Class Notes

From my old roommate Whit Rusk: “Pat and I moved to St. Simons Island, Ga., in 2003 after 24 years in Houston, working for banks that no longer exist. We are both still in pretty good health, supported by a few pills. Our two children gave us five grands—four now in college (Lafayette, RPI, Tufts, and Bowdoin) and one 2018 Amherst graduate.” At the time of writing, they were anticipating Hurricane Dorian, which was making its way up the Florida coast.

John Foster: “We Fosters are fortunate, all together in the lovely town of Marblehead, Mass., where Lila and I have lived virtually all of our married life. Our sons and spouses have returned with our four grandchildren. Our lovely daughter, Emily, died in her mid-20s as the result of a water-borne disease in Nepal, but she is with us too, in spirit.

“Our one-plus acre home and grounds, large for this rockbound coast, have given us great joy since the 1970s. For many years, Lila brought her Southern charm and hard work to create naturally landscaped grounds, while I slashed and hacked back the yearly overgrowth. Now, at 85 years young, with energy at a lower tide, I’ve given in and hired a stronger man to help me out for a couple of hours each week.

“Our hovering sons pushed us to retire our much-loved 2004 and 2005 autos (plus our 1967 Olds convertible) to get new-fangled ones with all that safety stuff. We acquiesced with Lila’s car and ultimately sold my Highlander and ’67 Olds convertible. Although my 2005 Toyota Highlander was the best car I’ve ever owned, I’ve never ridden in something as comfortable as the 2001 Lexus LS430 inherited by my two high-spirited, 20-ish granddaughters from their other grandfather. It’s a bit too old-fogey for them, so there may be a deal.”

Loni and Al Haas “have six teenage grandchildren, all of whom are successfully carving their own trails in life. We enjoy driving to the Boston area to visit and stand in once in a while. We passed our 51st wedding anniversary in August, and we still visit Denmark regularly, usually with a grandchild in tow to expose them to a wonderful piece of their heritage. As for health, seven stents in my heart, a bout with a rare form of cancer (Merkel cell carcinoma) and 50 extra pounds have not interfered with my life or relationships. I don’t swing a club very well anymore, and my love of body surfing on Nantucket has diminished as I become less steady on my feet in raging surf.”

Al still heads Educational Futures, whose mission is to find college destinations for young people from around the world. Now, he writes, “I am working with my two oldest grandchildren on college planning, which is a cozy capstone for my career.”

Jay Kaplan, having published two well-received books, Secrets and Suspense and In Search of Beauty, is now “working on creating a Museum of Jewish Civilization. We have found a site at L’Enfant Plaza in downtown D.C. next door to the new and quite spectacular Spy Museum. Our museum is being designed by the world renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, whose works include the popular Jewish Museum in Berlin and Ground Zero in New York.”

Walter Ebmeyer will “get my first walker this week in preparation for the World Climate Change Week protests here in Washington on Sept. 20-27. It will provide me with a place to sit down from time to time (Parkinson’s). Good e-mails from my old indefatigable roomie, Phil Crombie.”

Bob Calvin writes: “My wife, Jane, an art photographer, is having an exhibit at the University of Missouri art museum in St. Louis. Her video project on Chicago cottages will be featured.”

Jim Gramentine’s “granddaughter, Polly Durant, who still calls [him] DanDan, is scheduled to marry one Michael Kellner next October. Our grandson, Nathanial, a graduate of St. Andrew’s School, Florida, has jumped his way into the Ivy League (Columbia). It takes more than good scores and grades these days, and in his case high jumping 6’10” to win the Florida Relays last April may have been decisive.”

Ann and I were on the move all summer: Chile with our family (the eclipse, of course); Tanglewood with granddaughter Jeannette (Verdi’s Requiem); the Adirondacks (Ann’s high school reunion); Burlington (Jeannette’s freshman digs at the University of Vermont); Cobleskill—look it up—(brunch with high school chums, meeting in person a long-lost cousin found through Ancestry.com, plus our 59th anniversary); and the Catskills (the annual Chien family gathering—where taking the ritual photo was enlivened when a grandnephew presented The Ring to his unsuspecting fiancée-to-be; she said “Yes!”)

Back home we are traveling vicariously with Sheila and Bob Runyon via his newly published Seven Continents Before Incontinence: A Memoir of Travel & Togetherness. Fascinating stuff. Try it. (It’s available from Amazon.) Way to go, Bob!

George Chien | gchien@optonline.net

A salute to John Sheaff for expressing what I’m sure most of us wish, think, and feel at this point in our lives. I’ve copied his note, word for word, so as not to lose any of his thoughts:

“Fortunately I can say that Lois and I are still functioning as best as can be expected for old geezers like us. Who cannot be overjoyed looking out at the beautiful green and flower-laced scenes that surround us here in upstate New York. Just think, a year from now we will be able to attend our 65th Reunion at Wesleyan. Hope to see you all there.”

Sad update: In a Nov. 3 text from Lois Sheaff, John’s wife for the past 65 years, I received word of his passing on Nov. 1. Sincere condolences to the entire family. Know that I will sorely miss John’s frequent contributions to Class Notes such as the one that appears in this column as well as the many wonderful memories shared with him.

Word was received that on Aug. 16 Gail Clarke passed away at his home in Old Saybrook, Conn. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Emily Hooghkirk, and his three daughters. I’m sure I speak for all of us in offering sincere condolence to Emily.

On the home front, Marianne and I moved back to our “original homestead” at Hunters Run in Boynton Beach, Fla. As Marianne has regained strength in her arms and is able to grip a golf club once again, the move made sense and has brought much joy to both of us. An added plus is that we are once again only a five-minute walk from my sister’s residence here at the club. Another plus is the streets are usually very quiet, so when I’m not engaged in riding with my bicycle club members, I have little fear of riding solo for a 20-mile “warm up” here. Always a delight to stop into our local clubhouse for a cup of coffee and conversation midway on my journey. And speaking of cycling, this years’ total miles will only approximate around 4,000 as heat and rain have really cut into the activity. OK, one of these days I might even admit that with advancing age I might even have slowed down!

Finally, I’d be more than pleased to receive a word or two from you. By doing so I won’t have to bore you with tales of my cycling exploits! And please note a change of my e-mail address.

As always, let me extend my very best wishes to you and your loved ones for good health, much happiness and peace!

DONALD J. BRAVERMAN | ybikedon@gmail.com
34 Southport Ln. Apt. C, Boynton Beach, FL 33436

Greetings, Classmates of 1954. Thanks for responses from four stalwarts, as follows:

Dave Hodgin is still going to his office every day and says he remains quite healthy. Dave traveled a bit early this past summer, to Estonia and Latvia, then spent 10 days in Hawaii. Still productive and happy, but with one huge “bummer”: missing his wife of 61 years, who died five years ago.

Len Stolba says he remains healthy and happy sitting on their 1.6 acres and managing his biennial barn sale of past art. Len sends cheers to all.

Bud Johnson writes that travel and grandchildren capture his and Lynn’s key attention these days. Two grandsons did internships in Beijing while college sophomores. Bud and bride did visit them once, but vetoed another 15-hour flight! Instead they recently spent Labor Day week cruising the U.K., the Netherlands, and Iceland—where coincidence put them in a thermal power plant with China’s inquisitive ambassador to Iceland! Go, Bud!

Marty Feins writes with sad news: his wife of nearly 65 years, Michelle, passed away this summer after a long illness—thus preventing Marty from attending our 65th Reunion. Marty is now in the process of moving into a condominium in Naples, Fla., and would welcome contacts from his ’54 classmates. Marty’s e-mail is martinfeins@gmail.com. Finally, sad to relate that two more of us have departed: Win Richmond on April 19 and Eric Cone on July 24.

Your humble scribe, Bob Carey, and bride Libby, had a very nice summer, highlighted by a great trip to San Diego to visit Bob’s daughter, Ann, and family, and to go whale watching in the Pacific. In October, we traveled to London to see Libby’s son, Jack, and to attend a memorial service for our daughter-in-law, Julienne, who, sadly, passed away last spring at 53. In November we journey via train to Vermont, to visit Bob’s daughter, Leah, and family. Otherwise, we’re busy with our volunteer activities (for Bob, that’s driving for Call-A-Ride and for Meals-On-Wheels.). Happy Holidays to all.

BOB CAREY | popscarey@gmail.com
618 W. Lyon Farm Dr., Greenwich, CT 06831 | 203/532-1745

Ron Daniel reports that he is still at McKinsey & Co.—62 years and counting. (Amazing longevity—I have not been in one job for more than 10 years). The company is about to move its New York office to World Trade Center 3. Most of the younger professionals live below 14th Street or in Brooklyn. When he joined the firm in 1957, there were no professionals. Now there are over 15,000. Only one employee at the time was not an American, now the Americans are about 20% of the firm. He continues to serve on the boards of seven or eight not-for-profit organizations (Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rockefeller University, The Peterson Foundation, the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel, the National Gallery in London, the Library of America, among others). Onward! (ron.daniel@mckinsey.com)

Dwight Herrmann writes that he was not too happy rattling around his house after his wife, Leslye, departed so he sold it and bought into the Masonic Village at Sewickley, Pa., which is near his eldest daughter, also named Leslye. This is a continuing care facility and he is in independent living, driving a car, and doing everything he always did, albeit, a good deal slower. He is quite happy and has made lots of friends. He can be reached at 2440 Masonic Dr., Sewickley, PA 15143 and at 717/379-8004.

Frank LaBella (labella@shaw.com) and Arlyne McDowell, a townie, just celebrated their 67th anniversary. Congratulations! Frank, a University of Manitoba pharmacology professor, and an electronic engineer colleague have been working on a novel sensor for several years and are in the process of finally demonstrating its capabilities to potential investors and industrial partners. He has several recent publications and some historical information for those interested.

As for me, this promises to be a busy year. My daughter, Ellen ’82, and her husband, Samuel Bender ’82, MD, will be celebrating their 60th birthdays and 30th wedding anniversary and three grandchildren will be graduating (Madeline, Yale ’20}; Eliza and Jenna (high school). We intend to celebrate with a Baltic cruise in June.

Please send news.

Joseph N. Friedman  | jfriedman@regalnyc.com
400 East 56th Street, Apt. 28LM, New York, NY 10022 | 917/715-8881

Ed.’s note: After more than 50 years of service, David Philips is stepping down as your class secretary. We are incredibly thankful for all David has done to keep the class of 1951 connected over the years.

For those with class notes, contact Managing Editor Cynthia Rockwell    crockwell@wesleyan.edu | 860/685-3705

N. Thorne Griscom ’52, P ’88 passed away on Sept. 27, 2019 at the age of 88. A full obituary can be found here.

A whole year has gone by and we are excited to share what your fellow classmates have been up to, and will be up to, in the next few months!

Talia Kaplan is moving from D.C. to New York to study for rabbinic ordination and a master’s in Jewish education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Talia is excited to integrate Jewish texts and tradition with her work in community organizing, social justice, and education.

Lily Segal just finished her first year of medical school and has been volunteering in Philadelphia with those experiencing homelessness, to connect them to Philadelphia’s community resources and also get them signed up for health insurance and get them primary care doctors. It’s been insanely rewarding and a lot of what she’s been doing she couldn’t have done without Wesleyan!

Jackson Barnett will be heading to Boston University School of Law in the fall!

John-Henry Carey just finished his first of three years at Columbia for his MFA in acting. This summer, he will be camping in the Maui rainforest and working at Camp Hokukea at Sam Paik’s [’90] summer camp in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Sam is the father of Ellen Paik ’16.)

Joanna Paul and her coworker are taking a group of high school students to Los Angeles for a week this summer to engage in service with people (foster care populations and homeless populations) and with the land (beach cleanup, invasive species removal, and organic farm work). They will be meeting up with Oliver Goodman ’17 for a fire-damage tour.

Last August, Phoebe Howe moved to Honduras to teach English to first graders. It has been an absolutely wild year for her. Next year, she’ll teach second grade and coordinate the volunteer program at her school.

Since graduation, Spencer Gooding has moved back to his hometown of Los Angeles and is working as the special assistant to the chairman of a production company called Mandalay Pictures. He plans to work in the film industry, and before he started this job he tried his hand at making his own short film that is still in the processes of being finished. The experience has taught him he still has a lot to learn, but his job is a great place to start.

Marty Rubin is a high school Spanish teacher in Bridgeport, Conn., working his way towards a master’s in education from Johns Hopkins University.

Marjorie Kozloff has been summoned to grand jury duty.

Brittany Gilmore will be attending the Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont beginning in August pursuing her MD degree! She is very excited but keep her sanity in your prayers.

Margot Metz will be starting dental school at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine this August (class of 2023).

Nicole Boyd has spent most of this year working as an intern at the Center for Italian Modern Art, an exhibition space and research center in downtown Manhattan, and she’ll be starting graduate school in the fall! She will be entering the history of art PhD program at Yale, where the focus of her research will be the Italian Baroque.

Natasha Timmons is working in D.C. as the learning and development coordinator at Conservation International.

Blake Pritchard is working at Gray Organschi Architecture in New Haven, helping out with computer and physical modeling, as well as work in the wood shop.

Henry Lombino has been working in NYC on a couple of off-Broadway shows (Catch as Catch Can and Proof of Love) and this spring he was the operations intern for the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn. He also worked with the Guggenheim fellow Raphael Xavier, who performed his dance piece Point of Interest at Wes by designing his website and helping him establish his mentorship program.

Please keep us updated on your life adventures and make sure to write us about you are up to for the next publication!

Love,

Najwa Anasse | nanasse@wesleyan.edu
Garett Larivee | glarivee@wesleyan.edu

Congrats again, Class of 2019! I hope you have all had productive and wonderful summers. We have spent the past four years together, and I can’t believe we are now approaching our first post-Wesleyan fall. I’m excited to hear from you all and find out what amazing things our class has been up to. Look out for an e-mail from me for updates to appear in next issue of the magazine.

Justin Campos | jxcampos@wesleyan.edu

A whole year has gone by and we are excited to share what your fellow classmates have been up to, and will be up to, in the next few months!

Talia Kaplan is moving from D.C. to New York to study for rabbinic ordination and a master’s in Jewish education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Talia is excited to integrate Jewish texts and tradition with her work in community organizing, social justice, and education.

Lily Segal just finished her first year of medical school and has been volunteering in Philadelphia with those experiencing homelessness, to connect them to Philadelphia’s community resources and also get them signed up for health insurance and get them primary care doctors. It’s been insanely rewarding and a lot of what she’s been doing she couldn’t have done without Wesleyan!

Jackson Barnett will be heading to Boston University School of Law in the fall!

John-Henry Carey just finished his first of three years at Columbia for his MFA in acting. This summer, he will be camping in the Maui rainforest and working at Camp Hokukea at Sam Paik’s [’90] summer camp in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Sam is the father of Ellen Paik ’16.)

Joanna Paul and her coworker are taking a group of high school students to Los Angeles for a week this summer to engage in service with people (foster care populations and homeless populations) and with the land (beach cleanup, invasive species removal, and organic farm work). They will be meeting up with Oliver Goodman ’17 for a fire-damage tour.

Last August, Phoebe Howe moved to Honduras to teach English to first graders. It has been an absolutely wild year for her. Next year, she’ll teach second grade and coordinate the volunteer program at her school.

Since graduation, Spencer Gooding has moved back to his hometown of Los Angeles and is working as the special assistant to the chairman of a production company called Mandalay Pictures. He plans to work in the film industry, and before he started this job he tried his hand at making his own short film that is still in the processes of being finished. The experience has taught him he still has a lot to learn, but his job is a great place to start.

Marty Rubin is a high school Spanish teacher in Bridgeport, Conn., working his way towards a master’s in education from Johns Hopkins University.

Marjorie Kozloff has been summoned to grand jury duty.

Brittany Gilmore will be attending the Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont beginning in August pursuing her MD degree! She is very excited but keep her sanity in your prayers.

Margot Metz will be starting dental school at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine this August (class of 2023).

Nicole Boyd has spent most of this year working as an intern at the Center for Italian Modern Art, an exhibition space and research center in downtown Manhattan, and she’ll be starting graduate school in the fall! She will be entering the history of art PhD program at Yale, where the focus of her research will be the Italian Baroque.

Natasha Timmons is working in D.C. as the learning and development coordinator at Conservation International.

Blake Pritchard is working at Gray Organschi Architecture in New Haven, helping out with computer and physical modeling, as well as work in the wood shop.

Henry Lombino has been working in NYC on a couple of off-Broadway shows (Catch as Catch Can and Proof of Love) and this spring he was the operations intern for the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn. He also worked with the Guggenheim fellow Raphael Xavier, who performed his dance piece Point of Interest at Wes by designing his website and helping him establish his mentorship program.

Please keep us updated on your life adventures and make sure to write us about you are up to for the next publication!

Love,

Najwa Anasse | nanasse@wesleyan.edu
Garett Larivee | glarivee@wesleyan.edu

The Wesleyan Denver crew is breaking up. Keyonne Session is moving to the concrete jungle to start a new position at Girls Who Code. Kate Suslovic is taking a cross-country journey with her family to Maine. Avery Kimmell has accepted a teaching position in Denver and Sarah Lazarus will be starting med school at the University of Wisconsin.

Anne Cooperstone has set sail to find what is west of Westeros.

Anna Lu is working at UMass medical school as a research coordinator. She has a great work environment, appreciates the research realm, and will graduate with her master’s in heath science next May.

Jake Lahut has been reporting on the 2020 presidential election and New Hampshire state politics at The Keene Sentinel. He started their first ever podcast, Pod Free or Die, where he interviews presidential candidates and other interesting political figures in the Granite State.

Cole Morissette finished his first year of medical school at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is likely pursuing either orthopedic spine surgery or neurosurgery. He is conducting orthopedic spine surgery research and will be working at Royalty Pharma this summer in Midtown. They are a financial entity that deals with investing in pharmaceutical development.

Han How joined Equity Residential three months ago to work on multifamily acquisitions and developments in the Bay Area.

Kaitlin Chan is moving to Taipei this summer to make comics with the support of the Mortimer Hays-Brandeis Traveling Fellowship. She would like to thank Professor Jason Adam Katzenstein ’13, Kate Ten Eyck, and Dat Vu ’15 for helping her with her application.

Remy G. Hatfield-Gardner is finishing up grad school at UMass Boston, pursuing a master’s degree in American studies.

Nick Daley has been spent the last year dancing in New York City. He taught his first professional dance classes as a nominated substitute at the Peridance Capezio Dance Center, and his work with Ehrstrand Dance Collective brought him to Taiwan to teach and perform alongside the Seed Dance Company. He is beginning a residency with Ehrstrand Dance Collective in Styggbo, Sweden, then heading to Berlin for b12, Europe’s biggest contemporary dance festival.

Zach Lambros is melting in Georgia and still in search of a girlfriend.

Ilana Ladis is starting a PhD program in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia this fall. She’d love to meet up with anyone living there.

Liz Farrell started a new job in investor relations with the nonprofit Global Health Corps and adopted a dog named Otis.

Mark Otdelnov is an SAT tutor. He lives with family in Moscow and plans to study for a PhD in philosophy in the U.S. So far, he’s received a funded offer from the University of Houston. His writing sample is on Plato’s Timaeus.

Fred Ayres finished his AmeriCorps service term with City Year Detroit and will move to Ann Arbor to begin medical school at the University of Michigan. He will begin seeing patients and examining the role played by cognitive biases in such conditions as hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.

Julie Magruder co-produces a podcast series with Deepak Chopra, called Deepak Chopra’s Infinite Potential. She’s also a producer for Daily Breath, also with Deepak, but more focused on daily uplifting messages and thought-provoking themes.

Sam Shillet needs a roommate in Brooklyn. Hit him up. He’s still gainfully employed. Nisha Grewal is going to grad school for physics at the University of Edinburg. Jack Reibstein is in Portland, Ore., pursuing comedy, writing, and comedy-writing. Althea Turner finished a year of teaching at San Francisco’s Presidio School and is moving to Bar Harbor, Maine. Alex Minton just moved into NYC’s tiniest apartment and is finishing a two-year fellowship in aviation and public policy at the Port Authority. Sophie Miller is starting her first year of law school at Cornell University.

Davis Reid was promoted to senior associate at System1 Research and is engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Kacie Eis. Andrew Rock received a promotion. Eli Spector accepted a position in the Moore Lab at Temple University, where he is investigating the cellular mechanism of circuit formation in neurons.

Ali Felman made it through her first year as a lead teacher physically unscathed; however, middle school students are quite adept at inflicting emotional and spiritual lacerations, so the jury is still out on those. Just kidding. She is still in Oakland, Calif., enjoying the high gas prices and perpetually temperate weather.

Allison Conley, Tricia Merlino ’18, and Peter Dunphy ’18 live together in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. They have been magnificently unsuccessful on dating apps.

Sara Dean and Lydia Tonkonow live in D.C. and are housemates once again (thanks, 7 Fountain)! Coincidentally, they both work in fields related to health policy, and they have been slowly realizing their favorite childhood video game, Zoo Tycoon 2, by adopting a dog and a cat.

Keyonne Session | ksession@wesleyan.edu