Class Notes | 1960s

Class of 1964 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Quinn Grom ’19, Belgrade, Mont.

Well, guys. I’m in my recliner, NFL Network is on, and the Super Bowl is the topic. Roger Staubach is on the segment, which is appropriate for us, as he attended the Naval Academy around the time our class was at Wesleyan. It was an era where the service academies had top teams in college football, and it was an opportunity for top prospects to get a great education and enter the military as officers as opposed to grunts. Today, the service academies are not in the elite group of college football programs. Top prospects look forward to the NFL draft, and not the Selective Service draft that was the system we looked forward to.

Lou D’Ambrosio and wife Christy welcomed their eighth grandchild last year. Lou’s year included being out of breath from time to time and feeling a little dizzy. So: treadmill, nuclear treadmill, angiogram, stent, and angioplasty. Feeling great ever since. I was interested in cardiology in medical school but there didn’t seem to be enough doing, other than listening with a stethoscope. Fortunately, progress has been amazing and Lou’s experience is commonplace these days. If any of you have symptoms, don’t sit back and hope it goes away, but trust where cardiology is in the present.

Joe Miri writes, “I’ve postponed my retirement from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in order to continue to try to help New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware resolve issues with New York City and New York State over how to share the Delaware River, which supplies water to millions of people in Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.” Joe lives with wife Jan and granddaughter Edera in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Frank Sutterlin, an Eclectic, writes, “Can only say that after 46 years as a Presbyterian minister, including 18 years in the financial industry and 16 years as a dental hygienist, I have finally retired from seeking what I want to be when I grow up. I’ve appreciated being kept aware of Wesleyan growth and activities through newsletters and alumnus magazines. Sorry I didn’t graduate with my class of 1964, but I’ve been proud to promote Wesleyan in various conversations over the years.”

I set the notes aside and watched the Super Bowl. I predicted the Broncos would win because the NFC is basically weak, particularly the southern division where Panthers prowl. It is now Tuesday and the voters of New Hampshire have the floor. I’m fresh off watching the latest episode of The Bachelor and enjoyed the scenery of the Bahamas.

Ted Ridout gave up going south, moved to Northampton, Mass., with his spouse, and enjoyed downsizing. Lots of interesting culture, including Smith College, where my daughter, Jen, graduated from; I miss the trip to the area. I used to go see her on the weekend when Wesleyan football was across the river at Amherst College.

In contrast, Bob Rugg, and wife Sallie sent an update from southern California, where they were with her family celebrating her birthday. They spent time in China in 2015 and connected with a former student who is director of the Chinese Commission on Peace and Disarmament. They have a home in Virginia, so they are always in range of the white stuff that occasionally falls. Speaking of white stuff, I experienced a 49-inch storm in December 1969, while I was in my final year at The Albany Medical College. Albany, N.Y., is far enough away from lake-effect snow so the capital district was ill-prepared for the Northeaster that dumped such a blanket of snow. Tons of the stuff was carted away from streets and dumped in parks and the frozen Hudson River. The temperature didn’t go above freezing for the next six weeks, so the snow banks just sat there.

There was an update from Allen Ames, who I remember being in makeup for his love of theater. His health is good but there was a comment about “ever-advancing states of decrepitude.” His long-term memory is good but, with a blonde at his side, he needs her to guide him to their condo near the marinas of Clinton, Conn. (She has four short legs and fur.)

I continue to live in Mount Dora, Fla., with my wife Becky, and the company of two lady cats, Chloe and Tiggy. I’m a stay-at-home person but I recently became an expert resource for the website JustAnswer.com. I’m one of some ObGyn docs who answer questions posed by subscription members or non-members on a call-by-call basis and I receive pay based on a formula and customer satisfaction. If I don’t get at least three out of five stars, I receive nada. It has been a blessing for keeping my mind up-to-date, and the income has steadily increased as I sit in my recliner.

I’m still in my recliner and the MSNBC moderator said, “…1968, before any of us were born.” Democracy is the young, remaking or reinventing the wheel, and the older folks, who use the wheels and have families and relationships to tend to. Responsibility, integrity and accountability.

TED MANOS, M.D. | ted_manos@yahoo.com

Class of 1965 35th Reunion Memorial Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Nadezhda Georgieva ’16, French Studies, Government

Dear Classmates, As noted in my recent request for information, Mark Edmiston and Hugh Wilson, new class co-conveners, are seeking input for class activities and advocacy going forward. The plan is to establish an infrastructure to sustain the energy and involvement created by our 50th Reunion. You’ll be hearing more about this from Mark and Hugh, but we’ve already decided to use the existing Reunion and Outreach Committees as means to jumpstart our efforts. Of course, everyone’s help and ideas are welcome! So, don’t hesitate to contact them (mmedmiston@icloud.com and hrwilson@yorku.ca ) with your thoughts.

Heard recently from Bill Trapp, who, with wife Marilyn, enjoys life in the great state of Washington (Lacey). Bill is a retired insurance executive and for years they lived in West Hills, Calif. An outstanding athlete and baseball player at Wesleyan, he is a big Cardinal baseball fan and he and Marilyn will travel once again to Tucson, Ariz., this spring to root on Mark Woodworth’s (’94) talented charges.

John Dunton writes: “The Reunion was “a terrific weekend, and I’m still amazed and astonished that Los Wombatos were awarded Joseph’s Robe—I could not have been more dumbfounded. That meant a great deal to me and to all the guys…. You can also offer the gratis services of Gary and the Wombats for nonpolitical fundraisers—we will go nearly anywhere nearly any time we can all clear our schedules to have an opportunity to play. I don’t know how many gigs we have left in us, but I was extremely pleased with our performance at Wesleyan and think it demonstrates we can hold our own for a while into the future. I’d like to continue to do this as long as we are all physically and emotionally capable of getting ourselves to a gig and getting people to tap their feet, get out of a chair and get sweaty. We just don’t want to do retirement home concerts….yet.”

John also wants us to know about Intervac, a wonderful program that involves reciprocal acts of hospitality with folks from other countries. John and wife Carol have hosted a number of families from Europe at their home near Boston and in 2015 they visited some of those families. They plan to continue to have the “favor returned” in the 2017. For more info: Homeexchange.com

From Ralph Jacobs: “We hope to be back on the East Coast in 2017, and will do our best to make connections with you and others from Wesleyan whose friendship we cherish.” Great news, Jake, and we look forward to seeing you! Jake and wife Holly live in Long Beach, Calif.

Dick Travis writes a very nice note: “Thank you for all you and others did to make our 50th Reunion so well organized and wonderful. Evelyn and I were unable to attend due to many diverse commitments including the culminating activities of our first grandson’s (Christopher) graduation from high school. But thanks to the blog and summary of activities, I feel that I was there. Christopher is now a freshman at the College of William and Mary, from which his father, Eric (my son), his mother Becky (daughter-in-law), and Erin (my daughter) all graduated. Just as when our children were there, we take every opportunity to visit Christopher in historic Williamsburg, as it is less than a three-hour drive from Harrisonburg.

“After retiring as a professor emeritus of health sciences at James Madison University, I took a two-year program to become an authorized lay preacher in the Shenandoah Presbytery. From January through June this year, another lay pastor and I are providing worship services to two churches in West Virginia. I leave a little after 7:00 a.m. for the 1.5 hour drive over three mountains to the Circleville (WV) Presbyterian Church worship service at 9:00 a.m. Then, I have a 25-minute drive to the Seneca Rocks (WV) Presbyterian Church service at 10:30 a.m. So they have told me to keep the sermons short. As I drive over these beautiful mountains, I have some quiet time to think about how we all have been blessed to have education and service opportunities in our lives. I am also reminded that we are the sum of our experiences and certainly those of mine at Wesleyan were very vital in my maturation process. Many thanks to classmates and professors at Wesleyan for being so important in my life.”

News from Dave Osgood: “After 25 years working and living in Egypt, I came back to the U.S. in July of 2013, retired, and settled in Nolensville Tenn. My four adult children are on their own and doing well, and I have two younger boys still in college. I’m finding retirement extremely enjoyable after years of work pressure. I have, however, been involved, on a part time basis, in interfaith activities since my return to the U.S.”

Fred Newschwander sends a list. He’s trying to wear out his hip prostheses; is a serious practitioner of YOLO; continues to add to his James Herriot stories before he forgets them all; and travels. Trips included Botswana, for a 10-day-on-horseback tent safari in June 2014, and Antarctica in December 2014, with five days in the peninsula region, where he ate meals with folks from the National Science Foundation in D.C., as well as from the McMurdo Station and a USCG icebreaker skipper. “Fascinating,” he says. His seven days last June in the Galápagos on MV Evolution were “also awesome!” He has two trips upcoming: Cuba in March 2016 and Iceland in June 2016 on a 10-day self-guided camper tour.

Tom Elliman has a good suggestion: “How about a mini-reunion in Boston or Portsmouth for us northern New Englanders? Maybe invite ’64 and ’66, too.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

1966 ARCHIVES | HOME
← 1965 | 1967 →

Aloha, all.

My fellow classmates…when you read this our 50th will be upon us. Our Reunion Committee under the able direction of Rick Crootof (elmave8@aol.com) has worked extremely hard to make this experience a truly remarkable and wonderful event for all of us. Over the past months I have heard a number of reasons why some cannot come but, truly, if you have second thoughts because of expense or philosophical reasons, please reconsider. If finances are an issue, please contact Rick and if philosophy may cause barriers, please remember the Wesleyan of good times and academic vigor and the fact that we are all brothers in the ‘black and red’ Cardinal of our time.

Sadly, recently we received word of the passing of John E. Robinson, in June 2015. John and his wife, Judith (Morrissey), lived in Medfield, Mass. John grew up in Connecticut, majored in government, and was a member of Commons Club. A gentle and quiet man, John had a great reach at Wes: He participated on the track team, was a trusted member of the band, and was active in the school’s community tutorial, companion, and volunteer programs. After Wesleyan, John received his MBA from the University of Rochester and was a banker for the State Street Bank. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Judith and the children, Jonathan, Katie, and Meghan, and their families.

We are also saddened to report that we have received word of the passing of another of our classmates, Gary S. Chorba, on Jan. 17, 2015. Gary retired in 2004 after serving for 30 years as a supervisor with the State of New Jersey’s Division of Alcohol and Addiction Services. After Wesleyan he received his MA from Trenton State College and served in the US Army and saw action in Vietnam. At Wesleyan, Gary was a history major and member of Eclectic and gave voice to WESU. While at school, he received the Robert Rideout Award and was a Phi Beta Kappa. In his later life Gary was an avid fisherman and longtime soccer and lacrosse referee. We extend our aloha and condolences to his companion, Carol Czahur, and to his friend and former wife, Violet Harrison, and to his children and their families and grandchildren.

The month of February brought our fellow classmate Gifford Lum and his wife, Audrey, back home to Hawai`i. It was wonderful seeing them again, and we had some time to visit the Hawaiian double-hulled sailing canoes, Hikianalia and Hawai`iloa, and to listen to a performance of the Royal Hawaiian Band, the oldest municipal band in the nation, formed when Hawai`i was a kingdom under the reign of Kamehameha III in 1836.

Gifford reported: “After 33 years at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Boston, Mass., I retired on April 3, 2015, having served in the pathology and laboratory medicine service as associate chief of clinical pathology in charge of the blood bank and a state-of-the-art clinical chemistry laboratory. I also held an academic appointment as assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. I live with my wife of 40 years, Audrey, in Newton, Mass., and have two children, Elliot and Deirdre. Elliot graduated from Columbia and has an MBA from Sloan MIT School of Management. Deirdre graduated from Dartmouth, has an MD degree from UCSF, and is a gynecological laparoscopic surgeon and assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford Medical School. Thank goodness they are now off the payroll!! In December 2013, we welcomed our first grandchildren, twins, Malia Lum Markman and Aaron Lum Markman, born at the Stanford Packard Hospital in Palo Alto. We try to visit California twice a year to see them.”

Gifford has shared some of the memories from our fellow Beta classmates, which we include online at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1966/:

It is a great gift from the hand of providence that we all be able to gather again on our 50th to renew our friendships and stories—for it is from those stories that all of us find new life from the shared experiences of living.

E lei no kakou i ke aloha! (We wear our friendship as a wreath, i.e., the friendship of our classmates for each other!)

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com

1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822

808/944 8601

Classmates: I head from Karl Furstenberg, who had this to report: “Charlotte and I are still in Lyme, N.H.. Great place to live after many years as dean of admissions and financial aid at Dartmouth. Retired several years ago, as did Charlotte, from research at Dartmouth Medical School. Now busy with granddaughters (Lizzie and Alice), who also live in Lyme. Daughter-in-law Emily teaches at Tuck School at Dartmouth and Eric does kid care and furniture building, as well as part time teaching at Dartmouth in econ. Great to have the entire family so close by. I’m plenty busy with some educational consulting, maintaining our old farm, coaching youth XC skiing, hiking and running, and an informal role at Dartmouth. Life is good in northern New England, if we ever get winter. Look forward to seeing folks at our 50th!”

Some of you responded to my e-mail, asking what courses you wish you had taken at Wesleyan. Bob Runk (after assuring me that it is not too late for me to take an economics class, but cautioning me to make sure that Paul Krugman is not the teacher) said there were many courses he wishes he had taken, especially more history. Bob continues to make music, including a music video that he describes as “a hip-hop/rap thing called La Playa Walk.”

Michael McCord wrote “I wish I had taken the Shakespeare survey course and maybe a course in music or art, though I certainly valued everything I did select.” Michael and his wife, Elisabeth, have lived in the same house on Beacon Hill in Boston since 1974. He is the headmaster of The Learning Project, a K–6 independent elementary school with about 120 students. Elisabeth is the business manager at the school. Retirement? “We anticipate retiring at some point, but there’s still satisfying work to do and, fortunately, we are in good health.”

Walter Beh wrote that he “retired from the practice of law in Hawaii after 45 years of fun and sun.” He now spends his time “going to the beach, watching the youngest of my nine grandchildren, and taking naps with said grandchild.” He did not identify a class he wishes he had taken, but he did remember one that he was glad he took: “I always remember with fondness my time at Wes, especially my freshman year in French class.”

A few people remembered (quite clearly!) classes they did take that they wish they had not taken. Jim Vaughan, for example, wrote this: “I’ll tell you what I wished I hadn’t taken….calculus. Got pneumonia the first semester of sophomore year, missed a lot of classes, and drew a blank on the final. Big “F”!! Put me in the academic doghouse, and the dean made me move out of the Psi U house (thankfully, in hindsight, because I eventually made up the lost ground and graduated on time). Should’ve taken an incomplete.” After Wesleyan, Jim was the supply officer on a U.S. Navy destroyer, went to Columbia Business School, and then worked as an investment banker, concentrating on the healthcare sector for the last 20 years. He now lives in NYC and Oyster Bay, N.Y.

William Vetter still regrets that he was not allowed to take calculus (maybe the same class Jim Vaughan was in) because he had previously taken a calculus class in high school. Instead, he was placed in a physics class he didn’t like, and then a linear algebra class, and then a multidimensional calculus class….all of which convinced him to drop out of science and math and go into the COL. After Wesleyan, he went to Stanford Law School, and then to Vietnam, and then back to Stanford Law, graduating in 1972. Over the next 35 years, he worked as an attorney, first with a small firm, and then in house for some large corporations (mostly for Martin Marietta and Rockwell International). He and his wife, Agi, who grew up in eastern Hungary (as Bill explains, “she escaped, got asylum in Germany, and eventually got refugee status in the U.S.”) have two children, both of whom live in Denver. Bill and Agi now live in Greenville, S.C., but their house is up for sale and they are planning to move to Denver (“If we’re successful, a place in Denver will be our seventh home in 38 years”).

I also heard from Dave Garrison. He and his wife, Suzanne, live in Dayton, Ohio, where Suzanne teaches commercial law at Wright State University. Dave taught Spanish and Portuguese there for 30 years but retired in 2009, and now spends his time “writing poetry, reading, playing golf and tennis, and sailing in the summer.” As for which classes he wishes he had taken, he had this to say: “I wish like everything I had taken a class with Richard Wilbur. Here was one of the most famous poets in America and I never signed up to work with him. A great opportunity lost.” [Note from your class secretary: I did not take a class with Richard Wilbur. However, thanks to Joe Reed, who put Richard Wilbur on his team in a student-faculty charade match we had in the fall of 1966, I did play charades with him once. He was quite charming. Their team also included Paul Horgan, so they were a tad more literate than we were.]

As Karl Furstenberg mentioned in his e-mail at the top of these notes, our 50th Reunion is coming—2017. Weird but true (seems like we just had the 45th). I hope you’ll be able to come back to Wesleyan for it. For those of you who have not been on campus for a while, there is a lot of new stuff to see, and, hopefully, a lot of old (and getting older) classmates…

Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu

First, I will note that my wife, Judy, spent the fall in Paris and was there on Friday the 13th—and fairly close to some of the incidents—but she was not directly threatened and made it home safely a week later. We love France and she had a wonderful six weeks but never reckoned on it being so close to such a disturbing moment in history. (Like who did?) I make an effort to understand what is going on in this world and do grasp some things but, ultimately, it is beyond my ken and comment.

Paul Spitzer’s career as a biologist-ecologist was chronicled in Cornell’s Living Bird Magazine. As a youngster, he worked under the lead of the renowned Roger Tory Peterson, who directed him to study at Cornell, where he happily spent the 1970s expanding his understanding of the diminishing osprey population around the mouth of the Connecticut River. Realizing that the eggs were not hatching because of DDT (remember Rachel Carson?), Paul devised a way to bring healthy eggs from Maryland, constructed special nesting platforms with volunteers, and took other steps to increase the osprey population. In that area, there is now what he calls an “Osprey Garden.” He spends part of each winter in Belize doing an osprey breeding survey and his work on Maryland’s Choptank River is the subject of a chapter in a soon-to-be released book.

From Germantown, Tenn., Mike Terry ’70 is writing a powerful blog on his two-year cancer journey: withintenttocure.com. After a lifetime in Connecticut, Dave Losee is packing up and moving to Camden, Maine. Camden has an art colony which will keep Joan happy and it is close to Isleboro, where they have an exquisite cottage. But Isleboro, being on a small island, is insular and the town does not promise they’ll plow your road after every storm.

I had a great time catching up with Bill van den Berg recently. After Wes and some graduate work at Duke, he taught at NCA&T (Jesse Jackson’s alma mater) before earning his doctorate in biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania. He then taught at a branch of Penn State for six years but, as he did not publish enough, “perished,” Reinventing himself as a physics teacher at State College Area High School, he retired in the area in 2007.

As one who is doing just a middling job of retirement, I am awed by Bill’s interests and activities. A naturalist and wonderful photographer, he has a passion for wind-surfing: giving lessons in the summer, traveling to Hatteras with a group for weeks at a time, and going to Bonaire each winter. Interested in “anything we have trouble explaining with what we now know,” he is active in the Omega Society, a spiritual retreat center in Rhinebeck, N.Y., and teaches on the paranormal. He is most joyously sharing his life and interests—“going steady” is how they put it—with Helen Dempsey, a retired social worker.

As my regular readers know, I have kept up the guys who re-established crew at Wes in the 1960s and, when in 1992 they started to row together as seniors, joined in the frolics. (My last race was on my 63rd birthday; blew out a hip and retired.) I have long considered them an extraordinary group but now have objective confirmation: this October marked the 50th anniversary of their first appearance at the Head of the Charles which has grown into the world’s largest regatta. On this occasion, the Globe’s award-winning sports columnist, Bob Ryan, devoted his October 9th column to the achievement of hanging in there and together for 50 years.

As I have regaled you with stories of their lives over the years, I will just do two things here. First, list the names of those who competed at the 50th: Harrison Knight, Joe Kelly Hughes ’67, Bill Nicholson, Will Macoy ’67, Bob Svensk, Nason Hamlin, Wallace Murfit, John Lipsky, cox George Bennum ’09 and Coach Phil Calhoun ’62. And, secondly, recommend you read The Boys in the Boat. It is the story of the University of Washington crew that represented the United States at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It has been a Times’ best seller for a year-and-a-half, so it is no cult book. Against the backdrop of Hitler’s Olympics, Daniel James Brown does a wonderful job of conveying the challenges and camaraderie of rowing to a general audience (which included my wife’s all-female book club).

Finally, I will put in my plug for our upcoming 50th Reunion. George Reynolds’ wife is on the board of her college and so he is a veteran of many Reunions. He noted how frequently he has been told how surprisingly terrific coming back was and saying they regretted not having come back more frequently. Well, the 50th is like the Last Hurrah and you really should consider making it: May 24–27, 2018.

Also, to make it as special and “handcrafted” as it should be, input from a legion of volunteers is in order. To date, we have more than a handful of classmates who have an expressed an interest in helping out but we need you! George (greynolds@sandpointefunding.com), Sandy See (seescape@verizon.net) and Stuart Ober (ober@stuartober.com) have graciously stepped forward to help identify and assemble a Reunion committee. And I’d be so appreciative if you contacted them and pitched in.

LLOYD BUZZELL | LBuzz463@aol.com

70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Charlie Ingrao asks where Wes fits into the world of gender-bending politics. “Do grads think about the University/Argus controversy? After four decades at Purdue, I lecture for the Smithsonian in DC and on their cruise and study tours. No exams/papers, mature audiences only.”

Bill Sketchley finds a TED.com JP Mari piece a “personal, riveting description of PTSD, the most powerful presentation on any subject I’ve heard in recent memory.”

Bob Watson “maintains a psychotherapy practice, leads groups at Columbia Day Treatments, and teaches. I’m speaking in Reykjavik, and Jane still has her practice. Son Mark rents houses/apartments in Cartagena. Daughter Joanna is completing her Ph.D. in clinical psychology.”

Darius Brubeck’s “granddaughter Lydia ’17 will soon be a Wes senior. Life in London is most agreeable, and my career is successful, thanks to my wife’s management. We completed a spring US tour, including Lincoln Center. Summer will be on the road in England.”

Susan and Mike Fink “develop affordable townhomes, running around like one-armed paper hangers. Oldest daughter has her own apartment as she advances at a marketing/printing company. Jenni’s novel, Sentenced to Life, is selling well. The kids spread their wings, as they should.”

Paul Dickman practices “pediatric pathology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital but takes off every other Friday to bike, play alto sax, and clean closets and garage. Fran and I visited Naples and Sicily to see Greek and Roman archaeology. We celebrated 50th high school reunions and look forward to something at Vassar. We and our parrots are well.”

Tom Earle “teaches English at the Punahou School in Honolulu. I enjoy it thoroughly and will continue to age 72. Genetics are on my side—my mother is a competent 98. Why rush the next stage of life? Maj and I are grandparents of two. Aloha.”

Frank Putnam writes, “Karen and I are semi-retired, living in the Virginia Blue Ridge. I’m a psychiatry professor at UNC and professor emeritus of pediatrics at U of Cincinnati. A recent Obama budget credited my work as justification for increased funding for child abuse services. The manuscript for my third book, about states of mind in identity, behavior, and potential for change, is at the publisher. I would love to hear from classmates.”

Rameshwar Das and wife Kate Rabinowitz ’83 “direct the Anna Mirabel Lytton Foundation in our late daughter’s name, teaching yoga, meditation, and the arts in the Easthampton, N.Y., schools. I work with Ram Dass, writing and organizing retreats on Maui. We see Jeff Wanshel and his wife. He teaches playwriting as an adjunct at SUNY Purchase. Job Potter ’72 and I meet for meditation weekly.”

Phil Wallas “does the opposite of how a coral reef grows. Each week I get rid of another barrelful of stuff, a slow, incremental deconstruction of a life. Do we keep the old-fashioned mouse traps inherited with the house?”

John Wilson works “at Karma Automotive in Costa Mesa, Calif. Everyone is in good health.”

Rob Pratt “helps nonprofit Top-to-Top, whose climate and environmental mission inspires children through ocean voyages and mountain climbing. Are any classmates familiar with crowdfunding techniques for nonprofits?”

John Bach’s “beloved van, after 18 years and 250K miles, is now in the great parking lot in the sky. Would that we all could serve as well, then gracefully exit?”

Jack Burtch’s “new law firm, Burtch Law, was founded by my youngest son. I focus on executives and professionals whose careers crashed and burned. It’s strategy, not law, but helping good people is more fun and meaningful than fighting over money.”

Visakha and Ken Kawasaki “lead pilgrimages to Buddhist sacred sites in India and Nepal. Forty monks and nuns took their seventh Kandy Intensive Buddhist English course.”

Both Harry Nothacker and Doug Bell report there’s plenty on Wikipedia about John Barlow. Doug’s wife Carolyn has a new Pilates studio, and their daughter got married.

Jeff Powell “sees Rob Pratt while sailing Casco Bay. We both keep cruising boats near Portland, Maine. Before his early death, Dave Sullivan and I enjoyed time together on my boat. We were hallmates, then three-year roommates at Wes.”

John Mihalec “returns to Wes to critique student presentations at the Quantitative Analysis Center. I worked with a freshman, who arrived 50 years after us. Yeesh.”

Jay Edelberg received a DMD and an MD from UConn, “thinking I would become a facial reconstructive surgeon. After a residency in emergency medicine, I started at the ER of Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville. Eight years ago I joined the Schumacher Group, providing training, establishing trauma centers, and practicing Emergency Medicine. Thirty-seven years in, I still love ER work and feel blessed to be able to continue.

“Caral and I have been married 35 years and have three children between us. Erik ’91, mine, is 45 and a chemical engineer in Portland, Ore. Michael, Caral’s, is 47, lives outside Atlanta, and is CEO of a healthcare company. Tracy, also Caral’s, is 43 and lives in Baton Rouge.

“Caral owns Edelberg Associates, specializing in Medicare coding and compliance. We finally became empty nesters and plan to travel more, now that we’re not raising Tracy’s two boys, Tyler and Josh.

“In summer we get together with all the kids and grandkids on Block Island, usually having some fall time just to ourselves. Oregon, South Carolina, Costa Rica, and Hawaii are favored destinations.

“A year ago I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone cancer. After chemo and a stem cell transplant, I’m in full remission. I feel great, have regained the lost weight, and am back to clinical work. Every day is a blessing and an opportunity. Life is good.”

From Steve Hansel, “Kaloriziko, may you be well-rooted in Old Saybrook.”

The condo abuts North Cove. Major downsize. We walk to every imaginable Senior service, yet the location supports wild turkeys, raptors, fox, and deer. The safari never stops. The Northeast Corridor trains whistle regularly, reminding us a larger world exists. Always love.

CHARLIE FARROW | charlesfarrow@comcast.net

11 Coulter Street, #16, Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Wayne Slitt reported “annual celebration with Charley Ferrucci, Bob Tobias, Jerry Cerasale ’70, at Charley’s summer home in Vermont.”

Steve Knox still “commercial litigates. Brother Dave Knox ’72 retired. Bonnie and I visit granddaughters in Asheville and Charleston. I saw golfers Ron Reisner, Jim Martello, Jack Sitarz, Pat Dwyer ’67, Dick Emerson ’68, and Jim Akin ’72. Coach Kenny lives in Pittsburgh. Pat Kelly’s determined to make me a real golfer, and I’ve played at his club several times.”

Ken Elliott “saw Tom Wilson and Gordy Webb, high school classmates as well. Both have distinguished careers in medicine and law respectively. Still full-time faculty member in the U of Maine system. Research retirement and look forward to a most excellent next chapter.”

Tony Mohr wrote, “Beve and I in Europe this past summer for my cousin’s wedding, two hundred family and friends in France’s Gers region for fun and frolic. The judicial trials just keep on coming.”

Jim Adkins has “four grandkids. I work three half days, some in the Tampa VA Hospital. Play the trombone in ensembles and travel with limited success. I enjoy the free time but am poor at shifting gears. Life goes on, as do the ravages of time.”

Harry Nothacker’s “Son Keith married Teresa Mannen. They live in San Francisco, the HQ of his breathalyzer company BACtrack. Dave Farrer and I met in Rehoboth, Del. Dave works part-time at the State Department, as immigration presents increasing challenges. We enjoyed a bike ride through Henlopen State Park.”

Harold Davis “Life is good, retirement outstanding, as well as grandchildren and some travel. I volunteer on nonprofit boards, read, and take pictures. All the best to the Class of ’69.”

John Bach’s “Still yin-yanging between Quaker chaplaincy at Harvard and life as a house painter. My Wesleyan Experience helps in dealing with my beloved wife’s stage 4 cancer.”

Mike Fink “visits Katey, a sophomore at the U of South Carolina. Jenni’s novel, Sentenced to Life, is getting rave reviews. Available online. We are very proud of her. A 50th high school reunion reminded me how full life has been and how each stage led to the next.”

Roy Willits spent “20 years programming. Now I develop financial applications for money managers. I live in New Jersey and am married to a retired middle-school teacher.”

Sue and Paul Melrose had dinner with Fred Coleman and his wife, Wendy, at Paul’s new house in Madison, Wisc.

From Doug Bell: “Daughter married. Carolyn and I celebrated 20 years together touring Spain. Her fitness businesses keeps her busy. My Grasslands Investment Fund operates well—soy and oat seed crops are good. Looking to expand into international markets while based in Uruguay.”

Don Jennings wrote, “Cathy and I entertained Anita and Bob Dombroski at our vacation home in Old Saybrook. They might return to Michigan. Building a stamp business is more difficult than I thought.”

Jim Martello said, “Paul Nimchek, room and battery mate, and I attended Wesleyan/Yale’s 150th anniversary baseball game. Wes won in extra innings.”

Peter Pfeiffer had “wonderful visits with Nick Browning, Bob Conkling, and Colin Kitchens ’70. Nick has mastered croquet.”

Steve Pfeiffer wrote, “Fulbright & Jaworski, a firm I helped run since 1976, is now Norton Rose Jaworski—3,800 lawyers worldwide. I practice law and stay away from management. Kris and I celebrated our 45th anniversary—five grown children (four Wes, one Dartmouth), four grandchildren. Get together once a year with Jerry Parker, John Stinchfield, Rick Ketterer, my brother Vic Pfeiffer ’71, and Marc Pickard ’70.”

Barbara and Bob Berkowitz celebrated their 45th anniversary. “I teach, research, and practice child psychiatry in Philly. Wes’s humanism and science greatly impacted my life.”

Alex Knopp “admired Julian Bond, our graduation speaker, for his principled positions and civility in advocating courageously for them. Last spring I thanked him in D.C. He passed away a few weeks later, leaving a great legacy for social justice and peace activism.”

Howie Brown is “downsizing. Do we really need all these rooms and stuff? ’Vanity,’ sayeth the preacher. Saw Cumberbatch’s Hamlet in London. Studying the prompt books for Paul Robeson’s Othello and Keith Cobb’s new play American Moor. Ain’t life grand?”

Nick Browning “visited Peter Pfeiffer, and Bob and Donna Conkling in Maine. Read Peter’s book, Hard Chance, wonderful ’60s appeal. I talk regularly with Gordy Holleb, who lives in Berkeley. I enjoy each day.”

Steve Broker “taught ornithology and ecology at Camp Pemigewasset in Wentworth, N.H. My father, Thomas O. Broker ’36, and Wes notable Gar Fauver are prominent in Pemi history.”

Ken Kawasaki finds “Kandy, Sri Lanka, a great retirement site—high in the hills, away from rising seas and hurricanes. Our latest book, Buddhist Crossword Puzzles, is available on Amazon.”

Larry Feldman works “full time at GZA Environmental, a consulting firm. Two grand­children. Helped Wes with a geology seminar—wish I had waited several decades to attend college—and led a Wes geology field trip.”

Pam and Rick McGauley live in “a sea captain’s house on Cape Cod. Fall is our favorite season—tourists gone, warm weather and water linger. Life is sweet. Saw Jim Dreyfus and Rick Pedolsky at 50th high school reunion.”

Ed Hayes works full time but “does have a bucket list. Hot air balloon over Arizona desert, Cessna 172 over Maryland. I need things to excite the heart and stimulate the brain.”

Darius Brubeck’s granddaughter, Lydia ’17, is a junior at Wes. “Next spring, I will be doing NYC-area concerts with super-talented brothers Chris and Dan.”

Bill Schroder produces “a daily blog, ’Your Inner Rhino,’ about rhinos, but fictionalized. Husband Elias and I live in State College, Pa., where I taught before retiring. Saw Berta and Henry Samson when they visited.”

Jeff Wohkittel’s fifth poetry book was published by University Press of the South.

Jay Edelberg approaches four decades as an emergency room physician.

Early October, fall coming hourly. Leaves and art work. Last farmers’ market. Wee Faeries at Flo Gris Museum. Misty paddle on the Salmon River, then a final frigid swim. Love to all.

CHARLIE FARROW | charlesfarrow@comcast.net

11 Coulter Street, #16, Old Saybrook, CT 06475

A successful Reunion takes all kinds of things to come together and the 50th is the biggest of all. Sandy See (seescape@verizon.net), Stuart Ober (ober@stuartober.com) and George Reynolds (greynolds@sandpointefunding.com) continue trying to identify volunteers for our 50th Reunion committee. There is a wide range of tasks that need doing but, with a good-sized group in place, no one will be burdened. Indeed, it should be good fun to be working with old friends and classmates on a good cause. A lot of us have slowed down on the workfront and I can’t think of a better or more important venture to get involved with. If you read the accounts of the 50th from the classes ahead of us in previous alumni magazines, you know a number of people pitched in bringing forth a good turnout and a wonderful time. Please consider contacting them to make our 50th a memorable event.

Marrying Judy was the best thing I ever did so—as she is spending six weeks in Paris on a Road Scholar Independent Living & Study program—my fall will be a subdued one. My walking is too limited to go over for a visit and negotiate the city. I am managing being “home alone” but I won’t pretend that there is not a distinct drop in my quality of life.

A timely note—one element of Bill Beeman’s distinguished career at the University of Minnesota is an ongoing effort to improve understanding between the United States and Iran, a country he has lived in nine years all told. His 1986 book, Language, Status and Power in Iran, has been translated into Persian and is used as a university textbook in Iran. His 2008 book, “The Great Satan” vs. the “Mad Mullahs,” addresses and suggests a way out of the self-fulfilling prophecy of mutual demonization which has characterized the rhetoric and policies of Iran and the United States. An adviser to the State Department, the UN and the CIA, he goes back regularly and still leads tours.

Joseph McMackin is in Naples, Fla., a partner in a firm of 230 attorneys, who was just selected for the 2016 Best Lawyers in America. He has three sons—one handicapped, one a genius, and one undecided—and says keeping the family together despite his son’s affliction ranks as his biggest personal accomplishment. Professionally, he is particularly proud of being named by the governor to the Judicial Nominating Committee.

In August, the Times ran a piece on how Maryland was first to issue statewide guidelines prohibiting racial profiling by law enforcement that featured Brian Frosh, Maryland’s Attorney General.

I think you’ll like this—Nason Hamlin writes from an island off Seattle: “At the end of the day tomorrow, Erica and I will have completed one year of retirement. We had no training for it but have managed to make progress in the endeavor. We still make lists, mental or otherwise and often starting at 4 a.m., of the things we need to get accomplished that day. About six months ago I made the transition from being disappointed at the end of the day if I had not done everything on the list to being okay with having gotten anything done. We had very intense jobs before retirement but have not been bored. We are involved in a lot of music and we garden and read a lot. We have had a steady stream of family and visitors. Retirement is a work in progress, and we have to work at “loafing.” We’ll get there eventually if we work hard enough at it!”

I caught up with Randall Arendt, a landscape planner/site designer, who has had an incredible life: from his experiences in the Peace Corps and his work at the University of Edinburgh, he developed “conservation development,” a highly regarded approach to cluster and open space development that respects the natural habitat. During his career he spent a lot of time in the U.K. and made some interesting stops in the states, notably as the first director of Downtown Historic Lowell and director of the University of Massachusetts’s Planning and Applied Research Center. He has lectured in 47 states and been widely covered in the media including the New York Times and the New Yorker. Recently, he published Rural by Design: Maintaining Small Town Character, the capstone of his career. A fellow at the Brookings Institute said of it, “This updated version of the 20-year-old classic is a how-to-guide to creating walkable towns in rural and urbanizing suburban North America, bursting with examples, many not built when the original book was written” (1994). His son is a Bowdoin graduate, and Randall, semi-retired, lives in Brunswick, a short walk from campus.

As he was a particularly dear friend after our years together in New Haven, it is with great sadness that I must inform you that Tim Polk died July 8th after an extended battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He taught religious studies for 30 years at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., where he offered a range of courses—Old and New Testament, as well as seminars on C.S. Lewis and Kierkegaard. He chaired his department and led the Presidential Scholar Program for many years. Colleagues noted he was renowned for his wit, his intellectual rigor, kindness, and his devotion to his students. Widely admired, one colleague said he was “the best exemplar and advocate…of the liberal arts tradition.” Another penned that he “has virtually exhausted all the means by which he could make Hamline a better place to work and learn.” In his obituary, it was noted, “He was a lover of many things: God, his wife and children, distance running, sacred music, serious reading, football, Philly cheese steaks.” Fiercely competitive, if he were my size, he’d have been in the NFL. A good man by any measure.

LLOYD BUZZELL | LBuzz463@aol.com

70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Classmates, I had a note from Susan Edwards McCarthy (Mount Holyoke ’67), telling me that her husband of almost 47 years, Kevin McCarthy, died in March 2015 from pulmonary complications that followed bypass surgery. An obituary appeared in the Los Angeles Times on April 12, 2015. A graduate of Fairfield Prep, Kevin majored in political science at Wesleyan, and then earned a PhD in sociology, with a focus on demography, at the University of Wisconsin. He worked as a social science researcher at the RAND Corporation for more than three decades. After retiring from RAND, Kevin and Susan traveled widely and often.

An e-mail from Jim Cawse in June 2015 revealed that he was recovering from the removal of his prostate (Jim noted that he was “glad to live in a time and place with really good medical technology”). Although he had to cancel a trip to Venice and Rome because of the surgery, he and his wife, Marietta, were able to travel to Florida with two grandchildren and to San Francisco for a meeting. While in San Francisco, he tells me, he had his “usual intense visit with Jim Sugar.”

Jim McEnteer has lived outside the USA since 2006, first in Bolivia, then in South Africa, and for the last four years in Quito, Ecuador, where his wife, Tina, teaches sociology. His two teenage sons, one a senior and one a fresh-person, attend bilingual private schools in Quito. The older one did a college tour in February 2015 with Daddy Jim that included visits to a bunch of New England schools, one of which was Wesleyan (imagine that—a McEnteer Legacy!). Jim is still writing, and recently published an article in Counterpunch (“Blast From the Past in Buenos Aires”) and a book (Acting Like it Matters: John Malpede and the Los Angeles Poverty Department).

That’s all for now. Send me info. Be well.

Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu

Aloha, all. As we’ve moved well into the holiday season, let me simply wish that you all have found and continue to find beauty in this season and give thanks for the blessings we’ve all received and continue to receive throughout our lives.

In our past class notes we noted the sad passing of our classmate Robin Burns. His family had a memorial gathering for him on March 7th and our classmates Rick Crootof, Jack Knapp, and Bob Dannies were all able to attend, with Rick serving as one of the speakers. Robin’s wife, Rena, kindly provided us with the following information on Robin’s post-Wesleyan experiences:

“Robin graduated from Columbia School of Architecture and spent most of his career working for various agencies in the City of New York, including City Planning, the Office of Downtown Brooklyn Development, the Department of General Services and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). He served for many years as chief architect of the parks department, overseeing the buildings in the city’s 200-plus parks. In the mid-’80s, he left public service to head the real estate development arm of the South Street Seaport Museum, at the time when the Rouse Corporation was transforming the seaport area into one of its ’festival marketplaces’ akin to its projects in Boston and Baltimore. In his final years back with the city at DDC, he was senior project manager for the new multi-building police academy going up in Queens and the city’s new backup 911 emergency call center.”

Rena went on to say, “Besides me, Robin left behind his daughter, Jenny Burns, and her husband, Geoff Sanoff, our two grandsons, Alexei (almost 8) and Jesse (5½), his brother Bruce, and his former wife and our dear friend, Judy Burns, and her wife Pat Magnuson. As I wrote in the New York Times obituary, he was a good man, taken too soon.”

Robin was a great believer in organ donation and was able to donate his eyes to enable two others to see, and so he lives on in perpetuating the lives of others. For those wishing to perpetuate Robin’s memory, the family asks that donations be made in his name to a new institute at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital dedicated to pancreatic cancer research. You can give online at: mskcc.convio.net/goto/Robin_Burns.

On the Wesleyan front, our classmate Rick Crootof continues to be the busy bee around making our upcoming 50th a truly memorable and remarkable happening. The “Committee” now stands at 34 so, if size is any indication of excitement, there is really no excuse for any of you classmates and family and friends not attending. We welcome to our Reunion committee Art Clark, Barry Reder, and Phil Shaver. Our Reunion fundraising continues to grow and now stands at a little over $4.3 million with participation being in the mid-50 percent range. In the past we’ve done a credible job, but especially please consider participating this year if you haven’t done so in the past. The Class of 1960 has the all-time high participation record of 92 percent…we can certainly beat that if we all put our minds to it. Remember, it’s not so much the amount you are able to contribute, but rather that you do contribute in remembrance of our Wesleyan years and being able to perpetuate for those who have come after us the same wonderful memories that we all carry with us.

A Big Aloha (shout out!) to John Driscoll ’62, who has retired from Wesleyan (really?—I doubt it!) after 33 years of really wonderful and dedicated service. Our paths first crossed when I was just a young, unknowing freshman, newly arrived to my Foss Hill dorm room. My roommate, Bob Dearth, and I were just getting acquainted in that awkward way of first meetings and into our midst descended the recently graduated varsity quarterback and a huge senior lineman, John Driscoll ’62 and Red Erda ’63! As I recall, both of them quickly had our room filled to capacity with all us dorky freshmen from the floor, entranced by John practicing his preaching skills and Red showing off his physical stature. What a wonderful welcome it was to Wesleyan. Over the years our paths have continued to cross through alumni gatherings and John’s participation with the Freeman Asian Scholars Program—a more dedicated and fun person I have never known. At least, John, we still have Gina! All our love and aloha and, yes, there is a wonderful life after retirement. I can vouch for it. I believe we still have a ranch to visit on Hawai`i.

On the home front, Joyce and I welcomed our classmate Rick Osofsky and his wife, Jean, to our islands. Rick has a cousin living on the island of Hawai`i and had a chance to meet up with the family there after spending a number of days in Honolulu. Rick reports that all is well with Ronnybrook Farms and that his daughter, Kate Osofsky ’94, is well into managing the business. Rick noted that the farm has just opened a new shop in Manhattan, so anyone in the city or on your next visit to the city, stop in for the very best ice cream, yogurt, and/or milk you will ever taste. To find other Ronnybrook shops, visit the farm’s website, where you can also learn about the full complement of healthful Ronnybrook dairy products: ronnybrook.com.

As a final holiday note, a response to the eternal question of—how do queens spend the holidays?

BOSTON, Dec. 27.-Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian Queen, took the first sleigh ride of her life today through Brookline. When she came back she said she had been perfectly comfortable and had enjoyed every minute. A covered sleigh, with glass front, was provided so that she could see everything and still not feel the wind. Her friends supplied piles of extra wraps, and one was so thoughtful as to procure a footstove which placed beneath the robes gave out an agreeable warmth.

Her Majesty’s attendants, Naholela and Heleluhe, suffered a great deal more from the cold than their mistress did, as they were in an open sleigh and not as warmly wrapped. They know as little of snow and cold weather as Liliuokalani does and everything interested them. (New York Times, Dec. 28, 1896)

The Queen was visiting the family of her late husband in Brookline, Mass. Hopefully, this winter all of your “sleigh rides” have been and continue to be a warm as the Queen’s.

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com

1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822