CLASS OF 1967 | 2024 | FALL ISSUE
1967 ARCHIVES | HOME
← 1966 | 1968 →
Classmates,
I have heard from four classmates, all of whom reside in California, whatever that means.
First I heard from George McKechnie. George grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey, came to Wesleyan where he majored in psychology, and then headed west for graduate work at Berkeley. He completed his PhD in personality and environmental psychology in 1972. His professors included Ted Sarbin (Sarbin had been Karl Scheibe’s advisor when he was a graduate student at Berkeley, and he was one of my teachers when I did graduate work at the University of California, Santa Cruz). George taught at Arizona State, and at Berkeley, and then left academe to practice clinical psychology and “to pursue home audio”—he was the founder and president of Audio Excellence, Inc. (the company’s clients included Francis Ford Coppola, Ray Dolby, and Boz Scaggs). He subsequently founded two more audio companies, Axiom Home Theater and Sync My Home Inc. He lives in Carmel, California, on the Monterey Peninsula.
Then I heard from Ted Smith. He was cleaning out old stuff (aren’t we all?) and came upon a photo of the 1967 Mystical Seven, of whom he and I were two. He wasn’t sure who some of those other five mystics were. I helped him identify them: from left to right me, Barbara Davidson (who somehow mystically snuck into that photo), Sammy Nigh, Steve Chance, Ted, Bill Cooper, Tom Drew, and Mike Cronan. This led me to research, if I may call it that, what each of the seven said about themselves in our 50th Reunion book. Cronin, Drew, Ted, and I wrote things for that sweet publication (and sent photos), but nothing from Chance, Cooper, or Nigh. I then spent a pleasant hour reading the entries that many of you sent, and “remembrances” and obituaries for 19 of our classmates who had died (alphabetically from Andrew C. Ackemann, who died in 2006, to Donald D. Wolff Jr., who died in 2009). So, thanks Ted, for reminding me what a nice resource that 50th Reunion book is. Ted, by the way, has had some health issues, but is doing fine. He and his wife, Mandy, live in San Jose, and they have three children and five grandchildren, all of whom are in California so they can see them frequently.
I also heard from Don Stone, who is living in the Bay Area. He writes that as a Jew-by-choice, active in his synagogue for 35 years, he is part of his synagogue’s reparations alliance partnership with a Bedouin village in the West Bank. As he explained, the residents “are nonviolently trying to survive the brutal efforts of a nearby, recent prosperous, Jewish settlement to expel the villagers.” According to Don, these Jewish settlers have used “terror, interrogation, arrests, beatings, home demolitions, seizing grazing land, and cutting off water, electricity, and intermittent access to medical and food sources . . . etc.” Don fears that these expulsions will end up as “not good for the Palestinians or good for the Jews.”
Don reminded me that, should we be so lucky, we are approaching what will be our 60th in 2027. I had not thought about it, but it is now on my list of things I might do if I live long enough.
Finally, in the California correspondence category, Paul Nibur wrote a thoughtful response to the email I sent to many of you after the last set of class notes appeared. He also wrote the following: “I have been happily retired for 20 years from flying for United Airlines. I keep very busy with volunteering with my Rotary Club, hosting youth exchange students from Australia and Thailand, serving on a few local boards, maintaining my five acres near the Sierra foothills, and loving my family and grandkids. I’m happy to still be able to workout and stay fit although I had to give up running after nearly 50 years due to a complaining knee. I’m still very happily married to my first and only wife since 1970, and highly recommend that path (although that advice is a little late for many of us now).”
Also, on the ever-increasing obituary front, I got this email from Ned Preble:
“Dave Reynolds ’71 died on Sunday June 30, 2024, at his home in Hampden, Massachusetts, after yearsof illness stimulated by Agent Orange during his service in Thailand. His wife, Heather, his son, Nat, and his wife, and Dave’s sister were with him. He and I stayed in touch from September 1963 until he died. He was a doctor, having pursued his MD and career conscientiously, from postgraduation through his ER tech job in the army, more pre-med courses and health care jobs. There will be a celebration of life October 6 featuring Steely Dan music. I will never forget his wise laugh and his broad shoulders that once kept NYC subway doors from closing on me.”
