Class Notes

Hello all. Gary Breitbord here. First things first. It’s our 40th Reunion May 24-26! Please put it on your calendars if it isn’t already there. We hope you will be attending to re-connect with other ’79ers and to enjoy the weekend’s festivities. Registration and more information can be found at: wesleyan.edu/rc. Be there or be square.

This is my swan song as co-class secretary. It’s been a fun 10 years. I’ve enjoyed being a conduit for all the class news that’s fit to print.

I spent a delightful evening with Jeff Gray ’77, Tim Fitzgerald, Mike Rosenblatt ’80, Jeff Burns ’80, and Tim O’Brien ’81 sharing life stories of family, friends, careers and, of course, Wesleyan and DKE.This time with spouses and significant others. We all consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have found such wonderful, and tolerant, life partners.

Rachel Bashevkin writes in: “In 2016, after 35 years in the small town of Middlebury, Conn., I retired as director of studies at Westover School and moved to New Haven. I am very much enjoying this new life!I’m looking forward to reunion in the spring.” Alright! First attendee identified. Who else?

Joe Wilson ’19 received the Gridiron Club of Boston’s prestigious Nils V. “Swede” Nelson Award for outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, sportsmanship, and citizenship. To celebrate with Joe, Dave Thomas ’77 graciously hosted a table that included Jeff Gray ’77, Paul Fichera ’77, Bill Ahern ’78, Paul Nelson ’78, Frank Hauser, and Mike Whalen ’83.

And from another classmate planning on attending Reunion Lisa Frantzis: “I will be attending Reunion and can’t wait to see friends again. I have been working in the clean energy sector since I left Wesleyan. I am wearing two hats these days . . . one as a managing director at Navigant consulting in clean energy and two as a senior vice president at Advanced Energy Economy where we are transforming policy at the state and federal level to accelerate the growth of clean, affordable and secure energy. I work with great people and love my work. I started to have kids late in life. Even though I have been married for 20 years to my partner Ophelia, we now have an 11-year-old boy named Luke who is terrific. I have tried to keep up my piano playing, but did not succeed in that as time has been tight. I have been keeping up with Roberta Rebold and Lisa Cunningham. Roberta lives in Israel with her family, Lisa lives in Brookline, Mass., and I live in nearby Cambridge, Mass.”

Rachel Christmas Derrick sent this update: “Wesleyan remains with me in many ways, particularly since my son is a freshman there. Unlike me, he is pre-med. Like me, he is thoroughly enjoying himself and is taking a fiction writing class. Our daughter, a junior at Yale, is studying political science in Rio this semester.

“After years as an editor in book publishing and a freelance writer, and after working in communications at the Rockefeller Foundation, Columbia University, and an affordable housing organization, I’m now Managing Editor of a financial services nonprofit with socially responsible investments ranging from renewable energy in India and small-scale farming in Tanzania to affordable housing in California. Never thought I’d end up in my husband’s field (finance)—but (apart from us) his passion lies with his part-time job: officiating football.”

Diane LaPointe: “I continue to enjoy working in the financial services industry as the principal financial officer for the asset management firm and mutual fund complex founded and headed by Mario Gabelli. Certainly, a very interesting place to be in this economic climate. Good people and challenging work. My husband and I have adapted to our empty nest. Our son Matthew (Princeton ‘13) has been happily living in San Francisco for the past 6 years and working in the tech space. Our daughter Megan ’17—Phi Beta Kappa and with high honors—spent a year in a fellowship with AmeriCorps, and is now attending UPenn grad school in Philadelphia working on her masters in urban education. I am looking forward to Reunion and seeing everyone but really can’t quite understand how it’s been 40 years!” I’m sensing a Reunion trend here.

Ellen M. Blau: “I’ve been living in beautiful but now bustling and too crowded Seattle for 30 years! My 28-year-old daughter and her new husband also live in Seattle. I’ve been a psychologist for 30 years here, mostly in private practice after a stint as a staff psychologist in physical medicine and rehab. Last year through a series of seemingly fated events I ended up working at a tech start up (like everyone else in Seattle) writing psychology and coaching web and app content. It was really interesting to have a Millennial boss and team (I learned bunch of phrases like “woke” and “avocado toast”) and challenging (they work hard in young tech companies) and I learned a bunch of other stuff (like that no one uses the same grammatical rules as our generation).

“That job ended this past summer, and my time, like many of us, I am sure, has been dominated by managing my 86-year-old mom’s life in Boca from across the continent. I had the thought recently that we should all share our stories about eldercare and support each other in this sacred duty. I’m now starting up a new chapter of psychology practice in an integrative medicine group focusing on positive psychology (mindfulness-based well-being, resilience, and self-efficacy practices, including applications of current neuroscience research on applied neuroplasticity). I’m thankful that my interest in biology and psychology has lasted a lifetime (did a joint bio-psych major at Wes, then MA and PhD. in clinical psych, postdoctoral training in neuropsychology and geriatric mental health). On the personal front I’ve been divorced for many years now but I’m truly blessed with friends, community, health, travel opportunities (including Cuba twice and the North Pole!) and I sing a lot (including Jewish leadership). I’m still learning as much as I can. Now that I know it’s our 40th Reunion maybe I’ll try to make it to Connecticut this May.”

