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Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1960sPosted on

CLASS OF 1963 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

A few words from classmates:

From Jim Dresser: “I am still living in Salisbury, Connecticut, where we sold a large house and built a small bungalow in the backyard just before COVID hit. It is indeed better to be lucky than smart.

            “I spend most of my time trying to build affordable housing in this expensive enclave of Connecticut, which got more unaffordable after the pandemic influx from NYC.

            “I was honored that Gina asked me to be one of the speakers at John Driscoll’s ’62 celebration of life in the chapel at Homecoming. I then got to sit in Corwin Stadium in shirtsleeves and reflect on John, Wes’s most ardent football fan, while the Cards beat the Ephs handily to win the Little Three.

            “I continue to be amazed by the time and effort required ‘to alleviate the many ills to which the flesh is heir,’ but I am defying the odds so far.”      

John B. Jarzavek wrote: “I was pleased to see that there is a memorial challenge to remember our classmate, Colby Andrus. As was our wont in the ’60s, most of us knew only our fraternity fellows and course classmates. I got to know Colby our junior and senior years when we were both on the Board of House Presidents. He was always soft-spoken but full of energy and suggestions. After graduation we kept in minimal contact. However, his son John enrolled in the Rivers School (’96) where I had been teaching since 1965. I taught John in art history, in which he continued at Wesleyan after he graduated from Rivers. While he was at Rivers, his mother Alice was a school trustee. I got to see the Andrus family regularly, and we became close friends. We discovered that we were all Italophiles. Norman and I bought our Italian apartment in 2001—we sold it in 2021—and Colby, Alice, and we met often in Italy in those years. Colby and Alice and their two boys had also lived in Italy for a year in the ’80s. His Boston business was importing and selling Italian furniture. We traveled Italy together and ate great food over the years. My closest Wesleyan friends were fraternity brothers Bob Martin, Bob Sloat, and my fraternity “big brother” Hill Panitch ’62. Thankfully, Colby joined that crew. I can still see his smile.”

David Landgraf contributed: “Ten plus years into retirement and haven’t had yet to return to paid employment. Have kept my law license active just in case. Have kept busy with church work, yardwork and gardening, catching up on casual reading, and providing unsolicited advice to children and grandchildren. Am still living in the house in Southern New Jersey (greater Philadelphia area) to which my late wife Linda and I moved with two small children in 1977, but it is becoming an increasing burden. My son and his family (two children, ages 11 and 9) live about an hour away near the New Jersey shore, and my daughter and her family (three children, ages 17, 15, and 9) are in Frederick, Maryland, about three to four hours away by car. See both frequently. I have been trying to take one or two trips each year, but that schedule was interrupted by COVID-19. My middle brother and I did take a Rhine River cruise, which included a performance of the passion play in Oberammergau, Germany, this past summer.  Looking at a possible family trip next summer, if kids’ sports schedules and the college entry and visits for the oldest allow.”

 And from Frederick Taylor: “Visited Lew Whitney and his wife Yoli in LA in early September. He is well and still sailing. It was great to see him and trade memories, some of which may have actually occurred. We exchange book ideas and discuss the various authors we enjoy. We plan to see each other annually as Carole and I travel from New York to see our daughter Liesl and family in Manhattan Beach and perhaps a granddaughter in college on the West Coast.”

 

Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1960sPosted on

CLASS OF 1962 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

John Driscoll’s celebration on November 5, in a packed Memorial Chapel, was attended by classmates Robin Cook, Bob Krugman, and Hank Sprouse. Robin, who remembers John as “one of the most affable and good-natured individuals I have ever met,” regretted only the absence of speakers from our class who knew him best at the very beginning of his Wesleyan career. Hank, who had been close to John, found the memorial “truly moving for me—spiritual, loving, powerful, gentle, and meaningful.” For anyone interested, John left an extended oral history interview about his Wesleyan history, including his earliest days when we were there together; a transcript of this is available online at https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/object/ohp-53. 

Ken Landgraver has moved into a retirement community in Portland, Oregon, which allows him and his wife more time to travel: Morocco for two weeks in March and April; hiking the Camino in Spain where he got COVID and “had to spend two delightful weeks in Madrid until I tested negative”; and a week each in Santa Fe and Pismo Beach. They also “spent time at our beach place watching the whales, where they come in so close, we can hear them.” They have been using an old VW Westfalia van for camping throughout the Northwest and exploring Vancouver Island, while also adding two great-grandsons to the family. 

