look forward to seeing everyone April 5, 2003. It will be “The Way We
Were" one more time.
Connie
Short – connie.short@sheaproperties.com
Since
retiring from Mission Viejo Company in August of 1997 after 23 years, I
continued to work one day a week until recently and I'm now completely
retired. Husband Tom retired a few years
ago from Santa Margarita Company and we are so enjoying life. We live in beautiful Laguna Niguel; enjoy
golf, travel, our children and especially our grandchildren (who all live close
by). I look forward to the reunion and
seeing lots of friends from the good old days at MVC.
Diane
(Morales) Blum - tdblum@cox.net
(Note: You can view
photos of The Blums in the Current
Photos Album link on this Page of the Web Site.)
I'm so
happy to be a part of the Planning Committee for our Reunion, and
look forward to putting together a memorable evening. I have the fondest
memories of my years with MVC, and it is going to be wonderful to see
so many "old friends" again.
I have been working for
Joe MacPherson and his automotive group since 1993. Recently, the office
moved to his automotive museum/special event facility in Tustin called Joe's Garage. My husband,
Joe, and I reside in Laguna Niguel and he works for Albertsons' meat dept. Jake, our 25 year old, graduated from the California Maritime Academy
in 1999. He is presently Chief Mate on a container transport ship and
travels the world. Chris, 23, received his Coast Guard
100-Ton
Vessel License and will be co-captain of a new 100-foot sport fishing yacht
nearing completion in Vancouver.
The first trip will be to Alaska in August and
then down the coast to Mexico.
Carol (Lewis) Crawford - crawfordcarol@yahoo.com
Working
with everyone on the Committee has been so much fun and a wonderful reminder of
the excellence that was Mission Viejo Company.
I left Mission Viejo Company in 1982 and am known as one of the “Old,
Old-Timers.” For the past ten years, I
have been at Downey
Savings—most recently in the Internal Asset Review Department. I live in Mission Viejo
and spend a lot of time with my granddaughter, Courtney, who will be 5 in
September. My son, David, is an
electrical contractor in Palm Desert, Gary (Courtney’s Dad) is a contractor and
lives in Laguna Niguel, and Matthew works at Downey
Savings in the “Computer Brain Trust” and lives in Newport Beach.
Carol Pifer - cpifer@downeysavings.com or
cpifer@cox.net
Barb...absolutely
amazed at the quality of the web site. I now have a shortcut for it on my
desktop. My biggest news is the success
of son Bill Gilleran and his wife Lori's new company QUICKFLASH PRODUCTS, INC.
They have a web site that describes their products, its www.quickflashproducts.com. We’re
off to Frankfurt for "adopted" son
Kerry Reddington’s wedding to a great gal...she's a dermatologist. While there I'll try to track down further
relatives in Germany and Austria…up to Munich
to meet newly discovered relatives, and finally several days in the Zillerthal Valley
of Austria,
renewing old family ties and hunting down some new ones. I now have over 3500 relatives in my computer
program. Genealogy is my principal
hobby, together with travel...you see, when I worked for MVC I had to be in one
place most of the time...but now I am out of control...because the only thing I
fear is MOSS. I enclosed some pics from
the Re-up that may be of interest and one of the 1931 (same year as me) Hot
Rod. I also have a 1958 Corvette, but
that’s for another day. My best to the
greatest gang I ever worked with…
Jim Gilleran - JGGILLERAN@aol.com
(Note: You can view
photos of The Gillerans in the Current
Photos Album link on this Page of the Web Site.)
I
just finished reading Alumni News and it was interesting to hear that life goes
on for former MVC employees. Harry and I
have lived in Sylmar for the past six years.
We are both retired and enjoy our retirement years. I am working two afternoons a week at our
church school. It is delightful to be
around preschool children and I am in the office handing out band-aids and
other office duties. We have three
grandchildren. Two have been in
commercials and TV movies. Our oldest
Granddaughter (13) lives in Paso Robles and is taking horse-vaulting lessons
and had a chance to go to Austria
last month for a competition. They
certainly don’t take after their Grandmother.
