Tag: 1979

It was a great pleasure for all of us who attended our 40th (!) Reunion in May. While we broke the 40th Reunion attendance record, many were missed. Hope to see more in 2024.

Beth Masterman is a grandmother! Her daughter, Amanda Krenztman ’08, delivered Fjord Lillian Karlsen in June. As Beth says, “Fun!” Beth won Top Choice for Executive Coaching in the 2019 Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reader’s choice awards. She is waiting to fill her coaching queue with lawyers.

Kimberly Carrell-Smith writes in: “I’m gradually moving into retirement, leaving my job as a history professor last spring. I’d been half-time in the Lehigh University history department for 23 years, so leaving that was bittersweet. I’m continuing with my other half-time job, running the interdisciplinary graduate program I’ve directed at Lehigh for the last 12 years. So still placing and overseeing community fellows in one year experiences with local nonprofits and local government, as well as teaching their core courses all year. Also looking forward to the birth of our first grandchild who will live only a mile away from us. I suspect that’ll be my new half-time job . . . Still in touch with my first year roommate, Lisa Giancola (was it really 44 years ago this fall that we arrived at Foss 5?), Kate Meal Goetz, Kathy Herron and her husband, Peter Scherer, Frances Sheehan, Ellen Blau, and occasionally Jane Cooper ’80. Wondering where all the other A-2 roommates and friends are these days.”

Matt Okun chimed in: “It was a wonderful 40th Reunion and we all had a great time. Certainly, the highlight of the weekend was the party at Eclectic. I had a chance to spend some time with my nephew, Alex Okun ’20, and his roommates. Just came back from Portland, Ore., where I saw Tom Valtin and his wife, Ellen, who were taking their son, Jamie, to Lewis and Clark. Expecting Jim Cummings to visit in the coming weeks. I am sending out greetings and love to all of our classmates, especially the folks in greater New York, some of whom were not able to make Reunion. I won’t forgive anyone who visits Seattle without letting me know.”

Clifford J. Hendel reports from Spain, where he has lived for more than 20 years (and which he first got to know on a Wesleyan semester abroad), that last year he left his Madrid law firm to set up a solo shop as arbitrator. Practicing under the name of HENDEL IDR, he sits in international commercial, construction, and sports disputes.

Freed from some of the constraints of collective practice, he has been dedicating substantial time to academic, pro bono, and similar matters. He coaches a Spanish university’s team in the Vis international commercial arbitration moot, is a founding patron of Pro Bono España (a platform for the dissemination, promotion and execution of pro bono work in Spain.) Next year, he will be publishing a short work analyzing the synergistic relationship between Alexander Hamilton – who has recently been restored to his rightful place in history by a musical created and composed by a Wes alumnus – and George Washington. Clifford has been enjoying watching his family grow, reporting that while he’s not sure if he likes being a grandfather, he loves having a grandson.

Ben Solnit shares that “on Aug. 10 our daughter, Rebecca, married her college sweetheart, Ben Rosenfeld, at a ceremony held at our house in Morris, Conn. Rabbi Ari Rosenberg of Temple Sholom officiated. Among the wedding guests were John Hatleberg, and his wife, Rise. Rebecca was recently promoted to the position of program manager of Teacher Pathways for the Philadelphia School District and Ben is applying for a cardiology fellowship as his residency in internal medicine draws to a close. Our other daughter, Anita, has completed her first year as an LMSW for Mt. Sinai Hospital’s Family Clinic in New York City. Audrey and I continue to enjoy our volunteer work in literacy, legal services, library groups, and nonprofits.”

Doug Pavlak reports great “news from Falmouth, Maine—the successful launch of my son, Gunter ’23, to Wesleyan! The entry process was pretty amazing. The football team was waiting with golf carts at a staging area on Lawn Avenue at Butterfield. They had everyone unloaded within less than five minutes; and all of my son’s belongings were waiting in the room when we got to it. Other small colleges take note!”

Doug Pavlak reports great “news from Falmouth, Maine— the successful launch of my son, Gunter ’23, at Wesleyan! I have to say that the entry process was pretty amazing. The football team was waiting with golf carts at a staging area on Lawn Ave. at Butterfield. They had everyone downloaded and off to a more permanent parking space within less than five minutes; and all of my son’s belongings were waiting in the room when we got to it. Other small colleges take note!”

Jono Cobb contributes that “my wife, Suzzanne, and I spent a couple of August days in beautiful Lenox, Mass. We were there to visit our daughter, Jordan, who was performing the ingenue role in The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare & Company. Harold and Vivian Brown drove from their home in western Connecticut to join us for the performance and dinner afterwards. Fortunately, in part because of the many reunions she’s attended, Suzzanne knows many of the players about whom we shared old stories and more recent news. Our bragging about Jordan included mentioning her podcasts, in which she writes, produces, and performs some of the voices, most notably Janus Descending, which has recently surpassed 100K downloads.”

Jane Marcellus is co-editor (with three colleagues in the U.K.) of The Legacy of Mad Men: Cultural History, Intermediality, and American Television.

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@gmail.com

Diane LaPointe | dmlapointe28@gmail.com

Hi all. Diane LaPointe here. Gary Breitbord, after many years of valiant service as our co-class secretary, has graciously passed the baton to me. Thanks for all of your hard work over the years on this, Gary!

As I write these notes, it is a beautiful late May day. Our 40th class Reunion was last weekend, and what a great weekend it was. Weather was picture perfect, and a record breaking 108 of us returned to campus. If you were unable to attend, you were missed.

Jack Freudenheim was instrumental (no pun intended) in organizing a reunion Eclectic party. He recapped: “We had a blast organizing a reunion band made up of as many alumni from the class of 1979 (give or take 10 years) as we could get to commit. People came from as far as Seattle and South Florida, with rehearsals in the spring in Katonah and Middletown for those who could attend, and the rest being organized online. We named the band The Fossils of the Moon in tribute to our beloved dining hall, home to so many concerts we all loved and the fossils that adorned the walls upstairs. Thanks to all who cheered us on; we had a great time playing for you! The following people played or sang: Charlie Berman ’76,Ann Beutler Millerick ’77, Banning Eyre, Jack Freudenheim, Wil Galison ’81, Chuck Gregory ’74, Tom Kovar ’76, Robert Levin ’81, Bill Levinson, Win Lockwood ’78, Beth Masterman, Jim Melloan ’77, Mike O’Brien ’80,  Matthew Penn ’80, Greg Shatan ’81, Tom Valtin, and Dirck Westervelt ’82.

The weekend included some great Weseminars including a well-attended session with terrific and extraordinarily accomplished panelists from our class, Laura Walker and Jim Friedlich. A shoutout to Rachel Christmas Derrick and Ann Schirrmeister Goldrach who compiled a photo montage slide show and accompanying sound track, respectively, for our class dinner. A great backdrop for our dinner conversation.

I think Seta Nazarian recapped Reunion best: “The proof that Wesleyan is unique lies in its people and the deep connection we share. That was proven this weekend. We never stopped loving each other; we only stopped seeing each other every day . . . ”

In other news, Deb Pearson-Woodhouse and John Woodhouse write: “Our son, John Pearson Woodhouse ’19, graduated from Wesleyan with a B.A. in math (major) and quantitative analysis (minor). We spent two full days packing up four years’ worth of accumulated items. We went on to enjoy the fabulous 40th Reunion (highlight: getting most of our dinner coop together at the dinner) and then of course seeing JP graduate on Sunday. It was a whirlwind weekend—but a great one.”

Jodi Daynard sent along the following: “I’d like to share that my family is well, and exciting things are happening: We just bought a cabin in Round Pond, Maine. My son, Alex, recently got his PhD in solar materials science from MIT and moved to California, where he’ll be working to save the world. Finally, my fourth novel, A Transcontinental Affair, is coming out Nov. 1, and it’s available for pre-order on Amazon. According to my publisher, it’s ‘A sweeping tale of adventure and danger, innovation and corruption, rivalry and romance on America’s first transcontinental train trip.’ Would love to hear from fellow Wesleyanites—you can write me via my author page on FB.”

I caught up with David Kendall at Reunion, and he is executive producing a sitcom for Netflix, which is starting production in July. It’s entitled The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia. He continues to live in Santa Monica, the proud dad of a 24-year-old daughter and 17 -year old twins (son and daughter).

Had a nice long conversation with Carol Churgin over dinner. She is making a difference in people’s lives (my words not hers) by working at a nonprofit in mental health and substance abuse, running a parenting workshop in her community, and providing a room in her home to a Rwandan refugee seeking political asylum. You inspire us, Carol!

Martha Bush wrote in to share the following: “After 25 years at SIGMA Marketing, a marketing analytics and martech firm in Rochester, N.Y., the last couple as oresident, I’ve jumped into the nonprofit world feet first. I’ve joined Foodlink, our regional food bank, as chief marketing officer. An amazing place with a mission to end hunger and build a healthier community. Rochester sadly has one of the highest childhood poverty rates in the country. I figure at our age it’s time to supercharge our pay-it-forward efforts!”

Jono Cobb updates us that he and his wife Suzzanne are looking forward to spending the summer at their Chappaquiddick house. He’s hoping to cross paths there with Banning Eyre during his annual family vacation.

Beth Masterman sent along a nice note: “I would like to express my heartfelt affection and appreciation for classmates who returned to our 40th Reunion. It was so worthwhile and so much fun! On the personal front, my daughter Amanda ’08 is expecting a baby in July, and as of January 2020, all of my three children will be married. My coaching business continues to grow, and I love it. Currently I serve as VP of events and logistics on the board of the International Coach Federation of New England. Through the ICFNE, I continue to learn, refine my skills, and meet great people.” She has lobbed a challenge for our 45th Reunion involving ukuleles. Space is limited here. More on this next issue.

Banning Eyre updates us on Afropop. “Afropop Worldwide is a Peabody Award-winning public radio series, launched by Banning and Sean Barlow in 1988. For the past 30-plus years, Sean, Banning, and their colleagues have been making field trips to Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East recording and collecting music, interviewing artists, and shooting countless photographs and videos for the radio program and the website afropop.org. This summer, Afropop is moving this archive out of Brooklyn and up to Middletown where Sean and Banning now live. The idea is to organize and inventory all the media and begin digitizing the most at-risk materials. It’s a big step in a long process! Afropop has recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to underwrite this move and the early stages of protecting the archive.” Sounds awesome to me!

And finally, on a sad note, Casey Blake ’78 writes: “It is my sad duty to report that my friend and Wesleyan classmate, Karl Arnason, passed away in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on May 12 after a long illness. Karl majored in economics at Wesleyan and later took an MBA at the University of Albany. In addition to holding positions as a project analyst for the New York Banking Department and the State Department of Transportation, he had a significant career in cycling. He was New York State cycling champion in 1982 and was then named to the national team the same year. He is survived by his wife Donna Behen and their three children, Thomas, Elisabeth, and Daniel, as well as other relatives.” See his complete obituary. He clearly exemplified what we all garnered from our Wesleyan experience by being committed to leaving his mark while on this earth by affecting the lives of others. Our condolences go out to his family.

As I write this, I (Diane) am entering my final week of work, having announced my planned early June retirement two month ago. I am looking forward to becoming more tangibly engaged in nonprofits that align with missions that are most important to my husband and me. Now is the time to truly embrace the ethos of Wesleyan—giving back and making a difference. I am looking forward to it. We will be splitting our time between our homes in California and New York and seeing more of our two children who live on opposite coasts.

Please send us news for our next issue. We are part of a wonderful community as Seta put it so eloquently above. We should never forget that.

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Diane LaPointe | dmlapointe28@gmail.com

Hello all. Gary Breitbord here. First things first. It’s our 40th Reunion May 24-26! Please put it on your calendars if it isn’t already there. We hope you will be attending to re-connect with other ’79ers and to enjoy the weekend’s festivities. Registration and more information can be found at: wesleyan.edu/rc. Be there or be square.

This is my swan song as co-class secretary. It’s been a fun 10 years. I’ve enjoyed being a conduit for all the class news that’s fit to print.

I spent a delightful evening with Jeff Gray ’77, Tim Fitzgerald, Mike Rosenblatt ’80, Jeff Burns ’80, and Tim O’Brien ’81 sharing life stories of family, friends, careers and, of course, Wesleyan and DKE.This time with spouses and significant others. We all consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have found such wonderful, and tolerant, life partners.

Rachel Bashevkin writes in: “In 2016, after 35 years in the small town of Middlebury, Conn., I retired as director of studies at Westover School and moved to New Haven. I am very much enjoying this new life!I’m looking forward to reunion in the spring.” Alright! First attendee identified. Who else?

Joe Wilson ’19 received the Gridiron Club of Boston’s prestigious Nils V. “Swede” Nelson Award for outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, sportsmanship, and citizenship. To celebrate with Joe, Dave Thomas ’77 graciously hosted a table that included Jeff Gray ’77, Paul Fichera ’77, Bill Ahern ’78, Paul Nelson ’78, Frank Hauser, and Mike Whalen ’83.

And from another classmate planning on attending Reunion Lisa Frantzis: “I will be attending Reunion and can’t wait to see friends again. I have been working in the clean energy sector since I left Wesleyan. I am wearing two hats these days . . . one as a managing director at Navigant consulting in clean energy and two as a senior vice president at Advanced Energy Economy where we are transforming policy at the state and federal level to accelerate the growth of clean, affordable and secure energy. I work with great people and love my work. I started to have kids late in life. Even though I have been married for 20 years to my partner Ophelia, we now have an 11-year-old boy named Luke who is terrific. I have tried to keep up my piano playing, but did not succeed in that as time has been tight. I have been keeping up with Roberta Rebold and Lisa Cunningham. Roberta lives in Israel with her family, Lisa lives in Brookline, Mass., and I live in nearby Cambridge, Mass.”

Rachel Christmas Derrick sent this update: “Wesleyan remains with me in many ways, particularly since my son is a freshman there. Unlike me, he is pre-med. Like me, he is thoroughly enjoying himself and is taking a fiction writing class. Our daughter, a junior at Yale, is studying political science in Rio this semester.

