Ken was an outstanding all-around athlete at Chagrin Falls High School. He earned nine varsity letters. In football he was a 3-year letterman and co-captain of his team as a senior. During his junior and senior years he was his team’s leading scorer in basketball. Ken was selected as Most Valuable Player of the District Basketball Tournament in 1951. He was also a top performer in track and field, placing in the discus at the District Meet in 1951. He was a successful coach during his long career in education. He coached football, basketball, track and tennis.
WARREN R. WISE
Warren played guard and linebacker and was co-captain of the 1966 football, but wrestling was, and still is his passion. Warren was a three time District qualifier and was a state semifinalist in his junior year. During his senior year, he was 10-0 in dual meets and named Most Valuable Wrestler on a team that won 22 straight meets. Warren has been a health, physical education and science teacher at North Canyon High School. He has continued with his passion for wrestling by coaching and officiating.
LARRY N. WILEY
Larry was a splendid all-around athlete at CFHS. A varsity starter for three years in basketball, he earned State Honorable Mention honors his senior year. His team advanced to the District Tournament during his junior and senior years. He also lettered three years in football earning Press Star honors. A hurdler and sprinter in track, he was twice a member of an 880 yard relay team which placed second (1955) and fourth (1954) in the State Track Meet. He captained a lacrosse team to a Brigade Championship at West Point.
ROBERT H. WILLARD
Bob was the recipient of a full football scholarship to Ohio State University. There, he played for Woody Hayes on the last OSU football team (1973) to win the Rose Bowl. It was also with distinction that he competed in athletics at Chagrin Falls High School. He excelled in both football and wrestling. His dominance as a lineman in football did not go unnoticed by opposing coaches, as he was a unanimous All League selection and the Chagrin Valley Conference’s Most Valuable Player his senior year. The Co-captain of the 1969 Tiger team was also a Northeast Ohio All District football team selection. Bob was a superb wrestler, winning several tournament championships. He was undefeated in dual meet competition during his senior season and ranked as the number one heavyweight in the Greater Cleveland area.
ANDREW WIESE
1983 Considered by most to be Chagrin’s premier middle distance runner, Andy became a 4-year letter winner in track at the University of Iowa. In 1984, he placed third in the 800 meters at the Big Ten Championships. While at Chagrin Falls High, he won back-to-back state championships in the 1600 meters. His winning time of 4:13 during his senior year set a new AA state record. For his accomplishments in track, Andy was a 1983 honorable mention All American selection. He was the 1983 Midwest Champion in the 1600 meters and winner of CFHS’s Vern Lockemer Award, 1981-83. Also a fine cross country runner and soccer player, Andy finished his track career at CFHS as its all-time leading scorer.
VERN LOCKEMER
Vern Lockemer was a splendid all-around athlete at CFHS, lettering in four sports. He was superb in track and field, breaking school records in three events – the high jump, high hurdles, and low hurdles. He was also a member of the 440 relay team which set a school record and the 880 relay team which tied the school record. During his junior and senior years, he played defensive back and offensive end on undefeated football teams. As a senior, he was selected All East County as an end. Vern also played basketball and baseball at CFHS. He attended Hiram College, where he ran indoor and outdoor track. In 1964, while at Hiram, he placed fourth in the high hurdles at the Ohio Conference Indoor Meet.
JANET WARD CURLEY
Janet excelled in three sports at CFHS – volleyball, basketball and track and field. In basketball, she played on the 1983 State Runner-Up team, earning many individual honors. During her senior year, she was selected Second Team AP All-Ohio and Third Team UPI All-Ohio in basketball. In track and field, she graduated as Chagrin’s career point leader. She also held school records in the 400 meters and 1600 meter relay, events in which she competed at the State Track Meet in 1983. As a volleyball player, Janet was a Second Team Chagrin Valley Conference selection in 1984.
GLENN WYVILLE
Esteemed by his peers for his masterful game preparation, Glenn guided Tiger teams to 352 victories during his long reign (1960-1988) as Head Basketball Coach. His victory total ranks as one of the highest in the history of boys’ basketball in Ohio. Glenn’s teams won three district titles, eight sectional crowns, and seven conference titles. Three of his teams were in regional competition. He was selected Conference Coach of the Year seven times, and in 1987 he received the Greater Cleveland Coach of the Year Award. As head baseball Coach, his teams won two conference championships. He served as Athletic Director at CFHS from 1983 through 1991. Glenn was the Director of the Chagrin Valley Recreation Center from 1964 through 1988.
PETER VAN NORT
An outstanding student and all-around athlete at Chagrin Falls High School and in college, Peter is currently the president and chief operating officer of H. B. Zachry Company, an $800 million a year construction and maintenance company in San Antonio, Texas. He was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1959. As a junior there, he completed the year as the top academic performer in a class of 850. As a senior, he was selected to be Brigade Commander, the highest ranking student military position. Peter was the first person in the history of Navy to be commissioned into the Engineering Duty Corp directly from the Naval Academy. Early in his career, he worked with Admiral H. G. Rickover, managing the application of nuclear power in ships.
