CLASS OF 1974 | 2019 | ISSUE 3
John McLucas had a blast at Reunion! One unexpected highlight was learning that Bill Pearson chairs the board at Young Audiences, a group which John enthusiastically supports in Baltimore. Another was learning that Peter Hayward’s in-laws are favorite neighbors of John’s in his new-ish neighborhood, Bolton Hill. John is starting his 36th and final year as professor of Italian and Latin at Towson University near Baltimore. Plans for retirement include continuing to write fiction. His debut novel, Dialogues on the Beach, came out in late 2017. A sequel, Spirit’s Tether, is in the editors’ hands, with a third, unrelated book in the works.”
Craig Everhart states and then asks, “I’m jumping into retirement in October. Much as people say to have a plan in mind, I don’t really have one. I may go bananas. But I suspect that I am like others of my classmates: work is pretty fulfilling, and I have not been driven to wish for other ways to occupy myself. What do you do in a similar situation?”
Blaise Noto reports, “I’m continuing as assistant professor of communications at Barton College in North Carolina, and loving it. Last semester, I designed and taught a digital media communications course in addition to my law and ethics in the media, sports and communication, public relations campaigns and marketing, and a range of others. I also have been active in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (been a member since 1985) as an official judge of Student Academy Awards for domestic and intentional students, as well as the Nicholls Scholarship Screenwriting Competition. And last fall, I was appointment chairman of the Alumni Interview Committee for Chapel Hill and other parts of the Triangle for the University of Pennsylvania. As for my summer—been at home and doing physical therapy from total hip joint replacement surgery at Duke Hospital. Feeling great!”
Jan Eliasberg updates us. “My daughter, Sariel Hana Friedman ’19, graduated Wesleyan in June; she majored in American studies and minored in film studies; she’s currently working for FICTIONLESS, a team of passionate storytellers and strategists producing emotionally rich nonfiction film + television alongside high impact brand content.
“And I’m making my debut as a novelist, with my book, Hannah’s War, bought by Judy Clain at Little, Brown in a bidding war. This was the announcement in Publisher’s Marketplace, with a lovely blurb by Amy Bloom ’75:
“Award winning writer/director Jan Eliasberg’s Hannah’s War, a thrilling historical debut about a female scientist working to develop the first atomic bomb during World War II, and the young military investigator determined to uncover her secret past, has been sold to Judy Clain at Little, Brown & Company, in a pre-emptive bid. Hannah’s War, adapted by Eliasberg from her Black List and BBC List topping screenplay Heart Of The Atom, will be Little, Brown’s lead title for spring, with a publication date of March 3.”
Reviews include:
“Jan Eliasberg knows how to open big with strong suspense and wry humor and take us for a hurtling ride through one of America’s most complex moments. The wonderful characters of Hannah’s War bring together a moving love story, a high-stakes mystery and a fascinating look into the moral compass of an exceptional woman.
―Amy Bloom, author of White Houses
“I flew through Hannah’s War, a gripping true story long overdue to be told, of a brilliant woman physicist working to develop the first atomic bomb and the secret she fights to protect.”―Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls
Norma J. Williams was selected statewide to receive the inaugural Excellence In Practice Award given by the Solo and Small Firm Section of the California Lawyers Association. The award is to honor a solo or small firm attorney who has demonstrated exemplary leadership and dedication to the legal profession and has contributed to the betterment of the practice of law. Norma accepted the Award at a ceremony in Huntington Beach on June 14.
On July 11, Bob Heller’s 15-year valiant battle with cancer ended at the of age 67. He grew up in Carle Place, N.Y., graduated from Wesleyan University and the New England School of Law. After practicing in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Bob moved to Seattle and for the past 30 years continued practicing law there, the last 11 at The Walthew Law Firm. He’s been a presenter at workshops and seminars on issues involving Workers’ Compensation law. Bob is past co-chair of the Washington State Deaf-Blind Task Force, past chair of the King County Bar Association Committee on Legal Problems of the Disadvantaged, past president of the Board of Daybreak Family Homes, and a founding board member of the Washington State Deaf-Blind Service Center. Bob also volunteered his time as a speaker before cancer support groups, as a special service provider for the deaf-blind community, and was a long-time volunteer with Volunteer Attorneys for Persons with AIDS (VAPWA). The two-time All-American college football player and inductee to the Wesleyan Hall of Fame, was also a mean fiddle player (by ear) of Irish music. He loved family, friends, all things Irish, Saki, the Mariners, the Seahawks, and the Patriots.
Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu