CLASS OF 1965 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Dear, Classmates. First of all, it is very sad to report the sudden passing of Kirt Mead on Nov. 26, 2017, in Massachusetts. Kirt was a man of great intelligence and accomplishment. All of us were enriched by his involvement in our 50th. And, many of us saw Kirt looking great at our 2017 Homecoming meeting with the class of 1968’s 50th.

Received thoughtful holiday greetings from Bob Barton (Lanesboro, Mass.), Dave Dinwoodey (Wellesley, Mass.), Steve Flance (Santa Fe, N.M.), Chuck Hearey (Orinda, Calif.), Fred Nachman (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Ted See (Hartford, Conn.), and Bill Trapp (Lacey, Wash.).

Congratulations to noted architect Gar Hargens (AIA, NCARB), president of Close Associates in Minneapolis, on the celebration of the firm’s 80th anniversary.

Gar writes: “…professor John Martin gets credit for opening my eyes to architecture. I believe Ann Ulmer (daughter of Close’s founder) taught at Wesleyan…and one of their grandchildren may have attended. Colby Andrus ’63, our cross-country manager, encouraged me to go to the University of Minnesota, his home state, for my degree in architecture, and I’m glad I did.”

And, I asked John Dunton if he’d elaborate on his involvement with international travel and Intervac, which follows: “Carol and I are halfway through a year living in a small town in France; this is hands-down the biggest adventure of my life. It took me 62 years to get to Europe but that first trip to Paris showed me what I’d been missing. After several more visits to France we decided we wanted to get beneath the tourist tour surface and see what it was like actually to live here. In 2012 we joined Intervac, an international house exchange program. Over the next three years we hosted 10 families from France and Germany in our home in Waltham, Mass., while they toured Boston and New England. Once we had eight housing IOU’s scattered around France we took seven weeks in 2015 and visited our new friends in Paris, Versailles, Fontainebleu, Souvigny, Strasbourg, Provence, Lyon, and Veigne, a small town south of Tours in the Loire Valley. The Veigne couple got an offer from Boston University to study and teach there; they needed a place to live with their three children, we loved their home in Veigne, so voilà! We swapped houses for a year.

“We’re living and loving small-town life with its slower pace; the personal interaction with Marco, our baker, and his wife, Maggie, at the boulangerie; buying meat from Bernard, the living image of a small-town butcher, at his boucherie. Weekly we shop at Marché, a collection of food vendor trucks and tables set up in the town square. We buy more types of cheese than we knew existed, explore the amazing varieties of fish laid out in a cornucopia of colors and shapes on shaved ice, and select among chicken, duck, goose, turkey, pigeon, rabbit and more, most with heads still attached. The vegetables in season are there: lettuce is ’salad,’ okra is gombo, but don’t try to find kale—maybe in Paris, but not in Veigne. From the day we arrived our neighbors have been beyond helpful and welcoming, and friends of our host family frequently invite us to their homes. Fortunately, Carol speaks French; my attempts to learn it are about as successful as my D in German at Wesleyan would indicate.

“What do we miss? Family and friends; Boston’s cultural attractions; and American washer/dryer/disposal appliances. But we’re reveling in this experience especially when we share the chateaux and cathedrals, as well as small-town life, with visiting family and friends. Welcome to Hotel Veigne! However, we are fully booked through July after which, with some sadness, we will return to our other home.”

John, thank you for your interesting write-up and information on Intervac!

Philip L. Rockwell | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

CLASS OF 1964 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1964 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Dimitri Jaron Slory ’21, Brooklyn, NY

I’m sitting in my friendly recliner, updating my notes for the spring edition of the Wesleyan magazine. The outside temperature here in central Florida is a balmy 36 degrees. I’m watching the Weather Channel and its coverage of frozen america, where winter storm Grayson has left its record-setting imprint on the eastern seaboard. During one night, the temperature was 27 degrees, and I woke up to a power outage. I had all sorts of concerns with not knowing how long this would last. I prayed for the power to return, and it did within a half hour. I was grateful when the lights turned on, but I realized the miracle that is electricity has transformed life.

I’m in the process of selling my house in central Florida, and moving into my condo in Savannah, Ga. My wife and I are moving to northeast Georgia, where the temperatures, on average, are 10 degrees lower than central Florida in the winter months. The difference in temperatures really matter when Arctic air moves down to the Southeast, but I plan to find a condo in Florida to escape the 10-degree buffer.

Steve McQuide answered my request for news, as he “celebrated 50 years of marriage to a wonderful woman, watching three grandchildren grow up, riding the stock market; life is good.” He added, “having come to realize that I’ve become quite a different person than I was at Wesleyan.”

Dan Davis reported completing a deferred charitable gift annuity to Wesleyan. It provided for a nice tax deduction, annual income at a fixed interest rate, and guaranteed money for Wesleyan when he dies. He described it as a “win-win situation.”

Russ Messing shared: “I am totally retired and loving not going into work. My days are spent going to the gym, doing desk work, culling, reading, writing more poetry, breathing deeply, and noticing changes in my mind, body, and the world.”

Duane Starr is mostly retired but continuing part-time in the Global Security Directorate of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He’s looking forward to turkey season in the spring. Until then, he’ll have to be satisfied with whatever trout he can pull out of the Clinch River. He realizes that his life is good, having a loving wife, three children, and a moderately comfortable life style. He enjoys singing, and, when time allows, doing woodworking in a shop he set up on his side of their two-car garage. He appreciates what is still working well, much greater than when he was younger.

While working on my notes, I received an email notification of the passing of Michael O. Smith, M.D. on Dec. 24, 2017. He was a psychiatrist, acupuncturist, addiction specialist, and public health planner. He is survived by his daughters, Joanna Smith ’00 and Jessica Hutter.

Once again, Wesleyan graduate, Bill Belichick ’75, has led the Patriots to another Super Bowl after beating the Jaguars for the AFC NFL championship. At the time of writing, they will face the Eagles in two weeks. Dilly-dilly.

TED MANOS, M.D. | ted_manos@yahoo.com

CLASS OF 1963 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1963 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

John Lewis Jr. ’21, Newark, NJ

Ron Tallmanis living in St. Augustine. Way back in the ’80s, he was director of the American Association for Canadian Studies at the University of Maine, the largest center for such studies in the U.S. But more recently, when he retired in 2002 it was as dean of Roosevelt University, Chicago. Noel, his wife, retired from advertising in 2007. They really enjoy taking cruises and have taken so many that he was not even sure how many. Possibly 20, he guessed. They find it much easier to travel that way. No hauling luggage around or changing from hotel to hotel. He and Noel recently bought a wonderful single-family dwelling in a retirement community and moved there after some renovations. He thinks they might be the youngest residents there and they are very pleased with the community. Lots of interesting and friendly fellow residents and a wide range of activities to choose from. He listed a few—monthly van group trips to high-end restaurants (always a sober driver to bring them home), free Uber drivers, golfing (Noel is very good! and he played golf at WESU). They once went to the Open at St. Andrews. “Great fun!” Ron has two daughters from a previous marriage. The eldest, 53, is the United Nation’s deputy high commissioner for refugees in Geneva and has two children. The youngest just turned 50 and is a teacher about to start teaching in Houston, Texas, and has 3 children. Ron’s grandchildren range in age from 12 to 22, but sadly, due to geographical distance, he sometimes only sees them once a year.

While John Coatsworth is in only in his seventh year as provost at Columbia University, he and Patricia are in their 53rd year of marriage.Prior to coming to Columbia, John was the Monroe Gutman Professor of Latin American Affairs at Harvard where he also founded the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. He was also president of the American Historical Association. Due to his job he travels a lot to both Europe and South America. He and Patricia find so much to do in NYC that they “travel” more around town, especially to the ballet, than abroad. However, they did recently enjoy a brief relaxing and warm “escape” to Punta Canna in the Dominican Republic. John was originally a member of the class of ’62 but during his junior year abroad in Paris with a group of COL students, his mother, “our family bread winner” got sick and he took the year off and returned home to work and support his family. “Wesleyan was wonderfully helpful in allowing me to keep my scholarship and return and graduate a year later.” John has fond memories of being a member of the John Wesley Club. It was a great place to be, filled with wonderful odd balls and radicals. When I asked him about the rumors that inhabitants there might have partaken of substances not yet legalized in Connecticut, he replied, “Not so much so, but we did have some residents who were very accomplished chemists.”

John Bednarik lives with his wife Leslie Woods in Montville, Maine, which he said is located “halfway between Liberty and Freedom, with Hope just down the road.” (Confirmed by Google Maps!) John retired at 55 from the Bath Iron Works in Brunswick, Maine, which now builds Arleigh-Burke class frigates, all stealth and as large as WWII cruisers. He was in their computer department and had worked there for 14 years. From high school in New Mexico, John was recruited by the wide-ranging diversity policy of Victor Butterfield who wanted not only more out-of-state, but also way, way out-of state students. “I was a high school state champion. A very hot wrestling prospect in New Mexico but was lured east. Initially I lived in a small apartment in Butterfield’s house. There, as part of my scholarship pay-back, I waited at many official banquets and met lots of interesting visiting scholars and lecturers, including Paul Horgan. As a freshman, I was New England champ (135 pounds), but found the training and dieting too tiring. Also, I was getting very interested in my studies. So, I retired from sports, eventually joining the COL and got very interested in French literature. I spent the second half of my sophomore year in Paris and translated a History of the Wife of Pontheuwhile there. I majored in French, minored in Russian, with lots of psych courses too. After graduation, I got a letter from the New Mexico draft board inviting me to come and see if I was qualified to defend our country. I flunked the physical, but passed the Army Language school requirement, and was sent first to their language school. Studied Russian, Czech—with the name Bednarik, a piece of cake, that was my family history! And then on to the Army Security Agency.” He met Leslie while out in Monterey at language school. She has a very different family background from his—her family came over on the Fortune, the second English ship after the Mayflower. But that did not prove to be an obstacle. They dated for six weeks and got married. Initially they lived in NYC where John heard of a training program offered by IBM.  He applied, was hired, trained, and took to computers with ease. “Database was just like learning another language and was easy for me.” For a while they lived in New Fairfield, Conn., where he worked for Control Data, but after vacationing in Maine and Canada, they decided they wanted out and bought 135 acres in Waterville, Maine in 1967 and eventually moved up there in 1980. They grow most of their own food, including sheep and vegetables. In retirement John does his own iron work—welding iron animals and fanciful creatures as well as making ceramic candelabras. He has taken numerous adult education classes and now is improving his Spanish. He also speaks German, French, and Czech. That John is enjoying himself in his retirement came across very clearly. He, too, has fond memories of the JWC, having lived there after returning from France.

Daniel Dennett wrote, “I spent just freshman year at Wesleyan in the class of ’63 before transferring to Harvard to work with W.V.O. Quine, who became a life-long hero of mine. The year at Wesleyan was a deep and formative experience for me. Three teachers, Robert Benson, the historian, Louis Mink, the philosopher, and Henry Kyberg, a visiting logician from Princeton, inspired me for years. Two fellow freshmen, Stan Lewis and Spike D’arthenay ’64 showed me that art, music and poetry were even more wonderful than I already thought, while at the same time showing me by their very great talent and insight that there might be other worlds for me to excel in. I shudder to think of some of the obnoxious and narrow-minded things I did back then. I apologize and hope that any whom I might have embarrassed back in ’59-60 will chalk it up to my immaturity and over-eagerness to impress. It was a great year for me and it laid the foundation for what has been a gratifying life of adventure and accomplishment. I am still married to the woman I met later in 1960. We have two children, both married, and five grandchildren. After 40 years, we sold our farm in Blue Hills, Maine, and now spend summers in a house on Little Deer Isle, Maine.”  Dan has a very impressive array of accomplishments—world-wide lectures/workshops, numerous articles and books, and is a recipient of the Netherlands highest honor presented by Queen Beatrix. There is a very interesting article about Dan in the March 27, 2017 issue of the New Yorker, written by Joshua Rothman entitled, “Daniel Dennett’s Science of the Soul.”

James Ferguson, long been retired from his consulting work, is very active as administrator of the Washington Soccer Club in D.C. It has a youthful membership of under 200 and is very serious about high-level training for young soccer players. It has only travel teams and does not play in any recreational league. They are understandably proud that three of their graduates have made it onto the U.S. national teams. We remember Jim in sports for football or wrestling, but many years ago, as his sons got into soccer, Jim did too. Eventually, he wound up as rules chairman for the National Youth Soccer Association and sat on the Rules Committee of the National Soccer Federation. Jim took up writing when his granddaughter, Nora, was 9 (she’s now 18). He wrote a story for her (“and all children under 70″) called Nora, The Checkerboard Duckling, which he says his friends all like. While book publishers like it too, none has yet been able to decide what age would be its target.  He’s written two screenplays “which no one has bought” and has made board games “which no one wants.” He seems undiscouraged and continues to write. Jim has two sons, 41 and 37, and three grandchildren, with another due prior to your reading this. I was shocked to hear that Jim’s youngest son, Brian spent 11 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. After much effort by a fine, new lawyer who unearthed information either initially ignored, misinterpreted, or deliberately overlooked, a judge released Brian from prison. Brian is rebounding well. He is engaged, attending Georgetown, and will get his degree this spring. After leading a successful “Ban the Box” campaign in D.C., Brian is employed as head of the D.C. mayor’s Office of Returning Citizen’s Affairs, which helps reintegrate D.C. residents who have spent time in jail or prison. Having become a jail house lawyer himself, Brian is seriously considering going to law school after his graduation. During Brian’s incarceration, if asked what he wanted in life, Jim would say, “I want to live to see my son breathe free again.” A last tidbit—when quite young, Jim was told that if he learned cribbage, it would help his math. So, he started playing the game and now plays it nearly everyday. Football, wrestling, cribbage. A natural progression, I guess.

And sad news, John Sommer died Nov. 11 of cancer. Alex Aikman, a classmate of John’s from seventh grade through WESU, has written a wonderfully detailed and lovingly prepared obituary which is available online.

Be advised it’s true—Our 55th Reunion is almost upon us! And I hope a great many of you will plan to come to campus May 25-27. Harvey Bagg, Jim Dooney, Jim DresserJohn Driscoll ’62, Doug Evelyn, Marty Hatch, Dave Landgraf,John Kikoski, RussRichey, Peter Treffers, Don Sexton, and I have been busy planning what we hope will be a wonderful weekend. Join this opportunity for our class to assemble once again. Remember, the older we are, the better we were.