Bruce Menke and his wife Karen continue to be highly active politically in Athens, Georgia, supporting Democratic candidates and causes. They have hosted or co-hosted more than 20 fundraisers and candidate meet and greets, and recently organized a major Get Out the Vote effort. Bruce further reports, “Fortunately, our extended family has made it through COVID without serious illness. Our oldest grandchild is now a sophomore at Duke. Two others are high school sophomores and the youngest is in sixth grade. My interest in languages continues, with a focus on reading contemporary books in the Romance and Germanic languages and, to a lesser extent, Russian.”

Len Wilson writes that “after celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary and catching COVID in Europe last summer, there’s little to top that news. Joyce and I are heading back to our condo in South Philly after spending over two years ‘staying safe’ at our barrier island home on the Jersey shore.” Len remains active with his YMCA retiree groups and is helping plan a Christmas luncheon/fundraising “where I continue to be the auctioneer, squeezing all the giving I can get from my friends and [their] spouses. I will also continue my favorite activity (pickleball) indoors in the Philly area.”

Chuck Work reports that Hurricane Ian “did not hit us as directly in Naples as it did Fort Meyers and we were fortunate in that we live several miles from any water and so the surge did not reach us and we sustained no damage. But it will be a slow recovery for much of Southwest Florida.” He adds that he “went door-to-door for Democrats in our county making almost no difference.”  

Bill Wortman writes: “As everyone discovers when they retire, staying busy is no problem. There’s so much to do, in my case this past year six hiking trips with Road Scholars to national parks (Acadia, Big Bend, Glacier, etc.), local volunteer and civic activities, reading (most recently Joyce’s Ulysses, which I first read with Wilbert Snow in my sophomore year), and fitfully hacking away at invasive species on my small property just outside Oxford, Ohio, which is good therapy.” Sadly, Bill’s wife Sue Howlett (Mt. Holyoke ’65) died two years ago after nine years with lung cancer, but he has three grandchildren all doing well; two in Denver about to graduate this coming spring (one from high school, the other from college), and the third in St. Louis with still “a ways to go.”

Finally, many of you who were chemistry students will remember Tony Santonicola MA ’61, who as a master’s student was a teaching assistant and lab instructor during our freshman and sophomore years. It turned out Tony enjoyed interacting with brats like us more than mixing chemical reagents and moved on to the graduate counseling program at Harvard. He and I became roommates there in 1963 and consolidated a lifelong friendship in which he became “Uncle Tony” to my kids. He served for many years as director of counseling at the University of Hartford and has recently moved to a cottage in a retirement community near there where he tends to two garden lots and confounds everyone who can’t believe he is 92. He recalls his Wesleyan years with great fondness and extends best wishes to all who remember him.

Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1960sPosted on

CLASS OF 1961 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

Russell Mott writes: “Another summer at camp in Amesbury, Massachusetts, teaching ceramics, and livin’ the dream back in New England. Presently I am running a gallery with my partner, Joyce, and moving from throwing to altered and sculptural forms with the kind assistance of the finest active potter in the country (in my opinion), Steve Hemingway of Minnesota. It is a fascinating and terrifyingly wonderful excursion. For those interested in the final collapse of South Vietnam in ’75, a friend of mine has written a book about the chaotic evacuation of Saigon, something in which I was also involved. Getting Out of Saigon, Ralph White, Simon and Schuster, April 4, 2023. It’s a hell of a tale.—Que tenga buen dia, Jon.” Muchas gracias, Russell.

A bit of poetry from John Alexander:

“Over many years, believe I’ve shared enough.

But if desperate, try usual comments on health, aging and family stuff.

Trying each day to remember pills, appointments, friends, and names,

Especially before the body and mind succumb to increased pains.”

A few words from Jack Mitchell with a bit of promotion tossed in: “Linda and I continue to have a wonderful marriage for 61 years—four sons, seven adult grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren. Our Mitchells family of stores in seven locations is very healthy, with constantly improving sales over previous years. We are probably the largest independent family-owned luxury men’s/women’s/lux clothing and jewelry establishment in our country. Presently, it’s a third generation of Mitchells working in our stores—three of our sons and three of my brother Bill’s, moving soon into a fourth generation, two of whom went to Wesleyan! Healthwise, my days include tennis or walks with Linda, or providing motivational lectures on my three HUG publications. I give credit to my dad who claimed that Wesleyan inspired me to open The New York Times to the editorial page rather than the sports pages! Happy, healthy, and safe Wes hugs to all!”

Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1960sPosted on

CLASS OF 1960 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

In August–September, Nici and John Dobson traveled to Ireland, London, and lastly Malaga, Spain, where John attended a formal meeting of the Duke Hand Society.

