reaching the summit - Alumni News

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PEOPLE
April 2010
Reaching
the Summit
Society of Alumni
Officers
President
Sarah Mollman Underhill ’80
Vice President
Christopher F. Giglio ’89
Secretary
Brooks L. Foehl ’88
Assistant Secretaries
Juan G. Baena ’07
Robert Swann ’90
Paula Moore Tabor ’76
Executive Committee
Retiring 2010
Cesar J. Alvarez ’84*
H. Mercer Blanchard ’55
Donna L. Ching ’84
Kendall E. James ’84
Stephen A. Martin ’91
Rebecca D. Salazar ’89
Jonathan Vipond III ’67
Retiring 2011
Walter S. Bernheimer ’61
David C. Bowen ’83*
Thomas P. Kimbis ’93
Bernard Lau ’85
Gregg C. Peterson ’72
Kate Boyle Ramsdell ’97
Sarah Barger Ranney ’02
RETIRING 2012
Jennifer C. Bees ’08
James Gerard Christian ’82
Beth-Anne C. Flynn ’81
Aaron R. Jenkins ’03
Laura Moberg Lavoie ’99
Frederick M. Lawrence ’77*
Norma Lopez ’95
RETIRING 2013
Katherine Queeney ’92*
RETIRING 2014
Joey Shaista Horn ’87*
*Ex Officio as Alumni Trustee
Alumni Fund ChairS
Katie Chatas ’88
Ted Plonsker ’86
Alumni Offices
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Williamstown, MA 01267-2114
tel: 413.597.4151
fax: 413.458.9808
e-mail: [email protected]
http://alumni.williams.edu
Williams magazine
(USPS No. 684-580) is published in
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The Williams College Society of
Alumni was established in 1821 and
is the oldest continuously operating
alumni organization in the U.S. The
Executive Committee is its governing
board, charged with representing and
building closer bonds among alumni,
advancing the interests and reputation
of Williams College and furthering
meaningful relationships between
the two. The Executive Committee
conducts the business of the Society
of Alumni between annual meetings,
held on campus each June during
Reunion Weekend.
On the Cover
Margot (Drinker) Stephens ’81 (right)
and her daughter Kathryn ’10 pause
for a photo atop Mount Kilimanjaro
last January.
CONTENT S
4 C lass Notes
Click on text and photos to jump to the
corresponding page
1932 • ’36 • ’37 • ’38 • ’39
106
1940 • ’41 • ’42 • ’43 • ’44 • ’45 • ’46 • ’47 • ’48 • ’49
1950 • ’51 • ’52 • ’53 • ’54 • ’55 • ’56 • ’57 • ’58 • ’59
1960 • ’61 • ’62 • ’63 • ’64 • ’65 • ’66 • ’67 • ’68 • ’69
1970 • ’71 • ’72 • ’73 • ’74 • ’75 • ’76 • ’77 • ’78 • ’79
1980 • ’81 • ’82 • ’83 • ’84 • ’85 • ’86 • ’87 • ’88 • ’89
1990 • ’91 • ’92 • ’93 • ’94 • ’95 • ’96 • ’97 • ’98 • ’99
2000 • ’01 • ’02 • ’03 • ’04 • ’05 • ’06 • ’07 • ’08 • ’09
58
50
118 W
edding
Album
Editor
Amy T. Lovett
128 Births &
Adoptions
130
Obituaries
Assistant Editor
Jennifer E. Grow
Student Assistant
Cortni Kerr ’10
Design & Production
Steve Parrish
Jane Firor & Associates
Editorial Offices
P.O. Box 676
tel: 413.597.4278
fax: 413.597.4158
http://alumni.williams.edu/alumnireview
PEOPLE
April 2010
Address Changes/Updates
Bio Records
75 Park St.
tel: 413.597.4399
fax: 413.458.9808
http://alumni.williams.edu
120
Volume 104 Number 6
On the Back Cover
Matt Scott ’94 (left) celebrates with
his father Robert ’68 after completing last fall’s NYC Marathon.
CL ASS
NOTES
1932
John P. English
3226 Heatherwood
Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
[email protected]
We lost Fred Peters, sadly, just
before Christmas, and our 1932
class roll is now down to four—
Chuck Ecker in West Chester,
Pa.; Jim Goodwin in Keene
Valley, N.Y.; Taylor Ostrander in
Williamstown itself; and your
scribe, on Cape Cod. I view
this as very positive. All four of
us are flirting with that 100th
birthday, and it just documents
once again what a robust class
1932 has been through the 78
years since our graduation. We
are happy to have been a part of
it and plan to continue.
1936
Richard U. Sherman Jr.
Friendship Village Dublin
6000 Riverside Drive, Apt. A109
Dublin, OH 43017
[email protected]
1937
Edwin B. Heyes Jr.
448A Heritage Hills
Somers, NY 10589
[email protected]
Jack Selvage celebrated #95
with a generous assortment of
local friends and offspring in
January. Has not played much
bridge lately because several of
his former partners have passed
on, and the new younger ones
are too cranky to play with.
Sonnie and Bun Dawson still
hanging in there in good shape.
Bun is condescending to the aid
of a cane.
Farney Fowle has some trouble
with his eyes but does great
business on the phone. Still
shares mutual birthday greetings
with Mary and John Reeves,
who are also blessed to have
family and neighbors to share
the passing hours.
Sadly, we report the deaths of
Jean Bryant (Tom’s widow), Jini
Fox (Walt Fuchs’ widow) and
Reggie Black (Bob’s widow).
Ed Heyes, while perusing notes
of our successor classes, has
been fascinated by many of their
“Tall Tales” and activities, so
in his “spare time” he reviewed
our ’37 accomplishments. As
John Goodbody put it in our
Gul, “Where oh where are the
staid old seniors?”
4 | Williams People | April 2010
Buffeted by lack of sleep,
gargoyles, personality, hangovers, movies and sex, the men
walking along fraternity row
under the elms tried to feel glad
they were getting ready for June
21 but knew somehow that they
weren’t so glad after all, as nostalgia in the warm quiet evening
drowned the urge to meet and
greet the world. Of the original
193, 153 graduated, and here
is what they did: accounting 3,
advertising 3, architecture 2,
accounting 3, aviation 3, business administration 15, banking
and investments 5, construction 2, consultant 1, education
11, farming 1, government 3,
insurance 5, journalism 2, law
17, manufacturing 13, medicine
and health management 13,
merchandising 8, naturalist 1,
photography 1, publishing 4,
shipping 1. And, more than 64
’37ers served in WWII.
“That’s all folks.” Best regards
to all.
1938
George McKay
2833 Wind Pump Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
[email protected]
An e-mail from Jim O’Sullivan
reports that he remains operational as a widower living in
a condo village in Stamford,
Conn. His health is reasonably
good, and he keeps active on the
golf course during the season.
Driving is limited to daylight
hours. He sends his good
wishes to all 19 of his surviving
classmates.
With regret, we announce
the deaths of: Charles Brigham;
Hamilton Herman; Betty
McMillan, widow of Donald
McMillan; Sylvia Appenzellar,
widow of David Appenzellar;
Marilyn McBride, widow of
Wallace McBride; Frances Powell,
widow of Legh R. Powell; and
Nancy K. McKay, wife of
George McKay.
1939
Roger Moore
39 Boland Road
Sharon, CT 06069
Liz and Larry Whittemore
had a good Thanksgiving
in Readfield, Maine, site of
my former childhood Camp
Maranacook (“Maranacook for
evermore” went the old cheer).
Readfield being their son’s home
now. Other son at MIT. (Instead
of our Happy Valley, somewhat
at odds to the multiple several
generation tradition. The world
did not stop.)
Holly Silverthorne corrects me
in that her granddaughter’s doctorate was in oceanography in
Woods Hole, Mass. She found
Anne Sawyer well. Double
retirees Marilyn and Alex
Carroll point out that expressions of gratitude should go to
those who “made it” to our
famous 70th. Hard to get along
without those attendees who
enjoyed our festivities; lots of
understanding for the few who
couldn’t for their own reasons.
We missed them.
The Carrolls recently performed oh-so-able gracious care
for Karl Mertz and wife Joan,
who had to make a personal
and family funeral service in
Indianapolis, winding up as
guests of the Carrolls. Karl did
appreciate their escaping for a
spell from their California fire
season.
Nothing but A-1 reports
on Jim Burns’ book about the
Supreme Court. As he says
himself, what timing! Professor
Susan Dunn has received kudos
on her also recently published
book on FDR. From South
Florida comes news of Harry
Gottlieb’s very own 92nd
birthday, rude (!!) commentary
on the 2010 weather and a card
from Max Berking’s daughter
Charlotte.
Additional notes: The College
confirmed the death of Dan
Whiteley on Dec. 1.
Anne O’Reilly moved from
Southport, Conn., to Essex
Meadows. She may well spend
the winter in Naples, Fla.
Lane Spurrier is still feeling
sadness for Bill’s death 10 years
ago. Her children are all well.
“Coops” Cooper won the
Chandler Trophy for fundraising, having 100 percent alumni
contributions from our class in
the last two consecutive years.
He also wrote about some of
Bernie Auer’s final illness and
about Marge (Dave) Dalzell
living in Colorado. She had her
90th birthday in September.
All of us were more than a
little proud to have attended
the Joseph’s Coat ceremony
and meal at the end of reunion.
Most deservedly, Alex Carroll
won the award as he set the
standard for consistent performance as class president in his
many years of duty.
C. “Button” Smith has a new
book to be published this
n 1 9 3 2 –4 1
Bob Cave ’40 caught up with his granddaughter Jenny Veraldi ’02 (right)
and Jenny’s cousin Ann (Freeman) Fisher ’72 at a family wedding last year.
years but was still able to use
his computer, and he didn’t give
up until near the end.
Bill also had a welcome call
from John Lowe, who lives
in Bixby Village, just outside
Peabody, Mass. Except for a
vision loss, John reports doing
OK but has had to give up
driving as he is legally blind.
John retired from Bausch &
Lomb. He tells us if we are
veterans and have a vision loss,
we are eligible for a CCTV, a
device that allows those of us
with impaired vision to enjoy
TV once again. That might be
welcome news for some of us.
Final question, are any of you
planning a trip to Williamstown
for our 70th class reunion?
1941
spring: Good Bye, Vinny, I Love
You, a family based story.
Bill Nelligan had his 93rd
birthday on Aug. 23. His
advice: “Stay healthy.”
From the College came notice
of the death of Richmond Jones,
age 92, Colorado Springs.
1940
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Martin Brown
7926 Sand Ridge Road
Barneveld, NY 13304
Bill Egelhoff
1500 Westbrook Court, Apt. 1104
Richmond, VA 23227
[email protected]
Bill Egelhoff says he and Bob
Spang had been playing telephone tag but finally made contact. Bob says he’s doing fairly
well, “considering.” His driving
is now strictly local, but that
doesn’t keep him from getting
around. This winter he planned
to spend a month on St. John,
V.I., renting a bungalow on
the island. Bill says he and Dot
made an unexpected drive from
Richmond to Ft. Lauderdale
over the holidays. With the
Richmond airport closed
because of a pre-Christmas
snowstorm, their flight was cancelled, and they had to drive the
950-mile trip for a cruise to the
Caribbean. They arrived, fortunate but exhausted, two hours
before sailing. Bill planned to
celebrate his birthday skiing in
the Shenandoah Mountains at
Massanutten, which boasted a
65-inch base.
Like many of us our Class
President Ken Cook, still in
North Bradford, Conn., is living
in an assisted-living community.
Ken says he doesn’t see many of
our classmates, but he seemed
to be in good spirits.
Our class publisher seems to
be Ray Korndorfer. When Bill
called him, Ray was getting
a piece ready for Christian
Century magazine, along
with several other items. Ray
probably holds something of a
record in composing limericks—
apparently enough now to fill a
book or booklet. Ray said he’s
also writing fiction. He and his
wife Isabel live in what some of
us would call hostile territory,
Amherst, Mass.
Frank Taylor and his wife
Roberta retired to Skidaway
Island, Ga., not far from
Savannah. Frank’s entire career
was with the Foreign Service.
Madrid, Paris, London and
Berlin were some of his better
known posts. He and Roberta
were spending Christmas
with their daughter in nearby
Charleston.
Vance McKean and his wife have
retired to Dana Point, Calif.,
living “between the Pacific Ocean
and the mountains.” Vance’s
first career was with the Marine
Corps, from which he retired
with the rank of colonel, after
which he pursued the role of
teacher for about 16 years. Vance
says other than a hearing loss his
health is good for his age.
Since the last issue of People
we’ve lost John Armstrong and
Dike Blair. After hearing about
Dike, Bill talked to Reba, Dike’s
wife. She said Dike had been
in poor health for about eight
Kim Loring
173 Lakeview Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
In the December People,
anticipating the October
minireunion, we cited the many
“regulars” who would not be
there. It was nevertheless, as we
reported, quite a success. One
regular we had not heard from
has since checked in. Having
known Howard Miner 72 years
since we both played freshman
soccer for Clarence Chaffee, I
couldn’t believe the extent of his
Eph-qualifications that came to
light in our causal conversation.
Imagine an ancestor who owned
Mount Greylock. Jeremiah
Wilbur, on Howard’s grandmother’s side, homesteaded on
the mountain, farmed on the
mountain top and raised 12
children there. What is more, he
was on speaking terms with Eph
himself. Furthering Howard’s
credentials were his grandfather
(1864), father (1901) and two
uncles (1897) and (1909). The
grandfather was superintendent
of schools in North Adams. In
other news, one of Howard’s
paintings will be on the cover
of the Bicentennial program
this year in Otis, Mass., where
the Miners completed a second
home in 1979 upon Howard’s
retirement from Eastern Airlines.
Some of Allane’s recipes will be
featured in a town cookbook.
A November e-mail from
John W. Simmons Jr. ’78, Karen
Ham Simmons ’78 and William
F. Simmons ’13 brought news
of our John W. Simmons, who
died in 1981. His family had
been notified by the U.S.
Navy and U.S. Coast Guard
April 2010 | Williams People | 5
CL ASS
NOTES
that he had been awarded
the Navy and Marine Corps
Medal for heroism 67 years
after his actions on the night
of Feb. 3, 1943. The medal,
second highest awarded by the
Navy, recognizes heroism not
involving actual contact with
an enemy, typically for actions
involving the risk of one’s own
life. John was an officer on the
USS Comanche escorting the
SS Dorchester in the North
Atlantic when the troop ship
was torpedoed and quickly
sunk. To rescue survivors from
the frigid water, volunteers on
the Comanche had to go over
the side with ropes around
their bodies to help those in the
water too benumbed to pull
themselves aboard. John and 11
other volunteers rescued the 93
survivors from the Dorchester.
The citation concludes: “Ensign
Simmons’ courageous actions,
dedicated determination and
selfless devotion to duty in the
face of significant personal risk
reflected great credit upon him
and were in keeping with the
highest traditions of the Coast
Guard and the U.S. Naval
Service.” On Nov. 27, 2009,
24 members of John’s family gathered in NYC for the
presentation of the medal by the
Coast Guard.
After the war John’s career
began with a year at Scott Paper
Co. In 1946 he went to work
for Becton-Dickinson, becoming
chief operating officer in 1960.
In 1971 he left to become CEO
of Morton Norwich, moving to
Chicago. He resigned in 1980
for health reasons and died
of cancer in 1981. While in
Chicago he became a director
of the Lyric Opera, trustee of
the Chicago Symphony and governing life member of the Art
Institute.
Jim Fowle was gearing up for
departure Jan. 17 to return to
the winter home in Siracusa he
and Alison shared every year
from 1985. He had an unexpected two-day visit from Tom
Lenagh in November. It sounds
as though they had a two-day
seminar on mistakes in Vietnam
inspired by the Goldstein
oeuvre “Lessons in Disaster.”
Conversation was illuminated
by the special association each
had with McGeorge Bundy,
Tom as treasurer of the Ford
Foundation when Bundy was
president, Jim as senior assistant
tutor at Harvard’s Winthrop
House when Bundy was head
tutor.
Other classmates have settled
into their winter routines.
Margie and Tod Blodget
are wintering in place in
Wolfeboro, N.H., with Tod out
for physical therapy several
times a week at a nearby clinic.
Jean and Bill Tallman are back
in Naples, Fla., walking the
pristine beaches, Bill swimming
twice a week (at the Y), Jean
active in her studio. Wayne
Wilkins, bouncing back from a
triple root canal, is again at the
top of his game, administering
’41’s part in the annual Alumni
Fund campaign and enjoying the 11 a.m. coffee group
on Spring Street. You would
be welcome there, too, if you
know such things as who were
the five batters Carl Hubbell
struck out in succession, leading off the 1933 All-Star Game.
Bob Taylor and his dog have
moved in with his daughter
Sue and son-in-law Mark in
Victor, N.Y. He can be reached
at 585.398.7486. The eighth
family member to pass through
Williams will be a grandson
graduating in June, where you
can be sure to find Bob.
October ’09 was a cruel
month for ’41. In the short
space of a few weeks we lost
two of our most supportive
spouses and two classmates.
Marcia Thomas died Oct. 24
in Hingham, Mass. She was
associated with many community groups and was a member
of the Women’s Committee
at the Museum of Fine arts in
Boston. Before health problems
intervened, she and Bob Thomas
were essential ingredients of
any ’41 gathering.
Tibby Taylor, wife of
Bob Taylor, died Oct. 26 in
Pittsford, N.Y. She was another
whose dependable role in ’41
reunions added to their luster,
as did her enthusiasm for golf
and tennis.
Aubrey J. Peck Jr. died Oct.
11 in Charleston, W.Va. After
Navy service in North Africa,
Joe founded an upscale ladies
clothing store, Peck’s Inc., in
Charleston in the early ’50s. A
second store opened in White
Sulphur Springs. After closing
the stores in the ’80s, the Pecks
retired to Florida, where Joe
became an avid painter, exhibiting in galleries in the area. He
is survived by his second wife
of 36 years, June Hill Peck. His
first wife was the late Florence
Staunton Peck, with whom he
had three sons. In addition to
his wife and sons he is survived
by 11 grandchildren.
Eric D. Dodge died Oct. 24 in
Hilton Head Island, S.C. After
serving in the Army Air Force,
Eric began a career as economist with the engineering firm
of Tippetts, Albett, McCarthy,
Stratton, conducting feasibility
studies for public works projects
(airports, highways, irrigation) around the world. Eric
and his family lived in South
and Central America for nine
years. The rest of the time he
traveled extensively throughout
the world. Retiring as chief
economist of TAMcS in 1978,
Eric moved to Hilton Head
with his wife Suzanne. He was
an avid sailor plying the water
from Maine to Granada, a daily
tennis player until the age of
84 and an aficionado of music,
especially classical jazz. He is
survived by his two children and
four grandchildren.
1942
Bruce Sundlun
Carlotti Admin. Bldg., 001
75 Lower College Road
Kingston, RI 02881
[email protected]
The Class of 1942 suffered
a great loss when J. Craig
Huff Jr., age 89, died early on
Oct. 20, 2009, at his home
in Cambridge, Mass. He
was born on Aug. 2, 1920,
in Philadelphia, Pa., where
he attended The Episcopal
Academy for 12 years before
becoming a member of the Class
of 1942 at Williams College.
While at Williams, Huff was
a member of the Lambda
Chapter of the St. Anthony
Hall fraternity. Following his
graduation from Williams, he
became a lieutenant in the U.S.
Navy and served on an LST in
the Mediterranean Theater in
WWII.
After the war he took a
position at the Draper Corp.,
a manufacturer of power
looms for the textile industry. Determined to learn the
business from the ground up,
Huff started off working in the
foundry. Eventually he joined
the sales department, and in
the mid-1960s, he was named
president of Draper, where
he remained in that position
until 1972, when the company
was taken over by Rockwell
International. After leaving
Draper, Huff became president
of Fenn Manufacturing and
later served as a consultant for
n 1 9 4 1 –4 3
Morgan Construction Co., a
manufacturer of steel rolling
mill equipment. When he left
Morgan, he decided that having spent his career working
for large global corporations,
he wanted to use his business expertise to run a small
company.
In 1979, he formed a partnership with a small group of
investors and bought the Hayes
Pump and Machinery Co., a
distributor of pumps and related
equipment. As the president and
CEO of Hayes, he used his talents to increase the company’s
annual revenues from $3 million
or $4 million to $30 million. In
addition to his responsibilities
at Hayes, Huff also served as
a director of Pitney Bowes and
the Boston investment firm The
Colonial Fund. He was one of
the founders of the American
Textile History Museum, now
in Lowell, Mass.
Huff was an active member
of the Williams College Alumni
Association, and, as the chairman of fundraising for his 50th
class reunion, he succeeded in
raising a new level of giving
for his class. In 2007, Huff
was honored for the time and
resources he had devoted to
Williams with the prestigious
Joseph’s Coat Award.
Huff had a passionate interest
in American history, beginning
with his own family’s story
of arriving here in 1607 to
help establish the first settlement in Jamestown, Va. Roots
on the maternal side of his
family can be traced back to
Shepherdstown, W.Va., during
the Civil War. As documented
in the book John Snyder: A
Soldier and His Family, his
great-grandmother Rose Snyder
Turner recalls seeing “flashes
of fire” when she was just a
6-year-old girl, and it’s believed
she was witnessing the shelling of Shepherdstown during
the retreat of the Confederate
soldiers.
In his book 1776, author
David McCullough credits Huff
with information he gave him
about the “bee-line” march
from West Virginia to Bunker
Hill during the Revolutionary
War. In addition to his love for
history and the classics, Huff
was also an avid outdoorsman
and enjoyed salmon fishing,
deer hunting in the Adirondacks
and skeet shooting. As a lifelong Red Sox baseball fan, he
attended many games in his
regular seats between home
plate and first base at Fenway
Park and saw the long-awaited
Red Sox World Series win in
2004.
An only child, Huff is survived
by his daughters Holly Beaty,
Deborah Gevalt and Cally
Burns, all of Cambridge, his
son J. Craig Huff III of Groton,
Mass., and his four grandchildren, Alex Burns, Emelie Gevalt,
Ben Beaty and Julia Beaty.
Craig’s wife Ann Millspaugh
Huff died earlier in 2009. They
would have celebrated their
67th wedding anniversary on
Oct. 22. A memorial service was
held on Oct. 30, 2009, at Christ
Church in Cambridge, Mass.
When Craig Huff died, the
Class of 1942 lost its most conscientious and active alumnus
and a man who deserves our
respect and affection.
Ralph W. Ball peacefully passed
away Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, at
his winter home in St. George,
Utah, relieved of a battle with
melanoma.
Ralph was born on Sept.
6, 1919, in Deerfield, Mass.
Having lived 90 robust years,
Ralph frequently remarked at
his good fortune to have lived a
long, full life.
An avid skier, Ralph
attended Deerfield Academy
and Williams College; he was
captain of both ski teams. He
enlisted in the 87th Signal Corp
of the 10th Mountain Division
in the Aleutians at Kiska and
the Alps of Italy against the
Germans.
After the war, he graduated
from the University of Denver
Law School. He was a member
of the Wyoming and Colorado
Bar Associations. He practiced
law solo in Colorado for more
than 50 years in the oil and gas
industry.
Ralph ski raced and free-skied
in the U.S. and Europe through
his 89th year. He climbed in
the western U.S. and Europe,
including all 54 Colorado
14ers, The Grand Teton, Mount
Moran (where he camped at the
Skillet glacier at 78), and the
Matterhorn in Europe.
In the mid-1950s, he and
friends enjoyed running the
Colorado River through the
Grand Canyon, before the
completion of the Glen Canyon
Dam. With spring run-off flows,
he survived a mishap in Lava
Falls, which forced an overnight
without equipment and food,
on the opposite bank from his
party.
He recently traveled to
Australia and China with his
wife Marilyn and had toured
Europe numerous times. A
believer in education abroad,
he was proud that his children
Jody and Christopher studied
for a high school year in Austria
and his granddaughter Fraser
studied one year in Italy.
He loved art and music
and sang in the glee clubs of
Williams College and Deerfield
Academy. He was a member of
the Sun River Branch church
choir with Marilyn.
Ralph is survived by his
second wife, Marilyn, daughter
Jody of Denver, son Christopher
of Denver and son Jeffrey of
Bozeman, Mont. (from first
wife, Katherine), and five grandchildren. Also, he is survived by
Marilyn’s four children, April,
Jared, Janet and Elaine, nine
grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.
Donations can me made to the
10th Mountain Division (LI)
Scholarship Fund, c/o National
Association 10th Mountain
Division, P.O. Box 150,
Carthage, N.Y. 13619.
1943
Fred Nathan
180 East End Ave., Apt. 22G
New York, NY 10128
[email protected]
Most of you know that
Williams has been blessed with
the appointment of another
strong president (only the 17th
in its long history): Adam Falk,
the dean of the school of arts
and sciences at Johns Hopkins
University. People who helped
to recruit him to Williams as
well as to his posts at Johns
Hopkins confirm that we are
exceptionally fortunate. The
Class of 1943 has already been
privileged to watch Williams go
from strength to strength under
the tutelage of the unusually
talented presidents from Phinney
Baxter, Class of 1914, to Morty
Schapiro.
Corrections Department: The
report in the December class
notes on the extraordinary
number of our classmates who
were in the Navy midshipman
class which started at Columbia
shortly after our graduation
omitted the names of Murray
Cole and Larry Thompson.
Murray said that he thought
that the Columbia class was
dominated by recent Little
Three graduates, including
an almost equal number of
CL ASS
NOTES
Amherst ’43ers. He added that
several members of the permanent commissioned staff were
also Williams graduates, including Craig Lewis ’41. Craig will
also be remembered for later
authoring elegant class notes for
many years.
And Len Eaton’s documentary
purporting to recount the tale
of his Harvard graduate school
classmate’s postwar search for
his relatives in Nazi Germany
must be reclassified as “fiction.”
Although a former federal
prosecutor and a WWII history
buff, your secretary proved to
be gullible; not so the mere corporate lawyer, Doc Phillips. Doc
ascertained the non-existence
of the Dohrmann family and
several of the places in Germany
where they were said to have
lived. This is not to diminish
the literary value of Len’s book,
which brought tears to the eyes
of your secretary’s wife Fran,
a sophisticated student of that
era. Len fessed up in a letter
received by your secretary on
the date these class notes were
due.
Another and more straightforward example of our class’s
literary proficiency arrived in
response to our plea—the 2001
book: Hello Cherry Tree—A
Korean War Diary by George
Napier (the pen name of George
N. Wilson). Members of our
class, like many other veterans,
had been reluctant to talk about
their war experiences until
recently, when they began to
realize that it was time to share
their bit of history with future
generations. Overcoming the
pain of some of these memories
and his natural modesty (by
using a nom de plume), Nip
has accurately reported, based
on official records and his own
diary, his portion of the history
of this ship and the planes it
carried.
Cherry Tree was the radio
call-sign of the aircraft carrier
Valley Forge, from the deck of
which Nip flew more than 60
bombing and strafing missions
in a Corsair fighter-bomber.
Unlike most of the airmen
whose stories are told in the
great books on aerial combat,
like Antoine d’Exupery’s Flight
to Arras and Chuck Yaeger’s
Yaeger, Nip miraculously survived two wars through a combination of skill and luck and
married the girl (Ellen) he had
respectfully courted—mostly by
mail from the Pacific.
Perhaps Nip’s example will
encourage other 1943ers to
preserve their life stories—and
let us know about all their literary efforts.
McGurk reported on the 35th
Octet Alumni Concert on Nov.
14 honoring Warren Hunke ’42.
Hunke and McGurk are the last
survivors of the original eight
members of the Octet selected
on Nov. 12, 1940. Sixty-five
men “sang their hearts out for
Hunk to a packed crowd” in
Chapin Hall. McGurk wrote
that the expressions on Warren’s
face “as he heard us sing so
many of his musical arrangements were ample reward
for our efforts.” The current
undergraduate Octet joined in
on some numbers. McGurk says
that a professional recording of
the concert will be available.
Ken Moore sent a two-sentence
“Existing Conditions Report”
describing the outcome of an
unusual but successful operation to rearrange his interior
plumbing. It is not clear from
his comment (“Mercy, what a
sensation”) whether the resulting symptom is pleasurable or
annoying. The details remain
confidential, but Ken seems to
be his usual healthy and goodhumored self.
Kappi Getsinger, pinch-hitting
for “late husband Gordon,”
sent greetings from herself and
visiting son Peter ’75. Kappi has
long been a welcome presence at
1943 reunions.
Edward C. Brown Jr. passed
away in Sarasota, Fla., on
Oct. 12. After serving as class
president in his junior year
and as a member of Gargoyle,
Ted became one of the 11 class
members to join the Naval Air
Corps before graduation. He
later served as a fighter pilot in
the Pacific. Ted culminated a
long banking career by becoming president of the National
City Bank in Minneapolis.
He was active in church and
community affairs in both
states and in Williams-Mystic
(a maritime studies program of
Williams College and Mystic
Seaport). He is survived by his
wife Jinx, four sons, a daughter,
10 grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren.
John L. Rowbotham died on
Nov. 23 in Sugar Hill, N.H.
He served during the Korean
War as chief of surgery in
MASH 8076 (45th Surgical
Hospital)—but, thankfully, not
as a model for any of the characters in Alan Alda’s popular
TV show MASH. Shortly after
returning to Boston, John was
asked to join the surgical team
of Dr. Joseph E. Murray, which
performed the first successful
human organ (kidney) transplant, an event that contributed
to the awarding of the Nobel
Prize in Medicine. He practiced surgery at several of the
Harvard group of hospitals and
became a professor of surgery at
Harvard Medical School. After
retiring to Sugar Hill in 1986,
John held leadership positions
in a number of community
organizations and won the
Andover Alumni Achievement
Award in 1992. John’s wife of
57 years, Marie-Clare, predeceased him. They are survived
by daughter Sara Cornell and
three grandchildren.
Word has just been received
from John Finlay ’73 in Paris
that his father G. Dick Finlay III
died on Jan. 17 in Hyde Park,
Vt. John reports that Dick
had been living in his own
home until a few months ago,
when he moved to a nearby
assisted-living facility, where he
was pleased that the windows
offered the same view of the
Vermont countryside. John
promised to furnish an obituary
for the next issue of class notes.
As Williams People was going
to press, we received the sad
news that Murray Cole died of
pancreatic cancer at his home in
Pompton Plains, N.J., on Feb.
14. As noted above, Murray
was one of the many members
of the Little Three delegation
which received ensign stripes at
Columbia together a little more
than three months after college
graduation. He served as commanding officer of a supply ship
in the Pacific during WWII and
retired from the Naval Reserve
in 1965 as a commander. In
the meantime, he had become
senior partner of the largest law
firm in Passaic County: Cole
Yamner & Bray. He served as
president of the Passaic County
Bar Association and as a trustee
of the New Jersey State Bar
Association. Murray received
the New Jersey Bar Foundation
Medal of Honor in 1997. He
was a trustee of Montclair State
University for two decades and
served as chairman of the board
from 1983 to 1989 and then
from 1995 to 1999. Former
Montclair President Irvin D.
Reid observed, “Cole’s cumulative achievements as member,
chair, booster and friend have
made this university what it is.”
Active most of his life in the
n 1 9 4 3 –4 4
James Ross Macdonald III ’44 (right) got together with (from left) his
grandson Worth ’11 and son James Ross IV ’75 last August.
Boy Scouts of America—first
as an Eagle Scout and later
as chairman of the Executive
Board of its National Advisory
Council—Murray received the
Silver Buffalo Medal, scouting’s
highest honor. Murray is survived by his
wife Mimi, a former member
of the Martha Graham Dance
Company, and sons Jonathan
and Peter. Largely through the
efforts of our class, the library
at Williams College’s Center for
Environmental Studies is named
for a third son, Matthew, who
died in 1981.
Murray, who had been manager of the Williams swimming
team, later handled the personal
affairs of Bob Muir, Williams’
legendary and long-lived swimming coach, on a pro bono
basis.
1944
Hudson Mead
8 Stratford Place
Grosse Pointe, MI 48230
[email protected]
The response to my most
recent plea for news was pretty
good. A number of the ladies
have heeded my call. From the
way station of the Civil War,
Bermuda, comes a note from
its Queen Dowager, Jeanne
Masters, who lives in a wonderfully named house she calls
“Tumble In.” Bermuda was
the destination of British ships
carrying contraband materials (as far as the North was
concerned) for trans-shipment
by Southern blockade runners.
Business has been slow, so
Jeanne has been deeply involved
in music as administrator of a
50-voice youth choir at St. John
Church. She joined the adult
choir in November when it
entertained Queen Elizabeth at
a service celebrating 400 years
of Bermuda’s settlement. “Very
exciting!” quoth Jeanne. Nancy
Schlosser has taken an “art” trip
sponsored by the Santa Barbara
Art Museum which included
Florence, Italy and “Injah.” She
says, “My house hasn’t burned
or been flooded. Life is good.”
Glad to hear that; Nancy was
forced to evacuate twice when
the fires of S.B. came perilously
close. No slouch herself, Anne
Williams took in Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Vero Beach, three
notoriously perilous venues. She
thinks it would be just great if
there had been ’44 classmates
aboard. Sarah Stanton Lee
notes the passing of her mother
Margaret, widow of Charles
Stanton. From the sunny shores
of La Jolla, Jack Talbot contemplates the Pacific—it is. He has
written a biography of his late
wife Angela.
Back across the country to the
New Hampshire gang: Shrimp
Richmond and Bob Whitney.
I like Shrimp’s cogent comment on the state of the Union:
“Nobody in Washington seems
to have enough brains to know
you really cannot spend money
you don’t have, but then it is
not theirs in the first place and
they won’t be sweating to pay
it back!” Bob writes, “Finally
decided to retire after 62 years
as head of Whitney’s Place, a
home improvement contracting
company.” Bob is 89. Does that
make him the senior member
of our class? I just made 88 in
December. My good wife Mary
Mead gave me a little party for
my 88th at a toy store here in
Grosse Pointe owned by friends.
According to the invitation there
was to be “Pop” and cake, face
painting, magic and pony rides.
Somehow the last offering did
not come off, but I had to suffer
the “artistry” of the face painter.
A note from a “long time no
hear” classmate, Richard Eager,
who seems to have a directional
problem: trying to find his way
home to Evansville, Wis., in
which he finally arrived; he
took a trip to Mexico, thence to
Quebec and then settled down
for Thanksgiving in Colorado.
Hope he is home. Another
traveler is Chuck Carothers,
who expresses concern as he
approaches the tarmac for a
flight to Rio de Janeiro but adds
that his travel agent says he has
nothing to worry about. Of
course not, Chuck, unless you
have something in mind like
Gov. Sanford of South Carolina.
Sam Maples, the “Sweet Singer”
of Frederick, is still at it; he will
do the Brahms Requiem in the
spring and says that “it has just
dawned on me how fortunate I
am not just to hear some of the
great choral works but to be
able to sing them.” Tah! Tah!
Percy Nelson spent the summer watching vegetables grow.
He says: “An ingenious trap
temptingly set caught one rabbit
and three young possums, all
of whom live out of town.”
Spinal stenosis has caused
Perc to undergo an operation.
Unlike President Johnson he is
forbidden to send a photo of his
8-inch scar. He can drive and
push his walker around the village and uses less Marine Corps
language to ease his frustrations. Get well soon Perc.
Shep Poor wrote, from memory, Bonnie Baker’s “Down in
the meddy in the itty bitty pool”
and adds, “See what you get
when you ask!?” Bob Bensen,
in a little bit more sober vein,
says he would be interested to
hear from classmates on their
views on whether we should
get out of Afghanistan or send
more troops. This column is
being written after President
Obama gave his answer to that,
and Tom Friedman of The New
York Times gave his negative
rejoinder, which agrees with
Bob and his particular savant,
Walter Rodgers, formerly of
CNN, whose clipping Bob
passed along. What do you
think?
CL ASS
NOTES
Milt Prigoff inquires, “What’s
this ‘downer’ talk—a small
group of greedy thieves have
sold their birthright for a mess
of potage. It’s still the greatest
country in the world!” It sure
is, Milt, but even the terrorists
pick Detroit as its target—and
on Christmas Day at that!
Tom Buffinton from Marion,
Mass., chimes in on my Detroit
lamentation, noting that as a
Red Sox fan, he knows how
I feel. He admonishes me to
“Cheer up. Life is too good
to waste on despair.” Thanks,
Milt and Tom, but before the
Thanksgiving parade down
Woodward Avenue in Detroit,
which is nationally televised in
competition with the biggie in
NYC, I took a tour of Parade
Company headquarters—some
10 acres of buildings where the
parade floats are housed and
maintained. It lies a mile west
of the Cadillac plant, which
just received a shot in the arm
with the announcement that it
will produce the Volt—that’s
the hybrid which is supposed
to electrify America. Also to
be seen on the trip were the
remains of the Packard Motor
Car Co., idle some 50 years—a
constant reminder of the graveyard of American automobiles;
there have been 2,000 brands—
Pontiac, De Soto, Franklin, etc.,
which have come and gone. The
present site of Packard is 1.35
million square feet of detritus.
P.P.A. (Pardon Personal
Anecdote): The grandfather
of my late wife Frances Alger
Boyer, namely, Fred Alger, and
his brother Russell participated
as stockholders in the reorganization of the Packard Motor Car
Co. in about 1905 and needles
to say were on its board of directors. The Wright brothers had
an invention of their own about
that time and came tootling up
to Detroit from Dayton, Ohio,
looking for money and headed
for the board of Packard. The
board turned them down,
but Fred and Russell knew a
good thing when they saw it
and became investors along
with, among others, Cornelius
SENDNEWS!
Y
our class secretary is
waiting to hear from you!
Send news to your secretary
at the address at the top of
your class notes column.
Vanderbilt and August Belmont.
(High flyers, themselves, so to
speak.) The Alger brothers,
not so coincidentally, were the
first folks in Michigan to have
airplanes. I like to say that the
Alger brothers got the Wright
brothers off the ground.
In the ground is our late
classmate Ralph E. Ward Jr.
So noted by Dave Thurston,
among others. Ralph was with
us but a year, leaving to the
join the Air Corps wherein he
flew two tours of duty in the
China Burma India Theater.
After the war he finished up
at Lafayette College, to which
college loyalty attached. Dave
wrote me that Ralph responded
to the 25th reunion yearbook
but not the 50th. Ralph went
on to become president of
Chesebrough-Ponds and was
on the board of such minor
entities as Chase Manhattan
Bank. On the other end of the
scale is Richard “Mouse” Taylor,
whose death in 1978 just came
to the attention of the powers that be; that figures—30
years late—poor Mouse, he so
wanted to be accepted. He tried
his best at our 10th reunion but
did not make the cut. Mahlon
Hoagland died Sept. 18, 2009!
Just in: My roommate freshman and sophomore years, Ted
Hodges, had a stroke. His condition? Let us say that he will
not be pitching for the Ephmen
again or anybody else but gets
around with a walker. Ted and
I had lunch on Dec. 6, one day
short of the 68th anniversary
of that fateful day that Ted and
I have observed for 50 years.
I gave him a copy of my slide
show, one of which he particularly enjoyed because it has a
neat shot of a baseball game in
progress with the truly purple
mountains in the background.
Still have a couple of DVDs
left for the asking. Meanwhile,
Ted and I and fellow Grosse
Pointers are barring the doors,
not from an onslaught of
Detroiters but from coyotes.
One chewed up a cocker spaniel
the other day a couple of blocks
from my house. They live in the
woods of the country club and
are not even members! What
is the world coming to? Well,
enough to send out a posse of
police, one of whom shot and
killed one critter. All this going
on in the Grosse Pointe of all
places. But ever alert, our public
safety director has sent out a
letter of warning. His name?
James FOX—just had to be!
1945
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Frederick Wardwell
P.O. Box 118
Searsmont, ME 04973
[email protected]
Our minireunion in September
was one of the highlights of ’09.
Of particular interest were the
reports made by the students
who were funded by our ’45
World Fellowship Fund. The
impact of funding the travel,
study and work abroad for
students left me thinking our
money could not be put to
better use. Many thanks to
all of you for your wonderful response to my request for
news.
Toby Bermant is among those
who hope to attend our 65th in
June. He writes: “Consider that:
In ’41 we started among 800
students, now grown to near
2,000—more applicants for a
more diverse academic experience. Optimism lies in others’
growing recognition of common
global goals. Indeed ’45’s World
Fellowship Program ensures
our class’s link to the legacy of
those who share our hope for
world peace through mutual
understanding.”
From Don Bishop comes a
medical saga. He has had complex treatment for atrial fibrillation, and he and Betty lead
a careful life, watching their
oxygen. He sends his best.
Ed Bloch is keeping his hand in
many pies as executive director
of the Interfaith Alliance of
New York State, working with
the NYS Council of Veterans
Organizations on legislative and
policy questions. He is “trying
to prevent GE from moving the
film extrusion and small capacitor operations from its mill in
the seething metropolis of Fort
Edwards, N.Y., to China.” Ed
and Naomi hope to make it to
reunion in June.
Fielding Brown plans to be at
the 65th. He writes, “After my
retirement from the Williams
faculty in ’93 and five years
playing sailboat, I’ve taken
up building contemporary,
abstract sculptures in wood and
multimedia. I am lucky to have
a good woodworking shop here
at our retirement community,
where I am at it three to five
hours on a good day. Two solo
shows, one joint show and
a commission in the Boston
n 1 9 4 4 –4 5
area this past year have kept
me busy, engaged and looking
forward.”
Stu Coan, our valuable class
agent, writes: “Mary and I
remain very active in a number
of local groups and wish
everyone in the class a great
New Year. I had a nice letter
from Shirley and Ted Murphy in
Rockville, Md., who are happy
in a retirement community.
Their health is good, and they
enjoy their many contacts with
children and grands as well
as local activities with their
library and art groups. Charlie
Pinkerton reported from cold
and snowy Maine that he and
Lucy are in good spirits, though
his back has been a big pain and
he faces surgery for it soon. Bill
Bennett wrote us from Tacoma
saying he still mourns the loss of
his wife but is gradually getting
organized.”
Mary Elinore and Don Davies
sent a brief note in January
from South Dartmouth, Mass.,
saying they have had a “wonderful start to 2010! Don is
walking with a walker.”
Frank Davies writes from
Sarasota that he has just
received an award from the
Professional Scuba Divers
Institution for having made over
1,000 dives in the many oceans
of the world. He also finished
his second book on diving.
Frank’s first book, was about
his WWII time in the Pacific.
He entered the V-12 program in
1943, returning from the Pacific
in 1946 as a lieutenant, junior
grade, USNR in 1946.
Harry DePan will aim for
coming back in June, health
uncertainties permitting. He has
retired from his surgical practice
after 45 years in Glens Falls,
N.Y.
I got a phone call and note
from Bud Edwards in Brunswick,
Maine. He talks of slowing
down but is still playing tennis
and swimming three times a
week. He roomed with Tom
Hoover and Gus Gutterson freshman year and then left for the
Naval Academy, graduating in
three years. After four years in
the Navy, Bud went to Harvard
Business School, rooming again
with Gus and with Joe Varley.
Bud and Joe plan to be at the
reunion in June and look forward to seeing everyone.
A note from Fritz Henry in
St. Johnsbury, Vt., says they
planned to leave in March
for a trip “to Singapore, then
by clipper ship up the Malay
Peninsula to Phu Ket and
Bangkok.” They had done this
trip in the other direction a few
years ago and loved it, so they
wanted to do it again, but in
reverse. Fritz says he played JV
football under coach Whoops
Snively for a time but had his
priorities rearranged by three
labs that were scheduled during
practice.
Emmet Herndon writes that
he found a good thing and has
stuck with it. Same wife (Janet)
since January 1945, same job
since September 1945 (married
the boss’s daughter) and same
house since 1948. He rides a
bike to work a couple of miles
every day and plays tennis a
couple of days a week. “Life
in Idaho is great, especially on
summer weekends at our cabin
on Payette Lake, 100 miles
north of Boise.” Emmet hopes
to make the reunion in June.
We see Fran Lathrop occasionally, and he is fine.
Unfortunately the sad news is
that his wife Cynthia, a great
person and distinguished competitive skier, died in December.
Fran is splitting time between
a retirement community in
Peterborough, N.H., run by his
daughter, and New Hampton,
N.H., at the family farm. We
have every reason to expect
Fran was busy skiing this winter. We hope he can make it to
the reunion in June.
Another world traveler is
Strother Marshall. He writes that
after he retired at age 70, he
traveled a great deal, including a
three-month around-the-world
jaunt and a semester-at-sea trip.
More recently he settled down
in Los Osos, Calif., and is reluctant to venture out.
Gil Lefferts reports, “The
fall of ’09 was not kind to the
Lefferts household.” CC broke
her left hip in August, and she
was “undergoing therapy here
in Conn. when a dog knocked
her off her feet and she broke
her right hip! … One thing is
sure: We have till June to get
mobile enough to make it to
Williams for our 65th. We will
be there and hope to see you all
joining us.”
Tracy McFarlan sent word from
Asheville, N.C., that after 30
years Asheville is still a great
place to live. His “three kids
live in the suburbs of NYC,
Philadelphia and Boston. The
five grandchildren are no longer
children and are enjoying the
rigors of advanced education.
The oldest, Kate Rooney ’11,
is a junior at Williams. Soon
they will be pulling the cart and
making a real contribution to
this world in which we live. Best
to all for a prosperous 2010.”
Mary Liz McClellan wrote:
“The Bruce McClellan family
gathered in Newport, R.I., the
weekend before Thanksgiving
and thoroughly enjoyed good
weather, good touring, good
food and each other. Arthur
Stevenson and Margaret are
here with me at RiverMead
in Peterborough, N.H. Our
nephew Ted Kernan ’09 is now
with Exxon in Houston, and
our niece Laura Pickel ’11 has
spent this term in Denmark. I
hope to be at reunion in June
after my own in Middlebury.”
Walter Minton reports from
Ponte Vedro Beach, Fla., that
his first great-grandchild arrived
almost simultaneously with
the 14th grandchild, who was
provided by his daughter Katie
Minton Aisner ’99. “As for
Williamstown in June—very
unlikely, alas.”
The timing of the Williams
note caught Dick Morrill before
he flew off to Tampa (from
home in Southbury, Conn.) to
visit a daughter and two grandsons. His excitement in October
was attending a meeting of the
Society of the Cincinnati (N.J.
chapter) in Washington. An
ancestor, Amos, was an infantry
captain in Washington’s army.
The 65th in June is on his
calendar.
Bill Snyder is still golfing and
trap shooting and is still happily
married to Challis after 60-plus
years. He does not commit to
the reunion but says he does
visit Williamstown every summer for museums and theater,
so perhaps he will be able to
schedule for the June reunion.
Arthur Stevenson writes that
he and Margaret continue their
pleasant life in Peterborough,
N.H., and that his main concerns are the federal deficit and
holding his own in the Jaffrey
Duplicate Bridge Club. He
is more optimistic about the
bridge than about the deficit.
Bill Thompson has heard from
Al Pawlick and reports that all
is well but wonders if people
have heard that Willard Pearsall
died this past year. On a more
cheerful note Bill and his wife
Claire are busy playing tennis
and enjoying the beautiful, quiet
winters on Cape Cod, their
home since retirement in 1997.
(No migrating south or west for
them!)
CL ASS
NOTES
Ann Traylor (Mrs. Dave
Traylor) is a bit unsure about
June because, after returning
from Anguilla, BVI, where she
planned to be in February and
March, she may possibly be getting a new knee.
Great letter from Barc Trippe.
He listed children, grandchildren, golden retriever, the
usual physical problems, but
“at the moment we are still
vertical.” He keeps in touch
with Gay and Fred Scarborough
in Williamstown and hopes
to have a visit in June at the
time of the reunion. Barc was
another V-12 veteran (as was
Frank Davies) and reports that
Bill Webster (Amherst ’45, CIA,
FBI, etc.) was a good friend and
bunkmate and is doing well.
Last but not least in the deep
pile of notes from everyone was
a note from Tim Tyler. He has
seen Gil Lefferts and talked with
Joe Varley. Tim is still in Denver,
summers in Maine and plans to
be at the reunion in June.
As your new class secretary I
can report successfully delegating much of this job to wife Ann
and daughter Martha Wardwell
Goodnow ’79 while I am getting
a heart bypass job done. I made
it home in time to see this mail
go out but not to sneeze easily.
We shall see you in June.
1946
Gates McG. Helms
5 Troon Court
Maplewood, NJ 07040
[email protected]
My dear classmates of the
Great Class of 1946: I had
hoped to get a letter out to all
of you right after our minireunion, as I did last year, because
the deadline for copy for the
December Williams People was
Sept. 18, the week before our
reunion, and this one is such
a long time coming that the
account of the weekend loses a
lot of its pizzazz. Alberta and
I had just been back from our
minireunion in Williamstown
for a week when I began my
write-up, but something happened to interfere with my completing it. So here is an account
of that weekend.
Present were Norman
Birnbaum and Terry, Rita and
Earl Brown, Trina and Dick
Debevoise, Sam Fuller and
friend, Lois and Bob Lesser,
Helen and Rich Schneller, Joyce
and Lou Sheffey, Barbara and
Bill Shellenberger, and Alberta
and me. Bud Morrow and Edie
were signed up but called to
say they could not make it. Our
treasurer, Jerv Brinton, and Toni
were supposed to come but
never showed. I found out later
that Jerv had just learned that
he had cancer of the esophagus.
More about that later on. Norm
was not signed up but came just
the same. Sam Fuller graced us
with his presence for dinner but
was absent for the rest of the
weekend.
As was the case last year, we
gathered at the Faculty Club for
drinks at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7
with the Class of ’45. The evening was very much in the mold
of last year’s, with a very good
self-serve buffet dinner followed
by the appearance of the Spring
Streeters, a male singing group
at the College that regaled us
with several songs, including
a splendid rendition of “The
Mountains.” I did note that
they pronounced “winds” as we
do today, not as they did when
the song was written, i.e.
“wiiinds,” as in to wind a
watch. I wonder how, when and
why the pronunciation changed.
One aspect of the gathering at
the Faculty Club did change
from last year. We were not
treated to an account of one
young man who told how he
paid attention to breathing
through his nose and counting
his breaths.
There is good news to report
about the Northside Motel. The
management has rearranged
the reception and the breakfast
areas so that they flow into one
another along the east side of
the building. It is a worthwhile
change. The offering for breakfast is, however, just the same.
For reasons I do not know, the
Northside was omitted from the
recent list of places to stay in
Williamstown that the College
prints up and distributes. This
led some of us to think they
were out of business. Not so.
At 10 o’clock the next morning, we repaired again to the
Faculty Club for our class
meeting. It was a lackluster
affair until our president had
the bright idea of asking Norm
Birnbaum to give us a little
insight into life in our nation’s
capital. Well, you would have
thought that Norman had been
prepared for this for at least a
month. Without missing a beat,
he delivered himself a 20- to
25-minute lecture on the culture
of Washington, the situation in
the West Bank, etc., etc. It was
really a fine talk to which he
treated us. As a matter of fact, I
received from Dick Debevoise a
letter he got from Norm, which
is worth quoting: “A splendid
reunion, and I look forward to
the next one—and my friend
Terry enjoyed it very much
as well. I was very glad and
touched that you asked us to
talk—after all, as a retired professor, I do miss those captive
audiences. This one, to judge by
its questions, consisted entirely
of honors students—so please
thank everyone for their participation on my behalf when you
write about the event. It was
also a very warming expression
of esteem on your part, which I
greatly value.”
I received a letter from
Norman Birnbaum just before
my deadline. He writes: “The
Spanish minister of justice has
awarded me the Cruz de Honor
de San Raimundo da Peñafort.
It is a decoration given for services to justice, and since I am
not a lawyer, I suppose it has
been given for my writings (I
am a columnist for the Madrid
daily El Pais, and my most
recent book, After Progress, was
published in Spain) as well as
for my role for a long time as
adviser and friend to the democratic groupings in the new
Spain, including the Socialist
Party, to which the minister
belongs.
“When I was 12 and learning
about a world rather larger than
the Bronx, the Spanish Civil
War was nearing its terrible
climax. At the time, I imagined
the war as an unequivocal
struggle between good and evil.
On the one hand, the forces
of secular progressivism, in
the Spanish Republic, and on
the other, Franco’s coalition of
fascists, monarchists and clerical
reactionaries (along with brothers in arms from the German
and Italian military. The
Republicans had Soviet arms
but few of the USSR’s formidable soldiers). If I had been told
that one day I would be receiving a decoration from a Spanish
Socialist minister named after
a medieval theologian, scholar
of the canon law, adviser to
popes, friend of St. Thomas
and Dominican who lived—
encouragingly for our class—to
100, my response would have
been amused disbelief. Now,
however, I am to be given the
decoration at a ceremony in
Madrid early next year. Since
then, I have learned to regard
n 1 9 4 5 –4 9
the Spanish conflict (1936-39)
as a matter of more shadows,
still think the Republic merited
defense and have learned of
the contribution of significant
elements of the Spanish church
to the democratization of Spain
after Franco’s death in 1975.”
I set myself a goal of 10,000
steps a day as registered on my
pedometer. Since I was short on
Friday, I felt it was important
to log enough over 10,000 on
Saturday to average 10K for the
two days. So we walked from
the Northside to the Taconic
Golf Club for lunch with the
rest of our class. I mention all
this because along the way I
found a wallet by the side of the
road containing one dollar and
a whole bunch of cards, including one from Merrill Lynch and
one from Morgan Stanley. This
will show you how profitable
walking around Williamstown
can be. We turned in the wallet
at the police station next door
to the Northside.
While on the subject of
walking, I was the beneficiary
Saturday afternoon of some gorgeous New England fall weather
and a spanking brand-new
sidewalk that runs uninterrupted
from the traffic circle in front
of the Saint house right out
the Clark. Not as much fun as
a football game, but Williams
played away that day.
The last featured event of our
minireunion was drinks and
dinner at the Williams Inn, just
around the corner from the
Northside. The food was good
as usual, but the Brown Betty
dessert was so outstanding that
I asked for a second one, which
happily they had. Lois Lesser
couldn’t believe I had the temerity to request a second helping.
One of my ace reporters is
Bill Shellenberger, who says
he saw Mason (Stan) Babson
in Maine, where he and Millie
moved from Lyme, Conn.
They are much better off now,
because their son and daughter
live nearby. Millie needs help
getting in and out of bed in the
morning. As you know, Stan is
virtually blind.
Shelly himself says he gets
a lot of exercise, both in the
swimming pool with a bunch
of old ladies and on an exercise
bike where he is able to ride five
miles in 25 minutes. He has a
motorized wheelchair as well,
which gives him some mobility.
Barbara continues to be in good
health and spirits, which helps a
great deal.
Shelly reports that Wally
Thompson is getting along all
right. His right hand is on the
blink, but he gets around with
a motorized wheelchair. He has
lots of friends nearby, which
helps, and Tom Hyndman comes
down to see him from time to
time.
Here is some good news.
Jerv Brinton had a connection
at Johns Hopkins, a stepson,
I believe, so he checked in
there around Thanksgiving
for a second opinion. The first
thing they said was that they
could not find the tumor. It had
been shrunk out of existence.
Furthermore, the cancer had
not spread to other parts of his
body. When I talked with Jerv
the other day, he said he would
be finished with his treatment in
a few days. He had been getting
radiation treatment once a week
and chemotherapy five times
a week. So, it looks as though
Jerv is out of the woods.
Our former class scribe, the
redoubtable George Pieper,
has pulmonary fibrosis, which
has slowed him down quite a
little. He too has a motorized
wheelchair for long distances
but is able to walk unassisted
for shorter hops. He does
exercise in the swimming pool,
which seems to be a great help,
because the water supports one
while moving the arms and legs.
He can no longer swim, and he
reports that taking a shower is
getting to be a problem, because
he can’t reach his head to wash
his hair, and he can’t reach his
feet to wash them either. He
regrets that he is unable to make
it to our minireunions. He asked
me to send his regards to you
all.
Your devoted classmate, Gates.
1947
John C. Speaks III
33 Heathwood Road
Williamsville, NY 14221
[email protected]
1948
John A. Peterson Jr.
5811 Glencove Drive, Apt. 1005
Naples, FL 34108
[email protected]
First, I apologize for the
misspellings in the December
2009 edition of the notes.
Should have been Teran, not
Tern, McElvein, not McElvien,
and Janson, not Jameson.
Proofreading goof.
News is scarce. I heard
at Christmastime from Don
Markstein, Giles Toll, Rhett
Austell, Buck Jordan and Chuck
Klensch. Jerry Teran writes that
he is just finishing his fourth
year as master of his Masonic
Lodge—his tenure being the
longest in the lodge’s history.
During the spring and summer
he meets with Dick Gray and
John Glore for lunch once a
month.
Don Markstein sent me a long
article about Roger, the son
of our late classmate Charlie
Goodell, being the commissioner of the National Football
League.
Two more of us died recently.
Jim Heekin on Oct. 5, 2009,
and Ray Kelley on Nov. 10,
2009. On behalf of the class, we
send our condolences to their
families.
1949
Chuck Utley
1835 Van Buren Circle
Mountain View, CA 94040
[email protected]
Let’s start with some really
good news from our class
president: Charlie Jarrett writes
that “thanks to extensive
rehab following my stroke last
August, I’m glad to report that
life is good. I will always be
thankful for the outstanding
support given to me during my
recovery by my classmates and
the Alumni Office staff. It’s
been great to hear from many
of you; unfortunately not all the
news has been pleasant. I was
particularly saddened to learn
of the death of Pete Geier, my
roommate, fraternity brother
and good friend. On the positive
side, I was happy to re-establish
contact with Jim McClements,
fraternity brother and roommate. Fortunately, I’m ready
and able to take up the reins as
class president. How thankful I
am for the terrific class officers
who are doing an excellent job.
Our 60th reunion was such
a success that we are looking
forward to a repeat performance and large turnout at our
fall minireunion this year where
we can continue to enjoy each
other’s comradeship and cheer
on the Ephs.”
As Charlie indicated, Pete
Geier, whose friendly banter
many of us enjoyed at last June’s
reunion, unfortunately died in
November in his Hyde Park
CL ASS
NOTES
(Cincinnati) home after a brief
illness. Outside of business, Pete
had been active in the Rotary
Club, was a board member of
the Hamilton County Board
of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities and
enjoyed his houseboat on the
Ohio River.
Also, Nev Smythe passed away
in December at his home in
Bryn Mawr, Pa., after a long
illness. During his career in the
paper business, he had been
active in both the Rochester,
N.Y., and Philadelphia business communities, where he
maintained his connections with
many ’49ers. Nev loved golf,
boating, photography and especially the family’s summer home
in Blue Hill, Maine, where he
will be laid to rest.
John Aldeborgh: “Janet and
I moved to Martha’s Vineyard
(RR1 Box 203B, Edgartown,
Mass. 12539) a few years
ago—having summered here
for 55 years—so I guess we
love it. Three of our five kids
have homes here on the farm
(where we live) … 10 grandkids
are our summer companions.
Lovely summers and very mild
winters (no snow—no hills, so
don’t bring your skis). Williams
alums scarce, Princeton alums
not scarce. We are in the phone
book (directly under Alcoholics
Anonymous)—if here, give us
a call.”
Wally Barnes: “Barbara
Franklin and I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in
Windham, Vt., at a ski lodge
jointly owned by my son Tom
and his daughter and their
spouses. Six grandchildren and
six great-grandchildren plus
assorted mates and significant
others. In addition to giving
thanks for many blessings,
we celebrated Tom and his
wife Melanie’s 40th wedding
anniversary. Since Tom was
born in March of our senior
year at Williams it brought back
memories of ‘The Barracks’ and
a snowy ride in the middle of
the night to Pittsfield General
Hospital. 1949 seems like a
very long time ago! I’m homebased in Bristol, Conn. My wife
Barbara Franklin a former Sec.
of Commerce in the first Bush
administration, has her own
consulting business in DC, so
we commute back and forth
between the two homes and
offices. Life is good and always
interesting.”
Stan Whetstone: “We had
hoped to get to our 60th
reunions at Williams and
Skidmore, but Joan hit a bad
spot and we had to cancel out
of both a European trip and
the reunions. Things recovered
enough so that we were able
to spend the summer in Utah
again, having the car shipped
as far as Denver. I got myself
out from under a cloud by
passing a stress test, “with
flying colors,” according to my
recently acquired cardiologist.
But I still must work on getting
the glucose and weight down. I
have lots of company down here
in our church choir. So here’s
back to the kayak, when it stops
raining!”
Ron Chute: “We moved from
Darien to Washington, Conn.,
in 1997 and have spent many
hours fixing up our 1774 house,
researching the history of the
frescoed walls in a second-floor
room and creating a garden. A
few years ago the garage had to
be replaced, so we did a 21stcentury addition with an elevator. Grandchildren love it (as do
I). There are seven of them from
10 to 3 years of age. Not much
travel—too nice here. I play
tennis a couple of times a week.
Nancy is very involved with
the garden club and various
editorial assignments.” Over the
holidays, the Chutes were to go
to Chester, Vt., where their son
“has a house for skiing. Real
New England.”
Giles Kelly: “Sorry to have
missed the big 60th, but I was
called to England in June. In
July I turned 88 and was still
enjoying tennis regularly, gardening and sailing my 23-foot
sloop on the Potomac. In
October, Ann and I celebrated
our 25th wedding anniversary here in Washington. We
wondered how time went by
so fast. That was summer;
now in December we are
recently back from the Great
Northwest, where we had family Thanksgiving in Anacortes,
Wash. As I write this just
before Christmas, the snow in
our garden is already 16 inches
deep and still falling. Yipes!”
John Herndon is now living at
Blakehurst, a residential community in Towson, Md., with
lots of elevators. It’s Unit 726 at
1055 W. Joppa Road. He says
he “still plays tennis (doubles).”
In the summer you’ll find him
on Nantucket, in Siasconset,
Mass.; phone 508.257.6230.
Dick Baker: “We are selling our
house in Pittsburgh and moving
into a retirement community
where there are some other
Williams grads. … It’s full of
old people! Have two grandsons
in Atlanta, ages 15 and 16, who
are very busy and athletic and
love the south. Anne takes good
care of me as usual.”
Joe Takamine completed 52
years of medical practice in
July ’09. But he adds, “I’m not
retired, but taking a break—
some consulting—and then we
will see what looks appealing
in 2010. Health care is a mess
in California, as it is almost
everywhere.”
David Rockwood: “Fall golf
of ’09 extended well into
November, then the clubs were
replaced by rock salt and a
shovel. Cape Cod is still a great
place to enjoy 12 months of
the year. Patricia seethes at the
political circus on TV and is
looking for a secondhand Uzi
for ‘stimulation’ use.”
Ed Maynard: “No major
changes here. We’ve just had
a big family Christmas with
three out of four children and
their families, daughter Ginny
’81 included. Son Dan ’83 was
in Switzerland with his three
kids, who are all on the English
ski teams. I’m still teaching at
Harvard med school and trying
to keep my own head active,
taking a variety of courses at
Harvard, as Williamstown is
a bit too far. Hope we’re planning a minireunion in the fall.”
Oren Pollock: “In my 80s,
I do not have daily things of
interest to report. I do walk
our Airedale on a regular basis
and thus an apartment free of
accidents. More seriously, Sam
and I spent most of the week
after Christmas in the DC area,
visiting her family members
and for us a real treat of having
dinner with Susan and Hedrick
Smith ’55, fellow travelers on
a Williams Venice to Istanbul
trip 10 years ago. He is a most
interesting guy having spend
several stints in Moscow for
The New York Times. More
recently he has been making
documentaries, the last one on
the deterioration of Chesapeake
Bay. Additionally, I have been
coordinating Williams alumni
in Chicago partnering with
Chicago middle schools; we are
in our eighth year of this activity, volunteering once a month
on Saturdays helping to prepare
for Illinois tests, coming up with
mind stretchers in math, science
and English and judging art and
science fairs.”
Jim Geer: “Don’t think we will
n 1 9 4 9 –5 1
get back to Billville this year. We
are freezing even down here in
Florida … only 38 degrees this
morning! (Jan. 4.) The family
all got together for Christmas
in Boca Grande: Pat, Chris
and Mike from London, and
Suzanne ’07 from NYC. Miss
seeing you guys.”
Herb Cole: “I retired from my
pediatric office practice Nov.
12. For several years I have
been working with a group to
establish a free medical clinic
for the working poor: people
who are working but earn less
than 200 percent of the poverty
level and too much to qualify
for Medicaid. We finally opened
that clinic in Bergen County in
New Jersey, and I am volunteering my time to do the pediatrics
there. Looking forward to
seeing you all at Williams either
this June or in the fall.”
1950
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Sidney C. Moody Jr.
1131 Fellowship Road
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
[email protected]
As a warm-up for our 60th
reunion, Fred Lanes and Morgan
Murray organized a lively
minireunion in Williamstown
in early October—the height
of the leaf gazing period.
Unfortunately the weather did
not cooperate for Saturday’s
football game against Bates, and
our group suffered through a
raw, cold rain happily ending in
an Eph victory.
Among the 32 weekend
attendees, in addition to Fred
and Mo, were Barbara and Jack
Washburn, Norm Olson, Judy and
Bud Blakey, Joan and Mickey
O’Connell, Larry Fitch, Mary and
Stan Roller, Claudia and George
Razook, Ellen and Peter Thurber,
Kevin Delany, Sandy and
Doug Coleman, Jan and Hank
Meagher, Chuck Alberti, Pat and
Pete Moody, Marybeth and Jim
Burbank, and your secretary and
Mrs. Moody.
To make sure we did not lose
any folks on the dark road to
the Mill on the Floss Friday
evening, a bus was hired to take
us to and from the restaurant.
Saturday eve was highlighted by
cocktails at Chuck Alberti’s very
attractive condo followed by
dinner at the 1896 House.
The usual class meeting was
held Saturday morning at the
Williams Inn. The main topic,
of course, was the big 60th
reunion June 10-13. President
Coleman reported that 43 class
members had already signed on
for the event, most with their
wives or significant others, in
addition to two widows from
the class. We hope many more
classmates and widows will join
in the festivities.
Your secretary had a suspicion
this past fall that Melanie
Oudin, the 17-year-old tennis
phenom at the U.S. Open championships, just might be related
to our own Folger “Frenchy”
Oudin. Sure enough, an e-mail
from Charles F. (Chip) Oudin III
’80 confirms that Melanie is
Folger’s granddaughter, and he
knows how proud “Frenchy”
would be of her and success on
the tennis courts.
Howard Simpson chips in with
news that one of his Baltimore
buddies, Ernie Imhoff ’59, had
lost some 50 years ago a prized
recording of the Spring Street
Stompers at Carnegie Hall.
Remember them in our salad
days!
Many years later, Ernie
improbably found another
dog-eared copy at a smelly book
store in Baltimore. The good
news is that Howard will be
coming to our reunion armed
with a copy of classic Stomper
Dixieland to add luster to the
Reunion Jazz Band, which will
be performing for the Class of
’50 on Saturday night at Dodd
House. Talk about hot tickets!
A night—as well as a
reunion—not to be missed...
Judy and Bud Blakey are
happy to have a freshman
granddaughter in Billville with
other young ones lurking. The
Blakeys have an upcoming trip
to Germany; Egypt is in the
plans for next year. Stan Roller
has added another bionic part,
with his second knee surgery
within a year. Chuck Alberti,
who has a history of trouble
with one foot, is in rehabilitation for recent surgery on his
other foot. His son Chris ’75 is
back in the States with his family after several years in China.
Sandy and Doug Coleman
have been trying to warm up
in Florida. If that doesn’t work
they will head to Arizona to
play cowboy. Blue waters in
Maine are definitely in the sights
for next summer. Katie and
Norm Olson spent a lot of time
with the family in White Lake,
Mich., this past summer as well
as Big Sky, Mont. Norman’s
son John accompanied him to
the minireunion and added to
the festivities. Katie notes that
a painting by Ford Schumann
commissioned some years ago
now graces the wall of their
cabin in Big Sky. Jim Burbank
is officially a retired engineer
in Brunswick, Maine, but he
still consults and keeps active
in community affairs—as does
Mary Beth, who, as usual, keeps
Jim laughing.
Norden Van Horne reports that
his hunt for elk in five states
in recent years finally brought
success. On the last morning
of a six-day hunt just south of
the Grand Canyon, he filled his
game bag, he says, “not only
with elk but also with the moon
and the stars.”
A final note. This scribe and
Mrs. Moody, after 53 years
in our multi-level manse in
Bernardsville, N.J., moved
in January to the single-level
comforts of a nearby retirement
community.
Our new address: 1131
Fellowship Road, Basking
Ridge, N.J. 07920. Same phone:
908.766.3879. E-mail:
[email protected].
More anon. Meanwhile,
our auspicious 60th reunion
is rapidly approaching. Mark
your calendars for June 10-13 in
Williamstown. We will be there;
will you!?
1951
Dick Siegel
229 Golf Edge
Westfield, NJ 07090
[email protected]
Our class minireunion the
weekend of Oct. 9-11 was
again held in conjunction with
our friends in the Class of ’52.
Dinner was Friday evening at
the Williams Inn, and a joint
luncheon was held at the Log
on Saturday before the football
game with Bates. It was a great
day, with Williams winning a
close game, the foliage in full
color and Siggie and Gordon
McWilliams very graciously
throwing a cocktail party at
their home prior to Saturday
evening’s dinner. Those in attendance besides the McWilliams
and Siegels were Becky and
Tim Blodgett, Carole and
Dick Chinman, Linda Conway,
Deborah and Jack French, Meg
and Don Gregg, and Carol
and Peter Kent. A number of
classmates who intended to
attend had to cancel because of
CL ASS
NOTES
late conflicts, but George Dorian
was good enough to send a
lovely floral arrangement to the
McWilliams’ home for the cocktail party. Barbara Fargo and
Jack Hornor sent notes of regret,
and hopefully this year we will
have a large turnout at the mini,
which will again be held with
the Class of ’52. The mini will
be held Oct. 15-17, and the
football game will be against
Middlebury. Many classes are
holding reunions that weekend,
so please make room reservations as soon as possible.
Chuck Pusey writes that he
has cut his work to a half-day,
five days per week, still trying
to create “urban sprawl,” i.e.,
selling land to developers in
Philadelphia’s western suburbs.
The Puseys now live in a retirement community in Newtown
Square, Pa. Chuck says that
he started dating Nancy more
than 64 years ago while in 10th
grade and hasn’t had another
date since 1945. Can anyone in
the class top that? The Puseys
married in June 1951, just after
graduation. Shay Lynch was
the best man. Chuck has three
great-grandchildren, and one of
his grandsons works with him.
A close contender in the
marital longevity race is Dick
Chinman. He and Carole cel-
relation), who is organizing
a large-scale retrospective of
Fred’s work, likened him to
a 19th century novelist. “He
combines a panoramic sweep
with intimate portraiture. That’s
incredibly hard to pull off as a
filmmaker, to have a sense of the
larger world while remaining
true to the particularities and
foibles of individuals.”
Peter Kent reports that he and
Carol are fortunate to have a
great-grandson, Gavin Michael
Kent, who arrived April 14,
2009, with a great head of
dark hair and weighed in at
over 8 pounds. Peter is still
active designing, and he has a
website chelseadesigners.com,
which links to a new one under
construction, chelseadesigners.
net. Peter created the site with
a program called Web.Com,
which allows one to create a
site without knowing any code
and which costs only $11.95 a
month. Peter writes that he is in
good health but complains that
the golf course keeps getting
longer. He hopes we all can
make it to the 60th and, like all
of us, is amazed at how quickly
it has gone.
Featured on the cover of the
winter issue of Active Over
50 is our bionic classmate
Wally Bortz, with the caption
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Last fall, Don Gregg ’51 and his wife Meg were honored with the Donald
P. and Margaret Curry Gregg Professorship at Syracuse University’s
Maxwell School. Gregg is chairman emeritus of the Korea Society and
former U.S. ambassador to Korea. The professorship will promote research
on issues related to the Korean Peninsula and its eventual reunification.
ebrated their 60th anniversary
in July. As these notes are being
written, the Chinmans are off
on a safari trip to Tasmania.
An article in the Oct. 25 Arts
and Leisure section of The
New York Times reporting
on Fred Wiseman’s latest film,
La Danse, states, “More than
four decades into his career
Frederick Wiseman remains the
most prominent invisible man
of American documentary film.
His movies offer no voice-over,
no talking heads, no graphics
or intertitles; in other words,
none of the cues and signposts
we have come to expect from
nonfiction films. Mr. Wiseman,
who turns 80 in January, has
likened his approach to getting
rid of the proscenium arch in
the theater.” Josh Siegel (no
under his smiling countenance
reading, “Dr. Walter Bortz II,
Health/Wellness Expert and
Marathoner.” The publisher’s
note states, “Everyone is invited
to attend Dr. Walter Bortz’s
100th birthday party in 2030.
Only 78, he has lots to do
before then. Last year he ran his
38th marathon, finished his fifth
book (Next Medicine, due out
in March) and continues to run,
write and give presentations
all over the U.S. Recognized
as one of America’s foremost
experts on aging, read about Dr.
Bortz’s amazing journey…” In
the article Wally names the four
agencies that govern health and
longevity and states that like a
car they are design, accidents,
maintenance and aging. Funny,
I always thought that accidents
had more to do with birth than
longevity. Of the 99 steps to
100 set out by Wally, he believes
that the most important is
belief. “If you commit to 100
healthy years, we now have
enough knowledge to assure
the prediction. Aging is very
much a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
In a brief note Wally says it
looks like 2010 will be the birth
year of his sixth and seventh
books—Roadmap to 100 and
Next Medicine. More are in the
pipeline. He also will be getting
his message out in a continuing
education course to be given at
Stanford next fall. This spring
will find Wally and Ruth Anne
in Massachusetts preparing for
the Boston Marathon, his 40th
consecutive marathon. Wally
mentions that Ruth Anne won
her age group for 60 and 70,
and he proudly proclaims that
he sleeps with the double winner of the Boston Marathon.
Ted Childs has sold his condo
in Naples and is moving to
Mashpee on Cape Cod. We’ll
publish his new address when
we receive it.
Responding to my plaintive
request for news, Gordon Clark
sent me a hilarious article from
the Smithsonian written in 1991
by a Yalie who once served as
class secretary for the alumni
magazine. Because of a paucity
of news he created a fictitious
classmate and filled his reports
with the fantastic doings of his
creation. No one caught on to
the bogus classmate until years
later, when the editor discovered the truth. At that point
the author had to report on
the death of the “classmate.”
So now you are duly warned
what I might have to resort to
if you are not forthcoming with
news. Gordon reported that
Karen, who lives nearby in an
Alzheimer’s facility, is in good
spirits notwithstanding her disabilities and enjoys seeing old
friends, particularly Pete
deLisser, who was in their
wedding party and who visited,
together with his family, in
August. You may recall from
a prior edition that Gordon
committed to felling/bucking/
splitting and stacking a cord
of firewood in honor of Wally
Bortz’s run in the SF marathon.
He was a bit late in finishing
because of the weather but thoroughly enjoyed the work. He
was not as successful, however,
in finishing the fine clipping of
the stretch of the Appalachian
Trail that he maintains because
n 1 9 5 1 –5 2
of some very sore hip muscles.
It turned out that the muscles
were sore because of trying to
protect the hip joint, which was/
is also worn out. He will get a
new one some time this year. He
and Karen were able, however,
to drive to Andover to celebrate
Christmas with Amanda ’84 and
her family. Gordon is worried about our ever-increasing
national debt and the “dreadful divisions and acrimony
which dominate our political
discourse.” He wishes we could
have statesmen like Ed Muskie
and Everett Dirksen to replace
some of the “little spiteful
people we seem to have chosen
to be our political leaders.”
Jack Hornor was sorry he was
unable to attend the mini but
was happy to have had the
opportunity to speak with Linda
Conway at a splendid concert
given by cellist Ronald Feldman
before an overflow crowd in
Brooks Rogers concert hall.
Jack also was pleased to see
Irwin and Bernice Shainman as
well as other former members of
the faculty and alumni.
Recently, Tom Kent and Rich
Allen were notified by the USTA
of their respective tentative
national tennis rankings. Rich
was listed somewhat higher
than Tom in singles, and Tom
was slightly higher in doubles.
As reported in the last edition
Rich and Tom teamed up
to play in the national grass
court 80-plus tournament
in September. Tom also is
competing in hardball squash
singles and doubles and in some
softball singles. He recently won
a first-round singles match but
lost in the next, saying that in
singles he no longer is sufficiently mobile if his opponent
is reasonably skillful and also
can run. Tom and Ann will be
vacationing in Costa Rica with
good friends from New Jersey
(albeit he is an Amherst grad),
and Tom is optimistic that if
he returns in one piece and is
reasonably healthy, he will enter
the national hardball squash
tournament
Pete deLisser is hoping that in
the near future he, Bill Sperry,
Don Gregg, Alfred Schlosser and
yours truly will be able to get
together for a lunch that we
have been trying to arrange.
Having had communications
back and forth, he cannot
believe that one of us has
the e-mail name “OnePutt.”
Fortunately, the plural is not
used.
Pete spoke with Marion Shaw
after Al’s death and mentions
that they had been married for
74 years. Pete has talked with a
number of our classmates and
recently conversed with Pete
Fisher, who attended Manlius
with him and Whit Fiske, and
who loves his California lifestyle. Pete reminded him that
he (Pete deL) helped win the
Little Three wrestling championship in our senior year. Bill
Callaghan, Green Carlton and
Pete all weighed around 165,
and one of them would wrestle
at 157, another at 167 and the
third at 177. Green usually
ended up competing in the 177
weight class because he was the
tallest. Pete has talked with Bill
Rodie about President Obama
and is thinking of taping these
conversations and those he’s
had with John Raynolds. Pete’s
youngest son, age 42, finally
surrendered and got married.
The respective families, numbering 32, had Thanksgiving
dinner together, followed a
marriage ceremony on Saturday,
which took place on the top
deck of a yacht cruising the
waters off Charleston, S.C.
After taking a six-month vacation from his company, Pete is
getting bored and will return.
Fifty-five years of work can be
habit forming. Pete concludes
his note saying, “Lastly, I am
thrilled with a current assignment as a mentor in a class
on spiritual formation at the
Alliance Theological Seminary
in Nyack. I am privileged to
lead a five-person intimate
group of young men committed to either Christian church
ministry, overseas ministry or
nonprofit Christian organizations. The quality and commitment of these individuals to the
Christian church leaves me in
a humble and thankful state.
As I have often said, we are a
privileged few to be graduates
of Williams Class of ’51.”
The Nov. 8, 2009, edition
of The Arizona Daily Star
carried a very touching article
about our deceased classmate
Keith Martin, written by his
wife June Caldwell Martin.
Keith’s ashes were placed in the
columbarium at the Southern
Arizona Veteran’s Memorial
Cemetery in Sierra Vista, Ariz.,
in a military ceremony. The
family thought this was a fitting resting place, since Keith
thought so much of his military
service, which had given him a
chance to grow up on his own
terms, and which paid for his
education at Williams. In June’s
words, “Keith was proud of
his military service; here now
it had all come together in this
simple, elegant moment of
mutual appreciation. … And
on the granite plaque affixed to
the outside of the niche there
will be Keith’s name, his dates,
his rank and service. To this we
were allowed to add three lines
of tribute, 12 characters to a
line. We took a phrase from his
honorable discharge, adding ‘…
who gave honest and faithful
service,’ which he did, to his
family, his country, his world.”
Howie Smith was good
enough to send me copies
of some wonderful letters of
reflections written by Walt
Ziegenhals over a number of
years, the most recent of which
was written on Veteran’s Day
2009. The letters are addressed
to “Dear Friends of Peace”
and deal with all aspects of the
manifold tragedies of war and
the roles played by the military
and politicians. I heartily
recommend them for your
reading, and I am sure copies
can be obtained from Walt if
you contact him.
Lastly and sadly, Whit Fiske
died at his home in North Port,
Fla., on Jan. 29. Our condolences to Janice, his wife of 60
years, and their five children.
Have a great summer, and
please send me lots of news or
you may find yourselves reading
about the exploits of classmates
whose names are unfamiliar to
you.
1952
Alec Robertson
3 Essex Meadows
Essex, CT 06426
[email protected]
The winter was cold, but by
the time you read this, spring
will have sprung. Hope you
all are well. Our minireunion
is already scheduled for the
third weekend in October—the
15-17—in concert with the
Class of ’51, so sign up now
for your rooms in Billville. You
can count on cocktails at John
Hyde’s Friday night, followed
by dinner at the Williams Inn,
lunch at the Log, the football
game with Middlebury and
cocktails and dinner with Ann
and Doug Foster—an actionpacked, fun weekend.
“Thanks to you, Fred, Doug,
Dick and others for carrying the
CL ASS
NOTES
Great Class of ’52 for observers
like myself,” commented John
Freese. “Jane and I are in reasonably good health, and hope
that you are as well. I can report
a couple of activities from my
first full year of retirement.
About two years ago, I was
‘found’ with a phone call from
a cousin in Jever, Germany.
One of my nephews had put my
mother’s genealogy book on the
Internet. After some e-mailing,
Jane and I, my brother Lee and
his wife Dana, and Lee’s son
Robert and wife Derbhil went
to Germany in April. Four
cousins, also recently retired,
gave us a grand tour of the
cluster of villages that have been
the Freese home for more than
300 years. The old church with
its graveyard has, as a relic, a
stone font recently dug up on
a Freese farm, dating back to
800. There was a monastery
there at that time. After our
visit in Germany, we started a
canal boat trip with a visit to
the Keukenhof Gardens and the
surrounding tulip fields. They
were spectacular. In addition
to the fabulous art museums,
we discovered a museum of
scientific instruments and a
printing museum. In late May,
two high school friends and
I took a leisurely bicycle tour
from Pittsburgh to Washington,
D.C., all off road along an old
railroad right-of-way and the
C&O canal. We had done a
similar tour along the Missouri
River and have a good system
worked out. We had some time
at our family place in the New
Mexico mountains and then
back to Fort Worth to follow
a grandson’s championship
high school football team. Fort
Worth is turning into a nice city.
Guests are welcome if you are
down this way.”
Prexy Fred Goldstein wrote:
“Attended Gus Campbell’s
memorial service … at Saint
Martins in the Fields Episcopal
Church in Chestnut Hills, Pa.
It was jammed with hundreds.
They had bagpiper playing out
front. Among the pre-service
organ music pieces played was
‘The Mountains.’ Service was
beautiful. Bill Maclay, Nikki
and Paige L’Hommedieu and
yours truly represented ’52 with
Edwen. Here is news gathered
from returns to the mailing
about a trip with John Hyde. Ben
Heilman wrote: ‘I guess my traveling days are over—never was
much of a traveler anyway—too
much good stuff going on at
home.’ John Phillips contributed: ‘Hi Fred, This is your old
sophomore year roommate.
Sadly, I have never gotten back
for a reunion, and I see that you
are very active in the afterlife. I
have tried, with no such luck, to
locate Gene Britton (also a former roommate). I don’t think he
was thrilled with life on campus
and never left his address with
the alumni office. I am having
a minor health problem, and
travel is not in the cards for a
while. I was in the music business (jazz) and did some time in
exotic places, but now is not the
time. Hope to see you at some
future reunion.’ Allyn Fields
wrote: ‘Say hello to John (Hyde)
who was a fraternity brother
long ago!’”
I spoke to Squintus Drennan
in December. He is still taking
good care of his wife Carol,
who has Alzheimer’s. Bud has
been doing this for some time.
He is doing good works in the
St. Louis area and sends his best
to classmates. His family is in
good form.
Art Levitt returned in January
from a trip to New Zealand.
“Wonderful country, great
people and fabulous animals—
whales, leopard seals, Gannett
birds, penguins, etc.” Art is still
working for Bloomberg, Carlyle
Group and Goldman Sachs.
In the winter he golfs with
classmates in Florida but spends
most of the time in Connecticut.
“I am an avid reader of Bob
Aliber’s economic writings,
which I find to be the most reliable out there.”
Marigold and Bob Bischoff
spent the winter holidays with
family at their place in North
Creek in the Adirondacks. Their
grandson Michael Ormsby ’13
brought them up to date on
Williams, which he thinks is
great. (Fortunately!) Bob and
Marigold “seem unable to keep
away from doctors for any
length of time, but so far are
both enabled.”
Pete Gurney wrote that Fred
Goldstein might have over
informed about his plays. Pete
has one opening in May—The
Grand Manner—and a
second—Black Tie—opening
in January 2011. The Gurneys
grandson Jay Gurney ’13 is a
freshman at Williams.
Mary Helen and Mac
McCormick put “many miles”
on Scottish Thistle with two
extended trips to the East
Coast, including a stop at
the Kentucky Derby. They
have grandchildren, and their
Christmas card is studded with
marriages, graduations and
sundry great events. They both
look terrific.
Mary and Jay McElroy sent a
Christmas letter filled with family activities, including working
out, golf for Jay and tennis for
Mary. They took a cruise from
Budapest to Nuremberg, passing
an amazing stone bridge across
the Danube at Regensburg. Jay
commented that “the bridge
was the only secure crossing
of the Danube from Vienna to
Ulm, Germany, and demonstrated the powerful incentive of
trade at that time, an incentive
which continues worldwide
today.”
Swifty Swift chimed in, having
had a winter visit to their summer place in Vermont, which
was unfortunately burgled in
October. They were staying put
for the winter and hoping that
2010 will brighten things up
a bit. “Robbi’s busy as always
with research into our family’s
genealogy. I’m writing my memoirs (Williams remembrances
seem to focus on problematic
road trips to the ladies colleges!)” He wishes the Redskins
would win the Super Bowl!
And, of course, for some way to
achieve real world peace! “We
hope to make the mini.”
Henry Norton wrote that he
and Mimi are looking forward
to the Gurney play and the
minireunion in October.
“The Army has asked me to
do some more traveling in 2010,
but the funding situation is very
unsettled right now,” reported
Woody Waesche. “I’ll be going
to the Czech Republic in April
and probably to Siberia (ouch!)
in September; we’ll see what
develops. In 2009, meetings had
me going to the White Cliffs of
Dover and to the Cape of Good
Hope, as well as to Prague. The
trip to South Africa also gave
me the chance to visit a cheetah
rescue site; I actually got to pet
a cheetah and to meet a (large)
barn owl that grabbed a perch
on my wrist. I was very sorry
to hear about Gus Campbell; he
and Bob Jones made life in 14
Williams a lot more pleasant,
and we leaned on each other
throughout the year as we
became accustomed to life at
Williams.”
In November, Keren and
Bob Riegel spent several
weeks in Egypt on an excellent tour. It included six days
on Lake Nasser and on the
n 1 9 5 2 –5 3
Nile, accompanied by a welldressed escort carrying an Uzi
machine gun. “We also saw
at the pyramids and Valley of
the Kings many guards riding
camels and carrying similar
weapons. Tourism is Egypt’s
number-one industry, and they
fear something happening that
would spoil it. Having ridden
elephants in India and Thailand,
I was eager to try a camel. My
balance is not as good, and the
top of a camel is very insecure.
I continue to work full time
as canon at Trinity Cathedral.
South Carolina is split in two
dioceses. The lower diocese
centered in Charleston is mostly
quite conservative. Our diocese
in the midlands and foothills is
rather moderate. We have just
elected a new bishop, Andrew
Waldo. Our cathedral is under
massive reconstruction. It was
built before the Civil War, and
the roof and arches and walls
were in danger of collapse.
