CLASS OF 1956 | 2017 | ISSUE 1

Desperately trolling for class news, I threatened to write about my recent operation (a TAVR, for those who know), which would have made for dull reading. But that turned out to be unnecessary, since I received more responses than I could fit into our limited Wesleyan magazine space. Here’s what you missed.

From Don Price:

Happy to hear that your cardiac procedure went well and that you are on road to rapid and full recovery. Helen and I are now fully retired from Hopkins and spend leisure days with kids (all of whom are in medicine—eye surgery, neurology, and intensive care) and grandkids at our house in North Carolina, at our home in Columbia, Md., and at our home in Woods Hole, Mass., a place we first visited at the suggestion of Fred Millet ’65, who offered us his home in Falmouth, Mass., for our honeymoon in 1957. We love Cape Cod and have been going there in the summers since my training at MGH and faculty position at Harvard in Boston. Great place for family, friends, and science.

Grandkids are doing well. First grandson in medical school; second is a summa cum laude graduate from Chapel Hill; another accepted at Wesleyan for coming year. Very exciting.

Helen and try to see performances with George Ray ’54, Dan Josephthal, and other Bardolators at Blackfriars Theatre (Staunton, Va.) several times per year (8-10 per season). Great fun.

Let us know if you are in any above areas. Love to see old friends.

From Bill Moyle:

We are currently following the development and exploits of four kids and 11 grandkids. Schools have been all over the map from Bates to the U.S. Naval Academy to Elon to the Royal Academy of Music in London. Wesleyan unfortunately was deemed “too far out” by those who looked. Majors have varied from Arabic to business to psychology to becoming a mezzo soprano. Hard to keep up with them, even with Facebook. Anne and I have joined the legions having joint replacements. Keeping busy in choirs and with woodworking. Happy to hear your valve job went well via the latest techniques.

From Jim Gramentine:

In September, we drove to and from Colorado, and stayed at three mountain bed and breakfasts. The last one, our favorite, was 10 miles north of Durango. We arrived on my birthday, September 28 (yes, I was born the same day and year as Bridget Bardot), and stayed through my wife’s birthday, October 1.

On September 30, we visited Mesa Verde and took a ranger-led tour of Balcony House, which features three significant ladders and two narrow passages, testing the average tourist considerably, us especially. I do recall that it was about the last day that Balcony House was to be open in 2016 and that others were closed.

Brings to mind the lyrics of a song: “A Chi Psi went meandering . . .” Or was that from one of the many other fraternities I frequented?

Hoping a good new year clears medical issues for you both.

From Bob Runyon:

Good to hear from you and to learn of your successful operation. As per our Christmas letter, Sheila and I are taking off on Thursday for a three-week cruise from Miami to Honolulu. We have been immersed in preparations for the last several weeks to sell our house and move into an apartment. As soon as we get back we’ll be pounding that challenging decluttering journey again. It’s 38 years of stuff we’ve assembled that has to be parsed and parted with. Sheila is upstairs as I speak, re-reading all of yours and other Christmas letters and birthday cards, and shredding thousands of documents that contain account or Social Security numbers. This is a job to test your attention, stamina, as well as aortic and ventricle valves and more.

Happy New Year.

From Pete Deacon:

Glad you made it without open surgery.

In my opinion, that Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 is the best booster for Wesleyan in decades. The guy’s a genius. The school might now be enticing for my granddaughter, who is beautiful, talented, and bright, but, because of me, has looked upon a Wesleyan education as somewhat negatively liberating. (Her mother’s view coincides; She’s a Gator and Tea Party-ite. Our son went to Kenyon, but managed to survive as an English major.) Nice talking with you. I’m thanking you for doing a thankless job so cheerfully well.

Bonne santé.

From Gary Miller:

Nice to hear you’re doing well, but missed the games in the OR. As for me, I had a busy year also, but nothing like your adventure.

Marge and I started by visiting our granddaughter, Jenny in Bournemuth, United Kingdom, where she is studying costume design with a concentration in films. Evidently the construction of costumes is different for the stage and film productions. A very interesting arts university in a picture-perfect location. She loves the school and the country; we may not see much of her if she is able to get a work visa after graduation. After a good visit, we spent a week in Cornwall with visits to Port Isaacs (Doc Martin—if you’re a fan of the show), Penzance, and Land’s End. We’d still be on those roads if it wasn’t for GPS. Beautiful country, but we rented too big a car and had to fold in the mirrors many times to clear the buildings and trees on both sides of the road as we raced along the country roads. We were also able to score a couple of tickets to the musical Beautiful before leaving London for the return home. A good trip via Iceland Air which has about the best leg room in the international air travel business.

We followed that up with Jenny’s sister’s (Kyndra) graduation from James Madison University in Virginia. We were able to sit for three hours in 45 degree rain for the big event. Kyndra was sad to leave the university because she had a great experience, but landed a really good position with SEI (banking services) in Pennsylvania to match her degree in business. We had a good visit with her, our son, and our daughter-in-law before heading home to pack for the annual trek north to Maine.

Once in Maine, I received a heart monitor implant to enable the doctors to search my data recordings for suspected A-fib. So far, nothing to report, which is good news, but the batteries last for three years, so I’m going to have my new friend with me for another two-and-a-half years or so.

Summer was wonderful, but very dry as we enjoyed sunny warm weather well into the fall. The only problem came in the fall when I needed to get the boat out of the lake, which had fallen almost three feet due to the drought. Marge had to push me off the bottom to deeper water as I gunned it in reverse to get to the boat launch ramp. Getting the boat to the ramp required navigating several rocks I never knew were there before, scraping bottom all the way. Got it out on the first try, so all ended well and it is winterized and parked in the driveway up there. We’re hoping for lots of snow this winter to refill the lake and they’re off to a good start on that goal.

Since returning to North Carolina, we’ve had a family-filled Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we wish all of the class of ’56 a Happy New Year.

From Walt Ebmeyer:

Neat trick with your valve replacement. In 2002, I grew an aortic aneurism and went into Johns Hopkins for an aorta sleeve and a titanium valve. I was very open and in the hospital for weeks. Now just fine. Moved at the end of May to a Maryland suburb called Silver Spring near my daughter and company. I like it very much—very divers and very blue. OK! No more politics! Phil Crombie, Jim Hartnett and I came back for May Reunion and had a fine time, to a great extent due to Alpha Delt’s miraculous survival. We had dinner in a big tent on the college lawn and looked sadly at Chi Psi, Eclectic, and Beta. It’s another era. If someone asked me why we survived, I’d say a large factor was the House going co-ed way back in the 1970s. Very civilizing. Happy New Year to you.

From John Foster:

Hello to those class members still extant and sitting up and taking nourishment. A good thing. But healthcare sure can occupy a lot of one’s time.

Sixty and one years out is quite a spell, and I’ve lost track of the many changes at WesTech, as we used to refer to it, since my son and daughter-in-law graduated. One of their daughters just finished a Wesleyan joint program in Paris and we all were fortunate to spend Christmas there with her and bring her home and back to Vassar. What a truly lovely city.

My wife and I still reside in our Marblehead home of many years and are fortunate to have both our sons here in this lovely seaside town as well…to take care of us as we become less capable. How good is that?

May you all continue to weather well.

From Dick Bauer:

Good to hear from you. Especially good to learn aortic valve replacement procedure (love that word) went smoothly. Speedy recovery.

[Ginny and I are into the “slow-go” phase of retirement]: less enthusiasm for driving; I gave up bicycling; Ginny surrendered her garden patch for the simplicity of windowsill plants…that sort of thing. But on balance, we’re very hale: exercising regularly, lots of reading, no traumatic health threats, and enough stamina to be able to make at least a modest contribution to the world around us.

For Ginny, this has meant coordinating a group of 10 volunteers to create and lead several botany enrichment programs in a local grammar school, actively participating in our photography club and book club, as well as keeping us socially engaged. For me it has meant monthly piano/vocal performances, reinventing the Linden Ponderers (monthly discussion group focusing on contemporary issues), participating on a panel featuring the DVD, Being Mortal, sponsored by the South Shore Hospice Association, and writing a column “Riffs on Aging” for our bi-monthly newsletter. Both of us serve as “ambassadors”—hosts for people considering moving into Linden Ponds.

Our progeny continue to contribute to the commonweal: Cindy as communications director for the Massachusetts General Insurance Commission; Steve with HP at a senior level position in the printing division; Andy as investment advisor. Our two sets of grandchildren—two in college, two in grammar school—make us keenly grateful.

A couple months back I spied an obit in the Boston Globe reporting that Russ Winslow from our class died. Lived in New Hampshire. Apologies for not alerting Wesleyan or you earlier. (Assumed, erroneously, those in charge of arrangements might have done that.)

I’ll be seeing Dave J. Cox this May at our side mini-reunion. (Regrets for missing last spring’s official Reunion, undoubtedly our class’s last hurrah.)

All good things for you this new year.

From Max Roesler:

Two great-grandsons have joined our family during 2016, and cancer has claimed a half-brother of mine. We volunteer weekly at a food center which serves poor people mostly from Trenton, N.J., and southeastern Bucks County, Pa., with staples and sundries. Curiously, since my major was math and Paula’s was human relations, she uses a computer to determine clients’ eligibility while I help deliver their groceries to their cars, wagons, bicycles, or whatever. We also help maintain a nearby nature center, keeping trails cleared of overgrowth and undergrowth and removing trash. As the son of a man born in 1882 and a woman born in 1912, I also wrestle with, not only generational ambiguity, but also, since I have lived longer than any of my direct or collateral ancestors, other than my mother’s two grandmothers, with “grand old man” status in my family. Being one of the youngest in our class didn’t help me prepare for that. Visited Venice, Florence, Orvieto, and Rome, last October. In Rome ran across a young woman from New Zealand who is probably a distant cousin of mine via common descent from the MacLeods of Skye. Was surprised to see that Forbes magazine recently rated Wesleyan ninth among all colleges and universities offering baccalaureate degrees. Best to stay humble.

All the best in the new year.

From Glenn Boynton:

Last summer I was contacted by two current Wesleyan hockey players who wanted to hook up with hockey old-timers, so I sent them some recollections and some remarks made at the dedication of the Spurrier-Snyder Rink. Now they know who Bill Spurrier ’58 was! Our class supplied many of the players on the original teams.

So glad your operation went well!

Enjoy,

George

George Chien | gchien@optonline.net

Bob Runyon | rrunyon@unomaha.edu