Tag: 1974

Let’s jump right into Reunion notes!

Pat Mulcahy’s notes on our 45th Reunion: “Here’s a key to the effectiveness and great good spirits of our reunion: right after our panel, What’s Next, for which Claudia Catania, Harold Sogard, Lloyd Komesar and Bill Pearson joined me to discuss the so-called ‘retirement years,’ I got a text from a highly placed publisher I know at Random House. She was in the next room at another seminar put on by her class, there for their 40^th. The laughter from our end could be heard through the wall.

“‘Sounds like you’re having so much fun!’ she said. ‘Can you meet me for coffee?’

“Then at our women’s group gathering, we were joined by a member of the class of 1979, who wanted to meet the women who’d paved the way for co-ed education at Wes. What she heard was honest and sometimes a little raw: there were bumps in the road as women arrived on a previously all-male campus. Many thanks to Sharon Purdie and Nancy Stack for organizing what is always a very worthwhile and touching session.

“Here’s my take overall: our class, which broke Reunion attendance records, is united by a dose of adversity, a commitment to social justice, public service, the arts, and to each other. Throw in a soupcon of goofiness.

“As Lloyd put it in a thank-you to Wes’s Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 for her efforts, “We are not an easy class to wrangle.” But we show up for each other and for the school—which has tremendous value. One of our number is even running for president. He, too, has our support and enthusiastic backing, because his values are our values.

“A shout-out to my old roomie Angela DiFranco Platt, there for her first Reunion ever. The students who checked us in were thrilled to see former roommates reuniting. So, what if she told everyone that I used to study in the shower? We had a blast.”

Pam van der Meulen shares, “I had a wonderful time at Reunion, and I think everyone else did as well. It was great to reconnect with old friends, and I feel like many of us are pursuing new friendships with classmates we never knew. I hope to see more NYC alumni in the future. And I was particularly happy to see Lindsay Wilson again, after 20 years! I was not able to make it to Flagstaff after Randy died last summer, so I was glad she made it to our 45th. And the two of us had a great time sightseeing in NYC after Reunion.”

Jan Eliasberg exclaims, “What a magnificent weekend, attending the class Reunion dinner and, the next day, my daughter’s graduation, Sariel Friedman ’19!

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see everyone, but I hugged and caught up with the irrepressible Lloyd Komesar, Bill Pearson, Claudia Catania, Ellen Driscoll, Jon Eddison, Bill Burton and our (perhaps) future President Hickenlooper and his lovely wife.

“My big news, along with my daughter’s graduation, is that I completed a novel which sold in a bidding war to Little Brown. It’s going to be their lead title for spring 2020. I called it Heart of the Atom; Little Brown seems to think that science will ‘scare readers away.’ It is titled Hannah’s War.

“They’re sending me on a major book tour so, if you have a great relationship with your local, indie bookstore, please let me know so I can visit and sign books.”

Janet Biehl‘s biography of her late partner, the social-ecological theorist Murray Bookchin, was published by Oxford University Press in 2015. Ecology or Catastrophe: The Life of Murray Bookchin has since been translated into Spanish and French. Some 15 years ago Bookchin’s own writings, in Turkish translation, influenced the Kurdish freedom movement to adopt a new paradigm seeking democracy, anti-hierarchy, and ecology. As a result, Janet has been involved with that movement since 2011. She has translated several books about the Kurdish struggle from German into English (published by Pluto Press), including the three-volume autobiography of the founder of the Kurdish revolutionary women’s movement, Sakine Cansiz. Janet also translated into English Revolution in Rojava in 2016, which is about the gender-equal, democratic revolution that has been under way in northeastern Syria since 2012. She has just returned from her third visit to that area (April-May 2019) and is currently at work writing and drawing a graphic novel about her journey.

Mike Heard reports: “I am in my 12th year of doing volunteer work for the Los Padres National Forest near Big Sur, Calif., and it has finally dawned on me that I retired long ago but did not notice at the time. I’m preparing for another fire season, hoping to get in good enough shape to be able to pick up a little bit of money working as a casual hire on the inevitable wildfires. It was a real pleasure to reconnect with many of you whom I knew (and others that I didn’t) at the Reunion. Kudos to the Reunion committee for doing a bang-up job.”