Michael Jay Levine died on October 30, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. Mickey ran a private medical practice in Holyoke, Massachusetts, for more than 40 years and was adored by his patients for his manner, sympathy, and kindness. He and his wife Marilyn were tireless travelers who made it to every continent. He is survived by his wife, daughters—Naomi, Erica, and Devorah—and six grandchildren. My condolences to his family and friends.

Jim Meyerhoff and co-authors wrote a review article on the brain-unique equivalent to the lymphatic system that was published in Military Medicine. Also, their microdissection of mouse brain into fundamentally and anatomically different regions was filmed by the Journal of Visualized Experiments.

In August, my companion Tish Geehan and I took a ferry to Orcas Island where we climbed the tower on top of Mt. Constitution (elevation 2,407 feet) and had a magnificent view of the other San Juan Islands and the Cascade Mountains to the east.

Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1950sPosted on

CLASS OF 1959 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

Greetings, great class of ’59. Your scribes wish you well in this holiday season and beyond. Two things to remember: our 65th in May of ’24, and our old friend, WAF. Now to our doings.

John and Cyndy Spurdle hosted a gathering for Sir Tom Stoppard on behalf of the International Friends of the London Library in New York to celebrate the opening of his new play, Leopoldstadt. The play is sold out in New York and in London. It is based on Stoppard’s family’s Jewish history in Vienna. The Spurdles and the Stoppards have been supporters of the London Library for ages.

Herb Steiner has a granddaughter at Wesleyan, and on a recent visit, Herb joined her in the viola section for the October concert. A great pleasure for Herb playing next to her and making music at Wes for the first time in 63 years.

Tim Day continues his support of the Marine Corps in a couple of ways. He has put 29 marine officers through the Harvard Business School MBA program as well as 40 senior marine officers through the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. Add to this the Tim and Sandy Day Canine Companion Program that provides service dogs to wounded marines and you have a real commitment to the Marine Corps.

Bob and Marsha Gillette visited Bob and Joan Chase at the latter’s home in Springfield, Virginia. They laughed about “double dating,” and all were thankful for their Wesleyan experience. Bob G. continues to lecture at various places about his two books on the rescue of Jewish teenagers from Nazi Germany in the late ’30s. Bob was recently featured on the PBS program, Hidden History. He and Marsha are still canoeing and still have not tipped over.

A sixth annual MidCoast Maine reunion found Joe and Wendy Mallory, Tom and Anne McHugh, Dick and Linda Cadigan, and Alan and Marie-Pier Brooks at the Mallory’s home in New Harbor, Maine. The usual Wesleyan memories ensued as well as more current topics.

And speaking of Dick Cadigan, he shared the following remembrance of Ned Lemkemeier who passed away on June 13 at the age of 85: “We became close friends in St. Louis, 1962, just after I finished theological school and he law school. One fun experience was when Wes asked us to visit an all-Black,  inner-city high school to recruit students. We chuckled as we drove there, wondering what our pitch would be to attract kids to a small liberal arts school in Connecticut! In later years Ned said one student did attend Wes and became a lawyer. St Louis Post-Dispatch had a big, long article that said Ned was [an] ‘Unsung Hero of St. Louis.’ His work was stellar on desegregation of public schools, leadership on boards dealing with cancer, disability, [hearing impairment], the arts. Article stated, ‘Ned was the most trustworthy person in St. Louis; smart, unpretentious, a straight shooter with a heart of gold.’ When one son asked for advice, Ned said, ‘Listen before you speak, only way to get to common ground.’ What a legacy!”

Joan Bromage wrote in October that Ted had died peacefully after a couple of years of poor health. They had many Wesleyan friends, and several of these friendships resulted in their becoming godparents.

Molly and Skip Silloway are heading back to Utah and their annual family ski trip. A week at the Alta Lodge is a fixture on their calendar. Who knows how long this can continue.

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CLASS OF 1958 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

Dan Woodhead was the first to report. He noted that the football team had a record of six wins, three losses. Overall, a good season.

Dick Goldman attended a reception on Homecoming weekend and then went to the Williams football game. After the game, dinner with friends, including Alan Brooks ’59. Dick is still working as the vice president of the Wesleyan Lawyers Association. He had a nice call with Bob Hayes, a recent widower, and looks forward to getting together. Dick winters in Key Biscayne from December 15 until March 31.

A sad note from Bob Furber, who told me of the passing of Ron Nowek on November 21. 2022. He and Ron were very close. Bob followed Ron to California in 1962. He considered Ron a perfect friend.