Sincerely,
Lonna Batterton -
LQTSocks@aol.com
What a
wonderful surprise to see old(er), familiar faces on your website for the
reunion. Great job. Jon and I are back
in Mission Viejo after living in Scottsdale
AZ for the past 13 years. I am working with Kevin Canning at
Culbertson, Adams. That's where I was working when we left MV in
1988. It's good to be back and I will
look forward to getting re-acquainted with all the good people I worked for
when my bosses were Wayne,
Kevin and Van.
Time really
does fly when we are having fun, and I'm just on the cusp of completing my
sixth year with Lennar. Our division
continues to grow, and I have met some wonderful people and been privy to a lot
of exciting happenings in the development industry. Working for the President of one of Lennar's
largest divisions is a reward in itself.
Saving the best until last is the fact that we (my husband and I!) are
blessed with three beautiful grandsons, ages 2-1/2, 13 mos. and 9 mos! They are all living close, which is the best
of the best! Looking forward to more updates, and again thanks Barb for a job
well done!
Sharon
Siebert - Sharon.Siebert@lennar.com
I have
managed, sold and leased numerous commercial and industrial properties around
the Western United States since leaving MVC in
1995 and I am really enjoying life. Furthermore, my golf handicap is getting
close to single digit!
Wife – Gayle,
and Kids - Karisa - 6 and Dylan – 3 I
am looking forward to attending the reunion.
Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!
Douglas
Heckle - dougheckle@cox.net
First Commercial Realty Advisors, Inc., P.O. Box 5987, Irvine,
CA 92616
Tel - 949-400-7515 Fax - 949-854-1029 Cell
- 949.400.7515
After leaving
MVC I concentrated on being a housewife, raising our son John, and becoming a
cookbook author. I have two books published by Wei Chuan; Mexican Cooking
Made Easy and One Dish Meals from Popular Cuisines. Mexican Cooking Made
Easy is now in its seventh printing and doing better each year. The books
are international and I did an
informal book signing when we found the Chinese version in a Hong
Kong book store when we were on a tour with radio talk show hosts,
Bill Handel and Bill Press. My husband
and I now live in Laguna Beach
where we are both heavily involved in volunteer work. I am the President
of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit and Treasurer for Friends of the
Library. My husband, Dave, is Commander of the Legion Post and he
surprised me this year on our 21st anniversary on Valentines Day with a
wonderful re-wedding ceremony at the Legion Post. It was a pseudo
military wedding with all the men in their Legion uniforms, swords and
all. Our son John lives in Tustin and is married
with three great children. Our son Chuck
is Lt. Col in
the Air Force and will soon retire, and daughter Lori is Human Resource Manager
and lives in Garden Grove.
Our daughter Deidre is a VP for a royalty and financial firm in Hollywood. We have lots of grandkids and a very busy
life. Barbara, thanks to you and all the
others for your hard work. Love to all
of you, Diane
Diane (Brant)
Connell - sdconn2@juno.com
Marty
and I live in Sedalia, CO in the foothills.
We love it...like living in a vacation home 365 days a year. I work for a steel fabricating company now
for 9 years. We have had a very
interesting last couple of years. Since
911 Marty has had to change his profession.
He is now an over the road truck driver and does like doing it. I can hardly wait to go on the road with
him. We hope sooner than later. My boys are in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Much to my dismay the youngest boy moved there last March. He has the only grandchild. They lived in Colorado for 7 years. Miss my Grandson, Dakota very much.
Beverly
C Corderman - mgjbcc@juno.com
I was an
employee of the Mission Viejo Company from 1984 to 1988. I was full time
from 1985-1988. I was the Recreation Aquatics and Youth Activities
Supervisor. I left in 1988 to stay home with my daughter Susan in
November 1988. I worked at the Recreation Centers for Jim Hudson &
Bill Fortmueller. Montanoso was the last place that I worked. I
worked at Lake Mission Viejo from 1993-2000 with Deanna
Scheffel, who was also a former Mission Viejo Company employee. Now I am at the City of Laguna Niguel as a Recreation Supervisor,
overseeing youth programs-day camps/teens & volunteers. Thanks for
putting together this site.
Unfortunately I will be at a conference & unable to attend the event
on April 5th. I hope that you have a big turnout. Please include me
in future reunions.
Gretchen (Herzog) Malcolm - gmalcolm@ci.laguna-niguel.ca.us
************************************************************************************************************************
"Time does not become sacred to us until we have lived it."
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Web Site By Barbara
Schone bschone@cox.net 