Wayne Forrest reports, “I still work at American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and recently became chairman of the American Indonesian Cultural and Educational Foundation. Through that organization I helped arrange for the Sultan of Yogyakarta to visit Wesleyan in November 2018. The highlight for me is that I joined his gamelan group in their performance in NYC and played both gamelan and tuba. There are special pieces in the repertoire that use Western brass and percussion. I still play tuba in and around NYC and so this coming together of my two worlds was very special. Retirement still seems a ways down the road; I am stilling having fun helping to broker good relations between the U.S. and Indonesia.”

Bruce Duncan’s big news is that as of June 29 he’ll be retired from Fitchburg State University. Since he has not put in enough time, he doesn’t qualify as Professor Emeritus. Instead he’ll be the Former Professor of Physics or the Erstwhile Professor of Physics or the Late Professor of Physics.

Doug Cole had lunch with Lloyd Komesar in Ol’ Pasadena during a visit to his daughter’s and her family (including two of six grandchildren). It was fun to catch up after all these years: neither had changed much. Lloyd was wearing a Grateful Dead tee shirt—Doug is listening to China Cat Sunflower / I know you rider, as he writes. They compared their heroics of intramural softball, etc. It was interesting to learn about Lloyd’s impressive career at Disney. We all know what he is up to now. Carolyn and Doug are deeply rooted in the Northwest; he expects to continue selling until 70; grandparenting is a joy. He just hopes the democracy and planet are still around for them.

Monique Witt reports, “My older son, Dev, breaks ground on the Soundworks building in Williamsburg, July 1, and has finished the new monitors for broad distribution this fall. My younger son, Ben, is touring again in Canada, and then the West Coast, followed by a European tour and a long stop to compose new material with friends in Croatia. He finished recording his third full release album, “The Nebula Project,” which is largely original materials for sextet format (Ben on accordion and piano with some of the finest young jazz musicians he knows) to be released early 2020. Steven and I are still working full-time.”

John McLucas will retire from the faculty of Towson University in June 2020.He has taught Italian and Latin there since 1984 and just finished a term as president of the Faculty Association.He recently completed the draft for his second novel, Spirit’s Tether, a sequel to his debut novel, Dialogues on the Beach(BrickHouse Books, Baltimore 2017).

Charlie Cocores has provided the link to his next build (Coco’s Constructores) in Puerto Rico in January of 2020 for the Fuller Center for Housing, which you can find here.

You’ve heard about our 45th Reunion and just how fantastic it was. Now, it’s time to start planning for our 50th! Save these dates: May 23–26, 2024. We’re going to spend the next few years trying to track down as many classmates as possible. Want to get involved? Come to Middletown for Homecoming and a Reunion planning meeting on Nov. 2 or contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Remember to mark your calendars for our 45th Reunion May 24-26. Registration and information about the Reunion can be found at wesleyan.edu/rc . Also, feel free to contact any members of the Reunion committee, which includes: Bob Arcaro, Charley Blaine, Scott Brodie, Jon Eddison, Peter Heyward, John Hickenlooper, Lloyd Komesar, Lyn Thurber Lauffer, Barry Lenk, Charisse Lillie, Pat Mulcahy, Bill Pearson, Sharon Purdie, Dean Richlin, John Shapiro, Harold Sogard, Nancy Stack, Charles Steinhorn, and Pamela van der Meulen.

Devra Fischer, known at Wesleyan as Heather, was awarded a doctorate in psychoanalysis and certified as a psychoanalyst by the Psychoanalytic Center of California (PCC) in December in LA. This achievement comes after a long and fruitful career as a psychotherapist practicing in Beverly Hills.

This achievement comes after a long and fruitful career as a psychotherapist practicing in Beverly Hills, Calif. The title of her thesis is “The Body Speaks.” Devra can be reached at 310-749-1633 or ndevraf@gmail.com.

Jan Eliasberg reports, “I continue to write and direct in film and television, but I’ve been surprised and delighted to discover two new areas of creative expression:

“I’m currently completing the second draft of a novel called Heart Of The Atom. I sold the novel based on an original screenplay I had written and have spent the last seven months writing, and now revising, the manuscript. I’ve had terrific help and support from Paul Vidich ’72 another Wesleyan grad turned novelist, and his wife, Linda. I’m represented as a novelist by Adriann Ranta Zurellen at Foundry Literary + Media and publication details will be forthcoming. The following is a short synopsis of the book:

1945. The American and German scientists race to create, develop, and test an atomic bomb. Dr. Hannah Weiss, a brilliant physicist, is the only woman in the Critical Assemblies Division at Los Alamos, the top scientists working directly with Oppenheimer on the bomb’s final stages. Major Jack Delaney, a rising star in the shadowy world of military intelligence, arrives in Los Alamos with a mission: to find the spy leaking nuclear secrets to the Germans. Dr. Hannah Weiss becomes his prime suspect. Inspired by true events and characters, including the extraordinary female scientist Albert Einstein called “the Mother of the Bomb,”Heart of the Atomexplores one of the great mysteries of the Twentieth Century: How did Nazi Germany—with its fanatic will to power and its cadre of Nobel-winning scientists—lose the crucial race for the atomic bomb? Winston Churchill called it “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” but Jack Delaney is determined to reveal the truth he knows is hidden in the heart of an unlikely hero.

“I also undertook to renovate an apartment in Manhattan that has been in the family, but sitting unused, for a number of years. I gut renovated the kitchen and three bathrooms, as well as making minor renovations throughout the rest of the space. I found a phenomenal contractor and sourced all of the fixtures, tiles, paint colors, wallpaper, rugs, furniture, and artwork myself. I was thrilled when the design magazine, Apartment Therapy, featured a storyon my work, complete with photographs. It turns out that I love the work of renovating and designing — it’s a very creative process similar to directing — and I’ve taken on a couple of paid gigs renovating for friends and colleagues.

“Finally, my daughter Sariel ’19 graduates from Wesleyan in June; she majored in American studies and film studies.”

Charlie Cocores retires to Pawleys Island SC when not in Old Saybrook. He is doing a Habitat for Humanity Global Village build in Romania and would love some Wesleyan folks to join in. Contact him at cocoshfh@gmail.com.

Monique Witt writes, “Not much that’s new while we’re involved in the new building. Ben is touring, Dev is designing audio tech, I’m finishing up some production projects and Steven is hip-deep in his deals. Ben has an Instagram post from a Target store in Cali where he’s playing a kid’s cat keyboard that meows. They were buying a pick-up cable by the toy section. It helped to lighten my day in the face of the hardships from the political situation. NYC suffers less, but I run with a curator from the Smithsonian and the situation is dire. Hope everyone is getting through this.”

Gail Austin Cooney reminds us that “it’s that age when the big news is often retirement! I stopped working because it was getting in the way of my dancing. Now, I am a modern dancer with Demetrius Klein DKDC/DIY in West Palm Beach. My brief encounter with modern dance at Wesleyan (thank you, Cheryl Cutler) is finally paying off. I am the oldest in the company and have the least amount of formal training but I’m not the only one on Medicare—it’s a diverse group and a huge source of joy in my life. We perform several times a year on a regular basis. One of our goals is to bring modern dance to people in the community who might not otherwise encounter it. Fun, fun, fun!” Contact her at gail.cooney@gmail.com.

Howard Curzer reports, “The new, big thing in my life is a very small thing—a grandson. Jonah Henry Stanton Curzer was born to Mirah Curzer and Josh Stanton on Dec. 16. Jonah has not yet revealed his superpower, but we can wait.”

Harold Sogard has no meaningful personal news this time around, but would like to say that he is very much hoping that people who for one reason or another have not come to previous reunions will be able to attend our 45th Reunion this May!

Larry Green continues to practice law as a trial attorney and partner at the Boston law firm, Burns & Levinson. When introduced to someone outside of work, Larry is often asked: “You’re retired, right?” To which he jokingly responds, “I must look much older than I really am or much more prosperous than I really am.” Larry and his wife, Denise, do, in fact, enjoy life outside of work, spending more and more time at their second home in Ogunquit, Maine, and traveling to visit five grandchildren in Boulder and Palo Alto. Having been unable to make it to Wes Reunions because his annual extended family reunion is held in Ogunquit every Memorial Day weekend, Larry extends an open invitation to classmates to look him up when traveling to either Boston or Ogunquit.