“After years as an editor in book publishing and a freelance writer, and after working in communications at the Rockefeller Foundation, Columbia University, and an affordable housing organization, I’m now Managing Editor of a financial services nonprofit with socially responsible investments ranging from renewable energy in India and small-scale farming in Tanzania to affordable housing in California. Never thought I’d end up in my husband’s field (finance)—but (apart from us) his passion lies with his part-time job: officiating football.”

Diane LaPointe: “I continue to enjoy working in the financial services industry as the principal financial officer for the asset management firm and mutual fund complex founded and headed by Mario Gabelli. Certainly, a very interesting place to be in this economic climate. Good people and challenging work. My husband and I have adapted to our empty nest. Our son Matthew (Princeton ‘13) has been happily living in San Francisco for the past 6 years and working in the tech space. Our daughter Megan ’17—Phi Beta Kappa and with high honors—spent a year in a fellowship with AmeriCorps, and is now attending UPenn grad school in Philadelphia working on her masters in urban education. I am looking forward to Reunion and seeing everyone but really can’t quite understand how it’s been 40 years!” I’m sensing a Reunion trend here.

Ellen M. Blau: “I’ve been living in beautiful but now bustling and too crowded Seattle for 30 years! My 28-year-old daughter and her new husband also live in Seattle. I’ve been a psychologist for 30 years here, mostly in private practice after a stint as a staff psychologist in physical medicine and rehab. Last year through a series of seemingly fated events I ended up working at a tech start up (like everyone else in Seattle) writing psychology and coaching web and app content. It was really interesting to have a Millennial boss and team (I learned bunch of phrases like “woke” and “avocado toast”) and challenging (they work hard in young tech companies) and I learned a bunch of other stuff (like that no one uses the same grammatical rules as our generation).

“That job ended this past summer, and my time, like many of us, I am sure, has been dominated by managing my 86-year-old mom’s life in Boca from across the continent. I had the thought recently that we should all share our stories about eldercare and support each other in this sacred duty. I’m now starting up a new chapter of psychology practice in an integrative medicine group focusing on positive psychology (mindfulness-based well-being, resilience, and self-efficacy practices, including applications of current neuroscience research on applied neuroplasticity). I’m thankful that my interest in biology and psychology has lasted a lifetime (did a joint bio-psych major at Wes, then MA and PhD. in clinical psych, postdoctoral training in neuropsychology and geriatric mental health). On the personal front I’ve been divorced for many years now but I’m truly blessed with friends, community, health, travel opportunities (including Cuba twice and the North Pole!) and I sing a lot (including Jewish leadership). I’m still learning as much as I can. Now that I know it’s our 40th Reunion maybe I’ll try to make it to Connecticut this May.”

Jane Marcellus: “My essay, My Father’s Tooth, made the Notables list in Best American Essays 2018. It’s set partly at Wesleyan. I also won the Betty Gabehart Award for nonfiction, given by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, for work in progress.”

Adam Vickers: “Helen and I are enjoying life in Gaborone, Botswana. I’ve turned over the reins of our company to a younger man, so now I get to consult for the African Development Bank across the continent, do some executive mentoring and facilitate programs on strategic execution and sales. Helen operates her rentals and is involved with the community. Weddings and funerals are big on the social calendar, but we also get to travel a fair bit. We needed an excuse to see the rest of the family this year, so maybe reunion will work.” Excuse confirmed. Family and friends. Great reason for a trip.

Doug Pavlak: “I do not have a lot of exciting news to report since I last sent notes other than the fact that (finally) one of my (seven) children is going to Wesleyan! Gunter Haug-Pavlak was accepted early decision in December for the class of 2023. It was great to see the campus again while he interviewed, and my wife and I look forward to seeing him row on the crew (my sport).” Go Wes!

Jono Cobb: “This marks the 40th year since I shared a small four bedroom/one-bathroom house on Martha’s Vineyard with Maureen Walsh, Bethany Kandel, Deirdre Manning, Spence Studwell, Dennis Archibald, Jim Connery, Mike Riera and his un-housebroken dog. We named our mansion Little Walden.”

Reunion musing: “I thought growing old would take longer.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

It’s officially summertime. Not that many submissions this issue. C’mon, send in your news please. Or are you saving it for our 40th next year?

Tina Binns Palmer: “We became grandparents in October for the first time as son #1 and wife became parents of a wonderful and happy son. Early this November, son #2 and wife will join the club and welcome their first child. Meanwhile son #3 is digging in various parts of Greece while pursuing his master’s in archaeology.”

Jane Marcellus: “I am part of an American Journalism Historians Association team building a database in anticipation of the centennial of the 19th Amendment. I had an essay ‘The Growing Rock’ published in the Gettysburg Review and a #MeToo piece in the Washington Post.”

Caroline Norden: “After working for 25 years on land protection and stewardship projects for various land trusts, I am now a stay-at-home mom, caring for two teenage daughters. I am excited that my eldest will be entering Wesleyan as a freshman this fall. I’m looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the college.”

Kimberley Carrell-Smith: “I’m still a professor of practice in public history at Lehigh University, where I also direct the interdisciplinary Community Fellows Graduate Program. As a former dumpster diver with 20 years and counting since my first university ‘garbage’ forays, I run a huge university-community sale project that collects student castoffs at the end of the year and turns them into gold through an enormous community sale. The aim is to channel high-end reusable goods into a sale in my low-income neighborhood surrounding our campus, inviting folks to buy with dignity at bargain prices. We made $20,000-plus this year for school field trips and programs for neighborhood kids! Pretty good haul for all items at about 25 cents to a dollar or two. Where else can you buy Prada or Versace apparel, a fan, a bucket, a pan, and a chair, and walk away with change from $20?”

Andrew Tanzer: “My book, Robert Kuok: A Memoir, has sold about 160,000 copies, mainly in Southeast Asia, and will go on sale in the U.S. market in September.”

Mecklenburg County Manager Dena R. Diorio announced that W. Lee Jones Jr. has been named as the new park and recreation director. Jones, a licensed architect and member of the American Institute of Architects, currently serves as the division director for Park and Recreation’s Capital Planning and Alliance Development Services. He is responsible for coordinating the planning, design, and construction of the department’s facilities and overseeing the development of many partnerships. Over the years, Jones worked on several notable park projects, including First Ward Park, Romare Bearden Park, and the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews.

From my partner in notes, Ann Biester Deane: “So proud of my son, Carter ’18, the sixth member of our family to graduate from Wes! Off to Cologne next year on a DAAD fellowship.” Six Wesleyan grads! It’s a dynasty.

Yours truly, Gary Breitbord, has been spending time with the usual cast of characters from DKE/Wesleyan. I know I keep writing about this group, but the bonds are stronger than ever, even 40 years later, and since no one else wrote in, I figured I’d bore you one more time. Many impromptu get togethers surrounding two noteworthy highlights: A fun reception at the DKE house on the Saturday of Reunion weekend then the next day at Gillette Stadium where the Wesleyan Men’s Lacrosse team won the NCAA Division III Championship!

The Reunion reception didn’t disappoint with classes from 1958–2013 (like Bart Bolton ’58 to Zach Binswanger ’13) and those in between well-represented. From our time on campus, the class of ’78 was in the house: John McDermott, Ralph Rotman, Bill Ahern, Paul Nelson, Jeff Nesson, Bill Weiss, Jeff Binswanger, and Michael Klingher. Also, in attendance representing the DKE Alumni Board of Directors: Jeff Gray ’77, Dave Thomas ’77, Tom Roberts ’77, Dave Bagatelle ’86, Scott Karsten ’74, and the illustrious Joe Britton.

There was a large Wesleyan contingent (the graduation ceremonies in Middletown precluded a much larger showing) cheering on the men’s lacrosse Cardinals in their unprecedented accomplishment. I was fortunate to join a legion of lacrosse luminaries including Pat McQuillan ’75, Jim Daley ’75, Charlie Cocores ’74, Bill Devereaux ’75, Jock Burns ’72, Al Poon ’76, Dave Campbell ’75, Pete McArdle ’75, and Peter Guenther ’77 in celebrating this Wesleyan milestone. And to our own class of ’79 lacrosse playing stud, Jono Cobb, it’s a different game than when you and I played, my friend.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Class of 1979 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Julian Carraway ’18, Sociology

Happy Spring! My first PCA race of the season will be at Road Atlanta in April (ABD).

Ann Kaplan never ceases to amaze! “Last fall, I organized a conference, Duty to Warn. The speakers were psychologists who outlined their concerns about the president’s dangerousness. There’s nothing like successfully herding a group of NYC shrinks to give a person a sense of bewildered accomplishment. In August I dived the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. The strange life there includes hairy frog fish, blue ringed octopi, stargazers, seahorses, ghost pipefish, devil fish, and scores of nudibranchs. I attended a Vinyasa yoga retreat in a villa in Nice. In addition to hours of yoga instruction, the retreat included meditation, indulgent food, and great wine. LuxYoga sells a T-shirt that reads: “F*ck Kale. Eat Butter.” Last year, I was promoted to vice president at Council for Aid to Education, where I have worked for 17 years as a researcher and writer. I spent much of 2017 working with a brilliant coder, Jacob Drew ’98, on a benchmarking platform for advancement professionals. Our new application just launched and has been very well-received.”

Martha Bush remarks, “After a wonderful run of 25-and-a-half years at SIGMA, I will be leaving as of the first of the year. I will be doing a couple of personal projects that I hope to tell you about later in 2018.”

Matt Jarvinen reports that Ralph Maltese and his bride, Sheila Peck ’81, visited him in Colorado last September. Ralph was named “Most Valuable Wedding Guest” by the family when his godson, John Jarvinen, was married in the hills west of Denver. Ralph stuck around for a few short hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, topping out at an elevation just over 13,000 feet.

Melissa Stern ’80, Jim Friedlich ’79, and Max Friedlich ’17 spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with Tom Valtin, at Tom’s home in San Francisco. Jim hung out with Ralph Maltese in San Jose, last month. Tom is working at The Sierra Club as he has since Wesleyan. Ralph now runs operations for The Santa Clara Food Bank, serving hundreds of thousands of meals daily to the region’s most at-risk populations.

Robert Kuhn notified us that “after 11-plus years in Florida, my husband Steven and I moved back to the Northeast in April (with our two Irish Terriers). In fact, we moved to Salisbury, Conn., one town over from where I went to boarding school (Hotchkiss). We were ready for a change and needed to exit overcrowded South Florida—we just didn’t know we’d end up in a community I was a part of in the early 1970s! We’re very happy so far and look forward to reconnecting with northeastern friends and making new ones. Anyone in the area, feel free to reach out!”

Joy D’Amore moved to Philadelphia from Dallas in December to start as director of executive search at CBIZ CMF. She leads searches for CFOs for middle-market private equity-backed portfolio companies nationwide. On a personal note, Joy had a wonderful surprise. Thanks to Ancestry.com DNA testing, she discovered that she has four younger half-brothers who live in the Richmond area. Joy had been adopted at birth and grew up an only child. She met her brothers over New Years and is very happy to be developing a close relationship with them and their families, including seven nephews and two nieces. Joy had met a half-sister six years ago from her maternal side and stays in close touch with her and with her 14-year-old niece.”

Katharine McKenna visited her daughter, Eliza ’20, at Wes. Katharine continues to paint Wyoming and the West. Her paintings will be on exhibit at the President’s Office Gallery at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn until May. Still travelling, she visited Scotland and Costa Rica with upcoming trips to Las Vegas and Paris.

Andrew Tanzer reveals: “I just published my first book, Robert Kuok: A Memoir, the story of a low-profile, enormously wealthy Malaysian-Chinese tycoon. Published in English in Singapore and Chinese in Hong Kong, the book sold more than 100,000 copies in Southeast Asia in its first two months and will go on sale in the U.S. this spring. After 25 years in journalism, mostly in East Asia, I switched to private wealth management in 2011 and became a chartered financial analyst in 2012.”

Jono Cobb writes: “No big news on the home front but I want to encourage folks to get to the polls this November! If you think your vote doesn’t matter take a look around at the current situation in our country.”

Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre invite everyone to join them at Afropop’s 30th anniversary gala on May 3 at City Winery in NYC. Harry Belafonte is honorary co-chair. Aurelio Martinez and Mokoomba will be inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame. Afropop’s galas are always exceptional (afropop.org/page/gala2018).

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Douglas Pavlak: “My EMG laboratory at OA Centers for Orthopaedics in Portland, Maine, has received its accreditation with exemplary status by the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. It’s the only lab north of Boston and one of only a few dozen in the country that holds this status. Otherwise, just trying to survive getting three more teenagers through high school and maybe one of them to Wes!?”

Julie Hacker: “My partner and husband, Stuart Cohen, and I were inducted into the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame. I’m busy taking musical theater classes, still racing triathlons, and a preservation commissioner for the City of Evanston. Our son graduated from RISD and is living in Chicago, working in a gallery, making art, and off to the Vermont Studio Center in December for a residency. If you live in NYC, you can hear him weekly Tuesday mornings on WFMU’s program Wake with Clay Pigeon, titled Gabe Cohen’s Introspective Infrastructure.

Martha Bush: “Speeding up, not slowing down! In addition to SIGMA, starting a stint as board chair of Causewave Community Partners, a nonprofit agency matching local marketing talent with human services agencies or to support critical local issues. Enjoying the blooming of energy, music, food and arts here in Rochester, N.Y., in the beautiful Finger Lakes region.”

John Tjia: “I left Ernst & Young at the end of August, finishing my nearly 12 years there as an executive director in the Business Modeling Group, and amazingly as a retiree. Not quite ready to just sit on the porch, though: I am now with Wall Street Prep, a major player in the financial training space, leading the development of their financial modeling business. In September, I submitted the manuscript for the third edition of my book, Building Financial Models, to McGraw-Hill, to be published in the first quarter of 2018. Not bad for an East Asian Studies major! For the past four years, I’ve been chairman of the board for Subud New York, a nonprofit organization for personal spiritual growth. I had memorable travel this summer: a cruise from Copenhagen that went to the Norway coast, Scotland, England, and back (the fjords were awe-inspiring) and a jaunt to Missouri in August for the total solar eclipse (spectacular).”

Heidi Mastrogiovanni: “My comedic novel, Lala Pettibone’s Act Two, was released by Amberjack Publishing in February.  The sequel, Lala Pettibone: Standing Room Only, will be released by Amberjack in August. The title character is, of course, a Wesleyan graduate. I’m taking part in the Writing While Female 2017 Tour. We’re doing readings and book signings in Los Angeles, Denver, and NYC, and we’re adding dates and locations all the time. My website is frequently updated with new event listings: heidimastrogiovanni.com.”

Michelle Morancie: “For the past 38 years (OMG! It’s been 38 years since we graduated) this somewhat shy alumna hasn’t shared much about my life and times in class notes. However, today I am so excited about the release of my first book, that I had to share with my classmates. Crazymaker: A Psychologist’s Disturbing Encounter with Workplace Abuse is my story about how I coped with being bullied and harassed by a NYC public schools’ principal for five years. It’s scheduled to be released in mid-December.”

I write a lot about my Wesleyan/DKE brothers. That’s because the unconditional friendships and relationships forged while at Wesleyan have stood the test of time. In that vein, we celebrated a momentous milestone—150 years of DKE’s continuous presence on the Wesleyan campus. Over 100 alumni and 35 undergraduates celebrated the sesquicentennial on Saturday, October 7. Once again, the Old Stone House came alive.

From all over the country, some of the strongest alumni this university can boast were there to celebrate and reconnect with friends they hadn’t seen, in some cases, for over 40 years. Many were accompanied by their wives, partners, and significant others. A 65-year span of classes was represented from Jim McLean ’56 and Ted Bachman ’60 to Dylan Niehoff ’15 and Ben Kurtz ’17 to the undergraduate brothers graduating in 2020. Of course, our class was more than well represented by Kevin Bristow, Joe Britton, Peter Campbell, George DuPaul, Tim Fitzgerald, Kenny King ’80, Bob and Carol (Horowitz) Murphy, yours truly Gary Breitbord, and all the way from Nebraska—Michael J. Scacca.

Unlike Reunion years, there were attendees from surrounding classes including 1978—Bill Ahern, Jeff Nesson, Ralph Rotman, Paul Nelson; 1977—Ted Stevens, Jeff Gray, Bob Nastri, Tom Roberts, the ever-eloquent master of ceremonies Dave Thomas, Mike Coffey, Don Citak, and Steve Beauchamp; 1981—Lou Scimecca, Tim O’Brien, Pete Pezzelli, Sandy Herzlich, and Jim Baker.

As the evening entered the wee hours of the morning, a familiar sound was heard. Pat McQuillan ’75 playing his guitar, Dave Terrie ’76 accompanying him on the harmonica with a cast of characters including Jim “Fats” Farrell ’74, Jim “Jumbo” Daley ’75, Dave Harrison ’75, and Pete McArdle ’76, all singing Grateful Dead songs. Quintessential 1970s Wesleyan relived.  Scott Karsten ’73 put it best: “Here’s to lifelong brotherhood!” A raucous good time was had by all. A truly soul-enriching event.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

KPBS in San Diego, Calif. named Anne Wilson a community hero for her work in affordable housing as both developer and advocate (read more). Anne also attended Wesleyan’s 185th Commencement to celebrate Eero Talo ’17 graduation.  Congratulations, Anne!

Matt Okun writes in that he has so many reasons to rejoice:”My daughters, Nina Okun Furia and Lia Okun, both live in NYC, and visited me on my recent trip to D.C. Lia is a licensed psychologist, and Nina is a personal assistant, pregnant with her second child. My brother’s (Steve Okun ’82) son (Alex Okun ’20) just completed his freshman year at WESU. My wife, Annie Wong, has three children from her former marriage and already has two grandchildren. So, by the time you read this, I should have a total of four grandkids! I continue to work for the Seattle Public Schools as a teacher trainer and administrator with a focus on social justice.  I love everything about Seattle, except for how far it is from the East Coast. Just saw the band U2 live, playing music from 30 years ago. I am in my 39th year as a teacher. What a long, strange trip it’s been! My message to all is: Savor each moment of life; they can be beautiful, sweet, challenging, but are most certainly fleeting.  All my love, Matt”

Carol Churgin is semi-retired. She left public education and just finished another master’s—in Social Work. So on to another chapter…  She’s very proud her son is a licensed acupuncturist and diplomate of oriental medicine. Anyone living in San Diego who needs an acupuncturist, feel free to contact Carol!

Since the presidential election, Ann Kaplan has been volunteering as a teach-in organizer with a group of psychologists called Duty to Warn. “This national group of psychologists aims to have the president removed from office under the 25th amendment.

