CLASS OF 1969 | 2022 | FALL ISSUE
Wes words . . . 1969
Ken and Visakha Kawasaki continue their active, anti-war, pro-environment lifelong passion.
Harold Davis wrote, “All’s well. Christine and I enjoy retirement. Just back from southern France. I serve on several philanthropy and health-care boards.”
Charlie Morgan is “working on a potential book about people’s rights and the interpretation of Massachusetts’s constitution. Grandson Jordan is a Marine on the USS Kearsarge. All other grandchildren are pursuing higher education. Life is good in southwest Florida where I play a lot of tennis.”
From Ron Reisner, “Sixties Dekes sponsored a tee box at Wesleyan’s annual basketball/golf outing—Dick Emerson ’68, Steve Knox, Jack Sitarz, Andy Gregor ’70, and I. We were all saddened by the passing of Coach Herb Kenny. Dennis Robinson ’79 remembered how Coach wanted good basketball and good scholarship and was delighted by our post-Wes lives. I am indebted to Coach for much of my success at Duke Law and subsequent legal career as a federal prosecutor, trial lawyer, and state court trial judge.”
Rick Pedolsky said, “Cilla and I summer in the Stockholm archipelago, running our business while swimming and wandering the woods, feasting on wild berries and mushrooms. Life is soft and easy. This year, two hours away are the horrors of the Ukraine. I remember Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History and the Last Man, which 30 years ago proclaimed the ascendancy of Western democracy. Hallelujah. Amen. Oh, what a world, what a world.”
Jim Drummond “practices criminal law more intensely than ever. I hope the Texas church is punished for bastardizing Hamilton with a sermon against same-sex relationships.”
Jim Adkins wrote, “Heading toward more normalcy. Delta COVID made me quite sick. All outside interactions stopped, except for phone and internet, cutting me off from the world for several months. Now, back to music and travel. Where we go from here is unknown. Hopefully us old farts will fare well.”
Steve Knox enjoys life in the mountains of North Carolina. “Asheville is kind of a blue oasis surrounded by red—much like Austin, Texas. We have very active artistic and musical communities, a UNC campus, a growing throng of pickleball enthusiasts, and some of the best public tennis courts I’ve ever seen.”
“Saw Ron Reisner, Jack Sitarz, Dick Emerson ’68, and Andy Gregor ’70 at the Friends of Wesleyan Men’s Basketball Golf Outing at the end of May. It’s always a fun event, and Coach Reilly is doing a great job. The team won NESCAC again this year. On a sad note, former coach Herb Kenny passed away recently. He was a great coach and an inspiration to all of his players.”
Pete Pfeiffer reported, “Bob Conkling’s memorial service was lovely. Many people paid respects to the brilliant, witty lawyer, housebuilder, and philosopher. My second book, Solastalgia, is available on Amazon.”
John Wilson said, “All is well and quiet in Ann Arbor. Nothing exciting to report.”
Stu Blackburn wrote, “My new novel, All the Way to the Sea, is set in a fictionalized Little Compton, Rhode Island, where I spent childhood summers. It’s hot on England’s South Coast. All are welcome to visit.”
Tom Earle “traveled 2,000 miles in my wife’s native Norway. We didn’t see a single pothole or stretch of broken pavement.”
Rip Hoffman “received an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’m out of retirement and serving as pastor of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, New Canaan, Connecticut.”
Doug Bell “announced two grandchildren—boy, 5, and girl, 1. All the best to classmates.”
Fred Coleman wrote, “Just had a week with three kids, three in-law spouses, and grandkids on Lake George. Also, a day with all my paternal cousins—family!!
“Wendy retired in January after 43 years as a behavioral pediatrician. I have cut back from 60 to 49 hours most weeks. The need for psychiatrists . . . only increases.
“Our Africa group, now with nine teams in six countries has only met by Zoom—monthly, co-learning webinars and yearly conference. I hope to be able to go in person in October.
“Wendy and I deferred her 75th–birthday trip from May 2020 to this last May 2022—a Viking River Cruise in the Rhone Valley. The safest we have been during COVID. Everyone—crew and passengers—PCR tested pre-launch, then daily rapid tests throughout, with immediate movement off ship to quarantine. Masked except at meals, with good spacing.”
Dave Dixon is “still urban planning for Stantec, mostly in the U.S. and Canada. We have four terrific grandsons and a wonderful family. Never a dull moment.”
John de Miranda said, “My son Colin is in Ecuador as a Peace Corps volunteer. The idealism and service philosophy inherent in Jack Kennedy’s 1961 creation is still alive and well.”
Steve HanseI “sold the Florida house and downsized in New Orleans. Nine grands. All okay in general.”
Steve Howard “retired from commercial and civil litigation to become a pinochle player in an active-adult (?) New Jersey community, Exit 8 (a). Beth and I celebrated 53 years together, which produced two great daughters and two even greater granddaughters. One in college, the other a high school senior. Tempus fugit.”
George Evans “celebrated 46 years with husband Mike Devine. Paris, fall ’22, will reprieve a ’68 Wesleyan study abroad trip. I remember senior year living with Ed Sonnino and Howard Brown in Lawn Avenue.”
George made me remember. Senior year on the top floor of Beta house with Bruce Williams ’70, Rick McGauley, John Lacouture, Robin King, Curt Allen ’71, and Bill Fornaciari ’70. Who am I missing? One bathroom. Women guests. Vietnam. I took lit and art classes? I worked for Saga and the music department. There were few cars on the campus, which simmered with graduate school plans, marriage, military, the getting on of our lives. A seminal event passed, now, as gently as a light breeze.