I find myself surprised and delighted to become the new class notes secretary. Thanks to Byron Haskins and Mitch Marinello, who did a wonderful job keeping us all up to date since 1976. My apologies for the absence of class notes this time around. I need one cycle to get up to speed on what to do and how to do it! Class notes will resume in the next issue. Please let me know what you’ve been up to and how you’re doing.
Karen Harmin | karen.harmin@gmail.com
In 2020, it seems we fully entered the era of retirements, grandchildren, and obituaries. Larry Greenberg and Debbie celebrated their son Stephen’s marriage in June. 2019 brought Emilie and Joost Brouwer two grandchildren. “Little Jelle lives 20 kilometers away, but his cousin Vida 20,000! Vida’s in Canberra, Australia, with her parents and two half-brothers, ‘bonus grandsons.’”
Ellen Remmer joined the grandparents’ club. Through philanthropy and social impact work, Ellen frequently encounters Wesfolk like Prosperity Catalyst Executive Director Catherine Gibbons ’79 and Sarah Williams ’88 of Propel Capital.
Russ Munson spends more time with his kids and grandkids in Brooklyn since starting half-time work for CarePartners of Connecticut, a Tufts Health Plan/Hartford Healthcare joint venture. Semi-retired Cheryl Vichness lives in Baltimore and often travels for fun. Her daughter teaches school and is finishing an M.Ed. John Tabachnik is planning retirement with two married kids “off the payroll.” He’s the art patron for his youngest, a ceramicist.
Brian Steinbach, semi-retiring this year, reports Steve Pippin in New Market, Md., teaches German at the local community college. Brian and Steve were grad school housemates at UVa. Brian had dinner with Brad Kosiba and Dave Nield ’77 in November. Speaking of Brad, his clan visited Deb Kosich’s condo in Grand Lake, Colo., last summer. Deb’s other home is a new Houston condo.
Gary Davis, based in New York since finishing architecture school post-Wes, has two grown kids and lives in a building he designed and developed (davisdesigndev.com) on Central Park North “with amazing views of the midtown skyline.”
Paul Bennett remains busy with nonprofits in the Bay Area and celebrated one son’s return to Oakland after decades away. His other son is firmly in NYC.
Cathy Gorlin celebrated her son’s wedding in Colorado, where he’s in his second year of med school. She had dinner in Miami with David Racher ’74 and Susan Margolis Racher. David and Susan met when Susan exchanged from Smith to Wesleyan.
Roger Weisberg completed his 33rd PBS documentary Broken Places, about the impacts of early adversity on children. Roger’s and Karen’s daughter Allie ’05 has children ages 4 and 7 and has launched a juvenile offender diversion program where participants can complete an arts residency to have their criminal records expunged. Middle son Daniel is regional medical director for Galileo, a startup to improve health care delivery for complex Medicare and Medicaid patients. Youngest daughter Liza followed her fellowship at the ACLU by clerking for Judge Kimba Wood in the Southern District of New York.
Steve McCarthy’s daughter, MaryKate, was married in Washington, D.C., last October. Steve works with Wesleyan alumni in philanthropy and public service and as executive producer of documentary films with Quixotic Endeavors (quixoticendeavors.com).
Deborah Brown retired in 2018 and has since tutored ESL, taken adult ed courses, and pursued Jewish text studies. She is president of a congregation in Glencoe, Ill., which has resettled 22 refugee families, witnessed at the Mexican border, and worked to shut down child detention camps. As a lay leader in Reform Judaism, Deborah has crossed paths with Wendy Liebow ’74 and Rachel Adler. Debby has also seen East College suitemates Lisa Anderson, Barbara Bachtell, and Kathy Heinzelman this year. She and husband Mitch ’73 welcomed grandchild number seven last fall.
Martha Brown and I met for lunch to catch up and compare notes as late-career moms with grown daughters contemplating next steps. Martha continues her operations work at East Bay Community Law Center but was just finishing a three-month sabbatical. My two kids are now both college grads; our son finished his BS in mechanical engineering at Northeastern in December. Done with Boston winters—he’s job-hunting in California!
I’m sure you recall that we lost our gifted classmate, Sam Miller in May 2018. There was a memorial service for him in May 2019 and I heard from his wife Anne recently. For a beautiful Wesleyan tribute, see wesleyan.edu/icpp/staff/sam_miller.html.
Thanks to Jeff Cox, Gina Novick, and Phil Swoboda for memories of Diane Cornell, who died Jan. 7. “At Wesleyan, she was known for her boundless energy and the delight she took in her numerous friends. She was a wonderful companion, talking and drinking long into the night and joining in such zany efforts as a collective attempt to levitate a table full of beer bottles to sounds of Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner.”
In COL, she took possession of The Magic Mountain and In the Penal Colony, works that her friends can never hear mentioned without thinking of her. Diane combined a matter-of-fact demeanor with inexhaustible warmth and deep commitment to causes she cared about. After leaving Wesleyan, she made her mark as a distinguished communications lawyer, a national badminton champion and sports executive, and a political and social activist. Diane’s extraordinary life was detailed in a Washington Post obituary.”
Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com
860 Marin Drive, Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955
Marion Stoj was awarded the Cavalier’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by the President of Poland (a Polish version of Knight’s Cross). On Sept. 21, 2019 in New Britain, Conn., in recognition of Marion’s contributions to cooperation between Poland and the U.S. Among other contributions, in 2017, Marion established the Falcons Academic and Athletic Association (FAAA). In order to preserve and prevent commercial development of 25 acres of historic parkland in New Britain called the Polanka, Marion made a charitable donation to enable FAAA to purchase the property.
For generations, Polish American groups and other Connecticut organizations have used this property for recreation, dances, picnics, and various cultural events. The property also includes New Britain Falcons soccer filed where Marion has played for over 50 years.
