Class Notes | 1970s

Believe it or not, planning efforts are already underway for our 50th Reunion. That’s going to happen in the spring of 2022. Many of us are already working to make this Reunion the greatest ever. We would like to bring as many classmates back to campus as possible. So, if you’ve not been to a Reunion in recent years—or ever—this is the one to go to and now is the time to start planning. We are setting up a novel “class council”—not to plan the Reunion itself but to work on reaching out to people from whom we haven’t heard in a while. If you are interested in helping in this effort in any way, please let me, or Andy Feinstein or Bob White know.

Roger Jackson retired from Carleton College in June 2016, after nearly 30 years of teaching Asian religions there. It’s well-nigh impossible, he says, to quit academia cold turkey, though, so he’s continued to keep his hand in, by giving talks, writing articles and reviews, finishing up a book on Buddhist meditation, advising students, and teaching off and on at Carleton and at Maitripa, a small Buddhist college in Portland, Ore. He is also enjoying, as always, family, friends, travel, poetry, good food, and baseball—but the current political climate not so much. “Watching Burns and Novick’s Vietnam series has been sobering, and a reminder that things not only could be worse, but have been.”

Of all the subjects of “whatever happened to?” queries, none were more frequent—or more futile—than those concerning George Walker. On New Year’s Day, a story in the New London Day gave us the answers. George left Wesleyan to join the Black Panthers, but became disillusioned. “It was clear we were not just overmatched,” he explained. “This was a flea against an elephant.” Disillusion led to heroin, and robberies to pay for it. George spent, by his own estimate, 13 years in prison, including a term for a bank robbery in Connecticut. In 2000 he moved to Florida, earned his undergraduate degree, and eventually earned a PhD in mental health counseling from Barry University. George’s dissertation, growing out of his own experience with long-term addiction, analyzed the concept of “ambiguous loss,” where the bereavement process has no closure, and where existing knowledge provides little help in processing such issues. How wonderful that our own ambiguous loss has now been addressed. And how wonderful for George to be able to help others deal with such situations.

John Manchester has signed a deal with TCK Publishing for three novels of psychological suspense—Never Speak, If I Fell, and The Girl in the Game. Two of them, he says, especially the second, have Wesleyan stuff hidden in them. Can’t wait!

I am sad to report that Rick Blake died in December, after months of a debilitating illness. Rick was an obstetrician and gynecologist, and taught those fields at the Howard University College of Medicine. His obituary noted that he majored in biology at Wesleyan, ran track, and played racquetball “for kill.” One Wesleyan racquetball opponent reported that while he, himself, did not like to lose, Rick disliked losing even more.

Finally, I spent a couple of wonderful days in Scottsdale this January with Dennis Kesden, who is now fully retired from the ophthalmology practice he shared with his wife Sherry. I have to say that Dennis has figured out his retirement as precisely as he figured out his life. He and Sherry met in medical school, and jointly picked ophthalmology as their field, as they saw the possibility, as individual practitioners, of doing exciting and innovative procedures out of their own office. That is precisely what they did, practicing together in an office they built on Long Island. Now, as is the trend in healthcare all over, they have sold the building and the practice, and live next to one of 27 fairways in a lovely golf community a short distance from their two grandchildren. It was great to see Dennis in a relaxed setting and talk about old times.

Speaking of families, I haven’t talked about mine lately. My older son, Mark, and his wife, Jenny, bought a house in Peekskill, N.Y., a short distance from the ancestral home. Mark is working at (brace yourselves…) West Point—as a labor economics analyst for the Army and Department of Defense. My younger son, Kevin, lives in our true ancestral home—the Bronx. In fact, he lives within walking distance of my parents’ homes, and the high schools (and one college) they attended. He works in the New York City 311 Call Center, answering inquiries and complaints on anything from parking regulations, noise, and garbage pickups, to protestations of innocence from Rikers Island inmates. He loves public service and is growing to appreciate the amazing variety of life in NYC.

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

Aloha! If you can believe it, planning efforts are underway for our 50th Reunion in 2021. Volunteers are needed to work on outreach and planning efforts. Please contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 (klynch@wesleyan.edu) if you’d like to be involved.

Sad news. David Bonanno, 68, longtime editor of the Philadelphia-based American Poetry Review, died Dec. 8, from complications after a medical procedure.

Jodan Wouk is a docent for three institutions and a community and political activist. His son, senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, England, got married in Florence, Italy, last July. Constance Balides, at Tulane University, gave a keynote address, “Immersion As Cultural Logic, Contemporary Film As Symptom,” during the Berliner Festspiele conference on immersion and contemporary art in Berlin.

Peter Gutmann writes, “All are welcome to browse my site, classicalnotes.net, which focuses on the background and significant recordings of great music. Vital stats: living in Chevy Chase, Md.; wife Babette (VP of giant Westat research firm); sons Harold (sports writer) and David (commodities trader); and three grandkids.”

Kip Anderson is working on his second book of poetry. His son is about to undertake a career in personal training. Alvin and Cynthia James are doing well in Cedar Hill, Texas, and will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary this year. Miguel Gómez-Ibánez is “in my last year as president of North Bennet Street School, a craft school established in 1881 in Boston’s North End.” He plans to return to furniture-making. Still living in Weston, Mass., since 1981.

Alan Van Egmond left the U.S. Senior Foreign Service in May 2017 after a 38-year career. He and wife Julie are based in Naples, Fla. In Vancouver, B.C., saw Marc Pickard ’70, and in Chestertown, M.D., Saw Vic Pfeiffer.” Sorry to Bud Coote never received your note, send it for next time. Katy Butler, in 2017, dedicated a bench outside Judd Hall to her late mother, Val, and father, Jeffrey, who taught history at Wesleyan. The Wasch Center for retired faculty honored Professor Rick Elphick, who completed her father’s last book, Cradock: How Segregation and Apartheid Came to a South African Town. [See pp. 40-41.] Katy and her longtime partner, Brian Donohue, got married in their backyard June after a 17-year courtship.

Sandy Gold says, “Attended Cornell Law School, became an assistant district attorney in Manhattan for three years. Since leaving, I have practiced in NYC, where I specialize in defending medical malpractice cases against doctors and hospitals. I live in Irvington, N.Y., with my lawyer wife of 43 years. We have two grown children (a daughter who is a law professor, and a son who works for Major League Baseball), and three young grandchildren.”

