Class Notes

It won’t be much longer before our class notes are at the beginning pages of this section of the Wesleyan magazine! Hard to accept the fact that we graduated so many years ago and that our class number was small in comparison to present classes. It makes me very thankful to receive words from our gang to share with you all. Of course, I’ll add that it would be greatly appreciated if more of you would send a note this way when the pleas for a response are sent out!

     Sad to report the passing of George Edwards on January 4. George served as an officer in the Navy upon graduation and then received his master’s degree from the Wharton School. He served as assistant town manager in Bloomfield, Connecticut, then became the town manager of Granby, Connecticut before working for housing development programs in Middletown and Albany. He focused on commercial real estate brokerage before he finished his career as the director of the Connecticut State Properties Review Board. He is survived by his wife of 42 years and five children. Sincere sympathy to his loved ones is extended by all of us.

     Two of our faithful “responders” have sent in information to bring us current. Tom Nall apparently doesn’t regret leaving Kentucky as he is now living in the “Tennessee half of the town” in an independent-living facility with, as he says, “nice folks.” He had a mild case of COVID-19 which kept him isolated at home for 12 days but after a year of doing nothing he remarked he was used to it!

     Drew Clemens’ wife Julie sent a lovely and informative holiday greetings letter which updated Drew’s activities. He is serving as a trustee and psychoanalysis committee chair of the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis. He continues to play tennis when, as she writes, “it’s safe to do so.”

     Hearing from both a fraternity brother and a former freshman roommate and remembering days together are what keeps me still willing to write these notes!

     On the homefront, all is well and I’m happy to report 4,379 miles   were logged on the bike for 2020. Our “gang” remains active in the new year and I’ve recorded 421 miles as of February 11. Keeping active, being with a wonderful and loving wife, and trying to maintain a positive attitude still seem to be working!

      As always, sincere good wishes to you and your loved ones in the days ahead!

John K. Binswanger writes: “To say the least we are in a crazy world, but I hope everyone has stayed well. We decided to get away from the winter so went south for a month, which was a great decision. Fortunately we got the COVID vaccine so we are staying well. My second great grandchild was born in late January, a beautiful little girl. The first was a boy (six months ago) so we now have a great balance and everyone is well. Gay and I are playing a little golf; she is into pickleball so we are both active and having fun.”

   Terry Hatter says: “This is short but sweet. Trudy and I remain housebound due to the pandemic, but in good spirits. We had our first vaccine shots in February and I still work from home as do my law clerks. Stay safe and well.”

Hal Buckingham informs us of the passing of his brother, Robert C. Buckingham,’49, MD, on December 10, 2020.

Jerry Zachin, having received the Wesleyan alumni magazine the last week of February, felt compelled to announce the birth of his second great-grandson, Alden Michael Roose, just a week earlier in Portland, Oregon. Proud Wesleyan family are parents Katie ’10 and Robbie Roose ’05 and grandparents Michael and Mary (Nastuk) Zackin, both ’80. This past year has limited Jerry and his wife, Sandy, to Sarasota, Florida and Yarmouth, Cape Cod, as trips to the Danube and Mississippi Rivers and a voyage from Singapore to Sydney were cancelled. Australia was to have been his last continent. They hope for a trip to Japan in the fall. They keep busy with golf and online bridge.

     By landline telephone George Anderson requested contact information for Warren Oscar Eastman. (George states that this is the extent of his communication skills.) Warren passed away February 17, 2021 at 90, just six days before George’s request. Warren was born in Middletown, lived in Cromwell, was a member of Sigma Chi, and a chemistry major. He spent his career with General Electric at several locations in research and corporate planning activities ending up at headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut. After retirement he and Patty became snowbirds living in Osprey, Florida and Frye Island, Maine. As a member of St. Andrews UCC church in Sarasota, he was active in the local community. Warren is remembered as our aggressive class agent for many years following graduation. He is survived by a daughter and a son, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

     Warren’s fraternity brother and lifelong friend Basil Gideon Anex, 88, died August 12, 2019, in Seattle, his birthplace and retirement home. As high school valedictorian, he hitchhiked across the country to join our class. Basil was a Sigma Chi and chemistry major. After a PhD at the University of Washington and a postdoc at Indiana University, Basil held positions at Yale, at New Mexico State University, and at the University of New Orleans, where he remained until retirement in 1995. As an avid jogger and recycler he was featured in Runner’s World for collecting 400 pounds of refuse during neighborhood runs. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen, of 60 years, a son, two daughters, and five grandchildren.

   Samuel Graham Macfarlane, 88, Pittsburgh, a Sigma Nu and a government major, passed away April 21, 2020 in Baltimore of multiple myeloma. Following graduation he served in the Army’s security agency as a code transcriber for three years, before joining Travelers Insurance in the underwriting department. In 1959 he was persuaded to join Waverly Press, owned by his father-in-law. Studying accounting nights at Johns Hopkins University, he became a CPA and eventually CFO of the Press until retirement in 1998. He was a vestryman of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church. He served as president of Maryland’s American Lung and Mental Health Associations. As empty-nesters, he and his wife Susan invited Peabody Institute graduate students to live with them and also sponsored up-and-coming opera singers (opera was Sam’s passion). They visited opera houses around the world and took time to play golf at St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland. He was a Pittsburgh Pirates fan until the Baltimore Orioles defeated them in the 1979 World Series. After 20 years he had become a true Baltimorean. Sam and Susan had a daughter and two sons.

Condolences of the class to all three of these families.

No notes this time, my regards to all my classmates.

Dick Cadigan ’59 reports that his brother-in-law, F. Kingston “King” Berlew, passed away peacefully at the Highlands in Topsham, Maine on February 21, 2021. He was the son of Herman Berlew ’21, brother of Dave Berlew ’56, uncle of Steve Cadigan ’86, and father of Derek and Sarah Berlew. King received a JD from Harvard in 1954, where he was also editor of the Harvard Law Review. While he spent most of his life practicing international law, he did a significant number of years in public service. He was the first director of the Peace Corps in Pakistan, followed by time as associate deputy director of the Peace Corps under Sargent Shriver. He took special pride in being the founder and first president of the world law group (WLG) in 1988. Today, the WLG is in 89 countries, with over 21,000 lawyers. King was a world traveler, avid sports participant and fan (especially the Red Sox), loved singing and playing guitar, plus being a gracious host and offering fine wines! King was a Wesleyan alumni trustee from 1978 to 1981. Prior to and since retirement in 1980, he lived in York, Maine; Vero Beach, Florida; and finally Topsham.

From Matt Huston: “In July I moved to the University of Michigan and am currently working as a research assistant and am heading a project focused on understanding proteins involved in SARS-COV-2’s ability to evade the host’s immune system and how those proteins can be targeted by therapeutics.”

Nate Gillman recently moved to Providence, Rhode Island to begin his PhD studies in mathematics.

From Sayem Talukdar: “Since June, I’ve had the privilege of working full time at Johnson & Johnson as a technology analyst through their Technology Leadership Development Program, a rotational program. My first rotation is in Corporate Business Technology on the Experience Design team. I’ve also decided to continue my education concurrently by pursuing a master’s in Technology Management at Georgetown University. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of my close friends recently from Wes—Delando Clarke ’21, Autumn Rasmussen ’20 and Marisella Andrews ’19.”

Jack Warren’s film thesis, ARTEMIS, screened in competition at the Woodstock Film Festival in late September/early October. 

Sarah Hutcheon got a job as a chemist at Abbott Laboratories and is making rapid COVID-19 tests.

Nick McCarthy is interning with Swing Left, working to get Democrats elected in the November election. He’s not sure what he will do after the election. 

Sam Peterson moved to Washington, D.C. in the beginning of July. He is working for a company called CleanChoice Energy, which helps people find clean energy options for their homes, especially if they don’t have the means or infrastructure to install their own solar panels. 

Inayah Bashir, Kolbi Bradley, and Latisha Leaperl started their own business called Holistic Wealth, LLC, which “provides personalized wellness services that inspire community and self healing.” From Inayah: “We’ve been putting on wellness programming during the pandemic! So far, we’ve had a solidarity circle for Black women on love and one for Black men. We also held a community forum for Black people to discuss love. This fall, we have been hosting weekly meditation sessions and we also are kicking off our TV Club series! It’s been such a rewarding experience for us so far! Here’s the website for more information: holisticwealthconsulting.com. 

From Zoe Cassels-Brown: “Originally from Vermont, I relocated to Dallas to start my residency year with Johns Hopkins Urban Teachers program. I am currently teaching first graders online in Dallas for Uplift Peak Primary school and taking classes at night towards a double major in general and special education.”

Saadia Naeem and alums from the classes of ’20, ’18, and ’17 watched the U.S. Open from her backyard on Winged Foot, where they enthusiastically welcomed Tiger Woods to the fourth green. 

Nick Ticali ended up using his Adelphic Educational Fund Wesleyan Summer Grant funds to take a microbiology course through the University of New England instead. He is living with his parents on Long Island, New York, is working full-time as an EMT with Hunter EMS, and has been sworn in as an EMT with his fire department. He is hoping to shadow PAs, take an AEMT course, and maybe apply to PA school in the near future!

Alex Sobor is living in her hometown, Chicago, and is an outreach coordinator for the State Senator Robert Martwick and State Representative Lindsey LaPointe campaigns in Illinois. 

From Tyler Kobryn: “I recently signed a professional hockey contract with the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL for next year. They are the minor league affiliate of NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Looking forward to the opportunity.”

Saakshi Kakar is starting the first semester of her master’s program in developmental psychology and psychopathology at King’s College, London from home in Mumbai, India. Additionally, a paper she co-authored with 2020 grads Simone John-Vanderpool, Paul Willems, and Mubarak Sanni was published in the Journal of Community Psychology!

From Ariel Adler: “Since March, I spent a month in New Jersey living with my cousin, went back home to Georgia for another month, and then moved to Los Angeles in mid-June. Since moving, I traveled back to Georgia twice—to visit my 91-year-old grandmother in the hospital and later to attend her funeral. After spending two months in Los Angeles living off of my dwindling savings and applying for jobs, I was fortunate to be hired as the executive assistant to two senior executives at Access Hollywood.”

Lucie Plasse spent her post-grad summer at home in Lille, France studying for her French driver’s license exam. The exam contains an extremely detailed and difficult written portion, which she finally passed on the third try!

Jackie Duckett moved to Boston, where she is working as a clinical research coordinator in an infectious disease lab at Massachusetts General Hospital.

From Natasha Guandique: “Since Wesleyan I’ve had to completely shift my professional plans, it took some time, but I’ve recently gotten over myself and accepted that I can’t be in control of everything all the time. Now I’m focusing on my future, what I can control and fabricating positivity.”

From Anthony Price: “I recently joined the Universal Service Administrative Company as a program analyst in Washington, D.C. working to alleviate the digital divide amongst low-income families across the country.” 

Maya Layne is currently a digital editor intern at CR Fashion Book, lovingly running her blog (mayalayne.blog), recording her podcast (Knowsy Pod), and finding labor-intensive recipes to make for no reason. 

While the Class of 2020 had an unexpected senior spring and graduation, I loved getting y’all’s updates; they are a great reminder of our collective grit, resilience, and adaptiveness! As for me, I’m moving to Chicago in the spring to be a commercial health care consultant for Guidehouse. Big congrats to those who’ve found a path in this weird post-grad time and sending some love and support to those who are still searching for ways to fill their time. Thanks for your updates and look out for another email from me soon! 

REBECCA GREENBERG | rgreenberg@wesleyan.edu

Hey everyone! Hope you all are continuing to stay safe and healthy. Here are some updates from our classmates: 

Anna Knes (she/her) has moved to the Netherlands to pursue her second master’s degree (her first being Wesleyan MA ’20). For the next two years, she will study forensic science at the University of Amsterdam. While she will miss her family and friends in the United States, she is excited to explore Europe, and she is thankful that COVID-19 cases are quite low and well-managed. Anna isn’t the only Wes alum living in the Netherlands, however, as she is accompanied by Sarah Paulson (she/her) who moved to Groningen, a town two hours away! She is pursuing a master’s in marine biology at the University of Groningen. Follow their travel Instagram @thestroopwafeleffect for more updates!

Zachary Obstfeld (he/him) just started a master’s in public policy at the Harris School at UChicago. 

Katie Tyner (she/her) recently completed her Master of Science in Politics Research from the University of Oxford (Balliol College). She absolutely loved her time in Oxford. This year she is working from home in Connecticut, co-authoring a few research projects and serving as a substitute teacher for fifth and sixth graders to help out the community during this COVID-19 craziness. She hopes everyone is keeping safe and happy.

Aaron J. Cheung (he/him) is still in Berkeley, California, and still living with Dominic Vazquez (he/him). Aaron sleeps a lot but wants to say hi to all his friends.

This fall Wesley Villano (he/him) is starting a master’s program in Chinese medicine at the New England School of Acupuncture. He is currently living with his girlfriend, Ainsley Kass ’20 (she/her).

Robin Waterman (she/her) just started a dual-degree PhD program in plant biology and ecology, evolution, and behavior at Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan), working with Professor Jeffrey Conner. 

Nic Yeager (he, they, she) is living in Austin, Texas, writing culture and politics articles for the Texas Observer and a few other publications. They wrote a guidebook about Austin that’s out now, even though it’s not a great time for travel. They’re hoping everyone is staying safe, sheltered, and politically engaged however they are able.

Marisella (Sella) Andrews (she/her) started school as an MBA candidate at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. Sella plans to pursue a specialty in health sector management and strategy. 

Thank you to everyone who shared their life updates with us this time around. And check your inboxes for another email from me soon! 

Justin Campos | jxcampos@wesleyan.edu