MacKay Clan Grand Council



MacKay Clan Courier

EDITION # 79 JUNE 2018

The 50th Golden Annual Clan Reunion

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MacKay Clan Grand Council

Kenneth MacKay, Chieftain

Bob Sutton

Gary Martineck

Milford Dunn

John MacKay

Mark McCready

Donald Martineck

Tom MacKay

Edward MacKay

Jim Sarra

Advisory Board

Ginny Clark

Marilyn Cash

Jerry MacKay

Greg Sutton

Robert MacKay

Debbie Ritz

Christine Sarra

Historian: Dawn Sutton

The MacKay Clan Courier has been published since 1968 and will continue only with your support. It is each family’s responsibility to submit articles. Without these articles, there would be no Clan Courier. Please do your part to keep this tradition alive!

Dedication

We mourn the passing of Carol Lee MacKay, mother of Debbie Ritz, and former wife of Roger, who passed away on April 12, 2018. A beautiful Celebration of Love Memorial was held in her honor on May 25th.

This edition of the Clan Courier is dedicated to her memory.

Chieftain’s Message

Dear MacKay Clan-

As we approach the 50th Family Reunion, I have been thinking about trees, family trees and branches.

I am currently in Killarney, Ireland and occasionally there are evenings when I am too tired to do much. At the end of those days I often find myself in the hotel room watching the Gaelic speaking television station, listening to the sound and reading the English translation at the bottom of the screen. I began this habit several years ago and while I have made little progress learning Gaelic, I have found that one benefit of this habit is that I watch programs on topics for which I would normally have no interest and learn new things. Last week I learned that the term Phenology refers to the study of the changing seasons, principally concerned with the dates of the first occurrence of events in their annual cycle. The show went into great detail to explain that a generation or so ago the seeds from a single tree were harvested. These seeds were then planted in diverse locations across Ireland. An identical set of measuring devices were installed at each tree to measure the diurnal changes to the different locations.

I realize that my fascination with that particular Gaelic speaking show was not entirely random. We tend to associate new information with things that are near to us. Phenology and trees most likely captured my attention since over the past several months I have watched as my daughter Emily, with the assistance of my sister Eileen, has reconstructed the Robert and Jane MacKay Family Tree. As we all know, Robert and Jane MacKay had ten children; five boys and five girls. Each of those ten had married resulting in twenty names on the family tree in the next generation (graphically it is a horizontal row). It was this generation that initiated the first MacKay Clan Reunion in 1968. My grandfather, Roy MacKay, was the eldest of the ten children. My father, Stuart, was only a few years younger than Roy’s youngest sibling. This wide range of ages within one generation often made for an interesting discussion when referring to the different ‘generations’ of the MacKay Clan.

There was a photo taken at that first reunion and for many years my parents, Stuart and Joyce MacKay, keep a print on a shelf in their dining room. Although a photograph is often touted as ‘worth a thousand words’ through time that photograph had had least one aspect that has created some confusion. Often over the past few years I have looked at it with others and identified someone in the photo only to find later that it was that person’s parent. In addition, the photo often brought with it a certain melancholy since with each passing year the number of us that could look at that photo and recognize our younger selves has dwindled to only a fraction.

In contrast, a family tree graphically lays out the different generations with a clarity that is much easier to understand. The consecutive generations organized into clear ‘horizontal layers’ simplifies in a way that the photographs do not. There are now six generations recorded on this family tree. As Emily compiled the information submitted by each branch I found it remarkable how the family has grown in size. There are currently more than 350 names. Since I was one of the older of the third generation, I had assumed that my granddaughter, Thea Kiebzak, born on the summer solstice last year, would be one of only a handful of the sixth generation began by Robert and Jane MacKay. She is, however, one of twenty-one which means that this sixth generation now exceeds the number of the second generation which created the initial reunion. Since most members of the fifth generation are still quite young, we can assume that this number will multiply over the next several years.

The individual branches of the family tree are far more complex to arrange than the generations. It is interesting to note that each branch of the family submitted their information in a different format. Families have become more complex over the past fifty years and the simple branching out from one couple more often than not no longer applies. Emily and Eileen diligently sorted through the submittals, often contacting individuals or cross-referencing the information with other records. When there was doubt, I interjected, so any errors are the responsibility of the Chieftain. We hope that we got it correct.

I look forward to seeing all of you in August. It is hard to imagine that in 1968 the children of Robert and Jane MacKay could have envisioned that 50 years later their grandchildren’s grandchildren would be meeting at a 50th Reunion!

Sincerely,

Chieftain Ken MacKay

NEW MEMBERS TO THE CLAN

Jordan Blair, by marriage to Chelsea Ballacchino, on October 8, 2017.

Celia Calabro, born on October 12, 2017, daughter of Taylor and Santino Calabro.

CONGRATULATIONS AND

WELCOME TO THE CLAN MACKAY!!

50th ANNUAL CLAN MACKAY REUNION

OUR GOLDEN CELEBRATION

This year’s very special reunion will be held again at Sweeney Hose Fire Hall, 499 Zimmerman St (corner Erie Ave), North Tonawanda, NY 14120 on Saturday, August 4, 2018 at 12:00PM. Please see the MacKay Reunion link for the details. We will once again celebrate our family by being together, meeting new members, and enjoying each other’s company.

We are trying to be more eco-friendly by not adding to the “plastic pollution” and so are not buying bottled water this year. We request attendees to please bring their own container to drink water. There is tap water available at the fire hall. Thanks!!

The MacKay Golf Tournament will be held at Shawnee Golf Course, 6020 Townline Rd, Wheatfield, NY 14132. We will have to make tee times for our group, so it will be necessary for those wanting to play to let us know – via email or phone – no later than 7/20/18, so the correct # of tee times can be made. We will be starting at 8:00 so please arrive between 7:30-7:45. Since the course is somewhat close to the location for the reunion, golfers will be able to go directly to the reunion site from the course.

We are also asking for you to contact us – phone 716 691-4800 or email (ssarra1044@) - to let us know how many in your family will be attending the reunion to help us prepare for and have sufficient food and drink.

We will continue with the tradition of honoring and remembering Robert and Jane MacKay and their 10 children started by John MacKay 5 years ago. Anyone who wants to visit the gravesite of Jane and Robert at Elmlawn Cemetery in Tonawanda meet on Sunday morning of the Reunion Weekend around 10am to pay respects. John has made this an annual event and brings a dozen roses, one for each child and two for Robert and Jane. If you can’t make it that day, the cemetery is open 8am to 8pm every day. The grave is located to the left of the fountain, off of Delaware Ave. It is about 12 gravesites forward from the fountain. Several family members also are buried near Jane and Robert.

If you have any suggestions or questions about this idea, please email or call John MacKay 516 404 6064 or mackayjohnra@

Over fifty years ago, Aunt Dorothy came up with a wonderful idea of formally establishing The MacKay Clan partly to honor Robert and Jane MacKay and also to provide an opportunity to unite family in the future.

At the 25TH Reunion, there was a beautiful tribute to the brothers, sisters and their spouses who had died in the interval. We could have another such tribute at the 50th reunion in 2018.

FAMILY TREE

As we approach the Clan’s 50th reunion, it is overwhelming to think about all the Clan members who have passed on. Many Clan members of the younger generation did not ever know the 10 children of Robert and Jane. Thanks to all who compiled the data for their individual families and to Emily MacKay Kiebzak and Eileen Lawrence, who took on the tedious task of taking all the data collected on and entering it into spreadsheets to produce a family tree that we will all be able to view at the reunion.

Clan Finances

The Clan’s finances have remained steady this past year. Some funds raised in the past few years have been earmarked to help fund some of the extra expenses involved with this year’s 50th Reunion celebration. However, we continue to be in need of, and will be collecting donations, contributions, or “dues” at this year’s Reunion. Contributions can also be mailed to Michael Martineck. These funds help pay for Clan expenses, mainly the mailing of the Courier, maintenance of the Clan website, and have allowed us to keep the food and beverage charges at the Reunion affordable for all our families. With the cost of so many things rising quickly, all of the Clan expenses are rising as well. Please help!

A suggestion from Nina Martineck (Clan Treasurer in training) 2 years ago to have a basket raffle to raise funds proved to be overwhelmingly successful. So we will once again ask any Clan members who would like to donate a basket in whatever theme you would like – children’s items, lottery tickets, spirits, use your imagination! Each person donating a basket will receive a ticket for a special raffle only for donators. This will help defray costs of the reunion and keep our prices family friendly, as well as provide needed funds for the 50th Reunion.

Clan MacKay on Facebook

The MacKay Clan continues to be on Facebook! We have 67 members. Join our group to share and receive information about our family all year long. All members of the group can share Clan photos, post exciting news, and receive reminders about upcoming events. As a reminder, posts to your own Facebook page are not carried over to the MacKay page, so you need to post them separately.

To join the group you must first be a member of Facebook, then search for our group under the name “Clan MacKay of Buffalo, NY” and click to join! If you are already a member, you can add your friends by clicking “Add Friends to Group” and typing in your friends’ names. Only members of our group can read or see items posted to the site.

MacKay Clan Web site



We continue to maintain the web site. Ideas for improving it are welcome, please contact Mike Sarra with your suggestions. The site includes Clan Courier issues – current and former, the Clan Directory, info about the Reunion, and results from all the events at last year’s Reunion. Efforts are underway to update the website and hopefully this will be completed by the Reunion!

The section on Clan History needs enhancement, and any suggestions, ideas, expertise you have to offer are needed. The link for lost family members continues to grow; please give us updates on your families. There are a number of members whose email addresses are no longer valid – please remember to send us a notice when you change your email address! Every year we lose touch with some members who fail to give us their updated information.

Roger MacKay Family News

This year has been a tough one with the passing of my mother Carol Lee MacKay. Mom passed on 4/12/18. She had been having some health issues since November. 

Her wishes were to have a “Celebration of Life Concert” in her memory. We fulfilled her wishes on Friday May 25th at St Mary’s of the Lake Church in Hamburg. It was an unforgettable evening as Mom’s life was captured through music and poetry. The Buffalo News did a beautiful write up on Mom. It was a wonderful tribute to her.

My son Michael graduated from Fredonia in December, top in his class. His hard work certainly paid off! He graduated majoring in Accounting and secondary degree in Finance.

Michael started his new job in downtown Buffalo in January with an Accounting firm.

Phyllis is doing well. She got away from our cold weather this past February and headed to Florida to enjoy some sun and spend some time with Friends.

We all look forward to seeing everyone for our 50th!!

      Debbie MacKay Ritz

Bob Sutton Family News

Once again we have had a busy year. Our 8-week road trip last summer was a great success. Bob did a wonderful job of plotting our itinerary. Our planned trip to Myrtle Beach on the way home was postposed since Hurricane Irma decided to visit Sarasota. We got home, emptied the screened porch, closed the hurricane shutters, bought staples and sat through the storm. We were very lucky. We didn’t lose power, WiFi or phone. Many Floridians were not so lucky.

In November I flew to Seattle, along with Pete’s mom, to stay with Zach and Shane while Pete had business in Michigan. It was wonderful seeing them, but the weather left a lot to be desired. Living in Florida so long, I truly missed the sunshine.

I returned to Seattle in May so Pete could join Bob, Greg and Jim Sarra in Scotland for a week of golf. They had a blast, and so did I! I’m sure all 4 men have stories to share if you’re foolish enough to ask them.

We are planning a 5-week road trip beginning in August. Once again we’ve added Myrtle Beach at the end. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate.

In September we are taking a 10-day train trip up the west coast of California from Los Angeles to Seattle. In Seattle we’ll see the Russells again.

We are looking forward to the 50th reunion. It’s quite an accomplishment to get together for 50 consecutive years. Our ancestors would be proud!

Bob and Dawn

Gary Martineck Family News

It's been another busy year for the Martinecks of Arkansas.

In December, we visited Scott and Dani in NYC. I've always wanted to see it at Christmas and it didn't disappoint. 

The first night it snowed, so although it was beautiful, I had no boots and my feet got wet and nearly froze.  We stayed just off Rockefeller Center so it was an easy walk to just about anywhere or we used Lyft taxis. We saw 2 plays: "SpongeBob Square Pants" - very cute and "The Play that Went Wrong" - absolutely hilarious. We also saw the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. Gary and I also visited the Guggenheim.   

I gave up waiting for "Wicked" to come to Fayetteville. I think our theater is too small. So we took a quick trip one weekend to Memphis to see it. We walked down Beale Street afterward for a drink and a little music. The next day we drove past a couple of the record studios and Graceland before heading home.

We just returned from a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine, Main and Danube. We flew to Amsterdam for a few days. We happened to hit the tulips at peak time - glorious! Other highlights were a visit to Anne Frank's house, very sobering, and celebrating the King's birthday. And what a party! It was almost like Mardi Gras only instead of floats it was a boat parade on all the canals. We took the ship from Amsterdam to Budapest going through 67 locks, seeing countless castles, palaces and churches along the way and at the many stops. Then we took a bus to Prague for 3 days before flying home. A fantastic trip except for the travel bronchitis that I always manage to get. 

While on our trip we had our master bath remodeled. It was a major job and we still have a week to go, six altogether. We also had the popcorn ceilings in the bedroom removed and the dust has permeated every nook and cranny. Now starts the clean up. UGH!

Next on the agenda is a visit to Dad for the 4th of July. It will be the first anniversary of my brother Grant's death and we all want to be together. 

Then it will be time to go to Buffalo for the big event. Gary has been hard at work on his projects. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again. See you in August.

Bonnie and Gary

Jim Sarra Family News

The Sarras have had another wonderful year of retirement. Last September, on our way to Florida, we took a side trip to visit friends in Canada, then spent some time in Quebec City, Bar Harbor, Booth Bay, and Ogunquit, Maine. Next was New York City, then on to Charlotte to spend some time with Mike and Geo. We loved all the beautiful sites in coastal Maine.

When we returned to Buffalo for the holidays, we certainly got our taste of winter – we were happy to return to Florida in January for what turned out to be a miserable winter up north. A visit from all the kids in March was a real treat, non-stop action vs our more usual relaxed pace!

Upon returning to Buffalo in May, Jim departed on a fabulous golf trip to Scotland, with Bob, Greg and Pete, with many highlights. The Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie (this site of this year’s Open), Muirfield, Old Troon, just to name a few. I believe there was also some time spent in a few pubs along the way.

On the home front, we are undergoing kitchen remodeling at our Florida home – taking place this summer while we are gone, not sure if we’re crazy or smart to do it this way.

We’ll be taking another side trip on our way to Florida again this year, details yet to be worked out. In the meantime, planning for the 50th Reunion has taken center stage. So looking forward to the celebration and seeing you all!

Dusher Family News

The Dushers have had another great year. Gavin just turned 5 years old, Tori will turn 4 in July, and Christine and Jeremy… both had birthdays too. Christine is still at the JCC as Kids Place director of the Getzville and Buffalo sites and Jeremy is still with Nike as an Assistant Head Coach. We’re excited that this summer we will be upgrading to a bigger home in Tonawanda, just in time for Gavin to start kindergarten in his new school.

We celebrated our 8th year of marital bliss by taking a family vacation down to Venice, FL to visit grandma and grandpa and Uncle Mike and Aunt Geo. The weather was amazing and we spent a lot of time at the beaches looking for seashells and sharks’ teeth, or at the pool trying to splash grandpa. Since we were going to be in Florida for Easter, the kids were nervous that the Easter Bunny wouldn’t be able to find them, but luckily it all worked out great in the end.

In Gavin related news, he spent the Fall and Winter doing gymnastics but then switched to indoor soccer in the Spring. It was his first time playing but he has really developed into a great player who can play any position, even though his favorite is goalie. As reigning Lads N Lassies game MVP he is also looking forward to playing all of the games at the reunion this year too. He is quite a competitor so watch out. During any quiet time he has, Gavin also enjoys reading books by himself and has even read a few books to his classmates in Pre-K or his little sister at bedtime!

Victoria has had another very busy year too. She has been doing gymnastics now since September and has really developed her balance and tumbling skills. She also loves music and singing songs and absolutely stole the show during an open mic at a restaurant in Florida by requesting to sing “Let It Go” from Frozen and completely nailing it. She is still obsessed with Disney Princesses, although we have branched out to more than just Anna and Elsa at this point. In her free time she really enjoys looking at books by herself too, just like her big brother Gavin.

McCarthy Family News

Dan and I checked a big item on our bucket list in April and May. We completed a 40 day trip that started in Singapore and ended in NYC. The cruise portion on the Mariner of the see was in two segments, the first from Singapore to Dubai,

This part of the cruise completed our around the world on a cruiseship goal. We continued on through the Gulf of Aden with security guards on to protect us from the pirates. As we were about to enter the Suez Canal, a passenger went overboard and the ship turned around to rescue him. He was recovered and hospitalized when we got to Israel. In Barcelona we changed to the new Carinval Horizon. It was only one month old and very shiny new. We enjoyed the journey but don’t plan on doing another one this long any time soon.

On the home front, we traveled to Port St Lucie to see our granddaughter Mallory (Dan Jr & Lori) graduate from eighth grade. All the family are doing well and some are planning to join us in Buffalo in August. We keep hearing good things about the plans for the 50th reunion. Thanks to all the local planning committee members. I’m sure it will be a great event! See you there.

Ken MacKay Family News

It’s been an eventful year especially with the addition of granddaughter, Thea. The little darling is chock full of energy and we are all waiting for her to take her first steps. She is one very loved baby girl. Today’s parents are an amazing group as they juggle home, work and life. “Thirty years ago” was very different.

Chieftain Ken is roaming the Emerald Isle and the homeland once again this summer. It’s been a busy year for Ken getting the GRoW House rebuilt on the UB Main Street campus. Students gained unprecedented experience doing the actual construction.

And, I have gained more and more experience with construction as the complexity of my work projects has increased. Currently I’m overseeing a new buildout on the historic floor of the Electric Tower in downtown Buffalo. The plan is to preserve the ‘Executive Board Room’ with its plaster ornamented ceiling, wood paneling and stone fireplace.

This year I’ve asked the children to contribute their own articles to the Newsletter. Stuart got around the directive by sending me his update: “Stuart is finally done with being in a classroom and is starting the clinical portion of medical school. He is excited to begin this part of his training.” I have to add, his smiling photo on his hospital badge says it all!

2017-2018 has been a big year for Parker.  He bought his first house on Colvin Boulevard in the Village of Kenmore around the first of the year.  Then in April he was appointed as the Acting Justice of the Village Court – bringing the number of sitting judges in the Clan to two (including Donny Martineck).  Parker still maintains his private practice, but now sits as a judge several nights a month for a portion of the Village’s civil and criminal cases.

Wishing good health and safe travels to all. Looking forward to seeing everyone the first weekend in August at the 50th Reunion.

Much love,

Kenneth S. MacKay Family

John MacKay Family News

The John MacKay family has been busy this past year with summer reunions at Gilbert Lake State Park near Oneonta and a day at Fantasy Island with the grandchildren and Uncle Rob and Uncle Jerry remembering when they were on those rides! 

Mary Ellen and John had another reunion with her siblings and their spouses at the Bear Mountain State Park near Highland Mills NY. Beautiful old inn and trails galore for walking.

We enjoyed another winter in Clermont, Florida. However, we decided to move permanently to Buffalo and are just now re-settling into our apartment. Lots of decisions on furniture to keep.  We have plans for next February to spend a month in Clermont, and then visit the Panhandle, New Orleans and San Antonio. The travel bug has bit us! We hope to have more time to share the holidays here with the family and see the grandchildren more too. Win/Win!

Looking forward to the Family Reunion and the special 50th Anniversary Dinner-Dance this year.Robert is DJ for the event and his partner, Danielle Weiser (Dani') will be at our table along with Beth and Jerry. John turns 75 this August and we are glad the grandchildren will be here for the MacKay reunion and to see their grandfather on his special occasion. So who could imagine fifty years passing so quickly! You have to be our age to understand the old adage about the  blink of an eye in life. 

John is busy organizing MacKay photos to screen at the Saturday picnic. Some of them go way back, really nostalgic and bitter-sweet. They were very good years.

 

Mary Ellen MacKay

Christopher Martineck Family News

The Golden year is here. And it has been a medal year for me, Lisa and the kids.

Natalle continues on her quest for a black belt. She is getting very close now, just working on ground fighting (which just cracks me up because she wouldn’t hurt a fly.) She also performed in the Nutcracker at UB Performing Arts Center again this year. Her ballet/dancing is beautiful and I’m sure she’d be happy to do an Arabesque if you ask. She also was on the winning team in her Middle School Olympics – yep – Gold.

Chase started her journey to Olympic Gold this Fall. She joined the Velocity Swim team which swims out of the Michael Phelps School of Swimming. She began competing in local meets. Chase has a drawer full of ribbons now, including some first places and records along the way. She is quite the fish…or polar bear (her nickname.) She also continues with her other love, the piano. Okay, it’s not the piano, but she is still taking lessons. No, it’s soccer. She made her travel team and is really enjoying the early start to the season (actually as some of you know, all kids’ sports have evolved into year-round if you want. Crazy.) But most importantly, Chase was awarded “Pride of Grand Island” by her school. It is a great achievement. Mainly because the Town realizes what we’ve known all along – Chase has a golden heart.

Nicholas has plans to compete against his sisters and a Martineck legend. First, he is in his second year of karate and will soon be testing for a purple belt. Natalle occasionally gets to instruct him at class, and I think it’s the only time Nicholas actually listens to her. Second, Nicholas is taking swim lessons at Michael Phelps Swim School and has just recently been asked to join their recreational team (it’s the step before being asked to join the Velocity competitive team which Chase is on.) Lastly, it’s baseball. Grandma fills him with stories about Great Grandpa Mike and we can already tell he envisions himself hitting long HR’s. (As an aside, Lisa thought I was crazy for putting up a batting cage in our backyard – but then I caught her hitting balls while Nicholas was feeding the machine.) Still not sure if Nicholas has a Golden Arm, but he does have a Golden Swing.

Not much from Lisa or myself. I’m training for the Chicago Marathon and have already done a couple of half marathons this year. Lisa is working hard at the Downtown Salon. Hard to believe the new building is hitting the two-year anniversary already. If you have time, stop in and see the place – it’s beautiful.

