CLASS OF 1959 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE
Greetings, great class of ’59. Your scribes wish you well in this holiday season and beyond. Two things to remember: our 65th in May of ’24, and our old friend, WAF. Now to our doings.
John and Cyndy Spurdle hosted a gathering for Sir Tom Stoppard on behalf of the International Friends of the London Library in New York to celebrate the opening of his new play, Leopoldstadt. The play is sold out in New York and in London. It is based on Stoppard’s family’s Jewish history in Vienna. The Spurdles and the Stoppards have been supporters of the London Library for ages.
Herb Steiner has a granddaughter at Wesleyan, and on a recent visit, Herb joined her in the viola section for the October concert. A great pleasure for Herb playing next to her and making music at Wes for the first time in 63 years.
Tim Day continues his support of the Marine Corps in a couple of ways. He has put 29 marine officers through the Harvard Business School MBA program as well as 40 senior marine officers through the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. Add to this the Tim and Sandy Day Canine Companion Program that provides service dogs to wounded marines and you have a real commitment to the Marine Corps.
Bob and Marsha Gillette visited Bob and Joan Chase at the latter’s home in Springfield, Virginia. They laughed about “double dating,” and all were thankful for their Wesleyan experience. Bob G. continues to lecture at various places about his two books on the rescue of Jewish teenagers from Nazi Germany in the late ’30s. Bob was recently featured on the PBS program, Hidden History. He and Marsha are still canoeing and still have not tipped over.
A sixth annual MidCoast Maine reunion found Joe and Wendy Mallory, Tom and Anne McHugh, Dick and Linda Cadigan, and Alan and Marie-Pier Brooks at the Mallory’s home in New Harbor, Maine. The usual Wesleyan memories ensued as well as more current topics.
And speaking of Dick Cadigan, he shared the following remembrance of Ned Lemkemeier who passed away on June 13 at the age of 85: “We became close friends in St. Louis, 1962, just after I finished theological school and he law school. One fun experience was when Wes asked us to visit an all-Black, inner-city high school to recruit students. We chuckled as we drove there, wondering what our pitch would be to attract kids to a small liberal arts school in Connecticut! In later years Ned said one student did attend Wes and became a lawyer. St Louis Post-Dispatch had a big, long article that said Ned was [an] ‘Unsung Hero of St. Louis.’ His work was stellar on desegregation of public schools, leadership on boards dealing with cancer, disability, [hearing impairment], the arts. Article stated, ‘Ned was the most trustworthy person in St. Louis; smart, unpretentious, a straight shooter with a heart of gold.’ When one son asked for advice, Ned said, ‘Listen before you speak, only way to get to common ground.’ What a legacy!”
Joan Bromage wrote in October that Ted had died peacefully after a couple of years of poor health. They had many Wesleyan friends, and several of these friendships resulted in their becoming godparents.
Molly and Skip Silloway are heading back to Utah and their annual family ski trip. A week at the Alta Lodge is a fixture on their calendar. Who knows how long this can continue.