CLASS OF 1961 | 2023 | FALL ISSUE

The response from classmates for this Class Notes publication has been excellent.  Terry Allen is in the starter’s box with the following: “In January 2023 I sold the last of the 20 companies I had started since Wesleyan. I wouldn’t have had to start so many if more had been successful, but I enjoyed the challenges along the way. Recently, Debbie and I acquired a license to farm cannabis in Vermont. She is the grower, and my focus is marketing. We are having a ball! We both play tennis every week and take overseas hiking trips once or twice a year, plus visit our seven widely located children and nine grandchildren.”

          Bob Owens reports that he is “doing reasonably well” after experiencing a minor stroke two and a half years ago. He bemoans the fact that he is no longer driving, but expresses his gratitude to his life partner, Barbara Morton, and to volunteer drivers in his community transportation program, allowing travel to appointments and even a future road trip from Denver to New York City, making it possible to visit his granddaughters.

John Alvord provides this update: “Marie and I are still living in Las Vegas (home of the Stanley Cup–winning Golden Knights) and enjoying retirement. We finally sold our house and bought a condo. I don’t miss the outside work since someone else now does it. I hate to see what has happened to our country and fervently hope it can be fixed. I just heard that Pete Drayer passed away last year. He was my freshman roommate, four-year fraternity brother, and a groomsman at our wedding. Pete was a very highly regarded judge in Philadelphia and will certainly be missed.”

Jack Mitchell tells us about his serious, yet successful, eye transplant operation performed last spring. “Bacteria were eating my membrane over the cornea, which was extremely painful. The surgeon removed the membrane, cleared the infection, and then inserted a donor’s membrane.” Now completely pain free, Jack resumes his tennis and his devotion to his family clothing business. He adds: “I’m excited to announce the addition to the business of my oldest grandson, Lyle ’16, a past graduate of Wesleyan and of Columbia Business School.”

While teaching ceramics at a boys’ camp, Russell Mott questioned a class of 10-year-olds, “How old do you think I am?” to which most replied 70-plus, while others said 60 somewhere. The answer most appreciated by Russell was “I can’t count that high!” Russell also mentions a 14-year-old lacrosse goalie wishing to follow his dad, who played lacrosse for four years at Wesleyan. “Shout-out to Nate Osur, Tommy Patton, and our class who started lacrosse at Wesleyan in the spring of 1959.”

Limited space allotment requires that only a portion of Emil Frankel’s informative and extensive update is enclosed in this Class Notes publication with a promise of his remaining comments to be revealed in the next edition. Emil writes: “I was on campus for Reunion & Commencement weekend and participated in meetings of the trustees and trustees emerita. There was some discussion of what Wesleyan’s response would be to what was then seen as the inevitable (and has since occurred) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions, a core element of Wesleyan’s pathbreaking admissions policies for over 50 years. President Roth stated then—and repeated in his subsequent statement announcing the end of legacy admissions—that Wesleyan would remain committed to building and maintaining a diverse community and would continue and expand its efforts to do so within the limits of the Supreme Court decision. A wonderful surprise during the annual march of the alumni was to be greeted by Jim Thomas’ son. Since I was the only one in our class present, and carried the Class of 1961 flag in the parade, I was the one to benefit from a wonderful conversation with the son of one of our great classmates.”

Robert Hausman reports: “I am still in touch with Glenn Hawkes, Emil Frankel, and Bob Wielde. Bob also adds in free form:

“In the midst of my dotage I am asked for some news.

May I be excused by claiming the blues?

Since WesTech has done away with legacy,

it leaves my grandson leg-less in misery.

“I am content in my senior condo. I walk an hour a day and then lift weights for 15 minutes. All my family is close by. I am a new great-grandfather. In my junk, I found a directory for our freshman class. If you want to see what you looked like in ’58, I will sell it to the highest bidder. The same with a Commencement program I found, if you want to see what prizes you won.”

Lastly, Russell Mott wrote recently to tell say that Joe Powers passed away in mid-September. Russ said, “Joe and Maria had moved back to the Washington, D.C., region from New Mexico a few months ago, and they were living in northern Virginia when he died.” Condolences to his family and friends.

Respectfully submitted,

Jon