Just a reminder: I have the most awesomest, incredible, once in a lifetime basket for the Reunion. But the only way you can get a ticket for the drawing is if you bring a gift basket for the table.

See y’all soon,

Chris and Lisa Martineck, Natalle (12), Chase (9), Nicholas (7)

Michael Martineck Family News

Martinecks, Michael’s sub-clan

To annual readers of this column, Yes, I will continue to update you on Sarah’s exotic trips. The usual hits made the list - Santo Domingo, San Francisco, Denver, but she added some new hotspots - Gainesville, Sheboygan, and oddly enough, Appleton, WI. Meanwhile, Max performed wonderfully on the track and even better on the stage, signing “I bet my Life” by Imagine Dragons and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. None of us had any idea that Max could sing and then . . . wow. And a big Wow from Nina, too. She took home four awards this year. One for achievement in French, one for leadership from Brandeis University. The Claudia Dentiece DiJoseph Math and Science Award (given to the single best Math and Science student) and the Sperrazza Family Award (given to the single best student in Social Studies). Getting four awards at Nardin is breathtakingly remarkable. Getting awards in math-science and the humanities is just crazy. It’s usually one or the other, right? That’s always been my excuse. Nina also published The Knowers this year. It’s delightful and available at and I’d say more wonderful things she doesn’t need a bigger ego going into her senior year.

Jeff Geist Family News

Hi. This year so far has been busy and full of celebrations for our family. Jeff and I are looking forward to making it to the Clan Reunion this year.

Our  daughter Ashley just graduated from her Occupational Therapy Program. She is moving back to Caldwell Idaho which is only about 2 hours away. Her boyfriend John also graduated this year from Law School. We are so proud of their accomplishments. This May Jeff and Ashley did a bike ride called the Katy Trail which starts in Clinton MO and ends in Machens MO. I came and drove the support car. The small historical Missouri towns were so interesting to see and the people so friendly.

Ryan has gotten accepted to Medical School and starts in July. He will be studying in Utah so he is 8 hours away from us. He is really looking forward to getting started with school. Ryan and three of his college buddies are doing a Asia trip together in May before everyone starts their graduate programs.

Jeff and I are still busy with managing and fixing rentals. Jeff is currently working part time and is finally thinking of retiring. We are very lucky to be surrounded by family and enjoy when we all can get together.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion.

Take Care.

Jeff and Janice Geist

Don Martineck Family

Things have been going well for us this past year. Terri retired completely this past December. Working at Bon-Ton took its toll on her legs. Stranding on the concrete floor at the registers for hours was not fun anymore. I decided not to run for election for another four year term. I figured twelve years was enough. We are hoping to do a lot more traveling next year but that is yet to be seen. We enjoyed a trip to The Dominican Republic this April with a group of eight of our friends and are hoping to do it again next year with the same group. We also invited our granddaughter Taylor to go with us. We do need someone to us oldsters in line. Not much else in the line of news, looking forward to seeing you all at the Reunion.

Greg Sutton News

It’s been a rather quiet year for us, although my transfer to the Pentagon from Virginia Beach was big news.  No more weekly commutes between DC and the beach has been great for my back.  Work at the Pentagon has proved more interesting than anticipated with occasional peeks behind the proverbial curtain at the inner workings of the Department of Defense.

My move to DC coincided with the start of the Ravens regular season, which was the first for JoAnn and me as new PSL owners.  We’re looking forward to our return to the playoffs this season, starting off with a win over the Bills Week 1 at home!

 

In January JoAnn, her boys, and I flew to Seattle and spent a fantastic long weekend with Pete and Kelly and the kids.  There was the obligatory trip to the top of the Space Needle, snow tubing, hikes led by Pete that seemed more like forced marches, albeit through gorgeous terrain, and a full day of skiing for Ethan and me.

 

JoAnn continued her volunteer foster work with a sweet mini-Australian Shepherd we named Pearl, who came to us with her five two-day old puppies from a horrid puppy mill in West Virginia.  All her puppies have been adopted, but we’re still caring for Pearl and hope to find her a great home soon.

 

Finally, Dad, Jimmy, Pete and I were lucky enough to tag along on a golf trip to Scotland arranged by the dad of one of my good friends.  The other three played some great golf.  My game, although I pared the first and second on the Old Course, needs some work before August!

 

Ethan will be joining us again at the reunion, and we can’t wait to see everybody!

Mike Sarra News

We hope this past year has been good for everyone. Our post-reunion year started with a crazy hunt to obtain special glasses to watch the eclipse. Charlotte was almost in the full eclipse path so we were able to enjoy the event from our backyard. The experience was eerily exciting, and it’s shocking how powerful 2% of the sun is. Geo was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” for all of her amazing work with Charlotte Pride.  She played a major part in organizing the Charlotte Pride Festival, which is the largest of its kind in the Southeast.

Jim and Sue visited during the crazy last week of the NFL season. It was a treat to celebrate the Bills finally making the playoffs with them. In the spring, we got to spend some great time with the whole family down in Florida.

We had the fortune of attending a Charlotte TEDx event and witnessed some awesome talks. Mike was blown away by a talk about aquaponics and hopes to start tearing apart the entire back yard to build a pond for the fish and plants to grow. (We’re not going to tear apart our backyard for Mike to fill it with water, fish, and plants). In other backyard-related news, we doubled the size of our garden by making another raised garden bed. Our plants have responded to the favorable weather this year. Our tomato plants have already shot up to grow taller than both of us! We call it our tomato jungle.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the 50th!

Daisher Family News

The Daisher's are all doing well here in Idaho.  We love living with a little space and a fun hobby farm.  We have a horse, 4 goats, 2 dogs, a cat and for now a dove we rescued.  Miles continues to travel the world BASE jumping and skydiving, making demonstration jumps and great clips for social media and youtube.  Nikki manages their rental properties, manages Miles' schedule, coaches Audrey and Dorothy's school cheer and does all the mom stuff.  Our three kiddos are doing great, getting bigger all the time.  Dorothy is 13, going into 8th grade and loves all star cheer.  Audrey is 11, going into 6th grade and is also into all star cheer.  We travel many competitions to watch them tumble, stunt and dance with their teams.  Eli is 9, going into 3rd grade and loves to ski and play soccer.

Nikki's mom and dad (Dorothy and Harry) still live two doors down.  We love having them so close, (they often have us over for a bowl of ice cream)!  See you al in August for the reunion!

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Nau Family News

We started the new year on a Caribbean cruise - with all the family, Lisa, Lisa’s finance Kristen, Julia, Julia’s boyfriend Anthony. It was great fun!

Marjie ‘retired’ from banking June 1st and is thrilled to give up the Rochester/Buffalo commute after 16 1/2 years.

So begins the adventures (not constrained by available vacation days away from work) - We leave for Germany on June 11 for a month of exploring and bicycling time to also include France, Austria, Luxembourg and ending in Switzerland.

John continues to build custom amplifiers - which is his passion and playing in bands.

We are busy with planning for the wedding of Lisa and Kristen in October.

After Julia and Anthony took a Fall cross country trip and stayed in Washington state for a few months, they have now settled in Minneapolis. Looking forward to visiting to check out the hiking, kayaking and biking options.

Hope to see you all in August.

Lisa Nau News

Lisa Nau & Kristen Lanphear 

We have had a very busy year since last year’s Clan Reunion! It all started with our trip to Lisa’s favorite place on Earth, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida in late August 2017. She proposed to Kristen in the United Kingdom Pavilion at EPCOT (since England is Kristen’s favorite place on Earth), and of course Kristen said yes! The wedding date is set for October 7, 2018, so we’ve been in a whirlwind of planning and preparing. We are ready to tie the knot with a small group of our closest family and friends at a beautiful venue in Mendon, NY.

We’ve spent many evenings and weekends this year in libraries and coffee shops as we are both back in school. Lisa began taking classes in August to earn a teaching certification in Elementary and Special Education. Although the two-year program is intense, Lisa’s hard work and passion for teaching has resulted in her being one of the top students in her class. She is working as a substitute teacher for the Rush-Henrietta School District in between classes and observation placements. She is scheduled to graduate in May 2019. Kristen continues to work on her Master’s of Public Health degree online through the University of New England. Also set to graduate in May 2019, Kristen plans to stay in her current position at Trillium Health as a Grants Manager and possibly pursue becoming an adjunct professor.

Even with both of us in school and working, we have still found time to have some fun! Lisa was able to take a trip to Orlando in February for the Human Rights Campaign’s Time to THRIVE Conference, and of course snuck in a few days at Disney while she was in town. Kristen went to Chicago in October for a work conference and did some solo sightseeing and exploring. John and Marjie took us (and Julia and Anthony) on an amazing cruise to Mexico in January, where we got to swim with sea turtles, snorkel in the ocean, and get away from the frigid New York winter for a week.

We are looking forward to all that the next year has in store for us, including starting our new lives as a married couple. We are thrilled and honored to announce that we will both be taking the last name MacKay. We felt this was a great way to not only unite us as a couple but reaffirm our connection to the heritage and tradition of the Clan.

We look forward to seeing everyone and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Clan Reunion!

[pic]

Kelly Watts and Kip Kelly

Scott Martineck News

Scott and Dani Martineck are still trying to take NYC by force.

Scott has added acting back into his repertoire, appearing in several sketch shows, an excerpt of a new horror play by Katelynn Kenney, and several short films. He is also writing and learning how to use their new video camera. He still works at Starbucks and has picked up some extra part time work at the Soho Rep Theater Company, house managing and bar tending before shows. He can often be seen trying pet the numerous feral cats that roam the neighborhood.

Dani's still going strong with both day jobs, sciencing in the mornings and lit managing/producing in the afternoons. Then they're acting, writing, climbing trees at night. This year saw Dani's first Off-Broadway and Broadway auditions (and callbacks) and their first leading roles in several short films. The short rom com they starred in, Potion Masters, is on its way to film festivals. Send good vibes! Up next, Dani will be acting in a new play by Caroline Bennett in FringeNYC with a cast and creative team of fierce women. 

Dani also worked as a playwright with two local companies this year. Urban Stages Outreach Program commissioned a one-act touring production about Cathay Williams, the first (documented) Black woman to disguise herself as a man to join the US Army after the Civil War. That toured to adult literacy centers in Brooklyn throughout the spring and was part of a showcase at Urban Stages' midtown theater in July. Dani was also part of New York Shakespeare Exchange's inaugural Diversity Cohort of playwrights, and had an excerpt of a new play utilizing heightened language developed and presented in the Shakespeare for Everyone Festival in early May. 

With so much going on, the NYC Martinecks usually stay pretty local, but they're both so happy to be back in Buffalo for the 50th!

Dave Lawrence News

We are both doing well. Eileen is enjoying retirement, keeping busy with her workouts at the Y, projects around the house and helping niece Emily by watching Thea when needed. Dave is in his last year at work and beginning in January 2019 we will become snowbirds spending three months or so in Florida. We still enjoy our trips to Disney World and have rented a condo not far from there for January – March 2019.

We’ve done many races at Disney World, in the past year we completed the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in November, the 25th Annual Disney Marathon in January and most recently the Star Wars Half Marathon in April. We are looking forward to experiencing some of the other Florida races while we spend the winters there.

Hope everyone is well, see you in August!

