Tag: 1952

Class of 1952 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Nathanael Mathieu ’20, Freedom, NH

Thanks to those responding to my request for news. How about the rest of you?

Harry Collings has been living in a Sun City at Lincoln, Calif., east of Sacramento for 17 years. Sadly, after 65 years of marriage, his wife, Peg, died last year. He worked for the Du Pont Company for 36 years in the petroleum chemicals and pulp and paper divisions as an account manager in tech sales. He and a friend started an astronomy club 14 years ago that now has over 100 members meeting monthly.

Frank LaBella and wife Arlyne are ensconced in a retirement home, a drastic change after many enjoyable years in their horse farm outside Winnipeg, and is still involved in research and writing, with three recent publications in The Conversation.

In addition to the comments in Hal’s notes in Issue 2 2017, Alan Ward reports that he is fully retired from law practice but taught (“Rules/Regulations”) for U Del Lifelong Learning Program last fall, plays bridge, enjoys summers on Lake Michigan and usually attends a family fall NYC theater weekend (a tradition started in 1949 with Deke alumni Judge Arthur T. Vanderbilt 1910, former trustee (Judge wrote Wesleyan Admission on my behalf in 1949 when I applied), Tom Morningstar ’49, and Jim Stiles). He also wrote that the years have touched Hal and me very lightly; the rest of our group were clearly at their 65th Reunion.

Duncan Nelson wrote a moving poem which I record in its entirety:

Well hello, Joseph Friedman!

I’ll try to give you what you need, man,/ In the way of breaking news,

Amongst which you may pick and choose.

Although for metastatic cancer,/ 4th stage, there is as now no answer,

In being cared for at Dana Farber/ I have found as safe a harbor

As there is, and with Beebe, my wife,

We’ve taken such news as “a sentence of life”—

Finding in the diagnosis/ Ever more death-defying doses

Of reasons—and there are a tankful—/ For being wall-to-wall thankful

For each and every amazing gift,/ Such as 20 grandchildren to lift

Our spirits exponentially./ As for Duncan himself, providentially,

He has a wife he falls in love/ With more each day. Given all the above,

What I say to my ’52/ Classmates is not so much “adieu”

As “Valel” in the certain knowledge/ That the bells of old South College

In their ringing will carry me/ And all of us through eternity—

In that what we have done in our lives will have the staying power

To round out our echoes to sound along

With the yin-yang knells of those bells “ding-dong”

All of us send our best wish for his complete remission.

Seth Rosner had a great idea: Why wait until 2022 for our 70th? He would like to return to Middletown for Reunion weekend this spring and let’s see how many of our class will do the same so we can organize our own out-of-sync Reunion. Any comments? He also reports that the late Judith Kaye, former chief judge of the State of New York, and Norm Veasey, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, both good friends for years, among others, nominated him for the A.B.A.’s Michael Franck Professional Award. He relates that he served for three-and-a-half years on active duty in the Navy as legal officer of the USS Intrepid and an officer of the deck underway, raced sports cars in California and France, has been a published photographer and occasionally wrote verse.

He adds, “My late brother Jon ’54 and I grew up to admonitions by our mom and dad that we were smart and if we worked hard could expect to make a good living, but that getting rich was not the name of the game, rather that we were put on Earth to do good, to leave our little corner of the world better when they planted us than when we got here. The very same message you and I got from our president, Vic Butterfield: service.” AMEN!

Finally, my wife, Barbara, (Smith ’56), my son-in-law, Samuel Bender ’82, daughter Ellen ’82, and granddaughters Madeline (Yale ’20), Eliza (Horace Mann ’20) and yours truly spent Christmas and New Years in Capetown, South Africa, and in two safari camps in Botswana, and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Joseph N. Friedman  | jfriedman@regalnyc.com
400 East 56th Street, Apt. 28LM, New York, NY 10022 | 917/715-8881

This is my first attempt as class secretary after the sterling job done by Hal Buckingham, Bill Wasch, and their predecessor, my DU brother, Don Sanders. Some notes are from communications to Hal and Bill that could not make publication deadlines and some are from recent news received by me.

Following up on Frank LaBella, he reports that he is alive and well, and while at Wesleyan, he was a “townie”, lived at home, had part-time jobs, and as a consequence, a very low profile on campus. He has recently published three articles, but with not enough space here to include, so go to  so go to http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/health_sciences/medicine/units/pharmacology/faculty_members/1482.html.

Don Stauffer, a brother from our DU days, wrote, with his wife Morag, to wish me well on agreeing to take over from Hal and Bill, and had no news to report since he last submitted something.

Robert Kelman is now officially the oldest person to climb Devil’s Tower National Monument in Montana. The record has been posted on the National Park Service’s Facebook page and the story posted on Climbing Magazine’s website.

That reminds me that several years ago, my son-in-law, Samuel Bender ’82, granddaughter Maddie Bender (Yale ’20), and I became the first three-generation family to complete the Maui Downhill Haleakala Summit Bike Tour, after I received a waiver for being over the age limit.

I had a pleasant telephone conversation with Jim Wolpert who reports that he retired from Loeb Partners about six months ago, and is now comfortably ensconced in a retirement community near Tampa, Fla. He has two daughters, a son, and three grandchildren. On campus, he was a member of the John Wesley Club, the Mystical Seven, and the Douglas Cannon Society. Enviably, he has no e-mail.

Richard Kellom wrote Hal that he and his wife, Lyn, had a chuckle over Hal’s statement about gathering fodder for class notes being “more important than you know’’, as Lyn wrote the faculty notes for Northfield Mount Herman School alumni magazine until last year. Dick taught chemistry and coached the ski team there, and his daughter, Kristin ’84, is working in the development office. I enjoyed his comments that “whereas learning what former colleagues are now doing is fun, the gathering of the Info is not always easy and the increasing number of obits is discouraging’’ and “I am getting a little gun-shy about asking people to pass on greetings, not knowing their state of health or if they are still living, but such is the situation we now find ourselves in too often.” Very apropos to being class secretary.

Walter Grunsteidl, one of the first Fulbrighters, wrote Hal a long e-mail last April. He was at Wesleyan for only one year, and not feeling particularly affiliated to a certain class, had random friends across the campus. That year was a very decisive period in his life. The war was but six years over and his country, Austria, was still occupied by the Allies, the scars of war had not yet healed, and they had to develop new politics and fight for freedom for the country. During the year here, he was rotated as a guest between Chi Psi, Delta Upsilon, Phi Sigma Kappa, and the John Wesley Club, thereby enjoying the spirit of the different fraternities. Both he and his wife, Elfi, also a PhD chemist, are enjoying life in his old family home in Vienna, the city being selected as number one in the world regarding quality of life for the eighth time. He enjoys many hobbies, mostly music, and actively studies issues of evolution. He has a son and daughter and, as every old-timer, has had to undergo repair and maintenance occasionally — namely, a heart valve implant, and since then, started a new life, thanks to modern medicine. He ended with a wish for us to have a nice party and many happy attendees.

Catching up on some sad news, Hal heard from Michael M. Stein ’57 that Donald J. Dalessio died on February 25. Don had a distinguished career, was a 1956 graduate of Yale Medical College, and served for many years as chairman of the Medicine Group for the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla Calif. He earned a reputation as one of the nation’s prime neurologists, researching and specializing in the treatment of severe migraine headaches. After his retirement, he was honored by his colleagues at Scripps by having the headache clinic bear his name. In addition to his practice, Don wrote innumerable scholarly reports and edited the National Headache Journal, the Scripps Clinic Personal Health newsletter, and served on the editorial board of the AMA, among others. His wife, Jane, predeceased him and he is survived by their three children, Catherine, Susan, and James, and his brother, John ’60. We offer our sincere condolences to the family. It is sad to lose yet another classmate.

Best wishes and good health to all of you and hope to hear from you.

Joseph N. Friedman  | jfriedman@regalnyc.com
400 East 56th Street, Apt. 28LM, New York, NY 10022 | 917/715-8881

Our 65th Reunion has come and gone, as have the 65 years since our graduation in 1952! Our commencement program listed 162 graduates in our class. The college’s current listing of our class numbers 90 survivors for whom there is good contact information. There were eight of us present for our class banquet, the highlight of Reunion. The years have taken a toll!

This was the first of our Reunions in memory without our esteemed Master of Ceremonies, the late Charlie “Rogo” Rogovin. No one could ever take his place as MC and no one tried on this occasion.

Present at the banquet were Joe Friedman and his wife, Barbara, of NYC.  Attending their own 35th Reunion were their daughter and son-in-law, Ellen ’82 and Sam Bender ’82, and two granddaughters. Joe is still fully engaged in the real estate title insurance business, serving as EVP and chief underwriting counsel of Regal Title. This was the first Reunion for Dwight Herrmann and his wife, Leslye, of Lemoyne, Pa. They are parents of Leslye Ash ’85 and Jane ’90. Dwight is a retired consultant with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Public Works. Ralph Moody and his wife, Lydia, came all the way from their home in Palm Harbor, Fla. Ralph is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he spent his career.

Bob Porter of Canton, Conn., attended with his daughter, Sarah Porter ’86, and grandson. His wife, Connie, suffers from Lewy body disease and was not able to attend. Bob is retired from the Travelers. This was a special weekend for Al Ward. His daughter, Carolyn, attended our banquet. His granddaughter, Hyunji Ward ’17, graduated that weekend. Al’s daughter, Kathryn Ward Koch ’81, and grandson, Hyunwoo Ward ’20, were also on campus. Al resides in Lewes, Del., and, unfortunately, is a widower. He is a former Wesleyan trustee and is a retired partner of BakerHostetler, a leading international law firm.

Our class president, Bill Wasch, another former trustee and a recipient of Wesleyan’s highest alumni honor, the Baldwin Medal, was there in force with his children, Christina and Fred ’92, and two grandchildren. His late wife, Susie, never missed a Reunion and will always be an honorary member of our class. Bill is challenged with Parkinson’s, but with the help of a superb assistant, continues to carry on an active life. John Wood, his wife, Pat, and granddaughter, Megan, were there from Indianapolis. John has had a long and successful career practicing law, most recently with the Indiana Department of Child Services.

Jerry Bobruff, a retired physician now living in Naples, Fla., had planned to attend, but was forced to cancel due to some medical issues. Tom Collins and Mary Ellen, of East Hartford, Conn., had also signed up, but could not attend at the last moment. Believe it or not, Tom, who is now 94 and older than all of us, practiced law actively in the Hartford area right up to the end of 2016. Your scribe and his wife, Joyce, attended and led the singing at the banquet with gusto.  We live at Seabury Retirement Community in nearby Bloomfield, Conn.

It is with enormous regret that I report the death of John Jakobson on Apr. 7, 2017, in NYC. An Eclectic, John played tennis and squash at Wesleyan and graduated with honors and distinction. After Harvard Business School, he purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and pursued a career as a personal investor. He served Wesleyan for years as a trustee and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Among his immediate survivors is his son, Nicholas Jakobson ’05.

I am also sad to write of the death of Bruce Munro on Feb. 2, 2017.  Bruce was an Alpha Delt and, as a pre-med, could usually be found in the labs. He went on to Emory Medical School, became an obstetrician-gynecologist and practiced for over 40 years in New Jersey.  Of Scottish descent, Bruce was active for many years in all things Scottish.

We extend our deepest sympathy to all of John’s and Bruce’s families and loved ones on their great loss, in which we, too, share in our own way.

I have heard from Dick Kellom and Walter Grunsteidl, the latter a German Fulbright Scholar who was with us for only our senior year. Unfortunately, I have reached the 800-word limit imposed on class notes so cannot report further on them.

Finally, a significant highlight of the Reunion for me personally was the agreement of Joe Friedman to succeed us as scribe of these 1952 class notes. It has been a pleasure for me to stay in touch with so many of you while fulfilling this position and I look forward to the new insights that Joe will bring to our class notes.

Harold C. Buckingham Jr. | buckinghamharold@gmail.com
400 Seabury Drive, Apt. 2114, Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwash@gmail.com
150 Coleman Road, Middletown, CT 06457

[Ed. Note: We thank Hal and Bill for devoted service as class secretaries, and we warmly welcome Joe Friedman as he takes on the role. Joe can be reached at jfriedman@regalnyc.com.]

Class of 1952 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Nathanael Mathieu ’20, Freedom, NH

Good news about our classmates is absent, as these class notes are being written on Jan. 15, 2017. Bad news is prevalent, unfortunately.

We have lost five more of our classmates. Mel Roboff died on Apr. 11, 2014. Mel was an Alpha Delt with an enormous sense of humor. After Harvard Business School, Mel spent his career in marketing, which included stints with Royal and Underwood Typewriter, Fanny Farmer, and Converse Shoes before forming his own Boston-area Roboff Management Group consulting firm. He is survived by two daughters and his former wife.

Ferg Alleman died on Mar. 7, 2014. Ferg was a Deke who left Wesleyan during our junior year. He was a native of Orlando, Fla. After graduating from law school, he practiced law in Orlando for a number of years and then engaged in investment banking in Vermont. His wife of 61 years predeceased him, and he is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.

Tony Brewer died on Sept. 27, 2015. Tony was a Crow at Wesleyan. After college, he joined Procter & Gamble as an industrial engineer. He moved on to Welch Foods in a similar capacity and later became president of Nature Nook, Inc., a floral and gift shop in Southfield, Mich. When last heard from, Tony was married and had four children.

Bill Hicks died on Oct. 31, 2016. He was an Olin Scholar, a Psi U, and, a member of Skull and Serpent. In college, he excelled on the football and baseball teams until, as I recall it, injuries waylaid him. Bill had a highly successful career in sales and leadership positions in the flooring industry with first Armstrong World Industries and then Shaw Industries. His obituary makes clear that Bill carried over the “wild sense of humor” and ability to “throw a great party” that we witnessed during our days at WesTech. Unfortunately, his wife predeceased him by 18 years; he is survived by a daughter and two grandchildren.

Bill McCluskey died on Christmas Day 2016. Bill, a member of Alpha Delt and Mystical Seven, was captain of the Wesleyan football team our senior year. He had a very successful career as an educator, principally as an administrator in private schools. He served the Menlo School in Atherton, Calif., was assistant headmaster of Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y., then headmaster of Park-Tudor School in Indianapolis, Ind., and capped his career as founding headmaster of Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. Most of us will remember that Bill courted and married Betsey Banks, daughter of Professor Ted Banks and sister of Dave Banks ’56. In addition to Betsey and Dave, Bill is survived by two daughters, two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

We extend our sincere sympathy, albeit belated, to the families of these classmates.

Hopefully, this magazine will arrive in your home by late April and will serve as a reminder of our 65th Wesleyan Reunion, which will occur May 25-28. Time is running out for us, so if you are physically able to attend, but have reservations about doing so, please set those reservations aside and join us on campus. Our group will be smaller than it was five years ago, but that should enable more intimate conversations and reminiscing than has been possible in the larger crowd at past Reunions.

Harold C. Buckingham, Jr. | hcbuckingham@daypitney.com
400 Seabury Dr., Apt. 2114, Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwash@gmail.com
150 Coleman Road, Middletown, CT 06457

In the last issue of this magazine (Issue 2, 2016), we mentioned having heard from Frank LaBella for the first time in decades. There is much more to add to what we reported therein. The following note from Frank contains two examples of his extraordinarily diverse career and life.

First, as a professor (now emeritus) in the department of pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Frank says, “My research over the years has been in several areas: neuropharmacology, narcotic drugs and endorphins, mechanisms of general anesthesia, neuroendocrinology, neuro-chemistry, neuro-toxicology, digitalis drugs, receptor pharmacology, aging, cytochrome P450, histamine as a second messenger, and novel technology to measure electromagnetic radiation.

“I am currently focusing on research and development of a novel, patented technology, arising from a discovery made some years ago with Dr. Carl Pinsky. A company, FIND Technologies Inc., was established with the goal of commercializing the invention. The FIND Sensor [Frank’s invention] detects electromagnetic energy that is emitted by all matter. The technology has a vast potential for practical applications, including uses in biology and medicine. The sensor reacts to changes that may occur when scanning a structure or individual, or when it is exposed to a substance or body or new environment. It can detect concealed explosive, radioactive, and other hazardous materials. Another potentially vital use is determination of changes in biological and chemical activity of growing and repairing tissues.” (As your scribe, Hal, transcribes this, he can only say, “Wow! This discovery and invention could change the way we address many of life’s challenges!”)

Second, not all of Frank’s life has been consumed with carryover from his time in the labs of Atwater. We mentioned his polo playing in the last issue. Here is his account of another extracurricular activity: “Would you believe that this son of Sicilian immigrants was an enthusiast not only of the idle rich’s pastime, polo, but of fox hunting as well? For several years, I was field master of the Springfield Hunt with our own imported English fox hounds. On Sunday mornings, the riders gathered in their pink or black coats, indication of station, drank stirrups of sherry until trumpeted by the huntmaster, who released the hounds who tore off in search of a fox scent. Now, before you accuse me of inhumane and unethical behavior, let me state that no live prey was ever at risk. Ours was a drag hunt. Early Sunday morning, a rider would determine the route of the hunt by dragging a sheepskin saturated with imported fox urine. This type of hunt is more active, since, unlike a live hunt, the hounds do not have to spend hours finding a scent. Furthermore, the scent can be directed at natural and other jumps and stopped so that hounds and riders can rest. And the drag can cover several miles and end at the starting point. The hounds are rewarded with chunks of meat. No better way to spend an autumn Sunday morning—and polo in the afternoon!”

Profs. Gortner, Gomez-Ibãnez, Sease, and others would probably not be surprised at the superb academician they helped spawn in Frank, but like his classmates, they would be astounded with his polo playing and fox hunting.

Correction! Ron Daniel writes that John Jakobson was off when he said that he had first met Ron at Wesleyan 67 years ago (see class notes in last issue). Ron says it was actually 68 years, not 67. He kids that his old friend John “was never very good with numbers.” But Ron sure is. In his 15 years as treasurer of Harvard, its endowment rose from some $4 billion to $22 billion! We should have elected him treasurer of our class rather than vice president. Ron continues to work full time at McKinsey & Company, the global management consultancy he has served for nearly 60 years, including 12 as managing director. Ron also remains active in multiple business and philanthropic organizations.

Bill Wasch enjoyed a Viking cruise on the Danube River. (Incidentally, Torstein Hagen ’64, chairman and CEO of Viking River Cruises, spent time at Wesleyan as a foreign student.) After the cruise, Bill had a nice visit with Willi Brenner in Augsburg.

Finally, it is not too early to begin thinking about, or better yet planning to attend, the 65th Reunion of our class, scheduled for May 25 to 28. While you are at it, please let me (Hal) know, at least as of now, whether you are definitely, possibly, or definitely not planning to attend. I would like to keep everyone posted on who will be there. My contact info, preferably e-mail, is below.

Harold C. Buckingham, Jr. | hcbuckingham@daypitney.com
400 Seabury Dr., Apt. 2114, Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwash@gmail.com
150 Coleman Road, Middletown, CT 06457

Hal Buckingham writes: This has been a banner time for your co-scribes! We’ve heard from several classmates who have been silent for much too long.

First, there is Bill Evans. Bill, who left Wesleyan after our junior year to attend Hahnemann (now Drexel) Medical School and to pursue a career in medicine, elected to retire in 2010 from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., due to macular degeneration that has left him legally blind. He was a general internist in the division of internal medicine at various Mayo locations, including Rochester and Scottsdale, Ariz. His primary interests were in the divisions of emergency medicine and international medicine at the Rochester campus. Bill lives with his wife, Susan, in Zumbrota, outside Rochester.

Next, how long has it been since any of us have seen or heard from Frank LaBella? Probably 64 years or even longer, as Frank explains he was a “townie” and, being a bio-chem major, maintained a high profile in the labs, but low profile elsewhere on campus. After getting a BA and MA at Wesleyan, Frank got a PhD at Emory and, since 1958, has been professor (now emeritus) in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He continues his research in pharmacology and related areas this scribe considers extremely significant, but far over his head. Frank’s site is well worth reading. But here’s another amazing thing about Frank. He has been a polo player! Raised in Middletown and a Wesleyan grad playing polo? Frank wrote, ”Although my polo playing days are over, I can still mount a horse and strike the little white ball.” Compare this with the image of another hugely successful bio-chem academic classmate, Russ Doolittle, who as a freshman rode an old plow horse across the Boston Common shouting, “The British are coming.” (See 1952 in Wesleyan, 2015, issue 2.) Frank married Arlyne McDowell, also of Middletown, in 1952. They have two daughters and a son and live in Winnipeg.

Then, the following arrived from Dwight Herrmann: “Sorry I have been such a poor communicator over the years, but please know I am still alive and kicking, although not as vigorously as in ’52. I did play two sets of tennis this morning, and as long as my opponents hit the ball pretty close to me (very close), I play a passable game.” After Wesleyan, Dwight obtained a degree from RPI in 1960 and later became a licensed professional engineer. He worked as a PE for 23 years for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Public Works, representing the state with design professionals contracted for all kinds of projects, but mostly buildings. He retired in 2014. Dwight and Leslye have been married for 54 years, have four daughters (two are Wesleyan grads: “Little” Leslye Herrmann ’85 and Jane Herrmann ’90) and seven grandchildren. Dwight and Leslye remain in their longtime home in Lemoyne, a suburb of Harrisburg.

Another classmate who sired Wesleyan alumni is Dick Barth, Esq. And he did it in spades! Here is the list: Leanore ’84; Alex ’97, Esq. (who married Sarah Brodsky ’97, Wesleyan’s Scholar-Athlete of her class); and Michele ’91 (who married Charles Still ’90, Esq.). Among these, there are now 14 grandchildren, including Nick Petrillo ’14 (co-captain of Wesleyan Varsity Crew). Ever modest, Dick wrote, “Nothing new.” Not much!! Dick is the retired chairman and CEO of Ciba-Geigy Corp., a renowned developer, manufacturer and marketer of prescription medicines. Along the way, he served as a trustee or director of a number of institutions, including Wesleyan, New York Medical College, and the Bank of New York. You have to Google to get this information about Dick. All you can get from him is “nothing new.” His one shortcoming: He produced nary a swimmer, yet he was a standout swimmer at Wesleyan, as we all remember.

How about this from Bruce Munro, another one rarely seen on these pages? “Bettie and I moved to Ashby Ponds, a 62-plus retirement community (in Ashburn, Va., near D.C.) last November. Prior to that, we were in a 52-plus community for nine years. We moved to Virginia in 2000, after 35 years doing OB/GYN in New Jersey, since both our kids live here. I have Parkinson’s disease. The past year I’ve been hospitalized several times and spent time in rehabs for balance, gait, and infection problems. Getting old (87) ain’t easy, but the alternative is worse! Looking at those massive bills, I’m very happy with Medicare. Traveling and vacationing are memories of the past, unfortunately. Wish I had more pleasant news, but that’s the way it is.”

In “Can You Top This?” news from John R. Jakobson: “I am happy to say that my great good friend Ron Daniel and I, who met 67 years ago on the Wesleyan campus, still rejoice in our friendship, and this May 11th we will go to Augusta National Golf Club, where Ron is a member, to play golf. We are both active in business and philanthropy and fun!” When asked after May 11 how the game had gone, John replied, “As always, spectacular in all respects. Ron has won for 67 years. He is much better than I am, but we always have fun. Wesleyan’s greatest gift to me has been my friendship with Ron!”

Finally, Bill Wasch received the following e-mail from Bob Goodman, who has been a career educator and was the first headmaster of Trinity Episcopal High School in Richmond, Va.: “Will be having lunch with Zed David in about a week. We do this every spring around our two birthdays. Zed will be going back to Prague again soon to research and lecture, even though he officially retired from the Woodrow Wilson Center.” [The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in DC.]

Harold C. Buckingham Jr. | hcbuckingham@daypitney.com
400 Seabury Drive, Apt. 2114
Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwasch@gmail.com

150 Coleman Road Middletown, CT 06457

Class of 1952 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Michael Glasser ’16, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Hal Buckingham writes: It is with enormous regret that I open these class notes with this sad news. We have lost two of the giants of our class, Susie Wasch and Charlie Rogovin.

Susie died Feb. 6, 2016, after a battle with cancer she fought with constant grace to a peaceful end. While technically not a member of our class, in every other respect she was one of us. She was the wife of our class president, Bill Wasch, and while we never referred to her as our “first lady,” she was fully that and much more. For decades there was not a Reunion or other gathering of classmates when Susie was not a fully involved participant. She graciously threw open the Wasch Middletown home for our Reunion parties and, for that matter, any Wesleyan alumni and their guests returning to the campus. She was never without a captivating smile and warm greeting. Susie’s contributions to the Wesleyan and Middletown communities are too numerous to mention here, but they were extraordinary. A gifted platform tennis player, she won several national championships and was inducted into the American Platform Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1996. One of her lasting legacies is the Susan B. and William K. Wasch Center for Retired Faculty at Wesleyan, which Susie cofounded with Bill. A proud moment for our class was when Susie, after years of raising her family and hosting the world, returned to school, enrolled in Smith College’s Ada Comstock Scholars Program (for nontraditional women students), lived in a dorm and obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1999—46 years after graduating from high school! Besides Bill, Susie leaves Christina, Bill Jr. ’84, Heidi ’84, Heidi’s husband Bob Leversee ’85, Frederick ’92, and six grandchildren, including a 5-day-old granddaughter that Susie was able to see. Our hearts pour out to the entire Wasch family, with gratitude for all that Susie has meant to our class.

Charlie “Rogo” Rogovin, our quintessential MC of Reunion banquets, warm-hearted skewerer of everyone present, and unforgettable life of class gatherings, died Jan. 10, 2016, of a suspected heart attack. He had an extraordinary career after college and law school. Early on, he was a law enforcement official at state and federal levels, specializing in organized and white collar crime. Charlie served as assistant attorney general and chief of the criminal division under Massachusetts Attorney General Elliot Richardson. That led to various prosecutorial positions in Philadelphia. He was appointed to the President’s Commission on Organized Crime during the Reagan Administration. In his Philadelphia Inquirer obituary, there is a classic photograph of our “Rogo” presenting the final report of that Commission to President Reagan in 1986. He served as vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission and was instrumental in the investigation that led to the 1995 conviction for mail fraud of the former Pennsylvania Attorney General Ernest D. Preate Jr. Perhaps Charlie’s greatest legacy is the influence he had on generations of Temple Law School students. He was a highly regarded and beloved professor, adviser, and mentor there from 1977 until his retirement in 2009 when he was named professor of law emeritus. Charlie leaves his wife, Marcy, an attorney and a former dean of students at Temple Law School, a son, three daughters, and a younger brother. His former wife, Amy Rogovin, also survives. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all of Charlie’s family on their great loss, in which we, too, share.

A note from Walter Pories reports with his typical self-deprecation, “As if the world doesn’t already have enough cartoons, someone has somehow managed to get the American College of Surgeons to publish my most recent volume, Is There a Surgeon in the House?, a compilation of cartoons mocking surgeons, academia and even science. It should be available by March or April [2016] from the ACS or Amazon.” Walter goes on to say that the ACS probably caved in and published his volume because, somehow, he was recently elected second vice president of the organization. Walter confesses that he had this cartooning aberration even at Wesleyan where, instead of paying attention, he would just sit and doodle. I have one of his Wesleyan-era cartoons and it is a treasure. This may bring to mind the Cardinal/Douglas Cannon caricature Walter designed for our “Wesleyan Class of 1952—As Venerable As the Douglas Cannon!!” T-shirt regalia we have worn at recent Reunions.

There is good news. Seth Rosner writes that for the last five years he has been living in the happiest time of his life, the result of his relationship with his beloved Judith Ehrenshaft. They finally decided it was time to solemnize their friendship and on June 15, 2015, went downtown to Saratoga Springs City Hall and asked their friend and Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen to conduct their wedding ceremony in the City Council Chamber. Seth always was a bit slow getting things done! We rejoice that we can extend our sincerest congratulations to Judith and Seth at last.

Ken Taylor and his wife, JoAnne, recently entertained retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, the renowned prolific author and lecturer with a progressive slant on contemporary Christian issues. Bishop Spong was in the West Hartford, Conn., area to deliver lectures. Ken and the Bishop were classmates at Virginia Theological Seminary and they and their wives have remained close friends over the decades.

A news-filled letter from Nancy and Bill Morrill indicates that they are nicely settled in Pennswood Village, a retirement community in Bucks County near Philadelphia. Bill’s travel is now restricted, but his mind is as active as ever and he remains involved in various activities and committees.

Finally, other than what appears in class notes, Wesleyan magazine no longer includes more than a brief notation of the death of an alumnus. A more complete obituary is usually available in Wesleyan’s online magazine at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/obituaries-2/. And go to classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1952/ to see a photo of John Gannon ’86, who used to work at Wesleyan (some of you may remember), and Barbara Schubert, the widow of Roger Schubert. John was wearing a Wesleyan T-shirt when visiting his parents in Florida, and Barbara struck up a conversation. Check out their great Wesleyan smiles! Bill Wasch recalls, “Roger was a fellow tackle with me on the Wes team in the early ’50s.”

Harold C. Buckingham Jr. |

hcbuckingham@daypitney.com

400 Seabury Drive, Apt. 2114

Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwasch@gmail.com

150 Coleman Road Middletown, CT 06457

Hal writes: It was good to be in touch again recently with Jim Wolpert. I believe the last time we saw each other was in 1953 at an Army base in Sendai, Japan. From there, Jim was assigned to the 724th Ordnance Battalion of the 24th Infantry Division in Korea, where he rose to be Battalion Sergeant Major. Those of you who served in the military know that rank is heady stuff! After the Army, Jim worked in the stock brokerage business with various firms his entire career, finally retiring last Labor Day. Unfortunately, Jim lost his wife, Florence, six years ago. He has now moved to a new apartment in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.

I’m sure you have all experienced happenstance encounters during which a totally unexpected connection has been discovered. My latest one took place in Jackson, N.H., way up on the side of a mountain facing Mount Washington. It was at the current home of close friends and former neighbors of Joyce and mine in Glastonbury, Conn. We were there for their 50th anniversary. During the reception, I took up conversation with a man I had never seen before. One thing led to another and I learned that this man had grown up in Manchester, Conn. More conversation and I decided to tell him that I’d once recruited for Wesleyan at Manchester High. He then said that his brother had been recruited from that high school to play football at Wesleyan. I quickly asked, “What did you say your name was?” Response: “Al Schubert.” My reaction echoed across the Mount Washington Valley. “Roger Schubert’s brother? I can’t believe this!” And on and on about our late classmate, Roger, and his widow, Barbara. Small world!

The Al Chien family, without Al unfortunately, made another trip last summer to China, Al’s and his brothers’ birthplace and that of their Chien ancestors. They were able this time to view the newly reconstructed bridge their father/grandfather designed and supervised construction of over the Mekong (named Lancang in China) River as part of the Burma Road at the onset of the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930s. Al’s father lost his life during one of the many bombings of the bridge and area by the Japanese. The bridge was recently reconstructed in another location as a museum piece because of its importance in the critical link it afforded both in the Burma Road as well as in the development of modern transportation in China. It was the first steel cable suspension vehicular bridge in China and became the model for many other bridges there. More details can be found in George Chien’s ’56 account in class notes.

Bill Wasch, our class president and class agent, reminds us that annual gifts to the Wesleyan Fund can and should be designated for the Class of 1952 Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Harold C. Buckingham Jr. | 

hcbuckingham@daypitney.com

400 Seabury Drive, Apt. 2114

Bloomfield, CT 06002

William K. Wasch | wkwash@gmail.com

150 Coleman Road Middletown, CT 06457

We promised more on Dick Mayer in this issue of the magazine. Dick left Wesleyan after his sophomore year and enlisted in the U. S. Army. Following graduation from Officer Candidate School, he became a platoon leader on the front lines of Korea, was seriously wounded, spent a year in a hospital in Japan, and was awarded one of the Army’s highest medals. Beyond this, Dick has forbade me (Hal) from providing any details of his military exploits, so my hands are tied. I am pleased to add, however, that Dick recovered satisfactorily from his wounds and says that he is still in pretty decent shape. He walks three miles a day and exercises for 45 minutes every morning. He has had a great life, especially his 61-year marriage to a very special woman (Ginger). He is still very active in the insurance business he founded, Executive Compensation Systems, Inc. (see issue 1, 2015, class notes for more details), and despite not having graduated, is every bit the epitome of the Wesleyan liberal arts-educated citizen Vic Butterfield so successfully molded.

Ken Taylor and his wife, JoAnne, reside in the same Seabury Retirement Community, Bloomfield, Conn., as Joyce and I, and we often dine together. You might think that we’d run out of old Wes stories by now, but recently Ken bowled me over with a tale I had trouble believing. Ken related (actually regaled) how his fellow Sigma Chi pledge, Russ Doolittle, was sent off on a quest to ride a horse across the Boston Common, lantern in hand, à la Paul Revere, shouting that the British were coming. I e-mailed Russ to find out if Ken was hallucinating, but Russ told me that, although it was probably not as sensational as Ken recalled, it was mostly accurate. Happily, Russ (and the horse) survived the event, and happily also, it turned out not to be the greatest accomplishment in his life. In fact, he says that he would just as soon forget it at this point.

In the course of tracking down the truth of the Doolittle quest, I learned that Dunc Nelson had had a quest on the same weekend and that he had actually accompanied Russ on his Boston Commons escapade. Dunc’s quest assignment was to parade a goose in front of the library at Wellesley, which he did. However, he was also supposed to inquire after the “measurements” of any young women he encountered there. That was a bit too much for Dunc, who wrote, “Flamboyant as I pretend to be, I suspect that I—keeping the ‘fowl’ imagery—chickened out.” On the way back to campus, Dunc’s borrowed car ran out of brake fluid. Having no money on him, he was forced to exchange the goose for two bottles of brake fluid at a gas station. You can’t make this stuff up!

Tom Collins and wife, Mary Ellen, were seen this past May after a performance at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. Tom still goes to his law office in Glastonbury, Conn. daily. He is in great shape for one significantly older than the rest of his classmates—92. Tom was in the service during the WW II era before entering Wesleyan with us.

Walter Pories checked in recently with news of life in the springtime on his North Carolina farm, including a new crop of soybeans, baby goats, emerging pears, rhubarb ready for the table, “show-off magnolia with its huge white blossoms,” etc. Interspersed with that was, “To my absolute surprise, I was asked if I would like to serve as the second vice president-elect of the American College of Surgeons, a small organization of only 70,000 members [note Pories’ humor] and the strongest surgical society in the world.” Then, with his typical modesty and wit, he added, “As I see my job, it’s to get on my knees every morning and pray that none of the officers die. So far, I have a 100 percent success rate.” Amen, Walter!

More sad news. Dick “Sherry” Sherwood, of South Dartmouth, Mass., died on April 7, 2015. Sherry was part of the five-year Wesleyan/MIT program leading to a degree in architecture and civil engineering, so he left to attend MIT after our junior year. He was well known at Wesleyan as a sailing aficionado and, also, he possessed the first lacrosse stick and ball many of us had ever seen. He had a long career as a construction manager of projects in Jamaica, Iran, England, Denver, and other U.S. locations. Later on, his interest in sailing led him to write A Field Guide to Sailboats, and his keen sense of citizenship involvement led him to be selectman and to serve on various town committees of Amherst, N.H., where his wife, Janet, and he then resided. Dick is survived by his wife, two sons, and five grandchildren, to whom we extend our sincerest condolences.

Our class president and class agent, Bill Wasch, reminds us that our class has established the Class of 1952 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship. It is presently held by Michael Glasser ’16, of Forest Hills, N.Y. Michael is a molecular biology and biochemistry major who says his favorite class last semester was Techniques of Poetry, which he took in addition to five science and math courses. Vic Butterfield would have loved this student! We can all build our scholarship fund for the benefit of future Wesleyan liberal arts students by designating our annual Wesleyan Fund contributions to the Class of 1952 Endowed Scholarship Fund.