Class Notes | 1950s

Greetings, great class of ’59. Your scribes wish you well in this holiday season and beyond. Two things to remember: our 65th in May of ’24, and our old friend, WAF. Now to our doings.

John and Cyndy Spurdle hosted a gathering for Sir Tom Stoppard on behalf of the International Friends of the London Library in New York to celebrate the opening of his new play, Leopoldstadt. The play is sold out in New York and in London. It is based on Stoppard’s family’s Jewish history in Vienna. The Spurdles and the Stoppards have been supporters of the London Library for ages.

Herb Steiner has a granddaughter at Wesleyan, and on a recent visit, Herb joined her in the viola section for the October concert. A great pleasure for Herb playing next to her and making music at Wes for the first time in 63 years.

Tim Day continues his support of the Marine Corps in a couple of ways. He has put 29 marine officers through the Harvard Business School MBA program as well as 40 senior marine officers through the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. Add to this the Tim and Sandy Day Canine Companion Program that provides service dogs to wounded marines and you have a real commitment to the Marine Corps.

Bob and Marsha Gillette visited Bob and Joan Chase at the latter’s home in Springfield, Virginia. They laughed about “double dating,” and all were thankful for their Wesleyan experience. Bob G. continues to lecture at various places about his two books on the rescue of Jewish teenagers from Nazi Germany in the late ’30s. Bob was recently featured on the PBS program, Hidden History. He and Marsha are still canoeing and still have not tipped over.

A sixth annual MidCoast Maine reunion found Joe and Wendy Mallory, Tom and Anne McHugh, Dick and Linda Cadigan, and Alan and Marie-Pier Brooks at the Mallory’s home in New Harbor, Maine. The usual Wesleyan memories ensued as well as more current topics.

And speaking of Dick Cadigan, he shared the following remembrance of Ned Lemkemeier who passed away on June 13 at the age of 85: “We became close friends in St. Louis, 1962, just after I finished theological school and he law school. One fun experience was when Wes asked us to visit an all-Black,  inner-city high school to recruit students. We chuckled as we drove there, wondering what our pitch would be to attract kids to a small liberal arts school in Connecticut! In later years Ned said one student did attend Wes and became a lawyer. St Louis Post-Dispatch had a big, long article that said Ned was [an] ‘Unsung Hero of St. Louis.’ His work was stellar on desegregation of public schools, leadership on boards dealing with cancer, disability, [hearing impairment], the arts. Article stated, ‘Ned was the most trustworthy person in St. Louis; smart, unpretentious, a straight shooter with a heart of gold.’ When one son asked for advice, Ned said, ‘Listen before you speak, only way to get to common ground.’ What a legacy!”

Joan Bromage wrote in October that Ted had died peacefully after a couple of years of poor health. They had many Wesleyan friends, and several of these friendships resulted in their becoming godparents.

Molly and Skip Silloway are heading back to Utah and their annual family ski trip. A week at the Alta Lodge is a fixture on their calendar. Who knows how long this can continue.

Dan Woodhead was the first to report. He noted that the football team had a record of six wins, three losses. Overall, a good season.

Dick Goldman attended a reception on Homecoming weekend and then went to the Williams football game. After the game, dinner with friends, including Alan Brooks ’59. Dick is still working as the vice president of the Wesleyan Lawyers Association. He had a nice call with Bob Hayes, a recent widower, and looks forward to getting together. Dick winters in Key Biscayne from December 15 until March 31.

A sad note from Bob Furber, who told me of the passing of Ron Nowek on November 21. 2022. He and Ron were very close. Bob followed Ron to California in 1962. He considered Ron a perfect friend.

Tony Codding spent most of last summer at Long Lake, Maine, with his partner. It gave him an opportunity for lunch with Bill Clark, MD, in Bangor, Maine. They had not seen each other since our 50th Reunion.

Our youngest member, Neil Henry, just celebrated his 85th birthday. Doing well with his pacemaker. Went out to dinner with Liz and imbibed two glasses of wine. He is avidly watching the World Cup soccer matches.

Bob Terkhorn and family went on a Danube River boat cruise in September. They boarded the AmaMagna in Budapest and cruised for seven days visiting Vienna, Linz, and Prague. Great trip!

Dick Seabury is well. He is considering buying another 1929 Model A Ford at auction. He is still a county park commissioner and member of several historic societies.

Joan and Bob Wuerthner had mild cases of COVID and have recovered. Bob continues to play tennis and his doubles partner is his 24-year-old grandson. The young man covers the court, setting up put aways for Bob. Good team.

A note from Ezra Amsterdam explains his work status. He retired and came back part time, which is really full time. His latest book, Self-Assessment Preventive Cardiology is ready to submit to the Manual of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, 2021.

Tom Mosher and wife Heidi are doing well and expect to visit Germany next year. Sadly, Tom tells of the loss of his brother, John, class of 1955.

Kay and I are doing well. Kay gave up driving, due to her macular. I play bridge every Thursday with Ted Wieseman. I play Mondays with Barbara Levine, Art Levine’s wife. I have an occasional phone call with Rick Pank, who has lived in the same house in Rowayton, Connecticut, for 54 years.

Hope to have the 65th by Zoom.

Regards,

Cliff

As our Class Notes move closer and closer to the front (only nine to go), I enjoy reading the notes from the 1940s. In the spring issue there was a great one from an alumnus (age 100!) who, when he was a teacher at Chicago Latin, persuaded Jack Dearinger, Bill Wallace, and Norm Wissing to come to Wesleyan. Now that’s recruiting.

On the home front, our great-grandson has become the proud big brother to identical twin sisters!  Mother and babies are doing well, after a few weeks in NICU for the little girls. We met them for the first time over Thanksgiving. Beautiful, and so small.

Al Kalb checked in with a short note and promises news for the next issue. It was still good to hear from him.

With a variety of viruses still around in Nova Scotia, Ed Porter and Lainie are limiting their social life and keeping masks handy when out and about.  He hopes that in this season a spirit of respect may transcend the other forces at play in our present world. Well said.

Jim Brown and Betty took a romantic Caribbean cruise in May. They should have stayed home. She fell and hit her head, requiring 13 stitches, and he totally tore his left rotator cuff. They’ve both recovered, but Jim is still doing rehab because he enjoys it. He’s back to his college weight of 185, packaged differently. I know what he means.

Last issue I mentioned the Zoom session we had just before our 65th. It was great, and Dick Cassie wants to do it again. I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not hopeful. Maybe in 2027 Wesleyan will organize another one for us.

Gordon Wilmot and Marilyn will be driving down to Pennsylvania in December for their granddaughter’s graduation from Penn State. For several months now, they have been clearing out the house where her mother lived for 84 years. He allows that’s not very much fun.

I got an interesting email from Lars Erik Knudsen, who as a 19-year-old, came to Wesleyan on a Fulbright Scholarship from Denmark, where he still lives. The email was in Danish, which was no problem for Outlook to translate. He recalls his first-year roommates in Harriman Hall, Bill Moody ’59 and John Briscoe ’59. After his one year in America, he returned to Copenhagen, studied law, and became an attorney. He’s been married to Grete for 57 years and they have four sons.

Stay well and have a great 2023.

Paul Weston writes: “I came to the green, tree-lined Wesleyan campus from the windswept plains of Oklahoma in 1952. Graduated in the 1956 physics class of eight bright young men and went on to graduate work at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A friend from Wesleyan also came to Illinois, and introduced me to my future wife, Patricia, a grad student in chemistry. After 59 happy years together, she sadly succumbed to pancreatic cancer five years ago. Our granddaughter is just now starting a law career in Chicago.

“At U of I, I spent some years in a research group calling itself ‘The Biological Computer Laboratory,’ engaged in the then-new field of cybernetics. Among other things, it contributed to the body of theory underlying current artificial intelligence. Only now, with thousands of times more powerful technology, do we have working examples. (And recognition of the very real potential danger.)

“While a grad student in BCL I claimed my personal ‘15 minutes of fame.’ To show a machine capable of apparently intelligent human behavior, I designed and constructed an electronic device which instantly (well, a tiny fraction of a second) counted the number of objects in a two-dimensional field, regardless of size, shape, orientation, things inside of holes in other things, etc. It was shown on national TV, in a science magazine show hosted by Walter Cronkite.

“When Patricia and I retired from UI in 1998, we launched 20 great years of world travel, in ocean and river cruises, covering all the world’s oceans and continents, and many of its navigable rivers. This fulfilled Pat’s lifelong desire for travel, and I was a happy fellow traveler. The world’s great waterfalls, the dragon-tooth mountains of China, the spiritual aura of Paris’s Notre Dame, the sheer beauty of the Taj Mahal, the utter horror of Auschwitz, were our continued education.”

Our newest ’56 author is Peter Johnson. His book, published by Amazon/Kindle, is entitled Creating New Policy for the Caribbean Basin: The Story of Caribbean/Central America Action. It’s a substantial book—500 pages, including appendices, index, and testimonials—not exactly light reading. It will have some relevance to President Biden’s initiative in Central America. Now retired from the Foreign Service, Peter lives in Mazatlan, Mexico.     

From Dick Smith: “After graduating, I lived in a number of places as I received my medical and research training, including New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Albany, and Maine. I am, of course, now retired after 35 years of medical/research work and another 20 years of eye research at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. My wife Linda and I have been together for over 50 years and continue to live in Maine.”

Bob Calvin reminded me that the Linden Pond diaspora included Ronna and Art von Au, as well as Ginny and Dick Bauer, and also Bette and Alan Grosman.

Bob remembers: “I was best man at Alan’s wedding to Bette. Alan graduated Phi Beta Kappa at Wesleyan and went on to get an MA in political science from Yale, and a JD from the NYU Law School. Back in New Jersey, he joined the family law firm and was a leader in the practice of family law. He spoke many languages, especially Spanish, and was very active in the Cuban community. Another passion was playing the piano. One weekend when we were both living in Boston, we went to a backstage party after a Tanglewood concert. Alan decided to play some show tunes on the piano, and the performers sang along! Alan was a warm person who made friends easily. He will be missed.”

Writes Jim Jekel: “The main news from here (other than I am getting old and creaky) is that my beloved wife of 64 years, Jan, died of cancer in August. Our daughter has lived with us, so I get lots of help, but I am finding that downsizing is more difficult than anticipated.

“I roomed with Al Grosman one year (five of us in a suite at Sigma Nu), and he was a close friend.”

David J. (not W) Cox: “I have been widowed for the second time. Tamara (Compton) died on November 13 after five years of progressive liver failure ended by kidney disease. My three sons have helped me manage combined grief and practical problems. I am knocked down but otherwise in good health and will stay in our house in Leisure World, Maryland, for a while yet.”

Writes Mort Paterson: “My wife Susan, only 68 years young, is both my computer/cell phone techie and my travel agent. Last October went to France. Paris first: the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, and a quick look at where I lived junior year abroad. Good small restaurants still. Saw a fine Cenerentola at L’Opéra. Then to Eze, a small medieval hill town near Nice, overlooking the Mediterranean. (The two together have been called the ‘Nice ‘n Eze’ trip.) Steep streets, no cars. Just managed to keep up with Susan, but not on the rocky 2-mile Nietzsche’s Path—seems he loved Eze, wrote some Zarathustra there—down to the sea. In all, a great trip, but travel seems harder these days. I am very lucky and thankful I could do the trip.”

From Bob Bretscher: “All is well with me and my three daughters’ families. However, normal aging suggests that I move into Presbyterian Village retirement community here in Athens sometime this coming February. Best wishes to all and to all a good 2023.”

Finally, from John Foster: “I’m gratefully above ground and managing the vicissitudes of our age; enjoying my wife, our house, aging in place, and fortunate to have a little help along the way including our two sons [who] are also living in Marblehead.

“Would enjoy corresponding with any interested class members: harboradv@aol.com.”

Just after I submitted the following note, I received news that John Mosher passed away earlier this year, on March 28, 2022. He is survived by his wife Liz of 63 years, children, grandchildren, and his brother Tom ’58. Our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and classmates.

While class secretaries know the day might come when they have no news from fellow classmates to share, the occurrence of such a happening is thankfully rare. But for this guy who has held the position for more than 60 years, it’s hard for me to accept the fact there’s nothing to share other than letting you know the transition from Florida to Bethesda, Maryland, has been accepted, and once the adjustment to weather differences, all will be well and I will continue to act as your secretary with the hope of hearing from classmates in the future!

As always,  my very best wishes for good health and happiness to you and your loved ones in the New Year.

Please write to your class secretary.

Our class’s 70th Reunion happens in May 2023—attend one event, if possible, or at least send me a note as to your status.

Walt Cutler writes: “I have two granddaughters at Wesleyan, both in the junior class. Together, with their fathers (my sons), we had a minireunion on campus October 15. Great fun.”

William T. Teachout, 91, member of Eclectic, passed away in California, July 15, 2022. Among other talents, Bill was known for his soccer and basketball skills.

My three-month stay in a retirement facility has become eight months of comfortable living while my home is being refurbished.

Samuel Fitch advised that he is still on the “greenside” in an independent living facility in Sun City, Arizona, with too much to do—and too little energy. He sends his best to all and happy holidays.

I have no other notes from fellow classmates, so I plead for information for the next issue. As for myself, I continue to work every day as a title agency lawyer and enjoy acting as an expert witness in real estate matters. My wife Barbara is still practicing real estate law at home and we both enjoy ballroom dancing on a regular basis. Our granddaughter Eliza Bender ’24 loves Wesleyan and is active with a radio program, writing movies, and doing stand-up comedy routines on campus.

A healthy and happy New Year and beyond to all. PLEASE WRITE!!

Here we are in December with notes that you will receive in the future. Past notes in the future, and so it goes.

Good note from Ted Bartolotta, now residing in Florida with his wife, Evie, of 71 years. Ted retired from the Glastonbury, Connecticut, school system, where he led one of the best public school systems in the state. Ted noted that they have lived in Naples, Florida, for 32 years but did not comment on the recent hurricane.

Barney Kathan wrote in, as is custom, and told that currently he is hosting Don Schellhardt ’71, who has recently moved from California. Barney can be counted on to be at events, Homecoming included, in his family heirloom red jacket.

We have learned of the death last year of Bob Hammett, in retirement after a distinguished career in the ministry.

And our all-time best and most successful cheerleader and fundraiser Dave Jones died on Thanksgiving Day (2022). Dave’s work and generosity for alma mater are, and will remain, unmatched. A friend to all who knew him, he will be missed.

Jean and I have lived at Essex Meadows in Essex, Connecticut, for the past 10 years. The Meadows is a Continuing Care Residential Community with a full range of services from independent living to a licensed health facility. Managed by LCS of Des Moines, Iowa, I imagine many of you are in a similar situation. Why not share your stories.

Please write to your class secretary.