Lives of the Mercyhurst Prep Family

M
P
eSsence
Vol. 3 2015
Lives of the
Mercyhurst Prep Family
Cover artwork by Quincy Baloga
Editing by Mrs. Fluegel and the English Department
Layout by Mrs. Fluegel
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B2 Creative Writing Class of 2015
We, the students of Mrs. Fluegel’s B2 Creative Writing Class, would like to thank all the
teachers who took part in the creation of this publication. We enjoyed learning more about the lives of
those teachers and MPS staff members who make such a difference in our lives. Thank you for sharing
your stories with us and for taking the time to take part in the interview process that made this
publication possible.
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Letter from the Editor
It has been my pleasure to work with such a talented and vivacious group of high school students.
My B2 Creative Writing Class contains a range of students, from freshmen to seniors, all at different levels
of writing ability. This two-term class has covered writing memoirs, short stories, poetry, profiles for this
MPeSsence publication, as well as a writing workshop. These students have tried a little bit of everything
this term, and have accepted each new challenge with enthusiasm and an astounding amount of
creativity.
I hope that you enjoy their words and appreciate all the hours that went into the interview
process, editing, and layout of this publication. It really is a tremendous amount of work to make a
publication like this possible, and the students deserve a round of applause for all their efforts.
Sincerely,
Megan Fluegel
MPS English Teacher
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This publication
is dedicated to my
colleagues who
are the essence
of MPS, lighting
sparks in the minds
of your students
every day.
“The essence of
teaching is to
make learning
contagious,
to have one idea
spark another.”
-Marva Collins
American Educator
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MPeSsence
Table of Contents
Paula Marie Vacanti Allshouse: She is No Simple Equation by Kimberly Stevenson
Mathematics Teacher.....................................................................................................................................................6
Sean Patrick Baer: The Integrator by Kyle Weber
Technology Integrator...................................................................................................................................................9
The Spectacular: Christine Palotas Bowler by Scott Gorring
Visual Arts Teacher.......................................................................................................................................................12
Edward John Curtin: The Man, the Myth, the Legend by Isabella Zonna
Assistant Principal.......................................................................................................................................................15
Marcia Elaine DiTullio: Admissions into her Life by Rebecca Swanson
Admissions Director.....................................................................................................................................................14
Timothy Allan Hurst: Man on a Mission by Connor Scully
Guidance Counselor......................................................................................................................................................21
Deborah Kay Kooser: The History of a History Teacher by Angelina Randazzo
Social Studies Teacher.................................................................................................................................................25
Maryanne Kathleen Mager-Dombrowski: Dancing Through Life by Amanda Carpenter
Performing Arts Teacher............................................................................................................................................28
Arthur Anthony Martone: The All-Around Music Guy by Hannah Brooks
Performing Arts Department Chair.........................................................................................................................31
Father Stephen John Schrieber: Future Pope? by Jacob Weber
Campus Chaplain and Theology Teacher...............................................................................................................34
Bridget Alice Whalen: Living Life in the Now by Andrew Hoffman
English Teacher..............................................................................................................................................................38
Mary Kathleen Pirrello: The Lady of Many Lands by Zachary Skarzenski
English Department Chair..........................................................................................................................................40
Nancy Jean Sipple Zimmerman: The Heart of MPS by Abigail Harrington
Community Service Coordinator..............................................................................................................................43
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Paula Marie Vacanti Allshouse: She is No Simple Equation
By Kimberly Stevenson
Paula Marie Vacanti Allshouse was born on June 22nd, in
a year that shall remain numberless, in Erie, Pennsylvania. Her
parents are named Myra and Tony, and she has three sisters:
Annette, Stephanie, and Carla. She holds the prime position of
being the second-oldest daughter.
She attended Saint Luke's School for grade school and
went to Academy for high school (which later became Collegiate
Academy). Growing up, she
loved spending time swimming,
roller skating, and hanging out
with her friends. She had the
unique experience of playing
water polo on an all-boys team during her senior year of high school.
Her school had no girls’ water polo team, and “ there was nothing in
the rule-book that said [she] couldn’t join the team.” So Paula became
the only girl on a boys’ water polo team, as well as the first female in
Erie to play water polo.
She went to Indiana
University of Pennsylvania and
earned a B.S. in Secondary Mathematics Education. The idea of
teaching had always appealed to her because of its flexible,
family-friendly schedule, her love of mathematics, and the ability
to work with children. She said, “becoming a teacher was kind of
a no-brainer for me, as it made a lot of sense.”
While she was at IUP earning her degree, she met Guy
Allshouse. They started off as friends, then decided that they
“liked each other more than friends and started dating.” Paula has
been happily married to Guy for 26 years. They have two
wonderful children together, Samantha and Jacob. Her favorite
memory was when
her children were
born.
Her daughter, Samantha, is now 23 years old and a 2010
MPS alumna. She went on to attend Penn State University
Park, where she majored in German. She is currently serving
as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Airforce and is
based in Andrews Airforce Base outside of Washington D.C.
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Jacob, her second child, is now 20 years
old and is a 2013 alumni of MPS. He is currently a
junior at the University of Pittsburgh and is
majoring in accounting with his sights set on
entering law school. While it makes Paula sad to
have no more teenagers in her house, you have
only to talk to her to see how proud she is of her
children and their accomplishments.
Paula started off her teaching career in
Fairfax County, Virginia, where she taught until her
daughter was born. She took a break from
teaching for a while to raise her family, but
returned to teaching when she and her family
moved back to Erie. She was hired for her current
position as a math teacher at Mercyhurst Prep in 2003. At that time, MPS was looking to re-start their
swim program. Paula stepped in and became the swim coach, a position she held from 2003 until 2012.
Mrs. Allshouse is also an active leader in the Anne Ryan Baltimore Mission trip and has been a chaperone
on the week-long service trip for the past 10 years. She says that it is “really important for our kids to
step out of their comfort zone and see what some of the world’s problems are. The kids who go on that
trip learn to see everyone for who they are, not just the situation they are in.”
Mrs. Allshouse has been on a lot of vacations, including the “traditional Disney trip” and a
Caribbean cruise. One of her most memorable trips was to Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she had
the opportunity to go on a whale watching tour. She loved the experience, saying that “they saw a ton of
whales, no pun intended.”
Paula’s favorite hobbies are walking, swimming, and skiing. She, like many people, enjoys eating
good food. Looking up to the ceiling with a blissful smile, Paula listed off a few of her favorite foods,
including baby back ribs and her family’s Italian cooking. She does not care about desserts very much.
Her favorite meal would probably be a really good
breakfast.
Her favorite TV shows are Survivor, The Voice
and The Blacklist. Her favorite sitcom was MASH. She
liked it because it had a great balance of comedy and
drama. Paula called it “iconic” and said that it left a
huge impression on her. Another favorite of hers was
the original Cheers. She mostly enjoys watching
comedies, but she did develop a love for old-time
Godzilla movies by watching them with her husband
and kids. Out of love for Godzilla, she even had her
kids dress up as Godzilla and Mothra for Halloween
one year! Her daughter taught her about good rock
music and introduced her to some bands that have
become favorites. Some of her most beloved bands
include Imagine Dragons, Blue October, and Guns &
Roses.
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Mrs. Allshouse prefers sports more than the arts, and she also prefers to be outside rather than to
stay inside. Her favorite swimmer is an Olympic medalist, Ryan Lochte. She is also a faithful hockey fan,
owing her loyalty to the Washington Capitals.
Paula is fond of the saying by Leo Buscaglia, “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only
saps today of its joy.” She tries to follow that advice and enjoy each day without worrying unnecessarily
about what the future will hold. She comments that her motto for life is that “every morning you have a
choice whether you are going to wake up and be happy...or not.” She chooses to wake up happy and make
the most of each day, and encourages her students to do the same.
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Sean Patrick Baer: The Integrator
By Kyle Weber
Mr. Sean Patrick Baer, the technology integrator and former
history teacher at Mercyhurst Preparatory School, was born to
Kenneth T. Baer and Kathleen Ann Baer. He is of German and Slovak
decent and was born at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, PA, on October
17, 1980. Mr. Baer also has four other siblings. He has two brothers,
named Mark and Jim and two sisters, Maureen and Mary Ann. Mr.
Baer believes he was the cutest of all his siblings, saying, “I was
adorable.”
As a kid, Mr. Baer grewing up spending time with his friends
from the neighborhood and playing sports. When he wasn’t with his
friends he took care of his two dogs, Lucky and Pal, while also
managing his assorted number of fish. Sadly, he currently has no
pets but enjoys time with his girlfriend’s dog.
Mr. Baer grew up playing
a variety of sports and continues to enjoy aspects of many sports to
this day. His favorite sports include golf, soccer, and basketball. He
loves playing and coaching basketball, and he simply appreciates
watching the sport on both professional and collegiate levels. He
relishes opportunities to travel abroad, especially to Europe. Mr. Baer
became a history teacher because he is fascinated with the past,
especially enjoying World War II and current American history.
When not teaching the younger generations about the world’s most
important eras and events, he is fond of gardening, which he uses to
relieve stress at the end of a long week.
Mr. Baer spent his entire
childhood growing up in Erie.
As a child, he attended the
Mercy Center of the Arts for
preschool, then moved on to
kindergarten at Perry Elementary. For first through eighth grade,
he attended Sacred Heart School before moving on to Mercyhurst
Preparatory School. Mr. Baer chose not to leave Erie for college; he
enrolled and graduated from Gannon University with a dual major
in secondary education and social studies.
