CLASS OF 1952 | 2016 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1952 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Michael Glasser ’16, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Hal Buckingham writes: It is with enormous regret that I open these class notes with this sad news. We have lost two of the giants of our class, Susie Wasch and Charlie Rogovin.

Susie died Feb. 6, 2016, after a battle with cancer she fought with constant grace to a peaceful end. While technically not a member of our class, in every other respect she was one of us. She was the wife of our class president, Bill Wasch, and while we never referred to her as our “first lady,” she was fully that and much more. For decades there was not a Reunion or other gathering of classmates when Susie was not a fully involved participant. She graciously threw open the Wasch Middletown home for our Reunion parties and, for that matter, any Wesleyan alumni and their guests returning to the campus. She was never without a captivating smile and warm greeting. Susie’s contributions to the Wesleyan and Middletown communities are too numerous to mention here, but they were extraordinary. A gifted platform tennis player, she won several national championships and was inducted into the American Platform Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1996. One of her lasting legacies is the Susan B. and William K. Wasch Center for Retired Faculty at Wesleyan, which Susie cofounded with Bill. A proud moment for our class was when Susie, after years of raising her family and hosting the world, returned to school, enrolled in Smith College’s Ada Comstock Scholars Program (for nontraditional women students), lived in a dorm and obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1999—46 years after graduating from high school! Besides Bill, Susie leaves Christina, Bill Jr. ’84, Heidi ’84, Heidi’s husband Bob Leversee ’85, Frederick ’92, and six grandchildren, including a 5-day-old granddaughter that Susie was able to see. Our hearts pour out to the entire Wasch family, with gratitude for all that Susie has meant to our class.

Charlie “Rogo” Rogovin, our quintessential MC of Reunion banquets, warm-hearted skewerer of everyone present, and unforgettable life of class gatherings, died Jan. 10, 2016, of a suspected heart attack. He had an extraordinary career after college and law school. Early on, he was a law enforcement official at state and federal levels, specializing in organized and white collar crime. Charlie served as assistant attorney general and chief of the criminal division under Massachusetts Attorney General Elliot Richardson. That led to various prosecutorial positions in Philadelphia. He was appointed to the President’s Commission on Organized Crime during the Reagan Administration. In his Philadelphia Inquirer obituary, there is a classic photograph of our “Rogo” presenting the final report of that Commission to President Reagan in 1986. He served as vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission and was instrumental in the investigation that led to the 1995 conviction for mail fraud of the former Pennsylvania Attorney General Ernest D. Preate Jr. Perhaps Charlie’s greatest legacy is the influence he had on generations of Temple Law School students. He was a highly regarded and beloved professor, adviser, and mentor there from 1977 until his retirement in 2009 when he was named professor of law emeritus. Charlie leaves his wife, Marcy, an attorney and a former dean of students at Temple Law School, a son, three daughters, and a younger brother. His former wife, Amy Rogovin, also survives. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all of Charlie’s family on their great loss, in which we, too, share.

A note from Walter Pories reports with his typical self-deprecation, “As if the world doesn’t already have enough cartoons, someone has somehow managed to get the American College of Surgeons to publish my most recent volume, Is There a Surgeon in the House?, a compilation of cartoons mocking surgeons, academia and even science. It should be available by March or April [2016] from the ACS or Amazon.” Walter goes on to say that the ACS probably caved in and published his volume because, somehow, he was recently elected second vice president of the organization. Walter confesses that he had this cartooning aberration even at Wesleyan where, instead of paying attention, he would just sit and doodle. I have one of his Wesleyan-era cartoons and it is a treasure. This may bring to mind the Cardinal/Douglas Cannon caricature Walter designed for our “Wesleyan Class of 1952—As Venerable As the Douglas Cannon!!” T-shirt regalia we have worn at recent Reunions.

There is good news. Seth Rosner writes that for the last five years he has been living in the happiest time of his life, the result of his relationship with his beloved Judith Ehrenshaft. They finally decided it was time to solemnize their friendship and on June 15, 2015, went downtown to Saratoga Springs City Hall and asked their friend and Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen to conduct their wedding ceremony in the City Council Chamber. Seth always was a bit slow getting things done! We rejoice that we can extend our sincerest congratulations to Judith and Seth at last.

Ken Taylor and his wife, JoAnne, recently entertained retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, the renowned prolific author and lecturer with a progressive slant on contemporary Christian issues. Bishop Spong was in the West Hartford, Conn., area to deliver lectures. Ken and the Bishop were classmates at Virginia Theological Seminary and they and their wives have remained close friends over the decades.

A news-filled letter from Nancy and Bill Morrill indicates that they are nicely settled in Pennswood Village, a retirement community in Bucks County near Philadelphia. Bill’s travel is now restricted, but his mind is as active as ever and he remains involved in various activities and committees.

Finally, other than what appears in class notes, Wesleyan magazine no longer includes more than a brief notation of the death of an alumnus. A more complete obituary is usually available in Wesleyan’s online magazine at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/obituaries-2/. And go to classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1952/ to see a photo of John Gannon ’86, who used to work at Wesleyan (some of you may remember), and Barbara Schubert, the widow of Roger Schubert. John was wearing a Wesleyan T-shirt when visiting his parents in Florida, and Barbara struck up a conversation. Check out their great Wesleyan smiles! Bill Wasch recalls, “Roger was a fellow tackle with me on the Wes team in the early ’50s.”

Harold C. Buckingham Jr. |

hcbuckingham@daypitney.com

400 Seabury Drive, Apt. 2114

Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwasch@gmail.com

150 Coleman Road Middletown, CT 06457