Tag: 1981

This is Joanne sending greetings from Europe, where the pace of life is slower, and people really take time to enjoy the moment. Each year, this time, I have the privilege of accompanying my husband on his summer class to Augsburg and Bergamo. Every direction I look, I see people sitting: drinking a beer or sipping a glass of wine or maybe a summer cocktail; others are drinking coffee, eating cake or indulging in ice-cream—for no other reason than it’s a beautiful day! Some are with friends or family; others are alone, just savoring the moment. I think the Danish call it “hygge.” The trendy word these days in the U.S. seems to be “mindfulness” though I’ve yet to see it appear in this particular context. No matter what you call it, everyone looks a lot more relaxed and happierthan the average person you see on a U.S.street. So. . . I’m going to order an Aperol and enjoy the sunshine and atmosphere as I report on our classmates’most recent news. Cin-cin!

This being 2019, the majority of our class will be celebrating a “big” birthday this year so happy birthday to you! I have already made the transition and frankly, I don’t think 60 has ever looked this good or productive or healthy. I have determined it shall be a year of celebration, of reachingout to old friends, and taking the time to appreciate those whom I love and cherish. Over the years, it has my and David‘s duty to report not just the good news regarding our classmates’ accomplishments, but also sharing the sad news of their deaths, reminding us as we enter a new decade that life is shorter than we ever imagined, more precious with each passing day, and to be taken advantage of at every opportunity.

In late January, Kaylie Jones, author, teacher and editor, was in D.C.hosting a book event. Several area Wes bibliophiles were in attendance: Kathy Prager Conrad, Mary Downs ’82, Patty Smith’82, Jeff Tsu’82, and me. Jeff had to leave immediately so sadly I have no news from him. Mary has been living in D.C.for decades, doing some very interesting work (details of which I did not write down. . .so I cannot impart any further info. Sorry, Mary!) Patty and I enjoyed a sleepover and tried to catch up; we last saw each other in Paris, spring of 1983. We were up until the wee hours—and barely scraped the surface of ourmemories! Patty teaches high school outside Richmond, Va.,(English now, not French) and continues to write; her second novel is due out soon. The next night, Kaylie and her brother hosted a small dinner and just like the old days at Downey House on a Thursday night when Chris McEvoy (please write in with news, Mac!) would put on one of his special cassette mixes, Kaylie, Kathy, and I were kicking up our heels and dancing the night away! She has relocated to San Diego after decades in NYC, where she is thoroughly enjoying life on the other coast. Kathy, who visited me in Bloomington with her husband in April, is off on a new adventure: circumnavigating Mont Blanc this summer, which is an approximately 12-day hiking trip. When not off globe-trotting, she continues to enjoy her work in the field of technology and consulting in DC. Kathy reports that both daughters are doing well: Caroline’14 is still working and enjoying success in the film industry in NYC while Liza ’11 recently relocated to Atlanta to work for Stacey Adams’ permanent staff.

In May, I had the great pleasure to spend a wonderful weekend of fun, good food, great cocktails and much reminiscence with John “Wally” Walden at the beautiful New Jersey home of Rick Ciullo and his wife Tammy. It’s pretty hard to believe that the three of us, friends since the first night freshman year, had not been all together since graduation! Nicest thing? It was as if no time had passed at all—the warm familiarity and good humor picked up where we’d left off; the only thing different was that both Rick and John have had exceptional careers and beautiful families in the meantime. (Rick has two daughters in college, and John has two sons, just a bit older and already out in the world.) John, who lives in London, Ontario,continues to work in the tech industry and Rick is still on top of his field in the world of insurance.

Livia Wong McCarthy writes that she will be spending some time with Belinda Buck in Newport, R.I.,in August before meeting up with Kathy Prager Conrad, Deb Chapin, and me for a now-we-are-all-60 weekend celebration there. We are looking forward to catching up and reenacting our Sunday coop dinner nights—but minus the Hearty Gallo Burgundy. For sure.

One day this spring, I was home eating lunch, listening to the BBC when suddenly I heard classmate Chrissy Winkelbauer Kelly being interviewed about her work in and personal experience with smell loss. She has been heavily involved in the creation of AbScent.org, a patient advocacy group and charitable organization that, says Chrissy, “will change the way people with smell loss adapt to their condition and help themselves achieve a greater quality of life.” At the time of this writing, an app, an international research project and more are in the mix. “I wouldn’t have done it without the help of Miriam Block, childhood friend and (web) coding genius,” she adds. Congrats to Chrissy for helping bring focus to and shedding light upon this underreported health issue.

Paul Robertson “attended the International Conference on Software Engineering this May in Montreal, which meant Icould drive to Albany from myhome in Amherst, Mass.,and take Amtrak—so much nicer than flying! At the conference I was presenting two papers about how my team at Sony does its work, developing software tools for the studios doing games for the PS4. The research and academic writing felt very odd after all these years!”

Brenda Zlamany continues to enjoy professional success in the arts world. 100/100: The Itinerant Portraitistwas chosen as an official selection at this year’s Berkshire International Film Festival. Brenda is also getting back on the road with the last two parts of her latest chapter, Climate in America. Part One took place earlier in Key West, Fla. Part Two took place in June in Sonoma, Calif.,where she was in residence at the Chalk Hill Artist Residency, working on portraits of vintners, seasonal workers, firefighters, and others who call Sonoma County home. Part Three will begin in August in Utqiagvik, Alaska,during the 2019 Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission Whaling Captains’Convention before she moves on to Denali National Park, where she has been awarded another artist’s residency. Check out Brenda’s website for further information.

Delcy Ziac Fox attended a function of the Wesleyan 1831 Society in NYC where everyone toasted Barbara-Jan Wilson and wished her a happy retirement. At the event, Delcy caught up with David I. Block, Liza Page Nelson, David Resnick, Paul DiSanto, Joe Fins ’82, and Lloyd Parodneck ’83 and reports that a great time was had by all.

Congratulations to Allison Williams, who headed back to Wesleyan in July as the new vice president for equity and inclusion/Title IX officer. Allison has had a storied career which includes similar jobs at Denison University and Oberlin College. In addition to administration, she also worked as a chemistry faculty member for 24 years. Outside of work, Allison is a mom to two teenagers, a semi-professional oboist, and a die-hard fan of Cleveland and Ohio State sports teams. In an interview with the Argus, Allison said, “I’m really excited about coming back. I love Wesleyan!” One of the many things she is looking forward to is building on existing programs such as the Mellon program and WesMaSS and to “take those programs and the work that’s been done on (faculty) searches and support them and make them stronger.”

Keep the news coming!

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

David I. Block writes: Hi, all. Greetings from Brooklyn! While you are likely reading this in the spring, these time-capsule class notes were due on the Monday of Martin Luther King’s birthday weekend, by which time the government had been shut down for a month. With any luck, as you read this, the government has been up and running for a little while, at least.

As you read this, tax season is over. As I write this, it is about to begin, with IRS workers who are not getting paid. My office just moved 20 blocks south down Broadway, after 22 years on West 57th Street. I finally bit the bullet and will become a Certified Financial Planner by November (I am already licensed to supervise stockbrokers), and I’m doing business, financial, and general coaching on the side. That gives me three full-time jobs. I joke that “people come in to have their taxes prepared, and leave feeling better about their moms.” My 14-year-old is in ninth grade and has come to enough Reunions that they are already scheming to figure out how to get into Wesleyan via early admission.

Alvin Peters writes, “Hurricane Michael (Oct. 10, 2018) has substantially destroyed my neighborhood in Panama City, Fla. Ironic, that climate change helped heat up the Gulf and magnify this storm into a major destructive force in a county that voted 75 percent for Trump.”

Paul Godfrey writes that his son, Charlie, is in grad school at UW. Paul is the president of the Minnesota State Bar Association and coaches a community team of high schoolers.

Michele Choka joined the board of Boingo Wireless, Inc. as an independent board member.

Barnaby Dinges has a memoir that is being published this spring called Ragged Run. “It covers my brother, Casey ’79, and my challenging childhood in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s dealing with the deaths of our parents and subsequent struggles. It includes sections from my mother’s journal, which I found in a warehouse during the WesU years. It’ll be available on Amazon. Special thanks to Phyllis Rose ’82, Larry Zuckerman, and Mary Murphy for their help with the manuscript.”

Barry “Pono” Fried’s Open Eye Tours, which offers custom private tours on the beautiful island of Maui, has won the 2018 Trip Advisor Hall of Fame Certificate of Excellence. He has been “enhancing Hawaiian journeys with fascinating cultural interpretation and a 100 percent personalized itinerary, since 1983.” Congrats, Pono!

On a more somber note, in the last note I wrote, I hoped for “less-bidity,” yet we lost two more classmates since the last issue. We lost Michael Kucinskas on Oct. 16. He majored in theology, played on the football team, and was a Chi Psi brother. He worked as an information technology consultant for Mass Mutual, and then Cigna, before becoming a partner of Factorum, Inc., a computer consultant company. He loved golf and was an advanced scuba diver. He is survived by his wife, Carol Petruff, M.D., two brothers, and a large extended family. We will miss his presence and his wit.

And then Steven Hiscox passed away on Nov. 20. Michael Trager and Tom Miceli attended a wonderful memorial tribute, which celebrated Steve’s life “the way he would have wanted it—filled with heartfelt tributes, and plenty of food and beer.”

Tom recalls that “Steve was the prototypical Wesleyan student—academically smart in the usual ways, but with wide-ranging and unexpected interests. Steve was a music major who composed and played classical music for course credit, but then listened to rap music for pleasure, well before it was hip to do so. He made college look effortless—he was at once scholarly and down to earth, serious and affable. I well remember the time when he pulled an all-nighter to read Gone with the Wind in one sitting! His passions included pick-up basketball (he was a beast) and cars. He devoured Hot Rod magazine the minute it hit the newsstand and spent countless hours under the hood of his car acquiring the skills and knowledge that eventually led to his life’s work as the owner of an automotive training school. I regret that I did not stay in close touch with Steve after Wes, but I will always cherish our friendship during that formative time in our lives.” He is survived by his wife, Tammy, and a large family that includes his brother, Dave Hiscox ’79.

Here we are, at 60 or close to it. That once seemed old. Sometimes it still does. Yet too many of us did not make it this far. In two years, we have another Reunion. I hope we all make it there in good health . . .

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

Steven C. Hiscox ’81, who passed away on Nov. 20 2018, was the prototypical Wesleyan student—academically smart in the usual ways, but with wide-ranging and unexpected interests.  Steve was a music major who composed and played classical music for course credit, but then listened to rap music for pleasure, well before it was hip to do so.  He made college look effortless—he was at once scholarly and down to earth, serious and affable.  I well remember the time when he pulled an all-nighter to read Gone with the Windin one sitting!  His passions included pick-up basketball (he was a beast) and cars. He devoured Hot Rod magazine the minute it hit the newsstand, and spent countless hours under the hood of his car acquiring the skills and knowledge that eventually led to his life’s work as the owner of an automotive training school.  I regret that I did not stay in close touch with Steve after Wes, but I will always cherish our friendship during that formative time in our lives.

Thank you to Tom Miceli ’81, P’12, P’17 for this heartfelt tribute.

Greetings from the Midwest. Alas, I (Joanne) have sad news to report—an indication of where we find ourselves along the path of this great journey we call life. But let me begin with happier news from a selection of our classmates.

I caught up with my old roommate Kathy Prager Conrad and her husband, Jamie. Kathy advises, counsels, and directs teams of talented young people in the tech sector in her job as director of digital government at Accenture, where she builds on the work that she did in the Obama administration to modernize government using digital services and technology. She finds time to travel, most recently to Croatia. Kathy’s daughter, Liza ’11, has relocated from Brooklyn to Atlanta to work as the deputy data and digital director on Stacey Allen’s gubernatorial campaign (results unknown at this time). Caroline ’14 is working in film as a writer, producer, and director, balancing “professional work” with pro bono work in areas of her passion. Kathy’s sister, Ellen Prager ’84, a renowned marine biologist and educator, will publish her book, Dangerous Earth: What We Wish We Knew, in December.

I caught up by phone with both Rick Ciullo and John “Wally” Walden ’82. Rick, who retired last year from Chubb Insurance still keeps involved in the insurance world in Hartford but remains in New Jersey, where he can better enjoy the company of his wife and his daughters, Meghan (a senior in high school) and Hannah (a sophomore in college). Wally, in Ontario, is happy in the world of technology and is enjoying life as empty nesters with wife Lisa while yet still trying to enjoy as much time as possible with his two sons.

Brenda Zlamany’s 100/100 is a stunning and poignant multimedia exhibition that includes 100 watercolor portraits, 100 photographs, and a short video of older and disabled residents of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale that the artist painted during 2017.

The paintings were exhibited at the Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection. She has received a Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant, a Fulbright Fellowship, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, a New York Foundation for the Arts Artists’ Fellowship in painting, and a Jerome Foundation Fellowship. Yale University recently commissioned two large-scale group portraits by her for permanent public display on campus. What an accomplished career!

Greg Shatan moved son Max Shatan ’22 into his old freshman dorm, Foss 1. Greg reminisced about a recent collective 60th birthday celebration and Urban Renewal band reunion. Many of the core members were there, along with special guest musicians: Rob Levin, Joel Kreisberg, Bryant Urban, Carl Sturken ’78, Joe Galeota ’85, Jeannie Gagné ’82, Liz Queler, Billy Hunter ’78, Scot Hecker, Matt Penn, Bill Yalowitz, and Paul Spiro.

Greg joined the law firm of Moses & Singer as a partner in their intellectual property and internet/technology practices and became president of the New York chapter of the Internet Society, a group that promotes the open development, evolution and use of the internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

Barry “Pono” Fried’s business Open Eye Tours was inducted into the Trip Advisor Hall of Fame and received their coveted Certificate of Excellence for seven consecutive years. He creates custom interpretive hands-on experiences to Hawa’i based on his 35 years of teaching, guiding, and cultural immersion.

Ned Lerner rates high on the list of cool dudes (my words, not his, after telling my sons). He has been in San Francisco since 1996; for the past 13 years he’s been director of engineering at Sony PlayStation, whose team did “a lot of the heavy lifting” for the PS4. Ned left to start his fifth start-up, Hearo.Live, a live audience for everything using the power of voice, video, and touch. If anyone is big on eSports, games, or streaming, Ned invites you to meet him in Hearo: Ned#4868.

Stephen Misarski received his Doctor of Ministry from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. His concentration was outreach and discipleship which resulted in his thesis-project, “Training for Evangelistically Effective Churches in New England.”

It is with great sadness that I conclude with news of the passing of Kevin Osborn on June 15 from complications of lung cancer. He was a devoted, creative, working, stay-at-home dad, as well as a gifted writer, producing more than three dozen books on topics ranging from classical mythology to medical literature to sports, as well as books on parenting and titles for young adults on justice and tolerance. He wrote as a futurist in his later years. He had an encyclopedic memory and a love of puzzles, was also a die-hard Mets fan, and a man of great optimism. He will be dearly missed by his friends and family. Our deepest sympathy goes out in particular to his wife of 29 years, Susan Kiley ’83, and their four children, Meghan, Ian, Molly and Casey. Donations may be made to Tri-Boro Volunteer Ambulance Corps, PO Box 204, Park Ridge, N.J. 07656.

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

Greetings from Brooklyn. We will start with an erratum: My fellow SiSPer Ariel Rubissow Okamoto wrote last issue that she is with her husband in the Bay area, which is decidedly on the left coast, not the east coast. I’m sure most of you had figured that out. And daughter Tira is working on the San Francisco Pre-Disaster Challenge of Resilient Design. Our apologies for sloppy proofreading.

Good news department: Paul DiSanto and Gordon Cooney joined former Wesleyan Lacrosse teammates Peter Guenther ’77, Dan Lynch ’80, Bruce Bunnell, and number-one fan Seta Nazarian ’79, along with thousands of Wesleyan faithful at Gillette Stadium, to watch the Cardinals win their first NCAA National Championship.

Joan (Fishman) Herrington is chair of the department of theatre at Western Michigan University. She works professionally as a director and dramaturg, with a recent stint at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

David Lynch joined the Washington Post in November as global economics correspondent and writes about trade and globalization, including the various fronts in the president’s trade war.

Steven G. Blum spends most of his time worrying about other people’s financial lives, teaching other people’s children (at Penn and Wharton), and fending off challenges from his own kids. He would love to hear from any classmates who live with teenagers and have any ideas whatsoever.

Lora Brown Premo is a freelance writer in Colorado Springs. “I have gotten it together again after being widowed in 2011 (my second husband).” She is very proud of her son, Jason, who spent six years in the Air Force as a cryptolinguist with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He took six months off to run the get out the vote effort for Bob Kerrey of Nebraska’s Senate run in 2012. He attended Amherst College on a full scholarship and graduated in 2016, Phi Beta Kappa, with the economics department prize for best thesis. He double-majored in economics and math has accepted a full scholarship for the economics PhD program at Northwestern University. Makes a mother proud!

After five years enjoying all that Japan has to offer, especially the glorious hiking just a short train ride away and rambles by the river nearby, Elaine Kurtenbach has moved to Bangkok to continue as Asia business editor for The Associated Press. It’s a first time to live in and explore Southeast Asia after a career spent mainly in China and Japan.

Dan Greenberger won a third Writers Guild Award for his work on CBS, and by sheer coincidence, the award was presented by his Wesleyan roommate, Bradley Whitford. He said, “It really was one of the proudest moments of my life. Go Wes!”

Brenda Zlamany’s 100/100, an exhibit of 100 watercolor portraits of residents of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale,is scheduled to open on September 17 in NYC.

Charlie Spiegel reports on the June wedding of Nancy Traub Chirinos to Greg Larson. The wedding took place on Billy Goat Hill across from the couple’s San Francisco home. Nancy is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Happily, Charlie’s family law mediation office is only one block away from Nancy’s office. He’s also active in promoting resistry.net and travels to Republican congressional districts in California’s central valley once a month thrrought November. His partner’s grand=niece starts at WESU this fall so he expects to travel back in September

Picking up his daughter from her junior year at Hofstra, Charlie found himself saying, among other wishes for her senior year, that he hopes she graduates before her school has its mass gun shooting, a sentiment he wrote about to Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “Sigh. Resist.”

Alyson Myers directs a scientific team in the Gulf of Mexico to farm seaweed at large scale for carbon-neutral fuel, feed, and other products with the Department of Energy. She’s yet to be swept overboard in spring seas.

On a sad note, Mitch Briskin died on May 27, after a long illness. Mitch’s son, Will Briskin ’21, just completed his freshman year at Wesleyan. His wife, Laura Gardner, notes that “I lost the love of my life, the sharpest man I’ve ever known, the best companion ever. Our children lost a thoroughly devoted, fun-loving father, a constant in their lives (and occasional nudge). Friends lost one of the funniest and most dynamic intellectual sparring partners they’ve ever known. Yet we also gained insight into true courage and grace; how love eases even the worst suffering; how being present is all that is needed.”

Ellen Jewett, Katie Fox, Jessica Barton, Alyson Myers, and several of Mitch’s sophomore roommates, got together in D.C. Ellen said, “We toasted Mitch and all our fond memories of that year.”

Amidst this morbidity, I’m reminded that Annie Dillard called art “anti-entropic.” Things fall apart, yet art pushes back with creation of more things as others decay. We, too, fall apart. We decay. Yet many of us continue to create, through our work and our art. We become anti-entropic forces in our own right. And, we have procreated. Our children continue to defy entropy with their works and deeds, whether at Wes like Will Briskin and many others, or in cryptolinguistics, or in whatever your children do.

And, just before going to press, we also learned that Kevin Osborn and Peter Wojnar passed away. We will have a more complete entry on Kevin and Peter in the next issue.

Here’s to fighting entropy. And, to “less-bidity.”

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

Greetings from the great Midwest! I have much news to report in these early months of 2018. Jeremy Kenner writes from down under: “No guns? No Trump? Sound good? Come to Australia!” Jeremy is currently living in Melbourne, has been in Australia for 17 years—and has no regrets. He still works for the government as an adviser in the field of health and research ethics. On a more personal note, he adds, he has reentered the world of childrearing and has five sons ages 31, 29, 27, 10 (step), and a 5-year old “as beautiful as they come!” Jeremy also invites anyone who is ever in the neighborhood to look him up.

Congrats to Gail Marowitz, who was nominated this year for her fourth Grammy (she actually won back in 2006)! This year it was for Best Recording Package for her art direction for Jonathan Coulter’s vinyl LP Solid State. Check out thevisualstrategist.com for more insights. Gail splits her time between a studio in the West Village and a 130-year old church along the river in the Hudson Valley.

Robin Frank enjoyed a fun evening catching up with Katy Ward Koch and Amy Curtis in the D.C. area. Robin is married to Geoff Megargee, a historian at the Holocaust Museum; they have a guitar-playing, skateboarding 15-year-old son named Ruslan. Robin writes, “I recently left a 30-plus year career in the federal service to became the associate general counsel for International Law at NASA, where some days, I do get to dance with the stars!”—not something that too many of us can say! Congrats, Robin!

Barbara Johnston wrote in from Rochester, N.Y., where she works as a city planner with an architectural and engineering firm. Her nights and weekends, however, are kept busy with her passion: percussion. “My main musical outlet is Brazilian Batucada, and the occasional Bossa Nova jazz or square dance gig.” Last November, Barbara attended the International Folk Music Film Festival in Kathmandu where, she writes, “I screened a short film in which I played drums. Hanging out with ethnomusicologists and listening to traditional music from around the world brought me back to Wesleyan roots!”

From the Bay Area, Ariel Rubissow Okomoto, a Wes Science-in-Society grad, writes of her family, “We are still helplessly West Coast, as my husband, Paul, and I continue to try and save the planet. Our daughters have picked up the vibe: Tira (24) is working on the San Francisco Pre-Disaster Challenge of Resilient Design and Mikki (20) is studying architecture with a focus on public urban projects.”

Brenda Zlamany, a painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, had an exhibition called Brenda Zlamany: 100/100, on view at the Derfner Judaica Museum from September to January. The exhibition featured 100 watercolor portraits of residents of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale.

Congratulations go out to David Lynch, who joined the Washington Post as their national and global economics correspondent, after a storied career at The Financial Times, Bloomberg, and USA Today. Dave, who has three sons, lives in northern Virginia with his wife, Kathleen. He is also author of the book, When the Luck of the Irish Ran Out: The World’s Most Resilient Country and Its Struggle to Rise Again.

Paul DiSanto wrote in with lots of news: Dan Haar has left his long-time job at the Hartford Courant to take on new challenges with the Connecticut Hearst Newspapers. In Denver, Paul caught up with Lisa Greim, Julie Richman, and Michele Vion who are all doing well. From KC, Lou Scimecca and Tony DiFolco send greetings, though the absence of our dear classmate Brad Toomey leaves a hole in the hearts of the KC crowd. Paul reports that several of our classmates left long-term careers for other pursuits, time with family, and retirement (!): Jim Baker retired from Unilever; Jon Duane, from McKinsey; Rick Ciullo, from Chubb. Tim O’Brien retired from Blue Cross of Massachusetts. Many Wes alumni attended an informal party for him in Narragansett, R.I., including classmates Bill Stack and Pete Pezzelli. On campus, Paul often runs into Sandy Herzlich and Barb Martin, Ellen Jewett, Ed Suslovic, Delcy Ziac Fox, Mark Molina, Nancy Parker Wilson, Diane Goldstein, and David Resnick.

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com