434 Karen Way, Unit F, Woodbury, MN 55129, USA
Alexander Ramsey, Roseville, MN class of 1979
Hello Alexander Ramsey Class of 1979
Saturday October 11, 2025
Welcome October, Rams!
We hope everyone from the Alexander Ramsey Class of ’79 had an absolutely awesome September and a memorable summer of 2025! As the leaves begin to turn and the air takes on that crisp October feel, it’s a perfect time to cozy up with a cup of something warm and check out all the latest updates on our class website. There’s a lot happening, and we don’t want you to miss a thing!
A big thank you goes out to all the classmates who joined in the fun at our recent Pizza Party! It was a night filled with laughter, stories, and plenty of good food and great company. We’re always looking for new and fun ideas from our alumni, so if you have a suggestion for our next get-together, we’d love to hear from you.
We’ve also made some exciting updates across several other pages on the site, so take a few minutes to browse around. Whether it’s new class news, event details, or fresh photos, there’s always something being added to keep our Rams community connected and engaged.
As always, a heartfelt thank-you goes out to every one of you who continues to participate, share ideas, and help strengthen the bond we all share as the Class of ’79. Your involvement makes all the difference — and with even more participation, our class community will continue to grow stronger, livelier, and more fun!
Here’s to an enjoyable October and a beautiful start to the fall season. May it bring you laughter, warmth, and a few more great memories to share with your fellow Rams!
Attention Rams......
Help Make the Ramsey Class of ’79 Website Even Better!
Dear Ramsey Class of 1979,
Well, it's that time again. We've made some updates to our class website—be sure to check them out! Pay special attention to the Missing Classmates, Birthday, and Events and the Memorial pages for the latest information.
I want to personally invite each of you to contribute in any way you can to our class website. Whether it’s sharing photos, personal stories, upcoming anniversaries, sales, event updates, retirements or just fun memories from our school days, your input will help make the site more engaging, meaningful, and enjoyable for all of us. This is more than just a webpage—it’s a living space where we can stay connected, reminisce, and celebrate the friendships that have lasted over the years.
While I truly enjoy maintaining the site, I realize that it’s not just my project—it belongs to all of us. The best way to keep it fresh and exciting is by having a variety of voices, stories, and ideas from our amazing classmates. Your memories and perspectives are what make our class special, and they deserve to be shared!
So please, if you have a funny story, an old class photo, an update on your life, or even ideas for new features, send them in! This site is a reflection of our incredible class, and the more we all take part, the better it becomes. I can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!
We truly appreciate your continued visits to our site, as well as your engagement on our Facebook and LinkedIn class pages. Your participation helps keep our class community connected and thriving!
Stay tuned for more updates, and let’s keep the spirit of ’79 alive! So from Sheila Johnson Youngquist, Mary Falkowski Conway, Bob Kaye, Don Sazma, Chuck Bufton, Lori-Anne William, Dianne Wilson Carlson, Catherine Rod-Miske, (keeping behind the screen Nancy Olsen Reed) and myself, stay in touch, and have a great day, Rams.
If you’d like to contribute, join or contact the reunion committee feel free to text Randy Reed at 651-238-6785 or at email Randsr16@comcast.net
Goals for the website.......
Looking Ahead: Our Goals for the Future
As we continue building momentum and excitement within the Alexander Ramsey Class of 1979 community, the Reunion Committee is proud to share a list of some of our short-term and long-term goals — all designed to keep us connected, informed, and ready for an unforgettable 50th Reunion in 2029!
Short-Term Goals (Next Few Months):
- Continue updating and enhancing the class website with photos, news, and event info
- Collect and post more past reunion photos (especially from the 5th through 25th reunions)
- Reach out and reconnect with classmates still on the “Missing Alumni” list
- Organize at least one fun monthly gathering in 2025
- Recognize and document past reunion committee members and their contributions
Long-Term Goals (Next Few Years):
- Grow class engagement through more frequent updates, activities, and communications
- Continue building our class archive with stories, memorabilia, and photos
- Expand our fundraising efforts to support future reunion events
- Strengthen and grow participation in planning for the 50th Reunion
- Celebrate our shared journey with the biggest and best reunion yet in 2029!
