In Memoriam
Winter ’24
1940s
Mary McCalister (BA ’48) 7-10-23
Alison Haber (BS ’49) 6-2-23
1950s
Robert Francis Wilson (BSBA ’50) 6-16-23
William Quinn (BS ’51) 6-8-23
Arthur Martinez (BS ’55) 8-18-23
Doris Vail (BA ’58) 10-11-23
Mary Ellen Lewis (BS ’59) 5-13-23
Robert Hadley (BS ’59) 9-8-23
R. Charles Vars Jr. (BSBA ’58, MBA ’60) 7-27-23
1960s
Frances Belden (BA ’62) 7-8-23
David Tedesko Jr. (BA ’55, MA ’63) 3-16-23
Connie Mirkovich (BA ’63) 6-10-23
David Rasmussen (BA ’63) 7-12-23
David Sanford (BA ’64) 1-23
Kay Weaver (BSBA ’64) 7-18-23
Gwendolyn Thompson (BS ’66) 8-25-23
Donn Fairbank (BSME ’67) 8-17-2023
Jerry Wayne Freeburne (BA ’64; MA ’67) 9-9-23
Jerry Higginson (BS ’62; MBA ’69) 9-9-23
1970s
Deborah Hardin Quirk (BA ’72) 6-19-23
Richard Barrie (BSBA ’72) 7-18-23
Charles Deupree (BA ’73) 1-25-23
Dan Miller (BA ’72, JD ’75) 6-21-23
Scott Patashnick (BSBA ’74) 8-1-23
Ellen DiBella (BA ’75) 8-20-23
Betty Kunzman (BA ’50, MBA ’75) 6-23
Lyle Dahlberg (BA ’75) 7-16-23
Leslie Ann Morgan (BS ’76) 8-30-23
Rodney “Rod” Richards (BS ’73, MS ’77) 9-19-23
1980s
Ellen Alires-Trujillo (JD ’88) 6-17-23
1990s
Gerry Wyrsch (JD ’92) 6-27-23
James McGrath (MBA ’98) 6-19-23
Susan Zalkin (MSW ’98) 7-25-18
2000s
Nathan Walter Wangerin (BSBA ’03) 6-19-23
Colin Michael Day (BA ’06) 10-1-23
Faculty/Staff
Adrienne Constant DeVergie (head of technical services for the Sturm College of Law) 6-7-23
Carl Donn Rawlings (professor, Department of English & Literary Arts) 6-23-23
Ronald Farina (professor, Daniels College of Business) 8-7-23
Remembering Anna Sie
By Jan Ballard
University of Denver friend and donor Anna Sie, wife of Honorary Life Board of Trustees member John J. Sie, passed away on Sept. 20, 2023. Her life and legacy were devoted to helping others. That dedication lives on in the programs she supported at the University and is felt by all at DU.
Anna Maglione was born in Italy and immigrated to the United States with her father and two older brothers when she was 10 years old. She managed the household, cooking and cleaning, until her mother, older sister and two younger brothers could join them three years later.
Anna met John, who emigrated from China, while working as a switchboard operator at Microstate Electronics. They were partners from that point on, raising five children in their 56-year marriage.
The Sies have been steadfast supporters of DU for 20 years. Their gifts helped to create the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy, named in honor of John’s father, and the five-story Anna and John J. Sie International Relations Complex, a state-of-the-art building that houses the Josef Korbel School for International Studies.
In addition, the Sies have invested in DU programs through endowment, including The Ron Rizzuto Chair for Excellence in International Executive Education in Daniels College of Business and the Anna Maglione-Sie Chair in Italian Culture.
“Because of her, CAHSS faculty scholars have been able to take their research efforts abroad, connecting directly with the Italian language, art and culture,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “DU students have been able to enjoy an exceptional education with financial support made possible by Anna’s philanthropy.”
Anna Sie received many awards for her philanthropic work, including an Honorary Doctorate in Higher Education from DU and the Founders Medal. However, it was her work to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome that she felt was her most important legacy.
Inspired by her granddaughter Sophia, who has Down syndrome, Anna co-founded the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome on the Anschutz Medical Campus and the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Anna previously shared, “I want to make sure our granddaughter will benefit from anything we do. But that can’t happen if we don’t get to the bottom of these health issues for all people with Down syndrome. Helping my granddaughter, and the millions of others like her, is my mission and my passion in life.”
Built with Shorthand