CLASS OF 1960 | 2018 | ISSUE 2
Nici and John Dobson have bought a home in southeastern Tucson, Ariz. They plan to keep their house in Big Sky for several more years.
Peggy and Dave Hale were in Peru for two weeks in February. They visited Lima, Iquitos, and were on a boat on the Amazon River.
Barry Lorch passed away on March 12. He was my fraternity brother at Delta Sigma and had a zest for life. He spent 36 years working for New York State and retired in 1996 as director of the classification and compensation department. Barry and his beloved wife, Brenda, spent their retirement years traveling the world seeking new birds, as Barry was an avid amateur birder. He is survived by Brenda, four children, and nine grandchildren.
Rob Mortimer wrote the following: “A few words from Paris, where Mimi and I have made a practice of spending a few months during the spring. As francophone literature and French politics have been central to our academic careers, we feel pretty much at home here where we have many friends. No one can exhaust the cultural riches of this fabulous city: music, theater, museums, outdoor markets, and parks. We are still jogging in the Bois de Vincennes, which keeps us happy and healthy. Where else can one see a magnificent white peacock while out for a run?”
Ira Sharkansky wrote a blog titled “Wesleyan and Me” that appeared in the Feb. 7 issue of The Jerusalem Post that tackles the contentious topic of support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel movement on campus and academic freedom.
Jeannine and Myles Standish continue to be blessed with good health, enjoying retirement on the shores of Lake Keowee, about 10 miles from Clemson University in the northwest corner of South Carolina. Their community is extremely sociable; everyone’s from somewhere else and they arrive looking to make friends.
Myles still gives popular talks—on not only astronomy, but also on Shackleton, Robert Peary, Panama Canal, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Three sons are sadly far away in Hollywood, Portland, and Boulder. Upcoming 50th anniversary will be on the beach in San Diego and then visiting old friends in Southern California.
Paul Tractenberg and coauthor, Ryan Coughlan, released a major report, under the auspices of the Center for Diversity and Equality in Education (CDEE), titled The New Promise of School Integration and the Old Problem of Extreme Segregation: An Action Plan for New Jersey to Address Both. Paul established CDEE as a home base for his ongoing research and advocacy after retirement and serves as its president. He has a contract with Teachers College Press of Columbia University for a book about the Morris school district, a longtime project of his, along with three young research collaborators. Morris is the only school district in New Jersey, and quite likely in the U.S., that resulted from an order of the state commissioner of education merging two adjacent school districts for racial balance purposes. The merger occurred in 1971, and the Morris district remains one of the state’s most diverse, stable, and successful school districts. Paul and his colleagues have been awarded a $50,000 Chancellor’s Seed Grant from Rutgers-Newark to support ongoing work in the integration of New Jersey’s public schools for the next academic year.
Ann and Bob Williams are active singers in the Highlands Chorale. Bob participates in the Uncalled Four barbershop quartet. They are active at Midcoast Senior College as faculty, students, and administrators. The liberal arts curriculum there is reminiscent of Wesleyan.
The North Cascades Highway was closed for the winter and then opened in early May. Several hiking friends and I traveled to Washington Pass (elevation 5,500 feet) on May 16 for our last snowshoe of the season with a stunning view of Liberty Bell Mountain on a gorgeous sunny day.
SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
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