Jay Resnick wrote, “2017 brought David Foster to town. Had a great dinner with Andy Glantz in Scottsdale. In April I had a heart attack. In October, two brain bleeds, followed by three brain surgeries, followed by a week in intensive care, then another week in intermediate care. Still in physical therapy, relearning to walk, with focus now on balance.”

John Schimmel lives in LA “married 1986 to the stage manager of a Broadway show I co-wrote, Pump Boys and Dinettes, and we have three glorious kids, one in high school, one at Berkeley architecture school, one a film editor. I had a first career as a musician, a second in the film industry, and I now work for a video game company and am teaching screenwriting at UC, Riverside.”

Michael Mullally has owned his design-build company in Woodstock for 20 years, after a career in film and advertising in Hollywood and N.Y. Two grown children, Ryan and Tara, and one granddaughter, Alexandra.

John Rothman writes, “I’m starring in the critically acclaimed Amazon series One Mississippi, now in its second season. My career after 40 years as a working actor is flourishing!” (johnrothmanactor.com) “Robin Eaton and filmmaker daughter Alex came to the premiere of my latest movie, My Art. Wife Suzie is editor-in-chief and publisher of Workman. Daughter Lily is history editor of Time Magazine and was married last June. Son Noah is thriving as a manager/producer.”

Frank Alley says, “I retired last summer after 22 years as a bankruptcy judge, and am now teaching part-time at the U Oregon School of Law. Tammy and I have two daughters, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Living in Eugene, Ore.”

At his daughter Ariel’s Oxford PhD graduation, Dave Lindorff got short of breath and ended up in an NHS hospital. After five days of tests, he opted to come back to the U.S. He has treatable sarcoidosis of the lungs (he is better now). Total cost of his stay and treatment in the UK: $990. Total cost of just an MRI in the US: over $2,000. “We gotta do something here in the U.S. to fix this! For those who want a more detailed account, go to: lrb.co.uk/v39/n23/dave-lindorff/short-cuts.”

Dick Scoggins spent 16 years in England then moved to LA to be near his two children, Nathan ’99 and Joanna, who are both married. His daughter’s family (including two kids) live with him, and Nathan and his three daughters live in the next town. He continues to mentor missionaries around the world.

Stephen Ferruolo is in seventh year as dean of University of San Diego School of Law and son Stephen ’20 is working towards a dual major in psychology and government. Steve Leinwand was at the Shanghai and The Hague American Schools. Logged 240,000 air miles last year and not slowing in 2018. Trying to change the way we teach K-12 math to kids. Mike Thompson’s daughter, Blair, produced twin girls on Oct. 26—his first grands! He is in regular contact with Jon Felt, Pat Callahan, and Jake Weiss. Ed Swanson went to his hometown, Naugatuck, Conn., for 50th Reunion and saw Chuck Lucier ’70 and Jim Redwood.

Sorry to have butchered your notes but limited words. I was deeply honored when Katharyn and Richard Aroneau donated to Wesleyan in my honor.

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

NEWSMAKERS | 1970s NEWSMAKER STEVEN OSSAD ’70 Steven Ossad ’70, a historian and biographer, won the 2018 Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award for Biography for his book Omar Nelson Bradley: America’s GI General. The book offers an account of Bradley’s formative years, his decorated career, and his postwar life. Ossad, who has focused his writing career on biography and command, under-studied heroes and battles, the lessons of failure, and considering applicable military leadership-training models for the C-suite, was recognized at an awards dinner during the society’s annual meeting. A philosophy major at Wesleyan, he earned graduate degrees from the New School and Harvard University.

Aloha, everybody. I’m sorry to have to begin these notes with word of the death of another classmate. Arden Reed passed away “peacefully in his sleep…surrounded by his family, after a brief battle with cancer,” says Dru Sherrod, his partner for the past 35 years. She says, “Arden’s unique sense of curiosity and engagement will be greatly missed by his students and colleagues, friends, and family. May we remember Arden best by living lives of more intense connection and commitment, with others and with the world.” Agreed. Our condolences.

Josh Barrett just missed the deadline for the last column, so his news comes first.“Since retiring from my law practice I’ve enjoyed having more time for music, singing with the West Virginia Symphony Chorus, continuing to gig as lead guitar in a rock/R&N/blues band, and doing occasional acoustic gigs with my wife, Julie Adams, who is the singer in the house band on the weekly public radio show Mountain Stage. So, it was a special treat to have a visit this summer from my former bandmate Dave Cain ’68, who was bass player and leader of The House of David while at Wesleyan.Dave lives in Texas now where he retired from a career in teaching but is making lots of music performing as a singer-songwriter, doing some recording both as a solo and with his talented wife and daughters, and teaching guitar students. We hadn’t seen each other in decades but still have lots in common and had a fabulous weekend playing and singing together, reminiscing, and seeing a bit of beautiful West Virginia scenery. We don’t have many Wes alumni in West Virginia, but if you want to visit bring your guitar.”

Darwin Poritz wrote in for the first time in years, motivated by e-mails about our 50th Reunion. He wrote, “I spent June in France cycling with the Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme, one week in the Loire valley near Blois and another week in the department of the Puy de Dôme, a complete cycling and linguistic immersion experience, the best way to cycle in France as the French do. Another week was spent in Grenoble, sightseeing and studying French at the local Alliance Française. Meanwhile, I am still happily working as a statistician at the Johnson Space Center here in Houston. In 2017, my daughter Julia received her Texas state license as a clinical psychologist, and my son John is pursuing his French degree at SFSU in California.” Thanks for writing, Darwin.

Dave Davis sends a “Happy New Year” to former classmates. Dave continues to work for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)—the PBS affiliate in Oregon—as VP of TV production. OPB is currently producing a four-part National Public Television series on how the brain affects human decision-making. Dave is married to Cindy Talbot, M.D., sister of classmate Steve Talbot, and they have three children, all now getting either PhDs or M.D.s.

