Class Notes - 1970s

1970

Jody Stahancyk ’70 is a senior partner in the Portland law firm of Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook, which received the 2005 Better Business Bureau Large Business of the Year Award for Oregon and Southwest Washington. It’s the first time a law firm has won the award for that district. Ron Johnson ’84, JD ’87 is a managing partner in the firm.

1971

Carolyn Hampton ’71, the first woman ordained as a pastor by the Presbytery of the Cascades in western Oregon, recently celebrated 28 years as a minister and 22 years as a certified Christian educator. She serves as a copastor with her husband, David Hampton ’75, mostly in small, rural churches, and as an educational consultant. She is executive director of Circuit Rider Books, a nonprofit book ministry serving mainline protestant denominations in the Pacific Northwest.

Paul Nelson ’71 spent the last 31 years as a litigator with the San Francisco law firm of Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft. In January, the firm merged with Philadelphia-based Duane Morris. Nelson, a senior partner, continues to do major business and class action litigation. He lives with his wife of 25 years, Mary, in Piedmont, California. They have three sons, ages 23, 22, and 20. 

Jim Pippin JD ’71 has retired from active practice. Mark Bocci JD ’76, his legal partner, continues to represent plaintiffs.

Lynn Rosencrantz ’71 is the creator of Lynnie An Inner Child, a line of books, affirmation cards, calendars, and interactive dolls. Her products take people down a path of self-discovery to meet their inner child. Rosencrantz has spent the last two years marketing her products to retail stores, online catalogs, mental health facilities, schools, and online consumers. She and her husband, Arne, have two children: Marcus, 29, who recently finished his residency at the University of California at San Diego, and Amy, 26, who just completed her second year of veterinary school at Kansas State University.

1972

Ellen O’Brien ’72 reports that 2005 was “the best year of my life.” She went to Toronto with her high school roommate; to Louisiana with her husband and sons; to Iceland with her husband; and to India, Cambodia, and Thailand with one of her best friends. O’Brien worked as a librarian in three different libraries until she got one of her own: She opened a library in Keansburg, New Jersey, a town of 11,000 that had never had a freestanding public library before. She’s had quite an adventure going from no shelves and too many unusable books to shelves, computers, books, and patrons–all in just five months!

1973

Randy Snider ’73 was a featured speaker at the 2005 Pacific Northwest Brain Injury Conference. He suffers from a traumatic brain injury caused by stepping on a land mine in Vietnam in 1968.

1974

William Cobb JD ’74, a senior partner of Erickson, Thorpe & Swainston, has published “Defending the Informed Consent Case” in the Defense Counsel Journal, the law review of the International Association of Defense Counsel. The article addresses issues facing attorneys defending health care providers in malpractice actions. Cobb has served as a mediator and a Nevada Supreme Court settlement judge. He was included in the civil litigation section of the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

1975

Lori Hankenson ’75 and her husband, Steven Thompson ’75, live in Portland. Hankenson is director of the pediatrics department at St. Vincent Medical Center. Thompson is a pathologist at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver. Their son, Joey, is studying American Sign Language at Portland Community College. Their other son, Scotty, is a seventh-grader at Cedar Park Middle School and enjoys chess.

Karen Lindsley ’75 is self-employed as a piano tuner and technician. She spends most of her time restoring old pianos.

Lex Morgan ’75 and her husband celebrated their 25th anniversary last March. They have three biological children and an 8-year-old-girl from Kazakhstan, whom they adopted in 2004. Morgan says, “Call me!”

Gayle Murphy ’75 was appointed senior executive for admissions for the State Bar of California. She oversees the bar’s 60-employee office of admissions, which provides staff support to the Committee of Bar Examiners. Murphy began her State Bar career in 1981 and has served in a variety of positions in that organization.

Nicholas Teeny ’75 is a staff officer for the Department of Homeland Security, headquartered in Washington, D.C.

