CLASS OF 1985 | 2025 | FALL ISSUE
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Greetings, ’85ers! I saw a lot of you at our reunion and missed many of you who couldn’t make it. Time marches on, but I thought we all looked pretty good!
Hillary Hess writes: “I rode up to Reunion with my freshman-year roommate, Caroline Wilkins [that’s ME!]. A highlight for me was the gathering at the boathouse—Emily Denham Swomley, Margaret Bracken Thompson, Caroline, and I rowed a four, guided by the current assistant coach and current rowers. (The previous evening, Dave Barr had said to us that he wasn’t rowing because he was afraid of hurting something—saying what I was thinking, but we all got back to the dock unhurt and kept the boat on a more even keel than I expected.) Terry McClenahan represented the class for the men’s team, and former coach Pat Callahan ’71 joined us on the apron. Outside the senior art show, I ran into French majors Jeanne LaVallee and Ellen Campbell. At the class dinner, I caught up with fellow rowers Wendy Buffett and Denise Pasche and coxswain Paula Carbone.”
Hillary and I also caught up with Mike Jacobs, Bill Duryea, Jill Hamada, and Diana Lefer at a lovely class dinner held at the new Fries Center for the Arts, named for our 230 Washington Street housemate, Mike Fries, for whom Bill Wrubel gave a lovely introduction. Bill also led the class in a moving memorial to classmates who’ve passed away, inviting us to name friends we’ve lost and hold them together in our hearts.
I also heard from several classmates by email:
Dr. K.T. Korngold writes: “I graduated this May with an EdD in Montessori Studies from University of Wisconsin–River Falls, and my case studies are included in the newly published book by Patrick Frierson, Maria Montessori’s Philosophy, Following the Child (Oxford).”
I heard from Beth Purnell Gartman who has served as a school-based psychologist since 1989, including the last 11 years dedicated to supporting elementary-age students at a small independent school for neurodivergent learners. Now she’s embracing a new chapter: “I will be transitioning to part-time work as an independent educational consultant. In this new role, my goal is to empower families by helping them identify and prioritize their children’s needs, navigate school choices to find the ideal fit, and implement diverse strategies to support their unique learning styles.”
She adds, “The ’85 crew is still going strong! Amy Hamburg Shir, Jenny Henkind, and I have made it a tradition to gather annually for a long weekend trip. This year, I’m delighted to host the group here in Atlanta. My new home, which my kids affectionately call my ‘next phase of life’ home, is a true gem. I purchased this 1952 mid-century- modern beauty a year ago from dear friends. The groovy, 1960s, kidney-shaped pool adds to its charm, making it an ideal spot for entertaining. Should your travels ever bring you to Atlanta, please don’t hesitate to reach out, as I have a wonderful guest suite ready for visitors.”
Marquis Lobban missed our reunion but writes: “I currently reside in Los Angeles with my new wife, Nkem. My new wife came with a bonus daughter. So now, I have three children and am a newly minted granddad. My work as a commercial real estate developer requires many trips to the East Coast. I wish everyone in Class of ’85 many blessings!”
Shelley Stark lives in Attleboro, Massachusetts, with her husband, Louis, and works at Arcadis, a global engineering firm managing the document control department. “My son, Spenser, remains in school at Bridgewater State and my daughter, Holland, graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2023. I see good friends and fellow alums Rosilyn Ford (frequently), Leslie Turner ’88, and David Shopper ’82 when I can.”
Rosalind (Brown) Stewart wrote that she hasn’t attended a reunion or written to the class notes for years, so she filled me in: “I have lived in London, UK, with my husband, Ian, since 1989. I haven’t been to a Wesleyan reunion since, although I did log on to our virtual one in 2020, which was great fun. I had planned to attend this year, but our daughter (we have three adult children) had just graduated from her master’s program at Penn that same time. So, I met up with some Wesleyan friends of mine to create a series of ‘mini’ reunions instead. First, in April, Cindy Van Wynen, who was on my floor in Foss 10 back in 1981, returned to London to spend time with her daughter. We spent some happy times together, going to a play (Shakespeare’s Richard II), the Saatchi Gallery, and the ballet at Sadler’s Wells. Then in May, just after said daughter’s graduation, Ian and I went to Washington, D.C., for a couple of days and had dinner with Derek Reisfield and his wife. I had lunch the next day with Ira Dassa and then met up with Robin Wolser Guinot, who has temporarily relocated with her job to D.C. So, although I missed the whole shebang in Middletown in May, I did see four of my friends, all from the Class of 1985 this spring.”
Rosalind adds that she and Cindy, who lives in Nassau, Bahamas, keep in regular contact with Janet Macomber Williamson, who lives in Portland, Oregon: “We three spent a week together in February 2023 in the Bahamas, first Nassau and then Eleuthera, to celebrate our collective 60th birthdays that year. It was the first time we had spent time together without family and spouses since 1985 . . . and what fun it was!”
John Vigman also wrote from across an ocean: “Greetings from Tokyo. Still working, been at Veolia here in Japan since 2011 but nearing retirement and thinking of moving to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, learning Spanish and relaxing a bit. Anyone in Tokyo for beers and yakitori, let me know.”
Barbara Schwartz shared, “I’m trying to see how to make a difference when the world is so painful. I am a therapist and continue to counsel and supervise. I volunteer with SURJ (Showing up for Racial Justice) and attend meetings with Color of Change. They both are great organizations that give hope that we can do something besides bemoan how bad the country/world are. For some peace, I hike somewhere each weekend and spend two weeks hiking each summer. This summer we are going to Joshua Tree, Phoenix, and Sedona. This fall, we are going to San Fran where I will have the pleasure of seeing Marc Stein.”
Hilary Jacobs Hendel had exciting news: “I’m going to be a grandmother, and I’m launching my new book at the end of September called, Parents Have Feelings, Too: A Guide to Navigating Your Emotions So You and Your Family Can Thrive. This book is important for parents with children of all ages from zero to 100 years old. Here’s a recent picture of me with the book cover.
Hilary had promotional events planned at the Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side and the New York Public Library at 42nd Street in late September.
Dave Given has retired to Montana! “After careers in pension actuarial (me) and corporate finance (Irene), we moved 2,500 miles from Natick, Massachusetts, to Lolo, Montana, and retired early in 2022. Zero regrets! Golden retrievers, horses (her thing), volunteer work, and plenty of off-roading and hiking. Right now, the magpies are squawking in the orchard because the cherry trees are LOADED this year. The picture is me with dogs at the Missoula Pride festival and along the shore of Lake McDonald up at Glacier National Park.”
Dale Hernsdorf is based in LA and is a goldsmith: “I make one-of-a-kind pieces in high karat gold with curated gems and the occasional ancient rare coin. The line, cleverly named ‘Hernsdorf,’ has done well. I love what I do. My daughter, Annie, is marrying Brett Keating ’15 later this summer.” Here is one of Dale’s pieces:
Mark Schafer writes: “My essay about the work of the Jewish-Mexican poet Gloria Gervitz (whose book-length, life’s work poem, Migraciones, I translated for New York Review Books in 2021) was published in December in Este es el testimonio del oyente: Aproximaciones críticas en torno a Migraciones de Gloria Gervitz, the first collection of critical writings published on Gervitz’s poetry. In June the Latin American Jewish Studies Association awarded this book its 2025 book prize for an edited volume published in 2024.”
Mark also recently signed a contract with New York Review Books for his revised translation of the Cuban author Virgilio Piñera’s novel René’s Flesh and Cold Tales, a dramatically expanded collection of stories of the same title, originally published in 1987 and based on his 1985 College of Letters thesis!
He adds:
“Inspired by a local resistance gathering, I designed and made a banner with my daughter, my friend Yvon Augustin and his daughter, and with two other friends. [It was designed and] made to activelycounter the forces of fear and hate that have grown so loud recently in our country—especially for people ‘of the global majority’ and other marginalized and oppressed groups. We’ve been holding it over highways in Boston during rush hour and we marched with it in this year’s Boston Pride parade.”
Finally, “While my 15-year-old daughter, Carmel, is hanging out with a bunch of summer camp buddies at a rented house in Cape May, New Jersey—with chaperones!—I will be visiting my dear old friend, Catalina Ríos ’84 in Philly.”
CAROLINE WILKINS | cwilkins8530@gmail.com