Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

I must begin with some sad news, as we have lost one of the true icons of our class. Dave Revenaugh died in February after a lengthy illness. Everyone will remember Dave as the star running back on Wesleyan’s undefeated team in 1969. The image of him scoring the winning touchdown in the epic win over Williams is forever etched in my mind. The following year Wesleyan repeated as Little Three champs—and we went through a very long stretch of time before that happened again. But let’s also remember Dave as a truly delightful, if Rabelaisian, individual. He was a constant, active presence on campus, someone who enjoyed life immensely and made everyone around him enjoy it too. He made a career as a builder, specializing in “green,” sustainable projects. No one who knew him will soon forget Dave. The world has now become that much duller.

Geoffrey Smith passed away last June in Virginia. Jeff worked for the IRS for 40 years. He was remembered in his Centreville community for his many years of coaching softball and basketball with men and women with special needs.

Fred Moore passed away Feb. 16. Fred earned an MBA from Columbia and qualified as a CPA, enjoying a long and varied career in the corporate world and in banking, most recently as vice president of Structured Securitized Products for ING Financial Services, Inc. We who remember him as a track star at Wesleyan are not surprised to know that he kept up with competitive running until he became ill.

Dennis Kesden is moving into a new phase. He and his wife, Sherry, sold their ophthalmology practice and office building, and became employees of OCLI, the largest eye group in the New York metropolitan area. They work Monday to Thursday for three weeks, then take a week off and go to Phoenix to see their daughter, Cindy; son-in-law, Jay; and grandchildren, Spencer and Hannah. Their son, Dr. Mike Kesden, is a tenure-track physics professor at U.T. Dallas, and the winner of a Sloan Fellowship. Dennis has targeted this December as his retirement date. Dennis plays a lot of golf, but Sherry’s idea of relaxation is performing 18 cataract operations a day.

Sherry Hilding is still working as a special education teacher at Windham Tech HS in Willimantic, Conn. She also was recently certified as a TRE-tension/trauma release provider, takes a lot of yoga, and continues to teach an eclectic exercise class. And last summer she attended a ‘super fantastic” workshop at Omega Institute led by Bobby McFerrin.

Pat Bailey is still living the dream in his home, Chateau Calypso, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. “This past July I was the International Sailing Federation’s technical delegate in charge of the Sailing Competition at the Pan American Games. Our event was acclaimed the best ever in the history of the Games! Not too bad for a simple island boy and as always I am thankful for my well rounded education at Wesleyan ’68-’72.”

Paul Vidich’s novel should be published by the time this column is in print. I can’t wait to read it. Paul’s home town buddy Vin Suprynowicz has also transitioned to the fictive mode. To quote from the book jacket of his latest novel,

“Deep in the Nevada desert, in a hidden mansion full of old books and vintage clothes, guarded by five-and-a-half anthropomorphic cats and a family of Attack Roadrunners, Vin Suprynowicz went cold turkey from a 40-year newspaper career. They said he’d never write anything over a thousand words again. But with the help and encouragement of the Brunette and a few close friends, he came back. With The Testament of James he proved them wrong. Now comes the second drug-enhanced adventure of Matthew Hunter and Chantal Stevens, The Miskatonic Manuscript. In an earlier life, Vin wrote Send in the Waco Killers, The Ballad of Carl Drega, and the freedom novel The Black Arrow.”

Leon Vinci is back “east”—Roanoke, Va., to be precise, after 12 years as a county public health officer in Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado. Two sons and a grandchild live nearby. (His daughter works on Madison Avenue in “the Big Apple.”) Leon is CEO/President of Health Promotion Consultants, a health and environmental consulting firm. In Colorado, Leon met up with Rick Berg for some mountain/trail hiking on the western slope. (Okay, Rick! Two consecutive issues!) Leon is proud to announce that this is the 175th Anniversary of the founding of Chi Psi, and he will be attending the conclave in Williamsburg, Va. The Lodge at Wesleyan is the third-oldest chapter.

Peter Schwartz works in a large geriatric medical practice in southeast Pennsylvania. He and wife Leigh celebrated 20 years of marriage and the birth of their 10th grandchild (six for him, four for her). Son Jonathan ’00 is head of the middle school at The Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Son Jeffrey lives in Japan while the other children are closer by.

John Paul Maynard is completing his fifth year running the website, Islamic Civilization, hosted by the alumni office of Harvard University. In September, he completed Twelve Capitalisms: An Economic History of Civilization. In spring 2016 his second book of poems, Turning the Barbarians, will be published by the Levelers Press.

This from Rob Gelblum: “Trying to exit my 30-year environmental law career (including 25 with the State of North Carolina, ending three years ago), though music will take up a certain amount of time. Meanwhile, Mary Lou continues to render therapy part-time to the severely autistic. Reuben (29) is new to Seattle after relocating there with his partner (she’s starting medical residency there), and Morris (just turned 28) continues to grow Sweeps (sweeps.jobs) while living outside Chapel Hill. Both sons did that UNC-CH (where their parents met as 32-year-old grad students) undergrad thing. A downsizing scenario involving leaving Raleigh after 28 years for a few acres west of Chapel Hill, with ML’s handicapped older sister/ward and sister’s caregiver living in one little-if-not-tiny home and us in another, may be in the cards. It’s ironic to think that, when my parents announced in Philly in June ’68 they were moving the family to some place called Chapel Hill, N.C., I said something like, ‘Thank goodness I’ll never have to live down there with you, since I’ll be starting Wesleyan in the fall.’ Best to all ’72ers.”

And of course, a final word from Bob White: “An article is coming out soon, targeting me and my work on the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis. Ouch! It is a good thing that I went to Wesleyan and this is just business as usual to deal with such contention. Stay tuned.”

Thanks, folks! More in four months!

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

213 Copper Square Drive, Bethel, CT 06801

John Huttlinger tells me he is doing well in Lake Placid, N.Y. He also says his CPA practice is doing well, adding that he purchased another firm a couple of years ago, which doubled the size of his practice. John says, “The only problem is that I’m working more than I would like to at this stage. I occasionally think about retirement now that my son John has graduated from Ithaca College and is gainfully employed as a computer programmer.” John says he still finds time to do some ski racing two or three days a week. He says the New England Masters ski races are a lot of fun and he occasionally goes over to Vermont for their events. John is also still actively involved with the Adirondack Film Society, which produces film events such as the Lake Placid Film Forum, which has been held annually for 15 years now. He notes that June 8–12, 2016 are the dates of this year’s event! John runs Accounting Associates of Lake Placid.

Dr. Michael Fossel tells me, “I’ve utterly failed to retire.” He says his latest book, The Telomerase Revolution, just came out to “glowing reviews. The Wall Street Journal called it one of the best science books of the year and the London Times had a full-page laudatory review.” He says the book is already scheduled to come out in six languages (not counting separate UK, NZ, and Australian editions) and more are in negotiation.

“More important,” Michael writes, “I founded Telocyte, a new biotech company, to cure (not merely slow or treat symptoms of) Alzheimer’s disease.” He says his company is currently in active discussion with more than two dozen venture capital groups, solely as a result of his presentation at a biotechnology conference in San Francisco last month. Michael says, “Both theoretical considerations and animal data make us reasonably confident that we can both prevent and largely reverse the cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer’s patients. We are currently planning FDA-sanctioned human trials. It’s exciting times for us.”

We have some sad news to report. David Swanson died Oct. 12th of last year. Alain Munkittrick writes that this sentence from his obituary resonated for him (as he was sure it would for friends from Wesleyan): “A calm and steady force, Dave was known for his humor and quiet wit, thoughtful insights, gifted writing and gentle and kind nature.”

Alain reports that after Wesleyan, Dave joined AmeriCorps VISTA, earned a master’s degree in regional and urban planning, and subsequently enjoyed an accomplished career with the City of Salinas, Calif., “where he effected progress on many fronts, but especially housing and infrastructure improvements.” Alain says, “His obituary noted that ‘he dedicated his professional career to improving living conditions for those less fortunate.’ I am thankful that over the past few years I was able to reconnect with Dave, his wife Mary Orrison, and learn about his many post-retirement pleasures (including becoming a grandfather) and the progress of his two sons, Tyler and Will. He will be missed.” I can tell you that Dave was a kind and reliable soul, hardly ever missing a practice and a rugby game while playing faithfully in the second row of many a scrum during games at and away from Wesleyan.

Updating my note about my good friends Sharon and Gary Jacobson. They have moved from New Jersey to Reno and Gary says they would be happy to hear from any classmates who are visiting the Lake Tahoe area.

Finally, Bill Vernon tells me he was watching TV in Jaco, Costa Rica and ended up seeing me on the news through WFOR-TV CBS, my station. Bill says, “Cannot escape the alma mater.”

I look forward to hearing more of your stories.

PETER D’OENCH | Pgdo10@aol.com

Class of 1974 Endowed University Scholarship

Rami Hamati ’19, Manja, Jordan

Charlie Cocores writes, “I’ll be leaving my second career as the Educator in Residence, Certification Officer, at Connecticut College in May. Hope to continue to teach some psych in local colleges. Carol and I are awaiting our 5th grandchild in April and couldn’t be more excited! If folks are ever in Old Saybrook, CT or Pawleys Island SC look us up!

Writing under a penname, Ellen Levy Sarnoff is a bestselling steamy Romance writer on Amazon. Among the authors who write these kinds of books, she has even been more popular than 50 Shades, E. L. James. She has made both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. LOL! What a career. From children’s television programming to this!

Bob Baum is enjoying life in the Upper Valley of Vermont and of being a grandfather. He just published a book, West Africa’s Women Of God: Alinesitoue And The Diola Prophetic Tradition, available from Indiana University Press.

Monique Witt and her One Trick Dog Records company are “deep in the production of the first four albums of 2016, the first a jazz fusion with Katini Yamaoka Dinkubahi that will be sent for broad distribution in Japan, the second, a delta blue with SeRon Crenshaw, then the Roy Assaf Trio’s new offering, and finally a debut album for my son, Ben. Everyone is busy. Ben will finish his programs at both Columbia and Julliard in May. He was elected early to Phi Beta Kappa. My elder, Dev, is engaged and will marry in the fall. Hello to Bob Baum.”

Doug Cole went to DC in February to meet their new Just born granddaughter, Lyra Abigail Cole. Grandchild #4. What fun! Also, he is celebrating 40th anniversary to Carolyn Loughlin this year; 30 years in their home in Woodinville, which has become wine capital of Washington.

As of February, Tom Barton had recently retired from a 32-year practice in orthopedic surgery in New Hampshire.

Nancy Collins reports that she “retired in August 2014 after 30 years as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. We now have a second house in Rio Verde, Ariz., where we are part time. My husband, Brian Mahoney ’73, is still working 50 percent at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and I still have my big vegetable and flower gardens in North Oaks, Minn. We are working on our skills in bridge, ballroom dancing, pickle ball and hiking, and advanced Spanish, and volunteering. We visit Dan (computer programming for Safe Net) in Milwaukee and Meredith PsyD (works for PACE University and has her own private practice) and her husband Armintas (Point 72 hedge fund) in Manhattan. We see Katie and Chloe and Sookie (her family of 2 Frenchies) in Minneapolis where she is an ER doc at Fairview Ridges and Southdale Hospitals. That is busy enough for us! Glad to be off the ever accelerating hamster wheel of work.”

This past winter, Kathy Scholle Hale had lunch with Bob Gershen and wife Debra Kaye who now live in Sarasota, Fla. Also for the first time in years, she had a long conversation with her old roommate, Brett Sherman, who is living in NYC with her architect-husband. Ironically they discovered that they each own a house in Westerly, R.I. Small world.

Jan Eliasberg shares, “I’m delighted to report that I am now the proud parent of a Wesleyan student — my daughter, Sariel Hana Friedman ’18. Sariel transferred to Wesleyan from Barnard and, within days of her arrival, was sending pictures of Foss Hill covered with snow and texts saying things like “I love this school!!!!!!!” (There might even have been a few more exclamation points). She has declared — in true Wesleyan fashion — that she’s going to double major in American Studies and Studio Art and minor in Film, concentrating on the production and history of design and the history of advertising and visual communication in America.

Because of her background and experience in graphic design, Sariel’s been hired to work part-time at Wesleyan’s Office of Communications, creating and designing advertisements for the Wesleyan Film Series, pamphlets and brochures for admissions and fundraising, and doing layout for the Wesleyan University alumni magazine. Several people were extraordinarily helpful in her transition: Andrew Stuerzel, in University Relations, and Tonya Strong, Dean of Admission for Transfer Students, who were gracious and helpful every step of the way.

I’ve been busier than ever with challenging, wonderful directing work. I’ve spent several months in Nashville, directing episodes of Nashville, created by Callie Khouri and starring Connie Britton. I’ve fallen in love with the music, the architecture, the food and the lively spirit of the city. I’ve also been involved in directing the first season of a wonderful new series called The Magicians, based on the best-selling trilogy of novels by Lev Grossman. The Magicians has been called “Harry Potter goes to graduate school,” which gives a flavor of this unique world — where magic is dark, sexy, alluring, addictive, and downright terrifying in equal measure. I adore the show, which has just been renewed for a second season. Among the writers is fellow Wesleyan grad, Henry Alonso Myers. Look for my episode on March 7th.

Chris Neagle reports, “I saw Chuck Gregory in Ft. Lauderdale last month (January), who I connected with on FB. He started with us but graduated in 1973 and moved to Florida. I last saw him during a 1976 law school vacation.

“His living room looked just like our old living room in a Washington Ave house we shared with others our junior year—full of electronics!  He hosts the weekly New American Dream Radio show on its website. He remains extremely liberal, fun to be with, and seems happy with life. Met his wonderful wife Lorraine and her African mouse, too.  He promised to come to our 50th.”

And Chuck Gregory says, “I recently got to see Chris Neagle for the first time since the ’70s. It was great to rediscover that friendship, and to find that we still shared many common views after all these years. I hope other old friends will look me up if they visit the Fort Lauderdale area.”

John Hickenlooper writes: “On Jan. 16 (yes, 1/16/16, and almost exactly a month after VT Gov Peter Shumlin ’79, married Katie Hunt) I married the remarkable Robin Pringle, who is VP of Corp Development for $45-billion holding company, Liberty Media. I can’t remember being this happy. We had a one-day honeymoon in Boulder, came back to see the Broncos beat the Patriots, and then went off to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And. Then in late May Penguin Books is publishing my sort of memoir, The Opposite of Woe. A full but a happy year ahead.”

And from me—Sharon Purdie—My husband, Ted Sybertz, and I continue to split our time between Vero Beach, Fla. (kayaking, biking, swimming, hiking), Park City, Utah (skiing), and Jamestown RI (sailing, biking swimming, hiking). Our daughter, Sherry Sybertz ’10, will complete her MBA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies in May and our son, Jeff Sybertz, will complete his MBA from Stern (NYU) in May 2017.

SHARON PURDIE | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Class of 1975 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Saarim Zaman ’16, Government

Dear Classmates: You are not making this job easy! In response to my plea for news in the last column and via e-mail, I received a grand total of six replies. I know that the class of 1975 can do better than that, so send me a word as soon as you get this magazine, flip to this column, and realize how slim my pickings are this month. All it takes is a moment at the computer or on your phone. You call all do this. Now, on to what I know . . .

The holiday letters came from a few of my usual suspects. Brian Steinbach can always be counted on to mix politics, sports, and family news from his home in D.C. He continues his work in employment law with a successful finale to a six-year odyssey of arguing a case all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court and prevailing. Otherwise, he occupies himself with home improvement, car repair, and growing and preserving garden produce. Brian’s wife, Mary Reyner, is a talented potter and gardener.

Joost Brouwer’s holiday letter was full of family news, with his three sons finishing studies, finding new jobs, relocating within the Netherlands or as far off as Australia, and generally doing what 20-somethings do. Joost did some traveling himself, taking a three-week trip to China with a family group that included his 83-year-old uncle, who had many friends and colleagues there. The passage of 2015 also brought the passing of Joost’s mother and his mother-in-law. Joost continues to devote himself to advocating for refugee families seeking to remain in the Netherlands and has helped many people in need.

Martha Faller Brown actually sent a real, paper holiday card (they are sadly becoming rare) with a resolution to get together this year, since we are both in the Bay Area. I can report in a subsequent column when we actually pull this reunion off!

Cathy Gorlin is almost a grandmother—her daughter in NYC expects a baby boy in March. Cathy’s son bought a house in Denver, so she’ll be doing some traveling. I saw some beautiful photos she took in Florida recently—good place to be in February when you live in Minnesota!

Jeff Cellars has had an eventful year. He’s wrapping up a three-year tour as a diplomat in Switzerland, where he was Chargé d’Affaires and then deputy chief of mission, dealing with such challenges as the Montreux Jazz Festival and the World Economic Forum. The plan is to return to Washington, D.C., after 16 years overseas and enjoy grandparenthood and the upcoming marriage of his and Bethanne’s second daughter.

Cheryl Vichness reports that her daughter, Gwendolyn, will graduate in May from the University of Delaware with a degree in elementary education and theater. Sounds like a good combination!

Some older news I gleaned: Rachel Adler Hayes is a premature empty nester, with their son having gone to boarding school in New Hampshire. Rachel and her husband split their time between a house in New York and their place outside Boston.

Dave Rosenthal got together with John Moore, Joe O’Rourke and Paul Margolin for “a weekend mini-reunion this fall, sharing memories of favorite professors, intramural basketball and pizza at Giovanni’s. It began on Cape Cod and ended in Hartford with a concert by Stevie Wonder, who provided key parts of the playlist for our years at Wesleyan.”

David Leisner writes: “Last week saw the release of my new CD on the Azica label with cellist Zuill Bailey, called Arpeggione. Featuring the Arpeggione Sonata by Franz Schubert, the premiere recording of my Twilight Streams, and other arrangements of Falla, Villa-Lobos, Gluck, Saint-Saëns and Paganini, this album is already no. 51 on the charts in its first week. Judging from the extraordinary response so far, it may climb further up the charts. Zuill and I are very proud of this release and hope that you will take the opportunity to buy the CD or download.”

As for me, both kids are thriving in college. Julia (21) is spending the first three months of 2016 at “Stanford In Washington” doing a full-time internship with a bipartisan think tank and taking classes at night. Ethan is deep into his first year of engineering studies at Northeastern, adjusting to city living and New England winter. With the nest empty and lots of miles saved up, I had the remarkable chance to return to India (where I was an AFS student in 1970) for the fourth time. The occasion was the wedding of my Indian “niece,” child of one of my three AFS sisters. Seven parties in six days, followed by a week of recuperating at a resort on the Arabian Sea near the southern tip of India… followed by massive jet lag. It was an amazing experience and a tremendous privilege to be part of the family inside the experience of an Indian wedding.

I look forward to hearing from more of you this spring and having more info to share the next time around.

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

860 Marin Drive. Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955

I received a lot of responses to my requests for news this quarter, and I am not going to be able to fit it all in. Some will have to wait until next time. This column will focus on classmates who have not written in for a while.

Susan Peterson Avitzour, who has four thriving grandchildren, earned a master’s degree in English and creative writing last year. She continues to work as a psychotherapist but has also published four short stories and just finished her first novel.

Meredith Gang Bergmann sent me a wonderful photo of her presenting a bust that she created of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Justice. In New York this past October, Meredith’s husband, Michael, wrote and directed a libretto in an opera based on Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities. And, this past April, Michael’s film, Influence, for which Meredith did the production design and their son, Daniel,–– was the technical advisor won two awards at the Houston Film Festival.

Arvid Bloom is retired after 25 years as a psychology professor and has re-discovered an old passion for photography. Arvid also is learning guitar and is helping a museum to restore a helicopter from the Korean War era. He and his wife, Gretchen, also volunteer at a local animal rescue center.

Alida Jay Boye was stationed in Mali as counsellor for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010-–2013. In appreciation for her work, she was knighted by the Malian Government and is now a “Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mali.”

Rob Briskin is a concierge internist in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He and his wife have twin 6-year-old girls.

Karen Adair Stephens Caplan is living in Wallingford with her husband, Dick. Their daughter, Samantha, lives in Carlsbad, Calif., and their son, Tom, is working as property manager with his dad. Karen has joined a hospital-based palliative consult team. She would love to hear from old friends.

Sidney Cohen (a doctor in cardiology and internal medicine with a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics) is now living in the Bay Area with his wife, the former Carol Fisher (second marriage). Sidney has three children: Jacob, who is a CPA and is married to Sarah Waxman; Rachel, who works at QVC; and Jonah, who is in med school in Israel.

Lawrence Davis and his wife, Ronna, will be away and regret that they are going to miss the Reunion. Their daughter, Ilana ’06, recently had her second child and their son just graduated from IDC Herzliya in Tel Aviv.

Ron Epstein is a family physician on the faculty at the University of Rochester. He and his wife Deborah have a son Eli ’11 who will be having an engagement party in Wenzhou, China, in March, followed by a wedding in Vermont. Their daughter, Malka, recently graduated from the College of Charleston. Ron is the president and Deborah is the artistic director of Pegasus Early Music, a NFP that serves Western New York.

Lenny Femino reports that our class had a great turnout for Homecoming and that, although the DKE House has been closed by the University, it was used for food and gathering after the game. Paul McMahon, Pete McArdle, Dennis Harrington, Bob Gandolfo, Jeff White, Al Poon, Dave Eckert, Jack O’Donnell, Steve Beauchamp ’77, Jeff Gray ’77 and his wife Joanne, Dennis Robinson ’79, and Scott Karsten ’74 among others, were in attendance.

Steve Goldman was elected managing partner of Robinson and Cole in Hartford. A trial lawyer at the firm since 1980, he has focused on insurance coverage and class action litigation, handling numerous federal and state appeals in multiple jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of the United States.

Alan Haus writes about the upcoming election. He says that if Clinton wins, he may exercise his dual US/EU citizenship and move to Europe. And if Trump wins, he will find out how long it is before SpaceX is in full service!

Libby Horn’s chorus, Saratoga Soundtrack, came in fourth in the world in the small chorus division of the Sweet Adeline’s International Competition in Las Vegas this past October.

Nina Jaffe is on the graduate faculty of Bank Street College of Education in NYC, where she advises candidates involved in childhood education. Nina’s book The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth From Puerto Rico, was selected as a Staff Pick at The Bank Street Bookstore. Nina’s husband, Bob Armistead, is a special educator teaching in the South Bronx, and their son, Louis, is a free-lance film editor and producer.

Debbie King got (re)married this past June to Daniel Toth in Boulder, Colo., after a long engagement. Their daughters and granddaughters made up the wedding party. They honeymooned in Bordeaux, France, and the Cinque Terre in Italy.

Debra Gottheimer Neuman and husband, Paul, moved last year to Mystic, Conn., where they live in an 1806 cottage in the historic district. Last May, their son Joshua was married to Meagan Riley in Athens, Ga. The newlyweds are each pursuing MS degrees, he in plant pathology and she in nursing.

Joe Reiff’s book on the Civil Rights Movement. Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi’s Closed Society, has been published by Oxford University Press.

Lisa deSchweinitz and her husband will be downsizing into a co-housing community in their hometown of Anchorage. Lisa is a family physician. She does medical missions in Spanish-speaking countries and went to Nicaragua last fall.

Steve Smith started as a ’75 but joined ’76. He lives in East Flat Rock, N.C., with his wife Jean, who teaches in the local public school system. Steve did computer programming most of his career and now works for DHG in healthcare consulting in Athens. Their two children, Tara ’07 and Tyler, work in Charlotte, Tara as a librarian and Tyler as a computer programmer. Steve and Jean are active in the dulcimer club in Asheville.

Last December, Marc Stier became the director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a leading progressive think tank in Pennsylvania. Marc’s book, Grassroots Advocacy and Healthcare Reform, was recently published. Marc’s daughter with Diane Gottlieb ’80 graduated from Hampshire College last spring.

Our Reunion is May 19–22, 2016. You can find more information at: wesconnect.wesleyan.edu, under “Events.” Hope to see you there.

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

It appears that each New Year seems to be moving at a faster pace than the previous one. For 2016, it may have to do with this being an election year, complete with the bombardment of debates, ads, and unrelenting commentary (mostly negative) on everything. I am writing to you all from the chilly Northeast (minus-5 degrees this morning) by a nice fire with these updates:

Cindee Howard writes about her big year of anniversaries and changes: turning 60, celebrating 15 years with her partner, Jon, moving her 99-year-old father into assisted living, consolidating real estate.

Dave Levit writes about being a father of two Wesleyan grads. Dave and wife Ruth are enjoying life in Amherst Mass.; he writes about cutting back work to “full-time” (seriously?) in private practice of psychologist/psychoanalyst and teaching.

John Fink wrote in about connecting with Scott Director and his wife in Oregon while John was visiting his kids and grandson. John will be in NYC later this year and plans to visit with Peter Guenther and Rick Dennett. I appreciate John’s observation that with technology, a whole generation will never own a landline telephone nor subscribe to a newspaper. People’s continued interest in various screens makes it appear that his work in the television industry is safe for some time to come.

I received Janet Malkemes annual personal update of the comings and goings in her world. At her Community College of Charlotte she has been involved with the realization of a new building on campus. Janet has been enjoying some significant travel and meeting up with friends and family, both at home and away.

Jason Baron recently returned from Cambodia working with children in a remote village in Kampot Province. Jason created a nonprofit organization in his mother’s name with goal of building the first freestanding library at a high school there. After spending the better part of 35 years as a lawyer focused on preserving White House e-mail, this project has been life-changing. See thechellyfoundation.org for more information. Jason would love to hear from classmates, starting with his old gang at Foss Hill 5; reach him at jrbaron3@gmail.com.

Jim Melloan’s Radio Free Brooklyn (Internet station), which he began last year, made the UK Daily Telegraph’s list of best Internet radio stations. Jim has a weekly show Tuesday evenings. He also does some performing as a singer/songwriter in NYC.

Jody Friedman has moved, after 21 years, from Sylva, N.C., east one hour, to Asheville. Jody teaches adults with developmental differences at Asheville Buncombe Community College and is an urban-style homesteader growing edible and medicinal perennials, foraging, duck-keeping, water saving, etc. on the weekends. Her son and daughter live nearby and are doing well.

Joe Mabel sent an intriguing note that he is doing fine in Seattle, and that any other comments would have to wait until things settle out.

Lisa Nelkin has retired to a log cabin, along with a “completely spoiled rotten dog,” in the Colorado Rockies after living on her sailboat for four years: sailing from Baltimore to New Zealand with husband Bret. Lisa’s daughter and son-in-law live in Tampa.

Vanessa Burgess consoled me after the Patriots lost to Denver in the football playoffs. She joined Dave Thomas, Don Lowery, and Don Citak for dinner in New York (PJ Clarke’s). Vanessa mentioned that there will be a Wesleyan Women’s event in NYC in April. Stay tuned!

Will Altman wrote from Brazil that he has a new book expecting to be published this February: The Guardians in Action: Plato the Teacher and the Post-Republic Dialogues from Timaeus to Theaetetus (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2016). Will has two grandchildren, Eliza and James.

A few mentions were made that folks are looking forward to our next Reunion, only a year away in 2017. It is never too early to plan!!

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

Class of 1978 Endowed Scholarship Fund

Vera Benkoil ’18, New York, N.Y.

Nancy Chen is enjoying life in Boulder, Colo., where she is establishing a marketing strategy coaching business. Her daughter, Ariane, will be graduating this year from Chapman University in Orange, Calif., where she is majoring in environmental science. Her other daughter, Isabelle, is studying communications at Seattle University.

Glenn Heinmiller was inducted into the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) College of Fellows. Glenn is a principal at the architectural lighting design firm LAM in Cambridge, Mass. His expertise is in the production of high-quality electric and day-lighting solutions minimizing energy use and environmental impact, and he serves as chairman of the IALD energy and sustainability committee. He has received numerous awards for his lighting design work, about which he has written and lectured, and has taught at Boston Architectural College.

David Weild IV continues his work in the financial sector as CEO of Weild & Co., and continues his public policy working stemming from his contributions to the creation of the JOBS Act, as well. He was at the White House as a participant in the I Have a Dream Summit, and his work travels also took him to the G20 meeting in Istanbul and the Budapest Economic Forum. Dave will be doing some teaching in the Economics Department at Wes this semester; his sister actually teaches in the drama department. His children (“the joy in my life”)—Dave V, Michael, and Kelly—are all avid lacrosse players.

Bobbie (Barbara) Spellman recently published an article in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, about “the current crisis of replicability in the social and life sciences.” She proudly reports having, in its acknowledgement section, thanked no less than 11 of her Wesleyan professors “for influencing my thinking oh-so-long ago.” Bobbie has also recently published a book, The Psychological Foundation of Evidence Law.

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Class of 1979 Scholarship

Julian Carraway ’18, Middletown, Conn.

A book that Jane Marcellus co-authored, Mad Men and Working Women: Feminist Perspectives on Historical Power, Resistance, and Otherness (Peter Lang, 2014, rev. ed. 2016) was named to Teen Vogue magazine’s “epic feminist reading list.” Here’s the link: teenvogue.com/gallery/feminist-literature-womens-equality-day/25. “Obviously, popular magazines have tremendous influence on young women, and we were thrilled to be part of a list that includes several feminist classics.”

Robert Kuhn and his husband, Steven, live in Fort Lauderdale with their two Irish Terriers. They have been together 11 years and married four years in February. They have pretty hectic lives, as they’re both in the consulting world—lots of work and travel. Robert’s sustainability consultancy has its ups and downs, but after almost eight years it’s still something he’s passionate about. He recently heard from Bob Murphy ’79, who’s in a related field. Anyone else? On the personal side, he’s in his sixth year on the board of Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest civil rights organization focused on the LGBT and HIV-positive communities. Board service is a labor of love, but this cause speaks to him and has connected him with so many great, passionate folks.

Alan Saly is proudly collecting delegate signatures for Bernie Sanders in Brooklyn.

Gerard Koeppel wrote: “By the time you’re reading this, my latest book, City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, will be nearing the end of a pretty good run, which Adam Gopnik kicked off in the New Yorker a month before the book was published last November. I started writing when Alexandra Peers, editor of Ampersand, the late, great Argus arts section of her invention, asked me in sophomore year to do a piece about Essex, where the sailing club (WESail) I was running based its operations (boats, bought used from Yale with donor money, stored on the grounds of what was then the Wesleyan Marine Lab and launched into the Connecticut River by arrangement with adjoining Essex Yacht Club). The Essex profile went over well, I started writing more features, eventually a weekly column (and intercollegiate sailing competition sports reports under a variety of sailing-related pseudonyms), and switched from an econ major to English. Phyllis Rose taught me to read, visiting V. S. Naipaul (while alienating much of the Wesleyan community) taught me to write, and the rest, so to speak, after many years in journalism (mostly at CBS News) is history, writing everything from books to historical signage in New York City parks. To think that I practically failed Dick Buel’s American History survey course. For anyone who’s interested: gerardkoeppel.com.”

Toni Ross commented that “one child graduated from Bennington this year, the other back in school at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in their newly founded Game Design program, I am still living in Wainscott, N.Y. with my two dogs, George and Gracie, and preparing for three separate exhibitions in 2016 in New York City, East Hampton, and Sag Harbor, N.Y. Nick & Toni’s, my first restaurant venture, just celebrated its 27th anniversary. It is shocking to me that I could be so fortunate. My other restaurants La Fondita, Townline Barbeque, and Rowdy Hall, all located in the Hamptons and Nick & Toni’s Cafe in New York City are also celebrating many years in business. And, shhhhhhh, a new one is on the way. Stay tuned.”

Esslie Hughes is delighted to report that today (Jan. 14, 2016) she started her new position as chief of finance and operations for the Episcopal Diocese of New York!

Rachel Bashevkin will retire this spring as director of studies at Westover School in Middlebury, Conn., after 35 years there. She’ll be moving to New Haven to start a new chapter in her life. Feel free to send ideas for work, service, and entertainment in New Haven to her.

Joseph Wright, MD, MPH, was elected to the American Pediatric Society. Membership is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves as child health leaders, teachers, scholars, policymakers, and clinicians and whose important contributions are recognized nationally or internationally. He calls his membership “a platform for me to further Howard’s commitment to outstanding patient care and service to the community.”

Julie Hacker has been very busy. Her firm, Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects LLC, has just completed the first luxury showroom for Pella windows, which opened Jan. 14 in the Chicago Merchandise Mart.

She is serving as a preservation commissioner for the city of Evanston, Ill., where she gets to try to preserve the great historic building stock they have along the North Shore of Chicago. She ran a symposium, “The Iconic House,” as part of the recent Chicago Architecture Biennial, which just closed. Her recent books featuring the work of her firm include:100 Classical Architects for the 21st Century (Rizzoli) and Contemporary Renovations and Additions (Think Publishing). An active triathlon participant, she completed five short course events this past summer (sprint and Olympic distance) and placed first in her age group in the Michigan City Triathlon. On a personal note, her son, Gabriel, is now a junior at RISD, a double major in film/video/animation and sculpture, making really interesting installation pieces which she can honestly say, she does understand.

Bill Levinson took the plunge! “Well, we finally bought a house in Key West. What began as a one-month vacation, is now a five-month transformation. Julie is doing her graphic design remotely, and I am working five nights a week with The Happy Dog, an original music collaboration, playing gigs at bars, piers, and on boats: thehappydogband.com.”

Andrew Yavelow had a rough year. He lost his job, career, home, community, and friends—and his body fell apart. He moved from fire-ravaged northern California to warm and wet southern Florida, and is trying to pull himself back together and figure out what’s next. We wish him well.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com