CLASS OF 1973 | 2017 | ISSUE 1
Donald Zilkha writes that he and Virginia have three sons and says, “With any luck, my youngest will apply to Wesleyan.” Don has spent much of his career as an investor in restructuring, venture, and private equity, including Colt’s Manufacturing in Hartford. He’s had “the good fortune to have traveled extensively, often for business.” He has also lived abroad for several years and is “quite involved in food and wine.”
Daoud Haroon spent summer 2015 engaged in “continued musical and spiritual research” in Thailand with an interesting stay in Istanbul. He spent portions of the month of Ramadan in both countries. Last May and June, he and his wife spent a “chilly South African winter” in Johannesburg in Soweto and the outlying townships. He made many new friends among the growing dance and arts communities that surround both: Moving Into Dance Mophatong [midance.co.za] and Artist Proof Studio [artistproofstudio.co.za].
They also stayed for a month at a guest house located in Camps Bay, on the ocean side of Table Mountain, between Hout Bay and downtown Cape Town. He reports, “Contrary to popular belief in the States, apartheid is still alive and thriving in South Africa under ever new guises.” He had an opportunity to interview a broad scope of whites and blacks from many diverse racial, ethnic, and political backgrounds and, “they all agree that, like racism in America, apartheid will continue to flourish for a long time into the distant future.”
He continues to practice his instruments and is now trying to write a story a day. Anyone interested in his adventures can check him out on mancebomosaic.com.
After a long absence, Edward “Eddie” Nathan, one of my senior year roommates from East College, says he had little contact with Wesleyan, except to “chide it for having discontinued my alumni magazine. I used the conversation to inform the Wes rep of my singular contribution to Wesleyan history: the prefix “Wes,” which I had attached to our athletic teams as a reporter, and later sports editor, at The Argus, e.g., Wescrew, Weslax. Imagine my thrill, many years later, when the admission office invited me to mail in a ‘Wescheck’ in support of my older daughter’s application.” He concludes, “This is as close to immortality as I am likely to come.”
George “Bud” Brainard is a professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Since the 1980s, he has taught medical school and done research on the biological and behavioral effects of light on humans. He says, “My laboratory has worked with NASA on various light-related projects. In 2008, we began collaborating with Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center (JSC), and Harvard on developing and testing a solid-state lighting system to be used on the International Space Station (ISS).”
His lab was honored with the JSC Director’s Award for Innovation in 2015. As of early January, eight of the solid-state lights they helped develop were installed on ISS. “Ultimately, all of the lights in the U.S. portion of the space station will be replaced with the new solid-state lighting,” he says. They are doing a study on astronauts on the ISS to see if this new lighting system can improve sleep and daytime alertness.
Over the years, he sees classmate Fred Markham on a routine basis since he is also on the faculty at Jefferson. He periodically sees classmates Steve Kallaugher and enthusiastically supports Steve’s work on the Young Heroes Foundation. He periodically sees Mickey Rubinstein, and once in awhile Steve Grilli, Steve Berman ’72, Jim Shepherd ’72, and honorary classmate, Donny Shea.
Martin G. Bunin has joined Farrell Fritz’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice Group as partner. The law firm says, “Marty’s experience includes the representation of committees in Chapter 11 cases, with an emphasis on unsecured creditors’ committees in cases filed by hospitals and other healthcare businesses, resort hotels, manufacturers, service businesses and owners of real estate. Additionally, Marty is a mediator in bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related disputes in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere.”
Sheryl Richter says that after her husband passed away more than four years ago, she met a “terrific guy” through online dating. His spouse had also passed away. She and Evan Feist, DVM, were married on Dec. 13. They share common interests, including golf and duplicate bridge, although, she adds, “I don’t think it’s fair to lump my golf into the same sentence as his (he’s a single-digit handicap golfer).”
Finally, there is sad news to report about Garrett J. Delehanty, known as an avid golfer, reader, and traveler, and for his sense of humor and the stories he would tell about his family. Garrett died last Nov. 13 at the age of 64 after being hospitalized for an illness. He had just celebrated 40 years of practicing commercial real estate law.
Until next time,
Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com