Tag: 1962

Robin Berrington writes: “I put together a group of 12 other theatergoing participants from the Washington, D.C., area to attend the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in July. I have attended CATF since 2004, was asked to join their board, and most recently ‘graduated’ to the honorary board. I have seen it rise in prestige and popularity over the years as it features new plays seldom or never seen before, on topical—sometimes controversial—themes and with new young casts fresh from New York or the West Coast. The New York Times has even called it one of the ten best summer festivals in the U.S., so I never have a problem assembling the group to accompany me. This time we were asked to look over a newly deconsecrated church as a future site for its activities. Everybody said it was one of the highlights of one of the best years ever.” 

News of this award for Lindsay Childs: “The University at Albany Emeritus Center recently elected Lindsay N. Childs as William L. Reese Fellow for 2024. Named after founding president and benefactor Bill Reese, the program is designed to honor to UAlbany emeriti for sustained, consequential and exemplary post-retirement professionally related contributions and achievements in scholarship and creative productions, teaching or service, in or outside the University.”

Although no longer actively practicing medicine, Robin Cook’s writing of medical mystery thrillers continues unabated with his latest entitled Bellevue, scheduled for December publication. “Strangely enough it incorporates a bit of the supernatural,” Robin reports, “which is certainly unique for me as hard science has always been the cornerstone of my stories.” He recalls that at Wesleyan, “after my first paper in freshman humanities rated a miserable C-, I felt relegated to the ‘hard sciences’ and stayed away from difficult courses like English and literature because they all involved writing, which was understandably graded on a subjective basis. On the other hand, Wesleyan encouraged me to do an Honors College distinction thesis, the experience of which was why I thought I could write my first book. Ultimately, I give Wesleyan the credit it deserves for my writing career.”  

Bill Everett sent “a little news from the Smokies as we continue aging in place in these mountains,” and included this photo of one of his beautiful hand‑turned wooden bowls “if that will help break up the page.” Other impressive examples of Bill’s handiwork, and that of his wife, Sylvia, may be viewed on their joint website, WisdomsTable.net. 

Jim Gately reported an extended cruise with his wife, Kay, during most of February and March to various parts of Asia. “We flew initially in early February to Auckland, New Zealand, and boarded the Seabourn Sojourn there a couple of days later. After spending several days exploring both North and South Islands, we headed west to Sydney, then northeast along the Great Barrier Reef, and eventually to Darwin. From there, we spent several days exploring various islands in Indonesia before steering north to the Philippines, and finally to Taiwan. We flew back to Philadelphia and home in Villanova from Taipei, arriving home jet-lagged but totally satisfied with our adventure. We learned a great deal about the history and current politics of all six countries (not five . . . this is a quiz!) we visited, met some extraordinary people, and thoroughly enjoyed all the many varieties of nature and humanity we met along the way.”

Bob Gelardi “retired” in July from his volunteer job as chairman of the Charity Relations Committee of the Destin (Florida) Charity Wine Auction Foundation, after serving for 13 years. This year the charity provided $3.5 million to 16 local children’s charities (and over $30 million since inception in 2005). Bob developed a model he would recommend for other charities to follow: “We have written agreements with each recipient charity spelling out not only their responsibilities to our Foundation and ours to theirs, but also their responsibilities to each other and the children they serve. We bring together all 16 executive directors twice a year and underscore these partnerships, and each executive director shares what they need and how they can help each other. Playground equipment, computers, and office space are among the many things they have helped each other with over the years.” Bob appended the above photo of a recognition plaque mounted by one of his charity’s grateful recipients.

John Hazlehurst reports “further evidence of our late-life dog dementia,” namely a seven-month-old Bernedoodle to join their three-year-old Chesapeake [and] a two-year-old Aussidoodle. “They’re delightful, destructive, and demanding. But they bring love and laughter to our lives and keep us from spending too much time mourning the departed. And to all classmates, drop in and see us if you’re ever in Colorado Springs. Just one request: if you come, take a few milk bones with you to bribe the canine guards at the gate.”

Jerry Rice wrote as he was “currently preparing my annual lecture to incoming graduate students at Georgetown University Medical Center. This marks 20 years of my teaching there as distinguished professor in the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and will most likely conclude this episode of my career. After 30 years in the U.S. Public Health Service, seven years subsequently with the World Health Organization in Lyon, France, and then 20 years at Georgetown, I’m finally ready to retire for good.” 

Bob Saliba reflects on his four years in a continuing care retirement facility: “We have been very, very happy here. We are in reasonably good health. I did not want to move to Fellowship Village in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, but finally lost the domestic argument with my wife, Jenny, of over 50 years, and I consider the decision to move here to be one of the very best. I am completing my term as president of the council here. We have made many friends. It’s a different environment than living in a single-family home or apartment, but it’s worth it. Yes, the fellow residents are all old, but guess what? We’re old too.”

Rick Tuttle conveyed the great news that digital copies of the Wesleyan Argus from 1863 to 2023 are now available online at: https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/islandora/wesleyan-argus. Scroll down to our years and relive the events and issues that were consuming us then.

Chuck Work reports “I do have some news. I am running as a Democrat for the Florida State House of Representatives here in Naples. A very uphill battle. But at least I am doing something.” Previously a lifelong and active Republican, Chuck was convinced by changes in the political landscape to shift his affiliation.  

Finally, and very sadly, I received news from Hank Sprouse that his Wesleyan roommate and lifelong friend Tom Gregory passed away last December following a two‑year struggle with ALS. Tom was fine with telling people about his condition because the more people who know about it, the more likely is help for a cure. Tom had a distinguished career as a producer of award‑winning medical documentary films, and as senior vice president of Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. His friendships from Wesleyan and Eclectic were always important to him and cherished. A full obituary is available here and a shorter one at https://www.jsonline.com/obituaries/pwix0650691.

Bob Gelardi writes that “I, my wife, Laury, my two grown children, and three grandkids are all doing well, and in July I’ll be ‘retiring’ from my position as chairman of the Charity Relations Committee and board member of the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation.” He notes that  DCWAF has given over $32 million to over 100,000 kids at 17 charities in northwest Florida, and that as chairman he has worked with the executive directors of those charities to coordinate efforts and help them to support one another in their efforts on behalf of kids in need.

John Hazlehurst was “finally enjoying spring after winter of subzero temperatures, merciless winds, and one snowstorm measured by feet, not inches. Why am I not in Florida? Because I’m too old, cranky, and broke to move. We’re still happily ensconced in our old house, slaves to the whims of our two young dogs.” John’s wife, Karen, was editing the ninth yearly edition of Colorado Fun Guide, and he himself has a new job writing for a revived local weekly, the Pikes Peak Bulletin. [Ed. note: Even nonlocals can enjoy John’s colorful columns at https://pikespeakbulletin.org/author/john-hazlehurst/.] John concludes, “I keep thinking that I should go hobble around the campus and attend the 62nd Reunion of the Class of ’62 . . . but maybe we’ll go to Vegas instead. Again, fair winds and clear weather to all of our classmates.”

Bruce Menke reports, “Activism may not make for exciting reading. But that is what we [in Georgia] are still heavily involved in doing: climate change action; gun safety legislation advocacy; working with candidates for Congress and the state legislature; trying to roll back attacks on access to women’s health care; letters to editor and messaging to members of Congress urging the support of Ukraine; and on and on it goes.”

Jon Staley reports from Tucson that he and his wife, Chitra, paid a memorable visit to the Anza Borrego state park in Southern California to see and study its wildflowers and geological features. Their practiced eyes spotted innumerable botanical treasures and indications of a “landscape that seemed to have been formed underwater”—altogether producing “a picture of the desert Southwest that turns out to be not Sahara-like at all.” Jon adds that he loves the sun, rocks, and cacti of the Tucson area but regrets he must move to California next January. He has two rambunctious grandsons and plans travel to the Italian Lake District in May.

Chuck Work reports that all is well in Naples, Florida, and “the winter season was a little colder than usual, which kept us out of the pool, but we could still be comfortable on the golf course.” Chuck “spent part of a weekend with Emil Frankel ’61 at his lovely home in D.C., and while there, spoke with Phil Bertocci, who is fine and working on another book. Also spoke with Milt Schroeder and arranged to get together with him and Mary in May, when Roni and I are headed to Phoenix for a national parks tour. A third generation Work is now ensconced at Wesleyan as my brother David’s (’68) granddaughter is finishing her first year.”

A note from your secretary: Helena and I are still healthy and happy at home in the Toronto suburb of Oakville, where we take regular advantage of the numerous and attractive hiking trails nearby. I remain moderately busy academically, mainly on short articles and book reviews; I currently look forward to reviewing the complete set of reworked English translations in the soon to be published Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. As a new appointee to my region’s Older Adults Advisory Committee, I have learned the interesting fact that “older adult” is now favored as the most appropriately “neutral” designation for our age group, supplanting such alternatives as “senior citizens,” “the elderly,” “geriatrics,” or (my favorite) “geezers.” In closing I will just say that I greatly enjoy receiving periodic news from the outstandingly diverse and interesting group of older adults who constitute Wesleyan’s Class of 1962.

I received good news from two of our classmate authors. Lindsay Childs reports that his most recent published textbook in mathematics, Cryptology and Error Correction, An Algebraic Introduction and Real-World Applications, has just been translated into Japanese. Previously the first edition (of three) of A Concrete Introduction to Higher Algebra was translated into Italian, and he has also published two books in the American Mathematical Society’s Mathematical Surveys and Monographs series. As Lindsay summarizes: “Since none of my five grandchildren (in grades 2, 8, 11, 11, and 13) know Italian, Japanese, or mathematics beyond first-year calculus, I now have six published books that none of them can read! Hopefully, however, the three older ones may later be ready to read the English versions of the textbooks in a couple of years if they pursue mathematics in college.”

Our second author Peter Mooz writes:“Art history must be defended. My latest book, American Masterworks of Religious Painting, has been advertised in French and German, and also the largest and oldest studio in Hollywood has asked to use certain chapters for films. Who said art history was not a good major? All this thanks to Wesleyan that offered a path to discover a blissful career.”

John Hazlehurst reports: “We’re buckling down for another Colorado winter in our drafty, badly insulated 1899 Victorian, to which I’m unreasonably attached. If we make it through another winter, maybe we’ll downsize and head south. We’ll have to figure out what to do with all our stuff—one acid-tongued pal calls our house the ‘Hazlehurst Museum of Mediocre Art.’ Don’t think the kids will want anything—they’re middle-aged folks who dread the prospect of clearing out our ancient mess. But I love it—nothing like rereading The Age of Innocence in a period-appropriate setting. Countess Ellen Olenska would be pleased, and I think that Edith Wharton will get me through the winter.”

After retiring as professor of pediatric nephrology from University of Kansas in 2010, Jon Scheinman did locum tenens (substituting for temporarily absent practitioners) for three years “and have continued to telemed as a GP since then, but now dwindling, as my tennis career also sputters along.” Jon continues with “much travel, fighting for liberal causes, and as president of Temple Israel. I’m still trying to make the world a better place, thus still delusional. I have two kids, two grandkids in Philadelphia.”

Steve Trott “thought the vaccine would immunize us from the virus, like the polio stuff does. Sorry. My wife Carol has had all the shots and boosters, and three weeks after the last one, she got it. But at least the shots seem to tamp down the symptoms. The last three years haven’t been all that much fun ducking bugs. It’s made travel tough, so we are largely stuck in SoCal missing Idaho. At least the drought is over, for the time being. Stay safe everyone!”

Len Wilson has “always believed that exercise and moderate activity are the secret to a healthy life. But I’m starting to realize that aging is becoming a worry for my kids. After taking an awkward tumble playing pickleball, my daughter had the audacity to suggest that Dad, at 83, maybe shouldn’t be playing pickleball any longer. What does she know? A few scrapes won’t keep me off the courts.” Len’s belief in global warming is strengthened as he nostalgically recalls days at his shore home when he could “scamper over the dunes and enjoy yards and yards of beach, but the dunes now end in a 20-foot drop to the ocean below.” He also has assumed the position of chairman for his area-wide Y retiree group for the coming year, “having fun and working with a talented dedicated board of fellow retirees who make the job a lot easier.” And a final note of advice: “Want to again experience the joys and responsibilities of parenthood? Be gifted with a Chinese Crested puppy in your 80s. Unlike grandchildren, he doesn’t go home with his parents.”

Bill Wortman reports “trying to keep active, useful, and mentally tuned hiking local trails, fighting invasive plants on my five acres, Kiwanis and volunteering, Cincinnati orchestra concerts, and reading most recently Lies of the Land about rural America and Jill Lepore’s These Truths. I also took an amazing rafting and hiking trip down the Nahanni River in Canada’s Northwest Territories, and went with Road Scholars for a week’s strenuous hiking through the geological wonders of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. One grandchild graduated from high school and another from Colorado State U in data science. Flew to Denver for both events, but can I make the third’s graduation 10 years from now?”

Two noteworthy outdoors accomplishments top off this report. First, Richard Dranitzke undertook a one-week hiking trip to the Faroe Islands, followed by a second week touring parts of Iceland with his daughter and her two children. The Faroe hike was listed as four out of six in difficulty by its organizers, and despite age‑related concerns expressed by his family, Richard reports that “being the rational, slightly stubborn fellow that I am, I had to go. . . . Faroe Islands are one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!” His photo of himself against the scenic Faroe backdrop confirms this and although conceding that the event was quite challenging, Richard humorously described himself as the best hiker in the group at the final dinner at the end of the trip. 

In another impressive adventure, Walt Fricke “was invited by a friend to join a party canoeing the Horsethief-Ruby Canyon stretch of the Colorado River. After uncovering my canoe from its repose under a tree and confirming that it could be carried on my small SUV,” Walt found “the water was an order of magnitude higher than on my previous trips, and in its one rapid, I got unceremoniously tossed out of my position in the stern by a fierce cross current and swam the rest of the rapid. Fortunately, the canoe didn’t dump, and all ended well.” Kudos to both Richard and Walt.

In a more worrying report, Bruce Menke relates that his youngest son, who holds an MIT PhD in computer science and works for Google, has been slowly recovering from three spinal fractures sustained when he was struck by a large SUV while in a protected Boston crosswalk. Thankfully, after many weeks in a wheelchair followed by assistance with a walker, a full recovery is eventually expected. In other news Bruce and his wife Karen “continue to fight the good fight” for Democratic causes in Athens, Georgia, both with letter writing campaigns and by hosting a fundraiser that brought in nearly $8,000. Their two other sons and a daughter-in-law are all having highly successful careers as tenured professors at the University of Georgia, two in English literature and the other in genetics.

John Hazlehurst reports that despite losing a position with the collapse of his longtime employer, Colorado Publishing, he and wife Karen continue to produce their successful visitor magazine, Colorado Fun, and further have accepted new positions with the weekly Pikes Peak Bulletin. “Otherwise, life goes on and I’ll soon be joining my Colorado Springs High School classmates for our 65th reunion. There will be about 50 of us, and we’ll all be wearing large type name tags.” John further reflects that “our days at Wesleyan seem so distant—and much to my surprise, neither of our Colorado senators call me for advice. They’re both nice kids who graduated from Wesleyan. How did we get so goddamn old? Here we are, ‘Livin‘ after midnight,’ as the song goes.”

In a somewhat related vein, Steve Trott writes that contrary to the “golden years” myth, “Well, big surprise. North of 80 ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be. . . . But the good news, I guess, is that the combined ages of our putative presidential candidates, if understood in IQ terms, is off the charts.” Steve deplores the country’s polarization, “hearing all the time from the pundits that ‘Americans want divided government.’ What? This mess?  I think that’s rationalizing incompetence into a strategy.” On the personal side, he and Carol are still in California where “this place is crazy expensive . . . maybe just crazy period. Downtown San Francisco is now a homeless encampment . . .  and parts of downtown LA are nearly as bad.” Steve concludes by thanking Bob Hunter for “continuing to keep my NATO thinking on the right track.”  

Len Wilson writes there is “not much new in my world. Staying active with YMCA alumni groups, nationally, internationally, and local, and editing a newsletter that goes to over 20 countries and keeps me busy scrambling for interesting articles. . . .  I continue to play pickleball several times per week and would like to find a partner over 80 that would make for a formidable doubles team. Joyce continues to enjoy painting when we have some spare time without company at our shore home. Looking forward to learning how our other classmates are faring and funning.”

In a very sad note received just before going to press, I learned of the passing of Stan Scholl in Madison, Wisconsin, this past July 13. His obituary may be found here: https://www.prattfuneralservice.com/obituaries/Stanley-J-Scholl?obId=28433897.

Unsurprisingly, as we increasingly find ourselves among Wesleyan’s oldest surviving alumni, our news and notes tend to focus largely on issues related to aging. As a concluding note in this context, I have recently been appointed as the oldest “citizen member” of an Older Adults Advisory Committee established by my local regional government. I expect (hope) to receive far more advice from this position than I can give and will try to keep you posted on any useful or promising results.

Robin Cook has recently completed his 40th novel, while he and his partners anxiously await FDA approval for their new mobile spectrometry-based diagnostic machine for multiple viruses including COVID, influenza, and monkey pox (as described in earlier Class Notes).

Bruce Franklin, who has recently moved to Tucson, Arizona, reported in on an eventful post‑Wesleyan career that began in Kampala, Uganda, followed by a posting to Nairobi and later to an up-country secondary school in Narok, the land of the Maasai. Returning to America, he completed graduate studies at Columbia and Teachers College, and subsequently taught for 45 years, first at Kean University in New Jersey, then Quinnipiac in Connecticut. In 1998 he began playing in tennis tournaments in the Southwest and around the world, mostly the senior European red-clay court circuit, and soon after “founded with others a 60-and-over basketball program where I played for 22 years. . . .  Sometimes we even had our own cheerleaders—young and seniors!” Bruce continues “at a leisurely pace, to research into the business interests of the Founding Fathers.” 

John Hazlehurst writes: “Still happily ensconced in our ancient, three-story Victorian in Colorado Springs. All those staircases? We must be nuts. Further evidence: Karen and I have two large-breed puppies, a Chesapeake and a poodle mix. Now 15 and nine months, they’re mischievous, destructive, disobedient, and wonderful. We still publish our annual visitor magazine, Colorado Fun, which has somehow survived and thrived for seven years. We’re in reasonably good health, and enjoy geezer jokes, e.g., I sometimes forget a name, but I never remember a face.” [Ed. note: their impressive magazine is available online at www.coloradofunguide.com/themagazine/.]

Dave Hedges and his wife recently visited Quito, Ecuador, and the Galápagos Islands, “a thoroughly enjoyable trip with a group of just eight people on a 98-foot boat, and crew of 14 to wait on us. Wonderful wildlife with birds, iguanas, sea lions, turtles, and outstanding fish for us snorkelers. Quito, is a very interesting city at 9,400 feet above sea level and we were able to visit the equator and stand on both hemispheres at the same time. Only wish we had done it five to 10 years ago as the hiking was somewhat strenuous.”

Bruce Menke is still “fighting the good fight” in Georgia where the state legislature “continues to approve bills which are outrageous infringements of our most basic and essential rights, and we continue to do everything in our power to oppose those actions including writing numerous letters to the editor”—one of which appeared prominently in the March 12 edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Peter Mooz and wife Betty (a native of Middletown) are moving to a villa at beautiful Atlantic Shores Senior Community in Virginia Beach, following a long career in Texas and Virginia of directing art museums and foundations, followed by establishment of a real estate agency which specialized in restoring antique houses and creating historic districts. He remains active in a foundation for the fine arts he established in 1985 to help museums and artists bring art to low-income families, and in 2020 published American Masterworks of Religious Painting 1664–1964. He sends regards “to classmates and friends who have also found new lives in retirement, and thanks to Professor Sam Green who sent me on my life in art.”

Bob Saliba thanks his wife Jenny for convincing him to move into a continuing care retirement community, Fellowship Village, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Following “one of the best decisions I ever made in my life, we are both very happy here, have made many new friends.” Fifteen months with a personal trainer “turned my life around and as a member and president‑elect of the residents council, in addition to my other activities and interests, there is no more rocking chair for me.” Their children live nearby, with daughter Lynne soon to receive her PhD in nursing from Rutgers and granddaughter Liz loving her first  year at Connecticut College; their son George, a freelance business journalist, lives nearby in Caldwell. 

Len Wilson is “still learning to adjust our lifestyle to be trained by our one-year-old Chinese Crested puppy [while] still playing pickleball several times a week. My game is better, but my legs are aging at an incredible pace, and I am still too proud or dumb to play down at a lower level.” Len has just “volunteered,” under some peer pressure, to assume the vacant role of chair of his retired YMCA alumni group, which “keeps me informed and active at the keyboard a major part of each day.” He and Joyce “continue to enjoy retirement and reflecting on grandchildren’s career choices.”

Chuck Work reports surviving Hurricane Ian in Naples while many others were not so fortunate. Closer to the water, the damage from the surge was significant. He was writing from San Francisco while hoping that the terrible weather would allow him to attend one son’s golf match in a qualifying round for the SF Amateur Championship and a grandson’s game with the Cal Berkeley Soccer Club. Vin Hoagland echoed Chuck’s complaintabout the deluge of rainin Northern California as his rain gauge measured 2.9 inches in the previous 24-hour period.

Just before deadline, Dave Hedges added the sad news that his dear friend Ted Hillman passed away on April 3; obituary at https://www.freyvogelfuneralhome.com/obituary/Edward-Hillman.

And two other websites of possible interest:

John Driscoll Memorial Service:

https://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/events/past-events/fy23/homecoming-2022.html

Just before deadline, Dave Hedges added the sad news that his dear friend Ted Hillman passed away on April 3; obituary at https://www.freyvogelfuneralhome.com/obituary/Edward-Hillman.

And two other websites of possible interest:

John Driscoll Memorial Service:

https://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/events/past-events/fy23/homecoming-2022.html

Just before deadline, Dave Hedges added the sad news that his dear friend Ted Hillman passed away on April 3; obituary at https://www.freyvogelfuneralhome.com/obituary/Edward-Hillman.

And two other websites of possible interest:

John Driscoll Memorial Service:

https://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/events/past-events/fy23/homecoming-2022.html

Bruce Corwin at our 50th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NUu9_Zso6g.