Class Notes | 1970s

To be sure, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all our lives forever. The desire to connect, be in touch, has increased as we adjust to Zoom gatherings and other methods that allow us to continue work as well as survive during the time of social isolation. Slowing the pace of our day-to-day lives has had a positive effect in that we make time for reaching out, as well as perhaps cook and eat better, get some exercise, meditate, whatever. With this, I am delighted to be in touch with so many classmates via Zoom and others by phone calls and notes sent along.

Carol Weiss is doing well sheltering at home in Westchester with her husband and two of her three kids. Everyone is healthy. She is avoiding her office in Manhattan: enjoying seeing all her patients virtually. Dave Schreff sends best regards to friends Bob Yorburg, Michele Druker, Martha Meade ’76, Eric Zimmerman, and Don Lowery. Dave Levit, along with wife Ruth, lives in Amherst, Mass., where they have been since 1989. As clinical psychologists, they are adjusting to doing sessions by videoconference in the time of COVID. Dave remarks that both his daughter and son are staying in the family business: Becca completed a master’s in school counseling, Jeremy is a second-year medical student awaiting his clinical rotation in psychiatry in Brooklyn.

Dorothy Crenshaw had a Zoom happy hour with pals Marianne Diorio and Vanessa Burgess, commiserating about the pandemic in NYC, sharing gratitude at being healthy. She has been texting with Don Ryan; she managed a visit with Don, George Capone, and Cal Dysinger last October when they traveled to join her at a Steely Dan concert at the Beacon Theatre. Dorothy is busier than ever with her PR firm. She is sheltering in place in Manhattan (unlike the many who have fled) and, as an older parent, lucky that her 16-year-old daughter is still living at home and not off somewhere alone.

David Dranoff is hunkering down in Oak Park, Ill., where he has lived with wife Wendy for 28 years. Like many of us, David is working remotely, wondering if this is the time to put the work thing aside: wondering what will be the next stage of life. His kids are healthy, though not all remain employed due to the pandemic. Iddy Olson is now commuting from master bedroom to office/bedroom 12 feet away. She can’t imagine taking a train, parking, walking a half-mile each way again. Her husband, Tom, has had some health challenges in what was assumed to be a mild case of the coronavirus. He does appear to be turning the corner, which comes at a great relief to us all.

Jim Melloan is doing well in Brooklyn: had a nice Zoom session with Rich Shulman a couple of weeks ago; also in touch with Marisa Smith ’78, Miriam Wolf, and James Lyons via email. Joan Goldfeder is staying busy with a PAC that supports Democratic, pro-choice, female candidates in California and nationally. She is seeing lots of great candidates via Zoom. Joan’s son just finished college at Bucknell; she is extremely proud of his accomplishments.

John Fink has a new book out compiling his TV editorials from the past 19 years in Hawaii, published by Watermark Publishing. To quote: “When the world comes out of its largest-ever ‘timeout,’ I plan to do seminars about ‘making a difference.’” Before the shutdown, John met up with Rick Dennett and with Peter Guenther in New York. He also dropped in on former roomie, Scott Director. Lisa Brummel is working from home as a recruiter in the financial services field. Lisa is in touch with Lorraine Schwarz, among others. Her eldest son graduated from Dickinson College, and her younger son is a junior at American University. I had a nice exchange with Iddy, Mike Coffey, and Ted Stevens, sending along their good wishes. Ted and Iddy revealed their one real complaint being the inability to interact with their grandchildren, which is a sentiment echoed a lot by others in our class.

Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to be included in a cross-the-globe Zoom session with Jane Goldenring, Janet Malkemes, Ruth McMahon, Kate Seeger, Laraine Balk Hope, Wendy Giardina, Richard Parad, and Bob Katz. We organized a film club that appropriately began with each of us viewing The Big Chill and coming together to discuss via Zoom. Good stuff.

Here is hoping we all keep safe and sound during these days ahead. Best wishes to all, family and friends, during this extraordinary time.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

Libby Horn has joined the growing ranks of retired folks. She’s busy at a food bank and a local hospice and keeping up her music.

Karen Gervasoni is retired, enjoying life in Maine with her teenage daughter and her partner, Greg. They’re splitting their time between gardening, baking, crafting, and political activism.

Andrew Brotman is the chief clinical officer at NYU Langone Health, so the last two months have been all-pandemic, all the time. Andrew, thanks to all of us for your hard work in this very tough time.

Matt Cartter is the state epidemiologist in Connecticut. A recent article described Matt as “Connecticut ’s Anthony Fauci.” He teaches at Yale and UConn.

Rob Briskin has not opted for retirement! He’s in his 36th year in practice in internal medicine in Florida. He has 10-year-old twin daughters and two adult children.

Tom Kovar is working for the VA in Northampton, Mass. Until January, he was gigging regularly, but the pandemic intervened. Tom responded by recording original songs at home and posting on Facebook; his many friends are grateful.

Jonathan Cleworth has been managing MS since he earned his MBA at Columbia in the early ’80s. He credits being captain of the 1976 crew team with giving him the skills to minimize the effects of MS.

Jeffrey Frank retired last year after selling his company in Ohio. He’s driving for Lyft and enjoying socializing with customers from many backgrounds and occupations.

Melissa Blacker has been married to David Rynick ’74, MALS ’85 since 1981. They have been sheltering with their daughter and grandson during the pandemic. Melissa and David are Zen teachers/priests, running a temple in Worcester, Mass., which moved online in March. They welcome anyone to join them at worcesterzen.org.

Jack O’Donnell practices as a criminal lawyer but says the quarantine might have convinced him to scale back a bit.

Dan Herr had a different take on retirement. Nine years ago, he left a career in the semiconductor industry to become chair of the UNC Greensboro’s nanoscience department. He now focuses on diversity/inclusion, advising, and education. He’s enjoying having more time to spend with his wife of 37 years, four children, and five grandchildren.

Betsy Eisenmann is experiencing the pandemic that most retired people seem to be experiencing: All social/church/organized activities shut down, waiting to see what the governor does next.

Steve Smith and his wife have retired, so quarantine hasn’t been such a big adjustment. They take daily walks in the North Carolina mountains, pursue music and hobbies, and celebrated their 45th anniversary in May.

Ollie Griffith is now “mostly” retired from the World Bank. He’s still freelancing/writing for corporations and NGOs, and plays in Paris jazz clubs (pre-pandemic).

Jody Snider is hunkering down on her farm in Rhode Island. Jody works as executive producer for a film company (Smartypants NYC), producing orientation films for the new Wes freshman.

Ellen Seh sent her first class notes in since 1976! She’s had a fascinating career: she worked in sustainability in Maine, then moved to Boston and worked in public relations. She moved to NYC, and eventually to San Francisco, becoming a passionate sailor. She’s now retired, still advocating for issues centered on climate change and saying “yes” to new adventures.

Barb Birney is now retired. She’s a citizen/scientist volunteer, helping researchers catalog data from cameras capturing animal behavior in the wild.

Carol Bellhouse is still practicing law part-time, working on the final edit of her 30th book and working in her garden.

Debra Neuman’s husband of 35 years, Paul, passed on in March. Debra, our deepest sympathy. Debra works as executive director of advancement for St. Edmund’s Retreat on Enders Island (Mystic); she’d welcome a post-pandemic visit from any Wes alumni.

Byron Haskins is retired, but he’s working harder than most people! Byron and his wife, Gabrielle, care for their granddaughter, whose parents are essential workers. Byron’s son, an anesthesiologist, came down with COVID-19, and may have passed it on to Byron and Gabrielle—all have recovered. Byron is active in Michigan and national politics; is diving deep into music composition; collaborates with classmate Carol Bellhouse on poetic video shorts, and he’s media director for the local chapter of the Project Management Institute. And he’s got eight grandchildren, with another on the way!

In memoriam: I’m sad to report that Bruce Herring and John Rankin ’83 have both passed on.

I retired on April 30 (while recovering from a mild bout of COVID-19), but David Harmin works full-time as a bioinformatician in Mike Greenberg’s lab at Harvard. We regularly see Marjorie Dauster and Nina Rosenstein, and irregularly see Tom Kovar, Mel Blake, Karen Gervasoni, all of whom are doing well. If you make a post-quarantine trip to Boston, get in touch!

Karen Harmin | karen.harmin@gmail.com

Pencil in our belated 45th Reunion for May 28-30, 2021. As a fun alternative, we pivoted to a 1975 “Re-ZOOM-ion” with 40 attendees. Brief scoops:

Barbara Bachtell is an artist and arts/nonprofit administrator in Cleveland. David Bickford is locked down in LA with his Thai masseuse wife. Jill Lesko, is sheltered in Nantucket contemplating her next career chapter after marketing, executive coaching, and teaching yoga. Janet Bradlow retired to Florida to be near family. Janet Brodie is doing creative arts therapy remotely at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. Perry Cacace, NYC lawyer working from Chappaqua, has four grown sons and a grandchild. Barbara Coven is practicing pediatrics in New York after an early-career odyssey around the South Pacific. Gary Davis is consulting on real estate development from home in a building he designed on Central Park North. Jeff Dunn is photo-documenting the COVID-era in the Boston area. Cathy Gorlin is confined to Minneapolis and is missing visits with her son in Denver and her daughter and grandkids on the East Coast. Tim Hill and Janet Schwaner retired in Wellesley, Mass., with kids in British Columbia and Ann Arbor and two grandkids. Tim runs a newly-online duplicate bridge club, and Janet plays cello and guides at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Bill Holder remains in Middletown and has five grandchildren. Bonnie Hunter Samuels is a master gardener isolating in Oregon. Emely Karandy is a plastic surgeon and realtor outside Philly. Risa Korn is practicing internal medicine outside Boston and missing hugs with two local grandchildren. Brad Kosiba is keeping busy near Chapel Hill, keeping bees who work despite COVID. Debbie Kosich quarantined right after moving into a new Houston condo. Nancy Luberoff is hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and living by a Chapel Hill lake after her career in the Jewish community. John McNeill retired from Methodist ministry and volunteering as a community mediator near Rochester, N.Y. Pat McQuillan ’75, MA’81 is teaching at Boston College. Steve Miller and Martha Meade ’76 are sheltering in Pacific Palisades. Jeff McChristian is cutting his commute thanks to COVID and loving the boutique small-business law firm he joined in Hartford. Before COVID killed travel, Jeff and Pat traveled to Channel Islands, the Cotswolds, and Guatemala. COVID scratched two planned trips—Silk Road countries and Bhutan. J.D. Moore ’75, MALS ’80 is celebrating six years as a Connecticut trial judge and his new house near Jeff’s. Mark Nickerson is teaching trauma therapy in Massachusetts. Bruce Paton is teaching college online now from Sunnyvale, Calif., where he chairs local sustainability efforts. Becky Peters-Combs is retired from teaching in Denver and became a guardian for a former student, adding to her four kids. Ed Rosenbaum is living in New Jersey and thrilled that his daughter (a rabbi and cantor) is expecting her second child. COVID grounded Dave Rosenblum from his Los Angeles-New York travel routine as a retired consultant serving on corporate and nonprofit boards. Kathy Scholle is a retired attorney who sells real estate in Connecticut and has two grown kids and “almost” two grandchildren. Lucille Semeraro is a retired pediatrician enjoying hobbies. Gary Steinel, retired teacher, is riding bikes and brewing beer in Colorado. Rob Stockman is teaching part-time at Indiana University and running Wilmette Institute, an online education provider for the American Bahá’í community. Charlie Stolper is living in Austin (where his son works for Google), recently retired from advising venture companies.

Bruce Weinraub survived COVID-19 in March but has felt its longer-term effects on his medical practice in Northampton, Mass. Read about it in the Commonwealth Magazine. Check out his music side career on YouTube. COVID brought Suzy and Dave Rosenthal’s first grandchild. They drove from Buffalo to Denver for a two-week quarantine before they could hold him. Read about it in the Boston Globe. Dave’s editor of Side Effects Public Media, a collaborative publication covering health care issues across the Midwest. Jeff Morgan runs Covenant kosher winery in California and Israel with his wife, Jodie, and daughter Zoe. Jeff and Jodie just published their ninth cookbook, The Covenant Kitchen. Vinnie Broderick is hanging up the canoe paddle after 24 years running the New Hampshire summer camp where he and Bob Knox went as kids. Looks like the camp’s 125th anniversary will have to wait a year! Cheryl Vichness is “chilling in Baltimore” still working for a small management consulting firm but retired from Johns Hopkins.

Bill Devereaux and Emely Karandy shared word of Peggy Bouffard’s death from ALS last August. After Wes, Peg completed medical school at the University of Cincinnati, interned at Mass General, and returned to Cincinnati for pediatric residency. Peg was a beloved pediatrician in New Jersey for over 35 years. As her disease progressed, she moved to be with her children in Pennsylvania. Bill knew Peg from their high school days in Rhode Island. Emely, Deb Benton, and Brett Sherman roomed with her at Wes and attended her funeral. Emely writes, “Peg was a friend for life, sharing wisdom and love without judgment, dished out with a hug and a laugh. In spite of her brilliance, beauty, and accomplishments, she was never boastful, and carried herself with quiet grace.” She is survived by her daughter, Gretchen ’07, and son Adam, three grandchildren, and four sisters.

Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com
860 Marin Drive, Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955

The 50th Reunion is May 23-26, 2024. Reunion news and find out about regional events can be found at wesleyan.edu/classof1974. Join the committee and work on outreach, programming, or fundraising. Questions or want to get involved? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.

June Jeffries ’75 noted the passing on April 11 of Peter Greene, M.D. For many years Peter was her family dermatologist. His ex-wife and June worked together, and their families spent many holiday dinners and other good times together. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in Washington, D.C.

Nan’l “Nate” Winship continues to own and operate a  small farm growing vegetables and berries in central New Hampshire. As the growing season gets underway, this promises to be a very busy year as more people seek out locally grown products. It has been great to welcome Wayne Forrest ’74, MA ’77 and Tom Frei on visits to Tanna Farm, and he got over to give John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80 a man-hug at a campaign event in a nearby town last year.

Monique Witt reports in two parts. First is from mid-January. “We’re still building the new sound space in East Williamsburg and finishing four discs, including Ben’s new sextet album (Nebula Project), which will soft drop in February and officially drop in June. Dev is in L.A. for NAMM, launching the Solarium pro-audio monitors; Ben is touring throughout the Southeastern states, then through Europe, starting in Italy, back to the West Coast, and finally Canada. Steve and I, the same.”

….and now (mid-May):

“We are sheltering in place in Manhattan (Ben, Steve, and me) and Greenpoint, Brooklyn (Dev and Jenn). Ben’s U.S., Canadian, and European tours have all been pushed forward a year, so he is working with Concerts in Motion, doing daily live streams for shut-ins, hospitals, and similar organizations. Additionally, he does a weekly jazz live stream and a number of Zoom concerts for the venues at which he was booked. Steve’s working way too hard still but from home, and I’m doing board work (intensive staying up to date on pandemic regs), but Ben’s teaching me to cook, and we run every day in Central Park (masks, gloves, and social distancing). Ben and Dev are mastering the fourth album scheduled for release in July. Hope everyone is keeping well.”

Carolyn White’s news: “I have transitioned over to Zoom to teach the NAMI Family-to-Family class and it is going better than expected. We might just continue using Zoom. It beats having to deal with traffic every Thursday evening. I am looking forward to a new grandchild for 10/10/20 (good date!) who will be stateside. I have two adorable grandchildren in Toulouse, France, but, the question is when will I feel comfortable enough to travel to France to see them? Skype and Zoom will have to suffice for now.  I hope everyone and their families are able to stay out of harm’s way.”

Peter Welcher’s updates: “I’m still working, for a network consulting company I and others started, (Chesapeake) NetCraftsmen. Now over 70 employees are busy during COVID onset supporting remote access for hospitals and government sites in Maryland-D.C. area. Plan to retire in next couple of years. Our kids are all employed at the time I write this. Paul works for USDA doing foreign service work, back in D.C. after three years in Thailand. Alison works for the State Department in D.C., Africa desk. Emma manages a team of six doing marketing for a large bank among others. Gwen is on a product marketing team for LifeStraw. No grandchildren yet.”

Wayne Forrest writes, “2019 and 2020 have been tough years in my household as my wife Jean has had serious medical issues. Multiple surgeries and countless anxious moments have been mixed with incredible closeness and unity of purpose. It was hard to miss our 45th Reunion last year as it fell on a surgery day. We felt the love from many classmates who knew the reason for my absence. COVID-19 has been a blessing in disguise as it has kept Jean away from the infected New York public hospital where she worked and me close by her side. The virus shut down all my extracurricular musical experiences in the orchestras and bands where I play tuba. Hopefully the summer brings them back. I stopped commuting to Manhattan in early March, but where I live (Westchester County) quickly became a hotspot. Thankfully, of the dozen or people I know who caught the virus all, except one, made it through.”

“Discovering the All Trails app has allowed my wife and I to plan hikes nearby that at first were uncrowded but have now become increasingly populated by people who don’t move over and don’t wear masks. But the best social distancing activity for us has been riding our pedal-assist e-bikes. You still get a great workout on these ‘cheaters’; they give you no excuse to not go out for an hour two up and down our hilly Hudson Valley terrain.

“Meanwhile I am still managing the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (AICC) as well as its non-business correlate, the American Indonesian Cultural and Educational Foundation (AICEF).  AICEF has been collaborating with Wesleyan to amplify the Javanese gamelan music program, providing funding to allow the university to engage a dance teacher. We’re also supporting Lloyd Komesar’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival connecting it to a film festival in Bali. With AICC, I began a campaign to get much needed N95 respirator masks to doctors all over Indonesia.

I have to say that although I have many problems with Facebook’s ad-driven business model, principally, their lack of transparency and accountability for perpetuating lies and falsehoods, it remains a welcome place to connect with alums and classmates.  I really appreciate reading the thoughts and goings on from Nate Winship, Pat Mulcahy, Bill Burton, Naaz Hosseni ’74, MA’75, Lyn Lauffer, Tom Alexander ’70, MA’77, Michael Mininsohn, Tom Kovar ’76, Neely Bruce, Sal D’Alessandro ’72, MALS ’96, Mark Masseli, Todd Jick ’71, Nat Needle ’76, Jack Freudenheim ’79, Tom Ross ’67, PhD ’85, Alan Feinstein ’70, Harold Sogard, Arthur Fierman, Leslie Rudden ’77, Joseph Getter MA’99, Curt Steinzor ’77, and others.

“Finally, the virus has pushed us apart but also closer together.  I am seeing family and friends on Zoom I would not have seen in years in-person.”

Howard Shalwitz reports, “After four decades, in September 2018. I stepped down from the artistic leadership of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. I feel both lucky and a bit guilty that I did so before the pandemic—although my successor, Maria Manuela Goyanes (Brown ’01), is carrying on with exceptional energy and vision: woollymammoth.net. I’m happily ensconced with my partner of 40 years, Jeanette Reitz, at our home in Alexandria, Va. Continuing to do some fundraising for Woolly, teaching, gardening, chipping away at a book about theatre, and starting a multi-year project to connect new American theatre leaders with their counterparts in Poland. It’s been exciting to read about classmates like Joan Braun who are involved in supporting their local theatre companies, especially with the challenges ahead!”

John Shapiro reports, “I am currently camping out in our home in Westchester, N.Y., with my wife, Shonni Silverberg ’76, my older son, Zach, and his fiancée, my younger son, Nathaniel, and his girlfriend, and two dogs! We are all well, but I’ve had to cancel my son’s wedding for the time being.

“Given that Shonni is a doctor at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, and my son is a legal advisor on medical ethical issues at New York Hospital, we have been very caught up with the challenges surrounding the coronavirus. My younger son meanwhile had to cancel what would’ve been his third off-Broadway production.”

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

How life has changed for so many of us. As of this writing in early May, I have spent every work day for the past two months at my CBS station, WFOR-TV, covering so many aspects of the coronavirus from the economy, unemployment, medical care, massive food distributions, survivors, and those who have sadly lost their lives in this crisis. One survivor in New York City is our esteemed classmate, Dr. Jonathan Raskin, whose story is coming up.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we have some sad news to report that 69-year-old Robert Joseph Campbell of Cromwell, Conn., passed away on May 18 from complications from COVID-19 after a short illness. Robert was active in politics and was known for his care and work for those with special needs.

From California, Phil Levine writes that he and his wife are doing fine. He says, “We FaceTime with our children and grandson and see plays on Zoom. It’s not the same as being in the same room, but it helps.” He says he sees his students at SBCC School of Extended Learning online two nights a week. They are finishing up a virtual poetry reading for retirement homes and a homeless shelter and have a virtual A Midsummer Night’s Dream slated for late May.

“I think we are all grateful for this social interaction, especially since many of the students are older and living alone,” says Phil. “So, life goes on; but it sure will be nice to gather in person again…safely, of course. I am grateful that we are all well here, and I am especially happy that my Wesleyan pal, Jon Raskin, won his bout with COVID-19. I am indebted to him for making me realize early on to take this illness seriously.” Sadly, Phil’s mother died March 11, and his family would have all assembled in New York City for the funeral. As it turned out, they did a videoconference for the ceremony.

Jonathan Raskin writes that “the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated as Mark Twain recounted, but in my case it was a bit too close.” He says he struggled through the COVID-19 pneumonia and, “I am happy to now have antibodies!” For more about his battle and recovery, he says check out YouTube and enter “New York pulmonologist” and “get the gory details.” Jonathan thanks you—“my Wes buddies”—for keeping him in your thoughts during the time he was ill. “Please stay safe and be vigilant,” he says. “We are now senior citizens and part of the ‘at-risk’ community. We just think 70 is the new 50 and I am here to tell you that’s fake news.”

From Lake Placid, N.Y., John Huttlinger says he and his staff at Adirondack Audit company have been working in isolation “but at least we are working!” He says he has been participating in Kappa Nu Kappa alumni video chats, which he says “have been great.” At last word, John was trying to find a way to reach Tim Mooney.

Hope you are all finding new creative things to do. My wife, Connie, has been creating cloth masks for those in need, and she and my middle daughter Dana have been finding one family in need per week to help with food and much-needed other contributions here in South Florida. My oldest daughter Jennifer—a nurse and assistant to a pastor at her Gloucester, Va., church—has helped pioneer a nationwide Sunday broadcast of her church service and my youngest daughter Holly—a wildlife biologist and artist in Highlands Ranch near Denver—is teaching art courses through Zoom and has built up many projects through the internet.

Hope you are finding new or creative projects, perhaps something different every day, and being careful.

Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com

Aloha. I hope you all are physically and mentally well during and after the quarantine. I got stranded in New Jersey and could not get home to Hawaii, so I spent my time in the epicenter. Thanks to all who sent brief 50-word updates.

John Schimmel is the executive producer of two films: A documentary about the Dalai Lama called The Great 14th: Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama In His Own Words and Shaquille O’Neal Presents Foster Boy, which is based on true events and is about abuse in the for-profit foster care industry. See the trailers on Frame of Mind Film’s YouTube channel.

Mike Thompson: “As the class agent for my Hotchkiss class, my fellow agent and I sent out a brief email message last month—just to wish everybody good health and safety. It went to 67 classmates. To our delight and surprise, to date, 54 of them have responded, almost all of them multiple times. They have logged in from all across the country and around the world, and our little message sparked a desire to reconnect and recollect our days together. I wonder what sort of a response you’d get from the Wesleyan Class of 1971?”

Katy Butler has helped organize an ongoing monthly Zoom candlelight vigil sponsored by Reimagine and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. “On the 9th, starting in April, at noon Pacific time, we light candles and hold them to our screens to acknowledge the mass grief of the COVID pandemic. (The first was on the first of April.) It’s beautiful and powerful, and you’re welcome to join us. We end with ‘Lean on Me’ by Bill Withers. I’m hoping it will be replicated by other institutions.”

B. Michael Zuckerman retired in February after 37 years’ service as director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities in Cape May, N.J. He lives with his wife of 42 years, Evelyn, out in the wetlands bordering the intracoastal waterway.

C.B. “Kip” Anderson writes: “Richard Aroneau and I were just beginning to plan a Wes-fest on his lakeside property at Alford Lake in Maine. Anyone from any class who lives in Maine or can make the trip from elsewhere were to have been invited to spend the day or pitch a tent. But right now, and for the foreseeable future, such gatherings are not feasible.”

Miguel Gomez-Ibanez writes: “I have retired and now am president emeritus of North Bennet Street School in Boston. I have returned to my previous career as a cabinet and furniture maker, but doing it all for free.”

Michael Brewin: “In 1970, the Connecticut Arts Commission asked me to coordinate music for the first Earth Day. Classmate Dave Lindorff and I performed at events statewide, including the capitol. Earth Day helped jump-start the environmental movement. My album Guitarsoul is at michaelbrewin.com (and Amazon).”

Blake Allison asks: “Are you still doing the vanilla plantation?” (Answer is no; I stopped to sell two of my Kauai lots.) “Not a lot to report here as I have been in quarantine on Martha’s Vineyard for two months. Luckily, I’m with my wife, Lindsay, and son Sam ’06. So, our 50th Reunion is coming up next year! I’m motivated to be there in part because it would have been my father’s 80th Reunion, and he was a huge Wesleyan booster. I’m still architecting, and sort of hope to return to the office soon.”

First-timer Malcolm Cochran writes: “Here’s the CliffsNotes: Artist, educator, father, grandfather, single, out, gay man living in Columbus, Ohio. For more, please see my website: malcolmcochran.com—and me at the Reunion.”

Fran Pawlowski says: “Our lives in Gallup, N.M., have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 virus. With a population of 20,000 residents, Gallup is surrounded by the Navajo reservation and is very dependent upon Navajo shoppers for its economic well-being. On some weekends, as many as 60,000 Navajos do their shopping here. Unfortunately, hundreds of Navajo people have become infected with the virus—and several have died. One member of my wife’s family (an uncle) has died from the virus, and his wife will probably die soon. The lockdowns which have occurred here recently were ordered by our governor for the mutual well-being of Gallup residents and Navajos. Our prayer is that the disease will peak very soon, begin to decline and ultimately disappear, so that everyone, in our area and all over the world, will again live virus-free. My wife and I ask readers to add their prayers to ours.”

Finally, the 50th Reunion is May 20-23, 2021. Reunion news and regional event info can be found at wesleyan.edu/classof1971. Join the committee and work on outreach, programming, or fundraising. Questions or want to get involved? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.

That is all for now. Be well and safe and see you May 2021.

Neil J. Clendeninn | Cybermad@msn.com
PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714

It was the Reunion that never was and the Reunion that never happened before for anyone, all rolled into one. I think we always knew that our 50th class Reunion would be different because, well, because we’re different, but this was markedly different. True, we didn’t get together physically, but we did get together virtually, with classmates participating from Japan to the East Coast.

The Reunion book probably has arrived in your mailbox just by now. It’s a masterful work. Despite writing class notes for 35 or 40 years now, I still have found all sorts of interesting biographical information that somehow never was shared with me for the column all these years. Super job John Griffin, Ted Reed, Jeff Sarles, John Sheffield, Maurice Hakim, Jeremy Serwer, Prince Chambliss, Diana Diamond, Kate Lynch ’82, and Elizabeth Watrous MALS ’02 (the latter two of the Wesleyan staff). An addendum with more classmate bios will be forthcoming.

The first part of our virtual Reunion was the president’s toast on Friday evening that I missed somehow, but I was able to Zoom in on the social hour that followed and on a group discussion about business on Saturday. The former was hosted by John Alschuler and Diana Diamond, and the latter hosted by John Griffin, Jeremy Serwer, and John Alschuler. The social hour involved about 35 attendees chatting in rotating break-out rooms. The Saturday business discussion was interesting but concerning. The element of uncertainty hung over both events. The virtual commencement occurred on Sunday. Check the Wesleyan website for video, for films by Bill Jefferson and Steve Talbot, draft board stories, and more.

Aside from the Reunion itself, I had several emails with news. Go to magazine.wesleyan.edu for the full notes.

Rob Baker and Sandy remain in Park City, Utah, but visiting with kids elsewhere. Rob’s retired, active in several sports, intellectual pursuits, and in the community.

Gerald Everett Jones has won four book awards this year. Gerald’s most recent awards were for How to Lie with Charts, a business book, and Preacher Finds a Corpse in the mystery/crime category.

Steve Talbot is active both in broadcasting and politically. He wrote, “North Carolina public radio just posted two new videos from the series of shorts I senior produced with a local filmmaker, one about the first African American woman elected sheriff in the state’s history.” Steve is busy with another Vietnam documentary called The Movement and the “Madman.”

Congratulations to husband-and-wife team Diana Diamond and John Alschuler, who were honored during Reunion weekend with the Outstanding Service Award, given to alumni, parents, or other members of the Wesleyan community for their outstanding volunteer service to the University, their community, or the nation. They co-hosted the virtual social hour on Friday.

Tony Balis sent out a beautiful email entitled “A Marshall Plan for America.” “Let’s create a 2020 Marshall Plan, involving every aspect of our national life, by recommitting private wealth towards public good. Let’s invent a humanistic capitalism that works in partnership with federal and local government yet without fealty to it, that provides security, safety, and dignity for all of us, helping rescue our only home in the process.” Contact Tony at peace@humanity.org.

In New Zealand, Peter Ratner wrote: “I do not have much to report except that my decision to move to New Zealand looks better every day.” He and Carol truly retired and are living in Greytown, a small community about an hour-and-a-half from downtown Wellington. “We live in a lovely old villa built around 1887 with enough land for some chickens, a very small orchard, and some vegetable beds.”

John Sheffield wrote, “Patiently waiting for safe reentry opportunity here in NYC, post-COVID-19. Getting to do many homebound projects formerly shelved as low priority (e.g., digitizing several thousand Kodachrome slides).”

We haven’t heard from Stuart Frank in a while, and now I know why. He’s been busy writing books.

Steve Ossad wrote regarding a large number of posters a friend created for the 50th Commemoration of the War in Vietnam [which the Vietnamese call the American War]. See them at vietnamwar50th.com.

Peter Kalischer is still in Japan, lying low in Tokyo but participating in our Zoom events. His daughter, Dani, resides in Brooklyn but has been holed up in New Zealand, a good place to be.

Steve Ching, MD is a part-time Kaua’i resident. “I have an emeritus appointment at the University of Rochester and do some occasional teaching with residents and medical students.”

Elbridge Smith and Bill Tam, both O’ahu attorneys (Elbridge focused on employee rights law and Tam, a retired water law expert) have been emailing recently with me and Peter Kalischer, who (like me) spent a semester in Hawaii during our Wesleyan years. Elbridge expressed what may be a common view of this reunion: “All our [senior year] finals were canceled as I recall. Maybe apropos that so is Reunion? Too bad; it would have been my first.”

Kalishcher, meanwhile, wrote a lengthy remembrance as a warm-up for the bio book, with an interesting perspective of 1966 Wesleyan and full of interesting stories. One example, some horticulture in Lawn Avenue. Maybe ask him for a copy.

Reunion dates next year are May 27-30. Let’s plan on a reunion then, whether in person or virtually. Stay tuned for more virtual class events. As always, send news. Meanwhile, stay well.

Russ Josephson | russ_josephson@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754

Arnold J. Hendrick ’72 passed away on May 25, 2020. An obituary will be posted when it becomes available.

Jon Spector has retired from his position as CEO of The Conference Board and is “comfortably settled with my wife, Wendy, in beautiful Woodstock, Vt., getting in shape, improving my tennis, and helping to figure out how best to develop our local economy.”

Ruth Pachman has relayed the sad news that Debbie Stuckey died, surrounded by family and friends, on Jan. 6, following her long battle with breast cancer. Ruth, along with Marilyn Fagelson and Elise Bean, “had visited with her just two weeks before, spending a lovely day trimming her Christmas tree and cherishing what was clearly close to the end of 45 years of friendship that started in Clark Hall freshman year and wound through Delta Tau, the William Street apartments, Foss Hill, and McConaughy. Debbie was a government major and got her doctorate in psychology from Boston University and Harvard. She was a family relationship therapist with her own practice in Washington, D.C. At Wes, Debbie was a fabulous dancer and singer. Her intense joy of music, among countless other things, will be remembered by us and many other classmates.” Debbie leaves behind two daughters, Kiera and Hayley, and a son, Will. Our heartfelt thoughts go out to her family.