Kiebzak Family News

The past year has been quite an adventure for the Kiebzak family! Miss Thea Elizabeth made her debut on 6/21/17 and has turned our world upside down since her arrival. She has gladly taken on the role of first grandchild on both sides of the family and thoroughly enjoys being the center of attention at any and all gatherings (whether or not she is supposed to be). By the time of the reunion, Thea will be just over a year and most likely eating everything in sight and gladly demonstrating just how “cute” she is. If you ask nicely, she will probably show off her plethora of animal noises and fake burps.

Mike has continued to work at Ingram Micro - still not 100% sure exactly what his job entails but it is definitely something to do with technology. He recently had the opportunity to travel to Nashville for a work conference but was unfortunately stuck in hotel conference rooms the majority of the time. Thea has him completely wrapped around her finger and takes full advantage of this during any diaper changes and naps that daddy is in charge of.

I have spent the last year adjusting to the steep learning curve of being a new mom. Thea and I are quite the duo tackling challenges such as grocery shopping with an infant in tow, changing a super dirty diaper with only one wipe, and mastering the carseat nap. I’ve been able to carve out a little bit of me time by subbing with the preschool program I worked with last year and continuing to teach classes with Studio Hue (a local company that does pop-up craft classes at bars and restaurants and recently opened our own studio downtown).

We look forward to visiting with everyone at the reunion but will most likely spend the time chasing after a quickly moving toddler!

Ballacchino Family News

Kevin and I are living the life out in West Seneca. We both recently hit the milestone of 30! Kevin was recently promoted at Sherwin Williams, and I started a new job with KeyBank Mortgage back in November. It was one of the best choices I have made this past year as I love my new job! We have been busy re doing our house as we get bored easily. My dog children Clarke and Griswold are doing well. They still have not learned to not bark at plastic bags and leaves in the front yard but are as cute as can be. Enough about us we have had some other amazing additions to our family starting with my god child, Bennett, whose parents are Chelsea and Jordan. They just got married in October 2017. It was a beautiful wedding at the Statler. Bennett is so full of life and an amazing little boy. He will be turning 2 June 12th! He enjoys any sport and is a total boy. Get some music going and he will dance his pants off. They will be welcoming their second baby this July! On to the next blessing, which is my first niece Celia. She was born October 12th, 2017. She is such a relaxed and good baby. With Taylor and Santino being her parents how could she not be. She is growing so fast and is changing everyday! She also is a daddy's girl as we have witnessed her saying "dadda" at only a few months old. Onto Carisa and Mark, they will be getting married this August and just purchased their first home! We are excited as it will be an amazing party! Mark will make a great addition to the family! Next up is Cameron! He graduated from Fredonia University last year and has been working full time since. Growing up I've never seen cam lift a finger and now he is such a hard worker, I'm so proud of him. He has hopes to move out west for grad school next year and pursue his doctorate. Then we have Madison, who is too smart for her own good. She is a neuroscience major at American University in Washington, D.C. She is doing extremely well and will be looking into medical schools this year. She will also be turning 21 this year, which will help cope with all the long hours of studying. She has become such an amazing human being and is so determined and I know our whole family is proud. Then we have Bryce who is getting so tall! He will be turning 13 this year. He is obsessed with radio stations, if you ask him top radio station in any city, he will let you know the answer right away. He also adores his niece and nephew and just can't get enough! Sean is currently living in California, and living the life. He is loving the cali life and is working as a independent contractor for Tesla. We are hoping he moves back home but I don't think that will happen. He is doing too well out there and does not miss the snow. Finally we have Pam and Kevin. They are finally done making kids and have passed it onto their children. They have been enjoying spending time with their grandchildren and grown kids. My dad is still working hard as he has had so many weddings to pay for. My mom is loving be a grandma and babysits as much as possible. Overall everyone is doing well and can't wait to see everyone at the reunion! 

Carl Martineck Family News

Hello from North Dakota! We are looking forward to the reunion this year. Be sure to wish Carl a “Happy 40th” when you see him. (

A lot of change in our house this summer - Abigail said goodbye to Washington Elementary and is ready for junior high this fall. She’s focused on volleyball and basketball this summer, which means having her at the weight room by 6:30am and picking her up from open gym at 9pm. In between is tennis, swimming, basketball camps, volleyball camps, hanging with friends, working, and occasionally even looking up from her phone. She just wrapped a summer performance of Snow White in which she was the lead. She still loves to sing; takes piano and flute lessons; participates in choir and band; wants to be an actor; takes good care of her young nieces and nephew; and has recently surpassed me in height by half an inch.

Carl is also shaking things up. He has decided against running for re-election as State’s Attorney after about 5 years in that position. Those in the county who have worked closely with him are sad to see him leave. He has done much to improve the office and the service it provides to the residents of Barnes County. He has a couple interesting opportunities to which he is giving serious consideration. By the time we see you, he will have made his decision and can tell you all about it. He doesn’t have much downtime, but much of what he has is spent on home improvement projects and is the green thumb of our family. I’m good for the labor, but not the vision or knowledge of landscaping and garden growing like he is.

I continue working for an engineering company – literally doing a little bit of everything so I change my title often. We are small (10 employees), but business has grown considerably over the last few years and my days are busy. We recently returned from a week in Denver where we participated in the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Power and Energy Society convention. Since then, it appears we will be adding Brazil and other domestic companies to our customer list that already included the U.S., Netherlands, and Canada.

Between work and sports camps, Carl and Abigail will make their annual road trip to northern Wisconsin to see Great Gpa Carl. They always spend a couple days in Wisconsin Dells so Carl, er, I mean Ab, can get her fix of water parks and rides. This summer will also be Ab’s 3rd summer of joining my sister and I on our annual 5-day Vegas girls’ trip, where the only activities include laying by the pool all day, eating fabulous food in the evenings and going to bed early. We are also adding a few days to the beginning of our Buffalo trip to take Carl away for his 40th birthday. Did I mention Carl is turning 40? (

Jimmy Martineck Family

Hello from North Tonawanda! Our lives have been busy busy, just like most of you. Here are a few highlights:

I’m still at the Tonawanda Engine Plant. I’ve moved all through production and maintenance, but now I’m trying something new: Plant Planner. If you ask what that is, I can only tell you it’s a little bit of everything, but it’s mostly comprised of digging into what’s hot, and doing what the Plant Manager assigns. Every day is a rat race.

Chrissy is running the office of her Dad’s business (Baughman’s Magic Seal). If you ask me, I think she loves working for her family, but if you ask her, she might tell you something different ������ When she’s not working her time is split between keeping the boys in line and training our newest addition: a 6 ½ month old, 80 lb. Rottweiler named Titan James. He may make an appearance at the reunion. He’s a big baby who loves to run and play…and EAT!

Taylor is hustling. She’s 22, working two jobs, trying to get ahead. At this pace, she might retire before me! She’s out on her own, and living her life. Her next adventure is getting a place of her own so she doesn’t have any roommates at all. She’s very independent, and I couldn’t be prouder of the young lady she’s grown up to be.

Matthew is enjoying the heat of the football recruiting season. He finished his junior year 1st team Class A North All-League at LB, and is eyeing preseason All-WNY. His current list of colleges spans from Princeton, Yale and Brown, to some D2 schools in PA, OH, and MA, along with a boatload of DIII schools. He also won the Seymour H. Knox III YMCA Youth of the Year. This year will be an exciting year for him and us.

Daniel is finishing 6th grade. He’s dabbling in lacrosse for the summer. He’s gearing up for a PW Major ravel hockey season at Niagara starting this September. This is his 4th travel season, but his first where he is playing with his age group. He’s always player a year up. He skated a few times this summer with kids his age, and it’s funny what a difference that year makes. He went from being in the middle of the pack, to being the biggest and sometimes, the fastest kid on the ice. He’s also excited for the prospect of playing modified hockey, lacrosse, and baseball next year.

We look forward to seeing all of you this year.

Jim, Chrissy, Taylor, Matthew, & Daniel

Russell Family News

The Russell Family has settled in nicely to the Pacific Northwest. We bought a house east of Seattle in Snoqualmie and have enjoyed the beautiful Cascade Mountains and mild weather. Many of our friends back in Michigan spent the winter shoveling snow while we, much to our kids’ dismay, had zero snow days! Pete has done a great job mapping out family hikes while he and Shane have also enjoyed the more challenging hikes – Shane has a total of 8 summits! Yogi, our Goldendoodle, has also enjoyed the weather and the hikes, as well as, the dog-friendly culture here in Seattle – dogs can pretty much go anywhere, including to work with me!

Pete has continued to work for Comerica Bank even with our move out west. He works east-coast hours so he is able to entertain the boys when they come home from school. I am thoroughly enjoying my job at Amazon and feel good that I “give back” everyday due to the fact that we do all of our shopping on Amazon…I’m definitely paying my own salary.

Zach and Shane transitioned to their new school this year with ease. Their school is literally down the hill from our house and they both quickly found their niches with the different sports teams in our area. Zach is following in Grandpa Bob’s footsteps by playing baseball while Shane is keeping busy with basketball and golf. He’s confident he will be the men’s golf champion at the reunion this year. Watch out Chris and Jim!

We’ve had a lot of visitors since we have been in the PNW, which has been fantastic! Greg and JoAnn, along with her sons, visited us for some skiing, tubing, and hiking in February. My parents have both been out and Pete’s parents will be with us for a large part of August. Everyone has an open invite so let us know if you are in the area! We are excited to see everyone for the 50th!

Love,

Pete, Kelly, Zach, and Shane Russell

Watts-Krzos Family

It's been another busy year for the Krzoses and me here in Northern VA. The triplets had to switch elementary schools this year because they are smarty-pantses and got into the county's full-time advanced academic program. They're already doing some "new math" and "Caesar's English" that I can't help them with so we'll see how this goes. All four boys (including the big one) started doing Tae Kwon Doe and recently earned their green belts. Jon got sucked into becoming their Cub Scout Den Leader after previous leaders kept moving away and the boys became half the den. He's been doing some fun engineering and programming activities with them. This year, I (Kristina), completed an extensive training course to become a Virginia Master Naturalist. Since then I've been volunteering (too much, if you ask Jon) at local nature centers, teaching children about the natural world. The boys can't wait until they are old enough to volunteer, too. They've been a great help doing stream trash clean-ups with me and assisting with biological monitoring on the stream we've adopted. 

Jon, ever-inspired by HGTV and DIY Network, has ambitiously decided to renovate our entire kitchen/living room space this summer, knocking down walls for the acclaimed Open Floor Plan concept, and installing such necessities as hardwood floors and granite countertops (no shiplap or reclaimed barnwood in the plans as of yet). So, we're very sorry but we will miss the 50th reunion because the boys and I will be traveling all summer. I will be driving a 12-passenger van around the country, visiting 27 national parks, monuments, memorials, etc. Fourth graders and their families get in free under the Every Kid in a Park program, so we had to take advantage and do the trip this year.  We'll be looking for photos of the reunion posted on Facebook though, and you can follow our adventures by joining our "Triplets National Parks Tour 2018" group at groups/2048786148711726. Don't worry, Jon will meet us for some time in Zion and Bryce Canyon, even if he has to miss the Fixer Upper tour during our spin through Waco, TX. 

Hope you all have a great summer!

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