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A dance to remember
Chuck ‘79 and Audrey Limonta Anderson ‘80 met at a Sigma Epsilon fraternity party in 1977 and have been together ever since.
Looking back at their Bradley days, the Andersons remember Sunday night dinners at Avanti’s, going to movies, and bar hopping. Their favorite memories, however, are from the summer they both spent in Peoria to go to summer school. The couple married in 1983 and live in Highland Village, Texas.
A lifetime of memories
 Richard ‘58 and Barbara Rolfe Sterling ‘58 of Downey, California, have been together since high school. Initially, only Dick enrolled at Bradley. His eventual bride transferred to Bradley after her freshman year. The couple married in December 1957 and graduated in May 1958. Barbara recalls, “I went to summer school the year before we married so I would have only one class for the last semester. I worked for Ruth Jass in the registrar’s office during the last semester.”
Dick adds, “And I took 21 hours so we could graduate together.”
The Sterlings remember eating at Kern’s, Hunt’s, and Kramer’s. “Of course, we went to fraternity and sorority dances and other Greek activities,” Barbara says.
She remembers their first home as a married couple. “Our residence was on the ground floor of an older home a couple yards off Bradley Avenue. Another couple rented the second floor. Nearby was Robertson Memorial Field House and the
Pi Phi House.”
Dick concludes, “Those years were among the greatest years we can remember, living on campus and sharing the Bradley experience. The relationships with our classmates are still strong. It’s only gotten better through the years.”
A Fan-tastic romance
 While many alumni met their spouses while they attended Bradley, it wasn’t until Lori Winters Fan ‘80 returned as an employee that she met her husband. Lori, executive director of alumni relations, met Dr. Sam Fan, associate professor of biology, shortly after she accepted a position at Bradley in 1997. “We met a long time before we started going out. He was just one of many faculty members I met,” she says. Sam and Lori disagree about when they met each other, though both agree about which mutual friend and fellow staff member introduced them.
Sam remembers when he first considered dating Lori. “I ran into her at a December graduation party. She was bragging about recent renovations at the Alumni Center. I came and visited to see the new carpet and renovations. That was my pretense.”
Lori adds, “My office was downstairs in the Alumni Center at the time, so I would chat with everyone who came in the door. I was totally oblivious when he came in. He was literally halfway out the door when he said we should go have dinner when we got back from break. That gave me something to think about over the holidays!”
They started dating in early 2001 and have attended many Bradley alumni and athletic events together since. They also enjoy going to music events, though they usually aren’t sitting together because Sam is often on stage playing the cello.
The couple married on July 10 last year. Says Lori, “We don’t really feel like we work together. Our jobs are vastly different, but we know a lot of the same people. We have instant family here at Bradley. Our circles just expanded and intersected when we got married.”
A story to make you smile…
Two families, two generations of romance
by Gayle Erwin McDowell ’77
Wedding bells rang for Bradley alumni Jim and Susan Davis in 1974, and for Joe and Cathy Uhrich in 1975. While the couples didn’t know each other on campus, their lives intertwined a generation later when their eldest children met and fell in love at Bradley.
All told, the Davis and Uhrich stories revolve around eight Bradley students, six biology majors, four dentists, and a strong dose of Bradley loyalty.
Joe Uhrich ’73 and Cathy O’Rourke ’74 met shortly before his freshman year at Bradley when they had summer jobs at the same suburban Chicago hospital. Cathy enrolled at Bradley the next fall. They both graduated with degrees in biology.
Meanwhile, biology major Jim Davis ’72 met Susan Edwards ’73, an education major, at a
Phi Kappa Tau/Sigma Kappa fraternity exchange in 1971.
Eventually, Jim and Joe became dentists. Susan became a teacher and Cathy a medical technologist. The couples started their families in Peoria and Palos Park, respectively.
When it was time for college, the couples’ eldest children, Ryan Davis ’03 and Liz Uhrich ’03, declared biology as their majors and enrolled at their parents’ alma mater.
After meeting in biology class, the pair started dating in 2001. Ryan and Liz are now completing their second year at the School of Dental Medicine at Southern Illinois University at Alton.
Their families’ Bradley connections don’t end there, however. Ryan’s brother, Greg Davis ’06, is a business management major. Joanie Uhrich, Liz’s sister, plans to major in biology as a freshman at Bradley this fall.
Pictured above from left, Jim and Susan, Ryan and Liz, and Cathy and Joe
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