Chuck Gregorywas elected to the vestry at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. He also sings in the choir there. He also sings in the choir there. He’s secretary to the board of a community group, the Central City Alliance, which held a street fair on March 2nd called the 13th Street Craft Beer and Wine Festival with Car Show. Busy, busy, busy!

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Lindsay Wilson and family, our thoughts are with you as we remember Randy Wilson.

Harry Randolph “Randy” Wilson III was born on Nov. 20, 1952 in Lebanon, Pa., and passed away on July 57, 2018. Randy died doing what he loved, enjoying the great outdoors with his wife, Lindsay.

Randy graduated in 1970 from Mt. Lebanon High School, where he ran cross- country and track. During his high school summers, he was a camp counselor and played summer league baseball.

Randy attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1970 to 1972, but transferred to Wesleyan University in Connecticut to complete his degree. Randy graduated from Wesleyan in 1974 with a BA in history. During his college years, Randy ran cross-country and worked on the college newspaper.

It was at Wesleyan that Randy met Lindsay and from there he traveled with her to Stanford. Randy graduated from Stanford in 1976 with an MA in journalism. Randy had a number of jobs at newspapers ranging from the Mill Valley Recordi n California, to theHayward Daily News in California, to the Capital Gazette in Maryland, to the Maine Times before he arrived at the Arizona Daily Sun in 1995.

Randy will be greatly missed by his wife, Lindsay, daughter Caroline, canine outdoor adventure companion, Skye, sister Polly Ballantyne and family, brother Chad Wilson and family, and cousin Jon Bricker and family.

A celebration of Randy’s life was held on Monday, July 16 at the Coconino Community College Lone Tree campus commons. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Randy Wilson Journalism Award for Northern Arizona University journalism interns.

Donald Reid published Opening the Gates. The Lip Affair, 1968-1981 (Verso), a look at what was going on in France while we were in college.

Monique Witt writes, “Ben finished his European tour and stopped off in NYC before he left for China to play Blue Note Beijing and see the Great Wall. Dev is building the large space in East Williamsburg and moving forward with the R&D. Steven is still so busy, but has worked with an extraordinary entrepreneur most recently. I’m just making jazz, recovering from blowing out my knee running, and tending to two Cymric kittens we adopted in March.”

Stu Forman continues to be the medical director of Gilead Community Services, a mental health agency started by 2 Wesleyan students in 1968. He looks forward to seeing everyone at our Reunion.

Jonathan Weiss lives in Andover, Mass., site of the gas explosions. As of Sept. 22, he had no gas heat or hot water and it wasn’t anticipated for weeks. Otherwise, he works as psychiatrist in North Andover, two kids are happily launched. Son Samuel in Silicon Valley in his start-up, daughter Hannah ’12 lives in Brisbane, Australia, doing environmental work. “Hello to classmates!”

Gray Cox continues to enjoy teaching philosophy, peace studies, and language learning at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, spending increasing time with his grandchildren, performing original music for rallies and social gatherings (graycox.bandcamp.com) and working on a third book dealing with AI and Gandhian solutions to our existential threats. He misses the bull and comradery of CSS Beer and Bull in the old days though he has long since been happy to forgo the inebriation rituals associated with it.

Lloyd Komesar reports that “the 4th Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival was, by any measure, our best yet. A record number of attendees came, boosted in part by the huge contingent of wonderful Wes folks who showed up: Wendy Starr, Bill Burton, Harold Sogard, Lyn Lauffer, Carolyn White, Pat Mulcahy, Judy Hirschberg Atwood, Tom Frei, Bill Pearson, Wayne Forrest, David Weller ’75; and so many more—Rose Komesar ’07, Michael Sandler ’07, Mike McKenna ’73, Todd Jick ’71, Steve Goldschmidt ’72, Mike Arkin ’72 [whose film, Honeypot, won Best Short Narrative], Seth Davis ’72, Elisa Davis ’76, Joan Gamble ’80, Bob Kesner ’67, Connie Des Marais ’17, Sivan Cotel ’05, Maggie Masselli ’16 and her husband Pierre, Mark Masselli ’09, Mark Davis ’96, and filmmakers Ethan Mermelstein [RAMP], and Daniel McGuire ’86 [Balian]. And probably a dozen more people to whom I was never introduced. The numbers keep growing and I hope that more of our Wes sisters and brothers will join us for the 5th Annual Festival next Aug. 22-25. It truly is a joyous time.”

Several classmates including Wendy Liebow, Scott Burson, Dean Richelin, and Sharon Purdie attended Barbara-Jan Wilson’s retirement party at the home of Amy and Joshua Boger ’73 at the Seaport in Boston. Wonderful company, food, drink, and views of Boson Harbor and the skyline!

Also, our 45th Reunion is coming up. Mark your calendars for May 24-26, 2019. We’re still looking for people to get involved and join the Reunion committee. Please email me or Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 (klynch@wesleyan.edu) at Wesleyan if you would like to join the committee.

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Ken Jacobs writes, “My law firm, Smith, Buss & Jacobs, has grown to 17 lawyers over the past 25 years. In January we’re adding Robert Spolzino, a former appellate division judge, as a name partner, together with two other partners and three associates. We now represent over 350 co-op and condo associations in the New York metro region, including Co-op City. With Bob, we are adding a substantial municipal and litigation practice in Westchester and Long Island. I expect our profile to increase significantly in these practice areas over the next 12 months—it’s going to be an exciting ride.

“My wife, Sharon, and I adopted our children over our late 40s, so we’re about 10 years behind most of our peers in lifestyle changes. We like to say that it keeps us young, but we’re chained to the high school/college cycle for another decade. In the meantime, I’ve finally learned to like rap. Last spring my daughter Sasha and I started West Coast swing lessons as a way for Dad and daughter to bond. She stopped when school started (and she met her first boyfriend!), but I’ve continued. Meanwhile I read bridge books and play when I can, which is much less often that I would like.

“We moved from NYC to Westchester for kids, and then to Upper Saddle River, N.J., so my kids could attend Waldorf schools. My son Andrew is on the autistic spectrum—discussing how that has affected our lives would take an entire page, but it’s not the right stuff for an alumni newsletter. We have learned a lot and can offer a lot to younger parents who may be dealing with the same issues.

“Professionally, my firm has law offices in Westchester and NYC. Most of my personal clients are in NYC, but my co-op/condo colleagues in NYC now consider me as their ‘upstate’ liaison. I’ve worked from time to time on condo offerings with Seth Davis ’72. He’s a director at Warburg Realty in NYC.

“I enjoy reading your notes. It’s fascinating to see how many classmates have made their mark in unusual fields and what lifestyle choices they have made. When my kids are launched, we look forward to enjoying the same freedom (again!).”

John McLucas, in his 34th year as a professor of Italian and Latin at Towson University near Baltimore, has just published his first novel. Some passages in Dialogues on the Beach(BrickHouse Books, Baltimore, 2017, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble) may remind some classmates of Wesleyan in the early 1970s.”

Jai Imbrey is overjoyed that at long last the book she put together, Mosques: Splendors of Islam by Rizzoli, has come out at such a time when it is key to recall the extraordinary artistic contributions that Islam has inspired—a book edited by two Jewish women! In the great Apfel-imbrey tradition.

Join Carol and CharlieCocores on their Habitat for Humanity trip this summer in Krakow, Poland, from  June 22 to July 2.Join this 10-day trip to Poland to help build for families in need of decent, affordable housing. Event code: GV18566. “You’ll fly into Krakow, Poland. We will be working either in Pszczyna and/or Gliwice. For our cultural experience we’ll visit the famous Krakow Salt Mines and Auschwitz. Program donation: $1,900 (flight not included). 40-plus percent of this is a direct contribution to Habitat’s work; the rest covers your trip expenses.

Habitat Poland is serving families on the economic margin that work, but can’t afford decent housing. Despite recent reforms, overcrowded and damp housing without proper sanitation is still the reality for far too many of Poland’s low-income working families.

The team will get their hands dirty on the build site with various tasks. Throughout the week you’ll tour local markets, visit museums, learn more about Gliwice through a walking tour, visit the world-famous Krakow Salt Mines and Auschwitz. You’ll stay in double occupancy hotel rooms near the project site and enjoy dinners out at local restaurants. Contact Charlie at cocoshfh@gmail.com or 860-304-2668 if you’re interested.

Monique Witt reports, “we had two painful family losses, but we are rallying. The guys are good. My elder son, Dev, is moving to a huge warehouse in Williamsburg with his pro-audio partner to continue his tech startup/engineering/sound technology. My younger son, Ben, continues to record, to tour and to play in NYC. Beginning in March, he has consecutive tours in the mid-west, Canada, Japan, the west coast and Europe. He’s just recorded a second album with his touring trio, and his recent album, Instead, is selling well. He anticipates two more albums toward the end of this year, one on accordion.

“OneTrickDog* will release three more albums in the coming months (we released six last year, one mentioned for Blues Album of the Year). As we develop the upcoming Sound Works, we will briefly slow our recording projects. Steven is working too hard, as am I, but that’s normal.”

Carolyn White contributes, “I, too, went to the Middlebury Film Festival and it was really good and a lot of fun. I plan to go again in 2018 and encourage others to consider it! We could make this be an annual class reunion.

“Lloyd Komesar makes everyone, especially Class of ’74 people, feel so welcome and special. The films are top-notch and very interesting. Mark your agenda for weekend before Labor Day.

“My daughter Geraldine got married to a nice young man, Ryan Kurtz, and classmatesLindley Huey and Michel de Konkoly Thege shared in our joy. I have two adorable French-American grandchildren, Celian and Alana who live, unfortunately, in Toulouse, so not exactly next door, but I manage to see them via Whatsapp and regular visits to France.

“I continue to teach NAMI Family to Family classes and play on two tennis teams at the Mount Auburn Club near Cambridge.”

Gray Cox continues to enjoy the teaching philosophy, peace studies, and language learning at College of the Atlantic in the town where he grew up, Bar Harbor, Maine. He is the clerk of the Quaker Institute for the Future and is always looking for others interested in taking part in that think tank for spirit-led research on social and environmental issues. His own research and publication of late has focused on nonviolence, dialogical reasoning, and ways of biasing the odds towards development of ethical systems of AI. He also continues to compose songs which can be heard at graycox.bandcamp.com.

Stu Forman continues to serve as medical director of Gilead Community Services in Middletown, which was started in 1968 as a project of two Wesleyan students. He remains married to the love of his life, Amy (approaching 39 years), and now has the pleasure of working with his lovely daughter, Emily, who was recently hired as a psychotherapist by Gilead. “Add in three standard poodles, and I’d be a swine to complain. My only regret is not getting to write any more pornographic football articles for the Argus.”

Michel de Konkoly Thege provides, “I was fortunate enough to be a guest at the wedding of Carolyn White Lesieur’s daughter, Geraldine, who got married in a very festive French-American ceremony in Jersey City on New Year’s Eve. My wife and I see Susan and Dan Kenigsberg both in New York City and in eastern Long Island, where we both have homes and have shared many excellent dinners together.”

Randolph Smith’s seventh golf book should be out this spring. Entitled Golf’s Price,it’s a novel involving a tournament and subsequent TV reality show powered by a “devil’s bargain.”

In the twilight of his career, Bill Burton has returned to his geographic roots in Connecticut (3 years of prep school, four years at Wesleyan, 1 year of finding self) and is doing geologic mapping for the U.S. Geological Surveyin the Woodbury-Southbury-Roxbury area, west of Waterbury. Bill’s focus is determining the source of high uranium occurring in private water wells that are drilled into bedrock. His field headquarters in Woodbury is the spacious home of two renowned Yale geology professors. When back home in northern Virginia, Bill’s volunteer activities include beekeeping, board member of the local Audubon Society chapter and a committee on nighttime lighting, and helping run a local astronomical observatory. His wife Laurel is writing her fifth sci-fi-fantasy novel. Bill looks forward to finally getting up to Lloyd Komesar’s film festival in Vermont this summer.

Lloyd Komesarreminds everyone, “Here’s an open invitation to all my classmates to join a growing contingent of Wes grads for the 4th Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival on Aug. 23-26 in beautiful Middlebury, Vt, the beating heart of the Champlain Valley in central Vermont. Great films by first- and second-time filmmakers will be on tap along with every conceivable craft beverage you can imagine. Our friends at Stonecutter Spirits, owned by Sivan Cotel ’06, always hosts an informal gathering for Wes attendees and Sivan’s barrel-infused gin goes well with conversation and good times. You can find us at middfilmfest.org. Let me know if you are planning to come so we can communicate directly.”

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

NEWSMAKERS | 1970s NEWSMAKER CHARISSE R. LILLIE ’74 Charisse R. Lillie ’74, businesswoman, attorney, and lecturer, received the A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. [Hon. ’96] Lifetime Achievement Award during the 29th Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Attorney Conference in October. The award recognizes the accomplishments of a lawyer or judge who has demonstrated dedication to the legal profession and the minority community through civil, community, or legal service. Lillie is the CEO of CRL Consulting. Previously, she was affiliated with Comcast Corporation, where she served as a senior vice president of human resources, among other executive positions. Earlier in her career, she was a trial attorney with U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division. A history major at Wesleyan, Lillie earned a master’s from Yale University and a doctorate from Temple University. Wesleyan named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1993.

Jai Imbrey writes, “My Oberlin daughter Genevieve is marrying a Wesleyan lad, Jack Scott ’06, so all is well in the universe. I have completed a book on mosques published by Rizzoli, the first in 30 years to cover mosques worldwide with new photography and a chapter on Russian sanctuaries. The name of the book is Mosques: Splendors of.”

Jai’s husband, Bob, having weathered two hurricanes back-to-back at their home on St. Thomas, is now working to restore power and drinking water to the island at large.

Bruce Duncan reports, “By the skin of my teeth I was promoted to professor of physics at Fitchburg State University, effective this current term. Now I need to determine how to survive in retirement, which may come in a summer or two.”

Todd W. Grant and his wife traveled down the Oregon coast in May. They had perfect weather and beautiful scenery. In August, Todd and one of their sons backpacked for a week in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. The scenery was spectacular. Todd comments, “I feel fortunate to still be able to do these things.”

Lloyd Komesar enthusiastically reports, “The 3rd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival was a rousing success, made all the more so by the fabulous Wes folks who attended: Rose Komesar ’07 (and Maureen Carn P’07), Bill Pearson ‘74 (and Jane Pearson), Jay Craven P’04, Wendy Starr ‘74 (and Jeff Kessler), Debra Salowitz ’74 and Neil Salowitz ’73, Carolyn White-Lesieur ’74 (and Jean Lesieur), Claudia Catania ‘74 and John Cady ’71, Lyn Lauffer ’74, Elizabeth Lauffer ’07 (and Ferdinand Lauffer), Seth Davis ’72 and Elisa Davis ’76, Todd Jick ’71 (and Wendy Jick), Bob Kesner ’67 (and Andrea Torello), Steve Goldschmidt ’72 (and Stacy Sussman), Michael Arkin ’72 (and Morag Hahn), Mike McKenna ’73 (and Lynn McKenna), Joan Gamble ’80 (and Chip Paison), Sivan Cotel ’05 (great party at Stonecutter Spirits!), Dookie Bennett ’03, Maggie Masselli ’16 and Pierre Plantevin ’16, Adam Mirkine ’17 (and Ilene and Andre Mirkine), Sofi Taylor ’17, Maya Stevens ’17, Connie Des Marais ’17 (and Jim and Lyn Des Marais) and Paul DiSanto ’81.

“We are reaching true critical mass for Wes in Middlebury! Thanks to all of you for making the trip and here’s to seeing more of Wes at MNFF4, August 23-26, 2018. Mark your calendars!”

Not much news this issue. Please consider contributing to the next request.

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Peter Hayward reports the sad news that our friend and classmate, Robert Mankin, died in Paris, France on January 28, 2017, after a long illness. Robert was buried at the Cimetière Parisien d’Ivry.

Robert, who had lived in France since the 1980s, had a distinguished academic career there. At the time of his death, he was a professor of British history at the University of Paris, with particular expertise on the English historian and writer, Edward Gibbon (the subject of Robert’s doctoral thesis), and Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, David Hume, among many other interests.  From 2009 to 2013, he directed and breathed life into the University’s Research Laboratory on Anglophone Cultures, which became a university department as a result of his efforts.  Robert had also been serving for several years in Paris’s Cité Universitaire director of the Fondation Deutsch de la Meurthe, a graduate student residence and cultural center, which flourished under his leadership.

