Tag: 1968

Judy and I greatly enjoyed a home invasion from Bill Currier ’69 playing hooky from his 50th. We have overlapped repeatedly—from Sam Greene’s art history classes to NYC in the early ’70s—but hadn’t touched base in a while. A one-time educator, one-time trial lawyer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office (prosecuting seriously bad people), one-time SEC lawyer, retired White and Case attorney (with world-wide assignments), and novelist in search of a publisher. He accompanies John Lipsky—our boy from Cedar Rapids who, despite his sleek, cosmopolitan ways, remains a devoted baseball nut—to National’s games occasionally. Bill’s wife, Nuchhi, heads a women’s political action group that goes back to the Suffragettes and his daughter, Lauren, a Middlebury/Pratt graduate, just made him a grandfather. He keeps up with Jim Weinstein ’69, a therapist/life-coach in D.C. Bill worked with Judy on a curricular project back in the day and had to remind me that I married over my pay-grade.

Barb and Dave Webb continue their romance with Cape Cod and one another. They hosted Ron Gwaizda ’67 and Bill McConaghy one night and Hank Sprouse ’62 another. It is almost Labor Day and, when football season approaches, I ache for Tim Polk. We used to go out to the Bowl together where I would share not only his good company but his insights into the game. Bob Runk ’67 recently co-authored/published a satiric look at golf entitled How to Line Up Your Fourth Putt. It contains important chapters like “The Insignificance of the Proper Grip” and “Replacing the Divots of Your Life.” A bargain at $9.99 from Amazon.

Crew corner: The men’s varsity were New England champions for only the fourth time in the history of the program and, as we see the team when we return, we feel a proud, proprietary relationship. Bob Svensk and Will Macoy ’67 rowed at the Royal Henley Regatta. Wallace Murfit competes in an extended sculling season in California and has been accepted to row in Boston’s glorious Head of the Charles Regatta in October. However, Harrison Knight has gone over to the dark side: He and Kit won the Over 60 Connecticut State mixed pickleball championship at Wes last June.

I spoke with Paul Spitzer who spent part of the summer nearby in the Congregational parsonage in his hometown of Old Lyme in exchange for a couple of sermons. He was working on two books, one scientific and one more spiritual. His big news: He is a visiting scholar at Wesleyan’s College of the Environment this fall. On May 18, Visakha and Ken Kawasaki ’69—a good friend of Paul’s—sent me a lovely Happy Vesak (Buddha’s birthday) e-mail/card from Sri Lanka.

I spoke to my old roommate, Bill Nicholson, down in Jacksonville. His daughter, Chase, just finished a joyous first year at SMU and had a summer internship at State. He plans on taking his youngest son on the classic New England college tour this fall. He has been reading: Sandberg on Lincoln and Coolidge’s autobiography. Said Coolidge is underappreciated and that his odyssey from one-room schoolhouse to the White House was empowered by his Amherst education. (Meanwhile, my Mueller Report is being used as a doorstop).

Karen, his wife of 50 years, reports that we lost Roy Thorpe, a brother of mine from Psi U, in August. Roy died at his home in Culpeper, Va., of pancreatic cancer and had practiced local government law to support his love of travel and sailing in the British Virgin Islands. President of Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, he served as city attorney and assistant commonwealth attorney in Bedford and Falls Church as well as attorney for Montgomery and Culpeper counties. In retirement, he spent time woodworking and at their home in Akumal, Mexico.

