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Greetings to the great Class of ’59. In this issue of Class Notes we are reporting on several events that are collective rather than individual.

First, our 65th Reunion. For various reasons, only a few stalwarts were able to attend. They were the Messrs. Steve Kaplan, Ed Murphy, Joe Mallory, Alan Brooks, Ted Fiske, Paul Hadzima, Joe Vander Veer, Herb Steiner, and Skip Silloway. Those of you who were unable to attend missed an absolutely sparkling spring weekend on the Wesleyan campus. Blue sky, moderate temperatures and humidity, and the spring green showed off the many trees planted over the years. It could not have been better. We enjoyed the many events Wes had planned for us including the class parade, the Alumni Association meeting, and the awarding of athletic prizes at the gym. And just walking on the campus in all its splendor was a plus. The best for us was the informal class memorial service for those in the class who passed away. The names of our deceased classmates were read out by Skip with a pause after each for a comment or remembrance. All present regretted how few we remembered. It took about an hour, and everyone appreciated it. (Last winter Wolfram Thiemann wrote from Bremen, Germany, to express his great regrets at not being able to attend our 65th Reunion due to his restricted mobility. He was sorry to hear about all the unrest on U.S. campuses and hoped Wesleyan was handling it well. Wolfram closed by saying how much he was thinking about and missing his Wesleyan classmates.)

Second, the effort to remember classmates raised questions about numbers. How many joined Wesleyan in the fall of ’55? How many graduated? How many are still alive? And so forth. Fortunately, Paul Hadzima was there, and he answered all those questions and more. There is some question about the accuracy of Wesleyan’s records, so Paul had to make several “adjustments”: 202 of us arrived on campus in the fall of ’55; 152 graduated, while 47 did not. There were 94 on a list of deceased that Wesleyan prepared, but Paul determined that 28 did not belong on that list for various reasons. Thus, 66 of our graduating class by this 65th Reunion were deceased. Of the 152 who graduated, 88 are still with us, although not all are able or willing to travel. Airports, plane rides, etc., are hard work!

Third, a report on the Class of ’59 record of donating in this reunion year. Of the 88 still going strong, 46 donated in this year: $164,241 was raised for Wesleyan’s greatest need (this means donating through WAF), and $307,988 was raised for other support (this means to specific efforts such as scholarships or a specific athletic team). Overall, $1,316,869 was raised for our toral reunion gift (this means our total for five years).

And, lastly, a postscript from Alan:

            “Diminished in numbers but not in spirit, the MidCoast Maine ‘reunioners’ gathered for the eighth year (it could be more; we kinda lost track) at Joe Mallory’s lovely home in New Harbor on September 12. 

“Joe prepared his signature dinner of Chicken Marbella for Dick and Linda Cadigan, [my wife,] Marie-Pier Brooks, and me. It was quite tasty! Kudos to the chef! Following [the] mandatory discussion of our medical challenges, there was talk of family, friends, Wesleyan, and, of course, the great Class of ’59.

“We hope to continue the tradition and to pull Bob Chase, one of the original members, back into the group.”

SKIP SILLOWAY | ssillow@gmail.com; 801/971-6165

DICK CADIGAN | crcadigan@sbcglobal.net

AL BROOKS | afbrooks36@gmail.com; 860/670–0579