Class Notes

James “Jim” Torgerson ’76, ’79 J.D. retired as director of reinsurance recovery at Nationwide Insurance, Scottsdale, Arizona. Prior to working in reinsurance, Jim negotiated and managed enterprise and international IT contracts for Scottsdale Insurance Company; USAA in San Antonio, Texas; and American Express and Wells Fargo, both in Minneapolis and in the Phoenix areas. He is currently a member of Christ Church Lutheran in Phoenix, Arizona, where, after 50 hours of classroom and practical study, he was certified as a Stephen Minister. Jim and his wife own and operate two social media websites, simplibuzz.com and mychurchbuzz.com, and were pioneers in the field of combining social media tools for simultaneous posting and providing content and photo libraries for those who post using their sites. The United States Patent Office granted them a utility patent in association with their SimpliBuzz site in 2019. Another utility patent associated with simplibuzz. com is pending. Jim and his wife, Mary Ann, along with their son Jayden and daughter Cheryl, reside in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

The Honorable Rebecca Pallmeyer ’76 was named the first female chief judge in Chicago’s 200-year-old federal court. Judge Pallmeyer served as a federal magistrate before her appointment as a federal judge in 1998. As an alumna, Judge Pallmeyer served on the Alumni Association board of directors 1992–1994 and as a member of the Christ College advisory board and then national council 2000–2007, and again 2010–2018. She received the VUAA Alumni Achievement Award in 2002.

Gary Marowske ’76 was named to the Board of Trustees of The Helm at the John A. and Marlene L. Boll Life Center in January 2019. Gary, of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, is the president of Flame, a heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical company in the Metro Detroit area. The Helm at the Boll Life Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonresidential senior community center dedicated to making the Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods areas a great place to grow older.

This year, Rich ’73 and Harriet Mertz ’76 Redman celebrated the 40th anniversary of their marriage, which took place at the Chapel of the Resurrection Aug. 11, 1979. As part of this milestone celebration, they traveled to Germany in May for a two-week vacation with their daughter, Christiana Redman ’12 Yablonowski, and her husband, Jake ’13.

Thomas “Tom” Wielgos ’76 was named senior vice president-complex manager by Wells Fargo Advisors. In this position, Tom is responsible for a team of 35 financial advisors and 19 support staff in the Oak Brook and Hinsdale, Illinois, branches. Tom has served as a financial services professional for nearly 40 years, with the past 25 in management. He spent more than 30 years with Morgan Stanley’s Naperville, Illinois, office, but most recently, he was a brokerage director for MassMutual Illinois.

Christal Fasse ’76 Daehnert works in private practice as a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. Christal published a children’s picture book, “Kelly Finds a Way,” geared for four- to eight-year-olds. This fun and exciting story encourages curiosity and resiliency and reveals the importance of loving and supportive relationships in the development of these essential life skills.