By Diane Wagner, Class of 2005
Two docents from the 2015 class have been celebrating their first-learned tour, Historic Treasures, in a lovely manner!
Siobhan Hartsell was really busy last year. Completing 40 river tours was the easy part. Planning and celebrating the weddings of two daughters was the fun part! Alyssa married Alec Harris on Sept 29th at the Cultural Center in the Preston Bradley Hall, under the Tiffany dome. Siobhan comments, “It’s our favorite room in the city.”
Then daughter Meghan married Kurtis Garza-Rupp on December 29th at Holy Name cathedral, with the reception in Cathedral Hall of the University Club. As Cathedral Hall looks like Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series, this suited Meghan to a T. She also loves Christmas, and the University Club was all decorated for that December holiday. Two perfect settings for these special events.
And Pam Loewenstein reports: “Our daughter, Rachel Loewenstein, married Daniel Levitt on November 10, 2018 in the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House. Of course I was in docent heaven when our Dallas-based couple chose this beautiful and iconic historic hotel for their wedding. Family members and friends traveled to Chicago from all over the country and the world–from every continent except Antarctica—to celebrate this happy occasion. And yes… I couldn’t help myself and did include some references to Bertha and Potter at the beginning of my welcoming speech!”
The class of 2005 remembers Rich Kaleta, who died on December 9, 2018. A born and bred Chicagoan, Rich grew up in the Chinatown neighborhood. He taught high-school level history in Chicago’s public schools for 35 years; becoming a docent allowed Rich to continue to teach about his hometown, which he called “the greatest city in the world”. A celebration of Rich’s life will he held on February 23rd. Email ka***************@gm***.com for information.