Tag: 1963

This is my first class note since becoming Class Secretary. I have the dubious privilege of being, as you all know, Class Agent as well, so you can expect that I will be asking you for both news and donations.

I am succeeding Jan Van Meter, who sadly passed away unexpectedly, just after beginning cancer treatment, in August 2022, news of which only reached Wesleyan recently. Jan had a varied and interesting career, ranging from service in the navy to CIA intelligence analyst to assistant professor of English, among other things. He retired as a senior public relations executive. His full obituary is published in the most recent copy of the Wesleyan Alumni Magazine.

It is with sadness that I report the recent passing of our classmate, Thomas Spragens, on June 1. Tom had a distinguished academic career at Duke, from which he received his PhD in 1968. His obituary can be read here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/heraldsun/name/thomas-spragens-obituary?id=52246604.

Our 60th Reunion was well attended. The weather was, for once, cooperative, and it was a pleasure to see that everyone had aged gracefully. Despite geographical separation, and the increasing infirmities that age is visiting on all of us, I hope that we will have a sizable contingent at our 65th.

My initial request yielded two responses; I can only hope that future reminders will generate more news. Your classmates do care about what you are doing and where you are.

Fritz Henn writes that he is “still moving about.” He recently returned from Paris, as a granddaughter rowed for the United States in the World Rowing Championships. Her crew won the first heat but finished fifth in the finals—a good result, as the U.S. does not have a national team. Fritz traveled with his son, also a Wesleyan graduate. “Met friends and ate well.”   

Alex Aikman reports: “Ruth and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in October 2022. In September of that year, we marked our 30th year together. In many ways, little has changed or happened in many years in the public side of our lives. The private side, however, has had some challenges as well as highlights. Our four children are happily married and successful in their chosen fields, albeit none living nearby. We now are great-grandparents, which is special on its own. Ruth has made these years wonderful, interesting, and loving. Best thing I’ve done since graduating in ’63. 

“At the end of March this year, we moved from California to Medford, Oregon. We both felt it was time to go even though Ruth, born and raised in California and having spent most of her life there, will always think of herself as a California girl. The move has had its challenges, as do all moves, but we still feel it was the right decision.”

Like probably all of us, Alex is retired. After a brief stint in a law firm, he moved to court administration. “I was able to work for about 45 years in court administration in state courts, with most of those years as a management consultant, to trial and appellate courts across the nation. I have written the leading book on ‘the art and practice of court administration’—also the title—and have contributed to a book that may replace mine as the leading book, which we hope will be published in the first quarter of 2024.”

Life updates and remembrances from several classmates:

Len Edwards writes: “I retired from the bench in 2006. I have flunked retirement, as I still teach and write (judgeleonardedwards.com). I have lived in the same house since 1977. Nearby, my son and family live. I remarried after my wife of 38 years died and between us, we have 12 grandchildren. I look forward to a reunion this spring.”

Fritz Henn contributes: “I am looking forward to graduation when my oldest granddaughter will graduate from Wes. That is three generations of Wes graduates. I am fully retired and actually gave my last lecture two years ago at the Winter Conference for Brain Research. I was asked to give the distinguished opening lecture, with introductory lectures by two of my previous students. It was a great way to end my research career but I miss both the lab and the students. 

“Currently I am living in Washington, D.C., sharing an enormous house with my daughter and her family and have the luxury of staying with my son and his wife (Wes grads) in their summer home on an island off the Maine coast during a good part of the summer.”

Jack Jarzavek shares: “I was remembering Bob Martin the other day and wondered how much many of our classmates knew of his fame and accomplishments. Bob was my freshman roommate and fraternity brother. He got his PhD from Brown in the late ’60s, and then taught for his whole career in Montreal. Bob wrote extensively on American literature and was one of the first openly gay literary critics in the U.S. His first book, of many, was his Brown thesis: The Homosexual Tradition in American Poetry. It is still a classic in the field. He did extensive research on Melville, Hawthorne, and American expats in Italy. Bob died in 2012. He was known for his erudition and wit.”

From Don Sexton: “Celebrated my 80th birthday in January. When I was in my teens, never thought of reaching 80, so am happy to be here and aboveground. Am busy with painting (www.sextonart.com). Have solo shows coming up later this year at the Litchfield, Connecticut, library (July–August) and at the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in Fairfield, Connecticut (November–December). I continue to perform stand-up comedy on Broadway and elsewhere—love the audiences. After 50 years of teaching at Columbia, I pretty much have lost any stage fright I might have once had. My wife and kids and grandkids like to remind me, ‘But, Dad, some people should have stage fright.’ Best wishes to all—look forward to your 90th! Be well.”

A few words from classmates:

From Jim Dresser: “I am still living in Salisbury, Connecticut, where we sold a large house and built a small bungalow in the backyard just before COVID hit. It is indeed better to be lucky than smart.

            “I spend most of my time trying to build affordable housing in this expensive enclave of Connecticut, which got more unaffordable after the pandemic influx from NYC.

            “I was honored that Gina asked me to be one of the speakers at John Driscoll’s ’62 celebration of life in the chapel at Homecoming. I then got to sit in Corwin Stadium in shirtsleeves and reflect on John, Wes’s most ardent football fan, while the Cards beat the Ephs handily to win the Little Three.

            “I continue to be amazed by the time and effort required ‘to alleviate the many ills to which the flesh is heir,’ but I am defying the odds so far.”      

John B. Jarzavek wrote: “I was pleased to see that there is a memorial challenge to remember our classmate, Colby Andrus. As was our wont in the ’60s, most of us knew only our fraternity fellows and course classmates. I got to know Colby our junior and senior years when we were both on the Board of House Presidents. He was always soft-spoken but full of energy and suggestions. After graduation we kept in minimal contact. However, his son John enrolled in the Rivers School (’96) where I had been teaching since 1965. I taught John in art history, in which he continued at Wesleyan after he graduated from Rivers. While he was at Rivers, his mother Alice was a school trustee. I got to see the Andrus family regularly, and we became close friends. We discovered that we were all Italophiles. Norman and I bought our Italian apartment in 2001—we sold it in 2021—and Colby, Alice, and we met often in Italy in those years. Colby and Alice and their two boys had also lived in Italy for a year in the ’80s. His Boston business was importing and selling Italian furniture. We traveled Italy together and ate great food over the years. My closest Wesleyan friends were fraternity brothers Bob Martin, Bob Sloat, and my fraternity “big brother” Hill Panitch ’62. Thankfully, Colby joined that crew. I can still see his smile.”

David Landgraf contributed: “Ten plus years into retirement and haven’t had yet to return to paid employment. Have kept my law license active just in case. Have kept busy with church work, yardwork and gardening, catching up on casual reading, and providing unsolicited advice to children and grandchildren. Am still living in the house in Southern New Jersey (greater Philadelphia area) to which my late wife Linda and I moved with two small children in 1977, but it is becoming an increasing burden. My son and his family (two children, ages 11 and 9) live about an hour away near the New Jersey shore, and my daughter and her family (three children, ages 17, 15, and 9) are in Frederick, Maryland, about three to four hours away by car. See both frequently. I have been trying to take one or two trips each year, but that schedule was interrupted by COVID-19. My middle brother and I did take a Rhine River cruise, which included a performance of the passion play in Oberammergau, Germany, this past summer.  Looking at a possible family trip next summer, if kids’ sports schedules and the college entry and visits for the oldest allow.”

 And from Frederick Taylor: “Visited Lew Whitney and his wife Yoli in LA in early September. He is well and still sailing. It was great to see him and trade memories, some of which may have actually occurred. We exchange book ideas and discuss the various authors we enjoy. We plan to see each other annually as Carole and I travel from New York to see our daughter Liesl and family in Manhattan Beach and perhaps a granddaughter in college on the West Coast.”

 

Several classmates wrote in with news:

Jack Jarzavek said, “I thought I would write the following for the next issue of the alumni magazine.

WANTED: I bought paperback faculty picture books my freshman through junior years. These had pictures of the current faculty with their degrees and dates of beginning teaching at Wesleyan. When we moved from our house to our apartment, they got lost in the shuffle. If anyone has copies and is going to throw them away, please send them my way. Thanks, Jack Jarzavek

“Not a lot of news. There is now a second recipient of the Jarzavek Teaching Chair at the Rivers School where I taught for 40 years. We are still cooking up a storm and doing research on dance in 17th-century French baroque opera. My collection of 15,000 LPs and 5,000 CDs of opera and classical vocal recitals will now be digitized by National Archives and made available to libraries. I gave the collection to the Rivers Conservatory. Best, Jack.”

Len Edwards wrote, “My wife and I spend much of the summer in Truckee, California, a little north of Lake Tahoe. We hope that forest fires will not smoke us out as they did last summer.

“The San Francisco Bay Area continues to celebrate the Golden State Warriors and their surprising NBA title. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are local heroes. The second edition of my juvenile court book is selling nicely—however, the audience is limited to judges and attorneys who work in juvenile court—not a large group. I continue to work with Health Management Associates in a project to reduce the impact of opioids in California. The death rates from overdoses continues to rise. My golf continues to deteriorate, but I haven’t given up. I’m hoping to attend our 60th next year, but need to know if anyone else will show up.”

Walt Pilcher sent in this update: “Carol and I moved to River Landing, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in High Point, North Carolina, in 2020 after 30 years in next-door Greensboro, and we are loving it. Some say it’s like being on a stationary cruise ship because there are five restaurants, a pool, a nine-hole golf course, a well-equipped fitness center and gym, planned excursions, and more activities than we can keep up with. No casino, of course, but we don’t miss that. Outside, I’m still on the boards of three faith-based nonprofits and preaching the occasional guest sermon at our church. Inside, Carol still paints and sold several pieces in an exhibition here in May/June, while I continue to write. My publisher is planning a big promotion in September involving a dozen of their authors, including me, with my comedy novel, The Accidental Spurrt: A Mark Fairley Mystery, and its follow-on in the series, Killing O’Carolan, which will have been launched by the time you are reading this. Both are hilarious and getting great reviews. I taught a three-session course on creative writing here last fall and this spring, which was a lot of fun. For me, as with many of us, this season of life has been vastly different from what I envisioned looking ahead from 1963. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Russell E. Richey is dean emeritus of Candler School of Theology and William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Church History emeritus. He currently serves as visiting professor of Methodism at Duke Divinity School. Russ is on the editorial boards of Methodist History, Journal of Southern Religion, and New Room Books, and he is general editor of the online Methodist Review. Richey’s most recent books are Methodism in the American Forest, Oxford University Press, 2015, and A Church’s Broken Heart: Mason-Dixon Methodism, New Room Books/General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2021.

Don Sexton shared: “During the summer I had a major solo show of my paintings in lower Manhattan, Great Cities of the World—more than 50 works. Through 2023 I have several other solo shows scheduled for New York and for Connecticut. Please visit my website for dates and details: www.sextonart.com. I am also beginning a new career, stand-up comedy. I joined an improv group to stay alert during these later years, then started doing stand-up as well—have performed stand-up in midtown Manhattan and elsewhere. Great fun for me and—I think and hope—for the audience. My wife will retire soon from the NYC Department of Education and we plan a lot of travel, to favorite cities and to new places. We are considering moving to Paris although that would likely affect my stand-up career unless my French and my French sense of humor improve markedly.”

Dave Snyder writes: “Since retiring from my business (remanufacturing ink jets and toner cartridges) some 15 years ago, I’ve been involved with three nonprofits. The first, TCP Global, is involved in microloans in the developing world. We started out in Colombia, and then expanded into Guatemala, where my wife Sally and I had served in the Peace Corps, immediately prior to coming to HBS. Subsequently, we went into Peru, 11 countries in Africa, and Nepal. The second nonprofit is Casa Colibri. We work with the Mayans in northwest Guatemala. We built a medical clinic there in 2009 and continue to go there three times a year on medical missions. The third nonprofit, TGHI (The Thelma Gibson Health Initiative), works here in the Miami area providing a variety of services to underserved, low-income residents in the area.”

And from Thomas McKnight: “Nothing makes me happier than wrestling with my muse every afternoon to the accompaniment of my beloved bel canto operas—well-known composers like Bellini and Donizetti, but even rarer ones like Pacini and Marchetti. Like my art they are somewhat out of fashion and maybe that’s why we are on the same wavelength.

“Mornings I’ve been reading a lot about what happens after death and reincarnation—subjects speeding toward me like a train without an engineer. Evenings are for solace. During the pandemic my wife Renate expanded her cuisine repertoire, and we now feast on Japanese and Indian dishes along with her Austrian and Italian standbys. And then there is Netflix!

“Some paintings are currently in an exhibition at the Litchfield (Connecticut) Historical Society, Artists of Litchfield, a historical survey of which I am one of the most recent exemplars. More will be shown at a retrospective of sorts at the Mattituck Museum in Waterbury (Connecticut) opening in June 2023.”

Bob Gelbach is still busy.  “I’ve been doubly retired for eleven years now, first from Southern Connecticut State University after 32 years in the political science department, and later as executive director of Trauma Recovery (aka EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program), a small international NGO that trains clinicians and treats PTSD in post-disaster environments. My late wife, Katherine Davis, drew me into that second job, where she had been a longtime clinician/volunteer.

“Since her death and my second retirement, I have been keeping up with our four adult children and five grandchildren scattered across the country. I also moved away from New Haven to upstate New York with my new life partner, Marjorie. (We met online, by the way.)  And I am still pretty busy these days on the Saugerties Democratic Committee, Ulster County Community Services Board, Hudson Valley Jewish Voice for Peace, and Ulster Immigrant Defense Network.  Margie and I are taking a needed break from all that in February for a trip to Joshua Tree, California.”

     Jack Jarzavek reports: “We have sold our apartment in Arezzo, Italy, after enjoying it for 21 years. Italian law decrees that sellers and buyers must be at the closing. Norman and I had spent October there cleaning out the apartment and getting it ready to put on the market. I had 950 scholarly books to sell and thankfully did so—some dating back to Wesleyan courses. (Not to worry, we still have about 2,000 books here in our Boston apartment.) Arezzo is the home to Italy’s oldest antiquarian fair where you can buy a Romanesque painting alongside a Mickey Mouse watch. I had bought books from a number of dealers over the years and fortunately got one of them to purchase the library. When we returned to Boston in November and COVID exploded, flights got canceled, and we dreaded the thought of making it back for the closing. Fortunately, Norman discovered a loophole late in December and we signed papers earlier this week, had them notarized, and sent them off to the notary in Italy.  No, we are not sad about selling our place.  It was time.”

It’s okay to retire more than once. Robert Rideout should know.  “My first time was after a 32-year career with the federal government, mostly at the Office of Management and Budget.  I retired early so I could devote more time to the senior high youth group at our church. The illness of one of our members led me to my second career as a pediatric chaplain at a children’s hospital in northern Virginia and later in Columbus, where Marti and I moved in 2005.  Along the way I was ordained in the Episcopal Church, where I served in nearby Dublin, Ohio, for 12 years.  In early 2020 I retired for good both from Nationwide Children’s Hospital here and from the church in Dublin.  Marti retired in 2020 after a 60-year career in church music.  During that time, she served as organist-choirmaster at churches in New York, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.  Now we’re enjoying watching our six grandchildren, ages 13–24, as they progress through school and college here in Ohio, and in California and New York.  Our son, Brian, is a Marine Corps colonel at Camp Pendleton, California.  Our daughter, Lissa, teaches French and is co-principal of a middle school here in Columbus.”

It all began in early 2019, says Gordon Berger: “I traveled to Phoenix with a grandson for MLB Spring Training; then to Lima, Machu Picchu, and the Galapagos in March, and to the Italian countryside in May.  But one misstep above the Cinque Terre villages took me tumbling down the mountainside, cracking vertebrae as I went.  A helicopter rescue was an unexpected thrill, followed by hospitalization in Genoa and a flight to Los Angeles.  I completed a full rehabilitation, and in February 2020, the pandemic appeared.

“Lynne, my partner of 40 years (and my wife for the last 9), and I have so far dodged the virus.  We visited friends and family in the San Francisco area; spent an August week with Lynne’s family in the Poconos; savored Santa Fe again; and joined my sister travelling to Asheville, the site of the summer work camp we attended in the mid-1950s.  Now we spent a pleasant afternoon at the golf course where the camp had been located.

“Once home, we were able to move our psychoanalysis/psychotherapy practices online, but my plan to cut back on clinical hours and travel more hasn’t really worked out.  Instead, the psychological impact of the pandemic has increased my clinical schedule by 25% and my next trip to see mentors and old friends in Tokyo is on hold.

“For all that, we feel privileged to have survived the virus without personal loss.  Our daughter has blessed us with eight grandchildren, who in turn have contributed another ten additions to the family tree. And the presence of Cooper, our new Cobberdog puppy, has enlivened our household and promises better times ahead.”

Fritz Henn proudly notes that his granddaughter is now at Wesleyan. That makes three generations: her parents both also went to Wesleyan. He writes, “She took a gap year working helping a family in France in order to get French down. At the end of her time there we met so I could introduce her to German relatives she never met. Ella ’24 did get to Heidelberg, where I lived for nearly 20 years, when we had our 50th wedding anniversary; in the interval my wife, Suella, passed away and I was anxious to get back to my old haunts one more time. We toured Munich, Dresden, and Berlin and went to Hamburg where the virus caught us. We got the last planes back to Washington, D.C., and San Francisco; in fact, she was on the NBC Nightly News, just interviewed catching the last flight to SFO.

“I sold my house and joined with my daughter’s family to buy a very large house in D.C., where I have my own apartment but eat with my daughter’s family (much better cooks and as an infectious disease doctor, Sarah is good to be around currently). I still have one last research project going, hoping it will cure depression (but beginning to doubt it).”

     Scott Wilson reports, “What a difference a year-and-a-half makes! Lucy and I had returned from a three-week mind-expanding tour of Egypt and Jordan, and then attended a Maya symposium at Tulane University in New Orleans, continuing our pre-Columbian studies. But those were the end of normal ‘exterior’ life events. Since then we have turned to ‘interior’ events, keeping our heads down from the virus and the political maelstrom, but the ‘interior’ events hold benefits, too: An expanded and productive vegetable garden is one; Zoom provides access to an array of lectures far beyond our own pre-Columbian Society of D.C. events, and my pastel painting and drawing continue, with some frameable efforts. I’m compiling all of our travel for the past 50 years, vivifying memories that had lain dormant.

“One product of my college teaching was a co-authored, community organizing text published in 1994 by Columbia University Press. It has continued to sell well for more than 25 years.”

     Hank Zackin turned 80 in August. “We have three grandchildren: Sam 16, Isabella almost 14, and Lola 12.  I am retired, but looking for something productive to do.  I read a lot, mostly fiction, and am grateful to our local library, especially during COVID.  Both my wife and I are fully vaccinated, remaining fairly healthy and as active as possible, but no travel as yet.”

     Fred Taylor says that his family’s three children married and he now has 10 grandchildren. “No wonder we are worn out at 80. I am still working part time at Evercore, which helps keep the mind stimulated. Carole celebrated her class of 1965 reunion at Connecticut College.  We had our 54th anniversary!

“It’s terrific to be able to be very happily married to the same person for all these years. I enjoy staying in touch with Wesleyan with the Emeritus Trustee Annual meetings. It continues to be an active, engaged campus. I stay in touch with Lew Whitney regularly and we enjoy trading our latest book suggestions.”

“A few years ago I retired from Columbia Business School after 50-plus years, 10,000 students, and 100 endless faculty meetings,” Don Sexton began. “I am now learning how to be retired. Fortunately, I minored in art at Wesleyan and have been a professional painter for more than 30 years, and now I have time to put a little more effort into that career. Had to reschedule a few 2020 solo shows due to COVID, but have been doing commissions and have six solo shows in the New York and Connecticut area scheduled for 2021–22. I have also been participating in courses in improv and in standup comedy to keep alert during these later years and have some fun during open mike nights.

“My wife Laura is still working for the New York City Education Department as a parent coordinator and has been working from home. Our daughter is a mechanical engineer and senior manager in the defense industry. She and her husband have two terrific children. Our two sons are developing careers in the restaurant business and in the film industry. Usually we live in Tribeca in New York but during the pandemic we were staying in our country home in northwest Connecticut. If you’re near or visiting New York, my next solo show in Manhattan will be during August–December at the East 67th Street Library. Information on my shows is on my website: www.sextonart.com or email me: don@sextonart.com.”

“I delayed responding to your request, Jan, hoping that the muse would strike, but there is not a lot going on that is exciting,” wrote Harvey Bagg.  “Anyway, since the onslaught of COVID, Martha and I have been pretty much hunkered down in Chatham, New York. She is actively practicing law from our makeshift office. I, being completely retired, keep more or less busy with catching up on my reading and various projects around the house.  I note, however, that my current tastes in literature are not the great books, but mysteries. On a ‘me’ note, I was recently awarded the Vietnam Veterans of America Achievement Medal for my work with veterans. I hasten to add that I did not serve in Vietnam, but there is no Dominican Republic Veterans of America organization. I hope that this provides a little grist for the class notes mill. Best to all, Harvey.”

     Len Edwards is busy as ever:  “We have now moved to the Sierra Nevada mountains for the summer. Our house is in Truckee, a railroad town near where the first continental railroad ran through and still does.

“My wife, Margie, and I married 12 years ago after both of our spouses died of cancer. With her nine grandchildren and my three we are busy with birthdays, graduations, and demands that we appear at holiday celebrations. We are both in our 80s but just barely, and our health is holding up. I, however, have flunked retirement. I still work as a consultant, teaching judges and attorneys around the country on juvenile law issues. I also am on the state ethics committee and am working on a project to reduce the impact of the opioid crisis on Californians.

“One sad note:  I am particularly grieving the loss of Peter Whiteley (’65) who was a close friend through grammar and high school and who then attended Wesleyan. Sadly, he passed away recently.”

     Stan Lewis, bound to be a lifelong artist, did pause to comment on his life. “Karen and I are living in Leeds, Massachusetts, a part of Northampton. Basically all I do is paint and visit grandchildren. Our oldest grandchild, Zoe, daughter of John Lewis (’64), just took a guided tour of Wesleyan. She was very impressed.

“I am getting tired and wearing out, but Karen has, over the years, made me do these 22-minute exercises every day (Miranda Esmonde–White’s Classical Stretch). I seem to be able to do a lot.

“I’ve got a method of painting that is so impossible that I continually fail. If I keep going, something good happens in about a year or even in 10 years. My classes in Kierkegaard, at Wes with Professor Crites, was a big influence as I developed this method. We have a large yard, and I decided years ago to use that as my subject matter since I am a landscape painter. In the winter, if it is really cold, I draw views out the windows. Right now I have a winter-spring painting based on my yard that I have been working on for 12 years. It must be finished for a show I will have in 2022 at the Betty Cuningham Gallery in NYC.

“The worst thing for me (besides the ongoing problem of not really knowing how things will turn out in my painting) is the news. We watch a lot of it on TV and can see our daughter-in-law Alisyn Camerota, an anchor on CNN. I slowly read books on my iPhone.”