PEOPLE l MAY 2016 - Alumni News

Transcription

Editorial Offices
P.O. Box 676
Williamstown, MA
01267-0676
W I LL I A M S P EO PLE
MAY 2016
Williams
P E O P L E l M AY 2 016
“It bends my mind
to contemplate how
all of our divergent
paths led us to the
uniform decision
to choose this
small college.”
Leila Jere ’91
President, Society of Alumni
leila.jere@gmail.com
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
AN ENERGIZING TIME
Two years ago next month, I sat on a stage at Chandler Gym as the
reunion classes paraded in. Nervous and dry-mouthed, I watched Dennis
O’Shea ‘77 perform his final duties as president of the Society of Alumni.
And then, all too quickly, Brooks Foehl ’88, secretary of the society, read the
names of executive committee and officer nominees for vote by the gathered
alumni. We were formally elected, and it was time for me to stand up and
start acting presidential.
At each reunion I’ve attended, I’m awed at the sight of the 50th reunion
class massed together in the center of the gym. These are men who
attended Williams before the major social and demographic changes that
took place on our campus—when fraternities were closed, women were
ushered in and a concerted and sustained effort was made to recruit students from beyond the communities that traditionally sent their children to
Williams. The evidence of Williams’ innovative admission efforts is there
in plain view as you gaze around the gym. In each successively younger
class, you can see in the skin tones—and hear in the accents and languages
spoken—that the youngest of us represent communities from all corners of
the U.S. and world. It bends my mind to contemplate how all of our divergent
paths led us to the uniform decision to choose this small college, tucked
away in a hidden corner of rural Massachusetts.
We alumni who gather on campus every June form the legacy that began
in the 1960s under President John E. Sawyer ’39 when he mustered Williams’
students, alumni, faculty, trustees and parents around a new vision for the
college and its transformation into the internationally renowned institution
it is today. There are two books I recommend to anyone interested in recent
Williams history and 20th-century American history: The Rise and Fall of
Fraternities at Williams College, by John W. Chandler, president emeritus,
and Jews at Williams: Inclusion, Exclusion and Class at a New England
Liberal Arts College, by Benjamin Aldes Wurgraft.
As I prepare to pass presidential duties to Jordan Hampton ’87, I have the
honor of serving in one last role that will extend beyond my presidential term:
as a member of the Committee on Campus Space and Institutional History,
established by President Adam Falk and chaired by Karen Merrill, professor
of American Culture. We are a committee of six students, four staff, four
faculty and one alumnus (one faculty member is also an alumnus). We’ve met
numerous times this spring, and our different perspectives have manifested
in a deep and thoughtful engagement over the important questions of public
space and inclusivity on campus.
It’s natural that we should be having this conversation at this moment,
which comes not from out of the blue but is a logical expression and questioning of norms as we continue on the journey from assimilation to multiculturalism—a journey that started with the great Jack Sawyer.
It’s been a pleasure and privilege to have spoken with so many of you
over the last few years. I have learned an enormous amount from all of you,
and, as with all Williams engagements, I feel I have gained vastly more than
I have given.
Go, Ephs!
I want to share a few thoughts about the Williams Alumni Fund. Stay with
me for a little history, expressions of gratitude and observations about our
alumni community in 2016.
The Williams annual giving model is unique in higher ed—and the envy
of it, too. A small number of schools may have similar volunteer-driven
structures, but none can touch the culture borne out of a group of alumni
coming together in 1821 to save our college. The ownership stake that alumni
volunteers have in keeping us all connected to each other and the college is
impossible to replicate when starting from scratch, as so many institutions
might want to do.
The debt we owe to the thousands of alumni volunteers who serve or
have served as head agents or associate agents is incalculable. You’re the
engine of front-line connection that makes the Alumni Fund go. The Alumni
Fund Vice Chairs provide top-line volunteer leadership, and all work in conjunction with the Alumni Fund staff, led by Director of Annual Giving Laura
Day ’04, creating a powerful and successful team effort.
Williams Alumni Fund participation results are in rarified air in higher ed.
Historically reaching 60 percent or more, Ephs lead the charge and show their
support for alma mater on an annual basis in unparalleled fashion. For this,
we owe a debt of gratitude, too.
To be clear, giving to Williams is a personal choice, and there are any
number of reasons why alumni choose to do so—or not. To that end, we
receive excellent feedback from alumni about their giving decisions, primarily through class agent teams. This year, the ongoing national discourses on
freedom of speech and historical representation were factors for some Ephs
in deciding whether to give. Divestment and sexual assault response and
prevention, both on campus and nationally, were also issues of interest.
Yet for all these complications, we see this as an energizing time. It’s
hard to imagine 29,000 alumni being in agreement on any subject (besides
beating Amherst). And like all of us, our college isn’t perfect. What we hope
for Williams is the same thing we hope for ourselves: to continually learn,
to be open to perspectives other than our own and to grow and evolve in
positive ways. Williams taught us these lessons when we were young, and
we continually look to the college to reinforce these ideals at a time they
seem to be needed most.
This is the remarkable service Alumni Fund volunteers perform for
Williams, their classes and their friends. Agents know that at the heart of
their responsibility is their connection with fellow alumni. As one appreciative classmate shared with his class agent, “[Your outreach] reminds me that
the bonds between dear friends never age, and it says to me that if I have
such a friend as you, I have at least one saving grace.”
With best wishes from Williamstown,
“Ephs lead the charge
and show their support
for alma mater on
an annual basis in
unparalleled fashion.”
Brooks Foehl ’88
Director of Alumni Relations
bfoehl@williams.edu
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On the Cover
From left: Jill Charles ’91,
Mijon Zulu ’09 and Michele
Johnson Rogers ’79 met up in
Los Angeles in January 2016
to celebrate Teach It Forward:
The Campaign for Williams.
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contents
Alumni Photos
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Class Notes
8
Weddings
108
Births & Adoptions
115
Obituaries
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
MAY 2016
Volume No. 110, Issue No. 4
Editors
Amy T. Lovett
Francesca B. Shanks
Student Assistants
Natalie DiNenno ‘18
Sarah Stone ‘18
Design & Production
Oberlander Group
Editorial Offices
P.O. Box 676
Williamstown, MA 01267-0676
tel: 413.597.4278
fax: 413.597.4158
email: magazine@williams.edu
http://alumni-news.williams.edu
Address Changes/Updates
Bio Records
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tel: 413.597.4399
fax: 413.597.4178
email: alumni.office@williams.edu
http://alumni.williams.edu
Williams Magazines
(USPS No. 684-580) are published in November,
January, March, May, July and September and
distributed free of charge by Williams College.
Opinions expressed in this publication may
not necessarily reflect those of Williams
College or of the Society of Alumni.
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ALUMNI PHOTOS
1. From left: Jill Charles ’91, Mijon Zulu ’09, Michele Johnson Rogers ’79, Sharifa Wright ’03 and Daniel Gura ’06 met up in January
2016 for a Los Angeles event to celebrate Teach It Forward, Williams’ campaign. 2. In November 2015, Cathy (Gernert) Ramsay ’81
(left) and Martha (Paper) Moseley ’82 celebrated after winning a USTA tennis match in Seattle. 3. Williams rugby alumni gathered in
NYC in February 2016 to record songs for the college’s Purple with Purpose song competition. 4. Afton (Johnson) Gilyard ’05 (left)
visited Emily Tomassi Grant ’05 in London in August 2015. 5. In February 2016, Dave Crompton ’88, Taylor Watts ’87 and Don Aselton
’88 celebrated their 50th birthdays together on Goat Island, S.C.
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Visit http://bit.ly/ephphotos for information on how to submit photos for consideration.
6. From left: Stephen Webster ’11, Nicholas Neumann-Chun ’13, Joy Jing ’13 and Jake Levinson ’11 hiked Pine Cobble during
a trip to Williamstown in February 2016 to celebrate math professor Frank Morgan’s retirement. 7. U.S. Army Reservist Paul
Danielson ’88 brought his Williams T-shirt to Afghanistan in January 2016. 8. Fred Simmons ’77 (left) and Bill Simon ’73 hiked
Torres del Paine National Park in Chile in December 2015. 9. In January 2016, 1987 classmates (from left) Mary (Hickman)
Sanders, Ashley Tidey, Amy Jeffress and Lisa Vig met up in Utah’s Red Canyon to celebrate their 50th birthdays. 10. Susie Read
Cronin ’75 (center) and her husband Ted Cronin ’68 (right) met up with Walter Bortz ’51 in Santa Barbara, Calif., in January 2016.
11. On a trip to Castelrotto, Italy, in September 2015, Bill Frado ’64 (left) and Craig Schelter ’64 found a “Williams Hütte.”
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12. Dave Butts ’73 (left) and his son David Butts ’06 traveled to Scotland, touring seven golf courses, in September 2015.
13. In February 2016, 1991 classmates Leila Jere, president of the society of alumni, caught up with Mariam Naficy, founder of
Minted.com and a speaker at that evening’s Teach It Forward Williams campaign event. 14. In January 2016, Jon Melton ’05 (left)
took two of his children to a Williams basketball home game with Father Mike Sheehan ’03. 15. While in Williamstown in February
2016 to see a performance by Liza Curtiss ’10 (third from left), classmates (from left) Casey York, Lydia Barnett-Mulligan and Kallan
Wood checked out the Sawyer Library quad on campus. 16. 2007 classmates (from left) Jon Kuah, Chris Ellis-Ferrara and Jonathan
Misk met up for lunch in NYC in October 2015. 17. In August 2015, 1955 classmates (from left) Frank Isenhart, Bill Montgomery, Ted
Bowers and Mac Fiske (who died a month later) and their wives gathered in Aspen, Colo.
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18. During a visit to Tokyo, Japan, Jessy LeClair ’10 (left) met Takaaki Takeuchi ’84 at Takano Fruits Parlor in January 2016.
19. Josh Frechette ’94 (front row, left) hosted classmates (clockwise from top left) Chris McIlraith, Rives Nolen and Mark Bussard
at his home in Sonoma, Calif., in July 2015. 20. More than 30 Northern California Ephs went hiking for a Bay Area Mountain Day
celebration in October 2015. 21. From left: 2001 classmates Alana Belfield Levine, Phoebe Geer, Tony Salerno, Jason Greenberg and
Mayur Deshmukh held an impromptu gathering with their respective kids in NYC in December 2015. 22. Duplicate bridge partners
and fellow authors Susan (Duff) von Moschzisker Morse ’80 (left) and Deb Wickenden Crisfield ’85 won a championship knockout
trophy at the January 2016 Regional Bridge Tournament in Bermuda.
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ALUMNI PHOTOS
23. Aaron Morse ’87 (second from left) celebrated his 50th birthday in NYC with classmates (from left) Mike Byars, Curt Myers and
Ned Patterson in January 2016. 24. Asha Rhodes-Meade ’05 (second from right) held a DJ dance party in January 2016 with (from
left) Yamilee Mackenzie ’06, Funmi Olosunde ’06 and Barrington Fulton ’05. 25. From left: Chas Foehl ’87, Brooks Foehl ’88, Ann Marie
(Marvin) Swann ’91, Williams President Adam Falk, Margaux Peabody and assistant squash coach Blair Dils ran the 100-mile Mass
Dash, starting in Adams, Mass., in July 2015. 26. Jim Patterson ’57 (right) watched grandson Tyler Patterson ’19 (not pictured) play
in the Williams football game against Wesleyan along with son Steve Patterson ’87 in November 2015. 27. In January 2016, Andrew
Holt ’63 (left) met Phil Albert ’63 in Madison, Wis., for a hockey game at the University of Wisconsin. 28. 1988 classmates (from left)
Vonessa (Bouhall) Schulze, Susan Courtney-Faruqee, Jocelyn Shadforth and Linda Kidder Yarlott had brunch in Baltimore, Md., in
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February 2016. 29. Joining Rick Moog ’79 (fourth from left) in November 2015, when he received a teaching award from the American
Chemical Society in Brookline, Mass., were (from left) Larry Pensack ’79, Pat Martin ’78, Mark Lewy ’79, Lisa (Hartigan) St. Amand
’79 and Brent Shay ’78. 30. From left: Hal Lescinsky ’85, Tim Goss ’84, Chris Goss ’85 and Ned Jeffries ’85 spent MLK weekend 2016
skiing in Jackson, Wyo. 31. Peter Christiani ’13 (back, third from left) competed in a bodybuilding contest in Santa Monica, Calif., in
February 2016, cheered on by classmates Becca Nichols (front) and (from left) Darren Hartwell, Ladd Hamrick, Tim Morris and Sam
Krieg. 32. Tomomi and Jonathan Landsman ’05 (left) met Joceyln Gardner Spencer ’05 and Matt Gardner Spencer ’05 at the UConn
Dairy Bar in Storrs, Conn., in February 2016. 33. 1987 classmates gathered in Williamstown to celebrate their 50th birthdays in spring
2015. 34. Pilot Andy Binder ’67 (right) flew to meet Jeff Eckardt ’67 in Santa Monica, Calif., in January 2016.
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CLASS NOTES
If your class isn’t represented by a secretary, please submit notes
to Williams People, P.O. Box 676, Williamstown, MA 01267 or
magazine@williams.edu. If you are interested in serving as class
secretary, please contact the Alumni Office at 413.597.4151.
1936
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Please submit notes to Williams People, P.O. Box 676,
Williamstown, MA 01267 or to alumninews@williams.edu
1937
William F. Steel ’64 writes: “My father, William W.
Steel ’37, is living at Sweetwood in Williamstown
with his wife Miriam, who just turned 101. Bill is
aiming for 100 in July.”
1938
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1941
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Pete Parish, 350 East Michigan Ave., Ste. 500, Kalamazoo,
MI 49007; Wayne Wilkins, 240 South St., Williamstown,
MA 01267; 1941secretary@williams.edu
This is a new year, but it is, more importantly, our
seventy-fifth reunion celebration year. Just a week
prior to preparing these notes, we had an email
from a loyal classmate with a surprising plan for celebration. It’s from Jim Case in Hawaii and is worth
reporting as written: “Suzanne and I decided about
a year ago that we would never take another airplane
trip to the East Coast or out of the country. We have
changed our minds and will attend the reunion.”
The Case family will be holding a reunion in
Simsbury, Conn., at the same time to celebrate a
reacquired property originally owned by ancestor Timothy Case in the late 1600s. Their children
and spouses and eight of 10 grandchildren will be
there. “Family Williams graduates who will be there
are (besides Jim) Ed Case ’75, Suzanne D. Case ’78,
Russell Case ’81, Brad Case ’85 and Christine Case
’15.” What a party we can describe in the next issue!
The Williams Record of last Nov. 11 carried a
beautiful article on a Homecoming concert by the
Williams Octet, “in honor of the group’s 75th anniversary.” There is a period picture of the original eight
singers but their names are not included. Four were
Selden Pitt, Louis Safford, Dudley Tyler and Francis
Verdery. We salute their talent and their memory—and their role in establishing perhaps the first
Williams undergraduate singing group.
There have been three deaths among ’41 classmates,
leaving us with an even 10. William Tallman died on
Oct. 19, 2015. Bill was a graduate of the Williams/
MIT program in electrical engineering and started
work early with Public Service Company of New
Hampshire. In 1965 he was elected its president. In
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1971 the decision was made to build Seabrook; in
Bill’s own words the project was “extremely demanding, challenging, very frustrating, exciting and sometimes rewarding.” In his role of building a nuclear
power plant, he was awarded honors including an
LLD from the University of New Hampshire, the
Corporate Leadership Award from MIT and the
nomination by Electric Light and Power as Electric
Industry Man of the Year. Bill and Jean were loyal
Williams alums for the rest of their careers. Jean
painted a lovely picture of our Williamstown abode.
Valedictorian Allen Senear died on Nov. 8, 2015.
After Williams he enrolled in a PhD program at
CalTech, but with Pearl Harbor he was “drafted” into
a wartime research program developing antimalarial drugs. He taught for eight years at Santa Barbara
College but in 1955 began 30 years of research for
the Boeing Co. in Seattle. Much of this involved
developing materials used in airplanes 737, 747, 757
and 767. He was married to Virginia Koch for 67
years, with four children. Their retirement was traveloriented, visiting all 50 states, all seven continents and
more than 100 countries. He always had time to visit
Williams; his last was the 70th reunion.
Abbott Smith passed away on Nov. 22, 2015. He
said of our class that he was “proud to have been a
member, however briefly.” He spent four years in the
US Air Force as a captain, largely in the European
theater. Our pride in Ab was illustrated in his award
of the Distinguished Flying Cross “for extraordinary
achievement while serving as combat wing bombardier on a mission over enemy-occupied Europe
on 16 August 1943.” His postwar days were spent
largely in Philadelphia with the FMC as materials
manager and West Virginia with the Logan Corp.
Huntington, as president and then chairman. There
was plenty of time with his wife Peggy for tours and
sports from golf to skiing at Aspen. A good life.
The remarkable news comes from honorary member of the class Janet Neville Brown, widow of Frank
Brown, who resides in Texas and Arizona, where
she raises Borzoi dogs. Her three, named Yashka,
Chudodei and Cora, are therapy dogs who are
trained to work in “senior care, retirement communities, Alzheimer units, universities, canine education
meetings—trying to touch lives and improve health.”
She comments that Frank would be proud of them.
We of ’41 certainly are! Thanks to Janet, good still
comes from the class. (Frank, with living classmates
Bush and Wilkins, backboned the baseball team
those 75 years ago.)
1942
Thurston Holt, 4902 Willowood Way, Norman, OK 73026;
1942secretary@williams.edu
An email from Felix Smith was welcome. “I guess
it was at the reunion in 1987, our 45th, that I took an
initiative for change and brought a piece of my own
change and progress into my existence as a Williams
grad,” he writes. “Since early in my life, especially
since high school, I had been very much aware of
gay yearnings, and simultaneously very much afraid
of them, so I did nothing about it except suffer
strong feelings in silence for years and years. But by
the 1980s I had come out, first timidly, in the San
Francisco fringes of the gay community (myself safe
1936– 42
from AIDS, as a byproduct of timidity and caution).
And by 1987 I was ready to be more assertive and
resented the exclusive emphasis of the alumni establishment on our only being a legitimate grad if we
had a wife and 3.276 children.
“Fortunately I griped to Fred Rudolph (the ’42 president), and he and Dottie found out that there was
considerable support available for the founding of
some kind of gay alumni organization. So, with the
support of the college administration, we had a social
and organizational meeting announced. I remember I
had some fliers and placards that I distributed in lots
of public places and found some of them were angrily
torn down by hostile conservatives. And I also found
that some of the people whom I knew most clearly
were gay, and were most afraid of being recognized as
such. But lots of the married and family people had
gay children or siblings themselves and so on. So it
made for real contacts and communications for me.
And of course Williams has had a gay alumni presence since I remember. I was asked if I wanted to be
involved in the ongoing organization of it, but living
so far away, I preferred to just have the gratification
of starting something, and I’m sure my part in that is
completely forgotten. Certainly it was only then and
later that I felt really legitimate myself, legitimate and
wanted as an alum. That was certainly a good way for
me to assert myself and feel legitimate and belong.
And starting that gave the same legitimacy to lots of
other people, too, and some of them said so to me.
“Of course that in my own life went further, and
by 2008, when for a few months (in California gay
marriage was approved by the courts, before a referendum nullified it) Fred Teti and I were one of the
many pairs married in our City Hall (San Francisco),
another important thing I never expected to happen
in my lifetime. So change does happen after all. And
I was really glad I was able to bring it to our Williams
alumni community.”
John Tuttle and his wife Charlotte (Charlie) will
be celebrating their 69th wedding anniversary on
May 24. Congratulations! John published the newspaper Oneida Dispatch in Oneida, N.Y., for 25 years
and sold it in 1970. Then he and Charlie lived for
20 years aboard their 53-foot power yacht Charjon.
They frequently cruised the coastline from Florida to
Canada. Based on Oneida Lake, which connects with
the Hudson River, their favorite ports were Oneida,
Annapolis and Ft. Lauderdale.
John described the experience in a letter to me. “We
docked most of the time, and, being cautious sailors,
stayed over until the weather improved—no calls to
the USCG! It was work and not all play, but some
days we covered 100 miles. Charlie and I loved it and
have great memories but couldn’t do it again. We are
both 96 now. Nor could we cope with the expense.
Running a power boat has become very expensive.”
Marilyn Ball lives on the edge of the Mojave
Desert in Utah, with a view of snow-capped mountains in the northern distance. She is active in the
Utah Poetry Society, League of Utah Writers and
Daughters of Utah Pioneers, a group that delves
into family genealogy. One of her ancestors is Gen.
Robert E. Lee. Here is a poem honoring her late husband Ralph Ball: “Memorial for Ralph”
Back walking in Zion/ with the wintering ghosts/
from last year’s walk./ The light from the sun’s arc/
hosts the celestial Watchman rocks/ you photographed high against the sky./ Those ridges cut and
nudge neutrality/ in my heart, helps finds a new beat/
without the pulse of death./ Some of my sadness
loosens walking/ in your last years tracks I remember so well./ I am moving alone in renewal/ with the
winds of spring … yet pausing,/ hear your last year’s
footsteps softly on the air/ with haunting music of
the ‘ancients’ flute.
Zion in the poem is Zion National Park in Utah.
I was glad to get this email from John Gibson: “My
father, a country lad growing up in the tiny town of
Odessa, Del., where his father was for 40 years the
bank cashier, spent his adult years also as cashier, in a
bank in Wilmington. In his will he gave his executors
the usual freedom but suggested they not sell DuPont
or GM. Well, so far he has been right about DuPont.
The bank in Odessa was one room, and grandfather’s
bedroom was directly above. There was a hole in the
floor, and if he put his shotgun in it, it pointed at the
safe. In his 40 years there he never pulled the trigger. During the same 40 years, it was his responsibility to take the wagon three miles to Middletown,
meet the train and get the money. Nobody ever interfered. He died five years before I was born. My father
was 50 when I was born, and I only had him 17 years.
Needless to say, I miss both.”
Art Richmond now lives in the assisted-living building at the Ginger Cove Health Center in Annapolis,
Md. His daughter Brenda writes, “The reports we get
from the staff are that he is always pleasant, talks to
people (including the ladies he eats with in the dining room), participates in activities and sings. My
father still has a wonderful voice and surprises everyone with his memory when it comes to song lyrics. Yesterday I delivered Williams People to him, and
he greatly enjoyed your notes on the Class of 1942.
He knew many of the songs and sang the one to
me about ‘a tisket, a tasket’… Art was very proud to
become a great-grand in 2015.”
Brenda tells me about the great-grand: “She is
adorable and has already been over to visit him at
Ginger Cove.”
Art sent me a Christmas card that included
a splendid picture, titled “Art Richmond’s 96th
Birthday.”
I’m sad to report the death of Nancy Kent Holden,
wife of Herb Holden, who died in 2010. I knew her
well. She was sweet and wonderful. Her daughtern-law Linda Kay Holden sent me her obituary.
“Nancy Kent Holden, age 92, passed away in
Vermont on Aug. 12, 2015. Nan, the oldest of three
siblings, was born in Bronxville, N.Y., to Rockwell
and Dorothy Kent (and was a niece of artist
Norman Rockwell). She married Herbert Holden Jr.
in 1945 and had four children, Sandra, Christine,
John Kent and Marcia. She raised her children, a
succession of dogs, a few horses and her husband
in Chappaqua, N.Y. Nan and Herb retired in 1981
to Columbus, N.C. Herb predeceased her in 2010,
and Nan relocated to Vermont in the fall of 2014.
Never one to sit still, Nan was an avid horsewoman,
riding with the Tryon Hounds Hilltoppers, skiing
with her family in Colorado, playing golf at Red
Fox Country Club and hiking with a loyal group of
hikers. She paid it forward by volunteering with the
Foothills Humane Society, was a founding member
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and past president of the Foothills Equestrian Trails
Association and spent over 30 years with the hospice
of the Carolina Foothills.
“She loved walking her dogs, needle pointing and
cooking and was a Master Gardener. She was a avid
sports fan, which included a 60-year love/hate relationship with the New York Giants football.”
I have found I neglected to report in these notes
the 2015 death of Ted Carter, but his obituary along
with that of Paul Murray will be in the obituary
section of a future issue of Williams People.
1943
Bill Brewer, P.O. Box 289, Galesville, MD 20765;
All ’43ers and the Williams community generally
will be sad to hear of the death of Malcolm MacGruer,
a.k.a. McGurk. He died peacefully on Feb. 2, 2016, in
Connecticut, near the home of his daughter Amanda
Davis. He was our class president but, equally important, supported the college in many ways throughout
his life. His email was “semper.eph.” A tough Marine
during WWII, he was an author (three novels), a
businessman (Richardson Vicks) and a loyal friend. In the small book Gratitude, which Oliver Sacks
completed at the end of his life, he wrote that no one
who dies can be replaced—“They leave holes that
cannot be filled, for it is the fate—the genetic and
neural fate—of every human being to be a unique
individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to
die his own death.” I think of these words each time
we lose a classmate. But Sacks goes on to reassure us. He writes, “My
predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have
loved and been loved, I have been given much, and
I have given something in return. … Above all I
have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on
this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an
enormous privilege and adventure.” That is equally
true of our classmates.
On a more cheerful note, Ed Reade reports that
he has a comfortable apartment at a retirement facility in Easthampton, Mass., near his daughter, who
looks in on him occasionally. We talked politics—as
I write we are in the middle of the primary season—
and about his son Ned Reade ’75, longtime chair of
the arts department at Trinity-Pawling School, who
also comes to visit. Ned is a renowned painter of outdoor scenes; his website (nedreade.com) is definitely
worth a visit. Mal Clark, in Minneapolis, reports that he and Jean
are doing well, except for the “gradual erosion” that
comes to all of us in our 90s. We talked of the late Joe
Sizoo, a particular friend of Mal’s.
George Goodwin, from a retirement community
near Amherst, sends a copy of his Christmas letter
(I hope others will follow his example) in which he
describes a typical day of his life. He is alone—Ellen,
daughter of Tommy Safford of Williams fame—
died three years ago. But George has five children
living in the area who occasionally take him on a
“lark” and gather for celebrations. He is reading
Dr. Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal and one of the
40-odd Anthony Trollope novels.
On the Upper East Side in New York, Fred
Nathan and Fran put me to shame by reporting
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that they are outside—no matter the weather—
walking twice a day. Even the recent snow gave
them no trouble; they occupy a condo in a wellmanaged building. Except (what hardship!)
The New York Times was a day late. Coming closer to Williamstown, Daves
Rossell in Great Barrington reports that he and
Irene Willis are doing well. With the help of a
commentary, he is struggling to read the King
James version of Bible, not an easy task. Irene has
not published a new book since Reminder—her
fourth book of poetry—recommended in a previous issue for 1943ers. A reviewer states that her
book is “a reminder that a life is full of many lives,
each person a collection of many selves, and love
and memory [are] as fleeting as life itself…”
On Buzzards Bay, where I have memories of
breezy sailing when I lived near Boston, Dick
Shriner says he and Liz have stayed warm in
Falmouth, despite what I am sure is a cold northwest wind coming across the bay. One of his sons
runs a boatyard in Newport; if your boat needs service, mention Dick’s name. A daughter moved to
NYC, and we discussed the challenge of bringing
up children in that wonderful but difficult town.
Maybe Texas is an easier place to live. That’s
what I have to believe after talking to Frank
Smith in Houston. He and Katherine spent one
day on their Jarvis Newman lobster boat (the
only one in Texas) and were planning on spending the next day on their son’s J-30, both kept near
Galveston. Not bad!
As one of our retired academics (South Kent
School), Charlie Whittemore and Cecile are at a
retirement community in Salisbury, Conn. Like
many of us, Charlie does not move easily these
days—the “gradual erosion,” to use Mal Clark’s
phrase—but luckily his eyes are still good, and
he can read. He is working on Thomas Ricks’ The
Generals, a review of Gen. Marshall’s leadership
style during World War II, and a critique of our
peacetime promotion policy.
From Shell Point Retirement Community in
Florida, Nip Wilson says that he continues to attend
exercise class every day—what self discipline!—and
sees Sally Soule, widow of Gardy Soule, occasionally.
She is active in Shell Point affairs as a “resident
representative,” if I have the correct title.
As to your secretary, he is also subject to the said
“gradual erosion,” mainly swallowing problems,
dysphagia in the medical lingo, and finds it ironic
that while many folks struggle to lose weight, he
continues to do so without the slightest effort.
Collot is still trying cases for the Federal Trade
Commission in Washington, with two major
cases on her calendar, one in Nevada and one in
Utah, such being the fate of federal lawyers who
must practice in 50 states. But life in small-town
Galesville continues to be pleasant.
1944
1942– 46
1945
Frederick Wardwell, P.O. Box 118, Searsmont, ME 04973;
Nearly 25 percent of our classmates responded
to my request for “wassup” a while ago, probably a
record. This is very helpful in view of the changing
residences, telephone numbers or whatever. Trivia
comes first to my mind, however, and now it is a continuing bit of information on Col. Eph Williams
and his legacy. He died two months after writing his
will in 1755, and in it he specified that his bequest
to fund a school would only apply if it was located in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In a book I
just read about surveying and mapmaking, it was said
that the surveyors in 1745 laying out the VermontMassachusetts border incorrectly adjusted for magnetic compass variations from true north, with the
result that Williamstown and North Adams ended
up in Massachusetts, whereas they should have been
in Vermont. The implication is that had there been no
error, there would likely be no Williams College.
Toby Bermant reported that to him the most
important issue at the moment is “survival,” referring to the planet, not his apparent good health.
While he thinks the solutions to the planet’s problems are slipping away, he is making the best of
it by seeking solace at the opera, the arts and avid
reading deep and wide.
Joan Jobson (Mrs. Ted Jobson) moved to a retirement home in Reading, Conn., about 18 months
ago and says it is great. It is very sociable, caring,
has many activities, generally is easy all around,
and it is near her daughter. She still has a place in
Florida but has in effect turned it over to her three
kids, who can make more use of it than she can.
Fran Lathrop had good news and bad news to
report, although the bad news would not be “bad”
or more than moderate for most of us. On the
good side is Betty, 91, still skiing, playing tennis
and being her vigorous self. On the bad side, Fran
screwed up parking in a lot within view of numerous family and friends, after which they convinced
him to end his driving career. He says he went
down quietly, and later celebrated the arrival of a
great-grandson, making a total of 22. Ted Lewis’
son Evan wrote that Ted died a couple of years
ago. Apparently I was not notified, or my recordkeeping was about what one might expect. In any
event, too bad. Strother Marshall’s son Art wrote
that Strother has been living with him and his
wife Ellen for almost three years in Bethel, a lovely
place in Maine. Over the last four years Strother
has had a series of strokes but is still a voracious
reader and keeps up with the PBS news. He sleeps
under a Williams blanket.
Dick Morrill reads more publications about more
subjects than I could even start to scan. Among
other things, he sent me the most objective article about pesticide manufacturers and honeybee
problems that I have yet seen. It pointed out that
some of the most successful and prosperous beekeepers have their colonies in the areas where the
most dangerous insecticides are most heavily used,
indicating that farmers and beekeepers can survive
if they do it all right. This is not the stuff of most
reporting. Dick also sent a National Maritime
Historical Society flyer citing a Gary Jobson’s service as a master of ceremonies at a National Press
Club awards affair relating to sailing, and since
Ted and Joan were great sailors, Dick assumed
Gary was a son. Not so, according to Joan, merely
a somewhat distant cousin. After 15 years of writing financial stuff for the Wall Street Journal, Dick
has, as usual, put something forward for publication here: This English language we use/ is subject to
so much abuse,/ Both scholar-and-yokel’ly/ in writing and vocally,/ When the words that we choose/
are confused!
Now all of us know that a “Limey”/ when distressed will often say/ “Blimey!”/ As in “at me”/ and
“to me”/ and “try me!”
But it’s clear that the phrase/ wouldn’t fly/ If he
changed the “me” to an “I”—/ As in “thigh,”/ Or
“spy”/ Or “deny.”
So I’m very much up in a tree/ to know why so
many flee/ From the personal pronoun, “me,”/ And
persist in inserting/ An “I”/ After “to,” “for,”/ “with,”
“at,”/ and “see.”
An example or two I’ll supply,/ Like, “you were so
kind to reply to the note from my wife and I,”/ Or
the Senator prates/ As he fidgets and waits/ To be
called in to testify—
“I can’t figure out/ what this is about—/ They’re
abusing my colleague and I!”/ Now surely a blind
man could see/ this usage just doesn’t agree/ With
the grammar once taught/ in the schools!
So let’s not be the fools!/ Let’s play by the Rules
—/ And let’s end the sentence with “Me!”
Ted Murphy and wife Shirley attended a church
reunion last summer. Someone quoted Søren
Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher in the 1800s, and
Ted remembered some of his words of wisdom. They
were something like: “In life you have to look to the
future, but to understand your life you have to look
to the past.” The Murphys are having a lot of fun
researching their own past, renewing old acquaintances and visiting places meaningful in their past.
Henry Rowan died in December 2015, and his obit
can be found online. He was one of the more
prominent and effective philanthropists.
Arthur Stevenson says he plays or teaches bridge
not less than four to five days a week. He says it keeps
him young, at least in the head.
Tim Tyler wrote from Denver that after 79 years of
skiing, he is about to give it up. Perhaps like me he
finds it is too hard to get those boots on and off.
Your secretary Fred Wardwell and Ann seem to
go along pretty much as ever. With hired help, the
outside work is pretty well done, my bees seem to
prosper, and last summer’s week of varnishing on our
sailboat made it look fine, but I never got in it. At this
writing winter is about a month late. There is good
ice for sailing, but for the past few beautiful winter
days there has been no wind. Since the last edition of
this publication, in addition to Henry Rowan and Ted
Lewis mentioned above, we have lost Don Bishop and
Richard Whiting.
1946
REUNION JUNE 9-12
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
1947
John C. Speaks III, 33 Heathwood Road, Williamsville, NY
14221; 1947secretary@williams.edu
By the time you read this, a caring and conscientious widow will have carried out a longtime ritual
remembering her husband Stan Tefft of our class. Stan was part of the naval contingent assigned to
Williams after enlisting in the Naval Air at 16, well
before being married to his wife Elaine Tefft. After
completing his Williams Navy program, he was
assigned to Pensacola Naval Air Station for flight
training and soon wound up in Europe in the midst
of WWII. On Jan. 17, 1945, his plane was shot down
over Mulhouse on the French-German border and
ended up in a bistro’s cellar hole before getting back
safely to his unit. Fortunately, he had some necessities
available to him in bottles of green crème de menthe
and brandy. This began the tradition that Stan started
that day by having green stingers on every Jan. 17.
After they were married some years later, they continued the tradition together. After Stan died in 2003,
the tradition continued, with Elaine going to the
veteran’s cemetery in Boscawen, N.H., and pouring a
green stinger over her husband’s grave. If anyone reading this has any news or thoughts
about Stan, I am sure Elaine would want to hear
from you. Please contact me for information as to
how to reach her. 1948
John A. Peterson Jr., 5811 Glencove Drive, #1005, Naples,
FL 34108; 1948secretary@williams.edu
Herbert S. Meeker wrote in September: “I wish
I had some worthwhile news for you to write in
the next Williams People, except that I am still alive
and kicking. When you write to Dave Kelly, Stu
Robinson and Hank Weaver, please remember me
to each of them. I am for the record 91 years of age,
have two labradoodles and one cat. I have a very nice
home on four acres and a large pond full of fish. God
bless you for making all of our class reunions. I doubt
if I will be able to make any; it is a long drive for me.
Have you ever heard from or about Jack Davison or
Frank DeBoer? If you have the time, it would be very
nice to hear from you again with some news as to
your activities.
“I had no idea Raymond James was that large.
Your family is certainly very much involved in
Williams. I have three sons, none of whom had any
interest in Williams. One went to the University
of Philadelphia, and the other two to small colleges in New York state. Sam, Henry and Oliver are
all well. Oliver, the youngest at 26, is with Watson
Division of IBM and a rising star there. Sam, 32,
leaves soon for Peru, where he will teach English as
a second language, and Henry is in the bike business in Tallahassee, Fla. He is 30. As I think I told
you, I made a small investment in Williams, which
pays me about $40,000 a year that helps. Well, Pete, it
was very nice to hear from you, my only contact with
Williams. Our class was screwed up by the war, but
I am glad we both had a chance to go there. My dad
was in the Class of 1913, my God. Love, and as one
of my sons says, a big hug. —Herb.”
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
1949
Chuck Utley, 1835 Van Buren Circle, Mountain View, CA
Ron Chute brings us up to date on his and Nancy’s
new life in Vermont. “Our quarters are a now a onestory, 2,000 square-foot addition to our youngest son’s
weekend ski house, connected by a three-car garage
that we share. The main house, which has guest
rooms for our overflow visitors, sits on two-anda-half acres in the middle of the town of Chester,
population 3,500. It’s 10 miles east of Stratton and
10 miles south of Okemo. Nancy’s garden projects incorporate some of the great rocks that were
turned from new construction. There’s attic space
where I paint with oils. Nancy has become involved
in community projects and edited a brochure of a
walking tour of local historic houses. I’ve joined the
Rotary, which includes several displaced Brits, a rock
drummer, a former money trader now a fine bookbinder, and an Episcopal priest who teaches how to
build churches in Peru. We’ve begun taking Osher
adult education classes at Dartmouth, about an hour
away. Osher is a volunteer organization that provides
lifelong educational programs for local residents. We
also try to keep our Washington, Conn., connections.
Frankly, it takes a while to adjust to this much isolation, but the move to be near family and kids (on a
weekend basis, not full time!) was the right decision,
and we are glad we did it.”
Alvin Kernan says, “I wish I had some news to send
you, but all I can say is that time passes slowly for
a 92-year-old. But what else is new to people who
graduated from Williams in 1949? Best to all.”
Giles Kelly is another ’49er happily hanging in
there. He has become a new great-grandfather and
found it unbelievable that his firstborn is now a
grandmother. Meanwhile, Ann and Giles got chilled
in DC, with two feet of snow at their doorstep. So in
February they flew to Florida and holed up, first in a
cabin by the Suwannee River, where they played with
a Manatee. St. Petersburg came next for contemplation in its fine art museum, then to Sarasota for “Così
fan tutee” at the opera house. The trouble was, they
had to return to snow and ice in Washington.
Music abounds when Alex Clement is around. He’s
been enjoying the Boston Symphony Orchestra with
his sister and had plans for three weeks with her on
Jekyll Island in late April. He admits to be “still doing
some choir singing… Life without music would
be grim indeed.”
Florida resident Jim Geer provides close coverage
of the Geer family, with daughter Suzanne Kijewski
’07 and her husband Mike now in Tampa, Fla.
My son Michael and his wife Marina still live
in San Francisco, Calif., and had their first baby
in March. Son Christopher and his wife Kelly
and their two children, Maverick, 3, and McKinley,
2, moved from Boston, Mass., to Boulder, Colo.,
in March of this year. Jim and wife Pat have been
trying to escape from the cold weather in Boca
Grande, Fla., of all places.
In closing, we learned at the last minute that Herb Harling passed away on Jan. 26 of this year
in Albuquerque, N.M.
1947– 51
1950
Francis J. (Jack) McConnell, 1155 Wildwood Lane,
Glenview, IL 60025; 1950secretary@williams.edu
Submitted by interim secretary Doug Coleman:
“When I was a boy, I was told anyone could become
president. I’m beginning to believe it.”—Clarence
Darrow—and me, too.
Sandy and I have now become residents of Arizona
and are happy to report that winters in Arizona are
much, much nicer than in Minnesota!
Just before Turkey Day, Ford Schuman and Susan
hosted a fine dinner at their club for Tom Healy and
Joan, Royer Collins (Marge was busy) and Sandy and
me. All were in good health and spirits with varying
degrees of mobility. Roy is still practicing his orthopedic trade, showing the young how to do it a couple
days a week, playing singles tennis, and he was helpful easing Sandy’s stiff shoulder.
The next time I saw Roy was at Tim Louis’ memorial celebration in late February. Tim was an outstanding citizen of Phoenix. He was a leader in his
field of orthopedics and in numerous other community endeavors—when he wasn’t golfing in
Wisconsin. His memorial was held at the Children’s
Hospital, which he was instrumental in starting and
on whose board he served for many years. The turnout for a life well lived was very impressive!
We had lunch with Norden van Horne and his significant other, Brenda. Norden is a retired big-game
hunter and has had a rare-book business focused on
hunting for many years. If you want to find a rare
book, he’s your man.
Joe Jannotta has published a book titled
Extraordinary Leaders, which is about two high-ranking naval officers, one American, one Japanese, and
their experiences during WWII. Joe and Gina are
doing well, but I’m sorry to report that his brotherin-law Norm Olson is not doing so well.
Sadly, George Owen, athlete extraordinaire, passed
on. Near as I can tell he was pursuing his latest sport,
ballroom dancing, when the music stopped.
Joan O’Connell, Mickey O’Connell’s wife, had to go
to Philadelphia recently, and Lon Homeier, who had
been in touch with her after Mickey’s death, picked
her up at the airport and ferried her to her hotel. Lon
and Jeannie are also doing very well.
Congratulations to Charlie Schaaf and Gail, who
celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Only five
more to catch us.
Talked to Lynn and Jack McConnell, and we’ll
see them soon when the Collinses and Colemans
visit the Healys—and we may even take in an Eph
baseball game as the squad is in Tuscon on their
spring tour.
Received a nice note from Tom Leous’ widow Bea
Leous saying all goes well and that she is looking
forward to her granddaughter’s wedding in Atlanta.
From Fred Lanes, our distinguished leader: “Wally
Stern is still active at The Capital Group, though
he managed a couple months this winter in the
Caribbean. He is a director of The Hudson Institute
(chair emeritus), the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy and the Republican Jewish Coalition as
well as some other pro bono activities. Wally has had
a son, Willy Stern ’83, and a granddaughter, Rebecca
Rosenblatt ’12, graduate from Williams.
Norden van Horne wrote: “Brenda and I had a twoplus-week trip to Spain in October—our first there.
(We have taken several over the years on Williamssponsored excursions.) Thanks to a new daughterin-law, with an assist from son Craig van Horne ’83, I
became a grandfather for the fifth time in November.
Still very active with my antiquarian book business
(Partnered with DPhi brother Ted Holsten ’48—
check out our website: www.hunterbooks.com. The
’08 $ debacle pretty much did in my commercial
real estate activity, save for the occasional consulting effort. Involvement with national and international hunting/conservation groups remains constant,
offering frequent travel opportunities. I try to get out
into the field as often as possible, and while I shoot
less frequently, I am in demand for tending to cocktail hour with exotic hors d’ouvres service. All said
and done, it’s full-speed ahead, diminished only by
shrinking horizons and limited mobility issues.”
So—“If God wanted us to vote, he would have
given us candidates.” —Jay Leno
1951
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Gordon Clarke, 183 Foreside Road, Falmouth, ME 04105;
Last fall, I had thought to focus this issue of notes
on matters that emphasize subjects other than our
advancing years. I failed! The first bit of content I
retrieved was from Bill Paton. I quote, “Renis and
I are bouncing around trying to please … Renis’
107-year-old mother … who lives alone in her apartment… Can you imagine having the same motherin-law for 52 years?” I withhold comment, as I cannot
play in that league!
Wally Bortz notes his “marginal success” in coping
with “widowerhood.” Sixty-three years of marriage,
three of which were miserable because of Alzheimer’s
disease. Wally has a ninth book under way, Aging is
Negotiable, and is still lecturing and writing. Wally’s
experience with Alzheimer’s and a sick wife is strikingly similar to my own as Karen declined. Family,
friends and caregivers can help, but one must learn
to live with the memories, of which there are many.
It takes a long time; one can come to terms with the
loss, but one can never fully escape.
Tim Blodgett and Becky joined Linda Conway
and Brad Purcell at the Nov. 27 memorial service for
Howard Smith in Great Barrington, Mass. As Tim
says, “Howard was a good friend and hiking companion—in Kazakhstan as well as in New England.”
If my memory serves, we have lost five class members since last June. I bring this up because the
Alumni Office is instituting a new policy and system whereby classes will be notified of deaths as the
information becomes available to the college. In turn,
classes are responsible for informing their members. This part of the system seems to work well and
promptly. However, it doesn’t seem to recognize that
one death probably means one date followed by more
information and followed by such specifics as obituaries and other arrangement-related data. I will try to
gather that “more information” and get it distributed.
So far, that “gathering” has not produced much!
President Dick Siegel reports that he and Ellen
“attended the very lovely Quaker memorial service
for Tom Kent in Chestnut Hill, Pa.” They were joined
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
by Tim Blodgett and Becky, Don Gregg and Meg, and
Tom Costikyan and Judy.
Just over a year ago I had heart surgery to replace
a leaky aorta. (For the philosophy majors, an aorta is
part of the system of vessels and valves that speeds
and controls the flow of blood through and around
the heart.) My new valve (which seems to work flawlessly) is fabricated from the innards of a pig or a
cow; either animal seems generously to have donated
a vital part to me to add a few years to the end of my
life. I am duly grateful. The procedure took over five
hours, during most of which time my heart was taking a break and some sort of space-age machine was
taking its place.
In order to assure that their procedure is successful, the doctors and other medical specialists urge as
a “follow on” that the patient enroll in a rehabilitation class that provides supervised physical activity
designed to restore the full function of the heart. This
activity can take place in a gym or in a similar facility
sponsored by the hospital. Finding the local gyms to
be overcrowded and smelly, I opted for the hospitalsponsored program. What a fine decision! This “class”
of about eight has been in place for well over a year
and consists of a mixture of ladies and gentlemen,
mostly my contemporaries, who gather from 6 to 7
a.m. three mornings per week to exercise. Because
we have been at it for such a long time, we go about
our activities with minimal supervision, overseen by
an RN and a rehabilitation specialist. And we meet
weekly after class for coffee and a snack to celebrate
another week of success. As I write these lines, one
of us is on surgical leave to get a new knee and a new
hip; she will return shortly! I am happy to report that,
as a collateral benefit, I am making some new friends.
Having failed to get past the evidences that we are
all aging, I will take a crack at showing that 1951,
despite the evidence of aging, is still acting as a leader.
There have been lengthy time periods when Don
Gregg has seemed to disappear into the innards of
our government—the State Department, the White
House and the CIA, to name a few. Recently, he has
reappeared each January as the lecturer of a very popular Williams Winter Study class, which has dealt in
some detail with Don’s experience in those government departments. Never one to bypass an opportunity to try something new, Don moved on to the
university level, this time in England at the University
of Central Lancashire, where he was deeply involved
in the introduction of its Korean studies program.
In recognition of that contribution, and of his “outstanding achievements,” Don was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university during a ceremony
on Dec. 8, 2015. The following excerpt from the
award citation sums up Don’s remarkable career: “As
a highly decorated CIA officer, US ambassador and
national security advisor to George Bush Sr., Donald
Phinney Gregg has enjoyed an illustrious career that
has changed our world for the better. It is a career
that spans more than 60 years and one which continues to make a positive difference in the intricate and
massively important field of international relations.
His relationship with UCLAN began in October
2014 when he formally opened the University’s
International Institute of Korean Studies (IKSU),
and I am delighted to say that it is a relationship that
holds great promise for the future.”
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
The citation goes on to catalog (briefly) bits of
Don’s background: Devon (England) roots on his
mother’s side and Scotland on his father’s side. There
has been a steady stream (nine males) of Phinney
descendants who have been residents and leaders
in the town of Gorham, Maine. I had the pleasure
of delivering an inscribed copy of Don’s book, Pot
Shards, to the director of Gorham’s Baxter Memorial
Library upon the book’s publication.
1952
Alec Robertson, 30 Bokum Road Unit 3, Essex, CT
Thank you all for your welcome and enthusiastic
replies to my entreaty for news from the front. Fred
Goldstein reported that the Alumni Fund closed on
March 15, and ’52 hit 98 percent participation, topping every other class and winning the Chandler
Trophy for highest participation among post-50th
classes. Thank you all for doing a good job.
Paige L’Hommedieu called on Nov. 15 to tell me
that one of those huge electric signs in Times Square
advertises Sylvia by A.R. Gurney at the Cort Theater.
For not the first time, Ephs have made it big time in
NYC, but it is wonderful to see our own classmate’s
name up there in the big lights. Congrats, Pete.
On Jan. 8, 2016, Terry Teachout of the WSJ wrote
a glowing review of Pete Gurney’s play The Cocktail
Hour, staged in Fort Myers, Fla. Teachout’s last sentence reads: “The result is a show that keeps you
chuckling—puts a lump in your throat at evening’s
end. Who could ask for anything more?” On CBS
Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood on Feb. 14,
there was a Valentine’s Day piece on Love Letters.
Pete’s play was mentioned, and there was a brief
interview of Pete. He looked great. I received a note
from Pete: “Wife Molly and I are in the process of
downsizing by selling our house in Roxbury, Conn.,
and moving to live full time in our New York apartment.” (Another one of life’s transitions.)
I had the pleasure of visiting Betsy and Ted Taylor
in State College, Pa., in November. Ted had brain
surgery two days before, and he looked fine. I
inspected the stitches on his head and found them
to be well placed. I did not ask to view the incision
in his abdomen. He was in great form, as was Betsy.
Since then, Ted took a turn for the worse but recovered splendidly. What an ordeal for them both. We
are so glad he is better.
Bob Huddleston wrote before Christmas: “Vicki is
home definitivemente from Haiti, and life is more
interesting. We were in Havana at the beginning of
November and in Missoula, Mont., where she gave
presentations about Cuba this week. We are happy to
be spending the holidays in sunny Santa Fe. Western
Montana is pretty grim this time of year. Vicki
arranged a birthday bash here for my 85th Dec. 15.
… I don’t believe it’s an occasion to celebrate. My
four children are coming, as well as a 60-something
cousin and his ex-Marine partner, the only remaining relative on my mother’s side, so I’ll go with the
flow. In early March we flew to the Galapagos and
then on to Lima for a few days. We visited Peru years
ago when we were living in Brazil, but this will be a
‘sentimental journey’ to where she began her Foreign
Service career. Our best to you all.”
1951– 52
I heard from Susan and Jim Henry, who said:
“Compared with the rest of the world, the Henrys
are blessed. My sense of guilt is that at this stage of
life we don’t seem to be able or needed to do much of
anything to make things better. Susan is very busy in
several directions. We’ll rent a house in the Mountain
Lake Club in February and March to get out of the
winter. We just came back from Cuba. We are positive travelers, but unfortunately we found it depressing and impoverished, run-down architecture with
the society of an Eastern European Communism.
Oppressed by our protracted embargo, it needs work.
Well, that is hardly cheery class news. Let’s see. We
have come into the winter with lots of veggies from
our garden and 400 bottles of our wine.”
I received a welcome note from Bob Rich in
Annapolis. He is fine and said: “My Joan and daughter-in-law Deb spent 10 days in London and can’t
wait to do it again. Their trip was organized by
Northwestern University.”
Art Levitt wrote in from sunny Florida, stating: “I
see Bob White in Florida and enjoyed lunch with
Williams President Adam Falk in Palm Beach.
Delighted to stay in touch through these notes and
really enjoy meeting classmates.”
And from Bob White: “Thanks for your fine efforts
on news and memorials. I split the year between
Florida and Glencoe, Ill. Sadly attended Comer
Plummer’s memorial service. The Williams experience was so important. I guess more than half of us
are gone. Those remaining must cherish the memory.
Even though we were rich, white, prejudiced and elitist, we were in the vanguard of change in attitude.” Frank Olmsted chimed in with customary modesty: “I think you’re telling me to blow my own
horn, so here is the latest blast on that well-nigh
worn-out trumpet. A cousin told me it is better to
wear out than rust out. So I still work as ‘counsel’
to my sons’ law firm here in Charles County, Md. I
also serve on the council of the state bar association’s
bench-bar section and on the style subcommittee of
the association’s special committee on voir dire. And
I write the skits for the follies show at the Charles
County Bar Association’s yearly holiday party. And,
best of all, my wife Alice still puts up with me
after 54 years.” (Sounds good, Frank!)
Bob Riegel wrote with tragic news: “Karen and I
are living in an apartment while our house is being
restored from severe flooding. The first floor and all
furnishings were lost. In this tough period, we have
experienced wonderfully the grace of God through
countless people who have helped in so many ways.
The first way was the boats and nameless men
who came to rescue us from our house. Nearby, the
waves were amazing, and one could have surfed
on them. We thought we were safe from 100-year,
nine-foot floods. This was 18 feet when the meters
were washed away. And we had no insurance. After
60 good years I have retired from being an active
Episcopal priest.” (Wow, what misfortune. Hope
you both are recovering.)
“Hey Alec, why aren’t you in sunny Florida or the
Caribbean?” wrote Swifty Swift (as it was negative
8 degrees in Essex, just to help me feel bad). “We’re
toasty warm here in Green Valley, Ariz., 82 today
and higher for the rest of the week and weekend, but
very dry. Not much to report: I’m playing some golf, a
little pickleball and busy on three different nonprofit
boards. Life is good!” (I felt cold.)
“Sorry to hear of John Montgomery’s and Paul
Doyle’s passing,” lamented Fred Goldstein. “Will miss
getting together with them for lunch or dinner when
John came to New York for cancer checkups. Also, El
Plump, two of whose inlays I still have after receiving them from him in dental school. I did manage to
catch up with our overseas contingent Peter Ochs in
Austria and Manuel Holguin in Chile while helping
Doug Foster out with the Alumni Fund. We are looking forward to Molly and Pete Gurney joining us the
end of February at the Roundabout Theatre.”
Jay McElroy announced: “We are spending the
winter at John’s Island in Florida. There is a very
active Williams club in Vero Beach, and Mary and
I have been meeting other Williams graduates. So
far almost all are from younger classes than ours. The
meetings are educational, with speakers from the
Williams faculty. I continue to work out five days a
week and play golf. Unfortunately, my game is not
improving despite continuing efforts. Everyone seems
to know John Hyde. The head of the Vero Beach
Williams alumni association is Chet Lasell ’58. His
father was a Morgan Stanley partner. He was the
partner who sponsored me when I was hired by them
in 1956. At that time the firm had only 100 people,
including 22 partners. They only hired one person a
year in the management end. The family also gave the
Lasell Gym to Williams.”
Pat and Bill Hatch are in the sunny South, “But it
was 38 degrees last night. I played tennis yesterday
at 8 a.m., and the temp was in the low 40s. Needless
to say I did not pack clothes for this kind of weather.
We are learning to get around in The Moorings, a
much larger development than Harbour Ridge.”
Mark Attix replied: “We’re still holding things
together, albeit not quite as successfully. Fortunately
we are ringed by four great children, their spouses
and 12 grandchildren. One group is 100 miles to the
north, one 14 miles to the west, one 100 miles south
and one one-and-a-half miles to the east. Haven’t got
anything exciting to report, but at our age, some say
getting up in the morning is an accomplishment. We
are still in our house here in Wilmington, which also
seems to be an accomplishment.”
“Your message caught Lynne and me as we are
leaving for Grenada, celebrating the 40th anniversary of my proposal and her acceptance,” wrote Sam
Humes. “Also combining interviews for the book I
am currently working on, Forty-One Under One, The
World’s 41 Least Populous Countries. Look forward to
seeing many of you at our fall minireunion. With a
new football coach we hope we have a victory. I hear
that more than 90 applied for the spot.”
Don Martin replied: “Jacquie and I just returned
from our January time at the Hillsboro Club, near
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where the inland waterway
enters the Atlantic Ocean. We subsequently booked
the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas for a week touring tropical islands. The ship accommodates 6,072
guests and about 3,500 crew, so it is like a small city,
but it never felt crowded. The ship is a technological
wonder, which, in addition to the usual theater (saw
a Broadway cast of the complete show of Cats) and
has separate locations for an ice skating show and
another for high-diving exhibitions, contains a fully
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CLASS NOTES
landscaped Central Park, open to the sky with restaurants on either side with sidewalk tables. Home now
on old Cape Cod, with mild temperatures and not
too much snow yet.”
This has been an eventful winter. We hope it is now
a warm and inviting spring. Hang in!
1953
Steve Klein, 10 Sunningdale Court, Maplewood, NJ 07040;
In January we lost two of our luminaries, Peter
Connolly and John Dighton (obituaries below for
those who may have missed them). Peter’s funeral
was attended by Pete Sterling, Mike Lazor and
Happy and Todd Mauck.
To avoid a vacuum in class leadership, Bob Howard
and Pete Sterling suggested that Todd Mauck take
over as class president. This was enthusiastically seconded by John Beard, Charlie Mott and George
Hartnett (who also suggested a debate). Todd has
agreed to be interim president until our next reunion
in 2018.
Obituaries: Peter Francis Connolly, 86, of West
Falmouth and Hingham, Mass., passed away peacefully on Friday evening, Jan. 22, 2016, at Linden
Pond’s Rose Court. Peter was an accomplished multisport athlete in both high school and college. He was
the national schoolboy shot put champion while at
Tabor. He also served as first mate on the Tabor Boy, a
92-foot sail-training schooner. At Williams he played
football and baseball and competed in track and field.
He served as president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity
and president of his Class of 1953. In June of 1953,
Peter married Susan McCauley, to whom he would
be married for 63 years, in Winchester, Mass. That
same year Peter began his career in sales with Inland
Steel. He was then commissioned as an officer in the
US Air Force and served for two years. In 1958, Peter
and Susan settled in Wayland, Mass., where they
raised their six children. Peter worked in the insurance and financial services industry for the remainder of his career. He established several businesses,
including MedTac, which at the time was an industry front-runner in third-party administration. While
committed to his career, Peter, affectionately known
as Rock, always put family first. He passed along his
love of athletics to his children and 14 grandchildren
and was often seen on the sidelines or in the bleachers cheering on his favorite athletes. As a family, they
spent summers in West Falmouth. Rock’s love of sailing continued throughout his life, spending glorious
days visiting Buzzard’s Bay’s beautiful harbors and
inlets. Peter and Susan retired full time in 1995 to
West Falmouth, where he dedicated himself to gardening, sailing and the community. Rock was active
in the West Falmouth Boat Club, was a member of
the board of directors of Penikese Island School as
well as West Falmouth Library. Winter months were
spent enjoying snowy days in Franconia, N.H., splitting and stacking wood, skiing at Cannon Mountain
and cross-country skiing expeditions in Franconia
Notch. Lastly, Peter remained a dedicated and loyal
member of the Williams alumni community and
was a tireless volunteer for his class, planning annual
reunions at Williams football games until just a few
years ago. Peter was beloved by all for his warmth and
16
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
concern for everyone he knew. He was a man of deep
faith and always reached out to others in need. His
broad smile and sparkling eyes brightened all of our
days. Surviving Peter are his wife Susan McCauley
Connolly of Hingham, Mass., and their six children,
Ann Hynes and her husband Martin of Hingham;
Peter Connolly and his wife Liliana and their
sons Peter, Nick and Chase of Wellesley; Michael
Connolly and his wife Christina and their children
Grace, Joe and Kate of Natick; Ellen Connolly of
Bozeman, Mont; Beth Caputi ’82 and her husband
David and their children Mac, Maggie, Lydia and
Claire of Brunswick, Maine and Middlebury, Vt.;
and Andrew Connolly and his wife Julie and their
children Lily, Michael, Andrew and Elizabeth of
Duxbury. Peter is also survived by his brother Fred
Connolly of Wellesley and sister Cathy Beatty and
her husband Paul of Boston.
John Basil Dighton, 84, of New Lenox Road, died
on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016, at Berkshire Medical
Center. Born in NYC Oct. 1, 1931, the son of
Anthony E. and Elizabeth Rice Dighton, he was a
graduate of Collegiate School in NYC, where he was
named “Head Boy,” or valedictorian of the Class of
1949. He went on to earn his BA in English with
honors from Williams, where he was president of the
Class of 1953. Following graduation from Williams,
Mr. Dighton served in the US Air Force and was a
veteran of the Korean War. He enjoyed a long career
on Wall Street before retiring as president and CEO
of Roosevelt & Cross Investment Group in 1990.
Throughout his life he was active in alumni affairs
at Williams and was a member of the Executive
Committee of the Society of Alumni from 2013 until
the time of his death. He was a lifelong supporter of
the arts, singing with the Gilbert & Sullivan Troupers
Light Opera Company and with the Berkshire Lyric
Group. He was also a volunteer fireman and a world
traveler, and he loved attending New York Giants
games with his children and grandchildren. He is
survived by his children Debra Pember and husband
Gary of Cromwell, Conn.; Susan Delph of Lenox;
Christopher Dighton and wife Diana of Danbury,
Conn.; Elizabeth Stedman of Ipswich, Mass.; and
Geoffrey Dighton and wife Lisa of New Fairfield,
Conn.; one brother, Anthony Dighton Jr. and wife
Gloria of Califon, N.J.; special companion Barbara
Heistand of Lenox; grandchildren Emily, John,
Kathryn, Christine, Nathan (wife Elizabeth), Lauren,
Samantha (fiancé Matthew), Lisa, John Matthew,
Hannah, Molly, Daniel, Erik and Kaysie; and eight
great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife
of 57 years, Joan Parker Dighton.
1954
Harry Montgomery, 610 Water St., Williamstown, MA
Mid-February gave proof our class officers are on
the job. President Bob Murdock urged you to attend
reunion June 9-12 and the fall minireunion, Sept.
30-Oct. 1. Agent Guy Verney urged procrastinators to
get their Alumni Fund contributions in—pronto—to
assure W’54 keeps its leadership and hopefully possession of the Sawyer Trophy.
Keeping up with the world—and classmates,
Mollie and John Beard report enthusiastically on a
1952– 54
Lewis and Clark re-enactment last fall, staged by the
Smithsonian, with congenial fellow travelers including Sally and Dick Hollington and Barbara and Jerry
Schauffler. The Beards often see Bob Seaman, the
three having shared table with Patsy and Hal Pratt
and Elisabeth and Pete Loizeaux.
Prize-winning Franco-Polish-American mathematician (Princeton PhD) and electoral scholar Michel
(Mike) Balinski has relocated from Paris to Lahonce,
near Biarritz, but often visits stateside for academic
or family reasons. The Beards dined with him at his
daughter’s place in Guilford, Mass. John argues convincingly that Mike’s prize-winning work in mathematics, political science (George H. Hallett award
of the American Political Science Association),
operations research ( John von Neumann Prize) and
beyond also deserves recognition from Williams, his
first alma mater, perhaps at fall Convocation.
It would seem especially appropriate this election
fall to honor a man whose work seeks fair majority vote outcomes. Could it be that polymath/
Renaissance man Mike is handicapped by mastery
of too many fields? However, a possible candidate
for fame beyond her father’s, Maria Balinski has
written a definitive and accessible work, The Bagel:
The Surprising History of a Modest Bread.
Daphne and Bob McGill have switched their center
of activities from Williamstown and Vero Beach to
Essex Meadows, Conn. They give it positive reviews
but will keep their house in South Williamstown and
look forward to a seasonal shift there in May.
Bob Brandegee reports Dick Huppertz “is now
living with his daughter and well on his way to full
recovery from a serious stroke. And a schmooze
with Charlie Foster and a happy encounter with Meg
McDonald ’80, tour guide for the Williams art group
that visited us last year. We traded time in her Santa
Fe B&B for a console of my design. Ada and I hope
to collect this spring.”
Commenting on reactions to Obama’s State of the
Union address, Bob continues, “Some took umbrage
at his taking credit for his stimulus and the auto
industry bailout in averting the near-catastrophe
caused by our irresponsible financial sector and
for achieving the highest job growth in decades.
Republican critics sneeringly cited slipping incomes
for all but the top 10 percent over the same period.
I find a splendid irony in that point, given their consistent efforts to destroy unions, cut taxes on the
wealthy, their votes against the Affordable Care Act
and against Dodd-Frank, and resistance to raising the
minimum wage. A rant perhaps, but reaching back
to our era for a favorite political quote, from Joseph
Welch to Joseph McCarthy, ‘Have you no sense of
decency, sir?’”
Class notes owe a lot to Bob/Rob Brandegee.
Beyond direct benefits are the collateral. Bob stirs
others to speak. Vic Earle has broken his silence:
“I continue to love my former roommate, Rob…
Some may remember his rant in advance of the 60th
reunion. After radical Islamism and our warming
planet, I am most frightened by populism, whether
the Sanders version on the left or the know-nothing
version of Trump and Cruz on the right. Sanders at
least offers specific policies, but do we really think
sound his proposal to fill the fed board with farmers
and workmen?”
David St. Clair retired from clerical duties after
nearly five decades, providing highlights of an interesting dual career. Under the man of the cloth was
the man of steel. Leaving imagery aside, there is a
long tradition of preaching requiring supplemental income. Out in Western Pennsylvania, steel
sales were a better bet than fishing. David began
his ordained ministry in 1968, serving more than
a dozen churches in Pennsylvania, Georgia and
Colorado. His last post was as Congregational
Care Pastor for Holy Trinity Anglican Church in
Colorado Springs, where his retirement was honored last October. Following ordainment, Dave continued his business career with Latrobe Steel while
serving in more than nine churches in the Diocese
of Pittsburgh as assistant, interim rector or rector.
He retired from Latrobe in 1986, having been in
sales, managing divisions and finally manager of the
Detroit sales office. In this capacity, he commuted
weekly to Detroit while continuing his church work
in Pennsylvania. One of his Pennsylvania churches
was St. Alban’s in Murrysville. Dave led the building of its new church. He and Gail traveled to
England and visited St. Alban’s Cathedral, north of
London, where the verger gave him a piece of the
Roman Road, now in the cornerstone of St. Alban’s
of Murrysville.
Jim Carpenter writes from Florida with mild irritation and a renewed promise he and Shirley will
be back in Williamstown in mid-May: “Nice job …
on the notes, with one exception. I do not now and
never have owned a Bentley… Donald Trump shows
that money cannot buy class, and that’s what Bentleys
mean to me. … There is no connection between
Bentley Village where we live and the auto-maker. …
As a lifelong moderate Republican, I am embarrassed
by The Donald. He has done a great disservice to the
party. I don’t like Cruz either and would not vote for
either. … Any candidate who says he will cancel the
ACA the day he takes office is a jackass. He will lose
the votes of the 7 million voters who now have health
insurance. The ACA has to be changed. We should
have the experience to fine-tune it, not kill it.”
Dan Tritter writes that he and Jacqueline just
missed a 20-inch snowfall in France’s Maritime Alps.
Dan “returned to Manhattan just in time to glance
out my window at a record-setting 27 inches of
snow in Central Park. When Laroche came back, we
decided it was time for winter sunshine. Knowing she
prefers a spot where the natives speak French, I suggested a possible first visit to Reunion Island. I did a
little research, only to find that airfare is about double the price of hotel and restaurant tariffs, so we will
be off shortly for Tobago and a whiff of Caribbean
sunshine. Before we go, I’ll be urging ’54’s usual stellar showing for the Alumni Fund, Williams’ best and
brightest (that’s us!) supporting tomorrow’s best and
brightest (Ephs all!). Those June reunions are terrific fun, even in this most ridiculous political season. I had a deposit down for a trip to the August
Olympics in Rio, but Track and Field’s editor told
me transportation from hotel to stadium couldn’t be
guaranteed. So limited mobility means I’ll have to
depend on French TV to satisfy my fanatic tastes.
Meanwhile, I’ll see you June 9-12.”
Secretary’s note: Good judgment leads to good
choices, which our country needs. Yes, Williams
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CLASS NOTES
reunions are more fun and more affordable than
Reunion Island. Cancellation of tickets to Rio
Olympics means senior travelers, pregnant or not,
needn’t worry about Zika mosquitoes.
Had a good chat with Pat Cavanaugh occasioned
by the sad loss of esteemed friend and fellow Zete
John Dighton ’53. Pat regrets he will miss our June
reunion. He has several works in progress. To ensure
outcomes, he and his muse Kat, also a writer, will
emulate Hemingway and others by spending June in
Paris. We’ll look for his book signing at Shakespeare
& Co. on Rue d’Odeon.
Graham Humes has taken a surer route to publication, serving as de facto publisher of A Pilgrim
for Freedom, by his friend Michael Novakovic. It’s a
moving and well-written story of the exodus, survival and flourishing in the New World of a mixed
Serbo-Croatian family. Faced with high demand for
rental of their Key West house, Graham and Beth
will soon be back in Cherry Valley, N.Y., poised, we
hope, for reunion.
Sorry to say we lost Jack (John E.) Hawkins on
Jan. 14, at a hospice near his longtime home in
Bridgewater, N.J. Born in Philadelphia, Jack’s talent
in high school basketball and baseball led to a scholarship to Williams, where he majored in biology. Walt Creer reports his and Jack’s college trajectories
were very close. First as roommates, then as JAs and
as basketball co-captains. (Walt himself is retired in
Pittsfield, close to the purple bubble, family and his
former GE employment.) Jack’s obituary reports he turned down an offer to
join a Brooklyn Dodgers farm club to marry Doris,
who became his loving wife of 63 years. Following
Jack’s Korean War service in the Army, he and Doris
moved to New Jersey. Jack’s professional career was
in marketing for Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, retiring after 40 years in 1997. He was a longtime coach
for Bridgewater Little League and a deacon of the
Bound Brook Presbyterian Church. Predeceased
by son Mark, Jack is survived by his widow Doris
Hawkins, sons Scott and Neil, daughter-in-law Karen
Hawkins, grandchildren Jocelyn, Aimee, Sabrina,
Tyler, Trevor, Lucy, Lena and Russell and greatgranddaughter Melissa.
We also lost Dan (Daniel J. III) Callahan. Borrowing
from his Washington Post obituary, he died Dec.
30 at the home he shared with Colleen, his wife
of 59 years. A fourth-generation Washingtonian,
Dan was a member of the Deke house at Williams,
where ROTC led to his Korean War service in the
Air Force. Then came Dan’s long career in banking,
including many years in London and then leadership of several Washington-area financial institutions,
including as chairman of American Security Bank
and president of Riggs National Bank. Dan’s most
recent position was as treasurer and vice chairman of
Washington’s Cafritz Foundation. Both on the job
and after hours, Dan contributed to Washington’s
neighborhood development and community service.
Various board positions included chairman of the
Greater Washington Research Center, vice chairman
of the Atlantic Council and director of Easter Seals
of Greater Washington-Baltimore. In 1991, Pope
John Paul II honored Dan as a Knight Commander
of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Dan is survived by his wife Colleen Mount Callahan; his
18
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
children, Carey Callahan, Caren Callahan, Carolyn
Callahan Keller and Colleen Callahan Brown; nine
grandchildren; three great-grandsons; and his sisters
Joanne McClure and Mary Alicia Callahan. One benefit of this secretary’s job is that I too get to
pontificate. The “politically correct” debate is evident
far beyond the rallies of the leading incorrect candidate. On many college campuses, including Amherst,
Princeton and Yale, members of minorities with historic grievances have set college administrators back
on their heels. And limits on free speech have been
proposed as necessary to assure comfortable environments for all students.
As you may have heard, the beautifully renovated Log now has a mural hidden behind plywood. It’s said to mask a mid-20th century depiction
of Col. Ephriam Williams and Shawnee Chief
Tecumseh. We can agree that Native Americans
often were not kindly treated by European settlers,
but I don’t recall any Log depiction of bloody atrocities either way. President Falk has appointed a committee to study whether the campus should be rid of
such reminders. Not all alums are happy with this.
Herb Allen ’62 wrote the Williams Record on Dec. 9,
arguing the president’s censoring a painting at the
Log and then forming “a tribunal to judge the moral
value of art objects on campus, will be “the college’s
edition of the old House Un-American Activities
Committee.” Art will always alienate someone,
he continues, but everyone is at liberty to criticize.
Rather than appointing committees to destroy the
past, “Better to focus on broader representation of
groups who feel underrepresented.”
While supportive of Falk, I share Allen’s view on
this issue. Bankers know that addition is better than
subtraction. Preserve and share all that old art, good
and bad by current standards, and bring on the new.
Funny how roles shift over the years on issues of
free speech. In our time at Williams, it was the Old
Guard, led by President James Phinney Baxter, Class
of 1914, who protected academic freedom, and the
professors who exercised it, from the purges sought
by the McCarthyites. And the Monuments Men, led
by Professor S. Lane Faison ’29 in the aftermath of
WWII, did not vet art stolen by the Nazis but saved
it all, returning it to its rightful owners.
Like Bob Murdock, we hope to see as many of
you as possible in June. Whether or not you make
reunion, please keep in touch. It’s not scientific, but
secretaries’ notes form a longitudinal study, adding up to class history. History deals with continuity and change. Notes needn’t all be “news,” with its
bias toward change. My partner often ends phone
exchanges with the mantra, “No news is good news.”
For classmates, we welcome the silent implication
that personal health remains good, annuities adequate
and offsprings’ lives happy. However, travel, community activities and recreation are no longer banal and
can even assume a heroic aura, when maintained in
defiance of the passing years.
While welcoming such personal news, we harbor a bias toward mature views of the world and the
human circus about us. As Williams graduates, we’ve
been watching, thinking and judging all these years.
We now can articulate our views without fear of
consequences. Class notes are your forum.
1954– 55
1955
Norm Hugo, 37 Carriage Lane, New Canaan, CT 06840;
We lost another stalwart when Freddie Towers
died on Jan. 20. His obit revealed that Freddie was
an accomplished sailor and lover of choral music and
model trains. After graduation he served in Naval
intelligence and was an aide to CNO Arleigh Burke.
He became a successful stockbroker and, using his
home office, developed two software programs,
Valport and Hypo, which were licensed to major
brokerage firms throughout the country. His only
son was to enter Williams but, just before matriculation, he was killed in a car crash. Dick Maidman’s
(212.319.4549) wife Gail has also died. Our condolences are with him. Roger Friedman attended her
very moving funeral.
Ron Wilson (206.303.8399) chatted about a wide
variety of topics while he waited out the great DC
blizzard. Ron lives only a mile away from Bill Fall,
and they keep in touch. Ron keeps in tip-top shape
by running, although this has resulted in bilateral
knee replacement and a move to weights. Ron retired
at age 65 after a successful environmental law practice
to become a stay-at-home dad to raise his daughter
from a second marriage. She is now at the Claremont
Colleges (Scripps) and thriving. Ron tried to interest her in Williams, to no avail. Roger (Mugsy) Ames
(918.622.5672) lives in Tulsa, Okla. Recalled how
Dick Berry (610.363.5090) was his best man 59 years
ago. Mugsy has been active with a group, Rebuilding
Together, that builds houses for the needy. Says it
is much manual labor. Also tutors Hispanic fourthgraders in math and geography. Leisure is golf two
times a week. His brother Rich Berry ’54 still practices renal medicine. Chatted with Barbara Beatty
about Dick Beatty, who is in assisted living. Bill Fall
(703.444.1234) was holed up in quarters sitting out
the blizzard and getting ready for a 10-day Caribbean
cruise. Nice chat about violence in movies without
redeeming qualities. Also voiced a desire to get in
touch with Dick Berry.
Ed Belt (413.256.8203), professor of geology emeritus, Amherst, has published a signal paper on sedimentary geology that has been widely received. In
spare time, he is putting together a one-hour video
of his most illustrious family, ranging from a general who helped Pershing chase Pancho Villa to
acclaimed physicians. It was a real treat to examine history through these personal anecdotes.
Charley Bradley (914.762.5369) still has an upbeat
attitude although wheelchair bound. John Carter
(401.274.6322) continues with his principal activity: improving public education in Providence, R.I.
He is an inspiration. John Donovan (717.337.0080)
still works as a volunteer guide at Gettysburg.
Remembers with great pleasure his seven alumni trips
arranged by Bobby Behr and hosted by Williams faculty. Enjoys good health; was told by his physician
that he was a dull patient. As you may recall John
was a Marine colonel in charge of embassy security—
a tough and dangerous job, which he did with great
success. Bob Diamond (202.244.7389) was sitting
out the blizzard and engaged in a cogent discussion
about health care—his own being good. Bob keeps in
touch with 40 or so international friends with blogs
about the political/cultural scene in USA. He followed up with an email: “Thanks for calling. Great
talking to you today. I keep in touch with Erwin von
den Steinen (49.228.934.8149); he and Annemarie
visited us last summer at our cottage in France. We’ve
seen Bill Shaw (207.374.7050 or wvshaw33@gmail.
com) several times over the past few years. Keep
well.” Followed up with a phone call with Bill Shaw,
who is residing in a seniors’ community in Blue Hills,
Maine. Bill is two years post-cardiac surgery for two
new valves and thriving. In his most productive years,
Bill moved to the UK in academic medicine and then
into research on antibiotics, which developed into
a business endeavor. Returned to the US and kept
his interest in antibiotics and is completing a video
about the discovery of penicillin debunking the myth
of Fleming, who received the Nobel Prize. The title
of the video is The Mold, the Myth, the Miracle. Bill
knows personally several of the real scientists. Keeps
in touch with Rick Smith (301.526.0013), who sent
him a great book on how civilizations have changed
from early Christian times to the present. Jim Colberg
(215.922.8567) and wife Kathleen continue their torrid travel pace enjoying a Bob Behr (413.458.5557)
special that took them through Greece and Turkey to
spending Christmas in Napa Valley. April was to see
them on the Rhine hitting Amsterdam to Lucerne.
They are obviously in good health with this ambitious schedule. John Gehret (302.654.1305) has
been slowed down with peripheral neuropathy but
sounds as energetic as always. Has lived all his life in
Wilmington. In the process of selling his house in
the Dominican Republic. Dick Hale (914.939.2055)
and Maria stay put for the winter. Dick has some
back twinges that curtail his walking, but he keeps
on trucking. He keeps in touch with George Ramsey
(765.463.5297) and Sim Simpson (530.891.5162)
through Christmas cards. Sim continues to sail in the
Caribbean and do helicopter skiing in the winter. I
am tired just thinking about it.
Tom Hammond (989.348.5183) claims he is still
“vertical.” Missed being in touch with Pete Sammond
(952.935.6016), George Rounds (847.864.5671) and
Chuck Hewett (212.988.4799). Tom is sitting out
the winter—already with three feet of snow. Has a
history of two weeks of power outage for the winters, which he has compensated for with a generator. Mick Hirth (623.935.3137) was career Air Force,
flying F84s, F86s and F4s, the latter in Vietnam.
He recently had a cervical laminectomy from an
auto accident that occurred in France when he was
a young pilot. Had excellent result and progressing well in therapy. Had a nice conversation about
the PC armed forces. Dave Murphy (617.742.7585)
just finished a wonderful afternoon with Pete
Sterling celebrating Pete’s newly minted honorary
’55 membership. The conversation ranged over lifelong topics, including marriages, family life and existential topics. Murph was in his glory. Bob Nash
(952.476.0434) was getting ready to go to Florida
in March—getting out from the Minnesota winter. Likes to travel; his most recent trip was a river
cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. Nagging hip
problem is shortly going to be corrected so that he
can jog and play tennis. Ward Poor (781.861.1215)
has had a most interesting career, ranging from the
development of color TV at the RCA Sarnoff Lab at
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CLASS NOTES
Princeton to development of a prototype computer
cloud to Harvard Business School to a variety of consultancies. In retirement has traveled to Europe and
Alaska. Quite an adventure.
Had a chat with Ted Bowers (781.801.3914),
who is up to his peripatetic ways visiting Moto
Montgomery (970.279.5199) at his annual Williams
bash in Basalt, Colo., followed by another visit for
Mac Fiske’s funeral and meeting up with Moto,
Beef Heppenstall (720.883.7860), Pancho Isenhart
(303.770.3131) and Rick Smith (301.526.0013). Ted
spends winters in FL, where he teaches reading to
fifth-graders in a charter school. Is highly impressed
with the level of commitment and talent of the
teachers. Got a nice email from Beef: “John Denver’s
‘Rocky Mountain High’ describes the Midwest scene
in late January; snow is finally bombarding our ski
destinations; and loyal Bronco fans hope they’ll perform against that incredible Carolina Newton better than the laughable scenario against the Seahawk’s
Russell Wilson two years ago. But the painful sting
of dear friend Mac Fiske’s departure still lingers.”
Class president Bobby Behr has been Williams’
travel guru for the past 25 years and has now stepped
down. He has rewarded us with a kaleidoscopic array
of travel experiences. He may be replaced but never
matched. Jigs Gardner (no phone number) chipped
in with a snail mail: “Williams People came just a few
days after JoAnn and I celebrated our 61st anniversary. We were married in the town clerk’s office in
Williamstown Jan. 3, 1955. JoAnn’s latest book, Seeds
of Transcendence, about the Torah, is doing well, and
she is going to Atlanta in April for a week of lecturing, mostly to Evangelicals. Two of her herb books
were recently reported. She is associate editor of the
St. Croix Review. Our four children are doing fine as
a farmer (one), horticulturists (two) and restaurant
designer (one). We greet the surviving members of
the Class of ’55 with good cheer.”
To close, Mac Nelson (716.792.9405) has been
writing books and essays since graduation and sent
along a couple of recently published essays. A portion
of one is included: “My life is good, but narrower
than it was. In my ninth decade, I no longer run
(even very slowly) every morning. I no longer go to
Yellowstone every summer, and when I do go, I avoid
the more strenuous activities, like backcountry hikes.
My physical self is telling me to slow down. Sleep
sometimes eludes me, and my balance is dodgy. No
more canoe trips on Yellowstone Lake. I lead a singing group that began in Morgan Hall with Williams
glee club music—restoration catches—and has persisted for 63 years. (Thanks to Stan Stranahan and
Hugh Nevin ’54, my first Catch Club, singing remains
a delight.)” And they are all terrific but too lengthy to
include. After heroic detective work, Whitey Perrrott
had an upbeat chat with Dick Berry. He is living at
a life-care facility outside of Philadelphia and certainly sounds in good spirits. Dick’s address is Sunrise
of Exton, Room 106, 200 Sunrise Boulevard, Exton,
PA, 19341. His telephone number is 610.363.5090.
He would enjoy hearing from any of his classmates.
I have included phone numbers in the hope you
will spontaneously pick up your phone and revisit
some of your most precious memories. You will be
surprised how fulfilling it is.
20
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
1956
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Bill Troyer, 1111 Ontario St., Apt. 1116, Oak Park, IL 60302;
My most recent call for “ice breakers” for the
upcoming reunion on June 9-12 resulted in several
missives from long silent ’56-ers. One of those was
Brower Merriam, whom I hadn’t heard from in
close to 30 years. The last time I saw him was at a
rugby game one fall Saturday afternoon on Parents’
Weekend at Cole Field, some time in the early 1980s.
Both our sons were playing. Brower and I were
watching and discussing the prices of pharmaceuticals that day, Brower from the point of view of an
executive of Pfizer and me from the consumer point
of view. Fast-forward to Jan. 16, 2016, and Brower
reached out to me via phone on my birthday to give
me some news for class notes.
After graduating, Brower joined the Navy and went
to OCS at Newport, spent several years at sea, mainly
in the Caribbean, then went on to Harvard Business
School and a career at Pfizer. Along the way he met
many Williams people, ’56ers as well as older and
younger Ephs. He sent along a list and some comments. It is too long for this submission, but I will
give you a sample—not necessarily a typical sample.
“I was standing in the urinal at ‘Gitmo’ when out of
the blue Jack Carter arrived beside me. You take the
conversation from there.” In the next issue I will share
with you Brower’s list and comments about his fellow Ephs. Brower and Di now live in Wilson, Wyo.,
in the cold months and Palm Desert when the golfing is good.
Kay and Wayne Renneisen sold their home in Bala
Cynwyd, Pa., and moved 1.6 miles to a very small
apartment in Wynnewood, Pa. They live in Avalon,
N.Y., and Naples, Fla., and take time to travel. They
take Williams trips to Sicily and Alaska and visited son Gordon Renneisen ’83 and shared a holiday
with son John Renneisen ’86 in the suburbs of DC.
They still go to NCAA wrestling trips and last fall
attended the World Championship in Las Vegas.
Carolyn and Bill Mauritz sold their home in Rye,
N.Y., and moved to a smaller house four miles away.
The missed the reunion in Napa Valley due to serious medical issues, but thanks to great health care,
including support and advice from Bill Kerr, Bill is on
the move and expects to be in good shape for June’s
gathering in Williamstown.
Eli Pierce wrote, “Judie and I are celebrating our
60th wedding anniversary this year.”
Mike Dubroff and Andi (Wellesley ’61) summer
in Edgartown and winter in Highland Beach, Fla.
Fourteen years ago, Mike developed a blocked right
carotid artery that damaged the speech part of his
brain. He says he understands everything but can’t
express it well. I talked to Mike and could understand him. His spirits are optimistic, and he is an avid
sports fan now instead of the participant we remember. Andi told me that she is doubtful they will make
the reunion because the logistics are nearly insurmountable, but they will be thinking of us.
Andi has an interesting story about Mike’s immediate medical case. Before his illness he was in the
hotel business as a developer, owner and operator. He
knew Bill Tiefel, who transferred to Michigan State
after his sophomore year to attend its hotel school.
1955– 57
Andi and Mike are still in contact with Bill, Paul
Marcus and Wally Jensen.
Betsey and Phil Palmedo made their annual summer trip through Vermont and met Margaret and
Price Zimmerman for lunch and a concert at the
Marlboro Festival. They were bright and charming as
ever. Phil added, “We also stopped by to see Louise
and Ed Amidon at their lovely house on the shore
of Lake Champlain.” Phil suggested that I get Ed
to recount his role as judge in Burlington in Bernie
Sanders’ political career. Phil has been doing this best
to maintain the legacy of Williams art history. “I like
to think S. Lane Faison ’29 would give a decent grade
to my new book, The Experience of Modern Sculpture,
for it’s very much in the tradition of art.”
Phil Wick wrote from the Cape: “Barbara and Bill
Zeckhausen and Linda and Bob Spaeth were proxies
for our class at the college’s Greylocks (clever replacement of ‘old guard’) minireunion Oct. 9-11. Saturday
was one of those pristine fall days we remember and
cherish. Saturday evening we joined Emily and Dick
Flood ’57, Kathy and John Pritchard ’57, Ann and
Charlie Alexander ’57, Sandy and Crosby Smith ’57
and Dan Callahan ’57 for dinner at the 1896 Tavern,
highlighted by intimate, interesting, lively and fun
conversation.” Phil recommend to those of us attending the 60th to visit the 21st-century, eye-popping
renovation of the “new” Sawyer Library on campus
and the beautifully reconfigured Clark.
Chuck Thorne actually sent me a typed letter. I
thought I was the only one using that kind of technology. He and Pat settled in Kenosha, Wis., and
enjoy watching the boating activities on Lake
Michigan in the summer. “Our health is good despite
being a few pounds puffier. It is hard to believe we’ve
been married almost 60 years, though.” Chuck occupies himself by writing short stories for young readers
and seeing them published. They are in touch regularly with Bob Fordyce, who keeps Chuck up to date
with the Williams news. Chuck adds that extended
trips just don’t happen anymore, so he will be with us
in spirit come June.
Ed Pitts and wife Marilyn have divided their time
between Baltimore and Key West. Their six married
children and 17 grandchildren keep them occupied
and laughing. Ed still works every day in the local
schools as a psychologist with troubled kids and jogs
or works out in the gym daily and is taking piano lessons. He mentioned a bit of cancer “here and there,”
some travel, study of music history and “an extremely
happy marriage up to the past five years.” He sends
his best wishes to all classmates.
Martha and Bill Merizon are still playing golf
and skiing in Sun Valley. They spend four weeks
on Sanibel Island each spring and have been using
that to get ready for a cruise each year. Bill is from
Wisconsin and still owns a cottage way up north, and
a visit is on the schedule for July. Duck hunting is on
the fall schedule. After shooting all of the ducks in
Alberta, Canada, he returns to northern Wisconsin
with his boys for a final go. He and Martha are looking forward to the reunion in June.
I’ve been secretarying for nearly 12 years, and
in that time I can’t remember even getting a letter
from Chuck Thorne, Jim Paterson, Dick Swart or Jim
Snyder. Two of those are above, and we are coming to
the other two.
Dick Swart is still living in Hood River, Ore., which
he says is getting more “refined” by the day: wood
oven pizza, slick women’s clothing stores, upscale restaurants, an active art scene and library and lacrosse
team. He says he is supporting “No Nestlé” on its
proposal to bottle spring water for sale in plastic bottles. He is following his own interest in midcentury
art, and he is visiting kids to influence grandkids to
attend Williams, a complete failure so far. His grandson Jack was accepted early admission to Harvard.
He signs off with: “I am worried we are not passing
on a world nearly as nice as we were given.”
Jim Paterson and Jeannine will not make the
reunion. In the past two years he has had two major
surgeries, one of them cancer related. He is now cancer free. Jim and Jeannine live in Pearce, Ariz., and
have a small retail business consisting of a jewelry and
pottery shop and photographs and notecards. Both
are active in their local church. They usually make
only one long trip a year in the fall, to Maine, to see
their family, of which 35 of 38 usually come.
This comes from my fraternity brother Jim Snyder,
who lives with his bride of 50 years, Lollie, in The
Villages, Fla. They moved from Roswell, Ga., after
many years in Atlanta. Jim was the voice of WCFM
when we were in college, and he made a very viable
career out of it as the guy who for many years did the
morning drive show in Atlanta and other major cities.
I haven’t seen him since Steve Troyer’s ’86 wedding
almost 24 years ago, when he and Lollie dropped by
the Holiday Inn in Roswell and we continued the
bachelor party for a few more hours.
Jim’s letter related that he became an invited lecturer on “old time radio” at a local grade school. It was
quite an experience. The school was in an economically challenged town. He had never seen such wellbehaved students with so many questions and with
such strict teachers. Later he received two-dozen
thank you notes that touched him, written in crayon,
of course. “All the better,” he added.
And, finally, Jim has seen the elusive Dan Read
on several occasions in these parts, ostensibly to
listen to Jim sing and strum. Hope to see you in
Williamstown in June.
1957
Richard P. Towne, 13 Silverwood Terrace, South Hadley,
My goodness! A treasure trove of news of you, by
you and for you followed my group letter as sent by
the stalwart Alumni Office folks. Along with a smattering of Christmas emails and cards, we’ve got lots
to talk about!
Henry Bass always sends a painting on his and
Susan’s card, from places they’ve visited lately. Now
that he’s back from a three-week Panama trip, he has
sketchbooks filled with images for next year’s card.
He plans to read the new book by P.B. Phillips but
asks where to purchase it (more on that later).
Eric Butler has been enjoying El Nino’s rain in
Southern California but says little else is new since
his trip east in December, where he found Dee
Gardner and Mimi Hollister for dinner and
conversation in Boston. The end of the LA drought
awakened many Angelenos to an unfamiliar sound
known by those of us back east as a sump pump.
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
Ex-class president Ted Cobden ventured to the
Dominican Republic in January with Evie Cunliffe
’84, his daughter, to visit his grandson David, working as an intern with Manuel Diez ’86. Manuel owns
a business manufacturing plastic housewares there,
which will give David experience for a career in
international finance.
John Connelly and Marian in Wyomissing, Pa.,
report the birth of twin grandchildren 18 months
ago, making them winners of the youngest
grandchildren contest among ’57. Sleepless nights
are no longer a thing of the past when his son and
wife come visiting. Fortune smiles on us all! John
also reports he’s passed a physical with “flying
colors,” so he’s got abundant time to practice his
grandparenting skills.
“The good life” is still my headline for the news
from Peter Fleming and Carey. Always upbeat, our
ex-class president stays busy and mobile! “Seven
months in Hilton Head and five at a lake house in
Maine.” His daughter is even building her vacation
house next door! “My major passion is the Hilton
Head Boys and Girls Club, where I’m doing some
tutoring and on the board. Very humbling on
day one with a fifth-grader to discover I did not
have the slightest idea of new math procedures.
I’ve been demoted to tutoring a second-grader.”
Not surprising, Peter, we’re 70 years past our fifth
grade! More to Carey’s liking is the International
Piano Competition, which brings out the best side
of cultural life in Hilton Head. The Flemings keep
in touch with Bob Lane and D’Ann, and they visited Tom Slonaker and Nina in Payson, Ariz.
Just before he passed away, Dave Connolly told
me about his son Jon becoming the first child of a
classmate to be a college president. He said Jon was
appointed to head Somerset Community College
in eastern Kentucky. The note typified Dave: understated, but proud of his son’s accomplishment. Our
easygoing classmate will be missed by many from ’57.
Howard DeLong enjoys his retirement with Shirley.
“We married a few days after graduation (from
Smith and Williams). We see the Wrights a few
times a year either in Williamstown or Hartford
and the Frimpters in Naples, Fla., each winter.
Last year I published the latest revision of my
political philosophy book, now called In the Cause of
Humanity. It is a scholarly tome on how we should
new-model the American revolution. (You can dip
into it for free on Amazon.) Finally, I must say the
continuing excellence of Williams makes me proud.
The neglect of the liberal arts today is demoralizing.
America is paying a price for that neglect, and will
pay a bigger price in the future. When will our leaders learn to know their enemies?” Proud to know
you for these insights, Howard!
Iron Man Ted Graham seems to have healed from
a broken pelvis—perhaps from stumbling over boxes
of his farm-raised chicken eggs in Hardwick, Vt., or
from overexertion at his 80th birthday lifting one
of his seven grandchildren at the party. Celebration
at Littleton, N.H., featured touring a candy store
with the “longest candy counter in the world, a horse
graveyard and a 1930s diner.” Now working with a
neighboring Vermonter rebuilding a wagon wheel,
Ted continues to show us what good old NE living
can mean.
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
Bob Harwood retired from clinical research in
medicine, moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2014
and tells me he became a “steward at McDowell
Sonoran Preserve. Gwen and I hike the 31,000
acres of desert landscape regularly along with other
citizens who are responsible for maintaining the
property.” Thus the Harwoods maintain health and
a love of outdoor living. They went to Japan with
a Williams group in October. “We learned its history and unique culture with a wonderful group of
alumni and their spouses.”
A sad note from Carter Howard told us that his
wife Carolyn died unexpectedly of a ruptured aorta
last April. They had moved from their home in
Winnetka to a continuous care retirement facility,
thinking of the longevity issue (as all of us now do).
“I am trying to construct a plan for the rest of my life
now that my caregiver skills are no longer relevant.
I can teach or practice law but at this moment am
replacing both my knees.” Sympathies to you Carter,
and prayers that you’ll return from your knee surgeries with renewed inspiration!
Jamie Humes keeps meeting up with the right
people. This time it’s British Prime Minister David
Cameron. At his grandson’s confirmation ceremony at Eton, “My wife and I attended, (which)
led to a presentation at 10 Downing St. of my latest
book, Churchill: the Prophetic Statesman.” Jack Jakubowski is “still practicing law, until I
get it right.” Now living in a two-bedroom condo
in Abington, Pa., near “three daughters who have
dedicated their lives to taking care of their old
man.” He leaves them for Naples, Fla., where he
plays golf and admirable tennis still. His hope is to
beat his grandson at golf but admits this is unlikely
because the kid has a PGA card. Instead, he wants
to return to our 2016 reunion and take on all
comers at Taconic! Still unforgettable: irrepressible
since freshman days when we journeyed to Mount
Holyoke in search of social acceptance (AKA a date)!
Len Kirschner continues on the speaking circuit
about Medicare and Medicaid 2026. “Breaking out
my crystal ball and predicting where these programs
plus Obamacare will be in 10 years! They won’t know
if I’m right or wrong until 2026 (and neither will
we!).” “Predicting is hard, especially when you’re talking about the future,” as Yogi Berra said.
Dick Marr and Ginny “continue to navigate
between Cape Cod (Truro) and North Carolina
(Chapel Hill), feeling most fortunate to do so. 2015
was the 50th anniversary of the Flood-Marr Prep
School Christmas Hockey Tournament. Ginny
thrives on her work as a hospice volunteer while
using aqua classes to battle arthritis. I still manage to
coach UNC club ice hockey, mediate small claims,
fit in tennis, golf, softball and health club visits, along
with exercising the golden retriever.” Must be tiring
for the dog, but not Lefty, evidently! They also serve
as grandparental advisors to the eight Marr grandkids. Do they accept your advice, Dick?
An article titled “Tough Medicine” in
December’s New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell
tells about the role of Jack Moxley in developing a new protocol for treatment of Hodgkin’s disease. The story is told in Dr. Vincent DeVita’s book,
The Death of Cancer. Fifty years ago, Jack was a colleague of DeVita’s at the National Cancer Institute
1957
in Washington. While downing a few beers at a
Georgetown pub, he and DeVita sketched out
what they hoped would be a curative treatment for
Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The treatment was based on
experimental work under way for acute childhood
leukemia. They spent many nights pacing outside the
patients’ rooms, fearful of what might happen. Twelve
of the first 14 patients went into remission and nine
stayed there—something not seen before in the treatment of solid tumors.
When Jack and I spoke, he was more inclined to
talk about his trip to Cuba with wife Doris. Those
vintage ’50s automobiles mixed with the jazz inspired
street musicians in Havana were a far cry from home
in Solvang, Calif. Jack and Doris found emerging signs of capitalism at numerous owner-operated
restaurants while savoring excellent Cuban cuisine. Thanks to Jim Patterson for suggesting this
story and encouraging my connection with Jack.
Bob Loevy retired from Colorado College in
2014 but still goes there daily, mostly to “research
an ancestor from Illinois who was a close friend
of Abraham Lincoln.” Do I smell a book here?
When not so engaged, he works on neighborhood
preservation matters in the North End of Colorado
Springs and visits seven grandchildren, six in New
York and one in Nashville. Wonder if he listens to
C&W music at those famous nightspots in the home
of country music?
In Atlanta, Phil Lundquist keeps up with his DU
brethren, Don McLean, Steve Bullock and John
Sudduth. His breakfast agenda with Don hasn’t
changed much, just grown more intense, as we
head toward the presidential election. “Right-wing
Republican politics, baseball stories and memories
of trips to Patriots football games in the cold
with Dick Flood.”
George Welles already has told you about the
passing of Jim Lund. One thing I’ll always remember about our 50th reunion was Jim, playing a keyboard for the group seated around the Williams Inn
HQ after dinner. A few wives, including Jim’s Lou
Ann, could still dance to Jim’s classy rhythms! Next to
fly-fishing, I’d guess the piano was one of Jim’s most
favorite pastimes. One of the nicest guys in any room.
Another favorite “nice guy” was Paul Phillips.
Seated beside me in AHandL 19-20, I never realized his writing talent! I’ve emailed about Paul’s
new book, Along the Way; let me say this is a perfect
book for you aging classmates. Funny, witty, juicy
and insightful tidbits of Paul’s life and ours in mid’50s New England. “Ahab,” as I knew him from our
seminar reading of “The White Whale,” would make
Professors Mansfield and Fred Rudolph ’42 applaud
from their graves after reading Paul’s stories. Barnes
& Noble, Amazon or call Archway Publishing at
888.242.5904 if you’re interested.
“Our skiing and dancing days may be history, but
we can walk and be understood most days, even
sing,” says ex-scribe John Pritchard. Life in a slower
lane but “happy with (their children and grandchildren) close by in Williamstown. We enjoy spectator sports, theater and music in modernized Chapin
Hall, a new library, the Clark, and positive relations
with many townspeople. Phi Delt House has become
the new admission center, attracting a global population of students. We enjoy life in the Berkshires.”
“Life has been happy and uneventful in retirement, so this note is to spare George Welles sending
a condolence note,” ex-Stompers drummer John
Rogers wrote. “All of our family (son, daughter, five
grandchildren) are within a 25-minute drive from our
house, which has spared us years of deciding where
to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas. It seems to me
that when our parents were our age they were old
folks. How strange.
“Our church included Ken Harkness ’56 and
Toni , John Taylor ’56 and Gay, and Ken McGrew ’53
and Betsy. We lost John and Ken McGrew over the
past few years, but Ken H. and Toni are still kicking. Our last Amherst congregant just moved to
Maine, ending a dependable source of income from
football games. Probably a good thing for me from
recent results. Since Ed Hines’ death, Brad Tips is
the only ’57er in this vicinity, so I sing myself to sleep
each night to ‘The Mountains’ in solitary splendor
until Joanna gives me the elbow.”
Charley Simpkinson retired in 2015 from his
psychology practice in Silver Springs, Md. He’s
living in one of the “largest retirement communities in America.” Charley’s founding project, The
Psycotherapy Network, combines many related counseling services and is “flourishing.”
Tom Slonaker and Nina entertained the Flemings
along with George Sykes and Linda. They rented a
home together in Carefree, Ariz., high desert country.
They were to be back in Hilton Head at rental space
in March with kids and grandkids.
When I told you about Tom von Stein’s entry into
the field of writing philosophical history in the last
edition of class notes, I stated it was an in-depth
exploration of this subject. Little did I know how
deep until I received Tom’s New Year’s gift, a copy
of the book, A History of Knowledge: An Incomplete
Timeline. It contains over 200 pages of commentary that takes us from 8,000 BC to 2013 AD.
Can’t imagine what he’s left out. As Tom tells us the
sequence of events that influenced thinkers ranging from Socrates to David Hume, from Euclid to
Stephen Hawking, you begin to admire him more
and more for having the intellect and the drive to
write about a subject that, for most of us, is beyond
our grasp. Kudos to our gifted classmate! Visit www.
history-of-knowledge.com to learn more.
George Welles and Annie moved from Brockton
to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he’s at work perfecting
a Southern accent. Should take him to the end of his
life! This long-time Brockton resident has pastored
seven Episcopal churches in three cities. They are
no strangers to a moving van. Nonetheless, they’ve
decided to try the Deep South, where the weather
and water are warmer. Next Hurricane season? Back
to Brockton!
“It’s encouraging,” says, Howard Wilinski, “that
our classmates are able to read and maintain interest in updates (especially about) big life transitions.
Just turning 80, I had the extreme pleasure of marrying my youngest daughter to a wonderful man of
many talents. Gave up my psychiatric practice in
2014 but still consult on research protocols, residence training and SUNY UB Medical School five
hours a week. Many travels to foreign countries and
to Glen Rock, Wyo.,” where Howie once “spent
summers working on a 283,000 acre spread tending
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
12,000 head of whiteface cattle. Wild times playing
capture the flag on horseback, branding wild horses
and rodeo calf roping!”
Nick Wright continues his interest in the ’57
Scholars Fund. He frequently visits with the recipients. Classmates living in Williamstown like John
Pritchard and Steve Bullock join Nick in welcoming
any alumni who wish to share the experience of being
a ’57 Scholar.
Duane Yee has battled health problems before. This
time it’s a “rare skin disease” that curtailed his work
at Variety School for a couple of months. A college
video of students singing “The Mountains” in Chapin
Hall has given him energy and motivation. Keep
healing, Duane! And keep sending those emails, the
rest of you! It’s not long before we’ll be having story
time again!
1958
Dick Davis, 5732 East Woodridge Drive, Scottsdale, AZ
Joe Borus said that after more than 55 years he
was answering a call for news. That will stand as the
record until someone breaks it. Joe was in Scottsdale
recently for a board meeting, and he and Carolyn and
Karen and I shared a very enjoyable breakfast.
Joe was the top of our class at Yale Law School,
and you’re hearing that from one who bent over and
kissed the newly fallen snow when my first semester report card showed four Cs (I did better later). Joe
was selected for the Law Journal right off the bat and
went on to be an editor. He practiced law on Wall
Street for a spell, but Carolyn, a Wharton economist, convinced him that Denver was a better place
to raise a family. Joe’s been a senior partner in a major
firm there for decades, doing mainly mergers, acquisitions and financing work. He’s headed the Williams
alumni association in Colorado and has been on the
Executive Committee of the Society of Alumni. Joe
and Carolyn’s two sons are Ephs. Todd Borus ’95 is
an orthopedic surgeon in Portland, and Justin Borus
’98 runs a financial business in Denver.
Joe has long practiced in a demanding field but says
the 24-7 communications and needs of clients nowadays have him thinking fondly of retirement and
more leisurely activities, which he aims to pursue.
Usually you read of LSU and Ole Miss in your
local sports pages, but here goes. LSU Press has published David Plater’s meticulously researched work,
The Butlers of Iberville Parish: Dunboyne Plantation
in the 1800s. It’s about a couple in the Upper South,
Tennessee, leaving to find fame and fortune in the
“the Old Southwest.” They were slave owners preCivil War. I noticed it got a high rating on Amazon.
David and Sheela spend a lot of time marketing at
“book events” where David usually makes a brief talk
and the bookstore racks up sales of a work bound to
provide breadth and depth to plantation history.
Peter Frost left us after freshman year but came
back after acquiring a BA, MA and PhD at Harvard
as a professor of history, joining Prof. Charles Dew
for 37 years. He retired after many years as Williams’
Frederick L. Shuman Professor of International
Relations, focusing mainly on Asian history. He
since has been helping the folks at Ole Miss set up
an Asian studies program. Now he and Marnie are
24
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
retiring full time in Williamstown, a great choice, as
we all know. They have three sons “with sweet wives”
and seven grandchildren.
We lost Rad Byerly on Jan. 27. Rad was preparing for a Parkinson’s “boot camp” when he suffered
a stroke. He leaves a host of close friends among
our classmates. They know who they are, and I’m
afraid I might omit. Sandy Fetter wrote of a fine
evening with Rad and Carol at the John Buckners.
Carl Vogt wrote: “Rad and I were classmates
from the seventh grade through graduation from
Williams. He was a wonderful friend and lived a
full and very productive life.”
We also lost Paul Allison on Jan. 19. Paul and
Evelyn lived in beautiful and wonderful Lancaster,
Pa. Paul was judge of the Court of Common Pleas
in Lancaster County for many years. He went to the
University of Pennsylvania Law School. A fine obit
in the Lancaster newspaper, available on the Internet,
details his career and many contributions.
There were a couple of late cancellations, but seven
happy and hearty souls made it to the holiday lunch.
Tom Synott did his usual fine arranging of the affair
with the Williams Club at the Princeton Club,
and David Kane, Bill Harter, Whitey Kaufmann,
David Allan, Joe Young and Arnie Sher were there.
Everyone who goes to these has a great time, and
Tom hopes more will get there next December—
always a magical time in New York.
Just before then I had a middle of the night blast
of memory about attending a Stompers concert
at Carnegie Hall over the Thanksgiving holiday
weekend our sophomore year. I sent out a message and many got back with a happy recall, from
Bob Kingsbury, Peter Levin, Rich Wagner, Arnie
Sher, John Boyd, Peter Dailey, Jack Talmadge, Walt
Kasten, Peter Bertine, Charlie Schweighauser,
Warren Clark and Ron Anderson. Warren and others remembered that it was the Tigertown Five who
appeared with the Stompers that night.
Bill Dudley opted for surgery to deal with his
stenosis and is recovering. He needs to, because
he has to shepherd three Samoyeds around the
Eastern Shore. His daughter Jennifer gave birth to
a granddaughter. Bill and Donna were to cruise the
Caribbean during the winter.
Jim Becket was a vigorous presence at the recent
large environmental convocation in Paris. Jim isn’t
known for passivity. He’s still working hard on his
film projects.
Bruno Quinson and Minkie are setting an active
travel and vacation course prior to next summer’s
stage season. As I write this they are in Cuba. After
that it’s Barbados with all the family, then China,
then France in May. Bruno is having a one-man
art show at the Norfolk, Conn., library in April.
He’ll show 38 new paintings. Bruno lost his two
older brothers, Francois Quinson ’53 and Jean-Paul
Quinson ’56, both of whom I got to know a little and
liked very much. Bruno saw the Arnie Shers and the
Peter Levins and Shannon Montgomery ’81 at the
good restaurant in Egremont, Mass.
Bill Taggert and Lil had been house sitting in
Brisbane and then went onto the Fijis. Bill has yet to
report any wild parties there.
Steve Cartwright and Elizabeth were in Spain.
Steve said in his Christmas card, “We’re (meaning all
1957– 58
of us) getting old!” But if you look at the pics from
Spain there’s not much evidence of it.
Phil Wilcox lunched with Jim Lobe ’70, a much heralded and awarded reporter on international issues
including the Middle East. He writes Lobe’s Log,
highly acclaimed. Phil recommends you tune in.
I was interested to read of the Northern Berkshire
Arts Corridor now in the planning stage. A key element, besides the magnificent entities there now, will
be a huge building devoted to contemporary art in
a restored factory building in North Adams. I asked
Rick Driscoll about it, and his enthusiastic response
was, “If anyone can bring this off it is Tom Krens ’69.”
Krens, I learned, was the force behind the hugely successful MoMA development in Bilbao, Spain. He’s
been invited to undertake a huge project in China but
prefers to stay in the Berkshires. Rick notes former
governors Weld and Dukakis are behind the plan.
Talking to David Grossman, I learned that he and
Dukakis became friends in law school and have kept
in touch ever since.
Physics professor emeritus Stuart Crampton
addressed Ephs in the Cleveland area at the City
Club in December on the topic “What can science
say to religion?” Stuart now lives in Chagrin Falls.
He got back in touch with Bob Bethune ’56. Stuart
is coming out here for a Research Corporation board
meeting in Tucson and will visit with Karl Hirschman
and then travel to Parker on the Colorado River to
visit Susan’s brother.
I was reminded one morning on CNBC that the
Albany, N.Y., area is the epicenter of nanotechnology.
That’s where Prof. Dick Siegel is at RPI in Troy and
actively engaged investment-wise and otherwise in
this burgeoning field.
Russ Pope has been ailing and has had major
surgeries. He is home now and says recovery is going
well. We hope it is and you can “get on the road”
again, Russ.
Jim Huchinson and Kay will be taking in Central
Asia and Iran this year. I thought Jim was pulling my
leg about “gross domestic happiness” in Bhutan, but
then I read in the WSJ that there is an official index
that is more carefully watched there than GNP.
Larry Nilsen and Barbara spent Christmas and
New Year’s in Flagstaff, Ariz. Flag at 7,000 feet gets
zero and subzero winter temps. Larry says that, with
the thermometer plummeting, they elected to finesse
the New Year’s evening Pine Cone Drop this year.
Phil McKean has been skiing in the French Alps,
dining on the exquisite cuisine in Lyons and touring
Europe and visiting friends and relatives there.
Joe Albright and Marcia are still able to ski and
hike “with some fraction of our former spryness.”
They come to Tucson when neither skiing nor hiking is possible at Jackson Hole. Joe and Marcia visited Rwanda, where they saw mountain gorillas, and
Tanzania, where they witnessed the mass migrations
of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles. Joe writes: “When
not playing outside, I am a trustee of our local hospital and an Obamacare navigator. Looking forward to
seeing everyone at our 2018 reunion.”
Lou Caplan is working full time but spends some
time “kibitzing.” He and Brenda are expecting their
16th grandchild and second great-grandchild. Lou
will be giving talks and doing rounds in Paris, Lisbon,
Barcelona, Miami, Montreal and Korea this year.
Several times I’ve seen a black TV screen except
for the name “Zack Snyder,” followed by an ad. This
is, of course, Ed Snyder’s son, director of Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice. Zack’s obviously at the
peak of Hollywood fame, and yet I was intrigued to
watch a special devoted to him and his wife attending
a PTA or teacher’s meeting involving their children.
Ed was at the premiere of the movie in NYC on
March 20. He is still very much engaged in his quality placement business.
A tornado hit parts of Naples, Fla., in late January.
Jim Murphy reports that a neighbor of David Kane
there that he knows told him it knocked down
David’s fence. I think David and Siegrun were in
New York. David plans to be in Sedona, maybe
sometime this year. Jim Murphy said a bull got loose
in Montserrat and tromped all over a friend, injuring
him severely. Watch out!
Our local NFL Cards went down hard, but many
out here hope Larry Fitzgerald is the second-ever
recipient of a key to the city. Roger Headrick followed
Larry as a youth in Minnesota.
With football over, a lot of local attention is
focused on Wrigleyville West and Tim Smith’s
Cubs. Tim noted that H&B, who makes the bats,
has a new one labeled “Momento Clemente” honoring the great Roberto, who would beg a moment
in his early years to fully comprehend or have
translated an English-language question. We used
to yell “Arriba” at him from the right field stands,
often eliciting a broad grin.
Tom Shulman was here rooting for his Buckeyes
in the Fiesta Bowl. They did him proud. Tom was
among fans greeting the players and coaches. I look
forward to seeing Tom and his fellow golfers in April.
George McCracken is at 51 percent time at the
University of Texas Southwest Center in Dallas
and remains chief editor of the Pediatric Infectious
Disease Journal. He and Leslie spend three or four
months every year in Whistler. An ankle operation
has George out of tennis for now, but he compensates
with cycling and a cross-country ski machine.
Recently there was a special largely devoted to one
of our greatest civil servants, “Wild Bill” Donovan.
He started and ran the OSS during WWII. He also
founded one of Wall Street’s great law firms, and past
class president Lou Lustenberger put in his career
there. I recall once talking with Anita, and Lou was
24-7 in the city that week in a trial. The last I saw of
Lou’s name, in one of the federal reporters, he was
lead counsel among 100 or more lawyers in a massive environmental lawsuit in Alaska. I understand
Lou’s side prevailed in that. Lou and Anita are now
in Oregon and, from what I gather, lovin’ it.
Denny Doucette has a new lady friend, Karen Lang,
who took care of Denny’s wife some years ago. They
just found each other, and their families are rejoicing.
We learned that we lost Bill Weaver on Feb. 10. He
had had a number of health problems. A great place
to read of Bill’s life is in the Harness Racing Update
available on Google: He was inducted into the association’s hall of fame in 2013, and he shied away from
publicity and notoriety like a “half-broken yearling
from a cherry bomb.” Bill and class president Chet
Lasell were close friends from youth.
Skip Martin also lost a close friend in Bill. They
were in each other’s weddings. On a happier and
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
current note, Skip and Nancy had the low net score
in a Vero golf tourney hosted by Chet.
Evelyn Allison’s address is 2930 Kings Lane,
Lancaster, PA 17601-1617. Carol Byerly’s address
is 1811 Columbine Ave., Boulder, CO 80302-7916.
Judy Weaver’s address is 76 West Main St., Freehold,
NJ 07728-2134.
All political seasons are notable, but this one takes
the cake. I can’t guess whom in particular anyone
might end up voting for. I keep thinking of all the
bidding in those late-night bridge games.
The great ’58 is in its 58th year, and the mini’s got
to be a stunner. Joe Albright’s note suggests an adjectival phrase for the decade. As that distinguished fellow who advertises Dos Equis might put it: “Stay
fractionally spry, my friend!”
1959
Dan Rankin, 1870 Bay Road, #213, Vero Beach, FL 32963;
I know most of you good ’59ers have heard the
old saying “that to steal ideas from one person is
plagiarism, but to steal from many is research.” So…
I therefore expect you to be mightily impressed with
the painstaking research involved in putting these
class notes together!
At our age, each of us can relate to this little
vignette that played out three weeks ago when our
7-year-old granddaughter called to wish me a happy
birthday. She asked how old I was, and I told her,
“79.” There was silence for a moment and then she
asked, “Did you start at 1?” I do love her, but I wondered at the time whether I should laugh or cry.
But then I realized my freshman roommate, Peter
Guy ’60, might suffer even greater abuse from his
grandchildren, since he turned 80 on Jan. 27. He
wrote to say he “no longer believes 80 is old, and he
loves watching his 12-year-old grandson lead his
hockey league in scoring.” (Note he said “league,”
not “team.”) Well, as most of us hit 79 this year and
press on toward 80, it’s still remarkable how active
our classmates are. Jim Reynolds, in Sunnyvale, Calif.,
writes that he and Janet spent 11 days on a “People
to People” tour of Cuba in the fall. “There is much
more to Cuba than old cars, although one of the
high points was finding a 1959 Chevy (my old car),
fins and all, in good running condition. It’s a beautiful country, and many buildings from the Spanish
Colonial era are being restored, there is music
everywhere, and we saw some interesting art and
dance projects. Who can beat a day on the beach in
Trinidad, Cuba, or a night at the Buena Vista Social
Club in Havana?” Jim still plays regularly in a “super
mature” band named the StarGeezers. “Life is good.”
From NYC, Bill Bailey spent three months last fall
teaching in Nanjing, China. “It was a great experience, working with a group of high school seniors
who were applying to American universities. The
best part may have been getting to know Chinese
teachers who wanted to improve their English.” As
an old Tony Plansky cross-country harrier, now living in Concord, N.H., David Canfield relays he “is
doing a lot of walking, including a 16-miler for the
‘New Hampshire Rebellion.’ … Rebelling against
big money dominating elections and the elected.”
Hobie Robinson may have faced some health issues
26
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., but he continues to play a
very good game of golf. My moles report he won the
three-day Evans Memorial Championship in New
Hampshire for the fourth time and, with his son
Peter Robinson ’98, won his flight at the Williams
Alumni Golf Tournament. Down in Ft. Worth, Grey
McGown takes 23-mile bike rides but can’t control his grandkids, who nearly got him kicked out
of his retirement community for taking “his golden
retriever, Hannah, for a romp through the penthouse
dining room during Sunday brunch.” Why is it that doctors call what they do “practice?” Emerging from the one-gas station, one-deli
bustling metropolis of Port Haywood, Va. (see if
you can find it on a map), Dr. Alex Reeves traveled
to Vero Beach, Fla., to lead a seminar for alums,
“The Quest to Retain Our Past: The Cognitive
Challenge of the Aging Brain and Dementia
Process.” A record 80 people attended and appreciated the unique views of Dr. Alex. Our doctor from
Atlanta (you will find this on a map), Bob Hatcher,
continues to write important advice to his colleagues. Recently he cited the dangers of “compassion fatigue,” explaining that doctors, nurses, EMTs,
anyone providing compassionate care, should be
aware that this can be stressful to the extent of causing depression. “Caring too much can hurt—especially if one is not taking care of him/herself at the
same time.” The Douglaston, N.Y., boy always was
good counsel. Cliff Colwell, also engaged in the healing arts, shows his vitality by pressing on with his
study of stem cells for the regeneration of cartilage. “No significant breakthrough, though our work
was accepted for presentations in New Zealand in
April and Paris in September.” In June he will leave
behind his lab work in La Jolla, Calif., to build boats
on Higgins Lake, Mich., the epitome of verve, vigor,
vibrancy and vitality.
To draw attention to my shallow grasp of semantics, Dr. Marc Newberg wondered if I had confused
“pitiless” and “pitiful” when I was pressuring classmates with “pitiless” abandon for info. He was probably right—it was a “pitiful” plea, though it did work
with some of the more conscientious ’59ers. Ross
Baldessarini has closed his “neuropharmacology laboratory (in Belmont, Mass.) but continues a wide
range of clinical studies of the nature and treatment
of depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
under the umbrella of the International Consortium
for Mood and Psychotic Disorder Research”—a
group Ross founded in the 1990s. I’ve always wondered why we call men who invest
our money brokers. I can’t answer that, but I will say
the class members who handle fundraising for our
gang are doing a spectacular job. Under the leadership of Tony Volpe, associate agents Al Benton, Henry
Cole, Bev Compton, Chuck Dunkel, Dan Fanning,
Tony Harwood, Dick Lee, Bob McAlaine, Hugh
Morton and Ty Smith raised more than $88,000
as of Feb. 1, which indicates more than 60 percent of the class had given. My thanks also to Jack
Hyland and David Thun for their accomplishments
in guiding the gift-planning program. My persona is
too self-conscious to ask for money, so I appreciate
their efforts so very much.
“The very ink with which history is written is
merely fluid prejudice.” Maybe true, but principled
1958– 59
’59ers send accurate notes of historic significance.
Our sleuth Ernie Imhoff, who wrote for the Baltimore
Sun for many years and has continued to do investigative work in retirement, has now discovered the
author of “Climb High, Climb Far, Your Goal the
Sky, Your Aim the Star.” We’ve all seen this poem
on the Hopkins Gate below West College. Through
extensive study Ernie has revealed in story form that
Albert Hopkins, the multi-talented brother of Mark
Hopkins, was the writer. Some respondents like Tom
Hayne commented on the struggles Amherst was
having in dealing with the history of Lord Jeff and
his relations with the Indians. As you probably know
they did dump Lord Jeff as a mascot but did not
replace him with a moose as many had suggested.
Other writers wondered if it might be learned that
Eph Williams had less than hospitable dealings with
the Native Americans, and we might look upon him
with disfavor. Peter Tacy, who lives in Mystic, Conn.,
but grew up in Schenectady, N.Y., exchanged some
nice emails with me about the origin of the town
and the “unspellability” of its name. Peter, like David
Thun, felt that a losing record for the Williams football team was nothing for the scholarly alums to have
a coronary about. However, West Coasties like Norm
Cram, Chuck Dunkel and Bo Kirschen would be
happier to see a winning record, or at least a win
over that school down the road that some wanted
to call the moose or meese or mooses. I did try to
soothe some of our more unruly characters in the
class by pointing out that the Williams women won
national championships in cross country and soccer, and the men came in second nationally in cross
country. To no avail—football is what real men play,
and winning records in other sports could not pinchhit for a losing football team. “Crammie” did inform
me that he joined David Earle, John Mangel, Dave
Taylor and Tom Christopher at the 60th reunion for
the New Trier crowd. The reunion bug also caught
Dick Lee, who returned for his 60th at Pelham HS.
“Our Saturday night bash was held at the New York
Athletic Club, in the only part of the town of Pelham
located on Long Island Sound.” Dick has stayed in
touch with Paul Brown, who he reports “is still with
Satterlee, Stephens, Burke & Burke LLP in New
York.” While Jim Pickering didn’t make it back to his
60th at Scarsdale HS, he has agreed to help bring his
high school classmates to his spectacular community
of Estes Park, Colo., for our 61st. I applied absolutely
no force to get his compliance. From the Albany area,
Bill Collins wrote hoping that Williams was continuing to maintain its historically high and rigorous
academic and admissions requirements that existed
in our time. “I’m incredibly grateful for the college
that existed and educated us those many decades ago,
but let’s be sure high standards are retained.” Bob
Embry from Baltimore wants the historic importance of President James Garfield, Class of 1856,
to be preserved, and kindly notified me of the
American Experience PBS documentary covering our
Williams graduate. He’s proud of his oldest daughter, Elizabeth, who is deputy attorney general of
Maryland and now running for mayor of Baltimore.
Special Agent Embry was also nice enough to notify
me about the good work of our mover and shaker in
DC, Dick Moe, who wrote a fine and extensive tribute to former VP Walter Mondale for the Minnesota
Historical Society. Dick had “great fun moderating the conversations between and among Mondale,
( Joseph) Biden and ( Jimmy) Carter, especially the
latter, because I have so much respect for him.” The
publisher of the article pointed out that Dick was
chief of staff for VP Mondale from 1977 to 1981 and
head of the National Trust for Historical Preservation
for 16 years. Though Mack Hassler, out in Kent,
Ohio, may have stepped down from classroom teaching, he continues to publish. His most recent poem is
in the fall 2015 edition of the journal Valley Voices.
Many old-timers continue on the travel circuit.
A Spartan life is not what our Renaissance man Bob Gould lives. The chemistry-teaching Episcopal
minister decided to live it up in style to celebrate his
50 years of wedded bliss with Sheila by leaving their
residence in Scotland and traveling to New York,
then on to California and Nevada. Bob is not often
wrong, but when he says, “Classmates will find little
of interest in this trip,” he’s way off the mark. “We
had two nights in Las Vegas, the best airport we
could get to to visit Yosemite—it was just so unbelievably awful that it was rather fun. We did like
the Statue of Liberty made out of M&Ms, but the
phony Grand Canal with female gondoliers inside a
building with a phony Venetian sky is hard to beat!
Walking through the casinos, we did feel rather like
Christian and Faithful in Bunyan’s Vanity Fair!”
Valedictorian Bob knows, of course, we’ll all make
the connection with Pilgrims Progress, not Paul.
Leaving the ridiculous behind, Bob said, “The experience of Yosemite, the giant sequoias, the desert,
the fruit-growing area and Hoover Dam made it a
hugely varied and unforgettable trip.”
Bo Kirschen and Janet much prefer cruises to
flying. “We avoid airports like the plague.” Writing
from Williamstown is our Nobel-Prize-winning
professor Bill Moomaw. He and Margot seem to
have covered a major part of the globe this past year.
“Patagonia in January, the Netherlands in June, the
White Mountains of N.H. in August and Yosemite
in September.” (You must coordinate your calendar
with Bob Gould, Moo.) “In each corner of the world
we found stark evidence of changing climate: the
melting glaciers and numerous avalanches in Chilean
Patagonia, the massive dike-strengthening projects
against sea-level rise from Amsterdam to Bruges,
and a Yosemite plagued by forest fires so dry that
Yosemite Falls had not a drop of water.” Though now
retired, Bill continues to make many speeches about
his environmental policy work, including an excellent delivery he made in Williamstown, reported on
by conscientious special agent Pim Goodbody. (I do
appreciate classmates looking after other classmates.)
The ’59er who is always in the running for Traveler
of the Year, Geoff Morton, was at it again. He did his
usual Cleveland to Tucson to Florida to California
circuit, but to earn as many rewards and free miles
from Southwest Airlines as possible, he spent a day
making two short, cheap flights between Tampa and
Fort Lauderdale. I think he’s earned two free flights
to New Zealand and back. Remarkable!
From Freeport, Maine, but soon to be Portland,
Maine, Sam Parkhill and Judy chartered a boat and
sailed the Virgin Islands during January. “It was a
wonderful, carefree vacation for two elderly citizens.
… We were even able to catch the NE Patriots vs.
M AY 2 0 1 6
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27
CLASS NOTES
Broncos playoff game from a bar in Red Hook, St.
Thomas.” Bill Yankus sold his home in Bronxville,
N.Y., and has made trips to Vero Beach, Fla., to
hopefully buy a place and join Dave Taylor, Tom
Hayne, Hanse Halligan and Dan Rankin. At dinner we probably “laid it on pretty thick” for Bill and
Jean about the wonders and grandeur of our community to lure them into making their move soon.
Despite having a lower back “laminectomy” (Don’t
ask me!), Gary Higgins was to travel to Florida in
mid-February, and, get this, he and Peggy are expecting their sixth great-grandchild in August. (Help
me out, readers, with a proper description for this …
Prodigious? Prolific? Profuse? Propagate?) Others
invading the Sunshine State are Jerry Tipper and
Betsy for three months, and Harry Gratwick for
three days. Peter Fessenden crossed the mountains to see his fraternity roommate, Bill Lockwood,
in Glendale Springs, Colo., but David Earle didn’t
make his usual February trip to Vero Beach from
Chicago to join friends watching the Oscars due to
a flooded apartment that I assume is from a broken
hot water heater, not Lake Michigan. Dave Moore in
Cleveland attended a good program presented by Stu
Crampton ’58, “What Can Science Say to Religion?”
A very interesting talk, but he’s glad he’s not required
to take an exam on it.
I shall expect all who like to travel to make a trip
to the Berkshires for our minireunion in October.
We’ll have one dinner with the Class of ’58, one dinner for just ’59, seminars, a football game with Trinity
and a chance to listen to the Williams Reunion
Jazz Band, featuring John Halsey, Tom Hayne, Fred
Clifford ’58 and Bob Kingsbury ’58. Though George
Dangerfield is wrestling with some medical concerns,
he’s up for it and is making his plans to return for the
Fall Mini Classic. I hope you’ll do the same.
We were all sorry to learn of David Laing’s death.
A lover of nature and social justice, he passed away in
September. During this time of primary campaigns I shall not
offer any political jokes. They may get elected. Cheers.
1960
Michael Penner, 38334 South Desert Bluff Drive, Tucson,
AZ 85739; 1960secretary@williams.edu
The lead story is the death of Joe Masino. Joe died
Feb. 7, 2016, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, in
Lexington, Ky. Certainly Joe was one of the most
upbeat, enthusiastic members of our class. My earliest
memories of Joe were our discussions regarding our
musical tastes. Joe loved South Philly rock and roll,
but by our sophomore year, we had moved to modern
jazz. Joe loved “The Preacher” by Horace Silver and
anything by Frank Sinatra. I ran into Horace and his
band in the St. Louis airport several years later and
told them they were much appreciated by Joe and
myself. I saw Joe off and on in Milwaukee, where we
both worked. One of Joe’s ideas for me was I should
became a “turf accountant” and keep records for his
many friends at Arlington Park in syndicates owning
race horses. Having some experience in this area led
me to decline Joe’s offer. Joe was a frequent contributor to our class notes and always related how he loved
living in the capital of thoroughbred racing and having such a wonderful, loving family.
28
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
Harvey Brickley got to know Joe at mealtimes
freshman year. Shortly after Thanksgiving vacation, someone, most likely Joe, proposed a beardgrowing contest that would go until the beginning
of Christmas vacation. No money was involved; just
bragging rights. Others quickly saw what it took me
a few days to realize. Any beard growing would be
over the second or third day Joe chose not to shave. It
would not even be razor-close. Joe won, and Harvey
has not entered any more beard-growing contests.
Dave Banta reminds us of the four-page article Joe
wrote for our 50th reunion book, “How to Bet On
Horses.” Jeff Freeman reports that several years ago,
members of the Darien Men’s Association scheduled
a day trip to Belmont racetrack. In preparation for
the event, Jeff provided copies of Joe’s system to those
interested. The group who used the system ( Joe’s bettors) had a great time and won some cash. Jeff regrets
he didn’t call or write Joe and thank him for great day
at Belmont.
Charlie Nichols reached a milestone, marking
his 50th year in service as an opthalmologist
at the Scheie Eye Institute of the University of
Pennsylvania. In the institute newsletter, Nichols is
described as a masterful clinician who has provided
general ophthalmic care to thousands of patients and
participated in a number of nationally recognized initiatives. He has become an authority on the
treatment of a number of diseases, particularly those
associated with compromise of the immune system.
Dr. Nichols’ dedication to both patient care and
teaching remains a constant. Congratulations,
Charlie, for such a productive and meaningful career.
Paul Lazarus retired as a professor at the University
of Miami. He and Judy are off to Santa Fe, where
they have purchased a home. He stopped in Vero
Beach for a visit with Fay Vincent. Paul reports Fay
is doing OK with his various health concerns and
“somehow maintains more friendships across the
various platforms of his life than anyone I’ve ever
met. Since neither of us would ever write a tell-all
book about the movie business, it is great fun to share
gossipy stories, knowing they will go no further. Fay
is a special person whose only failing is his undying
support of the Cleveland Browns. I guess that makes
him human.” Paul is writing a sequel to The Game
Changer, a thriller available on Amazon and Kindle.
Paul will continue his passion for duplicate bridge in
Santa Fe, the City Different. Paul observes it’s a tad
alarming how the Class of ’60 has moved to the front
of the class notes section.
Fay Vincent sent a very nice note saying he really
enjoys the fond memories of classmates in our class
notes. Fay’s latest medical bump is bladder cancer, but
thus far it seems to have been stalled by surgery and
a chemical BCG that is a form of bacteria from TB,
as some genius discovered those with TB never (it is
said) get bladder cancer. All of us owe so much to the
medical progress made in our lifetimes.
Book to read: The Conquering Tide by Ian Toll.
A terrific history of the WWII surge in the Pacific
in 1942-43.
Keith Griffin and Dixie report no news is good
news. They had a great holiday with just the two
of them together at home.
John Richardson reports that 2016 is starting off
in an encouraging direction. His 30-year research/
1959– 60
writing odyssey of a biography of Gov. Alexander
R. (aka “Boss”) Shepherd of DC will be published
by Ohio University Press in October. “Had I known
when the project was mentioned in the class 25th
anniversary volume how long it would take, I’m not
sure I would have hung on.” Congratulations to you,
John, for completion of your project and its publication. John and his wife Joyce joined a Williams
alumni tour of St. Petersburg, Russia, last summer.
Bob Jahncke and his wife were also on the tour.
It was an excellent trip followed by two weeks on
their own, driving through the three Baltic states. In
May, the Richardsons were to join another Williams
alumni cruise around the northern Scottish islands to
Bergen, Norway, ending up in Copenhagen. Only a
week in duration, the cruise was to hit several places
that don’t lend themselves to easy tourism. John still
misses his old friend and fellow Punahou teacher Win
Healy, with whom he spent several days in Shelburne
Falls the spring before brain cancer set in. John
exchanges occasional emails with Stew Smith.
Bob Francis writes from his office at ZSR Law in
DC, accompanied by his pooch Lily. He reports ZSR
is tolerant of their non-lawyers. Bob does occasional
press pieces on transportation events. He is still active
with the Royal Aeronautical Society DC branch and
the Aero Club of Washington. Daughters Carolyn
and Allison visited for Christmas with two grandchildren. Bob reports Lily is snoring quietly under
the desk, and they seldom are in the office after noon.
Dave Steward had a long talk on the phone with
Pete Berkley last fall. Pete’s repartee was sharp as
ever, and Dave hung up realizing how directly articulate and uncluttered conversation was for us in 1950s
Williamstown, the opposite in civility and sensibility
to the screen-life of now.
Jim Maas begs forgiveness for his long-delayed
communication, although many of us have heard his
wonderful alumni lecture on sleep, which is a staple
of alumni gatherings. After nearly half a century on
the Cornell University faculty, Jim has retired from
being a professor. Its alumni office told Jim that he
had taught 65,000 undergraduates by teaching nearly
2,000 students in the concert hall each semester for
48 years. Jim says it was easy—never had to lecture—
just took attendance. Jim and Nancy have moved to
Texas to thaw out and be near their youngest son,
Justin, and his wife Lauren. They are both jet pilots
and worked for US Air and Flight Safety. Justin was
recruited by Gulfstream to demonstrate its G150 and
G280 aircraft worldwide. The downside is that they
had to move to Gulfstream HQ in Savannah, Ga.
Jim and Nancy became grandparents when Brynne
Maas was born on Aug. 10. Their son Dan, who has
two Emmys and an Academy Award nomination
under his belt, is living in Seoul, South Korea. After
an MBA from Stanford, Dan developed a company
that makes Facebook-based video games. He is also
doing film animation computer graphics for National
Geographic, Discovery, PBS and the BBC. His girlfriend Hajin Lee is a world champion Go player,
and is now secretary general of the International Go
Federation. Go is an ancient, 2,000-year-old mind
game that is harder than chess. It teaches strategy
and reflects the Chinese way of thinking and problem solving. Hajin is becoming a leader in spreading
cognitive problem solving education across the world.
Nancy is winning art competitions and painting
watercolors that customers seem to value greatly. Jim
is busier than ever with his Sleep for Success consulting company, Maas Presentations. They give keynote
presentations and workshops to corporations, colleges
and universities and athletic teams, from MSU and
Duke football to four NHL teams, two NFL teams
and scores of Olympic gold medalists (38 in Sochi
last winter). Jim’s new book is called Sleep to Win! It’s
for any sport and skill level and designed to improve
your performance literally overnight. Fay Vincent has
written a generous endorsement for the cover. If you
want a terrific night’s sleep, run over to your nearest Bed, Bath & Beyond and grab a Dr. Maas pillow.
Sweet REMs from Jim.
Chuck Cutler thought classmates would be amused
by the following: In a Daily Hampshire Gazette article about Amherst College’s decision to ditch Lord
Jeffrey as their mascot (for LJ’s advocacy of wiping out Native Americans by giving them blankets
infected with smallpox), an Amherst undergraduate
from China had this to say: “It’s just not fun having
a person as a mascot; what a stupid idea. For God’s
sake, look at our rival school Williams. They have a
freaking purple cow; how awesome is that! Why do
we have to lose on that ground to Williams?” Chuck also reports having occasional email contact with Stew Smith and Phil Preston. And he tells
us too that passing by our late classmate Win Healy’s
house in Charlemont, Mass., almost daily, he is constantly aware of the huge hole left in his life by Win’s
passing. To keep Win’s spirit, at least, alive, Chuck
regularly corresponds, old school—by letter—with
Win’s daughter Sarah in California.
Dick Holliday has been spending a good bit of time
wearing his class agent hat; dialing for dollars for
our Alumni Fund. Dick reports it’s heartening to see
our classmates responding, reaching nearly 90 percent participation in our 2015 Alumni Fund. This
response really helps the Williams students—half the
student body—who depend on the college for financial assistance. Our great participation rate reflects
very well on our college and our class. If you have
not yet contributed, it’s not too late. June 30 is the
deadline. Just type in give2.williams.edu in your web
browser and use your credit or debit card. Dick has
once again done a wonderful job as our class agent
and deserves our thanks and admiration for such
excellent participation of our class.
Dick Holliday and Ardis celebrated their 40th anniversary with their son Carter and friends in San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Not bad for a couple of
old folks giving marriage a second chance! Their visit
provided a chance to spend some time with Frank
Thoms, who, with his artist wife Kathleen, seems
completely happy and stimulated in his ex-pat life
there. They have a beautiful home and studio, and
author Frank, twice published in 2015, is working on
the next book passing along his lifetime of pedagogical practice in the vital field of secondary education.
Frank Thoms is continuing to write his third book.
He believes that, in the long run, education will
improve one teacher at a time. Frank and Kathleen
traveled to Amsterdam for three weeks last fall and
rate the trip as remarkable. They are planning to visit
the Mexican coast for their next trip.
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CLASS NOTES
1961
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Bob Gormley, 1775 Drift Road, P.O. Box 3922, Westport,
Thanks to all of you who contributed. Maybe it’s
the spirit of our 55th reunion in June that drew you
out. Jack Wadsworth said as much and was enthusiastic about the upcoming reunion. He noted one reason
was the bonding as classmates and friends from the
old days those of us who attended felt at the memorial for Tom DeGray last September. Tom did us
proud, and now we get to extend this pride with others come June. Jack was also inspired by his January
minireunion with other members of the college art
museum (WCMA) visiting committee: Al Schiavetti,
Ron Litowitz, Wally Bernheimer and spouses. And he
looks forward to a report in June from the Public Art
Fund on where we are with that part of our class gift.
Jack reported on the Center for Development
Economics (CDE), where we have funded an
endowment base: “I can say the CDE is thriving
thanks to our support, which prompted support from
many others. The endowment is now around $30
million, and the CDE Class of 2016 is as strong as
any they have had. The funding base enables them to
accept the best of their applicants without regard to
financial capability. The CDE is in the current campaign for about $25 million for their building. This
amount will fund the renovation of the old St. A
house plus an annex out back for housing. This will
not only benefit the CDE but will also facilitate more
extensive access to CDE courses and activities by
undergraduates.” These are political economy courses,
so crucial to understanding our world today. Wish I
could take a few.
Jack said he set aside some rooms at The Porches
behind MASS MoCA for ’61ers, but they were going
fast. Also, he and Susy were scheduled for Tuscany on
their first Williams alum trip, led by former president
Frank Oakley. Penny Low, Juliet Dankmeyer (widow
of Roggie Dankmeyer ’60), Roggie’s sister and her
husband Tom Todd ’64 were to be along.
Dave Eckholm wrote: “In one respect I’m ahead of
all of you—just turned 80. Served with the US Navy
prior to ’61. Julie and I have been married 54 years.
We live in beautiful Mexico Beach, Fla. I am active
in St. James Episcopal Church, belong to the NRA
and root for the GOP.” I guess he’s not coming to
reunion, but we know where he stands. Thanks, Dave.
Bob Judd sent a copy of a note to John Castleman,
whom he addressed as “ol’ fullback.” John received
a sad Christmas card from Bob (“Charlie”) Adams,
whom we have missed at reunions for a long time.
Bob’s wife Pat, a brilliant pediatrician, passed away
after being in a mostly unresponsive state for many
years. Now emeritus, Bob was on the faculty at UNH
(New Hampshire) and was faithfully by her bedside daily. Worse yet, Bob now is suffering esophageal cancer. But Judd added that he always viewed
“Charlie” Adams as a Tom Sawyer character, the
cheerful optimist, so our thoughts and prayers go out
with hope.
Mr. Judd sent another note, highlighting Montana
ranch life, “full of folks skidding off the road and
through a fence here and there, cows and Spanish
bulls, eagles, foxes and an ambling herd of deer.” He’s
also completing his latest book, A Mighty Fool Stunt,
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about his late uncle’s wild motorcycle journey from
Fairbanks, Alaska, to Seattle in 1939, before there
were roads.
Ben Campbell, one of our Episcopal priests, retired
as pastoral director of Richmond Hill, the religious
community where he and wife Annie, a teacher, lived
since 1989—a 500-foot space. He bought a house
in the Northside district of Richmond, Va., and can
stretch out. His work continues—to establish public
transportation where 80 percent of jobs and all community college education are not accessible by public
transportation. He’s also working to establish a freshman academy at one of the inner-city high schools.
I never know what to expect from old friend Tom
Millington, emeritus professor at Hobart/William
Smith Colleges. After 55 years, he had a call from
Paul Reyes, who had been with us in ’61 but graduated with ’62. Paul was a waiter at D.U. with Tom and
me and had gone off to Germany junior year, only
to return and get convinced to change his major to
German. He had too much to make up and couldn’t
finish with us. So we lost touch with him, and I
always wondered what became of him. Turns out,
good things. Faced with Vietnam like most of us, he
joined the Navy and became a pilot. He did two tours
over Vietnam in ’65/’66, flying A-4 attack planes at
night off aircraft carriers, the USS Coral Sea and the
USS Constellation. He was No. 3 with the Navy “Blue
Tail” Squadron (his email is now bluetail3@gmail.
com) and he was a humble war hero. Once he was
nearly killed himself by flak when he dove toward
the sea to rescue a downed ace pilot. After Vietnam,
he became a Northwest pilot for 30 years and retired
in ’98. Lived with his wife in MN but finally had
enough of those winters and moved to FL. Paul and
his brother Robin Reyes ’62 were of Philippine stock,
from Nantucket Island, where their grandfather was a
renowned master weaver of Nantucket lightship baskets/women’s pocketbooks. Paul’s daughter Koren, a
photographer in Newport, R.I., continues a “basket
weaver” website. Welcome back, Paul!
Eric Widmer’s news had to do with his spouse,
Meera. She’s become headmistress of Ethyl Walker’s,
a girls’ boarding school, grades six to 12, in Simsbury,
Conn. She will be leaving Brown after 32 years, and
Eric “will of course follow, wondering at, but actually enjoying, the role reversal my life has taken. ’61
granddaughters and great-granddaughters admitted
carte blanche! Best to everyone.” Simsbury is close, so
I trust we’ll see them at reunion.
Dr. Ralph Epstein is retired and enjoying the good
life, perfecting his tennis and loving his Huntington
Island (Ft. Pierce), Fla., retreat. The tennis pro there
with the memorable name “Jay C. Penny” coached at
Williams for 20 years. Ralph often thinks of his two
dear, lost roommates, Matt Jones and Art Bearon,
“hearing their voices and feeling their absence more
intensely with each passing year.” A reason for
reunions, guys! We’re feeling our mortality.
Ralph retired after 50 years “of the joyous practice of medicine, much of it in underserved inner cities. I came to deeply appreciate the struggles so many
hardworking citizens and new Americans have to
endure as they chase our American Dream. I came to
appreciate again the blessings I received as a Williams
scholarship student. Surprisingly, as a Jewish young
man, my most intense memories revolve around the
1961
daily chapel services I attended at Williams as the
only Jewish member of the college choir—the daily
homilies, hymns, Prof. Robert Barrow’s musical discipline and erudition resonate to this day. I especially am indebted for my memories of Chaplain
Wm. Sloane Coffin’s presence, his teaching, his counsel and his stand against the fraternity system during my freshman year. (Especially so, as I was one of
the three sophomores not picked up after rush week.)
Last year, to my deep pleasure, I met Rev. Coffin’s
son David and was able to express my gratitude and
affection for his father’s influence on my life.” Hope
to see Ralph at reunion and thank him in person for
this contribution. He practiced for years at Lynn,
Mass., Hospital, where I was born.
Steve Lazarus reported on Bill Rich. Bill, now a
lay deacon in the Roman Catholic Church after
his long career at IBM, last fall undertook the 500mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain from
the French border to St. James in Santiago. Bill has
arthritic feet that required earlier operations, and he
had to train rigorously 15-20 miles/day to prepare.
He shed 30 lbs. before the pilgrimage and, accompanied by his son-in-law, made the complete journey.
To celebrate, wives Frannie and Chrissy met up with
the pilgrims in Paris. “Doesn’t a little bit of heaven
always follow a pilgrimage?” quipped Bill. Steve
added Bill always showed an adventurous streak, for
example skydiving at Orange Airport senior year.
We join Steve in congratulating Bill on his powerful example.
Then there’s George Lowe again, in November,
teaching American Criminal Law in Kosovo, as he
did in Ukraine a few years ago. The population there
is 93 percent Muslim, which added to the challenge. He loved hanging out with the students after
class and was impressed with their admiration and
respect for Americans, especially Bill Clinton, who
led the coalition back in ’99 to defend the people of
Kosovo against Milosevic. George has come to love
the Balkans and hopes to return. He and Barbara are
scheduled for a Williams alumni tour to Morocco,
but we’ll see them in June.
Another regular traveler is Bill Holmes. I mentioned in my last notes a “Ferdinand Magellan
Award” for most traveled in ’61. I made it up, so
don’t get excited about a June presentation. Charlie
Dana would be a contender, along with Holmes,
Lowe, Gordie Stevenson, Noyes Rogers and Kevin
Morrissey of those who write in. But then there’s
Jack Wadsworth with his own jet, going off to Asia
regularly. Better mention Wally Bernheimer, who
appears to never unpack his bags. But Holmes is
steady: twice to Hawaii, two Road Scholar (formerly
Elderhostel) adventures to London and environs
and later to Navajo and Hopi Reservations, national
parks, and another to DC and Civil War battlefields,
all from San Diego with family in 2015. No surprise,
he’ll miss reunion for another trip from Montreal to
Chicago by ship on the St. Lawrence and the Great
Lakes. Iceland later. The man gets around.
Fred Mayer calls and occasionally sends a note. I
wish there were more like him, not on the college
email list, checking in from time to time. He (from
Missouri) and John Simons (from Sacramento) were
to go fishing off Louisiana. John is a veteran of fishing the Gulf waters and knows a fun Cajun guide.
In Honolulu, Peter Glick lunches regularly with
Frank Tokioka ’58, Dave Andrew ’58 and Duane Yee
’57. Peter stays in touch with Phil Kinnicutt ’63, and
they also have a solid Williams Club in Honolulu,
but Peter notes that older friends like Jim Case ’41
and Gordon Damon ’52 come rarely now, and the
younger classes tend to dominate. Seems similar to
these notes moving closer to the front of this People
publication. Hey, we’re Old Guard now!
So Peter probably won’t come all that distance for
reunion, and while he’s OK with us getting older
and accepts that our Williams was not that of 2015,
he is regretful of “the degree to which ‘political correctness’ rules the campus.” He was particularly “rattled by the national news made by a student group
in ‘uninviting’ a speaker because she was disliked by
the overwhelmingly PC student body. … It does
the students no good to live in a world so ruled by
views that will come up against the reality of life ‘in
the real world.’” Peter felt so strongly about this that
he wrote President Falk, who politely explained that
had this issue come to him or his administration for
a decision, he would not have agreed to “uninvite” the
speaker. But it was a matter between student body
groups, and the decision rested there. Peter asked me
if there were others who had raised complaints about
a PC atmosphere these days, and I directed him to
Gil Kerr and Lou Guzzetti. There are others of you,
I know. Gil came flying back with agreement and a
funny rant I will not adapt here. He did say, “While a
canceled speaker is not specifically an act of political
correctness, it is an outgrowth from those who champion these concepts of inclusiveness and entitlement
beyond any sense of reasonableness.” Also, Jay Tarses
dropped a note supporting a senior student of his last
winter term who held the opposite opinion. Maybe
an issue for discussion at reunion.
Dick Beckler exclaimed that all was well with him
and his family and that he would be with us in June.
Youngest daughter Ellie graduates from Miami of
Ohio in June, and that will mark the end of paying private school tuitions for 36 straight years for
all six of his daughters. He continues as a partner at
Bracewell & Giuliani in DC and still loves it. And
he’s looking to another exotic fishing trip with Pete
Raisbeck and Van Schreiber.
In October, Bea and I spent a few days in
Pittsburgh with Sel Whitaker ’62. He rolled out
the Steelers’ black and gold carpet and showed us
the historical and cultural highlights of “da Burgh,”
including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, an
hour or so away. Then, in December, I met Larry
Hawkins and Bob Rorke ’60 in Boston to take in the
17th-century Dutch show at the MFA and enjoy a
relaxing lunch. I’ve come to appreciate “Hawk” more
and more over the years; he’s poetic, adventurous
and caring to friends. One way he continues loyalty
to Buck Robinson is to spend time with Buck’s son
when he can. In Feb., I represented the class doing
an oral history interview for the college archives
with Gabor Teleki and wife Natasha in Sarasota. The
Telekis live in Geneva but came over to escape their
winter. Gabor, if you recall, was a Hungarian refugee who fled the uprising and Soviet invasion in ’56.
He also survived the war years, came to America
and Williams as a physics major and then worked
for Sprague Electric in engineering here and later in
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
Switzerland. Natasha, also Hungarian with a white
Russian father, had fled to Argentina and she came
to the US as a UN translator. Gabor was a proud
Phi Delt, and David Plater ’58 and Phil Rideout ’58
had urged the college to preserve their story for the
oral history project. In March, I was off to Olancho,
Honduras, with a church mission team to spend
10 days on construction (not me), assisting in their
parochial school and providing a medical clinic in
poor villages.
We lost Dr. Dick Peterson from FL in Feb., and
his obit will appear later. Condolences to his family. I
owe Al Demb an apology for saying in the last notes
that he was a Liberal in Canada. While he’s pleased
to have a Trudeau back in power up there, he and
Connie are dedicated New Democrats, and the sign
on their lawn was for their local New Democrat in
Parliament. Whew!
Hope to see many of you in June. Be well in the
meantime.
1962
William M. Ryan, 112 Beech Mountain Road, Mansfield
Center, CT 06250; 1962secretary@williams.edu
On Oct. 3, nine classmates joined hundreds of
others at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Beverly
Farms, Mass., to pay tribute to our past president,
Spike Kellogg, who died on Sept. 21. It was a moving
service, with several speakers including yours truly,
who represented the Williams contingent. (Mike
Keating, one of the attendees, told me later that Terry
Kellogg, Spike and Gillian’s son, told him when
Mike introduced himself as a Williams classmate:
“I hope that you all know that my father believed
that his Williams friends shaped his life.” There was
much evidence of Spike’s comments, including a
lovely wreath with purple flowers and the inclusion
in the program of the Hopkins Gate words (“Climb
high…”). The service ended with the congregation
singing “The Mountains.” We adjourned for lunch
at a local club. Spike’s medals for his athletic exploits
were displayed and, indeed, took up the better part of
an entire wall. He will be very much missed.
In attendance were Marty and Mike Keating,
Jack Kroh, Joe Bassett, Missy and Don Lang, Carol
and Dick Paul, Dick McCauley, Frank Morse, Lin
Morison, and Bonnie and I. Many other classmates
contacted me asking for Gillian’s address. Charlie
Dickson couldn’t get to the service because they
were in the process of moving from their farm in
West Granby, Conn. “Don’t know exactly where
we are going, but for the time being have rented a
house in the Poconos for five months.” Kirby Allen
wrote: “Didn’t know Spike well, but always have
greatly admired him for his energy and contribution to our class—not to mention his unbelievable
physical prowess.” He continued: “I’m just getting
over major (non-bypass) heart surgery, after which
I went into cardiac arrest. The team worked on me
for more than an hour and were about to call it
quits when, as a last ditch effort, they put me back
on the heart-lung machine to rest my heart. With
some minor problems, they got me going again.
It was several days before I awakened and several
more ’til I was with it. But I’m back—both physically and mentally.”
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Joe Bassett, though retired, continues to preach
occasionally and is “working on a new marionette
play featuring ‘Annie and Her Minister.’” He reports:
“We have presented the play three times. But there
is more to discover about these folk. They are not
who others say they are. You don’t paraphrase Anne
Bradstreet. You listen to what she tells you in her
poems. We are scheduled for two more performances
this winter.”
Lin Morison, sporting a new beard, is still riding. In
fact, he “bought a new bike (i.e., motorcycle) this past
summer, and I will be back at it in the spring. The
facial hair is left over from last year’s trek, and I am
surprised how many people don’t recognize me now.
If I had known that, I might have grown it years ago!”
I’ve talked on the phone with Gillian Kellogg a
couple of times since Spike’s death, and she is doing
as well as possible. “It’s hard,” she said. “Everyone
thought he would live forever.” She spent a few days
in Rochester, N.Y., with Dinny and Barney Shaw,
where the Kelloggs lived for several years when Spike
was with IBM. She very much wants to stay involved
with her Williams friends, and I guarantee we will do
all we can to make that possible.
Gary Webster passed away in November from liver
cancer. Prior to his death in a hospice facility, Bart
McDougal spoke with him several times by phone.
“He was a scary smart guy,” said Bart. “A junior Phi
Beta, he wrote his thesis for Professor Waite, and he
did it in one draft.” Gary spent most of his career as a
professor at the University of Prince Edward Island,
where he chaired the department of political studies.
Sympathies from the class to Robin Lee and
his wife Barbara, who lost their son Christopher
in a single-car accident on Dec. 4. Hundreds
attended the memorial service in Charlottesville.
Christopher had taken over from Robin as the
CEO of the R.E. Lee Cos., the fourth generation
of Lees to hold that position.
Also, on behalf of the class, condolences to Pat and
Steve Telkins on the death of their son Peter. Peter
served in Desert Storm and was an inveterate hiker
and scuba diver. He hiked the Pacific Coast trail from
beginning to end and was a certified master scuba
diving instructor. Steve had a customized titanium
flange inserted in his right hip in March 2015 to
counter osteolysis, his fourth reconstruction. “With
good therapy I am back walking with a cane.”
Happier news: President Carl Davis reported on
the minireunion in October. The highlight was a
small dinner at the Williams College Museum of
Art at which Professor Michael Lewis spoke. “He
is an excellent speaker and gave a most knowledgeable talk about the libraries at Williams. While at
Williams, I decided to check in at the admission
office and learned a lot and decided to help Williams
in my geographical area. I am now the representative
from the admission office to South Carolina. Last fall
I visited about 25 schools, meeting with college counselors and students. My travels took me out of the
‘Low Country’ up into the hilly terrain of Greenville
and Spartanburg.” Carl also serves on the board of
Beaufort Academy in his hometown. “I hope to help
some students in getting into B.A. If they matriculate
to Williams, so much the better.”
Two more progeny of ’62 will be matriculating at
Williams next year. Hanna Goldstein, granddaughter
1961– 62
of Lanie and Joel Goldstein, was accepted early decision, Joel reports enthusiastically. “That makes the
third generation for us. Our three kids are all alums,
Mike Goldstein ’88, Hanna’s uncle Bob Goldstein ’89,
her father, and Deb Schoeberlein ’97, her aunt. Dave
Paresky ’60 is also an uncle.” Joel continues to work
full time as an ophthalmologist. “After 40 years in
private practice I was invited to join the faculty of the
University of Colorado School of Medicine, where
I continue to enjoy working with patients and other
physicians.” Sally and Choppy Rheinfrank also have
an eldest grandchild heading for Williams. Nevin
Bernet, daughter of Carrie Rheinfrank ’88, is a new
member of the Class of 2020, matriculating from the
Thatcher School in Ojai, Cal.
2015 was a year of changes for Barbey and Ned
Dougherty. They sold their house in Albany in June
and moved permanently to their vacation home
of 45 years in Biddeford Pool, Maine. “We spent a
good part of the year downsizing and realizing how
much we had acquired over the years that no one
really wanted—phonograph records, books, antiques,
china, etc. We have our name in for a cottage in Piper
Shores, a retirement community in Scarborough.
The year was capped by a trip to Costa Rica with the
entire Daugherty family of 17, ranging in age from
yours truly to a 5-year-old grandson.” Ned continues: “I have more of an anti-bucket list than a bucket
list. Things I do not want to do include climbing
Everest, bungee jumping or hang-gliding. I guess I’d
just like to sit on the beach, read a good book and
go to a gourmet restaurant.” Reversing Ned’s procedure, Janey and Dick McCauley are moving back to
Howard County, Md., from their vacation home on
the Eastern Shore. “Lots of family there, and we love
the place,” said Mac.
Happiest moments and bucket list items: Art
Palmer—“My most significant achievement is learning to be a father (caution: work in progress). My
bucket list includes the fading hope that my monograph on the geochemistry of cave origin will be
adapted as a Broadway musical.” Don’t give up, Art. I
bet Alexander Hamilton felt the same way!
Bill Vaughn: “By far my happiest moment occurred
when I married Jane Austin some 47-plus years ago.
That marriage has resulted in three children and
seven grandchildren, all of whom live close to us. I
will settle for a healthy and happy retirement in our
homes in Sherborn and Chatham, Mass.” Denny
Bauman: “I guess I’m most proud of: 1. The extra
effort put into being the best father and husband I
have the ability to be; 2. Always going the extra mile
for my patients; a role in arranging successful open
heart surgery in 1969 for a Vietnamese adolescent
who was otherwise doomed to succumb at an early
age to congenital heart disease. Not much of a bucket
list. Most challenging is to improve my golf game.”
(Secretary’s note: Lots of luck at age 75.) Denny and
Pamela welcomed their first grandchild in November.
Marc Comstock had an excellent year. “Business
booming, lots of fun travel, grandkids moving on to
college and boarding school.” Their oldest grandson
was admitted early decision to U. of Rochester, where
he was heavily recruited as a soccer player. “I wish
Williams would do a little more active recruiting.
They were aware of him but responded with indifference. I ran into the same thing while trying to get
hockey players into Williams.” The Comstocks hope
to see Bill Beadie, Frank Ward and the Roe clan when
they travel to Minneapolis soon.
John Oberteuffer has written a book about his
grandfather, Impressionist George Oberteuffer—His
Life and Work in France and America. “I have gathered
and included more than 100 color plates of paintings from France and the US, including cityscapes in
Paris, New York and London as well as landscapes
and coastal scenes in Normandy, Brittany and New
England.” The book may be ordered on Amazon or
directly from John.
For the past three years, Frank Wolf has been the
executive director of the Child Welfare Fund, a small
philanthropy in NYC (see www.nycwf.org). He is
in his second term as one of the five elected trustees
who run the incorporated village of Saltaire on Fire
Island. He continues as a member of a book group
and plays clarinet in a chamber music wind quintet.
Rick Pietsch sent me an article written by wellknown sports commentator Frank Deford. It says, in
part: “One of the great misunderstandings about college sports, which the big-time schools love to slyly
imply, is that other sports on campus must be forever
grateful that football and basketball pay for the right
of these ‘minor sports’ to exist. This is, of course, utter
nonsense. … Basically, most all of our big state-supported universities that dominate the NCAA see athletics as primarily spectator entertainment rather than
as a participant activity for students. For example: The
University of Washington has 29,000 undergraduates, while Williams College has only 2,000. But
while big husky Washington has 22 varsity sports, little Williams fields 32.” Hmm—Go, Ephs!
Both Alan Hood and Jameson Campaigne wrote
to me about the cancellation of an appearance at
Williams by Susan Venker. Apparently she had
been invited to speak by students as part of their
“Uncomfortable Learning” speaker series. A few days
before she was scheduled to speak she was “disinvited” by the same students. Venker typically speaks
about feminism but “from a different perspective
than the one students are used to hearing,” she says.
“Feminism usually fails because it denies the existence of biology and teaches that equality means
sameness, which is a losing proposition when it
comes to planning a life.” Alan questioned the decision: “Is a Williams graduate someone who must
be shielded from opposing views? Or is a Williams
graduate someone who can vigorously defend his or
her views in any environment?” I’d be interested in
hearing from other classmates on this topic.
As I write this in January, Eugene Cassidy is very
busy attending the many “meet-and-greets” with the
many presidential candidates in his state of Iowa,
the first of 50 to make a choice of nominee in each
party. About Donald Trump: “His elaborate combover is due to plastic surgery to excise a bald spot—a
cutting-edge therapy quickly abandoned. Those who
mock The Donald mock the surgically handicapped!”
Voices from the seldom herd: Bill Blaney updated
me on his life in Arizona. He lost his wife Liz in
2011 and “attends Hospice of the Valley grief support meetings twice a month. I recommend these
hospice services highly to classmates who are in similar circumstances.” Their three kids and grandkids are
all doing well, “Karen in Simpsonville, S.C., Lynn
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in Flower Mound, Texas, and Bill in Johns Creek,
Ga.” He has become involved in researching his
roots. “I am amazed at how much you can turn up at
Ancestry.com even without a subscription.” Bill has
totally retired, but that should be in quotes, as, “I am
working with a career transition organization named
Right Management, which has offices all over the
country. I am exploring what I should be doing when
I grow up.” Let us know what you find out, Bill.
After 40 years in the Wake Forest U. biology
department, Peter Weigl is “mostly retired. My field
was endangered species and the environment. I did
my research on five continents. I have an orchard
growing fruits and nuts. That’s the problem with
Williams: It got me interested in so many things.
Really, it was a great experience. I’ve never tired of
learning. I sing in several different groups. My wife is
also a biologist, and she taught at the state university
in Winston Salem. Our daughter is a clinical social
worker in Philadelphia.”
As for me, in November, I was elected to my
fourth term on the Mansfield Town Council
(that’s Mansfield, Conn., where UConn is located).
Subsequently, I was elected deputy mayor by the
council. You may call me “Lord.”
1963
Phil Kinnicutt, 341 Iliaina St., Kailua, HI 96734-1807;
It is the middle of February as I sit down to gather
the information for the May edition of ’63 class notes,
but spring is in the air already. The University of
Hawaii baseball season kicked off on Feb. 13, and as
a season ticket holder, I am hoping for a better record
than last year … just like all my fellow Red Sox fans!
Hope does spring eternal in baseball. I heard from
longtime Yankees fan Reece Bader, who was getting ready for spring training in Florida and firming
up his travel plans for the rest of the year, including Namibia in the fall. And as of this writing, John
Churchill reports that the class trip to the Baltic
Republics in September will become a reality.
There’s a lot of news about Cuba these days, and
Jim Kidd sent a detailed report on a cruise to the
island that he and wife Teri took with children
Milan and Marian. Per Jim, it was the largest group
of Americans, some 300, to get to the island under
a loosely organized people-to-people program. It’s
impossible in a nutshell to describe the experience,
but old Havana is an elegant time machine, an architectural Mrs. Havisham, frozen in time. Half the cars
really are American from the ’40s and ’50s, still running thanks to their resourcefulness. He saw every
American make, including a Studebaker, except for
a Hudson or Lincoln, even some holdovers from
Eastern Europe, Trabis and Ladas (Fiats made in the
old Soviet Union, the taxi of choice in Budapest).
Lots of old American flatbed trucks serving as private bus services, donkey-cart taxis, motorcycles with
two or three riders. “Our son Milan made friends on
the cruise with a young nuclear physicist from New
Orleans, working in FermiLab in Chicago. He’s
African-American and said that he didn’t feel a bit of
racial tension in Cuban society, an amazing accomplishment. We didn’t get to Hemingway’s house, but
we did visit the hotel room that was reserved for him
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for seven years, very elegant hotel with marble bannisters, but a spartan writer’s room. There was a splendid photo I’d never seen of him reading the telegram
announcing his Nobel Prize, and the look on his face
mixed happiness, satisfaction and ‘It’s about time.’
Che is the icon of the revolution, his image everywhere, but Fidel much less so. The big late-40s Chevy
flatbed truck that Che and Fidel rode into Santiago
to begin the revolution (that first effort failed) is a
sacred relic at the museum, formerly the army barracks. Within the next decade, if rapacious American
development doesn’t get out of hand, it will be a paradise for tourists in all kinds of ways. The Buena Vista
Social Club is not the equivalent of the Preservation
Hall Band, being the commercial music heard in
Havana nightclubs in the ’40s and ’50s, but it’s sensational. And there’s music everywhere.”
Phil Albert and Andy Holt rendezvoused in
Madison, Wis., in January for dinner and the
University of Wisconsin-University of Minnesota
hockey game that Minnesota won handily. There’s a
photo in the alumni photos section of this issue. Dick
Potsubay reported in from Florida to remind me that
about 28 years ago, he and Ormie were honeymooning on Maui and we got together for a festive dinner
celebration. He is now “nestled in Florida a doorway
away from sunlight,” and they carpe diem by arranging a healthy medley of relaxing activities: reading,
painting, playing bongos and piano, attending concerts, meditating and communicating with family
and friends. He is hoping this mix will add years to
their lives. In case you missed Jim Blume’s email to
the class in December about Gordy Davis’ “poignant
and edifying op-ed in the New York Times evoking our country’s racist past,” here’s the link. http://
nyti.ms/21G7eIl. Trust me, it is well worth reading.
In January, the Lincoln Center for the Performing
Arts named Gordy as one of the inaugural group
of “founding legends,” 30 artists, leaders and advocates whose exceptional creativity and tenacity have
shaped and continue to shape the field of all the performing arts at the center. Others on the list: George
Balanchine, Leonard Bernstein and John Lindsay.
Nice company, I’d say! This year’s Christmas letter
from Jeanie and Brooks Goddard was jam-packed
with news of travel, adventures and family happenings, including what sounded like a grand trip to
Amsterdam and Paris last spring. For the full version,
contact Brx at goddard@rcn.com. Word has it they
are planning to go to Iran this spring.
Terry Davis, although retired from cardiac surgery, is still working full time in hospital administration at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in
Columbus, Ohio. He travels annually in the
spring to Nairobi to keep tabs on the Rafiki
AIDS Ministry and his children’s center there,
which now includes Rafiki Academy for 300 students, grades preschool through eighth (including a school of art and a school of music as well as
a computer lab). The Dr. Terry and Barbara Davis
Clinic serves the kids as well as the community. It
all began a decade ago with a one-and-a-half acre
empty field—now a 10-acre campus with all of the
above plus boys’ and girls’ dormitories, kitchen/
dining room, working farm and shops—butchery,
bakery, tailor shop making uniforms and a credit
union. What a success story!
1962– 63
Rich Castiello saw Jim Cavanaugh at a Landon
School luncheon in December where Jim was honored as one of the country’s foremost forensic psychiatrists. Rich welcomed grandchild number 11
and claims to be “actively planning retirement.” John
Dorman spotted Barbara and Woody Lockhart at
the Mission Ranch hotel/resort in Carmel, Calif.,
last summer while vacationing with family. Woody
and Barbara were there for the annual Bach festival
and an unexpected and pleasant reunion broke out.
John remembers Woody playing Nathan Detroit in
Guys & Dolls at the AMT in Williamstown. Valerie
and Roger Williams joined the Williams alumni trip
to Peru last year, which he reports was a fabulous
adventure on both sides of the Andes. Highly recommended for sooner rather than later, while your
legs can still navigate the climbs, he reports. Divna
and Bill Sittig joined Dorid and Tony Lamb for a trip
to Canada last September, where they enjoyed the
Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City, a Vivaldi
concert in a church in Montreal and, of course, the
great cuisine. Jim Blume, Kathryn, Hobby and Dave
Jeffrey and Carol and Bob Stegeman ’60 all made it
to London in January to enjoy Murray Ross’ theater
fest. It’s the 18th time Murray has led this event.
Bill Huppuch wrote that he and Molly had a busy
December celebrating the completion of his 74th
revolution around the sun, Christmas, their granddaughter’s 15th birthday and the New Year. “So we
really appreciated the four-day silent retreat from Jan.
2-6, with Lama Surya Das at the Garrison Institute,
just north of us on the Hudson River,” he said.
“Chanting, meditating, attending teachings, walking
through the woods and eating delicious vegetarian
meals, all in silence, really helped us recharge and prepare for the New Year. 2016 is off to a good start with
us continuing to exercise daily, eat well, stay in touch
with family and friends and get further involved in
our volunteer work with two local hospice organizations. Also, we have been attending meetings of
Death Café groups in our area to increase our awareness of death in order to help ourselves and others
make the most of our finite lives. On the lighter side,
we have been playing table tennis at the Westchester
Table Tennis Center (owned by Will Shortz of
NYT crossword puzzle fame) in Pleasantville … and
our three Aquarian daughters turn 50, 47 and 30 at
the end of January and the beginning of February.
Celebrating them is always lots of fun!”
Bob Binder is still working part time in his radiology practice at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley. He
and Deborah are busy with grandchildren (five) and
travel, including a trip to the Caribbean island of
Nevis and a sailing cruise from Venice to Rome. They
are also enjoying their second home in Carefree, Ariz.
Bob Critchell considers himself fortunate to be able to
live in Florida in the winter and Massachusetts in the
summer. He is also facing a health issue that he says
sounds more dramatic and serious than it really is,
and he recommends annual CT scans for everybody.
Mike Gerhardt logged 33 days of sailing on
Narraganset Bay last summer and is looking forward
to the coming season, including hosting a sail for
classmates that happen to be in the area. Rick Berry
is hoping that Jimmy Sykes’ 52-foot “Bombardino”
ocean-racing machine never leaves the East Coast
for purely selfish reasons and a little bit of nostalgia.
The two got together at the New York Yacht Club
last summer. Rick is also praising the latest published
romp by Andrew Smith ’64, In The Ladies’ Room. Rick
says Andrew is working on a theatrical version that
he would love to support. In a typically cryptic note
from the Far East, RW Schwab expressed his concerns from afar about the current presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle, concerns that are
shared by many, including yours truly!
And here’s a story that has been building for many
months. It was posted in late January on the College’s
Purple with Purpose Tumblr site, which features
stories about collective action and volunteerism by
all members of the Williams family. “A rehearsal
studio in the new arts center at the University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs will be named for
Murray Ross, thanks to several of his Williams
classmates. Ross, a professor in the university’s
drama department, and his wife Betty were founding
members of Theatreworks, a Colorado Springs theater company established in 1975. Theatreworks uses
university space for lectures, workshops and other
activities, which means students get the opportunity to work with a professional theater company.
Murray has served as Theatreworks’ artistic director
since 1976. Unbeknownst to Murray, Jim Blume,
Bill Boyd, Gordon Davis, John Davis, Bill Hubbard,
David L.K. Jeffrey, Morris Kaplan, John Kifner,
David Larry, Gordy Prichett, Jules Quinlan, Alan
Schlosser, Bobby Seidman, Elliott Urdang, Roger
Warren and Bill Whitney raised funds to create a
plaque in the new arts center’s Betty and Murray
Ross Lobby. University Chancellor Pamela
Shockley-Zalabak also granted the group naming rights for the rehearsal studio; they chose to
dub it ‘The Crow’s Nest’ after Murray’s nickname
at Williams, The Crow. Ten of these ’63s surprised
Murray with this news, along with plaques to be
displayed in both rehearsal room and lobby, in
Colorado Springs in October 2015.” The site has a
great group photo! http://bit.ly/24zliG0
It has been a tough year. Upon the sudden and
unexpected death of Dave Hartwell in January,
Class Prexy Jim Blume circulated an eloquent email
announcement that triggered a number of responses.
Bill Sittig reacted to the sad news by remembering
that as one of his many responsibilities at the Library
of Congress, he invited Dave to speak at the library
on sci-fi/fantasy publishing, a presentation that was
very well received, he noted. Per Bill, Dave received
the senior prize for the best student book collection,
and a recent science fiction event in Williamstown
was called the David G. Hartwell ’63 Science Fiction
Symposium. Several classmates observed that all of us
seem to be losing classmates and other friends at an
ever-increasing rate. True enough.
Roger Williams wrote a brief memoriam of Richard
Goodman, who passed away last August: “The college lost a good man and a loyal alumnus this past fall
with the passing of Rich Goodman—‘Ole Richie’ as
he liked to be known. Rich was a man of inestimable
good humor and sunny disposition who was quite
capable of self-deprecation. Born in West Virginia,
he once boasted he ‘held Jerry West to 37’ on the
hardwood courts. Best thing about West Virginia, he
always said, was that it harbored Wanda, who was his
high school sweetheart—a sentiment with which the
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Betas wholeheartedly agreed. After Williams, Rich
and Wanda moved to Pittsburgh. After a year of
apprenticeship with Prudential, Rich started his own
insurance brokerage business, which grew to branch
offices and several subsidiaries in four states. He and
Wanda had three sons, all of whom joined him in
the business world. Rich was also a loyal supporter
of the college and numbered Williams and the Tom
Coughlin Jay Foundation amongst his gift-giving
causes. Rich will be sorely missed by all who knew
him: He made everyone around him feel better by
being in his presence.” Per Roger, Wanda has asked
that any contributions in Richard’s honor be directed
to the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund. (TCJayfund.org.)
From Gordy Prichett on the death of Tetteh “Ben”
Kofi last Nov. 27: “We all remember Ben for his
lethal goal-scoring ability on the soccer field and his
unfailing confidence that the team would win and
that he would be the agent of victory. This was confirmed numerous times, most notably with his overtime goal in a 2-1 victory over Dartmouth and his
three goals in the overtime win against undefeated
Wesleyan. After graduation, Ben earned his PhD
in economic development from the University of
California at Berkeley and later taught at Stanford
and The University of San Francisco. Notable
among his achievements was a book written with
co-author Asayehgn Desta, The Saga of African
Underdevelopment, and consulting engagements with
The UN and The Economic Commission for Africa.”
In late news, the college was notified that Bob
Lansdell passed away on Feb. 2. Should you wish
to contact the family, the last known residence was
1624 Plantation Oaks Lane, Fernandina Beach, FL
32034-5524.
And reporting with a grin, here’s a final note on
what was a hot story in New England for a while
that finally broke on National Public Radio in late
January. The headline read, “Amherst College Gives
Unofficial Mascot ‘Lord Jeff ’ the Boot.” Per NPR,
complaints about a mascot based on English general
Lord Jeffery Amherst, who at one point proposed
giving blankets from smallpox patients to Native
Americans, finally won out. I bet the defectors’ PR
department had fun with that one.
I hope you all have a grand summer. Keep those
cards and letters coming, please, for the next issue of
Williams People.
1964
Martin P. Wasserman, 13200 Triadelphia Road, Ellicott
City, MD 21042; 1964secretary@williams.edu
Let me begin with an encouraging story about a
classmate who took courageous actions before the
issue became the “Law of the Land.” In early 1972,
while still a resident at the University of Vermont
College of Medicine, Jack Beecham agreed to represent the medical profession in a court case involving
an impoverished Jacqueline R. who needed an abortion. Existing Vermont law (1846) allowed a woman
to have an abortion without penalty but could punish
the performing physician with a 20-year jail sentence.
Jack sued the state under what was later termed “the
doctrine of hypocrisy” since the statute “protected
a woman” but in essence refused her access to adequate medical care. The defendant attorneys turned
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out to be two future US Senators (Patrick Leahy and
James Jeffords). Although Beecham lost in the lower
courts, the decision was immediately appealed to the
state Supreme Court. The justices ruled 5-2 to overturn this decision holding that if the purpose were
to protect the fetus, than the legislature had to hold
the mother accountable; and if it were to protect the
health of the mother, than it had to allow her “safe
access” to treatment and not criminalize the physician’s activity. The 1846 law was finally repealed by
the legislature in 2014. Jack received a standing ovation at the Planned Parenthood HQ where Governor
Shumlin signed the bill. This wonderful tribute was
reported in the Vermont Valley News, and we can
thank Dave Newbury, another Vermont resident, for
sharing this story with us.
Jack and his fiancée Allie joined Steve Birrell and
Polly, John Foehl and Sarah, and Jay Freedman, who
came to Saratoga, N.Y., on Jan. 30 to celebrate and
honor the life of Joel Reingold, who passed away in
January. “Jay gave a wonderful, humorous and moving
tribute to Joel, who, as many of us know, was a most
unforgettable character,” commented Steve, Joel’s
senior roommate at DU. Jay’s daughter Courtney
Freedman Monroe ’90, CEO of global networks for
National Geographic, also joined the group, as did
Jay’s son Spencer, escorting his wife Sophia. Joel’s
daughter Rachel, who attended Deerfield Academy
with Steve and Polly’s daughter Katie Birrell Utley
’96, was present to represent and honor her father. It
was a moving and bittersweet time for all present.
Turning to an entirely different activity, we have an
“archeo-detective” in our class whose exploits have
been described in the New Yorker! Richard Garland,
acting on a tip, has identified the first survey marker
that established the grid of numbered streets and
long avenues in Manhattan. This grid of intersections
was laid out, surveyed and marked more than 200
years ago by John Ransel Jr. when Manhattan was
mostly farmland. Late in 2014, Richard identified
the top of a white stone embedded in the grass that
fit the description of the markers and was located at
just the right place. As he suggests, “It was hidden in
plain sight.” For a fascinating story with credit given
to our classmate, review the article “Unearthing the
City Grid That Would Have Been in Central Park,”
http://bit.ly/1Tltg25.
When I wrote to you initially requesting information, we were in the throes of a winter blizzard
dumping nearly three feet of snow in our area. While
I required a shovel and ski poles to get to the barn
for my twice-daily “manure removal” efforts, I asked
that you let me know how you were coping with the
adverse weather. Needless to say, my freshman roomie
Curt Green took little time to remind me that he
spends his winters in Hawaii and had to “follow the
snowstorm from afar on TV.” He thought the pictures were “awesome” and lamented that in Kauai,
“skies are sunny and temperature is 78 degrees.” His
daughter Jessica Murphy ’99, together with his 8and 11-year-old grandchildren, joined them during
the Christmas season.
Life was not bad either for John Fisher, who was
playing golf at his home in Arizona during our travails on the East Coast! He commented that his
son works for FitBit, and now the entire family has
increased its exercise because “having one on your
1963– 64
wrist forces you to do more each day.” Sounds like an
advertising slogan, John! When not golfing or counting steps, John supports Habitat for Humanity, where
he has been building homes for close to 20 years.
He now works there two or three days a week and is
supervising a two-story house, of which he is quite
proud. He meets great people, deals successfully with
many technical challenges and has “lots of fun. I even
had Gay Mayer helping a few years ago.”
One of my close friends and nearby neighbors, Skip
Gwiazda, had to cancel plans to go to Boston because
of the two feet of snow blocking his approach to
Interstate 95. Skip and Suzanne have been discussing a move to California for some time, and I think
the storm cemented their decision. They will move to
Cupertino in early summer and have been planning
to downsize to a two-bedroom condo in a retirement
community with three levels of care. This will cause
massive “stuff removal” that Skip has characterized
as “one of the greatest gifts to our kids that they will
never fully appreciate.” When together, we all discuss plans for accommodations as we age, and I have
noted many friends considering similar moves. For
Barbara and me, with lives centered on our animals,
the decision is much harder, and we continue to delay
thoughts regarding a move from our current home
until we are no longer able to care for them or saddle
up and ride into a nearby county park. Perhaps this
would be a good topic for a future Williams People
class discussion.
During the storm, I had a very nice conversation with Chuck Heywood, who lives in Augusta,
Ga., and had “unseasonably cool temperatures with
a mild snowfall beginning at 3 a.m.” His wife, a lifelong Augustan, regards snow as such a novelty that
she will lie awake watching for it. Chuck continues, “By 6:30, the lawn and tree limbs were dusted
white, enough so the squirrels were up to their knees
searching for acorns, and the finches and wrens competed for room at the feeders. Temperatures rose as
the morning progressed, and so I donned a seldomworn parka, gloves and snug knit cap and enjoyed a
leisurely stroll through the neighborhood, snapping
away with my cellphone to capture the delicate and
fleeting beauty of an Augusta winter snowscape. Sure
enough, by late Saturday afternoon, without shovel
or blower, the snow had gone, leaving lawns bare. By
Monday, the sun was shining, the temperature nearing 70, and spring seems right around the corner.”
Beautifully stated, Chuck, but here on that same
Monday, spring was far away, and we were all just
beginning our big dig out!
Bob Furey, an avid skier, requested that we package
some of our snow and send it his way. This season has
been a bit “skimpy,” and Bob feels we have “stolen” his
snow! Earlier in the winter, he and Janet celebrated
the wedding of daughter Alison Furey ’99 at MASS
MoCA to Mike Nowicki, a landscape architect for
a Boston firm, Stantec. Alison, following in her
father’s teaching profession, is chairwoman of the
counseling and guidance department at Concord
Carlisle High School. Son Joel Furey ’94 is an entrepreneur and has purchased a yarn company that is
now Noble Biomaterials, which weaves silver into
yarns and provides a number of new-age technical
health care products. I reviewed the website, noble
biomaterials.com, and was intrigued by the many
possibilities of this new wearable technology. Jon
Fielding and Karin joined Dave MacPherson and
Polly for the ceremonies.
Enough of the snow. In October, Chapin Hall
reopened with the Berkshire Symphony playing
to a “standing-room-only audience,” notes Dave
MacPherson. You will recall that Chapin was one of
our main 50th reunion gift recipients. According to
Dave, “Chapin still looks like the Chapin we know
and love. But—the ceiling is newly painted with
gold leaf accent and new stage lighting in the ceiling.
The seating is still red with wood accents. But they
are wider and very comfortable! The stage has been
extended so the entire orchestra is outside that small,
narrow, tucked-in area of the rear stage, and there are
new speakers on either side of the stage. The sound
was wonderful! The whole atmosphere is noticeably
brighter.” At the welcoming remarks, the Class of
1964 and Bill Chapman in particular were recognized
and thanked for their contributions, and the music
department chair noted that the performance space
would be used for many hours each day by students
and the community for recitals, rehearsals and performances. Dr. Hirsch proudly stated, “It is a great addition to the college and music department facilities.” It
was a good night for Williams and especially for ’64.
Several classmates attended Williams-sponsored
trips. Jud Phelps and Bonnie went on a Southeastern
Alaska cruise with classmate Chris Hagy and Mary.
The scenery was “spectacular and wild animals abundant including up-close grizzly bears, breeching
humpbacks, bald eagles and running salmon. The
visuals included the Northern Lights, the peak of
Denali and many caving glaciers. We laughed telling old Williams stories and new ones we concocted
on the spot. It was a great trip and very well organized.” Gay Mayer and Mary joined Alan Sachtleben
and Pat also to do some whale watching, only they
went south to the Sea of Cortez, a gulf that separates
the Baja Peninsula from Mexico and one of the most
diverse waterways on the planet. It’s home to more
than 5,000 species of microinvertebrates. There they
observed humpback, pilot, blue and grey whales and
“got to swim with sea lions and watch more than
500 dolphins swimming in the bow wake of our ship.
We all had a really good time—and no cellphone or
wireless access for a week!”
During the summer, but not on a college trip, Craig
Schelter (my other freshman roommate), Bill Frado
and their wives Liz and Jane spent two weeks hiking in the Dolomite region of Northern Italy and
Eastern Switzerland. While in Castelrotto, Italy, they
happened upon the Williams Hütte and took a great
picture there. They later enjoyed a “delightful lunch
surrounded by the magnificent scenery of the Alpe
de Siusi, which, we were told, is the largest Alpine
meadow in Europe. Great hiking, great food,
wonderful weather and lots of cows,” noted Bill.
For other classmates, trips become a part of the
future. Dick Scott is now fully retired from his
renowned hip and knee replacement surgical career.
But before his “official” retirement in December 2015,
Dick received a lifetime achievement award from The
Knee Society for his academic contributions through
the years. He was recognized by the American
Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons during its annual
meetings. Amazingly, Dick has trained more than
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600 residents and 300 fellows, having worked at both
Harvard and Tufts medical centers. And now, with
more free time, he carpools his five granddaughters
who live nearby and enjoys long walks with Mary,
as well as the theater and returning to his hobbies of
playing guitar and painting. Although self-taught,
Dick held an exhibition at the Tavern Club in downtown Boston. He plans to take courses on art theory and technique as well as history and other liberal
arts courses that he never had a chance to enjoy at
Williams. His final thoughts reflected on the “strange
feeling I experienced as I made my last incision.”
Although I never practiced surgery, I think I can
comprehend the existential sense of “completion” as
one concludes that very important aspect of life that
has been so meaningful during a professional career.
Mark Smith writes of a similar experience, having
retired from academic medicine two years ago. “I still
dream I am on rounds quite often.” Does anyone else
have similar experiences? Mark deals with his professional loss by living on the wild Pacific Ocean during
the week and in a tiny condo in Portland on weekends. “Life is quite stimulating. In Manzanita, the
Pacific Ocean is a three-minute walk from my front
door. In Portland, the art museum, opera, symphony
and baroque chamber orchestra are all within a couple of blocks of our condo.” Mark is also an author
and will conclude his second historical fiction novel
by this summer and then spend a few months editing and rewriting. He published his first book, Enemy
in the Mirror: Love and Fury in the Pacific War, on
Amazon and is looking for an agent. Interestingly,
as part of his research he will travel to Cuba and
plans to “walk the streets of Havana and Camagüey,
where my Mexican-American B-25 pilot protagonist
Ramón will end up in the summer of 1942. Last year
we visited Lübeck, Germany, where Ramón’s antagonist, the U-boat captain Rainer, grew up.”
Some classmates, like Dick Tucker, remain “semiretired.” Dick continues to work in his professional
field. Although he can now spend more time with
Rae at their home on Cape Cod, he continues to
train six doctoral students whom he will continue
to mentor until their dissertations are completed. I,
too, continue to do some public health consulting for
a small government contracting firm based in Erie,
Pa.—speaking of snowfall! Fortunately I am able to
work from home, which is ideal. We develop policies
for prenatal care and improved newborn outcomes as
well as new payment policies to encourage improvements in quality of care and better health and patient
management. The work is interesting and allows me
to remain in touch with new public health issues.
Barbara and I also do volunteer work on behalf of
animal wellbeing and are currently working on some
statewide legislation to restrict the use of live animals
for medical student training. When the snows leave,
we will get back to the horses!
Stay well and be safe. —Marty
1965
Tom Burnett, 175 Riverside Drive, #2H, New York, NY
Secretary Tom Burnett reports: After the flurry
of communications activity leading up to our 50th
reunion last year, the class inbox is meager and needs
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a more active replenishment effort. As a reminder,
written letters or emails—and news of family,
career, travel and other classmates’ visits—are most
appreciated.
I was pleased to hear from Curt Mills, who has fully
recovered from a left total-hip replacement operation
last November. His near-term goal is to row in the
Head of the Charles event with his son for a third
time in October. He continues his medical work, now
exclusively with House Calls for the Homebound
covering a 100-mile radius in upstate New York. He
feels great and was so happy to be able to participate
in the reunion.
The annual letter from Jean and Sam White
was especially positive, as Sam has regained his
strength and good health after a difficult time
recovering from a surgical procedure last April.
According to Jean, the warmth and camaraderie of the class at reunion had a lot to do with
the healing process. He is playing tennis, skating
and working and teaching as before. Sam has no
plans to retire, especially since his two cataractinduced lens replacements have given him back
his full vision. He and Jean enjoy seeing their two
sons’ families, including four grandchildren, and
Jean notes that third son Ty has moved back to
San Francisco, where he works at a small company
developing real estate applications for property
managers.
Tina and Fred Ohly took a few days away from the
nasty winter weather to travel in Florida, where they
rested and enjoyed the sunshine. They also met with
Saranne Murray and Jack Foley, who have a home
near Naples.
Stu Johnson wrote that one of his defense cases
resulted in an unusual victory for his client. After six
days of hearings, Judge Canan from the DC Superior
Court set aside Stu’s client’s homicide conviction
from 2012. These rulings are rare, and Stu will now be
working to convince a new jury of his client’s innocence once the case is set down for a new trial.
I checked in with Dusty Griffin to see what news
items he could supply. He and Gale ran into John
Wheeler on one of their visits to New York. He also
provided an update on our 25th reunion fund for faculty excellence, which had grown to $7.5 million as of
June 30, 2015. The income from that fund supported
faculty recruiting and tenure evaluation efforts. Our
50th reunion funds are small but growing as pledges
are fulfilled with income distributions from those
funds expected to begin in late 2016 and early 2017.
Last December, I had the pleasure of attending
a lecture by Art Wheelock at the New York Studio
School in Manhattan. The lecture was based on
Vermeer’s Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, and, as
usual, I learned even more about the artist and his
technique, as only a Wheelock lecture can provide.
The event included a small dinner reception at the
school, which I proudly attended in honor of Arthur’s
work and contribution to his field.
Harriet and I continue to work full time and to
enjoy our expanding family, which now includes four
grandchildren, ages 7 years to 16 months. We welcome visits from any and all classmates and hope to
see many of you in the future.
1964– 66
1966
REUNION JUNE 9-12
50
th
Palmer Q. Bessey Jr., 1320 York Ave., 32H,
New York, NY 10021; John Gould, 80 Ocean St.,
Lynn, MA 01902; 1966secretary@williams.edu
We reported in the last notes on the death of Peter
Hoyt from advanced gastric cancer. Harrop Miller
attended the memorial service in Cincinnati, “among
some of his friends I had never met before. After that
remarkable weekend, I felt that I came to know Peter
even better than I had known him in life.”
We are pleased that there have been no additional
deaths of classmates that we know of. In contrast,
there is one who has rejoined the fold. Bruce Pachter
entered with our class and graduated with the Class
of 1967. He had not aligned with either class since
then and asked to reconnect with the Class of 1966.
Although he expected to attend reunion, he missed
the deadline for the class book. His bio:
“Vietnam? Hell no. Grad school, pass…enough
school already. Something real ground-level…how
‘bout teaching native children in Borneo enough
English to go to high school with the added benefit of three months training in Hilo? (The ‘wild
man’ actually from New Guinea, a creation of PT
Barnum) and no, the headhunters are all retired
or dead. On the way home, stops at Angkor Wat,
Calcutta (10,000 lepers under Howly Bridge),
Benares, the Taj Mahal, Peshawar, gun-making
tribal stronghold made famous by bin Laden’s troopers decades later, the Khyber Pass, Afghanistan (tall
Asiatic horsemen with turbans, robes and swords, and
women shrouded in burkas), the wildest place I have
ever seen, cosmopolitan Teheran, Qom, home to the
mullahs, the darkest place I have ever been… Masters
fellow, international affairs (the professors tenuring each other…this would be a stultifying career),
stint as a Porsche mechanic. Why obsess so much
about material stuff? In a blink of an eye, we are
gone. Always the burning question: ‘Who am I?’ and
‘What’s going on here?’
“Then I ‘stumbled’ upon him, Swami Muktananda
Paramahamsa, a Siddha, an enlightened being able to
ignite the divine spark in anyone from a living tradition handed down from master to disciple for 5,000
years. He looked more like a hip jazz musician than
some sour ascetic, resplendent in the burnt orange
silks of a monk. I knew the moment I first saw him…
exaltation, power, freedom not felt since early childhood! He was omniscient, 100 percent present in the
here and now, 100 percent gone to worlds unknown,
drunk in his own ecstasy…a rock, fearless, without desire, greed or malice. He knew me more than
I knew myself… When I passed under the portal of
his ashram in India, the weight and dust of the world
lifted off my shoulders into serenity, stillness and love.
I was witness to his departure; born on a full moon,
he left on a full moon…when we filed into his inner
sanctum to view him, his supple chocolate brown
skin radiated massive light. I thought he would open
his eyes and laugh…intense, INTENSE… People
came from all over the world; we chanted day and
night for 30 days. No idea where I was. We put him
in the ground in full lotus facing his Guru’s shrine
a mile away who had given him the land 20 years
earlier. … This is not fantasy…several friends have
passed over while still in the body. One is a Williams
man (whose entire family had vanished over the
ocean). I thought I was done with it, but when his
successor, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, came to town
I hopped on the first shuttle back to our place in
the Catskills. Twenty-five years of service, like a tale
from ancient Indian lore, I am an old forest dweller
who lives a simple life, alone, but happy a block from
where I first met my divine inspiration. ”
Co-Secretary John Gould fled to California for
the month of February, having “recovered from the
Patriots’ loss after a strong season and the Bosox’s
pathos (reminding me of my childhood with Jimmy
Persall and Ted Williams. At spring training in the
early ’80s I once took a leak beside Ted in the Clock
Restaurant, which may have been the acme of my
fanhood.” While in sunny California, John visited
Bob Mitchell, who is the proud recipient of a heart
transplant. “He looks darned good!”
Bob wrote that he and his wife Susan Love “are
now happily back to our routines in Carlsbad, Calif.,
she with her art projects and I with my new 29-yearold heart and writing. I am doing great, nearly a year
after double-transplant surgery and partial nephrectomy (no cancer cells, heart and kidney numbers are
excellent, back on the tennis courts), and life is good.
The two mantras that keep me going are ‘dum spiro
spero’ (Cicero, and also the motto of South Carolina)
and the chorus of ‘Centerfield’ ( John Fogerty, my
ringtone): ‘Oh, put me in coach, I’m ready to play
today.’ I have put aside my fifth novel to write a
memoir of my cardiac experience, Time for a Heartto-Heart: Reflections on Life in the Face of Death, with
a Foreword by Larry King. Susan and I are really
looking forward to the Lth reunion in June. We both
didn’t think we’d make it.”
Willard Spiegelman reported, “I had hoped that my
new memoir/essays would be available at the reunion.
No such luck. Now we shall all have to be patient
and await the publication of Senior Moments: Looking
Back, Looking Ahead around Labor Day. Farrar Straus
Giroux is the publisher.” He would be happy to
entertain any speaking opportunities.
Jim Meier wrote, “Williams continues to inspire
my learning. Two years ago, about 50 of us attended
the Class of ’66 presidential forum, a kickoff for our
50th reunion. English Prof. Bernie Rhie described
the Williams tutorial. In English, two students read
a book a week, one writes an essay, the second a
responsive essay, and then they meet with the professor. It sounded terrific. I started a hybrid version with
two friends shortly after. We read a book and two of
us write essays. We meet roughly every six weeks over
dinner to discuss them. The common thread is worldwide literature with a war theme, including classics
and works by Nobel Prize winners.”
Ron Promboin wrote that he had a wonderful time
at the pre-reunion “Williams at Oxford” last summer. He has retired at last, having lost faith in the
online teaching experience—“ever-larger classes, less
teaching vs. being a paper grader, and serious constraints on traveling because of the back-to-back-toback scheduling of terms. I’m not at all unhappy to
be retired.”
David Dapice, having retired, is continuing work in
Southeast Asia, mainly Myanmar, with the Harvard
Kennedy School. “So my work still gets me to
warmer places several times a year. We are up to eight
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
grandchildren, and my younger daughter, thank heavens, is coming back from Iraq. She is a captain in the
82nd Airborne and has had four deployments to Iraq
and Afghanistan. All healthy and doing well.”
This from Roger Kubarych: “Janet has become chief
operating officer of the UK financial boutique she
has been with for the past three years. So we’re moving to London for the next year or two. I will go back
and forth to keep my hand in the economic consulting game. But we are definitely committed to being
at the reunion.”
Con O’Leary writes: “I just got back from Dubai,
Oman and Abu Dhabi. This was a trip with a small
group from Central Connecticut State University. It
was led by a professor who is fluent in Arabic. What
amazing development there. Everything is done on a
first-class basis. The place is well, fun and orderly.”
David Tobis sent this: “As neighbors, John Citron
and I see each other regularly to hike, eat paella
or cheer the Warriors on. In February I’ll have a
multi-generational dinner in honor of our beloved
Jeff Jones with Perter Richardson, Steve Atlas and
Laz Rappaport. And right afterward I’m going to
London, where I’ll see the masterful 50th reunion
editor, Peter Koenig, and fill him in.”
Bill Adams had a sunny report: “Life remains busy
and pleasant. October found us away for each of the
five weekends, with two separate trips to NYC, one
trip to Connecticut and a trip up to Littleton, N.H.,
not to mention the minireunion. We had a houseful here over Christmas: both children, their children
and their in-laws—lots of fun. Our son David Adams
’00 and his wife had their first child in August, and
our daughter Carolyn Lowell ’02 had a second baby in
February, bringing the total to three. We love being
grandparents, especially since we’re only 25 minutes
away from our daughter Carolyn and get to see her
family regularly. We’re really a part of our grandson’s
life. We’re looking forward to being at the 50th and
seeing as many classmates as possible.”
Gordon Wishard is “looking forward to reuning in a
handful of months. I’m particularly hopeful that other
classmates who, like I, have been infrequent visitors to
the college, will make a point to show up for this one.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but this affair won’t
happen again, and all the photos the magazine publishes won’t mean the same as being there.”
Jon Smith will not be able to attend Reunion L, but
wrote: “We are still living on the west shore of Lake
Tahoe. It is truly beautiful here, especially now that
we have snow for the first time in five years. Water
shortage still in existence, but less scary. We should
have some spectacular waterfalls and wildflowers
this spring. My health is as good as it has been in a
long time. Lymphoma is still in full remission. Heart
and kidneys working well. An amelanotic melanoma
seems to have disappeared after two surgeries. Son
and daughter are happy and live close. Spend time
with landscape photography and genealogy.”
Some classmates are still actively engaged in various academic endeavors, both honorific and fraught.
Jeff Rosen wrote, “I was elected as an AAAS fellow
for medical sciences. A nice recognition for ‘hanging in there!’ One of my first fellows, now a professor
at Vanderbilt Medical School, will also be honored at
the same time. Otherwise, Madeline and I are eagerly
waiting for our new house to be built. Our old 1950
40
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
house was flooded during tropical storm Allison
more than a decade ago, and we probably should have
torn it down then and rebuilt, but there were other
priorities at the time. Madeline designed the onestory house—2,500 square feet—along with a ‘green’
architect, and is excited now that it has gone from
2D to 3D and we can actually walk around inside.
All the other new construction in our neighborhood
is 4,000-5,000 square feet. Hope to move in May
before the reunion. Seems crazy when most of you
are retired to just be doing this.”
Alan Finke alerted us to an article in the Harvard
Law Record that describes a published work by legal
historian Dan Coquillette on the early history of
Harvard: “On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law
School, the First Century.” In it there is an account
of the role the Royall family played in suppressing
a slave uprising on their Antigua plantation. Isaac
Royall endowed the first professorship of law at
Harvard in 1779, and the family crest is part of the
law school crest. Dan’s work has been used by a student protest group, Royall Must Fall. He has said “he
understands the impetus behind Royall Must Fall
but does not think that the crest should be changed.
… If we started renaming things and taking down
monuments of people linked to slavery, you would
start with Washington. A great institution can tell the
truth about itself.”
Bailey Young wrote about “the unhappy excitement
in Charleston and elsewhere in Illinois. I am on the
faculty senate and chair our union (UPI: University
Professionals of Illinois) committee on political education and legislation. I and the university are embattled: We are on the front lines of a governor’s (a
Dartmouth man, by the way) attempt to break the
unions and (perhaps) incidentally trim state-funded
higher education. We have been underfunded in
the state system, and that has now led to the layoffs
of 171 people unprotected by union contracts. The
odds that by the time we meet for the 50th I will be
retired/out of a job are today on the far side of 50/50.
In other news, I will be in Boston in February for the
meeting of the Medieval Academy. I have organized
a panel in the Green Middle Ages thread: ‘Recent
Environmental Archaeology in France.’ This will be
in honor of Fredric Cheyette. Fred was an Amherst
medievalist for more than 40 years and one of the
outstanding medieval scholars of the 20th century.
Cancer took him out last April. I spoke at a symposium on his work held by the college on his contributions to various areas of medieval research.”
The 20-somethingth Class of 1966 Annual
Dinner with No Special Agenda was held in New
York in February. Since it is a special year, Bill
Bowden did have sort of an agenda. He spoke about
several upcoming reunion events. Charley Randolph
gave an upbeat report on his outreach efforts and
asked for help in reaching out to some other classmates. Jon Linen gave an update on fundraising and
the status of the Summer Opportunities Fund. Also
attending were Dave Batten, Dave Corwin, Graham
Cole, Guy Fairstein, Rusty Haldeman, Charles
Jennings, Lance Knox, David Kollender, Bob Krefting,
Jim Meier and Art Perry.
Budge Upton tells us that plans for events are
beginning to firm up. He and David Tunick hope
to have some real surprises for us over Reunion
1966– 67
Weekend—now being held in the strictest of confidence until they can be released to the world at large.
He adds, “Stay tuned…”
Enjoy the spring. See you in Williamstown in June.
Be there.
1967
Ken Willcox, 178 Westwood Lane, Wayzata, MN 55391;
In another sign of the times, we once again lead
our class notes with the distressing news of another
member lost to us. You should have already been
notified via email blast that Alan Dankner passed
away Dec. 1, 2015. The culprit was complications from acute myeloid leukemia. Alan lived in
Watertown, Mass. He was one bright guy. He graduated from Williams Phi Beta Kappa. Math was his
area of expertise. In its further pursuit, he went on to
Cal Berkeley, where he received his PhD. His thesis was “On Smale’s Axiom a Dynamical System,”
which received wide acclaim in the math community.
After further study at Princeton, he became a math
professor at Northwestern University and later at the
University of Iowa. Seems he was bored with that,
so he moved to New Jersey to attend law school at
NYU. He spent the rest of his career practicing law in
Boston. He retired in 2013. He leaves his wife Natalie
Kanellis, son Jacob and daughter Sally. He remained
fascinated by mathematics his whole life and closely
followed developments in the field. Alan was quite a
talent. He did us proud, and we will miss him.
Ko Ching Po, in a submission from Hong Kong
that missed the last issue, reported completing an
ambitious 16-day trip last year including Moscow,
Jerusalem, Stonehenge and Albany. While in Albany
he found a great secondhand bookstore. He picked
up some New Age books there written by Elizabeth
Kubla-Ross to reread. He wrote, “I am reminded
that it is when we are faced with death that we find
the meaning of life. I continue to be grateful for the
superb education I got at Williams, and I still would
find a way to repay my debt during my lifetime.”
Following the class gathering in Gettysburg, Gail
and Gregg Meister headed out on a cross-country
road trip. They were off to see their daughter Miriam
in Seattle. They did it via Santa Fe and the Grand
Canyon, ultimately returning via the Badlands, then
a northern turn in Indiana to Canada, on to Ottawa,
then home via Mount Holyoke for Gail’s college
event. A total of 8,365 miles. He wrote, “A friend
suggested that prior to our next trip I might want to
consult a map.”
Dave Rikert, in a math reference, suggested,
“Although it is a prime year, it is sobering to be wishing classmates a happy 71st birthday.” He adds that
it’s fun to have conversations with classmates about
granddaughters enjoying time on a climbing wall.
Jack Hunt was back in the quest for quail in a
February hunt in the Texas Panhandle with his
daughter Lisa Marquerite Hunt ’03. He also spends a
little time in Albuquerque, where Lisa is a physician
on staff at the University of New Mexico Medical
Center. He says that Dr. Lisa reported excellent
skiing this year in New Mexico.
Bill McClung, who taught his last CS class last
May, says he is truly grateful to our forefathers who
invented Social Security. His son Andrew is working
toward a CalTech quantum physics PhD, while his
other son Charles has relocated with his Minneapolis
band to Philadelphia. Bill’s wife Hannah is still
teaching college voice and directs church choirs. Bill
writes, “I seek to maintain feelings of self-worth by
volunteering to teach CS at various levels.”
Dave Nash had surgery last December to reattach
a torn hamstring. He labeled it “ouch and nasty.”
He figured he’d be on the shelf until May. Also in
December, he and Linda took a wonderful boat
trip up the Danube to visit Christmas markets. He
highly recommends the European river cruises.
Dave and Linda are planning to be on the Williams
Oxford trip in June. After that they expect to take in
the Wimbledon matches.
Hank Grass wrote while recovering from a lumbar
spinal fusion operation. Not his first. He said he was
anxious to get back to exercising. All is well with his
psychiatry practice and his family. He looks forward
to seeing everyone at the 50th in 2017.
Last year was busy for Tom Ehrich. He and his wife
moved from Manhattan to a farmhouse in Ulster
County in upstate New York. They have an outbuilding there where he does his writing. Tom published
two books last year, Two-Lane Theology and The Gift
of New Creation. Both continue his practice of looking at daily life for glimpses of the eternal. His company’s online magazine, Fresh Day, continues to grow
in its second year. He also did consulting work with
churches and taught a class on social media at the
Kenyon Institute for writing. Their third grandchild
arrived in July.
Jon Lovell expressed some dismay at some of
the “hate-based” political campaigns commanding everyone’s attention. He writes, “The experience
is somewhat akin to watching public executions in
Elizabethan England. It’s absolutely dreadful, yet
you can’t take your eyes off the spectacle.” Jon will be
retiring from San Jose State in the summer of 2018.
He and Ellen will be crossing the Atlantic early for
the Williams in Oxford event. They will go first to
Italy, where they plan to explore Tuscany and Venice,
before heading to the UK.
In an attempt no doubt to attract great sympathy,
Chris Covington wrote that he was doing his best to
suffer through the winter in Antigua. He would love
to see other “fellow brave souls.” (Secretary’s note:
Bless you for shouldering such a burden, Chris. Quite
remarkable!)
Meg and Bob Tyre are in Naples, Fla., for eight
months annually and Rye, N.Y., for the summer.
Their two daughters and four grandchildren are
great. Bob says his big news was that he was able to
track down Doug “Porpoise” Ernst. He is quite well,
and Bob said he sounded great. He has been living in Canada since the early ’70s but retains his US
passport. He keeps busy snowshoeing, building rock
walls and maintaining his vast garden. He said he’d
love to hear from old friends. His mailing address is:
146 White Road, Mansonville, Quebec, JOE 1X0,
Canada. His phone is 450.292.5888. No email. Bob
said he and Meg hope to visit him this summer.
Cathy and John Schwab are enjoying their retirement in Chapel Hill, N.C., which he terms much
more hospitable in January/February than northern Michigan. They enjoyed a trip last spring to Paris
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
followed by a week floating down the Rhône. It struck
him that they should have been doing this 40 years
ago. They will be taking another river trip this fall with
friends. John says their eight grandsons are growing by
the day, and it is a formidable task keeping up with all
of their activities. They are scattered from Michigan to
Massachusetts to North Carolina. Cathy and John are
planning to be at our 50th in 2017.
Liz and Van Hawn moved from downtown
Minneapolis into a new house across the Mississippi.
This ends 20 years in the leafy suburbs. The redo
of the house cost more than planned, but they are
pleased with the result. Their son Ben presented them
with their fourth and final grandchild, Robin Gates
Hawn. The middle name is a nod to Van’s brother
Gates Hawn ’70. Van and Liz are also planning to be
at Oxford in June.
That’s a wrap for this edition. Your secretary and
Winnie are also planning to attend the Williams
gathering at Oxford. Afterward we expect to head
to France to visit some old family friends in the
Brittany region. Meanwhile continued thanks go
to the reunion committee under the leadership of
Turner Smith. They continue to work hard to ensure
a memorable 50th reunion for all of us. It’s amazing
to realize that we are already just one year away from
our 50th. Where did the time go? Thanks for all
your news, and travel safely, everyone.
1968
Paul Neely, 34532 North 79th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85266;
If the college has your email address, you
received an earlier notice about the new class website, Williams68.org. This, then, is either news or a
reminder: In either case, check it out.
The team of Alexander Caskey, Tom Pierce, Ken
Jackson and Bob Cricenti has produced a wonderful site leading up to our 50th reunion. Browse the
timeline, the faculty tributes and the photo section to
get a sense of our collective past and the many experiences we shared during 1964-68. As you do, please
post a comment or reply expressing your feelings and
thoughts about all that happened in those days; you’ll
see an online form designed for that purpose.
There are two faculty profiles by Bob Snyder and
Bob Heiss, and more will appear over time. Check
back often, and don’t be surprised if you hear from
the team in the coming months asking you to contribute a written gem or a photo.
We’ll start the rest of the news with a couple of
big shout-outs. Class VP Tad Piper, after spectacular leadership of Minnesota Public Radio and the
board of St. Olaf ’s College, is on to one more major
task. “I’m really enjoying my very challenging time
as founding board member and current chair of
Minnesota Comeback, an organization created to
make meaningful systemic change to improve quality and equity in the Minneapolis Public Schools.
We are a cohort of approximately 30 funding partners and many partner organizations trying to focus
together on the best school-based solutions.”
Likewise for Bob Scott, another failure at retirement, or maybe a wonderful success. “I retired in
early 2004, but I’ve been pretty busy since then. I’m
in my last year as a Williams trustee, but I recently
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
became vice chairman of the Clark Art Institute, and
it’s already clear that she will be a demanding mistress. Karen and I enjoy being based in Naples during
most of the year, although being in Vermont in the
summer is a nice break. I just turned 70, and my five
grown children all showed up to help celebrate; that
sort of thing seems more and more important. My
golf tee shots are getting shorter and shorter, but I
still can fool a fish or two with a fly rod in hand.
“I’m working with a great group of engaged classmates on our 50th reunion. We are receiving great
support, and I expect we will accomplish our goals
for participation and fundraising. Our choice of the
Williams Career Center for our class gift is resonating with many of our classmates.”
I have had for several years now a firsthand look
at Bob’s work at Williams and the Clark, and I can
tell you that he is deeply and widely respected and
admired by all those working at and for those institutions. There’s no surprise there, but as a class, we
should always be proud of the way Bob has represented us back in Williamstown.
One more tribute: Bart Jones writes to praise Ed
Nichols. “I was out in Denver Jan. 14 with Ned Perry
to witness Gov. Hickenlooper thank Ed Nichols at
a reception celebrating Ed’s seven years as executive director of the Colorado History Center. Ed did
an amazing job moving that sleepy history museum
into the 21st century with an entirely new building and innovative, interactive exhibits that have
garnered national recognition, including from the
Smithsonian. Ed certainly showcased the value of a
Williams liberal arts education, having had careers
spanning corporate America starting at IBM and
public service by conserving Colorado’s history in
way that wasn’t just another dustbin of stuff.”
Joel Morse reports he is still a professor of finance
at the University of Baltimore. “I am chairman of
promotion and tenure, so I’m continually impressed
by the wonderful activities of my colleagues. I also
still do litigation consulting. I still reread poems and
passages from Shakespeare that I was exposed to at
Williams by Professor Fred Stocking.”
Peter Naylor is still teaching at Santa Barbara City
College. “I’ve written a book that integrates business, finance and economics as I wish I’d been taught
in my first two years at Williams.” Peter attached a
copy of the book’s introduction, which is a wonderful
description of his varied career in business and teaching. It gives special credit at Williams to econ professors Steve Lewis ’60 and Bill Gates.
Bill Perttula has moved on from most of his teaching gig: “After retiring from 35 years at the College
of Business, San Francisco State University, I continue to teach Internet marketing five days a year—
a one-week assignment at the Romanian American
University in Bucharest. This affords me the opportunity to travel somewhere interesting in Europe after
my one week, usually in early May.”
Michael Lavyne writes with an admission: “I have
been a passive classmate, entertaining a few Ephs
in the OR, some under general anesthesia, others curious onlookers. My primary Eph fix comes
from bimonthly communiqués drawn by our sharpeyed classmate David Sipress, who sometimes turns
his critical cartooning light on the medical scene. But
who can ever forget David’s presiding as the hilarious
1967– 69
judge and jury from his perch through a Sage thirdfloor window over the water-cum-mud-ball fights
below on the Freshman Quad? Thumbs up or down
could warrant an extra bucket of cold water. Were
damages ever levied? I presume the statutes of limitation have run out.”
Andy Weiss, who has been a wonderful supporter of the Center for Development Economics
at Williams, says, “I’m getting more involved in supporting small NGOs that help the poorest people in
sub-Saharan Africa. We are moving toward a greater
emphasis on health care. My daughter Kara Weiss
’05 has become the first employee of our foundation.”
On another economic tack, Jack Angle says, “I’ve
been preoccupied with a research project on a mathematical model that explains patterns in statistics of
personal income and wealth for decades. It’s its own
reward: Apart from occasional publication and citation by other researchers, no exterior reward. When I
run out of time or ability to pursue it, not pursuing it
will be my main regret.”
The college has been holding comprensive campaign events in major cities, and Ned Perry, Michael
Yogman and I were at the Boston one. Michael
played an extra role: “I was asked to introduce Nathan
Fox ’70 at a panel on child development. It turns out
I was in LA a few weeks before with Nat at a symposium on early child development at the Simms
Mann Institute. I received the Simms Mann Whole
Child Award for leadership in the field of medicine.
I continue to practice pediatrics in Cambridge and
love my nonprofit work as board chair of the Boston
Childrens Museum and chair of a national Academy
of Pediatrics committee, where I write policy papers
and advocate for things like postpartum depression
screening and treatment for parents.”
Bruce Simon tells people he is retired, but he still
has lots of ongoing responsibilities in winding up his
real estate work in Jackson Hole, Wyo. “At one time
I owned 120 pieces of property, but now I am down
to 31. As you can imagine, it takes lots of work to
handle them. I still play some good tennis, and I still
ski alpine and Nordic. I travel a lot, recently to South
Africa and soon to South America and many times
to China. I had a very joyous reunion in Bradenton,
Fla., with Ed Cunningham ’69. We were college doubles partners and part of the ’67 New England team
champs. Ed tells me he occasionally sees Dave Nash
’67, who still plays a mean game of tennis. Ed and
I are still both lefties and can hold our own. Ed is
retired from law practice and enjoys the easy living of
Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton.”
Bill Gustafson says he is still enjoying retirement
in Bonita, Calif. “We decided last summer it was
time to downsize to a smaller, single-story home, so
we bought a fixer-upper in the neighborhood and
spent seven months remodeling. There were times I
thought it would never be finished, but we moved in
last April and really like it. My wife retired a couple
years ago, so we enjoy traveling.”
Finally, Big News from the Land of Zog: Robert
Herzog’s novel, A World Between, will be published
on May 24. Robert reminds us that “preorders will
be available online sometime before, on Amazon.
They drive early recognition and sales, and the key is
reviews online. So all help appreciated—the culmination of a dream of many years!”
1969
Rick Gulla, 287 Grove St., Melrose, MA 02176;
Bob Lunn reports he’s “trying to retire again, after
47 years in various health care delivery and health
administration roles and four years after retiring from
professoring at Missouri State University. This time
from a ‘twilight tour’ starting up a leadership institute at CoxHealth, one of our health systems here
in Springfield, Mo. I retire with some trepidation, as
I’ve always had relatively few hobbies and proclivities for play. I’m rediscovering, however, a drive to
take courses, read a whole lot more and delve into
the kinds of wide-ranging liberal arts that most of us
developed a hunger for at Williams. I’m getting just
enough teaching and leadership consulting gigs to
motivate maintaining some professional relevance.
Alice and I are also enjoying more travel. After a year
that saw a new knee, a new hip and several medical challenges, I’m expecting 2016 to be a year of
renewed and robust good health!”
Dr. Charlie Wolcott, who at last report was doctoring in northern New Hampshire and turned 69,
says, “I could not help reflecting aloud. 1969 was a
year of very significant personal transition as well as a
national transition of our generation often associated
with anti-establishment and anti-war. Did we ever
once think about turning 69? Can we age gracefully?”
Rikk Larsen began 2016 “hopeful for a good year
after a couple of really tough ones. On the positive side, being an almost 70-year-old has been a
benefit in the family business succession work I am
doing with Continuity Family Business Consulting.
Patriarchs and matriarchs like to talk to an age peer
as they think about transitioning their business to the
young whippersnappers!”
Wes Howard and other ’69ers in Colorado are planning a Sept. 17 get-together in Denver with the
classes of 1968 and 1970. Wes says, “The theme will
be reconnecting with fellow alums and absorbing art
of the American West with museum touring, speakers and a dinner party. We hope that our classmates
from around the country will mark that date on their
calendars and consider joining us.” Get in touch with
Wes (whoward@bbhlegal.com) to get on the list for
more information as plans gel. On a personal note,
he says the transformation of his transgender son has
been “stunning and wonderful.”
Brian Swett, lamenting that our notes move closer
and closer to the beginning pages of this publication, says, “My life becomes more and more a mix of
old-age mishaps and ageless memorable adventures.
This past year saw a couple of knee replacements and
a hip revision—the latter of which took place in New
Zealand, where my wife and I were visiting for a tentcamping adventure with our daughter and a friend
of hers. The national health coverage, as I had an
accident on their soil, took care of all of the costs of
ambulance rides, hospital stays and the surgery while
providing excellent care both in the operating theater and on the floor.” Brian also traveled to Alaska,
where he spent a week with his son and daughter-inlaw on a raft and fishing adventure on the Gulkana
River. “Still magical to travel in the wilderness with
family—no grizzlies but a generous amount of king
salmon and splashy rapids. On the home front in
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CLASS NOTES
Colorado, we live close enough to our oldest son and
his family that we host our youngest grandson twice a
week and share in the multi-generational celebrations
of holidays and football gatherings.”
Lanny Maxwell invites classmates to visit his nonprofit’s site, www.dmaxfoundation.org, which speaks
about ending the stigma of mental health and mental illness. Lanny says, “My wife and I lost our son to
suicide, and the DMAX Foundation is working tirelessly to change that outcome for college students.”
Fletcher Clark “released a CD of 12 songs from my
personal hymnal, Open Up the Doors, which has also
become the brand I use for my musical ministry. For
smaller congregations in my Episcopal Diocese of
West Texas lacking diverse musical ministries, we do
my ‘folk mass’ as the Sunday morning service, followed later in the day or evening by a ‘house concert’
from me in their Parish Hall. Along with my colleague, author/historian Donaly Brice, I am also hitting the circuit of the chapters of the Daughters (and
Sons) of the Republic of Texas, presenting our program Songs of Susanna. We tell the story of Susanna
Dickinson, the messenger of the Alamo, in song,
verse and lecture, truly bringing history to life. The
response has been so great that I have now written
another extended ballad as the core of another presentation we have prepared on the historic Texas
Runaway Scrape. Wow! No more honky-tonks, just
church groups and historical societies with no margarita machines humming away in the background.
Oh, yeah. Working on two more CDs. Ah, the liberal
arts at work!”
Jim Barns says that he has “come to accept the routine of pills and that, once an accomplished runner,
to gracefully accept that I am now just a jogger.” Jim
was visited by Tracy and Peter Greenwood, “special
friends from way back,” and his daughter Hayden.
Jim continues his sports enthusiasm from his days
as sports editor and offers this observation on Eph
sports: “If some of you have wondered how Williams
has won 18 of 20 Director’s Cups, it is the women!”
He points to Mountain Day (a tradition that dates
to 1827 and whose recent treks are available on
YouTube) and the fun, spirit and enthusiasm of the
female students.
Richard Steinberg is now a grandfather, as “daughter Jenny Steinberg ’05 delivered a beautiful boy,
Jonah, on Jan. 16. Nancy and I are thrilled, as are
newly minted aunts Dana Steinberg ’02, who continues in law here in NYC, and Emily Steinberg ’13,
who, after a three-year stint in the real world, is heading back to academia when she enters Columbia
Business School this fall.”
Dick Tobin, in his role as director of college counseling at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, Mich.,
offered some praise to Williams Director of
Admission Dick Nesbitt ’74 and his colleagues. “It’s
difficult to understand admission decisions, given the
extraordinary pool of applicants the college sees each
year. Williams must regularly turn down the most
superlative young person whom you or I know. The
Greenhills applicant just accepted by Williams has
very high numbers by overall measures, very average
numbers by Williams measures. I offer Dick and his
staff kudos for seeing this young woman on the personal side: This is something they always want to do,
but don’t always have the room that they might wish
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to do. In appreciation of what a Williams education offers and of the admission office’s sense of what
freshmen would most benefit from that, I tip my hat.
This doesn’t mean that I’ll love the next Williams
rejection that one of my college counselees experiences. It does mean that I’m likely to understand.”
Chip Broadhurst has been in New Hampshire’s
Lakes Region for the last decade, having moved
there from Connecticut. Chip reported an
“uncommonly active” January and February with
the presidential primary, with the state being “blue
in the south and red in the north. We’re on the red
side of all that, with heavy presence of Tea Party
and small-town business.”
Steve Poindexter is “finally reporting in and still
working at The House Boardshop in St. Paul as president and jack-of-all-trades. Selling snowboards and
skis online for a living isn’t bad. My grandchildren
think I’m the coolest grandpa around; they just don’t
want to introduce me to their friends.” Steve was
scheduled to meet with Doug Donaldson ’71 to catch
up after the holidays.
Johan Hinderlie, responding to my call for news,
recalled his first Winter Carnival weekend in
February five decades ago, “helping with skiing
events, going to the dance and finding a house where
my date from Skidmore could spend the weekend.”
Lloyd Constantine is spending lots of time with
Skip Comstock and other 50th class gift committee members formulating plans for our two class
gifts: the Class of 1969 Endowed Professorship
and the Class of 1969 Scholarship, announced by
Class President Alan Dittrich in a January letter to
all classmates.
And that provides the opportunity to recognize and
thank the following who have volunteered to help
in various ways with the 50th reunion effort: Bob
Grace and Cleve Thurber, gift planning chairs; Skip
Comstock, 50th reunion fund chair; Mike Himowitz,
webmaster; and Tom Parker, 50th reunion outreach
chair. Class book editors for the 50th will be Class
President Alan Dittrich, Bob Whitton and yours truly.
Rick Corwin, Rob Brokaw and Dick Peinert are continuing their fine work as class agents. Mr. Dittrich,
stressing that past involvement (or lack thereof ) and
financial capability are NOT the key criteria, encourages everyone to participate. If you’d like to do so,
contact Alan at a_dittrich@hotmail.com.
Finally, to get things rolling, Tom Parker set up
a Facebook page, Williams College Class of 1969
Fiftieth Reunion, to reconnect, reminisce and share
memories. It’s restricted to members of the class.
Friend Tom on Facebook, and he’ll arrange access.
1970
Rick Foster, 379 Dexter St., Denver, CO 80220;
Thinks to all for writing. Forgive me, but in order to
stay within my word limit, I had to edit some of your
news. Of course, I left in all the important stuff.
In December 2015, we received news that Jeffrey
Nelson passed away the previous month. Craig Stout
sent in a long remembrance of Jeff, which prudence caused me to edit for content as well as length!
Craig and Jeff were floormates in Williams E freshman year and roommates in Hopkins sophomore
1969– 70
year, before Jeff moved off-campus. Craig described
picking Jeff up one day on Route 43, south of
Williamstown. Craig was heading back to the college, and Jeff was heading south toward Tanglewood
for a classical music concert. Craig turned around,
deciding to join Jeff at the concert, and they headed
south in Craig’s ’62 Impala convertible. The events on
the trip down and at the concert are what required
editing—use your imaginations; these were the days
of Woodstock—but Craig describes the trip back,
in part: “Unfortunately, in Pittsfield, I had to make
a hard stop at a light, which seemed to blow out the
brakes in the old Chevy. At the next light, the brakes
almost went to the floor. But we made it through
town without further incident and headed onward
to Williamstown. Then it started to rain. I ignored
it at first, but eventually Jeff asked, ‘Are you going
to put the top up?’ ‘Well, Jeff, here’s the problem. If
I put the top up while we’re moving, I’ll rip the top
off. But I can’t stop, because I think we blew out the
brakes.’ Silence. I continued, ‘On the other hand, I
have heard that if you go fast enough, the rain will
blow over the windshield into the back seat.’ Like the
hash-eating trick, this urban legend also turned out
to be true. Once I got it up to 60 or so, we were fine.
… We faced one last challenge: How to stop the car,
once we got to Williamstown. As we approached
town, I let the car slow down as much as possible, but
the approach from the south into campus is steeply
downhill. So I turned off the engine at the top of the
hill (such is the logic of a stoner). I made the turn
onto Water Street, where Jeff lived, on two wheels.
We coasted past his house at about 35 mph, still a
little too fast for him to jump out. So we cruised
around the block onto Spring Street, then back onto
Water Street, and eventually slowed to a stop on the
next pass, not far from Jeff ’s house. No harm, no foul,
right? I am hopeful that all the Massachusetts statutes of limitations have expired for the various crimes
I committed that night. I am saddened that my
friend Jeff is now immune from prosecution. But the
memory of that outrageous night together will live
with me forever. For the record, I eventually got my
diploma, with high honors in history.”
Bill Courter, one of a number of accomplished
authors from our class, wrote: “Sorry to hear about
the death of our classmate. There is a message in his
death for all of us. We need to utilize this final chapter of our lives to its fullest advantage. More ‘wow’
experiences. More golden moments. I look forward
to reading the class notes so I can catch some of
those moments. As for me, I am using my retirement
to return to some old, forgotten passions. My second
nonfiction book, A Father’s Letters, is to be published
on Jan. 14. After two nonfiction books, I am going
to try my hand at several fiction books over this next
year. I am not delusional—I am not a great writer, but
that is not the point. It’s the process, not the destination, right? It feels good to return to your passions.
Good luck to all our classmates. May we all keep our
health, find new pathways to happiness and manage
to guide our families to some wonderful times.” Sluggo Stearns and Janelle are still offering hospitality at their place in Thailand, but those interested better move quickly. Sluggo wrote, “Janelle and
I are on the home stretch of what will be 11 years in
Thailand. Stateside from 4 to 11/16, back here for
the last hurrah 11/16 till 4/17, so if anyone is thinking about a visit to ‘The Land of Smiles’ while we’re
still here, carpe diem. All are welcome, and we
will be happy to act as tour guides for a while and
point you in the right direction for destinations
amenable to decidedly ‘oldish’ Purple Valley compadres.” Chip Baker retired from the practice of surgery in May of 2015 and wrote, “I have kept busy
with reading, writing and reviewing trauma centers
for the American College of Surgeons. I see John
Hitchins at least once a month. I will be leaving
Roanoke, Va., and relocating to the NC coast just
south of Wilmington in February.” Richard Wendorf has moved within Bath, England,
for the fourth time in five years, something he doesn’t
recommend to anyone. Now he is encamped in a
Regency townhouse across from where Jane Austen
once lived—well, the basement of the townhouse,
but with a garden. His latest publication, The Three
Laws of Portraiture, was published in New York in
September. John Peinert is still living on his sailboat most of the time (as of this writing, docked at
a marina in Sicily) and will be cruising the Ionian
Greek islands this summer after spending the winter in Vermont “so Wanda can get a new titanium
knee and recover enough to go sailing. Can’t seem
to stop doing projects, as I am converting part of the
boat shop into a small apartment so we have a more
comfortable place to stay than our 1964 Avion travel
trailer when we are back.”
From Chris Williamson: “Peggy and I enjoyed
traveling to Georgia to visit with Kathy and
Joe McCurdy and Carri and Gerry Stoltz in early
December. The McCurdys live in a beautiful part
of central Georgia, and Joe gave us a tour of the
six golf courses and several clubhouses at Reynolds
Plantation. They were flying the Williams flag out
front in honor of our visit. The Stoltzes have retired
to The Landings on Skidaway Island, just south of
Savannah. Got in a 10-mile bike ride with Gerry and
a friend, and Peggy and I got to cheer on Gerry and
Carri, whose team had advanced to the final four of
The Landings bocce tournament. Despite Gerry’s
outstanding play, his team lost in extra ‘innings.’
Retirement is going well, though I am looking for
ways to contribute in some fashion. I have started
offering my services as a consultant for heads and
small schools (‘HeadSmart’). I even have a job lined
up as of early January. I don’t aspire to ‘fail at retirement,’ however, the way Pat Bassett allegedly is!”
Bill Lawson wrote: “We spent the summer at our
home on Lake Charlevoix in northern Michigan.
This February we were off to St. Barthélemy for
two weeks, and then to Longboat Key for a week in
March. Both my wife Cathy and I are fully retired
and enjoying life. We have a new grandson, Ezra,
and our other grandson, Liam, is 3. Our younger
son Andrew announced his engagement and will
be married this coming May. Butler University is a
mile away from our home, and we enjoy season tickets to their men’s basketball games.”
Jeff Krull reports, “Alice and I have been making
fairly frequent trips to Florida, where we have seen
Lee Owen and Shirley and Jack Maitland, and we
hope to connect with Cecie and Rod Titcomb down
there, too. We keep in touch with Janelle and Sluggo
Stearns. I’ve been retired for more than a year now,
M AY 2 0 1 6
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CLASS NOTES
and I think I’ve made a successful transition. Alice
retired a year before me, so we are both really enjoying the flexibility to do things and go places when we
feel like it! I have to say again how much we enjoyed
our 45th reunion last June. Our class is very friendly
and welcoming. I encourage classmates to stay connected—and to reconnect if you haven’t been very
much in communication over the years.”
Bob Groban is still practicing law while maintaining close connections with Williams: “I just returned
from the Purple Valley, where Tom Sweeney, I and
another colleague taught the Winter Study course
The Supreme Court: A Simulation. We have done
this in alternating years for many years. Now, however, it is one of several offerings in the college’s
growing legal studies program. In our course, we
select a case the court will decide and ask the students to argue and decide it. We have two student
advocates on each side, and the others pay the role of
one of the justices. This year we selected the Evenwel
case on reapportionment because of the potential
impact it might have, and the need for students to
understand the constitutional underpinnings of our
electoral process to appreciate the issues. Essentially,
a liberal arts course on the Constitution wrapped
in a legal framework. The students seemed to enjoy
the exercise, and the argument and ultimate decision were well-presented and thought through. We
now wait to see how their judgment compares to
the court’s. Otherwise, I continue to work at Epstein
Becker Green in New York, although I am trying to
figure out what life on the other side on my law practice will look like. I enjoyed seeing everyone at the
reunion, but my schedule has been so difficult this
year that it has made follow up impossible. My New
Year’s resolution was to make 2016 better. So far, that
has not worked, but I will continue trying!”
Rod McLeod, our far-flung correspondent in
Israel, wrote that he loves retirement. Following
our reunion, he and Naomi “continued on our twomonth trek through the States, visiting places we
hadn’t seen on past trips—Glacier, Monument
Valley, Mesa Verde, Santa Fe, the Outer Banks,
Williamsburg. We passed through 28 states and sampled some exquisite cuisine, enough that we gained
more pounds than we are loathe to admit. Since that
trip, we visited Florence and the Chianti/Tuscany
region with Naomi’s sons and significant others.
Florence brought back memories of Art History 101.
Seeing the David in person is an astonishing experience. Also took a photography tour based out of
Israel to Cuba in early December. Starting to plan
our travel itinerary for 2016. Looks like Spain and
Portugal are in the works, plus Iceland, and then the
fall colors in New England, which Naomi hasn’t yet
seen. Am considering experiencing the next Christo
art event—floating walkways connecting some
islands in the middle of a small lake in Northern
Italy in the second half of June. If any classmates
will be there, let me know. This will likely be his last
installation, given his age. Otherwise, would love to
hear from any classmates with advice about visiting
Antarctica, which is on our list.”
Following reunion last summer, John Hitchins, wife
Jean and 17-year-old son Jack (who relates quite well
to all of us!) did some sightseeing in Williamstown
and then Tarrytown, N.Y., for family cemetery
46
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
research, Brooklyn and then, later in June, throughout
the state of Oregon. John wrote, “Autumn brings a
wonderful color change to Roanoke and our beautiful
Blue Ridge Mountains (so much like the Berkshires).
Jean is back to teaching in the public school system
where Jack is finishing his senior year and has hopes
for continuing his art education at the college level
next year. Our second grandchild (in 2015), John
Francis Leo Brennan, was born Sept. 5… Oh happy
day for all, especially my daughter Christine and
spouse Owen Brennan! I have had some fun with
pond fishing and cyclo-cross racing on my mountain
bike. Retirement is good!”
Halley Moriyama asked me to pass on the following
information: “As our 50th reunion chair, I wanted to
let everyone know about a few upcoming events that
you may want to put into your calendar: On Sept. 17,
in Denver, Colo., there will be one or more planned
cultural events followed by dinner at the University
Club of Denver, all involving the Classes of ’67-’70.
Rick Foster and Bob Bearman are coordinating this
event on behalf of our class. On Sept. 30-Oct. 2,
there will be a minireunion in Williamstown with the
classes of ’67-’71. More information on both events
will be sent out in the near future as well as on other
regional events. If you would like to help organize or
sponsor a regional event for our class, please let me
know (Halley.moriyama@aecome.com). Additionally,
I am looking for a volunteer to help set up and manage a class website and also one or two classmates to
serve as editors of our 50th reunion book.”
1971
REUNION JUNE 9-12
John Chambers, 10 Ashby Place, Katonah, NY 10536; 1971secretary@williams.edu Reunion approaches, and some among us are
speculating in that direction. As befitting our vintage,
we also offer reports of children, grandchildren,
adaptation to a changing world and work/life balance.
Oh yes, and reminders of our mortality as well.
Russ Pulliam touches most of those themes, nods
to another newspaper guy and signs off with what
should be a reminder to all: “I still work at the Indy
Star, writing a column and administering our summer internship program, called the Pulliam Fellows.
You could say that a purpose of the program is to find
future talent for reporting—or a search for the next
Paul Lieberman. We also have eight grandchildren,
and another coming, to my daughter Sarah Bailey of
the Washington Post. I think I taught her how to write,
but she has since taught me about Facebook, Twitter
and all that. I still have much to learn.”
Dave Nelson hit the themes, too, along with
another familiar topic—physical frailty—which
he cleverly tied to a classmate’s name: “I became a
grandfather in December with the birth of Hanaan
to my son and daughter-in-law. They live nearby in
Rochester, trying to become English PhDs. My oldest son, Ben, was just admitted to the NYS Bar and
works for Buffalo Legal Aid doing criminal appeals.
My son Daniel’s twin, Gabe Nelson ’09, is quitting
his job next month to hike the Adirondack Trail.
I may try to join him on the Mount Greylock leg
of that venture. I expect to make it a very short leg.
Speaking of legs, I broke mine and this enabled me to
receive the generous care of Dr. Craig Blum. I am in
1970– 71
periodic contact with David Brown in Atlanta. He is
well. I am still practicing law in Attica, N.Y., but live
in Buffalo. I may make it to the 45th, not sure. If I do,
would hope to meet fellow friends of Bill. They know
who they are.”
And who is this? “My Williams liberal arts education served me well in my first year in the NC
General Assembly. Many thanks to all of my classmates who supported me financially. It is time to go
another round in November of 2016.” That’s right,
Johnnie Ager. It was not just politics in his report but
an intergenerational Williams connection: “Annie
and I had a wonderful visit with (former Williams)
President John Chandler on our porch when he
brought his grandson down to the mountains of
NC. Dr. Chandler grew up in this area. We swapped
books, and his history of the end of fraternities at
Williams is a fascinating read. I am thinking that
he was the real counter-culture revolutionary that
changed our alma mater.”
Here is another revolutionary bulletin, from Gordon
Clapp, who has done something most of us are not
contemplating at this juncture: “On Christmas
morning, I proposed to Elisabeth Gordon, and she
accepted. Sometime later this year she will become
Elisabeth Gordon Clapp... unless we hyphenate in
which case she will become Elisabeth Gordon-Clapp
and I will become Gordon Gordon-Clapp. Mull that
over. We are hoping to attend the fête in June.”
Reliable witness Jack Sands sighted Gordie “on
the slopes of Colorado last winter in a charity race—
Gordie did not take home the gold medal. He’s currently playing the priest on the TV show Chicago
Fire. But don’t hold your breath waiting for the next
episode, because Gordie has a habit of being ‘killed
off ’ on TV shows.”
Arria and Jack look forward to the 45th. “We’ll
be there for sure, as son Kent Sands ’06 and Sarah
Reinus Sands ’06 are counting on us to babysit
Oliver as they attend their 10th reunion and Ollie
attends his first! Since our last reunion we’ve been
blessed with six grandchildren, and perhaps more on
the way!”
Jack added more, in a bid for most news of orthopedic surgeries in this installment: “I continue to
work in the toy department of law and financial
planning, although my professional athlete clients
are mostly retired and have had various body parts
replaced. All things considered, Neil Young was
wrong—it is better to rust out than to burn out. I’ll
hopefully have a new knee when these notes appear,
joining many in the class who get stopped at airports by metal detectors. Geo Estes tells me he’s
doing fine on his new one (old lacrosse injuries),
and John Resor had both his replaced last year (old
hockey injuries). I can report that tennis is a contact
sport too, as Bob Eyre can attest. Of course, no one
in the class can keep up with Steve Brown. Brownie
has spent the last two years under the knife but has
recovered enough to continue his long-distance biking trips as well as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.”
O.J. says his old roomies, “Walter Schlech,
John Untereker and Bill Ervin, are still gainfully employed and contributing to social security. Hopefully they’ll all find time to make the trip
to reunion. I know Brownie and Sue (old hands at
this) are lining up many entertaining and enriching
activities to chose from. And Nick Ward, if you’re
reading this, after missing the first eight reunions, you
told me over dinner at Professor Dalzell’s retirement
party that you would show up for our ninth!”
Also planning to attend are Jamie and Steve
Corkran. When he wrote, Steve and Jamie were
anticipating a visit with Poppy and Hugh Hawkins
in Naples, Fla. Steve also noted a life change: “We
retired to Williamsburg, Va., in 2014—more fun,
more sun, a lower cost of living and great folks.” He
added a plea: “Hopefully Robert Hazen will show up
at one of these reunions.”
Making an outright promise to attend was Dave
Olson. For the fifth year, Dave taught a Winter Study
course called Mock Trial, “and this time I was joined
by Sey Zimmerman as my co-professor. We had 24
students, and I believe that Sey and I got more out of
the class than many of the students. It is refreshing to
see the young and eager students who gradually blossom before you as they assume the roles of attorneys
and witnesses. For one of the trials, we enticed Doug
Pickard to be a juror.
“I continue to practice law in Cincinnati and
attend local Williams events. Since both daughters (Meredith Wallace ’04 and Karen Diehl ’07)
live in Boston, I am there with some regularity and
try to get back to Williamstown to see Coach Carl
Samuelson, my former swim coach.”
Also planning to attend reunion is Bill Wilson, who
predicts an automotive appearance: “Reminiscent
of our original arrival as a class on campus, I have
acquired a ’67 Buick Skylark convertible, which, lord
willing and weather permitting, I will drive to the
festivities in June!” That will have to be between TV
tapings, since Bill says his “ministry now has a website, untilministries.com, upon which the programs
can be viewed on any computer or mobile device
just as they appear on community TV. This has been
an exciting expansion of outreach for me as I try to
spread the good news.”
Unable to attend reunion will be Jim Tam, “because
my son is returning on June 9 to perform for
Punahou’s 175th Anniversary Celebration, I had to
decide to be with family rather than my good friends
and classmates from the Purple Valley for 45th. So
sad that I can’t do both. He shared that he will sing
‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’ from Les Mis, ‘It
Takes Two’ from Into The Woods, and perform ‘One’
from A Chorus Line for a group finale—should be a
very hot ticket to get in and a spine-tingling show
with other talented alums. If you are in the Saratoga
Springs neighborhood, go see my first daughter
(Emily Pick) perform in a duo called In Spite of
Ourselves—they do gigs in local clubs on a regular basis. She can get back to her passion for singing now that her two daughters are in preschool. My
middle child, daughter Mary, has been working with
Amnesty International for several years in SF and
Oakland.” Jim closed with something we might all
take to heart: “I am still working full time but with a
keen awareness of making good use of all remaining
time on earth!”
George Ebright is planning on attending and says:
“Patti and I have been enjoying the warm weather
of Tucson, Ariz., for this year’s winter months. After
traveling through Missouri’s rainstorms, Oklahoma’s
ice storms and earthquakes and New Mexico’s
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snowstorms, Arizona’s sun and warmth have been a
welcome relief. I heard from Bernie Brush and John
Ager, both of whom hope to travel to Williamstown
for our 45th.”
“I’m thinking about the reunion, not sure yet,”
says Tim Murnane. “Living in AZ now, happy to be
out of the snow.” He mentioned ancient days in the
Harvard MAT program with Sue Denburg (now
Brown) and me, but of course I cannot think of Tim
without baseball and Bobby Coombs coming to
mind. And then, while those green fields were seeming real in my memory, Tim surfaced a piece of news
that had eluded me: “Really taken aback reading
about the death of Kim Montgomery ’70 last summer.
Great baseball teammate.” Football, too, and always
with an enthusiastic smile.
Ah, Kim, so may we all. Let’s make it to the
reunion before more of us say goodbye.
Respectfully submitted, JAC
1972
Jim Armstrong, 600 West 115th St., Apt. 112, New York,
NY 10025; Julie Rose, 27 Norfolk Ave., Northampton, MA
In case you haven’t noticed, the Class of 1972 has
broken into the front half of the alumni news. This
tectonic slide toward “Old Guard” status was pointed
out to your class secretaries by Gregg Peterson. While
accurate, it’s also true we’re not heading there quietly.
As you can glean from the news items below, we’re
all still chugging along: working, downsizing, traveling and gaining perspective on the lightning passage
of time.
James Mathieu is headed downhill, literally, to
complete a personal challenge. “I started an ageappropriate winter adventure bucket list three
years ago: I identified all the ski areas (both downhill and Nordic) that had never seen the bottom
of my skis and then set out (systematically) to finish that list of ‘firsts.’ I have now conquered all of
Utah and most of Idaho. Roberta and I put a big
dent in Montana last winter, and we’re headed off
to Colorado in March. We’ll visit Crested Butte,
Telluride, Purgatory and Wolf Creek Pass, and then
we’ll prowl all the Nordic skate tracks in between. I
have a mobility addiction, I love exploring new contours and vistas, and (as I wrote in the liner notes
for the Virtual Uncertainty CD I composed for our
2002 reunion) I still aim to hit that vanishing point
on the long ribbon of highway ahead.”
With concise reflection, Reg Pierce sums up “where
I am now in my 66th year: 1. Still working and
enjoying my trade (helping business owners—mostly
independent insurance operators—rethink, reposition and re-present their business proposition to their
respective target audiences). Having focused on this
business niche for over 20 years, I have learned what
works and what does not. 2. KayC and I sold our
large home in Valley Forge in June ’15 and moved to
a cool 1,750-square-foot carriage house in historic
West Chester, Pa. No grass to cut, 14-unit association—not a retirement community but a collection
of wacky neighbors we like a lot. 3. Last August, we
got a Bernese Mountain puppy—Tank (yes, named
after the late Dave “Tank” Shawn), who is about 80
pounds at 8 months! 4. Oldest daughter, Schuyler,
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Bucknell ’05, married, with 4-year-old daughter,
Henley Torney. Schuyler and husband (happy campers) work at Vanguard Funds in Malvern. They live
about 25 minutes from our new home. 5. Son Reggie
(the IV), Univ. of Richmond ’10, got married in
September to lovely Leona Thomson. They (happy
campers) just closed on a very cute townhouse in
South Philly. Reggie has a successful software company, IP Lasso, with some Fortune 500 companies as
clients. Leona has a master’s in social work and works
for the hospital at UPenn. 6. Son Travis, Hobart ’11,
single (and available), now in fifth year at Vanguard
Funds IT. Spent two years in Melbourne, Australia
(we visited for two weeks in 2014—unbelievable
country). He (semi-happy camper—looking for a
mate) and a HS buddy just rented a spacious twostory pad near us in West Chester. ‘Man about town,’
driving a 2015 Beamer—classier than his old man’s
‘new’ (with 45,000 miles) ’06 Nissan Frontier crewcab truck. 7. KayC now an established and highly
rated real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway
Fox Roach Realtors. Off to a good 2016 market,
we hope. She loves being a grandmom and ‘puppy
trainer.’ Not necessarily my bag—the trainer part. I
love being a granddad—Henley calls me ‘Gumpy,’
which was supposed to be ‘Grumpy’).” Reg, we’re
working right now on that new name tag for reunion
( June 8-11, 2017)!
Dori Jacobson’s travels have taken her to visits with other ’72ers. “Jon and I had a wonderful
time with Tom and Judy Buttenheim Stevens in
Santa Fe as part of our annual get-together with two
other couples from our class: Lisa and Bill Boeger
and Mary and Steve Barger. Earlier travels took
us to Sun Valley, Cabo San Lucas, Williamstown
and Londonderry, Vt. Next year we’ll head back
to Mexico. On the home front, Jon and I are completing long overdue repairs and improvements in
both Vermont and Delaware, just as we are getting
ready for ski season, eagerly prepped with new boots
and skis. Meanwhile, our annual triple-header softball competition between the Ropers (captain Eric
Reeves) and Dopers (captain Tom Howley) continues each Memorial Day weekend in Williamstown.
We’re on our 42nd year, with 15 to 20 ’71, ’72 and ’73
alums and dozens of children and grandchildren who
compensate for old knees and strained backs.”
When he’s not busy noting our class’s forward
march to oblivion, Gregg Peterson is tending to
family and travels. “Carter Peterson and I have had
a busy 18 months, with lots of purple events. In
August 2014, daughter Laddie Peterson ’02 married Dave Rowe ’02 in Gearhart, Ore. A large mob of
Purple Cows attended, mostly younger, but we were
pleased that Alyssa and Mike O’Rourke could join
us. Next big event, in January 2015, was the birth of
our first grandchild, Tyler, to daughter Kelsey Recht
’04 and Mike Recht ’02. Tyler’s a tank and, thanks
to his father, a likely Green Bay Packers fan. In
May 2015, our son Clark married Emily Lisbon in
Boston. They are both Middlebury ’06 and complain
that our family is entirely too purple. They are right.
In August, Carter and I celebrated our 40th anniversary with an al fresco dinner in the Napa vineyard
of Tom Thornton and Brenda Mixon. The wine was
great and made 40 years seem short. In October we
scooted through Billsville on the way to a wedding
1971– 73
in Maine, and I played mediocre golf at Taconic
with local hackers Doug Herr and Paul Haklisch. We
toured the new library, which is huge and stunning.
In December, Laddie and Dave presented us with an
early Christmas gift, granddaughter Grace, aka GiGi.
All of our kids live and work in NYC, so we found
ourselves toasting the new arrivals and the New Year
with Paul Isaac, John Enteman, John Brewer and
Dave Farren. In December, Carter wrapped up her
14th and final year of service on the local school
board. She’ll miss making a difference, but her new
job as a grandma beckons. Finally, I placed a big bet
with my old roommate Dr. Brad Harris on the outcome of the Vikings-Seahawks playoff game. The
loser (that would be me) paid Williams College the
100 bucks. Could this be a new solicitation gambit
by our class agents?”
Direct from Williamstown comes this report from
Paul Haklisch: “The new Sawyer Library is enormously popular with students, as is the new Weston
Athletic Complex. The mall in front of the Sawyer
Library will be landscaped next summer, and it
may become the future site of graduation ceremonies. After an extensive renovation and environmental upgrade, the Log on Spring Street now serves
lunch and dinner to members of the college, town
and alumni communities. Weston Hall, also the beneficiary of a major renovation, now houses the college admission and financial aid offices. Finally, the
reconfigured Chapin Hall has been well received.
The work-in-progress category includes several
major projects. A new 60-student dorm is being constructed on Stetson Court—the first new dorm since
we opened Mission Park 40 (gulp) years ago. The science center will get a major new addition as well as a
building to replace the soon-to-be-razed Bronfman
Science Center. Goodrich Hall is slated for renovation, and the college art museum (WCMA) has
outgrown its quarters and is seeking a new home.
Amidst all the major additions I wanted to highlight one that is very meaningful to our class. In the
Simon Squash Center, and through the generosity
of Bill Simon ’73, there is a wonderful portrait of the
late Ty Griffin. The inscription celebrates Ty’s memory
and recognizes his achievement as the second-ranked
player nationally while at Williams. Thank you, Bill,
for this fitting tribute.”
Jerry Caprio, another of our classmates who lives
in Williamstown, sends this update: “I am enjoying my 10th year here and this semester have a great
group of students in a tutorial on financial crises and
in my CDE class on how to develop and regulate
financial systems in developing countries. The interactions between CDE students and undergrads are
especially rewarding. This is not your parents’ (or even
our) Center for Development Economics—we have
107 undergrads taking courses with CDE students!
My wife Jeanne continues to thrive as a fiber artist (jeannemarklin.com/gallery); she really enjoyed
the small amount of snow that finally arrived earlier this month and has been busy snow-dying fabric.
Since this leaves me enough time both to read and
grade papers and also play classical guitar, the winter is passing quickly. And if any of you are in Europe
in the fall, we will be in the Netherlands for the last
quarter, as I will be on sabbatical at the University of
Amsterdam. If not this year, then in 16 months for
our 45th! P.S.: In 2016, Images Cinema—called the
College Cinema from 1967 to 1971—is celebrating
its 100th anniversary with a yearlong array of events.
On April 11, Images held a discussion with John
Sayles and Maggie Renzi ’73 and a screening of their
digitally remastered City of Hope. What a good reason
for classmates to visit the Purple Valley!”
And in conclusion, here’s a word from our most
highly esteemed and respected president, David
Webster: “The class website, purplecow72.com, has
continued to grow. Some of the contents are available to anyone; other parts are password-protected,
but it’s easy for classmates to obtain a username and
password. The website has full instructions. Among
the items on the website are many photographs of
our time at Williams and afterward (including the
Rex Krakauer memorial collection); classmate biographies; all of the class notes since 1972; a list of honorary classmates; a copy of the program from our
graduation; the Eph Williams Handbook (the facebook) from freshman year; similar photographs of
classmates who came to us by transfer; what may be
the first written reference to the college rugby team;
an ‘in memoriam’ section; details on what took place
at our first eight class reunions; the art of Tom Kerr;
faculty listings for 1968-72; and a section on classmates in the news.
“The website is a work in progress—it is intended
to be something for all of us. Please contribute your
own materials for display. As an incentive to take a
look, please note that the website has the ‘lost list’
of missing classmates, now down to just five names.
There will be a prize for the first classmate in each of
the four mainland US time zones to send me any one
of the five names on that list (davidmwebster@
comcast.net). I think you will find the website to be
well worth your time.”
1973
Nan Elliot, P.O. Box 101195, Anchorage, AK 99510;
Dan Farley, 6875 Avenida Andorra, La Jolla, CA 92037;
This season’s reporting was lean in terms of quantity
but engaging as ever with the quality of submissions.
We remain deeply grateful for your emails.
I must have misplaced David Hill’s report from
the middle of last year. He’d written: “My wife and I
moved back to the US in January 2012. We spent the
previous decade in England, where I was developing
and directing a national public health program that
aimed to keep healthy the many persons from the
UK who were traveling to developing regions of the
world. We very much enjoyed living in the medieval
market and cathedral town of St. Albans and return
frequently to visit friends and our oldest daughter
and her family, who live in London. Last spring our
daughter Sarah Hill ’09 and her classmate Natalia
Rey de Castro ’09 came down from Boston to run
the Cheshire 5K with me. During the post-race celebrations we noted a Williams sweatshirt and introduced ourselves to Tom Gardner ’79 and his brother
Steve Gardner ’75. It turns out that I was Steve’s JA
in 1971-72 in Williams A. Small world! Each of us
placed in the top three in our respective age groups.
Professionally, I returned to join the faculty at the
new Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at
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CLASS NOTES
Quinnipiac University in Connecticut to develop
programs in global public health. It has been exciting to be part of starting a new medical school—our
third class has joined us this past fall. I have gotten
my wish to be back in the classroom and am teaching several undergraduate courses and delivering
lectures and facilitating small-group sessions for our
medical students.”
Julie Kaufman wrote: “A few months ago, there
was a new member of my golf group at the Stanford
golf course. I was delightedly shocked to see a purple cow ball marker on her shirt collar (I had never
seen one of those before) and commented on it.
Well, we sat for another hour-and-a-half talking
about Williams and the many other connections
and coincidences in our lives. She is Cyndie Spencer
’76 and recently moved to the Palo Alto area. Who
knew what a nice friendship could come from a
purple cow golf marker!”
Mark Donahue shared news from down the
California coast: “I’m still up to my ears managing
a massive home renovation project here in Laguna
Hills. The exterior work is moving toward completion—as I write, our new concrete and pavers are
being sealed. But we still have big pots and a fountain to install, exterior lights to be selected, landscape
grading to be done. And much more. The end will
come (I hope). But we ain’t there yet.”
And continuing south came the update from my
co-conspirator and fellow scribe Nan Elliot, who I
know is as usual working on several notable projects at the same time. “I am at this very moment
headed from Pasadena to Borrego Springs for a
month, computer in hand. Debe Marshall ’74 (first
captain of first women’s cross country ski team at
Williams) lives in a cabin in Haines, Alaska. She
bought a trailer in Borrego Springs for the winter.
She convinced Binker (aka Dave Blanchet ’72) to
buy another trailer. He is a big-time skier and coach
in Anchorage. He bought it sight nearly unseen,
and I am going with my sleeping bag and computer
to work there while Alaska is dark and with global
warming, now a sheet of ice. Come visit.”
I heard from our esteemed and beloved class agent
Julian Beckford, who, while leading our class to a
successful conclusion to our annual Williams fundraising, penned a quick note: “Tomorrow, I hope to
be having dinner with Dave Futransky as he travels
through Atlanta. Last October, Charlene and I had a
pleasurable talk with Johnson Chang in Hong Kong
as we journeyed to Angkor Wat.”
Jeff Bowen dashed, “No time for details, but leaving today for a month in India. Also expecting 3B2
(Baby Boy Bowen 2) this month—from son John
and (mostly) Kate, due Feb. 29.”
Bing Bingham shared: “My daughter Elizabeth
West Bingham ’11 was married in September and
is now a dentist and doing her residency at Yale.
She and her husband Ramesh, also a doctor, will be
moving to Woodstock, Vt., next summer. Also, Joe
Knowlton and I are starting work on a new CD,
which we hope to have finished later this year. The
name of the album will be DUO. Stay tuned for
updates on our website: joeandbing.com.”
Linda Heath wrote, “Our oldest son was married in
Anguilla and, in response to that news in my Alumni
Fund appeal note, Tommie Berry wrote to me to
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say her son had been married there earlier in 2015.
She shared her favorite restaurants and places to see,
which made our Anguilla experience even nicer. My
youngest, Emily, having graduated from UVM in
May, decided our empty-nesting experience should
be pushed to the limits by her going to Thailand
for at least 18 months to teach English and math.
We are leaving soon to see her and explore other
countries in Southeast Asia. She may have thought
a 22-hour plane trip would deter us, but little did
she know parental drives are stronger than that. I
usually work the telethon for the Alumni Fund in
January, but I can’t do it; I will miss being able to
catch up with those who kindly answer the phone
on a Saturday, donate and give me some news. This
is Medicare year for me, and I find it quite difficult
to accept that I am that old.”
For those who didn’t cross that threshold last year,
no doubt this will be the year for many of you! So,
a retirement news report from the Chicago Art
Institute seems in keeping, although the acclaim
for a marvelous career surely is not common: “On
March 31, after over 40 years with the Art Institute,
Suzanne Folds McCullagh, the Anne Vogt Fuller and
Marion Titus Searle Chair and Curator of Prints and
Drawings, will retire to pursue long-awaited personal
endeavors. An esteemed specialist in Old Master
drawings, McCullagh joined the Art Institute’s
Department of Prints and Drawings in 1975 and
steadily rose through the curatorial ranks. During her
tenure, she curated numerous exhibitions, authored
various catalogues and organized a series of exhibitions. Thanks to McCullagh’s insightful stewardship,
these projects played a significant role in building
and enhancing the Art Institute’s holdings of master drawings ranging from the Renaissance through
the mid-20th century. McCullagh’s legacy of inspired
acquisitions also includes a string of extraordinary
Rembrandt prints and a celebrated group of 18thcentury pastels. Known for her collegiality, positive
energy, high standards and unswerving commitment to the Art Institute, McCullagh will be greatly
missed.” Brava, Suzanne!
Across the Atlantic came news from our London
correspondent. James Darling wrote, “My last contact
with a Williams alumnus was when I was invited to
an eggnog party by Emily Miller, wife of P. Andrew
Miller ’82, at their house in Camden Town, London.
I had two glasses of eggnog, then continued with
wine, which was easier to drink because the imbiber
doesn’t have to keep wiping his upper lip.”
And Bill Broadbent wanted us to know that
the campaign for the Williamstown Rural Lands
Foundation conservation trust, http://wrlf.org, was
proceeding healthily, with more than $39,000 raised
to date.
I conclude with a long and rewarding missive that
Charlie Fox wrote to Nan last year. It also attests that
it’s never too late to write: “Here, you and Dan have
been the class secretaries now for how long? And I’ve
not been in touch once during that time. Ridiculous,
yes, but also par for the course. I last wrote just after
John Eusden’s death. I keep motoring along, though
not literally running as of old now that I’ve managed to wear out most of the cartilage in my knees.
Until I started the principal’s job I was cycling seriously in the mountains in and around Kyoto, but that
1973– 74
sort of activity takes at least a half day if not a whole
one, and since I’ve been at the junior/senior high
school, it’s been everything I could do just to get to
the gym somewhat regularly. I have been given a second term as principal at Ritsumeikan Uji Junior and
Senior High School, so I’m now in my fourth year
on the job. It remains hectic and all-consuming, but
also rewarding and completely worthwhile. I’ve got
two-and-a-half more years, and then I will retire—
Sawako has already put her foot down on that matter.
Our sons Boon and Masa are both living in LA now.
Boon graduated with an MFA from UCLA Film
School’s producer’s course three years ago and has
worked for a small production company, Bona Fide
Films, since. Masa, too, took an MFA in film and
video from California Institute of the Arts and had
his graduation in June. Sawako and I stole a week
to be in attendance for the ceremony. In the interest of providing Williams People material I thought
I should give you a list of the Williams people that
I’ve been in touch with: Jeff Hanes off in Oregon is at
the top; either he gets here and I somehow manage
to get there, but one way or another we find a way to
see each other most every year. Quentin Durning ’78
lives and works here in Kyoto. John Ware ’76 in San
Francisco. My dear friend Virginia Drewry ’75 in the
DC area. Dave Rutledge (we grew up together in
Texas, and to me he’s Texas rather than Williams).
There’s also Ned Temko ’74, who is off in London
and whom I also don’t hear from for years at a time.
But he was the best man at Sawako’s and my wedding (came from Moscow, where he was stationed,
to do it), and whenever I am in London I go to see
him and his wife. And then there’s Wick Sloane ’76,
whom I haven’t seen since the mid-70s but with
whom I have been in sporadic touch over the years
and always think warmly of.”
Again, Charlie’s narrative is a model of pleasing
news while evoking heartfelt Williams bonds.
I look forward to many of you doing the same.
Thanks in advance.
1974
Jonathan W. Fitch, 97 Maple St., Sherborn, MA 01770;
Ed Larson, our Pulitzer Prize winner, has taken
the Class of ’74’s devotion to travel to astounding
new heights. Ed’s email says, “Reading over the class
notes for ’74 in the alumni news that arrived today
reminded me of my unusual feat of having given lectures on all seven continents during the calendar year
2015. I’m heading out tonight to America’s Palmer
Research Station in Antarctica, which will again
knock off that continent for 2016, but I doubt if I’ll
get to all the others during 2016.” Beginning 2015
as a history of science lecturer aboard the National
Geographic Explorer, he describes the scene at 66º23’
South Latitude, eight miles north of the Antarctic
Circle, as follows: “The ship was slowly cruising—one
might better say gliding—through a shimmering sea
salted with small icebergs, bergy bits and growlers
eerily illuminated by a full moon dead ahead about
10 degrees above the horizon. Half the passengers—
probably all that were awake—lined the ship’s railings
transfixed by the scene. No one spoke. It did not seem
as cold as it was; I had not put on a coat and never
thought to get one. The dark water created an absolutely flat, mirror-like surface that flowed ahead to a
distant shoreline studded with jagged, glacier-covered
peaks. Before us, the moon, nearby icebergs and more
distant mountains reflected so perfectly in the water
that pictures taken that night looked the same upside
down as right-side up. This, I learned, was Crystal
Sound, so named because British scientists once
studied the formation of sea-ice crystals on its surface. Earlier that day I had lectured at the old British
Antarctic station on Detaille Island, 13 miles south
of the Antarctic Circle. Built in 1956 as Base W for
the British Antarctic Survey and manned—yes, there
were no women—for five years, this station served as
a year-round post for topographical mapping, geological research and meteorological data collection. Each
summer, dog sleds would carry the researchers hundreds of miles across the nearby Antarctic Peninsula.
Quickly abandoned after ice prevented a supply ship
from reaching the station with essential provisions in
1959, Base W has remained frozen in time with hundreds of artifacts left on the shelves, tables and storerooms. It looks today just as it did in an earlier era of
polar scientific research, which I was able to lecture
about from behind a bar still stocked with 50-yearold Scotch bottles and adorned with an official-looking picture of a young Queen Elizabeth. So few and
trusted are the visitors to this remote site that no one
even locks the door when they leave.” (A bunch of
us read that and thought: “I have to go to Base W!”
Call Ed.)
Ed’s next stops were Brisbane, Australia, where
he lectured at the University of Queensland on the
modern creation-evolution controversy. From Perth,
he cruised aboard a ship to Mauritius, Reunion
Island, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa,
where Ed identifies his lecture topics as “19th-century oceanographic research, the discovery of early
hominids in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia;
climate change; Darwin and Wallace; the dodo bird
and problem of extinction in the region; and more
from my books on early science in the Antarctica and
Galapagos Islands.” In May, Ed was in Argentina
for three weeks to teach a course at the University
of Buenos Aries. In July, he was on to lectures in
Iceland, from which he shipped out to the Arctic
Ocean’s Greenland Sea, Barents Sea and White Sea,
with stops at Murmansk and Archangel. Ed’s academic tour for the rest of 2015 took him to Israel,
Beijing and Shanghai.
Bruce Beehler, a research associate in the division of birds at the Smithsonian’s Natural History
Museum, is out with an authoritative text on his
beloved topic of the birds of New Guinea. Bruce
writes, “In December, at long last, I completed
a technical writing project that I began 17 years
ago—a weighty tome on the systematics, taxonomy and distribution of New Guinea birds. My
wife Carol did the book design, and Princeton will
release it in March. What a relief to have that millstone off my neck! My current writing project is a
popular recounting of a field trip I took last spring
following the spring migration of songbirds from
the Gulf Coast of Louisiana up the Mississippi and
into the great north woods of Canada—100 days
in a tent! Forget the first book—that’s written for a
handful of specialists. The second one is meant for
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Williams grads and their loved ones. Look for it in
the spring of 2017. I think it will be called North
with the Spring.”
Peter Reilley has been elected a trustee of the foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Peter says, “I was chosen in a national election by
the fellows of the foundation and also was chosen by
the president of ABOTA to serve on the executive
committee. Our mission is to preserve the seventhamendment right to a jury trial, and it’s a real honor
to be chosen a trustee and to serve on the executive committee.” Peter also mentions that his wife
Patsy continues in her role as chief government officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and their
daughter Sarah is at 3M in marketing.
Jeff Elliott, in his uniquely gracious and masterful fashion, brought classmates together again at the
annual holiday party in NYC. Those who attended
included: Mark Brown and Hope Coolidge ’75,
Tom Cohen, Joelle Delbourgo, Tom Douglas, Nancy
Doyne, Audrey and Jeff Elliott, Bill Finn, Rich Levy
and Carol Miller, Matty Levine, President Grace
Paine Terzian, Bob Rothman, Bruce Sheehan, Kitty
and Tom Slattery, McKelden Smith and Treasurer
and Co-Head Agent Rick Unger, and Sean McGrath
and Betsy Howard from the Alumni Fund. The
reports from the lunch are that Bob Rothman’s son
had just been married (Bob treated all to a champagne toast); Grace’s daughter, Gracie Terzian, just
came out with a CD (Saints and Poets, available at
Amazon and other places); Bruce and his wife Judy
are both retired; and Tom Douglas and Audrey Elliott
discovered that they both graduated from Wantagh
High School (she two years behind) and traded “do
you know” stories. Joelle confessed that she had been
to only one reunion many years ago and to a single
class lunch at the Williams Club. Good to have her
back! We’re sorry to learn that Betsy Howard is off
to Dartmouth to work on major gifts—but obviously
we’re happy for her and we welcome Sean McGrath
as our new man at the Alumni Fund.
Road-tripping Nancy Contel writes, “I stopped
on my way back from Sanibel to see Mary Swett in
northwestern NC. Mary and Jim raised five remarkable kids in Alaska and in their spare time built 70
schools. They have been in the lower 48 for about a
decade now. Mary is teaching science and math (got
teacher of the year last go-round), Jim is involved
in a reclaimed wood business (Revient), and sweet
dog Sunny is along for the ride and treats. We hiked,
caught some live music and talked—a lot. It was terrific to see Mary; felt like home.”
Over five days in November, Jack Dill and I
explored remote areas of Iceland in specially
equipped Land Rover Defenders. Three of these
sturdy vehicles enabled our group of six to adventure off-road—crossing rivers, meandering among
the world’s largest lava fields and making fresh
tracks through deep snow in the Icelandic highlands. The seemingly endless, stark landscape, with
its pronounced lack of vegetation and animal life
(excepting the Arctic fox that hung around our
camp one morning at breakfast), was spectacularly
peaceful and otherworldly.
Good to hear from Jann Williams about her reconnections; her email says, “I stay in touch with Mike
Adams, Tom Dunn, Robin Conners and every once in
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a blue moon with Harv White. My girlfriends can get
jealous that I have so many wonderful guy friends,
the advantage of a 12:1 ratio. Lucky me!” Jann also
writes that she is finishing the remodel of a 1930
Monterey, Calif., house. She says, “I am very grateful
that the gutters are being installed this week. El Niño
has been predicted for rain and more rain, which we
sorely need, and I think we will be prepared. The solar
roof panels are ready for final inspection. While this
house has been politely called a remodel, we know
this has really been a rescue mission. The results are
satisfying, and we are glad to be at the end. We hope
the inspector feels the same.” Regarding an experience regretfully shared by many us, Jann mentions
that her dad, Eugene Wolfe ’42, has severe dementia.
She says, “We were talking together and, as always
now, I introduce myself to him and share facts. I told
him I had gone to his college and he looked at me
and replied, ‘I didn’t know Williams went co-ed.’ A
funny, tender moment, now a sweet memory.”
The ever-romantic Class of ’74 congratulates
Charles Dropkin on his marriage! Charles writes,
“Jill and I had a great honeymoon in Panama, one
highlight of which was being granted access to the
Presidential Palace in Casco Antiguo. While this
location is off-limits to tourists, we happened upon
a large, chauffeured SUV leaving the palace as we
were walking by the guarded barricade at the front
alley leading to the palace. The car suddenly stopped,
the passenger side window was rolled down, and
thoughts of Noriega’s henchmen crossed my mind.
A man started talking to us through the open window in rapid Spanish. I ominously thought we had
trespassed and were about to be rebuked. Fortunately,
my Spanish was good enough to indicate we were
but newlyweds from NYC. The man (perhaps the
president himself or a senior government official)
then started chatting us up and directed the guards
to let us pass through the barricade to the palace.
Being cautious and a bit skeptical, I hesitated to
accept the invitation, but Jill’s ‘let’s go for it’ attitude prevailed. We went through three checkpoints,
with guards in each case somewhat befuddled that
a directive had been given to allow us entry. At
the palace, we were met by six additional guards.
The guards must have assumed we were VIPs as
they were very friendly and eager to talk to us (in
English and Spanish). We enjoyed the hospitality
and took some great photographs.” The president
himself ? Charles, what are you holding back? We’ve
seen Quantum of Solace. (By the way, we sure like
Jill’s attitude—’74 all the way!)
My cousin McKelden Smith writes, “I retired from
my post as president of the New York Genealogical
and Biographical Society on Jan. 28, 2016, then left
the next day for Vail, where there seems to be plenty
of snow. Diana and I will continue living in NYC.”
McKelden describes a darn good retirement plan, the
blueprint of which I am hereby officially adopting.
He says, “I have partially sold Diana on the concept
of spending three months of each year in Italy, and
we are going to start with a six-week visit this spring
as a test drive of the concept. This year, we will go to
Tivoli (outside Rome), Umbria, Bologna, Vicenza
and Lake Como—places we have not been before.
Probably will select a small town outside Florence or
Rome for a long-term home base. Reason: want to
1974– 75
be near an international airport for direct flights to
NYC and to be near a top-drawer hospital in case of
heart attack or stroke. (Plus, Diana doesn’t want to
be in a city, but near a city.) Fiesole outside Florence
would be ideal. We have been there, and it’s great.
Very sophisticated but not touristic, with frequent bus
service into Florence. Can’t wait!” McKelden, we do
note the “partially sold Diana” qualification and wish
you all the best in closing the deal!
Fran Doran has also shifted gears, having sold his
highly successful Doran Insurance Co. to Eastern
Bank’s insurance division. Fran is pleased with
the change and writes, “Christina and I were in
California for a quick trip in October and stayed
two nights with Pat and Ron Eastman, played golf
one day. They both are great. Bob Patterson came by
for a visit to Duxbury in December.” Finally, there
is big news from Rich Levy, who writes, “On Friday
the 13th of November, Carol and I became permanent part-time residents of Williamstown! We purchased the home previously owned by Paul Neely
’68 located on Bulkley Street (which heads up to
the Hopkins Forest from Route 7 just north of the
Greylock Quad). The idea of a Williamstown base
had rattled around in my head for 40-plus years, but
we both agreed that the timing for us was just right.
And the house is just right for us and our family of
next-generation Ephs. I had forgotten how much
effort goes into setting up an unfurnished home, so
our weekends there have been focused heavily on that
process. (I am learning to become a jack-of-all-trades
with a list of fix-it projects that seems to have no
end). It’s been very fun, and we are especially looking
forward to the warmer weather hiking and summer
theater season!” Rich also says, “It’s really interesting for me to see the town and the campus from the
cumulative perspective of student, alumnus, tuitionpaying parent and now property owner/local taxpayer. If any ’74s are traveling into Williamstown, let
us know! Party at 73 Bulkley St. in June ’19 for our
45th reunion!” I wrote Rich with my congratulations
and suggested that he and Carol use their decades of
combined legal experience to get the town to approve
an address change: 74 Bulkley St. would be (pardon
the use of the word) awesome.
1975
Julia Berens, 22 Sperry Lane, Lansing, NY 14882;
In the last column I mentioned a 40th reunion
engagement. Now that I have officially heard from
the bride-to-be, I am happy to congratulate Ada
Miller and John Nail. Congratulations are also in
order for Abby and Tim Howson, who became
grandparents to Liam Timothy on Super Bowl
Sunday. It boggles the mind to think what that
innocent boy will learn from his grandfather…
On our February drive to Florida, Larry and I
enjoyed dinner with Becky and Roger DeMarco
in Savannah, the perfect location for Roger’s golfing talents and Becky’s artistic pursuits. As I write
this from the Gulf Coast of Florida, Gina Campbell
is also enjoying the Florida sunshine; she is in Key
West, where she hopes the warm weather will help
her focus on writing her fourth book, “a case study of
using metaphor therapy to help a client manage her
grief at the loss of an adult child.” Gina is grateful
to be situated (usually) in Baltimore, about halfway
between her granddaughter in Richmond and her
grandson in Brooklyn. She writes that she enjoyed
our reunion, especially catching up with Warren
Barker, Bob Morin and Polly Wood.
I spoke with Connie Sheehy this morning as I
gazed at the Gulf of Mexico—I assume she was
doing the same three hours south where she and
Harry Sheehy were staying at the Naples Beach
Hotel and Golf Club. She had seen Betsy and Fred
Steuber as well as Ellin Goetz ’76 and the evergracious hotel host Mike Watkins.
Harry continues to thrive as the athletic director at Dartmouth. In December, he and Connie
traveled to the West Coast, where they managed
to work in some purple time with Kelly and Sam
Bronfman. She and Kelly exited the DartmouthStanford basketball game early to attend a “fabulous party.” Apparently Drake and his entourage
walked right by her (she had no idea who he was),
which brought back memories of her lengthy conversation while in Martha’s Vineyard about female
vs. male restroom speed with Walter Cronkite
(whom she didn’t recognize). Those of us who
remember Connie’s life-threatening illness three
years ago will be happy to learn that when she does
a “plank push-up” Harry lights up with joy, assured
that she has fully recovered.
Nancy Greenhouse sent news of a reunion at her
Boston home with Deb Grose, Jodi Greenspan and
Liz Titus. Jodi brought along her freshman face
book, where “three of us are on the same spread of
‘G’ pages. Elizabeth says she may change her name.”
Claire Blum wrote, “2016 is a year of transition with
children in jobs and college—and the empty nest
looms!” She looks forward to a year of “good health
and new ventures.”
Susie Read Cronin is now the chair of the board
of the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vt. She
has installed a second seven-foot bronze elephant on
the campus of the Brattleboro Retreat. She says she’s
also had fun “making a family of bronze bells called
‘Dingalings.’” You can see her work at susanread
cronin.com, and she would love some feedback. The
multi-talented Akua Lezli Hope continues to amaze
with her many accolades; one of her anime poems
titled “Noragami” (meaning “stray god”) was published in the January issue of The Science Fiction Poetry
Association Online Journal of Speculative Poetry. Her
tiny sci-fi story “Incubation” was published in Tiny
Text, an online magazine; her crochet art doll was
featured on the Crochet Concupiscence blog, where
she talks about how crochet heals (it is well worth
the read). Lezli has pursued so many art forms—crochet, papermaking, jewelry making, literature, poetry,
music—congrats on the many deserved honors that
have come your way!
Ned Reade was a presenter/facilitator at a NYC
workshop for aspiring master teachers “where he was
asked ‘to help teachers with five-plus years of teaching experience to look ahead toward growth in their
path in education.’” He credits his Williams liberal
arts background with his desire to “keep learning,”
essential to being a successful teacher. A reception
for the Williams “Art Mafia” was held at MoMA for
Williams art and art history grads, hosted by Glenn
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CLASS NOTES
Lowry ’76. Among those Ned hoped to connect
with were Tom Krens ’69 and Mike Glier. Busier
than ever, John Ellis works with big and small
pharma companies on “the communications of
leadership.” Married 20 years to Karen, John has a
son who is a freshman at Lawrenceville. In April
he was to travel to Bhutan with some friends on
a trip “led by an ecologist, dedicated to preserving
the snow leopard.”
Writing from Coxsackie (one of the most frequently mispronounced towns in New York), Helen
Kelly still sews costumes for the local high school
musicals and tends to her magnificent gardens
overlooking the Hudson River. Husband Dr. Josh
Rosenfield ’74 still works “too may hours” but may
slow down in the next few years. Helen’s daughter is
working on her fourth book, and her son launched
an iPhone game app called “Tilt: Quill’s Quandary.”
Marcia and Bruce Humphrey moved to a seaside
home in Plymouth, Mass., leaving their home of 23
years in Norwell. Their three girls are thriving, no
doubt thanks to the terrific parenting by Marcia. I’m
hoping that on their next trip to Ithaca, Bruce will
stop by to see Larry’s rotisserie.
Anton Bestebreurtje is surviving the metropolitan DC snowstorms. He was happy to have his
grandson (and his grandson’s parents) in town for
Christmas. He kindly sent along an update on Alicia
Kershaw, whose GallopNYC now serves 350 adults
and children with disabilities at five locations (with
a long waiting list). Rich Pickard continues to work
“too hard” but makes time for his two vices, golf and
poker. Son Rob Pickard ’04 continues to work for
Google, where he is “paid good money to ‘drive’ a
vehicle that drives itself.” He and Carol sold and then
bought a house in Sun River, where they spend the
holidays. In August Rich and his sons took “another
epic golf trip to Scotland.” A big thank-you to Rich
for all his work on behalf of Williams!
Steve Stephanian stays in touch with Michael
Hensley, who has reportedly whispered the “R” word
(retirement). Steve attended the September wedding
of Ashley McDonnell ’07 in Portland, Maine; he stays
busy with yoga, coaching his grandchildren’s soccer teams and a bit of travel. Mike Rosten, watching
his grandson’s basketball game, lamented the lack of
cheerleaders. I’ll simply note that there were several
Facebook reactions to that comment.
Save the date(s) to hear Andrea Axelrod singing at
the Metropolitan Room on West 22nd Street in New
York: “Almost like Being in Love—Songs on the
Cusp of Love,” with performances June 20 and
July 7 at 7 p.m.
1976
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Jane Ray Kell, 2110 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta, GA
Hi, everyone. By the time you receive this issue of
class notes, we’ll be just a few weeks away from our
40th reunion. I hope many of you are planning to
come, as the weekend promises to be a great time! Jim
Trapp has graciously created a Facebook page for us
and a class website, where we can check out the latest details of the reunion. The Facebook page can be
found at http://tinyurl.com/ephs76-FB and the class
website at http://ephs76.com.
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Bill Hudson writes with a blend of good news
and bad. The good news is that his son Mike was
promoted to major in the US Army. He is now in
charge of intelligence for 75th Ranger Regiment,
based in Fort Benning, Ga. The sad news is that
Bill’s stepdaughter Donna passed away in July.
“Though sometimes sad, life is a blessing that we
must celebrate,” he writes.
“Keeping to the plan of spending more time in
Britain, and certainly moving if Trump gets elected!
We bought a house in a tiny village in the countryside called Dale Abbey,” writes Michael Rosenblum.
Michael’s wife Lisa has been in the process of gutting and rebuilding the house “pretty much from
scratch,” according to Michael, who adds, “Once we
get it done and get the requisite sheep and dogs, it
will provide a rather stark contrast to our Manhattan
abode. It is our intention to spend more and more
time in Britain (none of us is getting any younger).
I am about to spend my fourth summer at Oxford’s
summer school, which I strongly recommend, and
where I have been ‘reading’ (if that is not too pretentious) European history.” Lisa turned 50 last March,
and she and Michael “four-walled” Inverlochy Castle
in Scotland and invited friends and relatives for a
week of eating, shooting, falconry and Scottish dancing as well as local Scottish whiskey. In March, for
her 51st, they were heading to Amanyara, which,
Michael notes, “has the advantage of having neither
the Scottish climate nor the haggis.” Michael continues to produce TV shows and just launched his second online film and video school: www.TheVJ.com.
“It beats Columbia University, where I am still teaching, which now has an eye watering $60,000-a-year
tuition, without room and board,” he opines, adding
that he offers 20 percent off for Williams alumni.
John Bell and his wife Fawn visited Michael and
Lisa over Thanksgiving. He writes, “Hard to believe
we have all gotten so old so fast! How time flies. Back
to the sheep now.”
Debbie Nelson and Paul Nelson moved to
Quechee, Vt., in December and are enjoying the
change of pace. “Paul is working on restoring some
old wooden boats in his shop, and I am continuing my bond-sales career from my home office up
here,” Debbie writes. “Our first overnight guests
were Chris Grant and his wife Martha along with
their chocolate Lab, Mellie. They joined us for
New Year’s Eve dinner and a day of skiing at
Okemo on New Year’s Day.” The Nelsons “will definitely be back for reunion in June and are hoping
for another record turnout!” Debbie is co-chairing
the reunion with Chris Oates, and she is “happy
to announce we have Steve Castraberti on board
coordinating our menus and the band for Saturday
night. For those who were at our 35th, we have
hired the same band for this June, so put on your
dancing shoes! Once formal registration begins, we
will post a list of attendees online. Stay tuned for
further details!”
Also planning to attend reunion is Susie
Montgomery, who is looking forward to Reunion
Weekend. “I have nothing exciting to report in my
life,” she adds, “except perhaps a new addiction:
duplicate bridge. I play whenever I can and am on the
long road to earning my ‘life master’ status. It’s going
to take a very long time, but I am having fun!”
1975– 77
Eric Christiansen is in his 15th year as theater
director of Greendale High School—he directed
and designed Monty Python’s Spamalot as the spring
musical in March 2016.
“I am in my 17th year living in Portland, Maine,
practicing ophthalmology,” writes Bob Daly.
“Portland remains one of the best places to practice
medicine and raise a family. My wife Joan and I are
now true empty-nesters, as our youngest, Will, finished college at Middlebury in May of last year. My
oldest, Nick, is coaching swimming at the University
of Chicago; my middle child, Nora, is working at
Sloan Kettering in NYC, looking toward PA school;
and Will is starting medical school in the fall.”
Bob and Joan are looking forward to attending
reunion. “I know we will see old friends like Debbie
McCarthy, Kathy Loomis and Paul Nelson, and we
hope to see some other names from the past, like
Mark O’Connell, Ben Schneider, Dick Bradford and
Chuck Schlosser.” All right, guys, it sounds like a
challenge to me!
Meanwhile, no surprise, Meg Lowman continues to
work tirelessly on behalf of global forest conservation.
“From our first (and humble!) North American canopy walkway in Hopkins Forest, there are now more
than 40 such walkways around the world, including the latest treetop sites slated for Bhutan, Penang,
Ohio and continuing in Ethiopia and Peru,” she
writes. Meg hopes that Hopkins Forest “will have her
original site available to all adventurous classmates for
a reunion tree-climb!”
“My daughters are now both teenagers, so Dad is
becoming dumber by the minute,” reports Jim Ware.
“Almost everything I say is met with an icy stare, an
eye-roll and a tone of voice that says, ‘Dad, you really
must try to keep up.’ I am hoping and praying that
Twain was correct (paraphrase): ‘When I was a teenager, my dad was the dumbest guy on earth. Now
that I am 21, he’s gotten a lot smarter.’ Otherwise, I’m
in big trouble. I confess to being tempted frequently
to say to them, ‘Hey, I did graduate Phi Beta Kappa
from one of the top colleges in the country.’ So far,
I’ve refrained. I’ll try to keep my cool as best I can.
No major news to report, which is a blessing. Sending
warm regards to you and our wonderful classmates.”
Jim, we hope you’ll come in person to do that in June!
Well that’s all the news. I do sincerely hope that
you’ll make plans to be with us in June. Please stay
tuned for developments on our class website and
Facebook page and book your airline and hotel (or
“dorm”) room today if you haven’t already done so.
See you in June!
1977
Deborah DePorter Hoover, 7480 Herrick Park Drive,
Hudson, OH 44236; Sandra Lorimer Lambert, 149 College
Road, Concord, MA 01742; 1977secretary@williams.edu
It is just a little over a year before we will be
together as a class in the Purple Valley, and we are
really looking forward to seeing everyone! Planning
for reunion 2017 begins in earnest with a reunion
planning session scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24,
2016. If you’re interested in helping, be sure to contact us, and save the date!
Sandy Lambert and Deb Hoover were together
for dinner in New Hampshire over the New Year’s
weekend reflecting on their service as co-secretaries for our class. We both agreed that the role has
been even more fun and rewarding than we ever
could have anticipated and thank all of you for
being responsive to our repeated requests for news.
We cherish the opportunity to reconnect with our
classmates after all these years, rejuvenate friendships, make new friends and connect other classmates to each other!
Our classmates continue to distinguish themselves in their careers and several shared milestone
moments. Steve White published Rubén Darío y
Salomón de la Selva: Ecos de la muerte y la guerra in
León, Nicaragua, as part of a recent conference on
the 100th anniversary of the death of Darío, one of
Latin America’s foremost writers. The other subject
of the book, Salomón de la Selva, is another important Nicaraguan poet and taught Spanish and French
at Williams College prior to WWI, before leaving for
military service in Europe. The book includes translations into Spanish of newly discovered letters that de
la Selva wrote in English to his circle of prominent
literary figures in New York at that time.
Tim Hester was elected to a third four-year term as
chairman of Covington & Burling, a law firm headquartered in DC with 900 lawyers and 10 offices,
including three in Asia and two in Europe. His son
Tommy Hester ’11 has started a craft beer business in
San Francisco with one of his Williams buddies. You
can now find T.W. Pitchers’ Snakebite and Radler in
bars and stores throughout Northern California.
Other classmates shared happy milestone
moments! Peter Sheil sent greetings from LA! On
Oct. 3, he married his partner of 23 years, Bruce
Batchelor, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. They had
a beautiful ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean
and a fantastic (and slightly rowdy) reception on the
beach with about 100 family and friends, including Alan Eusden, Lynn Smyers Eusden, Jeb Seder,
Brent McKinley, Joninna Sadoff Simpson and Randy
Sturges. Congratulations to Peter and Bruce!
On Veteran’s Day 2015, Byrne Kelly married his
fiancée of four years, Karin Elizabeth Theophile,
of Framingham, Mass. “Now that’s really a holiday!” commented Byrne, since he is a veteran
of the US Coast Guard and Karin is a federal
employee, working for the international programs
of the USDA Forest Service in communications
and urban programs and partnerships. Byrne wrote
that the marriage was really just an accounting
procedure: He was added to Karin’s health care
plan and has been to the dentist four times since
November! Byrne added that he and Karen live
down the street from Bill Mowitt ’93.
We love getting cards and notes in the mail,
too! Rick Bartlett sent holiday greetings from
Huntingdon Valley, Pa. He and his wife Melanie
were busy preparing for two weddings this summer:
son Henry in June and daughter Emily in August.
Their eldest son, Lincoln, and his wife Jaime have
two children, Violet, 3, and Lincoln, 1. Rick sent
pictures of them all—a very charming family.
Many of our classmates are traveling to exotic and
exciting destinations. Larry Sanders wrote, “It’s been
a while since I’ve updated classmates. I am happily
retired in East Greenbush, N.Y., where most of our
neighbors are deer and turkeys, though we are just
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CLASS NOTES
minutes from most of my family. I do play adjunct
professor each semester at Sage College and enjoy
that gig. My wife and I travel quite a bit, and last
year’s highlights included a cathedral tour in France
and a trip to New Zealand (which is bigger than
you think if you choose to drive it). We also became
grandparents in October to a beautiful boy, so that’s
a new chapter. … And the Mets made the series last
year, so all in all life is very good!”
Fred Simmons and Bill Simon ’73 ventured on
another awesome trip, trekking in Torres Del Paine
National Park in Patagonia for 10 days earlier this
year. Fred says that all is well with him in LA!
Randy Sturges went to Africa this past Christmas,
spending four days in Cape Town and three days on
a safari in Zimbabwe. While in Cape Town, Dave
(The Wave) Rogers arrived with his four kids, including his 14-year-old godson, Nat. They had a great
afternoon together. Randy went paragliding off a
mountaintop in Cape Town out over the whole city,
landing on a park by the ocean. Randy shared that it
was “quite a thrill and a bit of surprise, given that I
have severe acrophobia!”
Retirement is agreeing with Jeff Knisely! He is
anticipating a busy spring, summer and fall of travel
with his wife. They are planning to move to the
Carolinas, possibly the Chapel Hill area, and he is
interested in learning more about the region from
classmates that live there. Jeff stays busy cycling, running his former school’s benefit fund, serving on the
board of a local preschool and also editing a book! He
wrote, “In conjunction with that, it’s fun to recall the
late ’60s and early ’70s. Sadly, have not been in touch
with too many of my classmates.”
It is wonderful to know that our classmates are
finding lots of great ways to stay connected with
Williams friends outside of the class news. Here are
some of the entertaining stories.
Elizabeth Alton and husband Ray had a lovely time
at the wedding of Judy Marean Burton’s daughter Hannah to Charlie Lu in August 2015 at the
Shelburne Farms Estate in Shelburne, Vt. Liz said, “It
was fun seeing Judy and Steve and to watch Hannah
say her vows in a lovely outdoor ceremony looking over Lake Champlain. The horse-drawn carriage
bringing the bride to the ceremony and then offering
rides to all attendees was a bonus. Hannah attended
the University of Vermont and was our ‘adopted
daughter’ during those college years.” In June, Daiva Gasperetti visited Kirk Kramer and
his wife Kate in their beautiful vacation home in La
Veta, Colo. Bill Jaume joined for a few days as well.
Kirk and Kate were extremely gracious hosts—thanks
to them, Daiva experienced breathtakingly beautiful hikes, fabulous meals, incredible sunsets (complete with double rainbows), a tour of Taos, and “Ales
and Rails,” a fabulous day in the mountains reached
by vintage trains, tasting local craft beers offered by
some 20 to 30 breweries (Daiva observed they were
a definite improvement over Williams’ “traditional
refreshments”). Daiva’s son is still happily working and living in California. Her daughter graduated
from the University of Pennsylvania last May and
moved into her own apartment, so Daiva is officially
and completely an empty-nester and is doing fine!
George J. Schutzer has been catching up on the
class notes from the previous edition. He wrote, “The
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
report on Clarence Otis and Ron Adams had me
wondering how many other classmates are married
to siblings. Tim Hester and Jamie Taylor are married
to sisters. Mimi Skrzypek Ginsberg’s husband Stuart
Ginsberg is my wife’s brother. Are there others?”
George added, “I lived through a law firm merger.
I continue to work in the same building that I have
worked in for my entire working life, but now as
part of a larger firm, Squire Patton Boggs.” George’s
daughter is a sophomore at Bowdoin College. He
noted that Bowdoin seems to attract children of
Williams alumni: “In fact, there are at least three
students at Bowdoin now who went to my daughter’s small high school and who have a parent who
went to Williams. It is a two-way street; the justretired Bowdoin president sent one of his sons
to Williams. Kendall enjoys the annual shellacking that her varsity women’s rugby team gives to
the Williams (club) team.” George stays in touch
with Jeff Boscamp and Dennis O’Shea and last saw
them at his annual trip with Stuart Ginsberg from
Virginia to the Meadowlands to tailgate and watch
a Giants football game. Alissa Ballot wrote, “I was at my Chicago
place, and one night a new friend of mine and I
decided to go hear the free jazz at the Museum of
Contemporary Art. It was a lovely night, and I was
wearing my Williams class agent shirt. During our
conversation, Williams came up, and I started to tell
her where it was. She stopped me by saying, ‘My best
friend went to Williams.’ As I calculated that she was
a couple of years older than I am, I asked her for the
name of her best friend, to which she replied Betsy
Maier Stiles ’75. I said Betsy Stiles, as in Doug Stiles
’72 is her husband? She said yes, so I told her that
Betsy (then Maier) had been my JA at Williams, and
that we had been suitemates my sophomore year, but
that I had not seen Betsy since she graduated in June
1975. My new friend gets together with Betsy once
a month at the Chicago Botanic Garden, so I tagged
along in early September and spent a day with Betsy,
one of her daughters and two of her grandchildren! I
posted a picture of our reunion on the class Facebook
page. And I am looking forward to seeing Betsy
again when I return to Chicago in the spring.” Alissa
attended a Williams Teach It Forward campaign
launch event, which she found excellent and inspiring. She reported that Clarence Otis spoke on behalf
of the Williams Board of Trustees and that it was
wonderful to have the opportunity to chat with him.
Reunion is just around the corner for us! Please
continue to share news in the meantime and get
ready to catch up in person!
1978
Maggie O’Malley Luck, P.O. Box 322, Eldorado Springs,
CO 80025; 1978secretary@williams.edu
Thanks so much for writing. I’m sitting at my table
watching the winter birds slowly turning yellow and
red, with new arrivals flying in weekly. Hard to concentrate. And since it’s February as I write this, Go,
Broncos. Still wearing my Superbowl XXXII champ
shirt. I was texting with Amy Sterling Bratt, Julie
Dunne, Debby Green and Jessica Barranco during
the playoffs and The Big Game. Sorry, Boston and
Arizona and Cam.
1977– 78
Despite the early snow in the Berkshires, several
hearty ’78ers came out for our homecoming tailgate last fall. Joining host Dan Bruns were Georges
Holzberger, Jim Parsons, Sue Stred, Jane Koenitzer
Siegars, Brian Harrison, Tom Balderston and Betsy
Balderston ’79, Frank Carr and Doug Ellis. Our
group was right next to the Class of ’79, so that was
fun. After the game, Doug Ellis graciously opened
his home to all with a warm fire, wine, pizza and
great conversation. The plan is to make this an annual
event, so think about it this fall.
Peter and Mary Fish Arango sent greetings from
southern Oregon, where they welcomed the New
Year with the birth of grandbaby Persephone to parents Padgett and Eleanor Arango, who live within
visiting distance in Portland. Mary had a piece of
writing nominated for two national dog writers’
awards and a magazine cover nominated for best
color image. At press time she had not heard the
results but also had not received a phone call insisting that she fly to New York for the banquet. This
just in: Her photo won! Mary and Peter are working
to adapt to Oregon gloom after 18 years of relentless sunshine in California, and their daily walks
with four Border Collies have them dressed something like a hazmat team as they strike out in the
rain or sleet.
In terms of turning 60, Ted Stroll is happy to have
made it this far in one piece. Ted still does steep
mountain bike rides with two to three thousand feet
or more of climbing on dirt and rocks. But it takes
longer to recover from a hard ride than five years
ago. His adjustment to high elevations takes longer
too. Ted retired about a year ago and co-founded the
Sustainable Trails Coalition (STC), which keeps him
busy. One of the main goals of the STC is to remove
outdated blanket bans on human-powered travel in
federal wilderness areas including the Pacific Crest
and Continental Divide trails. They’re seeking legislation to restore local decision-making over mountain biking and other types of human-powered travel
(even baby strollers are banned in wilderness areas).
The legislation would also reaffirm Congress’ intent
that federal land managers be allowed to use smallscale but modern tools to maintain wilderness trails.
As a result, many trails could be better maintained.
No particular reflections on 60, but this past
October Jonathan Snyder took on the role of treasurer/tax collector for his little town of Vineyard
Haven, Mass. He had been involved in town management on the side for a long time, and now it’s
full time, growing lots of brain cells as he learns a
whole new job. Who says you can’t teach an old dog
new tricks?
Dave Forrester mused, “Yes this is the big 60—
although for some reason I still feel like a freshman in Morgan.” Sixty is a bucket-list year for him,
with plans for the French Open and Mediterranean
coast. He still has plenty of irons in the fire with
two restaurants in South Carolina and a large consulting job with the recycling company to which he
sold his business. And then, his passion, the winery
he opened in Orlando. This past year he was fortunate enough to hook up a couple of times with Doug
Ellis and his wife Amy and their “rascal” Sophie. He
also keeps in close touch with Lisa Halperin ’79, who
says Obamacare has resulted in around 45,000 new
patients in the Denver/Boulder area for Kaiser,
so, “Who says it is not working?” (Maggie’s note:
My 26-year-old-daughter is one of those 45,000).
Dave remains in email and Facebook touch with
Nancy Caine ’80. Peter Thayer and wife Francie have three kids, all
working in independent schools. Apples didn’t fall far
from the tree. Francie graduated in May 2014 from
Virginia Theological Seminary with a master’s in theology (not ordained). Her newest project has been to
convert a defunct 19th-century church and parish
hall in Hillsboro, Md., into The Retreat House at
Hillsboro, a place where all can go for rest, contemplation, worship or group gatherings and workshops.
She also serves as “spiritual director” to about 25 people in four states. Peter’s work as Head of St. Anne’s
Episcopal School continues to be full and fulfilling.
They added a new classroom for their 3-year-old preschool program in 2014. He unwinds by playing in
the garden, walking the dog or dabbling in yoga. He
is also able to coach boys’ soccer in the fall and girls’
soccer in the spring.
Fortunately in Austin, Jim Little and his wife Cathy
missed all the bad weather over the winter. They
enjoyed a long weekend showing off South Texas to
his sister Kate, who has lived for many years in Italy.
Pretty sunrise walks on the beach at South Padre
Island were enjoyed, as were the beautiful water birds
that winter on the Texas coast.
In response to my question of whether we are in
denial, Larry Tanner wrote, “Denial? Hard to do lying
here just a week after hip-replacement surgery. My
second, but the surgical protocols are better than they
used to be, and recovery is faster (encouraging advice
to everyone facing the same situation). I opted to do
it in winter so I can be back in action with my students in Iceland this June. Never give up!”
Steven Rothstein shared his decision to step down
as CEO of Citizen Schools. “It has been an honor to
serve with all of you—supporters, staff members and
teachers, volunteers and citizen teachers. I am humbled by your creativity, your spirit and your commitment to our students and their families.” Also in the
news, Carlton Fields announced the election of nine
new shareholders. Doug Chumbley was one. Doug
defends class actions against manufacturers, suppliers and sellers, and he has extensive experience in
tobacco and automobile litigation.
The big news for Tom Balderston and Betsy
Balderston ’79 was that their eldest son, Caleb
Balderston ’10, married his Williams sweetheart,
Rachel Levy ’09, in mid-July in Arlington, Vt., just
south of Manchester. It was a wonderful occasion all
the way around, complete with a huge contingent of
Williams folk (Rachel’s dad, Rich Levy ’74, brother
Michael Levy ’12, as well as quite a number from the
Jeffrey side) and many of the happy couple’s contemporaries. They were glad to be joined by a few
great old friends from our era, including Tom Lee ’73
and Mary McTernan ’76,and Mario Chiappetti and
Lydia Chiappetti, Bill Whelan and Nat Whelan, Tom
Kondel and Donna Kondel, Leigh Costikyan Wood
’79 (and her partner Jeff ), along with families from
both sides.
I’m doing well here. Still can’t walk, so I’m learning all over again. Cancer is gone for the moment,
so I want to get hiking! That’s all from the beautiful
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CLASS NOTES
Rockies, where it’s warm enough today (in February)
to sit outside in the sun, hear the birds sing, the
climbers shout their commands and the train from
Chicago to San Francisco 1,000 feet above me chug
its way toward the Divide. Hugs, Maggie
1979
Barbara H. Sanders, 3 Stratford Road, White Plains, NY
The dog days of winter and polar vortices will be
a memory when you read this. But I am composing
the notes from the cozy comfort of my home in the
Northeast corridor during Winter Storm Jonah (yes,
the region has shut down). These nor’easter winter
storms are so brutal, they now have names just like
summer hurricanes! As I look out the window, seeing
white-out conditions, I think back on how I wasn’t
fazed as a student because the snow was never an
inconvenience. I didn’t have a car (didn’t have to
drive to work, or anywhere for that matter), and I
didn’t have to get gas or otherwise stock up before
an impending blizzard. If anything, I was excited
about the forecast of two feet of snow—“traying”
behind Dodd or Cole Field House (I didn’t have a
sled, nor would it fit in my room), “cross-country”
schlepping (sans skis, snow shoes or ice skates) to
class, a party or to the Donut Man (recent students
ask, “Who was he?”), calling family and friends
about our persistent subzero daytime temperatures
under clear blue day skies and Milky Way nights
(“You said minus WHAT?!”). With time, I would
come closer to dressing better for the weather in
a mountain valley of interior New England. As a
newbie to the culture of campus clothing and accessories, I was never completely outfitted—I did my
best with layers, or what I could afford at that time
in my life!
Teaching 37 years and still going strong, Sarah
Hall Gordon enjoys life in the Sierra foothills. “I support home-schooling families and teaching students
in grades K through 8, including math and science
enrichment classes. I bring my dog to school and
wrote a grant for 20 pairs of rubber boots so we could
play in the creek behind our school. Our school has
140 kids, three resident dogs, a 20-foot tipi (or teepee), a greenhouse and raised beds, and this winter
we are planting an orchard. I love my job! Our sons
are 20 and 22 and in the ‘college of life.’ They are
financially independent, resourceful and happily pursuing their passions—working outdoors, traveling,
rock climbing and snowboarding. At last we have a
winter here in California. I still snowboard to keep up
with the boys!”
Reflecting that 2015 was an eventful year, Marcia
Johnston Wood says, “My daughter Emma graduated from Stanford and is working for McKinsey in
San Francisco, so that’s one off the family payroll! My
son Jeremy is a senior at Stanford, trying to figure
out what comes next. Tom and I are still working in
Portland but also bought a vacation/retirement house
on San Juan Island, Wash., where we are hoping to
spend more time in future.”
Stew Menking writes that David Vipond operates a
bed and breakfast 28 miles outside San Francisco. It’s
called the Nantucket Whale Inn in Half Moon Bay,
Calif., and it’s absolutely beautiful. 58
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
While in Boulder for a Future Grid panel meeting,
Ann McCabe caught up with Joel Smith, a principal
at ABT Associates, where he continues his climate adaptation work. “We just missed each other at
COP21, the Paris Climate Conference, in December.
I am a delegate with The Climate Registry and also a
board member of the Registry and the Georgetown
Climate Center. This marks my fifth year as an
Illinois public utility commissioner, focusing on
future of the utility/regulatory model, cybersecurity,
nuclear waste, clean power plant and retail electric
choice issues.”
It was great to hear from Jan Dembinski: “A few
years ago I was so inspired by my personal study of
the Book of Exodus and, especially, the events that
took place at Mount Sinai. I thought I would cooperate with the beckoning of the muse and write about
my belief that what happened there was akin to a
second fall and redemption, the first being in the
Garden of Eden—well, a partial redemption, as God
does show up to ‘lay down the law.’ The result is now
available on Amazon: The Golden Calf: The Fall and
Redemption of Israel in the Sinai Wilderness. I consciously chose a difficult rhyme scheme, making it
a ‘mission impossible’ for a dunderhead (myself ) to
write. Since then I have moved on to other poetic
endeavors and have started a monthly poetry event
at a local café here in Woodstock, Vt., called Recite!
As to actual income-producing work, I continue
to teach legal education courses for the Vermont
Department of Corrections at correctional facilities throughout the state. I also promote restorative justice initiatives, mainly through articles in
the Vermont Bar Journal and presentations at the
International Institute of Restorative Practices in
Bethlehem, Pa. I continue to stay in touch with
Donald Tarinelli, Peter May, and, occasionally, Andy
Mikell and Ashley Mikell.” (Their garden is a mustsee if you happen to be in Williston, Vt.)
Catherine Kelly O’Connell writes, “My husband
Jeff and I continue to enjoy retirement. We visited
Scandinavia and Eastern Europe for our 30th anniversary in the fall and fell in love with Stockholm and
Budapest. We get back to New York often to visit our
younger son, who, post-graduation from Columbia,
is living in Brooklyn. It’s very fun to pretend to
relive my youth. We are finally getting rain here
in Northern California, which of course will cause
everyone to complain about the weather. ...During
a recent visit to the gym, I saw a man wearing a
Williams sweatshirt. I asked, ‘Williams grad or dad?’
He said, ‘Neither—I went to Amherst.’ Go figure!”
Dan Powell sent a warm summary of homecoming weekend—“The tailgate in Williamstown was a
lot of fun. I was able to coordinate with the Class of
’78 and make sure that our tailgate was next to theirs,
which led to a nice interaction between the classes.
It was snowing when I set up, which required a run
to Goff ’s to buy mittens and a hat. The college made
a nice big ’79 sign so that our classmates could find
us. I made a Costco run the day before and offered
an assortment of roasted chicken wraps along with
ham, roast beef and turkey sandwiches on croissants.
I supplemented that with various chips and crackers, clementine oranges, Italian prosciutto and cheese
tray, and cookies. There was a restriction on serving alcohol, so I had a variety of soft drinks. Either
1978– 80
way, it seems that as we age, our interest and tolerance for booze diminishes. All in all, we had too
much food, but I didn’t know what the turnout and
appetites would be. I brought all the leftover food to
Laurie Thomsen and Peter Thomsen’s that night,
where the party continued. We had so much fun—
the tailgate should be an annual event.” (Secretary’s
note: a strong hint for those of you who have
not been back for homecoming in a while, or to
Williamstown for that matter.)
Dan continues, “We had a terrific group—in
addition to myself, there were Betsy Balderston
and Tom Balderston ’78, Kathy Jackson Edington,
Andy Masetti, Stew Menking (who confessed to
setting off the smoke detector!), John Stephens,
Mark Lewy, Toni Turi, Bob Kraus, Stan Parisi, Dorea
Ferris, Mimi David, Al Blakey and a host of spouses,
partners and student offspring. The event was complete with class banner and was a great way to cap
off the day. And some of us carried over to the renovated Log on Spring Street. I want to give a shout
out to Jody Harrison, who closed her Spring Street
gallery after 15 years. A visit to her gallery was a
must for many. I saw her during the weekend and, as
always, she was gracious and welcoming. We wish her
the best in whatever the future holds. I should also
add that one of our ‘august group’ (who shall remain
anonymous), instead of coming down and freezing with us at the football game, actually went to the
library to complete some work. This just shows that
the thirst for knowledge will never die with the Class
of ’79. It also shows that at least one of us has the
good common sense to stay out of the cold.”
If the following pertains to you, please realize that
you know that we know (so now we all know) that
you haven’t written in a while. You can only stay
under the radar for so long before a light with your
name on it starts blinking on the screen. You can
easily remedy this matter by dropping me a line (or
more) for the next issue. We’re looking forward to
hearing from you.
1980
Steven B. Rebarber, 6410 Dahlonega Road, Bethesda,
MD 20816; Daniel P. Towle, 87 State St., P.O. Box 233,
Montpelier, VT 05601; Carrie Brown Wick, 3745
Seabrook Island Road, Seabrook Island, SC 29455;
Submitted by Carrie Brown Wick: Great to hear from
and about so many of you. Let’s dive right in, starting with Mike Curran, who sent news for the first
time in 35 years, inspired by the special kindnesses
of fellow Ephs. While traveling to San Francisco
with his 18-year-old and his 17-year-old triplets,
Mike bumped into Jill Simon and Jon Svoboda ’79
at Chicago Midway. Jill and Jon invited Mike and
family to stay at their place in Sonoma. Their visit
included a great evening spent wading through a
good portion of Jill and Jon’s wine collection, accompanied by Chris Gallo and his wife Sally, who live
nearby in Petaluma.
Diane Nordin and Tom Keller also hosted the
Currans and beloved Williams lax coach Renzi
Lamb and his wife Terri at their home on Martha’s
Vineyard, where Mike especially enjoyed bluefishing with Renzi: “Aside from the many memories
of the things he did for me as a coach and mentor
while I was at Williams, and some life-altering help
and guidance he gave me after Williams, some of
the most memorable times I’ve had with Renzi
were spent fishing with him. … It’s a time when
Renzi just seems truly happy, completely relaxed, and
so flows the conversation and the reminiscing and
the wisdom.”
Martha Donovan sadly missed our reunion as
she was in the thick of selling her house and moving. Martha now lives in Wellesley Hills, Mass., and
teaches at Noble and Greenough School. She taught
English and writing at the Pingree School for 15
years, followed by 16 years at New England College.
She’s excited to have found her way back to secondary education and to be teaching at Nobles. Martha
writes, “Life on my own—since the unexpected end
of my marriage a couple of years ago—has been both
challenging and affirming. My family and friends
have been such a great support through all this
change. Tracy Baker-White and Rob Baker-White,
in particular, offered me such love and support along
the way. I have spent many weekends at their lovely
home in Williamstown the past few years—they have
offered me delicious meals, stimulating conversation,
laughter and love.”
Several other classmates sent news of home sales,
cross-country moves and major life changes. Malinda
Bergamini Chapman visited Peggy Duesenberry
in Belmont, Mass., where Peggy moved with her
youngest child and is adjusting to life in the US after
many years in Scotland. Malinda has taught human
biology at North Country Community College in
Ticonderoga, N.Y., and is helping launch her youngest kid to college next fall. Another of her family
jobs and pleasures is helping four nearly nonagenarian relatives in the Lake Placid area. Malinda hopes
we’ve all read Being Mortal and take time to enjoy the
elders in our lives.
Meg Washburne MacDonald relocated from
Boston to Santa Fe, where weekly runs and swims
with crewmate/roommate Tannis Fox ’79 helped
her acclimate to the 7,500-foot elevation. Meg
remodeled a midcentury modern house a halfmile from the Plaza, with stunning mountain
views. “Getting to know my new home, its nearby
trails and arroyos for walks, runs and cross-country skiing, and its eclectic cultural life, has been an
adventure. Open water swimming remains a passion. Two large reservoirs are close enough to allow
miles of distance swimming with southwestern
surroundings to die for,” she says. Meg runs Travel
Muse, a tour company that designs and operates
tours for art museums to hot spots around the US
and overseas. Suzanne Kluss Crawford and her husband Joe
picked up California stakes and moved East to be
closer to family, including daughters who are migrating to the East Coast. They are happily settled in Falls
Church, Va. After 30 years in Dover, Mass., Nancy
Nichols Dougherty and Don Dougherty ’81 sold
their home and now split time between Boston,
Portsmouth, N.H., and Naples, Fla. Nancy helped
launch the Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center
at Johns Hopkins in 2015 and serves on the advisory
board of the Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness at
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. Don
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59
CLASS NOTES
enjoys the flexibility of his investment business and
likes being able to swim and bike year-round.
Michael Battey and his wife Wendy sold their
home of nearly 20 years but are staying put in Marin
County, Calif., where Michael runs a wealth management business. Michael visited Mark Schmidt, who
is CFO of Salisbury School, where Michael’s son is
a junior. Michael’s younger son Jackson is a freshman in high school, and daughter Emma is a junior
at Elon, with Charlie Gledhill’s daughter Rachel, and
Emma Merrill, daughter of Joe Merrill ’82 and Tracy
Louis Merrill ’82. Michael remains part of a regular
email loop with the original Octet revival guys: Ted
Rouse ’78, Paul Robinson, Ben Cart, Stephen (Chico)
Colella, Charlie Gledhill, Chuck Hirsch, Will Hahn ’81
and Kevin Weist ’81.
From Missoula, Will Ballew writes that his “erstwhile” friend Brooks Tanner keeps promising to visit
so they can go backcountry skiing but so far hasn’t
shown up. Will says Michael Battey also promises to come ski, but with kids’ tuitions, his excuse is
always money. The Batteys visited Will in summer
2013; though uninvited that time, they came bearing Mount Gay Rum and so were forgiven for showing up. Will is looking forward to a gathering of the
guys so they can take the iconic hokey photo of the
three unfurling a Class of ’80 banner from a Montana
mountaintop.
Steve Leous and his wife Sue have two kids
through college, and with just two tuition payments
left for the third kid, Steve says, “I can see the light at
the end of the (tuition) tunnel, and it is not a train.”
Steve caught up with several Buffalo expats over
Christmas: Kevin Curran ’79 (retired in Phoenix),
John (Pops) Miller ’79 (runs Home Care Partners
in Hingham, Mass.) and Chuck Cercone, who is
dean of Indiana Tech Law School in Fort Wayne.
Chuck occasionally sees former frosh roommate Jim
Desimone, who also lives in Fort Wayne and has an
anesthesiology practice there. Other updates from
Steve are that Jim Hicks has relocated to Savannah,
Ga., where he is assistant dean of academic achievement at Savannah Law School, and, in the Boston
area, Mark White is doing well in real estate development, and John McGovern is a global logistics guru.
Julia Talcott and James Meigs are anticipating
their twins’ college graduations in the spring—two
colleges on two coasts, and all four grandparents
attending. Julia teaches printmaking and spent the
month of February at the Vermont Studio Center
developing her craft and once again experiencing
dorm life. Laurie Lambert has triplets graduating in
May from Ohio Wesleyan University, Kent State
University and Virginia Tech. Laurie’s chapbook
of poetry, What I Can Carry, has been published by
Finishing Line Press.
Jim Daubert and Amy Ferguson Daubert ’82 hosted
Eric Bjornlund and Dave Amlicke at their Chapel
Hill, N.C., home. Dave, his wife Michelle and their
son Brett were in Chapel Hill to visit their daughter
Maire at UNC Chapel Hill. Eric’s son “Tiger” was
in Raleigh playing hockey. As veteran hockey parents, the Dauberts were happy to be back in the rink
to cheer on Tiger, who aspires to play at Williams
someday, joining his sister Marit Bjornlund ’18.
Mike Hill reports that Richard Seroussi, Paul Goren
and Jim Levinsohn gathered at Mike’s Vermont home
60
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
in October “for a few days of great hiking and biking,
and bad poker and pool—but above-average jokes
and food.” Mike says the get-together has become
an annual ritual for the four to monitor their decline
(Mike believes he’s winning) and share great Purple
Valley stories. Richard is a psychiatrist in Seattle, Paul
is a school superintendent in Evanston, Ill., Jim is an
econ professor at Yale, and Mike is an environmental
attorney alternating between DC and Vermont. Gus Nuzzolese is excited about his two daughters’ upcoming weddings and is offering sponsorship opportunities for the events. Gus is enjoying
his new grand piano and welcomes all Ephs to the
football billiards tournament he’s organizing in Port
Washington, N.Y. Gus also suggests, “How about a
Class of ’80 summer NYC four-hour booze cruise to
keep our purple spirit percolating in PURPetuity?”
Dan Towle keeps busy working as an ambassador
and skiing at Sugarbush, Vt., volunteering for local
nonprofits and substitute teaching in Montpelier.
The first class Dan subbed for was Toni Ceckler’s AP
chem class. Toni’s students say she is tough and
intense but fair and very committed—a great teacher.
Dan and Jay Skerry maintain a running dialogue that
started their first day as Williams freshmen. Dan also
keeps in touch with Tim Langella, who continues to
build his mediation practice in Southborough, Mass.;
Steve Yavner, who finished his PhD and is teaching at Central Connecticut State University; and Stu
Coulter, former alpine racer on the Williams team.
Stu says he hadn’t skied in years but went out with
his nephew and “felt great until my SI joint went out.
Will be making an appointment with the chiropractor. Sucks getting old.”
Bill Clark heard from many Williams friends during his illness, noting he has been “really amazed at
how widespread and durable this network of relationships has proven to be!” Bill is awaiting a heart transplant but is feeling quite well and has gotten back to
a number of his usual activities. He is editing a joint
volume on collaborative leadership in Catholic parishes, serving as VP of the College Theology Society
and researching the teachings of Pope Francis and
their implications for local church communities. Marko Remec organized an event titled “The
So-Called Williams Art Mafia” that took place in
January at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art, hosted
by MoMA Director Glenn Lowry ’76. Designed
to bring together alumni involved in the arts, the
gathering was huge success; attendees included
154 alumni ranging from ’48 to ’16 and representatives of all the major NYC museums, plus galleries,
artists, auction houses, arts nonprofits and collectors. Marko notes that the Williams Art Mafia is a
media label, not an organization, but the gathering
“actualized” the concept. Marko has three museum
shows in the works—this year at the Longhouse
Reserve in East Hampton, N.Y., and the Kunsthaus
Zug in Switzerland, and in 2017 at the Turner
Contemporary in Margate, UK. Susan von Moschzisker Morse reported: “Kids
graduated, pets deceased. I have been madly playing duplicate bridge around the country for a little
over a year and recently became a national champion
in the Mini-McKenney race for 2015. One of my
favorite partners is a fellow author, Deb Crisfield ’85.”
The pair won a championship knockout trophy at
1980– 81
the Bermuda Regional Tournament in January 2016.
They met at the same tournament a year ago and easily clicked as a partnership, no doubt in part because
of the Williams connection. John Libertine wrote
in to plug Susan’s latest book, The Dog Stays in the
Picture—as wonderful as her first book, The Habit.
Joe Carrese relayed a random Eph connection.
Dave Marash ’65 interviewed Joe on the public
radio program “Here and There” on KSFR Santa
Fe. The topic was grateful patient philanthropy, the
growing trend of academic medical institutions
raising money for research, clinical programs and
education from patients cared for in their health
system, grateful for that care and, as a result, interested in donating money—a practice that raises a
number of important ethical issues (especially when
the asking is initiated by doctors). Joe is on the faculty at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine.
Kathy Kelliher and her husband Phil live in
London’s East End. They celebrated Christmas in
Mexico City, finding it fascinating, friendly and
very safe. In Auburn, Maine, Becky Webber loves
being an employment lawyer for Skelton Taintor
& Abbott. She maintains her work-life balance
with long runs and XC skiing treks on winter evenings and coaching little Nordic skiers in a local
Bill Koch league. Becky finds that her skiing is one
thing that has improved with age. Becky Chase
helps high school seniors with college essays and
teaches tennis part time at a local club. She and
her husband Michael traveled to Panama, staying
in B&Bs on both coasts and in the mountains.
After 34 years together, Karen Dold and Nancy
Agnew (Smith ’79) were legally married in their
home state of North Carolina on Nov. 18, 2014,
only weeks after same-sex marriage became legal
there. Karen recounts, “We celebrated our one-year
anniversary (or was it our 35th anniversary?) with
a three-week honeymoon in Hawaii in the fall of
2015. Everyone in Hawaii whom we told we were
‘honeymooners’ greeted us with ‘Aloha and congratulations’ and a big smile, while our friends here at
home teased us with ‘It’s about time.’ What a different world from the one we experienced in our first
few years together!”
Sally Breckenridge Bradford frequents
Williamstown to watch her son Robby Bradford ’19
compete on the swim team. Robby is a third-generation Eph; Sally’s father is Malcolm Breckenridge ’51.
Peter Goldstein is thrilled to report that his son Seth
Goldstein ’19 is enjoying his first year at Williams,
following in the footsteps of his grandfather (’52),
great uncle (attended Williams but graduated MIT)
and aunt (’82).
For Jeff Nelligan, “It’s been a typically uneventful presidential primary and general election year in
ole DC town. Having been involved in seven federal elections, with a miserable 1 and 2 record in the
main card contests, I’ll get involved in the late summer and fall as a campaign advance guy and hopefully improve the record to .500.” Jeff ’s eldest, Devlin
Nelligan ’17, is hustling for a job in China or Hong
Kong for the summer. Jeff says, “If there’s anyone out
there who needs a solid, lax-playing, finance-oriented,
Mandarin proficient guy, Dev’s your man.” Jeff ’s middle son plays lacrosse for the Naval Academy’s club
team; his youngest is “grinding through” 11th grade.
David Barnes and Liz Halsted visited their son
Tatum Ali Barnes ’15, who works at Williamstown
Elementary School and lives on Hoxsey Street with
Taylor Bundy ’13 and Parmalier Arrington ’15, daughter of Carlos Peay. David submitted an entry to the
Williams song competition—an adaptation of a tune
he wrote with Scott Solomon ’84 for the Class of ’84’s
Freshman Revue. Check out their YouTube video of
the song, “O Williams (New England)” performed
by Revue original cast members Greg Pliska ’84 and
Michael Winther ’84, recorded by Charlie Singer ’82
(assistant director of the ’84 Revue). David says it was
wonderful getting back with these guys to recreate
something they shared 35 years ago. The song contest winner will receive free grilled honey buns for life
from the snack bar. Dave urges everyone to vote early
and often.
1981
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Alexis Belash, 1466 Canton Ave., Milton, MA 02186;
To start off our last notes before our 35th reunion,
President John McCammond writes: “Fourteen classmates are hard at work planning a reunion that will
be fun (see your friends!), relevant (a special panel on
career transitions and career re-launches), inclusive
(our outreach committee is coming up with ways to
get those who have never attended to attend) and will
include a special surprise (no hints!). Reunion is June
9-12, and we encourage classmates, spouses, guests
and kids to come starting Thursday night. Despite the
fact that your class officers have had the time of their
lives the past five years, they are looking to replace
themselves with new faces. Those interested only
need to contact John McCammond or Yoshi. Positions
are voluntary, not elected.” Speaking for myself, I am happy to continue as
secretary unless someone else has a deep desire to
take it on.
Hopefully by reunion I should be packing to move
to Bali for a year to be the director of global programs
and Bali operations for the Bali Institute for Global
Renewal, which focuses on enhancing global citizenship through delivery of transformational leadership
immersion experiences and cross-cultural dialogues.
Hopefully I will learn to say that in one breath. Please
share thoughts, suggestions and/or interests with me.
The twins turn 18 in March and are sorting
through college options. Ali continues a stellar
senior year of running. Her cross-country team won
the Massachusetts state title, then they went on to
compete in the Nike Regionals in Wappingers Falls,
N.Y., where they placed seventh in the select invitational division, competing against the best teams
from eight states. At this writing her and her sister Isabel’s indoor track team has already gone
undefeated to win their conference. Separately, Ali
won gold at the coach’s elite invitational with her
4x400 team. She qualified for states in the 300, 600,
1-mile, 4x400 and 4x800, and she is qualified for
nationals in NYC in the 4x400, 4x800, and the distance medley relay. Isabel was set to compete in the
pentathlon at states but came down with mono. In
March, it was on to the outdoor season, where they
are team captains.
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The third week of January, I made it down to
NYC for a Williams rugby gathering of 65 men and
women. We gathered together to sing, record and
submit an entry for the Williams songbook. Lyrics
were changed, and beer was consumed. As the senior
member present, I enjoyed meeting a large number
of ruggers from the ’80s who still managed to recall
most of the words and carry a tune. I heard about
many offspring enjoying the clutches of Billsville.
Luckily the gathering was Friday night, as it started
to snow around 11 p.m. Twenty-four hours and 24
inches later, the city was closed to all traffic on the
roads, rails and landing strips. Unfortunately this
meant canceling my lunch with Val Colville, who
continues to travel extensively for her company. Val
was hoping to see Bob Kukulka when she traveled to
Dubai in February. Old roommate Jenny Armstrong
will be tagging along for fun. Then Val and her family
were to be pursuing the luck of the Irish while visiting Ireland in March.
Speaking of Bob: “Just a quick update from Abu
Dhabi. It has almost been four years since we moved.
It has been a pretty incredible experience working
with at ADIA as CFO for the real estate and infrastructure group. When I arrived oil was close to $100
a barrel, and now it is dipping below $30, so we are
seeing some changes locally and across the region.
Visitors have included Joe Cotter, Dave Durell,
Tinker Connelly, Julia Fiske and her husband Jim
Parker (Kenyon ’81). Had a great visit with Williams
President Adam Falk when he was in Dubai over
the summer. It was Ramadan, and I think we were
the only people in the restaurant. Most interesting
recent trip was a visit to Iran—Isfahan, Persepolis
and Shiraz in early January, just before the lifting of
sanctions and right at the time the Saudi embassy
was attacked. Fascinating country, lots of history and
warm and friendly people. It was the only country
I have been to recently with no international retailers, restaurants or consumer goods—sanctions will
do that. Nothing like you’d expect. Winter is the best
season here, since it is clear, 75 degrees in the day and
low 60s at night.”
Martin Kohut has been busy. “Last summer I
moved into an apartment in the Nokonah building in downtown Austin, and I am hoping to fulfill
my lifelong ambition of becoming a flaneur. Most
everything I need is within easy walking distance,
including a number of good restaurants. And every
morning Chula the Goggle-Eyed Ricochet Hound
and I waddle down to the hike and bike trail around
Lady Bird Lake. I’ve also signed up as a volunteer
to lead a weekly advanced conversation group at El
Buen Samaritano, an Episcopal mission for the working poor in South Austin.
“In late November I spent several days visiting Ann Brown in New York. Great trip: We
saw Hamilton (which is indeed incredible) and the
Picasso sculpture show at MoMA (likewise), and
also had a lovely if all-too-brief visit with Emily
Grossman Zisman. The real highlight, though, was
a bibulous afternoon that began with Ann asking if I’d ever seen the Bemelmans Bar in the Hotel
Carlyle (I hadn’t), which features wonderful, whimsical murals by Ludwig Bemelmans, who wrote and
illustrated the Madeline books and was featured
in Bill Murray’s A Very Murray Christmas holiday
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special. We arrived in the early afternoon, inadvertently crashing a 6-year-old girl’s birthday party, so
as we sat at the bar sipping our $23 whiskey smashes
we were serenaded by the piano player, who was trying to get a group of little girls in party dresses and
velvet hair ribbons to sing along to ‘The Wheels on
the Bus,’ ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Old MacDonald.’ Pretty
surreal. From there, we walked a few blocks down
Madison Avenue to Keith Scott’s elegant jewelry
store, Di Grisogono. It was a slow business day, so he
ushered us upstairs and produced a bottle of PerrierJouët, and we spent a couple of hours sipping champagne, reminiscing and gossiping. It was a delightful
afternoon, though it became abundantly clear that
I’m much too old to be drinking in the middle of the
day. (I’ll just have a club soda, thanks.) After a crazy
Christmas/New Year holiday that involved flying
from Austin to Denver via LA (don’t ask) to visit my
youngest, Thea, I left for a week in New York.”
Martin got snowed in, but he did enjoy his time
in NYC. “First, Ann and I had lunch on Wednesday
with Dr. Rich Besser, who was planning a trip to
Brazil to do a story on the Zika virus for ABC and
see his older son Alexander Besser ’17, who’s down
there studying Portuguese. It was, as ever, a delight to
see Rich, who is truly one of the good guys.
“Last night we went to the National Audubon
Society gala to see Ann’s old friend and former boss
Pete McCloskey receive the society’s annual Lufkin
Prize for Environmental Leadership—and who
should we run into but Ann’s old roommate, Conan
O’Brien Ashforth. We shouldn’t have been surprised,
as Conan’s late father Donal O’Brien ’56 was a longtime chair of the society’s board of directors and himself a recipient of the Audubon Medal.
Ann and Martin had a nice visit at the Upper East
Side apartment of another of Ann’s old roommates,
Betsy Clark Robertson and her husband Hugh, who
moved back into the city from Rye. “Ann and Betsy
have stayed in touch, but this may have been the first
time I’d seen Betsy since we graduated,” says Martin.
Lori Hvizda Ward promises: “I am seriously considering attending the 35th and would like to encourage
my high school and college classmates from North
Adams to consider attending, as well (Debbie Haley,
Mary Jo Dougherty, Karen Herzhig).”
If you are looking for a band, get in touch with Sue
Whittington Pettengill, whose son “William Pettengill
’10 [and] three other Williams grads, a drummer
and an outstanding singer who have no Williams
affiliation make up Baeja Vu. They play high-energy,
danceable original songs.” The Friday after Thanksgiving, I spent a fun evening with Nevill Smythe and Karen Smythe in
their new home in Red Hook, N.Y., on my way to
Wappingers Falls. Nevill has taken on a new title:
development committee chair at Special Olympics
2016/2017 Winter Games. My visit overlapped with
daughter Denison’s. She is enjoying the University of
Virginia. Stacy Cochran submits: “I’m writing to you
from Williamstown, where I’m teaching a Winter
Study in the English department. Ten students creating a web series they’re calling On the Reel, rotating
through as cast and crew on a ‘talk show’ of sorts of
movie reviews. We (Eric and me, one kid still in high
school) still live in NYC, but I was in Williamstown
this past summer also and shot three little music
1981– 82
videos up here, two local bands. If anyone wants to
see them, they’re at vimeo.com/stacycochran. So my
main effort right now is prepping a movie I wrote
and plan to direct this spring in New York, called A+.
I think some version of the last straw for me may
have been the story in the New York Times Magazine
around Thanksgiving that noted (among other lousy
statistics) that almost no female directors (in the US,
that is) end up shooting more than three movies in
their lives/careers. I looked up and said, ‘Wait, that’s
me.’ I’m thinking that if I can get this fourth movie
set up and shot, some personal dam may break and
I’ll finally be back to work. TBD.” Stacy promises to
be at reunion, so be sure to ask her how it is going.
Béa Weicker Avant (aka Vita Wells, see below)
unfortunately will not be able to attend. “For three
years my life has turned around my partner Michelle’s
illness. I write these notes in January, still early on
in the wake of her death in November, without a
clear sense of the landscape before me, much less
what my way forward will look like. In seven of our
11 summers, we hiked portions of the Camino de
Compostela in France and Spain. I suspect I’ll hike
a long stretch this next summer or fall, carrying and
leaving her ashes at meaningful places along the way.
Caregiving has meant I’ve been offline from my art
practice for a long time but finally have a significant commission due in February. By the time the
class gathers in June I hope I’ll have images posted
at http://vitawells.net/inconversation.html. If I’m not
organized enough to get that page together, a good
representation of my work is at http://vitawells.net/
video.html. I’ve always lived far from Williamstown
and let the distance (and legitimate conflicts) enable
being completely lame about getting to reunions. I’d
actually intended to go this year, but again cannot.
Another major family event interferes, this one joyous: My last child will graduate from Stanford. Yay!
(Secretary’s note: I’ll have to offer you a transcontinental toast, which I will.)
She continues: “Falling back inevitably to the
reflective and somber tone of this note: By this time,
all of us will have experienced more than one profound disruption in our lives. Michelle’s death isn’t
my first. While gathering myself together out a past
disruption’s disarray, I changed my name to reflect my
reaffirming and reengaging with life: Vita Wells.
So here we go, all of us, learning to surf, sometimes
knocked down by unexpected big ones, and, by the
grace of a spark within, nurtured by the grace of the
community in which we dwell, somehow finding
life again, discerning the path, and walking, carrying
grace in hand for the offering.”
A fitting sentiment to close on and to take to heart
as we go forward. I look forward to seeing some of
you at reunion. The rest of you will be with us in our
thoughts.
1982
William K. Layman, 8507 Garfield St., Bethesda, MD
Previously. On Serious.
[Plaintively chiming, upper-octave piano chords in
slow, steady eighth-note pattern begins. A few syncopations occur, but not enough so it doesn’t drive you berserk.]
[Muffled phone voice] This is a…global cell-link…
pre-paid column from…[NJ-accented voice] Charlie
Singer [phone voice] an inmate at the Florida
Correction Facility of Miami.
[Chiming, still.]
[Narrator] From This Super-Privileged American
Life in WAMU, Washington, it’s Serious, hundreds
of stories that involve lots of hard-to-get jobs and
maybe a murder, told quarter to quarter. I’m Will
Layman.
So here’s where we are. Charlie Singer wasn’t just
any college classmate. He was funny, he was talented, and he ended up working at MTV, which—
for a member of the Class of 1982—is like being
the best drummer in Liverpool the day Pete Best
got fired. But the Beatles weren’t forever, and neither
was MTV, so when Charlie vanished from the radar
screens of so many, just like the viewership of the
once iconic cable destination, people decided to look
for him.
[Theatrically resonant newscaster voice] “At last
year’s Homecoming, we had our 75th anniversary Octet reunion. Rugby Alumni President Kevin
Weist ’81 organized the whole shebang—60 guys
showed up and sang to a full house at the justremodeled Chapin Hall, as well as the newly remodeled Log, where you can buy a single glass of craft
beer for about four times what we paid for a pitcher
back in our day. Tom Hulleberg ’83, Mickey Longo
’82, Lyman Casey ’83, Rich Gagliano ’83, George
Liddle ’83 and Mike Winther ’84 were there. Mickey
is the airport manager at the Turners Falls airport
near Greenfield, Mass., hangs his shingle out at some
local law office and has a lovely wife and two adult
sons. He sang ‘You Don’t Know Me,’ and I reprised
my bit: reading the Williams College ‘news’ in the
middle of ‘I Got Rhythm,’ just like the old days.”
[Narrator] So, as I assume you can tell from the
richly unctuous pipes, the guy speaking here is none
other than AJ Moore, a classmate of Charlie’s who left
Yahoo to work at Move Inc., also known as Realtor.
com, where he is head of product development for
news and advertising, which I guess means that he
drives a Lexus around Marin County when he’s not
taping “Homes Like the Celebs Have” interviews
for Fox & Friends.
My producer reached Moore on the phone and
asked him about Singer.
[Narrator and Dana Chivvis on the phone] I mean,
first AJ tried to sell me a really cute three-bedroom
bungalow outside of Austin, claiming Matthew
McConaughey would be my neighbor. Then he told
me that, “Sadly, Charlie was stuck on some project down in Miami where he lives, so we couldn’t get
him up to sing any Beatles for us.”
[Narrator] Hmmm. So if Singer isn’t singing…
I thought for a while about whether Moore was telling the truth, then I ruminated on the nature of truth,
then I figured maybe music was the angle, so I got in
touch with drummer Bill Burakoff, a few hours south
of AJ in Orange County, Calif.
[The carefree voice of a lawyer with something better to
do] “As my law career has ebbed and flowed (mainly
ebbed) in recent years, I have been able to spend
more time at the drums, which has been great. The
cover band I connected with a few years ago (Five
Foot Rabbit) has been busy and having fun here
in southern Orange County. We played the House
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of Blues in Anaheim as part of a ’90s night. We
opened the show with Metallica—definitely a takeno-prisoners approach. Playing up on the big stage
was a dream come true. I’ve got to send a shout-out
to President Amy Daubert and Eph U! cohort Chris
“Koolaid” Williams, because getting back to drumming for our 30th reunion was the spark that put
sticks back in my hands.”
[Narrator] Well, of course. If you had a missing
former MTV producer at the center of your podcast, Koolaid is the trail you’d be on. But he was elusive too. There was a glimpse of him, though, when
we got in touch with Katherine Greenwald. Her
son Hartley Greenwald ’16 graduates this year from
Williams as president of WUFO, which is as close
as the school gets to having a group of Deadheads
around. Music again, right?
[Katherine on the phone with Narrator] “Hartley plays
alongside Willem Humes ’16 (Hans Hume ’83) and
Emmett Blau ’18 (Amy Wilbur ’83). We caught some
of the action at a tournament in Santa Barbara
over the winter break and then fought our way
back to LA through a raging coastal storm to have
lunch with Chris ‘Koolaid’ Williams and Marian
Bushnell before heading home to Park City, Utah.”
[Narrator] Tell us more about Koolaid, and…
[Katherine] “He is unquestionably the coolest
member of our class—working for Oprah, wearing leather, riding a Harley, playing in a band, going
out to concerts all the time (if his Facebook page is
to be believed) and generally living it up. Me? I’m
presently writing and editing for an e-tailer based
in Park City—we’ll just say that I’m talking with a
young friend about collaborating on a screenplay for
a revenge fantasy set at a tech company. It should
be easy, I wouldn’t have to make anything up. I ran
into Ollie Wilder this fall; he’s now living in town as
well, having pulled up roots from Maine.”
[Narrator] A revenge fantasy? This got me thinking harder. Singer is missing, Koolaid won’t talk, AJ
Moore is dropping hints. Was Katherine doing the
same? I figured I’d get in touch with Lisa Matthews,
who’s busy writing a mystery series. What were her
insights into the minds that might want Charlie
Singer to vanish?
[Matthews] “I’m trying my doggonedest to make
the 70,000-word count on Book 3 of my The Ladies
Smythe & Westin mystery series, while dealing with
the criminal antics of my brand-new golden retriever
partner in crime, Farley. Permanently Booked, the second book, will be published on April 4 by Carina
Press/Harlequin. Cardiac Arrest was the first one.”
[Narrator] Well, maybe I’m getting paranoid, but
the reference to cardiac infarction gave me a jolt. So
I headed out west myself to meet up with Charlie
Dewolf and Alyson Hagy, herself a mean writer
who just won the Lawrence Foundation Prize,
awarded by the editorial board of the Michigan
Quarterly Review for its best short story of 2015.
The story? “Switchback,” and when I went to read it
online, the link was broken. Another dead end. Did
I say “dead” again? Was Charlie in a shallow grave,
or was he singing remarkably on-pitch version
of “Ripple”? I had to find out more. After a word
from our sponsor.
Support for Serious comes from Mail Chimp. Mail
Kimp? Mail Chimp. Mail Chimp. Over 7 million
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
businesses all over the world use a Mail Chimp to send
emails, newsletters and to deliver high fives. Mail
Chimp. Send better email. {I use Mail Chimp.
You do?}
[Narrator] So I sent a better email to one of
the Class of ’82’s most notable members, Eric
Schmitt of The New York Times. I wrote, “Charlie
Singer?” keeping my message short so that I would
not offend any of The Gray Lady’s strict style guidelines. Eric was almost as terse in reply: “The world is
falling apart, which (sadly) is good for my business—
reporting on terrorist networks around the world. I
just got back from a weeklong trip to Senegal, where
I was embedded with US Special Forces training African commandos on how to fight ISIS and
Al Qaeda on the continent.” Was Schmitt implying
that dear Charlie Singer was engaged in some sort
of dangerous international intrigue? That Singer had
abandoned his base? Was a captive of the Taliban
somewhere in Pakistan? Clearly, I was going to have
to reach out to some international classmates…
[Blowsy voice of joy, tinged with a hint of Britain] Perhaps the vessels of our lives are completely
empty… Lo, there is no milk in these coconuts…
Actually probably just pure laziness.
[Narrator] David Weaver, resident of London, is a
man who makes no sense and plenty of sense. Surely
he would have Singer data.
[Weaver] “My 25th business school reunion
spurred me to reach out to all the Cows. Over
Christmas I saw Dave Wohabe and Denise
Wohabe, who are as fab as ever—nice to see that
David’s humor is still razor! Chas Pardoe and
his lovely daughter Annie dropped by, as well.
My son Ben Weaver is looking forward to playing rugby at Williams with sons of Charlie P and
also Liz Berry Gips. I am at present negotiating
terms with Tom Costley on an extended bicycle
ride, which will most likely take me down permanently. Had dinner with Will Hodgeman and his
wife Carol, who are moving to London!”
[Hodgeman] “My lovely wife Carol and I are
moving to London this March. I have rejoined
comScore to run the international business out of
London. We are intending to sell our Seattle house,
buy a house in Park City, Utah, and rent a flat in
London.”
[Narrator] No word about Singer, but patterns
are becoming clearer. Park City, Utah, for example.
What’s Doug Nelson got to say about that—he’s the
medical director of the emergency department at
Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
[Nelson] “I am finally off the Salt Lake City Board
of Education, but it was a good 12 years of trying to
stay (unsuccessfully, at times) out of the local newspapers. I still love the skiing out here, which keeps
me busy during the time of year when I can’t get up
to our family yurt in the mountains an hour from
where we live. I keep tinkering with the home-grown
solar power system up there and get a huge amount
of pleasure out of drinking cocktails that contain ice
made by the sun.”
[Narrator] While we’re promoting stuff, let me
recommend another podcast you might enjoy, You,
Me, Us, Now, with its host Mike McGinn interviewing people who try to change things—who they are,
why they got involved, what they are working on, and
1982– 83
why it matters. (Classmates should feel free to
suggest guests to Mike.)
[Narrator] OK, let’s sum up. Charlie Singer’s missing. My producer Dana Chivvis is more than a sidekick and less than a co-host. Nobody really knows
the truth. The Nisha Call is inconclusive and just a
tease. Further reporting shows that Eileen Schlee is
“playing stacks of golf, when it’s not raining or blowing a gale” in Suffolk, with her daughter Isabel
Schlee ’17 off to Paris for part of her junior year;
that Missi Pelham is moving to Mystic, Conn., after
three years in Philadelphia, “Looking forward to
being closer to families and nature with our home
just up the street from the Mystic Seaport and the
Williams Maritime Studies Program—and thanks
to Seton Melvin and Gail Carroll for already filling my summer schedule;” Joel Richardson went to
a Boston Celtics game with Steve Bellerose, “a very
devoted family man with two daughters who is planning a bike trip with Dan Sullivan;” Jay Hellmuth visited Scottsdale, Ariz., for the auto auctions in
January and dined with Sheldon Ross and his wife
but missed seeing Chuck Warshaver and Kristin
Bloomquist; Kim Carpenter is running a small marketing consulting business in New Jersey while also
feeding birds, taking orders from the cats, rooting for the NY Rangers, adopting a “farm sanctuary” pig named Julia and traveling to Williamstown
to visit Martha Asher ’55 for a walk around Hopkins
Forest and up Stone Hill; Sara Kaul broke a finger,
attended a niece’s wedding and got more involved in
her church; and did I mention that Andra Stamps married her best friend a couple years ago—a guy she
met in 1983 and bumped into in Warrenton, Va., by
amazing luck.
[More plaintively chiming, upper-octave piano chords
in slow, steady eighth-note pattern]
[Dana Chivvis on the phone again] So, Will, here’s
an idea. Why don’t you just reach out to Charlie
directly?
[Narrator] Some ideas are obvious. So I called Kevin
Hirsch, the president and chief executive of Scripps
Coastal Medical Group in San Diego, Calif., who
had recently seen his old roommate Mark Jackson
and is in touch with his friend John Segal, an associate justice on the California Court of Appeals since
last summer. Maybe Segal could issue me a subpoena
for Charlie Singer information.
[A familiar voice] “I was having dinner the other
night with Stacy Schiff in NYC when your email
came in, and both of us were chortling with glee
that we have appeared infrequently (if ever). Stacy
is married to Marc de la Bruyere.”
[Narrator] Whoa. It was Charlie Singer himself. One little email, and a flood of information came
at me.
[Singer] “Marc and Stacy were friends during
college but were never a couple until six years after
graduation—at least that is their version of the
story! They live bi-coastally and bi-nationally, splitting their time between Edmonton, Alberta, where
Marc runs some big-time real estate development
or construction company (I am not really sure but
assume he is the Donald Trump of Western Canada)
and New York. Stacy published her latest book, The
Witches, about the Salem witch trials. Stacy says
it took the last four years to write, and she is just
finishing up the dreaded book tour (my editorializing,
not hers). And, Will, uh, you are a real hero for doing
this excruciating job.”
[Narrator] But that’s all he had to say. Not a word
about himself. Not a lick of personal data.
[Chiming gets louder and more incessant, like, to the
point of tearing out one’s hair]
[Narrator] I’d talked to dozens of people about a
huge range of topics and, finally, there he was, right
before my eyes, and yet he was only a shadow, merely
a voice, not a story. Charlie Singer. Where are you?
[Ira Glass] Next time on Serious: Will Layman
tries to figure out why he didn’t just look up Charlie
Singer on LinkedIn, and what he will do at the 2017
35th reunion when Charlie’s rich thicket of curls
stare down at his dome.
1983
Beatrice Fuller, 404 Old County Road, Severna Park, MD
Well, as I as tackle this column in mid-February,
you may recall that I offered you a few prompts. I
asked you send the following: news; a winter memory from your time at Williams; a memory of the
most unusual or unique member of your frosh entry;
and/or predictions for the next presidential primaries (remember this is February, just after Iowa and
N.H.). To model the above prompts, I will take a
crack at all of them. In terms of news, I had a delightful lunch in Nashville with Austin Lehr, who was visiting his son who was starring in a play at Vanderbilt,
with Willy Stern and wife Ann and daughter Phoebe,
and with Vince Durnan. I have lots of awesome winter memories of Williams—standing on a ski slope
watching races (not wearing boots!), ice skating by
moonlight on the pond down at Cole Field, trays
piled up outside dining halls for sledding, squeaky
snow, old classic movies in Bronfman for a dollar,
Rogers Roost to hear The Doctors, lots of time at the
Log, watching the Northern Lights from the roof of
Tyler House. Wow—lots of great times! The most
unusual member of my entry frosh year would have
to be the woman who rode in the float at the Apple
Blossom Parade in her hometown! I am afraid to predict the elections, but let’s just say Canada might be
an option. Parker Johnson and family seem like it up
there, so I may soon follow.
On to congratulations on some big news.
According to Dave Lott, Eric “Smitty” Smith “became
a dad in November. …Youngster’s name is Matthew,
and he, mom and dad are reportedly doing just fine.”
Matthew is Eric’s first child, and he is smitten! (Ha!)
Congratulations to Deborah Bowers Kenealy, who
“started a new position this past January as senior
staff director for the Greater Boston Food Bank in
Boston, Mass. I am basically the liaison between the
CEO and the board and its committees and councils. I also wear the hat of helping the senior leadership with strategy for moving the food bank, which
is the largest in New England and one of the largest in the country, toward its always-growing goals
of raising more revenue and distributing more food
to those in need. I LOVE this new position. My son
Andrew graduated from Dartmouth in June and
is working for the Brookings Institute in DC. My
daughter Diana is a junior at Princeton and heading
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to Copenhagen for the summer to intern with the
Danish Institute for Human Rights. And my husband Ed continues to enjoy his work as general counsel for Liberty Mutual’s international division and is
often on a plane heading somewhere!”
My old Lehman friend Jenny Weeks (who knows
the Apple Blossom queen previously mentioned)
writes: “After 10 years working from home as a freelance journalist, I’m back in an office. I’m an environment and energy editor for The Conversation (http://
theconversation.com/us), a media startup based here
in Boston. Our staff is all journalists. We commission articles from academic experts and edit them to
make them interesting to people outside the ivory
tower. The idea is to get some of that knowledge out
into, yes, the bigger conversation, and to explain and
add context to the stories of the day. TC started in
Australia and now has branches in London, Paris and
South Africa. It’s fun working on a team again and
really nice to have other people pitch stories to me for
a change. My daughters are in 12th and eighth grade,
so we’re waiting to see where they will be next fall.
More news on that when the results are in.”
Great news for all of us fans of The Doctors! Chris
Tantillo writes, “Bill Hugo, Bill Simpkins, Andy
Schlosser and I … had our annual jam weekend for
the second year on Long Island. Since The Doctors
have been asked to play for the Class of ’81 during
Reunion Weekend, we were joined by Paul Robinson
’80 and Kevin Weist ’81. Lyman Casey was also there
all the way from Chicago, as he, Bruce Leddy and
now Mr. Hugo, too, will be jamming with us this
June in Williamstown. Danny Gangemi of Steep
Acres Farm and his old friend Mike Immerman
(originally also from Williamstown) joined the party
and cooked gourmet food all weekend.” Sounds like a
great chance for the Class of ’83 to crash the reunion
of our JAs!
Karen Clarke “enjoyed meeting Lis BischoffOrmsbee at the Teach It Forward LA event a couple
weeks ago. Although we did not know each other
during our time at Williams, we had so much fun
that it seemed as if we did. With few Williams events
on the West Coast, the significance of the event was
not understated. The educational leaders and alumni
who spoke were very inspiring for all of us who still
have confidence that innovation in teaching and
learning, and liberal arts education, will produce social
change for a more just world. Having just completed
a master of arts in teaching (biological sciences), I
look forward to continuing the conversation.” And now on to the winter memories from
Williams. Up first is Peter Kelly-Detweiler: “Winter
memory: traying down the hill from Weston by the
Hopkins steps with Arif Currimjee on a night in the
single digits. Remember, he was from Mauritius, so
frostbite was not in his lexicon. I didn’t think of it
either, until I saw his ears. They were red and felt frozen to the touch. To this day, I am amazed he still has
them. But I saw him last year, and I can vouch that
they look real.” Speaking of Arif, I am reminded of
the echoing shouts of “Bagel Man” throughout the
freshman entries and the steamy bagels with cream
cheese saving our lives as we studied intently through
those long, dark winter nights.
Sherry Blum writes from 80-degree weather
in Austin, Texas: “My most vivid specific winter
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memory is from freshman year, when one winter evening I was walking with my entrymate and
close friend Cecilia Danks across the lawn in front
of Baxter. Cecilia told me that she had finally (after
knowing me for several months) figured me out
and now found me predictable rather than mysterious. Apparently preferring to be mysterious, I shoved
her into a snow bank. I don’t think she expected
that then, though now she might (except I probably wouldn’t do it now). I actually use this example
in my philosophy classes when we discuss free will. If
Cecilia could have predicted accurately that I would
shove her into a snow bank, would that mean that I
had no choice but to do so?”
To close out the column, I shout hurray for the
overachiever Scott Garabedian, who answered all of
the questions! “Hope you are enjoying those ‘snow
days’ down in Maryland! Last year brought us 109
inches of snow in Mass., not so much this year—yay!
Golf season is not that far away! Since this line of
questioning is like standardized testing, I am in real
trouble. Recent rumor has it The Doctah’s (gotta love
the haaard Boston accent) will be reuniting again at
the Class of ’81 reunion this coming June: Tantillo,
Simpkins, Schlosser and the boys have been practicing and tuning up for another road trip. I may have to
make a road trip to Billsville to catch their act again.
Memories of winter at Williams: Two quickly come
to mind. 1. Bruce Springsteen and ‘Santa Claus is
Coming to Town’ blaring in the freshman quad during the snowy nights (great memory); 2. Not-sogood memory: Junior year snow storm during fall
(December) finals, which knocked out power during the night, causing me (and many others) to wake
up late (alarm was out) in a panic to rush to my 8:30
a.m. final, to which only half the class showed up on
time. Not a good morning. Frosh entry unique or
unusual characters: Over at Lehman Hall we were all
like the ‘land of misfit toys,’ but my favorite freshman
days line I heard was: ‘I’m Chris Tantillo. I’m from
Topeka, Kan., and, no, I do not live on a farm.’ LOL.
Regarding the presidential primaries—God help us.
I’m going to nominate Bea Fuller for president!”
So we can officially close the month of February
as we continue to look forward to longer daylight
hours and warmer temperatures. Perhaps the warming up will help make all minds clear as we head to
important political decisions. During elections I can
hear my father’s voice emphasizing the importance
of choosing presidents carefully due to the power
wielded, particularly with the nominations of the
Supreme Court. Lo and behold. Take care, everyone.
1984
Carrie Bradley Neves, 1009 Route 3, Halcott Center,
NY 12430; Robert Kent, Temple Allen Industries, 687-J
Lofstrand Lane, Ste. 0CO, Rockville MD 20850;
Almost everyone has a Sunday morning routine (even if it’s to lie in bed until it’s Sunday afternoon). Not everyone, however, has theirs written
up in the New York Times like Val DiFebo. Thanks
to the ever-vigilant Brian Angle for the link on our
class Facebook page in mid-February. Also playing Captain Vigilant is Matt Kadish, who wrote to
remind everyone that Marcus Hummon’s son Levi
1983– 84
co-wrote “Red, White & You” with Steven Tyler,
and the Aerosmith front man released it as a single. Speaking of musical talent in our class, those
checking the Facebook group page will also know
that Greg Pliska has a show on Broadway, directed
the orchestra in Mob Mentality’s award-winning music video in the fall and re-recorded the
Freshman Review song “New England” by David
Barnes ’81 with Michael Winther as “O Williams” for
submission to the college’s new song contest.
And the ’84 hits just keep on coming. Carrie
Bradley Neves has this to say on the joys of the
country life: “All’s well in the peaks of the Catskill
Park—although it’s been a bizarre winter, with no
snow and warm(ish) weather for weeks. Just when
ominous mutterings were beginning about it possibly being our last winter ever, a refreshing round of
double-digit subzero temps set in, capturing the flow
of the top of our stream in chiseled marble, the way
it’s meant to be. My husband and I have been fulltime mountain/country folk for four years now, in
our small farm town at 2,000 feet (two working dairy
farms!). With NYC two-and-a-half hours away, we
don’t have to miss it. We juggle hats, jobs and social
and community whirls—the small towns and villages around here are finally growing and gathering
momentum, partly because of that proximity of the
city, as families, artists, entrepreneurs and super-cool
people of all kinds are escaping to the quiet, space
and affordability of the Catskills and the Hudson
Valley. Working from home, my husband Marc does
finance research and is our town assessor, and I am
still editing books (cookery, health, memoir, art and
architecture); writing; and writing and performing music, with a new record coming out, hopefully this summer. I also sit on the board of a really
fun regional writing program and continue my passion for organic gardening at home and in our community garden, which is surprisingly busy for a town
of 250, plying projects in everything from heirloom
grains to streamside stability. Lucy Corrigan and her
girls are frequent visitors here, when Lucy has a break
from her job costume designing for a hot new series
(Secretary’s note: IMDB suggests this hot new series
is The Path). In spite of my mountain view, I am missing the purple Berkshires! Will head there this spring
to see the new Clark et alia, and will watch for familiar faces. Best wishes to you all.”
Kathy Spraitz shared a heartwarming (but limbfreezing) story about different alums supporting the
Wounded Warrior Project that’s a bit too long to
share and that isn’t really focused on those hailing
from 1984, but it’s worth mentioning here that our
former Student Council President Tom Paper was
one of many members of his clan jumping into a frozen Minnesota lake for a good cause. Ex-military
pilot Sean Crotty was part of this conversation as well
and commented, “As I tell my son all the time, I wish
history was written by those keeping us out of conflicts as well as those who fight our conflicts—but
these folks are and always will be true heroes to me.
I was the first visitor to the American Cemetery on
Jan. 1, 2000—I signed the number one line in that
guest book, and the curator there said: ‘It will take
1,000 years for someone to be first again.’ Walking
such places has always made me cry—thinking about
all the loss—but also all the sacrifice so that we all
can live the way we do, even as screwed up as the
world and the country sometimes seems. I’m still very
proud to be an American.”
Vicente (Ted) Leon claimed to have nothing new
to report for class notes and then proceeded to make
a little news by expressing his plans to propose a
Winter Study class for January 2017 (something
your co-secretary has been doing for 10 years now).
Ted’s provisional course title is Existentialism and
the Endurance Athlete, and it sounds like it will be
really popular. If anyone else likes the idea of sharing what they know with the current student body
for a few weeks some upcoming January, shoot me an
email, and I’ll explain how to get started. Lyn Marshall chimed in to announce that she’s
scheduled to be ordained on May 22 by the Unitarian
Universalist Church of Concord, N.H., where she
serves as the assistant minister. She’s hoping to
see Raf Francis ’83 and his wife Nancy, and perhaps
Nancy’s brother Dan Aramini, in the pews. Jack McGonigal, one of our more reliable correspondents of late, wrote in to talk about all the ’84s
he saw on campus in the fall: “Dorothy Briggs and
I saw lots of people at Homecoming. Way too
many to mention, but I have to mention Suzy
Akin (and Todd), Callie Sullivan (and Hugh), John
McNicholas and Denise, Kevin Waggett ’83 and his
wife Janet, Tom Parker ’68, my Kellogg B-School
buddy Scott Berman ’88, whom I hadn’t seen in
years, and former Eph QB Dan Dwyer ’92, among
MANY others. Jack’s son was playing that day, for
that safety school near Northampton, and to give
him proper credit played really well—making AllNESCAC at two positions. I think we can agree to
chalk that up to the young man’s Eph heritage rather
than his current Amherst training.” Jack also connected with Bill Sperry, Deb Claypoole Anderson
and John McCarthy in NYC, sadly at the wake for
John’s father, who passed after a long illness. Your
humble scribe sends all our best wishes out to John
on his family’s loss.
Phil Burr has not been a regular correspondent, but
we’re happy to be able to report that he is still with
us, despite the best efforts of the West Nile virus that
had him in ICU for eight days last summer. Many of
us have encountered one health scare or another by
now, and it’s always good to add one more to the win
column. (Secretary’s note: This seems the best place
to share the sad news that we have one in the loss
column as well—Ned Buttner lost his battle with leukemia in October.) Phil spent most of his message,
however, extolling the virtues of a fifth-grade class in
an impoverished suburb of Phoenix, with whom he
“spent 90 amazing minutes last month.”
He continues: “These students dream of being the
first in their families to attend college. As part of a
system-wide initiative, they researched many colleges before voting to “adopt” Williams as the school
about which they wanted to learn more. Each of
the students wrote a letter to Williams. Associate
Dean Rosanna Reyes coordinated an amazing
response from Williams through which each fifthgrader received a return letter from a Williams
student who is the first in their family to attend college. This set the stage for a day when I entered the
classroom to see every inch of available wall space
adorned with posters created by the students saying
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how much they loved Williams College. Many posters also included astonishingly anatomically accurate
drawings of our purple cow.
“Cyndy and I chose not to have children, so
it’s been a long time since I have seen the world
through the eyes of a fifth-grader: their hopes,
their dreams and their optimism. There were two
moments when I struggled to keep my composure.
The first was when an adorable soft-spoken girl
asked me if Williams had PE. I told her she would
have to take PE in order to graduate and she would
have to pass a swim test within her first few days on
campus. The students all gasped, as most don’t know
how to swim. They visibly relaxed when I told them
that Williams would teach them how to swim and
give PE credits as they learned.
“The second was when a boy asked me if Williams
had lots of grass and if he would be allowed to sit on
it with his friends. I realized his question stemmed
from the fact that their campus is asphalt and dirt,
which is parched earth 98 percent of the year and
mud following an infrequent Arizona rain.
“It was a rewarding yet heartbreaking experience.
Rewarding to meet these students and their teacher;
heartbreaking, in that reality suggests that few of
them actually have a shot. It’s a relationship I plan to
continue, and it would be one of the best moments of
my life if one of them were offered a place in a class
at Williams or a peer institution.
“I don’t think that one who has drifted apart from
his class can anticipate the trigger that leads to a
reconnection. I have been the head of the alumni
association in Phoenix for at least 10 years, so I’ve
been connected to the college as a whole but not
really to my class. In the past few weeks, however,
I’ve connected with Suzy Akin, Dan Aramini and several others, and every time I hit the ‘send’ button to
an email I anxiously check my phone to see if I’ve
received a response.”
Matt Widman shares, “Our second life at Williams
went incredibly fast as we enjoyed the graduation of our daughter Mariah Widman ’15 in the
Science Quad last June. She had a wonderful experience at Williams and introduced us to great
new class of Ephs, including friends like Sophia
Rosenfeld ’15, David Rosenfeld and Emily
Young’s daughter. It was great to reconnect to
David and Emily and many other old classmates!
We’re very grateful to John Skavlem, who was so
kind in offering to keep a watchful eye—and to Joel
Hellman’s amazing wife Sharon, who was such a
wonderful help to Mariah and continues to be there
for so many ’84 kids. The multiple semesters helping lug endless stuff up Greylock staircases only
enhanced the sensation of being able to experience
the Purple Valley for a second four years. Such a very
special place.”
Your loyal scribe (co-secretary Robert Kent),
couldn’t agree more and spent a wonderful January
ensconced on campus teaching Waging Peace: Aikido
as a Tool for Personal & Political Reconciliation
to a class of 20 kids in Currier Ballroom and one
of the classrooms adjacent to the dining hall in
Paresky. “Had the chance while there to visit repeatedly with Tim Sedlock and Jackie, who live in nearby
Pownal, Vt., where they’re in the midst of building a
new pottery studio. I also connected again with Suzy
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Akin and her two boys Ian Mook ’18 and Conor Mook
’16, Andrew Laitman, Susan Wells, Dan Aramini,
Helen Mango ’85 and Raf Francis ’83. As I type this,
I’m in California preparing to move lots of stuff I’ve
had in storage to Williamstown—in part because I’m
not expecting to live in CA again, in part because it’ll
be so much cheaper to store stuff away from the San
Francisco Bay area, and in part because it continues
to be my plan to live in Williamstown full time as
soon as my life allows.” We should all be so lucky…
1985
Anne T. Melvin, 16 Ox Bow Road, Wellesley, MA 02481;
Well, I’m no idiot. Winter Storm Jonas/
Snowmaggedon was screaming toward NYC in late
January, and fortunately Boston, where I live, was only
slated to get a two-inch dusting. I was going to be
safe and sound. So what did I do? I headed straight
into the belly of the beast, taking the Acela from
Boston to Penn Station (with Alexis “Yoshi” Belash
’81). There were two massive Eph events that weekend in the Big City, and I wasn’t about to miss out.
The event siren-calling some 80 Ephs into the
eye of the storm was the Steve Troyer ’86-organized Williams Alumni Beer Practice. As part of
the Teach It Foward campaign, Williams issued a
Purple with Purpose challenge to record songs to
add to the Williams songbook. Since it’s a competition, and since we ruggers sang as an integral part
of the sport, sometimes for three to four hours with
the opposing players after a match, how could we
ignore this challenge?
Under the tutelage of former chiefs of protocol
(including your own secretary), we gathered in the
early evening at an Irish watering spot in the heart of
NYC to professionally record several tunes, some of
which had been altered for public consumption. And
a mighty bunch we were: Ginger Greene Williams
hailed from California; from Boston, joining Yoshi
and me, were Mark Evans, Meg Holliday Kelly,
Brad Bissell ’86, Nora Harrington ’88, Ann Marie
(“AM”) Planky ’87 and Haley Clifford Adams ’87.
Rounding out the ’85 contingent were Ken Deveaux,
Jeff Calkins, John (“JC”) Conlon, Marty Davey and
Sunica Tyler Edelstein. The “most Herculean effort
to fly into a hurricane” award goes to Allison (“Big
Al”) Mertens, our correspondent in Greenville, S.C.,
whose flight was canceled the night before. While
drowning her sorrows in brownies and beer, she came
up with the idea to outrun the storm by getting up
the next day, driving five hours south of Greenville to
Myrtle Beach where flights were still operating, to
catch a flight north to NYC. 1986 had a strong showing as well: Diana Roberto (“Slink”) Donahoe ’86
amazingly made it from DC, which was practically in
a state of siege. Ed O’Toole ’86 nipped over from his
NYC offices, Tim Faselt ’86 and Jeff Kass ’86 showed,
joined by Ken (“Clouder”) McCloud ’86 from
Missouri. Tom Goodspeed ’86 joined Paul Hogan ’86
and Craige Blackmore ’86 as our representatives from
the Left Coast.
The crowd was rounded out by Katie Gerber
Kennedy ’88, Jody Abzug ’88 and JA Rich Weber ’83
as well as too many others to mention here. Songs
were sung, recordings were recorded, no one paid
1984– 85
any attention to directions, and we all had a fabulous time. By the time the “early crew” left at 11 p.m.,
the snow was already two inches deep and falling
fast. We awoke to a blizzard and yet another fantastic Eph event Saturday night at the chic downtown Union Square Hyatt, the celebration of Sunny
Tyler Edelstein’s wedding to Rick “Maverick” Tuttle.
Mrs. Tuttlestein officially married in Hawaii in
October, but Rebecca Haile ’86 and her husband
Jean Manas decided she needed a stateside event as
well, preferably in the middle of a winter storm, to
toast TyleRicka’s health and many name changes
(some legal, mostly made up for the weekend, and
many repeated here). Joining much of the crew from
the previous night were James Reardon ’86, Ben
Williams and Sara Suchman ’86. Celebrations went
well into the evening at the hotel bar. At 1 a.m., when
the harried bar staff wanted to leave to slog through
28 inches of snow to their respective homes, they signaled their intention by turning up the houselights.
Williams folk looked around in puzzled surprise,
shrugged their respective shoulders and went back to
their conversations and drinks. We weren’t about to
get kicked out of our home away from home!
Many other Ephs have been in contact with me,
without the excuse of a winter storm or a rugby
get-together to do it. Maria (Mary) Bousvaros
Tollefson had a contemplative musing to pass along
to the class: “How did I get here, 30 years out from
Williams? A 21-year-old pre-med daughter in her
senior year at GW University, 18-year-old freshman
son at Syracuse’s Newhouse school, 32-year-old stepdaughter about to have her first kid? At work, the
eldest on my HR team were born around the time
I was graduating Williams. I have a Visible Means
photo in my office, and as I co-lead my company’s
rock band performance every year, it reminds me of
a younger (and thinner) time when that group of
musical colleagues (three Gregs, a Gary and a Mary)
dominated my extracurricular interests. I feel really
lucky to still be married to the person I fell in love
with right after Williams and to have a good career
and deep friendships. Like anyone else, I have hopes
for the future: to have enough money to retire comfortably, to witness greater understanding among
humanity, and to see a third Sex and the City movie—
that is, only if Jenny Bicks writes it! Still, I try to
experience gratitude for what I have every day, and I
feel as loyal and appreciative of Williams as ever.”
My Willams E freshman roommate, Susan Reifer
Ryan, who I don’t believe has ever written in, felt
the pull of my new job in this space and obliged me
with an update: “My husband Sandy Ryan and I live
in Western Canada, a stone’s throw from Whistler.
We are child free but dog-obsessed. We both work a
lot but also play outdoors a lot (mainly on bikes and
skis). While we love our mountain life, we also love
the urbanities of Vancouver, where we spend heaps
of time. Sandy is the president and co-founder of a
steel fabrication company. Since the early 1990s, I
have spent my career working as a writer (mainly for
large-circulation US magazines) and editor (for all
manner of nonfiction content). From 2002 to mid2014, much of my remaining energy was spent back
home in LA, managing care and advocacy for a parent with aggressive atypical Parkinson’s. I survived
that harrowing marathon thanks to the many tools
I acquired via decades of meditation and yoga, both
of which I started practicing shortly after graduating
from Williams. (In other words, in dramatic contrast
with my Williams self, I am a grounded, relatively
calm and ridiculously healthy grown-up!) Since my
mother passed last May, I have been re-examining
my career (with the help, among other things, of a
very cool MOOC from Harvard) and looking at
next chapters. Stay tuned for more on that. In terms
of Williams pals, the person I see and speak to most
often is Donald Freeman ’84. He has proven to be
one of my life’s most delightful, true-blue friends.
Lots of memorable times together, on skis and off.
I also am in regular contact with Marcy Rubinger
Dolan, who lives near Lake Tahoe in California with
her three kids. Marcy and I love skiing together (and
solving life’s challenges on the lift rides in between)
about a thousand times more than we did back in our
good old/bad old days on the Williams ski team.
Sara Griffiths Connell ’84, who was my good friend
in high school before we both went to Williams,
visited me in British Columbia last year, which was
a huge treat. I’ve also had the good fortune to sneak
in some dinners over the past several years with
Colorado-based artist Isa Catto Shaw ’86, and once
in a blue moon I see Hilary Thomas, who lives in
Bellingham, Wash., where she works as a prosecutor. Wickie (Cathy Wick) and I talk a few times a
year (and get together on the rare occasion I make
it east or she and husband Robert McLean ’84 come
west)—and I follow various classmates’ antics on
Facebook. To the rest of you I say: Consider reaching out if you come to Whistler or Vancouver! It’s
always a delight to reconnect.”
Ben Olshin made radio contact with the Williams
world. It’s too bad he didn’t do it sooner, as he’s up
to some fascinating stuff. Despite repeatedly telling
me he “doesn’t have a real job or career,” he’s actually the director of the School of Design and professor of philosophy, history, philosophy of science and
technology and design at the University of the Arts
in Philadelphia. His areas of teaching cover a wide
range, including Western and Eastern philosophy, the
history and sociology of technology, cultural anthropology, physics, design history, fine arts and business.
I think it would be simpler to list what he doesn’t
teach. Ben reports that since Williams, he’s basically
lived all the places I’d like to visit—Sri Lanka, the
U.K., Canada, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan,
Turkey, Ghana, Indonesia and Hawaii. His book on
the history of cartography in relation to the voyages
of Marco Polo was published in 2014. Ben reports
marrying a Taiwanese woman before coming home
to Philadelphia, and together they have a daughter.
Despite this wide-ranging and exotic history, I was
surprised to read that, “While quite impecunious and
without any real ‘career,’ I guess I’ve had some good
adventures. Despite this exoticism, perhaps our favorite place is still Cape May, N.J., where I meet up with
Jim Foley ’84.”
Notes from all over: Jeff Louis writes, “Enjoying
my new role as chairman of the Gannett Co. board
of directors and traveling frequently from home in
London to the States. Four children in four schools
on both sides of the Atlantic keep us on our toes.
Hoping one or more might return to the Purple
Valley.” Greg Taylor reports that his novel Lusitania
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CLASS NOTES
R.E.X was awarded the M.M. Bennetts Award for
Historical Fiction. A little bird (Facebook) told me
Jim Brawner took first place in the Critz Tybee Run
Fest Half Marathon in early February.
Hamilton Humes reports, “I will join other lucky
Eph parents as my son Kees (pronounced ‘case’)
Humes joins the Class of 2020, succeeding his cousin
Willem Humes ’16 in WUFO.” Debbie (Wickenden)
Crisfield moved to Philadelphia right before reunion
last year and quickly teamed up with fellow bridge
player Susan Morse ’80 to win a trophy event at the
Bermuda Bridge Tournament. Brooks Hoffman is leaving his position as VP
for finance at LifeSpan after a great 12-year run
and is looking for his next opportunity. Matthew
Janger married Meaghan Dalton back in the fall of
2015, and they live with Matthew’s three kids in
Arlington, Mass., where he is a high school principal. Matthew manages to see Peter Van Walsum
and Katrina Pugh ’84 from time to time, but he’s
embarrassed at how little he sees of his neighbor
Michele Barry ’87. Kimerer LaMothe was invited by
Williams’ dance department to give a public lecture and movement workshop on her latest book
Why We Dance (2015). She lectured in the very
same room in Griffin where she began her work
freshman year in Religion 101. Jeff Speck gave the
Whitney Stoddard Memorial Lecture the week
before, so it was a big month in Williamstown for
’85ers. Lastly, Katherine Bell hosted her second
annual Experiential Dream Retreat in Santa Cruz
in January with a gathering of 18 people from all
over the country. She works with people through
one-on-one sessions and dream groups using
dream work to unravel reactions, improve relationships and develop feelings of inner support. Our
classmates are up to fascinating things—keep ’em
coming at 1985secretary@williams.edu.
1986
REUNION JUNE 9-12
James Peter Conlan, Condominio San Mateo Plaza
PH-3, 1626 San Mateo St., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00912;
Debbie Semel Goldenring writes that she “has no
good ’86 news to report,” beyond the fact that she
is “hoping to get to Williamstown with Ellenore
Knight Baker, Kathy Kirmayer, Martha Nikitas
Stone, Madeline Hughes Hiakala, Colleen Murphy
Columbo and M’el Mahoney Bissell to celebrate our
30th in June [and] to catch up with all our ’86 peeps,”
which to these ears sounds like good ’86 news indeed.
In terms of other news, Debbie believes that Amherst
College, having abandoned its mascot, the Lord Jeff,
is considering for its new mascot the purple squirrel.
Inasmuch as “purple squirrel” is presently a term for
an ideal job candidate whose perfect education allows
him or her to step into the job with no training,
Williams alumni can understand Amherst’s hesitation in adopting this mascot, what with laws against
false advertising being increasingly enforced against
claims made by institutions of higher learning and
the longstanding superiority of the Williams brand.
Owing to the superior training that Williams offers
its undergraduates in dealing with winter weather,
the arrival of Snowmaggeddon in late January 2016
could not stop the Williams Rugby Alumni Songfest
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
from being held in NYC as scheduled. The event was
attended by dozens of ruggers from as early as the
Class of ’81 to as recent as the Class of ’12. Former
Class of ’86 Fearless Leader Steve Troyer reports
that there was “a great turnout from ’86.” Ruggers
attending in full voice included Class VP Tim Faselt,
Craige Blackmore, Ed O’Toole, Paul Hogan, Diana
Roberto, Geoff Kass and Rebecca Haile. Where
logistics made attendance impossible, Ephs improvised solutions. Former Fearless Leader Mike Curtin,
Maureen McDonnell and Mary Petersen ’87, snowed
in in Northern Virginia, attended via video conference, safe and warm in a Northern Virginia pub.
Where some saw impediments, Ephs saw opportunity: The next night saw the ruggers gather together
with Brad Bissell, Sara Suchman and others from
adjoining classes in an evening stroll down the center of the closed and snowy streets of Manhattan to
the home of Rebecca Haile and her husband Jean.
This joyful event was attended by two of the finest categories of people in the world—those who are
members of the Class of ’86 and those who aspire
to be members of the Class of ’86. Those in attendance witnessed the irreverent Emcee Paul Hogan
make motions to induct Sunny Edelstein Tuttle ’85
and all other Williams alumni present that night into
the Class of ’86, and to make Rick Tuttle, Sunny’s
recently acquired groom and technically a Stanford
grad, into an honorary Eph. To what extent these
inductions have been or can be officially sanctioned
by the college without the words “soaring verticality” pronounced over the inductees and anointing
with Math 107-induced sweat is a question to be
answered by initiates with greater learning than my
own. Regardless of the official determination, a great
time was had by all. In relation to the singing, Steve
promises, “Members of our class can look forward
to hearing and supporting the PG-rated sounds of
the W and WWRFC Alumni choir in the upcoming Williams Songbook competition.” Googling
SoundCloud for WRFC can put alumni in touch
with these verses now.
“Still plugging away as a criminal defense lawyer in NYC,” where he sees Mark Young and Arthur
Xanthos regularly, Don Murray reports, “Life is good.”
Don’s older daughter, an undergraduate at University
College, Dublin, studying law and history, is spending a semester abroad at UC Davis, where she is having little difficulty acclimating to the weather after
two-and-a-half years of Irish damp. His younger
daughter, in the midst of the SAT quest and college
search, visited her older sister and likes UC Davis,
too. Don’s ambition is to have his daughter take over
his position in the firm so he can “walk the earth.”
In an unexpected step toward that end, Don found
himself invited to act opposite Zachary Quinto in an
NBC Miniseries called The Slap. “The broader truth,”
Don writes, “is that I was initially hired to consult on
a scene where Zachary Quinto is arraigned in what
was supposed to be Brooklyn Criminal Court. I was
there to lend some authenticity to the scene and help
them understand where people would stand and
make sure that what went down in court wasn’t too
outlandish. I actually caught a problem in terminology that they took seriously enough to correct, and
I was up on the set explaining to the actor playing
Zachary Quinto’s lawyer what he would say and how
1985– 87
he would be handing a particular document while
he was saying it. Zachary was standing right there
too. (That’s right, I was THIS close to Spock!) It was
great, great fun.”
Don’s correction of The Slap’s writers got him an
invitation to act as a lawyer in a courtroom scene.
On the set between takes, Don listened to Quinto
strumming away at his banjo and shot the breeze
with Peter Sarsgaard. The editing room whittled
down Don’s TV acting debut to six seconds (meaning, according to the Warhol Standard, that Don has
some 14 minutes and 54 seconds of world fame left).
We wish him luck in staking his claim!
Also thriving in NYC is Tom Geniesse. Tom credits his “super gray hair” to the approaching 10th anniversary of his entrepreneurial venture, Bottlerocket
Wine & Spirit. It goes without saying that in the
process of raising this hypothesis, Tom implicitly disavows that said superness (as opposed to the grayness) has anything to do with the undisputed facts
that his oldest, Joe, now a freshman at Saint Anne’s,
has grown more than he thought possible for a
human being to grow in a year, or that Dan Peris,
Andrea Smith and Isa Catto ’87 have visited. It also
goes without saying that Tom’s working hypothesis discredits the idea that the aforesaid grayness (as
opposed to the superness) has anything to do with
the fact that he doesn’t get to see nearly enough of
Declan Zimmermann (aka Eric Westerlund), despite
sharing NYC, or that Joanna Adler sightings, always
a treat, are not as frequent as they might be. In the
spirit of scientific inquiry, Williams folk have an open
invitation to test Tom’s working hypothesis and visit
him at his Manhattan location at 5 West 19th St.,
after which Tom can report back whether his hair
has undergone a change of color or has become even
more super, or both.
“Funny how coming to a new career at 50 seems
totally normal,” Robin Flagg writes, loving her new
life as a professor of health policy at UC Berkeley
School of Public Health. “My husband and I are
enjoying fixing up the house and planning trips
for my school vacations while tracking our four
20-something-year-olds across the world and life
experiences.” For Robin, the Williams connection
comes up often: “It’s a normal activity for me to put
one of the kids in touch with a longtime friend in a
faraway city.” Robin heard that her stepson was volunteering at DC Central Kitchen during his free
time: “I just happen to have a connection to the
CEO,” Robin told her son. Robin sees Shelly Ball
regularly, “and thanks to email and Facebook [I] have
been able to keep in touch with many other friends.”
Let us hope that this June we shall all see each
other in person for our 30th.
Many blessings.
1987
Jeff Heilman, 426 67th St., Fl. 2, Brooklyn, NY 11220;
Jill Shulman, 135 Red Gate Lane, Amherst, MA 01002;
In our 50th year, two new dads in our class experienced the ultimate rejuvenation. Mike Best reports
from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, “Charlie Best was
born in September. I saw him in the doctor’s hands
immediately upon his entering the world, and I
thought, ‘He is the greatest baby of all time!’ And
nothing since then has changed my opinion on the
matter. I ended Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration as counselor to the mayor and then came
with him to his company as his chief of staff. Last
year, I became chief operating officer of Bloomberg’s
Industry Verticals. I also co-host the Bloomberg Law
show on Bloomberg Radio. But have I mentioned my
son Charlie? A: He’s really great. B: It is nice, after all
this time, to have found someone who likes to hear
me sing. C: My mother has already helpfully provided Williams clothing for him.”
Jim Sadock is still too exhausted to write in just yet,
so Suzanne Biemiller reports a visit with Jim, wife
Anya and baby Oliver, who live in Stockholm, the
location of Anya’s job with Proctor & Gamble. “Jim
is learning Swedish to practice medicine there (he’s
an ER doctor) and, in the meantime, working in a
few East Coast hospital ERs on monthlong assignments.” Suzanne also “conned Betsy Andersen and
Mary (Petersen) Asel, among others, into a 50th
birthday trip with me. (Other Ephs were not convinced by my assertion that this would be a ‘trip of
a lifetime!’) We canoed down the Missinaibi and
Moose Rivers in northern Ontario for eight days,
and the river waters washed away all of our stress
lines, gray hair and worries. Magic! In September,
my husband threw a backyard clambake for me. The
Williams crowd included: Betsy Andersen, Mary
(Petersen) Asel, Alec Dawson and Anne Noel
Dawson, David Futterman, Marnie Stetson, Amy
Jeffress, Dave Prockop, Ted Ruger ’90 and Tom
Harrity ’84. So far, being 50 is OK. More than a few
times, my mind turned to our amazing class and the
Williams friends who have nurtured me for decades.
How lucky we all were to have found ourselves in
that Purple Valley more than 30 years ago!”
Liz Kellison reports from Seattle, “My partner Cris
and I continue to be amazed at the wild ride of parenthood of our 10-year-old twins Nathan and Lila.
We did a southern African trip in 2014 and a sailing
trip in Greece the summer of 2015. On tap for our
family travels (organized by Cris, a former adventure
travel guide. I mean, who gets jobs like this?): horsepacking into the Pasayten wilderness this coming
summer, Belize at spring break, Galapagos (2017).
I am about to finish my fourth year on the financial
services for the poor team at the Gates Foundation,
with a new specialty on the team, leading our work to
reach low-income women with digital financial services to bring them in greater numbers into the formal economy in our focus countries. Additionally, I
have gotten more into cycling. Commuting by bike
into work got me hooked, and I just got my first racing bike. Tom Fitzgibbon, watch out!”
Mary Keller says she loves connecting with Liz and
other Williams friends via Facebook. John Clayton
’85 is Mary’s nearby writing friend, and she’s published some work on the religion of TV investment
gurus, the sacred in indigenous studies, spirit possession and the spirit of climate change. Plus, “I won
some 5K senior Olympics races last year and will
enter again this year in a few weeks, using my 20-plus
decades of youth against the competition while I
can. Come on out and score some hardware—the
competition in northwest Wyoming is thin, and
the scenery is spectacular since we ski the road into
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Yellowstone National Park, which still has snow
this year. When I was first learning about climate
change from the environmental studies program at
Williams back in the mid-80s, I thought the grownups were going to tackle the issue.” She cites professor Tom Jorling and visiting speaker Amory Lovins
as adults who made her feel that “Surely we were in
good hands.”
Lisa Vig reports, “Amy Jeffress, Ashley Tidey,
Mary Hickman Sanders and I managed to meet up
for a lovely long weekend in Saint George, Utah, to
celebrate our birthdays. It took perseverance to find a
place we could all get to, and a weekend we could all
leave our families and jobs behind, but we did it! We
spent the weekend hiking, sharing stories and pictures, and even getting pedicures.” Amy Jeffress adds,
“Mary is based in San Antonio (working for a nonprofit that assists women fleeing abusive situations),
Ashley is in Santa Barbara (teaching high school),
Vig is in Seattle (practicing medicine—geriatric care),
and I’m in Washington—about as far apart as four
people could be in the continental US! So it was nice
to meet up at a beautiful place in the middle. Apart
from California turning Ashley into a blonde, we all
look exactly the same as we did in Morgan Midwest
in 1983, right?”
Sean “Desire” Denniston braved the East
Coast blizzard and attended a WRFC beer practice in Manhattan organized by Steve Troyer ’86.
Jeff Heilman, Haley Clifford, Dave Tager, Nora
Harrington, Jim Mannix, Ann Marie Plankey and
Mark Tompkins also represented our class. “Two song
versions were prepared: one for the Williams songbook, and one we actually used to sing.” Back home
in DC, Sean says, “I’ve been on detail from FAA to
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
that regulates trucks and buses (such as the old
Englander line of pleasant college memory). I’m
working in external affairs, helping out with government relations, communications and education. I
hope to be in Williamstown this June as my mentor,
Dan Coquillette ’66, is having his 50th reunion, and
it may be a way of closing the circle on 40 years of
friendship and convincing me to attend Williams!”
Jennifer Standish regularly flies from Santa Rosa
to Seattle to visit Sandra Wanstall-Winter. “The
woman who owned the farm in Williamstown where
we both lived even joined us last fall.” Jennifer works
part time doing accounting and business consulting, and Sandra’s work for her family’s businesses is
similar. Andre Noble also updates from California,
where he teaches public elementary school in LA
and enjoys hiking, photography and day trips to San
Francisco and the Sierras. He recounts, “The nice
thing about belonging to a ‘Class of ’ is that you can
commiserate turning 50 with a group from the good
old days. The highlight of my year was being propositioned (I think) and flashed (I know) by a couple of
young lady co-eds in San Diego while visiting John
Desnoyers. John is married, with a teenage son, living
in Del Mar with his wife Jennifer, and works as an
ER doctor in Hemet.”
In Geneva, Sarah Labaree Churchill reports that
she works at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and husband
Craig Churchill ’88 still works at the International
Labor Organization. “As jobs go, we can’t complain
(though I still wonder what I want to be when I grow
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up). We do our best to take full advantage of school
holidays and convenient location here in Geneva—to
fit in as much European travel with the crew before
son Peter Churchill ’20 jumps ship. … Our summer
routine keeps us in touch with US family and favorite spots (Maine and Georgia), but we don’t get to
reconnect enough with Eph friends. Hoping the new
status as a parent of a Williams first-year student next
fall may change that!”
Karin Muller, possibly our most adventurous classmate, shares, “My two-hour documentary series on
Egypt premieres nationwide soon. It reveals the
human side of Egypt’s revolution—men and women,
Christians and Muslims, standing together to create a better future for their children. During filming I was injured by a frightened mob that saw me
as a threat. We Americans are at risk of becoming
like that mob—terrified of the Muslim faith and the
Middle East. The way to overcome this is by getting to know each other on a personal level. And
then there are the wolves… The plan: to accompany five domestically raised wolves on a threemonth trek into the Canadian Rockies, teach them
to hunt and turn them into a functional pack. The
wolves will all be rescued from owners who raised
them poorly. After the trek, the pack will be placed
in a sanctuary and their story used to encourage the
development of animal corridors and other wildlife
initiatives in the US This will be filmed as a two-hour
series for international broadcast.” Aaron Morse reports on his 50th birthday celebration in NYC. Ned Patterson and wife Susan flew
into town from Minnesota, and Mike Byars came
from DC. Also in attendance was Curt Myers, whom
Aaron sees often through children and tennis. “At
the party’s end, Curt, Ned (and Susan) and I were
showing off our old dance moves to a great rendition
of ‘Sympathy for the Devil.’ I’ve also been in touch
with John Felkner and Josh Lebowitz. John lives outside of Tallahassee, Fla., and Josh is still a West Coast
dude, and a young one at that!”
Andy Felcher shares, “My 50th birthday present is
going down the Colorado River with my wife and
four good friends in May.” Jennifer Raymond pipes in
from the San Francisco area to optimistically add, “I
still have a few good weeks left in me.”
Katie Clarke and Bill Graham enjoyed a birthday
lunch. Katie and husband Patrick also visited Sheila
Coogan and daughter Katie in Houston, Texas, and
then jet-setted with them to their lake house in
Austin. Sheila wants other Ephs to join her running
the first half of the San Francisco Marathon July 31.
Back in the Purple Valley, Malcolm Smith writes, “I
bounced over to Albany to see Bruce Springsteen. It
reminded me of the epic voyage to the Carrier Dome
in Syracuse in winter 1985 with Jim Wolf, Ray O’Brien
’85, and Marty Garvey ’85. We saw Bruce in his Born
in the USA tour, and life has rarely been sweeter!
Funny, after 32 years the crowd in Albany was the
same age as the crowd in Syracuse: mine.”
Katrien (Trinky Sundt) Vance writes from Crozet,
Va., where her husband arranged a surprise party for
her 50th. “Especially lovely were notes sent in from
Liz Warren Black (exchange from Mt. Holyoke ’88)
and Darca Boom. Over the summer, Darca and I
spent a week together at the Omega Institute, doing
a circle singing workshop with Bobby McFerrin and
1987– 88
members of Voicestra, like we’d done seven years
ago. Even better than a week in Bobby’s presence
(he is like the wise old guru on the hill, where we’re
all thrilled just to touch the hem of his garment) is
a week in Darca’s. It was great to lean on each other
through our kids’ transitions and share being moms
in so much the same way we used to share being
roommates. And, of course, it’s still great to sing
together, all these years after Ephoria and Ephlats.”
John Norwood writes, “I’ve been in Iowa since
2002. The media has decided that Des Moines is now
considered ‘cool.’ It certainly wasn’t when I arrived.
For those thinking about moving to the Midwest,
while we don’t have mountains or oceans, the schools
are great. Cost of living is low. We have almost no
traffic. Our rush hour is a rush half-hour. I have a
seventh-grader and an 11th-grader, who is beginning to look at colleges. I took him to the Williams
Alumni Golf Tournament the last two years, which
he greatly enjoyed. After our first visit, he said he
didn’t like Williams. ‘Too far out there, Dad.’ Now
he’s beginning to warm to the idea—at least a little.
I’m thinking about what’s next professionally. Twelve
years of independent consulting, primarily in agbusiness and a couple of startups, has me itching
for some new direction—maybe a private equity
or venture capital fund with a team that has some
interest in making impact investments. Steve Case
’80 and his wife Jean are active in this area.”
Maura Henry Barbour reports, “When Suzanne
Biemiller learned that my daughter Maeve was at
UVA, she told me Dave Prockop’s daughter Molly
is there too. The class is more than 3,000 kids, but
Maeve told me that she had already met Molly, who
lives just down the hall. Maeve is also good friends
with Katie Anthony Miller’s daughter Caroline,
whom she first met at a Williams reunion. Because
of college-aged offspring, I’ve connected with Andrea
Stempel, Seth Lawry, Lynn Kaplinsky Brown, David
Greenburg ’88, Dave Futterman, Kelly Flynn Post,
Katie Clarke, Katie Anthony Miller, Lee Briggs
Couch, Missy Wilcox Debarge, Sarah Labaree
Churchill, Karen Adams Finley, Carolyn Trapness
Weiner and Helge Weiner. I also attended an Ephladen bat mitzvah with Kate Queeney ’92, Traci
Wolfe ’89 and my daughter Hannah Lebowitz, who
is beginning her own adventures in Williamstown
next fall. I also attended a 50th birthday party for
Judy Crown Craver with Jordan Hampton and Lee
Briggs Couch. Sometimes, if I’m very lucky, I catch a
glimpse of Liz Gardner cruising the aisles at Target.”
Chris Kirwain reports, “I’ve been wondering if I
failed my 50th birthday. I was supposed to do something epic, wasn’t I? I planned poorly. I did not:
Through-hike anything longer than 10 miles, write
the last sentence of my Great American Novel
while holed up in a hunting cabin with nothing but
my beard for company, enjoy a magical moment
with a famous person (though I was responsible
for half of a horrifically awkward conversation with
Harrison Ford in a Fort Worth hotel lobby…it pains
me to remember), cure anything, surf Mavericks,
summit Everest, purchase a wingsuit, attempt a
cleanse, finally complete my groundbreaking research
on linoleum. That said, I also did not: Get arrested,
break anything that cost more than $1,000, post a
cat video, buy a Corvette or accidentally fart out loud
in public. However, I am pleased to report that I did:
Dance like no one was watching (although, unfortunately, someone was watching. It was on YouTube
briefly) and get a colonoscopy (it was less of an ‘event’
than I expected).”
Fifty is “in tents.” Our classmates are just as amazing at 50 as we were at 18, when we met. I’ll close
with Suzanne Biemiller’s prescient musing, “I have a
feeling that the next five decades are going to be even
better than the first five, don’t you?”
1988
Peter Grose, 1 Hampshire Woods Court, Towson, MD
Our classmates do a wonderful job of connecting with each other. We have been celebrating 50th
birthdays, making career moves and visiting schools
with children.
A cast of ’88ers attended the Boston launch of the
Teach It Forward campaign in December at the JFK
Museum in South Boston. The night before the big
event, Lisa Tenerowicz had a wonderful dinner with
Carolyn O’Brien, Sue LaVigne Thomas and Tracy
Heilman. All four were at the launch and were joined
by Brooks Foehl, Cary Collins and Lewis Collins,
Lisa Buxbaum Burke and Dave Kane and his wife
Kay Kane ’89. Lisa was in LA for another campaign
launch and saw Brooks Foehl and Tracy Heilman
again, as well as Carrie Rheinfrank and Joey Horn ’87.
Vicki Fuqua celebrated Claire Hsiang’s 50th birthday in Brooklyn at a Korean karaoke place with Sally
Robertson Laroche and Katherine Wolfe. They had a
great time and decided 50 is the new black.
Don Aselton, Dave Crompton and Taylor Watts ’87
spent a weekend together at Dave’s place on Goat
Island, S.C., celebrating their 50th birthdays and
Don’s upcoming birthday. Just like many of us, Don
cannot believe where the time has gone.
Scott Berman checked out the new Log at
Homecoming and reported that it felt pretty much
the same as old times, just slightly nicer. Alison Foehl,
Brooks Foehl, Cary Collins, Lew Collins, Tim Bock,
Dave Greenberg, Lisa Tenerowicz, Scott Purdy, Peter
Grose and Catherine Eaton-Coakley were also there.
Separately, Scott ran into Britta Bjornlund in New
Orleans while Scott was on business. Britta was there
with her husband Tim and daughter Dasha to celebrate Tim’s 50th birthday. Scott had another great
time at an annual New Year’s Eve gathering on
Martha’s Vineyard, where he kicked off a year of 50th
birthdays by celebrating Alison Foehl’s. Other Ephs
there were Brooks Foehl, Cary Collins, Lew Collins,
Tim Bock, Chas Foehl ’87 and Rick Orluk ’87.
In January, Lisa Buxbaum Burke drove to NYC
with Nora Harrington, Haley Clifford Adams ’87 and
Ann Marie Plankey ’87 for a festive Alumni Rugby
Beer Practice. They were grateful to Jody Abzug for
hosting them overnight before they drove through
blizzard conditions to get home. They also connected
with Kate Gerber Kennedy, Jon Hollenberg, Sean
Cook and Tom Newhall along with many other alums
from other classes. In February, Lisa returned to the
home of Jody Abzug to celebrate Jody’s 50th birthday with many friends and family, including Karen
Adams Finlay ’87, Leslie Fernandes Keane ’87, Karen
Sudbay ’87, Lisa Buxbaum Burke, Rick Fearon, Jean
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Janson Fulkerson, Nora Harrington, Janet Mansfield,
Kim Rich Lupkin, Daniel Richmond ’89, Kristin
Moomaw Harder ’90 and Wendy Lipp ’90. Lisa also
ran into Seksom Suriyapa as they were boarding a
flight to Boston from San Francisco. Lisa was going
home after visiting her brother Evan Buxbaum ’91,
who lives in Northern CA, while Seksom was traveling to the Boston area for work. Lisa said that after
many years of considering a career change, she has
launched a small business, Step with Care, providing
customized recommendations and a range of services
to individuals transitioning to independent-living
communities, assisted-living communities or skillednursing facilities in the Greater Boston area.
Terri Williams-Weekes relocated from Qatar to the
Albany area for a new position at Albany Medical
Center. She is enjoying exploring the Hudson Valley
and reacquainting herself with southern Vermont.
She made a quick hop over to Williamstown on her
way back from a trip to Stowe.
Jocelyn Shadforth was in Maryland for a job interview and stayed with Linda Kidder Yarlott, where she
was joined by Susan Courtney and Hamid Faruqee.
Jocelyn had a girls-only brunch with Linda, Susan
and Vonessa Schultz that was only a little nicer than
Sunday brunch at Greylock or Dodd. She hoped to
get the job so the gatherings could become routine.
Nicole Melcher moved to Dover, Del., in 2014 for
her husband’s job, and they are close to the beaches.
Nicole met up with Sally Robertson Laroche last
July, when she was vacationing with family on a
Delaware beach. Nicole was on the same beach as
Britta Bjornlund but didn’t realize until afterward
from Facebook posts. Nicole still works for the China
office at the US Department of Commerce in DC,
but she mostly teleworks with reduced hours so she
can spend time with her toddler son.
After years in Moscow, where he was a correspondent, Steve Gutterman moved to Prague in 2014.
He is an editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Steve, Svetlana and their daughter Anna, a 10thgrader at the international school, are enjoying it a
lot. Their son Ivan graduated from the University
of Edinburgh last year and is in a two-year master’s program in international politics and security at
University College London. He’ll spend the second
year at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
Karen Olson left Russia in fall 2013 and grudgingly
moved back to Geneva from Moscow. In 2015, she
went back into the interpreting booth in Vienna to
work on talks regarding the war in Ukraine. She has
remained active in the Theatrical Perspectives program, where young people with disabilities attend
a summer camp at which professional playwrights
instruct them in the art of playwriting, and their plays
are then staged in prestigious Moscow theaters. She
also works with the Women’s Bridge, which brings
together Russian and international women active
in civil society so that they can exchange expertise and experience. During her years in Moscow,
Karen caught up with Steve Gutterman and Rob
Stubblebine. While doing some Russia-related
research, she came across a book by Mollie Cavender.
Chris Shorb saw Pavlos Yeroulanos, Kurt Oeler,
Dan Bulger, Mark Huffman, Sean Cook, Mike
Sullivan and Bill Ryan ’89 last May; however, the
occasion was a sad one, as they were at Austin Kelly’s
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memorial service. Chris saw Megan Hawgood when
she passed through town with her daughter, visiting
UCSB. His sons are in high school, with the oldest
getting ready to take the SATs. Chris remains with
Citrix/GoToMeeting and is transitioning to a role as
a business analyst.
Susan Courtney and Hamid Faruqee have been
applying to college again, at least vicariously, through
their daughter Serena. Their other child, Siraj, is
entering high school next fall. Hamid works in the
Western Hemisphere department of the IMF, where
he heads both the regional studies division and the
IMF team working on Paraguay. Susan is busy as
chair of the psychological and brain sciences department at Johns Hopkins.
Ben Schlosser saw a number of Ephs as his son
Brad looked at boarding schools. In the search Ben
ran into Scott Purdy and wife Becky Conklin Purdy
’87 at Loomis-Chaffee and Jon Deveaux ’87 at
Westminster School (CT). In the end, Brad decided
to attend Andover, where Sean Logan is dean of college counseling and Ben’s son’s academic adviser. Ben
was at Williams during freshman move-in day in the
fall and ran into Brooks Foehl and Alison Foehl, who
were moving in son Jake for freshman year. Ben also
ran into Scott Garfield, Kim (Hatch) Wright, Denny
Wright ’87 and Dave Greenberg on Spring Street.
Ben’s daughter Kerry is a high school sophomore and
is busy traveling with competition cheer activities.
Ben is still in North Carolina working as chief marketing officer for Richard Childress Racing.
Russ Werkman and his wife Sarah Loebs Werkman
are doing well. Their son Isaac wants to play D1 football and is committing to Columbia. On the other
generational side, Russ’ father Sidney Werkman ’48
moved to Spokane right after his 88th birthday. Russ
feels fortunate to be able to visit his father frequently.
Megan Hawgood lives peacefully on Bainbridge
Island near Seattle. She continues to wear varied
work hats that together leave her feeling productive
but also give her time to keep the family running.
Her daughter is in “wait and hear” mode for college acceptances. Her son is in his junior year at the
University of Arizona. On a European family vacation, Megan met up with Vicki Rummler in Paris for
dinner just after Vicki returned from the US, where
she’d recorded an album. Megan then went to southern Spain to meet her mother and stepfather, Harry
Kangis ’72, and her brother and his family.
Mary Taylor Miller at the Elkhorn Ranch has not
seen Williams pals in a while but loves keeping in
touch with a group of friends via email. Her kids are
in college, which brings back her own memories. She
is looking forward to a visit from one of her favorite
professors, Bill Moomaw ’59, who will be at the guest
ranch with his family.
Brian Watson and his husband Hiro are settling
into a new home just outside of Seattle and enjoying
new home ownership. Brian says work at Nintendo is
busy but good.
Catherine Eaton-Coakley had a nice lunch with
Tim Hamilton and Katie Chatas in NYC.
Ashok Ashta spoke to Ajit Menon after the
December floods in Chennai (South India). He survived them well, being on a higher floor.
Christine (Boddicker) Roach said many in Buffalo
were disappointed by light snow this year. She was
1988– 89
hoping to see many former teammates at an ’88
women’s lax team reunion in the spring.
Gerry Kirschner wrote from outside of DC, where
he and his wife had just adopted their second child,
Jade Ava Thatcher Kirschner. They enlisted John
Massaro ’89 and Patty Donnelly ’89 to watch Gerry’s
2-year-old son Tristan while they went to the hospital, met the birth mother and her family and were
united with Jade. Gerry said everyone is doing well.
John Canty and his wife Mary love living in
Chicago. John has two children, Barbara, 16, and
Jack, 13, who keep them quite busy. John has been
enjoying following his daughter as a field hockey
goalie. Since 2007 John has managed a group of corporate bankers at Northern Trust responsible for
building new clients in the Southeastern US. John
hears from Doug Phillips on the upcoming election. According to John, Doug and his family continue to love Manhattan, and their son Pax is about
to hit preschool. John was picking up his daughter in
Williamstown from a Vermont bike trip and ran into
our acclaimed class author Sarah St. Antoine and her
beautiful kids. He sees Carola (Poggenburg) Tanna
’90 on trips around Chicago and can report that she
has two daughters at Williams. Some tough experiences over recent years with his aging parents vividly
reinforce the fleeting and precious quality of time.
Kathryn V. White’s collage, “The Joyful Workings of
the Faithfully Busy Mind,” has been juried into an art
exhibit at the Washington State Convention Center.
In addition, 13 pieces of her art, plus her book,
Rumble Tumble Joy: A Journey for Healing, Inspiration
and Wholeness, are on display at the University of
Washington Tower.
Pamela Regan is a professor of psychology at Cal
State LA and finished up her sabbatical project, revising one of her books, The Mating Game: A Primer on
Love, Sex and Marriage. She wrote that although it’s
designed for a student audience, it covers things that
just about everyone is interested in learning about
(and experiencing!)—love, sex, romance and all that
other “good stuff.”
Orion Howard had plans to open a 60-seat industrial taproom at Bright Ideas Brewery on the MASS
MoCA campus in North Adams this year. Orion
gave a talk about the brewery and other development in the Williamstown-North Adams corridor
at Slumbrew in Sommerville and had a great alum
turnout, including Scott Garfield.
Jim Woodruff continues as dean of students at the
University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine.
Each year he welcomes a few Ephs into the medical school, where there is a nice “little three” community. Jim continues to practice general medicine
on the South Side of Chicago and planned to return
to Williamstown in April to participate in the Bolin
legacy celebration on campus.
Stephen Kargere and Karen (Costenbader)
Kargere ’89 were in Virginia to visit with grandparents and had dinner with Nat McCormick and his
family. Nat seems to be doing great as a bigwig at
the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
At a basketball game closer to home in Lexington,
Mass., Stephen bumped into Ann Munchmeyer and
Scott Healy. Stephen and Karen live in Belmont with
their children—two in ninth grade and one in seventh. Karen continues her work in rheumatology
at the Brigham, and Stephen continues to work at
Harvard but in a new capacity as director of the office
of postdoctoral affairs in the Faculty of Arts and
Sciences. Stephen plays tennis with Hoyt Luddington.
Stephen bumps into his former teammate Drew
Sawyer ’89, who also lives in Belmont.
Mark Meyer is looking for volunteers to help him
engage in small-scale community work in a mountain
community in Honduras.
Brian Kornfield’s son is working in Reston, Va., as
an analyst for a computer software company. Brian
and his wife are now foster parents to a 17-year-old
boy from El Salvador. They have been helping their
foster son with high school adjustment. Brian’s beer
league hockey team won its division title. He is also
playing pick-up soccer. Brian had fun attending a
Williams hockey game in Westchester with his foster
son and some friends all outfitted in Williams garb.
Dave Kane taught a class at Middlebury in the
spring: Quantitative Finance. He will be an actual
faculty member for at least six months. Dave ran into
Elyse Rosenblum in Newton, Mass. It turns out that
she has lived in the house next to his Sunday pick-up
soccer game for more than a decade, but somehow it
took until now to run into each other.
Col. Paul Danielson is deployed in the mountains of Afghanistan with the 3rd Group/US Special
Forces. He said it is beautiful countryside, but not
much has changed in many of these valleys since
Alexander the Great’s times. He is looking forwarded
to getting home to warmth, libations and the ocean.
He thanks Stew Menking’s Adopt-an-Eph program
for letters and packages from the wonderful Williams
alumni community.
The Financial Times honored Susan MacCormac, a
partner at Morrison & Foerster, as most innovative
individual North American lawyer for her work
creating alternative company forms that allowed
organizations to widen their purpose beyond maximizing shareholder return so that they can pursue
environmental and sustainability goals.
Due to space limitations, I had to leave out many
interesting details because you responded overwhelmingly to the request for news. Thanks to all of
the contributors. Take care, everyone.
1989
Leslie Jeffs Senke, 284 Partridge Run, Mountainside, NJ
First and foremost, mad props to Will Dudley, who
has been elected the 27th president of Washington
and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Will, who
has been serving as Williams’ provost since 2011,
will begin his duties as president on Jan. 1, 2017,
and I hope to score an invitation to his new (and
Robert E. Lee’s former) home soon thereafter.
Congratulations, Will. They are lucky to have you!
Also in the limelight is Sheri Pym, whose ruling
as federal magistrate judge in California ordered
Apple to help the FBI hack into an encrypted
iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino
shooters. As I write this column, the story is all over
the media and generating quite a bit of controversy.
Regardless of which side you are on in this particular case, I think we can all commend Sheri on her
accomplishments in the legal world, and I can only
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hope she will write in with news of a more personal
nature soon!
Hoping to join Matt McQueen in the political
arena is Diana Hird, who is running for Congress in
New York’s District 18 (Hudson Valley) as a progressive Democrat. We can all be proud of Matt,
Diana and any other ’89ers running for or occupying elected office.
Julie Barbo is thrilled that her son Will Howie has
been admitted early decision to Williams. She adds
that she is “pretty excited about the excuse to visit
the Purple Valley. Next year, however, I’ll be flying
in from Reykjavik, not Seattle. Now that our ‘shared’
children will all be off to college, Mark and I are taking our youngest to spend his sixth-grade year in
Iceland. We’ll be living downtown starting July 1 and
would love to meet friends passing through for a beer
or a bite! Since I wasn’t able to make it to reunion, I
hope a few of you also have kids in the Class of 2020
so we can reconnect. Go, Ephs!”
Bill Tulloch, who has visited all 50 United States
(are you reading, Todd Pelkey?), visited London for
an early-December getaway. Writes Bill, “I did all the
touristy things—even a tour of Cambridge University
by a friend who’s a lecturer in maths there. While
walking through Hyde Park on my first day, wearing the Williams windbreaker I got during reunion, a
British passerby called out ‘Go Huskies!’ and it took
me another quarter of a mile to realize he was talking
to me. I guess our ‘W’ and the U-Dub are very similar, and clearly the guy had not gone to Oxford. No
Eph sightings, sadly.” Bill adds that he is letting his
hair go natural in celebration of his 49th birthday and
wonders if anyone will think he’s Anderson Cooper.
We’ll let you know at the 30th reunion, Bill. Any
other gray-embracers out there?
Nancy Titus Johnson and her family continue to
explore Asia from their base in Dongguan, China,
enjoying a trip to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap,
Cambodia, over their winter break. “We spent three
days exploring the temples and hiking with our four
kids (now ages 9, 12, 15 and 18). My son and I also
took a cooking class, and I bought a Cambodian
cookbook to explore new recipes. My oldest daughter will be attending the music business college at
Belmont University in Nashville in the fall of 2016. I
envy all my classmates who seem to be so connected
and visit each other. If anyone is going to be in the
Charlotte, N.C., area this summer and would like to
connect, please email.” Nancy adds that her family
was lucky enough to participate in the making of the
movie War Room in the summer of 2014, in which
they played extras in the church scene, which appears
close to the end of the movie. Look for Nancy’s name
in the credits!
Fellow globetrotter Paul Knudsen writes: “I just
got back from an amazing trip to Vietnam and
Cambodia—the first long trip in several years when
I was really able to disconnect and get off email.
Fascinating places. The trip was a great mix of adventure, sights, incredible food and relaxation. I think
I got three-and-a-half massages in two weeks (I’m
calling a foot massage a half ).” Adds Paul, “I keep
suggesting Williams to my nieces and nephews, but
it hasn’t happened yet. Several more to go, so fingers crossed!” Paul’s partner Tim has started a position at Berkeley Repertory Theater, so he is happily
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back in the world of free theater. “At my own job,”
concludes Paul, “it’s all about the 25th anniversary
of San Francisco CASA (Court Appointed Special
Advocates). I’m still loving the job but miss Heather
Martinez Zona.” (Heather used to work with SF
CASA as well.)
No sooner did Paul’s email arrive than Heather
Martinez Zona wrote in with news of her own.
Heather reconnected with Allison Buckner over
Christmas and was planning to see Leila Jere ’91,
who serves as president of the Society of Alumni, for
a trip to the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco.
“Otherwise,” adds Heather, “I’m boxing, and I love it.
Glued to the TV for NCAA basketball. That is all.”
Sending in news for the first time in what he thinks
might be a decade is Marc McDermott, who is living
the good life in the Purple Valley. “My kids Col, Lily
and Quinn are enjoying Mount Greylock Middle
School and Williamstown Elementary, where they
get to benefit from interaction with Williams student
volunteers. They also use the local youth center, which
is supported by the college, so we really appreciate
Williams!” Marc and Jeff Holley and their respective
families all ran the Burlington Marathon and Relay
together in May, and the McDermotts celebrated
New Year’s Day on Stone Hill with Scott Andrew,
Angela Shartrand ’91 and Alexi Kritas and their families. “Best of all,” adds Marc, “we saw all the ‘Swille
Doges,’ including Scott, Jeff, Alexi, Paul Brainard,
Mark Stepsis and John Dillon, on the Cape last summer when I got married to Jenny Crowell. Highlights
included Paul being so kind as to play trumpet with
my kids on piano during the processional and slumming with the band at the reception.”
Continuing to enjoy her work on the visiting committee of the Williams College Museum of Art is
Laura Whitman, who attended a party in honor of
WCMA director Tina Olsen in January, at which
they gave out temporary tattoos of the Louise
Bourgeois “Eyes” sculpture located in front of the
museum. If you, like me, would enjoy having one of
these tattoos, Laura is happy to send you one. Email
her at laura@lbwhitman.com. Laura adds, “One neat
thing [the museum] started this year is devoting one
whole gallery to works of art different classes are
studying. It’s called Object Lab, and anyone can go
look and see which courses are looking at what. It’s
fascinating to see the mix of artworks displayed, and
not all of the classes are from the art history department. Math and science classes are represented,
too!” Laura caught up with Audrey Chan at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art’s family party.
Jeff Etemad enjoyed a visit to Williamstown in
November while en route to an osteopathic conference in Pittsfield. Writes Jeff, “I spent the night at
the Williams Inn and the next morning met with
13 Williams students to talk about osteopathy. Jane
Cary, the pre-med advisor, was very welcoming; the
students were attentive and asked good questions.”
Congratulations are due to Shannon Penick Pryor,
who is wrapping up her term as president of the
Montgomery County (Maryland) Medical Society,
all while continuing her work at Georgetown
University Hospital/Medical Center practicing otolaryngology-head and neck surgery part-time.
Marcia Toll had a fun small-Williams-world
encounter in Denver in the fall: “There was a new
1989– 90
student in my son’s fourth-grade class, and the two of
them really hit it off. I texted with the boy’s parents
a number of times, as he became a regular fixture in
our front yard, playing with the neighborhood kids.
When I finally met this young man’s parents, I found
out that his dad is Mark Barr!”
Bridget Baird is teaching music at The Gordon
School in Rhode Island, where her sons are in third
and sixth grade, and volunteering with Meals on
Wheels. She adds, “My nephew Sam Stark ’19 is a
freshman at Williams, and his roommate’s mom is
Shelley Ball ’86, who directed Ephoria my freshman
year—very small world!”
Finally, winning the “no news is too small to print”
award is John Watkins, who was the first to reply to
my class-wide request for news with the following:
“No news other than a big Happy New Year!”
All of you “newsless” people out there, take note:
Just a one-sentence email is enough to get your name
in bold! I know I’m not alone in saying that it’s those
of you who rarely or never write in that I am most
eager to hear from! And, as always, my very sincere
thanks and appreciation to those of you who are loyal
contributors, as well as those of you who write in
more sporadically. You make my job easy, and I am
happy to hear from each and every one of you with
updates big, small and everything in between.
1990
Polly A. LeBarron, 7 Cone Ave., Unit A, P.O. Box 117,
Housatonic, MA 01236; David L. Pesikoff, 1811
North Boulevard, Houston, TX 77098; Hilary K. Steinman,
40 West 86th St., #17A, New York, NY 10024;
Submitted by Polly LeBarron: Hilary Klotz
Steinman deserted David and me during the final
compiling of these notes—something about a shoot
and Brazil—so we will consider ourselves lucky to
have sent anything at all. But thanks to everyone who
responded when we begged for news. We are able to
keep the momentum going.
Chris Gondek seems to have a knack for spotting
Ephs in a crowd! He writes: “Met Wendy Gradison
’75 on the flight out of Albany to DC leaving the
reunion. Wendy is one of the first women admitted to the college, and I joked with her about surviving the Williams version of the Mercury Program.
She offered to put Q and me up at her house if
we weren’t able to make our connection in DC—
there were delays getting out of Albany. We made
our connection but more importantly became
huge Wendy Gradison ’75 fans. In August, Q and I
drove California Highway 1 the week of my birthday. We ended in San Diego, and, that Saturday,
we were wandering around the North Park district. I was wearing a Williams T-shirt and that purple cow hat I bought right before I ran into David
Pesikoff and Wendy Lipp. Got asked by a random
woman if I attended Williams. That woman ended
up being Caron Martinez ’81. She was the first member of the Board of Trustees I have ever met. Told
her I might lobby her to get the port-a-potty back
for 2020. Met David Pesikoff and sons on return to
Portland. Went to Buenos Aires in September with
Q—she had an Interpol counterfeiting conference
there. Enjoyed it quite a bit; not a place I would have
gone without a reason. Spent our Saturday out learning polo. I owe Sunita Duggal and Ellen Waggett a
photo of said excursion. In seemingly constant electronic communication with Ed Wiggers, James
Small, Don Trudeau, Tim Twombly, Brett Babat, Chris
Jones and Sanand Menon via the Apple Messenger
app. Still working on getting CJ to run for High
Sheriff of Berkshire County.”
Excellence in teaching appears to be a thing for our
class, as two members recently received recognition.
Lisa Ellis won the Anne-Marie Jenks Excellence in
Teaching Award at Marlborough School. She says,
“It sounds like I was judged to be an excellent teacher,
but what it really means is that I was granted financial support for professional development and personal enrichment. The award is named after a French
teacher who taught at Marlborough for 45 years, and
preference is given to applicants who include foreign travel in their plans. I’m planning on a trip to
the Galapagos Islands in July, and I’m super-excited
about it. I’m really looking forward to walking in
Darwin’s footsteps and bringing the experience back
to my biology students.” Congratulations, Lisa, on
this well-deserved honor! Judy Fleischman Silver was
named the 2016 Ridgefield, Conn., Teacher of the
Year. Judy taught English for 11 years at Ridgefield
High School. She is the student life coordinator,
teaches a reading course called Individual Identity
and Social Justice, and coaches the field hockey team.
Judy attended the CT Teacher of the Year ceremony
in Hartford in November. She says, “It’s really nice
being recognized by my colleagues!” We’re thrilled to
be able to add our congratulations on your award!
Dave Bank is having a big year! He says, ”After
~25 years on Wall Street, the last 16 at RBC Capital
Markets as an equity research analyst covering the
media industry, I have left to try my hand at being
a media executive. For the past several years, especially, as the industry is undergoing such enormous
change, I have really wanted to become an ‘operator’ as opposed to spectator. So I joined CBS as a
senior VP in investor relations and am excited for
the next chapter in my professional career (my new
email address is David.Bank@CBS.com, if anybody
is looking for me).” A well-placed source tells us that
Dave was to go to Super Bowl 50 for CBS—the
first boondoggle? Dave adds, “Being co-head class
agent with Melissa Dresselhuys and Will Lafave has
allowed me to reconnect with both in a big way, and
I continue to bother David Pesikoff and Hilary Klotz
Steinman on an almost daily basis for guidance on
how to keep up the amazing operation they put
together for five years. …We are still on the Upper
East Side. We bought a place in East Hampton (after
being a guest at my in-laws’ for 20 years, it seemed
like it might be time for us to grow up), so I look forward to seeing any ’90ers out there.”
Susan Tompkins Watkins responded to our plea
for news with an inspiring update: “My husband
Dave and I are in Haiti for a two-month stay. We’ve
been working with a church near Les Cayes since
2010. For the past few years, we’ve come for a week
at a time, two or three times per year. This time, we
decided to stay longer in order to evaluate what it
would be like to split our time between Haiti and
the US. On this trip, we’re helping our partners
develop a business plan for a new school, setting the
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CLASS NOTES
groundwork for a ‘care and recovery’ ministry (starting with alcohol addiction) and launching an animal
husbandry/microfinance project in a nearby community. To top it off, we’re spending two months loving on the 54 kids our partner took in following the
devastating Haiti earthquake, teaching them English
while working on our Creole. Our two girls, Cali
and Nicole, are back in school in California. They
were here with us for Christmas and can’t wait until
they’re able to return to Haiti, hopefully this summer. To follow our adventures in Haiti, visit www.
WatkinsInHaiti.com.”
Jim Adams wrote with two substantial bits of
news: “First off, we added a son, Charlie, to the family. His sister Clementine is 2½, and Charlie is just
under a year. I’m tired sometimes. Second, I started a
new job as National Parks Conservation Association’s
Alaska regional director. NPCA is a nonprofit
dedicated to protecting and enhancing America’s
National Parks System, so visiting every one of
Alaska’s national parks, even the ones you can only
access by plane, is a great part of the job. If folks are
planning trips to Alaska—and I strongly recommend
it—I’m happy to help out with suggestions.”
Heide Andersen has enjoyed reconnecting with
classmates following reunion. She writes, “I had a terrific time and was reminded how much I appreciate the time and conversations that I have with other
Ephs. I have been lucky enough to enjoy some time
here in the Methow Valley during our fabulous winter Nordic skiing and eating cinnamon rolls at the
Mazama Store with Win Goodbody. I am hoping
that Kirsten Froburg Gleeson will make it out to ski
with us sometime in the near future. In the new age
of Facebook, it’s been fun staying in touch with so
many people from Williams, sharing with some of
them my career interests, horses, skiing or biking—
or family and friends. Once again, I welcome anyone
to come and enjoy this part of the country with their
family and look us up. We love sharing our mountains and rivers and community!”
We now know that there is at least one more child
of 1990 continuing the Williams tradition! Bob
Howie writes, “My 17-year-old son William found
out in December that he was accepted early decision
and will be attending Williams starting in the fall
of 2016! His mom (Julie Barbo ’89) and I are both
thrilled for Will. I’m very much looking forward to
dropping him off in late August to start his very own
Williams experience. Very strange to think that Will
is going to be in the Class of 2020—I think when I
got to Williams in 1986, there were still reports in
the alumni news from classes in the ’20s—the 1920s.” Ioannis Koutselas checked in from Greece, where
he is an assistant professor at the University of Patras,
focusing on molecular materials. Although Ioannis
wasn’t able to make it back to Williamstown for
reunion due to the economic crisis, he enjoyed seeing
familiar faces in the images of the event.
Whitney Wilson spent his fall and winter traipsing
up and down the East Coast as well as to Chicago
and Nashville, taking his younger son to hockey
games. There’s nothing quite like early-morning
games on a Sunday. Meanwhile, his older son is
taking an astronomy class at George Washington
University—Whitney has been working hard to get
him to wear the Williams sweatshirt from reunion.
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Neal Lindeman is proud to proclaim that he’s married to a cover girl: Liz Borowsky appeared on the
front of Woman Engineer. Neal and Liz were planning
a family vacation to Turkey and Greece in April.
Thank you also to the two classmates who sent
news but proclaimed it not fit for a family publication. If entertaining your secretaries was your goal—
as it should be—you succeeded.
1991
REUNION JUNE 9-12
25
th
Christine Choi, 85 1st Place, Apt. 2, Brooklyn,
NY 11231; Ramona Liberoff, 1 Eco Vale, London,
SE23 3DL, UK; Pete McEntegart, 1140 North LaSalle Drive,
Apt. 613, Chicago, IL, 60610; 1991secretary@williams.edu
Submitted by Ramona Liberoff: These notes are
late! Very late! Excuse: A new job, which has
me traveling regularly in East Africa and South
Asia—absorbing, challenging and not yet Wi-Fi
enabled. Also, I think the class’s collective energy
has been looking back to when we were students,
rather than reporting on current events. Of the 224
people on the Williams Class of 1991 Facebook
group, there have been lots of fantastic photographs, attempts to remember details like dorms
where we lived and where photos were taken
(before the memory prompt of location-based and
time-based digital encoded photography) and stories shared. There were some very touching memories of classmates lost, including Liz Greenberg,
who died in January, far too young.
I have just returned from Lahore and Islamabad
in Pakistan. There’s no replacement for visiting
somewhere to realize the limits of the mass media.
Although there are unquestionably challenges (air
pollution, inadequate provision of education, torturous regulations and gender inequities, to name a few),
there is just as prominently a tremendous entrepreneurialism, drive, hospitality and tenacity, favorable
demographics (nearly half the population is under
25), excellent educational institutions and a burgeoning startup and investor scene. Not to mention some
incredible food. (Afghan mutton kebabs anyone?)
So my plug is: Get out into the world, even to “difficult” places, and get to know it for yourself. You’ll see
everything differently—and be grateful for the things
we take for granted in a democracy with decent
infrastructure!
Many of us are gearing up for Reunion 2016,
just around the corner: June 9-12, in case you
haven’t already made plans to attend. I know at
least that around other graduation season and summer commitments, we’ll be seeing Gretchen (Piper)
Rosenbaum, Sophie Muir, Betsy Pennebaker, Adena
(Testa) Friedman and Seanna (Connor) Walter.
I’m delighted to report a lot of interest in a nonprofit event to share experiences of those working in
fields as varied as government service, international
nonprofits, volunteering and international development. The organizers have been kind enough to give
us a 1 to 2 p.m. slot on Saturday.
There wasn’t much news sent to me. (We may all be
waiting to exchange news in person.) I did get a note
from someone, written very late at night, who basically resented being chased for news and didn’t sound
very happy at the prospect of sharing how things
were going.
1990– 92
So I took another path: I’ve indulged my inner
social scientist and looked at our cohort. An appreciable number live abroad, like me, in places as diverse as
Korea, China, Russia, Central America and Western
Europe. Many of our colleagues have ended up in
teaching or academia, in fields representing every academic department. We have many doctors and surgeons. Some lawyers in private and public service. A
reasonable number in technology, particularly those
on the West Coast, though probably not as high a
percentage as today’s graduates. And of course some
working for the banner banking and consulting firms
whose names we’d likely recognize.
In a very quick and unscientific survey, of those
of the class who provided some information about
what they were doing, nearly a third were working
in medicine, almost the same proportion in health,
and about a fifth in law and similar numbers in business. About 10 percent are creative professionals:
actors, writers, entrepreneurs, visual artists, and at
least three people live in Williamstown. (Statistically
very unlikely, even if one person grew up there too!)
It would surprise you to look at the range of things
we’ve ended up doing, and, I hope, make you proud.
And about 8 percent of us who declare where we
are live outside the US! Looking forward to seeing
everyone for our big quarter-century reunion in June.
I can’t wait to hear your stories.
1992
Heidi Sandreuter, 130 West 79th St., #11A,
New York, NY 10024; 1992secretary@williams.edu
Thanks to everyone who kicked into sharing mode
when I made my plea for scoop. I appreciate all of
the great fodder sent from around the world—and
down I-95.
First-time contributor Phoenix Wang is happily settled in the Philadelphia area with her family after moving at least 17 times since 1992, living in
Boston, Shanghai, Taipei, New York and the SF Bay
Area. Phoenix swears she was not in a witness protection program (but she did not rule out the CIA)
and remains thankful that in every new city an Eph
served as her local guide. Phoenix is making the most
of her location and seeing Marisa (Brett) Fleegler,
Chip Becker and Simeon Stolzberg. Connecting with
Kerry Cho and then listening on the podcast Reply
All to Ethan Zuckerman confessing his guilt over having invented the pop-up ad. “All these conversations
made me nostalgic so I put on my tattered Williams
sweatshirt and for the first time hung up the
Williams calendar, which had found its way to me no
matter where I landed in the last 24 years!” If Phoenix lived in Missoula, John Adams would
have likely stepped up and shown her around the
’hood. John has lived in this magical corner of
Montana since 1996, studying through grad school,
working in conservation and with the local and federal government, “dadding” and starting a natural
resources management consultancy. Between winter
powder and summer mountains, John and his family—wife Laurie and two kids (ages 9 and 12) and
“the obligatory dog”—try to get out as much as possible and take advantage of cool things like floating on the wild and scenic Missouri. John sees Leigh
(Greenwood) Radlowski ’00 every spring in the city
Ultimate Frisbee league and about every five years
sees some ’92s, most recently Will Brockman and
Erika Brockman.
Hugh Howards also has put down some serious
roots as he approaches his 20th year as a math professor at Wake Forest University. “I got here in 1997
and expect them to drag me out of my office kicking and screaming sometime around 2097.” Hugh
was proud that he and his wife and two girls (ages 6
and 8) survived the great blizzard of 2016, where his
corner of North Carolina got 1.5 inches. It only took
seven days to reopen the public schools. “I think they
would have just canceled the rest of the school year if
we’d gotten the predicted 12 inches.”
Another sure-fire Phoenix guide would be Joan
(Malmud) Rocklin, who offers anyone coming
through the great Northwest to “feel free to stop in
for a visit!” Joan and her family reside in Eugene,
Ore., where they make regular trips to the mountains
to make use of this year’s great snowfall. The Rocklin
clan tried snowshoeing, though Joan’s 4-year-old
seemed to prefer rolling in the snow more than actually going anywhere. Next up: ski lessons. “If anyone wants some nighttime reading that is sure to put
them to sleep, try my second text book: An Advocate
Persuades.” I Googled Joan’s book and learned that
it explains how to develop and refine trial-level and
appellate arguments and then how to present those
arguments orally. I’m sure Joan makes that content
leap off the page.
Sara Martin is still adding a purple spark to
Darwin, Australia, where she and her husband Phil
are GPs, and their “tropical-born-and-bred boys”—
Samuel, 13, Matthew, 11, and Noah, 9—still don’t
know the pleasures of a snow day. When they spent
their “summer” vacation traveling through the US
and South America, they missed Snowmaggedon in
the Northeast by 48 hours. The clan spent Christmas
on Cape Cod in a balmy 50-something degrees and
then headed to the Galapagos Islands to meet up
with Sara’s mom for a fun family trip. “Phil and I
first met while we were backpacking around South
America 21 years ago. It was a little less romantic with grandma and three kids in tow, but we had
a fantastic time—wildlife viewing, snorkeling, hiking up volcanoes, whitewater rafting, ziplining, canyoning, hot springs, etc.” (Go, grandma!) Sara made
a point to say that she is planning on being at our
25th reunion, “So there should be no excuses from
anyone else about the distance involved in getting to
Williamstown!”
Count Audrey (Mautner) McDill in on the 25th
reunion plan. Audrey and her husband Mick are still
living in Fort Collins, Colo., with their two boys,
Jake, 8, and Shane, 6, where they love all the fun outdoor sports it has to offer. Audrey and Mick completed an annual hut trip in the 10th Mountain
Division hut system, where you head backcountry to
a rustic but beautiful cabin with no running water or
electricity. “I’ve remained close with Gregg Goumas
and have seen him regularly over the years, including in October, when he and his fiancée Ellyn were
in Colorado for Jeff Martin’s wedding. I also was
really missing some old Williams basketball friends
and reconnected with Julie (Walsh) Kaiser ’90 and
Meg (Brown) Good ’91. We picked right up, and it
was good for the soul! Two summers ago, my family
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joined Melissa (Osbourne) Groves ’93 and her family
(husband Jim, Kaitlin, 7, and Luke, 10) on Martha’s
Vineyard.” By the way, that was not a misprint above.
Weed got hitched. Congratulations, old roomie!
Kelly McCracken spent Thanksgiving with her
Dallas Williams crew: Ali (Henrion) Kaplinsky and
Shannon Morse and also Erin (Wagner) Kinard ’94.
“Ali actually just acquired a Portuguese water dog
puppy from my mom’s most recent litter, so our families are now related,” Kelly proudly shared. After filling up on turkey, Shannon and Kelly relived ARTH
101 (or was it ARTH 102?) and brought their kids
to a Jackson Pollock exhibit at the Dallas Museum of
Art, which was enjoyed by all. By the time these notes hit the press, Kelly and her
husband Mike Donofrio ’91 and their kids will have
left Vermont to spend three months in Italy and
Ireland. “We are going to study Italian, explore the
countries and even look into some ancestry. We have
a carpe diem impulse—for exploration and family
time before the kids are too engaged in their lives to
agree to do this sort of thing together.”
Remaining in Vermont is Andrew Everett, proud
member of the Flying Eggplants hockey team, who
cut back his role as director of Endeavour Middle
School to a half-time, co-director role. “Life with
two busy kids was going too fast, and this gives me
more time to focus on our family. It has been nice to
have some time to plan, organize and even exercise!”
Andrew has enjoyed a winter of youth hockey and
skiing in Vermont despite the lack of good snow. And
he is gearing up for another lacrosse season, moving
from coaching older boys to running the kindergarten program, with son Chance starting the game. Matt Swope is working for RW Baird on the highyield bond trading desk in “beautiful Roseland, N.J.”
Matt’s 14-year-old son is looking at private high
schools around Morristown, and his 11-year-old
daughter is playing basketball and softball, teams
Matt coaches but not for much longer. Matt spoke to
Peter Schneeberger during his extended stay in the
States before he headed back to India.
In celebrity news, we turn to Cherie (Macauley)
Weldon, who traveled to LA to see the Grammys.
While out west for the big music show, Cherie saw
Tom “Romeo” LaPorte. “We had a lovely time catching up on eight years of gossip, commiserating about
our respective Premier League teams, and watching our many comparably aged children become fast
friends.” I asked for a Grammy highlight, thinking
there might have been a bathroom run-in with Adele,
Bey or Lady Gaga in full Bowie, but, alas, Cherie had
but one celebrity run-in: “We met the little 12-yearold pianist Joey Alexander. He’s the sweetest thing!”
He did tame that Steinway.
Toby Miller shared that his “facility with accents
and, it seems, beards, still keeps my acting career
going,” for he had just finished a run playing
Professor Porter in the musical version of Disney’s
Tarzan at the White Plains Performing Arts Center.
And even though Toby missed a chance to connect
with Eric Kaye, he was glad to be in touch.
And who would’ve guessed that Madonna would
connect Chenoweth (Stites) Allen and Camille
Utterback? Apparently when Madonna played in
Chen’s hometown of Louisville this past winter, she
stayed in 21C, where Camille’s video artwork is on
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display. Chenoweth shared video of the Madonna
concert, and we agreed that Madge was a bit off-key
but carried it like the diva Chen impersonated during Halloween one fall in Williamstown, Gaultier
cone bra included. Chen regularly hangs out with
Elizabeth (Eberhart) Foley, “which moderates my
angst about raising three teenagers” and randomly
and delightfully ran into Mike Muriel at a farmers
market in Evanston. Now Chen is leading art therapy
groups at an urban boarding school for middle school
boys with single parents working to get a college
degree and with recently resettled refugees. “And this
summer I’m presenting at conferences in Orlando
and Baltimore on art therapy and spirituality and on
the ethics of community-based art for social justice.”
Amy Pokras clued me into the latest news on Don
Graves… We already know Don is busy advising
VP Joe Biden on domestic and economic policy, but
Don added a new role to his White House credential: coordinator of “Moonshot,” Biden’s major cancer research initiative. Handpicked by the VP himself,
Don is responsible for convincing cancer researchers and advocates to put aside self-interested politics
in favor of faster progress. “My job is not to be the
guy who cures any cancer. My job is to help understand where there are political minefields and remove
the barriers or deal with the politics.” Hopefully Don,
a cancer survivor himself, can achieve his goal of
building an infrastructure that lasts well beyond the
current administration. Now that’s something to support, no matter what side of the aisle you’re on.
Amy Pokras had a grand time at Lauren Golden’s
’93 wedding in NYC in June. Lauren, an endocrinologist concentrating in diabetes care, married Stan
Boskoff, who is a chocolatier (seriously, check out
Schwartz’s Chocolates; yum). Also joining the fun
were Dara Musher-Eisenman ’93, Marianna Vaidman
Stone ’93, Eric Stone ’93 and Holly Lowy Bernstein
’93 and Marisa Brett.
Another classmate hanging out with non-’92
Ephs is Awais Mughal, who shared that he has seen
Amachie Ackah ’95, Brian Eng ’95 and Rich Simon
’91 quite a bit over the last year. Awais was also
planning to have a beer with John Berkley ’95 and
Tommy Wang ’95. Hopefully he’ll connect with Jason
Phillips, who is also in the Bay Area, sometime soon.
Watch out for those car thieves. Scott Figgins of
said Bay Area had his third car stolen in seven years;
thank goodness he’s well insured. But Scott is wondering what ethnically diverse and politically progressive cities exist where a family can live comfortably on
a teacher’s salary. Suggestions welcome.
Michael Bruce may have had the busiest 18
months: He left Pfizer after 12 years and joined a
gene-editing biotech startup, moved into a new home
in Somerville, Mass., remarried a Wesleyan grad and
added a third child (Oliver, born Dec. 16, joining 8and 6-year-old siblings). “I try not to think about the
fact that I’ll be nearing—or past—retirement when
Oliver enters Williams. It’s been a very full time!”
Ivan Furman and Denise Martinez answered my
2016 New Year’s questions with gusto. Ivan shared
that one of his resolutions was to spend more time
with his boys “while they still want to spend time
with me.” The last Eph Ivan spoke to was Tom
Morgan ’90, whom he was trying to meet for skiing at Jiminy Peak. Denise’s resolution was to take
1992– 94
and pass her CPA exam. And she was most looking forward to triathlon season. “2015 was my first
year competing in triathlons, and I attempted my
first Half Iron Man in Los Cabos, Mexico. I received
a DNF after not making the swim cutoff. I’m looking forward to attempting the HIM again, but this
time in a lake instead of an ocean swim—hoping
that will give me a little better chance at making the
1:10 cutoff time.” The last Eph she spoke to was Abby
Dobson; we hope Abby had a great birthday.
Arielle (Kagan) Masters is looking forward to running the May trivia contest, which is Friday the 13th.
Having joined Dom Grillo ’89’s team (made up of
Ephs and non-Ephs), Arielle finally felt the exhilaration of being trivia champion. Arielle also has been
decluttering at home, where she’s lived since 1997.
After doing my own Konmari simplification last
year, I can attest how powerful that process is. Really.
Arielle’s oldest daughter will be applying to colleges
in the fall but apparently will skip Williams because
of its lack of an on-campus engineering program.
Apparently Katie Brule has no interest in studying
engineering. Congratulations to Katie, daughter of
Dave Brule and Stephanie Brule, who was accepted
to the Williams Class of 2020. The proud parents are
“looking forward to more visits to the Purple Valley
in the next few years.”
Joshua Brumberg, professor of psychology and
biology, is still rockin’ Queens College and The
Graduate Center, CUNY, as its interim dean of the
sciences.
Go Cows.
1993
Anne Conrad Hummel, 5 Bittersweet Court, Centerport, NY
As the deadline for this edition fell shortly after the
big blizzard up and down the East Coast, I am thinking that a good number of us went into hibernation,
causing the amount of class news reported to be relatively small. Hopefully when you are reading this in
May, we are all thawed out and I have lots of your
early 2016 adventures and accomplishments to share
with our classmates.
Chad Orzel took a train to NYC a few days before
Christmas to spend the afternoon with Andy “MC”
Lee, who was visiting from the West Coast. Chad
relayed that Andy is a psychologist in LA. Andy and
Chad “hung out playing pool and drinking beer for
a bit (a pretty good simulation of sophomore year in
Pratt rec room), then went and hit some golf balls at
the Chelsea Piers because Andy’s a little obsessed.”
Chad’s wife had an event in Boston over MLK weekend, so he took their two children to Vermont to visit
Luke Shullenberger and his family. Luke’s younger
son is the same age as Chad’s daughter (7), and the
two had a great time spending literally hours building
a gigantic pillow fort in the basement. There was also
some quality sledding for all, “because Luke’s corner of Vermont is having actual winter,” and Chad’s
4-year-old son was all fired up about the outdoor hot
tub. Says Chad, “The kids are already asking when we
can go back.”
Jeff Hummel and I were in the company of many
Ephs to kick off 2016 as we ventured to Boston for
our annual winter visit to Mary Buss Reale and her
family. After missing a few years of his company due
to his international travels, we were happy to have
Chris Walker join us for the weekend as well. Fun
events included checking out a great exhibit about
Pixar at the Boston Children’s Museum, a little competitive bowling at Kings Boston (where Jeff ’s ability
to take bowling for PE in high school helped to take
us all down—I am looking into remedial bowling lessons so that never happens again), and of course the
annual Little Christmas party hosted by the Reales
each year. This year’s “pre-party” was graciously hosted
by Robb Friedman and his wife Elisa (Dugundji)
Friedman ’91, who allowed multiple Eph progeny to
run around their house while their parents enjoyed
catching up with each other. It was great to visit with
Lynn Kim, who continues her work as a radiologist in
the Boston area in addition to being mom to three
kids, including an energetic toddler with some of
the cutest cheeks I have ever seen! We were also in
the company of Jen Raney Harris (who I just have to
mention has managed to replicate the amazing mintfrosted brownies that the Williams dining hall featured on an all-too-sporadic basis), Camille Preston,
Andrew Kirkpatrick and Matt Smith. Andrew and his
family had (enviably) spent several weeks together
in France over the summer, and we were entertained
by Andrew and his wife Cheryl recounting stories
about their adventures abroad. Later in January, we
enjoyed more Eph time when Eugene Kim ventured
north from Greenville, S.C., for a weekend visit to
Long Island. In between multiple trips down to our
basement for ping pong and foosball matches, Jeff
took Eugene to some of our favorite local sites, such
as Sunken Meadow State Park for a brisk hike and
the Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion and Planetarium,
which is located on the former 43-acre estate of
William K. Vanderbilt II. Eugene continues his practice as an anesthesiologist and was unrelenting in his
attempt to convince us to move south—specifically
to Greenville. As we enjoyed a fireside bottle of wine
one evening with sub-freezing temperatures outside,
the lower cost of living, warmer weather, good restaurants and abundance of outdoor activities Eugene
described started sounding good to me—but Eugene
has his work cut out to convince Jeff, who is a tried
and true New Yorker. We’ll see if he gains any more
ground when Jeff and Chris Walker visit Eugene in
Greenville in a couple of weeks!
Going forward, please feel free to send me news at
any time—you don’t have to wait for my usually lastminute email soliciting submissions. If something
strikes you as Eph-worthy news, just write it down
and send it in! Also, planning for our 25th reunion
is in the very early stages; be on the lookout for class
correspondence over the months ahead, and if you
have any questions, concerns or suggestions at any
time, contact one of your class officers: Tom Kimbis,
Brian Foster, Mary Buss Reale or myself. Happy
spring/summer, and I look forward to more class
news to come!
1994
Genevieve Mann Morris, 1203 East 19th Ave., Spokane,
WA 99203; 1994secretary@williams.edu
In case you have been along for the literary journey that is our class notes, here’s a fun game: What
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is the fourth word on p. 117 of Andrew Ferguson’s
book? To make it extra-tricky, I am not going to
tell you the title of his book. The first one to report
back to me wins an hourlong conversation (for free!)
with Andrew on the intricacies of serving on a jury.
Ready, go!
Let’s start out with the exhilarating news from
our self-proclaimed class notes virgin. Hovey Clark,
ladies and gentlemen! Hard to believe that we have
not heard from him in the last two decades, or that
we allowed him to escape unnoticed. As it turns
out, he has been hidden in plain sight, teaching for
20 years at the Woodside Priory School in Portola
Valley, Calif.—a few miles west of Stanford. He
“can’t imagine ever wanting to leave.” How many
others of you can say that? He “runs the school’s
sustainability program, which involves helping manage our utility accounts and conservation efforts,
coordinating sustainability in our school curriculum and managing the school’s organic garden, living wall and 900-gallon aquaponics system. For the
second year in a row, the school has earned a gold
medal in the EPA and Department of Education’s
‘Green Ribbon Schools’ award.” So, there you have
it—global warming IS real, and Hovey is putting
an end to it. He lives in San Francisco with his wife
Lisa Busby, a Kenyon grad, their daughter Celia,
about to turn 10, and son Hovey, who just turned
8. He alleges that his kids are best friends, which is
either a lie (and they terrorize each other like the
rest of us poor saps) or I need to give him the jealousy smackdown. He reports his son has been properly brainwashed and hopes to attend Williams,
which would make him the fifth in a long line of
Hoveys! Apparently little Hovey rocked preschool
and has a good shot at getting in. Anyway, Hovey
(our classmate, not the little guy) sends his best
wishes to the Class of ’94.
Another blast from the past is Olena Prokopovych,
who wrote in after too long (sufficiently scared by my
email feigning that the notes would be blank). Olena
earned tenure and promotion to associate professor
of political science at Nazareth College of Rochester.
She is currently on sabbatical to catch up on research,
writing and travel. Olena “established and directs an
innovative BA program in legal studies and is working on other initiatives that better connect undergraduate and law programs. As a native of Ukraine, I
have increased my community and academic involvement with various efforts to support my home country as its people struggle to assert the European,
Western and democratic choice declared during
the EuroMaidan protests of 2013-2014.” Olena
and her husband David Tang, an attorney at one
of Rochester’s firms, are enjoying all the amazing
aspects of parenting their 6-year-old twin boys. “Now
that the kids are older, we are rediscovering a lot of
our interests with them: piano, ice skating, fairy tales
and, in my case, what seems like the entire catalog of
Ukrainian and Russian animation re-watched in the
name of teaching the kids Ukrainian and Russian!
We took our kids to visit Ukraine for the first time
in the summer of 2014. I am planning an academic
exchange trip to Ukraine’s National University of
Ostroh Academy this spring. And, of course, we
would love to bring the kids to Williamstown in the
next few years!”
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Bo Peabody climbed out of the “where are they
now” vault after 10 years. He claims that he has
emerged from “the sidelines” and started a new
company. (If he was on the sidelines, then I guess I
was dead.) Renzell is a media and data company—
including a new ratings methodology—focused
on high-end restaurants. It launched in NYC in
October 2015 and Bo plans to expand to Chicago,
San Francisco and LA over the next two years, then
internationally. Bo lives with his wife KK and sweet
blonde boys Brody, Renn and Wes in Tribeca.
After nearly three years living in Tiburon, Adam
Scheer and his wife left their flip-flops and beautiful Northern California to return to their East Coast
roots and family. “So just before Thanksgiving 2015,
we moved back to Princeton, N.J., just one block
down from the house we had lived in before we
moved west. Our daughters Ilana, 13, and Ariella,
11, are settling in just fine, picking up where they left
off with their friends, their studies and their sports.
As happy as we are to be back in Princeton, with our
return, we are reminded that one of our dear friends
in Princeton, Liz Gray Erickson ’89, passed away while
we were living in California. While members of Liz’s
class came to her funeral and remembered her in the
Class of ’89 alumni notes, Liz was known to many in
our class. Liz was an amazing friend who could enjoy
a good beer, a devoted volunteer who ensured that
our little Williams alumni association (one of many
community organizations she led) was active and
engaged, and she was a caring mom who was proud
to dress her kids in Williams garb.” My email kicked Colin Sellar’s butt into gear,
and he wrote in to tell us about his West Coast
excursion, destination: Sue Harper’s wedding in
Northern California. They decided to pull their
kids Ian and Charlie out of school for a week and
flew to Portland. “We drove out the Columbia
River, hooked down past Mount Hood, sightseeing all the way, and landed in Bend, Ore., for a few
days to visit with Adam Carroll, his wife Molly and
kids Tommy and Cora. Aside from catching up with
the Carrolls, we spent a few days exploring southern Oregon’s high desert and volcanic sights, making
heavy use of the ‘any fourth-grader gets your family
into National Parks for free’ pass. Then we bee-lined
for San Francisco, exploring the sights and city for
a few days before finally heading to Sue’s wedding
to Shawn Greene. There we joined Andrea (Croker)
Nadel, Shannon (Curtis) Ferguson, Nikki (Goth) Itoi,
Paul Itoi, Jen (Zwiebel) Henninger and Paul Piquado
’93 for a beautiful ceremony followed by a lovely
reception. Sue and Shawn came east for the holidays and were the surprise guests at our low-key
New Year’s Eve gathering, also including Maria
(Whitehorn) Votsch and her husband Viktor.” Now,
that is a family vacation!
In addition to shoveling away lots of winter snow,
Tanya Miller is practicing her best parent-nastics, balancing kids and work as well as getting in lots of Eph
visits. Her highlights include a work trip and catching up with Kila Weaver in Chicago and a quick
visit with Pamela Worthy, who made a jaunt down
to New Jersey. Tanya also ran into Santi (Goetzinger)
Miller at the local movie theater, as they live five minutes from each other. Tanya also wrote, “During
the December school break, I had the immense
1994
pleasure of taking my 7-year-old on two beautiful
hikes at Monhonk Mountain House in New Paltz,
N.Y. At the summit of one hike, to Skytop, we had
an incredible view of five states: NY, NJ, CT, MA,
PA!” She stays in touch with classmates including
Rohit Menezes (who resides in India), Dalmar James,
Pamela Worthy, Kila Weaver and Rhadjena Hilliard.
Jason Poling ran into Warren Woodfin ’96 at St.
George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem. He will be returning to Jerusalem this summer, then is on to a fellowship with the Shalom Hartman Institute.
Lizzette Colón reported, “The city girl braved the
Costa Rican terrain with my family. It has been quite
humbling when you realize that as humans we are
in the minority in this type of landscape. I think my
favorite part has been listening to the howler monkeys hoot at one another. It sure beats looking at city
rats! One night we actually saw an anteater climb
down from a tree on the property we’re renting. If
only they ate roaches.”
Cynthia Sharpe still has the self-titled “best job
ever.” She telecommutes as the senior director, cultural attractions and research, for Thinkwell Group
in LA—“Which means this past year I got to work
on projects as diverse as the Hunger Games: The
Exhibition, the Center for Puppetry Arts’ expansion (including the new Jim Henson exhibit) and the
next World Expo (Dubai 2020). My husband made
full professor this year, and so we are well and truly
ensconced in Volvo-driving academia here in Kansas.
Our kid is in middle school and starting to think
about college, so it’s open season in this house as we
both happen to get him T-shirts from our respective
alma maters and talk lovingly of our college years.” So
glad I am not the only one happily engaged in true
mind-bending techniques to ensure my kids are the
next generation of Ephs.
Bill O’Brien married his childhood friend Lindsay
on New Year’s Eve. He offered up his future digs in
Switzerland to traveling classmates. “After nine years
teaching math on the coast of Maine, we’re heading back overseas this fall. I’ll be teaching at the
International School of Lausanne on Lake Geneva.”
Elizabeth Burnett left her position as director of
major gifts at Williams to become VP of development at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, a yoga
education and retreat center in the Berkshires. She
wrote, “As much as I will miss the opportunity to
hit up classmates for fat 25th reunion gifts, I have
greatly enjoyed turning my energy and skills toward
bringing greater wellness to the world through the
tools of yoga. My partner and I still live on the banks
of Williamstown’s Green River with two astoundingly beautiful golden retrievers.”
Tatiana Rubio continues to enjoy lovely Southern
California. She has two gorgeous kids ( Jesse, 10, and
Savannah, 12) who honestly look like child models
if you haven’t seen them. “I am enjoying my private
practice in Westlake Village as a doctor of Chinese
medicine (specializing in perinatal care), and occasionally (like today) am lucky enough to attend the
natural births of my patients. It’s a little lonely not
having a lot of Williams alums nearby, so if anyone is
ever in the area, please look me up!”
Sarah Davidson Richmond echoed the effectiveness of my guilt-inducing email to write in to
share her Eph encounters. Sarah reported, “I was
fortunate enough to get to spend an afternoon having lunch with Ariel Anderson Moore when she was
in town over the holidays. BTW, she doesn’t change,
still an amazingly curious, thoughtful and fun person who brightens your day getting a chance to talk
with her.” Sarah has been busy hitting the slopes of
Crystal Mountain, often running into Peggy Drucker
Headstrom, John Alberg, Jason Eglit and their collective families. I’m not sure there is a lot of skiing
happening, since I have seen après pictures of this
group in the outdoor 98-degree pool (parents often
with adult beverages in hand) playing Marco Polo or
watching the kids test their fortitude while they lay in
the snow, then rush back to the warm waters.
Amanda Ward still lives in Austin, Texas, where she
hangs out whenever possible with her neighbor Erin
(Wagner) Kinard. (Erin’s three girls and Amanda’s
two boys and a girl are all in elementary school
together. Amanda reports her indoctrination continues, as her oldest son, Ash, wears his Williams sweatshirt every day. Amanda’s novel, The Nearness of You,
will be published in March 2017. Kara Weber “just had a banner trip to New York,
drumming up interest for her newest endeavor,
Brilliant Ventures, and spending time with Bo
Peabody (and even more with his truly excellent wife
Katherine and their three fun boys), Matt Harris and
Christina Royal ’95. Lots of laughing, learning and
fun catching up with all three.”
Star Hampton had an unbelievable Williams connection. “I was flying back from Rwanda after an
annual trip I do there to do fistula surgery and had
my usual layover in the Brussels airport. While in
line to board my flight to Newark, I looked up and
thought someone looked familiar. I thought I was
in a haze from already traveling for 12 hours—so,
like a crazy person, I snuck up behind them for a
better look. However, I was right, and it was Kevin
Burke! Couldn’t believe after eight years, we actually could manage getting together to catch up on
a random flight (however we did comment about
how time-efficient this type of catch-up is). Kevin
ended up having the seat free next to him, so we were
able to fill each other in on life. Kevin is still living
in San Sebastián, Spain, with his two kids (6 and 3)
and his beautiful wife Marian. He and Marian were
planning to meet up over the weekend in NY for
Fashion Week, as she is launching a children’s clothing line. What an awesome treat to my 30-hour journey home! It was so great to see him and definitely
reminded me how Williams friends are so wonderful.
I tried to convince him to make it to the 25th!”
Chris Roosenraad still lives in northern Virginia, is
still raising a precocious 5-year-old, and is still saving
us from child porn. “Major note is that I was recently
elected treasurer of the Technology Coalition against
online child exploitation (www.technologycoalition.
org) and have moved from chairman to chairman
emeritus of MAAWG, an Internet industry security
organization (www.maawg.org).”
I wanted to pass along some sad news about one of
our own, Oakland “Boyce” Adams, who passed away.
At Williams, Boyce was a member and director of
the Williams Octet and received the Lester F. Martin
Scholarship Award in Music. He also sang with
the Scales of Justice while attending Harvard Law
School. He later relocated to the New Orleans area
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and was the director of legal research and compliance
management at a law firm specializing in commercial
litigation. Boyce was a wonderful person, and it was a
privilege to have him in our class. Our thoughts and
deepest sympathies are with his family.
1995
David Lee, 2771 Union St., San Francisco, CA 94123;
Nancy O’Brien Wagner, 1049 Linwood Ave., St. Paul, MN
Happy spring! Or, for those of you near me in the
Midwest: happy midsummer! We’ve been enjoying
another freakish, extreme climate swing this year in
Minnesota. I am happy to report it’s swung toward
the warm rather than the cold, though sunburns in
March are quite odd.
In the spirit of the New Year, I prompted y’all to
respond to this question: What 10 percent of change
would you make this year? Apparently, most of you
are living lives of immense satisfaction and self-fulfillment, as the response rate was low. That, or my question was too lame. We’ll go with the first explanation.
Cheers go to co-president Anamaria VillamarinLupin for humoring my request. She reports her 10
percent change includes breathing 10 percent more
often and not taking things so seriously. She is also
contemplating getting a little more organized and
procrastinating 10 percent less. It boggles her where
the Anamaria circa 1994 went—that Anamaria
would write papers and assignments weeks in
advance. She continues to enjoy her community work
and her family’s endless activities.
Co-president Flo Waldron writes, “I remember
someone saying at reunion how a few days just wasn’t
enough time to have more than the briefest conversations with all our old friends, and I agree. Have had
lovely but all-too-brief chats over the past month, by
email and by phone, with Elizabeth Bluhm (doing
well as a DC doctor), Lisa Michaud (loving her new
9-5 job in MA), Bobby Walker Jr. (still ably holding down the fort at the Greenwich, Conn., Boys/
Girls Club), and my lovely co-prez and co-tiara
owner Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin (who assured me
that Mardi Gras in NOLA was, once again, ‘a serious party—always wonderful’). My most frequent
Eph sighting, however, remains Keely Maxwell ’93,
whose boys are like brothers to my girls. After the
girls and I visited them in Takoma Park, Md., to help
out with the fifth birthday celebration for her eldest,
she and her crew kindly returned the favor, driving
to PA to help us throw a dinosaur-themed bash for
my 6-year-old Caela. (Side note: How can I have a
6-year-old?!?)”
Lisa Michaud writes “I put aside my mug of
whiteboard markers after 13 years in the classroom,
and now I work as a data architect in the real world.
Most of my work is right up my alley in my area of
research (computational linguistics), and I feel really
engaged. The best part about it is that people are
extremely complimentary about my contributions—
which, after years of being cut down by student
evaluations, is a great boost to my ego.”
Teddy Welsh writes, “I had a great time mathing
with Stephen Root ’92 and Joel Foisy ’91 at FrankFest
last Saturday honoring Frank Morgan’s 29 years of
service to the college.” I confess Ted’s note made very
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little sense to me, but some sleuthing explained that
Frankfest is a conference on isoperimetric problems,
and that “Isoperimetric problems have been a fascinating area of study for centuries and continue to be
an area of current research interest.” You’re welcome.
David Lee sent in warm news: “We are happy to
report that El Niño is bringing some much-needed
rain to the West Coast. During our two-week winter break to visit my mom in Antigua, Guatemala,
we stopped first in Pasadena to see Adam Nagata, his
wife Joanna and their son Wren. Adam and Joanna
are practicing family therapists and are enjoying the
warmth of Pasadena. On the way back we stopped in
Park City, Utah, where we spent New Year’s with the
families of Brook Gibbins, John Thompson and Frank
Puleo. This has become a wonderful yearly tradition
with the kids...I bumped into Steve Ginsberg at the
NAIS conference here in San Francisco. I gave him
some heat for missing our 20th reunion, but he had
a good excuse, as he was in Israel. He is the CFO of
Nobles & Greenough School, just outside of Boston,
as well as the esteemed head varsity soccer coach.
He has two little ones that keep him busy when he
is not getting written up in the Boston Globe about
his coaching abilities. Jay Ashton took a once-in-alifetime fishing trip to Patagonia. Joe Pew continues
to send hate mail to me about Tom Brady and the
Patriots. He just sent me an article on how Trump
thanked Brady for helping him win Massachusetts
by such a wide margin. I couldn’t help but wince and
quickly delete this article.”
As for me, my humble goal is to reduce our family’s energy consumption by 10 percent. I’m happy
to report that programming the stupid thermostat—
or perhaps that freakishly early warm spring—has
brought success. Once again, we’ll go with the first
explanation.
Best to you all! Keep the notes coming!
1996
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Lesley Whitcomb Fierst, 50 Scottsdale Drive,
Fredericksburg, VA 22405; 1996secretary@williams.edu
A lot less news to report this time, but I figure
that’s got to be because everyone is saving it up to
discuss at reunion in June, right? More on that later,
but first, the updates: As has become one of my secretarial customs, let’s give top billing to a class notes
newcomer!
Jim Heyes wrote, “This might be my first time
responding to one of these class notes solicitations,
but feeling a bit melancholy that I will probably
miss this year’s reunion! Lots has happened since,
um, 1996, but the exciting news at the moment is
that my family and I are getting ready to move to
South Africa. I’ll be continuing my work from the
last few years investing in African forestry companies but spending a lot less time on transatlantic
flights, and my wife Julie and our two boys will all be
going to school in Stellenbosch. We’ll be living in a
great house in the Boschendal wine estate, right in
the middle of one of the most beautiful parts of the
country. We will have lots of space for guests and look
forward to hosting anyone who is passing through!”
Amaranta Viera, where has your beautiful voice
been? Amaranta wrote, “After years of not being in
touch, some real news! On Nov. 4, 2015, my partner
1994– 97
Ross and I welcomed Nathaniel Manuel Martin
into the world about two weeks after his due date!
He’s healthy and thriving, and we’re barely sleeping, so I guess that means things are on track.
We’re living in Brooklyn, and I’m still working as
a freelance professional singer and music teacher
in NYC. Ross is a bluegrass and jazz guitar player,
and he’ll be doing lots of touring this spring—so
if anyone wants to keep Nate and me company,
feel free to come and bunk out on my super-comfy
pull-out couch.” Rachel Allyn and Tim Farnham
traveled to Nicaragua, where together they taught
20 people in a yoga and surf retreat. And over
Christmas, thanks to host Lydia (Vermilye) Weiss,
Molly (Kelleher) Myers and Gretchen (Haverback)
Crone and their kids gathered briefly in DC at
Lydia’s house, while Molly and Gretchen were
back in the DC area. Spring reunion was a key
topic of discussion, and you can expect to see all of
those ladies in Williamstown. Teon Edwards wrote as she was preparing to present at Williams’ Teach It Forward: Los Angeles
campaign event on Jan. 30. “The focus of the event
is ‘Ephs in Education: Access and Innovation,’ and
I’ll be talking about my free-choice educational gaming work and engaging learners with computational
thinking and coding skills. My work on this continues at TERC, where I’ll reach my 20th year only a
few months after our 20th reunion!” Jeremiah Schuur
was named vice chair, clinical affairs, at the department of emergency medicine at Brigham & Women’s
Hospital in Boston. And Warren Woodfin is in
Jerusalem at the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies
on a research fellowship for the spring semester. “Alas,
the semester here runs through the end of June, so I’ll
not make it back stateside in time for the big reunion.
I’m with a great group of colleagues and am enjoying exploring the region and thinking deep thoughts
about Byzantine art.”
Peter Everett wrote me in the midst of the big
DC-area snowstorm (an actual one this time, not
one where they predict some negligible amount
of snow, the stores sell out of everything, we get
1-3 inches of snow and yet the schools are closed
for days). “Hope you’ve shoveled yourselves out of
Snowmageddon 2 (I love that the Capital Weather
Gang poll named that storm ‘Make Winter Great
Again’). We had a good week over the summer preparing for our upcoming 20th reunion by holding a
minireunion out in Breckenridge with Mike Brush
and AJ Brush, Allie (Verderber) Herriott, Danny Kim,
Bryan Greenhouse, Kyle Nagle, Barbara Shreve and
assorted families. Definitely has inspired us to make
it back for this summer in Williamstown! Of course,
for us, that means a 90-minute drive over Route 2
from Amherst. Anyone coming back for reunion
that wants to make a pit stop in Amherst is welcome
to come stay or say hello.” And Holly (Hodgson)
Stephens “started a family Ultimate Frisbee pickup
group this summer in our neighborhood, and this dad
showed up and was staring at me funny, and finally
asked if I’d gone to Williams. Now Luc Phinney ’97
and I are running a first- through third-grade indoor
soccer group this winter together!”
After years overseas, Ian Graham and his family returned to the States. “We decided life needed
a little bit of adventure. With more international
relocations off the table (at least for now), what better
way to spice things up than having another baby—or
two. Our twins Luke and Nicholas were born Sept.
18, making that a family of five kids. To top life off
in 2015, I started a new job in NY in October. Life
is pretty crazy right now, but we’re pretty sure we are
going to have one hell of a ride. In my ‘free time,’ I’m
really enjoying my second year as assistant coach of
the Special Olympics swimming at our local Y in
Wilton, Conn., coaching swimmers ages 8 to 50.”
Just have to add that reading that makes me feel
extremely inadequate—like, what am I ever doing
saying my life is really busy?
Speaking of free time and packing it full, as I wrote
earlier, let’s circle back to the topic of reunion. I speak
for my fellow class officers (Krystal Williams, Deb
(Palmer) Whitney and Joe Kenner) and the entire ’96
reunion committee when I encourage everyone to
join us in June. Let’s break all sorts of records and get
hundreds of our classmates and our families back to
the Village Beautiful for some smile-inducing reminiscing and some making of new memories. Check
out our Williams College Class of 1996 Facebook
page for fun tidbits and to connect with friends and
classmates, and go to the reunion website (alumni.
williams.edu/events/reunions) to see who has registered. C’mon, show up for ’96!
1997
Jeff Zeeman, 5301 1st Place N., Arlington, VA 22203;
Danielle Deane has accepted an appointment to
serve the Obama administration at the Department
of Energy as the senior adviser for external affairs
within the Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (EERE). Danielle “is excited
about the opportunity to serve as the administration focuses strategically in its final year on demonstrating the impact of the historic investments it has
made to spur the growth of the clean energy economy and mitigate climate disruption. Feel free to
reach out if you have a great story from the sector to
share!” Susan Arico will be moving this summer to
the Greek island of Crete for her husband’s job. They
expect to be there at least two years.
Brian Higgins and his wife and had a baby boy,
Timothy, in April 2015. He’s a big, happy guy, and
his brother and sister are thrilled to have him around.
Brian assembled a group of Ephs for dinner at the
end of the year. Dan Gordon, Chris Mestl, Kevin
Poppe, Jeb Bentley and Brian all hit a New York
steakhouse and had a lot of laughs. They’ve all spread
out to various suburbs, so it was nice to get everyone together in one place; they’re hoping to organize
another dinner soon. “Please note that Eric Kelly was
specifically not invited.” Duly noted!
Isaac Pesin had a minireunion of sorts at homecoming this past fall. Mariana Santiesteban
Pesin and Isaac came up from Miami with the kids
and rendezvoused with Matt Bostick, who came
from Berkeley, Calif., Matt Buck (Baltimore), Nick
O’Donnell (Boston), Nick Bath (DC), Dan Shaw
(NYC), Adam Nesbit (Western MA and sometimes
Alaska) and Laurence Berman (the Cotswolds). They
were joined by Mariana’s sister Eugenia Santiesteban
’99 and her husband. They hit Hobson’s, Mezze, Papa
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CLASS NOTES
C’s, the Clark, the new library, the Pub and whatever
they call Canterbury’s these days.
All is well in Michigan for John Corso, who was
awarded a three-year professorship at Oakland
University and will be the Doris and Paul Travis
Associate Professor of Art History. John was
very glad to run into Bahia Ramos in Detroit at
one of the many performances designed by artist Nick Cave that her organization sponsored. Sumi
London “turned 40—but that’s probably true of most
of our class” (alas, indeed it is). Kris Bruneau is still
living in Boston and working at UMass Memorial
in Worcester, helping kids cope with treatments for
various illnesses and ailments. Kris used turning 40
this fall (see, Sumi!) as an excuse to go on a trip to
Barcelona with friends. Her brother Derek Bruneau
’94, Maura Gallagher ’93 and Jess Scott ’01 joined
her for a week there and had a blast exploring the art,
architecture and food scene.
Sam Sommers’ book, This is Your Brain on Sports,
co-authored with Jon Werthem of Sports Illustrated,
was released on Feb. 2. It’s a look at the sports world
through a behavioral science lens, in an effort to
explore what we can learn about human nature more
generally from athletes, coaches, refs, team owners
and fans. Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr sold a
second children’s picture book to Macmillan. Called
Everywhere, Wonder, it won’t see bookstores until
winter 2017. In March, Matthew, Drew Bunting
and Brian Slattery gathered in Sewanee, Tenn., to
record a new album of original children’s songs for an
upcoming Bobbledy Books album. Matthew (accompanied by Dahna Goldstein) sang his Williams-era
ditty “Mr. Freud” to a ballroom full of unsuspecting people, embarrassing everyone—though none as
much as himself.
Noah Harlan is happy to report that he and his wife
welcomed baby No. 2, Ione, on Nov. 5. She’s happy
and healthy, and her big sister Maz is quite smitten. On the work front, Noah was honored to be
elected president of the AllSeen Alliance, the largest cross-industry consortium supporting the Internet
of Things. It also, based on the name, may or may
not be a secret cabal out to control the universe.
(I’m glad that when the singularity arrives, we have
Noah on our side.) Dave Vosburg made the February
2016 cover of the Journal of Chemical Education for
developing a new laboratory experiment in which
a 22-piece tetrahedral cage self-assembles in water
and captures various small molecules (including hazardous ones). This work was adapted from pioneering studies by Jonathan Nitschke ’95, who is now at
Cambridge. Dave’s three kids, ages 7-9, love playing
with the molecular model of the cage in his office.
Seth Morgan’s girls are growing, making messes
and the usual. Kurt Knuppel took a little break from
his world travels to stop in NJ for a night and visit.
Seth will return the favor and see him in London in
late February. Seth spent Christmas Eve with Jess
Bongiorno and her family, having married her sister and all. Between the two families, they now have
four girls under the age of 5, and they all attended the
baptism of Jess’ little girl, Maren. Seth is already starting to think about reunion next year—as should all
of you! Seth is adding a little extra incentive this time
and has promised not to marry your sister should you
choose to attend.
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Ian Synnott is very happy to announce that he and
his wife Lauren welcomed their first baby into the
world on Dec. 26! Desmond O’Boyle Synnott was 10
lbs., 1 oz. (poor mama!) and is doing great. Before he
was born, Ian got some good advice on fatherhood
and life over a midtown meal with Randall Friedman
’95, Jim Stanton and Andrew Miller ’96. Ian also
saw Aga Morgan ’96 in midtown on his first day back
from paternity leave. Ian also hosted Jason Mitrakos
’98 and Carol Shirai ’01 in December in Brooklyn
and met their son. And the Williams connections
continued, with Cameron Clendaniel ’02 giving the
Synott brood a ride home from the hospital and Sara
Hausner-Levine ’02 knitting Desmond a hat in brilliant purple and gold.
Let’s end with a trivia challenge: Leading up to
the 20th reunion on June 2017, I will be asking
one Williams-related trivia question in each class
notes column. The first correct response to each
question wins a sandwich at Pappa Charlie’s at the
reunion! My question this time: During our first
Winter Study at Williams, the Dave Matthews
Band played in Mission Park Dining Hall. Because
they were severely delayed by a raging snowstorm,
the band played an impromptu song during sound
check for the first—and only—time. By what title
is that song described on bootleg recordings? For a
bonus knish, what recorded DMB song did it later
evolve into?
1998
Jediah White, 503 South Prospect Ave., Madison, WI
December has come and gone, but Mac Harman
still finds himself in a forest of Christmas trees
and fun at Balsam Brands. He writes: “A highlight
from the 2015 season was being in the Hollywood
Christmas Parade (where I lost my voice yelling
‘Merry Christmas’ a million times), not for the parade
itself, but because I got to catch up with Nathan
Robison afterward. We hadn’t seen each other since
his wedding evening; he, wife Ada and his two kids
are all doing well and live in LA.” Mac also found
himself ski racing on national TV when Balsam Hill
sponsored the Deer Valley Celebrity Ski Fest and one
of the celebs bowed out. “Fortunately, jumping back
in gates at age 39 after 20 years off was just like riding a bike, but on rental skis.” Last but not least, the
Balsam Brands team was honored as one of 25 companies on the Forbes list of “America’s Best Small
Companies.” Despite his celebrity status, Mac reports
that he and Stephanie (Min) Harman love the time
with their three kids under age 6.
After Mac’s remarkable report, you know this bulletin can only ski downhill. Fortunately, Chris Bell
levels us out: “I am finding that life in Oregon is akin
to Lake Wobegon, where the women are strong, the
children are above average, but the men, albeit fit,
tend to shower less frequently. While I wasn’t intending to adopt that tradition, we have taken to trailing our 23 lb., 6-month-old manchild Pierce in a ski
pod every weekend so far this winter over endless hill
and dale—which has forced me to find industrialstrength laundry detergent so my exercise clothes are
not among the pheromone elite of Eugene.” Thanks,
Chris, for that fragrant fragment.
1997– 98
Chris had some paternity time in early winter, in
which he claims to have taken more naps than Pierce,
but he’s now excited about joining the Vernacular
Architecture Forum Board—“a national organization that enjoys spending countless hours tracking the migration patterns that led to a clutch of late
19th-century Rundbogenstil commercial buildings in
western plains.”
Speaking of passions I know nothing about
but admire the energy and intellect behind, John
Williams was elected president of the Wilmington
Rowing Center and chairman of the Kalmar Nyckel
Foundation, which operates a maritime museum
and the tall ship of Delaware, a replica of the 17thcentury square sail ship that established the colony
of New Sweden in Delaware.
More familiar to me is the harried parent story.
Tony Barnes found time to write: “Lauren (Guth)
Barnes and I exchanged an update as we passed in
the night. On the family front, we officially moved
from man-to-man coverage to insanity, with the
addition of our third kid, Madeline Rebecca, in
September. We are back to the world of three-hour
sleep segments and decisions about when to start
solid food based on our tolerance for two kids having incredibly smelly diapers at once. Lauren is continuing her work suing companies when they lie to
and cheat the public. And don’t get her started on
the ills of mandatory arbitration. If you don’t bother
to read your entire contract language for cellphone
service, software use or even the official terms you
agree to by eating your breakfast cereal, just pretend you didn’t hear those two words. I’m enjoying
a brief period of intentional retirement, focusing on
daddy duties, setting home automation rules while
half-asleep and exploring some idiosyncrasies of our
local government. We see Gwen (Garber) Hoffmann
and her daughter, and Matt Wessler ’01 and his kids
regularly—or as regularly as working families with
small kids can.” In January, the Barnes clan visited
with Abby Williamson and her family, Janee Woods
Weber and Matt Woods Weber, and Kristin Doughty
and Josh Mankoff and their kids.
Vickie Vertiz is a very busy writer. She’s working at
826LA, a creative writing center in LA that serves
more than 8,000 students a year through publishing,
after-school tutoring and in-school projects. She’s
also writing for PBS and covered how a southeast
LA city is banking on the success of a casino and luxury hotel to keep it solvent. She is poised to publish
a poetry collection and a memoir about her time at
Williams and warns, “Stay tuned! You might be in it.”
Vickie gave a shoutout to Carla Gutierrez for editing When Two Worlds Collide, which just won a special jury award for best debut documentary in the
Sundance world documentary competition, and to
Kendra Dunbar, in her third year of a pastoral counseling master’s degree at Loyola Marymount in
Maryland. Kendra has worked with young people in
Africa, Latin America and the US and is developing
a radical diversity training lesson plan for teens.
Evelyn (Spence) Callahan had also been writing,
but with a pretty dramatic deadline: “The only news
my sleep-deprived mind can conjure is the arrival
of our daughter, Charlotte Rae Callahan, on Nov.
16—hot on the heels of her 16-month-old brother.
Needless to say, career moves like skiing in Mongolia
have been relegated to a distant back burner…and
adventures trend toward virtual ones about hungry
caterpillars and runaway bunnies. I did finish a novel
five days before baby arrived. Not sure which birth
was harder, or more welcome!”
On the other side of the bibliophilic equation, Cyd
(Fremmer) Oppenheimer shares: “For the first time in
nine years, I am not writing in to announce the birth
of yet another daughter. My four girls (Rebekah, 9,
Elisabeth, 7, Klara, 5, and Anna, 2) are all doing great,
and the whole family is still enjoying life in New
Haven. The big news is that next month I’m leaving my job at the nonprofit where I’ve been for the
past eight and a half years and planning to take some
time to figure out my next step. In the meantime, I’m
enjoying the new ‘extracurricular’ activity I’ve been
doing since August: hosting a twice-a-month radio
show about books. Each show focuses on one work
of contemporary fiction and features a 25-minute
interview with the author and a 25-minute discussion between myself and two other people who have
also read the book—kind of an on-air book club.
Annie Thoms ’97 and Tui Sutherland have been on,
and Erica (Hyman) Kates is a loyal fan! Even my old
JA John Botti ’96, who is about to take a new job as
headmaster of the Browning School in New York,
claims to have listened. I haven’t had to think this
hard about the books I’m reading since my days taking English classes at Williams, and I completely
love it.” Check out facebook.com/booktalkwnhh, or
download and listen to any of the episodes at http://
bit.ly/1hQ8yGj.
Pete Robinson is also turning a career corner: “This
February I sold my company of eight years, which
provides tech and services to the life sciences industry. I’m back to earning a paycheck as I help my new
parent get the most out of their purchase. Looking
forward to a little more free time to spend with local
Ephs.” You’ll recall that Pete lives in Boston.
Tim Gustafson has a relatively new role at Apervita:
“My wife Kate and I now live in Chicago with our
son Nate, who is in first grade. We moved here to be
closer to Kate’s family and for her to take a job as a
professor of English literature. I joined a health tech
startup about a year ago. We are building a marketplace for health analytics, so, needless to say, if anyone
has any medical algorithms or health care data they
want to commercialize, they should contact me!”
Mike Ryan keeps us abreast of current events: “In
September the pope visited Philadelphia, and the
police shut down all major roads in the metro area to
private automobiles. I took advantage of the occasion
to ride my 20-year-old mountain bike from my suburban home into the city to visit Adena Herskovitz,
on the way to see El Jefe himself deliver an outdoor
mass. Sean Bowler’s mother Helene also came down
to Philly for the occasion, but she scored premium
seats up front and had to get an early start. I had no
such luck. I watched the service on a Jumbotron 500
yards back from the altar and snuck home as communion was starting.” Mike promises to stay longer
next time.
Sam Young reports: “Any other news I might report
would be dwarfed by this: Joah Iannotta (Wesleyan
’95) agreed to marry me. She was a heptathlete, and
we must have overlapped (perhaps literally) during
track events my freshman year and her senior year,
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CLASS NOTES
but we agree that it was better we didn’t meet just
then. I surprised her at the Jefferson Memorial after
Thanksgiving, a couple days before our 17-day trip to
Europe and South Africa, which was amazing in its
own right.” Congratulations, Sam! And nice job with
the track joke.
Last word this time goes to Ben Slocum. He
writes, “Matt Libbey came to visit last weekend as a
surprise 40th birthday present from his wife Garet
(Asbury) Libby ’97. We drove out to Asheville, N.C.,
and walked around the Asheville Ale Trail, checking
out many of the great craft breweries located in and
around the city. We noticed our age when we found
ourselves: 1) ordering half-pints and samples instead
of full beers; 2) ordering water at each stop; and 3)
making more ‘pit stops’ than we recall from our past.
Nevertheless, we survived unscathed and had a blast
in the process, and I very much enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with my close friend. All in all,
a pretty great way to celebrate our entrance into our
‘Clooney years.’” I was just looking in the mirror and
thinking the same thing.
1999
Erik Holmes, 2014 Belvedere Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205;
Nat White, 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville, CT 06039;
This will be a class update full of random connections, meeting up with old friends, travel and some
things to celebrate. Up first, infrequent contributor and Colorado resident Rob Lyman ran into Eric
Soskin on opposite sides of a lawsuit in Denver. Rob
was on the side suing the State Department, and Eric
was out from Virginia as part of the defense team.
Zack Grossman bumped into entrymate Matt
Grainger in the A terminal at DFW in December.
They were able to catch up briefly before getting on
their separate flights. Zack spent a more intentional
week in Missoula last summer with entrymate Jen
(Hurley) Kujawa and her family as part of a monthlong Wild West road trip. Both are equally shocked
that Jen’s kids are being raised as cross-country skiers,
but Zack’s kids (based mostly on geography) are not.
Maggie Adler is enjoying life as a curator at the Amon
Carter Museum of Art in Forth Worth, Texas, where
she was descended upon by Ephs. Maggie coordinated an exhibition on artist Thomas Hart Benton
and his relationship with Hollywood; the exhibit was
the brainchild of Austen Barron Bailly (GA ’99). They
were joined for the opening by Paul Provost (MA ’89)
and Eric Widing ’81.
Stephanie (Sewell) King and her family (yes, all
three boys) ventured from NYC to San Diego during the holidays. They spent lots of time with Ian
Eisenman and Catherine (Bagley) Beamer and their
families, taking in the sights while enjoying great
weather and spectacular company. Stephanie returned
to work in January after spending the fall on maternity leave; she and Jonathan King ’98 are still figuring out the balance of three boys and work and a
golden doodle but loving the controlled chaos. Cara
Yoder Matzen took her husband and two boys from
their home in California to visit family and friends
in Hawaii during Thanksgiving. They met up with
Sarah White ’00 and Tim Stoddard and Emily Gillmar
’00. Tim and Emily’s daughter Emma and Cara and
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WILLIAMS PEOPLE
Evan’s son Rigel had a lot of fun feeding the fish and
the birds. Cara’s got more travel plans, both for fun
and for work. She’s teaching math at Pacific Ridge
School near San Diego.
DC-area classmates David Glendinning and Hans
Davies celebrated 20 years since a computer made
them freshman roommates by taking a November
trip to Nassau, Bahamas. They had a great time snorkeling, offshore fishing, learning to roll cigars and
being ignored by bachelorettes, proving that not
much has changed in 20 years. While they took no
small amount of grief from Emily (Christiansen)
Glendinning for taking the trip, she promptly appropriated the idea and took a trip to New Orleans
in January to celebrate 20 years of friendship with
Anne (Pitts) Londergan ’98. David, Emily, Hans and
Jennifer Walcott get to see Laura (Jacobs) Kravis and
Jon Kravis regularly. Laura and Jon’s son William is
loving kindergarten and recreating scenes from Star
Wars, while daughter Emily is 4 going on 15 and displaying her hilarious and tough personality for all
who happen by. Laura and Jon moved around the
corner in August, and they’re still recovering from
what they thought would be an easy move.
Your class officers have been talking about ways
to keep the class connected in the time between
reunions (and having fun tossing ideas around). One
idea was to rally ’99ers to attend the regional Teach
It Forward campaign events around the country. In
this spirit, Laura Moberg Lavoie attended the LA
launch in January. She was the only classmate there
but Laura had a great time. Sadly, Laura’s trip to
LA coincided with class president Emily Eakin’s trip
to San Diego for a conference, so they missed each
other. Heather (Genovesi) Einstein wrote in; it may
have been in the middle of the night while she was
up with her newborn, Charlotte Gabriella. Heather
and her crew hosted an annual MLK weekend minireunion at their home in West Hartford. While the
crew was smaller than in some years, turnout was
still quite good: Dede Orraca-Cecil came with her
four kids, Catherine (Polisi) Jones came with her
two, Leigh (Olmsted) Blood brought her two, and
Jill (Murray) Grady brought her stepson and her
newborn, Drew John Grady, born within a day of
Charlotte. Heather and Jill are planning to cement
the bond formed as roommates by arranging a marriage between Charlotte and Drew. The adults somehow managed to catch up amidst the chaos. No
mention was made of whether anyone managed any
sleep during the weekend.
Much of this same crew helped Alison (Furey)
Nowicki celebrate her wedding to Mike Nowicki
on Dec. 19. The ceremony and reception were at
MASS MoCA. Mike grew up in Adams, so it was
a good spot for all concerned. Leigh, Catherine and
Dede were joined by Tracy (Foose) MacDonald, Kelly
Becker Frew and Jim Frew, Jessie Fried, Joel Furey
’94, Robert Furey ’64, Jonathan Fielding ’64 and Dave
McPherson ’64, along with a number of their spouses.
With newborns, Jill and Heather were unable to
attend. Alison is the chair of the guidance and counseling department at Concord-Carlisle High School,
and Mike is a landscape architect at Stantec in
Boston. They spend as many weekends as they can
skiing and hiking in NH. Edie De Niro and her wife
had a baby boy, Rory James De Nero-Miller, on Oct.
1998– 2000
26. Edie has started as a glaucoma specialist in the
Bay Area, and she’s enjoying having a beautiful and
healthy little boy.
Rebecca (Krause) Missonis and Becky LogueConroy have formed an “old lady grad student club.”
Rebecca is working on a master’s degree, and Becky
a PhD. They welcome new members, with the only
entrance requirement being a willingness to commiserate about how hard it is to go back to school at
almost 40. I am incredibly thankful to be ineligible
for this grad student club, having finished my MS in
math in December with a successful thesis defense in
Milwaukee. Like Rebecca, I continue teaching high
school students, and I don’t envy her the juggling act
of teaching and being a student simultaneously. I’m
incredibly grateful that Julie Rusczek was able to keep
our kindergartener and preschooler occupied enough
for me to finish up, as that’s been a long time coming.
As I stay up late to finish these notes, I know Rachel
Axler is also up late writing, because that’s what she
does. The Mozart in the Jungle episode that she wrote
is on Amazon, and she continues to write for Veep
on HBO, where she was immersed in production for
Season 5 when she sent her update.
Clarissa Shen and her family moved from
California to Shanghai in August, just in time for
the coldest winter there in 30-plus years. Clarissa
reports that it’s far different to move with three kids
than it was before she had any, but they’ve been
champs about the process. Her eldest, at 8, seems to
have decided the move means it’s time to be a teenager, though, and the younger two follow her lead.
Clarissa has been on the road a lot since the move,
helping launch Udacity in 10 new international markets this year. She anticipates spending more time in
Shanghai in the coming year, and she’d love to have
visitors. Davis Teichgraeber also moved for work this
year, from Portland, Ore., to Houston. Davis works
as a member of the breast-imaging faculty at MD
Anderson Cancer Center, and she is finding the
hybrid academic/private practice model an interesting switch from her private practice radiology job in
Portland. Davis lives far enough out of town to have
good opportunities for biking and running, and the
fact that her area hosts Ironman Texas hasn’t gotten
her into swimming yet.
Laura Brenneman and her partner Victoria moved
into a new home in Waltham, Mass., in August.
Laura’s son Luke loves kindergarten and swimming,
and she’s hoping that the two-tooth gap in the front
of his mouth will make snorkeling an easy transition.
Laura has been hard at work on the X-ray telescope
Hitomi, launched on Feb. 17, and she’s looking forward to the transition to data collection and analysis.
Josh Lewis reported that he and his family survived the social experiment that was the latest snowstorm-induced 36-hour power outage in Boston,
despite being holed up without Nick Jr. or Disney
XD. Erik Holmes has started converting an old storage building in the mountains of North Carolina into
a cabin for his family. With tons of hiking, kayaking, climbing and fishing to be had, Erik is hoping to
host plenty of guests once he finishes the work. It’s a
three-hour drive from home, and he’s putting in electrical, plumbing and walls for bedrooms, bathrooms,
kitchen and living space, so he doesn’t expect to be
done for at least a year.
Tamaan Osbourne-Roberts is enjoying family and
work. He’s been traveling quite a bit, mostly for work.
Final word this time around goes to Matt Whalin,
who checked in from Queenstown, New Zealand.
Matt and Sarah (Moline) Whalin used Matt’s conference as an excuse to travel and explore the south
island, having left their kids with Matt’s parents.
Keep the news coming in; it’s one easy way for us to
stay connected between trips to Williamstown. Please
also feel free to send suggestions for other ways to
catch up to any of your class officers, as this is very
much on our minds right now.
2000
Jon Pearson, 91 Sidney St., Apt. 903, Cambridge, MA
02139; Carrie Wicker, 256 Emerson St., South Boston, MA
Short and sweet for the Class of 2000 this time.
Let’s get right to it.
Meghan (Cavanaugh) Raveis checks in from
Connecticut, where she and Ryan Raveis are adjusting to having kids that are out of preschool. Meghan
has gone back to work as managing director of the
Williams Raveis Charitable Fund and in September
organized the first Raveis Ride + Walk fundraising events in Hingham, Mass., and Fairfield, Conn.
John Mayhall and Matt Art showed their support by
riding in the Fairfield event. All proceeds went to
the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation,
which funds up-and-coming cancer researchers and
provides them with grants to continue their work.
“We surpassed our own expectations in the first year
and ended up raising $550K, with 100 percent of
that going toward the creation of four-year cancer
research grants for two scientists.”
Ron Parsons and his wife Kim moved down to
Atlanta, where both are working as physicians at
Emory. Kim does neonatology, and Ron is a transplant surgeon. They have three kids, ages 9, 7 and 4.
“We enjoyed taking the kids snow tubing at ‘snow
mountain’ at nearby Stone Mountain this past weekend. Nothing like the Purple Valley, as all the snow
is man-made, but still plenty of fun for the kids, who
miss playing in the snow. We share lots of fond memories of Williamstown, and I miss it for sure.”
Jay Kleberg sent his first-ever update for class notes
from Austin, Texas, where he lives with his wife of 10
years and their two daughters, ages 8 and 3. Jay works
with a statewide organization to conserve open space
and wildlife habitat. In 2013, he rode a mountain
bike off-road from Mexico to the Canadian Rockies,
and in 2015 he completed a nonstop 50-hour canoe
race from Austin to the Gulf of Mexico. Over the
past several months Jay caught up with Nick Goggans
’01, Fred Storz ’01, Dave Ewart ’02, David Smith ’96
and Chris Ripley ’01.
Virginia (Pyle) See and Kevin See hung out with
Jared Drake and David Fuchs to celebrate Kevin’s
birthday in January, and they had Jon Kallay and
Alicia (Currier) Kallay over for dinner. “It’s a fun, solid
crew of Williams Class of 2000 out here, and we’re
always hoping for visitors (hint hint), especially since
Kevin and I are planning to sell our townhouse and
move into something a little bigger this spring.”
Miles Baltrusaitis moved to the suburbs of Chicago
in early 2014, just a few months before he and his
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wife had a baby girl, Daphne Baltrusaitis, in August.
Miles changed jobs in September, joining UL in
Northbrook, Ill., as the digital marketing lead.
Steve Roman wins the Brevity Award this time,
with the following: “Not much on our side. Biggest
thing was spending MLK weekend with Drew Sutton
and Bayliss. The kids had a powwow. The adults had
booze. It was glorious.”
Dan Mason and family “remain encamped in our
family compound on the Jersey Shore,” down the
street from two different sets of cousins. Dan’s kids
are now 7, 4 and 2 “and crazier than ever. Looking
forward to the summer, when we can fire up the
backyard bouncy house and let them get some
aggression out—we bought the largest one we could
find that wasn’t circus-grade.” Dan commutes to
New York but is trying to find excuses not to. He saw
Patchen Mortimer and Mike Sullivan ’99 at Wayne
Wight’s wedding in September. Dan signed off:
“Thanks as always for curating and being the human
version of the Facebook algorithm that makes us
appear to be our best selves, one elaborately posed
selfie at a time. It must be exhausting.”
2001
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Liana Thompson Knight, 135 Pleasant St., Richmond, ME
Most of you must be saving your catching up for
in person in June—and it’s almost here! Our 15-year
reunion is June 9-12. I hope to see many of you there!
Nick Goggans and his wife Brooke welcomed
Watson Augustus Goggans on Sept. 24. He joins
big sister Eliza Mae, who is 2½. The Goggans live in
Austin, Texas.
Hilary (Williams) Walrod and Mark Walrod welcomed their first child, Kai Emerson Walrod, in
November; Hilary reports they have been absolutely
thrilled by Kai ever since.
C.J. (Navins) Hacker and her husband had their
second little boy, Henry Colt Hacker, on Jan. 27.
As they settled in back at home, C.J. wrote that
big brother Luke loved helping her change “Colt
Baby’s” diapers.
Bailey McCallum married Morley McBride on
Sept. 26 in Essex, N.Y. They had a great time celebrating with many Ephs, including Dan Auerbach,
Dan Center, Cathryn Christensen, Deo Niyizonkiza
(hon. ’13), Kristin Hunter-Thomson ’03, Malin Pinsky
’03, Pete Jones and Alice (Stout) Jones, Grace
Rubenstein, Becky Sanborn Stone, Mark Walrod and
Hilary (Williams) Walrod and Matt Wessler. Bailey
and Morley live in Boulder, Colo., and would love
to go play in the mountains with any nearby Ephs.
Sarah Thomas wrote in from the Sundance Film
Festival, where her film Equity premiered in January
and sold to Sony Pictures Classics. Keep your eye
out—Equity may be in theaters this year!
Benjamin G. Thompson was promoted to partner at Hirschler Fleischer in Richmond, Va. He is
a member of the firm’s investment management
practice.
After spending two years in Tanzania, Fumi Tosu
and his family are moving to Myanmar. Fumi works
for the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
Todd Merkens wrote in on a sunny day in Seattle,
where he said winter was going well (especially
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because there was more snow than last year).
Todd had been working at the Washington State
Transportation Department developing toll systems,
and he now works at Luum, a local startup that helps
employers better engage employees on their commuting habits and options. Todd says one of the
highlights of the new gig is working with Jonathan
Kallay ’00 on the team at Luum.
Rob Seitelman is enjoying his work as an educational consultant, and he continues to work as a
speaker coach for TEDxChapmanU, TEDxCSULB
and TEDxUCIrvine, along with some local clientele. In addition, Rob is getting his professional
acting and directing career back on its feet and is
enjoying time with his family.
Daniel Perttu and his wife Melinda are leading
happy lives with their daughter Annika, who will be
2 in July. They both work at Westminster College
in New Wilmington, Pa., where Dan is the chair of
the School of Music.
Rebecca (Hinyard) Neumann works as a lawyer for
CBS Radio, where she is the lead for several markets, including Chicago and Miami. “Overall, it is
pretty fun for a law job,” Rebecca notes, “since it’s
never the same thing twice, and radio personalities
are always thinking of crazy ideas—last week they
wanted to go tandem skydiving.”
Elizabeth Smith Pratt and Amanda (Brokaw)
Doherty discovered that their sons are in the same
kindergarten class in Bronxville, N.Y. At the time of
this writing, Elizabeth was looking forward to doing
the Canadian Ski Marathon (a 100-mile cross
country ski race) near Montreal in late February
with Jason Stanley ’00.
Seth Brown launched a humorous advice podcast
called “Problem Solvers…ish,” through the Greylock
Glass. Feel free to call in or email problems@grey
lockglass.com with issues to which you would like
solutions.
As for me, I’d like a solution to the problem of
needing to sleep. Seriously, it would be so much easier if I could do my own thing all night while the
kids are asleep! Since I don’t see any way around
that, however, I try to fit in my own projects around
kid schedules. This winter I was on the script selection committee for the Maine Playwrights Festival,
and I have a few of my own research/writing projects in the works. The pace of life feels a little more
sane now that I am staying home with Stella Jean (4
in April) and Cordelia (1½), however, the to-do list
remains as long as ever.
See you in Williamstown!
2002
William Henry Davidson, 102 Locha Drive, Jupiter, FL
Steve Rettke and Viv Rettke welcomed a daughter, Aristeia Alexsandra Rettke, on Christmas Eve.
Viv saved me a Google search on the significance
of Aristeia, which comes from the Illiad and means
“hero’s finest moment in battle.” Viv and Steve have
been living in Chicago since they both graduated
from Kellogg in 2010. Viv then worked at BCG
for two years, and she is now an associate director
of US revenue management at Kraft Heinz. Steve
works at Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, doing
2000– 03
health care investing. “We are looking forward to the
Chicago summer when we can take A out on Lake
Michigan on our boat!”
Jennifer (Greene) Marines caught my email request
for news while on a boat with two Ephs. “My husband Kenny Marines ’01, Emmanuel (Manny)
Benjamin ’01 and I decided to charter a catamaran and are sailing through the British Virgin
Islands for a week. We devised the plan at Rebecca
Steuer’s wedding this summer.” Jennifer sent
news of the Marines’ latest addition to their family,
Oliver Grayson, born Aug. 6, 2014. Ollie joins sister Gabriella, 5, and brother Ryan, 4, and the “whole
crew can’t wait for Kenny’s reunion this summer.”
Jennifer made partner last year at Morrison &
Foerster, and Kenny changed jobs and is working at
RXR Realty, managing the finance and development
of Pier 57 in Manhattan.
Dan Elsea has a new job as a director at the architecture and urban planning firm Allies & Morrison.
He’s been in London for six years and is neighbors
with Mary Banker ’97. He attempts to be a “stand-in
uncle to her two very well-behaved small children.”
Dan sees Shenil Saya regularly on his trips to
Hong Kong. In January, Dan found himself at a dinner at the Asia Society with Goh Chok Tong, CDE
’97. After dinner, they had a tour of the Asia Society
building, designed by New York architects Tod
Williams and Billie Tsien, and which was partially
funded by the generosity of Jack Wadsworth ’63.
Dan spent New Year’s in DC with Sergio
Espinosa. They went to a New Year’s party co-hosted
by Alessandra Stewart. Sergio and Dan road-tripped
to see Fallingwater (Frank Lloyd’s Wright’s iconic
design) and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Dan
was thrilled to attend Liz Sterling’s “legendary holiday party” at Hecho En Dumbo in New York with
Lynn Lim ’01.
Joanna Edstrom and Andy Edstrom ’03 welcomed
daughter Betty in October and are “getting used to
life as a family of four!”
Sophie Leon de la Barra was named to play for the
New Zealand Ice Fernz (senior women’s ice hockey
team) at the Division IIB IIHF world championships in Turkey in March 2016. As an “old Eph,” she
is proud to still be playing competitive hockey.
In the last issue of notes, we learned that Tory
Patterson’s new company, Owl Venture, was in the
Wall Street Journal. Now Tory is quoted in a Jan. 18
New York Times article focusing on raising capital for
education startups.
Jason Chapman and Hillary moved back to the
Boston area from Amsterdam, where they were living for the prior 18 months. “We loved our time in
Europe and were fortunate to visit with many Ephs
who live in the EU (and their respective families),”
including trips to Switzerland to see Gisele Pinck,
Belgium to visit with Jesse Davis and multiple weekends in London with Nishant Nayyar. Welcome back
to the States!
Sadaf Ahmad and Enuma Menkiti ’01 dined at
Union Market in DC. They enjoyed Korean tacos
and are looking forward to attending the wedding of
Erika Beltran ’01 in Texas over Labor Day weekend.
2003
Claire Magat, 1969 Palo Alto Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025;
Greetings, classmates! Thank you for the updates
submitted from literally around the world. Our class
has been busy with job changes, new companies, new
babies, weddings and what sound like truly awesome
adventures.
Kicking this round off are hearty congratulations for Audrey Jackson, who was named the
Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Audrey is to have
the honor of meeting the president. She planned to
head to DC in the spring with her husband Keith
Jackson ’06 and their families.
Perry Kalmus is fundraising for his new startup,
AKALA, which focuses on college admissions and
aims to change the paradigm for students who don’t
have access to high-quality college counseling.
Perry joined Rachel Holmes for her first TV show
premiere! Rachel is acting in the hit Amazon show
Mad Dogs. Says Perry, “It was very cool to watch her
do interviews on the red carpet. It’s the making of a
star!” Perry also went fly-fishing with Marshall Dines
in Canada. The two hiked for 11 days to one of the
most secluded rivers on earth. There they fished what
is considered the most untouched salmon in the
world. The sashimi was extraordinary. Perry also met
up with Hall O’Donell in NYC. The two caught up
over some delicious Mediterranean.
Lindi von Mutius started a job as the director of
program management at the Environmental Defense
Fund in San Francisco. She noted that it was a herculean effort to get packed up, finish her DC job and
move across the country, but she is really excited to be
in SF. (We are happy to have you!) While very sad to
say goodbye to Baltimore Ephs Keiller Kyle and Alix
Davis Weiss, Lindi had a chance to see them both
before her move. Lindi also got together with Keiller
(visiting from Baltimore), Mike Baiocchi (Bay Area
resident) and Emily Siegel (Sacramento resident) at a
beer garden in Sacramento.
Emily (Glenn) Tucker and Peter Tucker welcomed
their third child, Donald Moore Tucker, on Dec.
22. Donny is named after his great-grandfather
Donald Stone ’46. The Tuckers live in the Bay Area
of California.
Caroline Crocker Otis her husband Brad welcomed a baby boy, George Jack, in August. “Aside
from the sleep deprivation, it has been really wonderful with two. Annabel, 2, spends most of her
time dancing and singing, trying to make George
laugh. I’m still at Applied Marketing Science doing
consumer surveys for trademark and false advertising litigation outside of Boston. I went back
to Williams in December for Saul Kassin’s last
Psychology and Law class before he retired, which
was a lot of fun. We ended up hiring one of the
students I met in his class as a summer intern. It’ll
be fun to have another Eph in the office.”
Grey Maggiano, Monica Maggiano and their
daughter Isabella are moving from Miami to
Baltimore, as Grey has been called as rector of
Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill. They
will miss the sun and the sand, but Grey has managed to convince everyone that the Delaware
beaches are “pretty much the same.”
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Fulton Breen and his wife Sarah had their first baby,
Leo, in Ann Arbor last November. They are both
finishing up graduate programs at the University of
Michigan and enjoying being new parents.
Alison (Stewart) Munroe and her husband Brian
Munroe ’07 welcomed a “delightful” daughter,
Katherine Jane Munroe, on Nov. 11, 2015. “She just
loves looking at Dewey, our Boston terrier, who is
acclimating to having toys in the house he’s not supposed to chew on! I just celebrated a promotion and
five years of working at Health Advances, a health
care consulting firm outside of Boston.”
Karthik Ramanathan wrote in from Jincheng,
Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China, where
he teaches English. Karthik’s update paints a vivid
picture of his life in Jincheng: “I am more considerate of the culture now then I may have been when I
initially arrived, and it is paying off in the quality of
my exchanges and the depth of my friendships. I ran
3-4 miles daily, took time off during Chinese New
Year, but found it beneficial, so should return to it. I
just finished reading Robinson Crusoe; it moved me
to tears. I am a member at a ‘library’ that is open 24
hours, serves tea constantly free of charge to members, is beautifully lit, has hardwood and greenery
everywhere, plays chill tunes and projects movies every Tuesday at 8 p.m. I am learning and using
Chinese regularly, though my closest friends tend to
be the best English speakers I come across. People
are extraordinarily family oriented, and it is pretty
nice. Though few people here are vegetarian, I have
not had a problem thus far being one myself. I
read The New York Times and Al Jazeera.”
One snowy afternoon in January, Eliza Myrie graciously received Molly Stone Gerrity, Dorothy
Hiersteiner and Kathleen Smith Redman into her
studio at the distinguished MacDowell Colony, an
artist residency in Peterborough, N.H. After visiting
with the local herd of deer, they snuggled around the
fireplace with a bottle of our hostess’s red, reminisced
and learned about Eliza’s creative process. Molly and
Kathleen shared some creative juices of their own. It
was indulgent.
Brigitte Teissedre had a busy 2015, moving with
her family to Switzerland to pursue a new job and
welcoming a second baby, Josie, born the day before
her big sister’s second birthday. Dean Laochamroonvorapongse, profiled in our
February ’03 in 500 newsletter, welcomed daughter
Nina in January. Dean is living life in two- to threehour increments and looks forward to when Nina is
big enough to take out in the jogging stroller.
In November, Christina Adams moved from North
Carolina to Georgia, where she is a family medicine
physician for Wellstar Health System. She is thrilled
with the new opportunity!
Diane (Bennett) Fribance and husband Jeff welcomed their first son, Cameron Peter Fribance, on
Oct. 22. “We are still getting the hang of things as
a family of three, but he is truly and deeply loved,
and it’s so much fun watching him learn about the
world. Jeff was promoted to first assistant professional at the golf course where he works and is close
to finishing his level 1 PGA certification, so that is
pretty exciting too!”
Aaron “AJ” Jenkins hung out with a ton of
Ephs last fall when Nosirudeen Quadri married
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Mariane at a beautiful ceremony in Woodbury, N.Y.
Nosirudeen is a medical researcher at the NYU
School of Medicine, doing diabetes and heart failure research, as well as a published co-author of
a soon-to-be-released article in Nature Journal of
Science. Quadri had an all-Eph groom party, including Alex Blake, Tomas Baez, Yuri Campbell, Henry
Abaatu and Ching Ho. Alex works at St. Jude
Medical in direct sales and lives in Round Rock,
Texas, with Trisha Blake ’02 and their sons Josiah,
Isaiah and Zion. Based in NYC, Ching is building a
social network site called “Oppa!” to rival Instagram,
Tinder and Snapchat. Henry traveled the farthest
for the wedding, having just completed his master’s degree in pharmacy at Kingston University in
London. AJ was groomsman and wedding officiant for Nosirudeen and Mariane. He also started a
position in January in the Obama administration
with the Department of Commerce as the director for the Center of Faith Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships. He was joined by Tomas and other
Ephs at his licensing service to become a minister!
AJ also attended the wedding of Kamille
Williams last fall. Joining him were Alexei Greig,
Camilla (Marsha) Lynch, Leah King and Danielle
Rosario-Mullen (bridesmaid)!
Last but not least, Dorothy Hiersteiner was married
to Jason Gray in October 2015. Ephs in attendance
were Eliza Myrie, Anri (Wheeler) Brenninkmeyer,
Dave Brenninkmeyer, Eain Williams ’01, Richard
Hiersteiner ’68, William Williams ’68, Joseph
Hiersteiner ’74 and David Fratkin ’74.
I’m still happily working for the Eph-founded
Balsam Brands (Mac Harman ’98), which was
recently named by Forbes as one of America’s Best
Small Companies. We were thrilled to be included
on this list of 25 Small Giants who chose to be great
instead of big. My nearly 4-year-old keeps me plenty
busy; we’re looking forward to a summer spent at the
pool, with plenty of cannonballs off the diving board
thrown in for good measure. Wishing you all a wonderful summer as well!
2004
Charlie Davidson, 116 Vanderbilt Ave., Apt. 8, Brooklyn, NY
11205; Benjamin Fleming, 418 St. Johns Place, Apt. 2D,
Brooklyn, NY 11238; Zak Haviland, 190 North 9th St., #1R,
Brooklyn, NY 11211; 2004secretary@williams.edu
Because it seems many of our classmates are creating new Ephs, let’s start with baby news.
First, from Jonathan Cartagena: “2016 is going
to be a great year! I will be celebrating my five-year
wedding anniversary this February, and my wife and
I had our second son, Julian Dean ‘JD’ Cartagena,
in April. I am also looking forward to celebrating
Joe Buccina’s last days before his wedding in March
in the ’Burg.” We assumed he meant Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, not Colonial Williamsburg, Va. We know
Joe looks great in a tri-corner hat. Turns out it was
Pittsburgh all along.
Melanie Beeck Gaudion hits us with the triple
threat: “The end of 2015 was pretty exciting for
us. We traveled 34 hours door to door to get from
Australia to Brazil to spend the holidays with my
family. We had our two toddlers (Oliver, 2 years
8 months, and Sienna, 15 months), and I was 34
2003– 04
weeks pregnant—possibly my craziest and most
exhausting journey ever (!), but we have been having the most wonderful time surrounded by family
and friends I hardly see. On Jan. 25 we welcomed
Thomas into our life; what a cutie! Everyone is
completely smitten by him. We will be in Brazil
another month, enjoying great company, great food
and great beaches, then we’ll head back home with
our tiny globetrotters.”
Rob Follansbee and his wife Katie Joyce ’05
moved into a new house in Greenwich, Conn.,
and are trying to decide between a minivan and a
Range Rover. Congrats, guys! A Honda Odyssey
gets better gas mileage.
Liz (Papa) Simons writes: “James Papa Simons
joined big brother Eddie, 3, on Oct. 4, 2015. He’s met
a few Ephs already, including Bridget McDonough,
Kate Beswick, Vern Bond, Rob Sica ’03 and Sean
Collins. We are now suburbanites, living in Port
Washington, N.Y. Eddie desperately misses the subways of NYC and was very confused as to why he
was the only kid at the local playground.”
Kam Shahid had yet another baby boy, Palmer
Chapman Shahid. Welcome to the family, kid. And
good luck.
Nicole (Eisenman) Weber has a lot of free time now
that she is no longer class secretary, so she decided
to take up legal recruiting. Any lawyer Ephs who are
contemplating a job change within the private sector,
or who want to talk career strategy generally, should
feel free to contact her at nweber@empiresearch.com.
Over the holidays she hosted Charlie Wittenberg,
Fern Senior, Sumana (Cooppan) Wolf, their spouses,
and two new additions to the Williams family—
Fern’s son Hudson and Sumana’s son Naveed, who
met for the first time at Nicole’s house. Next up was
a visit from Cortney Tunis in March; Cortney is also
looking for activities to fill the void left by her retirement from class secretary-dom.
Emily Isaacson politely addressed all three of us
(we like being secretarial equals) to say, “I want to
give a shout out to Heather Foran and Annie Moore,
who helped me celebrate finishing my doctorate
by throwing me a kickass costume dance party and
bringing a piñata in the shape of my professor’s head.
My Williams friends really are the best.”
Drew Newman—the glue that holds the Class of
’04 together—writes, “Hi guys, I hope all is well!” (So
proper. Can’t think of the last time we wrote thankyou notes.) “Last weekend, I had lots of fun catching up with Ryan Paylor and Andrew Zimmer (and
lots of Ephs from other classes) at the wedding of
Veronica Mendiola ’05 in Miami Beach. Ariel Peters
’06 and I also had dinner last week with Josh Earn
and his girlfriend Ashley Eckert when they were
passing through NYC. Ariel and I moved to NYC
last year after 10 years in DC. I am the chief of staff
at Single Stop, a national anti-poverty nonprofit in
lower Manhattan.”
Claudia Arzeno writes, “In October I moved from
Milwaukee to NYC to start my job as assistant director of the Nathalie Karg Gallery. I have been enjoying being in the city and frequently seeing other
Ephs such as Kelsey (Peterson) Recht, Nora Burns,
Ronni Weinstein and Ashley Kindergan. I also got to
spend a very fun Christmas in Brooklyn with both
family and my good friend Andy Huang.”
In September, Amanda Stout moved to DC to
work at the District Department of Transportation
(ask her about the streetcar!) as special assistant for
economic development in the Office of the Director.
She’s living in the Logan Circle area, caught up with
Elisia Lau and Miyun Kim, and is “really looking
forward to reconnecting with other Ephs in DC.”
Paul DeRosa and Greg Del Prete sponsored a
ring-tailed lemur.
Mark Orlowski celebrated the 10th anniversary of
the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) at an
evening event last summer in Cambridge with nearly
200 friends and colleagues, including a hearty Eph
contingent that included Emily Flynn ’09 (SEI’s associate director), Katie Grace ’09, Jamie Hunt ’03, Chloe
Kuh ’13, Ally Matteodo, Sophie Robinson ’09, Carlos
Silva and Selena Tan ’89. Mark continues to serve as
the founder and executive director of SEI, and the
organization is growing as it enters its 11th year. In
his travels for work he’s met up with Sam Arons in
SF, Andres Schabelman ’06 in LA, former Williams
President Morty Schapiro in Evanston, Ill., as well as
a few other Ephs.
Mark continues to hone his hobby of traveling
comfortably for cheap by maximizing frequent flyer
miles, hotel points and other cost-saving strategies.
David Brancaccio, host of the Marketplace Morning
Report on NPR, noted Mark’s avid collection of miles
and aired nationally three interviews discussing the
best approaches to saving on travel and using miles.
Fly on, Mark.
Tim Patterson wrote us excitedly, “I got married!
Emily Kniffin and I were wed under a full moon
on Aug. 29 in Craftsbury Common, Vt. We’re now
making a home together in Jericho, Vt., with Emily’s
10-year-old daughter Avela. The three of us hiked the
length of Vermont on the Long Trail for our honeymoon, starting in Williamstown with the hike up
to the rocky lookout of Pine Cobble (where we got
very distracted picking wild blueberries). A highlight of the hike was meeting up with Nick Brandfon
and Lexi, who met us at a random road crossing with
Dunkin Donuts and coffee, etc.” Congrats, Tim!
Sarah Croft says “Hi Ben, Charlie and Zak. John
Backus Mayes ’05 and I took Labor Day weekend
quite literally last year as we welcomed our daughter Lucena. Davy Stevenson came up from Portland
two months later to visit and help out in new baby
duties, which was great. Hope all is well with you all
too!” Thanks, Sarah, we’re doing great. However, Zak
stubbed his toe pretty hard last night.
After several years living in increasingly small
towns in Wisconsin, Emily (Bright) Krusack and her
family moved back to the Twin Cities and would love
to connect with Ephs.
Matt Rade is living in Boston, now working at
Lahey Hospital. He says he likes it despite the hospital-wide ban on Axe body spray.
As for your secretaries, Charlie Davidson has
been busy—working at art fairs in Miami and New
York and, more importantly, keeping up with his
Williams vs. Wesleyan Fantasy Football league,
which includes his brother Will Davidson ’02, Paul
DeRosa, Andrew Nathenson, Matt Rade and the
commish, Rob Follansbee. Williams came out ahead
(of course), thanks to some last-minute heroics by
Rade’s team, Purple Valley Panic Mode. In January,
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Maxwell Davidson Gallery exhibited a retrospective
of work by Mary Ann Unger, Eve Biddle’s mother.
Thanks to all the Ephs who came by to see the show!
Dave Rackovan came to town for my birthday in
December. We ate and drank a lot, and Dave got
a workout in by carrying my Christmas tree across
Williamsburg. Thanks, buddy!
2005
Andra Hibbert, 148 Eastern Ave., Apt. 3, St. Johnsbury, VT
05819; Zachary Tomhave McArthur, 1455 North Sandburg
Terrace, Apt. 1403, Chicago, IL 60610; 2005secretary@
williams.edu
The ’05s are having a wonderful winter. Jenni
Simmons writes, “DC is slowly digging out from
the blizzard, but before the thaw started, I had the
chance to build my first snowman since college!” And
so Jenni and her very fashionable snowman appropriately kick off 2005’s “The Tales of Winter 2016”
class notes!
Ken Brown had a demanding new job over the winter managing Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond, Vt.,
a small nonprofit he’s been working at for the past six
winters. They “squeak along with minimal staff and
aging equipment” but host local racing teams’ training and little kids learning to ski. He wishes that the
“mid-Atlantic folks” sent the snow his way!
Kendra Totman Padilla and her husband Andrew
had six days off for the East Coast blizzard and leveraged all their outdoorsy-ness by building a snowman,
sledding in the backyard and exploring unplowed
streets on snowshoes. Kendra started a job as a program manager with Reading Partners. Although it
was hard to leave classroom teaching, she loves serving the students of Baltimore in a different capacity.
She and Andrew bought a house in September, and
they are enjoying the joys of homeownership: fantastic neighbors, a great view of the park, leaky pipes and
hours spent trying to fix duct work in a creepy basement crawl space.
Kendra’s post-college roommate Meg Bossong
doesn’t have snowstorm tales; however, that is at least
partially because she and her husband Milton spent
most of January in Thailand on their honeymoon.
She reports: “Highlights included the food, spending
a day chilling with elephants, the food, and all of it,”
and she credits Jen Steinberg with helping her plan
the itinerary. (Hey, Meg—speaking of food in Asia,
Raphael Jeong is managing a family restaurant in
Seoul! Perhaps a stop on your 50th anniversary world
tour with Milton?) Meg is looking forward to meeting “the next wave of little ones in the ’05 baby boom:
June Laughlin (Amy Shelton’s daughter), Jonah
Steinberg Lear, Sanderling Cart and baby Ambler
Zevallos.” Meg and Milton’s own kid, Kymani, is
having a “great basketball season” on a team that is
the “Minnesota Timberwolves of the WilliamstownLanesboro fifth/sixth-grade boys basketball league,
having the tallest overall starting lineup, which in
fifth grade lends you an even greater advantage than
in the NBA.”
Out in California, Dan Krass is “enjoying the hell
out the historic season the Golden State Warriors
are having! Looking forward to seeing a game
live in February.” Dan is working in an audiology
clinic at Stanford in his hometown. He reports that
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astronomic housing prices haven’t scared people
away; there is still horrendous traffic. Music continues to be a large part of Dan’s life. He has had several piano gigs in San Francisco and reconnected
with his JA Eric Schoenfeld ’03 as well as the bass
player from his cover band from sophomore year
(“remember Papa’s Delicate Condition?”), Lucas
“Goody” Goodbody ’03. When Jaime Hensel visited
Ari Schoenholz in Berkeley for Super Bowl weekend, they had dinner with Dan and Gavin McCormick
before watching Krass play at his dueling piano bar.
In LA, Eric Manchester writes, “I think it’s really
important to report that I have a regular game night
with Spencer Wong ’04, Jon Lovett ’04 and Brendan
Docherty. We play games even nerdier than Settlers of
Catan.” Hey, Eric: In McArthur trigonometry class
today, we played Sine War. “My amplitude beats your
amplitude!” You would have loved it.
Susie Theroux and her husband relocated to
Orange County, and she started a job as an algal ecologist at a state of California nonprofit water research
lab. They also spent a winter weekend cheering on
Williams cross-country alums in the marathon
Olympic Trials with Katie Marsh Garvin and Chris
Garvin ’03, and in general they are just enjoying the
SoCal sunshine!
Joyia Chadwick Yorgey still works remotely for
Williams—from Arkansas—and volunteered with
the Hendrix volleyball team last fall. She “got to play
in practice with a very talented group of girls and
then traveled with the team to the NCAA tournament—all the way to the Final Four! Go, Warriors!”
They didn’t have to cross paths with the Williams
team, although she did run into current Williams
Coach Kelsey at the national championships. Joyia
and her husband Brent Yorgey ’04 have “pretty much
moved into” their new house and hosted her parents
as their first houseguests for a weekend in January.
Then they had at least 30 people (half of them kids
under 12!) over for a potluck. She says their house
is always open to Ephs traveling to or through
Arkansas. Fueled by warm memories of Williams
professors who had their students over for dinner, she
is looking forward to “teaching it forward” in their
new community in Hendrix by inviting over some of
Brent’s students.
Jonathan Landsman laments the fact that there
wasn’t much snowstorm excitement in NYC, but
he is happy to be back in an office job where snow
and its removal is no longer his problem. He is taking his first AutoCAD class and reports that he is
basically a digital Leonardo da Vinci. He moved
back to his hometown of Queens, continuing his
streak of never living in one place for more than
two years. “You gotta keep the landlord on his toes,”
Landsman claims. Every couple years, Prof. Steve
Gerrard asks Jonathan back to campus to co-teach
PHIL 203: Logic and Language. Jonathan runs a
logical fallacy game he wrote when he was in Prof.
Gerrard’s class over 10 years ago. “Last weekend, I
did it again, and since every revision I try to modernize the songs a little for the young kids, this year’s
mix featured Meghan Trainor’s awesome ‘Lips Are
Movin’ (sweeping generalization fallacy).” On the
way to Williamstown to teach in February, he and
wife Tomomi met with Matt Spencer and Jocelyn
Gardner Spencer at the UConn Dairy Bar, where he
2004– 05
learned that “UConn’s husky mascot and a campus
ice cream flavor” share his name.
Jon Melton also visited Williamstown over the
winter, bringing his children Frederick and Anna to
meet up with Father Michael Sheehan, FPO ’03. Fr.
Michael is now a Franciscan priest who was on campus teaching PSCI 17: Pope Francis and the Problem
of Evil during Winter Study. Jon “celebrated Holy
Mass in the Newman Chapel and then we cheered
the Ephs men’s basketball team to a conference win
over Hamilton. It was a great evening!”
Ashley Weeks Cart and James Cart report from
“weirdly warm and muddy Williamstown.” They
rang in the New Year with Meg Bossong and Milton
Ferguson at their home in the Purple Valley. They
anticipated both “proper winter” with sledding and
the birth of their third child, so they promise us news
for next time!
Phil Enock writes in with wild news: “In the actionpacked months since reunion, I got engaged to my
longtime girlfriend, then in record time became
unengaged and single, which made for an epic calamity briefly, but I’ve bounced back swimmingly in a
fresh Somerville bachelor pad where all my guitars,
pianos and microphones fit, no roommates, solid job/
career going.” Phil reminisced about the epic Mission
foam party. That sure was something, Phil. Memories.
Joanna Leathers McDuffee and Dylan McDuffee
are coming up on their first anniversary and are looking back on their beautiful wedding attended by a
slew of alumni: James Cart and Ashley Weeks Cart,
John Leathers ’61, Katie Joyce, Rob Follansbee
’04, Megan Henze, Clare Whipple Bergan, Andrea
Berberian Gardos and Robbie Bergan ’06.
Newly married Sean O’Brien was planning a honeymoon in Iceland and Norway. “Among other
things, we’ll be seeing the Northern Lights, dog sledding, walking on glaciers and ice caving.” Before
heading on their Nordic trip, Sean and his wife
Allison visited with Jonathan Landsman and his wife
Tomomi in NYC. “Allison was enraptured with the
Chinatown in Flushing and got her fix of noodles.
Snow started to fall as Jonathan was going to take us
to tour a green space. Jonathan and I were undaunted,
though our respective wives sought the warmth
of the apartment.” What hardened men after four
Winter Studies in the Purple Valley!
Chuck Soha planned to move to Scandanavia
in April, “but it’s not 100 percent official yet.” In
the meantime, he watched his Patriots lose to the
Broncos in the AFC Championship in Denver.
“Despite being one of maybe five Pats fans at Mile
High Stadium, the Broncos fans were very nice, and
the worst harassment I got was offers of extra sets of
orange pom-poms.” It’s going to be a bit more hostile atmosphere next year at the AFC Championship
game in Buffalo, Chuck.
Ross Smith met up with Zan Armstrong ’04 for a
weekend sailing in the Stockholm archipelago. Ross
is near the halfway mark of his PhD program and the
accompanying report and oral presentation. To focus
on work, he has stopped cutting his hair and trimming his beard. His goal is to rock a man bun for his
seminar; his wife Sam is hoping he tires of that goal.
Dave Cohen is moving to Ann Arbor this summer
to start a cardiology fellowship at the University of
Michigan, and Pam Choi continues to be a surgery
rock star. She published a study in the Journal of
Trauma about firearm injuries in the pediatric population in St. Louis, and was interviewed by NPR.
Katie (Davisson) Dolbec is still working as a doctor
in the ER and in orthopedics doing sports medicine.
Anna (Brosius) Sunshine is finishing up her last
(and ninth) year of her MD/PhD program at the
University of Washington in Seattle and was hoping
to match in psychiatry in March. She looked forward
to not being a student anymore. Outside of med
school, she hangs out with her husband and 2-yearold son in their neighborhood and nearby Gasworks
Park. When their schedules align, she sees Jaime
Hensel, who is “a wonderful friend.”
Hilarie Ashton is teaching a first-year course on
writing about rock and pop music that synthesizes a
lot of the work she’s been doing in American studies
and sound studies. She’s also finishing up a chapter
on Key & Peele that should come out in a book next
year, and that’s helping to shape her dissertation.
“My apologies for not writing earlier—or at any
point in the past 10 years!” Evan Couzo says, checking in from Asheville, N.C., where he’s been since
August working as assistant professor of STEM
education at UNC Asheville. He arrived there by
way of MIT, where he did a postdoc for about a
year and a half studying climate and air pollution.
He says that doing science isn’t nearly as interesting as Carl Sagan made it sound, so he jumped ship
to teach. He also blames the 110 inches of snow
Boston got last winter.
In the immortal 2010 words of Justin Bieber:
“Baby, baby, baby, oooh! Baby, baby, baby, nooo!” Here
we go—keep count if you dare.
Julia (Tingley) Kivitz welcomed her son Charlie in
October; he joins his big sister Eloise. Julia reports
that “Life with two is crazy but fun :).”
Ivan Manolov and his wife Alanna had their first
child, Kalina. She was born on Jan. 31, weighing 7
pounds. Even at 2 weeks old, she was already spending a lot of her time plotting mischief. When they
were still at the hospital a photographer came around
offering to do photos; only later, when the photographer sent the link to where they could download the
photos, did they notice that this photo studio is based
in Williamstown. Definitely a good sign.
David Roth and Mariah Robbins welcomed daughter Louiza Robbins Roth on Dec. 1, 2015, in Seattle;
they also moved into a new house and have already
had visits from Dave Cohen, Reid Phillips and Reid’s
wife Lindsay and their crazy dogs. They’re hoping to
get Mark Hobel and Alana Whitman out to the Pacific
Northwest in the next couple months. They love seeing Williams folks (and trying to convince them to
move near them), so visitors are always welcome.
They encourage you all to come and meet Louiza!
Joanna Lloyd enjoyed a fairly snowless winter in
North East, Pa. Her kittens from the summer are
growing up fast but still get a bottle “every week or
two just for cuddles.” She is enjoying her job as an
emergency veterinarian, and her entire “furry and
feathered flock is doing well.”
Beth Potter and Devin Fitzgibbons ’04 welcomed
Abigail Brandreth Fitzgibbons to the world on Oct.
25. She shares her middle name with her greatgrandfather Donald Brandreth Potter, Class of 1945.
Anne, 2½, loves being a big sister!
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Asha Rhodes-Meade stayed true to her dancer
roots by holding a DJ dance party/baby shower
and caught up with Barrington Fulton, Yamilee
Mackenzie ’06 and Funmi Olosunde ’06.
Betsy (Flint) Engle and her husband Anders are
delighted to add Lars Flint Engle to the family! He
was born on Jan. 16. Big brother Magnus is smitten.
JJ O’Brien “wants to take credit for officially setting up Mary Stranghoener with her current boyfriend—who opened with the line of ‘How do you
know JJ O’Brien?’ to grab her attention and eventually her heart.” Classic line there, for sure, though
it’s never worked for me as well as “Do you have a
map? ’cause I just got lost in your eyes.” Anyhoo… JJ
wrapped up 2015 crashing for a few weeks at Megan
Henze’s apartment in NYC. “It was so great to catch
up with Lindsay Payne, Mary, Rob Follansbee and
Katie Follansbee, Tracey Samuelson, Julia Sergeon,
Lizzie Reifenheiser, Julia Kivitz and Jeff Kivitz, Joanna
McDuffee and Wes Fox ’03, plus to run into Bart
Clareman at WeWork and run into Bryan Welsh out
on the street outside of WeWork!”
Aron Chang checked in from Mardi Gras in New
Orleans, where he noted it was 70 degrees. Brittany
Duncan happened to be visiting from Houston,
and they met up for lots of food, king cake, milkshakes and parades. And with maybe the best email
of all, Desiree Gonzalez reports being “consistently
content”—a goal we can all aspire to. She is living in
Miami with a kitten named Baby Kitty a block away
from the beach, working in HR at Nobur. She visited
Key West with her mom where it was gorgeous and
relaxed and they ate key lime everything.
2006
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Ariel Peters, 80½ Jane St., Apt. 2B, New York, NY 10014;
It’s hard to believe we’re approaching our 10th!
Then again, when I asked Jim Prevas for an update,
he responded, “I go to work, then I come home.” So
maybe we’re more grown up than I realize.
The mean age in Melody Marchman Schade’s family is skewing pretty young right now. She sent in
her yearly baby update: Her third child, Mary Alice,
arrived on Nov. 24. “At 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and 19
inches long, she’s our smallest baby yet!” For a short
time Melody and her husband Matt were parents to
three under 3. (Gulp!) Malcolm and Max are making
things a little bit easier by being wonderful big brothers, Melody said. The Schades are staying in Fort
Leavenworth for another year, so Kansas City Ephs
should definitely stop by for a visit.
James Bronson Parr Dagneau—son of Lucy (CoxChapman) Dagneau and her husband Zack—came
into the world on Jan. 16. Lucy noted that as she
typed her email to me James was napping under a
blanket a group of college pals knit just for him (in
Williams colors, of course).
Luke Harrison Borland was born last July, joining big sister Caroline. Proud parents Laura (Noel)
Borland and Seth Borland ’03 were excited for everyone to meet their little ones at reunion.
Meredith Sanger-Katz and Jeff Nelson ’04 also welcomed a new family member. According to Meredith,
their puppy is literally the cutest dog ever (it’s true;
she sent me a photo) and is becoming a Greenwich
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Village celebrity. Meredith was looking forward to
a weekend of bonding and debauchery with Todd
Shayler, Eric Markowsky and honorary Eph Daniel
Parr the last weekend in February.
Deyon Johnson had her first child, a boy, in March.
More than a dozen Williams alums attended her
baby shower.
Christine Layng married Eric Aschwald on Sept. 5
in Central Park. Ian Bone, Courtney Bartlett, Tiffany
Chao, Kristin (Moss) Rhyne, Eliza (Davison) Leach
and Christine’s brother Eddie Layng ’10 celebrated
the new couple. Christine is still working for her
namesake, Christie’s, in New York.
Joe Shoer tied the knot with his fiancée Nicole
on Sept. 19 in Bolton, Mass. The guest list included
members of the classes of 1973 through 2013, and
Dave Butts was the best man. He had just proposed
to his girlfriend, Eliza, a Middlebury alum. “I also left
my aerospace engineering job to start up an investment firm with a friend from MIT, and I absolutely
love it,” Dave said.
Congratulations to Funmi Olosunde, who was
selected by the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame as
part of a group of “Future Famers.” The award recognizes young individuals who are “destined to leave
their mark.”
Jennifer Hermanski is executive director of the
Literacy Network of South Berkshire, a nonprofit
in Lee, Mass., that provides free tutoring services in
adult basic education and ESOL.
Chris Thom began his residency at the Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia, and Colleen (Hession)
Thom is working at Lankenau Medical Center. They
live in Center City with their daughter Madeline.
In January Louise Kushner, April Champion, Emily
Miyares Overend and Sky Riggs ’05 attended a
Williams “art mafia” event at MoMA. Louise left her
job at Kissinger Associates for Michael Bloomberg’s
advance team. She’s also a yoga instructor; she taught
a private lesson in her Brooklyn apartment to April
and me. Louise and Sky’s cat, George Michael, made
an excellent assistant, having mastered plank pose.
Evan Bick and Gillian Sowden love their new home
in Hanover, N.H. Gillian is working at Dartmouth
Medical Center, where Evan will begin a postdoc in
July. He was finishing up an internship at a VA hospital. Ellie Schmidt, Keith McWhorter, Emily Casden,
Treb Allen and Marcela Di Blasi ’08 have passed
through town, as have fellow cross-country skiers Joel
Bradley, Elissa (Rehm) Bradley, Tim Stickney ’04
and Sarah Stickney ’04. Evan and Gillian’s twin boys
quickly mastered the sport, Evan said, and are getting
ready to join the Williams team in the 2030s.
Joel was finishing up his fourth and final year in the
Tufts/Maine Medical Center internal medicine and
pediatrics residency program in Portland and preparing for a move to Hanover; he and Elissa were eager
to be back closer to their families and the rolling hills
of Western New England. Joel will start a position at
the same VA hospital where Evan is—just as Evan
is leaving. Elissa is still working for a thriving consulting company in Portsmouth, N.H., configuring
SalesForce to an ever-expanding range of industries.
The couple stayed and raced with Keith Kantack ’11
in Jackson, N.H., over the winter and attended the
wedding of their own wedding officiant, Tom Kramer
’03, over NYE in Philly. They were planning a trip
2005– 07
to Wisconsin to ski the American Birkebeiner with
Joel’s brother Jamie and Noel Johnson ’01.
Kathryn Fromson bought a house in Raleigh, N.C.,
in November: “It feels great to put down roots here
and have my own home.” Alexis Saba visited in
February—they had a blast exploring the Triangle
and catching up.
Erika Latham was happy to report that her days in
Miami were numbered. She was looking forward to
spending a somewhat nomadic summer in Europe,
then settling into her new home in London.
José Marrero couldn’t remember the last time he
contributed to Class Notes. Here goes! The proud
New Jerseyan said goodbye to Wall Street and spent
three years in Medellín, where he relied on blackjack and fantasy sports to put him through his master’s degree in educational leadership. Born to Cuban
and Puerto Rican parents, he was invited to this new
land by Ben Angarita ’03. While there he shared a
Colombian-style Halloween with Elizabeth (Sewell)
Knowles. Seeking more adventures and without
knowing a single word of the local language, he
found himself in China next. After a year of managing a Montessori kindergarten and exploring freelance college coaching, he moved from Nanjing,
China, to Shenzhen, right on the border with Hong
Kong, to work with a Swarthmore graduate, the
youngest brother of Chin Ho ’04. It was during a
trip back to the States that José became convinced
he could start his own college-readiness and tutoring company, Top Scholars Consulting Group. The
startup was a massive success during its first year. José
plans to collaborate with Jaris Cole ’05, a Chinese
major and former Williams basketball star who lives
in Beijing, as well as other contemporaries who graciously agreed to help, namely Eze Redwood, Chris
Sewell ’05 and Paige Kendall ’08. The company will
begin offering a 24/7 service that uses virtual reality
Mind Mansion while expanding its for-profit base in
Asia as it seeks to offer the same platform as a nonprofit opportunity for underprivileged minorities in
the US. José’s future plans include getting his PhD,
buying property in Colombia and DJing with Dan
Gura and Funmi Olosunde at our reunion.
I don’t know how to follow that except with an
update from Adam Bloch: “I moved from LA back to
New York last fall, but I was scarcely settled before I
woke up one night with the faint whisper of a phrase
in my head: ‘There are 19 pieces to any puzzle.’ That
clue set me off on a journey that began with a chance
encounter with Parker Shorey on the subway and
ended many months later in Malta. I’m still trying to
figure out what it all meant…”
Last, but certainly not least, Andres Schabelman is
involved with three different startups, model millennial that he is. “I’m feeling sexy, young and free,” he
said. Here’s hoping reunion has a similar effect on all
of us. I can’t wait to see everyone in June!
2007
Caitlin Hanley, 445 E. Ohio St., Apt. 3416, Chicago, IL
It is not surprising that the ’07 Ephs have been
characteristically busy. This edition of class notes features wedding celebrations, graduations, job changes,
Eph gatherings and the arrival of several new Ephs!
On April 22, 2015, Ted Wells and his wife welcomed daughter Norah. Ted finished his clerkship
with the Nevada Supreme Court in August 2015,
and he now practices law at a small commercial litigation firm in Denver.
Eylul (Kasal) Stobaugh and Robert celebrated the
arrival of daughter Eliana Noelle Stobaugh on Jan. 5,
2016—Christmas Eve, according to the Armenian
Orthodox church’s calendar (thus the middle name
Noelle). Eylul writes: “She is a really big baby, a butterball. She weighs about 12 lbs now at eight weeks!
We speak to her in three different languages already.”
Soon after historic snowfall in NYC, on Jan. 27,
Leroy Lindsay and Marisa Cabrera welcomed their
first child, Nicolas Gabriel Cabrera-Lindsay, into
the world. Fortunately, Leroy had no difficulty making it to the hospital in time from DC, where he
is completing his traumatic brain injury fellowship
at Georgetown University. Leroy will be returning to New York this summer to begin working as
faculty at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Marisa
was also promoted to supervising attorney at the
Center for Appellate Litigation—an appellate public defender organization in NYC. She will be celebrating her fifth year with the organization this
year. Leroy and Marisa toured the Pacific Northwest
with Rafael Frias and his wife Jackie. Eph encounters
included Spike Friedman in Seattle as well as Stevon
Cook, Aaron Mieszczsanki, Stefan Elrington and
Joshua Akinriola Adeyemi in San Francisco. Last July, Laura Ellison married Luke Preble in
Port Gamble, Wash. Laura and Luke were introduced by Veronica Ivey ’08 while Laura was still at
Williams. Caroline Cretti ’06, Lissy Robie ’08, Meghan
(O’Malley) Thedford and Katie Howard were all there
to celebrate. Lauren Fernandez and Ian Poirier were married
this past October in Berkeley after dating for nine
years. Darius Long and Matthew Schratz were Ian’s
groomsmen, and the ceremony was officiated by
Jacqui Miller. Other Ephs in attendance included
Brett (Moody) Bodnar, Chris Bodnar, Laura (Arnolds)
McCarthy, Allycia Devon Kurt Jones, Martha Rogers,
Jose Pacas, Charles Christianson, Katie Stiffler, Brian
Hagan, Lindsey Wu and Jane Allen.
Nick Yukich was married last November in Cabo,
Mexico, and moved to London in December. Suzanne (Geer) Kijewski defended her dissertation
work on HIV and received her PhD in microbiology/
immunology from Boston University in July 2015.
Meanwhile, her husband Mike graduated from BU’s
business school with a MBA and MS in information
systems in May 2015. After finishing, they moved
down to Tampa, Fla., in September 2015 to be closer
to Suzanne’s parents. Suzanne is working at an oncology therapeutics startup spun off from USF, and
Mike is working for Bloomin Brands, which is the
company that runs Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish
Grill and Carraba’s (there are some great food perks!). After finishing up family medicine training in
California, Tyler Gray moved to Baltimore and is
working for Healthcare for the Homeless. He is now
part of a new clinic in west Baltimore, the heart of
the riots in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death. Laura Lee Ernst writes from Nashville, where she
is home with her two little kids (soon to be 1 and 3).
Feeling nostalgic for academic things, she’s trying out
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an online course in global health case studies. Laura
crosses paths with Nick Carter a few times a year, and
their 3-year-old sons hang out pretty regularly. About a year and a half ago, Elizabeth Atkinson
took an NIH IRACDA postdoctoral fellowship to
work at Stony Brook University on Long Island in
the Henn Lab for Human Population Genetics. She
investigates the molecular evolution of genes significant to our species, focusing on brain-related genes to
keep a foot in her neuroscience roots and identifying
specific genetic variants associated with disease risk
in human groups that are typically underrepresented
in medical studies. The most exciting thing she’s done
is fieldwork for DNA collection in Namibia last year,
where she got to hang out with Namibia’s last traditionally living population, the Himba, for a month! Elizabeth meet up with several other Ephs at
Ridhima Raina’s bachelorette party in Las Vegas and
at an impromptu NYC reunion that included Julia
Ramsey, Jessie Yu, Eileen Kim, Aleha Aziz, Jay Bid ’06
and Thomas Kunjappu ’06. Dan Binder writes from Phnom Penh, at the end of
the first week of a three-week trip through Cambodia
and Vietnam. At the tail end, he planned to stop in
Tokyo for a weekend to visit Matt O’Donnell before
flying back to Chicago.
In May 2015, Abelee Esparza received her master’s
in social work and is pursuing a master’s in nonprofit
leadership, which she will finish this May. She lives
in Boston. Sean Hyland had the pleasure of playing a string
of epic games of Mafia with Mike Davitian, Chris
Ellis-Ferrara, Chris Furlong and Bill Ference back in
January. Furlong surprised no one with his unconventional tactics, often going along with the townspeople to eliminate his fellow mafia members.
Furlong reports that all is well in DC. He made a
trip to Boston to visit Sean, Bill and Colin Carroll as
well as Grant Burgess ’08, Mike Davitian and Chris
Ellis-Ferrara, who were also in town. They met Bill’s
son Brooks and watched Sean run an indoor 5K at
the BU Terrier Classic.
Diana Davis will be a visiting assistant professor
in the math department at Williams next year! She
visited Williams in February for a wonderful conference in honor of Frank Morgan’s retirement and
connected with many alums of Williams and of the
SMALL summer math research program.
Sara Morrissey escaped the Oregon rain over the
winter in Florida, Mexico and Kauai. She and her
boyfriend, Breakside brewer Dan Hynes, got engaged
while backpacking the Na Pali Coast trail. Sara continues to lead Levee Ready Columbia, a levee infrastructure program, in north Portland. She began
working with Henry Burton ’08, who is now a policy
director for Multnomah County.
Jennie Levitt writes: “I am writing a cookbook
that’s due to be released in spring 2017 by Sterling
Publishing. The recipes are based on my experience living and cooking in Paris and are inspired by
the multicultural landscape of the city’s food scene.
While I was doing my MBA, I met chef and food
writer Shaheen Peerbhai (the wife of one of my classmates) and once again turned to food and cooking
as we hosted a yearlong lunch pop-up. We are still
working on the title, but it’s going to be a collection of small plates, sharing platters, creative tartines,
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drinks and desserts. I’m also illustrating the book
myself, which I am super excited about! It’s like a
dream come true.” Sounds like it!
It was great to hear from so many of you again,
and I wish you a wonderful summer. Also, be sure
you mark your calendars for June 8-11, 2017, for our
10-year reunion weekend in the Purple Valley!
2008
Sarah Bonn, 110 East 84th St., Apt. 5D, New York, NY
10028; Tim Geoffrion, 45 Trowbridge St., Apt. 5B, Cambridge, MA 02138; 2008secretary@williams.edu A few new jobs, new moves and more than a few
new Eph babies! The Class of ’08 has been busy over
the past few months, and we were glad to hear such
happy updates from everyone.
Starting off with the news from overseas, Katherine
Huang moved to London at the end of January as
part of her job in private banking (where she covers
new markets and business development initiatives).
Katherine had spent the past five and a half years living in Hong Kong, so this was a big move for her.
She reports she’s loving London and having a blast.
Kate Nolfi and Eugene Korsunskiy are both enjoying teaching at UVM and they just moved into a
house they designed! They can’t wait to have Ephs
over to visit their new place in the Vermont countryside, and they promise lots of hiking and maple syrup
for those who make the trek!
At 10,200 feet above sea level, Jared Oubre lives
a life at altitude, speaking Spanish and running an
after-school program for high school students in
North America’s highest city (Leadville, Colo.).
In October he celebrated a special union, marrying Emily Wheeler on a farm in Indiana. Dan Golub
accompanied on the piano as Emily walked down the
grassy aisle to the tune of “This Little Light of Mine.”
And just as spring has finally arrived, so too have
a few new Eph babies! Our class’s co-VP, Charlotte
MacKenzie, and her husband Scott MacKenzie ’06
welcomed their first daughter, Elle MacKenzie, into
the world in August. Charlotte and Scott report that
they already love being parents (and seeing as they
were able to spend Charlotte’s maternity leave living
in Williamstown, we can see why!). After enviably
spending the first few weeks of her life in the Purple
Valley, baby Elle has now seen the West Coast, as
Charlotte and Scott spent Thanksgiving in San
Francisco and were able to hang out with KK Fischer,
her husband Stefan and their daughter Samantha.
Our class president Jessie (Freeman) Hole and her
husband Ned Hole ’05 welcomed a daughter, Whitley
Dillon Hole, into the world in November. During
MLK weekend, the Hole clan traveled from Boston
to visit Scott and Charlotte in their new home in
Rye, N.Y., which gave city-dwellers Ana Sani, Sarah
Bonn and Carolina Jolly a great reason to trek out to
Rye to meet the two new babies!
Another baby busy meeting Ephs is Addison
Randall West Jr., the son of Ashley Eyre West and
her husband Addison West. Born on Jan. 8, Baby
Addison has already met Alison Murray and Annie
Coleman and is gearing up to meet lots more friends!
Lashonda Gardenhire and her husband John welcomed their firstborn, Garnett Gardenhire, into the
world on March 22, 2015. In his first year of life,
2007– 09
Garnett has become quite the traveler, visiting the
Grand Canyon, Hawaii, DC and Europe. (He wants
to see as much of the world as possible before he
joins the Williams Class of 2036!)
Matthew McClure and his wife Cubbey welcomed
Gregory Matthew McClure into the world on Nov.
10 and reported that Gregory is very fond of his
Willimas onesie! Gregory’s dad Matthew is staying in Philadelphia next year as a faculty member at
Penn, focusing on rehab and sports medicine.
Looking forward to hearing how everyone spends
the spring and more about all the new additions to
our class!
2009
Claire Basham, 166 Smith St., Apt. 2A, Brooklyn, NY
Dear classmates, fortunately, we are in a position where our class notes typically note events
that are cause for celebration and joy. It is with a
heavy heart that I begin these notes honoring Scott
Smedinghoff, who passed away on Jan. 15. He was
in his fourth year studying toward a PhD in mathematics at Dartmouth. I did not know Scott personally. However, from what I’ve heard and read about
Scott since his passing, he is remembered for his dry,
witty sense of humor, his great generosity and his talents as a musician and mathematician. Scott began
his time at Williams in Lehman West and developed
deep roots in the music and faith communities on
campus as a gifted singer, pianist, percussionist and
organist. He had been back to Williams as recently
as last spring to perform with the wind ensemble, in
which he had participated as an undergraduate. Kevin
He wrote in remembrance of Scott: “While I did not
know Scott very well, I had great respect for his personal character, his mental aptitude and his musical
ability. Having spent four years in choir with Scott,
I had a firsthand glance at his genius. My fondest
memory of Scott was back in January 2007, when the
choir traveled to Italy during Winter Study. The day
after we arrived in Rome, Scott, Alex Kramer and I
went to the restaurant across from our hotel to grab
some lunch. We all ordered pizza and, unbeknownst
to me at the time (I cannot speak for Alex or Scott),
when you order pizza at a restaurant in Italy, they
give you an entire 14-inch pizza. Needless to say, I
was surprised by the amount of food that was before
me and questioned whether I could finish it. Not for
Scott, though; he dug into his pizza with gusto and
finished it in less than five minutes. Seeing my surprised face, he grinned mischievously and said, ‘I like
pizza. I’m actually still hungry,’ followed by his style
of slightly nervous laughter. I am not particularly
religious, but I would like to believe that if there is
something beyond this life, he is definitely up there
looking down, smiling and waving at all of us.” Kevin,
thank you for sharing this memory and for your kind
words and thoughts.
First, I’d like to make a correction to the last round
of notes. “Morgan Phillips Scott” should have read
Morgan Phillips-Spotts, and the referring pronoun
should read she. I apologize to Morgan for this error
and thank her for her understanding!
Every day I see ads on the subway that read: “Need
a lawyer? Call…” But, truly, we can just draw on our
2009 classmates for legal counsel. Ben Bodurian is at
Gibson Dunn in DC. Cary Kotcher is in the second
year of law school at Fordham Law in Manhattan
and has a 2016 summer associate position at DLA
Piper in NYC. Emily Deans graduated from UConn
Law in May with a certificate in energy and environmental law and passed the CT bar. She’s practicing
environmental, energy, utility and telecommunications law at the Hartford, Conn., offices of Robinson
& Cole, LLP, where her late father, Stuart R. Deans
’78, practiced environmental law from 1987 until
his untimely passing in 2005. Robin Kuntz is back in
the Bay Area after a year clerking for a federal judge
in Manhattan, working at the law firm Latham &
Watkins in San Francisco. She wrote that it’s been
great to reconnect with friends there (like fellow cross
country-er Beth Links!) and to be closer to family.
Nichole Beiner had a lot of news to share! She
wrote, “This summer, I went to the Little Three picnic
for alumni of color, organized by Brian Thomas ’12.
It was amazing to see so many Ephs in attendance,
including Nailah Wilds ’09, David Edwards ’09, Sarai
Kearse ’08 and Courtney Smith ’10 (who wore one of
the incredible dresses from her Courtney Noelle line,
featured in Essence magazine). Also, Vince PowellNewman ’10 and I went to Williams for homecoming, where we got to catch up with a bunch of Ephs,
including Raul Cruz and Tatiana Cruz ’09 and Juan
Baena ’07, and to meet some older alumni. A couple
short weeks later, and only a few days after I officially
got sworn in as a lawyer, Vince and I got engaged!
Antonio Lopez ’10, Rousseau Mieze ’10 and Dave
Kulick ’10 helped us celebrate the exciting news along
with other close friends and family. We’re taking our
time to enjoy being engaged, for me to get used to
being a lawyer and to plan the perfect wedding while
traveling between Boston and New York.” Nichole
has reconnected with Emily Flynn Pesquera, Teri
Hoffman ’10 and Betsy Assoumou ’09, who all help
Boston feel a little bit warmer. Danielle (Zentner)
Joerges is living in Germany and working as a geologist. She got married on Oct. 9, 2015, in Germany to
Christoph Joerges. Kevin Connolly is moving to DC
in May and will be attending George Washington
University’s physician assistant program starting in
June. Also, this fall Kevin will get married to Jenny
(they met in Boston the year after graduation). Alicia
Santiago is in her sixth year of teaching public high
school in NYC and now has tenure as a special education teacher. She loves the kids she gets to work
with this year and is balancing teaching with the
whirlwind of planning her July wedding to her fiancé
Ryan. Congratulations, Nichole, Danielle, Kevin and
Alicia, and thank you for sharing!
Katherine Conaway arrived in Montevideo,
Uruguay, in February as part of the second ever
Remote Year group—she’ll be living and working in
12 cities for the next 12 months with 75 other digital nomads. Katherine is still freelancing, doing a
mix of project management, brand consulting and
writing. She’s got an Instagram and FB page dedicated to it and is hoping to also do some writing
and podcasts/videos. Check it out and get a chance
to live vicariously traveling the world! Daniel Hong
was to be Williams’ alumni representative at a college fair at one of the premier high schools in NYC
in April. He looked forward to sharing and talking
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about his highlights and experiences at Williams
and, he hoped, helping recruit future generations of
Ephs! Since September, Eric Kang has been part of
the touring production of A Gentleman’s Guide To
Love And Murder (2014 Best Musical Tony Award)
as a pianist. He’ll be on the road for about a year and
hopes to see Ephs along the way!
We have two classmates who will be crossing paths,
although I’m not sure they realize this (ah, the power
of class notes!). Alex Francis-Ratte (previously Ratte)
accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of Japanese studies at Furman University in
Greenville, S.C. He is excited to start a new chapter
in his life with husband Joshua Francis-Ratte and is
anticipating/expecting/demanding regular visits from
friends! Ruth Aronoff will be completing her PhD
in geology at Purdue University in the spring, and
in the fall she will be joining the faculty at Furman
University as an assistant professor of structural geology. Not only is Furman a small liberal arts school
in the mountains with the school color purple, but
also, during Ruth’s campus interview, one of the geology faculty flagged down an English professor they
happened to walk past in the hallway. He wanted to
introduce them since they are both Williams alums!
As Ruth wrote, it’s always a great sign when you’ve
already got Ephs by your side in a new home! In case
this professor gig doesn’t work out, Ruth also applied
to the astronaut program. So, get ready for class notes
dispatches from the moon! Alex and Ruth, I hope
you two can connect at Furman!
A lot of New Yorkers wrote in. Andy St. Louis relocated there. Still loving New York, Mijon Zulu’s extracurriculars have been quite full. In January, he sang
his third solo with the University Glee Club (UGC)
of NYC. Antonia Clark, Stefanie Williams and yours
truly were there to see the outstanding performance.
In February, Mijon performed in a Valentine’s Day
group cabaret at the Broadway Comedy Club. Natalie
Diaz and Sarah Hill turned up for the show. (Sarah
came from Boston!) Mijon planned to sing with
UGC again in April while preparing a one-hour
solo cabaret show. Keep it up, Mijon! Lisa Sloan
moved back to New York in February after being an
Angeleno for six years. She took a job as the youth
services and community education manager at the
Pride Center of Staten Island. Lisa is happy to be
home and geographically closer to many of her classmates. Cam Henry is entering his final semester at
Columbia Business School and is excited to re-join
the real world this summer. He watched the Super
Bowl with Ben Howard and hopes to see Mijon sing.
Riki McDermott moved back to LA to be closer
to her family. She and Scott found a great place in
Marina Del Rey. Riki stayed with ESPN and moved
to its downtown LA office and got a dog named
Champ! He’s a golden retriever rescue, and Riki and
Scott love hiking with him. Stacey Baradit says that
life in Berkeley is good. She will graduate in May and
then start as a UX designer for Apple, which she’s
pumped for. Stacey continues to run into Toni Kraeva
on campus and randomly at ski resorts in Tahoe and
always enjoys catching up.
Noemí Fernández has been hitting the Williams
alum circuit hard this year! She traveled back to
Williamstown for homecoming in November for the
first time since graduating, spent the winter holiday
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traveling with Merritt Edlind ’07 across Western
Europe and met up with a group of alums in Costa
Rica for a weeklong, very Williamsy vacation. Noemí
was also helping to organize WLAN’s first ever
meet and greet in NYC on March 12 and planned
to attend Williams’ Bolin Weekend as an alum panelist, speed mentor and newly minted class agent.
She is now in year two at Swarthmore College as
the student wellness program manager, where she
works closely with Mo Lotif ’11, the assistant director of the Intercultural Center, and still loves downtown Philadelphia as much as when she moved there
three years ago. Jessica Rodriguez was on campus for
homecoming and spent most of the day getting in
some much-needed quality time with Jon Earle and
Beth Leibinger but also had the pleasure of running
into Eve Streicker and Noemí. She expects to see a
whole bunch of Ephs during wedding season since
Kaveh Landsverk and Heather Bemis, and Katie
Gagne and Scott Hastings are getting married.
For Aroop Mukharji, year two of his PhD is swimming swimmingly. Aroop has two bits of big news:
He launched a short-form humor video series called
“Office Hours,” where he interviews professors at
Harvard about their research, and he is publishing
a book in April called Diplomas and Diplomacy: The
History of the Marshall Scholarship, with a preface by
the current UK Secretary of State. Clearly Aroop is
underachieving, as always. Lauren Peress wrote that
she has nothing to report except, of course, that she
has the cutest baby ever! She wrote, “We went on a
California adventure with our daughter Lylah Naomi
and stayed with Ali Barrett in her new apartment in
San Francisco!” Lauren attached a picture of Lylah
with the Golden Gate Bridge, and I can verify that
she is a smiley and beautiful girl!
Matt Draheim wrote in for the first time; thanks,
Matt! He moved to Austin, Texas, in September.
He said it’s been a fun five months getting to
know the city, its plentiful trails and green spaces,
and the mind- and stomach-boggling number of food trucks. He and Sarah saw Darlingside
play in early December at the Cactus Cafe. Matt,
Harris Paseltiner and Hannah Ratcliffe caught up
over brunch at Kerbey Lane Cafe on NYE. Matt
explained that winter was short, and it’s almost warm
enough for the swimming holes and river floats again.
(Lucky!) If you haven’t visited, head to Austin before
the summer heat sets in. Dan Benz also sent a request
for visitors. He moved to Hilo on the Big Island of
Hawaii and would love for Ephs in Hawaii to reach
out, as well as anyone that happens to be visiting,
since there is plenty of space for guests. Watch out,
guys! You may have a full house before you know it.
That’s all, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful
spring and that your summers kick off with a bang.
2010
Jamie Pickard, 415 Buchanan St., Apt. N, San Francisco,
CA 94102; 2010secretary@williams.edu
The winter brought many exciting developments in
the lives of our classmates—from new jobs to international moves to world travel with a handful of lifelong commitments and even a baby(!) in between.
To start, let’s catch up on some older news: Last
Labor Day Chloe Blackshear married Chaz Lee
2009– 10
’11 in Chapel Hill, N.C. The wedding also moonlit
as a Sage C reunion, with Chloe’s freshman roommate Casey York in attendance alongside Dan Gura,
Hannah Cunningham, Meg Zisser (with her fiancé
Corey), Ashley Carrera, Tanya Zhuravleva (with her
husband) and Sharon Ron as well as other folks from
the Class of 2011. Last summer was an exciting and busy time for
Ben Mackinnon, who joined the entrepreneurial
ranks, founding Kard with the goal of saving consumers money on all of their purchases. Ben closed a
$600,000 seed round of funding over the winter and
planned to launch the product publicly this spring.
Check out getkard.com for more details! In August, Laura (Biggers) Hull and her husband
Tyler Hull ’08 moved to Minneapolis and welcomed
a baby boy, Henry, in January. Laura and Tyler “are
enjoying and enduring all of the clichés of new parenthood and loving our little guy to pieces!”
Many classmates moved over the past few months,
both internationally and domestically. Andrew
Bartsch, who transfered to London in January for
work, is self-reportedly still struggling to become
accustomed to British crosswalks and spelling. Also
making the move across the pond in January, Caitlin
Eusden wrote from Berlin that she “would love to see
anyone either passing through Germany (or Europe
in general) or living here full time!” Cristina Diaz
wrote in from Barcelona that she is working on her
MBA, and “life has never been better.”
Allegra Hyde is living in Bulgaria and conducting
a Fulbright fellowship. Her collection of short stories
won the Iowa Short Fiction Award and will be published in October 2016. Congratulations on such an
impressive accomplishment, Allegra!
At the time of this writing, John McLeod was
planning his move to Mumbai, India, to work in a
renewable energy startup called Oorja, which works
to convert agricultural waste into electricity, giving
energy access to households in rural India. Best of
luck, John!
After completing her master’s at the Yale School
of Forestry, last year Rebecca “Bex” Gilbert moved
to DC. She is completing a one-year fellowship as
the Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the office of US
Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii. During her interview,
she was “ridiculously pleased” to discover that one
of her future bosses is an Eph: Michael Obeiter ’04.
Rebecca is looking forward to connecting with other
DC Ephs.
Escaping Chicago’s famously bone-chilling wind,
Alex Taylor and Sydney (Tooze) Taylor ’12 headed
to San Diego in January. Sydney took full advantage
of the beautiful San Diego Rowing Club and has
logged many kilometers of sculling on Mission Bay.
Alex finished interviewing for an internal medicine
residency and was looking forward to Match Day. After returning from Mali in December at the
conclusion of his Peace Corps commitment, Ethan
Timmins-Schiffman is substitute teaching a few
times a week in the Seattle area while applying
for other jobs. In a nod to his college basketball
career, Ethan also works the scoreboard or score
book at local high school games. One of the refs
reportedly told him, “Man, you should be a ref.”
Ethan considered this advice carefully and decided
he would like to ref high school games—after he
retires. Before that, though, he says, “I have to get
a job.” Good luck, ETS!
After a wacky winter of moving, Cat Vielma is
finally settled in her new Denver home. She attended
a Teach It Forward campaign event in LA, where
she caught up with Dilia Ortega ’12 while enjoying
alumni-directed lectures about education. She promoted the event, stating: “If you have a chance to
attend a #TeachItForward event, please do! They’re
awesome afternoons and totally reminded me of our
days in Hopkins Hall.”
I wholeheartedly agree with Cat’s endorsement, as I
attended the Williams Teach It Forward event in San
Francisco (which centered around technology in education). I had a blast catching up with many Bay Area
Ephs, including Sam Jackson and Brianna Wolfson,
as well as Sam Blackshear and Bret Scofield, who
moved to the Bay in October from Boulder, Colo.
Speaking of runners, at the time of this writing,
my JA co Cullen Roberts was halfway through his
first year at Brown Medical School. Over the winter Cullen visited DC for Nora Mitchell’s birthday
and saw Corey Watts, Brian Citro and Matt Deady,
among other Ephs. Back in Providence, he does not
have quite as strong of a Williams contingent, but
he reports being in a doctoring group with Amber
Cardoos ’12 and Clarissa Andre ’12.
A few classmates started new jobs, while others
wrote in to report on their status quo. Alex Mokover
started work last summer in the risk assessment and
strategy team for Southern California Edison, where
he works alongside Matt McHale ’95. Alex and Jimmy
Nguyen hang out by Santa Monica beach and “plot
to attract more classmates to sunny SoCal.”
Frank Zimmerman now lives in Bushwick,
Brooklyn, and is working in urban design at Perkins
Eastman. Michael Drzyzga was settling into his
first job out of grad school, doing contract work at
Genzyme. He also started home brewing, trying out
a dark saison for his first beer.
Meggie Nidever is still a part of the Austin tech
scene, working for Dropbox, with her two-year anniversary at the company in March. Meggie is also
working with an organization called Austin Partners
in Education that provides in-classroom tutoring and
reading activities for elementary school students.
Emma Lehman, who moved out to the San
Francisco Bay Area after graduation, has enjoyed
exploring the West Coast. Emma recruited Nora
Spiegel to move to the Bay over a year ago after visiting and staying with Emma for one week. Recent
highlights for Emma included a visit from Sarah
Ginsberg and reuniting with Heather Makover, Laura
Caccamo and Christina Liu in Boston over Christmas
break. Emma requests that “anyone coming to the
Bay Area should drop me a line!”
Michael Moorstein survived the cold Chicago
winter, making new friends at Booth School of
Business and beyond. While shooting hoops at his
local gym, Mike found an unexpected workout partner in Common, the actor/rapper/political activist/heartthrob. Mike did not mention who won the
one-on-one.
The holidays proved to be an exciting time for
many Eph couples. Under the pretense of a bowling
date, Christina Sanders experienced the surprise of
her life when Nicholas Manice ’09 got down on one
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knee and proposed. A few months later, the newly
fiancé-ed couple embarked on an “engagie-moon”
(copyright: Nick Manice ’09) that Charlie Gephart
’12 and I had the pleasure of inviting ourselves on.
Highlights of the Maui trip included snorkeling
with sea turtles, soaking in those Hawaiian rays and
imbibing in all that vacation has to offer.
Fellow Eph doctors Whitney Hitchcock and
Chris Beeler ’08 also became engaged in December.
Whitney and Chris are more than halfway through
their intern years in Ann Arbor, Mich., which is
another reason to celebrate!
Cortni Kerr and Matthew Desir ’08 got engaged in
January. They moved to the Boston area last summer
when Matthew began residency and Cortni started
her master’s in city planning at MIT. They reported,
“Boston is great so far, and we’re looking forward to
our wedding in 2017 and many Eph guests!”
Finally, Owen Holm—likely clad in his signature
pastels—proposed to his now fiancée Vicky while
spending the holidays in the Bahamas. Huge congrats, Owen!
Jason Copelas spent five days camping on and hiking up volcanoes, seeing boiling lakes and fording rivers in the jungle of Dominica. Jason reported that
his trip “was beautiful but a bit harder than hiking
up Greylock.” He is finishing his MBA at Yale and
will be returning to DC after graduation to join an
investment consulting firm.
Also escaping the Northeast winter, Alex Dyroff
ventured to Cape Town, South Africa, with Sam
Empson ’09 in November. Highlights of the
trip included hiking Table Mountain, exploring
Kirstenbosch Gardens and hanging with Prince
Harry (read: viewing him from very far away).
Jessy LeClair wrote after a trip to Japan, where she
met up with many Williams friends. Jessy was particularly excited to meet Takaaki Takeuchi ’84, who
serves as a mentor, sharing insights about work, life,
love and the best strawberry parfait in Asia. While
in Japan, Jessy enjoyed dinner with Sara Kang ’14
and Leo Obata ’14. The group had Korean food in
Akihabara on the top floor of a camera and electronics shop.
Hanna Gisel rang in the New Year with her dad,
Bill Gisel ’74, and the rest of her family in Angostura,
Argentina. A few weeks later Hanna joined up
with Alex Dyroff, Anna Moseley, Sam Empson ’09
and others for a President’s Day weekend trip to
Killington, Vt. The group braved the mountain’s frigid
temperatures (with the help of Bloody Marys and
pickle backs).
Kallan Wood wrote in from Williamstown, where
she and Casey York saw Liza Curtiss perform in a
site-specific show at Hops & Vines. Lydia BarnettMulligan joined the group for breakfast at Tunnel
City and a campus walk, on which they “made
bright-eyed, unsuspecting students take pictures of
us on the ground that once held Sawyer Library.”
Casey, who continues to work as the general manager of Ars Nova Theater, which produces new
comedy, music and theater artists in Midtown,
reported that the theater has “a raucous monthly
variety show (called Showgasm!)” that Chloe Brown
and Kallan Wood are known to attend regularly.
The company also has a show going to Broadway
in the fall (starring Josh Groban). Keeping it all in
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the family, Casey works with a handful of Williams
alums on the development of new musicals for the
theater. Lydia, who loves living in Boston, has kept
herself busy and employed by acting for the past five
years with Actors’ Shakespeare Project. She has been
“obsessed with [the company] since I was a teenager,
so it’s totally a dream come true.” Lydia also traveled
to Memphis, Tenn., during the winter to spend two
months performing at the Tennessee Shakespeare
Company and to “eat a lifetime supply of BBQ.”
Spending time with Casey and Kallan in NYC
during the winter, Eben Hoffer and Chloe Brown
added Becca Licht and Dan Constanza into the mix.
Eben also spent time with the recently married Lars
Ojukwu ’08 and met his “funny and wickedly smart”
new (Australian) wife. Eben had a very busy January
theater festival season, most notably with a premiere
at Under The Radar and with his first piece of music
that he co-wrote presented with a professional dance
company (Big Dance Theater at The Kitchen). Thanks to all who wrote in; it was a joy to receive
your updates from the winter, whether by email,
phone, text or in person (for those lucky few). As
always, please reach out with any and all updates,
big or small, life-changing or day-brightening. I
look forward to hearing from even more of our
classmates in the next go-round! I’m looking at
you, Patrick Rhine!
2011
REUNION JUNE 9-12
Caroline Chiappetti, 59 Garfield Street, Apt. E, Cambridge,
It is with a slightly heavy heart that I compile
for the last time your collection of letters! When I
first graduated from Williams and was enjoying an
extended stint of underemployment, I remember
bouncing from Brooklyn coffee shop to coffee shop,
letting the task of the class notes stretch out over
days. Being your class secretary filled me with a sense
of purpose, and I thrilled to have something to write
besides cover letters. In the intervening years, I got
busier—jobs, then law school, then the stacking up of
activities and responsibilities at school. For the most
part, I wrote in cafés alongside a cup of coffee and
a muffin—in Brooklyn, at home in Connecticut, in
Santa Monica and, now, in Cambridge. (There were
a couple of days during my paralegal era where I may
have written at work as well…) I have been honored to serve as your secretary and to have the privilege of reporting on your triumphs, adventures and
romances, of receiving your wedding photos, and of
being in contact with so many of you over the years. I
can’t wait to celebrate the end of this special five-year
era in Greylock Quad by dancing under the stars the
weekend of June 9-12. But first, your news!
Leo Brown lives in Jamaica Plain, Mass., and might
move to New York in the fall, but he’s not sure. If
anyone is passing through Boston, he’s always up for
a walk around Jamaica Pond.
Casey Lyons writes, “I’m wrapping up my master’s
in public health at Columbia and trying to plan the
next step. Somehow since I last wrote I’ve lucked into
living with not one but two Ephs in the same master’s program—Adena Hernandez ’12 and my entrymate Kat Belkin. Kat would like you to know that ‘we
have no furniture but that otherwise we are all living
2010– 12
together in domestic bliss and harmony.’ I would
like you to know that we are all really good at making cornbread. Adena continues to boycott formal
participation in class notes. Our apartment sees frequent visits from Zeb Levine, and both Abby Martin
and Laura Staugaitis have crashed on the futon. Our
major goals for the next two months are to finish our
theses (except Kat, she’s got another year) and finally
hold our Queens Food Tour with Soraya Membreno
’12 and Joss Atahualpa ’13. Wish us luck!”
Abby Martin independently confirmed that she has
caught up with Kat and Casey, as well as Liz Zhu, in
New York. She enjoys regularly seeing Liz Weinberg
around DC. Steph Burger writes, “I’m out of the Navy! Sara
(Plunkett) Burger ’10 and I moved to the DC suburbs in Maryland, where she works as a Latin
teacher/hockey coach at Landon School. I’m working
for the Washington Spirit, DC’s professional women’s soccer team. It’s particularly exciting with the
World Cup last summer and Olympics coming up
this summer.”
Ellen Song is still at Duke, now at the dissertation
stage of her PhD program. Whenever she can, she
tries to visit home in NYC. “This past winter, I hung
out with fantastic Williams people such as Will Lee,
Rokimi Khawlhring, Erdem Sahin, Sara Ahmed (who
was visiting all the way from the UK!), Robert Kim
and Ben Davidson ’10. Can’t find friends like these
anywhere else! Trust me, I’ve tried.”
Josephine Warshauer is having a fantastic time
in the first year of business school at UNC KenanFlagler. Tim Ryan ’09 is also in her class at UNC.
They were both headed to Tuck’s Winter Carnival
(Dartmouth’s business school) in mid-February for
some winter fun and friendly competition with other
students from business schools across the country (ski races, pond hockey and the like). “My good
friend and WOOLF-mate Leigh Davis visited me
in Chapel Hill. She decided to head down to North
Carolina early, ahead of the epic winter storm that
hit the East Coast, so she would be able to make her
SPCA veterinarian training clinic in Asheville, N.C.
We cooked a delicious feast during our time snowed
in together and had fun catching up. I’m headed to
Southern Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana,
South Africa) in May for a school trip to learn about
business strategy and sustainability. I’ll have to send
in a photograph from Victoria Falls with the next
class notes.”
Heath Pruitt and his wife Ann have taken their
next step on the grown-up ladder! They were building a house over the winter and planned to move
in in February. “If any Ephs ever find themselves in
Greencastle, Ind. (just east of Reelsville), they should
look me up. We’ll have a guest room for the foreseeable future.”
Laura Staugaitis moved back to Chicago in fall
2015 and has been enjoying quality time with Chloe
Blackshear ’10, Chaz Lee and Caroline Henry ’10;
plus special guests Ben Swimm ’09, Eric Phillips ’09
and Claire Seizovic ’13. She was looking forward to
having Michelle Rodriguez ’12 join the Windy City
party in the spring. Adrienne Boyd writes from beautiful, sunny Cape
Town, South Africa: “I am spending my final semester of law school working for UCT Law School’s
Refugee Law Clinic, where I represent asylum seekers before the South African government. In my free
time, I’m training for my first ultramarathon and
spending a lot of time at the beach. After I graduate, I’m moving to Denver, Colo., and then hope to
spend some quality time with Anna Soybel and Andy
Ward in Oakland and Chris Serna in India after the
bar exam!”
Chris is living in Chennai, where he’s running a
consulting company with his Indian business partner. He is eagerly looking for visitors. In his words:
“Everyone please come visit me!” His company is
working with foreign companies looking to make
investments into India. And they’re hiring! “If anyone
is interested in working in India or finding out more,
let me know,” he writes.
Britt Baker-Brousseau moved back to SoCal in July
to start work in undergraduate admissions at USC.
“Though I’m currently in the middle of reading an
unspeakable number of applications, I got to enjoy
some travel in the fall as I visited high schools in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Louisiana. It was wonderful seeing many Ephs on the road. (I’m particularly grateful to Leigh Davis and David Phillips for
taking me in during the Pope-ocalypse.) It’s also been
great reconnecting with Ephs back in LA!”
Mike Ryan married Leah Zambetti, a graduate
of John Hopkins University, in Cape Cod in July.
Shawn Curley, Ifiok Inyang, Joey Kiernan, Kelly
Lipmann, Evan Skorpen, George Sullivan and several
of his freshmen were in attendance.
Aaron Flack and Katie Friedman were married in
September in Rye, N.Y., amongst a huge contingent
of classmates.
And, with that, your class secretary signs off with
love and a million thanks for letting me write to you.
XOXO, Caroline
2012
Kyle Vincent Martin, 475 41st St., Apt. 5, Brooklyn, NY
11232; Kendra Demetria Sims, 19½ Quincy St., Somerville,
Brothers and sisters, I hope when you have this
issue in your hands that you are wearing shorts with
strong summer sun blazing in your face. I am a man
for all seasons, but my love is unequal. With that,
turn up your fan, add another ice cube to your beverage, smell the pollen, and enjoy the tales of the young
global leaders of 2012.
I am always proud to hear of all my classmates who
are working to save our climate, especially with the
mild winter we had in the Northeast. I hope by the
time this is published that I did not speak too early.
But even Sara Dorsey commented on this mild winter, as she is stuck twiddling her thumbs as the new
outdoor coordinator at Smith College. Other folks
flexing their green thumbs are Lauren Shuffleton,
who is at graduate school at Tufts in the urban and
environmental planning and policy program. Mariah
Clennan-Bregg went to Paris to partake in the
COP21 protests and says she is “currently creating a
documentary about my experience there (including
plenty of tear gas, batons and accordion renditions of
‘Bella Ciao’);” Nari Miller “is indulging her love for
geology and cacti at ASU;” and Amy Darling sprayed
invasive weeds in the backcountry for Montana
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Conservation Corps and is now performing administration management for population health/GIS software startups.
A couple of lessons I learned from Williams: When
life gives you lemons, you make chasers. I still find
this lesson appropriate when life gives you some
snowstorms, as it did while catching up with our
class. However, many other people did much more
life-fulfilling things. Rebecca Eakins fled the snowpocalypse of Brooklyn to train in Pune, India, as a
consulting developer for ThoughtWorks. Hilary Higgs
took a break from reviewing Spanish assessments for
English language learners to take her son Calvin to
make baby snow angels in Colorado. Aven King also
breaked in Colorado before returning to lead tours in
Antarctica, where she spent her winter playing with
penguins, seals and whales, oh my! Hannah Saltzman
also enjoys the mountainous west, with hikes and
skiing in Salt Lake City. She invites all to visit.
Meghan Behrend capitalized on the Midwest winter
by attending a U Michigan hockey game where she
met up with Chris Valle and Wes Gail. Behrend is
getting her PhD in Ann Arbor. Holly Crane endured
the Midwestern winter by cross-country skiing with
native Elizabeth Greiter while getting her master’s in
kinesiology at University of Minnesota.
Like birds some of us migrated south for the winter. Ali Mitchell took a three-week internship studying sustainable tourism in Puerto Rico for her
master’s program at Brown. Melissa Whitaker-Reyes
left Camden and took a Fulbright position in Brazil.
Newton Davis temporarily relocated to Mexico City
for his company Accenture. Nicole Wise fled to
Guatemala while waiting for admittance to medical schools, while Erik Levinsohn fled to Chile for his
med school break. Syd (Tooze) Taylor takes a break
from the Chicago winter to train at the San Diego
Rowing Club. After Amy Nguyen had her first experience of shoveling snow, she went to Brazil to see
Alec Blanz and participated in a wedding in Miami
with Elizabeth Jimenez, who moved back to the
Bronx and is working in development for a private
school. Jimenez also traveled across the pond and
met up with Mindy Lee in Copenhagen. Lee studies industrial design at the Umea Institute in north
Sweden. She handles the -27C weather by eating
“herring, black licorice and cinnamon buns.”
Sam Mazzarella teaches just outside of Vienna;
Sarah Witowski is translating documents and teaching in Russia and Jordan Freking-Reyna writes, “I’m
still the local instruction supervisor at Berlitz in
Tampico, Mexico.” Toronto native Zehra Hassan
relocated with her woes to Karachi, Pakistan, to
“begin a management training program at Habib
Metropolitan Bank.” Andi Beraqi holds it down in
the 6, taking on a larger role at his bank. Jinyoung
Park exercised her role as Korean diplomat to visit
Madura Watanagase while the latter is getting her
masters at SAIS. Lastly, Carrie Chu is teaching math
and Chinese at King’s Academy in Jordan.
The rest of the ’12s simply handled the winter by
avoiding it. Yes, I’m talking to the Cali-Ephs! New to
the west side is Michelle Mcrae, who unwillingly has
dinners with med-school student Matthew Crimp and
TFA employee Dale Markey ’11 where they yearn
for Noah Schoenholtz to leave DC and move west,
for Faust Petkovich to return from Dubai, where he
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is now working, and for Alex Treco, who is attending
business school. Another Bay-Area burrito meetup
was held among Claire LeFave, Aaron Freedman
and Laura Berk. The latter performed a 70-mile
hike through Middle Earth (or New Zealand) while
Freedman is making music with his band Baeja Vu,
which features other Ephs and definitely requires
a listen. Fiona (Wilkes) Burlig had a reunion with
Lindsay Olsen, Leah Lansdowne ’11, Nora Kern,
Emma Pelegri-O’Day and Cameron Rogers in the
Bay Area, where Leah got married! (Notice the
name change.) Burlig is still working on that PhD.
Attending school close at Stanford GSB is Imran
Khoja, who also works for ShoeKicker, a company the
helps you save money on running shoes. Also working in apparel and in San Fran is Susannah Emerson,
who launched her new limited-edition apparel line/
publication at The Keep Collection. Emerson writes
that she “is open to contributions from viewers like
you!” Ai Tran writes from the Stanford campus, where
she welcomes Ephs to visit her one-bedroom condo
in the heart of the city (when she done moving all the
boxes). She expresses her feelings with the hashtag
#biggirlpants! Rounding out the Northen Cali folks
is Dominique Rodriguez, who sent our first emoji to
class notes. (Who says we’re getting old?)
Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s entrymate Sayantan
Mukhopadhyay is getting his PhD in art history at
UCLA and spending time with Noah Schechter,
Maya Hislop ’11 and Sabrina Howard. The latter,
when not hiking or vinyasa-ing, continues the long
trek to PhD status at USC. Moving along Route 101,
we finish our California road trip in San Diego with
Jeanette Rivera, who is enjoying her time with her
son Hunter and preparing for the GRE.
Let’s hear it for New York! The only city that
doesn’t slow down for any weather, and neither do
the Ephs who responded. Brad Polsky finally transitioned from commuter to resident, as he lives
with Alex Cameron and across the street from Will
Simmons ’13 and Jack Berry in Washington Heights.
Polsky, who works at an investment boutique firm,
wins the Eph meetup award, as he spends time with
English Cook, Nandita Betheja, Kimmy Holacheck,
Mary Brunelli, Taida Smailhodzic, Ross Zhang,
Margaret Moore, Emily Chapman and Pinsi Lei. Lei
excitingly writes about adding more personnel to her
marketing company Pinsi Lei Creative and getting
to work New York Fashion Week. Another person
in the outer boroughs is Oriana McGee, who moved
to Harlem and continues working as a paralegal and
making trips to see family and friends in LA. Not too
far from McGee’s residence are Anthony Raduazo
and Christopher Logan, who are attending Columbia
for law and fiction writing, respectively. Margy Love
and Ariel Kavoussi are creating stories, but with film.
The former is wrapping up co-producing her first
feature, and the latter is producing for her short film
project The Poet and the Professor. Here’s a link to her
kickstarter: http://kck.st/1RmNmZk. In Brooklyn,
Evalynn Rosado is living in Sunset Park while working at the architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi, and
Mike Nelson has a Bed-Stuy apartment and teaches
and coaches at a private school.
NYC teachers role call: Kesi Augustine is teaching English while studying at NYU, Naima “The
Queen” McFarland teaches at Success Academy, and
2012– 13
both Sabine Chishty and Chris Estrella teach in the
Bronx. Chishty lives with Lily Wong and John Maher
and across the street from Evan Maltby ’11 and Chris
Fox ’11. She frequently hosts Robert Khederian and
Deon Soogrim in her “Williams commune.” Estrella
and yours truly had a coincidental run-in where I literally saw Estrella running in the NYC marathon.
Of course, we have teachers getting apples outside the Big Apple. Hannah Cunningham, Sydney
Pitts-Adeyinka and Marni Jacobs teach English in
New Haven, pre-K in Dallas, and physics in Seattle,
respectively. Also in Seattle is David Gold, who is his
pursuing his PhD in statistics.
It’s impossible to forget the political climate that
his heating up with the summer—and both Meira
Bernstein and Jessica Torres are working on campaigns. The former is the press secretary for Gov.
Maggie Hassan’s US Senate campaign in New
Hampshire, and the latter is assistant press secretary for the Democratic National Convention
in Philadelphia. Other Philad-EPH-ians include
Meera Sivalingam, who is in the third year of medical school, and Katy Rieger, who is finalizing her last
couple of months in the city before heading to business school in Chicago. But, no worries, yours truly
is filling the void she left, as now I am pursuing my
craft in the City of Brotherly Love. I am training
at PhilaDanco, studying at the improv theater and
immersing myself in the theater-making community. My co-secretary and partner in crime for making me less guilty for submitting my notes past the
deadline, Kendra Sims, is in Boston, “juggling epidemiology courses, elderly research with the Brigham
& Women’s Hospital and listening to David Foster
Wallace’s full bibliography. In keeping all these balls
in the air, I’ll either accomplish everything and more
or the Infinite Jest will be on me.” On that I leave you
and your empty glass but your filled mind of tales of
your fellow classmates!
2013
Lindsey Graham, 603 Ishram St., Apt. 3G, New York, NY
As of December 2015 we have officially crossed the
midway point: We are closer to our five-year reunion
than our graduation from Williams. As that weird
thought sinks in, let’s turn to the news.
Andrew Desrosiers finished two years as a middle
school math teacher, football coach and swim coach
through the Mississippi Teacher Corps. During this
time, he got married to his wife Erica and adopted
an old, friendly pit bull named Roxy. This summer
he and his wife will move to Jackson, where he will
start medical school at the University of Mississippi
School of Medicine.
Effua Sosoo wrote in on the heels of finishing the
first semester of her doctoral program in clinical psychology at UNC Chapel Hill, where she is working in the African-American Youth Wellness lab.
She writes, “I love it here (in spite of the typical grad
school stress).”
After completing her master’s in social work,
Audrey Kwon moved from NYC to the Bay Area.
In December, she and Wen Han visited Chris
Abayasinghe, who used to be assistant director of
Dining Services at Williams and is now the director
of food services at Notre Dame University. “Alas,” she
wrote, “no Notre Dame football for us.”
In Flushing, Queens, Audrey explored traditional
Dongbei cuisine with Paisley Kang. She also rang
in the New Year with Frank Zheng ’14 and hung out
with Eunice Baek and Kevin Garcia, as Kevin flew in
from LA for a day of food, tea, more food and coffee. Nicholas Neumann-Chun is finishing up a coding
boot camp in the San Francisco Bay Area and is now
looking for a job in the software industry.
Darren Hartwell spent Valentine’s Day weekend
with Sam Krieg, Tim Morris and Ladd Hamrick visiting Peter Christiani and Becca Nichols in LA, where
they saw Peter compete in his first-ever bodybuilding competition. Robin Lippman joined the crew as
Peter flexed his muscle to earn a second-place trophy.
Darren writes: “He was one of two competitors in his
division, but who’s counting? We then forced Peter to
eat copious amounts of food in an attempt to revert
him to his previous non-chiseled form. It might be a
long process.”
Krista Pickett lives in the Fort Lauderdale area and
works as a college counselor. She writes: “I feel like
I’ve earned some winter sunshine after 24 years of
New England weather!” Krista is also studying to
earn her personal training certification and is excited
to move into a career in wellness psychology, helping
individuals with disordered eating and exercise habits.
“Overall, I’ve loved my Floridian adventure (I moved
here without knowing anybody) and am pumped
about teaching other people how to ‘get pumped’ :).”
Sam Teng and Justine Neubarth further “attempted
to renounce nonner status” in December when they
ran their first half-marathon in NYC.
Meghan Kiesel is enjoying being back in Chicago’s
Lincoln Park neighborhood after a long time in
China and seeing Ephs as a bonus of her work consulting on a New York-based project—primarily Elise
Baker, Lindsey Graham, Sarah Freymiller, Justine
Neubarth and her brother Steven Kiesel ’15. Meghan
wrote, “The highlight of 2016 so far, however, was
definitely a wonderful New Orleans reunion with
Elise, Lindsey, Sarah and Justine as well as Sam Teng,
Katie Holmes and Jen Turner.” Sam wrote that in
New Orleans, “We enjoyed excellent music, delicious
meals, potent cocktails and delightful conversations.
We were long overdue for a Sage BC reunion and
will definitely not wait so long until the next!”
Lindsey Graham also found fun activities with outof-town Ephs to be the perfect remedy to fight the
NYC winter blues. She had the chance to (surprisingly successfully) glide around the ice-skating rink
in Washington Heights with Jen Turner in December
and to hear music inspired by Will Shakespeare with
Simon Chase ’14 in January.
Brandon Abasolo wrote from California: “While
the Super Bowl may not have been in San Francisco
despite its Bay Area billing, Wade Davis, Tommy
Gaidus and I played host to several Williams alums
to watch the big game in the city, including Sam
Blackshear ’10, Bret Scofield ’10, Sam Jackson ’10,
Brianna Wolfson ’10, Sarah Bender ’11, Dan Waters
’11, Andrew Gaidus ’11, Celeste Berg, Kaleigh Kenny
’14, Sam Woodbury ’14 and Aldis Inde ’15.”
Nicolei Gupit wrote that she “caught the travel bug
again” and is now living in a suburb of Seoul, South
Korea, teaching English as a second language.
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Alex Highet wrote in halfway through her Fulbright
year in Turkey, teaching at a university between
Istanbul and the Aegean Coast. She is “having a
blast” and seeing many Ephs. She reunited with
Gabe Lewis and Gordon Bauer for Turkish coffee,
backgammon and stories in Istanbul in December,
explored the Norwegian fjords with Gordon
in October, visited Adriana Van Der Linden in
Amsterdam for New Year’s and met Catherine Lamb
in Athens in January. She writes: “I’m more than
happy to host any Ephs coming through Turkey!
Headed to med school in the fall, but location TBA!”
Kelsey Roggensack continues to enjoy teaching
in Gorontalo, Indonesia, on a Fulbright scholarship.
She was elated to be reunited with Sally Mairs and
Kaison Tanabe in Tokyo over the winter holiday.
Joy Jing met up with Nicholaus Neumann-Chun,
Carlos Dominguez and Steve Webster ’11 at
Williams in February for FrankFest, a math conference celebrating Professor Frank Morgan’s retirement. The group explored the new library, hung out
with other math alums, including Ben Steinhurst ’05
and Matt Simonson ’08, and climbed Pine Cobble
with Jake Levinson ’11, Patricia Klein ’11 and
Haydee Lindo ’08.
While back in Williamstown for the holidays,
Cary White joined Emily Ury and Emily Cohen and
Ben Cohen ’10 for a hike and explored the southern Vermont brewery scene with Ali McTar ’14.
In January, Cary wrote, “I made what is hopefully
my last move for a while, to New London, Conn.
I recently accepted a position with the Nature
Conservancy and will be working with the coastal
towns to help them plan for climate change. Hit me
up if you’re hiding out in the Connecticut/Rhode
Island woodworks!”
Charlie Sellars wrote from his hotel room in Hong
Kong, where he was gearing up for a whirlwind work
week across greater China. While there, he ate some
bao at Baoism, Alex Xu’s restaurant in Shanghai, to
which he gave a five-star review. Since the last class
notes, Charlie wrote that alums have built up “an
Eph empire at Brooklyn Boulders—January alone
featured Elise Baker, Sarah Freymiller, Jack Saul,
Sam Teng, Justine Neubarth, Evan Grillon, Cotton
Engleby, Michael Shelton, Sam Austin and Charlotte
Dillon. We’re painting the walls purple!”
Michael Girouard wrote in with an Eph fun-fact:
“The first year class at Harvard Medical School/
Harvard School of Dental Medicine has five Ephs
(out of 200 students)!” They include Michael, Henry
Su, Jungyi Liu ’14, Jun Liu ’10 and Ellaina Pullano ’15.
Things are going well, and it’s great to have so many
Ephs going through this journey together!”
On that note, I hope you are going through your
journey with Ephs by your side, physically or in spirit.
We would love to know how you are and what
you’re up to; write me any time with updates at
graham.r.lindsey@gmail.com.
Much love, Lindsey
2014
Emily Dugdale, 169 Santa Rosa Ave., Apt. 321, Oakland,
CA 94610; 2014secretary@williams.edu
Dear Class of 2014: 2016 feels like a big year to me.
We’re opening IRAs, we’re starting master’s or PhD
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programs, or perhaps, like me, you just got new carpeting in your apartment and had to “move out” into
the living room. The weather is shifting—it’s actually
raining in California, thanks, El Niño—and something about “change” this time seems less daunting
than it did almost two years ago when we crossed
that stage, diploma in hand. I hope you’re feeling that
way, too.
As always, I’m here to give a few updates on what
our classmates have gotten themselves into the past
few months.
Many of us are about to wrap up postgraduate
studies—can you believe that? Caitlin Bird will graduate in May with a master’s degree from the Boston
University College of Communication Science
Journalism. Felicia Farrell is living in NYC, attending
the Columbia School of Social Work. She’ll graduate in May with a master’s of science in social work.
Congrats to both!
Some are still “slogging through” that graduate life.
Allen Davis is finishing up his second year at Yale,
working toward a PhD in astronomy. “I am really
pumped about my research project, which should
get us closer to finding an Earth-like exoplanet,” he
writes. He also was able to catch up with “fellow Eph
planet-hunter” Rob Wittenmyer ’98 over fancy wine at
an astronomy workshop last summer.
Valerie Gonzalez also continues with her twoyear graduate program for a master’s in social work.
“For my graduate program, I am also interning at
an elementary school in the Bronx, working in crisis
intervention,” she writes. She was also hired to be a
pharmacy technician at CVS.
Meredith Sopher is finishing up her first year of
a master of arts in French translation and interpretation at the Middlebury Institute of International
Studies. “At this stage of development, all of my
original thoughts are slowly being replaced by economics and financial terms (this semester’s focus),”
she writes. She’s also working part time in project
management at a translation company. Her natural habitat, she writes, sounds a lot like mine at
Williams: “the school library.” “Although this rare
creature may also be spotted running before dawn
while muttering to herself in French,” she adds.
Frank Pagliaro was accepted to the Actors Studio
Drama School at Pace University in New York.
“I’ll be moving to an apartment in Brooklyn with
Tatum Barnes ’15 and Taylor Bundy ’13,” he writes.
Maya Hawkins-Nelson received a promotion
at her NYC-based ad agency, Deutsch, and still
enjoys living in “BK,” where she regularly sees
“the usual suspects” Nthabi Choma, Neal Ellis,
Daniel Schreiner and Sarah Gottesman. Along with
Ashley O’Connor, she’s also working to schedule
another young alumni happy hour for all of you
NYC-dwellers—hit her up!
Eric Coffin-Gould is working at LaunchSquad, a
public relations company in San Francisco, along
with Sam Wallace ’09. Like me, Eric lives in the
amazing city of Oakland, where we often see each
other and fellow East Bay Ephs Matt Crimp ’12
and Dale Markey ’11.
Vera Gould held her first art show in San
Francisco in January, and one of her paintings was
featured on a billboard in LA!
Some of us got off the beaten track and traveled
2013– 15
to lesser-known destinations. Katy Newcomer,
a marine biology researcher at the Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center in Edgewater,
Md., spent a month in Panama doing lots of valuable science, eating great food and sending me
Snapchats of either giant turtles or rooftop bars.
Rebecca Comella is coming off the trip of a lifetime, spending most of December traveling to
Antarctica as part of a teaching job. She also had
the opportunity to explore the South Pacific and
Australia. By the time this prints she’ll be headed
to New Zealand. Where can I sign up for that job?
That’s all for this issue! Thanks to all who gave
updates this time around, and safe travels for those
of us who are moving around. Stay connected, and
keep doing what you’re doing, 2014.
2015
Emily L. Fox, 230 Marsh Hill Road, Dracut, MA 01826;
Alina D. Penny, 4045 South Cambridge St., Chandler, AZ
Almost a year out of college, we still find ourselves
adjusting, adapting and integrating ourselves into the
complexities of adult life. No longer are meals readily prepared for us at the swipe of an ID card (maybe
“put it on my term bill” is still working for some of
you), but instead, we now find ourselves trying our
hands at the art of cooking. Others are exploring
new doors of opportunity, embarking on novel ventures, pursuing new passions and taking daring risks.
It’s been interesting to see how we all “adult” a couple
months out of college and find camaraderie in occupying this new space. For a few of our classmates,
adult life is looking quite swell.
Alex Sun is at Booz Allen Hamilton, shuffling
between offices in the DC metro area. He moved
into his own place in Arlington, Va., where he is saving up money for a trip to visit old friends in Oxford.
According to Alex, the real world “is not as stressful as college, although there’s a lot more bureaucracy
involved.”
Ben Augenbraun traveled to San Francisco in
February to present on science education at the
Williams Teach It Forward campaign event with his
former professors Tiku Majumder and Charlie Doret
’02. Ben admits, “It was a lot of fun to meet other
alumni out west and hear their stories!”
Michaela Kearney got accepted into Boston
College’s direct master’s entry program. She will
begin school in July and expects to graduate as a psychiatric nurse practitioner by May 2018.
Erica Bucki lives with Andrée Heller in the Upper
East Side, NYC. They have been on interesting
kitchen escapades where Michaela admits they “enjoy
cooking meals in the microwave” because “gas has
conveniently been turned off in the building.” She
is also working at the Hospital for Special Surgery
doing research on blood thinners.
Alison Smith is living in Seattle and working at the
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, working
on a vaccine evaluation program and epidemiological
disease modeling research. She is enjoying “exploring
Seattle and the beautiful surrounding area!”
Anna Spiers embarked on a cross-country road
trip last summer with Lily Gaddis, where they visited Alison Smith, Alex Foucault, AJ Solovoy and Mo
Frank along with other Ephs. Afterward, Anna and
Lily moved in together in Madison, Wisc., where
“everyone is a Badger and a Packer, the people live
off cheese curds, and beer runs like water.” Anna is
currently working in population health management
at Epic, a health care software company.
Collin Peck-Gray is living in NYC working in customer acquisition at MakeSpace, a full-service storage startup in Chinatown, with Chelli Riddiough ’14.
He plans to embark on many new ventures: converting to Catholicism over Easter, doing sketch comedy
at Upright Citizens Brigade and taking EDM production classes at an “academy” in the East Village
called Dubspot. According to Collin, he is “trying
very hard not to be an adult.”
Alex Marshall left her job in finance to work as
the head of creative for a startup. She is also focusing
on her career as an artist; her first novel that she cowrote with a well-known fiction writer is being published this fall. Alex has learned that “the important
lesson is ‘you gotta do what makes you happy!’”
Dan Whittam has been spending time playing
pickup basketball at the local gym, where he often
gets into fights over foul calls.
Corbin Chu is in Ningbo, China, working as an
education consultant for local students who wish to
pursue their college plans in the US. He “can’t believe
how much time has passed already!”
Veronica Gould is pursuing her master’s of divinity
at Princeton Theological Seminary, teaching a confirmation class to middle school students at her home
church and working at an emergency homeless shelter in Trenton, NJ. She spent her summer learning
Koine Greek and enjoying the beach as well as taking a road trip from Williamstown to Dallas with
Carman Nareau ’16 and Leo al-Hashmi ’16 to visit
Raquel Rodriguez ’16.
Claire Lidston started a PhD program in chemistry
and chemical biology a couple of months ago, working on poly-nuclear catalysts for small molecule activation leveraging multi-electron processes.
Joe Mallock is an assistant product manager for
MBI Inc. in Norwalk, Conn. He compares the job to
Wolf of Wall Street, except “marketing coins/collectibles through direct mail. If you think it’s valuable,
then it is.”
Only 11 months out, and we are all adulting with
such finesse! Thank you all for sharing your responses;
looking forward to seeing how and where we all end
up next!
Until next time, your class secretaries, Alina and
Emily
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WEDDINGS
Williams People publishes photographs of weddings,
commitment ceremonies and civil unions.
For detailed instructions on how to submit your photo,
please visit http://bit.ly/ephphotos.
Heather Traynham & Mike Buscher ’03
Charlottesville, Va., May 30, 2015
Miju Han ’10 & Gideon Wald
Elizabeth Bingham ’11 & Ramesh Thondapu
Black Rock Desert, Nev., Sept. 2, 2015
Colchester, Conn., Sept. 19, 2015
Abigail Davies ’13 & Thomas Leger
West Charleston, Vt., July 25, 2015
Nicole Sharp & Joe Shoer ’06
Bolton, Mass., Sept. 19, 2015
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Emily Flynn ’09 & Daniel Pesquera ’11
Em and Dan met at Williams in the fall of 2008; their first date was a walk to Cole Field on a chilly October evening followed by a
visit to the snack bar. While at Williams, they enjoyed stargazing on the roof of Schow Science Library, late-night pizzas from Hot
Tomatoes and countless ’’dates’’ at the computer labs and library. Dan proposed to Em while the couple watched Winter Carnival
fireworks at Cole Field during a trip to Williams in February 2014. They were married on May 2, 2015, in Onset, Mass., with lots of
Williams family and friends, including Em’s sister Kate (Flynn) Grant ’00 and brother-in-law Tom Grant ’00.
Laura Ellison ’07 & Luke Preble
Rhianna Alyxander ’13 & Daeus Jorento ’13
Port Gamble, Wash., July 18, 2015
Washington, D.C., July 26, 2015
Antonella D’Agostino & Mike Cortese ’01
Allison Lee & Sean O’Brien ’05
Oakdale, N.Y., July 12, 2014
Canadaigua, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2015
Kathryn Friedman ’11 & Aaron Flack ’11
Rye, N.Y., Sept. 26, 2015
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WEDDINGS
Astrid Werner & Jeff Garland ’03
Princeton, N.J., June 13, 2015
Rachel Bring ’09 & Andrew Underberg
AnnaMaria Clark & John Poppe ’07
New York, N.Y., Sept. 27, 2015
West Orange, N.J., July 18, 2015
Maritza Diaz & Lex Urban ’04
Watch Hill, R.I., June 13, 2015
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Yue-Yi Hwa ’11 & Ujval Sidhu-Brar
Yue-Yi met Ujval during their training for Teach For Malaysia in 2013, a few months after she finished her master’s in philosophy
at Oxford via a Donovan-Moody Fellowship. They were married in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Jan. 2, 2016. Five Ephs—including
wedding photographers Shirley Li ’13 and Emily Yu ’11—joined them in Malaysia to celebrate.
Morley McBride & Bailey McCallum ’01
Essex, N.Y., Sept. 26, 2015
Erica Owen & Andrew Desrosiers ’13
Bethany Lorge ’07 & Ramona McRedmond
Red Banks, Miss., Jan. 10, 2015
Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 5, 2015
Marguerite DeClue & Henry Blackford ’10
Stonington, Conn., Sept. 19, 2015
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WEDDINGS
Amy Geant ’03 & Alastair Mackenzie
Scarborough, Maine, Sept. 26, 2015
Emily Hollinger & Joe Gallagher ’03
Melissa Domizio & Dan Narva ’05
Portsmouth, R.I., June 20, 2015
Essex, Mass., July 11, 2015
Emily Fowler-Cornfeld ’09 & Jim Clayton ’08
St. Louis, Mo., June 28, 2014
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Katie DuPre ’10 & Scott Sobolewski ’10
Katie and Scott met as first-year students in a math class taught by Professor Colin Adams. Their first date was junior year, at Sushi
Thai Garden on Spring Street. They were married at the Boston Museum of Science on June 6, 2015, with more than 40 Ephs in
attendance, including football and track teammates, Katie's co-JA and their frosh, and Katie’s parents, Colleen Lyons DuPre ’78 and
John DuPre ’78, who also met as students at Williams. They started their honeymoon by attending their fifth Williams reunion.
Elizabeth Hendee & James Canner ’06
Stonington, Conn., Aug. 8, 2015
Lauren Fernandez ’07 & Ian Poirier ’07
Emily Durgin & David Doggett ’12
Berkeley, Calif., Oct. 10, 2015
Boston, Mass., Sept. 19, 2015
Leah Zambetti & Michael Ryan ’11
Cape Cod, Mass., July 25, 2015
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WEDDINGS
Bruce Batchelor & Peter Sheil ’77
Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Oct. 3, 2015
Alison Furey ’99 & Michael Nowicki
Vanessa Harper ’12 & Josh Rosenberg
North Adams, Mass., Dec. 19, 2015
Washington, D.C., Oct. 18, 2015
Michelle Flowers ’05 & Adam Kash
Joanna Leathers ’05 & Dylan McDuffee
Westport, Conn., March 21, 2015
New York, N.Y., Feb. 21, 2015
Dorothy Hiersteiner ’03 & Jason Gray
Canton, Mass., Oct. 3, 2015
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WEDDINGS
1984
Nick Nocca & Viviane Macedo-Nocca,
Aug. 1, 2015
1999
Michael Heep & Sarah B. Nelson, Nov. 6, 2015
2007
Elizabeth Bond & Dan Sharp, May 30, 2015
Beth Lorge & Ramona McRedmond,
Aug. 5, 2015
2009
Nick Martinelli & Sarah Krygowski ’05,
Oct. 3, 2015
Katie Jordan & Andrew Morgan, June 6, 2015
Tyler Zara & Lindsay Davies, Sept. 15, 2015
Willa Marquis & Shirag Shemmassian,
Nov. 7, 2015
2003
2010
2000
Mike Buscher & Heather Traynham,
May 30, 2015
Joe Gallagher & Emily Hollinger, June 20, 2015
Nosirudeen Quadri & Marianne Quadri,
Sept. 13, 2015
Todd Garbatini & Lucia Cushman,
Sept. 19, 2015
Amy Geant & Alastair Mackenzie,
Sept. 26, 2015
Dorothy Hiersteiner & Jason Gray, Oct. 3, 2015
Katie Dupre & Scott Sobolewski, June 6, 2015
Stephanie Kim & Bradford Jomin Gee,
Sept. 19, 2015
2012
David Doggett & Emily Durgin, Sept. 19, 2015
Vanessa Harper & Joshua Rosenberg,
Oct. 18, 2015
2006
Macy Radloff & Jordan Reed Vance,
Aug. 22, 2015
BIRTHS & ADOPTIONS
1984
Nicholas Francisco Nocca to Nick Nocca,
Sept. 21, 2015
1990
Owen Chung Power to James Power,
Sept. 14, 2015
1995
Narayan Tejas King to Wyatt King,
Feb. 25, 2015
1997
Timothy John Higgins to Brian Higgins,
April 27, 2015
William Daniel Shane to Adam Shane & Anna (Rettig) Shane ’98, May 15, 2015
Neali Quinne Graham to Amina Graham,
Sept. 27, 2015
Gabriel Chunseh Chu to Jeannette Kim,
Dec. 28, 2015
1999
Rory James De Niro-Miller to Edie De Niro,
Oct. 26, 2015
Franklin Brockman Bennett to Steve Bennett,
Dec. 7, 2015
2000
August Willis Haig to Sawyer Haig & Malana Willis, March 6, 2015
2001
Alexa Rose Clayburgh to Dan Clayburgh & Katie Sharff ’02, April 15, 2015
Kai Emerson Walrod to Mark Walrod & Hil (Williams) Walrod, Nov. 6, 2015
2002
Eloise Anne Redden to Hilary (Hackmann)
Redden, Oct. 14, 2015
Riley Chang Comstock to Scott Comstock,
Oct. 30, 2015
Grace Green Rowe to David Rowe & Laddie (Peterson) Rowe, Dec. 9, 2015
2003
George Jack Otis to Caroline Otis, Aug. 14, 2015
Rory Otto Clites to Tina (Howe) Clites,
Sept. 2, 2015
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BIRTHS & ADOPTIONS
Cameron Peter Fribance to Diane (Bennett)
Fribance, Oct. 22, 2015
Katherine Jane Munroe to Alison (Stewart) Munroe & Brian Munroe ’07, Nov. 11, 2015
Josette Mireille Patterson to Brigitte Del
Carmen Teissedre, Nov. 19, 2015
Leo Breen to Fulton Breen, Nov. 24, 2015
Donald Moore Tucker to Emily (Glenn) Tucker
& Peter Tucker, Dec. 22, 2015
Charles Philo Kivitz to Julia (Tingley) Kivitz
& Jeff Kivitz ’06, Oct. 17, 2015
Whitley Dillon Hole to Ned Hole & Jessie (Freeman) Hole ’08, Nov. 16, 2015
Kalina Manolov to Ivan Manolov, Jan. 31, 2016
2006
2004
Harper Claxton Weisenbeck to Josh Weisenbeck, July 22, 2015
Henry Wynn Myers to Hayley Wynn Myers & Steven Myers, Aug. 27, 2015
Mirele Grace Gura to Laura Kolesar
Gura & Daniel Gura, Jan. 13, 2016
James Bronson Parr Dagneau to Lucy
(Cox-Chapman) Dagneau, Jan. 16, 2016
2005
2007
Clark Levien Nagin to Lauren (Levien) Nagin,
Aug. 1, 2015
Miles Walter Donnell to Ellie (Frazier) Donnell,
Sept. 26, 2015
Vera Mae Thedford to Meghan O’Malley,
Oct. 26, 2015
Brian Matthew Paster to Katie Cail Paster & Matt Paster, Dec. 2, 2015
OBITUARIES
1941
JAMES WARREN FOWLE, July 24,
2015. Jim served in the U.S.
Navy during WWII. He earned
his Ph.D. in art history from
Harvard University in 1952 and
went on to teach at Harvard,
Bryn Mawr and the Rhode
Island School of Design. After
spending most summers at his
family home in Thetford, Vt.,
he retired there and became
active in its improvement
society and town fair. He also
was part of community efforts
that resulted in the creation
of the Thetford Hill Historic
District. He was predeceased
by his wife of 56 years, Alison,
in 2008. Among his survivors
are two daughters, including
Rebecca Lafave ’76, five grandchildren, including Nicholas
Lafave ’03 and Claire H. Lafave
’12, brothers W. Farnsworth
Fowle ’37 and Richardson
Fowle ’50, and several nieces
and nephews, including
Katharine F. Westwood ’69,
Kristi Beyer Bragg ’76 and
David F. Fowle ’76.
HENRY R. HOYSRADT, Aug.
13, 2015. Pat played with the
New York Yankees from 1938
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to 1941 before starting a dairy
farm in Ancram, N.Y. He was a
member of St. John’s Lutheran
Church, the Ancram Fire
Co. and Cornell Cooperative
Extension of Columbia County.
He was inducted into the
Dutchess County Hall of Fame
for baseball and basketball.
He was predeceased by two
sons and a granddaughter. His
survivors include his wife of
75 years, Helen, five children,
13 grandchildren and 12
great-grandchildren.
WILLIAM C. TALLMAN, Oct. 19,
2015. Bill earned a master’s
degree from MIT in 1943
and did radar research during
WWII. He joined the Public
Service Co. of New Hampshire
in 1946 as a research manager,
working his way up to CEO.
Before retiring in 1984, he
played a major role in the creation of the Seabrook Station
Nuclear Power Plant, managing
countless engineers, contractors,
investment lawyers and managers as they prepared the plant
for operation. Bill was president
of the Electric Counsel of
New England and received
a corporate leadership award
from MIT, a Man of the Year
award from Electric Light and
Power and an honorary Doctor
of Laws from the University
of New Hampshire. He was
a founder of the Derryfield
School in Manchester and
was active in the Greater New
Hampshire YMCA. His survivors include his wife of almost
72 years, Jean, and a daughter.
1943
MALCOLM MACGRUER, Feb. 2,
2016. Malcolm (known to classmates as “McGurk”) served in
the Marine Corps in Japaneseoccupied China during WWII.
He was an officer in sales and
marketing with RichardsonVicks Inc. and served on the
advisory council of the National
Association of Chain Drug
Stores. He lived in Greenwich,
Conn., and served as an elected
town meeting representative, a
trustee and member of the executive committee of Greenwich
Hospital’s board, and a trustee
of the Round Hill Community
Church. After retiring in 1986,
he and his wife of 57 years,
Margaret, retired to Madison,
Conn., where he wrote historical novels and served on
1941– 44
committees for the Madison
Beach Club, Scranton Public
Library and Goodspeed Opera
House. He was president of the
Williams Class of 1943 when
he died, a post he held for nearly
20 years. He served Williams
as a member of the Executive
Committee of the Society of
Alumni and for two terms as
class secretary, five as reunion
chair, class agent and co-class
agent, and a term as class vice
president. He is survived by two
children and a grandson.
HENRY S. MCKOWN, Aug. 29,
2015. Hank worked on the
Manhattan Project before moving to Oak Ridge, Tenn., where
he joined Oak Ridge National
Laboratory as an analytical
chemist with a specialty in
mass spectrometers. A member
of the Oak Ridge Unitarian
Church, he also volunteered
with Greenways of Oak Ridge
and the American Museum of
Science and Energy. His survivors include his wife of 68 years,
Helen, and four daughters.
HENRY B. PENNELL III, July 18,
2015. Henry earned a master’s
degree in education at the
University of Virginia. He spent
five decades as a teacher and
administrator, teaching math in
Connecticut at the Taft School
in Watertown, the Marvelwood
School in Kent, and the South
Kent School in South Kent. He
was director of financial aid at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in Troy, N.Y.; headmaster at St.
Mary’s Hall in San Antonio,
Texas; and assistant headmaster
and track coach at the Avon
Old Farms School in Avon,
Conn. He volunteered for Vista
in Alabama and at the Holy
Apostles Soup Kitchen in NYC.
His survivors include his wife of
72 years, Marion, three daughters, four granddaughters and
two great-granddaughters.
JOSEPH M. SIZOO, Oct. 17,
2015. Joe left Williams to serve
in the U.S. Army Air Corps
during WWII and graduated
from George Washington
University. He served as a
special agent in the domestic
intelligence division of the FBI
for 25 years. In 1976, he moved
to Williamsburg, Va., where
he worked in banking and was
active in the United Methodist
Church. His survivors include
his wife of 58 years, Barbara,
three children and eight
grandchildren.
1944
RAYMOND E. ASHLEY, July 6,
2015. Ray served in the U.S.
Navy during WWII. After
earning his Williams degree,
he earned a second bachelor’s
degree, in architecture, from
Cornell University in 1950. He
became a self-employed architect, retiring in 1974. His wife
Catherine predeceased him. His
survivors include three children,
four grandchildren and six
WILLIAM C. TALLMAN ’41
CHARLES O. CAROTHERS,
Aug. 16, 2015. Chuck participated in the V-12 program,
leaving Williams after his
junior year, and graduated
with his M.D. from Harvard
Medical School in 1946.
He served in the U.S. Navy
doing research at the Naval
National Medical Center in
Bethesda, Md., and after the
Navy completed an orthopedic residency at the Campbell
Clinic in Memphis, Tenn. A
third-generation orthopedic
surgeon, he joined his uncle
in an orthopedic practice in
Cincinnati, and was joined by
his son Thomas A. Carothers
’68 in 1981. He retired in 1999.
He was president of the board
of the Cincinnati Playhouse in
the Park and a board member
of the Ensemble Theatre in
Cincinnati. He was a member
of his Williams class’s 50th
reunion fund committee and
regional special gifts committee. In addition to his
son, he is survived by his wife
Lucille (“Twink”), another
son and daughter, 10 grandchildren, including Elizabeth
Carothers Kelly ’01, and eight
MALCOLM MACGRUER ’43
RAYMOND E. ASHLEY ’44
DAVID J. FOX, Aug. 6, 2015.
David worked as a computer systems manager with
American Mutual Insurance
Co. He lived in Massachusetts
and Florida before moving to
Manassas, Va., to be closer to
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OBITUARIES
family. His survivors include
his wife of 67 years, Anita, two
children, four grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
1945
EDWARD J. BLOCH, Aug. 24,
2014. Ed served in the Marine
Corps during WWII and
was awarded a Purple Heart
and Bronze Star Medal. He
earned a master’s of arts from
Tufts University (1947) and
was an organizer for the
United Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers of America
for 60 years. A self-described
“Marxist Presbyterian Jew,” he
was a leader in the interfaith
movement in the Albany, N.Y.,
area. In 1967, he marched in
his Marine Corps uniform as a
bodyguard for Martin Luther
King Jr., and in the 1980s
he ran twice for Congress,
without success. A founder
of a chapter of Veterans for
Peace, he traveled to China in
2011 to apologize for his role
in an attack on a small village
there just after WWII. His
42 years, Naomi, four children,
four grandchildren and two
JOEL S. LAWSON JR., Aug. 31,
2015. Joel served as a U.S. Navy
pilot during WWII. He earned
his Ph.D. in physics from the
University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign before teaching
there and working on defense
department projects at the university’s control systems lab. In
1958, he started working at the
Scientific Engineering Institute
in Belmont, Mass., where he
focused on radar technology,
before moving to DC in 1965
to serve as the special assistant
to the assistant secretary of the
Navy for research and development. He eventually became
director of naval laboratories
and later the technical director of the Navy Electronics
Systems Command. He was
honored with the Meritorious
Service Award and the Navy
Distinguished Civilian Service
Award, the highest award the
secretary of the Navy can confer
on a civilian employee. He retired
in 1984. He was predeceased by
his first wife, Grace, in 1990, and
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by his second wife, Ann Libby,
in 2013 after 21 years of marriage. His survivors include four
children, 10 grandchildren and
five great-grandchildren.
PHILIP F. MEESKE, July 9, 2015.
Phil served as a U.S. Navy
lieutenant during WWII. He
worked at Anaconda Wire &
Cable in Muskegon, Mich.,
before moving to Phoenix,
Ariz., in 1969, where he
founded Southwest Salt (now
Morton Salt). After selling
the company, he operated
bulk vending machines across
Arizona. He was predeceased by
his first wife, Virginia, in 1992
and by his second wife, Angela,
in 2010. His survivors include
three daughters.
JAY C. MUELLER, Oct. 11, 2015.
Originally from Cleveland,
Jay headed to Alaska not long
after graduating from Williams,
meeting the woman who would
become his wife, Barbara, on
the ship. He and Barbara married in 1950 and remained in
Anchorage, where Jay started
a real estate company, Mueller
Enterprises, working with his
brother-in-law. He earned a
pilot’s license to make it easier
to visit the best hunting spots
and survived a catastrophic
plane crash in 1960. In the late
’60s, he served a term as head
of the Alaska State Housing
Authority and worked as a
tourist guide. He was predeceased by his wife of 49 years,
Barbara, and his son Carl. His
survivors include two children.
1946
DICKINSON R. DEBEVOISE,
Aug. 14, 2015. Dick fought
with the U.S. Army in
Normandy and during the
Battle of the Bulge in WWII.
He received a Bronze Star
Medal for his service. During
the Korean War, he served as
a first lieutenant in the Army
Security Agency. Between
wars, he earned his LLB
from Columbia, where he
served on the Law Review.
He clerked for U.S. District
Court Judge Phillip Forman
before becoming an associate
and then partner at Riker
Danzig et al. in Newark, N.J.
As chairman of the Essex
County Bar Association Civil
Rights Committee, he represented civil rights workers in
Mississippi during the Freedom
Summer of 1964. Among many
other posts, he was president
of the Newark Legal Services
Project, a director and VP of
the New Jersey Institute for
Social Justice, and general
counsel, trustee and VP of the
Hospital Center of Orange.
He was a Williams trustee
from 1969-74, during the
dissolution of fraternities. In
1979, President Jimmy Carter
appointed him as a U.S. District
Court judge, a position he held
until his death. He handled
the arraignment of so-called
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski,
authored a landmark decision
addressing the rights of investors in securities repurchase
agreements and ruled that New
Jersey’s “moment of silence” in
public schools was unconstitutional. From 1991-94, he taught
constitutional law at Seton
Hall University. He served
as a Williams class president
from 2001-14 and received the
college’s Bicentennial Medal
in 2008. He spent summers in
Casco Bay, Maine, and donated
land on Upper Goose Island
to the Nature Conservancy.
His wife Katrina predeceased
him in May 2015. Among his
survivors are four daughters,
seven grandchildren and cousin
Ellie Winninghoff ’75.
WILLIAM D. SHELLENBERGER,
Nov. 24, 2015. Bill served as a
medic with the 285th Combat
Engineers in WWII, then
returned to Williams to finish
his degree. He earned his MD
from Temple Medical School
(1951) and practiced family
medicine in Wilmington, Del.,
for 25 years before taking a
job in occupational medicine
with DuPont, where he worked
until his retirement in 1992.
He served as president of the
Delaware Academy of Family
Practice; a member of the staff
council of Wilmington Medical
Center; and a committee member of the American Cancer
Society and Delaware Heart
Association. He also drove for
the Red Cross, volunteered
1944– 50
at clinics and read to 4- and
5-year-olds at the Guardian
Angels Child Care Center. He
served Williams in many ways,
including as president of his
class from 1996-2001, admission representative, chair of
three class reunions, on his 50th
reunion fund committee, and as
secretary. He is survived by his
wife of 59 years, Barbara, three
children and five grandchildren.
1948
ROBERT A. RUPEN, March
27, 2015. Robert was a staff
sergeant with the U.S. Army
during WWII. He earned
a master’s degree from the
Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy (1949) and a
Ph.D. from the University of
Washington (1954). He was an
internationally renowned expert
on Mongolia and published
Mongols of the 20th Century
in 1964 and How Mongolia is
Really Ruled in 1979. Before
teaching political science at
University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, for more than 30
years, he was a faculty member at Bryn Mawr, Columbia
University and the National
War College, among others.
He received the Genghis Khan
award from the Mongolian
government in 2004 for his
academic contributions. His
67 years, Alice, a son and two
granddaughters.
DONALD D. SHACK, July 12,
2015. Donald earned his
bachelor of laws from Harvard
University (1951) before serving
in the Korean War. His more
than 60-year career practicing
law in NYC included serving as managing partner at
Golenbock & Barell, founding
partner at Shack, Siegel, Katz &
Flaherty and partner at Blank
Rome. He was active with
the New York Civil Liberties
Union. He was predeceased by
his wife of 61 years, Barbara,
a month before his death. His
survivors include two children,
three grandchildren and two
1949
GEORGE H. GOODRICH, Sept. 22,
2015. George served in the U.S.
Navy during WWII. He earned
his bachelor of laws in 1952
and his law degree in 1970,
both from the University of
Virginia. He started his career
at Guggenheimer, Untermeyer,
Goodrich & Amram, and
he later became partner at
Heffelfinger, Schweitzer &
Goodrich. In 1969, he was
appointed associate justice of
the Court of General Sessions,
which later became the
Superior Court of the District
of Columbia, on which he
served for 36 years. He was a
member of the Chevy Chase
Club and the Metropolitan
Club, and was an elder at the
National Presbyterian Church.
In retirement, he moved to
Charlottesville, Va. His survivors include his wife of 66 years,
Nancy, and three children.
JOEL S. LAWSON JR. ’45
HENRY P. WICKHAM, June 29,
2015. Hank served in the U.S.
Navy during WWII before
settling in Springfield, Ohio.
He worked at Wickham Piano
Plate Co., was a member of
the National Association of
Music Merchants and National
Piano Travelers Association,
an instructor for the Piano
Technicians Guild and secretary
of the American Foundrymen’s
Society. He served two terms
as the Springfield Symphony
Orchestra’s board president
and co-founded the Springfield
Summer Arts Festival. His
almost 67 years, Patricia, six
children, 10 grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren.
DICKINSON R. DEBEVOISE ’46
1950
HENRY C. MEAGHER, Oct. 17,
2015. Hank served in the
U.S. Navy during WWII. He
attended business school at
NYU and founded Mechanical
Construction Corp. in
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., of which
he was chairman and CEO. The
company contributed to the
construction of Stewart Airport
in Newburgh, N.Y., and facilities at the Culinary Institute of
America, Vassar College and
various IBM locations, including its HQ in Armonk, N.Y. He
sold the business in 1995. He
lived in Hyde Park, N.Y., was
a member of the boards of the
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OBITUARIES
Poughkeepsie Savings Bank,
Standard Gage and the Schatz
Federal Building. He was a
Williams class associate agent
for more than a decade. He was
the oldest living member of
the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club
at the time of his death. His
survivors include his wife of 59
years, Janice, three children and
seven grandchildren.
PAUL R. MORT JR., July 9, 2015.
As part of a joint program
between Williams and MIT,
Paul earned degrees in mechanical engineering and business
management. He was a U.S.
Army first lieutenant. Living
in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., he
started working at IBM before
founding the manufacturing
company Synchro-Motion
Corp. He retired in 1998 and
moved to East Falmouth, Mass.,
because of its vibrant curling community. An officer in
the Grand National Curling
Association, he traveled with
the U.S. Men’s Senior Tour to
Scotland in 2002 and in 2004
was a member of the Cape
Cod team that won the “Dr.
Jim” medal at the 24th Annual
Northeast Seniors Curling
Bonspiel. His survivors include
his wife of 59 years, Isabelle, five
children, nine grand-children
and cousin Cynthia G. Tether ’72.
1952
KENT W. BARBER JR., Aug. 7,
2015. Kent earned an M.D.
from McGill University (1957),
completed his residency for
surgery at the Mayo Clinic
and earned a master of science from the University of
Minnesota (1962). He lived in
San Francisco, where he spent
most of his career as a general
surgeon at Franklin Medical
Center and St. Luke’s Hospital
and worked in private practice.
He retired from St. Luke’s as
chief of surgery and went on to
be the medical director of the
nonprofit Health Plan of San
Mateo in 2001. Kent was an
usher at the Episcopal Church
of St. Mary the Virgin. Among
his survivors are his wife of
48 years, Susan, five children,
including Kent Walker Barber
’92, and nine grandchildren.
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COMER PLUMMER JR., Sept. 12,
2015. Comer served in the
U.S. Air Force. He then was a
menswear buyer at Marshall
Field & Co. in Chicago for 25
years before operating the lamp
retail store Northern Lights in
Winnetka, Ill., for nearly three
decades. He had season tickets
to the Chicago Bears games
for 60 consecutive seasons.
He was predeceased by his
daughter Frances. His survivors
include his wife of 41 years,
Natalie, three children and four
grandchildren.
and kayak trip leader. He served
with Habitat for Humanity,
the Sierra Club and the Barrett
House and was co-founder of
both Neighborhood Housing
and the REAL Skills Network
in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He traveled to more than 40 countries,
traversing landscapes as a hiker,
air balloonist, skier, kayaker and
motorcyclist. Among his survivors are his first wife, Sandra,
his second wife, Bonnie, three
daughters, including Megan
R. Auchincloss ’87, and four
grandchildren.
H. ALEXANDER PORTER,
DUDLEY M. BAKER, July 2,
Sept. 12, 2015. Alec served
in the U.S. Army and started
working in sales at Stuart C.
Hurlbert & Co., an importer
of jute and flax, in 1975. He
purchased the company in
1983 and served as its president
and owner until 2004. He
learned to fish as a child at
Niagara Falls and was an avid
bird hunter and fly fisherman.
Some of his favorite spots
were the Sudbury River in his
hometown of Sudbury, Mass.,
and Merrymeeting Bay in
Bowdoinham, Maine, where he
also painted wildlife and landscapes. His survivors include
his wife Janet, four children,
two stepchildren and eight
grandchildren.
FRED W. WHALEY, Aug. 23,
2015. Fred served in the U.S.
Navy Reserve before starting
work at J.W. Clement Co. in
Buffalo, N.Y. In 1957 he moved
to Texas, where he spent the
rest of his life. He worked for
Mobil Oil Corp. and Kettle
Restaurants in San Antonio and
Houston until his retirement in
1991. His survivors include his
wife of 29 years, Mary Sue, two
sons and two grandchildren.
1953
ROBERT G. AUCHINCLOSS,
July 23, 2015. Bob earned his
MBA from Harvard and started
work selling aluminum at
Kaiser. He then moved to IBM,
where he spent the next 28
years in business administration.
In retirement he clocked more
than 400 flights in 20 years as a
commercial air balloonist, and
he was a wind surfing instructor
2015. A seventh-generation
Vermonter, Dudley earned his
MD from the University of
Vermont in 1957. He served
as a lieutenant commander on
the orthopedic staff of the U.S.
Navy Hospital in San Diego
before returning home and
settling in Bennington in 1964,
where he practiced orthopedic
surgery for 32 years. He served
on the town’s select board and
on the board of trustees of the
Bennington Museum, which
honored him in 1984 with the
General Stark Society Award.
In retirement, he played golf
at the Taconic Golf Club,
gardened, audited classes at
Williams and published opinion pieces in area newspapers.
Dudley was chairman of his
1993 Williams class reunion
and the golf chairman of his
reunion committee in 2003.
He was predeceased by his wife
Gerry in 2009. His survivors
include five children and five
grandchildren.
DANIEL D. HARKINS, Aug. 24,
2015. Slim was an officer in the
U.S. Marine Corps. He earned
a bachelor of foreign trade from
the Thunderbird School of
Global Management in 1957
and lived with his family in Paris
and Cologne, Germany, as his
global business career required
travel throughout Europe, Africa
and Asia. In the 1980s, the family returned to Columbus, Ohio,
where he and his wife owned
a beer distributorship. He collected maps and was a devoted
Buckeyes fan and an avid skier,
swimmer and runner. He was
predeceased by his grandson
1950– 56
Harrison. Among his survivors
are his wife of 57 years, Marjorie,
three children, including Diane
Harkins Modesett ’85, and four
grandchildren.
JOHN H. MCDERMOTT, June 24,
2015. John earned his J.D. from
the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor in 1956 before
serving in the U.S. Air Force.
He joined McDermott, Will &
Emery in 1958, retiring from
the firm in 1999. A longtime
resident of Winnetka, Ill., he
served on the boards of Heizer
Corp. and Patrick Industries,
was a member of the board of
the Rehabilitation Institute of
Chicago, and sang in local a
cappella groups. He was chairman and musical director of
the Chicago Bar Association’s
Christmas Spirits Show, and
he served on Williams’ regional
major gifts committee. Among
his survivors are his wife of
49 years, Ann, three children,
including Edward H. McDermott
’93, 10 grandchildren and
nephew Thomas Jeffers
Pickard ’01.
DAVID R. PALMER, Sept. 18,
2015. David earned his MBA
from Harvard University in
1960 and spent 15 years in
corporate and real estate finance
before earning a Ph.D. in
the political, social and legal
environment of business from
the University of California
at Berkeley (1983). He taught
at the business school at the
University of Santa Clara
from 1989 to 2007. David was
a Williams class agent and
associate agent for the last 27
years and enjoyed returning to
Williamstown for the annual
Alumni Golf Tournament. His
survivors include two sons and
his companion Marcie.
1955
LINDLEY M. COWPERTHWAIT
JR., Oct. 12, 2015. Lee served as
a captain in the U.S. Air Force
Reserves. He earned his B.A.
from California State University
in 1957 and his J.D. from the
University of Pennsylvania
in 1960. He started his law
career in Montgomery County,
Pa., and later headed his own
firm. He was chief counsel for
the Philadelphia Eagles, chief
defense attorney for the Ford
Motor Co. and was admitted
to the Maryland Bar in 2005.
He moved to Rock Hall, Md.,
and was of counsel in Thomas
Yeager’s law office. He was a
member of the Sons of the
Revolution and the Aviation
Club of Blue Bell, and he
was active at St. Paul’s Parish.
His survivors include his wife
Karin, five children and six
grandchildren.
MCNEIL S. FISKE, Sept. 30,
2015. Mac served in the U.S.
Air Force before moving to
Colorado to start his career
at the First National Bank of
Denver. He pioneered one of
the country’s first minority
lending programs, earning a
commendation from President
Nixon. He went on to work as
a financial officer for Motor
Cargo and was a partner in
several entrepreneurial ventures.
He gave service and support to
the Conflict Center in Denver
and Interfaith Community
Services in Tucson, Ariz. He
became a Williams Tyng
Bequest administrator right
after graduation and spent 14
years as an admission representative. His wife Tiena predeceased him in 2012. Among
his survivors are three children,
including Julia B. Fiske ’81 and
Neil Fiske ’84, and 10 grandchildren, including William
Fiske Parker ’08.
H. ALEXANDER PORTER ’52
ROBERT G. AUCHINCLOSS ’53
1956
KELTON M. BURBANK, June 29,
2015. Kim graduated from
Harvard Law School in 1959
and then clerked on the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court for a year before joining
the Boston firm Choate Hall
& Stewart. He returned to the
Berkshires in 1961 and practiced law in Pittsfield for more
than 50 years. He served on
the New Ashford Select Board
and volunteered with many
Berkshire nonprofits, including
the Massachusetts Audubon
Society, the Housatonic River
Watershed Association, the
Elizabeth Freeman Center,
the Massachusetts Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children and the Berkshire
MCNEIL S. FISKE ’55
M AY 2 0 1 6
l
121
OBITUARIES
Natural Resources Council,
which dedicated a trail in his
honor in 1999. Among his
survivors are his wife of 12
years, Hedy, three children,
including Kelton M. Burbank
’83, two stepchildren and three
granddaughters.
J.P. QUINSON, Dec. 5, 2014.
J.P. served in the U.S. Army
from 1957-59 and then began
working as a commercial and
investment banker at Bankers
Trust Co. and then in Paris,
France, at Société Lyonnaise
De Banque, Worms Gestion
and Right Associates, from
which he retired in 2001 as
the directeur general adjoint.
Among his survivors are his
wife Francoise, four children,
brothers Francois L. Quinson
’53 and Bruno A. Quinson ’58
and niece Elizabeth Katherine
Quinson ’84.
1957
LEO R. GILSON, Aug. 1, 2015.
Leo’s career began at General
Electric Co. and International
Rectifier. He then started Nova
Sales Distribution, a semiconductor business, in 1989.
A proud sailor and energetic
storyteller, he loved to tell family and friends of his adventures,
particularly about the time he
was shipwrecked off the coast
of the Fiji Islands. He lived
in Marblehead, Mass. Among
his survivors are his wife of 29
years, Lucy, and a son.
STEPHEN P. HILL, Aug. 31,
2015. Stephen served in the
U.S. Navy, earned a JD from
George Washington University
Law School (1964) and then
served in the U.S. Peace Corps
in Brazil with his wife Joel
Ann. He began teaching at the
Asheville School for Boys in
North Carolina and joined the
Johns Hopkins University staff
in 1990 as administrator of its
preventive medicine residency
program. He volunteered with
Alternatives to Violence at the
Maryland Correctional Institute
and for hospice in Brattleboro,
Vt., where he lived after his
retirement in 2000. Joel Ann
predeceased him in 2014. His
survivors include three children
and six grandchildren.
122
l
WILLIAMS PEOPLE
DAVID G. NEVIN, Aug. 14, 2015.
David served with the U.S. 6th
Fleet in the Mediterranean from
1958-61. He earned a master’s
of library science from the
University of Pittsburgh in
1964 and started his career at
the Boston Public Library before
moving to St. Louis to work
in the Washington University
libraries and teach library science. In 1978, he started the
firm Holistic Health Associates,
from which he retired in 1992.
of 49 years, Janet, brother Hugh
Nevin Jr. ’54 and niece Alison
Nevin Sheahan ’81.
1958
JOHN B. HUTCHINS, Aug. 10,
2015. John served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army
and then began working in
contract supply and marketing
for American Hospital Supply
Corp. He lived in Chicago
and New York, retiring from
Hospilab International in
2008. He then split his time
between Northfield, Ill., and
Vero Beach, Fla. He was a
Williams class associate agent
for 15 years and loved playing
golf in alumni tournaments.
of 54 years, Suzanne, three
children, six grandchildren and
brother Harley Hutchins ’65.
1959
JOHNSTON N. BOYDEN, Sept. 11,
2015. John served in the U.S.
Navy Reserve before earning an
MBA from Harvard University
in 1964. He joined the Timken
Co., a bearing manufacturer,
eventually becoming president
of its Brazilian operation.
An athlete for most of his
life, John also loved to build
model airplanes and work with
his hands. In retirement, he
moved to Vermont, where he
volunteered in the paint shop
at the Shelburne Museum,
assisting in the restoration of
the steamship Ticonderoga and
antique carousel horses. His son
Michael predeceased him. His
13 years, Gena, three children,
two stepchildren and nine
grandchildren.
PETER W. CULMAN, Aug. 18,
2015. Peter enlisted in the U.S.
Army in 1964 and served in
Taiwan. Upon his return to the
States, he joined the staff of
Baltimore’s Center Stage in its
struggling fifth season and spent
more than three decades managing the theater. Peter presided
over 22 continuous profitable
seasons and brought the annual
operating budget from $275,000
to more than $5 million. For
many of those years, he also
taught preaching at St. Mary’s
Seminary. He received an honorary degree from the Maryland
Institute of Art in 1992 and, in
retirement, served as a hospice
volunteer and a theater consultant. Among his survivors are
his wife of 50 years, Anne, two
children, including Sean Culman
’89, a granddaughter, nephews
Timothy E. Goss ’84, Christopher
H. Goss ’85 and Malin L. Pinsky
’03, and great-nephew Matthew
B. Goss ’17.
1960
T. ROGNALD DANKMEYER,
Sept. 21, 2015. Roggie graduated from Harvard Law School
in 1963 and started his career at
Covington & Burling in D.C.
He moved to Los Gatos, Calif.,
in 1973 to work for General
Electric’s nuclear division and
then to San Mateo in 1981 to
take a position as senior VP
and general counsel at BHP
Minerals. He took early retirement in 1998, after which he
traveled, hiked, biked, camped,
skied and played tennis. He
was a member of his Williams
class’s 50th reunion fund committee. His survivors include his
wife of 52 years, Juliet, daughters Ingrid Dankmeyer ’89 and
Williams artist-in-residence in
dance Erica A. Dankmeyer ’91,
five grandchildren and nephew
Frederick M. Hopkins ’87.
1962
RONALD R. BATTORY, July 30,
2015. Ronald earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics
from UMass Amherst and
worked as a computer programmer with General Electric
Co. and then with General
Dynamics Corp. in Pittsfield
until his retirement in 2013.
A professional jazz musician,
he played the alto and tenor
1956– 69
saxophone and clarinet, and he
played regularly at the Williams
Inn. He was a communicant of
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in
Adams. His survivors include
his former wife, Jean, two
daughters and a grandson.
H. ASHTON CROSBY JR.,
Sept. 10, 2015. Ashton earned
a master’s degree from NYU
in 1964 and joined the Hoosac
School in Hoosick, N.Y., as
director of admission in 1967.
He became headmaster in
1970 and taught English and
directed plays at the school. He
then spent 25 years teaching
English, Latin and drama at
the Rippowam-Cisqua School
in Bedford, N.Y. In addition
to teaching, Ashton acted on
stage and in TV and film. His
survivors include two daughters
and five grandchildren.
CHARLES W. KELLOGG, Sept. 21,
2015. Charlie, or “Spike,” as he
was known to Williams friends,
served in the U.S. Army. With
his military biathlon team, he
gained a top American finish
in the 1964 World Military
Competition in Sweden. He
became the biathlon national
champion in 1965 and raced
in the 1968 Olympics in
Switzerland. He remained on
the national team until 1972
and earned a gold medal in the
1998 World Masters XC Ski
Championship. He earned an
MBA from Dartmouth College
in 1972 and worked at IBM in
Shelburne, Vt., Hong Kong and
Rochester, N.Y. He then joined
Global Partners in Cambridge,
Mass., in 1994. He was coordinator of his Williams class
listserv for more than 10 years,
class president from 2002-12, a
member of the regional special
gifts committee and 25th
reunion fund committee and
vice chair of the 50th reunion
fund. His survivors include
his wife Gillian, two children,
four grandchildren and cousins
Henry H. Richardson ’71 and
Caroline P. Richardson ’03.
1963
RICHARD B. GOODMAN,
Aug. 27, 2015. Richard was
an insurance consultant in the
Pittsburgh, Pa., area for nearly
five decades. He loved to play
golf, was active in local charities and was a member of his
Williams class’s 50th reunion
fund committee. Among his
survivors are his wife of 51
years, Wanda, three sons,
including Michael W. Goodman
’93, and seven grandchildren.
1964
JOHN JOBELESS, April 21,
2015. John spent several years
in Boston before moving to
the San Francisco area in 1978.
He worked as a proofreader at
R.R. Donnelley & Sons and
volunteered delivering food
through the Marin County
AIDS network. He has no
known survivors.
PETER W. CULMAN ’59
1969
JEREMY R. HAMM, May 11,
2015. Jeremy earned a master’s
degree from the University of
California, Berkeley, in 1979.
He lived in the San Francisco
Bay Area, working as a designer
and technical theater instructor
at Las Positas College, which
established a scholarship in
technical theater in his honor.
He also worked for the ChabotLas Positas Community College
District for 40 years. His
survivors include a brother, John
H. Hamm ’65, and cousins Alison
M. Tucher ’84, Phil L. Tucher ’86
and Annie Tucher Black ’89.
H. ASHTON CROSBY JR. ’62
CARL F. MANTHEI, July 26,
2015. Carl earned a J.D. from
the University of Denver in
1973 and served for a time as
the assistant deputy district
attorney in Boulder, Colo. He
then turned his attention to
private practice and eventually
joined the Ollila Law Group.
He fought for civil, voting and
human rights throughout his
career and argued and won a
landmark patent case before the
U.S. Supreme Court. He served
on the boards of Boulder’s public library and homeless shelter.
He was a Williams class associate agent. His survivors include
his wife Lindsey and a sister.
JOHN F. PLUMMER, Sept. 7,
2015. John earned a Ph.D. in
inorganic chemistry from Ohio
State University in 1974. He
started his career with Ashland
Oil in Columbus, Ohio, where
he met the woman who would
M AY 2 0 1 6
l
123
OBITUARIES
become his wife of 34 years,
Betsy. He then worked as a
research chemist at ProtavicMereco Technologies Group in
Londonderry, N.H. His survivors include Betsy and a son.
1970
KIERON KRAMER, Aug. 20,
2015. Kieron was a teacher and
mentor at the Buxton School
in Williamstown and longtime
editor of The Eastwick Press,
which covers eastern Rensselaer
County, N.Y. He was a soccer
player, coach and referee and
was considered a soccer fanatic
by his friends throughout western Massachusetts. His survivors
include a brother and nephew.
JOHN C. THERRIEN, June 29,
2015. In 2012, John retired after
more than 25 years as tax manager and assistant treasurer at
Warner Brothers. In retirement,
he moved from Sun Valley,
Calif., to Greenbank, Wash.
He was diagnosed with cancer
in January 2015. His survivors
include his wife Faye, three sons
and cousins Anthony F. Parise
’73 and Michael J. Parise ’75.
1973
DAVID A. PINGREE, June 30,
2015. As a Williams student,
David joined the U.S. Air
Force, serving as a sergeant
in Germany from 1967-71.
He then returned to Williams
and, after graduation, settled
in Dover, N.H., where he was
owner and creative director
of the Portsmouth advertising agency Fickett, Pingree
& Walsh. He later opened
WePrint, a Portland-based
printing firm, and worked for a
sporting goods store while freelancing as a graphic designer for
local businesses. A juried artist,
he had a show at Art Stream
in Dover in January 2015 and
completed his final piece just
days before his death from
pancreatic cancer. A passionate
motorcyclist, his last ride was
the day he entered hospice care.
of 28 years, Beth, two children,
brother Richard G. Pingree ’66
and nephews Graham O’Toole
Pingree ’01, Eben H. Pingree ’04
and Timothy B. Pingree ’06.
124
l
WILLIAMS PEOPLE
1983
2006
Sept. 29, 2015. FJ lived
in El Granada, Calif., where
he worked as a video producer.
He loved to sail on the San
Francisco Bay, play the
harmonica and picnic on the
beach with his family. His
survivors include his wife
Lisa, two daughters, his mother
and siblings.
Sept. 14, 2015. Drees returned
to Hoover, Ala., after graduation to be close to his family,
and he attended the University
of Alabama School of Medicine
until 2011. He enjoyed practicing martial arts and playing the
saxophone. He was a member
of Williams’ Young Alumni
National Advisory Committee.
His survivors include his parents and sister.
FRANCIS J. BOLGER JR.,
1984
EDGAR A. BUTTNER, Oct. 15,
2015. Ned earned a Ph.D. in
philosophy and an MD from
Columbia University; he was
a postdoctoral research fellow
at MIT. His career focused on
understanding antipsychotic
medications and the effects genes
related to illness have on brain
function and behavior. He conducted research and taught neuropsychiatry at Harvard Medical
School and was the director
of the neurogenomics lab at
McLean Hospital in Belmont,
Mass. He received the Augustus
S. Rose Award for Excellence
in Teaching from UCLA. Ned
died from complications with
leukemia. His survivors include
his wife of nine years, Raluca,
and three children.
1985
SUSAN M. NARKEWICZ, Oct. 21,
2015. Susan earned a master
of laws from the University of
Cambridge in 1987 and a J.D.
from Georgetown University in
1991. She was an attorney with
Patton, Boggs & Blow in D.C.
before moving to Hoosick Falls,
N.Y. She worked for the state
Public Service Commission and
various Albany-area law firms
before partnering with Dr. Bob
Paeglow to provide medical,
psychiatric and legal services to
people in need. She adopted five
children from Haiti and assisted
in the adoptions of many others
before and after that country’s
2010 earthquake. She was a
member of the Green Mountain
Christian Center in Bennington,
Vt., and served on the board
of H.I.S. Home in Haiti. Her
survivors include her husband
Frank, five children, her mother
and eight siblings.
DREES CATERA GRIFFIN JR.,
OTHER DEATHS
JOHN L. COLE JR. ’39,
July 13, 2015
DONALD D. BISHOP ’45,
March 14, 2015
PHILIP G. ASHBAUGH ’53,
Aug. 7, 2014
ROBERT L. HATHAWAY ’53,
Dec. 19, 2013
JAMES G. BATTERSON JR. ’60,
Aug. 9, 2015
WALTER A. WALKER JR. ’61,
Aug. 1, 2014
THOMAS B. HERSCHBACH ’62,
2014
HOWARD M. JACKSON ’68,
July 27, 2004
JOHN A. WHATMORE ’72,
Oct. 4, 2015
Obituaries are written by
Julia Munemo and are based
on information that alumni
and their families have
supplied to the college over
the years. To access more
biographical information on
many alumni, visit www.legacy.
com or www.tributes.com.
“It bends my mind
to contemplate how
all of our divergent
paths led us to the
uniform decision
to choose this
small college.”
Leila Jere ’91
President, Society of Alumni
leila.jere@gmail.com
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
AN ENERGIZING TIME
Two years ago next month, I sat on a stage at Chandler Gym as the
reunion classes paraded in. Nervous and dry-mouthed, I watched Dennis
O’Shea ‘77 perform his final duties as president of the Society of Alumni.
And then, all too quickly, Brooks Foehl ’88, secretary of the society, read the
names of executive committee and officer nominees for vote by the gathered
alumni. We were formally elected, and it was time for me to stand up and
start acting presidential.
At each reunion I’ve attended, I’m awed at the sight of the 50th reunion
class massed together in the center of the gym. These are men who
attended Williams before the major social and demographic changes that
took place on our campus—when fraternities were closed, women were
ushered in and a concerted and sustained effort was made to recruit students from beyond the communities that traditionally sent their children to
Williams. The evidence of Williams’ innovative admission efforts is there
in plain view as you gaze around the gym. In each successively younger
class, you can see in the skin tones—and hear in the accents and languages
spoken—that the youngest of us represent communities from all corners of
the U.S. and world. It bends my mind to contemplate how all of our divergent
paths led us to the uniform decision to choose this small college, tucked
away in a hidden corner of rural Massachusetts.
We alumni who gather on campus every June form the legacy that began
in the 1960s under President John E. Sawyer ’39 when he mustered Williams’
students, alumni, faculty, trustees and parents around a new vision for the
college and its transformation into the internationally renowned institution
it is today. There are two books I recommend to anyone interested in recent
Williams history and 20th-century American history: The Rise and Fall of
Fraternities at Williams College, by John W. Chandler, president emeritus,
and Jews at Williams: Inclusion, Exclusion and Class at a New England
Liberal Arts College, by Benjamin Aldes Wurgraft.
As I prepare to pass presidential duties to Jordan Hampton ’87, I have the
honor of serving in one last role that will extend beyond my presidential term:
as a member of the Committee on Campus Space and Institutional History,
established by President Adam Falk and chaired by Karen Merrill, professor
of American Culture. We are a committee of six students, four staff, four
faculty and one alumnus (one faculty member is also an alumnus). We’ve met
numerous times this spring, and our different perspectives have manifested
in a deep and thoughtful engagement over the important questions of public
space and inclusivity on campus.
It’s natural that we should be having this conversation at this moment,
which comes not from out of the blue but is a logical expression and questioning of norms as we continue on the journey from assimilation to multiculturalism—a journey that started with the great Jack Sawyer.
It’s been a pleasure and privilege to have spoken with so many of you
over the last few years. I have learned an enormous amount from all of you,
and, as with all Williams engagements, I feel I have gained vastly more than
I have given.
Go, Ephs!
I want to share a few thoughts about the Williams Alumni Fund. Stay with
me for a little history, expressions of gratitude and observations about our
alumni community in 2016.
The Williams annual giving model is unique in higher ed—and the envy
of it, too. A small number of schools may have similar volunteer-driven
structures, but none can touch the culture borne out of a group of alumni
coming together in 1821 to save our college. The ownership stake that alumni
volunteers have in keeping us all connected to each other and the college is
impossible to replicate when starting from scratch, as so many institutions
might want to do.
The debt we owe to the thousands of alumni volunteers who serve or
have served as head agents or associate agents is incalculable. You’re the
engine of front-line connection that makes the Alumni Fund go. The Alumni
Fund Vice Chairs provide top-line volunteer leadership, and all work in conjunction with the Alumni Fund staff, led by Director of Annual Giving Laura
Day ’04, creating a powerful and successful team effort.
Williams Alumni Fund participation results are in rarified air in higher ed.
Historically reaching 60 percent or more, Ephs lead the charge and show their
support for alma mater on an annual basis in unparalleled fashion. For this,
we owe a debt of gratitude, too.
To be clear, giving to Williams is a personal choice, and there are any
number of reasons why alumni choose to do so—or not. To that end, we
receive excellent feedback from alumni about their giving decisions, primarily through class agent teams. This year, the ongoing national discourses on
freedom of speech and historical representation were factors for some Ephs
in deciding whether to give. Divestment and sexual assault response and
prevention, both on campus and nationally, were also issues of interest.
Yet for all these complications, we see this as an energizing time. It’s
hard to imagine 29,000 alumni being in agreement on any subject (besides
beating Amherst). And like all of us, our college isn’t perfect. What we hope
for Williams is the same thing we hope for ourselves: to continually learn,
to be open to perspectives other than our own and to grow and evolve in
positive ways. Williams taught us these lessons when we were young, and
we continually look to the college to reinforce these ideals at a time they
seem to be needed most.
This is the remarkable service Alumni Fund volunteers perform for
Williams, their classes and their friends. Agents know that at the heart of
their responsibility is their connection with fellow alumni. As one appreciative classmate shared with his class agent, “[Your outreach] reminds me that
the bonds between dear friends never age, and it says to me that if I have
such a friend as you, I have at least one saving grace.”
With best wishes from Williamstown,
“Ephs lead the charge
and show their support
for alma mater on
an annual basis in
unparalleled fashion.”
Brooks Foehl ’88
Director of Alumni Relations
bfoehl@williams.edu
Editorial Offices
P.O. Box 676
Williamstown, MA
01267-0676
W I LL I A M S P EO PLE
MAY 2016
Williams
P E O P L E l M AY 2 016

PEOPLE l MAY 2016 - Alumni News

Transcription

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