CLASS OF 1974 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Congratulations on your re-election, Governor John Hickenlooper!!!

Jeanne Demko Chiang, wife of Jaf Chiang, died on Oct. 7. Jeanne spent her entire career at Travelers Insurance as an actuary. She loved music and was also passionate about traveling. Survivors include her husband, Jaf; daughter Jasmine Chiang, a physician, and her fiancé, Ryen Schimerman of Portland, Maine; son Colby Chiang, an MD-PhD candidate at the University of Virginia; and brother Thomas Demko of Cromwell. On behalf of our class, I would like to extend condolences to Jaf and his family.

Pat Mulcahy was featured in Publisher’s Weekly about re-inventing yourself after leaving corporate life in publishing: publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/people/article/65386-publishing-after-a-life-in-publishing.html. Pat adds, “I have so enjoyed re-connecting post-Reunion with members of the class of ’74, members of the women’s group in particular. In December I attended one of Claudia Catania’s Playing on Air sessions at the BRIC Theater in Brooklyn, as did Ellen Driscoll and Jai Imbrey. Well-done short plays with top talent, broadcast on NPR. Shortly thereafter Claudia, Jai, and I went to see one of Ellen’s art shows in Williamsburg, and a few weeks ago Ellen and I went to the Frick Collection with Jai. The creative ladies of ’74 have a lot going on!”

“A follow up from Lloyd Komesar regarding the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival—the window for film submission opened on January 15 and will stay open through June 15. Films can be submitted either through our website [middfilmfest.org] or directly on the Withoutabox or FilmFreeway platforms. My new Festival e-mail address is lk@middfilmfest.org. Hope to see many of you in Middlebury from Aug. 27–30 for our inaugural event. Should be a very entertaining occasion.”

Henry Avis-Vieira reports, “My wife recently won a research grant for developing new approaches to teaching medieval studies at Georgetown University. I have about four more chapters to go on my first book. It’s a young adult fantasy adventure concerning parallel worlds.”

Claudia Catania details, “Our 40th was great fun and particularly satisfying in that it got a number of us back in touch. I ran into Becky Ramsey ’75 visiting Ellen Driscoll and her outdoor art piece at Olana in Columbia County, N.Y., (where my husband, John Cady ’71, and I spend a lot of our time). It was raining and Ellen’s huge mirrored piece looked bejeweled under all the droplets.

“Lots of alums came to view a live Playing on Air recording of a short play by Willy Holtzman. (I founded and produce Playing on Air, which records short plays for public radio and podcast). Bill Pearson, Peter Woodin ’71, Pat Mulcahy, Bob Arcaro, June Anderson, Todd Jick ’71 (thank-you, Lloyd), Inara de Leon ’75, Vicky Bijur ’75, Ellen Driscoll, Orren Alperstein (Seth Gelblum ’75’s wife), Sam Miller ’75, and Jai Imbrey all attended that December recording! Wesleyan alums Frank Wood ’83 in a Lanford Wilson short, and Halley Feiffer ’07 in one by John Guare recorded live other fall evenings. Podcasting is beginning regularly this year so soon you can hear Willy’s play that way, and there is streaming at playingonair.org and public radio.

“Our older son, Max, returned to the States for grad school in technology and education after three years teaching at Liger Learning Center near Phnom Penh. Younger son, Gavin, opened a little restaurant in New Orleans. His food truck is called The Fat Falafel and his restaurant is 1000 Figs. Here’s its Gambit review: goo.gl/IP4yQP”

Bruce Duncan: “I’m on sabbatical this semester, with the goal of establishing a new course in the physics of music. Because I’m on sabbatical, I’m no longer chair of my department, which works out nicely since this semester would have been the last one of my term. We’ll see if my colleagues re-nominate me, as some have threatened to do.”

From Jim Krantz: “My son, Daniel ’11, has been awarded a Jacobson program scholarship at NYU Law and Business schools, a four-year JD/MBA program focused on the intersection of business and law. Sarah, age 20, is a junior at Barnard, deeply involved in her studies of anthropology and art history.”

Monique Witt states, “2014 was a really productive year for us. We finished recording the last two albums for the year (a blues and a jazz), both of which are slated to drop on Valentine’s Day. That brought the number to six. Interloper has gotten amazing press reviews and is playing around the world on jazz stations. We begin 2015 with a hip hop group that takes the music back to the political roots of the 1990s, and then we begin a six-record legacy series. My older son is still spending what open time he has as my lead engineer, and he is also collaborating on a screenplay. My younger is continuing full time at Columbia and part time at Juilliard, performing around the tri-state area, and playing piano for ensemble e. They were at jazz at Lincoln Center (Dizzy’s) in February. Steven’s law firm (Wachtel Lipton) will celebrate its 50th anniversary this week. So everyone is busy.”

Nancy Collins retired from child and adolescent psychiatry earlier than expected in August 2014 for a number of reasons. Medical issues (fractured shoulder 12/24/13, immobilizer, frozen shoulder, hydroplasty, and nine months of formal PT), long commutes, more frustration with the increasing number of parents and kids who felt they didn’t need to actually do anything to get better, and more frustration with insurance requirements that eroded into the time of building relationships and educating families. She expects that her husband, Brian Mahoney ’73, will be mostly retired next winter and they’ll split their time between winters in Rio Verde, Ariz. and spring-through-fall in North Oaks, Minn., gardening. Their adult kids: Katie is an ER doc in the Twin Cities metro; Meredith has her PsyD and is working at Pace University in New York and has a private practice in Manhattan; and  Dan is a computer programmer in Milwaukee and a DJ in electronic house music on the weekends.

Tom Gelsomino writes, “I invited Jesus Christ into my life nearly 29 years ago. He is The Savior, The Messiah. The Way of Eternal Life. I desire to be with all our Wesleyan friends forever.”

SHARON PURDIE | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

 

CLASS OF 1973 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Jay Rose tells me his son, Adam Rose ’06, was married last October in Seattle. Among the guests were Peter Bernstein, Bill Gillespie, Tim Hinkle ’06, Kingsley Choi ’05, and Rebecca Rabison ’08.

John Spike says after living in Florence, Italy, since 1989, he accepted a post for three years at the College of William and Mary in Willamsburg, Va., where he is assistant director and chief curator at the Muscarelle Museum of Art. His wife Michele is adjunct professor at the Wythe School of Law, also at William and Mary. He says that every summer he returns to Florence, where his son Nicholas married Marcela last October.

David Feldman, aka David Harp, is extremely busy with his harmonica workshops. He just held a Harmonica-Based Mindfulness workshop in Lenox, Mass., in March. It was called “How to Reduce Stress, Increase Mindfulness and Blow Your Blues Away Instantly.” He is offering a one-day “Mindfulness and the Art of the Harmonica: Play Blues, Rock, Folk and Classical Music Today” at Manhattan’s New York Open Center on May 16th and a Harmonica Kirtan the night before. You can reach him at david@davidharp.com.

