CLASS OF 1974 | 2019 | ISSUE 1
Remember to mark your calendars for our 45th Reunion May 24-26. Registration and information about the Reunion can be found at wesleyan.edu/rc . Also, feel free to contact any members of the Reunion committee, which includes: Bob Arcaro, Charley Blaine, Scott Brodie, Jon Eddison, Peter Heyward, John Hickenlooper, Lloyd Komesar, Lyn Thurber Lauffer, Barry Lenk, Charisse Lillie, Pat Mulcahy, Bill Pearson, Sharon Purdie, Dean Richlin, John Shapiro, Harold Sogard, Nancy Stack, Charles Steinhorn, and Pamela van der Meulen.
Devra Fischer, known at Wesleyan as Heather, was awarded a doctorate in psychoanalysis and certified as a psychoanalyst by the Psychoanalytic Center of California (PCC) in December in LA. This achievement comes after a long and fruitful career as a psychotherapist practicing in Beverly Hills.
This achievement comes after a long and fruitful career as a psychotherapist practicing in Beverly Hills, Calif. The title of her thesis is “The Body Speaks.” Devra can be reached at 310-749-1633 or ndevraf@gmail.com.
Jan Eliasberg reports, “I continue to write and direct in film and television, but I’ve been surprised and delighted to discover two new areas of creative expression:
“I’m currently completing the second draft of a novel called Heart Of The Atom. I sold the novel based on an original screenplay I had written and have spent the last seven months writing, and now revising, the manuscript. I’ve had terrific help and support from Paul Vidich ’72 another Wesleyan grad turned novelist, and his wife, Linda. I’m represented as a novelist by Adriann Ranta Zurellen at Foundry Literary + Media and publication details will be forthcoming. The following is a short synopsis of the book:
1945. The American and German scientists race to create, develop, and test an atomic bomb. Dr. Hannah Weiss, a brilliant physicist, is the only woman in the Critical Assemblies Division at Los Alamos, the top scientists working directly with Oppenheimer on the bomb’s final stages. Major Jack Delaney, a rising star in the shadowy world of military intelligence, arrives in Los Alamos with a mission: to find the spy leaking nuclear secrets to the Germans. Dr. Hannah Weiss becomes his prime suspect. Inspired by true events and characters, including the extraordinary female scientist Albert Einstein called “the Mother of the Bomb,”Heart of the Atomexplores one of the great mysteries of the Twentieth Century: How did Nazi Germany—with its fanatic will to power and its cadre of Nobel-winning scientists—lose the crucial race for the atomic bomb? Winston Churchill called it “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” but Jack Delaney is determined to reveal the truth he knows is hidden in the heart of an unlikely hero.
“I also undertook to renovate an apartment in Manhattan that has been in the family, but sitting unused, for a number of years. I gut renovated the kitchen and three bathrooms, as well as making minor renovations throughout the rest of the space. I found a phenomenal contractor and sourced all of the fixtures, tiles, paint colors, wallpaper, rugs, furniture, and artwork myself. I was thrilled when the design magazine, Apartment Therapy, featured a storyon my work, complete with photographs. It turns out that I love the work of renovating and designing — it’s a very creative process similar to directing — and I’ve taken on a couple of paid gigs renovating for friends and colleagues.
“Finally, my daughter Sariel ’19 graduates from Wesleyan in June; she majored in American studies and film studies.”
Charlie Cocores retires to Pawleys Island SC when not in Old Saybrook. He is doing a Habitat for Humanity Global Village build in Romania and would love some Wesleyan folks to join in. Contact him at cocoshfh@gmail.com.
Monique Witt writes, “Not much that’s new while we’re involved in the new building. Ben is touring, Dev is designing audio tech, I’m finishing up some production projects and Steven is hip-deep in his deals. Ben has an Instagram post from a Target store in Cali where he’s playing a kid’s cat keyboard that meows. They were buying a pick-up cable by the toy section. It helped to lighten my day in the face of the hardships from the political situation. NYC suffers less, but I run with a curator from the Smithsonian and the situation is dire. Hope everyone is getting through this.”
Gail Austin Cooney reminds us that “it’s that age when the big news is often retirement! I stopped working because it was getting in the way of my dancing. Now, I am a modern dancer with Demetrius Klein DKDC/DIY in West Palm Beach. My brief encounter with modern dance at Wesleyan (thank you, Cheryl Cutler) is finally paying off. I am the oldest in the company and have the least amount of formal training but I’m not the only one on Medicare—it’s a diverse group and a huge source of joy in my life. We perform several times a year on a regular basis. One of our goals is to bring modern dance to people in the community who might not otherwise encounter it. Fun, fun, fun!” Contact her at gail.cooney@gmail.com.
Howard Curzer reports, “The new, big thing in my life is a very small thing—a grandson. Jonah Henry Stanton Curzer was born to Mirah Curzer and Josh Stanton on Dec. 16. Jonah has not yet revealed his superpower, but we can wait.”
Harold Sogard has no meaningful personal news this time around, but would like to say that he is very much hoping that people who for one reason or another have not come to previous reunions will be able to attend our 45th Reunion this May!
Larry Green continues to practice law as a trial attorney and partner at the Boston law firm, Burns & Levinson. When introduced to someone outside of work, Larry is often asked: “You’re retired, right?” To which he jokingly responds, “I must look much older than I really am or much more prosperous than I really am.” Larry and his wife, Denise, do, in fact, enjoy life outside of work, spending more and more time at their second home in Ogunquit, Maine, and traveling to visit five grandchildren in Boulder and Palo Alto. Having been unable to make it to Wes Reunions because his annual extended family reunion is held in Ogunquit every Memorial Day weekend, Larry extends an open invitation to classmates to look him up when traveling to either Boston or Ogunquit.
Chuck Gregorywas elected to the vestry at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. He also sings in the choir there. He also sings in the choir there. He’s secretary to the board of a community group, the Central City Alliance, which held a street fair on March 2nd called the 13th Street Craft Beer and Wine Festival with Car Show. Busy, busy, busy!
Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu