Alison (Behrends) Martinson married Luke Martinson on June 16. Lutes in attendance included Zach Martinson and Ryan Fenton. The newlyweds — who currently live in Eugene, Oregon — met their first day of school at PLU, in their orientation group on Foss Field.

Becky (Ogren) Miller and her husband, Seth, welcomed their first child, Adelia Marie, on May 11. She was baptized May 27 at Oak Harbor Lutheran Church.

Kayla (Evans) Visser ’15 married Evan Visser on May 26 in Spokane, Washington. Lutes in attendance included Amanda Walls ’17, Sara (Suznevich) Barber ’16, Lauren Larson ’16, Amy Wooten ’15, Ariana Judson ’15, Carlie Blanchard ’15, Tevon Stephens-Brown ’15, David Stenger ’15, Alex Tuman ’15, Taylor Gonzales ’15 and Tabitha Gross ’14.

Malia (Oshiro) Lee married her sweetheart, Adam Lee, on April 6.

Taylor Carlisle ’13 and Britta Carlisle welcomed Wilder Holm Carlisle — grandson of Kelly ’83 and Nancy Carlisle ’83 — on their fifth wedding anniversary.

Simon Johnson ’12 and Amy Jones ’12 were married in Anacortes, Washington, on June 10. The couple met in Foss Hall their first year at PLU. Their intimate, family-only wedding was followed by a reception with friends on July 7, outside Minneapolis where they currently live. Lutes in attendance included: Caroline Olstad ’12, Emma Struss ’12, Claire Wanback ’10, Neal Johnson ’10, Elizabeth Ginsberg ’12 and Marta Behling ’11.

Josh Takayoshi works at The American International School of Oman, also known as TAISM. He teaches elementary physical education and coaches the high school boys junior-varsity soccer and basketball teams. He returned home for the summer, and is pictured here with mentor Karen McConnell, dean of kinesiology and education.

Kari (Plog) Caple ’11 married Christian Caple on June 16 in Long Beach, Washington. Lutes in attendance for the beachside ceremony and reception: Karyssa (Allbritton) Daigneault ’12, Alyssa (Zakrzewski) Kuwik ’11, TJ Hecker ’11, Brendan Abshier ’11, Lorna Rodriguez ’11, Kevin Knodell ’11, Amber (Schlenker) Betts ’10 and Roxanne Cooke ’07.

Megan Buchholz organized a Lute hangout with best friends from across the U.S. who convened at Lake Chelan, Washington, for a weekend of fun. Kate Cheryl Burris, Megan O’Rourke, Amber McDonald, Buchholz, Molly (Shade) Rempe and Allison Danforth.

Emily Hill and Tom Mitchell were married at Tom’s family beach cabin in Longbranch, Washington, on Aug. 4. The couple met in the PLU music program, and their fast friendship grew into love after graduation.

Michael Plotke and Tabitha Plotke welcomed their first child, Alice Irene, on March 19.

Leann (Conley-Holcom) and her husband welcomed their son, Asher Finnigan Conley-Holcom, on March 22.

Cynthia Sadak and her husband, Talal Sadak, welcomed their second child, Adam Jae Sadak, April 12. He joins older brother, Zakaria.

Karen McMahon ’08 married Mike Meyerdirk on July 7. Lutes in attendance were Abi McLane ’08, Ambre Planbeck ’07, Heather (Kistler) Kinz ’08, Lindsey (Larsen) Evans ’08 and Kari Williams ’08. Photo by Emily Vandehey Photography.

Kaarin Praxel Austin ’07 and Andrew Austin ’06 welcomed Alexis “Lexi” Praxel Austin on Feb. 19, 2017.

Nicole (Sorenson) Markley and Alan Markley welcomed Soren Axel Markley March 4, 2018.

Heather Gillespie married her longtime partner, Justin Gray, on May 19. The two went to high school together in Portland, Oregon, married in the Pacific Northwest, and now live in Madison, South Dakota.

Stephanie Christopher was named a fellow of the Associate of Clinical Research Professionals at the global conference for the ACRP in April. Stephanie is currently a program director at the Medical Device Innovation Consortium.

Elaine Lee Paoliello and her husband, Daniel Paoliello, welcomed their first child, Nathan Angelo, on May 10.

Tracey Goldner and her husband, Aaron Franco, welcomed their son, Samuel Joseph Franco, on Oct. 26, 2017.

Aaron Lunday and his wife, Allison, welcomed their second child, Brynn, on June 8.

Stacey Neils and fiancé, Matt Evarts, welcomed their baby, Julius James Evarts, on Feb. 16.

Brian Norman was appointed the inaugural dean of the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities at Simmons University in Boston. In July, he and his husband, Greg Nicholl, moved to Boston from their home in Baltimore.

Steve Leifsen recently completed the Leadership for Learning program at the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a Doctorate in Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He also earned a Washington state superintendent credential.

Kerri Schroeder has been named president of Bank of America’s Seattle market. In addition to her role as market president, Schroeder is the West Coast commercial credit executive for global commercial banking and business banking for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Active with community organizations and internal bank programs, Schroeder is on the Special Olympics 2018 USA Games Committee and has served on the board of directors of several nonprofit organizations over the years, including the Atlantic Street Center. She is part of Bank of America’s Diverse Leaders Sponsorship Program and is involved with the Global Ambassadors Program through Vital Voices. Additionally, she is on the steering committee for the company’s Power of 10 Program and serves as the executive sponsor of LEAD for Women employee resource group in Seattle.

Marjean (Lowas) Penny moved to Manhattan, Montana, in 2015 and serves as the radio communications manager for Gallatin County 911 in Bozeman, Montana. She enjoys working with public-safety, land mobile radio (LMR) systems and helicopter trips to mountain tops. Her oldest son graduated from Manhattan High School and will begin studies at Montana State University in the fall.

Jack Hatley accepted a new position with City First Mortgage Services as a mortgage loan originator. He has retained his current position with Boeing in Supply Chain Management so the new opportunity can be used to build up a business and eventually transition into retirement.

Rob Olson was appointed to Whatcom County Superior Court in August. Olson has spent the past eight years serving as Washington state assistant attorney general. He also has served as a public defender for Whatcom County and as a solo practitioner.

Bruce Deal ’87 is looking forward to joining the PLU Board of Regents this fall. He and his wife, Lisa Deal ’88, have two children who are college graduates and a third who is working on her nursing degree. They live in Atherton, California, where they have lived for more than 20 years.

Dave Halstead ’71 and his wife, Lilly Boulianne ’74, spent the summer with another couple cycling across America to raise awareness for homelessness in Vancouver, Washington, and Québec City in Québec, Canada. The trip began in Seaside, Oregon, on May 5 and ended in Boston on July 11. Along the way, they stayed in seven Lutheran churches, meeting new friends and learning what other communities are doing to address homelessness. Visit halsteaddavid.wixsite.com/website to learn more.

Judith Perry has a gallery/studio in Raymond, Washington, at Pacific Fine Art. After retiring from Merrill Lynch, she became a professional artist and is a member of Women Painters of Washington.

Wilbert Ericson is 97 years old and has still not retired. He served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and recently was selected as the Veteran of the Month by Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club. Since he was ordained on June 14, 1953, he has served as a missionary in Japan for 35 years and continues to preach and teach. Recently, he was presented with a placard from ELCA Chicago Synod as a testimonial of commendation and gratitude in recognition of his 65th anniversary of his ordination.