Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Greetings to the Fighting ’54s. Thanks for your prompt responses to my recent e-mail regarding news of you and yours. Here’s the latest.

Chuck Davis and bride recently went whale-hunting on a cruise to the San Juan Islands. Cruise was a blast, Chuck reports, but only one whale sighted. They have a grandson at Swarthmore and granddaughter at Denison.

Bud Johnson reports their Stuart, Fla., home came through Irma with only minor damage. Five of eight grandkids are in college (none Wes). Bud and Lynn were off to Malta, Rhodes, and Crete in late October to finish Bud’s research on the Knights of Saint John. Finally, the Navy has invited Bud to D.C. to open classified aviator records for his memoirs project.

Jeff Lockhart and Donna learned in late July that they had become great-grandparents of a baby girl.

Curt McLaughlin writes that his wife of 32 years, Barbara, passed away in June after a brief illness. Curt says he’s fortunate to be among many friends in a caring retirement community in Chapel Hill, where he is continuing with his latest writing project.

Jim Yashar says he’s blessed to be healthy, and therefore lives a very active life, going to the gym three to four times a week, and playing golf. They do a lot of travel, including Italy this past summer. Jim is taking his entire family of 24 on a vacation to celebrate his 85th birthday! Jim and his bride live in Boston during the summer and Palm Beach over the fall and winter. Finally, Jim’s oldest granddaughter graduates from Penn next year.

Sad news, guys: Al Flynn passed away on Aug. 30 from complications related to Parkinson’s. Al is survived by his wife, Emi, son Al Flynn III, daughter Sarah, and five grandchildren. We all remember Al as a terrific guy and good friend. Farewell, Al.

Finally, your scribe, Bob Carey, enjoyed an East Coast 85th birthday bash in Greenwich, Conn., in July. Then Bob and bride Libby traveled to Wilmington and Ocean Island, N.C. in September (visiting a nephew at UNC Wilmington). In late September/early October, Bob and Libby traveled to London and Lyon for visits to children and grandchildren. Finally, in late October to Charlottesville, Va., to visit granddaughter at the University of Virginia to celebrate her 19th birthday.

That’s a wrap, guys. E-mail me anytime with new developments in your lives. All the best to all of us.

BOB CAREY | popscarey@gmail.com
618 W. Lyon Farm Dr., Greenwich, CT 06831 | 203/532-1745

Our thoughts and hope for recoverable survival go to more than a dozen classmates who live in hurricane-wracked Florida, Texas, and surrounding areas, and to those who spend a portion of the winter months there.

Planning began the first week of October for our 65th Reunion, on Friday, May 25, and Saturday, May 26, 2018—mark your calendars! Text me in the coming months as to your plans or of eventful happenings.

JOHN W. MILLER | Jwalmiller@aol.com
306 Autumn Court, Bartlesville, OK 74006 | 918/335-0081 

This is my first attempt as class secretary after the sterling job done by Hal Buckingham, Bill Wasch, and their predecessor, my DU brother, Don Sanders. Some notes are from communications to Hal and Bill that could not make publication deadlines and some are from recent news received by me.

Following up on Frank LaBella, he reports that he is alive and well, and while at Wesleyan, he was a “townie”, lived at home, had part-time jobs, and as a consequence, a very low profile on campus. He has recently published three articles, but with not enough space here to include, so go to  so go to http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/health_sciences/medicine/units/pharmacology/faculty_members/1482.html.

Don Stauffer, a brother from our DU days, wrote, with his wife Morag, to wish me well on agreeing to take over from Hal and Bill, and had no news to report since he last submitted something.

Robert Kelman is now officially the oldest person to climb Devil’s Tower National Monument in Montana. The record has been posted on the National Park Service’s Facebook page and the story posted on Climbing Magazine’s website.

That reminds me that several years ago, my son-in-law, Samuel Bender ’82, granddaughter Maddie Bender (Yale ’20), and I became the first three-generation family to complete the Maui Downhill Haleakala Summit Bike Tour, after I received a waiver for being over the age limit.

I had a pleasant telephone conversation with Jim Wolpert who reports that he retired from Loeb Partners about six months ago, and is now comfortably ensconced in a retirement community near Tampa, Fla. He has two daughters, a son, and three grandchildren. On campus, he was a member of the John Wesley Club, the Mystical Seven, and the Douglas Cannon Society. Enviably, he has no e-mail.

Richard Kellom wrote Hal that he and his wife, Lyn, had a chuckle over Hal’s statement about gathering fodder for class notes being “more important than you know’’, as Lyn wrote the faculty notes for Northfield Mount Herman School alumni magazine until last year. Dick taught chemistry and coached the ski team there, and his daughter, Kristin ’84, is working in the development office. I enjoyed his comments that “whereas learning what former colleagues are now doing is fun, the gathering of the Info is not always easy and the increasing number of obits is discouraging’’ and “I am getting a little gun-shy about asking people to pass on greetings, not knowing their state of health or if they are still living, but such is the situation we now find ourselves in too often.” Very apropos to being class secretary.

Walter Grunsteidl, one of the first Fulbrighters, wrote Hal a long e-mail last April. He was at Wesleyan for only one year, and not feeling particularly affiliated to a certain class, had random friends across the campus. That year was a very decisive period in his life. The war was but six years over and his country, Austria, was still occupied by the Allies, the scars of war had not yet healed, and they had to develop new politics and fight for freedom for the country. During the year here, he was rotated as a guest between Chi Psi, Delta Upsilon, Phi Sigma Kappa, and the John Wesley Club, thereby enjoying the spirit of the different fraternities. Both he and his wife, Elfi, also a PhD chemist, are enjoying life in his old family home in Vienna, the city being selected as number one in the world regarding quality of life for the eighth time. He enjoys many hobbies, mostly music, and actively studies issues of evolution. He has a son and daughter and, as every old-timer, has had to undergo repair and maintenance occasionally — namely, a heart valve implant, and since then, started a new life, thanks to modern medicine. He ended with a wish for us to have a nice party and many happy attendees.

Catching up on some sad news, Hal heard from Michael M. Stein ’57 that Donald J. Dalessio died on February 25. Don had a distinguished career, was a 1956 graduate of Yale Medical College, and served for many years as chairman of the Medicine Group for the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla Calif. He earned a reputation as one of the nation’s prime neurologists, researching and specializing in the treatment of severe migraine headaches. After his retirement, he was honored by his colleagues at Scripps by having the headache clinic bear his name. In addition to his practice, Don wrote innumerable scholarly reports and edited the National Headache Journal, the Scripps Clinic Personal Health newsletter, and served on the editorial board of the AMA, among others. His wife, Jane, predeceased him and he is survived by their three children, Catherine, Susan, and James, and his brother, John ’60. We offer our sincere condolences to the family. It is sad to lose yet another classmate.

Best wishes and good health to all of you and hope to hear from you.

Joseph N. Friedman  | jfriedman@regalnyc.com
400 East 56th Street, Apt. 28LM, New York, NY 10022 | 917/715-8881

Bill Mitchell is very much the traveling man. Early in the year he took a trip to his oldest granddaughter’s graduation. A month later he drove from his home in North Carolina to Texas to see family and friends. Last fall he got back to see his first Homecoming game in well over 50 years and was rewarded with a Wesleyan victory. Bill wrote he might even try again this fall. He and I will keep rooting for the Red and Black.

Bob Hammett and his wife celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this past summer with a family clambake, attended by two sons and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. Bob spent a month last winter with flu and pneumonia, but reported he was feeling better. He said his hearing was very weak, but he had a couple of great hearing aids “and a wonderful specialist who keeps me tuned in.” He’s also been getting shots in his left eye every six weeks to keep it going. Here again, Bob was helped by another special specialist.

Dave Morey wrote from Ithaca, N.Y., that he was serving on a few committees and a trip for him means going to the supermarket. “The old body is wearing out and I can’t get new parts for it, but at least it’s still going. It’s just not as far or as fast,” he wrote. That’s my situation, too, and I’ll bet all those still with us will say the same.

Chuck Exley wrote from Grosse Pointe, Mich., that he had lost his wife, Sara, 10 years ago and has since remarried a woman, who along with her late husband, were good friends of his and Sara’s. Chuck said it was remarkable that three members of our small class—he, George DeGenaro, and Richard De Gennaro—live within a mile of each other in Sarasota.

Bill Churchill wrote in September that he and wife Maggie were winding up another summer at their cottage at Mattapoisett, on Buzzards Bay, Mass. By late fall they planned to be back at their duplex in a retirement community in Burlington, N.C. “We really have the best of both worlds,” Bill wrote, “with lots of activities and interesting residents. Having Elon University is another source of stimulation. We will keep on trucking as long as the body allows and I’m sure all of us who are left will say amen to that.”

Ken Kenigsberg had replied affirmatively to my requests for news several times over the course of years, and I was sorry to get news of his death. His obituary gave a very full account of his impressive achievements during his 40 years of practicing medicine. He served as chief of pediatric surgery and researched the causes of sudden infant death syndrome. He devoted his life to saving children. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He was fiercely proud of his Jewish ancestry and the state of Israel, and provided volunteer service to the Israeli Medical Corps during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ken loved nature and participated in scuba diving, sailing, and fly fishing. He left his wife Abby, to whom he was married for 54 years, three sons, and seven grandchildren.

I had one other communication from Sandy Malcomson, who indicated he was doing fine.

DAVID M. PHILIPS | davephilips69@hotmail.com
43 Cannon Street, Cranston, RI 02920-7620

NEWSMAKERS | 1950s NEWSMAKER ARTHUR CHICKERING ’50 Arthur Chickering ’50, an educational researcher, received the Teachers College Distinguished Alumni Award on April 8. This honor is presented by Teachers College, Columbia University, to graduates who have distinguished themselves in their fields and whose impact has been felt on a regional, national, or international level. Chickering has worked as an educator and administrator in higher education for over 40 years. He is the author of many publications relating to student affairs and college student development theories. After earning his bachelor’s from Wesleyan, where he majored in modern comparative literature, Chickering earned a master’s from Harvard University, and a PhD from Columbia University.

Frank Binswanger writes in with fond memories: “With luck I graduated in 1950—but most importantly: I married Sue Hirsch (Wesleyan’s first football queen—but obviously those were the “old days”)—then went into the service for 3.5 years. I started working for the Binswanger organization—an industrial and commercial real estate organization representing many of the national and international corporations in the U.S. and worldwide. Over time, I had three very mature children (two of whom went to Wes) and six grandchildren (three of whom went to Wes). How lucky we have been for the 67 years since graduation.”

Jud Miner reflected on a special moment: “On August 9 I was one of 107 Korean War and World War II veterans on the Honor Flight from Chicago to D.C. It was a memorable day followed by a welcome home at Midway and a parade that included dozens of flag bearers, a naval cadets marching unit, a bagpipe band, and thousands of greeters. I had at least 100 greeters shake my hand and say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ It made me more deeply proud to be an American and proud of my service as an army medic with the 9th Hospital MASH Unit.”Then we heard from

Roger Haskell, who has finished writing an autobiography: “It contains a lot about my baccalaureate days at Wesleyan and Sigma Nu. I am not having it published, but I’ll have copies that I can send if anybody is interested.” Roger was in touch with Bud Tracy ’51 and reports that he is well and enjoying retirement in Suffield, Conn.

Sadly, Bill Johnson passed away at the age of 89 on Sept. 26. After graduating from Wesleyan, he entered the U.S. Army and was in the Army Reserves for several years. He later joined the pharmaceutical firm of E.R. Squibb & Sons in 1955 as a sales representative, and spent 18 years in various sales and sales management positions in the greater New York area. Bill was predeceased by Nancy, his wife of 66 years, and leaves behind his sons, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

From a personal point of view, we survived Hurricane Irma. Margie and I have moved from our home on St. Simons Island to a very nice retirement community a few miles away, called Marsh’s Edge. I think that we will be happy there. It’s country-club living with no household chores. The new address: 121 Renegar Way #105, St. Simons Island, GA, 31522. Phone number and e-mail remain the same.Best wishes to all our classmates.

BUD DORSEY | margiedorsey5@gmail.com
121 Renegar Way #105, St. Simons Island, GA, 31522 | 912/638-5616

Please write to your class secretary:

FRANCIS W. LOVETT | lovettfrancis@gmail.com
805 Compassion Dr., Apt. 208, Windsor, CO 80550 | 907/460-9338