When finished it will again be
a special place for worship and
for tourists’ visits. At times I
think about chapel worship at
Williams and still wonder which
one of you set the alarm clocks
to go off every five minutes during the service.” (Who indeed?)
Rick Wheeler wrote that he
“spent a fair amount of early
morning outdoor time in
support of Democrat Martha
Coakley ’75 in her campaign
to win former U.S. Sen. Ted
Kennedy’s seat and to become
the first woman senator from
the state of Massachusetts! I am
also learning, as a new board
member of the Friends of the
Minute Man National Park
here in the Concord/Lexington
area, a good deal about what I
thought I knew pretty well! A
book about a distant relative
who went to Japan in the late
19th century to help found
what is now the University of
Hokkaido has been written in
Japanese and now has been
translated into English. It
has been quite a journey that
brought back memories of when
we arrived in Japan in 1969; the
first question we heard from so
many Japanese was, ‘Are you a
relative of William Wheeler?’”
Henry Catto kindly replied as
follows: “I am vice chairman of
the board of an Aspen Institute
sponsored group that is trying
to help the Palestinian economy
grow. In that connection, several
of us went to Palestine a month
ago, met with the president of
the Palestinian Authority and
his prime minister and briefed
them on our progress. Our
goal is to make their economy
healthier by making it easier
for banks to lend money to
potentially good customers. The
U.S. government will guarantee
up to 70 percent of good loans
they bring to us. It is complicated and beyond fully outlining
here, but the bottom line is that
it has been a great success.”
(Congratulations, Henry, on the
good work you do.)
“Being a man of few words,
the ones I do use are also
short,” reports Bob Kimberly.
“For long words I use Webster;
so to reply, we went to
Scottsdale for Thanksgiving,
saw friends, enjoyed sun and
loafed. Oh, and we volunteered
to watch our neighbor’s dog.”
Renate and Tim Redfield are
happily living in Fountain
Hills, Ariz., having created four
children—located in Los Altos,
Calif.; Oxford, England; Dover,
Mass.; and Fountain Hills—and
six grandchildren. Tim is
arranging ballads from the ’30s
and ’40s and playing the piano
again. Sounds like the Redfields
are busy.
I am sorry to announce the
death of Gordon “Gus” Campbell
of Lafayette Hill, Pa., who died
peacefully on Dec. 7, 2009. In
addition to Judy, his wife of 51
wonderful years, his daughter
Gretchen, his son Christopher
and eight grandchildren survive
him. Gus was a major contributor to class affairs over the
years, and he and Judy were
co-chairs of our 60th reunion.
He will be sorely missed.
Hopefully, the market will
have recovered a bit by now and
we will see you at the minireunion Oct. 15-17, 2010, in
Williamstown.
1953
Stephen W. Klein
378 Thornden St.
South Orange, NJ 07079
[email protected]
Three ’53 grandchildren
accepted early decision for the
freshman Class of 2014 are
Bob Howard’s grandson Robert
Carnes (son of Betsy Carnes
’78), Mike Lazor’s granddaughter Kathleen Elkins, and my
grandson Nick Tyson (son of Jill
Tyson ’82).
Bob Tucker was to receive an
award at the 100th anniversary
celebration of the KingsfordOxford school, named for
“Gramp” Hewett, as well as
induction into the K-O Hall of
Fame for his skiing. John Hewett
came up to West Hartford for
the ceremony, and Tom Brucker,
also a K-O alumnus, came east
from his home in Mercer Island,
Wash., in observance of the
100th anniversary.
More on Bob Tucker: David
Palmer was playing golf in
southern California with a couple from Colorado who claimed
to be neighbors of Bob. Dave
followed this up with a call to
Bob, and as a sample of many
stories, related that Bob played
percussion in the Williams band.
After our graduation he stayed
in Williamstown for a while.
The following fall, when football season rolled around, Irwin
Shainman, the band adviser,
had considerable gaps in band
personnel. He persuaded Bob to
be a “ringer,” both playing the
big drum and helping to carry it
down Spring Street to the home
football games.
The 60th reunion of the New
Trier High School Class of ’49
had among the returnees George
Hartnett, Wally Scott, Ken
McGrew and John McDermott.
Roger Brown could not make it
from his home on Nantucket.
George and Wally were the principal organizers of the reunion.
The ’53 September minireunion,
with Peter Connolly doing his
usual fine work and aided by
Todd Mauck and Dudley Baker,
had 43 classmates and wives in
attendance. Webmaster Howard
had this chronicled in admirable
detail. The weekend of Oct. 1-2
is the date for our 2010 mini.
It was the hope of Bob Howard
and Woody D’Oench that Dan
Oates might be prevailed upon
to go the Wesleyan game. This
attempt failed, but hope remains
of having Dan meet them at
Farrells for a Reuben sandwich.
John Beard was reported to have
honeymooned in Bhutan with a
follow-up bicycling in Germany.
Indications are that if the Beard
left arm is in good shape as the
rest of him he is about the right
age to be on Omar Minaya’s
shopping list for the Mets
bullpen.
Jerry Gordon died on Oct. 8,
and a memorial service was
held on Oct. 24. Alec Robertson
’52 was among the ushers and
thoughtfully sent a copy of the
service as well as comments on
the outstanding tribute to Jerry
by his children in their reflections and reminiscences. Jerry is
survived by his wife Sara Jane,
CL ASS
NOTES
a daughter, two sons and six
grandchildren.
Dudley Baker’s wife Gerry died
Dec. 29 after a 10-year struggle
with lung cancer. A Celebration
of the Life of Gerry Baker
luncheon was held in Jupiter,
Fla., on Jan. 16. Approximately
100 people attended, including Sandy and John Beard, Inge
and Gordon Canning, Marianne
and George Hartnett, and Jane
and Jim Truettner. Many women
golfers were among the group,
and George noted that almost
all had a handicap lower than
his. A similar luncheon is
planned for Williamstown in
late spring.
Dick Antoun was an emeritus
professor of anthropology at
Binghamton University and
widely recognized as not only a
distinguished scholar—much of
his work focusing on bridging
the divide between religion and
cultures in the Middle East—but
as a caring and gentle man. He
was murdered in his office on
Dec. 4 by a Saudi Arabian graduate student. While Dick was
not a participant in ’53 activities
after graduation, Pete Sterling
told me of Dick’s positive feeling for the College as evidenced
by regular and meaningful
contributions to the Alumni
Fund. A memorial service
at the Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of Binghamton
was held on Dec. 11. Survivors
include Dick’s wife Roz and his
son Nicholas Antoun ’91.
1954
Al Horne
7214 Rebecca Drive
Alexandria, VA 22307
[email protected]
Next time you’re in
Williamstown, make sure
you take the time to visit the
Massachusetts Museum of
Contemporary Art in North
Adams and especially its vast
retrospective exhibit of more
than 100 large wall paintings
by Sol LeWitt. As many of you
know, Allan Fulkerson played
a key part in launching this
remarkable museum, which
has transformed a collection of
abandoned factory buildings
into a major tourist destination.
I asked Allan to describe his role
in the LeWitt project, which
covers this American pioneer’s
work from 1968 to his death
in 2007. Here’s most of Allan’s
reply: “In 1997 Frank Oakley
asked me to go on the board
of MASS MoCA to help raise
monies so the museum could
open in 1999. In 2002 I became
chairman, working very closely
with Joe Thompson ’81, MASS
MoCA’s outstanding director.
At that time MASS MoCA had
an annual structural deficit
(recurring expenses more than
revenues) of $2.3 million and no
endowment.
“I told Joe we would give it
five years to get MoCA stabilized and viable for the long
term. My role was talking a lot
of good people into becoming
engaged in giving and raising
the monies we needed to build
the museum. And while we
made good progress, we came
very close to having to turn out
the lights—before the electric
company did—at the end of
2005.
“Fortunately, many people
played extraordinary roles. One
such was Jock Reynolds, director of the Yale University Art
Gallery and a close friend of Sol
LeWitt. Talking with Sol about
a location to honor his work,
Jock suggested MASS MoCA.
Sol agreed to explore the idea,
so Jock called Joe Thompson ’81
to set up a meeting. Soon after
that meeting Joe and I met with
Jock and Bob Doran, the Yale
museum’s board chair, which
ultimately led to the LeWitt retrospective. In time, many people
stepped up to raise $8.5 million,
enough to turn another old
factory building with pigeons
roosting in the rafters into the
new exhibit area and to endow
the operating costs.”
The LeWitt exhibit includes
a third-floor gallery dedicated
to the Fulkersons; “It holds our
favorite LeWitt,” Allan says.
Hurry and see this impressive
show before it closes in 2033.
Speaking of the arts, did you
know that Pat Cavanaugh has
been writing a Civil War novel?
Or that Guy Verney is the grandfather of a published author?
First, here’s Guy’s report: “Our
grandson Sam Verney, son of
Jeff Verney ’77, had a book
published in October, Legend
of Darkness, and it is a science
fantasy book geared primarily to early- to mid-teenagers
but will be enjoyed by anyone
who reads science fiction. It is
384 pages long, published by
KidPub, and as of early January
is only available at Amazon.
com. It is expected that it will
be in all the major bookstores in
the next few months. The book
is the first in a series, and Sam
is well along on the next book.
Even if you don’t buy the book,
you can sample it on Amazon
and read about Sam, who is
turning 14 in January. I’m sure I
didn’t write this much in all my
years at Williams.”
The report on Pat’s book
comes from Harry Montgomery
in Williamstown: “Pat
Cavanaugh returned our Eastern
Shore visit over an Amherst
game weekend in November.
Pat has become a world traveler,
serious gardener and chronicler
both of history and of the antics
of Fanny the Wonder Dog, who
shares his quarters. Off to Spain
in March, Pat first will finish the
final draft of his Georgia-based
novel of the Civil War.”
Harry’s been in touch with
many classmates and passes
on the following news: “Dede
and Harry Rieger, with granddaughter Katie ’12, promise
another visit when they finish
house-shifting in Philadelphia
to be closer to family. But
they keep tripping over flower
shows and all that. While Sedge
Ward crews for son Andrew
out of the Shelter Island Yacht
Club, Barbara is completing
a biography of Hudson River
School painter Jervis McEntee,
who was Sedge’s great-greatuncle. Judy and John Stevens,
still active in community service
in Wausau, Wis., celebrated
55 years of marriage last
September.”
One more literary note:
Dave Moore’s nephew Alex
Prud’Homme wrote Julia
Child’s My Life in France,
which was used in the screenplay of the 2009 movie Julie
& Julia. Dave reports, “Dinny
and I are loving our Florida life
here in Sand Key surrounded
by water. We watch Mika
Brzezinski ’89 every weekday
morning on MSNBC’s Morning
Joe. I had to smile when Joe
Scarborough compared the
yearly seven-figure salaries of
the Div. I head football coaches
to the five-figure salary of Div.
III Williams’ Mike Whalen (top
coach in all divisions in 2006).
It ain’t fair, Mike.”
Speaking of sports, Mal Kane
reports that “once again the
Williams ’54 Geriatric Ski
Squad, consisting of Molly
and John Beard, Buzz Eichel
and Mal Kane plied the powder
and pistes of Bormio, Santa
Caterina, Le Motte and Livigno
in the Italian Alps for a week
in February. Based on performance and by acclaim, Buzz
n 1 9 5 3 –5 5
was awarded the ‘Ephelia’
trophy (slightly doctored) for
the Combined Downhill & Tour
Arrangement and Management.
No injuries. Spills were handled
with aplomb, and eight 77-yearold legs (Molly is assumed to be
in the range) survived with only
minor charley horses. Anyone
want to try for 78?” Buzz adds
that the group’s 6,000-verticalfoot descent of Bormio’s Cima
Bianca was “fortified by three
or four grappas.”
P.J. Adolph writes that New
Bern, N.C., is celebrating its
300th anniversary this year:
“I’m continuing as vice chairman of the New Bern Historic
Preservation Commission and
devoting the balance of time
to sailing, bicycling, gardening, reading and contemplation of the grand mysteries of
existence.”
And here’s John Miller’s
report from Narragansett,
R.I.: “Helping organize my
60th from South Kingstown
High School, having modest
success resisting town property
tax increase, fighting town
government terrorism, passing
somewhat annual exams with
internists, urologists, cardiologists, ophthalmologists,
dentists, periodontists, etc., and
faithfully attending local gym
and wishing it were Lasell about
60 years ago. Otherwise just
wishing Tom Brady and Kevin
Garnett were also younger and
healthier.”
Meanwhile, Rod Starke reports
that he’s “rehabbing from a
total knee replacement but hope
to be back on the golf course by
February.” That’s a California
golf course, naturally; my reference to Rod and Esther being in
Texas, in the last installment of
these class notes, was about 10
years out of date.
Another of our medical classmates, Dick Gordon, reports that
he’s “still practicing rheumatology in Riverside, Calif.” Dick
and Donna “also have a home
in Palm Coast, Fla., and hope
to spend more time there in the
coming years.”
And in case you’ve been wondering, Ken Sperling assures me
that he is not the Ken Sperling
of Hewitt Associates, who has
been quoted a lot recently as an
authority on employee health
insurance issues.
One more health note:
Mitch Stahl reports from
Colorado that the Grillo Health
Information Center, which Gary
Stahl had worked to bring into
being until his death from cancer in 1998, has moved to a new
location in Boulder. “Gary’s last
years were dedicated to setting
up a center for free personalized
health information with quarterly public lectures in Boulder,”
Mitch writes.
I’m sorry to report that we
lost two more classmates last
fall, Neill Cooper and Chester
Jones. Neill was an Army
orthopedic surgeon for 20
years, serving in Germany
and Vietnam before retiring
as a colonel in 1977, and then
specialized in hand surgery in
Annapolis, Md., where he died
in October, leaving his wife
Virginia, two children and three
grandchildren.
Chet joined our class as a
sophomore transfer from Yale.
He was the organist at the
Episcopal cathedral in Albany
and then for two decades at
the Presbyterian church in
Granville, N.Y., where he died
in December at a nursing home.
Finally, for the record, here are
the attendees at the 2009 minireunion back in October: Dianne
and Jack Brennan, Shirley and
Jim Carpenter, Mary Jo and Russ
Carpenter, Stu Chase, Nancy and
Hugh Germanetti, Ann and Al
Horne, Carol and John Johnston,
Pokey Kalker, Mal Kane and
Barbara Denney, Emily and John
Miller, Harry Montgomery and
Audrey Clarkson, Sonnie and
Bob Murdock, Dan Tritter, and
Devi and Sandy Wolfson.
1955
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Charley Bradley
103 Meadow Road
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
[email protected]
Word has come that Chuck
Morey passed away at his home
in Neustadt, Canada, on Jan.
10. He was three weeks from
his 83rd birthday and was the
oldest member of our class. An
obituary appears in the back of
this book.
President Merce Blanchard
wrote that he received his
annual holiday call from Hawaii
as Sandra Smiley continued the
tradition that her partner Ron
Chadwick established many
years ago. In addition to wishing all our classmates the very
best for the New Year, Sandra
said she was only one of 20
Ameriprise Financial advisers
out of 12,000 who attained recognition into the Diamond Ring
Circle. A memorable achievement that Ron encouraged her
to work for.
Merce also wanted to thank
everyone who answered the call
of Class Agent Whitey Perrot
and his merry band of associates
to contribute to the Alumni
Fund.
He encourages all ’55ers to
make reservations for our enjoyable and affordable 55th: June
10-13, 2010. Reunion Chair
Bob Behr is putting together
another memorable program.
Remember, nobody plans a better reunion than our very own
Rapid Robert.
JJ Dubois reported, “We are
planning a return to Lenox,
Mass., this summer and plan
to return in time for our 55th
reunion. See you all then!”
Jim Leone e-mailed me Jan.
10 to say that he and Lennie
were “off to Florida for a week
or so, then on a cruise to the
Caribbean late February, then in
Islamorada for all of March. All
is well and feeling fine. See you
at the reunion!”
Whitey Perrott e-mailed in
January: “Here is a brief report
from a very cold Vero Beach,
Fla. I attended the WilliamsAmherst football game back in
November at a sports bar here.
… Also in attendance were Len
Platt, Bob Wilkes, Don Everett
and Paul Quinn. Paul’s grandson
played a very good game as a
linebacker for Amherst. Just
before the game started there
was a brief picture of Sandy
Laitman, Roger Friedman and
Dick Hale on the TV coverage.
Paul, Don, Bill Regan and yours
truly played in a duplicate
bridge Swiss Team event at
the Bridge Center in Vero in
December and came in a very
commendable second.”
Tom White used two Bradley
Bytes to say, “Greeting from
cold and snowy North Carolina.
All is well with the White
family. My oldest grandchild
won the Williams College Book
Award at his school (Charlotte
Latin) and is off to college next
year. He decided he wanted
to go to a large university so
Williams didn’t make his final
cut list. He is a finalist for
a Morehead Scholarship at
Chapel Hill, where his parents
attended, so that is his first
choice, with Duke, Virginia
and Yale in the running. Sue
and I hope to be at the 55th as
we spend most summer at our
CL ASS
NOTES
home in Vermont. Sue fractured
her femur in September in a
home accident but is mobile
now with some limitations.
I still play tennis weekly, but
no more golf because of back
problems. All the best.”
Dave Gemmill, who is two
days younger than me, wrote
in late December, “Happy
birthday. … Past year has been
relatively uneventful, largely a
lot of travel, Seattle, Yosemite
National Park, also Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Park.
Then San Diego and Denver
for meetings and topped it off
with the Knutzen family (Erik
’86), my daughter Sarah and
grandkids for Thanksgiving in
Boston.”
George Hagerman sent two
Bradley Bytes: “For the past
two years Audrey and I have
been enjoying what we call
‘Adventure Bike Trips’ in
Germany. We leave the U.S.
with our bicycle panniers as our
only luggage, rent bikes upon
arrival and take off with the
wind at our backs. We follow
rivers, stay on dedicated bike
paths and stop where and when
we want. The adventure is finding nice accommodations with
no reservations. So far it’s been
terrific.” In December George
and Audrey embarked on a
yearlong celebration of their
50th wedding anniversary, with
events including a family party
and a cruise from Auckland,
New Zealand, to Singapore.”
George says, “We concluded
that every day should be a celebration of this great life.”
Roger Friedman wrote in
November, “Had a nice lunch
with Marty Pompadur, who
has put up his own business
in NYC by the name of IMP
Management. Marty is involved
with several ventures in Eastern
Europe and China and travels on
a regular basis throughout the
world. Both of Marty’s daughters are doing fine, and he sees
them often.”
Tom Stark e-mailed in January:
“I am happy to announce the
completion of my course of chemotherapy!” Tom anticipated
a bone marrow scan in early
February to “see if my immune
system will come back. If that
finding is positive, then I’ll be
free to run and click my heels
and who knows what’all else.
Thank you for all your kind
wishes during this period.”
Great correspondent Dave
Murphy added to his greatness
(by Bradley Bytes), “Regrettably
because of my very bad
back problem, which began
sophomore year of Williams,
I’ve been ‘MIA’ in ’55 affairs
since our 50th. It’s difficult to
sit down to send class notes
and impossible to travel to our
minis, which I miss very much.
It looks like I will also have to
miss our upcoming 55th after
having missed each one since
graduation, including running
the fifth and 10th—a solo act
plus student steward! As of
Christmas ’09, may be headed
for a second back surgery—this
time a double fusion, the first
(a single) having been done in
2000. In this connection Frank
Isenhart wrote in his Christmas
card that he’s home in the ‘BBS
Club,’ an organization to avoid
at all costs if you have this kind
of physical challenge. It’s the
court of the last resort, back
trouble in many cases remains
a medical mystery of the first
order and having heavy-duty
surgery is a solution! Except
for this malady, life is basically OK. Still enjoy keeping
in touch with many ’55ers and
seeing some here periodically.
Break bread with Sandy and Ted
Bowers when they are here and
not at Vero Beach. Wish our ’55
outpost members there a distinguished group! That’s my long
overdue. My warmest personal
regards, and note that I will be
with you all at our 55th reunion
in spirit unless a miracle enables
me to join you for that special
gathering of the clan. Onward
and upward!”
Norm Hugo has a new e-mail
address: [email protected].
Mac Nelson first wrote, “I
handled a spike in blood pressure by having all manner of
tests, which ultimately led to an
angiogram and the insertion of a
stent to correct a blockage in the
right renal (kidney) artery. The
first attempt proved a disaster
(much internal bleeding), so I
went back three days later and it
worked. Voila: 40-point drop in
pressure. … Off to the Keys now
to lower my blood pressure still
further, and looking forward to
seeing you all in June 2010.”
And wrote again: “Joyce and I
got to the Florida Keys on New
Year’s Eve, just in time for alltime record low temperatures.
But it has turned sunny again
(though still damn cold), and
we spent yesterday in Key West
at a spectacular poetry reading,
featuring … Richard Wilbur,
Maxine Kumin, Rita Dove,
Billy Collins and Mark Strand.
Magical. Life is good. Hope to
see you all in June.”
Peter Cook, with whom your
secretary went to grade school
in Corning, N.Y., wrote, “In
addition to flying, I got into
computers and communications in the AF, and most of my
career after getting off active
duty was in information technology, computer graphics and
communications. Retired from
Motorola in 1999, started my
own consultancy, concentrating on communication systems
and software defined radio. I
am currently board chair of the
Software Defined Radio Forum
Inc., the parent organization of
the recently renamed program,
the Wireless Innovation Forum.
“Susan is the owner of a
large Antique Mall in Mesa,
active in estate sales locally and
in California, and a certified
appraiser. We are both active in
a number of civic organizations
in Mesa.
“We have done a lot of traveling, including many vacation
weeks in the U.K., France and
Spain. We very much enjoy
cruising, but the recent economic unpleasantness trimmed
our sails a bit. We found the
glaciers and fiords of Greenland
and Chile particularly interesting, and the joy of cruising is
unpacking just once. We did
just return from a week in the
Eastern Caribbean on SilverSea,
which was great, and there is a
lot of colonial history out there.
“We have four children. Jean
and Keith, the oldest two, are
still in Beaverton, Ore., where
we moved them in 1972.
Jonathan is in Louisville, Ky.,
and Paul is in San Diego. We
visit them often and frequently
gather at our good-sized
(five-bedroom) beach house
in Manzanita, on the Oregon
coast.”
Mark Cluett e-mailed on Dec.
29, “Libbie and I are looking
forward to our 55th. However,
we are not looking forward to
sharing a bathroom with the
Bowers.”
Just 21⁄2 hours later, Mark
e-mailed: “We’re staying at
the River End B&B. The two
bedrooms have to share a bath.
Ted claims he told the owner
that the only people ‘on my
approved list’ could have the
adjoining room and that I was
not on the list. Ha!” (Secretary’s
note: Now, boys.)
George Rounds, by e-mail,
proudly proclaimed that his
n 1 9 5 5 –5 6
birthday on Jan. 18 makes him
three days younger than me
and then wrote: “Jean and I
welcomed grandchild number
nine on Dec. 19—a girl born to
Jean’s daughter. We are enjoying
having grandson Andrew here
in Chicago at the University of
Chicago. We feel truly blessed
with good health as we both
continue to work—if you can
call my coaching practice and
workshop leadership work—and
enjoying regular yoga workouts
to keep us both limber and
strong. Most recently I launched
yet another career doing voice
over for commercials and film
and just landed a spot with one
of Chicago’s better talent agents.
2010 will be the big year for
this, I am convinced. Jean and I
have become volunteer ushers in
the Chicago theater world and
are having a ball, seeing more
theater than ever and meeting
some really interesting people
in the process. And may you,
Charley, and all my classmates
have a magnificent 2010.”
Ted Oviatt wrote that he was
in Beijing last year “to learn
how to do his job as IB coordinator.” He also fell down some
wet stairs and broke two bones
in his back, causing pain now
and then. He sends best wishes
from the Philippines to all his
classmates.
Erwin von den Steinen wrote
from Germany: “This is sad
news indeed. I suppose George
Woods finally fell victim to
Parkinson’s that he fought
valiantly against. Bray Redecker
was still doing courier trips at
our last reunion, so his news is
indeed a surprise. I guess we are
all reaching an age when things
can happen all too quickly.
“Very importantly, Annemarie
and I hope that you are well and
recovered or recovering from
your illness! Fortunately we are
still well and very much hoping
to make it to Williamstown for
the 55th!”
Dick Beatty wrote: “I attended
Bray Redecker’s funeral service
on Oct. 15. I had only seen him
once or twice since we graduated; he was in the Foreign
Service and also had a residence
in France. A remembrance was
also given by a fellow FSO, who
introduced himself as Bray’s
best friend. These are some of
the words he applied to Bray:
brilliant, urbane, a total patriot,
mother tongue fluency in four
languages, all-time favorite conversationalist, truly an elegant
man, encyclopedic knowledge
of history and fine food and
drink, many burdens and losses,
suffered partial blindness with
poise and equanimity, an altogether successful human being.”
Bob Diamond wrote the following about Bray: “Bray was
a good friend in my freshman
entry; and I knew him and his
gracious wife Maria-Julia in
Washington during the last
half-dozen years of his life. He
had an unusual background
because of his father’s diplomatic assignments. Until he was
7 he lived in Nazi Germany and
went for a year to a German
kindergarten. Then, after a
year in New York, he joined his
father in Fascist Spain, where
his elementary school classmates
taunted him because America
was at war with Germany. After
the war he was back for a year
in Germany, where his father’s
assignment was to assemble
‘good’ Germans to help set up
the Federal Republic. His next
stop was South Africa, where
he went to secondary school at
the time the Nationalist Party
was establishing apartheid.
After Williams and the Navy,
he followed his father into a
fine career in diplomacy. He
returned to Williams for two
years where he created and
taught a course about diplomacy and lived next door to
his closest Williams friends,
Anil and Molly Asher. Manuelle
and I hooked up with him once
in France when we stayed at
200-year-old farm house that
he meticulously renovated not
far from Biarritz. He told me
several times that it was not
until his four years at Williams
that he really came to feel like
an American. He was a great
raconteur.”
Bob Behr has this to say: “Our
55th reunion is shaping up as a
possible record-setter on June
10-13. Thus far, the responses
to me and Dick Beatty, our
attendance honcho, indicate
a great turnout. Tell us your
intention, please, so that we
can plan meals and order gifts.
Contact Dick at [email protected] or 202.621.8927.
“The Dodd House complex
is our headquarters, with
breakfasts and lunches right
there. Class dinner locales:
on Wednesday, a cookout at
Phil Smith’s; on Thursday, the
Dodd living room; Friday at the
Faculty Club; Saturday is under
a tent near Dodd. College housing is also at the Dodd complex.
Since it’s the old Williams Inn,
all rooms have private baths.
Come for one, two, three or
four nights. Regardless of length
of stay, the Dodd housing fee is
a mere $70 each.
“Billsville is a resort destination enhanced by unique
reunion events. There are three
superb art museums, two fine
golf courses, tennis courts a
block from Dodd, hiking trails
galore, and an improved road to
the top of Greylock.
“Stimulating alumni seminars
are set for Thursday and Friday.
Saturday has the Purple Parade
and the Annual Meeting of the
Society of Alumni plus a host
of special-interest gatherings.
Sunday brings the memorial
service in Thompson Chapel.
“But the major attraction is
you, the members of the distinguished Class of 1955. The
opportunity to mingle and reminisce is priceless. Y’all come!”
(Registration forms were mailed
in late March).”
A little birdie told me that we
will be electing class officers at
the reunion. While the nominating committee has not yet been
selected, your humble scribe
would like to know if any of
you ’55ers would like to serve
as class secretary.
1956
Vern Squires
727 Ardsley Road
Winnetka, IL 60093
[email protected]
I never like to start these
articles with reports of the
loss of classmates, but this sad
information must be set forth
somewhere. So, once again, I
will note the passing of these
goods friends and classmates,
four in total.
In the December issue of
Williams People, I related the
sad news that Chip Clark passed
away on Sept. 5, following
a long illness. The memorial
service was held on Nov. 13.
Subsequently, Phil Wick, who
together with Deb attended the
service, provided the following
report to share with our class.
“Raney [Chip’s wife], their
children Betsy ’81 and Jim ’84
and five grandchildren wanted
the service to be a celebration
of Chip’s life, so, fittingly, it
was on Chip’s 75th birthday.
Betsy, Jim and Warren ’58,
Chip’s cousin, shared their
own light-hearted but touching and uplifting stories that
wonderfully reflected Chip’s
CL ASS
NOTES
loyalty and love for his family,
career and Williams. There
were many Williams friends
present, including Carolyn and
Bill Mauritz and Dave Dewey ’82
from the College. The service
closed with an organ rendition
of ‘The Mountains.’ Chip must
have been smiling! A reception followed at the Siwonoy
Country Club complete with
Chip’s favorite chocolate cake.”
Thanks, Phil, for this report.
On Nov. 23, Grant Clark
passed away in Boynton Beach,
Fla., after a long and courageous battle with health problems. On Dec. 2, at the funeral
service in Boynton Beach, Brad
Tips ’57 and Ed Hines ’57 delivered eulogies in celebration of
Grant’s life. From our class were
Paula and Tink Campbell, Gay
and John Taylor and Jean and
Jamie Holden. Tink and Grant
were close and longtime friends,
which led Tink to compose the
following letter to share with
the class: “Grant was a dear
classmate and great friend to
so many at Williams. We were
friends for decades, and I will
always remember his kindness and high-wattage smile.
Rosemary and I reconnected
with Grant and Mary when we
moved to Chicago in 1971 and
spent many memorable times
together. Paula and I cherish
the days spent with Grant and
Mary, including a trip to the
Masters with Grant leading the
way. Grant had many interests
and causes that he and Mary
strongly supported. Whether it
was his years of leadership in
the Evans Scholars program or
countless hours volunteering
at a Florida community health
center for the poor, Grant never
sat on the sidelines. He had the
compassion, insight and vision
to recognize a great cause and
the heart to work tirelessly on
behalf of others. In Mary, he
found a lifetime partner and
the love of his life. Grant was
effortlessly nice to everyone
and related to people of every
age and station in life. I miss
Grant’s hearty laugh and strict
adherence to a dry martini on
schedule. We were all blessed to
have him in our lives.”
Another loss to the class was
Dave Dickinson, who died on
Oct. 23 after a long illness.
Before his retirement, Dave
was a VP of the First National
State Bank of New Jersey, was
the chief financial officer, tax
collector and committeeman
for the township of Glenbrook,
More than two dozen members and friends of the Class of 1956 gathered
for dinner at Mezze in Williamstown last October as part of a weekendlong minireunion.
N.J., and was the financial
adviser for several school
districts. In addition to all
these interests, Dave especially
enjoyed his family, golf, cooking
and gardening. Dave was one
of the first persons I met way
back in September 1952, and I
much regret having to report his
passing.
Ed Barry, who in his later
years was fondly known as
“Ebby,” was initially a member
of the class but eventually
moved on to graduate from the
College of the Holy Cross in
1957. A longtime resident of
Deephaven, Minn. (not far from
Minneapolis), Ed passed away
on Nov. 7. He struggled for
many years and, as his obituary
touchingly put it, “Goodbye,
dear Eb. You are on your way
to a better place.”
On a more upbeat note,
I can give a glowing report
of the minireunion held in
Williamstown Oct. 9-11.
The Class of ’56 group of
25 included Betsey and Jo
Anderson, Pat and Tom Willis,
Noanie and Jock Duncan, Sandy
and Dave Snow, Kay and Wayne
Renneisen, Bonnie and Mark
Saulnier, Judy and Vern Squires,
Ellie and Sig Balka, Renee and
Tom Lincoln, Debby and Phil
Wick, Bob Schumacher and
his fiancée Anne Oliver (more
on that in a moment), Brett
Gutsche, Tony Fisher and Tink
Campbell.
The weekend was filled with
events and camaraderie. Leading
off was a Friday night visit to
the Williams College Museum
of Art and a most interesting walking tour, followed by
cocktails and dinner at the
museum, all made possible by
Sig Balka’s special relationship with WCMA. Saturday
offered a host of alternatives,
including Bates vs. Williams
at Weston Field. The Ephs
triumphed while the rain came
down for most of the game (no
real surprise there). Many of us
retreated from the home side of
the field to the under-the-roof
stands on the other side, where
we exchanged pleasantries with
several somewhat crestfallen
visitors from Maine.
We all got together again on
Saturday evening for dinner
at Mezze (formerly Jae’s Inn),
more or less across the street
from the 1896 House. As one
would expect, there was lots of
reminiscing and updating of the
current state of our lives.
Sunday morning was special
indeed. Sig arranged a brunch
with Williamstown resident
Susan Adler in her beautiful
home high in the hills north
of Williamstown with an
absolutely magnificent view of
the campus lying to the south
and overlooking Cole Field.
Sig developed a program as
part of the brunch with the
theme “Doing Well by Doing
Good” and, led by Sig, everyone
contributed comments on how
he has shaped his life in recent
years to include service to
some segment of society. Space
does not permit a satisfactory
summary of all of the thoughts;
suffice to say, they were interesting and thoughtful. At the end,
we said our goodbyes, profusely
thanked Sig for his tireless
effort to make the weekend
n 1 9 5 6 –5 7
a meaningful one, and we
resolved to be back in two years
for the 55th!
Buster Grossman was not able
to attend the minireunion, but
he certainly had a good and
impressive reason for being elsewhere. On Oct. 2, he and Bev
departed for Sydney, Australia,
for the quadrennial World
Masters Games. These games
have grown to involve 25,000
athletes from 120 countries
competing in 29 different sports
and have become the world’s
largest multi-sport event.
Buster’s first WMG was in 1985
and he has done well over the
years. For the 2009 games, he
went to defend his position
as the reigning 1-meter diving
champion. (He won both the
2- and 3-meter events in 2002).
Buster’s letter noted, “Because
they have doubled the age
groups I will be diving against
much younger divers, and the
challenge this year will be terrific. I look forward to it.”
I mentioned that Bob
Schumacher was accompanied
by Anne Oliver, his fiancée. This
is an exceptionally nice story,
and with Bob’s permission, I can
share his letter from last year
with the readers of this article.
Bob wrote: “As you are aware,
Mary passed away 14 months
ago after a long battle with
cancer. Starting a few months
after her service, Anne and I had
some causal dates (movie and
dinner) which went well because
we were far from strangers. I
have known her for 53 years, as
she and Mary were in the same
class at Vassar, and Anne also
attended our wedding. Over the
last 30 years, Anne and her late
husband John had exchanged
dinner parties with Mary and
me on an irregular basis. So,
besides knowing each other we
had the advantage of two long
and very happy relationships
to build upon. Anyway, we got
engaged on Aug. 14 in East
Hampton and will be married
in early December in a good
friend’s apartment on Park
Avenue. … Both Anne and her
husband were very successful
executives in major advertising
agencies, were lifelong residents
of Manhattan’s Upper East Side
and summered for many years
in the Hamptons. John, who
was a really wonderfully guy,
passed away four-plus years ago
from Parkinson’s. In conclusion, it is great to be in love
with a fantastic gal and to feel
25 again!” Thanks, Bob, for
sharing this story, and, yes, the
wedding did occur as scheduled
as reported in The New York
Times on Dec. 6.
Sy Becker reported that he
continues to enjoy working
full time as a historian, having
retired from teaching. This has
allowed more time for research
and writing while providing a
flexible schedule that Sy and
Alla took full advantage of in
the fall. He presented a paper
on Russia and the Black Sea at
a conference in Athens at the
beginning of October. They
stayed in that famous city for a
few days and then continued on
for a visit to Crete. From Crete
they went to Helsinki, where
Alla gave a paper at a conference on the Cold War. Helsinki
was special since, as Sy noted,
“We are habitués of Helsinki
and its marvelous Slavonic
Library in summertime; the
absence of most tourists in
October helped to compensate
for the absence of the White
Nights on this, our first offseason visit.”
Gracia and Bruce Dayton
were off to Vero Beach for
the months of February and
March, where they hoped to see
many Williams grads, including several from the Class of
’56. Bruce observed that he and
Gracia may have two fourthgeneration children at Williams
in the Class of 2014, what with
grandson Tucker’s commitment
to Williams and granddaughter’s Grace’s decision to apply
for early decision. Meanwhile,
Gracia was November’s featured
artist at The Harrison Gallery in
Williamstown and will be one
of 100 New England artists to
appear in a forthcoming book.
More news on the Dayton
front. Sig Balka reported that
he and Ellie joined Gracia
and Bruce at a mid-September
performance in New York by
Gemma Genazzano, a renowned
musician and the Dayton’s
daughter-in-law who, together
with son Greg, have produced
some unique and memorable
music. To learn more, visit
www.soultracks.com/gemmagenazzano.
So this article closes with
the thought that the period
being reported on has involved
some highs and lows, but this
will always be the case. I look
forward to hearing from fellow
classmates and sharing their
stories with the whole class.
1957
John S. Pritchard
150 Candlewood Drive
Williamstown, MA 01267
[email protected]
Greetings from the Berkshires,
with plenty of snow and one
of the coldest winters during
recent years. I’m writing you
in mid-January with temperatures in the mid 20s, up from
zero conditions during most
of December. Plenty of good
skiing, which my family (six
grandchildren) enjoyed during
the holidays. Here’s a P.S. on
our October minireunion and
our Taconic Gold Club Dinner,
which highlighted our time
together, with over 40 attending including seven scholars
and four interns. The evening
produced a spirited exchange
of campus/career experience
which was enjoyed by all. One
of the scholars, Rich Miller ’86,
was a soloist in The University
Glee Club of New York with
125 men including your truly.
I did not realize his connection to 1957 before last Oct.
16. Fortunately we were seated
together for dinner for our own
minireunion. Thanks again to
Peter Fleming for his organization of one of the best class
dinners in my memory.
Dick Towne has written and
published a wonderful book
entitled Nothing But Our Best
about his family during his
grandfather’s era and life in
the Holyoke, Mass., area in
the 19th and first half of the
20th century. Apart from his
organizational and writing
skills, Dick had great patience
and persistence in completing
this challenging project, and the
results speak for themselves.
Dick writes, “This is a story
I thought I could never write
about a man I scarcely knew.
Yet long after his death, I have
come to know him well. Frank
B. Towne, my grandfather, to
say he was well respected may
seem self serving, but how else
do you account for the existence
of ‘An Open Letter’ from his
many dedicated employees in
1938.” Congratulations, Dick.
Last fall I received a nice note
from Jack Tucker, who enjoys
Williams People with news of
the College and classmates—
still hoping to get him back
to Williamstown after many
years. My ole roommate Dave
Connolly sent me an article
complete with group photo
CL ASS
NOTES
of the 175th anniversary of
his former fraternity, Delta
Upsilon, taken at Williams
last July with West College
in the background. Dave was
a member of D.U., founded
in 1834 at Williams, but did
not attend their Leadership
Institute Undergraduate/Alumni
Convention held in Albany last
July. Another ex-undergrad
D.U., Steve Bullock, occasionally visits Williamstown and
his second home, which is a
unique log cabin built by his
father Ed during the 1950s. I
look forward to our breakfasts
at the Route 2 Diner, where he
updates me on the latest news
from the DC area, Virginia and
even Williamstown.
I called Tom Slonaker in early
January to salute him on The
New York Times December editorial “Settling Indian Trusts.”
Nearly 20 years ago, Tom was
appointed Interior Department
chief of Indian Affairs in
Washington. His focus was
to resolve multibillion-dollar
claims the federal government
has refused to pay for accounts
held in trust since the 19th century for hundreds of thousands
of American Indians. Following
several years of battling the U.S.
District Court for the District of
Columbia, he resigned his post
in disgust and frustration. Now,
13 years later with many personnel changes, especially the
presiding judge, a settlement has
been reached with the federal
government paying $3.4 billion
to settle claims. This amount is
close to the $4 billion Tom was
pursuing during his tenure. The
trusts are a legacy of an 1887
law dividing tribal lands and
placing them in federally administered units which were then
lost, mishandled and destroyed
in large part. Congrats, Tom,
on your past commitment to a
just cause.
Some of you may recall my
fall notes reference to Don
McLean’s interest in contacting
Williams admissions in support
of early acceptance of a family
friend in Atlanta. Well, his interest and support helped, as this
young lady has been admitted
into the Class of 2014. I encourage all of you so inclined to also
write letters of support, as they
become part of each candidates
folder for review by the admission department.
The Pritchards celebrated our
50th wedding anniversary last
Aug. 15 with a large group of
Williams graduates attending,
including Dave Connolly, Steve
Bullock and Dick Flood. Wish
more of you could have been
with us to celebrate our good
fortune, family and friends—
some remarkable memories.
Speaking of celebrations,
the Flood Athletic Center
Dedication at Salisbury School
on Jan. 9 was simply “the tops”
in terms of recognition. Dick
and Sally dedicated 15 years at
Salisbury, expanding student
body and building a physical plant. What Kathy and I
witnessed was an outpouring of
respect and love for the Floods,
which began with a “Family
Skate” at 9:30 a.m. and carried
through luncheon, athletic
events and venue dedications
until 5 p.m. We were joined by
the Cobdens, Alexanders, Annie
Welles and Dickie Furgueson
apart from other Williams
friends. The now retired Floods
then hosted a cocktail/buffet
at their lovely Canaan home
for those of us who stayed on
to meet their neighbors, school
faculty and administration. Dick
and Sally are nonstop, and we
look forward to our next gettogether, hopefully soon.
Former Minnesota Gov. Arne
Carlson was in the news at the
end of 2009, and one of the
headlines of the Minneapolis
Star Tribune stated, “As always,
Arne Carlson speaks his mind.”
He questioned the present
Republican governor’s efforts to
balance the state budget, decrying the “politics of avoidance”
at the statehouse. In turn, the
governor’s office questioned
“the government-subsidized
health care programs whose
cost were growing at unsustainable rates and that tax should
be raised.” The article then
referred to health providers benefiting from “MinnesotaCare,”
which Arne’s administration
initiated as the “public option”
for low-income working people
with no other option, i.e.,
employer provided health insurance. MinnesotaCare is not a
state budget buster, because it
isn’t funded by the state’s general fund. It has its own revenue
stream: the 2 percent tax on
health care services which has
shown a surplus every year since
its creation. Carlson reports,
“The provider tax has always
produced a surplus and kept
the tax inside the system and
has been an impetus for more
efficiency.” The result is that
doctors and hospital execs have
been defending the program.
Arne is happy to defend the
program signed into law in
1992. “MinnesotaCare has
been a fabulous success. It’s
self-sustainable, inexpensive,
provides access and it works.”
Perhaps President Obama
should continue to push for a
public option tailored for the
uninsured working poor, not
every American which might
get the job done. Thanks to the
Minnesota Star Tribune and our
two-time governor classmate for
their input.
Best wishes to all of you from
a frigid Williamstown.
1958
Dick Davis
5732 East Woodridge Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
[email protected]
On April 1, Williams is
scheduled to welcome its new
president. President-elect Adam
Falk met with Carl Vogt in San
Francisco in late January. In
Carl’s words: “I also heard him
speak and answer questions
from alumni and parents at a
luncheon, a reception (about
150 alums) and at dinner. I
am very impressed. He has an
engaging style and a deep commitment to the values of liberal
arts education. He is sensitive to
the qualities that make Williams
a special place. Adam has been
a star at Johns Hopkins as a
scholar, teacher and leader.
Everything I hear from faculty
and others on campus is positive. He strikes me as a quality
human being with the potential
to be a great president. Kudos
to the search committee.”
The minireunion last fall was
a huge success. Co-chairs Chet
Lasell, class president, and Rick
Driscoll managed everything
to a T, including a gridiron
victory over Bates. Present were
Fred Clifford and Barbara, Stu
Crampton and Susan, Denny
Doyle and Sue Rea, Rick Driscoll
and Jeanne, Steve Frost and
Anne, Joel Greeley and Louise,
David Grossman and Jill, Whitey
Kaufmann and Karen, Tom
Kellogg and Mercy Ramsey,
Jack Kent, Bob Kingsbury, Chet
Lasell and Kate, Skip Martin
and Nancy, Bruce Maxwell and
Jill Stephenson, Bruno Quinson
and Minkie, David Sims and
Arnie Sher. Denny, inter alia,
lauded the Dixie music, and Tom
Kellogg in particular commented
on the “splendid time” he and
his significant other Mercy
n 1 9 5 7 –5 8
In December, 1958 Ephs gathered for an annual Williams Club get-together.
From left (standing) Tom Synnott, David Grossman, Whitey Kaufmann,
Howie Abbott, Rick Driscoll, Jim Conlan, Don Conklin, Skip Martin, Matt
Donner; (seated) Brad Thayer, Bruce Maxwell, Lou Lustenberger, Joe Young.
Ramsey had and on the overall
excellence of the entire event,
which he (with many others)
considers a great tradition.
About seven weeks later a
different group gathered at the
Williams Club in New York
for the annual holiday season
lunch. Among the beaming
and the stalwart were Tom
Synnott, David Grossman,
Whitey Kaufmann, Howie Abbott,
Jim Conlan, Don Conklin, Skip
Martin, host Matt Donner, Brad
Thayer, Bruce Maxwell, Lou
Lustenberger and co-host Joe
Young. It’s a wealth of breadth
and depth of experience as well
as memory that all value. Rick
said: “It was an interesting
group at the NYC lunch; not a
group that would have gotten
together while we were in college. That is what makes it so
enjoyable and interesting for me
to attend. Our conversations are
unpredictable, deeper and more
consequential than they were
when we were younger.”
As I’m writing this Tom
Synnott is teaching a Winter
Study course at Williams on
current economic issues. Tom
thinks Bernanke “has done a
fine job of averting a downward
spiral.” He also thinks the
administration and Secretary
Geithner are insufficiently
focused on necessary infrastructure spending and the decline in
the dollar.
I asked Sandy Hansell about
Detroit. “The atmosphere in
these parts is gloomy. Chrysler
seems like a walking corpse.”
But Sandy is OK. He’s working
and toots his trombone “in two
community bands, a jazz band
and a concert band.” More
proof that the energy gene and
the toot gene go together.
Whitey Kaufmann ran into Rich
Lombard at a gym in Greenwich.
Rich was in full workout mode.
Whitey was presenting a course
in spinning, which he teaches
thrice weekly at the New York
Sports Club. Whitey will have
to help me with a little more
detail on that; I’m sure it isn’t
what our foremothers did to
make cloth.
I did get clear on Whitey’s
Arctic travels. He is chairman
of the board of Scandinavian
Seminars, a nonprofit of long
duration whose over 100 sponsors include, e.g., Dartmouth
and many other universities
in northern nations, Canada,
Russia, Europe, Asia. “Scan
Sems” in turn is a leading funding and support entity for the
multi-nation University of the
Arctic, offering education to
native peoples of the far north.
The elf in me prompts me to
observe that if you need any
pointers on really cold weather
apparel, Arctic or Antarctic, you
can consult our “bipolar” duo,
Whitey and Jack Talmadge.
Whitey has also been busy
helping his son Terry ’96 build
his new investment company,
Rockhouse Capital, which
sounds especially venturesome,
focusing on deeply discounted
mortgage-backed securities.
Ollie Stafford and Marcia
toured Alaska last summer and
greatly enjoyed it, hiking in the
Denali and cruising the inner
passage. Ollie is “taking the
big plunge” and retiring after
40 years of running his own
investment advisory firm. He
has found worthy purchasers
and successors for the business.
Congratulations on winding up
a strong career, Ollie. Ollie and
Marcia’s move to Prescott is
still on hold, but Ollie concedes
Maui is not tough duty.
Old Man Winter breathed
hard on the South (with plenty
of rain out west, but we can
use it). Dave Plater said all his
tropical plants “went to tropical
heaven.” Chet Lasell recorded
a record or near-record cold
where the Indian River meets
the ocean.
But wait till you hear about
Jim Murphy. Jim and Connie
had been in their winter home
in Montserrat a couple of weeks
when the big local volcano
erupted! This was just days
before the earthquake in Haiti.
Jim and Connie live just a few
miles from the volcano. Sirens
and the PA system blared and
called for evacuation, and the
cloud of volcanic ash turned day
into night. Jim and Connie figured they were just far enough
away from the destructive
action to ride the big “blow”
out, which they did. “Scary,”
Jim says, which has got to be an
understatement. He and Connie
were on the verge of being “out
of there.” A lot of ash dropped
on neighbors but not much on
them. Jim’s leg, by the way, has
mended. He’s back out hiking.
I missed Bill Fox but caught
David Friedberg watching that
first Viking-with-Favre game
against Green Bay. David
affirmed that there was a lot of
residual love for Brett around
Milwaukee and Wisconsin. It
was so good to hear David’s
enthusiastic voice. He continues in the full-time practice of
pediatric cardiology.
Stu Crampton and Susan took
in a lecture by Warren Clark at
Lakeville last fall. Warren keeps
busy on behalf of a large group
of national church organizations
seeking Middle Eastern peace.
Just a week or so later he was
addressing a large convocation
in Hartford.
Stu and Susan are going on Bill
Harter’s first trip to Israel this
year. I was recently surprised to
learn that people in our church
out here in Arizona have been
to Israel with Bill.
Joe Young had a brief siege
with melanoma with a quick
and totally successful denouement. That’s a constant threat
CL ASS
NOTES
here; so far I’ve only been
maximally doused with liquid
nitrogen and minimally carved
upon a few times for the lesser
genres, basal cell and squamous.
Wide-brimmed hats, sí. Joe’s
new address is Conistan,
10 Ingleton Circle, Kennett
Square, Pa. 19348. His cell is
315.391.0495. His e-mail is
[email protected].
Steve Frost reports that he and
Spence Jones took on a couple
of formidable ’59ers on the
links, long-hitting John Palmer
and Mr. Accurate, Sam Parkhill,
last fall. Our guys won.
Becky and Sam Jones didn’t
make Ecuador but drove cross
country to visit a son in the Bay
Area. They went the northern
route and came back more
southerly, but not as far south
as Phoenix. In July and August,
Sam races his sailboat twice a
week. It’s a 19-foot (indigenous
class) Small Pointer. Sam copped
a third place in one of the races
last year. Becky has completely
recovered from a mild heart
attack.
Chet reported that all is well
in Vero, except that Susie and
Jim Bowers are very much
missed. Bee and Brad Thayer
were recent visitors. Chet lines
up Williams College speakers
for the large alumni group there
and current varsity golfers for
the annual tournament. Jim
Kolster, Skip Martin and Joel
Greeley get down, or up, on
occasion. Chet and Kate are
planning a trip to Spain later
this year. I know they’re serious
because they’ve engaged Dave
Sims’ travel agent.
It’s with particular pleasure
that we welcome Stan Lawder
back into the communicational
fold. Stan says it’s been about as
long as it could be.
Stan was in the service in
Germany and after that worked
for a time with Prof. Lane Faison
’29 in Munich. He got his master’s in art history at Yale with
an emphasis on photographic
art and thereafter taught at
San Diego State. His specialty
is the visual and photographic
arts, and he presently runs a
nonprofit foundation sponsoring the Denver Darkroom, a
school in that city. The business
climate has been particularly
challenging of late, and Stan
has been focused on keeping the
Darkroom in the black. Stan has
children in the professions in the
Northeast. Good to hear, Stan.
Our local city of Mesa would
build a Taj Mahal next to yet
another planned new spring
training stadium if they can only
keep the Cubs. Naples is the
competing venue, and I asked
Lin Patterson for his viewpoint
on the matter. Lin says the traffic is enough of a problem now.
Maybe I should ask Tim Smith if
it matters where the Cubs train,
or if they train. Lin and Gail
were up to the Big Easy for a
visit in early December.
David Kane also came in with
an e-mail from Naples, looking
forward to a meeting of the
Williams alumni group there.
David had received from Jim
Murphy a photo of the volcano
blow on Montserrat.
Speaking of photos, I got
a beautiful family Christmas
photo from Phil McKean, with
a backdrop of the Capitol in
Augusta. I take it Phil’s work
takes him there.
Connie and Dave Allan took
a bus tour last summer of the
western national parks. They
toured from Montana to our
canyon and many other sites in
between. Exhausting but very
worthwhile.
Bruno Quinson exhibited his
painting in Lenox last fall. Ann
and Tom Connolly and Serena
and Arnie Sher were there.
Bruno is working on the idea of
a website for his art work.
Tom triangulates between
Albany and Rochester, where he
helps direct the Five Star Bank,
and the Big Apple, where he and
Ann visit and take in operas and
shows. In June they are going to
take a grandson to Rome, Italy.
Besides the Joe Youngs and the
Dick Siegels, are there any other
opera buffs out there?
Ted Wynne believes it’s
important, from a European
perspective, that the Obama
administration succeeds with
its programs. Ted has been an
active Tory in Britain, working at one time on behalf of his
M.P. Ted remembers his days in
Washington, including a lunch
(with a few others) with LBJ.
Joie de vivre leaps out of a
note I got from Don Conklin.
He’s busy with Kean College,
which educates personnel for
Jersey’s huge pharmaceutical industry. His daughter
has a major equine center
in Maryland, and his son is
a physician in Seattle. Most
important, he has a significant
other he adores (my word, but
it’s clear from his prose) and is
good for him. They travel, often
to the Jersey Shore, Florida
and Hilton Head. I count four
grandchildren. Don continues to
play golf and platform tennis.
A (typically) brief but glad
note from John Hutchins, who
“is dueling [his] pancreatic beast
to a draw.” Go John! John golfs
in the winter in Vero, no doubt
with his usual aplomb.
Rich Wagner filled us in. Ginny
is a real estate agent, and they
both have been big-time canoers
and kayakers. Rich builds his
own canoes and kayaks. They
have done the Maine islands,
the upper Missouri River à
la Lewis & Clark, and the
Boundary Waters wilderness in
Minnesota, and they have rafted
the Colorado River.
I asked Rich, who played a
role in maintaining and winding down the Cold War, if he
considered Russia a growing
present threat. Not presently
to anything like the previous
degree, was the tenor of his
answer. The leaders can’t claim
the ideological fervor and clout
that they used to. Rich’s new
hobby is studying the phenomenon of consciousness. Sounds
like a good challenge, maybe
along the lines of “we don’t
know what we don’t know.”
I asked Skip Martin if the
Bernie Madoff debacle had any
effect on his environs, North
Palm Beach. Skip indicated
there was only minimal evidence
of effects, maybe a couple of
shuttered mansions in Palm,
anywhere near. The general
economy is the real culprit, he
said, as it is out here in Arizona.
Too many real estate projects
started at once, too many
houses and stores.
You can see and hear Rich
Lombard if you go to the
Platform Tennis Museum and
Hall of Fame Foundation website and click on Video History.
This hall includes men and
many women and celebrates
the culture, which produced
this marvelous family oriented
sport. Rich presides over the
foundation and its from-start
operations at the Centercourt
Athletic Club in Chatham, N.J.
I see that Rich often partnered
in play with Ed Hughes or Howie
Patterson ’57. Rich’s finest
senior’s championship came
after his quadruple bypass. He
is a champion presenter for the
foundation, too, as you can see
and hear.
Jock Purcell corrected me on
the Merrimack; it never wholly
freezes owing to swift current.
Jock’s son is an ardent fisherman. Jock follows the rebirth
n 1 9 5 8 –5 9
In January professor E.J. Johnson ’59 (second from left) led a WCMA
Fellows trip to explore Renaissance art and architecture in Venice. Among
the 15 participants were (from left) Sibyl Frankenburg ’87, Russ Bradley
’63, Oliver Cobb ’52, Walter Bernheimer ’61 and Meg MacDonald ’80.
of an eagle population along
the river.
John Schimmel and Louise
have made plans to simplify
their lives by moving into a
nifty-sounding continuing-care
facility under construction in
or near Fort Worth. They will
move near the end of 2011.
Fine dining, gym and pool,
the works. John says 500 of
Louise’s closest friends are moving in, too. John continues to
regale me and makes sure from
time to time that I don’t mess
with Texas.
Louis Auchincloss was just
about my favorite novelist.
When he passed away, I noticed
he led the board of the Museum
of the City of New York for
many years. I asked Bruno if he
knew this New Yorker’s New
Yorker. Bruno said he became
a personal friend and, upon his
retirement from the Museum
board, he and Minkie hosted a
dinner party in his honor.
Finally, I regret to have to
report that we lost David Lower.
David passed away Nov. 18,
2009, at Ellwood City, Pa. He
was a widower.
1959
Norm Walker
15 Vin Mar Court
Rye, NH 03870
[email protected]
In this issue I could focus on
the classmates I mentioned in
my list server letter: calls from
Dan Rankin, Bo Kirschen, Dan
Rorke, Bob Mac Alaine; visits
and meals with Judy and Sam
Parkhill, Jule and Buzz Van
Sant, or Sheila and Al Wurzel; a
great meal with Andy Packard,
discussing the excellent theater
he and his wife run at the Saco
River Grange Hall in Bar Mills,
Maine; Bob Hatcher sending my
Phyllis a bunch of roses; Dave
Sack sending me e-mails full
of great jokes; Joe Prendergast
regularly sending everyone in
the class his writing on cures for
diabetes…
There’s much to write about,
but I’d like to focus on the fact
that we are presently a big time
“great” grandparent class.
In this issue I’ll cite each
grandparent’s name and what
he wrote to us about the
holidays.
Ernie Fleishman: “What better
way for Amy and me to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary than to take our children
and grandchildren to Playa
Del Carmen in Mexico during
Christmas week. Thirteen of us,
including five grandchildren,
played tennis, swam with the
dolphins and recounted family
stories. At this stage in life, it is
family and friends that bring us
the most pleasure.”
Grey McGowan: “My family
had a wonderful Christmas
and is looking forward to the
New Year. We’re still basking in
the afterglow of the wonderful
50th. We thank again all those
who were responsible for it.
All our grandchildren (five) live
close by, and we saw them several times during the holidays.”
Cliff Colwell: “Dec. 28 was
Carolyn’s (my wife of 48 years)
70th birthday so we had …
back to San Diego for the
holidays: our children Chris,
Matt and Connie; their spouses;
and our six grandchildren
(ages 10 to 3). The house was
overflowing but led to great
music composed by Carolyn’s
sister Lynnette and played by
Matt on piano and sung by all.
There was plenty of time for
walks, tennis, swimming and
great meals. This event and our
annual get-together in upper
Michigan at our family cottage
in July and August are always
the highlights of our year.”
Writing on behalf of the late
Geff Fisher is Lonnie (Smith ’55):
“Geff and I had three boys and
a girl. The oldest, U of Oregon
’86, is a commercial fisherman
in Southeast Alaska; he has
three kids plus a step-child who
is going to be a father. His kids
are nice and probably bright.
The next child, a daughter,
Cassandra ’84, lives about 45
minutes away in Shelburne,
Vt. She has two girls, 14 and
12. I spent Christmas Eve and
morning with them and had
them to dinner a few days later.
The next child, a divorced son
in Colorado, has a girl, age
10, and boy, age 5. He is living
with me for the time being but
was away for the holidays. The
youngest is Lew ’89, living in
Williamstown with a boy, 14,
girl, 11, and boy, 9. I spent
two days with them between
Christmas and New Year.”
Chubby Jeffrey: “I have seven
grandkids ranging in age from
15 to 5. Five of them live here
in Millburn, and the other two
live in Atherton, Calif. They
were all here over Christmas,
and we had a terrific time.
Three of the seven are boys; all
enjoy athletics, their favorite participation sport being
baseball. Those three live here,
giving me the opportunity to
watch them develop. The girls
all enjoy sports and are active in
soccer, baseball and riding. All
keep me busy going from game
to game. Somewhere I read, ‘If
I knew having grandchildren
was so much fun, I’d have done
it first.’”
Tom Davidson: “Connie and I
moved to Watercolor, Fla., out
midway in the Panhandle, next
to daughter number two, Beth
Carroll, and her husband. We
have kept a foothold in New
Jersey near two other daughters
and their families. Peggy has
two girls and two boys from 10
to 17. Amy ’90, captain of the
Eph women’s tennis team, is in
CL ASS
NOTES
Summit, N.J., with 9-year-old
twin boys, great athletes, and
a 6-year-old dancing girl. Son
Tom in DC has a son, 2, and a
daughter, 9 months. Tom just
launched Everfi, a national
financial literacy course aimed at
the underprivileged nationwide
but appropriate for everyone.
He gets huge traction in schools
across the country; it makes us
very proud. Daughter Beth is my
partner in Davidson Capital and
a genius at business development. She has no kids of her own
in that family, but her husband
Randy has four robust grown-up
boys. This was the first holiday
season away from grandkids.
Since I am still non-retired I don’t
spend enough time with them but
am trying all the time to do so.
Those times are precious.”
Don Hart: “Elizabeth and I
saw our two granddaughters
at Thanksgiving in their home
in Kensington, Md. A great
few days to catch up with
them and their parents. Our
son Tom works for an NGO
in DC, working on poverty
and AIDS issues in Africa. The
two girls, ages 10 and 13, are
busy. We managed gymnastic
practice after supper and at
least one soccer game. Shopping
and friend contact, with plans
that mostly went nowhere,
took up almost all the rest of
the time, except for a magnificent Thanksgiving feast. And
then there were those special
moments, slipped in between
the business, when we thought
we could glimpse something of
these young persons working
very hard to be human beings,
doing it with grace and some
theatrics! The same group came
our way to New Hampshire
just after Christmas and helped
us extend our celebrations for
several extra days.”
Mack Hassler: “Sue and I have
four grandchildren—ages 15,
11, 5 and 2. The older three are
girls; the last a boy. Everyone
was here at Christmas, and we
are exhausted. I’m still working
so that is a place to which to
retreat. Don’t mean to sound
so grim. I love this generational
thing.”
Slate Wilson: “28-year-old
daughter Megan, 2004 grad
from Colby with a master’s
degree in education and an
administrator’s certificate now
wants a PhD in educational
policy. She is currently teaching
in Portland and is pretty financially independent. 15-year-old
long-boarding son William, who
is a sophomore at Catlin-Gabel
School in Portland, had culture
shock after public middle school
in Salem. Four kids from Salem
commute to Portland, so all
the parents are now carpooling. Will has become a lacrosse
addict; but Catlin has no
lacrosse, so he is now varsity
goalie for one of our local high
schools and back to Salem after
school for practice except for
matches in the Portland area.
He’s a world traveler, also; my
childless cousins have adopted
him and occasionally take him
to Europe with them.
“Aside from a small tribe of
teenagers lounging around our
house on weekends, we try to
take a family trip, including
my 93-year-old mother-in-law,
to somewhere exotic almost
every year. This Christmas
it was Costa Rica. Last year,
Cambodia/Vietnam. Only at
Christmas, and sometimes in
the summer can we all manage
to get together. We’re all in
good physical health, but a lot
of people think we’re crazy. We
all still ski (free for me since age
70), but Megan and Will prefer
boarding.”
Ernie Imhoff: “We’re lucky:
Two sons and their wives live
near us in Baltimore, and we
see their four children each
week. Our daughter lives in
Maine with her husband and
two sons. We all kept up a
great Thanksgiving tradition
in November: 26 Imhoffs and
Bernie/Louise Wulffs (our oldest
friends) said Thanksgiving Day
grace together for the 40th time
since 1967 (the two families
missed just two years). One
annual and welcome family
participant: Lilly’s 86-year-old
N.J. grandfather, who served
his country well in the U.S.
Navy in WWII. Hilda and I are
lucky. We have fun with four
Baltimore grandchildren, ages
5 to 13, seeing them almost
weekly, and we keep in touch
with two Maine grandsons,
ages 16 and 14, in other ways.
Baking banana breads with our
only granddaughter, Lilly, 5,
involved both her good mixing
and straight questions for us
this Christmas: ‘Does Santa
bring you presents?’, but also
‘Are you in credit card debt?’
In the grandchildren arena,
we’ve watched them act, paint
and play guitar, played Zingo,
made pot holders, cut down a
Christmas tree, made decorations, heard Sherlock Holmes
tales and listened to jokes.”
Jed Honigfeld: “Happy New
Year! Terry and I have two
daughters, Harriet ’89 and Amy
’91. Amy is single, while Harriet
is married and the mother of
our sole grandchild, Meredith,
who will be 6 years old in
late February. Only Amy and
Terry’s sister and brother-in-law
joined us for Thanksgiving.
The Saturday afternoon after
Thanksgiving, at Meredith’s
request, we took her along with
her parents to a Devils’ hockey
game at the Prudential Center.
Meredith seemed to have a
relatively decent understanding of what was going on and
followed the action intently
with binoculars. X-mas both
daughters, my son-in-law and
Meredith joined us for dinner.
Finally, the Monday night after
X-mas, while her parents went
to a late party, we baby-sat for
the little tyke, including her
sleeping overnight at our home.
… Harriet is in Madison, N.J.,
about 15 minutes from our
home, while Amy lives in NYC,
about 25 miles from us.”
Chip Ide: “As for the grandparenting: Seven. Five in college,
two about 15. Son Ned is head
of the English department at
The Hill School in Pottstown,
Pa. He summers with wife
Becky’s family on Cape Cod
but also has a house in the
original Washington (N.C.)
where we are. Daughter Jenny
in Duxbury, Mass., with two
in college—one a shining star
in the film program at Fairfield
Univ. in Connecticut, a program
that Fay was instrumental in
starting. Daughter Lynne in
Willimantic, Conn., has three
kids. (Lynne was part of a group
that fashioned a health care
plan for Connecticut—the most
comprehensive state plan in
the nation, which had a great
bipartisan vote to override the
gov’s veto.) I only get to see the
grandkids briefly in summer, if
lucky, and rarely at Christmas.
When 650 miles away (they
all congregate around Boston
for Christmas), weather can
interfere. This year we had kids
down here during the summer,
or saw them after the reunion.
For Christmas, we revelled in
the company of Eve’s grandnieces and nephews, ages 4 to
9—all Raleigh residents.”
Bob Platt: “We spent
Thanksgiving down at the HF
Bar Ranch in Saddlestring,
Wyo., as guests of its owner, my
wife Pam and her family. Pam
cooked two of three 42-pound
n 1 9 5 9 –6 0
turkeys. About 37 people
attended the TG dinner. We
had several fine hikes around
the western ranch, and we saw
lots of big game! We then spent
X-mas up in Helena with our
eldest son, Steve, our daughterin-law, Alicia Stickney, and our
two grandchildren, Julia,16, and
Hamilton, 12. Rich, our youngest son, joined us there with
his faithful hunting Labrador,
Jack, for the Holidays. We had
a fine time with our family and
their many friends, returning
to our home in Port Republic,
Md., just in time to celebrate
New Year’s Eve with friends
here. We’re still both in good
health and are enjoying our
retirement.”
Garry Higgins’ wife Peggy
writes: “We have three children,
ages 46, 47 and 49. Each of
them has three children, and
their ages range from 7 to 29
years old. We have four greatgrandchildren, and their ages
are from 2 months to 7 years
old. We spent Christmas with
our eldest son, Garry Jr., and
his family and New Year’s with
our son Tom and his family.
Our daughter Amy and her
family ‘baby sat’ us during
Thanksgiving.”
Dan Packard sent a nice card
with two pics of his attractive
children, George and Madeline,
one at a young age and one
now.
David Canfield: “Thanks for
this invitation to brag in writing about some of the world’s
absolutely best and brightest
grandkids—which I would have
done at the reunion had I not
had to cancel at last minute
during a post-prostate-surgery
urinary crisis that has since
abated. We’re blessed with seven
granddaughters and two grandsons, ages 1 to 18, from coast to
coast (in Boston, Seattle, Austin,
Knoxville). Talked to them all
at Christmas. They include a
‘Martin Luther King Scholar’ at
NYU, in recognition of exemplary community service; an
academic standout and back-up
QB on a perennial Tennessee
state champion or runner-up;
two other girl scholar-athletes
(soccer, basketball, crosscountry); three younger charmers who excel academically and
socially; and two little ones who
might just out-do all the others
in time.”
This e-mail from Pete
Fessenden touches a ’59
gathering in a nice way and,
ironically, links his son Scott
to our secretary: “Remember
our phone conversation of six
months ago when I urged you
to STAY POSITIVE; that really
helped our son Scott for 19
years!
“I went to the October
Williams ’59 ‘Pass the Baton’
minireunion for a day.
Highlights were seeing old
friends like Hobie Robinson,
Dan Rankin, John Halsey, Barry
Mayer, Gary Higgins, Tony Volpe,
Bill Moomaw, Tim Enos, George
Dangerfield and others. That
Williams Jazz band with Halsey
and others sounded just like
the Spring Street Stompers of
our freshman year! Missed not
seeing you Norm. (After the
weekend we went to Bar Mills,
Maine, for a great visit with
Pat and Andy Packard and catch
up on their Saco River Grange
activities.)
“Christmas had our living
son, Robb, come to our place
in Santa Fe from his home in
Crested Butte, Colo. Spent three
wonderful days with him (an
accomplished physical therapist
and general contractor), his
wife Karyn (an expert in acupuncture and Chinese herbal
medicine) and grandkids Lily,
8, and Cedar, 5. Robb made the
Christmas turkey gravy this year
special, because he added the
wild mushrooms Sandy and I
had harvested high in the Sangre
de Cristo Mountains above
Santa Fe.”
Norm Cram: “Deirdre and I
hosted Betsy and Jerry Tipper
in our Sonoma guest house,
later linking up with Jan and Bo
Kirschen and Chuck Dunkle and
Suzanne Cassel for a festive dinner at the Swiss Hotel. In early
January, Deirdre and I took
our youngest granddaughter to
Tanzania on a safari sponsored by the Williams travel
program.”
Bill Yankus: “While this is
supposed to be about grandchildren and great-grandchildren,
some of us are still dealing with
children. In the two weeks leading up to Christmas, I spent all
of my spare time, perhaps 25
hours total, getting my house
ready for my son to return from
OCS. The training is much
tougher now than when we
went through Newport, with
Marine drill instructors hammering the candidates mercilessly. My son Wyatt managed
to get out a few letters, one of
which said that the only thing
keeping him going was the
thought of coming home on
holiday break. He described
his dream homecoming, which
included the tree all decorated, the fire crackling in the
fireplace, the train going around
the tree and into the tunnel of
presents, Nat King Cole singing
Christmas carols on the sound
system, etc. I had to make all of
it happen when he came home
one week before Christmas; I
was still working full time. Since
there were not enough presents
yet for a tunnel, I wrapped
empty boxes. I brought in the
biggest and best tree we had
ever found and decorated it
completely. It all happened like
clockwork, and his fantasy
came true. I could not let him
down. At 39 I was a very happy
bachelor; at 46 happily married
with no children. Now at 72, I
am still happily married, but I
can’t imagine living without my
incredible 22- and 25-year-old
boys.”
1960
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Ron Stegall
50th
102 Old Place Road
Deer Isle, ME 04627
[email protected]
Thanks to all of you who
contributed to this final column
before our 50th reunion by contacting one or more classmates
and reporting back to me. I
hope you enjoyed the experience
as much as I have for the past
five years. When we graduated
in 1960, I had begun to see that
all the disparate courses I had
taken actually related to each
other and were even interactive. I began to understand
what a liberal arts education
was about. Now, at this stage
of life, I am increasingly aware
that each of us has been given
the opportunity to experience
something of the breadth and
depth of life … many of life’s
“courses” so to speak … and
that all of these discoveries are
part of a whole … they belong
… everything belongs! Each of
us has a story, and the stories
are infinitely interesting if we
allow ourselves to see that. The
stories now seem more about
similarities than differences, but
we used to focus more on the
differences. It is now about seeing rather than about earning or
achieving. It is about relationships rather than outcomes or
measures. The satisfactions or
CL ASS
NOTES
rewards, it seems to me, now
more easily flow out of the seeing and the relationships.
So on with the stories: The
December 2009 edition of
these notes reported that Dave
McCullock had moved from the
“lost” to the “found” list in the
Alumni Office. Hank Humphrey
writes that he and Ken Gillett
were the sleuths that found
“Mucks,” who had been their
roommate sophomore year.
Dave is retired from 27 years
in the Navy as a helicopter
pilot, among other things, and
lives in San Diego. He and his
wife Cynthia sent along an
e-mail with family history and
photos. Dave graduated from
Muhlenberg College in 1961
and joined Navy OCS and later
Naval Aviation. What began as
a preference for “three hots and
a cot” over slogging through the
mud (if he was drafted into the
Army) ended with his retirement
as a naval commander. A first
marriage ended in divorce, and
he has been married to Cynthia
for 21 years. “After the Navy, I
went back to school and got a
teaching credential which I used
for 13 years teaching algebra
in middle school in Chula
Vista, Calif. Eventually burned
out, taught as a substitute in
parochial school system (no disciplinary problems) and retired
full time four years ago. I am a
volunteer working with the San
Diego Police Department, work
out some, read a lot and get to
the golf course twice a week.
We love to travel, with most
recent trips to Alaska, China
and Eastern Europe.” The photos show Cynthia and Dave, son
Tim, daughter Tammy and various grandchildren. They also
show a son who suffered a fatal
heart attack last year at age
44—“a crusher.” Dave writes,
“We are not meant to attend
the funerals of our children!”
Thank you, Dave, for being in
touch and for sharing your story
with us. We all hope you will
join us for the reunion!
Hank also reports that he and
Ken Gillett have seen a lot of
each other over the past eight
years in Sanibel at dinners and
playing in each other’s member/
guests—but the Gilletts moved
back to Connecticut to be closer
to children and grandchildren.
Hank is a founding shareholder
in Sanibel/Captiva Trust Co.
“We have seminars every season
and brought Dick Ennis ’57 to
speak last April. Dick brought
along his partner Jim Knupp,
who lives just 30 minutes from
us in Naples in winter. It was
fun to catch up, and we hope to
get together this winter.” Hank
concludes that he and Jake (Eric
Jaeckel!) are working on Phi
Delts to come back to reunion.
“Unfortunately we have only
seven left out of the original 17
we started with—four changed
classes, six died. We have contacted six of the seven, and four
are coming to reunion … and
perhaps a fifth. I am working
hard on Bob Jahncke!”
Eric Jaeckel made contact with
Bill Powell and Scotty Kleiner to
encourage them to attend the
50th. “Bill lives in Wynnewold,
Pa. (suburb of Philadelphia),
does much volunteer work, such
as helping his church, and said
he planned to be at reunion.
Scotty and Heather live outside
of Atlanta, retired but still doing
some part-time teaching at the
Univ. of Georgia, and will not
be able to join us for various reasons.” Eric continues:
“I have recently experienced
several interesting (smile) health
issues, such as a new right
hip, a lost appendix and living
with a patched-up hernia, but
am alive and kicking. I’m still
volunteering in Boulder, helping
seniors with special needs at
our YMCA, delivering Meals
on Wheels and working for the
big United Way in Denver as
a fundraiser. My number-one
priority continues to be my son
Brad and his family in Moscow,
Idaho. There are two grandchildren, ages 8 and 4, and Brad
manages the Organic Vegetable
Research Farm at Washington
State University near Pullman.”
Eric has suggested that
everyone in the class could
and should write a page about
their own creative side for the
“Creative Side of the Class of
’60 Exposition,” even if they
have not painted or sculpted or
photographed … and we agree
with him. The pages you produce will be reproduced along
with the poems, essays and
other submissions in writing,
and will be part of the exposition at the reunion. See the
website, and call or e-mail me if
you have any questions!
Fay Vincent contacted Alan
Keith: “He is well and living in
New Jersey, where he has his
own software business. After
several years with Uncle Sam
in the Air Force, he lived in Las
Vegas and then migrated back
north. We had been very good
friends at Williams and had lost
touch, so this was a happy gettogether. He remains a vibrant
and serious person who, like
most of us, loved the time at
Williams and wonders how the
years slipped by so quickly.”
Lou Terrell e-mailed that he
and Carol were leaving for India
in a couple of days and planned
to hook up at some point on the
trip with Howard Goodman and
Deborah. “As for June, it is a
work in progress as to whether
we will be able to make it.” Jeff
Shulman and Celia will certainly
be in Williamstown in June
and contacted Fred Schweizer
to encourage him to meet them
there. “Fred is living in Ithaca,
N.Y., having retired from his
medical practice. He and Tizzy
are raising a grandson who is
6-foot-2, 275 pounds and loves
football. I tried to reach Stu
Eilers without success but hope
to catch him soon.”
Steve Ross and Pam will
be with us in Williamstown.
Steve contacted Bill Kieffer in
Vienna: “He will be coming
to the reunion but is unable to
drive because of poor vision.
His sister in Connecticut will
drive him to Williamstown,
and we will take him to Maine
for a visit. His Christmas card
included a DVD of a concert
in Vienna’s Russian Orthodox
Church, where Bill is a member
and stalwart of the liturgical
choir. He had just returned
from a Williams trip to South
Africa and is learning his sixth
or eighth or 10th language,
Hungarian!” Bill is a retired
psychiatrist with more time to
play the several musical instruments he has mastered, travel
and sing! Bill Polk is alive and
reasonably well in his 72nd
year. “Arthritis has me in its
grip, and my balance is not
what it used to be! Nancy and I
celebrated our 47th anniversary
on Dec. 29. I am still working
part time and enjoying it. Life
here at Wake Robin CCRC is
wonderful … great long-term
care insurance. My contact is
with Dick Holiday. We visited
Dick and Ardis in August in
Rhode Island and had a great
time. They recently celebrated
their 34th anniversary.”
Steve Lewis took seriously my
urgings that you contact classmates whom you had not seen
for some time … and he called
me! An hour and a half later we
were just beginning to catch up.
His remarkable career continues
on corporate and foundation
boards and his own personal
n 1 9 6 0 –6 1
initiatives. He delights in learning in new environments. Both
Ferlinghetti and T.S. Eliot write
about the importance of sustaining wonderment or having a
“rebirth of wonder” as we move
through the stages of our lives.
Steve’s enthusiasm for the new
worlds he is exploring proves the
point and serves as inspiration
for those around him. He and I
both hope there will be opportunities at the reunion to meet with
in-town faculty from our era.
Harvey Brickley has, as usual,
gone the extra mile to encourage class members to show up
for the celebration. Tony Tilton’s
response to Harvey was, “Nice
to hear from you after these
many years. I am still practicing
law in Worcester and spending every weekend in Osterville
(Cape Cod) in a house Martha
and I built on North Bay seven
years ago. Unfortunately, I cannot attend the reunion as I will
be on the golf trip to Ireland
making double bogeys during
that span. My bio has been submitted and I have made a capital
pledge, so those duties have been
met. I will be thinking about all
I am missing in W’town as I am
thrashing around in the course
next June.”
Bruce “Skeeter” Wilkinson’s
response cited affection for
Williams and classmates and a
quiet campus but no particular
affinity for reunions. His life
contains reduced hours, maintenance of remaining clients, lots
of volunteer work, family and
grandchildren. Dave Paresky and
Linda responded to Harvey with
solid assurance that they will be
in Williamstown for the Great
Re-relating Event!
Bob Stegeman and Carol spent
part of Christmas with our newest official class member, Cynny
Travers, in the lovely Travers
home in Newton that has been
visited over the years by so
many classmates. Lael and I had
a great pre-Christmas weekend
there as well, taking in a range
of Travers’ Christmas musical
traditions. Cynny will be part of
the festivities in Williamstown.
We all missed John but experienced his presence in the
familiar holiday rituals.
Harvey Simmonds, now
Brother Benedict, contacted
me from Holy Cross Abbey
in Berryville, Va. Bro Bene, as
some of us call him, was in our
class into our senior year, when
he left for Europe and other
exposures. He came back to
graduate in ’61 but identifies
with ’60. He has made available
some material, which will be
used in a biographical story
about him on the website and
perhaps in the class book. As
some of you know, his continued presence in our lives is
miraculous because kidney failure and Parkinson’s were scheduled to take him some time ago.
He has now been “kicked out”
of hospice three or four times!
He laughed raucously during
our brief phone call when I
asked if there was a new job
classification for him in the
monastery called Resurrection
Specialist, 1st Class! He doesn’t
leave his room much and will
not be with us in Williamstown
as he was at our 45th but sends
fond thoughts to everyone.
You can learn more about
Bro Bene and most of your
classmates on the website along
with a large number of stories
you have contributed. Look
there, also, for announcements
about the reunion program.
Please complete your forms
for the “Creative Side of the
Class of ’60 Exposition.” It has
taken a lot of creativity for us to
reach this ripe old age, and we
would love to hear some specific
examples of your creative sides.
Jot them down in three or four
paragraphs or a page of bullets,
and let us compile them into a
pamphlet along with poems,
essays or Op-Ed pieces you have
authored. It will be fascinating
for all of us to see a side of you
that might not appear in your
bio or resume. Resolve to call
a couple of guys from the class
before June and plan to be in
Williamstown with us.
You guys, collectively and
individually, have been an
important influence on my life.
… You are part of the whole of
my life experience, and I would
love to see you together again.
At press time Tom Kent ’51
shared a mutual friend’s feelings
of Ben Schenck’s memorial service in February: “Ben’s service
was so beautiful. He gave back
to the attendees, literally, something I had never experienced.
He created his memorial service
himself, and it was beautiful—
the music and the words that he
related. Speakers were from the
chaplain from hospice, his prep
school, Williams, his brother,
son and Sally. His grandson
tried to speak but was overwhelmed. A truly unique and
beautiful memorial.”
1961
Bob Gormley
P.O. Box 3922
Westport, MA 02790
[email protected]
I got a kick out the brassiness
of 1938 class secretary George
McKay, who let his classmates
have it in the December issue
for not responding. I mean,
we’re talking 22 remaining
members of a class that graduated 71 years ago and who
are now into their early 90s!
That 22 are alive and kicking
is wonderful enough, but Mr.
McKay was taking no prisoners:
respond or else! God bless him.
No such attitude here, but we’re
only in our spry 70s, and I do
urge full participation.
Pete Smith wins first prize
this time for stepping up to
the plate (he was a ball player)
after too long an absence. He
and wife Maureen are retired
and living in Hilton Head, S.C.
It’s a second marriage for both,
with five grown children and 12
grandchildren in the mix, and
they’re enjoying it all.
He remembers fondly the
cross-country trip he took after
graduation with Phil Cohan and
“Bert” White ’62. Bert “discovered” Vail, Colo., on this trip,
says Pete, and I gather did well
as a developer out that way
over the years. Phil relates some
memories of the adventure in
his report, following Pete’s.
Pete had played college baseball in the Cape Cod League a
couple of years (as John Whitney,
George Lowe, Paul Boire and
Ned Leroy ’60 can attest) but
learned there that hitting only
the fastball wasn’t going to
get him to the majors. So he
took the first job offered as a
reporter/advertising man (not a
“Madman”) for McGraw-Hill
and stayed 28 years climbing the corporate ladder. He
left M-H in ’89 and bought a
regional commercial printing
operation with a partner. Even
though the printing industry
was going digital, they grew the
company, and Pete sold out to
his partner in ’98 and headed
to Hilton Head to work on his
golf game, only to “disprove the
theory that you just need to play
more to play better.”
Beyond the trip with Cohan
and White he noted that Pierce
“Butch” Anderson, Bill Rich and
Steve Lazarus helped surprise
him on his 40th birthday up in
Connecticut and that he visited
CL ASS
NOTES
the Riches in New Hampshire
on several occasions. Also
that Pete Mulhausen ’60, John
Huntington, “Banger” Lang,
Bill Sargeant and Bill Ryan, all
’62, had gathered at Hilton
Head most years to watch the
Williams-Amherst game fed in,
and that Jeff Freeman and JB
Morris, both ’60, were through
for a game of golf. Sounds like
he might be ready for some more
’61s to descend on him down
there.
Word that Smith had checked
in and mentioned their historic
cross-country summer of ’61
trip brought Phil Cohan to
the fore. I saw Phil briefly at
our October minireunion in
Williamstown but was glad
for an update on him. First he
recounts the famous trip: They
visited various classmates and
mooched meals on the way out.
They had to check out Boulder,
Colo., to find out why summers there attracted so many
students. Like women. They
pitched tents on a mountainside
overlooking the city but later
realized they had set up camp in
a popular necking spot, and the
commotion continued into the
night. Ah, still the loneliness of
the men’s college isolation! On
to Salt Lake City, where they
found a beautiful lawn to camp
on. Until the irrigation system
for the state Capitol turned
on to soak them in the night.
Innocent stuff, but I’m sure they
left out the raunchy parts. Jobs
picking fruit didn’t work out,
and fighting fires seemed too
grim, so they came back early,
with Phil peeling off to a socialite season in Raleigh, N.C.,
wherein his Philly upbringing
seemed tame.
Phil retired as a trial lawyer
at the end of 2007, and he
and Carolyn are enjoying life
between their DC home and a
place on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland (between St. Michaels
and Oxford). He was looking fit and not a day over 55
when I saw him in the fall. He
misses the court action some
but admits it was time to “step
away from the almost constant,
bitter and aggressive animosity
among litigants in high-stakes
suits, as well as among their biggun lawyers.”
Molly and Pierce Anderson
have also moved to the Eastern
Shore from Pennsylvania, and
Phil sees them regularly. Friends
since eighth grade, roommates
and KA brothers at Williams,
they enjoy being back together
George Lowe ’61 (left) and his wife Barbara visited with Fred Noland ’61
and his wife Susan Hansen in Seattle in October.
in retirement. Phil’s favorite
activity at the shore is building houses with Habitat for
Humanity, so he’s keeping fit,
adding skills and doing extra
good these days.
We had a great turnout for
the October mini—33 classmates and spouses/friends by
my count, once again topping
our contemporary classes.
You heard recently from Tim
Weinland, who is editing our
50th class book, requesting
personal profiles. And from Paul
Boire, who has become webmaster for our ’61 website-to-be.
Bios and photos can be posted
there when ready, and we can
exchange memories, complaints
and outrageous commentaries.
Paul encourages you to contact
him at [email protected] or go to
the williams.edu home page,
click on “Alumni” and 1961
with any stories to be shared
with the class.
Barbara and George Lowe
spent some time in Seattle with
Fred Noland and his wife Susan
Hansen. I had tabbed Fred as
“elusive” for being out of touch
in recent years; it turns out
that for nine years he has been
busy shuttling back and forth
to Salobreña, Spain (south of
Granada on the Mediterranean
coast), where he and Susan have
restored two village houses and
from which they explore other
parts, including even a recent
camel adventure into the Sahara
in Morocco. Despite an ongoing
bout with prostate cancer, he’s
well and enthusiastic about life.
Back at our 25th Fred gave a
rousing talk on “Ending the
Cold War.” That worked, and
now he’s on to “Ending the War
on Drugs” in retirement. That
and enjoying his two daughters
and four grandchildren. Fred
says he’d be happy to put you
up in Salobreña and talk about
Spain and life’s challenges.
If you are headed that way,
contact him at noland.hansen@
gmail.com.
Had a nice talk with John
Bauer, still in Mamaroneck,
N.Y., where he grew up and
where he’s been devoted to
bringing up his two children.
John lost his wife seven years
ago and has since retired from
his “executive suite” business to
spend as much time as possible
with eighth-grade son Jack and
16-year-old Vivian. He sends his
best to all and hopes to be on
board for our 50th.
Also tracked down old friend
Rob Campbell at his Short Hills,
N.J., lair. He and Cheryl are
living the happy retirement life,
Rob having turned over the
running of Campbell Foundry
to two of his sons and two
nephews, fourth-generation
Campbells who continue to
produce those manhole covers. Rob spends as much time
as possible up at their family
retreat in Wolfeboro, N.H., on
Lake Winnepesaukee. There
the family gathers summers.
We both remember warmly a
“where the boys are” spring
vacation trip to Fort Lauderdale
with Dave Campbell and the late
Tom Bachman ’62.
Joe Low enjoyed lunch in the
Bay Area with Peggy and Pete
Raisbeck, recounting 50-plus
years of friendship after busy
family Thanksgivings for both.
I’m sure they also talked about
the challenges of squeezing
n 1 9 6 1 –6 2
alumni bucks out of us. And
remember Peggy, who’s battling
cancer and is an inspiration to
all around her.
Frank Gluck reported from
Nashville, where he retired in
’09 from practicing medicine.
He and Judy celebrated their
41st anniversary in October
and were contemplating a move
to be closer to grandchildren
in Pasadena, Calif. Frank’s
become a Tennessee Titans fan
but still sports an old Baltimore
Colts sticker on his car. Those
Baltimore guys never give
up, even when their team’s in
Indianapolis.
Wally Bernheimer, waiting to
get a haircut, noted in Boston
Magazine’s issue on Boston’s
100 top doctors that Al Lapey
was the only one in the pulmonary category. Congrats, Al!
Which leads me to the final
and sad news of this issue. Al
Lapey was a close friend and
hockey teammate of Laurie
Reineman, who died unexpectedly over the Thanksgiving
weekend. As another teammate, George Lowe, remarked,
“Laurie was an active and
significant participant in our
planning for the 50th—and he
looked to me as if he could still
lace them up and take a regular
line shift.” I agree. He was full
of positive energy, very bright
and articulate, a lover and
patron of the arts. He will be
sorely missed in the Boston and
Williams arts communities.
Laurie had retired early as a
principal at Eaton Vance, the
Boston financial group. He had
earlier worked with Old Colony
Trust and First National Bank
of Boston. He was particularly
active as a trustee of the New
England Conservatory of Music
and as a patron of numerous
other art and music organizations. As a resident of Wellesley,
he took advantage of taking
courses at the college, open to
residents, and was a lifelong
learner. He loved the works of
the Spanish painter Velazquez
and had traveled the world to
see his work in situ. He also
memorized poetry and lived
by it. A number of us attended
his memorial service and were
struck by the outpouring
of those whose lives he had
touched. He leaves wife Linda
and two daughters.
Also in November, we lost
Michael Frazer out in Battle
Creek, Mich., and Matt Jones
here in the Boston area. Our
condolences go out to Floice
Frazer and Polly Jones along
with Linda Reineman.
Michael came to Williams
from Choate and received his
law degree from Michigan in
1964. He was active in the
Michigan Bar, the Battle Creek
Hunt Club and St. Thomas
Episcopal Church. He enjoyed
fox hunting, riding horses,
which he raised, and farming
and was an avid reader. He
leaves four children and eight
grandchildren.
Polly and Matt Jones were
married 48 years. He came
to Williams from Exeter and
became an insurance actuary,
serving with John Hancock for
31 years, retiring as VP of group
operations in 1993. Matt was
a woodworker and sailor. He
summered in Friendship, Maine,
and loved the ocean. Matt
leaves three children and six
grandchildren. As former roommate Ralph Epstein commented,
“My two favorite roommates
are now gone, Matt and Art
Bearon. I often hear their laughter resonating within and am
saddened by Matt’s passing.”
A tough way to end this, but
on we go toward our 50th.
Count your blessings and be
well.
1962
William M. Ryan
112 Beech Mountain Road
Mansfield Center, CT 06250
[email protected]
Our October mini was, as
usual, first class, and Bonnie
and I enjoyed seeing classmates
again. Gary Webster joined us
for the first time in many years
with his fiancée Louisa Barton
Duguay. He has recently moved
to Connecticut from New
Brunswick. Bob Diforio ’64 was
there. He began Williams with
us: “I think I’m the only person
to go through Williams in
only two terms—Eisenhower’s
and Kennedy’s.” Sue and John
Sargent were present, Sarge
having officially changed his
class affiliation from ’63 to
’62. Welcome back, Sarge, and
open up your wallet. Two more
members of our class have made
Williamstown a more permanent part of their lives. Linda
and Doug Haley rent a home on
Oblong Road for nine months
each year, and Carl Davis has
begun a home near Judy and
Bruce Grinnell. President Spike
Kellogg has ascended to another
CEO position, this one of
the U.S. Biathlon Committee,
and he planned to attend the
February Olympic games in
British Columbia. Our 50th
reunion committee met and
continued to explore possibilities for our gift. No decision yet,
but we are homing in. Our
next class function will be the
Presidential Colloquium, April
22-24. Hope many of you will
attend this special function.
In June 2011, the class is
invited to spend a week at the
Williams facility in Oxford.
This is an annual event reserved
first for the upcoming 50th
reunion class. Several years ago,
Bonnie and I snuck in to a week
with the Class of ’43 and had
a wonderful time. John Botts
wrote from London and generously offered to help with truly
special activities, e.g., private
dinner at the Tate, where John is
a member of the board. Put this
one on your calendar and stay
tuned for the official invitation!
I got a delightful two-page,
one-paragraph note from Ruthie
Watts (many of you remember
that Ruthie doesn’t bother to
breathe when she talks). “It was
not my intention to disappear
after Jimmy died, but I must say
that I was a bit overwhelmed
and had to go from pre-K to
PhD in finance after his death.”
Her daughter Elliott was
married this past summer to a
rock star, Nick Niespodziani,
a member of the band YOU.
“The day was overcast and
raining buckets till a half-hour
before the wedding and then
turned into a beautiful day. A
relative toasted Jimmy Watts ‘up
there schmoozing with Mother
Nature.’” Ruthie continued:
“The best part was that Jimmy’s
daughter Dabney, from whom
he had been long estranged, was
part of the wedding and has
rejoined the family.” She ended
by saying that “one of my finest
moments in 2008 was opening a letter from the head of
the Williams Society of Alumni
informing me that I had been
made an honorary alumna. You
guys are the best.” See you at
the 50th, Ruthie!
After living together for 22
years, John Moynahan and Pat
Victor were married in Las
Vegas on Dec. 22. Says John,
the consummate sports fan:
“There were no games that
day.” Congratulations—we
needed a pair of newlyweds at
our 50th.
House calls:
I visited Barbara and Bill
CL ASS
NOTES
Whitman at their home in
Hobe Sound, Fla. They divide
their time among Florida,
Bluffton, S.C. (Hilton Head)
and Stonington, Maine. I don’t
think they’ve seen snow since
Williamstown. After a back
operation in the summer of
’62, Willy went to the “B”
school at Harvard. He began
his career in finance at Blythe
& Co. and switched to Cogan,
Berlind, Weill & Leavitt in ’67.
“Lots of IPOs, mergers, etc. It
was a fast track, and I loved
it.” In ’72 he joined Mitchell,
Hutchins as head of investment
banking. They were acquired
by Paine Weber in ’77, about
the same time that their son Fife
’92 was diagnosed with a lifethreatening disease. “That was
a scary time for us,” said Willy.
“Nothing else mattered except
Fife’s health, which, thankfully,
was restored.” In 1980, Willy
did his first leveraged buyout
(LBO) and took over a major
carpet manufacturer in Rome,
Ga., called Trend Carpets.
“Then oil prices went through
the roof and, since most carpet
relies on petrochemicals, our
business cratered. Fortunately,
I was able to take care of most
of the investors and suppliers.”
Undeterred, and with a huge
tax-loss carry-forward from
Trend, he executed another
LBO of a company in Chicago
called Middleby Marshall,
whose major product was
pizza ovens used by Pizza Hut
franchises. Revenues at that
point were $15 million per year.
Jay Tompkins and Bob Henry
served on his board, and Fin
Fogg was their outside legal
counsel involved in several
acquisitions. Fast forward to a
few years ago. Revenues now
exceed $300 million, and Willy
sells his share of the company
and “retires” (after donating
the food service equipment
for the new Paresky Center at
Williams). The Whitmans’ kids
both went to Williams, Laura
is ’89, and Fife is ’92, and they
have three grandchildren. One
of Bill’s proudest moments at
Williams was his performance
on an hour test in his senior
year. “Professor Kermit Gordon
announced to the class: ‘Mr.
Whitman received the highest
grade on the test but God help
all of us if he ever becomes
president.’” Bill heads our 50th
reunion fund drive, so you all
can count on hearing from him.
On to Sea Island, Ga., and
the home of Janet and Rawson
Gordon. Rawson comes from
an old-line Georgia family
and counts a governor and
senator among his ancestors.
“I went to Williams to escape
from my background, and I
probably should have stayed at
home,” he told me. “I wanted
to become sophisticated, but
that failed and I was really out
of my environment.” Despite
these sentiments, Rawson feels
that Williams really taught him
to think critically, and he has
lots of memories: “I never felt
better than after the Amherst
football game our senior year.”
Rawson taught for one year
after Williams and then joined
the Navy OCS program at
Newport. He spent five years in
the Navy, and his ship was featured in a movie made by Otto
Preminger. He then enrolled in
law school at Vanderbilt and
graduated in ’71. He joined the
law firm of Smith & Cohen in
Atlanta and has spent his career
in commercial real estate law.
He has been mostly on his own
since ’79 and has gradually
shifted his practice from Atlanta
to Sea Island. Rawson and
Janet have three children and
two grandchildren, all nearby.
Rawson recalled Professor Bob
Waite’s fascinating lectures:
“How did he manage to say the
last word just as the bell rang
to end the class?” His advice to
a graduating senior: “The U.S.
way of life is in danger now.
You are the cream of the crop.
Make a difference!”
Suzanne and Mike Niebling
live on lovely Lake Barcroft, 11
miles from the White House.
We cruised in their houseboat
as he related his post-Williams
history: “I was a real Kennedy
fan so immediately after
Williams I joined the Agency
for International Development
(an AID aide). I then spent a
year at Johns Hopkins School
of International Development
(a real academic step down
after Williams) and then a
year in the Army Reserves.
After another year at AID, I
headed to Yale and obtained a
master’s in economics. I joined
the International Monetary
Fund in 1970 and spent the rest
of my career there.” Most of
Mike’s time at IMF was spent
working with African nations—
Ethiopia was his specialty, but
he spent time in Egypt, Syria,
the Emirates, Bahrain, Oman,
Mozambique, Mauritius and
Angola. “We lived for two years
in Addis Ababa. There was
no infrastructure there for an
American family. In order to
get electricity to our home, a
huge generator and a telephone
pole were flown in and erected.
It was a rewarding career,
especially when I could see
the fruits of my labors.” Mike
and Suzanne married in 1970
and have one married child,
Christopher. Memories of his
time at Williams: “Professor
Kurt Tauber was special for
me. I still visit him whenever
I return to Williamstown. Fun
times at the Psi U house. I
remember raising money for
and constructing our ‘multipurpose room,’ which served a
single function as a bar.” Mike
hopes he crosses paths with Kris
Atchley again.
Gil Leigh lives in nearby
Arlington, Va., and had a long
federal government career. He
obtained an MBA in urban
studies from NYU and, except
for four years at the U. of
Lynchburg as assistant to
the president of the research
center, has spent his entire
time in government positions.
Gil worked for the Office of
Economic Opportunity, the
Special Administrative Office
for Drug Abuse Prevention, and
the Customs Service. Twenty
of his years were spent at the
Justice Department, where he
ran financial operations and
was responsible for preparing and managing a budget of
approximately $2 billion per
year. He retired in 1999 because
he knew the Justice Department
would be politicized under the
Bush administration and he
had not endeared himself to the
Republican hierarchy during
the Reagan years. “I refused
to honor a grant request that I
thought was, at best, unethical,
and they never forgot it.” Postretirement, he has dedicated
his time to becoming an actor.
“Theater is my greatest joy,”
says Gil, and he has taken
classes and performs in several
dinner theaters in the D.C. area.
He married Bea Nirdlinger
during our sophomore year,
and they divorced in 2005
(“retirement didn’t work”).
They have two children and one
grandchild. He now lives with
a former colleague, Christina
Stirling. “Williams prepared
me wonderfully well for life,”
says Gil. “I absolutely would
choose it again. I’ll never forget
trekking through the unbroken
snow to 8 a.m. classes or sucking foam out of the beer kegs
n 1 9 6 2 –6 3
with a vacuum cleaner. I’d love
to see Denny Bauman and Mike
Brimmer again.”
I’ll bet you’ll be as surprised
as I was to learn that Robin
(Robert E.) Lee is not related to
the Confederate general. In fact,
his ancestral home is in Lyme,
Conn., and is the oldest home in
that state. Nevertheless, Robin
was born, raised and continues
to reside in Charlottesville. His
grandfather started a residential
and commercial construction
company in ’39, and Robin
joined that firm in ’64 after
obtaining an MBA from (you
guessed it) U.Va. “I did most
of the accounting and finance
for the company and learned
how to build structures on the
job. Because I was the boss’s
son, all the employees assumed
I knew everything. I kept my
mouth shut and learned.” At its
peak, R.E. Lee & Son Inc. did
$65 million per year and had
450 employees. His firm rebuilt
the iconic U.Va. rotunda in the
mid-70s. Robin has served as
chairman of the board since
2003 and spends most of his
time managing commercial real
estate. He has an impressive
and eclectic art collection, an
interest that originated in his
Williams art history major (one
of a dozen or so in our class
who have developed in a similar
way for similar reasons). Robin
married Frances Johnson in
’64 and divorced in ’82. They
have two children and three
grandchildren. In ’86 he married
Barbara Hough, who has two
children, including Ben ’90.
Williams was an “intellectual
wonderland,” states Robin. “I
learned so much there, both in
and outside of the classroom.
Dick Pierce and John Randolph
taught me how to ski, and I’d
sure like to see them again.”
It is a short drive to Ella and
Dick Strubel’s rental home in
Charlottesville, which they
visit for a few months each
year from their Chicago base.
Dick had been married to Linda
Armour, who passed away last
year, since our junior year and
had two children who produced
two grandchildren. Dick and
Linda divorced in ’74. Ella
runs EllaQuent, a greeting card
company that produces 30,000
recycled cards each month.
Dick is mostly retired, though
he continues to serve on several
corporate boards and is a U. of
Chicago trustee. He has taught
in the MBA program at the university for four years and spends
a lot of time on that. He also
taught a Winter Study session at
Williams and was “blown away
by the quality of the students.”
After receiving his MBA from
Harvard in ’64, Dick worked
for Fry Consultants in Chicago
for four years. He then joined
the legendary Ben Heinemann
in corporate development at
Northwest Industries and was
responsible for several acquisitions, including Buckingham
Corp. (Cutty Sark scotch). At
one point he was running five of
Northwest’s companies as group
VP and executive VP. “I loved
it; Ben was a great mentor. I left
in ’84 when I bought Microdot
Industries, which makes hardware, from Northwest and ran
it for 10 years. I helped launch
UNext.com, an online education
company, and hope to continue
at the U. of Chicago and my
board work for a while longer.”
He has nothing but good memories of Williams and the Chi Psi
House. “I should have worked
a little harder, but maybe I
wouldn’t have developed the
good friendships that I did if
I had done that. Professors
Bob Scott, Russ Bostert, Whit
Stoddard ’35—they were the
best.”
Jim Bell’s wife Jane served
a wonderful beef Wellington
dinner with a “W” carved in the
pastry for our interview in Jim’s
home just north of Milwaukee
on lovely Lac de Coeur. Jim is
so Milwaukee; he even roots
for the Brewers. Except for the
four years at Williams and six
years with Citicorp in the trust
department, he has lived in the
area his entire life. In ’68 he was
recruited by Fred Kasten ’61 to
start an institutional department
at Robert Baird, a regional firm
with a handful of offices. He
became executive VP in ’79 and
helped run the firm for 23 years.
Baird went from 17 offices,
$8 million in capital, and 150
associates in ’79 to hundreds of
offices, $500 million in capital
and 2,500 associates in 2002,
when Jim retired. He now heads
the Baird Foundation, which
gives away $2 million in grants
every year. He and Jane are very
active in local philanthropic
organizations, and Jim is the
chairman of the Endowment
Board at the University School,
a private K-12 school (and his
alma mater) with over 1,000
students. He and Jane were
married in ’65 and have four
children and six grandkids,
most of them nearby. His oldest
daughter, Vicki, is married to a
Marine lieutenant colonel who
served three tours of duty in
Iraq as a helicopter pilot. Jim
works out regularly but has
curtailed his tennis and paddle
tennis activity because of two
foot surgeries. “Williams taught
me how to write,” Jim says,
“and that was a blessing for my
entire career.” His advice to a
Williams graduate: “Keep the
alumni directory nearby. Use the
connections.”
I’ll connect with you again in
a few months.
1963
Jim Blume
23 Vicente Road
Berkeley, CA 94705
[email protected]
Several issues ago, I initiated a plan to describe the
activities of our class officers.
To date, Bill McDaniels, our class
president and Bill Burnett, our
50th reunion chair, have been
profiled. In this issue, the doings
of our class’ financial wizards—
Clay Davenport, our class agent
for the Alumni Fund, Lenny
Bernheimer, our 50th reunion
gift chair, and Rick Berry, our
planned giving chair—will be
highlighted.
Clay works for U.S. Trust in
NYC, managing client investments. When he originally
wrote he was despairing as the
stock market was in the depths
of its doldrums; now I assume,
with its resurgence, his mood
as well as the mood and the
wealth of his clients has greatly
improved.
Clay and Jan have three
children who have blessed them
with five grandchildren. Two
of his children (Kris ’92 and
Kerry ’94) attended Williams,
while his son graduated from
University of Virginia.
At the time of his note, Jan
and Clay had recently visited
Egypt and Jordan, which he
described in glowing terms.
As class agent, Clay has had
a difficult time raising money
for Williams in the midst of the
Great Recession, though his
enthusiasm is undeterred for the
College and its educational mission. His dedication to ensuring
that our class contributes in a
significant way to the College’s
goals is unequivocal.
Avocationally, Clay races
sailboats in Manhasset Bay, and
Jan rides her horse locally in
shows and plays a lot of tennis
CL ASS
NOTES
and paddle tennis.
Lenny has ably served our
class in almost every conceivable capacity—president,
secretary, class agent, reunion
chair, 25th reunion gift chair,
co-editor of our 25th reunion
class book (whew!). He has
managed each of these roles
with competence, flair, charm
and tenacity.
Lenny and Lyn (who many of
you know since they began dating in high school and married
shortly after graduation from
Williams), spend half of their
lives in Wellesley and half the
year in Palm Beach Gardens,
Fla. Lenny reports that Lyn
“loves to walk, garden, cook,
golf occasionally and read
incessantly.” His involvements
are golf, tennis, fitness generally
and squash, where he continues to win age group National
Championships.
Lyn and Lenny’s daughter Beth
Harrington ’88 and her husband
Mike Harrington ’88 have five
children ranging in age from
7 to 15; they live in Wellesley,
and so Lyn and Lenny are
very involved as grandparents.
Jon, their younger son, was a
national squash champion while
at Harvard and is now a “board
certified pediatrician with a fellowship in pediatric cardiology
and a degree from a prestigious
London school in infectious
diseases.” Jon is now in London
attempting to obtain yet another
degree in public health, while
pursuing a young woman doctor
he met while he was working in
Botswana and Cape Town.
Lenny retired nine years
ago from the printing business, which he does not miss
at all. He is extremely active
as chairman of the board of
Squashbusters, which uses
squash (you guessed it) as a
focal point for academics, community service and mentoring to
enrich and advance the lives of
Boston’s inner-city youth. Lenny
notes that “it’s an absolutely
fabulous program that has
positively affected hundreds of
at-risk kids.” Other nonprofit
activities that have involved
Lenny include a board membership at his country club and
both local and national squash
associations.
Rick Berry wrote to say that
“once a 10 percent, always a
10 percent.” As some of you
may remember, while we were
matriculating at Williams, the
College received a grant from
the Ford Foundation to engage
in a longitudinal study of
selected students. The purpose
was to encourage Williams to
admit 10 percent of each entering class on criteria that failed
to meet the College’s normally
rigorous standards. In theory,
this 10 percent would be admitted on the basis of some unusual
talents or hidden accomplishments or potential. The study
was innovative at the time.
Years later, I was discussing
this study with John Hyde ’52,
who had served as the dean of
freshman. He related the tale
that in his experience as dean,
fully 75 percent of the freshman
class that he had encountered
was certain that they were part
of the 10 percent.
So after years of hearing
Berry’s complaints about
being a 10 percenter, I wish to
emphatically say to him, “We
are all 10 percenters!”
When I heard from Rick
earlier in 2009, he and Kelly
had just purchased a second
home in Westerly, R.I. He
reported, “Both Kelly and I
love the ocean, the easy sea
breeze and plenty of things to
do, walking, playing, swimming
and amazingly fishing.” In his
inimitable, self-deprecating but
invariably charming style, Rick
related that his first catch as a
fisherman after two summers of
trying was a 220-pound homo
sapiens, who, despite Rick’s
fears, was quite understanding
of his ineptitude.
Rick and Jan (Rick’s first
wife and sister of Paul Dubey,
who many of you remember
from days of yore) had three
boys. His oldest son, Rick, is
single and works for a “green
aggregator/reseller.” His middle
son, John, and his wife Susan
just adopted a baby girl. At
the time of his e-mail Rick was
thrilled because his youngest
son, David, had just asked him
to become the godfather to his
youngest child. Rick and Jan’s
divorce was a difficult experience for all of them, but Rick
indicated that “it’s been a long
journey all these post-divorce
years. To say I have been blessed
with terrific relationships with
all three kids would be a vast
understatement. My mission all
along, not to rock the boat, has
paid enormous dividends.”
Rick continues to work in the
financial planning industry. He
had a successful prostate cancer
surgery after which he received
a clean bill of health. In fact, he
is thriving.
On a somber note, it was
greatly saddening to learn of the
untimely death of Bob Glover in
June. Bob, originally a member
of the Class of 1962, had a
luminous presence. His wry
sense of humor was encapsulated by his broad smile, his
warmth and his twinkling eyes.
I sent his wife Catherine a condolence note on behalf of our
class. The gist of her response
describing Bob follows: “After
working in the textile business
in NY, London and Chicago,
Bob finally decided to do
what he had always wanted
and became a teacher. He
was a much respected high
school teacher. His subject was
American history. He was voted
Teacher of the Year in the high
school—voted best in New
Jersey! His obvious enthusiasm
and knowledge inspired his
students and faculty alike.”
Bob was a remarkable man,
and he will be sorely missed.
The Alumni Office received a
lovely note from Tony Rossman,
a law professor at UC Berkeley,
about our deceased classmate
Buck Gibbons, who died in
2001. A plaque was recently
dedicated in Independence,
Calif., in memory of Buck. It
was inscribed as follows: “Buck
served as Inyo County D.A.
for 25 years, at his retirement
the longest-serving D.A. in
California history. His career
was marked by his participation
in the apprehension of Charles
Manson at his desert hideaway,
his leadership in Inyo County’s
21-year successful litigation
against Los Angeles’ ground
water pumping in the Owens
Valley and his never losing a
criminal conviction on appeal.”
On a cheerier note the minireunion, which was held on a
rainy, cold weekend in October,
proved to be a major success for
the small but enthusiastic group
of attendees who included Lyn
and John Bell, Lyn and Lenny
Bernheimer, Miranda and Bill
Burnett, Bob Critchell, Jan and
Clay Davenport, Carole and
Geoff Howard, Kathe and Bill
McDaniels, Paul Michel, John
Kifner and Rick Berry. Despite
the inclement weather, which
I’m sure reminds many of us of
our days at Williams, assistant
secretary Burnett reported that
everyone had a great time enjoying each others’ warmth.
We all remember the Chicago
Seven from the 1960s, but that
group has been superseded by
the memorable Chicago Five
n 1 9 6 3 –6 4
(Williams style)—Roger Warren,
Alan Schlosser, Gordon Davis,
Jules Quinlan and Betty and
Murray Ross—who descended
on the Windy City for a long
weekend of culinary delights,
hot jazz and blues, art museums, architectural sites as well
as visits to the University of
Chicago and Obama’s home.
The tour was led by Gordon’s
brother Allison and by Jules, a
resident, and the Chicago Five
reveled in each other’s company,
which was greatly enhanced
by the delights of the dynamic
Second City.
Jimmy Sykes penned a note
just prior to attending his
Locust Valley Friends 50th High
School Reunion. He expected
that 28 out of his 40 classmates
would attend. I never found out
if Danny “The Dunk” Voorhees
returned for the celebration.
Jimmy reported that he is still
working and enjoying it, though
the Great Recession made a
serious dent in his investment
business. Jimmy has three children, the oldest of whom has
two children. His daughter Pat
is single and lives in NYC, while
his younger son, Ware, married
in April.
Jimmy’s passion remains sailing. I’m told by others that he is
extraordinarily talented in this
endeavor.
David Hartwell, in an e-mail,
described a busy fall season.
He is jointly buying a second
home in Westport, N.Y., with
his in-laws. He and his wife
had moved to Westport a
couple of years earlier with
the aim of “making the school
transition easier for his younger
kids.” Dave is still living in
Pleasantville, N.Y., from whence
by commutes to NYC, where he
continues to work as an editor
and does “anthologies on the
side.” He remains committed
to his work, which he enjoys,
though moving upstate to
Westport will occur over the
next several years.
Mark Smith, after a stellar
career as a superintendent of
schools, retired to Woolwich,
Maine. Mark was recently
diagnosed with an advanced
state of prostate cancer, which
he is aggressively fighting with
the aid of hormone therapy.
This cruel disease has failed to
dampen Mark’s always impressive vigor. He is chairman of the
board of The Midcoast Senior
College, which provided instruction to 286 seniors in 15 courses
during the fall semester.
Judy and Mark have five
grandchildren. They spent the
holidays with their oldest son
and daughter, both of whom
live in northern New England.
For the Thanksgiving holiday,
they visited their youngest child,
Josh, in Port Angeles, Wash.,
where he is a plant restoration
botanist.
After traveling to Germany
last year, Judy and Mark plan to
vacation in Paris and Normandy
in April.
Upon my insistence, an evermodest Perry Gates wrote from
Camden, Maine, that his family
is well and flourishing. His
daughter Josephine is a junior
at Bennington and is enamored
with her educational experience.
His son Gabe graduated from
Colgate last year and, after a
year’s hiatus, is currently studying at The London School of
Economics, where his interests
are international relations
and public policy. Perry’s wife
Deborah is the director (president) of the University College
of Maine at Rockland. He
commented about Deb, “I have
no idea how she does it all, but
I wake up each morning in awe
and very thankful!”
Perry began PROJECTS Inc.
in 1975 (as many of us are
aware and have supported
financially). After creating
Maine Gold, a maple syrup
gift business in 1997, he has
returned to PROJECTS Inc. in
order to complete some final
assignments with a “universal
purpose.” For his work there,
Perry received a Points of Light
Award, #227 from President
George H.W. Bush.
Harry Hagey wrote that his
life since retiring three years
ago has been a “ball.” He sits
on the board of the California
Academy of Science (the wonderful newly enhanced science
museum in San Francisco) and
the Lucille Packard Children’s
Hospital Board, while Shirley is
a mainstay on the board of the
Nature Conservancy of Idaho.
Harry also served on the search
committee that helped to hire
the first chief investment officer
for UC Berkeley.
Retirement has also afforded
them the opportunity to travel
extensively. To wit: Madagascar,
the Solomon Islands, Palmyra,
Pinehurst, Palm Desert, Idaho
and Montana. In addition to
their travels, their eight children
and nine grandchildren are a joy
and keep them fully engaged.
Shirley and Harry’s life certainly
seems fulfilling.
That’s all folks! Do let me
hear from you. I’m still trying
to expand the number of classmates whose lives are included
in this column. Please help.
1964
Martin P. Wasserman
13200 Triadelphia Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
[email protected]
Hi, classmates!
You will recall that in the
last issue we had a discussion
concerning new and old works
by Professor James MacGregor
Burns ’39, who spoke with us
during our 45th reunion last
summer. Several of you stated
your appreciation for the
opportunity to engage with one
another, so I sent out a link to
a very powerful YouTube video
on technological advances and
its globalization impact and
raised the question: “How does
a Williams liberal arts education
take this information and adapt
its education to make it relevant
for students who will be the
leaders in 2025?” Several of you
responded and I thought that
might form the basis for this
issue’s discussion. .
Peter Hero was the first to
respond, stating, “While I
appreciate our Williams liberal
arts training more than ever (I
later went to Stanford for an
MBA and a subsequent MA in
art history), I also realize now
how way behind most of us
all are regarding basic physics, engineering, cosmology,
neuroscience and information
technology. Although we may
be better prepared to figure
things out and make general
decisions, in many essential
fields—the science of energy
being one—we also need our
children and their children to
become a lot more tech savvy
than we ever were.” Peter
raises the question of whether
Williams should require a core
“Technology and the Future”
program for undergraduates.
He goes on to state that he has
“retired” after 18 years managing a $1.3 billion foundation
in Silicon Valley, where he was
making grants of over $3 million per week in virtually every
kind of philanthropic issue—art,
medicine, education, childhood and the environment. He
currently works as senior VP at
Caltech for all marketing, communications and development
CL ASS
NOTES
for the institute, a position that
he finds humbling in light of
the number of internationally
renowned scholars who are or
have been there. “My office is
next to Linus Pauling’s old lab.”
Well, Peter, you have impressed
this old chemistry major! He
concludes that “Einstein was
here too in the 20s. … We have
all his papers!”
Walt Nicholson writes from
Amherst that he enjoyed the
video and says that “having a
liberal arts education is supposed to make one adaptable
enough to meet whatever
information revolution comes
along; but having spent 42 years
at a liberal arts institution, I
have serious doubts about that
conclusion.” Walt suggests that
this topic would provide for
an interesting future reunion
discussion.
It would not be Williams,
however, if we did not have
diverse opinions. Bob Shaw
supports liberal arts education
and believes that “the film way
produces leaders in most fields
who have the perspective and
ability to identify useful from
trivial information and who
can make the right decisions
most of the time.” Well stated,
counselor! Our liberal arts
education has taught us how to
place today’s lessons into the
context of the past and apply it
to analysis and planning for the
future so that we can determine
and control our own destiny.
Gay Mayer, who recently completed another half marathon,
draws a distinction between
high tech and high touch. “It
seems like the universe is growing—generally away from the
center which in the past was an
individual and now seems much
less personal and more technical. What I want is less speed,
less data and more personal
contact.” He describes a time
when Denny Strigl, president
of Verizon Wireless and former
colleague when both were in the
Young Presidents Organization,
was first offered the opportunity
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
In February Tom Stites ’64 won the We Media Game Changer Community
Choice Award for his vision to change the game of journalism. A former
reporter and editor for the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times,
Stites is founder and president of the Banyan Project, which aims to
strengthen democracy using the Web through techniques that serve,
engage and give voice to everyday citizens.
overstates the rate of information accumulation. For example,
about 3½ minutes in, it claims
that technical information
doubles every two years, so
what a student learns this year
quickly becomes obsolete. As
you know, the principles of
chemistry that we struggled
to learn in Thompson a half
century ago remain true today
despite the fact that some of
the details have changed and
new discoveries have occurred.
But grounded in a set of lasting principles, we can quickly
understand them. And when
new principles are established,
we can ill learn those too, but
I agree that the Internet and
the consequent availability of
information and communication
is a true revolution.”
My former roommate Bruce
Birgbauer finds the video both
frightening and amazing.
“However,” he states, “the
world will still need leaders with
a knowledge of the past, present
and future trends, and Williams
to communicate through “texting.” Denny’s response apparently was to dismiss it as “a silly
way for people to be in touch.”
Presently Verizon handles something like 3 billion text messages
a month, which is a strong
profit center for the company.
Time changes attitudes, and we
certainly are resilient and adapt
in many ways. We all certainly
now use new technologies to
simulate “high touch” by means
of social networking. As I suggested in our last issue, I would
love to work with anyone in the
class with more computer savvy
than myself and create a 1964
Facebook page, which we could
all share. Any volunteers? Please
contact me directly at [email protected].
Several other classmates found
the video “provocative” and
“mind-boggling.” Alex Teipel
and Bill Wishard both commented on the rate of change
and the overwhelming pace
with which it is occurring.
They reflected upon the need
for peace and familiarity and
commented on the difficulty
of remaining in charge. Joel
Reingold argued strongly for
continuity of the liberal arts
tradition. “It is still about Mark
Hopkins on one end of a log,
even if the lessons might now be
delivered digitally. The essentials
of education remain unchanged
with or without moveable type,
let alone ‘tweeting.’ We must
still absorb, understand, memorize and access in the oldest of
human ways even though the
exterior tools may be different.
Today’s (cyber) library may be
bigger, but from cuneiform to
computers, learning remains the
same!” He also observed that
Williams has increased its number of tutorials thus supporting
his Mark Hopkins argument for
the importance and relevance
today of a liberal arts education. Jay Friedman remarked,
“This is clearly a problem
for our grandchildren. They
may be applying to colleges in
India, driving Chinese cars and
communicating merely by just
thinking about the concept.”
But he remains confident that
“Williams will find a way to
stay relevant tomorrow, as it has
for more than 200 years.”
I want to thank everyone
who commented and hope
that others benefited from the
discussion. We have also used
this report as an opportunity
to comment on publications
from some of our classmates.
Skip Gwiazda urges each of us
to read Bill Ruddiman’s book
Plows, Plagues & Petroleum.
“It is an absorbing work which
combines drama, science,
history and the environment
in a thrilling discussion of his
fundamentally new theory on
the affect of the human species
on climate and the environment.” Bill’s work describes for
the non-scientist his alternative
theories of climate change and
how the planet will develop
over the next 200 years based
on what has happened during
the past 400,000. His new edition, published by the Princeton
University Press will arrive this
spring, and Skip recommends it
for anyone who wants to be on
the cutting edge in the ongoing
climate debate.
Bob Strong submitted a brief
update. After 33 years in banking, Bob retired in 2001 to
devote more time to “my two
passions: my wife Gael and
classical music. Gael and I travel
a lot, and music has led me to
n 1 9 6 4 –6 5
a close relationship with the
young Pacifica Quartet (www.
pacificaquartet.com). Although
we have lived in Glencoe,
Ill., for almost 40 years we
plan to build a house in New
Hampshire next year.” Bob
remains active and is pleased
to report that “nothing hurts,
everything works and I have no
complaints at this point.”
Tom Howell says the family all
got together in Chicago for the
holidays but then left for Stowe
for some winter skiing in New
England, which “I hadn’t done
since 1964 and was reminded
of some serious ice and lift
lines. Nevertheless I still had
fun trying to keep up with all
the younger folks. Next year I
may not be able to out-ski my
2-year-old grandson!” Tom
blames his new job as interim
executive director and CEO
at the ABA for preventing him
from skiing and playing squash
as much as he would like and
reminds all the lawyers in the
class to make life easier for him
by “paying your dues and letting me know how we can serve
you better!” Congratulations,
Tom! What an impressive
accomplishment.
I want to close with a wonderful conversation I had with Tom
Stites, who commented on the
passing last year of Fred Stocking
’36, beloved chair of the English
department when we attended
Williams. Tom attended a tough
public high school in the center
of Kansas City up until his
senior year and experienced “terrible English teachers.” He felt
ill prepared for the demanding
English course he took during
his senior year at the Pembroke
Country Day School, where he
had received a scholarship. He
wanted desperately to opt out
of English at Williams and concentrate in the sciences. “But the
College’s requirements wouldn’t
let me get away with that, so,
filled with dread, I signed up for
English 101. When I showed
up I found to my amazement
that my teacher was the chair
of the English department, Fred
Stocking ’36. I never had a
better class. From him I learned
to love poetry, and, thanks to
him, language crowded ahead
of science in my life. It’s not an
overstatement to say that Fred
had a significant role in shaping
my life. He taught me to be completely comfortable with words.
Although science still fascinates
me, the words and recitations of
Professor Stocking continue to
run in my head. I can still hear
him joyously reciting the e.e.
cummings poem ‘Buffalo Bill’s
Defunct’ from the front of the
classroom, and I could recite it
right along with him, with the
same inflection, like singing in
a choir. The final line is, ‘How
do you like your blueeyed boy,
Mister Death?’ May you rest in
peace, Professor Stocking.”
Tom was one of only three
sophomores (the others being
Michael Bond, who did not
graduate with us, and Louise
Ober, who only later received
her Williams degree) to be
published in the Williams literary magazine The Red Balloon.
He remembers learning of this
when Bill Prosser informed him
of such in the quad and stated
that he “loved the poem” and
that “we need more poems
about f#*+@$g!” Tom thought
he had written a rather abstract
poem about romance, “but sure
enough, Bill was right.” He
returned to his room, re-read
his poem, and realized that
“Dr. Freud had taken over my
subconscious and translated
my innocence into the metaphor that Bill had described.”
I asked Tom for permission to
re-publish his poem some 47
years later and let his classmates
determine the invisible hand
of Sigmund Freud acting upon
our classmate. The fact that
others can interpret art in a way
that was not necessarily being
intended by the artist is quite an
important lesson for us all.
GENIE
Your gentle hand was strongly
pulling
Toward the garden’s ancient
urn.
“See its beauty,” you were
saying,
“Feel its texture, touch and
learn.”
By touching it I found it
warming—
Touching it was touching you.
I mingled with it without
warning
and found in mixture mingled
you.
We burst forth from it as a
genie
Spreading loving arms and
grew
bigger than a cloud and
bursting
Settled everywhere as dew.
As droplets the whole earth
embracing
You and I were, I and you.
And on that hot, steamy and
esoteric note, I bid you adieu.
Marty.
P.S. I am pleased to inform
our class that in part due to
our participation and support,
Tom Stites and his Banyon
Project were recently selected
to win the Ashoka Game
Changer Award. We will have
more to say about this in a
later issue. Congratulations,
Tom.
1965
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Tom Burnett
175 Riverside Drive, #2H
New York, NY 10024
[email protected]
Secretary Burnett reports: As
this issue is the last one mailed
before our 45th reunion, it is
important to remind all classmates of the upcoming event.
Several letters have been issued
from Jack Foley, the reunion
chairman, and Dave Coolidge,
class president, about the June
10-13 weekend, and we all
want to encourage attendance
by all class members. Weekend
events include a Thursday night
dinner at the home of Martha
and John Storey. Friday evening,
we have cocktails in the glass
atrium of the ’62 Center for
Theatre and Dance, followed by
dinner in the CenterStage. The
Saturday night dinner will be at
the Faculty Club. Other activities include panel discussions,
faculty talks and class hikes.
Golf and tennis events will be
sponsored, and Pete Richtmyer
has volunteered to organize
a formal lacrosse practice,
a somewhat unique activity
among reunion activities. Our
HQ will be Agard House (Delta
Phi), and we have already heard
from some 50 classmates who
have indicated they will be
attending. We hope to have as
many classmates as possible,
and we urge everyone to begin
planning to attend the weekend.
As a prelude to the reunion,
the Amherst weekend last
November was well attended,
marred only by the defeat at the
hands of the Lord Jeffs. Some
22 classmates plus spouses and
partners attended the festivities,
which concluded with a dinner hosted by Alice and Dave
Wilson at their home. Priscilla
and Jim Worrall kindly opened
their home to Tim Reichert, Jack
Foley and me for the weekend,
and it was great to catch up
with so many classmates. Space
CL ASS
NOTES
constraints prevent me from
naming everyone, but highlights
included visits with John Rawls,
Wes Boyd, John Trainor, Don Ross
and Bob Hallagan. I particularly
enjoyed speaking with Chuck
Young, whom I had not seen
since our 40th reunion. Of note,
Brenda and John Trainor have
been accepted into the Peace
Corps, a return to his days in
Malawi in the late 1960s.
The big news this past year
from Jean and Sam White is the
arrival of two grandchildren—
Jasper Brownell White on Sept.
7 and Azelle Sierra White on
Sept. 11. Their son Jed lives
nearby and works for a biotech
firm in Madison, while son Nat
’99 is enrolled in a master’s program in mathematics at UW in
Milwaukee. Third son Ty lives
in San Francisco and works in
the music industry with Topspin
Media. Sam remains busy with
several research projects in
Milwaukee, and the Whites are
on the list of expected reunion
attendees.
Lynne and Steve Wolff
have purchased a home in
Carbondale, Colo., near Patsy
and Jack Elgin. The Wolffs hope
to retire there later in 2010.
Steve’s daughter Elizabeth lives
in Brooklyn with her husband
and 1-year-old son Hugo. She
is a practicing child psychiatrist
in the city. Steve’s son Avery
attends Vassar. Steve continues
to work at Roche but hopes to
retire by mid-year.
Bruce Macleod was appointed
president of the Board of
Trustees of the Church of St.
John the Divine in December.
Bruce has been active in volunteer and community efforts
since retiring from his real estate
career in 2008, when he was a
senior official of Harbor Point,
a mixed-use development in
Stamford, Conn. We are looking
forward to seeing Connie and
Bruce at the reunion.
It was good to hear from
Abbey and Dick Aborn, who
responded to my e-mail
request for updates. Both their
children live in the Bay Area
in California. Jonathan ’94 is
SENDNEWS!
Y
a hedge fund manager in San
Francisco. He and his wife Kara
have two sons, Theo and Ollie.
Lyn ’96 is married and lives in
San Francisco, where she is a
partner in the Kaiser group as
an ER doctor. Dick continues
to work at the Cadwalader law
firm but has moved to senior
counsel and will likely retire in a
year or so. Abbey is a Gottman
certified marriage specialist with
a practice in New York and
New Jersey. They have bought
a condo in Cabo, Mexico,
which is an easier location for
the California families. Dick is
working his way through two
hip replacements, but his golf
game is improving and he loves
getting out on courses at home,
with friends in Florida and
family in Mexico. I am looking
forward to seeing the Aborns at
the reunion.
In late November we enjoyed
a visit at our home with Jane
and Bob Mayer, whose daughter
Rachel ’99 lives nears us on the
West Side. Rachel and Mike
Judlowe have two sons, the
eldest of whom attends Friends
Seminary, where Harriet is the
director of admission. Rachel also
worked with our daughter Nora
at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York. All these connections led to the visit and gave us
an opportunity to catch up with
each other’s family. The Mayers’
other daughter, Erica ’95, has
two children and is a doctor with
the breast oncology program at
Dana-Farber Institute in Boston.
She and her husband live in
Newton, near Bob and Jane.
The Mayers have a house in the
Berkshires, and we hope to see
them at the reunion. Bob is the
Stephen B. Kay Family Professor
of Medicine at Harvard Medical
School, where he is also the
faculty dean of admission.
After nine years as the presiding judge and 18 years with
the New Jersey Tax Court, Joe
Small retired last Oct. 1. He
expects to devote his time to
teaching, writing, volunteer
projects and enjoyment of the
house he and Alice built in
Williamstown. Their son Adlai
is an attorney living in New
Jersey with a 1-year-old son,
Joe’s first grandchild. Daughter
Emily ’00 completed a master’s
degree in environmental science.
Once again, please check your
calendars for the June 10-13
weekend; we are hoping for
a large attendance that will
benefit all classmates who can
arrange to be with us.
1966
Palmer Q. Bessey
1320 York Ave., #32H
New York, NY 10021
John Gould
19 Nahant Place
Lynn, MA 01902
[email protected]
Let me begin with a Christmas
letter I didn’t have to beg for,
from Mary and John Schelling
and their apparently cranky dog
Geronimo. Mary has totally
recovered from her health
issues, thank heavens, and John
even got to do a week of fly
fishing in Chile in March and
10 days in New Zealand in
November. Mary plays serious
bridge, and opera continues
to enthrall, though this year at
the Met’s live feeds in movie
theaters. Next year The Ring
comes to San Francisco, however. Life sounds just fine.
An illustrated Christmas
letter from Karen and Jim
Harrison covers some ground
already described here (a visit
to Williamstown) but adds
news of their fall visit to son
Jay ’90, wife Barbara and
granddaughter Shannon in
Hong Kong, with a side visit
to Luang Prabang, in Laos.
There they watched “village
women weave gorgeous silken
cloth and … young monks
make boats out of bamboo
that would be decorated and
covered with lighted candles
and then floated down the
Mekong to celebrate the end of
Buddhist ‘Lent.’” (In a followup e-note, Jim adds that he is
expecting another grandchild
around the end of June.)
Some big news from George
Helmer: “Between Aug ’08
and April ’09, both my sons,
Edward and Elliot, as well as
yours truly were all married.
Son Edward in a toast proclaimed that the ‘Helmer men
had hit the trifecta!’”
George also sent some news
from Rick Dodge in Chile. First,
he has just become a grandfather for the first time, with the
birth of young Julian. Second,
he’s recovering (quickly) from
heart surgery. “He really is one
of the toughest people I’ve ever
known.” This from his sister,
Nancy: The doctor said “he has
never seen anyone who withstood the pain of a ‘torn’ aorta
prior to surgery, nor has anyone
come back as quickly.”
n 1 9 6 5 –6 6
Scott Atkinson broke radio
silence with a cheerful reminder
of what a noisy treat I (JAG)
must have been in Sage in 1962:
“I was listening to Peter, Paul
and Mary on GPTV last week
and started thinking about the
many times I heard you play
their music freshman year at
Williams. What great music.
I’ve been teaching economics and doing research here at
the University of Georgia for
24 years and before that at
Wyoming for five years. I’ve
taken voice lessons for the last
20 years and sang opera for a
number of years but now sing
spirituals with an AfricanAmerican choral group here
at UGA.” I immediately wrote
back to commiserate with Scott
about the loss this year of Mary
Travers.
Scott wasn’t the only one to
reminisce: Willard Spiegelman
wrote: “I’ll be seeing and having
dinner with Bob DuPlessis and
Michael Katz in Philadelphia
at the Modern Language
Association on Dec. 29. An
appropriate date: my 65th
birthday. On Dec. 31, 1965,
I spent much of the evening
with the same guys and various
others; we had returned to
Williamstown early in order
to work on term papers. In my
memory I recall all of us gathering in Prospect House around
midnight, tearing ourselves away
from our literary endeavors,
toasting ourselves and the New
Year and wondering what would
become of us six months later.”
Rob Cunningham reports
he had a “wonderful visit to
Williamstown for homecoming in the rain and enjoyed the
gracious hospitality of Margo
and Bill Bowden. Their home is
a tad more spacious (and more
elegant) than the Williams A
suite Bill and I shared as JAs in
’64-’65. Although I’ve always
spent time at the Clark when
there, getting a docent-informed
tour from Margo for about an
hour after the game Saturday
was special.” Rob’s wife Rigney
missed the game because she
was in India (Assam State
(Nagaland)) with their daughter
Caitlin. Anyone who wants to
see why she passed on a rainy
football game should check out
Caitlin’s website: www.caitlincunningham.com.
Bob Mitchell keeps in touch
with Stan Possick, Budge Upton,
Pete Allen, Jim Kramer, Willard
Spiegelman and Pete Haller.
Bob, his wife Susan Love and
their yellow Lab Koslo continue
to enjoy their blissful existence
in Santa Barbara, Calif. The
writing is going well; his first
novel, Match Made in Heaven,
is now being developed in
Hollywood as a feature film and
has been translated into six languages. His second, Once Upon
a Fastball, is also under film
option. Having just completed
Everything on the Line (about
tennis and the meaning of
life), he is well into his fourth,
Masaccio’s Gift—inspired by his
art history classes at Williams—
which is about the redemptive
power of art and takes place in
Florence, Rome and (partly) in
an idyllic New England college
town (guess which one). Bob
and Susan have also been enjoying their annual trip to Europe,
which has taken them to Paris,
Barcelona, Venice, Florence,
Rome, Sorrento, Sicily and
Copenhagen.
Ron Worland is still grumpy
about the economic picture
but “had a very nice two-week
surgical mission to XianYang,
China, last September. Lou and
I are fortunate to have two new
granddaughters this year. They
are terrific, joining our prior
three grandsons.”
A cheerful note from Andy
Burr, noting the “heartbreaking loss to Amherst.” He
also describes his continuing
contributions to architecture:
“Daughter Mary ’08 is working
for some architects in Boston,
and daughter Alex (Middlebury
’04) has finished architecture
school and has bought a small
industrial wreck of a building
in Gowanus, Brooklyn, which
she’s fixing up to live in illegally.
And the ancient doddering
architects at Burr & McCallum
continue to churn out work
which their daughters find hopelessly retro and clueless.”
While doing my civic duty last
fall (i.e., jury duty in Lawrence,
Mass.,) I (i.e., Gould) was
astonished to have Joe Swayze
enter and sit down beside me.
(By noon we were all excused.)
Joe, thus moved, sent some
news: In October, he and
Joanna did a cycle tour along
Highway 1 in California from
Half Moon Bay to right above
Santa Barbara, just short of 300
miles. “Given our age and our
loaded touring bikes, we were
something of a curiosity to folks
we met along the way, especially
those at pull-outs in the very
hilly Big Sur region. We assured
them that we made the climbs at
a snail’s pace and that, with the
right bike and a little training,
just about anyone could do it.
For me, the trip was something
of a self-imposed mental and
physical test. Over the years,
I’ve done a fair amount of
cycle touring but wondered if
I could still make the grade (so
to speak) two years after triple
bypass surgery. All seemed to go
well, I am happy to report.”
Joe reports one Williams contact along the way, in LA, where
they had dinner with Maj.
Warren “Bunge” Cook ’98, a U.S.
Marine and Joanna’s godson.
Bill Ewen sent some news
previously reported, about
attending Peter Allen’s induction
to the New England Tennis Hall
of Fame last June in Newport,
R.I. Peter coaches the Westboro
High School boys varsity tennis
team, which has amassed a 43-2
record over the past several
years and a second-place finish
in the Massachusetts state high
school championships. And
during the summer months, he
has earned number-one doubles
rankings in New England in his
age group for several years now.
Bill says naught about himself,
but, to remind everyone, I can
say that he coaches squash,
soccer and tennis at Hopkins
School in New Haven, Conn.
One final Christmas letter
arrived from notes partner Joe
Bessey and Sas. The biggest
event of the year clearly was the
arrival of granddaughter Iva
Elizabeth last spring. Of himself,
Joe writes, “Joe continues to be
busy at the New York Cornell
Burn Center. He still likes the
job, the place and the people.
Active with some National
professional associations and
the New York State Department
of Health. He helps write the
class notes for his Williams
College class [Ed.—We knew
that!] and has now become one
of the vergers at church. Health
is generally good, and he walks
SENDPHOTOS
W
illiams People accepts
photographs of alumni
gatherings and events. Please
send photos to Williams
magazine, P.O. Box 676,
Williamstown, Mass.
01267-0676. High-quality
digital photos may be
e-mailed to alumni.review@
williams.edu.
CL ASS
NOTES
and practices yoga. They may
say that the 60s are the new
30s, but we suspect some of that
is just wishful thinking.”
A late filing from Wink Willett
came in from Sarasota, where it
had been cold (in the 20s: “We
had a great gathering and dinner Saturday at Betsy and Billy
Roe’s lovely home in downtown
Sarasota with Char Pfaelzer and
Bob Snibbe/Bettina Eisner—all
realizing how lucky we are to be
so actively involved doing what
we love doing. Betsy is back to
her painting, although still in a
lot of pain, slowly recovering
from her terrible diving accident
in Mexico two years ago. Her
painting has been a wonderful form of therapy. She has
also been studying ‘scientific
botanical illustration,’ which,
to say the least, is amazing.
Billy is still actively involved
in his business, Quality Tools,
which had its best year ever
last year; Char is still running
Pelican Bay, the gourmet food
and beverage mix business she
and David started in 1982; Snibs
is still ‘doing deals’ and happy
as a clam; Bettina’s painted
tiles have done very well as she
has leveraged her talent into
an established business with
a strong reputation; Bonny is
still actively involved in her
painting and sculpting, [and
was] about to head off to San
Miguel, Mexico, where she goes
nearly every February to sculpt
and get her bronzing done. She
is also actively involved in the
Randolph community using her
art therapy to help people with
post-traumatic stress. And I am
still fully immersed in my travel
photography and shortly heading off again to India to explore
the ‘Nomads of Rajasthan and
Gujarat.’”
Wink also adds: “Bonny and I
also had a fun time with Margo
and Bill Bowden last October at
our class minireunion. We journeyed down to Williamstown
with Lee and Jonny Linen and
Budge Upton to join classmates
for the Middlebury football
game, followed by a lovely evening and dinner at the Bowdens’
home. Their infectious hospitality has made them and their
home the class ‘parents!’ They
have been very generous and
represent our class so well.”
Bailey Young came through
with not one but two Christmas
letters! One bit of news from the
’08 one—which I do not believe
has been previously reported—is
that he underwent successful
prostate cancer surgery in
February of that year. This year
the economy forestalled the
traditional Young archeological
activity, but he did travel with
family to Glacier National Park.
Daughter Emma has entered
the workforce as a copyeditor
for Indiana University Press.
Son Zack has just finished
his first semester at Indiana
University in Bloomington. And
his wife Christine is now firmly
embarked on a translating
career (English to French).
From Roger Kubarych comes
some very interesting intelligence (forgive the use of this
word, but you will see): After
some “unavoidable delays,
all administrative preliminaries are complete,” and he is
now National Intelligence
Officer for economics at the
National Intelligence Council
in the Office of the Director
of National Intelligence. “My
responsibilities include overseeing analysis within the intelligence community and across the
main government departments
(White House, Treasury, State
and Defense) of medium-term
international economic and
financial issues that are likely to
have significant implications for
U.S. national security.” Pretty
cool stuff, eh?
And last but not least a report
from the Class of ’66 gettogether at the Williams Club
in NYC on Feb. 4: First, the
regrets: Wink Willett wrote to
say he was in India on a photography adventure. Graham Cole
had to attend a headmasters’
conference to be honored as a
“quacking, lame duck.”
I asked everyone to sign in
with a comment for everyone,
so what follows is—as well
as I can transcribe what is
sometimes quite bewildering
penmanship—a full record.
Coleman Bird says that daughter
Garren ’99 lives in London and
is engaged to an Englishman.
David Tobis says, “I’ve started a
new work life and am thrilled. I
work internationally to improve
child protection systems for
UNICEF, the OAK Foundation
and others. No plane trip
is long enough for me. Two
grandkids, a 42-year marriage
and a Williams ’66 reunion:
can’t beat that combination.”
Joe Bessey notes, “Standing
up. On Room air. Fueling and
stooling. Life is good.” Bill
Adams adds, “Still teaching (1⁄8
time). About two years into a
four-year process of handing
over my software company.
Both children may end up in the
Boston area (where I am) in the
next six months. Life is, indeed,
good.” From Karl Garlid, “Still
here—enjoying being an on-call
handyman. Active in emigration
rights.”
Jim Meier says, “The effects of
the economy hit my consulting
company this past fall. The plus
side is that I can use the free
time to focus on training for my
attempt at the English Channel.
But recovery from hard training
is harder. (It may have something to do with aging, although
denial still rings strong in the
65-year-old heart.)”
Bob Rubin: “Still practicing and teaching medicine at
Georgetown and involved with
health care issues in DC.” Jon
Linen is “enjoying ‘stage two’ of
life. Some business, some family
and some other! Great time of
life!” John Carney says, “Still
working. This dinner is a high
point for the year. Looks like
we are all doing well. Staying
at Hotel Burrows!” From Lance
Knox: “Kids great. Two fine
grandkids, restaurant doing
well, travel.”
David Corwin is “working at
being an ‘emeritus lawyer.’” Con
O’Leary asks, “Who are these
old guys? They’re so interesting
and cool for such old dudes!”
(Con added, “An old goat’ll do
that,” but that’s another story.)
Jack Vroom is “just here doing
research for my own class—
1966.” From David Kollender:
“Still kick ass and take names
later! Fire in the hole! UDT
– SEAL – FBI + ???” And Jim
Harrison says, “Great to spend
my 66th birthday with the Class
of ’66.”
Rusty Haldeman is “primarily
involved in spoiling grandchildren and adding miles to
motorcycle odometer.” Mike
Burrows observes, “The Road
Goes On Forever And The Party
Never Ends…” And, finally, Hal
Crowther notes ruefully, “I wish
I didn’t follow Burrows. Also
the road goes on forever, but the
party always ends—and so does
Carney.” As you see, things
began to wind down. Best to
everyone and keep in touch.
As for me, Secretary Gould,
I’m reporting from California,
where Jane and I spent several
days in Palo Alto with Marj
and Tom Jack. We were here to
watch our son Sam play squash
for Stanford. Tom is mostly
retired from contracting and
building inspections but keeping
n 1 9 6 6 –6 7
very busy with consulting work
and fishing, skiing, etc. I’m also
spending a night with Mary and
John Schelling, whose Christmas
letter began this column. I can
say I survived my time with
Geronimo!
1967
Kenneth A. Willcox
178 Westwood Lane
Wayzata, MN 55391
[email protected]
For those who haven’t heard,
it is with a heavy heart that
I convey the news that John
Gladney passed away Jan. 20
from a blood clot. He had
been hospitalized in Arizona
since collapsing the previous
Saturday. He never regained
consciousness. His daughter
Greer was with him. John was
not only accomplished and great
fun, he was also a pioneer in
helping break through the racial
barriers in the 60s. His death
is a huge loss to us all. A more
complete obituary will appear in
the next issue.
On a more positive note, this
first edition of the new decade is
a retirement note from Bob Tyre.
Bob finally left the corporate
whirlwind and the 50 percentplus travel schedule of his past
35 years for a bit of leisure.
Meg has also slowed down
some from her legal profession, so the two of them have
more time for golf, family visits
and pleasure travel. Both their
daughters are married. They
have four grandchildren—girls
10, 6 and 4 and a 1-year-old
boy. They plan to retire in place
in Rye, N.Y., and travel south
in the winters. Bob is grateful for all the blessings they
have had, and he is looking
forward to giving back some of
his time and experience to the
community.
Paul Lipof enjoyed a dinner in
San Francisco last November
with Neil O’Donnell, John
Roberts and their spouses.
Afterward the Lipofs proceeded to LA for a wedding,
visiting Yosemite and Sequoia
National Parks along the way.
Paul stays in touch with Gregg
Meister, who happens to share
his interest in Israel. He has
also recently corresponded
with Steve Bartholomew on
the subject. Paul reports his
newest grandson, 10-month-old
Raphael, is healthy and happy.
He wishes all a new year of
health and fulfillment.
Suzanne and Harry Tether
returned from a Williams
alumni trip to Bhutan late
last year. He wrote, “It was a
fascinating chance to visit this
Himalayan kingdom that values
harmony and cooperation. The
Gross Happiness Index is more
important than Gross National
Product.” Harry continues
also as an adviser to the U.S.
Treasury. Working with the
Chilean government, they are
providing technical assistance to
countries utilizing the privatepublic partnership model to
finance infrastructure development. Harry comments that a
more years. He says he needs
the activity, excitement and
remuneration.
Andy Cadot plans to retire
in May and in mid-summer
move four-and-a-half hours
away to Roque Bluffs (Maine).
They bought a house on the
“bold coast.” It has a big deck
overlooking the granite shore
with the nonstop sound of the
sea. They will go “south” to
Portland for the winter, where
they have a condo with a view
of Portland Head Light and the
harbor. He has lots of volunteer
activities in mind.
Harry Matthews says his tour
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Jon Vipond ’67 and his partner Tim Bunner received the Tocqueville
Humanitarian Award from the United Way of Pennsylvania’s Capital
Region. Residents of Mechanicsburg, they were honored for their
outstanding voluntary service to the community, including work
championing health and human service issues and the arts in the region.
pilot project he is working on
in Costa Rica is a particularly
attractive one in view of the
long New England winter.
Bob Conway is finishing up
his first year as director of the
Conner Family Trust. One of
his books is making its way
slowly through the publishing
process at the University of New
Mexico Press. Another is stalled
for funding. Their boys are both
doing well, as is his daughter
Alder Rhodes-Conway, who
serves on the Madison, Wis.,
City Council.
Wes Westmeyer is in his 30th
year with the NYC Health &
Hospitals Corp. He coordinates
citywide public health campaigns, flu vaccinations, cancer
screenings, etc. They served
more than 1.3 million individuals last year. His wife Minerva
is thinking about retiring this
year, and so is he. His organization is facing a 30 percent deficit
beginning in mid-2010 because
of Medicaid and Medicare
changes. The downsizing will be
painful.
For their good works in the
community Jon Vipond and Tim
were given the 2009 Tocqueille
Humanitarian Award by the
United Way. Jon and Tim
attended last fall’s WilliamsAmherst game. As a member of
the Executive Committee of the
Society of Alumni, Jon was one
of the chili servers at the game.
He said it was great fun. Jon
would like to work about five
business in NYC has been doing
very well. Most of his customers
are foreign. He notes the low
value of the dollar has made
Fifth Avenue an outlet mall for
them. Because of an arrangement with two tour operators
he seems to get a stream of
customers for whom money is
not much of a concern. But he
also gets customers who want
bargain trips to the city. In his
non-tour time he has volunteered for years in the music
library of a local public radio
station, WYNC. When The
New York Times decided to
sell its classical music station,
WQXR, and the station became
part of WYNC, Harry was
hired to coordinate the packing
and transfer of WQXR’s library
of 30,000 CDs.
Steve Watson reported in from
their home in Carmel, where
they were awaiting the arrival of
their third grandchild. Normally
they would have been in the
Colorado mountains this time
of year. They hope to spend
some time in the snow country
this year with the Richards,
Hufnagels and Fletchers. He
comments, “It’s entertaining to
see us old folks making our way
down the mountain, but we can
still eat, drink and tell lies as
well as ever.”
In response to some of the
comments in the last issue of
our class notes regarding various frailties and the increasingly
infirm, Jeff Bowen comments,
CL ASS
NOTES
“I’ve decided that when I jog, I
should start paying more attention to what body part will give
out first.”
Sally and Ted McPherson had
a great visit in Denver last
October with Sue and Larry
Ricketts. Ted said they had
been most kind and helpful to
their daughter Beth ’96, who
relocated to Denver this past fall
to teach and coach at Garland
School. They also enjoyed
seeing George Lee and many
other friends at the WilliamsAmherst game. They also saw
Laurel and Dick Thrasher and
Marge and John Donovan ’55
in Gettysburg not long ago.
Recently Sally and Ted, along
with their son Edward ’99 and
his wife Heather, were invited
to a private visit at the CIA
headquarters in Langley. They
were able to view historical
documents and artifacts dating
from the WWII OSS to current
operations. Ted is also completing four years of service on
the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration Advisory
Council. He was informed that
NASA will be awarding him
the Exceptional Public Service
Medal. Congratulations, Ted!
Bonnie and Mike Haugh
spent a great weekend in
Williamstown in September
with Susan and David Kennedy.
It was a weekend of Hancock
Shaker Village, The Clark,
dinner at the Mill on the
Floss and good conversation.
Retirement is not on the horizon
for Mike. He says he’s having
too much fun at High Tech
Rochester (NY). He runs the
manufacturing consulting arm,
which is part of the national
Manufacturing Extension
Partnership.
John Hufnagel spent the summer and fall at home in Maine.
He thought he would just be
doing some quiet painting.
Instead he was drafted to lead a
group working with the Maine
Coast Heritage Trust to place
a beautiful 45-acre island in
Penobscot Bay into their hands
to preserve for public visitation.
They had just over four months
to raise $1.1 million before it
was sold into private hands.
They did it! The trust has
protected more than 200 islands
along the Maine Coast. After
working with them for a short
stint, John’s son Steven was
tapped to lead the Damariscotta
River Association. It is the oldest land trust in Maine. John
says he has enjoyed getting into
land preservation. He feels their
work in preserving Ash Island
will be a lasting legacy for their
community of Owls Head.
Bill McClung is still chair of
the math/CS department at
Nebraska Wesleyan University.
He also continues to play the
pipe organ at their Catholic
church. His wife Hannah Jo is
the music director there. Next
year Bill is to be on sabbatical
in Germany as a guest of the
Hochschule. While there, he
hopes to play some of the actual
organs that Bach played. Their
sons are both in Minnesota:
Andrew, a physics senior at
Carleton, and Charles, a philosophy sophomore at Macalester.
Rick Williams reports the
birth of their first grandchild
in September, Richard Jackson
Smith, born in Sugarland,
Texas. Late last summer Rick
and Valerie took a trip to
Alaska and the Yukon. He said
the size and beauty of the interior were awe inspiring.
Also Texas-related, Jack Hunt
projects his retirement from
King Ranch this coming summer. He expects to continue to
advise the ranch as needed and
to do advisery/contract/board
work in the agricultural, water
and natural resources areas. He
also looks for increasing focus
on his water skiing skills.
Hiram Lewis noted that
rotator-cuff surgery was on his
early 2010 agenda. He teaches
Hapkido three nights a week
and sells paper ephemera five
days per week. His artwork is
viewable at hlewisart.com. He
and his wife Susan had a lovely
Christmas gathering with their
daughter Hana and son Travis
and his girlfriend.
Jeff Bowen recently got a
T-shirt with the Williams seal
on the front. On the back is the
same seal with those of other
liberal arts colleges shown
below it. The message indicates,
“It’s lonely at the top.” Jeff says
he only dares to wear it while
jogging through the countryside.
But he says he does wear it
proudly so he can impress all of
the deer, turkey and geese who
can only admire Jeff with envy.
Marty Samuels says he had
a chance to meet the new
president of Williams and hear
him speak. He says, “He’s very
dynamic and young. I guess
that’s good.”
Your secretary completed a
pretty atrocious first year as
mayor of our city (my part
time job). Slashing city staff
and services hardly made for
widespread popularity. On the
other hand, I have to say most
people seemed to be understanding or at least sympathetic.
Here’s hoping for much better
things in the year ahead. Good
health and happiness to you all.
And thanks, as always, for all
the news you have been willing
to share!
1968
Paul Neely
P.O. Box 11526
Chattanooga, TN 37401
[email protected]
In response to your secretary’s
request for news, including that
of retirements, Robert Herzog
responds subtly, “Screw this
retirement/volunteer/end-ofdaze crap. I’m looking for investors to launch my new company,
have a novel, screenplay and
play. I’m trying to get to see the
light of day and working my
still-thin ass off.”
Also still working strong is
Peter Abrahams: “News-wise, I
have a new book out—Thereby
Hangs A Tail—number two in
the Chet and Bernie series, written under my pen name, Spencer
Quinn. The first in the series,
Dog On It, was a New York
Times bestseller and has been or
will be published in 17 countries
so far. The books are written
in the voice of Chet, mongrel
companion of a somewhat
troubled P.I. The voice seems to
suit me. Although Chet blogs at
chetthedog.com and also tweets
a bit, he has no un-dog-like
powers, can’t talk or anything
like that. Under my own name,
Bullet Point, a teen suspense
novel, comes out in April.”
In his customary holiday
letter, John Murray writes from
London: “Looking back on it,
2009 was for me pretty much
all about work. As markets
tumbled, there were things that
needed doing to keep morale
up and the ship afloat at Ecofin
[his investment fund] and vacations got canceled. In May and
June I was persuaded to make
just over 90 presentations to
institutional investors in the
U.K.—which took me back
decades—which was also satisfying, because it produced the
right result; but it was exhausting and it certainly piqued
my interest in the concept of
‘retirement,’ although the current state of the world is pretty
interesting to the frustrated
n 1 9 6 7 –6 9
Last September Geoff Wickwire ’69 (second from right) and his wife Gina
enjoyed a stop in Croatia during a cruise from Venice to Rome with Doug
Bryant ’71 and his wife Cammie.
economic historian in me.”
Peter Naylor writes from
California: “Our daughter is
finishing Stanford, majoring in
bio-mechanical engineering and
swimming for the varsity. Ah,
financial freedom at last! We
were twice evacuated during
the wildfires (three bad ones
in 15 months), while our city
council was focused on painting a blue line to show where
the Gore floods would leave
our shoreline. How about the
Climate Change Scandal? I’ve
just learned that where I teach I
can’t fail a student for cheating
(assignment yes, course no).
What is the Williams policy on
‘academic honesty’? Let’s urge
our new president to affirm the
Williams tradition of practicing integrity in education and
research. We don’t need any
more Bernie Madoffs.”
Peter continues, “My community college is trying to cut
salaries while running a $4.5
million surplus, and cutting
classes while recruiting foreign
students—good for me, because
I developed our international
business program and teach
many of them. Susette and I
dance tango and salsa regularly.
I also teach ballroom for our PE
dept. I guess that prepares us for
living in Argentina or Cuba.”
John Dirlam writes, “Patti and
I had a great Christmas, thanks
in large part to our niece Liana
Hunt, who has a lead role in
the national Broadway tour of
Mamma Mia!. The show played
for two weeks in Boston during
the holidays, and we went to
see it twice with friends and
family. There is nothing like
watching a 22-year-old whom
you have known from the cradle
fulfilling her life’s dream in front
of your eyes. Liana grew up in
Vermont, so she and her parents
and brother stayed with us and
celebrated Christmas in our
home. It was truly a Christmas
to be remembered, and we are
hopeful that this is just the start
of her career!”
John and Larry Pilcher participated in a special ceremony
before last fall’s Amherst game.
Alumni who were military veterans from both colleges were
honored at midfield just before
the game. The thought-provoking detail is this: They were
the two youngest alumni in the
group. Both, remarkably, claim
perfect attendance at Williams
fall homecoming weekends
except for the years they were in
the service.
A note from ex-1968er
Chester B. Goolrick has been
passed along to me by Gina
Wickwire, wife of Geoff
Wickwire ’69, and it does a nice
job of catching us up on B:
“I’m glad you remember me as
a ‘Virginia gentleman.’ I don’t
remember demonstrating my
‘arm’ throwing snowballs, but
I’ll take that as a compliment as
well. I knew lots of songs; the
one about the dog was one of
my favorites. I’m sad to say I
haven’t played much guitar the
last 20 years or so—I ascribe
that to the limitations brought
on by brain surgery and age.
“Although my illness led
to my having to go on Social
Security disability, I have
recovered nicely and lead a
‘normal’ life, whatever that is.
It’s interesting to me that you
remember Bart (Phelps), Daddy
Jim (Thompson) (I have no clue
how he got that nickname)
and Robin (Norris) warning my
brother that I was ‘in trouble.’ It
didn’t help much; I flunked out
after that semester and wound
up in the Army for three miserable years. Since then I have
been happily married (35 years
ago in December) to a woman
who now works as a planner
and writer for the National
Parks Service, been to Columbia
Journalism School and worked
for the Atlanta Constitution and
The Wall Street Journal here
in Atlanta. My lovely daughter
Allie graduated from Emerson
College in Boston (brr!) and is
now getting her master’s at the
University of Georgia’s Grady
School of Journalism. She also
plays guitar and sings. (I reckon
it’s in the genes.)”
Two notes on that: The
Wickwires and all the others
mentioned in B’s note were
residents together in Carter
House. I can also tell you, as
a Columbia J School graduate
and close reader of the WSJ for
40 years, that B was doing great
work for the Journal before illness cut short his career there.
I rotated off the Williams
board last June but still do
an occasional function for
the development office. Most
recently, I enjoyed the great
hospitality of Cindy and Tad
Piper at their beautiful home
on Lake Minnetonka outside
Minneapolis for a gathering of
30 or so alumni and spouses. It
was such a warm event that I
hardly noticed it was 14 degrees
outside.
1969
Richard P. Gulla
287 Grove St.
Melrose, MA 02176
[email protected]
Unable to make the 40th,
Andy Lynn recounted freshman
year, when “four of us met on
the third floor of Lehman Hall.
Tom Wilmot, Bill Dickey, Keith
Grimson and myself. We roomed
together in one combination
or another for all four years.
Keith is sadly no longer with
us. The three of us couldn’t
travel to Williamstown for the
40th due to business and family
commitments. We did, however,
thanks to Bill’s generosity,
hold a minireunion with our
spouses on Hilton Head Island
CL ASS
NOTES
the second week of October,
doing a lot of catching up and
reminiscing about our time at
Williams. We all appreciated the
pictures that were posted from
the 40th reunion on campus and
even recognized quite a few of
our classmates. We’re all still
working and enjoying it. Our
children are doing great, and we
returned to Martha’s Vineyard,
Charlottesville, Va., and
Clearwater, Fla., (respectively)
with smiles on our faces.”
Tom Wilmott wrote of the
same get-together, saying he
“had a wonderful long weekend
with good friends and wives in
October. Andy and Claudia and
Barbara and I were very appreciative of Bill and Heather’s
generosity. At least we tried to
buy a couple of dinners! We
missed our old friend and fourth
roommate, Keith Grimson, who
passed away two years ago.
It was wonderful to catch up,
and it only took about three
Short and Tragic Reign and
is about the 18-month period
from November 2006 through
April 2008, encompassing
the Spitzer transition, which I
chaired, the administration in
which I was Eliot’s senior policy
adviser, and the month after he
(and I) resigned. No prostitutes
in there, but much sadder and
important stuff about the massive lost opportunity to help
New York State and the nation.
I’ve always liked to write and
have loved writing these two
books, which are my first but
not last. As I write I rediscover
how much my school experiences shaped my way of thinking and still influence almost
everything I do.”
Chip Bolman, chief of the
division of cardiac surgery at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
in Boston, is “well into preparations for our third heart surgery
venture to Rwanda in April.
Our ultimate goal is to build a
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Henry Walker ’69 was named Distinguished Educator by the Association
for Computing Machinery (ACM) and is one of only 10 people internationally to receive the honor since 2006. Walker is the Samuel R. and
Marie-Louise Rosenthal Professor of Natural Science and Mathematics
and professor of computer science at Grinnell College. He is a board
member of the special interest group in computer science education of
ACM and sits on the AP computer science development committee.
minutes before we were back in
full gear, remembering Lehman
East in the fall of 1965, learning Williams fight songs in the
bowels of Baxter Hall during
freshman orientation, playing bridge in West College or
hanging out at Garfield House.
We had a great laugh when we
remembered how much the
house owed the local beer distributor when Bill took over as
president. It took several lawn
party fundraisers to reduce the
debt burden!”
Lloyd Constantine published
his first book, Priceless: The
Case that Brought down the
Visa/MasterCard Cartel last
October and now has a second
scheduled for release in April.
“So that’s two in six months,
and that stupefies me and fills
me with gratitude to a number
of people and institutions,
Williams and some of our
professors among them. The
second book is titled Journal of
The Plague Year: An Insider’s
Chronicle of Eliot Spitzer’s
sustainable program in Rwanda,
staffed by Rwandan physicians
and nurses. Fundraising has
been tough this year for obvious
reasons. People can read about
our experiences at teamheart09.
blogspot.com. If anyone may
wish to contribute, we have
established a nonprofit, which
can be accessed via the blog
site.”
Bob Grace reports he truly has
an empty nest now, as 2009
saw the rest of his children
get married. Son Rob tied the
knot in March followed by
daughter Holly ’97 in December,
with a wedding in Sarasota to
Kris Kahn ’97. They’re now in
Boston.
Peter Nash and spouse Kalala
spent Christmas and the New
Year in Samoa, “busy doing
upkeep on a rental property
we have here. I met Kalala
here while I was a Peace Corps
volunteer in ’70 and ’71. One
thinks of Samoa as a place for a
great vacation, but we spend all
our time in upkeep and repairs!
I am part of an organization
(www.samoatsunamirelief.
org) that formed shortly after
terrible tsunamis wiped out
large portions of Samoa’s south
coast on Sept. 29, 2009. I will
be traveling to this area shortly
and assessing the situation and
how we can best help the people
recover.”
Jim Barns reports, “Jan. 1
was a big day in my family’s
life. Our daughter Hayden
sent in her college applications
with essays. Among them was
Williams. Her great time at the
reunion made her a believer.
Whether she will get in and if it
is the right place for her will be
decided after April 1. It will be
a dramatic wait. I am quite an
emotionalist and, should she get
in, my ‘waterworks’ (her term)
may overflow! Can’t top that
news item. I look forward to the
45th. Better late than never; I
feel like with the Class of 1969 I
am going home.”
Send your congratulations to
Henry Walker out in Grinnell,
Iowa, cited as a Distinguished
Educator by the Association for
Computing Machinery (ACM),
one of only 10 people so honored internationally since 2006.
Henry continues his activity in
computer science education.
“This spring will be my last
year on the board of the special
interest group in computer
science education of ACM.
Currently, I am immediate past
chair, and with elections coming
up in the spring, I look forward
to passing responsibilities on
to the next group! On the
other hand, I just started work
on the Advanced Placement
Computer Science Development
Committee, just to fill any spare
time.” Henry says that spouse
Terry is in her third year working for Aviva insurance as a
business analyst and serves on
the board of the Iowa section
of the American Civil Liberties
Union. Daughters Donna
(San Jose, Calif.) and Barbara
(Columbus, Ohio) have left the
nest. And Henry’s education
hasn’t stopped either: “With
grandson Jackson, I’m learning
the new role of grandpa; I’m
still getting used to that, but I’m
looking forward to figuring that
our more in the coming years!”
Class of l969 take note: Dick
Peinert was nominated to run
for Tyng Bequest administrator,
along with Joseph Bonn ’75 and
Susan E. Stred ’78. How great
to see a classmate recognized
by the College. For those (like
n 1 9 6 9 –7 0
me) with short memories, Tyng
Scholarships are the most distinctive financial aid awards the
College offers and are granted
to a small number of especially
talented and deserving candidates chosen from the incoming
class by the College’s admission
committee.
Dick keeps in touch with
several Ephs and relays (with
thanks from me) these nuggets of information. “I talk to
Jon Petke about every three
weeks, usually about football
and family. One of Jon’s boys
was an All-American baseball
player at California. Lee Holman
’70 was auditing classes at
Connecticut College, just down
the road from his home, and
was teaching a math course
at the University of Hartford.
Gordy Bryson has written his
doctoral thesis and hopes to get
his defense done in the next year
and then move back east from
Hawaii. He and Liz purchased
a townhouse in Baltimore [last]
summer in anticipation of the
move. Tommy Sipkins finally got
his judgeship in Minneapolis
and reports that as low man on
the pole, he still has to work
hard.” As for himself, Dick
says he is “still upright and
practicing plastic surgery. Son
Max is a freshman at University
of Delaware and daughter
Rebecca a sophomore at Emma
Willard School, just down the
road a bit from Williamstown
in beautiful Troy, N.Y. I have
taken her on three road trips to
Saratoga Springs but have not
told her about any of the very
long nights at the bar in the old
Rip Van Dam, now the Hotel
Adelphi.”
Another proud father, Sandy
Smith, writes that “daughter
Samantha graduated with the
Class of 2009, following a
highly successful senior year as
co-captain of the women’s crew
team. She stroked the women’s
1V8 to win the Head of the
Charles (in Boston), finished
undefeated on the year with
victories at the New Englands
and NCAAs and was named an
All-American. She’s begun to
fulfill her dream of becoming a
doctor by enrolling in August
at the University of Chicago’s
Pritkzer Medical School. Son
Trip is a sophomore at Colby
College and a member of the
men’s tennis team. He also
served as an orientation leader
for about three dozen Colby
freshmen who spent their fall
semester either in Spain or
France. Otherwise, not much
change on the home front here
in Concord. Still working and
paying tuition. It was great to
see so many people at reunion.”
Marty Lafferty continues
as CEO of the Distributed
Computing Industry Association
(www.dcia.info) and was scheduled to be installed as commander of the Kent Narrows
Sail & Power Squadron during
its Change of Watch Ceremony
at the end of February. Big news
for Marty and his wife Sari
is the upcoming marriage of
son David in September. “We
always welcome visits from
classmates to our home on Kent
Island, Md., especially to eat
Chesapeake Bay crabs!”
Quick takes: Lanny Maxwell
welcomes communications from
any Ephs in the Philadelphia or
nearby area. Lanny has had his
own CFO outsource consulting
business for five years in Bryn
Mawr. Paul Kessler has moved
to Sotheby’s International
Realty in Cabo San Lucas
Mexico. “I love it here and
never want to leave.” And Paul
sees no retirement soon. “Given
the last few years, I think I will
be working until 75 years old.”
Fletcher Clark has produced
“a recording of outstanding
quality on our re-emergent
label Armadillo Records, and I
commend it with my heartiest
endorsement. It is simply the
best work I have ever done. The
artists are my longtime friend
Hank Alrich and his daughter
Shaidri, accompanied by Doug
Harman, another colleague of
mine.” Visit armadillomusicproductions.com to sample a tune.
Congratulations to Paul
Harsch, whose Williamstown
real estate company launched
a charitable gift program, “a
first for a real estate company in
our region and brand new for
us.” Through June 30, Paul’s
company donated 1 percent of
any revenues to the organization
of the client’s choosing from
transactions from his buyers
and sellers.
That’s all for now. Here’s
wishing a great 2010 for
everyone and that lots more
classmates send me news for
upcoming editions. Stay well
and in touch.
1970
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Jeffrey R. Krull
3017 Oak Borough Run
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
[email protected]
Kevin Sullivan enjoyed reading about the festivities up
in Middlebury. “I smiled as I
thought about how much fun
Kim Montgomery must have
had at his son’s wedding. There
are some among us whose fun
quotient is limitless. Kim is
one of them. … I continue to
offer title and closing services
to lawyers in the Merrimack
Valley in Massachusetts. It has
been a roller coaster ride over
the past couple of years. I have
survived the worst of it, but I
realized a while ago that I will
now have to work until I turn
to dust. That has not deterred
me from life’s joys. As I write to
you, I am sitting on a fifth-floor
balcony in an oceanfront room
at Waikoloa Beach near Kona
on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Cindy and I are here for a week
and then we will spend a week
on Oahu. We are missing the
zero-degree January days at
home now, but I suspect we will
experience a few of them before
winter is over. I am wearing
my Williams hat and T-shirt
everywhere I go, but I have had
no sightings yet.”
Nathan Fox manages to keep
in touch with life at Williams by
hanging out with the younger
Eph generation. Mike Kirwan
’08 is a grad student working
in his lab, and Alexandra Hoff
’09 is working with him as
well. Nathan says, “I also heard
recently from the older generation, being in touch with Irwin
Rubin. Irwin lives in Brooklyn
and has grandchildren!”
Jim Kirkland reports, “I finally
got to see David Strathairn—that
Poughkeepsie/Hollywood fellow
who was my 45-47 Sage corner
roommate along with George
Sawaya—perform on stage. I
and a swimming laps friend in
Alexandria, Va., Bill Stewart—
who was the 1990-96 managing
director of the Williamstown
Theater and had worked with
David once or twice since
1980—tracked him down at
Georgetown University Dec.
7, performing in an ensemble
cast, one-night presentation of
Will the Circle Be Unbroken,
A Celebration of the Life and
CL ASS
NOTES
Work of Studs Terkel. After
the curtain dropped, Bill and
I stalked David like a couple
of groupies and, catching him
leaving the dressing room, had
a nice, lengthy chat before he
headed off to the cast party.
Except for the gray, none of us
has changed. I have wonderful
memories of watching David,
Steve Lawson ’71 and Jeff
Nelson ’71, act in many plays at
Williams.
“I learned of David’s
Georgetown event from his
fan website only a couple
days earlier while visiting my
daughter Brooke in NYC, where
she, as a law-degreed immigration officer, interviews asylum
applicants. We were checking
it to make sure David wasn’t
in town before choosing a play
to see. Brooke and I also had
dinner with George Sawaya and
his wife Joanne and their older
daughter, Erin, at a Czech beer
garden in Brooke’s new Astoria
neighborhood. George and I
have enjoyed watching Brooke
and Erin become friends as
adults as a result of Brooke’s
move to NYC from LA two
years ago.
“My journalist son, Joel,
who lives on Capitol Hill
in DC, is now getting some
stories highlighted in the
online New York Times. Its
‘Energy and Environment’ page
links to Joel’s new employer,
ClimateWire, whose top few
headlines it lists daily. The
first time Joel had a story
highlighted, he e-mailed, ‘Dad.
Google Joel Kirkland and New
York Times.’ Very exciting for
his mom and me, who both
wrote a few years for newspapers, she the Chicago Tribune
while I was in law school. Joel
also follows in the footsteps
of his great grandpa Kirkland,
a career Chicago journalist with the Hearst-owned
newspapers.”
Sluggo Stearns checked in
from the other side of the world
to say, “Since I have nothing to
report—no births, graduations,
promotions, problems, meetings
with Ephs, arrests, incarcerations or paroles—suffice it to
say that Janelle and I are doing
well in Thailand, enjoying the
sort of non-stress peacefulness of a Buddhist society,
and I’m—in my own way—
‘searching for the meaning of
life.’ (If anyone who is reading
this has found it, please e-mail
me immediately! Jeff has the
address.)”
Friends of Kennedy Richardson ’71 (center) gathered at Skibo Castle
in Dornoch, Scotland, in October to celebrate his 60th birthday. Also
pictured (left to right) are Bob Williams, Sey Zimmerman ’71, Bob
Schwed ’71 and Bruce Smith ’71.
David Prouty reports: “Had an
interesting piano tuning a while
back with a Dr. David Orringer
here in Tucson. Turned out his
dad is our old Spanish professor
Nelson Orringer, whom you
Spanish majors may remember.
We all met later for cocktails,
and I had my opportunity to
purge my guilt‑ridden soul for
having quit my studies when I
suddenly got so political during
the 1970 student strike. All was
forgiven by Professor Orringer.”
Paul Miller says that he’s looking forward to our reunion in
June and says that Pat Bassett
plans to be there as well. He
adds that Pat, as someone
who spends his life on the
road, has already made motel
reservations.
Everything is fine with Jay
McKenna, who is still practicing
law at Reed Smith in Pittsburgh.
He and Colleen have four
children, three of whom are
married, and six grandchildren.
Two of the grandkids live in
Nashua, N.H., two live in
Virginia Beach, and two live in
the Atlanta area. Jay hears from
Kelly Corr and Dietz Fry from
time to time. He notes, “Charlie
Knox abandoned me; he moved
out of Pittsburgh to Southern
California; I can’t understand
why.”
Jim Deutsch sent the following
update: “I’ve been splitting my
time between two units of the
Smithsonian Institution. For the
National Museum of African
American History and Culture,
I’ve been working as a writer
and editor for two projects: a
symposium on the Black Power
Movement that took place last
spring; and an exhibition on
the Apollo Theater in Harlem,
which will open at the National
Museum of American History in
April 2010. For the Smithsonian
Center for Folklife and Cultural
Heritage, I’ve been editing the
publications and Web materials
for the 2009 and 2010 folklife
festivals. And I’ve also been
teaching two distance-learning
classes on American film—
one for George Washington
University and one for Empire
State College’s Beirut (Lebanon)
branch. As for the 40th reunion,
I’m hoping to attend, but because
the 2010 Folklife Festival starts
on June 24, I’m not yet sure if
I’ll be able to get away for a few
days in Williamstown.”
Ken McCurdy reports: “Our
40th reunion committee of Ted
May, Margie Ware, Don Berens,
Bill Sammons, Charley Ebinger
and others has been hard at work
planning for June 10-13. HQ
is Tyler House, and traditional
refreshments will be available 24/7, as well as congenial
company. Many of our class have
indicated intent to attend, and
we are hoping for 40 percent
turnout. A few new activities
planned as well as the familiar
standbys such as golf and fair
weather. More info to follow.”
Let me express here a big collective class thank you to Ted and
all the members of the committee who are putting together a
super weekend for us. I know
from experience how much work
goes into planning an event like
this, and I know everyone really
appreciates their labor of love.
n 1 9 7 0 –7 1
Williamstown Film Festival director Steve Lawson ’71 (right) and
Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson took questions from the audience
during WFF’s salute to Levinson at the Clark Art Institute in October.
Alice and I enjoyed having
both of our grandchildren
around for 10 whole days when
son Rob and his wife Ozlem
came to visit from Florida in
December and stayed to ring
in the New Year. Allison, their
2-year-old daughter, got along
famously with her cousin Alex
(daughter Marla’s 7-year-old
son), and we just couldn’t get
enough of watching them play
together. Since Marla and Alex
live within walking distance of
our house, we see them all the
time, but it’s a rare occasion
when we can get the cousins
together.
For some reason the response
to my request for news was
rather anemic this time, hence
the relatively short column. I
hope many of you will be at the
reunion in June, when we will
have an opportunity to share
stories, updates and reminiscences in person. Until then,
take care, and don’t hesitate to
drop me a note any time.
1971
Scott Simundza
579 Sagamore Ave., Unit 102
Portsmouth, NH 03801
[email protected]
The Williamstown Film
Festival continues to be a popular venue for alumni, as Steve
Lawson indicates: “Despite
the economy, the WFF had a
banner season. Thirty artists
were in residence, including
director James Ivory, animator
Bill Plympton, playwright Mart
Crowley and Oscar-winning
filmmaker Barry Levinson,
whose career was honored in an
event at the Clark Art Institute.
Among the alumni who caught
two weekends of screenings,
seminars and parties: Steve
and Sue Brown, Arria and Jack
Sands, Jorie and Steve Latham,
Sally and Choppy Rheinfrank
’62, Margot and Robert Herzog
’68, Bob and Margie Ware ’70,
Chip and Michele Chandler ’72,
Kristen Johanson ’79, Virginia
Soybel ’79, Jon Cluett ’96 and
Chris Brown ’73 as well as WFF’s
first student board members:
Jonathan Draxton and Zoe
Jenkin, both ’12. Attendance
and ticket sales jumped sharply,
and the festival wound up in the
black for the 11th year in a row.
Thanks to all who attended,
and circle the dates for next
season … Oct. 15-24, 2010.”
Congratulations to Steve on
another successful and profitable season.
Mark Ruchman was another
recent visitor to the Purple
Valley, anticipating next year’s
reunion: “Though the world
and our nation are both deeply
troubled, I am surprised how
content and happy Sharon
and I both are. We were up
in Williamstown last month,
had lunch with Prof. Michael
Brown, President Oakley and
President Chandler to hear Ruth
Ezra ’10 discuss her research on
portraiture in post-Restoration
England. I thought to myself,
‘Hot damn, what a place!’ On a
professional note, my new solo
practice in oculoplastic surgery
is doing well, and every day is
still fun. Health care reform has
me ill at ease, to say the least,
and I have great respect for
the ability of Congress to take
an intrinsically good idea and
create a policy that is dysfunctional and perverse. Sharon
has just released her third CD
of her own chamber music. I
invite classmates to visit www.
sharonruchman.com to listen.
As Jim Cramer is fond of saying, ‘shameless self-promotion.’
Saw Mary and Richie Casden,
and they both seem well. Our
daughter Julia ’02 is a writer
for TV, most recently The
Troop on Nickelodeon. Her last
show had 4 million viewers.
Stunning! Sharon and I extend
to our classmates all our best
wishes for a healthy and happy
2010. Is that 40th just over the
horizon?”
Wally Schlech temporarily abandoned Halifax for a Christmas
visit with his granddaughter
Bailey Ann in Little Rock,
accompanied by Mary and the
extensive Schlech offspring, who
at last count included two flight
instructors, a restaurant worker,
a library student at Emerson
and an ER medical student at
the Royal College of Surgeons in
Ireland. To get some quality time
away from the family, Wally went
to Africa: “As of July I finally
semi-retired and am now 30
percent with my faculty job. I’m
no less busy but more my own
boss and not worrying about the
Department of Medicine’s bottom line. Had two teaching trips
to Uganda in the spring and an
interesting six weeks mentoring
at a rural HIV clinic in Belfast,
Mpumalanga, South Africa. …
Belfast is also the fly-fishing capital of SA, so I spent my evenings
going after browns and rainbows
in my backyard!”
Kennedy Richardson enjoyed a
special 60th birthday trip with
several classmates: “My wife
Susan organized a wonderful
celebration in late October
at Skibo Castle in Dornoch,
Scotland. Eight other couples,
including five with Williams
connections, joined us for a
few days of Highland activities
(food, drink, golf, shooting,
etc.) On Saturday night several
of the group donned kilts,
including Sey Zimmerman, Bob
Schwed and Bruce Smith.” They
enjoyed a round together for
their 10th annual golf trip—first
time overseas. Kennedy continues: “Back in reality, I have
retired from active portfolio
management at Fidelity after
23 years but have been asked
to stay on part time to mentor
portfolio managers. During the
CL ASS
NOTES
summer we see quite a bit of
Scott Newquist, who lives near
us on Nantucket. His oldest
daughter is a senior at Williams.
Thomas Anathan ’66 also joined
us on the trip to Scotland. We’ve
enjoyed several alumni trips,
including three with John Hyde
’52. Highly recommended!”
Canon Mark Pearson reports
that he’s keeping himself busy
working on another book as well
as a planned speaking tour of
southeast England in April 2010.
Nick Tortorello has been busy
putting his Williams education
to good use in his community:
“I have been getting increasingly involved in local politics.
I have been working for my
town of Upper Chichester, Pa.,
on the positives and negatives
of an earned income tax—more
negatives than positives—and
finding ways to attract and
develop new businesses. I also
took a course on zoning administration. Of course, it is a little
incestuous to have the board of
commissioners appointing the
members of the zoning board.
Patronage is omnipresent, and
even Republicans favor more
taxes to balance town budgets.
Of course, increasing taxes is
just a Band-Aid or quick fix
and does nothing to solve longterm fiscal problems. The only
solutions are combining town
police and fire departments
into one department each per
county and developing more
revenue by attracting more
businesses and homeowners
into an area. However, no
one wants to bite the bullet
and decide which one of three
police chiefs should be kept, or
which fire department of four
should stay open.”
Doug Pickard responded to the
news of Coach Al Shaw’s recent
passing at age 102: “I clearly
remember Coach Al throwing
a clipboard at me at halftime.
That was a memory! Also, I
remember eating ice cream
sundaes at Coach Al’s house
after games. Harry Sheehy ’75
now has the dishes that we ate
from. I remember thinking that
Mrs. Shaw (still alive) was some
kind of saint.” Others may
recall Al’s old-school motivating technique, as illustrated by
his memorable quote, “Christ,
Pickard, if I had a gun I’d shoot
ya!” Rich Doughty contributed
another example “about how
Coach Shaw used to coat my
hands with half a can of sticky
stuff so I could manage to ‘catch
the damn ball!’”
In September I had a
memorable sporting moment
at the NASCAR Sprint Cup
race at Loudon, N.H., where I
joined Kent Rude and 100,000
RV-owners. It was the first time
I’ve eaten breakfast, lunch and
dinner in the same parking lot
(all excellent, thanks to Kent’s
cook-out skills). Kent turns out
to be quite a NASCAR scholar,
so I learned enough to follow
the action and develop some
appreciation for the strategy.
The race was exciting, with
many non-lethal crashes and a
close finish, and in our honor
the oldest driver won.
Finally, many of you received
news of the untimely passing of
Chuck Huntington in December.
At the time of his death, Chuck
was an associate dean and associate professor at the University of
Connecticut School of Medicine.
He was active in the CT Public
Health Association, the Unitarian
Society of Hartford and the
Unitarian Universalist Service
Committee and was a past president of the American Academy of
Physician Assistants.
1972
Jim Armstrong
600 W. 115th St.
New York, NY 10025
David Webster
596 Arbor Vitae Road
Winnetka, IL 60093
[email protected]
Back in June 2008, after 13
very enjoyable years of teaching
sixth-grade math at the Pingry
School, Tom Williams concluded
it was time for a change. With
their two sons now in their 20s
and out of the house, Tom and
Muffin decided they’d move to
Massachusetts. But first they’d
take a year off. “We went out
West and hiked in Yosemite and
the Grand Canyon and other
national parks, and we did a lot
of biking, too—we made biking
trips to Vietnam, Thailand and
the Czech Republic as well as
a circuit of Lake Champlain.
We also biked the length of the
Erie Canal—not to mention lots
of fun activities in N.J.: hiking,
biking, playing ice hockey
(Muffin is a talented hockey
player—I’m not as talented,
but…), going to concerts and
museums in NYC and N.J.
What a fun year! I got to hang
out with Frode Jensen a number
of times, including once with
Biff Stulgis up near Mad River
in Vermont. Then at some
point, we realized that we really
didn’t want to move away
from N.J. after all. So I started
looking for another teaching
position. Given the dismal
economy, no one was giving
up a steady job. But I was very
fortunate and found a position
teaching middle school math at
the Willow School in Gladstone,
N.J., a wonderful, very interesting new school, grades pre-K
through 8. I’m the entire middle
school math department—
plus, it’s only about three miles
from our house. The first year
of any teaching job is a lot of
work, but I am really enjoying
myself.”
Adrienne Holland Richter will
be performing in the Durham
(N.C.) Savoyards’ spring production of The Mikado. She’ll
be part of the stage chorus and
is thrilled at the prospect. “It’s
been over 35 years since I auditioned for a play, much less a
Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, so
I was pretty shocked to see my
name on the list.” The rehearsal
schedule is very demanding, but
she’s delighted to be singing—
and dancing—again. She moved
to Raleigh from Princeton,
N.J., five years ago and loves
her new home. She’s especially
happy about her garden and
the chance to grow jasmine
outdoors year-round.
David Spadafora reports having run into Nancy and Dave
Wilder ’73, who were visiting
Chicago last summer in the
midst of an impressive travel
schedule. Then in October,
David had dinner with Dwight
Healy, who was in Chicago
overnight on business. Dwight,
a partner at White & Case in
New York, brought news of
Lou Naugle, Joe Sredl and Dick
Timian, who live and work in
Pittsburgh, Washington and
upstate New York, respectively.
Dwight and David reminisced
about the late Robb Townsend,
who in his last years fulfilled
with great success his longtime
goal of teaching high school history in Springfield, Mass.
Dan Lindley had breakfast
with Dore Griffinger last summer in San Francisco. “Dore
seems to be thriving in his law
practice and was his usual
enthusiastic, high-energy self.”
Dan’s wife Margaret runs a
nonprofit consulting business—
Caracal Strategic—and business
is booming. “Apparently, there’s
a great need for nonprofits to
n 1 9 7 1 –7 2
recast their strategic direction
and reform their governance
structures.” Dan is president
of the Northern Trust Co. of
Delaware and was quoted
in The New York Times last
October in Paul Sullivan’s
“Wealth Matters” column
concerning the current popularity of asset protection trusts,
which individuals of high net
worth have been creating for
themselves.
Last November Julie Rose
spent three weeks in and around
Cape Town, South Africa. Her
oldest son, Amato, was completing a junior-year semester at
the University of Cape Town.
“I decided this was my chance
to set foot in Africa, and I’d
always wanted to go to Cape
Town. It didn’t disappoint. I
rented a cottage and toured
while Amato finished his exams.
The southern hemisphere spring
was wonderfully warm and
the days long, a welcome relief
from our darkening November.
We spent a week driving along
the coast east of the cape, the
‘garden route,’ where Amato
insisted on doing the world’s
highest commercial bungee
jump—and making me watch.
We also ventured into the Klein
Karoo, or the little desert, that
lies north of the coast. The
scenery is stunning, overwhelming at times. … I conquered a
right-hand-drive, manual-shift
car and drove myself around to
the sites, managing to pull into
the wrong lane only a couple
of times. I avoided the baboons
(there are signs everywhere
warning not to feed them),
communed with the penguins
and climbed some amazingly
high passes. Besides the white
sand, almost-deserted beaches
and azure seas, I was struck by
the mountains and the constant
high winds (a perfect setting
for wind turbines). And, oh
yes, there are many beautiful
vineyards where I sampled the
wares. While it was an amazingly pleasant way to pass the
time, I never found a vintage the
likes of some Californians I’ve
tasted.
“During the trip, it became
also dramatically clear how
almost intractable the problems
of race and poverty are. The
needs are endless—employment,
housing, utilities, education,
health services. I saw a country
in a very slow transition. In
essence, the whites drive and
the blacks still walk. This
may be an over-simplistic
characterization, but it was an
iconic scene I saw again and
again in Cape Town and in
the countryside. That said, I
would go back in a heartbeat,
as would my son, who has
now returned to pursue his
African American history and
philosophy majors at Howard
University.”
Julie continues, “My other
kids seem to be also wending their way into adulthood.
Kate graduated with an MA in
journalism from CUNY. Despite
the sad state of journalism,
she’s actively churning out
copy for the New York Daily
News. She loves the life of a
tabloid reporter. My youngest
child, Nick, is in the second
year of a BFA in set design at
the SUNY-Purchase theater
conservatory. He spent last
August working at the Fringe
Festival in Edinburgh. I’m still
in Northampton, Mass., staring
down 60 and wondering how
in the hell I got to this point so
quickly. Does anyone out there
know?”
Staley Brod is a professor of
neurology at the University of
Texas-Houston and is involved
in basic research in diseases of
the immune system—in particular, autoimmune diseases. “I’ve
found that feeding bioactive
proteins to rodents that have
multiple sclerosis-like or Type I
diabetes-like diseases can treat
or prevent these diseases. I’ve
also done advanced trials in
humans with Type I diabetes
that show that swallowing
interferon can preserve beta
cell function. At the present
time, I’m trying to find funding
to do a large phase-three trial.
I’ve also developed a series of
peptides that are swallowed
and provide protection against
both Type I diabetes-like and
multiple sclerosis-like diseases.
Of course, many of my fellow
scientists think I’ve been sitting
out in the sun too long to come
up with such ideas. Be that as it
may, it keeps me out of trouble.
I’m always looking for venture
capitalists that are willing
to take the plunge with new
technologies!”
Gail and Bob Gordon were featured in a New Jersey network
TV piece in November called
“House Divided,” demonstrating how one couple works out
working for different campaigns, one Democratic, one
Republican.
“Isabelle and I spent New
Year’s in Boston with Kathy
and Bo Baird and Charlene
and Chuck Hyle,” writes Sam
Moss. “We went to Boston’s
First Night and caught the last
half of a terrific Bollywood
movie. Following that theme, I
am working on a CEO search
in India for the new head of
our affordable private school
finance company. APSs provide
a higher quality education to
low-income children (average
tuition is $4 to $6 a month)
than is available to these
students through government
schools, where absenteeism at
the teacher level can run north
of 25 percent.”
The Wall Street Journal
almost always knows a good
story, so it was no surprise
that its Nov. 20, 2009, edition
featured a piece that began:
“Ernie Wolfe has an unruly head
of curly white hair, a matching
beard and wears only khaki
shorts and camouflage. He lives
in a rusty steel house packed
with old objects like wooden
stools and ladders.
“But the shorts are custommade in Ghana and the
camouflage is always neatly
pressed, even for visits to the
Santa Monica farmer’s market.
‘It isn’t like this is some weird
Halloween costume,’ said Mr.
Wolfe, an African-art dealer
and gallery owner. ‘This is
who I am.’ The objects in Mr.
Wolfe’s new house, designed by
noted architect Steven Ehrlich
and completed earlier this year,
are museum-quality finds from
around the globe.”
The article describes Diane
and Ernie’s new home; it’s
a great read, and when last
checked it was still available at
the Journal’s website.
Saturday, Nov. 14 saw John
Murray, Doug Herr, John Dier,
Gregg Peterson, Reg Pierce,
Tom George, Paul Tucker, Tom
Cesarz, Ernie Smith, Les Croland,
Paul Grogan, Wendy Hopkins,
Steve Kirkland, Bob Gordon,
John Brewer, Bob Schmitz, Jim
Kolesar, Paul Haklisch, Lew
Steele, David Webster and David
Farren in Williamstown for
homecoming and the formal
dedication of two photographic
memorials to our late classmate
Dave Shawan. (Sincere apologies
to any other classmates there
that day whose names are not
included above.) Also joining
the crowd was Diane Shawan
Luken, Dave’s sister. In recent
issues of the class notes, we’ve
reported about efforts led by
Dave’s teammates and others to
CL ASS
NOTES
commemorate the first “Spring
Street Walk” by the football
team after defeating Amherst
our senior year, in which Dave
played a key role. The commemorative materials are now
on permanent display at the St.
Pierre Barber Shop on Spring
Street and also at the Log. May
they bring much enjoyment to
’72ers and their families in the
years to come!
Many teammates and friends
have sent in written comments
about Dave, such as this one
from Bill Pinakiewicz, referring
to a memory of a football game
long ago: “I also distinctly
recollect Tank completely
pancaking a lineman from Tufts
on a trap play that sprung Eddie
D’Arata ’73 for a game-clinching
TD. Tank out-Jumboed the
Jumbos, big-time!” And so he
did.
(Co-Secretary Webster thinks
“jumbo” should be a verb in
standard English usage forevermore, and he hopes Pinky—and
these notes—will get the credit.
Oxford English Dictionary,
please take note.)
The gathering was really
quite glorious, although it still
remains somewhat unclear as
to which team ended up winning the football game. Several
great friends of the class took
part in some of the activities.
It was a delight to see Coach
Renzi Lamb, who reprised
one of his immortal pep talks
from the 1968 season and later
reminded attendees that “old
coaches never die … they get
their knees done.” His were
working well, and when a fire
alarm (the Williamstown F.D.
did indeed put in an appearance) abruptly emptied the
Log, no one could say that he
lagged behind. Jack Maitland
’70 phoned in his regards to
those attending the dedication
at the Log, a typically kind and
thoughtful gesture from a genuine All-American. Director of
Alumni Relations Brooks Foehl
’88 and Director of Athletics
Harry Sheehy ’75 were among
those who stopped by and were
especially helpful with various
arrangements.
The conversations went on
well into the evening, and as
always when members of this
class get together, the conversations were memorable and evocative, producing that feeling so
familiar to reunion attendees of
wishing that the night would
never end.
Such nights always do, but
the lesson is the obvious one:
Let’s stay in touch as much as
we can.
We are sorry to report that
Rex Krakauer is having to cope
with a debilitating illness and
has been in an assisted-care
facility in Kansas for the past
several months. Recent Class
of ’72 visitors have found his
beard tinged with gray but his
sense of humor lively and in full
flow and his spirit unconquerable. Please keep Rex in your
thoughts, and if you’d like to be
in touch, let Jerry Carlson know
at [email protected].
1973
Cole Werble
2540 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Apt. 204
Washington, DC 20008
[email protected]
Last time the musicians
chimed in with the most news
from ’73; this time the literati
are responding to write (sic) the
balance.
Heading the list is Paula
Butturini, who has a new book
out from Riverhead/Penguin
called Keeping the Feast. Paula
describes it as “a memoir that
traces the path of a single bullet
that upended my family’s life
as my husband (John Tagliabue
of The New York Times) and
I (former East European correspondent for the Chicago
Tribune) were reporting on
the fall of Communism in
1989.” The book deals with her
husband’s recovery from the
shock of being shot through the
sharing of meals with friends
in Italy and France. Paula
describes the book as having “a
lot to say to families suffering
from depression” and hopefully
“will raise awareness about
major depression and help to
do away with the secrecy that
normally surrounds it.” Critics
have enjoyed the feast, with one
NPR commentator calling it a
“remarkable story, gorgeously
told.” On her website, Paula
says that prior to her life as a
international correspondent she
stayed pretty close to her family
roots on the Connecticut coast.
She did not cross the Hudson
until turning 20—presumably
for her trip to Williamstown.
Shows the type of life changes
that a trip to the wilds of
Western Massachusetts can
engender.
James Fraser Darling says he
is embarking on a new form of
literary roaming after completing a novel on Ancient Rome:
a daily session of reading from
Virgil’s Aeneid “to keep my
brain active.” James received
a Christmas card admonition from W.H. “Bill” Henry
to improve his Latin, adding
that Bill is “an unretired Latin
teacher” but one who clearly
maintains very persuasive powers over his friends to get them
to wade back into the Aeneid
in its original form. James says
Bill is “a shining example of
the superiority of the ‘mores
maiorum’ to the contemporary
obsession with whatever is
new.” I wonder if he reads the
Aeneid in Latin on a Kindle.
Last time I reported thirdhand on a minireunion of our
class in August in Williamstown
at which the Ephs discussed the
meter of one of the introductory
speeches. If that doesn’t show
strong literary interests, what
does? For these notes, I received
a firsthand account of the minireunion, cleverly timed to take
advantage of the best weather in
late-summer Williamstown and
to coincide with the first time
40 years earlier that these Ephs
met as freshmen.
Mike Barry reports “a hardcore group of 12 members of
the class (plus many hangers on)
celebrated 40 years of friendship.” The event started at Sage
B and moved to a beautiful spot
just north of campus on Steep
Acres Farm, “where we took
over the place and acted like
we were 18 years old again.” In
addition to Michael, the revelers
were Tracy Brown, Nancy Doyne,
Fred Harris, Jamie James, Peter
Klejna, Sandy McGill, Charlotte
Neuville, Dan Schwartzman,
Michael Segell, Bill Teitler and
Craig Walker.
From Barbara Peck Rothrock,
a member of the literati at
Williams before succumbing to
a career in banking, comes a
note that shows that the urge to
write has great staying power.
In Barbara’s (aka Bobbie’s) case,
the passion to write has passed
to the next generation and her
Dickinson senior son (Philip)
who attended the Copenhagen
climate conference and was
“blogging up a storm.” Not
only does the writing urge
live on in the next generation,
Barbara’s description shows
how hard it is to eradicate completely that urge to metaphor.
Barbara reports that Bill
Walton also has progeny showing the dangerous trend toward
n 1 9 7 2 –7 4
writing for a living and that
Bill himself may be sliding back
down that path. His Williams
grad son Mac ’08, according to
Bill, “has been writing quite a
lot of music, songs and prose.
He just had a very short piece
published” on a website and
was planning a trip to Europe
based around “a number of
work for room and board
gigs in Denmark, Austria and
Greece.” Bill also reports taking
time from consulting on IT
management issues to doing
“a little writing” and “doing
some photography and trying
to get some of my older work
to be shown in a few mid-coast
galleries.”
Another example from the
literary progeny category comes
from Carole Youngman Prest,
whose daughter M.J. ’04 is living
in LA and is editor-in-chief of
Ethical Style, an online fashion
magazine. M.J. was married
in DC in October to Corey
Lanum. Among the Ephs in
attendance were Mike Stevens
and his wife Peggy. Carole
lives in Washington suburbs
and is chief strategy officer for
BELL, a national nonprofit
that provides free after-school
and summer tutoring to over
11,000 children. She also had
a Williams graduation last
summer. Her son Brian ’09
graduated before taking up the
dismal science of economics for
a career as an analyst in microeconomics at the Congressional
Budget Office, focusing on
the private sector impact of
mandates.
CBO is a challenging place to
start to a career. Ellen Werble,
my younger daughter (Wesleyan
’07, London School of
Economics ’08), also works at
CBO as a budget analyst in the
health care area—impeccable
timing if you want to crunch
numbers seven days a week for
18 months. My math is clearly
not of the level of Brian and
Ellen, but I calculate that the
Class of ’73 is responsible for
approaching 1 percent of the
calculating power of CBO.
Another 2009 Eph graduate,
care of the Class of ’73, was
Julia Nawrocki ’09, daughter
of Mercedes and Jay Nawrocki.
They have a second daughter,
Tina ’10, who is set to graduate
this year. But that doesn’t entail
a lot of travel by Jay back to
Williamstown. He is already
there, ensconced in a lovely
house overlooking Mount
Greylock and Five Corners. His
travel takes him not to his alma
mater but away from it. He and
Mercedes most recently spent
10 days in Paris in December.
After all the reports of Simonsightings by other classmates in
previous issues and comments
about his perpetual youthfulness, I tracked down Bill Simon
to get some direct news. His
friends had been reporting that
he looks the same as in 1973;
his current grueling regime of
athletic endeavors explains
why. “Trying to stay fit is getting tougher and tougher,” Bill
writes. Bill reports running in
the 2009 NYC Marathon with
Greg Zaff ’83 and planning to
climb Mount Kilimanjaro with
his wife Cindy and Jim Marver
’72. If it is getting tougher to
stay in shape for Bill, I can’t
imagine what his training
routine must have looked like a
decade ago.
From eastern Massachusetts
comes another report of an
amazing athletic feat: a holein-one by Marc Joyce. His golf
prowess was actually just an
aside in a report that he has
retired from local politics in
Holyoke, where he was on the
city council for 16 years and
is now devoting his full time
(when not acing the links)
to his day job of 23 years
with the commonwealth as
senior regional manager for
the department of industrial
accidents. He has moved from
Holyoke to Revere and is preparing to become a grandfather
to twins this spring.
Field Horne is demonstrating
the appropriateness of his name
and is taking to the pitch to
launch an “adult soccer camp
at St. Lawrence University this
July, offering skills, training
and fitness to anyone of 18.”
Somehow, I didn’t think I would
be reporting this type of news
about ’73 at this point in our
lives; but it is encouraging.
Another report of our ageless
class comes from Louisville,
where Joe Hamilton says he has
a 10-year-old daughter in fifth
grade and an 8-year-old son in
second grade. He took them
on a trip to Williamstown in
August last year, and the daughter fell in love with the Purple
Valley, “so maybe there is hope
for a legacy yet.” Joe practices
law at Stites & Harbison and
says he will be for quite some
time in the future with two
young children. He also has
two grown sons: one who is the
director of homelessness for the
city of Louisville and one who
is “busy writing music and performing with a band and solo.”
Tom Weed also has a teenage
daughter and was preparing to
bring her from Salt Lake City
on the de rigueur trip to the
nation’s capital in the spring.
Peter Harnik is tracking down
adult daughters in London
(Erika, a pediatric resident at
Whipps Cross Hospital and
Great Ormond Street Hospital)
and in Manhattan (Helena and
Marina). One of his daughters manages consultants for
hedge funds; the other has the
publishing bug and “organizes
the photos in your monthly
edition of Country Life.” With
his empty nest, Peter was free to
start a new career as “CIO of a
small Bermuda insurance company that specializes in buying
up businesses in run-off.” The
Bermuda part of that sentence
sounds important. Peter varies
his commute from intraGreenwich in Connecticut to a
few days a month in Bermuda
and a few days a month in
London.
I received several notes from
classmates who noticed the
obituary for the father of our
once and (hopefully) future
class secretary Sandy Read. The
depth of concern for a class
secretary is a touching and
admirable sentiment. In Sandy’s
case, it reflects how much she
did for her several decades in
this position to hold the class
together and how much of that
was appreciated by her classmates. Sandy also noted her
father’s passing in a short note
and said she is learning about
the arcane rules of probate and
developing an appreciation for
the importance of living trusts.
1974
Jonathan W. Fitch
5 Cedar Hill Road
Dover, MA 02030
[email protected]
Many thanks to Jeff Elliott
for putting together the 2009
edition of the Great Class of
1974 Holiday Luncheon at
the Williams Club in NYC.
Deb and I made a special trip
to join the record number
of revelers (and record head
count of Women of ’74) who
included: Mary Lou Boutwell,
John Buoymaster, Joan Cassman,
Tom Cohen, Joelle Delbourgo,
Fran Doran, Charles Dropkin,
Jim Edwards, Jeff Elliott, Margie
CL ASS
NOTES
Kessler French, Joanne Talbot
Ginsberg, Heidi Jerome, Jeff
Johnson, Bob Kaus, Ronnie
Krauss, Rich Levy, Skip March,
Chuck Mitchell, Janet Keyes
O’Connell, Bob Rothman, Bruce
Sheehan, Tom Slattery, McKelden
Smith, Grace Paine Terzian, Iris
Wolinsky, plus Betsy Howard
from Williams’ development
office. Jeff secured the Grille
Room for us and, after one of
us cleared up a misunderstanding with club personnel about
whether the full bar would be
open, the party officially began!
Jeff was as always a gracious
and entertaining master of ceremonies. He told us he’d consulted his Google maps to figure
our whether John Bouymaster
or Joan Cassman would receive
the “Long Distance Award”
and, as I recall, Joan took it by
inches, but they both got a big
round of applause. You might
think that this event presents
a perfect opportunity for your
class secretary to record a lot of
news. Well, not really. What I
can tell you is that we talked a
lot about our fabulous children
(granted, they are worrisome),
the so-so business climate, how
our jobs are going, how well we
all look (considering) and why
you weren’t there. Peter Talbert,
a last-minute no-show, was
blocks away cleaning out the
apartment he kept after moving
to Scottsdale. He had allowed
approximately 36 hours to get
his stuff out and attend the
closing—and squeeze in some
party time. We were able to see
Peter for an early dinner the
night before; Ronnie, Heidi and
Ed Ryan met him that evening to
drain the last bottles of Veuve
Clicquot with final toasts to his
lifelong presence in NYC.
News of other minireunions,
the staple of this column, are in.
David Maraghy writes, “Want
to report a wonderful surprise
‘reunion’ after 35 years! While
at Williams, a great friend was
Jack Batt, and we shared some
terrific times on the exchange
program at Vassar. He played
tennis and I played soccer for
‘the Big Pink’ teams at Vassar. I
followed Jack through alumni
info but had not seen him since
graduation. In November … he
contacted me out of the blue
because his talented and beautiful daughter Steph is a secondyear law student at University
of Richmond, about a mile from
where we live in Richmond, Va.
And he was coming to town. I
am happy to say Jack came in,
met my wife (Jenny) and family,
and then Jack, Steph, Jenny
and I had a fun dinner, where
tales of social life at Williams
probably embarrassed both
Jack and me! Jack even stayed
with us, extending the time we
could visit and laugh, like crazy.
What a wonderful time! Made
me want to reconnect with lots
of folks.”
Shortly after the new year,
Colette and Jack Dill were out
in California with daughters
Elizabeth ’07 and Molly (Trinity
’11). They started their sojourn
staying with Marnie and Ed
Moss in LA. I’m not exactly sure
what happened there, but when
Jack told me about the visit he
kept chuckling and telling me
what great people Marnie and
Ed are. (We know that.) The
Dills’ drive up the coast was
eventful: Their car narrowly
avoided a mudslide on the road
in Big Sur but later succumbed
to a flat tire at night in the
rain. Otherwise, Jack says, the
trip up SR1 to San Francisco,
with stops in San Simeon and
Monterey, was a pleasure. And
from Ed Moss: “News other
than great visit with Dills was
lunch … with Orange Countybased college professor Chuck
Zellerbach. Otherwise I’m making lots of trips to the Northeast
for partner meetings in NYC
and two sons at New England
schools. Doug Astry was in
Boston for a conference, and we
met for a late-afternoon beer
at the Parker House between
his meetings. Doug very much
enjoys his work as an executive at SurModics, a biomedical technology company. Mark
Brown writes that he and Hope
(Coolidge) ’75 have moved back
to Sherborn, Mass., from NYC,
where Mark established an
office for Simpson Gumpertz
& Heger, a company involved
in engineering of structures
and building enclosures. Mark
is back at SGH’s main office
in Waltham and works as an
expert in a number of areas,
including construction defects
litigation.”
Great to hear from Bill
Holman, who writes, “The
temperature in Birmingham will
remain consistently below freezing this week, and of course
my thoughts return to the
Northeast and how winter was
no problem at Williams. It helps
to be young. Everyone here in
Alabama is complaining about
the cold and worrying about the
big snow (2 inches) predicted
for Thursday. Lines are already
forming for milk and bread.
Beer will also be an important
item for the big game Thursday
night (Alabama-Texas). My
family and I are well. My oldest
daughter graduates from college
this May and the youngest one
turns 21 this month. How the
time flies. My wife Linda stays
busy with the horses, and I
am still working as a cardiothoracic surgeon at UAB and
the Birmingham VA. The Wall
Street Journal had a feature
article … on ventricular assist
devices (VADs—chronically
implanted blood pumps to
assist the heart). They were my
assignment at the start of my
career, and VADs finally made
the big time! It is gratifying but
pretty labor intensive work.
I heard briefly from several
class members in 2009, and
one of my resolutions this year
is to follow up. It was inspiring to hear the news from the
reunion!”
A dispatch from one of our
class geologists, Don White,
reports recent adventures with
his partner Loretta Hopman:
“It has been forever and an age
since we were in the Northeast.
Living in central Utah and
working wherever metals exploration takes us generally preempts getting back to your part
of the world or Williamstown,
darn it. That makes the news
you compile from those parts all
the more special to us, thanks.
Loretta is a retired Montessori
school teacher (17 years in
Male, Maldives, and 17 more in
Ontario, Canada) who loves to
accompany me on my projects.
We have had some good ones
and some more difficult ones of
recent years.” Loretta was to
accompany Don to Argentina.
They expected to “explore
as tourists in and around the
central cities of Mendoza and
San Juan and then drive south
all the way to Santa Cruz,
the southernmost province of
Patagonia and bordering the
Strait of Magellan. Gold targets
there have offered me several
man years of work over the
last 17 years. It is a windswept,
barren and beautiful part of
the world. Very rural, and the
sheep station caretakers—about
the only humans we come
across from time to time—are
friendly and fit the image of the
famous ‘gauchos’ of better than
a century ago. The outgoing
ones will slaughter a sheep or
a goat, cook it on the parilla
n 1 9 7 4 –7 5
Jeff Thaler ’74 (center) runs a Winter Study program in Portland, Maine,
in which students live with immigrant families and tutor public school
children learning to speak English. Also pictured (from left) Jenny
Coronel ’10, Emily Schwab ’12, Jason Rapaport ’11, Natalie Davis ’12,
Bianca Martinez ’12 and Jordan Freking ’12.
and down it straight off the
fire, with just vino tinto and
bread. Scrumptious. We made
substantial progress this past
year on renovating a little
bungalow next door to our
old stone house. Our plan is to
move next door soon and then
seriously remodel and restore
the antebellum (1858) frontier
farm house. Progress last year
implies no mineral exploration
work. Now, with exploration
work, the house goes on hold.
Hence it is a process that could
go on for quite a while. We
invite any classmates … to come
see. Beware, if you are skilled at
electrical, plumbing, carpentry,
masonry or plastering, you may
get recruited. We fit in with our
dominantly Mormon neighbors
by similarly keeping a backyard
veggie garden and fruit trees
and doing lots of home canning.
We differ from them by importing our own booze every time
we go out of state. So take note,
visitors, BYOB! This is the area
of a half dozen major National
Parks that everyone ought to see
in their lives. So come see Zion,
Grand Canyon, Bryce, Capitol
Reef, Arches, Canyonlands and
other wonders, and us too.”
Inspired by his experience in
the Williams-at-Home program,
for the last several years Jeff
Thaler organized a Winter Study
project in Portland, Maine, in
which Williams students live
with immigrant families. Jeff
sent me a long article from the
Portland Press Herald about
experiences of the six students
who this year lived with refugee
and immigrant families who
are Congolese, Cambodian,
Somali and Latin American. In
the day, the Williams students
work with children who are
learning to speak English in
Portland’s public schools. The
Press Herald story reports the
experiences of Jason Rapaport
’11, “who is living with Nkulu
and his family. Rapaport’s stay
is part of a unique … program,
started by a Portland lawyer,
that offers firsthand knowledge of the modern immigrant
experience. Nkulu, 39, is a
former veterinarian who hails
from Lubumbashi, a city of
1.3 million people in the wartorn Democratic Republic of
the Congo. He was jailed and
sentenced to death for opposing the ruling party and came
to Portland in 2007 seeking
political asylum. Rapaport, 20,
grew up on a 2,000-acre cattle
ranch in Big Timber, a onestreet town on the southeastern
plains of Montana. A junior
history major, he has already
been accepted to medical school
and plans to study international health care. As different as the two men are, they
have found similarities in the
ways that their families came
to this country. Rapaport is
Jewish—the first Jewish person
that Nkulu, a devout Christian,
has ever met. Rapaport’s
grandparents fled Germany
during the Holocaust. They
came to the United States with
nothing and settled in Kansas
City, Mo. ‘They had to build
themselves up from square
one,’ Rapaport said. ‘So, we’re
both relative newcomers to
this country, and we both want
to make America a stronger
place.’ With the Nkulu family,
Jason Rapaport has enjoyed
far-ranging conversations about
religion, culture and politics.
They have exchanged traditional prayers and shared meals.
They introduced him to tilapia
and cassava. Rapaport showed
them how to make spaghetti
and tuna salad sandwiches.
Alain and Mireille Nkulu have
shared intimate details of their
lives, including how they left
two children, now 9 and 11,
with family members in the
Congo. Alain, who works as a
janitor at Idexx in Westbrook
[was to have] a residency hearing in Boston … [and hoped]
to win the right to bring his
children here soon and resume
a career in veterinary medicine.
They have a third child, Mercy,
a rambunctious boy born here
20 months ago, and Mireille
was due to give birth to another
boy in February. They plan[ned]
to name him Ashael, which is
Hebrew for ‘Made by God.’
They also plan to maintain a
friendship with Rapaport after
he returns to college. ‘It is really
wonderful to have Jason in our
home,’ Alain Nkulu said. ‘He is
an intelligent young man, and
it is a privilege to have someone
from his tribe in our home.’”
Hats off to Jeff for providing
this extraordinary opportunity
for undergrads; we’re proud to
have him in our tribe.
Finally, don’t forget to attend
your 40th high school reunion
this spring. Have a blast. And if
anyone says, “You’ve changed”
or “You look different” or
“Who would have thought?”
don’t believe them!
1975
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Allan Ruchman
8 Dandy Drive
Cos Cob, CT 06807
[email protected]
Greetings to all! Barbara
(Allen) Austell reports in for
her and Rhett: “In September
we took the cross-country
camping trip we’d agreed to
do upon retiring. Rented a
24-foot trailer and towed it
behind our Ford pickup truck,
spending a month (with our
black lab Lilly) going around
CL ASS
NOTES
the U.S. One month got us as
far as the Texas Hill Country
via Missouri and the Ozarks,
returning along the Nachez
Trace through Mississippi,
Tennessee and Kentucky. Visited
several Civil War battlefields
and stayed mostly in great state
parks. … Rhett and children
Kate ’03 and Rhett ran the Paris
Marathon earlier in the year. I
made it about nine miles across
Paris and then took the Metro
back to the finish line to await
the three finishers. We are now
training for the Oakland, Calif.,
Marathon in late March.”
The “big tent” of our class
includes Ted Coates, who
kindly responded to my call
for news. “I was not originally
of your class (started with
’74). Sadly, I did not graduate
with your class either. But for
a short year, I matriculated
with you all and knew some
good folks. So if you want
to include something from a
sojourner, I retired from the
Coast Guard 10 years ago and
have been running nonprofits
ever since. Currently on my
third, as executive director of
the Malden, Mass., Chamber
of Commerce. I am married to
Martha Klingbeil (Smith ’76)
and live in Chelsea, Mass.”
Wendy Gradison is “still CEO
of PRS Inc., a nonprofit working with adults in recovery
from mental illness in Northern
Virginia. Daughter Lindsay
graduated from UVA last
spring. Son Avery is a senior
at Elon in NC. Husband Lee
Goldman continues his practice
as a psychologist. We are likely
to be a few years from grandparenthood so we got a puppy.
Whatever were we thinking?”
From Bobby Kittridge we
hear that, “besides finding
religion and squaring up my
golf movements, not much new
in cold (26 degrees Fahrenheit)
France.”
Reliable contributor Chuck
Chokel checks in. “This was the
first year of my life where the
ambition of having simultaneous good health, enough money
to do whatever we wanted and
enough free time came together.
We hope there are many more.”
Chuck reports traveling to
many places around the country
and Europe throughout the
year, taking up skiing again
after eight years and continuing
his blistering schedule of triathlons. “These races really make
you feel alive, with the blood
flowing inside and so many
Paul Nelson ’76 (left) and Tom Villanova ’75 enjoyed Homecoming
Weekend together last fall.
friends to enjoy the good times
with. But there was a feeling
of too much of a good thing.
Next year we are planning to
do fewer races with no Ironman
distance events to save ourselves
many hours of training.”
Global citizen Dean Cycon
reports, “In a world awash with
the detritus of greed and unethical behavior, we have managed
to stay afloat and grow nicely
at Dean’s Beans. New community based programs in Kenya
(organics, fair trade coffee and
women’s shrimp farming), a
small scale economic project
with Somali refugee women
right here in Massachusetts
creating reusable grocery totes
from our burlap coffee bags,
a wonderful day care center
and café in Northern Peru
(where I will be fishing in the
Amazon in late January!) and
the first direct trade relationship
with East Timor. … So things
continue to be pretty hectic,
totally fulfilling and darned
interesting.”
Claire Blum hopes to come the
35th reunion. “I would very
much like to go and catch up
on long-lost classmates. I have
to brace myself for the college
hunting rounds with my high
school junior. She wants a
school with a proper marching
band, so Williams isn’t on the
list. I want to take my other
daughter—she might like the
school more. I am continuing
my work on a health/wellness
committee for my town, which
is getting ready for a tercentennial. We write grants and
initiatives to improve health
and nutrition throughout the
community.”
Mike Rosten continues to wear
two hats as both a real estate
lawyer and broker in Fairfield,
Conn. Over lunch at a local
barbecue joint, Mike shared
with me the joys and pleasures
of spending time with his
grandchildren.
From the Rocky Mountain
state, Ben Duke updates us: “I
have just started a new position as deputy director of the
Colorado Conservation Trust, an
organization that through funding and programs supports the 39
land trusts in Colorado. Two kids
in college, both in Washington
College in Chestertown, Md. A
lot like Williams. Son Benjy is a
senior, and daughter Rettie is a
freshman. Laurie and I continue
to stay out of trouble managing
our ranch in Elizabeth, Colo.,
especially now that the ranch
hands are in college. We raise
cattle and have a few sheep and
chickens.”
Lisa Harris wrote: “Last
August, I celebrated a milestone for my business, Lisa
Harris Gallery. We hosted a
25th anniversary dinner in
the SoDo District of Seattle.
Besides many clients of the gallery and family, 27 artists past
and present joined us for reminiscing, a corporate slideshow
and scrumptious local food. I
figure that an event of this scale
stands in for my next decade
birthday, or at a minimum
provides a dress rehearsal for
any wedding in the future. Tess
is a junior majoring in chemistry at Skidmore. Hannah,
a senior in high school, is
presently auditioning for B.F.A.
and conservatory programs
in dance. My husband David
n 1 9 7 5 –7 6
Wendel reinvented himself this
past year and is now working
in property management.”
An urgent message from
Charlie Selcer “to all those
macho men out there that
would service their cars more
often than their bodies: I was
150 pounds and wanted to
get to 135. So I altered my
diet, started drinking tons of
water and continued to stay
quite active. Got to 135, then
130, then 125, then 120, or
6 pounds below my Williams
wrestling weight, and didn’t
think anything. Was thirsty
all the time and was going
to the can every minute but
just thought I was an old
dude with a prostate issue.
Then in late August I had a
tennis match against a good
player but someone I should
be competitive with. He killed
me … because I could not see
the ball off his racquet. So I
finally went to the doc on 9/25
to find out I have been diabetic
for probably three years. My
A1C was 17. You doctors out
there know what that means.
I was told that had I not gone
in that day I would have been
dead by 11/1. All is well now
after four shots of insulin
each day, and I am trending
upward. Please, please, please
get your annual physicals! Will
see you all at the reunion in
good health!”
A nice note from Andrea Diehl
year there (second time for
them, having lived there in
1998-99). “Sam is in the seventh grade at Western Academy
of Beijing. Susan’s jewelry
business continues to thrive; she
makes regular trips to the U.S.
for sales. I am involved with
real estate investments with a
partner based in HK and am
also chair of the board of WAB
(Sam’s school). Look forward
to seeing classmates or their
children when they come to
China.”
Loyal correspondent Mike
Watkins and Ellin Goetz ’76
report being in touch with a
number of classmates including
Peter Keller, Bruce Humphrey,
Tony Kroker, Donny Allison ’74,
Jan Goldman-Carter ’76 and
Mark Carter ’76.
Scott Lutrey from the U.K.
writes: “Ellen and I are
back in Harrogate, North
Yorkshire, England—our second posting here courtesy of
the U.S. government. We must
have set a record for helicopter
parenting as we moved here
a month before our younger
child arrived for a year at the
University of Reading. She is
now back at Randolph College
in Virginia and will graduate
this spring. Joanne and Paul
Skudder stayed with us when
visiting their youngest, abroad
at York St. John’s University
for a semester. Following torn
cartilage and arthroscopic
1976
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
In November David Terkla ’75 received a President’s Public Service award
from the University of Massachusetts, presented to university faculty for
providing exemplary service to the commonwealth. Terkla, a professor
of economics and environmental, earth and ocean sciences at UMassBoston, was recognized for identifying new industry clusters and their
influence on local economy, for transportation planning that helped initiate policy changes and for his work in fisheries and ocean management.
reports that she got together
with Julie Berens at Melinda
(Rathstetter) Hamilton’s house
on Lake Champlain on New
Year’s Day and spent a couple
of lively hours getting caught
up. “I’ve started my own business, iDeihl Communications
Inc., which is thriving.
Otherwise, still living the good
life in Vermont—looking out
at a foot-and-a-half of pristine
snow that’s just waiting for me
to ski it.”
Chris Alberti sends greetings
from Beijing. Wife Susan, son
Sam and he are in their third
an apartment in Center City
Philly to see how we like urban
living.”
Another classmate on the
move is Jeff Jacobs. “I recently
moved from DC to Richmond,
where I am continuing my
litigation support (electronic
discovery) consulting work and
looking forward to connecting
with Richmond-area alumni.
My daughter Catherine graduated from Drew University last
spring and is now working
for a defense contractor in
Northern Virginia. My son
Brian just finished his first
semester at West Point, which
he enjoyed immensely (go
figure!). I’m looking forward to
our upcoming class reunion.”
Just as I was sending in my
notes, a welcome note from
Lawrence Choy came in, sent
from his iPhone. Lawrence is a
doctor of internal medicine in
Queens, N.Y. He was attending
a Mark Taylor book reading at
the Williams Club in December
and came to the aid of a woman
who had fainted in the hot and
crowded room. Lawrence also
recounts that Prof. Taylor recognized him from 1973! He also
ran into Mike Glier at the event.
The class officers and the
reunion planning committee
are hard at work getting ready
for the big 35th gathering. I am
planning on being there, and I
hope to see you then. That’s all
for now, folks. Be well.
surgery, my running days look
to be over, though I’m holding
off the knee replacement as
yet.”
Suzanne Fluhr and Steve
Albelda say that they are sorry
that they will miss reunion
this year because of a conflicting family event in Chicago.
“Our news: Our younger son
graduates from the University
of Miami in May. As empty
nesters (except for the dog),
we have signed an agreement
of sale for our ‘this old house’
in a Philadelphia suburb. The
plan is to downsize and rent
Jane Ray Kell
4 Springlake Place, NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
Laurie Taylor
435 Grove St.
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
[email protected]
Hello, classmates. We hope
this column finds you well.
We were happy to hear from
so many of you last winter. It
seems that many of us managed
to get together during 2009, a
phenomenon we hope bodes
well for attendance at our 35th
reunion. Quite a few of us with
children at Williams or other
reasons to visit were back on
campus last year. Others managed to meet up while traveling
or attending extended-family
events.
The last year has been an
interesting one for me (Jane)
as I have made a transition
from database marketing into
CL ASS
NOTES
the newer discipline of web
analytics while remaining with
Delta Air Lines, my employer
of nearly 28 years. It has been
a refreshing change, and I’m
enjoying meeting people from
other corporations in Atlanta
who are trying to figure it out as
well. I’ve stayed busy with our
local Atlanta Williams alumni
association, which gathered
in November to watch the
Williams-Amherst football telecast and again in January when
Interim President Bill Wagner
was in town. My husband Kevin
recently was named chairman
of the board of visitors of his
alma mater Emory University,
and after many years of Kevin’s
supporting my engagement
with Williams it’s now my turn
to play the role of “Emory
spouse.”
Laurie finds herself newly
retired, as she accepted a buyout
offer from Keyspan Energy
when it was acquired by British
company National Grid. “It’s
been 17 days, and honestly life
is way too quiet,” she wrote.
“My girls are in college. The
oldest is a senior at Delaware
State University, majoring in
sports management and playing Div. I softball as starting
shortstop. My youngest is a
sophomore at Univ. of South
Carolina, where she is majoring
in accounting and playing club
field hockey. I am giving myself
a little time to figure what’s
next, and I am open to any and
all suggestions.”
Darrilynne (DeeDee) ArnelleMazyck enjoyed a “mini
Ephwomen reunion” last May
when her goddaughter Jadine
Johnson, Stephanie BrownJohnson’s daughter, graduated
from Georgetown Law School.
DeeDee and husband Bernie
hosted a graduation reception
at their home in Columbia,
Md., and it was attended by
Stephanie and Gloria Mobley,
who also lives in the DC area.
Later that night, DeeDee’s son
Nick took Stephanie’s youngest
daughter Keilah to his senior
prom at St. Paul’s School in
Brooklandville, Md., and in
June, Stephanie and Keilah
came back from Atlanta for
Nick’s graduation. Also attending the graduation party were
Linda Dorsey-Walker and her
daughter Lauren. Linda writes a
column for the Baltimore Afro
American, and Laurie is a lawyer with the public defender’s
office. Nick is a freshman at
Gettysburg College.
Darrilynne Arnelle-Mazyck ’76 (center) hosted a reception in May for her
goddaughter Janine Johnson, a new graduate of Georgetown Law. Among
the attendees were Janine’s mother Stephanie Brown-Johnson ’76 (left)
and Linda Dorsey Walker ’76.
Among those turning out
for the October tailgate on
Weston Field were Debbie and
Paul Nelson, Jim Trapp, Vinny
McLoughlin, Steve Hein, Bruce
Entwistle, Dan Yeadon, Norm
Wikner, Susie Montgomery, Chris
Suhonen and family, Jody Hale
Norton and a “cast of characters” from the classes of 1974
and 1975. After taking in the
game, the group continued on
to the Log for further refreshments and then on to the 1896
House for dinner. “A great time
was had by all,” writes Debbie,
“and the football team accommodated us with a nice win
over Bates! This coming year
we will likely change the date to
Homecoming Weekend in hopes
of enticing a few more folks to
come back in anticipation of
our 35th reunion in June 2011.”
Doug Hollett and wife Pam
Melroy experienced several
changes in 2009. “Son Ryan
was married in September and
is finishing grad school at Univ.
of New Hampshire, while his
brother Reed is applying to grad
schools with a plan to combine
teaching and neuroscience,”
writes Doug. Pam, an astronaut
and former branch chief at
NASA, changed jobs last fall
after 14 years with the agency,
including three shuttle missions.
She now is director and program manager with Lockheed
Martin and remains a board
member at Wellesley College.
Doug has been building a new
set of businesses in Europe,
focused on Poland, where his
company will start natural gas
exploration this year. Doug and
Pam are considering purchasing
some land back in New England
but are finding that “narrowing
the search even with a pretty
firm set of criteria is difficult.
So who knows, we may make
a move back (from Houston,
Texas) one of these days.”
Chris Ives finished a book on
ethical issues surrounding Zen
nationalism during WWII and,
inspired by the climate crisis, is
focusing his research and teaching on Buddhism and environmental ethics. Chris’ wife Mishy
is an educator who collaborates
with nonprofits on transformational leadership development.
They “get out into the surf and
up into the mountains as much
as possible,” writes Chris, who
notes that the physical exercise
helps him “deal with the recurring, mysterious phenomenon
of my pants getting tighter.”
Chris is chair, Department of
Religious Studies, at Stonehill
College in Easton, Mass., where
he has been for the past eight
years. He is glad to be back on
the East Coast near family after
living in Japan and on the West
Coast for 25 years.
Also studying issues around
climate change is Mark Carter,
who is looking to apply his
business skills to “make a
contribution toward a more
environmentally sustainable
economy.” Mark and wife Jan
Goldman-Carter live in DC,
where Jan is wetlands and
water resource counsel for the
National Wildlife Foundation.
Mark and Jan traveled to Napa
Valley last summer to see son
Phil and girlfriend KK Kreig,
n 1976
Jan Goldman-Carter ’76 (left) and her husband Mark ’76 (center), with
(from left) sons Nat and Phil ’08 and KK Krieg ’08, vacationed in Napa
Valley last summer.
both ’08, who are working for
Bain in San Francisco. They
also had visits from Claire
Taylor-Sherman, husband Doug
and son Jake during the summer and from Cappy Hill in
December when Cappy came
to DC on Vassar business.
Jan had the pleasure of seeing
Claire a second time while in
St. Paul, Minn., on business in
September.
Susan and George Evans made
a radical change in 2009, giving up their home of 27 years
in Pelham, N.Y., to move to
Bradenton, Fla. “We spent a
total of 81 days in Pelham in
2009,” writes Susan, “so while it
was a tough emotional decision
it was a pretty easy financial
decision.” They plan to spend
November to May in Florida
and the remaining time in Essex,
Mass. Meanwhile son George
’04 graduated from Emory Law
School in May 2009, passed the
New York bar and accepted a
position with Goodwin Proctor
in NYC. Encouraged along with
other associates to delay his
start by one year, he is working for Achievement First in the
city. Younger son Tim ’06 is in
Brooklyn, where he is working
for a startup called the Brooklyn
Brew Shop.
Janey and Jim Ware have
moved to a new home in
Long Grove, Ill., in the same
neighborhood as their old one.
“Reflecting the global mood of
caution, we just moved a few
hundred yards,” quips Jim. “We
figured if we could still see our
old house from the front porch
of the new house, we were
safe.” Jim continues to lead
Focus Group Consulting and
Janey to work in HR at Baxter.
Daughters Alexandra and
Nicole are 8 and 7, respectively.
Jim teamed up with longtime
music partner Mike Topel for
a jam session at his annual
holiday party. The duo’s 1980s
album, which includes two
top-100 Billboard songs, is
available on iTunes by searching
“Topel and Ware.”
Tom and Connie McEvoy
reported seeing Cynthia ’77 and
Scott Schumacker at a reception for their son Alec and his
fiancée Jane, both ’08, who will
be married in Hawaii this June.
They also saw Bob Murphy and
Fred Dittman ’75 at the WilliamsAmherst football game telecast
in Malvern, Pa. “Bob looked like
he could still play for the Ephs,
and maybe he could have helped
them this year!” writes Tom. A
star with the Philadelphia-area
Gilbert & Sullivan company,
Fred reportedly creates a stir
when he “goes out for drinks
after a show, his makeup not
completely removed.” Connie
works as a college counselor
at the Agnes Irwin School
near Villanova, Pa., and runs
an annual seminar for college
counselors where they role play
critical experiences. Tom continues to build precast concrete
buildings and recently completed
new stadiums for the Mets
and the Giants. “While we are
excited about this at the High
Concrete Group,” he jokes,
“both teams have performed
terribly with their new digs.”
Son David is an engineer for
Exxon, and daughter May-Lin is
a sophomore at Connie’s school,
juggling schoolwork with her
gymnastics schedule.
Alex Rosten was headed
to Williamstown in January
with wife Susana and ninthgrade daughter Amy to meet
Sunny and Steve Piltch ’77 at
the Williams-Bates basketball
games. “The games really are
our excuse to gather with our
respective Williams’ students,”
writes Alex, whose children
James ’13 and Rachel ’10 are
at the College with Matt Piltch
’12. Alex’s daughter Jessica
’08 planned to drive over from
Southborough, Mass., where
she is teaching at the Fay
School, and Alex’s twin brother
Mike ’75 and wife Margie
planned to join the group as
well. “Mike was one of Steve’s
JAs many, many years ago,”
adds Alex. “Those 36-plus years
since I first met Steve have flown
by far too quickly!” Alex and
Susana live in Fairfield, Conn.,
where he has been a portfolio
manager in the wealth management and trust department at
People’s United Bank for the
last 20 years. He hopes that
youngest daughter Amy will be
a member of the Class of 2018
so he will “have a good excuse
to visit the College for at least
another eight years.”
“Our son was home on
break from college and said,
‘I know you’re still with Endo
Pharmaceuticals, but you took
a new job. What exactly is it
you do?’” writes Heather Neal
Thomson. “I replied, ‘I now
work with health insurance
companies and other payers
generating data on health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics.’” Finding the explanation
too long, her son, a composition
major at the School of Music
at Ithaca College, asked her
to pare it down to two words.
“Health economist,” she said,
then started to laugh, “because
when I was on the science quad
at Williams, Jim Gilliland and
Joe Singer took me on as a
‘Pygmalion project’ to prove
that a biology major could
be tutored into doing well in
Economics 101. And now I are
one.”
SENDPHOTOS
W
Williamstown, Mass. 012670676. High-quality
williams.edu.
CL ASS
NOTES
Barbara Morrisey and Susan
Collier Collings enjoyed a
reunion in San Francisco in
January while Susan was visiting on business. The two met
at the California Palace of the
Legion of Honor and caught
up while touring the “Cartier
and America” exhibition “and
deciding which tiara we’d wear
to our next Williams reunion—
NOT!” According to Barbara,
Susan made the most of her trip
by going on walking tours, visiting museums and seeing friends,
including Mary Cronopulos
Raz, while she was between
meetings. “Like many others,
I’m currently between jobs
but at no loss for activities to
keep me busy,” Barbara added.
“Aside from frequent visits to
art museums, I’ve had time to
put on a high school reunion,
brush up on my photographic
technique, complete various
creative projects and take Tai
Chi lessons. I’ve also done more
genealogical research with my
mom and discovered deep roots
in New England, including a
couple of American Revolution
patriots.” Barbara also managed
to catch up with “the everyouthful” Stephen Clarke over
lunch during the summer.
1977
Daiva (Garbus) Gasperetti
401 East 74th St. #5C
New York, NY 10021
[email protected]
Greetings, fellow ’77 classmates! Spring will be upon us
when you receive these notes,
and that means new, fresh and,
hopefully, delightful opportunities lie ahead.
Last fall, Dennis O’Shea
sent an article about Jeffrey
Boscamp, the Marvin I. Gottlieb
Ph.D. chairman and physicianin-chief of the Joseph M.
Sanzari Children’s Hospital at
Hackensack University Medical
Center in New Jersey. Jeff is a
renowned expert in pediatric
infectious diseases and joined
then-Gov. Jon Corzine to
announce an aggressive initiative to prepare for outbreaks
of the H1N1 influenza. “Noah
built the ark long before it was
raining, and New Jersey has put
together a comprehensive plan,
building the ark over time, in
order to prepare for influenza,”
said Dr. Boscamp. “We are
prepared, we have tracked it,
and everything is pointing to
excellent preparedness because
of the infrastructure that has
been built by the governor’s
and commissioner of health’s
tremendous leadership efforts.”
Don’t we all feel safer knowing
Jeff’s leading the charge?
When he’s not being quoted
by Bloomberg news for his
“buy” and “sell” ratings, Joel
Scheiman enjoys receiving
entertaining text messages from
his daughter, a student teacher,
who shares the antics of her
fifth-grade class. Anne recently
sent Joel a sample of one
student’s lyrical poem: “I am
greatful (sic) for nature. She is a
gentle green goddess who hails
the water bearing clouds, which
float lazily in the sky. Wherever
she strides, her beauty and radiance outshine the sun’s glittering
rays. Her voice a soft blend of
birdsong and thunder fills us
with its melancholy sweetness.”
The poster would have been put
on display with other worthy
poetry, if only it hadn’t been
covered over and over with the
sentiment “Jane is weird.” Ah,
fifth grade…
During the winter months,
Roger Wilson is giving his bike a
rest and his skis a workout! He
and his wife were eager to greet
their son home from the Army
in February. Work-wise, Roger
finds the media business to be in
a very exciting and scary stage
of rapid innovation and change.
His wife continues to work as a
career counselor at MIT.
Our class prez Patty Thomsson
says she has nothing of import
to offer us in the way of news,
but it’s always great to get an
e-mail from her, nonetheless!
Carol (Soybel) Bartges, Nina
Girvetz and Alexandra Neil (aka
Dianne Thompson) all wrote
about a lovely fundraising
event in NYC last November
for the nonprofit organization
Mothers2Mothers, which was
founded by Mitch Besser ’76 and
Gene Falk ’75. The organization trains local HIV-positive
mothers to educate and inform
women throughout South
Africa to protect themselves and
their children from this terrible
disease. Go to www.m2m.org
to check out this amazing work.
Numerous Williams folks avidly
support the foundation: Martha
Williamson speaks at sponsoring
events all over the country, and
Nina Girvetz raises funds from
LA. Attendees in November
included Bill Driscoll ’76, Simon
Watson, Clarence Young with his
wife Wendy, David Koenigsberg
and Polly Wood ’75. Musical
entertainment for the gathering
was magnificently provided by
Michael Winther ’85 and Greg
Pliska ’84.
Carol (Soybel) Bartges continues to teach high school English
at the Rudolf Steiner School in
NYC and now represents the
Association of Waldorf Schools
of North America on a national
level. She is the chair of the
Mid-Atlantic region of Waldorf
schools and mentors pioneer
school initiatives, holds regional
meetings and plans national
education conferences. She
claims to “have the most boring
biography,” but I must disagree!
Carol was invited to present
a paper at the International
Conference on Romanticism,
where she spoke on Rousseau
and the Urban Landscape.
Having interrupted her PhD
dissertation some 20 years ago,
she resumed her doctoral studies
in comp lit two years ago and
is trying desperately to finish
before she’s a grandmother!
Both of her children graduated from college—Max from
Berklee with a degree in music
composition and technology,
Sarah from Columbia University
with a degree in environmental
policy. “It’s so much fun to have
two adult children who are now
living nearby—in Brooklyn and
the Bronx—doing wonderful
things that they love. Max has
a band and is playing at various
venues in New York. He makes
more money as a bartender
than I do, I suspect, education
being what it is. Sarah is teaching environmental science at a
charter school uptown called
the Columbia School for Science
and Technology. Last spring she
was honored with the award
for most distinguished student
in Columbia’s environmental
science department.”
Carol’s niece Anna Soybel
’11 is left to carry on with
the family’s involvement in
purple and gold. Anna’s mother
Ginny Earll Soybel ’79 lives in
Boston. Her father, Carol’s
brother Tom Soybel ’79, passed
away in January. Anna is an
ardent member of the Williams
crew team and is majoring in
mathematics.
Charles D. Haines Jr. was
married on Dec. 5. The wedding was attended by Topper
Webb, Tim Belk, Ramsay and
Holly Stabler, David Hardin and
Dudley Tyler. Charlie also wrote
that his son Kent appeared on
Comedy Central in November.
His degree in economics from
n 1 9 7 6 –7 8
Brown combined with recent
world events seem to have
inspired him to pursue a career
in comedy.
Kirk Kramer continues his
work at Bridgespan, a nonprofit management consulting
firm, while wife Kate (junior
exchange student from Smith),
works at Genzyme Genetics, a
commercial testing lab. They
enjoyed an eight-week sabbatical in 2009, traveling to
Hawaii and the Western U.S.
Their eldest son John works
at Frontier Science, where he
helps set up the research and
computer programming needed
to analyze cancer trial results.
Son Tom ’03 is a second-year
medical student at UMASS
in Worcester, cooks gourmet
food and is on the admissions
committee at UMASS medical
school. A junior at Columbia
University, their daughter Anne
is majoring in evolution of the
human species while continuing
her Chinese studies.
Rick Bartlett sent greetings
from Pennsylvania, where
he is still an OB-GYN but
left private practice in 2009
to become an instructor in a
20-resident OB-GYN training
program. His 25-year-old son
(and Cornell grad) Henry works
for Bloomberg Financial in
Manhattan and plays lacrosse
for the New York Athletic
Club. Lincoln, 23, graduated
from Penn State last year and
currently works in the asset
management division of JP
Morgan Bank in Newark, Del.
Daughter Emily, 21, is a senior
at the College of William and
Mary and is to graduate in May
with a teaching degree. Rick
stays in touch with Art Wilk, Tim
Dunn and Hoddy Peck.
As for your class secretary,
Daiva Gasperetti is working like
mad and looked forward to a
short break in February when
she and daughter Margot were
to fly to California to visit son
Joe, a freshman at Stanford.
Remember to drop me a note so
I can update fellow classmates
on your latest news.
1978
Jeff “J” DeLisle
538 Bloomingrove Drive
Rensselaer, NY 12144
[email protected]
Not too much snow this year
in the PV, but it’s been cold as
ever. As tomorrow I have to
catch a plane to warmer climes
(conference in Tucson), I wasn’t
disappointed that my last
solicitation brought in less than
the usual amount of classmate
updates, though of high quality.
Mario Chiappetti writes that
his work responsibilities take
him to Manhattan, where
he spends Monday through
Thursday, and then he returns
to his home in Simsbury, Conn.,
on Friday through the weekend.
While in New York he stays at
the Williams Club and not infrequently encounters classmates,
including Charlie Sanders, who
serves on its board of directors,
and his wife Barbara Sanders
’79. Barbara described how she
organized some dinners for the
Class of ’79 at the club, and
Mario is thinking of copying the
idea as a way for the Class of
1978 to stay in touch between
reunions.
Mario and several others of
the Class of 1978 had a minireunion outside of Philadelphia
in October that was hosted
by Tom Balderston. Joining
Mario and Tom were local
Pete Unger and, from far and
wide, John Bessone, Bill Miller,
Bill Whelan, Danny O’Connor,
Gary Petrosino and Mike Bernay.
Bravely, Baldy invited them all
to play a number of rounds at
his club, Merion, which has
hosted the U.S. Open. Petro had
a difficult week since he had
sustained unspecified injuries at
a Chubb golf event at Pinehurst
earlier in the week. Reveling
in one another’s company,
on Friday the group dutifully
assumed their responsibilities
to revive and retell their history
together. Alas, as with most oral
histories, certain details and
facts are somehow revised over
time, such that all that is left are
myths of Olympian proportion
(and plausibility). John, Mike
and Mario helpfully passed
on the morning round (out of
consideration of not having an
even foursome, no doubt). For
the afternoon round they were
joined by Tom Lee ’73, another
Merion member. The highlight
came at the very end of the long
day, where in a tremendous feat
of endurance, Mike Bernay made
an eagle. Even more unlikely,
after it was all done, Tom
Balderston was allowed to retain
his membership. (He must be an
unbelievable tipper.)
Don Frazier ’78 writes that
he participated in what he
believes to have been an unusual
“Williams Asian Art quadrafecta.” Don was commissioned
to write a piece for Power, a
Hong Kong magazine, which he
describes as “a sort of Vanity
Fair of culture, politics and high
style.” Turns out it is edited by
Tony Spaeth ’77. I’ve checked
out the magazine online—it
is witty, urbane and cogently
written. But not nearly up to the
impossibly high bar Tony set in
his “Shoot the Dog” column in
the Williams Record back in the
day. Don’s article was about the
hot market for Chinese classical
art. For a source, Don turned
to Andy Kahane ’77, a hugely
respected expert on Asian art.
Don then heard from Tom Gass
after he’d read the article. Don
has been writing and consulting
for big-time magazines such as
National Geographic, Forbes
and Smithsonian, among others.
His business travel will take him
to Washington, Hong Kong,
Singapore and possibly Beijing.
Increasingly he goes to Asia,
where he now finds “the energy,
the courage, the mojo that
disappeared from the U.S. after
9/11 and has not come back.
People all over the world think
it’s cool I call from Colorado,
because they assume it must be
from a tony ski resort.”
Mary O’Donohue decided to
make her first-ever contribution
to the notes after being amused
by accounts of our “empty
nester” classmates, as she is
busy as heck with 8-year-old
Maddie, adopted from China
in 2002. To say that Mary’s
30-plus post-graduate years
have been adventurous would
be considerably understating
things.
After graduation Mary
went to BU for a master’s in
American studies. Then she
got a grant to do grad work in
the U.K. and fell in love with
London and decided to stay.
For 10 years she studied, was a
tour guide and finally worked
for NBC, also working as Joan
Lunden’s personal assistant for
the Charles and Diana royal
wedding. Mary came back
Stateside in 1989 as a TV producer, first with news networks,
then Oprah. When that concluded in 2002, Mary was 40
and single, but, having always
wanted a family, she decided to
adopt Maddie. Most recently
she has been in DC, where
she was VP of production for
Discovery Channel, overseeing
some “kick ass” shows, including Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters,
Man vs. Wild, Storm Chasers
and Cash Cab. Her work with
CL ASS
NOTES
the game show Cash Cab
earned her two Emmys. Last
year she followed a boss to
History Channel in New York,
where she helped put together
a reality show about a pawn
shop in Las Vegas. I’ve watched
it a couple of times. There is the
owner of the family business
and his two adult (?) kids. So
you have the drama of this—
let’s say “eccentric”—family,
garnished with the miniature
dramas of people pawning
their valuables for money for
chips. The name is quite catchy:
Pawn Stars. (Haw!) Mary says,
“If I weren’t so jaded, I’d be
ashamed!” Mary has recently
returned to New York and
now lives in Montclair, N.J.
Though she lost touch with
Williams during her decade
abroad, she has belonged to
the Williams Club on and off
since her return and is hoping
to bump into classmates. Mary
keeps up with the Ephlats
vicariously, and a highlight of
the Oprah era was working
on a show featuring Martha
Williamson ’77! Just before the
show, Mary and Martha horrified colleagues by spontaneously bursting into “Beneath
the Purple Mountains” in the
corridor. Meanwhile, Maddie
is in her grade-school chamber
choir, and Mary looks forward
to teaching her the same song.
“All things considered,” Mary
reflects, “we’re a contented 53,
an age I can hardly imagine. But
thanks to having a very lively
little girl, I have no time to
think about it!”
Brain Harrison, a case manager
specializing in geriatrics, has
come though a bit of an ordeal.
Brian has been employed by
Elder Care Services of Berkshire
County for the past 12 years.
Elder Care Services employees
are in a “closed shop” union, so
Brian had to join. About five or
six years ago, Brian petitioned
the National Labor Relations
Board to disband the union
because it seemed to him the
union was not very active. This
lit a fire under the membership, which became active to
defeat the motion. By the time
the motion came to a vote,
Brain was persuaded to reverse
himself and vote to keep it. Of
course the next step was for
him to be acclaimed the union
steward, a position he has held
for the past four years. In that
role, Brian helped the union
membership with a grievance
and won the case. He was then
1979 classmates and their spouses and partners gathered in October for
an annual Tri-State Dinner at the Williams Club in NYC.
disciplined in March 2009 on
a ridiculous pretense for taking
too long for his lunch break.
Management’s mistake was
trying to take their game inside
when Brian was in the paint.
After a year that included three
hearings and arbitration, Brian
rejected management’s pettiness
with a resounding slap, and the
refs agreed there was no foul.
That is to say, he won that one,
too. Yeah! I mean, if you were
an employer, would you tell a
6-foot-9 power forward to rush
through his lunch?
1979
Barbara H. Sanders
3 StratfordRoad
White Plains, NY 10603
[email protected]
The New Year began on a very
somber note. In January, we
lost two wonderful classmates,
far too young in their lives—
Bronson Fargo (in London) and
Tom Soybel (in Massachusetts).
Our condolences and prayers go
out to their families, including
Ginny Earll Soybel, and we wish
them brighter days in the near
future.
There was a flurry of ’79
activity in the Purple Valley
(and to my e-dress!) this past
October, as a number of classmates converged on campus
for Family Days (formerly
known as “Parents Weekend”).
I received a number of e-mails
from folks who were in town to
visit their children at Williams
and as a result enjoyed great
opportunities to bond with old
friends. “Reporters” and “sightings” include Dawn Bedrosian,
Karen Daube Lou, Stew Menking,
Peg and Tim Barrows, Eleni
and Al Blakey, Nancy Cenek
Brigstocke and husband David,
Lisa and Jeff Jenks, Elisabeth
and Seth Johnson, Pat and Joe
Maguire, and Manette and Brian
McDermott. Kristen Johanson
hosted a party at her home in
the Berkshires (featuring a birthday surprise for Chris Broda).
Bob Kraus decided to “take
the plunge” and become a
Williamstown taxpayer last
year—he purchased a house
on Bee Hill Road, which also
affords him a four-minute
commute to work. He got
together with Brian and Manette
McDermott for dinner when
they were in town. Bob is also
our class treasurer, and he
did an outstanding job with
the management of our 30th
reunion finances.
Mimi David is a proud
Williams alumna and parent—
her daughter Emily graduated
in 2009 and is taking off a year
before applying to medical
school.
Kathy Sharpe Jones says that
in these times when there is an
overwhelming predominance
of Internet communication, “I
picked up the phone and had a
fun conversation with Debbie
Ferguson. Years ago we were
in grad school together in DC.
We learned years later that we
were both living in St. Louis at
the same time and didn’t even
know it. She’s in her hometown
of Chicago now.” Kathy is a basketball mom for her eighth-grade
son. She is happy to announce
that she plans to get married this
year and that she has been in
touch with Pat Strong.
n 1 9 7 8 –8 0
Hugh Calkins writes: “The
good news from Baltimore is
that my oldest daughter, Emily,
will be starting Williams in
the fall. She is currently at St.
Andrews School in Delaware.
Tad Roach is the headmaster there, and he is doing an
outstanding job. He misses our
class reunions because the St.
Andrews alumni weekend is
always the same weekend as
the Williams reunions. After
leaving Williams, Tad went to
St. Andrews to teach and coach,
with the plan to pursue law
school. But he loved the place
and has stayed—rapidly ascending to the head of the school.
Kathy Spear Nugent sends this
news: “We have finally introduced ourselves to Colorado
skiing and snowboarding and
love it. After all those years
of ice and crust at Brodie and
generally skiing the East Coast,
I am delighted to find that
skiing the West is like a dream.
I took the kids to Wolf Creek
over Thanksgiving, and we were
rewarded with tons of powdery
snow and sun—a just reward
after hitting a deer going south
on I-25 at night. Talk about
excitement and anxiety!” Of
note, Kathy is in the final stages
of writing a book. She shared
some of her work with me. I
won’t give away the plot, but
I will say that it is a fascinating young-adult novel, filled
with adventure, mystery and
triumph. Stay tuned for the final
product.
Capt. Bill Couch sends a special
shout out from Iraq, thanking
all who sent him cards and care
packages. He finished his tour
in February and returned home
in March. Bill officially retired
from the Navy after 30 years
of honorable and distinguished
service, and he looks forward to
attending the graduation of son
Will from Hartwick College this
spring. Bill wants all to know
that Peter May, an intelligence
officer in the Navy Reserves,
began one-year orders starting
in February, and Bill encourages
us to be generous in our support
of his service. Last but not least,
he thanks Stew Menking for his
tireless efforts in encouraging
him and other Williams alumni
who are stationed overseas.
The “Nth” Annual Tri-State
Dinner (aka the “Reunion After
Party”) was terrific fun! Partygoers included Lindsay Baker
and spouse Chris DiAngelo,
Gwen Nichols, Dana Belshe
Thayer, Nancy Cenek Brigstocke,
Stew Menking, Deirdre Scher
Ledwitz, Charlie Sena, Elizabeth
Emmons, Martin Goldberg, Eric
Kuzmuk and “honorary ’79
member” Charles Sanders ’78.
If you need an excuse to come
to the New York area next fall,
this is it!
So if you have news, don’t
keep it to yourself. You know
how to reach me, and we enjoy
hearing from you. Until next
time, live well and wisely, and
be safe.
1980
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Mimi Dumouchel
71 Rosewell Road
Bedford, NH 03110
[email protected]
Greetings, one and all, and
thank you to everyone who contributed news. I write this during a two-day New Hampshire
snowstorm, but you will receive
it closer to blessed, blessed
a great student and a member of
the dance team.”
Edward Bousa: “I attended
Chip and Julie Oudin’s daughter’s
wedding in Houston in January.
The event was terrific itself, and
Chip and I squeezed in some
fun golf. Our daughter Marina
is a freshman at Williams, and it
is so much fun to hear about the
school from her experiences.”
Susie (Laidlaw) Camp: “Having
become an empty-nester, I re-entered the work force a year ago,
working at Duke University’s
Fuqua School of Business in the
development office. I recently
changed from a reunion gift/
annual fund staff member to
a development officer. I enjoy
the work, especially when I
discover a Fuqua alum who
went to Williams for undergrad. My son Bob is a junior
at Williams and loving it. He
… [enjoyed] Winter Study and
all that entails. (I don’t want
to ask!) My daughter Katie is a
sophomore at UCLA. I made it
out to LA a couple of times during her volleyball season last fall
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Paul Goren ’80 was named executive director of the Consortium on
Chicago School Research by the University of Chicago in January. Goren
previously led Chicago’s Spencer Foundation, the nation’s only philanthropic organization dedicated exclusively to education research, and also
has worked as a teacher, administrator and education policy analyst.
springtime, so happy spring!
As we move solidly into our
sixth decade on the planet,
the consistent themes among
our ranks are job changes,
geographic moves and delighted
involvement with our offspring.
Also, many folks are really
looking forward to our 30th
reunion in June, while others
want you to look them up on
Facebook!
And now, in predictable
alphabetical order, here’s the
news.
Helen Prakelt Bishop: “My
public school teaching job
was reduced to 80 percent this
year (thanks to the Vermont
economy and the declining child
population). Fortunately my
K-8 French program was not
eliminated entirely! Currently
working on other options to
add to or replace my teaching
job! All ideas are welcome!
Daughter Haley is a senior
art student at School of the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,
and daughter Emily is now 17,
and hope to visit Bob and watch
a golf match or two at Williams
this spring. On the Friday
after Thanksgiving, Bob, my
husband Roger and I ran into
Mimi and Morty Schapiro and
family walking through LAX.
Morty had on a familiar purple
sweater, but we know it was for
Northwestern this time! They
are happy in Evanston although
miss the Williams family.” Dan Chapman: “I recently
‘transitioned’ to U.S. Bank
in New York after 25 years
at JPMorgan Chase. I want
to thank Dave Dewey ’82 of
the development office for his
networking assistance. And my
daughter Emily is enjoying her
sophomore year at Williams.
Life is good!” Bill Clark: “My big news
during the past year was seven
months (part of my sabbatical
leave from teaching at Holy
Cross) spent in a Jesuit spiritual
renewal program in Australia.
… About four months in
Sydney with various seminars
CL ASS
NOTES
and mini-courses on Jesuit
history and spiritual practice;
a month of silent retreat in
a (literal) vineyard north of
Adelaide; a month in a parish
in ‘outback’ New South Wales;
and six weeks at a high school
outside of Melbourne. Saw so
much of the awesome beauty
of the southeastern quarter of
the continent and encountered
such fabulous Aussie hospitality. I really, really didn’t want
to leave!” When he wrote, Bill
was “back at Holy Cross now,
getting ready for my second
semester of classes in Catholic
theology.”
Michele Corbeil: “I’m
continuing to promote the
‘WoodenBoat Show’ and
WoodenBoat magazine (going
on 16-plus years now). My
daughter Mia, 11, keeps me
on the run with basketball,
ice skating and horse-related
activities. My home business
Three Bags Full is almost a
year old, and I’ve made many
hundreds of bags in my little
attic ‘sweat shop.’ Singing and
theater have taken a back seat
for the moment as I stretch my
entrepreneurial wings!” Suzanne Crawford: “After
five years as marketing director of the Marin Symphony, I
resigned to become marketing
and membership director of
Top Agent Network, a private
online information exchange
for top-producing real-estate
agents in local markets. After
a successful launch in the Bay
Area, Top Agent Network
hired me to brand it and roll it
out nationally. A very exciting
undertaking and a great ‘ground
floor’ opportunity. Life with my
wonderful husband and our two
girls (one mine, one his, both
from previous marriages) is very
sweet.” Jim Daubert: “Amy ’82 and
I had an exciting year with
a move to Chapel Hill, N.C.
(after living in Pittsford /
Rochester for 17 years),
returning to Duke University
Hospital, freshman at Williams
(son Thomas ’13). Had an
enjoyable visit with roommate
John Hebble and Julie ’82 on
Cape Cod this past summer.”
Martha Donovan: “Life
has been full these past few
years—from the sobering
(surgery and radiation for a
thankfully tiny, non-invasive
breast cancer diagnosed four
years ago—only one more year
of Tamoxifen—yahoo!) to the
surprising (my little poetry
chapbook Dress Her in Silk has
been nominated for a PEN New
England Literary Award, which
I do not expect to win but it
was nice to be nominated). My
husband and I still teach at New
England College in Henniker,
N.H., so anyone travelling by
‘the only Henniker on Earth’
(our claim to fame) should
stop by and visit. Our daughter
Sarah, just back from a trip to
India (where my mother was
born and raised), heads off to
Connecticut College next fall to
study international relations. …
Send my best to my classmates.
I’m not good about staying in
touch with folks, but I think
fondly of my time at Williams
and the great folks I met those
four years.” Elizabeth Cutter Evert: “I am
well and living in New York,
practicing psychoanalysis
and running a program in the
public schools for chronically
traumatized adolescents. My …
son Nick is coming to Williams
in the fall. He is incredibly
excited—as we are for him.”
Lonnie Farmer: “Am alive and
well in Boston. Saying ‘hello’ to
folks who know me. Have the
two best children in the history
of man—Liana and Ray.”
John Foster: “Maybe it’s our
age bracket, but the answer to
‘What’s new?’ is pretty consistently ‘Nuttin much.’ Count
me in the large category of prelicensed high schooler parents,
which leaves me focused on
the transportation schedule.
Let me encourage classmates to
keep the Williams women’s ice
hockey team in mind, where my
niece Eliza Foster ’12 plays on a
rapidly improving team (largely
attributable to this year’s poaching of a well-liked coach from a
not-so-well-liked institution in
central Mass.).”
Sue Gentile: “My younger
son Brady was admitted to Yale
as an ‘early action’ applicant.
He is still waiting to hear from
Columbia and Harvard in the
regular admission process. (No,
he didn’t apply to Williams …
or Amherst, his father’s alma
mater.) Brady and I spent a
wonderful week on Roatan
Island over the holidays,
cavorting with dolphins and
monkeys.”
Betty Keller enjoyed Kathy
Kelliher’s visit in August, with
a day at Groton State Park
swimming and kayaking with
their teens. While visiting
they also took time to record
Kathy’s impressions of health
care as delivered and financed
in the U.K., for Betty’s project
on Health Care for All. Betty
is involved in a variety of
social justice issues, including
racism, health care reform,
civil rights (including marriage
equality) and public education. Check out vtcucc.org/
uprooting_racism_task_force.
Andy Kelly: “I have performed
20 shows in Berkshire public
schools over the past three
months with my jazz group, The
Sister City Jazz Ambassadors.
We have been having a blast
playing and teaching the kids
about jazz music/history. I am
also still coaching the local high
school cross-country ski team—
huffing and puffing to keep up
with fast skiing teenagers seems
to be getting harder. They must
be making the kids faster these
days!”
Wendy Evans Knight: “I moved
back home to Connecticut
in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina—living in … Old
Lyme. My daughter Emily is
25 and moved back to New
Orleans at the end of October
to join her fiancé, who is in his
last semester at Tulane School
of Architecture. I am writing
grant proposals for High Hopes
Therapeutic Riding, a nonprofit
located in Old Lyme. Quite a
wonderful change after more
than 15 years of practicing
law!”
Annie Ko: “Will have an
exchange student from Scotland
for seven weeks, and my mother’s 80th birthday is at the end
of the month and all my siblings
from overseas are flying in. My
sister and family from Taiwan,
the brother from Australia and
the brother from Shanghai. I am
tired just thinking of it, but hey,
what is more fun!” Nancy (Caine) Lane:
“Approaching 20 years in
Oakland, Calif., with family;
two boys are now teens (14 and
16). Working for a wonderful software company whose
products help struggling readers
make astonishing gains in a
short time (Scientific Learning).
Starting college hunt with older
son, and don’t imagine for a
minute that we will even look at
schools in New England—he’s
not into snow—but I could be
surprised. … Had dinner with
Dirk Hovorka ’78 last summer
when he zipped through town,
and I bump into Dick Bradford
’76 at Athenian, my older one’s
school.”
Jim Levinsohn: “After 22 years
n 1 9 8 0 –8 1
at the University of Michigan,
Kirsten ’81 and I are moving
back East. Starting Jan. 1 I’ll
be the founding director of the
Jackson Institute for Global
Affairs at Yale University and
a professor of economics at the
Yale School of Management.
We’d enjoy connecting with
any folks who might be in the
New Haven area. Our other
familial Williams connections include two sons serving
on the Williamstown Fire
Department.” Laurie Mayers wrote from the
U.K.: “After years in industry
and consulting, I have moved
to the regulatory side. I have
just started a new role as
manager of the capital management team in the Prudential
Risk Division of the Financial
Services Authority, which is
the U.K. regulator for banks,
building societies, fund managers and insurers. The team is
responsible for evaluation of
firms’ stress testing and capital
management frameworks and
for providing input on capital
planning as part of Pillar II
assessments under Basel II.”
Gus Nuzzolese, with characteristic enthusiasm, says that
he, “Capt. Mike Curran and
Chris Gallo had an Intergalactic
30th-reunion conference call
synthesizing 400 classmates,
30th reunion plans, our 10
kids, four years of football
and lacrosse and one Renzie
Lamb (Chaminade alum too).
Pat Nuzz working out for
Chaminade varsity football.
How sweet it is! Also, while
doing the real estate brokerage,
I’m expanding into fundraising
and reviewing companies for
a venture capital fund of webbased firms. Exhilarating. See
you at Perry Casa!” John Thurner’s last few years
have been interesting. “After
leaving my job of 13 years
as a technology director at
the Belmont Hill School in
Boston, I have been consulting
in a number of arenas, from
educational database design to
higher ed governance. My current project is as part of a small
team designing a governance
structure for an indigenous
university outside of the U.S.,
focusing on designing the system to match traditional governance values with international
standards. My Cypriot wife
Agni continues to work at HBS,
and my oldest son is graduating from UC Boulder this year.
My 16-year-old remains at
Belmont Hill and continues to
follow his theatrical passions,
including participation in some
soon-to-be-released national
radio broadcasts. As the oldest
member of the Class of ’80 and
only a member for one year, I
… wish everyone a Happy New
Year.”
Paul Tratnyek: “I have hardly
set foot in Williamstown since
graduation, so I’m excited to
have it on my calendar this
year. I’m scheduled to give two
seminars on April 9: one to the
chemistry department and the
other a Log lunch for the Center
for Environmental Studies. Both
related to environmental aspects
of nanotechnology.”
Bill Wickwire describes an
enviable recent travel history.
He was vacationing in St. John
when he wrote: “Beautiful
here and so sad about Haiti
yesterday. … We didn’t feel
that quake here but did notice
an odd flatness to the water
right after it. We are still almost
500 miles away. Fall 2009 was
eventful … consummated a sale
of 50 percent of Beach Cities
Dermatology to my associate
and also opened another new
office … this one in Rolling
Hills Estates, which is part of
Palos Verdes Peninsula … near
where I went to prep school
at Chadwick before coming to
Williams.”
Bill continues, “Bob Safford
and Pat Kubiak came out to LA
for Halloween, and we strolled
Santa Monica Blvd., ourselves
in costume … Bob as policeman, Pat as airline pilot, Allen
as Mr. Spock, and me as an
Indian Swami. Other trips last
fall included a few to Hawaii, a
week in Cancun and a little time
in Palm Springs and Las Vegas.
We still have our dogs, Maxie, 3
(pug) and Scout (Boston terrier)
and split time between Hermosa
Beach, Big Bear Lake, Palm
Springs, Honolulu, Santa Fe and
Las Vegas homes. … Obviously
hard to spend much time at any
of them … but all are pretty
close together. We are anxiously watching the trial over
Constitutional issues regarding
Proposition 8.”
George Wilbanks: “Had the
kids home for the holidays.
Alex is a junior at Dickinson
College and is spending the year
abroad studying environmental
economics at the University of
East Anglia in the U.K. Liz is
now ensconced at the University
of California at Davis working on a PhD in microbiology,
having recently been awarded
a National Science Foundation
grant to support her work.
In addition to several of their
friends, both Ann (Flocken) and
my parents were with us at our
ski home in Vermont, so caring
for this small army made us
feel like we were running a bed
and breakfast for a couple of
weeks! Saw roommate Peter
Miller in Boston for dinner in
mid-December, and he was in
fine form!”
So there you are. Our lives
as colorful patchwork quilt of
cherished relationships, worthy
endeavors, interesting avocations and exotic travels. Well
done!
Finally, I want to pitch my
job to a devoted member of
the Class of 1980. It’s fun. It’s
easy. It’s only (at most) 2,500
words three times a year. Your
editor will indulge your lateness. (Trust me.) Feel free to
volunteer.
Meanwhile, I hope to see
many of you in Billsville in
June.
As you were.
1981
Kyle Doherty Hodgkins
8645 Monte Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45242
[email protected]
As I write these notes, I’ve just
finished a play list for a slightly
belated 50/50 joint birthday
party. The compilation is more
than slightly reminiscent of an
Armstrong Rec Room bash or
the tunes blasted off the porch
of Parsons House in the spring.
Take a minute. You’re humming
a song right, now, aren’t you?
Tunes as institutional memory:
Priceless.
Also priceless: reconnecting
with old (not old, old—you
know what I mean) friends.
Scott Tripler reports, “This
was the first year the (Head of
the Charles) regatta added a
category explicitly for crews
made up of college alums. We
got back most of the Henley
’81 heavyweight crew—except
for Tom Rizzo, who was ‘Urban
Marathoning’ with his brothers,
and Tom Knowlton, who was
tied up with his kids and the
lobstermen in Maine. After
the ‘age correction fudge factor,’ we placed in the middle
of the lot, ahead of Wesleyan
and ensuring a spot for next
year. We had Dinnie Sloman,
Sloane Graff ’80, me, Cabby
CL ASS
NOTES
Tennis, Scott Schwieghauser,
Peter Kelly-Detwiler ’83, George
Baumgarten ’82, Tony Salerno
’01 and our cox Michelle McRae
’12, a current Williams student.
There was a lightweight boat,
including Peter Wells ’79, Pat
Diaz, Sandy Pike, Steve Leaf ’80,
Nick Lefferts and Jon Snyder ’78,
I think, and a boat with group
of younger alums as well. We
had great gatherings before (at
John ‘Spike’ Pike’s house), during and after the race (Smith &
Wollensky’s).”
Cabby Tennis writes, “Training
hike up Mount St. Victoire
today with brother Whiting and
Clay, if we can pry him out of
his cozy bed. Back to Jeddah
day after tomorrow. News from
the sand box is that Maddy has
offered to serve as the school’s
new director to replace the
interim director who leaves in
June, and she has been chosen.
So it looks like the plan will be
a Jeddah-to-Boston commute
for the HOCR for the next two
or three years. (But I seem to
recall saying something similar
about Joburg about this time
two years ago, so…) Blessings,
Happy New Year and sets of
stadiums to all.”
A few other crewbies wrote
in with sidebar notes to Scott’s
e-mail, but I must confess I was
stymied by the lingo. Remember
the Gary Larson cartoon where
the owner is talking to the dog,
and the dog hears “Blah blah
blah Ginger blah blah blah?”
Well, that’s me with crew inside
jokes. Perhaps I will take this as
a personal challenge to become
more conversant. Perhaps not.
I totally understood Bill
Hahn’s scoop, though. He has
kept us waiting for an update
but makes up for it here. It’s
about time. “I turned 51 …
aging being perhaps the only
thing I do in advance of most
classmates; I have now spent a
little more time working in a
job out of teaching than I did
SENDPHOTOS
W
williams.edu.
Margot (Drinker) Stephens ’81 (right) and her daughter Kathryn ’10
paused on top of Mount Kilimanjaro last January after Kathryn
completed a Winter Study medical apprenticeship in Tanzania.
in it, and on balance what a
long, strange trip it’s been. I am
delighted to live and work in a
home-school house along with
my lovely wife Dorie (looks
35), the miracle child Genevieve
Celeste (13 in April) and my
mother-in-law Evie (refuses to
say). All three ladies are cancer
survivors, which really puts a
damper on my enthusiasm to
complain about the occasional
sinus infection or my weak rotator cuffs. I’ll just have to age
quietly, though I refuse to go
gracefully. I study the emergence
of telecoms in less-developed
markets, which puts me in a
very strange travel profile compared to my colleagues: They
tend to go NY-Chicago-MiamiSan Jose-home-San Jose-VegasDallas-Boston-NY, whereas I
tend to be home-home-homeCape Town-home-home-homehome-home-Istanbul. There’s
no question I get the better of
that deal, but there’s a unique
challenge in trying to entertain
a client’s question on the phone
while Genna is practicing the
piccolo or heatedly arguing with
her mother how to solve for
‘x.’ My ‘office’ lies just south of
the refrigerator, which is doing
no good for my waistline, and
Motel 6 beats my acoustics
all hollow. Gartner Inc. is a
global company, so I get good
mileage out of rising for work
at 5:30 a.m.; heavy traffic is
tripping over the cats as I cross
the living room floor. Things
are very quiet in the morning
(home school schedules tend to
be quite civilized, and breakfast
can easily be at 10), but later
in the day the motto over my
Outlook calendar usually reads,
‘Where am I going and why am
I in this handbasket?’ In fact,
the phrase ‘home school’ is a
misnomer, it should be referred
to as ‘all over the frickin county
school’ as we ferry her to dance,
to sign language, chorus, flute
lessons, Girl Scouts and lord
knows what else. I just keep
the keys in reach and drive. On
a good night, I can steal away
to peck a few more words out
on my version of the novel I
presume every other person
on earth is writing; mine is far
from done, but it does have the
advantage of featuring demonic
enemies and miraculous spells.
The Man in Grey still lives,
though he doesn’t tell his tale
very quickly.” Bill continues, “I
have the privilege of association
with several of the Williams
crew (Ed. note: Not that crew!),
primarily through the Octet
connection. Last November,
Octet alumni from seven
decades gathered to honor our
founder Warren Hunke ’42, now
90 and in poor health, with a
concert of favorites. Kevin Weist
was the main genius behind
the record gathering, and even
after hearing the tape I continue
to feel it was one of our best
efforts. He has really grown
into a truly talented musician
and a fabulous leader of men,
and I’m pleased to have kept up
contact with him and his ubercool family over the years. Paul
Robinson ’80, Mike Battey ’80,
Chuck Hirsch ’80, Wayne Wilkins
’79, Charlie Gledhill ’80, Mike
Winther ’85 and Lyman Casey
’83 were the Lemmings-era
alumni who were there, and we
n 1981
Last October, former Williams F friends got together in Seattle to
celebrate turning 50. All are Class of ’81 (unless noted), from left: (front)
Sue (Megna) Hemond, Hilary Hodgson ’79, Beth-Anne Flynn, Lisa Hosbein;
(back) Cathy (Gernert) Ramsay, Karen Friedman, Ann Maine, Ali Nevin
Sheahan, Mandy Acker Rice and Judy Gast.
had a decent set of our own.”
From the Midwest, Phil
Darrow reports, “I wasn’t able
to go myself, but spouse Robin
and daughter Adrienne ’11 had
the great pleasure of Katherine
Precht’s hospitality while
visiting Cairo in December,
following Adrienne’s semester
abroad in Geneva. My only
regret besides not being there
was not thinking ‘duty-free’
ahead of time to augment rather
than drain Katherine’s hard-tocome-by supply of wine.”
Mike Sullivan shares news
from the West Coast: “I recently
joined the Pillsbury Winthrop
law firm as a partner, focusing
on venture capital and representation of emerging companies.
It’s a return trip for me, since
I joined Pillsbury right out of
law school and was there from
1984-97. (I got my old phone
number back from the ’80s.)
Our 6-year-old son Joseph is in
kindergarten at the immersion
French-American International
School in San Francisco, and
his French proficiency looks like
it will exceed mine sometime
this year. I continue to dabble
in local San Francisco politics.
I was appointed by Mayor
Newsom to the San Francisco
Parks Commission a couple of
years ago, and I’ll be running
for the ‘Central Committee’ of
the San Francisco Democratic
party in the June 2010 election.
I can report that Mike Koessel
is alive and well—we saw him
this summer on our annual
trip east—and I have a mild
Facebook addiction, which
allows me to keep in touch with
Susan Luciano, Kathy McCleary
and Harlan Messinger.”
Laura Beath sends news from
St. Louis: “Stu is still working
for the fuel additives company
International Fuel Technology.
Hopefully 2010 will bring the
success that we all believe this
technology is capable of. He
loves what he does and … does
all the ‘dad’ stuff and works out
like a fiend! I am a nanny two
days per week for a precious
little boy—my kids got too old,
and there were no grandkids
on the horizon! The other days
I am a professional organizer. I
help people put their homes and
life in order, and I absolutely
love it. Our four kids are getting
old! Stuart is a senior at The
College of Wooster. He plays
baseball for them, and last
year his team was the runner-up in the Div. III National
Championship—no sign of the
Ephs! Matt and Ben are both
lacrosse players at the Air Force
Academy in Colorado Springs.
Matt is a junior and does not
a want to be a pilot but wants
to be in the acquisitions side
of the Air Force (the business
side). I don’t think that means
he won’t be in harm’s way, but
chances are better than if he
was flying. Ben is a freshman
and just wants to live to see the
next day! Annie is a sophomore
in high school and plays field
hockey and lacrosse.”
Birthdays and minireunions
are all the rage these days, and
Ali Sheahan gives us the scoop
on an impressive one: “The
women of Williams F attempted
one big reunion in this 50th
birthday year and got nine of
us plus one JA for our Oct.
1-3 reunion at Cathy (and Alec)
Ramsay’s on Mercer Island, near
Seattle. Sue (Megna) Hemond
put it best, when she wondered
after our return to reality why
her own quiet kitchen didn’t
come equipped for sharing
coffee with nine interesting,
funny, beautiful women every
morning? Anyway, we did have
a great time touring the wild
woods of the island, the underground remains of old Seattle,
the foods of Pike Place Market
and the ups and downs of our
lives (as much as revealed!).
Attendees included Sue (Megna)
Hemond, Karen Friedman, Cathy
(Gernert) Ramsay, Ann Maine,
Ali Nevin Sheahan, Judy Gast,
Beth-Anne Flynn, JA Hilary
Hodgson ’79, Lisa Hosbein and
Amanda Acker Rice. Alec, by
the way, wisely said hello on
Friday afternoon and then
bolted to nearby Duffy Graham’s
’83 house for the weekend!
He looked great though and is
returning to Microsoft work
after a ‘sabbatical’ earning his
math teaching certification and
then discovering that recessions
are unkind to public school
employment. Cathy does work
in the Mercer Island public high
school, but that was earned
after years of volunteering with
their two kids, both now in college. Still incredibly fit, Cathy
and her partner came in second
at the National 4.5 Amateur
Tennis Championships this
year.” Ali continues, “I also had
the fun of two other Williams
events this past year: While visiting State Department friends
now posted in Johannesburg, I
recognized an unusual name on
a classroom of their daughter’s
middle school: Mr. Tennis. Sure
enough it was Cabby Tennis, and
even though we didn’t know
each other from Williams, he
participated gamely in a phone
call with me, proving that he
was just as friendly and possibly crazy as our friends had
thought. Second, I also attended
a minireunion in Brooklyn in
mid-May with Anita (Rydberg)
Swift at the home of Anne
(Donovan) Potter. We had a
blast visiting Annie in her
Nickelodeon/Viacom legal suite
(decorated with Sponge Bob
photos) above Times Square,
then meeting her real-life
cartoon buddy son and husband
and enjoying the walks from
CL ASS
NOTES
their apartment through the
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
and Art Museum. Anita … hails
across the river from Cincinnati
in Newport, Ky., where she and
her husband have renovated a
wonderful old home, and she
still works Ohio-side with the
state Department of Mental
Health Services. As for me,
I’ve left preschool teaching for
part-time elementary science
teaching, all hands-on active
and often outside learning. I
love it. My husband still works
for a part of the World Bank
and travels a lot, so [I was] the
one driving our oldest daughter
to Kenyon for second semester of her freshman year.” Ali
hoped to get together with Ann
O’Connell, who wasn’t able to
make earlier events but hoped
to drive down from Detroit,
taking a break from her legal
work and from her teen daughters. “Her oldest and our next
oldest are both waiting to hear
the results of college applications for next year,” Ali says.
“Then Bernie and I get a break
for two whole years before our
twins start going through the
whole thing again!”
Cathy Ramsay says, “I’m
struck by many memories of the
weekend but mostly how close
we all remain. Now that I have
college-aged students (Colin is
a freshman at Berklee College
of Music in Boston, and Sara
is a junior at Colby College
in Maine), it is even more meaningful to realize that the friendships I formed 30-plus years
ago are the same kind my kids
are now beginning to develop. I
also love that two of my freshmen dorm mates have become
‘local moms’ for our two kids—
Sue (Megna) Hemond for Sara in
Maine; and Beth-Anne Flynn for
Colin in Boston.”
Back east, Bonnie Foster
Straka sends news from her
busy household: “Greetings
from snow-covered (still!)
Charlottesville, Va! Our biggest
2009 news is that Andy ’80
and I adopted our son Luke
Christian Pingnan Straka Feb.
9, 2009, from the People’s
SENDNEWS!
Y
Most of the 1981 Henley heavyweight crew reunited last fall to compete
in the alumni 8 event of the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge,
Mass. Along with coxswain Michelle McRae ’12 (front), pictured (from
left) are Dinnie Sloman ’81, Sloane Graff ’80, Scott Tripler ’81, Cabby
Tennis ’81, Scott Schweighauser ’83, Peter Kelly-Detwiler ’83, George
Baumgarten ’82 and Tony Salerno ’01.
Republic of China. Luke’s DOB
is May 1, 2005, so he was
almost 4 when we added him
to our family. He had severe
congenital heart disease but
underwent successful complex
open-heart surgery last May.
He is our sixth child and fourth
child adopted from China (but
first son from China!). Life is
more than full with kiddos ages
23, 16, 14, 7, 6 and 4! I continue to practice dermatology
three days a week, and Andy is
still writing (his fifth book was
published in August 2009) and
enjoying falconry (with Luke as
his ‘apprentice’!). I have been
active in medical missions work
in China and also as a medical
consultant with numerous
adoption organizations and
Chinese foster homes. Adoption
and advocating/serving orphans
with special medical needs are
passions of mine. We are certainly a blessed family.”
And heading East, Kirsten
Barfod Levinsohn wrote that
after almost 23 years in Ann
Arbor, Mich., she and husband
Jim ’80 were to move to New
Haven in February. She planned
to leave her position as director of the Leslie Science and
Nature Center and was looking
forward to “a new adventure
in the Nutmeg State.” Jim will
be teaching at the School of
Management and heading a
new school of global affairs at
Yale. We are looking forward to
reconnecting with friends from
Williams in the area.”
Till next time, cheers to all!
1982
Will Layman
8507 Garfield St.
Bethesda, MD 20817
Kolleen Rask
55 Pine Hill Road
Southborough, MA 01772
[email protected]
The tale I am about to relate
I do not expect you to believe.
For I myself would not have
believed such a story of woe and
horror had I not witnessed it
myself, lived it in such a manner
that I knew it would burn itself
forever into my soul. Such is
the toll of being class secretary.
Such is the sudden darkness of
my heart.
I received a correspondence,
innocent enough, from my
old roommate Tom Costley, a
jovial type with a bald pate
much like my own and a gift of
chat. It was a breezy and brief
missive that began: “It’s snowy,
beautiful and Winter Study in
Williamstown. The streets are
empty of students until early
afternoon.” And so he invited
me up to his country estate for
memories and what I hoped
would be several strolls through
the snow-whitened fields of our
youth. O, how I wish I had not
succumbed to this seemingly
innocent entreaty!
I arrived just at the onset of
evening, as shadows lengthened
and then dimmed on Tom’s
home. The screech of his front
n 1 9 8 1 –8 2
door embodied the desperation
of a Siamese cat facing down a
rhinoceros in a bowling alley.
My own nostrils twitched at the
smell of fear.
Or was it chateaubriand? A
dinner was under way, with
Tom presiding. I hung up my
pea coat, folded my wool muffler and took the only remaining seat at the table, already
set with an appetizer of seared
scallops and baby corn. Laura
Greeno was telling us about her
oldest son, Christopher.
“My husband Ed and I are
excited to have a fledgling Eph,
Class of 2014, residing in our
humble abode. Christopher was
accepted early decision and is
ecstatic.”
Our host, Dear Costley,
cocked his head with pleasure
and asked Laura how she was
enjoying the wine, then invited
her to help him choose another
bottle from his cellar. I have
always been a fan of the delicious grape, so I was determined to tag along for a peek
at the goodies. As we stepped
ever lower into Tom’s dank
basement, Laura continued,
“I’m not sure what hooked
him on Williams, potentially
playing Ultimate at Poker Flats
during our 25th reunion?”
Tom nodded with interest as
we approached the small dark
opening in the brick wall. He
asked Laura to step inside to
locate the light switch to the
cellar, which she cheerfully did.
“Or perhaps it was Mountain
Day the Friday he visited this
fall,” she said as Tom suddenly
produced a freshly mixed bin of
cement. “I mean, who wouldn’t
want to go to a school where
organic chemistry takes a back
seat to hanging out on Stone
Hill listening to a cappella
groups and sipping cider?”
At which point she blinked,
seeing Tom holding a dark-handled trowel. I ran toward the
stairs as I saw Tom lift a brick
in the palm of his hand. “Ed
soon got an e-mail from Guy
Longobardo—there is apparently
a Longobardo/Yokana progeny
in the Class of 2014 as well!”
Was my mind playing tricks
on me—or was Laura’s second
verse of “The Mountains”
muffled as I fled up the stairs?
I dashed onto the main floor
to find the guests mingling without a care. How could they not
realize that their host had foul
play on his mind? What could
I say that would not sound
insane? Perhaps I needed to
calm myself with a bite to eat.
I reached for a canapé from a
tray only to see that it was being
held aloft by Charles Warshaver.
Charles had not a care in the
world and enjoyed helping the
help. “All is well,” he chuckled.
“You?”
I mumbled something about
Merlot, but he continued. “I
celebrated the New Year with
my great buddy Stephen ‘Dots’
Doherty and just had dinner
with Sheldon Ross, who was
visiting Boston. Tom Golding
now sits on my company board,
so I see him often. His daughter
is at Franklin & Marshall with
my older daughter. My younger
daughter is at Vanderbilt. Hugh
Oxnard has been seen around
Boston running road races—
mostly finishing in the top
three. I just did the Miami Man
Half-Ironman, and I’m working
with Tinker Connelly ’81, who
sponsors a special-needs ski
program.”
Charles’s good cheer and busy
existence exhausted me, so I
sought a moment’s rest and solitude in the backyard. I bumped
into Michelle Gazzolo on the
porch, staring into the light of
a rising moon. “I am breaking
20-plus years of silence to give
a shout-out to everyone who
remembers me,” she whispered,
“and a few who don’t.”
As she spoke, a dark-winged
figure settled on the railing of
the deck, its claws as large as
the feet of a 7-year-old lad. “I
am happily living in Benton
Harbor, Mich., listening to
music of which I’m slightly
ashamed and introducing my
12-year-old daughter Livia to
the joys of LPs, classic TV and
storytelling.” Michelle looked
at the bird, and the bird looked
at her. As if I weren’t even there.
And thus spoke the raven:
“Michele works freelance in
advertising and marketing and
has recently launched a blog:
girlwalksin.wordpress.com/.”
I will confess it truly—I
thought her mad right then, as
the bird hopped suddenly to
her shoulder and turned to me.
“She invites anyone from her
class who ends up in Southwest
Michigan to knock on her
door and say hello,” the avian
creature croaked.” This house,
I thought, seems possessed.
Nevermore.
Back within the home, I
started to question the reality
of my own perceptions. Was it
perhaps I who was going mad?
So I walked into the kitchen,
hoping for a chat grounded in
the practicalities of a domestic
chore. And there was Mike
Miller, since become a fine
doctor, chopping some onions
for the main course. “How are
you?” I asked him.
“I’ve moved back to DC.
Before leaving Boston I had a
great dinner with Kathy Cross
and Geoff Mamlet ’83. And in
DC I stayed a few nights with
Kathleen Merrigan and her family while waiting for the moving
truck. I was fortunate enough,”
he said, wielding his sizable
cleaver, “to spend New Year’s
Eve with them and partake
in the fantabulous meal her
husband Mike Selmi prepared:
five courses of pure bliss. Hake
in sake/shitake sauce,” he said
with one wham of the blade.
“Pasta with veal in a wine
sauce!” And then the knife came
down again. “Lamb, lentils
and creamed spinach!” And yet
another blow was rained on
the chopping board. “Arugula
salad!” WHAM! “And lemon
mascarpone tart!” PING! And
he left the tip of the cleaver a
half-inch deep in maple, vibrating like a singing nerve. My
heart pounding, I sought refuge
in the study.
And there, seated and calm
while perusing a book of
Updike essays, was Alyson
Hagy. Her smile was wide as
the Cowboy State itself as she
discussed her trek from the cold
of Wyoming to the … cold of
Minnesota? “I was able to make
it to Minneapolis in November
to visit with Jeff Hedlund, Amy
Apperson ’80, Joe Alfano, Sara
Cartmill and Charlie Dewolf. It
was great to see old friends, and
I’m pleased to say everyone still
has great taste in music and politics.” Finally, someone seemed
normal at this party. “And,”
she continued, “my latest book,
Ghosts of Wyoming, has just
been published by Graywolf
Press. Thanks to aid from my
technology savvy son, Ghosts
has a fan page on Facebook.
Better yet, there’s now a band
also called Ghosts of Wyoming,
so I’m hoping for some artistic
synergy on that front.”
Sitting next to Alyson, avidly
scanning a philosophy text, was
Annie Neal Corkill. My pulse
calmed, for what could be more
soothing than a return to matters of the mind? Her daughter, she related, was taking a
religion class as a freshman at
Mary Washington College in
Fredericksburg, Va. “It’s a teeny
CL ASS
NOTES
tiny Williams—colonial, very
pretty, high academic standards,
not a party school, really nice
kids. And when I told her
religion professor that I was a
religion major at Williams … he
asked me about his good friend
and fellow Kierkegaard scholar
… Mark Taylor.”
And with this name, Annie’s
eyes positively glowed a new
color—something simmering
with red or a faint violet. Her
voice grew conspiratorial as
she continued. “With fear and
trembling, I confessed that
while I don’t remember much
about the Danish philosopher,
I’ll never forget the unstoppable bullet that is Prof. Mark
Taylor.” Annie seemed suddenly
to turn and stare at me with a
certain chill. But with the sound
of chopping still coming from
the kitchen, I stayed and heard
her out.
“We just had a record
snowfall an hour west of DC,
with 30 inches at my house in
Nokesville, Va., a farm town
we call ‘Nokeswhere.’ I’ve been
happy to stay warm at home
a lot and do homey things like
renovate our farmhouse.” She
looked at my soft hands, which
have spent so much time writing
class notes while indoors, and
was not impressed. “Picture
me jacking up the porch roof
to kick out the columns and
build new ones that can hold
the weight of a tin roof better
than the old dumpy ones. I’m
a friend of the mitre saw, the
nail gun and even the concrete
drill.”
What was that flash of metal
in Annie’s hand? Was she raising her arm to say goodbye to
me as I moved for the door,
or did I hear a nail moving
into the chamber of a DeWalt
DC618K Heavy-Duty XRP 18V
Cordless? No matter, as I did
not plan to turn my head back
to find out. Annie continued,
“When I remember a fellow
’82er, I see a 20-year-old in
my mind. At our 25th reunion
everybody looked just about
the way they looked before.
But that 20-year-old mental
picture thing is gonna get pretty
discordant by the time we get
to our 50th!” Was I going to
live to see my 50th reunion—or
even my 30th?
Seeking refuge in a solitary
moment, I scrambled up a
servants’ staircase to find myself
in a quiet guest bedroom. I
kicked off my shoes and leaned
back on an upholstered chaise
lounge. I let the air—and my
mind—go quiet.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
What was that? Suddenly
the door opened. It was Steve
“Cracker” Graham, smiling
heartily. “Hi, Will. I hope all is
well with you.” Was my face so
obviously ashen, as if drained of
blood? He continued: “My wife
Christina and I still live outside
of Philly on a farm in Malvern.
My twins Dane and Kerstin are
now 17. Kerstin is a ski racer
[and this winter spent] a month
in Austria and Italy.” Lub-dub.
Lub-dub. And Steve pointed
to a wavering floorboard near
my foot.
“We have a 4-year-old boy,
Grey,” he continued, “and an
almost-2-year-old boy, Gunnar,
both of whom are wild.”
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. And Steve
pointed to the pulsing floor
again, turning his head just so.
“They’re wild?” I asked. But
dared not stay for his answer.
The floor was now throbbing
like a monster’s heart, and the
door rattled on its hinges. Steve
cried, “I see a lot of Williams
people through tennis, ski racing or business,” but it mattered
little to me. I just wanted out of
the Costley home—out by any
means I could muster.
I descended to the main floor
by the spiral stairs, passing
Cheryl Martin and her sister
Edwina Martin ’86. “We were in
Scotland over Easter weekend
2009 where Cheryl was the
director in residency for the
Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh,”
they exclaimed. I kept moving.
Eliza de Sola Mendes gave me a
wink as she passed me on the
way up. “I’m still fighting to
prevent a garbage dump housing mercury and other chemicals
planned for the Upper East Side
of Manhattan. In the process I
discovered there is no federal
law that first responders need
to know what chemicals are
in solid waste stations.” Then
Ned Chasteney tried to hand
me a glass of champagne as he
buzzed about his family’s “trip
east this past summer to view
the national treasures of DC.”
“Lovely, Ned,” I said, “But
can’t you see I’m in a fearful
panic?”
“Mount Vernon was a highlight for our 10-year-old daughter. Fortunately we escaped
the infamous sweltering heat.”
Escape! “Arranged a clandestine
meeting with Pete Evans, his
family and friends.” Clandestine
meetings! “We all decided that
work is over-rated and made
tentative plans to start up an
organic CSA/co-housing venture
using underutilized TARP
funds.” Solid waste stations!
Government conspiracies!
I tumbled into the entrance
hall of Costley’s home to find
the host himself, still-moist
traces of cement coating
one pinky, chatting with Bill
Burakoff. The one-time rock
drummer was a mere shell of
himself.
“I apologize for not responding to earlier entreaties, but
there really has been nothing to
report. I am at that stage in life
where things around me change
dramatically—my three rapidly
growing children, now 15, 12
and 8—and I do not. But for
this: Within days of my 50th
birthday, my AARP membership card showed up in the mail.
That little card had a very profound effect on me. I now want
to eat dinner at 4:30, complain
about the weather and discuss
my aching joints. I am still hiding in the suburbs of Southern
Orange County, Calif. Block
parties, minivans, car pools.”
Costley glowed with youth
as he heard this tale of woe.
Was Tom behind this hocuspocus? What could have
turned Burakoff so feeble? He
continued: “Due to my teenage son’s musical prowess, we
have resurrected my old set
of Ludwig drums so that his
garage band can rock out (yes,
in my garage). I am trying to get
my drumming technique back
and am on the lookout for some
other old guys interested in jamming to classic rock and New
Wave hits.”
I placed my hand on the
doorknob to leave when Tom
noticed me. “Leaving so soon,
Will? We’ve barely chatted.
Perhaps you’d like to help me
choose another bottle of wine
for the main course.”
As Costley’s hand hit my
shoulder, I lost all semblance of
reason, flinging myself through
a large picture window in his
sitting room and tumbling into
the bushes in his front yard.
There, believe it or not, was
Seton Melvin. She looked harrowed and harassed, spent and
yet manic. And here is what she
said to me:
“At 11:43 a.m., Rwanda time,
Wednesday, May 27, I, Seton
Melvin, was charged … and
thrown … by the dominant male
silverback gorilla in the Virunga
mountain range … and lived!”
n 1 9 8 2 –8 3
“But, Seton,” I said, “we’re
not in Africa—we’re in
Williamstown.” But she could
not hear me.
“This was the first time for
Rwandan Safaris that this had
occurred. I am filthy dirty, hairy,
bruised and still in my trekking
clothes. We traveled down the
mountain range yesterday in
our mud-caked jeeps to Kigali
Airport. Clean clothes and
showers were not an option …
and I have never felt better.”
She vanished into the rhododendrons, and I scrambled
toward the road seeking my car.
A Volvo, of course. With GPS
and hi-def radio. And then I
heard a horrible cracking sound
behind me. I turned to see the
Costley estate glow and then
split in a blood-red fissure the
shape of a lightening bolt. The
ground rumbled, and the house
roared. As if with one voice,
everyone at the party cried out:
“Fifty! We’re turning 50!” And
a great curdle of fear surged
through the crack in The House
of Costley, and then the house
fell forward in an avalanche
of age.
It was falling toward me. “But
I was born in December,” I
cried, “and am just barely 49!”
And then I remembered: My
wife works at AARP.
And so the house fell toward
me, impossible to deter, certain
as sunrise. It crushed my legs,
it smashed my Volvo and it
pinned a cement trowel against
my button-down collar. And,
with that, dear friends, I
slowly … lost … consciousn …
nesssssssss.
1983
Bea Fuller
1113 Jenniper Lane
Annapolis, MD 21403
[email protected]
In late January, I queried you
to turn back the clock to the
1970s and share a story that
typified life for you—routines,
books, music, life—or describe
how your ’70s self imagined life
in 2010. I devoted many hours
to The Jetsons, My Favorite
Martian, Lost in Space and
Star Trek so that I would be
ready to greet aliens and fly in
outer space. I was sure that by
2010 we would be venturing
into space and have flying cars
here on earth. I would not have
imagined that the legalization
of marijuana and same sex
marriages would be the real
galaxies explored and conquered (almost).
Jamie Crist recalls: “The
’70s? I had an Afro, wore
bell-bottom pants, had a disco
outfit complete with acetate
shirt and chains and went out
to discos dancing with friends
while in high school. Those
were the days when they didn’t
check IDs. We’d just walk in
and dance before anyone had
a chance to proof us. This
particular disco was in an old
church, of all things, outside of
Rochester, N.Y. Otherwise? My
seventh book, another self-help
book for kids, was just published by Free Spirit Publishing.
It’s titled Siblings—You’re Stuck
With Each Other, So Stick
Together. I’m very excited about
this one, as I think it will help
a lot of kids who struggle to
get along with their siblings.”
Jamie was “getting ready to
meet Laura Kaiser and hopefully
Jeanne Rougas in Colorado to
ski at Winter Park.”
Geoff Mamlet: “I recently
stumbled across the re-release
of Get Smart on DVD. The TV
show, not the movie. Rented
the first DVD in the first season
set and showed it to my girls.
They thought it was hilarious.
We had to explain a few things,
especially because they’re not
familiar with James Bond. Why
was the idea of a shoe phone
so funny? What do they mean,
‘Kontrol’ and ‘Kaos’? And how
does he always manage to find
a parking space right in front of
the building? Recommended for
a trip back in time for the whole
family.” I have to chime in here
as my boys LOVE Get Smart,
Gilligan’s Island (who can forget Hamlet the musical—neither
a borrower, nor a lender be, do
not forget, stay out of debt…?),
Fat Albert and Hogan’s Heroes.
I have not been able to get them
to watch Star Trek—they think
it is weird; no, they think I am
weird. And I am. Smile.”
Tamara Gallant writes,
“Funny you should ask about
the nostalgic past. I originally
got online today to shop for an
(original-series) Star Trek ring
tone for my new ‘smart’ phone,
having recently upgraded from
my old communicator-esque
flip-top model. In 1983, we
talked about the need for ‘face’
time … now I need Facebook
(or do I?). In the nostalgic present (2009), I enjoyed catching
up with Sherry Blum and her
family at her in-laws’ home
on Long Island. She and her
daughter (Nathalie) had just
flown back from Israel, where
Sherry’s son (Gregory) represented the USA in the Maccabi
Games and won a silver medal
in the 4x400 relay.”
Lis Bischoff-Ormsbee writes,
“I’m embarrassed to say that I
did watch just about every one
of the shows that you mentioned. Those were the days
when I actually had some time
to watch TV! I actually don’t
have much for you except to
say that we are adjusting to life
here without Michael ’13. Our
eldest has headed off for his
first year of college at—can you
guess?—Yes, Williams College!
Williams is a perfect match for
him. He is making good friends,
working hard, loving his classes
and generally just discovering
that he doesn’t mind setting his
own schedule. What a treat it
is to have this special place in
common with my dad Bob ’52,
John and now our son. Mike’s
sisters are filling the space and
say they don’t miss him, but we
do notice that they are all a bit
nicer to each other when we
have the five of us together than
when they used to live together
24/7. My new year’s resolution is to connect with Sharon
Gleason here in Rochester!”
Chris Tantillo writes from
Kansas, “I just got back from a
trip to DC with my son Charles,
who is a junior majoring in
philosophy at the University of
Kansas. It was his first visit to
the Capitol and my first since
the ’80s, when I used to travel
down from NYC to visit Andy
Schlosser and Lydia Bjorland. We
stayed with Bill Simpkins at one
of his hostels, and he insisted
on taking us to the finest
restaurants in town. Bill is also
editing his book about his greatgreat-grandfather, who was a
Confederate officer and then a
federal judge after the Civil War.
Charles and I saw most of the
sights and were both moved,
particularly at the memorials
and the National Archive. We
also connected with my niece
and her husband, who are
hot-shot young attorneys there,
and of course one of their close
friends is a recent Williams
grad.”
Jim Stockton writes, “It has
been quite a psychedelic year
out here on the Left Coast.
For the past several years now,
I have been teaching yoga
in various places—including
a mental health clinic, San
Francisco Department of Public
CL ASS
NOTES
Health and medical marijuana
dispensary in Oakland. While
the city budget is falling apart
and services to the indigent are
being slashed—well, consolidated—well, decimated—this
produces a situation where
one tries to do more with less,
and mental health professionals are opening up to a
trend in psychology around
‘mindfulness’—and how yoga
develops the key themes in this
work (self-soothing, focus on
breath work, staying present
and keeping a non-judgmental
perspective). My work is in
demand. On the other swing
of the economic pendulum, the
medical marijuana movement
has gained incredible national
attention (with a serious boost
by Obama’s Department of
Justice backing down from
trumping state’s laws on this
matter). This past fall, Fortune
magazine’s featured cover story
was on the medical marijuana
movement—highlighting in particular the Harborside Health
Center (where I teach yoga to
the clients and the staff) as the
model for how the rest of the
country will go. Never in all
my days—even drunk at some
party at Williams—did I ever
expect the company I work for
to get on the cover of Fortune
magazine. Ironies pile on—as
the rest of the country hits
record unemployment rates,
this hits home, as my brother’s
cushy high-tech research job
got shut down this fall and
the operations moved over to
China, where I gather, research
And to close out the
responses, from Aytac Apaydin:
“I have the pleasure of playing
golf with Larry Hebb, Mike
Brownrigg and Rob Kusel every
three to four months in San
Fran. It’s been a great way to
stay in touch. I end up giving
Boney helpful hints and strokes,
and he kicks my butt. So I am
going to have to work on that.
On our last golf outing Kus
had to miss the round because
his wife was in labor. Of all the
excuses. LOL. Actually that was
a good one.”
Hope all is well with you
and yours. I am trying to stay
warm in this drafty house on
the water in a cold winter in
Maryland! Love the views,
but my toes are cold! Keep
me posted on your thoughts,
dreams and memories.
1984
Sean M. Crotty
31 Carriage House Lane
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Carrie Bradley Neves
7 Gay St., Apt. 4N
New York, NY 10014
[email protected]
So then, I, Sean, start off my
duties as your whimsical bard
of letters as we close out one
decade and ring in another. I
still have a smile on my face
from spending some time with
many of you this past June and
look forward to stoking the
fires of friendship here in the
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Oliver M. Johnson II ’84 was named senior VP and general counsel for
MedStar Health and will serve as the Baltimore/Washington-based
organization’s chief legal officer. Previously he served as counsel and
chief privacy officer for Merck & Co. in Philadelphia, as vice chair of the
board of Abington Health and as vice chairman of the Pennsylvania State
Board of Medicine.
engineering, industrial science
or whatever you call it is done
cheaper. As I read … in The
Wall St. Journal end-of-thedecade review—China seems
to be making our lunch and
eating it too. Happy New Year
to all—the only ’70s thing here
is this kind of Cheech & Chong
musky odor that lingers a bit
… and I’m still doing yoga like
I learned to watching the PBS
channel, back in the mid-’70s—
Lilias Yoga and You.”
class notes a few times a year.
I had a very interesting end to
’09, which I’ll end the notes
with. First, some notes from
your class, hot off the press. For
those of you wishing to pass
along your news, my e-mail is
[email protected].
As I’ve said in the past, one way
or another these notes will get
written, and leaving me with
no news and just my imagination while staring at a deadline
could be a very interesting yet
dangerous future for some of
you. I do know where the bones
are hidden.
Tom Graham and family
headed to the Boston area over
the New Year and met with Tim
Hinkle and family. Fun seems
to have been had by all. I was
overseas flying and was not able
to attend, but I hope the New
Year’s Eve minireunions will
become a yearly event.
Mara Bun writes from
Australia: “Hubby Stu sends
you a belly hug. The thought
of your two bellies clashing
makes me quiver. :) I can report
two surreal months of living
in my mom’s Santa Barbara
retirement community dementia
ward as her roomie following
our reunion. Whereas we were
led to expect the worse, after
I arrived she bounced back
from the depths of advancing Parkinson’s and dementia.
Despite growing omniscience
about my own demise through
osmosis, the experience was terrific, with some amazing storytelling about the 1930s to 1970s
in great detail. I came back to
Australia in December, and we
decided to move mom to the
Bay Area, closer to my brother
and sister. … Copenhagen was
the not-so-big-news as it turned
out. What a missed opportunity
to think a bit past the next election/earnings report/news story.
M’thinks the planet will continue to do a ‘wakey wakey’ as
we stay down under to remind
us that all is not well. If not,
maybe Avatar will kick us into
gear?” Mara reported a “tropical Queensland summer with
mega loads of mangoes and
limes after a dry year followed
by heavy Christmas rains. Stu is
glued to a ride-on lawnmower,
I am glued to the pool, and
dogs are lounging in the shade.
Meanwhile the southeast of
Australia is experiencing waves
of catastrophic bushfire warnings, so we’re all a bit on edge.
As always we welcome visits,
so let us know if any classmates
find themselves wandering
nearby.”
Having watched Avatar twice
in the last week while waiting to
fly more troops into Iraq from
Maine, I can attest to the timeliness of all things sustainable.
I’m not sure we as a species
are smart enough yet to see the
writing on the wall, but with
people like Mara and many
more of our classmates out
there banging the drum, I still
have hope. For my part, Mara, I
n 1 9 8 3 –8 4
Two dozen Ephs from the classes of 1943 to 2008 turned out in November
for a central North Carolina telecast of the Williams-Amherst game.
just purchased eight acres up on
a south-facing ridge overlooking
the haunts of my youth here in
upstate N.Y., where wind, solar
and geothermal will someday
hopefully supply the majority of
my home and my vehicle energy.
It has been a dream of mine
since 1994 when I dropped the
first troop I ever carried off in
the sands of Kuwait. Tick tock.
Marc Mazzone chimes in
from the fish state: “All I can
report is for myself—life in
Nashville continues to be so
very Nashville. You are so
Nashville if your server has won
more Grammys than you have.
This next year I’ll be teaching
some graduate film courses and
continuing to promote New
Bear Players (the nonprofit theater company I began). Becket
and Jo Jo, my two terriers, still
live the life of Riley, whatever
that is!”
Suzie Dingwall Williams is a
hero, as she brings news of
other classmates along her
travels. She even worked a
classmate’s name in who didn’t
really have any news and was
not really seen in her travels but, nonetheless, is now
included in the notes. Well
done, Suzie: “John Springer’s
wife has had a second son. He
lives on the same street as Jeff
Brainard, who also has had lateblooming reproductive urges
and now has a toddler. Celia
Ciepiela has temporarily relocated from her house in Taos to
DC, where she has been active
in various Rebuilding Iraq
projects. (She flew back from
Baghdad to attend our reunion.)
Rick Goldstein is teaching at a
private high school in Atlanta.
His subjects include human
sexuality (not necessarily his).
In Toronto, I ran into someone
who works with Tom Davies
in Boston. He looks exactly
like Mark Belemjian. I don’t
know what this means, but it
is significant.” Suzie concludes:
“Been looking through old
scrapbooks from 1984. I find
that I am deeply sorry I wore so
much Laura Ashley during my
time at Williams. I am thinking
it would be nifty if we had an
1984 website where people
would post pdfs of their Xmas
letters they send out each year.”
I ran into Callie Lombard
Sullivan at the homecoming
game she attended with one of
her daughters along with her
father, who was also attending
a minireunion on the field. Jack
McGonagle and I were well on
our way to three-beer half time
while chatting about life and
football with Renzi Lamb under
the protection of his well-placed
tent. It was the best seat in the
house and a great spot to catch
up.
Callie writes: “OK Mr. C.
… High/low this fall for me
personally: Low—getting
smoked in the first selectman
race in Darien—but am still on
the board; High—seeing you
and Jack McG at homecoming, although I think my luck
rubbed off on the football team
… but you saw that first hand.
Good to know you and Jackie
remained in reunion drinking
form. You may not have realized it, but Jack butt-dialed me
from the VFW three times that
night—my dad and daughter
and I were hysterical on our
drive home listening to you two
ranting and raving with ‘your
boys!’”
I must confess here, even
though I would like to be
thought of as having been part
of the butt-dialing incident, I
drank coffee during the second
half and headed back over the
mountain to watch my son’s
high school play. It seems from
this post that it might have
been the best decision I made in
2009. As much of “raving with
the boys” at the VFW is certainly in my blood, I did notice
even as a player that the first
“bar” one came to out of the
Weston gate was the VFW.
Bruce McEldowney responded
to my Facebook post: “Dear
Sean and, by the substitution
law of alumni relations, the
rest of the Class of 1984: I
did attend [the] 25th Williams
reunion, and, although I arrived
on Thursday night, too late
to partake in any of the food
buffet at the Log, and left
due to scheduling conflicts on
Saturday before the Alumni
Parade, I have checked with
the development office and
verified that I get a ‘perfunctory pass’ for class spirit. I did
make a point of reviewing the
sign-in records at the Alumni
Office as well as the rolling
admissions bulletin board at the
Prospect Hall check-in station
to see if any of my freshmen
colleagues (i.e., those Class of
1984 who were assigned to
Fayerweather third floor by the
Eph Sorting Hat) were attending our 25th reunion. Besides
Jong Yang and Mark Rice, my
official count topped off at
three. I acknowledge that Callie
Lombard and Hope Bigelow did
fairly represent Fayerweather
first floor, and rumor has it that
Chris Eagon also returned to
Billsville this past summer to
assure that Fayerweather second
floor was not shut out. But
come on, fellow Berkshire Quad
alums, where were you? The
25th reunion was on our home
turf (although East first, second
and third can claim joint custody). If I missed anyone from
Fayerweather Freshmen Year
1980 who was in attendance at
our 25th reunion, I truly apologize and will buy you two drink
tickets or one meal voucher at
the 30th reunion. Looking forward to seeing everyone then.”
SENDNEWS!
Y
CL ASS
NOTES
As for yours truly, I ended
2009 alone and in Italy over
Christmas. I felt a bit sad as I
woke up in a small hotel room
on Christmas Eve morning in
the hill town of Pordenone
away from family yet again
over a holiday. That of course
lasted about 10 seconds before
I got online and figured out
that the new high-speed train
was running from Mestre,
the train station about an
hour from me near Venice,
directly to Rome. Never having been to Rome in all my
travels I e-mailed the American
University there and begged
for a ticket to Midnight Mass
at St. Peter’s Basilica and by
3 p.m. that afternoon found
myself picking my way through
the rainy streets of Rome to
pick up my ticket. Once I did
I was told to head directly
toward the Vatican as the line
was already growing. I looked
at my watch—it was 4 p.m.
Standing in a line for six hours
in a cold drizzle might seem
an odd way for an agnostic to
spend his Christmas Eve, but
the year before I had found
myself in the first church in
Christendom, “The Cave
Church of St. Peter” down
in Antioch in Turkey. It just
seemed right for me to work
my way to the Basilica exactly
a year later. I stood with a few
Americans and many Italians,
and we shared coffee and
fruit and cookies and the time
slipped by.
Time well spent, it seems on
looking back, because I then
viewed, from a mere 10 yards
away, the first official tackling of a sitting pope, when a
woman jumped past me and
reached out for the staff of St.
Peter and pulled the 82-yearold pope to the hard marble
floor. She grabbed the staff at
the very last minute as she was
being tackled to the ground
by a stocky bald man dressed
SENDPHOTOS
W
williams.edu.
Last fall, two dozen Ephs employed by J.P. Morgan’s investment bank
gathered for a photo organized by Ben Thompson ’85 (back row, fourth
from right), who is managing director and captain of the bank’s Williams
College recruiting team, and Vice Chairman Jimmy Lee ’75 (front row,
second from right).
in black and, in turn, brought
said pontiff, the leader of 1
million Catholics across the
globe, down upon her like a
sack of potatoes. The pope to
his credit would have none of
this nonsense and pushed back
his myriad of pions, put his
grand poohbah hat back on,
grabbed the staff of St. Peter
and marched his bruised but
not broken self up to the Papal
Altar and recited a complete
mass. The Papal Altar sits on
top of the tomb of St. Peter
himself and under a 95-foot
baldacchino (canopy for those
of you from Lobo Linda) of
bronze worked by Birnini—of
which about 85 percent was
“recycled” from the bronze the
Romans themselves had used
centuries before.
Recycle, Reuse, Reduce.
Once mass was over, the pontiff headed back down the center of the Basilica like a rock
star with almost 8,000 patrons,
including me, giving him a
standing ovation. I mean the
man is 82 and popped up off
the ground like a 20-year-old
rugby player after the tackle,
to speak in English, German,
Italian, Spanish and Latin; he
deserved the ovation. Even the
Episcopalians sitting next to
me were impressed, and having
married into that faith let me
tell you it’s no small matter
impressing Episcopalians.
So, there you have it, Sean’s
excellent Rome adventure. I
got to spend midnight mass
in Rome. Well, technically it
wasn’t midnight mass this year
because el Popo was feeling
a bit under the weather—as
they say in Italy—even before
the tackle, and so midnight
was moved up two hours to
10 o’clock, so he would be
“rested” for his noontime
blessing on Christmas Day.
I’m thinking after the tackle he
might have wanted 72 hours
off, but he headed out the next
day to bless the crowd and go
on with his day. To me however, it will always be midnight
mass when I tell the story
to the grandkids about how
granddad was there when the
pope was tackled on Christmas
Eve. To think the other two
pilots on my crew just sat in
their rooms in Pordenone for
five days with nothing more
to tell me upon my return but
that the pizza place down the
street was closed on Christmas.
One thing is for certain, I’ve
been getting my money’s worth
out of someone else’s air fare
these past few years. I have
often told my children to keep
choosing the adventurous life,
because at least—in my humble
opinion—anything else isn’t
really worth living to begin
with. It warms my heart to
know that so many of my classmates are living just such a life.
Keep the notes coming. Or
else.
n 1 9 8 4 –8 5
1985
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Wendy Webster Coakley
25th
271 Pittsfield Road
Lenox, MA 01240
[email protected]
As we count down the weeks
to our 25th reunion, June
10-13, I hope that you’ve had
as much fun as I have paging
through our updated Freshman
Facebook. Who would have
thought, 25 years ago, that
three of our classmates would
be living Down Under (shout
out to Hilary Headrick Bell,
Ann McCarthy and Bob Vitale)?
Indeed, by my estimate, more
than 10 percent of the class is
currently living outside of the
U.S.
And the ’85 expats lead the
way in news, starting with
Ragnar Horn, who wrote me
after he, wife Joey Akhtar Horn
’87 and the three little Horns
returned to their home in
Singapore from a holiday trip
to Norway. “Great skiing in
Norway at 20-below Celsius
but now back to 30-above in
Singapore,” he reported. (For
the metrically challenged, that’s
an abrupt shift from 2-below to
86 degrees Fahrenheit.) Ragnar
also assured me that he’s “all set
for the 25th and ‘burning down
the house’ in June!”
From the U.K., Kia Nobre
was named director of the
Oxford Centre for Real-Time
Brain Imaging, “an exciting but
also daunting new challenge,”
she wrote. Her countryman
Clark Baim is co-directing
the Birmingham Institute for
Psychodrama and receiving
accolades for his new book on
advanced theories and applications on psychodrama. Clark
revels in the role of “chauffeur
to my 11-year-old daughter,
who stands at the threshold of
her teens, and don’t I know it.
She has one foot in childhood,
and the other in Dad-worrying
teens; one moment she is singing and dancing to Lady Gaga
routines in the kitchen, and the
next she is cracking me up with
her operatic rendition of ‘On
Top of Spaghetti.’ Long may it
last!”
Denmark resident Chris
Varrone recently came out with
his first novel, Shadows in
Summer, available on Amazon.
com. Inspired by actual
events, it’s a ghost story set in
Copenhagen and narrated by
six different characters. The
book jacket synopsis alone had
my scalp prickling.
First-time correspondent Larry
Greenberg, who has made his
home in Japan since about six
months after graduation, sent
along an update well worth
the wait. His latest entrepreneurial venture Digital Meme
is opening Japan’s cinematic
archives to an international
market whose exposure has
been largely limited to Godzilla.
Fluent in business Japanese,
Larry also runs a translation
service, Urban Connections,
which offers local businesses in
Tokyo the chance to communicate with foreign firms.
“I kept a pretty low profile
at Williams,” Larry recalled.
“Originally I transferred into
the Class of 1986 but along the
way I wound up in the Class of
1985—lots of classes piled on
and too many books read in too
little time.”
If Larry’s account brought
me back to one of my favorite classroom experiences
at Williams—Peter Frost’s
“Modern Japan” class—Andrew
McElfresh had me convinced I
was at a comedy club. No surprise, considering that he writes
for Jay Leno and the Wayans
Brothers: “So, in addition to
destroying TV as we know it,
I am raising the consciousness
of mankind through bathroom
humor. Quite the résumé
builder,” he wrote, modestly.
“My daughter Daisy, 10, got
her first phone for Christmas.
She sent 14,291 text messages
in four days, nearly equaling the
record set by her brother last
year. Dashiell, 13, is applying to
high schools in LA and growing at an appalling rate. His
voice is deeper than mine, and
he is 3 inches taller than me,
which describes nine-tenths of
the U.S. male population (and
three-quarters of the female
population) but still comes as
a shock when it happens in my
own house. Both are swimming
very fast these days for the
Hancock Park Swim Club at
Marlborough.
“My wife Johanna (also taller
than me, though with a slightly
higher voice) and I threw a holiday wingding, and who but Jenny
Bicks should show up to convince
me to go to reunion this summer.
This was mostly accomplished
with physical threats. She may be
small, but she’s got a tough streak
a mile wide.
“The coercion tactics continued on our trip to San Antonio
for Christmas, where we visited
the beautiful and muchexpanded home of Francie
Billups Mannix. She and her
wonderful family are doing
great, but beneath that genteel
veneer of civility I again sensed
the threat of physical violence
if I did not attend reunion. All
of those years of rugby have
an effect on a woman. Plus
she’s bigger than me. I’m just
sayin’ … which leads me to my
sincerest hopes to see you all
at reunion. That is if I can get
time off from destroying TV
as we know it and raising the
consciousness of mankind, etc.,
etc.”
Fellow Angeleno Laura
Henriques enjoyed a visit from
Chris and Carol Weeks Acker,
who were in Long Beach to see
their eldest daughter, Rachael,
compete in a California/Nevada
sectional swim meet. Laura
started off the New Year in
style, watching the Tournament
of Roses Parade live for the first
time since moving to the West
Coast.
Mireya Calderin D’Angelo
enjoyed an unexpected reunion
with Ann Warren Lockwood
when Ann’s 24-hour business
trip to NYC fell victim to a
flight delay. “I left the husband
and child for a very impromptu
but excellent girls’ night out,”
Mireya e-mailed. “We had a
delicious dinner, great wine and
even got to see the Rockefeller
Center Christmas tree.”
Since Mireya copied her
partner in crime, Ann was
inspired to write following
her return to Portland, Maine.
“I have been working in
marketing for the same bank
going on 12 (yikes!) years,”
she reported. “Have spent the
last 18 months working on the
integration of our bank with a
New Jersey-based one that our
parent company purchased.
Interesting project. My husband Bruce owns a marketing
research firm in Portland. …
We have two kids, Rachel, 13,
and Andrew, 10. I hope our
classmates out there with older
kids can reassure me that we
will survive the teenage years.
I look forward to seeing everyone at reunion.”
Your class secretary almost
had an impromptu reunion with
a classmate in NYC, when I
happened to spot Dan Iacovella
at the Wall Street subway station while in the city for a quick
CL ASS
NOTES
business trip. Unfortunately, I
didn’t fully realize it was Dan
until the horde of commuters
pushed me past him, and by
then I was late for my meeting.
Subsequent e-mail confirmed
that I was right and that it was,
indeed, a very random sighting, since “I’m not often in
that area,” Dan noted. We’ve
promised to actually stop and
speak to one another in person
at reunion!
My Morgan East/Dennett
House roommate Tracey Tenser
Sydel wrote: “Mark and I are
still living in NYC with our kids
Ben and Lucy. Ben is eagerly
awaiting news of where he’ll
attend high school (even public
school in NYC is, unfortunately, a competitive sport) and
breaking in his new second-base
glove for the spring season.
Lucy has been busy rehearsing a modern dance piece she
choreographed (to music by
John Cage!) and is performing
at Dance Theater Workshop. An
avid soccer player, Lucy’s first
soccer coach—several years ago,
when the kids were still learning
which way to run—was none
other than David Shipley. As
for me, I am returning to work,
with some consulting for the
Center for Arts Education and
a bit of freelance editing, after
time off to spend with the kids.
I’m in touch with Jenine Gordon
Bockman, who lives a few blocks
from us and whose daughter
Clea has a standing play date
with Lucy at Union Square Park.
Jenine is the editor of Literal
Latte and recently published
an anthology of work from the
magazine’s past 15 years. Gail
Harris Thomason completed a
four-year initiative to re-tool
report cards, parent conferences
and how student progress is
evaluated and communicated
in her school district. Craig and
Sarah Haberer Hammond sent
a lovely holiday card with a
picture of their three teenagers,
the oldest of whom is now a
freshman at Williams!”
Congratulations to proud
parents Phil and Mary Nealon
Lusardi, whose eldest daughter,
Jackie, was accepted to Williams
early decision for the Class of
2014, joining an ever-growing
list of class parents.
Julie Meer Harnick was hoping
for a reunion with Ted Thomas
when she and her husband Bob
celebrated their 20th anniversary
with a long weekend in Boston,
but, as luck would have it, the
Thomases happened to be 15
minutes from Julie’s home on
Long Island that same weekend.
She did have a nice chat with
Mike deWindt when he called on
behalf of our class gift.
Since last he wrote me, Bob
Ause moved his family from
California to Michigan. Lest
we think otherwise, “We did
not move for the weather or for
the economy but for family,”
he wrote. “In spite of having
grown up in Ann Arbor, no one
in my family has ever attended
the University of Michigan, but
at the end of June I became the
first to matriculate and am currently in an intensive 12-month
master’s program in education,
which will allow me to acquire
a Michigan teaching certificate.”
Bob encounters a number of
alumni in Ann Arbor, including
Tim and Sally Hart Peterson, both
’86, at local Williams events, and
Peter Zeeb has visited. “Plus my
attendance at our 25th is now
very likely, since I could even
drive in a day to Williamstown,”
he noted.
Jerry Larrabee relocated to his
native state, Vermont, in order
that his children could grow
up closer to extended family,
although a great job offer with
the University of Vermont—
where he serves as medical
director of Vermont Children’s
Hospital and associate professor
of pediatrics—certainly sweetened the pot. Jerry’s three sons
hail from Ukraine, Guatemala
and China; not surprisingly, he
has a strong interest in international health and child advocacy
and recently traveled to Africa to
develop UVM’s ties with a community hospital in rural Uganda.
Last fall, Ross Wilson got to
take a six-week sabbatical from
his job at Autodesk, where he
heads finance processes and systems. He spent the time traveling
up and down his native state
of California, hitting several
national parks in the process
with various family members
(including wife Sara Hansen
Wilson ’88). … He did make it
back home to San Francisco in
time to catch the local WilliamsAmherst telecast, where he
got to root against his church
pastor, an Amherst grad who’s
“OK most of the rest of the
time,” Ross conceded. In other
football news, “Steve Haggett
and I continue to play in our
annual fantasy football league
with about eight other players,
and we both made it to the finals
this year. Steve beat me for the
league championship, using his
powerful running backs to defeat
my weak wide receivers.”
Vidisha Dehejia Patel and her
husband Ashvin took their
children on a three-week trip
to India over the holidays.
“They’ve been many times, but
this year we took them on a
longer tour of various sites,” she
explained. “The pinnacle was
a visit to the Taj Mahal on the
Blue Moon. It was a spectacular
sight and just as awe inspiring
as when I saw it over 30 years
ago!” A practicing therapist with
a doctorate in counseling psychology, Vidisha operates Peace
of Heart, specializing in therapeutic interventions for children
and families in Sarasota, Fla.
Shannon McKeen is having a
great time, sharing his love of
scuba diving with his teenage
son and daughter. All three are
certified in the sport. (Shannon’s
wife Karen made a valiant
attempt but is now relegated to
lying on the beach.) In 2009,
they enjoyed dives in the waters
of Florida, Virginia and their
home state of North Carolina.
Another North Carolinian, Ted
Benson, is looking forward to
showing Williams to his young
sons Josh and Zach this June. In
the meantime, he’s enjoying his
job developing new therapeutic
proteins for Talecris, a company
that “actually has products,
profits and, as of November,
public stock,” Ted reported.
I received a nice update from
Class Co-Prez Meg Holliday
Kelly, who reports, “Life is
good in the western suburbs of
Boston. As part of Christmas,
Jonathan and I took our girls
(ages 15, 13 and 9) to NYC for a
night to see Wicked. We all love
musicals, but our middle daughter has been bitten by the theater
bug (neither Jonathan nor I can
carry a tune), so it was magical
to watch her watch the show.
I complain a lot about teenage
girls, but I have to say that I
really do enjoy my girls taking
those first big steps to adulthood. Our youngest daughter,
who has had her share of medical challenges over the years, is
thriving and healthy—so I really
could not ask for more!”
As we approach our 25th
reunion, Meg—who is cochairing the big event with Sara
Harkness Curry, aided by a slew
of classmates who are enthusiastically lending their time and
talents—added this message for
any members who may be on the
fence about whether to attend:
“I can hardly remember what I
n 1 9 8 5 –8 7
1986
Greg Heller
178 Rolling Road
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
[email protected]
1987
Greg Keller
2810 College Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Rob Wieman
11 Jarell Farms Drive
Newark, DE 19711
[email protected]
Edwina Martin ’86 (left) visited her sister Cheryl ’82 in Scotland last spring,
when Cheryl was director in residency for the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.
had for dinner two nights ago,
but my memories of arriving at
Williams are so clear. It was a
treat recently to swap pictures of
offspring via e-mail with my former entrymate Jeff Speck, but it
made me realize that I am afraid
I have frozen old friends and
classmates whom I do not see on
a regular or semi-regular basis
in time, back in their Williams
years. Hardly fair, I know. So I
want to encourage everyone to
come to our reunion so that we
can all enjoy the people we have
become in the years since we sat
at graduation baking in those
robes, or ate fresh doughnuts
late at night at Baxter, or danced
to Michael Jackson in the Rec
Room, or bought stacks of new
or used books at the start of
each semester, or walked across
campus on a cold and starry
Berkshire night, or watched
spring (e.g., mud) arrive ever
so slowly, or typed our papers
with generous amounts of
Wite-Out, or walked through
the front door of the Log for a
warm homemade Log lunch or
a post-library cold beer. Dust
off your memories and come to
Williamstown in June. It won’t
be the same without you.”
Well said, Meg. Here’s another
perspective on the endurance
of our Williams ties, from Peter
Zeeb, who graciously emerged
from the grief following his
father’s unexpected passing to
send me these heartfelt words:
“On Nov. 9, my dad, a vital 71
years old, had a terrible bicycling
accident. He died the next day.
Since then, of course, nothing
has been the same. I’ve spoken
with Bob Ause and Hart Hodges
several times, received notes
or calls from Maria Bousvaros
Tollefson, Joan Becker Kelsch and
Bruce Albelda, and also heard
from the Class of ’84, specifically
Murray and Jean Loew Hennessy
and Audrey Albern Sheffield. On
one of my many walks with my
mom around Bullough’s Pond,
near her house in Newton,
Mass., we passed Art Hutchinson,
who was out for a brisk run.
He stopped and expressed his
condolences, having learned
the news through the Williams
network.
“Dad was honored by an overpacked sanctuary at my parents’
church, probably 500 people.
His incredibly connected life has
made me think a lot about the
value of connectedness and how
personally I struggle to be as
connected as I would like to be.
This seems appropriate food for
thought leading up to our 25th
reunion and reminds me that the
very week we graduated from
Williams my parents shared their
25th college reunion at Harvard
and my mother received her
PhD, also from Harvard. They
were married the week after
graduation, in 1960, and came
within eight months of their
50th wedding anniversary.”
In other words, dear classmates: Life passes in the blink of
an eye. By our shared association, however tenuous, we have
impacted one another profoundly. I hope you will consider
marking the significance of your
special place in the Class of 1985
by attending reunion.
Be careful what you wish for
in 2010. Just a few days after
New Year’s, I had little class
news to report and a looming deadline for this column.
However, my second request
through the Williams list server
generated so many e-mails that
I easily exceeded our class word
limit and had to cut back a few
column inches. Thanks to all of
you who wrote both before and
after the holidays, and apologies
for having to trim some of your
information.
Jordan Hampton shared her
big news from 2009. “I am now
a family! Paul Sullivan and I
welcomed our daughter Grace
on Sept. 9.” Jordan e-mailed
in early January as she was
finishing her maternity leave
and returning to work “with a
new respect for the teen moms I
counsel.”
In August, Jordan joined a
Goodrich House minireunion
at Judy Crown Craver’s house
in Maine that included Judy’s
husband Dave and three kids
(Anna, Ben and Ellie); Molly
Bourne and her daughter Silvia,
who came from Italy; Lee Briggs
Couch, who was en route to a
new job in Stamford, Conn.;
Katie Kerr Clarke, who had a
weekend away from her boys
(Charlie, Cartan, Tyler and
husband Patrick); Annie Gilbert
Coleman, who was about to
start her job at the University of
Notre Dame; and Jill Shulman,
who came from Amherst,
Mass., with her husband
Mat and two kids (Hannah
and Ethan). Jordan was also
thinking ahead to future class
reunions and has already
determined that Grace, who
could graduate from Williams in
2032, “will be terribly embarrassed when her old fogey mom
leaves our 50th to stop by her
rockin’ fifth.”
CL ASS
NOTES
Charles Mahoney will not have
to contend with overlapping
reunions but will be visiting
Williamstown more often since
his son Adrian will be a member
of the Class of 2014. He reports
that Adrian plans to run crosscountry and track at Williams
and has already been talking
with Pete Farwell ’73 about a
winter training regimen.
Dave Prockop, a former track
standout for Coach Farley,
wrote that after 10 years of
teaching at Groton School, the
administration decided that he
needed a sabbatical. Therefore,
he and wife Hope (who also
teaches and coaches at Groton)
are spending the first part of
2010 in Cape Town, South
Africa. Daughters Molly and
Lyle were to start school in
mid-January. “In the meantime,
we’ve been seeing spectacular scenery, amazing wildlife,
terrific surfing beaches and
gut-wrenching poverty. I’ll head
out into the desert tomorrow
night for some southern sky
astronomy, and Hope and I
are looking forward to giving
some time to two social-service
organizations, both founded by
Eph alums.” Dave’s two regrets
are that he won’t make it to
Isandlwana, which turns out to
be a16-hour drive from Cape
Town, to pick up a souvenir for
Alec Dawson (“I love Duck like
a brother, but there are limits”)
and that the local Internet connection is not up to snuff. (“I’m
pretty sure that I’ve written and
lost this same e-mail to you
twice before.”) During my fact
checking, I discovered that Dave
and Hope are documenting
their sabbatical at hdprockop.
blogspot.com and had managed
to make at least one entry from
Cape Town.
Karin Muller is no stranger
to the slow Internet speeds
in Africa and other global
locations. She e-mailed as she
was heading back to the States
for Christmas and apologized
that she couldn’t send a recent
newsletter about Take 2 Videos
(www.take2videos.org), her
nonprofit film production
organization, until she returned.
Karin spends two to three
months per year shooting footage in global conflict zones and
then partners with high schools
and colleges to have students
edit the film into documentary
projects.
Liz Kellison took a break
from her work at the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation
At a November reception hosted by Joey ’87 and Ragnar Horn ’85 (second from and far right) for Prof. Neil Kubler (fourth from left), alumni and
friends gathered to hear about the College’s Asian studies program.
and her kids to hike the Grand
Canyon (the Havasu and the
South Rim) in October. Her
4-year-old twins Nathan and
Lila “didn’t miss us a bit,”
so “Cris and I are planning
another getaway in 2010.”
Meanwhile, despite the cold,
gray weather in Seattle, the
twins have taken to the new
bikes they got for Christmas
and ride outside any chance
they get. Liz also writes that
while she has a terrific group of
colleagues at work, she wasn’t
able to convince any of them to
ask Bill Gates to dance at the
foundation’s annual holiday
party.
Chris Kirwan’s family gutted it
out inside their home in Kansas
City over the holiday break.
“Between the single-digit temps
and the recurring snowstorms,
we can barely get the dog out
of the house to pee. I’m not
sure whether it’s more annoying dealing with the dog or
listening to the old-timers rattle
on about how it always used
to be this cold, except when
it was 110 degrees and humid
or when the skies were full of
tornadoes.”
Tom FitzGibbon also spent
plenty of time inside in late
December. A Christmas Eve
e-mail, which was a substitute
for a card, indicated that he and
wife Dara were still unpacking
boxes from their move to a new
home in Ladera Heights, Calif.,
that has more room for their
twins. Andrew Smith and family
also switched zip codes during
the fall, selling their house in
Chevy Chase, Md., for a new
abode in Bethesda.
Katrien Vance (aka Trinki
Sundt at Williams) could have
overlapped with both Tom and
Andrew during family vacations
in 2009. In August, she saw
Todd Pelkey ’89 for dinner and
carnival rides in Santa Monica.
Todd “rode roller coasters with
my sons and talked Blackberries
with my brother-in-law—what
a renaissance man.” Then in
December, Katrien arranged
a visit with John Andrews ’89
and family at the Air and
Space Museum in DC. The two
families enjoyed the simulator ride, watched an IMAX
movie, ate at the food court and
generally “found every possible
way to spend money at a free
museum.” When not on the
road, Katrien teaches English,
history, pre-algebra, music and
chorus to seventh and eighth
graders at North Branch School
near Charlottesville, Va. Her
sons Nathan and Luke attend
third grade and kindergarten,
respectively, at North Branch,
and husband David is a patent
attorney.
Katrien may consider adding
another West Coast swing to
her travel plans to see Paul
Rardin and the University of
Michigan Men’s Glee Club
during its spring concert tour.
From May 5-20, Paul will help
lead performances in Denver,
Salt Lake City, Las Vegas,
Phoenix, LA and San Francisco,
and he would enjoy seeing any
class members who live in or
around those cities. This season
also marks the group’s 150th
anniversary and Paul’s fifth year
as associate director of choirs at
the university.
n 1987
When in Ann Arbor, Paul may
run into Michael Weber, who
recently moved there with his
family. Michael accepted a position in the philosophy department at Bowling Green State
University, just over the border
in northwestern Ohio, and will
become the department chair
for the 2010-11 academic year.
If The Graduate is remade for
the 2010s, Benjamin Braddock
(still wearing the purple and
yellow striped tie) will hear that
“cleantech not plastics” is the
industry of the future. Malcolm
Smith is working at CPower,
“a small but growing cleantech
company,” which has its operating center in the MASS MoCA
complex in North Adams. Last
summer, Malcolm spoke with
Eric von Estorff, who lives outside
of Milwaukee with his wife and
three boys and is the general
counsel of another cleantech firm,
Orion Energy. And Kate Pugh
(in a separate e-mail) reports
that her fiancé Peter Van Walsum
’85 is researching biofuels at the
University of Maine at Orono.
Malcolm added that he enjoys
living in Williamstown with his
wife and two young sons and
that last winter, while walking the
banks of the Green River with
his dog, he ran into Attila Sala,
who “was remarkably unchanged
from our undergrad days, still
the same exuberant, smiling free
spirit that I remembered.” James
Spallone wrote to Malcolm over
Christmas to announce the birth
of his second child, Phoebe, in
October. “Jamey has decided
to trade in his experience in the
Connecticut House for a run for
attorney general. Vote Spallone in
2010,” Malcolm says.
Kate Pugh is also looking at new opportunities
and has started a firm called
AlignConsulting after working in knowledge management
roles at Intel and Fidelity
Investments. She’s proposing a
book about a way to “collectively capture tacit knowledge
and accelerate innovation” and
was on her way to a speaking
engagement in Philadelphia
when she wrote in January.
For her research, Kate could
interview Dean Papadopoulos,
who’s managing a software
company in Annapolis, Md.
Dean reported that while 2009
was not the best year for business, he still managed “to grow
my company to almost 40 folks,
and Navy beat Notre Dame, so
we’re not complaining.”
Tim Ross saw Dean in Atlantic
City last year and may schedule
a follow-up trip that would
include Jon Wigser this spring.
Tim also joined Mike Mellis for
a basketball game at Madison
Square Garden, published a
book called Child Welfare: The
Challenges of Collaboration
in March 2009 and saw Amy
Dworksy ’90 (“she works in
the child welfare field as well”)
during his travels for work.
Midway through his e-mail,
Tim reports the best news of
all: “After having lymphoma a
couple years ago, I am cancer
free and healthy, knock on
wood.” Tim’s twins, Marty and
Leah, just turned 11, and his
wife Anna is busy raising money
to fund a new emergency room
at NYU Medical Center.
In February Give and Go:
Learning from Losing to the
Harlem Globetrotters played
at the Metropolitan Playhouse
in Manhattan. Brandt Johnson
wrote and stars in the one-man
play, which is based in part on
his experience playing professional basketball in Europe. A
2007 production of Give and
Go earned strong reviews, and
Brandt has been busy revising
the script and rehearsing for
the opening. According to his
bio (see www.giveandgotheplay.com/bios.html) he has
performed in other New York
theater productions and in a
few film and TV roles.
Josh Lebowitz, another multitalented entertainer, e-mailed
that “the economy flatlining
late in ’08 kicked my little
freelance production business
squarely in the face, but it was
a weirdly busy end of ’09, and
I’m happy to be seeing signs
of life on all fronts (writing,
TV, directing, script doctoring
and voice overing).” He’s now
involved with three TV shows
in various stages of development and hopes that at least one
of them will be in production
by the spring. He added that
in the past year “you could
hear my dulcet tones” on an
ABC holiday special, Virginia’s
emergency preparedness training course, an LSAT prep guide
audiobook and various audio
tours at the Getty Museum in
LA, the Huntington in Pasadena
and the Boston Children’s
Museum. Josh and his family live in the San Francisco
Bay Area near friends Carol
(Smallwood) Mullin, Jim Kaufman
and Andy Harris ’88, though he
admits to seeing “precious few
Williamsers recently, except on
Facebook.”
I’m grateful to Josh and to
David Cost (Dartmouth ’84)
for sharing their memories of
Charlie Cost, as it has been more
than 25 years since Charlie
died at the beginning of our
sophomore year. According to
Josh, Charlie “was one of those
people that ALL of us really
just liked, wanted to hang out
with, made us laugh, etc. He
made a big impression pretty
quickly.” Josh also remembers
Charlie as a “very ‘there for
ya’ kinda person” when they
were together in Williams C as
freshmen. While I missed the
opportunity to know Charlie at
Williams, I’ve had the privilege
of learning more about him
through his brother David, who
is one of my friends in Berkeley.
Our families, including David’s
wife Kate, 7-year-old son Lucca
(whose middle name is Charles),
and 5-year-old daughter Julia,
have begun an annual tradition
of carving pumpkins together
around Halloween. A few
weeks before our gathering last
year, David left a voicemail to
ask if I was in the Class of ’87
at Williams and then couldn’t
believe that “we” had not made
the connection before. Actually,
I had made the connection
previously and now regret that
I’d waited to reveal it. David
has since shared his recollections about Charlie’s travels
to East Berlin, growing up in
Minnesota and “the beauty
and tranquility of the Williams
campus [in September 1984] …
so jarringly juxtaposed against
the awfulness of the moment.”
This last line is from a letter
David sent me at the end of
the year that he said I should
forward to anyone who’d like
to read the full text. David
writes that while the memory
of losing his brother is never far
away, the Cost family’s bond
has grown stronger through the
years, “especially a we begin
SENDPHOTOS
W
williams.edu.
CL ASS
NOTES
experiencing anew the joys of
Charlie’s and my childhood
through the eyes of my children—learning to ski, visiting
our family’s ranch in Montana,
playing family games.” David’s
mom Peggy now splits her
time between Minnesota and a
condo in San Francisco so she
can be closer to her grandkids,
and David’s dad, who’s become
a photographer and monoprint
artist, is also a frequent visitor.
Rob Wieman and I welcome your
memories about Charlie for the
next round of the notes, and if
you’d like to share something
more directly with David in the
meantime, his e-mail address is
[email protected].
Sam Beltran lives just down
the road from me in the Upper
Rockridge section of Oakland
and claims to have been stalking me after reading that we’d
almost seen each other in the
last notes column. His detective work was successful, as
he managed to enroll his son
in the same YMCA swim class
that my 3-year-old joined at
the beginning of January. As a
result, we now see each other
most Saturdays, including
this past week, when he was
planning to meet up with Jerry
Enriquez, who was visiting from
Portland. Sam has been teaching
in the Bay Area for many years.
This past fall, he moved to San
Francisco’s University High
School, where he is both an
English teacher and head of the
school’s Summerbridge enrichment program for underserved
students. Sam also keeps busy
by playing volleyball several
times a week, running with wife
Kristin and shuttling his kids
(Maia, 4½, and Noah, 3) to
various activities.
Jim Reichheld checked in
from Concord, Mass., where
Julia (Beasley) Reichheld ’89
“continues to grow the minds
of our youth while I purge
their parents’ colons.” Jim was
in Williamstown for Julia’s
20th reunion over the summer, where he caught up with
Rob Wieman, Dave Grossman
and Tom Kaegi. The Reichhelds
also vacationed with the Kaegi
family in New Hampshire,
and Jim reports seeing a lot of
Keith Goldfeld during 2009 on
various occasions in New York,
New Hampshire and Boston,
where they attended an English
Beat show.
Keith also “grudgingly” joined
Dave Futterman in the audience
of a live radio broadcast of
Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home
Companion. Dave remains busy
co-chairing the class Alumni
Fund drive and working in the
general counsel’s office at Bank
of America, though he still sees
Marnie Stetson “from time to
time … usually from about
12 a.m. to 5 a.m. between her
work, hobbies, Facebooking
and mothering. She calls
this our quality time. I call it
sleeping.”
Finally, Lawton Hawkins is
looking forward to uninterrupted shut-eye at night after
joining the ranks of parenthood in 2009. In June, he and
his wife Yayoi had their first
child, a son named Shin, who
is “strong and healthy and
spends his time crawling around
and doing all the things that
babies are supposed to do.”
Congratulations and all the best
as 2010 unfolds.
1988
Britta Bjornlund
3406 Rodman St., NW
Carolyn O’Brien
241 Huron Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
[email protected]
As we write these notes—during the dark days of winter—
snow, appropriately enough,
seems to have been a theme.
Apparently many of you were
too discouraged by the snow
to write this time—perhaps
re-reading Anna Karenina or
editing your memoirs or just
watching Mad Men repeats
until the sun shines again (not
that we would know anything
about that). Ski hats off to the
brave souls who did correspond
with us. To the rest of you, may
spring flowers come with showers of May letters and e-mails,
please!
Bill Hilty wrote of lots of
snow in Northern Colorado.
The emergency room physician was to be featured during
the “Grand Junction” segment
of Tom Brokaw’s “American
Character Along Highway
50” series sometime between
late January and the end of
February. A short, preliminary
segment aired with the nightly
news in November and generated a number of friendly phone
calls and e-mails from Class
of ’88ers scattered around the
country. Bill sent us a great
picture of his wife Jill and
daughters Bailey, Maya and
India, two of whom were holding chickens rather than skis.
While watching snow fall
in Munich, Olga Bassinne felt
the call of the desert. She’s
headed to Oman again for an
excavation, while managing
the tapestry of events her life
represents. She’s still writing on
“obscure” bits of history, trying
to get her dissertation topic
approved, preparing paintings
for a show and conducting a
long-distance love affair. She
writes, “The secret to youth is
to keep damn busy with things
that one is passionate about …
well, until my knees and back
give out.” Hang in there and try
the glucosamine, Olga.
Also leaving the cold, perhaps
for good, Julie Cranston, her
husband and two daughters
are moving to Newport Beach,
Calif., this summer after nine
years in Sudbury, Mass. She
adds, “Plowing and shoveling
snow is somehow enjoyable
when you know it might be
your last for some time!” Alas,
we would not know, Julie!
Possibly also fleeing the cold
(as well as jobs, husbands and
kids), Sarah Benioff and Katie
Brackenridge went to India
together for two weeks in
October. They explored some
of the major sites and cities of
Rajasthan and then did a little
trekking in the foothills of the
Himalayas. They relived a bit
of their youth and previous
world travels together 20 years
prior, reportedly using the same
backpacks!
Seeking a bit of early winter
cheer, Lisa Tenerowicz stopped in
at Buff’s Pub in Newton, Mass.,
a few days after the WilliamsAmherst football game and
ran into Lewis Collins and Eric
Churchill. Lewis and Eric were
there with two buddies who
happen to be Amherst alums.
(Yes, we are wondering how
can a person be a friend and
an Amherst alum?!) They were
performing the ritual passing
of the cow—a small, stuffed
cow with the scores of every
Amherst-Williams football
game for something like the last
50 years. Apparently, the winner of the annual Eph-Lord Jeff
pigskin contest gets to keep the
cow for the next year. Really,
we have no further information on the ritual, why it began
before either of them was born
and how they keep smart people
like Eric’s wife Ginny ’90, who
n 1 9 8 7 –9 0
arrived late, from throwing it
out between games.
Braving snow, Brooke Ackerley
saw Kathy Wolf (presumably
also a snow-friendly type,
being a former top Williams ski
team member), Rebecca Todd
(exchange ’85) and Mark Solan
for dinner while she was in
NYC for a meeting.
In nearby New Jersey, Alicia
Bjornson has been working
in conservation for the New
Jersey State Park Service for the
past 15 years. Having played
clarinet in the Salem American
Legion Band now for over six
years, she also frequents the
Allegheny College Adult Band
Camp, a weeklong intensive
music camp for musicians of all
backgrounds. She’s also been
traveling the East Coast with
her boyfriend and fellow band
camper (what happens at those
band camps anyway?). In North
Carolina she had the opportunity to tour conservation
labs, thanks to colleague Anne
Battram.
Dave Kane was staying
indoors while teaching a Winter
Study course at Williams—
”Applied Data Analysis.” As
he explained to prospective
students, “The class will help
you develop a comfort level
around data, learn the software
necessary to manipulate it and
put these skills to work on a
substantive project.” He does
not say whether analyzing
Red Sox pitching prospects is
a “substantive project,” but
his blog does report that Jim
Duquette provided video commentary for MLB.com for the
2009 playoffs.
Among the few who didn’t
complain about the snow was
Cindy Craig Johnson, who wrote
from Florida. Instead, she’s
been seeking it out, having
taken a ski trip to Beaver Creek.
Although she is the only true
northerner in her family, her
Florida-born sons Matt and
Craig are becoming better skiers
than she! She insists she can still
beat them in pingpong, and we
suspect she can also beat them
at a nice family game called
Whales Tales.
Also enjoying a warmer climate, Mary Taylor Miller writes
from Arizona, commenting
that she’s amazed that her kids
are already in fifth and seventh
grades. She invites Williams
alums in the area to Elkhorn
Ranch.
Sarah Loebs Werkman is
also looking for alums, but in
Spokane, Wash., where she,
Russell and family are now living. Russell is head of the Upper
School at St. George’s School,
a private K-12 co-ed school.
Sarah is a full-time graduate
student getting a master’s degree
in school counseling at Gonzaga
University.
And if you happen to be
looking for the definitive works
on Memphis wrestling history,
Sherman Willmott’s awardwinning 2009 book Sputnik,
Masked Men, & Midgets:
The Early Days of Memphis
Wrestling is now being made
into a documentary! The
documentary will be called
Memphis Heat: The True Story
of Memphis Wrasslin’. You can
check out the trailer for the
documentary at http://tinyurl.
com/yzq3hr6.
Will Sherman Willmott’s book
be on the mandatory summer
reading list for Duke’s incoming
class as chosen by Prof. Donna
Lisker? Donna met up with
Susan Paulson, an attorney for
the city of New York, over
the holidays in Philadelphia.
The two enjoyed a long walk
and talk together on a rare,
non-snowy day. Donna also
recently hosted a regional
Williams event—a Russian-style
vodka tasting at her house, led
by Williams Professor Darra
Goldstein.
Speaking of Darra Goldstein,
Steve Gutterman and Britta
Bjornlund reminisced about
Darra Goldstein’s Russian
class, various vodka drinking
events of their own in Russia
and driving lessons through
Mount Hope Farm in college.
(And after many years, Britta
was relieved to hear that the
damage to her Nissan was not
in vain; Steve got his license
a few years back.) Steve was
in DC for a few weeks in
January, transitioning to a job
at Reuters. With his family back
in Moscow, he and Britta met
a couple of times, including on
Russian Orthodox Christmas
for Italian gnocchi and wine
(not traditional Russian fare,
but Italians are better cooks
after all). They retold other
Williams stories—well, Britta
did, as Steve couldn’t remember any of their exploits! Well,
we’re getting older right? It’s
hard to recall everything.
As if we weren’t feeling old
enough, sources tell us that
Taylor Foehl, son of Brooks and
Alison Foehl, will be entering
Williams Class of ’14!
1989
David Bar Katz
138 Watts St., Apt. 4
New York, NY 10013
Shannon Penick Pryor
3630 Prospect St., NW
[email protected]
1990
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Christina Evans
1 West 64th St., Apt. 7B
New York, NY 10023
[email protected]
As I write what will likely
be my next-to-last column as
class secretary, I want to take
a minute to thank all of you
for sharing your incredibly
interesting stories, jobs and
travels with me over these past
five years. It has been a pleasure
and a privilege to connect and
reconnect with so many, and I
continue to be amazed at your
accomplishments both personal
and professional.
This issue alone I had news
from around the globe: China,
California, India and the Pacific
Northwest, to name but a few
of the interesting places our
classmates are currently residing. It seems as though there
will be a terrific turnout for our
reunion in June, and our president Polly LeBarron weighed
in with lots of news. “We’ve
already heard from about 150
classmates who are making
plans to be in Williamstown
in June, and we hope that
many more will be joining us
as well. Most impressive, over
60 people have volunteered to
help with the planning. Thank
you! It promises to be a fun,
low-key weekend, offering lots
of opportunities to hang out
and reconnect. Andy Munzer
and Marianne DeMarco ’88 have
graciously offered to host dinner on Thursday for the early
arrivals. And how lucky are we
SENDNEWS!
Y
CL ASS
NOTES
to have classmates who decided
to open a distillery? We’re
working on a plan to feature
rum from Brice and Karen
Hoskin’s Montanya Distillers, so
get ready to enjoy!”
Robert Howie wrote from
Seattle with news of his kids—
daughter Siena is now 17
months old, and son Will is 11
and fast approaching the teen
years. “Will and I plan to do
some travel on the East Coast
next summer, and he is encouraging me to make a trip up to
Williamstown, which would be
my first visit back since 1993!”
Matt Tarses is living in LA
with his wife and three kids,
and he continues to produce
comedy for TV.
Hilary Klotz Steinman and
David Pesikoff have taken on the
monumental task of being our
head class agents. In addition to
soliciting gifts, they are both full
of news about our classmates.
Hilary reports that Karen and
Brice’s aforementioned rum
is amazing, as she got to do a
tasting last spring in NYC. I
still get to see Hilary quite a bit,
including over the Thanksgiving
holidays. We hosted a Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade
party at our house and got to
catch up with Cassandra Hiland
and her family as well as Dave
Morrison and his family.
Nathaniel McVey-Finney is still
teaching language arts at The
Langley School in McLean, Va.
He is living in Silver Spring,
Md., with his wife and son
Liam, now 3, and “trying to
survive the terrible threes as
well as trying to resurrect a running career.”
It was terrific to hear from
former Morgan Midwest entrymate Kevin Confoy, who moved
with his family to the Charlotte,
N.C., area this year. “I can
personally attest to the stricter
lending rules in banking now, as
my mortgage application killed
a small forest,” wrote Kevin.
“I am in business with my
cousin and one other partner,
doing statistical work. I love the
area and have been mountain
biking often—too often to the
detriment to my health. In fact
I managed to get a concussion
Thanksgiving morning after a
really bad wipe out.”
In September, Kevin went to
Will Hong’s wedding in New
York. “The details are hazy,
but it was good to catch up
with everyone. We didn’t set
any travel records, since Jay
Harrison came all the way from
Hong Kong,” reported Kevin.
Also in attendance were Andy
Bernheimer, Troye Jenkins and
Chuck Samuelson. I send a big
“Congratulations!” to Will, and
I look forward to catching up
in June.
Jay, his wife Barbara and his
daughter Shannon are very happily ensconced in Hong Kong,
where they have been for six
years, and they have now made
it their permanent home.
Michael Erard wrote with
exciting news of his growing
family. “On Nov. 9, my wife
gave birth to our first child, Iver
Michael Mountjoy McLaughlin,
at home in Portland, Maine.”
Chris Gondek and his wife
spent the night at the home of
Tim Twombly, and he also had
the opportunity to interview Liv
Osthus ’96 in Oregon about her
new memoir. He also recently
took in a movie with Ed Wiggers
and had dinner with his former
JA Nicole Melcher ’88 and Amy
Searight ’88, “whom, if I hadn’t
had Nicole and Lisa Mandl ’88
as my JAs, would have easily
been my number-one pick for
best JA ’86-’87.”
Kris Kelsh wrote that she and
John Kelsh ’89 had “a fantastic
time at the ’89 reunion and are
looking forward to coming back
for our 20th reunion in June.
Our kids had a blast staying
in the dorm, playing Capture
the Flag and roaming Spring
Street.”
Brian Chanen is teaching high
school English at the American
School of Bombay in Mumbai.
His wife is the high school principal, and his daughters are in
first and fifth grades. “I’ve also
been doing a lot of work for
the International Baccalaureate,
an international high school
curriculum, and I am working
on a textbook coming out with
OUP in March 2011,” writes
Brian. “We are always ready
for visitors, so if anyone wants
to sample the hectic life of
Mumbai, drop me a line.”
Rob Kunzman continues
his work at the Indiana
University School of Education
in Bloomington, Ind., where
he lives with his wife Audra
Kunzman ’91 and their three
children. His book Write These
Laws on Your Children: Inside
the World of Conservative
Christian Homeschooling was
published by Beacon Press last
fall.
Philip Harris wrote with news
of a planned move. “After eight
years in Asia (seven in Japan,
one in Singapore), my family
and I will move back to my
hometown, Cambridge, Mass.,
in February 2010, so we will be
able to attend the reunion.”
John Toohey wrote with details
of his recent move to San
Antonio from NYC. He and his
family “are enjoying the change
of circumstances, though I do
miss running in Central Park
on weekends. It was, however,
quite easy to give up being
a New York Knicks fan. Go
Spurs!”
After 12 fun years in
Milwaukee, Melissa Beach
Dresselhuys and her family
have relocated to California.
“Eric and I are busy exploring the lovely Bay Area with
our two daughters, and we
are certainly enjoying the mild
weather,” reports Melissa. “Not
long after unpacking, I had the
pleasure of attending my first
NoCal alumni event in San
Francisco—a wonderful vodka
and caviar tasting featuring
Darra Goldstein. Listening to
her reminded me of how much I
enjoyed her classes at Williams
(and how much more I should
have enjoyed vodka!).”
Sean Gallup wrote from
Berlin, where he continues to
be a photographer for Getty
Images. He has two kids, Max
and Olivia. Tony Davidson finds
himself “pining a bit for the
Purple Valley. It has been quite
a while since I was back for a
football game, and I miss it. The
past year-and-a-half have been
somewhat reminiscent (as in,
sleep? What’s that?), however,
as I have been working on my
MBA from Cornell and expect
to graduate in May. It is an
executive format—weekends
over two years with two
intensive weeks on campus per
year.” He still lives in Tuxedo,
N.Y., where he works at IDT,
“though with my degree, I’ll be
interested in exploring options.
If you know anyone in the NY/
NJ area looking for a finance/
operations leader, let me know.”
Brand Gendell wrote to share
his recent baby news. “Yfat and
I had twins on July 10: a boy,
Guy, and a girl, India. Mother,
son, daughter and canine big
sister Winnie are thriving. As
for me, I am struggling to lose
the baby weight but otherwise
great.” As of press time, Brad
was headed to Hawaii for the
holidays with his 5-month-old
babies.
I had the chance to catch up
with Beth Worley in October
n 1 9 9 0 –9 1
in NYC. She was visiting from
Palo Alto, Calif., where she is
working at Stanford/Lucille
Packard Children’s Hospital
as a pediatrician. “I see mostly
teens (lots of sex, drugs and
body piercing!), which is great
fun but makes me thankful that
my kids (Catherine, 5, Alex,
4, and Lucy, 21⁄2) are still years
away from puberty!”
Just before the holidays I ran
into Dave Bank and Hillary Jones
on the same day in NYC. It was
very nice to see Hillary after so
many years, and Dave … well,
it’s always great to reconnect
with one of my first Williams
friends. He is still working for
Royal Bank of Canada, living
on the Upper East Side with his
wife and two kids and looking
forward to Williamstown in
June.
Dan Drezner has had many
Eph interactions of late. He
bumped into Ellen Hazen, as
her son Ben is in the same kindergarten class as his daughter
Lauren. “Ellen is doing well,
working in the financial sector
and looks exactly like she did
when we both lived in Dodd
Annex,” reports Dan.
Dan also saw Liz Borowsky,
her husband Neal Lindemann
and their children. Dan is loving life as a full professor with
research focused on the politics
of the global economy. Needless
to say, he’s been very busy this
past year. Next up is “writing a
very small and fun book entitled
Theories of International
Politics and Zombies. I figure
undergraduates first getting
exposed to international relations probably know more
about zombies than they know
about social science theories, so
this small book is a way to get
them acclimated to the topic.
For me, it has required constant
watching and re-watching of
the zombie ‘canon.’ Yeah, life is
hard. I also do occasional commentaries now for Marketplace
on NPR, so I’ve been trying to
perfect my public radio voice
as well.” He looks forward to
seeing everyone at reunion in
June, as do I.
1991
Mary Moule
555 Edgecombe Ave., Apt. 9D
New York, NY 10032
[email protected]
The first word goes to former
class secretary Elizabeth Allison,
who reported on so many of
our milestones: “I’m proud
to report that I have finally
achieved the Triple Crown of
adult life: job, degree, spouse.
Oh, and house, too. I know I’m
about 20 years behind some of
my classmates, but good things
take time. I completed my
PhD in environmental science,
policy and management at UC
Berkeley in August and started
teaching graduate students
at the California Institute of
Integral Studies in San Francisco
the following week. In October,
Eric Biber and I were married
on a beach in Marin County
with a number of Ephs in attendance. Soo La Kim and Sophia
Lehmann, my housemates from
Milham House, were my ‘best
women.’ Evan Driscoll and his
family came across the Golden
Gate Bridge to join us, and Julie
Kirklin and Jim Scott and their
son Daniel traveled all the way
from New Hampshire. Eric and
I both received master’s degrees
in environmental management
at Yale—and were there at the
same time—but didn’t meet
until we both lived in Berkeley,
where a mutual friend, the sister
of Peter Aengst, introduced us.
So I have the Williams network
to thank, even though Eric went
to that bigger school in eastern
Mass. We’ve just returned
from our honeymoon that was
a little bit rustic (trekking in
Patagonia) and a little bit posh
(sunning in the Caribbean) and
are delighted to be back home
in our Craftsman bungalow
just two miles from the UC
Berkeley campus, where Eric
teaches environmental law. Life
is sweet!”
Lee Schroeder married Jules
Tortolani in August on Cape
Cod, celebrated by many classmates. Brent Powell came down
from the Derryfield School in
New Hampshire with his wife
Wendy and their three children.
Steve Bailey, his wife Melissa
and their four kids came in
from Pittsburgh, where Steve
is a heart surgeon. Laurie Baker
of Medfield, Mass., attended
with her husband John and two
children. Amy Sullivan brought
her husband Al and their four
children from Salt Lake City,
where Amy practices medicine.
Elise Carson Carey and Katy Carr
White took a break from their
families and medical practices
in Rochester, Minn., and LA,
respectively. Lee and Katy’s
freshmen from Sage F in attendance included Michael Gross
’93, Ethan Kline ’93, Sue Good
’93 and Leah Hamilton ’93.
Candace Kelly ’92 performed
the ceremony, and Ulla Pitha
’93 flew in from London for the
festivities. Lee is a lobbyist for
Cablevision, and she and Jules
live in NYC.
Ellen Highstone remarried
in August. Then she and her
husband Michael Sorensen
welcomed twins Alexander
and Sofia on Oct. 20. They
also live in NYC but took the
twins on their first road trip—to
Williamstown—for New Year’s.
Tom Morgan celebrated his
40th birthday in Las Vegas
in September with about 100
of his friends, including Matt
Conlan, Geoff Oxnam, Ashley
Clarey, Ian Gallagher ’92, Jon
Faini, Frank Bodenchak, Amanda
Gallagher ’90, Phil Jack ’90,
Steve Linen ’90 and Tom’s sister
Jen Morgan ’96. Tom and his
wife Loraine welcomed their
third child, Reese Elizabeth,
on Dec. 20. Tom underwent
shoulder surgery and six
months of recovery after he tore
his labrum … reaching for the
TV remote. He explained that it
was already partially torn after
20 years of rugby, but it makes
you wonder about that party in
Vegas. … Ask him about it at
the Alumni Golf Tournament
in July or at the Williams Club
in New York, where Tom has
joined the board.
We’ve marked That Date in
different ways. Tim Hildreth,
Ellen Drought, Lisa Leinau, Sara
Dubow and Traci (Miringoff)
Wolfe celebrated a year’s worth
of birthdays in December by
gathering for a long weekend
of eating, shopping, touring
and catching up in Chicago,
which is especially impressive,
since none of them lives there.
They also met up with Barbara
Kirchheimer, who does. Leila
Jere turned 40 in Palo Alto in
the company of Heidi Beebe,
Heather (Martinez) Zona ’89
and Jessica (Melcher) Yansouni.
Christy (Williams) ’94 and
Matt Wyskiel and Megan and
Jim Higgins attended Chuck
Lerner’s 40th birthday bash at
Chuck’s place in Bel Air, Md.
Jessica Baraka Nolan and Deidre
Goodwin Carovano celebrated
their birthdays by slipping away
from kids and husbands and
meeting up at a spa in Phoenix
for three days. Jessica reported:
“It was heaven! It’s amazing
how having small children
makes you appreciate the
opportunity to do nothing!”
A group of classmates tried to
CL ASS
NOTES
get together for Danielle (Boyd)
Heard’s birthday in January
but were foiled by a Noreaster
that kept the birthday girl at
home in Concord, Mass. She
celebrated with a wild night of
Parcheesi and pizza with her
husband Andre and kids Zoe,
5, and Aimee, 3. Meanwhile,
Julie (Carroll) Fay, Ashley Clarey,
Maral Apelian Banks and Jackie
(Weider) Jones celebrated
without her at Jackie’s house
in Lanesboro. They promised
to make it up to Danielle
in March. Jonquil Wolfson’s
husband Jeff threw her a party
in December that was nearly
foiled by bad weather. Michelle
Sanders and her husband Eric
braved deepening snow on the
Mass Pike, while I crawled up
the Taconic in an ice storm to
join her and other friends for
dinner in North Adams.
We commiserated with
Michelle over the recent loss of
her cat SanSe, who had moved
with her for 18 years of boarding school teaching, med school,
medical practice and marriage
to another cat owner. They’ve
adopted two kittens but are still
adapting to living with them.
Michelle reported: “My pediatrics practice is doing well, having gotten a boost in business
thanks to Novel 2009 H1N1
Influenza virus. I love everything about my work except the
huge amount of time I spend
doing it, so I reduced my office
hours a bit in February in an
attempt to achieve better ‘worklife balance.’ I’ll let you all
know if I ever figure out what
that term means.”
Darren and Kerry (Thompson)
MacFarland summarized nearly
two decades of news since we
graduated: They’re married
(to each other) and have three
children, Clara, 12, Bobby, 9,
and Allen, 3. They both earned
PhDs (Kerry in biochemistry,
Darren in chemistry) in 1996
from U-Wisconsin at Madison.
Now they live in southern
Virginia, where Kerry recently
started as a chemistry professor at Averett University, and
Darren works at a nanotechnology company, Luna nanoWorks.
His current research: nextgeneration MRI contrast agents,
on which he recently wrote a
chapter for the Royal Society
of Chemistry. Bill Ayres’ most
recent book is Carry a Chicken
In Your Lap, Or Whatever
It Takes To Globalize Your
Business, which he co-authored
with Bruce Alan Johnson and
published with St. Martin’s
Press in November 2009.
Michael Donofrio wrote in
from Montpelier, Vt., where
he lives with his wife Kelly
McCracken ’92 and their daughters Edie, 6, and Lena, 3. Mike
is an assistant attorney general
for Vermont, where he is currently engaged in a complex
arbitration related to the Master
Settlement Agreement between
the states and cigarette companies. He still plays bass guitar in
The New Year (www.thenewyear.net), which released its
third album in 2008 and toured
the States and Europe over
2008-09. Williams Professor Joe
Cruz paid him a visit in the fall
and showed him up on a mountain bike ride. Mike occasionally sees Kristian Omland and his
wife Lauren, who live nearby
in Jericho, where Kristian does
statistical consulting from his
home office and enjoys a lot of
skiing.
Joel McElvain, his wife Alice
O’Brien and their baby boy
Teddy left San Francisco for
DC, where Joel returned to the
Department of Justice. Jessica
Nolan and family made the
same cross-country move last
spring. Both classmates expect
a climate change for the worse.
Lest you fear a West Coast
brain drain, not to worry: Josh
Becker is running for the State
Assembly in California. Josh is
a partner at the venture capital
firm he founded, New Cycle
Capital, which invests primarily in clean energy companies.
He also started and chairs the
board at the nonprofit Full
Circle Fund. He and his wife
Jonna have two kids, Aaron,
4, and Sophie, 5, and live in
Menlo Park. Sean Martin and
his wife Rachel relocated from
DC to Portland, Ore., in April
2009. They met at law school at
the University of Oregon, so it’s
a return of sorts. Sean litigates
in the civil division at the U.S.
Attorney’s Office. “The work is
challenging, but it is otherwise
a real lifestyle honeymoon being
here—the amazing microbrews,
bicycling culture, having a gas
grill out back, super outdoor
recreation options—after years
of a condo in the big city. We
have a 1-year-old daughter,
Penelope Sage, who is off to an
early start on camping. Winter/
rainy season here isn’t as grim
as I was afraid of, but we still
have a few more months before
we see the sun!”
Other new Eph-lets include
Gene and Sara (Gagnon)
Barbato’s daughter Caroline,
who arrived on April 16, 2009.
Sara has transitioned from
working outside of the home
to working all the time at
home with Caroline and sister
Samantha, and the “cooking,
cleaning, educating, scheduling
and chasing two adorable girls
around town.” Hilary Johnson
had her third daughter in three
years. Lucie Johnson Kerf was
born in Lima, Peru, on Oct. 9.
They’re a multinational family
and carry 10 passports when
the five of them travel together.
Hilary reported: “I started
a new job in Lima with the
International Finance Corp.
when I was eight months pregnant. The job provides me with
a good intellectual outlet to balance my otherwise diaper-heavy
life.” Jillian Charles gave birth
on Oct. 13 to Geneva Marie
and wasn’t ready in January to
go back to work, although she
wonders if she might feel less
exhausted if she did.
Dylan Tweney and Karen
Jensen adopted Curtis Joseph
Jensen Tweney. Dylan shared
the details: “Curtis came to live
with us as a foster child in fall
2008, and the adoption was
finalized in May 2009. He’s
now 3 and is a sweet, energetic,
smart, talkative little kid. He’s
also enthusiastically battling
his older sister Clara, who will
be 9 in April and has decidedly
mixed feelings about having
a sibling.” They live in San
Mateo, Calif., and Karen works
part time as a construction estimator, and Dylan edits gadget
coverage and product reviews
for the web at Wired. He visited
the studio of Camille Utterback
’92 when the online magazine
did a video on her interactive digital art after she won a
MacArthur Fellowship.
One of the artists in our
class, Scott Schwager, has been
exhibiting in London (where he
lives) and Paris. He also started
a PhD program in fine art at
University of the Arts London
and founded an artist-run space
for collaborations called Ace &
Lion. Alexa Sand took a break
from teaching art history for six
months of research in Italy and
France with her family. She’s
back now, teaching “Lascaux
to Last Week” and a course in
medieval art at Utah State.
Cindy (McPherson) and Andy
Frantz attended a Williams
alumni event at which the
new curator of the Cleveland
n 1 9 9 1 –9 2
Museum of Art, Griff Mann,
gave up the inside scoop on the
new Gauguin exhibit. Cindy
reminisced about WOOLF
(that’s Williams Outdoor
Orientation for Living as
First-years) trip days with Sean
Watterson, who recently moved
back to Cleveland to help run
a bar called the Happy Dog.
Sean and his partners serve up
live music and Kobe beef hot
dogs with 50 toppings made
in-house. It’s a big change for
Sam, who spent five years at the
SEC in DC (working on antimoney laundering, counterterrorism finance issues) and five
years working at big banks in
New York. And now, Bank
of America lets him work on
emerging regulatory risk and
international regulatory reporting from an office above the bar.
He welcomes Williams-affiliated
musicians to get in touch and
encourages any alumni passing
through to stop by the bar.
A little late for Molly Foehl,
who spent years on the road as
a tour manager but has recently
settled down back in Oakland.
She’s now the West Coast sales
rep for Q Tonic, which she
described as “a premium, allnatural tonic water that is the
healthier and tastier alternative. … Finally, you can have a
superior gin and tonic and feel
good about what you’re drinking!” Also, she reported that
her nephew Taylor Foehl, son
of Brooks Foehl ’88 and Alison
Denne Foehl ’88, was accepted
early to Williams’ Class of
2014.
The Alcala-Gordon family
lives in Gainesville, Fla., but
doesn’t spend all of their time
there. Lisa Alcala took the girls
to southern Spain for five weeks
during the summer as part of
the quest for bilingual kids.
Caleb Gordon went to Honduras
for a wind power development
project in September, while Lisa
started a new job as the case
manager at a Veteran’s Health
Administration domiciliary
program—her first full-time
job since their daughter Lily
was born 12 years ago. During
the holiday break, Caleb took
9-year-old Phoebe to Ecuador
for the Audubon Christmas Bird
Count, while Lisa took Lily to
the NYC area to visit Caleb’s
family. Lisa stayed with Melissa
Fenton Herrod and enjoyed a
rowdy outing with Rebecca
Sokolovsky and her husband
Franco, who, Lisa said, “may be
the most fabulous non-Williams
spouse I’ve ever met.”
Christine Choi had dinner with
Robin Lloyd and his wife Wendy
when they were visiting NYC
from Seattle, and she saw a play
with Win Goodbody ’90 when
he was visiting from Portland.
Then she attended a Christmas
carol sing-along at Joe’s Pub
that featured Fountains of
Wayne and other pop luminaries. She caught up with Adam
Schlesinger ’89 and Chris
Collingwood ’89 between songs.
It seems they are working on a
new album.
Ned Bicks lives in the Boston
area and is the director of
marketing strategy at Forrester
Research. He and his wife
Jill and their children Kate,
5, and Will, 8, vacationed in
Maine last summer. “We had
a wonderful island rendezvous
with Kirsten Staples, Louise
Price Kelly and our respective
kids. We must have made quite
a sight sailing down Penobscot
Bay with nine kids under 9
years old aboard, including two
pairs of twins!”
Thanks, everyone, for sharing
your stories of classmate camaraderie. Next year is our 20th
reunion, and Class President
Melissa Fenton Herrod is already
making plans. She welcomes
advice on how to make it a fun
and rewarding event. Please
e-mail her at mfherrod@aol.
com with your suggestions and
e-mail me at 1991secretary@
williams.edu with your news.
1992
Stephanie Phillips
241 Central Park West, Apt. 5A
New York, NY 10024
[email protected]
You. Guys. Rock. Thanks for
the tremendous response to the
pathetic plea for notes; we had
a boatload of first-time writers.
So please keep up the great
work next time, and I hope it
won’t take a “reply all” from
Brad Balter to inspire some of
you!
Now the bad news. The editors took one look at the magnum opus I submitted and told
me to cut it down by about 50
percent, so I made some tough
choices about what to include
that favored the first timers.
Apologies to all who don’t see
their submission—I will check
back with you for updates next
time.
Let’s start with fantastic
news: Camille Utterback was
the recipient of a MacArthur
Fellowship, otherwise known
as a “genius grant,” for her
work in digital art. She writes,
“I’m still in shock and trying
to figure out how to plan out
the next five years based on this
newfound financial freedom.”
Lora Verkouille “married a
Canadian fellow—Michael
Gibbens—last year, and we just
had our first baby on Dec. 3 …
Lauren Elizabeth Verkouille
Gibbens. She is tiny and beautiful and healthy.”
Also recently married is Joan
(Malmud) Rocklin. Joan writes,
“Bob and I celebrated with
a kayak and tandem bicycle
trip in British Columbia. For
nearly the last decade (scary
word), I’ve been teaching legal
research and writing here at
the University of Oregon in
Eugene. Life in the Northwest
is great; we have a small cabal
of Williams folk here. Although
Judd Sneirson abandoned us for
warmer climes at the University
of Florida, Jon Greenman ’93
and Rob Illig ’91 are both law
professors here in Eugene.”
Marica Tacconi was promoted
to full professor of musicology
at Penn State University and
was subsequently elected to a
three-year term on the board of
the Pennsylvania Humanities
Council. Marica writes that
she continues to enjoy teaching, research and directing
the Institute for the Arts and
Humanities at Penn State.
Parry Graham is still working
as a middle school principal in Wake County, N.C.,
and his first book, Building
a Professional Learning
Community at Work, came out
in September. The book focuses
on school improvement for
K-12 educators. Parry has two
children, son Jared, 15 months,
and daughter Sydney, 4½, who
are essentially running the show.
Jeff Lipp and his 8-year-old,
Josh, took a trip to San Antonio
in early December to watch the
men’s soccer team in the Div.
III Final Four tournament. The
Ephs didn’t win, but it was a
fun Williams weekend.
Burck Smith writes, “Last summer I left SMARTHINKING,
the online tutoring company
I founded in 1999, to spin
out a new company called
StraighterLine, which provides online intro-level college
courses. Between jobs, we took
a monthlong trip in a 37-foot
RV through the national parks
of the mountain West with our
CL ASS
NOTES
three boys (ages 4, 6, and 8).
Lastly, we will be moving to
Baltimore this coming summer.”
Jen Cartier, moved by my
pathetic-ness, wrote her firstever submission. “I received the
following e-mail a few weeks
before the holiday break: ‘Hi
Jen, I think in Morgan West I
lived two floors below you. In a
crazy set of events, I am at Pitt
this week one floor below you,
working with a new co-author
in political science. Any chance
you are around in your office
today around 11:45 a.m.? Or
around tomorrow morning or
afternoon? It would be great to
say hello. Love, Anne (Joseph)
O’Connell.’ Thus began a lovely
impromptu reunion with a
dear friend whom I have not
seen for seven years. … Anne
is now married and the mother
of a beautiful toddler and is
a sought-after constitutional
law professor (right now on
to the States to do a PhD in
Spanish and Portuguese at Yale.
Currently I’m an assistant professor at Iowa State University.
My husband Nuno and I have
one son, Lucas, who is almost
4. When he was 2 he said that
when he grows up he’d like to
be either a professor or a skunk.
He has since added professional
bullrider to his options. We
are wondering which major at
Williams will best suit his career
plans. … I have recently reconnected with Heather (Smith)
LaPerle and Faye Park. I’d love
to hear from others.”
Brad Balter writes with newbaby news (in case you missed it
the first time around): “We just
had our second child on Dec. 3
(a boy named Jake), and have
a 4-year-old named Sophie.
Balter Capital Management is
now just shy of four years in
business; we survived the storm
that was 2008 and continue to
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Last fall Katherine Queeney ’92 received the Sherred Prize for
Distinguished Teaching, given annually to Smith College faculty members
in recognition of their distinguished teaching records and demonstrated
enthusiasm and excellence. A professor at Smith since 2000, Queeney
teaches courses in general and physical chemistry, instrumental analysis
and materials chemistry. She also is faculty director of advising at Smith
and since 2007 has co-directed the college’s Achieving Excellence in
Mathematics, Engineering and Sciences program.
leave from Berkeley to spend a
term at Columbia and a term
at Harvard). … She is still an
over-achiever.” Jen is also overachieving and is a faculty member in the School of Education
at the University of Pittsburgh,
where she chairs the science
education program and teaches
graduate courses in curriculum,
teacher learning and science
pedagogy, and “is still married
to my Williams sweetheart
Steve Scoville. We celebrated
our 16th wedding anniversary
on New Year’s Eve 2009. And
our children are practically
ready for Williams themselves—
our daughter Delia is in the
ninth grade, and our son Owen
is in the seventh grade. Steve is
teaching 11th- and 12th-grade
physics in Pittsburgh Public
School District and enjoying
almost all aspects of the job.”
Rachel Haywood Ferreira
writes, “After graduating from
Williams I moved to Portugal,
where I taught English for
four years. Then I came back
specialize in hedge-fund investing. 2008 took about 20 years
off of my life expectancy, but
I’m happy to report we are alive
and well.”
Liz Nasser, after admitting
that we may have been in our
20s the last time she wrote in,
wrote: “I recently moved to
Northborough, Mass., with
my husband Dave and our
two kids, Josh, who is 5, and
Sophie, who is 3 going on 13.
In anticipation of turning 40
this year, I also began doing
sprint triathlons and swam laps
for the first time since I was
7. Jen and Bill McKinley and I
competed in an event together
in September. I use the term
‘together’ loosely, as I think Bill
had showered and napped by
the time I was finished—but it
was fun seeing both of them
and their sick athleticism. I
also manage to keep busy with
a private practice in geriatric
neuropsychology and try to
see Williams friends as often as
possible, though as we all know,
I think it’s never enough. I had
a delightful but too-brief visit
with Laura Anderson and her
son just before New Year’s, and
I will be in New York … to see
Sabrina Bhagwan.”
Matt Swope writes, “I’ve now
gotten to the point that I’ve
spent almost half my life in
New Jersey and have to start
admitting that ‘I’m from here.’
I’ve been at Broadpoint Capital
for almost a year and am lucky
to have a great life in Morris
Plains with my wife Becca,
my second-grader PJ and my
kindergartner Emily.”
Josh Levenberg and his wife
Jacqueline welcomed their
“third (and final) child on
Oct. 29. She joins her brother
Zander, 6, and sister Vivienne,
21⁄2. Sadly, I’m now winding down my three fun-filled
months of paternity leave. We
still live in San Francisco, but,
like many families here, the
third kid might force us to the
suburbs. I still see Jason Phillips
here and also enjoyed brief
visits from East Coasters Jen
McKinley, whose younger sister
baby-sits for us, and Candace
Kelly, who is doing a brief stint
in DC again, this time under
Attorney General Eric Holder.”
Brian Fox is also in San
Francisco and writes, “I took a
job with an education nonprofit
to reform how the school district, community and four-year
colleges, city agencies and community and corporate leaders
can collaborate to double the
numbers of low-income high
school students who get a
postsecondary degree. … I’m
learning guitar, playing music,
dating and enjoying time with
friends and family.”
Betsy (Carson) Rupe writes
with more somber news: “In
mid-August I was suddenly
diagnosed with advanced colon
cancer (not appendicitis as
everyone thought). After major
surgery, we’ve now entered the
world of chemotherapy, disability insurance and profound
uncertainty. The chemo is
currently working well, but it
looks like I’ll be on some level
of chemo long term, and it’s
obviously changed our entire
life. We’ve got three young
sons (ages 10, 6, and 4) and are
trying to keep things as normal
as possible for them. We are
receiving amazing support from
family, friends and colleagues,
which is truly a blessing.” Best
wishes, Betsy, for a speedy
return to better health.
n 1992
Phoenix Wang broke her pithy
update down by decades. “I
spent the ’90s working in different major cities across two
continents. Married a doctor at
the end of the decade and spent
most of the ’00s in the Bay
Area. Now I’m beginning the
’10s by starting a new education
venture, Startl, which belongs
to a new breed of ‘venture
accelerators’ and focuses on
digital media and technologies
for learning. We are back on
the East Coast, living outside
of Philly. Marisa Brett’s in-laws
live five minutes from us, so we
manage to see the Brett-Fleegler
gang more often than usual.
Because I’m in NYC quite a
bit for work, I also manage to
catch up with Simeon Stolzberg
once in a while. As for everyone
else, I have to thank Facebook
for allowing me to peek at their
lives.”
Amy Pokras, another newbie,
continues to practice elder
law and special-needs law for
a small firm in the Chicago
area. “It is a pretty satisfying practice, and I truly enjoy
helping my clients navigate the
legal pitfalls that crop up with
growing older. This New Year’s
Day, David (my husband) and I
got together with Jennifer OatsSargent, Andrew Mauer-Oats,
Kat Kollett, Susan Kim and her
husband, and Holly (Bernstein)
Lowy and her husband (all Class
of ’93) and all our respective
kids for a taco fest at Jen and
Andy’s house. Holly was in
town from St. Louis. The kids
got along every bit as well as
the grown-ups.”
Joanne Stekler writes, “I’ve
been in Seattle since 1997,
which may have been the last
time I sent in any news. I’m
trying my best not to work too
hard—not so successfully—as
an infectious disease/public
health physician. I just received
two NIH grants to evaluate different strategies for HIV testing
and consequences of acute/early
HIV infection, so I’ll be here
for at least another five years
(unless I give it all up to start
baking for a living—something I
think about far too frequently).
And, yes, I really did an
Ironman and am wondering if
I have it in me to do a 100-mile
trail run.”
David Weck is in San Diego
and writes, “My wife Jen and I
have a 21⁄2-year-old girl named
Paige and a 1-year-old son
named Ryan. BOSU business is
going strong, and I’m launching
a new initiative called Rolling
Ropes, which I call the ‘Rosetta
Stone’ of exercise. Working
with a lot of top athletes and
trainers and practicing a lot
of Tai Chi personally.” (What
could you expect from a guy
who lived with Bodhi Amos for
three years?)
Awais Mughal shares, “I’m
living in the Bay Area going
on 10 years with wife Caitlin,
daughter Emma, 6, and son
Dylan, 4. Rich Simon ’91 celebrated his 40th birthday and
10th wedding anniversary with
a combined party last year. Dan
Friedberg started his own law
firm in Seattle.”
Ben Scirica writes, “Figured
I’d try to start the new decade
off better than the last, when
I think I may have be 0 for
the ’00s in response to class
notes. … I’m living in Wellesley,
Mass., with my wife Christina,
Sofia, 5, and Luca, 3. We are
both doctors (me a cardiologist and Christina a pediatric
pulmonologist) practicing in
Boston.”
Also from New England, Kelly
McCracken shares that she and
husband Mike Donofrio ’91 have
been treated to a few Eph visitors in the past few months—
Ethan Jackson and Derek Stroup
were in Montpelier last summer.
“Derek works with the Vermont
College for the Arts. Ethan was
in town to see his folks after
completing a visiting semester at
Williams. We all went out for a
meal, some beers, etc. Joe Cruz
’91 came up from Williamstown
to see us in the fall. I also visited
with Shannon Morse in Dallas
over Thanksgiving. I am excited
about opening a social work
practice here, having decided
that it is the best way for me to
achieve a very flexible schedule
and a rewarding work life.”
Logan McDougal acknowledged that the pathetic-ness
was what managed to stir his
first-ever response and writes,
“How to encapsulate a bunch
of time briefly without being
terribly boring. I am on my
fourth ‘career’ now, and after
stints as an academic, banker
and consultant have settled
into industry in Chicago. I
have been in this great city for
more than 11 years and during
this time have also managed
to get married and have three
kids, all of whom have been
carefully prepped with purple
and gold color preferences. I
am working for Wrigley (yes,
the gum company), which is
now a division of Mars (yes, the
chocolate company), so every
time you snack on candy you
are likely to be helping the same
kids pay for college! I get back
to Williamstown most years for
homecoming and still regularly
see Don Graves and Ned Johnson
’93 for Octet functions. I also
semi-regularly cross paths with
Alex Gelfand as well as Kate
Steinheimer and Peter Klivans
and their brood.”
Whiting Dimock Leary shares,
“I’m still in DC, and for a year
I have been working happily
at Shannon & Manch, a legal
career consulting firm. …
Mostly, I’m helping lawyers
in career transition navigate
this tough job market, with
some consulting for law firms
mixed in, and it’s actually really
fun—and gratifying to help
such smart and talented people
develop their career management skills. Our daughters are 5
and 2 and hilarious.”
Andy Liebnitz “recently got
on Facebook and have learned
a few things about some of
our classmates. Brett Wills has
six kids now. Or 12. Or 24.
They seem to be reproducing
through mitosis. He is living in
Texas. He still loves hockey—
just ask him to identify which
of his teeth are made of wood.
Chris Gibble lives in Virginia
doing computer science stuff,
presumably while wearing a
helicopter beanie. He would be
known as the Voltaire of our
day if only anyone would read
his Facebook page. One quip:
‘Salad—how do I love thee? Let
me count the way.’ Matt Willson
recently founded a company
in Austin called Datalytics.
It ‘provides specialized data
integration, aggregation and
business intelligence technology
for home health care companies.’ Peter Frechtel lives near
DC and works in statistics. In
pursuit of a pastime more boring than his work, Pete watches
birds. Also in the DC area, Tom
Cullen works as some sort of
information analyst for justice,
like Batman with bifocals. He
lives with his wife and two sons
on ‘Humpback Whale Court.’
Seeing good people thrive
causes me to grind my teeth at
night, so I’ll say no more about
these former friends here. As
for me, I’m litigating intellectual
property cases in San Francisco
by day and chasing two short
and giggly females around my
flat in the evenings prior to
bedtime.”
CL ASS
NOTES
David Frank has been working
for the Eastern Research Group
in the DC area doing environmental consulting for the past
12 years and reports his wife
Stacey and kids Emma, 7, and
Ryan, 5, have not left him yet.
“Fellow Goodrich housemate
Garrett Ingoglia and I spent
every Saturday morning last
August and September hiking
the numerous hidden trails
throughout the DC metro area
preparing for a ‘grueling … hike
through the rugged terrain of
central Pennsylvania with more
than 5,000 feet in total elevation gain.’ It was Garrett’s first
time and my fourth. We finished
in a respectable 8 hours and 33
minutes. I think Garrett must
have had his fill of me, because
we haven’t seen each other since
the race in October.”
And right under the wire,
Jim Ryan wrote, “The Ryans
are alive and well, still living
outside Baltimore. I am still
working at Citi, although, like
a lot of people, I hope that we
do not live through another year
like last year any time in our
lifetimes. On the family front,
everything is great—Andrew is 7
and Ashley is 20 months. While
Ashley is not exactly ‘new to the
family’ at this point, she would
be making her class notes debut
if she gets a mention. They are
both keeping us busy and making us happy on a daily basis!”
In the last notes, I asked
Dan Levy to stand up and tell
where he was; he did so almost
instantly, and it turns out that
he and his family (wife Sarah,
3-year-old daughter Samantha
and 5-year-old son Ben) live
about seven blocks from me,
which is pretty amusing. Dan
is working as an assistant U.S.
attorney in NYC, and he and
I managed to actually see each
other and grab coffee with his
adorable daughter!
Thank you for writing, and
sorry I couldn’t include everything this time. It’s great to hear
from so many of you! And,
lastly, happy collective 40th
birthday to the Class of 1992.
(Ouch, that stings a bit!)
SENDNEWS!
Y
1993
Chad Orzel
1570 Regent St.
Niskayuna, NY 12309
[email protected]
I seem to be making a habit
of filing these reports from the
road. Last summer’s update was
typed up in Dulles Airport on
the way to a conference. This
one is being typed in the TGI
Friday’s attached to the Austin,
Texas, Radisson waiting to
leave after a meeting. Ah, the
glamorous life of a physicist…
A number of classmates are on
the move in one way or another.
Greg Meyer and Antone Johnson
have both changed jobs,
Greg becoming the customer
experience manager at Gist,
and Antone striking out on his
own as a lawyer specializing in
“intellectual property law for
emerging growth companies in
technology and digital media,
particularly social media/Web
2.0 and other consumer Internet
businesses.” If you’re running
a Web 2.0 business and need
a lawyer, you probably know
how to find Antone using the
Internet.
Mark Sutton moved from
New York to San Francisco,
where he’s pursuing an MBA
at the Presidio Graduate
School, a rather Eph-positive
institution that is also home
to Dean Jay Ogilvy, economics
professor Maggie Winslow and
Mark’s fellow student Yetunde
Schuhmann.
Sefali Bhutwala has moved
back to the U.S. after nine years
in Singapore and is working as
a staff psychologist at SUNY
Binghamton. She’s “looking forward to lots of snow after many
years of living in the tropics,”
in which case she has definitely
moved to the right place. Kristin
and Martin Conneen have also
made an intercontinental move,
and by the time you read this
will be all settled in London
after six-and-a-half years in
Tokyo. Kevin Weng is now based
in Hawaii, managing pelagic
fisheries and “endeavoring to
maintain a high carbon footprint with trips to Papua New
Guinea, New Zealand, Vanuatu,
various neighboring Hawaiian
islands, California, Oregon and
Michigan.” People living in
Binghamton and other parts of
the Northeast thank you, Kevin,
for your efforts to make our
winters a little warmer.
Mary and Dave Refermet
haven’t moved all that far—
they’ve set up a safe house in
Amherst, Mass., for Williams
folk behind enemy lines (Dave’s
undercover as a plastic surgeon
in Springfield)—but Mary
deserves a prize for sending an
entire class notes entry worth
of information. In addition to
reporting on her own move and
the Conneens’, Mary checks
in with information on Patrick
Murphy (teaching math in the
Boston area and planning to
move to Florida), Nina Coslov
(living in Cambridge with three
kids, just published a book
on parenting), Fabiola Lacayo
(welcomed twin boys in May.
Mary writes, “Francisco and
Felipe join older sister Olivia,
and now the family is most
definitely the fab five.”), Alex
Harrington (who’s living in NYC
with his wife Liza and their two
boys and was headed for São
Paolo for Christmas with his
in-laws), Rebecca Olshin (living
in Palo Alto, where her husband
Eric works at Google), and
Amanda and Doug Craig, who
recently moved to Connecticut
and welcomed Owen Oliver
Craig at the end of September.
Thank you for making my job
easy, Mary.
Becky Wetzel Sodon had a
daughter, Belle Marie, on Sept.
29 and is looking forward to
putting her child psychology
class to use. Carin DeMayoWall and her husband John
welcomed Henry Richard Wall
on Oct. 27, and Meg and Eric
(Small) Tilton had another little
girl, Anna Helen Tilton, on
Nov. 5. Rachel Barenblatt ’96
and Ethan Zuckerman welcomed Drew Wynn Kwame
Zuckerman to the world in
November, and, as you might
expect, Drew already has
his own blog at drewzuckerman.com. Rachel and Ethan
“welcome anyone volunteering
baby-sitting services to visit
them in Lanesboro, Mass., conveniently close to the Berkshire
Mall.” (And while you’re at it, I
know a really cute toddler living
near the Albany airport…)
Keely Maxwell married Mike
Rahnis, a geologist and fellow
employee of Franklin and
Marshall College, in October
in Strasburg, Pa., with Jessica
Rutledge and Flo Waldron ’95 in
attendance. Beth Lewand also
got married in October, to Chris
Gray, at the American Visionary
Art Museum in Baltimore. Emily
Rheinfrank Birknes and John
Birknes were there, as was Blake
n 1 9 9 2 –9 4
After completing the NYC Marathon last fall, Matt Scott ’94 (left)
celebrated with his father Robert ’68.
Bradford ’92, who introduced
Beth and Chris.
Erik Jacobsen found an
occasion to break out his old
Lehman West T-shirt. It wasn’t
just nostalgia, though: “I was
talking to a youth group about
having courage and not fearing, and it made a great object
lesson. I continue to be grateful
to our JAs (Doug Shulman ’89
and Thomas “Stubby” Bottern
’89) who helped give us the
confidence to stand on our own
when necessary.” Taking his
own advice, Erik also finished
and exhibited a new painting,
the third of his short career.
Derek Catsam was interviewed
for an upcoming documentary
on the Freedom Rides. While
this was originally slated for
PBS, Derek writes, “We just
discovered last week that it is
one of 16 documentaries chosen
out of more than 860 submitted for the U.S. Documentary
Competition at Sundance,
where it will now make its
world premiere.” Just remember
us little people when you’re a
big-time Hollywood wheelerdealer, Derek.
To close with a little personal
reportage, just after Christmas,
Kate and I hosted Paul Schemm,
his wife Helen and their baby
boy Ray. It was great to catch
up with Paul, who’s working
for the Associated Press in
Cairo. Watching the kids crawling (Ray) and toddling (my
17-month-old Claire) around
was fun but also a reminder
that it’s been quite a while since
we were all newly arrived at
Williams.
That would be kind of a
depressing note to end on so I’ll
also add that my book, How
to Teach Physics to Your Dog,
was published by Scribner on
Dec. 22, which has provided
innumerable opportunities for
procrastination (not that I’m
checking my Amazon sales
rank (13,776) every hour, or
anything). I’m also learning a
great deal about the fine art of
self-promotion, as you can tell
(buy my book) from the way I
subtly (buy my book) snuck this
mention in here (buy my book).
That’s all I’ve got on this
dreary January day in Austin.
By the time you read this, I’ll
probably be typing the next
round of class notes in an
airport coffee shop somewhere.
Until then, I hope 2010 treats
you well, and, as always, if you
have any news to report, drop
me a line at [email protected].
1994
Elizabeth Randolph Rappaport
45 Pineapple St., Apt. 4A
Brooklyn, NY 11201
[email protected]
Greetings, Class of 1994, and
happy 2010. I hope all of you
had lovely celebrations over the
holiday season and the New
Year.
My holiday time was busy
but overall peaceful. My family
stayed put in New York and
New England instead of traveling to warmer climes as we’ve
done in past years. We happily
avoided all the airport drama
and took advantage of time to
see some local sights and activities we’d missed.
I didn’t hear from too many
of you, which suggests you were
probably off enjoying vacations
and time with your families as
well.
Dalmar James, who, amid the
10 million numbered throng
of New York, I have randomly
bumped into on the street
and the subway over the past
few years, dropped me a line
to say he spent Christmas in
sunny West Palm Beach with
his daughter and celebrated his
mother’s 70th birthday with a
huge bash. Dalmar also got a
new job as the director of brand
strategy for Websignia.net, a
New Jersey-based interactive
agency. That’s not to suggest
he’s abandoned his music. In his
“spare” time, he is recording a
second album with 3Beanstew, a
music group led by another Eph
talent, Kwame Brandt-Pierce ’95.
Star Hampton wrote to
announce the birth of her
baby girl Summer Hampton
Hoenick, born Oct. 27, 2009.
Star reports that Summer’s
older sister Haven is a great
helper, changing diapers and
providing loads of love to her
new sis. Star planned to return
after her maternity leave to her
position as a urogynecologist at
Women and Infants’ Hospital
in Providence, R.I. Star also
teaches at Brown Medical
School in Providence and runs
the OB-GYN clerkship there,
all of which keeps her busy and
fulfilled.
Lastly, Adam Scheer was
named chairman of the
International Hologram
Manufacturers Association at
the association’s annual meeting
held in Budapest, Hungary, last
year. What’s the IHMA you
ask? It’s a trade organization
comprised of members from
the world’s leading hologram
companies—outfits that make
holograms used for security
purposes such as protecting
against counterfeit money and
protecting brands, graphics and
other uses.
SENDPHOTOS
W
williams.edu.
CL ASS
NOTES
1995
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin
535 Arabella St.
New Orleans, LA 70115
Flo Waldron
1695 Weaver Way
Lancaster, PA 17603
[email protected]
Hard to believe it’s been
nearly five years since Anamaria
Villamarin-Lupin and I took up
the secretary’s—er—keyboard;
I’ve so enjoyed corresponding with all of you since then!
Lest you forget, our 15-year
reunion approacheth; by the
time you read this, our scheduled Williamstown rendezvous
should be less than two months
hence. Co-prez and reunion
coordinator Julia (Broehl) Hesse
reported that as of Jan. 1, “over
125 people have indicated
they can make it—but it’s not
too late for you to join us!”
Do, come—there’s still time to
register!
If you can’t make it to
Billsville, several of our overseas
classmates will gladly help you
make up for it. Tiraatso Lekalake
wrote in from Gaborone,
Botswana, where she and her
family live when not at their
vacation home in Knysna, South
Africa. Titi sent a picture with
her adorable daughter Seneo
on Seneo’s third birthday and
added, “Should anyone be
traveling to South Africa for the
World Cup, do get in touch!”
Meanwhile, though Gillian
Molesworth-St. Aubyn—still resident in Cornwall, England—will
be entertaining her sister in June
rather than flying back to the
States, she plans to be at Oxford
this summer for the WilliamsOxford reunion “and really,
really wants some company,
so come! Come! You haven’t
seen anything until you’ve seen
July 4 celebrated in England.”
Gillian’s latest project is her
three newest family members,
two hens and a rooster: “After
investment in hen house, free
range corn and best quality
bedding, now averaging $22
per egg.” Gillian saw “John
Werwaiss with lovely family at
a wedding in London … and
Kendra O’Neill Raine at an IHOP
in Stamford.”
Our impending reunion drew
several classmates out of the
woodwork for the first time
in years, among them Dennis
Geronimus, in his “ninth year
of teaching art history at
NYU—imagine! (Doing my
best, along with Darby English
’96 and Sarah Newman, to
keep alive the old Williams art
history mafia legacy.)” Dennis
ended 2009 by celebrating his
second book contract, for a
work on Renaissance painter
Jacopo Pontormo, and the
news that he’s been accepted to
run a future exhibit on Piero
di Cosimo at DC’s National
Gallery of Art—“my first time
curating a show, a prospect as
overwhelming as it is exhilarating.” Mahri Relin spent late
2009 preparing for a different
sort of show: This spring she
is “dancing in the NJ Opera
production of Carmen.” Mahri
welcomes you to “come see
me in Newark, Baltimore and
Charlotte!”
First-time contributor Vicki
Hsueh has been busy in the
15 years since graduation; she
now holds a PhD in political
science, ran her first marathon
this past fall, just finished a
soon-to-be-published book and
is a tenured associate professor at Western Washington
University: “Truthfully, I never
expected to end up here, but
I’ve been captured by the beauty
and mountains and water.”
Besides seeing Michele Koppes
and husband regularly and
being in a book group with John
Tuxill ’90, Vicki saw “Chandra
Mitchell, who is as hilarious and
awesome as ever” on a winter
trip to NYC.
My inbox received updates
on several of my former midMorgan second-floor neighbors,
including the news Vicki sent
on Lisa Siraganian. When last
I saw Lisa at reunion #10,
she was newly married and
newly employed at Southern
Methodist University. When
Vicki saw Lisa in late 2009,
“she was super happy—[still]
has a great job at SMU and
the cutest little girl ever.” Lisa
(Masterman) Michaud, meanwhile, reported that she had survived “my second fall teaching
at Saint Anselm College” and
was gearing up for “my largest
number of students ever and
my largest number of courses
(four lectures) in one semester
this spring. If I’m still able to
speak intelligibly by reunion,
then I will consider the semester
a success.”
In other mid-Morgan news,
the former Lara Cooper was
thrilled to report her marriage
last June 13 to William George
Edwards. Noting the transformative power of love and
marriage, Lara added that “to
the apparent shock of anyone
who has ever met me,” she
has taken her husband’s last
name: “I’m pretty sure they’re
going to revoke my feminist
card.” Attending the wedding
in Boulder, Colo., where Lara
works “in business development for a big health care
company” and does “triathlons
and marathons and other crazy
adventures” in her spare time,
were Kendra (O’Neill) Raine and
Christina Pligavko. Lara also saw
Joel Lipsitch last summer “when
he was passing through Boulder
headed to a boys’ retreat with
his Williams buddies. … I hear
they polished off a bottle of
wine and stayed up past 9:30
every night. Crazy kids!”
Greg Crowther continues to be
productive both inside and outside the lab. Greg’s manuscript
“use of thermal melt curves to
assess the quality of enzyme
preparations” has been accepted
for early 2010 publication in
Analytical Biochemistry. When
not trapped in the lab, Greg
continues to excel at running,
winning (!) the JFK 50 mile,
“America’s oldest (since 1963)
and largest (about 1,000 finishers) ultramarathon,” on Nov.
21. Greg “was several minutes
behind the leaders for most of
the race and didn’t move into
first place until somewhere
around the 48.5-mile mark.”
While I’ve never run a marathon
(let alone an ultramarathon), I
imagine it’s easy to get hooked,
so maybe Owen Bittinger will
someday be running ultramarathons, too; he completed his
first marathon (NYC) on Nov.
1. His Williams support team
included John Werwaiss, who
hosted him in the Big Apple;
Heidi Sandreuter ’92, “who was
cheering her head off and was
the last person on the course in
Manhattan before heading into
the Bronx”; and Derek Kuhl,
with whom he enjoyed deviled
eggs—“the perfect post-marathon food”—afterward. Owen
also welcomed daughter Harriet
Joon last June 8: “She has been
great, but sleep has been dear.”
Though wrist surgery kept me
from biking another century
ride last year, my co-secretary
Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin covered for me by riding her first
century in October—“it was
n 1995
awesome”—before participating “in an adventure urban race
for the first time” in November:
“It was quite the experience,
and I am afraid I am hooked!”
Anamaria began 2010 with an
increased workload, juggling
program development and
supervising MSW students in
the field with “the rewards and
travails of staying at home with
my boys.”
A shout out to those of you
who had no news to report but
sent greetings anyway, including Bobby and Becky Walker
in Connecticut, Ted Welsh in
Massachusetts, and Nancy
O’Brien Wagner in Minnesota.
Also in Minnesota, Julie Yuen
Heller wrote that she and
husband Dean celebrated their
10th anniversary last summer
in Ireland. At Wyatt King’s
October wedding in Cincinnati,
they “had a great time catching
up with Michael Ebert and wife
Andy, Brian Coughlin and wife
Leigh, and Aaron Kechley ’96
and wife Sarah.” In late 2009
Julie completed her eighth year
at MakeMusic with a promotion to manager of interactive
marketing. More circumspect
on his classmate sightings was
Dedrick (Dunbar) Muhammad,
who went to NYC several times
last fall “and hung out with
a good amount of [unnamed]
Williams folk.” Dedrick and
his wife ended 2009 celebrating their one-year anniversary
and the purchase of their first
home in Maryland. Class co-VP
Yvonne Hao, still resident in
NYC with her husband and
daughters Audrey, 3, and
Madeleine, 1, is “now the CEO
of D&M,” a consumer-electronics company that manufactures
products for brands including
Boston Acoustics and McIntosh.
Yvonne still feels “very lucky to
serve on the Williams board,”
and added that she “look[s]
forward to seeing more Class of
’95ers at reunion!”
Thomas Boeker wrote that he
had just “wrapped up another
busy holiday at the Four
Seasons Maui … third year
post-NYC, and life in the Pacific
still suits me fine.” From his
new house on the north shore,
which includes “some sweet
ocean views,” Thomas lamented
that “the trade winds are weak
… have not done much windsurfing lately.”
Also with a new house, and
enjoying the second year of her
wedding photography business,
the new Emily Sterne Schebesta
summed up her biggest news of
2009 in one word: “Married!
Oct. 3, 2009, in Snowville,
N.H. Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin
and husband Tim Lupin ’93,
Sarah Brill and Amanda Kaplan
were there.” Emily and husband
Michi’s new home is “a great
little house in Cambridge, not
far from Sue (LePage) and Tom
Wintner.”
Also in year two of new
employment, Michael Gregg sent
greetings from Paris, whence
he moved from NYC in 2008
for “a new job within AXA.”
Michael, wife Rosalyn and
children Sydney, 8, and Sean,
6, enjoy “traveling around
Europe when [we’re] not busy
with the usual soccer games,
dance classes, etc., that seem to
be relatively universal at this
stage of life.” Classmates who
began 2010 thinking about new
jobs include Brian Rooney, who
is in the November 2010 U.S.
Congressional race in Michigan
District 7; Brian described the
campaign as “lots of work, but
fun.” Also working toward
a future job change, Becca
Doucette is still studying Arabic
in Monterey, Calif., at the
Defense Language Institute and
finding that “I love learning
languages more than anything
I have ever done.” After her
December 2010 graduation,
Becca hopes to “find a full-time
job using Arabic” and return
to DC. Till then, Becca and
husband John sit in each month
with San Francisco’s Fort Point
Garrison Brass Band; meanwhile, “our Baltimore-based
Federal City Brass Band just
came out with its third CD,
Hurrah for the Union (www.
jvmusic.net/FCBB.html).”
Paula Peters gratefully
reported the long-awaited
Oct. 5 birth of daughter Alexa
Ann, “a happy, laid-back
baby (unlike her older brother
Zack).” In his third year as
assistant head of school and
head of upper school at San
Antonio’s Saint Mary’s Hall,
Jonathan Eades announced the
birth of child number three,
George Perrin Eades, on Nov.
16. Jonathan added that last
winter it was “fun to partner
with Williams’ Office of Career
Counseling” when searching for
a new history teacher for Saint
Mary’s, noting, “We need more
Williams folks here in Texas!”
Karin (Meitner) Wichman wrote,
“I gave birth to a baby boy for
the second time in less than a
year and a half.” Ethan Jones
Wichman was born on Sept. 9:
“His arrival has forced us to
move from our tiny apartment
in boring, placid Manhattan to
larger quarters in hip, exciting
suburban Connecticut.” Take
note, all you new parents, of
Alastair Moock’s new “baby”—
his latest album, A Cow Says
Moock: An Album for Kids and
Their Parents: “This has been a
long time coming, and I couldn’t
be prouder of the results.” For
more, see www.moockmusic.
com, “where you can read all
about it, listen to tracks and
order CDs.”
Two new ’95 moms deserve
special mention. Maria (Suro)
Leach gets the “How’d You
Manage All That?” Award for
her inspiring (to me, at least—
see below) tale of surviving
her family’s 2009 adventures:
“Finishing up my second move
this year and finally reuniting
with my husband after seven
months! My son and I moved
just north of San Francisco in
March so that I could stay in
the country to give birth to
my daughter Ava in August …
thankfully, only three weeks
early (my son was born 10
weeks early).” As Maria’s
husband Dan is in the Navy and
had relocated to Peru in April,
Maria spent Dec. 24 “flying
with the two little ones to Lima.
Fun, fun.” Maria is sad that
she and family will be missing
reunion, as they are in Peru for
two years. In other baby/reunion
news, those who were at our
five-year reunion in 2000 may
recall Shelby (Hallam) Benton
in attendance with her two
small children, who are now in
grades four and six. Shelby took
a break from home-schooling
them to give birth to the first
Class of ’95 baby (far as I know)
of 2010: she and husband
Benjamin welcomed their third
child, Patrick Thomas, on Jan. 9.
As for me, I personally hope
for a calmer year in 2010.
Besides my first adventure in
team-teaching, amid ongoing
recovery from wrist surgery, I
ended 2009 by selling my condo
in Minnesota, moving my stuff
to Pennsylvania and finally
becoming legally resident in
the same state as my husband;
staging my husband’s house,
selling that and together buying a newer/bigger home; and
consolidating our belongings
into said new home over a frigid
New Year’s week. The challenging part was doing all this
during the third trimester of my
CL ASS
NOTES
first pregnancy, but I’m happy
to report that Micaela Firenze
McCooey waited till the dust
settled to arrive on Jan. 30 (her
due date!). Looking forward
to seeing all of you at reunion
and introducing you to Caela
then.—Flo
1996
Lesley Whitcomb Fierst
245 Dale Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910
[email protected]
Happy 2010, classmates.
Many of you appeared to be
too busy opening holiday gifts
or too hung over from New
Year’s to write in, but here’s all
the news that did come across
the Whitcomb Fierst wire (and,
again, some that I have done
my best to generate, while still
maintaining my journalistic
integrity).
Holly Matthews wrote, “My
husband Filip Hristic and I
are delighting in our daughter,
Maya Belle Hristic, born Oct.
4. She’s strong and healthy and
full of giggles. We’re thrilled.” I
replied to Holly’s e-mail to me
with my congratulations, and I
mentioned that Oct. 4 happens
to be my birthday. Holly most
likely has spent the past few
months since my e-mail ensuring that Maya does not develop
to be the chatty, loud girl she
remembers me being on the
freshman quad. After some time
home with Maya, Holly intends
to return half time to her job
as a mental health therapist in
the Portland, Ore., suburbs.
Also in Portland, Oregon Public
Broadcasting interviewed Liv
Osthus in early December about
her memoir Magic Gardens.
Here’s a link to audio of the
interview: tinyurl.com/yka9jms.
Liv is still writing and blogging; you can check her out at
vivacide.com.
Tiffany Steinwert was
appointed the sixth dean of
Hendrick’s Chapel at Syracuse
University and was to begin on
March 1. “I will be responsible
for fostering moral and ethical
dialogue on campus among
people of all faiths and no faith.
Hendrick’s Chapel is a historic
university interfaith community,
and it is truly an honor and privilege to be invited to serve there.
Right now we are scrambling to
buy a house (wow!) and pack
our things here in the Boston
area. It will be quite a change to
leave New England after almost
17 years, but we will now just
be on the other side of the
Purple Valley!” Chris and Tanya
(Gogolak) Cote and their three
kids moved to Denver, where
Chris joined a medical practice.
Tanya says it was hard to move
away from their friends and
family in the DC-area suburbs,
but they are all looking forward
to lots of skiing!
This past fall, Teon Edwards
began creating a science-based
gaming experience within Blue
Mars, a new, state-of-the-art,
high definition MMOG. (That’s
Massively Multiplayer Online
Game, for those of you who
still relate to Frogger and Atari,
like me. Did we define MMOG
in a prior column about Henry
Shinn’s new job working with a
company creating an MMOG?)
On Oct. 10, Teon, Alexia Rosoff,
Jonathan and Jennifer (Nicholson)
Todd, and Jen Suesse attended
the wedding of Sarah Calvo
to Scott Carter. Teon wrote,
“It was a beautiful, if windy,
wedding.” Congratulations to
Sarah and Scott. And kudos to
Amy Whitaker, who returned to
New York in early December
from her DIY driving book tour,
which, Amy wrote, “was a huge
adventure, enough so I got over
my hesitancy toward blogging:
museumlegs.blogspot.com. I
saw a lot of classmates—Jen
Rubenstein and Dan Polsby. In
St. Paul, Sheff Otis ’98 (of seven
under 7, now seven under 9,
Alumni Review fame) put in a
hugely strong showing, leaving
the seven at home to come to
my reading. In Denver, Walker
Stapleton came to one reading
(mid-reading in a contemporary
art space, I found myself encouraging people to vote for Walker
for state treasurer), and Jenny
Seed came to the other, and we
got to go out for very fun drinks
afterward. Interestingly, I didn’t
get to see Smith Glover in LA,
but I somehow accidentally went
to his favorite bookstore and
chatted with the owner. Smith
e-mailed a few days later to ask
what I was doing in Equator
Books. I never figured out how
he knew I was there. I am in
New York for the next couple of
months as I complete the ‘where
to live’ project and finally settle
somewhere.”
Yulia Chentsova Dutton was
on junior sabbatical leave from
Georgetown in the fall when she
traveled to Russia and Ukraine
to collect data on culture and
social support. Yulia wrote,
“While there I was expelled
from a university in Crimea
because they decided I am an
American spy. Yes, seriously.
Their dean thought it was very
suspicious of me to ask people
about their family’s ethnic
background. (I am a cultural
psychologist.) I had to find a
completely different way to collect data. It was kind of funny,
though; definitely makes a good
story.” Meanwhile, Yulia’s
husband Greg Dutton is finishing
his postdoc at NIST and looking
for jobs.
Now let’s move to the new
bundle of joy portion of the
column. Ali (Poett) Sullivan and
husband Devon had their second
child, Molly, in early November.
Ali says that big brother Henry,
21⁄2, is handling the new addition
well. Ali and her family spent a
few days on Martha’s Vineyard
in August with Margaret (Howell)
Lawrence and her kids, Wally,
2, and Mae, who was born in
July. Ana Maria (Zavala) Kozuch
and husband Tony shared the
news of the arrival of Clara Ann
Kozuch, born Dec. 7. “She was
due Dec. 24 but decided to come
a bit earlier. It has been a crazy
few weeks around here, but we
are very happy with our daughter and love seeing how Anthony
loves her and is taking very
seriously his role as big brother.”
Rachel Barenblat and husband
Ethan Zuckerman ’93 welcomed
son Andrew Wynn on Nov. 28.
Rachel wrote, “As of this writing
they’re in a fog of sleep deprivation, but trust that things will
improve in time.” Look, she is
already a pro, comfortably using
the third-person speak.
Debby (Palmer) Whitney
reported the birth of a baby
girl named Caroline on Sept.
29. According to Debby, big
brother Colby, 21⁄2, loves having
a baby sister. “We are all doing
well, and I return to work
after Christmas. I still work
at The Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia as a pediatric
hospitalist. I haven’t seen many
Williams folk lately except for
one of my colleagues, Michelle
Dunn ’00. We discovered the
connection when I noticed her
CUPPS cup at work.” Heather
and Matt Hunt had a son on
June 19, Sullivan William Hunt.
“He continues to grow and do
the usual baby things, like recite
the ‘Gettysburg Address’ and
have three-course dinners on the
table when we arrive home.”
(OK, I added that last part.)
Anna (Cederberg) Heard wrote
of the birth of Miles Owen
n 1 9 9 5 –9 7
Heard on Nov. 19. He spent
nearly a month in the NICU but
was home before Christmas. He
probably just wanted to give his
parents an excuse for not having
Christmas presents for all of
their family and friends. Such a
considerate baby. Andrew Matuch
and Jessica Reardon ’97 reported
the birth of their daughter Vivian
Paige on Sept. 26. Big brother
Alexander, 3 in March, is apparently thrilled and jealous in equal
measure. Andrew wrote, “We’re
still in Boston. I’m a partner at
OC&C Strategy Consulting, and
Jess is a stay-at-home mom. Still
playing as much squash as I can
but never as much as I’d like!”
And Todd Poret and wife Sidney
Mitchell welcomed their first
baby, Zoe Sunshine Poret, on
Sept. 13.
Happily for me, Amanda (Fay)
and Brian Beckrich continued
their excellent tradition of suggesting fun DC-area outings
and events. This time, Eyal
and I and our daughter Aviva
joined Brian, Amanda and their
daughter Isabel, Mary (Booth)
and Griz Dwight and their kids
Campbell and Cooper and a few
other non-Eph friends to attend
the annual “Zoo Lights” at the
National Zoo. (Lydia (Vermilye)
Weiss, husband James and baby
Rex were scheduled to come
along, but, boo hoo, they got
handed tickets to a tour of the
White House and had to cancel.)
The kids seemed to get a kick out
of seeing all the lights, though it
was about 20 degrees and they
may have simply been too cold
to object or comment. Our plans
to hit the U.S. Botanic Gardens
were thwarted by the blizzard
of 2009, which, unlike most
DC-area snowstorms (where we
get three or four inches, every
school is closed for days and you
cannot find eggs, toilet paper or
milk at any grocery store), was
an actual snowstorm and caused
the closure of the museum. We
look forward to whatever Brian
and Amanda come up with for
their spring schedule. This past
October, Aviva and I flew up to
Boston to meet Porter (Harris)
May’s new baby, Henry, and to
visit with Porter, Karen (Robinson)
Coyle and Robin (Keller) Elliott
and their families. It was a short
trip, but as always it was great to
see friends in their worlds, spend
a bit of time reminiscing about
Williams days and spend time
with all the adorable kids.
Let’s wrap up with first-time
contributor Tonia Lopez-Fresquet,
who wrote, “I got married in
the fall of 2004 and earned my
MBA from UCLA in the spring
of 2005, but it took real news
to finally get me to write in
for the first time.” (Insert sigh
from already underappreciated
husband as he reads column.)
Tonia and her husband Jeremy
Bernstein welcomed their daughter Althea Dec. 6. “Althea was
born at 9:20 a.m., after a speedy
12-hour natural labor. She was
8 pounds, 12 ounces, and as I
write this is currently tipping the
scales at almost 10 pounds. Her
father and I are feeling very lucky
to have such a happy and healthy
baby. It is truly amazing how
much time and energy it takes
to care for a newborn, but we’re
doing relatively well. Of course,
it helps that he’s a writer who
can take as much time off as he
needs—the real challenge will be
… when he goes back to full-time
work and I have to manage on
my own. The next exciting step
will be house shopping, since we
need more room for our little
darling. Sometime next year,
when we’ve all settled into a new
home, I’ll start looking for work
again. Hopefully the economy
will be a bit better by then, but
if anyone has any connections in
environmental business, please let
me know!” Tonia is still in touch
with many Williams friends, “but
the one I see most often is Betsy
Rosenblatt ’95, who also lives
here in LA and seems to be thriving in her new role as a professor
at Whittier Law School. Finally,
my husband Jeremy Bernstein
(Wesleyan ’97) informs me that
Wesleyan has always considered
Williams its chief rival. Which
leads me to ask—does anyone
at Williams know this? I always
considered all other colleges
insignificant compared to the
absolute evil of Amherst.” Good
note to end on: Fond memories
of our deep-seated rivalry with
Amherst and poor third-wheel
Wesleyan. Nothing like the flow
of good ol’ competitive juices to
ring in 2010!
1997
Bahia Ramos Synnott
c/o Ecofin Inc.
630 Fifth Ave., Suite 2452
New York, NY 10111
[email protected]
Seth Bair recently saw Peter
Sinclair, his wife Kate and their
two exceptionally large (cute,
funny and friendly) children
Mary and John at their home
in Pasadena. Seth reports, “I’m
still in New York with my wife
Radhika and 2-year-old daughter Ashima. Improbably, one
of Ashima’s favorite visitors is
Sam Coxe, who has made a big
impression with his pizza making and bike-riding skills.”
Noah Harlan got married to
the amazing young adult author
Micol Ostow (now Micol
Harlan) on Dec. 5 in NYC. At
the wedding were Hussain Aga
Khan, Byron Wetzel, Guillermo
De Las Casas, Fiona Maazel,
Peter Rubin, Lesley Blum ’98 and
Ali Hedayat ’96, who spent two
years at Williams before moving to Canada and getting his
degree from McGill.
Alex Steinberg Barrage and
husband welcomed their second
son, Asher Pierre, on Jan. 5.
Rachel Steel Cohn has been
busy with twins Reese Eden
and Clark Nathan Cohn, who
were born in September. Says
Rachel, “Having three kids
under 18 months is just about
as much chaos as I can handle.
I’m still living in Manhattan
on the Upper West Side, and
my daughter Olivia enjoys play
dates with Seth Bair’s daughter,
who lives just a few blocks
away.”
Sumi Loudon Kim and family
have relocated to Durham,
N.C., where her husband
teaches at Duke University. Last
fall, she received ordination
as a Buddhist lay minister. In
addition to chasing after her
two small kids, she is working
with the Buddhist community at
Duke as well as teaching meditation in various places.
Jessica Barajas writes, “I
haven’t sent in an update in a
while because I’ve been pretty
busy. I got married on May 23,
2009, to Lane Lopez (Duke
’00) and was busy the first part
of 2009 planning the wedding.
Walter Cheng and his partner
Courtney attended the wedding.
I wish I had been able to catch
up with them more but the
day went by too fast and was
a blur.”
Says Jess, “My husband and
I went to Italy for two weeks
for the honeymoon and had an
amazing time. It was really hard
coming back home. We were in
Rome the first week, Siena for
a couple of days and then in
Florence for the last part. We
fell in love with Italy, especially
Siena, which is this beautiful
medieval hilltop town. We did
a lot of sight-seeing, ate a lot of
delicious Italian food and … did
a lot of wine-related activities.
CL ASS
NOTES
We took a wine-tasting class
in Rome, where we learned
about all the different varieties
of Italian wine. Then we did a
bike tour in the Chianti region.
It was a day tour that started
out at a winery, and they did
the wine tasting before the ride
started! And then we toured
a couple of wineries in the
Montalcino wine region.” Jess
continues, “I’m still working as
an attorney in downtown LA.
My husband is an attorney also.
We took up running in fall, and
we competed in our first halfmarathon in early December.”
Jess and Lane planned to run
the LA Marathon in March,
attend Lane’s college reunion in
April and hoped to “squeeze in
another short trip to Northern
California, possibly Sonoma, to
do some wine tasting.”
Karen (Tarbell) and Mike
Vazquez are in Westwood, Mass.
Mike is an orthopedic surgeon
specializing in sports medicine
and joined a private practice in
Milford. They have three boys.
Their oldest, William, is in kindergarten. Daniel is 3, and Ben
is 1. They’ve been back here for
a year now, and Karen’s been
home with the kids since then.
She writes, “It is crazy hectic
but infinitely easier than having
to manage three kids and also
hold down a full-time job.”
Natasha Stanley writes, “Just
as I neglected to send a holiday
card to my own parents this
year (for shame!), I probably
neglected to announce the
birth of our second child, Zane
David Stanley. Zane was born
May 19, making us proud yet
harried parents of two under 2
here in Portland. He’s exceedingly easy-going, and his sister
Hope is finally in love with him,
although she’s in a phase now
where if he even looks at one of
her toys, she’ll shout ‘Zane’s too
little!’ and immediately whisk it
away. This is still my full-time
job, although I’m conspiring
to begin freelancing a bit once
Zane starts sleeping through the
night, which will hopefully be
soon. I’ve got to say that connecting with other Ephs through
Facebook has been a highlight
of the past year—especially my
fellow SAHMs, who really have
become my ‘village’ and for
whom I’m truly thankful.”
Jonah Wittkamper and
wife welcomed Sky Hirano
Wittkamper on Dec. 13, exactly
five years to the day after his
older brother Akira. Mom Lis
feels outnumbered with three
boys in the house, but it’s all
good.
Ben Partan is living in Beijing,
working for an architectural
design company helping to
design China’s real-estate boom.
(Bubble?) So far working on
shopping malls, conference
centers, theme parks, luxury
residences and data centers has
been fun.
Kate Boyle Ramsdell writes
some good news this go round:
“Spent a day with Chloe (Bland)
Shaw and her lovely little one,
Jackson, in November, and
they’re absolutely thriving,
albeit a little tired, I think. As
for me, I am on the verge of a
full-year sabbatical from Nobles
(!) that will begin in July and
am hoping that we’ll travel
a lot. If anyone has suggestions as to where we should
go, please share them!” When
she wrote, Kate was “about
to spend a weekend in San
Diego at the end of January
with my Executive Committee
peeps from Williams, which
means lots of quality time with
Ephs from a variety of classes.
Otherwise, life is status quo,
which these days is a good
thing.”
Jenny Feighner and family
are moving to the beautiful
Bitterroot Valley just south of
Missoula. She writes, “I have
accepted a position as medical director and hospitalist for
a small hospital in Hamilton,
Mont. We will be surrounded
by wilderness areas, fly fishing,
hiking and three hours from
Glacier and Yellowstone—we
hope to have many visitors!”
Nat Gillespie and his wife
Elaine Menotti welcomed their
son Darren Lachlan Gillespie
on Sept. 12. They live in DC,
where Nat works as the director
of the Eastern Lands Protection
Project for Trout Unlimited, and
Elaine works for USAID.
Annie Thoms and husband Jeff
are pleased to announce the
birth of their second daughter,
Isabel Jean Bolas, on Sept. 26.
She writes, “Isabel is a mellow,
twinkly baby and is bringing us
and her sister Eleanor (3 years
old in January) much joy. I’m
home for the year with the two
girls and planning to return to
teaching high school English in
the fall. Jeff continues to work
in computer forensics. We took
Eleanor to see her first live
theater last month: a children’s
production of The Emperor’s
New Clothes co-written by
Brian Wecht and his awesome
wife Rachel. This has left
Eleanor with the belief that all
plays involve throwing orange
pingpong balls at the bad guy
(in this case an Evil Boll Weevil)
but otherwise unharmed.
Isabel’s arrival brought us some
excellent Williams visitors:
Dahna Goldstein, in town from
DC; Adam Bloom ’99, living in
Brooklyn; and Rachel Axler ’99,
in from LA. We look forward to
luring others out to our apartment in Brooklyn in the near
future, as it’s now hard for us to
go anywhere without 42 bags.”
Leigh (Keyser) and Ziv Lalich
had a major “development”
they neglected to mention last
year (or the year before)—a
second son, joining big brother
Carter: Mason Christopher
Lalich, born Oct. 23, 2008.
Eric Kelly and others had a
minireunion in October at the
football game against Bates.
He reports, “Williams grads in
attendance (along with various
children, wives and parents)
were Pat and Amanda Moore,
Jeb Bentley, Chris Mestl, Brian
Higgins, Kevin Poppe, Craig
MacDonald, Rob Hyland, Mike
and Karen (Tarbell) Vazquez,
and Leigh (Van Dyken) Kelly and
myself. It was a different tailgating experience than in years past
now that young children had to
be tended to, but it was still a
good time had by all.”
Seth Morgan is engaged to Jess
Bongiorno’s little sister Andrea.
Wedding is in July—and will,
of course, be in JERSEY! Seth
writes, “I saw Maria Plantilla
and Kenny Harmon over the
holidays. We attended a
Broadway show together. I
also recently picked up Eiko
Siniawer’s book on the role of
violence in Japanese history,
proving once again that I’m less
intelligent AND underachiever
when compared to the majority
of our classmates. This fall I
visited with Peter and Eiko in
Williamstown, where we had
dinner at Hobson’s Choice
with my dad and Peter Watson,
father of Eric Watson.”
Brian Elieson writes, “We
moved back to Seattle to get
more space, shed my winter
coat and grow our own food.
Hopefully this is our last move.
Are there any other ’97s in
Seattle? Drop a line!”
Stacey (Rutledge) Chin and
husband Jason welcomed a
daughter, Rosalind Eva (or
Lindy), on Dec. 28. She joins
their son William, who is now
3½. Stacey was looking forward
n 1 9 9 7 –9 8
to having nine months off of
work to spend with her, thanks
to the generous maternity policies in the U.K.!
Jessica (Jensen-Moulton)
Henderson shamefully admits,
“It’s been ages since I wrote
in. … Actually, I can’t remember if I’ve ever done it!” She
writes, “I live on Bainbridge
Island, Wash., with my kiwi
husband—just celebrated our
10-year anniversary this year.
We have not one, not two—but
three kidlets running around the
house. Sky is 4, Piper is 2, and
our latest addition is Tallis, who
[celebrated] his first birthday in
December. I work part time as
the arts coordinator for an outdoor school called Island Wood,
and the rest of the time I am
with the kids … hitting all the
local playgrounds and beaches
and parks. Since my pal Maya
Dietz moved back to Seattle a
couple of years ago, we’ve been
hanging out, and we even did a
running race together recently!
I think that’s about all the big
news from here. … Thanks for
doing the secretary thing! I will
try to remember to write again
when anything interesting happens!” (Thank you for keeping
my job interesting, Jessica!)
And that, my lovely classmates, is all I have to report.
Until next time! xoB
1998
Andrea Stanton
104 Bobolink Road
Yonkers, NY 10701
[email protected]
Hello, and happy 2010 to all
of you!
Much of the country started
the year with a bang of snow
and cold weather, which I
hope brought opportunities
for wintry fun. James Kossuth,
who is now working at Todd
+ Weld, described Boston’s
December snow as bringing
the “best Christmas present”
for daughter Lucy, 3: a snow
shovel. “She helps me keep the
driveway clear,” he writes, “at
least until she loses interest and
starts making snow angels.”
Down in DC, Deb Hirschmann
writes that her cats camped out
by the windows for hours during their pre-Christmas 20-inch
snowstorm, fascinated by the
falling snow.
For this update, I’m trying out
a geographic theme—starting
with our West Coasters. Kelly
Virgulto writes that life in LA
now includes a house and a
puppy, Sasha Penelope. “I have
been traveling a ton between
the Caribbean, Asia, London
and NYC,” she writes, giving
her the chance to meet up with
Londoners like Laura (Davis)
Stahl and other far-flung alums.
Dena Zaldua-Hilkene writes that
she and her husband, who are
still in Eugene, Ore., just bought
their first home and are happily
settling in. “It’s a dream that
once seemed farcical, coming
from the Bay Area,” she notes.
Fellow Oregonian Chris Bell
writes: “In the spirit of Sheafe
Satterthwaite, Mike Lewis
and E.J. Johnson ’59, I loved
teaching a graduate course
at the University of Oregon’s
School of Architecture on the
state’s varied architectural and
transportation history.” Chris
and wife Sally continue to enjoy
the backcountry hiking and
skiing delights of the Pacific
Northwest. Nathan Robison
writes that he has migrated
from LA to Boston for a oneyear fellowship in pediatric
neuro-oncology, making the
cross-country trek in a Honda
Civic. “The winter weather
is giving me fond college
flashbacks after 11 years back
in California,” he says. Kate
(Hedden) Vosburg writes that
their big hope this spring is
to finalize Isabella’s adoption.
“We’re just down to the ‘shuffling papers and getting a court
date’ step,’” she writes, “so the
end is in sight!” Finally, several
’98ers wrote with reports on Jay
Brody and Joanna Stevason’s fall
wedding in Portland, describing
it as great fun and a minireunion in itself.
Back on the East Coast, John
Bozeman writes that he is now
in Daytona Beach and working
as a Marine Corps recruiter.
“I am in frequent contact with
local high schools and most
community organizations,”
he says, and he soon plans to
take up substitute teaching,
adding “teaching has always
been something I’ve wanted to
do.” He laments the lack of a
Williams presence in Daytona
Beach, so if your travel plans
take you near there, please let
him know. John and Kathleen
(O’Connell) Pope are living
in Franklin, Tenn., where
John is completing an adult
reconstruction (joint replacement) fellowship at Vanderbilt
after Kathleen, a pediatrician,
completed a medical genetics
fellowship. This year she is
staying home with son Ryan,
3, and daughter Mary, who
was born last June. Kathleen
looks forward to returning to
work after their planned move
to St. Petersburg, Fla., in July,
but writes that “for now, I’m
somehow simultaneously overwhelmed by and really enjoying
being with the two kids.” Up in
DC, Ben Slocum writes that his
work with U.S. Airways made
seeing Up In The Air feel like
watching a personal documentary, thanks to all the flying he’s
been doing. “It’s travel geeky
as can be,” he says, “but I was
proud that 2009 marked the
year that I filled up my passport
and had to get the special extra
pages added.” His most recent
big project was helping inaugurate the airline’s new service
to Rio de Janeiro, for which he
was the lead lawyer.
Paola Gentry is still working
in Vassar’s admission department. She writes that Eric
Watson ’97 is juggling coaching the Women’s National and
SUNY New Paltz soccer teams
along with helping out with
his daughter’s travel soccer
team—“which I personally
find most exciting,” she notes.
They recently saw Grant Farmer,
who stopped by for a visit en
route to Williamstown. Anne
(Faubert) and Seth Low saw
Kim Comeau Webster, Caroline
Nesbit Bell and Kristie Rogers
Koppenheffer in Massachusetts
over Christmas and report that
they and son David welcomed
daughter Sarah in November.
Pete Robinson writes that he was
training for the 2010 Boston
Marathon. Thanks to the winter
weather, he writes, “I recently
came home after a training run
and was met with some big
chuckles from Liz. Icicles hanging from my eyebrows—that’s a
new one.”
Oliver and Sarah (Lurding)
Smith are still living in NYC,
with daughter Abigail Grace
joining Lily, 3, and Ollie, 2, in
October. “A lot of ballet and
baby dolls (Lily), trucks and
diggers (Ollie) and sleepless
nights (Abigail),” Oliver writes,
“but loving every minute with
the kids and still loving New
York.” Liz Fiorino is still working as a pediatric pulmonologist
at NYU and welcomed daughter
Charlotte last summer. Another
New Yorker, Mari-Claudia
Jimenez, writes with several
updates, including the recent
birth of Caroline and Jim Bell’s
daughter Riley Kathryn in early
CL ASS
NOTES
January. Mari-Claudia is still
with Herrick, Feinstein, where
she specializes in art law, including restitution of Nazi-looted
artwork. “I have spoken at a
number of conferences in Miami
about looted art in Cuba and
restitution issues,” she writes,
“so as a Cuban-American this
will likely be the next frontier in
my work.” She also works occasionally with Lauren Gioia, who
is now the head of Sotheby’s
press office in North and South
America.
New Yorkers away from
home include Conrad Oakey,
who spent New Year’s Eve in
LA and in what he calls “the
fine company of Sam French
and his lovely lady Anna.” The
following night, Conrad, Bunge
Cook and I met for dinner and
a private screening of Sam’s
latest film, which Conrad aptly
calls “a hilarious Office-esque
parody of British embassy life in
Kabul. Unfortunately, the film
was shot in the embassy and so
cannot be publicly distributed.”
He also had lunch with Ned
Sahin, in which they discussed
“topics from neuroscience
to body grooming.” Evelyn
Spence wrote from a monthlong
residency at the Vermont Studio
Center, where she was working
on a novel. “It reminds me of
Williamstown during Winter
Study,” she writes, “although
this time its 50 artists whose
college days are far (or very far!)
behind them.” She’s also training for a half-Ironman triathlon
and raising money for leukemia
research in honor of her father.
She saw Brad Johnston; Gerht
Lubitz, wife Jessie and daughter Alling; and Matt Wheeler
and wife Ginel Hill ’00, who
were in New Hampshire for a
New Year’s ski trip. And New
Yorker-turned-Texan Liz Craft
wrote to say “hello” to all.
Midwestern ’98ers include
Leah and Jason Abel, who are
still living in Michigan. Jason is
now a partner at his law firm,
and Leah keeps busy “chasing and being chased by our
three little ones.” She writes:
“Five-year-old Jack disappears
each day to kindergarten, while
Emmy, 3, and Alex, 20 months,
make snowflakes and turn other
important papers they find
around the house into arts and
crafts.” Cleveland-based Matt
Libbey and wife Garet (Asbury)
’97 celebrated daughter Addie’s
first birthday in October. “She
has developed a complete arsenal of conversational tools,” he
writes, “such as ‘no,’ ‘all done,’
‘uh-oh,’ ‘nose’ and my favorite:
‘da-da.’ Needless to say, she is
far more interesting than I am in
day-to-day conversation.” Matt
is still at McKinsey, focusing on
hospitals and health systems,
while Garet continues teaching
at a local school. Anita (Doddi)
Gajula reports that her family is
doing well “in the frozen tundra
that is Minnesota.” After a
bout of traveling to see various
family members, she has told
her husband that the traveling
will stop until son Rahul, 2, is
old enough to be able “to amuse
himself for at least part of the
trip.”
Brian Safyan migrated his
family through the Midwest en
route to a new marketing job
at a medical device company
in Colorado Springs (for which
he sends a shout out to Pam
Bromley for suggesting interview
talking points about “Why I
Want to Live in the Springs”).
He and his wife drove their
family to their new home,
experiencing what he calls “the
excitement of the Great Plains
in late December. I really can’t
say enough about spending
New Year’s Eve in a hotel room
with your wife, 2-year-old twins
and a dog in Lincoln, Neb.,” he
writes.
Sam French reports that he is
still fundraising for the Afghan
Film Project, which he describes
as “a nonprofit production company formed to tell uniquely
Afghan stories while building
the capacities of the country’s
film industry.” Jeninne Lee-St.
John writes that she and Keirn
O’Connor will be in Vietnam for
some time to come, since Keirn
took a position running a different private equity fund. During
their last trip to the U.S., they
met Ed Yu’s son Alex and Andy
Jawa’s son Dilan. “They are
gorgeous little boys,” she writes,
“and with two doctors each for
parents, they are destined to be
healthy and smart!”
Several other people wrote in
with news of new little ones.
Graham Dresden reported very
fresh baby news: “I am sitting
in the hospital, holding my new
daughter Josie, who is about
five hours old. She is feisty
(i.e., crying), like mom. Luckily
her twin brother Oliver is a
bit more calm (like his dad).”
Graham and his wife bought a
house in Palo Alto last summer
in preparation for the twins.
“Life is good now, and about to
become a lot more hectic—but
in a good way,” he adds.
Aaron Kammerer writes that
he and wife Daphne have seen
Pete Robinson and daughter
Millie several times and that
she is “absolutely wonderful.
Daphne and I were convinced,”
he writes, “and had our boy
Henry just a few months later,
in August.” Aaron reports
that—like Millie—Henry is also
“resolutely adorable.”
Katherine Bair Desmond writes
that she, husband Ryan and
daughter Ellie, 2, welcomed
son Patrick last summer. “He
missed sharing my birthday
by 20 minutes,” she writes,
“and let me just say that there
are much better ways to spend
your birthday than in labor.”
She is working from home for
McKinsey, leading its women’s
initiative for the Americas.
Despite living in Phoenix for
four years, Katherine says that
she is convinced that she will
never get used to the weather.
“Unfortunately, I can’t think of
anything witty to say,” writes
Jed White, “since I got up at
4:30 a.m. with our smiling
4-month-old daughter Azelle.”
The early riser has a Williams
sweater and is considering joining the Class of 2031.
I hope that 2010 is bringing
good things to all of you and
look forward to hearing from
you later this spring.
1999
Erik Holmes
808 Alabama St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Nat White
4476 North Morris Blvd.
Shorewood, WI 53211
[email protected]
Greetings to the ever-expanding Class of 1999 family! We
begin this round of news with a
couple of long-lost classmates.
OK, fine, 10.5 years isn’t really
that long, but it feels like it
sometimes. Ben Storrs is teaching at Litchfield High School
in Connecticut. Ben and his
wife Aryn had their first child,
daughter Ottavia Sofia Storrs,
in March 2008. Ben does keep
in touch with Aubrey Linen and
Will Aubuchon, and he has a
story about Matt Schreck almost
burning down his front porch.
First-time contributor Aaron
Krenkel wrote from Portland,
Ore., where he is a psychiatrist.
Aaron and his wife Alynn had
their first child, Beatrice Anna
n 1 9 9 8 –9 9
Krenkel, on May 9, and they
share the sentiment expressed
by many of us: Parenthood
is awesome. Aaron plays in a
band, A Weather, whose second
record is to be out on Team
Love Records by the time you
read these notes. Keep an eye
out for their spring tour. Aaron
regularly sees fellow Portlanders
Jon Baldivieso and Fran Monga
and their children Sofia and
Simon, as well as Ray Hartwell
and his wife Laurel ’02.
Lots of babies to welcome this
time around; looks like we may
have an extra reunion during
the graduation of the Class of
2031. Maya Verdy Eisenman
was born to Ian Eisenman and
his wife Ariane Verdy on Sept.
27. Fellow LA resident Kristina
Gehrman ’00 threw them a nice
baby shower. Ian, Ariane, Maya
and dog Skipper vacationed in
Palm Springs over New Year’s
with Steph Sewell King, Jon
King ’98, 8-month-old Graham
King, and Erik Holmes and his
fiancée Shannon Reid and their
puppy Zane. Erik, who also
spent Thanksgiving with the
Eisenman clan, started a new
job as a reporter at the Orange
County bureau of the U.S.
Local News Network, an online
startup trying a new model for
local news reporting. Nat Roland
and Samie Kim Roland ’01 are
thrilled to announce the birth
of daughter Clara Lee Roland
on Oct. 2. They, too, are loving
parenthood but struggling with
the task of juggling new baby
and two full-time careers. Samie
is a first-year ophthalmology
resident in Tampa, and Nat was
elected shareholder in the law
firm where he has been working
since 2003. Nat and Samie are
waiting for more Ephs under
50 to recognize that Florida is
not just for retirees and to move
there.
At the other end of the climate
scale, Kate Nolan Joyce and her
husband Raschid welcomed son
Keghan on Oct. 11. Kate is the
director of admission at Stratton
Mountain School in Vermont,
where she has been working
for nine years. Kate regularly
sees Katie (Westbrook) Redding
and her family, since they
live nearby, and Tiffany Talley
Farnham and her Coloradobased family about once a year.
Tyler (Lewis) Perry and her husband Schuyler had a baby boy,
Samuel Elliott Perry, on Oct. 21.
By early January, Tyler reported
that Elliott was training his parents well, and they were starting
to figure out what they’re doing
and loving every minute of it.
Tyler also reported on the birth
of son Reed to Mimi Bartow
and Whitten Morris ’98 on Sept.
20. Laura Jacobs Kravis and Jon
welcomed William Irving Kravis
on Oct. 31. Laura, Jon and Will
are all doing well, if a bit tired,
and they look forward to years
of Halloween parties to come.
Perhaps they’ll share some of
those parties with young Natalie
Beatriz Smith, who shares a
birthday with Will. Natalie’s
proud parents are Taylor Smith
and Ana Aguilar ’98. Just over
two weeks later, we have
another shared birthday. On
Nov. 16, Peter Hall and Kate
Simon ’00 welcomed daughter Dillon Grace Hall in New
York. In Nashville that same
day, Jon Soslow and his wife
Kylie welcomed their second
child, Charlotte Rush Soslow.
Jon is finishing his last year as
a pediatric cardiology fellow at
Vanderbilt, and he will stay on
for an imaging fellowship. Kylie
works as a pediatrician, and
older daughter Amelie is adjusting to the added turmoil. Eight
days later, Sylvia Englund Michel
and husband Dana welcomed
Joan Claire Michel into the
world. Sylvia is greatly enjoying
life as a mother.
Jonathan Harwell had a busy
fall. In August, he and wife Sally
Seraphin moved from Boston
to Knoxville, Tenn., where
Jonathan practices criminal
defense law with his father. On
Dec. 8, they welcomed their
first child, Camille Seraphin
Harwell. In between, Jonathan
attended the Cambridge portion
of Zehra Abid’s wedding and
the New York wedding of Scott
Kaplan. The final baby born
before my January deadline was
Addison Jane Ray, born Jan. 9
to Anazette Williams Ray and
Phil Ray. Becky Logue-Conroy
reported on Anazette’s baby
shower, where she saw Karen
Hu. Becky and her twins got to
play with Emily Eakin and her
twins at the fall foliage parade
in North Adams, where Becky
lives. Becky is doing some
contract admission and alumni
relations work for Williams,
and she’s excited to go back
to school in the summer, but
mostly she loves taking care of
her baby girls.
I know of at least a handful of
you who were waiting, patiently
or otherwise, for new arrivals
of your own during January,
February and March, so there’s
sure to be more baby news in
the next edition. Perhaps you’ll
be able to take advantage of the
skills of Lindsay Beach Petersen,
who is pursuing certification as
a natural childbirth educator.
Lindsay also reports that son
Eric, whom many of us met at
reunion, is growing into quite
the happy toddler.
Our class has also grown
through marriage. On Aug.
22 Andrew Henderson married Gwynne Morrissey, whom
many met at reunion. Andrew
and Gwynne took big academic
steps together last fall, with
Gwynne advancing to candidacy and Andrew successfully
defending his dissertation.
Andrew is currently working
as a lecturer for an introductory environmental engineering course at the University
of Michigan, and he’s looking
forward to having time to play
with my old indoor soccer team.
Eric Soskin and Miran Seo (also
a reunion attendee) tied the
knot last fall in Utah with 10
classmates and 15 total Ephs in
attendance. Eric wants to give
extra credit to Joe Kauffman for
making a weekend trip from
Beijing to be there and to Jon
Pak, who made it back to his
residency in Portland by 5 a.m.
the next day. Eric and Miran
honeymooned in Istanbul and
Marrakech, with a more recent
trip to Ashland, Va., with Jeff
Zeeman ’97 and Jenna Taft ’09
to watch the Williams men’s
basketball team in the Randolph
Macon Christmas Classic.
In December, New Jersey
resident Arlene Spooner and
her Manchester terrier flew to
California to compete in agility
at the National Invitational.
They finished in fourth place
out of 82 dogs, quite the
impressive showing. Upon
their return to New Jersey,
Arlene’s boyfriend Mike Hirsch
proposed, so we look forward
to having him join the class in
the future. Also working the
California/New York connection is talented writer Rachel
Axler, whose first off-Broadway
play, Smudge, opened on Jan.
3. When she’s not writing plays,
Rachel is still writing for the
sitcom Parks and Recreation.
We have movers and shakers,
both international and domestic. Marc Barreda finished his
first semester in a pre-master’s
program at the Gerrit Rietveld
Academie in Amsterdam. Marc
reports that the work is new
and experimental and a big
CL ASS
NOTES
change from his previous work.
In Amsterdam, one needs to
register with the city to live,
work, have a bank account
or rent a video, and Marc is
still working on that. He has,
however, had a taste of home
through visits from Lindsay
Benedict ’98 and Jan Postma
and Jane Pannetta. Ben Warner
wrote on the 10-year anniversary of his arrival on Sakhalin
Island, Russia, with the Peace
Corps. Since then, he married
Natasha and has two daughters,
Paulina, 5, and Maya, 3. Ben
has taken up snow-kiting and
works as a “production logistics
superintendent” for an affiliate
of ExxonMobil. Ben is hoping
to see any Houston-area Ephs
in upcoming visits to the Lone
Star State. Amy Patterson has
returned from Mali to Atlanta,
where she hoped to be joined
by her husband Fodie before
this issue goes to print. Rich von
Bargen reports from NYC that
he saw former roommate Tyson
Matsumoto over the holidays
for the first time since graduation. Tyson had been living in
Japan, but he has returned to
California and is applying to
graduate programs in physical
therapy.
Houston native Davis
Teichgraeber has moved north
to Philly, where she is working
on a body MRI fellowship at
UPenn and looking forward
to finally being done with
training so she can get a “real
job” in 2010. While she wrote
from work at the hospital on
Christmas Day, Davis would
love to hear from and get
together with anyone in the
area. Greg Albert wrote from
Iowa, where he is finishing his
neurosurgery training. Greg’s
next move will be to Toronto
for a 12-month fellowship in
pediatric neurosurgery at the
Hospital for Sick Children.
Laura Brenneman and her
partner Kathy moved from
the DC area to Arlington,
Mass. Laura and Kathy love
Boston and their new jobs
and house; Laura is a postdoc
at the Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics. Ever
the athlete, Laura has started
playing basketball again, even
though her game has deteriorated through neglect. Laura
joined soccer alums Courtney
(Stokes) Willett, Aileen Keenan
’96, Kirsten (Paquette) Rigney
’97, Kim (Comeau) Webster
’98, Jill (Caterer) Cotter ’00
and Ann Brophy ’00 for dinner,
and they’re hoping for a larger
group next time around.
Catherine Polisi Jones and her
husband Andrew bought their
first home and moved from
New York to Old Greenwich,
Conn., in early December. I
should be able to tell you what
drove the move in the next set
of notes. Catherine reported
on the birth of Wyatt Miles
Orraca-Cecil to Dede OrracaCecil in November. Dede and
Wyatt are doing well, and
Dede’s older son Henry is learning how to be a big brother.
Leah Doret is living in Grafton,
Mass., and working part time
as a family physician. She, along
with several others in her physician group, just accepted a job at
a new practice, in a brand-new
building owned by the local
hospital. Leah spent her first
weekend away from her husband
and 19-month-old daughter to
go to homecoming, where she
got to see her brother Charlie and
sister-in-law Lida (Ungar), both
’02, and a number of other alums
that she hadn’t seen in years.
Entrepreneur Jen Hurley and
her husband Nick are opening
a burrito joint in Butte, Mont.,
since their adjacent renovation
project apparently isn’t keeping
them busy enough. Other news
reported by Laura (Moberg)
Lavoie included Eric Soskin’s
wedding, Laura’s October move
from the suburbs to downtown
San Diego, visiting with Mike
and Kelly Shinn McAdam and
son Will at the telecast of the
Williams-Amherst game, and a
holiday trip to Boston. Laura
met up with Christian Rubio and
Kathleen Mason and had lunch
with Bronwen Halacy. Laura
was excited for her January full
of Williams activities, including
Executive Committee work and
visits to San Diego by Presidents
Wagner and Falk. Also writing about the telecast was St.
Paul, Minn., resident Jennifer
Rottmann. Jennifer and her fiancé
Michael Plante, both attorneys,
spent much of the game discussing health care reform with
neurosurgeon Matt Hunt ’96, who
brought along his son Parker.
Jess (Green) Murphy wrote
about daughter Molly’s fifth
birthday party in Seattle, where
Jess, Molly, Patrick (husband)
and 21⁄2-year-old Brady live.
Jess works for the city, managing transportation projects,
and her new boss is Mayor
Michael McGinn ’82. Several
others wrote that, although
not much is changing in their
lives, they enjoy the status
quo, including UCSB economics professor Zack Grossman,
Michigan dentist Liz Claflin, San
Jose marketing manager Leigh
(Winter) Martin and Chicago
marketing coordinator Katie
Montgomery. And from this part
of the Midwest, Julie Rusczek
and I had a nice albeit very brief
visit from Tim Stoddard, who
was in Milwaukee interviewing
for a residency at the Medical
College of Wisconsin. When we
headed back to New England
for the holidays with young
son Jasper in tow, we were able
to see Becky Logue-Conroy and
her girls and to catch up with
Californian Christine Whitcraft
and her husband Jon Pompa.
Christine is enjoying life as
a professor, and Jon likes his
work with a small engineering
start-up. That’s all the news that
made it to my computer this
time around; keep it coming for
the next time.
2000
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Jon Pearson
33 Chester St., Apt 2R
Somerville, MA 02144
[email protected]
We have an avalanche of
updates to cover this time,
maybe the largest crop of
submissions ever, so let’s get
right to it, sans organizational
gimmicks. Erin Davies defended
her PhD thesis at Stanford in
their developmental biology
department and moved to Salt
Lake City with her husband
Matt to start her postdoc at the
University of Utah. She’ll be
working on adult stem cells and
regeneration in flatworms and
is very excited about it. Porter
McConnell started a website
called Slowchristmas.org that
advocates spending less money
during the holiday season
and transfering some of that
mercantile energy toward family
and friends. She got some good
publicity for it on other sites
and plans to dust it off again
next year. Plus, it has recipes.
And pictures of polar bears.
JJ Asarch wins this edition’s
Class Secretary’s Prize for
Achievement in Brevity and Not
Writing Too Much with the
announcement of his May 2009
marriage. He tells us that “some
Williams peeps were in attendance.” Emily Small advocates
n 1 9 9 9 –2 0 0 0
brevity (saying that you should
all be forced to send your
updates via Twitter), though
her update was more than eight
times the Twitter limit. Emily
graduated from Columbia
with an MPA in environmental
science and policy in May and
after a lengthy search landed a
job with NYC as part of a team
charged with cutting greenhouse
gas emissions from city government. She took advantage of
her unemployment to make
five trips to Williamstown last
fall, including what she calls
her “roots” tour with Abby
Sayer, which involved Colonial
Pizza, MASS MoCA and the
Blue Benn. Emily also caught
up with Megan Fredericks
Dubofsky, Carrie Wicker, Doug
Cohan, Katharine Lusk and Matt
Fineman.
Becca Parkinson checked in
on her own this time rather
than leaving her updates in
the capable hands of Elise
(Estes) Morgan. Becca and her
fiancé Jake MacLellan have an
MLE coming up, and if that’s
not transparent I don’t know
what is. She has been having nightmares involving the
logistics for this MLE, which
I’m sure will have subsided by
the time you read this. Becca
lives in Idaho and works as a ski
patroller in the winter and an
NOLS instructor and supervisor during the summer. Becca
received a visit from Ann Brophy
in July and connected again
with Ann and Ms. Morgan in
November, at which time there
was a friendly disagreement
over the merits of keeping pigs
as pets. Katherine Bernie moved
to Baltimore in the fall to take
a job with an ecosystem service
private equity firm and loves
it. She was pleased to run into
her first-year roommate Jen
Kingsley at a farmer’s market
in December. Ruko (Takeuchi)
Senseney did not include an
update when she sent an e-mail,
but I enjoyed hearing from
her. Yana (Dadiamova) Levin
is a second-year pulmonary/
critical care medicine fellow
at Strong Memorial Hospital
in Rochester, N.Y. She has a
“lovely husband and a diabolically clever 2-year-old boy, who
will, one day, certainly run his
own country whose currency
will be based entirely on toy
trains.” Yana called all this
information “dreadfully mundane,” which is false.
Paul Friedmann thinks it’s
“fun to have MLEs to report,”
especially when the MLE is the
birth of Maya Jo Friedmann on
Nov. 27, daughter to himself
and Allison (Jacobs) Friedmann.
Allison and Paul teach middle
schoolers at the Edward W.
Brooke Charter School. Since
Maya was born, the Friedmanns
have seen Andrew and Emily
(Simpson) Speck, Dawn Nelson
and Lauren (Krisko) Sweatman.
Maya got her first purple cow
in the mail from Gabriella Allen.
Congratulations go out to Sean
and Liza (Walsh) Keenan ’01
who welcomed their second
daughter, Haley Jean Keenan,
on Nov. 4. According to Sean,
Haley “thankfully looks like
her mother,” and he and Liza
have “shifted to man-to-man
coverage at home and get a
lot of help from proud big
sister Avery.” Congrats also to
Emily (Eustis) Liggitt and her
husband Mark, who had their
third child, Marshall McIntyre
Liggitt, on Oct. 2.. Emily happily reports that Marshall is “by
far my easiest baby and so much
fun!” Emily lives in Bronxville,
N.Y., and is excited to now have
Kristy (Grippi) Litman and Krissy
Walker Treadway living nearby.
The beautiful Amy
(Sprengelmeyer) and the dashing
Jason Healy (don’t think I forgot) are enjoying life in Suffield,
Conn., with their 20-month-old
son Seth, whose favorite phrase,
according to mom, is “Sethie
do it.” He made his first trip to
Williamstown for homecoming last fall, and he had his first
introduction to the marching
band. The Healys were joined
over Homecoming Weekend
by Chris Richards and Cathy
Williams, Chuck Hagenbuch
and Jenn Cartee ’97 and their
daughter Katie Hagenbuch,
and Jess Scott ’01 and Steve
Wollkind ’01. Class literary
celebrity Carrie Ryan lets us
know that the paperback of
her debut novel, The Forest of
Hands and Teeth, was released
in February and that her second
book, The Dead-Tossed Waves,
was due in March. A book
tour is planned. Carrie is hard
at work on the third book in
the series as well as a few short
stories for anthologies. She also
has a troublesome chimney and
a busy fiancé.
Jen (Curley) and Nat Bessey
are living in Germany this year
due to Nat’s fellowship from
the Robert Bosch Foundation.
They were in Berlin for the
20th anniversary of the fall
of the Berlin Wall and before
Christmas moved to Munich,
where they plan to be until
May. Dave Gilford feared being
the last to submit this time and
receiving a Cara Shortsleevestyle call-out, but he wasn’t even
close. Dave lives in New York
and left his job at GE Capital
to work for the NYC Economic
Development Corp. on cleantech strategy. Dave Lombino and
Clare Newman ’02 also work
there. Class Secretary Emeritus
Bert Leatherman visited Dave
from Brazil last year.
Kate (Flynn) and Tom Grant
moved from Boston proper to
a suburb (Reading), where they
are pretending to be grownups and doing what Kate calls
“keeping house.” This is the
emerging trend in our class
right now, by the way. We have
been through the weddings, the
baby flood is ebbing, and now
you’re all moving to the ’burbs.
Grant kids Quinn and Cole love
having a yard to play in and
are gearing up for a forbidden
family MLE set to occur this
summer. If you’re looking for a
clue, Kate mentioned that she
and Tom are “hoping to give the
Duggar family a run for their
money.” Jeff Herzog earns this
edition’s Shortsleeve Award for
Excellence in Deadline Defiance
and was a strong contender
for the Brevity Prize as well
with his one-sentence missive
informing us that he lives up
the road from Class Secretary
HQ in Somerville, Mass., and
works as product manager
for EditShare, a technology
company that sells hardware
and software for collaborative video editing. Philip Groth
also lives in Somerville with
his wife Abbey Eisenhower ’01
and extended me an invitation
to his next homebrew drinking
party. I’m totally in! Closing
the Somerville segment of our
program we find Shara Pilch,
who wrote with her first update
since the Leatherman days.
Shara married Hunter Gates
on Oct. 4 in Lincoln, Mass., at
Codman Estate and Farm. The
Williams crew included Douglas
Marshall, Alfonso Gonzalez del
Riego, Boudhayan Sen, Sheraz
Choudhary, Aida Avdic, George
Anthes, Ethan Plunkett and
a gaggle of Ephs from other
classes. The day was punctuated
by a glorious rainbow over the
dance floor. Shara teaches high
school math at Lincoln-Sudbury
Regional High School.
Dan Shirai married Maria da
Costa in December 2008 in
CL ASS
NOTES
Bhutan and celebrated with
friends and family in Gloucester,
Mass., in March 2009. On a
work-related trip to Brazil,
Dan met up for a nice meal
with Bert Leatherman, thereby
helping us shatter the record for
most mentions of Bert in one
edition of Williams People. Dan
also caught a performance in
Brooklyn by a group of musicians on Judd Greenstein’s ’01
music label New Amsterdam
Records. Vineeta Mahajan
Bonthala is still practicing
corporate law in Chicago.
Her beautiful son Sahil is 16
months old and “so much fun.”
Vineeta saw Rob Howell during the winter, ran into Gwen
(Baxter) Morales a few times
and hosted Melissa Murphy,
who visited from San Francisco.
Nicole Draghi has avoided the
Facebook disease and still gets
her updates almost exclusively
from class notes, which makes
me feel a little less obsolete. In
October, Nicole defended her
PhD in immunology at Cornell,
and in November she and her
husband Dennis bought a house
and moved from Hoboken to
Fanwood, N.J. Nicole reports
that “Dakota the dog loves
running around in her big backyard, and I’m looking forward
to planting a vegetable garden
this summer!” Michelle Dunn
drove up from Philadelphia for
brunch in January.
Rebecca (Atkinson) Anderson
enjoyed a few minireunions
last year, including a bouldering trip in the fall to Bishop,
Calif., with Andy Anderson
’99, Tara Crowley, Dan Richter
and Ben Chaffin ’98, and a
Christmas gathering in Boston
with Lauren (Krisko) Sweatman,
Sandra DiPillo ’01, Aimee Vasse
’01 and Elizabeth Roller ’01.
Steve Roman enjoys living
back in his ancestral homeland of California, spending
much quality time with Becky
Iwantsch and lining up occasional get-togethers with Grace
Rubenstein and Drew Sutton.
Kevin and Virginia (Pyle) See
have taken daughter Linnaea
to many of Seattle’s parks and
have rediscovered the joy of
playground slides. The Sees
spent Thanksgiving out on
the Olympic Peninsula with
Chris Ronai, who was doing a
two-month rotation there as
part of her residency at Seattle
Children’s Hospital. Kev mentions that he plays soccer every
week with David Fuchs, “who
continues to show the same
speed on the pitch that made
him famous in IM soccer.” He
would also like you all to know
that Jon Kallay makes a delicious latke.
Speaking of the Kallays, Alicia
(Currier) and Jon Kallay and
son Oren paid a visit to Israel,
the country where Jon was
born but which he hadn’t seen
in more than 15 years. They
had a great time but learned
that toddlers don’t adjust
very quickly to 10-hour time
changes. Soothing Oren meant
walking around a neighborhood in Tel Aviv that strangely
had a playground for every 50
meters of road, which was great
for Oren but not for Jon. “I
felt like I was in a Disney-fied
version of Cormac McCarthy’s
The Road.” Jon also made his
usual trip to Boston in October
for the Head of the Charles
regatta and stayed with the
Friedmanns and saw Geordie
and Lindsay (Hatton) McClelland.
Jon is pursuing a master’s in the
philosophy of education at the
University of Washington. Peter
and Becca (Norwick) Eyre moved
to a new house outside of DC,
and they and 19-month-old Zoe
love their new neighborhood.
Peter continues his work at a
DC law firm and was to head
to Africa for a project in early
2010. Becca is enjoying her
job conducting research for the
federal court system.
Hillary Barraford left New
England a few years ago and
lives in LA, where she works
as an actor and producer. She
says, “It’s tough, but I’m loving
it and having more fun than
a barrel o’ monkeys.” She has
acted with Emmy winners Toni
Collette, on United States of
Tara, and Gordon Clapp ’71,
whom she played opposite in
the short The Water.
Time for a couple of All-Pros:
In addition to having juicy
forbidden MLE news, Cara
Shortsleeve lives in the South
End of Boston and continues
to enjoy working at Google.
She had dinner with Megan
(Doherty) Kelley right before
Christmas, talks to Sarah
(Sheppe) Okun regularly and
reports that Marie Michel
Tasse is still in Salt Lake City
and Alan Fitts is still in DC on
Michelle Obama’s staff. I think
of Grace (Pritchard) Burson as
the shortstop on the all-pro
team. She and her husband Josh
Burson have gotten together
with other alums at game nights
and barbecues in the Boston
area, including a New Year’s
gathering with lots of people
who I don’t have enough room
to list. Grace’s 23-month-old
Peter ’30 has decided that the
most fun thing ever is to march
around the house shouting
“Purple cow!” All-pro Ann
Brophy is still enjoying life as
a teacher and coach. She is
“intensely busy by day” but
planned to take advantage of
vacation time in February by
going to Tahoe and back out
West to continue mountain biking the Great Divide Trail this
summer.
Jared and Emily (Boer) Drake
left their jobs and apartment
in Berkeley to move to Seattle.
They spent November and
December on “sabbatical,”
traveling to New Zealand,
Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and
Malaysia. They catalogued their
adventures on drakesonaplane.
wordpress.com. Steph Airoldi
sent her first ever class notes
update: She received her PhD in
genetics from Yale in December
and got married in July to
Tom Quirk at the aquarium in
Mystic, Conn. Alona Zaitzeff
and Mark Florenz were in attendance. Chris Wendell, another
“longtime reader, first-time
submitter,” checked in from
Rome, where he and his wife
Stephanie were traveling. Chris
has been working at the U.S.
mission to the U.N. agencies
working on global food security
issues. He planned to be back
in DC in February. Closing out
the rookie submitters is my
entrymate Damian Zunino, who
married “the beautiful” Britt
Lofgren on Jan. 2. Damian
and Britt live in NYC and have
an architectural and interior
design/build company together
called studiodb.
Kristi Grippi sends official
word of her August 2009
wedding to Levi Litman after
seeing the occasion appear as
a stealth MLE last time. Kim
(Massimiano) Paolercio set the
two up on a blind date four
years ago. As you heard earlier,
Kristi has relocated to the New
York suburbs. Mariya Hodge
and Jeff Grant live in Sunnyvale,
Calif. Mariya works as a city
planner while Jeff is a systems
engineer for a company that
develops medical messaging
systems and other software.
The couple had a daughter last
year, Zoë Grant, born on Cinco
de Mayo, “so she will always
have the best birthdays (at least
after reaching drinking age).”
n 2 0 0 0 –0 1
Kim Zelnick is also a new mom,
as she and her husband Scott
Mitnick welcomed Henry Max
Mitnick on Oct. 20. Henry
weighed 6 pounds, 12.9 ounces.
Mike Brown created a company
called KharaSoft Inc. He advises
us to “look for more news in
the coming months.”
But I’ve digressed from real
babies: Don Wood and Melissa
(Vecchio) Wood had a baby boy,
Cameron Lowell Wood, on Aug.
9. Don reports that, “as he’s the
first grandchild on both sides
of the family, his Christmas
haul will keep him clothed
thru 2020.” Ted Satterthwaite
and his wife Liz Foglia had
twins named Gwendolyn and
Joseph on Dec 27. Luckily, Ted
remarks, “They seem to take
after their mother.” The couple
lives in Philly, where Ted is
finishing a psychiatry residency
and where he sees a lot of Mike
Ramberg and Ali Michael.
Kathleen Reardon works as a
lobster biologist for the state of
Maine. In 2009, Kathleen personally measured about 59,000
lobsters, a new record. She has
been making improvements
to the house she bought three
years ago and spent almost
every weekend at Sugarloaf during the winter. Jason Stojkovic
also sounds like a very busy
man, as a real estate salesperson with Prudential Douglas
Elliman in Manhattan, having
left the world of finance more
than three-and-a-half years ago.
He works with his mother, and
together they handle all aspects
of renting, buying and selling
residential apartments, buildings and townhouses. Jason also
manages a popular bar on the
Upper East Side.
A couple of travel-related
updates close out this jampacked edition: Pat Burton is
working tenure in the biology
department at Wabash College.
Last August he presented his
research at the annual meeting
of the European Society for
Evolutionary Biology in Torino,
Italy. He and his wife Ellen were
able to head over early and visited Rome, Florence and Siena.
Finally, I complete these notes
sitting next to my dear friend
and freshman roommate Chris
Foxwell, who is staying with me
for a few days during his one
and only visit home during his
Peace Corps service in Jordan.
To celebrate his brief return we
gathered a group of classmates
for various events, all revolving around food. Those joining
in the fun included Will Darrin,
Matt Levy, Anna Frantz, Alfonso
Gonzalez del Riego, Brad Geddes
and Ellie Springer.
Thanks again for all the
updates, and I’ll see you at
reunion!
2001
Katie Kelly Gregory
2642 West Cortez St., #3
Chicago, IL 60622
[email protected]
Thanks to all who wrote in!
Tim Karpoff moved to DC
after the 2008 elections. After
spending nine months working
in the White House on nominations and confirmations, he’s
moved on to working on financial regulatory reform, largely
on derivatives. Tim wrote that
he crosses paths regularly with
Felton Booker, and Tim is working hard to broker a play date
between his dog, a boxer named
Finnegan, and Bo.
Dan Center and his girlfriend welcomed a new dog, a
Labrador mix, to their family
this winter. Over Thanksgiving
Dan traveled to New York and
met up with Emily Earle and
Lizzie Jacobs for some authentic
New York pizza, something
he’s missed over the past six
years living in Montana. Dan
celebrated Hanukkah with Joey
(Shapiro) Key and her family
and had made plans for lots
of Nordic and telemark skiing
during the winter. He started a
job with a local company that
manufactures outdoor gear like
sleeping pads and waterproof
bags. Lizzie also wrote that
she and her husband (she got
married in Chicago last spring)
had a trip to India planned
in February for his cousin’s
wedding.
Betsy Spear is slowly working
toward her PhD in Classics at
Bryn Mawr College and planning her October wedding.
Matt Kim checked in from
Minneapolis, where he works as
an economics professor at the
University of St. Thomas.
Hoyoon Nam has moved to
London and continues to practice corporate law.
Matt Wessler left the corporate world for a position as an
attorney at a public interest
firm, Public Justice. He reported
that the work fits his interests
more closely and has freed
up some of his time to visit
with friends, including Todd
Rogers, his wife Dana and their
daughter Caroline. Matt spent
New Year’s Eve in New York
and attended Judd Greenstein’s
NYE party, which had a healthy
Eph attendance.
Jen Berylson works as an
attorney in the private equity
group at Goodwin Proctor. She
is busy planning an October
wedding and plans to include
her 200-pound Saint Bernard as
ring bearer at the ceremony on
Cape Cod.
Kivlina (Shepherd) Block is a
discussion leader in her local
BSF class and planned to attend
a regional retreat in Portland,
Ore., in the spring.
Dan Perttu’s recent composition for violin and cello duo,
“Tonospheres,” was published
by BRS Music Inc. in December
2009.
Rebecca (Hinyard) Neumann
married a Harvard graduate in
November in Dallas. Josh Kelner
and Joel Iams attended her wedding and helped celebrate by
dancing to “Aqua,” a favorite
tune of the Williams D entry.
She and her husband John live
in Old Town Alexandria and
have a miniature dachshund
puppy.
Duncan Meiklejohn and his
wife Lauren welcomed son
Maxwell in 2009. Duncan spent
the winter interviewing for ENT
residency programs in NYC,
where he spent time with Josh
Frankel ’02, Eve Biddle ’04 and
Judd Greenstein.
Liza (Walsh) Keenan and her
husband Sean ’00 welcomed
their second daughter, Haley,
on Nov. 4. Liza reported, “The
girls are keeping us busy, but
we’re having a lot of fun.”
Congratulations to Samantha
(Kim) and Nat Roland ’99! They
welcomed a daughter on Oct. 2.
Melissa (Vecchio) Wood and
her husband Don ’00 welcomed
son Cameron Lowell Wood on
Aug. 9. Melissa wrote, “We’ve
been lucky to have a number
of visitors and have gone on a
number of trips to introduce
Cameron to the Williams crew.
We’ve seen Jenn Eames, Mayur
Deshmukh, Phoebe Geer, Matt
Speiser, Alana Belfield Levine,
Seth Earn, Robert Adamo and
Jessica Bauman ’02.” Melissa
recently returned to work part
time as a speech-language
pathologist.
Alana and her husband
Steven welcomed a daughter,
Hannah Spring Levine, on Dec.
12. The family lives in NYC,
where Alana is completing her
rheumatology fellowship at the
CL ASS
NOTES
Hospital for Special Surgery.
Alana wrote that she’s been
lucky to be visited by so many
friends during her maternity
leave. Her visitors have included
Phoebe Geer, Matt Speiser,
Seth Earn, Jenn Eames, Mayur
Deshmukh, Michael Cooper and
Melissa (Vecchio) Wood and her
son Cameron.
Jenny Orr married Joe
Sensenbrenner ’00 in September
2006, and they welcomed
their first child, Finley Jack,
on June 19, 2009. They live
in Philadelphia, where Jenny
works for Chubb Group. Jenny
also reported that Beatriz
Ivanova and her fiancé, a
dental student at the University
Pennsylvania, often offer to
baby-sit.
Grace Rubenstein moved from
San Francisco to Oakland and
bought a house! While she loves
the house, she’s found that she
can’t hold a conversation about
anything other than paint colors, curtains, electrical systems
and foundation retrofits.
Feyisara Akanki is a secondyear resident at Albert Einstein
in NYC and ready to graduate
from her program. She visits
with Jamilla Deria from time to
time.
Annie Richards works as a
psychiatric nurse practitioner
in Vermont and planned to visit
Williamstown when the weather
gets warmer.
Johanna Kolodny started a new
job at a restaurant named Pink
in the Ink 48 hotel in Hell’s
Kitchen in Manhattan. She
connects the chefs with farmers
and, at press time, was looking
forward to the restaurant’s
February launch.
Anne Hereford was visited
by Cathryn Christensen, who
was in town for a quick visit.
After visiting Anne, Cathryn
was to fly to Portland where
she interviewed for a residency
program and visited with Bailey
McCallum. Anne reported that
she is working in the environmental field and enjoying winter
sports on the weekends.
Heather Barney spent the
last two weeks of December
in Nepal with Laura Spero ’02,
Rachel Seys ’02 and Vivian
Schoung ’02. The four visited
Kathmandu and the rural
farming village where Laura
has been volunteering for the
past six years and trekked to
the Annapurna Base Camp,
reaching a peak elevation of
4,130 meters just in time for a
Christmas Eve snow storm.
Seth Brown has continued
rapping as “Ham-STAR,” with
a new song about cheese and a
music video about Dungeons
& Dragons. He thinks most
rappers spend too much time
talking about “getting that
cheddar” and ignore the other
important cheeses.
Will Ouimet teaches geology at
Amherst College and enjoyed
watching the Williams soccer
team beat Amherst at Amherst
last fall. He and his wife have a
son, Wilson, and have enjoyed
being back in Massachusetts
after spending the last year in
Colorado.
Caren Mintz spent the last six
years in environmental consulting and recently moved on to
work for one her former clients
as the manager of environmental sustainability at Polo Ralph
Lauren. In addition to the job
change, Caren moved from the
Upper East Side across Central
Park to the Upper West Side.
Annaliis (Abrego) Canty
traveled to Ukraine toward
the end of 2009 and spent the
holidays with her family in
New Hampshire. She reported
that her sons are “growing like
weeds,” and she can’t believe
how quickly her youngest son,
Malcolm, has transitioned from
“baby” to “little boy.”
Courtney Bennigson’s 2010
is gearing up to be a big year!
After she graduates from
Cornell Law School in June, she
plans to get married and move
back to the Boston area for the
first time since high school.
I can’t believe our 10th
reunion is only a year away!
Please keep me posted on your
travels and adventures!
2002
Jenny Veraldi
5518 Waterman Blvd., Apt. 21
St. Louis, MO 63112
[email protected]
Greetings! Hope all is well
for the Class of 2002. Mostly
it feels like people want to talk
about babies this time around.
That’s fine by me—babies are
pretty cute. Though few of you
sent me pictures, I’ll assume you
had adorable lads and lassies
and refrain from further aesthetic remarks. (Please note that
that last sentence doesn’t mean
you are supposed to send baby
pictures. I think you have to
wait until they attend Williams
to do that!)
Josef Powell and his wife
Munchan are off to a great
start in 2010 with Zahra. She
was roughly 10 months old at
the time Josef wrote. As we’ve
discovered that the class notes
reach different alums at different
times—for example, people call
me a full three weeks before I
receive my copy—Zahra will be
somewhere between 10 months
and 16 months by the time you
read this. Heck, maybe she’ll
read it. Meanwhile, Josef is
enjoying life in Orlando and his
work as president & CEO of
Mapex, a company he founded
with his father in 2005. The
company supplies agricultural,
construction and industrial
equipment to Jamaica and the
Caribbean.
Tenaya Plowman Kolar is grateful for the help of Brooke Ray
Smith and Sarah Barger Ranney
as her boy, Dashiell Knight
Kolar (born Sept. 24), gets
bigger and rollier. (Linguistic
innovation abounds in the class
notes. “Rollier” refers to a
baby’s tendency to proceed in
development toward the ability
to roll over more and more.
You read it here.) Sarah Barger
Ranney has managed to keep
her 13 hens in the backyard and
away from human babies. She
didn’t mention any roosters, so
she’s probably keeping the hens
away from chicken babies, aka
“chicks,” too. She’s working at
DraftFCB, where she explains
that she’s glad to use her “forces
of evil for good” by working
on energy efficiency campaigns
for the big California utility
PG&E. Babies and those of all
ages everywhere rejoice at the
prospect of cleaner energy.
Bobby McGehee and his wife
Annette had a healthy baby
girl in January—just in time for
class notes submissions. Hillary
Weinblatt Chapman was happy
to visit the newly expanded family in the hospital after work one
day. She’s excited for her new
job at Cooley Manion Jones, a
boutique trial shop. Mark ’01
and Liz Daoust had a girl, Lucy
Virginia, in November. It’s not
going to take away from things
one bit to tell you that Ryan ’01
and Maria Kurlinski had a baby
on the exact same day. And they
(well, we) were roommates at
one time. Matt Holland and wife
Erin are now the proud parents
of a boy named Patrick as of
August. That’s all in Baby Land.
It’s not like Candy Land because
it’s just a place that I made up to
try to end this paragraph.
Sadaf Ahmad is gearing up for
n 2 0 0 1 –0 3
her work on the 2010 census.
I guess she’ll count the new
babies. That and explain to all
of you that you need to be sure
to fill out your forms to ensure
accurate government representation. (Now it’s like the
notes are a PSA: Fill out your
census!) Things that will be
noted in the census include that
Eric Moore lives in Anchorage,
Alaska, where he works for the
State Department of Natural
Resources. This is a potential
point of confusion for the census as he will also be working
to complete his dissertation for
Boston University. His recent
trip to San Francisco, where he
saw alums (Caleb Fasset and Jon
Wiener) and professors, will not
cause confusion for the census,
as they do not track travel.
However, there are other people
you might know who will be
counted by the census as living
in/around San Francisco. One is
Forrest Wittenmeier, who enjoys
his new position as partner
at Sweet & Baker Insurance
Brokers. Another is Josh Burns,
who was quite by coincidence
with Jon Wiener and Michael T.
Simmerman at the exact time
that Steve Floyd was in between
flights in that city. They managed to meet up even though
Floyd is really bad at keeping
track of correct phone numbers.
The miracle of phones accessing
the Internet saved them from
a nearly missed chance to rendezvous. (Keeping score for the
census? Floyd and Michael T.,
just flying through; Burnsie and
Wiener, residents.)
Dianne Williams has been
hitting the rink in the Pioneer
Valley Roller Derby. That’s
right, as a fresh, new prospect,
she is known as “Lady Hulk,”
loving the team camaraderie
and wowing the crowds with
her newfound skill of roller
skating. She’s already ready
to suit up as #29 on “Western
Mass Destruction” (clever) for
the new season, likely appearing on network TV come April.
Rock on, Dianne, and be sure
to wear appropriate safety
equipment.
Currently, Charlie Doret
is trapping ions for use in
quantum computation. He’s
finished his PhD in physics
but notes that his research has
provided no useful insight into
when he will be spending more
time with his lovely wife Lida
Ungar Doret, who may or may
not have any idea that he sent
that in for his notes submission.
Even though he moved down
to Atlanta, she was off to spend
time in Florida for a rotation
but is still in medical school in
Atlanta. Quantum physics aside,
it sounds like the universe hasn’t
conspired against them, as they
were able to spend a lovely time
trekking around the Northeast
around New Year’s. Sounds like
quite a crowd managed to make
the festivities, including Josh
Ain ’03, Darik ’01 and Elizabeth
Velez (with son Rigel, 2½),
and Jason Carini. Charlie also
reports a good time was had
by all at the wedding of Steve
Biller. Christine Palmer squeezed
in an Ultimate tourney before
joining up with wedding guests
Todd Gamblin, Jeff Crudup, Kate
Alexander, Lida Doret, Alex
Glenday and Justine DeYoung.
Things I’ve learned from
the radio recently include that
they guy who started Taco Bell
had the last name “Bell.” (Fun
fact: The census keeps track of
last names. Full circle, bringing things full circle for you
all.) Why mention a fast-food
chain? Because Sergio Espinosa
informed me that the Taco Bell
Grande Meal Challenge of 2009
did not take place. He wants to
point out this is due to Rolando
Garcia not participating. I see
where he’s going with this, and
while I’m normally interested
in helping people propagate
good-humored feuds, I have
to question the legitimacy of
his taunting as he claims to be
the 2000 grande meal champion. That leaves many years
unaccounted for. I’m sure these
notes will remain the foremost
authority on their gentlemanly
pursuit of honor.
2003
Anri Wheeler Brenninkmeyer
280 Riverside Drive, #GB
New York, NY 10025
[email protected]
Last fall brought with it two
new arrivals for classmates.
Bill Sacks and his wife Jessica
Clarke welcomed a son, Jason
Clarke Sacks, on Sept. 10. In
December, Bill got together with
Nina Chaopricha, who marveled
at how big Jason had gotten.
Kimmie and Angus Beal also
had son, Ian Charles Kemper
Beal, who was born late
Halloween night in Burlington,
Vt. Kimmie, who just finished
her master’s in plant biology,
and Angus picked (and tried
to can) a pick-up truck full of
apples on ‘$50 per truck day’
at a local farm where they ran
into Ken Brown ’04. The Beals
planned to spend the winter and
part of the spring in Portland,
Maine, for a medical school
rotation and were wondering
if there are any Williams folks
around.
As always, the wedding
bells continue to chime. Will
Karczewski married Christine
Sforzo last April in Brooklyn.
Many Ephs attended the
wedding.
Malin Pinsky and Kristin
Hunter-Thomson were married in
August. Kate Carroll officiated
after getting ordained online,
and many classmates made the
long trek to Downeast Maine
to attend. Despite the rumors,
Malin and Kristen are not
double-hyphenating their last
names. They live in Monterey,
Calif., are both finishing graduate degrees (PhD and master’s,
respectively) and trying to train
a 1-year-old pound puppy.
Also in August, Nick Lafave
married Danielle Torin ’02, with
more than 20 Williams alumni
in attendance, including best
man Evan Hiller, Rob Lopez and
Evan Gee. Nick and Danielle,
who is a small-animal veterinarian, live in Northern Virginia
with their two kittens. Nick’s
sister Claire ’12 is continuing the grand family tradition
and is now a sophomore at
Williams. Nick started law
school at American University
in September. Prior to that he
earned a master’s in biomedical
sciences at UMass-Worcester.
Jay Porcelli married Jennifer
Tramontozzi in September
in Upper Saddle River, N.J.,
followed by a reception in
Garrison, N.Y. There were a
bunch of ’03ers at the wedding,
including groomsman Matt
Casey. Jay and Jen live and
work in NYC but have bought
a house in Upper Saddle River
and were planning a move back
to their Jersey roots in late
spring or early summer.
Lindi von Mutius married Chris
Sawyer in October in a small
ceremony in Philadelphia. In
attendance were Alix Davis, who
read a beautiful poem during
the ceremony, James Hollyer
and Jasmine Mitchell. Jasmine
is working on her PhD at the
University of Minnesota, and
Alix is doing a fellowship at the
Smithsonian in DC. It turns out
that the oldest priest at Lindi’s
church in Philadelphia is also
an Eph: the Rev. Nicholas Phelps
CL ASS
NOTES
’56. Father Nicholas, who
was ordained at the church in
Williamstown, commemorated
his 50th anniversary, and Lindi
enjoyed seeing other alumni
who came to celebrate.
Freeden Oeur is also in
Philadelphia, conducting
research for his dissertation. He
has been seeing lots of ’03ers,
including Patrick Zimmerman,
who stopped through to interview for a residency position at
Jefferson Hospital, and Justin
Crowe, who was in town for
a wedding. Freeden attended
a Madonna/Prince/Michael
Jackson dance night with
Aamir Wyne, Sarah and Andrew
McKinstry-Wu and Rory Kramer.
Last October, Jenny Roizen
fulfilled the requirements for
a PhD in organic synthesis
(chemistry) at Caltech. While
in the LA area, she spent time
with Kate (Austell) Elortegui and
Shira Rosenberg ’04. Jenny was
expecting to begin a postdoc at
Stanford in February and was
hoping to reconnect with other
Ephs in the Bay Area. From her
new house, the view reminds
her of fall in the Purple Valley.
Many classmates are settling
into teaching positions. Brian
Katz finished his first fall on the
faculty of Augustana College
in the Quad Cities. He finds his
new job really exciting, challenging and rewarding. Brian
was happy to learn that he’s
been selected to teach in the
honors program next year.
Dmitri Goudko is teaching
history of Europe and the world
at an independent school near
LA. Teaching others makes him
want to be a student again, perhaps to work toward a PhD.
Last fall, Jordan Goldwarg
started teaching history at
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High
School, just outside of Boston,
where he also coaches the ski
team. He now lives in Lincoln,
about a mile from Walden
Pond, and invites any Bostonarea Ephs looking for a country
escape to stop by.
Mitchell Green graduated from
Wharton Business School and
is back in NYC with his wife
and two French bulldogs, Max
and Lulu. He is working as an
investor at a hedge fund within
the Tiger organization. He
caught up with Andrew Edstrom
at the SLS hotel bar in Beverly
Hills, Calif., Raj Bhatia at an
undergrad bar in Philadelphia
on Halloween and Jesse Garth
at a dive bar in NYC.
Perry Kalmus and his brother
The Rev. Emily R. Martin ’03 got a warm welcome from Baltimore
residents Ernie Imhoff ’59 (left) and Howard Simpson ’50 at a dinner last
fall. Martin is the new associate pastor of the city’s Brown Memorial Park
Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Ori have launched a company,
DrinksCity, which promotes
boutique alcohol and brings the
$4 drink to its customers. Their
pilot program is Drinks LA, but
they will be expanding to larger
cities nationwide. Check out
www.DrinksLA.com. Perry has
been seeing many classmates,
including Dylan Smith, who visited him in LA for a day. Perry
also met up with Hall O’Donnell
and Saif Vagh at a bar in LA and
saw Heather Poole while home
in New Jersey. Most recently,
he visited Marshall Dines and
Julie Mallory ’04 in Denver for
a weekend of hat parties and
skiing.
Jenn Yee also enjoyed hitting
the slopes in December in Vail,
Colo., while on the Kellogg
School of Management’s annual
ski trip. Also on the trip were
Mike Recht ’02, Kelsey (Peterson)
Recht ’04 and Stacey Starner.
They all are in their second year
at Kellogg.
Tamika Murray is working as
the enterprise learning coordinator for a U.S. company with an
office in Jamaica. She’s beginning to think about law school,
possibly to start in September.
Jen Feldman is still doing
her anesthesia residency at
Montefiore Hospital in the
Bronx.
Lastly, some news from down
under. Megan (Van Dyke) Taylor
writes that she is doing well in
Australia. Her daughter Zoe
is nearing her first birthday,
and Megan is looking forward
to (and dreading) her learning to crawl. Zoe is loving the
Williams T-shirt given to her
by Sarah Croft ’04 and Alaya
Kuntz ’04, and Megan is proud
to see her wearing it. In June,
the Taylors moved to a lovely
house at the top of a hill and
are enjoying the tropical breezes
and extra space. Megan was sad
not to get a chance to see any
Williams friends while in the
U.S. for Thanksgiving. Maybe
next time.
Dave Brenninkmeyer and I
spent a wonderful three weeks
in Australia and New Zealand.
Some highlights included the
New Year’s Eve fireworks in
Sydney harbor, the wombats
at a wildlife preserve outside
Melbourne and a weekend on
the Coromandel Peninsula.
In New Zealand, we stayed
with Dave’s brother Dan
Brenninkmeyer ’99 and his wife
Yanina, who live in Auckland.
2004
Nicole Eisenman
1884 Columbia Road, NW
Apt. 111
Cortney Tunis
51 Chestnut St., Apt B
North Adams, MA 01247
[email protected]
Greetings, Class of 2004! We
have good news to report from
the Purple Valley: Cumbies is
back! After a fire destroyed the
building last spring, the new
and improved Cumberland
Farms is up and running.
64-ounce Mountain Dew slushies for everyone!
n 2 0 0 3 –0 4
Elaine Denny ’04 (wearing red scarf) hosted a New Year’s Eve party at
her apartment in Manhattan. Also pictured, clockwise from top, Lucy
Thiboutot ’05, Gianna Marzilli Ericson ’04, Julia Brown ’05, Sarah Iams ’04
and Briana (Halpin) Lachman ’04.
Steve Seigel was in
Bangladesh for all of October
working on a USAID anticorruption program based in
Dhaka. In early January he was
off to Afghanistan to continue
doing USAID work—this time
for a big municipal governance
program aimed at stabilizing large Afghan cities. In
November he got engaged to
Justin Wilson, though the couple has yet to set a date. Also in
Steve’s report was the awesome
reunion of Bridget McDonough,
Elliot Morrison, Maggie Popkin
’03, Nicole Eisenman, Emily
Isaacson and Sumana Cooppan
in Brooklyn on New Year’s Eve.
Then, on the drive back to DC,
Jon Lovett successfully answered
all the questions related to both
Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama speeches from 2009
in The New York Times Gail
Collins 2009 Year-End quiz. Big
surprise.
Rachel Gealy finished MIT’s
Master of Architecture program
in January and plans to find
a job in the Northeast. When
Ashley English wasn’t being seen
as a blurred-out face on Real
World D.C., she was helping
Bobby Muhlhausen ’05 discover
that deep-fried chocolate chip
cookie dough rolled in rainbow
sprinkles is the best food ever
invented. Ashley also tried to
eat an egg and bagel when
she was home for the holidays
(her parents recently moved to
Williamstown), but the Snack
Bar was closed.
Brendan Docherty started his
New Year off with a good deed
backfiring by picking Spencer
Wong up from the airport at
midnight the night before going
back to work with In-N-Out
ready to nourish the weary traveler. Well, it was supposed to
be midnight, but the American
Airlines arrival time and baggage dispensing was about as
flaky as Spencer’s commitment
to P90X, and so Brendan didn’t
get home until 2 a.m. Spencer’s
first-born son will be named
“King Brendan Kobe Wong”
in retribution, and he will have
to explain when asked that the
“Kobe” refers to the sublime
and tender beef rather than the
athlete.
Tim Patterson has moved to
Boulder, Colo., to work for the
educational youth travel company Where There Be Dragons.
He’s hoping to see a lot of Jon
Langer, who works at a law
firm in Denver, and Mike Henry,
who is saving the world from
Boulder.
Claudia Arzeno got engaged
and is to be married on June 12
in Puerto Rico. She is working
for the Chipstone Foundation
in Milwaukee as program coordinator alongside Ethan Lasser
’99, Chipstone’s curator. They
both got interviewed on the
TV program Artspeak. Claudia
and Kelsey Peterson meet up
regularly in Chicago.
Kristen Cole and Corie
McDermott visited Molly
Wasserman in Burlington, Vt.,
to ring in the New Year and for
a girls’ ski weekend.
Martin Mudd continues his
graduate study in physics at
University of Kentucky. This
year he begins doing research in
computational simulations of
galaxy formation and evolution. In his spare time, he finds
himself fixing bikes, hiking in
the Red River Gorge, armchair
philosophizing and participating
in non-violent direct action to
stop mountain-top removal coal
mining in central Appalachia.
M.J. Prest wrote from her
honeymoon in Buenos Aires.
The trip also included Rio and
the Mendoza wine country.
Her wedding to Corey Lanum
in DC had a solid Williams
contingent: Jeff Nelson, Adam
Grogg, Ashley Ulmer Cart ’05,
James Cart ’05, Sean Gillespie
and Matt Hoffman. And though
Kat Burgess wasn’t able to make
it, M.J. got to meet up with her
while traveling to London on
business in November.
Brent Yorgey is thoroughly
enjoying the second year of
his PhD in the programming
languages group at U Penn
(following in the footsteps of
Nate Foster ’01). He and his
wife Joyia (Chadwick) Yorgey
’05 regularly hang out with
Jim Schroder ’04, Christine
(Rabe) Matulewicz ’06, Christine
Rodriguez ’06, Katie Conner ’06
and Sara Beach ’06, who also
live in the Philly area.
Broderick Dunn switched law
firms and joined the business
and professional litigation
section at Sands Anderson. He
saw Sean Mulrenan and Viral
Gandhi in NYC, had lunch
with Mike Henry in DC, went
to a Redskins game with Brett
Hammond and hung out with
Hugh Green.
Dan Bahls is working for Legal
Aid of Western Ohio, doing
foreclosure prevention, because
that’s the kind of bleeding-heart
guy he is these days.
Adam Grogg celebrated the
New Year in Tel Aviv, thanks to
the hospitality of Zach Yeskel’s
brother and a well-timed conference. Adam also attended a
holiday party at Jeff Nelson’s
along with Elliot Morrison,
Maggie Popkin ’03, Charlie
Wittenberg, Nicole Eisenman, Jon
Lovett and Josh Earn. Adam is
in his final semester of Yale Law
School along with Elliot and Ali
Orme.
Keith and Gianna (Marzilli)
Ericson headed to Williamstown
before Thanksgiving to perform
at First Congregational Church’s
community advent event. They
spent NYE with Lillian DiazPrzybyl before Gianna headed
to NYC to begin the New
Year with Elaine Denny, Briana
CL ASS
NOTES
Lachman and Sarah Iams. Keith
is still working on his PhD, and
Gianna is learning how to build
instruments while working as a
graphic designer.
Ronni Weinstein graduated
from Columbia Law School
in the spring along with Viral
Gandhi and Jesse Dungan. Ronni
now works at Davis Polk &
Wardwell. She spent NYE with
Nora Burns and Ashley Kindergan
for the seventh time and hopes
to continue the tradition.
Meredith (Jones) Clifford is in
Arlington, Va., with her husband Sean Clifford ’05, working
on her PhD at Georgetown.
Julie Mallory recently visited
for a week. After a snowstorm,
Sean, Meredith and Brian Lowe
’06 teamed up against a bunch
of neighborhood kids in a snowball fight.
Mitchell Baker is back at
Williams to coach another year
for the track and field teams and
planned to see Shamus Brady,
Bill Ference ’07 and Sean Hyland
’07 at the winter New England
Championships in Maine. He
hopes to rendezvous soon with
Chrissy Draghi and Cortney
Tunis at a museum in the Purple
Valley and to visit his girlfriend
Kali Moody ’05 in St. Louis.
Cortney and Chrissy joined
Hannah Harte, Fern Senior,
Ashley Carter and Adam Grogg
for Halloween in NYC. Best
costume award went to Fern
for “wizard in a Snuggie,” but
Hannah’s “holy cow” came in
a close second. Cortney, who is
still working at MASS MoCA,
has been discovering the hidden culinary delights of North
Adams, including the jalapeño
cheese tots at Jacks—an offmenu item. If you make it down
to the Purple Valley, they are
not to be missed.
Chrissy, Hannah and Audrey
Lumley-Sapanski also rekindled
the old flame for a brief fling
last fall. They wore sweat suits
and drank hot toddies in the
Michigan fall. In the interim,
Chrissy attended and participated in Polkapalooza, held
annually in Reno. Though she
wasn’t a medal contestant, it’s
not everyone who is third-generation Polish and can still play
the accordion. (She also moonlights as an architect in NYC.)
Hannah continues to work
in the photo department of a
notorious West Coast paper. She
lives in Venice and, when work
permits, participates in bodybuilding competitions under
the name “The Harteattack.”
Currently, she holds the title for
best tan. Audrey participated
in and won the international
title of Le plus gros du front,
or World’s Largest Forehead
(roughly). The competition
was held in Chicago, where she
continues to reside.
Carlos Silva finished his master’s in economics and public
policy in June and moved to
Mozambique on a two-year
fellowship with the Ministry
of Planning and Development.
Janette Funk received her PhD
in clinical psychology from the
University of Rochester and
is now completing her clinical
postdoc at Strong Memorial
Hospital, also in Rochester, N.Y.
Mark Heinrich-Wallace and Tim
Stickney visited Pete Endres and
Anne Newcomer in beautiful
Cleveland, where, it turns out,
people still use pay phones.
They visited the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame, played golf and
saw LeBron play. Tim and Sarah
Torkelson still live in Brookline,
Mass., where they often see
Lexi Lee, Justin Sullivan and
Alexis Weber. Along with Cliff
Huang, Brookie Kaltsas, Ashley
Carter, Meredith Olson, Hilary
Shepard and Molly Stone ’03,
they saw Caitlin Canty perform
in December with the band
Darlingside (Don Mitchell ’06,
Auyon Mukharji ’07, David Senft
’07, Sam Kapala ’09 and Harris
Paseltiner ’09). The show was
really great. If you get a chance
to see Caitlin or Darlingside in
concert, don’t miss it!
Former Goodrich housemates
Josh Earn, Neil Hoffman, Jamaal
Mobley and Drew Newman,
Jamie O’Leary, Jacob Scott and
Chris Vaughan reunited in Tampa
in November for a beach weekend, cigars and a Bucs game.
Michelle Cuevas sold her first
novel to publishers in New
York and Germany. Look for it
in early 2011. She spent New
Year’s with Nate Winstanley
at a party in Provincetown,
Mass., where a drag queen Cher
counted down the New Year.
She planned to see Carly Massey,
Corie McDermott and Erin
Kempster in Boston to re-watch
the last season of Lost before
the new season started.
Charlie Davidson moved to
Dallas, Texas, where he is
adjusting to driving everywhere
and seeing people wear suits
with cowboy boots. Over the
holidays he spent a weekend in
Connecticut with Kam Shahid,
Rob Follansbee, Katie Joyce
’05 and Matt Rade. Charlie,
Rob, Matt and Jabe Bergeron
met up in NYC for their Fifth
Annual Bar Game Olympiad.
Rob and Charlie won for the
second year in a row. You can
count on the fact that they will
be ready for our 10th Reunion
Beirut Tourney. Recently, Kam
and Charlie ran their fourth
marathon together, this time in
Chicago. Kam’s time was good
enough to qualify for Boston,
while Charlie’s was decidedly
not.
Charlie reports that Dave
Rackovan is out of the Army
after his five-year, two-tour stint
and is ready to kick ass and
chew gum. Apparently, he is all
out of gum.
Ben Fleming is in law school at
NYU and has almost convinced
Zak Haviland that it’s legal to
swipe a cop’s nightstick as long
as you shout “Keepsies!” while
doing so.
As members of the DB AllStars, John Schneider, Hayden
Lynch and Philip Michael overcame 42 teams to capture the
coveted NYC Corporate Co-ed
Slow Pitch Softball Monday
Night Summer League (East
Side Division) Championship. It
was the highlight of their collective athletic careers.
2005
REUNION JUNE 10-13
Zach McArthur
34 Hancock St., Apt. 3
Cambridge, MA 02139
[email protected]
“Noddin’ my head like
‘Yeah!’… Movin’ my hips like
‘Yeah!’”—Miley Cyrus, “Party
in the U.S.A.”
Nate Kolar checks in with great
news: “Tenaya and I (well, more
Tenaya than me, let’s be honest)
had our first child (!), a boy
named Dashiell, on Sept. 24.”
Dashiell’s visitors have included
Peter Holland and Chloe Turner,
both of whom Nate hopes to
lure out to sunny California
from “the gray and dismal
depths of Northeast life.”
New parents Ashley and James
Cart’s daughter is 8 months
old. Ashley is to graduate in
May from USC with a master’s
in public art. “Parenting is
probably the greatest joy in the
world,” Ashley writes, “and we
feel lucky to be enjoying it with
such fabulous weather.”
Lindsay Dwyer made the leap
to San Francisco and hosted
n 2 0 0 4 –0 5
Lindsay Starner for a ski weekend in Tahoe. J.J. O’Brien dressed
up with Wes Connors in ’70s
attire to celebrate the New Year
in Tahoe and won the Stanford
GSB Beirut league last fall. Our
practiced skills translate well
to the real world: I witnessed
a 30-team Beirut tournament
to benefit breast cancer get
whittled down to a final table of
four Williams 2007 grads. The
other 28 teams? All Harvard
alums! Katie Shattuck’s “enjoying the much more relaxed
second year at Stanford GSB,”
having just returned from a trip
to Argentina. She reports J.J.
spent the entire first quarter of
the school year riding a tricycle
… due to a broken foot.
“Hopped off a plane at
LAX, with a dream and my
cardigan…”
Eric Manchester shared a
burger with Andrew Brown at
LAX and plays football with
Spencer Wong ’04. “He’s the
Peyton Manning to my Reggie
Wayne.” Knowing Eric’s a Bills
fanatic, I am sure he meant to
write, “He’s the Trent Edwards
or Ryan Fitzpatrick or Brian
Brohm to my Lee Evans.”
Molly Sharlach continues her
PhD work at Berkeley. She’s
happy that her boyfriend Kevin
moved there from Boston after
two years of long distance!
Rod McLeod, who works at the
Consulate General of Japan
in San Fran (oh, rhymes…),
celebrated his birthday with Ben
Rah, Owuraka Koney, Julian Fang
’01 and Richard Chau ’02.
“Greetings from Lugano,
Switzerland,” writes Dan
Krass. He’s skiing the Alps as
he finishes his third year of
teaching. Dan was home for the
holidays and attended Professor
Devadoss’ holiday party with
Zan Armstrong ’04. They
played games until 2 a.m. Julie
O’Donnell spent her Christmas
in a tent—en route to successfully summiting Kilimanjaro!
She’s back in Dar es Salaam, settling into work at the CDC, and
her neighbors include CJ Bak.
American Samoa’s “a beautiful place, especially if you like
feral dogs and three-foot fruit
bats,” says Adam Shoemaker.
He’s involved in a project
to bring broadband Internet
to the island. Lucy Thiboutot
was abducted by a cab driver
in Jordan; “Luckily, he only
wanted to show off his beautiful
homeland, then make his beautiful young wife stuff me full
of the most delicious hummus,
falafel, stuffed eggplant, french
fries, olives and yogurt I had
ever tasted. Clearly terrorism
has a kinder face than many
Americans realize!” Lucy’s
holiday vacation included a
New Year’s party in NYC with
Julia Brown, a bunch of 04’s
and Margit Sande-Kerback (via
a record-length Skype video-call
from Hawaii)!
“So hard with my girls not
around me, it’s definitely not a
Nashville party…”
Marissa Doran’s off to Syria,
Jordan and Lebanon for work
through the Foreign Affairs
Committee and has been
spending time away from
DC in another exotic place:
Canada, home of her beau.
Congratulations to Hale Simon,
in the first year of a MBA
at Georgetown and recently
engaged! Jenni Simmons
welcomed the New Year with
Kat Jong ’06 in grand style by
attending Ben Steinhurst and
Jen Gall’s wedding. Mary Etta
Burt lives with her boyfriend
(and my WOOLFie) Geofre
Schoradt ’06 in DC, where she’s
started a job at CQ Press. She
hosted Beth Fischer, Scott Pierce
and Scott’s girlfriend Jess for a
memorable New Year’s party.
Scott highlighted the champagne cocktails (“a la the movie
Casablanca”) and Beth’s delicious brunch the next morning.
Who’s the new assistant lacrosse
coach at Longwood University
in Virginia? Wendy Stone! She
“loves the job but misses everyone up north.” Chuck Soha’s
doing academic tutoring and
was “suffering sleepless nights”
as he waited to hear back from
b-schools.
Speaking of sleepless nights,
here’s Joanna Lloyd’s submission: “As I’m typing this my dog
is asleep on my legs, my cat is
asleep at my head, the birds are
calling from my bedroom ’cause
they’d like to come out, and my
alarm is going off.” Good thing
Joanna’s attending vet school in
Philly! Emily Bloomenthal works
at the Education Law Center
in Newark and found out in
November that she passed the
bar in both NY and NJ. A
People of Color Conference in
Denver proved to be a meeting
ground for a couple ’05s. Barry
Fulton traveled out from the
Pennington School in NJ and
ran into Kayla Peek and Kyle
Anderson.
“Cause all I see are stilettos,
Guess I never got the memo…”
A great YouTube video
was sent in by Sabrina Wirth,
whose Helac & Wirth Art
Advisory hosted the New Boom
Collective Art show in NYC.
The show included artists Nicky
Chang and Matthew Watson ’04.
If you pay attention, you can
spot Faith Lim and Julia Prieto
dressed to the nines toward the
end of the clip! Check it out at
http://tinyurl.com/ycsrzev. Julia
does digital media for the Robin
Hood Foundation.
Michelle Flowers gathered
with a bunch of Williams folk
for Elena Bonifacio’s birthday
“in what was a throwback to
Winter Study, complete with
blizzard!” Michelle plans to follow Julie O’Donnell’s footsteps
up Kilimanjaro next summer.
A comparable accomplishment? Jonathan Landsman “got
an amazing parking space
in Brooklyn Heights.” Wow.
Jonathan was also fortunate
to hike around Walden Pond
with Katie Stevens and me
in December. Good thing
Thoreau’s mom lived nearby—
W.P.’s a beautiful but desolate
place in the winter. I’ve been
hanging out with Katie Stevens
regularly—enough that I even
went to church once with her
mom Peggy! Turned out to be a
super decision. Across the pew
from me was Jim True-Frost,
aka “Roland Pryzbylewski”
from The Wire, my favorite TV
show!
“Who’s that chick that’s
rockin’ kicks? She’s gotta be
from out of town…”
Sarah Johnson has changed
paths from Korean-American
dance phenomenon to getting
her MA in urban planning from
Pratt and working politics in
NYC. Hilarie Ashton’s finishing an MA in humanities at
NYU and was jetting off to
present at five conferences in
the spring. Big upset: Mike
Silverstein lost to Ashok Pillai
in the Gentleman’s Elite League
fantasy football tournament.
Mikey’s in law school solely
“to be able to defend myself on
murder charges should the Bills
botch their next head coaching
choice.”
Aaron Helfand visited Faith
Lim, Jumi Song, Crystal Son,
Brian Saar, Maggie Gilmore
and Noah Capurso to ring in
2010 with Koreatown karaoke
in NYC. “Big news; I got
engaged!” writes Noah Capurso.
He’s been indoctrinating his
Amherst belle “with plenty
of Williams spirit. … She is
finally beginning to see the
CL ASS
NOTES
light.” Noah elaborated on
the Koreatown event, adding
that they learned a drinking
game from Jumi called Circle of
Death! Alana Whitman spent a
quiet holiday with her folks in
Connecticut and bought them
a Wii. “Thank goodness I was
good at Mario Kart, because
they trounced me on each and
every Wii sport!” Exciting
news from Hartford via Emily
Tomassi Grant: Afton (Johnson)
and Will Gilyard ’03 bought a
house in the area! Emily was
less enthused about Travelers
having her teach kindergarten
for a day at an inner-city school.
She writes, “It’s official. I made
the right choice in choosing a
corporate life.”
Few changes for Katie (Marsh)
Garvin. She’s still working as a
school counselor and living in
Essex, Mass., with Chris. Katie’s
the head coach of her school’s
swim team, which includes 55
seventh- to 12th-grade boys
and girls smooshed into a
six-lane pool. Melanie Kingsley
lives in Boston and teaches an
undergraduate writing course
at Brandeis called “How It All
Began.” She plans to be off to
Guatemala in May for dissertation research—“professionally
pretty awesome for me.” At
UMass-Boston, Andra Hibbert’s
beginning a MFA program in
fiction writing. (“This means
that I spend a lot of time alone
making up stories.”) Chris Tom’s
chugging through BU law, learning “how much tea a person
can consume without going to
the bathroom.” Reminds me
of freshman year in East—the
JA downstairs, Hal Kronsberg
’03, would do homework late
at night by consuming massive
amounts of water while not
letting himself go to the men’s
room. Pretty sure he was Phi
Beta Kappa.
’05s in Boston, heads up:
Beth Landis plans a move from
Wisconsin in June to start a
postdoc at Harvard. Micah
Halsey’s living in the South
End of Boston and has started
a marketing job at Vistaprint.
Micah’s helping to maintain
our class website, which is quite
snazzy—you can register for
reunion, check out photos and
videos, re-read old class notes
and more! All at ephs2005.com.
Congratulations to Meg Bossong
and Papa Adams, co-managers
of a winning fantasy football
team! I witnessed Meg’s devotion to Favre Dollar Footlong
firsthand last fall at her lovely
Everett apartment. Meg flawlessly balanced game watching,
fantasy-lineup juggling and
cookie baking throughout the
course of a Sunday afternoon.
Charlie Giammattei wrote in to
remind me of our night out at a
comedy show/charity auction in
the North End. “Living dangerously, Zach bid $1,500 to throw
out the first pitch for a game
at Fenway, and to his horror
he almost won it!” Charlie, I
maintain the auctioneer mindmelded my hand into the air. I
can’t stand the Red Sox, and I
certainly don’t have $1,500 to
blow on them!
“I got my hands up, they’re
playin’ my song, the butterflies
fly away…”
Dellie Sorel is engaged to
Jeremy Kress and planning
to wed next year in DC! He
proposed in the middle of
a Scrabble game. Are there
enough y’s to spell out “Will
you marry me?” on the board?
Congrats to Matt Spencer and
Jocelyn Gardner, who are also
taking the leap! Matt proposed
while they were making dinner
late one Friday night. Jocelyn’s
in her last semester of divinity
school and working at gorgeous
Old South Church in Boston,
while Matt’s down at Brown
Math and earned a “surprisingly
high finish” (15th in the country) in the Google U.S. Puzzle
Championship. Awesome. Matt
heads a weekly online bridge
club, with Jonathan Landsman,
Matt Kugler, John Mugno, Joyia
(Chadwick) Yorgey and Lynette
(Yorgey) Winslow showing up on
the regular.
Bad, bad Kenny Brown continues his master’s in Burlington,
and Meg Giuliano made it
up for a visit (“smack in the
middle of a big snowstorm”).
They had fun sledding and
watching UVM hockey win the
Catamount Cup. Over in New
Hampshire, Lindsey Taylor’s
plugging through Tuck and was
“working on infusing a little
more skiing, hockey and general
fun into winter term.” Brief
update from Katie (Davisson)
Dolbec: “Skiing with the Stowe
ski patrol for med school
credit!”
“Get to the club in my taxicab, everybody’s lookin’ at me
now…”
Jeff Delaney finished up
his first term at Kellogg and
celebrated “in grand fashion”
by skiing with his classmates in
Vail. From there, Jeff headed
to NYC and caught up with
Ilunga Kalala, Marquis Daisy,
Kellen Williams ’04 and Jamaal
Mobley ’04 over the holidays.
After months of slaving over
applications, Andrew Leeser’s
likely attending U-Chicago
Booth School of Business next
fall. Entertaining e-mail from
Ben Cronin detailing Jim Irving’s
wedding in Chicago to Lauren
Carpenter. Ben and Jiwoo Han’s
train broke down near Ann
Arbor, necessitating a 200-mile
cab ride to the cathedral! They
stopped at a hostel for a $10
shower (“so that the travelers
should not waft their travail
during the wedding Mass”).
Phil Smith’s a 2L at Michigan
Law and wants to take Ben
Cronin’s undergrad history
class—“but he might be a hard
teacher.” Take it pass-fail Phil?
Newlywed Natalie Geier-Cohen’s
in her first year of med school
at Cincinatti. Her wedding last
summer to Matt Cohen included
(fooooooooore!) Williams
bridesmaids Mary Baccash,
Lindsay Dwyer, Brittany Esty
and Julia Tingley! Simone Ciccel
graduated from Arkansas State
with a master’s in educational
theory and practice. “Wedding
date is set for Oct. 30, 2010.
Saw someone from our class at
Holyoke Mall over winter break
but was too antisocial to go say
hi.” Love the honesty.
“This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous…”
What a tale from Aron Chang,
who around Thanksgiving
“entered into a lengthy conversation with a disheveled-looking
man at a busy roundabout in
New Orleans. … At the end of
our conversation, we exchanged
names, and I was astonished to
learn that I had been speaking
with none other than Ephraim
Williams! He’s married, has
one son and has never heard of
our little school.” Aron rang
in 2010 with Ellie Frazier, Lili
Zimmett and Rachel Berlin in
Jackson Square. Rachel wrote in
of amazing live music, dancing
in the street, tamales and shots
of absinthe! (“Please note: Lili
had a 7 a.m. flight back to
NYC!”)
“My tummy’s turnin’ and I’m
feeling kinda homesick…”
“Dallas does not suit me,
but the job does,” writes Jane
McCamant, who is teaching
seventh-grade earth and space
science. She spent summer in
Mystic taking a history course,
which allowed her to visit
Ross Smith, Dan Weintraub and
Dan Krass for a July 4 game of
n 2 0 0 5 –0 6
Trivial Pursuit in Boston. Jane
Stimpson, the new reference
librarian at San Jacinto College,
reports: “I thought I’d make it
back to New England after grad
school, but it looks like I’m just
getting deeper into Texas.”
Adelaide Robinson and Katie
Nicoll went on a backcountry
hut trip in December. (“Good
times.”) Kendra Totman and
Alexis Chernak helped Sarah
Meserve celebrate her birthday
by going to see Sarah’s favorite
band, Hell’s Belles—an allfemale AC/DC cover band!
Kendra’s seen a ton of ’05s in
Colorado: Chris Frank, Caleb
Bliss, Robin Young and Jenny
Abraham. “Little did I know
when I moved to Aspen that I
would see so many Williams
people!” Must be our attraction to the mountains…
Seattle is home to Robert
Hahn and Chris Eaton, who
were headed to see the
Olympic biathlon in Vancouver
together. Robert’s highlight of
the autumn was a deep-seathemed Halloween with Gavin
McCormick: “Gavin propelled
himself around as a bumbershoot jellyfish!” Chris is
applying to law school “while
trying to remain motivated
to finish my fisheries thesis.”
Noah Jaffe’s finishing law
school at UW and preparing
to clerk for a judge in Seattle.
“Importantly, he loves baseball
and has incredible seats to the
(newly invigorated) Mariners
team. … Milton Bradley! Cliff
Lee! Chone Figgins!” Noah,
after watching Milton Bradley
on the Cubs this year, I think
he should stick to his day job
of making board games. …
Battleship! Candyland! Mouse
Trap!
That is all, 2005. See you at
reunion in June!
2006
Ariel Peters
226 W. Rittenhouse Square
Apt. 1618
Philadelphia, PA 19103
[email protected]
I love writing this thing
because I’m always the first
to know about the coolest
(and, occasionally, the most
outlandish) things that happen
to people in our class, from
brushes with the rich and
famous via a clever sign held up
at a Bruce Springsteen concert
to dangerous encounters with
predatory birds.
This time I found out that
I have a stalker! Sara Beach
moved to Philly from DC. In
DC she and I both taught in
Columbia Heights. Now she’s
in grad school at Penn and
is teaching ESL at Mastery
Charter School in West Philly,
just a hop, skip and jump away
from the school where I work.
I kid about the stalker part;
despite our close proximity, I
have never actually seen Sara in
either city. I’m hoping that will
change.
Those of us who are settling
down always seem to write in,
so they get to go next!
Erika Latham took the big,
scary veterinary board exam in
December. Soon after, she and
Dave Butts drove to Virginia,
narrowly beating the “Stopper
Shopper” blizzard. Erika shoveled 18 inches of snow (using the
Buttses’ only shovel) while being
heckled by Bob Beck ’75. No
worries; the wedding is still on,
and she and Dave are “finally
getting close” to actually making
plans. It’s looking like they’ll say
“I do” in late May.
Ashleigh Theberge and James
Brittin are engaged; they look
forward to setting up a home
stateside after she finishes her
PhD in chemistry at Cambridge.
James is set to finish med school
at Vanderbilt this spring.
Ellen Crocker and Travis Vachon
threw a rager last summer. They
were surrounded by so many
friends and family members
(Wait, why would they invite
their families to a rager?) that
they figured they might as well
get married while they were
at it. (Gotcha!) Leave it to the
Williams kids to bring the party;
they moderated the formalities
with a healthy dose of good,
old-fashioned skinny dipping.
Liz Ellis also recently tied the
knot; she married Kyle on Dec.
19 in Dover, Mass. She moved
to DC in the fall and is working
for an education nonprofit in
Georgetown and applying to
grad school.
Congrats to newlywed Reed
Harrison, who finished up his
part-time MBA program at the
Weatherhead School at Case
Western in December.
Anna Gunning has moved
from London to Birmingham;
husband Jack landed a job
there after finishing his PhD
at Oxford. She started at a
new PR agency in nearby
Leamington Spa.
Dan Moccia-Field doesn’t know
it, but he’s my inspiration; he’s
always finding something fun
to do. Right now it’s playing
volleyball in Manhattan on a
team founded by Alex Smith
(who has since moved away
to go to grad school) with
Aaron Bloom, Parker Shorey,
Maryanna McConnell and Zak
Haviland ’04. They’ve won two
“golden volleyballs” (league
championships) so far. Dan and
Aaron recently rendezvoused
in Waterville Valley, N.H.,
with former Nordic skiers Joel
Bradley, Elissa Rehm, Amelia
Bishop, Mary Iaculli, Christina
Perron ’07 and Sam Kapala ’09.
Rob Cooper finished a halfIronman in five-and-a-half hours
in September but was hit by a
car while training for a triathlon
in January. “I don’t remember it,
and the police won’t tell me any
details until they release their
report in three to five business
days,” he said. He told me he
thought he fractured his cheekbone but otherwise was OK.
After finishing the Pilgrimage
for Peace (she walked 1,000
miles through all six New
England states with a bunch of
retirees, including a 77-yearold), Ironwoman Rachel Winch
headed for warmer climes and
found younger companions
in Nicaragua when she spent
January with a bunch of current
Williams students plus Rick
Spalding, who led the Winter
Study trip.
Rachel Barr was in Hanover,
N.H., where she was working
on a number of anesthesiology
studies at Dartmouth Hitchcock
Medical Center; she happily
caught up with former hockey
teammates Annie Snodgrass ’05
and Anna Condino ’07, both in
grad school there, before heading to UVM in January. She’s
working on a post-bac pre-med.
Geofre Schoradt has returned
from a self-imposed exile in the
“wilds of Illinois” (aka grad
school) and spent the bulk of
2009 reuniting with Ian Schulte,
Amelia Beard, Elissa Klein and
Mary Etta Burt in Boston and
job hunting in DC.
Meaghan Rathvon graduated
from BC in May and is now
officially a nurse practitioner!
She’s working in an internal
medicine primary care office
three blocks away from her
condo in the Back Bay; her
Williams diploma is on the wall
there, and it’s quite the conversation starter—she sees a lot of
Williams and NESCAC alumni.
To celebrate New Year’s Eve
and Meaghan’s birthday, Kate
CL ASS
NOTES
Sauerhoff, Emily Vargyas and Ali
Macdonald joined Meaghan at
Beth Ann Barnosky’s place on
Long Island for a sweet house
party.
Leah Weintraub hosted Sam
Clapp, Sara Beach, Clara Hard,
Katie Mygatt, Becky Phillips,
Katie Lewkowicz, Lucy CoxChapman, Lisa Lindeke, Emily
Bonem, Tomio Ueda, Mary Beth
Anzovino and Ari Schoenholtz
’05 (whew!) at her place in
Arlington, Va. According to
Sara, “it was a great way to ring
in oh-10.”
Liz Woodwick is still living
in Minnesota, a place where
human life is probably not
supposed to exist. “It was
6-below when I drove to work
this morning!” she said in her
e-mail. She saw lots of Ephs
while visiting business schools
in the fall: “Jessi England saved
me from getting lost on the
(admittedly miniscule) Tuck
campus, and Abby Wattley
’05 showed me around HBS.”
Other recent highlights include
racing in the Charles alumni
boat with Eph rowers from
class years 1973 through 2008
(including Maggie Carr), and
a mini-Mo West reunion with
Steve Myers, Hayley Wynn, Chris
Richardson and Macy Radloff at
homecoming.
Jackie O’Rourke reports
that Moe Vandermyn fell ill
with scarlet fever after a long
journey in a covered wagon.
(“I’m just kidding about the
covered wagon part!”) Still,
I’d like to point out that their
journey to Williamstown did
involve crossing treacherous
mountain passes. I’m guessing
that they had way more fun at
homecoming than they would
have had in Oregon, though,
especially because Rachel
“Cottonheadedninnymuggins”
Barr, Joey Lye ’09 and Sam
Tarnasky ’09 were there.
Devon O’Rourke wasn’t; his
absence was duly noted, disappointing hockey players from
both the men’s and women’s
sides. Fortunately he made it out
to dinner in Allston with Charlie
Bellows, Wendy Stone ’05 and
Brian Teixeira ’04 to celebrate
Jackie’s birthday. Plenty of Ephs
also gathered at the O’Rourkes’
for New Year’s Eve, including
Ellissa Popoff (who was back
from Vietnam—apparently it’s
a long story, so we’ll save it for
next time), Liz Hodgman ’05 and
Greg Schultz ’08.
Perennial expat Aaron Reibel
contacted me from Wellington,
N.Z. He works for a politician
who is the chairman of the foreign affairs committee. “Mostly,
I’ve been trying to play catch-up
and learn all I can about the
Pacific” (read: researching a lot
of really beautiful tourist destinations). He’s already looking
forward to the World Cup in
South Africa (“the place of my
childhood dreams”) this June
and our five-year reunion next
year. Way to plan ahead, Ron!
Ian Bone is joining ranks with
Aaron; he moved to the southern hemisphere—Buenos Aires,
to be exact, this past winter
(well, it was summer there) after
taking a position as an energy
specialist with a financial firm.
He already misses New York
but is excited to be in Latin
America and welcomes visitors.
Megan O’Malley is now
working full time at “mktg,”
doing social media marketing
and event strategy. She lives on
the “super cute” UWS a block
away from Kristyn Bretz ’07 and
enjoys working out in Riverside
Park.
What would we do without
Adam Bloch? Apparently he’s
found his place in the West
Coast fruit trucking business.
“It’s a cutthroat world of bidding wars, slashed tires and late
nights relieved only by stops
at a greasy spoon for a quick
coffee before hitting the road
again,” he told me. A piece of
advice? “It pays to be careful
when you’re driving by night on
a thieves’ highway.” Sure thing,
Adam. I believe everything you
say!
2007
Diana Davis
Brown University
Math Department, Box 1917
Providence, RI 02912
[email protected]
Submitted by outgoing
secretary Matt Earle, who has
decided to focus exclusively on
his role as class agent: Ladies
and gentlemen, consider the
gauntlet thrown down: Since
graduation we’ve seen flurries of
matrimonial activity; however,
this time a record six people
announced engagements, and
there must be others who didn’t
mention it. Williams People
discourages me from saying
who, so let this be the riddle of
the month.
After a summer in Egypt
partially spent discussing theology and Tupac with taxi drivers,
Ananda Burra was prepared
to begin a PhD in history at
Michigan. People ask him, “A
history PhD?” and he responds,
“I am two-and-a-half years out
of college. I have no real skills
and no real work experience.
I’ve been unemployed for a
while. An American education
institution has, once again,
told me that they will pay me
to live in a library. That means
I am no longer living with my
mom. QED.” To help make this
possible, Allison Koppe took
Ananda to IKEA during a visit
to Ann Arbor. Browsing the
aisles, he said to himself, “Wow,
I wish I had money.” Allison
sympathized, “Yeah, so that
we could go buy furniture in a
real store.” “No,” said Ananda,
“so that I could buy furniture
here”—“such is the life of a
grad student!”
Alden Conner moved back to
Cali to start a PhD in molecular
and cell biology at UC Berkeley,
where he hopes to focus his
research on developmental
neuroscience. He spent the fall
in classes and labs. Taking a
slightly different approach, fellow Bear Michael Fairhurst has
been busy enjoying the warm,
sunny weather “while trying to
find the time for law school.”
Downstate in San Diego, Laura
Lee also “can’t complain about
the weather.” She moved
there to work with “churches,
nonprofits and good people to
see more justice, service and
positive change happen in the
city.” On her road trip there
from Tennessee, she discovered that “it’s quite a country
to cross: mountains, deserts,
plains, windmills, sketchy U.S.
missile ranges (New Mexico,
where else?).”
Eschewing high-priced club
nights for a more laid-back
New Year’s Eve, Shea Chen and
Merritt Edlind hosted Dan Wollin,
Eugenie Du, Auyon Mukharji
and Whitney Hunter-Thomson
in Berkeley, Calif., for some
Rock Band 2 and a stellar view
of the nearby fireworks. A
couple weeks prior, Auyon and
David Senft’s band Darlingside
played their first Boston gig
in December, teaming up with
Caitlin Canty ’04 and Greg
Schultz ’08 to pack a tiny room
to about twice fire capacity with
Ephs. There was a strange vibe
in the room that no one could
pinpoint until Greg (accustomed
to gigs at the Herring as part
of We Are The 90s) realized,
“Dude, they’re sober!” (We
n 2 0 0 6 –0 7
Suzanne Geer ’07 (second from left) and Rohan Mehra ’07 visited with
Suzanne’s father Jim ’49 (left) and Joe Albertson ’54 on Florida’s Useppa
Island in March.
Are The 90s, by the way, is
now Socialist and still features
Dave Eisenson on keys and
vocals.) Darlingside also played
their first southern Connecticut
gig, wreaking unusually good
music on Blake Emerson, Katie
Josephson, Whitney, a few other
Ephs and a cadre of rum-andCoke-toting teens. To the get
to the show, Katie trekked out
from NYC, where she’s finishing a master’s degree at NYU’s
Institute of Fine Arts and in the
fall worked on an exhibition of
Roy Lichtenstein drawings at the
Morgan Library.
Whitney had just returned
from a trip to India for work.
She “survived it, loved it”
and is “dying to go back.”
She credits the country with
teaching her that she has no
interest in being famous, after
being photographed hundreds
of times as a token blonde. A
similar experience had Stephanie
Dockery feeling “like a celebrity”
too. After finishing her master’s
in art business in Singapore,
she took a detour on the road
home to Atlanta to pass through
Cambodia and Vietnam, where
she was constantly stopped by
locals wanting to take pictures
with her, because, she says, “I’m
pretty sure I was the first black
person a lot of these people had
ever seen.”
Far to south of these goingson, Elizabeth Pierce examined
Antarctica with a team from the
University of South Carolina,
“trying to better constrain when
Antarctica and South America
separated from each other” in
the dissolution of Pangaea, the
prehistoric supercontinent. She
returned to the states for NYE
with Matt Davis in Boston and
another semester at school in
NYC.
Pop quiz: Is there skiing in
Arizona? Yes: Katie Stiffler
moved to Flagstaff to coach ski
racing. They not only have snow
but “a pretty big mountain,
too!” Katie flew back East for
a homecoming road trip with
Allycia Jones (student and grad
school applicant in Baltimore),
Jacqui Miller (MBA student in
health sector management at BU)
and Jane Allen. Ren McDermott
drove up from NYC with Miles
Klee and they realized they were
“old but still had a blast.” (Our
senior freshman are seniors!
WTF mate?) Now in Chicago,
Emma Reynolds visited Ren and
her old NYC stomping grounds.
Classmates that started with
the Peace Corps right after graduation, including Sara Jablonski
and Daniel McKenna-Foster, have
now finished. That means Sara
is back from Guatemala and
has reacclimated to life in the
States, although she says, “It’s
not exactly difficult to readjust
to a climate-controlled house
after experiencing 25-degree
temperature changes on an
almost daily basis.” Now she’s
applying to grad school for agricultural community development
programs and has been in touch
with Margaret Pigman (Peace
Corps volunteer in Benin) about
a possible rendezvous in Ghana
with Martin Williams and Baafour
Otu-Boateng.
After I pestered him for a note,
Mr. McKenna-Foster complained, “You’ve caught me at
my lowest!” He’s been holed up
in his dad’s basement in Denver,
looking for ways to get abroad
again. What makes things all
the worse is that, because of
a positive TB test (“thanks
Kazakhstan”), he can’t drink for
nine months while he takes preventive medication (even though
he does not, in fact, have it).
“Ginger beers are good, but they
have a lot of sugar ... so much
for my triumphant splash return
to the bar scene.”
Speaking of splashes, Chris
Sherman works for Island Creek
Oysters in his hometown of
Duxbury, Mass., where they
“grow the best oysters in the
world and have a damn good
time doing it.” They’re available
everywhere in Boston, at fine
restaurants in NYC and all over
the place. Somerville, Mass.,
resident Norman Nicholson left
Forrester Research last year to
take pre-med classes at Tufts.
(“Go Jumbos?”) He’s been living
with Brian Munroe, Peter Schmidt
’08 and Jon Dahlberg ’09 and
hanging with Tyler Auer and Ben
Echols (his former colleague at
Forrester). Norm is studying for
MCATs until further notice.
From the campus of Brown
University, Diana Davis reports
that she saw Joanna Korman and
Emily Button at a grad student
ball, confirming the rumor from
last time. President of the running club there, Diana finished
56th out of 6,000 in the Tufts
Health Plan 10k for Women.
Last semester she was able to
squeeze in one run with Megan
Bruck, who is hard at work in
the geological sciences department. Kate Scheider also keeps
the competitive spirit alive as a
semipro cyclist out in Boulder,
Colo., and in the meantime
works at a sustainable transportation nonprofit. Tucker Sawin
stopped through with Veronica
Ivey ’08 to visit her on his way
to DC.
Rob Streicker, Nim Deshpande
and Emily Ente ’06 shared “a
pre-Thanksgiving brunch at a
hipster restaurant in Brooklyn
that names its drinks after
grandmothers,” then toured Paul
Streicker’s ’67 childhood home
near Grand Army Plaza. Down
in Fort Greene (Brooklyn), Nim
has been “enjoying the outerborough charm, searching for
exciting brunch and locavore
spots but making sure to avoid
hipsterdom” himself. Work at
the Ad Council in Manhattan
has him “chilling daily with
Smokey the Bear and Scruff
McGruff. Occasionally Rosie the
CL ASS
NOTES
Riveter joins in the fun.” On a
Christmas trip to Wales, he and
Ridhima Raina “drove on the left
side of the road through some
pretty sensational scenery—
castles, craggy ocean cliffs and
sprawling sheep meadows.”
Ridhima’s been studying beer
and the beer market for Credit
Suisse in London and has tasted
brews from more than 12
countries. She “wasn’t a huge
fan of Welsh beer though and
resorted to drinking good ol’
Carlsberg instead.” If anyone
wants to go skiing in the Alps
with “a complete novice,” she
encourages you to get in touch
with her. Indeed, Jack Nelson
verified that there is “some very
scenic skiing” there. He took a
break from research in Oslo to
visit Zermatt with George Philip
LeBourdais, Grad Art ’08, and
ski the Matterhorn.
As long as we’re talking
beer, Lindsey Wu finished off
two years (two Oktoberfests)
teaching math in Munich and
started medical school at Duke,
which is kind of “like the worst
hangover ever: five years long.”
Lindsay joins third-year PhD
student Ashley K. Brown there
in Durham, who celebrated the
New Year there with Aalayah
Rasheed. Ashley went up to
Maryland to spend some time
with Amanda Boote during a
respite from Georgetown Law.
Pam Council couldn’t help but
notice that she and Rafael Frias
were the only ’07s at the fall
Alumni of Color Weekend—“get
it together ’07!” When she’s not
tweeting or designing sneakers
for Reebok, she’s focusing on her
artwork. She rang in the New
Year “ear-to-ear grinning, reminiscing and dishing” with Kara
Brothers and Chaedria LaBouvier
in Harlem.
Grady Newman has been busy
starting a business based in
Minneapolis. The company,
MyCore Industries, “provides
organizations with comprehensive advisory and development
services to improve profitability
through sustainable solutions.”
He is looking to talk with
anyone involved or interested in
this or related industries (check
out mycoreindustries.com for
details). Also joining Grady in
his endeavor is Dave Brown,
recently back from South Africa.
Should either desire a book
from the local library, they’d be
entering the territory of Brandi
Brown, the youngest appointee,
“possibly ever,” to the Hennepin
County Library Board. The
In January, George Philip LeBourdais, Grad Art ’08 (left), and Jack
Nelson ’07 explored Zermatt, Switzerland, nestled below the Matterhorn.
position reflects the fact that,
as she says, “I love going to
the library so much, now that
I don’t have to study there.”
Brandi also competed nationally in the Imation PowerPoint
Karaoke contest, “a combination of Schadenfreude and
Stagenfrighte” that pits the
contestant against an audience,
armed only with a presentation
they have never seen—“like
college, except I won something
besides a grade”: seventh place.
Over Thanksgiving weekend,
Taya Latham left the Twin Cities
to check out the new academic
buildings on campus (“love
them!”) and paid respects at
the Sam Adams brewery with
Abby Taylor, Dave Butts ’06 and
Erika Latham ’06. They were in
and out by 11 a.m.—a mighty
fine morning. Taya finished off
the trip, downing a Friendly’s
Fribble in Northampton with
Kathryn Lindsey.
For her first visit to Williams
since graduation, Amanda
Strogoff made all the good
stops: the Clark, MASS MoCA,
Pappa Charlie’s, Thai Garden,
Tunnel City and then Stone
Hill with Alexa Holleran ’05 for
the night. She wonders, “Does
anyone know why we were
awakened by horses rather than
cows?” Over the past two years,
Amanda taught at a school
in Boulder, Colo., and one in
Philly. Now she lives at home in
Massachusetts, in preparation
for future adventures, though
she escaped to NJ a few times to
have Nutella parties with Tova
Meyer.
Liz Spragins is still buried
under a “never-ending pile of
books at UPenn, occasionally
getting out of the library to go
hang out with Steve Spinelli.”
For Katie Montgomery there’s
“really nothing to report—still
in grad school, etc.,” though she
promises good stories “in like
four years, once/if I get hired
anywhere.” To be sure, it’s a
tough job market out there—
it’d better be better by then!
Fortunately we’re Williams
alumni, prepared to succeed in
any job market. Kai Assauov,
for instance, got a job with IBM
and “cannot be thankful enough
for being a part of this huge
corporation.” After two years in
a Phoenix classroom with Teach
for America, Alex Tanton skipped
the hiring hustle and moved to
Baltimore to do some fundraising and development work for
them. “The new job and the city
are both treating [him] well.”
Before moving back to Boston
at the end of the summer, Eylul
Kasal hung out with Allegra
Funsten, Tracy Foote and Caitlin
Hanley in London, then journeyed to Cinque Terre, Italy.
Reflecting on the experience, she
said, “I guess I could just stay
there like that forever if somebody just asked me to—just stay
there, learn Italian and live like a
local in a village.”
Someday, someday.
2008
Julie Van Deusen
61 Brighton Ave., Apt. 2
Allston, MA 02134
[email protected]
I’m writing you this with a
half-consumed Corona and a
very full stomach, having just
finished a delicious Mexican
n 2 0 0 7 –0 8
dinner with Anne Peckham and
Corey Beverly. It was the perfect
meal to momentarily forget the
cold Boston winter and to give
me and Corey a chance to see
Annie, who recently (from when
I’m writing this, not from when
you’re reading this) returned
home from Cairo, where she
had been studying Arabic on a
Fulbright.
It seems that the holiday
season brought many of you
back home and provided plenty
of opportunities to spend
time with family and fellow
classmates. Matt McClure had a
nice two-week break from med
school over the holidays, and
he went home to Philly, where
he played lots of squash with
Will Eusden. Will, along with
Ben Byrne, Ryan Dunfee, Kyle
Frederick, Peter McLane Daniel,
Riley Maddox, Will Parker and
Zach Brewer ’07 went skiing in
Steamboat, Colo., right before
Christmas. They spent a long
weekend in a condo with eight
of Will Parker’s med school
friends but managed to keep the
condo in a livable condition.
The snow conditions were not
the best, which led to a lot of
out-of-bounds skiing, which in
turn led to five ski passes being
revoked (apparently they tried
to take Ryan Dunfee’s ticket
when they caught him out of
bounds a second time, but it
had already been taken away).
Nancy Haff spent Christmas in
London with her family. Daniel
Yudkin is back from Paris and
spent New Year’s in New York.
He, along with David Kessel,
Kate Nolfi, Joe Song, Jenn Sit
and Eugene Korsunskiy, enjoyed
a wonderful Korean dinner
prepared by David’s mother in
Queens. For New Year’s, Jenn,
David and Daniel met up with
Marina Harnik, Taryn Pritchard
and Eve Woodin in their Upper
West Side apartment before
meeting Joe, Tom Miller and
Bill Bernsen at the latter two’s
house party in Williamsburg.
In January, Daniel left to teach
English in Nicaragua for six
months.
Chris Shalvoy was home in
Rochester, N.Y., for the holidays
and is back at Northwestern
Law for the spring semester.
Jing Cao and Jason Ren spent
Christmas exploring NYC,
admiring the Rockefeller tree
and enjoying an Indian lunch
buffet restaurant that was decorated with enough Christmas
lights to create a fire hazard
about 15 times over. Kimberly
(Davis) and Mike Montalbano ’06
celebrated their son John (Jack)
Francis’ first Christmas in NYC.
They rang in the New Year
with Jack’s godfather, Dan Burns
’06. Nora Morse celebrated the
holidays by leaving the balmy
Bay Area and road tripping to
Minnesota to see family and get
her snow fix for the year. She
finished her first year on the job
at ClimateWorks Foundation in
San Francisco, where she works
on grants strategy and supports
our international network of
climate policy research and
advocacy organizations.
If there is anything Peace
Corps in the Dominican
Republic has taught Jared
Oubre, it’s that family is the
core of life. So in his return
home to California, he sought
to strengthen his own family
ties by recreating the holidays
of his childhood filled with
plentiful family cleaning, eating
and decorating fiestas. Now
he’s returning back to work in
the Caribbean and promises to
check on the status of fellow
Peace Corps Volunteer Dan
Golub’s youth camp planning.
After Peace Corps Guinea got
evacuated, Jarrad Wood spent
the last two months of 2009 in
America. Luckily, that meant
that he was able to make homecoming at Williams and the
holidays at home. In January he
left to teach chemistry with the
Peace Corps in Liberia.
And after a year-and-a-half
outside of the land of milk and
honey, Chris Beeler was super
glad to come back to the States
to visit his friends and family
for Christmas. He returned to
Ecuador to ring in the New Year,
burning effigies while dancing
through the flames and such.
Friendly heads-up from Chris:
“If you ever find yourself in the
beach town of Canoa, Ecuador,
do not take a shot of the homemade liqueur known as ‘The
Fingernail.’ It may seem like a
good idea, but trust me, it’s not.”
On an entirely different note,
we have a couple more major
life events to celebrate. Walker
Matthews and Allie Wilkes got
married on Oct. 10 in Falmouth,
Maine. A number of Williams
alumni were in attendance: Tosin
Adeyanju, Terry Tamm, Sunmi
Yang, Christina Rabadan, Jodi
Gajadar, Michael Marchinetti ’10,
Amber LaFountain ’09, Gibson
Wilkes ’82, Gracen Fraser ’82,
Tom Knowlton ’81, Bill Haylon
’81, Blake Wilkes ’81 and Robert
Wilkes ’55.
Ben Rudick and Sarah Fink
got engaged on Isla Grande in
Panama in December! Sarah is
working on a PhD in organic
chemistry in Cambridge,
England, and Ben is working for
William Schoenfeld ’87, mainly
in Hong Kong and Tokyo
(though he travels around the
world quite a bit). The big news
from Katie Quinn is that she got
engaged to Bryan Eckelmann ’09
on Dec. 29! Her wedding date
is likely summer 2011. They are
both living in Chicago, braving
the very cold winter!
I’m not sure whether it’s
the cold weather or just the
fact that we’re recently out of
college and still have the time
and flexibility to travel, but as
a class we definitely have some
amazing trips worth mentioning. Katherine Huang traveled
this past December to warmer
climes, including Chiayi and
Taipei, Taiwan, where she
experienced her first earthquake
and caught up with Eliot Corley
’07 and Elisa Chang ’11, and
Hong Kong, where she toured
Kowloon with Ben Scent ’06.
She will complete a two-year
rotational management development analyst program at
J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank in
August. Darcy Montevaldo and
Jae Boggess traveled in Southern
France, Italy and Ireland for
three weeks last September.
Wintertime in Boston has left
Greg Schultz no choice other
than to plan for vacations—
hence, a trip to the Rockhouse
resort in Jamaica (which is supposed to be a hidden gem with
only 50 or so hotel rooms on
waterfront cliffs). On a different
note, Greg and the other members of the Williams-comprised
band Socialist had a three-gig
weekend in Maine at Sugarloaf
thanks to Charles Christianson
(who may or may not be one
of the best booking agents in
the ski resort arena). Charles
got them bottomless wings for
the weekend! Otherwise, Greg’s
enjoying living in Boston’s North
End and is pretty happy that it’s
now been months since his car
got towed.
David Rogawski completed
a fun bicycle trip in the South
Island of New Zealand and
then returned back home to
Maryland for the holidays.
He anticipated a month of
MD/PhD interviews, during
which he hoped to visit some
Williams friends around the
U.S., before flying back to New
Zealand to finish his master’s
CL ASS
NOTES
in biochemistry. Katie Stack is
at Caltech, working toward her
PhD in geology. She recently
had a surprise Williams geology minireunion in Montana
with Don Winston ’53 and
Patrick Russell ’98. (“Williams
folks turn up in the strangest
places!”) She also has some
exciting trips coming up this
year, including to the Bahamas,
Spain and Angola for geology
field work.
Michael Haggerty is living in
Rio de Janeiro with Tommy Mira
y Lopez. He’s working as an
English teacher for a school that
“treats its teachers like dirt.” He
will soon (if he hasn’t already)
head back to the States to start
law school. Michael and Tommy
were paid a visit by Anna Merritt,
who came to town with her grad
school friends from Stanford.
In between bouts of household
bickering, Tommy and Michael
enjoy wearing their Speedos at
the beach, dancing samba and
getting rejected by spectacularly
attractive Brazilian women.
Erin Brown checked in from
Harare, Zimbabwe, where she’s
working on a peace-building
proposal for her nonprofit
organization. She’s based in DC,
where she spend loads of time
with Remington Shepherd and
Rob Streicker ’07 and wishes she
saw more of Johnny Greenwald!
She’s looking forward to grad
school next fall—no word yet
on where she’ll be, but she
hopes to be in Chicago and be
near med student Constantine
Mavroudis and newly engaged
teacher Katie Quinn. She was
planning a trip to Boston in
April to see the ladies up there
(Emily Siegel, Liz Pierce and
Alex Brooks) and to watch
Constantine run the Boston
Marathon.
Boston still seems to be the
most popular city for our class
(although I’ll admit I may be
slightly biased), and new people
are moving here all the time!
Jen Bees moved into the North
End last fall and is working for
a nonprofit called Bottom Line
that helps disadvantaged youth
get into and graduate from
college. Betsy Todd is living in
Boston with Sara Carian and
Adam Banasiak and is working
at an investment bank with
LaVonna Bowen ’06. Their
office is across the hall from
Parthenon, where Jeff Lyon, Ben
Springwater, Max Pinto, Dani
Johnson and a bunch of other
Williams alums work. Betsy
met up with Terry Tamm while
he was in Boston, and Steve
Melis came to visit the weekend
before Christmas.
Last October, Ben Byrne, Pete
Clements, McLane Daniel, Will
Parker and Riley Maddox rowed
with Zack Brewer ’07, Mike
Sacks ’09, Rob Buesing ’09 and
Dan Winston ’09 at the Head of
the Charles in a new event—
the alumni 8. They rowed as
“North Adams Rowing Club”
and placed 13th, which automatically qualified them for the
event next year!
Shelby Kimmel is living with
Paul Hess and Emily Brown in
Cambridge. She’s working
toward a PhD in physics at
MIT. Matt Allen will soon be
leaving Cambridge and moving
to Baltimore for a year to do a
post-baccalaureate premedical
program at Goucher College.
Over in New York, Eric
Zaccarelli is living on the north
side of Union Square in NYC
with Tom Sargeantson, Ryan
Karolak and John Snipes. Eric is
working for Tradition Financial
Services as an equity derivatives
broker and has been going to lots
of Ranger games. Ryan is working for Siegelson, a jewelry dealer
and designer in Manhattan.
Halley Smith is working on five
studies and will eventually be
a co-author (or have some sort
of authorship) on them. Two
or three of them should be out
by the end of 2010! She’s also
finishing up post-baccalaureate,
taking the MCATS and playing
with her nephew and puppy. Ana
Sani, Charlotte Vanwagenen and
Jessie Freeman live together in
Chelsea in NYC and get together
every Monday night with friends
like Cary Bearn to watch The
Bachelor. They’re hoping the
Williamstown girl gets a hometown date so they can see Pappa
Charlie’s on TV!
Down in the DC area, Jeremy
Doernberger is working hard in
his second year of law school
at GWU. He’s still living with
Ben Bullitt, who’s working
for Kaiser Associates. Their
apartment is in shambles, and
they spend most of their time at
home wearing Snuggies (to save
on heating bills) and watching
Jersey Shore. Liz Upton is doing
the same in Chapel Hill, still
working hard in her second
year at UNC med school … and
also watching every episode of
Jersey Shore. Mike Kirwan is
now in the second year of his
PhD program in neuroscience at
Maryland. In addition to Jeremy
and Ben, Mike sees Sarah Bonn,
Amanda Nicholson ’09, Frank
Bergold ’09, Catie Lee ’09 and
Sarah Moore ’09 on a regular
basis. He reports, “It’s great to
have them all down here!”
Whitney Leonard is living
the dream in Montana, doing
environmental work, living
with Kim Taylor and skiing
every weekend from November
through June (fingers crossed)!
Ariel Heyman is living in her
hometown (Claremont, Calif.)
with Lizzy Koltai ’07. They were
paid a visit by Anne Royston
on her way from New Zealand
to Chicago. Ariel is singing in
the Pomona College choir this
spring, working as a one-on-one
aid at an elementary school and
doing karate. She’s also applying to grad schools in the San
Francisco Bay area for teaching
science. Rachael Konecky is in
her first year of law school at
the University of Washington
in Seattle. Alex Horne’s been
accepted to the University of
Colorado Medical School Class
of 2014, which he’s pretty
excited about.
And around the rest of the
country, Annie Ferguson is
(most of the time) loving her
first year of med school (with
Ashwin Chandar ’09). But she’s
most excited for the summer,
when she’ll be cycling across the
country with an organization
called Bike & Build in order
to raise money and awareness
for affordable housing. Over
the course of 10 weeks, she’ll
ride from Jacksonville to San
Francisco with about 30 other
cyclists from across the country.
She will give the bike a rest for
17 days and get her hands dirty
building with organizations
such as Habitat for Humanity.
After an amazing yearand-a-half in San Francisco,
Elizabeth Kohout is now back
in Austin. She misses the Bay
Area (especially hanging out
with Nick Greer, Ted Wiles, Liza
Gardner and Anna Merritt) but
loves her new job working for
an arts educational nonprofit,
and she’s happy to be back in the
live music capital of the world.
Back in August, Amy Steele
moved to Arlington, Texas, from
Orlando, Fla., to begin work as
the astronomy lab coordinator
at the University of Texas at
Arlington. She reports that it’s
been challenging being a boss
and teaching college-level labs
(and students), but she loves it
nonetheless. Over the holidays
she managed a trip down to
Austin to visit Mike Gerbush
n 2 0 0 8 –0 9
’09, Eric Muller ’09, Rusty
Abedinzadeh ’09 and Katherine
Leslie ’09 for a weekend of fun
on Sixth Street.
Last year, Brandon Lucien
helped shoot a feature film with
Luke Moran. The movie is called
Listen to Your Heart, starring
Cybil Shepard. More recently,
Brandon took a position as a
financial adviser working with
MetLife, where he mainly does
private wealth management.
Chris Lust is in his second year
of medical school at Washington
University in Saint Louis and
reports that “all’s good down
here.” Jesse Levitt spent some
time last fall visiting Williams
for advice on grad school and
even helped cook for one of
Professor Pacelli’s famed class
dessert gatherings. Jesse visited
Sunmi Yang and Anna Weber for
New Year’s before driving to
DC, where he lunched with Ben
Kolesar and Henry Burton in the
U.S. House office’s cafeteria.
And to round us out, Charles
Christianson is living his life out
of a 50-pound bag, trying to
make a career out of ski racing
in North America and Europe.
You stay classy, ’08.
2009
Mijon Zulu
19 Bridge Lane
Haverstraw, NY 10927
[email protected]
Goodbye Naughties and hello
to a new decade. If you do not
like your job, take comfort. The
New Year permits you to be
fearless or—at least—aware of
trepidation and too stubborn
to quit.
But first, let’s check in with
Ephs in grad school.
Andre Martinez is trying to not
explode UConn, while Rahul
Shah tans at UC Santa Barbara.
Mary (Dubs) Molen is studying
teaching history at the University
of Alabama, while Brian Prest
catches up for next year’s grad
school at George Washington.
To Europe!
Jess Kopcho, a music teacher
in Italy, has committed herself
to jaunts across Europe during
which she could possibly answer
Allison Prevatt’s open call
for Ephs to distract her from
her job at the Japan Times in
Prague. Sadly Ms. Kopcho will
miss Elissa Brown, who, after
completing Spain’s Camino
de Santiago pilgrimage and
volunteering at a kindergarten
in Germany, is now teaching
environmental education in
Costa Rica.
Ms. Brown’s new locale
may see her sipping Malbec
in Buenos Aires with English
teacher and law firm intern
Clark Flynt, who was fresh from
a New Year’s visit with the
fabulous Tanya Pramatorova.
Alternately, Ms. Brown could
organically farm in Puerto
Rico or Guatemala with Avalon
Gulley or check out Peruvian
Nike runner Natalia Rey de
Castro in Peru.
To the East, World Wildlife
Fund worker Nanny Gephart is
enjoying Vientine, Laos, and
visits with Riki McDermott,
who is now working at a
boarding school in Chiang
Mai, Thailand. Hopefully, the
two will visit Rachel Ko at her
home in Taiwan. Nearby, Brian
Bistolfo traded wine making in
California for wine making in
Australia and New Zealand,
which is where Macklin Chaffee
has been traveling and blogging
on nzblog.peacebethej.com.
Finally, Molly Klaisner is teaching English on the French island
Reunion, and IT Peace Corps
volunteer Josh Adeyemi is working in the South Pacific country
of Vanuatu.
Back in North America, the
working Ephs bravely transition
into the working world and stop
at nothing to see their fellow
Ephs.
In Beantown, last fall’s Head
of the Charles Regatta saw
the “North Adams Rowing
Club” Riley Maddox ’08, Ben
Byrne ’08, Rob Buesing, Zack
Brewer ’07, Will Parker ’08,
Dan Winston, McLane Daniel
’08, Peter Clements ’08 and
Mike Sacks race in the alumni 8
event as well as fellow rowers
Andy Ward and Bob O’Loughlin
’07. In January, DC Eph Ben
Bondurian took a break from his
think tank to have a minireunion with Quinn Sievers, David
Lebovitz, Tyler Bonewell, Thatcher
Heumann and Zach Quay-de la
Valle in Boston and cheer at the
Williams-Amherst swim meet.
To the north, Amy Mcleod is
coaching a student congress
team in Cumberland, Maine,
and is working for the Southern
Maine Agency for Aging. To the
south, housemates Eve Streicker
and Jay Cox-Chapman are having fun with Matt Wellenblach
in Providence. Newcomer Ben
Grant has moved to Boston for
his consulting job. On his way
to Boston, Mr. Grant reported
seeing his JA Pam Vachatimanont
’07 in Paris and bumping into
Anouk Dey in London. Sadly,
Beantown will say goodbye to
Tony Kraeva, who will be joining
Rob Buesing at Barclays in New
York.
In the Big Apple, Julian Mesri
premiered his work, King in
Exile, at the Tank at the end
of January. Hopefully, Zack
Stone and Ali Barrett left their
apartment, coincidentally across
from the Williams Club, for the
debut.
In DC, Jenna Taft is working
for Nova Research Inc., while
Kevin Waite, Hillary Batchelder
and Bryan Vorbach may or may
not have met up in DC. (Mr.
Waite’s message left the truth in
obscurity.)
To the West, Jesuit Volunteer
Corps volunteer Lauren Finn
spent fall practicing for med
school in Yakima, Wash., while
Kristen Emhoff taught music
in rural Oregon. To the north,
Mallory Green is an assistant
coach for the AAA Midget
Raiders in Blackie, Alberta,
while she applies to veterinary school. In Alaska, Fiona
Worcestor is teaching and coaching XC skiing at rival schools.
Down South, Teach for America
educator Jim Lowe continues
teaching in New Mexico, while
entrepreneur Morgan PhillipsSpotts is setting up shop in the
Atlanta. In the Midwest, radiologist intern Sarah Hill drove
from Cincinnati to Cleveland to
catch up with Ephs at the Div.
III Cross-Country Nationals,
managed to catch Rachel Asher
in Chicago when Ms. Asher was
home for Thanksgiving, and
rang in the New Year with Ephs
in NYC. Kudos! George Miller is
in Kansas City, where he works
as assistant to the president
of the Kauffman Foundation.
Hopefully, Mr. Miller will run
into recent Marshall Scholarship
recipient Aroop Mukharji, who is
dividing his time between DC,
Boston, Williamstown and, of
course, Kansas City.
That is all for now, but it
reminds you that Ephs everywhere are wishing you good
luck for the year. In this fashion,
we should all make time to congratulate Bryan Eckelmann and
Katie Quinn ’08 on their Dec. 29
engagement. Love, actually, is
all around us, but they are lucky
to have such a clear vision in
front of them.
Till the next.
W e d di ng
a l bu m
All dates 2009
01 Barber ’96 • Bates:
Sept. 5, Holyoke, Mass.
Megan Barber ’96, Jonathan Bates
02 Bennett • Roberston ’02:
July 18, Williamstown, Mass.
All ’02 unless noted, left to right: Rick Spalding
(Williams chaplain), Eve Streicker ’09, Rachel
Ko ’09, Sara Ansell (former Williams campus life
coordinator), Kareem Khubchandani (former
Williams multicultural center assistant director),
Brad Nichol, Mary Flynn ’04, Sergio Espinosa,
Anna Bennett (bride and former Williams
campus life coordinator), Mark Robertson,
Samantha Peterson ’08, Seth Behrends, Laurel
Bifano, Topher Goggin, Dave Pilachowski
(Williams librarian), Ian Tate, Dave Glick, Andrew
Mitchell, Ben Chaffee, Michael Nazarian
03 Briscoe • Magid ’04:
June 28, Baltimore, Md.
All ’04 unless noted, left to right: Eric Daub,
Sage Briscoe (bride), Aaron Magid, Camille
Mathieu, Aidan Finley
04 Brown ’98 • Neuhaus:
Sept. 6, San Francisco, Calif.
All ’98 unless noted, left to right: Sarah Roth,
Kari Thorsen Norman, Abby Ramsden, Danielle
Bahr Eason, Mindy Thompson, Isaac Neuhaus
(groom), Tamara Brown, Beth Lambert, Bunge
Cook, Kim Comeau Webster, Greg Behling ’96,
Mary (Frekko) Kilavos, Emmy Starr, Christie
McGovern Hussa
01
01
02
02
03
03
Williams People publishes
photographs of weddings,
commitment ceremonies and civil
unions. Photos must be received
within six months of the ceremony
and may not be altered digitally.
04
05 Clements ’02 • Kaczmarek ’02:
July 11, Sugar Hill, N.H.
All ’02 unless noted, left to right: Magdalene
Moran ’96, Torie Gorges ’00, Stefan Kaczmarek,
Alana Clements, Edlyn Smith, Carolyn Shank,
Jamin Morrison
05
05
06
06
06 Connolly • Hoffman ’04:
July 11, Bolton Valley, Vt.
All ’04 unless noted, left to right: (front) Jennifer
Vorse, Matthew Wilka ’06, Caitlin Connolly
(bride), Matt Hoffman, Mary Catherine
Blanton ’06, Kristen (Wood Van Woert) Connolly,
Jeffrey Nelson; (back) Erik Tomberg, Jamie
Pinnell Hebert, Joel Hebert, Michael Needham,
Steven Scroggins
07 Cornell ’01 • Chesterton:
July 25, Baltimore, Md.
Left to right: (seated) Kevin Chesterton,
Katherine Hadley Cornell ’01; (standing) Wilder
Gleason ’72, Katie (Hansen) Harman ’00, Alex
Harman ’98, James Cornell ’72, Martha
Elliott ’73, Carl Samuelson (former Williams
swim coach), Nancy Samuelson (former Williams
health center staff), Carolyn Hendrie
08 Davisson ’05 • Dolbec:
Sept. 5, Northeast Harbor, Maine
Left to right: Hugh Hawkins ’71, Poppy (Yeiser)
Hawkins ’71, Addie Robinson ’05, Greg Dolbec,
Katie Davisson ’05, Danner Hickman ’05, Larry
Dworkin ’07, Andy Bisset ’06, Jenn Campbell ’05
07
07
08
W e d di ng
a l bu m
09 Day ’04 • Giarolo ’04:
Aug. 1, Williamstown, Mass.
All ’04 unless noted, left to right: (front) Marcos
Sahm, Cyndi Wong, Dawn Biehler ’97, Laura
Day, Andrew Giarolo, Nathan Day ’97, Caitlin
Day (Williams-Mystic ’00); (back) Jessica
Beck ’08, Carly Massey, Michelle Cuevas, Melody
Marchman ’06, Thomas Zimmerman ’06, Eric
Kang ’09, Elizabeth Spragins ’07, Ashok
Pillai ’05, Sean Gillispie, Stephen Dobay ’05,
Elizabeth Just, Micah Halsey ’05
All dates 2009
09
10 Flint ’05 • Engle:
Aug. 8, Alford, Mass.
All ’05 unless noted, left to right: Mark
Orlowski ’04, Henry Flint ’69, Barbara (Roe)
Madley ’94, Henry Roe ’97, Anders Engle
(groom), Betsy Flint, Anna Swisher, Elizabeth Van
Heuvelen, Amy Dieckmann, Karen Untereker,
Barbara Chan, Ellie Frazier
11 Geier ’00 • Shultz:
June 27, Mount Desert Island, Maine
Left to right: (front) Annie Richards ’01,
Ethan Katz-Bassett ’01, Steve Shultz, Kate
Geier ’00, Fred Rudolph ’42, Phil Geier ’70;
(back) Elizabeth Smith Pratt ’01, John
Cornwall ’70, Nicole Draghi ’00, Dick Geier ’75,
Sara Kate May ’00, Mark Richards ’67, Marta
(Rudolph) MacDonald ’73, Al Twaits ’70, Rodney
Geier ’75, Samantha Orme ’02, Alexandra
Orme ’04
12 Gensheimer ’05 • Davis ’05:
Aug. 15, Phippsburg, Maine
All ’05, left to right: Annie Snodgrass, David
Roth, Mariah Robbins, Alana Whitman, Noah
Bell, Maryl Gensheimer, Jason Davis, Adam
Shoemaker, Elizabeth Van Heuvelen, Jennifer
Steinberg, Abigail Wattley, Kevin Kingman
10
11
12
13 Gillespie • Wells ’07:
June 13, Phoenix, Ariz.
Katharine Gillespie, Theodore Wells ’07
13
14 Good ’04 • Garrow ’04:
Aug. 1, Providence, R.I.
All ’04 unless noted, from left to right: (seated)
Claire Samuel, Olivia Park, Keji Adebayo, Sarah
Pesin, Hannah Good, Erin Garrow, Katie Ackerly;
(standing) Rachel Outterson, Emily Gustafson,
Amy Hobbie, Sophie Hood, Anne Newcomer,
Josh Earn, Pete Endres, Emily Kirby, Emily
Ludwig, Sam Arons, Jeff Ishizuka, Pamela
Good ’06
15 Hamachek ’01 • Herrick:
Aug. 15, Ketchum, Idaho
Left to right: (front) Robyn Goldman ’01, Jen
Hahn ’01, Ellen (Jacobson) Sheedy ’01; (back)
Teddy Ragsdale ’68, Tad Piper ’68, Gretchen
Piper ’91, Bill Merizon ’56, Elizabeth
Hamachek ’01, Sam Herrik, Mark Hamachek ’97,
Tod Hamachek ’68, Jonathan Carter ’73
14
16 Herries ’03 • Purdy:
Aug. 8, Stockton Springs, Maine
All ’03 unless noted, left to right: (front)
Elizabeth Campos, Anne Mayall, Jason Purdy
(groom), Emma Herries; (back) Jennifer Doleac,
Matt Webster ’04, Luke Hyde, Lucas Goodbody
15
16
W e d di ng
a l bu m
17 Hunter-Thomson ’03 • Pinsky ’03:
Aug. 8, Machias, Maine
All ’03 unless noted, left to right: (front) Rob
Gonzalez, Tad Hodgson, Bailey McCallum ’01,
Jordan Goldwarg, Patrick Zimmerman, Ashford
Bradly; (back) Colby (Hunter-Thomson)
Previte ’99, Whitney Hunter-Thomson ’07,
Katama (Guernsey) Eastman ’99, Nick Nelson,
Sarah Klionsky, Liz Mygatt, Malin Pinsky, Kristin
Hunter-Thomson, Liz Chase, Kate Carroll, Becca
Krass, Kimmie (Kemper) Beal, Angus Beal
All dates 2009
17
18 Judice • Douge ’92:
Sept. 5, New Orleans, La.
Left to right: Adrena Ifill ’91, Travis Rundlet ’92,
Natasha Burkett, Martin Burkett ’92, Yvonne
Judice, Fendley Douge ’92, Wole Coaxum ’92,
Rashid Curtis ’93, Kwame Abernathy ’93
19 Keenan ’96 • Baker:
Sept. 19, Narragansett, R.I.
All ’96 unless noted, left to right: (front) Penn
Clarke, Brian Baker (groom), Aileen Keenan,
Samantha Jones; (back) Kim Comeau
Webster ’98, Sam Webster ’99, Brian Lee,
Jason Stabell, Carrie Strauss Dunn, Kate Boyle
Ramsdell ’97, Steve Ginsberg ’95, Jill Branca
(non-alumna), Scott Sartorius, Josh Connor
18
20 Kelleher • Sessler ’07:
July 11, Lake Placid, N.Y.
All ’07 unless noted, left to right: Jon Dolan,
Cory Catelli, Teresa Van Horn, Jack Sessler, Nick
Fera, Kaleen Kelleher (bride), Elliott Moffie, Jeff
Egizi ’08, John Christakos ’87, Mike Brown,
George Niden ’75
19
20
21 Landis ’05 • McGinn:
Aug. 29, Providence, R.I.
All ’05 unless noted, left to right: (front) Brian
Saar, Dan McGinn (groom), Beth Landis, Amy
Katzen; (back) Noah Capurso, Maggie Gilmore,
Deborah Hurtt ’81, Amy Demorest ’79, Alison
Stewart ’03
21
22
23
22 Lee ’01 • Garcia ’00:
Mar. 28, New Providence, N.J.
Left to right: (front) Matthew Kim ’01, Theodora
Konetsovska ’01, Elizabeth Chun Hye Lee ’01,
Jonathan Garcia ’00, Jason Oraker ’00, Allison
Herling Ruark ’01, Joel Ruark; (middle) Keith
Chu ’01, Sharon Chu, Dan Ko, Priscilla Smith,
Jennifer Simon ’02, Laurie Hurshman ’99,
Jim Shilkett ’01, MiHye Kim ’02, Christopher
Hurshman ’01; (back) Duane Lee ’01, Carolyn
Stickney ’00, Joshua White ’01, Gail Anderson
Ferguson ’01, Christopher Smith, Yuneng Li ’99,
Ryan Mayhew ’01, Soojin Kim Chu, Daniel
Chu ’99, Ju Yeon Han ’02, Lisa Ahn ’03
23 Myers • Pingree ’01:
July 18, Carmel, Calif.
All ’01 unless noted, left to right: (front) Garrett
Smith, Graham Pingree, Liz Dubinksy Daoust ’02,
Sarah Myers (bride), Liza Welsh ’06, Geraldine
Shen, Eben Pingree ’04, Joe Bergeron, Dick
Pingree ’66; (middle) Brian Doherty, Cate Olson,
C.J. Navins, Joey (Shapiro) Key, Katie Bolduc, Lissa
Healy ’04, Garrett Collins ’04, Emily Welsh ’05,
Tim Pingree ’06, Kelsey (Gollop) Mayhall, Mike
Cortese, Joe Butler, Pat Finn, Jon Duval, Stanley
Possick ’66; (back) Tory Patterson ’02, Dorian
Baker, Isaac Dietzel, Dan Matro, Mark Daoust,
Drew Gottenborg ’06, Joe Weiss, Tom Pickard,
John Mayhall ’00, Andrew Conley, Cameron
Walker, Kelly Steinmuller Finn ’02, John
Amerling ’66
24 Nestor • Hong ’90:
Sept. 6, Boiceville, N.Y.
Will Hong, Camilla Nestor (bride); (back)
Dean Caven, Kevin Confoy, Dave Cox, Andy
Bernheimer, Bob Verhey, Andy Kaplinsky, Michael
Hudgins, Troye Jenkins, Jay Harrison
24
W e d di ng
a l bu m
25 Potter ’05 • Fitzgibbons ’04:
July 25, Williamstown, Mass.
Left to right: (front) Mike Chaberski ’05, Zak
Haviland ’04, Dave Seligman ’05, Ben
Fleming ’04; (middle) Chris Potter ’74, Don
Potter ’45, Rachel Potter ’80, Chloe Taft ’05,
Rosemary Kendrick ’05, Liz Hodgman ’05,
Liz Hambleton ’05, Beth Potter ’05, Devin
Fitzgibbons ’04, Izzi Stone ’05, Vickie
Fernandez ’06, Laura Delgado ’05, Ben
Potter ’93, Kate Forand ’93; (back) Gordon
McWilliams ’51, Bart Clareman ’05, Chris
Flynn ’04, Shomik Dutta ’05, Matt Young ’05,
Boon Fox ’05, Steve Rahl ’05
All dates 2009
25
26 Prest ’04 • Lanum:
Oct. 3, Washington, D.C.
Left to right: Mike Stevens ’73, Carole
(Youngman) Prest ’73, Sean Gillispie ’04, Brian
Prest ’09, Matt Hoffman ’04, Corey Lanum,
M.J. Prest ’04, James Cart ’05, Ashley (Ulmer)
Cart ’05, Jeff Nelson ’04, Adam Grogg ’04
27 Romano ’05 • Barhight ’05:
June 20, Swarthmore, Pa.
Bethany (Smith) Nichols, Barbara Chan, Sasha
Jack, Matthew Barhight, Lydia Romano, Julia
Prieto, Kendra Totman, Janet Harvey ’80; (back)
Elizabeth Frazier, Karen Untereker, Stephen
Moseley, Chris Vazquez ’04, Abigail Wattley,
Kevin Kingman, Julia Rosen, Elizabeth Pierce ’07,
Adriel Cepeda Derieux, Ryan Belmont, Celia
Kent ’80, John Harvey ’85
28 Rothberg ’01 • Gelbord:
Aug. 23, Long Island City, N.Y.
All ’01 unless noted, left to right: Lia Amakawa,
Noga Chlamtac, Dan Williamson, Anjali Lunia
Williamson, Tami Thompson Wood, Boaz Gelbord
(groom), Allyson Rothberg, John Morrison,
Lisa Libicki, Alex McWhorter, Cristie Ellis, Sean
Glasheen
26
27
28
124 | Williams People | Aprril 2010
29 Santora • Hagy ’95:
July 11, Jekyll Island, Ga.
All ’95 unless noted, left to right: John Fagan,
Michelle Kang Fagan, Chris Hagy ’64, Jennifer
Santora (bride), Chris Hagy
29
30 Seo • Soskin ’99:
Oct. 17, Logan, Utah
All ’99 unless noted, left to right: Joseph
Kauffman, Leigh Winter Martin, Matt
Fineman ’00, Laura Moberg Lavoie, Zack Mully,
Jason Langheier ’00, Emily Boer Drake ’00, John
Rivera-Dirks, Miran Seo (bride), Eric Soskin,
Jonathan Pak, Paul Benzon, Jared Drake ’00, Will
Slocum, Ethan Lasser, Dennis DeBassio ’00
31 Stein ’87 • Lin:
Sept. 12, New Haven, Conn.
Left to right: Kenneth April ’88, Brett
McDonnell ’85, Morris Kaplan ’63, Steve Lin,
Edward Stein ’87, Lisa Mandl ’88, John
Ciolek ’87, Helen Rozwadowski ’87, Teresa
(Fieber) Chandler ’87
30
32 Sterne ’95 • Schebesta:
Oct. 3, Snowville, N.H.
All ’95 unless noted, left to right: Tim Lupin ’93,
Amanda Kaplan, Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin,
Emily Sterne, Michi Schebesta (groom), Sarah Brill
31
32
W e d di ng
a l bu m
All dates 2009
33 Tarantolo ’01 • Murray:
Oct. 10, Chevy Chase, Md.
All ’01 unless noted, left to right: Andrew
Woolf ’02, Tony Salerno, Kristine Taylor, Lisa
Cohan ’02, Carol Lynn (Higgins) O’Dea, Danielle
Tarantolo, Sean Murray (groom), Jessica Robbins,
Margaret Radzik, Kristin Wikelius, Sarah
Schiavetti
34 Torin ’02 • Lafave ’03:
Aug. 15, Thetford Hill, Vt.
Left to right: Rob Lopez ’03, Sam Young ’98,
Evan Gee ’04, Evan Hiller ’03, Jim Fowle ’41,
Artie Lafave ’76, Will Lafave ’90, Kristi Beyer
Bragg ’76, Sandy Bragg ’76, Jay Lafave ’55,
David Fowle ’76, Danielle Torin ’02, Nick
Lafave ’03, Richardson Fowle ’50, Claire
Lafave ’12, Charlie Lafave ’81, Rebecca (Fowle)
Lafave ’76, Ian Bone ’06, Kris Bruneau ’97, Josh
Lawton ’97, Maggie Ronald ’99, Mike
Veloso ’98, Emily Ronald ’99, Chuck
Hagenbuch ’00, Jen Cartee ’97, Annaliis
(Abrego) Canty ’01, Scott Canty ’98
35 von Mutius ’03 • Sawyer:
Oct. 10, Philadelphia, Pa.
All ’03 unless noted, left to right: Alix Davis,
Chris Sawyer (groom), Lindi von Mutius, James
Hollyer, Jasmine Mitchell
36 Wilkes ’08 • Matthews ’08:
Oct. 10, Falmouth, Maine
All ’08 unless noted, left to right: Tom
Knowlton ’81, Bill Haylon ’81, Jodi Gajadar,
Blake Wilkes ’81, Gibson (Rymar) Wilkes ’82,
Walker Matthews, Allie Wilkes, Robert
Wilkes ’55, Sunmi Yang, Tosin Adeyanju,
Christina Rabadan, Terry Tamm, Amber
LaFountain ’09, Michael Marchinetti ’10
33
34
35
36
W e d di ng
A l bu m
All dates 2009 unless noted
1953
1990
2001
Robert H. Shorb & Margot
Semler, Oct. 17
William P. Hong & Camilla
Nestor, Sept. 6
1961
1992
W. Barrett Dower & MarieClaude Moure, June 20
Lora J. Verkouille & Michael
Gibbens, June 20
1962
1993
John K. Moynahan & Patricia
F. Victor, Dec. 22
Alix Hyde & Bill Barrale,
Dec. 6, 2008
Angela A. Carcia & Thomas
Baeumler, Aug. 29
Liana Jones Thompson &
Samuel R. Knight, May 23
Graham Pingree & Sarah
Myers, July 18
Melissa Griffin & Keith
Boccaci, Oct. 17
Rebecca Linn Hinyard & John
Neumann, Nov. 7
Valerie E.S. Lothian & Alton
M. Campbell, Dec. 19
1964
John H. Foster & Stephanie
Taft Potter, Sept. 26
1995
Michael P. Goodbody &
Darcy Duval, Oct. 10
Lara J. Cooper & William
George Edwards, June 13
Priscilla W. Carr & Jay M.
Stewart, June 13
Kimberly K. Peterson &
Cameron M. Ashby, Sept. 10
Emily Sterne & Michi
Schebesta, Oct. 3
Harrell Smith & Nicole
Amico, Oct. 10
1972
1998
Casimir Groblewski & Teresa
M. Zabik, June 21
Tamara Jo Brown & Isaac M.
Neuhaus, Sept. 6
Laura E. Gaul & Walter C.
Breakell, Sept. 26
1966
Roger N. Ruckman & Sarah
Hall, April 18
1969
1975
William W. Rich & Donald C.
Schiermer, Sept. 5
1981
Stephen G. Colt & Elizabeth
A. Gore, Sept. 5
1985
Kelley G. Murphy & Sandra
Powers, Sept. 26
1986
Gina Martinez & Tu Ngoc
Nguyen, Oct. 3
1989
Maria Teresa Tejada & Patrick
Tournoy, Sept. 19
1999
Devin J. Redmond &
Katherine Redmond, June 13
Emily S. Palmer & Ryan C.
Janz, Aug. 8
Eric J. Soskin & Miran Seo,
Oct. 17
2000
Jonathan D. Garcia &
Elizabeth Chun Hye Lee ’01,
March 28
Kate Geier & Steve Shultz,
June 27
Kristy Grippi & Levi Litman,
Aug. 8
Andrew F. Singer & Corey
Morris, Aug. 29
Randall Lee Lindquist & Lisa
Freude, August 2009
Andy (Chiu) Cho & Jovana
Skoro, Oct. 9
2002
William H. Davidson & Blaire
Eby, April 18
Danielle Torin & Nick
Lafave ’03, Aug. 15
2003
Graeme C. Sanderson &
Elizabeth Ann Baker, March 28
David James Morris &
Deanne Moyer, May 2
Tina Howe & Brian Clites,
June 27
Abigail L. Davidson &
Michael Tadenev, July 18
Jennifer L. Barone & Aleks
Jakulin, July 19
Katherine Anne Gortz & Ruben
Munoz Palomino, July 25
Kristin Hunter-Thomson &
Malin L. Pinsky, Aug. 8
Brigitte Del Carmen Teissedre
& Lucien Patterson, Aug. 23
Justin O. Reliford & Sabrina
Lee Schwager ’04, Sept. 5
Jason A. Porcelli & Jennifer
Tramontozzi, Sept. 26
Lindi von Mutius & Chris
Sawyer, Oct. 10
Matthew Carrington Swan
& Laura A. Zuckerwise ’04,
Oct. 11
Christopher Kenji Yamamoto
& Caitlin Anne McGauley,
Dec. 5
2004
Bryan E. Harmon & Soojin
Ahn, May 23
Aaron D. Magid & Sage F.
Briscoe, June 28
Matt Hoffman & Caitlin
Connolly, July 11
Devin Gerard Fitzgibbons &
Elizabeth C. Potter ’05, July 25
W e d di ng
A l bu m
Hannah Elizabeth Good &
Erin Garrow, Aug. 1
Elizabeth Carole Westly &
John Daniel Arendshorst,
Aug. 2
2005
Michael Silverstein & Jessica
Kaylor Phillips ’07, May 30
b i rths
&
Lydia Romano & Matthew F.
Barhight, June 20
Jonathan Siff & Jennifer
Petroski, June 20
Natalie Bullock Geier & Matt
Cohen, July 18
Jason B. Epstein & Cecily
Leah Lowenthal ’06, July 18
Elizabeth Ohaus Flint &
Anders Engle, Aug. 8
a d o p ti o ns
1989
Remi Soleil May to Peter J.
May, Aug. 14
Alexander John Fuller to
Anthony E. Fuller, March 17
1980
1990
Luke Christian Pingan Straka
to Andrew B. & Bonnie
(Foster) Straka ’81, May 1,
2005; adopted Feb. 9
Elisabeth Deleman Weber to
Richard J. Weber, May 7
John Robert Santry to Robert
T. Santry, Dec. 6, 2008
Lila Jane Carpenter to Ellen K.
Hazen, Jan. 24
Richard Magnuson Romans to
John A. & Sarah (Magnuson)
Romans, April 9
Dylan Oelkers to Eric Kenneth
Oelkers, May 20
1985
1991
Caden James Willey to Stephen
Charles Willey, May 19
James Theodore Dauer to
Lynn M. Huddon, March 2
Margot Fiona La Porte to
Michael La Porte, Aug. 18
Lucie Johnson Kerf to Hilary
K. Johnson, Oct. 9
Geneva Marie Bernadel to Jill
E. Charles, Oct. 13
Reese Elizabeth Morgan to
Thomas W. Morgan, Dec. 20
1986
Julian Aloysius Wagner to
David L. Wagner, Sept. 25
1987
Mariana Madrigal Schafer to
John R. Schafer, April 17
Phoebe Rose Walmsley
Spallone to James F. Spallone,
Oct. 8
1988
Samuel Thomas Greer to
David M. Greer, Aug. 10
Wynne Sykes Staley to Stuart
Waugh Staley, Jan. 7, 2010
2006
Megan McCann & Matthew
Hsieh, Aug. 8
Ellen Crocker & Travis
Vachon, Aug. 15
1979
1983
Katie Davisson & Gregory
Dolbec, Sept. 5
1992
Juliette Yeh Hoon Alvarez to
Eleanor Rhee, Dec. 26, 2008
Lucy Bryarly Flynn to
Katherine Lee Flynn, May 11
Parker Shear Toohey to Kristin
Davenport Toohey, May 28
Cleo Dahlia Houston to Kerr
N. Houston, June 4
Laine Alexandra Berkowitz to
Bethany L. McLean, June 22
Olive Hedeman Lovvik to
Holly Hedeman Lovvik, July 10
Luke Owen MacKay Weldon
to Cherie (Macauley) Weldon,
Sept. 3
Josephine Davis Clifford to
Shannon E. Morse, Sept. 14
Lauren Elizabeth Verkouille
Gibbens to Lora J. Verkouille,
Dec. 3
1993
Olivia Phillips Tavarez to
Holly L. Phillips,
Dec. 22, 2008
Raymond Gambold Schemm
to Paul C. Schemm, March 30
Isabella Claire Doherty to
Amy Desmond Lamberti,
April 22
Elizabeth Emerson Pedraza to
Jennifer Hamilton McQuaid,
Sept. 15
Richard Henry Wall to Carin
L. DeMayo-Wall, Oct. 27
1994
Sadie Larson Bilik to David B.
& Kari (Larsen) Bilik, Sept. 21
Renn Peabody to Bo Peabody,
Nov. 13
Callum James Gemelli to Nick
Gemelli, Nov. 27
1995
Audrey Frances Kollett to
Christopher & Laura (Smith)
Kollett ’96, Jan. 17
Padraig Sachin Nayak to Kelli
(McDermott) Nayak, Feb. 2
Foster William Woodberry to
Christine Hamel Woodberry,
May 22
Harriet Joon Bittinger to
Owen L. Bittinger, June 8
Ellie Zwiebel to Andrew H.
Zwiebel, July 26
Michaela Fletcher to Matthew
V. Fletcher, July 2009
Alexa Ann Humrichouse to
Paula Peters, Oct. 5
Caitlin Edith Tabit to Eddy &
Stephanie Hobbs Tabit, Nov. 4
1996
Zoe Sunshine Poret to Todd
Poret, Sept. 13
Vivian Paige Matuch to
Andrew M. Matuch & Jessica
S. Reardon ’97, Sept. 26
Althea Elizabeth Bernstein
to Tonia R. Lopez-Fresquet,
Dec. 6
1997
Bridget Catherine Classen to
Colleen (Campbell) & Greg
Classen ’98, Jan. 9
Victor Elliott Pesin to Isaac M.
& Mariana Santiesteban Pesin,
Jan. 18
Lauren Elise Imohiosen to
Charles S. Imohiosen, March 9
Yedidyah Tov Levine to
Jonathan D. Levine, March 17
John Zaia Sinclair to Peter H.
Sinclair, April 1
George Elson Philpott to
Carrie Elson Philpott, May 26
Callum John McCaffrey to Julia
(Finch) McCaffrey, July 19
Rohan Dev Parsh to Mandira
Mehra, Aug. 18
Sofia Lee O’Sullivan to Roan J.
O’Sullivan, Sept. 21
Rosalind Eva Chin to Stacey
(Rutledge) Chin, Dec. 28
1998
Jasper Boardman Smith to
Tristan Smith & Kate Wearn,
Jan. 29
Ian Matan Borden to Adam
Borden, Feb. 19
Maya Darowish to Mike
Darowish, March 30
Phoebe Caroline Smith to Elise
London, April 19
Leila Solika Untereker to Jed
Untereker, May 7
Ronan Lucca Borus to Justin
& Tobey (Adler) Borus ’00,
May 13
Caroline Eva Jeffers to
Matthew Sheldon Jeffers,
Aug. 10
Elijah Gelling Wittenmyer to
Robert Andrew Wittenmyer,
Sept. 17
Reed Morris to Whitten M.
& Mimi Bartow Morris ’99,
Sept. 20
Charlotte Belle Fiorino to
Elizabeth Kajunski Fiorino,
Oct. 1
John Thomas Harman to Mac
& Stephanie Min Harman,
Oct. 7
Oliver Quinn Saltiel to David
H. Saltiel, Nov. 5
Natalie Beatriz Smith to Ana
Aguilar & Taylor C.
Smith ’99, Oct. 31
1999
John James & Lily-Anne Rose
Servidea to John Servidea,
Feb. 27
Lachlan Jason Kelleher to
Robin Paul Kelleher, March 26
Jan Kelechi Bruess to Ifeoma
M.F. Okwuje, April 12
Lyla Olivia Redding to
Katherine Westbrook Redding,
May 11
Julianna August Rodriquez
to Christopher R. Rodriguez,
June 17
Maya Verdy Eisenman to Ian
Eisenman, Sept. 27
Clara Lee Roland to Nathaniel
C. & Samantha Kim
Roland ’01, Oct. 2
Keghan Joseph Nolan Joyce
to Katherine Nolan Joyce,
Oct. 11
Samuel Elliott Perry to Tyler
Lewis Perry, Oct. 21
William Irving Kravis to
Jonathan I. & Laura Jacobs
Kravis, Oct. 31
Wyatt Miles Orraca-Cecil to
Dede Orraca-Cecil, Nov. 2
Dillon Grace Hall to Peter J.
Hall & Kate Simon ’00,
Nov. 16
Charlotte Rush Soslow to
Jonathan H. Soslow, Nov. 16
Joan Claire Michel to Sylvia
Englund Michel, Nov. 24
Camille Seraphin Harwell to
Jonathan P. Harwell, Dec. 8
Addison Jane Ray to Anazette
(Williams) Ray, Jan. 9, 2010
2000
Malika Iza Anthes to George
Anthes & Aida Avdic, Jan. 18
Lucy Viles Kinnell to Brendan
M. & Katie (Fogg) Kinnell,
Feb. 5
Amelia Cate Ney to Erin
(Morrissette) Ney, Feb. 17
Isabel Anne Jackson to
Annekathrin (Oetjen) Jackson,
Feb. 23
Dalia Carmen Katz to
Benjamin Samuel Katz, Feb. 25
Sebastian Alexander Wicklund
to Janine Ivanova & David W.
Wicklund Jr., April 3
Jackson Kane Whitbeck to
Gabriella Thiele & Carl G.
Whitbeck III, June 16
Tyson Jin Senseney to Haruko
(Takeuchi) Senseney, July 2
Hazel Hatton McClelland to
Geordie G. & Lindsay Hatton
McClelland ’00, July 7
Liora Jamie Applebaum to
Lauren (Siegel) & Aaron M.
Applebaum ’01, Aug. 7
2001
Aoife Pearl O’Connor to Amy
Lynn (Balas) O’Connor, Feb. 6
Maxwell Douglass Meiklejohn
to Duncan A. Meiklejohn,
May 30
Elliot August Azariah Briggs to
Jonathan B. & Phebe Drinker
Briggs, July 6
Caroline Ross Rogers to Todd
T. Rogers, Aug. 23
Lucy Virginia Daoust to
Mark McKenna & Elizabeth
Dubinsky Daoust ’02, Nov. 6
Kellen James Kurlinski to
Ryan E. & Maria Drinane
Kurlinski ’02, Nov. 6
Hannah Spring Levine to
Alana Belfield Levine, Dec. 12
b i rths
&
a d o p ti o ns
2002
2003
2004
Amelia Kidd to Jarod C. Kidd
& Violeta Archilla ’04,
Oct. 1, 2008
Noah Zhong-Xing Lam to
Noelle Ying Ho, June 23
Kate & Tyler Vazquez to Lisa
(Haney) Vazquez, June 23
Anna Grace Melton to Grace
(Smith) & Jonathan T.
Melton ’05, June 23
Carmel Hadar Kozer to
Davida Kutscher, July 19
Jason Clarke Sacks to William
J. Sacks, Sept. 10
Ian Charles Kemper Beal
to Angus L.H. & Kimmie
(Kemper) Beal, Oct. 31
OBITU A RIES
1936
BERTRAM N. LINDER
of New York, N.Y., Oct.
7. Linder was a breeder
of thoroughbred horses at
his Hickory Hill Farm in
Dalton, Pa. At Williams
he belonged to the ski
and tennis teams, Outing
Club, the Record and Phi
Beta Kappa. He was a U.S.
Army first lieutenant (194346), receiving five Battle
Stars, a Bronze Star Medal,
a Presidential Citation
and a Purple Heart, and
he was nominated to the
French Legion of Honor by
President Jacques Chirac
(2006), among other
awards. Among his civic
and professional activities,
he was president of the
Jewish Federation, the
Salvation Army Advisory
Board and United Way
of Lackawanna County
JAMES H. LAUBACH
JR. of Brattleboro, Vt.,
Sept. 24. Laubach was
an accountant and owner
of Brattleboro Business
Services. Previously he
was treasurer of Estey
Organ and, before
that, he worked for
Spencer Kennedy Lab
in Cambridge, Mass. At
Williams he belonged to
the band, tennis team and
Theta Delta Chi and was
manager of the swim team.
He received a bachelor’s
in business administration
from MIT (1939). He was
a U.S. Navy lieutenant
commander (WWII).
Among his civic activities,
he was a member of
the Library Trustee
Association of Vermont,
the N.H. Library Council,
the New England Library
Association and the
American Library Trustee
Association as well as
director of the Brattleboro
Chamber of Commerce. As
a Williams alumnus he was
class VP and president,
chairman of his class’s 55th
and 65th reunions and a
member of the Ephraim
Williams Society. It is
unknown whether he has
any survivors.
LINDER
2005
John Alexander Harris to John
Harris, Feb. 22
and was a trustee of
Keystone College and
the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations.
He belonged to the
Kentucky Thoroughbred
Association, Thoroughbred
Owners & Breeders
Association of New York
and Thoroughbred Club
of America. He received
several community service
awards, including a
citizenship award from the
AFL-CIO (1962). Among
his survivors are his wife
Mary Ellen and a daughter.
1938
HAMILTON HERMAN
of New Canaan, Conn.,
Nov. 24. Herman served
as special assistant to
the president of MIT
before a career with AMF
and American Can Co.,
where he was senior VP
of development. He later
served as assistant secretary
of science and technology
for the U.S. Department
of Transportation
during President Ford’s
administration. At Williams
he belonged to the football
and track teams and Delta
Kappa Epsilon. He received
a bachelor’s and master’s
in aeronautical engineering
from MIT (1943). He
served as an aeronautical
engineer with Douglas
Aircraft (WWII). Among
Martha, a daughter, two
grandchildren and nephew
Mitchell A. Baker ’04.
DAVID W. SWETLAND
of Alna, Maine, Sept. 11.
Swetland was owner of
Park Investment Co. At
Phi Gamma Delta. He was
a U.S. Army Air Force
captain (1942-46). Among
his professional and civic
activities, he was a director
of Colonial Insurance Co.
and Midwest Bank &
Trust Co. and a trustee of
Western Reserve Academy,
The Holden Arboretum,
Cleveland Zoological
Society, the Ohio Chapter
of the Nature Conservancy,
Cleveland Audubon Society,
Shaker Lakes Nature
Center, Cleveland Museum
of Natural History and the
Rachel Carson Council.
As a Williams alumnus he
was class co-agent and a
member of his class’s 50th
reunion committee and the
Ephraim Williams Society.
Among his survivors are
three children, including
David S. Swetland ’71,
four stepchildren and
granddaughter Morgan T.
Anderson ’07.
1939
RICHMOND T. JONES
of Palmetto, Fla., Dec. 1.
Jones worked in sales in
the paper and packaging
industry. He spent a year
at Williams and belonged
to the baseball and swim
teams and Psi Upsilon. He
was a U.S. Army Air Corps
captain (1942-46) and
served with the Air Force
Reserve until 1957. Among
Mildred, four sons, three
stepchildren and several
grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
DANIEL E. WHITELEY
of York, Pa., Sept. 18.
Whiteley was research
director at Dentists’ Supply
Co. and then owner/
operator of Thomas Coffee
Inc. He later worked in
sales at Carew Steel Corp.,
Eisenhart & B. William
Real Estate Inc. and Bennett
Williams Inc. At Williams
he belonged to the diving
team, glee club, Gul, Purple
Cow and Psi Upsilon. He
was a U.S. Marine Corps
Reserve captain (1942-46).
Among his civic activities
he was chair of the March
of Dimes, president of
the York Family Service
Bureau and director of the
YMCA and the United
Way. Among his survivors
are four children, seven
grandchildren, one greatgrandson, cousins John
O. Tomb ’40 and Bud
Edwards ’45 and niece
Molly Q. Eberle ’73.
1940
JOHN C. ARMSTRONG
of Shelburne, Vt., Nov. 4.
Armstrong was president
of George S. Armstrong
Co. in NYC. Previously he
was a chemical engineer
with E.I. duPont de
Nemours. At Williams
he was a junior advisor
and belonged to Outing
Club, College Council, the
Record, Gargoyle Society,
Zeta Psi and the sailing, ice
hockey and lacrosse teams
and was manager of the
football team. He received
a bachelor’s in chemical
engineering from New
York University (1942).
He was treasurer of the
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
and for NYU was president
of the alumni federation,
an alumni trustee and
chairman of the School of
Engineering and Science
Alumni Capital Campaign.
He was an arbitrator for
the American Arbitration
Association and a member
of several professional
societies, including the
American Institution of
Chemical Engineering. As
a class agent, Alumni Fund
vice chair and member
of the Fairfield regional
special gifts committee,
the Executive Committee
of the Society of Alumni,
the Ephraim Williams
Society and the Williams
Club. Among his survivors
are three daughters,
three stepdaughters, nine
grandchildren, two greatgrandsons and cousin H.
Crane Miller ’57.
ROBERT DIKE BLAIR of
Middlebury, Vt., Oct. 31.
Blair worked for Doubleday
Books for four years before
founding Vermont Book
Shop Inc., which he ran
for nearly 45 years. At
Williams he was editor of
Purple Cow and belonged
to Delta Upsilon. He served
in the U.S. Army (1941-45).
He was a director, secretary
and VP of the American
Booksellers’ Association
and served on the boards
of local organizations
including Porter Hospital,
Cornwall School and the
Blair Strip Steel Co., of
which he was also VP.
Among his survivors are his
wife Reba, three daughters
and four grandchildren.
armstrong
OBITU A RIES
THEODORE F.
HOFFMAN of
Peterborough, N.H., Nov.
25. Hoffman was an agent
with Fire & Casualty
Insurance before becoming
a chemistry and physics
teacher at Pine Manor
College, Brooks School
and, for 15 years, Brookline
(Mass.) High School, where
he was head of the science
department. At Williams
he belonged to Purple Key
and was glee club associate
manager and golf team
manager. He was a U.S. Air
Force weather forecasting
officer (1942-46). He
received a master’s in
education (1966) and a PhD
in education (1973), both
from Boston University.
He was a member of the
Peterborough, N.H., school
board. As a Williams
alumnus he was a class
agent and member of
his class’s 50th Reunion
Fund Committee and the
wife Polly, three daughters,
three stepsons and several
grandchildren.
AUBREY J. PECK JR. of
Charleston, W.Va., Oct.
11. Peck was president and
general manager of ladies’
clothing store Peck’s Inc.
for more than 40 years. He
later was a self-employed
artist, exhibiting in
Charleston and surrounding
areas. At Williams he
belonged to Delta Phi. He
was a U.S. Navy courier
(1942-45). He was board
president of the YMCA. As
president of the Treasure
Coast association and
treasurer and president of
the Vero Beach association.
his wife June, two sons, 11
grandchildren and cousin
Charles W. Mahoney ’01.
1941
ERIC D. DODGE of
Clarks Summit, Pa., Oct.
24. Dodge was chief
economist with TippettsAbbett-McCarthy-Stratton
for more than 30 years.
Previously he was a
transportation analyst
with the Port of New York
Authority and American
Overseas Airlines. At
Williams he belonged
to the squash, tennis
and wrestling teams and
Delta Phi. He was a U.S.
Army Air Force second
lieutenant (1942-45). He
was an avid sailor and
tennis player. Among his
survivors are two children,
four grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
1942
RALPH W. BALL of St.
George, Utah, Oct. 11.
Ball was a Colorado-based
private attorney in the
oil and gas industry. At
the choir, Outing Club,
Purple Key, glee club,
Kappa Alpha and the ski,
soccer and lacrosse teams.
He served in the U.S. Army
87th Signal Corps (WWII).
He received a law degree
from University of Denver
(1948). He belonged to the
Wyoming and Colorado
bar associations. He was
an avid hiker, climbing
all 54 Colorado 14ers as
well as the Matterhorn.
As a Williams alumnus
he was an admission
representative. Among
Marilyn, four children,
four stepchildren, five
grandchildren, nine
stepgrandchildren and two
great-stepgrandchildren.
JOSEPH W. COCHRAN
III of Greenbrae, Calif.,
Oct. 18. Cochran was
president of Cochran
Airport Systems, designer
and manufacturer of
airline ground support
equipment, and previously
Cochran Equipment
Co., which designed and
built agricultural packing
machines. At Williams
he was a junior advisor,
basketball manager, soccer
captain and member of the
choir, glee club, Gargoyle
Society, Purple Key and
Delta Kappa Epsilon. He
was a U.S. Marine Corps
Reserve captain (1942-46).
He was a board member of
St. Luke’s Hospital and the
York School in Monterey.
belonged to the Williams
are two daughters
J. CRAIG HUFF JR. of
Cambridge, Mass., Oct.
20. Huff was president and
chairman of Hayes Pump
Inc. Previously he was
president of Draper Corp.
and Fenn Manufacturing
Corp. At Williams he was a
junior advisor and squash
team assistant manager
and belonged to Purple
Key, Gul, Thompson
Concert Committee,
WCA and Delta Psi. He
was a U.S. Navy Reserve
lieutenant (1942-45) and
earned five Battle Stars.
He was a board member
of Concord Natural Gas
Co., Energy North, Pitney
Bowes and The Colonial
Group of Mutual Funds.
As a Williams alumnus
he was class gift planning
chair, 50th reunion chair,
secretary and associate
agent, he belonged to the
Ephraim Williams Society
and the Williams Club, and
he received the Joseph’s
Coat Award (2007).
four children and four
grandchildren.
THOMAS H. REYNOLDS
of Newcastle, Maine,
Sept. 22. Reynolds was
president of Bates College
and University of New
England. Previously he
was a history professor,
department head and dean
at Middlebury. At Williams
he belonged to the soccer
and lacrosse teams and
the band, choir, Octet and
Delta Psi. He was a U.S.
Army captain (1942-46),
earning a Bronze Star and
French Croix de Guerre
with Silver Star, and a
U.S. Army Reserve captain
(1946-67). He received a
master’s (1947) and PhD
(1953) in history, both
from Columbia. He was
a director of the Public
Broadcasting Service
and trustee and board
chairman of WCBB-TV
in Lewiston, a director of
the National Association
of Independent Colleges
and Universities, a director
and president of the New
England Colleges Fund,
president of the Maine
Independent Colleges
Association and chair of
the Governor’s Special
Commission on the Status
of Education in Maine. He
received honorary Doctors
of Laws from University
of Maine (1968), Colby
(1969), Bowdoin (1969)
and Williams (1978) and
an honorary Doctor of
Humane Letters from
Middlebury (1992). Among
Mary and three children.
DAVID B. SMITH of
Southport, Conn., Nov. 3.
Smith was a stockbroker
for more than 60 years,
serving as senior VP of
Advest Inc., to which he
sold his company Carreau,
Smith Inc. He later was a
financial adviser at A.G.
Edwards & Sons. He was
a U.S. Navy lieutenant
commander (1940-45),
receiving a Bronze Star
Medal, Purple Heart and
several Battle Stars. Among
his civic and professional
activities he was director
and campaign chairman
of Bridgeport United Way,
president and trustee of
the YMCA, treasurer of
Fairfield Historical Society,
director of Bridgeport Gas
Co. and trustee of People’s
Savings Bank. Among
Nancy, three children, nine
grandchildren, four greatgrandchildren and nephew
Putnam C. Smith ’73.
Smith
Reynolds
GEORGE
WORTHINGTON IV of
Charlottesville, Va., Aug.
29. Worthington had a
varied career that included
work for the National Trust
for Historic Preservation
in DC. He attended
Williams for two years and
belonged to Delta Kappa
Epsilon. He served in the
U.S. Navy (WWII). He
graduated from University
of Virginia (1946). Among
Merrilyn, a son, three
stepchildren and two
stepgrandchildren.
1943
EDWARD C. BROWN
JR. of Sarasota, Fla., Oct.
12. Brown was president
of National City Bank of
Minneapolis. At Williams
he was class president and
a junior advisor, chairman
of the Honor System
Committee and member of
Gargoyle Society, Gul, the
ice hockey team, the sailing
club and Delta Kappa
Epsilon. He was a U.S.
Navy lieutenant (WWII).
He was a director of Juno
Tool Corp., L’il General
Store Inc. and Minnesota
Toro Inc., board VP of
Water Associates Inc. and
board president of Boca
Grande Health Clinic
Inc. He was treasurer and
finance committee chairman
of the Hennepin County
Committee. As a Williams
alumnus he belonged to the
his wife Jinx, five children,
three stepchildren, 10
grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren and cousin
James P. Brown ’51.
JOHN F. PLACE of Rye
Brook, N.Y., Sept. 18. Place
was a real-estate appraiser,
most recently with J.T.
Henningsen. Previously
he was a municipal bonds
salesman and VP at
Northern Trust Co. He
was a U.S. Navy aviator
(WWII) and served in the
Navy Reserve, retiring as
commander in 1981. At
Outing Club and Kappa
Alpha and was ski team
manager. He was an
avid pilot and served on
the Westchester County
Airport Advisory Board.
He was a director of the
OBITU A RIES
YMCA. As a Williams
alumnus he belonged to
the Williams Club. Among
Ella, four children, nine
grandchildren and four
of Lafayette College and
member of the board of
governors of Ford’s Theater
Society in DC. Among
Elaine, five children, 15
grandchildren and five
JOHN L. ROWBOTHAM
of Sugar Hill, N.H., Nov.
23. Rowbotham was
clinical professor of surgery
at Harvard Medical School,
specializing in diabetic
foot care and colorectal
surgery, and was affiliated
with Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center, Brigham
& Women’s Hospital, New
England Baptist Hospital
and Faulkner Hospital. At
Williams he was a junior
advisor and belonged to
the ski team, Cap & Bells,
choir, Outing Club, Kappa
Alpha and Phi Beta Kappa.
He received a medical
degree in surgery from
Harvard (1946). He was a
U.S. Army Medical Corps
captain (1953-54), receiving
a Bronze Star Medal.
He belonged to many
professional organizations,
including the Royal Society
of Medicine, the American
College of Surgeons and
the Boston Surgical Society.
Among his survivors
are a daughter, three
grandchildren and nephew
John A. Lindquist III ’80.
1944
RALPH E. WARD JR.
of Darien, Conn., Oct.
7. Ward was president,
chairman and CEO of
Cheesbrough-Pond’s Inc.
He attended Williams and
belonged to Kappa Alpha.
He was a U.S. Army Air
Force captain (WWII).
He received an honorary
Doctor of Laws from
Lafayette College. Among
his professional activities he
was a director of Stauffer
Chemical and The Chase
Manhattan Corp., trustee
belonged to the choir and
Phi Delta Theta. He served
in the U.S. Navy (WWII).
wife Mary, three children,
seven grandchildren and a
great granddaughter.
1947
ward
1946
DANIEL DEWEY JR.
of Essex, Conn., Sept.
7. Dewey was customer
service manager of Rogers
Corp. He spent a year at
Williams and belonged to
Kappa Alpha. He served
with the U.S. Merchant
Marine (1943) and was
a U.S. Army second
lieutenant (1944-47).
Among his survivors
are five children, four
grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren, brother
Joseph E. Dewey ’52,
cousins Francis H. Dewey
3rd ’41, John C. Dewey III
’43, Henry B. Dewey ’48
and Charles N. Dewey Jr.
’57 and nephew Stephen H.
Dewey ’73.
JOHN VALIANT of
Sellersville, Pa., Nov. 15.
Valiant worked in the
pharmaceutical industry,
including as new product
manager at William H.
Rorer Inc., and later in real
estate with Attitash Realty
and Prudential Joy Tarbell
Realty. At Williams he
was a junior advisor and
H.C. ROBBINS LANDON
of Vienna, Austria,
Nov. 20. Landon was a
musicologist known for his
work on late 18th-century
Viennese composers. He
was John Bird Professor of
Music at the University of
Wales-Cardiff and also held
appointments at Queens
College and University
of California, Davis. He
spent a year at Williams
and graduated from Boston
University (1947). He was
instrumental in founding
the Haydn Society in
1949. He received several
honorary degrees, including
from Boston University,
Queen’s University and the
New England Conservatory.
Among his books are
the five-volume Haydn:
Chronicle and Works
(1976-80) and 1791:
Mozart’s Last Year (1988).
He received the Ernst von
Siemens Music Prize (1991).
It is unknown whether he
has any survivors.
ALAN D. MITCHELL of
Alameda, Calif., Nov. 17.
Mitchell was a privatepractice pediatrician and
president of the medical
staff of Alameda Hospital
and Children’s Hospital.
At Williams he belonged
to the baseball and
basketball teams. He served
in the U.S. Navy (194346) and U.S. Air Force
(1950-53). He received
a medical degree from
Boston University (1950).
Among his professional
and civic activities he
founded Alameda Meals
on Wheels and the
Cystic Fibrosis Clinic
at Children’s Hospital
in Oakland and was a
member of the Alameda
library and hospital
boards. He received the
Bronze Bambino Award
from Children’s Hospital
(1978) and was an Alameda
County Community
Hero (2004). Among his
survivors are his wife
Dorothy, three sons and
eight grandchildren.
1948
RAY S. KELLEY JR. of
New Smyrna Beach, Fla.,
Nov. 10. Kelley was VP of
Chase World Information
Group and, later, president
of TSI Inc. At Williams he
belonged to Psi Upsilon. He
was a U.S. Navy lieutenant
(1943-46). He received a
master’s in economics from
Johns Hopkins (1949)
and a PhD in economics
from Vanderbilt University
(1955). He belonged
to several professional
organizations, including
the American Economic
Association and Society for
International Development.
partner Doris Mates, four
children, two stepsons, five
grandchildren and three
1949
EUGENE L. GEIER of
Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 23.
Geier was president and
board chairman of Security
Rug Co. and previously
president of Carbon Web
Corp. At Williams he was a
junior advisor and belonged
to Gargoyle Society,
disciplinary committee,
Undergraduate Council, the
soccer team and Zeta Psi.
He served in the U.S. Army
(WWII). He was member of
the Hamilton County Board
of Mental Retardation
and Developmental
Disabilities. As a Williams
alumnus he was admission
representative, regional
president, class agent,
chairman of the CincinnatiDayton regional special
gifts committee and a
member of the Executive
Committee for the Society
of Alumni and the Ephraim
Williams Society. Among
his survivors are his
companion Elizabeth Stone,
four children, including
Rodney P. Geier ’75,
nephews Philip O. Geier ’70
and Richard E. Geier ’75,
cousins Henry N. Flynt Jr.
’44, Gilbert G. McCurdy
’44, Gilbert K. McCurdy
’70 and William A. Flynt
’75 and granddaughter
Natalie Geier-Cohen ’05.
1950
STANLEY K. PEIRCE
JR. of Northbrook, Ill.,
Oct. 19. Peirce was an
investment banker and VP
of Blunt, Ellis & Loewi Inc.
At Williams he belonged to
Outing Club, WCFM and
Beta Theta Pi. He was a
U.S. Army private (195153). He worked with the
United Fund of Northbrook
and the Chicago Crusade
of Mercy and was a
member of the Bond Club
of Chicago. Among his
survivors are his wife Susie,
three daughters and six
grandchildren.
1952
GORDON C. CAMPBELL
of Lafayette Hill, Pa.,
Dec. 7. Campbell was a
VP at Provident National
Bank and previously a
management consultant
at Hay Associates. At
Williams he belonged to the
track team, Outing Club,
Gul and Kappa Alpha.
He was a U.S. Air Force
first lieutenant (1952-54).
He received a master’s in
business administration
from University of
Pennsylvania (1956).
Among his professional
and civic activities he was
director of E.J. Lavino
& Co., the Chestnut Hill
Division of the American
Heart Association and
the Retired and Senior
Volunteer Program of
Montgomery County,
and he was a trustee of
the Historical Society of
Montgomery County. As
a Williams alumnus he
belonged to the Ephraim
his survivors are his
wife Judy, two children,
including Gretchen
C. Seefried ’83, eight
grandchildren and nephews
Andrew S. Perrott ’90 and
Jeffrey H. Perrott ’88.
1953
RICHARD T. ANTOUN
of Vestal, N.Y., Dec. 4.
Antoun was anthropology
professor emeritus at
State University of New
York at Binghamton.
Previously he was an
anthropology professor
at Indiana University. At
the Record and Phi Beta
Kappa. He received a
master’s in international
relations from Johns
Hopkins (1955) and a
PhD in anthropology from
Harvard (1963). He was
the author of six books,
including Understanding
Fundamentalism: Christian,
Muslim and Jewish
Movements (2001). He was
president of the Middle
East Studies Association
and a visiting professor/
scholar at Manchester
University, the American
University of Beirut, the
University of Chicago and
Cairo University. Among
Rosalyn, son Nicholas T.
Antoun ’91, two stepsons
and four grandchildren.
OBITU A RIES
JEREMY GORDON of
Morristown, N.J., Oct. 8.
Gordon was an investment
manager, most recently
senior VP of J&W Seligman
& Co. At Williams he
belonged to the soccer team
and Zeta Psi. He was a U.S.
Navy lieutenant (1953-57).
He was finance chairman
and director of Schnell
Publishing Co. and board
member of the Short Hills
Club. He volunteered with
the Coronary Care Unit
at St. Barnabas Medical
Center in Livingston. As
a Williams alumnus he
belonged to the Central
N.J. regional special gifts
committee. Among his
survivors are his wife Sara
Jane, three children and six
grandchildren.
McLaughlin Municipal
Gallery in Oshawa and the
Radius Gallery in Pittsfield,
Mass., and founder
of the Ridgehaven Art
Institute of Cummington,
Mass., where he taught
beginning art students and
served as dean. Among
Willemke, six children,
11 grandchildren and five
1955
CHARLES T. MOREY of
Neustadt, Ontario, Jan.
10, 2010. Morey served
with the U.S. Air Force
Reserve (1945-46) before
entering Williams in 1946.
After a semester, he left
to attend classes at the
Art Students’ League of
New York, Cummington
School of the Arts, Black
Mountain College and
John Herron Art Institute.
Five years later he returned
to Williams and completed
his degree. He was an artist
and taught painting and
Asian art at Dartmouth
College before becoming
director of studio courses
in fine art at University
of Toronto. He then was
a visiting professor at
Amherst for a semester
before leaving to pursue
art full time. He had
shows in several Western
Massachusetts towns
as well as in Oshawa,
Ontario. He received a
master’s degree in fine
arts from University of
Georgia (1957). He was
co-founder of the Robert
J. BRAYTON REDECKER
of Washington, D.C., Oct.
8. Redecker was a foreign
service officer with the
U.S. Department of State
and later a consultant in
economic development
with assignments in
the Philippines, Egypt,
France, Morocco and East
Germany. At Williams he
was a member of WCFM
and Delta Phi. He served
in the U.S. Navy (195560). He received a master’s
in political science from
MIT (1971). He received
the Superior Honor Award
from the State Department
(1971, 1981 and 1988).
was a diplomat in residence
at the College. Among his
survivors are his wife Maria
and two children.
GEORGE E. WOODS
of River Forest, Ill., Oct.
17. Woods was a stock
broker and VP of Lehman
Brothers and then Dean
Witter Reynolds Inc. At
advisor and belonged
to the soccer, tennis and
squash teams, Gul and Phi
Delta Theta. He was a U.S.
Navy Reserve lieutenant,
junior grade (1955-58).
business administration
from Northwestern
(1959). He served on the
River Forest Park District
and was VP of the Oak
Park and River Forest
Community Chest. He
received a Man of the Year
Award from Rotary Club
(2002). As a Williams
alumnus he was an
admission representative,
coordinator of the Chicago
regional book awards and
Martha, three daughters
and eight grandchildren.
woods
1956
CHAPMAN CLARK
of Stamford, Conn.,
Sept. 5. Clark was an
investment banker for
45 years, including as a
senior manager or partner
with UBS Paine Webber,
Kidder Peabody & Co.,
Bache, Halsey Stuart Inc.
and Auerbach, Pollak
& Richardson Inc. He
later owned Chapman
Clark Associates. At
the baseball and football
teams, Outing Club, Gul
and Chi Psi. He received
a master’s in business
administration from New
York University (1965).
He was chairman of the
New York Stock Exchange
Marketing Committee
and the Securities Industry
Association’s Institutional
Committee. As a Williams
alumnus he was a class
agent and associate agent,
president, Westchester
County regional association
president, admission
representative and member
of the NYC regional
major gifts committee, his
class’s 50th reunion fund
committee, the Williams
Club and the Ephraim
his survivors are children
James F. Clark ’84 and
Elizabeth Robertson ’81,
five grandchildren and
cousin Warren Clark Jr. ’58.
H. GRANT CLARK JR.
of Boynton Beach, Fla.,
Nov. 23. Clark was a
commercial banker, most
recently senior VP at Bank
of America. He also held
positions at Merrill Lynch
and the Northern Trust
Co. At Williams he was
manager of the golf team
and belonged to the ice
hockey team, Purple Key,
Gul and Chi Psi. He was a
U.S. Air Force lieutenant
(1957-60). Among his civic
activities he was a director
of Max McGraw Wildlife
Foundation and trustee of
Evans Scholars Foundation.
was an associate class agent
and president, chairman of
the Chicago regional special
gifts committee, member
of his class’s 50th reunion
fund committee, admission
representative and a
his survivors is his wife
Mary.
DAVID H. DICKINSON
of Green Brook, N.J.,
Oct. 23. Dickinson was
VP of First National
State Bank of New Jersey.
He was chief financial
officer, tax collector and
committeeman for the
Township of Green Brook
and a financial adviser
for several local school
districts. At Williams
he belonged to Outing
Club, WCFM and Delta
Phi. He was a N.J.
Army National Guard
lieutenant (1957-64). As a
Williams alumnus he was
an associate class agent,
Northern New Jersey
alumni association regional
secretary and a member
of the Ephraim Williams
Society. Among his
survivors are two siblings
and several nieces and
nephews.
PETER ZENTAY of St.
Louis, Mo., Sept. 15.
Zentay was president
of Zentay Marketing
Resources Co. Previously
he held positions with the
Associated Credit Bureaus
Inc. and the Better Business
Bureau of Greater St. Louis.
At Williams he belonged
to the hockey team and Psi
Upsilon. He served in the
U.S. Army Signal Corps
(1956-58). He was active
with the St. Louis United
Fund and Junior Chamber
of Commerce. Among his
survivors are two children
and two grandchildren.
1958
DAVID H. LOWER of
Ellwood City, Pa., Nov.
12. Lower worked for
New Bethlehem Tile Co.
and later Minteq Inc.
With his wife he co-owned
Quad L. Mercantile. At
Zeta Psi. He received an
engineering degree from
Alfred University. He was
a missionary, working
in Sudan and Mexico,
the Mercer County
Prison, Meals on Wheels,
Carpenter’s Project and
the Big House. Among his
survivors are four children
and three grandchildren.
1959
LEONARD GREY of
Princeton, N.J., Aug. 27.
Grey was a trusts and
estates lawyer and taught
political philosophy at
Queens College. He later
was managing editor of
Interpretation: A Journal
of Political Philosophy. At
advisor and belonged to
College Council, Gargoyle
Society, Purple Key,
WCFM, Delta Phi and Phi
Beta Kappa. He received
a law degree from Yale
(1962). He belonged to
the Williams Club. Among
his survivors is his wife
Marianne.
1960
NEWELL E. BISHOP
of North Stonington,
Conn., Sept. 6. Bishop
was pastor of Evangelical
Congregational Church of
Charlestown, N.H., for 11
years and then of North
Stonington Congregational
Church for 25 years. At
Cap & Bells, glee club and
Zeta Psi and was choir
manager. He received a
Bachelor of Divinity from
Yale (1963). He was a
member of the boards of
education in Charlestown
and North Stonington
and was chaplain of the
North Stonington Fire
Department. He was a
member of the Eastern
Connecticut Symphony
Chorus and led summer
music conferences at United
Church of Christ camps
in New Hampshire and
Connecticut. Among his
survivors are his wife Seya,
two children and nephew
Eugene S. Brown ’89.
1961
MICHAEL O. FRAZER of
Battle Creek, Mich., Nov.
12. Frazer was an attorney
with Mustard, Claggett &
Everett and later in private
practice. At Williams he
belonged to the rugby
team. He received a law
OBITU A RIES
degree from University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor
(1964). He was a member of
the State Bar of Michigan,
treasurer of Calhoun
County Bar Association,
special investigator and
arbitrator for the Michigan
Attorney Grievance
Commission and director
of Battle Creek Art Center,
Battle Creek Gas Co. and
Semco Energy Inc. Among
Floice, four children and
eight grandchildren.
1969
MATT B. JONES JR. of
Westborough, Mass., Nov.
29. Jones was an actuary
and VP of group operations
for John Hancock Mutual
Life Insurance Co. At
Phi Sigma Kappa. He was
a member of the Society of
Actuaries and the American
Academy of Actuaries.
wife Polly, three children,
six grandchildren and niece
Kate Pugh ’87.
1963
ROBERT S. GLOVER III
of Princeton, N.J., June
14. Glover taught at West
Windsor-Plainsboro High
School North for 16 years.
Previously he was marketing
director with Borg Textiles
and was sales and marketing
director with Rusty Jones. At
Williams he was basketball
team manager and belonged
to Phi Gamma Delta.
business administration from
New York University (1969)
and master’s degrees in
education (1993) and history
(2003), both from RutgersNewark. As a Williams
alumnus he was an associate
class agent and member of
his class’s 25th reunion fund
committee and the Williams
are his wife Catherine and
son Smith H. Glover ’96.
THOMAS C. HOWELL
of Nashville, Tenn., Nov.
10. Howell founded the
furniture manufacturing
company Tennessee
Hardwood Co. He later
was president of Woodline
Sales Co. and worked as a
consultant. At Williams he
belonged to Outing Club
and Alpha Delta Phi. He
was a U.S. Navy lieutenant
(1970-72). He received
a master’s in business
administration from
Stanford (1974). Among
Kathy and stepson John C.
Weil ’02.
1973
D. ASHLEY KING of
Sterling Heights, Mich.,
Sept. 11. King was human
resources director for the
Michigan and Ohio clusters
of the Journal Register Co.
His prior positions included
being director of operations
of Detroit Newspaper
Agency, production director
at Gannett Co. Inc. and
assistant plant manager at
the Washington Post Co. At
Williams he was a member
of Gargoyle Society. Among
his survivors is a daughter.
WILLIAM A. MILLER of
Newfane, Vt., Aug. 31.
Miller was a woodworker
specializing in kitchens.
Previously he worked for
the Southern Vermont
Conservation Society. At
the crew team. Among his
survivors are two siblings, a
niece and a nephew.
Other Deaths
CHARLES H. BRIGHAM
JR. ’38 of Charlotte, N.C.,
May 13, 2006
E. FREER WILLSON ’41 of
San Juan, Puerto Rico,
Aug. 5, 1989
WILLIAM F. KNOFF ’43 of
Cazenovia, N.Y.,
Jan. 11, 2008
MAHLON B.
HOAGLAND ’44 of
Thetford, Vt.,
Sept. 18, 2009
RICHARD W. TAYLOR
’44 of Brooklyn, N.Y.,
Jan. 1, 1978
EDWARD WATSON ’45 of
Colebrook, N.H.,
Dec. 17, 2007
ROGER H. LEE ’49 of
Paupack, Pa., Feb. 1, 1987
EDWARD D. BARRY ’56
of Minneapolis, Minn.,
Nov. 7
PETER E. JONES ’63 of
San Antonio, Texas,
July 19, 2007
Obituaries are written based
on information that alumni
and their families have
supplied to the College over
the years.
01267-0676
Williamstown, MA
P.O. Box 676
Editorial Offices

reaching the summit - Alumni News

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