CLASS OF 1972 | 2017 | ISSUE 3
Let’s start with in-person encounters with classmates. In July, I traveled to Santa Fe for a conference, and had lunch with Bruce Throne and Larry Weinberg. Both of them find living there to be close to idyllic. Larry retired from an active GI practice, but is consulting with the University of New Mexico family practice residency program in Santa Fe. His daughter, Leah ’08, and her husband, Scott Horowitz ’07, have teaching jobs at the University of Denver—in musicology and chemistry and biochemistry respectively, so Larry expects to spend more time in that other Mile High City in the future.
I attended Lloyd Komesar ’74’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, which was, if anything, more fun than last year. Steve Goldschmidt had attended all three festivals, and this year he managed to get co-worker Mike Arkin to come, too. Many, many attendees from other classes, particular ’74. Any Wes grads in the Northeast in late August should consider going. There really is not any way to have more fun. (And wait until you see the alumni reception they throw—THANK YOU, Paul DiSanto ’81, et al!)
Jane Kent Gionfriddo and her husband, Michael ’73, had their 40th wedding anniversary last summer! They moved to Middletown from Cambridge, Mass., to the house in which Michael grew up. Jane taught for 34 years at Boston College Law School and, with a co-author, published a first-year law student textbook, Legal Reasoning and Objective Writing: A Comprehensive Approach (Wolters Kluwer, 2016). In December, she retired from BCLS as a professor emerita. Their daughter, Catherine Gionfriddo ’03, was a film major and now is a freelance editor in NYC (catherinegionfriddo.com).
This, verbatim, from Steve Alpert: “Greetings from my Adlerhorst in Amsterdam. Aside from good earthy living in British Columbia, Reimar Schefold and I have just completed another book. The last one, Eyes of the Ancestors, was an award-winning book that Sir David Attenborough called the best book ever written on Indonesian art. The latest, Toys for the Souls, chronicles my friend’s remarkable journey and 50 years of study among the Sakuddei tribe of Siberut in the Mentawai Islands off the coast of West Sumatra. It is also a catalogue raisonné of their remarkable arts. Never a dull moment, I am working on another book dealing with artistic masterpieces from different Dayak tribes in Borneo. Anyone out there who is interested in the gamelan orchestra or Indonesian culture, please contact me. We are trying to bring the Sultan of Yogyakarta to Wes Tech.”
Dave Hagerty started his own business, Berkshire Leadership Partners in 2016, specializing in executive coaching and leadership development. He coaches in the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. Dave and his wife moved to their second home of some 23 years in Great Barrington, Mass., in the Berkshires. They have four grandchildren ranging in ages from 6 to 9.
Ron Ashkenas’ tribe continue to increase. He added three new grandchildren (one set of twins) and a new son-in-law to the family in the past year. The wedding (the last, he says) took place on the beach in Crete on July 4. “Our daughter and her now-husband live in Australia, and this was a relatively central location.” On the work front, Ron is retired from his firm, but still very busy with both paid and pro bono consulting. He is writing a handbook on leadership for the Harvard Business Review—for which he interviewed Michael Roth ’78, who provided some wonderful insights.
Steve Berman spent five days with Randy Mastrangelo ’73 and his family, including Alexandra ’98. Tropical Storm Jose hung out the whole time Steve was there, depriving him of the sunshine to which he has become accustomed, and keeping Jim Shepherd was marooned on Martha’s Vineyard. But Mike Kaloyanides and wife Sheila did make it up. Mike provided the music for the processional and recessional at Randy’s wedding in 1972, and they hadn’t seen each other since then! Both agreed it was like they had seen each other yesterday.
Finally, I am saddened to report the passing of Andy Thomas. Andy graduated from the University of Idaho, College of Law, and spent his entire career with Idaho Legal Aid Services, providing free legal services to low-income people in housing, family, public benefits, and senior law cases. Andy appeared before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Idaho Supreme Court. He served in many community organizations, including the Idaho Region III Mental Health Advisory Board, the Idaho Housing Coalition, the Intermountain Fair Housing Council, and the Idaho Homeless Coalition. He served as president of the Third District Bar Association and was held in high esteem by his fellow attorneys in the Third District. Andy was a mentor and great friend to his colleagues at Idaho Legal Aid, both in Caldwell and throughout ILAS, which has seven offices across the state. In some respects, Idaho Legal Aid was Andy’s family, and his colleagues loved him dearly and will miss him immensely.
Seth A. Davis | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
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