CLASS NOTES | SPRING 2026 | 43 bombing. I also spend considerable time in the gym, pumping iron. Earlier this year, I took up pickleball and have succumbed to its tremendous allure as another good form of exercise and a wonderful social outlet. I was transferred to SoCal in 1977 by my then-employer, General Electric, and I fell in love with the climate and geography, never to leave. “After graduating from Lehigh, having done four years in AFROTC, I went through the Air Force pilot training program, earning my wings, and was subsequently stationed at Ellsworth AFB, in South Dakota, flying KC-135s for SAC. After three years of service, I opted for an early out when offered a position on GE’s Manufacturing Management Training Program. This past July, I joined many of my fellow Sigma Nu ‘bros’ (graduates from between 1971 and 1974) for a fun reunion at Skytop Lodge in the Poconos.” Swarthmore, Pa., was Rich de Moll’s hometown. He was secretary and house manager of Delta Tau Delta, and played freshman and varsity football and lacrosse, serving as a goalie and team captain of the latter. (The team won the Mid-Atlantic Conference junior year.) He graduated with a B.S. in economics, specializing in accounting and finance. Rich also began his professional career at General Electric, on the audit staff, and left as finance manager in 1981. During 16 years with Dun & Bradstreet, he rose from audit director to VP shared services to SVP finance and president receivable management services. Then there were 22-plus years as a partner at Ernst & Young, and senior executive/consulting roles at Capgemini, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Deloitte Consulting. From 2010 to 2020, his expertise was tapped to study and advise about the challenges of enterprise software deployment and business process transformation, including “big data” and the impact of blockchain for digital finance information management. Rich has served as a senior fellow at Lehigh’s Enterprise Systems Center and has also been active in organizations to mentor the development of younger finance professionals. I asked if he had to relocate every time he started with a new firm, and he explained that was not the case. However, with the larger, global firms, he accumulated lots of air miles with frequent trips to countries including Ireland, Poland, Japan, Uruguay, India and China. Rich and Mary Ann moved to New Canaan, Conn., in 1994, and are comfortably settled there. He won’t admit to being retired yet, but did say that he is “very busy, seeming to work for free,” including being the CFO for his daughter’s dermatology practice. Their two professional daughters and their four grandchildren live nearby. When he can get to his hobbies, you’ll find him skiing or working on numerous renovation projects. ’73 Patrick Fekula, 1891 Evans Drive South, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250. (904) 451-4949 (M); Pfekula7@gmail.com After all these years, members of the Class of ’73 are still making their influence felt in the world and at Lehigh. Andrew Knoll, Fisher Professor of Natural History at Harvard, and Daniel Richter, Coile Distinguished Professor in the Nichols School of the Environment at Duke, were featured in the summer 2025 issue of the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin. “Worlds Beneath Our Feet,” written by Michael Blanding, stated, “Two geoscientists and former classmates from the Class of 1973 examine clues hidden deep in rocks and soil to explore the history of life on Earth.” (It’s worth a read.) After reading the story, I sent a congratulatory email to both Andrew and Daniel, and received a response from Andrew prior to this column’s deadline. (I will include any response from Daniel in a future column.) “Without question, I have been tremendously lucky in life,” Andrew replied. “As a boy, my one aspiration was to see the world, and science made that possible to a degree I never could have imagined.” He went on to say that fieldwork had taken him to the high Arctic, Siberia, the Yangtze Gorges, the Australian Outback and the deserts of Namibia. Highlights of his travels include meeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan and the royal family of Sweden, as well as a weeklong stay as a guest of the Vatican. “Contrary to an old adage,” Andrew added, “I’ve also been lucky in love. Marsha and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in 2024, and we’ve been blessed by two wonderful children.” Originally from Basking Ridge, Tenn., Melissa “Missy” Muendel is currently living with her husband, Mark Trantanella, in Knoxville, Tenn. After receiving her M.A. in Near Eastern archaeology from Drew University, and her Ph.D. in physical anthropology from the University of Tennessee, Missy taught at the National Forensic Academy in Oak Ridge, Tenn., until her retirement. Archaeology took her to the Middle East three times and allowed her to travel extensively in Europe. “And we are planning a trip to the Galápagos and Machu Picchu,” she added. Alan “Scotty” MacGregor, known as “Mac” at Lehigh, says he was born in Illinois, but is from New Jersey, and has lived in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and currently in Windsor, Colo. (near Ft. Collins). After Lehigh, Mac earned an M.S. in civil engineering from MIT, and a second M.S. in computer information systems from the University of Denver. He has been retired for the past four years from his career as an environmental engineer but has been teaching water quality courses part-time at Red Rocks Community College in Denver. Mac and Sue keep busy traveling in their small Airstream, exploring the Rocky Mountains, and visiting their family in Colorado, Oregon and Wyoming. In the next column … updates on Howard Polsky, Al Beeken, John Dittmeier and Roderick Reardon. ’74 Bill White, 5418 Holiday Drive, Allentown, PA 18104, whitebil1974@gmail.com I have two items of business for this column. First, I challenged classmates to top the record of Amy (Satuloff) Lemle ’75 and Craig Lemle as the first true Lehigh alumni couple. Amy was part of the first class of Lehigh women, in 1971, and they were approaching their 50th anniversary at the time of the last column. Almost immediately, I heard from Kathy (Kane) Schlegel ’75 and Bill Schlegel. “Just read your ’74 column,” Kathy wrote. “Challenge accepted. Bill and I married on June 14, 1975. We celebrated our 50th this year. We are happy to be in the good company of Craig and Amy (Satuloff) Lemle and will gladly share the honors. What’s a couple of years at this point, right? “We hope you are well. All good here in St. Augustine. All are encouraged to give us a call when you come to the Oldest City. We recently visited with Dave Mancosh and his wife Bridget. Always fun to catch up and reminisce.” Alas, I had to tell her another couple had them beat. That same day, I got this email from Mike Stershic. “I finally got around to reading the Alumni Bulletin yesterday during football games. Since you invited this, I must let you know that Sybil (Fischman) ’75 (and among the first women at Lehigh) and I were married on June 23, 1974. That means we celebrated our 51st anniversary this year. We met on Sybil’s first day on campus in 1971 and became a couple a few weeks later. Congratulations to Craig and Amy, but we’ve been together longer. I cannot say if any Lehigh couples have been together longer. “We became grandparents in February. Our grandson, Jason Jr., lives in Fountain Hill with parents Jason and Stef.” Now that we have that settled, I have an announcement delayed from last issue. Gus Gustafson was selected
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