CLASS OF 1964 | 2018 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1964 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Dimitri Jaron Slory ’21, Brooklyn, NY

I’m sitting in my friendly recliner, updating my notes for the spring edition of the Wesleyan magazine. The outside temperature here in central Florida is a balmy 36 degrees. I’m watching the Weather Channel and its coverage of frozen america, where winter storm Grayson has left its record-setting imprint on the eastern seaboard. During one night, the temperature was 27 degrees, and I woke up to a power outage. I had all sorts of concerns with not knowing how long this would last. I prayed for the power to return, and it did within a half hour. I was grateful when the lights turned on, but I realized the miracle that is electricity has transformed life.

I’m in the process of selling my house in central Florida, and moving into my condo in Savannah, Ga. My wife and I are moving to northeast Georgia, where the temperatures, on average, are 10 degrees lower than central Florida in the winter months. The difference in temperatures really matter when Arctic air moves down to the Southeast, but I plan to find a condo in Florida to escape the 10-degree buffer.

Steve McQuide answered my request for news, as he “celebrated 50 years of marriage to a wonderful woman, watching three grandchildren grow up, riding the stock market; life is good.” He added, “having come to realize that I’ve become quite a different person than I was at Wesleyan.”

Dan Davis reported completing a deferred charitable gift annuity to Wesleyan. It provided for a nice tax deduction, annual income at a fixed interest rate, and guaranteed money for Wesleyan when he dies. He described it as a “win-win situation.”

Russ Messing shared: “I am totally retired and loving not going into work. My days are spent going to the gym, doing desk work, culling, reading, writing more poetry, breathing deeply, and noticing changes in my mind, body, and the world.”

Duane Starr is mostly retired but continuing part-time in the Global Security Directorate of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He’s looking forward to turkey season in the spring. Until then, he’ll have to be satisfied with whatever trout he can pull out of the Clinch River. He realizes that his life is good, having a loving wife, three children, and a moderately comfortable life style. He enjoys singing, and, when time allows, doing woodworking in a shop he set up on his side of their two-car garage. He appreciates what is still working well, much greater than when he was younger.

While working on my notes, I received an email notification of the passing of Michael O. Smith, M.D. on Dec. 24, 2017. He was a psychiatrist, acupuncturist, addiction specialist, and public health planner. He is survived by his daughters, Joanna Smith ’00 and Jessica Hutter.

Once again, Wesleyan graduate, Bill Belichick ’75, has led the Patriots to another Super Bowl after beating the Jaguars for the AFC NFL championship. At the time of writing, they will face the Eagles in two weeks. Dilly-dilly.

TED MANOS, M.D. | ted_manos@yahoo.com