Class Notes 1970-79

1970

Ronnell Coleman '70
Mesa Junior College all American football-1969-1970. Married to Rose Coleman with two kids (Erika 24 and Kelle 21) Industrial Engineer at Daimler Chrysler Corp. 21 years. Currently President of UAW Local 597 (Engineers and Clerical Workers). Graduated from St. Louis University, B.S. - Business Administration 1973.

James B. Dunavin '70
After Mesa College he attended Weber State College and the Naval Postgrad School where he earned a BSEE and a MSEE. Currently he is a Senior Systems Engineer for SI International and lives in Cotopaxi, Colorado. He has been married to wife Gayle for 35 years and has three children and nine grand children. His hobbies include hunting, fishing and photography. He has written two books; a wild game cookbook and a novel titled " The Land of the Cold Sky" a fictional romance novel about central Colorado in the latter 1800's, "before it was ruined by civilization." He retired from the USAF in 1994. He built his dream retirement home in the middle of nowhere north of Cotopaxi, Colorado; on 52 acres surrounded by thousands of acres of uninhabited and inaccessible BLM land. He wrestled for Mesa under coach Tooker for the two years he was there. He liked the small school atmosphere and it helped that he had a wrestling scholarship. He grew up in Salida and wasn't ready for a huge campus anywhere. He had a part-time job cooking at "Mark's Cork N Embers" in 1970. He entered a raft race down the Gunnison River and asked the owner of a tire store to donate some huge truck tire inner tubes for the raft. He was told, "go fly a kite." He came into the Cork N Embers one night for dinner and James cooked him a steak. He said it was the best steak he had ever eaten and for him to come to the store and could have whatever he needed to build the raft.

1971

Randy Hale '71 Associate of Arts -
Randy's new musical Songs from the Tall Grass premiered in Washington, D.C. at Ford's Theater on March 13, 2001. The ideas for the musical began when Randy and his wife Emily Corey set out with their two children in search of lost songs from America's homesteading period. Their search took them first to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. An award winning singer, songwriter and composer, he has appeared on stage performing his original material. He has written music for television shows, films, and computer games and software. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences nominated Randy for Best Composer in 1998.

Martia K. (Johnson) Ives '71 graduated with an A.A. in Foreign Languages.
She was active in Phi Theta Kappa, Stepperettes, Choir and assisted in the language department. She has been married to James Ives II for 29 years and they have three children, and four grandchildren. She is currently the parish administrator for the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and lives in Denver.

Ed Paul
Highlands Ranch, CO
Attended: 1970-71
Area of Study: Fine Arts-Music
O ther Colleges : Oral Roberts University
Other Degree : BS in TV/Radio
O ccupation : Commercial Print Prod'n Mgr
E mployer : Communigraphics/GAC
Professional Achievment : After my year at Mesa, I spent 20 years in the Air Force, with a four-year break later on to finish the degree I started there. Retired from the US Air Force in 1995 as a Major, having specialized in television production, video teleconferencing, and communications. Haven't picked up my sax in years, but I still play guitar some and sing and arrange a little music for a community choir here in the Denver area.
Family : Married, with one teenager checking out Mesa for next year.
Travelhob : Sent all over the U.S. by Uncle Sam, never got overseas, and settled back down in the Denver area after retiring at the USAF Academy.
Other info : I consider my one year as a music and theater major at Mesa as one of the defining moments of my life. I'd love to hear from any of the music and theater types that I spent so many hours rehearsing, performing, and goofing off with.

