Category: Classmate News

Dear Dave,

I was elected to be a Director at large for the California Institute of the Arts Alumni Association Board of Directors in December. The Board has assigned me to help plan the 40th Anniversary Reunion for the Founding of CalArts.  I am also doing a little reunion within the reunion for my class which will have its 35th Anniversary as being the Inaugural class for the Disney Character Animation Program at Calarts which I attended briefly but was too grief stricken with the loss of my little brother Gerard the year before to stay. I was guest lecturing for the art of animation class at UC Berkeley last year in the computer science department with people from Pixar which is nearby in Emeryville, CA. The last class was the presentation of the student’s works.  I shared guest lecturer duties with Dr. Alvy Ray who was one of the early co-founders of Pixar. They canceled the art of animation class this semester due to budget cuts so helping at Calarts seems like what I was supposed to be doing this year. The Reunion date is John Lennon’s birthday.  Just a coincidence but it has given us a sense of purpose for an art school.  We might commemorate him in some way. He was an artist too you know.

The Reunion planning has been  a lot of fun so far.  It will be a lot of work later. I was co-director of Refocus one year. I was thinking of having a mini film festival for all the graduates to show their work.  We had four nominated for academy awards this March.  Two received awards one for directing “Up” and one for editing “The Hurt Locker.” My two classmates that were nominated were shut out.  Oh well.  Maybe next year.

My youngest son Thomas made it to the State Science Olympiad competition which will be held next Saturday at Valencia High School in Placentia, California. They have a north and south competition with around 26 schools competing at each.  Out of each competition there is only one winner who then goes on to the national Science Olympiad in Illinois.  They have 23 events and Thomas’s Cerro Villa Middle School Science Olympiad team only has 12 or 13 student participants so each has to do two or three events as most of the events are two man teams.  It is kind of neat.  They have a website with all kinds of good advise and you get to see what other students are doing all over the country.  Makes you feel like you are not alone!

Thomas and his team has me helping with the bridge building event.  He won with a 30 gram bridge at the regional competition held at Santa Ana College three weeks ago. He also thought he broke his pinky finger horsing around but the xrays said no break, just a lot of bruising.  He jammed it hitting a stair railing running to get an ice cream cone during one of the intermissions.  I was proctoring Orinthology and wasn’t with him.  His team’s bridge was just good enough to squeak out 6th place.  And the team squeaked out 5th place to make it to State. I was at a Board meeting at Calarts that evening so I didn’t see the award ceremony but I texted back and forth and Mrs. Jennifer Wong the teacher was elated. They managed to pull off a squeaker!!!

So we have been working three days a week and next week it will be four days a week every afternoon to get ready, with the Easter recess. Thomas picked up two more events, Orinthology and a Junk Yard Challenge I think, if I have the name right.  He gets to use Peterson’s Field Guide for birds and he has to fill a box of 60x40x40 centimeters with junk and then assemble it and have it set off four mouse traps in 60 seconds.  I am corn-fused as to how they score the junk yard challenge event.  They have one golf ball that is supposed to trigger other stuff to set off the mouse traps, kind of like a Rube Goldberg contraption if you all remember Mr. Rube Goldberg and his newpaper strip.  My kids don’t!

Jeffrey will be 20 April 18.  He is technically a senior at Berkeley this year with 2 years of AP credit.  He was able to transfer into Bioengineering and has been working his rear end off with that. Robby my 18 year old is at UC San Diego and he is technically a junior with 2 years of AP credit also.  He is enrolled in economics. David my 24 year old is at UC Irvine in Digital Media.  He is close to home and I have him working on projects.  He helped me with a clean room for Christie Digital which makes the Digital projectors that are in the movie theaters.  They are building a large facility in China now and are from Canada.

I had a robot that I wanted a friend at Pixar to write the control software for, that I have been slow to get patented.  Actually it is one and four spinoff robots of varying sizes.  It is an assistant for construction workers.  One is an oversize printer that prints the whole floor plan full size on each floor in about two hours.  You can only do it once when the building doesn’t have walls up so it may not be that practical, but it could be used for large billboards and art events on a large scale.  The other three use the same platform mechanisms for propulsion, wheels, batteries, and add hydraulics to lift small medium or large sized items from ten to fifteen to thirty feet in the air.  I think these will have more use.  They translate instructions in a CAD drawing to do the construction work.  So if they are fitted with a screw driver they screw drywall in.  If they have a nail gun, they nail 2×4’s according to the instructions in the construction drawing. Each robot uses a global positioning device to get a 0,0,0 coordinate for the entire building and just run around nailing a screwing screws to their little heart’s content! There is a sensor so they don’t accidentally nail or screw into a person!!!  Ow!!!  I sadly have a few time wasters ongoing at present that are eating up my time and have kept me from getting more done with this.  Sorry.

My sister in law Patty Peterson, went mountain climbing recently in Venezuala or Argentina, I can’t remember which, when they had the earthquake in Chile. My nephew John Leonard and his wife are with the Peace Corp in Tahiti.  They had a typhoon recently. My mom Micky or Mildred Peterson is still ticking away.  She will be 80 on August 14.  My dad Willard, passed away nineteen years ago on the Wednesday after Palm Sunday so we had a little commemoration for him. He was 61 when he died and would have been 80 now. Take care of your tickers!!!!!  He was waiting for a heart transplant in Arizona, but couldn’t hold on.

My brother Joe developed an App for the Ipod.  It is some kind of a joke App giving advise to Nerds on what to do in a Nerdy fashion.  Has he made his first billion yet.  Ah, don’t think so. My brother Brad is a pastor now at St. Agnes Parish in Phoenix.  I think I already told you that.  It is the Parish he grew up in after my family moved to Phoenix in 1974. My sister Kerry won a scholarship at one of the colleges in Phoenix and is attending graduate school to work on mural painting. My brother Brian is a sound designer for the Arizona Theater Company in Tuscon and Phoenix.  He works on plays for his day job and plays on work at night recording albums for local bands.  He had a hit tune that made it for a while on the radio in Mexico a while back.

My uncle Dean and Aunt Judie come out from Johnston to stay in Phoenix for the winter.  He likes golfing.  He was a quarterback at Iowa State in the 50’s.  He has a ton of patents. I have to go see him about what I am up to.  Joe and I and my dad used to help him build his inventions when I was a little shaver.

I have been trying to put together a family tree for my sons.  On the Swedish side of things, Joe and my aunt Caroline put together something that goes back to 1611.  I guess they found a cemetary in Sweden with a lot of old relatives there.  On the Welsh side I had a great aunt that put together a family tree for the Davis family back to 1740. I am just trying to get the current family stats together.  I have 34 cousins and they all have a ton of kids that I have been remiss in keeping up with.

We need a website!!!  Got any suggestions Dave? I told the Calarts Board to have a reunion website.  That was a big hit. Oh, it is the 75th Anniversary of the founding of UCLA and it is my graduate class’s 25th Anniversary this year at the UCLA Anderson School.  They have their reunion a week after the Calarts reunion. I am reading the Princeton Reunion Guidebook that I found on the Internet for advise.  God Bless the Internet!!!

All for now.

Yours truly,

Jim Peterson

Dave and all,

We had a wonderful Easter at my house this year. Just our local family. Our annual Easter egg hunt was a big hit again. The kids are 10, 11, and 16 but all still love to hunt the eggs and find the surprises inside. This year we put out nearly 250 eggs. Every one was found. Hope you all had nice holidays.

Becky Irvin Daniel

Dave,

I wrote an obituary about my parents’ life and their accomplishments in the world of medicine, which was published today in the Iowa City newspaper, the Press-Citizen. Their research and findings in the medical field were significant and I could not let their passing go unnoticed. Iowa City is where they lived for most of their professional lives, and the University of Iowa Hospitals where they conducted their research. They always loved the professional and cultural environment there and made many friends.

Could you, please, post it to the West High school website?

Thank you,
Rodica

Here is her parent’s obituary, offered as a tribute to a wonderful couple:

Rebecca Ionasescu, 86; Victor Ionasescu, 83

Dr. Rebecca Ionasescu, also known as Gabi, passed away suddenly on February 12, 2010, at age 86. She was a vibrant woman, with a keen intelligence and a generous heart, whose dedication to her work and the people around her made her very special.

Her death was followed by her husband’s, Dr. Victor V. Ionasescu, 83, just 12 days later, on February 24, 2010. He had sensed her death even before he was told, and his condition worsened after a long illness. He was a driven scientist with an inquisitive mind, a captivating storyteller and teacher with an exquisite sense of humor.

Theirs is a love story that spanned 63 years. Victor and Gabi met in 1945 in medical school in Bucharest, Romania, shortly after the end of World War II. A colleague introduced them so they could find comfort in each other after the death of Gabi’s father and Victor’s sister that year. They started dating in 1947, married in 1951. Their relationship was founded on their shared love for medicine, and desire to help and heal people.

Dr. Victor Ionasescu specialized in neurology. The Romanian scientist, George Palade and his discovery of ribosomes, which led to a Nobel Prize in 1974, inspired him. Victor began his own research in muscular dystrophy using ribosomes extracted from muscle biopsies of patients with the disease. His research was soon limited by the technological and economic means of Romania, which was a communist country at that time. His research required the use of a refrigerated centrifuge, which was not available. It was then that he decided to come to United States to pursue his research ideas. His wife supported him in this endeavor and, when he left in 1968, she stayed behind with their two daughters. They eventually were able to reunite in United States three years later. So began Victor’s professional career at the University of Iowa Hospitals, in the department of Pediatric Neurology.

In 1969, Dr. Victor Ionasescu initiated his research in the Duchenne type of muscular dystrophy, which was published in 1971 under the title “Ribosomal Protein Synthesis in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”

Dr. Rebecca (Gabi) Ionasescu, who specialized in internal medicine and conducted research in immunology back in Romania, joined Victor in the 1970s in his neuromuscular laboratory doing tissue cultures in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Gabi became an expert at tissue cultures of muscle cells and studied media formulation in the lab of Dr. Richard Ham, who developed many of the serum-free media formulations used by labs today. Gabi then went on to learn the special techniques required for research in a type of genetic nerve disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy. In 1982, Victor and Gabi began their work with Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy and spent 15 years searching for the genes that cause the debilitating disease. Victor along with his wife spent a sabbatical year at Oxford University in the lab of Dr. Kay Davies learning the specialized recombinant DNA techniques, which allowed them to carry out this research. Victor had one of the largest databases of patients afflicted with this disease in U.S, which was the foundation of his genetics lab.

Both husband and wife eventually traced the disease to several faulty genes by means of a technique called genetic linkage using recombinant DNA. Their findings were published in medical journals throughout the world. Their research in Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy led to the discovery of at least four defective genes including what is now called the Ionasescu Syndrome, an X-linked form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome. Dr. Victor Ionasescu became Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic at the University of Iowa. From 1990 until he retired in 1997 he taught an annual postgraduate course in adult neurology called “Genetics of Inherited Neuropathies and Genetics of X-linked Recessive Muscular Dystrophies (Duchenne and Becker).”

Dr. Victor Ionasescu belonged to the first generation of the Romanian School of Neurology, founded by Dr. George Marinesco, which had epilepsy as one of the central themes of clinical research. Victor Ionasescu published his first book in Romania in 1957, entitled Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. A second book followed in 1967, Metabolic Disorders in Neurologic and Psychiatric Diseases, also in Romania. In 1983, he co-authored a book with Dr. Hans Zellweger at the University of Iowa Hospitals, entitled Genetics in Neurology, and which they dedicated to their mentors George Marinesco and Guido Fanconi. This book emphasizes the genetic aspects of neurological disorders.

Victor and Gabi’s thirst for knowledge never stopped. They loved their profession, but also traveling, learning foreign languages and meeting people. They worked at the University of Iowa Hospitals into their 70s. For the past 12 years, they lived in Stamford, Connecticut, close to their older daughter, and all the cultural attractions offered by New York.

They are survived by their two children, Anisoara Kavalan of Stamford (husband Joseph, and children Cristine and Nicole), Rodica Ionasescu of La Canada, California (children Philip and Stephanie Anderson), and Gabi’s sister. Victor’s sister and brother preceded him in death. David Anderson, their son-in-law, died in 2001.

Funeral services were held in Stamford, Connecticut, on February 17 for Gabi and on February 27 for Victor.

Thanks, Dave, please do pass along info about the visitation, funeral and obituary. Thank you to you and Bobbi for your kind and warm words.

Becki

Here is her father’s obituary, offered as a tribute to a wonderful man:

William P. “Bill” Gilpin, 81, longtime Iowa City businessman, died Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at Mercy Hospice of complications related to dementia.

Bill was born December 14, 1928 in Highland Park, MI, the son of Earl and Novella Bradley Gilpin. The family moved to Iowa City in 1929 where Bill graduated from City High School in 1946 and later received his associate degree from Iowa City Commercial College. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1946 to 1947. On February 5, 1951 Bill married Joan Hotle in Iowa City.

Bill owned and operated the family business, Gilpin Paint and Glass, which was located at the corner of Market and Gilbert, until his retirement in 1988. The business was founded by his father, Earl, in 1940.

Bill was civic-minded. He was past chair of the Iowa City Riverfront Commission and past president of the Iowa City Jaycees. His memberships included St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, lifetime member of the American Legion, past member of St. Thomas More Church (where he served as chair of the parish council), past chair of the Mautz Paint Dealer Advisory Board, and founding member of the Bored Meeting.

Bill was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle. His humor, friendship and leadership will be greatly missed.

Bill is survived by his wife, Joan, and their seven children: Patrick (Sandra) Gilpin and Victoria Gilpin, both of Iowa City; Rebecca (Bruce) Milne of Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Bradley (Deborah) Gilpin of Iowa City; Jay (Staci) Gilpin of Duluth, MN; Jean Gilpin (Todd Gillihan) of Iowa City; and Elizabeth (Don) Bernard of Whitehall, MT; nine grandchildren: Alysha, Meghan, Katie, Abbey, Andrew (Sarah), Nathan, Kenna, Tessa and Koby; his sister Dorothy Connell of Iowa City; brother-in-law Thomas (Millie) G. Hotle; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents Earl and Novella Gilpin; and sisters- and brothers-in-law, William Connell and Dr. Richard and Jean Hotle Liebendorfer.

Hi Dave,

It is with great sadness that I inform you of my mother’s death on Friday, February 12.  My heart is indeed very heavy. My mom struggled to get better since her surgery in December, and both my sister and I took turns at taking care of her and keeping her positive. She was an M.D., and yet a great patient as both my sister and I tried our best to do everything possible to get her back on her feet. She died suddenly of a ruptured aorta. We’ll miss her intelligence, her kindness, and the way she’s always reached to others and gave herself with so much generosity.

Rodica

Hi Dave and Class of ’73

Our lives here in South Florida remains steady and for the most part uneventful.  Julie and I still have our same jobs and will probably retire in those positions.  We both would like to do something different to finish out our working careers, but due to the obvious economic situation, we most likely will not make any change.

Last summer we did the RAGBRAI.  Julie driving our gear and me riding with the other 10000 riders.  For the most part it was a “Bucket List” item for me but we both had a great time meeting people, seeing all of our family and relaxing without TV phone or other electronic interruptions.

Living here in South Florida has had its advantages, we get to go bowl games without a lot of travel.  This year the Orange Bowl and we had lots of visitors.  Seven guests stayed with us and 8 others visited.  Fun times and a great game.  The bad part, unseasonably cold.  47 at game time and 38 and the final buzzer.  Of all the times Iowa has been to Florida we have only missed one game.

Well, keep up the great work on the webpage.  It is nice to read how classmates are doing.

Arnie Moore