Class Notes

Jim Corrodi sent the following: “Gladys and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in August by renting a villa in Tuscany for a week, joined by our three children, their spouses, and seven grandchildren—15 of us altogether. It was terrific, but the hill towns were a bit exhausting for Pop-Pop. I slept well.”

Eliot Glassheim has written a book, Sweet Land of Decency, to “tell the story of American history as it illustrates centuries of struggle to move from darkness to light, from selfishness to common good, from exclusion to inclusion, from control by wealth to control by reason, from evil to good.”

Dave Major writes: “In Vienna recently for a Technical University review panel, I was delighted to have lunch with Sasha and Harald Kreid. Harald, an international student who was with us during our senior year and had many friends in our class, is now retired after a distinguished career in the Austrian diplomatic service. It was a pleasure both to catch up and to remember fine times at Wesleyan.”

Gus Napier writes: “In July, Margaret and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Our daughter, Sarah, and her family came from Concord, Mass.; our son, Mark, and his family from Albany, N.Y.; and Julia and her family arrived from Buenos Aires. Including our six grandchildren, there were 14 of us for a week of hiking, canoeing, swimming, and team cooking. We had a great time together—the way we usually do, but enriched by our awareness of time’s fleeting passage.”

It is with sadness that I report the passing of Tad Bartlett on Aug. 6, after a three-year battle with cancer. After graduating from Wesleyan, he worked as a special agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency. He married the love of his life, Frances Matko, in August 1969.

Tad worked for W. R. Grace and lived in Europe before joining Chemical Bank in New York City. As a vice president he opened the first Chemical Bank branch in Calgary, Alberta, and lived there with his family from 1980 to 1983. While in Calgary, he loved to attend the Calgary Stampede and purchased one of his most prized possessions, a pair of cowboy boots.

After Calgary, Tad and his family moved back to the U.S., first to New York and later to Maine. Tad loved Maine and enjoyed many summers at their home on Southport Island. He and Fran moved full-time to Boothbay Harbor in 1995, where he was famous for his lobster dinners and blueberry pancakes. He worked as a realtor there.

Tad’s passion was music of all kinds, particularly classical and opera. He was very active in Lincoln Arts Festival, where he was a board member for over 15 years and served as president for two terms. He sang in the Lincoln Festival Chorus and Sheepscot Valley Chorus, as well as with the Our Lady of Peace choir and the Methodist Church choir for many years.

Tad is survived by his devoted wife of 44 years, Fran Bartlett; daughter Jennifer Valerie Bartlett and her partner; and son Philip Loomis Bartlett and his girlfriend. On behalf of the Class of 1960, I offer our condolences to his family and friends.

SAL RUSSO
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229
salandjudy@hotmail.com

Jeff Talmadge has done something quite remarkable: after working in very responsible positions in a humongous computer company that managed to go belly-up, he created a job for himself with a website—weneedavacation.com—which gets folks vacation rentals on the Cape and the Islands. Well, Jeff’s cottage industry has been going and growing since 1997 and, at this point, Jeff is easing himself out and passing the business on to the next generation. Jeff’s daughter, Becky, and stepson, Jimmy, are taking the lead, and a grandson is afoot at work some days. Jeff and Joan have renovated their East Orleans summer home for living there full time. And a holiday letter gave me the distinct impression that there is not a golf course Jeff does not like.

Though Amby Burfoot has retired as the editor of Runner’s World and moved to Mystic, he continues writing about running-related issues. He was 7/10 of a mile from the finish-line when the bombs went off in Boston. Unbelievably, it has been 25 years since Dave Pryor died from Agent Orange. Bill Nicholson fondly remembers rooming with Dave before Dave concluded that “this arrangement was not going to lead to anything but weekend mischief and mediocre grades.”

Jeff Bell traveled to Russia where he saw the places to which Professors Greene and Pomper had introduced him. So much for the enduring value of a liberal arts education. Wig Sherman’s youngest son, Jonathan, was a lacrosse captain and an economics major at UConn. His post-graduate plans are to secure gainful employment. In August, Paul Spitzer gave Judy and me a fascinating tour of the Connecticut River’s estuary, and we also visited Dave Losee’s exquisite cottage in Isleboro, Maine.

Dave Gruol, Jacques LeGette, Steve Horvat, Ray Solomon, Craig Dodd, Ted Ahern and Pete Hardin got together for their annual golf retreat, which took place this year in Madison, Conn. Dick Emerson was also there, but a back injury limited him to lively conversation and walking the round of golf they played at the Yale golf course, helping to keep up the spirits of those who struggle at this frustrating game.

As my regular readers know, the crew has stayed in touch and active but there has been one notable exception—Joe Kelly Hughes ’67—who until recently was unaccounted for. It turns out, he was drafted out of law school, ended up a Navy SEAL officer and qualified for underwater demolition team training. After two combat tours, he spent three years as a naval adviser to Bolivia. (“I can’t tell you how radically all that affected my mindset.”) Leaving the military in 1975, he moved to the Mexican Caribbean and was involved in many recovery projects. For some years, Joe has been Atlanta-based, developing industrial automation equipment and watching our country move from an industrial to a service economy. A FEMA responder, he spent many long days in New York after 9-11 and Sandy, and in Mississippi after Katrina. “My wife of 15 years and I travel, and I read to expand my knowledge of art and history which began in the COL. I hike with my dog through the Appalachian mountain trails, build and restore ship models, and am a director of a museum of underwater history in Mexico that I helped establish.” His son, a well-known hunting and fishing guide, lives in Bozeman, Mont., with his wife and son.

As the crew has stayed so close over the years, sorrow over the passing of Sib Reppert ’67 in August (of the same kind of liver cancer that Steve Jobs had) was tempered only by the realization that he had lived such an extraordinarily full life. Study at Oxford, service aboard a nuclear submarine and Harvard Law were followed by a Boston-based career as a litigator involved in patent-related and other complex cases including the national asbestos property damage litigation, breast implant cases, and professional malpractice cases. While a life-long competitive oarsman who competed in hundreds of regattas, sailing was Sib’s passion and he was never happier than at sea. Indeed, in 1995, Sib and his family sailed through the Panama Canal to New Zealand aboard their 37-foot sloop. And, in 2001, he and his daughters sailed from Cape Town to the Windward Islands aboard their 42-foot catamaran. In October, several of us celebrated Sib’s life with his wife, Christine Veztinski, and daughter, Victoria ’04, in an event beautifully orchestrated by Will Macoy ’67. Victoria reflected that he had gone quickly—he had been rowing just weeks before his death – and “at the top of his game,” so we needn’t feel bad. Though as Davy Crockett ’69 noted, we all thought he’d be the last man standing and do.

Finally, in July, we lost Alan Nichols to a brain tumor. His regimen of daily exercise strengthened his physical and mental well-being, which his doctors said enabled him to sustain his fight against the tumor as long as he did. A Bethesda-based golf nut, Al wrote for an urban daily and on the environment before focusing his journalism on travel and golf-related subjects for a number of major outlets. A low-handicap player, he was also an occasional amateur tournament participant and a life-coach whose teaching was designed to have an impact on more than your game. Al was especially close to John Carty, who remembers his presence and kindness at some of life’s bigger junctures – like the present he gave John’s first-born. If you put “Alan B. Nichols” into You Tube, you will find some wonderful videos of Alan puffing on a cigar and reflecting wryly on his life and the world. And that is probably how we should remember him.

LLOYD BUZZELL
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405
203/208-5360. LBuzz463@aol.com

Mike Terry retired from investment banking and is active in tobacco and smoking control. “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the US. Big Tobacco spends $10 billion a year on promotion.” His father, Surgeon General Luther Terry, issued the legendary report about tobacco dangers in 1964.

Harry Nothacker’s wife teaches English to immigrants. Son Keith developed and sells a breathalyzer that interfaces with an iPhone. Son Brian is a web architect at Vanguard. “I continue to enjoy Ironman training and competition—inspired by Jeff Galloway ’67, Amby Burfoot ’68, Bill Rodgers ’70, and Silas Wild.”

Now retired, Phil Wallas is “interested to see what identity I have outside work.”

Tony Mohr, vice chair of the ethics committee of the California Judges Association, says: “I preside over civil trials: personal injury, eviction, malpractice, and asbestos. I married Beverly Page last May and had an essay published in The MacGiffin.”

Jim Adkins attended his 40th med school reunion in DC. “Saw family and friends. To Manchester, N.H., to see son. Drove up Mt. Washington, spectacular foliage. Continue to work part-time, play trombone, and wonder where the time went.”

Jeff Richards produced an acclaimed revival of Glass Menagerie. “Upcoming, a musical, Bridges of Madison County, and an LBJ/Civil Rights play that vividly re-creates a time we are all familiar with.”

Doug Bell founded and operates Grasslands, a major farm and land appreciation investment in Uruguay. “The best priorities are family, friends, and keeping our health.”

Jim Martello wrote, “Gail, daughter Jennifer, and I are fortunate, well, and live in Vernon, Conn. I taught/coached 33 years and now operate a paint/wallpaper business. We own a place near Sarasota, where our son and his family live. Remember, 66 is the new 46.”

Howie Brown, fully retired, visited India and Hawaii recently. “The arts scene in DC is such that one could go to two performances daily forever—reminds me of London’s music scene in the ’70s.”

David Siegel is chief of medicine for VA Northern California Health Care System and professor of internal medicine at UC, Davis. “Last son at Albert Einstein in NYC. No retirement plans.”

Tom Goodman: “I’ve been in Philly for 35 years. One daughter, Mara. I taught photography at UT San Antonio and Philadelphia College of Art. Check out tomgoodman.com.”

Mike Fink said, “Daughter Jennie graduates in December and Katie in 2018. We see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still love my work as a real estate developer, so no retirement plans.”

Peter Cunningham is an independent photographer in the publishing field. “I’m re-issuing some old rock and roll photos and creating a book, One Word Poems, which matches photos of words with images that echo their meaning.”

Tom Earle’s married daughter Inga lives in Bangalore. “Her first child made me a first-time granddad. Tempus fugit.”

From Larry Feldman: “I’m reasonably healthy, kids doing well, working full time. I was honored by a group who deal with hazardous waste sites, a field I’ve worked in for three decades.”

Darius Brubeck’s granddaughter Lydia Elmer ’17 and Nathaniel Elmer ’14 continue the Wesleyan tradition. “I’m touring the UK and South Africa.”

Steve and Dave ’72 Knox’s family reunion in Seattle included both their daughters named Caroline. On Steve’s side, the children are involved with medicine. “Saw Sam Davidson’s [’68] famous art gallery in the heart of downtown.”

Eric Greene wrote, “Jeanne and I live in Greenfield, Mass. We love our online mineral business and have no plans to retire. I have fond memory of Joe Peoples’ Geology 101.”

John Mihalec saw Steve Darnell and David Burke at a Wes/Williams soccer game before watching Wes beat Bates in football 35–7.

John Wilson is back in Ann Arbor after Coda, an electric carmaker, went into Chapter 11.

John Crigler wished “the government would take more time off, so I could catch up. Work involves public radio, TV stations, and their Web-based spinoffs. My psychologist wife jokes that only one of us is in the caring profession.”

Charles Elbot reconnected with Al Wallace ’70 and Barb Watson ’70. “Eclectic holds many fond memories. I’m now an executive leadership coach for Denver Public Schools, have two sons nearby, and travel with my wife, Barbara.”

Charlie Morgan had dinner with Rick Cram, a fellow Gamma Psi, who also lives in Bonita Springs. “Any other Wes grads in the Fort Myers/Naples corridor? I research family history, do some consulting, and play tennis.”

From Paul Melrose: “Son Ian and wife Cindy have Maddy and Jersey. Wife Sue will retire from the ministry around Reunion. I do executive and clergy coaching. See Marge and Barry Checkoway and heard that Lanny Schiller survived Boulder flooding but house damaged.”

Dave Dixon helped develop a post-Katrina master plan for New Orleans that celebrates the city’s relationship with water and uses water-management strategies to solidify neighborhoods. Dave, who works for Goody Clancy, spoke at NYIT in New York City and was billed as “a leading thinker, doer, and visionary.”

Rameshwar Das wrote, “Two events came down the pike this past summer, one life-affirming, the other life-shattering. On June 15th our 14-year-old daughter, Anna Mirabel Lytton, was run over on her bike and killed in our hometown of East Hampton, Long Island, N.Y. On August 1st, my second book with Ram Dass, Polishing the Mirror, was published. Enjoy every moment.” Please look at ’83’s notes for a remembrance by Anna’s mother, Kate Rabinowitz ’83.

We need to add David Sullivan, Bill Lewis, Margorie Daltry Rosenbaum, and Anna to Ed’s list.

Think Reunion.

CHARLIE FARROW
1 Cold Spring Rd., East Haddam, CT 06423
charlesfarrow@comcast.net