Teaching was not Mr. Baer’s first job. His first job was as a
dietary aid for Saint Mary’s Home, where he was employed for a
short time before moving on as a runner for a local law firm. Mr.
Baer also spent some time as a self-employed man when he mowed
lawns for local families and businesses. He grew a passion for
landscaping and gardens when he was employed by Auburn Florists
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of Erie. Mr. Baer’s longest consecutive job is as head basketball coach for
Mercyhurst Prep, a position he has held for the past fifteen years. He
spent six years coaching the ninth grade team, four years as the Junior
Varsity coach, and five years as the Varsity Boys’ head coach. During the
summer months and over the weekends, Mr. Baer earns some extra
cash as a Millcreek Police Dispatcher, which he has been doing for seven
years now.
When he has free time, Mr. Baer likes reading books,
especially Gold Standard by Coach K., Toughness by Jay Bilis, Miracle of
Saint Anthony by Adrian Wojanrowski, and The Looming Tower by
Lawrence Wright. When not reading or working, he enjoys watching
some of the greatest movies ever (in his mind), which include: Top Gun,
Miracle on Ice, Hoosiers, and Anchorman. As a history teacher, Mr. Baer
appreciates watching television series that give some insight to viewers
about unknown aspects of history. These television series include: American Pickers, Pawn Stars, and Mad
Men. He also enjoys televisions shows that aren’t particularly historical, but entertaining or classic, like
Full House and Forensic Files.
As stated above, Mr. Baer loves to travel. He has been on many special vacations, too many to count
in fact. His favorite aspect of travel is learning new cultures and witnessing some gorgeous views. Many of
his favorite vacations occurred on Mercyhurst Prep sponsored trips. The most notable of these trips was
to Italy, where he really appreciated the sights of Rome, Venice, and Florence while also enjoying the local
cuisine. A high point of this trip was a visit to the Vatican City, where he spent the day at local museums
and ended the day with Easter Mass hosted by the Pope. He has also travelled to Ireland and the United
Kingdom, where he enjoyed the Rings of Kerry’s lush grasslands and ocean fronts. While in the U.K., Mr.
Baer loved visiting London’s Royal Palace where he witnessed the “Changing of the Guard.” His favorite
vacations, though, are just spending quality time with his family on numerous beaches throughout the
eastern U.S.
Mr. Baer is not just a huge fan of travelling, but of cuisine as well. Although Mr. Baer is “not a huge
steak person,” he does savor Italian classics, such as thin bread pizza, lasagna, and chicken alfredo. His
favorite meal, however, is swiss steak and rice. He doesn’t only enjoy the act of of eating good food, but
also enjoys the process of cooking it. He appreciates spending time in the kitchen creating quality foods to
perfection. Mr. Baer takes pride in his cooking abilities, boasting “I make a mean wedding soup.”
Mr. Baer remembers early memories of his first day of preschool. He said, “I was terrified to go to
preschool. I remember the teacher grabbing my hand with hers, which was nearly blood red...because she
was making Kool-Aid.” This was a significant event in his life which prevented him from enjoying his early
education years. Mr. Baer does have plenty of favorite memories though. He will never forget the time
when his football and basketball team in eighth grade won a basketball tournament, football tournament,
and a soccer championship in the same year. In fact, eighth grade was one of his favorite years. Mr. Baer
states that “Eighth grade was just awesome.” Mr. Baer’s greatest memory from high school was winning
the stunning upset District-10 Championship for basketball against George Junior Republic, who had a
glamorous record of 56-0 until Mr. Baer came along. Outside of schooling, his favorite memories are his
younger sister’s wedding and winning a D-10 championship for boys’ basketball as a head coach.
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If Mr. Baer chose not to be a teacher, he would have enjoyed being a meteorologist or a reporter for
a news station. He says that aside from history and sports, weather and television are some of his
interests.
Mr. Baer has a simple goal in life, maybe something that more people need to follow. He says, “I am
not a ‘big picture’ guy. Because I am a teacher at MPS, every day I do something that touches someone’s
life, sometimes without me even knowing it.” He simply wants to build positive and meaningful
relationships with people, while also striving to “leave this place, and people, in a better place.”
When asked, “If you died tomorrow, what would you do?” Mr. Baer gave a simple, yet inspirational,
answer. “I would want to get my family together and have a huge party. I would want to make it last as
long as possible.”
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The Spectacular: Christine Palotas Bowler
By Scott Gorring
Mrs. Bowler has a certain lighthearted aspect to her that feels as welcoming as your own home,
and this quality is surely apparent to anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting her. She demonstrates
a kind nature that truly characterizes the person she has become. This is her story.
On February 5th, 1959, Christine Palotas was born at
Saint Vincent's Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. She was born
to Therese M. Palotas and Gerald M. Palotas, who worked as
a secretary homemaker and as a supervisor at International
Paper, respectively. She was the youngest child at the start
of her life; she had two other siblings: Jerry and Donna. Mrs.
Bowler soon became the middle child in the family when
her two younger siblings, Diana and Tom, were born. One of
Mrs. Bowler's earliest memories is of when she was around
three years old and visiting her father at Hamot Hospital. She
told me that it was her very first elevator ride. Mrs. Bowler's
dad is sorrowfully deceased, but her mother is still with her.
Christine is very thankful to her parents for putting all five
of their children through Catholic education. "It's a huge
sacrifice to be able to do that, and I really credit them for the
values that were instilled in us," she remarked.
Growing up, Christine went through a variety of different
schools. She first attended Holy Family for her first eight years, and
after that she moved on to St. Benedicts, which was an all-girls high
school that her mother and older sister Donna had also attended. In
10th grade, she got her first job at Barney's Instant Replay
Restaurant as a dishwasher. She described the establishment as "all
about baseball. There was paraphernalia all over." This was at a time
when commercial sized dishwashers weren't the norm, especially
in small establishments, and so she was very quick to tell me about
how she would hand clean every single dirty dish, pot, and pan in
the restaurant. After high school, Mrs. Bowler moved on to the
collegiate level; she attended Mercyhurst College for her
undergraduate degree while working as a cashier at Loblaw's
grocery store.
It was after college that she started the most fun job she has
ever had. Christine began work at a local factory where she and
several other friends would hand paint wind chimes. She expressed,
with a smile on her face, how she and her friends would sit and
laugh all day while painting. She and her friends would occasionally play jokes on one another, but Mrs.
Bowler kept her eye on the prize: she got paid by how many wind chimes she completed. She remembers,
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"Sometimes we would paint about 1,000 pieces a day!" Although it
sounds like a lot of work, she says it was good money. She then
proceeded to work at St. Benedicts for six years as the school's only art
teacher. She said, "I did everything. I taught seven art classes a day."
Afterwards, she went on to work as an interior decorator for a year,
where she said that everything she did helped her to prepare for her
future in art. She learned about the properties of paint, colors, and all
sorts of techniques that help her to this day.
Her teaching career continued as she began to substitute all
around the area, be it at Seneca, North East, or Iroquois. She substitute
taught for them all. She taught arts and crafts at Gannondale for eight
summers, and she also taught adult drawing classes at the Villa
Enrichment Center. She finally began teaching at Mercyhurst Prep in
2000, after going to receive her Master of Arts with her concentration
in painting. She achieved this degree at Edinboro University 18 years
after completing her undergraduate degree at Mercyhurst College. She
told me about how, in order to receive her MA, she had to hold an
exhibit with fifteen to twenty newly generated works of
art. The theme of it was Skyscapes. She recalled, "I even
sent invitations to local meteorologists and channel 12
sent a reporter!" I could tell she had fond memories of the
event.
At the same time Mrs. Bowler began her first
teaching job at St. Benedicts, and another important part
of her life was unfolding. Christine met Chuck Bowler and
very easily fell for him as a result of his great sense of
humor. He could turn any situation into something
lighthearted. Mrs. Bowler said Chuck "was always able
to make me laugh, and he always takes the funny side in
things no matter how serious." Chuck got an accounting
degree but soon found that he wanted to try other things.
He got a job at Penelec as a lineman and, as Mrs. Bowler
describes it, works in a field that is always changing and
exciting. Mrs. Bowler admired his ability to metaphorically
"chuck" his accounting degree away in order to pursue
something he truly enjoyed. The two married in 1986
and are still happily married. They have one child, and
Mrs. Bowler expressed to me that her fondest memory
is of her son, Nick, being born and seeing him for the
first time. Her son Nick is an MPS graduate of 2010, and
as of 2014 he earned his Bachelor of Science in
Biobehavioral Health from Penn State University Park.
He recently completed post-baccalaureate classes at
Gannon and Penn State Behrend. He currently works as
an EMT and in the future hopes to work in the
medical field. Christine told of how Nick always credits
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MPS for preparing him well for the
collegiate level. Mrs. Bowler is incredibly
proud of her son.
In regards to Mrs. Bowler’s art
career, she has done several outstanding
things. She has conducted many mural
projects with students and children alike,
many for charity. She recalled two murals
that she worked on: one was at Family
Services of Erie, where she and her
students painted a children’s waiting
room as if it were an underwater scene.