Ned has lived in Portland, Oregon, since 2013, but before that he lived in Mystic, Connecticut, Westchester, New York, the Bay Area, Concord, Massachusetts, and Hanover, New York, among other places. His five children were born in four states, and his ten grandchildren, as he puts it, are “scattered from LA to Dallas to Nashville to southern New Hampshire.” He was in the Peace Corps in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the army, worked in admissions (as assistant dean of admissions at Connecticut College from 1970 to 1974), earned an MBA at Wharton, and for more than 30 years worked in “International Consulting in Strategic Innovation and Creative Problem Solving.” He now teaches courses in “Change Management and Business Ethics.”
Ned also shared the following information about some classmates: “Here is some information I have regarding the guys I have been in touch with over the years. Phil Corkill (freshman year roommate) and Suzie, his wife, are longtime Tucson residents, where he was superintendent at a big high school. She was a teacher, but not in his district (probably her idea). Jim Guard—retired architect and LONG-time resident and property owner in the San Juan Islands outside of Friday Harbor. He built his own house and came on the grid just 10 to 15 years ago. He owns a lot of land and is often clearing/creating roads and cutting his own firewood. Mary, his wife of many years, makes sure his chores do not exceed 22 hours per day. Dave Butler and his wife live in Saint Augustine, Florida, and play golf together. He watches WesTech football on his computer. He was an international lawyer for many years. I talked to Howie Foster the other day and he was heading off to play squash. His career is as a therapist. I think he is a psychoanalyst.” Ned also noted that he shot his age in golf two years ago (I did not ask him if it was miniature golf, a par three course, or if he only played nine holes).
In exchanging emails with Ned, I told him a story from my limited golf history. He wrote back that “even though I read your golf story 10 minutes ago I am still laughing! I vote to have it included in the class notes—boldface type of course.” Given that these notes are online, and I am not limited by the usual 800-word stricture, I have decided to do so. Here you go.
I play golf once a decade, no more, no less. On December 31, 2019, I finally got over to our par three course for my once-a-decade round. I had a three iron, a seven iron, and a putter. It was a chilly, but not too cold day, and I was the only person on the course. I double bogeyed the first eight holes, and ended up on the ninth hole, with a fairly long putt for the double bogey (maybe five feet). I could not believe how much pressure I felt. I did not want to end my string of double bogeys. I sank the putt, and it was like hitting a three-pointer for a win in my regular geezer basketball game (better actually). Definitely a sports highlight of the decade for me. (It is now only 2024, so I don’t plan to play for another four or five years).
Tony Gaeta wrote that Tony Conte was able to visit his sister and brother-in-law (who was turning 90) in Hilton Head Island, and Tony Gaeta was able to join him for four days. If you read my class notes carefully (in which case you’ll be more likely to pass the final exam), you may recall that in April 2022, Tony Conte, who lives in Walnut Creek, California, was hit by a car while walking home from dinner and almost lost his life. As he explained to me in an email back in November 2023: “Both Tony Gaeta and Tony Caprio have been fantastically supportive to me from the first minute. They are in part responsible for my recovery. I don’t think I could have made it through the trauma center, the ICU, the two hospitals, and the care facility without their constant contact and encouragement.” It was thus special that he could travel across the country to visit family, and special that the two Tonies could spend time together. As Tony Gaeta wrote, “He’s lucky to be alive, much less walking but it didn’t deter us from throwing down a few brews but not as quickly as in olden days.”
Many of you responded to the email that I sent describing the decision of the editors to leave out a paragraph about Bernie Steinberg in my last set of notes. It was great to hear from you, not only about the deletion of the paragraph, but about other related and unrelated issues (golf! Walter Johnson High School! Unitarian ministers! UNC athletics!). Your supportive comments really meant a lot to me.
—Richie
RICHIE ZWEIGENHAFT | rzweigen@guilford.edu