Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Tony Mohr wrote, “The thought of retirement crosses my mind, though I’m trying lots of civil cases—malpractice, business disputes. I edit Gavel to Gavel and look for ‘judge’ stories. I’m still publishing personal essays and short stories. Beverly and I cruised Singapore to Dubai. No rain and calm seas. Always happy to hear from anyone visiting LA.”

Mac Thornton said, “I transferred to Stanford as a junior and continued in their law school with Ed Hayes. A 30-year enforcement career included time at the DOJ and HHS. I left during the Bush II era for 13 years of private practice. I’m a whitewater addict and founded the Potomac Conservancy and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition. Molly and I have two terrific children from Russia, now 17 and 18. I have fond memories of Wesleyan.”

From Bob Berkowitz: “The Reunion book warmed my heart. I’m still at CHOP and Penn School of Medicine, where I care for children and research their psychiatric disorders. The science and liberal arts at Wesleyan helped me as a person and physician. Barb and I celebrated our 49th.”

Bruce Snapp wrote in: “Here is a long overdue update for me. I have been considering attending the Reunion but cannot because of health issues. I am recovering from the lingering effects of a partial paralysis of my arms and legs cause by cervical stenosis. I had successful surgery in January, but recovering from the effects of the stenosis has been a slow process. Here is a short history. After graduating from Wesleyan, I went to the University of Michigan to study economics. While at Michigan, I met the love of my life, Jeanne Moss, and we were married in 1971. I finished my PhD. in 1974 and accepted a job in Washington with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1984, I left to become a consultant and expert witness in litigation involving antitrust and economic damages issues. I finally retired in 2015. Jeanne and I have been living in Alexandria, Va., since we moved to the Washington area. We have two daughters, Emily (40) and Juliana (37), who have turned into world travelers. Emily, who is a physical therapist, is married with two children. Six years ago, Emily and her husband, Devin, who is an E.R. physician, decided to spend a year in New Zealand but got hooked. They have been living in New Plymouth, New Zealand, for six years now and are thinking about applying for citizenship. Juliana, who is a psychiatric social worker, worked with disadvantaged women in Cambodia for six years before recently returning to the Washington area. I think this is enough for a starter. I can’t believe how fast those 50 years have gone by. Thank you for doing such a good job keeping everyone up-to-date on our classmates.”

Ted Sanderson “retired as the executive director of Rhode Island’s Historic Preservation Commission. I approved $2 billion to protect 2,500 sites. I continue to work as a member of Providence’s Historic District Commission. Carol and I live in Providence, celebrated our 50th, and have three grown children and three grandchildren.”

Pete Arenella “appreciates, in retirement, the lazy guy I am. I’m a self-taught moral philosopher who won some teaching awards at BU and UCLA. Son David suffered brain damage at birth but leads a happy life. Daughter Katherine is a clinical psychologist working with PTSD patients. Wife Mia taught me to be a good parent. She is a certified court interpreter, a great artist and mother, and the most impressive person I’ve ever met.”

Stu Blackburn retired to “Brighton, England, where I write novels, three so far. I loved every minute of the Wesleyan experience, except the football losses.”

Charlie Morgan was “on Senator Baroni’s defense team during Bridgegate. He’s in prison. Tough stuff. I’m confident he was railroaded. I’m suing the Mayflower Descendants for multiple violations of Massachusetts law. Some wins but still work to be done.”

Ken Elliott, who “exchange taught in the Czech Republic, is anticipating a 2020 retirement. My goals—friendship, home life, volunteerism, and learning. I research college teaching methods and aging in place in rural settings. Friends are always welcome in Maine.”

Bill Runyan “remembers freshman year at Wesleyan, enjoying dorms, soccer, and impressive teachers. I needed co-education, so I went to Oberlin, where I earned a degree in psychology/sociology and captained the soccer team. My psychology doctorate from Harvard led to a UC Berkeley career, 1979-2010, teaching psych and social welfare. Wife Mary Coombs teaches psych and counseling at USF. Williamrunyan.com lists some publications.”

Hugh Hoffman “did IT work for 40 years at Northwestern Mutual Life. I’m auditing classes at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee—English, psychology, anthropology, and theater. Wife Robin helps run Scholastic Book Fairs, which supports our live theater addiction.”

John de Miranda wrote, “I’ve been married 36 years. I’m semi-retired, still doing some teaching, consulting, and research. A tobacco investigation project took me to Warsaw. That, and alcohol and drug problems, are my research focus. Our son pursues a social work license. I completed nine Wesleyan candidate interviews this year in the San Mateo area.”

Tom Earle said, “My wife and I are retired. We plan to travel but not right away. We were on Oahu in the fall to help family.”

Steve Mathews’s “children and four grandchildren all live in Nashville. Travel plans include cruising the New England coastline and portions of the Lewis and Clark Trail. Nashville hosted the NFL draft. We love the Titans and Predators and hope the Titans rebound. Nashville has much going for it—quality of life, cost of living, low taxes, and strong educational institutions. We will soon celebrate 50 years here.”

Doug Bell loves his daughter, her husband, and their entertaining 2-year-old. “I continue to develop hemp and CBD projects in Uruguay but would like to retire in 2021. I’m in touch with Harry Nothacker and Steve Hansel. Hoy’s Boys are an amazing bunch.”

John Boynton wrote, “I’m alive and in good health. Have lived and worked in Manhattan, Jeddah, London, Seoul, and Hong Kong. Right now, I’m in Cleveland with the Townsend Group. Son John Jr. works for the Shorenstein Group in San Francisco and his brother Tyler owns an oral surgery practice in Sonoma. Ex-wife Ellen died in April and twin Ralph in 2018.”

Love,

Charlie Farrow | charlesfarrow@comcast.net
11 Coulter Street, #16, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 

I heard from one of my favorites, Jeff Talmadge, with whom I shared so many cups of coffee that we were both disqualified from Phi Beta Kappa on that basis alone (not that we ever had a prayer). His biggest 2018 news is celebrating his 30th anniversary with Joan—marked by their annual trip to Kennebunkport—and the multitude of joys received from their raucous hybrid family. While it is not like they just hung around the Boston-area following their beloved Patriots and Red Sox, 2018 was a quieter year than 2017 when they visited both Cuba and Africa. An English major who slid into computers (at his mother’s suggestion as I recall), he ended up founding/running a service (WeNeedaVacation.com) that helps travelers find accommodations on Cape Cod that has passed on to the next generation. He helped Carol and Bob Ziegenhagen (Bay Area residents) celebrate their 50th by attending a gathering at their Northfield, Mass., summer place last year.

Bill Van Den Berg continues windsurfing through retirement, getting down to Bonaire (from the State College, Pa., area) for big chunks of time for its optimal conditions. Bill is a good guy but I learned at Reunion that his partner, Helen Dempsey, is a stitch. They did some spelunking in Bonaire and Bill did some climbing in Nevada.

I did Wes on the five-year plan (and I expect that, based on these notes, some of you may feel I have never fully graduated) and the good company of Rich Kremer ’69 was one of the highlights of that final year. We spoke recently. A retired doc who advocates small-town living, he splits his time between Norwich, Vt., and Williamsburg, Va., and has four wonderful “kids” finding their diverse way through life. Like myself, he needs supervision, and his wife Andrea finds time to provide it when not teaching at Dartmouth. An ace golfer in his day, he’s still out there. He is in touch with Nick Browning ’69 and Walter Abrams ’69, both North Country golfers.

Locally: Judy and I enjoyed brunch recently with Chris and Gary Wanerka ’62, a free-thinking Eclectic and a still-practicing, legendary pediatrician back from a cruise to French Polynesia. Judy’s grandfather was a Zionist who exited his village as the Cossacks entered, but didn’t make it to Israel until his 80s. Not wanting to repeat this pattern, Judy went on a most marvelous tour with a friend. I had lunch with David Ramos ’05, a musician and my son’s best friend from high school who keeps me up on all things millennial.

It was reported that Maryland’s attorney general (our Brian Frosh) was dismayed when his emoluments case against the president was referred to a three-judge panel comprised of all GOP appointees. My old Kent buddy, Dave Losee’s career was as a Connecticut attorney involved in environmental issues. His idea of a fun retirement? Get back into the game! To that end, he just took and (miraculously) passed the Maine Bar.

I reached out to Wig Sherman: In Vero Beach, and a little haunted by the deaths of two roommates/brothers (Cal Hay and Jeff Arnold), he arises at 5 a.m., walks two miles, and reads the paper by the time the sun comes up. Keeps his doctors surprised with good health. Though divorced, he is good friends with his ex and very close to his children (they all gather for Thanksgiving). His oldest daughter was married recently but says he is too young for grandfatherhood.

Kink Terry died of complications from Parkinson’s in April. A lifelong member of Hartford’s Asylum Hill Congregational Church. He was a fine athlete: captain of his Kingswood baseball team who played baseball and soccer at Wes. A goalie, his shutout record stood for years. After Penn’s Annenberg School of Communications, he worked in the media before shifting to a distinguished career in commercial real estate with the Farley Company. A Hartford boy through and through, he gave back with a wide array of community involvements. I liked that his obituary was accompanied by a picture in which he looked exactly the way I remember him: red-haired and freckled, twinkle in his eye and sporting a mischievous smile.

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

Classmates,

Not much news this time around. As the recent scandal unfolded based on bribes paid to get faux student-athletes into elite colleges, I found the following quote by Jerome Karabel to be worth pondering. Karabel, whose B.A. and Ph.D. degrees are from Harvard, now an emeritus professor of sociology at Berkeley, is the author of The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), a 700-page exposé of the ways that Ivy League colleges have quietly tinkered with their admissions formulas over many decades. In response to a question about the scandal, Karabel had this to say: “It shows the extraordinary weight given to athletic talent and the remarkable latitude given to coaches to select the people whom they want for their teams if they meet very minimal academic standards—including at elite colleges. And what I think is not well known is that the weight of preference given to athletes far surpasses the weight given to underrepresented minorities or, for that matter, legacies. It’s the weightiest preference of all the various preferences.”

Like I said at the end of my last set of class notes, which was about two classmates and John Perry Barlow ’69, all three of whom had died relatively recently, “Hang in there, and send me stuff.

Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu

How many Wesleyan classes can boast a renowned entomologist? Ours can, Andy Moldenke. Andy and his wife, Alison MA’66, “retired 10 years ago from Oregon State University where they have spent most of their careers after getting their biology PhDs from Stanford.” “Both of us,” Andy writes, “are still actively teaching at OSU, Andy advising several grad students and working with Citizen Scientists on Entomology and Forest Ecology high in the Cascade Mountains while Alison is tutoring foreign graduate students in English. After a number of years of globe-trotting to Australia, South Africa, Chile, and the Far East we are now pretty much centered in Corvallis, Ore. Andy has even donated his beetle collection with thousands of species to the museum at OSU. Our son, Kelsey, is an urban planner currently under contract to the Quinault Indian Nation (in nearby Washington) to plan the move of their settlement from the seashore to a nearby site safe from tsunamis and rising seas due to climate change (flooding is already occurring due to sea-level rise). Andy’s most fun comes with leading field trips in the mountains and continuing field research on pollination and bee ecology.” A distinguished career continues.

“Things are great here,” reports Richard Stabnick, here being West Hartford where Dick lives with his wife, Cheri. “Still practicing law full-time. The firm specializes in worker’s compensation defense. We do about 60 percent of all the defense work in the state. We are a midsize firm with three senior partners and five junior partners (including one daughter) and six associates and 25 support staff.” Cheri and Dick have “one grandson by our second daughter who is a school teacher in Connecticut,” and Dick, who gets “back to Wesleyan often as I am in court in Middletown once or twice a month . . .” spends “most of my free time working on or about the yard here in Connecticut and in Rhode Island (three acres on the beach is a lot of work). Play golf but handicap is going up from five to now nine! Need to play more but grandson prevents that.”

Rob Chickering and I have known each other since fifth grade in Sherborn, Mass.,” writes Harold Potter. “We both went to Framingham High School . . .” Recently, Harold had “lunch with Rob and his wife, Rhoda . . . in Montpelier, Vt. Toured the state capital before lunch. The hallways were teeming with earnest legislators. Democracy in action. Heartening when contrasted with Washington. Rob is still playing tennis and shoveling snow.”

You will recall that Bill Dietz and his wife, Nancy, visited Hardy Spoehr last year. Recently Peter Spiller did as well, Hardy reporting that they “had a wonderful time—a bit of a reunion on the water!” Hardy ends enticingly with this: “an invite for more ’66ers to visit us.”

Congratulations go out to Alexander Blount whose book, Patient-Centered Primary Care: Getting from Good to Great, will be published by Springer in July and is already available on Amazon.” Unlike many of us, Sandy’s “latest news is about work rather than retirement adventures. After 20 years in mental health settings and another 20 years of teaching physicians and psychologists to provide patient-centered team-based care in primary care settings, I left UMass Medical School at the age of 70 to be a professor in a graduate school, training psychology doctoral students to work in primary care. I am cutting back to focus full-time (or my version of it) on consulting and training.” Donald Craven also continues his important work “at Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., which is merging with Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.” As Don points out, “Still lots of work is needed on education and prevention and early treatment of infectious diseases.” As for forthcoming books, Jeff Nilson, is seeking an agent to publish his first children’s book, which begins captivatingly: “Name’s Picky. I’m a grass pickerel.I’m shaped like a cigar with fins. I have a big mouth and a nice smile. I have daggers for teeth, and they give everyone in the pond nightmares. I’m the scariest fish in the pond. And the loneliest. To be less scary, I eat only plants—pond grass, lily pads, water lettuce. Very tasty. But there are two problems:I have to floss all the time. And still no one likes me.” Can’t wait.

As for retirement, Douglas Robins may hold our class record, Doug writing: “On June 1, I will celebrate being retired for 30 years. I used to work at Hartford Financial Services in Hartford. Currently, I am still busy with a lot of community service work, and I occasionally volunteer at our local Canton Historical Museum. I enjoy riding my bicycle around northwest Connecticut and nearby Massachusetts as much as I can. In September, my partner Joe, our dog Sammy, and I are planning a vacation trip to Colorado. It will be a first for Joe and Sammy. I haven’t been there since just after I retired in 1989. Places I am looking forward to revisiting are Silverton, Ouray, Aspen, Leadville, Estes Park, Fort Collins, and of course New Raymer.” Hope to see Doug, Joe, and Sammy in Rico.

Reports on two “bucket” lists. Bob Dearth “has been working on my ‘bucket list’ of salt water fish to ‘catch’ and was successful this past November with a charter boat out of Bud and Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida. The 189-pound swordfish, caught 1,600 feet down in the Gulf Stream 25 miles south of Islamorada provided lots of wonderful meals. My Blue Marlin catch still eludes me although I have three different strikes that could have resulted in the fight of a lifetime, but they all failed to hook up. I’ll keep trying . . . I have my oldest grandson graduating high school next week. Pretty exciting too.” Essel Bailey writes: “If you have a bucket list and do not have the Galápagos Islands on it, I urge you to consider it. The history of science and evolution started with Darwin’s visit to this volcanic plateau/island group in 1834 and has continued to evolve and amaze over time; the animals do not know fear of people; they have unique characteristics and the guides are terrific. Menakka and I went with a child and 12-year-old grandchild and the enthusiasm for snorkeling/swimming with turtles and seals and fish were exciting for all, as were the amazing and unique mammals and birds. A new book The Genius of Darwi’has a great history and continues the story into the 21st century.” Essel, it’s on the list.

I found Howard Brodsky’s talk at our 50th Reunion about his work with CCA Global Partners, which he co-founded and serves as its chair and co-CEO, inspirational. Other have as well. On May 19 the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire will honor Howard with its 2019 Global Leadership Award. As the news release tells us: “CCA Global is a national and international leader and trendsetter in cooperatives. Building on their people before profits vision and model, the company helps family businesses effectively compete with large businesses by pulling them together under the cooperative model. Brodsky’s mission has always been to help entrepreneurs succeed in an unpredictable global market by providing them with the scale and innovations they need to survive.” Congratulations, Howard!

LARRY CARVER | carver1680@gmail.com
P.O. Box 103, Rico, Colorado, 81332 512/478-8968

Thank you very much for your responses (edited due to space limitations) to my recent request for news.

Hugh Wilson and Fran are planning to attend our 55th Reunion in 2020.

Art Rhodes: “Still seeing patients at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, mostly melanoma related, teaching medical Strand residents. Leslie and I have nine grandchildren between us, with one on the way. Spending vacation time in New Orleans as well as Chicago, with trips in U.S. and abroad, as time permits.”

Ralph Jacobs: “Holly and I are happily retired and enjoying RV trips. Have visited nearly every national park west of the Rocky Mountains. Hiked three miles up to the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park in Utah. Daughter Jennifer has earned her doctoral degree in education from Long Beach State University. Keep in touch with Phil Russell and Bob MacLean. Bob will be joining us this summer at the Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterrey, Calif., where I took Holly in 1971. I figured if she liked the sound of these high-powered race cars, then she could be the girl for me. The rest is history.”

Bob Thorndike: “Elva and I have gotten into cruise ships. Recent trips include Spitzbergen and the Norway coast, transatlantic to the Normandy beaches and the Baltic, and, this year, to Iceland, the Faroes and Shetlands. We hope to do a circumnavigation in the near future. We have added a beach-front condo to our western Washington lifestyle. Retirement, with copious golf (winters in Phoenix), is good.”

Charlie Bassos: “In May, Zoe and I celebrated our 39th anniversary. Two kids, two grandkids, and one more on the way. Still golfing, though every shot hurts either my body or my ego. Great satisfaction from volunteering each week, teaching English to seventh graders from several Central American countries six hours a week, reading and discussing with fourth graders once a week, and consulting in a program for vets transitioning out of the service.”

Fred Nachman: “Six grandchildren. Still playing tennis and hiking. Celebrating 50th wedding anniversary with Linda on a Baltic cruise to St. Petersburg this summer.”

Rob Abel: “Involved in visiontolearn.org, a charitable organization that provides free eye exams and glasses to underprivileged children. We have contributed 200,000 pairs of glasses nationally over four years. Presented a keynote lecture at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting discussing what psychiatrists should know about vision.”

Rick Borger: “In 2004, retired after teaching for 39 years, 34 of them at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. Judy and I then moved to Illinois for 10 years before returning to Pennsylvania, where we have enjoyed living at a continuing care retirement community since 2014. We are active members of our Presbyterian church providing 30 hours of volunteer time each month to church and community programs. In the summer, we spend our time traveling and at our summer cottage in Massachusetts enjoying our grandchildren.”

Tom Elliman: “I had a rough winter, health wise with vertigo, osteoarthritis, and two carpal tunnel operations. But a month in Key West strengthened the healing process, which continues in Maine and our condo in Guilford, Conn., near the grandkids.”

Bob Block: “Was inducted into the Tulsa Historical Society Hall of Fame. Fully retired as emeritus professor and chair of pediatrics at OU-Tulsa, as I became president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. I continue to have fond memories of our experiences at Wesleyan, especially the brotherhood at Deke and friends from all parts of our campus.”

Phil Russell: “Diana and I are in Vienna on a boat-bike tour of four Danube countries. At home in Los Altos Hills, Calif., we volunteer for an organization that works to bring conservatives and liberals together to act on climate change. This can be all-consuming, but we make sure to reserve time for golf, four grandkids, and other fun.”

Steve Rhinesmith: “Kathe (wife of 54 years) and I are heading north from Naples to our home in Stowe, Vt. We divide our time between Naples and Stowe. In Naples we see Bob Quigley and Lee Mitchell, both of whom are here in the winter. John Hickey stopped by for lunch this season in Naples, which seems to be a good gathering place for Wesleyan alumni. Kathe and I would be happy to see anyone here in Naples or in Stowe.”

Carl Hoppe: “After 46 years relocated my Beverly Hills psychology office closer to my home in Marina Del Rey. Meanwhile, devoting more time to tennis. Have three daughters: A full professor of earth sciences; a senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; and a graduate student of oceanography at USC.”

Chuck Hearey (retired Kaiser Permanente pediatrician in California) and I have fulfilled a 40-year-old promise to play in age 75 doubles tennis tournaments in honor of the real ’65 tennis players, Mike Burton and Fred Millett.

Dear Classmates: After space limitations were met, I received news from Messrs. Babin, Cohn, Halliwell, Melillo, Brooks, Beers, Gay, Siegert, and Moise. Their news will appear (edited for space) in the fall issue. In the meantime, read the full text below:  

Jim Stewart: “Last year I celebrated 50 years of practice of trusts and estates law with my firm, Pullman & Comley, LLC, in Bridgeport, Conn.; two eldest granddaughters just turned 8 and identical twin grands turned 5 earlier in the year; still enjoy working and no plans to retire; taking up pickleball with racquetball….two daughters both Connecticut trust and estate attorneys (one Wes grad in ’00 and the other Trinity in ’03).

Jerry Mellilo: “2019 is a year of celebration and change for Lalise and me. We celebrate our 50^th wedding anniversary in July. After more than four decades as a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, I am on a “glide path” to retirement. I am looking forward to traveling with Lalise to visit family and friends across the country and the world and doing all sorts of building and art projects with our 6-year-old grandson Simon, who lives in the Amherst area – his dad, our son Ted, is a history professor at Amherst College. I also plan to spend more time in our garden during the spring and summer and in my wood shop during the cold months. Professor Risley introduced me to the joys of wood sculpting in his studio class during our sophomore year, and I am forever grateful to him for opening a new world for me. On the science side of things, I will continue to volunteer for committee work at the National Academy of Sciences, and I will teach and mentor student projects in MBL’s fall Semester in Environmental Science for undergraduates from liberal arts colleges including Wesleyan.”

Peter Babin: “Life is good for my wife, Barbara, and me as well as our three daughters and their families. Barb and I are Hawaii residents, living on the Kohala coast of the Big Island, but we spend several months on the mainland visiting our kids in Las Vegas, Boulder, CO, and Clancy, MT. Our health is generally good, although we battle the usual arthritis that afflicts the elderly, and I contend with monthly eye injections for macular degeneration. We stay active, and I continue to focus on residential and commercial property development which I consider my career in retirement. I admire your multi-decade commitment to class news and hope life is treating you well in all other respects. For you and all other alums who might travel west, our doors in MT and HI are open. We would love to play host!”

Amertat (formerly Fredrick) Cohn notes that he has I never contributed to the notes, but does read them and appreciates the updates. He adds: “My year has been very busy as I keep myself occupied with many projects. In February I was recognized by Herbalife Nutrition (the company I work with as an independent distributor for 30 years) at their annual recognition meeting in Singapore as a ‘30K Chairman’s Club Member,’ one of the top 50 distributors worldwide.

“I continue my basketball playing and participated last November in a “Veteran” international basketball tournament in Hong Kong in the 60 and older division, representing Malaysia where I live 2/3 of the year. The rest of the time I live in NY or traveling. I have started an NGO basketball club in Malaysia to teach skills with coaching in the schools because their sports programs are not well developed.

“On a creative side, I recently had a gallery exhibition of my photographs as part of a group show in the Montserrat Gallery in New York City. Now I am finishing a feature documentary film, SunSeed, The Awakening, which will be released in 2019.

“I completed in March the Climate Reality Leadership Training with Al Gore and am now doing presentations and other actions to help raise awareness about climate change and Global warming.

“On the family front, I father seven children and five grandchildren. My two oldest granddaughters graduated this month. Kelsey from high school in Camden Ohio as the Valedictorian. Her older sister, Melanie graduated cum laude from Heidelberg University in environmental science and received full tuition and acceptance in the Ph.D. program at UNC. My Daughter, Shekinah, works for Clorox in London and was selected for a fellowship with the Aspen Institute on Loop (circular packaging). My son, Jeremiah, is a senior sales manager for a Polish gaming company that produces one of the top games today, The Witcher. Abraham my eldest, is a Ph.D. scientist and manager at Phillips producing CT-scan machines. And Vienna is choreographing dances recently performed at Hunter College NYC.

“Malaysia is a lovely country. Life has been very good to me, and my health is a blessing. If anyone comes this way let me know. My wife Julia and I would be happy to host you here.

“On another note, I met earlier this year with Swami Chaitanya Brahmachari, (Bill Winans), who is now a major public advocate for better adoption of the Cannabis laws in California He himself is a grower and has his own brand: Swami Selects.”

Steve Halliwell: ”My wife Anne and I are still in Irvington, N.Y., where we raised our two kids. We’ve been involved in two fine art investment funds over the past ten years. We buy museum-quality works and rotate them to the homes of investors over the life of the fund. We’re currently introducing a way to give fine art a safe, permanent identity by placing a chip on the work. We spent a lot of time in Russia, and I write occasionally on Russian money laundering for Reuters and other outlets.

“I am in regular email contact on a wide range of subjects with Robert “Woody” Sayre in Paris, who taught literature at the University of Paris and continues to publish in his field, and Bill Hunt, who is professor emeritus at St. Lawrence University and writing on George Orwell and Catalan politics. Anne and I see Bill Blakemore at meetings on current politics organized by Anne’s graduate mentor, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton in NYC. At a Peter Kelman birthday party, we saw Jim Frost, who teaches astrophysics here in NY. And from time to time, we see Ted Dreyfus, who is teaching at The New School. One last note: Tony Schuman, Dean of the NJ Institute of Technology, is featured currently on a YouTube video announcing a major donation to the school. (Phil, maybe you can track down some of these folks and get them to tell you in their own words what they’re up to.)”

Hugh Wilson: “Greetings to all. Fran and I are definitely planning to attend our 55th Reunion in May 2020. Hope to see many of you there.”

David Osgood: “Still plugging along in Nolensville, Tenn. I never thought much about retirement while I was working, but retirement is clearly a life-changing, paradigm shift. I’m serving on the Executive Board of the local mosque and working on a volunteer basis with organizations on interfaith activities. I’m in regular email touch with Bill Turner and George Adams and also Larry Carver and David Griffith – the latter two from the class of ’66. I try to limit my areas of stress to the inability (last three years) of the St. Louis Cardinals for making the playoffs and their 2019 struggles.”

William Brooks is co-editor of a collection of essays about music and World War I—Over Here, Over There: Transatlantic Conversations on the Music of World War I,  to be published this autumn by the University of Illinois Press.

Clyde Beers: “It has been not quite 10 years since I retired, and I must admit I’ve had no impetus or desire to go back to work being an actuary. Now work has been replaced by family, gardening, and painting (pictures, not walls and windows).

“Last year our daughter started her own garden (she lives 15 minutes away), but with fewer plants and more plant variety than my previous efforts. So … this year I followed her example and planted the following new munchies: Bok Choi, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohlrabi, Rhubarb, Sweet Potatoes, and three varieties of actual potato. There’s always something to learn anew. Our salads now have more zing to them. The bigger stuff will arrive later this summer.

“Following something old, I just reread (this time in English) Voltaire’s Candide. It remains hilarious, irreverent, and the main reason that I reread it was my memory of the closing advice: ‘tend your garden.’

“We’ve slowed down our travels to far and exotic places, and now have a second home on Grand Cayman Island. Now February and March have temps in the low 80’s which is two to three times what we experience near Philly in those months.

“If anyone else is getting bitten by the gardening bug, I’d love to hear of your experiences. It is amazing how much there is to learn, and there is nothing like learning from others’ successes and failures. One thing is for sure: if it works, go there; if not, try something new. It is almost as intellectually stimulating as actuarial work, and it certainly tastes much better.”

Dutch Seigert: “Retirement?? What does that mean? I have two full-time jobs . . . a lawyer in New York City for 45 years and a professional poker player at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City on weekends. My law practice is still booming and the income from my second job is considerable. My wife is ‘okay’ with the poker player, so long as I return home on Sunday in time for Evangelical Presbyterian church services at 10:00 a.m. By the way, the 175th anniversary of Delta Kappa Epsilon is being held next month in New York City and I see that Irv Richter ’66 will be attending. So will I and I hope to seek other Dekes there.”

Major Moise: “After two years in Washington, D.C., Lexy and I decided to move back to California. Our move East was to be near the kids and grandkids who all live in the DC area. While that was absolutely great, the high humidity and difficult winter proved to be too much for my health (didn’t bother me when I was younger). We have been back in CA for about two months now, and the milder (drier) weather does make a difference.

“I am (sort of) retired. Lexy works ~30 hours a week and my company has a two-year contract with NIH to develop a smartphone app to assess ‘ChemoBrain’ in cancer patients. It’s very interesting work and hopefully will produce a useful tool. In addition, my son has started a web business that acts as a marketplace for products that are made from reused materials. I am helping with the website, but progress is slow as he and I both have ‘day jobs.’

“It was wonderful to be able to reconnect with classmates and roommates over the past 2 years. I plan to be at homecoming this year and hope to be part of planning the next class of ’65 Reunion. Looking forward to seeing many of you at Homecoming.”

Rod Gay: ”A quick update of my endeavors for the past few years. Spent 25 years living in Vermont teaching at a private high school and later on working for a Swiss electrical engineering company in the Northeast Kingdom. After this, I ended up in Reno, Nev., for five years where I both worked and skied. But somehow I’ve ended up right back where I started this whole journey, in Winchester, Mass. How did this happen? Partly by helping out my parents who both reached their mid-90s and needed increasing assistance.

“Since arriving back in town, I’ve been elected to the Winchester Housing Association which oversees the housing needs of our local senior citizens who choose to remain here rather than emigrate to Florida or Arizona. But I do relax occasionally between equal doses of tennis and golf. Fortunately for me, my sister and her family managed to retire to Silverthorne, Colo., so I am constantly knocking on their doors once the snow starts flying.

“I literally ran into Dave Lott at the Denver airport several years ago. I was using one of the electric moving floors when I hear a great deal of commotion right behind me. Somebody carrying skis, boots, and a bag was running down the this moving conveyance. When he reached me, his skis hooked my knapsack I had slung on my shoulder. He did a spectacular forward roll onto the moving floor and came up looking backward at me. His first response was…‘I know you, you’re Rod Gay.’ He was correct in his assessment, and we ran together and chatted for a hundred yards or so much to the annoyance of other travelers. Dave was on his way to Aspen via a private jet…I was headed in the same direction but in a grossly overloaded Enterprise rental car.”

Philip L. Rockwell | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

Tom Spragens writes: “I recently retired after 48 years in the political science department at Duke. Also recently discovered that both my sophomore roommates and Eclectic fraternity brothers had offspring living here in Durham. That led to a recent reunion.” He enclosed a picture of the reunion and he, Fred Karem, and Alan Gayer are looking relaxed, well-dressed, and handsome.

And John Coatsworth writes: “I will be stepping down as provost of Columbia University this summer after eight years in the post. I plan to return to teaching in Columbia School of International and Public Affairs and in the history department. I’m looking forward to spending time with our two grandkids, Emma, 12, and Alex, 10, who live with their parents a few blocks from Pat and me in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.”

Sad news from John Kikoski. “My wife, Cathy MA’63, died recently after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s. We met at Wes in September 1962, graduated together in 1963, and married in Aleppo, Syria, in 1964 (where Cathy grew up). We were the Class of 1963’s first and longest married couple.” She had a remarkable life. To read of it, type Catherine Kano Kikoski for an internet search. “Right now, I am recovering from cardiac surgery (transcatheter aortic valve replacement or TAVR) at Columbia Presbyterian and will be in recovery for maybe two more weeks. Can’t believe how much better I feel with a new valve that pumps 100 percent (not 20 percent) of the blood and oxygen my body needs.”

From Fred Taylor: “Carole and I now have nine grandchildren; the most recent born April 24 in LA. Annslie Taylor Leikarts joins the group of five boys and four girls spread among our three children. Still working part-time at Evercore. Love to travel with Carole and also enjoy spending time with our grandkids. Visiting WesU soon for the emeritus trustee gathering. Look forward to being on campus.”

In other related news, Laman Gray was back on campus and gave a TEDx talk. “Very enjoyable,” he said.

Allen Tucker writes, “During the last 10 years, I have been developing free open source software for nonprofits, usually with a student team. In 2013, I founded the Non-Profit FOSS Institute (NPFI) to provide support for other faculty and students who want to do the same at their colleges (NPFI.org). My new book, Client Centered Software Development, will be published by CRC Press. The book describes this work and its outcomes. It has been a great joy for me to be able to contribute to nonprofits in this way, and also to keep my hand in the education and software games for so long after retirement. My wife Meg and I have two adult kids who both live in the D.C. area. As academics, we have traveled widely, teaching in Germany, New Zealand, and Ukraine (both on Fulbrights). We are blessed in many ways but I am especially thankful to WesU for opening my eyes to computer science as well as the notion of humanitarian service as an essential element of a liberal education.”

Don Sexton wrote, “In 2017, I retired from the full-time faculty at Columbia University after 50 years and 10,000 students. Am still teaching a few weeks a year at schools in places like Shanghai, Paris, and Washington, D.C. I have been placing more effort in my painting (sextonart.com) and have three solo shows scheduled in New York over the next 18 months.”

Byron S. Miller | tigr10@optonline.net
5 Clapboard Hill Rd., Westport, CT 06880