Tag: 1965

Dear Classmates,

Hope to see you at our 60th in May! It is important to recognize the extraordinary efforts of our prior Reunion leaders, namely Hugh Wilson, Win Chamberlin, Bob Barton, Dave Dinwoodey, and a number of others.

At Homecoming, I visited with Roy Fazendeiro, Mark Edmiston, Gary Witten,and their spouses, and we enjoyed the last-second victory over Williams to win the Cardinals’ third-straight Little Three football title. (Gary is also involved with the football program by providing a three-part series on financial literacy for graduating seniors.)

Thanks to all who responded to my request for news:

Arthur Rhodes: “Since retirement, my wife, Leslie Newman, and I are enjoying life and visiting her three sons and five grandsons in New Orleans and my two daughters and six grandchildren here in Illinois.

“If you have an interest in photography, check out my Instagram page: ArthurRRhodes_photography.    

“As an aside, you all knew me as Rosenglick at Wesleyan, but I changed my name to Rhodes. My beloved German professor at Wesleyan, Chad Dunham, asked me if I knew about the origin of names in the Jewish ghettos of Eastern Europe. I learned that a Jewish ghetto occupant had to purchase a surname from the tax collector to replace their Hebrew name. If you didn’t pay, or couldn’t pay, enough for a nice name, you received an unflattering one. A fancy name, like Rosenglick—‘Lucky Roses’—probably cost dearly. Jeffrey (one of my three brothers) and I decided to change our name legally, to get rid of our ‘purchased’ ghetto name. In 1969, during my medical internship at Columbia, I changed my name to Rhodes. One day I was Rosenglick, and the next day I was Rhodes. I felt like a free man. When I was a medical resident at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital, I often had to speak Yiddish to my Jewish patients to allay their fears that I might not be Jewish. Though I rejected the rules of the ghetto, I remain dedicated to my Jewish heritage.

“Incidentally, I especially miss three of my favorite professors, now deceased: Chad Dunham, Bob Rosenbaum (mathematics), and Richard Burford (chemistry).” 

Gar Hargens: “Last June I reregistered as an architect. After 56 years in the business, I decided to retire. I came to Close Associates as an older student at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. I’ve gone from intern, architect, partner, to sole owner, all in the same wonderful mid-century building our founders created. 

“Three years ago, I started a foundation at the U of Minnesota to help fund the curator position at the university’s library. In the ’80s, I approached the archives about accepting our then over 40 years’ worth of construction documents for editing and storage. There was never a charge, so now I am helping make the acting curator’s position permanent.

“I’m blessed with five children and seven grandkids, four of them here in the Twin Cities—at least for a little while longer. My wife, Missy, keeps us socially active and serves on many local boards, most recently Macalester College, an excellent local institution but endowed with refreshing Midwest modesty.”

Bill Trapp: “We are enjoying life with our family and friends. I am almost back to a full recovery after a stroke. We are now making spring plans to visit the Wesleyan baseball team in Arizona. I could not have done it without the support and management from my wife, Marilyn, family, friends, and many doctors and physical therapists.”

Bill Knox: “We just keep getting older, watching our kids and grandkids do the same. The four-plus months a year at our place here in southern Italy are a blessing.”

Tom Bell: “Still in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My oldest child has just become a grandfather this December in Chicago. This made me the great-grandfather of Quinton Roger MacGregor. I’m looking forward to meeting him soon.”    

Bob MacLean: “While having lost contact with so many classmates, I remain in regular contact with Phil Russell and Ralph Jacobs, having found one another at Stanford after Wesleyan.

“With pacemaker installed, I’m still flying after 61 years and am a certified flight instructor. While still certified as a ski instructor, after 48 years, I no longer teach but am still skiing with friends. Have taken up bridge again even after Dean Barlow suggested I take a year off to consider studying rather than playing bridge and brewing beer in the Eclectic basement.

“My path has been anything but linear, but a hell of a ride, thanks in part to the rigor of the old-style liberal arts program at Wesleyan and a few bumps and bruises on the football field. Forever grateful!”

Charlie Bassos: “Still kicking—just not as high as I used to. Glad to have our class notes, and glad for every classmate still around to read them. Wesleyan has shaped us all in ways great and small, truly ‘alma mater.’” 

Bob Barton: “Playing old-guy tennis is an enjoyable new activity. I’ve sold my old foreign currency, coins, and other collections to fund cruises next summer on the sailboat I bought with three partners, including my distant cousin and Wes classmate Jay Clapp.” 

Hugh Wilson: “Several of my obligations, including the publication of the book I’ve been working on for three years, have grown since our Zoom meeting in September regarding our Reunion. I do not feel that I can take the lead for planning our 60th, but Fran and I will certainly attend.”

Bill Brooks: “Work on the Winslow archives continues, with a full performance of Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights sometime in the next 36 months. Also, recently returned from five weeks in Kruger National Park—a life-changing experience (and I’m grateful that my life still can change)!” 

John Dunton said: “Because my grandson, Owen, who was first in his freshman class and is the third Dunton generation to attend Wes, will be graduating (a year early—a much better student than his grandfather), Carol and I look forward to attending the graduation in 2025. This will be the first in-person reunion without Gary and the Wombats since 1970—we think we can still ‘rock and roll’ but haven’t had a chance to prove it since 2015, and that memory is probably sweeter than a current appearance would provide.”

Bruce Lev wrote: “I finally decided it was time to send a very quick update. The most important news is I’m still vertical, still working full time as CEO of Loeb Holding Corp, the private bank/family office of the financial services and very philanthropic Loeb family, founded early in the 20th century. And still married to Prudence, who’s still writing (most recent novel, Last Born, a fictionalized account of the last days of the dinosaurs). As Bob Barton knows, we started our married life on a 47-foot sailboat in Rowayton, Connecticut, 42 years ago (Bob made our sails) and after a 25-year detour to Westchester, New York, so Prudence could indulge her obsession with horses, we’re back in Rowayton—hopefully for good. The great pleasure over the last few years is reconnecting with Tom Elliman and Joe Garrison and their wonderful wives, Betsy and Brenda, all of whom live in Branford, Connecticut. We try to have a meal every couple of months. I do plan to make the Reunion and very much look forward to it. Best to all.”

From David Osgood: “A few weeks ago I drove up to the Chicago/Wisconsin area from my home in Nashville. I was able to schedule a lunch with Bill Turner and George Adams. Bill and his wife, Barbara, spend the summers in Fontana, Wisconsin, and their winters in Florida. George follows the same routine and in addition operates a successful business in southeast Wisconsin. We had a good time reminiscing about Wesleyan fall and spring house parties and our common acquaintances.  As lifelong St. Louis Cardinal fans, George and I commiserated on the last two terrible seasons. Bill, a Cubs fan, is used to that result.   

“I continue to stay in touch with Larry Carver ’66 and David Griffith ’66. Both are doing well.”

Arthur Rhodes shared: “Retired from medicine in 2020 after a total of 50 years, having cared for more than 100,000 patients; taught more than 1,000 medical students (Harvard University School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Rush Medical College in Chicago); and pivotal in the training of more than 100 residents in dermatology.  My spouse, Leslie C. Newman, and I are spending time with combined families of five adult children and 11 grandchildren, splitting time between a suburb 25 miles north of Chicago (Glencoe, Illinois) and Mandeville, Louisiana. Leslie and I are enjoying gardening and abundant wildlife.  Am filling spare time pursuing a lifelong interest in photography, showing my best work on Instagram: ArthurRRhodes_Photography.

“Best wishes to my former classmates, who I hope are thriving and well.” 

Hugh Wilson sent this news: “Fran and I plan to attend our 60th Reunion next May and hope to see many of you there. On a personal front, I’ve got two items to report. First, I have finished a draft of my book: Inside Understanding: How Finite Brains Interpret a Vast Universe. I’m now starting to look for a publisher. Also, I just learned today that Geoff Hinton was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence. I worked with Geoff’s group from 2005 to 2015 and helped him to get funding from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research for his pioneering work on neural networks that can learn. I was one of the first to develop mathematical models of neural networks in 1973, and they have since been vastly expanded by Geoff and his colleagues. My small contribution to his Nobel work makes me very proud.”

Dear Classmates,

Thanks to those of you who responded to the recent call for information.

Bill Brooks: “Hello, everyone! As I write this, I am preparing to teach an undergraduate class at Wesleyan. Yes, that Wesleyan—home, sweet home! The class is devoted to the music and thought of Richard Winslow, whom many of you will remember with fondness. You may know that Dick died in 2017, just four months short of his hundredth birthday. His family donated his papers to the Wesleyan archives just before the pandemic, and the archives prepared a preliminary finding aid based in large part on a database that Tracey Grinnell had constructed (thank you, Tracey!). If you’re interested, check it out: https://archives.wesleyan.edu/repositories/sca/resources/richard_k_winslow_papers. 

            “I’ve been going through the papers and refining the database, and an extended Winslow festival was launched in October 2023 with a high-profile concert in Crowell Hall. This spring (May 3, 2024) the festival continued with a choral concert in the chapel, and we hope to mount one or more of the big theater pieces in years to come. A Winslow publication series is in the works, probably to start with sets of his songs and his shorter choral works; and in the planning stages is an edition of his ‘collected writings,’ based not only on his manuscripts but also on video and audio recordings that are preserved in the archive. 

            “My plea to you: If any of you have anything pertaining to Winslow or to music at Wesleyan more generally, please get in touch with me. The archive will happily accept additional materials (I’ve already donated my own collection of scores and letters), and—as we prepare editions of the scores and papers—every single scrap of paper, every recollection, is valuable. Write me at w-brooks@illinois.edu (I check that daily). Stay well, search (and preserve!) your memories, and send me anything you have!” 

Steven Halliwell: “I am continuing to write a newsletter on Russia and Ukraine called ‘Hot Money and Dirty Laundry’ on Substack, and a number of classmates are regular readers, including John Hall, Win Chamberlin, Bob Barton, Ted Dreyfus, Bill Knox, as well as Bill Hunt and Woody Sayre, with whom I have very regular communication. Subscriptions are free!”

Carl Hoppe: “My wife and I still work very part time as psychologists. Three daughters are all well, employed, and self-supporting.”

Arthur Rhodes: “My wife, Leslie, and I are enjoying ourselves, with me being fully retired after spending 50-plus years in medicine, and Leslie still doing her design work (SpaceDesign.com) on homes (designing top to bottom) with several clients. We travel to Louisiana to see her five grandchildren (20 months to 11 years), and I get to see my six grandchildren in Illinois, ages 12 to 22 years (three in college). Spending time with ‘painting’ using photography, showing my best work on Instagram (arthurrrhodes_photography). Am in relatively good health, hoping to stay alive for a while. Best to all of my classmates.”

Dutch Siegert: Still working six days a week as a lawyer in New York City. I am busier now than ever before. My granddaughter, who is only a 15-year-old sophomore in high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is one of the top runners in the United States. She ran a 4:55 mile beating juniors and seniors. Her mother, my daughter, was the captain of Wesleyan’s track team back in 1996.”

Dear Classmates,

It was a great Homecoming weekend this year, as there was a big turnout on a perfect fall day. The football team beat Amherst, giving them their second straight Little Three title.

Enjoyed watching the game with Mary and Gary Witten and Lisa and Mark Edmiston. Gary lives in East Amherst, New York, and has written a book on financial literacy aimed at football players; thus, using terms such as “offense” and “defense” when referring to various fiscal strategies. After Wesleyan, Gary coached at Stanford while getting his master’s there and then coached at Columbia before getting into the insurance business. (It was a pleasure to sit with Mary and Gary at the All-Decade Team dinner on the Friday of Homecoming, which honored the ’90s football team. Gary, Warren Thomas, and yours truly represent the members of our class on the ’60s All-Decade Team.)

Lisa and Mark live on the shore in beautiful Madison, Connecticut, not far from Middletown. After a career in publishing and communications, he is happily retired. As a former Wesleyan trustee, he stays in close touch with the college and attends a number of games and other activities.  

I also enjoyed sitting with Warren Thomas at the Williams Homecoming game this fall, an exciting comeback victory over the Ephs. Warren is also happily retired following a career in automobile sales, capped off by owning a large dealership in western Massachusetts. Warren lives in Turners Falls and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with wife, Carol.