Tony Codding spent most of last summer at Long Lake, Maine, with his partner. It gave him an opportunity for lunch with Bill Clark, MD, in Bangor, Maine. They had not seen each other since our 50th Reunion.

Our youngest member, Neil Henry, just celebrated his 85th birthday. Doing well with his pacemaker. Went out to dinner with Liz and imbibed two glasses of wine. He is avidly watching the World Cup soccer matches.

Bob Terkhorn and family went on a Danube River boat cruise in September. They boarded the AmaMagna in Budapest and cruised for seven days visiting Vienna, Linz, and Prague. Great trip!

Dick Seabury is well. He is considering buying another 1929 Model A Ford at auction. He is still a county park commissioner and member of several historic societies.

Joan and Bob Wuerthner had mild cases of COVID and have recovered. Bob continues to play tennis and his doubles partner is his 24-year-old grandson. The young man covers the court, setting up put aways for Bob. Good team.

A note from Ezra Amsterdam explains his work status. He retired and came back part time, which is really full time. His latest book, Self-Assessment Preventive Cardiology is ready to submit to the Manual of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, 2021.

Tom Mosher and wife Heidi are doing well and expect to visit Germany next year. Sadly, Tom tells of the loss of his brother, John, class of 1955.

Kay and I are doing well. Kay gave up driving, due to her macular. I play bridge every Thursday with Ted Wieseman. I play Mondays with Barbara Levine, Art Levine’s wife. I have an occasional phone call with Rick Pank, who has lived in the same house in Rowayton, Connecticut, for 54 years.

Hope to have the 65th by Zoom.

Regards,

Cliff

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CLASS OF 1957 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

As our Class Notes move closer and closer to the front (only nine to go), I enjoy reading the notes from the 1940s. In the spring issue there was a great one from an alumnus (age 100!) who, when he was a teacher at Chicago Latin, persuaded Jack Dearinger, Bill Wallace, and Norm Wissing to come to Wesleyan. Now that’s recruiting.

On the home front, our great-grandson has become the proud big brother to identical twin sisters!  Mother and babies are doing well, after a few weeks in NICU for the little girls. We met them for the first time over Thanksgiving. Beautiful, and so small.

Al Kalb checked in with a short note and promises news for the next issue. It was still good to hear from him.

With a variety of viruses still around in Nova Scotia, Ed Porter and Lainie are limiting their social life and keeping masks handy when out and about.  He hopes that in this season a spirit of respect may transcend the other forces at play in our present world. Well said.

Jim Brown and Betty took a romantic Caribbean cruise in May. They should have stayed home. She fell and hit her head, requiring 13 stitches, and he totally tore his left rotator cuff. They’ve both recovered, but Jim is still doing rehab because he enjoys it. He’s back to his college weight of 185, packaged differently. I know what he means.

Last issue I mentioned the Zoom session we had just before our 65th. It was great, and Dick Cassie wants to do it again. I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not hopeful. Maybe in 2027 Wesleyan will organize another one for us.

Gordon Wilmot and Marilyn will be driving down to Pennsylvania in December for their granddaughter’s graduation from Penn State. For several months now, they have been clearing out the house where her mother lived for 84 years. He allows that’s not very much fun.

I got an interesting email from Lars Erik Knudsen, who as a 19-year-old, came to Wesleyan on a Fulbright Scholarship from Denmark, where he still lives. The email was in Danish, which was no problem for Outlook to translate. He recalls his first-year roommates in Harriman Hall, Bill Moody ’59 and John Briscoe ’59. After his one year in America, he returned to Copenhagen, studied law, and became an attorney. He’s been married to Grete for 57 years and they have four sons.

Stay well and have a great 2023.

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CLASS OF 1956 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

Paul Weston writes: “I came to the green, tree-lined Wesleyan campus from the windswept plains of Oklahoma in 1952. Graduated in the 1956 physics class of eight bright young men and went on to graduate work at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A friend from Wesleyan also came to Illinois, and introduced me to my future wife, Patricia, a grad student in chemistry. After 59 happy years together, she sadly succumbed to pancreatic cancer five years ago. Our granddaughter is just now starting a law career in Chicago.

“At U of I, I spent some years in a research group calling itself ‘The Biological Computer Laboratory,’ engaged in the then-new field of cybernetics. Among other things, it contributed to the body of theory underlying current artificial intelligence. Only now, with thousands of times more powerful technology, do we have working examples. (And recognition of the very real potential danger.)

“While a grad student in BCL I claimed my personal ‘15 minutes of fame.’ To show a machine capable of apparently intelligent human behavior, I designed and constructed an electronic device which instantly (well, a tiny fraction of a second) counted the number of objects in a two-dimensional field, regardless of size, shape, orientation, things inside of holes in other things, etc. It was shown on national TV, in a science magazine show hosted by Walter Cronkite.

“When Patricia and I retired from UI in 1998, we launched 20 great years of world travel, in ocean and river cruises, covering all the world’s oceans and continents, and many of its navigable rivers. This fulfilled Pat’s lifelong desire for travel, and I was a happy fellow traveler. The world’s great waterfalls, the dragon-tooth mountains of China, the spiritual aura of Paris’s Notre Dame, the sheer beauty of the Taj Mahal, the utter horror of Auschwitz, were our continued education.”

Our newest ’56 author is Peter Johnson. His book, published by Amazon/Kindle, is entitled Creating New Policy for the Caribbean Basin: The Story of Caribbean/Central America Action. It’s a substantial book—500 pages, including appendices, index, and testimonials—not exactly light reading. It will have some relevance to President Biden’s initiative in Central America. Now retired from the Foreign Service, Peter lives in Mazatlan, Mexico.     

From Dick Smith: “After graduating, I lived in a number of places as I received my medical and research training, including New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Albany, and Maine. I am, of course, now retired after 35 years of medical/research work and another 20 years of eye research at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. My wife Linda and I have been together for over 50 years and continue to live in Maine.”

Bob Calvin reminded me that the Linden Pond diaspora included Ronna and Art von Au, as well as Ginny and Dick Bauer, and also Bette and Alan Grosman.

Bob remembers: “I was best man at Alan’s wedding to Bette. Alan graduated Phi Beta Kappa at Wesleyan and went on to get an MA in political science from Yale, and a JD from the NYU Law School. Back in New Jersey, he joined the family law firm and was a leader in the practice of family law. He spoke many languages, especially Spanish, and was very active in the Cuban community. Another passion was playing the piano. One weekend when we were both living in Boston, we went to a backstage party after a Tanglewood concert. Alan decided to play some show tunes on the piano, and the performers sang along! Alan was a warm person who made friends easily. He will be missed.”

Writes Jim Jekel: “The main news from here (other than I am getting old and creaky) is that my beloved wife of 64 years, Jan, died of cancer in August. Our daughter has lived with us, so I get lots of help, but I am finding that downsizing is more difficult than anticipated.

“I roomed with Al Grosman one year (five of us in a suite at Sigma Nu), and he was a close friend.”

David J. (not W) Cox: “I have been widowed for the second time. Tamara (Compton) died on November 13 after five years of progressive liver failure ended by kidney disease. My three sons have helped me manage combined grief and practical problems. I am knocked down but otherwise in good health and will stay in our house in Leisure World, Maryland, for a while yet.”

Writes Mort Paterson: “My wife Susan, only 68 years young, is both my computer/cell phone techie and my travel agent. Last October went to France. Paris first: the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, and a quick look at where I lived junior year abroad. Good small restaurants still. Saw a fine Cenerentola at L’Opéra. Then to Eze, a small medieval hill town near Nice, overlooking the Mediterranean. (The two together have been called the ‘Nice ‘n Eze’ trip.) Steep streets, no cars. Just managed to keep up with Susan, but not on the rocky 2-mile Nietzsche’s Path—seems he loved Eze, wrote some Zarathustra there—down to the sea. In all, a great trip, but travel seems harder these days. I am very lucky and thankful I could do the trip.”

From Bob Bretscher: “All is well with me and my three daughters’ families. However, normal aging suggests that I move into Presbyterian Village retirement community here in Athens sometime this coming February. Best wishes to all and to all a good 2023.”

Finally, from John Foster: “I’m gratefully above ground and managing the vicissitudes of our age; enjoying my wife, our house, aging in place, and fortunate to have a little help along the way including our two sons [who] are also living in Marblehead.

“Would enjoy corresponding with any interested class members: harboradv@aol.com.”

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CLASS OF 1955 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE

Just after I submitted the following note, I received news that John Mosher passed away earlier this year, on March 28, 2022. He is survived by his wife Liz of 63 years, children, grandchildren, and his brother Tom ’58. Our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and classmates.

While class secretaries know the day might come when they have no news from fellow classmates to share, the occurrence of such a happening is thankfully rare. But for this guy who has held the position for more than 60 years, it’s hard for me to accept the fact there’s nothing to share other than letting you know the transition from Florida to Bethesda, Maryland, has been accepted, and once the adjustment to weather differences, all will be well and I will continue to act as your secretary with the hope of hearing from classmates in the future!

As always,  my very best wishes for good health and happiness to you and your loved ones in the New Year.