Greetings classmates! Hope 2017 is getting off to a good start for one and all. Susie writes for this issue. Seems many of us are enjoying celebrations of one sort or another these days. 60th birthdays (remember 60 is only a speed limit!), children’s graduations and marriages, not to mention arrivals of precious grandchildren.
Jennifer Atkinson says her biggest news was the birth of her first grandchild, Karlyn Ryan Steinberg, on New Year’s Eve. She added, “Next to her, everything else fades to near insignificance.” Jennifer, a professor at George Mason University, also published her fifth book of poems, The Thinking Eye, this past year.
Bloomberg Professor of Business Journalism Andrea Gabor sent greetings from Havana where she was leading her second group of Baruch College/CUNY journalism students on a study abroad trip exploring Cuba’s rich biodiversity and efforts at developing sustainable agriculture and fisheries. Their first trip was January 2015, just weeks after President Obama and Castro began their détente.
Bill Adler has been living in Tokyo, Japan, for the past two years and is enjoying life as an expat. He’s writing and occasionally publishing books. His novella, No Time to Say Goodbye, is coming out this spring.
Dave Wilson had some good success with his fourth and most recent album, from the Dave Wilson Quartet, There Was Never, which was released on the New York-based ZOHO Music Label in 2015. The album included original music by Dave, a saxophonist, and interpretations of some well-known tunes. The album received radio airplay in 40 different markets across the country, and in 2016 received a nomination for a Grammy by ZOHO for Best Instrumental Jazz Record. Dave lives with his wife, Lisa, in Lancaster, Pa., where in addition to his performance career, he teaches privately, and has a business buying and selling musical instruments. He can be reached at davewilsonmusic.org.
Elizabeth Weiss Ozorak is keeping herself busy and fit! One of her highlights for 2016 was winning the Bronze Freeskate at USA Adult Masters Games last July. She would “love to hear from any other late-blooming athletes and/or adult figure skaters out there!” [eozorak@allegheny.edu]
Jon Spector and his wife, Wendy, enjoy life in Woodstock, Vt., where they moved two years ago when they became empty nesters. Wendy is on ski patrol and is an EMT, while Jon is working in New York at The Conference Board. A small nearby airport allows Jon to make trips to and from the city fairly efficiently. At The Conference Board, he is joined by fellow Wesleyan alumni Moira James and Russell Morris ’87. Alan Dachs ’70 is a trustee and chairman emeritus.
Life in Duxbury is never dull with our toddler grandson (and his parents) living in town. Our oldest just moved to San Francisco and our youngest just graduated from college in December (a semester early!). As we put our best and most positive feet forward in 2017, I’d like to sign off with these words by John Wesley: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”
In addition to personal news, one of the themes for this column is the volunteer work that class members are doing.
Susan Avitzour and her husband, Daniel, just had their fifth grandchild, Gabriel, and Susan has just finished writing a novel. It’s about an American woman who marries a Japanese diplomat, and finds herself posted to Burma/Myanmar when it was still ruled by a brutal military dictatorship. Susan volunteers as a therapist at Hadassah Hospital, which treats Jewish and Arab survivors of terror attacks, military clashes, and accidents who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Andrea Grubb Barthwell attended the Hamilton fundraiser in Chicago and saw many Wesleyan alumni and parents, and some members of the winning Cubs team.
Robert Briskin and his wife, Limor, had a good time at Reunion. Rob has a concierge medical practice and serves on Congressman Pete Sessions’ National Physicians Council for Healthcare Policy in D.C.
Ethan Bronner took a buyout from The New York Times two years ago and has been at Bloomberg ever since, writing, and editing political features. He heads up a team looking into President Trump’s family businesses here and abroad, and would welcome hearing from anyone who has any knowledge about it.
Jon Cleworth recalls his time at Wesleyan, as a rower and CSS member. Jon was a Chicago-area resident for several years. He now lives in Connecticut and is a great uncle with five nieces and a nephew. Retired, he stays in shape mostly by biking.
Oliver Griffith left the World Bank Group and works as a communications advisor for Africa50, an infrastructure fund focused on Africa. He is also freelancing in communications and foreign affairs.
Debra Haffner is the full-time settled minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston. She invites Wes folks to services at 10 a.m. on Sundays.
Daniel Henry’s son, Derrick, and his fiancé, Beata, were married in May. Dan also had his second granddaughter, Denni Jean Henry. Dan is the president of the Kiwanis Club of Newington, which runs a flea market that raises money for scholarships and to support local agencies and human services.
Daniel Herr and his wife, Kathleen, have four grandchildren. Katherine is continuing her work in disability, special education, and elder law, and Dan is in his second term as nanoscience department chair at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, a collaboration between the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University.
Peter Hansen and his wife, Gail, have completed their move to D.C. after several years of Peter commuting between D.C. and Kansas. Peter does marketing consulting.
Libby Horn volunteers at a soup kitchen and at a hospice house. In the hospice, a dying person is admitted for the last three months of their life and receives care, mostly from volunteers, at no charge.
Jim Johnson’s Europe bicycle tour company is doing well, and Jim has been extending his love of bicycling with several volunteer endeavors. Jim serves on the board of Bike Walk Tennessee and is working on trail and greenway projects around Chattanooga, extending the U.S. Bicycle Route System across Tennessee and into adjacent states. The goal is to create a 50,000-mile network of connected on-road bike routes.
Norm Kerner has had a career in the music industry as a record producer, engineer, mixer, composer, and session musician. He runs his own studio, Perfect Sound Studios, in Hollywood Hills, and does real estate deals specializing in properties that have recording studios on site. Norm also volunteers for Food Forward, an organization that harvests California produce that otherwise would go to waste, and collects leftover produce at farmers’ markets for homeless shelters. To join the effort, e-mail him at norm@nkern.com.
Ely Leichtling is retired and volunteers in the Milwaukee public schools, tutoring several fourth graders in math, and teaching a seventh grade class focusing on a significant books like To Kill A Mockingbird. He also chaperones field trips. His wife, Sally, is also retired.
Susan Mitchell worked in railroad policy analysis after graduation, was a stay-at-home mom, and then went back to school and graduated with a master’s in pastoral care in 2000. She spent 10-plus years working as a board certified hospice chaplain and is now semi-retired and volunteering at a continuing care facility, teaching bible study, and preaching at the ecumenical Christian services. Her son, Arthur, is a curator at the UPenn library and her daughter, Catherine, works in finance in D.C. She stays in touch with Sue Heller Clain ’94.
Desmond (Stern) Whitney and his wife live in Minneapolis. They have a daughter who just graduated from college and a son with special needs. Desmond enjoys recording books for the blind each week.
This spring, Nancy ’78 and I have a daughter graduating from a master’s program and two others graduating from college. We both do volunteer work in our respective fields. Best wishes to everyone for 2017!
Mike Minard, who traveled with blues giant Jonny Shines, turned 64 last year, and sent videos. One is a cover of the Beatles’ classic, featuring Mike, his wife, and granddaughter: youtube.com/watch?v=gyEyT6V3kBo. Catch the original musical, Amazing Grace, which Mike wrote with prisoners in New York’s maximum-security prison for women as a Rehabilitation Through the Arts volunteer facilitating music and theater: youtube.com/watch?v=jlxX0Fc2Y5w.
Dave Bickford is acting and vocal coaching in LA. He and wife Phenprapha went to Thailand for his stepson’s college graduation, to discover that only students and faculty attend, while families just take photos afterward! Phenprapha became a U.S citizen in March (Dave’s government major helped with test prep). A huge fan of all-female banked track roller derby, Dave was invited to coach the LA Derby Dolls’ All-Star team in a game.
Amy Bloom is now Wesleyan’s Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing. Her daughter reports from Brooklyn on Leslie Brett ’76, and Amy has lunch sometimes with Jose Goico ’74. Busy with a novel, working on a children’s book, happily married, and living in Stony Creek, a tiny village on Long Island Sound, Amy has three “beautiful and brilliant” grandchildren.
Get out those Wesleyan onesies! Three more classmates are grandparents: June Jeffries (Clara Marie Jeffries, February 2016), Cathy Gorlin (Solomon Bennett Epshteyn, March 2016), and Risa Korn (Arya Rose, September 2016). June saw Andy Barnes last summer presenting at a symposium in D.C. Cathy’s new grandson lures her frequently to NYC from Minnesota. She saw Christine McCoy McNeil and Kenneth Levinson on her last visit, and David Racher ’74 and his wife, Susan, in Miami.
Travel and transitions: Ellen Remmer and her husband took a sabbatical travelling in Southeast Asia for three months, including being in Myanmar during the power handover. She saw Shonni Silverberg ’76 and John Shapiro ’74 recently in Boston. Ellen’s eldest child is engaged. Michael Hamburger, on leave from Indiana University, served as a Jefferson Science Fellow with the U.S. State Department. Pat and Jeff McChristian traveled extensively with visits to Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lake Powell, Steamboat Springs, and to Greenville, S.C., to visit their now-married daughter. This summer was hiking/rafting in the Canadian Rockies with kids and their main squeezes. Back home, Jeff enjoys having Pat as CFO/COO of his law practice and running into Judge J.D. Moore in court or around West Hartford.
David Lipton’s third child, Gabriel ’16, graduated from Wesleyan as a government major. His oldest, Anna ’08, is an alumna. He signed on for another five-year term as number two at the International Monetary Fund, following fellow alum John Lipsky ’68.
Vinnie Broderick is well in New Hampshire and at Camp Pasquaney, where he is director. “Last fall, the lightweight crew from 1975 invited me to join their 40th anniversary boat rowing in the Head of the Charles. It was really good to catch up with them. I also visited with former roommate Dave Rosenthal during a quick visit to Baltimore.”
David Drake has the best job in the world: “I earned graduate degrees from UCLA and Harvard Graduate School of Education, and in 1990 started White Oak School in Westfield, Mass., a state-approved nonprofit school serving kids with dyslexia and related language-based learning disabilities. It’s incredibly rewarding work, and we’ve helped many hundreds of kids to read, spell, write, and believe in their potential to succeed and thrive.”
Many thanks to Cliff Chanin for this beautiful reminiscence of Seth Gelblum, who died last August. “Seth and I met freshman year and maintained a very close friendship that deepened over 45 years. We played poker at Eclectic, broadcast Cardinal b-ball games together, roomed at Clark Hall, and then, after graduation, were roommates in Manhattan, as we both started our post-Wes lives. Seth grew up in Philadelphia and Chapel Hill, but considered himself a New Yorker. He became the city’s preeminent theater lawyer and had a guiding hand in almost every significant production, on Broadway and off, for decades. He was beloved and respected by his colleagues. Directors George Wolfe and Des McAnuff spoke at his memorial about Seth’s commitment to their work and how a professional relationship had, for each of them, turned to a deep friendship. Afterwards, the lights of the Broadhurst, Gershwin, and New Amsterdam theaters were dimmed in Seth’s honor. In 2016, Seth became the only lawyer ever to earn the Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from New Dramatists, a leading developer of new playwrights, whose board he chaired. Seth was a founding board member of Lawyers for Children, started by Karen Freedman, which is a national model for representation of children in family court. Seth and his wife, Orren Alperstein, founded the Canavan Foundation, which developed genetic screening and counseling programs for the rare neurological disorder that killed their daughter, Morgan, in 1997. Orren, their children Madeleine and Aidan, and brothers Peter ’73 and Rob ’72 survive Seth. I can’t end without highlighting Seth’s remarkable spirit, particularly as his cancer gained the upper hand after years of determined resistance and many, lengthy treatments. His generosity and humanity simply expanded. It was a profound thing to behold, and underscores what a loss his family and friends have suffered.” Along with Cliff and Karen, Steve Greenhouse spoke at Seth’s memorial.
This fall I talked to and almost managed to see Debbie Kosich near Boston where she and I were visiting our mothers. Sadly, my mom died in December at the age of 95.
Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com
860 Marin Drive. Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955
During Homecoming weekend in October, women of our class celebrated our fifth Women’s Gathering at Wesleyan. The celebration was suggested by Pam van der Meulen and organized by Nancy Stack, Sharon Purdie, and Pam. Attendees included Nancy, Pam, Sharon, Carolyn White, Judy Atwood, Jean Barish, Adrienne Bentman, and Lyn Lauffer. Plans are to have the next Gathering at our 45th Reunion in 2019. Women of our class, add it to your calendar!
Jane Burns provided the following update: “I live in La Jolla, Calif., and have been a professor at UCSD for the last 25 years. I study Kawasaki disease and am the director of the KD Research Center at UCSD and Rady Children’s Hospital.
“I received my M.D. degree at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1978 and completed my pediatric residency and chief residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colo. In 1983, I moved to Harvard Medical School and the Boston Children’s Hospital for additional training in pediatric infectious diseases and molecular virology. I joined the faculty at Harvard in 1986 and in 1990 moved to San Diego, where I joined the faculty at the University of California as an assistant professor.
“I moved up through the ranks and was appointed professor of pediatrics in 1999. I was appointed chief of the division of allergy, immunology, and rheumatology in 2000. In 2013, I stepped down from this position to devote all of my energies to Kawasaki disease research and KD patient care.
“Currently, I am director of the Kawasaki Disease Research Center at UCSD/Rady Children’s Hospital where I lead a multidisciplinary team that cares for 80-100 new Kawasaki disease patients each year and follows over 1,300 families in the KD Clinic.
“My passion for studies of Kawasaki disease has spanned more than three decades with my first publication on KD in 1982. In addition to my academic pursuits, I am the mother of two daughters, now age 31 and 35. My husband, John B. Gordon M.D., is an interventional cardiologist at the San Diego Cardiac Center who cares for adults with long-term sequelae of KD.”
Jan Eliasberg reports: “At a time when many directors’ careers are winding down, mine is firing on all cylinders, for which I’m deeply grateful. I’ve directed several episodes of CBS’ new hit series Bull, starring Michael Weatherly (formerly of NCIS), as well as ABC’s Conviction. I’ve also been chosen as one of 10women directors to work with Twentieth Century Fox on “re-booting” some of their biggest franchise films. I pitched a concept for Die Hard and will be working with Fox executives on developing my director’s take.
“On a more serious note, I reconnected with many Wesleyan friends at Seth Gelblum ’75’s memorial service. I knew Seth from Wesleyan and have been friends with his wife, Orren Alperstein, since grade school. The memorial was a magnificent testament to Seth’s warmth, commitment, passion, and huge heart. In tribute, the Shubert Theatre’s marquee was dimmed, something that honors the theatre greats—an honor Seth certainly deserved.
“My daughter, Sariel ’19, is a junior at Wesleyan, double-majoring in American Studies and film; it’s a great joy to see her reveling in her Wesleyan experience as I did. The essential values of the school remain unchanged.”
Jerri Stroud retired from the Better Business Bureau in St. Louis as of Jan. 31, 2017, after eight years with BBB (and 33 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before that). A move to Seattle could be in the offing, but nothing definite yet.
Monique Witt reports that, “we are still moving ahead with the discs in the cue: my son’s disc, Instead, will drop in March, Juan Carlos Polo’s Insomnio released in Peru and here in the U.S. this past month (Peruvian drumming). SaRon Crenshaw’s upcoming blues album is in the mastering phase and Wayne Tucker’s next album is in late mixing phase.
“Katini’ Yamaoka’s album Gone released to great reviews, and we’ve been getting tremendous press for Ben Sutin’s Tangibility. That end is good. However, one of the most extraordinary jazz trios I’ve ever recorded is breaking up to do real property development, medicine, and rock and roll. It breaks my heart, as it speaks volumes on how difficult it is for great musicians to make a living now, even when they’re booking world tours (as these guys are). The pianist said, “I want to do more than just survive. While it is wonderful to follow one’s passion, after 30, the reality of rent and medical coverage takes a huge toll on artists in every genre. So I’d urge anyone who can to support an artist.
“When I’m not doing the music, I’m working on a manuscript on modern war crimes and re-thinking the Rome Convention. Fascinating from the perspective of cosmopolitanism. Boys are good. Elder is enjoying married life; younger is crazy busy playing piano. Husband is contemplating moving us to Canada (joking sort of).”
Bob Baum survived a kitchen remodel—doubled the number of windows overlooking the Connecticut River and the Dartmouth campus. Became grandparents for the second time (two boys), spent a semester with religion students in Edinburgh, Scotland—a beautiful and relaxing time.
Claudia Catania reports: “After a long and courageous battle, Seth Gelblum ’75 passed away in August of 2016. He had recently won the first Tony honor ever bestowed on a lawyer. Living at the crossroads of almost every major theatrical deal, he was responsible for the unseen, but critical moves that make Broadway theater happen. He was the esteemed mentor, counselor, protector and friend to so many illustrious artistic figures that create contemporary theater. His widow, Orren Alperstein, orchestrated a beautiful memorial service according to his wishes. His brothers Peter Gelblum ’73 and Robert Gelblum ’72 and his sister, Laura, spoke of their childhood in North Carolina. His Wesleyan roommate, Cliff Chanin ’75, remembered him movingly. Steven Greenhouse ’73 recounted later years.
“There were many Wesleyan friends in attendance. I know I missed a number from our class like Anne Jacobs, but I did talk to Jan Eliasburg, Harold Sogard, Willy Holtzman, John Shapiro, Shonni Silverberg ’76, Steve Ross ’75, Vicky Bijur ’75, and John Raskin ’73. As we exited the beautiful service, the Broadhurst Theatre’s lights dimmed for a few minutes and Seth’s jovial face smilingly graced the illuminated overhead marquee billboard.
“John Cady ’71 and I have two sons. Gavin, 26, and his wife are opening their second restaurant in New Orleans. I urge you to sample their first, 1000 Figs! His mother proclaims it is sensational food. Our older son, Max, 29, having taught for three years in Cambodia at an innovative new school, Liger Learning Center, returned to the States to attend grad school at Harvard for a degree in innovation and technology in education. He now teaches digital art at High Tech High, an experiential learning charter school north of San Diego.
“I am the producing artistic director of a public radio show and podcast called Playing on Air and I shamelessly urge you to subscribe to its podcast. It’s short 10-20 minute plays are written and performed by our nation’s best. A shot of humanity in this rocky time ain’t a bad thing.”
Update from Sharon Purdie: “I continue to spend May-October in Jamestown, R.I., enjoying boating, biking, and swimming. November through April we live in Vero Beach, Fla., with the exception of six weeks in the winter when we ski in Park City, Utah. I try to visit Wesleyan at least once a year during the time we’re in Rhode Island. In November, I completed my first triathlon and placed first in my age group. Our son, Jeff Sybertz, graduates from Stern School of Business (NYU) in May. Our daughter, Sherry Sybertz ’10, graduated from Middlebury Institute of International Studies with an MBA in May and now works for Dole Food Company in Monterey, Calif.”
Donald Zilkha writes that he and Virginia have three sons and says, “With any luck, my youngest will apply to Wesleyan.” Don has spent much of his career as an investor in restructuring, venture, and private equity, including Colt’s Manufacturing in Hartford. He’s had “the good fortune to have traveled extensively, often for business.” He has also lived abroad for several years and is “quite involved in food and wine.”
Daoud Haroon spent summer 2015 engaged in “continued musical and spiritual research” in Thailand with an interesting stay in Istanbul. He spent portions of the month of Ramadan in both countries. Last May and June, he and his wife spent a “chilly South African winter” in Johannesburg in Soweto and the outlying townships. He made many new friends among the growing dance and arts communities that surround both: Moving Into Dance Mophatong [midance.co.za] and Artist Proof Studio [artistproofstudio.co.za].
They also stayed for a month at a guest house located in Camps Bay, on the ocean side of Table Mountain, between Hout Bay and downtown Cape Town. He reports, “Contrary to popular belief in the States, apartheid is still alive and thriving in South Africa under ever new guises.” He had an opportunity to interview a broad scope of whites and blacks from many diverse racial, ethnic, and political backgrounds and, “they all agree that, like racism in America, apartheid will continue to flourish for a long time into the distant future.”
He continues to practice his instruments and is now trying to write a story a day. Anyone interested in his adventures can check him out on mancebomosaic.com.
After a long absence, Edward “Eddie” Nathan, one of my senior year roommates from East College, says he had little contact with Wesleyan, except to “chide it for having discontinued my alumni magazine. I used the conversation to inform the Wes rep of my singular contribution to Wesleyan history: the prefix “Wes,” which I had attached to our athletic teams as a reporter, and later sports editor, at The Argus, e.g., Wescrew, Weslax. Imagine my thrill, many years later, when the admission office invited me to mail in a ‘Wescheck’ in support of my older daughter’s application.” He concludes, “This is as close to immortality as I am likely to come.”
George “Bud” Brainard is a professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Since the 1980s, he has taught medical school and done research on the biological and behavioral effects of light on humans. He says, “My laboratory has worked with NASA on various light-related projects. In 2008, we began collaborating with Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center (JSC), and Harvard on developing and testing a solid-state lighting system to be used on the International Space Station (ISS).”
His lab was honored with the JSC Director’s Award for Innovation in 2015. As of early January, eight of the solid-state lights they helped develop were installed on ISS. “Ultimately, all of the lights in the U.S. portion of the space station will be replaced with the new solid-state lighting,” he says. They are doing a study on astronauts on the ISS to see if this new lighting system can improve sleep and daytime alertness.
Over the years, he sees classmate Fred Markham on a routine basis since he is also on the faculty at Jefferson. He periodically sees classmates Steve Kallaugher and enthusiastically supports Steve’s work on the Young Heroes Foundation. He periodically sees Mickey Rubinstein, and once in awhile Steve Grilli, Steve Berman ’72, Jim Shepherd ’72, and honorary classmate, Donny Shea.
Martin G. Bunin has joined Farrell Fritz’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice Group as partner. The law firm says, “Marty’s experience includes the representation of committees in Chapter 11 cases, with an emphasis on unsecured creditors’ committees in cases filed by hospitals and other healthcare businesses, resort hotels, manufacturers, service businesses and owners of real estate. Additionally, Marty is a mediator in bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related disputes in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere.”
Sheryl Richter says that after her husband passed away more than four years ago, she met a “terrific guy” through online dating. His spouse had also passed away. She and Evan Feist, DVM, were married on Dec. 13. They share common interests, including golf and duplicate bridge, although, she adds, “I don’t think it’s fair to lump my golf into the same sentence as his (he’s a single-digit handicap golfer).”
Finally, there is sad news to report about Garrett J. Delehanty, known as an avid golfer, reader, and traveler, and for his sense of humor and the stories he would tell about his family. Garrett died last Nov. 13 at the age of 64 after being hospitalized for an illness. He had just celebrated 40 years of practicing commercial real estate law.
Leon Vinci ’72 is now a national technical advisor on climate change for the National Environmental Health Association, a membership organization for practitioners and others working in environmental health. He has worked in the public health arena for the past 40 years, specializing in environmental and health policy. After a career in management of environmental and public health agencies, he serves as the CEO and president of Health Promotion Consultants, an environmental health consulting firm which he founded. He lectures frequently on environmental and public health topics and is an adjunct professor at Drexel University. A biology major at Wesleyan, he earned his MPH from Yale School of Medicine, and his doctorate in health policy from the Medical University of South Carolina.
We’ve got Reunion coming up, and it’s going to be great! If anyone needs any last-minute urging to attend, despite lingering doubts, read the following excerpts from the superb missive sent out by Andy Feinstein to some of you:
“Money: My experience has been that the development office people are substantially less aggressive than, say, timeshare salesmen in Mexico, or panhandlers in the NYC subway. Personally, I contribute to Wesleyan because I think keeping liberal arts education alive is vital to a civilized society. I wish I could give more. Yet, your coming to Reunion does not force you to contribute.
“Shame: Some folks avoid reunions because they fear invidious comparisons with more successful classmates. I have not found that to be true at all. There is a whole lot more conversation about family and sports than about career and income. Besides, many of our class members are post-retirement. (Not me.) Still, careers and success are just no longer relevant.
“Regrets: Some of us regret things we did on campus in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and don’t want to come back to campus to be reminded of it. In the first place, I will put my regrets up against anyone’s. Returning to campus is like PTSD therapy. One needs to confront the trauma to overcome it.
“Spouse: For years, you have been working assiduously to keep your spouse ignorant of your sordid college years. Coming to Reunion is just too risky. I understand the feeling. The fact is that we are all too old to remember what any of us did 45 years ago. So you have nothing to worry about.”
Ron Ashkenas is now semi-retired, which means that he’s busier than ever. He has a few clients with whom he is still working, and has added a number of pro-bono nonprofits to the roster. “It seems that when you say that you’ll work for free, there’s an unlimited amount of opportunity,” Ron observes. He has also agreed to write a leadership handbook for the Harvard Business Press, which adds to the busyness, but it’s all good.
Paul Vidich’s career as spy novelist continues apace. The sequel to An Honorable Man, titled The Good Assassin, is scheduled to be published this April. Here’s a blurb to whet your appetite: “The Good Assassin opens up Hemingway’s Cuba. Possessing Alan Furst’s attention for period detail and the deft character touches of John Le Carré, Vidich has quickly carved out a place for himself among the very first rank of espionage writers. It’s a masterful effort and the author’s best work to date.”—Michael Harvey, New York Times bestselling author.
Dave Hagerty retired after 35 years at his former leadership development consulting company, Blessing White, and is now doing executive coaching in the Harvard Business School Advanced Management program. He and wife Louise have sold their house in the South End of Boston and moved to Great Barrington in the Berkshires.
Bob “Whizzer” White does not limit his considerable gratitude and generosity to Wesleyan. Here is a wonderful piece documenting his continued support for National Medical Fellowships, which gave him grants enabling him to earn his medical degree: nmfonline.org/letter-nmf-alumni-robert-m-white-md.
Ted Mason is still working at Kenyon College in Ohio, as a professor of English, and also associate provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion. “As you can imagine,” he writes, “it’s a pretty busy time for those of us working in this field.”
Bonnie Blair’s son, Ross, has just completed a master’s in cybersecurity, likely affording better job security these days than becoming a lawyer. She went to Iceland for the week of the Presidential Inauguration “in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights, and in certainty of being far away from the Inauguration.”
Since retiring from CBS in 2013, Randall Pinkston worked as a freelancer, most frequently for Al Jazeera America. He also worked for The Carnegie Center for Ethics in International Affairs, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and the University of Mississippi Meek School of Journalism and New Media. He is scheduled to teach one class at SUNY Stony Brook. Randall also had a cameo in Sully, his first movie. He had lots of fun being directed by Mr. Eastwood. Randall is still married, grandfather of two girls and a boy, and living in New Jersey, but spending lots of time in Mississippi visiting family and working. His youngest daughter, Ada ’05, is a performance artist and teacher in Baltimore. Check out her productions at LabBodies.com.
Jerry Ryan retired with his wife to Simpsonville, S.C. He is playing lots of golf and doing volunteer work. They cheered the Cubs on to a World Series Championship.
Seth A. Davis | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
213 Copper Square Drive, Bethel, CT 06801
Aloha, classmates. With a little prodding, here are the notes.
Grant Hawkins is starting his 17th year on the bench in Indianapolis. He presides in a court where only major felony cases are filed. Michael Mullally, after 25 years in the film industry, has moved to Woodstock, where he owns a design-build company. He has two grown children. Henry Saunders is looking forward to easing into retirement this year after 33 years practicing general internal medicine in Conway, S.C. He will still work as a hospice medical director. He and wife Donna live in North Myrtle Beach. He notes that “the Grateful Dead have their own channel on XM Radio. What a wonderful world!”
Alvin and Cynthia James are semi-retired and living in Cedar Hill, Texas. Andy Glantz and his wife, Roberta Adams, recently returned from a snorkeling trip to Raja Ampat, in West Papua, Indonesia. The area is one of the premiere snorkel and dive sites in the world, and the trip was “unbelievably great.” After many years as a board member and president of the Furniture Society (classmate Miguel Gomez-Ibañez is a past-president, too), his six-year term ended. He is also active with a local school in the Phoenix area, the Southwest School of Woodworking.
Vic Pfeiffer was sorry to miss our 45th Reunion, but he was on a wonderful cross-country driving trip—Atlanta to Vancouver via Michigan’s UP—with Marc Pickard ’70. Vic and wife Patricia are grandparents for the second time. Daughter Alex ’06 lives in San Diego, where they will spend March and August. Lew McCreary is living in Hull, Mass. Kind of retired, but wrapping up his fifth unpublished novel. John Holden is loving retirement on Cape Cod with Joan, his wife of 40 years. John rode his recumbent bike across country from San Diego to St. Augustine, Fla., in spring 2015.
Bill Bruner’s son, Andrew ’04, and his wife, Elizabeth, had Bill’s first grandson, Colin Griffith Bruner (class of 2038?) last April. Mary McWilliams’ son is getting married, and her daughter had a baby boy, named after her late husband. “I continue to enjoy a welcome balance of boardwork, travel, and leisure. Later, I’m headed to NYC for shows, to South Africa for a combined safari and wine tour, and to France for the Provençal lifestyle. What’s not to like?”
Blake Allison says, “All good here in Cambridge. Still at my architecture practice. Two grandchildren so far. Our reunion poker games keep me in touch with Bob Julier, Peter Woodin, Job Potter ’72, John Abrams ’75, Dusty Carter ’69, and George Amarant ’69. Still traveling, mostly to Italy where we lived for a year. Next trip is driving the USA coast-to-coast for two months this spring.”
Mark Wallach’s third grandchild was born: Ettie Jan Wallach. Fran Pawlowski and wife Delphine enjoyed Reunion and were blessed with the presence of Professor Herb Arnold and his wife at our Saturday class dinner. “My life became more complete because of them. When I think of the university, I see the Arnolds and I always smile.”
Alan Epstein is still a professor of pathology at USC Keck School of Medicine in LA, and working hard on developing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to treat cancer using immunotherapy. He started a new biotechnology company, Cell Biotherapy, Inc. His son, Aaron ’01, is an assistant professor of OB/GYN, maternal fetal care at USC, making us the only father/son physicians on staff. Alan has four grandchildren. He has kept in touch with Jeff Kraines, who recently took on a new position at Eli Lilly.
Mike Thompson is living happily in the San Francisco Bay Area, still doing some fundraising consulting with private schools. He has three grown kids (30, 32, and 34) and one wonderful son-in-law; and a beautiful lady friend. He keeps in touch with Pat ’71 and Ann Callahan ’79,Jake Weiss, and Jon Felt.
Jack Lebowitz was reelected as a director and counsel of The Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer charity of Phish fans, which has donated over $1 million to support music education programs for underserved children and young adults. The Foundation recently published and sold out a 10,000 copy printing of its authoritative hardcover book on Phish’s music, The Phish Companion, 3rd Ed.
Jay Resnick emerged from retirement to become a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway in Annapolis, Md. He also designed and taught a class, Introduction to Yiddish Literature, at Anne Arundel Community College.
Dave Lindorff’s daughter, Ariel ’05, got her PhD. in international education at Oxford! Son Jed graduated with a degree in film from SCAD. “He is raising hell with ThisCantBeHappening.net, the collectively run news site I founded.”
That’s all for now. Keep the news coming. Aloha.
Neil J. Clendeninn | Cybermad@msn.com
PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714
Aloha, all. Despite short notice from me, I received some news to share, and here it is:
Marcos Goodman wrote from the Appalachian Trail shortly after the last column’s deadline to report that he was averaging 12 miles a day, getting in shape, losing eight pounds, meeting “good folks,” and finished three audiobooks. However, Marcos had a stroke on the trail and lost some vision. He reports, “All’s better than good enough. I’m obsessed with single-limb pull-ups, pushups, and squats, as they have the ability to wipe me out sufficiently that I’m unable to think about things!” He’s turned the obsession into a plan to develop “the most thorough analyses of the simplest movements,” explaining that “[t]he idea of learning the single-limbed versions as significant strength skills, almost like a personal sport, appeals to me. They’re very similar to the shot put, in which as far as I know, I still have the Wes freshman team record. One of the true high points of my life! That is, before I got tired of throwing a heavy ball around.”
Gerald Everett Jones wrote, “My whitepaper, ‘Deconstructing the Scandalous Narrative of the Baptism,’ was featured in the Fall 2015 issue of The Journal of Art Crime. This research is the basis for my historical novel, Bonfire of the Vanderbilts, which was published last year. I’m now hosting the GetPublished! radio show on KNNN-FM in Northern California, [also] via iTunes as a regular podcast. It’s all about the First Amendment. What we need these days are fresh ideas—book-length and thoughtful, not just blogged snippets and cute pictures of cats, not that I won’t watch them.”
Another California resident, Elliot Daum, pointed out that he learned at Wes “…that I would never be able to do anything ‘sooner than possible.’” Elliot was about to have dinner with Jacob Scherr, who as most of you probably know, has retired after years of important work for the NRDC, and with Jacob’s wife, Carole, who retired from PBS. Elliot says, “I will be joining them in retirement at the end of the year with major travel plans, some of which include our four children and four grandchildren. Life is great out here on the left coast and while our 50th looms, I am still eager to connect with members of the class who journey this way.”
Congratulations to you both. I imagine Jacob has mixed feelings, leaving at this point in the proceedings when the incoming administration potentially poses the greatest challenges to the environment of our lifetimes. I salute you for your great efforts and hope the younger folks carry the torch as well as you have. Elliot, I’m sure it’s been fascinating but enjoy the next phase, too.
The fast responders also included Jeremy Serwer in Connecticut. He wrote, “For those classmates not overly pleased with decisions by Wesleyan these days (I know, we’re a minority, right?), I’ve discovered a giving method that directly impacts some of the most worthy of Wesleyan students. This year, after a number of years of either not giving or only contributing a token to keep our class participation up, Nancy and I are sponsoring a summer internship for one of Wesleyan’s Posse Veteran Scholars. These are the Iraq/Afghanistan military veterans attending Wes U via the Posse Foundation program. If any of you attended the seminar at Reunion where these folks spoke, you’ll know they are the best of the best. Regardless of political persuasions, these folks both need and deserve our support.
“Quite a change from the Viet Nam years, but a grand one at that. It’s about time. Do consider supporting probably Wesleyan’s best policy decision of recent years. I’m sure the development office would love to hear from you. As always, if you’re coming to or through Connecticut, our JJ Farm awaits you. 860-928-7660.”
Rob Baker checked in with this news: “I got seriously injured surfing last year, and I had my hip replaced last month. Everything is better now, but I haven’t been spending as much time in Hawaii. I did attend my 50th Gilman School reunion in Baltimore, and I was glad I did.My daughter, Emily (Whitman College ’00), is getting married in San Diego. We’ve finished building a new house in Park City, Utah, and I can’t imagine ever doing that again.” Rob sends his best wishes to all of you and noted that it’s only three years to our 50th Reunion.
The other Russell, Russell Bradshaw, sent this: “[E]njoying retirement. Well, sort of! Presenting a paper at the annual conference of International the Cultic Studies Association in Bordeaux in June, if anyone is in the vicinity (or emigrating to Europe). Recruitment into High Demand/High Control Groups: A Developmental Psychology Perspective (Erikson, Maslow & Cialdini) is the working title.” His new address is: Russell & Gunilla Bradshaw, Vigelsjöhöjden 3A, 76152 Norrtälje Sweden.
Colin Kitchens, very active politically online, wrote from California: “Enjoying my wife and three dogs, some California rain, and doing some writing. Very proud of the fact that I was in the class with Jacob Scherr, who is doing wonderful work.”
Lastly, David White wrote in from Martha’s Vineyard: “I first have to say that the 45th Reunion macadamia nut key ring is holding up well, perhaps better than the rest of us in the Trump era. I continue to be the artistic director/executive producer of The Yard, an artist research residency, performance, and education center dedicated to contemporary and dance and related art forms. Classmate Tony Balis is on and off the island (his family has some roots here, and he did a Wes photo thesis about the place). He pursues his humanity.org world peace effort that, among other things, now has put out the first in a line of teas (Ahimsa: Infusions of Peace), produced by the venerable tea company, Harney and Sons. I note that the ingredients are: organic rooibos, cinnamon, and hibiscus—the perfect kick-back with a slug of rum for any islander anywhere.
“The island is awash with Wes reprobates from around our year (1969-1974, and later): Canny attorney Rick Gross is back and forth between Philadelphia and Aquinnah, Martha’s Vineyard with abstract painter and wife Bobbi. Interestingly enough, he is also the lawyer for The Yard. Former Alvin Ailey dancer Peter Woodin ’71, springs back and forth from his current career in arbitration (he worked at one time with the legendary Kenneth Feinberg) and his ridiculously challenging mountain-biking regime from Lambert’s Cove to Chilmark and beyond, exhausts the rest of us, including his wife, Beryl, who, interestingly enough, is a board member of The Yard as well as a legal eagle at Brooklyn Law School.
“Also, Blake Allison ’71, John Abrams ’75, Bob Julier ’71, and a summer cameo appearance in the summer time from Gene Borgida ’71, and occasional Class of ’71 friends. And a Smith alum, Colin Dayan recently arrived for a year’s sabbatical from her professorship at Vanderbilt. In 1970, her name was Joan Dayan, taking courses in the previous year’s transitional, careful introduction of women. A good friend of Jed Marcus ’71, she worked with Jed and I, and many others, in creating Open Summer in Middletown, the community free university and children’s day camp that follow the National Student Strike and graduation.
“As for me, I have come from recently producing Le Patin Libre, a renegade skate-dance company from Montreal (definitely not your grandmother’s Icecapades), and Tanya Tagaq, an electrifying proto-punk Inuit throat-singer and First Nation social activist from Nunavut, the winner of every possible Canadian music award, and recently four stars in Rolling Stone for her latest album, Retribution. Now dance is on the horizon for our Yard Arts season running mid-May to September. Feel free to stop by (free tix if you do, as well as libations). You can see what we’re up to at dancetheyard.org.”
Send news when you read this so I don’t have to rush the next column!
John Bach “spent time with Chris Palames ’70, who was recovering from an operation. Despite his wrestling accident, Chris has embodied grace, wisdom, and courage from his wheelchair.” Jeff Richards “produced Significant Other in NYC, co-starring John Behlmann ’04, Lady Day with Audra McDonald in London, and a national tour of Fiddler on the Roof. Saw Bill Edelheit and visited a familiar Wes, just a much younger population.”
Pete Pfeiffer “logs, or will, when the mechanic puts a new engine in my skidder. Dealing with a mile-long, ice-covered driveway, which would make a damned-good bobsled course. I’ve gone from downing big pines to big medical marijuana plants. Four years of conscientious study at Wesleyan are paying off. This may be my last winter in the woods. Dinner with Milt Christianson and a community of friends, so where else would I go?”
Luther Martin, is another grandson for Jerry Martin. “Still casting pearls before AP and American Lit students. Retirement just an abstraction.”
Mike Fink says, “Katey’s at U of South Carolina. I’m struck by the similarities to the times of McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt. Can political class and people unite to create change for polygot society? The family and I are healthy.”
Steve ’69 and Linda Broker ’71 “enjoyed a cruise on the Saone and Rhone Rivers in France. Two Road Scholar trips—Amelia and Cumberland Islands, then to Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Still birding in Connecticut and on Cape Cod, and became president of Connecticut Ornithological Association.”
Rick McGauley “had kids and grands at the holidays. Fun, exhausting. How did we keep up with our three? Love to get a few Beta brothers together sometime.”
Steve Mathews “sees 100 new people arrive in Nashville every day. Still work in senior field—stuff like Council on Aging of Middle Tennessee and Caregivers by WholeCare. Susie and I have been here since 1972, with children and family here.”
Steve Knox downsized in Montclair. “Simpler life. Retire in three years then will relocate to the Carolinas. I’m alienated from the national government—focusing on a better life for family and community.”
Darius Brubeck congratulated “granddaughter Lydia Elmer ’17. Quartet launched Years Ago at Ronnie Scott’s in London. Received a grant for two stays in South Africa. Cathy and I work on a book about the jazz life in Durban during the ’80s and ’90s.”
Jim Weinstein “has visited all 50 states. Aiming for 100 countries, currently at 95.”
Paul Melrose “was in Denver visiting with Lanning Schiller. We’ve been friends for 52 years.”
Steve Hansel’s Eclectic Investment Partners fund had a good 2016. Family well. He splits his time between Orleans and St. Pete.
Doug Bell “is affiliated with InnovaTerra Ltd., in Uruguay. 550 acres of hemp. We grow, process, and export hemp to world markets.”
John Andrews “retired to Crosslake, Minn., and saw -33 degrees Fahrenheit. Daughter Jane married in Sudagarh, India. She practices internal medicine at Yale, where husband is finishing his MBA.”
Ron Reisner “retired after 15 years on trial bench of New Jersey Superior Court. Hope to get to Wes b-ball game soon. Working part-time for large Jersey firm with office in Red Bank.”
Maj and Tom Earle “spent the holiday in Sydney, with an 11-hour flight from Hawaii home. Fine city, walkable, great food, reasonable prices. Out in the bush, we saw goannas, monitor lizards that grow to five feet. Very nasty.”
Pete Arenella “retired to new life in a rural Mexican village that modernity has bypassed. Six months after a knee replacement, I’m close to normal. Poor Internet, but can still watch Pats/Sox. Three daughters in grad school. Grateful to spend last part of journey with my soulmate.”
Jeff Wohkittel’s new book, Perigee, is on unprsouth.com. Eric Greene “sells crystals online and enjoys life.” Visakha and Ken Kawasaki promote peace at brelief.org. Rick Vila “skies the steeps in Crested Butte, Colo.” Bill Sketchley “sends best wishes to everybody.”
Closing from Frank Putnam. Karen and “I= live on our orchard in the Blue Ridge foothills of Stuart, Va. Google it. 422 Brushy Fork Lane, Stuart, Va. Fields, pond, house, office, and barn. Our 30 acres (out of a 300-acre family plot) abuts thousands of acres of an elite hunting club. The survivors of their staged birdshoots straggle to our feeders. I have stage 4 prostate cancer and travel is limited. One compensation is the space and ability to commune with nature. We had a major facelift going for our property. Still a professor at UNC consulting on mental health issues for low-income families. Latest book enjoying success on Amazon. I planned to continue part-time at UNC, 2.5 hours away. Everything is in great shape, but, of course, that is time-limited. I’ve lasted this long, just saw a book published, so I’m working on another.”
I’ll open with the observation that I am unaware of a lot of energy swirling around our upcoming 50th (May 24-27, 2018), though maybe—as I have stated that I do not wish any leadership role—I am not entitled to make any such remarks. However, three of our classmates, Sandy See, alexander.h.see@gmail.com; Stuart Ober, ober@staurtober.com; and George Reynolds, greynolds@sandpointefunding.com, would appreciate your help in making the 50th into more than a pedestrian affair. Consider contacting them.
After three years, I am still not able to distinguish retirement from an extended vacation. However, I took a break from Yale football this September, and Judy and I spent a week at Chautauqua—a lakeside Disneyland in western New York for mature culture vultures. There we had the good fortune to share some quality time with Paige and Dale Lott ’56. He is a landscape painter and geographer, retired from the New Jersey university system, in the midst of a very active retirement in Poultney, Vt.
In August, Laurie and Bob Newhouse were thrilled with the arrival of their first grandchild, Robert Hayes Newhouse (“Hayes”).
Bill Nicholson’s daughter is SMU bound. Jeff Talmadge’s website, WeNeedaVaction.com, which is largely a family enterprise, celebrated its 20th year and is thriving. He and Joan are devoted to the Red Sox, their kids, their seven grandchildren, and are planning a trip to Cuba.
In October, Boston’s Head of the Charles Regatta was run for the first time in, I believe, 26 years without a “founder’s” crew from Wesleyan—my ‘mates. However, Wes was well represented—the women beat 27 other crews to win their event. And during the course of the weekend, the David Crockett ’69, a beautiful eight, formally joined Wesleyan’s fleet. (The varsity rowed in it last spring and dubbed it “the Crockett Rocket.”) Wife Kitty, son David, and daughter Cordelia (lovely folks all), spoke of Davy’s vibrant and expansive spirit, as did Coach Phil Calhoun ’62 and Captain Will Macoy ’67.
On Election Day, not everything went the way I would have liked, but it had some nice moments nonetheless. My state senator is Ted Kennedy Jr. ’83—a personable and effective legislator—and he was at my polling site when I voted. We spoke of his son, a freshman, who is rowing in the second boat, and his daughter, who graduated last May and is now a doctoral student in physics at Columbia. A small town pol, Ted actually called a dear friend of mine in town, David Ramos ’05, and asked for David’s support personally. When I told Ted I was ’68, he just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
As a meathead oarsman out of Psi U with a preppy veneer, but not the capital, I have largely muddled through life. Being your secretary allows me to chronicle some most fascinating people, and, regretfully, we have lost two recently: David Berry died at his home in Brooklyn in December. A playwright and screenwriter, he won an Obie for distinguished playwriting for his first play, G. R. Point, which depicts soldiers in the Vietnam War in a sympathetic lens and ran on Broadway in 1979. (He started writing this as a novel until his then-wife urged him to make a play of the material.) Best known for his stage play and 1987 screen adaptation of The Whales of August, which was inspired by his Maine childhood and starred Bette Davis, Vincent Price, and Lillian Gish, he enlisted in the Army in 1968, but was discharged so he could serve as guardian to his younger siblings after his mother’s death. After the success of his plays, he continued writing while teaching at several institutions including the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Conn., and most recently the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
Bill Ochs was a scholar, performer, and passionate teacher of traditional Irish instruments—specifically the tin whistle, wooden flute, and uilleann pipes—who was a pivotal figure in the renaissance of this musical tradition. His work was furthered by an MFA from Sarah Lawrence, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a 40-plus year involvement in the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. He is the author of The Clarke Tin Whistle, which sold 250,000 copies. A resident since the 1970s of Hell’s Kitchen, he and his long-time partner, Margaret Vetare, shared a house in the Hudson River Valley. A political activist, Bill devoted enormous energy to some congressional campaigns. Also, he was exhilarated by the outdoors and was an avid swimmer, hiker, cross-country skier, and birdwatcher. On the trail or in the canoe, he always wanted to see what was around the bend.
