The Roanoker - July/August 2015 - 98

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

People to Watch, 1986, Are Still Worth Watching
THE DECEMBER '86 ROANOKER,
boasted of "25 People to Watch." Here's what
they've been up to over the 30 years since.
Victoria Bond, now 70 and still striking,
was something of a sensation as conductor
of The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and
artistic director of the Southwest Virginia
Opera in 1986. It was a memorable stop
on a meteoric career, as well. "Oh, I have
so many memories [of Roanoke]," she says.
"Those were important years for my career,
such a fertile area. ... I enjoyed living in
Roanoke and getting to know the community. I hope that my work added in some
way to its artistic growth."
She and attorney husband of 41 years,
Stephan Peskin, had a famous long-distance
marriage - he in New York. They now live in
Greenwich Village. She was the first woman
to earn a PhD in orchestral conducting from
Julliard, meeting Peskin there.
Her current activities are almost intimidating in their breadth and depth: "I compose and conduct and am a speaker for the
New York Philharmonic's pre-concert 'Insights' talks ... in Lincoln Center, as well as
pre-performance talks for the Metropolitan
Opera's HD broadcasts ... I recently conducted a commissioned composition for
130-voice chorus and chamber orchestra at
Avery Fisher Hall." It goes on and on like
that. Get the full report at victoriabond.com.
John Fishwick, now 58, was a fresh
W&L Law School grad (Harvard for his
bachelor's) and had established a lone practice. He teamed with John Lichtenstein in
1996 to form Lichtenstein-Fishwick and it
became the face of defending the underdog.
Three of their most famous cases - involving
a former Lynchburg mayor, former D-Day
Memorial director and aRoanoke physician
- resulted in no conviction. U.S. Attorney
John Brownlee, who failed to convict in two
of those cases, called Fishwick and Lichtenstein "two of the finest attorneys in Virginia."
98 | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Rising Stars of '86
All five have continued living lives well worth
keeping an eye on.

Today, Fishwick and his wife Jeanne
(who met on a blind date and married in
1989) have two teen-aged boys and live in
the same house they've always lived in. Both
are involved in the community and Fishwick says, "I'm still committed to the Roanoke Valley and the law, often representing
the underdog in challenging circumstances."
Sam Krisch, now 58, was a young hotel
executive with his family's Holiday Inn business in 1986 and pretty much remained a
hotelier for the next 10 years - through thin
and thinner. The family sold its hotels, then
he and his father bought some back, and finally, with him as CEO, closed them in 1994,
filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Krisch says.
That gave him the opportunity to follow
his bliss, which he thought was writing. He
went to Hollins College (now University) and
picked up a masters of liberal studies in the
humanities and then another in screenwriting. He became a private investor for a while
and what he calls a "family caregiver." But a
flame burned in the back of his mind. He
wanted to write. At one point, near the turn

of the century, Krisch went to Argentina to
work on a writing project and it became a
photo project. He became a fine art photographer and that has stuck. You can see his
work at samkrisch.com. He has two grown
children (an economist and a fitness instructor) and his mother, Nancy, is "still healthy
and active."
Retired banker J. Carson Quarles, now
78, lives near Hollins in a spread with a sixacre front yard - that he mows regularly. He
and Norma are still married after 32 years and
they have four children and nine grandchildren. He has two new knees and a while back
had heart bypass surgery, but he's healthy.
Quarles was president and COO of Dominion Bank of Roanoke; vice chairman and
COO of Dominion Bankshares; president
and COO of the Bank of Virginia Southwest; and president of the Southwest Region
of Central Fidelity Bank. Thirty years ago, all
that was foreseen, as was his stellar community service, one that led the Jaycees to present
him with its Distinguished Service Award for
Service to Humanity. He retired from banking in 1994 with 40 years of service.
His resume is long and full, but as impressive as anything has been his constant
work to teach people to respect and honor
each other, regardless of race, religion, gender. "Life has been good," he says. "My
wonderful marriage, children, grandchildren ... God is good to me."
Christie Epperly-Lawless was just 12
when she appeared as an Olympic gymnastics hopeful in 1986. She didn't make the
Olympic team, but became an outstanding Radford University performer (earned
a degree in commercial fitness in 1996),
and local gymnastics icon, owning schools
over the years. She married and had kids,
but did not respond to several attempts to
reach her for any further specifics on her
life, which of course is her choice and right.
-DAN SMITH
THEROANOKER.COM

http://www.samkrisch.com http://www.victoriabond.com http://www.THEROANOKER.COM

The Roanoker - July/August 2015

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