Had a note this time from Eric Buergers, maybe his first ever. Eric retired in June after teaching English at Arlington High School near Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for the past 38 years, capping a career that spans 47 years all told, including stints in Germany, Middletown, and Durham. Says Eric, “My daughter is an English teacher in our rival school, John Jay, and my son (U.S. Navy) got commissioned to D.C. from San Diego, so I hope to be able to spend more time with both…Wesleyan has served me well with great memories of life in the womb, and inspiration from people and ideas that carry on still.”

More from Eric about his career: “Looking forward to getting together with John Valente ’72, Bill Davis ’71, Brad Matthews, and Marjorie Melnick ’72 in New England, and Uffe Hansenin Denmark sometime soon. Wesleyan has served me well with great memories of life in the womb, and inspiration from people and ideas that carry on still. At a recent ceremony to honor and remember Marjorie Daltry Rosenbaum MALS’55, with whom I did my student teaching, I ran into Dick Winslow again. He took one look at me and said, “Buergers—you’re the percussionist!” Amazing after all these years. I’ll never forget him. Same for George Creeger, Alfred Turco, and many others. The music of Unit 1 still resonates!”

In reply to my comment about finding a path in life early, Eric wrote: “I’m not so sure what I found was a path—I think I stumbled upon a set of very fortunate circumstances. I had no idea when I entered Wesleyan what I would do professionally. English teacher was as remote a possibility as becoming an aardvark. But as you know, Wesleyan has a way of showing you more about yourself. In high school, music was my passion and math my strength, which Wes somehow morphed into a kind of English major. I still had no firm career plans when I graduated and took off for Germany, but circumstances there nudged me towards teaching and I found that I really enjoyed it…I discovered my niche with seniors about 20 years ago and have loved my gig even more as a result.”

From Joel Adams comes a bid for a record: “I am guessing that I hold the class of ’70 record for number of children currentlyin college. I have four: a senior at James Madison and sophomores at Temple, West Chester University (Pennsylvania), and Highpoint University (North Carolina). (Yes, triplets). I enjoy reading the class notes about some of you who are retired and living in or visiting various wonderful locales. I cannot afford to retire, but I am thankful for my good health which allows me to keep earning a living in the Philadelphia area.” I can’t afford to retire either, but I can’t imagine being in your situation. Wow! As the 1939 British poster said, “Keep calm and carry on.”

And a note from Roger Mann says, “Ted Reed and I went to games four and five of the World Series in Houston. Both of us attended our first World Series 60 years earlier in New York with our fathers.” It was a pretty decent series considering that the Red Sox weren’t in it.

We also received a sweet-and-sour note from Elliot Daum. The good news is that Elliot retired “…after 17 years on the bench and 27 as a lawyer.” The bad news: “We were burned out in the big fire in October but we’re rebuilding with the assistance of Brooklyn architect Nathan Rich ’02. We plan to travel a lot while we can. Life begins at 70!” Good outlook and good travels to you.

From down in New Zealand comes a note from Peter Ratner (the same one who many years ago wondered when the rest of us were going to come to our senses and move there, too—a sentiment that resonates more with me than ever, but I digress). He, too, recently retired after practicing law for 44 years, and his wife also retired from nursing. They plan to spend a few years mostly at their country place in Greytown, while helping to look after their granddaughter in Wellington, then “…we expect to be full-time in Greytown looking after our garden, working on some local conservation areas and, well, we are not sure what the future holds.” Congratulations to you both.

Meanwhile, back on the U.S. mainland, Steve Ossad was busy winning the 2018 Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award for biography for his book Omar Nelson Bradley: America’s GI General. Ed Castorina has posted a review on Amazon. Looks like an interesting read. Congratulations, Steve.

Bob Stone in L.A. described a happy retirement from law practice. “I’m now two-and-a-half years happily into retirement from the practice of law here in Los Angeles. My wife Nancy pushed me to retire and, as in most things, she was right. I didn’t realize how much of a toll the commute and the work had been taking until the stress was removed. To my surprise, there’s no boredom. We’ve kept busy with travel abroad (Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada, and Peru, and next April back to South Africa and Botswana), babysitting for our three grandchildren (ages 8, 4, and 2), lots of pleasure reading and couples book group dinners, and just hanging out with friends. I’m also serving on some nonprofit board committees and occasionally volunteering legal services to those organizations. And there’s the never-ending quest to improve my golf game.

“I’ve kept in touch with some of my wonderful friends from Wesleyan, both on social media and the old-fashioned way. Marc Pickard and I have had frequent contact. We’ve visited Marc and his wife Jeannie in Vancouver several times and toured Peru with them last April. I’m proud to say that even at our advanced age, we were able to make the steep trek up to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu. Last summer we were honored with a visit from Larry Mendelowitz ’72 along with his wife Karen and daughter Dana. Steve Berman ’72 made the long trip from his home in Santa Monica to the San Fernando Valley to see Mendo and join us for lunch. It’s always amazing to me how we can pick up so easily where we left off all those years ago at Wes.

Douglas Pavlak: “My EMG laboratory at OA Centers for Orthopaedics in Portland, Maine, has received its accreditation with exemplary status by the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. It’s the only lab north of Boston and one of only a few dozen in the country that holds this status. Otherwise, just trying to survive getting three more teenagers through high school and maybe one of them to Wes!?”

Julie Hacker: “My partner and husband, Stuart Cohen, and I were inducted into the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame. I’m busy taking musical theater classes, still racing triathlons, and a preservation commissioner for the City of Evanston. Our son graduated from RISD and is living in Chicago, working in a gallery, making art, and off to the Vermont Studio Center in December for a residency. If you live in NYC, you can hear him weekly Tuesday mornings on WFMU’s program Wake with Clay Pigeon, titled Gabe Cohen’s Introspective Infrastructure.

Martha Bush: “Speeding up, not slowing down! In addition to SIGMA, starting a stint as board chair of Causewave Community Partners, a nonprofit agency matching local marketing talent with human services agencies or to support critical local issues. Enjoying the blooming of energy, music, food and arts here in Rochester, N.Y., in the beautiful Finger Lakes region.”

