Tag: 1966

Aloha, all. As we’ve moved well into the holiday season, let me simply wish that you all have found and continue to find beauty in this season and give thanks for the blessings we’ve all received and continue to receive throughout our lives.

In our past class notes we noted the sad passing of our classmate Robin Burns. His family had a memorial gathering for him on March 7th and our classmates Rick Crootof, Jack Knapp, and Bob Dannies were all able to attend, with Rick serving as one of the speakers. Robin’s wife, Rena, kindly provided us with the following information on Robin’s post-Wesleyan experiences:

“Robin graduated from Columbia School of Architecture and spent most of his career working for various agencies in the City of New York, including City Planning, the Office of Downtown Brooklyn Development, the Department of General Services and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). He served for many years as chief architect of the parks department, overseeing the buildings in the city’s 200-plus parks. In the mid-’80s, he left public service to head the real estate development arm of the South Street Seaport Museum, at the time when the Rouse Corporation was transforming the seaport area into one of its ’festival marketplaces’ akin to its projects in Boston and Baltimore. In his final years back with the city at DDC, he was senior project manager for the new multi-building police academy going up in Queens and the city’s new backup 911 emergency call center.”

Rena went on to say, “Besides me, Robin left behind his daughter, Jenny Burns, and her husband, Geoff Sanoff, our two grandsons, Alexei (almost 8) and Jesse (5½), his brother Bruce, and his former wife and our dear friend, Judy Burns, and her wife Pat Magnuson. As I wrote in the New York Times obituary, he was a good man, taken too soon.”

Robin was a great believer in organ donation and was able to donate his eyes to enable two others to see, and so he lives on in perpetuating the lives of others. For those wishing to perpetuate Robin’s memory, the family asks that donations be made in his name to a new institute at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital dedicated to pancreatic cancer research. You can give online at: mskcc.convio.net/goto/Robin_Burns.

On the Wesleyan front, our classmate Rick Crootof continues to be the busy bee around making our upcoming 50th a truly memorable and remarkable happening. The “Committee” now stands at 34 so, if size is any indication of excitement, there is really no excuse for any of you classmates and family and friends not attending. We welcome to our Reunion committee Art Clark, Barry Reder, and Phil Shaver. Our Reunion fundraising continues to grow and now stands at a little over $4.3 million with participation being in the mid-50 percent range. In the past we’ve done a credible job, but especially please consider participating this year if you haven’t done so in the past. The Class of 1960 has the all-time high participation record of 92 percent…we can certainly beat that if we all put our minds to it. Remember, it’s not so much the amount you are able to contribute, but rather that you do contribute in remembrance of our Wesleyan years and being able to perpetuate for those who have come after us the same wonderful memories that we all carry with us.

A Big Aloha (shout out!) to John Driscoll ’62, who has retired from Wesleyan (really?—I doubt it!) after 33 years of really wonderful and dedicated service. Our paths first crossed when I was just a young, unknowing freshman, newly arrived to my Foss Hill dorm room. My roommate, Bob Dearth, and I were just getting acquainted in that awkward way of first meetings and into our midst descended the recently graduated varsity quarterback and a huge senior lineman, John Driscoll ’62 and Red Erda ’63! As I recall, both of them quickly had our room filled to capacity with all us dorky freshmen from the floor, entranced by John practicing his preaching skills and Red showing off his physical stature. What a wonderful welcome it was to Wesleyan. Over the years our paths have continued to cross through alumni gatherings and John’s participation with the Freeman Asian Scholars Program—a more dedicated and fun person I have never known. At least, John, we still have Gina! All our love and aloha and, yes, there is a wonderful life after retirement. I can vouch for it. I believe we still have a ranch to visit on Hawai`i.

On the home front, Joyce and I welcomed our classmate Rick Osofsky and his wife, Jean, to our islands. Rick has a cousin living on the island of Hawai`i and had a chance to meet up with the family there after spending a number of days in Honolulu. Rick reports that all is well with Ronnybrook Farms and that his daughter, Kate Osofsky ’94, is well into managing the business. Rick noted that the farm has just opened a new shop in Manhattan, so anyone in the city or on your next visit to the city, stop in for the very best ice cream, yogurt, and/or milk you will ever taste. To find other Ronnybrook shops, visit the farm’s website, where you can also learn about the full complement of healthful Ronnybrook dairy products: ronnybrook.com.

