CLASS OF 1982 | 2021 | ISSUE 1

Greetings, classmates.

      We’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel here . . . hopefully, by the time this comes out we will be vaccinated and returning to our normal lives, or the new normal.

     Notes are sparse this time. Gary Wishik, an anesthesiologist in upstate New York, writes, “Intubated many people, most of them died,” which is the saddest six-word memoir since Hemingway. He says he’s hoping that the New Order/Pet Shop Boys concert in September in Toronto won’t be cancelled—me too; he deserves a fun night out. Thanks to you, Gary, and to all the members of our class who have been on the front lines during COVID.

     Scientist Greg Lewis has contributed on a different front—he designed and invented the air sampler that can detect coronavirus in air particles, originally developed for the flu. Meanwhile, he and his coworkers have built an air sampler for the International Space Station. Cool!

      We’ve been seeing each other on Zoom a bit. Bob Russo writes that Mark Sirota hosted a gang (John Brautigam, Joe Barrett, Joe Fins, Anthony Pahigian, Mike Greenstein, Mike Levine and Tom Davis) for Zoom trivia, and I’d like to know who won. Meantime Bob and his wife Carol have enlarged their garden and are planting and pickling all kinds of veggies.

      Paul Meltzer writes that due to COVID-delayed municipal elections in Texas, plus a runoff, he wound up spending over a year getting re-elected to a second term on Denton City Council. But he did ultimately manage to defeat the challenger, “a popular local evangelical minister heavily supported by real estate PACs who was running because he is opposed to an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting LGBTQ residents. He’s anti-mask too.” In other words, he writes, “Worth it. Now on to trying to accomplish something worthwhile.” Good luck, Paul.

     Susan Cole is missing her women’s writing workshop at York Correctional Institute, and is glad, at 80, that she has received her vaccine.

      Life during COVID has brought a lot of changes for Karen Paz. She and her husband moved to their place in Maine in March and decided to sell their house in New Jersey and make Maine a full-time thing. They’re enjoying being in a rural spot with a frozen lake. “One of the very few blessings of COVID!”

     Joe Fins has used his time during the pandemic to play cello! He began taking lessons at Wes, “a lifelong dream inspired by playing Schubert’s String Quintet on WESU one winter afternoon when I hosted Classics for Lunch,” he says. On a lark he asked Paul Halliday, a cellist in the Wes Orchestra and classmate, for a lesson, but decided it was too much to combine cello with the College of Letters and pre-med. “So fast forward a few decades and I started. I am an errant student and don’t practice as much as I should or want but I do love the instrument and am committed to doing this as long as I am able.” Now we know whom to tap for our next Class Notes Live.

   On a sad note, Vernon L. Martin, originally from Oxford, Mississippi, passed away September 28, 2020, in Brooklyn, NY, where he had been a resident since graduating Wesleyan with a BA in theater in 1982. He later studied fictional character development at Columbia University, and screenwriting at New York University. Vernon worked for the New York City Public Library for years, and intermittently at Seward and Kissel, LLP, while pursuing his passions for theater, writing, poetry, and fashion.
In the mid-1980s he worked with the Wesleyan-grad-based Mumbo Jumbo Theatre collective, an early and earnest attempt in New York City theater to model what was then called “multi-cultural” representation. Vernon worked diligently behind the scenes and as an active participant in workshops developing content. The group was co-founded by his friend Vashti DuBois ’83 (with Tim Raphael ’84 and Akiva Goldsman ’83, all Wesleyan graduates) and included Vernon’s life-long friends cf blackchild (Carlia Francis, ’82) and Renée Bucciarelli, ’83, among others. Later in life, Vernon had his “thirty-minute claim to fame” as a contestant on the television game show, Jeopardy.

    He is survived by his sister Barbara Ann (Wadley), and brothers Raymond, Sammy, Danny, and Barry, along with their families; he was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Vickie, and brother Larry.

Vernon is remembered lovingly by his family and his friends, including Audra Edwards, Sharron Edwards, Margie Wilder, Curtis Brown, Roxanne Fagan, James Jones, Renée Bucciarelli, Carlia Francis, Vashti DuBois, Sharon Alves, Russell Tucker, Pastor Timothy P. Taylor Sr. of the Hebron Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY and his congregation.

     I had a fun 60th birthday in February seeing a few Wes faces on Zoom, including Jonathan Weber, who has returned to San Francisco from Singapore; Steedman Hinckley and Lisa Farnsworth (she’s been painting up a storm during the pandemic, with gorgeous work); Danielle and Jordan Rudess; Marc Mowrey ’83 and his wife Susie Davis. My husband Peter Eckart ’86 and I are playing music with virtuoso jazz pianist John Baker ’84 and others in our Socially Distanced Jazz Band (I get to sing with the band because I feed them soup). Meanwhile, I had a piece in the Washington Post about how Zooming with my emotionally crusty dad has made him open up after all these years. Also during the pandemic, Peter and I renovated the house next door to the one I’ve had in San Miguel de Allende for several years, giving a Mexican artist and designer the chance to let his imagination run wild, with cool results.

     Here’s to silver linings.

CLASS OF 1981 | 2021 | ISSUE 1

Greetings from Brooklyn! I write this on the first day of March. I’m still working remotely for the most part (I love my commute, but . . .).
By now I hope that many of you have enjoyed our rolling virtual reunion. Some of you have earned prizes and awards, which you will see below.  I also hope you all will have received the “vaccine prize” by the time this magazine finds its way into your mailbox.

  Speaking of vaccines, Chris Graves writes, “My behavioral science work has been full-on, focused on vaccine hesitancy and pandemic behavior. I have been working with WHO, UNICEF, and supporting fellow Wesleyan alum John Borthwick ’87 who is CEO of Betaworks, and a founder of COVID Tech Task Force, which supports the rollout of the Apple-Google Exposure Notification app. And I have been working with our own nonprofit called NOCOVID (https://nocovid.us), which engaged stars like Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes for healthy behavior messaging. NOCOVID also put Matthew McConaughey and Tiffany Haddish each one-on-one with Dr. Fauci to ask tough questions their fans wanted to hear answers to.” His CNN appearances can be found on Vimeo.

     Charlie Spiegel writes, “I’m a teaching assistant in a University of San Francisco class called Queering Religion, taught by the former rabbi of my congregation who is now a chaplain at this Jesuit institution of higher education. Repeat that sentence a couple of times for effect. It’s an online hour-long weekly discussion group, with them prompting me with questions they feel are relevant to their class sessions, which I do not attend. It’s a very smart way to make remote learning more engaging, with six of us TAs (all Jewish) running separate groups.  My three undergraduates range from 21 to 29 with several different sexuality identities. Since they are asking about for example what it was like for me to come out, which was at the beginning of my sophomore year at Wesleyan, some of you are playing roles in my remembrances (known or unbeknownst to you!) At its best, our discussions look at the overlap of experiences, like growing up Jewish in a non-Jewish country being one experience that gave me the strength and personal confidence to come out as gay and an activist in a predominately heterosexual world. All seems a very Wesleyan-type experience.”

      Leslie Sundt Stratton and her husband are empty nesters. “Our older daughter is now a licensed vet working an internship in hopes of becoming a veterinary surgeon. Our younger daughter is a forensic chemist in Vermont who spends one day a week testing COVID samples and just signed a contract to buy a condo. How time flies!” 

     Leslie is still an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, also serving as department chair. “Like so many academics, I have moved classes online and am working hard to keep my students engaged. Our chief hobby/vice is travel—of course that is still on hold. We are glad we went on safari in Tanzania in 2019.” Leslie is in touch regularly with classmates Diane Goldstein Stein, Karen Zallen and Heidi Falk. “Zooming can be fun.”

      Mark Saba’s latest book, A Luke of All Ages / Fire and Ice (two novellas), was recently published by Adelaide Books (New York/Lisbon). “Also, I will be retiring in June after 33 years as a medical illustrator and graphic designer at Yale University. My wife and I are building a house in Maine and plan to settle there.”

    Kenneth Michael Bent (noting that he was “originally 1980, but finished mid-year with the group then known as 80.5”) was recently elected to Eastern Massachusetts’s Episcopal Diocese Executive Committee as a lay representative. He is a two-time past master of the Freemasons of Massachusetts, in addition to spending the past 17 years as a software engineer.

    Now to prizes and awards:

   The National Press Foundation has named global economics correspondent David Lynch and three Washington Post colleagues as this year’s winners of the Hinrich Award for Distinguished Reporting on Trade. “The award carries a $10,000 prize, divided among the four of us.”

   Brian Tarbox got his 10th patent. Also, Amazon Web Services declared Brian a Community Hero. “There are less than 200 of these worldwide.”

     Amy Feil Phillips is transitioning from creative director and graphic designer to fine artist, and was recently selected as one of 15 finalists for the 51st Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts’ Emerging Artist Program in Tampa. The annual festival draws artists from across the country to vie for the $15,000 Raymond James Best of Show Award and an additional $65,000 in awards. Phillips has a collection of awards, such as Best of Show in the International Society of Acrylic Painters 11th Annual Exhibition in 2017 as well as local, regional and national American Advertising Federation ADDY Awards. Phillips was recognized nationally in the Print Regional Design Annual and has developed branding for Tampa Electric, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa Bay Water, Eckerd Connects, and Heartbeat International, among others.  With an MBA in Marketing, Phillips has also taught Advertising and Graphic Design at the University of South Florida.

     Congrats to all!

     Finally, on behalf of our class, we send our deepest condolences to Wendy Kosakoff, whose husband, David Kohane ’80, passed away in February. Read her beautiful tribute in the Class of 1980 notes.

CLASS OF 1980 | 2021 | ISSUE 1

Thank you, wonderful Wes ‘80 classmates, for all your responses to my late request for submissions – maybe a benefit of our all being stuck at home after a year of the Covid pandemic.

David Garfield was the first to send his update and save the day: “I am still alive. Still an immigration attorney. Still living with my wife Jung Hwa and youngest daughter 17 in Honolulu. She is attending Iolani and loves musical theater and hates ultimate frisbee. Up to 4 grandkids, my granddaughter #4  born last month on my birthday..yay. no more ultimate ugh.” 

For many around the world, this past year has been a period of time of great loss. On behalf of our class and Wesleyan, I send our deepest condolences to Wendy Kosakoff ’81, “I share with profound sadness that my husband, David Kohane, passed away at the end of February from pancreatic cancer. David and I met at Wesleyan in Clark Hall in 1977 and got married at Russell House in 1982. He was my best friend and the love of my life and the father of our three wonderful sons.

And to Demie Stathoplos, “It’s been a time of loss for my extended family: my close cousins, sisters and I lost my mom, two aunts and an uncle in a 3 month period, between November 2020 and February 2021. All were close to or older than 90 years old, but it was still a lot to experience, especially needing to be distanced from each other. I’ve spent the past 6 years managing my parents’ medical and financial affairs, so the death of my mom (after the passing of my dad 3 years ago) has ended a significant part of my day-to-day work. My husband Dan has been working for Boston University from home since March, and my 21-year old son Alex tried online college courses, but found the experience was not for him. It’s rough launching as a young adult in the middle of a pandemic. Our dog Karma has seen a lot more of us, but much less of our friends she used to play with. I’m a volunteer climate activist, and have been busy (on Zoom) with 350Mass in my hometown of Newton, as well as with UU Mass Action. I’m also leading a group of city staff and civic volunteers in implementing communication of the city’s Climate Action Plan. This past year I gave (Zoom) talks at my church as well as to the greater Boston area about taking action on climate change. I’m also on a leadership team at my church teaching an anti-racism curriculum (The Richmond Pledge to End Racism). I stay in touch with Nancy Stier and Sharon Grady. For Dan and my 20th wedding anniversary, we traveled in July 2018 to Alaska, and got to spend time with Scott Taylor in Anchorage. The trip was amazing, and included both seeing Mt Denali from below, and taking a plane ride to a glacier on the mountain.  Given the work I’ve been doing on the climate, I’m thinking about how to minimize my air travel in the future. I hope we get to see each other in person in the near future.”

Jay Borden, “Amazing what difference in mindset a vaccination can create. Somber to upbeat. Dimly present to planning for the future. The change in Administration helps. I can read again instead of ceaselessly doom-scrolling. Now, I’m right in the middle of planning our first post-vaccination trip to go see my brother in Albuquerque and my youngest daughter in Santa Monica. My wife gets her second jab early April, so we can start looking forward to a little more light. 

Carolyn Sullivan, “This time last year I was visiting relatives in England when I had to cut my trip short due to COVID. Everyone has COVID tales to tell, I’m sure, so I won’t go there, but suffice it to say that as an introvert I have been doing just fine. My husband and I have evaded the dreaded virus (knock on wood), I’m happy to report, and are looking forward to getting vaccinated and seeing our similarly vaccinated friends and family SOON! My sister and her husband recently moved to Nashville–it’s been almost 25 years since I had family on my doorstep, so that’s wonderful. My husband and I are working on our third self-produced album of original songs in our home studio–these projects are always fulfilling, but especially so during the pandemic. Our music falls into (or between!) different genres… Rock, pop, blues, even a little bluegrass/folk… We studied songwriting in Nashville but apply the principles to just about everything but straight-ahead country! You should be able to find us on iTunes or Spotify under Carolyn and Dickie Sullivan. Our last two CDs are “Love and the Cold, Hard Ground” and “Sail On Through.” I’m trying to up my audio engineering game via lots of YouTube videos and online courses, which is definitely keeping me out of trouble! I’ve lost touch with most of the people I knew while at Wesleyan, I’m afraid, but I always like reading the Class Notes!”

Chris Carey, “I wanted to shout out to all my Psi U Brothers from Cleveland, Ohio. I have resided here with my wife Donna since leaving ol’ Wes and have two grown boys who both reside and work at opposite ends of California in San Diego and San Francisco. We are scheduled for our Pfizer two shot this week and are excited to go visit them in the coming months. We hope to head east to Middletown sometime this fall and pay a visit to our Connecticut friends Earl Mix and Marshall Stearns, not to mention Bruce Bunnell in Boston where my brother resides. I continue to manage money for my clients providing Financial Planning services as an Independent Advisor and made the switch to independence after 30 years working for the man. I can see this continuing for another 15-plus years God willing. Keep us posted on our reunion timeline, as I would love to see everyone on the grounds of Foss Hill. Maybe Orleans or Todd Rundgren can pay us a surprise concert visit!”

Prompted by cabin fever and a lack of exercise, Faith Fuller (started with class of 1980, diploma reads 1981) wrote: “I am in Mexico, travelling around the Puerto Vallarta area, swimming in the Pacific, taking long walks, and working from my laptop. In 2020 I surpassed my goal of raising $10 million for nonprofits (partly due to the CARES Act releasing additional funds) so I had a productive year, but felt physically run down.  I’ve been out of the country since January and am taking all the precautions to stay COVID safe; which is not hard with all of the out of door markets.  I work as an independent consultant/contractor and my clients are 3 Substance Abuse Treatment providers in the Oakland/Berkeley area, 2 providers of services to the homeless (one to adults, the other to youth) in Alameda County CA, 3 nonprofits working with black youth in Compton CA and Oakland CA, the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives; and another who provides in prison programming. Love it!” 

Peter Scharf noted that he came to Pune, Maharashtra after his fellowship at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla ended at the end of December. He and his wife are teaching Sanskrit on-line and just announced their spring and summer course in Sanskrit and Prakrit (sanskritlibrary.org/coursesnow).  They plan to return to their home in Iowa in April.

David Claman, “My wife, Sunita Vatuk, and I have been enduring the pandemic in Queens, NY. I’ve been teaching music online at Lehman College-CUNY since March 2020, and for 12 years before that. At this point I’m thinking of retiring to have more time to write music. I’ve been able to complete two projects in the past year, although not because the pandemic allowed me more time to do so. In October 2020, I released a CD of my own compositions entitled “Gradus” on Albany Records. I’m quite happy with the variety of music and the quality of performances. It can be streamed on Spotify and other platforms. More information is available at: https://davidclaman.com. More recently, I released something entirely different (for me) on YouTube, which is an arrangement of Wes Montgomery’s classic “Bumpin’ on Sunset.” Aside from me faking that I can play jazz piano, the four other players are excellent young Hindustani classical musicians who I worked with for several months in New Delhi in 2019 while I was on a Fulbright grant and a visiting professor at Delhi University. Their interpretation and improvisations bring new dimensions to the tune. It is on YouTube with an accompanying music video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhwH0cPkAJA.

Vic Tredwell, “I remain as Station Manager for the community radio station of Belfast, Maine (WBFY).  We’ve survived the pandemic well. I set the station up from the start to allow remote programming of shows, so I was seen as prescient when the bug came along and made it required.  Not true, but I’ll take it. We have replaced a number of cancelled events with radio versions, such as Belfast’s monthly contra dance and the New Years Eve concerts. The station’s latest fund-raising project is selling off an amazing collection of 78-rpm records that were donated to us.  Any collectors out there?….”

Alan Jacobs, “I just returned from what was supposed to be a one-month trip to visit my daughter, Avia, in Tel Aviv but it turned into three months because my friends in New York said stay there, the beach beside my apartment agreed, and then I heard that because I’m over 60, I could get vaccinated. I was never so happy to be this age. After the second jab, I had a lovely dinner with Jeff Green ’80, who lives in Tel Aviv part-time, and our two daughters, who are about the same age. While Avia and Lia were chatting it up, I turned to Jeff and said, “That’s our daughters.”  Jeff nodded, “Yep.” As for Israel, the good news is it’s a democracy — the only one in the region — and as Jews, we can get involved and have real influence. I’m not interested in politics but many of my friends there went out every Saturday night to join protests in Jerusalem demanding Netanyahu’s resignation.  The country has many challenges and social ills, but democracy itself is alive and well and Israelis are very active participants in it.“

My daughter and I are on right.

Mark Zitter, “I’ve taken advantage of COVID isolation to reconnect with some old friends. I have regular 3-way Zoom calls with Scott Hecker (still working in biotech in San Diego) and Paul Singarella (a retired attorney who just moved to Florida). I do the same with Irene Chu (still a graphic designer in the Boston area) and we’re trying to rope Julie Burstein into those calls. Julie is working with my wife, Jessica, on some radio programs and podcasts related to end-of-life issues. Julie also has worked with my daughter, Tessa (Wes ’21), on two podcasts. My wife and I recently hosted a virtual cooking class and dinner party with four couples, one of which included Daryl Messenger. Last month I chatted with Rick Smith, who lives in DC and is a top pharma consultant. I’m also in touch with Paul Oxholm, Jane Polin, and Melissa Stern (as well as her husband, Jim Friedlich ’78). I’m in a busy semi-retirement phase, hosting many COVID-related programs for the Commonwealth Club (https://www.commonwealthclub.org) (including Biden senior advisor Andy Slavitt this month). It was great seeing so many of our classmates during last year’s reunion calls. Hope all are staying healthy and sane.”

Halsey Frank, “Here’s my decennial update: After 34 years with the Department of Justice, I retired as US Attorney for the District of Maine this past February. I never expected to stay that long but found I liked the people and the work, and before I knew it the years were gone. I am taking a break to decide what to do next and would like to find a way to continue some of the civic education initiatives I started as US Attorney. Otherwise, our daughter Laura just moved back to New York City to resume her independence and continue working for a startup.  Our son Alex is on track to graduate from college this May, albeit likely without the customary pomp and circumstance.  My wife Eva continues to do the many manner of things that she has done since she stopped practicing law when we moved to Maine years ago. Our dogs, Jeeves and Henry, keep each other company and us entertained.”

Ellen Haller, “I happily retired in July 2018 after 30 yrs on the full-time faculty in the UCSF School of Medicine and am so relieved to not be Director of a Psychiatry Clinic during a pandemic! My wife is Chief of Infectious Disease at UCSF, so it’s been a rather busy time for her…The only silver lining in this pandemic is that our son unexpectedly moved back home after recently graduating from college, and he has become a quite successful professional magician including a performance on the Penn & Teller TV show, “Fool Us,” and regular Zoom shows for corporations, private parties, and ticketed audiences (danielroymagic.com).”

Amy Natterson Kroll, “All is well here. I’ve been very lucky as I had a home office set up from when I had a home business 20 years ago, so when my office went remote over a weekend in mid-March, I missed nary a beat. We had our son with us for the first seven weeks of the pandemic, then he drove across the country to start his new job in Utah when things seemed to be getting under control, and two weeks later our daughter and her then 2 year old arrived for 7 weeks. It was wonderful, and exhausting! In the autumn we decamped for the mountains of Idaho where I worked remotely for 5 weeks, and then back to DC, where we have been increasingly reclusive, pending my getting a vaccine. There have been wonderful silver linings, and lots of reminding ourselves of our great fortune in staying healthy (so far).  I have hiked weekly in the parks in DC that I had driven through for 38 years; I have walked through numerous neighborhoods now quiet as life in northwest DC remains pretty much WFH; I have become very proficient at building a campfire in our two firepits; and over last the summer I grew a bumper crop of string beans, onions, rosemary and radishes. Hopefully, society will stay slower, children will continue to play outside and the air will stay a bit clearer once we can all fully emerge.”

CLASS OF 1979 | 2021 | ISSUE 1

Jono Cobb shared that “Like many of our classmates fortunate enough to have that option, my wife Suzzanne and I have been riding out the pandemic in the country which in our case is Martha’s Vineyard. We are also fortunate to have been able, since last March, to switch our teaching jobs to remote versions. I was already using Powerpoint slides as the basis for riffing about anatomy and physiology with my undergrad students. Suzzanne’s voice and music history curriculum was a tougher conversion. By summer our daughter, Jordan, will be living in Harlem near Rachel Christmas Derrick, with whom I’m in frequent Facebook contact.”

     Speaking of Rachel Christmas Derrick, she is “Still pinching myself that I’m actually making a decent living as a writer and editor. Writing is the only thing I ever dreamed of doing for a living. Despite the pandemic, 2020 was relatively kind to my family: I was promoted to assistant vice president and managing editor of the financial services nonprofit where I’ve worked for three years. My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary. Our daughter graduated magna cum laude from Yale, made Phi Beta Kappa, and went to Oxford, where she’s getting her international relations master’s in refugee and forced migration studies. Our son, now a junior at Wesleyan studying history and chemistry, was accepted into Columbia University’s three-summer pre-med program. Neysa Dillon Brown, Adrienne Kelly Lumpkin, Vicki Wilson, Michelle Morancie, Wanda Wardlaw Matthews, Jeanette Talavera, Becky Vazquez, Jay Hoggard, Allison Brown, Mora McLean, and quite a few other Wesleyanites remain in my life 46 years on.”

     “I (Denise Giacomozzi) am a volunteer with the COVID Grief Network, a volunteer-run mutual aid network that offers free 1:1 and group grief support to young adults in their 20s and 30s who are grieving the serious illness or loss of someone to COVID-19. We continue to see an increase in the number of young adults who are requesting our support, and we are in need of more volunteers to offer care.” Please visit the Wes notes online for a full description and websites.

     In her first ever alumni note, Jane McCoy Dausner reports, “40 years ago, I graduated from Columbia University with my master’s and have been working in hospice and palliative medicine ever since. I married my high school sweetheart the same year, and we have three daughters, three sons-in-law and four grands. I continued with athletics, playing and coaching tennis, basketball and softball; my girls are now coaching their kids. I got nationally ranked in singles 10 years ago. I urge all alums to consider putting “donor” on your driver’s license; this is very close to my heart, having donated a kidney to my sister 20 years ago. What an experience! I wish you all health, safety and peace through these challenging times; times that always provide opportunities for learning and improvement. Would love to hear from Jane Alexander Gutcher and Beverly Hinton!”

     Matt Okun and his wife Annie are headed back to Matt’s old stomping grounds in DC. They are looking forward to spending time with Casey Dinges and his family, high school buddies, Annie’s two grandkids in Alexandria and Matt’s daughters and granddaughters in Philly and Brooklyn. “What a long, strange trip it’s been! Planning to be teaching this fall, not even contemplating retirement.”

     Peter Campbell writes “While we don’t see each other in person because of COVID, Zoom, texts, emails and even Facebook keep a bunch of us ’79ers together including George Dupaul, Tim Fitz, Gary Breitbord, Mike Scacca, and Frank Hauser. All of us were roommates at some point. There is always some very intelligent thread on family, sports, politics or the weather. Everyone’s memory is still good as no one has forgotten anything embarrassing anyone else has ever done. A larger group of late ’70s DKEs has a twice monthly happy hour call which re-creates the old DKE Friday afternoon bar experience from our era.”

     Architect Willie Lee Jones shared an article about him and his path to becoming director of parks and recreation of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. “We’re an expansive park and recreation department with over 230 facilities. We are an NRPA CAPRA accredited department, have the Carolina Star Award from the North Carolina Department of Labor, and we’re the only park and recreation department in the state that does.” To read the full article: http://blog.mecknc.gov/park-director/

     Stephen Lewin-Berlin finally retired last year from a career of starting software companies. “I was on the founding team for half a dozen or so, and several were quite successful. Unfortunately, our plans to travel extensively in retirement were curtailed by the pandemic. Our home life, here in a cohousing community in Acton, Massachusetts, is filled with dancing and drumming, reading and video binges, and social and political activism with a focus on anti-racist work, voting rights and environmental action. With three kids scattered across the world (Australia, California and Massachusetts) our family visits have become virtual online experiences, but with vaccines coming fast, we hope to travel again.”

     Alan Scott advised me that Mark Miller tracked Alan down recently and told him that their mutual friend, Bruce Hardesty, died in 2017. Bruce and Alan had been out of touch for many years. They lived in the same dorm or apartment for four years at Wesleyan; Bruce was a good friend.

CLASS OF 1978 | 2021 | ISSUE 1

Greetings Classmates. It’s early March as I compile our class notes and realize it was exactly one year ago that we, and the whole world, were just beginning to experience a dramatic change in our daily lives the likes of which we had never experienced. Thankfully, it appears there’s a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. No doubt each of you has your own “COVID Story” to tell and hopefully it contains some silver linings as we’ll see with the following classmates’ shared updates:

     John Rose resides in Connecticut and New York City with two children and three pups. He continues his work as a consultant and has been spending the last year helping New York State on COVID-
related issues: “modeling economic harm; helping to draft approach and industry guidelines for reopening the economy; and standing up vaccine program.” His son is a freshman at Wesleyan and his daughter is a second-year student at William & Mary. His wife, Elizabeth, left her job as deputy chancellor for operations at New York City Department of Education and is now CFO of Publicolor, an education nonprofit, and is volunteering at Foodbank in Connecticut.

      Jodi Wilinsky Hill wrote from Maui: “Life is mostly good. All things considered. I am blessed with fabulous work contracts­—all that have me working on behalf of equity and access, changing the experience for those who have lived in chronic poverty and many who have been subjected to systemic racism. My Wednesday Zooms with Wes friends have been a lifeline. And my first grandbaby, born in December, brings me tremendous joy and hope. My partner’s family hails from Maui and since he “had to” come to Maui, I tagged along. I am working from a lanai overlooking a few smaller islands, and when I have the time to look up I often catch a glimpse of a humpback whale. They never fail to thrill!”

     Nancy McCabe, classmate and wife of Pat McCabe, checked in from Santa Monica, California. She commented, “One personal upside to the pandemic has been transcontinental Zoom cocktails with a ’78 sextet including Susie Bates, Jodi Hill, Suki Hoagland, Moira James, Pat McCabe and a semi-alum, Nancy McCabe. We’re a busy crew! There are engagements, weddings, grandchildren and thriving careers keeping us all happy, busy and covid-free!”

     David Weild is living in New York and “commuting from bedroom to living room (like most of the rest of the world) with stops at the gym.” His company, Weild & Co, “a decentralized investment bank” has a presence in 17 states and is growing. According to David, “they are bringing ‘Wall Street to Main Street.’” He’s also been involved in several Acts that have been passed into law, all “basic economic activism trying to bring back upward mobility, especially to poor communities and to advance US competitiveness.” His kids are in or about to head off to college with two of the three at Tulane. David writes that he is still friends/connected with Kaylie Jones, Dr. Seth Gendler, Muffy Brown, and Dr. Olivia (Lucille) Lanna. He and his wife, Christi, are plotting an exodus from the state of New York but struggling over what to do about parents who are 90 and in New York.

      Rachael N. Pine is also safely WFH in Brooklyn, New York. While ensconced in her home office, she “has the pleasure of sharing the journey of two adult children who are each in their first year of a graduate program­—one at Yale/Nursing and one at UC Berkeley/Urban Planning—that has them totally engaged and charged with the pleasure (and, yes, stress) of learning ‘stuff’ that will empower them to make a difference in the world.”

      Steve Reynolds and his wife, Beth, have been healthy and safe with respect to COVID, but miss seeing their sons who live on the West Coast whom they haven’t seen in over a year. Steve retired from the energy industry about a year and a half ago; they sold their New Hampshire home last July and have moved to Vero Beach, Florida. He and Beth love the warm climate where they are able to stay physically active outdoors, and he’s hopeful (like the rest of us!) to resume visiting family and friends later this year.

     Elise Wagner has lived in Chappaqua, New York for many years and practices law at Kramer Levin in New York City, where she is a partner in the Land Use Department. There were silver linings to this past difficult year for her as she was named the 2021 Woman of the Year by WX Women Executives in Real Estate, an organization of senior-level women in real estate in New York City. The award will be presented at an event this November, which she hopes will be in  person. Her twin daughters and her two grandchildren are perpetual highlights although seeing her Atlanta grandchildren only once in 2020 was hard to bear. She hopes for many more visits in 2021.

     Pete Lewis and his wife are enjoying splitting their time between homes in Wake Forest, North Carolina and Newcastle, Maine. He’s not sure how 65 crept up on him or how his friends got so old but I bet many of us can relate to those sentiments! Pete finds his two-and-a-half-year-old grandson a “wonderful bundle of energy” and perhaps a great distraction as he explores this thing called “retirement.”

     Yours truly (Susie) will always treasure the closeness my husband, Nick, and I developed with our four-generation (from ages 87 to three) COVID pod here in Duxbury over the last year. I also wholeheartedly agree with Jodi and Nancy about the joy our “Wesleyan Wednesdays” continue to bring. As things in our lives begin to open up and “go back to normal” may we hold fast to all the silver linings and may we appreciate as never before in-person social gatherings and real hugs!

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The world seems a bit brighter these days: literally with added daylight hours, as well as better news with vaccinations arriving and COVID case numbers dropping. People are beginning to make plans again, even seeing weddings that were deferred in 2020 rescheduled for later this year. All welcome news! In addition, classmates supplied some updates from their respective bubbles.

     William Altman sent along a cover of his most recent book, Ascent to the Beautiful­—Plato the Teacher and the Pre-Republic Dialogues from Protagoras to Symposium. The reviews are very positive. Susan White writes in that she moved to Brookline, Massachusetts with her partner Jonathan and enjoys being a condo owner and not having to shovel. Her son graduated from social work school and got married in November in a COVID-approved socially-distanced ceremony. Sue’s daughter is teaching locally at Teach for America.

     Steve Gold writes that he and wife Sue are living in Brooklyn Heights, New York, where they moved after becoming empty nesters in 2012. At the start of 2021, Steve retired after serving 28 years as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York and has joined JAMS, beginning a new chapter with a private mediation and arbitration service. Like many in our class he received his second vaccine dose and is now planning trips to join family he has not seen in over a year. Steve remains in close touch with Andy Adesman and Rick Dennett and can report good health and eager anticipation for more normal circumstances moving forward.

     Bob Krakower now lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with wife Rosalie Burrows, whom he met in law school. He took early retirement moving to Montserrat, a small Caribbean island, but eventually moved back to the States because of a continuing volcanic eruption. Everyone, including children and grandchildren, are doing well. Friends from Wesleyan, especially Jonathan Gertler and Joanne Silver ’74, are still among Bob’s closest friends.

      Rachel Feldman is grateful to have been able to continue to help her fellow New Yorkers during this pandemic via teletherapy, after 30 years of providing “in person” psychotherapy in Manhattan. Mark Slitt is not retired, but is fully vaccinated, which is big news. John Fink got the dreaded COVID disease and after many months, had no sense of taste (some would argue that has been the case for 60+ years) and limited sense of smell.

     Joe Mabel retired in December 2020 from the software industry and has plunged back into music. He started The Weill Project dedicated to the work of the German (later American) composer Kurt Weill (who happened to be a distant relative of this writer). Hank Rosenfeld recently went hiking in Death Valley National Park with Bob Rees. Hank is working on an oral history of KSAN-FM in San Francisco, the first hippie underground freeform radio station, founded in the Summer of Love.

     Don Spencer bought a home in St. Augustine, on the Intracoastal. He and wife Vicki will be splitting their time between Connecticut and Florida; we have all been invited to visit. Cindee Howard writes that after leaving the hospitality industry decimated by the pandemic, she is enjoying retirement by taking Hebrew classes via Zoom, has been renovating bathrooms, and plans to travel to Israel this November. Cindee sends a big thanks to Amy Fisher, who introduced her to Israeli folk-dancing the first Wednesday night we were at Wesleyan.    

     Iddy Olson is now fully vaccinated. She will be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming being a doting grandmother as her son (my godson Des) has had baby number two. Iddy is grateful for her good health and that of her husband who had a tough 2020; they survived well in their first year of marriage during the pandemic year. It must get easier from here on. Carol Cooper passed her oral exams for her PhD in Jungian and archetypal psychology. She now returns to NYU as Doctor Cooper, to resume teaching part time as an adjunct professor at the Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music. In addition to teaching, Carol continues to write about pop music and culture.

    Here’s to wishing everyone good health and may we all be vaccinated by the time you all read this.

     It will be great for us to look forward to our 45th Reunion in 2022 when we may get to hug one another.

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Alan Miller was recently named “Washingtonian of the Year” by Washingtonian magazine. Thirteen years ago, after a full career as a journalist, Alan founded the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan resource for educators and the public to develop critical thinking skills for evaluating news and information. One of the great features of NLP is the Checkology virtual classroom, a tool to help students and educators recognize credible news stories.

     Tom Kovar is still working at the V.A. and living near Northampton.  He’s still struggling with health issues that arose in part from a possible case of COVID last winter but remains cheerful and optimistic.  Given that gigging is out of the question right now, Tom has been continuing to play and write songs, and has found outlets for sharing music online. He’s looking forward to travelling to the Cape and to seeing friends and family in person again—soon!

     Arvid Bloom retired eight years ago after teaching psychology at West Chester University for 25 years. He remains active in his local photography club near Philadelphia; all meetings have been virtual lately. He enjoys taking long daily walks with spouse Gretchen, who retired from veterinary practice when he retired. Their 30th wedding anniversary is quickly approaching. He also stays in close touch with his 100-year-old dad, often remoting into his dad’s computer in Rhode Island to keep it running smoothly and to teach new computer skills.

     Ken Wagman reports that after transferring to UC Santa Cruz as a junior, he stayed in Santa Cruz—and he’s still there! He has been teaching math at Gavilan Community College in Gilroy and is looking forward to the day when he can leave Zoom behind and return to the classroom. He’s a member of the local masters swim team, working to swim 100 yards in fewer seconds than his age in years. Ken says he’ll retire when teaching is no longer fun.

     Jaimee Kurfirst spent the first 20 years of her career in advertising TV production, and the next 20 years as a high school English teacher. She and her husband are now happily retired and have moved to Morristown to be with their grandsons.  They’ve been able to spend the quarantine with their family in beautiful rural New Jersey.

     Joe Reiff just retired after 30 years teaching religious studies at Emory & Henry College. He spent the second semester of junior year at Millsaps College in Mississippi, with the intention of returning to Wes for senior year. But he fell in love and stayed at Millsaps, and he and his wife have just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.  They’ve retired to Abingdon, Virginia to be near their three adult children and three grandchildren. Joe writes: “I loved teaching and will miss working with students; I won’t miss grading and assessment.”  In 2016 Oxford University Press published his book Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi’s Closed Society.

     Polly Hays writes: “My personal COVID story is that I got sick in March 2020, just as Colorado was shutting down. Not sick enough to get tested at a time when tests were reserved for those on the verge of needing hospitalization, but in June I went for an antibody test out of curiosity, and it came back positive. I am now tested monthly as part of a study at Kaiser, and as of this note, still have antibodies 10 months after my presumed COVID. Some of my pandemic pastimes have included yoga, Feldenkrais, and qi gong classes in my living room; Zoom sings; and bike riding.”

     Carol Bellhouse is riding out the pandemic in Victoria, British Columbia, where she notes that the people are nice, the architecture is gorgeous, and spring flowers are in bloom. (Sorry, Texans.) She continues to write books, make movies, and practice law.

     David Harmin (I begged him to give me a note) says: “I’m still happy and privileged to be doing bioinformatics in Mike Greenberg’s neuroscience lab at Harvard Medical School. I miss visiting my two adult sons, who are scattered to the winds, one a geographer near Raleigh, North Carolina and the other a martial arts expert who is managing a pot shop in Saskatoon. I’d love to hear from Bernie Possidente and Jabez McLelland.”

     Keep in touch! Send me notes at any time; you don’t have to wait for the inevitable mass email plea we send out three times a year.

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I hope you’re vaccinated, healthy, and enjoying whatever pandemic pleasures are available. Looking forward to our 50th, let’s stay in touch through calls, Class Notes, Zooms, and visits (someday?).

      We’re retiring in droves. Vin Broderick retired in September after 52 years at Camp Pasquaney (24 as director). He says, “I cannot imagine a more rewarding career.” Vin’s looking forward to some projects and staying in touch from his base in Hebron, New Hampshire. Ann Dallas thought her layoff after 30+ years in journalism (AKA retirement) was the last big transition. “But no! We became brand-new grandparents, which is much more fun. My husband has Parkinson’s and several other health issues, so adapting to that has been challenging. But being a granny? Divine!”

     It was great to hear from Shirley Dodson, retired after three decades with Quaker nonprofits. She loves it but misses her COVID-quarantined daughter, Katie Ailes. Katie recently earned her PhD in English from University of Strathclyde in Scotland. Karin Johnson retired in March 2020, just in time to stay at home. Displaying COVID gratitude, Karin’s glad to shelter (almost) together with daughter, Yuka and her spouse Takafumi, who live in Karin’s building. Looking for an excellent Japanese translator? Yuka got her master’s in translation studies from International Christian University. Karin is well but misses travel and hopes to attend our 50th Reunion.

     Janet Schwaner and Tim Hill (both retired) stayed home, cooking and gardening through the pandemic. Tim plays and directs bridge games online (thill75@wesleyan.edu if you’re interested). The quarantine treat has been reading with their granddaughter in British Columbia every few days since March 2020. Janet lives dangerously, playing string trios weekly at home (windows open, fireplace going, masks on, seven feet apart) and gives virtual tours at the Museum of Fine Arts. She worked on November and January elections and says, “I was ecstatic! Will never take an election for granted again.” Lu Semeraro Hanley occasionally stops for a distanced visit when in Wellesley and gave Janet some expert post-hip-replacement care last summer.

     Brad Kosiba is overseeing a home kitchen remodel and a church construction project, plus laying out spring gardening and beekeeping plans. “Life in masks, even inside on workdays, is getting old, but so far effective. I hope we get vaccines soon, maybe from my old colleagues at Pfizer.” Joost Brouwer’s holiday letter shared losses and love. He and Emilie (retired) have three married children and four grandchildren in the Netherlands and Australia. All are healthy, active, and grateful for life’s joys.

     I think Ed Van Voorhees has nine grandchildren now, including a boy and girl born last fall. His daughter, Ellen, is a hospital chaplain in L.A.—a stressful job during COVID. Ed’s wife, Linda, plans to retire in July, and Ed’s aiming for May.

     Among the working folks, it’s been a tough year—between COVID and wildfires—for Jeff Morgan’s California winery, Covenant. His Israeli winery project, also hit hard, carries on under daughter, Zoe. She’s Napa Valley–bred, but has been in Israel for eight years. Jeff admits, “I guess we’ve been drinking even more than usual. But only with meals!” Cheers, Jeff and Jodie! Martha Faller Brown, also in Berkeley, reports good health. Her respites are lots of reading and hiking she wishes she could do more often.

     Roger Weisberg and Karen Freedman hunkered down in the Palisades, New York house where they raised kids. PBS recently broadcasted Roger’s 33rd documentary, and Karen continues fighting for foster kids as founder of Lawyers for Children. Their daughter Allie ’05 has kids ages five and eight, and 10 years ago founded Recess, an arts organization. Their son Daniel is regional medical director for Galileo, a startup improving health care delivery systems for complex care Medicare and Medicaid patients. Their daughter Liza, since finishing a clerkship with Judge Kimba Woods in the Southern District of New York, works for the ACLU. 

     Bruce Weinraub sent the most unusual missive I’ve gotten as secretary­—a photo of an antique page his mom bought, maybe from a Middletown guide circa mid-1800s. It refers to Wes as “an institution of great promise” and shows early College Row. Bruce says he chose Wes for its successful co-education and relatively high minority enrollment, but attached contemporaneous New York Times articles—one about the Class of 1975’s unprecedented 115 wait-list admissions, which they attributed to high ($5,000) cost of attendance, and perceptions of racial diversity.

     My quick update—both kids (26 and 24) are back in the Bay Area, thanks to COVID. I left my job last May (not retired but Bob is) and am working on reactivating my consulting practice in nonprofit strategy, growth and governance.  We four have stayed healthy. Bob and I are vaccinated and hopeful. Gratitude continues to be my pandemic watchword.

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Monique Witt reports, “My younger son Ben was just named among finalists, 2020 JazzTimes Poll for best new artist and best new instrumentalist, and Dev, my older, was just reviewed by Brian Bender (TapeOp) for his groundbreaking monitor technology, and ExMachina is doing well.  Who knew two attorneys would produce musicians?  I was assured ducks had ducks.  Steve is working way too hard from the family room chair, and I’m still working on book on aesthetic philosophy with running partner (curator at Cooper Hewitt), running early morning and booking three albums (all jazz, different formats) to record early July.”

Blaise Noto is still teaching at Barton College in North Carolina and still loving life in Chapel Hill.  Also, he has been active with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences serving on numerous committees including the Feature Animation and the International Film Nominating Committees for the Oscars, as well as the Student Academy Awards and Nichols Fellowship Awards for Screenwriting. 

Also, this year, he has been virtually interviewing applicants to Wesleyan not only in the USA but internationally from Moldova, Kathmandu, Moscow, China and Istanbul. 

Finally, he already received both COVID vaccinations thanks to the amazing efforts of Duke University Healthcare.  

Pat Mulcahy shares:  “Listed below is a little squib I did for a blog. I am really happy to have three projects coming out in one year–not the usual! The book business has weathered the pandemic in pretty good shape all things considered. And as someone who has long worked from home, I’ve been very fortunate. No vaccination yet–NYC is currently short of supply. I hope to get a slot at Citifield where the Mets play, which is supposed to operate 24/7. Not operational yet….

My neighborhood in Queens was the epicenter of the epicenter last March, a ghost town of screaming sirens. A year later, it is a very lively place, much more so than Manhattan. There are vendors on every street corner selling masks, kitchen appliances, arepas, tamales, and even toys. And the outdoor dining structures are packed with customers. Hope is in the air….now we just have to deal with the thirty people (is it that many??) running for mayor.   

2021 got off to a great start with the publication of Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour (Houghton Mifflin), a first novel I reviewed back in 2019. This workplace satire in the format of a sales manual follows the path of a young Starbucks barista who transforms himself into a super salesman at a tech start-up. It attracted attention from the get-go, with a rave endorsement from Colson Whitehead, who called it “full of verve and dark, comic energy.” Soon it was a selection of Jenna Bush Hager’s Today Show book club. And on 1/17 it hit The New York Times bestseller list! Mateo made the ultimate sale….

 This April, Vertel Publishing will release a business memoir, Authentic, by the founder of the Vans shoe company, Paul Van Doren. I worked with ace editor Amanda Murray to integrate Paul’s business lessons with his personal narrative in this very American story of a high-school dropout from a blue-collar Boston family who worked his way up the ladder in the sneaker trade, wound up in cahoots with a crew of renegade skater kids in Southern California, and never looked back. A fascinating look at the making of an iconic American brand. 

In the fall, Mango Publishing will release Alex Amouyel’s The Answer is You: Creating a Life Full of Impact. Alex is the Executive Director of MIT’s Solve, an accelerator platform that supports innovators, inventors, and social impact entrepreneurs. Her guide is aimed primarily at millennials and GenZers who want to craft a life of purpose above all. I am her collaborator on this timely and vividly detailed book.” 

John McLucas’ second novel, Spirit’s Tether, the sequel to his debut novel Dialogues on the Beach (2017), came out in late 2020 from BrickHouse Books in Baltimore.  It continues the story 20+ years later, and explores issues like mourning, coming out, marriages gay and straight, attachments across the generations, the seasons of an academic career, and sex in maturity.  There is a lot of local Baltimore color, some trips to Italy, and music sacred and profane.  Ask for it at your favorite independent book store; it is also available, on paper or as an eBook, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites. 

Jonathan Weiss writes:  “I live in Andover, Mass. with my partner Bonny,  and work in the next town as an outpatient psychiatrist.  Currently doing all appointments by phone.  Things are busy, as you can imagine.  For fun I play guitar and sing, ski (except this winter,) and do puzzles.   My eldest Sam lives in Palo Alto,  and works as CTO for a startup called Instrumental. He and his wife Alice had a girl six weeks ago.  My father Herbert (Wesleyan ’48) died in October,  so I went quickly from being a son to a grandfather. My daughter Hannah (Wesleyan ’12)  lives in Australia, she is a citizen there and it’s a long flight to see her.  She loves it there.” 

The extended family of Scott Michael Karsten, of Glastonbury, is heartbroken to announce his passing on January 6, 2021. Scott was embarking on a Florida RV adventure to escape the New England winter when he died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. Scott was born to Harold J. Karsten, Jr. and Jayne Gourley Karsten on October 2, 1951 in Oklahoma City, OK. The eldest of four children, Scott was the lovable “sheriff” and instigator for his other siblings, and ungrudgingly assumed the role of surrogate father after the tragic and premature passing of his father at age 59. All knew that Scott’s occasionally tough and crusty demeanor belied a tender, loving, and generous heart. Scott’s formative years were spent free-range in the idyllic environs of Chagrin Falls, OH, where he, his close friends and often tag-along siblings terrorized the muskrats, bluegills, reptiles and amphibians of Paw Paw Lake. He competed in classical piano competitions, played Professor Henry Higgins in local youth musical theater, read constantly, and dabbled in taxidermy and fly-tying in his few spare moments. The family move to Westport in his early teens brought Scott to the state of Connecticut, where he resided for the remainder of his life. Scott was an all-star varsity football and wrestling athlete at Staples High School, earning the 1969 title of CT state heavyweight champion. He continued pursuit of his many passions as a student at Wesleyan University, where he was a member of the DKE fraternity. After college, Scott attended the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he was third in his class and graduated with honors. While attending law school, and wanting to deepen his personal understanding of the noble profession he was to later enter, he served as a police officer and president of the police union in West Hartford, CT. Scott began his law career with the firm of Day, Berry, and Howard, and went on to become partner in the firm of Sack, Spector, and Karsten. Before retiring, Scott was the founding partner of the Karsten & Tallberg law firm, from which he recently retired. His legal practice focused on jury trials of complex civil actions at both the state and federal levels, trying more than seventy cases to verdict or court judgment. His primary focus was on the defense of civil rights actions against state and municipal government employees and officials, education agencies and employees, public and private sector employment matters, and professional liability claims. He was a skillful, dedicated, and relentless representative for his various clients and brought his integrity and deep love for the rule of law to his practice. Ever the mentor, he frequently shared his insights as a speaker at continuing legal education seminars through his various bar associations. For over a decade, his peers repeatedly selected him as a New England and Connecticut “Super Lawyer”. He was a member of the Connecticut Bar, the Pennsylvania Bar, and was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Connecticut, Vermont and New York (Eastern and Southern), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court, and was an emeritus of the Oliver Ellsworth Inn of Court. It was in law school that Scott met his future wife, Elizabeth (Beth) Alspach. They settled in Glastonbury and welcomed daughter Jules into their lives. Sadly, their romance and happy family togetherness was cut short as Beth courageously, but unsuccessfully, battled cancer, dying at age 41. Scott was a devoted single parent for many years after. A second marriage to Emely Karandy (of Gladwyne, PA) ended in divorce. Most recently, Scott found great love and happiness in his relationship with Gail Petersen. He embraced her children and grandchildren as his own, and in Scott they found a loving and engaged surrogate father and grandfather. Scott was a true Renaissance man, whose intellect, passion, and deep ethic infused all of his endeavors. He was an avid fisherman and hunter who was most at peace wading in a pristine trout stream, landing a bone fish in the Caribbean, or plucking a freshly acquired goose for New Year’s dinner. He was a skillful cook, a wicked card player, a smooth dancer, and a surprisingly effective karaoke singer – no doubt informed by his stint covering 1960s hits as an electric organ player in his high school band. He was an honorable leader who helped energize his friends, colleagues, family and the community. All that being said, Scott’s greatest passion was his devotion to family, and particularly to Jules. He was exceptionally proud of her and the creative, independent, young woman she has become. A dedicated and caring father and son, a loyal and supportive brother, uncle, grand-uncle, and partner, Scott was reliably available to provide advice, comfort, an occasional necessary scolding, or a haven for those needing a bed and a good meal for the night. His sense of humor was an extraordinary combination of wit, timing, intuition, and a genuine love of sharing a great laugh with those he cared about. Often it involved props of garbage bags, dead fish, strangely knitted caps, or whatever else he might have at hand. He cared deeply about those he loved, and was not afraid to show that, in fact, real men do shed tears – of joy, of sorrow, of genuine happiness, and of love. In addition to Jules, her fiancé Zach Burt-Axford and partner Ken Johnson, and Gail, Scott is survived by: his 96-year old mother, Jayne, of Annapolis, MD; sisters Tracey Karsten Farrell (Glenn) of Lafayette, CA and Jill Karsten (Rodey Batiza) of Eden Prairie, MN; brother Kurt Karsten (Michelle Smith) of Annapolis, MD; nieces and nephews Caitlin Echelbarger (Nick), Shannon Baskauskas (Brian), Devon Kufske (Brad), Travis Batiza (Alyssa Curlee), Conrad Karsten (Ali Hakusui), Nora Karsten (Chris Olsen), Emma Karsten, Garrett Karsten, Eric Batiza (Molly), Rodey Batiza (Anna Wang); great nieces and nephews Helen (7), Chase (4), Jack (2), Cole (7 months), Logan (9), and Kyle (6); and cousin Barbara Karsten Rose (John) and AJ. He is also survived by his “adopted” children and grandchildren: Andrew Petersen (Tory Beavens) of Sinking Spring, PA; Mark Petersen (Jesse Ramos) and their children Pamela and Audrey Petersen (of Glastonbury, CT), Emely and the Silverman children (Kirkley, Eddie, Molly, and Schuyler) and their families, as well as numerous dear friends. To paraphrase Norman Maclean in A River Runs Through It, Scott was “very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things-trout as well as eternal salvation-come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.” In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Scott Karsten Scholarship Fund at Wesleyan University, newly established in his memory. Donation checks payable to “Kent Literary Club (DKE)” with “Scott Karsten Scholarship Fund” in the memo section should be mailed to: Kent Literary Club, 196 East Main Street, Suite C Box 352, Milford, MA 01757. A joyous celebration of Scott’s life will be scheduled for the Summer of 2021 once it is safe for everyone who loved him, to hug, dance, and laugh together, as we share stories about this remarkable man who touched so many lives, so deeply. 

Chris Moeller reports, “My family and I are well.  Like many others, we have tried our best to endure that last 12 months and avoid getting sick.  So far, so good.

Nearly all social activity stopped as of March, 2020 and we maintain
contact with friends primarily via Facebook, phone calls, and email. 
Fortunately for us, both of our children live in the Twin Cities, as does
my sister.  That way we do get to visit other humans now and then.

Last February our daughter gave birth to a daughter, Liselore.  So, we
are now happy grandparents of two grandchildren.  And, of course, we
are anxious to get vaccinated so we can see them more frequently.  Some
activities, like reading, cooking, and gardening go on at home.  We look
forward to resuming other activities, like folk-dancing, playing music and
visiting friends, once the pandemic subsides.” 

Steven Cutts writes,  “I’ve remained hunkered down here in Washington, D.C. — distressed by all of the security fencing downtown, tired of the monotony of the COVID restrictions, but healthy with one of two vaccinations in my arm as of mid-February.  Two-plus years into retirement, I have been very happy not to have had to teach remotely, but my wife and I have benefitted from (and been distracted by) learning in various online courses through our robust Osher Lifelong Learning Institute based at American University.   

I continue to find things to write songs about, and since May 2020 I’ve streamed four hour-long concerts of my original material from home on YouTube Live.  (Links to previous shows and announcement of future streamings are easily found at my website ThePrimeCutts.com.)   I’m grateful to a stalwart band of Class of ’74 friends who have tuned in to one or more of these evening entertainments.”

 Sally Hernandez Pinero updates,  “I am currently a member of the Board of DireCroesus  of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation which oversees 13 public hospitals, 5 nursing homes and 20 community health centers in New York. I am also Chairperson of the MetroPlus Health Plan, a 600,000 member public managed health care plan in New York. Although housing development, financing and management were the focus of my career, I have found a second passion for health care.


I will forever cherish my time at Wesleyan. It was life transforming for me.
I am retired and live in Riverdale in the Bronx with my husband Hector. I am the proud mom of two wonderful young men, Justin and Eric.” 

Harold Sogard reminds us that our classmate Henry Willis was also once a contestant on Jeopardy but was somehow overlooked in Wesleyan’s news release about the many Wes contestants.

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From Middletown, Ron Medley writes that “the biggest news” is that he’s just renewed his lease for a College Street studio apartment. “This marks my second year as a part-time Middletown resident,” he writes. “For folks who have not set foot in our adopted city these last few decades, suffice it to say, most of us would barely recognize the place. For sure, the old North End is still familiar with its mom and pop storefronts and O’Rourke’s diner holding up nicely. But, the whole South End of town (including the old Middletown Press building, if I recall correctly) has been bulldozed, sanitized, and curated to resemble an ersatz Northampton or Amherst.” He reports that some will love it. Others will not. “All I know is that as a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, the new Middletown comes with one indispensable ingredient that the old one did not,” he says. The city now has a functioning public transit system. Buses now leave Main Street to the Meriden train depot pretty much on the hour, eliminating the need for a car. He says during his first summer there, he walked over to Jane and Michael Gianfriddo’s house on the other side of Long Lane Road for lunch. Ron says,  “Michael and I now have a standing invitation to meet on the steps of Olin for as many power walks as we can squeeze in before the Connecticut Valley summers kick in.”

     Rich Ladd tells me that he lives near Olympia, Washington with wife Carolyn. He still works in mortgage lending and continues to enjoy tinkering with cars. His daughter works at Amazon HQ and his son attends Boise State. “Rugby remains a favorite sport—watching only,” he says.  Rich and Carolyn were very sad at the loss of their friend Tom Pfeiffer.

     Moses Samuel Pinkston tells me that he has retired from the Department of Human Services after 12 years working as an adoption social worker. “I met many children in need of permanent loving families,” says Moses, and others “who were in foster care, and now are permanently living with loving families.” He traveled to Georgia and Florida, as well as all over Pennsylvania, to place children in permanent homes.

     Dr. Ron Johnson tells me Granderson “Granny” Hale runs a homeless ministry in Philadelphia, providing hot meals and clothing to those less fortunate. He has six kids and 14 grandchildren.

     Ron lives in Orinda, California. He is nine months now retired from his medical specialty where he was a vitreoretinal surgeon for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group. Ron now spends his time traveling and working on his golf game, hiking, biking and enjoying life.                                                  

     Ron reports that Doug Belt is presently living in Florida for the last six months after moving from New Jersey. Doug just recently retired from the research and analytics company he founded. He tells us he has been happily married for 50 years! “Some of us remember his wife Sheila, a Mt. Holyoke grad. Doug is most proud of his four exceptional children including an associate professor of law at Stanford, a medical doctor, a biological researcher, and a businessman,” says Ron.

     Albert Smith tells us he is a self-made independent architect who has run his own firm in New York City for the past 38 years! He is married to Rosalyn, the love of his life, and they have five kids.

     James (Diego) Howard is a graduate of University of Michigan law school and resides in Pleasanton, California. He is now retired and tells us he has been married for 35 years with two children and is expecting his first grandchild this April. After suffering a medical setback in 2019, Diego is now vegan.

     Lacy Tinnen tells us he’s been living in North Carolina since 1994 and is married to the love of his life for the past 30 years! He has been in the income tax business since 1991 with national franchises.He has two successful  sons, and notes that despite his busy schedule he still enjoys boating, fishing and biking.

     Marshal Lassiter tells us he’s been living in Atlanta since 1977, has been married for the past 47 years and has two sons. After 43 years, he is still working as an executive for the railroads.

     Zane Bailey currently resides in Philadelphia. He’s been married for the past 41 years and has been blessed with two daughters and grandchildren who are the loves of his life. “Teaching them lacrosse, which Zane excelled at 50 plus years ago, gives him a great sense of pride,” says Ron. Zane retired nine years ago doing medical research and private investigating in the office of his best friend, the late Philadelphia lawyer Ronald White ’73.

     Wayne Barber currently resides in Lake Oswego, Oregon, after moving there from Honolulu, Hawaii two years ago. Wayne is retired from his specialty as an ears, nose and throat doctor with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group and in private practice in Hawaii. He has been happily married to the former Sharon Nelson, Mt. Holyoke class of 74, for 45 years! Wayne has two daughters. Kerri ’91 is an educator and Tori is a sound and light engineer in Los Angeles. Wayne continues to do research in diagnosis and prevention of childhood hearing disorders.

     In other news, can you believe this: our 50th Reunion is right around the corner, in May 2023. Class President Bill Quigley says the 73 Reunion Committee is looking for volunteers to expand and broaden interest and participation. He notes he is looking for a wide range of people, and there will be opportunities to serve on various subcommittees. If you have any interest, please contact Jay Rose (jrose907@aol.com), Kate Q. Lynch (our Wesleyan organizer— klynch@wesleyan.edu), or Bill Quigley (bquig@aol.com).

      It should be an unforgettable weekend.