Byron S. Miller | tigr10@optonline.net
5 Clapboard Hill Rd., Westport, CT 06880

CLASS OF 1962 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1962 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Jessy Carrasco-Gonzalez ’18, Economics, Minor: Data Analysis

Lindsay Childs writes that items in the last issue of the alumni magazine reminded him “how much having been at Wesleyan continues to influence my life.” The notice of Richard Winslow ’40 passing reminded him of his “amazing” experiences as a member of Professor Winslow’s chapel choir, and how “after a five-year grad school gap, I began singing in a chorus again and have continued to do so ever since.” A photograph of Robert Rosenbaum “featuring his memorable smile” reminded him of Professor Rosenbaum’s College of Quantitative Studies, where he says, “I had my first real success in mathematical research, and went on to be a professor of math at UAlbany (SUNY).” Lindsay writes, “I’m still doing and publishing mathematical research, six years past retirement. Thanks, Bob!”

Robin Cook’s son Cameron, a senior at Boston University Academy, will attend Wesleyan in the fall. Robin thanks John Driscoll for being very helpful with the application process.

Doug Sperry, a “technical” member of the class of ’62, left Wesleyan during our sophomore year after getting married, but writes, “I do remember my time there fondly.” He earned his BA from UConn, then a BA from the Hartford Seminary Foundation, which led to service for six years as pastor at the Union Chapel on Fisher’s Island, after which he became executive director of the Southeastern Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross. A second marriage—to a “visiting English school teacher from Germany”—led to his moving to Bremen, Germany, in 1978, where he became an English instructor at the local Berlitz School and he has had a career in language development. He writes, “We do manage to get back to the States almost every year,” and he is in regular contact with his three sons from his first marriage.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com
17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

CLASS OF 1961 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

The response to your secretary’s plea for class note material has always been gratifying and entertaining as well. For example, Allen Thomas replied: Dear Jon, I answer your call in kind:

Business as usual, still working away/ Now it’s the Russians, who pay for my day.

Law is my game, over 54 years./ London’s my home, but not the warm beers.

House in the Berkshires, share with grandkids/ Over the Atlantic, ’til aging forbids.

Health holding up, I’m still on the skis/Keeping up with the kids, no longer a breeze.

Life here is good, away from mad Trump/ Tho’ Brexit is likely, to give us a thump.

If doggerel’s the game: my contribution./ Rebirth of civility’s the only solution.

Vic Butterfield is needed, now more than ever

To leave our grandkids, a viable endeavor.

Congratulations to Robert Johnson for his financial support of the Florida Venice Symphony, recognized by his participation in two concert performances as a member of the percussion section. One might call it “getting a terrific bang for your buck.”

Congratulations to Dan Elliott, who writes: “My Wes grad daughter is getting married in Cleveland in October, and then, with hubby, moves to Palo Alto where he will be a radiologist at Stanford and she will do research in the criminal justice field—and I will be broke after the wedding.”

Lewis Kirshner writes: “I am happy to report that I am enjoying living for a year in Amsterdam while my wife is on sabbatical. I am busy doing internet psycho-analysis and teaching to faraway places. Here in town I’m taking studio painting classes, doing some writing, and biking around town. It’s a pretty full life that I am fortunate to have, and it’s not bad being an expat away for a while!”

Jack Mitchell provides workshops and motivational speeches throughout the world. His third book, Selling the Hug Your Customer’s Way: The Proven Process for Becoming a Passionate and Successful Salesperson for Life, is being published by McGraw-Hill this spring. Serving on the President’s Council, Jack writes: “The thing I am most proud of, regarding Wesleyan, is that our granddaughter, Dana Mitchell ’18, is graduating from Wesleyan this spring.”

Richard Poulton expressed enjoyment in receiving a poetic plea for information: “I enjoy the thought of being asked to contribute to Class Notes in this year, the 60th after I sorrowfully left Wesleyan! You might possibly recall that I was one of the 13 overseas students who were privileged to be on Wesleyan’s one-year Foreign Student program in 1957-1958, so my leaving in that latter year was inevitable. I had the good fortune to come back to England, to Cambridge University, whence I graduated in 1961, so I have always been happy to be counted as one of that class. I then took training as a teacher, and enjoyed a 35-year career in education before ’retiring’ and spending a further 12 years working in or for various charities, all of which related primarily to young people. I have been extraordinarily lucky in the places and the positions in which I have found myself—but to start on an account of six decades of ’Life, the Universe, and Everything’ is surely more than you were expecting or needing. I shall be happy if, through you, I can convey my heartfelt thanks to the University and especially to any members of the classes 1958-1961 for that formative year, which I value more than any other single year in my life. I would also be delighted to become an occasional correspondent with anyone who might just remember me, though I think the chances of that are very, very small!”