As a final holiday note, a response to the eternal question of—how do queens spend the holidays?

BOSTON, Dec. 27.-Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian Queen, took the first sleigh ride of her life today through Brookline. When she came back she said she had been perfectly comfortable and had enjoyed every minute. A covered sleigh, with glass front, was provided so that she could see everything and still not feel the wind. Her friends supplied piles of extra wraps, and one was so thoughtful as to procure a footstove which placed beneath the robes gave out an agreeable warmth.

Her Majesty’s attendants, Naholela and Heleluhe, suffered a great deal more from the cold than their mistress did, as they were in an open sleigh and not as warmly wrapped. They know as little of snow and cold weather as Liliuokalani does and everything interested them. (New York Times, Dec. 28, 1896)

The Queen was visiting the family of her late husband in Brookline, Mass. Hopefully, this winter all of your “sleigh rides” have been and continue to be a warm as the Queen’s.

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com

1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822

Aloha, all.
By the time everyone reads this, summer will be a remembrance of the past. Hopefully, everyone has had their fill of “soda, and pretzels, and beer.”

This is late in coming, but first I want to recognize our classmate Bill Dietz, who has joined the ranks of our retired after a long and very distinguished career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I personally need to thank Bill for his helpful thoughts and advice to a diabetes program I was directing in Hawai`i a number of years ago…a big mahalo, Bill, and welcome to our ranks!

The big news for us is that our 50th is now well over the horizon! Our classmate Rick Crootof has been hard at work twisting elbows and peering in various neighborhoods to put together a great Reunion Committee. The committee is already beginning its work and includes: Rick and Dave McNally as our co-chairs; Jim Andrus, Essel Bailey, David Bartlett, David Boyle, Howard Brodsky, Tom Broker, Al Burman, Frank Burrows, Clark Byam, Graham Colville, Gary Conger, Donald Craven, Pat Curry, Bob Dannies, Bill Dietz, Jeffrey Evans, Steve Giddings, Paul Gilbert, Al Ibargüen, John Knapp, David Luft, Jim O`Leary, John Neff, Irv Richter, Sandy Shilepsky, Pete Spiller, yours truly, Sandy Van Kennen, and Dale Walker and Wes staff Pam Vasiliou, Mark Davis ’96, and Nicky Bennett. Thank you one and all for serving. Rick has notified us that Professor Rob Rosenthal has agreed to be one of our class guests and did a great seminar at our 30th Reunion comparing the top 10 songs of 1966 with those of 1996….Can you imagine what that comparison would look like now? Now it’s up to all ’66ers to do the right thing and to start planning now on attending next year’s gathering. Let’s make singing our old Wesleyan Fight Song at least one more time together a reality on the steps of North College…see you there! And maybe even the Douglas Cannon will show up for another appearance!

The Committee has already been at work and invited Don Russell to join us, and he has accepted. Speaking of sports…congratulations to the Wes baseball team and Coach Mark Woodworth ’94 in winning its second consecutive NESCAC championship, and a welcoming to Dan DiCenzo into the head football coaching position. Thank you, Mike Whalen ’83, for a great job and congratulations in your new athletic director positon.
A final note, and one more somber, is the concern I know we all have for the seemingly ongoing gun tragedies across our nation. This is not meant to be a political statement, I simply want to call to mind how we of the ’60s era at Wesleyan were all so privileged to have lived at a time which witnessed Wesleyan’s involvement in race relations bringing together us as students and Middletown youngsters in tutorial programs; serving as a hub for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s efforts in the Middletown/Hartford area and evenings in the Foss Hill dining hall; sending its students to Washington, D.C., to march and to Tuskegee to learn. It also brought future Dean Edgar Beckham ’58 to Wesleyan, whose legacy on campus lives on through the Edgar Beckham Social Justice Award. Let us remember those days for, in many ways, they formed the glue which has cemented us as the class of ’66.

As with other Notes – a final Hawaiian `olelo:
Aia no ke ea i ka puka ihu: “There is breath still in the nostrils”—a reply when someone asks how a friend or relative is.

And so, ’66, our breaths live on!!!

Aloha, all. As you read this I hope the rebirth of the summer sun is emerging on all of you. Remember those first days of warmth lounging on the roofs of our respective fraternity houses and balconies? Great days! We send congratulations to Bill Dietz who last year assumed the new position of director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. At a time when most of us are thinking of retiring, Bill is taking on new challenges and we all wish him well in this position. Prior to this, Bill served 15 years as the director of US DHHS’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in Atlanta. I want to thank Bill personally for the times we talked and his interests in issues around obesity relating to Native Hawaiian health.

