Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Class of 1952 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Nathanael Mathieu ’20, Freedom, NH

Good news about our classmates is absent, as these class notes are being written on Jan. 15, 2017. Bad news is prevalent, unfortunately.

We have lost five more of our classmates. Mel Roboff died on Apr. 11, 2014. Mel was an Alpha Delt with an enormous sense of humor. After Harvard Business School, Mel spent his career in marketing, which included stints with Royal and Underwood Typewriter, Fanny Farmer, and Converse Shoes before forming his own Boston-area Roboff Management Group consulting firm. He is survived by two daughters and his former wife.

Ferg Alleman died on Mar. 7, 2014. Ferg was a Deke who left Wesleyan during our junior year. He was a native of Orlando, Fla. After graduating from law school, he practiced law in Orlando for a number of years and then engaged in investment banking in Vermont. His wife of 61 years predeceased him, and he is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.

Tony Brewer died on Sept. 27, 2015. Tony was a Crow at Wesleyan. After college, he joined Procter & Gamble as an industrial engineer. He moved on to Welch Foods in a similar capacity and later became president of Nature Nook, Inc., a floral and gift shop in Southfield, Mich. When last heard from, Tony was married and had four children.

Bill Hicks died on Oct. 31, 2016. He was an Olin Scholar, a Psi U, and, a member of Skull and Serpent. In college, he excelled on the football and baseball teams until, as I recall it, injuries waylaid him. Bill had a highly successful career in sales and leadership positions in the flooring industry with first Armstrong World Industries and then Shaw Industries. His obituary makes clear that Bill carried over the “wild sense of humor” and ability to “throw a great party” that we witnessed during our days at WesTech. Unfortunately, his wife predeceased him by 18 years; he is survived by a daughter and two grandchildren.

Bill McCluskey died on Christmas Day 2016. Bill, a member of Alpha Delt and Mystical Seven, was captain of the Wesleyan football team our senior year. He had a very successful career as an educator, principally as an administrator in private schools. He served the Menlo School in Atherton, Calif., was assistant headmaster of Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y., then headmaster of Park-Tudor School in Indianapolis, Ind., and capped his career as founding headmaster of Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. Most of us will remember that Bill courted and married Betsey Banks, daughter of Professor Ted Banks and sister of Dave Banks ’56. In addition to Betsey and Dave, Bill is survived by two daughters, two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

We extend our sincere sympathy, albeit belated, to the families of these classmates.

Hopefully, this magazine will arrive in your home by late April and will serve as a reminder of our 65th Wesleyan Reunion, which will occur May 25-28. Time is running out for us, so if you are physically able to attend, but have reservations about doing so, please set those reservations aside and join us on campus. Our group will be smaller than it was five years ago, but that should enable more intimate conversations and reminiscing than has been possible in the larger crowd at past Reunions.

Harold C. Buckingham, Jr. | hcbuckingham@daypitney.com
400 Seabury Dr., Apt. 2114, Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwash@gmail.com
150 Coleman Road, Middletown, CT 06457

Howard Goodrich and his wife, Darlene, are living a very active life in Indianapolis. They both serve on various organizations connected to the internal aspects of church life. Howard has been doing some writing, recently publishing an article on the social factors affecting the decline of churches. He met a retired history professor from Butler University in Indiana who mentioned having met E. E. Schattschneider, who taught political science to so many of us. He earned considerable renown for his book, Party Government. Howard said Donald Trump is creating the necessity for a whole new approach to that subject.

Keith Whiting’s wife, Marjori, wrote of his passing in North East, Md. She also enclosed a copy of the very eloquent funeral service at his church. Obviously he had a great effect on those he served during his years as a physician.

I also heard from Bill Churchill, who came to our 65th Reunion last spring. He reminded me that he served as a member of the administration from 1964-74.

David Jones and his wife, Ann, have donated a wonderful collection of prints by American Master artist Winslow Homer to the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Conn., which will be on display from July 30 to Sept. 3. There will be an opening reception on July 30 from 1-3 p.m. and David hopes many classmates and friends can attend the reception or get to the show on another date. 

Walter Cook, who was at our Reunion last May, wrote that he and his wife, Marie, were enjoying sunny warm Florida and he was passing the time reading some really excellent books. He was not driving any more and was relying on Marie to get them around. Her reflexes, Walt wrote, are excellent.

The return address on King Berlew’s letter was a facility in Topsham, Maine, which he described as “having most everything in an assisted living facility. But King also planned to spend four or five months in Vero Beach to get away from snow. King lost his wife of 64 years, Jeanne, last spring, beginning what he described as “the most difficult period of my life.” Fortunately, his daughter, Sarah, lives in nearby Brunswick, and his son, Derek, lives not far away in Kennebunkport.

I received Roger Tracy’s note just as he was setting out from Suffield, Conn., to root for the UConn women’s basketball team in its bid for a fifth consecutive NCAA championship in Dallas. The Tracys had been on hand for the four previous ones. Unfortunately, the Huskies came up just short this time. Roger said he had maintained contact since graduation with fraternity brother Phil Alden, living in Naples, Fla. They had both entered the USAF Aviation Cadet Program after graduation.

I’ve also heard from George Young, who is doing fine in Bronxville, N.Y.

Lastly, Ken Kenigsberg died on Sept. 27 of complications from a subdural hematoma. Word of his passing came from Austin, Texas, to which he and Abby, his wife of 54 years, had recently moved. In 40 years of practicing medicine, Ken performed one of the first successful separations of conjoined infants. He also researched the causes of sudden infant death syndrome. Fiercely proud of his Jewish ancestry and the State of Israel, he served as a volunteer in the Israeli Medical Corps during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He also served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He enjoyed nature, scuba diving, sailing, fly fishing, and skiing. Besides his wife, he leaves three sons, Matthew, Ezra, and Amos, and seven grandchildren.

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

Hello, classmates! It’s a new year—2017! In the last issue we enjoyed hearing from Cliff Milner, Roger Haskell, and Jud Miner. And now, how about hearing from you? Please call me or drop me a line with your latest news.

We are sorry to inform you of the death of our classmate, James Mutrie, on Oct. 26. He was a native of New Haven, and was well known in state political and journalism circles as dean of the Capitol press corps.

We also have been informed of the passing of Kenneth Widing on Oct. 16. Kenneth studied math at Wesleyan, then earned a master’s at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked as an astrophysicist for the Naval Research Laboratory.

We are pleased to hear from Arthur Chickering, who sent a clever and thoughtful poem that he composed, “Turning Toward Ninety.”

“I’m entering my ninetieth year,” he said,

Patting the old gray mop on his head.

Perhaps boasting a bit to have reached such an age,

bemused by peers who had called him a sage.

Books, papers, and speeches aplenty

triggered awards from diverse cognoscenti.

But now he seems to be all written out

except for an occasional shout

calling on leaders, politicians, and factions

for tough minded, timely, deliberate actions,

Now happily home loving renaissance wife

after sixty five years creating their life.

They traveled the world whenever the chance

always up for whatever the dance,

tackling new cultures, relationships, tasks,

harvesting knowledge, replacing old masks,

learning and growing

from seeds they were sowing.

Tennis, hiking, swimming, canoeing,

downhill skiing, moonlight snowshoeing,

living an active adventurous life

free from conflict or serious strife.

Then out of the blue it went up in smoke

when she was struck by a serious stroke..

It was two-twenty-three, nineteen- ninety- nine,

A cloudless sky, the weather was fine.

After tuna melts and good red wine

they were ready to go

out to enjoy the fresh fallen snow

never to do so they did not know. Left arm and leg had no sensation

Walking with help was a major occasion.

A brand new existence

would test their persistence.

Multitasking had been their norm

now one at a time is the dominant form.

Since that day their lives have been shrinking

more and more time for leisurely thinking.

Listening, reading, checking TV

enjoying each series from BBC.

Visiting friends provoke thoughtful talks

meetings in town cause occasional walks.

So thus the years keep rolling by.

Deaths of friends prompt heartfelt sighs.

Living wills and power of attorney

all in order for the final journey.

Comfortably ready for the years that remain

two lives well lived is their final refrain.

BUD DORSEY | margiedorsey5@gmail.com
161 Shore Rush Drive, St. Simons Island, GA 31522 | 912/638-5616

Lacking news of any sort other than that I’m losing my vision, and being disinclined to offer fake news, I submit the following bit of translation from an Old Irish marginal note by an Irish monk who was working on one of those beautiful medieval manuscripts. That scholar and his cat each loved his work:

I and Pangur Bán, my cat,

‘Tis a like task we are at;

Hunting mice is his delight,

Hunting words I sit all night.

In case you’re curious, pangur means “fiddler” and bán is “white.” Slán go fóill.

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

It has been great receiving many RSVPs to our Reunion this spring from all around the world. Micha Balf and Rachel Helfer, from Israel, plan to attend. Jim Lyons from Germany and Wendy (Brown) Giardina from Switzerland are also looking forward to returning to campus.

I had a chance to spend quality time with Wendy last November. We met up in Paris where I was visiting with my family and friends in honor of my mom who passed away last summer. We spent a few days museum viewing, walking the grand boulevards, and joyfully eating fine French food. Wendy was a great sport for being part of my family for the whole time.

Back to Jim Lyons: He is living happily in Frankfurt these days, and is still active writing and directing in the German theater scene. Recently he directed the European premiere of Dinah Was, a musical biography of the singer Dinah Washington. Jim’s e-mail: jamesedwardlyons@gmail.com.

Louise Hazebrouck and husband Steve Rome ’78 are currently teaching English in Dajia, Taiwan, after having traveled around Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand for six weeks. This is the first of many adventures for the retiring public school teachers.

Jerry Caplin is the proud parent of three kids who will be attending Duke University next year. The three are accomplished fencers. Jerry remarked that, while thinking of three kids in college at the same time is a bit numbing, at least he will not have any issue surrounding parents’ weekend.

Janet Malkemes in Charlotte is busy hosting a bevy of friends and family.

Bob Glasspiegel is thankful for many good things this past year. Bob and wife Sue are especially thankful for traveling to see many friends/relatives. They began a new tradition of spending Januarys in another part of the world. They had a fabulous trip to New Zealand and Australia recently.

John Fink, from Hawaii, writes asking for good, danceable, 1970s music at our Reunion event(s). I certainly second this sentiment. The month prior, John will be visiting with Peter Guenther and Rick Dennett in New York. Otherwise, John makes sure to visit Oregon to spend time often with his grandson, as well as his son and daughter.

Speaking of Hawaii, Jason Baron and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary there.

It is always fun when you run into a friend when you least expect it. That was the case when I visited with Sarah Kendall at an art exhibit opening at the deCordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass., last fall. Sarah came south from Nelson, N.H., to support an artist friend who was featured in the show.

Wes Protheroe and wife Robin are enjoying what they are calling their “pre-tirement.” Wes serves on two Boards—the advisory board of a Research Triangle-based pharma firm specializing in developing Alzheimer drugs, and the Atlanta Humane Society. He is also executive coaching and consulting with private equity and venture capital firms focused on direct-to-consumer financial services. I am intrigued to learn that Wes and Robin participate in “team trivia” weekly with friends. Jeopardy! cannot be far behind.

Doug Green met up with Iddy Olson before the holidays in Chicago (Evanston precisely). Doug and wife Katie were in town to celebrate the graduation of their son from Northwestern.

By the time we read this, Susan Jacobson will have attended the Women’s March in January in D.C., connecting with many friends there from WesU. Susan’s great quote: “Our class was always told we missed the glory days of student protests. Well, what do you know? Now we have another chance!”

Doug Hauschild, Jody (Cosgrove) van Geldern, and James Udelson each expect to be at Reunion. Everyone is looking forward to being together in May. Just a reminder, Reunion is over the weekend of May 26-28. We are expecting a record number of classmates in attendance at our 40th. You won’t want to miss out!

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

Hello, mates! Let’s start with Rob Miller, who is living in Chappaqua, N.Y., “on the other side of the tracks from the Clintons” and has two sons: Joshua, 13 and Daniel, 9. “I had my own entertainment agency for the past 12 years representing production companies mostly in the television world.” He sold the company at the end of 2015 to Creative Artists Agency. “The new pressure is not running a business, but rather my wife bugging me to retire,” he says.

He’s taken an annual Wesleyan ski trip with Thomas Parkinson, Andrew Parkinson ’80, Bruce Bunnell ’81, Earl Mix ’80, Greg Makoul, Danny Softness, Gordon Cooney ’81, Ed Stearns, and Bruce Crain, for more than 20 years, and says, “the competitiveness and camaraderie remain ever present.”

Vincent Bonazzoli has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, an honor given to only the top five percent of attorneys in the state. Vinnie, who specializes in estate and elder law, lives in Swampscott, Mass., with his wife, Paula, and their two children.

Roger Hale has published a new novel, New Watering Holes, that explores the cultural intersection between India and China. As Roger describes it on the book jacket, the story delves into “some of the complexity of interpreting culture and cultural artifacts: Who has the right to interpret the culture of others?”

Toby Ewing writes, “After some 20 years working at Iowa State University, I moved to the Seattle area and now work for the Climate Corporation, a leader in digital agriculture.”

Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart ’86 were married at San Francisco City Hall on March 24. Laura says she wonders why she didn’t have the sense to marry a Wesleyan guy a few decades ago, but better late than never. After the ceremony, they partied at a neighborhood wine bar with friends including Wesfolks Mary Roach ’81, Jonathan Weber, Lawrence Comras, Maria Mead ’84, and John Baker ’84. Then they took off for an undiscovered beach in Mexico which they will not reveal.

Kaja McGowan wrote from Cambodia after wrapping up a “transformative” two weeks teaching a course for Cornell, where she is an associate professor. The course, Performing Angkor: Dance, Silk, and Stone, took Kaja and her students to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, including a visit to the religious site, Kbal Spean.

After writing for television for a decade, Peter Blauner has a new novel coming out, Proving Ground, which he says has gotten “kind words” from the likes of Stephen King, Richard Price, and Dennis Lehane. “It’s a modern day Hamlet revenge story set in Brooklyn,” he says. Reach him at slomoriot@gmail.com.

Beck Lee writes glowingly of later-in-life fatherhood and of his 6-year-old son, Truman, a Cub Scout, vegetarian, and animal lover, with two geckos, a fish and a frog. “My hat’s off to those with kids who’ve graduated college already, some of whom I daresay have kids of their own who are older than my Truman. But, I get to enjoy my son’s development in my dotage. There’s nothing better.”

Jennifer Rosenberg is in private psychiatry practice two days a week. “I live in Cleveland and will have been married to Samy Rosenberg for 30 years this August. Our oldest son, Eitan, lives in NYC and works for Spotify, our daughter, Michal, lives in Chicago and is pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology, and our youngest is a junior at Barnard.”

Martin “Chip” Shore writes, “After becoming a certified financial planner last year, I’m working on integrating financial planning into investment management. My wife, Shari, is practicing orthodontics in Brookline. Our son graduated from Vanderbilt last year and is gainfully employed in Chicago as a management consultant. Our daughter decided to go back to my roots and is in her first year at Colorado College. I’m looking forward to Reunion this spring and catching up with everyone!”

Congrats to Jim Stutz and his wife, Rosemary, soon to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. Jim has been on the move, taking in various “awesome” music concerts with his kids (Guns ‘n’ Roses and Bonnie Raitt). His recent exploits included a scuba diving trip in Cozumel, Mexico, in 2015 and an African photo safari in February.

Matthew Capece and wife Alexis traveled to Crete for a friend’s wedding and were waylaid in Heraklion, where they passed the time amiably at a local taverna. “Live traditional Greek music,” Matt wrote. “Best flight delay in my life.”

Margaret Morton says she is “working at Eversource Energy and having the time of my life.”

Richard Klein is “a partner at the firm Romer Debbas LLP in Manhattan, heading up their co-op/condo and litigation practices.

John Johnson is the director of the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in Brooklyn, serving over 300 kids a day. He is involved with the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), speaking to school groups and civic organizations. “Having lived with the diagnosis of bipolar disorder since age 17, my message of coping with and overcoming obstacles is a message of hope and acceptance,” he writes.

He keeps in touch with many Wes grads from our class, including Kweku Forstall, Ron Comrie, Cheryl Stevens, Robyn White, Kim Holt, and Billy Stephens.

Friends, I am signing off as your class correspondent. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to hear from old friends and to make new ones via these notes. Keep sending; I’ll keep reading!

Stephanie Griffith | stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com

[Ed. Note: We thank Stephanie for five years of service to Wesleyan, and we warmly welcome Laura Fraser as she returns to her role as class secretary. Laura can be reached at laura@laurafraser.com.]

Class of 1990 Scholarship 

Kathryn Toner ’20, Doylestown, PA

Hi everyone and Happy New Year! Here’s the latest from our class.

Alfredo Viegas has been back to Wes a few times this year because his daughter, Alessandra ’20, started in September. Al got a surprise at the Alumni-Legacy reception when he ran into Shawn ’88 and Ellen Burgess ’88, as “Shawn had been my freshman RA in Butterfield C, and his daughter, Ramsay ’20, was also starting. It was great seeing Shawn and Ellen again and knowing that the Wes legacy continues for our kids.

Two major announcements come from Joy Challenger. First, in May, Joy graduated with a D.Min. from Duke University’s Divinity School in Durham, N.C. Second, in September, Joy married Brian Slaughter on Martha’s Vineyard at the home of classmate Denise Jefferson Casper. Joy has moved to the D.C./Northern Virginia part of the country.

Carol Lynne Booth is the director at Jewish Baby Network, a small nonprofit outreach organization that builds community connections for Jewish families with babies and toddlers in the Bay Area. “We have really expanded our programs and community partners and just added an SF chapter. We host a variety of events at many different Jewish institutions as a way to connect families to each other and to the wider Jewish community. I meet wonderful people, help them make friends and find their place while holding lots of babies, so I am having a great time!”

Carol’s other piece of big news is that she and her husband, David Booth ’91, will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this June. “So crazy! Our days of running around Wes together do not feel that long ago, so I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun. Continuing the milestone theme, my son, Josh, is living in Seattle and will be 21 in March. My daughter, Naomi, just turned 18 and most likely heads off to college in the fall, and my daughter, Maytal, is now 15 and just got her driver’s permit. It makes me realize that I must be getting older and leaves me wondering where the time has gone. I wish the whole class of ’90 a very healthy and Happy New Year!”

Amy Morgenstern spent the second half of 2016 on sabbatical in Oaxaca, Mexico, with her wife and 9-year-old daughter, “all of us making lots of art, writing, and improving our Spanish. Then, as tempting as it was to stay outside the United States forever, it was back to my work as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, where I’ve been for 13 years.”

Victor Khodadad is a recent co-founder of New Camerata Opera, which is a new opera company based in New York City. NCO produced its first main stage production, The Count of Luxembourg and Other Tales: A Viennese Pastiche, in October, which played to rave reviews and sold-out audiences. Victor was invited to give a TEDx Talk in December about innovation in the arts which featured New Camerata Opera. More information is available at newcamerataopera.org.

Ben Robertson continues to live in Keene, N.H., where he is working as a Web designer with his company Menadena. Interested classmates can learn more about Ben’s work at menadena.com.

Finally, I just heard from Lara Laurence, for whom the Women’s March in D.C. turned into a Wesleyan event. “First, on my Amtrak train heading south, the woman sitting across from me turned out to be a Wes grad from the Class of 1980—too bad I never asked for her name. Then, in D.C., my daughter, a sophomore at Bryn Mawr, Colleen McKiernan ’89, and I stayed with Ladeene Freimuth ’89. After the march, my daughter and I headed to Sarah Leavitt’s (’92) house for dinner. Also, there were Michelle Elisburg ’92, Jessica Feierman ’92, and Susannah Beals-Simon ’92.”

That’s all for now.  Thank you to those who wrote. As always, please e-mail me anytime with news.

Vanessa Montag Brosgol | vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com