1972

1973

Richard Hurst AA ‘73
Is a writer living in Round Hill, Virginia

1974

Mark A. Zipse AA '74
was literally the last person to graduate from Mesa Junior College. Mesa became a four years college the next year. Mark went on to graduate from the University of Northern Colorado in 1976 with a B.A. in history and a teaching certificate. Later, after teaching a few years, he earned his M.A. in education administration from Western State College. Mark has worked his entire career in Mesa County School District #51. He taught at West Junior High, Fruita Middle School, and R-5 High School. In 1982, he became assistant principal of Fruita Monument High School and in 1989, principal of West Middle School. In 1990, he returned to FMHS as principal. Mark says this was a turn of events "which not only amazed my parents, but many of my former teachers." Since 1999 Mark has served as Executive Director of Human Resources for School District #51. His wife Sheila, who Mark calls his best friend, and he have three children and three grandchildren. Hobbies are Sheila, motorcycle riding, model railroading, and skiing. He has high praise for Mesa. "The experiences that stand out most about Mesa State College, are the quality of the faculty. Not only were these people great teachers, but they became great friends. As I think back on my struggling career as a student, I have fond memories of many Mesa State teachers who pushed, pulled, nurtured, encouraged, and mentored me."

1975

Terry L. Graham AAS, '75
She was employed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons from 1976 to 1999, with tours at USP Leavenworth, KS; FCI Englewood, CO; MCC Tucson, AZ; MCC Miami, FL; FCI Otisville, NY; Federal Bureau of Prisons Staff Training Academy, Glynco, GA, and Artesia, NM. She is currently employed with Department of Homeland Security at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Artesia, NM.

1976

Patricia Burke AA, '76
retired from teaching this last June. Pat earned her degree and teaching certification after the birth of her children. Her husband Gary marvels how she was able to juggle family and school. Pat started teaching in Cedaredge in 1976, transferred to Lincoln Elementary in Delta and finished her career there. She has been married to Gary for almost 38 years. Their children, Michael, Michelle, and Mitchell, are all graduates of Mesa State College. They are truly a Mesa family as Gary also attended Mesa Junior College. Pat is enjoying doing some substitute teaching and is a Rocky Mountain Storyteller. She loves scrapbooking, gardening, boating, vacation (especially cruises), and time spent with grandchildren. Pat enjoyed her years at Mesa because of the high quality teachers who went out of their way to be helpful. Mesa was the sort of school that readily accepted "non-traditional" students and made them at home. As she recalls, she was a member of the first four-year graduating class.

Gary Childress attended Mesa State College from 1974 to 1976
then transferred to UNC where he graduated with a degree in teaching in 1979. He earned a Masters of Education in 1993 from Lesley College. Gary played varsity football for MSC in 1975. In 1997 – 98 Gary came back to Mesa and assisted in basketball. He is currently a teacher and coach at Grandview High School in Denver and lives in Aurora, Colorado. He is married to Patricia and they have two sons.

David Foster Accounting '76
Is CFO for LOCO, Inc. in Grand Junction, Colorado where he lives with his wife Leslie.

John "Rob" Mott II
Lewisburg, WV
Degree: BA, Social and Behavioral Sciences-Human Services
Other Colleges: Marshall University
Other Degree : MA Psychology
O occupation : Psychologist/Clinical Director
E employer : Davis-Stuart Inc./private prac
Professional Achvievments : Member, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
Family : Married to Joyce Porter Mott,a museum director. Daughter, Elizabeth, an undergraduate at Marshall University and a flight medic in the WV National Guard.
Travel and Hobbies : Restoring a 100 year old Victorian Home, i.e. becoming a carpenter, cabinetmaker and plasterer in the bargan.

Dalton Tanonaka AA '76
He is the Republican candidate for Congress in Hawaii's First Congressional District. He most recently was president of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, as well as a columnist for the Hawaii Herald. Before entering public service, Dalton had a distinguished career in journalism, serving as senior anchor at CNN International in Hong Kong before returning to Hawaii to run for office.

1977

Thomas Sparn Attended '76-'77
He is SORCE Program Manager and Senior Professional Research Assistant for the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Recently his program launched the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment satellite, launched by a Pegasus vehicle carried aloft on a jet plane from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The project will help scientists study how variations in the sun influence Earth's atmosphere.

1978

1979