John Tjia: “I left Ernst & Young at the end of August, finishing my nearly 12 years there as an executive director in the Business Modeling Group, and amazingly as a retiree. Not quite ready to just sit on the porch, though: I am now with Wall Street Prep, a major player in the financial training space, leading the development of their financial modeling business. In September, I submitted the manuscript for the third edition of my book, Building Financial Models, to McGraw-Hill, to be published in the first quarter of 2018. Not bad for an East Asian Studies major! For the past four years, I’ve been chairman of the board for Subud New York, a nonprofit organization for personal spiritual growth. I had memorable travel this summer: a cruise from Copenhagen that went to the Norway coast, Scotland, England, and back (the fjords were awe-inspiring) and a jaunt to Missouri in August for the total solar eclipse (spectacular).”

Heidi Mastrogiovanni: “My comedic novel, Lala Pettibone’s Act Two, was released by Amberjack Publishing in February.  The sequel, Lala Pettibone: Standing Room Only, will be released by Amberjack in August. The title character is, of course, a Wesleyan graduate. I’m taking part in the Writing While Female 2017 Tour. We’re doing readings and book signings in Los Angeles, Denver, and NYC, and we’re adding dates and locations all the time. My website is frequently updated with new event listings: heidimastrogiovanni.com.”

Michelle Morancie: “For the past 38 years (OMG! It’s been 38 years since we graduated) this somewhat shy alumna hasn’t shared much about my life and times in class notes. However, today I am so excited about the release of my first book, that I had to share with my classmates. Crazymaker: A Psychologist’s Disturbing Encounter with Workplace Abuse is my story about how I coped with being bullied and harassed by a NYC public schools’ principal for five years. It’s scheduled to be released in mid-December.”

I write a lot about my Wesleyan/DKE brothers. That’s because the unconditional friendships and relationships forged while at Wesleyan have stood the test of time. In that vein, we celebrated a momentous milestone—150 years of DKE’s continuous presence on the Wesleyan campus. Over 100 alumni and 35 undergraduates celebrated the sesquicentennial on Saturday, October 7. Once again, the Old Stone House came alive.

From all over the country, some of the strongest alumni this university can boast were there to celebrate and reconnect with friends they hadn’t seen, in some cases, for over 40 years. Many were accompanied by their wives, partners, and significant others. A 65-year span of classes was represented from Jim McLean ’56 and Ted Bachman ’60 to Dylan Niehoff ’15 and Ben Kurtz ’17 to the undergraduate brothers graduating in 2020. Of course, our class was more than well represented by Kevin Bristow, Joe Britton, Peter Campbell, George DuPaul, Tim Fitzgerald, Kenny King ’80, Bob and Carol (Horowitz) Murphy, yours truly Gary Breitbord, and all the way from Nebraska—Michael J. Scacca.

Unlike Reunion years, there were attendees from surrounding classes including 1978—Bill Ahern, Jeff Nesson, Ralph Rotman, Paul Nelson; 1977—Ted Stevens, Jeff Gray, Bob Nastri, Tom Roberts, the ever-eloquent master of ceremonies Dave Thomas, Mike Coffey, Don Citak, and Steve Beauchamp; 1981—Lou Scimecca, Tim O’Brien, Pete Pezzelli, Sandy Herzlich, and Jim Baker.

As the evening entered the wee hours of the morning, a familiar sound was heard. Pat McQuillan ’75 playing his guitar, Dave Terrie ’76 accompanying him on the harmonica with a cast of characters including Jim “Fats” Farrell ’74, Jim “Jumbo” Daley ’75, Dave Harrison ’75, and Pete McArdle ’76, all singing Grateful Dead songs. Quintessential 1970s Wesleyan relived.  Scott Karsten ’73 put it best: “Here’s to lifelong brotherhood!” A raucous good time was had by all. A truly soul-enriching event.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Hello, classmates. In case you haven’t heard, we have a big reunion coming up next year! Please mark May 25-26, 2018 on your calendars and plan to be in Middletown to celebrate our 40th Reunion. I know what you’re thinking…How could it be our 40th?! Seems like graduation, or at least our 10th or 25th was only yesterday. No matter the year, we’re still going strong and looking forward so let’s make it the best reunion weekend ever! Also, let’s beat the 40th Reunion attendance record set by Class of ’77. We need at least 107 attendees. Hope you’ll be one of them!

In the meantime, please send us your news. The next issue would be the perfect time to tell fellow classmates your news and plans to attend reunion.

Onto the News: Lisa Alter made Variety’s inaugural “NY Dealmakers Elite” list which honors “power players” having a significant impact on Broadway, advertising, and the music business. Lisa is a partner at Alter Kendrick & Baron LLP in NYC and practices primarily in the area of copyright law, with a focus on domestic and international music copyright issues. She counsels composers, authors, musical estates, music publishers, and equity investors on a wide range of copyright and transactional matters, including music publishing, acquisitions, selling and administering copyright catalogues, and recapture of copyrights, among others. Lisa is the author of Protecting Your Musical Copyrights, which is now available in its third edition, and the recent Forbes article “Concord Bicycle Music Buys Imagem Music Group Heralding a Golden Age of Music Publishing.”

Jon Spector and wife, Wendy, enjoy life in Vermont. He commutes to The Conference Board in New York. “Wendy chairs our local arts organization and will be ski ambassador at Killington. My major accomplishment was participating in a one-hour art class and painting an image of a boat dock on a lake bordered by mountains—which according to several observers almost resembles a boat dock on a lake bordered by mountains. I feel a second career beckons.”

Rachael Pine has an empty nest in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with one daughter at Oberlin, and the second having graduated and now working as the food program coordinator at Oberlin Community Services. Her husband is general counsel of the Legal Aid Society and she works at a private foundation managing grantmaking related to health/healthcare and immigrant communities.

Bill Adler, our expat living and writing in Japan, says, “My cat, however, is indifferent to the view and thinks that the dim LED power lights that proliferate the apartment are a signal from the moon to make as much noise as possible at 3 a.m.”

Nancy Grossman sent her only child, Daniel, off to UMass Amherst with a “tentative” major of mechanical engineering. She says, “I am finding the empty nest so much easier to take when the boy is only four miles away!” Nancy practices acupuncture and publishes the occasional op-ed.

After 30 years of pastorate in the Atlanta area, Ken Samuel has been awarded a Lilly grant for a sabbatical. Among other things, he’ll be spending a month in the Philippines teaching at Silliman University.

 Gary Friedmann chairs the citizen grass-roots organization, A Climate to Thrive, which has the goal of making Mount Desert Island, Maine, energy independent by 2030. Their Solarize MDI initiative doubled the Island’s solar-generated power in 2017, and they aim to continue that trend, along with weatherization, local foods, recycling, electric vehicle, and student internship initiatives in the coming year.

Stefan Watson is the owner of Watson Custom Builders. He and wife Eileen Devereux ’76 have been rebuilding homes in downtown Albuquerque for 40-plus years. He writes, “All of our projects seem to take 10 to 12 years to complete—most recently a complete renovation of 8th and Mountain Road in downtown Albuquerque. We had acquired four corners 14 years ago thinking how nice it would be to own an intersection with six houses and an old gas station, now coffee shop.” Stefan completed a new floor design with artist Richard Tuttle for a Zahad Hadid Design home in Miami for real estate developer Craig Robbins. They’re working on a series of tile tables to be in Richard Tuttle’s gallery show later in the year.

David Rosenthal serves as co-head of the Global Capital Markets practice at Dechert LLP. He writes, “I’m very proud of my son, James ’08, who is following in my footsteps as a mid-level transactional associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in NYC, and my daughter, Elise ’11, who is following in her grandfather’s footsteps (inorganic chemistry freshman year ended any aspirations to become a doctor that I might have had) and is a first-year resident in ob-gyn at Montefiore in the Bronx.”

After many years at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Bob Kalb moved to Chicago to be the director of the Les Turner ALS Research and Patient Center at Northwestern Medicine and chief of Neuromuscular Medicine in the Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology. He writes, “This promises to be a marvelous opportunity to both enhance the basic research in my lab and to foster translational medicine.”

Susie Muirhead Bates | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Who would have imagined that at the tender age of 62, attendance at so many weddings would become such a big part of my free time? The combination of folks’ second or third marriages and children of friends or relatives marrying means that there is a steady flow of celebration and travel. Not that I’m knocking it in the least! At a time when there is a lot to be concerned or saddened by, having occasions to be in the presence of others to have fun and to share in the love is something I cherish.

September took me to two great destination weddings: Squaw Valley, Calif., and Jackson Hole, Wyo. In California, I was honored to officiate at the wedding of my nephew, Michael Frank ’08. As necessitated by the Golden State, I became an ordained minister in order to perform my duties. There was a wonderful turnout of Wesleyan graduates, with a photo taken at mountain top. At the end of the month I made my way to Wyoming for the wedding of my godson, Desmond Jennings, the son of Iddy Olson. Both events were in spectacular surroundings and had lots of emotion packed in to full weekends of activities: dancing, eating, hiking, not necessarily in that order. One leaves these weekends with a great sense of fulfillment at participating in such crucial turning points in people’s lives. On a personal note, a shocking turning point for me is that my architecture firm is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, which seems totally impossible to me. As I have described so often, it is the people (staff, clients, and consultants) who have made the ride so worthwhile.

On to the news from those who responded to my request for news:

Will Sillin wrote in that Chester “Chet” Arnold (director, UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research) introduced his artwork to the Benton Museum at UConn. The result is that two of his paintings are included in their current show about water, Unfiltered. Will is justifiably thrilled that his work is hanging with numerous outstanding contemporary artists as well as masters from the 20th century who are represented in their permanent collection.

First time contributor Robin Cleveland writes: “Having spent a long career in Washington, 16 years on the Hill with McConnell in many roles, then the White House and World Bank, I began a degree in school counseling, which led to my being a doc student in counseling at 62.” Robin loves teaching at GW: “When all was said and done the truly great story is not the headlines you get to write but the lifelines you weave.” Finding her way back to very good people like Seta Nazarian ’79, Virginia Torczon ’78, Chris Harned ’89, and Rich Middlebrooks, Robin welcomes all to reconnect.

Hank Rosenfeld ran into Joan Goldfeder at the downtown LA public library on a Lenny Bruce panel. Joan was much missed at our May Reunion.

Continuing on the wedding theme, Jay Kilbourn writes that his Wesleyan daughter was married this summer, and she lives happily in Portland, Ore., practicing permaculture. Jay is a volunteer lobbyist at the nonpartisan Citizens Climate Lobby, doing his best to mitigate climate change and pass a bill in Congress to implement a carbon fee and dividend.

Jim Lyons wrote to express how happy he was to have attended our May Reunion. Back in Germany, he hit the road running with two productions planned for the fall at a theater near Stuttgart: a musical revue premiered in September and a second show on the story of Elvis’ 1968 comeback special to premier soon.

Jane Goldenring came back East for—what else?—a family wedding in the Hudson Valley region. Jane caught up with new grandmother Sharon Adler, as well as Jane Eisner and Mark Berger while in New York.

Michael Foxall is an elementary school principal in Fairlee, Vt. His wife and family enjoyed 20 years of overseas international school service, both as teachers and administrators, before returning to home in Canaan, N.H.

Bob Rees caught up with Marcy Neuburg in the Twin Cities while she was visiting her son and granddaughter. Marcy is off sailing somewhere between the North and South Poles. Bob is collecting poems from Earl Phillips and Lee Arnold in hopes of getting them published in Minneapolis.

Tom Roberts and Vanessa Burgess each wrote in to say what a great time they each had at our Reunion, echoing a sentiment expressed by many.

I wish all a happy and safe season leading up to the end-of-the-year holidays!

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

For this issue, I asked about retirement plans and got varied and often non-committal answers. To vary the line-up, the last shall be first.

Tom Kovar went to Professor Dick Winslow ’40’s funeral in Antrim, N.H. Dick, 99, was a mentor of Tom’s in the music department. Afterwards, Tom had dinner with Pam Swing ’75, Win Lockwood ’78, and others.

Cheryl Alpert is a real estate agent in the Boston area. Her son, Eben, is enjoying his work at PWC and her son, Chason, just started at Booz Allen.

Carol Bellhouse published two books and produced two films this summer. Burnt Orange is about three women at the end of the world. The second film is a pilot for an adventure race series; the first episode is about racing burros.

Carol Berger has retired from her career as a school psychologist. She and husband Ron live in Longmeadow, Mass., and have two married sons and three granddaughters. Carol stays in touch with Linda Borreson and Sue Feinstein Barry and hopes to get together with Nancy Cornwell Goeden.

Ethan Bronner, who writes on politics for Bloomberg, is investigating President Trump and Kushner business practices and keeping an eye on the federal probe into possible collusion with the Russians. Son Eli ’10 is the president of a startup called Careerlist, which links young marketing professionals with big companies.

Joe Carcillo is a pediatric intensive care physician in a children’s hospital at the University of Pittsburgh. His daughter is in her first year at Michigan and Joe is coaching the local girls’ Catholic high school rowing team.

Jon Cleworth enjoys being an uncle to one nephew and five nieces. He reports that Jimmy Joy MALS ’72, former crew coach at Wes, received an award this November at the New York Athletic Club for his outstanding career as an oarsman and his contributions to American rowing.

Ron Epstein’s book, Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness, and Humanity, is doing well and he has been traveling to talk about how doctors can practice more mindfully and achieve shared understanding with their patients.

Jeff Frank recalled his Wesleyan experience as encouraging free expression, tolerance of different opinions, and learning to persuade those with different outlooks to your point of view. Remarking on the news about universities shutting down what is labeled by the opposition as “hate speech,” Jeff hopes that the free discussion of ideas remains a part of the Wesleyan experience.

Karen Gervasoni’s daughter Lia is a high school junior and is dabbling in media studies. Son Cole is playing on his high school basketball team.

After transferring to and graduating from Wesleyan, Jamie Beck Gordon worked for Ed Koch and obtained a degree in international relations from Columbia. She volunteers for various charities and is on the board of The Neuberger Museum at SUNY Purchase. Married in 1985, Jamie has a son, 30, and a daughter, 27.

Joellyn Gray is on the board of the CTA Foundation, an offshoot of the Consumer Technology Association, the group that hosts CES, the world’s largest trade show for technology.

Oliver Griffith is working for an infrastructure fund in Africa and living in Paris.

Steve Gross and wife Meiyan are retired, she from the Sunnyvale School District and he from SanDisk. They renovated their home in Cupertino, Calif. Daughter Alexa attends Wellesley College. While visiting her, Steve stayed with Tim Hill ’75 and Jan Schwaner-Hill ’75, and caught up with Norbert Kremer in Boston.

Byron Haskins, recently retired from federal service, volunteers as a MoveOn Summer Resistance Mobilizer, focusing on preventing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Grandson Zayer was born in August. Byron traveled enough to visit all six grandchildren within 30 days, including trips to Montreal and NYC.

Alan Haus and family vacationed in New Orleans, the Caribbean, and Mexico. While traveling, there were four actual or potential hurricanes in the region and a major earthquake in Mexico. Alan’s family lucked out and had perfect weather.

Maggie Heffernan reports that David Low moved to Manhattan and now lives in the same co-op as she does. They run into each other often and are both big Yankee fans.

Libby Horn is working as a FNP at a family practice, sings in two choruses and church choir, and volunteers at a hospice and a school-age reading program.

Jim Johnson brought the concept of “Ciclovia” to his hometown with the Chattanooga City Celebration closing down more than six miles of city streets to motorized traffic and connecting festivals in six neighborhoods for cyclists and pedestrians.

Michael Kennedy-Scanlon and his wife live in Barcelona and experience first-hand the Catalan independence movement, which he describes as highly emotional and intolerant.

Andrew McCulloch retired as president/CEO of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan of the Northwest. After 10-plus years in this role, his organization was ranked as the highest quality, best service, and most affordable entity in the Pacific Northwest.

Jack O’Donnell had his first grandchild and traveled to London to meet him. Son Sam ’01 lives in London and Jack figures he will be making many trips there to make sure the little guy can play baseball. Jack’s daughter, Margaret ’19, is studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Hanoi, and Cape Town.

My oldest daughter, Samantha, is engaged and making plans to get married next year. Daughter Michelle is gainfully employed. And daughter Lindsey is studying Russian in Kazakhstan. I had a busy year, traveled around India in February, flew in a two-seat WWII fighter in June, and spent Labor Day weekend with Nancy in Asheville, N.C., with friends.

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

Ellen Remmer’s son got married in Maine, and her husband retired. She has trouble contemplating retirement, but foresees winter travels to escape New England. Ellen recently saw Nena Bloomquist.

J.D. Moore had one amazing WesWeek. Thursday: reminisced and caught up with Tim Donahue ’74 during a mediation break. By next June, Tim will have celebrated his three children’s weddings within one calendar year! Saturday: met Dave Rosenthal and his wife Suzie (visiting from Buffalo) and sister Diane Thomas ’78, for coffee. Saturday: dinner with local friends Roberto Rosario ’77 and family.

Debbie Kosich was home in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Fortunately her part of town (and her condo) didn’t flood. She thanks Wes friends who contacted her during and after the storm, and hopes that Florida classmates are okay.

Cathy Gorlin’s son, Ross, is engaged. Cathy reconnected with Tory (Rhoden) Cohen, a Smith exchange student who shared their Lawn Ave. house and is now a Boston dentist with two children.

Jeff Morgan divides his time between Berkeley and Tel Aviv. He and wife Jodie run Covenant Winery (founded in 2003) and started Covenant Israel Winemaking last year. Their daughters also work in wine—Skye in New York, and Zoe in Tel Aviv. Jeff and Jodie published their 10th cookbook last year—The Covenant Kitchen, Food and Wine for the New Jewish Table.

Diane Cornell ran out of excuses for not sending news after retiring from the FCC Chairman’s office at the end of 2016. On her “way out the door,” the Federal Communications Bar Association honored her with the Excellence in Government Service award.

In 1996, after four years in New Zealand, Nancy Luberoff settled in Chapel Hill. “My husband, Bruce Boehm, and I are lucky that our two kids live here. Our married daughter, Elana, lives in Cambridge.” Nancy has swum daily since Wesleyan, and also hikes and kayaks. “I haven’t written books or movie scripts, won huge awards or big races, but I live a good, healthy, happy life, giving and getting much love from family and friends.”

This September, after a week teaching in the Trial Advocacy Workshop at Harvard Law, June Jeffries visited Exeter, N.H., where she dined with Robert “Bobby” Thompson ’76, and his wife, Nadine. June highly recommends exploring the Black Heritage Trail in Portsmouth, N.H., which Bobby assisted in developing.

Dennis Chin contributed for the first time: “After graduating early, I went to D.C. to work on the Council on Wage and Price Stability with Harold Levy. I subsequently became an orthopedic surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. Nine children and 31 years later, I retired from Kaiser and began part-time work at a V.A. hospital. I have since been commissioned a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserves. My job, the kids, and two granddaughters keep me busy.”

Ed Van Voorhees says too many people are moving to Nashville. He and his wife, Linda, work part-time, and he staffs the nonprofit Bootstraps Foundation (bootstraps.org), scholarship program. Ed and Linda have granddaughters in Denver and L.A., plus three more due this year in L.A., D.C., and Nashville.

Double delightful news: Ellen Kabcenell Wayne and Charley Wayne ’73 are first-time grandparents of identical twins, Vivian and Hazel, born September 26, 2017.  The parents are Joseph ’08 and Hannah Wayne. Ellen says, “Charley is completely starry-eyed, and, after raising three sons, we deserve the girls!”

Paul Bennett enjoys more time, less stress, and a varied set of volunteer activities since retiring. His and Laura’s two sons, ages 28 and 26, are single in Brooklyn and Detroit, a distance that he hopes won’t be permanent.

Steve Hoffman is chairman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, responsible for implementing the state’s legalization of recreational marijuana use. “We will foster a new industry that will create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. By late 2018, we will be responsible for regulating medical marijuana, currently under the Department of Public Health.” Steve’s looking for folks to join his team and would welcome Wes alumni.

Roger Weisberg and Karen Freedman are thrilled to have their entire clan back in NYC. Son Daniel, a doctor, is returning in time to take care of his parents if they need it. Daughter Liza, a lawyer, will work for the ACLU. Eldest daughter, Allie ’05 has two kids and leads Recess, her decade-old nonprofit arts organization. Roger is producing his 33rd PBS documentary, about early childhood adversity and resilience. Karen runs Lawyers for Children, which she founded almost four decades ago.

All is well in San Francisco. Our daughter, Julia, 23, graduated from Stanford and is continuing for her master’s there. Our son, Ethan, 21, is a third-year mechanical engineering student at Northeastern. No retirement for me yet!

For a collection of class updates that didn’t make it in this issue or the last one, click here.

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

NEWSMAKERS | 1970s NEWSMAKER CHARISSE R. LILLIE ’74 Charisse R. Lillie ’74, businesswoman, attorney, and lecturer, received the A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. [Hon. ’96] Lifetime Achievement Award during the 29th Annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Attorney Conference in October. The award recognizes the accomplishments of a lawyer or judge who has demonstrated dedication to the legal profession and the minority community through civil, community, or legal service. Lillie is the CEO of CRL Consulting. Previously, she was affiliated with Comcast Corporation, where she served as a senior vice president of human resources, among other executive positions. Earlier in her career, she was a trial attorney with U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division. A history major at Wesleyan, Lillie earned a master’s from Yale University and a doctorate from Temple University. Wesleyan named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1993.

Jai Imbrey writes, “My Oberlin daughter Genevieve is marrying a Wesleyan lad, Jack Scott ’06, so all is well in the universe. I have completed a book on mosques published by Rizzoli, the first in 30 years to cover mosques worldwide with new photography and a chapter on Russian sanctuaries. The name of the book is Mosques: Splendors of.”

Jai’s husband, Bob, having weathered two hurricanes back-to-back at their home on St. Thomas, is now working to restore power and drinking water to the island at large.

Bruce Duncan reports, “By the skin of my teeth I was promoted to professor of physics at Fitchburg State University, effective this current term. Now I need to determine how to survive in retirement, which may come in a summer or two.”

Todd W. Grant and his wife traveled down the Oregon coast in May. They had perfect weather and beautiful scenery. In August, Todd and one of their sons backpacked for a week in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. The scenery was spectacular. Todd comments, “I feel fortunate to still be able to do these things.”

Lloyd Komesar enthusiastically reports, “The 3rd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival was a rousing success, made all the more so by the fabulous Wes folks who attended: Rose Komesar ’07 (and Maureen Carn P’07), Bill Pearson ‘74 (and Jane Pearson), Jay Craven P’04, Wendy Starr ‘74 (and Jeff Kessler), Debra Salowitz ’74 and Neil Salowitz ’73, Carolyn White-Lesieur ’74 (and Jean Lesieur), Claudia Catania ‘74 and John Cady ’71, Lyn Lauffer ’74, Elizabeth Lauffer ’07 (and Ferdinand Lauffer), Seth Davis ’72 and Elisa Davis ’76, Todd Jick ’71 (and Wendy Jick), Bob Kesner ’67 (and Andrea Torello), Steve Goldschmidt ’72 (and Stacy Sussman), Michael Arkin ’72 (and Morag Hahn), Mike McKenna ’73 (and Lynn McKenna), Joan Gamble ’80 (and Chip Paison), Sivan Cotel ’05 (great party at Stonecutter Spirits!), Dookie Bennett ’03, Maggie Masselli ’16 and Pierre Plantevin ’16, Adam Mirkine ’17 (and Ilene and Andre Mirkine), Sofi Taylor ’17, Maya Stevens ’17, Connie Des Marais ’17 (and Jim and Lyn Des Marais) and Paul DiSanto ’81.

“We are reaching true critical mass for Wes in Middlebury! Thanks to all of you for making the trip and here’s to seeing more of Wes at MNFF4, August 23-26, 2018. Mark your calendars!”

Not much news this issue. Please consider contributing to the next request.

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

NEWSMAKERS | 1970s NEWSMAKER JOHN HUTTLINGER JR. ’73 John Huttlinger Jr. ’73, CPA, was the 2017 recipient of the 14th annual Michael H. Urbach, CPA Community Builders Award by the New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. The award recognizes exemplary achievements of a certified public accountant who serves in leadership positions on charitable organizations’ boards of directors. Martha Spear of the Rotary Club of Lake Placid, who nominated Huttlinger, stated he “is the finest CPA-volunteer I have ever worked beside in my nearly 30 years of nonprofit employment and leadership.” Huttlinger serves as a board member for several community organizations including the Adirondack Film Society and the Rotary Club of Lake Placid. An economics major at Wesleyan, Huttlinger earned an MBA from Rutgers University.

Joshua Boger has been busy. After stepping down as chairman of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees and after 17 years on the Board, he says he deliberately stayed away to give new chairwoman Donna Morea ’76 some “breathing room.” In the fall of 2016, he was approached by his good friend Setti Warren, mayor of Newton, Mass., about helping him run for governor in 2018 against Charlie Baker. Joshua has been chairman of the campaign. In June, he simplified his calendar, stepping off the Vertex Pharmaceuticals board after almost 28 years, after founding the company in 1989. He says, “The campaign has been asking people, ‘What kind of Commonwealth do we want to be?’” He’s been dealing with issues including growing income disparities, the possibility of extending free college to everyone in the state, public transportation, renewable energy, energy conservation, and improving health care. In his spare time, he has been finishing up chairing the $750M campaign for Harvard Medicine (“The World is Waiting”) for the Harvard Medical School and chairing the Celebrity Series, Boston’s largest nonprofit presenter of live performing arts.

He also said, after 26 years “living in bucolic Concord, Mass., with my wife Amy” they “junked all of our suburban hand-me-down colonial furniture and swapped it for steel-and-leather-and-stone Italian modern, and moved to Boston’s hottest and hippest area, the Seaport, into a rooftop condo looking out directly onto Boston Harbor. It is, without apologies, our doomed attempt to act and become younger, and so far it is working wonderfully.” He says he exchanged 1,000 miles a month of commuter driving for 10,000-plus steps a day, “walking to most of my city commitments. He says Amy walks three block every day to her own ceramics studio, where she works seven days a week. In September they opened up their own art gallery (Dirt & Light Arts) with a joint ceramics (Amy) and underwater photography (Joshua) show, which got nice crowds for its nine-day run. For Joshua, it was his 10th major photography show, all but this one were solo shows—in the last few years.

He says their three boys continue their independent and creative ways: Zack ’06 lives in Brooklyn (with his wife Arielle DiGiacomo) and is the senior editor for documentary and reality TV shows, most recently The Vanilla Ice Project; Isaac ’09, after a stint as an EMT, has pivoted and built his own business in Seattle (Mixed-Up Events, LLC) as a producer of electronic dance music (EDM) concerts; and Sam (“the one we lost to Brown ’12” ) works for Google as a software engineer, recently moving from a three-year stint in London for Google to working remotely from Pullman, Wash., “following his heart.”

Our class president, Bill Quigley, writes that he and his wife have been distracted. His family has had a place in Puerto Rico (Palmas del Mar) since 1985. Their oldest son has been living there and Hurricane Maria’s eye passed directly over them. Bill and Dee managed to speak with him by phone after the storm hit and also received texts from friends saying he’s ok while living with “no power, no cell service and not much food. Bill was concerned about what he felt was a poor response by the government to “fellow citizens in need.”

From New York City, Jonathan Raskin tells me that he has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Louis Armstrong Educational Fund. He says it was started by Louis Armstrong himself and funds many organizations that are committed to jazz education. “As one who loves jazz, it is a real treat to be involved with them,” says Jonathan. He says by chance he assisted Armstrong when he was ill in his last year of life as he worked as an orderly at Beth Israel Medical Center. “I will always remember how he smiled at me as if I mattered,” he says, “small world.”

Michael Fossel says his global biotech company (Telocyte) is moving ahead, now with full funding, to their FDA trials targeting Alzheimer’s disease. “We’re confident that we can do something quite remarkable,” he says. “We’ll see what happens.” In addition, his latest book, The Telomerase Revolution, is now out in paperback, in seven languages and 10 global editions. “It will never pay my mortgage, but it’s doing well and getting rave reviews,” he says. “Much more importantly, my gardens and my granddaughters are all doing well.”

Congratulations to John Huttlinger who was the 2017 recipient of the 14th annual Michael Urbach CPA Community Builders Award that recognizes exemplary achievements of a certified public accountant who serves in leadership positions on the Board of Directors of charitable organizations. He was honored for his knowledge, experience and service to non profits. John was a founder of the Adirondack Film Festival and the Rotary Club of Lake Placid, N.Y. called him “one of the finest CPA volunteers ever.”

David “Harp” Feldman writes that he is once again, after nearly 50 years, living with his parents. However, as he puts it, “At least it is they who have moved in with me (and with Rita, in our remote mountainside home in Vermont). I had to fly down and retrieve them from a rather poorly appointed hurricane shelter for Irma refugees from the Florida Keys. Fortunately, my dad (91) is a retired NYC fireman and my mom (87) a retired RN, so they were able to tough it out. Once the hurricane season is over and their mobile home has been made habitable again, I’ll bring them back and get them settled in.” Dave continues to write books on mindfulness, and on harmonica, and to create corporate and other group presentations featuring Harmonica-Based Mindfulness™.

As we saw this past hurricane season has impacted classmates. For some of us, it has been overwhelming. Rudolph Foy put out an alert. He tells me he experienced two Category 5 hurricanes around his home in St. Thomas and may need some help in the aftermath of Irma and Maria. You can reach him at rrfoy@midwest.net.

Kie Westby writes that on Sept. 9 on Martha’s Vineyard, “I had the coolest job in the world—walking my daughter down the aisle” and watching her join the man she loves. He called it “unbelievable” and said it “does not get any better.”

Peter Bernstein writes that in early September their daughter Rebecca ’08, who lives about two miles from he and his wife, married Justan Dakes, her high school sweetheart. “Wedding was at the fabulous Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, N.Y. It brought back memories of wine tasting road trips our freshman year,” he said. Several of Rebecca’s Wes friends joined in the celebration, and spotted in the crowd was Jay Rose and his wife Marilynne. In addition, their son Ben (U of Florida ’10) of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., announced his engagement to Natalie Kovacs of Lighthouse Point, Fla. Peter said he and Jay recently went golfing with Mark Helfat. “A great time was had by all and nobody got hurt,” he said. He and Karen also celebrated their 33rd anniversary.

Finally, a reminder that we have another exciting Reunion coming up: our 45th on May 24-27. Hope to see you there.

Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com