Always enjoy seeing Sue and Roy Fazendeiro (retired pediatrician) at virtually all the games, along with Lisa and Mark. All of them are very loyal fans!

It was a great season for the Cardinals football team (6–3) with big wins over Middlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst, and Williams.

Homecoming was a treat for all, with many activities, a big crowd for the football game, and perfect weather on our magnificent campus.

Hope enough of us will come back in ’24 for some kind of class get-together. Sooner than later, please let Hugh Wilson, Win Chamberlin, or me know if you’ll be coming back, so we can start to make appropriate plans.

Dear Classmates,

Thank you to the following who kindly responded to the recent request for news:

Charlie Bassos: “Daughter, Christi Bedan, is a vice president for the Tampa Bay Bucs. She has been awarded a Super Bowl ring and an Emmy. The Emmy was for a series with Brady and Gronkowski on the Bucs website. My five grandchildren: one 12 and the others six and under, all brilliant and all beautiful! Life is wonderful: 43 years of marriage; warm weather in South Carolina, golf twice a week, and survived a heart attack and small stroke.”

Bob Barton: “I’m hanging in there and fortunately playing a lot of tennis. Major Moise is recovering nicely from shoulder surgery. He says he starts hitting golf balls again in two months. Jay Clapp just completed the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh on an 80-plus basketball team (3-on-3 half-court). He was injured in the qualifying games prior to the nationals, but went to Pittsburgh anyway, hoping he would recover enough to play, but could not. Nonetheless, his team made it all the way to the bronze medal game and lost in a valiant effort.” (Congratulations, Jay!)

Bob MacLean: “In touch with Phil Russell, John Dunton, and Ralph “Jake” Jacobs. Jake and I get together at the annual Laguna Seca Raceway in California, where he knows every driver and car history. A great reunion! This year was my 60th year as a private pilot, having upped my credentials along the way to air transport pilot, certified flight instructor/instrument, while owning a Pilatus PC12 for charter; now it just ferries me between Palo Alto, California, and Aspen, Colorado, where I have worked part time at Aspen Snowmass ski school for the last 17 of 47 years as a certified ski instructor.”

Steve Badanes: “Life is good here on Whidbey Island. I’m still teaching our Neighborhood Design/Build Studio every spring at UW (ndbs.be.uw.edu), but the end is in sight and I might hang it up after this year. We got used to not traveling during the pandemic and it’s gotten pretty hard to get me to leave my studio here in the forest, especially this time of year. I sold my place in Vermont to the caretakers and retired from my summer gig at the Yestermorrow School, so I get to stay in the Northwest year-round.”

Clyde Beers: “Summer all good: family, friends, sports, and a wonderful trip to WES U to see our granddaughter, Libby, graduate. Then to Grand Cayman with our daughter Susie’s family. And then our traditional exciting Fourth of July with (self-exploded) fireworks. Gardens started slow, but with some rain later, everything’s blooming. Golf and tennis fun but challenging, with back and neck soreness helped by physical therapy.”

Carl Hoppe: “As I ‘mature,’ I continue half-time the practice of clinical and forensic psychology (family law). At other times, I play doubles tennis regularly, swim at the beach or at the nearby club pool, and walk our 14-pound dog with my wife, Diane, also a psychologist in part-time practice. Health is good enough for us older folks, but they don’t make memory like they used to!”

Gar Hargens: “Turned 80 in April. Missy and I celebrated at Franconia Sculpture Park like we did for my 70th with kids and grandkids and many friends. When I turned 60, Missy said: ‘Architects don’t get good ’til they’re 80, so why not keep going?’ So, I kept working. Latest project is for a Grammy-winning composer on Enchanted Island in Lake Minnetonka. Alpha Delt roommate Bob Leonard and I enjoy keeping in touch. He’s found a Celtic chapel(?!) he wants us to look at in Vermont.”

John Hall: “Daughter, Samantha, just gave birth to identical twin boys, Archer Ray and Rhodes Herbert Diaz. These are grandchildren eight and nine for Annie and me, but who’s counting.

