CLASS OF 1974 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE
Reminder: Consider joining our 50th Reunion Planning Committee (https://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/connect/class-pages/1974.html). You can participate as little or as much as your time and interest permit. Join us on our monthly Zoom calls and continue providing ideas for our reunion. Simply let us know via this form: https://mccdjnp6y05t8wfdqrbdfjcbwgc4.pub.sfmc-content.com/c3m3ac3lekq, or you can contact me (Sharon Purdie, spurdie@wesleyan.edu) or Mandy Broulik at abroulik@wesleyan.edu or Kate Lynch at klynch@wesleyan.edu to join the committee or suggest ideas.
Bill Gustus passed away on September 19, 2022. Bill double majored in government and sociology while at Wesleyan. He leaves his wife, Laura Caron-Gustus, and his nine children. My condolences to his family and classmates. His obituary can be read here and below.
William J. Gustus, of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, passed away in his home on Monday morning, September 19, 2022.
Bill was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on January 9, 1953, a son of the late Walter and Rita (Fleming) Gustus and grew up in Wilmington, Massachusetts. A graduate of Wilmington High School, Wesleyan University, and New England School of Law, Bill joined the Peace Corps and served in Malaysia for two years before embarking on a career in law and local government.
Bill owned and operated Settlers Crossing Golf Course in Lunenburg and the Westminster Golf & Country Club in Westminster with his wife and business partner, Donnie Lyons. Prior to his retirement he was the town administrator for the Town of Lynnfield, and the chief administrative and financial officer for the Town of Lunenburg. His career also included serving multiple roles in Middlesex County government, general counsel at Cummings Properties, and being appointed CFO for the City of Gloucester.
He enjoyed many years of worldwide travel with his wife Laura, family, and many of his closest friends.
Bill leaves his wife, Laura Caron-Gustus of Lunenburg; his 9 children, Casey Gustus and his wife Cathy of Wayland, Kelly Gustus and her husband Jeremy of Wayland, John Gustus and his wife Emily of Wrentham, Timothy Gustus and his wife Kara of Melrose, Michael Gustus and Jeffrey Gustus both of Woburn, his stepchildren, Jason Brailsford and his wife Mariah of Lunenburg, Tanya Eberlin and her husband Craig of Ashburnham and Kristin Trumble and her husband Matt of St. Clair Shores, Michigan; his brother, Stephen Gustus and his wife Tracy of Sommerville, 13 grandchildren, former wife Theresa Gustus of Wayland, and many nephews and nieces. He is predeceased by a brother Leonard Gustus.
Monique Witt reports: “Ben soft released his fifth album, A Thousand Pebbles (his second with the Nebula Project sextet) and debuted it at Ravinia. Dev hosted AES (American Electronics Show) at the ExMachina Soundworks space in Bushwick, Steven’s firm was involved in the Twitter purchase, and I’m dividing my time between three upcoming albums and the Soundworks.”
Chuck Gregory has enjoyed success as the Senior Warden at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale, facing the dual challenges of a rector search and the COVID pandemic. The church is thriving with new rector, Grant Wiseman. Chuck’s term will finish in January 2023.
For our 45th Reunion, Chuck sang with a group of alumni at Eclectic. They called themselves the Fossils of MoCon. He hopes to be part of something similar for our 50th.
Dave Skinner, Rob Ingraham, and Doug Cole were among attendees at a celebration for Dave “Duke” Synder, their former hockey coach, during Homecoming weekend (November 5). See below for a picture of the three of them, along with Bill Burke ’73, with Duke and his wife Diane. John Gardner attended as well. It was a wonderful reunion of 40 or so former hockey players from the ’70s and ’80s teams. Duke was a great coach and mentor to them all
Arthur Fierman writes: “My wife Shelly and I had a great time in August with Wesleyan classmates and other grads at the eighth annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, produced by Lloyd Komesar. This was our fourth fest (one year remote due to COVID) —the films, interviews, and related events are amazing. It has been a great way to reconnect with classmates. Hope to see more of the Class of ’74 there next year!”
For the past few years, Harold Sogard has been taking classes in voice acting with the goal of starting a new career. He’s now reached the point where he has produced demo tapes and is circulating them to agents in the hopes of getting signed and then getting some actual paying gigs. You can check him out at www.haroldsogard.com.
Pam van der Meulen updates us: “I enjoyed re-connecting with Sharon Purdie, Jean Barish, and Adrienne Bentman during Homecoming, following the 50th Reunion planning session with members of the classes of ’73 and ’72. Adrienne spoke at the Title IX seminar that morning and was inducted later that evening into the Wes Athletics Hall of Fame. Congrats, Adrienne! On a personal note, we bought a vacation home in the Berkshires last spring, in the Otis Wood Lands, which we absolutely love, and I’ve started playing pickleball.”