“I spent New Year’s Eve on a dive trip with three friends. This summer, we are heading to the Lembeh strait in Indonesia to dive.  I have also become immersed in a yoga practice and will be heading to a villa in Nice for a week-long retreat. We’ll be practicing, dining, and drinking wine. I don’t do austere.

“My daughter is a personal trainer at Crunch gym and a performance artist, focusing on pole dancing and silks. She also played a slice of pizza and a vengeful, tutu-clad pig in a magnificent production at Bushwick’s House of Yes.“

Earlier this year, Jake Walles retired from the State Department after more than 35 years as a foreign service officer, including tours as U.S. Ambassador in Tunisia and Consul General in Jerusalem.  He’s now living in D.C. and looking forward to new adventures outside the government.”

After 34 years as Wesleyan’s sports info director, Brian Kattan accepted early retirement on October 1, 2015. “The last 19 months have been delightful and I highly recommend retirement to all ’79ers. For fun, I coach a middle-school boys basketball team and umpire high-school baseball. I still follow Cardinal athletics religiously and am enjoying all the team successes including Eudice Chong ’18’s third straight national tennis title and men’s lax making the NCAA semis in 2017. Go Cards!”

Julie Hacker just got back from her son Gabe’s RISD graduation complete with marching band and belly dancer. A week before she attended her step-grandson’s graduation from Westpoint complete with marching band but no belly dancers. Opposite ends of the spectrum, but couldn’t be more proud! She has been busy practicing architecture, serving as a preservation commissioner for the City of Evanston, rewriting the design guidelines for Evanston, competing in triathlons, and is performing in a musical theatre class (“my singing is sub-par”). “I am still short, with short, greying hair, and wear black most of the time and of course round glasses—the uniform of architects. See my latest work at www.cohen-hacker.com and my son’s latest work at www.gabrielscohen.com .”

Bill Davies and Candy downsized two years ago to a 100-year-old home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “We moved in after five months of renovating. Poughkeepsie is becoming a trendy place for young artists with families who can’t afford living in NYC and we love the neighborhood we are in.  I retired from IBM/GlobalFoundries in May and will be spending the summer rowing, biking, and gardening.  We are also preparing for our daughter’s wedding, Kim ’07, in September.  This fall I plan to start volunteering at the local schools to help kids with math skills.  Candy continues her social work as a counselor at SUNY, New Paltz.“

Alan Saly is happy to report that his daughter, Elaine Saly ’09, has graduated from NYU Law, and is on her way to Seattle to be a criminal defense attorney in the public defender’s office. Any Wes lawyers out there for her to touch base with?

Jono Cobb is back on Martha’s Vineyard for the summer. “During the months following graduation, I shared a single bathroom house on the Vineyard with Maureen Walsh, Deirdre Manning, Bethany Kandel, Spence Studwell, Mike Connelly, Dennis Archibald, and Mike Riera, as well as his not yet house-broken puppy. We also got to see many of our classmates who made our living room their first night’s stop after disembarking from the ferry. Whenever I drive past Little Walden, as we named it, I’m reminded of that summer of 1979…”

Luis Vidal still resides in Bridgeport, Conn. He retired from the Department of Social Services in 2011. He is presently working for Family ReEntry, Inc. as group facilitator of domestic violence groups in Bridgeport, Norwalk, New Haven, and Waterbury. He would love to hear from Ines Navarro ’81 and MaryAnn Gonzalez ’82 who graduated a couple of years after he did, and is wondering how they are, what they are up to, etc.

Thomas Brody, at 63, is still trying to find himself. Wish him luck, he says.

Denise Giacomozzi has been coordinating the Syrian Refugee Project at her church in conjunction with New Vision United Church of Canada (Hamilton, Ontario) whose pastor is married to a friend of hers from high school. The goal is to raise $50,000 USD to bring two families of four to Hamilton. They are halfway there. Contributions can be made by check to Rockville United Church, Syrian Refugee Project, 355 Linthicum St., Rockville, MD  20851 or PayPal. “On a personal note, my mother passed away in March at the hospice where I have been working as a chaplain.  I am on leave as I mourn. Elaine Winic was there by my side for the memorial service, ever the faithful friend since our days as freshmen roommates.”

Ralph Maltese: “On October 22, 2016, my best friend from college, Alan David Avner, passed away after a two-year bout with cancer. Alan was an enigma—a happy loner, a fine musician, a good friend. He was the healthiest living person I’ve ever known, had a razor sharp eclectic intelligence, sarcastic wit, love of all things jazz, a respect for all people and other living things and lived his life with caring and humility. He recently moved to Florida to care for his aging father, giving up the life he loved in San Francisco. I never ever heard him brag about anything. Throughout all his ordeals he never complained. Alan was always there for me, as my friend, confidante, best man, the first person I told I had cancer, and someone I could rely on for good advice even when it was the advice I did not want to hear but needed. He was and will always be my friend.  He is survived by his father, sister, and her family.”

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com