Tom Pulliam checked in and reported having had a great time here in Hawai’i with his family. He noted that his wife, Alice, first surprised him with the Hawai’i trip on his birthday last November and then his daughter, Amanda, surprised him further by getting the whole family to come. Tom noted his grandchildren, Even and Jay, became riders of “shorebreak” at the Banzai Pipeline (better than most of us!) and that both play Under 8 rugby under the watchful eyes of their coach—who is none other than “Grandpa Tom.”

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of another of our ’66 brethren, Robin Burns. Robin was a KNK brother, a Thorndike Scholar graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and a member of Wesleyan’s Yachting Club for all four years. Robin received his MA from Columbia University’s School of Architecture and then joined the City of New York’s Department of Design and Construction where he worked for four decades to improve the design of public buildings in NYC. “He was a good and caring man, taken too soon” (NY Times, 2/8/15). All our thoughts go out to Robin’s wife, Rena, and daughter, Jenny. Rena noted: “Robin and I had a good long run—42 years since we met and 38 years of marriage. We had a great love, and we left nothing unsaid.” Wish that we all have these same experiences and remembrances.”

As you read this, we are now only about a year away from our 50th! Can you believe that? I want to report that your 50th Committee headed up by Rick Crootof is already hard at work to make this a wonderful memorable experience for all. Frank Burrows is putting together our class book, ably assisted by Jack Knapp. Our university coordinator is Pam Vasiliou; her assistant is Nicola Bennett.

Both are working diligently on our behalf and we thank them for joining us in this effort. So…all of you—beginning with Tony Alibrio and concluding with John Zywna…whether you were KNK, CC, EQV, Chi Psi, DKE, AD, JWC Psi U, Gamma Psi, Beta, or Independents or non-aligned, please put on your calendars next year’s 50th, as we want to see you all. For we need to keep alive the wonderful, and sometimes sad, events of our Wes experiences…from the food fights in the Foss Hill dining hall (remember those flying baked potatoes and butter rolls?); to Dean Baisch joining us at our House Parties; to our memorable “road trips” to Vassar, Holyoke, Wellesley, Smith, Sarah Lawrence, and, yes, even to the New Haven School of Nursing and the Connecticut College for Women; to Tom Gulick’s “Miracle Interception” at Trinity; to “Dirty River Days”; to the linking of arms and joining with Dr. Martin Luther King in the dining hall singing “We Shall Overcome,” to listening to Wilbert Snow’s poetry; and to the tragic loss of President Kennedy. And we built upon all of this because of the confidence exuded in us by Bob Norwine (“Mahalo,” John Driscoll ’62) that we could become Wes Men and with the help of all our teachers and mentors under the guidance of Vic Butterfield we became Wes Men and, today, have become the wonderful potpourri of people that we are today. So Classmates, stay tuned for more info. Remember: Be there or be square!

A final thought: There is an old Hawaiian proverb which talks about the extent of family, and it was written for the folks living in the district of Ka’u on the Island of Hawai’i. I have taken a little liberty by inserting a new word in place of “Ka’u.”

Mai ka uka a ke kai

Mahi kahi pae a kahi pae o Wesleyan (Ka’u)

He ho’okahi no ‘ohana

From the uplands to the sea

From end to end of Wesleyan

There is only one family

Have a wonderful summer.

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com
1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822
808/944 8601

Aloha, all classmates. Well, by now summer is a distant memory and we’re headed for our first snow, if it hasn’t already occurred—at least where many of you live!!! In the course of months I am glad to report that I have heard from a number of you.

It was great to get a note from Clark Byam, of Pasadena, Calif., who celebrated 42 years with the same law firm in September. Still, as a partner, remarkable achievement. He reported that he fulfilled at least one of his bucket list items with a family Amazon rain forest trip to Peru. He notes: “It fulfilled all my expectations and the guides on board were very knowledgeable… Saw all sorts of birds, monkeys, fish, plus some exotic and rather dangerous creatures, including anaconda, boas, poisonous dart frogs, piranha (even fished for them), and a bird-eating spider the size of my fist (only half grown).” After this, he and his wife retreated for 10 days in British Columbia—a great place to recover! Clark also committed to attending our 50th. I believe he is our first commitment in print!!!