Richard J. Fairbrother, DMD, of West Hartford, Conn., passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 19. He was born in Providence, R.I., on Jan. 17, 1952. He was the son of the late Ann F. and John H. Fairbrother. He was a graduate of Northwest Catholic High School, where he was a scholar athlete. He was inducted into the Northwest Catholic High School Hall of Fame in 2005. At Wesleyan, he graduated with highest honors and served as captain of the men’s varsity basketball team. In 1974, Richard was named a NCAA Academic All=American. He then received his DMD from the University of Connecticut School of Dentistry. He was a member of the Connecticut State Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and the American Association of Oral Systemic Health. Richard was devoted to his family, friends, his patients, and the community. All knew him as kind, generous and humble. His laugh was contagious, and his work ethic was unparalleled. Richard continued his love of basketball by playing for the East Hartford Explorers and in numerous leagues, even during his professional life. He was an accomplished tennis player, participating in USTA tournaments, leagues and was a long-standing member of the Hartford Tennis Club. Richard was also a member of The New York Athletic Club. Richard leaves his beloved wife, Virginia (Curry), his sister Karen Fairbrother of Massachusetts, his brother John Fairbrother, and his wife Zeta of Nevada. He also leaves his brother-in-law, David Curry, his sister-in-law, Kathleen Curry, and many beloved cousins and friends.
Pat Mulcahy looks “back on 2019 as the best one yet for my editorial consulting business–established in 1999. It can’t be a coincidence that this was based on sales of The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, whose empathy and kindness-based life’s work is newly appreciated. The recently released paperback has just appeared for three straight weeks on the New York Times best seller list, bolstered by the new film in which Tom Hanks plays Rogers. Our book has no formal relationship with the film, although we cover Esquire journalist Tom Junod’s interview with Rogers—fictionalized onscreen.
“I also work with the Brooklyn-based Center for Fiction, coaching emerging writers in their fellows program. This year, two of the fellows I worked with saw their books published very successfully: Melissa Rivero, whose novel The Affair of the Falcons follows the fate of an undocumented woman from Peru; and Lauren Wilkinson, whose American Spy, about an African American FBI agent assigned to shadow a revolutionary leader in a fictionalized version of Burkina Faso, even made it to Obama’s summer reading list. Is Lauren writing a follow up? No—she’s in LA working on scripts for streaming services.
“This is our challenge in the literary world. I hope we’re all still reading as well as watching Netflix! All best New Year’s wishes to friends from’ 74! The Reunion really was a blast.”
Willy Holtzman reports that the new musical, Sabina, will have its regional premiere at Portland Stage this May with book by Willie, music by Louise Beach ’78, and lyrics by former Wesleyan adjunct, Darrah Cloud. One of the angels is Bill Pearson.
Debra Salowitz reports, “My husband Neil Salowitz ’73 and I just celebrated the 47th anniversary of our ‘meet cute’ at Wesleyan and are still thriving in Des Moines, Iowa, where we moved in 2000 after many years in Connecticut. In an unlikely turn of events, both of our daughters eventually settled here too; buying 100-year-old houses only five blocks from each other and a mere eight-minute drive from us. This makes us very fortunate grandparents indeed as Shoshana has a 2-1/2-year old son and Rachel ’07 has a 2-year-old daughter, with a little boy poised to join the family in June!
“My community transition consulting company just marked its 16th anniversary and keeps me actively and happily engaged with relocating executives and their families. Neil just celebrated 10 years of happy retirement . . . by becoming part-owner of a thriving restaurant and expects to be very busy with candidates and media in the run up to the Iowa Caucuses in February. That’s been one of the best things about our move here, really getting to know all of the Democratic presidential hopefuls every election cycle.”
Jean Barish writes, “As many of our peers are retiring, I have instead gone back to work full time for a startup, LEX Markets Corp., as head of administration. The company will provide both accredited and non-accredited investors the opportunity to invest in shares of individual commercial real estate buildings, and then trade them on a trading platform. You can check out the company’s website, lex-markets.com, and to sign up for ‘early access’ to its investment opportunities.”
Joan Braun has had an eventful year-end. “In August, my employer of eight years, United Way Bay Area, made the decision to outsource all of its administrative functions to the national headquarters organization, United Way Worldwide. Given the competitive fundraising climate being faced by all 1,200 local United Ways spread across the U.S., I supported (indeed, advocated for) the consolidation. Still, being laid off at this stage in my career took a certain amount of adjustment.
“Two weeks after I left the job, I discovered I needed hip replacement surgery. I am now three weeks into recovery, and I must say, it has been a remarkably positive experience. Very little pain, measurable progress every day!
“In between the two, I found what I think will be an excellent step on my glide path to full retirement—a three-day a week job that is far more focused than the sprawling chief operating officer position I just left. As of January 27, I will be the Finance Director for Homebase, a public interest law firm that focuses on homelessness. In this particular position, my grey hair and the decades of experience that created it are considered an asset, rather than a liability. That’s a refreshing change from a few of the other opportunities I investigated during the fall.
“I am also enjoying my new position on the board of directors of the Aurora Theatre. The Aurora is a hidden gem of a local theatre that offers refreshing and provocative theatre in an intimate Berkeley setting. Our 150 seats on three sides of the thrust stage give new meaning to the phrase ‘up close and personal.’ We are particularly proud that a play we commissioned, Eureka Day, was not only a local hit, but also a very well-reviewed off-Broadway phenom as well.
“My other surprise enthusiasm is stewarding Little Free Library #62316. It’s amazing to me how many of my neighbors stop to browse, take a book, or leave a bunch. Among the most interesting recent contributions—an entire collection of vintage Hardy Boys mysteries and a pristine hardback copy of Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses S. Grant.”
Jan Eliasberg writes, “Little, Brown is mounting a vigorous PR campaign on behalf of my novel, Hannah’s War. In the meantime, I’m deep into research and outlining of book #2 which is also historical fiction but set in a different time period with a unique set of characters and themes.”
John Shapiro writes, “I am sorry to have missed our class Reunion but was attending my nephew’s wedding in Seattle. At the end of 2018, I converted my firm to a family investment office which means I no longer have clients. I did retain my staff to help oversee my investments which has given me the freedom to spend more time on philanthropic boards. This includes joining the Wesleyan board where I was far and away the oldest of the new trustees. I also moved onto the Executive Committee of the Rockefeller University board where I will help roll out a new strategic plan and development effort. On the family front, my eldest son Zach is engaged to be married at the end of May.”
André Barbera shares, “Having never before submitted anything for class notes, it is unseemly of me to write to you now since I do so to inform you of my forthcoming book. Other than vanity, the only reason I can offer for this impertinence is that the subject matter of the book, faith and works, is perhaps not typical of Wesleyan alumni. (Is there a Wesleyan type?) Bloomsbury is publishing the work, available beginning Jan. 23. The title is On Faith, Works, Eternity and the Creatures We Are.
Pam van der Meulen reports that 11 members of our class attended Claudia Catania’s Playing On Air benefit and live recording last November by Tony Shalhoub, Kristine Nielsen and others of three terrific one-act plays. Those in attendance from our class were ttending from our class were Pat Mulcahy, Bill Pearson, Willy Holtzman, Harold Sogard, Sarah Cady Becker, Rick Gilberg, June Anderson, Inara de Leon, Jai Imbrey, and Wendy Richmond ’75. Also, Vicky Bijur ’75, Todd Jick ’71, John Cady ’71, Bob Becker ’71, Peter Woodin ’71, Karen Freedman ’75, and John Badanes ’68.
It was a wonderful evening and great to catch up with classmates. Pam urges everyone to check out Playing on Air’s podcast (those in Connecticut can catch it on WNPR Tuesdays at 11 p.m.).
Our 50th Reunion is May 23-26, 2024. Reunion news is at wesleyan.edu/classof1974. Join the committee and work on outreach, programming, or fundraising. Questions or want to get involved? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.
Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu
Former Wesleyan Argus Editor Steven Greenhouse sent me a newsy note. He said he and Kirk Adams “trekked up” to Fairfield early last November to celebrate the 50th anniversary of when Paul Baumann met his wife-to-be Vivian. Steve Forstein, who joined them on the Wesleyan freshman soccer teams 50 years ago, “joined the festivities and gave a smashing toast,” Steven said. He also said Kirk and his wife, Cecile, threw a book party for his new book, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor. Steven was honored that Nick Kristof called his book “superb, important, and eminently readable,”while Zephyr Teachout, writing in the New York Times Book Review, called it “engrossing, character-driven, panoramic.”
He also said Wesleyan’s history department and College of Letters invited him to give a talk about the book in late October—and he was honored that one of his favorite professors, Paul Schwaber ’57, came to hear the talk. “When a friend held a book party for me in Los Angeles, I was delighted that Wes classmate, Peggy McIver Gregerson, joined us,” said Steven. Peggy lives in Pasadena and works in advertising. When Steven spoke in the Bay Area, he stayed with College of Letters “buddy and roommate in Paris, Jonathan Siegal, who is a very successful labor lawyer in Oakland.”
Alain Munkittrick is co-authoring a book with Deborah Shapiro, Middletown city historian, titled, Middletown’s High Street and Wesleyan University (Arcadia), featuring historical images from Special Collections and Archives, and the Middlesex County Historical Society.
From Washington, D.C., Charles Wayne and Ellen Kabcenell Wayne ’75 recently become grandparents for the fourth time in 26 months “despite the fact that neither of us are old enough to be a grandparent.” He says the proud fathers are Michael Wayne ’05 (an 18-month-old boy) and Joey Wayne ’08 (2-year-old twin girls and a baby girl).
Some of you may shun joining Facebook for a myriad of reasons but I will give one reason to get hooked up: Michael McKenna. His photographs from Vermont are spectacular and when he posts them, I can guarantee that you will look with appreciation and linger. Mike captures the essence of parts of that state and it wouldn’t surprise me if the best of his collage ends up somewhere sometime soon in a photo gallery.
Michael is a “first time grandfather to Ms. Frances Anne McKenna, aka Frankie. The highlight of this or any year.” He recommends reading David Brooks’s The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life, which is all about writing one’s personal résumé separate from one’s career. He says it supports the old saying, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mike is still working and doing more pro bono work. One of his most meaningful endeavors is serving on the Wesleyan Athletics Advisory Council. Mike adds, “Wonderful way to be invited back to campus to support Athletic Director Mike Whalen ’83 and coaches, see friends, and to meet and encourage some of the current flock of Cardinal athletes. What a talented, inspiring group.” The ever enthusiastic and upbeat Mike says he highly recommends reconnecting with Wesleyan in such ways and says, “I’m genuinely grateful for the opportunity.” He ends with the encouraging words of “Play on.”
Mike shared that Tim Warner is on the Wesleyan Athletics Advisory Committee with him. Tim flies in from Stanford, where he is a senior executive in the administration, and “adds great insights into how great schools can have strong athletics programs at the same time. Great to reconnect with my first-year Foss Hill neighbor!”
Finally, a farewell to someone who has been an incredible help to me as class secretary since she joined Wesleyan University 30 years ago. Wesleyan Magazine Managing Editor Cynthia Rockwell MALS ’19 announced she was retiring as of Feb. 28. Her duties with class secretaries are passing on to Randi Plake, who has been outstanding in terms of helping me reach out to you. But in this life, there is only one Cynthia Rockwell, whose passion for the school, the magazine, and all of you is unequaled. So, a final shout out to one of the best that Wesleyan was so fortunate to have as our source and guidance. In the end, she was typically self-effacing in a letter to me saying she always felt I was “the pro” and she was “the aspiring journalist.” Quite the opposite. Her articles and stories in the magazine have also been first rate. She has been the MVP, the Most Valuable Player, for class secretaries and we have been the players and hopefully “pros” most of the time.
Best of luck in your endeavors in 2020.
Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com
I am sure all readers noted that in the previous issue the secretaries of the two preceding classes began their columns with “Aloha!” I did not and will keep that string intact. Connecticut winters are still fine by me.
Steve Alpert is now in British Columbia. “Enjoying growing blueberries, keeping an orchard, and working the garden under the gaze of the sea and a snow-capped volcanic Mt. Baker. Best news of all Sarah Alpert ’07 gave birth to a granddaughter in May, Aviva Olesen-Alpert. In a tangential way Wesleyan keeps spreading its wings even here in Victoria, B.C., as Sarah and her husband, Max, both teach with substance, verve, and passion.”
Mike Bober passed on the news that Geoff Rips was involved in organizing a Clean Water Act citizens suit against Formosa Plastics for pollution of Lavaca Bay. The suit resulted in the largest citizens suit settlement in U.S. history. See the Texas Tribune article. Geoff says they were worried about having the settlement approved “because the decision on the amount had to be cleared by the Dept. of Justice because the settlement amounts are in place of federal fees for EPA violations. Apparently, the DOJ has other things on its mind because it didn’t oppose this by the deadline.”
Mike added this personal reminiscence of Geoff, which in many ways sums up our particular class experience:
“In September, 1968 I heard about a guy from Texas in our class but didn’t realize I had already met him. Geoff can be very self-effacing, simply the last person to ever promote himself. When I visited San Antonio in the summer of 1970 and met his family, I began to understand how deeply rooted they were in the state—in its politics, its traditions, in the land itself. Over the last 50 years, Geoff has turned that same love of place into an art form. I never understood how he could continue to write fiction and poetry, when by day he wrote for and edited the Texas Observer; or, during Ann Richards’ administration, for Jim Hightower at the Agriculture Dept., and then for the Austin school district, as it struggled to accommodate an historic burst in population. Always, his work has been informed by the particular ground beneath his feet, and the incredibly diverse people who have come to compose that special part of America that has always been writ large.”
It’s been surprisingly tough getting news out of classmates for this issue. I sent out a broadside note asking, “How are you doing?” Rob Gelblum responded, “Better than I deserve.”
Steve Scheibe teaches global business “once in a while” at National University, still operates his consulting business doing handholding and export management Brazil, USA, and Mexico. He writes a blog mainly on Brazil and sometimes posts on the Wesleyan LinkedIn page. You can find the blog at allabroadconsulting.wordpress.com. He has been married to Angela for going on 47 years, with two sons (biotech and fireman), and four granddaughters, all local! “Smart people, ha!”
Peter Schwartz is still working one day a week in a medical center serving the uninsured and underinsured north of Philadelphia. He plans to work another 12-16 months before hanging it up forever. He love living in the Northeast and can’t see moving to warmer climates. His son, Jonathan ’00, loves Ann Arbor, Mich., despite the cold. He is head of middle school at the Greenhills School there.
Paul Vidich has two bits of news:
“First, I have embarked upon an effort to create a micro history of the Wesleyan’s film program 1968-1972, which happens to coincide with our years there. I started this project after reading the laudatory article on Jeanine in the most recent Wesleyan magazine, and I noticed there was hardly any mention of the program’s origin and early years. I spoke with Jeanine and she was extremely supportive of the idea, in part because the class of 1972 provided the first real funding for the film program during our 25th Reunion. So far, I have interviewed Jeanine, Colin Campbell Hon. ’98, Richard Slotkin, Laurence Mark ’71, Mark Levin, Raffaele Donato, Jan Eliasberg ’74, Dave Williams, and Stephen Schiff. I hope to catch up with everyone in our class that took a course with Jeanine. Of course, they university has not records of who took what classes then. Could you mention this project in the class notes and encourage any classmates who took one of Jeanine’s classes to email me at paulvidich@gmail.com.
Second, my third book, The Coldest Warrior, which publishes Feb. 4, has received a starred book review from Publishers Weekly, which said: “With this outing, Vidich enters the upper ranks of espionage thriller writers.” I will be on a five-city, winter book tour with a stop in Middletown. More can be found at paulvidich.com.”
John Manchester has published If I Fell, a sequel to Never Speak A novella prequel will shortly appear.
Leon Vinci gives us this report on recent activities:
“Went up to Middletown last month for a visit and popped-in to O’Rourke’s Diner for breakfast on my way to a national council meeting on health and safety codes with the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) headquartered in Chelsea, Mass. (I am a 10-year board member). From there, as the delegate for the Yale Club of Southwestern Virginia (that other CT school just down the road from Wes U), I went back to New Haven for the annual Assembly of the Yale Alumni Association and attended ‘THE Game’ (Yale-Harvard football at Yale Bowl). You may have heard: this contest was a classic in that Yale came from behind (down by 3 touchdowns at one point) and won in the last 20 seconds! That achievement followed a prolonged half-time break—due to the sit-in demonstration on the 50-yard line wherein both Harvard and Yalies protested their alma mater’s investments in fossil fuel companies in recognition of the need to take action concerning climate change (my MPH in environmental health is from the Yale School of Medicine’s Public Health program). Ah, reminds me of the good ol’ days!
“Presently, I am tutoring STEM students at Virginia Western College (in Roanoke), as well as grading my recent Project Management in Healthcare course at Drexel University (I’m an adjunct faculty member there). In my role as Policy Chair of the APHA Environment Section Committee on Climate and Health we are preparing testimony concerning the proposed EPA effort (aka the current Administration) to ‘dumb-down’ the role of science in their rule-making process.”
David Hagerty and his wife Louise continue to live in Great Barrington, Mass., having moved from Boston after 28 years in 2016. He continues to do executive coaching at the Harvard Business School in their senior level executive development and owner-president programs several times a year. In addition, he is involved with the Berkshire Guild of Artists exhibiting his photography in local art shows. Louise and Dave are also involved with a choral group, Berkshire’s Sings. They spend time with their grandchildren and traveling internationally.
Tom Edmondson offered to join a demonstration outside Moscow Mitch’s office “for fair trial procedure.” Unfortunately, with the lag in publishing this magazine by the time you all read this the demonstrators will likely be long gone. But he says, with respect to future demonstrations, “My slovenly suburban hovel would be open to anyone who can tolerate it overnight to take a stand for fairness and democracy.”
And finally, this obligatory plug for our Reunion, which will be great and to which everyone should come: The 50th Reunion is May 19-22, 2022. Reunion news and news about regional events can be found at wesleyan.edu/classof1972. Join the committee and work on outreach, programming, or fundraising. Questions or want to get involved? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.
Seth A. Davis | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
213 Copper Square Drive, Bethel, CT 06801
Aloha! Hope you are all prepared for a new decade: 2020s. To start, there is some sad news. Thurman Northcross ’70 passed away on June 20, 2019. He was a business manager, owner, and consultant. A graduate of Manassas High School, Thurman earned his bachelor’s with a major in economics from Wesleyan and an MS in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University. Among Thurman’s business enterprises were Stone Creek Corporation, a cleaning supplies company, and Signs First on Poplar Avenue. He worked for the City of Memphis as manager of youth services in the Summer Youth Program. He was also manager of corporate development for the Tennessee Valley Center for Economic Development.
Also, David E. Thomson ’71, MAT ’72 died Sept. 13, 2019, after a lengthy illness. A writer and poet, he will be remembered for his play, The Melting Pot, and his book, A Fellowship of Men and Women, among others. His wife, Alexandra Chalif (sasha@alexandrachalif.com), shared this information.
Jay Resnick is working on a class, Forward into the Past—A Yiddish Reading Circle. In that class, they will read (in English) stories that were published in the Jewish Daily Forward in the 20th century. The text will be the 2017 anthology edited by Ezra Glinter, Have I Got a Story for You: More Than a Century of Fiction from The Forward. Jay said, “Mit grusen for a zisn yor,” which means “best wishes for a sweet year.”
Don Graham writes, “I am getting more nostalgic and sentimental in my old age. Maybe it’s the thought of attending the 50th anniversary of the 1969 football team, which occurred at Homecoming in November. Read your class notes in the Wesleyan magazine, as I always do, and three old friends appeared: Demetrie Comnas, Carey O’Laughlin, and Kip Anderson. Can’t believe our 50th Reunion is only a little more than a year away.”
Neil Cumsky is a “first-timer. What the heck? I can do this every 50 years or so. After Wes, graduated Yale Law and moved to Phoenix, where I practiced high-tech trade secrets litigation for 10 years during the formative years of the semiconductor and personal computer industries. Invested in Arizona real estate, which led to a career as a resort developer over the last several decades. Married to Claudia for 30-plus years with three kids: a doctor, a lawyer, and a publisher. Nothing but wonderful memories of Wes, surrounded by extraordinary people. Will definitely attend the 50th. Thank you, Neil, for carrying the communications torch for all of us for so many years!”
On that note—the 50th Reunion is May 20-23, 2021. Find out about Reunion news and regional events can be found at wesleyan.edu/classof1971. Join the Committee and work on outreach, programming, or fundraising. Questions or want to get involved? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.
That’s all the news for now. Please send me info and encouragements to get others to the Reunion next year. All the best in 2020. Aloha.
Neil J. Clendeninn | Cybermad@msn.com
PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714
Steve Knox lives in Asheville, near children.
Jeff Richards is “busier than ever with The Minutes and a revival of American Buffalo. Met Dave Dixon and Bill Edelheit for brunch.”
Steve Hansel is “happy to see 2019 go. We moved back to New Orleans.”
Nick Browning wrote, “Happy 2020 to everyone struggling in this difficult world. Full-time as a psychotherapist. Our 3-year-old grandson is a joy. I visited Gordy Holleb. Knee surgery nixed basketball as I face the inevitable.”
John Bach “plucks out happy melodies amid the drums of perpetual war.”
Alex Knopp “edits the Connecticut Law Tribune. As president of the Norwalk Library, I’m co-locating broadcast studios for CPTV in the addition. Bette’s first novel, The Better Angels, is a time-travel mystery.”
Steve Broker ’69, MAT ’72 “documents breeding birds, early and late winter ones, and seasonal migration patterns for the CT Bird Atlas. Field observations, field observations, field observations. Doing so strengthens our connections with the environment.”
Dave Siegel said, “Nancy and I just back from Vietnam and Cambodia. The more than expected rate of birth defects are a legacy of Agent Orange use during the war. We were surprised by the lack of public health and education infrastructure.”
Jerry Martin “retired in June. Fifty years’ teaching is enough. Time to visit family in Vermont, maybe raise some sheep. We’ll try the bicoastal dance—LA and VT. Save us a seat at football and baseball games. Looking forward to 55th. Happy New Year and a regime change to all.”
Jim Drummond practices “criminal defense law in Round Rock, Texas. See novelist Bruce Hartman. I loved the Reunion, especially the Vietnam program. Great to see Barry Macey. Three children, four grandchildren, live with my brilliant and beautiful wife Deborah. Happy New Year to all!”
Bill Eaton checked in from Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins.
Jim Adkins said, “Not much esoteric from my life compared to what other classmates are doing. Work ENT one day a week at the Tampa VA. Travel as much as possible. Play my horn three nights a week for sanity(?). My wife is in assisted living, so I’m a solo traveler. Anyone want to go somewhere?”
Pete Pfeiffer sent pictures of Paul Bunyan, with chainsaw, sitting on harvested white oak logs in the Maine Woods.
Kathy and Charlie Ingrao “toured Paraguay’s German/Mennonite colonies and suppressed Jesuit missions. We’ve done most First World countries, 95 overall. Any classmates want to visit the 100-plus more exotic ones left?”
John Fenner is “a lawyer in Hollywood, Fla. Business divorces are like child custody battles—nasty, brutish, and long.”
Carmen and David Freedman “visited Isla Verde in San Juan. We hosted family before the earthquakes, which damaged the opposite side of the island. From Atlanta, we share with all best wishes for a prosperous and healthy 2020.”
Wayne Slitt “cruised the Caribbean with Bob Tobias and Charley Ferrucci.”
Howie Brown said, “Three weeks in Hawaii next year. Love to go but don’t want to live there. The recent death of a high school classmate exposed our delicate hold on existence. Enjoy every moment you can.”
Julia and John Richards “moved to Charleston, nearer sons. See Stan Robbins ’71, a retired lawyer in Annapolis.”
Mike Fairchild wrote, “Daughter Marnie in Brooklyn is development director for Amnesty International. Scott ’00 is executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. I enjoy my media projects and teach elementary school science once a week.”
Tom Earle “welcomed grand twins in September.”
Steve Pfeiffer “practices global law. Five children and eight grandchildren. Thanks to those who made our 50th happen.”
Bob Berkowitz is a “pediatric psychiatrist at CHOP. See Joel Fein ’84 in emergency room. The need for youth mental help is expanding.”
Bernie Freamon “teaches about Islam in U.S. and Africa. New book available on Amazon.”
Charlie Morgan “attended U.S. Supreme Court hearing in the Chris Christie Bridgegate debacle.”
Stuart Blackburn’s new novel “tells the true story of a 1911 political assassination in India.”
Charles Elbot “closed my educational consultancy. Sons and families live nearby. Love my wife. Overall, I’m a lucky guy.”
Rameshwar Das was “bedside with mentor Ram Dass MA ’54, who died in December. Will finish his memoir on my own.”
Ron Reisner “attended Darius Brubeck and brothers’ Lincoln Center tribute to their father. Talked with Dennis Robinson ’79 and Gordon Cooney ’81 at a Wes lacrosse event.”
Fran and Paul Dickman “celebrated our 50th anniversary with parties and feasting.”
Mark Johnson welcomed “granddaughter Nova Mariano, Nov. 24, 2019.”
Andy Cohen teaches medicine at Brown and visits friends in Florida and New Orleans.
Jeff Powell wrote, “Cheryl and I are still living in New London, N.H. I retired from my internal medicine practice in 2012, however, continue to work as an IT consultant and physician informaticist at my local hospital in New London on an as needed basis. My wife and I spend our summers aboard our Island Packet sailboat cruising the coast of Maine. Our daughter, Kristen, is a family practitioner in Green Bay, Wisc. She has two teenage daughters. She and her family enjoy the rural Wisconsin lifestyle. Our son, Todd, lives with his wife and 7-year-old daughter in Columbia, S.C. I am planning on heading to my 45th medical school reunion in May at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. I still keep in touch with Rob Pratt who also has a sailboat on the coast of Maine. It is hard to believe that we will be 51 years out of Wesleyan this spring.”
Peter Prestley “is on Martha’s Vineyard for the next chapter. Dig the off-season island life.”
Doug Bell sent “all blessings” and George Evans and Mike Devine celebrated their 43rd anniversary in Montreal.
Paul Melrose sees Fred Coleman and “works part-time at the Methodist Church in Madison, Wisc.”
George Evans and Mike Devine celebrated their 43rd anniversary in Montreal.
Dave Driscoll “installed solar PV and black pipe to heat our Florida pool and jacuzzi. Red tide keeps us out of the Gulf. Thank you, Governor Scott.”
A herd of deer climb the hill across the estuary. When they run, their white tails are semaphores. Then they disappear into the woods.
Charlie Farrow | charlesfarrow@comcast.net
11 Coulter Street, #16, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
After an MA from SUNY-Buffalo, Ted Li joined the English Department of Pingry School where he enjoyed a distinguished 43-year run. He landed at Pingry due to George Moffatt, the two-time world champion in gliding who taught there then, and gliding became Ted’s primary avocation through the early ’80s. But, in 1984, he shifted his focus to fencing. While coaching Pingry’s team, he had the opportunity to manage the U.S. fencing team at the Los Angeles Olympics—and subsequently two other Olympics.
Though retired from the classroom, he is not only involved with Pingry fencing but has also been elected the international body that governs fencing. Gliding and fencing have taken him to all the inhabited continents.
Dave Garrison ’67 retired in 2009 as professor of Spanish and Portugese from Dayton’s Wright State University. He started in the class of 1967 but a year off in Spain happily moved him into 1968. In retirement, he plays tennis and golf and, after a 50-year hiatus, has taken up the trumpet again.
A poet, he has just completed another book which—not surprisingly—looks at things from the point of view of 70-year-old guys. An excerpt:
They take aspirin before playing tennis,
write wills directing their ashes
be mixed into the clay of the courts …
They have a lot to remember,
more than they have to look forward to.
These men put more and more pepper
on their potatoes, jam on their toast.
The Boys in the Boat—Wallace Murfit, Harrison Knight, Bob Svensk, John Lipsky, Nason Hamlin, Will Macoy ’67, and me—held our annual October get-together at Wes. A special treat for me was that Janet and Coach Phil Calhoun ’62, MALS ’69 came in from Lancaster. He was too young and irresponsible to be much of a role model but god we had fun.
With profound sadness, Dick Grimm reported the death of his wife, Annabella Gonzalez, of COPD in NYC on Nov. 24. Born into a prominent Mexican family whose friends included Frida Kahlo and the young Fidel Castro, she, a dancer, ended up in NYC and studied with Martha Graham. In 1976, she founded a modern dance company that is going strong and which performed at many venues internationally, at Wesleyan, and to many underserved audiences. Our heartfelt condolences.
Jan and John Graham report they are now living in a comprehensive retirement community southwest of Asheville, in part to be close to Jan’s 101-year-old mother who is in skilled nursing in the same complex, and in part to assure their daughters they will not burden them. The Osher Lifelong Learning Center at a nearby UNC campus is a big part of their lives. There, a variety of courses taught by retired professors and the like keep their minds fully functioning. Alas, John’s golf game has irreparably deteriorated but he has found other fulfilling ways in which to engage himself.
Locally, I write this in January. We are a mixed marriage and usually celebrate the holidays in a mixed-up way. But circumstances this year were such that I celebrated my first genuine Jewish Christmas—Chinese with friends followed by a movie. Refreshing.
Bob Reisfeld, the retired chief of psychiatry at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Redwood City, Calif., is enjoying good health and this phase of life with his wife, Leslie. They’ve two adult daughters: one married; the other in a long-term relationship. One is an incredibly athletic amateur aerial performer with a master’s in management in the nonprofit sector; the other a professional artist. Bob, Brian Frosh, and Tony Rotundo and their wives spent a week together on Maui in November snorkeling, golfing—studying the perfect Mai Tai. Tony and his wife, Kathy, retired from Andover’s faculty five years ago and moved from campus housing to Lexington to be closer to friends, family and “city life.” Their daughter is in computer science at Mount Holyoke, while their son teaches at a bilingual boarding school in Shanghai. In retirement, Tony is working on a book exploring the relationship between white masculinity and conservatism. (Sort of a sequel to an earlier volume he did on 19th-century manhood). He keeps up with a select group of Wesleyan friends: Eric Blumenson, Ray Solomon, Don Fels, and Mark Taylor. “Kathy often comments on what great friends I have from college. I always tell her to be glad she didn’t know us when we were 18.”
Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360
Classmates, I had a nice note from Dave Garrison, now retired from teaching Spanish and Portuguese at Wright State, but still writing poetry—he was named the state poet in Ohio in 2014 and continues to publish his poems (and win prizes for them!) and give readings. He also plays golf, tennis, and trumpet (in a concert band for folks over 50).
Jeff Hicks has been honored by the medical school at the University of Rochester, from which he received his M.D. in 1971, and where he has taught since that time. He received the Alumni Service Award. The nice citation went as follows: “Throughout his celebrated career, Dr. Jeff Hicks has raised the quality of education for students at the School of Medicine and Dentistry as well as those studying around the world. A highly accomplished and admired educator, he holds numerous awards for teaching distinction. With deepest gratitude, we honor his generous and unwavering support of the School.” As we say down south in Greensboro, N.C., “Mazel tov!”
When my wife Lisa and I lived in Santa Cruz, Calif., lots of Wesleyan pals came to visit, on their way from who-knows-where to who-knows-where, or just to experience the hip West Coast Santa Cruz vibes. We get fewer Wesleyan friends passing through Greensboro, N.C. (can’t imagine why), but we did have a really nice visit from Tony Schuman ’65, and his son Sam, on their way from Atlanta to New Jersey. Tony last visited us in Greensboro in the 1980s, so he was way overdue. He is a professor in the School of Architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Until recently, he was the director of the graduate program, he served as interim dean for two-and-a-half years, and he is a past-president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. He and his wife, Peg, live in Montclair, N.J., where he serves on the housing commission, and he is a trustee of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee. Sam, a student at Oberlin, spent the summer working as an intern at Oxford American (Sam has a twin brother who is a student at Occidental). Sam patiently listened to me and Tony go on and on about 1960s Wesleyana, as we recounted stories about people with names like Melillo ’65, Dinwoodey ’65, Archer ’65, Fluegelman ’65 and Zetterberg ’65, Norman O. “Nobby” Brown Hon. ’67, and bands with names like Gary and the Wombats and Uranus and the Moons.
In the category of weird blasts from the past, Jim Kates writes (“Dear Herr Zweigenhaft, keeper of the flame . . .”) to tell me that his girlfriend from freshman year recently sent him all the letters he wrote her in 1963 and 1964, which apparently was a lot as when he wrote me he had read dozens of them and was not yet past October of 1963. These letters include many details that will be of interest to very few people (e.g., “Pete Kovach dropped by earlier this evening; he is cultivating a beard . . . He’d spent the weekend at Wellesley”) but they perhaps capture that memorable (but fading?) first year we spent at Wesleyan. Jim would be glad to share these with interested classmates.
Bruce Morningstar wrote to catch me up on what has been going on with him. He has been fighting prostate cancer and needed radiation treatment. Fortunately, this treatment seems to have worked, as his doc has told him that his PSA is now way down. Unfortunately, his wife of nearly 47 years, Katie, died in late October (“I lost my love and my best friend”).
Despite these travails, Bruce was nice enough to ask about me (“You write about the rest of us. Let us know how you are doing”). I’m doing fine, living with my wife, Lisa, and two rescue dogs, both collies (Jokomo and Zena), in the house in a historic neighborhood we moved into in 1975 (before it was “historic”). I have been fortunate in terms of the major health issues that many people my age and younger have faced. I am still teaching (though a somewhat reduced load), and still writing some academic stuff. My writing project this past summer (2019) was not my most academic (au contraire), but it was one of the most fun. It is a book about the pick-up basketball game I helped to found and have been playing in for 44 years. It is titled GEEZERBALL: North Carolina Basketball at its Eldest (Sort of a Memoir). By the time you read this, it should be available at my favorite Greensboro independent bookstore, Scuppernong, or whatever your favorite independent bookstore is, or (if you must) through Amazon.
Friendship first.
Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu
“Lives well-led” is the theme. We begin with this delightful update from Phil Luks: “Wesleyan memories: sipping sherry with Tom Tashiro, the most precise and thoughtful person I’ll ever meet. Sitting on an Amherst hillside with a first date—now my wife of 51 years, Charlene Balcom, Mount Holyoke ’67—watching a young president, with a month to live, dedicate the Robert Frost Library. Throwing buckets in the best Clark Hall water fight ever. Charlene and Hank Lufler dancing on Hank’s couch to “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Falling off my chair laughing at one of Rusty Hardin’s [’64] stories.
“After law school, I joined a San Francisco law firm, and focused on developing and financing large cogeneration and alternative energy electric power projects. I then worked for one of our major engineering clients, as a senior executive responsible for the world-wide development of large non-government infrastructure projects. At the end of my career, I took a fling with a Silicon Valley startup that tried to create a specialized search engine, but got swamped by another startup with a funny name, Google. Along the way, Charlene and I had a daughter (Tracy, Reed College ’94) and two grandchildren.
“We retired to Healdsburg, Calif., one of the best communities in America (read David Brooks if you want to see how a city like ours, a society and community like ours, can work and thrive.) If you live here, you connect with the city’s life, and I’ve been active in the local community foundation and health clinic, and have been a planning commissioner for years. Charlene out participates me—the library would fall down without her. We keep active, we’re in good health and we try our best to look forward to the future.”
Phil Shaver, distinguished professor of psychology emeritus at University of California, Davis, and his wife, Dr. Gail Goodman, were invited to speak at Altai State University in Russia. Phil shares this illustrious story: “Late one evening we went down for dinner in our hotel dining room, and besides ourselves there were only two guys sitting at a table with large, empty beer glasses, taking vodka shots followed by swigs of red berry juice. They invited me over for a brief conversation and three test shots, and we conversed as much as their modest English and my nonexistent Russian allowed. At one point in the ‘conversation,’ I happened to mention Putin. One of the guys excitedly said, ‘I LOVE Putin!’ He stood up, pulled up his sweater, and revealed a t-shirt with a picture on it of Putin wearing a jaunty sailor’s cap. I said, ‘That is GREAT! Where did you get it? I’d like to buy one.’ He said, ‘You like it? You can have it!’ And he quickly removed both his sweater and the Putin shirt, and – standing bare-chested – handed me the shirt. It was the first time in my life I ever realized what ‘He’d give me the shirt off his back’ means. My wife said, ‘Phil, are we ever going to order dinner?’” Though retired, “taking golf lessons and art classes,” Phil is “drawn back into work…I agreed to teach a 200-student course…I had thought I would never do such a thing again. I expected to be dead or demented by now, but since I seem to be in pretty good shape, I may as well make small contributions to the younger generations of students and coauthors.” I say, good for Phil.
In retirement, Paul Gilbert continues to contribute and to inspire: “I’ve discovered his favorite sport again while helping those who deserve it. Veterans on Deck is a volunteer organization run by veterans who take recently released and retired veterans who want to benefit from a program designed to provide a social atmosphere combined with a little adventure. VOD activities help to relieve socialization issues during active duty or after serving on active duty…We have a full schedule of sailing opportunities for vets Tuesday through Saturday. We have two boats, both skippered by retired older veterans qualified to be skippers. We go out (weather dependent) for two-hour trips utilizing our participants to work the boat. It’s a way of getting someone literally off the couch, put them in touch with their peers and generally have a good time. We’re supported by local donations to our nonprofit and are able to accept donations of sailboats for our use. Right now, we have a 27-foot and 31-foot sailboat. I’ve found new friendships as a volunteer and hopefully helped our participants find a way for a better quality of life.” Again, life being well-led.
Dave McNally and his wife, Michelle, recently “joined forces with John Neff for a fabulous weekend at Sugar Hollow Retreat, a beautiful rustic resort in east Tennessee owned by an old friend. The festivities included a day at the National Storytelling Festival in historic Jonesborough, Tenn., an annual event that draws thousands and features innumerable storytellers from around the world (our favorite was Bil Lepp, five-time winner of the WV Liars Contest). We stayed at John’s afterward in Winston-Salem and had the pleasure of him visiting us in Alexandria in December.
“I also spoke at length with classmate Rob Chickering, who still plays tennis several times a week and enjoys a relaxed retirement with his wife Rhoda in East Montpelier, Vt. And I met . . . in Alexandria, VA, with Pam Vasiliou, who just retired from a long career at Wesleyan. Any of you who ever attended one of our class Reunions appreciates how incredibly helpful Pam has always been. She felt a special bond to our class, and we to her. Thank you, Pam, and may you enjoy a long and wonderful retirement.
“Michelle and I spend as much time as possible at our log house in the woods in the West Virginia. We’re nearly three miles from the nearest paved road, just the way we like it. The photo shows a rainbow ending right on our house, a meaningful event for an Irishman like yours truly.”
Dave also sends news about our national champion swimmer, Sandy Van Kennen, who “recently had both knees replaced. Sandy is confident that both surgeries were highly successful, though he stresses that the key—apart, of course, from having a good surgeon—is doing all the prescribed physical therapy religiously, and having an adequate stash of the products that brought the Sackler family so much wealth (and infamy).”
Howard Brodsky’s exemplary work and stellar career are once more being recognized, Howard being “named the 2019 recipient of the international Rochdale Pioneers Award…the ‘Nobel Prize of Cooperative Business,’ the Rochdale Award is given out every two years to an individual who has made the greatest impact across the world through the innovations of shared ownership, specifically through the cooperative business model that anchors value with members, employees, customers, and their communities.” Howard “co-founded CCA Global Partners in 1984, bringing scale to entrepreneurial family businesses by creating an international enterprise of 15 unique cooperative businesses in multiple sectors of the economy from home furnishings, business services, sports retail stores, to childcare, nonprofits and more. Together, they serve 1 million small businesses in four countries and 20,000 childcare centers across America.”
Congratulations to Howard and best wishes to all, with the reminder to mark your calendars for our 55th Reunion in May of 2021.
LARRY CARVER | carver1680@gmail.com
P.O. Box 103, Rico, Colorado, 81332 512/478-8968