Every bit of support and participation helps us move closer to these goals, and we’re excited about what’s ahead. Thank you for being a part of the journey — the best is still to come!
Did you know? In his own words.....
Dann Peterson the younger years.......
Was the youngest of five children; I have two older brothers and two older sisters, although one of my brothers has passed. The oldest brother will be 95 this year. He was confirmed the day I was baptized, so he was one of my sponsors. To this day I jokingly call him my Godfather. I was raised in Jackson, Minnesota in the southwestern part of the state, about 7 miles from the Iowa border. We always had a great time playing with our neighbors -- kick the can. softball, hide'n'seek -- playing outdoors until we heard our parents call us in for the night. Our home was always open to friends to stay for supper or overnight.
I remember we lived in 6 different homes while I was growing up. One of these homes was the house my grandfather Peterson built. My father was also a Carpenter. My mother worked as head cook at the Good Samaritan (old folks) Home and was well known for winning baking prizes at the county fair. I learned how to cook, bake and make lefse from her. If you don't know what lefse is, it is a Scandinavian flat tortilla-like, delicious treat. I still make lefse several times around the holidays.
As you can probably guess, I was very interested in drama and oral interpretation when in high school. I was in seven plays while in high school and participated in regional speech contests. I was also the manager for the basketball and track teams. I took care of the equipment and was the statistician. I was also active in choir and played trombone in the band. I was also active with my church youth group and the church choir. I had a strong interest in reading as well.
I graduated from Jackson High School in 1963 and then attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis. My two older brothers had also attended Augsburg. I was very active in the drama department in college, participating in several productions was well as working on set, lighting and prop crews. I graduated in 1967 with a double major in Speech with a drama emphasis and English. I was lucky to be a TA to one of the college drama professors. I was a member of the National Collegiate Players and toured with a couple of production. In 1980 was granted a leave of absence to get my Masters Degree in Theatre Arts at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
When I was in college there was a program called National Student Loan Program encouraging college grads to become teachers -- for every year you taught, up to 5 years, 10% of you student loan was deducted. So I figured I would teach for 5 years to get 50% of the loan deducted. But I was so interested in teaching that I kept on for 34 years.
Ramsey and beyond.....
I interviewed for a few different school districts, but got the best offer from Roseville where there were a couple of openings in the English Department and the ability to assist with the drama program; after a couple of years I became the drama director and then MS Landgraf (later Mrs. Smith) joined the program a year later.
I started teaching 10th grade English and later taught many different classes including Shakespeare, Greek Literature, basic writing, Drama, stagecraft, 9th grade English. I served as English Department Chairman for about 5 years.
I directed or worked on about 90 productions while at Ramsey/Roseville High. I was so proud of each of those productions and remember getting accolades from parents, fellow teachers, and student actors. I still have a file of notes and letters from former students. There were several former students who went on to a theatrical profession, perhaps most notably Peter Krause who has starred in a number of TV series. Roxanne Battle (Dolly in HELLO, DOLLY! ) was a news anchor for KARE 11 for a number of years and now is an author and motivational speaker. Sarah Morris has become quite a well-known singer and composer and has performed at a number of local venues as well as touring. Jim Madden played Cornelius in a production of HELLO, DOLLY! starring Carol Channing, and performed that production at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. There are others too, some went on to become college professors or worked in other professions. I always enjoyed attending athletic events and concerts by various musical groups. I still keep in touch with many former students via Facebook.
I felt the students at Ramsey, and later at Roseville High, for the last part, were dedicated and really interested in learning.
Even while I was teaching I was very active in community theatre as an actor and later also as a director. I worked at a number of local theaters, and performed in Chicago while I was working on my Masters Degree. For four summers, from 1981-1984 I starred in an historical drama on Kodiak Island, Alaska in the northern most amphitheater in the world. After retirement (2002) I have remained active in acting and directing. I will be directing a production of BLITHE SPIRIT by Noel Coward at Theatre-in-the-Round in Minneapolis in June and July of 2026. My spouse, Mark, and I also own a home in Green Valley,, Arizona -- about 20 miles south of Tucson -- where we spend time at various parts of the year. there we can also enjoy local theatre and productions in Tucson. We also have become grandparents to a young man who just turned 1. What a joy to spend time with him.
