CLASS OF 1980 | 2014 | ISSUE 3
For those of you who didn’t hear, our dear classmate Julia Tag Wu Trethaway passed away on July 9, 2014.
Gary Gilyard writes: “I was so sorry to hear about Julia Wu. I will always remember her smiling and full of energy…..so sad. My wife, Linda, and I just returned from taking our youngest Shelby ’17 back to school yesterday. She is a biology major and plays lacrosse for Wesleyan. So far she has lived exactly where I lived when I was a student. This year is William Street. I always love to be back at Wes. She is our youngest. Our middle daughter just got married six months ago and lives in Phoenix (hopefully temporarily), and our oldest is in Chicago. I can’t believe this will be our 35th Reunion. It really doesn’t feel like that long, but neither did my 30th wedding anniversary this past May. We will be back for Homecoming as well as the Reunion! My practice is going well, I am an orthopedic surgeon at the Detroit Medical Center specializing in sports medicine. I love what I do and am not even beginning to think about slowing down. My wife is a NICU nurse at the University of Michigan. I’m really looking forward to seeing as many classmates as possible this May.”
Pam Keon writes: “Thanks for sharing the very sad news about Tag. She touched so many lives in too short a time. My life is full. Although I’ve not had many opportunities to see Wes friends over the years, I was very lucky to reconnect recently with wonderful Lisa Kaufman, whom I’d not seen since graduation day. Over an all-too-brief lunch here in Mill Valley, sitting by the water in the company of her lovely husband, Peter, we attempted to catch up on the past 34 years. It was an impossible but delightful task. I am in the throes of trying to batten down the hatches as I head off in a few days for our first family vacation in 13 years! My son, Will, and my daughter, Mollie, and I are meeting in Ecuador to visit the Galapagos—a trip of a lifetime for us. Mollie just earned her undergraduate degree from Emerson, and Will just earned his graduate degree from Harvard, so it’s an unusual moment in time when everyone is in transition and not fully tied down by vocational obligations.” See complete entry on WesConnect for some interesting special interests of Pam’s.
Alan Jacobs writes: “Recently, I did the math and realized that I would have two kids in college for seven consecutive years. Apparently, we forgot to do that math when we were starting a family. Gil is graduating this year from Brandeis, Ron ’16 is a junior at Wesleyan, Avia is a senior in high school, being recruited/pushed by her dad to play soccer somewhere in the Northeast next fall, and Guy is a freshman in high school. I’m having a great time in the entertainment business here in Los Angeles. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many talented and inspiring people and though my heart will always be in New York, it’s been a great place to raise kids and make movies. Along the way, my company has provided summer internships to over a dozen Wesleyan students, most recently Ming Zhu ’15, Zoe Broad ’14 and Jenna Robbins ’13.
Scott Hecker writes: “Greetings from San Diego, which has now been home for over 10 years for me and my family (wife Gail, daughter Claire, 13, and son Niall, 11). Twenty years after leaving my cushy job at Pfizer to join the crazy world of biotech start-ups, and after twice experiencing the high of going public only to be dashed by seeing the stock price go through the floor, I finally have a modicum of success to report. My latest company, Rempex Pharmaceuticals, was acquired in December 2013 by The Medicines Company (headquartered in New Jersey). We have discovered and are developing a new antibiotic to deal with those nasty bacteria in hospitals that you keep hearing about. And, unlike most biotech acquisitions, we all still have our jobs! We spent a few days in New York this summer, and one of the highlights was seeing The Lion King on Broadway, with Robert Levin ’81 performing one of the feature drum parts. Hoping that Wesleyan will invite Urban Renewal back to play at Reunion/Commencement in 2015 or 2016!
Al Spohn writes: “I’m into year 24 of doing IT at the Mayo Clinic. Married with kids aged 2, 6 and 8… I’ve essentially become the grandfather that can’t run away. Not much else to report. Oh, I also accepted an adjunct faculty position at the Minnesota College of Art and Design this fall.”
Jenny Anne Horst-Martz writes: “I am living and working in Philadelphia, where I am a project manager at a law firm. My husband of more than 20 years is a teacher at a Friends school, and we have two kids. My daughter, Emma, is off to Connecticut College, where Katherine Bergeron—a fellow Catholic feminist of the Fr. Charlie Gonzalez era—is the new college president. It was great to see Katherine again at move-in day, and to hear that Brad Moss is also sending his son to Connecticut College this year. Some of you may not be aware that Connecticut College for Women was founded in 1911 when Wes kicked the women out. Now, both schools are coed with similar missions, but I’ll tell you, the campus at Connecticut College is even more beautiful than Wesleyan, and it retains a good deal of spunk from its origins, embracing the dromedary as its mascot. Go Camels!” See Wesconnect to see the other nine people Jenny mentions.
Reunion 2015 marks our 35th. Hope to see many of you there.
KIMBERLY OFRIA SELBY | kim_selby@yahoo.com