Jane Marcellus: “My essay, My Father’s Tooth, made the Notables list in Best American Essays 2018. It’s set partly at Wesleyan. I also won the Betty Gabehart Award for nonfiction, given by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, for work in progress.”

Adam Vickers: “Helen and I are enjoying life in Gaborone, Botswana. I’ve turned over the reins of our company to a younger man, so now I get to consult for the African Development Bank across the continent, do some executive mentoring and facilitate programs on strategic execution and sales. Helen operates her rentals and is involved with the community. Weddings and funerals are big on the social calendar, but we also get to travel a fair bit. We needed an excuse to see the rest of the family this year, so maybe reunion will work.” Excuse confirmed. Family and friends. Great reason for a trip.

Doug Pavlak: “I do not have a lot of exciting news to report since I last sent notes other than the fact that (finally) one of my (seven) children is going to Wesleyan! Gunter Haug-Pavlak was accepted early decision in December for the class of 2023. It was great to see the campus again while he interviewed, and my wife and I look forward to seeing him row on the crew (my sport).” Go Wes!

Jono Cobb: “This marks the 40th year since I shared a small four bedroom/one-bathroom house on Martha’s Vineyard with Maureen Walsh, Bethany Kandel, Deirdre Manning, Spence Studwell, Dennis Archibald, Jim Connery, Mike Riera and his un-housebroken dog. We named our mansion Little Walden.”

Reunion musing: “I thought growing old would take longer.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Class of 1978 Endowed Scholarship Fund
Matthew Grimaldi ’21, Florence, MA

Greetings, classmates. Hopefully by print time, the snow has melted and spring has sprung! Thanks all of you who answered the Lyris request for news this month. We had lots of material for our notes.

Doug Hardy and Roselyn Romberg ’79 returned to Concord, Mass., in 2018 where Roselyn continues her consulting business to nonprofits including Harvard Business School and several health-related foundations. Doug is at work on his 15th nonfiction book.

Gary Friedmann chairs the Bar Harbor Town Council and the board of A Climate to Thrive, a grassroots organization working to make Mount Desert Island and the state of Maine energy independent.

Our hearts are saddened by the news that Peter Kelley died of a heart attack on Oct. 8. His friend Casey Blake, wrote that “Peter’s creativity, kindness and gentle charisma are fondly remembered by his housemates at 49 Brainerd as well as other alumni.” Peter majored in studio art at Wesleyan, was an important participant in the University’s art history program, as well as captain of the crew team. After graduation, Peter took an MFA at Pratt Institute and embarked on a highly successful career as a digital artist. He is survived by his wife, Tracey, their sons, David and Aaron ’10, as well as other family members.

After five years, Bill Adler still loves living in Tokyo. He shares an apartment with “one cat, one girlfriend, and a view of Mt. Fuji.” He is busy writing novels as well as researching and writing about wristwatches at abetterwrist.com. If anyone is going to Tokyo, he’d be happy to show you around.

Nancy Chen reports on many joyful changes in her life recently. She moved to Bozeman, Mont., got engaged, and is launching a new division of her coaching business for women’s leadership: powertothequeen.com. Her older daughter is going for her PhD. in environmental engineering and her younger daughter will get her BA in English and communications this spring.

Suki Hoagland is happily back at Stanford University where she loves teaching and her students. Her husband is also at Stanford, co-directing the Center for Ocean Solutions. They rescued a Golden Retriever who seems to really like his new owners and has brought great joy and laughter into their home. Their eldest son, Ben, is a congressional fellow. Their youngest son, Jonathan, is completing a dual masters in transportation engineering and urban design at MIT. He has taken up Zouk, a Brazilian dance, and he choreographs, teaches, and performs all over the world.

Pete Lewis sent sad news that his father, George Lewis ’53, passed on Dec. 22. George was an Alpha Delt and loved everything Wesleyan. Pete said that if his dad could have sent a message to the Wesleyan alumni community it would have been, “Be generous to those in worse circumstances than yours. The next time you come upon a homeless person, instead of walking past, reach into your wallet and pull out a $10 bill.” Completing the circle of life, Pete’s grandson, Jameson, was born in September and George got to hold him in November uniting four generations. Pretty cool.

Wendy Kaufman sent greetings from Denver, where she feels lucky to celebrate 33 years of marriage, three great children, and two dachshunds. Their twin sons turned 30 in February and their 27-year-old daughter survived the 2015 Nepal earthquake at base camp. To be safer she started rock climbing. With a couple of JDs, an LLM, and an MBA later, Wendy considers her kids all “launched.” She is active with some Denver nonprofits, loves to travel, and is excited to be involved with John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon. ’10’s Giddy Up group.

Jim Kurose and Julie Johnson Kurose have been living in Northampton, Mass., since 1984 when Jim joined the computer science faculty at the University of Massachusetts. For the past four years, he’s been on leave working as an assistant director at the National Science Foundation and at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in D.C. He’ll return to UMass in in the fall. Julie is retired from her job of many years as registrar at Northampton High School. They have three grown children, Chris, Charlie ’10, and Nina, and a grandchild, Micah, all of whom they enjoy visiting in San Jose, Chicago, and Paris.

Over the past few years, George Raymond had been getting together annually with his friend and former CSS economics professor Peter Kilby. When George visited Peter at his summer home in Maine in June, little did he know that Peter would die suddenly on Aug. 2. Since 2002, George has been interviewing talented Wesleyan applicants who live in Switzerland.

Kevin Rose P’19 enjoys keeping up with our class via the notes and helped enhance this column with some news of his own. His son, Danny ’19, has thoroughly enjoyed his own Wesleyan experience. He loves the school, his friends, baseball, and all the University has to offer. Kevin will be attending as many Wes baseball games as possible this spring!

Jim Gubbins is a professor in the interdisciplinary studies department at Salem State University in Massachusetts. He is the president of the faculty and librarian union on campus. Jim remarks he is “fighting for fair pay and decent working conditions for employees—sounds very Wesleyan.”

We hope you enjoy keeping up with your classmates through this column and look forward to your updates.

Susie Muirhead Bates | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Winter finally reared its head in the Northeast with some snow and bone-chilling temperatures this January. So, taking refuge in front of a crackling fire, I have many New Year’s greetings from fellow classmates.

Andy Adesman sent word about his recently published book, Grandfamily Guidebook (Hazelden Publishing), which should be well received by the many recent grandparents in our class. Andy, along with Steve Gold and Rick Dennett, started the New Year with a vacation with wives on Longboat Key, Fla. Steve McNutt and his wife joined in for a wonderful dinner.

Jason Baron’s The Chelly Foundation, the charity he founded in Cambodia, hosted a creative writing workshop sponsored by Writing Through—the organization started by Sue Rappaport Guiney. Jason further reports that Kathy Asquith Franklin volunteers as a board member of The Chelly Foundation: being extraordinarily generous with her time and support. More information on these two charities can be found at thechellyfoundation.org and writingthrough.org.

Buzz Cohen was delighted to return to campus to speak to the stage management class. Buzz is heading into rehearsal for Suzan-Lori Parks’ White Noise for the Public Theater.

Iddy Olson is a granny! Rowan Grace Jennings was born to her son, Des, and his wife in Jackson Hole. She is very thankful for FaceTime. John Fink is taking time off after 34 years of managing KFVE-TV in Honolulu until he writes his next chapter. Jane Goldenring is coming east in May for a family graduation and then plans to teach a couple days at Wesleyan.

With the New Year, Janet Malkemes will be looking for a new job, preferably within the North Carolina state system so that she can reach the magic 10 years needed to qualify for a full retirement and health care. Although not quite ready for retirement, she is enjoying having more available free time than she has had over the past 38 years.

Jerry Stouck is near the end of a long legal career in D.C., spending more and more time in Park City, Utah, both winter and summer. Oldest daughter Dani just got engaged and lives in Harlem, son David ’15 is in New York working at Warner Music, and youngest Rachel is finishing an MSW program in Boston. Jerry is in touch with Micha Balf and may see Teddy Klaus in D.C.

Jim Melloan met up in the East Village with Jim Dowling and David Van Biema ’80. He recently acquired a manager for acting gigs. Any showbiz folks interested in hiring him should contact Dream Maker Talent Management of Glen Head, N.Y. Jim expressed great optimism for 2019.

Joan Goldfeder had a fine and unexpected breakfast with Doug Green in September. She also scored a dinner with Peter Bickford on one of his many business trips. Joan and Penley Toffolon Kidd do a lot of commiserating and complaining about the current administration via text: “someday soon, the phones will explode (or they will).” Son Eli is in Spain for his semester abroad from Bucknell University, which is all Joan needs to plan a trip there for early spring. Joan is still doing marketing consulting, mostly for nonprofits.

David Loder writes, “Hard to believe that my son, Marek ’11, graduated from Wes eight years ago . . . and I won’t even do the math for our class but am thrilled to have my brother Tom [’80]’s son and my nephew, Aaron ’22, attending Wesleyan as a freshman this year . . . keeps all the memories flowing as we count our many blessings particularly at this time of year.”

In the New Year, Mark Slitt was headed on safari to South Africa: photos only, no gun shooting. Mike Coffey has been beating a track to SoCal since daughter Lanie started grad school at Cal State Long Beach: nine trips out since summer. Lanie got her master’s in nutrition in May, finished up the thesis, and started her first career job working for Heluna Health at their Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) clinics last month.

Vicky Dworkin retired from her position as children’s librarian at the Hawaii State Library, and moved to Center Sandwich, N.H., along with husband John Wendell. She is a part-time freelance storyteller, involved in various children’s literature activities, and enjoying life near Squam Lake.

Vanessa Burgess and Betsy Hecker sent along good wishes for the New Year to us all. Will Altman wrote from Brazil that his new book, Ascent to the Good: The Reading Order of Plato’s Dialogues From Symposium to Republic, has been published by Rowman and Littlefield.

All in all, it sounds like a fine start to 2019.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

Class of 1976 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship
Valerie Acosta ’20, Neuroscience and Behavior

Cheryl Alpert’s residential real estate business is taking off and she is working with families looking to “right size” in Boston and MetroWest. Husband Tom is an architect, son Eben is at PWC in NYC, and son Chason is with Booz Allen in D.C. Cheryl met up with Kathy Mintz in NYC at Jay Hoggard’s performance and sees Rook Van Nest ’75 and Jeff Dunn ’75 from time to time.

Sue Feinstein Barry is a professor emeritus at Mount Holyoke College, having retired in 2015. In November, her daughter, Jenny, and husband Dan welcomed Jessica Elizabeth, Sue’s first grandchild, into the world.

Andrea Grubb Barthwell, M.D., and Adam Usdan ’83 are initial members of the board of directors of the Foundation for Opioid Response Effort, a nonprofit dedicated to combatting the opioid crisis. Andrea chairs the board and Adam chairs the investment committee responsible for the Foundation’s $100 million endowment. Initial endowment funding was provided by McKesson, and Andrea was recommended to McKesson following a search by Paul Spivey ’83, a search consultant at Phillips Oppenheim cofounded by Jane Phillips Donaldson, a former dean of admission at Wesleyan.

Larry Davis reports that he flunked retirement. In 2018, he stepped down as president and managing director of Map Energy LLC but quickly was asked to become the senior advisor/chief scientist. In 2018, he and Ronna took a land trip to Finland, Estonia, and St. Petersburg and spent a week in London. Larry separately spent a week exploring the Andean region of Bolivia followed by fly fishing in the Amazon basin. During a trip to Palo Alto, he visited Alan Haus. Ronna and Larry are grandparents of Lorelei, 5, and Gabriel, 3, children of Ilana Sharpe ’06.

On Dec. 22, Lenny Femino and his wife, Rona, became proud grandparents of Julian, their first grandchild.

Jeff Frank has put his moving company up for sale and is retiring. He is looking forward to a new beginning filled with new activities.

After a long career in the State Department and World Bank, Oliver Griffith is working freelance in Paris as a professional writer for businesses and international organizations. Oliver is still playing music (his Wes major) in local venues and would be happy to see classmates in France.

Dan Henry provides tech support part-time to small businesses and homeowners. His wife, Jean, retired from Travelers in January, 42 years to the day after she started. In February they are meeting at Disney World with two of their sons, their son’s wives, and two preschool granddaughters.

Libby Horn is retiring in April when she turns 65 and is looking forward to spending more time singing, hospice volunteering, and participating in church activities.

Jaimee Kurfirst Mirsky retired after 19 years in her second career as a high school English teacher just in time to celebrate the arrival of her first grandchild, Jordan. Jaimee finds she has settled into retired life easily and enjoys trying new things after 40 years of career and family responsibilities.

For Ron Kirschner, 2018 was the 10-year anniversary of his being a board-certified medical toxicologist. March will be his 10-year anniversary as medical director of the Nebraska Regional Poison Center and a faculty member at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine. Ron was a history major at Wes. He did not plan on going to medical school and did not start the process until six years after graduation. Taking a circuitous route has given him some perspective on how his own daughter, who is a very creative chef and artist, needs to find her own way.

Debra Gottheimer Neuman has been living in Mystic for nearly four years and is enjoying her position as executive director of development and community engagement for Enders Island, an 11-acre island and home of a Catholic retreat that helps young men recover from alcohol and drug addiction. Debra’s work has made her aware of the severe opioid crisis. She enjoyed a great visit with her son, Josh, who was home from Oregon where he is completing a master’s degree in agronomy. Debra welcomes visitors.

Greg Palkot, a fellow resident of Nicholson 6 freshman year, is a journalist living in London (you’ve seen him on the box from time to time).

Michael Stopa has a new job as a senior manager of artificial intelligence and machine learning for Konica Minolta’s research division in San Mateo, Calif. He loves the Bay Area.

As for us, our oldest daughter, Samantha, was married in November and the event was wonderful. Old friends Robert Cox, his wife Maggie, Steve Goldman, and his wife, Kathy Rosenthal ’78, flew into town to help us celebrate. Meanwhile, daughter Lindsey moved to Silver Spring, Md., where she is working full time and taking engineering courses at John Hopkins. Daughter Michelle is working in the business office of a Chicago law firm and applying to grad school. And in late December, my mother moved to a ranch house to downsize a bit and be closer to my sister.

It is always great to hear from you. Stay in touch.

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

Class of 1975 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship
Carolina Montano ’21, Homestead, FL

Drum roll, please! Tom Wheeler retired for the third time—the last, he swears—in February 2018. He and Sondra ’79 may move nearer to children and five grandchildren once Sondra retires from teaching at Wesley Seminary, but for now, they drive to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Tom’s busy working on projects with Quakers locally, nationally, and globally; reading, storytelling, taking art classes and visiting friends, including Steve Miller, Martha Meade ’76, and Dave Feldman ’73.

Rachel Adler Hayes only managed to stay retired for six months. Now she’s traveling the country doing sales training for a Massachusetts firm and trying to limit work to five-to-six days a month. She’s also engaged as VP of her synagogue, in the thick of a rabbi search. In June 2020, Rachel expects to become president of the 900-family congregation. Her summary? “Apparently I like being overbooked!”

Jill Rips takes advantage of retirement to visit Wesfriends. Finishing her public health career in reproductive health and HIV, Jill now works with refugees, and needle exchange. In November, she attended Carole Evans Sands’ daughter’s wedding and Nigerian engagement ceremony in New Hampshire. Carole, retired from a career in academic and community-based early childhood education, will visit Jill in San Antonio this spring while traveling the southern U.S. in a camper.

Check out Tracy Winn’s recent short stories, nominated for Best of the Net and a 2019 Pushcart Prize and posted at The Harvard Review and at Waxwing magazine.

From the “KO” section of Downey House mailboxes: Deb Kosich has been spending lots of time in Massachusetts, where her mother and her sister live. Brad Kosiba and Dorothy are enjoying Carolina life. With two sons nearby, the granddogs visit regularly. Brad is leading an expansion project for their Unitarian church, also keeping busy with gardening, beekeeping, and volunteer work. His mom passed away this winter after an extended period of declining health.

Charlie Stolper’s Facebook holiday letter included bittersweet cycle-of-life news. In 2018 Charlie’s son, Chad, got married shortly before his dad, Max, 93, died. Charlie and Christy caught up with their globetrotting daughter, Tory, in Austria (Max’s birthplace) for a cultural/family history adventure. They also enjoyed an Alaskan cruise last summer.

Dallas news: Ann Dallas used her education in design and liberal arts for a career in newspapers, but computers changed what papers could offer readers, then how news was consumed, and finally its ownership structure. Layoffs finally hit Ann a few years ago, so she’s figuring out what’s next. Ann and Dave (married 33 years) celebrated their son’s wedding “to a wonderful woman” last summer.

Joost Brouwer’s holiday letter announces that his three sons have lovely partners, and grandparenthood looms on the horizon in 2019. Eldest son, Martijn, based in Australia, got married in April. Joost and Emilie celebrated with the newlyweds in Canberra and the Netherlands. Younger sons, Sietse and Jelle, live in the Netherlands. All enjoy teaching and choral singing, interests they share with Emilie and Joost. Joost’s other passions are advocating for refugees and birdwatching.

Bruce Tobey practices municipal infrastructure law in Gloucester, Mass., but has spent “too much time traveling” on a two-year sabbatical embedded in a client’s wastewater technologies company. As former mayor, he is president of the nonprofit that is planning Gloucester’s 400th anniversary. Bruce’s and Pat’s four daughters hold four BAs, two MAs, and one doctorate-in-progress; two are married and have produced four grandchildren. Bruce’s main WesU connection is with his DKE brothers, whose hard work on the Kent Literary Society he admires.

No retirement for Jeff McChristian, who is continuing law practice in Avon, Conn., but conceding he’ll slow the pace a bit to allow more and longer travel with his wife, Pat. Recent years included cycling vacations in Croatia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The 2019 itinerary has the Cotswolds in spring (seeing Royal Shakespeare Company’s Taming of the Shrew in Stratford-on-Avon) and Spain’s Rioja wine region next fall. They also plan trips to visit son, Tyler, 31, in Steamboat Springs, and daughter, Erin, 28, in Greenville, S.C.

I caught up with Tom Kovar ’76 in December near his home in Florence, Mass., but missed hearing his band, The Retroverts, perform. We also spent an evening with Risa Korn, who in 2018 welcomed a new grandson in Boston, celebrated her daughter’s promotion at American Express in New York, and visited her youngest son doing his medical residency in Denver.

Bob and I have home improvement projects slated for 2019, looking forward to our daughter finishing her master’s in June, and paying our last tuition bills when our son graduates Northeastern next December.

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

Remember to mark your calendars for our 45th Reunion May 24-26. Registration and information about the Reunion can be found at wesleyan.edu/rc . Also, feel free to contact any members of the Reunion committee, which includes: Bob Arcaro, Charley Blaine, Scott Brodie, Jon Eddison, Peter Heyward, John Hickenlooper, Lloyd Komesar, Lyn Thurber Lauffer, Barry Lenk, Charisse Lillie, Pat Mulcahy, Bill Pearson, Sharon Purdie, Dean Richlin, John Shapiro, Harold Sogard, Nancy Stack, Charles Steinhorn, and Pamela van der Meulen.

Devra Fischer, known at Wesleyan as Heather, was awarded a doctorate in psychoanalysis and certified as a psychoanalyst by the Psychoanalytic Center of California (PCC) in December in LA. This achievement comes after a long and fruitful career as a psychotherapist practicing in Beverly Hills.

This achievement comes after a long and fruitful career as a psychotherapist practicing in Beverly Hills, Calif. The title of her thesis is “The Body Speaks.” Devra can be reached at 310-749-1633 or ndevraf@gmail.com.

Jan Eliasberg reports, “I continue to write and direct in film and television, but I’ve been surprised and delighted to discover two new areas of creative expression:

“I’m currently completing the second draft of a novel called Heart Of The Atom. I sold the novel based on an original screenplay I had written and have spent the last seven months writing, and now revising, the manuscript. I’ve had terrific help and support from Paul Vidich ’72 another Wesleyan grad turned novelist, and his wife, Linda. I’m represented as a novelist by Adriann Ranta Zurellen at Foundry Literary + Media and publication details will be forthcoming. The following is a short synopsis of the book:

1945. The American and German scientists race to create, develop, and test an atomic bomb. Dr. Hannah Weiss, a brilliant physicist, is the only woman in the Critical Assemblies Division at Los Alamos, the top scientists working directly with Oppenheimer on the bomb’s final stages. Major Jack Delaney, a rising star in the shadowy world of military intelligence, arrives in Los Alamos with a mission: to find the spy leaking nuclear secrets to the Germans. Dr. Hannah Weiss becomes his prime suspect. Inspired by true events and characters, including the extraordinary female scientist Albert Einstein called “the Mother of the Bomb,”Heart of the Atomexplores one of the great mysteries of the Twentieth Century: How did Nazi Germany—with its fanatic will to power and its cadre of Nobel-winning scientists—lose the crucial race for the atomic bomb? Winston Churchill called it “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” but Jack Delaney is determined to reveal the truth he knows is hidden in the heart of an unlikely hero.

“I also undertook to renovate an apartment in Manhattan that has been in the family, but sitting unused, for a number of years. I gut renovated the kitchen and three bathrooms, as well as making minor renovations throughout the rest of the space. I found a phenomenal contractor and sourced all of the fixtures, tiles, paint colors, wallpaper, rugs, furniture, and artwork myself. I was thrilled when the design magazine, Apartment Therapy, featured a storyon my work, complete with photographs. It turns out that I love the work of renovating and designing — it’s a very creative process similar to directing — and I’ve taken on a couple of paid gigs renovating for friends and colleagues.

“Finally, my daughter Sariel ’19 graduates from Wesleyan in June; she majored in American studies and film studies.”

Charlie Cocores retires to Pawleys Island SC when not in Old Saybrook. He is doing a Habitat for Humanity Global Village build in Romania and would love some Wesleyan folks to join in. Contact him at cocoshfh@gmail.com.

Monique Witt writes, “Not much that’s new while we’re involved in the new building. Ben is touring, Dev is designing audio tech, I’m finishing up some production projects and Steven is hip-deep in his deals. Ben has an Instagram post from a Target store in Cali where he’s playing a kid’s cat keyboard that meows. They were buying a pick-up cable by the toy section. It helped to lighten my day in the face of the hardships from the political situation. NYC suffers less, but I run with a curator from the Smithsonian and the situation is dire. Hope everyone is getting through this.”

Gail Austin Cooney reminds us that “it’s that age when the big news is often retirement! I stopped working because it was getting in the way of my dancing. Now, I am a modern dancer with Demetrius Klein DKDC/DIY in West Palm Beach. My brief encounter with modern dance at Wesleyan (thank you, Cheryl Cutler) is finally paying off. I am the oldest in the company and have the least amount of formal training but I’m not the only one on Medicare—it’s a diverse group and a huge source of joy in my life. We perform several times a year on a regular basis. One of our goals is to bring modern dance to people in the community who might not otherwise encounter it. Fun, fun, fun!” Contact her at gail.cooney@gmail.com.

Howard Curzer reports, “The new, big thing in my life is a very small thing—a grandson. Jonah Henry Stanton Curzer was born to Mirah Curzer and Josh Stanton on Dec. 16. Jonah has not yet revealed his superpower, but we can wait.”

Harold Sogard has no meaningful personal news this time around, but would like to say that he is very much hoping that people who for one reason or another have not come to previous reunions will be able to attend our 45th Reunion this May!

Larry Green continues to practice law as a trial attorney and partner at the Boston law firm, Burns & Levinson. When introduced to someone outside of work, Larry is often asked: “You’re retired, right?” To which he jokingly responds, “I must look much older than I really am or much more prosperous than I really am.” Larry and his wife, Denise, do, in fact, enjoy life outside of work, spending more and more time at their second home in Ogunquit, Maine, and traveling to visit five grandchildren in Boulder and Palo Alto. Having been unable to make it to Wes Reunions because his annual extended family reunion is held in Ogunquit every Memorial Day weekend, Larry extends an open invitation to classmates to look him up when traveling to either Boston or Ogunquit.

Chuck Gregorywas elected to the vestry at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. He also sings in the choir there. He also sings in the choir there. He’s secretary to the board of a community group, the Central City Alliance, which held a street fair on March 2nd called the 13th Street Craft Beer and Wine Festival with Car Show. Busy, busy, busy!

Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

We have news from across the country. Mike Robinson regrets having to back out of our recent milestone Reunion and will try to visit this year but has 2023 written in red in the centennial calendar. Meanwhile, he reconnected with a rowing teammate, Vinnie Broderick ’75. Vinnie, who runs a summer rowing camp in Vermont, met up with Mike’s rowing coach brother and tracked Mike down in Baltimore and York, Pa. The visit yielded a reconnection for Mike with Phil Calhoun ’62, past rowing coach, as well as  stories of shenanigans during the rowers’ spring training in Florida.

From Lafayette, Colo., Mike McKenna has been appointed to the USA Rugby board of directors. Mike says, “I look forward to combining my passion for the sport and professional experience to help further strengthen our great game both here in the U.S. and within the international rugby community.” Mike has been active for decades helping the Wesleyan rugby club and founded the Old Methodist RFC, strengthening alumni ties. Congrats, Mike!

Peter Gelblum devotes his time to the worlds of theater and social justice. He is president of Mountain Community Theater in Ben Lomond, Calif. Over the last few years, his “work” at MCT has included playing Brutus in Julius Caesar and one of the convict-angels in My Three Angels, and directing Miracle on 34th Street, the Play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Other Desert Cities, Damn Yankees, and my favorite, August: Osage County. He writes, “At other local theaters in the astonishingly vibrant theater scene in Santa Cruz county, I’ve recently played Judge Haywood (the Spencer Tracy part in the movie) in Judgment at Nuremberg and directed several shows for an annual festival of 10-minute plays.” He has also produced two productions of Climate Change Theater Action in Santa Cruz.

For several years, he has been on the board of directors and executive committee of the ACLU of Northern California and the chair of the Santa Cruz county chapter of the ACLU. “In those roles, I’ve gotten to work with other activists, elected officials, and law enforcement leaders to address issues such as protecting the rights of the large homeless population, militarization of police, police transparency and accountability, surveillance, racial justice, and immigration rights,” he says, adding he is currently on the sheriff’s advisory team for the county. Peter says “My wife, Michele, and I love it here in Boulder Creek among the redwoods. The only downside is that our combined three kids and two grandchildren are scattered around the country, so we don’t get to see them as often as we would like. In light of that, I’m especially thankful for those modern wonders of airplanes and video chat.”

Robert Abrevaya says the 14th edition of The Robert William Abrevaya Show was produced Dec. 28. Comedy by “The Official Comedian for the 2020 Elections.” He says seven of his shows and autobiographical information are available at vimeo.com/RWAShow. At The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard, he has been the closing act most potluck nights since (at least) 1983. His new Facebook page is RealRobert William Abrevaya. He is also on Twitter @AbrevayaR. And he invites you to call him at 323/926-6115.

A busy Tom Kelly is splitting his time between Phoenix and San Diego and now has four grandchildren who range from 4 months to 4 years old. He is working with early stage health care companies with “strong value propositions” in an industry that he believes could be involved with “massive disruption.” He is “trying to tilt Arizona blue with moderate success.”

For those of you who are doctors, I have to mention this personal medical note. Some alarm bells went off over a year ago when I my A1C count hit 7.2 and I went in to the Type 2 Diabetes danger zone. I went cold turkey on the sugar after decades of guzzling Coca-Cola and M&Ms. In three months, my A1C count dropped to 5.8 and in 6 months it dropped to 5.5. My doctor said the drop was “freakish” and had not seen such an A1C drop before, along with everything else that improved. I also dropped from 181 to 162 pounds—too big of a drop, one doctor said. Must admit I feel better and have lost the “glucose belly.” In light of all the commercials about lowering your A1C count, my wife thinks I should write a short book about this.

On a final note, this time last year many of us were getting ready to attend our 45th Reunion. All who attended said it was fantastic and afterwards were eager to start planning for our 50th Reunion (May 25-28, 2023). We’ll be reaching out to folks to collect up-to-date contact information as we want as many as possible to make it back to Middletown. If you want to get involved or haven’t heard from a Reunion committee member, contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 680/685-5992.

Peter D’Oench | Pgdo10@aol.com

Let’s start with some news from Leon Vinci. Stepping down from his role as national technical advisor on Climate Change for the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), he remains active with their Climate Change Committee. As a leader in climate change and health, he was invited to attend the Climate Change International Summit in Washington, D.C., in May.

During the second international Enhancing Environmental Health Knowledge (EEK): Vectors and Public Health Pests Virtual Conference in May, Leon’s presentation covered “Emerging Diseases and Vectors Related to Changes in Climate.” In June, he presented a paper entitled “What New Bugs are Telling Us About Climate Change “at the NEHA Annual Educational Conference in Anaheim, Calif. During that meeting he participated on an expert panel covering: “Collaborative Advances in Climate Change Policy at National Levels.” Along with chairing the educational track on Citizen Science at the National Environmental Monitoring Conference, he presented two papers on topics in citizen science, including “Global Examples of Citizen Science Policy” and “The Linkage of Citizen Science with Climate Change.” These events were in addition to his children’s health course, which he taught over the summer at the College of and Health Professions at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Steve Schiff was one of the producers of The Americans, which is now reaping well-deserved awards (Golden Globe, Critics Choice). He is working as the showrunner for Lucasfilm’s prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Since it will show on Disney+ we should not expect a lot of sex.

Roger Jackson led a fall tour through India last fall. Wes connections on the tour included Frank Levering ’74, Frank’s sister Betsy Morgan, Hon. ’97, one-time teacher at Wes and spouse of Professor of History Emeritus David Morgan, and Kristin Bloomer ’89, associate professor of religion at Carleton College, from which Roger retired a few years ago.

Ron Ashkenas is co-author of the Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook, published last fall by Harvard Business Press. The aim of the book is to help aspiring and existing leaders understand the small number of fundamental practices they need to master throughout their careers—and not get lost in the “noise” about leadership that is around these days. Ron and his co-author interviewed 40 successful leaders across a number of industries, including Wesleyan’s Michael Roth ’78.

“Michael was quite gracious in spending time to discuss his views on leadership,” Ron reports, “and the book includes a wonderful vignette about the process he used for reaching consensus about a ‘unifying vision’ for Wesleyan. If you get hold of the book, you’ll find it on page 38.”

Mike Kaloyanides is one of the contributors to the newly published Greek Music in America. The book is an anthology of essays exploring Greek music traditions in America. To quote Dan Georgakas, the blurb writer, “This is a landmark work in Greek American studies. Comprehensive essays and thumbnail portraits chronicle popular, rebetiko, regional, and sacred music in Greek America. The various contributors deal authoritatively with the subtle interactions between immigrant and mainstream culture. A must-read for anyone interested in the Greek diaspora or ethnic cultures in America.” The book is published by the University Press of Mississippi.

And, finally, I am pleased to add this important reminder: Our 50th Reunion is May 19-22, 2022. The Reunion Committee will be reaching out to folks to collect up-to-date contact information. Look for pre-Reunion regional events and if close by, attend! Want to get involved or haven’t heard from one of us? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 680/685-5992. And, check out wesleyan.edu/classof1972 for the latest news.

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

Aloha, classmates. Let me start off with some sad news. Jonathan Felt died in October. He was originally in our class, but due to health reasons, graduated with Class of ’72. His death was sent in by his roommate, Patrick Callahan, and friend, Jake Weiss. His obituary was in the Ridgefield Press. Jon was an accomplished film producer and director. He had an eye for capturing the beauty around him and was quick to teach others who were just as eager to learn. Working with ABC 20/20 for many years, he spotlighted endless incredible stories for the world. Jon brought home numerous awards for groundbreaking documentaries like The Men Who Brought the Dawn, which highlighted the Enola Gay crew that dropped the first atomic bomb. He is survived by his two daughters, Danika and Alissa, granddog Mickey, and former wife yet cherished friend, Doreen Felt.

Our 50th Reunion is coming fast. Yes, 2021 will be here before you know it. Bob Millner attended a working meeting of the Class of ’70 and gave us a report of what we need to start preparing to do. The committee is seeking volunteers to help plan this important milestone. We could use people who would help put together a class book. It involves soliciting bios and submissions from classmates.

The committee is looking for class members of color to participate in organizing a program addressing the African-American experience in our class (which was the first one at Wesleyan with a significant African-American presence) and perhaps comparing it with that experience today.

The Reunion committee will be reaching out to folks to collect up-to-date contact information. Look for pre-Reunion regional events and if close by, attend! Want to get involved or haven’t heard from one of us? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 680/685-5992. And, check out wesleyan.edu/classof1971 for the latest news.

That’s all the news I have this time. I will continue to remind you about the 50th Reunion so please volunteer to make this event the best Reunion milestone. Thanks, and aloha.

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