By Caitlin Bootsma, BA ’06
Over 50 years ago, Lori Fontana, BA ‘76, arrived as a freshman at UD, attracted by the Rome program and her hope to attend a small, Catholic college. Her faith, sense of community and desire to travel have shaped her life and the ways in which she has served others.
Lori’s time at UD in the 1970s was a time of great transition in society. She notes - “When I arrived in 1972, women wore skirts to class, and we could have men visit us in our dorm lounge only on Sunday afternoons.” By graduation, she says, the “parameters in dress and dorm life had broadened.”
Lori remembers fondly learning from Dr. Louise Cowan who “nurtured my love of literature;” Dr. June Welch, who was “an awesome historian and a storyteller extraordinaire” and Dr. Lyle Novinski, whom she helped as a student assistant by working with the art history slide library.
Strengthened in faith and appreciation of learning
Equipped with what she appreciated as a foundation for lifelong learning, after UD, Lori attended Louisiana State University for a year in pursuit of her master’s in English and met Robert Fontana, her now husband of 48 years. Robert served for many years in lay ministry, and serving others became a way of life for the couple.
In particular, the Fontanas have served immigrant populations as well as people within the Church who have suffered abuse. For two periods of time, they volunteered at Annunciation House in El Paso, a shelter that offers hospitality to migrants. She shared that they are currently sponsoring a family from Colombia who is seeking asylum.
Lori says that UD strengthened her faith and, years later, she and her husband became members of the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate, “whose mission is to live out our faith and share God’s love in the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives.”
Fifty years after graduation
Today, Lori is a mother of six and grandmother of eight. Alongside her husband, she co-directs a non-profit organization, Catholic Life Ministries NW, which offers marriage preparation, marriage education and enrichment, communication education, retreats, family service days and a counseling practice.
Her interest in travel has continued over the years, and this fall she plans to walk from Assisi to Rome, completing “the Via di Francesco” pilgrimage that they have started on other trips. The couple also lived in Ireland for a year at a sabbatical program at the Milltown Jesuit Institute in Dublin and walked most of the Camino de Santiago in 2012.
Lori has stayed in touch with a few classmates from UD over the years, “each of whom has lived a positive life as a power for good in the world.”
When asked if she has any wisdom to impart on current UD students, she shared, “Each of us is called to be an apostle – sharing the Good News primarily through our lives, how we acknowledge and care for each person we meet. Whatever our faith tradition or even if we don’t ascribe to faith, I believe each of us is called to ‘Be Good, Do Good, Be a Power for Good’ in our world.”
