CLASS OF 1981 | 2022 | FALL ISSUE
Greetings from the heartland! I, Joanne, am writing this as summer rolls to a close: cooler evenings, shorter nights, summer’s bounty giving way to fall’s produce and falling leaves. I sincerely hope that each of you has enjoyed the fruits (and vegetables!) that the season brought including travel, relaxation, and joyful encounters with family and friends. I have noticed that people are starting once again to settle down into a pattern of acceptance of this new COVID-reality and moving forward with their lives.
Joanna Buffington writes that she is continuing to work and support land trusts on Cape Cod that focus on land and wildlife protection. She serves on the board of the Eastham Land Trust as well as volunteers for Mass Audubon, helping them in their efforts to protect diamondback terrapin nests and hatchlings, as well as helping to rescue endangered sea turtles that get stranded along Cape Cod Bay when water temperatures drop and they get trapped in their effort to return to warmer southern waters. Thank you for your efforts on nature’s behalf, Joanna!
Congratulations to Melissa Ann Coyne, who was promoted last year to city clerk for the city of Lake Worth Beach, Florida, after having served as deputy city clerk for five years. Melissa reports that her daughter Skye was married at Yosemite National Park on May 3rd. Skye recently wrapped up a starring role in Love’s Playlist (which will air on either Lifetime or Hallmark); she started filming on another project in August. Melissa’s new son-in-law is starring in That’s Amor, which airs on Netflix. “I’m a very proud mama!” she writes—understandably so!
Paul Godfrey is thrilled to announce that he and his wife, Mary Sue, are the proud, first-time grandparents of a beautiful granddaughter, Norah Sage, born to their son Charlie and daughter-in-law Hannah. Paul writes, “My specialty is taking her on long walks in the stroller so that she can get a good nap and her parents can get some work done.” I’m just wondering when she’s getting her first pair of skates and a hockey stick? Paul writes that in June, he and Mary Sue went east to the Cape from their home in Minnesota, and then out to Fishers Island, New York. They spent time with Linda and Tim O’Brien, Diane and Jim Baker, and Cathy and Jon Duane, hanging out at the beach, biking, fishing, and barbecuing for a week straight. Paul says, “For the record, the striped bass in the photo is the biggest fish I ever caught—but Jim made me return it to Long Island Sound because it was too small to keep.”
Chrissi Winkelbauer Kelly was in the beautifully preserved Germany renaissance town of Goerlitz in late August, attending a conference. She described visiting an art installation called Osmodrama—a “smell symphony” played on a device that wafts odors over you to tell a story, while a composition about the evolution of the earth played in the background. She chronicled this on her Facebook page–fascinating! Since suffering from anosmia several years ago as a result of an illness, Chrissi has become an expert in the field and is often tapped to lecture and teach.
Best wishes to Greg Davis, who recently retired to paradise from the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), where he worked for many years as a field (staff) attorney. He made a big move not just across the country but across the ocean as well, leaving Harlem for Maui with his wife and their five cats. Just to confirm: “It IS wonderful . . . very tranquil with many beautiful beaches and great weather no matter the many microclimates.” And Greg sends his best wishes to everyone.
Ed Suslovic and his wife Jen have returned to their home in Portland after many exciting weeks on the road in their new camper. This Labor Day, they officially become “empty nesters.” All three of their children (Matt, Meghan, and Kate) are all within a half-mile of each other in Somerville—which sure makes visits and family gatherings easy!
Livia Wong McCarthy, her husband Joe, and daughter Delia graciously hosted me and Kathy Prager Conrad July 4th weekend at their lovely home in Princeton. Deb Chapin had to cancel last minute due to a COVID scare, and she was sorely missed—but fortunately, she did not fall ill. In the spirit of our senior year Sunday night co-op, Liv, Kathy, and I prepared a delicious meal which we were then able to share with Shari and Mike Toohey and Lynn and Paul DiSanto. Sadly, Barb and Sandy Herzlich had to cancel at the last minute. But the evening was nonetheless delightful—we all caught up on several (and in some cases, many!) years’ worth of news, both at the table and alongside the hot tub, after which we all donned our souvenir Wesleyan socks, courtesy of Paul.
Paul Gaetano, who retired three years ago after 33 years as a Connecticut supervisory state’s attorney, is thoroughly enjoying “retirement.” He and his wife Elaine just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary with a fabulous Greek islands cruise that left out of Venice, where Paul was able to dazzle his spouse with his Italian, still sharp from his Wes study-abroad days. Following that, they traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, on their actual anniversary weekend. When he’s not traveling (his wife is Spanish), he is keeping busy as an adjunct professor at the local community college. “I love it!” writes Paul. “I teach criminal law and constitutional law courses to mostly young and ambitious students. When you retire from your full-time job/career, you certainly need to continue with a purpose and concrete goals.” Great advice, Paul, as many of us start reaching that age of retirement. I do know that many of you have already retired from one career—so please reach out and let me or David Block know what you are up to these days!
And since I have a bit of space left, let me share that our oldest son Alex is still in the Seattle area working as a software engineer consultant, solving lots of people’s problems; our middle son James is in Zurich and working at Google, specializing in AI and loving the European lifestyle; and our third son Christopher is in Chicago working as a trader and enjoying the city life. They all somehow ended up with computer science degrees and have found ways to marry that to their interests. My husband continues to teach at Indiana University, and I continue to teach my various-format fitness classes at the Student Rec Sports Center. And we travel as much as we can!
That’s it for now—and best wishes for the upcoming holiday season! And please keep the news coming! Any photos for the online edition of Class Notes should be sent as a separate jpeg attachment and not embedded within the body of the correspondence. Thanks.
Joanne