AHS-HHS-LHS Alumni Associations honors five new members

Aug. 19—From Staff Reports

The AHS-HHS-LHS Alumni Association will honor five new members from Ashtabula and Harbor High Schools, on their induction into the Alumni Hall of Fame at a dinner banquet Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 at the Andrus Banquet Center, 2259 West Avenue, Ashtabula.

The formal induction ceremony will be at 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 at Lakeside High School. The public is invited to attend both events with Friday's being free and the dinner on Thursday being $50. Invitations/Reservations are available through Cheryl Buck, 440-228-5321, and are requested to be made by September 6 for planning purposes.

Each inductee will be presented with an engraved award. Permanent commemorative plaques with each inductee's picture and a short biography will be displayed at Lakeside High School in the Hall of Fame area just outside the doors of the performing arts center.

The Hall of Fame and related activities are organized and supported by the Ashtabula/Harbor/Lakeside Alumni Association with selection of nominees done by the Hall of Fame Committee.

Anyone wishing to nominate a graduate of Ashtabula, Harbor or Lakeside High School for the Hall of Fame is asked to send a nomination form or complete resume of the nominee to the Hall of Fame Committee, P.O. Box 297, Ashtabula, OH 44005-0297. The Alumni Association is responsible for all Hall of Fame activities and two annual scholarships to graduating Lakeside Seniors. Membership is $50 for 3-years with life memberships available. Questions may be directed to current President Sue Riley at sues_news@hotmail.com or J.P. Ducro IV at jpducro@ducro.comor 440-992-2191 membership applications and Hall of Fame nomination form are available online atwww.aacs.net using the CONTACT tab and selecting Alumni Association.

This year's inductees from Harbor High School are: Mary Lou (Jaskela) Marshall, Class of 1957 and Martha M. (McMillan) Barton, Class of 1970; and from Ashtabula High School: Ted Dieffenbacher, Class of 1963, Larry Rappe, Class of 1968, and Janis Bowdler, Class of 1996.

MARY LOU MARSHALL

Harbor High School Class of 1957

After college, marriage and five children, Mary Lou began her community volunteer activities. These included the American Red Cross, the 648 Board of Mental Health and the American Cancer Society where she chaired the All-County Membership Drive for several years and was honored as the Board Member of the Year in 1981.

In 1977 she was a host parent for an American Field Service student from New Zealand as well as serving on many committees for the organization.

As a member of St. Peter's Episcopal church, she became the first Woman Lay Leader.

In 1979 Mary Lou, along with other community leaders, began to explore the concept of starting a Hospice in Ashtabula. She served on the first Board of Directors of Hospice of Ashtabula County and became the first Volunteer Coordinator. She studied at the Connecticut Hospice Institute in the field of volunteerism and bereavement. And, she studied at the University of Colorado / Boulder, CO to become a Certified Director of Volunteers. She continues to be an active Hospice volunteer.

As the co-owner of a durable medical equipment company, her involvement was in marketing and sales. She enjoyed presenting "In Service" programs for nurses and physicians at hospitals and nursing homes.

After her retirement to Florida, Mary Lou became active in The Garden Club of Stuart where she served on the Executive Board, was the Scholarship chairperson, volunteered at the Treasure Coast Hospice Gardens, served as Chaplain and won many awards for Horticulture and Design at Juried Flower Shows. In 2018 she was honored with The Distinguished Service Award.

She has proudly served on every reunion committee for the HHS Class of 1957.

MARTHA "MARTI" M. BARTON

Harbor High School Class of 1970

The seeds for the wealth and breadth of Marti McMillan Barton's life experiences grew from her years in Ashtabula, where she was first a Girl Scout, and then at Harbor High School where she was a student leader, was inducted into the National Honor Society her junior year, and served as a student member of the Ashtabula City Council.

After being born and raised in Ohio, Marti's choices took her to live in Michigan, Kentucky, Washington State, then Germany (as an Army wife), before moving back to Ohio. In 1987, she moved to Bolingbrook, Illinois with her family.

As a licensed "ham" radio operator, in 1990 Marti stepped right into public service providing auxiliary communications following a local tornado disaster, and during a three-week large-scale telephone service outage. She has been a trained severe weather spotter since 1989, serving with the Illinois Six County Skywarn Network and Bolingbrook's Emergency Management Agency, offering training in severe weather spotting procedures and network communications. She is also a lifetime member of the Bolingbrook Amateur Radio Society.

In 1999, Marti established her own writing, marketing, and website development business called WordCrafters, Inc. In 2005, her business won a Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce's Best of Bolingbrook Businesses award, in recognition of its ongoing success and how her values are reflected in her corporate citizenship within the community.

Marti has been an active member of the Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce, serving 12 years on its board of directors, including one term as its president, and currently serves in a number of leadership positions. In 2014 she was awarded the Chamber's Women in Business Community Leadership award.

In 2006, she was chosen by the Mayor as Bolingbrook's Female Citizen of the Year in recognition of her significant contributions to the community. Before establishing her wedding officiant service, Joyful Promises, Marti received her pastoral ordination, and it has been her joy to unite over 500 couples in marriage. In 2019, Joyful Promises received a Bolingbrook Chamber's Best of Bolingbrook Businesses award.

She is currently serving her 14th year on the Illinois Aviation Museum in Bolingbrook board, and is an award-winning Distinguished Toastmaster.

Being involved and giving back is so deeply entrenched in Marti's DNA that in 2020, at the age of 69, Marti entered into a new career as a public servant by being elected to the position of Bolingbrook's Village Clerk.

Marti is a widow, has four adult children/stepchildren, a daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters. With her partner Michael, her family has expanded to include his two daughters, their spouse/significant other, and his three grandchildren.

TED DIEFFENBACHER

Ashtabula High School Class of 1963

Ted is a lifelong educator and more recently a published writer, having co-authored "Lake Effect: Coming of Age in Ashtabula, Ohio." Ted was born and raised in Ashtabula but has since lived and worked a total of 27 years abroad, including the Philippines, Brazil, Costa Rica, Portugal, Thailand, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, and Mozambique. "Lake Effect" brings his story home to his formative years when one of his first jobs while still in high school was as a sports and feature writer with the Ashtabula Star Beacon.

His first professional position after college was as a teacher and community development organizer as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Living two years in a developing country was a transformative experience, and from then on he wanted to always have an international dimension in his work and life. At that he succeeded. Upon return to the US, Ted taught English for several years at both Mentor and Edgewood High Schools. He then moved to Boston where he worked as Director of the Boston University International Student Office, coordinating services for 2500 international students and faculty from 108 countries.

From 1983 to 2014, Ted followed his wife's career as a US Diplomat at American embassies and consulates all over the world. Moving to a new country on average every three years, Ted worked in various American/International schools as an English teacher, Guidance Counselor, Principal, Director of Admissions and Marketing, and Board Member. In Mozambique, he worked as an educational consultant. He also taught in a program to prepare Mozambican students for study in the US. At the University of Papua New Guinea, he served as Director of a Placement and Internship Office. Over the course of his forty-eight-year career as an educator, he worked at every grade level, from grade one to university.

Ted earned a BA from Wittenberg University in 1967; MEd in Counseling from Edinboro University in 1972; and MA in International Affairs from Ohio University in 1975. Foreign languages include Portuguese and Spanish. In 1980, he went to West Germany on a Fulbright grant for international educators. As a member of the Rotary Club in Papua New Guinea, he coordinated the RYLA Youth Leadership Award. In retirement he has volunteered as a mentor with high school students in two Miami organizations: Take Stock in Children and Empowered Youth. Ted is an active member of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of South Florida, engaging in projects that carry out the third goal of Peace Corps: "Promoting a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans." Ted and his wife, Leslie Rowe, live in Coral Gables, Florida, and have three adult children.

LARRY RAPPE

Ashtabula High School Class of 1968

Born in Butler, PA on November 16, 1949, Larry grew up in Ashtabula, OH. Upon graduation from Ashtabula High School, he deployed to Vietnam with the US Marine Corps, where he served his country honorably. In respect to his service, he was awarded several honorable service medals, including the Purple Heart, which he earned on December 7, 1969.

After receiving a Bachelor's in Psychology from St. Leo College, his dedication to help others led him to work with the Eckerd Family Youth Alternatives, Inc. He began as a counselor who worked with troubled youth and was privileged to become a director before leaving to pursue a Bachelor's of Social Work from The University of West Florida. He went on to earn a Masters in Social Work from Florida State University and began his career with the Pensacola Vet Center where he was able to instill in other veterans that their service did not stop when they took off their uniform.

He proudly retired as the Team Leader of the Vet Center after dedicating 26 years to serving and assisting other Veterans. In honor of his service to his fellow Veterans and their families, Larry was the third recipient of the Col. George E. "Bud" Day Lifetime Achievement Award.

Larry also passionately devoted his time and services to disaster relief work. Beginning in 1986, he responded to natural disasters and terrorist attacks worldwide, with his fellow team members from Critical Incident Stress Management of Florida (CISM); and Florida 1 Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As a result of his global work in disaster relief and stress management, he published numerous academic articles in addition to government manuals; and had been invited to conduct trainings and presentations for other Emergency Service Providers worldwide.

Through the partnership of the Annual Japan/US Social Welfare Symposium at The University of West Florida, he and his wife were invited to present their work on disaster relief and mental health to professionals and students in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 known as the Great Tōhoku.

For as long as his family can remember, he had his yellow "go bag" ready in case he was called to respond to a disaster. He and that yellow go bag have helped so many other first responders and victims.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Larry was one of the first responders, along with his team from Florida 1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), to respond to the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, his response to that tragedy is what ultimately took his life. Some time ago, Larry was diagnosed with a strand of Pulmonary Fibrosis that was specific to the first responders of the World Trade Center, and sadly, incurable.

JANIS BOWDLER

Ashtabula High School Class of 1996

Janis Bowdler is the U.S. Department of the Treasury's first Counselor for Racial Equity. She has spent the last two decades advancing economic equity solutions for communities of color and breaking down the barriers that underpin the disparities in wealth and financial security by race and gender. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, she saw firsthand how neighborhood conditions impacted the life opportunities of her family and neighbors, often resulting in an uneven playing field that has left communities of color and our most vulnerable communities at a stark disadvantage. Drawing on her lived experience and two decades of working in coalition with Black, Latinx, and AAPI communities, Janis has dedicated her career to dismantling the structural and institutional racism that has allowed the racial wealth gap to persist and widen.

Janis' career has spanned local service, national advocacy, and international philanthropy. Janis received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Malone College in Canton, Ohio and a Master of Science degree from Cleveland State University. She is a proud Latina, a yoga instructor, marathon completer, and mom to one daughter, two dogs, and a bunny. She lives with her husband and her family in Takoma Park, Maryland.