Class Notes | 1970s

Ken writes:

Elizabeth Bachman continues her work as a presentation skills trainer (“The Starmaker for Speakers”)—along with her role as an international opera director, in which she has worked with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti. In the summers she runs TOP Opera, an operatic training program in the Austrian Alps.

Nancy Chen has made the move to Colorado (Fort Collins) from New York’s Long Island. She’s enjoying her active outdoor life there, and continues her leadership coaching and seminar business. She will be an empty-nester this fall, when daughter Isabelle begins at Seattle University, where she plans to pursue women’s studies. Her daughter, Ariane, will be a senior at Chapman University (Orange, Calif.); Nancy is looking forward to visiting her in New Zealand next semester while she studies environmental sciences abroad.

Gary Friedmann lives in Bar Harbor, where, as vice chair of the town council, he has been moving the town toward a sustainable future. Bar Harbor has just approved the first municipally-approved solar farm in Maine as an energy source for its operations, and additionally allows its residents to buy into a photovoltaic array to power their own homes.

Andy Futterman and wife Amy Wolfson are moving from Worcester, Mass., “after 25 wonderful years as professors in the psychology department at Holy Cross,” to Loyola University in Baltimore, Md. She will serve as their vice president of academic affairs; Andy will continue as a psychology professor there. He reports that they are quite excited about the move and look forward, as longtime St. Louis Cardinals fans along with their son, Noah, to rooting for the Orioles against both the Red Sox and Yankees.

Tim Hollister’s book for parents of teenage drivers, Not So Fast, will be published in Spanish this September (Chicago Review Press) in an effort to reach the large Spanish-speaking populations of 10 states now licensing undocumented residents. In October, his book, His Father Still: A Parenting Memoir, will be published by Argo Navis; it is “the story of parenting my son before and after his fatal crash, and how I learned much more about him, and rebuilt our parent-child relationship, after his passing.”

Lucy Mize reports that “my son Thaddeus Brown ’17 is halfway through his Wesleyan experience and enjoying every minute of it, including being on the crew team.” Lucy has recently returned to the States after 20 years abroad, to take on her new job as health team leader for the Asia Bureau of USAID. The new position nonetheless involves extensive travel from the U.S.; she will next be sailing from Fiji to Papua New Guinea on the USNS Mercy, serving as a trainer for the Defense Department in development issues.

Ruth Pachman writes: “I had a great experience serving as chair of the Wesleyan Fund for three years—it got me back to campus a lot and gave me the chance to connect with students, faculty, administrators, and alums from many classes while raising money for financial aid. I’ve also been involved with Union Settlement, a vital nonprofit for East Harlem, and just transitioned into the role of board chair. My day job continues to be as a managing director at Kekst, where I focus on strategic and crisis communications and corporate governance. Don Fallati ’76 and I are now empty-nesters, with our son Mark having finished his first year at Swarthmore where he plays on the tennis team. We now eagerly follow college tennis stats at two schools!”

Racheal Pine’s two “amazing daughters” have done some amazing traveling this past year: one studied abroad in Mongolia this past spring, while the other journeyed throughout Southeast Asia during a gap year (“…to be that age again!”).

Robert Poss reports that his two primary pursuits, experimental music and location sound, have been going well in recent months. In December he performed on electric guitar in Paris and London, and also spent time in Miami working at Art Basel on a documentary film about the Dutch artist Theo Jansen. In June he performed his original score with the Alexandra Beller/Dances company, at La MaMa theater in New York City (“The New York Times called my music “meditative,” a rather far cry from my wall of noisy guitars group, Band Of Susans, it would seem.”)

Lynn Thomas reports continued success in her consulting business, which focuses on “increasing company profits through client and employee retention, loyalty, engagement, and delight!”—and has just published her book, Wow! Your Way to Profits. She continues to love Boston, along with her new home (“my 14-year-old daughter, my 25-year-old nephew and our 18-month-old pooch Bentley are all settling in well”)—and is always eager to connect with Wes alums.

For much of our Class, 2015 marks our 60th birth year anniversary. Congratulations and best wishes to all for making it to this point. Many of our notes arrive from folks planning or having recently celebrated the big year.

From the looks of it on Facebook, Doug Green had a wonderful celebration for his birthday. Also, Doug attended a memorial gathering for Jean Redpath for which Iddy Olson did the lion’s share of organizational work. Both Doug and Iddy described how very moving and uplifting the event was.

Speaking of Iddy, the two of us celebrated our 60th birthday together in Lincoln, Mass., with an appropriately ’60s-themed dance party. Mike Coffey and Lisa Brummel participated in the festivities.

Deb Mercer celebrated the year with a European arts-architecture-garden focused trip in Belgium and Holland in May. How amazing the tulips must have been!

Louise Hazebrouck wrote on behalf of husband Steve Rome ’78, and herself, that they are celebrating the year by both retiring from teaching. They plan to travel abroad, along with lots of hiking, kayaking, reading and visiting with old friends. Can’t wait to see you in Boston!

Mark Beamis is taking a sabbatical from the world of work, beginning the summer of 2015. He’s planning a road trip across the USA visiting hometown friends and classmates from both Wesleyan and Exeter. Mark’s wife will be joining in for parts of the excursion and happily there will be regular updates on social media chronicling his adventures.
Sue Guiney is spending a quarter of the year in Cambodia. Out of this experience has sprung the charity “Writing Through,” teaching language fluency, conceptual thought, and self-esteem through creative writing. Living in London, Sue’s two sons are newly engaged to be married.

Cindee Howard has parlayed a biology major and MBA into a successful career as a copy editor. She recently returned from a Hawaiian trip with her partner, Jon. Like many, she is looking at turning a healthy 60 as a very fine option.

Susan Jacobson wrote from San Francisco where she married a native and has two grown sons living in nearby Portland. She would be delighted to cross paths with other Cardinals who are “out saving the world.”

Bob Giges sends greetings from Santa Cruz, specifically the UCSC Slugs, where he teaches acting as well as an impressive amount of fitness dancing such as Zumba and WorldDanz.

Paul Meisel wrote in that he is illustrating a story, authored by his son Peter, about a pirate dog named Stinky Spike. It will be published in 2016 through Bloomsbury.
John Fink got to visit Vancouver, Canada, to be with his six-month-old grandson, Alexander Churchill Fink. The whole family attended two nights of the U2 concert tour.
Steve Beauchamp has been all over television as he has appeared, post hospital, on episodes of Person of Interest, Black List, and the one I came across by surprise, House of Cards.

Wes Protheroe writes to us about his life post retirement: he serves on the board of directors at the Atlanta Humane Society and as a board advisor to a pharmaceutical company specializing in Alzheimer drug development.

Rick Dennett enjoyed watching Wes baseball’s great success in winning both “Little 3” and NESCAC this year. Rick’s son, Jonathan ’15, graduated this spring and has moved to Boston to begin his job.

Susan Shaw Webster hadn’t written to us since our graduation. She is a Manhattanite who with her Williams grad husband had two children: one a Williams grad, the second a current Wesleyan undergrad. Susan is a partner at Cravath, Swaine, & Moore specializing in corporate governance, M&A, and securities law.

David Schreff wrote us that his sports media and entertainment technology businesses are thriving. He has found time to teach at UMass-Amherst Isenberg School of Business. All members of his family are doing well!

Barbara Dicker Garii has moved back to NYC and lives in Jackson Heights. She is dean of the College of Education, Information, and Technology at LIU Post. Carol Cooper is deep into her research and dissertation working towards her Ph.D. in Jungian psychology.
Francis Rath is working for the Loudoun Health Department in emergency preparedness and response. Francis’ wife, Denise Thompson Rath, owns a successful horse business in Ocala, Fla., (www.greyfoxfarm.com).

Jonathan Kilbourn has been elected president of the Kennebunk municipal utility, the Kennebunk light and power district, building renewable power infrastructure.

Jim Melloan is now part of a new Internet radio station called Radio Free Brooklyn.

Both Peter Guenther and Jonathan Gertler have sons who have been involved in the relief effort in Nepal after the earthquake. Jonathan writes further that, in addition to his expanding business, he has his second CD of original songs (Sadetar Records, on iTunes, etc.) due to launch this year. Jonathan states that no matter how hard he works, “there is always time for music.”

Bob Nastri has been confirmed as a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court. Bob is currently running the criminal docket in Bristol.

Jane Goldenring is shooting a movie, Just in Time for Christmas, this summer in Vancouver. Jane taught a Skype class about work opportunities in LA and NYC for graduating film seniors at Wesleyan.

Will Altman has recently published a book, and the link can be found in the online edition of the Wesleyan class notes.

Dan Zegart has taken a full-time job with the Climate Investigations Center based in Alexandria, Va. Still working out of his home in N.J., Dan’s work focuses on big energy companies that are impeding the fight against global warming. Dan would love to hear from classmates, particularly those with an interest in climate and the politics of same: dzegart@yahoo.com.

Vivien Blackford is retired with her husband in Guilford, Conn. She founded Phoenix Association, an organization whose members were all formerly incarcerated folks who fought their way through the trials of prison and post-prison re-entry and are now eager for civic engagement.

Well, with what I have read in these notes, one must say that 60 never looked so good! Best regards to all!

This summer Andrea Grubb Barthwell and her husband, David, are celebrating 35 years together. Their youngest son, Matthew, just finished Fisk and is headed to SUNY Stony Brook for graduate school in social work. Matthew plans to concentrate on social justice in relation to African-American teenage boys. Andrea keeps herself busy giving lectures on preventing and treating drug use by kids and advocating for more drug treatment centers.

Oliver Griffith is still working for International Finance Corporation, the private arm of the World Bank Group. Oliver runs communications and public affairs for Europe out of Paris. He plans to stay in France for the long term and has just bought a house in the country. He would welcome visits from old friends and classmates.

Dan Henry and his wife just returned from California, where they spent time with their granddaughter, Frazier Michelle Henry, who celebrated her first birthday. Frazier was born on Dan’s birthday last May—what Dan says is his best birthday present ever.

Jack O’Donnell is delighted that his daughter, Maggie, will be heading to Wes this September, the second of his four kids to do so. Jack also recently went to see Orleans in Tarrytown—a group that no ’76er could fail to remember for all the times they played at Wes. Jack spoke with John Hall afterward. Hall said he stays in touch with Fred Hollister ’73 and that he still vividly remembers turning around on an upstate N.Y. highway when a tollbooth attendant told him that his band was desperately needed at Wes to fill in for Marshall Tucker. Jack says the band still sounds good—and why not?

Martha Meade has a son who just finished his freshman year at Wes, and she and her husband visited the campus for her husband’s Reunion. Martha’s “Stream of Consciousness” won Honorable Mention at the Spring Juried Show of the Palisades Art Association and was on display at the Palisades Public Library. You can see some of Martha’s art on Facebook. Take a visit.

Libby Spader says that her Wes theatre degree comes in handy in her career as an international trainer in USAID’s legal regulations for foreign assistance. Libby travels the world delivering training workshops for a nonprofit called InsideNGO. Libby wrote from London and was heading out for a week vacation in Florence, but her trips more frequently take her to places like Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Bangkok. In October, she takes her first trip to Myanmar.

I am looking forward to summer after a particularly long Chicago winter and to taking a trip to Greece in the fall. Two of my daughters are away doing internships. One is studying math and Chinese in Taiwan and the other is doing a NASA program in Huntsville, Ala., that includes sky diving. My oldest, who graduated from college a few years ago, is going for her master’s this September in biostatistics.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years. Great ending to the season.

“Downsized and retired, Randy Smith reports that he is using some of his expanded leisure time to build a website for those who enjoy golf literature.  Golf-fiction.com offers short stories and novel chapters from all eras of golf authorship.”

Monique Witt writes that OneTrickDog* is dropping several more jazz discs this summer.  The production arm has a ten-performance run of a one-act play split/screen at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and a short film, creative dark, nearing completion.  Her older son (Avidon Audio Labs) engineered twelve foot Plexiglas speaker towers for the Louis Vuitton fashion show in Palm Springs (you can see them on line in Vogue; they’re beautiful), and her younger son (Ben) is performing with Curtis Lundy and composing for a video game in production.  Both sons are also working on albums to be released this year or early next of their own work, and she is writing and directing.  In addition, they’re scheduled for an exhibit this fall of two black and white street artists influenced by post war Japanese manga (Akira-style comics).  So everyone is busy.

Bob Baum has had lots of changes. Probably the biggest one is that he became a grandfather last August.  William is an utter delight.  He has been enjoying his return to New England.  Their house is on a bluff overlooking the Connecticut River and the Dartmouth Campus.  It’s about a 25-minute walk to work, where he teaches African Religions, African Studies, and Comparative Religions.  He hopes to see you everyone at the next reunion now that he is close by.

Karla Bell writes, “Big year for the family! My son Danny graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law in the spring, married his college girlfriend over Labor Day (2014), and started his clerkship with a federal judge. Having been discouraged and exhausted by her Teach for America tenure, my daughter Rachel is now employed at Forrester Research in Cambridge, MA, mentors promising students with the non-profit Minds Matter, and was just named Co-President of the Boston chapter’s Executive Committee. Adam, my youngest, is leaving New York to resume graduate studies. My stepson Philip Wallach ’05 and his partner Vera Krimnus ‘05, had the first grandchild, Bina, and moved to the D.C. area; Philip, who is at The Brookings Institute, published his first book. Kerry Wallach’02, and her partner Jess Fierstein ‘05,also moved to the D.C. area; Kerry is on tenure track at Gettysburg College, and Jess remains at Accenture. (Whew!) As for me, my health has improved some, but is still very unstable. I very much appreciated all of the kind messages sent from last year’s reunion, and apologize for not following up–that happened to be an extremely precarious time. I’m hoping to see all of you at the next reunion.”

Scott Brodie reports, “I am still teaching and “stamping out blindness as fast as I can” at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, with some time set aside as part of a team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center which treats retinoblastoma, the most common cancer of the eyes of children – in the last decade, we have reduced the need to remove the most seriously affected eyes from nearly 100% to no more than 5%.

This spring, I returned to Wesleyan and gave a lecture on the “Jordan Curve Theorem” to the undergraduate Mathematics Club. I was delighted to see not only a room full of enthusiastic and knowledgeable undergraduates, but two of the Professors who were most helpful to me back in my own days as a math major, Fred Linton and Tony Hager.

I continue to play the oboe and English horn in orchestral and chamber music settings as the opportunity arises – I played Stavinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” at Lincoln Center this past winter, and I am looking forward to joining Linda Rappaport at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference this July.”

Judi (Lawrence)’74 and Richard ‘74 Goodstein just became the very happy grandparents of Levi Max Goodstein, the day before their 41st wedding anniversary.   Judi is changing her psychology practice to four days and will travel every week from DC to Philly to spend a day with her grandson.

David Plettner-Saunders explains that “ …after years of reticence, I yield to your unending insistence to send news and contribute to the alumni discourse.

I loved learning from Facebook recently that classmate Andrew Char plays bluegrass with friends at a sunset jam in Haleiwa, Hawaii. And that he rails against the latest Hollywood movie set in Hawaii but featuring an all-White cast.

But more to the point, to share some classmate news, I am well and happy, living in San Diego with my dear wife and fellow arts consultant, Victoria. I run an arts consulting firm, The Cultural Planning Group, and spend 2 – 3 weeks per month on the road encouraging the development of the arts in cities throughout the US (on a good day). I am also a truly lackluster contributor to Wesleyan’s annual fund. I have mixed feelings about being the meaning of being an alumnus and confusion about the meaning of our shared experience, values and legacy as Wesleyan grads. This, I believe, qualifies me as representative of my class of 1974. But in truth, I do recognize and celebrate the values of inclusion, openness, and liberal education that Wesleyan embodies. I believe that Wesleyan was ahead of the curve in many things, such as coeducation, diversity, and redefining elitism in terms of actual achievement. I know that I was encouraged to pursue my goals in the arts, leadership and liberalism. And that John Wesley’s ideals have been reinterpreted for a new era.

So, I say again, thank you Sharon Purdie for being so persistent in maintaining contact and inviting your classmates to participate. And I thank the Wesleyan community for your forbearance in the dark ages of my class and the alienation of my era.

I send you all a bit of San Diego sunshine and some sand in your shoes.’

Blaise Noto is continuing to teach at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in the School of Filmmaking’s producing program. Most recently, he was able to spend time with long time friend and Paramount Pictures colleague Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, who was the UNCSA’s commencement speaker this year.

Also, he recently spent Memorial Day weekend in South Carolina visiting with Charlie and Carol Cocores. Great catching up and reminiscing about our days at Wesleyan and Deke.

Wayne Forrest has a summer intern from Wesleyan, Natasha Nurjadin ‘18.  She is from Indonesia.

In December 2014 Wayne took his daughter Jamie (23) to Indonesia for two weeks.  During the first week they visited Jakarta, where she met many of my Indonesian members, and toughed the choking traffic.  The second week they traveled to more serene locations: central Java (Yogyakarta) and Bali. They saw the world famous temples Borobudur and Prambanan where they were asked to pose for numerous “selfies” with Indonesian travelers.  One morning they woke up at sunrise and rode bicycles for hours through the rice fields of Java’s breadbasket. The settlements dotting the countryside seem little changed from when he first saw them 40 years ago.  In Bali, they arrived just in time for a huge royal cremation, a multi sensory experience one never forgets. It was extremely meaningful for him to show her the country he has spent much of his life trying to understand.

Harold Sogard is happy to report that he somehow managed to get elected to Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees.  He’s not sure whether he owes his success to having been positioned first on the ballot (because he was oldest) or to the various offers he made to classmates in return for their votes.  If he delivers on those promises, Joe Lowenstein will become Wesleyan’s new football coach, Rick Gilberg will become the hockey coach, and all members of the class of ’74 will be receiving retroactive full scholarships and forgiveness of any outstanding student loans for themselves and their offspring who attend(ed) Wesleyan.  He sends thanks to all for your support and promises to do his best to represent our class well.

Chuck Gregory continues to enjoy life in Fort Lauderdale with his wife of 31 years, Lorraine. He’s been co-host of The New American Dream Radio Show (http://newdream.us) since February 2011 and has a great time with that every Thursday night from 6 to 8 pm. He went to his high school reunion in May; maybe a Wesleyan reunion is in the picture in a few years (our 45th?).

Fr. Fred Enman, S.J. continues to work half time at Boston College Law School and half time at his non-profit Matthew 25 in Worcester, MA.  Matthew 25 will be dedicating its 10th house for low-income families in July of 2015.

Rick Kronick has temporarily (for 5.5 years and counting!) abandoned La Jolla for DC. He has had the professional experience of a lifetime working on implementation of the Affordable Care Act and on trying to make health care financing and delivery slightly less crazy, first as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy in HHS, and, for the past two years, as Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.  He and his wife Amy Bridges recently celebrated their 34th anniversary, as well as the marriages of both of their daughters.  Rick has retired (or so he claims) from flogging his body in training for Ironman events, but still drags it though triathlons of other distances.

Henry Avis-Vieira reports that his first book is finished.  Now comes the really hard work of (professional) editing and finding a publisher.

Charlie Cocores sees Blaise Noto a lot at this home in NC or theirs in SC. Charlie did a Habitat for Humanity in Flathead Lake Montana in July.

Kathy Scholle Hale and her husband Jon are coming up on 30 happy years of marriage in October. (Other friends, including Bob Gershen and wife Deb must be approaching the same milestone.) To celebrate, they bought a house near the beach in Westerly RI.   It’s a place to hang out with their grown children, Katie (28) a special ed teacher in Brookline MA and Ben (25) a commercial real estate advisor in Glastonbury CT. (Who forgot to warn me that keeping a house ready for summer renters is exponentially more complicated than maintaining your own house in the burbs?) She’s still living and practicing law in South Windsor, CT.

Stephen Sullivan tells me he has been living in Seattle since graduating from architecture school in 1980. He writes that “Washington State is an amazingly beautiful place to live. I’m still practicing architecture actively with a small studio and a few well-chosen staff here. I love the creative aspects of my work, most especially the creative engagement with my clients as we forge from their dreams the form of ‘home.’” He does not imagine retiring, due to his passion for his work, and says, “I am trying to slow down the work dimension of my life so that I have more time for my art work (pottery) and my get-away farm on Lopez Island near the Canadian border. On the farm I grow hay, I make pots, and I sit and stare at the quiet beauty of the place.”

He says his children are grown and he has two talented daughters, one of whom just finished grad school in Alaska, and the other of whom lives in New Jersey. He says, “Life in the 60s has a decidedly different texture, with thoughts of how to make this final stage meaningful. Last chance to contribute to a better world!” He says Wesleyan gave him a great education in the arts. With his Watson fellowship in Japan in the early ’70s, his world expanded in a way he will never forget. “I still see my ‘Japanese family’ regularly, even four decades later. I’m ready for another wander-year, to see the world as it is today, and to understand better my part in it.”

Donald Zilkha says “much is happening.” His oldest child is about to turn 21 and his other two sons are making their way through Loomis and Andover. He has moved out of private equity and has been investing in listed securities for the past seven years. “Liquid investments are much less stressful as one gets older,” he says. He is also helping several young investors start businesses, and running the Bordeaux wine society—the Commanderie de Bordeaux—in N.Y., and traveling with his wife and children quite extensively. “To my mind, the best form of education,” Donald notes.

Bruce Ferguson says, “By the time this hits the newsstands, I’ll have a new suspense novel out, Two Graves for Michael Furey—my eighth book (not counting two apprentice novels permanently exiled to the bottom drawer of my desk).” He adds, “Also, I’ll be a grandfather, though it may be a while before my wife, Angelica, and I see the wee bairn, as the parents-to-be are living and working in Tokyo. Another son also remains too far away in the other direction—Washington, D.C.,—working as an attorney and occasional good-guy lobbyist on the Hill for a nonprofit.”

Tom Kelly says he and Michael McKenna are headed to the World Cup in October and he should have some “good material after that.”

Charley Wayne reports his middle son, Joey Wayne ’08, married Hannah Klausner in May 2014, and that eldest son Michael Wayne ’05 married Lucy Edwards in May 2015. The mother of the grooms, Ellen Kabcenell Wayne ’75, is thankful to have daughters in the family.

Jim Powers recently traveled to China with a delegation from the Gerontologic Society of America and lectured on Models of Geriatric Healthcare at the Shanghai University International Symposium on Public Policy Challenges and Governance—Innovation In an Aging Society. China has a rapidly rising aging population with a low ratio of workers to retirees, stimulating cross-cultural collaboration and sharing of innovative ideas related to retirement and elder healthcare.

John Spike tells me that his wife, Michele (Conn College ’73), and he lived in Florence from 1989 until three years ago, when he accepted a position at the Museum of the College of William & Mary as assistant director and chief curator. He says Michele is teaching at the School of Law, which is famous for being founded by Thomas Jefferson. John says what he has done in Virginia has been written up in the Virginia newspapers, but most completely in the April edition of The Art Newspaper, which is published in London and the publication closest to a newspaper for museum professionals.
His appointment at William & Mary allows them to return to Italy during the summer months, where he was when he wrote that he is “planning another epochal exhibition for the Museum.” He says all of his shows have been partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His son, Nicholas Spike, who was born in 1983, “works enjoyably and successfully” as a sports agent in New York City and was married last October to Marcela.

Bill Quigley writes that he and Dee sold their house in Massachusetts and moved to Bradenton, Fla., last November. He says he is in the final stages of preserving all the 100 years of content of his family motion picture (primarily) trade publishing company—Quigley Publishing Company, founded by his grandfather in 1915—which published the Motion Picture Daily, Motion Picture Herald, FAME, Motion Picture Almanac, Television & Video Almanac and many other entertainment related books and journals over the years. Bill says they stopped publishing in 2014 and are digitizing and preserving hundreds of thousands of pages and photographs from the very beginning. “After that is done, I will try to figure out what I will do when I grow up. I have been developing a screenplay—based on a true story—about a boat owned by a friend of mine in Puerto Rico that ends up in the hands of the Yakuza in Japan and how he got it back. It will be interesting to see if I can get it made.” Bill says he stays in touch regularly with Peter Cross, who moved from Connecticut to Texas this year and Scott Schlieman—who lives in Costa Rica—and has been in contact with many DKEs about Wesleyan’s actions towards his fraternity.

My oldest daughter, Jennifer, 38, is a top-flight nurse not far away from John Spike, living in Gloucester, Va., along with her husband, Tracy, and stepdaughters Lindsay and Stephanie, and my granddaughters, Zoey, 1, and Taylor, 15. My middle daughter, Dana, 36, is pursuing a variety of endeavors here in South Florida, while my youngest daughter, Holly, 31, is now a wildlife biologist in Boulder, Colo., after getting her degree at the University of Colorado, and lives in Arvada with her husband, Neil. My wife, Connie, also is pursuing a variety of endeavors here and, like Stephen Sullivan, I see no retirement in the near future due to my passion for my work at WFOR-TV (CBS in Doral near Miami) as a reporter, as long as I can continue to keep up with the younger reporters and enterprise stories.

Feel free to let me know any stories you’d like to share.

First, my humble apologies to Ron Ashkenas, whose name was omitted from the list of attendees at the George Sobelman Celebration last fall. I would blame the Wesleyan editors, but he knows better. Ron attended a fundraiser for Chabad of Wesleyan in New York this spring, honoring the retirement of Professor Vera Schwarz, who happens to be Ron’s machateinista. “Seems like the current Chabad rabbi, Levi Schechtman,” Ron writes, “is stirring up some of the old Sobelmania spirit … Friday night dinners at his house, little kids running around, etc. It was nice to hear about it.”

I am thrilled to report that Steve Schiff has been heavily involved in the production and writing of The Americans on TV, for which he and his colleagues were recognized with a prestigious Peabody Award. The Americans, which tells the story of a KGB “sleeper” couple in the Washington suburbs during the Reagan Administration, is just about my favorite show, and if you aren’t watching it you should. Steve wants everyone to know that all of the particularly sexy episodes were written by him.

Mike Kaloyanides announced the retirement of his briefcase, given to him by his mother, after 39 years of being carried by Mike to classes at the University of New Haven. I believe that Mike, as well, has taken on emeritus status. Mike has been teaching music at UNH for those 39 years, and was much beloved by the student body. Not a surprise.
Bradley Paddock, a distinguished otolaryngologist in the Albany area, is part owner (don’t ask me which part) of a thoroughbred named Mexican Groove. The horse had some bad racing luck in Florida and is, at the time of this writing, being shipped to the Big Apple. By the time these notes are printed, Brad will probably have made a fortune on him at Saratoga. (Aren’t you all amazed that I wrote this entire paragraph without a joking reference to Brad’s surname?)

Jim Cacciola has surfaced on Facebook. He is now retired from his medical practice and spending a lot of time in Florida. Jim points out that the Scott Cacciola who covers the NBA so ably for The New York Times is his nephew! Jim also points out that Scott’s success must be due to his studies at Columbia School of Journalism when Dave Klatell ’70 was the Dean.

Well, there it is. Could it possibly be that we have heard nothing from Whizzer White this quarter? No, wait, there’s an e-mail coming in…

“This is what was recently written about our Butch Carson (now known as Bill Carson): The general manager/CEO of Samtrans, Caltrain, SMCTA ‘has appointed Bill Carson, director, human resources. Bill is no stranger to the district, having spent the last 22 years in human resources as employee relations officer, then manager, employee relations and civil rights, and most recently as acting director, HR. Before joining the district, Bill was employed by the HR departments at Bechtel Inc., and United Airlines, and held various supervisory positions in staffing, compensation and benefits, training and development, EEO, and affirmative action, service awards programs and advanced program development. Bill has a BA in psychology from Wesleyan University and a juris doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law.’

“Of course, I like to take credit for Butch Carson’s early management experience because he was my resident adviser on Harriman Hall our junior year at Wesleyan. This was the Wesleyan experience at its best.”

Thanks, folks! More in four months!

Aloha, classmates. Just a few notes for you (saving room for May 2015 reunion classes).
Heard from Peter Michaelson and he writes…”One of the wonderful characteristics of Wesleyan is that, even if one does not go on to accomplish much of note in one’s own life, there is always the opportunity for the reflected glory of one’s roommates. Such is my experience, as I lived in a suite at Lawn Ave. sophomore year with Jeffrey Richards ’69 and Charles Irving ’70. Jeffrey went on, of course, to earn recognition as a Distinguished Alumnus and the most successful Broadway producer of this millennium, having just opened his 40th hit show since 2000, and Dr. Irving is a world-renowned biochemist, currently CEO of Cell Cure Neurosciences in Israel. We all had an opportunity to have dinner recently after Jeffrey treated Charles and me and our families to house seats at the opening of his latest show, The Heidi Chronicles.

Received a handwritten note from Frank Leone. (I did not know people actual mailed handwritten notes any more!) He wrote with sad news which I will relate here in his exact words…“June 3, 2015. Dear Neil, I am saddened to report that Peter Panciera died on May 23, 2015, at his home in Hilton Head, S.C., a victim of cancer. Pete was one of the iconic athletes and arguably the best quarterback in history. ‘Pistol Pete’ or ‘High Street Pete’ as the Argus called him in a tribute to ‘Broadway Joe’ Namath, set numerous passing records and quarterbacked the University’s last undefeated football team in 1969.
“More importantly, he was a devoted father and a husband who is survived by his son, Gregory, his loving wife of 29 years, Barbara, and her children, David and Suzanne.
“He was a great friend who obviously will be truly missed…

“I hope to see you and many others at the 2016 Reunion. Best regards, Frank”

Leo Au writes…”Hope that this finds you well. I don’t have any significant news for you at this time. Melina and I continue to enjoy our retirement in southwest Florida and being grandparents to two adorable kids who live relatively far away in Sunnyvale, Calif. Looking forward to seeing you at our 45th Reunion next May. Go Wes!”

Briefly my eldest son, Anderson, who lives in San Jose, Calif., had a son born four hours before my birthday. He is, of course, the most adorable and cutest baby on earth. They named him Cooper James. I decided to have him call me “Puna” short for “Punahele” (Look it up, it’s Hawaiian and it does not mean grandfather!), which I think is appropriate since he will want to visit me often in Hawaii.

So the bottom line it seems from all notes I received this time is…plan your trip to Reunion 2016!

See you there. Aloha!

Aloha, all. The alumni office just informed me that William Steinhurst died last July. He worked for the State of Vermont for more than 30 years, most notably as director of regulated utility planning from 1986–2003, then worked in the private sector. He was active in the arts and as a volunteer. See more here.

Right after Reunion, Mark Fuller sent in a note that John Haury had died on May 16. And Nathan Heilweil reported Pete Panciera ’71 also died. Condolences to the families.

This issue is primarily Reunion news. There were, as always, a lot of activities. In my opinion, there are too many to allow enough time for classmates to schmooze. (Also, it’s hard to visit when we’re all sitting at tables. Whine, whine). ’65 did their Reunion right, with high attendance and lots of class activities, beginning on Thursday, a good model for our 2020 reunion. (I’m suggesting “I Can See Clearly Now” as our theme.)

I apologize if I missed anyone, but some don’t register and some don’t show up at class events. I know I didn’t see everyone. For example, I now know that Gordon Fain was there at least on Friday night, as he sent me a report about Phil Dundas.

On Friday, first I ran into Maurice Hakim and later David Geller and Miles Siegel, who continued the tradition of political discussion. In the evening, I attended a president’s reception for recipients of service awards, but unfortunately, there was no president and there were no announcements. I learned, however, that Alan Dachs, who I saw there, received the Baldwin Medal, the highest honor the Alumni Association awards.

ongratulations! As is the case with several classmates, Alan appeared briefly here and there during the Reunion. (It’s this tendency, too, that makes it particularly hard to keep track of all the classmates and to chat will them all.)

Jim Elston provided wine (and cheese!) again for the Friday night reception. Thanks! Note for next time: More activities of this type, or more hours of this one, please. This is a great opportunity to talk with no other agenda.

Saturday was mostly seminars and picnics, which is to say folks scattered all over the place. Diana Diamond, who attended with hubby John Alschuler, coordinated a WeSeminar about co-education, with a panel that included Elliot Daum, who, along with four-year roommate Harvey Yazijian, were the first men at Conn. College, in the spring of 1969. Among those there was Alan Wallace, still the champion of retained hair.

The big class activity on Saturday was the dinner. John Alschuler was M.C. Seth Kaufman presented the financial report with his usual droll humor, having also provided three choices of t-shirts for us, and having continued, as always, to ask us to give money to Wes. He made a pitch for need-blind scholarships (the policy has changed) and tying our contributions to the old policy. A discussion ensued. Contact Seth for more on this.
I saw Josh Barrett and Brian Silvestro briefly, but didn’t get to chat. John Griffin, Darryl Hazel, Bob Murphy and Chip Conley were on the registration list but I didn’t see them. I saw Steve Ingraham, and Davey Jones just briefly. Both are still busy helping others. Lawrence Madlock shared a story of dealing with his draft board, who insisted he couldn’t be Quaker. The stories never end on this topic. Jeremy Serwer seems to be enjoying a scaled-down lifestyle. Marshall Webb continues in the dairy business in Vermont, which seems to suit him very well.

David White, still busy in the arts world, showed his continued political commitment in a discussion of need-blind scholarships at the class dinner on Saturday night, as did Chuck Bosk. Randy Miller is still busy as mayor of Beverly City, N.J. Chatted with Eddie Walker (aka Sachin Hazen), pyscho- and hypnotherapist, just relocating from several years on Maui. Also at the class dinner was Tony Balis, still operating The Humanity Initiative.
Jacob Scherr, now a “Senior Adviser” with the NRDC International Program, predictably seen at a WESeminar on climate change, is still quite busy. Phil Dundas has been oil and gas lawyering in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) for most of the time since graduation. He’s now consulting.

In non-Reunion news, Rob Baker recently visited Kaua’i, where he has a second home. He lives in Park City, Utah, with Sandra, his spouse of 38 years. He’s had an interesting career, combining law practice with IT issues, eventually as CLO of a healthcare IT company. Judging from our discussions while we were Jeeping, Rob’s keeping up with issues that concern lots of us. Meanwhile, he’s dedicated to staying in shape while keeping his hand in his healthcare IT investing and consulting.

Heard from Robby Laitos in March. He, Guy Prevost, and Mark Fuller skied Snowmass (Colo.), reporting, “Had a great time and the three of us actually made it safely down Upper Snowmass’ ‘Cirque Headwall,’ a rather heart-in-your-throat ski run. (Mark and Guy actually skied the Headwall; I kind of slid down it.) The three of us reminisced about Wesleyan West in Aspen in the early ’70s, when many of us (Guy, Mark, Miles Siegel, Arden Reed, Katy Butler ’71, etc.) headed out there after graduation.” Robby reports that Guy is still script writing in L.A., and that Mark will retire soon after 19 years as “executive director of the Independence Pass Foundation (one of the Western U.S.’s most innovative and respected environmental organizations).”

Jerry Cerasale reports, “I’m living on Cape Cod doing the best job I’ve ever had, retirement. I even loved this past winter. When you don’t have to get out to go to the office, the snow is beautiful. In fact, the frozen Cape Cod Bay was amazing, particularly at sunset. At 66, I was dumb enough to run for office. The nice thing is that I was unopposed. So I now have a certificate of election as a member of the Eastham, Mass., Housing Authority.”

Had a newsy report from Bart Wendell. He, too, lives in Mass., but somewhat near Amherst. Says he’s expecting Eric Strobel to visit and had been hoping for a reunion of roommates George Glassanos and Lew McCreary ’71, as well. Bart advises CEOs, founders, boards, and high schools. He’s replaced running with road cycling. More online.
I reported a few issues back that John Yurechko enjoys Civil War reenactments. He’s now taken his interest in military history to another level. Seems he was traveling in Europe when he came across the filming of a documentary and reports that “I was captured by both the Romans (Legio II) and the Carthaginians.” Hope he posted the photos.

Gary, this time: I write this during the third large snowstorm in the last two weeks. It’s winter in New England.

In July, the inaugural Pigapalooza was held in the bucolic Lehigh Valley. Bill Conley conferred the festival’s name, celebrating all things bacon in honor of the Iron Pigs, the Phillies AAA baseball team. The Pawtucket Red Sox were visiting so it made a great excuse for another mini-reunion after the Reunion. George DuPaul hosted at his palatial Macungie estate. Also in attendance were Joe Britton, Jack Buckley, Tim Fitzgerald, Dennis Robinson, Gary Breitbord, and the elder statesman Jeff Gray ’77. Activities included an impromptu tour of Philly; 2 Iron Pigs games; Aw Shucks corn (delicious); chocolate covered bacon; and a Billy and T. Fitz jam session (I missed that part of the fun since I was taking a nap) warmly wrapped in bacon-inspired merriment.

In November, Dave Thomas ’77 graciously hosted a fete in honor of His Honor Connecticut Superior Court Judge for the New Britain District Robert Nastri ’77. In attendance were Paul Nelson ’78, Bill Ahern ’78, Paul Fichera ’77, Jeff Gray, Ken Langley ’77, and Gary Breitbord, as well as spouses and significant others. Also joining this band after 17 years away, none other than Charles “Sammy Hoch” Himelhoch ’78 all the way from the Motor City. He promised a shorter wait for a return engagement.

In December, the Dunn Gaherin crew got together in celebration of… well… nothing in particular, other than friendship forged by our Wesleyan/DKE bonds. Tim Fitzgerald, Gary Breitbord, Jeff Gray, Jeff Burns ’80, Mike Rosenblatt ’80, and Tim O’Brien ’81 (with a cameo by Steve Sorkin ’83) enjoyed stories of family, offspring (much kvelling), jobs, ailments, current affairs, and not-so-current affairs, all in true Wesleyan fashion.

Ann Biester Deane writes in that she attended the 1831 Society gathering hosted by Eva and John Usdan ’80 in January. It was a frigid night, but the cold didn’t deter Anne Schirrmeister, Bill Plotch, Melissa Stern ’80, Seta Nazarian with son Nicholas ’13, and Mitch Harwood from attending. The event was wonderful, complete with the a cappella group, The Wesleyan Spirits, providing entertainment. Ann Deane is a real estate broker in Manhattan with Halstead and enjoys driving her Porsche GT3 on racetracks throughout the East Coast.

Evan Bauer is still living in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with his wife, author Joan Bauer. Evan is now at KPMG LLP as executive director of technology operations.

Neil Fitzgerald reports that he is alive and well in Florida with no news other than that he’s alive and well in Florida.

Peter Campbell writes: “Checking in from Kansas City, I was happy to link up with George DuPaul at the seventh Game of the World Series. George was in town to visit with his son, Glenn, who worked for the Royals (and now works for the Brooklyn Nets). In other Kansas City news, Joyce and I are lucky enough to be able to chum with Tony DiFolco ’81, Lou Scimecca ’81, and Brad Toomey ’81 and their wives, who all reside in town, alternately enjoying dinners, concerts, games, gambling, and/or family events. It is a strange turn of events that four former fraternity brothers and teammates from an East Coast school end up here in Kansas City, but I feel lucky we did!”

Banning Eyre passes a milestone in May with the publication of his book Lion Songs: Thomas Mapfumo and the Music that Made Zimbabwe (Duke University Press). The book’s been 15 years in the works, but really, it goes all the way back to Wesleyan, where Banning first heard the amazing music of Zimbabwe.

Amy Seham writes in: “I’m a professor of theater and dance at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, where I direct and teach a wide range of courses in theater and gender, women, and sexuality studies. Peg O’Connor ’87 teaches philosophy and GWS here as well. Our student social justice theater group, known as I Am We Are, will be celebrating its 20-year anniversary this year—quite a remarkable record of continuous creative work. My daughter, Miranda, is 11, and yes, she is named for the character in The Tempest, a show I directed for my honors project at Wesleyan, directed for my theater company in New Haven, and directed again here at Gustavus. I would love to hear from any fellow alumni in the Minneapolis area.”

Cliff Hendel has some news to share: “After years (actually, decades) of practice as an international transactional lawyer in New York, Paris, and Madrid (during which time I’ve been admitted to practice as a lawyer in New York, a solicitor in England and Wales, an avocat in Paris, and an abogado in Madrid), I’ve “crossed over” and become a nearly-full-time international dispute resolution lawyer. I represent parties and, increasingly, act as neutral, i.e., as arbitrator or mediator in international disputes. My caseload is essentially commercial and sports-related. I’ve been a member (arbitrator) of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne for several years.”

Much to his pleasant surprise, Evan Flaschen has been named the global 2015 Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyer of the Year by the London-based legal industry survey firm, Who’s Who Legal, whoswholegal.com, whose awards are based on comments solicited from private practice lawyers and in-house counsel from around the world. Congratulations, Evan!

Candy and Bill Davies P’07 downsized from their country home and moved to the city of Poughkeepsie, where they are renovating a 100-year-old Craftsman home with beautiful woodwork and some pretty stained glass windows. They are both employed, Bill still an IBM engineer, and Candy a social worker at SUNY New Paltz, counseling college students.

Some sad news to report: Joan Markman, Philadelphia’s first chief integrity officer, lost her recurring battle with breast cancer and passed away in January. Another life lost too young.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | Abdeane@gmail.com

Susie writes: As I pen this missive, I’m gazing out at an historical amount of snow on the ground—six-foot drifts, colossal piles from plows, and a general depth of ground covering not before seen. We New Englanders, especially those of us in the Boston area, will remember the winter of 2015 for many years to come! Although these notes will be published in the springy month of April, there will most likely still be snow on the ground.

Doug Hardy sent in his first ever news for our class notes. He married Roselyn Romberg ’79 25 years ago. Although they had dozens of friends in common, they did not meet until 10 years after graduating from Wesleyan. Their mutual friend, Alice Dunn ’79, married Doug’s twin brother, Gordon Hardy, Williams ’78. Roselyn and Doug live in Concord, Mass. They adopted three siblings from Russia in 1998, followed by 17 years of family life that Doug says “you can safely describe as eventful—those of you who have raised kids with PTSD know what I’m talking about.” He is a former editor at Alfred A. Knopf (books), the New York Times Co. (magazines), and several Internet firms (last one was Monster.com). Since 2002, he’s been writing full-time, mostly books and mostly “human capital” subjects—management, labor, recruiting, and career. Roselyn was a management consultant at several firms and currently coaches fellows at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative and helps nonprofits get under way through her consulting firm, Vision Accomplished. The Hardys have stayed close to Joe Keneally, Mary Rindfleisch ’77, Elizabeth Sanders ’79, Elizabeth Bachman, and all the pals at Mark Ginsberg’s ’79 pre-Thanksgiving dinner, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year! They would love to hear from more friends.

Kevin Rose shared the happy news that his son, Danny, was recently accepted ED1 to Wesleyan and will be attending this fall. The Rose family looks forward to returning often to campus.

In January 2015, Bill Adler moved to Tokyo, where he continues his career as a writer. but now he’s doing it with a diet of ramen, nabe, and, of course, sushi. His bedroom view of Mt. Fuji is proving to be inspirational to his writing. His older daughter works in book publishing in New York, and his younger daughter graduates from college this year. If any classmates visit Tokyo, please let him know and he’ll show you around his new town.

George Raymond has entered his 12th year as an independent consultant based in Basel, Switzerland. He is helping market a system that lets small European railways exchange data with big ones along with a cool machine that lays fiber-optic cables along railway tracks.

Jon Spector is continuing to enjoy his move to Woodstock, Vt., and the commute to NYC via Cape Air. He is still working for The Conference Board, along with other Wes alums, Dick Cavanagh ’68 and Alan Dachs ’70, who serves as the chair of The Conference Board.

Besides continuing to peddle/play/curate concerts in the US and France (MistralMusic.org), Julie Scolnik and her husband, Michael, bought a little maison de village in one of the most beautiful villages in Provence. “The closest thing to heaven I can imagine,” she writes. It is available to rent on vrbo.com/300210, and they have special rates for all Wes alums.

Andrea Gabor wrote: “In January 2015, I led 11 Baruch College/CUNY journalism students to Cuba as part of a class on covering emerging entrepreneurship in that island nation. The purpose of the trip was to report on the recent economic changes instituted under President Raul Castro, especially in the new small-business sector of so-called cuentapropistas, which now number close to 500,000 Cubans, triple the number in 2010. We arrived just weeks after President Obama and President Castro announced their historic détente, which will open Cuba to more American goods and visitors and which established formal relations between the countries. These changes are likely to have a profound effect on the Cuban economy. Whether they will spread to the political arena is less clear.

“My students learned about the emerging entrepreneurial sector and the vagaries of being an entrepreneur, or cuentapropista, both through Cuba Emprende, a private nonprofit that helps train entrepreneurs in Cuba, and from small family-run businesses. These businesses ranged from restaurants to companies like Nostalgiacar, which operates a car service and refurbishes vintage automobiles, to a party planning company. We stayed at Casa Vera, a guest house for foreign students and at La Finca Marta, an experimental sustainable farm that supplies many of Havana’s top paladares, or private restaurants. The lessons learned for both me and my students were profound.” (See a photo of Andrea and her students: classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1978/.)

Please e-mail Ken and me updates on your family, projects, volunteer service, career, travel, adventure—any news you’d like to share. Maybe there are others of you like Doug Hardy, who will send in your first-ever news!? We hope so. Wishing everyone the very best from snowy Duxbury,

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Ken Kramer | sbatesdux@hotmail.com