In August, we got a great call on a lazy afternoon from Bruce Cost, who lives in New York City. He and his wife (also a Wesleyan grad) were here in Hawai`i for a brief time, and we had a chance to partake in a meal together. Bruce is an accomplished cook and author of numerous articles and books on ginger. His latest adventure is “Bruce Cost Ginger Ale” which you can procure on the East and West coasts—google the product and you can find out where to get the best ginger ale you’ve ever tasted. Bruce’s home in New York sounds like a bit of a hub for Wesleyan activity, with such folks as fraternity brother Kit Laybourne and his wife Geraldine, and it was great to catch up on the whereabouts of Bruce’s family members who really span the world.

Pete Spiller from St. Augustine, Fla., e-mailed me with a great photo and footnote about Wesleyan. Did you know that there is a Wesleyan Lake in Ontario? It’s at latitude 51.20 degrees and longitude 91.66 degrees. Pete is a great canoe paddler and paddled through it this summer on a 22-day canoe expedition to the north. Other news from Pete was that he retired as president of the Board of the Florida Shipowners Group, Inc. on April Fools Day last year (appropriate for a Wes grad) but continues as vice chair of the board for the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. He notes, “Classmates are encouraged to visit our ancient city,” so right about now if there is any snow on the ground, it would be a good time to call him. He wanted me to pass along his e-mail: PedroSpiller@aol.com. He ended with a great quote from Mark Twain, which is applicable to us all now that most of us have reached seven decades on this earth: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” A personal note: There are very few Spoehrs in the United States and very few from my father’s side of the family. Pete is a paddling buddy with my second cousin, Pete Spoehr, who as the “Monarch” of our family still paddles his own canoe. I only hope that my body (and mind) allows me the same.

Also, we had a great note from Rick Crootof and wife Linda, who are now in New Hampshire. Rick is president of the tennis club and takes his tennis very seriously. He reported on some health issues facing our classmate Robin Burns. Robin, all our thoughts and prayers are with you. He also noted that another classmate, Jack Knapp, and his wife, Carla, who live in Chicago still make the trip back east to the wilderness of New Hampshire every year to escape Chicago’s urbanization. Rick’s son, Matt, has just started physician’s assistant studies at Idaho State and we wish him all the best in this. Having just retired from the health care field, it will be the PAs and nurse practitioners who will be the “work horses” of our future health care.

Let me end this with just a few comments about a wonderful trip my wife Joyce and I took in August on the ship Crown Princess down the inland passage from Whittier, Ala., to Vancouver. If any of you are looking for a wonderful experience which isn’t too touristy and offers a wonderful perspective on nature, wilderness, and life in general; take this voyage—it’s not paddling on Lake Wesleyan but for those who cannot paddle but want to see wilderness, it’s a good second place!

And finally, let me put a plug in for using Wesleyan’s webcasts. The technology is great and you will see the campus and, best of all, the young men and women of old Wes. Simply go to the Wesleyan website; choose “athletics” and look for the webcast schedule and button for connection. The football games and other athletic contests are great to watch. Wesleyan this year is defending its Little 3 Championship—Go, Coach Mike Whalen ’83 and staff; Go, Wes!

A big thank you to all of you who have shared bits of your lives with us. And as we move towards the holiday season…a very Mele Kalikimaka and Hau`oli Makahiki Hou to all of you and your `Ohana (families).

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com
1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822
808/944 8601

Aloha all. Hope summer is treating you well. First, our apologies for not recognizing sooner the passing of our classmates Guntis (Gus) Lemesis and Jon Mekeel last year. Our thoughts go out to both familes. Gus with his wife Susan lived in Alpharetta, Ga., where he served as vice president for Scientific Atlantic, Inc. At Wes, Gus was a member of Alpha Delt and very active in things music as well as basketball, baseball, and cross-country. Jon made his home in Essex Fells, N.J.

Wes alums continue to do great things. I regularly see Bill Tam ’70 who serves as our state’s water tsar within the State Department of Land and Natural Resources. He also sits on the board of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which is planning a epic around-the-world voyage in two fashioned Polynesian double-hulled sailing vessels to call attention to the importance of our oceans and their resources. One of these canoes, Hokule`a, has sailed across the Pacific from the U.S. continental West Coast, to Alaska, Japan, and throughout the Pacific over the past 35 years and is a legend among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and Native Americans/Alaska natives. You will be able to track these canoes and their sail on hokulea.org/world-wide-voyage. They left on this four-year voyage on May 17th; first stop, Tahiti. School children around the world are following this effort and so can all of you seventinarians; it’s never too late!

By now you all know that we took the Little Three Championship in football last season. Well, folks, we’ve just taken the Time Magazine’s Little Three Challenge as well! In the April 7, 2014, edition of Time (page 8), the magazine ranks graduates from “hundreds of schools” in terms of the relative influence of their alumni (I would guess ‘in the world’). The results:

Wesleyan vs. Amherst: Wesleyan alums are 1.11 times more influential than Amherst alums (56.5 compared to 50.8)

Wesleyan vs. Williams: Wesleyan alums are 2.03 times more influential than Williams alums (56.5 compared to 27.8)

If you want to do more comparisons go online: time.com/collegerankings

Finally, I know, classmates, you are out there and doing good things. Please let us know what these things are and drop me an e-mail or a card. I have a new e-mail, having recently joined the ranks of those of you with expanding “honey-do” lists after retirement. Our final thought proverb comes from the Cook Islands:

Ko te kata te vaerakau putuputu o te kopapa. Laughter is the constant medicine of the body. Let us all take this to heart and get at least one good laugh in every day. A plea for news…I know all of us are moving towards the big “R” (retirement), if we’re not already there. Please let us know what you are doing or plan to do (besides joining us all for the 50th in a few years. We need your thoughts to augment our ‘honey-do’ lists…e-mail me.

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com
1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822
808/944 8601

Aloha, all. Well, we are now on the upwards swing towards summer and hope that your winter months were not too bleak.

First, all of us in the class take our hats off to Essel Bailey and his wife, Menakka, for the wonderful support they have given Wesleyan this past year. Thank you, Essel. There will be many Wes men and women today and in the future who will benefit from your generosity and whose efforts will impact us, our children, and our grandchildren.

Congratulations, also, to Coach Mike Whalen ’83 and the Cardinals this year, with 12 of his players being named to the all-NESCAC team for 2013… and, of course, the Little Three Championship. Needless to say, the Williams and Amherst alums here in Hawai`i have a new appreciation for us folks from Middletown. Also, I need to put a plug in for the webcasts from Wesleyan for all its sports programs. It’s almost like television and it has no commercials. Wonderful for us old folks who, on weekends, enjoy looking in on campus sports activities… my advice to you all is try it if you haven’t done so already.

A fellow Punahou alum, Gifford Lum, wrote me and gave me a wonderful update on his family. He noted: “Our son, Elliot Lum, is presently living in Manhattan where he is vice president of strategic marketing for Columbia Records. He completed an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management before joining Colgate Palmolive in New York and then migrated to Columbia Records, a division of Sony. Elliot was married in Sept. 2011, in New York at the Museum of Natural History, followed by a reception in New York City at the Museum (Powerhouse) and a reception in Singapore, the home of his bride, Denise Lee. In 2011 we traveled to Singapore from Boston for the reception and then continued on a tour to Southeast Asia, visiting Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar (Burma). Our daughter, Deirdre Lum, is presently living in Palo Alto, where she is clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford Medical School specializing in minimally invasive gynecological laparoscopic surgery and responsible for the fellowship program in that speciality at Stanford. In addition she is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Deirdre married in Sept., 2007, in Hanover, N.H., where she and her husband, Daniel Markman, both graduated (Dartmouth College). Audrey and I continue to live in Newton, Mass., and I continue on the clinical staff at Harvard Medical School while Audrey enjoys her time at Harvard Neighbors, actively involved in its art and calligraphy programs.”

Some final thoughts: All of you should have received my letter for this year’s Wesleyan Fund. Let’s all try to get as close as we can to making our goal. Finally, we’re only a few years away from the Big 50, so start planning now. t would be wonderful to see all of you again on what now is Corwin Field, the site where our post-Wes lives all began.

And a Hawaiian proverb to close: E kanu mea `ai o nana keiki i ka ha`i. (Plant edible food plants lest your children look with longing at someone else’s.) We have all been so fortunate to have eaten from the Wesleyan garden!

Hardy Spoehr

hspoehr7@GMAIL..COM; 808/944 8601