Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Aloha, all. Bill Kordas was inspired by the Boston Marathon to write and send links to articles about classmate Bill Rodgers and a photo of Bill with our late classmate George von der Lippe (Kordas says, “AKA ‘Vondo’ “) with Wes runners Silas Ward and Amby Burfoot: rw.runnersworld.com/selects/images/boston-billy-most-likely.jpg for the photo and rw.runnersworld.com/selects/boston-billy.html for a good article about Bill—with a great photo and interesting things about him.

O’ahu resident Elbridge Smith is still active in his legal practice which “has grown a bit, including a son. We continue to represent only federal employees, focusing in wrongful termination, discrimination, and whistle-blower cases.” Elbridge enjoys daily time with an 18-month-old grandson. Wife Diane helps out with law office business. Elbridge enjoys attending annual national legal conventions, allowing him to take in a couple of MLB games each year. He was planning to make his annual trip to N.Y. state to see his mom—still living in the family home at age 100—and to visit Cooperstown.

I ran into Steve Ching, MD, at the end of a local music event. It was late and he had a long drive to the southwest side ahead of him, so we didn’t get to chat long, but it was good seeing him.

Jeremy Serwer wrote from the farm near East Woodstock, Conn. He wanted to remind all of you to visit at the JJ Farm. “It’s been four-plus years now, and country life has more than agreed with us: the path to a relaxed and balanced life has indeed been discovered.” He reports that Carol and Maurice Hakim have visited and hopes David Geller will come this year. Jeremy and Nancy are recovering from injuries (shoulder and ankle respectively) and commend the local physical therapists. “Our major go-forward: we’re adding a second equine to the family, so balancing work and play towards retirement has become the paramount goal. Still loving both, however, so we consider ourselves most fortunate.” Jeremy invites e-mail at jeremy@theserwercompany.com.

A note from Ed Castorina says he’s “now a resident of Durham, N.C., home of Duke University and Burt’s Bees.” Ed is “the general counsel for Reichhold, a very old and responsible chemical company.” Says, too, that he “attended a Wes alumni function at UNC-Chapel Hill last summer and was stunned at not being the oldest alumnus.”

Meanwhile from the other coast, Dave Davis wrote, “My youngest daughter, Eva, graduates from Whitman College next month, and then hopes to go on to medical school, following in the footsteps of my physician wife, Cindy Talbot (sister of Steve Talbot). I still work at Oregon Public Broadcasting, the PBS affiliate here in Oregon (nearly 20 years), and am still enjoying the good life in Oregon.”

Occasional Kaua’i visitor Rob Baker wrote, “Sandy and I are happy to have finished our (last) building project and to be settling into another house. After going to my 50th high school reunion in Baltimore, we’ll go back to Kauai for a while. Our daughter, Emily, is getting married in San Diego this January, so there’s a lot to look forward to.” (Rob has an interest in a home that’s probably less than three miles as the crow flies from our lot. He’s up on the ridge; we’re in the valley. It’s amazing to me that three of us Wes folks—the third being class notes correspondent Neil Clendennin ’71—have roots so close together here.)

Gerald Jones writes from California about the “latest on my efforts to reinvent myself!” prleap.com/pr/244943/getpublished-radio-listeners-will-finally-get

Al Zimmermann is trying for a record. He says he’s retired for the third time. “I think this time it’s going to take. But, although retired, I’m still plying my trade—just not remuneratively. I’m doing pro bono work for the Lucille Lortel Foundation in NYC, rebuilding the Internet Off-Broadway Database (iobdb.com).” Just in case you didn’t think he was busy enough, Al also reports he’s “taking acting classes, writing a play and running Internet-based computer programming contests (azspcs.com). My wife, Leslie, and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last summer. Life is good.”

Blackburne “Blackie” Costin retired, as a partner, from Deloitte Consulting a couple of years ago. He opened up his own LLC and says “business has been quite good.” He’s really enjoying coaching youth hockey. Both his sons played hockey for Loyola Marymount University. Oldest son, Hunter, works for Tesla. Second son, Parker, is at LMU and working a paid internship between junior and senior years. Blackie says, “I’m doing fine. Creaking around a bit more than I would like but that’s just the way it is.” Roger that.

Bob Stone reports he’s enjoying retirement from his law practice and spending time with grandchildren. “Also some volunteer nonprofit board participation, overseas and domestic travel, more pleasure reading than I’ve ever done, seemingly futile efforts to improve my golf game, and reconnecting with friends and extended family. My wife, Nancy, and I have been married over 42 years, and now we’re heavily into checking off items on the bucket list. Some of those items have included spending time with close friends from my Wesleyan days. We’ve taken trips to France, Italy, and the Baltic nations with David Klatell and his wife, Nancy, and will be going to Vietnam and Cambodia with them in January. (I guess there’s some irony in the fact that after working so hard to avoid going to Southeast Asia 46 years ago, we’re paying lots of money to go there now.)” Stoney also reports being hosted by Jeannie and Marc Pickard at their Vancouver condo last summer. He says, “David continues his work as a professor and dean at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Marc is happily retired from a long and successful career as a television reporter and anchor, most of it in the Atlanta area.”

From Beaufort, S.C., Charlie Holbrook: “Just finishing my 12th year teaching history at Beaufort High School. Leslie and I are enjoying the mild winters in Beaufort and stay in Old Lyme for seven weeks in June and July.” He’s looking forward to taking another course from Professor Greene.

I’ve just finished my fifth year at a local middle school, where I get assigned to teach classes both within and without my “highly-qualified” fields. This year, it was eighth grade U.S. history and science. The highlight for me was teaching students how to analyze scenarios for constitutional issues and how to make arguments for both sides of the issue. Who knows what the highlight was for them? Meanwhile, I edited the second edition of a second book for a local author. Taylor Camp is about a little social experiment on Kaua’i in the 1970s, a small community of treehouses on Elizabeth Taylor’s brother’s property, and the clash with local authorities. After many months of rain, it looks like construction of our house will begin in earnest. We have lots of materials on-site and the beginning of a driveway, so the heavy equipment doesn’t sink. I’m going to need more lucrative work to pay the mortgage!

Russ Josephson | russ_josephson@yahoo.com

P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754

Well, we had a successful Reunion with more than 30 signed up. Great to see all the “old” classmates (not in years, but…) We received a really great class memento; you may be sorry you didn’t attend. This jacket will be a classic to desire.

Below are notes from the class as they wrote in a book yours truly provided at each gathering:

Bob Baranoff: “Retired, living in Fountain Hills, Ariz. (near daughter), and Higganum, Conn. (near son and family). Thoroughly enjoyed 45th Reunion. Wish more folks were here.”

Stewart C. Malloy: “Retired from Morgan Stanley, living in Bellport, N.Y. (trying to relocate to Florida with wife Claudia). Happy to be grandfather to Stella, Elliot, and Clayton. If you missed the 45th Reunion, you missed a grand party!!

Kip Anderson: “Grow more flowers, write a poem (if you think you can do it), and drink as much single malt scotch whiskey as time allows.”

Fran Pawlowski: “I am alive!”

Phil Rauch: “Wesleyan trustee since 2015; partner, Brown Advisory; two children, four grandchildren; wife Lynn, married for 41 years.”

Leo Au: “Wesleyan trustee starting July; retired, living in Bonita Springs, Fla.; two children, two grandchildren; wife Melinda; immensely enjoyed Reunion.”

Greg Friedman: “Came to Wes from high school in Brussels and have introduced wife (over 30 years) and daughter (grad school Penn) to my old pre-Wes Belgian life. Still have close ties to my Wes ‘family.’”

Dave Lindorff: “One kid graduated, the other a month or so away from her PhD. Life begins at 67!”

Susan and Robert Millner: “Robert working as lawyer at Delton US, Susan is Midwest director Birthright. All is well.”

Mark Wallach: “My daughter, Kerry ’02, has a son, Zev. Son Phil ’05 is a senior fellow at Brookings.”

Rebecca and Peter Michaelson: “Own a packing and shipping business in Philadelphia. Still a few years from retirement. Two children, two grandchildren.”

Patrick Callahan and wife Ann Goodwin ’79 live in Essex, Conn., with their black lab, Bailey. “Two adult daughters living in Boston.”

Gary Walford says, “Great 45th to see others: Summa, Fenton at 50th!”

John Cady: “Retired, splitting time between NYC and Hillsdale, N.Y. Wife Claudia Catania ’74 is producing theater show for public radio and podcast. Playing on air. Son Gavin and wife run 1,000 Figs restaurant in NOLA. Son Max teaching at high tech high school in San Marcos, Calif.”

Jake Weiss: “Twenty-one years at Goldman Sachs. I am out on my own in talent management/organization development space. My children are doing splendidly, and I have a new woman in my life. A nice time!”

David Siegel: “Living in New Orleans since 1978. Always appreciative of my Wesleyan experience and look forward to each Reunion.”

John Hastings: “Retired, sort of; still coaching track and cross country, still in Connecticut; kids in California.

Frank Leone: “Still in East Hartford. Thoroughly enjoyed catching up with old friends at the 45th and sincerely hope to catch up with many more at our 50th!

Mark Paul: “Still moving towards that which moves me. This weekend just reinforces the decision made nearly 50 years ago to come here.”

Rod Cash: “It has been a treat to see the other ’71s at the Reunion. I’ve been working for the past 10 years at Booz Allen as a technology consultant and for the Department of Homeland Security. Have been living in DC forever, married for 38 years to Paulis Walser, who is an artist/ illustrator. We have three kids who live in Brooklyn and DC.

Gene Borgida (Susan Wolfe): “Heading towards empty nestdom. Twin sons, Alex and Jake, wrapping up high school. Wes on their radar screen, maybe. Gene hit year #40 on faculty at UMN this year and Susan on faculty in law and medicine. All good in Minneapolis. Will be at 50th.”

Andy Baker: “In DC, off in Europe much of time as a special envoy of the OSCE on combating anti-Semitism. Four kids in DC and SF: a teacher, editor, engineer and punk band drummer.”

“Todd Jick (aka ‘TJ the DJ’) just completed his 10th year teaching MBAs at Columbia Business School and his 38th year teaching. He remains an avid music fan and attends New Orleans Jazzfest every year with his lovely wife, Wendy, and enjoys seeing his two daughters, Zoe Jick ’11, and Adina grow towards PhDs!

“JC Louis (as told by Todd Jick): married, son graduated from Oberlin as Phi Beta Kappa, so JC could not make it to Reunion.”

Jim Sarbaugh: “Restoration carpenter, Portland, Conn.”

Peter Woodin: “Former Ailey dancer (seven years), mediator of complex multiple amity disputes (20 years).”

Rich Aroneau: “First time at a Reunion! Profoundly good time at Reunion. Van Vleck is best experience at Wesleyan!”

Well, that is it from those who would at least write a word. Those who registered for Reunion but didn’t leave a written word: John Cuddy, John Hastings, Jeff Kraines, Jack Lebowitz, Norm Leong, Marty Obin, Frazer Shipman, William Trench and Mike Yamashita. Great time was had. See you at the 50th! It’s closer than you think. Aloha!

NEIL J. CLENDENINN | cybermad@msn.com

PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714

As I cleaned out my basement while moving out of the Davis homestead, I preserved a few items of particular personal interest. One of these items was our freshman facebook. I have it in my office now, and as I look at it periodically I am struck, not just by the array of earnest young (and clean-shaven!) faces, but by the extraordinary collection of young men with whom I was privileged to begin college in the fall of 1968. Not to slight the wonderful women who joined us later, but it truly was an honor to be one of those 331 men, and all I can say is thanks to Bob Kirkpatrick ’60 for bringing us all together! From the horror of what went before that year—the assassinations, the convention, etc.—I joined that class with the highest of hopes. The road down which we ended up traveling may not have been the road we envisioned, but it has been a journey worth the effort. To have been your chronicler for the past almost-40 years has been an honor.

The only true descriptor for most of us comes from the language of my forbears, and that word is “mensch.” Webster’s defines mensch as “a person of integrity and honor,” but it’s much more than that. The class of 1972 is loaded with menschen—true feeling, caring, creative, men and women. Or, as one of my fellow menschen once described me, “regular guys with some brains.” As we have recently said farewell to some classmates, and as we look forward to seeing many of you at our reunion next year, let’s take a second to remember what a wonderful group of people we were—and still are.

You might also translate “mensch” as “An Honorable Man,” which is the title of Paul Vidich’s recently published spy novel. You absolutely have to read it. It’s a thriller, but much, much more. Paul is quite a craftsman of words, and the resolution of this story has stayed in my mind for weeks after having finished it. No word on the movie rights yet, but I could see Ben Affleck doing it…

Also on the espionage front, my local cinematheque, the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, had a special showing of this season’s episode 8 of The Americans, six days before it aired, with a personal appearance by co-producer and writer Steve Schiff. This particular episode has since been hailed by some as the finest single episode in television history, or at least for this year, and there is no disagreement here. We enjoyed drinks with Steve and his wife Laura afterwards, but no future plot spoilers were divulged.

We received news of Fred Moore’s passing too late to include more than a brief mention here. So here are some notes from Bob White, who attended Fred’s funeral: “When I re-connected with Fred after our 25th Reunion, Fred denied that he ever thought about Wesleyan. When I pointed out to him that this may not be the case because his son’s name was Wesley. He swore that it was ‘subliminal.’ That was Fred for you. Fred was proud when I related to Wesley (then about 10 years old) about Fred’s stellar performance at a Wesleyan-Springfield track meet during the spring of either our junior or senior years. Fred was the anchor for Wesleyan’s relay team. Butch Carson, also a sprinter, recalled that the team was behind by at least 100 yards when Fred was handed the baton. Butch further told me, ‘I have never seen a human being move that fast.’ It may have been Percy Harvey who quipped at the meet, ‘Fred was running like the Klan was chasing him in Alabama.’ As a witness to this feat, I thought he could close the gap somewhat but never catch the other runner. Also, I thought it was impossible for Fred to pass him. Fred caught the other runner, stayed even for a few paces, and then down the straightaway, Fred let the burners loose, hitting the tape first. It was a fantastic win for Fred and Wesleyan. And Fred shrugged it off as if it was business as usual.

“Attendees included Al ‘Smitty from the City’ Smith ’73, Kevin Smyley, Granderson ‘Granny’ Hale ’73, and Richard Jasper ’73. During our junior year, I remember Fred, Butch, and Kevin in Harriman Hall regularly on Thursday nights for ‘intensive study sessions.’ I learned from Kevin that he was much involved with Fred’s care in the last months.

“Of course, after the funeral, the ‘Wesleyan people’ sat at the ‘Wesleyan table’ (I noted this same behavior at the late Percy Harvey’s wedding reception, i.e., all the Wesleyan people sat at the ‘Wesleyan table’ in another tent from the rest of the guests). This gives alternative meaning to Beverly Daniel Tatum ’75’s book title, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? or the January 1970 New York Times article, The Two Nations at Wesleyan University (which by the way had a photo of Fred Moore, sitting at the ‘black table’). When I was on campus, I caught interesting comments from both directions about where I sat because I sat at the wrestling training-meal table during season. Granny was entertaining with his usual banter at the table. Because I was sitting next to him in a church, I was worried that I was going to be struck by lightning or slapped at any moment.

“In the 1999 issue of Wesleyan featuring, celebrating, and reviewing “The Route to Diversity at Wesleyan,” there is a photo from the Fisk Hall Takeover, in which one of the shadows looks like Fred. I received nods from some of the folks at the wake, who watched the PowerPoint presentation of Fred’s life that contained that photo, and who confirmed that it was Fred. We spent a lot of time back then wondering what would happen to us. Well, we know what happened to Fred. He graduated from Wesleyan with a degree in economics; he received a master’s of business administration in finance and accounting from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; he had a successful career, moving up the ranks of his profession; he kept in touch with his Wesleyan classmates, friends, and buddies; he came to the 1970s Wesleyan Black and Latino Alumni Reunion in Memphis in October 2005; his name appeared on the most recent Wesleyan Donor Honor Roll. Fred supported what supported him at his best; and importantly, he urged his son, Wesley, to apply to Wesleyan.”

Thanks, folks! More in four months!

SETH A. DAVIS | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu

213 Copper Square Drive, Bethel, CT 06801

We have news that more of you are becoming grandparents. Some are retiring. Others are looking into Medicare. And some are traveling extensively.

Phil Levien tells me that he and his wife, Darlene, became grandparents for the first time recently. Their son, Josh, and his wife, Simone, had a baby boy on April 8: Stokely Olivier Levien. “Like most grandparents, we’re pretty darn excited and make the drive to LA to see the three of them as often as we can.” says Phil. He says, “The kids also come up here to Santa Barbara to visit, so we’re very fortunate.”

Tom Tokarz says he was planning to retire July 1st after 31.5 years as a human resources director with the State of Connecticut. “It’s truly a bittersweet event, as it’s been rewarding but frustrating at the same time with the recent budget cuts and layoffs,” says Tom. He also says he and his wife, Kathy, have been caring for their son Dennis, “who is courageously battling ALS. It is a truly horrible disease.” He sends his best to all of you.

John Knapp says, “As I contemplate my upcoming eligibility for Medicare (a milestone I view with a mixture of surprise and horror), I realize that, nonetheless, the past few years have been particularly satisfying.” John says he still runs his legal/consulting firm, focusing on regulatory compliance for pharmaceutical, biotech, and other life science companies. His wife (Elisabeth Meyer Knapp ’76) continues to run her architecture firm, and has recently completed two four-year terms as an elected member of the Borough Council of Swarthmore, Pa., where they live. He says their daughter, Katherine, was married in October 2014, finished her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) last year, and she and her husband are now expecting their first child—their first grandchild! John says their son-in-law just received his MD, as well as a PhD, in cell and molecular biology, from the University of Pennsylvania, and he will be starting his residency at CHOP in July. “To top it all off, our son, David Knapp ’09, just received his law degree from Rutgers University” he says, adding, “I am very grateful for these blessings and honestly believe that without Wesleyan, my life would have turned out very differently.”

Steve Kallaugher paints a truly vivid picture of what he has been up to. “As I write this,” he says, “I’m watching the sun set from the edge of the Lubombo Plateau on the border between Swaziland and Mozambique. Ten years ago, I started a little organization called Young Heroes to help AIDS orphans. Little by little, we grew to the point where we were (and are) supporting 1,000 kids with monthly stipends, healthcare and—when they get older—vocational and business training.”

Steve says that last fall, “Something unexpected happened: USAID finally noticed us and gave us a $2-million grant to expand our anti-AIDS programs, with a special focus on vulnerable girls and young women.” Since then, he says Young Heroes has developed individual care programs for more than 2,000 children; started 250 girls’s clubs in schools to teach life skills and sexual and reproductive health; and created 75 community-savings groups for women, where they teach financial literacy and help with micro-entrepreneurialism.

“When all the programs are up and running, we’ll be reaching just over 15,000 children and their female caretakers,” he says, adding, “Who knew?”

On May 14th, I had the pleasure of seeing my sister, Ellen Dodie Ruimerman, receive her bachelor of fine arts degree from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, of the University of New Haven, in beautiful Old Lyme, Conn. After more than three decades in interior decorating, she went “back to school,” worked hard and got that degree. She exhibits some of her paintings at galleries around Connecticut. Our late mother, Ellen Puffin D’Oench ’73, would have been proud. And in other family news, my niece, Miye D’Oench, as she was graduating from Harvard University after a stellar career on the women’s hockey team, signed a contract to play for the New York (City) Riveters of the (professional) National Women’s Hockey League. Some of you may get to see her play. I know my late brother Russell Toby D’Oench III ’77, would have been proud as well.

PETER D’OENCH | Pgdo10@aol.com

Reminder: Invitation to all of our classmates to come to Middlebury, Vt., Aug. 25–28 for Lloyd Komesar’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. A large turnout for an unofficial ’74 “Northern Reunion” could be the start of a beautiful tradition!

Lyn Lauffer reports, “It’s been really fun for me to reconnect with Lloyd Komesar, following our last Reunion. We discovered that his wife, Maureen, and my sister, Sara, were tennis partners in the Middlebury Summer League! Also, last October, Bill Burton came to town for a conference, and he and I got together in Burlington for a great visit over a brew and dinner.

“In my own little corner of the world, I’m still happily working as the school librarian at an elementary (K-8) school. My husband, Ferdinand, is semi-retired, though still teaching math at community college. He’s an avid touring cyclist and will be biking in the Himalayas for a month this summer, after the two of us do a (tamer) tour of parts of Bavaria and the Czech Republic in July. We have one daughter in London, Emily, who’s a writer at MAKE Architects. The other daughter, Elisabeth ’07, just had her first book translation (from German) published by New Vessel Press. She works at Middlebury Interactive Languages.”

Jai Imbrey states, “I am personally enjoying the Brooklyn neighborhood renaissance with my work on European art at the Brooklyn Museum, a now hip and happening place spurred on by the new director Anne Pasternak. I often find myself swimming with green turtles when I dip into the waters of St. Thomas to catch a glimpse of my husband, who is starting a new business in Rhum Agricole. Love reading Beard’s SPQR and Carlo Rovelli’s Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and of course that sexy devil Knausgaard!”

For John Hickenlooper, “This is a really big year. After four years where we had the worst droughts, floods, fires, shootings, when I attended 62 funerals, and went through a separation and divorce, this year is the opposite of woe. Which happens to be the title of my so-called memoirs. I married an amazing woman Jan. 16, took my son to watch the Broncos win the 50th Super Bowl on my birthday, and on May 24th Penguin/Random House released The Opposite of Woe. Oh, my.”

Harold Sogard’s “two bits of news: 1. My wife and I went to Paris last fall to visit our daughter, Lucy ’17, who was there on the Wesleyan/Vassar program. On Friday, Nov. 13th, we flew with her to Berlin for the weekend. That night the terrorist attacks happened. We had eaten twice at one of the restaurants that was shot up. Lucy had tickets for a concert later that month at the Bataclan. We came back to Paris that Sunday. I’ve never seen so many police, troops, and automatic weapons in my life. It was all a very sobering experience. Vive la France!

“And 2. I’m about three-quarters of the way through my first year as a Wesleyan Trustee. I’m still trying to figure out just what it is that we actually do. But at least it’s given me a convenient excuse to get back to campus and visit my daughter there before she graduates.”

Bill Gustus retired from his position as town administrator in Lynnfield, Mass., in January 2015, after 28 years of working in various public sector management positions. He now cuts grass and works the pro shop at Settlers Crossing Golf Course in Lunenburg, Mass., a regulation sized nine-hole course he purchased a couple of years ago to keep him busy after retirement. He would love to play some golf with any Wes golfing alums wandering through north central Massachusetts this summer.

Jim Krantz states he is “very proud of (and trying not to live vicarious through) my wonderful children. Daniel ‘11 is now in his second year at NYU Law and will be at Skadden, Arps this summer. My daughter Sarah has taken a semester off from Barnard, where she studies Anthropology and Art History, to work on the Darwin Manuscripts project at the American Museum of Natural History.”

After four decades in Hollywood and the motion picture business, Blasé Noto is now a full-time Assistant Professor at Barton College in North Carolina in the School of Visual, Performing and Communication Arts.  He continues teaching part-time at UNC School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking in the Producing program.   Still loving being back on the East Coast and living in Chapel Hill and the Triangle.   Also, he gets a chance to see Carol and Charlie Cocores when they’re down in South Carolina.

Randy “R.N.A.” Smith’s fourth collection of golf stories will be published this summer. Titled He Lies Nine, this book features the conclusion to his serialized, futuristic novella Golflandia.

Monique Witt says, “same as always:  we dropped two new discs mid-march.  The next three projects for the label are interesting.  Dev is doing more pro-audio design work along with the customary sound engineering.  Ben graduates mid-May and heads down to the Jacksonville Jazz Festival Piano Competition, where he is a finalist.  So everything is good.”

Jan Eliasberg “had the pleasure, and the honor”, of speaking at the official launch of the Wesleyan Women’s Network in NYC on Wednesday, April 20th. The program, “Wesleyan Women Then & Now,” focused on Wesleyan women throughout the decades and featured a TED Talk-style speaker from each decade, 1970s to the present. Jan sat on the dais with a “jaw-droppingly brilliant and inspiring group of Wesleyan women”: Majora Carter ’88, urban revitalization strategy consultant and McArthur Genius Grant winner; Shola Olatoye ’96, NYCHA Chair & CEO; and Emily Greenhouse ’08, managing editor of The New Yorker.

The event was hosted by trustee emerita Susan Webster ’77, P’18 at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where she is a partner in Cravath’s Corporate Department and leads the Firm’s General Corporate practice. The event sold out within a week of the invitation going out and the room was filled with kinetic, ambitious, and intelligent women eager to connect and hear about how the gifts of a Wesleyan education help to forge an entrepreneurial path through the “real world.” President Michael Roth made an appearance, single-handedly representing “Men at Wes.”

Back in Middletown, Jan’s daughter, Sariel Friedman ’19, just completed her first semester and is absolutely thriving. With an ambitious plan to double-major in American Studies and Studio Art, and minor in Film Studies, she is crafting a diverse, rich and deeply individualized Wesleyan education.

SHARON PURDIE | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Be careful what you wish for . . .” the saying goes. You responded to my e-mail with 4,270 words for my 1,000-word column! So bear with me as I abridge some and delay other items for next issue.

I’m sorry to start with news that in March a sudden heart attack took our classmate, Alan Kraus. Alan was an outstanding business trial lawyer, most recently partner at Latham & Watkins in New Jersey. Charlie Stolper recalls, “I knew for years that Al and his family had a history of heart problems. Mary Anne, the high school sweetheart he married, and two sons, survive him. Al was a groomsman at my wedding and a close friend over the years. He was captain of the Wesleyan golf team and we enjoyed playing golf (despite him giving me 20 strokes per round). He is the first of my generation of close friends to die. I will miss him.” (Charlie recently moved to Austin, Texas, much to his surprise. Their son will be a professor of Computer Science at Southwestern University, so they said they left Boston to follow him.)

More life transitions: After 38 years, Tom Wheeler left software systems engineering to pursue writing and art. This spring he is driving cross-country. Tom’s wife, Sondra ’79, teaching at Wesley Theological Seminary, will take a 2016 sabbatical to finish writing three books. Tom plans to travel, including time living in Europe. Their oldest daughter and her husband are completing medical fellowships at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and raising a 3-year-old son. Their second daughter, her husband, and a year-old son are moving to western Massachusetts. Tom’s son edits commercial and political polls in DC.

Paul Bennett wrote during his first week of retirement from Chevron after 36 years that, “life is the same and good.” Married 30 years, he has two 20-something sons. Elsewhere in the oil patch, Bob Pristas, of Hillsborough, N.J., worked 27 years with ExxonMobil as a chemist specializing in industrial hygiene, Q.A., and business travel (41 countries). Bob, who golfs, gardens and travels now, has sons Tim, 33, and Jon, 31, and grandchildren, ages 3 and 5. Thanks to social media, Bob’s reconnected with ’75ers Rich Grayson (Hartford area podiatrist) and Mike Lehman (professor at University of Mississippi Medical Center), and Frank Bresnick. He’s also in touch with Pete Stack ’77 (Dallas physician) and Bruce Kaplan ’77 (music director at a theater in Chattanooga).

Arthur Gaither married Alfreda George ’74, and they have three adult children and three grandchildren. Arthur retired last year after 40 years working with retirement plans. “I spend days housekeeping, preparing meals, and babysitting, and I teach classes at church. For my next part-time career, I want to pastor a small Protestant church near Middletown.”

In 2007, Inara de Leon retired early from the NBC/WNBC news division after nearly 30 years. A great work “perk” was Inara’s meeting Todd Norbitz, her husband of 29 years, in the documentary unit at NBC right after she started. Inara now produces and writes TV stories for Consumer Reports’ video service that supplies content to local stations throughout the country. She also does corporate media training, speech writing, and related coaching. Inara and Todd have two grown children, both working in newsrooms: daughter Chiara at NY1 (marrying in June), and son Ben at WNBC. Inara writes, “I feel very close to Wesleyan still. My mother, Camilla, taught in the music department for many years until her death in the late ’90s.” She sees Marjie Melnick ’72 frequently, Stephen Policoff ’70, Joel Bernstein ’70 and Janet Biehl ’74 (who recently published a biography of social ecologist and anarchist philosopher Murray Bookchin). She is also in touch with Peter Stern ’72, Nat White ’72, Morgan Muir ’73, Michael Wolfe ’68, Scott Karsten ’74, and Peter Woodin ’71. She observes, “All those great guys seem to be taking the aging process in stride, or downright ignoring it. They are mostly still in the thick of their careers, though there is some talk of slowing down.” She also sees several early WesWomen—Claudia Catania ’74 (known for her Playing on Air radio series), June Anderson ’74, Naaz Hosseini ’74, Vicky Bijur, Pat Mulcahy ’74, Ellen Driscoll ’74, and Claire Gruppo, and Nina Jaffe ’76.

Jan Schwaner happily retired in 2013 after 30 years in pediatrics, stays busy visiting family (son, wife, and perfect 2-year-old granddaughter in Philadelphia; son and husband in NYC; father in DC), playing cello, attending chamber music camp, and giving tours at the Museum of Fine Arts to disabled visitors. Tim owns Westwood Duplicate Bridge Club and directs tournaments for the American Contract Bridge League. Jan sees Luann Semeraro Hanley every few months and Rachel Adler Hayes in nearby Massachusetts.

Wondering what happened to Jim Forster, whom we last saw in 1973? He transferred to Rutgers College of Engineering after sophomore year, but is back in touch. After working in NYC, and then years of Silicon Valley startups, he is semi-retired, but active with some projects in India and Kenya. Married twice, Jim has a 27-year-old son and enjoys traveling and sailing. He’d enjoy meeting anyone from the old days—find him on the net. Jim stays in touch with Knox Cummin. Knox writes he’s a new EMT for the volunteer fire department in Huntington, Vt. He recently started playing Scottish small pipes; his daughter Elizabeth is a sophomore at Sarah Lawrence.

Other quick newsbites: Pam Swing’s and Marty Plotkin ’76’s son, Ben, will not graduate in May 2016, but a year later than previously reported. June Jeffries has a new granddaughter, Cathy Gorlin has a new grandson, and Jeff McChristian has a new son-in-law. Dave Rosenthal is moving from Baltimore to Buffalo. I’m saving the much appreciated news on Vinnie Broderick, Pat McQuillan, Ellen Remmer, Mike Minard, David Bickford, Amy Bloom, David Drake, Michael Hamburger, Larry Greenberg, Nancy Robinson Neff, David Lipton, Russ Munson, and Bob McNamara for next time.

Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com

860 Marin Drive. Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955

From all reports, Reunion Weekend was a hit. The weather was good, there were some excellent panel discussions, and enough classmates made it back to make the trip worthwhile. I could not make it, and I want to thank Elisa Serling Davis for sending me some notes about those who did. Folks mentioned were present unless stated otherwise.

Adele Miles Batchelder started her career in product marketing. She now teaches public preschool part time and volunteers. She has two children in their late ’20s and lots of hobbies, including yoga and dance.

Mark Berger, who is married to Jane Eisner ’77, attended with their daughter Rachel Berger ’06, who was attending her 10th Reunion. Mark and Jane have a second Wes grad who will attend her Reunion next year. After spending 30 years in Philadelphia, Mark and Jane are now living in NYC. Mark is VP of clinical research at Kadmon Corporation and Jane is editor of The Forward, a national Jewish newspaper.

Barbara Birney just returned from six weeks in Botswana, volunteering for the Cheetah Conservation group there. She attended with her brother, Bob Birney ’81, and she caught up with Linda Whitlock-Brown.

Mel Blake works as a talent agent representing authors and speakers. He and his wife, Rebecca, are about to sell their home in Lexington and move to Portsmouth, N.H.

Sidney Cohen and his wife, Carol, live in Pleasanton, Calif., where Sid works as a physician adviser for Medtronic. Their three children (Jacob, Rachel and Jonah) are busy as a CPA/controller, administrator at QVC and medical student, respectively. Sid’s hobbies include enjoying California’s great weather, tending to his fruit trees, photography, and amateur radio.

Many of you probably know that Wes has closed DKE. This is and will continue to be a sore point with many alumni, including myself. Alumni were permitted to have an open house at DKE this weekend, however, and some Chi Psi brothers joined in. Jim Cornell sent me a photo of himself, Dan Bellegarde, Paul McMahon, Pete McArdle, Stan Opalacz, and Rob Williams at the House and another that included Dennis Harrington, Wes Higgins, Paul McDermott, Jack O’Donnell, and Steve Farrell ’77 having dinner at Bread and Water. Alan Poon was also there but missed the photo shoot. You guys look great, and I am sorry I was not there to join you! Lenny Femino would have liked to attend but his daughter Leonora graduated from Grinnell that same weekend. Leonora graduated with honors and was a four-year starter on the varsity soccer team and a hurdler/captain in track. Congratulations, Len!

Leslie Gabel-Brett is enjoying her three granddaughters. She also has a book that will soon be published on the marriage equality movement.

Joellyn Gray and her husband, Kevin, have four sons, two in the film industry, one pursuing a medical career, and one in digital marketing in NYC. Kevin teaches real estate finance at Yale and Joellyn is the director of new business at Fujifilm. She was able to reconnect with Steve Duncan, Steve Goldman, Debbie Gottheimer, Tom Kovar, Merle Kummer, and David Low and to meet Ron Kirschner and Adele Batchelder.

Debra Haffner is going to be the next senior minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reston, Va., near DC. All DC friends are invited to visit her congregation.

David Harmin and his wife, Karen Williams Harmin, live in Cambridge and they both work at Harvard Medical School in neuroscience research and administration, respectively. Karen is a former attorney and David is a former physics professor. They lived separate lives for 31 years and then got back together and wed.

Byron Haskins, who could not make Reunion, is putting an end to commuting, retiring from federal service and planning a more leisurely work life. Best wishes to you and your wife, Byron.

Tom Kovar had a great time at the Reunion and, in addition to working, is still gigging with his band, the Retroverts, about once a month.

Seth Lerer visited Wes for the first time since graduation. He spent time with Elisa Serling Davis, Connie Bodine McCann, Merle Kummer, and many others and participated in a very well-received panel discussion in which alumni presented their current work and the impact Wes had on them. After five-and-a-half years as the dean of arts and humanities, Seth is now the Distinguished Professor of Literature at UCSD. He also has a new book being published by Oxford University Press in August entitled Tradition: A Feeling for the Literary Past.

Alan Miller and Ethan Bronner, former housemates, teamed up again as part of a Wes seminar on news literacy: “Discerning Fact from Fiction in our Digital-Age Democracy.” The panel, which drew an overflow crowd, also included Rob King ’84 and Erika Franklin Fowler, an assistant professor of government at Wes. The moderator was Alberto Ibargüen ’66, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Alan is president and founder of the News Literacy Project, Ethan is a senior editor of Bloomberg News, and Rob is ESPN’s senior vice president for “Sportscenter” and News. Alberto and the Knight Foundation were instrumental in launching the News Literacy Project as well as the field of news literacy nationally.

For the next issue, I’d like to hear from more of you, particularly classmates whose names begin with a letter from the second half of the alphabet!

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

Well, folks, there is much excitement already as we look ahead to 2017 and our 40th Reunion. Please mark your respective calendars, be it paper or Outlook, the dates of May 25th–28th. This is such an exciting time in our lives, full of lots of transitions, many good, others not-so-good. It will be great to share them with friends who knew each of us “way back when.”

For now, I have the following updates to report:

First time contributor Alan Steele recounts his amazing career ranging from physical chemistry to medicine to intellectual property law. Currently a Wellesley, Mass., resident, happily married, Alan can be found sculling on the Charles River. He has three grown sons (one is Wes grad Taylor Steele ’14).

Joel Backon remarried two years ago. Joel and his bride are both teachers, passionate about working with high school students, preparing them to tackle the challenges in the upcoming years. Joel is enjoying the recent arrival of two grandchildren, which has had a major rejuvenating effect.

Bob Giges has been awarded the Pavel Machotka Chair in Creative Studies at Porter University in California, Santa Cruz. The three-year appointment allows for Bob to teach and produce long form theatrical improv at UCSC. Cheryl Cutler MA ’71 inspires Bob in dance to this day—in the form of an eclectic mix of African, Samba, and hip-hop, called Worldanz.

Don Ryan’s son John ’14, released his first album: Petunia’s Room. I like what I heard.

Don Spencer has entered my world, in that he is building a new house in Westport: comes with the million decisions you have to make from beginning to end. By the time we read these notes, he should be all moved in. Don’s kids: Jocelyn ’13 is in London completing a graduate program and Alyssa is a theater and entrepreneurship student at Clark.

Iddy Olson happily writes about a new romance in Chicago and the sunny effects on all aspects of her life.

Hank Rosenfeld compared notes with me about Jackson Hole, Wyo. He went slogging through the rain last summer with Bob Rees, hiking and enjoying the antlers adorning the town square, as well as restaurants with bears inside. It is quite the place. Hank and fellow Butterfield Hall mate, Byron Washington, met up with Hank’s nephew Harrison, introducing the lad to his first Bob Dylan concert in Clarkston, Mich.

Jay Kilbourn is running for the Maine State Senate seat in District 34. Jay is a clean election candidate, a Democrat, with focus on renewable energy, jobs, and growing the farm base.

Jane Goldenring was back at Wesleyan teaching graduate film production majors: how to prepare to hit the LA/NYC job markets.

Kate Seeger came by to catch up with Jane during her three-day teaching gig.

Janet Malkemes is now dean of a new program: Center for Global Engagement at Central Piedmont Community College. The change is bittersweet, given that Janet leaves Cato, where she recently completed a major building project.

Joan Goldfeder proudly writes about her son, Eli, graduating from high school and heading off this fall to Bucknell. Like Joan, I remember a young 9-year-old at our 30th Reunion; I’m so happy, but not the least bit surprised, to hear what a good guy he has become.

Joe Tringali visited in LA; he seems to be enjoying retirement.

Lisa Brummel wrote that Cheryl Sucher has moved back to the US landing near Princeton, N.J. Carol and Lisa caught up with former roommate Juannie Eng. Lisa’s son is graduating high school and will be attending Dickinson College this fall. Son number two is beginning his college visits this fall. Lisa plans to visit friends, myself included. Lisa had a tough start to the year with the passing of her mom.

Vanessa Burgess touched base that Susan Webster graciously hosted a Wes Women’s Networking event at Cravath this past April. Vanessa was on the planning committee along with Diana Diamond ’70 and Melody Oliphant ’13.

Yoriko Kishimoto writes that she continues to be involved in local policy and politics as the President of the Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District, where they passed a $300 million bond measure; they are busy buying land, restoring watersheds, and opening new trails. Yoriko is vice chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s water commission.

I close by hoping everyone is having/has had a fine summer. Remember next May 2017: we can do all this in person.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com