Personally, I must admit to some frustration with my limited mobility. Just cannot do things that I’d like to. Though falling apart in all the usual 73-year-old ways, basically well/strong/happy. Our move from New Haven to Branford on the nearby shoreline has been a great success. Judy and I are social and have made many new friends while not losing touch with our old gang. I take great satisfaction from moderating a weekly discussion group of about 20 spirited oldsters at my senior center. Involved as the PR guy for three lecture series and, in a very small way, with goings-on around town. Inasmuch as your life could not possibly be any more mundane than mine, I would love to hear from you with your particulars.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

I heard from one of my favorites, Jeff Talmadge, with whom I shared so many cups of coffee that we were both disqualified from Phi Beta Kappa on that basis alone (not that we ever had a prayer). His biggest 2018 news is celebrating his 30th anniversary with Joan—marked by their annual trip to Kennebunkport—and the multitude of joys received from their raucous hybrid family. While it is not like they just hung around the Boston-area following their beloved Patriots and Red Sox, 2018 was a quieter year than 2017 when they visited both Cuba and Africa. An English major who slid into computers (at his mother’s suggestion as I recall), he ended up founding/running a service (WeNeedaVacation.com) that helps travelers find accommodations on Cape Cod that has passed on to the next generation. He helped Carol and Bob Ziegenhagen (Bay Area residents) celebrate their 50th by attending a gathering at their Northfield, Mass., summer place last year.

Bill Van Den Berg continues windsurfing through retirement, getting down to Bonaire (from the State College, Pa., area) for big chunks of time for its optimal conditions. Bill is a good guy but I learned at Reunion that his partner, Helen Dempsey, is a stitch. They did some spelunking in Bonaire and Bill did some climbing in Nevada.

I did Wes on the five-year plan (and I expect that, based on these notes, some of you may feel I have never fully graduated) and the good company of Rich Kremer ’69 was one of the highlights of that final year. We spoke recently. A retired doc who advocates small-town living, he splits his time between Norwich, Vt., and Williamsburg, Va., and has four wonderful “kids” finding their diverse way through life. Like myself, he needs supervision, and his wife Andrea finds time to provide it when not teaching at Dartmouth. An ace golfer in his day, he’s still out there. He is in touch with Nick Browning ’69 and Walter Abrams ’69, both North Country golfers.

Locally: Judy and I enjoyed brunch recently with Chris and Gary Wanerka ’62, a free-thinking Eclectic and a still-practicing, legendary pediatrician back from a cruise to French Polynesia. Judy’s grandfather was a Zionist who exited his village as the Cossacks entered, but didn’t make it to Israel until his 80s. Not wanting to repeat this pattern, Judy went on a most marvelous tour with a friend. I had lunch with David Ramos ’05, a musician and my son’s best friend from high school who keeps me up on all things millennial.

It was reported that Maryland’s attorney general (our Brian Frosh) was dismayed when his emoluments case against the president was referred to a three-judge panel comprised of all GOP appointees. My old Kent buddy, Dave Losee’s career was as a Connecticut attorney involved in environmental issues. His idea of a fun retirement? Get back into the game! To that end, he just took and (miraculously) passed the Maine Bar.

I reached out to Wig Sherman: In Vero Beach, and a little haunted by the deaths of two roommates/brothers (Cal Hay and Jeff Arnold), he arises at 5 a.m., walks two miles, and reads the paper by the time the sun comes up. Keeps his doctors surprised with good health. Though divorced, he is good friends with his ex and very close to his children (they all gather for Thanksgiving). His oldest daughter was married recently but says he is too young for grandfatherhood.

Kink Terry died of complications from Parkinson’s in April. A lifelong member of Hartford’s Asylum Hill Congregational Church. He was a fine athlete: captain of his Kingswood baseball team who played baseball and soccer at Wes. A goalie, his shutout record stood for years. After Penn’s Annenberg School of Communications, he worked in the media before shifting to a distinguished career in commercial real estate with the Farley Company. A Hartford boy through and through, he gave back with a wide array of community involvements. I liked that his obituary was accompanied by a picture in which he looked exactly the way I remember him: red-haired and freckled, twinkle in his eye and sporting a mischievous smile.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Class of 1968 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund
Caroline Pitton ’22, Seattle, WA
Dylan Judd ’22, Bellmore, NY

I am ruthless about keeping these notes non-political. But today I slept late, as I often do, and awoke to learn of a massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue. My heart is just breaking for our country.

Bill Shepard died right after Reunion. A swimmer, he competed at Pingry and Wes. He took vacations where he could swim recreationally and imbued his children and grandchildren with a love for the water. A decorated Vietnam combat veteran who spent a year at a riverboat base, he explored foreign cultures in a long, distinguished career in high finance—with assignments in Tokyo and Saudi Arabia—after a degree from Columbia Business School. He concluded his career in Houston as head of U.S. operations for the Riyad Bank. Tony Mohr ’69, a Superior Court judge in LA, who transferred into Wes, wrote me noting how kind Bill had been about taking him under his wing when Tony didn’t know anybody.

Local/crew news: Judy, who is a Francophile without mobility issues, went to Brittany in the spring (regular paid vacations are in her prenup) and we went to Alaska in August. Great fun. More landscape and wildlife than you can shake a stick at. On Oct. 2, Will Macoy ’67, Bob Svensk, John Lipsky, Nason Hamlin, and I had dinner down by the boathouse to celebrate crew, old times, and Harrison Knight’s birthday. Phil Calhoun ’62 was not sufficiently recovered from a trip to Tuscany to grace us with his presence. As we were playing near the water, Santa Fe-based Joe Kelly Hughes ’67 was in Wilmington, N.C., working for FEMA. In November, he’d moved on to Paradise, Calif. Also, in November, Ellen and Wallace Murfit celebrated their 45th with a trip to places like Budapest, Salzburg, and Trieste.

In September, I heard from Sandy See just before he was off to Florence. He played a pivotal role at our 50th—as I told him, he has been our de facto class president since 1964—and his long-standing, multi-dimensional contributions to the University and the wider world were recognized by a special McConaughy award at Reunion. After graduation, he taught in Maine, then spent 10 years on the staff of Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., a “very intelligent and committed” representative for “a socially and economically diverse” district that includes Boston suburbs and New Bedford. Sandy’s got a master’s in education and a law degree, and he moved into full-time development work for some worthy Boston-area educational and environmental non-profits. He is one of those retired but extremely busy types.

George Reynolds saw Southeast Asia from a destroyer, spent (with Dick Cavanagh’s help) a year in the Nixon administration and then morphed into a Baltimore attorney with an almost fun, junior partnership in a small local wine store on the side. At this point, he is spending more time in the garden than in the office, very busy as a trustee for Baltimore’s amazing Walter’s Art Museum, and celebrating his daughter’s new position as an assistant attorney general in Brian Frosh’s office. He has done a lot for us over the years. Thank you. Enjoyed seeing John Baggerman and the Reunion in general.

I heard from Stuart Ober, one of the Reunion’s tri-chairs and the recipient of an Alumni Service Award. He migrated from being an art major who studied French literature at the Sorbonne to an MBA and becoming an expert witness in fraud and securities litigation based in Woodstock, N.Y. (He was instrumental in helping send Bernie Madoff to the Big House) as well as a publisher. His son, Alexander (15), a whiz of a student and a starter for the New York State soccer team, attended Reunion and was one of its highlights for me. A scholar and a gentleman.

Our son attended the same preschool that Gus Spohn’s [’70] and Sarah Clark’s [’73] daughter, Katy ’05, did. Fast forward a million years and Katy’s a parent there who wrote a moving solicitation letter for the school. JoAnn and Bob Runk ’67 are still putting out music, at this point from Pinehurst, N.C., with their children and grandchildren. I heard from Dave Webb from St. Petersburg—Russia, where he and Barb celebrated their 50th.

I know I am terribly guilty of reporting highlights but—if it ever was—life is no longer a competition. (Personally, I gave up on trying to keep up with you all long ago). So, whatever you are doing, please let me hear from you.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Let us here plunge willy-nilly into the Reunion, noting only that while I made a point of circulating, I know I missed dozens of classmates and apologize: Ted King—a surgeon unable to practice his art for some time due to a stroke—spoke to the class on doing what you can. Andy Gaus was there—editing and other literary endeavors in the Boston area. Steve Carlson, a lobbyist from Sacramento, looked 45. Said the chaos in Washington is great for business. Everyone wants him to assure them that the End Days are not upon us.