John “Pat” Wolke JD ’75 was appointed to the Josephine County circuit court by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski in February. Before his appointment, Wolke served as a fulltime circuit court judge pro tem in Josephine County and worked in both the private and public sectors. He was the district attorney in Wheeler and Gilliam counties from 1980 to 1994.

1976

Mark Bocci JD ’76 continues to represent plaintiffs following the retirement of his partner, Jim Pippin JD ’71. Bocci’s office is in Lake Oswego.

Susan Jensen ’76 is principal harpsichordist for the Portland Baroque Orchestra. She is one of few continuo specialists in the Northwest and can improvise with many ensembles. Jensen has played with Chamber Music Northwest, the Oregon Repertory Singers, Capella Romana, and the Oregon Symphony. When not performing music, she is a visual arts teacher and chair of the music department at Oregon Episcopal School in Portland.

1977

David Audet JD ’77, a Hillsboro attorney, was appointed by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to a four-year term on the Psychiatric Security Review Board. Audet is a partner in Audet & Collings and continues to practice criminal defense in state and federal courts.

Jeffrey Jones ’77 was appointed by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to serve as state circuit court judge for Clackamas County. Jones has been an adjunct instructor at the law school since 1994.

Craig Metcalf JD ’77 has joined the Salt Lake City law firm of Snell & Wilmer, where he will establish an intellectual property law group. Metcalf was a founding shareholder in the intellectual property law firm of Madson & Metcalf, where he worked for 15 years.

Lawrence Miles ’77 has moved again! This time, he’s trying the Deep South as the environmental, health, and safety manager for CRH North America, a global supplier of automotive components. He says he’s had a bit of a culture shock, but the winter weather is great!

1978

Brian Doherty JD ’78 has joined Pacific University’s board of trustees. He is a partner in the Portland law firm Miller Nash, where he represents employers and insurers in matters involving OSHA citations, general labor and employment disputes, premium disputes, and other administrative agency claims. Doherty’s practice also emphasizes state and local government relations, and he represents a number of national and international clients before the state legislature. He is a member of several Oregon state agency advisory committees and task forces.

Steven Jones JD ’78 has been named a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Ron Marks ’78 is adjunct professor of intelligence and international security at the National Defense University. He teaches senior international military and U.S. government officials about the history and structure of America’s intelligence program. Read more about Marks in the summer 2005 Chronicle, which is available online here.

MardiLyn Saathoff ’78, MAT ’83, JD ’90 has been presented with the Oregon State Bar Business Law Section’s James B. Castles Leadership Award. She has applied her legal acumen in a variety of settings, including Tektronix and the Oregon Department of Justice. She currently serves as legal counsel to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski. Read more about Saathoff in the summer 2005 Chronicle, which is available online here.

1979

K. William Gibson JD ’79 served as editor of Flying Solo: A Survival Guide for the Solo and Small Firm Lawyer (fourth edition), just published by the Law Practice Management Section of the ABA. He is a regular columnist for the ABA’s Law Practice magazine and is the author of How to Build and Manage a Personal Injury Practice, published by the ABA in 1997 and named best law book for that year by Lawyer’s Weekly. Gibson is currently writing the second edition of that book.

Phyllis Oster ’79 is special adviser to the president of Pacific Northwest College of Art and is planning the college’s centennial celebration in 2009. Previously, she was director of international relations and cultural affairs for Portland Mayors Vera Katz and Tom Potter. She directed the capital campaign to build Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden and was responsible for Portland’s Sister City program. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Oregon Jewish Museum and the American Jews Committee, Portland Chapter.

Julia Philbrook JD ’79, a judge, is a member of the 2006 Queen’s Bench board in Oregon.

Pinky Wassenberg JD ’79 is interim dean of the College of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Finis Williams III JD ’79 has been named legal counsel to the New Hampshire State Democratic Party. He serves on the board of governors for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and is a past president of the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association.