STEPHEN WU
Steve is a pioneer in secure electronic commerce law and information security law and may be our country’s leading “legal futurist.” Steve serves as Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Science and Technology Law. He was the second in-house lawyer at Internet security giant VeriSign, Inc before he was a founding partner in the Silicon Valley law firm Cooke Kobrick & Wu LLP. Steve wrote or co-wrote five books on secure electronic commerce, data security, and the law. He has become one of the world’s leading practitioner in the area of the 3D Internet – virtual worlds and online video games. Additionally, he is the worldwide head of the legal team, CrisisCommons, which is an international effort to create online tools for assisting responders and victims of the earthquake in Haiti and other disaster relief. Steve also enjoys being a scoutmaster and Sunday school teacher.
LEE UNKRICH
Lee has been a longtime member of the core creative team at Pixar Animation Studios. Recently Lee was Director of Disney/Pixar’s critical and commercial hit film, Toy Story 3. Before this movie, he has been Co-director on Finding Nemo; Monsters, Inc.; and Toy Story 2. His work on Finding Nemo earned Lee and his co-director an Academy Award in 2003 for Best Animated Feature Film. He also received a Golden Globe in 1999 for Toy Story 2 in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category. Lee was recently been honored with the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award and co-Shared an Annie Award from the International Animated Film Society for Outstanding Directing in an Animated Feature Production.
HELEN K. WU M.D.
Dr. Wu is the Director of Refractive Surgery at the New England Eye Center and an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Tufts University. Dr. Wu completed her undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Michigan and her medical degree at The Ohio State University, College of Medicine. Her ophthalmology residency was performed at the Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor, MI. Helen completed her dual fellowship training in ocular immunology and uveitis and in cornea refractive surgery, both at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She plays a leadership role in major worldwide ophthalmology organizations, including important committee memberships in the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Helen has published numerous scientific papers related to refractive surgery and edited the textbook Refractive Surgery. Dr. Wu has served as a key investigator in numerous FDA clinical trials where new LASIK technologies are developed and perfected. Dr. Wu was named among the Best Doctors in America: February 2006 “Top Doctor” issue of Boston Magazine. She is married to Dr. Jussi Saukkonen, a pulmonologist. They have two children; Julia, age 9, and Daniel, age 6. Helen and her husband enjoy ballroom dancing, traveling, skiing, hiking, swimming and skating.
DENISE C. WEBSTER, RN, PHD, ARPN, BC
The former member of the Future Teachers of America, Dr. Denise (Denny) Webster, has been able to combine her loves of nursing and teaching. She is a full professor at the University of Colorado and has been named a President’s Teaching Scholar, (permanent title for teaching excellence). She founded the first doctoral program in women’s health nursing at the University of Illinois. She has been active in teaching, practice and research in psychiatric nursing, with a focus on women and mental health for over 25 years. Dr. Webster has done extensive research and academic writing. During her career she has given more than 150 presentations, published 40 articles and 21 chapters and co-authored a book about living with chronic pain and illness. She remains on the editorial boards of four professional journals. She has been a visiting professor in South Africa, Scotland, New Zealand and Thailand and in the summer of 2002 voluntarily went to Vietnam to teach nursing for a month. Dr. Webster consults pro bono for a battered women’s shelter as well.
NANCY VECCHIARELLI
Nancy Vecchiarelli’s leadership abilities were recognized early in life, and they have continued to serve her well. In April of 1998, federal judges appointed her as a United States Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Ohio. From 1986 until her new appointment, she served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Miami University (Ohio) in 1972, she was graduated fourth in her class from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1977. Some of Nancy’s earliest triumphs took place on athletic fields, then inhabited by mostly boys. An excellent all-around athlete, she was a 4-time Women’s Golf Club Champion at Aurora Country Club.
SUSAN ELIZABETH WISE
Soon after she was graduated from CFHS, Sue’s basketball jersey number “42” was permanently retired in honor of her many accomplishments. While her leadership and athletic abilities enhanced the play of Tiger teams in tennis and track, it was on the basketball court where her star shined most brightly. Sue was an All-Ohio basketball selection in 1978-79 and 1979-80 with the 1978-79 team reaching the state semi-finals. She was the Chagrin Valley Conference’s Most Valuable Player in 1978-79. In the 40 basketball games she played on the CFHS floor, 40 victories were recorded. Sue was captain of the basketball team at William & Mary College. In 1989-90, she coached Hope College to a National Division III Championship in women’s basketball. She was named National Division III Basketball Coach of the Year.