The intrepid Tom Kelly writes that he is splitting his time between Dallas and San Diego and became CEO of HealthSmart, a health benefits administrator last August. His first grandchild, Aurelia, was born last October. He also said that he and Michael McKenna are headed to the Rugby World Cup in Wales in October. I call Tom intrepid but he was and still is indefatigable. He would sometimes play two rugby games in a row during his time at Wesleyan.

And speaking of Mike McKenna, he writes, “I thought of Wesleyan this morning when I awoke to minus-11 degrees here in Vermont. Bracing but sunny, but made me remember there is no such thing as cold weather, only inappropriate clothes! Also had no less than eight male cardinals at the bird feeders. A veritable conclave! Really pretty against the snow and pine trees.”

Mike says he is sorry he missed our last Reunion but he has a newsy note.

“Writing from my office in our barn, the global HQ of James Farm Creative, a strategic communications consulting firm I started a few years ago, I am happy to report business has grown and we also opened an office in Boston under the name McKenna & Partners,” he says. “Doing some interesting work for a range of great clients and really enjoying it.”

He says 2014 was a good year. He and Lynn spent time in London and had some terrific visits with Peter Smith ’81 and Pete Eisenhardt ’80 and attended some Chelsea games at Stamford Bridge. The Smiths’ daughter is at Wesleyan and is playing varsity squash.

Mike’s “work travels” also brought him in touch with Claire Reade in D.C. and Tom Kelly in New York: “Both are thriving, no surprise there.”

He was also back on campus for the Amherst weekend and saw former soccer teammate Dr. Marion Stoj ’74 inducted into the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame. Soccer captain Kirk Adams was there, as well as Coach Terry Jackson. He said there was a “nice win over the Lord Jeffs.”

In Middletown, Mike also ran into Joshua Boger, who, he said, just did some “amazing photography during a dive off Fiji.” He thinks the photos will be on display in the science building. He also saw Joshua’s new Vertex offices in Boston. “Beautiful and, I’m told, has more square feet than the Prudential Tower,” says Mike.

“In my continuing efforts to become the worst golfer in history, I enjoyed some rounds with Tom Halsey ’72 and Rob Calhoun ’72, as well as Wendy Kravitz,” says Mike. He says his children are well and working in San Francisco. His son, Jake, got married last fall in Sonoma. Jake and his wife, Annie, asked him to officiate, so he got his Universal Life Minister certificate. “I’m finally ordained!” says Mike. “It was really meaningful—outdoors, perfect weather. After leaving Google, Jake joined a start-up digital communications firm and loves it.” After graduating from Middlebury, Mike’s daughter, Lee, became a ski instructor at Jackson Hole for a year and then followed her brother west, where she also is in digital advertising.

While Mike was in San Francisco, he had lunch and caught up with Harold Sogard ’74, who is CEO of an ad agency there. He had just returned from his Wesleyan Reunion and is yet another alumnus with a Cardinal daughter. Mike says he talks regularly with John Hoder, George Doran, and others in the class. “I continue to be amazed by what everyone is doing and realize how lucky I am to know them,” he says.

And what a positive way to wrap up these notes. Until next time,

PETER D’OENCH | Pgdo10@aol.com

CLASS OF 1972 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Thank you, one and all—nothing but good news this time! This very morning on Facebook I read that Paul Vidich is writing a novel, due to be published in spring of 2016. “It will be positioned as a Cold War spy novel wrapped inside literary fiction, à la Alan Furst, John Le Carre.” I can’t wait!

Chick Hancock wrote, inspired by John Perry Barlow’s ’69 obit of Oscar Look: “I was the fifth generation of my family to go to Wesleyan. My dad was in Alpha Delta Phi. God only knows in what form it exists today. Anyway, when we visited it in 1968, it had changed somewhat from 1936. He said, ‘We, juleps in hand, used to sing across the street to the Psi U’s.’ … When I was at Wesleyan, it was my great luck that David McAllester was teaching the Intro Anthropology course. That led to me becoming an Anthro major, writing a grant proposal that to this day I don’t understand, and teaching on the Navajo Reservation. This led to me becoming a Harley-Davidson dealer, flatteringly profiled in the alumni mag. About 10 years ago I visited Wesleyan with my younger daughter and sat in on a class. In filed the entire hockey team. I didn’t think that this bode well for class discussion—sorry, guys. What followed was extraordinary give-and-take. We subsequently visited another member of the Little Three where the professor had to beg the students to speak.”

Andy Feinstein happily lets me know every time Harvard Law professor Steve Shay is quoted in the New York Times. And Andy himself was quoted extensively on the subject of the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate’s report on the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Brian Hersey—bless him—took issue with my characterization of the usual tone of this column, finding it more “convivial” than “snarky.” “We’re more into mellowness than snarkiness with our age now and, in fact, the insertion of a nap break into our reading of your reports may be required by many of us, given the adrenalin rush it induces,” Hmm. I might have to insert such a break into the writing of the column now…

Charlie Smith, my junior year suitemate, wrote, following the announcement of my election to the ABA environmental section chairmanship, to remind me that I got my start in environmental law working on a National Science Foundation project along with him and future hydrologist Glenn Harris. Charlie lives in Bowling Green, Ky., which, to his surprise, was named by Forbes magazine as the third best place in the USA to which one might retire. Charlie now plans to check out the first- and second-place cities. He was present at Western Kentucky’s epic 67–66 victory over previously unbeaten Marshall. This is football we’re talking about now. The Western quarterback threw eight touchdowns, and deprived Marshall of a New Year’s bowl bid. Charlie has been at Western for 20 years, the last 12 as professor of library public services. He has authored research publications in both geology and musicology. In 2013 he received the President’s Call to Service award, a national-level recognition of volunteerism. And he was elected to the Linnean Society of London.

Could six months go by without a word from Bob “Whizzer” White? Of course not.

“Bob White reports the birth of his grand-niece, India Carson, who was born Oct. 10th, weighing in at 7.2 lbs. The mother, Theresa, Bob’s nephew, Tre, and Granddad Bill “Butch” Carson, are all doing well. For your amusement: St. Croix Diving December 2014: 16 dives; cumulative number of dives: 515. A typical day of diving: I am the one in the red fins; also, 1:04–1:20 is me—note the air bubbles coming from both ends, 3:24; the predator with the big fin on its back is not me; and why did I feel safe with the sharks circling us?—answer: there were two absolute beginners in our group (the sharks know who is who by the arms and legs flailing around). youtu.be/aQApCMnD0LM Insight into the origin of the Whizzer… My interest in diving started with TV character Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt. Mike Nelson, a former Navy diver, did judo—another interest of mine as a kid—in many of the episodes on land and in the water. At the time, I could not do judo. Wrestling became my passion. Recall that my freshman year roommate, Robert Weinberg, was a black belt in judo and brought judo to Wesleyan. Now you understand that my ‘methods of madness’ (a title borrowed from Professor Benjamin Braginsky’s book) were not random events.”

