CLASS OF 1979 | 2024 | FALL ISSUE

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Hi all. As promised in my last class notes, I am updating everyone on turnout for our 45th Reunion that was held in May. The weekend was extremely well attended by our class. We broke the 45th Reunion attendance record with 83 attendees, surpassing the previous record of 61 set by the Class of 1974. We also set several fundraising records for a 45th reunion, which will benefit so many current and future Wes students. It was great to see old friends and actually meet several classmates I had not known before. Everyone was upbeat and welcoming, and it was truly just a fun atmosphere. Our class is pretty great. For those who were not able to make it (sometimes life gets in the way), mark your calendars for 2029—hopefully the turnout for our 50th milestone reunion will be terrific also!

As mentioned on the Wesleyan website (under Alumni Awards) from which I am excerpting in part the following, our very own David Kendall was awarded the James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Award during reunion weekend, which recognizes a member of the Wesleyan family whose writing or other creative achievement conveys unusual insight and understanding of current and past events. David is a writer/producer/director who has worked in both television and film for decades. His credits include series for broadcast networks, cable outlets, and streaming services. He’s been a member of the Writers Guild of America since 1985 and a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1990. Among his many accomplishments, he has produced and written for iconic situation comedies like ABC’s Growing Pains and Boy Meets World and has directed classic children’s programs like Nickelodeon’s iCarly and Disney’s Hannah Montana. He has credits on over 40 different television series—more than 600 episodes. He recently returned to campus to teach workshops in film/TV directing. He and his wife, Wendy, reside in Los Angeles and have three adult children, one of whom is a member of Wesleyan’s Class of 2024.

And our very own Pamela Dorman was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award during reunion weekend, the details of which I am also excerpting in part from the Wesleyan Alumni Awards page. This honor is presented to alumni in recognition of achievement in their professions. Pamela is senior vice president and publisher of Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, which she founded in 2008. In her more than 30 years at Viking Penguin, Pam has published multimillion-copy, #1 New York Times bestsellers, including The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard (the first selection of the Oprah Book Club), Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (a Reese’s Book Club Pick), and books by a number of other New York Times best-selling authors, including Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street. She has also published a wide range of nonfiction, including books by Bill Gates, Marcia Clark, Andrea Mitchell, Steven Levy, Peter Kramer, Peggy Noonan, and Maria Shriver. She and her husband, Stuart Krichevsky, live in New Rochelle, New York, and have adult twins, Nicholas Krichevsky, a software engineer, and Sophie Krichevsky, a local newspaper reporter.

Congrats to both of you, David and Pamela! Such well-deserved recognitions of your respective lives’ work!

George Kirchwey sent an update. “I returned to Wes in late May for the 45th, in a way: the daughter of dear friends was graduating with the Class of 2024, so I came back for only the second time since 1979. On Saturday, I met up with Carl Boland, who started with our class, at the big tent. I had dinner with him and his lovely wife, Jennifer, a few days later. Carl and I then vanished into his basement with guitars and jammed out the classic-rock oldies (it prevents aging, I’m told). Sorry to miss the Class of 1979 reunion dinner—it sounds like quite a turnout. I’d have liked to have met a bunch of you. I’m guessing your varied paths through life have been pretty interesting. I still toil in the stony fields of finance in Dallas, where I’ve lived ever since our graduation. My wife, Judy, and I just observed our 41st anniversary. I’m not quite ready to retire yet and working from home makes things easier. Texas has changed and grown exponentially since I got here, in ways both welcome and not. I’m in regular touch with several classmates who either graduated or started with us: Carl Stibolt, Chris Berlew, Ces Harshman Johnston, and Rob Sloan. I have Wesleyan to thank for bringing us all together, 50 years on.”

Willie Jones also checked in with news on his retirement. “I regret that I missed our class reunion, but I was busy ‘getting my ducks in a row’ to retire as the Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation director, effective July 1, 2024. It has been a great 20 years. Our department has truly upgraded the park system to make Charlotte/Mecklenburg a highly desired place to live, work, and recreate. I plan on traveling, reading, drawing, painting, golfing, exercising, and spending quality time with friends and family, including my two grandkids. I’ll remain in Charlotte so feel free to check me out if any ’79ers pass through.” Willie, kudos on what sounds like a great and rewarding career and a busy and fun retirement!

And here is a great write-up from Julie Hacker about recent happenings in her life. “My partner, Stuart Cohen, and I have a new book out entitled First Addition Strategies for Adding On by ORO editions available on Amazon. Our architect total practice is alive and well, producing additions, remodels, and homes along the North Shore and in Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago has acquired some of our models for its Department of Architecture and our drawings for its archives. I also sit on the AIA Chicago Board and on the steering committee of our local CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network). Our son, Gabriel Cohen, is a practicing sculptor and gallery manager in Los Angeles. We just visited him and saw his solo show, God Where Are the Eyes of a Murderer, in Los Angeles. He will be part of a group show in New York City this September. Finally, I am still taking my musical theater ensemble classes in Chicago, which is a huge counterpoint to the daily struggles of being an architect! Anybody in Chicago, look me up!”

And finally, Jack Freudenheim wrote a meaningful tribute to—and sent along the below link to the truly heartwarming obituary notice for—Doug MacKenzie ’89, who died in his sleep of natural causes on July 19, 2024. Jack writes: “Doug MacKenzie was a fellow South Indian music student, after my years, but we made friends afterward. He helped his professor, T. Ranganathan, through Ranga’s fatal illness, tending to him daily until his death in the 80s. Doug passed unexpectedly in July. He was a friend to many Wes students.” Here is the obituary link: Doug MacKenzie .

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for the submissions!

DIANE M. LAPOINTE | dmlapointe28@gmail.com