Jack Richards has provided this update: “I’ve finally retired after many pleasant and fun-filled years as an orthopedic surgeon. My somewhat unconventional personal life has led to 21 wonderful years of marriage to Carol. We have five ’kids’ and 10 grandkids (Brady Bunch). We live in Halfmoon, N.Y., and Bonita Springs, Fla. Like all of us, I’ve got a few health issues, but I still can get around the golf course and spend a lot of time singing in a barbershop quartet. As a good friend said to me at my 78th birthday party, ’You don’t look 78, but I can remember when you did!’ I spent one year over in Cu’ Chi, Vietnam in 1968. Great experience with the closeness you felt with the people around you, but full of tragic surgery. I couldn’t end the war so I had to send Russ Robertson over to mop up. I regret not keeping in touch with Wesleyan friends, but I often think fondly of Wesleyan days and classmates. How I’d love to spend one more night with my Psi U roommates Quent Roberts and Beau Bailey. Great years!”

Respectfully submitted,

Jon K. Magendanz, DDS | jon@magendanz.com
902 39th Avenue West, Bradenton, FL 34205

CLASS OF 1960 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1960 Charles W. Smith Class of 1960 Scholarship

Joseph Michael Ellis ’19, Government, Film Studies

Class of 1960 Richard H. Huddleston ’60, P’90 Wesleyan Scholarship

Glenn Smith III ’21, Roxbury, MA

Michael Harlan Blake died peacefully on Oct. 3, 2017, at Riverwoods Exeter after a more than 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Mike met Susan Welles Livingston in the fall of his senior year at Wesleyan. They were married in September 1960 and were together for 25 years. He finished his executive career with Harvest Capital Management of Concord, N.H., retiring in 2002. Mike lived in Marblehead, Mass., for over 25 years where he indulged his love of sports and the outdoors. He coached youth soccer, played in a men’s basketball league well into his 40s, sailed, skied, and hiked the mountains of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Colorado. Mike is survived by his former wife, Susan Livingston of Marblehead, and his four children. He was predeceased by his second wife, Penelope Stowell.

Chris Campbell suffered a mild stroke last fall. He credits his wife and a speech therapist with helping him reclaim his memory. Chris is also thankful to talented physicians and Medicare for his resumption of normal activity.

John Dobson and Nici reported that their house in Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. They plan to sell the structure that remains “as is.”

Rick Garcia continues as president of the Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences. At a meeting involving Latin America and Spain that was held in Madrid, he was thrilled to meet the King of Spain. Rick reported sadly that his wife, Gloria, died on May 1, 2017.

Jan Hogendorn died on Oct. 10, 2017, after a period of failing health. During his career he published more than 50 articles and essays, multiple editions of textbooks in introductory, international, and development economics, and three books on the history of agriculture, slavery, and abolition in West Africa. He was the Grossman Professor of Economics at Colby College until his retirement in 2003. In later life, Jan participated in local politics, serving as chair of the Vassalboro Democratic Party and several times as moderator of the Vassalboro Town Meeting. He is survived by his wife, Dianne, his son, Christiaan, who is an associate professor of economics at Wesleyan, daughter-in-law Erika Naginski, and two grandchildren.

Dave Hale has been doing volunteer work for the Food Shelf, Brockport’s local food bank. He has made presentations to students at SUNY about that organization. On a trip to a monastery in France, he made 270 steps up, but not down. He stumbled and fell twice. He then was taken to the emergency room for a series of inconclusive tests. His stable of doctors now includes a cardiologist.

Mankato psychologist George Komaridis has worked with returning veterans since the Vietnam War. He has listened to multiple generations’ nightmares and has done his best to help vets recover from physical wounds and emotional trauma. But George also knows that there are some whom traditional therapy and medications just can’t reach. “There is pain they can’t tolerate, and they’re going to do something because the pain is too much.” That extra step has long involved alcohol, but today, it often means relying on marijuana.

Bill Walker released another book in his Paul Muller series, called A Spy in Vienna, a dramatizing of the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938. It’s the second Paul Muller novel set in Europe before World War II and is available on Amazon.

Harold Trimmer is heartbroken to report that his beloved partner of 27 years, Rosanne Werges, died Jan. 9, 2018, after suffering a massive cerebral hemorrhage at their Naples, Fla., home. She loved attending our class Reunions, the spirit of our class, and the friendships she made.

It is with great sadness that I report the death of my dear wife, Judy, on Dec. 24, 2017. We were married for 50 years. My thanks to all of you who have expressed their condolence to me.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

CLASS OF 1959 | 2018 | ISSUE 1.5

Dear Friends,

Douglas J. Bennet in his office at Wesleyan University.

By now you probably know of the death of Doug Bennet. You can read about him in these articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Hartford Courant.

A good guy, a great friend of ours, and a great friend of Wesleyan.

He will be missed.