Talked to Eric Conger about the meaning of life and the structure of reality. He spoke for many of us when he said his kids were his biggest achievement: Eric and Stuart Ober performed a play—set in a jail cell filled with deep references—that Eric wrote and performed with Bob Helsel 50 years ago. (Eric said it was as slap-dash and juvenile then as it is now). Speaking of deep references: enjoyed seeing Mark Taylor—taught at Williams for years (and still living there) but now at Columbia—as he actually understands all those philosophers with whom I struggled during my div school phase.

Bill Carter was there, down from Hanover; remains active in international development through an organization he helped found back in the day. And Chris Palames was there with his wife—from Northampton. His life-work has been to enable independent living among those who might be viewed as handicapped. My Judy takes any chance she can to corner John Lipsky (recently retired from the IMF) for scuttlebutt about the world’s stage. Bleak.

Paul Jarvis, a Chicago-area psychologist in private practice, followed someone’s good advice: If you are going to marry an academic, make sure they are the author of a standard text that goes into multiple editions. Their kids are Carleton grads—a Minnesota school a lot like Wesleyan but a little better. Eric Blumenson is very happily still at Suffolk in a position that has no responsibilities and no compensation—writing and doing the kinds of things Eric always does. Talking about getting out of Boston winters to Santa Monica.

I caught up with John Steele, an architect/builder who has enjoyed his last 31 years in Burlington, Vt. Cap Cline is a physician whose work-life and retirement has been in the charming, historic town of Frederick, Md. Chris Thomas has a sweet story: He and his wife returned to their hometown of Meadville, Pa., where he was a primary care physician for 35 years. Don Logie, a retired Hartford-area insurance exec, got an alumni service award. Involved with Toastmaster’s and lobbying Wes to reinstate a public speaking requirement.

Chi Psis normally do not embrace the likes of me, but Wig couldn’t restrain himself. Barry Edwards, who worked in finance, was in from Portland, Ore. I’d give him the prize for the best head of hair. And Bob Knox, a still-practicing lawyer and still-running through the forests of Marin County, would garner my award for the most minimalist head of hair. Bob was a hockey player, on the same line as Peter Corbin, a renowned painter of fishing and wildlife scenes from Millbrook, N.Y., whose blonde/white hair has gone gray/white and looks great.

Frank Phillippi got an alumni service award for his many efforts on our behalf. A semi-retired journalist/reporter/videographer/blogger, he’s had fascinating career with stops at the Watergate hearings, Dukakis’ campaign, Kiplinger’s and the Newseum. I heard a lovely anecdote about Michael Roth ’78 from one of you and met him. Super-smart and personable; seems to be doing his level best to keep the place chugging along.

I must turn from celebratory frolics to more serious matters: In January, we lost Oliver “Rawley” Thomas; in April, Steve Kidd; and, in June, Ken Almgren.

Don Logie remembers Rawley, his KNK brother and sophomore year roommate, as a good basketball player and always interested in financial matters. Thus, it was no surprise that, after a degree from Carnegie Mellon, he chose a career in finance, working for the Boston Consulting Group, and the food distributor SuperValue outside Chicago.

Steve was drafted and spent two years at the Pentagon, followed by a stint at Brookings, then Wharton, some time at Cooper and Lybrand, and then to smaller consulting companies in the Washington area, where he specialized in federal financial accounting systems. Moving to Arizona five years ago to be near his only child and very much enjoying the Southwest, he suffered a series of medical setbacks after a fall. His wife, Elizabeth, observed “he died as he lived, quietly and with great dignity.”

Ken was devoted to his Swedish culture, gardening, and his show dogs. Noted for his accepting demeanor, humor, and style, he was a naval corpsman and then communications officer at Subic Bay and aboard the USS Waddell. He held a master’s in economics and, after moving to Annapolis in 1980, was the CFO of Arinc and then the National Association of Broadcasters for decades before retiring.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

We lost Geoff Gallas in June of 2016 and Doug Wachholz in January of 2017. Geoff held a master’s from Harvard and a doctorate from USC. He worked for many years in the Philadelphia area in court administration—much of that time as dean of the National Center for State Courts, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of judicial administration at all levels nationwide. Wink Wilder and I were recently talking about bouncing about the country the summer of 1967 and enjoying Geoff’s hospitality in Palos Verdes, Calif. Captain of our swim team, he was then a classic southern California lifeguard. [A graduate of Syracuse’s Maxwell School, Wink actually found the California lifestyle so to his liking that, after a couple of years in Washington, he spent his banking career—and still lives—in Pasadena. Retired and a widower, he summers in Maine near one of his kids.]

Doug was a transfer student from West Point who went on to UVA’s law school and then clerked for a federal judge in the eastern district of Virginia. During the Carter administration, he served in USAID’s Africa bureau and later on with an early renewable energy initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean. (He spoke Spanish and Portuguese.) He then embarked on a career as an international consultant with projects throughout South America. In 1999, he moved to Reno, where he practiced law and expanded his consulting.

Dave Gruol, Dick Emerson, and John Andrus ’67 saw Wes’s basketball team take down then-number four Middlebury. John was a trust officer with several large banks and is now retired in Mendham, N.J., where he served on the town council for over 20 years. Patricia ’79 and Dick Cavanagh are watching their daughter flourish at Bowdoin—a really sweet school these days—where she is stroking the varsity. They live in Chestnut Hill and, after a stellar career, he is “concluding a decade of failing retirement”—chairman of the boards of BlackRock Mutual Funds and of Volunteers of America, a part-time lecturer at Harvard, and a lousy golfer. Just before Reunion, I helped organize and attended a translucent talk on ospreys and menhaden by Paul Spitzer sponsored by the local Audubon Society. Paul said that Ken Kawasaki ’69 and his wife have, for many years. lived near the Kandy Hill Station (a center of life for British tea planters in Sri Lanka since 1846) and is involved with teaching, fundraising, and other humanistic pursuits for a Buddhist monastery.

REUNION (more to follow): Bob Crispin received the Lifetime Achievement Award. We laughed about Bob’s career as Johnny U (for utility) on the baseball team. (The coaches played him wherever there was a need). After some teaching and coaching, he began what became a most impressive career in finance and asset management at Phoenix Life in Hartford. He ended his career as CEO of major chunks—Peru, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Latin America—of the multinational ING Group. A regular commuter to Atlanta and New York as well as a frequent traveler to his areas of responsibility from his home outside Portland, Maine (he’s a place in Charleston for “mud season”). One wife, three “kids,” eight grandchildren, and two labs.

Two highlights of one dinner: (1) Serious talk about the utterly amazing faculty we had and the unbelievable interactions we had with them, and (2) not so serious reminiscences with my two bosom buddies from freshmen year: Bill Smith and Bob Svensk. Smitty, a retired ad executive, is still in Southport mostly chasing five grandchildren under the age of 8 who are also in town.

Lovely lunch with Bob Smith: University of Chicago Law followed by a long and happy run on BC’s faculty and eight years as the dean at Suffolk. Three kids—two in Boston area and one in Montana. Dinner with Terry Fralich and Geoff Tegnell: Terry’s first time back on campus so his head was swimming. NYU Law followed by a change in direction—meditation, time in India and the Himalayas—to become a writer/teacher/speaker. Lives in Maine on—and I’ve been there to check it out—a small piece of paradise. Geoff remains Geoff. I don’t believe in auras but I am sure his is glorious. Social studies coordinator for eight schools in Brookline. Told me Peter Cosel, an attorney and grandfather, is alive and very well.

Bob Reisfeld, fellow PsiUer turned Kaiser psychiatrist, reflected on how widely acquainted I am with the class. To that, I replied it is completely self-serving: When we met, you were the most interesting, able and creative group I’d ever encountered. In the ensuing years, you have only gotten smarter, funnier, and kinder. What is there not to love?

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Locally: “the crew”—Bob Svensk, Harrison Knight, Nason Hamlin, Will Macoy ’67, myself, and Coach Phil Calhoun ’62, MALS’69—reuned in Middletown in early October. Enjoyed amazing weather, one another, a couple of rows by those who still can, and interacting with the present coaches and rowers. After which, Judy and I recovered with a week in London. They may no longer have an empire, but it is still a lovely town.

Crew is too hard to do for a coach you respect. You gotta love the SOB. Thus, it was a particular pleasure for Judy and me to have a long lunch by the river with Phil and his wife, Janet. Phil was at Wes for 10 years, leaving as the University’s secretary. After which he did an array of things (e.g., in Tom Ridge’s cabinet in Harrisburg, a partner in a micro-brewery, a vice-presidency at Franklin & Marshall), produced two wonderful daughters (for whom I babysat), and encouraged rowing wherever he went. Keeps in touch with Colin Campbell. Janet, in response to the painful loss of her mother and a sister, wrote a searing memoir, Rabbit Warrior, which was published by a small Pennsylvania press. As I like to keep appearances/illusions/half-truths firmly in place, it was not an easy read.

Harrison told me one of our buddies, Bill Currier ’69, retired from his partnership at White & Case’s Washington office and is seeing if he has a novel in him.

Shortly after Maria struck, Joe Kelly Hughes ’67, a former SEAL, went to Puerto Rico as a FEMA volunteer.

Sam Davidson has an exquisite art gallery in Seattle and hosted a Wesleyan event there last fall. Gordon Fain ’70 is a Yale Law School graduate who never left the area: the grandfather of seven, very active in his temple and a thoroughly good guy. Wendell Wallach, chair of Yale’s Technology and Ethics Working Research Group, moderates a seminar open to all, which some friends of mine have attended for years. They speak highly of Wendell, who was just on a European lecture tour.

I caught up with John Kepner, a Penn Law grad who worked and lived in the Philly area as a healthcare attorney, and then, he moved out of the legal role and into executive and consultant positions—most notably with Penn and The Holy Redeemer’s health systems. His specialties were strategy, new ventures, and building relationships. His website (fenwaymanagementadvisors.org) has short splendid essays related to his work and point of view. Both he and his wife, Mimi, are very involved with inner-city social service programs and both enjoy getting away to their place on the Vineyard. They have three sons. The oldest is the lead baseball writer for the Times. The other two (Amherst & Yale) are Austin-based and making music together as Full Service.

In May, we lost Steve Horvat, and, in October, Peter Margolius. Steve was a good clutch hitter, the catcher and co-captain on the baseball team. Dave Losee noted that under Steve’s leadership they used to eke out good seasons from so-so teams. After four years in the U.S. Army, Steve went on to Northwestern’s Law School and a distinguished career in insurance. Most notably were his years in a range of top positions, including general counsel, with Franklin Life, mostly in the Chicago-area. He loved golfing and vacationed and retired to Hilton Head. He was part of our Dick Emerson, Ray Solomon, Charles Ahern, et al golfing group, and there are plans for a memorial tree on campus. (Contact Dave Gruol; davidgruol@aol.com if you wish to contribute). One classmate remembered Steve as “quiet Indiana strong.”

Peter “marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., volunteered for Vietnam, ran into burning buildings, and would do anything for a dog.” In Vietnam, he served in intelligence and earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal. After law school, he spent several years in Japan as a Naval JAG officer. In 1979, he went into private practice in Catskill, N.Y., where he served as a volunteer fireman, and, most proudly, as town justice from 1997-2014. Additionally, he served Greene County as a prison prosecutor and first assistant public defender. “Peter was a talented marksman, military history aficionado, and staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. He loved The Three Stooges (Curly was the best)…and could quote every line from Casablanca.”

Ostensibly, our Reunion celebrates the time we went through together in Middletown. But, in truth, we also went through the 1950s together and are going through the 2010s together (though not in physical proximity). And my thought is that we would all do well to come back May 24-27 to mark, celebrate, and give thanks for everything.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360