The second was a garage wall at the
Center for Transitional Housing. The
garage wall was beside the children’s
playground, and she explained to me that
children would often go there and it was her goal to make it “as pleasant as possible, to make it easier
for them.” She currently is a professional artist who produces various works of art for exhibits, as well
as hopeful buyers. Mrs. Bowler has also donated works of art to many organizations. She currently has a
tryptic (a piece consisting of three separate paintings to form one image) hanging at the Regional Cancer
Center, and she also donated a painting to Mercyhurst University, where it is currently on display. Her
favorite types of art include painting, drawing, and using water-based oils. Mrs. Bowler’s favorite artist is
Wolf Kahn, an artist who uses pastels and oil paint to create vivid and vibrant landscapes.
Although art is a big part of Mrs. Bowler’s life, it is not the only activity that she enjoys. She taught
herself how to repair and restore plaster statues, she sometimes designs murals for children’s rooms, and
she also has a garden that she takes care of with her neighbor Liz, in which they grow an assortment of
edible plants. She also likes to go “junking” at secondhand stores for used furniture or other knickknacks.
She also spends time playing Words with Friends and
watching Netflix. Some of her favorite shows include Six Feet
Under, Nurse Jackie, and Mad Men. Some of her favorite
movies consist of Blues Brothers, Cinema Paradiso, and The
Piano. Along with these favorites, she also calls The Artist’s
Way by Julia Cameron one of her favorite books. Another
thing that she expressed to me was her love for the beach,
saying that she “has to be near the water.” The water and the
sky at the beach really grounds and soothes her. She doesn’t
know if she could ever live away from the water!
Although her story is long from over, she
believes that her legacy will ultimatly be the kids that
she teaches. She happily states that leaving an impact
on the students at MPS will satisfy her, as will seeing
the very same kids later on down the road, presenting
their very own pieces of art. We, as students, can only
hope that Christine Bowler’s influence on us as people
will not go in vain. She is her very own work of art.
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Edward John Curtin: the Man, the Myth, the Legend
By Isabella Zonna
Edward John Curtin was born on November 16th,
1963, in the small town of Meadville, Pennsylvania. His
father, Jack Curtin, was a business owner and innkeeper.
He was an innkeeper of a small establishment called
the David Mead Inn and later owned two sub sandwich
shops, called The Whole Darn Thing. His mother, Lois,
was mainly a homemaker, taking care of Ed and his
three sisters, but she also helped run the sub shops. Ed
has an older sister named Sue and two younger sisters
named Eileen and Jennifer. He says he has nothing but
fond memories of his childhood, and generally got along
well with his siblings. Ed loved sports as a child. When
he wasn’t playing them, he was watching them. One of
his best childhood memories is going to see his favorite
team, the Miami Dolphins, play in Buffalo.
Mr. Curtin describes his early love of sports,
saying, “There is nothing quite like the first time you go
to a professional sports game. As a child, and even now,
I was infatuated with the idea of teamwork and
being the very best you could be. I became obsessed
with seeing the very best and what they do. In
everything I pursued, I would look at the greatest
people in that area and try to emulate them.” Another great memory
he has is of going to a
Pirates vs. Phillies
baseball game. When his
sister was born, he even
got the chance to go to a
Steelers vs. Falcons
Monday night football
game. From kindergarten
to 8th grade, Ed attended
Seton Catholic Elementary
School in Meadville. After
that, he went to Meadville
High School. He got his
undergraduate degree from
Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He then went on to graduate
school at Gannon University.
His first job was at Notre Dame parish in Hermitage, PA.
In 1990, he was hired at Mercyhurst Prep as a theology teacher.
He stayed at that position until 1998, when he continued to
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teach and became the Athletic Director. After only 3 years in that
position, he decided to go back to teaching theology full time,
continuing until 2011 when he became the Assistant Principal.
He also teaches the Peer Leadership class for juniors.
He has been married to his wife Patty for 26 years now,
and they have three children. Sadie, the oldest and only
daughter, is 23. She graduated from Mercyhurst Preparatory
School in 2009. Sadie was actively involved in the theater
program here at MPS with starring roles as Maria in The Sound
of Music and Peter Pan in Peter Pan. His middle child, 19-yearold Sebastian Curtin, is a senior at Mercyhurst Prep. He is a
cross country and track runner. Sebastian plans on attending the
University of Pittsburgh in the fall and continuing to run cross
country and track. Ed’s youngest son, Noah, is 16 and a
sophomore at Mercyhurst Prep. He also runs cross country and
track. They have a dachshund named Mazy.
Ed’s favorite hobbies include golfing, going to his kids’ sporting events, and reading. His favorite
book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and his favorite authors are John Irving and Ken Follett.
He enjoys the movie What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams. Although he doesn’t have much
time to watch television, his favorite TV shows are Modern Family, The Office, and of course, Seinfeld.
Ed is very well traveled and has gone many places in the U.S.
and abroad. While chaperoning school trips, he has had the
opportunity to travel to Italy, Germany, France and Mexico. He’s also
been to Mexico with his immediate family, but his favorite trip is
when he rents a house on the Jersey Shore during the summer with
his entire extended family. “That trip is always a lot of fun,” he said.
“It’s always so great getting the entire family together.” They try to
make it there every summer.
Mr. Curtin is a huge sports fan, and he loves watching all
kinds of sports. His favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins.
“It’s really unfortunate, because I’m a Dolphins fan and Sebastian
inherited a love for the Dolphins, and they’re pretty mediocre, so
we are in for a lot of heartbreak.” He also loves every team from Philadelphia because that’s where his
mom’s family originated; that includes the Flyers, the 76ers and the Phillies. “Going to see the Phillies
play against the Pirates is one of my favorite memories. Going to a major league ball park is an absolutely
surreal experience.” As far as college sports go, he likes Duke and now Pitt, since Sebastian will be going
there in the fall.
Although Ed finds joy in many things in life, his favorite thing is being a husband and a father. “I
know this is cheesy, and every dad says it, but the day my kids were born really were the best days of my
life, those and my wedding.” He also says that one of his favorite things to do is go out and watch his kids
compete in sporting events. He loves supporting his kids in every thing that they do.
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He is a family man to the core, and when asked who inspired him most, he quickly replied, “my
parents.” He also said that he has also been influenced by a teacher, Father Charlie Drexler, whose
teaching styles he still tries to implement today. As a theology teacher, he has gained some words of
wisdom by which he tries to live. “I once heard someone say ‘Sometimes we are the only bible a student
will read.’” This quotation has helped him to realize that some kids take more from the teacher and how
they live their lives than what they glean from reading the bible. He also really likes the Mercy Charism
and what it stands for.
“Quotes are good, but what really counts is whether a person lives out the words he is speaking
or not. Speaking about compassionate presence, justice, and hospitality is great, but if you aren’t living it,
what’s it worth?” Overall, Ed Curtin is a family man, great teacher, a compassionate presence, and
inspiration to many.
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Marcia Elaine DiTullio: Admissions Into Her Life
By Rebecca Swanson
Marcia Elaine was born on February 13th, 1955, in Erie, Pennsylvania to John and Veronica Mikula.
She completed the family as the youngest of four Mikula children, two boys and two girls. Although she
was born thirteen years after the former youngest sibling, all of the kids were very close throughout her
childhood. Her mother grew up on a farm in
Waterford, and she would take Marcia along to visit at
a friend’s farm to learn about country living. Marcia
thoroughly enjoyed this experience. While at the farm,
she learned about horses and enjoyed riding them.
That’s when her love of horses and her appreciation
of their beauty began.
She attended St. Joseph’s for grade school and
Tech Memorial (now known as Central Tech) for high
school. Through Tech Memorial, she completed a
business program. While in high school, she wrote for
the Lake Shore Visitor, a Catholic newspaper, as well
as working at St. Vincent’s hospital.
After graduating high school, she was the secretary for the
president at Prudential Bache Investment Company. She then took
some time off to start a family of her own. Coming back to the job
world, she worked for the Intermediate Unit at Mercyhurst Prep
before her office employment as the Director of Admissions at MPS.
Some of her hobbies include cooking, baking, sewing,
gardening, photography, and doing just about anything that involves
horses. She enjoys going down to the racetrack, but she doesn't bet
on the horses. Instead, she enjoys watching the beauty of their
athletic ability.
Mrs. DiTullio has been on
many vacations that hold a special
place in her heart. She visited her
brother who was in the air force in
Bermuda and Colorado where he
was stationed. In 2010, she went
on the Europe trip with MPS. “I think the students that went
entertained Europe! When we got on the Metro or in the Piazza Novona
in Rome, they would just break out singing and dancing! They would
involve everyone, including kids and tourists. It was all just so much
fun!” With her husband and kids, she also went to Disney World for
Thanksgiving, bringing the turkey dinner with them. Thanksgiving
morning, they cooked their holiday meal in the condo where they
were staying. And just this past year, she went to Rivera Maya Resort
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in Mexico to see where her daughter, Nicole, and her
future son-in-law, Dave Weschler, will be getting married
this coming October. While they were there, the family
enjoyed zip lining.
Family has always been important to her, and
having her children, Jeremy, Danielle, Nicole, and
Matthew are some of her most wonderful memories. She
also loves spending time with her grandchildren:
Mariela, Nora, and Dominic. They are all children of her
oldest son, Jeremy, and his wife Amy.
As far as foods go, some of her favorites would be
ethnic foods: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Slovak
ranking the highest. However, “There’s nothing like a
great hamburger!” she laughed. Salty snacks also rank
high on her list, including pretzels and chips. Sweet just
doesn’t do the trick for her taste buds. She also has an
interesting theory on the great sweet/salty debate: if you’re a “sweet” person, you’ll end up with a “salty”
person, and vice versa. She says out of everyone she’s proposed the theory, almost all of them agreed.
Everybody has asked themselves this question at
one point: if there were a fire in the house, and I could
only get one thing, what would it be? Laptop? Books?
Art? For Marcia, she says she would grab family photos
simply because they’re irreplaceable.
People who have influenced her throughout her
life would be mainly her oldest brother, John and his
wife, Diana. Marcia said she could remember running
across the street to her brother and sister-in-law’s
house whenever she needed advice.
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Marcia DiTullio shares that some words of
wisdom that have stuck with her through life were:
“Always try to leave something better than you found it.”
She learned this from her mom. “It’s just something that
I grew up hearing; if you go to a friend’s house and you
make a mess, you help to clean it up, no matter what,”
Marcia explained. Another saying, “Enjoy life. This is not
a dress rehearsal” is one she hears from her husband.
“It’s just my reminder that in real life, real situations,
you don’t always get a do-over,” she said.
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Timothy Allan Hurst: Man on a Mission
By Connor Scully
Timothy Allan Hurst’s exciting life began when he
was born in the small town of Warren, Pennsylvania, on
April 7, 1957, to father Reed J. Hurst, a United Methodist
Minister, and mother Barbara J. Griffith, a housewife and
nurse. His earliest memory is when his family was on a trip
to Chicago visiting family. At the time, Tim was
approximately 4 years old and decided to wander off. He
was eventually found by a policeman who found out where
he was staying. The policeman returned Tim to his family
after getting him an ice cream cone. Tim shared his vivid
memory of sitting in the police car with an ice cream cone
and seeing his mother, who was understandably distraught
and crying.
Growing up with three siblings was quite hectic. Tim’s oldest
brother David was born on July 2, 1951, his older sister Christine was
born on August 22, 1953, and his younger brother Mark was born on
June 23, 1959. The Hursts were constantly on the move, since his
family would relocate every couple of years because his father’s church
changed the ministers often. He lived in Warren, Pennsylvania, for the
first two years of his life and Jamestown, New York, for the next two
years. When he was approximately 4 years old, Tim and his family
moved to Hickory, Pennsylvania (which is now known as Hermitage),
where he attended elementary school, and then to Greensburg,
Pennsylvania, for junior high school. Tim attended high school in Corry,
Pennsylvania, from his sophomore year to his senior year.
He also had his fair share of pets, as well. As a kid, he had a dog
named Mittens. In middle school, he had a rabbit named Thumper. His
family owned another dog named Benji when Tim was in high school,
as well as a few unnamed birds.
Most kids are involved in some sort of sport during their
teenage years, and for Tim, it was swimming. He says that he
was more of a diver than a swimmer, even though he had no
actual formal training. In fact, he mostly taught himself. During
junior high, he went to a community pool in Greensburg, where
there were two diving boards: the 1 meter and the 3 meter.
Most of the time, he would go on the 3 meter board because
“You could do more stuff on that diving board.” But his diving
career didn’t end there. He actually was on the diving team in
college, and even made it as far as the Ohio Athletic Conference
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Finals in his freshman year.
During college, Tim went on to attend Mount Union College, in
Alliance, Ohio to get his bachelor’s degree in sociology as well as a
secondary education teaching certificate. He later attended
Mercyhurst College (now University) to get his masters degree in
special education. While he was in college, Tim’s parents moved to
Grove City, Pennsylvania and then to Erie, Pennsylvania. His father
worked at Christ United Methodist Church in Erie until he retired.
His first experience in the social work field was at the Sarah
Reed Children’s Center where he worked for a year and a half as a
counselor for special needs adolescents. Then he worked at
Gannondale, a treatment facility for girls, for three and a half years
before being hired at Mercyhurst Prep in the fall of 1987. In addition
to being a guidance counselor, he has also served as the Student
Assistance Program Coordinator, a swimming coach in the early 90s,
and the Ski Club Adviser since 1992.
Tim met his wife when he was in college and she was still in
high school. In June of 1983, Tim married his wife, Suzi Burhenn, in
the very church that they had met in a few years earlier. They then
went on to have two daughters, Karli and Kristi. Karli, born in
May of 1985, graduated from Mercyhurst Prep in the class of 2003.
Karli graduated from Daemen College with her bachelor’s degree,
and earned her nursing degree from Edinboro University. Their
youngest daughter, Kristen, whose nickname is “Kristi,” was born
in March of 1987 and is a special needs child due to being
physically and mentally challenged.
When Kristi was 6 months old, Tim had just started working
at Mercyhurst Prep. Just two weeks into his new employment at
the school, his daughter Kristi had a grand mal seizure and was
hospitalized in the intensive care unit. “My first year as a
counselor here was very traumatic and confusing for me,” Hurst
says. Fortunately, Sister Joanne, who was the president of
Mercyhurst Prep
at the time, was
very understanding with what he was going through,
and let Tim stay home to take care of his daughter and
visit her in the hospital when needed. But as the
medical bills were piling up, the sophomore class at
Mercyhurst Prep decided to do something to help.
So, they held a surprise Jeans Day for him, so that he
could pay his medical bills. They donated a “very good
amount of money.” It wasn’t just the sophomore class
that helped with his medical bills. In fact, much of the
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faculty donated money to help Tim. “Being a first year employee, it just kind of blew me away,” Tim
remembered emotionally.
Having a special needs child is challenging. Tim
described going through a sort of mourning period for the
“normal” child that you did not have and going through a period
of acceptance for your special needs child. He said that one of
his biggest challenges in life has been accepting what his
daughter may not be able to accomplish in life and fighting for
her needs. He and his wife are Kristi’s “advocates and
protectors,” who are “trying to figure out how to give her the
best life that she can possibly have.”
Tim has travelled extensively, both with family and with
other groups through the school. He has traveled to Colorado
several times to ski Copper Mountain, visited European
countries, traveled to Mexico on a mission trip, and even went
to Israel to be baptized in the Jordan River. Being baptized by
his father in the Jordan River is one of his favorite memories.
Tim has also been heavily involved in doing mission
work on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Through the years,
Tim has coordinated a Mercyhurst mission to raise money and volunteers to help those in need on the
Navajo reservation, many of whom are living in very poor conditions with no permanent shelters. The
money they raised was used to build hogans, the
traditional-style home of the Navajo people, and
assemble them in Arizona. He first became involved
with the project through his sister Christine and her
husband Mike. They asked for Tim’s help with the
project and he happily assisted. Unfortunately, doctors
discovered that Christine had a brain tumor, and she
passed away a few months later. After Christine’s death,
he took on a greater role in the project in honor of his
sister.
Tim Hurst’s favorite television show is The
Walking Dead. He also enjoys watching baseball and
reading Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels,
although he admits that he is not an avid reader. He
enjoys a variety of science fiction and horror movies,
including Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Rings, and Shaun
of the Dead. His favorite foods include Chinese and traditional meals like steak and potatoes. His favorite
holiday meal is Saint Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage, which he prefers even over Thanksgiving
dinner.
His hobbies include downhill skiing, hiking, woodworking, and “pretty much anything that
involves the outdoors.” Tim and his wife enjoy going to their condominium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to
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relax. Actually, Tim admitted that his wife enjoys the beaches of
Florida more than he does. He would rather be skiing.
Timothy Allan Hurst believes in Thomas Edison’s famous
quotation that “the three great essentials to achieve anything
worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness;
third, common sense.” With this mentality, he tries to instill that
idea in the freshmen, guiding them towards future success at
Mercyhurst and their later lives.
24
Deborah Kay Kooser: The History of a History Teacher
By Angelina Randazzo
Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” This is a
favorite quote of Deborah Kay Kooser, who has been a teacher for almost forty years and reports that
she is pretty happy and easygoing. She believes that small-mindedness, a poor temper, and negativity
are some of the worst traits you can have. She values open-mindedness, courage, perseverance, and the
ability to be a good listener. When asked what traits she thinks she has, she laughs and says, “All of those!”
Throughout her life and her teaching career, she has tried to model these wonderful traits to her students
and those around her.
Deborah Kooser was born on August 22nd in Columbus, Ohio. Deborah says
that “when I was younger I wanted a glamorous name,” but she never thought
specifically about what she would want to be named. Her father, Bill Banker, was a
bridge engineer and her mother, Marilynn, was an executive secretary. She never had
any siblings, but she didn’t mind. In fact, she enjoyed being an only child. She
says, “I didn’t get lonely because most of my childhood was spent dancing.”
She went to private girl’s school, and during the week she would dance three
to four hours a day, and then seven hours on Saturdays. “So I really didn’t have
time to do what other kids were doing.” Her dancing career ended when she
was fifteen, when she broke her tailbone during a Saturday morning practice
when a young man dropped her during a lift. By the time she recovered, she
had missed too many practices and couldn’t be in the Columbus Civic Ballet
show. That summer she didn’t do ballet either, and she says in reminiscent tone that she
quit when she decided that she would never be a famous ballerina. But, in a happy tone,
she says that “I realized there was another world out there where people did fun stuff!”