If anyone has reminiscences to share, please send them along.

Sincerely,

Skip, John, Bert, and Ed

Skip Silloway | ssillow@gmail.com; 801/532-4311 

John Spurdle | jspurdle@aol.com; 212/644-4858


Thoughts on Doug from Classmates

Tim Chapin: “Whenever Doug took on some enterprise, he quickly became the face of it, and eventually its leader.  He brought a whole new meaning to “over-achiever.” He also was attentive to the more minor issues in life and a kindness and empathy for the less fortunate or those in trouble. He is the man who is missing from today’s world;  we need a million more Dougs, not one less.”

Dick Cadigan: “Doug had an amazing career and contributions to ‘making the world better’!”

Tim Day: “It is very sad to lose another of our great classmates. Doug lived a life of distinction and brought honor to the Class of ’59. May he RIP and celebrate a celestial reunion with those who proceeded him—like my roommates Terry Smith and Marty Jaskot and many other friends.”

John Dennis: “When I ran for congress in 1988, Doug was a magnificent behind the scenes tutor. The political world was a new territory for me  and with all the other far more important things that were on Doug’s desk, he always seemed to have time for me. More than a skilled political counselor, he was a master confidence builder. As I look back at the years of his presidency, I wonder if the greatest legacy that he left Wesleyan might possibly have been the same gift that he gave me. Confidence Builder!”

Bob McKelvey: “In reading yesterday’s lengthy and laudatory NY Times obituary about our friend and classmate, Doug Bennet, detailing his contributions to education, NPR, the State Department, and the political world, I suspect that Vic Butterfield would have said: “That is what I call contributing out of proportion to his numbers.” Vic would have been very proud of Doug,  as are all of us to have had Doug as a friend and classmate.”

Joe Mallory: “I did not know Doug very well at Wesleyan but never heard anything but good things about him.In thinking back, I was able to recall one anecdote that might be worth adding to the collection: It was at the beginning of our junior or senior years when Dean Barlow assembled the new crop of dormitory counselors to brief them on the mission, rules, protocols, etc. As we approached the eagerly anticipated end of the meeting, the dean invited questions or comments. Whereupon, Doug raised concern regarding the policy that dorm counselors on duty during party weekends were allowed to have dates in their rooms. To this day, I remember the stunned silence that fell over the group and the dismayed looks as Dean Barlow seemed to agree that Doug’s concern had merit. Of course, we had no way of knowing that somewhere in the future Doug would become president of Wesleyan University. However, after witnessing that display of strength of conviction, and in this case, raw courage, I think none of us would have been surprised.”

Skip Silloway: “I did not know Doug well when at Wes. I became acquainted much later when he became president. I am grateful for his having reeled my father back into the Wes fold. He had been very much estranged for many years. Doug and Dad became great friends proving opposites attract. They exchanged visits to each others homes. The aging conservative business man and the liberal college pres. They argued each others positions over an abundance of single-malt scotch and a genuine friendship ensued. It was great for Dad to have this connection in his later years. This is a personal anecdote but how I remember Doug. It is a measure of who he was. I am grateful for the connection.”

Owen Tabor: “Doug was a guy with great eyebrows. He was not particularly athletic but he gave a great effort on the soccer field. He was, we all knew, very smart. His time at NPR was remarkable and he provided a summer job for our daughter, Mary. She went on to the NY Times and a great, but shor,t career in journalism. He had plenty of social graces, a resonating voice and ready smile. When he became president of Wesleyan I thought, ‘What a great choice,’ and it was. Although we were not particularly close I considered him a friend and the loss is significant. He understood fraternities and their pluses and minuses, but he was a fine mind in a reasonable body with a strong heart. May flights of angels . . .”

Charlie Wrubel: “Doug was the right president for Wes during his tenure. His vision and practical application of financial strategy both energized our growth and created a sensible approach to building our  endowment. Wes should be forever grateful for his leadership.”

CLASS OF 1958 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Nelson Edwards emailed to remind me that not much was new, but he was planning on our 60th Reunion in late May.

Bill Caspary is still teaching at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He has been teaching for more than 50 years! He and Rima will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year.

Patti and Dick Goldman are very glad to be in Key Biscayne, Fla., away from the Boston weather. Dick is relaxing now, but in Boston he teaches law and started a group for Wes graduates who are lawyers. Dick is the Boston representative for the national Wesleyan Lawyers Association.

Although he has been retired for 16 years, Bill Fryer works part-time as an interim pastor. He and Joanna love to travel and visit children and grandchildren. He is looking forward to our 60th.

A sad note from Alice Higgins: Bill passed away July 31, 2017. I remember him fondly.

Bart Bolton’s grandchildren take center stage in his email. The oldest grandson is now working full-time in the IT field and the oldest granddaughter was married last fall. He and Ed Kershner will be on Longboat Key in February and plan to meet with Charlie Denny and me for our annual luncheon.

Toni and John Corkran celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in January. John wishes to thank the class for their generous response for the 60th Reunion gift.

Art Geltzer and Mel Cote plan to attend the 60th despite the death of Mel’s wife, Polly. She was a fine painter and active in the art scene until a few months ago.

Frank Vietze writes of his favorite Christmas present: His three children and four grandchildren from Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Southern California, and Frank and Barbara from Michigan, gather in Kentucky to spend six days together. All of his grandchildren play soccer.

Don Hill is still in San Mateo, Calif., enjoying 89 percent retired life. He will coordinate an economics institute for teachers and professors at Stanford this summer for the 31st consecutive year. He plays tennis three or four times a week. Highlight of 2018: watching a grandson at Stanford play water polo against another grandson in Cambridge.

Despite record-cold weather, Neil Springborn and family are doing very well. They enjoy golf and serving on boards and commissions. A daughter, Allyson, is an accomplished barrel racer, son Jeff is with the National Weather Service and was transferred to Houston, Texas. One granddaughter is playing Division II soccer and another is in Hong Kong.

A long note from Tom Burns gives a brief overview of his life. After Wesleyan and the Army, he enrolled at Cal Berkeley where he met wife Janice. After Cal he had a wide variety of work in computers and systems in four locations for four companies. They have three children scattered along the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida. He now enjoys local community activities in Minnesota. Most every year he and Janice enjoy an overseas trip and a few summer weeks on the Maine Coast.

Fred Houck, recovering after spinal surgery in November, will travel to Florida and walk every day. He is hoping to be of assistance to the Reunion committee.

A very upbeat note from Bill Barnes. He and Pat celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last summer at New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington and Vermont’s Mt. Mansfield in Stowe. He recalls their days as a married couple in Wesleyan’s Veterans’ Village. Also, there were the Krenzs and the Mansfields. His retirement is active and fulfilling. He is in his 30th year as a violist in the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra and subs at area churches.

Neil Henry plans to return for the 60th. He is proud of his three grandsons who are playing basketball for the first time.

Kay and I are doing well, no serious health issues yet. And we definitely are planning on May 25-27 for our 60th Reunion. Hey, gang, let us do it!

Cliff Hordlow | Khordlow@gmail.com
Apt. 103, 4645 Winged Foot Court | Naples, FL 34112; 239/732-6821

CLASS OF 1957 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Hearing from Jim Brown who writes that he missed our 60th due to conflicts with graduations of granddaughters, one at the University of Georgia and another at the University of Virginia. The Browns’ grandson is a senior in high school and is in the process of college selection. He adds that the Georgia event was held on their football field with “a cast of thousands” and was “a little different than Wesleyan.” Jim and spouse Betty have cut down on travel, but he still works out three times weekly, with a menu of the bike, weights, and swimming—the latter, the backstroke for easier breathing, which I did not realize. See, we’re never too old to pick up new advice.

Jack Braitmayer and wife Nancy wound up with a dose of pneumonia in the early winter, but made a complete recovery. They, too, have dialed it back on travel, adding that they do not get to Florida any longer, but are at home in Marion, Mass., next door to where he grew up. Still, as of this writing, it is winter in the Northeast and Jack comments that waiting for spring seems an eternity. Jack has recently turned 88, and is looking forward to many more springs to come.

John Allison updates that he and Judy have an expanded family when in May last year they attended a grandson’s marriage to a young woman with two children, adding to the Allison’s “stepgreats” at ages 4 and 6, while their “greats” turned 1 and 10. He goes on to share an experience involving a successful procedure to repair a detached retina. The surgery he describes as in-and-out while the recovery is another matter, requiring one’s nose pointed downward for considerable time over two weeks. In John’s telling, he had plenty of time to think, reflect, and remember. Regarding the latter of these, it brought to his mind freshman Sigma Nu pledge adventures, one a gravestone search where the frosh weren’t even in the correct cemetery. Better luck awaited on a scavenger hunt over in Portland where a random stumble over a Coke bottle allowed for a deadline victory, much to the dismay of the ’56 brothers. John, I hope you do not need any further eye work!

While on the subject of freshmen and sophomores: my son Dave, happened upon an antique shop that had one of those postcard bins and he found one of Wesleyan dated February 1905 showing the chapel, the library, and Judd Hall. The card was addressed to a (presumably) young lady in Bridgeport by a young man in the Class of 1908 reporting that “we” won the Douglas Cannon “scrap,” i.e., the competition between the aforementioned classes. The scrap was for real—consult Dave Potts ’60’s initial volume of Wes history as to this annual event. Recall that ’57 had its own caper with the legendary cannon, as Jack Goodhue so elegantly wrote about in our 50th Re-u book. Where does that somewhat infamous cannon reside today?

Sparky Watts reports staying busy with travel, walking, reading, and pursuing philosophical studies. Further, their house in Madison, Wisc., will be placed on the market as he and Sarah determine where to move. She prefers a dry climate like New Mexico, yet two daughters live in Jacksonville, Fla., who want them there. On the whole, nice options. As POTUS often says, “Stay tuned.”

By now, the Bob Gorin family-sponsored skate party at Chelsea Piers has taken place. The event raises funds for the Brian Gottlieb ’88 Memorial Scholarship Fund. It is a yearly event with an outstanding record of participation and benefit to Wes.

Bob wrote in with happy news: “My grandson, David Harrison Gottlieb, will be entering Wesleyan this fall with the class of 2022. He will be the third generation of the family to attend. He is the son of my daughter, Bethel Gorin Gottlieb ’90, and her late husband, Brian Gottlieb ’88. It seems like yesterday that our class walked into North College in the fall of 1953 to begin our journey. I wish David and all of his classmates the best of everything.”

In the category of how a few chosen words speak volumes, this next from Tony Austin: “I sold my boat and am presently not fishing. Never should have sold it.”

Happy summer to all.

Art Typermass | joanarth64@gmail.com
144 East Ave., #302B, Norwalk, CT 06851 | 203/504-8942

CLASS OF 1956 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Sad news: Harry Barr, surrounded by his loving wife, Judy, and their family, died peacefully on Dec. 25. After Wesleyan, Harry graduated from Harvard Business School. He enjoyed a long career in investments at several firms in Boston and later volunteered on several nonprofit boards. He was a true friend of Wesleyan, always a familiar face at Reunions. Among his generous gifts to Alma Mater were three offspring, Pam ’81, David ’85, and Gregory ’87, as well as Gregory’s wife Elizabeth [Wendy] Trippe Barr ’89, and a grandson, Tyler ’21. Somehow son Douglas got away.

Fred Boynton’s book, Tales from the Annals of America: Things That You May Not Have Been Taught in Your High School American History Class, has been published and is available from Create Space, Amazon, and through local bookstores.

It’s a collection of essays on topics and people in the early history of our country that were important in shaping the nation that we live in today, but that get little or no exposure in conventional history courses. Books are printed to order. It’s big—7” x 10” and nearly 600 pages; the price is $21.95. It’s also available on Kindle for those who prefer that format, at a lower price. I’ve read parts of it. So far, so good.

Fred reports: “Beverly and I took a long road trip through the Southwest back to Kansas City for my 65th high school reunion. High point of that part was a visit to the Eisenhower home site and museum in Abilene, something I recommend to everyone regardless of their politics. Much fun in KC seeing an unfortunately dwindling company of old friends. Then back through the Northwest including Loup City, Neb., a stop in North Dakota (my 50th state), and down the West Coast (before the wildfires hit), to the San Francisco Bay area to visit with a son there and then home. Picked up a few good bottles of wine along the way. We are currently almost recovered from the holidays and are beginning to break our resolutions for 2018.”

From John Foster: “My loving wife, Lila, and I have lived happily for most of our 50-plus years together in Marblehead, Mass., a lovely community on the north shore of Boston. I’m happy to report Fred Boynton and his bride joined us here for a visit a few years ago. We are most fortunate to have both our sons and families here, too. Just gave my mooring to one of them as last year was my last sailing…not as steady on my feet as I used to be. Moorings are prized possessions here, with a reported 23-year wait list. Put your newborn on the list as they leave the hospital.”

And Mort Paterson: “My three sons and their wives/girlfriends and two granddaughters (from California) were here with Susan and me for Christmas in Philadelphia. We cooked for 10 for three days. It was worth it. Flew to Raleigh for New Year’s with Susan’s family. How about those Carolina Hurricanes! They beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ice hockey is a very fast game, I learned, often interrupted by overhead speakers blasting dithyrambic music. All about a black puck you can’t see.

“Before Christmas, I had been resting up after playing the lead in Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale with a local drama group. He should look 55. Died my gray hair. Took off 25 years. Crazy man! It worked out. Good reviews. Did two other big roles earlier last year. Addicted, can’t quit.

“No shows right now. Time to get back to work figuring out annuities.”

Tom Plimpton is “still alive and well. For how much longer, who knows? I am planning to go with my daughter, Liz, and her husband to the Dry Tortugas this coming October. If we do it, I will write you a little report. Peace and joy!”

Biff Bevins: “I had all five grown offspring and six (ages 12 to 24) grand-offspring here in Chapel Hill at Christmastime. My dear wife, Priscilla, died eight years ago, one day after my 74th birthday. I will never really get over that, but carry on with an incredible compendium of memories through the thick and thin of our 51 years together. My pulmonary health is poor, which prevents me from traveling, but I cope with that pretty well. Other organs are doing just fine, save for an appendix and a prostate which I sacrificed to colleague surgeons many years ago, but I am happy to say I am surviving and have no complaints, having made it this far.”

That’s all for now, folks.

George Chien | gchien@optonline.net