At Wesleyan, Robert was a College of Letters major (Peter believes his lifelong attachment to France began in his COL semester in Paris in the spring of 1972). He subsequently took additional time to travel and study abroad and graduated Wes in 1975. Robert was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and, in addition to his academic pursuits, he was an avid runner and club rugby player. Robert is survived by his wife, Danielle Torren, their son, Emile, and his mother, sister and brother in the United States.

Jerri Stroud and her husband, Mike Saville, will relocate to Seattle, Wash., later this summer, where they expect to have more chances to see 10 other Wesleyan ’74 alumni, including Charley Blaine and his wife, Chardel. “We’ve enjoyed seeing them on our trips there over the last dozen years.” Their son, Stephen Saville, is with Amazon, and they’ll be about 10 minutes’ drive from him and their granddaughter, Emily.

Monique Witt reports, “We are weathering a few serious family illnesses, but the music is going well. Two albums came home from press in May and three went to press soon after. We are excited about two particularly. My older son’s Grammy nomination has produced a great deal of work for the audio labs, so he’s very busy, having just returned from a late honeymoon in Paris and Nice.

“My younger son, Ben, has received exceptionally strong reviews for his first album Instead, including one from DownBeat Magazine, numerous U.S. reviews, as well as strong European reviews. He’s up on radio round the world, and has played jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, Mezzrow, Smalls, and played Carnegie Hall in late May, in addition to the summer festival season and his weekly gigs.  So he’s pretty busy as well.

“I’m keeping the label running and playing doubles with a woman who plays with the Canadian National Team, so she carries us. Steven is still lawyering. So all good, I guess, except that I find it hard to read the news (something I used to do religiously).”

Jaf Chiang provided the following update. “A little less than three years ago my wife, Jeanne Demko ’75, passed away very suddenly. We married shortly after I graduated—so a total of 40 years. We did our share of wandering and meandering, but unlike Moses, it was a blissful period for us. She did get to see the ‘promised land’ as she saw both our children grow up to be independent, productive and full of compassion, as she was.

“I am still finding it hard to adjust to this.  I still live in the same house in Avon (‘Home is so sad. It stays as it was left, Shaped to the comfort of the last to go, As if to win them back.’–Philip Larkin) and still teaching gifted students in math. My daughter will finish her residency in Maine Medical this year and move to Kentucky to begin her fellowship in infertility. My son just finished the PhD phase of his MD-PhD program at Washington University in St. Louis and will begin his last two years of medical school later in June. And I will soldier on as well.”

Jan Eliasberg states, “I have moved into a three story brownstone in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and discovered a passion for interior design. I’ve been restoring fine details of the original architecture (ceiling medallions, floor to ceiling shuttered windows, five original marble fireplaces), as well as mixing in more contemporary influences: mid-century modern furniture; vintage rugs from Morocco, and art acquired during my world travels. There’s a fantastic garden with climbing roses, hydrangea bushes, honeysuckle, and wild raspberries ripe for the picking. A wonderful place to call home. There are three bedrooms so let me know if you need a place to stay while visiting NYC.

“This year I was lucky enough to direct several episodes of the new CBS hit show, Bull, with Michael Weatherly. The show shoots on stages in Brooklyn so I was, literally, 10 minutes from work. Great fun and a great privilege to work on a show in its first season, helping to shape and define the style and tone of the series.

“In June and July, I’m off to Pittsburgh to direct two episodes of another new show, NBC’s Gone, with ‘Mr. Big’ himself, Chris Noth. I’m looking forward to exploring Pittsburgh, which is apparently a really hip, up and coming city—lots of young artists, foodies, cafes and places to hear cool music.

My daughter, Sariel Friedman ’18, just finished her junior year at Wesleyan, with a double major in American studies and film. She’s spending the summer in Germany taking a class at the Frei University. She then has a paid internship working with Steidl Publishing. Wesleyan has proven to be as ideal an experience for her as it was for me.”

Harold Sogard, Marion Stoj, Linda Rappaport, and Sharon Purdie attended the Donors’ Reception during Reunion Weekend—good turn-out for our class! It’s always fun to catch up.

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu