Class Notes | 1970s

Let’s jump right into Reunion notes!

Pat Mulcahy’s notes on our 45th Reunion: “Here’s a key to the effectiveness and great good spirits of our reunion: right after our panel, What’s Next, for which Claudia Catania, Harold Sogard, Lloyd Komesar and Bill Pearson joined me to discuss the so-called ‘retirement years,’ I got a text from a highly placed publisher I know at Random House. She was in the next room at another seminar put on by her class, there for their 40^th. The laughter from our end could be heard through the wall.

“‘Sounds like you’re having so much fun!’ she said. ‘Can you meet me for coffee?’

“Then at our women’s group gathering, we were joined by a member of the class of 1979, who wanted to meet the women who’d paved the way for co-ed education at Wes. What she heard was honest and sometimes a little raw: there were bumps in the road as women arrived on a previously all-male campus. Many thanks to Sharon Purdie and Nancy Stack for organizing what is always a very worthwhile and touching session.

“Here’s my take overall: our class, which broke Reunion attendance records, is united by a dose of adversity, a commitment to social justice, public service, the arts, and to each other. Throw in a soupcon of goofiness.

“As Lloyd put it in a thank-you to Wes’s Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 for her efforts, “We are not an easy class to wrangle.” But we show up for each other and for the school—which has tremendous value. One of our number is even running for president. He, too, has our support and enthusiastic backing, because his values are our values.

“A shout-out to my old roomie Angela DiFranco Platt, there for her first Reunion ever. The students who checked us in were thrilled to see former roommates reuniting. So, what if she told everyone that I used to study in the shower? We had a blast.”

Pam van der Meulen shares, “I had a wonderful time at Reunion, and I think everyone else did as well. It was great to reconnect with old friends, and I feel like many of us are pursuing new friendships with classmates we never knew. I hope to see more NYC alumni in the future. And I was particularly happy to see Lindsay Wilson again, after 20 years! I was not able to make it to Flagstaff after Randy died last summer, so I was glad she made it to our 45th. And the two of us had a great time sightseeing in NYC after Reunion.”

Jan Eliasberg exclaims, “What a magnificent weekend, attending the class Reunion dinner and, the next day, my daughter’s graduation, Sariel Friedman ’19!

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see everyone, but I hugged and caught up with the irrepressible Lloyd Komesar, Bill Pearson, Claudia Catania, Ellen Driscoll, Jon Eddison, Bill Burton and our (perhaps) future President Hickenlooper and his lovely wife.

“My big news, along with my daughter’s graduation, is that I completed a novel which sold in a bidding war to Little Brown. It’s going to be their lead title for spring 2020. I called it Heart of the Atom; Little Brown seems to think that science will ‘scare readers away.’ It is titled Hannah’s War.

“They’re sending me on a major book tour so, if you have a great relationship with your local, indie bookstore, please let me know so I can visit and sign books.”

Janet Biehl‘s biography of her late partner, the social-ecological theorist Murray Bookchin, was published by Oxford University Press in 2015. Ecology or Catastrophe: The Life of Murray Bookchin has since been translated into Spanish and French. Some 15 years ago Bookchin’s own writings, in Turkish translation, influenced the Kurdish freedom movement to adopt a new paradigm seeking democracy, anti-hierarchy, and ecology. As a result, Janet has been involved with that movement since 2011. She has translated several books about the Kurdish struggle from German into English (published by Pluto Press), including the three-volume autobiography of the founder of the Kurdish revolutionary women’s movement, Sakine Cansiz. Janet also translated into English Revolution in Rojava in 2016, which is about the gender-equal, democratic revolution that has been under way in northeastern Syria since 2012. She has just returned from her third visit to that area (April-May 2019) and is currently at work writing and drawing a graphic novel about her journey.

Mike Heard reports: “I am in my 12th year of doing volunteer work for the Los Padres National Forest near Big Sur, Calif., and it has finally dawned on me that I retired long ago but did not notice at the time. I’m preparing for another fire season, hoping to get in good enough shape to be able to pick up a little bit of money working as a casual hire on the inevitable wildfires. It was a real pleasure to reconnect with many of you whom I knew (and others that I didn’t) at the Reunion. Kudos to the Reunion committee for doing a bang-up job.”

Wayne Forrest reports, “I still work at American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and recently became chairman of the American Indonesian Cultural and Educational Foundation. Through that organization I helped arrange for the Sultan of Yogyakarta to visit Wesleyan in November 2018. The highlight for me is that I joined his gamelan group in their performance in NYC and played both gamelan and tuba. There are special pieces in the repertoire that use Western brass and percussion. I still play tuba in and around NYC and so this coming together of my two worlds was very special. Retirement still seems a ways down the road; I am stilling having fun helping to broker good relations between the U.S. and Indonesia.”

Bruce Duncan’s big news is that as of June 29 he’ll be retired from Fitchburg State University. Since he has not put in enough time, he doesn’t qualify as Professor Emeritus. Instead he’ll be the Former Professor of Physics or the Erstwhile Professor of Physics or the Late Professor of Physics.

Doug Cole had lunch with Lloyd Komesar in Ol’ Pasadena during a visit to his daughter’s and her family (including two of six grandchildren). It was fun to catch up after all these years: neither had changed much. Lloyd was wearing a Grateful Dead tee shirt—Doug is listening to China Cat Sunflower / I know you rider, as he writes. They compared their heroics of intramural softball, etc. It was interesting to learn about Lloyd’s impressive career at Disney. We all know what he is up to now. Carolyn and Doug are deeply rooted in the Northwest; he expects to continue selling until 70; grandparenting is a joy. He just hopes the democracy and planet are still around for them.

Monique Witt reports, “My older son, Dev, breaks ground on the Soundworks building in Williamsburg, July 1, and has finished the new monitors for broad distribution this fall. My younger son, Ben, is touring again in Canada, and then the West Coast, followed by a European tour and a long stop to compose new material with friends in Croatia. He finished recording his third full release album, “The Nebula Project,” which is largely original materials for sextet format (Ben on accordion and piano with some of the finest young jazz musicians he knows) to be released early 2020. Steven and I are still working full-time.”

John McLucas will retire from the faculty of Towson University in June 2020.He has taught Italian and Latin there since 1984 and just finished a term as president of the Faculty Association.He recently completed the draft for his second novel, Spirit’s Tether, a sequel to his debut novel, Dialogues on the Beach(BrickHouse Books, Baltimore 2017).

Charlie Cocores has provided the link to his next build (Coco’s Constructores) in Puerto Rico in January of 2020 for the Fuller Center for Housing, which you can find here.

You’ve heard about our 45th Reunion and just how fantastic it was. Now, it’s time to start planning for our 50th! Save these dates: May 23–26, 2024. We’re going to spend the next few years trying to track down as many classmates as possible. Want to get involved? Come to Middletown for Homecoming and a Reunion planning meeting on Nov. 2 or contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

Our Wesleyan Argus Editor-in-Chief Steven Greenhouse has an update. He says, “There are difficult times, and there are good times, and lately I’ve been feeling blessed.” His daughter Emily ’08 gave birth to their first grandchild, “a beautiful boy,” Eli, on March 20. He says, “Emily also landed an impressive job that shows that a Wes education can pay off—a College of Letters grad like her Dad, she was named co-editor of the New York Review of Books.”

Steven says he is proud that his second book, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor, will be officially released by Knopf in August. “It seeks to serve as a history of labor unions and worker power in America while also examining modern-day efforts to lift workers, including the fight for $15 and the #RedforEd teachers’ strikes.” he says. He also had the honor of moderating a presidential candidates’ Forum on Wages and Working People. It was held in Las Vegas on April 27 and included John Hickenlooper ’74, along with Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, and Elizabeth Warren. “It was quite a thrill, and made my think that my double major in government and COL at Wesleyan wasn’t a waste,” says Steven.

He says he sees a lot of Wes folks, including our classmates Kirk Adams, Jon Siegel, Paul Baumann, Jon Raskin, Nancy Troy ’74, Claudia Catania ’74, and Vicky Bijur ’75. (Vicky is his literary agent.)

We also have some news from Rabbi Bob Wolkoff. He says that he and his wife, Ruth-Ann, were recently honored by their central New Jersey congregation for his 40 years serving as a rabbi (in Michigan, New Jersey, Sweden, Wisconsin, Georgia, and again in New Jersey). “Join the rabbinate, see the world. Who knew? A day does not go by that I do not think of my Wesleyan experience, my wonderful friends and fraternity brothers, and especially my teachers Rabbi George Sobelman, and Professor Philip Hallie, of blessed memory, and Professor Jeremy Zwelling, may he enjoy long life, all of whom offered so much in shaping my world view,” he says. He will be spending a few months this summer in Israel with his family, taking some much needed time to “trace and retrace my spiritual journey (otherwise known as ‘. . . what a long strange trip it’s been’).”

He’ll also be looking for some serious spiritual inspiration and rejuvenation, since his wife has been fighting valiantly against Stage IV cancer and he says that does take a serious toll on them. “My children Ethan, Joseph, and Dahlia are 16, 16, and 12, respectively, and the boys at least have started looking at colleges,” he says. “My daughter, who wants medical school, won’t finish until I’m 82. G-d clearly has a wicked sense of humor. As Jay Rose wrote to me a long time ago, I’m ‘going to be working a long time.’ Ain’t it the truth. But I love what I do, so it isn’t really work at all.” He sends his warmest regards to everyone.

Michael Edwards has had a satisfying career in developmental neuroscience for 20 years after Wesleyan. “A PhD in physiology from University of Utah, postdocs at Women’s Medical College in Philly, and at MIT,” he writes. Then he had a 10-year sojourn as a researcher at the E.K. Shriver Center for Mental Retardation, including production of 26 publications and appointments in neuropathology at Massachusetts General Hospital and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. Later he moved and held many odd jobs before a 20-year stretch in public health and grant writing.

He retired in March in the face of terminal cancer, which is “thankfully now in abeyance with effective treatment.” He now has plenty of time to enjoy the seashore with his dog at his old farmhouse with ocean vistas and he spends a lot of time reading widely and reviewing on Goodreads, where he recently passed 1,000 reviews.

From Alaska, we learn that John Bocachica’s acting  is leaving a memorable impression where the Anchorage Press says his role in the Anchorage Community Theatre’s The Giver brings the title character “to life.” The reviewer says John’s “physical look is beautifully chosen for this role but it is the slow emphasis he puts into the delivery of his lines that draws you in.”

All goes well here. I’ve been reporting for WFOR-TV, the CBS-owned station in Doral since September of 2007. It’s been a challenge keeping up with the much-younger, scrappy reporters but fortunately my longtime sources have continued to come through on numerous stories. I have been traveling some weeks to Denver to see my youngest daughter, Holly, and her husband in Highlands Ranch, where she’s an artist and wildlife biologist, and oldest daughter, Jennifer, and her husband and two granddaughters in Gloucester, Va., near Williamsburg, where she’s a marketing guru for her church and a nurse. My oldest granddaughter is going to be a junior this year at Old Dominion University and is planning on a career in teaching.

Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com

Those missives reminding you about our upcoming 50th Reunion bore some fruit, as Andy Feinstein got a note from his freshman year roommate, David Hamilton, whom none of us had seen since graduation. David has had a long career as a social worker and health care administrator in England, and he offered to pay Andy a visit during an upcoming visit to the States. So, Andy set up a lunch at his gorgeous home in Stonington, arranged for the first sunny day of the spring, and invited a number of his classmates. Besides David and his wife, Cindy; Andy and his wife, Liz; Elisa ’76 and me; present were Paul Vidich and his wife, Linda; and Mike Kaloyanides and his wife, Sheila. A truly lovely time, although all of us realized that we weren’t actually all that close at Wesleyan. But we all have so much in common now, and it was great being together.

I, in my role of class rememberer, did recall how David had a date come down from Wheaton in February of 1969, and she then got stranded at Wes by the enormous blizzard of ’69. Sure enough, that’s the same Cindy, and they will celebrate their 50th anniversary next spring. Now that is true love!

As for the other attendees, Paul is now a fully fledged man of letters, with two spy novels published (read them!) and another in the works. Mike is retired as professor of music at the University of New Haven. Andy is still actively practicing education law—the defender of special needs students and their families and the bane of school districts throughout the Northeast.

Elisa and I have been enjoying the proximity of our still-new location to Wesleyan and other Connecticut friends. We have enjoyed a few events on campus, and I have made a couple of New Haven pizza runs with Dr. Kaloyanides—one on the post-Super Bowl visit of Michael Carlson, the other after a visit to the Yale Gallery with our wives.

Steve Alpert has created a nonprofit educational site dedicated to Indonesian art and culture: artoftheancestors.com. The artwork is drawn from 40 museums with the idea of creating an interactive platform between scholars, academics, collectors, and stakeholders of the finest pieces in the public domain. There is also an active news blog with content being added constantly. Something, Steve says, to keep one going into old age. Steve, of course, owes the inception of this adventure to his Wesleyan experience. He enjoyed being at Wesleyan for the visit of the Sultan of Jogjakarta.

Finally, I have to report the sad news of the passing of Kevin Kulick in February, after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Kevin was a dermatologist in Buffalo, and is remembered by many as one of the nicest people in our class. Mike Busman and Dennis Kesden visited with him in Arizona before his passing. They reported that despite his illness he retained his sense of humor and positive presence. Neil Clendeninn ’71, secretary of the class of 1971, knew Kevin well, and will have more to say in his class notes.

Seth A. Davis | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
213 Copper Square Drive, Bethel, CT 06801

Aloha! Sorry for cutting most of your news as I am limited in words I can publish. I promise those who sent lots of news to have more in the next column.

Sad news, my good friend Kevin Kulick ’72 passed away Feb. 25 at his home in Buffalo, N.Y. I had seen Kevin two weeks earlier in Phoenix, where he was undergoing treatment. We discussed his course and I suggested he head back home. He was in good spirits and we had many laughs and reminiscing moments about our times at Wesleyan and our lives afterward. It caught me a bit off guard when two days after arriving home to family and friends he died. He will be missed, and these moments often bring us to the point of realization of just how short life is. Condolences to his lovely wife, Rise, and their children and families.

First time writer Mike Ronan says he’s retired to Panama, where he runs a coffee farm in the mountains with wife Pam after a career teaching at Houston Community College. His two kids are writers and filmmakers. Before leaving the States, he caught up with fellow oarsmen Michael Mullally in Montreal and Buddy Coote in D.C., stays in touch with Roy Cramer.

Demetrie Comnas and his wife, Ann, resettled in West Palm Beach, Fla., a couple of years ago, and are enjoying the sun, golf, and relative peace. “We get to Greece a couple of times each year, to visit brother Basil ’70. We see Cecily and Carey O’Laughlin and their delightful daughter Ashley.”

Kip Anderson writes, “I am happy to tell that my second book of poetry has just been published. It’s titled Roots in the Sky, Boots on the Ground. It consists of formal metaphysical poetry and is available from Amazon.” John Cuddy is in transition to full retirement, down to two days per week. Teaching one course in accounting at Towson University and soon pursuing volunteer opportunities. Bart Brush says, “After two years of retirement, I went back to work last August as a music teacher at Kayenta Middle School on the Navajo Reservation—my 17th year since starting in Utica, N.Y., in 2000. A career in education can be wonderful but does not make a lot of sense financially.”

Warren White continues to cook and bake for the poor and homeless. The number of meals prepared has increased by about 400 percent since 2013, surpassing Nashville’s high growth rate. John Rothman writes, “Philip Casnoff and Graeme Bush joined family and friends for the wedding of our son Noah this April in Palm Beach. I am still acting. Highlight of season 20 of Law and Order SVU: My judge was exposed as the ring leader of sex trafficking ring.” Bill Hicks has written extensively on Christian topics including two published books and a third book on the way. He enjoys life in Chattanooga, Tenn., with wife of 29 years, Ardena, and their two adult daughters, Rachel and Sarah. Mary McWilliams says after being widowed, “I finally found the second love of my life two years ago who is my companion for daily life and other adventures. My life is happily complete with friends and family, travel, board work, and now two grandchildren.” Mark Wallach started a new law firm and has five grands.

Katy Butler completed a successful nationwide book tour for The Art of Dying Well. Alvin and Cynthia James are semi-retired and living in Cedar Hill, Texas. Michael Brewin’s new album of guitar compositions, GUITARSOUL (jazz, world, classical), has been released. John Schimmel writes that the youngest of his three kids graduated from high school and he and wife Maureen face empty-nesthood. “A film I executive-produced about abuse in the for-profit foster care system will open the Nashville Film Festival. The film I wrote with the participation of the Dalai Lama is in pre-production. I continue on as senior producer of narrative content, developing stories and producing the performance capture shoots, for Cloud Imperium Games; and as part of the core faculty at the University of California at Riverside’s Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing arts. Last July, I performed in the 40th(!) reunion concert of the Broadway show, Pump Boys and Dinettes, of which I was a co-creator. Finally, I have just become active in the Alpha Delta Phi mentor’s program.”

Our 50th Reunion is May 20-23, 2021! That may sound far away but it will be here before you know it. Come to campus for a Reunion planning meeting on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 and look for regional events to attend throughout the year. The Reunion Committee is looking for your input. If you know of anyone that’s been off the grid or if you would like to get involved, please contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.

Aloha until next issue. Again, apologize for cutting some of the news short but it will appear next time.

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

Aloha, everyone. Unfortunately, I need once again to begin my column with news of the death of classmates. The Alumni Office reported that George “Bo” Durbin passed away on April 11. Here is an obituary.

A few weeks later, they informed me that Brian Silvestro reported his cousin Russ “Rusty” Helgren had passed away at the beginning of May. Rusty started with ’69 and finished with ’70.Here is a link to his obituary.

Rusty, 72, of Virginia Beach, passed away Monday, April 29, at home of pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his son, SunTemple; daughter, Dove; and grandchildren, Cheyenne, Madison, Dakota, and Van.

Our condolences to the families.

This time around, I had an e-mail from our classmate and esteemed runner, Bill Rodgers. He connected with a teacher and coach from the Big Island at the last Boston Marathon. Bill raced in the Kona Half-Marathon over there about 15 years ago, his self-described “last outright win in a road race,” and had fun exploring the island and meeting runners from all over the world. He proudly wears a Wesleyan winter hat each year. Hope to see him and a lot more of you at the Reunion.

Gene Legg reported he’s in his 40th year as a high school teacher and was “thrilled to be the graduation speaker this year.” He says he “prepped for it by playing Teddy Roosevelt in the school musical!” Happy to be alive! (40 years! I’m impressed.)

Gordon Fain wrote a long inquiry to the Alumni Office and cc’d me. He’s interested in seeing more photos of alumni, significant others, and grandchildren, on the website in a way that protects privacy. Gordon indicated he and Lila have two grandchildren in Michigan and five in California. He’d like to see more about grandchildren of classmates. He has several suggestions, too, for sending things to grandchildren by U.S. mail economically. (Contact me or him for details.)

Former Spanish House and Lawn Avenue roommate Colin Kitchens is an avid Facebooker. Here’s his news: “A wife and three dogs, and finished a book with no intention of doing anything with it. Living in Larkspur, Calif., with some fear of the fire season. Doing some construction and carpentry, but mostly as a laborer. They tell me not to go up any ladders and my doctor suggested a hobby. Traveling a bit. Just life.” There you have it.”

Gerald Jones and his wife Georja are living in Diana Beach, Kenya, where she is a environmental director of AfricaChild Kenya. She is an activist in wildlife conservation with particular attention to elephants. Gerald says he can work productively anywhere they go. His eighth novel, Preacher Finds a Corpse: An Evan Wycliff Mystery,will be published in August.

Peter Ratner is enjoying year two of retirement. The family moved to the small town of Greytown (population 2,340) to live in their former weekend residence. “We are here with six chickens and our 16-year-old cat named Mehitabel who has been slacking off of late so I am reduced to trapping rats and mice on my own. The local hawks usually deal with the remains.

“I have decided that I am going to take this year off—no boards, no jobs, just relaxation and maybe helping out a bit on a conservation estate in Carterton although I have yet to put in my first appearance. Having said that, we are having our house (built in 1886) painted and the place looks like a war zone. Every time we turn around, another window or a weatherboard needs replacing but hopefully this round will last for 20 years which will see us through. I am doing a lot more reading and I am hoping that by the end of the year I may even get good at doing nothing. I have a hammock in which I have only spent four hours in the last six months—a situation I intend to remedy once summer arrives.

“We have about 1.5 acres here and we look after our daughter’s garden down the road, and in Wellington, the garden at our house which is rented together with my mother-in-law’s garden, so perhaps I should list myself as a part-time gardener. We are far from self-sufficient but we are not doing too badly with eggs (although the chickens are taking the winter off to moult), cabbages, broccoli (take that George W.), beans, potatoes, red onions, radishes, lettuce, rocket, mizuna, pumpkins, rhubarb, apples, pears, plums, quinces, lemons, lemonades, grapefruit, oranges, limes, one very lonely mandarin, and fresh herbs. My tomatoes and nectarines were a disaster this year and my entire garlic crop was wiped out by rust. I will put a new crop in soon and cross my fingers.

“We plan to do a little travelling—I just got back from 10 days visiting family in New York. We will be in Sydney in June to see our youngest daughter and her husband who is living there, and Rarotonga in August just to sit on the beach. As of today, all of my children and grandchildren are well and settled. Looking at the politics in the U.S. I am feeling very good about my decision to move to New Zealand (The Trump or Jacinda Adern? Hmmm? Not a very hard choice). It’s not perfect over here. Jacinda bailed on bringing in a capital gains tax which we should have, and the farmers and developers are still much too powerful. However, it remains a mostly civilized place to live and by and large we can have political discourse without ending up as implacable enemies. It helps that there are only 4.7 million people and about a third of them are in Auckland. We are still subjects of the Queen and we have someone named Archie as the seventh in line to the throne.”

Darwin Poritz, who works at the Johnson Space Center in Houston sent the following: “This past October, I spent three wonderful weeks in Berlin studying German at the GLS Sprachschule. The instructors kept the classes animated, and there were afternoon or evening tours and Saturday excursions to Wernigerode, Rostok, and Warnemünde. I took advantage of the excellent breakfasts and the off-campus apartment offered by the school in the charming Prenzlauer Berg district. Two highly enjoyable Fat Tire Tours on bicycles exposed me to the city’s history and renown graffiti. Of course, I enjoyed the schnitzel, goulash, and hefe-weissbier as often as possible. My son John visited me for a few days in Berlin to enjoy the bier and schnitzel.

“In February, I had a week of skiing in Whitefish, Mont. We had a good time when my brother Noah and his wife Leona joined me from Bozeman for a few days.”

The photo of a long-haired Rusty Helgrenattached to his obituary takes us right back to our undergraduate years. On that note, Jacob Scherr sent the Alumni Office a photo from the infamous Grateful Dead concert on campus, spurring a flurry of e-mails, what I think might be called a meme about dramatic times then and now. Jacob asked: “What can we distill from our days at Wesleyan and the five decades since to give hope and ideas for the future?” Consensus was that that is an excellent question, worthy of being a theme of our 50th Reunion. Bruce Williamsasked, “Do we worry most for our grandchildren now?”

Involved in the discussion were David White (who arranged for the Dead to play), Bill Tam, Steve Talbot, Jeremy Serwer, Bruce Williams, Carl Johnson, Barry Gottfried, and Jim Elston ’70, MAT’72. Steve reminded us that the Dead gave a terrible performance. (I thought at the time that they sure had long jams, but didn’t think they played badly; a later listen to the recording of it changed my mind.) Carl mentioned that his Alpha Delt brother John Barlow ’69 had been a high school friend of Dead member Bob Weir and completed an autobiography called Mother American Night shortly before his death in 2018. (The book involves Wesleyan remembrances and Carl recommends it.) Barry wrote that his “nephew, Adam Schumacher, then two, danced on Foss Hill to the delight of the crowd. He’s now 50 of course. Still has a rock band—the Dead were his inspiration!!”

Steve T. also reminded us that a meeting was held in the chapel afterward to plan an open mic meeting the next day to discuss and vote on whether we would declare a strike and shut down the campus in response to the invasion of Cambodia and the Panther trials. I’m hoping the photo, and others from our tenure at Wesleyan, can be displayed at our reunion next May.

Speaking of the 50th Reunion, Jeremy Serwerhas been coordinating outreach, contacting as many of our classmates as possible to encourage them to attend, and reporting it to be a very enjoyable endeavor. He would like more of us to make calls, so please contact him if you can help. You can visit him at the farm in Connecticut or call him at 860/928-7660.

I have been a bit involved in the Reunion committee and would like information anyone may have about casting a brass or bronze medallion for the occasion. Also, I expressed an interest to the committee in displaying some photographs at Reunion and wonder if any of you also might have an interest in doing so.

And now for an unpaid advertisement: Come to our 50th Reunion! (May 21-24, 2020). There will be regional events throughout the year including a planning meeting at Wesleyan on Nov. 2. All are welcome to attend. If you have program ideas, want to get involved, or haven’t heard from the Committee, contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.eduor 860/685-5992.

Write when you have news or not.

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

Hello all. Gary Breitbord here. First things first. It’s our 40th Reunion May 24-26! Please put it on your calendars if it isn’t already there. We hope you will be attending to re-connect with other ’79ers and to enjoy the weekend’s festivities. Registration and more information can be found at: wesleyan.edu/rc. Be there or be square.

This is my swan song as co-class secretary. It’s been a fun 10 years. I’ve enjoyed being a conduit for all the class news that’s fit to print.

I spent a delightful evening with Jeff Gray ’77, Tim Fitzgerald, Mike Rosenblatt ’80, Jeff Burns ’80, and Tim O’Brien ’81 sharing life stories of family, friends, careers and, of course, Wesleyan and DKE.This time with spouses and significant others. We all consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have found such wonderful, and tolerant, life partners.

Rachel Bashevkin writes in: “In 2016, after 35 years in the small town of Middlebury, Conn., I retired as director of studies at Westover School and moved to New Haven. I am very much enjoying this new life!I’m looking forward to reunion in the spring.” Alright! First attendee identified. Who else?

Joe Wilson ’19 received the Gridiron Club of Boston’s prestigious Nils V. “Swede” Nelson Award for outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, sportsmanship, and citizenship. To celebrate with Joe, Dave Thomas ’77 graciously hosted a table that included Jeff Gray ’77, Paul Fichera ’77, Bill Ahern ’78, Paul Nelson ’78, Frank Hauser, and Mike Whalen ’83.

And from another classmate planning on attending Reunion Lisa Frantzis: “I will be attending Reunion and can’t wait to see friends again. I have been working in the clean energy sector since I left Wesleyan. I am wearing two hats these days . . . one as a managing director at Navigant consulting in clean energy and two as a senior vice president at Advanced Energy Economy where we are transforming policy at the state and federal level to accelerate the growth of clean, affordable and secure energy. I work with great people and love my work. I started to have kids late in life. Even though I have been married for 20 years to my partner Ophelia, we now have an 11-year-old boy named Luke who is terrific. I have tried to keep up my piano playing, but did not succeed in that as time has been tight. I have been keeping up with Roberta Rebold and Lisa Cunningham. Roberta lives in Israel with her family, Lisa lives in Brookline, Mass., and I live in nearby Cambridge, Mass.”

Rachel Christmas Derrick sent this update: “Wesleyan remains with me in many ways, particularly since my son is a freshman there. Unlike me, he is pre-med. Like me, he is thoroughly enjoying himself and is taking a fiction writing class. Our daughter, a junior at Yale, is studying political science in Rio this semester.

“After years as an editor in book publishing and a freelance writer, and after working in communications at the Rockefeller Foundation, Columbia University, and an affordable housing organization, I’m now Managing Editor of a financial services nonprofit with socially responsible investments ranging from renewable energy in India and small-scale farming in Tanzania to affordable housing in California. Never thought I’d end up in my husband’s field (finance)—but (apart from us) his passion lies with his part-time job: officiating football.”

Diane LaPointe: “I continue to enjoy working in the financial services industry as the principal financial officer for the asset management firm and mutual fund complex founded and headed by Mario Gabelli. Certainly, a very interesting place to be in this economic climate. Good people and challenging work. My husband and I have adapted to our empty nest. Our son Matthew (Princeton ‘13) has been happily living in San Francisco for the past 6 years and working in the tech space. Our daughter Megan ’17—Phi Beta Kappa and with high honors—spent a year in a fellowship with AmeriCorps, and is now attending UPenn grad school in Philadelphia working on her masters in urban education. I am looking forward to Reunion and seeing everyone but really can’t quite understand how it’s been 40 years!” I’m sensing a Reunion trend here.

Ellen M. Blau: “I’ve been living in beautiful but now bustling and too crowded Seattle for 30 years! My 28-year-old daughter and her new husband also live in Seattle. I’ve been a psychologist for 30 years here, mostly in private practice after a stint as a staff psychologist in physical medicine and rehab. Last year through a series of seemingly fated events I ended up working at a tech start up (like everyone else in Seattle) writing psychology and coaching web and app content. It was really interesting to have a Millennial boss and team (I learned bunch of phrases like “woke” and “avocado toast”) and challenging (they work hard in young tech companies) and I learned a bunch of other stuff (like that no one uses the same grammatical rules as our generation).

“That job ended this past summer, and my time, like many of us, I am sure, has been dominated by managing my 86-year-old mom’s life in Boca from across the continent. I had the thought recently that we should all share our stories about eldercare and support each other in this sacred duty. I’m now starting up a new chapter of psychology practice in an integrative medicine group focusing on positive psychology (mindfulness-based well-being, resilience, and self-efficacy practices, including applications of current neuroscience research on applied neuroplasticity). I’m thankful that my interest in biology and psychology has lasted a lifetime (did a joint bio-psych major at Wes, then MA and PhD. in clinical psych, postdoctoral training in neuropsychology and geriatric mental health). On the personal front I’ve been divorced for many years now but I’m truly blessed with friends, community, health, travel opportunities (including Cuba twice and the North Pole!) and I sing a lot (including Jewish leadership). I’m still learning as much as I can. Now that I know it’s our 40th Reunion maybe I’ll try to make it to Connecticut this May.”

Jane Marcellus: “My essay, My Father’s Tooth, made the Notables list in Best American Essays 2018. It’s set partly at Wesleyan. I also won the Betty Gabehart Award for nonfiction, given by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, for work in progress.”

Adam Vickers: “Helen and I are enjoying life in Gaborone, Botswana. I’ve turned over the reins of our company to a younger man, so now I get to consult for the African Development Bank across the continent, do some executive mentoring and facilitate programs on strategic execution and sales. Helen operates her rentals and is involved with the community. Weddings and funerals are big on the social calendar, but we also get to travel a fair bit. We needed an excuse to see the rest of the family this year, so maybe reunion will work.” Excuse confirmed. Family and friends. Great reason for a trip.

Doug Pavlak: “I do not have a lot of exciting news to report since I last sent notes other than the fact that (finally) one of my (seven) children is going to Wesleyan! Gunter Haug-Pavlak was accepted early decision in December for the class of 2023. It was great to see the campus again while he interviewed, and my wife and I look forward to seeing him row on the crew (my sport).” Go Wes!

Jono Cobb: “This marks the 40th year since I shared a small four bedroom/one-bathroom house on Martha’s Vineyard with Maureen Walsh, Bethany Kandel, Deirdre Manning, Spence Studwell, Dennis Archibald, Jim Connery, Mike Riera and his un-housebroken dog. We named our mansion Little Walden.”

Reunion musing: “I thought growing old would take longer.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Class of 1978 Endowed Scholarship Fund
Matthew Grimaldi ’21, Florence, MA

Greetings, classmates. Hopefully by print time, the snow has melted and spring has sprung! Thanks all of you who answered the Lyris request for news this month. We had lots of material for our notes.

Doug Hardy and Roselyn Romberg ’79 returned to Concord, Mass., in 2018 where Roselyn continues her consulting business to nonprofits including Harvard Business School and several health-related foundations. Doug is at work on his 15th nonfiction book.

Gary Friedmann chairs the Bar Harbor Town Council and the board of A Climate to Thrive, a grassroots organization working to make Mount Desert Island and the state of Maine energy independent.

Our hearts are saddened by the news that Peter Kelley died of a heart attack on Oct. 8. His friend Casey Blake, wrote that “Peter’s creativity, kindness and gentle charisma are fondly remembered by his housemates at 49 Brainerd as well as other alumni.” Peter majored in studio art at Wesleyan, was an important participant in the University’s art history program, as well as captain of the crew team. After graduation, Peter took an MFA at Pratt Institute and embarked on a highly successful career as a digital artist. He is survived by his wife, Tracey, their sons, David and Aaron ’10, as well as other family members.

After five years, Bill Adler still loves living in Tokyo. He shares an apartment with “one cat, one girlfriend, and a view of Mt. Fuji.” He is busy writing novels as well as researching and writing about wristwatches at abetterwrist.com. If anyone is going to Tokyo, he’d be happy to show you around.

Nancy Chen reports on many joyful changes in her life recently. She moved to Bozeman, Mont., got engaged, and is launching a new division of her coaching business for women’s leadership: powertothequeen.com. Her older daughter is going for her PhD. in environmental engineering and her younger daughter will get her BA in English and communications this spring.

Suki Hoagland is happily back at Stanford University where she loves teaching and her students. Her husband is also at Stanford, co-directing the Center for Ocean Solutions. They rescued a Golden Retriever who seems to really like his new owners and has brought great joy and laughter into their home. Their eldest son, Ben, is a congressional fellow. Their youngest son, Jonathan, is completing a dual masters in transportation engineering and urban design at MIT. He has taken up Zouk, a Brazilian dance, and he choreographs, teaches, and performs all over the world.

Pete Lewis sent sad news that his father, George Lewis ’53, passed on Dec. 22. George was an Alpha Delt and loved everything Wesleyan. Pete said that if his dad could have sent a message to the Wesleyan alumni community it would have been, “Be generous to those in worse circumstances than yours. The next time you come upon a homeless person, instead of walking past, reach into your wallet and pull out a $10 bill.” Completing the circle of life, Pete’s grandson, Jameson, was born in September and George got to hold him in November uniting four generations. Pretty cool.

Wendy Kaufman sent greetings from Denver, where she feels lucky to celebrate 33 years of marriage, three great children, and two dachshunds. Their twin sons turned 30 in February and their 27-year-old daughter survived the 2015 Nepal earthquake at base camp. To be safer she started rock climbing. With a couple of JDs, an LLM, and an MBA later, Wendy considers her kids all “launched.” She is active with some Denver nonprofits, loves to travel, and is excited to be involved with John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon. ’10’s Giddy Up group.

Jim Kurose and Julie Johnson Kurose have been living in Northampton, Mass., since 1984 when Jim joined the computer science faculty at the University of Massachusetts. For the past four years, he’s been on leave working as an assistant director at the National Science Foundation and at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in D.C. He’ll return to UMass in in the fall. Julie is retired from her job of many years as registrar at Northampton High School. They have three grown children, Chris, Charlie ’10, and Nina, and a grandchild, Micah, all of whom they enjoy visiting in San Jose, Chicago, and Paris.

Over the past few years, George Raymond had been getting together annually with his friend and former CSS economics professor Peter Kilby. When George visited Peter at his summer home in Maine in June, little did he know that Peter would die suddenly on Aug. 2. Since 2002, George has been interviewing talented Wesleyan applicants who live in Switzerland.

Kevin Rose P’19 enjoys keeping up with our class via the notes and helped enhance this column with some news of his own. His son, Danny ’19, has thoroughly enjoyed his own Wesleyan experience. He loves the school, his friends, baseball, and all the University has to offer. Kevin will be attending as many Wes baseball games as possible this spring!

Jim Gubbins is a professor in the interdisciplinary studies department at Salem State University in Massachusetts. He is the president of the faculty and librarian union on campus. Jim remarks he is “fighting for fair pay and decent working conditions for employees—sounds very Wesleyan.”

We hope you enjoy keeping up with your classmates through this column and look forward to your updates.

Susie Muirhead Bates | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Winter finally reared its head in the Northeast with some snow and bone-chilling temperatures this January. So, taking refuge in front of a crackling fire, I have many New Year’s greetings from fellow classmates.

Andy Adesman sent word about his recently published book, Grandfamily Guidebook (Hazelden Publishing), which should be well received by the many recent grandparents in our class. Andy, along with Steve Gold and Rick Dennett, started the New Year with a vacation with wives on Longboat Key, Fla. Steve McNutt and his wife joined in for a wonderful dinner.

Jason Baron’s The Chelly Foundation, the charity he founded in Cambodia, hosted a creative writing workshop sponsored by Writing Through—the organization started by Sue Rappaport Guiney. Jason further reports that Kathy Asquith Franklin volunteers as a board member of The Chelly Foundation: being extraordinarily generous with her time and support. More information on these two charities can be found at thechellyfoundation.org and writingthrough.org.

Buzz Cohen was delighted to return to campus to speak to the stage management class. Buzz is heading into rehearsal for Suzan-Lori Parks’ White Noise for the Public Theater.

Iddy Olson is a granny! Rowan Grace Jennings was born to her son, Des, and his wife in Jackson Hole. She is very thankful for FaceTime. John Fink is taking time off after 34 years of managing KFVE-TV in Honolulu until he writes his next chapter. Jane Goldenring is coming east in May for a family graduation and then plans to teach a couple days at Wesleyan.

With the New Year, Janet Malkemes will be looking for a new job, preferably within the North Carolina state system so that she can reach the magic 10 years needed to qualify for a full retirement and health care. Although not quite ready for retirement, she is enjoying having more available free time than she has had over the past 38 years.

Jerry Stouck is near the end of a long legal career in D.C., spending more and more time in Park City, Utah, both winter and summer. Oldest daughter Dani just got engaged and lives in Harlem, son David ’15 is in New York working at Warner Music, and youngest Rachel is finishing an MSW program in Boston. Jerry is in touch with Micha Balf and may see Teddy Klaus in D.C.

Jim Melloan met up in the East Village with Jim Dowling and David Van Biema ’80. He recently acquired a manager for acting gigs. Any showbiz folks interested in hiring him should contact Dream Maker Talent Management of Glen Head, N.Y. Jim expressed great optimism for 2019.

Joan Goldfeder had a fine and unexpected breakfast with Doug Green in September. She also scored a dinner with Peter Bickford on one of his many business trips. Joan and Penley Toffolon Kidd do a lot of commiserating and complaining about the current administration via text: “someday soon, the phones will explode (or they will).” Son Eli is in Spain for his semester abroad from Bucknell University, which is all Joan needs to plan a trip there for early spring. Joan is still doing marketing consulting, mostly for nonprofits.

David Loder writes, “Hard to believe that my son, Marek ’11, graduated from Wes eight years ago . . . and I won’t even do the math for our class but am thrilled to have my brother Tom [’80]’s son and my nephew, Aaron ’22, attending Wesleyan as a freshman this year . . . keeps all the memories flowing as we count our many blessings particularly at this time of year.”

In the New Year, Mark Slitt was headed on safari to South Africa: photos only, no gun shooting. Mike Coffey has been beating a track to SoCal since daughter Lanie started grad school at Cal State Long Beach: nine trips out since summer. Lanie got her master’s in nutrition in May, finished up the thesis, and started her first career job working for Heluna Health at their Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) clinics last month.

Vicky Dworkin retired from her position as children’s librarian at the Hawaii State Library, and moved to Center Sandwich, N.H., along with husband John Wendell. She is a part-time freelance storyteller, involved in various children’s literature activities, and enjoying life near Squam Lake.

Vanessa Burgess and Betsy Hecker sent along good wishes for the New Year to us all. Will Altman wrote from Brazil that his new book, Ascent to the Good: The Reading Order of Plato’s Dialogues From Symposium to Republic, has been published by Rowman and Littlefield.

All in all, it sounds like a fine start to 2019.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

Class of 1976 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship
Valerie Acosta ’20, Neuroscience and Behavior

Cheryl Alpert’s residential real estate business is taking off and she is working with families looking to “right size” in Boston and MetroWest. Husband Tom is an architect, son Eben is at PWC in NYC, and son Chason is with Booz Allen in D.C. Cheryl met up with Kathy Mintz in NYC at Jay Hoggard’s performance and sees Rook Van Nest ’75 and Jeff Dunn ’75 from time to time.

Sue Feinstein Barry is a professor emeritus at Mount Holyoke College, having retired in 2015. In November, her daughter, Jenny, and husband Dan welcomed Jessica Elizabeth, Sue’s first grandchild, into the world.

Andrea Grubb Barthwell, M.D., and Adam Usdan ’83 are initial members of the board of directors of the Foundation for Opioid Response Effort, a nonprofit dedicated to combatting the opioid crisis. Andrea chairs the board and Adam chairs the investment committee responsible for the Foundation’s $100 million endowment. Initial endowment funding was provided by McKesson, and Andrea was recommended to McKesson following a search by Paul Spivey ’83, a search consultant at Phillips Oppenheim cofounded by Jane Phillips Donaldson, a former dean of admission at Wesleyan.

Larry Davis reports that he flunked retirement. In 2018, he stepped down as president and managing director of Map Energy LLC but quickly was asked to become the senior advisor/chief scientist. In 2018, he and Ronna took a land trip to Finland, Estonia, and St. Petersburg and spent a week in London. Larry separately spent a week exploring the Andean region of Bolivia followed by fly fishing in the Amazon basin. During a trip to Palo Alto, he visited Alan Haus. Ronna and Larry are grandparents of Lorelei, 5, and Gabriel, 3, children of Ilana Sharpe ’06.

On Dec. 22, Lenny Femino and his wife, Rona, became proud grandparents of Julian, their first grandchild.

Jeff Frank has put his moving company up for sale and is retiring. He is looking forward to a new beginning filled with new activities.

After a long career in the State Department and World Bank, Oliver Griffith is working freelance in Paris as a professional writer for businesses and international organizations. Oliver is still playing music (his Wes major) in local venues and would be happy to see classmates in France.

Dan Henry provides tech support part-time to small businesses and homeowners. His wife, Jean, retired from Travelers in January, 42 years to the day after she started. In February they are meeting at Disney World with two of their sons, their son’s wives, and two preschool granddaughters.

Libby Horn is retiring in April when she turns 65 and is looking forward to spending more time singing, hospice volunteering, and participating in church activities.

Jaimee Kurfirst Mirsky retired after 19 years in her second career as a high school English teacher just in time to celebrate the arrival of her first grandchild, Jordan. Jaimee finds she has settled into retired life easily and enjoys trying new things after 40 years of career and family responsibilities.

For Ron Kirschner, 2018 was the 10-year anniversary of his being a board-certified medical toxicologist. March will be his 10-year anniversary as medical director of the Nebraska Regional Poison Center and a faculty member at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine. Ron was a history major at Wes. He did not plan on going to medical school and did not start the process until six years after graduation. Taking a circuitous route has given him some perspective on how his own daughter, who is a very creative chef and artist, needs to find her own way.

Debra Gottheimer Neuman has been living in Mystic for nearly four years and is enjoying her position as executive director of development and community engagement for Enders Island, an 11-acre island and home of a Catholic retreat that helps young men recover from alcohol and drug addiction. Debra’s work has made her aware of the severe opioid crisis. She enjoyed a great visit with her son, Josh, who was home from Oregon where he is completing a master’s degree in agronomy. Debra welcomes visitors.

Greg Palkot, a fellow resident of Nicholson 6 freshman year, is a journalist living in London (you’ve seen him on the box from time to time).

Michael Stopa has a new job as a senior manager of artificial intelligence and machine learning for Konica Minolta’s research division in San Mateo, Calif. He loves the Bay Area.

As for us, our oldest daughter, Samantha, was married in November and the event was wonderful. Old friends Robert Cox, his wife Maggie, Steve Goldman, and his wife, Kathy Rosenthal ’78, flew into town to help us celebrate. Meanwhile, daughter Lindsey moved to Silver Spring, Md., where she is working full time and taking engineering courses at John Hopkins. Daughter Michelle is working in the business office of a Chicago law firm and applying to grad school. And in late December, my mother moved to a ranch house to downsize a bit and be closer to my sister.

It is always great to hear from you. Stay in touch.

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

Class of 1975 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship
Carolina Montano ’21, Homestead, FL

Drum roll, please! Tom Wheeler retired for the third time—the last, he swears—in February 2018. He and Sondra ’79 may move nearer to children and five grandchildren once Sondra retires from teaching at Wesley Seminary, but for now, they drive to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Tom’s busy working on projects with Quakers locally, nationally, and globally; reading, storytelling, taking art classes and visiting friends, including Steve Miller, Martha Meade ’76, and Dave Feldman ’73.

Rachel Adler Hayes only managed to stay retired for six months. Now she’s traveling the country doing sales training for a Massachusetts firm and trying to limit work to five-to-six days a month. She’s also engaged as VP of her synagogue, in the thick of a rabbi search. In June 2020, Rachel expects to become president of the 900-family congregation. Her summary? “Apparently I like being overbooked!”

Jill Rips takes advantage of retirement to visit Wesfriends. Finishing her public health career in reproductive health and HIV, Jill now works with refugees, and needle exchange. In November, she attended Carole Evans Sands’ daughter’s wedding and Nigerian engagement ceremony in New Hampshire. Carole, retired from a career in academic and community-based early childhood education, will visit Jill in San Antonio this spring while traveling the southern U.S. in a camper.

Check out Tracy Winn’s recent short stories, nominated for Best of the Net and a 2019 Pushcart Prize and posted at The Harvard Review and at Waxwing magazine.

From the “KO” section of Downey House mailboxes: Deb Kosich has been spending lots of time in Massachusetts, where her mother and her sister live. Brad Kosiba and Dorothy are enjoying Carolina life. With two sons nearby, the granddogs visit regularly. Brad is leading an expansion project for their Unitarian church, also keeping busy with gardening, beekeeping, and volunteer work. His mom passed away this winter after an extended period of declining health.

Charlie Stolper’s Facebook holiday letter included bittersweet cycle-of-life news. In 2018 Charlie’s son, Chad, got married shortly before his dad, Max, 93, died. Charlie and Christy caught up with their globetrotting daughter, Tory, in Austria (Max’s birthplace) for a cultural/family history adventure. They also enjoyed an Alaskan cruise last summer.

Dallas news: Ann Dallas used her education in design and liberal arts for a career in newspapers, but computers changed what papers could offer readers, then how news was consumed, and finally its ownership structure. Layoffs finally hit Ann a few years ago, so she’s figuring out what’s next. Ann and Dave (married 33 years) celebrated their son’s wedding “to a wonderful woman” last summer.

Joost Brouwer’s holiday letter announces that his three sons have lovely partners, and grandparenthood looms on the horizon in 2019. Eldest son, Martijn, based in Australia, got married in April. Joost and Emilie celebrated with the newlyweds in Canberra and the Netherlands. Younger sons, Sietse and Jelle, live in the Netherlands. All enjoy teaching and choral singing, interests they share with Emilie and Joost. Joost’s other passions are advocating for refugees and birdwatching.

Bruce Tobey practices municipal infrastructure law in Gloucester, Mass., but has spent “too much time traveling” on a two-year sabbatical embedded in a client’s wastewater technologies company. As former mayor, he is president of the nonprofit that is planning Gloucester’s 400th anniversary. Bruce’s and Pat’s four daughters hold four BAs, two MAs, and one doctorate-in-progress; two are married and have produced four grandchildren. Bruce’s main WesU connection is with his DKE brothers, whose hard work on the Kent Literary Society he admires.

No retirement for Jeff McChristian, who is continuing law practice in Avon, Conn., but conceding he’ll slow the pace a bit to allow more and longer travel with his wife, Pat. Recent years included cycling vacations in Croatia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The 2019 itinerary has the Cotswolds in spring (seeing Royal Shakespeare Company’s Taming of the Shrew in Stratford-on-Avon) and Spain’s Rioja wine region next fall. They also plan trips to visit son, Tyler, 31, in Steamboat Springs, and daughter, Erin, 28, in Greenville, S.C.

I caught up with Tom Kovar ’76 in December near his home in Florence, Mass., but missed hearing his band, The Retroverts, perform. We also spent an evening with Risa Korn, who in 2018 welcomed a new grandson in Boston, celebrated her daughter’s promotion at American Express in New York, and visited her youngest son doing his medical residency in Denver.

Bob and I have home improvement projects slated for 2019, looking forward to our daughter finishing her master’s in June, and paying our last tuition bills when our son graduates Northeastern next December.

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