I love getting messages from former students via Facebook or email. There are many of you whom I didn't mention who have been very important in my life, but know that I send you love and hope to keep in contact. Stay active in ways of your choice and keep those you love close. Love is Love!
Looking for all former reunion committee Members!
A Message from the Ramsey Reunion Committee
First of all we'd like to welcome Lori-Anne Williams and Catherine Rod-Miske to the Class of 79's Reunion Committee. We're excited to have you on board and look forward to your ideas, energy, and contributions as we continue planning fun and memorable events for our classmates.
Next, the Alexander Ramsey Class of ’79 Reunion Committee would like to extend a warm thank-you to everyone who has helped keep our class spirit alive through the years. We’re proud to have compiled a nice list of past committee members, and we’re happy to share that a few new names have recently been added to that list. However, we know there are still many dedicated classmates who played important roles in planning reunions and events over the decades, and we’d love to make sure every one of them is recognized.
We’re asking for your help in identifying all former committee members so that we can properly acknowledge their time, effort, and accomplishments in keeping our class connected. If you were part of a reunion planning group in the past—or if you know someone who was—please reach out and share their name and any information you have. Your input will help us celebrate the people who have contributed so much to our Class of ’79 legacy.
In addition, we’re looking to expand our photo archives! If you have any pictures from past reunions—especially from the 5th through the 25th—please consider sharing them with us so we can add them to the website. These snapshots of friendship and fun are a wonderful way to relive those great moments and remind us all why our Ramsey connection remains so strong.
Thank you, Rams, for your continued help and enthusiasm. Every bit of participation makes our website richer and more enjoyable for the entire class. Together, we can keep our shared history alive and make sure it’s something we’re all proud to look back on!
FORMER MEMBERS
Committee Members 1984 05 year
Committee Members 1989 10 years
Diane Lecuyer Snuggerud
Sue Jungbauer Cunningham
Dianne Wilson Carlson
Committee Members 1994 15 years
Diane Lecuyer Snuggerud
Sue Jungbauer Cunningham
Dianne Wilson Carlson
Committee Members 1999 20 years
Margo Denman Martin
Becky Street
Lori Rajacich Purdham
Kathleen McGough Patri
Laurie Boche
Barb Thompson KirkPatrick
Mary Jean McGough Sargent
Shelley Boege Koren
Lori Anne Williams
Jacque Beavens
Committee Members 2004 25 years
Shelly Boege Koren
Margo Denman Martin
Lori Rajacich Purdham
Kathleen McGough Patri
Mary Jean McGough Sargent
Kim Nelson Beecham
Laurie Boche
Rick Feidt
Committee Members 2009 30 years
Jeff Lutz
Mary Falkowski Conway
Julie Kruse Ledvina
Nancy Schmedeke Petrun
Sheila Johnson Youngquist
Mary Koppy Nicklay
Larry Meissner
Paula McCarthy Aherns
Rhonda Battisto
Kathleen McGough Patri
Becky Street
Rick Feidt
Dianee Wilson Carlson
Committee Members 2014 35 years
Jeff Lutz
Mary Falkowski Conway
Julie Kruse
Nancy Schmedeke Petrun
Sheila Johnson Youngquist
Mary Koppy Nicklay
Randy Reed
Committee Members 2019 40 years
Mary Koppy Nicklay
Sheila Johnson Youngquist
Mary Falkowski Conway
Julie Kruse
Nancy Schmedeke
Bob Kaye
Randy Reed
Nancy Olsen Reed
Committee Members 2024 45 years
Sheila Johnson Youngquist
Mary Koppy Nicklay
Mary Falkowski Conway
Bob Kaye
Chuck Bufton
Don Sazma
Randy Reed
Nancy Olsen Reed (behind the scene)
Committee Members 2029 50 years
Mary Koppy Nicklay
Sheila Johnson Youngquist
Mary Falkowski Conway
Bob Kaye
Chuck Bufton
Don Sazma
Diane Wilson Carlson
Randy Reed
Nancy OLsen Reed (behind the scene)
Catherine Rod-Miske
Lori-Anne Williams