“Continue to see Kit Laybourne ’66 on a regular basis and have re-engaged with my old roommate, Jim Bernegger.  After the reunion last fall, Mike Maloney and I have discovered many interests in common, including our Irish heritage and the challenges and opportunities brought by immigration. Annie is well on a new set of knees. Son, Jeremy ’92, a writer is on strike. Clear to me that he can’t/shouldn’t be replaced by AI. But that promises to be an epic struggle.”

Arthur Rhodes: “Am spending golden years with famous and brilliant designer wife, Leslie Claire Newman (www.SpaceInteriorDesign.com), among blended families: my daughters in Illinois, ages 53 and 51, and their three children each (ages 12 through 21); and Leslie’s three sons in Houston, Texas, and Mandeville, Louisiana, ( ages 46 through 49), and their five children (ages one through 11). Have totally separated from patient care after more than 50 years in academic medical practices at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Time flies taking care of two homes (Illinois and Louisiana) and visiting family. Leisure pursuits include daily walking, gardening, and photography (see Instagram account under my name or PapaZaydeh.”

Dear Classmates,

Thank you to those who responded to my recent request for news.

Unfortunately, the first message I received was from Jim McCague who told us the sad news of Tim Lynch’s passing. Tim lived in Pittsburgh and was a broker at Janney for many years. Some of us knew this was imminent through fellow Dekes, and we were encouraged to send Tim a message, which I believe a number of us did. Tim was a man of principle, bright and loyal, and will surely be missed by all who knew him.

Jonathan and Matthew, sons of Peter Dodson, wrote to inform us of their father’s sudden passing in mid-March. Peter (undergraduate president of EQV) earned his JD from Penn and was a lawyer at Ropes & Gray in Boston. Peter loved wildlife, the outdoors, and the arts.

Bob Leonard sent a thoughtful note and the following: “I am attaching some comments on our loss last spring of one-time classmate and compatriot, Ted Charlton ’66. Ted was a singular soul, a spirit, a self-sufficient waif. He had a flair for the amusingly wry. He was an honest-to-goodness old-time New Englander—confident, without unseemly pride, that his solitary view had merit and worth. After Wesleyan, he became a critical thinker/writer/teacher of American film, particularly ‘the Western.’ Terribly early in his career, he was struck down by a severe stroke. Bearing his disabilities without a shred of self-pity, he learned to live quietly with great imagination, which he shared within his immediate circle. His passing is born by his former wife, Sue Wiseheart, who has included Ted in her family following their amicable divorce, including her twin girls, who knew him as ‘Tio,’ a precious family moniker that shall ever remain with them as a reminder of someone special. I have been friends with Ted since our days in the College of Letters, sharing essays, poems, political diatribes, and black-and-white photos of forlorn cemeteries, poking fun at the bleak days of February. Ted will bring a knowing wink of human comprehension, and a triumphant spark of disdain for the ironies of life to his final resting place, which will be all the better for his presence.”

Rob Abel: “My colleague and I brought 17 corneas to Kigali, Rwanda, for transplantation, and are consulting at the best ophthalmic teaching institution in central Africa. “By the way, my granddaughters loved their visit to Wesleyan this past fall.” Rob also sent along a great picture of a handsome silverback gorilla he spied in the mountains of Rwanda. He claimed he/she was wearing a Wes t-shirt! and remarked, “He was healthy, seemed to be eating quite well, and wanted to be remembered to you and invited you to make the trek.” Thanks Rob! I’ll take that under consideration and congratulations on your important work for those in need!

Bertel Haarder: “After 42 years as a member of the Danish Parliament, seven years as member of the European Parliament, and 22 years as cabinet minister, I am now a columnist in 5 Media, and I have my own TV program in DK4. So, I’m a very active pensioner. My Wesleyan experience (foreign student 1964–65) greatly inspired my 15 years as minister for education and research.

Dan Raskin: “I’m still alive.”

Arthur Rhodes: “Not much to tell. Am fully retired from medicine after 50-plus years. Have returned to artistic activities. My Instagram board (@papazaydeh) includes 500-plus photographs—no selfies or family. With wife Leslie, we’re enjoying combined five children and 11 grandchildren.”

Bill Brooks: “Glee Club members might want to know that, in addition to collecting materials, establishing a finding aid, and so forth, I’m part of team planning a Professor Richard Winslow festival tentatively scheduled to begin in 2025. Maybe the magazine will do an article on this project in the next issue?

“Personally, I fully retired from the University of York on July 31, 2021, so I’m doubly done now (York and UIUC). But I’m still ‘series editor’ at the Orpheus Institute (Ghent, Belgium), which takes me across the pond at least five times a year. I bought a condo in Champaign, which I’m restoring. Still doing research; still writing music. And, as mentioned above, working full tilt on Richard Winslow’s Wesleyan archive: if anyone from the Glee Club has memories, pictures, recordings—anything!—please be in touch! . . . . Come raise a song for Wesleyana!!”

Bob Barton: “Hanging in at this end, on the inevitable slow decline, but playing tennis two to three times per week. I’m hoping to be with Major Moise for his 80th birthday in Auburn, California, on March 10. Maybe send you a photo. . . .  I’ll be out there mainly to celebrate my brother Bill’s induction into the Cal Berkeley Athletics Hall of Fame (lacrosse).”

Wolf Brueckmann: “I have not sent an entry to Notes for many years. I would appreciate the chance to let classmates with whom I have not been connected know of my whereabouts. Hope therefore that you might include the following brief update: After getting a PhD I got involved in transatlantic trade/investment issues for 30 years at the US Chamber of Commerce and other associations. Owned a small retail business and later taught MBA courses. After retirement, I moved from the Washington, D.C., area to the Shenandoah Valley (Luray, Virginia). Have one daughter, Loni, who is an anesthesiologist in Pittsburgh. Now dedicated to art and show my work (oil painting, mobiles) in area galleries.”

Dear Classmates,

This column will be devoted to reporting on our class’s well-attended Homecoming gathering on Friday, November 4, and Saturday, November 5.

Kudos to Hugh Wilson, Mark Edmiston, Bob Barton, and to the other members of the committee (and to Mark Davis ’96 and his Wesleyan colleagues) who made it all possible.

On Friday, we met at the new advancement office in the former post office on Main Street. (Just another example of Middletown/Wes collaboration, along with the attractive Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore on the next block, north.)

After a nice buffet lunch provided by the college, we were treated to presentations by Hugh Wilson and his wife Fran Wilkinson (Optimizing Cognitive Fitness during Healthy Aging), and Steve Halliwell and Wes professor Peter Rutland (Update on Russia and Ukraine). Very fine remarks, followed by a lively question-and-answer session.

Bob Barton then led an “open-mic” Wes65 Real Stories centering on comments around climate change and our democracy at risk. (Articles by Jerry Melillo and Phil Russell regarding climate change—its causes and what we can do about it—were provided as well. They can be emailed to you. Just let me know.)

We then got down to “serious business” with an enjoyable wine reception hosted by Fran and Hugh. The class then went to an excellent new Middletown restaurant, Esca, for dinner (hosted by Wesleyan and some generous ’65 classmates).

On Saturday, many of us went to the celebration of John Driscoll’s (’62) life in Memorial Chapel. John’s legendary service to Wesleyan and to our alumni was recounted by a number of speakers, all of whom highlighted the reasons he will be long and fondly remembered.

Later that day in front of a large crowd on Andrus Field/Corwin Stadium, the Cardinals beat Williams in an exciting game for the Little Three title (Wesleyan beat the Mammoths in overtime at Amherst in October).

To cap off the day, Rich Smith led a Gary and the Wombats recorded celebration of melodic memories with pizza and dancing. Once again, let the good times roll!

Those in attendance (in addition to those already mentioned) included: Donna and Clyde Beers, Jim Bernegger (and his brother Lloyd), Bill Blakemore, Lee and Win Chamberlin, Georgeanne and Marsh Cusic, Mary Ellen and Dave Dinwoodey, Lisa and Mark Edmiston, Joe Garrison, John Hall, Anne Halliwell, Carolyn and Bill Knox, Jeff Lea, Mary Anne and Mike Maloney, Alex and Major Moise, Cynthia Rockwell MALS ’19, Elizabeth Smith, and Mary and Gary Witten.

Finally, we all agreed that those of us who can make it should gather every Homecoming and make plans at that time.

And we all agreed it was wonderful to be back at alma mater.

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu