CLASS OF 1960 | 2020 | ISSUE 1
Bill Murphy has been teaching citizenship and history at Hanover High School for nearly 60 years. One morning, he finally became fed up with the role model presented by our current president and decided to run against Trump in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary. His students are excited by his action, and Bill hopes that his involvement will be an important example for them.
In February 2019, Peggy and Dave Hale cruised from Barcelona to Lisbon. Their second major trip was a river cruise in October from Vienna to Amsterdam.
Neimah and Paul Tractenberg took a 16-day cruise through the Panama Canal with Paul’s oldest friend (they were elementary school classmates 72 years ago) and his wife. In addition, he submitted to the Rutgers-Newark chancellor’s office a major report on curing school segregation in New Jersey. He is also participating in important judicial arguments regarding school integration and school funding equalization for three major lawsuits scheduled in January.
John Dobson: “Had a wonderful Christmas with my entire family in our new home in Ocala, Fla. One hour from Disney World. Please come and visit if you are in Florida!”
On Sept. 5, Rick Garcia, president of the National Academy of Bolivian Economic Sciences (ABCE), gave a speech describing the accomplishments and contributions of ABCE on its 50th anniversary. On behalf of that organization, he received congratulations from the International Community of National Academies, Universities, and High Learning Organizations of South America, and Spain.
On Oct. 24, Jay Levy joined other speakers at a symposium titled “Homage to Samuel Beckett.” The event honored Jay’s gift to the library: his personal correspondence with Samuel Beckett over nearly 30 years. The interesting story of how Jay developed a friendship with Beckett can be found in the Nov. 6, 2019, issue of The Wesleyan Connection.
Jay’s twin brother, Stuart, died on Sept. 4, 2019, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. You may recall that Jay and Stuart executed an unannounced identity switch for several days during our sophomore year. Stuart was a microbiologist who received an honorary Wesleyan degree in 1998 for sounding the alarm on the dangers of antibiotic resistance, demonstrating that drugs routinely given to fatten farm animals posed a threat to human health. I express our condolence to Jay and his family.
Francis Haywood Parker, of Muncie, Ind., passed away unexpectedly on March 26, 2019, at the age of 80. Francis moved to Muncie in 1976 as one of the four original faculty members of the Department of Urban Planning in the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University, where he taught until his retirement in 2013. His specialty was transportation planning, which fit well with his lifelong love of trains and ships. From childhood, Francis was a fan of steam engines and model railroading. As soon as he moved to Muncie, he became a volunteer on the Whitewater Valley Railroad in Connersville, Ind. In addition to serving as engineer and conductor, he was also the railroad’s historian, editor of their monthly newsletter, and leader of the yearly training class for new members. He also managed to fit in sailing excursions on a number of tall ships over the years and built model railroad layouts all over his home. Francis is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Carol Greenberg Parker, his sister, son, and grandson.
William Scott Robinson died on March 30, 2019 in Deephaven, Minn. Bill was retired from his job as financial adviser for RBC Wealth Management. He had served as president of the Deephaven Historical Society and was a lifelong member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was an avid bicyclist, kayaker, canoeist, and traveler. He is survived by his wife of 57 years Donna and two sons and their wives, a daughter, and six grandchildren.
I end this column with a quote from Gina Barreca who is an English professor at the University of Connecticut: “Now in my 60s, I understand and accept that time is the rarest of all commodities, the greatest of all gifts, and the most irreplaceable of items.”
SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229