Tag: 1962

NEWSMAKERS | 1960s NEWSMAKER EUGENE STANLEY ’62 Eugene Stanley ’62, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Leicester in July. Stanley has had a long academic career teaching physics, physiology, chemistry, and biomedical engineering at MIT and Boston University. His main research focus is the statistical physics of materials. Stanley is an honorary professor at Eotvos Lorand University and at Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Pavia, and is a chair or member of several science organizations. Stanley majored in physics at Wesleyan and earned his PhD from Harvard University.

Jim Dossinger is living in a retirement community in Winston-Salem, N.C., near two of his three children and two grandsons and “a new grand dog.” His third child and two granddaughters are in D.C. He is involved with the Winston-Salem Symphony, where his “major project” at the moment is the selection of a new music director. He says, “When there is time I try to play golf (badly) and fly fish for trout.”

Bill Everett has published Mining Memories on Cyprus 1923-1925: Photographs, Correspondence, and Reflections in a Kindle e-book format on Amazon.

The book is based on his grandfather’s two-year effort to reopen the ancient mine that provided copper for Agamemnon’s armor (Iliad, chapter 11.) Bill’s efforts to put this memoir together “have led to many meaningful relationships with people on Cyprus as well as opening parts of my past that I never really knew.” He says he continues to be active “with writing, art, woodworking, and church and community activities in the Smokies.”

Naftaly “Tuli” Glasman retired from the University of California after 44 years of service, and says he “feels great physically and mentally” and is active with volunteer work. He says he is “more senior” than most of us because he didn’t join our class until after he had completed mandatory military service in his native Israel. He and Lynne have been married for 44 years, and are blessed with “three kids speaking lots of languages, and eight grandkids ranging in age from 3 months to 20 years!” He reports seeing Bruce Corwin when he visits Santa Barbara. He writes “Lynne and I wish the Class of ‘62 long years of continued healthy growth.”

Tony Scirica, senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, has been awarded the prestigious 2017 American Inns of Court Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics for “exemplary service in the areas of legal excellence, professionalism, and ethics.” Tony was appointed to the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 1984, and then to the Circuit Court in 1987, where he served as Chief Judge from 2003 to 2010. He chairs the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability, and also is a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Dave Hedges sent in a Rochester, N.Y., obituary notice on a former classmate, Jim Snyder. After completing graduate school at the University of Rochester, Jim taught American history at Monroe Community College. He was especially noted for courses he created on World War II and the war in Vietnam. He is survived by wife Judy Peer, two daughters, a son, and a granddaughter. We offer our condolences to his family.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com
17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

A theme to not only our own 55th Reunion, but the entire Reunion and Commencement Weekend, was a tribute to the indomitable, friendly spirit of Gina and John Driscoll, who received the Raymond E. Baldwin Medal, Wesleyan’s highest alumni award, for their years of extraordinary service to Wesleyan.

Tributes from Wesleyan officials and members of all classes showed the love and appreciation for John and Gina beyond just our class. They received a long standing ovation when the alumni association president praised them at the Saturday Wesleyan Assembly. At our post-assembly lunch, President Michael Roth ’78 thanked them for their service. At our class dinner Saturday night, former president Colin Campbell, our honored guest, spoke eloquently about their dedication to the entire university community. And the Douglas Cannon made its first appearance in 10 years in John’s honor (more about that later)!

Twenty-three members of our class joined the festivities. On Friday afternoon, Robin Cook [see page 79] participated in a WESeminar, “A Conversation with Wesleyan Writers,” and many class members were invited to the president’s reception honoring leadership donors and volunteers. Our initial class event—the 55th Reunion Reception—was then convened at the Patricelli ’92 Theater.

Saturday morning, we gathered for coffee at Boger Hall for a wide-ranging conversation, led by Bruce Corwin, class president, on members’ own lives, and reflections on the impact of the Wesleyan experience. Following the traditional Parade of Classes and Alumni Association meeting, we joined Reunion classes from 1940 through 1966 at a catered luncheon.

Our class dinner was held in the atrium of the Gordon Career Center. One of the highlights was the awarding of Wesleyan University Service Awards to Phil Calhoun and Jim Gately. Phil was honored for his service in the Admission Office, as acting secretary of the university, as an assistant to President Campbell, and as “an enabling founder, benefactor, and head coach of the first Cardinal crew team.” Jim was honored for being “an active force” in our class in organizing Reunions, encouraging support for the Class of ’62 Scholarship fund and the Freeman Driscoll International Scholarship, and hosting Wesleyan events in Philadelphia. We shared a moment of silence after the names of 35 deceased class members were read aloud. Bruce closed the dinner by urging everyone to start thinking about making our 60th Reunion another success.

Thanks to the members of the class who participated in Reunion Committee phone calls to plan the events: Robin Berrington, Phil Calhoun, Bruce Corwin, Dick Dranitzke, John Driscoll, Dick Dubanoski, David Fiske, Jim Gately, Dave Hedges, Bob Hunter, Bob Krugman, Gene Peckham, and Rick Tuttle.

Oh, yes. The Douglas Cannon. Early arrivals to the Saturday night dinner were treated to the sight of the Douglas Cannon sitting on the reception desk. Wesleyan photographers were on hand to take a picture of John Driscoll with the cannon, and shortly afterwards, officials took it away. You may recall that during our college years, the Cannon had been stolen in November 1959 and then recovered and remounted in April 1961. After many subsequent removals and reappearances since that time (Wikipedia has a good history, if you’re interested), it was last seen briefly at a 2007 Inauguration reception for President Roth.

There has been speculation that the Cannon is actually in University hands. Hmm. When the cannon arrived, there were over a half-dozen university photographers, public relations officials, and security personnel on hand. After the brief photo-op with John, the Cannon was quickly covered and whisked away—with the efficiency of a U.S. Secret Service operation—into a waiting Wesleyan security van. Hmm. The Wikipedia article was updated by the next day to refer to the Cannon’s “reappearance at the Class of ’62 Reunion dinner.”

At the Saturday morning session, Bruce expressed regret that our class agent, Phil Putnam, was unable to make the trip from his home in Essex due to a longstanding illness. Phil subsequently said to me by telephone that he was undergoing treatment that he hoped would lead to PT and then being able to get around with a cane. Sadly, instead Phil took a turn for the worse. At the end of June, he passed away in the Middlesex Hospital Hospice unit. Phil had a great spirit, and served our class well. He will be missed.

John Hazlehurst is “transiting” from the Colorado Springs Independent/Colorado Springs Business Journal to establish two glossy magazines, Colorado Fun and Cannatimes. He’s still doing high-altitude long-distance bike rides.

Charles Seibert invites classmates to read an essay he published describing “a cautionary tale” of the 1960s as a result of his political activity in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movement (dailynous.com/2017/02/28/ghost-senator-joe-mccarthy-haunts-philosophy-graduate-student-guest-post).

Steve Trott has become involved with the Boise Philharmonic Association, which he says is “a long way from ‘Michael’.” He chaired the committee selecting the conductor/music director and was in charge of programming the past two seasons. He writes, “My sophomore class in Music Appreciation at Wesleyan with a professor whose name I can no longer spell—Alex S.— got me started, for which I am very grateful.”

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com
17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Class of 1962 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Jessy Carrasco-Gonzalez ’18, Economics

Our 55th Reunion weekend, Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27 is approaching, and a group from our class has been working with the alumni office during the year to coordinate arrangements.

The planning committee came up with some new initiatives this year. First, we have invited spouses of classmates who have passed away to attend, and also invited members of the classes of 1961 and 1963 to join us. Secondly, Wesleyan will be designating a Class of 1962 Reunion Headquarters on campus so that there will be a central place where we can meet and greet classmates. We expect these initiatives to enhance the weekend.

The main focus, as in the past, will be the Saturday evening reception and dinner, commencing at 5:30 p.m. There will be a Friday night reception for early arrivers, and then we gather at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning for a “Breakfast and Conversation” led by Bruce Corwin. This was a very successful get-together at our 50th, and the committee unanimously wanted to convene it again this year.

Although not part of Reunion activities, on Sunday, at the University’s commencement ceremony, Gina and John Driscoll are to be awarded the Baldwin Medal. The Baldwin Medal is the highest honor Wesleyan’s alumni body presents, and it is awarded “for extraordinary service to Wesleyan, or for careers and other activities which have contributed significantly to the public good.” Five years ago, at our 50th Reunion, Bruce Corwin was the recipient of the Baldwin Medal.

We thank John, Gina, and Bruce for their indefatigable enthusiasm for Wesleyan and our class, and congratulate them on this distinguished recognition.

In other news, Dave Creed writes that in 2007, he retired from The New York Times after 17 years providing tech support to the newsroom. Prior to that, he spent 19 years as an editor, and sometimes a reporter, at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky. He and Sara celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2005.

Dave also forwarded a letter from Andre Demidoff, a Danish exchange student who was with our class our freshman year. The letter sent “greetings and best wishes to the class of ’62.” He had returned to Denmark where he taught high school for many years. He urged all retirees to “take up painting, which when you are past 70, will fill your time as well as your house and heart.” Dave had stayed in touch with Andre after reconnecting with him on a business trip to Denmark.

In closing, we hope to have a good attendance at Reunion. For updated information, and to learn who from our class has already registered to attend, go to the Reunion and Commencement web page at wesleyan.edu/rc.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com
17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

In April, Hank Fotter moved into the Elim Park Health Care Center in Cheshire, Conn., where his wife, Harriet, moved into the adjacent independent living center, Elim Park Place, a two-minute walk away. She writes that Hank started falling in October 2015, and by January 2016, he was in a wheelchair and needing around-the-clock care because of a “devastating combination of long-term physical illnesses and steadily declining cognitive abilities.” She says that Hank would enjoy receiving notes at 150 Cook Hill Road, Apt. #6110, Cheshire, CT 06410, and seeing visitors. Her cell phone number is 203-592-2733 if you’re in the area.

Bob Gause writes, “I’m still working at my first job, pediatric orthopedics, simply because I love it. Children I operated on 35 years ago return with their children and I can recall each case.” He spends time “on that same Winterport, Maine, farm” and at a camp on Moosehead Lake, and has written four fiction books. He says, “The last 75 years have been so exciting, I can’t wait to see what the second half has in store.”

Gary Wanerka was honored for his long service as a pediatrician and allergy specialist by receiving a Distinguished Service Award from the town of Branford, Conn. After his pediatric training at Yale, he served four years in the U.S. Army in Germany, and then began his practice in New Haven in 1974. He started up Branford Pediatrics and Allergy in 1982. Just like Bob Gause, he says he has many “grandpatients” and even some “great-grandpatients.” His wife, Chris, children Laura and John, and grandchildren, Trey and Reese, were present when he was presented with the award.

This year, Len Wilson was inducted into the National YMCA Hall of Fame, located on the campus of Springfield College, joining 130 other members. An interesting note: The YMCA Hall of Fame is housed in the building where basketball was invented, which had been the original YMCA training center for directors. Len has been retired for 10 years and says that he and Joyce “have settled into spending summers on the Jersey Shore with family and friends, and enjoying the rest of the year doing a little traveling away from our condo life in South Philly.” He is the first classmate to write (or admit) that he’s “caught the pickleball bug.”

And sad news on the passing in March of Dirck Westervelt in Brewster, Mass. He was retired after a long career as a psychiatric social worker. He spent two decades with the New York State Office of Mental Health, and specialized in the treatment of adolescents. He also volunteered for years as a counselor for Vietnam veterans. Our condolences to his family.

Reunion coming up: With the calendar turning to 2017, we are reminded that our 55th Reunion is coming up—May 25 to 28. Mark your calendars now, and we hope to have a good turnout once again. I hear that Len Wilson will be offering pickleball lessons.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com
17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Bob Gelardi reports that he is chairing the charity relations committee of the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation and is pleased that they just raised a record $2.65 million that will be donated to 14 local children’s charities. He says it has been the number four and number six wine auction in the country in the past two years. He writes, “It truly is greater to give than to receive, as we add smiles to the faces of thousands of kids in need.”

Eric Greenleaf and Lori have been living in Larkspur, Calif., in the redwoods for almost 30 years now. He says he is “still doing psychotherapy and training therapists, which lets me travel some.” Lori is producing shows for the local TV station. His son, Tatian, and daughter-in-law are both teachers and two grandsons (“9 and 6 and the delights of our lives”) go to his school. “I’d love to hear from classmates,” Eric writes.

Mike Riley and his wife, Sally, have moved from St. Augustine, Fla., where they’ve been since 2004, to the San Francisco area (Brentwood, in the East Bay area) to be nearer their son, Chris, and a brand new granddaughter, and to their daughter Roxane Williams ’95, who’s in Palo Alto with their other two grandchildren.

Milt Schroeder writes: “Retirement is still treating me well.” He says that he and Mary “are enjoying some traveling,” and he recounts a recent eight-day trip to Rome, with highlights being an excursion to Ostia Antica, an ancient port city not far from Rome, established around the 4th century BC, and attending a Mozart Requiem concert “performed in a historic church by a superb local group and orchestra.” Back in the USA, he says, “Now we are bracing for another hot Arizona summer but hope to escape some of the time to cooler climes.”

After dealing with medical challenges for nearly six months, Phil Putnam is recovering at home. He would enjoy hearing from his many friends and classmates: pgputnam@me.com, or feel free to send a note: 34 River Road Drive, Essex, CT 06426.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com

17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Bob Gause sends greetings to everyone from his MaineCat catamaran in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama, where he takes a “sabbatical” from January to May every year with spouse Nancy and Jack, the Jack Russell, from his Bangor, Maine, pediatric orthopedics practice and continues his fiction writing. Check him out on Amazon.com. He writes that he looks forward to seeing everyone in good health at our 55th Reunion next year.

Bob Saliba officially closed his law practice in July last year. In January he and Jenifer spent a few days in Washington pursuing their “passion for American art and history,” adding, “We spent a wonderful evening with Robin Berrington, who suggested we explore the Sackler Gallery, which the next day we did and discovered the Japanese art of Tawaraya Sotatsu (and others). Thanks to Robin for opening up a whole new world to us.”

And a sad note on the passing last December of Peter Nuelsen. After receiving a master’s in architecture from Yale in 1966, he had a highly successful career in a New Haven architectural firm designing and renovating healthcare facilities from New Hampshire to Philadelphia. We extend our condolences to his wife, Joyce, and his family.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com

17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Robin Berrington last May made his annual trip to Japan for the Noguchi Foundation meeting and afterward went on an expedition to Takayama, Kyoto, and the Kii Peninsula “meeting interesting Japanese, going to fantastic tiny restaurants, including one memorable sushi place along the coast, and explored some ancient, primitive shrines.” Back in the US, he made an annual journey to Louisville, Ky., for its theater festival, and to Shepherdstown, W.Va., where he sits on the board of the Contemporary American Theater Festival. He visited an old friend in Telluride, Colo., at the time the Telluride Film Festival was going on, and writes, “We even bumped into Meryl Streep on the streets one night! How can you beat that?”

David Fiske writes: “On a personal note, after writing in this column for many years about classmates’ grandchildren, Mary Ann and I joined your ranks in May with the birth of granddaughter Quinn, to Kati and son Ben in Washington, D.C. I am still enjoying retirement at the beach and keep busy with free-lance writing of press releases, newsletters, etc., for numerous local businesses and organizations, editing of World Bank papers, and am on the board of the Rehoboth Beach Museum. Oh, yes, and now frequent trips back to D.C. to see Quinn!”

Naftaly (“Tuli”) Glasman retired as professor of educational leadership emeritus and dean emeritus from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During his 45 years there, he published 12 books and 170 articles and book chapters, and chaired 73 doctoral dissertations (mostly PhD and a few EdD). He is now doing volunteer work as a peer counselor with the elderly; teaching Hebrew one-on-one at his home, free of charge; and sitting on a foundation board that distributes funds to clinical psychological research, scholarship and practice. He has just finished a biography titled To Die as an Israeli-American: The Case of Multiple Identities. He writes: “Having lived with a bipolar mental condition that was diagnosed at age 50 and treated since then with medication and therapy, I am now studying and writing about the condition and its stigma. I hope to begin soon to speak about these topics to a variety of audiences.”

Dave Hedges took a trip to the Rhine and Moselle rivers in June, and plans to spend the winter in Florida. He and Ann got together for dinner and golf with Judy and Parker Blatchford in the Adirondack Mountains, where they both have summer homes, and visited Ithaca, N.Y., and Finger Lakes wineries with Julie and Ed Rubel.

Charles Murkofsky writes that he is “still enjoying full time psychiatric practice in NYC.” In his leisure time, he reports on “fighting to hold onto some semblance of tennis and skiing skills,” enjoying four grandchildren, studying French and Italian online, and “otherwise pursuing NYC’s myriad cultural and culinary opportunities.”

Steve Trott shares an interesting anecdote. He writes, “Because of my Highwaymen background, the good folks here asked me to be on the Philharmonic Board. (They may have thought I had deep pockets from the days of the 45 rpm record, remember those?) I ended up loving the stuff, and they put me to delivering the pre-concert lectures. Recently, Esther Simplot, the wife of the billionaire who at one point furnished McDonald’s with every French fry it sold-—hey, we live in Idaho-—honored my service to the Philharmonic with the first Jack and Esther Simplot Award…for eating more potatoes than the Brass Section combined. You have to love this great state!”

Fran Voigt sent in two interesting reports. The first is the news that his wife, Ellen, was selected in September to receive a MacArthur Foundation scholarship award. This prestigious program awards “unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” She is a founder and senior faculty member in the limited residency MFA program in creative writing at Warren Wilson College. Go to: macfound.org/fellows/950/#sthash.uprD8vKL.dpuf for more details. Secondly, Fran reports that his son is the coach of the Nigerian national basketball team, which after winning the 2015 Pan-African basketball tournament has received an automatic bid to the summer Olympics in Rio. It turns out that his son had coached two star Nigerian players on a previous US team. They recommended him for their country’s national team position, and he got selected from among 20 finalists worldwide.

Fran himself remains involved with NECI (New England Culinary Institute) as a board member, occasional consultant, and owner. We still remember those fabulous dinners at several Reunion weekends that Fran and his staff came down from Vermont to prepare for us. He says the school continues to have a “unique niche” with the training “modeled after aspects of medical school education, military boot camp training, progressive education, and the European apprenticeship tradition.” Sounds about right for someone from Wesleyan!

Finally, a sad note to report: the passing last summer of Hal Wyss. After earning his PhD from Ohio State University, he was a professor of English since 1970 at Albion College, where he also undertook a number of administrative posts. After his retirement in 2005, he was active in the college’s Lifelong Learning Program. In his leisure time, he was an accomplished fisherman and birder. We extend our condolences to his wife, Melissa, and his family.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com

17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Travel seems to be the theme for our brief class notes this issue. Bruce Corwin reports that he is renting a house in southern Spain for the entire Corwin family, including nine children and grandchildren, to celebrate his 75th. Apparently family togetherness only goes so far, because he and Toni are following that with a seven-day cruise on their own from Athens to Venice.

Bill Everett and Sylvia this year toured ancient monuments on the Nile. In addition to seeing the Great Pyramid and the temple of Abu Simbel, they joined Egyptian archaeology expert Zahi Hawass in exploring ancient village and tomb sites. They then went on to Cyprus where he continues to work conserving the Skouriotissa copper mine where his grandfather worked and his mother lived as a girl. In non-travel news, his book Sawdust and Soul: A Conversation about Woodworking and Spirituality was published this year.

Finally, Steve Trott reports that Steve Butts and Marian spent three to four months in Paris. No word on whether he made it across the pond for some Irish folk music jam sessions. Steve recently was awarded the Idaho State Bar Association’s first Distinguished Jurist Award.

If anyone has any other tales of memorable 75th birthday celebrations this year, we’d love to see them in the next issue.