Tag: 1952

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!

I am very sad to report that we have lost the leader of our class, Bill Wasch, who died on August 28, 2021. After a decade-plus absence, Bill returned to Wesleyan and worked for the University from 1964 to 1985. Bill’s Wesleyan legacy includes the establishment of the Susan B. and William K. Wasch Center for Retired Faculty and the Baldwin Medal in 2012, awarded to him for extraordinary service to the University.

Hal Buckingham advised that Bill, wheelchair bound, had visited him a few weeks before he died. Bill was not doing well as he had advanced Parkinson’s—his voice so weak, Hal could not hear him, but noted that his mind was there.

A complete obituary for Bill is available in the online Class Notes or in the Hartford Courant. Our most sincere condolences go out to his children, grandchildren, and classmates.

Alan Ward reported that he just celebrated his birthday vaccinated and boosted and is a bit nostalgic after his grandson’s 2021 graduation severed his last active Wesleyan tie. He was a Deke in 1952 and still is. He identified several persons at Wes who enriched his life, expanded his understanding, and helped him to live, namely, Don Dalessio, Herb Kelleher, George Brodigan ’51, Bill Wasch, and John Driscoll ’62. He extended his best wishes to all our 1952s, as he didn’t expect to physically be with us at alumni weekend, but he would be in spirit.

Don Stauffer finally bit the bullet and moved in with his longtime friend, Susan Shipherd. Since she is in the same retirement community, it was a short move, but with a lot of downsizing. One thing he unearthed was the December 1950 issue of The Cardinal. A lot of the contributors were ’52ers: himself, Bill McCluskey, Jack Murray, Ralph Glisson, and Ed Banks, most of whom were English majors, including the editor in chief, Dixie Sanger. He said it marked the first and only time he was included in the same publication as Robert Ludlum ’51.

Our 70th Reunion will have happened by the time you read this. I hope those of you who were able to come enjoyed seeing friends and the campus.

I am saddened to report the passing of our classmate George N. Morris, and Joyce Buckingham, the wife of our former scribe, Hal Buckingham. George’s wife Ann wrote that he died on January 20, 2021, from heart failure. He is survived by his wife, three children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson. He was a world traveler, having visited all seven continents, and he crossed the Antarctic and Arctic Circles numerous times. Following graduation, he served in the US Army, graduated from Harvard Business School, and had a long career in finance in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

Joyce died on June 25, 2021, after a short illness. Hal began dating Joyce in her Oneonta, New York, hometown when she was a junior in high school and he was a freshman at Wesleyan. She was a regular at house parties and other weekend events while a student at Mount Holyoke. Those of us attending class reunions will recall that Joyce was always there at Hal’s side.

Harry Collings writes that he is still on this side of the ground at 91, living in a Del Webb Sun City in Lincoln, California, about 30 miles east of Sacramento. He lost his wife Peg seven years ago after 65 years of wonderful marriage and misses her every minute of every day. Playing bridge keeps him occupied, as does his two children, four grandchildren, and six great-grandkids. He worked 36 years for the DuPont Company. He reminds us that his dad was buildings and grounds superintendent at Wesleyan from the 30s to 50s and put in the original steam power plant, which has now probably been replaced. He sends his best wishes to all of us left from the class of ’52.

Zdenek V. David is still with the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., as a senior scholar. His publications in 2019–20 included a book, eight articles, and a translation. See Amazon for a complete list.

Alan Ward says hello to our classmates and writes that he missed his grandson’s graduation this year after attending three family graduations and quite a few others, once after a Middletown flood blocked almost all access to Wesleyan. He is not sure about our 70th Reunion, maybe, but it looks like his lifelong ties to Wesleyan—graduate, parent, grandparent, alumni association, trustee, counsel for the antitrust investigation, and 70 years as a Deke—are drawing to a close. He offered his grateful thanks to Vic, Colin, Arthur Vanderbilt, Millet, Snow, Woodbridge, Banks, and so many others.

Jack Murray reports that last fall he finally discovered his whole father’s side of his background. He disappeared shortly after Jack was born in 1930, a Depression story. The discovery was through a new-fangled service called Ancestry.com. He discovered that he has two living (half) sisters and a late brother who went by his same name. Since his mother was seventh of eight children and his father eighth of nine, you can imagine the cousin and niece and nephew glut. Nice thing to find out in your nineties.

Finally, I am happy to report that my granddaughter, Eliza Bender ’24, child of Samuel Bender and Ellen Friedman Bender, both class of ’82, finished a very successful first year at Wesleyan. Her sister, Madeline, graduated Yale School of Public Health and is writing articles for Scientific American as an intern, among other publications. I celebrated my 65th anniversary with Barbara in August as well as number 90 in September. I wish all in our class the best and ask that they send me news about themselves and their families.