Dave Wilson has an active musical career on saxophone and released his fifth album (One Night at Chris’) last summer with great acclaim. Dave lives with his wife, Lisa, in Lancaster, Pa., where he teaches music and owns a musical instrument shop.

Julie Skolnik is a flutist in her long-successful chamber group of 22 years, Mistral Music, and relates a heartening tale of this past year, which made the front page of The Boston Globe. Just as the group was starting a concert piece, an elderly woman in the front row collapsed in cardiac arrest. With doctors present in the audience, CPR was initiated; she came around, pleading from her departing stretcher to just be left alone (“What are you doing? I want to hear the music!”). The group responded with an encore of “Here Comes the Sun” and a visit to her in the hospital. Heart-stopping music, they feel.

Susie Muirhead Bates | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Retirement and our 65th birthdays are a recurring theme in many of this round of class notes.

This January Mark Slitt celebrated his “Medicare birthday.” Probably among the first in our class to do so. Mark writes: “Heads up to all: You will soon receive an avalanche of mail from insurance companies (maybe even my employer Cigna, depending on what state you live in) about Medicare Advantage plans and invitations from AARP to purchase Medicare supplemental (Medigap) plans through them. Don’t worry, it’s okay, Boomer! You’ll figure it out!”

Mark is still working at Cigna and won’t retire for several more years. He now in his 10th year on the planning committee for the Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival, the longest-running film festival of any kind in Connecticut (33 seasons).

Arnie Alpert plans to retire in June after nearly 39 years with the American Friends Service Committee’s New Hampshire Program. As one of the state’s most respected activist leaders, a fund has been established in his name, the Arnie Alpert Action Fund. AFSC supporters can honor Arnie’s legacy with funds that will help the organization continue the education, advocacy, training, and bold action Arnie has modeled. Arnie enjoys running into recent New Hampshire residents Felice Burstein and John Roxby.

After 35 years in D.C., Rus Hemley has moved to Chicago. Rus will be the chair of natural sciences in the department of physics and chemistry at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Jason Baron continues his fine work in Cambodia through the Chelly Foundation, supporting Chelly scholars at universities in Phnom Penh as well as younger children of Chumkuri in rural Kampot Province. Donations can be made through the Chelly website: thechellyfoundation.org.

Karen Bovard ’77, MALS ’85 retired to Saint Paul, Minn., in 2016 to be closer to baby grandchildren, along with husband Greg Pyke (longtime Wesleyan admission dean). She’s recently back from her 11th trip to Cambodia, this time to celebrate the Arts4peace Festival with friends and family. She spends much of her time sewing as a volunteer for Days for Girls, making reusable feminine hygiene kits that enable girls to stay in school past puberty and help to prevent both early marriage and sexual exploitation of girls in 140-plus countries around the world. Karen continues her theater work (she directed more than 70 shows in her career) as an online reviewer in the busy Twin Cities theater scene.

Mark Ellison writes, “Life is good.” He has been consulting for Rubrik, a data management startup and, thus far has not been told “OK Boomer” by these “youngstahs.”

Mike Coffey continues to beat a path to Southern Cal to see daughter Lanie. She finished grad school in 2018 and started her career as a dietitian/supervisor at a WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Center in L.A. The Coffeys just spent their fourth Christmas season on the West Coast—this one in Santa Barbara. He’ll be heading back to see Lanie for a reggae fest in February. Daughter Jessie is engaged, with a wedding date of Oct. 2, 2020, in Newport. So, naturally, mom and dad are thrilled. While wife Laurie retired, Mike is still GM at Rite-Solutions, a small-ish software development and IT company in Newport.

Mim Wolf had been feeling strong urges to travel and see more of the world over the past several years, and finally, in November 2018, followed through, spending seven months exploring Costa Rica, Germany, Egypt, South India, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Mexico. Mim traveled solo with a backpack and totally enjoyed living in the moment, traveling by public buses, being helped by kind strangers, eating simple vegetarian foods, and experiencing bits and pieces of the various cultures and values surrounding her. She felt completely safe the entire time, and came home from those travels relaxed, rested, and replenished. Since then, Mim is back to private practice as a natural health consultant, in-person and over the phone. She appreciates the many blessings of life in Vermont; she is grateful to have seen a bit of this amazing planet, struggling as it is.

Will Sillin will be an artist in residence at Zion National Park from Oct. 19 through Nov. 16. He will head west a little early to get his Southwest Plein Air game up to speed before the residency. Will is hoping that Buddy Taft and Jim Laliberty will be able join him in the southwest sometime before the residency begins.

Concluding: Here is wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year and new decade.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com