Deborah’s earliest memory is not of dancing, but when she was hanging up doll clothes in her
parent’s dining room on a clothesline. With twenty-seven male cousins, Deborah was the only girl in the
family, so she did everything the boys did as a child: hunting,
kickball, volleyball, and other various sports and team games. “If
they played it, I played it,” she says, “cause I didn’t have anyone
else to play with!”
She lived in Columbus through high school, and for her first
two years of high school she attended the private Columbus School
for Girls and then she spent her junior and senior year at West
High School, a public school. In high school, she played basketball
and field hockey, but she dropped them when she went to college.
She went to Walsh University in Canton, Ohio, where she majored
in elementary education and minored in philosophy/theology.
Deborah says that she originally wanted to be a child
psychologist, but instead she decided to be a teacher (although
she does teach the psychology class here at Mercyhurst). She became a teacher because she enjoyed the
subject better, but most of all, she enjoyed working with little kids. However, when she had her own
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children she decided to move to the upper grades. In addition to teaching social studies and psychology at
Meryhurst, Mrs. Kooser has also played an active role as the student government advisor for the past 23
years. She also has served as the activity director for non-athletic events for the past 5 years.
When I ask her if she’s had any other jobs, she says with a smile, “I’ve always been a teacher. I’ve
taught every grade except kindergarten and preschool—I have the greatest appreciation for people who
can do that. I’m not one of them.” I told her that I’m thinking of becoming a teacher and she told me that
it’s great, and a wonderful occupation because every day is new and
exciting. She loves being a teacher because she can move around and
be active while teaching instead of sitting at a desk all day. She tells
me that she could never sit at a desk and then whispers, as if
someone would hear her, that if she had to she would die.
On June 24th, 1978, she
married Jim Kooser, a self-employed
manufacturer’s representative for
electrical equipment. Deborah says
that her marriage day and the
birthdays of all of her children are her
favorite memories. She and Jim have
three daughters: Amy, Stephanie, and
Kait, all of whom have graduated
from Mercyhurst Prep. The oldest is
Stephanie, who is a science teacher
at Robert Benjamin Wiley
Community Charter School here
in Erie. Next is Amy, an artist who
went back to school at Gannon to “get a more practical degree” and
graduated with her bachelor’s degree in nursing on May 9th. The
youngest is Kait, who teaches literature and Spanish in the Noble
School System in Chicago.
Over the years she has had many pets, including cats, dogs,
hamsters, fish, birds, and Deborah’s least favorite, lizards. She
currently has an Airedale terrier named Mr. Benson and a mutt
that her daughters named Fergalicious. “We just call her
Fat Ferg ‘cause she’s kind of fat now.” She also has a cat
named Skeeter who is eighteen years old.
Her favorite place she’s ever been was Cape May
in New Jersey, about ten years ago with the whole
Kooser family: “all the aunts and uncles and
grandparents; all the small children and medium
children.” She liked it because the ocean was right there
and you could see dolphins every morning and it had
lots of Victorian architecture. “It’s just really beautiful.”
Her least favorite trip was to Phoenix, Arizona, which she
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can sum up in two words: “hot and miserable.” If she could go anywhere, she would go to Hocking Hills
in Ohio, a state park that’s famous for its seven caves. Deborah used to go every summer while she was
growing up, and as an adult she’s gone there with her family. “It’s just really beautiful; I know that there
are other places like that, which I would probably equally enjoy, but that place has the most memories,”
she says in a wistful voice.
Mrs. Kooser enjoys gardening, reading, and sewing. She has a big garden, and she even has a few
potted plants resting in the back of her classroom. She called herself a “plant maniac.” She has many
favorite books, but her favorite author is Ayn Rand, who wrote some of her favorites: Atlas Shrugged
and The Fountainhead. I asked her if she had a least favorite book, and she quickly responded, “Oh my,
yes I do… The Scarlet Letter. I hated that book. I just want to take the main character and slap her, ya
know?” She doesn’t get to watch too many movies, but her favorite TV shows include Downton Abbey, Call
the Midwife, and Sons of Anarchy. She doesn’t really enjoy comedy sitcoms because she believes they’re
stupid. From raising three daughters, she has been exposed to many kinds of music. “It would be easier
to say what I don’t care for, and I don’t much care for rap.” Because of her dance background she enjoys
classical music, but she also likes Taylor Swift and The Weepies. “I love Panic! At the Disco because they’re
different.” She likes just about anything, as long as it’s not rap.
People are only as happy as they want to be, and with her mind open, some bravery,
determination, and a couple of attending ears Deborah Kooser is pretty happy. She’s living a full life doing
what she loves and I don’t think much could stop her. She’s a great teacher and she’s changed the lives of
many students and will continue to change many more.
27
Maryanne Kathleen Mager-Dombrowski: Dancing Through Life
By Amanda Carpenter
Maryanne Kathleen Mager-Dombrowski is a caring
woman with tons of patience for the large number of school
students she teaches and mentors. She has spent her life doing
all things musical and creative. She has started from the
bottom and worked her way up to the level of skill and
expertise she is at now. Her hobbies include things such as
reading and taking walks to relax. She also says her favorite
things are her children and the movies Night at the Museum
and Pirates of the Caribbean. While recollecting her favorite
childhood memories, she stated that most involve being with
her mom while she worked and walking in the woods, picking
mushrooms with her dad.
One of her earliest memories was when she was a young
girl and her mother started her in dance school. When she
used to try and play with her brothers, they would always give
her the job of fetching the ball if it got too far away. As a result,
she would wind up having scratches and cuts from crawling
through bushes and thorns to retrieve the ball from wherever
it rolled. “My mother would complain, saying, ‘You’re
turning into a tomboy! I can’t even take you to church!’” She
would say this because I would have scratches on my knees.
And that’s how I ended up in dance school with Marge Long.”
She explained that the setting of the school was three floors up in a building across from the Boston
Store. “As a little kid, I was three, she was dragging me up
these stairs...and we came into the room and I saw Marge and
thought, she is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she
said in a thoughtful voice, remembering that day. She
described her with dark black hair and white gloves. “I
remember it just like it was yesterday,” she stated, telling
about how the teacher pulled the gloves off one finger at a
time and folded them up.
Maryanne also has many fond memories with her
brothers, Joseph, John, and Gerald. She told me how her
brothers’ favorite thing to say when they did something was,
“Don’t tell mom or we’ll kill ya!” Specifically, she remembers
the time when her brothers got paint into her long hair and
ended up cutting it to get it all out. Then they tried to hide it
under a hat, but eventually mom did find out. Another
childhood memory of her brothers was when a kid at the
playground tripped her, making her fall on the ice and get
knocked unconscious. When her brother found her, he
thought the kid had killed her and began beating the kid up.
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“I remember coming to and seeing my brother beating up the boy, giving him a bloody lip and screaming,
‘You killed my sister!’ And I thought wow, so you do like me.” She laughed at the memory, adding that she
never thought he liked her because of how they acted at home.
For grade school, she attended St. Johns in Girard,
Pennsylvania. In 7th grade she started playing the piano. She
also learned the organ and would play at St. Francis in McKean,
PA, and Holy Cross Church in Fairview, PA. After middle school,
she attended Villa Maria Academy and graduated into Stephens
College in Columbia, MO. She went to Western Kentucky
University (WKU) for graduate school. During graduate school,
she taught dance classes at the university, which taught her a
vast amount about choreographing and dance technique. After
graduation, she was employed by the university for two years
before she decided to move.
For some time, she lived in New York City and had a job
as a theater bartender. During the three years that she lived in
New York City, she spent her time auditioning during the day
and working at night. “It was a good job because it was theater
hours, which meant I could still take classes and I could still
audition.” She elaborated, telling me more about her time there,
“I got to meet lots of friends and theater kids; some were
actors, some were dancers. It was really enjoyable.” With this
job, she also got to see multiple Broadway shows for free since
she would serve during intermissions. She explained that New York City felt like home to her, and that it
just felt right, possibly because her parents met there and married there. The only difficulties she
complained about was the feeling of always having to be on guard as, “That’s the way it is there.” She was
given the privilege to choreograph a CBS special called Tap Dancin’. “Being able to work with the dancers
from 42nd Street was incredible.” She also got to tour with a dance group and was the lead dancer and
dance captain. She spent several summers choreographing summer musical productions in West Virginia
and Oklahoma.
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After spending time in New
York City and traveling, Maryanne
came back to Erie because her dad
fell ill. When she started living here
again, she picked up different
dancing jobs and taught here and
there. She spent time teaching dance
classes and aerobics and invested
a lot of time being in shows at the
Erie Playhouse. Some of her favorite
roles include being Cassie from
Chorus Line, Lola from Damn
Yankees, and Peggy Sawyer from
42nd Street. While there, she worked
with a guy who would end up being
her husband’s father. Time after time, he would joke
around, telling her that someday she’d have to meet
his son. Eventually, he set up a blind date between the
two and they hit it off. Her husband, John, is a graphic
designer and owns his own business. She called him a
“cute romantic,” saying that he used to leave little cards
and flowers on her car. Also, she met a girl there that, at
the time, taught a small dance class at Mercyhurst
Preparatory School and recommended that Maryanne
apply for a job there. So she did, and the dance program
was handed down to her. “I thought I’d only be here
for a few years and well...” she joked. After a while, she
started the dance company with just a few people and
it grew into what it is today. She gives thanks to Sister
Maura Smith for her vision and support.
