— — Four graduates of St. Francis of Assisi School in the City of Tonawanda will be honored at the second St. Francis of Assisi School Distinguished Alumni award dinner on Friday at Classics V Terrace Room, 2425 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst.

The cash bar opens at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner. Tickets are $30 and reservations are required.

The honorees are Elizabeth (Betty) Mohr, class of 1935; John (Jack) Zeisz, ‘55; Daniel Penberthy, ‘77, and Monica Saltarelli, ‘78.

Mohr, a retired elementary school teacher, taught at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf in Buffalo and at Fletcher and Niagara schools in Tonawanda.

She received a master’s degree in education for the deaf from the University at Buffalo.

A life-long parishioner of St. Francis, she was among the first group of Eucharistic Ministers at the church and a charter member of the Charismatic Prayer group in the 1980s.

The first woman lector at the parish, she served as the facilitator of the first group in the RCIA program, served as leader of the Junior Catholic Daughter group and prepared three hard of hearing Tonawanda High School students for Confirmation.

In the community, Mohr volunteered at DeGraff Memorial Hospital and was a former president of the DeGraff Hospital Auxiliary.

Zeisz is retired from Conveyco Technologies, Material Handling Systems and Brickyard Leasing Company.

After graduation from high school, he was hired as a heavy drill operator at the Niagara Falls Power Project. During this time, he also served in the state Army National Guard and trained at Fort Dix, N.J.

After graduation in 1964 from Erie County Technical Institute, he was hired as a senior machine designer at the Chevrolet Tonawanda Engine Plant.

Zeisz joined a national material handling company, Rapistan, in 1968 as a salesman and was subsequently promoted to customer center manager in Pittsburgh, Pa.

In 1979, he founded Conveyco Technologies Inc., a full service integrated material handling systems supplier, expanding it to 30 employees. In 1981, he co-founded Brickyard Leasing Company.

Upon his retirement in 2001, Zeisz became active in his parish of St. Ann of Avon, Conn. where he managed a number of projects and served as the building committee chairman for a recently completed $3.5 million expansion and renovation of the church itself. He and his wife are active supporters of the local library and participated in the renovation fundraising, and are responsible for the maintenance of the library landscaping.

The couple have three children and one grandchild.

Penberthy, chief financial officer and executive vice president at Rand Capital Corporation in East Amherst, is a 1981 graduate of Tonawanda High School and 1985 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. He graduated with honors from the University at Buffalo, having earned an MBA degree in 2000.

Penberthy was CFO for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Buffalo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and was also formerly employed at KPMG Peat Marwick, CPA.

“Business First of Buffalo” named Dan CFO of the year for WNY Small Businesses in 2008. He is board president of the 100 Club of Buffalo.

He and his wife live in East Amherst with their two sons.

Saltarelli is a campus minister and adjunct professor of religious studies at Niagara University.

A 1982 graduate of Mt. St. Mary Academy, Kenmore, she received her undergraduate degree in religious studies from Niagara University and in 1988, received a master’s degree in theology from Villanova University.

She has received numerous awards for her work with minority and international students and in service and social justice programs.

Saltarelli is vice president of St. Vincent de Paul Society Niagara District and one of the key leaders in developing the St. Vincent de Paul Society Thrift Store in Niagara Falls.

A life long member of St. Francis Parish, she serves as a lector at Masses.

The celebration begins at noon on Friday with a school Mass in St. Francis of Assisi Church followed by tours of the school and refreshments.

For reservations or more information, call Liz Giacco at 693-8404 or the rectory at 693-1150.