CLASS OF 1959 | 2016 | ISSUE 3
Congratulations to the Great Class of ’59 for having the highest percentage of class participants in the just-closed “This Is Why” campaign. Almost $500 million was added to the endowment in this effort, no small achievement! One has heard rumors that the Class of ’60 has been putting forward the idea that they tied us in this epic effort, but we do not acknowledge their claim, and have called for an official recount!
Dick Cadigan, from his gym in Dallas, says, “80 is the new 60.” How can one argue with such wisdom, as we are all either there or almost there? Cads is meeting Joe Mallory, Bob Chase, Tom McHugh, and Al Brooks for a mini-reunion in Damariscotta, Maine, about now, so we should have a good scoop for our next edition of class notes. He will also see brother-in-law King Berlew ’51, and possibly Jane Barlow, the widow of Mark Barlow ’46. His message ends with a quote for all of us: “I finally got off my mystery reading/sports watching/exercising/getting bored with blah blah electioneering duff to write you.”
Charlie Wrubel is tackling the question of 80/60 in quite a different way, by walking backwards on an elliptical trainer. He is still relatively young (79 in December), but after doing an eighth of a mile in reverse the other day, he figured that he was actually 76 and by our 60th Reunion, he would be 60 again. Go, Charlie! Based on this scientific experiment, we are considering a Class of ’59 Wrubel Backward Elliptical Training Marathon sometime before our Reunion in 2019.
Ted Bromage reports from Maine, having endured a difficult summer in the hospital with a serious infection followed by pneumonia. His nine-week ordeal caused the family to miss a cruise to Bermuda and his having to forego his 10th blacksmithing course at the Wooden Boat School. On a lighter note, Ted ran into Nancy, Robert DiMauro’s widow, and family touring nearby (her sister lives quite close to Ted). She remembered with great fondness her pleasant return to the Delta Sigma house this summer. Ted also attended a memorial gathering for David Schurman ’57. He saw George Bryant’s younger brother and spitting image, Gene, who reported that Mel Cote ’58 was enjoying life in Provincetown after his many years at the College of the Atlantic.
Tim Day is a whirling dervish! He has been asked by Mike Whalen ’83 to be honorary game captain of the football team for our annual battle with Trinity at Middletown on Nov. 12. This game will be Wesleyan’s “Salute to the Troops.” Tim will address the team and spend time with the veterans on campus, dedicate an equipment fitness program, and dine Friday night with Mike and President Michael Roth ’78.
Ray Simone’s oldest grandson will have started at Massachusetts Maritime Academy by now, majoring in marine transportation. Any and all classmates in and around Warren, R.I., are cordially invited to Simone’s, the restaurant of choice in the region. A free drink awaits us, Class of ’59, so do stop in if up that way. Many thanks, Ray.
Owen Tabor and Margaret spent the month of August on the northwest coast of the Isle of Skye, now their regular summer retreat. “Over the Sea to Skye,” Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, also escaped to Skye for slightly different reasons, after losing the Battle of Culloden, near Inverness, remembered in the chorus of the Skye Boat Song:
“Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.”
Owen continues: “Always remember the plain joy of having you show up at our door in Memphis, a Princeton wedding, and we were the hosts! The Wes days were indeed wonderful, and you were part of it. Difficult now to connect with the modern day school that I read about. Vic Butterfield and Bill Spurrier ’58 were men I understood and admired.”
Sad 1959 News: Robert “Bob” Marks passed away on New Year’s Day 2016. Our deepest sympathy to his family and friends.
Terry Smith, friend, teammate, and fraternity brother, passed away in July. A fine athlete, Terry believed that his Wesleyan education was vital to his productive life. Both his daughters are graduates of Wesleyan. He will be sorely missed.
Skip Silloway | ssillow@gmail.com; 801/532-4311
John Spurdle | jspurdle@aol.com; 212/644-4858