Currently, she teaches dance classes at a studio
and dance company classes at Mercyhurst Preparatory
School while also choreographing the school’s musicals
and show choir. She also has two children with her
husband of 21 years, named John and Maria. In their
early years, she home schooled them through 8th grade.
Once they started high school, she enjoyed having them
at Mercyhurst with her, along with all her “adopted
Mercyhurst Prep children.” Laughingly, she said that
“Maria has always been there to help with choreography
and keep me sane.”
Maryanne is an inspirational person that motivates her
students to do the best they can. She told me that her mom
always said to “follow your heart and never let your life be
filled with ‘what if’s.’ Always pray and believe that God will
give you the grace to know what He wants you to do and that
He will give you the courage to do it. Fill your soul with
happiness by taking the time to look at all the beautiful things
that surround you every day. Don’t take these gifts for granted
and be thankful.”
30
Arthur Anthony Martone: The All-Around Music Guy
By Hannah Brooks
Arthur Anthony Martone was born on March 16, 1962, to
Armando “Herman” Martone and Dorothy Goranflo Martone. He was
born at Hamot Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a household
located in an area Erie calls “Little Italy,” which he describes as the
“Spaghetto.” He has three siblings named Phillip, Shelly, and Michael. Growing up, he says that his father worked for the City of Erie
Streets Department. His mother, he said, worked at many places. When
grade school came around, he started out attending St. Paul. He says this
school is no longer around, but he attended it from kindergarten through
8th grade. For high school, he attended Mercyhurst Preparatory School,
and then attended Mercyhurst College afterwards.
He described to me his earliest memory, which occurred when he
was in the first grade. “I befriended a boy on
the playground,” he says. “The boy was picked on by a lot of kids, and I was
essentially the one who befriended him. I found out that he lived right around the
corner from me, and we started hanging out. We planned to be best men at each
other’s weddings, and years later when we actually did get married, it really did
happen. We’re still friends to this day.” Mr. Martone also told me that, unplanned,
their sons ended up in the same college class at the same college.
After college, Mr. Martone taught
music at two schools. He taught at St. Peter’s
Cathedral School from 1984 until 1988.
Right after that he was hired into his current
position as the music teacher at Mercyhurst
Preparatory School.
While it may go without saying that Mr. Martone is interested in
music and musical theater, you may not have known some of his many
other interests. In addition to music and musical theater, he also enjoys
history, genealogy, Los Angeles Dodgers baseball, and anything Italian.
He enjoys reading history-related books. If you were to invite him to see a
movie, your best bet would be to invite him to see any classic from the 40s
and 50s or any black and white movie. He enjoys watching Agatha
Christie’s Marple, Ellery Queen, and MLB baseball when he watches
television.
In addition to his hobbies, Mr. Martone does a lot of traveling. He
has been to a total of 15 countries! He says his favorite was Italy, which
makes sense considering his love for the country and its customs.
However, he has also been to Germany, Austria, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, Mexico, Canada, Greece, and Turkey. He told me that he visits family in Italy quite often.
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I asked him what his favorite memory was and
it involved his favorite trip to Italy. He met his longlost relatives in Italy. He tells me, “I found a box of my
grandmother’s old pictures and found messages written
on the back of the photographs. They had clues, and
I found a card written to my grandma. I went online
and found three women with the same name. I wrote
a letter to the first one and found out that after 1976
nobody had communicated. This was in 2005 when I
made contact and met them, and I have visited multiple
times since 2005. It’s much easier to keep in contact
now thanks to the Internet and Skype.”
Mr. Martone has a long-standing pride in Mercyhurst Prep,
which is understandable as he is an alumni and came back to teach for
27 years. He says, “When I was a student here, we were treated as
individuals and not numbers, and I’m very proud to be a part of a
school that treats its students as individuals.”
In addition to his parents and other relatives, Mr. Martone has
a family of his own. His wife’s name is Diane Wolbert Martone, who is
from the Clarion area. She works as a programmer at UPMC Hamot.
He also has two sons, both of whom are graduates of Mercyhurst Prep.
His son Philip graduated in 2012 and his other son Christopher
graduated in 2013. Both sons attend Penn State Behrend for college.
“When I taught at St. Peter’s, I also worked at the Cathedral as
an assistant music director and cantor,” he told me. He went on to
explain how he and his wife, Diane, first met. He said that his wife’s
aunt also sang in the choir and thought she and Arthur would make
a good couple. Diane’s aunt gave her Arthur’s phone number. At the
time, Diane was working in Pittsburgh and did not want to deal with a
long distance
relationship.
But since her
aunt was so
persistent, she
decided to finally call him and she left a message. He
said that they talked on the phone for a while
afterwards. After school let out in June, he went to
Pittsburgh to look for choir music, and they decided to
meet up. He said they went out to lunch and then a
baseball game in the evening. They later married in
1991.
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In conclusion, Mr. Martone is not only a great music teacher but is also skilled at many other
things. He has interests in many different areas, which makes him a well-rounded person. Mr. Martone
takes great pride in his work, the students of Mercyhurst Prep, and the school itself.
33
Kathleen Pirrello: The Lady of Many Lands
By Zachary Skarzenski
Mary Kathleen O'Cleary Pirrello was born
May 30th, 1947, in Erie, Pennsylvania, at Hamot
Hospital. Her mother, Margaret Mary McIntire,
was a graduate of Villa Maria College in Erie,
Pennsylvania. Margaret was a Home Economist in
the beginning of her career, but transferred to GE,
where she demonstrated gas stoves in the 1940s.
Kathleen's father, Matthew John Cleary, was a
businessman. As he went on through his life, he
started up his own company which sold
corrugated boxes to shipping companies.
Kathleen is one of five very Irish children.
She has two brothers, Michael Ernest and
Matthew John. Kathleen also has two sisters, Patricia Anne and Margaret Mary. Kathleen has many
hobbies, such as reading, writing, and going for walks, preferably on beaches. What Kathleen is most
noted for is all the places to which she has been. From China to Ireland, she has been to over 17 countries
in her lifetime, visiting the concentration camps in Germany, Poland, and Austria, and touring the ancient
and cultural countries of Israel, Greece, and Japan. She has enjoyed her trips around the world, but the
best part for her was learning more and more about the cultures and societies of these great countries.
Kathleen is also very much into art as well. She has always had a passion for painting. In fact, if she was
not able to become an English teacher, she would have
become an art teacher.
Kathleen grew up around 6th and Sassafras,
where Gannon College now stands. She belonged to St.
Peter's Cathedral on 10th and Sassafras and attended
grade school at St. Peter’s. Prior to that, she attended
Burns School for kindergarten. For high school, Kathleen
attended Villa Maria Academy, becoming class president
and being in the court for Senior Prom. Going on through
the years, she graduated from college at Mercyhurst, took
courses at various universities, and worked on her
master's degree at Siegel College of Judaic Studies in
Cleveland, Ohio. She also did research work for the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum researching
the ITS files and studied at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
Kathleen started out in the work force as a lab
technician at Hamot Hospital, being one out of five
students in Erie that year selected for the program studying under Dr. Fust and Pellizari. She absolutely
hated that job! She knew nursing and hospital work were not for her, unlike her two sisters who would
become nurses. In 1986 as an adult student, Kathleen went back to college to earn her Bachelor of Arts
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in Secondary English Education and Theology. Overall, she
has been teaching for thirty years. Her teaching career kicked
off at Mercyhurst in January of 1986. For 15 years, she also
taught female prisoners in the Erie County Prison. Kathleen
absolutely loved doing that. She also taught catechism at
different parishes across the diocese. For a period of time, she
was the Director of Religious Education at Holy Rosary Parish
where her children attended grade school. Over the years, she
was asked to teach and speak at various conferences such as
the Jefferson Society. She was deeply touched to receive a
recognition from the Jewish community as a “Righteous
Gentile” for her years of teaching Holocaust Studies to
students and adults.
Kathleen is passionate about numerous things. Her
favorite movie/play/novel is Les Miserables, and she enjoyed
teaching A Tale of Two Cities in her British Literature classes
for years appreciating both Hugo and Dickens. Kathleen also
enjoys the novel Fugitive Pieces, which she has taught to her
IB students over the
years. She also reads
and loves scripture and comparative religious studies. She can be
found viewing the show Downton Abbey and also keeps up with
current events by watching the news every day. "To love another
is to see the face of God"-Victor Hugo. That quote is one of
Kathleen's favorites of all time, and it has really shaped her to be
the person she is today.
Kathleen has been on many trips, studies, and
vacations over her career. She has made many good memories at
every place she has visited. Traveling has also been a big thing
for her because her family lives all over the country. Whenever
she goes to visit her grandkids, she begins in Erie with Hannah
and Sophie, she goes north to Jamestown, New York to visit Adi,
Isac, Simon and James. She travels from there to family who live
in Washington D.C., Lincoln and Emerson. From there, Kathleen
stops in Roanoke, Virginia to spend time with Levi, Bella, Avery,
Ashton, and Scarlet.
She then travels
to Salem-Winston,
North Carolina to
see relatives there
too. Heading
further south, Kathleen stops in Atlanta, Georgia. She ends
her travels by stopping in beautiful Ponte Vedra, Florida,
home of Gabriel and Raphaella. That is also the place she
would like to go to when she retires. She would like to spend
part of the year in Florida and come back to Erie for the
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summer. Kathleen absolutely loves all of her family and loves getting the chance to see them, especially
her 15 grandchildren—with a new one on the way! Lisa, who graduated from MPS, and her husband are
expecting their third child in January of 2016!
The earliest memory Kathleen has was when she was in kindergarten, and she was given the
leading role of Chicken Little. Her favorite line of the whole play was: "The sky is falling! The sky is
falling!" She has always loved literature, plays, and musicals. Even though Kathleen had many
wonderful and exciting memories, her favorite memory of all time was the birth of her first child, Katy,
and the next four that followed: Bobby, Matthew, Jamie, and Lisa Anne. To her, those were the most
precious days of her life. Now spending time with her grandchildren is the best!
Although Kathleen lived a happy life with
beautiful kids and great memories of all the
places she has been to, not everything can go
right for a person's whole life. Kathleen's sister,
Margie, was diagnosed with pancreatic liver
cancer a year ago. She fought a long, hard battle
and passed away while this publication was
being published on Sunday, June 7, 2015.
Although this article is supposed to be on
Kathleen's life, she requested that this would be
put into the article. Margie had two grand babies
that were born this year, Quin and Wyatt, and
was expecting a third at Thanksgiving. Kathleen's
other sister, Patty, her brothers Mike and Matthew, and herself, along with Margie’s children, took care of
Margie during her illness. Kathleen, her family, and friends prayed every day for Margie. Kathleen worked
tirelessly this year to keep up with her students in the classroom and also take care of Margie, working
hard to meet the expectations of her role as a teacher and as a loving and caring sister. Kathleen has
sacrificed a lot to be where she is today, and she
deserves all the credit in the world.
Kathleen Pirrello is an amazing person with
many stories to share with her students, using her
extensive knowledge on a lot of subjects to enhance
her classes. Working for 30 years—teaching
students English, along with theology, and
Holocaust Studies—she has touched the lives of
many MPS students throughout the years, one of
them being me. If you have not had the chance to
meet this woman, you're missing out. Kathleen is a
bit strict in her teaching, but she knows what she is
doing, and knows how to push her students to be
the best they can be, especially when it comes to essays and commas. If there is anything that I have truly
learned this year with "Mrs. P.," it is how to write an essay the correct MLA way!
Kathleen has also had the opportunity to teach an elective course called “Tell Them to Remember,”
which taught Holocaust literature and history. In this course, she had a Holocaust survivor, Hans
Haurwitz, who faithfully spoke in her class for thirteen years until his death a few years ago. His was a
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story of a young Jewish man, whose mother was German, yet he
survived the Holocaust despite tremendous odds; It is a wonderful
lesson of Jews and Christians learning how to live together with
respect and dignity after the devastation of World War II. In the
spring of last year, Kathleen was able to spend time in Berlin with
Hans’ daughter Barb Keim revisiting all of the places her father
enjoyed as a little boy growing up in Germany. One of their favorite
memories was the Berlin Peacock Farm where tourists walk through
fields of flowers and peacocks.
Unfortunately, Kathleen's years of teaching are coming to an
end soon. We, as an MPS community, wish her the best in her future
as she walks on the beaches of Ponte Vedra, Florida. For all those that
you have taught here at MPS over the past years, Mrs. P., along with all
the other teachers and staff, we will say farewell to you at the end of next year and wish you the best life
can give.
To conclude, Katy O’Cleary (the name she will use on the book she plans to write) would love to
spend her last year as a Fulbright Scholar teaching in a third world country. She also plans to write the
memoirs of Hans Haurwitz, the Holocaust survivor who faithfully spoke in her class. Whatever she does
in her retirement, whether traveling or gathering with family, Kathleen will always be grateful to every
one of her students throughout her years of teaching who have taught her so much. She will never forget
“her kids” or her thirty year teaching career at Mercyhurst Prep.
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Father Stephen John Schreiber: Future Pope?
By Jacob Weber
When I was assigned this project and realized we could pick the teacher we would like to
interview, I knew I wanted Father Steve. I had Freshmen Theology, now called Scriptures, with Father
Steve and I loved it. He was a terrific teacher and great at explaining the material. I soon learned Father
Steve was a history buff, much like myself, which made our relationship stronger. Although that was four
years ago and I am now a senior, we still stay in touch with each other much like we did during my
freshman year. This made Fr. Steve the perfect interviewee.
Father Stephen John Schreiber, the current Chaplain of
Mercyhurst Preparatory School, was born in Bradford,
Pennsylvania, to Harry Schreiber, a commercial artist and
Constance Sullivan, an insurance agent, on September 17,
1963. During his childhood, Father Steve lived with his
parents, his two siblings Diane and Michael, along with a
couple of fish, and “a crazy dog named Tippy,” who they got
rid of after one short year because he proved too wild for the
family.
Father Steve always desired knowledge and education.
Upon his graduation from Bradford Area High School, he
attended the United States Coast Guard Academy in New
London, Connecticut,
where he received a
Bachelor of Science
degree before reporting
for active duty. Father Steve is proud of his service in the defense of
lives and the United States and of “being the only priest with an
Expert Marksmanship Medal for the pistol.”
Upon his separation from the
Coast Guard, Father Steve pursued a
higher calling from God telling him to
become a priest. After years of
studying, Father Steve obtained a
Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree
from the University of St. Thomas
Aquinas in Rome, Italy. When asked
why he chose to pursue the
Priesthood, Father Steve said,
“Simply because I knew God was
asking me to do it and I’m very glad I
said yes.”
Mercyhurst Preparatory School is not Father Steve’s first school.
While in the Seminary in Rome, he taught once a week at St. Francis and
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Claire School, 8th grade religion at St. Andrew School, two years
at Our Ladies Christian, and an additional seven years at
Kennedy Catholic. The writing of this biography marks his
fourth year at Mercyhurst for Father Steve, making him a very
experienced educator.
Although Father Steve preaches the word of God and
serves Him; he still finds plenty of free time, even spending
time traveling abroad while in the seminary. Two memorable
experiences for Father Steve was when he spent time in Malta
which he loved because the tiny, extremely Catholic country
was able to be traversed completely in an entire day. Not to
mention the island also had a lot of colorful history, making the
island a paradise for history lovers. Another time abroad,
Father Steve spent the Christmas of 1994 in the capital city of
the Czech Republic; Prague, which was very memorable
because of the recent collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern
Bloc allowing interaction with the West.
Also, in his little amount of free time, Father Steve enjoys watching his favorite TV show Sports
Center, running, reading the Bible, or watching his favorite movie We Were Soldiers. He is also an avid fan
of space science.
When I asked about some of his earliest and favorite memories, Father Steve said “I’m one of these
kids who doesn’t remember a lot from being a little kid, but I can remember being in the little enclosed
back yard to my parents’ apartment… hitting back to back home runs” and “jumping out of a perfectly
good helicopter” while in the Coast Guard for a training exercise. The Coast Guard took up a couple of
men at a time and made them jump out of the helicopter which was described as “kind of scary but fun.”
Father Steve’s favorite quote comes from Saint Ignatius of Loyola to Saint Francis of Xavier who
was being sent to India and Japan to preach the Word of God saying, “Go set all afire.” Words of wisdom
from Father Steve to everybody would be “love God and each other.”
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Bridget Alice Whalen: Living Life in the Now
By Andrew Hoffman
Bridget Alice Whalen was born on July 22, 1960, at
Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, and is the
daughter of Francis and Genevieve Colvin Whalen. She shares
her birthday with her maternal grandmother, Emma Colvin,
who she originally was to be named after; however, her mother
felt as though the name Bridget was a better fit.
Ms. Whalen’s ethnicity is mostly Irish. Her grandparents
came from Ireland, to Newfoundland, and then moved to
upstate New York where her dad was born. Her grandfather
then took a job with the Erie railroad, so they moved to Erie.
Bridget is the youngest of eight children. Her siblings
consist of four brothers: Terry, Michael, Ennis, and Tom, and
three sisters: Patricia, Mary, and Jane. Her father started off
working as a master welder, until later in his life when he
founded his own company entitled Zeyon Inc. Eventually, he
retired from General Erie. Her mother, Genevieve, was a
housewife.
Bridget grew up in Glenwood Heights and she would play outside with the neighborhood kids all
the time. This was one of her favorite things to do growing up. She and her friends would build tree
houses in the woods and spend time around the
creeks. She would play baseball, football, kickball,
dodge ball, ride bikes, and would even set off fire
crackers. She was a collegiate softball player and
loved playing softball for many years in summer
leagues. She met many of her closest friends there
and they still get together today for card playing
and rehashing all of the memories from the past.
She attended Saint Peter’s grade school
and then attended Mercyhurst Prep for high
school. She received her English degree from
Gannon University and her education degree from
Mercyhurst University.
In her spare time, Bridget enjoys golfing,
sailing on her boat, reading, and exercising to stay in shape. Cooking is something else she enjoys doing as
well. She also has a deep love for animals including her two cats whose names are Chloe and Sammy. Her
favorite animal overall, however, is a dog; unfortunately, having a dog around two cats would probably not
make for a happy household.
Her most prized possession is her mother’s wedding band. Her favorite color is periwinkle and her
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favorite sound is running water.
She is big on ‘80s music and some of her favorite artists and bands are Journey, Def Leppard,
Heart, and Madonna. Her favorite book is A Prayer for Owen Meany. Her favorite television shows are
Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and many TV dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy and Castle. Moreover,
she is an avid sports fan and gathers with friends to watch many different sporting events.
Bridget has done a lot of traveling, even though she has
a fear of flying; she has not let it stop her from visiting almost
every state in America as well as the Bahamas. She has been
to Europe several times and loves Ireland. Once, in London,
she visited The Royal Shakespeare Theatre. As she sat in her
seat, she happened to turn around and saw that Princess
Diana was a couple rows behind her. Bridget’s favorite place
to vacation is Tybee Island. She enjoys it because it is a
laid-back and very calm place where she can read novels,
walk the beach, and just be herself.
Bridget is a very talented story teller, and music is a
strong influence in her life as well. Her favorite instrument
to play is the guitar, but she would love to learn to play the
cello someday. She has fond memories of acting in a number
of plays. Her favorite play to act in was Jesus Christ Super Star
at Gannon. She loves doing comedy the most and has enjoyed
singing in the plays.
Her sister, Patricia, is a Sister of Mercy and the earliest
memory she can recall is when she and her family went down
to the Titusville, PA convent where her sister resided. She remembers that they had stairwells at the
convent. She remembers wanting to go up and down the steps like the nuns did each day.
One of her favorite memories is when she was visiting Ireland and staying at her friend’s parents’
bed and breakfast in Dungarvan. One morning she took a walk down to the beach and came upon an Irish
man who was training a horse. She said that it was a perfect moment; everything was incredible.
Most of her favorite memories, however, are with her parents during the holidays. One Christmas
when she was young, they welcomed home her brother, who had returned from the U.S. military in
Vietnam. The most memorable holidays were when the
weather was really bad. Whenever the storms would be
strong on Christmas or Thanksgiving is when the stories
and moments seemed the best. Bridget also used to go
down to her grandmother’s for Easter dressed in her
Easter best with basket in hand, waiting to go Easter egg
hunting. She can recall the smell of her grandmother’s
house on Easter: a strong smell of ham and polish sausage.
Her teaching career has been enjoyable, but has
gone really fast. “It’s been really a privilege to teach here.”
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She says. She hopes that students will be able to look
back on her class fondly and remember enjoying it. She
loves it when alumni come back and tell her that they
loved her class and that they learned a lot. She
considers those her greatest accomplishments. If she
could switch professions at all, she would love to work
with a non-profit agency to help with the community.
Bridget is very independent. She is very grateful
for her friends and family who help her when needed,
but she is very much able to take care of herself.
Words of wisdom that she has given are: “Live in
the moment. I think people get carried up with
rehashing the past and all the horrible things or
obsessing about things that already happened. What’s
done is done, you have to move forward. I think people
would be happier, and I know I am. If I live in the now,
in the here, in the moment, and not worry about what’s gone on or what’s going to happen.”
Family, friends, talents, and experiences are the threads that make up the fabric of Bridget Alice
Whalen’s life. So many of these things come together in a woman’s story about life, her loves, her pursuit
of happiness, and her dedication to being a teacher of young adults at Mercyhurst Prep.
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Nancy Jean Sipple Zimmerman: The Heart of MPS
By Abigail Harrington
Ms. Zimmerman has been faithfully serving the MPS community in numerous ways over the years,
but the role you most likely know her in is as the Community Service Coordinator and the head of the
Feed the Hungry Club. She has a passionate love for service that started when she got the chance to meet
Dorothy Day in high school. “I knew about her and I admired her, but meeting her and listening to her was
life changing. I attribute that to a lot of the things I’ve done in my life.”
Nancy Zimmerman was born on August, 27, 1947, to John
D. Sipple and Marjorie Kenyon Sipple. Her parents were set up as
prom dates, and it was love at first sight. Nancy’s mother was a
dancer at the Erie Dance Academy for several years, had a job as a
secretary, and worked in the county court house. Then she took on
the role of stay-at-home mom to raise all six of her children. Nancy
and her five siblings Tom, Christopher, David, Susan, and Jane all
grew up in Erie. Their father was employed at Marine National
Bank for many years and eventually became the executive vice
president for the bank, which would later be acquired by PNC. He
also served in the army during World War II in their finance corps
and held the position as assistant to the secretary of defense in the Pentagon.
When asked what her earliest memory is, Ms. Zimmerman will
describe to you a simple childhood story of fascination. She recalls
being about three and sitting in the backyard of the new house her
parents had purchased. Her parents were landscaping while she sat
playing with her pretty plaid dress. To her young amazement the
dress had a hidden pocket in the seam. “For some reason that was
the high point of my young life so far,” she will tell you with a giggle.
Nancy, in reminiscing, will also easily call to mind another favorite
childhood memory of hers which was visiting her aunt and uncle in
Pittsburgh during the summers. She remembers fondly going
shopping in the big department stores, having special afternoons for
tea, and getting to be like an only child for a few weeks!
Nancy attended Holy Rosary for grade school and St. Benedict’s for high school. She attended
Gannon University when the school was mostly boys with only 30 girls
admitted. Ms. Zimmerman describes the experience as one that made
her stronger, as she and the other girls had it much harder. She recalls
not being able to register for classes until all the boys had, and teachers
being upset that they had to teach girls. “I actually had teachers who
made it their mission to confuse me.” She remembers having a
physics teacher who gave her misinformation and a chemistry
teacher who accused her of cheating simply because he thought
women couldn’t be smart enough to get the right answers. In addition,
Nancy will tell you that when the yearbook advisor realized she’d be
the editor, he resigned. “I learned more from just the experience than
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I did from my classes because it was a real struggle.” She started out majoring in Math but switched to
English because it was a much friendlier environment.
After college, Ms. Zimmerman moved down to Huntington, West Virginia, for two years and
worked at Marshall University on the Institutional
Research Staff. She was there in 1970 when the
university’s football team all died in a tragic plane
crash. This horrible accident would inspire the movie
We Are Marshall in 2006. After two years in
Huntington, she would move back to Erie where she
would raise her two kids, Kathleen Claire (K.C.) and
Daniel. Her daughter is 34 and is a manger at a
local professional messaging service and
communications associate for Frostbite Pictures in
Vancouver, Canada. Her son Daniel is 36 and is a PhD
Physicist and
singer-songwriter in
Brooklyn, New York.
He works for a small
company called Pliant Energy Systems. While working on his PhD, he built
a model of Earth that enormously took up most of the room in the lab. It is
full of sodium which, when heated and spinning, simulates the core of the
Earth. Nancy says her favorite memory is when she witnessed her son
defend his PhD that he had been working on for 10 years because the
project was so in depth and involved. “It was an amazing day to just see
how hard he worked,” she beamed as she recalled it.
In addition to her two children, Ms. Zimmerman has another child
whom she considers her “adoptive son.” His name is Kamal Sharif and he
has quite a story. He lived in Mogadishu, Somalia until he was about five or
six. Somalia at that time was experiencing a civil war. Kamal’s family was threatened by a soldier and they
knew it was time to leave the country. They moved to Kenya and
stayed in a refugee camp until they were able to come over to the
United States when Kamal was about eight. He attended Erie City
Schools as he grew up here and went to East High School for his
freshman year. He played soccer for East and faced off against
MPS in a game. He saw our team pray and liked this added
religious aspect. Kamal then realized he’d like to go here. He was
able to attend MPS the following year where he met Ms.
Zimmerman. They met in Campus Ministry where he could be
away from all the food in the cafeteria, as he was observing
Ramadan. From that first meeting on, Kamal and Nancy became
like family. She recalls helping him in all kinds of motherly ways
throughout high school by giving so much beyond the call of a
teacher. Kamal would go on to graduate from MPS in 2007 which then led him to Mercyhurst University
and Gannon University, where he studied criminal justice. Ms. Zimmerman will go on to happily tell you
that he is currently married with two children in Washington State, where he works on the Washington
University’s police force.
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In her spare time, Nancy enjoys sewing, crocheting, reading, baking, drawing, writing, and
playing with her dog Radar, who is a loving dog of three years that they adopted from a shelter in Ohio.
Her favorite TV shows are Nova and the shows featured
on PBS. The Muppet Movie holds a special place in her
heart as she and her children grew up with the muppets.
Her favorite books are The Time Traveler’s Wife, The
Hunger Games, and any of Thomas Merton’s books.
Ms. Zimmerman became involved at MPS when
she was asked to become a substitute teacher here,
when previously she had only subbed at grade schools.
On her first day subbing in room 102, the theater
director came in to get costumes. He sent out a student
who knew Ms. Zimmerman to ask if she could repair a
cape because the student knew she sewed. Nancy then
became the costumer for the theatre department for the next several years before her current position as
Community Service Coordinator opened. However, Mercyhurst Prep is not the only place she has exemplified her natural love of service. She was a co-founder for the Upper Room Shelter and ran the food pantry
at Our Lady of Mount Carmel for five years, in addition to dedicating her time to countless other food
pantries and community projects around Erie over the years. Ms. Zimmerman
wishes to impart to the students of MPS a sense of fearlessness by always encouraging us to push
ourselves to discover new areas of life. “Don’t be afraid to try something new because you might fail or
feel uncomfortable. Stepping outside of your comfort zone or trying something that you are afraid of
can build your confidence, lead to new discoveries, and introduce you to new friends. Accepting risks
can open doors to a better and more enriching life.” Her easygoing, encouraging, and caring personality
makes it easy to see why she truly is the heart of MPS.
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