CLASS OF 1957 | 2023 | FALL ISSUE
In late May Gordon Wilmot and Marilyn flew from Providence to Portland, Oregon, to enjoy a cruise up the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The daily informational meetings brought back everything they had forgotten about Lewis and Clark and their contribution to our history.
In last year’s fall issue, Mark Feldman mentioned the oral interview of his experiences as an attorney in the D.C. area, including the State Department. It has now been published as a book, entitled Footnotes to History, Law and Diplomacy. You can find it on Amazon and read it on Kindle for only $4.
A sad update is the passing of Ed Porter’s wife Elaine, after 59 years of marriage. Ed and his two sons are trying their best to adjust to life without her at their side, but it’s difficult. Condolences to all the Porters.
George Willauer and his wife went to his 70th high school reunion in Philadelphia. Having attended the school K–12, he was “a lifer.” Despite canes, walkers, and one wheelchair, all eight people there had a memorable time.
I got a long note from Hal Ochsner. Although he spent his senior year, followed by med school, at Indiana, his memories of Wesleyan and his Clark Hall roommates are strong. He moved to California in the 1960s and still practices medicine there, despite the leukemia he treats with infusions. Hal is our class agent, and you’ll probably be hearing from him later this year.
Ken Travis writes that a conversation with friends over dinner some 45 years ago led to student exchanges with a remarkable French family that culminated this year with 16 Americans attending a lovely wedding outside Paris. Four generations of French and American families partied most enthusiastically. Ken and Janice are about to celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary. He wishes all the best to the ’57ers.
I just learned that Jack Braitmayer died last July. He grew up in Marion, Massachusetts, and went to Tabor Academy there. A successful businessman, he also served as a trustee at both Tabor and Wesleyan. Jack loved boats and sailing and was a huge supporter of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Condolences to all the Braitmayer family.
This spring Betty and I took a road trip up the East Coast. We spent a week at the time-share we own in North Carolina. (It’s for sale, by the way.) Then to Maryland where we got to see our great-grandson and his identical twin sisters. Finished by visiting cousins, nieces, and nephews in Virginia Beach, where we got married almost as long ago as the Travises. Great time.
Stay well and try to beat this heat.
Bob