One might point out that some guy named Shakespeare had something to do with that title.

This past October I was privileged to be at Wesleyan for a celebration honoring Rabbi George Sobelman, who died a few years ago. George’s wife, Nina, and all four of their children—many of whom we remember as youngsters running madly around the Wesleyan campus and are now all quite prominent in diverse fields. Also there representing our class were Mike Busman, Karyn Scher, and Rivka Raffel, wives of Eddie Ohlbaum and Chuck Raffel. David Rabban ’71 was one of the organizers, and also among the attendees were Andy Baker ’71 and Todd Jick ’71, Jeff Richards ’69, Bob Wolkoff ’73, Pam van der Meulen ’74, and doubtless others to whom I apologize for my failing memory. A wonderful occasion to remember special times with a very special man.

SETH A. DAVIS | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
17 Wolf Road, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520

CLASS OF 1971 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Aloha. Well, I did ask for news and all I can say is, “when it rains it pours,” or if in Boston, “when it snows it definitely snows!!!” I received so much news you are going to have to go to: classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1971. Please read the long version, I could not do justice to your informative e-mails.

Bob Baranoff retired in June and is expecting first grandchild and other things….

Brett S. Goldstein: “After having retired from the rabbinical pulpit in Hollywood Beach, Fla., I’ve officiated at my 1,000th wedding.”

Mark Wallach: “I have become a grandfather: My son, Philip Wallach ’05 and his wife, Vera Krimnus ’05 became the parents of Bina (Wes class of 2036?) in July of 2014.

John Cuddy is getting ready for a fourth year of Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Saw Norm Leong: Sadly his brother died, and happily his stepdaughter just had twins.

Dave Lindorff was in London trying to cadge an interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. That and thiscantbehappening.net is “the only news organization in the US to be labeled a threat by the Department of Homeland Security.”

R. Anderson Sutton: “I’m dean of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa since Aug. 2013, after teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 31 years.”

John Schimmel: “I live in Los Angeles with my wife, Maureen Donley, and three children. After a long career as a bass player and a Hollywood studio executive, now I am a producer and head of linear content for Cloud Imperium Games (the largest crowd-funded project in history).”

Bob Yaro: “I retired as president of Regional Plan Association in December after 25 years with this Manhattan-based urban planning think tank. I’m also teaching at the UPenn School of Design. Expecting first grandchild from daughter Jennifer Yaro ’06.”

Jim Rizza: “Fourth granddaughter, Lilyana O’Connell, born to daughter Jess and son-in-law Aaron, Jan. 5th, healthy and happy. I’m still doing a little counseling, writing, guitar performance, flying airplanes, and semi-serious photography.”

Robin Gillam: “I’m now broken-hearted by the death of my wife, Judy, née Johnson, Oct. 20, 2014. This was the end of a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer that began in early 2011. I mostly have been occupying myself with hobbies—gym, motorcycle, choir and guitar playing, and now cooking and property maintenance.”

David Foster: “My career as a software geek is winding down after 20 years at Oracle Corp. Will retire next year. My volunteer work for the Alzheimer’s Association has me finishing my second year as chair of the board of directors of the Minnesota/North Dakota chapter.”

Bill Davis: “After 42 years with the New England School of Art & Design I have officially retired. My wife, Patty, and I (married in 1969), are still very much together. Our first grandchild, Nate, is now 18 months old. I have been very pleased to see Wesleyan president, Michael Roth ’78, actively promoting the value of a liberal arts education.”

Bob LeRoy is founder and coordinator of Plant-based Prevention Of Disease (p-pod.org).

Bert Whetstone (’71 and MA ’75): “I use my psychology training to do adventure-based team development and leadership training with young people. Please check out my site: drbertwhetstone.com.” After 30 years in New Hampshire, he lives on the Shenandoah River in Charles Town, W.Va.

Andy Glantz: “I still design and build custom, sculptural furniture. And I spend a lot of time renovating our home in Scottsdale, Ariz.”

Alan Epstein: “I have been very active in my research—immunotherapy. I am starting a new cancer biotech company. We now live in Pasadena one mile from the Rose Bowl.”

Warren White: “I am cooking and baking for the poor and homeless through the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, Room in the Inn, Safe Haven, and The Nashville Food Project.

Stewart Malloy: “Three children with lovely wife Claudia—two Brown graduates and one Yale. Three fantastic grandchildren (Stella, Elliot, and Clayton) under 3 have put a new spin on life!! Malloystewart@gmail.com.”

Demetrie Comnas: “Got together with John Billock at the occasion of the christening of his great nephew (his sister’s grandson) here in Pennsylvania. I spend a fair amount of time on our farm in Greece (highgroves.com) and believe that the EU has cut Greece a lousy financial deal.”

Bill Boulware: “I am now living in the D.C. area. My wife has a PR company that specializes in crisis management. If you’ve seen the show Scandal…she is the real Olivia Pope. The show was inspired by her and her work, and she serves as co-executive producer while still running her D.C. firm. My mother is alive and kicking at 91 and still lives in Harlem—-by herself. I co-wrote a book a couple of years ago, Long Shot, that was published by HarperCollins. I’m not involved much with television anymore but it amazes me how well Wesleyan is represented in that field.”

Mary O. McWilliams: “I just retired from full-time work and am enjoying a mixture of corporate and nonprofit board work, civic activities and travel. I’m active but don’t have to rush anymore! maryoliver.mcwilliams@gmail.com.”

Mark Merlis’s fourth novel, JD, will be published by the University of Wisconsin Press in March 2015. Mark was married in June 2013 to Bob Ashe, after a 31-year-engagement.

Vic Pfeiffer: “After retiring in 2008 from a career in healthcare/employee benefits/human resources strategy consulting with The Segal Company’s D.C. office, my wife and I moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore to small historic Chestertown (1706). We renovated an old (1880s) house. Daughter Alex Pfeiffer ’06 gave birth to Riley Pfeiffer Reynolds in Aug. 2014, in San Diego. We had a great visit last June from Pat Callahan and wife Ann Goodwin ’79.”

Blake P. Allison: “I am still architecting away in Cambridge; latest project is a classroom building for a small special-needs school in Lexington. Martha’s Vineyard is quite a crossroad for Wesleyan alums: Bob Julier, Peter Woodin, John Abrams ’75, David White ’70, Morgan Muir ’73, Dusty Carter ’69, Tim Thompson ’73 (from Porter, Maine). Life is good!”

John Lippincott plans to retire in March as president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Last September, his daughter, Sarah Lippincott ’07, married Brendan O’Connell ’08. In retirement he expects to continue to use his expertise to advance educational institutions. lippincottj@verizon.net

Graeme Bush: “I am still the chair of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, coming up on my 15th year in that role. Kids are all great—Emmy is in real estate in NYC, Jenny is in Tel Aviv working with an incubator called Elevator, Sam is in Vietnam traveling before he finishes at Oregon and starts at Guggenheim Partners in June, youngest, Andie, is going to Lehigh in the fall, and Wendy and I will—finally—be empty nesters. Wendy is very involved in several organizations that foster Arab Israeli engagement. gbush@zuckerman.com.”

Fran Pawlowski (The Gallup Pole): “After more than 40 years, I retired from full-time teaching  last May. My legal business, Gallup Process Service, has been an interesting sideline since 1978. My wife (Delphine) and I are the proud parents of seven children and 11 grandchildren. I look forward to our 45th Reunion with great anticipation and hope to see many, many classmates. If you’ve never attended a Reunion, or haven’t for a long time, I invite you to attend our 2016 event. Peace.” I think Fran said it the best: See you in 2016! Aloha.

NEIL J. CLENDENINN | Cybermad@msn.com
PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714

CLASS OF 1970 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Great to hear from you and glad you got in touch. Totally coincidentally, I went skiing last week in Aspen with two other Wesleyan '70 grads, and I'm attaching the photo here - I'm in the middle and Guy Prevost is on the left, and Mark Fuller on the right.  Great time.   All the best.   Robby Laitos.
Great to hear from you and glad you got in touch.
Totally coincidentally, I went skiing last week in Aspen with two other Wesleyan ’70 grads, and I’m attaching the photo here – I’m in the middle and Guy Prevost is on the left, and Mark Fuller on the right. Great time.
All the best.
Robby Laitos.

Aloha, all. We approach our 45th Reunion (May 21-24). See WesConnect for more. Meanwhile, here’s some news from some of your classmates.

We begin by offering our sympathies to Bruce Williams, who lost his mother just before Christmas. The surviving parents of our classmates are getting up there. I know some of us cringe a bit whenever the phone rings at late hours. Let’s wish the parents well.

Thanks to Jerry Schwartz, who, I believe, was last in New Britain. He continued to say he’s officially retired but still managing websites “here and there.” Also says, “I’ve been editing other people’s fiction, and have an item or two of my own almost ready to publish. I do audio and video editing, too. All of that is just for fun. In other words, it doesn’t bring in any money.” Jerry also wrote, “I’m in touch with Al Zimmermann, who lives in NYC. We get together a few times a year for dinner and theater. I also get to see Jerry Barton once a year, when he comes back from Austria for a visit. Jerry Barton is a wonderful photographer, and just had a 2015 photo calendar published.” There’s much more, but space limits prevail, so look on WesConnect.

And then, as if by magic, I also heard from Al Zimmermann: “Having failed Retirement 101 twice, I’m trying yet again. Mostly I’m now spending my time managing software development projects on a pro bono basis for theater-related nonprofit entities. It’s still work but, because I’m not getting paid, I can claim to have finally gotten at least part of this retirement thing right. My current project is the re-development of the Internet Off-Broadway Database (iobdb.org) for the Lucille Lortel Foundation.” Well, on behalf of those for whom retirement isn’t in sight, enjoy it for us!

Had an “out of office” e-mail from David Ouimette, who is practicing law. He’s in Phoenix. Still trying to get more details.

Prince Chambliss writes, “Although Lawrence Madlock (long time medical doctor), Thurman Northcross ’71 (continuing his work with business trends), and I all live here in Memphis and share many of the same circles of friends and activities, we don’t get together and share news about WesU nearly as much as we should. I just saw both of them within the past week.” Prince also wrote, “I spent some quality time with Harvey Yazijian in Boston a few months ago when I had occasion to be there for a law school class reunion. I know he and a few others plan to be present in Middletown for our 45th. I look forward to seeing you there.” I’m sure he means the plural “you,” so be there or be square. See more on WesConnect.

It’s been ages since we heard from Brian Silvestro, who practices law, coaches high school basketball, and resides in Southport, Conn. He has four sons “living in four different time zones. John is a captain in the USMC and stationed in San Diego as a C-130 pilot. Tyler is in Brooklyn and is a landscape architect. Jamie is in Chicago and is an architect, and Mike is in Colorado Springs where he works in the hotel business. Jane and I are first-time grandparents to Brooke and Ben born 7/4/14 in Colorado. Life goes on. No complaints. Very blessed.” Brian also mentioned that he “could not get any of my boys to go to Wes.” He’s actually a bit amused by it, except for the costs of college. Congratulations on the grandchild and all else.

Meanwhile, in France, Ward Rinehart is busy with his editing company (“WHO is our chief client, but we are also working for a number of other organizations that work in international health.”) but not too busy to take time out for eye surgery (which, in typical Ward style, led to some interesting versions of the Snellen eye chart) and not too serious to overlook a new story of Boris, the snow-loving cat, entitled Boris Takes a Hike. (Obviously aimed at a generation which doesn’t think of Natasha, Rocky, and Bullwinkle at the mention of Boris.) See jura-eds.com/boristakesahike.html. If you’re interested in the Snellen chart “riffs,” as Ward calls them, you could “Google” the phrase “Jura Snellen,” but that gets you an image of coffee makers or something. (Weird.) Try this link instead: every10miles.com/eye-chart-riffs/.

Not too far away, in Norway, Brad Matthews continues “consulting internationally on productive collaborative innovation and change readiness.” He plans to “spend more time in 2015 and beyond sculpting for fun and profit.” Brad says he’s “staying in close touch with Bill Davis ’71 and Eric Buergers.” He wishes everyone “good living ahead.” Well said. I asked Brad if learning Norwegian wasn’t quite challenging and he replied, “Norwegian is not simply challenging to learn. Add in hearing that’s not as good as it used to be, and memory challenged to remember the English vocabulary that was second nature to me previously, and you have a largely disabling mix.” As they don’t say in Norwegian, I assume, oy.

And speaking of Yiddish, fun-loving Mark Goodman is preparing to travel in Europe after converting a camper. He’s consulted Elliot Daum, who reportedly goes to Burning Man festivals in a motor home, and plans to enlist the help of Andy Leonard, who Mark describes as “pretty knowledgeable in vehicular matters.” Mark also has consulted with David Cantor in Brussels and others. As he puts it, “More meshuggene escapades!”

Sheila and Steve Ingraham visited Kaua’i in October, and Steve wrote this account: “My bride Sheila and I are still glowing from a fall trip to Kaua’i. After surviving the obligatory helicopter ride (doorless!), we met up with a colorful local: an Alaskan transplant, our very own agent Russ Josephson. Not content with merely being the hub in our Wesleyan wheel, he led us through bumpy back country, past flowery vines, singing birds, and waterfalls to his personal paradise: a verdant plot of red earth and palm trees where, one day, he and Vera will put on stilts the most ecofriendly place imaginable. It may even make Ben Stiller, his neighbor on a nearby hill, blush. Just don’t expect Russ to throw out a date for completion. As with Jefferson’s Monticello, projects of this magnitude take time. And anyway, as was drilled into us at Wes, it’s really about the journey, the process, and not the product. Right, Russ? He was a fine guide.” All I did was drive them the .8 mile up the iffy road to our housesite, I promise you.

Embarrassed by undue attention, I prodded and Steve added: “I could also write about the King Kong mountain emerging from the mists. Or about the sea turtles that bounced around in the Poi’pu surf just below our condo. Or about hiking along those spectacular bluffs and walking those gorgeous beaches . . . all of it so therapeutic. But maybe what I miss most are those ocean breezes that were always with us. They never disappoint.” A career in travel writing may await, Steve.

And finally, this from Maurice Hakim: “I am still very active professionally. In fact, I have two companies, Teacrest and Mr. Mo’s Beverages. The former manufactures ready-to-drink organic teas (T42), the latter, organic lemonades (Mr. Mo’s). Most of our business centers on private label. Customers are high-end grocery chains such as Earth Fare, Heinen’s, and Kings Supermarkets.

“My wife and I moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 11 years ago from Bedford, N.Y. We are now in Jupiter, alongside the beach. Those who attended may remember the birth of our daughter Alexandra just before our 20th Reunion. Wow, she is now 24 (!), lives in Manhattan and works at Bloomberg in the marketing department. She loves it.

“Since our 40th, I have kept close contact with Jim Elston and his lovely wife, Meckle. They now reside full time in S. Bristol, Maine. For the past two summers we have rented a cottage there and have enjoyed spending time with them. Dinner at their house is an extravaganza. Jim, as you know, has a very successful wine importing business. His house has fabulous cellar stocked with some of the best French wines, which he is never reluctant to share with his guests. Always professorial, Jim will guide you through his cellar and provide insight into every bottle.

“I miss being up North, especially during the spring and fall. We’re looking for a cottage along the Connecticut shore, specifically, Clinton or Stonington.”

Listening to music from our college years as I write. I propose “My Back Pages” (Byrds’ version, 1967) as a theme for our 45th Reunion.

Russ Josephson | russ_josephson@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754

CLASS OF 1969 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Find Darius Brubeck’s latest CD, Cathy’s Summer, on Viperrecords or CDBaby. “Am attending the South African Jazz Educators’ Conference. Following are gigs in UK and Europe for my London-based quartet. Granddaughter Lydia Elmer ’17 is a junior at Wesleyan.”

Mike Fink wrote, “Youngest daughter is doing well at U. of South Carolina, heading toward an athletic training major. She is passionate about training and sports injury research.”

Peter Pfeiffer said, “After 40-plus years of logging Maine’s woods, I’ve found a way to make money at it: write about it. Hard Chance, Tree Farming in Troubled Times. mainauthorspublishing.com. Five-star review from Nick Browning. Haven’t quit my day job, though this waist-deep snow is slowing me down.”

John Bach paints houses, is the Quaker chaplain at Harvard, and is proud of Wes’s lead in providing scholarships for vets. “I bang the drum of not confusing learning with education; it’s more important to be a good person than just a good student.” Eric Michaels retired from 37 years as a lawyer and baby-sits full-time for two toddler grandkids. Al Cover officially retired from teaching at Stony Brook U. “The dean made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I didn’t.”

Ron Reisner wrote, “Saw old Dekes at the Herb Kenny Tourney in November—Dick Emerson ’68, Steve Knox, Pat Kelly, and Dave Revenaugh ’72. Want a bigger group at the basketball/golf outing in June. We mourn Dave Crockett’s death, who, along with roommate Rick Peace, always found humor in whatever temporary trouble confronted the Deke House. Some minor surgery corrected a vision problem—I learned about real friends when the wheels started to come off.”

Russ Helgren “had a great weekend in Harbour Town, N.C., with six buddies from Fairfield, including George Amarant. Ostensibly a golf weekend, George, a non-golfer, was designated cart driver. I split time between Virginia Beach and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Life is good.”

Cilla, Isak, and Rick Pedolsky sent “Health, Happiness, and Peace.”

The East Hampton (N.Y.) Star reviewed Rameshwar Das’s new book, Polishing the Mirror, a collaboration with Ram Dass, which recounts experiences with Maharaj-ji. The book’s simple statements offer an alternate way of looking at life and its purpose. Ramesh wrote, “Quiet the mind and open the heart. Create a daily spiritual practice—polish the mirror. Meditation, recitation of a mantra, reflection, chanting, and silence are recommended. Embrace aging and dying. Open your heart to unconditional love, serve selflessly, accept fear and suffering.”

Steve Pfeiffer checked in from Johannesburg.

Visit Tom Goodman at tomgoodman.com.

Eric Greene wrote, “I’m at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show to buy inventory. Eighty degrees while shop in the Berkshires is buried in snow.”

Doug Bell wrote, “Grasslands continues to grow. Three new partners with years of agriculture, forestry, and financial experience. The global appetite for farmland and forests is accelerating. We have solutions in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. I failed retirement. Life is an exciting ride right now. Carolyn and I are in our 20th year and still love the dance, passionately. Lucky guy I am. Blessings to all.”

Harry Nothacker “finished 12/40 (third American) in the 65-69 age group at the Ironman World Championship in Kona. It was hot and windy. I started training when I retired and the rest, they say, is history. Many folks helped, including roommate Dave Farrar, who was my support person when I swam across the Chesapeake this past summer.”

Mike Fairchild “traveled with son Scott ’00. Wild rickshaw rides, tigers in the Ranthambore National Park, cremation ceremonies along the Ganges. Wife Susie continues dancing at libraries, hospitals, country fairs, nursing homes. I photograph public ceremonies and recently produced videos on Christ’s life for St. John’s Church in Cold Spring Harbor. Daughter Marnie works for Amnesty International. She observed in Ferguson, and we worked together at an Amnesty event in NYC that featured women speaking on behalf of human rights and freedom of speech.”

Steve Broker wrote, “George Creeger taught us how to read critically. His analysis of Billy Budd was an eye-opener for a young boy from Ohio and Virginia. After MLK’s death, George walked into class and read ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.’ No introduction or conclusion, one of the most powerful moments I experienced as an undergrad. I took his ‘Early Connecticut House’ when working for the GLSP. His knowledge of architecture was extraordinary. Few teachers had as much lasting impact as did George Creeger.”

Jim Adkins had a “great Christmas. So much family at son’s house in New Hampshire—eight people, five dogs, and everyone got sick. Still work three half-days—trying to find the right balance.”

Alex Knopp “chairs Connecticut’s US Civil Rights Commission, is involved with Sheff vs. O’Neill, and lectures at Yale Law School. Wife Bette retired after many years as a language arts teacher in Norwalk.”

Gordy Crawford wrote, “I lost a great long-term friend when Davy Crockett passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Till the end, he traveled, was with family and friends, golfed, maintained a good spirit, was a fighter, and we all miss him. After a long time at Capital Research and Management, I do some board work, golf, fly fish, and travel with Dona.”

Mid-February. Intersections obscured by snow piles. Shovel. Eat. Sleep. Packing for SC and Abby and Benton’s birthdays. “Papa Charlie” loves it.

CHArLIE FARROW | charlesfarrow@comcast.net
1 Cold Spring Rd., East Haddam, CT 06423

CLASS OF 1968 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

I spoke to Dave Webb last summer: very busily retired on Cape Cod after 42 years at Choate. One of the kindest guys in our class, it is no surprise that he volunteers at Hospice two days a week. Barb is volunteering at a couple of libraries and arts venues, and both are in several book clubs. Dave is auditing courses at a community college—trying for fluency in French. They have a son (and daughter-in-law) nearby who own two successful restaurants and they care for two grandchildren regularly. And they’re traveling: a Viking cruise on the Danube, two months in Florida in the winter, and lots more local trips. One thing they regretted about their careers at Choate was that they were not able to live in their own home, so while many of us are shedding ours, they’re now enjoying theirs. Dave is in touch with Ron Gwiazda ’67 whose career was in education, mostly at Boston Latin, and with Hank Sprouse ’62 who, with his wife, will be traveling with Dave and Barb on the Danube.

In September, Wallace Murfit came East, chartered a 40-foot sloop and sailed the upper Narragansett Bay and out to the Vineyard. Judy and I spent a week in October in the Czech Republic. I love Europe but, as my walking is quite limited due to tendinopathy, it was frustrating hobbling around the cobblestones. Planning a mid-winter get-away to Nassau. Amby Burfoot finished 11th out of 1,787 entrants in the 65-69 division of the 4.8 mile Thanksgiving Day Manchester Road Race. Dave Losee had a trifecta in 2014: ably chaired his high school reunion in June, had his son, Jamie, get married in July, and had successful open-heart surgery in September.

I heard from Bill Beeman: In January, he joined actor Tony Randall and Senator James Inhofe in Tulsa Central High School’s Hall of Fame. Bill is chair of the anthropology department at the University of Minnesota, and is noted for his research on neuroscience and cognition in conjunction with music and theatrical performance, as well as his expertise in the understanding of cultures of the Middle East and their influence on international affairs. Last June, he married Frank Farris, a MIT graduate, who is a mathematician teaching at Santa Clara University in California. They’ve been long-distance partners for 30 years.

Michael Wolfe’s Cut These Words Into My Stone: Ancient Greek Epitaphs was shortlisted for the prestigious PEN Award for Poetry in Translation for a book-length translation of poetry into English published in 2013. Paul Spitzer was in the pulpit a couple of times last summer sharing with congregations his transcendent feeling for nature. In November, Brian Frosh’s campaign to be Maryland’s attorney general was successful. I heard from John Stinchfield ’69: in Washington, D.C., recently retired after a long stint as general counsel for a real estate/development firm and now volunteering in a preschool class in which the head teacher is his daughter.

It is my sad duty to report that John Hollenbach passed away April 4th. After Wes, John earned a master’s in architecture from Harvard. He moved to Vermont in 1973 and headed several firms that did both design and construction of commercial and residential buildings in the Champlain Valley. He and his wife, Beth Philips, raised their children, Jake and Liz, in an old North Ferrisburgh farmhouse. Always a hands-on dad who hiked, biked, canoed, and skied with his kids, John took great pleasure every spring planting a vegetable garden laid out with architectural precision. He was an enthusiastic bird hunter, loved sports on TV, enjoyed good beer, and competed in the Sugarbush Triathlon. In 2000, John and Beth moved to Bangladesh where they worked at the American International School/Dhaka (AISD), and John renovated and expanded AISD, and created exciting educational spaces. In 2006, they moved to Cairo where John headed up the design and construction of a new campus for Cairo American College, a K–12 school. During 2011 and 2012, John worked for the International School of Kuala Lumpur, overseeing the development of a new campus. He thrived working in these new, and very challenging, cultural and construction environments. His obituary noted the obvious: “John’s was a life well-lived.”

As he was my mate on the crew and a good friend, it is with particular sadness that I report Davey Crockett ’69 died of pancreatic cancer in Seattle Nov. 24th. His career was in international finance and he lived in Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Macau. While overseas, he raised his children, David and Cordy, and made many friends in the expat community. Visiting more than 100 countries all over the globe in his lifetime, Davey’s travels were often motivated by a desire to visit old friends, better understand history, and discover how places had changed since he was last there. He had an abiding faith in God, and loved golf, running, rowing and his place on Vashon Island. There he grew raspberries, potatoes, roses, rhubarb, apples, pears, plums, and more. He made jars of jam and applesauce and eventually started brewing beer and making wine using the fruits he had grown. In college, he might have seemed like the brawling defensive tackle that he was. But when Judy and I visited, he met us at the airport and most graciously showed us about. We saw him with his son and daughter, and we talked about the death of his first wife, Taffy, and how he had cared for her at the end. He grilled us salmon and we had a salad from his garden. There were flowers at our bedside. He felt very fortunate to live the life he did and especially to meet Kitty Lee, a wonderful woman with whom he shared a very happy second marriage. Indeed, despite his dire prognosis, they had been able to enjoy a lovely cruise in the Mediterranean just weeks before his passing.

LLOYD BUZZELL | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

CLASS OF 1967 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

I’ve continued to receive e-mails about memories of Wesleyan people and events, as well as current life experiences. Here’s some more…

Don Stone, who celebrated his 35th wedding anniversary with his wife, Betty, not long ago, lives in the Bay Area, with two grown children and two granddaughters within 15 minutes (“it doesn’t get any better than that!”). For more than 25 years he has been active in a Jewish Renewal community in Oakland (Kehilla Synagogue) and he continues to work part time at St. Mary’s College, a Catholic Lasallian Christian Brothers liberal arts institution 10 miles east of Oakland.

Jim Vaughan retired from a health care investment banking firm at the end of last year but signed up to teach The Business of Health Care course in 2015 to MPA students at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. He is president of the Board of Trustees of the Frost Valley YMCA (“the largest independent Y camp in the U.S. and arguably the best”). In the small-world department, Mike Ketcham recently joined the Board. Mike had retired as senior executive at a YMCA in the state of Washington and had previously worked at the Frost Valley Y. Cheng Ong ’94 is also on the Frost Valley Board.

Jim Kates’ book of translations of selected poems of Mikhail Yeryomin won the second Cliff Becker Book Prize in Translation in 2013 and was published in the fall of 2014 by White Pine Press. Jim also encourages me to inform you that the Wesleyan Progressive Alumni/ae Network (WesPAN) has been revived on Facebook.

Bob Runk discovered some digital home music studio software and has become obsessed (his term, not mine) with writing and producing music. He has a music site, which is called The Runkus Room (bobrunk.com). What’s he do? “Probably the most fun I have had so far is doing… are you ready?… a rap video with a great guy named Jeff Kitt (cousin to Eartha!). What a blast: youtube.com/watch?v=q4Qv4w8hTgs”

Bill Klaber wrote: “My book, The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell, that was published last year by ‘indie’ publisher Greenleaf Book Group, has been purchased by St. Martin’s Press in New York, and will re-debut as a St. Martin’s book in February [2015]. It has also won a few minor awards including a Stonewall Book Award for a book with gay/lesbian content, an Amelia Bloomer Award for a book with feminist content, and a Shelf Unbound Award as one of the ‘notable’ indie books of the year. That and a buck-fifty will get you a ride on the subway.”

Jim Sugar’s film, Swimming: Mind, Body, Spirit, was selected by the California Film Institute for inclusion in the 2014 Mill Valley Film Festival. He spends a lot of time these days “seeing, writing, producing, directing, and editing movies.” When he wrote, he was “halfway done with a film on the return of harbor porpoises to San Francisco Bay after a 60-year absence.”

Bruce Morningstar and his wife, Katie, live in what he calls “Paradise, Rosarito, Baja, Mexico,” about which he says, “It is Florida on the water without that horrible humidity, and no hurricanes.” My comment: Watch out, Bruce, for Don Henley has warned us, “Call someplace paradise—kiss it good-bye.” They visited Wesleyan in Oct. 2014, when his father, Joe Barry Morningstar ’39, was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame (his father won eight letters in three sports—football, basketball, and baseball). Their son, Kris, a chef for 12 years, just opened his first restaurant, in West Hollywood, called Terrine.

My college roomie, Steve Sellers, continues to live in Lexington, Mass., and work with SmartCloud, a start-up software company that provides energy planning services to various municipalities in New England but also elsewhere in the USA and abroad. It all happens in the cloud (smartcloudinc.com).

Jim Cawse, who holds 28 patents and has written many articles and a book, has added a blog to the website (cawseandeffect.com/chemistry-research/) for his consulting business, Cawse and Effect LLC. (“Experimental Design for Highly Productive Chemistry”). In February he did his first Webinar (“Effective Experimental Planning to Get the Most out of Your Freeslate Tools”).

And, finally, some sad news. Our classmate, Steve Hass, died at his home in Parkesburg, Pa., on July 31, 2014. Steve was married for 37 years to his wife, Jean, and had four children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. After majoring in chemistry at Wesleyan, Steve did post-graduate work in accounting at Drexel and Penn. He then became self-employed as an accountant. Donations in his honor may be made to The Jackson Laboratory, Development Office, and P. O. Box 254, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609.

Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu

CLASS OF 1966 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

Aloha, all. As you read this I hope the rebirth of the summer sun is emerging on all of you. Remember those first days of warmth lounging on the roofs of our respective fraternity houses and balconies? Great days! We send congratulations to Bill Dietz who last year assumed the new position of director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. At a time when most of us are thinking of retiring, Bill is taking on new challenges and we all wish him well in this position. Prior to this, Bill served 15 years as the director of US DHHS’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in Atlanta. I want to thank Bill personally for the times we talked and his interests in issues around obesity relating to Native Hawaiian health.

Tom Pulliam checked in and reported having had a great time here in Hawai’i with his family. He noted that his wife, Alice, first surprised him with the Hawai’i trip on his birthday last November and then his daughter, Amanda, surprised him further by getting the whole family to come. Tom noted his grandchildren, Even and Jay, became riders of “shorebreak” at the Banzai Pipeline (better than most of us!) and that both play Under 8 rugby under the watchful eyes of their coach—who is none other than “Grandpa Tom.”

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of another of our ’66 brethren, Robin Burns. Robin was a KNK brother, a Thorndike Scholar graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and a member of Wesleyan’s Yachting Club for all four years. Robin received his MA from Columbia University’s School of Architecture and then joined the City of New York’s Department of Design and Construction where he worked for four decades to improve the design of public buildings in NYC. “He was a good and caring man, taken too soon” (NY Times, 2/8/15). All our thoughts go out to Robin’s wife, Rena, and daughter, Jenny. Rena noted: “Robin and I had a good long run—42 years since we met and 38 years of marriage. We had a great love, and we left nothing unsaid.” Wish that we all have these same experiences and remembrances.”

As you read this, we are now only about a year away from our 50th! Can you believe that? I want to report that your 50th Committee headed up by Rick Crootof is already hard at work to make this a wonderful memorable experience for all. Frank Burrows is putting together our class book, ably assisted by Jack Knapp. Our university coordinator is Pam Vasiliou; her assistant is Nicola Bennett.

Both are working diligently on our behalf and we thank them for joining us in this effort. So…all of you—beginning with Tony Alibrio and concluding with John Zywna…whether you were KNK, CC, EQV, Chi Psi, DKE, AD, JWC Psi U, Gamma Psi, Beta, or Independents or non-aligned, please put on your calendars next year’s 50th, as we want to see you all. For we need to keep alive the wonderful, and sometimes sad, events of our Wes experiences…from the food fights in the Foss Hill dining hall (remember those flying baked potatoes and butter rolls?); to Dean Baisch joining us at our House Parties; to our memorable “road trips” to Vassar, Holyoke, Wellesley, Smith, Sarah Lawrence, and, yes, even to the New Haven School of Nursing and the Connecticut College for Women; to Tom Gulick’s “Miracle Interception” at Trinity; to “Dirty River Days”; to the linking of arms and joining with Dr. Martin Luther King in the dining hall singing “We Shall Overcome,” to listening to Wilbert Snow’s poetry; and to the tragic loss of President Kennedy. And we built upon all of this because of the confidence exuded in us by Bob Norwine (“Mahalo,” John Driscoll ’62) that we could become Wes Men and with the help of all our teachers and mentors under the guidance of Vic Butterfield we became Wes Men and, today, have become the wonderful potpourri of people that we are today. So Classmates, stay tuned for more info. Remember: Be there or be square!

A final thought: There is an old Hawaiian proverb which talks about the extent of family, and it was written for the folks living in the district of Ka’u on the Island of Hawai’i. I have taken a little liberty by inserting a new word in place of “Ka’u.”

Mai ka uka a ke kai

Mahi kahi pae a kahi pae o Wesleyan (Ka’u)

He ho’okahi no ‘ohana

From the uplands to the sea

From end to end of Wesleyan

There is only one family

Have a wonderful summer.

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com
1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822
808/944 8601

CLASS OF 1965 | 2015 | ISSUE 1

The big news remains our upcoming 50th Reunion and hope everyone will make the effort to be there! Even for a day, it will be worth it, I’m sure. In the course of the Reunion planning and outreach we’ve received a lot of information on classmates, much of which will be in our Reunion book (to be distributed at Reunion) and in the addendum to be distributed later.

Here are a few tidbits:

Gar Hargens writes: “Great to read about the work going into our Reunion. Thank you all. I still have my head down, cranking out the work. Unfortunately, several large projects may be peaking in late May but I hope to join you. The two ($4 and $30 million) are both trying to meet LEED, Passive House, and Living Building Challenge standards. As Bill Blakemore and Jerry Melillo address global climate change, I’d be glad to comment on what’s happening (or not) at the local project level.” Gar is president/owner of Close Associates (architects) in Minneapolis.

From Peter Babin: “After graduating from Wesleyan, went to law school, and then briefly practiced law before time in the military. Then I migrated into the world of commercial property, casualty and health insurance. Positions held include: vice president, risk management, May Department Stores, St. Louis, and CEO for insurer sponsored health/HMO plans in Denver; Dayton, Shreveport, and Helena. Retired in 2005 as CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Montana. Married in 1972 to Barbara Ellen Makinen, have three daughters and four grandchildren (with a set of twins ‘in development’). Currently living about half of each year on the northwest coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, and the remainder on our small ranch south of Helena. Have kept my hand in business with property development activities in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Hawaii. Unfortunately, I’m unsure if I can work around scheduling conflicts with the 50th Reunion, but best to all and thanks for the memories!”

Bill Brown writes: “Mr. Excitement never left town. I ride by Wesleyan every day. In our senior year—February 1965—I was hired by the state of Connecticut, to teach emotionally challenged children at Connecticut Valley Hospital. I stayed for 32 years and retired at 53, in 1997, the day before my first granddaughter was born. Had fun babysitting her and her little sister, for years…. I was disappointed to see that Dean Barlow left Wesleyan when we did. He was the most important faculty member for me. The Argus cover featured me receiving my diploma from him at graduation time—the shortest graduate at 5 feet, 3 inches, and the second youngest. They should have chosen the student behind me, handsome Donald Brown!”

Bruce Patterson writes briefly: “Still married (tolerant wife). Two kids. Son lives in Stamford, daughter lives in NYC, so our plans are to stay in Stamford for the time being. Semi-retired. One day a week at West Marine. Rest of the time self -employed as a marine surveyor (seasonal in New England). My hobby is sailing.”

Update for Carl Calendar: After receiving his doctorate, Carl became a teacher and has been dean of humanities at Brookdale Community College on the Jersey Shore where he has worked for 44 years. Carl says: “Teaching the students in a community college has always been my passion—I love the diversity.”

He and his wife, Jody, have two sons, Bart, 46, in Montpellier, France, a journalist; and Shane, 29, an attorney in New Jersey. They live in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Moultonborough, N.H., where they spend summers and a few winter weekends. Jody is the editor of the Asbury Park Press.

In the 1990s, Carl worked for the State Department in Singapore, Malaysia, and Borneo, doing training for journalists. In 2005, he walked 204 miles on the Camino de Santiago on a pilgrimage to the grave of St. James.

Carl’s best Wesleyan Memories: “touch football and volleyball before dinner, party weekends, sensational teachers, and wonderful students who taught me as much as the professors.”

Marsh Cusic writes: “I’m retired from medical practice and the Navy and spending more time with our family farm in Illinois. Wow, farming has really changed over the years. It’s sure not ‘Old MacDonald’s Farm’ anymore. The challenge is to operate a business with a heart for the land. I crossed paths with John Hall, Don Crampton, and other Class of ’65 members at the Chicago area WesU alumni event last fall. I’m still a big bike rider and will do the 460-mile RAGBRAI Iowa ride in July, the GRABWAAR 480-mile ride in Wisconsin in June and a 120-mile Illinois ride in September. Our three kids and five grandkids live in Wisconsin and Minnesota, so we keep busy trying to keep up with them. Georgeanne (Conn ’67) and I look forward to catching up with ’65 classmates in May.”

From John Wilson: “After 25-plus years at the University of Arizona, I retired in 2010. Now, my adventure-action novel is in draft, and I met an agent who said she wanted to see the first 50 pages. I love learning to write and am even beginning to understand sentences. Potential for further entertainment is infinite.

“Linda and I met 50 years ago on Halloween at The Sancho Panza in Monterey. Fifty years. Most of you were seniors, I was a Spec 4 at the Defense Language Institute, and the coffee shop later became a Thomas Kinkaid gallery. Our Sancho Panza gets a few inches starting paragraph eight at theava.com/archives/21180. Linda has been a movement educator for over 20 years, and I have the best posture and easiest movement I’ve had since I was five years old. That’s cool but a long story.

“Last year, Heidi and I took our first daughter-father trip of any length: a week in Nashville. We walked to music, history, and Nash Trash and drove less than 40 minutes to the Parthenon and the site of the Battle of Franklin, and we got on well as fellow travelers. I must have been a good person in a prior life to get this trip. Heidi is still a preferred and student-centered high school English teacher and teaches a film class.

“Life is good and often fun. Avoid the front page and/or TV news and treasure your friends and the things you like do.”

From Bob Schmidt: “In October, Susan and I hosted Betsy and Tom (The Aleman) Elliman, Joan and Fritz Faerber, Tim Lynch and his lovely Rose at our Cape Cod cottage in Chatham, Mass. Joining us were Chris and Paul Lapuc ’64, who live full time in Chatham. We had a rollicking good time! On Saturday afternoon, we went to a Bluegrass Festival at Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod Winery. We sampled in earnest the wines, which were quite good. A few weeks later at a planning meeting for our upcoming 50th and Joseph’s Robe presentation we were treated to Truro wines that Hal Gorman hauled out of his car trunk. Turns out that Hal is the attorney for Truro Vineyards and is on their board of directors. Hal has offered to supply more wine for our Reunion—and gratefully, I say, ‘Bring it on, Hal!’”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu