Tag: 1952

Following up on my notes from the last issue, here is more information on the passing of D. Ronald Daniel on December 16, 2023. After graduation in 1952 with honors and distinction in mathematics, Ron earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He was awarded Wesleyan’s highest alumni award, the Baldwin Medal, in 1981, and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1988. He spent his career at McKinsey & Co., retiring as managing partner emeritus. Ron served on Wesleyan’s board from 1969 to 1987, was elected chair, and subsequently elected trustee chief emeritus. Ron’s children, David ’77 and Stephen ’82, and granddaughter, India ’22, attended Wesleyan, of which he was extremely proud. The Daniel Family Commons, the space in the Usdan Center where Wesleyan Board meetings are held, is named after his family. He is survived by his wife, Lise Scott, his two children, stepdaughter, Amanda Hampton ’91, and several grandchildren.

Zdenek David reported that he got an article published, “Masaryk’s View of Amos John Comenius,” in Comenius: The Journal of Euro-American Civilization, Vol. 10, 2023, No. 2, p. 135-150. Very impressive! Keep it up!

Sam Fitch writes that he is still doing okay and independent living with his lady in the Phoenix, Arizona, area and trying to enjoy life as best he can. He sends his best to all the rest of the Wes alumni and especially our Class of 1952.

Together with my wife, Barbara, daughter, Ellen ’82, and son-in-law, Samuel Bender ’82, MD, we attended a wonderful performance of Camp! on campus on Saturday, April 13, 2024, an original musical co-written with Sarah Linsly ’24 and directed by my granddaughter, Eliza Bender ’24.

Please send news.

Jack Murray corresponded: “I am still here on in this earth in, to me, the remote year 2023 of the new millennium. Why? I don’t know. They say it’s genes, and not even this is likely. It’s certainly not from the way I’ve lived. It is most likely from residing in beautiful Santa Barbara and having so many good friends here. I send good wishes to the few other members of the Class of 1952 still alive, and think, with much love, of the many good friends from my class and the other classes I shared my happy years at Wesleyan with. I cherish, too, the great education I got back in the mid-20th century and the great professors who had such a lasting influence on my life. Again, thanks for everything.”

Seth Rosner wrote about the existence of a Class of ’52 “Gang of Five” that coalesced sort of by accident a good many years ago and consisted of him, Charley “Rogo” Rogovin, Kim Zachos, Bill Wasch, and Hal Buckingham, and their wives. Their first (very informal) meeting took place years ago in—where else?—Saratoga Springs for a lunch. It was so much fun they decided to do it again near Rogo’s digs in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Then, the Gang of Five members began departing and he believes he is the last one of the Gang left standing. He is heading for his 93rd birthday on the next Insurrection Day, still enjoys driving his two Ferraris, and he’s over the moon, happy in a life, madly in love with Judith, the most splendid woman he’s ever met. He further reported that they both flew to Rome, which she had never visited, saw the sights, and boarded the Queen Mary 2 for an 11-day crossing of the Atlantic and home. Only bad thing was he had a mild case of COVID-19 that kept him semi-restricted to their state room. . . . Bummer!

Only current serious impact of my/our age(s) is a problem with balance, walking with a cane or grabbling (gently) onto his beloved. He closes with the thought “that those of our classmates with us will recall I’ve always been a bit unbalanced, eh?” Looking forward with glee to our 75th Reunion.

He also asked me about his roommate at Wesleyan, John R. Tobi. Unfortunately, I found his obituary. John passed on April 3, 2021, at the Amie Holt Care Center in Buffalo, and is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and two sons, Donald (Barbara) and Steven (Patty), and four grandchildren, Jaclyn, Jacob, Harrison, and Emily.

I also received news about the passing of Ron Daniel on December 16, 2023, in New York City. Ron was a former Wesleyan trustee and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Wesleyan in 1988. More details to follow in the next issue.

Sad news from Sarah Porter ’86, daughter of Robert L. Porter, that he passed away on May 3, 2023, in Simsbury, Connecticut. She attended  our 65th Reunion in 2017 with Bob and his grandson, Asa Porter-Bernstein, and included pictures of them having fun and singing some of the old Wesleyan songs after dinner. Although he didn’t make the Glee Club while at Wesleyan, music was so important to him and he was happiest while singing or listening to music. In addition to Sarah, Bob’s legacies included his dad, Charles P. Porter 1918, and his maternal grandmother, Bella Pullman 1885. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Constance Flower, his daughters, Martha and Sarah, son-in-law, Matthew Bernstein, and grandsons, Asa and Otto Porter-Bernstein.

Zdenek David wrote that during the last academic year, he delivered two lectures—one at the American Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Convention in Chicago, November 10–23, 2022, and at the Bohemian Reformation and Religious Practice, Fourteenth Symposium in Prague, June 19–20, 2023.

Seth Rosner is still chugging away in Saratoga Springs, New York, living in the happiest time of his life, due entirely to his beloved married relation, Judith. He recites a chilling story about her parents, who were Holocaust survivors:

“In 1943 her mother was taken by German troops from her home in Uzhorod, then in Hungary, now Ukraine, to slave labor in a munitions factory near Hamburg. Then in April 1945, as Germany was collapsing, to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp for ‘disposal,’ before which she was liberated by units of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s Royal Army.

“Father was transported from Breslau in Silesia—then Germany, now Poland—via the Teresienstadt ghetto to Dachau for disposal, liberated by the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions and the 20th Armored Division of the U.S. Army.

“Both then went to ‘displaced person’ camps for adequate nourishment and health care, then ‘resettled’ in Prague, where they met, married, and Judith was the result. She grew up under the Communist regime, always dreaming of coming to America with her mom and dad, to which two uncles had emigrated prior to the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia. Two days prior to their departure, her dad passed of a heart attack; she and Mom buried him, then flew to JFK arriving with one valise and $25 between them, and neither spoke a word of English.

“Mom was a seamstress in Prague, so quickly got a job in New York City’s garment industry where her fingers did her talking. Judith taught herself English sorting vegetables in a supermarket, put herself through college, and got a job at Arthur Andersen. When the firm decided to open its first office in a former Iron Curtain country, in Prague, Judith got the job.”

Samuel Fitch relates that he is one of the few of us still kicking around, living in an independent living facility in Sun City, Arizona, with his lady. It seems that everything hurts these days and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work. But in our 90s, it’s just good to be able to get up in the morning and socialize. He says, “Hi to all.”

Just received sad news that another of our classmates, Paul Newcomet Sutro, passed away suddenly on August 29, 2023, in Rifle, Colorado, at the age of 93. He is survived by his wife, Sissy, who he met on a blind date in Atlanta in 1960 and who he married less than a month later, and his children—Tripp ’85, Martha ’87, Tommy, and John—their spouses, and seven grandchildren. His full obituary can be read at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/timesdispatch/name/paul-sutro-obituary?id=53121369.

Finally, on September 7, I attended an excellent revival of Sweeney Todd with my daughter, Ellen Bender ’82, replacing her husband, Samuel ’82, who could not attend, as he was delivering babies. It was a Wes fundraiser, attended by President Roth and hundreds of supporters. The production was directed by Thomas Kail ’99, who also directed In the Heights and Hamilton, both Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 productions. President Roth and Thomas also co-hosted a post-performance discussion about Wesleyan’s contributions to the arts.

The older we get, the harder it is to receive class notes, but please respond with news for the next issue.

Ron Daniel just turned 93 and still goes to the office and gym two to three times a week but is not sure how long he can keep it up. Onward!!

My next milestone is 92 and still working full time, going to the gym three to four times a week, ballroom dancing two times a week, and occasionally hit tennis balls with son-in-law Samuel Bender ’82, MD. Granddaughter Maddie Bender—daughter of Sam and Ellen (Friedman) Bender ’82—a graduate of Yale 2021, with a master’s in public health from Yale 2022, is going to Sierra Leone in May for two weeks as an intern with Nicholas Kristof, American journalist, political commentator, and the op-ed columnist for The New York Times, who is a regular CNN contributor and winner of two Pulitzer Prizes. She was awarded this honor in March 2020 but the trip was delayed because of COVID.

PLEASE WRITE!

Samuel Fitch advised that he is still on the “greenside” in an independent living facility in Sun City, Arizona, with too much to do—and too little energy. He sends his best to all and happy holidays.

I have no other notes from fellow classmates, so I plead for information for the next issue. As for myself, I continue to work every day as a title agency lawyer and enjoy acting as an expert witness in real estate matters. My wife Barbara is still practicing real estate law at home and we both enjoy ballroom dancing on a regular basis. Our granddaughter Eliza Bender ’24 loves Wesleyan and is active with a radio program, writing movies, and doing stand-up comedy routines on campus.

A healthy and happy New Year and beyond to all. PLEASE WRITE!!

I attended our 70th Reunion on May 21 and sad to say, I was the only one from our class present at dinner, as Seth Rosner, who I was supposed to meet, left early because he wasn’t feeling well. It was saddened further by the handing out of pamphlets with the names of all our deceased classmates. However, I spent a pleasant evening with the 65th Reunion Class, the 40th Reunion Class with my daughter Ellen F. Bender ’82, and my granddaughter Eliza Bender ’24 and her friends.

Unfortunately, I must report that Hal Buckingham, my predecessor as class scribe, passed away on June 5th, survived by his three children, Margaret, Harold III, and Janet, and his six grandchildren, having been predeceased by his wife Joyce last year. After graduation from Wesleyan, he served in the Korean War in the 24th Infantry Division, 54th Regiment, and was present for the truce on July 27, 1953, and participated in the subsequent exchange of prisoners of war at Panmunjom. He married Joyce one day after returning home on September 16, 1954, having known her since he was 7 and she 5. He graduated Virginia Law School in 1957. Hal was eager to make it back to campus for our 70th before his health took a turn for the worse. For further details about his life, see The Hartford Courant, June 10–12, 2022, or read his obituary here.

Zdenek David wrote that even though he retired in 2003 from his position as librarian of the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., he continues to hold the position of senior scholar at the center and continues conducting research and writing in the history of East Central Europe. He attached a list of his recent publications and other activities, which is quite impressive.

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Hope to see you at our 75th!